Magoosh Basic - VII Flashcards
snub
verb: refuse to acknowledge; reject outright and bluntly
Wheeler was completely qualified for the committee, but the board snubbed him, choosing an obviously lesser qualified candidate instead.
debunk
verb: expose as false ideas and claims, especially while ridiculing
Richard Dawkins tries to debunk religious belief, but his ridicule tends to push people away from his points rather than convince them.
staid
adjective: serious, boring, and slightly old-fashioned:
Frank came from a staid environment, so he was shocked that his college roommate sold narcotics.
constraint
noun: something that limits or restricts
We don’t have many resources, so we’ll have to work with some very tight constraints.
besiege
verb: If you are besieged by people, many people want something from you and continually bother you.
After discovering a priceless artifact in her backyard, Jane was besieged by phone calls, emails, and reporters all trying to buy, hold or see the rare piece of history.
verb: If soldiers besiege a place, they surround it and wait for the people in it to stop fighting or resisting.
The main part of the army moved to Sevastopol to besiege the town.
miscreant
noun: a person who breaks the law
“Come back you miscreant!” yelled the woman who just had her purse stolen.
malodorous
adjective: having an unpleasant smell
Some thermally active fountains spew sulfur fumes–the air around them is sometimes so malodorous that many have to plug their noses.
cumbersome
adjective: difficult to handle or use especially because of size or weight
Only ten years ago, being an avid reader and a traveler meant carrying a cumbersome backpack stuffed with books–these days we need only an e-reader.
dilapidated
adjective: in terrible condition
The main house has been restored but the gazebo is still dilapidated and unusable.
creditable
adjective: deserving praise, trust, or respect:
They turned out a quite creditable performance.
perquisite
noun: a right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group (especially a hereditary or official right)
Even as the dishwasher at the French restaurant, Josh quickly learned that he had the perquisite of being able to eat terrific food for half the price diners would pay.
balk
verb: refuse to comply
The students were willing to clean up the broken glass, but when the teacher asked them to mop the entire floor, they balked, citing reasons why they needed to leave.
hamper
verb: prevent the progress or free movement of
As the rain water began to collect in pools on the highway, it began to hamper the flow of traffic.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
enumerate
verb: determine the number or amount of
The survey enumerates the number of happy workers and the number of unhappy workers.
verb: specify individually, one by one
I sat and listened as she enumerated all of the things she did not like about the past three months.
amply
adverb: in a way that is more than enough:
Your time and effort on this project will be amply compensated/rewarded.
antiquated
adjective: old-fashioned; belonging to an earlier period in time
Aunt Betty had antiquated notions about marriage, believing that a man should court a woman for at least a year before receiving a kiss.
obliging
adjective:(approving) willing or eager to help:
He found an obliging doctor who gave him the drugs he needed.
inkling
noun: a slight suggestion or vague understanding
- Lynne speaks four Romance languages, but she doesn’t have an inkling about how East Asian languages are structured.
- He must have had some inkling of what was happening.
complementary
adjective: enhancing each other’s qualities (for two things or more).
The head waiter was careful to tell the amateur diners that red wine was complementary with beef, each bringing out subtle taste notes in the other.
carping
noun: the act of complaining all the time about matters that are not important:
example: It can be hard for a new leader to deal with carping from the sidelines.
adjective: A carping person complains all the time about matters that are not important:
example: We just ignore the carping critics and get on with the job.
sordid
adjective: dirty and unpleasant:
example: There are lots of really sordid apartments in the city’s poorer areas.
adjective: morally wrong and shocking:
example: He told me he’d had an affair but he spared me the sordid details.
laborious
adjective: needing a lot of time and effort:
The most laborious job I’ve had was working 20 hours a day as a fisherman in King Salmon, Alaska.
excruciating
adjective: extremely painful
After the boulder rolled a couple of feet, pinning my friend’s arm, he experienced excruciating pain.
evasive
adjective: evasive action is done to avoid something bad happening:
Drivers had to make sudden evasive maneuvers.
adjective: beat around the bush
example: he was speaking in evasive way
colossal
adjective: so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe
In the center of the hall stood a colossal wooden statue, decorated in ivory and gold.
chivalrous
adjective: A chivalrous man is polite, honest, fair, and kind toward women:
Medieval tales are full of stories of chivalry, in which a young knight must commit deeds of heroism to win the hand of a fair maiden.
vie
verb: compete for something
While the other teams in the division actively vie for the championship, this team seems content simply to go through the motions of playing.
decimation
noun: destroying or killing a large part of the population
The decimation after atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is incomprehensible.
discreet
adjective: careful not to cause embarrassment or attract too much attention, especially by keeping something secret:
The family made discreet inquiries about his background.
inarticulate
adjective: unable to express feelings or ideas clearly, or expressed in a way that is difficult to understand:
Although a brilliant economist, Professor Wilson was completely inarticulate, a terrible lecturer.
compound
verb: make more intense, stronger, or more marked
Her headache was compounded by the construction crew outside, which had six jackhammers going at the same time.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
misogynist
noun: a person who dislikes women in particular
Many have accused Hemingway of being a quiet misogynist, but recently unearthed letters argue against this belief.
dispatch
noun: the act of sending someone or something somewhere:
example: the dispatch of troops
verb: to send something, especially goods or a message, somewhere for a particular purpose:
example: Two loads of cloth were dispatched to the factory on December 12 .
provisional
adjective: for the present time but likely to change:
example: These dates are only provisional.
vanquish
verb:to defeat an enemy or opponent, especially in war:
For years, Argentina would dominate in World Cup qualifying matches, only to be vanquished by one of the European countries during the late stages of the tournament.
champion
verb: to fight for a cause
Martin Luther King Jr. championed civil rights fiercely throughout his short life.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
boorish
adjective: rude and not considering other people’s feelings:
The boorish behavior of some tourists is embarrassing.
stymie
verb: hinder or prevent the progress or accomplishment of
The engineers found their plans stymied at every turn and were ultimately able to make almost no progress on the project.
cosmopolitan
adjective: comprising many cultures; global in reach and outlook
There are few cities in the world as diverse and cosmopolitan as New York.
relegate
verb: assign to a lower position
When Dexter was unable to fulfill his basic duties, instead of firing him, the boss relegated him to kitchen cleanup.
resignation
noun: the acceptance of something unpleasant that can’t be avoided
Since Jack could not think of a convincing reason why he had to miss the seminar, he attended it with a sense of resignation.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
futile
adjective: (of actions) having no effect or achieving nothing:
I thought I could repair the car myself, but after two days of work with no success, I have to admit that my efforts were futile.
differentiate
verb: be a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait (sometimes in positive sense)
Mozart’s long melodic lines differentiate his compositions from other works of late 18th century music.
verb: to make someone or something different:
Animals on Madagascar differentiated from other similar animal species due to many years of isolation on the island.
paradoxical
adjective: If something is paradoxical, it involves two facts or qualities which seem to contradict each other.
That light could be both a particle and a wave seems paradoxical, but nonetheless, it is true.
abysmal
adjective: extremely bad
Coach Ramsey took his newest player off the field after watching a few painful minutes of her abysmal performance.
convivial
adjective: describing a lively atmosphere
The wedding reception was convivial; friends who hadn’t seen each other for ages drank and ate together before heading to the dance floor.
morph
verb: to gradually change, or change someone or something, from one thing to another: .
When someone brings up politics at a party, a casual conversation can quickly morph into an ugly argument.
deliberate
adjective: (often of something bad) intentional or planned:
example: a deliberate attack/insult/lie
adjective: A deliberate movement, action, or thought is done carefully without hurrying:
From her slow, deliberate speech I guessed she must be drunk.
verb: to think or talk seriously and carefully about something:
example: The jury took five days to deliberate on the case.
qualm
noun: an uncomfortable feeling when you doubt if you are doing the right thing:
She had no qualms about lying to the police.
aphorism
noun: a short instructive saying about a general truth
Nietzsche was known for using aphorisms, sometimes encapsulating a complex philosophical thought in a mere sentence.
