Manhattan Prep 500 Essential words Flashcards
abate
(v) reduce, diminish
abdicate
(v) formally give up the throne (or some other power or responsibility)
aberrant
(adj) abnormal, deviant
abhor
(v) detest, regard with disgust
abjure
(v) give up, renounce; repudiate, recant, or shun (especially formally or under oath)
abrasive
(adj) rough, suitable for grinding or polishing (such as sandpaper); causing irritation or annoyance
abridge
(v) reduce or lessen; shorten by omitting parts throughout while retaining the main idea
abstain
(v) hold back, refrain (especially from something bad or unhealthy); decline to vote
acme
(n) summit, peak, highest point
activism
(n) the practice of pursuing political or other goals through vigorous action, often including protests and demonstrations
adhere
(v) stick (to), such as with glue, or to a plan or belief
admonish
(v) mildly scold; caution, advise, or remind to do something
adverse
(adj) opposing, harmful
advocate
(v, n) speak or argue in favor of (verb); a person who pleads for a cause or on behalf of another person (noun)
aesthetic
(adj, n) concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste, pertaining to the science of what is beautiful (adj); a sense of beauty and taste of a particular time and place (noun)
affable
(adj) warm and friendly, pleasant, approachable
affectation
(n) fake behavior (such as in speech or dress) adopted to give a certain impression
aggrandize
(v) make greater; exaggerate
aggregate
(v, adj) gather together, amount to (verb); constituting a whole made up of constituent parts (adj)
alacrity
(n) cheerful or speedy willingness
alienate
(v) cause to become unfriendly, hostile, or distant
alleviate
(v) lessen, make easier to endure
ambiguous
(adj) not clear, hard to understand, open to having several meanings or interpretations
ambivalent
(adj) uncertain; unable to decide, or wanting to do two contradictory things at once
analogous
(adj) comparable, corresponding in some particular way (making a good analogy)
anarchy
(n) absence of law or government; chaos, disorder
anoint
(v) rub or sprinkle oil on; make sacred, such as by ceremony that includes applying oil to someone
anomaly
(n) deviation from what is common; inconsistency
antagonize
(v) make hostile or unfriendly
antipathy (n.)
deep dislike, aversion, or repugnance, somtimes without reason
apathy
(n) not caring; absence of feeling; lack of interest or concern
apocryphal
(adj) of questionable authenticity; false
appease (v.)
pacify, satisfy, relieve; concede to be belligerent demands, sometimes at the expense of principles
appreciable (adj.)
enough to be perceived, considerable
arbitrary (adj.)
based entirely on one’s discretion; capricious, unreasonable, or having no basis
arcane
(adj) known or understood by only a few; obscure, secret
archaic
(adj) characteristic of an earlier period, ancient, primitive
arduous
(adj) very difficult, strenuous; severe, hard to endure
articulate
(adj, verb) using language in a clear, fluent way (adj); speak distinctly or give clarity to an idea (verb)
artifact
(n) any object made by humans, especially those from an earlier time, such as those excavated by archaeologists
artless
(adj) free of deceit or craftiness, natural, genuine; lacking skill or knowledge, crude, uncultured
ascertain
(v) find out with certainty
ascetic
(adj, n) abstinent or austere in lifestyle (adj); a person who leads an austere and simple like without material pleasures, esp. someone who does this for religious reasons
assuage
(v) make milder, relieve; soothe, pacify, or calm
audacious
(adj) very bold or brave, often in a rude or reckless way; extremely original
augment
(v) make larger
austere
(adj) severe in manner or appearance; very self-disciplined, ascetic; without luxury or ease; sober or serious
autonomous
(adj) self-governing, independent
aver
(v) declare or affirm with confidence
avid
(adj) enthusiastic, dedicated, passionate; excessively desirous
balk
(v) refuse to proceed or to do something
base
(adj) morally low, mean, dishonorable; of little or no value; crude and unrefined; counterfeit
belie
(v) contradict or misrepresent
benign
(adj) harmless; favorable; kindly, gentle, or beneficial; not cancerous
bogus
(adj) fake, fraudulent
bolster
(v) strengthen or support
boor
(n) rude, ill-mannered, or insensitive person; a peasant or country bumpkin
buffer
(n) something that shields, protects, absorbs shock, or cushions
bureaucracy
(n) government characterized by many bureaus and petty administrators or by excessive, seemingly meaningless requirements
burgeon
(v) grow or flourish rapidly; put forth buds or shoots (of a plant)
buttress
(v, n) support or encourage (verb); a support or prop, esp. projecting from and supporting the wall of a building (noun)
bygone
(adj, n) past, former (adj); that which is in the past (usually plural noun)
cacophony
(n) harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds
candid
(adj) open, sincere, honest
canonical
(adj) authorized, recognized; pertaining to the canon, or body of accepted rules, standards or artistic works
capricious
(adj) acting on impulse, erratic
cartography
(n) mapmaking
castigate
(v) criticize severely; punish in order to correct
catalyst
(n) causer of change
caustic
(adj) capable of corroding metal or burning the skin; very critical or sarcastic
censure
(n, v) strong disapproval or official reprimand (noun); to issue such disapproval or reprimand (verb)
chauvinism
(n) fanatical patriotism or blind enthusiasm for military glory; undue or biased devotion to any group, cause, etc.
chronological
(adj) arranged in or relating to time order
clamor
(v) noisy uproar or protest, as from a crowd; a loud, continuous noise
clinch
(v) make final or settle conclusively; to fasten or hold together
coalesce
(v) come together, unite; fuse together
cogent
(adj) very convincing, logical
commensurate
(adj) the same in size, extent, etc., equivalent; proportional
complacent
(adj) self-satisfied, smug; overly content (and therefore lazy, neglectful, or some other bad quality)
complementary
(adj) completing; fitting together well; filling mutual needs
compliant
(adj) obeying, submissive; following the requirements
concede
(v) give in, admit, yield; acknowledge reluctantly; grant or give up (such as giving up land after losing a war)
conciliatory
(adj) reconciling, appeasing, attempting to make the peace
concur
(v) approve, agree
condone
(v) overlook, tolerate, regard as harmless
confer
(v) consult, compare views; bestow or give
connoisseur
(n) expert, especially in the fine arts; person of educated, refined tastes
console
(v, n) lessen the suffering or grief of (verb); a control panel, or small table or cabinet (noun)
consolidate
(v) unite, combine, solidify, make coherent
constrict
(v) squeeze, compress; restrict the freedom of
construe
(v) interpret or translate
contentious
(adj) controversial; prone to causing arguments, especially gratuitous or petty ones
contextualize
(v) place in context, such as by giving the background or circumstances
conundrum
(n) riddle, the answer to which involves a play on words; any mystery
converge
(v) move towards one another or towards a point; unite
conversant
(adj) knowledgeable about or experienced with
conversely
(adv) in an opposite way; on the other hand
convoluted
(adj) twisted; very complicated
copious
(adj) plentiful, bountiful
corroborate
(v) support, add evidence to
cosmopolitan
(adj) belonging to the entire world, at home globally; free from local or national prejudices or attachments
countenance
(n, v) facial expression or face (noun); approve or tolerate (verb)
counterintuitive
(adj) against what one would intuitively expect
counterpoint
(n) contrasting item, opposite; a complement; the use of contrast or interplay in a work of art
counterproductive
(adj) defeating the purpose; preventing the intended goal
covert
(adj) secret, veiled, undercover
crafty
(adj) cunning, skillful in deception or underhanded schemes
craven
(adj) very cowardly, lacking courage
credibility
(n) believability, trustworthiness
credulous
(adj) gullible; prone to believing or trusting too easily or without enough evidence
crescendo
(n) steady increase in force, intensity, or the loudness of a musical passage; a climactic moment or peak
culminate
(v) reach the highest point or final stage
cynical
(adj) thinking the worst of others’ motivations; bitterly pessimistic
daunt
(v) discourage, dishearten, lessen the courage of
debase
(v) degrade; lower in quality, value, rank, etc.; lower in moral quality
debunk
(v) expose, ridicule, or disprove false or exaggerated claims
decorous
(adj) behaving with propriety and good taste; polite
deem
(v) judge; consider
deface
(v) vandalize, mar the appearance of
defamatory (adj.)
slanderous, injurious to someone’s reputation
default
(n, v) failure to act, neglect (noun); fail to fulfill an obligation, esp. a financial one (verb)
deference
(n) respectful submission; yielding to the authority or opinion of another
deflect
(v) cause to curve; turn aside, esp. from a straight course; avoid
deleterious
(adj) harmful, unhealthy
delineate
(v) mark the outline of; sketch; describe in detail
denigrate
(v) belittle, attack the reputation of
denote
(v) be a name or symbol for
deride
(v) mock, scoff at, laugh at contemptuously
derivative
(adj) derived from something else; not original
desiccate
(v) thoroughly dried up, dehydrated
detached
(adj) impartial, disinterested; unconcerned, distant, aloof
deterrent
(n) something that restrains or discourages
diatribe
(n) bitter, abusive attack or criticism; rant
didactic
(adj) intended to instruct; teaching, or teaching a moral lesson
digress
(v) go off-topic when speaking or writing
din
(n) loud, confused noise, esp. for a long period of time
disabuse
(v) free someone from a mistake in thinking
discerning
(adj) having good judgment or insight; able to distinguish mentally
discredit
(v) injure the reputation of, destroy credibility of or confidence in
discrepancy
(n) difference or inconsistency
discriminating
(adj) judicious, discerning, having good judgment or insight
disingenuous
(adj) insincere, not genuine
disinterested
(adj) unbiased, impartial; not interested
disjointed
(adj) disconnected, not coherent, jerky; having the joints separated
dismiss
(v) allow to disperse or leave; fire from a job; put aside or reject, esp. after only a brief consideration
dispassionate
(adj) unbiased, not having a selfish or personal motivation; calm, lacking emotion
dispatch
(n, v) speed, promptness; send off or deal with in a speedy way
disperse
(v) scatter, spread widely, cause to vanish
disposition
(n) a person’s general or natural mood; tendency
disquieting
(adj) disturbing, causing anxiety
disseminate
(v) scatter, spread about, broadcast
dissent
(v, n) disagree or take an opposing view, esp. in relation to a formal body such as a government, political party, or church; such a view
dissonance
(n) harsh, inharmonious sound; cacophony; disagreement
distill
(v) purify; extract the essential elements of
diverge
(v) differ, deviate; branch off or turn aside, as from a path
Divest
(v) deprive or strip of rank, title, etc., or of clothing or gear; to sell off holdings (opposite of invest)
Divine
(v) discover through divination or supernatural means; perceive by insight
Document
(v) support with evidence, cite sources in a detailed way, create documentary evidence of
Dogma
(n) a system of principles laid down by an authority; established belief
Dormant
(adj) asleep, inactive, on a break
Dubious
(adj) doubtful, questionable, suspect
e.g.
(abbre.) for example, such as
eccentric
(adj) peculiar, odd, deviating from the norm esp. in a whimsical way
Eclectic
(adj) selecting the best of everything or from many diverse sources
Eclipse
(n, v) the obscuring of one thing by another, such as the sun by the moon or a person by a more famous or talented person (noun); to obscure, darken, make less important (verb)
Efficacy
(n) the quality of being able to produce the intended effect
Egalitarian
(adj) related to the belief in the equality of all people, esp. in political, economic, or social spheres
Egregious
(adj) extraordinarily or conspicuously bad; glaring
Elated
(adj) very happy, in high spirits
Elevate
(v) raise, lift up; lift the spirits of; move up to a higher rank or status or raise up to a higher spiritual or intellectual plane
Elicit
(v) call forth, bring out, evoke
Eloquent
(adj) marked by forceful, fluid, apt speech; expressive, emotionally moving
Embellish
(v) decorate, add ornamentation; enhance (a story) with fictional or fanciful details
Eminent
(adj) prominent, distinguished, of high rank
Empirical
(adj) coming from, based on, or able to be verified by experience or experimentation; not purely based on theory
Emulate
(v) copy in an attempt to equal or be better than
Enervate
(v) weaken, tire
Enhance
(v) raise to a higher value, desirability, etc.
Enigma
(n) puzzle, mystery, riddle; mysterious or contradictory person
Entitlement
(n) having the right to certain privileges; believing, sometimes without cause, that one deserves or has a right to certain privileges
Enumerate
(v) count or list; specify one-by-one
Ephemeral
(adj) lasting only a short time, fleeting
Equitable
(adj) fair, equal, just
Erratic
(adj) inconsistent, wandering, having no fixed course
Erroneous
(adj) mistaken, in error; improper, morally incorrect
Erudite
(adj) scholarly, knowledgeable; possessing a deep, often systematic, knowledge
Eschew
(v) shun, avoid, abstain from
Esoteric
(adj) understood by or intended for only a few; secret
Estimable
(adj) worthy of esteem, admirable; able to be estimated
Eulogy
(n) speech of praise or written work of praise, esp. a speech given at a funeral
Exacerbate
(v) make worse (more violent, severe, etc.), inflame; irritate or embitter (a person)
Exacting
(adj) very severe in making demands; requiring precise attention
Exculpate
(v) clear from guilt or blame
Exhaustive
(adj) comprehensive, thorough, exhausting a topic or subject, accounting for all possibilities; draining, tending to exhaust
Explicit
(adj) direct, clear, fully revealed; clearly depicting sex or nudity
Exponent
(n) person who expounds or explains; champion, advocate, or representative
Extraneous
(adj) irrelevant; foreign, coming from without, not belonging
Extrapolate
(v) conjecture about an unknown by projecting information about something known; predict by projecting past experience
Facetious
(adj) joking, humorous, esp. inappropriately; not serious, concerned with frivolous things
Facilitate
(v) make easier, help the progress of