Set 13 Flashcards
belittle
disparage; depreciate
proselytize
(induce someone to) convert to a religion or belief; n. proselyte: new convert to a doctrine or religion
provident
providing for future needs; displaying foresight; thrifty; preparing for emergencies; OP. improvident
buoyant
able to float; cheerful and optimistic; n. buoyancy; ex. buoyancy of wood/water/American market
stamp
step on heavily (so as to crush or extinguish); put an end to; imprint or impress with a mark, design, or seal; shape with a die; characterize; ex. machine stamping out car bodies; ex. newspaper stamping him as a liar; n. stamping; implement used to stamp
grandeur
impressiveness; stateliness; majesty
talon
claw of bird
alloy
mixture as of metals; something added that lowers in value or purity; v. mix; make less pure; lower in value or quality; spoil; ex: unalloyed: not in mixture with other maetals; pure; complete; unqualified; ex. unalloyed happiness
fallow
(of land) plowed but not sowed (to improve the quality); uncultivated
furor
frenzy; great anger and excitement; ex: fury
compatible
harmonious; in harmony with; able to exist together
subordinate
occupying a lower rank; inferior; submissive; n. v. put in a lower rank or class
unison
unity of pitch (in musical performance); complete accord; ex. The choir sang in unison.
totter
shake or move unsteadily; sway as if about to fall
camaraderie
good-fellowship; ex: comrade
sovereignty
complete independence and self-government (of a country); supremacy of authority; power to govern
brave
face courageously; ex. brave the storm
supposition
assumption; hypothesis; surmise; v. suppose
extemporaneous
not planned; impromptu; extempore
hibernal
wintry; wintery; of or like winter
marked
noticeable; targeted for vengeance or attack; ex. marked improvement/man
effeminate
having womanly traits
stratified
divided into classes; arranged into strata; v. stratify
versatile
having many talents; capable of working in many fields; having many uses or functions; n. versatility
efface
rub out; remove the surface of
gnarled
twisted
irreconcilable
impossible to reconcile; incompatible; not able to be resolved
prank
mischievous trick
apex
tip; summit; climax; highest point
infirmity
weakness
concentric
having a common center
static
having no motion; unchanging; lacking development; n. stasis: stable state
obnoxious
offensive; disagreeable; ex. obnoxious smell
gusto
eager enjoyment; zest; enthusiasm
apparition
ghost; phantom
deplete
reduce; exhaust
sedition
conduct or language inciting rebellion; rebellion; resistance to authority; insubordination; adj. seditious
marginal
of a margin; barely within a limit; ex. marginal effect/writing ability
scuttle
sink (a ship) by cutting holes in the hull; scrap; discard; n. small hatch in a ship’s deck or hull
contentious
quarrelsome; controversial; likely to cause arguments
gloss_over
explain away with the intention of deceiving or hiding faults
refectory
dining hall; room where meals are served (in a school)
anvil
iron block used in hammering out metals
extrinsic
external; not essential or inherent; extraneous; OP. intrinsic
omnivorous
eating both plant and animal food; devouring everything
pedantic
bookish; showing off learning; marked by an excessive ostentatious concern for book learning; n. pedantry
extraneous
not essential; irrelevant; superfluous; external; coming from the outside; ex. extraneous details/noise/to the subject
neophyte
recent convert; new member of a religious group; beginner; ex: plant
cloying
distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental; v. cloy: become unpleasant through too much sweetness or excess
podiatrist
doctor who treats ailments of the feet; chiropodist; n. podiatrics
commodious
spacious and comfortable
gustatory
affecting or relating to the sense of taste
panoramic
denoting an unobstructed and comprehensive view; n. panorama: unbroken view of a wide area
appreciate
be thankful for; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious of; adj. appreciable: enough to be felt; ex. appreciable difference
disbar
make (a lawyer) leave the bar or the legal profession
devout
pious; deeply religious; sincere; earnest; ex. my devout hope
latch
fastening or lock consisting of a movable bar that fits into a notch; v. close with a latch
libidinous
lustful
enamored
in love; ex. enamored of his own beauty; v. enamor: inspire with love
paramount
foremost in importance; supreme; ex: para-: beyond; above; ex. paranormal
coddle
treat gently; indulge excessively; pamper; mollycoddle; baby; cook in water just below boiling point; ex. coddled eggs
gastronomy
art and science of preparing and serving good food; ex: gastronome
winsome
charming (in a childlike way); agreeable; gracious; engaging
vendor
seller
plight
difficult condition; condition or state (esp. a bad state or condition); predicament
dumbfound(dumfound)
astonish (making dumb); adj. dumbfounded, dumfounded, dumbstruck
spartan
without attention to comfort; lacking luxury and comfort; sternly disciplined; ex. spartan living condition/life
odious
arousing strong dislike; hateful(causing hatred); vile
astronomical
enormously large or extensive
forthcoming
happening in the near future; ready; willing to help; ex. No answer was forthcoming.
doctrinaire
unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding; marked by inflexible attachment to a doctrine without regard to its practical difficulties
gambit
opening in chess in which a piece is sacrificed; action made to produce a future advantage
torso
trunk of statue with head and limbs missing; human trunk
tint
slight degree of color; v. give a tint to
blowhard
talkative boaster; braggart
habitat
natural home of a plant or animal; ex: habitation
accrue
come to one as a gain; accumulate over time; come about by addition; ex. benefits that accrue from scientific research; ex. interest accruing in a bank account; n. accrual
cemetery
place for burying the dead
uninhibited
having no inhibitions; free in behavior and feelings
quirk
sudden sharp turn or twist; startling twist; caprice; idiosyncrasy; peculiarity of behavior; ex. by a quirk of fate
innate
inborn
pestle
tool for mashing or grinding substances in a hard bowl or mortar
requite
make return for; repay; reciprocate; revenge; n. requittal
suckle
give or take milk at the breast or udder
nihilist
one who considers traditional beliefs to be groundless and existence meaningless; absolute skeptic; revolutionary terrorist; ex: nihilism: belief that nothing has meaning or value; belief that destruction of existing political or social institutions is ne
civil
having to do with citizens; not military or religious; courteous and polite; ex. married in a civil ceremony; ex. civil strife/disorder/law; n. civility; ex: civic
superficial
of the surface; not deep; shallow; not thorough; trivial; ex. superficial analysis/knowledge
foolhardy
rash; reckless; foolishly daring
tread
walk; trample; n. grooved face of a tire; horizontal part of a step
seethe
be violently disturbed; boil; (of a liquid) move about wildly as if boiling; ex. The nation was seething with discontent.
spruce
neat and trim in appearance; smart; ex. Be spruce for your job interview; v.
preen
make oneself tidy in appearance; feel self-satisfaction or pride; (of a bird) smooth or clean (feathers) with the beak; ex. preen oneself on; ex: prune
blanch
bleach; whiten; make white or pale
gloss
brief explanation note or translation of a difficult expression; v.
yokel
rustic; country bumpkin; Ìí??
desperado
reckless, desperate outlaw
archipelago
group of closely located islands
collage
work of art put together from fragments
chortle
chuckle with delight; n.
dismiss
eliminate from consideration; no longer consider; put out of court without further hearing; reject; discharge from employment; direct to leave; adj. dismissive; n. dismissal
hem
surround tightly so that movement is impossible; ex. hem in; n.
presage
foretell; be a warning or sign of; n. presentiment; foreboding; omen
favoritism
display of partiality toward a favored person
synchronous
similarly timed; simultaneous with; occurring at the same time; v. synchronize
immobility
state of being immovable
odorous
having an odor
gallows
framework from which a noose is suspended (used for execution by hanging)
irony
hidden sarcasm or satire; use of words that seem to mean the opposite of what they actually mean; use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning
reprobation
severe disapproval; ex: approbation
inconsistency
state of being self-contradictory; lack of uniformity or steadiness; adj. inconsistent: displaying a lack of consistency; erratic; contradictory; incompatible
sparse
not thick; thinly scattered; scanty
flippant
lacking proper seriousness; ex. flippant remarks about death; n. flippancy
placebo
harmless substance prescribed as a dummy pill
stifle
suppress; extinguish; inhibit; smother or suffocate
retort
quick sharp reply; v.
august
impressive; majestic
memorial
something, such as a monument or holiday, intended to honor the memory of a person or event; adj. commemorative
squeamish
easily shocked or sickened by unpleasant things; fastidious; ex. A nurse should not be squeamish.
fell
cut or knock down (a tree or a person); bring down (with a missile)
beleaguer
besiege or attack (with an army); harass; beset
tanner
person who turns animal hides into leather
entomology
study of insects
usurp
seize another’s power or rank (without legal authority); supplant; appropriate; n. usurpation; ex: take for one’s own use
vile
despicable; unpleasant; disgusting; ex. vile slander
mash
crush into mash; convert into mash; n. mixture of ground grain and nutrients fed to livestock and fowl
gruel
thin liquid porridge
diva
operatic singer; prima donna
rare
(of air) thin in density; rarefied; ex. rare air of the mountains
anonymity
state of being nameless; anonymousness; adj. anonymous
loll
lounge about
franchise
right or privilege granted by authority; right to vote; license to sell a product in a particular territory
covenant
binding agreement between two groups or people; compact; v. enter into a covenant; promise
hypocritical
pretending to be virtuous; deceiving; n. hypocrisy: profession of beliefs one does not possess; ex: hypocrite
mandatory
obligatory; compulsory; of a mandate
peon
landless agricultural worker; bond servant; menial worker; n. peonage
cower
shrink quivering as from fear; cringe
hireling
one who serves for hire (usually used contemptuously); one who works solely for compensation; ex. hireling politician
dislodge
remove (forcibly); force out of a position; ex. dislodge the food caught in his throat; ex: lodge
aspirant
seeker after position or status
attire
clothe; n. clothing; array; apparel
euphemism
mild expression in place of an unpleasant one; adj. euphemistic
cursory
casual; hastily done with little attention to detail
impale
pierce (with a sharp point); ex. impaled by the spear
mute
silent; without speech; not pronounced; unable to speak; n. one who is incapable of speech; v. soften the sound, color, shade of
abstemious
sparing in eating and drinking; temperate
surveillance
close observation of a person (esp. one under suspicion); watching; guarding
marsupial
one of a family of mammals that nurse their offspring in a pouch(pocket of skin or leather); ex: kangaroo, opossum, wombat
legislature
legislating branch of government; ex: legislate: make laws
welter
confusion; turmoil; confused mass; bewildering jumble;
medley
mixture
baleful
evil; malignant in intent or effect; deadly; having a malign influence; portending evil; ominous; threatening; ex. baleful look
obligatory
binding; required; compulsory; v. oblige: constrain; make grateful; do a favor; accommodate
salacious
lascivious; lustful; ex. salacious monk
attrition
rubbing away by friction; gradual decrease in numbers or strength; reduction in the work force without firing employees; wearing away of opposition by means of harassment; ex. a war of attrition
apprehend
arrest (a criminal); dread; perceive; n. apprehension
secrete
conceal; hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism; ex: secretive
terminology
terms used in a science or art; study of nomenclature
plane
carpenter’s tool for smoothing and leveling wood; v. ex: flat
horoscope
diagram of the positions of stars at a given moment (eg. of a person’s birth) used by astrologers
extricate
free from an entanglement or difficulty; disentangle
rigor
severity; ex. rigors of the Russian winter
rote
repetition; memorization through repetition without understanding; ex. learn poetry by rote
gerontocracy
government ruled by old people
festive
joyous; celebratory; relating to a feast or festival
surpass
exceed
spawn
lay eggs (in large numbers); produce offspring (in large numbers); n. eggs of aquatic animals
alchemy
medieval chemistry
apoplexy
stroke; loss of consciousness caused by too much blood in the brain
impecunious
without money
jaded
tired or uninterested by surfeit; fatigued; surfeited; worn out; wearied; ex. jaded appetite
aver
state confidently; declare as true
pronounced
distinct; very noticeable; ex. pronounced limp
carnage
destruction of life; slaughter; killing of large numbers of people or animals
seasonable
occurring at the proper time or season; opportune; ex. seasonable intervention in the dispute
cubicle
small chamber used for sleeping or work
rasp
(of a sound) grate on (eg. nerves); make a harsh noise; have an unpleasant effect; rub with something rough; ex. The cat’s tongue rasped my hand.
erratic
odd; irregular in movement or behavior; unpredictable
Epicurean
believing that pleasure is good and suffering is bad and should be avoided; n.
piecemeal
one part at a time; gradually; in stages; ex. read a novel piecemeal
physiological
pertaining to the science of the function of living organisms; n. physiology
doddering
shaky; infirm from old age; v. dodder
incite
arouse to action; goad; motivate; induce to exist; ex. incite a riot/the crowd to rebellion
prominent
protruding(sticking out); conspicuous; notable; eminent
unimpeachable
that cannot be impeached; beyond doubt or question; blameless and exemplary
audacious
daring; bold; n. audacity
palpitate
throb; beat rapidly; flutter; tremble; ex. Her heart began to palpitate.
filing
particle removed by a file
spat
squabble; minor dispute; minor quarrel
evenhanded
impartial; fair
pedestal
support or base as for a pillar or statue
redolent
odorous; fragrant; suggestive (of an odor); ex. redolent of onions/mystery
recite
repeat aloud (something learned); describe; ex. recite his complaints; n. recitation
coup
highly successful action or sudden attack; coup(s) d’'etat; ex: coup de gr\^ace: deathblow or shot which kills
serenity
calmness; placidity; adj. serene
chaff
worthless products of an endeavor; husk(outer seed cover) separated from grain; ex. separate the wheat from the chaff
improvident
thriftless; not providing for the future
terminal
part that forms the end; railroad or bus station; adj. forming an end; ending in death; fatal; ex. terminal cancer
shed
small roofed structure for storage and shelter; v. pour forth; lose by natural process; repel without allowing penetration; radiate; cast; ex. shed tears/light/water/skin/leaves
factotum
handyman; person who does all kinds of work; ex: do everything
