List A4 Flashcards
excruciating
adj. severely painful
lionize
v. to look upon or treat as a celebrity
venue
n. the location where something takes place, esp. a trial
groggy
adj. confused, sluggish, or dizzy, as from lack of sleep or drunkenness
capitulate
v. to surrender under specific conditions; to give up all resistance
n. capitulation
malady
n. a disease; illness; sickness
blandishment
n. flattering act or remark; allurement; enticement
salient
adj. important, prominent, most noticeable
exemplary
adj. worthy to serve as a model
v. exemplify
just
adj. honorable and fair; consistent with what is right
salutary
adj. beneficial; favorable to health
insensible
adj. not able to feel or perceive; unresponsive
n. insensibility
anachronism
n. something not belonging to a certain time period
adj. anachronistic
proletariat
n. the working class
adj. proletarian
paucity
n. smallness of number; scarcity
distraction
n. mental distress; that which amuses or entertains
v. distract
tract
n. an area of land or water; a brief written work, usually on a religious or political topic
folible
n. a minor weakness of character
colloquial
adj. appropriate to spoken, as opposed to written, language; informal
obstinate
adj. unreasonably stubborn
n. obstinacy
affected
adj. behaving in an artificial way to impress people
n. affectation
collateral
adj. parallel; serving to support; of a secondary nature
weather
v. to survive
vocation
n. a regular occupation, esp. one for which a person is particularly suited
lament
v. to grieve; to regret deeply; n. a mournful song
n. lamentation
incipent
adj. beginning to appear or be noticed
ewe
n. a female sheep, esp. when full grown
disciple
n. a follower of another who helps to spread teachings
macabre
adj. suggesting the horror of death
circumspect
adj. showing discretion and careful judgment
n. circumspection
desideratum
n. something needed and wanted
exorbitant
adj. excessive
n. exorbitance
lucid
adj. easily understood, clear
n. lucidity
gambit
n. a calculated, risky opening move
impertinent
adj. rude
n. impertinence
subsequent
adj. happening afterward; following in order
bungle
v. to handle badly; to botch or mess up
cite
v. to refer to or quote
n. citation
pugilist
n. a boxer
crass
adj. dull-witted; unrefined
captious
adj. critically faultfinding
deem
v. to have as an opinion; to consider
disabuse
v. to free from error or falsehood
reverberate
v. to reecho
n. reverberation
conception
n. formation of an idea in the mind; the start of pregnancy
v. conceive
unseemly
adj. not decent or proper
eddy
n. a current, as of water or air, moving contrary to the direction of the main current, esp. in a circular motion
oracle
n. a person thought to be a source of wisdom or prophecy
adj. oracular
shambles
n. utter disorder
stationary
adj. not moving
sloth
n. laziness
smirk
v. to smile in a self-satisfied or artificial way
medley
n. a mixture of things not usually placed together
ritual
n. a ceremonial act; a customary procedure
savant
n. a well-educated person; a scholar
sybarite
n. one devoted to luxury
adj. sybaritic
oaf
n. a stupid, clumsy person
morose
adj. sour tempered and inclined to be silent
phase
n. a stage in a process of change or development
ornate
adj. highly, often excessively decorated
benevolent
adj. characterized by doing good
n. benevolence
genre
n. a kind, or type
fodder
n. feed for livestock; a resource
didactic
adj. intended to teach; inclined to teach excessively
n. didact; n. didacticism
soliloquy
n. a dramatic speech delivered by a character to himself
confound
v. to mix up or lump together indiscriminately; to confuse
liable
adj. legally obligated; likely (w/ reference to an unfavorable outcome)
glean
v. to gather bit by bit
plebeian
adj. common
painstaking
adj. very thorough; careful
cavalier
adj. casual, disdainful
inculcate
v. to teach or impress by frequent repetition; to instill
courteous
adj. polite and gracious; considerate toward others; well-mannered
domineer
v. to rule over arbitrarily or tyrannically
squalid
adj. having a dirty or lowly appearance
n. squalor
inverterate
adj. established for a long time; habitual
incarcerate
v. to restrict by imprisonment; to keep in prison
n. incarceration
conflagration
n. large, disastrous fire
assail
v. to attack; to assault
n. assailant
altristic
adj. unselfish; benevolent; caring more for others than oneself
n. altruist; n. altruism
copious
adj. very plentiful
compel
v. to cause to occur by pressure; to force
n. compulsion
laconic
adj. brief in speech; using few words
destitution
n. the lack of any means of subsistence
adj. desititute
hoax
n. an act meant to trick or fool
emancipate
v. to give freedom; to set loose
n. emancipation
dirge
n. slow, sad music, esp. a funeral hymn
emaciated
adj. made thin unnaturally; abnormally thin due to starvation
n. emaciation
incredulous
adj. disbelieving; skeptical
n. incredulity
hovel
n. a living place that is very filthy and dirty
obstreperous
adj. noisily and stubbornly defiant
dour
adj. stern and humorless; silently ill-humored
digest
n. a collection of previously published material,, usu. in a condensed form
emanate
v. to send forth; to come forth n. emanation
fauna
n. animals as a group, esp. of a specified region or time
ado
n. trouble; fuss
defile
v. to corrupt; to desecrate or sully
inception
n. commencement; beginning; origin
mogul
n. a rich or powerful person
immaculate
adj. perfectly clean
eulogy
n. a speech or written tribute in praise of someone who has died
v. eulogize
turbulence
n. commotion or wild disorder
adj. turbulent
overweening
adj. excessively arrogant; overbearing
impel
v. to push something into motion
querulous
adj. inclined to find fault; complaining; full of complain
exhume
v. to dig up out of the ground
n. exhumation
diligent
adj. painstaking and steady
n. diligence
spendthrift
n. one who spends money wastefully
precept
n. a rule of action or conduct
concur
v. to agree
daily
v. to waste time; loiter
paroxysm
n. a sudden convulsion or outburst, a fit
martinet
n. one who is strict in discipline, and enjoys authority too much
leeway
n. margin; room for freedom of action
glutton
n. one who eats too much
n. gluttony
teeming
adj. overfilled; crowded; pouring out
v. teem
despoil
v. to deprive something of value
mare
n. a female horse
naive
adj. simple, childlike; lacking worldly wisdom
primordial
adj. living or existing at the very beginning
ruthless
adj. having no compassion or pity
profuse
adj. giving or pouring forth freely; generous
n. profusion
quash
v. to suppress completely
benefactor
n. one who helps and supports others
insolent
adj. boldly disrespectful in speech or behavior; impertinent; imprudent
n. insolence
obese
adj. very fat
n. obesity
furtive
adj. characterized by secretive behavior
petulant
adj. impatient or irritable, esp. over a minor annoyance
n. petulance
resolute
adj. firmly determined
n. resolution
surfeit
n. an excess
ascetic
adj. self-denying
n. asceticism
calumny
n. a false and malicious statement; slander
adj. calumnious
v. calumniate
orthodox
adj. accepting the usual beliefs, esp. religious
n. orthodoxy
dregs
n. the worst part; the sediment in a liquid
intercept
v. to stop something from reaching its intended destination
hearsay
n. rumor gossip
deficient
adj. lacking an essential quality; inadequate in amount or degree
irk
v. to irritate or be wearisome
pauper
n. one who is extremely poor, esp. one living on public charity
epiphany
n. a sudden flash of understanding
adj. epiphanous
burnish
v. to polish
sadistic
adj. getting pleasure from inflicting physical or psychological pain
fray
n. a fight or brawl
cynical
adj. distrusting others from a sense that everyone’s motives are selfish
n. cynic; n. cynicism
edifice
n. a building; architectural monument
profess
v. to declare or claim openly
pernicious
adj. very harmful or destructive
jest
v. to be playful in speech and actions; to joke
n. jester
chaos
n. complete disorder
adj. chaotic
correlate
v. to correspond; to be mutually related
correlation
abstruse
adj. difficult to understand
dissonant
adj. harsh and disagreeable in sound
n. dissonance
advocate
v. to speak in support of something
n. advocacy
hubris
n. excessive pride
fiasco
n. a major disaster
philanthropic
adj. donating to charity
n. philanthropist; n. philanthropy
disdain
n. a feeling of contempt
adj. disdainful
resolve
v. to decide; to bring into focus
n. resolution
wield
v. to handle (for example a tool); to exert (for example power)
rankle
v. to cause persistent irritation
aegis
n. a protection; sponsorship
advent
n. a coming or arrival, esp. of something very important
shoddy
adj. inferior or cheap
alleviate
v. to reduce pain, esp. temporarily or without removing its cuase
prone
adj. tending or likely to do something; lying face down
progeny
n. children or descendants
ethics
n. the standards or rules governing proper conduct
adj. ethical
novel
adj. strikingly new
n. novelty
plastic
adj. capable of being shaped or molded; easily influenced
savor
v. to taste or smell, esp. with pleasure; n. the taste or smell
demote
v. to reduce to lower rank
daunt
to make afraid; to intimidate
adj. daunting
scathing
adj. very harsh in something, like a remark
rout
n. an overwhelming defeat; a disorderly retreat or flight following a defeat; v. to defeat overwhelmingly
malign
v. to talk badly of something or someone; adj. harmful
mimic
v. to copy closely, esp. with intent to ridicule
n. mimicry
inadvertent
adj. unintentional; accidental
beckon
v. to signal or summon, as by nodding or waving
bizarre
adj. very odd in manner; grotesque; strange
resonant
adj. strong and deep in tone
n. resonance
neologism
n. a new word or phrase
badger
v. to nag
libertine
n. one who lives an immoral life
prestige
n. fame or importance based on reputation or achievements
adj. prestigious
stifle
v. to suffocate or smother
adj. stifling
articulate
adj. able to express oneself clearly and effectively
grandiloquent
adj. using excessively fancy or pompous words
trifle
n. something that lacks significance or worth
adj. trifling
prospect
n. the outlook for the future; a view, esp. of scenery
confer
v. to consult; to present as a gift or honor
conspicuous
adj. easy to notice; obvious; apparent
deadlock
n. a tie; a standstill
debilitated
adj. showing impairment of energy or strength
v. debilitate
n. debility
douse
v. to wet thoroughly
predicament
n. a troublesome or embarrassing situation
autonomy
n. independence; self-government
adj. autonomous
cognition
n. the process of knowing; perception
adj. cognitive
catharsis
n. purging of the emotions
adj. cathartic
flourish
v. to blossom; to grow vigorously; to prosper
elocution
n. the art of public speaking, with attention to delivery
