Misc Flashcards
Adjure
To earnestly urge or request someone to do something.
The human rights group adjured the dictator to free the hostages.
Abjure
Telling everyone that you are formally giving up your vice.
If you proclaim on Facebook that you are now a vegetarian, doing so is an abjuration of your carnivore ways.
Sonorous
Deep sounding and resonant.
Pavarotti was known for his sonorous voice.
Poignant
Something that touches you emotionally.
Witnessing a family embrace after years apart is poignant.
Sultry
Humid, hot, torrid, expressing or arousing desire.
Adele’s sultry singing can be poignant.
Lurid
Gruesome. Causing shock or horror.
Cull
v. present participle of cull.
n. The act of culling; the process of selecting for acceptance or removal.
n. Anything separated or selected from a mass.
Hapless
Unfortunate.
unscrupulous
unethical
chimera
figment of imagination
redress
remedy
galling
annoying, humiliating
Vestige
Something that is going out of existence. A trace.
Virulent
Harmful, destructive.
Valorous
Brave, courageous
Vanguard
A group that forms the innovative front of any new idea or movement.
Vouchsafe
To give or grant someone or something in a condescending manner.
tropes
metaphor; tired, conventional idea
anodynes
something that provides relief
heretical
dissenting, deviating
apocryphal
of questionable authenticity
ineluctable
inescapable, inevitable
levied
taxed, enlisted in the military
inveigh
to protest or complain bitterly or vehemently
peripatetic
wandering from place to place
lugubrious
sad, mournful
supervening
ensuing, occurring after
genial
Friendly and cheerful.
(esp. of air or climate) Pleasantly mild and warm.
sclerotic
adjective – of or relating to the sclera of the eyeball
adjective – relating to or having sclerosis; hardened
pillory
noun – a wooden instrument of punishment on a post with holes for the wrists and neck; offenders were locked in and so exposed to public scorn
verb – punish by putting in a pillory
verb – expose to ridicule or public scorn
verb – criticize harshly or violently
litany
long tedious accounts
harried
adjective – troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances
besiege
verb – harass, as with questions or requests
verb – surround so as to force to give up
verb – cause to feel distressed or worried
disbar
verb – remove from the bar; expel from the practice of law by official action
fete
noun – an elaborate party (often outdoors)
noun – an organized series of acts and performances (usually in one place)
verb – have a celebration
promulgate
verb – state or announce
verb – put a law into effect by formal declaration
parsimony
noun – extreme stinginess
noun – extreme care in spending money; reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
diminution
noun – the act of decreasing or reducing something
noun – change toward something smaller or lower
noun – the statement of a theme in notes of lesser duration (usually half the length of the original)
inveterate
adverb – in a habitual and longstanding manner
adjective – habitual
din
a loud, clamorous noise
occult
secret or withheld form the uninitiated; mysterious, inscrutable, difficult or impossible to comprehend; of, related to, or concerned with magic or the supernatural
abscission
Cutting off; sudden termination; the separation of leaves, petals, or other parts from a plant or animal
accede
Agree, give consent; assume power (usually as “accede to”)
accretion
Gradual increase; an added part or addition
adumbrate
Give a rough outline of; foreshadow; reveal only partially; obscure
amortize
Gradually pay off a debt, or gradually write off an asset
apostle
Pioneer of a reform movement (originally, an early follower of Jesus)
apposite
Highly appropriate, suitable, or relevant
arrogate
Claim or take presumptuously or without the right to do so
asperity
Rigor, severity; harshness or sharpness of tone; roughness of surface
aspersions
Damaging remarks, defamation, slander
assail
Attack violently, assault
bevy
Group of birds or other animals that stay close together; any large group
bilk
Cheat or defraud
bonhomie
Friendliness, open and simple good heartedness
Brandish
Shake, wave, or flourish, as a weapon
brook
Suffer or tolerate
circumspect
Cautious, prudent; careful to consider the circumstances and consequences
cloying
Disgustingly or distastefully sweet
collude
Conspire; cooperate for illegal or fraudulent purposes
contumacious
Rebellious; stubbornly disobedient
convoke
Call together, as to a meeting
cosset
Treat as a pet, pamper
coterie
Close or exclusive group, clique
declivity
Downward slope
abate
Reduce, diminish
disquieting
Disturbing, causing anxiety
exacting
Very severe in making demands; requiring precise attention
gauche
Tactless, lacking social grace, awkward, crude
disquieting
Disturbing, causing anxiety
lampoon
A harsh satire (noun); ridicule or satirize (verb)
languid
Drooping from exhaustion, sluggish, slow; lacking in spirit
libertine
Morally or sexually unrestrained person; freethinker (regarding religion)
requite
Reciprocate, repay, or revenge
rife
Happening frequently, abundant, currently being reported
sacrosanct
Sacred, inviolable, not to be trespassed on or violated; above any criticism
sentient
Conscious; experiencing sensation or perceiving with the senses
spate
Sudden outpouring or rush; flood
supplicate
Pray humbly; ask, beg, or seek in a humble way
surfeit
Excess, excessive amount, overindulgence
ascribe
Assign or credit to a certain cause or source
demagogue
A leader who lies and gains power by arousing the passions and especially prejudices of the people
diaphanous
Very sheer, fine, translucent
dictum
Formal or authoritative pronouncement; saying or proverb
distaff
Female, esp. relating to the maternal side of the family; women or women’s work; a staff that holds wool or flax for spinning
doff
Take off (such as clothes), put aside; remove one’s hat as a gesture
dyspeptic
Grumpy, pessimistic, irritable; suffering from dyspepsia (indigestion)
edify
Uplift, enlighten, instruct or improve in a spiritual or moral way
effigy
Representation or image of a person, esp. a crude facsimile used to mock a hated person
egress
An exit or the action of exiting
encomium
Warm, glowing praise, esp. a formal expression of praise
euphony
Pleasing or sweet sound, especially as formed by a harmonious use of words
fracas
Noisy disturbance or fight; brawl
fulminate
Explode, detonate; attack verbally in a vehement, thunderous way
gambol
Frolic; skip or leap playfully
glower
Stare in an angry, sullen way
