March / April Flashcards
- Vicissitude
- Extemporize
- Megalomaniac
- Obligatory
- Extrapolate
- Abscond
- Indisposed
- Obliterated
- Transcend
- Strife
Vicissitude [N] (Va CESS a tude)
1. Irregular changes or variations, as in fortunes.
“The vicissitudes of life.” “The vicissitudes in a
tennis match.” 2. A change, esp. a complete change.
“Given the vicissitudes of today’s driving, it’s best to
expect the unexpected.”
Syn: Hardship, adversity, trouble, difficulty, distress, hard-knocks.
Extemporize [V]
1. To do, make or perform with little or no advance
preparation. (impromptu) “Saddam demonstrates neither guile nor
sophistication, but ruthlessness extemporizing and personal folly
leading to disaster.” Extemporaneous [N]
Syn: Improvise, make up, play by ear, wing it.
Megalomaniac [N] (Mega lo maniac)
1. A mental disorder in which the subject thinks
himself great. 2. A tendency to magnify and exaggerate. “Smitty is
one of the finest megalomaniacs I have known. He always
exaggerates the details profusely.”
Obligatory [Adj]
1. Imperative. Constituting a duty or obligation.
“It is an obligatory meeting.”
Extrapolate [V]
1. To project (those values of a magnitude that lie
beyond the range of known values) on the basis of values that have
already been determined.
“We don’t know the answer, but we can extrapolate and find it.”
Abscond [V]
1. To depart suddenly and secretly. To run away with.
“Somebody absconded with my broom!”
Syn: Flee, fly the coop, split, bolt, break out, beat it.
Indisposed [Adj]
1. Mildly ill, unwell.
“He was feeling indisposed this morning and he came in late.”
Syn: Off, sickly, unwell, upset, under the weather.
Obliterated [V]
1. To destroy utterly. Wiped out.
“You obliterated the muffler trying to straighten it.”
Syn: Annihilate, abolish, eradicate, exterminate, stamp out.
Transcend [V]
1. To rise above in excellence or degree. 2. To
overstep or exceed as a limit.
“God transcended the natural laws so Peter could walk on water.”
“God transcends your tithe so you get more on 90% than on 100%.
Syn: Surpass, eclipse, exceed, outdo, outperform, outplay.
Strife [N]
1. Angry contention; fighting. 2. Any contest for
advantage or superiority.
“There is plenty of strife at my job.”
Syn: Conflict, contention, discord, disharmony, dissent.
- Compulsory
- Encompass
- Exemplary
- Exemplify
- Mendacious
- Ravishing
- Abash
- Abrogate
- Abstemious
- Acrimonious
Compulsory [Adj]
1. Compelled or required.
“During the tournaments, the contestants must perform a list of
exercises. These exercises are called the compulsories.”
Syn: Required, obligatory
Encompass [V]
1. Surround; Include. Encircle.
“This will help encompass your interest in it.”
“The storm encompassed the entire city, and there was no
way out of it.”
Syn: Comprise, consist of, contain, embody, include, involve.
Exemplary [Adj] (eX EM plary)
1. Serving as an example. A paragon. A model.
“His exemplary behaviour encouraged the squad to overtake
the enemy position, and win the battle.”
Syn: Praiseworthy, admirable, laudable, creditable, meritorious.
Exemplify [V]
1. To show by example. “He exemplifies perfection
in his methods employed in his engineering.”
Syn: Illustrate, epitomize, evince, represent, personify.
Mendacious [Adj] (Men DA cious)
1. Lying, untruthful, false. mendacity-adv
“The mendacious statements raised plenty of suspicion to
the detectives.”
Ravishing [Adj]
1. Causing great joy or delight.
“The new bride with all her regalia looked absolutely
ravishing to the crowd in the church.”
Syn: Gorgeous, arresting, beautiful, glamorous, stunning.
Abash [V]
1. Embarrass. “He was not at all abashed by her open
admiration.” “The youngster was totally abashed when his
friends found out that he walked a girl home from school.”
Syn: Embarrass, chagrin, confuse, disconcert.
Abrogate [V]
1. Abolish. “He intended to abrogate the decree
issued by his predecessor.”
Syn: Cease, abandon, abolish, abort, annul, cancel.
Abstemious [Adj] (aB STEAM E us)
1. Temperate; sparing in drink, etc.
“The drunkards mocked him because of his abstemious habits.”
Syn: Abstinent, ascetic, self-denying, on the wagon.
Acrimonious [Adj] (Ack row MONY us)
1. Stinging, caustic. “His tendency to utter
acrimonious remarks alienated his audience.”
“What kind of acrimony is that?”
Syn: Bitter, embittered, rancorous, resentful.
- Adroit
- Adulation
- Affluence
- Alacrity
- Inexorable
- Remonstrate
- Waxed
- Salient
- Allude
10.
Adroit [Adj]
1. Skillful, (finesse) “His adroit handling of the
delicate situation pleased his employers.”
“I haven’t been skiing for a number of years, but I once was
an adroit skier, skiing only the expert slopes.”
Syn: Dexterous, practiced, skilled, proficient.
Adulation [N]
1. Flattery; admiration.
“He thrived on the adulation of his henchmen.”
Syn: Flattery, blandishment, brownnosing, sweet talk.
Affluence [N]
1. Abundance; wealth. “Foreigners are amazed by the
affluence and luxury of the american way of life.”
“Nowadays, only the affluent can send their children to the Ivy
league schools.”
Syn: Wealth, comfort, luxury, opulence, plenty, riches.
Alacrity [N]
1. Cheerful promptness. “He demonstrated his eagerness
to serve by his alacrity in executing the orders of his master.”
Syn: Speed, haste, quickness, swiftness, briskness.
Inexorable [Adj or N] (iN X or able)
1. That cannot be influenced by persuasion.
Unrelenting “It is inexorable that everyone must someday die.”
Syn: immune, impervious, unrelenting, unresponsive.
Remonstrate [V] (RE MoN straight)
1. To say or plead in protest. Objection: To urge
reasons in opposition.
“Please allow me to remonstrate in my own behalf!”
Syn: Protest, object.
Waxed [V]
1. To increase in strength and size.
“His suspicions waxed with each new piece of evidence that
was introduced.”
Syn: Flourish, bloom, burgeon, prosper, thrive, succeed.
Salient [Adj] (SAy LEE ant)
1. Leaping. 2. Pointing outward.
3. Prominent; conspicuous;
“Just give me the salient facts please.”
Syn: Chief, dominant, biggest, leading, paramount, main.
Allude [V]
1. Refer indirectly.
“It’s not what you said, it’s just what you alluded to.”
“You alluded to me not putting away the tools.”
Syn: Mention, bring up, comment, note, observe, touch upon.
Altercation [N] Altercation
1. Quarrel. Fight.
“They were married a full year without any altercations at all.”
Syn: Argument, clash, contention, dispute, fight, quarrel.
- Altruism
- Affinity
- Fortnight
- Predicated
- Subservient
- Prowess
- Quandary
- Decadence
Altruism [N] (Al True ism)
1. Unselfish help to others. Generosity.
“Mother Theresa’s work is the definition of altruism.”
“Nowadays it is hard to find anyone with an altruistic attitude.”
Syn: Benevolence, kindheartedness, kindness, good will.
Affinity [N]
1. A natural attraction or inclination.
2. Any close relationship or agreement. Esp. of opposite sexes.
“He has an affinity for hitting down the line.”
Syn: Inclination, bias, disposition, leaning, penchant.
Fortnight [N]
1. Two weeks; fourteen days.
“I tore a muscle and took a fortnight off from the gym.”
Predicated [V]
1. To found or base on argument upon.
“She predicated her decision on her emotions.”
Syn: Establish, anchor, root in, lay the groundwork.
Subservient [Adj] (Sub SIR VEE ent)
1. Obsequious. 2. Useful as a subordinate.
Abject; Submissive. Second fiddle
“The U.S. cannot afford to become subservient.”
Prowess [N] (Prowl S)
1. Strength, skill and courage. Esp. in battle.
“Judge Thomas’ claim of sexual prowess.”
Syn: Heroism, backbone, boldness, bravery, courage.
Quandary [N]
1. A state of hesitation or perplexity; predicament.
“His spin serves left me in a quandary because I couldn’t control
my returns.”
Syn: Predicament, bind, corner, fix, hot water.
Decadence [N] (Deck a dense)
1. A process of deterioration; decay.
2. A period of decline, as in morals.
“They could enjoy prosperity without decadence.”
Syn: Heinousness, depravity, atrociousness, atrocity, debauchery.
- Apostate
- Appellation
- Arbiter
- Arbitrary
- Arduous
- Assay
- Auspicious
Apostate [N]
1. One who abandons his religious faith or political
beliefs. “He quit the church and has become an apostate.”
Syn: Defector, betrayer, deserter, traitor, turncoat.
Appellation [N]
1. Name; title. 2. Act of calling or naming.
“How in the world did you earn that appellation?”
Syn: Name, designation, handle, moniker, nickname, tag.
Arbiter [N]
1. A person with power to settle a dispute.
“We couldn’t find a solution, so we took it to an arbiter.”
Syn: Savant, sage, pundit, scholar, expert, genius, guru.
Arbitrary [Adj]
1. Fixed or decided. Subject to one’s opinion.
“It was an arbitrary decision, therefore it is fully binding.”
Syn: Discretional, personal, subjective.
Arduous [Adj] (R jew us)
1. Hard: Strenuous.
“Skiing the expert slopes is arduous.”
“Sometimes just finding the right words to say can be the
most arduous task to accomplish.”
Syn: Burdensome, difficult, formidable, hard, laborious, onerous.
Assay [V]
1. Evaluate. Determine a value for.
“After I assayed the situation, I determined he was a liar.”
Syn: Appraise, assess, calculate, estimate, evaluate, judge.
Auspicious [Adj] (ah SPISH us)
Favoring success. “Auspicious event”
“The favored (auspicious) team to win.”
Syn: Favorable, bright, encouraging, hopeful, promising.
- Beguile
- Blandishment
- Brusque
- Bulwark
- Buttress
- Cabal
- Cajole
- Capitulate
- Caprice
Beguile [V]
1. Cheat; amuse, deceive, fraud.
“I was beguiled by that lousy hooker.”
“That kind old man beguiled my mother and wiped out her savings.”
Syn: Cajole, coax, charm, lure, sweet-talk.
Blandishment [N]
1. Flattery. “Despite his blandishments, the woman
rejected him.” “The blandishments seem to be working.”
Syn: Cajole, butter up, charm, coax, rope in, seduce.
Brusque [Adj] (BrusK)
1. Blunt, Rude, curt.
2. Short and abrupt and somewhat harsh or lacking gentleness.
“His brusque mannerism frightened the children.”
“She was offended by his brusque reply.”
Syn: Abrupt, blunt, gruff, perfunctory, rude.
Bulwark [N] (BULL WorK)
1. Earthwork or other strong defense.
“The Navy is our principle bulwark against invasion.”
“Necessary as a bulwark against anarchy.”
Syn: Defense, barrier, buffer.
Buttress [N] [V]
1. Support or prop.
“The huge cathedral walls were flanked by flying buttresses.”
Syn: Brace, prop, support, pillar, reinforcement, supporter.
Cabal [N] (Ca BELL)
1. Small group of persons secretly united to promote
their own interest.
“The cabal was defeated when it’s scheme was discovered.”
Syn: Circle, bunch, crowd, gang, clique, society, company.
Cajole [V] (ca JOEL)
1. Coax with flattery.
“I will not be cajoled into granting you your wish.”
Syn: Bandish, butter up, charm, coax, rope in, seduce.
Capitulate [V]
1. To surrender on stipulated terms.
“Either capitulate or be annihilated.”
Syn: Defer, yield, submit, obey.
Caprice [N]
1. Whim. “Don’t act on caprice, study your problem.”
Syn: Humor, whim, conceit, fancy, freak.
- Chagrin
- Reprisal
- Inordinate
- Inadvertent
- Spurious
- Facetious
- Admonish
- Rendition
- Tenacious
- Ludicrous
- Insurrection
- Mundane
Chagrin [N]
1. Disappointment.
2. To cause to experience shame, humiliation, or wounded pride
“His refusal to go with us filled us with chagrin.”
“To his chagrin, the last batter struck out.”
Syn: Embarrass, abash, confound, confuse, mortify.
Reprisal [N]
1. Any act of retaliation.
“I fully expect there to be reprisals from our actions.”
Syn: Compensation, indemnity, recompense, atonement.
Inordinate [Adj]
1. Exceeding proper limits. Excessive.
“This truck had an inordinate number of defects wrong with it.”
“The policeman was suspended for using an inordinate amount of force.”
Inadvertent [Adj]
1. Not enough care or consideration; Negligent:
2. Oversight: A result of inattention.
“I was drilling a hole in the shroud when the bit grabbed and
I inadvertently drilled a hole in the man’s radiator.”
“The boy inadvertently broke the store window with his
home run hit.”
Syn: Unintentional, accidental, undeliberate, involuntary, unplanned.
Spurious [Adj] (SPEAR E us)
1. Not proceeding from the source pretended;
not genuine; false, Illegitimate.
“What kind of spurious remarks did he make this time?”
Syn: Phony, false, artificial, bogus, counterfeit, fake, fraudulent.
Facetious [Adj] (Fa sEE shas)
1. Given to or marked by levity or humor.
“Now you are just being facetious with me, Andy!”
Syn: Playful, humorous, jocular, teasing, tongue-in-cheek.
Admonish [Vt]
1. To administer mild reproof. Caution against error or
danger. Warn. “Every game Vince would admonish his players,
telling them everything they did wrong.”
Syn: Warn, alarm, alert, caution, forewarn, tip off.
Rendition [N]
1. The interpretation of a text. “It’s a new rendition
of an old product.”
Syn: Interpretation, realization, carrying out, enactment, execution.
Tenacious [Adj]
1. Holding strongly, as an opinion or rights.
Stubborn, Obstinate. Stick it out. “You must be tenacious to gain
victory.”
Syn: Persevering, persistent, tireless, optimistic, constant.
Ludicrous [Adj] (LOU da kras)
1. Ridiculous; absurd. “That’s ludicrous and
I won’t have anything to do with it.”
Syn: Ridiculous, block-headed, absurd, clownish, outlandish.
Insurrection [N]
1. An organized resistance to established government.
A treason of government.
“This is insurrection at its finest degree!”
Syn: Takeover, coup, dethroning, mutiny, overthrow, revolt.
Mundane [Adj]
1. Routine or ordinary. 2. Relating to the world
or earthly.”When I started working here everything was challenging
and exciting, but now it has all become mundane.”
Syn: Earthly, earthbound, material, physical, secular.
