Set 2 Flashcards
Banal
adj
(buh naal)
Predictable; cliched; boring
His conversation consisted of BANAL phrases like “have a nice day” or “another day, another dollar.”
Synonyms: bland; bromidic; cliched; commonplace; trite; vapid
Repose
noun
(rih pohz)
Relaxation; leisure
After working hard every day in the busy city, Mike finds his REPOSE on weekends playing golf with friends.
Synonyms: calmness; tranquility
Plucky
adj
(pluh kee)
Courageous; spunky
The PLUCKY young nurse dove into the foxhole, determined to help the wounded soldier.
Synonyms: brave; bold; gutsy
Sinecure
noun
(sien ih kyoor)
A well-paying job or office that requires little or no work
The corrupt mayor made sure to set up all his relatives in SINECURES within the administration.
Vestige
noun
(veh stihj)
A trace; a remnant
VESTIGES of the former tenant still remained in the apartment, though he hadn’t lived there for years.
Synonyms: relic; remains; sign
Forestall
verb
(fohr stahl)
To prevent or delay; to anticipate
The landlord FORESTALLED T.J’s attempt to avoid paying rent by waiting for him outside his door.
Synonyms: avert; deter; hinder; obviate; preclude
Capricious
adj
(kuh prih shuhs)
Changing one’s mind quickly and often
Queen Elizabeth I was quite CAPRICIOUS; her courtiers could never be sure which one would catch her fancy.
Synonyms: arbitrary; chance; changeable; erratic; fickle; inconstant
Plethora
noun
(pleh thor uh)
Excess
Assuming that more was better, the defendant offered the judge a PLETHORA of excuses.
Synonyms: glut; overabundance; superfluity; surfeit
Lampoon
verb
(laam poon)
To ridicule with satire
The mayor hated being LAMPOONED by the press for his efforts to improve people’s politeness.
Synonym: tease
Impervious
adj
(ihm puhr vee uhs)
Impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
A good raincoat will be IMPERVIOUS to moisture.
Synonyms: impregnable, resistant
Zephyr
noun
(zeh fuhr)
A gentle breeze; something airy or unsubstantial
The ZEPHYR from the ocean made the intense heat on the beach bearable for the sunbathers.
Synonyms: breath; draft
Edify
verb
(eh duh fie)
To instruct morally and spiritually
The guru was paid to EDIFY the actress in the ways of Buddhism.
Synonyms: educate; enlighten; guide; teach
Anomaly
noun
(uh nahm uh lee)
Deviation from what is normal
Albino animals may display too great an ANOMALY in their coloring to attract normally colored mates.
Synonyms: aberrancy; aberration; abnormality; deviance; deviation
Collusion
noun
(kuh loo zhuhn)
A collaboration; complicity; conspiracy
It came to light that the police chief and the mafia had a COLLUSION in running the numbers racket.
Synonyms: connivance; intrigue; machination
Multifarious
adj
(muhl tuh faar ee uhs)
Diverse
Ken opened the hotel room window, letting in the MULTIFARIOUS noises of the great city.
Synonyms: assorted; heterogeneous; indiscriminate; legion; motley
Permeate
verb
(puhr mee ayt)
To penetrate
This miraculous new cleaning fluid is able to PERMEATE stains and dissolve them in minutes!
Synonyms: imbue; infuse; pervade; suffuse
Zenith
noun
(zee nihth)
The point of culmination; peak
The diva considered her appearance at the metropolitan Opera to be the ZENTIH of her career.
Synonyms: acme; pinnacle
Naive
adj
(nah eev)
Lacking sophistication or experience
Inexperienced writers often are NAIVE and assume that big words make them sound smarter.
Synonyms: artless; credulous; guileless; ingenuous; simple; unaffected
Cloying
adj
(kloy ing)
Sickly sweet; excessive
When Enid and Jay first started dating, their CLOYING affection toward one another often made their friends ill.
Synonyms: excessive; fulsome
Abdicate
verb
(aab duh kayt)
To give up a position, right, or power
With the angry mob clamor ing outside the palace, the king ABDICATED his throne and fled.
Synonyms: cede; quit; relinquish; resign; yield
Précis
noun
(pray see)
Short summary of facts
Farah wrote a précis of her thesis on the epic poem to share with the class.
Synonym: summary
Gestation
noun
(jeh stay shuhn)
The growth process from conception to birth
The longer the GESTATION period of an organism, the more developed the baby is at birth.
Synonyms: development; gravidity; pregnancy
Lapidary
adj
(laa puh der ee)
Relating to precious stones or the art of cutting them
Most LAPIDARY work today is done with the use of motorized equipment.
Furtive
adj
(fuhr tihv)
Secret; stealthy
Glenn was FURTIVE when he peered out of the corner of his eye at the stunningly beautiful model.
Synonyms: clandestine; covert; shifty; surreptitious; underhand
Winsome
adj
(wihn suhm)
Charming; happily engaging
Lenore gave the doorman a WINSOME smile, and he let her pass to the front of the line.
Synonyms: attractive; delightful
Innocuous
adj
(ih nahk yoo uhs)
Harmless
Some snakes are poisonous, but most species are INNOCUOUS and pose no danger to humans.
Synonyms: benign, harmless, inoffensive, insipid
Quiescent
adj
(kwie eh sihnt)
Motionless
Many animals are QUIESCENT over the winter months, minimizing activity in order to conserve energy.
Synonyms: dormant; latent
Curmudgeon
noun
(kuhr muh juhn)
A cranky person, usually an old one
Ernesto was a notorious CURMUDGEON who snapped at anyone who disturbed him for any reason.
Synonyms: coot, crab; grouch
Dissemble
verb
(dihs sehm buhl)
To present a false appearance; to disguise one’s real intentions or character.
The villain could DISSEMBLE to the police no longer - he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the stash of stolen money.
Synonyms: act; affect; assume; camouflage; cloak; disguise; fake; mask; pretend
Probity
noun
(proh bih tee)
Complete honesty and integrity
George Washington’s reputation for PROBITY is illustrated in the legend about his inability to lie after he chopped down the cherry tree.
Synonyms: integrity; morality; rectitude; uprightness; virtue
