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Vocabulary > Mangoosh - Common words 1 > Flashcards

Mangoosh - Common words 1 Flashcards

1
Q

equivocal

A

adjective: confusing or ambiguous

The findings of the study were equivocal—the two researchers had different opinions on what the results signified.

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2
Q

enervate

A

enervate

verb: to sap energy from

John preferred to avoid equatorial countries; the intense sun would always leave him enervated after he’d spent the day sightseeing.

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3
Q

calumny

A

noun: making of a false statement meant to injure a person’s reputation

With the presidential primaries well under way, the air is thick with calumny, and the mud already waist-high.

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4
Q

harangue

A

noun: a long pompous speech; a tirade

Dinner at Billy’s was more a punishment than a reward, since anyone who sat at the dinner table would have to listen to Billy’s father’s interminable harangues against the government.

verb: to deliver a long pompous speech or tirade

Tired of his parents haranguing him about his laziness and lack of initiative, Tyler finally moved out of home at the age of thirty-five.

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5
Q

galvanize

A

verb: to excite or inspire (someone) to action

At mile 23 of his first marathon, Kyle had all but given up, until he noticed his friends and family holding a banner that read, “Go Kyle”; galvanized, he broke into a gallop, finishing the last three miles in less than 20 minutes.

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6
Q

extant

A

adjective: still in existence (usually refers to documents).

  • Despite many bookstores closing, experts predict that some form of book dealing will still be extant generations from now.
  • We have some extant parish records from the 16th century.
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7
Q

profligate

A

adjective: spending resources recklessly or wastefully

The composer Wagner, while living on a limited salary, was so profligate as to line all the walls of his apartment with pure silk.

noun: someone who spends resources recklessly or wastefully

Most lottery winners go from being conservative, frugal types to outright profligates who blow millions on fast cars, lavish homes, and giant yachts.

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8
Q

disinterested

A

adjective: unbiased; neutral

The potential juror knew the defendant, and therefore could not serve on the jury, which must consist only of disinterested members.

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9
Q

extant

A

adjective: still in existence (usually refers to documents).
- We have some extant parish records from the 16th century.
- Despite many bookstores closing, experts predict that some form of book dealing will still be extant generations from now.

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10
Q

iconoclast

A

noun: somebody who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions

  • Rogers, an iconoclast in architecture, is sometimes described as putting the insides of buildings on the outside.
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11
Q

censure

A

verb: to express strong disapproval

After being caught in bed with a mistress, the mayor was quickly censured by the city council.

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12
Q

veracious

A

adjective: truthful

While we elect our leaders in the hope that every word they speak will be veracious, history has shown that such a hope is naive.

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13
Q

parochial

A

adjective: narrowly restricted in scope or outlook

  • a parochial view/opinion
  • Although it’s just a local paper, it somehow manages not to be too parochial in its outlook.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

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14
Q

amenable

A

adjective: easily persuaded

  • She might be more amenable to the idea if you explained how much money it would save.
  • Do you think the new manager will prove more amenable to our proposals?
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15
Q

amalgam

A

noun: a mixture of multiple things
- The show was a wonderful amalgam of dance, music, and drama.
- The band’s music was an amalgam of hip-hop, flamenco and jazz, blending the three styles with surprising results.

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16
Q

amenable

A

adjective: easily persuaded

Even though she did not like the outdoors, Shirley was generally amenable and so her brother was able to persuade her to go camping.

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17
Q

belie

A

verb: to give a false representation to; misrepresent

  • The smile on her face belies the pain she must feel after the death of her husband.
  • Her calm face belied the terror she was feeling.
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18
Q

prevaricate

A

verb: to speak in an evasive way

  • The cynic quipped, “There is not much variance in politicians; they all seem to prevaricate”.
  • He accused the minister of prevaricating.
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19
Q

castigate

A

verb: to reprimand harshly

Drill sergeants are known to castigate new recruits so mercilessly that the latter often break down during their first week in training.

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20
Q

frugal

A

adjective: not spending much money (but spending wisely)

Monte was no miser, but was simply frugal, wisely spending the little that he earned.

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21
Q

acrimony

A

noun: bitterness and ill will

The acrimony between the president and vice-president sent a clear signal to voters: the health of the current administration was imperiled.

22
Q

artful

A

adjective: exhibiting artistic skill

Picasso is generally considered the most artful member of the Cubist movement.

adjective: clever in a cunning way

  • Bernie Madoff’s artful Ponzi scheme stole billions of dollars from investors and is considered the largest financial fraud in U.S. history.
  • …an artful political gesture.
23
Q

laconic

A

adjective: (describes a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words

While Martha always swooned over the hunky, laconic types in romantic comedies, her boyfriends inevitably were very talkative—and not very hunky.

24
Q

parsimonious

A

adjective: extremely frugal; miserly

Katie is so parsimonious that she only buys a pair of socks if all of her other socks have holes in them.

25
Q

gregarious

A

adjective: to be likely to socialize with others

Often we think that great leaders are those who are gregarious, always in the middle of a large group of people; yet, as Mahatma Gandhi and many others have shown us, leaders can also be introverted.

26
Q

maintain

A

verb: to assert

  • The scientist maintained that the extinction of dinosaurs was most likely brought about by a drastic change in climate.
    This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
  • He maintains that he has never seen the woman before.
27
Q

ambiguous

A

adjective: open to more than one interpretation

  • The coach told his team, “Move towards that side of the field”; because he did not point, his directions were ambiguous, and the team had no idea to which side he was referring.
  • The wording of the agreement is ambiguous.
28
Q

venality

A

noun: the condition of being susceptible to bribes or corruption

Even some of the most sacred sporting events are not immune to venality, as many of the officials have received substantial bribes to make biased calls.

29
Q

egregious

A

adjective: standing out in a negative way; shockingly bad

The dictator’s abuse of human rights was so egregious that many world leaders demanded that he be tried in an international court for genocide.

30
Q

prodigal

A

adjective: rashly or wastefully extravagant

Successful professional athletes who do not fall prey to prodigality seem to be the exception—most live decadent lives.

31
Q

commensurate

A

adjective: to be in proportion or corresponding in degree or amount

The convicted felon’s life sentence was commensurate with the heinousness of his crime.

32
Q

intimate

A

verb: to suggest something subtly

At first Manfred’s teachers intimated to his parents that he was not suited to skip a grade; when his parents protested, teachers explicitly told them that, notwithstanding the boy’s precocity, he was simply too immature to jump to the 6th grade.

This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

33
Q

amorphous

A

adjective: shapeless

His study plan for the GRE was at best amorphous; he would do questions from random pages in any one of seven test prep books.

34
Q

mercurial

A

adjective: (of a person) prone to unexpected and unpredictable changes in mood

The fact that Ella’s moods were as mercurial as the weather was problematic for her relationships—it didn’t help that she lived in Chicago.

35
Q

qualify

A

verb: to make less severe; to limit (a statement)

  • Chris qualified his love for San Francisco, adding he didn’t like the weather there as much as he liked the weather in Los Angeles.
  • I’d like to qualify my criticisms of the school’s failings, by adding that it’s a very happy place.

This word has other definitions, but this is the most important one to study

36
Q

ambivalent

A

adjective: mixed or conflicting emotions about something

Sam was ambivalent about studying for the exam because doing so ate up a lot of his time, yet he was able to improve his analytical skills.

37
Q

aberration

A

noun: a deviation from what is normal or expected

Aberrations in climate have become the norm: rarely a week goes by without some meteorological phenomenon making headlines.

38
Q

vindicate

A

verb: to clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting arguments or proof

  • The decision to include Morris in the team was completely vindicated when he scored two goals.
  • The investigation vindicated her complaint about the newspaper.
39
Q

chastise

A

verb: to reprimand harshly

  • Charity organizations have chastised the government for not doing enough to prevent the latest famine in Africa.
  • Though chastised for eating the snacks for the party, Lawrence shrugged off his mother’s harsh words, and continued to plow through jars of cookies and boxes of donuts.
40
Q

upbraid

A

verb: to reproach; to scold

  • In newspaper articles she consistently upbraided those in authority who overstepped their limits.
41
Q

restive

A

adjective: restless

  • The crowd grew restive as the comedian’s opening jokes fell flat.
  • The audience was becoming restive as they waited for the performance to begin.
42
Q

venerate

A

verb: to respect deeply

The professor, despite his sleep-inducing lectures, was venerated amongst his colleagues, publishing more papers yearly than all of his peers combined.

43
Q

betray

A

verb: to reveal or make known something, usually unintentionally

  • With the gold medal at stake, the gymnast awaited his turn, his quivering lip betraying his intense emotions.
  • Although she often seems quite cold, her smiling eyes betray her true nature.

It has other meanings too

44
Q

wanting

A

adjective: lacking

  • She did not think her vocabulary was wanting, yet there were so many words that inevitably she found a few she didn’t know.
  • I think she’s perhaps a little wanting in charm.
45
Q

auspicious

A

adjective: favorable, the opposite of sinister

Despite an auspicious beginning, Mike’s road trip became a series of mishaps, and he was soon stranded and penniless, leaning against his wrecked automobile.

46
Q

anomalous

A

adjective: not normal

  • According to those who do not believe in climate change, the extreme weather over the last five years is simply anomalous—daily temperatures should return to their old averages, they believe.
  • The experiment yielded anomalous results.
47
Q

demur

A

verb: to object or show reluctance

  • Wallace disliked the cold, so he demurred when his friends suggested they go skiing in the Alps.
  • The lawyer requested a break in the court case, but the judge demurred.
48
Q

innocuous

A

adjective: harmless and doesn’t produce any ill effects

Everyone found Nancy’s banter innocuous—except for Mike, who felt like she was intentionally picking on him.

49
Q

ingenuous

A

adjective: to be naïve and innocent

  • Two-years in Manhattan had changed Jenna from an ingenuous girl from the suburbs to a jaded urbanite, unlikely to fall for any ruse, regardless of how elaborate.
  • It has to be said it was rather ingenuous of him to ask a complete stranger to take care of his luggage.
50
Q

involved

A

adjective: complicated, and difficult to comprehend

  • The physics lecture became so involved that the undergraduate’s eyes glazed over.
  • The plot of the film was too involved - I couldn’t understand it.

Vocabulary (29 decks)

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