Looking For Alaska Flashcards
Dearth
A scarcity or lack of something
“There is a dearth of evidence”
“There is a dearth amount of time left”
Slake
Satisfy one’s thirst
“You can always slake your thirst with some water”
Quench
Satisfy by drinking
“You can quench your thirst by drinking something“
Impede
Delay or prevent
“It will impede my academic progress”
“It impeded my performance in school“
Hinder
Create difficulties that in delay or obstruction
“Their journey was hindered by the snow”
“Their talking hindered my focus”
Inducing
Bring about or bring rise to
“It was anxiety inducing”
“The topic induced a lot of controversy”
Crimson
A face becoming flushed as a result of embarrassment
“My face crimsoned”
Applicable
Relevant or appropriate
“It is applicable to what is going on today”
Impinge
Have an effect or impact, especially a negative one
He never allowed his work to impinge on his private life.
“You shouldn’t let these lowbrows impinge on your self esteem”
Incongruous
Not in harmony
“The red jeans are a little incongruous with the look you are going for”
Discordant
Disagreeing or incongruous
“They played their music discordantly”
Cacophonous
Involving or producing a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds
“I woke up to the cacophonous sound of birds”
Apprehend
Perceive or understand
“Somethings are too painful to thoroughly apprehend”
Jam-packed
Extremely crowded or full to capacity
“His mouth was jam-packed with hotdogs”
Chagrin
Distress or embarrassment at having failed or been humiliated
“After finishing third in the race, I swallowed my chagrin and congratulated the winner”
Common courtesy
Politeness that people are expecting to show
“Offering your guest a drink demonstrates common courtesy”
Buoyancy
An optimistic and cheerful disposition
“She was in a buoyant mood”
Punctual
Happening or doing something at a proper time
“He promised more punctual and reliable services”
Diminutive
Extremely or unusually small
“Those with a diminutive build but imposing voice should perch in the shadows”
Nimble
Quick and light in movement or action
“His nimble mind calculated the answers before I could key the numbers into my calculations”
Surreptitiously
In a way that tries to avoid notice or attention
“She looked at him again and caught him surreptitiously smirking under his heavy gloom”
Esoteric
Only intended to be understood by a small number of people with a special knowledge or interest
“He has a esoteric connection of old toys and games”
Abide
Accept or act in accordance to a rule of decision
“We have to abide by their rules”
Brittle
Hard but liable to break or shatter easily
“Their confidence looks brittle”
Wryly
In a way that expresses dry and mocking humor
“His lips twisted wryly at the acknowledgment”
Avert
Turn away
“I tried to avert his attention to something else”
Decay
Having rotated or decomposed
“Sugar makes your teeth decay”
Tirade
A long angry speech of criticism
“He went on a tirade about failures of our current government”
Deadpan
Say something amusing while affecting a serous manner
“He delivered the joke with such deadpan that we thought at first that he was serious”
Scrawny
Unattractively thin
“I’m not interested in scrawny men”
Immerse
Involve oneself deeply in a particular activity or subject
“I immersed myself in the culture”
Sheepishly
In an embattled manner due to shame or lack of self esteem
“I sheepishly admitted to not doing my homework”
Ambiguity
Open to more than one interpretation
“His statement is full of ambiguity”
Glib
Fluent and voluble but insincere and shallow
“It was a glib comment”
Ballistic
Extremely angry
“She went ballistic on me”
Torrent
A syringe and fast moving stream of water or liquid
“The storm turned the stream into a raging torrent”
Invariably
I’m every case
“I’m invariably late”
Dubious
Hesitating or doubtful
“They were a little dubious about the night and it’s outcome but all agreed that it would be exciting”
Conscientious
Wishing to do what is right
“She has always been a very conscientious worker”
Gateway
A means of access or entry to a place
“The prestigious title offered a gateway to success in the competitive world of modeling”
Labyrinth
A complicated irregular network of passages or paths in which it is difficult to find one’s way; a maze
“At the farm, I found it easy to get lost in the labyrinth of corn stocks”
Precipitously
Very steeply
“Home sales are declining precipitously”
Heaving
Extremely crowded
“His backyard was heaving with people”
Purportedly
As appears to be true, through not necessarily so, alleged
“Some purportedly punched him in the face”
Inordinate
Unusually or disproportionately large; excessive
“I waited an inordinate amount of time”
Dilapidated
(Of a building or object) in a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect
“The abandoned building was in a dilapidated state”
Flagrant
Immorally wrong
“That is a flagrant violation of privacy”
Evade
Escape of avoid
“I tried to evade the question”
Whittle
Reduce something in size amount, or extent by a gradual series of steps
“His taunting whittled away my confidence”
Bashful
Reluctant to draw attention to oneself; shy
“They were not bashful about letting anybody know”
Scraggly
Ragged, thin, or untidy in form or appearance
“He had a scraggly beard”
Spunky
Courageous and determined
“She is a spunky little girl”
Fiasco
Complete failure
“The entire political campaign was a fiasco, and at the end he only drew 30% of votes”
Precarious
In a way that is not securely in position and is likely to fall or collapse
“The stack of books looks precarious”
Ineluctable
Unable to be resisted or avoided
“Perhaps there is no hope for Jerry because even after a year of rehab his drug addiction seems ineluctable”
Rickety
Poorly made and likely to collapse
“The stairs look rickety”
Disembowal
Cut open and remove the internal organs of
“He was so angry that he looked as if he was about to disembowel us”
Mirthless
Lacking real amusement
“Her mirthless smile”
Contemptuous
Expressing deep hatred or disapproval
“Her laugh was contemptuous”
Chronic
Persisting for a long time
“I have chronic headaches”
Stoic
Without showing one’s feelings or complaining about pain or hardship
“He took his parents divorce stoically”
Irretrievably
In a way that can’t be received or put right
“There pictures were irretrievably lost in the flood”
Promptly
With little or no delay; immediately
“Can came promptly on the dot of eleven”
Albeit
Although
“It was an amazing computer, albeit expensive”
Quizzically
In a questioning way
“She looked at me quizzically”
Monopoly
The exclusive procession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service
“You have no monopoly on the truth”
Testy
Easily irritated; impatient and somewhat bad tempered
“My Bubbe’s cat is testy”
Desolate
Feeling or showing misery, unhappiness or loneliness
“He wrote a desolate novel”
Introspection
The examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processe
“He was lost in deep deep introspection”
Cryptic
Having a meaning thar is mysterious or obscure
“The cryptic response made her hesitate”
Subvert
Undermine the authority of
“They were trying to subvert her authority”
Measly
Contemptibly small or few
“She complained about her measly raise”
Catty
Gossipy
“She is kind of catty”
Disdainful
Showing contempt or lack of respect
“Her disdainful attitude towards old people”
Quivering
Trembling or shake with a slight rapid motion
“She was quivering”
Incontestable
Not able to be disputed
“There in so incontestable evidence that he is not guilty of this crime”
Transcend
Be or go beyond limits
“Music that transcends cultural boundaries”
Enigma
A person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling or difficult to understand
“She is something of an enigma”
Infallible
Incapable or making mistakes or being wrong
“She has an infallible eye for style”
