List B2 Flashcards
homogeneous
adj. uniform; of the same kind
hypothesis
n. a tentative explanation; something assumed true for the sake of argument or investigation
adj. hypothetical
vanguard
n. leading position in army or fleet; the leading position in a movement or trend
prominent
adj. noticeable; widely known
abscond
v. to go away hastily and secretly; to hide
coin
v. to devise a new word or phrase
aback
adv. by surprise
zenith
n. maximum; the highest point
amicable
adj. showing friendliness or good will
recondite
adj. not easily understood
fete
n. lavish entertainment; a festival
implicate
v. to incriminate; to show or suggest involvement
contradict
v. to assert the opposite of (a statement)
n. contradiction
adj. contradictory
ominous
adj. threatening harm; showing evil
disseminate
v. to scatter widely; (of information) to make known
n. dissemination
criterion
n. a measurable value; a standard for judging
pl. criteria
gregarious
adj. seeking and enjoying the company of others; tending to move in a group
concerted
adj. planned or accomplished together
prodigy
n. one with exceptional talents
flank
n. the side of the body (between the ribs and hips); a cut of meat feom an animal’s flank; v. to attack the side of; to protect the side of; to be situated on both sides
v. to flank
acumen
n. quickness and accuracy of judgment or insight
coincide
v. to occur at the same time or be at the same place; to agree exactly
delineate
v. to draw the outline of of; describe in words or gestures
n. delineation
grisly
adj. inspiring horror because of appalling crudity or inhumanity; gruesome
plight
n. sad situation
malevolent
adj. showing hatred; dangerous
n. malevolence
multifarious
adj. having many different parts or forms; numerous and varied
heterodox
adj. not in agreement with accepted beliefs, esp. religious dogma
canvass
v. to ask for votes, opinions, etc.; to examine or discuss in detail
impede
v. to obstruct
n. impediment
accord
n. agreement
n. accordance
redress
v. to set right; to remedy
concede
v. to acknowledge as true
n. concession
licentious
adj. not moral; lawless; lewd
exude
v. to five off; to emit; to radiate
impugn
v. to challenge; to call into question
shroud
v. to conceal; n. something that covers
disclose
v. to reveal
n. disclosure
fulminate
v. to issue a strong verbal attack
n. fulmination
exult
v. to rejoice greatly
adj. exultant
n. exultation
tally
v. to count; to add
fortitude
n. strength of mind that allows one to endure adversity
hackneyed
adj. made trite and commonplace by overuse
tenuous
adj. weak; thin
fatuous
adj. smugly foolish; complacently stupid
n. fatuity
symposium
n. a meeting to discuss a topic, esp. where the participants form the audience and make presentations
pl. symposia
secede
v. to withdraw formally from an alliance or membership
n. secession
bathos
n. an excessive or trivial sentimentality; an abrupt transition in style from the elevated to the commonplace, producing a laughable effect
refurbish
v. to make clean or bright again
confluence
n. joining together of different streams
overwrought
adj. extremely nervous or excited
recapitulate
v. to summarize; to paraphrase
sedulous
adj. working hard and steadily; diligent
transparent
adj. obvious; undisguised
n. transparency
rhapsody
n. a state of great happiness; such a state expressed in speech or writing
adj. rhapsodic
v. rhapsodize
self-abnegation
n. the putting aside of personal interest for the sake of others
adj. self-abnegating
punitive
adj. inflicting or intended to inflict punishment
somnolent
adj. sleepy
abjure
v. to renounce under oath; to give up or deny
hone
v. to sharpen; to make more effective
sardonic
adj. bitterly sneering; mocking
subtle
adj. not immediately obvious; hard to understand
n. subtlety
debase
v. to make lower in value, quality, or character
slipshod
adj. marked by carelessness or casual attention to detail; sloppy
bureaucracy
n. a group of officials and administrators, esp. of a government
n. bureaucrat
adj. bureaucratic
nirvana
n. a place of ideal peace and harmony
proclivity
n. a natural or habitual tendency or inclination
canny
adj. clever and cautious
refractory
adj. stubbornly resistant to control, authority, or treatment
tremulous
adj. shaking; fearful
intricate
adj. elaborately detailed
n. intricacy
raze
v. to demolish; to flatten to ground level
opprobium
n. a bad reputation or disgrace gained after a specific action
pariah
n. a social outcast
pantheon
n. all the gods of a people; a group highly respected in a field
scourge
n. a cause of widespread suffering
abound
v. to be plentiful
coy
adj. bashful; shy; quiet; pretending to be shy
resign
v. to accept a bad situation
n. resignation
feat
n. an act or accomplishment showing skill
primate
n. a bishop of highest rank in a country or province
reverie
n. a daydream
umbrage
n. offense; resentment
auditory
adj. relating to the sense of hearing
propensity
n. a natural inclination; a tendency
rejoinder
v. an answer, esp. to another answer
defame
v. to attack a person’s reputation; to slander
n. defamation
renegade
n. someone who rejects one group, cause, or allegiance for another
humdrum
adj. dull; routine; commonplace
solicit
v. to ask for; to seek
n. solicitation
sojourn
n. a brief visit
truculent
adj. inclined to fight; expressing violence of hostility
n. truculence
perspicacious
adj. having keen perception or understanding
n. perspicacity
moribund
adj. approaching death; nearly obsolete
heresy
n. deviation from church doctrine or from an established belief
adj. heretical
credible
adj. capable of being believed
n. credibility
poise
n. self-assurance; composure; equilibrium
bellicose
adj. warlike
oscillate
v. to move back and forth regularly
n. oscillation
recreant
adj. showing faithless disloyalty; n. a disloyal coward
mandarin
n. a high government official; a member of an elite group, esp. having high status in intellectual or cultural circles
prevalent
adj. dominant; widespread
mayhem
n. deliberate injury of someone, esp. maiming; a state of violent chaos
obtrude
v. to push forward; to impose (oneself or ideas) on others
adj. protrusive
convey
v. to carry or transmit; to communicate
pervade
v. to spread through or be present throughout
adj. pervasive
forte
n. something at which a person excels
mercenary
adj. greedy; motivated; motivated by desire for money
parsimony
n. excessive care in spending; stinginess
adj. parsimonious
pedantic
adj. putting unnecessary stress on minor or purely academic knowledge
n. pedant
precursor
n. someone or something that comes before another and announces or suggests what is to come
sententious
adj. expressing much in few words; given to pompous moralizing
opaque
adj. not letting in light; unintelligible
n. opacity
passé
adj. old fashioned; out-of-style
manacles
n. shackles; handcuffs
nonpareil
adj. having no equal
n. nonpareil
oust
v. to eject or expel
commence
v. to begin
n. commencement
mesmerize
v. to hypnotize or spellbind
menagerie
n. a collection of wild and strange animals kept in cages
pious
adj. exhibiting reverence and religious observation
adj. piety
venture
v. to take a risk; to dare; to dare to go
nascent
adj. coming into being; being born
docile
adj. easy to teach; submissive
n. docility
millennium
n. a period of 1,000 years
adj. millennial; pl. millennia
obliging
adj. ready to do favors; helpful; courteous
whimsical
adj. not able to be predicted; constantly changing
n. whimsy
nomenclature
n. a specialized list of terms, words or names
redeem
v. to turn in and receive something in exchange; to make up for
n. redemption
pronounced
adj. strongly marked; clearly indicated
patent
adj. obvious; evident
venerate
v. to look upon with respect and honor
n. veneration
reprehensible
adj. deserving to be severely criticized
harrowing
adj. very distressing; painful
acoustics
n. science of sound; quality that makes a room easy or hard to hear in
collaborate
v. to work together, esp. at an intellectual effort
n. collaboration
rectitude
n. conduct according to moral principles
panacea
n. a cure-all or an all-purpose solution
squander
v. to spend wastefully
subservient
adj. subordinate in function; obsequious
capsize
v. to overturn
shiftless
adj. lazy; lacking ambition
raucous
adj. loud and harsh
assert
v. to state confidently
n. assertion
adj. assertive
surmise
v. to infer something by intuition or with slender evidence; n. such an inference
objective
adj. having actual existence or reality; not influenced by emotion or personal prejudice
tamper
v. to interfere, esp. in order to damage or weaken
eschew
v. to avoid; to shun
tractable
adj. easily managed or controlled
ant. intractable
fortuitous
adj. occurring by chance (either positive or negative)
notorious
adj. having a bad reputation
n. notoriety
travesty
n. an imitation that makes a serious thing seem ridiculous
sycophant
n. one who seeks favor by flattery people of wealth or influence
adj. sycophantic
fertile
adj. producing abundantly; prolific
n. fertility
appease
v. to satisfy or attempt to satisfy demands by granting concessions
inept
adj. without skill; absurd or foolish
n. ineptitude
secrete
v. to put or keep in a hiding place; to conceal
entrepreneur
n. a person who starts and manages a business
adj. entrepreneural
saunter
v. to walk in a leisurely manner
rapture
n. the experience of great joy, ecstasy
adj. rapturous
obscure
adj. lacking light; dim; dark
n. obscurity
wheedle
v. to persuade or obtain through flattery or cunning
grandeur
n. magnificence; splendor
reiterate
v. to repeat
prodigious
adj. wonderful; amazing; very big
alloy
n. a mixture, esp. of two or more metals
scoff
v. to make fun of; to ridicule
gaudy
adj. characterized by tasteless or showy colors
surreptitious
adj. done secretly, often of something unseemly or unethical
circumvent
v. to go around; bypass; to surround
metamorphosis
n. a transformation, as by magic; a marked change in appearance or function
v. metamorphose
malicious
adj. spiteful
n. malice
symbiotic
adj. involving a close relationship of mutual dependence
n. symbiosis
stentorian
adj. extremely loud
propaganda
n. material distributed by those in favor of a specific cause and reflecting their point of view
frolic
v. to behave playfully and without inhibition
quiver
v. to shake; to tremble from fear or cold
juxtapose
v. to put side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast
n. juxtaposition
zephyr
n. a gently, soft breeze
bawdy
adj. indecent or humorously coarse; lewd
futile
adj. having no useful result
n. futility
acronym
n. a word created by initials
agenda
n. a list of things to be done
vivacious
adj. full of animation
emissary
n. a person sent on a mission to represent another
surrogate
n. a substitute
vituperative
adj. harshly critical
n. vituperation
v. vituperate
regress
v. to return to a previous state
byzantine
adj. highly complicated or intricate, characterized by devious plotting
dogged
adj. refusing to give up despite difficulties
contentious
adj. always ready to argue; quarrlesome
abate
v. to lessen in amount, intensity, or strength
n. abatement
glee
n. joy; happiness
wily
adj. full of cunning
wizened
adj. wrinkled from aging
trenchant
adj. keen and forceful; caustic
agitate
v. to move violently; to disturb
n. agitation
aspersion
n. a remark that attacks one’s reputation
v. asperse
conjure
v. to summon or influence by, or as if by, magic
unfledged
adj. not yet grown; immature; undeveloped
