lesson 16 Flashcards
banal(adj).
boring or ordinary; not interesting.
ex. Her first date wasn’t good because her date continously made banal remarks about the weather.
aura(n).
a certain vibe or energy that is given off by someone.
ex. There was an aura of kindness that surrounded her when he first met her, and that is why they are friends.
bemuse(v).
to cause someone to be confused and often also somewhat amused.
ex. The public seems more bemused by the shenanigans of celebrities than by a war being waged half a world away
cognizant(adj).
aware of something.
ex. He is cognizant of his duties as a father.
conundrum(n).
A confusing or difficult problem.
ex. Historians are continously confused by the conundrum of how ancient people were able to build such massive structures without thd benefit of today’s knowledge and technology.
evanescent(adj).
lasting a very short time
Ex. The nervous impulse is the sudden evanescent glow of an ember continuously black-hot
factotum(n).
a person whose job involves doing many different types of work.
ex. The town’s factotum got his experience from a wide variety of odd jobs in the past.
grandiose(adj).
seeming to be impressive or intended to be impressive but not really possibls or practical.
He had very grandiose dreams; he was just a poor man who wanted to become the king of the land in the future.
induce(v).
to call forth or bring about by influence or stimulation.
ex. No one knows what induced him to leave
intransigent(adj).
completely unwilling to change
ex. He has remained intransigent in his opposition to the proposal.
laudatory(adj).
expressing or containing praise.
ex. The play received mostly laudatory reviews.
panache(n).
an ornamental tuft(as of feathers) especially on a helmet.
picayune(n).
of little value or account, small.
He gave her a picayune amount for the bus fare.
predilection(n).
a tendency to think favorably of something in particular.
ex. Mrs. Carden has a predilection for Bach
promontory(n).
a high area of land or rock that sticks out into the sea.
ex. He stood on the windswept promontory overlooking the bay.
