Manhattan Advanced Flashcards
abase
Degrade or humble; to lower in rank, status, or esteem
abeyance
Temporary suspension, inactivity
abreast
Side-by-side. The more common “abreast of” means keeping up with, staying aware of, or remaining equal in progress with.
abscission
Cutting off; sudden termination; the separation of leaves, petals, or other parts from a plant or animal
abscond
Depart suddenly and secretively
abyss
A deep and vast space or cavity
accede
Agree, give consent; assume power (usually as “accede to”)
accretion
Gradual increase
acerbic
Sour
acidulous
Slightly acid or sour
acumen
Keen, quick, accurate insight or judgment
adulterate
Make impure by adding inappropriate or inferior ingredients
adumbrate
Give a rough outline of
aerie
Dwelling or fortress built on a high place; the nest of a bird of prey, such as an eagle or hawk, built on a mountain or cliff
albeit
Although, even though
aloof
Distant physically or emotionally
amalgamate
Blend, merge, or unite
ameliorate
Improve
amortize
Gradually pay off a debt, or gradually write off an asset
anachronism
Something that is not in its correct historical time; a mistake in chronology, such as by assigning a person or event to the wrong time period
analgesia
Pain relief
annul
Make void or null, cancel, abolish (usually of laws or other established rules)
anodyne
Medicine that relieves pain (noun); soothing, relieving pain (adj)
antedate
Be older than, precede in time; assign to an earlier date
antithetical
Directly opposed, opposite; involving antithesis (the rhetorical act of placing two phrases opposite one another for contrast, as in love me or hate me)
apostate
Person who deserts a party, cause, religion, etc.
apostle
Pioneer of a reform movement (originally, an early follower of Jesus)
apposite
Highly appropriate, suitable, or relevant
apprise
Inform, give notice to
approbation
Praise or approval, especially formal approval
appropriate
Set aside or authorize (such as money) for a particular purpose
arbiter
Judge, umpire, person empowered to decide matters at hand
ardent
Very passionate, devoted, or enthusiastic
arrogate
Claim or take presumptuously or without the right to do so
ascribe
Assign or credit to a certain cause or source
aseptic
Free from germs
asperity
Rigor, severity; harshness or sharpness of tone; roughness of surface
aspersions
Damaging remarks, defamation, slander
assail
Attack violently, assault
assiduous
Persevering, diligent, constant
attenuate
Weaken or thin out
attuned
In harmony
augury
Telling the future, such as through supernatural means
august
Venerable, majestic; inspiring admiration
avarice
Insatiable greed
axiom
Self-evident truth requiring no proof
balloon
Swell or puff out
banal
Lacking freshness and originality
bane
Something that ruins or spoils
baying
Howling in a deep way, like a dog or wolf
beneficent
Doing good
bent
Personal inclination or tendency
besiege
Attack, overwhelm, crowd in on or surround
bevy
Group of birds or other animals that stay close together
bifurcate
To fork into two branches or divide into two halves
bilk
Cheat or defraud
blight
Disease that kills plants rapidly, or any cause of decay or destruction (noun); ruin or cause to wither (verb)
blithe
Joyous, merry; excessively carefree (so as to ignore more important concerns)
bombastic
(Of speech or writing) far too showy or dramatic than is appropriate
bonhomie
Friendliness, open and simple good heartedness
brandish
Shake, wave, or flourish, as a weapon
brook
Suffer or tolerate
bucolic
Pertaining to shepherds
burnish
Polish, make smooth and lustrous
calumny
Malicious lie intended to hurt someone’s reputation
canard
Rumor, a false or baseless story
cardinal
Chief, most important
catholic
Universal, broad-minded
chicanery
Trickery, deception by knowingly false arguments
circumscribe
Strictly limit a role, range of activity, or area; in math, to be constructed around so as to touch as many points as possible
circumspect
Cautious, prudent; careful to consider the circumstances and consequences
clamber
Climb awkwardly or with difficulty, scramble
cloying
Disgustingly or distastefully sweet
coagulate
Cause a liquid to become solid or semisolid
coda
Final part of a musical composition; an ending, esp. one that sums up what has come before
coffer
Chest for storing valuables; financial resources, a treasury
collude
Conspire
compendium
Concise but complete summary
complaisant
Eager to please
confound
Confuse, frustrate; mix up or make worse
connote
Suggest or imply in addition to the precise, literal meaning
contraries
Things that are opposing
contrite
Remorseful
contumacious
Rebellious
convoke
Call together, as to a meeting
cosset
Treat as a pet, pamper
coterie
Close or exclusive group, clique
cupidity
Greed, great or excessive desire
curmudgeon
Bad-tempered, difficult person; grouch
declaim
Speak in an impassioned, pompous, or oratorical manner; give a formal speech
declivity
Downward slope
delimit
Fix, mark, or define the boundaries of
demagogue
A leader who lies and gains power by arousing the passions and especially prejudices of the people
demur
Show reluctance or object, especially for moral reasons
desultory
Lacking consistency or order, disconnected, sporadic; going off topic
diaphanous
Very sheer, fine, translucent
dichotomy
Division into two parts or into two contradictory groups
dictum
Formal or authoritative pronouncement
diffident
Lacking confidence, shy
diffuse
Spread widely, disseminate (verb); dispersed, widely spread out, or wordy and going off-topic (adj)
dilate
To become wider or make wider, cause to expand; to speak or write at length, elaborate upon
dilatory
Slow, late; procrastinating or stalling for time
dilettante
Person who takes up an art or activity for amusement only or in a superficial way
dirge
A funeral or mourning song or poem
discomfiting
Disconcerting, confusing, frustrating
discordant
Harsh or inharmonious in sound; disagreeing, incongruous
discrete
Separate, distinct, detached, existing as individual parts
disparage
Belittle, put down; bring shame upon, discredit
disparate
Distinct, different
dissemble
Mislead, conceal the truth, put on a false appearance of
dissolution
Dissolving, the state of having been dissolved; breaking bonds or breaking up of a group of people; death, disintegration; sinking into extreme hedonism, vice, and degradation
distaff
Female, esp. relating to the maternal side of the family; women or women’s work; a staff that holds wool or flax for spinning
distend
Swell, expand, stretch, bloat
dither
Act indecisively (verb)
diurnal
Occurring every day
doctrinaire
Person who applies doctrine in an impractical or rigid and close-minded way (noun); merely theoretical, impractical, or fanatical about other people accepting one’s ideas (adj)
doff
Take off (such as clothes), put aside; remove one’s hat as a gesture
dovetail
Join or fit together
droll
Funny in an odd way
dupe
Person who is easily fooled or used (noun)
duplicity
Deceit, double-dealing, acting in two different ways for the purpose of deception
dyspeptic
Grumpy, pessimistic, irritable; suffering from dyspepsia (indigestion)
ebullient
Very enthusiastic, lively, excited; bubbling as though being boiled
echelon
A level, rank or grade; the people at that level
edify
Uplift, enlighten, instruct or improve in a spiritual or moral way
effigy
Representation or image of a person, esp. a crude facsimile used to mock a hated person
effrontery
Shameless boldness
egress
An exit or the action of exiting
elegy
Song or poem of sorrow, esp. for a deceased person
emaciate
Make abnormally thin, cause to physically waste away
encomium
Warm, glowing praise, esp. a formal expression of praise
endemic
Native, local; natural, specific to, or confined to a particular place
engender
Produce, give rise to, cause to exist; procreate
epicure
Person with cultivated, refined tastes, esp. in food and wine
equanimity
Composure, evenness of mind; mental or emotional stability, esp. under stress
equivocate
Use unclear language to deceive or avoid committing to a position
ersatz
Artificial, synthetic; being an inferior substitute
erstwhile
Former, previous (adj); in the past, formerly (adv)
ethos
The character, personality, or moral values specific to a person, group, time period, etc.
euphemism
Substitution of a mild, inoffensive, or indirect expression for one that is considered offensive or too direct
euphony
Pleasing or sweet sound, especially as formed by a harmonious use of words
exigent
Requiring immediate attention, action, or aid; excessively demanding
exonerate
Clear from blame or accusation
expedient
Suitable, proper; effective, often at the expense of ethics or other considerations
expurgate
Censor
extemporaneous
Done without preparation (esp. of a speech), or with some preparation but no notes; improvised, done on the spur of the moment
faction
Group or clique within a larger organization
fallow
Left unplanted (of land)
fastidious
Excessively particular, difficult to please; painstaking, meticulous, requiring excessive attention to detail
fatuous
Foolish, silly, esp. in a smug or complacent manner
fawn
Show affection or try to please in the manner of a dog
fecund
Fruitful, fertile; capable of abundantly producing offspring, vegetation, or creative or intellectual work
felicitous
Admirably appropriate, very well-suited for the occasion; pleasant, fortunate, marked by happiness
fervid
Very hot
fetid
Stinking
fledgling
A young bird that has just recently gotten its feathers, an inexperienced person (noun); new or inexperienced (adj)
florid
Reddish or rosy; flowery, showy, or excessively fancy
flout
Treat with disdain, contempt, or scorn (usually of rules)
fluke
Stroke of luck, something accidentally successful
forage
Wander in search of; rummage, hunt, make a raid
ford
Place where a river or similar body of water is shallow enough to walk or ride a vehicle across (noun)
forestall
Delay, hinder, prevent by taking action beforehand
fortuitous
Happening by chance
fracas
Noisy disturbance or fight
fractious
Unruly, troublemaking; irritable
frenetic
Wildly excited, frantic, distracted
fulminate
Explode, detonate; attack verbally in a vehement, thunderous way
furtive
Done secretly; stealthy, sly, shifty
gambol
Frolic
garner
Gather and store; amass, collect
gestation
Pregnancy
glacial
Pertaining to glaciers; cold, icy, slow, unsympathetic
glower
Stare in an angry, sullen way
goad
Urge on (as cattle) with a pointed or electrically charged stick; spur on, stimulate, encourage
gouge
Scooping or digging tool, like a chisel, or a hole made with such a tool (noun); cut or scoop out; force out a person’s eye with one’s thumb; swindle, extort money from (verb)
graft
Insert part of a plant into another plant, where it continues to grow; join living tissue (such as skin) to part of the body where it will continue to live and grow; attach as if by grafting (verb); the part so grafted (as in a graft of skin); the act of acquiring money or other benefits through illegal means, esp. by abusing one’s power (noun)
grandiloquent
Relating to lofty speech, esp. to the point of being pompous, overblown, bombastic
grandstand
Perform showily in an attempt to impress onlookers
grating
Irritating
grievous
Causing grief or suffering; very serious, grave; flagrant, outrageous
grouse
Complain or grumble (verb)
grovel
Creep or crawl with one’s face to the ground, prostrate oneself as a token of subservience, degrade or abase oneself
halcyon
Calm and peaceful, carefree; prosperous, successful, happy
hallmark
A mark indicating quality, purity, genuineness, etc.; any distinguishing characteristic
hand-wringing
Grasping, squeezing, etc. of the hands as an expression of nervousness, guilt, etc.; extend debate over what to do about an issue
hapless
Unlucky, unfortunate
harangue
Long, intense verbal attack, esp. when delivered publicly
harrow
Farming tool that breaks up soil (noun)
hedge
Avoid commitment by leaving provisions for withdrawal or changing one’s mind
hegemony
Domination, authority; influence by one country over others socially, culturally, economically, etc.
hermetic
Airtight, sealed, isolated; reclusive; pertaining to alchemy, occult
hew
Strike, chop, or hack (as with an axe, sword. etc.); make or shape something (such as a statue) with a cutting tool
hoary
Very old, gray or white as from old age
homage
Honor or respect demonstrated publicly
hoodwink
Trick, deceive
hotly
In an intense, fiery, or heated way
husband
Manage prudently, sparingly, or economically; conserve
iconoclast
Attacker of cherished beliefs or institutions
idolatry
Idol worship
idyllic
Presenting a positive, peaceful view of rural life (as poetry or prose); pleasant in a natural, simple way