Prep Scholar Must Know Words Flashcards
dissonance
n. a clash between two elements that don’t blend well
fastidious
adj. meticulous
adj. invested in cleanliness
caustic
adj. corrosive
“a caustic cleaner”
adj. bitterly sarcastic
“the players were making caustic comments about the refereeing”
erroneous
adj. incorrect
copious
adj. plentiful or abundant
mollify
v. placate
indefatigable
adj. cannot be made tired
phenomena
n. things that happen
burgeon
v. flourish, bloom, expand or increase quickly
“manufacturers are keen to cash in on the burgeoning demand”
probity
n. integrity and honor
dirge
n. funeral or mourning lament
n. any sad, slow song
avarice
extreme greed for wealth or material gain.
inadvertent
adj. by accident or unintentional
lucid
adj. clear and coherent
malign
adj. evil or harmful
v. to speak negatively about someone or something
intractable
adj. unmanageable
adj. stubborn or obstinate
gregarious
adj. sociable, genial
decorum
n. appropriate behavior or good manners
confound
v. to confuse or astonish
eminent
adj. well-known, respected, distinguished
mercurial
adj. easily changeable, fickle
opaque
adj. not see-through; blocking light
ameliorate
v. to improve or mitigate a situation
“the reform did much to ameliorate living standards”
specious
adj. spurious; appearing true but actually false
Innocuous
adj. harmless
ingenuous
adj. naïve or innocent
intransigent
adj. uncompromising, obstinate
opportunism
n. the practice of taking advantage of opportunities as they arise without particular concern for morality or ethics
maladroit
adj. clumsy, awkward, inept
“to handle a diplomatic crisis in a very maladroit way”
obsequious
adj. overly fawning and helpful in a way that is disingenuous
disparage
v. to belittle
timorous
adj. meek or timid
plausible
adj. believable, reasonable
abjure
v. to reject or renounce
“his refusal to abjure the Catholic faith”
qualification
n. credential
n. a modifying statement
inchoate
adj. rudimentary, in the beginning stages
“a still inchoate democracy”
eloquence
adj. persuasive and articulate speech
assuage
v. to provide relief from an unpleasant feeling
“the letter assuaged the fears of most members”
v. to satisfy a need or appetite
“an opportunity occurred to assuage her desire for knowledge”
harangue
n. diatribe or rant
empirical
adj. based on evidence
construe
v. to interpret
“his words could hardly be construed as an apology”
peruse
v. to read something carefully and closely
v. to read something informally or quickly
(context is critical for this word!)
prescient
adj. knowing things before they happen, prophetic
exacerbate
v. to make worse
plastic
adj. easily shaped or molded
adj. made of plastic
pristine
adj. untouched, clean, pure
quotidian
adj. relating to the everyday or mundane
engender
v. to cause or give rise to
platitude
n. a trite or cliché statement
obviate
v. to forestall the need for something
v. to prevent
banal
adj. boring, cliché
forestall
v. to hold off or try to prevent
diffident
adj. shy, timid, or reserved due to a lack of confidence
“underneath his diffident exterior was a passionate temperament”
erudite
adj. learned
galvanize
v. to prod someone into action
artless
adj. without artifice
adj. natural, untrained
“an artless, naive girl”
germane
adj. relevant to the matter at hand
precipitate
v. to cause
adj. hastily and not well-considered
n. particulate matter formed within a solution
aggrandize
v. enlarge or increase, esp. wealth, power, reputation
impudent
adj. disrespectful
belie
v. (of an appearance) fail to give a true notion or impression of (something); disguise or contradict.
“his lively alert manner belied his years”
v. fail to fulfill or justify (a claim or expectation); betray.
“the notebooks belie Darwin’s later recollection”
imprudence
n. bad judgment
misanthrope
n. person who hates humanity
polemical
adj. angry, hostile, harshly critical
prevaricate
v. to evade or deceive without outright lying
censure
v. to express intense condemnation
“a judge was censured in 1983 for a variety of types of injudicious conduct”
fallacious
adj. relying on a fallacy and thus incorrect/misinformed
perfidy
n. treachery or deceit
olfactory
adj. relating to smell or the sense of smell
tenuous
adj. weak, flimsy, insubstantial
occlude
v. to block or obstruct
untenable
adj. weak or unsupportable, esp. with respect to an opinion or situation
“these untenable explanations are not helping your case”
indolent
adj. lazy; idle
adj. (of a disease condition) causing little or no pain.
Air-conditioning is for the weak and indolent
aver
v. to assert or allege
“he averred that he was innocent of the allegations”
deride
v. to mock or ridicule
equable
adj. even-tempered
adj. not given to much change or variation
salubrious
adj. health-promoting
analogous
n. comparable
n. appropriate for analogy
outstrip
v. to overtake or outrun
ebullient
adj. cheerful, enthusiastic, excited
laudable
adj. praiseworthy
obstinate
adj. stubborn, uncompromising
prospective
adj. potential or likely
adj. applicable to the future
laconic
adj. taciturn, reserved, succinct
immutable
adj. unchangeable
extrapolate
v. to estimate or conjecture about the future based on presently available information or facts
recondite
adj. arcane or obscure
tacit
adj. unspoken; implicit
painstaking
adj. attentive to detail, meticulous
acumen
n. keen judgment and perception
irresolute
adj. wishy-washy, hesitant
spurious
adj. fake or false
sedulous
adj. dedicated and careful
precarious
adj. uncertain or unstable
supine
adj. laying back with the face upward (opposite position to prone)
amenable
adj. easily convinced or persuaded
“parents who have had easy babies and amenable children”
nascent
adj. just beginning or in the early stages
intimate
adj. close (as in a relationship)
adj. particularly private
v. to imply
imminent
adj. about to happen
eccentric
adj. quirky or unusual
eschew
v. avoid or abstain from
deftness
adj. skill, acumen
adj. manual dexterity
guile
n. craftiness and cunning
“he used all his guile and guts to free himself from the muddle he was in”
laud
v. to praise
aberrant
adj. diverging from the standard type
“aberrant chromosomes”
stolid
adj. calm and dependable
austere
adj. severe, unadorned
“the cathedral is impressive in its austere simplicity”
craven
adj. cowardly to the point of being shameful
“a craven abdication of his moral duty”
credence
n. belief or trust
fluctuate
v. to shift without apparent pattern
supplant
v. to overtake or replace
abate
v. to diminish in intensity
v. to cause to diminish in intensity
“the storm suddenly abated”
equivocate
v. to use ambiguous language in order to mislead or deceive
extraneous
adj. irrelevant or superfluous
exigent
adj. urgent or pressing
exacting
adj. challenging, demanding, grueling
bombastic
adj. high-sounding but with little meaning
“bombastic rhetoric”
intrepid
adj. bold and adventurous
vexation
n. state of being frustrated, irritated, or concerned.
phlegmatic
adj. cool and unruffled
disabuse
disabuse v. to dispel someone’s illusions or false impressions about something
desultory
adj. halfhearted
adj. inconsistent or random
notoriety
n. fame for doing something negative or criminal
abscond
v. to leave secretly, evading detection
“she absconded with the remaining thousand dollars”
opprobrium
n. criticism or condemnation
overshadow
v. to literally cast a shadow over
v. to appear more notable than
munificent
adj. very generous
nuance
n. subtle shades of difference
hackneyed
adj. cliché, trite, banal
diffident
adj. shy, timid, or reserved due to a lack of confidence
“underneath his diffident exterior was a passionate temperament”
venality
n. the state of being capable of being bribed
dissemble
v. to mislead or conceal the truth, esp. with respect to one’s motives
“she smiled, dissembling her true emotion”
imperturbable
adj. remaining calm under any circumstance
malleable
adj. pliant or pliable
adj. easily influenced
repudiate
v. to renounce or disown
contrite
adj. remorseful
“a broken and a contrite heart”
cogent
adj. clearly laid out and persuasive
“Honeyboy Edwards provides a cogent analysis of the shift within the blues over the years”
implacable
adj. unforgiving
adj. relentless
vacillate
v. to shift between multiple options or opinions
convoluted
adj. roundabout, not straightforward
reticent
adj. hesitant to speak
adj. introverted or silent
tractable
adj. can be easily influenced or managed
onerous
adj. difficult or burdensome
alacrity
n. promptness and eagerness
“she accepted the invitation with alacrity”
presumptuous
adj. overly familiar; invades social boundaries
exculpate
v.show or declare that (someone) is not guilty of wrongdoing; to exonerate or vindicate
gainsay
v. deny or oppose
stolid
adj. calm and dependable
inscrutable
adj. enigmatic, incomprehensible
proliferate
v. to multiply and spread rapidly
taciturn
adj. reticent or reserved; tending towards silence
benign
adj. gentle, harmless
desiccate
v. to dry out completely
v. to suck out the vitality and passion
explicate
v. to explain in detail
derivative
adj. imitates another work in a way that is unoriginal or uninspiring
monotony
n. boredom and repetition
sycophant
n. a fawning, insincere admirer
placate
v. to calm, esp. an angry or upset person
“they attempted to placate the students with promises”
loquacious
adj. talkative
maladroit
adj. clumsy, awkward, inept
esoteric
adj. obscure, arcane
foment
v. to foster unrest or discontent
oscillate
v. to swing back and forth between two points, poles, or positions
exposition
n. a thorough explanation
n. a public show or fair
underscore
v. to line underneath for emphasis
v. to emphasize
maverick
n. an unorthodox person or rebel
commensurate
adj. in accordance with, proportional
“salary will be commensurate with experience”
nonplussed
adj. confused and baffled
garrulous
adj. talkative
dilettante
a person who cultivates an area of interest (such as the arts) without real commitment or knowledge; amateur
dispassionate
adj. impartial or cool
satiate
v. to completely satisfy (with respect to hunger or appetite)
torpor
n. tiredness, lethargy
affectation
n. fake or artificial behavior, often meant to impress or conceal the truth
mitigate
v. to improve a painful, unpleasant, or negative situation
castigate
v. to scold or berate strongly
didactic
adj. educational or with an instructive purpose; often includes an element of moralizing
glib
adj. talking volubly, but carelessly or insincerely
disabuse
v. to dispel someone’s illusions or false impressions about something
“I was quickly disabused of the idea that anything had changed.”
adulterate
v. to contaminate or make impure by introducing inferior elements
pedestrian
adj. boring, monotonous, run-of-the-mill
ostentatious
adj. overly showy in a way that is gaudy or vulgar
irascible
adj. irritable, testy, touchy
inimical
adj. harmful or hostile
“laws designed to enhance national security that some regard as inimical to cherished freedoms”
capricious
adj. mercurial, unpredictable, whimsical
“a capricious and often brutal administration”
enervate
v. to exhaust or drain of energy
iconoclast
n. a person who attacks traditional religious and cultural institutions
pith
n. the essential substance of something
solicitous
adj. considerate, attentive
ephemeral
adj. short-lived or transient
pedantic
adj. overly concerned with irrelevant detail, fussy
exonerate
v. to clear of charges of wrongdoing
credulous
adj. gullible, naïve
Few people are credulous enough to believe such nonsense.
expatiate
v. to elaborate on something in great detail
tortuous
adj. winding or twisty
adj. complicated
estimable
adj. deserving respect, esteem, and admiration
profligate
adj. extravagant and wasteful, esp. in an immoral way
“he was an out-and-out profligate”
inveterate
adj. ingrained, habitual
venerate
v. to give a high degree of respect; may border on worship
eclectic
adj. composed of a variety of styles, themes, motifs, etc.
elegy
n. sad poem or song, often in remembrance of someone deceased
elicit
deference
n. respect or polite submission
“he addressed her with the deference due to age”
insipid
adj. bland, uninspired, inane
prodigal
n. a reckless spender
mendacity
n. untruthfulness, dishonesty
perfunctory
adj. done without much effort, care, or thought
subversive
adj. meant to undercut established institutions or norms
indolent
adj. wanting to avoid activity or exertion; lazy.
adj. (of a disease condition) causing little or no pain.
ascetic
adj. austere or self-denying
“an ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and manual labor”
propitiate
v. to obtain special favor from someone, esp. a powerful person or deity, by performing a pleasing action
v. to appease someone who is angry
“the pagans thought it was important to propitiate the gods with sacrifices”
gauche
adj. socially inept, inappropriate, or awkward
intermediary
n. a go-between
facetious
adj. treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant.; glib
temperance
n. moderation and restraint, sometimes used to specifically describe abstinence from alcohol
magnanimity
n. generosity and nobility of spirit
antithetical
adj. contrary to the very nature of
“people whose religious beliefs are antithetical to mine”
