Lesson 5 Flashcards
Ardent (adj)
Full of passion and emotion
A pop star’s ARDENT admirers might go so crazy at his concert that they faint from excitement.
Aloof (adj)
Uninterested; showing no concern; emotionally removed or distant
Berate (v)
To rebuke or scold in a harsh tone
A strong verb for harshly cutting someone down with words
Carp (v)
To find fault; to be critical
To carp is to complain and gripe repeatedly, especially about little things. People who carp find fault with almost everything.
Chastise (v)
To punish or scold harshly
a fancy word for telling someone that something they did was really bad
Compliant (adj)
Yielding, submissive
If you are willing to submit to someone’s request, then you are compliant.
Deprecate (v)
To show mild disapproval
to make someone feel unimportant by speaking to them disrespectfully, like seniors who deprecate younger students just for fun.
Detached (adj)
Aloof; indifferent
If something is detached, it stands apart from something else
Ebullient (adj)
Filled with a bubbly excitement, as if boiling over with excitement
Fawning (adj)
Gaining the favor of another by acting overly kind or by using flattery
a FAWNING admirer who just won’t stop complimenting your looks, showering you with gifts and otherwise kissing the ground you walk on.
Impassive (adj)
Lacking emotion or drive
having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited
Indifferent (adj)
Apathetic; showing little or no concern or care
an adjective that refers to a lack of opinion or interest, or being just plain, old, average.
Indolent (adj)
Lazy; not wanting to do any work
Languor (n)
A weak or lifeless feeling
When you are sick or heartbroken and too tired to get out of bed, the listlessness you feel is called languor
Lassitude (n)
A tired feeling, usually resulting from depression or too much work
Lethargic (adj)
Having little or no energy
When you feel lethargic, you don’t have any energy to spare.
Listless (adj)
Lacking interest in something; having little or no energy
Malicious (adj)
Intending to hurt or harm another; spiteful
Nonchalant (adj)
Casual and indifferent; not showing any concern or worry about anything
If your friend is acting cool, unconcerned or in an indifferent manner, call him NONCHALANT
Obsequious (adj)
Fawning or servile
like the teacher’s pet or a celebrity’s assistant
Odious (adj)
Loathsome; evil; revolting in a disgusting way
If something is ODIOUS it’s hateful. If you become a historian of slavery, you’ll learn all the details of that odious trade.
Ominous (adj)
Pertaining to an evil omen; foreboding
an ominous sky or ominous clouds promise rain or a storm.
Phlegmatic (adj)
Slow-moving; unemotional
little dull in expressing feelings or showing emotion.
Rebuff (v)
To snub; to bluntly refuse
A REBUFF can be quite rude, like pretending you don’t hear their question.
Rebuke (v)
To reprimand or scold sharply
Remote (adj)
Emotionally distant and disinterested; uninvolved
far, far away, like a campsite way out in the woods, a distant planet, or the chance you’ll win the lottery.
Reprove (v)
To speak to in a disapproving manner; to scold
It is closer to the verb criticize
Sedentary (adj)
Having to do with sitting around a lot
refers to a person or job that is not very physically active.
Slavish (adj)
Slave-like; overly humble; involving very hard work
Sluggish (adj)
Slow and lazy
An old computer that takes forever to load a piece of software is SLUGGISH
Stagnant (adj)
Lacking movement or energy
lacking movement, stale, and inactive, especially with exaggerated pronunciation, “staaaagnant.”
Stolid (adj)
Lacking emotion or not showing any emotion; stoical
A STOLID person can’t be moved to smile or show much sign of life, in much the same way as something solid
Submissive (adj)
Voluntarily obeying another
When you are SUBMISSIVE, you submit to someone else’s will
Subordinate (adj)
Inferior; lower in rank or status
a SUBORDINATE is someone who works for someone else, and to SUBORDINATE means to place or rank one thing below another.
Subservient (adj)
Obedient; slavish
having the qualities of a servant.
Toady (n)
A flatterer; a suck-up
Upbraid (v)
To scold bitterly
When you UPBRAID people, you scold them, tell them off and criticize them
Virulent (adj)
Extremely poisonous; deadly; full of spiteful hatred
