Level 3 Words Flashcards
politesse
politeness
politic
shrewd; wise
slovenly
untidy; sloppy
abeyance
temporary inactivity
abnegate
to deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce
aboriginal
existing since the beginning
abrogate
to get rid of; to abolish
absolve
to forgive or free from blame; to free from sin; to free from an obligation
acquisitive
eager to acquire and possess; greedy
adulation
wild or excessive admiration; flattery
aegis
protection
amortize
to gradually pay off or reduce
antediluvian
ancient; primitive
antipode
the exact opposite
apace
quickly
apocryphal
of dubious authenticity; fictitious; spurious
apothegm
a short, wise remark
apotheosis
elevation to divine status, the perfect example of something
apposite
appropriate
asperity
bad temper
avarice
greed; excessive love of riches
beautify
to bless; to make happy
bespoke
custom made
bloviated
was wordy/windy when speaking
bootless
useless
bowdlerize
to cut out all the offensive parts of a book
bucolic
charmingly rural; rustic; countrylike
byzantine
devious; complicated
chicanery
trickery; deceitfulness; artifice, especially legal or political
compunction
regret, remorse
concupiscence
strong desire, esp. sexual desire
condign
deserved; appropriate
contumacious
disobedient; rebellious
coruscate
sparkle
crepuscular
related to twilight
defenestrate
to quickly throw out
denude
strip bare
depredate
to take by force; to ravage; to ruin
diaphanous
so flimsy as to be see-through
disport
to amuse oneself
draconian
cruelly strict
duplicitous
deceptive
dyspeptic
grumpy
Effete
without strength or vitality; weak; soft
eldritch
weird; eerie
encomium
praise
etiolated
made pale; weakened
exponent
a supporter of something
extirpate
to get rid of completely
foreground
to highlight
fractious
cranky
froward
stubbornly disobedient
fuliginous
obscure; murky; dark
gambol
to happily dance around; to frolic
Grandiloquent
pompous; using a lot of big, fancy words to sound impressive
harbinger
a forerunner of; a signal of.
hidebound
inflexible; ultra-conservative
husbandry
thrifty management of resources; livestock farming
ignominy
a deep disgrace
imbroglio
complicated situation
importune
to nag; to persistently insist
imprimatur
official approval
inchoate
incomplete; formless
ineluctable
inevitable, bound to happen, certain
inimical
unfriendly; hostile
invidious
unpleasantly envious or causing envy
irascible
easily angered or provoked; irritable
jejune
dull; juvenile
jingoism
extreme nationalism; belligerant foreign policy
lachrymose
tearful; mournful
legerdemain
slight of hand; a display of skill
logorrhea
excessive wordiness
macabre
gruesome; horrible
machination
scheming activity for an evil purpose
maelstrom
violently powerful whirlpool
malinger
to pretend to be sick to avoid doing work
mendicant
a beggar
meretricious
falsely attractive
milquetoast
a timid person
minatory
threatening
moribund
dying (usually used in a figurative sense)
nonpareil
having no equal
nonplussed
bewildered or confused
nostrum
a questionable medicine or remedy
nugatory
unimportant
obdurate
stubborn and insensitive
obeisance
a gesture to show respect
obstreperous
uncontrollably noisy
opprobrium
public discrace
paroxysm
an attack, spasm, or outburst
pastiche
an imitation; something made of many things
patois
the speech / slang used by a certain group
penurious
stingy
penury
severe poverty
peremptory
final; categorical; dictatorial; bossy; prone to cutting others off
perfidy
treachery
peripatetic
wandering; traveling continually; itenerant
pernicious
deadly; extremely evil
perquisite
a priviledge that goes along with a job; a “perk”
perspicacious
sharp; clever
pertinacious
stubbornly persistent
phlegmatic
sluggish; unresponsive
picaresque
about someone’s adventures
picayune
unimportant; small-minded
piebald
many-colored; varied
plenipotentiary
fully empowered
predilection
a natural preference for something
prevaricate
to lie
primordial
original; existing since the beginning
profligate
extravagantly wasteful and, usually wildly immoral
progenitors
direct ancestors
prognosticate
to predict
prolix
too long / wordy
promulgate
to proclaim; to publicly or formally declare something
propitious
marked by favorable signs or conditions
protean
varied; versatile
pulchritude
beauty
pusillanimous
cowardly
querelous
complaining; grumbling; whining
quiescent
at rest
quintessential
the most typical; the purest
quixotic
romantic or idealistic to a foolish or impractical degree
quotidian
daily
rancor
bitter, long-lasting ill will or resentment
rancorous
hateful
rarefied
lofty; reserved only for a select few
recalcitrant
stubbornly defiant of authority or control; disobedient
recapitulated
summarized
recidivist
someone who relapsed into crime
recondite
hard to understand; over one’s head
recrudescent
reactivating
refractory
stubborn; unmanageable
refulgent
brightly shining
reprobate
evil
restive
restless; fidgety
retrenchment
a reduction
riposte
a comeback
sangfroid
coolness and composure
scofflaw
a contemptous law-breaker
scotch
to put a sudden end to; to injure
scurrilous
obscenely abusive
sedulous
careful; hardworking; diligent
sententious
using quotable or preachy sayings
sequacious
something that imitates another’s idea
simulacrum
an image or representation of something
skulduggery
tricky or sneaky behavior
sojourn
a temporary stay
solecism
a blunder
solipsistic
being extremely self-centered
somnelent
sleepy
sophistry
deceptive reasoning
soporific
sleep inducing; extremely boring; very sleepy
soupcon
a little bit
spendthrift
someone who spends wastefully
splenetic
bad-tempered
statuesque
attractively tall
stentorian
loud
stultify
to make ineffictive
subversive
corrupting; overthrowing; undermining; insurgent
surreptitious
sneaky; secret
sybarite
one devoted to pleasure
sycophant
a servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people
synoptic
giving a summary
temerity
boldness; recklessness; audacity
tendentious
biased
torpid
sluggish; inactive; apathetic
treacly
overly sweet or sentimental
tremulous
fearful
trepidation
fear; apprehension; nervous trembling
truculent
ready to fight
truncated
shortened
tumid
swollen
turbid
stirred up and made unclear or muddy
turgid
swollen
turpitude
shameful wickedness; depravity
unctuous
oily, both literally and figuratively; insincere
upbraided
criticize severely
vainglorious
boastful
variegated
varied
verboten
forbidden
verisimilitude
similarity to reality; the appearance of truth; looking like the real thing
vertiginous
dizzy or producing dizziness
vitiate
to make impure; to pollute; to impair or degrade
vituperative
criticized harshly
welter
to be in turmoil; to get tossed around
zephyr
a gentle breeze
