List B4 Flashcards
evanescent
adj. fading from sight; transient
n. evanescence
fulcrum
n. the point on which a lever pivots; a crucial point or agent
flotsam
n. wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on the sea
lambent
adj. flickering, e.g., of a flame or light reflected on a surface
figment
n. something that is created; something that is imagined
petty
adj. having secondary rank or importance
congenial
adj. suited to one’s needs or nature; friendly; sympathetic
pandemic
adj. general, widespread; n. a very widespread disease
recidivist
n. one who returns to criminal habits
martyr
n. one who chooses to die rather than to give up religious beliefs, or who suffers greatly to further a cause
avert
v. to turn away
lacuna
n. an empty space or missing portion
pl. lacunae
opine
v. to express an opinion
inaugurate
v. to formally bring into office at the beginning of a term
n. inauguration
jeremiad
n. an elaborate and lengthy tale of sadness
venal
adj. capable of being bribed or corrupted
n. venality
contempt
n. a feeling that something is low or disgusting
adj. contemptuous
adj. contemptible
analogy
n. a similarity between things that are otherwise dissimilar
n. analogue
adj. analogous
decree
v. to order with the force of law; n. an official order
tacit
adj. unspoken but understood; silent
camaraderie
n. loyalty; a warm, friendly feeling among members of a group
raconteur
n. one who tells stories with skill
hirsute
adj. having excessive body hair
hypocrisy
n. the pretense of having virtues or beliefs that one does not really have
n. hypocrite
adj. hypocritical
preponderance
n. superiority in weight, force, importance or influence
adj. prepnderant
recalcitrant
adj. marked by stubborn defiance of authority or guidance
n. recalcitrance
punctilious
adj. careful about every detail of behavior
obituary
n. a newspaper account of a person’s death, usually including biological information
supercilious
adj. feeling or showing proud contempt
turmoil
n. extreme confusion; uproar
torrid
adj. parched with heat; ardent or passionate
dogmatic
adj. arrogantly asserting unproved principles
n. dogmatism
recrimination
n. a reply to one charge with a countercharge
v. recriminate
viscous
adj. resistant to flow; thick (of a liquid)
n. viscosity
spurious
adj. not genuine; false
revile
v. to attack with harsh language
abeyance
n. a suspension of activity
genesis
n. birth; beginning; origin
amenable
adj. responsive to advice or authority
blasé
adj. indifferent or bored with life; unimpressed as if because of too much worldly experience
pugnacious
adj. belligerent, ready to fight
n. pugnacity
stultify
v. to make absurdly useless, esp. by degrading; to make appear foolish
inert
adj. unable to move or respond; sluggish
n. inertia
subjugate
v. to bring under control; to conquer
n. subjugation
sodden
adj. thoroughly wet, drenched
castigate
v. to criticize severely, esp. in public
convoluted
adj. intricate; complicated
deplore
v. to feel or express strong disapproval of
adj. deplorable
paramount
adj. supreme; ranking higher than others in power or importance
wayward
adj. stubbornly going against what is expected or required in order to satisfy one’s own desires
vestige
n. a trace of something that once existed but has disappeared
pseudonym
n. a fictitious name assumed by an author
adj. pseudonymous
itinerary
n. a route or proposed route for a journey
veritable
adj. being truly named, real or genuine
inconsequential
adj. unimportant
relic
n. a surviving trace of a culture or period that no longer exists
litigant
n. one who is engaged in a lawsuit
v. litigate
n. litigation
adj. litigious
bemuse
v. to confuse or stupefy
n. bemusement
scaffold
n. a temporary platform used in work on a building
mitigate
v. to improve by lessening the severity of
n. mitigation
stringent
adj. imposing strict standards of performance; constricted
n. stringency
reprieve
v. to postpone or cancel punishment
n. reprieve
pore
v. to read or study carefully
assiduous
adj. diligent; hard-working; constant
acquit
v. to declare free of guilt; to clear
n. acquittal
tightfisted
adj. stingy; miserly
woe
n. a deep distress of misery; misfortune
quiescent
adj. inactive, often suggesting a temporary state
n. quiescence
cohesion
n. the act of state of uniting or sticking together
adj. cohesive
utilitarian
adj. stressing practical use over other values
bandy
v. to pass (gossip, rumor, etc.) about freely and carelessly
definitive
adj. complete
fracas
n. a noisy fight
taciturn
adj. almost always silent; not liking to talk
dilemma
n. a situation in which one must choose between two equally bad alternatives
laudable
adj. worthy of praise
v. laud
pertinent
adj. relevant
v. pertain
ramshackle
adj. about to fall apart or fall down
temper
v. to bring down in tone; to moderate; to soften
beset
v. to attack from all sides; to trouble persistently
excavate
v. to expose to view by digging out
n. excavation
tenable
adj. able to be maintained or defended, either in an argument or debate or against an attack
profligate
adj. immorally wasteful
tact
n. skill in dealing with others, esp. in difficult situations
acute
adj. sharp; clever; severe
n. acuity
tabulate
v. to count
n. tabulation
travail
n. painfully difficult work; pain or suffering from mental or physical hardship
abhor
v. to detest; to shrink from the disgust
adj. abhorrent
propitiate
v. to appease or placate
upbraid
v. to criticize sharply, esp. by a figure of authority
quarantine
n. enforced isolation to prevent the spread of disease; v. to isolate for such purpose
ricochet
v. to rebound at least once from a surface
salubrious
adj. favorable to good health
anodyne
n. a pan-filler or anesthetic
uncouth
adj. uncultured; crude
torpid
adj. inactive; sluggish; dormant
n. torpor
epidemioogy
n. the branch of medicine that studies that causes, spread, and control of disease in population
adj. epidemiological
n. epidemiologist
despondent
adj. so sad as to lack all hope
n. despondency
decimate
v. to destroy or kill a large part of (a group)
n. decimation
aggrandize
v. to enlarge; increase in size, power or rank
sanctimonious
adj. pretending holiness; hypocritically devout
n. sanctimony
pusillanimous
adj. cowardly
mar
v. to damage
scapegoat
n. one who takes blame
impasse
n. a dead-end
adj. impassable
beguile
v. to deceive by charm
adj. beguiling
vendetta
n. a bitter feud or quarrel; fight
vagrant
n. a person who wanders from place to p[lace, esp. one who lives on the streets and constitutes a public nuisance
zest
n. hearty enjoyment; flavor or interest
noxious
adj. harmful to health or the mind
impotent
adj. powerless; helpless; ineffective
charade
n. an obvious pretense or deception
resuscitate
v. to revive, esp. from apparent death or unconsciousness
n. resuscitation
static
adj. not moving
n. stasis
scintilla
n. a small amount; a park
refuse
n. garbage
undulate
v. to move in a wave-like motion
n. undulation
specter
n. a ghost; a disturbing image or prospect
adj. spectral
seethe
v. to be violently excited; to boil
suffuse
v. to spread through or over (as with light or color) devout
devout
adj. devoted to religion; sincere
n. devotion
amend
v. to improve through change or ccorrection
n. amends
repartee
n. a quick, witty reply; a series of such replies
unctuous
adj. oily; showing insincere earnestness
rummage
v. to search thoroughly by handling or disarranging the contents of
contiguous
adj. sharing a common boundary; adjoining
n. contiguity
allege
v. to assert to be true, esp. without or before proof
n. allegation
tax
v. to make difficult or excessive demands upon
solace
n. comfort in a time of distress
v. solace
biennial
adj. happening every two years
schema
n. an outline or model, often drawn as a diagram
pl. schemata
negligible
adj. of little value or importance
gullible
adj. easily deceived; credulous
n. gullibility
avid
adj. having a passionate desire
n. avidity
lackadaisical
adj. showing lack of interest of spirit
abyss
n. a deep, bottomless chasm; immeasurable depth
adj. abysmal
transfix
v. to pierce, as with a pointed weapon; to render motionless, as with fear
virulent
adj. extremely infectious or harmful; bitterly hostile
n. virulence
stalwart
adj. firm and resolute; having imposing physical strength
redoubtable
adj. fearsome; formidable
senescent
adj. aging; growing weak with age
purloin
v. to steal, oft. in violation of a trust
adjunct
n. something attached to another in a subordintate position
rampant
adj. unrestrained
municipial
adj. relating to local government
n. municipality
protégé
n. one whose welfare, training, or career is promoted by another person
status quo
n. the existing state of affairs at a particular time
sylvan
adj. characteristic of woods or forests
connive
v. to cooperate secretly in wrongful action
n. connivance
extrapolate
v. to predict by extending known information
n. extrapolation
scenario
n. an outline for a planned series of events, either real or imagined; a summary of a work of fiction
ponder
v. to think over with great care
euphemism
n. the substitution of an agreeable word or phrase to replace one that might offend
adj. euphemistic
legacy
n. something passed down to a descendant
ensconce
v. to settle securely or snugly
credulous
adj. tending to believe too easily
n. credulity
brood
v. to be deep in thought; to think over moodily and at length
codify
v. to organize something (such as laws or rules) into a system
penury
n. lack of money, property, or necessities
manifesto
n. a public declaration of principles, often political
indolent
adj. lazy
n. indolence
dilettante
n. one who engages an art with only superficial skill; an amateur
exposition
n. a statement intended to give background information or to explain something difficult
adj. expository
disinterested
adj. free from bias
meticulous
adj. extremely or excessively careful about details; finicky
relent
v. to become less severe; to give in
edification
n. intellectual or moral improvement; enlightenment
adj. edifying
v. edify
factious
adj. causing dissension
bequeath
v. to pass down to; to hand down, esp. in a will
n. bequest
plenitude
n. fullness in quantity or degree; the state of being full or complete
imbroglio
n. a confused misunderstanding or disagreement
espouse
v. to give loyalty or support to; to adopt
pedestrian
adj. done on foot; ordinary; commonplace
dichotomy
n. division into two contradictory part
adj. dichotomous
effigy
n. a representation of a person or group used esp. to demonstrate hatred
burgeon
v. to sprout or grow rapidly
insurrection
n. a rebellion
jocular
adj. characterized by joking
gourmand
n. a glutton; one who delights in eating well
terse
adj. without necessary words; succinct
adroit
adj. naturally skillful, esp. dealing with difficult circumstances
gainsay
v. to deny; to declare false
feckless
adj. careless; irresponsbile
intransigient
adj. refusing to compromise or agree
appropriate
v. to set apart for a specific use; to take possession of, often without permission
n. appropriation
tautology
n. needless repetition of an idea in different words (e.g., “widow woman”)
strident
adj. loud, shrill, or harshly grating; forcefully assertive or harshly critical
extenuate
v. to lessen the seriousness of, esp. by giving partial excuses
n. extenuation
adj. extenuating
latent
adj. present but hidden; dormant
n. latency
relinquish
v. to surrender or release
gait
n. the manner of moving on foot; rate or manner of proceeding
emblematic
adj. symbolic, representative of more
doldrums
n. an area in the ocean of calm winds; a state of boredom or listlessness
anomaly
n. a departure from the regular pattern
adj. anomalous
ineluctable
adj. unable to be avoided; inescapable
best
v. to defeat
importune
v. to beg desperately and repeatedly
distribe
n. prolonged and bitter speech or writing
bona fide
adj. genuine
countenance
n. appearance, esp. the expression of the face; v. to tolerate
