PR Cracking Vocab Flashcards
Effusive
showing excessive emotion; overflowing
Extrapolate
to infer or estimate by extending or projecting known information
Insinuate
to imply or communicate stealthily
Lucid
easily understood; clear
Ascertain
to find out, as through investigation or experimentation
Circumspect
careful; prudent; discreet
Pedantic
excessively concerned with book learning and formal rules
Perspicacious
shrewd; clear-sighted
Precocious
exhibiting unusually early intellectual aptitude or maturity
Prospectus
formal proposal
Callous
emotionally hardened; unfeeling
Disaffected
having lost faith or loyalty; discontent
Enigma
a puzzle, mystery, or riddle
Inscrutable
difficult to fathom or understand; impenetrable
Staid
unemotional; serious
Arcane
known or understood by only a few
Assimilate
to absorb or become absorbed; to make or become similar
Esoteric
intended for or understood by only a small group
Insular
isolated; narrow or provincial
Orthodox
adhering to the traditional and established, especially
Castigate
to scold, rebuke, or harshly criticize
Censure
to issue official blame
Relinquish
to retire from; give up or abandon
Vituperative
marked by harshly abusive condemnation
Circumscribe
to draw a circle around; to restrict
Contiguous
sharing an edge or boundary; touching
Conciliatory
appeasing; soothing; showing willingness to reconcile
Exonerate
to free from blame
Indict
to officially charge with wrongdoing or a crime
Litigious
prone to engage in lawsuits
Parity
equality, as in amount, status, or value
Rectitude
moral uprightness; righteousness
Remiss
lax (not strict; careless and slow) in attending to duty; negligent
Repudiate
to reject as having no authority or validity
Veracity
adherence to the truth; truthfulness
Cajole
to urge with repeated appeals, teasing, or flattery
Chicanery
trickery
Obsequious
fawning and servile
Sycophant
insincere, obsequious flatterer
Extol
to praise highly
Eminent
distinguished; prominent
Laudatory
full of praise
Philanthropic
humanitarian; benevolent; relating to monetary generosity
Reciprocate
to mutually take or give; to respond in kind
Defunct
no longer existing or functioning
Quell
to put down forcibly; suppress
Raze
to level to the ground; demolish
Squelch
to crush as if by trampling; squash
Stymie
to thwart or stump
Derogatory
insulting or intended to insult
Effrontery
brazen boldness; presumptuousness
Ignominy
great personal dishonor humiliation; disgraceful conduct
Mar
to damage, especially in a disfiguring way
Pejorative
disparaging, belittling, insulting
Vex
to annoy or bother; to perplex
Vindictive
disposed to seek revenge; revengeful; spiteful
Ebullience
intense enthusiasm
Exuberant
full of unrestrained enthusiasm or joy
Embellish
to ornament or decorate; to exaggerate
Flagrant
extremely or deliberately shocking or noticeable
Gratuitous
given freely; unearned; unnecessary
Lavish
extravagant
Lugubrious
mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree
Opulent
displaying great wealth
Ornate
elaborately decorated
Ubiquitous
being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time; omnipresent
Vicarious
felt or undergone as if one were taking part in the experience or feelings of another
Amalgam
a combination of diverse elements; a mixture
Inundate
to overwhelm as if with a flood; to swamp
Multifarious
diverse; various
Multiplicity
state of being various or manifold; a great number
Cathartic
relaxing after an emotional outburst
Curative
able to heal or cure
Complement
something that completes, goes with, or brings to perfection
Felicitous
admirably suited; apt
Duplicitous
deliberately deceptive
Mendacious
lying; untruthful
Specious
having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually false
Apathetic
feeling or showing little emotion
Erratic
markedly inconsistent
Impetuous
suddenly and forcefully energetic or emotional; impulsive and passionate
Impetus
an impelling force or stimulus
Sporadic
occurring at irregular intervals; having no pattern or order in time
Vacillate
to sway from one side to the other; oscillate
Flag
to decline in vigor or strength; to tire; to droop
Jaded
worn out; wearied
Subterfuge
a deceptive stratagram or device
Deceptive
giving an appearance or impression different from the true one; misleading
Surreptitious
secretive; sneaky
Modicum
a small, moderate, or token amount
Paucity
smallness in number; sarcity
Tenuous
having little substance or strength; shaky
Maverick
one who is independent and resists adherence to a group
Profliferate
to grow or increase rapidly
Tenacity
persistence
Vigilant
on the alert; watchful
Juxtapose
to place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast
Synergy
combined action or operation
Tangential
merely touching or slightly connected; only superficially relevant
Dirge
a funeral hymn or lament
Debacle
disastrous or ludicrous defeat or failure; fiasco
Tumultuous
noisy and disorderly
Archaic
characteristic of an earlier time; antiquated; old
Temporal
of, relating to, or limited by time
Portent
indication of something important or calamitous about to occur; omen
Prescience
knowledge of actions or events before they occur; foreknowledge; foresight
Insipid
uninteresting; unchallenging; lacking taste or savor
Prosaic
unimaginative; dull
Soporific
inducting or tending to induce sleep
Vapid
lacking liveliness, animation, or interest; dull
Expedient
appropriate to a purpose; convenient; speedy
Transient
passing quickly, in time or space
Distend
to swell out or expand from internal pressure, as when overly full
Grandiose
great in slope or intent; grand
Profundity
great depth of intellect, feeling, or meaning
Redouble
to make twice as great; to double
Scintillating
brilliant
Averse
strongly disinclined
Conspicuous
easy to notice; obvious
Diffidence
timidity or shyness
Docile
submissive to instruction; willing to be taught
Concord
agreement
Concur
to agree
Fastidious
carefully attentive to detail; difficult to please
Intransigence
refusal to moderate a position or to compromise
Meticulous
extremely careful and precise
Sanguine
cheerfully confident; optimistic
Belligerent
eager to fight; hostile or aggressive
Contentious
quarrelsome
Flippant
disrespectfully humorous or casual
Insolent
insulting in manner or speech
Nefarious
flagrantly wicked; vicious
Pernicious
extremely or irrevocably harmful; deadly
Rancorous
marked by bitter, deep-seated ill-will
Repugnant
arousing disgust or aversion; offensive or repulsive
Supercilious
disdainful; haughty; arrogant
Arboreal
relating to or resembling a tree or trees
Invocation
a call (usually upon a higher power) for assistance, support, or inspiration
Stratify
to layer or separate into layers
Variegated
having streaks, marks, or patches of a different color or colors; varicolored
Verdant
green with vegetation
Concur
to agree
Discredit
to injure the credit or reputation of; defame
Discern
to recognize; distinguish
Disinterested
- unbiased by personal interest or advantage; not influenced by selfish motives
- not interested; indifferent.
Dispassionate
free from or unaffected by passion; devoid of personal feeling or bias; impartial; calm
Speculate
to engage in thought or reflection; meditate
Subjective
existing in the mind; belonging to the thinking subject rather than to the object of thought
Solemn
- grave, sober
2. serious, earnest
Unabashed
not embarrassed, disconcerted, or ashamed
Perilous
involving or full of grave risk or peril; hazardous; dangerous
