Manhatten new words from definitions Flashcards
undergird
strengthen
ascertain
find (something) out for certain; make sure of.
“an attempt to ascertain the cause of the accident”
perspicacity
the quality of having a ready insight into things; shrewdness.
“the perspicacity of her remarks”
facile
shallow or superficial, too easy
flagrant
(of something considered wrong or immoral) conspicuously or obviously offensive. “his flagrant bad taste” synonym for blatantly
corroborate
confirm or give support to (a statement, theory, or finding).
“the witness had corroborated the boy’s account of the attack”
bravado
a bold manner or a show of boldness intended to impress or intimidate, behavior by a scared person that shows courage.
aggrandize
increase the power, status, or wealth of. “an action intended to aggrandize the Frankish dynasty” enhance the reputation of (someone) beyond what is justified by the facts. “he hoped to aggrandize himself by dying a hero’s death”
slight
small, not very important, slender or delicate, treat as though not very important, snub, ignore, an act of treating in this way, a discourtesy. “She was very sensitive, always holding a grudge against her coworkers for a variety of slights, both real and imagined. Natalie has always been slight, she became even thinner to portray a ballerina in the movie swan. I felt slighted when my husband told you about his promotion before he told me.”
propensity
an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way.
“a propensity for violence”
proclivity
a tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition toward a particular thing “a proclivity for hard work”
watershed moment
is the point of a very important decision, watershed is literally a division between two water drainage areas
corpulent
(of a person) fat.
incarnate
embody or represent (a deity or spirit) in human form.
“the idea that God incarnates himself in man”
inducement
a thing that persuades or influences someone to do something.
“companies were prepared to build only in return for massive inducements”
liturgy
a form or formulary according to which public religious worship, especially Christian worship, is conducted.
panoply
a complete or impressive collection of things. a splendid display. “all the panoply of Western religious liturgy”
tare
a deduction from the gross weight of a substance and its container made in allowance for the weight of the container; also : the weight of the container (the tare will be deducted from the weight of the salad )
assay
to judge the worth of : estimate
assay the results of the new changes
plumb
measure (the depth of a body of water). To test and upright surface, to determine vertical, vertical, “ensure the baseboard is straight and plumb”, synonym for sounding the depths
static tableau
French for ‘living picture’, is a static scene containing one or more actors or models.
paltry
(of an amount) small or meager.
“she would earn a paltry $33 more each month”
blather
talk long-windedly without making very much sense.
“she began blathering on about spirituality and life after death”
parse
analyze (a sentence) into its parts and describe their syntactic roles. “The philosopher’s work was difficult to parse”
exponent
a person who believes in and promotes the truth or benefits of an idea or theory.
“an early exponent of the teachings of Thomas Aquinas”
ratify
sign or give formal consent to (a treaty, contract, or agreement), making it officially valid.”they failed to ratify the amendment”
mutable
able to be shaped or formed, easily influenced, “a young child’s mind is quite plastic”
tacit
implied, unspoken - understood or implied without being stated. “your silence may be taken to mean tacit agreement”
doctrinaire
someone who applies doctrine in an impractical or rigid and close-minded way).
heterodox
not conforming with accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs.
“heterodox views”
fording
(of a person or vehicle) cross (a river or stream) at a shallow place.
plaudits
praise.
“the network has received plaudits for its sports coverage”
penchant
a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something.
“he has a penchant for adopting stray dogs”
implement
a tool, utensil, or other piece of equipment, especially as used for a particular purpose.
“agricultural implements”
efficacity
variant on the word efficacy- identical in meaning
conundrum
a confusing and difficult problem or question.
“one of the most difficult conundrums for the experts”
enigma
a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.
stratum
a layer, “of all the strata of society, the middle class is hit the hardest by recession.”
echelon
(a level, rank or grade; the people at the level) a level or rank in an organization, a profession, or society. “the upper echelons of the business world”
dupe
a person who is easily fooled or used, or to fool or exploit
asylum
(refuge granted by a foreign country to a foreign persecuted in his own country)
occult
supernatural, mysterious, arcane, can also mean to hid from view or become hidden. “The pleiades, existing in deep sky, can be occulted by the moon when everything lines up just right”
levity
lightness of personality or behavior, lack of seriousness; humor or frivolity, especially the treatment of a serious matter with humor or in a manner lacking due respect. “as an attempt to introduce a note of levity, the words were a disastrous flop”
omnipresent
widely or constantly encountered; common or widespread. “the omnipresent threat of natural disasters”
ubiquitous
present, appearing, or found everywhere.
“his ubiquitous influence was felt by all the family”
lax
(not strict, careless, loose slack)
lull
to calm, or period of calm or quiet “the rhythm of the boat lulled her to sleep”
educe
Educe- to bring out , esp something that has been dormant. “The speech therapist educed a complete sentence from a boy who had previously been labeled non verbal”
buttress
increase the strength of or justification for; reinforce.
“authority was buttressed by religious belief”
explicate
analyze and develop (an idea or principle) in detail.
“attempting to explicate the relationship between crime and economic forces”
incongruity
standing out , not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something.”the duffel coat looked incongruous with the black dress she wore underneath”
discord or discordance
harshness or inharmonious ness, disagreement
bawdy
dealing with sexual matters in a comical way; humorously indecent.
limerick
a humorous, frequently bawdy, verse of three long and two short lines rhyming aabba, popularized by Edward Lear.
stasis
equilibrium, a state of balance or inactivity caused by equal but opposite forces” ex - hemostasis
starkers
streakers, people who run around stark naked
sedition
conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch. incitement or dissent against a government promoting rebellion by speech or writing. The newspaper editor was accused of sedition when he encouraged his fans to rise up against police officers.
bewail and Bemoan
Bewail is to lament while bemoan can express grief or simply just disapproval
Mar
damage, spoil, deface mpair the quality of; spoil. “violence marred a number of New Year celebrations”
vitiate
spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of.
“development programs have been vitiated by the rise in population”
vintner
wine maker
commix
mix together mix; mingle. “beat them till they be thoroughly commixed”
agglomerate
(collect into a mass) collect or form into a mass or group. “companies agglomerate multiple sites such as chains of stores”
conglomerate
a number of different things or parts that are put or grouped together to form a whole but remain distinct entities. “the Earth is a specialized conglomerate of organisms”
penumbra
partial shadow in an eclipse, outer area, periphery, something that conceals, encloses, or cloaks something else. After the newspaper published a story about the senator’s extramarital affair, a penumbra of indignity enclosed the politician’s career.
chary
cautiously or suspiciously reluctant to do something. “most people are chary of allowing themselves to be photographed”
leery
cautious or wary due to realistic suspicions.
“a city leery of gang violence”
auxiliary
helping or supporting the main thing, providing supplementary or additional help and support. “auxiliary airport staff”
jury rig
makeshift; improvised. “jury-rigged classrooms in gymnasiums”
unadulterated
not mixed or diluted with any different or extra elements; complete and absolute. “pure, unadulterated jealousy”
unsullied
not spoiled or made impure.
“an unsullied reputation”
politic
- (of an action) seeming sensible and judicious under the circumstances.”I did not think it politic to express my reservations”
expedient
(of an action) convenient and practical, although possibly improper or immoral.”either side could break the agreement if it were expedient to do so”
fiduciary
involving trust, especially with regard to the relationship between a trustee and a beneficiary. “the company has a fiduciary duty to shareholders”, could be a trustee
infidel
a person who does not believe in religion or who adheres to a religion other than one’s own “they wanted to secure the Holy Places from the infidel”
fiat
dictative or authoritative order “the king rules by fiat”
prose
written or spoken language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure. “a short story in prose”
gratuitous
uncalled for; lacking good reason; unwarranted. “gratuitous violence” or given or done free of charge. “solicitors provide a form of gratuitous legal advice”
disputatious
fond of or causing heated arguments. “a congenial hangout for disputatious academics” synonym for contentious
posh
elegant or stylishly luxurious. “a posh Munich hotel”
tony
marked by an aristocratic or high-toned manner or style
tony private schools
plummet
plunge, fall straight down
laissez- faire
a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs beyond the minimum necessary for the maintenance of peace and property rights
argued that the problem with oil prices was too much laissez-faire a philosophy or practice characterized by a usually deliberate abstention from direction or interference especially with individual freedom of choice and action the university has a policy of laissez-faire regarding non-academic student activities
abate
(of something perceived as hostile, threatening, or negative) become less intense or widespread.
“the storm suddenly abated”
contractual
agreed in a contract. “a contractual obligation”
concurrent
occurring at the same time or acting over the same area
assent
the expression of approval or agreement. “a loud murmur of assent”
apocryphal
(of a story or statement) of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true.
“an apocryphal story about a former president”
vest
to give (someone) the legal right or power to do something or to own land or property
synchronous
existing or occurring at the same time. “glaciations were approximately synchronous in both hemispheres”
simulcast
a simultaneous transmission of the same program on radio and television, or on two or more channels.
palliate
make (a disease or its symptoms) less severe or unpleasant without removing the cause.
“treatment works by palliating symptoms”
ape
a word for copy that has a somewhat negative connotation. “While he tried to ape hemingway’s style, the truth is, he simply wasn’t a very good writer”
clandestine
kept secret or done secretively, especially because illicit.
“she deserved better than these clandestine meetings”
ardent
enthusiastic or passionate. “an ardent baseball fan”
estrange
cause (someone) to be no longer close or affectionate to someone; alienate.
“are you deliberately seeking to estrange your readers?”
extenuate
make (guilt or an offense) seem less serious or more forgivable. “there were extenuating circumstances that caused me to say the things I did”
bootless
(of a task or undertaking) ineffectual; useless. “words at this pass were vain and bootless”
otiose
producing no useful result, lazy, idle, synonym for futile
heterogeneous
diverse in character or content. “a large and heterogeneous collection”
medley
a varied mixture of people or things; a miscellany.
“an interesting medley of flavors”
farrago
a confused mixture. “a farrago of fact and myth about Abraham Lincoln”
potpourri
a mixture of things, especially a musical or literary medley.plural noun: potpourris; plural noun: pot-pourris “he played a potpourri of tunes from Gilbert and Sullivan”
olio
a miscellaneous mixture : hodgepodge - an incredible bourgeois olio of fancy stonework, stained glass, and light-opera staircases
miscellany
a group or collection of different items; a mixture. “Talkeetna was a random miscellany of log cabins”
bourgeouis
of or characteristic of the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes “a rich, bored, bourgeois family”
antidiluvian
(extremely old, before the biblical flood) “gigantic bones of antediluvian animals” “antediluvian attitudes” can mean old fashioned
fervid or perfervid
intensely enthusiastic or passionate, especially to an excessive degree. “a letter of fervid thanks”
cacophony
a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds.
“a cacophony of deafening alarm bells”
dissonance
lack of harmony among musical notes.”an unusual degree of dissonance for such choral styles” a tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements.”dissonance between campaign rhetoric and personal behavior”
clamor
a loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting vehemently. As from a crowd. “the questions rose to a clamor”
ambiance
the character and atmosphere of a place.
“the relaxed ambience of the cocktail lounge is popular with guests”
antedate
precede in time; come before (something) in date.
“a civilization that antedated the Roman Empire”
hububb
a chaotic din caused by a crowd of people.
“a hubbub of laughter and shouting”
clamber
climb, move, or get in or out of something in an awkward and laborious way, typically using both hands and feet.
“I clambered out of the trench”
finicky
fussy about one’s needs or requirements.
“a finicky eater”
fastidious
very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail.
“he chooses his words with fastidious care”
robust
strong and healthy; vigorous.
“the Caplans are a robust, healthy lot”
hale
(of a person, especially an elderly one) strong and healthy.
“only just sixty, very hale and hearty”
vanguard or avante garde
a group of people leading the way in new developments or ideas.”the experimental spirit of the modernist vanguard”
