Level 2A Words Flashcards
abase
to humiliate or degrade
abash
to make ashamed; to embarrass
abate
to subside; to reduce
aberration
something not typical; a deviation from the standard
abhor
to hate very, very much; to detest
abject
hopeless; extremely sad and serville; defeated; utterly bummed out
abomination
something awful
abound
to be numerous
abysmal
extremely hopeless or wretched; awful; bottomless
accede
to express approval for; to give into
acerbic
bitter; sour; severe
acrimonious
full of spite; bitter; nasty
acumen
keenness of judgement; mental sharpness
admonish
to scold gently; to warn
adorned
decorated
adroit
skillful; dexterious; clever; shrewd; socially at ease
adulterate
to contaminate; to make impure
affable
easy to talk to; friendly
affectation
unnatural or artificial behavior, usually intended to impress
aggrandized
made greater; enhanced
aghast
struck by fear or amazement
algorithm
a mathematical formula or procedure
alleviate
to relieve, usually temporarily or incompletely; to make bearable; to lessen
altruism
selflessness; generosity; devotion to the interests of others
amalgam
a mixture of different things
amalgamate
unify; join parts into a whole
ameliorate
to make better or more tolerable
amenable
obedient; willing to give in to the wishes of another; agreeable
amicable
amicable = politely friendly, not hostile
anachronism
something out of place in time or history; an incongruity
anathema
something hated; a curse
annotation
a comment or note on a literary work
antithesis
the direct opposite
apartheid
the abhorrent policy of racial segregation and oppression in the Republic of South Africa
aplomb
confidence
apoplectic
enraged
apportion
to divide and distribute
approbation
approval; praise
arch
sassy
arduous
hard; difficult
artifice
a clever trick; cunning
artless
simple; without cunning
ascendency
supremacy; domination
aspersion
a false claim intended to harm
assail
to attack violently
assiduous
hardworking; busy; quite diligent
assuage
to soothe; to pacify; to ease the pain of; to relieve
astute
shrewd; keen in judgement
august
majestic
auspicious
favorable; promising; pointing to a good result
autocrat
an all-powerful ruler
automaton
one who acts in a robotic way
avuncular
like an uncle, especially a nice uncle
bauble
a small, inexpensive piece of jewelry or toy
beautific
extremely happy
bedlam
a state of uproar and confusion
beguile
to trick
behemoth
something huge
belie
to give a false impression of; to contradict
belligerent
combative; quarrelsome; waging war
bemoan
to mourn over; to express grief for
beneficence
the quality of being kind or charitable
bereft
deprived or left desolate, especially through death
bifurcated
split in two
bilious
bad-tempered
bludgeon
to hit forcefully
brusque
abrupt; curt; harsh
bumptious
assertive in a loud, arrogant way
burgeon
to expand; to flourish
buttress
a support
bygone
past
cacophany
harsh sounding mixture of words, voices, or sounds
calamitous
related to a terrible event
callous
unsympathetic; hard-hearted
camraderie
togetherness
capacious
spacious
capitulate
to surrender; to give up or give in
capricious
unpredictable; likely to change at any moment
captious
overly critical
cardinal
of main importance
castigate
to criticize severely; to chastise
caterwaul
to cry or to complain loudly
celerity
accelerate
censure
to condemn severely for doing something bad
cerebral
brainy; intellectually refined
chagrin
humiliation; embarrassed disappointment
champion
to fight for
chary
very cautious
chide
to scold
choleric
hot-tempered; quick to anger
circuitous
roundabout; not following a direct path
circumspect
cautious
circumvent
to frustrate as though by surrounding; avoids; gets around something
clandestine
secret; sneaky; concealed and, usually, up to no good
clemency
mercy; forgiveness; mildness
cloying
gross because it’s too much
cocksure
overconfident
coddle
to treat with excessive care
coerced
forced
cognizant
aware; conscious
commiserate
to sympathize with
companionable
sociable; friendly
complicit
having helped with a crime
complicity
participation in wrongdoing; the act of being an accomplice
concord
harmony; agreement
conflagration
a fire
conflate
to confuse
conscientious
driven by the urge to do what’s right; careful
consternation
confusion; agitation; dismay
conundrum
a difficult problem
conversant
familiar with
corroborate
to confirm; to back up with evidence
cosmopolitan
at home in many places or situations; internationally sophisticated
countenance
face; facial expression, especially an encouraging one
covert
secret; hidden
cowed
intimidated
crestfallen
dejected; depressed
culpable
deserving blame; guilty
curtail
to shorten; to cut short
dearth
lack; scarcity
debilitate
to weaken; to cripple
decimate
to kill or destroy a large part of
declaimed
spoke loudly and self-importantly
decorous
proper; in good taste; orderly
decrepit
worn-out; run-down
decried
expressed strong disapproval about
defamatory
hurting someone’s reputation
defame
to libel or slander; to ruin the good name of
defunct
no longer existing
deleterious
harmful
demagogue
a leader of the people, but more a rabble rouser; a leader who gains power by trickery
demarcate
to define; to set apart
denigrate
to attack the reputation of or to put down
deride
to ridicule; to laugh at contemptuously
descry
to catch sight of; to discover
desecrate
to violate something sacred
despoiled
stripped of value
despot
an absolute ruler; an autocrat
dessicate
to dry out
dessicated
dried out
diatribe
an angry speech
didactic
intended to teach; morally instructive; pedantic
diffident
timid; lacking in self-confidence
dilatory
tending to procrastinate
dint
force; power
discomfit
to embarrass or confuse
disconcert
to confuse or frustrate
discriminate
to notice or point out the difference between two or more things; to discern; to differentiate
disgruntled
displeased
disparage
to belittle; to say uncomplimentary things about, usually in a somewhat indirect way
dispatch
speed; efficiency
disputatious
inclined to argue
dissemble
to mislead, hide, or conceal
disseminate
to spread the seeds of something; to scatter; to make widely known
distend
to swell; to extend a great deal
distension
swelling
divisive
creating disunity
docile
easily taught; obedient; easy to handle; calm, even-tempered
doggedness
stubborn determination
doggerel
poorly written verse
dogmatic
arrogantly assertive of unproven ideas; stubbornly claiming that something (often a system of beliefs) is beyond dispute
dour
gloomy; stern
droll
funny
Ebullient
boiling; bubbling with excitement; exuberant
Eclectic
choosing the best from many sources; drawn from many sources.
Efficacious
effective
Effusion
a pouring forth
Effusive
extremely expressive
Egalitarian
believing in the social and economic equality of all people
Egregious
extremely bad; flagrant
embroiled
in a difficult situation
embryonic
in an early stage
emollient
soothing
emphatic
forceful
encroach
to make gradual or stealthy inroads into; to trespass
enervate
to reduce the strength or energy of, especially to do so gradually
enmity
hatred
ennui
dissatisfaction or restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
entreat
to plead
equivocal
ambiguous; intentionally confusing; capable of being interpreted in more than one way
eradicate
to wipe out
eschew
to avoid
espouse
to support; to advocate
espy
to glimpse; to catch sight of
estimable
worthy
estranged
separated in a negative way
ethereal
heavenly; as light and insubstantial as a gas or ether
eulogy
a tribute or praise for someone or something
evanescent
fleeting; vanishing; happening for only the briefest period
evinced
revealed
exacting
extremely demanding; difficult; requiring great skill or care
exculpated
freed from blame
exonerate
to free completely from blame; to exculpate
exorbitant
excessive
expatriate
to throw (someone) out of his or her native land; to move away from one’s native land; to emigrate
expedient
providing an immediate advantage; serving one’s immediate self-interest; practical
expunge
to get rid of
extant
present or existing (opposite of extinct)
farce
mockery or a ridiculous satire
fastidious
meticulous; demanding; finicky
fatuous
foolish; silly; idiotic
fawning
kissing up to
feckless
weak; worthless; irresponsible
fecund
fertile; productive
ferret
to bring to light; to uncover
fervor
great warmth or earnestness; ardor; zeal
festoon
to decorate
fetid
bad-smelling
filial
like a son or daughter
finagled
obtained, often through trickery or indirect methods
fitful
irregular; intermittent
flippant
lacking respect or seriousness
florid
overly decorated; reddish
flotilla
a fleet of ships
flounder
to move clumsily or in confusion
flouted
treated without respect
flummoxed
confused
foible
a minor character flaw
forbear
to refrain from; to abstain
fortitude
strength
fortuitous
accidental; occurring by chance
fracas
a noisy brawl
fraternize
to be friendly with
frenetic
frantic; frenzied
fruition
a productive result
fulsome
abundant, sometimes disgustingly so
funereal
like a funeral
furor
an outburst of rage or excitement
furtive
secretive; sly
Gainsay
to deny
Gallant
Courageous; noble
Gambit
a move made to try to gain an advantage
garble
to make hard to understand
gargantuan
enormous
Garrulous
talkative; chatty
gauche
awkward
genial
good-natured
germinate
to grow or cause to grow
glacial
slow and/or cold
glancing
indirect
glowered
look at with anger
Glut
a surplus; an overabundance
Grandiose
absurdly exaggerated
grasping
excessively greedy
grating
irritating
gravitas
powerful seriousness
Gregarious
sociable; enjoying the company of others
grouse
to complain
grovel
to act like an unworthy servant by crawling or lowering oneself
gumption
drive; initiative
guttural
strange and unpleasant sounding
hackneyed
overused; trite; stale
haggard
worn-out looking
halcyon
happy; peaceful; prosperous
hallowed
sacred
harangue
a ranting lecture; an aggressive lecture. Verb = to lecture at length in an aggressive and critical manner.
hermetic
impervious to external influence; airtight
heyday
golden age; prime
hiatus
a break or inturruption, often from work
hirsute
hairy
histrionic
overaly dramatic; theatrical
homespun
simple; unpretentious
hubris
excessive pride or self-confidence
idiosyncrasy
a peculiarity; an eccentricity
idyllic
charming in a rustic way; naturally peaceful
illiberal
narrow-minded
imperious
dominant in an kingly way
impetuous
impulsive; extremely impatient
impregnable
unconquerable; impenetrable
impugn
to attack, especially to attack the truth or integrity of something
inane
silly; senseless
incense
to make very angry
incisive
cutting right to the heart of the matter; sharp; direct
incoherent
unclear
incredulous
extremely skeptical
indigenous
native to an area; originating in that area.
indomitable
unconquerable
industrious
hard-working
ineffable
incapable of being expressed or described
inexorable
relentless; inevitable; unavoidable
infinitesimal
very, very, very small; infinitely small
ingenious
extremely clever
ingenuous
frank; without deception; simple; artless; charmingly naïve
inimitable
not capable of being imitated
innate
existing since birth; inborn; inherent
innocuous
harmless; banal
inordinate
excessive; unreasonable
insipid
dull; bland; banal
insular
like an island; isolated; narrow-minded
interloper
one who intrudes
inundate
to flood; to cover completely with water; to overwhelm
inviolate
pure; intact
jocose
given to joking
judicious
exercising sound judgment
juggernaut
something very powerful
kindle
to start; to stir up
kismet
fate
kowtow
to kiss up to
lackadasical
without energy or spirit
