Interesting words 6 Flashcards
Cadaver
A corpse
Apache
A violent street ruffian
Bolster
Support and strengthen
Firmament
The heavens or sky.
Acuity
Sharpness or keenness of thought, vision, or hearing
Abnegate
Renounce or reject (something desired or valuable).
Cacophony
A harsh discordant mixture of sounds
Mensche
A person of integrity and honour.
Foibles
A minor weakness or eccentricity in someone’s character.
Procurement
The act of obtaining or buying goods and services. The process includes preparation and processing of a demand as well as the end receipt and approval of payment.
Receivership
A type of corporate bankruptcy in which a receiver is appointed by bankruptcy courts or creditors to run the company.
Meta
Referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential.
E.g. a movie about a movie. or a review about reviewers
Ruefully
In a way that expresses sorrow or regret, especially in a wry or humorous manner.
Subpoena
Require (a document or other evidence) to be submitted to a court of law.
Writ
A form of written command in the name of a court or other legal authority to act, or abstain from acting, in a particular way.
Quid Pro Quo
“Something for something” “This for that”
Ovophagy
Embryos feeding on eggs produced by the ovary while still inside the mother’s uterus.
In utero
In the womb
Contention
Heated argument
Entropy
Lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.
Heuristic
Enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves.
Infraction
A violation or infringement of a law or agreement.
Irreverent
Showing a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously
Paradox
A seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true.
Sedition
Conduct of speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.
Dudgeon
A feeling of offence or deep resentment.
“the manager walked out in high dudgeon”
Jocular
Fond of or characterized by joking; humorous or playful.
“she sounded in a jocular mood”
Licentious
Promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters.
“the ruler’s tyrannical and licentious behaviour”
Ingrate
An ungrateful person-
When you do not appreciate your gifts, you are being an ingrate.
The bride was an ingrate who did not send out thank-you notes for her wedding presents.
Tacit
Understood or implied without being stated.
“your silence may be taken to mean tacit agreement”
Nascent
(especially of a process or organization) just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential.
Putative
Generally considered or reputed to be.
“the putative father of her children”
Proprietor
The owner of a business, or a holder of property.
Apocryphal
(of a story or statement) of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true.
“an apocryphal story about a former president”
Beneficiary
A person who derives advantage from something, especially a trust, will, or life insurance policy.
Convention
1.
a way in which something is usually done.
“to attract the best patrons the movie houses had to ape the conventions and the standards of theatres”
behaviour that is considered acceptable or polite to most members of a society.
2.
an agreement between states covering particular matters, especially one less formal than a treaty.
“the convention, signed by the six states bordering on the Black Sea, aims to prevent further pollution”
3.
a large meeting or conference, especially of members of a political party or a particular profession or group.
“the party held its biennial convention”
Ideologue
An adherent of an ideology, especially one who is uncompromising and dogmatic.
“a right-wing ideologue”
Adherent
Someone who supports a particular party, person, or set of ideas.
“he was a strong adherent of monetarism”
Errant
erring or straying from the accepted course or standards.(used in a formal humorous manner)
“an errant husband coming back from a night on the tiles”
Deleterious
Causing harm or damage.
“divorce is assumed to have deleterious effects on children”
Sallow
(of a person’s face or complexion) of an unhealthy yellow or pale brown colour.
“his skin was sallow and pitted”
Transient
Lasting only for a short time; impermanent.
“a transient cold spell”
Interdict
An authoritative prohibition, in particular:
“they breached an interdict banning them from organizing mass pickets”
Baleful
Threatening harm; menacing.
“Bill shot a baleful glance in her direction”
Purvey
Spread or promote (an idea, view, etc.).
“the majority of newspapers purvey a range of right-wing attitudes”
Rusticated
Suspend (a student) from a university as a punishment (used chiefly at Oxford and Cambridge).
“Shelley was rusticated for co-writing an atheistic pamphlet”
Physiognomy
A person’s facial features or expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character or ethnic origin.
“friends began to notice a change in his physiognomy”
Capitulate
Cease to resist an opponent or an unwelcome demand; yield; give in.
“the patriots had to capitulate to the enemy forces”
Protract
Prolong.
“he had certainly taken his time, even protracting the process”
Gonfaloniere
The Gonfaloniere was the holder of a highly prestigious communal office in medieval and Renaissance Italy, notably in Florence and the Papal States.
Commune
A group of people living together and sharing possessions and responsibilities.
“she went to California and joined a commune”
Lieu
Instead
Remuneration
Money for paid work
Comportment
Behaviour/bearing
“he displayed precisely the comportment expected of the rightful king”
De Facto
In fact, whether by right or not.
“the country was de facto divided between two states”
Vassal
A holder of land by feudal tenure on conditions of homage and allegiance.
Credence
Belief in or acceptance of something as being true.
“I’m not prepared to give credence to anonymous complaints.”
Myopic
Short-sighted
Antiquated
Old fashioned and outdated
Indenture
A legal agreement, contract, or document
Sequestered
Isolated and hidden away
Proclivity
A tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition towards a particular thing.
Intonation
The rise and fall of a voice in speaking.
Precocious
Having developed at an earlier age than usual or expected.
Zenith
The time at which something is most powerful or successful.
Untenable
Not able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection.
Province
A principal administrative position of a country or empire.
Hubris
Excessive pride or self-confidence.
Ostensible
Stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily true.
Affectation
Behaviour, speech, or writing that is pretentious and designed to impress.
Vapid
Offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging; bland.
Curator
A keeper or custodian of a museum or other collection.
Exogenous
Having an external cause or origin.
Touted
Attempt to sell something, typically by a persistent or direct approach.
Flout
Openly disregard.
Mercurial
Given to a sudden or unpredictable change in mood or mind.
Smoulder
Burn slowly with smoke but no flame
Eviscerate
Disembowel
Frottage
Rubbing to against a clothed person to receive sexual pleasure
Ruminate
To think deeply about something for a long period of time
Furrowed
Make a rut or groove. Often used to describe a forehead when someone scowls or makes facial expressions.
Acquiesce
To agree to something but reluctantly.
Expedient
An action that is convenient and practical, but possibly improper/immoral
Debase
To reduce something in quality or value
Auto- (as a prefix)
Self-
Solipsistic
Relating to the theory of solipsism whereby there is the belief that one can only know that the self exists and nothing beyond that. Can be used to describe someone that is selfish/self-centred/ego-centric.
Assimilate
To take in and understand fully (information or ideas).
(of the body or any biological system) absorb and digest (food or nutrients).
Concession
A thing that is granted, especially in response to demands.
“the government was unwilling to make any further concessions”
Insular
Ignorant of or uninterested in cultures, ideas, or peoples outside one’s own experience.
“a stubbornly insular farming people”
Archipelago
An extensive group of islands.
Aberration
A departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically an unwelcome one.
“they described the outbreak of violence in the area as an aberration”
Highfalutin
Pretentious or pompous
