Manhattan - Essential Flashcards
Base
Morally low; dishonerable
Of little value; worthless
Balk / bawk
Refuse to proceed or od something
I balked at the idea of traveling on RJ.
Cartography
Map-making
Bygone
Adj - past, former - the bygone days
N - that which is past - I miss the bygones!
Caustic
Capable of burning skin and corroding metal
Being critical, sarcastic
Commensurate / co MEN sur rate
(with)
same in size, extent, duration; equivalent, proportional
Paychecks are commensurate with the amount of time worked.
Clamor
N - loud uproar
V - to drive force, influence by clamoring - They clamored him out of the office.
to utter noisily - They clamored their demands.
Complacent
Self-satisfied, contentwith one’s situation, merits, etc
Pleasant
Clinch
To settle (a matter, decision…)
After clinching the deal, they went out ot celebrate
Counterpoint
Art of combining melodies
Any element that is juxtaposed and contrasted with another
Converse
Opposite
Conversant
(with) Familiar by use or study
He is conversant with Spanish History.
Converge
Meet in a ponit or line; result in
Conundrum
Riddle, puzzle
(especially with pun used in riddle)
Contend
Contention
Contentious
To struggle in opposition with enemy, compete
Culminate
(in) To reach highest point, summit, highest development; to end or arrive in a final stage
The argument culminated in a fistfight.
Deface
To mar surface or appearance; disfigure
Default
N - the failure to act; inaction, neglect
Failure to meet pecuniary oblication
They lost their best client by sheer default.
V - To fail in fulfilling an engagement
Denigrate
To speak demeaningly of, criticize in a derogatory manner
Deter
Deterrent
Restrain or discourage from acting or proceeding
Dog deterred trespassers
Din
Loud, confused noise - especially for a long period of time
Cairo is surrounded by din making it hard to sleep at night
Discredit
To injure the credit or reputation of
There has been a serious effort to discredit honest politicians
Disjointed
Disconnected; not coherent
The novel seem disjointed, as though the author forgot to include eight chapters
Dispassionate
Unbiased, disinterested
Dispatch
N - speed, promptness; execution
V - Send off with speed; execute, put to death
The sppy was promptly dispatched
Disposition
Person’s general or natural mood; character
Disquieting
Disturbing; causing anxiety
I have some disquieting news, you’d better sit down for this!
Disseminate
Scatter, spread about
Plants use attractive fruit to intice birds who later then disseminate its seeds
Dissent
Dissension, dissidence
Dissenter, dissident
To differ from majority, disagree
Citizens dissented from the court’s legalization of marijuana
N
فاعل
Divine
V - augur; discover something by guesswork or intution
Divest
Deprive someone of rank, title, power, rights
The president divested the secretary of state of her position
To sell off hodings =/= invest
Dorment
Asleep, inactive, “on break”
Trees are dorment in the winter
Hackneyed
=/= fresh, original
Something so commonplace that it’s stale
CONVERSE AND RAYBANS
Eccentric
Eccentricity
Peculiar, odd, deviating from the norm in a whimsical way
Egalitarianism
Principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities (in political, economic and social spheres)
Elated
Very happy, in high spirits
ebullient
Eminent
Eminence
Prominent, distinguished, of high rank
Equitable
Fair and impartial
Erroneous
Mistaken, wrong
Esteem
Estimable
Respect and admiration
Worthy of respect and esteem
Expound
Exponent
Present and explain (theory and idea) in detail; expatiate
Person that expounds, explains, interprets
Person who is representative/symbol of something
Abe Lincoln is the exponent of American democracy
Fanatical
Zealous in an uncritical way
Explicate
Explain
Flag
become tired, weaker, less enthusiastic; languid
At Cedear Point, I was flagged, but my younger brother had the energy of a cheetah!
Finesse
V - Use tact or diplomacy; employ a deceptive strategy
Fleeting
Ephemeral; passing quickly; transitory
Inasmuch (as)
Considering that
Gauche
Tactless, lacking social grace, awkward, uncouth
Gainsay
To deny or contradict, declare false, oppose
The impact of the railroards cannot be gainsaid
Fringe
Margin; unconventional, peripheal, extreme
Voluble
Speaking incessantly and fluently; continuous flow of words
Alcodray was a voluble spokesman for marijuana
Glib
Voluble, but insincere and shallow
Mo Naji was a glib talker; “don’t drink, don’t have sex,” but he should practice what he preaches!
Hearken / har ken
Listen, pay attention to
“Harken, students!” yelled the headmaster
Haven
Harbor, port
Refuge, safe place
Gradation
Progression;
A process taking place gradually, in stages
Incongruous
Incongruity
Out of place, inappropriate
Not harmonious - an incongruous mixture (heterogeneous)
Inconsistent - actions that are incongruous with their professed principles
Idiosyncrasy
Idiosyncratic
Characteristic or habit peculiar to an individual; quirk
Illiberality
Narrow-minded; bigotry, srictness
lack of generosity =/= liberality
Imminent
Ready to occur, impending
The war between Iran and Israel is imminent! Can’t wait!
Impair
Weaken or damage; make worse
Impede
Hold back, delay, prevent; obstruct, to thwart
Implode
To burst inward
=/= EXplode
Inadvertent
Inadvertently
Uninentional
Unintentionally, unwittingly
Inconsequential
Not important; insignificant
Indeterminate
Not certain/known; vague
The date of manufacture is indeterminate
Inherent
Existing in something/someone as a permanent, essential or characteristic attribute
He has an inherent distrust of strangers
Intelligible
Unintelligible
Clear, able to be understood
Unclear, impossible to understand
Tractable
Intractable
Easy to manage; docile, amenable
Difficult to be controlled; recalcitrant (recal sit rant) refractory
Intrepid / in TREP id
Intrepidity
Fearless; brave; dauntless
Jocular
Fond of joking; jolly and playful
Juncture
(conjuncture)
Critical point in time; especially due to the pressing circumstances
At this juncture, we must decide whether to go for martial action or not.
Place where two things are joined together
Keen
Sharp, piercing - very perceptive or mentally sharp
Rana’s jealousy grew more keen as Maysa got into med school.
Dogs have a keen sense of smell.
Lackluster
Not shiny, dull, mediocre, lacking brilliance
Lampoon
N - harsh satire
V - to ridicule or satirize
Iranians lampoon Arabs for being backwards and sand dwelling donkeys.
Languid
Languor
Exhausted, lacking in spirit
Lassitude
Tiredness, weariness, lazy indifference, lack of energy
Layperson
Person not conversant with much
Without profession or specialized knowledge in particular subject
Levity
Lightness of mind, spirit, mood
Lack of seriousness (sometimes in an inappropriate way)
Libertine
Without moral principles
Salacious
Lull
N - period of calm or quiet
V - soothe or cause to fall asleep (lullaby)
Outstrip
Surpass, exceed; be large or better then
To leave behind, out do, excel
Our sales outstripped those of our competitors
Maverick
Rebel, Dissenter
Metamorphosis
Complete change (biology)
Caterpillar to butterfly
Mitigate
Make less severe
Mollify
Calm or soothe (an angry person)
Lessen, soften
Moreover
Besides, in addition ot what was said
Mores
Essential/characteristic customs and practices of a community (mannerisms)
Among many peculiar mores, Chinese must far after each meal.
Nuance
Subtle difference in tone, meaning
Obsolete
Out of date, no longer in use
Offset
To counteract, compensate
N - counterbalance
Offhand
Casual, informal
Almost rude, rather brusque
I asked him a simple question and he replied offhand. That DICK.
Incontrovertible
Indisputable, incontestable
Ostensible
Portended, sems so on the surface but not necessarily so
Professed, outwardly appearing as such
The cheerleader dissembled an ostensible happiness but it was clear she was rather depressed.
Pariah
Social outcast, “untouchable”
The Akhdam in Yemen are social pariahs.
Partisan
Devoted to a particular group
Fervent supporter of group
Partisan politics
Patent
Obvious, apparent, plain to see
Rana’s resume was replete with patent lies.
Pathological
Relating to or caused by disease
Relating to compulsive bad behavior
She thought that her dark skin was a result of tanning, but it was actually pathological.
I can’t believe you stole from your child! You’re pathological!
Paucity
Dearth - scarcity; the state of being small in numbers
Scantiness
Peccadillo
Small offense, sin or fault (foible)
Sure, Maysam does have her peccadillos, but she’s PERFECT. Lebanese Perfect.
Pedestrian
Ordinary, dull, commonplace, lacking inspiration, vapid, platitudinous
Her apartment is SO pedestrian. Could she get any more prosaic?!
Penchant
Liking or inclination
I got a penchant for the color purple.
(for)
Permeate
Spread throughout
Pervade
Pervasive
Tending to spread out
Pervade
Billow
V - To fill with air and swell outward
The winds billowed the tent.
Pith
Core, essence
Significance or weight
- pith of the matter -
لب الموضوع
Placid
Adj - Peaceful, calm, tranquil
Ponderous
Heavy; bulky and unwieldly
(Slow and clumsy due to ^)
Dull and labored
I was assigned to read a ponderous tome.
Potentate / poten tate
N - ruler, monarch
Precarious
Unstable, insecure, dangerous
Dependent on chance, circumstances beyond one’s control
Precarious livelihood
Contingent
On/Upon
Dependent on somethong not certain
Plans are contingent upon good weather.
Probity
Honesty, intergity
Proscribe
Prohibit, outlaw, denounce, exile/ban
Plagarism is proscribed at every University
Propriety
Decoroum
Pronounced
Distinct, strong, clearly indicated
Freak has a pronounced nutty flavor
Prologue
Epilogue
Introductory part
Concluding part
Presume
Presumption
Presumptive
To assume
Assumption
Adj - Based on assumption
Presumptuous
Bold, too forward, inappropriate
Failure to observe limit of what is appropriate
Proliferate
Increase or spread swiftly or excessively
Islamophobia is proliferating quickly
Profuse
Adj - abundant, or extravagant
Profligate
Adj - completely and shamelessl immoral;
Prodigal
Israel’s profligate expansion into the West Bank is not only immoral, but illegal.
Prudent
Wise in practical matters
Alcodray is a volune prudent sexpot.
Pugnacious / pug nay shus
Inclined to fight, combative, belligrent
Qualify
Qualified
To modify, limit, to make conditional on something else
Dr. Oz gave his qualified endorsement of the book saying that although it’s well-researched, further investigations are needed.
Recluse
One who lives in seclusion
Remedial / re medial
Providing a remedy; correcting a deficient skill
We offer a summer program for those who need remedial help with foreplay.
Relegate
To divest - sent to an inferior place, rank, etc
To exile, banish
Reproach
Blame, disgrace, criticize, express disappointment
Repudiate
To disavow - deny the truth or validity of, refuse to be associated with
Deny the truth or validity of.
Requite / re quite
Requital
Reciprocate, repay, revenge, retaliate
Unrequited love
Requite for murderous action
Rife
Of common or frequent occurence, prevalent, widespread existence
Reports about Shi’i are RIFE, Seikaly tells me.
Sagacious
Wise, showing good judgement and foresight
Sap
N - liquid in plants; dupe, doormat - easily taken advantage of
V - to weaken, tire out
Scathe / skayth
Scathing
To harm, injure
He left the accieent unscathed!
Bitterly severe/harsh remark; critical
Vitriolic, acerbic
Sentient / sen shunt
Sentience
Conscious, able to feel or perceive things
Sentient life form
Skirt
V - to lie on or along the edge
To avoid or evade
Dearborn skirts Detroit
She tried skirting the issue
Slew
A large number or quantity of
Soporific
Causing sleep; something that causes sleep
Sleepy, drowsy
Spartan
Very disciplined stern
Frugal, living simply, austere
Spate
Sudden, almost overwhelming, outpour
Flood, rush
A spate of angry words
He was so angry that a spate of expletives flew out of bou2o.
a sudden, almost overwhelming, outpouring: a spate of angry words.
Spearhead
V - to be the leader of
Nancy agreed to spearhead the PTSA
Sound
V - to measure sea’s depth
to examine or investigate - to sound a person’s views
Speculate
Contemplate, make a guess
Engage in a risky business transaction; gamble
Spectators during the gold rush bought land on loans w/ high hopes that they’ll find gold
Sportive
Playful, merry, joking around
Substantiate
Supplant with evidence or proof, corroborate
Supplicate
Supplication
To pray humbly; ask, begin or seek in a humble way
Surmise
To conjecture; to think/infer without certain evidence
Table
V - lay aside to discuss later; postpone indefinitely
Tacit
Understood without being said; implied, silent
tacit agreement
Taciturn
Reticent, reserved, not talkative, silent
Tenuous
Weak, having little substance
The tenuous argument
Temperance
Temperate
Moderation or self restraint; abstemious
Torrid
Very hot, parching, burning - jews were left wandering in the torrid sands for 40 years
ALSO PASSIONATE - torrid love story
Trifling
Trivial, not very important, frivolous
Unseemly
Unseemliness
improper, inappropriate, against rules of taste, indecorous,
Viable
Capable of living (or growing/developing)
Practicle, workable, tenable
Zenith
High point, culmination, acme, climax, peak, pinnacle
at the pinnacle/zenith of one’s career
Wile / while
Wily / whiley
Trick, meant to fool, trap, entice
Crafty, winning, characteristic by tricks
She lred in the men using her feminine wiles and then made the sale.
Undermine
To injure or destroy in a secretive way
To weaken, or cause to collapse by removing underlying support (digging away at the foundation)
You’re nice to my face, but your’e undermining me behind my back.
