reverse common words - 6 Flashcards
adjective: (of people) behaving secretly and often dishonestly, or (of actions) done secretly and often dishonestly:
While at work, George and his boss Regina felt the need to be as furtive as possible about their romantic relationship.
furtive
adjective: (of a person) friendly and in a good mood, or (of a situation) enjoyable because of being friendly and pleasant:
The presidential candidate and her supporters were jovial once it was clear that she had won.
jovial
noun: the tendency to be untruthful
I can forgive her for her mendacity but only because she is a child and is seeing what she can get away with.
mendacity
verb: cause to become widely known
Before the effects of anesthesia were disseminated, patients had to experience the full pain of a surgery.
disseminate
adjective: having or showing profound knowledge
Before the Internet, the library was typically where you would find erudite readers.
erudite
verb: criticize severely or angrily; censure
The police chief rebuked the two officers whose irresponsible decisions almost led to the deaths of seven innocent by-standers.
rebuke
noun: a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something.
The professor launched into a polemic, claiming that Freudian theory was a pack of lies that absolutely destroyed European literary theory.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
polemic
adjective: improving your mind:
I recently read an article in the Times about whether good literature is edifying or not; specifically, does reading more make a person more moral.
edifying
noun: an intense feeling of dislike or aversion
Maria had an antipathy for tour groups, often bolting to the other side of the museum as soon as she saw a chaperone leading a group of wide-eyed tourists.
antipathy
noun: a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
Because of the nuances involved in this case, I hired an outside consultant to advise us and help.
nuance
noun: the quality of being boring, ordinary, and not original, or something that is like this:
Herbert regarded the minister’s remark as a mere banality until Sharon pointed out profound implications to the seemingly obvious words.
banality
verb: call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)
Just smiling–even if you are depressed–can elicit feelings of pleasure and happiness
elicit
verb: pacify by acceding to the demands of
Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister during WWII, tried to appease Hitler and in doing so sent a clear message: you can walk all over us.
appease
noun: something that is not normal, standard, or expected
After finding an anomaly in the data, she knew that she would have to conduct her experiment again.
anomaly
adjective: harmful to living things
The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was deleterious to the fishing industry in the southern states.
deleterious
adjective: producing the intended result
Since Maggie’s cough syrup, which had expired five years back, was no longer efficacious, she coughed through the night.
efficacious
noun: compulsory force or threat
The witness said he signed the contract under duress and argued that the court should cancel the agreement.
duress
adjective: demanding strict attention to rules and procedures
Most of the students disliked the teacher because of his stringent homework policy, but many students would later thank him for demanding so much from them.
stringent
adjective: unsure how to act or respond
Shirley was totally nonplussed when the angry motorist cut her off and then stuck his finger out the window.
nonplussed
adjective: unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice
A good scientist should be dispassionate, focusing purely on what the evidence says, without personal attachment.
dispassionate
adjective: clumsy
As a child she was quite maladroit, but as an adult, she has become an adept dancer.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
maladroit
adjective: Someone who is sullen is bad-tempered and does not speak much.
Herbert took board games too seriously, often appearing sullen after losing.
sullen
adjective: demanding considerable mental effort and skill; testing powers of endurance
In order to deal with the arduous cross-country journey, truck drivers often survive on a string of caffeinated drinks, staying awake for up to 30 hours at a time.
arduous
adjective: very unusual and understood or liked by only a small number of people, especially those with special knowledge:
Map collecting is an esoteric hobby to most, but to geography geeks it is a highly enjoyable pastime.
esoteric
adjective: free from undue bias or preconceived opinions
The judge was not impartial since he had been bribed by the witness’s family.
impartial
adjective: wasting time
Lawyers use dilatory tactics so that it takes years before the case is actually decided.
dilatory
adverb: with a look of suspicion or disapproval
The old couple looked askance on the teenagers seated next to them, whispering to each other, “They’ve got rings through their noses and purple hair!”
askance
noun: the quality of being expensive and luxurious:
Russian oligarchs are famous for their opulence, living in fancy homes and dining on expensive caviar.
opulence
adjective: pathetically cowardly
Though the man could have at least alerted the police, he crouched cravenly in the corner as the old woman was mugged.
craven
adjective: expressing disapproval (usu. refers to a term)
Most psychologists object to the pejorative term “shrink”, believing that they expand the human mind, not limit it.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
pejorative
verb: assume as fact
Initially, Einstein posited a repulsive force to balance Gravity, but then rejected that idea as a blunder.
posit
adjective: not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society
Eating with elbows on the table is considered indecorous in refined circles.
indecorous
noun: the feeling of remorse or guilt that comes from doing something bad
Those who show contrition during their prison terms–especially when under review by a parole board–often get shortened sentences.
contrition
verb: interpret in the wrong way
The politician never trusted journalists because he thought that they would misconstrue his words and misrepresent his positions.
misconstrue
adjective: (used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame
Since the politician preached ethics and morality, his texting of revealing photographs was ignominious, bringing shame on both himself and his party.
ignominious
adjective: troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances
With a team of new hires to train, Martha was constantly harried with little questions and could not focus on her projects.
harried
noun: someone who exhibits great independence in thought and action
Officer Kelly was a maverick, rarely following police protocols or adopting the conventions for speech common among his fellow officers.
maverick
adjective: plausible but false
He made a career out of specious arguments and fictional lab results, but lost his job and reputation when his lies were exposed by an article in The New York Times.
specious
verb: If you placate someone, you do or say something to make them stop feeling angry.
I was able to placate the angry mob of students by promising to bring cookies on Monday.
placate
adjective: avoiding waste, efficient
Journalists favor an economical style of writing, in which no unnecessary words are used and every sentence is as short as possible.
economical
adjective: not wise
Hitler, like Napoleon, made the imprudent move of invading Russia in winter, suffering even more casualties than Napoleon had.
imprudent
adjective: timid; nervous and without much confidence
Since this was her first time debating on stage and before an audience, Di’s voice was timorous and quiet for the first 10 minutes.
timorous
adjective: repetitive and boring; not spiritual
Nancy found doing dishes a thoroughly mundane task, although Peter found a kind of Zen pleasure in the chore.
adjective: relating to the ordinary world
Though we think of the pope as someone always dealing in holy matters, he is also concerned with mundane events, such as deciding when to set his alarm each morning.
mundane
verb: to criticize someone, especially for not being successful or not doing what is expected:
At first, Sarah was going to yell at the boy, but she didn’t want to reproach him for telling the truth about the situation.
reproach
verb: support and strengthen
The case for the suspect’s innocence was bolstered considerably by the fact that neither fingerprints nor DNA were found at the scene.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
bolster
adjective: Someone who is capricious often changes their mind unexpectedly.
Nearly every month our capricious CEO had a new plan to turn the company around, and none of them worked because we never gave them the time they needed to succeed.
capricious
verb: reduce the length of something
The soccer game was truncated when the monsoon rain began to fall.
truncate
noun: a state of uncertainty about what should be done (usually following some important event)
Ever since Elvira resigned as the head of marketing, everything about our sales strategy has been in a state of flux.
This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study
flux
adjective: overly concerned with details; fussy
Whitney is fastidious about her shoes, arranging them on a shelf in a specific order, each pair evenly spaced.
fastidious
adjective: lasting a very short time
The unpredictable and transient nature of deja vu makes it a very difficult phenomenon to study properly.
transient
