Set 2 Flashcards
ambience
environment; atmosphere; ex. restraurant with a pleasant ambience; adj. ambient: completely surrounding; ex. ambient temperature
quiescent
dormant; temporarily inactive; at rest; n. quiescence
sear
burn the surface of; char or burn; brand; parch; cause (a plant) to wither
dispense
distribute; prepare and give out (medicines); n. dispensation: dispensing; religious system; official exemption from an obligation or a rule
gape
open widely; slack-jawed in wonder ; open the mouth wide; stare wonderingly with the mouth open; ex: agape
nonchalance
indifference; lack of concern; composure; adj. nonchalant: unconcerned; cool; indifferent; ex. nonchalant attitude to his debts
germ
earliest form of an organism; seed or bud; something that may develop into something larger or more important; microbe
primal
first in rank or importance; being first in time; original; ex. man’s primal innocence
doggerel
poor verse
mnemonic
pertaining to memory; assisting the memory; n. device, such as as formula or rhyme, used as a mnemonic aid
sledge
large sled drawn by work animals
chagrin
annoyance and disappointment; vexation (caused by humiliation or injured pride)
memoir
memoirs; autobiography; biography
polity
(particular form of) political organization; form of government of nation or state; ex. student polity
mentor
counselor; teacher
levy
impose (a fine); collect (a payment); impose or collect (a tax); ex. levy a tax on tobacco
prowess
extraordinary ability; military bravery; ex. prowess in battle
generate
cause; produce; create
environ
enclose; surround; n. environs: surrounding area (as of a city)
recurrent
occurring again and again
malfeasance
wrongdoing; misconduct (by a public official)
robust
strong; vigorous
impermeable
impervious; not permitting passage through its substance; impossible to permeate
expository
explanatory; serving to explain; n. exposition: explaining; exhibition
sporadic
occurring irregularly; intermittent
rend
split; tear apart; n. rent; ex: heartrending: causing deep sorrow
corpus
collection (of writings or information); ex. the corpus of Shakespear’s works; Cf. corpse
imbecility
weakness of mind; state of being an imbecile; n. imbecile: stupid person; fool
idyllic
charmingly carefree; simple and happy; ex. idyllic scene
condescend
(derog.) bestow courtesies with a superior air; descend to the level of one considered inferior
overweening
arrogant; presumptuous
thrive
prosper; flourish
prudent
cautious; careful; prudential
nauseate
cause to become sick; fill with disgust; fill nausea
dart
move or throw suddenly and quickly
insouciant
without concern or care; unconcerned; indifferent
droop
bend or hang downward; become weakened; ex. His shoulders drooped with tiredness; n.
jocund
merry
rumble
make or move with a deep rolling sound (as thunder or stomach)
pungent
stinging; acrid; sharp in taste or smell; (of speech or writing) caustic; n. pungency
gust
strong abrupt rush of wind; v. ex: bluster
repudiate
disown; disavow; deny
edifice
building (of imposing size)
galaxy
large isolated system of stars, such as the Milky Way; collection of brilliant personalities
onslaught
vicious assault; fierce attack; ex. unexpected onslaught of the enemy
heterogeneous
dissimilar; mixed; not homogeneous; consisting of dissimilar elements or plants
superimpose
place over something else
suavity
urbanity; polish; adj. suave: smooth and courteous
provincial
pertaining to a province; limited in outlook; narrow; unsophisticated
gaudy
flashy; showy
slavish
of or like a slave; servile; showing no originality; copied very closely; ex. slavish devotion/copy of the original
prelate
church dignitary; priest of high position in the church (esp. bishop)
beset
harass or trouble from all directions; hem in
astringent
binding; causing contraction (stopping bleeding); harsh or severe; stringent; ex. astringent criticism
generic
characteristic of an entire class or species; of a genus
pertinent
suitable; to the point; relevant
dapper
neat and trim (in appearance); (of small men) neat in appearance and quick in movements; neat; spry
ratify
approve formally; confirm; verify
patois
local or provincial dialect
beget
father; become the father of; produce; give rise to
manifesto
public declaration of principles; statement of policy
belie
contradict; give a false impression; disguise; ex. The poor sales belied our high hopes; ex. Her smile belies her true feeling of displeasure.
practical
based on experience; of or acquired through practice (rather than theory); useful; ex. practical man
rehabilitate
restore to proper condition (health or useful life); restore the former rank of
parley
conference (between opponents); ex: speak
appropriate
acquire; take possession of for one’s own use without permission; set aside for a particular purpose; allocate; ex: misappropriate
invalidate
weaken; destroy; make invalid; nullify
fusillade
simultaneous firing or outburst (of missiles, questions, etc.)
temper
moderate; make less severe; tone down or restrain; toughen (steel) as by alternate heating and cooling
dyspeptic
suffering from indigestion; n. dyspepsia: indigestion; difficulty in digesting food
emissary
agent (sent on a mission to represent another); messenger
teetotalism
practice of abstaining totally from alcoholic drinks; n. teetotaler;; adj. teetotal; ex: T + total
paste
smooth viscous mixture as of flour(powder made by crushing grain) and water (used as an adhesive); v. cause to adhere by applying paste
convention
social or moral custom; established practice; formal meeting; international agreement
geniality
cheerfulness; kindliness; sympathy; adj. genial: cheerful and good-tempered
delusion
false belief; hallucination; deluding; ex. delusions of grandeur; ex. under the delusion that
fidelity
loyalty; accuracy
excoriate
scold with biting harshness; censure strongly; strip the skin off
terse
concise; abrupt; pithy
traduce
expose to slander
adulterate
make impure or of poorer quality by adding inferior or tainted(contaminated) substances
derision
ridicule; adj. derisive; ex: derisory
anarchist
person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority
veracity
truthfulness; adherence to the truth
epicure
connoisseur of food and drink; gourmet; adj. epicurean; ex: Epicurus
promulgate
announce; proclaim a doctrine or law; make known by official publication
elliptical
elliptic; oval; of an ellipse; containing an ellipsis; ambiguous either purposely or because key words have been left out
sanguinary
bloody; with much bloodshed
elusive
evasive; not frank; baffling; hard to grasp, catch, or understand; v. elude: escape from; escape the understanding or grasp of; ex. elude the hunter; ex. His name eludes me.
indiscriminate
choosing at random; confused; not based on careful distinctions
combustible
easily burned; n. ex: combustion
consummate
complete; v.
judiciary
judicial branch of government
inevitable
unavoidable
gamut
entire range
indict
charge; n. indictment
disdain
treat with scorn or contempt
truculence
aggressiveness; ferocity; adj. truculent: aggressive; pugnacious; fierce
laggard
slow; sluggish; n. one who lags; straggler
beatitude
blessedness; state of great happiness
breed
produce young; rear; bring up; produce (an undesirable condition); n. kind or sort of animal or plant
indecisive
marked by indecision; inconclusive; ex. indecisive battle
sprout
begin to grow; give off shoots or buds; n. new growth on a plant; shoot
submerge
place under water; dip; go under water; cover completely (as with water); ex. submerged in work
vassal
in feudalism, one who held land of a superior lord; subordinate or dependent
cremate
incinerate (a corpse); n. crematory, crematorium
stalwart
physically strong; brawny; steadfast; strong in mind or determination; ex. stalwart supporter; n. stalwart follower
assurance
firm statement that something is certainly true; promise or pledge; certainty; confidence in one’s own ability; self-confidence; ex. In spite of all his assurances, he did not come back; ex. assurance of his loyalty; ex. The teacher lacked assurance in fron of his class; v. assure; tell firmly with confidence; ensure; make (something) certain to heappen; make (someone) feel sure; give confidence to; adj. assured: self-assured; confident in one’s own ability; showing certainty
asymmetric
not identical on both sides of a dividing central line
refurbish
renovate; make clean, bright, or fresh (make new) again; make bright by polishing; ex. refurbish an old theater; ex: furbish: polish
concurrent
happening at the same time; in agreement
implode
burst inward; ex: vaccum tube
enliven
make lively or spirited; animate
parameter
limit; independent variable; ex. parameters of the problem; ex. within the parameters of the budget
executioner
person administering capital punishment
quizzical
curious; suggesting puzzlement (without saying); questioning; teasing; mocking; bantering; ex. quizzical glance
poultice
soothing application applied to sore and inflamed portions of the body
mesmerize
hypnotize; n. mesmerism; ex: Franz Mesmer
wane
decrease in size or strength (after being full); grow gradually to an end; ex. The moon waxes and wanes every month; n.
seduce
lead away from proper conduct; entice; adj. seductive
parity
equality; close resemblance; ex: disparate
collected
composed; calm; self-possessed
prelude
introduction; introductory performance or event; forerunner
innocuous
harmless
rummage
ransack; thoroughly search
scrappy
quarrelsome
chalice
goblet; consecrated cup
elixir
cure-all; panacea; something invigorating
promiscuous
mixed indiscriminately; indiscriminate; not choosing carefully; indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners; irregular, particularly sexually; ex. promiscuous life/girl; n. promiscuity
dissent
disagree
damn
condemn; criticize severely; condemn to everlasting punishment; doom; bring to ruin; n. damnation
peruse
read through with care; n. perusal
varnish
paint used to coat a surface with a glossy film; glossy coating produced by using this substance; ex. nail varnish; v.
degenerate
become worse in quality; deteriorate; adj. having become worse; ex. a degenerate species; n. depraved or corrupt person
posthumous
after death (as of child born after father’s death or book published after author’s death); coming or occurring after one’s death; ex. posthumous fame/novel
hapless
unfortunate; luckless
expeditious
done with speed; quick; n. expedition
exculpate
clear from blame or guilt
pedagogy
teaching; art of education
mountebank
charlatan; boastful pretender
vicarious
experienced as if one were taking part in the experience of another; done by a deputy for other people; acting as a substitute; ex. vicarious thrill at the movies; ex. the vicarious sufferings of Christ
appellation
name; title
bowdlerize
expurgate; ex: Thomas Bowdler
recant
disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error; ex. recant one’s faith/a statement
dabble
work at in a nonserious fashion; splash around; move noisily in a liquid
clavicle
collarbone
jubilation
rejoicing; great joy
execrable
very bad; detestable
countenance
approve; support; tolerate; ex. countenance his rude behavior; n. face; appearance
facile
easily accomplished; ready or fluent; superficial; not deep; ex. facile solution to a complex problem; ex. facile speaker; n. facility: ability to do something easily and well; ease in doing resulting from skill or aptitude; something that facilitates an action; amenity; ex. with great facility
meander
wind or turn in its course; follow a winding or turning course; move aimlessly and idly
pedigree
line of ancestors; ancestry; lineage; adj. (of an animal) descended from of a chosen family; ex. pedigree dog; ex: crane’s foot
padre
chaplain (in the armed forces)
prevalent
widespread; generally accepted
bluff
pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff; adj. rough but good-natured
plaster
paste that hardens to a smooth solid and is used for coating walls; v.
eschew
avoid habitually; ex. eschew alcoholic drinks
zealot
one who is zealous; fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal
lionize
treat (a person) as a celebrity
onerous
burdensome
endue
provide with some quality; endow
ludicrous
laughable; ridiculous; trifling
sacrilegious
desecrating; profane; n. sacrilege: desecration, misuse, or theft of something sacred
reprisal
retaliation
bereavement
state of being deprived of something valuable or beloved; state of being bereaved or bereft
scabbard
case for a sword blade; sheath
prodigious
enormous; marvelous; extraordinary; ex. prodigious amount/memory
shudder
shake uncontrollably; tremble; v.
championship
position of champion; defense or support; competition held to determine a champion
malaise
uneasiness; vague feeling of ill health (without any particular pain or appearance of disease)
docket
program as for trial; book where such entries are made; list of things to be done; agenda; label fixed to a package listing contents or directions; v. describe in a docket
skulk
move furtively and secretly; ex. He skulked through the less fashionable sections of the city.
conglomeration
mass of material sticking together
qualified
limited; restricted; v. qualify: limit the meaning of; modify
savory
pleasant in taste; tasty; pleasing, attractive, or agreeable; ex. savory reputation
chip
lose a small piece from the surface or edge; n. small piece broken off something; ex: French fry; Potato chip/crisp
plumage
feathers of a bird;
indite
write; compose
circumvent
outwit; defeat by behaving more cleverly; outsmart; baffle; avoid; get around
rousing
lively; inducing excitement; stirring; v. rouse: waken; arouse from sleep or depression; excite; stir up
outrage
act of extreme violence or viciousness; resentful anger; v. commit an outrage on; produce anger in; adj. outrageous: offensive
vertebrate
having a backbone or spinal column; n. group of animals having a segmented spinal column
incognito
with identity concealed; using an assumed name; adj.
slake
satisfy (thirst); quench; sate
introspective
looking within oneself; n. introspection: self-examination
exhale
breathe out; OP. inhale
welt
raised mark from a beating or whipping
voluminous
having great volume (as of a garment or container); bulky; large
partial
incomplete; favoring one side over another; having a liking for something
impunity
freedom from punishment or harm; ex: punish
diabolical
diabolic; devilish; fiendish
sect
separate religious body; faction; group of people with common beliefs within a larger group
patrimony
property inherited from a father
bearing
deportment; connection
scurrilous
abusive; obscene; indecent; ex. scurrilous remark
infidel
unbeliever (with respect to a particular religion)
optimum
most favorable; optimal; n. most favorable condition
illimitable
infinite; limitless
mason
one who builds or works with stone or brick; n. masonry: work of a mason; stonework or brickwork
