Lesson 4 Flashcards
Intimidate (vt.)
Syn: to overawe; to make afraid
- Y2K concerns of the problems with computer failed to intimidate our company.
Feint (n.) (vi.)
Syn: a false attack
- The Germans were duped by the allies feint toward the south, leaving the way open for the Normandy invasion.
Alacrity (n.)
Syn: briskness, lively action
- The waiter moved with alacrity because he perceived they were big tippers.
Belligerent (adj.) (n)
Syn: warlike; aggressive
- His belligerent manner caused him to lose one friend after another.
Disdain (vt.) (n)
Syn: belittle
- When the curtain came down the critic’s face registered the disdain she felt for the lackluster play.
To throw down the gauntlet (idiom)
To challenge someone
- The principle of rival school throw down the gauntlet, and we had no choice but to accept the challenge.
Promulgate (vt.)
Syn: to make known officially; make public; proclaim
- We implored the faculty advisor to promulgate the requirements for the presidency of the club.
Brash (adj.)
Syn: impudent
- My mother liked salesman’s brash personality, but he irritated most people.
Scoff (n.) (vi.)
Syn: to sneer at
- I don’t understand modern art, but I neither loathe nor scoff at it.
Pugnacious (adj.)
Syn: quarrelsome
- Since everyone can out punch my cousin he can not afford to be pugnacious.
Belittle (vt.)
Syn: to make seen less important
- Although Ralph can’t play, he doesn’t hesitate to belittle the efforts of our football team.
Feeling no pain (idiom)
Drunk
- After his first drink he was feeling no pain.
Laceration (n.)
Syn: jagged wound
- The medic reached into his kit to find bandage for the ugly laceration.
Tangible (adj.)
Syn: actual, real, touchable
- Mr. Dixon belittled our request for tangible proof of his loyalty.
Castigate (vt.)
Syn: correct; punish
- The kindly foreman was too reticent to openly castigate the clumsy new worker.
Octogenarian (adj.) (n.)
Syn: person in his or her eighties
- When the teenager announced her engagement to the octogenarian, the public suspected it to be publicity stunt.
Sordid (adj.)
Syn: dirty; unclean; ignoble
- stories of the sordid youth poured forth from the unhappy felons.
Hobson’s choice (idiom)
To have no choice at all
- My father usually gives the rest of us Hobson’s choice.
scurrilous (adj.)
Syn: coarse; offensive
- Vigilante censors protect the public from listening to scurrilous language on television.
Aspirant (n.) (adj.)
Syn: candidate for high position, hopeful
- The publisher scoffed at the reports that he was an aspiring for the job of Secretary of State.
Frenzy (n.)
Syn: wild fit
- In a frenzy, the teenager overturned every drawer while searching for the car keys.
Dregs (n.)
Syn: trash; waste; most worthless part
- At the bottom of beautiful wine bottles, only the dregs remained.
Solace (n.) (vt.)
Syn: condolence
- In trying to offer solace to the pilot’s wife, the reporter inadvertently made the situation worse.
To rule the roost (idiom)
Be the boss; lay down the laws
- he rules the roost at home.
