lit vocab 6 Flashcards
insidious
proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects
e.g. sexual harassment is a serious and insidious problem.
preclude
prevent from happening; make impossible
e.g. the secret nature of his work precluded official recognition.
onerous
involving a great deal of effort, trouble, or difficulty e.g. onerous duties
visceral
relating to deep feelings rather then intellect;
intuitive, felt deeply in the guts
e.g. a visceral performance
e.g. a visceral hatred towards egg salad
murky
- dark and gloomy, especially due to thick mist
- (of liquid) dark and dirty; not clear
- obscure or morally questionable e.g. a government minister with a murky past.
imbibe
fancy word for drink
2. absorb or assimilate e.g. imbibe culture
fortitude
strength and courage in pain or adversity e.g. she endured her illness with great fortitude.
induce
- give rise to
2. succeed in persuading someone or leading them to do something e.g. she induced the workers to do shifts
wherein
in which
prevent from happening; make impossible
preclude
proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects
insidious
relating to deep feelings rather then intellect;
intuitive, felt deeply in the guts
visceral
involving a great deal of effort, trouble, or difficulty
onerous
- dark and gloomy, especially due to thick mist
- (of liquid) dark and dirty; not clear
- obscure or morally questionable
murky
- a fancy word for drink
2. absorb or assimilate
imbibe
strength and courage in pain or adversity
fortitude
- give rise to
2. succeed in persuading someone or leading them to do something
induce
in which
wherein
merit
v. / n.
- the quality of being particularly good or worthy, especially so as to deserve praise or reward
- to deserve or be worthy of something e.g. this merits and investigation
hoar
greyish white with age
subdue
- overcome, quieten, or bring under control (a feeling or person) e.g. she managed to subdue an instinct to applaud.
- bring under control or force
quiver
(of people or objects) tremble or shake with a slight rapid motion e.g. the branches stopped quivering
perish
die in a sudden or violent way
fall into a complete ruin or destruction
greyish white with age
hoar
- overcome, quieten, or bring under control (a feeling or person)
- bring under control or force
subdue
- the quality of being particularly good or worthy, especially so as to deserve praise or reward
- to deserve or be worthy of something
merit
tremble or shake with a slight rapid motion
quiver
die in a sudden or violent way
fall into a complete ruin or destruction
perish
rudimentary
- limited to basic principles e.g. he received a rudimentary education.
- relating to an immature, undeveloped, or basic form e.g. a rudimentary stage of evolution.
heed
v. / n.
pay attention, take notice of
e.g. take heed of my suggestions
haughty
arrogantly superior and disdainful
disdainful = thinking someone is unworthy of consideration or respect
rufous
reddish brown
perjure
wilfully tell untruth or misinterpretation under oath (under oath = having sworn to tell the truth) e.g. in the court.
= commit perjury
perfidious
deceitful and untrustworthy (noun = perfidy)
- limited to basic principles
2. relating to an immature, undeveloped, or basic form
rudimentary
spurn
reject with disdain or contempt
pay attention, take notice of
heed
reddish brown
rufous
deceitful and untrustworthy
perfidious
arrogantly superior and disdainful
haughty
wilfully tell untruth or misinterpretation under oath (under oath = having sworn to tell the truth) e.g. in the court.
perjure
reject with disdain or contempt
spurn
pallor
an unhealthy, sickly pale appearance e.g. the deathlike pallor of their face.
sibilant
characterized by a hissing sound e.g. his sibilant whisper.
reprieve
v. / n.
- to cancel or postpone punishment (especially death sentence) or undesirable event
e. g. the prisoners were reprieved - also relieve temporarily
the noun has the same meaning as the verb
come through
- succeed in surviving or dealing with e.g. a ordeal, a surgery or even life itself - as Anne Lamott said: “You will come through.”
- (of a message) be sent and received.
penitence
sorrow and regret for having done wrong;
repentance (from repent)
adj. = penitent
cursory
hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed e.g. a glance or a hug
ransom
- a sum of money demanded or paid for the release of a captive e.g. the kidnappers demanded a ransom.
- verb - release a captive upon obtaining a ransom
brimful
full capacity or filled to the point of overflowing e.g. a jug brimful of custard.
relish
v. / n
great enjoyment
enjoy greatly
brawny
physically strong; bulky, muscular e.g they are more brawny than brainy
sorrow and regret for having done wrong;
repentance (from repent)
penitence
hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed
cursory
- succeed in surviving or dealing with e.g. a ordeal, a surgery or even life itself
- (of a message) be sent and received.
come through
characterized by a hissing sound
sibilant
- a sum of money demanded or paid for the release of a captive
- verb - release a captive
ransom
full capacity or filled to the point of overflowing
brimful
- to cancel or postpone punishment (especially death sentence) or undesirable event
- relieve temporarily
reprieve
an unhealthy, sickly pale appearance
pallor
reprehend
reprimand = a formal expression of disapproval
offhand
- ungraciously or offensively nonchalant or cool in manner e.g. you were a bit offhand with her this afternoon.
- with little preparation or forethought; careless, brusque, inconsiderate
plutocrat
a person whose power derives from their wealth.
toil
v. / noun
verb:
1. work extremely hard or incessantly e.g. Sarah toiled to build their company.
2. [with adverb of direction] move slowly and with difficulty
noun:
exhausting physical labour
slate
bridlica
impoverish
make poor
exhaust strength or vitality of e.g. the soil was impoverished
ply
v. / n.
- work steadily
- travel a route e.g. ferries ply the river
- provide someone with food incessantly e.g. grandma plied me with scones
- direct numerous questions at someone
- noun - layer of something
envisage
imagine something that does not yet exist
exertion
effort, force or influence
a formal expression of disapproval
reprimand synonym
reprehend
- ungraciously or offensively nonchalant or cool in manner
2. with little preparation or forethought; careless, brusque, inconsiderate
offhand
bridlica
slate
make poor
exhaust strength or vitality of
impoverish
a person whose power derives from their wealth.
plutocrat
- work steadily
- travel a route
- provide someone with food incessantly
- direct numerous questions at someone
- noun - layer of something
ply
verb: 1. work extremely hard or incessantly 2. [with adverb of direction] move slowly and with difficulty noun: exhausting physical labour
toil
imagine something that does not yet exist
envisage
effort, force or influence
exertion
glean
- obtain (information) from various sources, often with difficulty e.g. the information is gleaned from press cuttings.
- collect gradually, bit by bit
pall
noun / verb
- covered in gloom or fear e.g. a pall of terror
- cloud of dark smoke or dust
- become less interesting through familiarity
insipid
lacking flavour, weak, tasteless e.g. insipid art or poetry cards
substantiate
provide evidence for
prove the truth e.g. they had found nothing to substantiate the allegations
hearsay
rumour, gossip or info that can’t be substantiated
stroll
walk in a leisurely way
swivel
a device that allows something to turn freely e.g. desk chairs are often designed so the seat can swivel atop the base. in the hospital, the TV is usually mounted on a swivel so that the nurses can adjust its facing.
stranded
stuck somewhere
without ability to move from somewhere
abscond
leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to escape from custody or avoid arrest e.g. the barman absconded with a week’s takings