May 28 (part 1) Flashcards
interminable
unending, tiresomely long, endless, so long as to seem endless
adroit
skillful, expert in the use of the hands or mind
alacrity
briskness, liveliness and eagerness
promulgate
to make known officially
brash
impudent
harsh, loud, and maybe a little rude.
castigate
to correct by punishing
egregious
remarkably bad (not flagrant)
pernicious
harmful, causing injury
Pernicious means harmful and subtle, such as a poison gas that causes cancer in those exposed to it over the course of years.
impunity
freedom from punishment
If doing something usually results in punishment, but you do it with impunity, you will not be punished for the deed. Students are not allowed to chew gum in school, but teachers do it with impunity. Not fair!
sally
suddenly rush forth (not surge)
precocious
reaching maturity early
That high school hoops phenom who plays like an NBA pro? The sixth grader who’s already asking questions about organic chemistry? They’re both precocious — meaning they’re way beyond their years in skill or knowledge.
masticate
to chew up
To masticate is to chew your food or to bite and grind stuff with your teeth.
obsolescence
Fashion trends come and go, and often return after a time. But gimmicky fads quickly fall into obsolescence, losing appeal and falling out of sight — do you know anyone who still has a pet rock?
paroxysm
a fit, sudden outburst
A paroxysm is a convulsion or sudden fit, brought on because you’re freaking out or coming down with something.
indigent
poor, needy
An indigent person is extremely poor, lacking the basic resources of a normal life. Often the indigent lack not only money but homes.
emaciated
abnormally thin, wasted away
Someone who is dangerously skinny and skeletal-looking can be described as emaciated. It’s probably how you’d start to look after a few weeks in the wilderness with only berries and bugs for dinner.
privation
lack of necessities
If you’re lacking the basic necessities of life — food, water, political freedom, and so on — you’re suffering from privation.
impresario
one who presents cultural series, organizer
An impresario is a promoter: someone who books, promotes, and organizes shows such as concerts.
inclement
unfavorable, stormy
Inclement usually refers to severe or harsh weather that is cold and wet. When packing for a trip to the Caribbean bring tank tops and shorts, but don’t forget a raincoat in case of inclement weather.
mastiff
large dog
an old breed of powerful deep-chested smooth-coated dog used chiefly as a watchdog and guard dog
doleful
sad, melancholy
To be doleful is to be down in the dumps, to have a hole in your soul, to be full of woe.
wan
sickly pale
Someone who is wan is visibly unwell and lacking in energy. If you’ve had the flu for over a week, and you finally get out of bed looking pale and tired, your mother might say that you look wan.
phlegmatic
calm, hard to rouse to action
Yes, phlegmatic has roots in that colorless, mucousy stuff called phlegm, but people who are phlegmatic aren’t called that because they have lots of mucus. They are just a little dull in expressing feelings or showing emotion.
anathema
Something that one absolutely and positively cannot stand is anathema. Garlic is anathema to vampires (ditto for stakes and daylight). So is kryptonite to Superman or a silver bullet to a werewolf.
something greatly detested
importune
Sure, to importune is to beg, but use it only when you’re talking about going beyond mere begging into more urgent territory. The woman importuned the judge to release her innocent brother from jail.
ask urgently
incontrovertible
When something is incontrovertible, it is undeniably, absolutely, 100 percent, completely true. That rain is wet is an incontrovertible fact.
undeniable
eventuate
come out in the end
to result finally
propitious
When the timing of something is propitious, it’s likely to turn out well. A propitious time for taking a big test is when you’ve studied hard and had a good night’s sleep.
favorable
inveigh
Picture an old man banging his fist on the dinner table, inveighing against the evils of teenagers being allowed to listen to music and dance. Inveigh means to rail against something with hostility and passion.
attack verbally
nettle
If you know what a nettle is—it’s a plant with stinging hairs—then you’ll have no trouble remembering the verb nettle: it means to annoy, bother, irritate, or bedevil.
irritate
abrogate
Abrogate means to abolish or avoid. When someone cuts in front of you in line, they are abrogating your right to be the next one served. When you cut in line, you are abrogating your responsibility to those who were in line before you.
abolish (not obviate)
declaim
speak loudly
Use the verb declaim when someone is speaking very passionately against something, like when you declaim having to be home at an early hour.
asperity
Asperity is the harsh tone or behavior people exhibit when they’re angry, impatient, or just miserable. When your supervisor’s “Late again!” greeting causes your entire future to pass before your eyes, he is speaking with asperity.
harshness of temper
epithet
The noun epithet is a descriptive nickname, such as “Richard the Lionhearted,” or “Tommy the Terrible.” When it takes a turn for the worse, it can also be a word or phrase that offends.
descriptive name
bulwark
protection
A bulwark is a wall built for protection or defense. If you and your pals build a secret fort for girls only, you might want to build a bulwark to surround it — with a “No Boys Allowed” sign posted prominently.
coterie
Have you noticed how so many of the best TV shows concentrate on a group of friends who seem to mesh together perfectly, to the exclusion of all others? This, then, is a coterie, an exclusive group with common interests.
small group having something in common
cupidity
Remember the saying “Greed is good”? It could just as easily be “Cupidity is good,” though admittedly it doesn’t roll off the tongue quite the same way. Cupidity means a burning desire to have more wealth than you need.
greed
exalt / exult
Sometimes you might feel so happy about something you could just burst. This is the time to exult, or rejoice, and you might show your great happiness by laughing, dancing, and shouting with pure joy.
rejoice greatly
urbane
Urbane people are sophisticated, polished, cultured, refined. Spend enough time in an urban setting–-going to concerts and museums, spending time in crowds––and you’ll be urbane too.
polished, witty
itinerant
An itinerant is a person who moves from place to place, typically for work, like the itinerant preacher who moves to a new community every few years.
wandering (not nomadic)
peregrination
If you went backpacking through Europe last summer, you could call your travels a peregrination. A peregrination is a long journey or period of wandering.
travel
profligate
prodigal
Profligate, as a noun or as an adjective, implies recklessly wasting your money on extravagant luxury. Profligate behavior is a lot of fun, but you’ll regret it later — when you get your charge card bill.
fiat
You might think a fiat is just an Italian car, but it actually means a legal, authoritative decision that has absolute sanction.
an official order, a decree
mendacious
A mendacious person is one who tells lies habitually and intentionally. Don’t get stuck at the water cooler or bus stop next to someone you consider mendacious!
lying, untrue
parsimonious
A parsimonious person is unwilling to spend a lot of money. You know those people who count up every penny when it’s time to split a restaurant bill? You can call them parsimonious. Or cheap.
miserly
