Set 3 Flashcards

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1
Q

abate

A

(of something unpleasant or severe) become less intense or widespread
e.g. The storms had abated by the time they rounded Cape Horn

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2
Q

abjure

A
solemnly renounce (a belief, cause or claim)
e.g. *He **abjured** the Protestant faith and became King in 1594*
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3
Q

anomalous

A

deviating from what is standard, normal or expected
e.g. For years, this anomalous behavior has baffled scientists

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4
Q

antipathy

A

a deep-seated feeling of aversion
e.g. She’d often spoken of her antipathy towards London

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5
Q

arcane

A

understood by few, mysterious or secret
e.g. Until a few months ago, few people outside the arcane world of contemporary music had heard of the composer

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6
Q

arduous

A

involving or requiring strenuous effort, difficult and tiring
e.g. The task was more arduous than he had calculated

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7
Q

artless

A

without effort or pretentiousness; natural and simple
e.g. She was curiously artless

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8
Q

ascetic

A

characterized by severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons
e.g. She has never been close to her ascetic, workaholic father

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9
Q

assuage

A

make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense
e.g. The announcement appeared designed to assuage concerns at home and abroad

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10
Q

betray

A

unintentionally reveal; be evidence of; expose to danger, by treacherously giving information to an enemy

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11
Q

bucolic

A

relating to pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life
e.g. The economics of a bucolic dream no longer stack up

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12
Q

burgeon

A

begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish
e.g. Plants burgeon from every available space

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13
Q

cacophonous

A

involving or producing a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds
e.g. Then he emits a cacophonous cackle that passes for a laugh

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14
Q

canonize

A

place in regard as belonging to a canon of literary or artistic works;
e.g. They canonized the Song of Solomon after much controversy

officially declare (dead person) to be a saint
e.g. *Joan of Arc was finally **canonized** by Pope Benedict XV in 1920*
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15
Q

censure

A

express severe disapproval of (someone or something), especially in a formal statement
e.g. The ethics committee may take a decision to admonish him or to censure him

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16
Q

chicanery

A

the use of deception or subterfuge to achieve one’s purpose
e.g. He resorted to the worst flattery and chicanery to win the job

17
Q

coalesce

A

come together to form one mass or whole
e.g. Cities, if unrestricted, tend to coalesce into bigger and bigger conurbations

18
Q

cogent

A

(of an argument or case) clear, logical and convincing
e.g. There were perfectly cogent reasons why Julian Cavendish should be told of the Majors’ impending return

19
Q

compelling

A

evoking interest, attention, or admiration in a powerfully irresistible way
e.g. There was no longer any compelling reason to continue this line of investigation

20
Q

contend

A

compete with others in a struggle to achieve (something);
e.g. .. two main groups contending for power

assert something as a position in an argument
e.g. He contended that the taxes were too high

21
Q

copious

A

abundant in supply or quantity
e.g. He had worked until early hours of the morning, helped by copious amounts of coffee

22
Q

cosmopolitan

A

including people from many different countries;
e.g. London has always been a cosmopolitan city

(of a plant or animal) found all over the world
e.g. The more cosmopolitan a sport becomes, the more it changes

23
Q

deference

A

polite submission and respect
e.g. Out of deference to him, I lowered my head as he prayed

24
Q

desultory

A

lacking a plan, purpose or enthusiasm
e.g. The constables made a desultory attempt to keep them away from the barn

25
Q

diffident

A

modest or shy because of a lack of self confidence
e.g. Helen was diffident and reserved

26
Q

dilatory

A

slow to act; intended to cause delay
e.g. You might expect politicians to smooth things out when civil servants are being dilatory

27
Q

equivocate

A

use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself
e.g. He is equivocating a lot about what is going to happen if and when there are elections

28
Q

polarize

A

divide or cause to divide into two sharply contrasting groups or sets of opinions or beliefs
e.g. Missile deployment did much to further polarize opinion in Britain

29
Q

prodigal

A

spending money or using resources freely and recklessly wastefully extravagant;
e.g. Prodigal habits die hard

having or giving something on a lavish scale
e.g. prodigal of compliments

30
Q

verbose

A

using or expressed in more words than are needed
e.g. His writing is difficult and often verbose