New Words 2 Flashcards
Prehensile
(chiefly of an animal’s limb or tail) capable of grasping:
many monkeys have long, prehensile tails which they use in swinging through the trees
non-starter
** informal a person or plan that has no chance of succeeding or being effective:**
as a business proposition it’s a non-starter
when it came to women, he was a non-starter
Stultifying
** (usually as adjective stultifying) cause to lose enthusiasm and initiative, especially as a result of a tedious or restrictive routine:**
the stultifying conformity of provincial life
Pugnacious
eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight:
the increasingly pugnacious demeanour of right-wing politicians
Stolid
calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation:
a stolid bourgeois gent
Poultices
a soft, moist mass of material, typically consisting of bran, flour, herbs, etc., applied to the body to relieve soreness and inflammation and kept in place with a cloth.
verb
[with object]
apply a poultice to:
he poulticed the wound
Bane
- *1a cause of great distress or annoyance:**
- the telephone was the bane of my life*
Ape
imitate (someone or something), especially in an absurd or unthinking way:
new architecture can respect the old without aping its style
Arresting
striking; eye-catching:
at 6 ft 6 in he was an arresting figure
Quixotic
extremely idealistic; unrealistic and impractical:
a vast and perhaps quixotic project
Literati
Well educated people who are interested in literature
Nugatory
- *of no value or importance:**
- a nugatory and pointless observation*
useless or futile:
the teacher shortages will render nugatory the hopes of implementing the new curriculum
Solipsism
- *the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist.**
- the quality of being self-centred or selfish.*
cabal
a secret political clique or faction:
a cabal of dissidents
Mimetic
formal or technical
relating to, constituting, or habitually practising mimesis:
mimetic patterns in butterflies
Hoi Polloi
(derogatory) the masses; the common people:
avoid mixing with the hoi polloi
Facile
- *ignoring the true complexities of an issue; superficial:**
- facile generalizations*
- *(of a person) having a superficial or simplistic knowledge or approach:**
- a man of facile and shallow intellect*
- *(of success, especially in sport) easily achieved:**
- a facile seven-lengths victory*
Ennui
a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement:
he succumbed to ennui and despair
Maudlin
- *self-pityingly or tearfully sentimental:**
- a bout of maudlin self-pity*
- *(of a book, film, or song) highly sentimental:**
- a maudlin jukebox tune*
Evanescent
soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing:
the evanescent Arctic summer
Propinquity
the state of being close to someone or something; proximity:
he kept his distance as though afraid propinquity might lead him into temptation
Prophylactic
- *intended to prevent disease:**
- prophylactic measures*
- *medicine or course of action used to prevent disease:**
- I took malaria prophylactics*
Inimical
- *tending to obstruct or harm:**
- the policy was inimical to Britain’s real interests*
- *unfriendly; hostile:**
- an inimical alien power*
Insuperable
(of a difficulty or obstacle) impossible to overcome:
insuperable financial problems
Gainsay
- *deny or contradict (a fact or statement):**
- the impact of the railways cannot be gainsaid*
- *speak against or oppose (someone):**
- none could gainsay her*
Indubitable
impossible to doubt; unquestionable:
an indubitable truth
Penurious
- *extremely poor; poverty-stricken:**
- a penurious old tramp*
- *characterized by poverty:**
- penurious years*
- *unwilling to spend money; mean:**
- his stingy and penurious wife*
Sagacious
having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgement; wise or shrewd:
they were sagacious enough to avoid any outright confrontation
Aspersion
an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something:
I don’t think anyone is casting aspersions on you
Aspersion
Obscurantist
the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known:
allegations in the Press about government obscurantism
Inveigh
speak or write about (something) with great hostility:s
*he liked to inveigh against all forms of academic *
Objurgate
rebuke severely; scold:
the old man objurgated his son
Obloquy
- *strong public condemnation:**
- he endured years of contempt and obloquy*
- *disgrace, especially that brought about by public condemnation:**
- conduct to which no more obloquy could reasonably attach*
remonstrate
- *make a forcefully reproachful protest:**
- he turned angrily to remonstrate with Tommy*
Reprehend
reprimand:
a recklessness which cannot be too severely reprehended
Vituperate
blame or insult (someone) in strong or violent language.
Vouchsafe
give or grant (something) to (someone) in a gracious or condescending manner:
it is a blessing vouchsafed him by heaven
- *[with object] reveal or disclose (information):**
- you’d never vouchsafed that interesting titbit before*
Canard
- *an unfounded rumour or story:**
- the old canard that LA is a cultural wasteland*
Dissemble
- *conceal or disguise one’s true feelings or beliefs:**
- an honest, sincere person with no need to dissemble*
- *[with object] disguise or conceal (a feeling or intention):**
- she smiled, dissembling her true emotion*
Ersatz
- *(of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else:**
- ersatz coffee*
- *not real or genuine:**
- ersatz emotion*
Duplicity
- *deceitfulness:**
- the president was accused of duplicity in his dealings with Congress*
Perfidy
- *the state of being deceitful and untrustworthy:**
- it was an example of his perfidy*
Prevaricate
speak or act in an evasive way:
he seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions
Histrionics
melodramatic behaviour designed to attract attention:
by now, Anna was accustomed to her mother’s histrionics
Fervid
intensely enthusiastic or passionate, especially to an excessive degree:
his fervid protestations of love
Laconic
(of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words:
his laconic reply suggested a lack of interest in the topic
Petulant
(of a person or their manner) childishly sulky or bad-tempered:
he was moody and petulant
a petulant shake of the head
Vociferous
expressing or characterized by vehement opinions:
he was a vociferous opponent of the takeover
dolorous
- *feeling or expressing great sorrow or distress:**
- a dolorous and repetitive tale of atrocity*
abstruse
- *difficult to understand; obscure:**
- an abstruse philosophical inquiry*
Scurrilous
- *making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation:**
- a scurrilous attack on his integrity*
- *humorously insulting:**
- a very funny collection of bawdy and scurrilous writings*
Fatuous
- *silly and pointless:**
- a fatuous comment*
Ribald
referring to sexual matters in an amusingly rude or irreverent way:
a ribald comment
recondite
(of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse:
the book is full of recondite information
Waggish
- *humorous in a playful, mischievous, or facetious manner:**
- a waggish riposte*
Abjure
- *solemnly renounce (a belief, cause, or claim):**
- MPs were urged to abjure their Jacobite allegianc*e
Catholic
- *including a wide variety of things; all-embracing:**
- her tastes are pretty catholic*
Convalesce
recover one’s health and strength over a period of time after an illness or medical treatment:
he spent eight months convalescing after the stroke
Mien
a person’s appearance or manner, especially as an indication of their character or mood:
he has a cautious, academic mien
Ambrosia
- something very pleasing to taste or smell:**
- the tea was ambrosia after the slop I’d been suffering*
Orotund
(of the voice or phrasing) full, round, and imposing.
(of writing, style, or expression) pompous; pretentious.
Arrogate
take or claim (something) for oneself without justification:
they arrogate to themselves the ability to divine the nation’s true interests
August
respected and impressive:
she was in august company
Acrimonious
(typically of speech or a debate) angry and bitter:
an acrimonious dispute about wages
Effigy
a sculpture or model of a person:
coins bearing the effigy of Maria Theresa of Austria
a roughly made model of a particular person, made in order to be damaged or destroyed as a protest or expression of anger:
Extant
(especially of a document) still in existence; surviving:
the original manuscript is no longer extant
Cosset
care for and protect in an overindulgent way:
all her life she’d been cosseted by her family
Torrid
- *very hot and dry:**
- the torrid heat of the afternoon*
- *full of passionate or highly charged emotions arising from sexual love:**
- a torrid love affair*
Daedalian
ingenious, intricate, and confusing:
this curious amalgamation of comfortable hotel and Daedalian cruise ship
Gordian
an extremely difficult or involved problem.
Picayune
petty; worthless:
the picayune squabbling of party politicians
unmitigated
absolute; unqualified:
the tour had been an unmitigated disaster
Consummate
showing a high degree of skill and flair; complete or perfect:
she dressed with consummate elegance
Irradiate
- *expose to radiation.**
- expose (food) to gamma rays to kill microorganisms.*
illuminate (something) by or as if by shining light on it:
sunlight streamed down through stained glass, irradiating the faces of family and friends
Averred
state or assert to be the case: [with clause]
:he averred that he was innocent of the allegations
Opined
hold and state as one’s opinion: [with direct speech]
:“The man is a genius,” he opined
Exigency
an urgent need or demand:
women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it he put financial exigency before personal sentiment
Rubicon
[as noun] a point of no return:
on the way to political union we are now crossing the Rubicon
Jaunty
having or expressing a lively, cheerful, and self-confident manner:
there was no mistaking that jaunty walk
Penurious
extremely poor; poverty-stricken:a penurious old tramp
characterized by poverty or need:
penurious years
** parsimonious; mean:**
he was generous and hospitable in contrast to his stingy and penurious wife
