Quick Quizzes 51 - 59 Flashcards
infer
infer (in FUR) v to conclude; to deduce
She hadn’t heard the score, but the silence in the locker room led her to infer that we had lost.
Infer is often confused with imply. To imply something is to hint at it, suggest it, or state it indirectly. To infer something is to figure out what it is without being told directly.
imply
imply (im PLY) v To imply something is to hint at it, suggest it, or state it indirectly.
infinitesimal
infinitesimal (in fin uh TES uh mul) adj very, very, very small; infinitely small
An infinitesimal bug of some kind crawled into Heather’s ear and bit her in a place she couldn’t scratch.
ingenuous
ingenuous (in JEN yoo us) adj frank; without deception; simple; artless; charmingly naive
A young child is ingenuous. He doesn’t know much about the ways of the world, and certainly not enough to deceive anyone.
Disingenuous means crafty or artful.
inherent
inherent (in HAIR unt) adj part of the essential nature of something; intrinsic
Wetness is an inherent quality of water. (You could also say that wetness is inherent in water).
There is an inherent strength in steel that cardboard lacks.
injunction
injunction (in JUNGK shun) n a command or order, especially a court order
Wendy’s neighbors got a court injunction prohibiting her from playing her radio.
innate
innate (i NAYT) adj existing since birth; inborn; inherent
Joseph’s kindness was innate; it was part of his natural character.
innocuous
innocuous (i NAHK yoo us) adj harmless; banal
Innocuous is closely related, in both origin and meaning, to innocent.
Meredith took offense at Bruce’s innocuous comment about the saltiness of her soup.
inordinate
inordinate (in OR duh nit) adj excessive; unreasonable
The math teacher paid an inordinate amount of attention to the grammar rather than algebra.
insatiable
insatiable (in SAY shuh bul) adj hard or impossible to satisfy; greedy; avaricious
Peter had an insatiable appetite for chocolate macadamia ice cream; he could never get enough. Not even a gallon of chocolate macadamia was enough to sate (sayt) or satiate (SAY shee ayt) his craving.
Peter’s addiction never reached satiety (suh TYE uh tee [or] SAY she uh tee)
insidious
insidious (in SID ee us) adj treacherous; sneaky
Winter was insidious; it crept in under the doors and through cracks in the windows.
insinuate
insinuate (in SIN yoo ayt) v to hint; to creep in
When I told her that I hadn’t done any laundry in a month, Valerie insinuated that I was a slob.
Jessica insinuated her way into the conversation by moving her chair closer and closer to where we were sitting.
insipid
insipid (in SIP id) adj dull; bland; banal
Barney’s jokes were so insipid that no one in the room managed to force out so much as a chuckle.
insolent
insolent (UN suh lunt) adj arrogant; insulting
The insolent sales clerk said she was sorry but the store did not accept cash.
instigate
instigate (IN stuh gayt) v to provoke; to stir up
The CIA tried unsuccessfully to instigate rebellion in the tiny country by distributing pamphlets that, as it turned out, were printed in the wrong language.
insular
insular (IN suh lur) adj like an island; isolated
The Latin word for island is insula. From it we get the words peninsula (“almost an island”), insulate (insulation makes a house an island of heat), and insular, among others.
Lying flat on his back in bed for twenty-seven years, the 1,200-pound man led an insular existence.
insurgent
insurgent (in SUR junt) n a rebel; someone who revolts against a government
The heavily armed insurgents rushed into the presidential palace, but they paused to taste the fresh blueberry pie on the dinner table and were captured by the president’s bodyguards.
This word can also be an adjective. A rebellion is an insurgent activity.
integral
integral (IN tuh grul) adj essential
A solid offense was an integral part of our football team; so was a strong defense.
integrate
integrate (IN tuh grayt) v to combine two or more things into a whole
This word is related to segregate, aggregate, and congregate, all of which describe joining or separating. It has the same root as integer, which means a whole number.
Marisol’s school offered an integrated history and language curriculum so that students learned Roman history and Latin in the same classroom.
intractable
intractable (in TRAK tuh bul) adj uncontrollable; stubborn; disobedient
The intractable child was a torment to his nursery school teacher.
intransigent
intransigent (in TRAN suh junt) adj uncompromising; stubborn
The jury was unanimous except for one intransigent member, who did’t believe that anyone should ever be forced to go to jail.
intrinsic
intrinsic (in TRIN sik) adj part of the essential nature of something; inherent
Larry’s intrinsic boldness was always getting him into trouble.
The opposite of intrinsic is extrinsic.
introspective
introspective (in truh SPEC tiv) adj tending to think about oneself; examining one’s feelings
The introspective six-year-old never had much to say to other people but always seemed to be turning something over in her mind.
inundate
inundate (IN un dayt) v to flood; to cover completely with water; to overwhelm
The tiny island kingdom was inundated by the tidal wave. Fortunately, no one died from the deluge.
invective
invective (in VEK tiv) n insulting or abusive speech
The critic’s searing review was filled with bitterness and invective.
inveterate
inveterate (in VET ur it) adj habitual; firm in habit; deeply rooted
Eric was such an inveterate liar on the golf course that when he finally made a hole-in-one, he marked it on his score card as a zero.
irascible
irascible (i RAS uh bul) adj easily angered or provoked; irritable
A grouch is irascible.
The CEO was so irascible, his employees were afraid to talk to him for fear he might hurl paperweights at them.
ironic
ironic (eye RAHN ik) adj meaning the opposite of what you seem to say; using words to mean something other than what they seem to mean
Don’t use the alternate form, ironical.
Eddie was being ironic when he said he loved Peter like a brother; in truth, he hated him.
Credulous George never realized that the speaker was being ironic as he discussed what he called his plan to put a nuclear missile silo in every backyard in America.
irrevocable
irrevocable (i REV uh kuh bul) adj irreversible To revoke (ri VOHK) is to take back. Something irrevocable cannot be taken back. Shortly after his car began to plunge toward the sea, Tom decided not to drive off the cliff after all, but by that point his decision was irrevocable.
itinerant
itinerant (eye TIN ur unt) adj moving from place to place
The life of a traveling salesman is an itinerant one.
A closely related word is itinerary, which is the planned route or schedule of a trip.
itinerary
itinerary (eye TIN ur ary) n the planned route or schedule of a trip
judicious
judicious (joo DISH us) adj exercising sound judgment
The judge was far from judicious; he told the jury that he thought the defendant looked guilty and said that anyone who would wear a red bow tie into a courtroom deserved to sent to jail.
juxtapose
juxtapose (JUK stuh pohz) v to place side by side
Comedy and tragedy were juxtaposed in the play, which was alternately funny and sad.
kinetic
kinetic (ki NET ik) adj having to do with motion; lively active
Kinetic energy is energy associated with motion. A speeding bullet has a lot of kinetic energy.
Kinetic art is art with things in it that move. A mobile is an example of kinetic art.
labyrinth
labyrinth (LAB uh rinth) n a maze; something like a maze
Each of the fifty floors in the office building was a labyrinth of dark corridors and narrow passageways.
laconic
laconic (luh KAHN ik) adj using few words, especially to the point of seeming rude
The manager’s laconic dismissal letter left the fired employees feeling angry and hurt.
lament
lament (luh MENT) v to mourn
From the balcony of the bullet-pocked hotel, the foreign correspondents could hear hundreds of women and children lamenting the fallen soldiers.
lampoon
lampoon (lam POON) v to satirize; to mock; to parody
The irreverent students mercilessly lampooned their Latin teacher’s lisp in a skit at the school talent show.
languish
languish (LANG gwish) v to become weak, listless, or depressed
The formerly eager and vigorous accountant languished in his tedious job at the international conglomerate.
To languish is to be languid.
largess
largess (lahr JES) n generous giving of gifts (or the gifts themselves); generosity; philanthropy
Sam was marginally literate at best. Only the largess of his uncle got Sam into Princeton.
Largess can also be spelled largesse.
latent
latent (LAYT unt) adj present but not visible or apparent; potential
At four, Maria was a latent shopaholic; she learned to read by browsing the descriptions in clothing catalogs.
laud
laud (lawd) v to praise; to applaud; to extol; to celebrate
The bank manager lauded the hero who trapped the escaping robber. The local newspaper published a laudatory editorial on this intrepid individual.
legacy
legacy (LEG uh see) n something handed down from the past; a bequest
The legacy of the corrupt administration was chaos, bankruptcy, and despair.
lethargy
lethargy (LETH ur jee) n sluggishness; laziness; drowsiness; indifference
The couch potato had fallen into a state of such total lethargy that he never moved except to change channels or get another bag of chips from the kitchen.
To be filled with lethargy is to be lethargic.
levity
levity (LEV uh tee) n lightness; frivolity; unseriousness
To levitate something is to make it so light that it floats up into the air. Levity comes from the same root and has to do with a different kind of lightness.
The speaker’s levity was not appreciated by the convention of funeral directors, who felt that a convention of funeral directors was no place to tell jokes.
libel
libel (LYE bul) n a written or published falsehood that injures the reputation of, or defames, someone
Slander is just like libel except that it is spoken instead of written.
Don’t confuse this word with liable, which has an entirely different meaning.
The executive said that the newspaper had committed libel when it called him a stinking, no-good, corrupt, incompetent, overpaid, lying, worthless moron.
slander
slander (SLAN dur) to say something untrue about someone that injures that person’s reputation
litigate
litigate (LIT uh gayt) v to try in court; to engage in legal proceedings
His lawyer thought a lawsuit would be fruitless, but the client wanted to litigate. He was feeling litigious (li TIJ us); that is, he was feeling in a mood to go to court.
loquacious
loquacious (loh KWAY shus) adj talking a lot or too much
The child was surprisingly loquacious for one so small.
lucid
lucid (LOO sid) adj clear; easy to understand
The extremely old man was lucid right up until the moment he died; his body had given out but his mind was still going strong.
To elucidate something is to make it clear, to explain it.
lugubrious
lugubrious (loo GOO bree us) adj exaggeratedly mournful
To be mournful is to be sad and sorrowful. To be lugubrious is to make a big show of being sad and sorrowful.
Harry’s lugubrious eulogy at the funeral of his dog eventually made everyone start giggling.
luminous
luminous (LOO muh nus) adj giving off light; glowing; bright
The moon was a luminous disk in the cloudy nighttime sky.
machination
machination (mak uh NAY shun) n scheming activity for an evil purpose
This word is almost always used in the plural –machinations–in which form it means the same thing.
The ruthless machinations of the mobsters left a trail of blood and bodies.
magnanimous
magnanimous (mag NAN uh mus) adj forgiving; unresentful; noble in spirit; generous
Mrs. Jones magnanimously offered the little boy a cookie when he came over to confess that he had accidentally broken her window while playing baseball.
magnate
magnate (MAG nayt) n a rich, powerful, or very successful businessperson
malaise
malaise (ma LAYZ) n a feeling of depression, uneasiness, or queasiness
malfeasance
malfeasance (mal FEE zuns) n an illegal act, especially by a public official
malignant
malignant (muh LIG nuhnt) adj causing harm
Many words that start with mal- connote evil or harm, just as words that begin with ben- generally have good connotations. Malignant and benign are often used to describe tumors or physical conditions that are either life-threatening or not.
malinger
malinger (muh LING ger) v to pretend to be sick to avoid doing work
malleable
malleable (MAL ee uh bul) adj easy to shape or bend
mandate
mandate (MAN dayt) n a command or authorization to do something; the will of the voters as expressed by the results of an election
Mandate can also be a verb. To mandate something is to command or require it.
manifest
manifest (MAN uh fest) adj visible; evident
Manifest can also be a verb, in which case it means to show, to make visible, or to make evident.
manifesto
manifesto (man uh FES toh) n a public declaration of beliefs or principles, usually political ones
marshal
marshal (MAHR shul) v to arrange in order; to gather together for the purpose of doing something
martial
martial (MAHR shul) adj warlike; having to do with combat
Karate and judo are often referred to as martial arts.
martyr
martyr (MAHR tur) n someone who gives up his or her life in pursuit of a cause, especially a religious one; one who suffers for a cause; one who makes a show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy
matriculate
matriculate (muh TRIK yuh layt) v to enroll, especially at a college
malevolent
malevolent (muh LEV uh lunt) means evil, or wishing to do harm
maudlin
maudlin (MAWD lin) adj silly and overly sentimental
maverick
maverick (MAV ur ik) n a nonconformist; a rebel
The word maverick originated in the Old West. It is derived from the name of Samuel A. Maverick, a Texas banker who once accepted a herd of cattle in payment for a debt. Maverick was a banker, not a rancher. He failed to confine or brand his calves, which habitually wandered into his neighbors’ pastures. Local ranchers got in the habit of referring to any unbranded calf as a maverick. The word is now used for anyone who has refused to be “branded”–who has refused to conform.
maxim
maxim (MAK sim n a fundamental principle; an old saying
No one in the entire world is entirely certain of the differences in meaning among the words maxim, adage, proverb, and aphorism.
mediate
mediate (MEE dee ayt) v to help settle differences
To mediate is to engage in mediation. When two opposing groups, such as a trade union and the management of a company, try to settle their differences through mediation, they call in a mediator to listen to their cases and make an equitable decision.
mellifluous
mellifluous (muh LIF loo us) adj sweetly flowing
Mellifluous comes from the Greek words meaning, roughly, “honey flowing”. We use the word almost exclusively to describe voices, music, or sounds that flow sweetly, like honey.
mendacious
mendacious (men DAY shus) adj lying; dishonest
To be mendacious is to engage in mendacity, or lying. I have no flaws, except occasional mendacity.
Don’t confuse this word with mendicant, listed below.
mendicant
mendicant (MEN di kunt) n a beggar
The presence of thousands of mendicants in every urban area is a sad commentary on our national priorities.
mentor
mentor (MEN tur) n a teacher, tutor, counselor, or coach; especially in business, an experienced person who shows an inexperienced person the ropes
mercenary
mercenary (MUR suh ner ee) n a hired soldier; someone who will do anything for money
If an army can’t find enough volunteers or draftees, it will sometimes hire mercenaries.
You don’t have to be a soldier to be a mercenary. Someone who does something strictly for the money is often called a mercenary.
mercurial
mercurial (mur KYOOR ee ul) adj emotionally unpredictable; rapidly changing in mood
metamorphosis
metamorphosis (met uh MOR fuh sis) n a magical change in form; a striking or sudden change
microcosm
microcosm (MYE kruh kahz um) n the world in miniature
The cosmos is the heavens, cosmopolitan means worldly, and a microcosm is a miniature version of the world. All three words are related.
Our community, which holds so many different communities, institutions, businesses, and types of people,is a microcosm of the larger world.
The opposite of microcosm is a macrocosm (MAK ruh kahz um). A macrocosm is a large-scale representation of something, or the universe at large.
milieu
milieu (mil YOO) n environment; surroundings
The farmer on vacation in the big city felt out of his milieu.
minuscule
minuscule (MIN uh skyool) adj very tiny
Be careful with the spelling of this word. People tend to spell it “miniscule”. Think of minus.
Minute (mye NOOT) is a synonym for minuscule. The small details of something are the minutiae (mi NOO shi ee)
misanthropic
misanthropic (mis un THRAHP ik) adj hating mankind A misogynist (mis AH juh nist) hates women. A misanthropic person doesn't make distinctions; he or she hates everyone. The opposite of a misanthrope (MIS un throhp) is a philanthropist (fuh LAN thruh pist). Curiously, there is no word for someone who hates men only.
mitigate
mitigate (MIT uh gayt) v to moderate the effect of something
The sense of imminent disaster was mitigated by the guide’s calm behavior and easy smile.
Unmitigated means absolute, unmoderated, not made less intense or severe.
mollify
mollify (MAHL uh fye) v to soften; to soothe; to pacify
Lucy mollified the angry police officer by kissing his hand.
monolithic
monolithic (mah nuh LITH ik) adj massive, solid, uniform, and unyielding
A monolith is a huge stone shaft or column. Many other things can said to be monolithic.
A huge corporation is often said to be monolithic, especially if it is enormous and powerful and all its parts are dedicated to the same purpose.
moribund
moribund (MOR uh bund) adj dying
The senator’s political ideas were moribund; no one thinks that way anymore.
A dying creature could be said to be moribund, too, although this word is usually used in connection with things that die only figuratively.
morose
morose (muh ROHS) adj gloomy; sullen
mortify
mortify (MOR tuh fye) adj to humiliate
I was mortified when my father asked my girlfriend whether she thought I was a dumb, pathetic wimp.
mundane
mundane (mun DAYN) adj ordinary; pretty boring; not heavenly and eternal
My day was filled with mundane chores: I mowed the lawn, did the laundry, and fed the dog.
munificent
munificent (myoo NIF uh sunt) adj very generous; lavish
The munificent millionaire gave lots of money to any charity that came to him with a request.
myopia
myopia (mye OH pee uh) adj nearsightedness; lack of foresight
Myopia is the fancy medical name for the inability to see clearly at a distance. It’s also a word used in connection with people who lack other kinds of visual acuity.
The president suffered from economic myopia; he was unable to see the consequences of his fiscal policies.
myriad
myriad (MIR ee ud) n a huge number
The country sky on a clear night is filled with a myriad of stars.
This word can also be used as an adjective. Myriad stars is a lot of stars. The teenager was weighted down by the myriad anxieties of adolescence.
narcissism
narcissism (NAHR si siz um) n excessive love of one’s body or oneself
In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a boy who fell in love with his own reflection. To engage in narcissism is to be like Narcissus.
nebulous
nebulous (NEB yuh lus) adj vague; hazy; indistinct
Oscar’s views are so nebulous that no one can figure out what he thinks about anything.
A nebula (NEB yuh luh) is an interstellar cloud, the plural of which is nebulae (NEB yuh lee).
nefarious
nefarious (ni FAR ee us) adj evil; flagrantly wicked
The radicals’ nefarious plot was to destroy New York by filling the reservoirs with strawberry Jell-O.
neologism
neologism (nee OL uh jiz um) n a new word or phrase; a new usage of a word
nepotism
nepotism (NEP uh tiz um) n showing favoritism to friends or family in business or politics
nihilism
nihilism (NYE uh liz um) n the belief that there are no values or morals in the universe
A nihilist does not believe in any objective standards of right or wrong.
nominal
nominal (NOM uh nul) adj in name only; insignificant; A-OK (during rocket launches)
Bert was the nominal chair of the committee, but Sue was the one who ran things.
The cost was nominal in comparison with the enormous value of what you received.
“All systems are nominal”, said the NASA engineer as the space shuttle successfully headed into orbit.
nostalgia
nostalgia (nahs TAL juh) n sentimental longing for the past; home-sickness
notorious
notorious (noh TOR ee us) adj famous for something bad
To be notorious is to have notoriety (noh tuh RYE uh tee).
novel
novel (NAHV ul) adj new; original
noxious
noxious (NAHK shus) adj harmful; offensive
nuance
nuance (NOO ahns) n a subtle difference or distinction
In certain Chinese dialects, the differnce between one word and its opposite is sometimes nothing more than a nuance of inflection.
