Princeton Review Hit Pass 2 Flashcards
Accolade
an expression of praise
Adulation
excessive praise; intense adoration
Ascetic
one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
Avarice
greed, esp. for wealth
Burgeon
to grow rapidly or flourish
Bucolic
rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
Castigation
severe criticism or punishment
Caustic
burning or stinging, causing corrosion
Cogent
appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
Contrite
regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
Culpable
deserving blame
Dearth
smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
Demur
to question or oppose
Didactic
intended to teach or instruct
Ebullience
the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
Emollient
soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smooths the skin
Enigmatic
mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
Facetious
playful; humorous
Fallacy
an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
Furtive
marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
Impecunious
lacking funds; without money
Incipient
beginning to come into being or to become apparent
Inert
unmoving; lethargic; sluggish
Intransigent
refusing to compromise
Inveigle
to obtain by deception or flattery
Odious
evoking intense aversion or dislike
Penurious
penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
Pernicious
extremely harmful; potentially causing death
Preen
to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
Quaff
to drink deeply
Quiescence
stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest (adj. form: quiescent)
Redoubtable
awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
Squalid
sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
Supplant
to take the place of; to supersede
Urbane
sophisticated; refined; elegant
Vilify
to defame; to characterize harshly
Viscous
thick; sticky
