Lesson 14 Flashcards
Nettle (n.) (vt.)
Syn: irritate; incense; annoy
- Although the comic’s quips seemed to be mild, the began to nettle the nightclub’s owner.
Aspire (vi.)
Syn: to strive for; hope; dream
- I had a premonition that Eli would aspire to the position of captain.
Inveigh (vi.)
Syn: attack verbally; abuse
- The pickets agreed to inveigh the law that curtailed their freedom.
Overt (adj.)
Syn: open; apparent; obvious; evident
- Overt acts of violence by the prisoner jeopardized his parole.
Relegate (vt.)
Syn: assign to an inferior position; put down
- When they tried to relegate the star to a minor role she was furious.
To bury the hatchet (idiom.)
To make peace
- After not speaking to each other for a year, they decided to bury the hatchet.
Supine (adj.)
Syn: lying on the back
- From a supine position, the hunter emitted the animal’s mating call.
Raze (vt.)
Syn: destroy; ruin; tear down
- Following the revolution, the people raze the subterranean dungeons of the dictator.
Repulse (n.) (vt.)
Syn: drive back; defeat; refuse
- Management is sure to repulse any request for increased remuneration.
Mammoth (n.) (adj.)
Syn: huge; massive; giant
- Mammoth placards announced the opening of new movie.
Havoc (n.)
Syn: ruin; damage; destruction
- The virulent plague caused havoc among the populace.
Philadelphia lawyer (idiom.)
A lawyer of outstanding ability
- His case is so hopeless that it would take a Philadelphia lawyer to set him free.
Incisive (adj.)
Syn: acute; piercing; sharp
- Our editor castigated the proposal with his incisive commentary.
Scurry (n.) (vi.)
Syn: run hastily; hurry
- Poe’s hero watched the rats scurry across his inert body.
Lethal (adj.)
Syn: deadly; dangerous; mortal
- The jockey received a lethal kick from the fractious horse.
Precipitate (vi.) (vt.)
Syn: hasten; quicken
- A quarrel was precipitated among the relatives after they heard the terms of the reprehensible will.
Stereotype (n.)
Syn: unvarying pattern; cliche
- The laconic Clint Eastwood was a stereotype of the strong, silent western hero.
To gild the lily (idiom.)
Syn: to praise extravagantly
- There was no need for the announcer to gild the lily, because we could see how beautiful the model was.
Sinecure (n.)
Syn: soft job
- The director was ousted from his sinecure when he angered the mayor.
Stentorian (adj.)
Syn: loud; strong; powerful
- In his customary stentorian tones, the sergeant reprimanded those who thought the army was a haven for incompetents.
Valor (n.)
Syn: courage; daring; fearlessness; bravery
- The word “surrender” is anathema to people of valor.
Singular (adj.)
Syn: extraordinary; outstanding
- A viable peace was brought about as a result of the diplomat’s singular contribution.
Bias (n.) (vt.)
Syn: prejudice
- The bigot’s bias precipitated a fistfight.
To steal one’s thunder (idiom.)
Syn: to weeken one’s position by stating the argument before that person does.
- I had planned to be the first to resign from the club, but my cousin stole my thunder.
