Modest Proposal Flashcards
importune
ask (someone) pressingly and persistently for or to do something. syn: beg.
e.g. “if he were alive now, I should importune him with my questions”
deplorable
deserving strong condemnation.
e.g. “the deplorable conditions in which most prisoners are held”
deplore
feel or express strong disapproval of (something).
syn: abhor; frown upon.
e.g. “we deplore this act of violence”
grievance
a resentment strong enough to justify retaliation; “holding a grudge”; “settling a score”
e. g. A letter to The Times, the usual resort of an Englishman with a grievance.
e. g. He listened personally to any grievances and when justified put them right.
plump
having a full rounded shape.
e. g. “the berries were plump and sweet”
e. g. breast-feed the babies until they are plump
reckon
establish by counting or calculation; calculate.
e.g. “his debts were reckoned at $300,000”
slur
U.S. slang: make damaging or insulting insinuations or allegations about.
e.g. “try and slur the integrity of the police to secure an acquittal”
repine
feel or express discontent; fret.
e.g. “you mustn’t let yourself repine”
thrifty
(of a person or their behavior) using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully.
syn: frugal, provident
e.g. Only very thrifty children manage to fill up a money-box.
shambles
archaic: a butcher’s slaughterhouse
informal: a state of total disorder.
e.g. my career is in shambles
venison
meat of a game animal
scrupulous
(of a person or process) diligent, thorough, and extremely attentive to details.
e.g. “the research has been carried out with scrupulous attention to detail”
apt to
having a tendency to do something.
syn: likely, inclined
e.g. “she was apt to confuse the past with the present”
wanting
lacking in a certain required or necessary quality.
e.g. butchers will not be wanting.
censure
express severe disapproval of (someone or something), typically in a formal statement.
e.g. “a judge was censured in 1983 for a variety of types of injudicious conduct”
