Set 3 Flashcards
kernel
central or vital part; core; whole seed (as of corn)
start
move suddenly or involuntarily; ex. start at the sight of a snake
rancid
having the odor of stale or decomposing fat; rank
stench
strong foul odor; reek; stink
lust
intense sexual desire; intense eagerness; v.
swindler
cheater
acclivity
sharp upslope of a hill; OP. declivity
misanthrope
one who hates mankind; misanthropist
casual
happening by chance; irregular; occasional; informal; showing or feeling little interest; ex. casual reader/labor/remark
miscellaneous
made up of a variety of parts
theoretical
based on theory; not practical or applied; hypothetical
invincible
unconquerable
brisk
quick and active; marked by liveliness and vigor
confluence
flowing together; the place where two rivers flow together; crowd; gathering together
engross
occupy fully; absorb
impair
injure; hurt; damage
apposite
appropriate; fitting
glutton
someone who eats too much; adj. gluttonous: given to gluttony; greedy; ex: gluttony: habit of eating too much
phylum
major classification second to kingdom of plants and animals; category ranking below a kingdom and above a class; division
induce
persuade; lead to do something; bring about; n. inducement
unexceptionable
entirely acceptable; not offering any basis for criticism
exact
demand and obtain by force; ex. exact a promise from him; n. exaction
carafe
glass water bottle; decanter
evanescent
fleeting; vanishing; soon disappearing; v. evanesce
pang
sudden sharp feeling of pain
curator
superintendent; manager (in charge of a museum or a library)
satellite
small body revolving around a larger one
cajole
persuade by praise or false promise; coax; wheedle
virtue
goodness; moral excellence; good quality; advantage; ex. by virtue of; ex. make a virtue of necessity
elicit
draw out fact or information (by discussion or from someone)
pauper
very poor person
pulse
rhythmical throbbing of arteries; brief sudden change in a normally constant quantity; v. pulsate
authoritarian
subordinating the individual to the state; completely dominating another’s will; ex. authoritarian regime/father
mange
skin disease (esp. of domestic animals) marked by loss of hair
hallucination
delusion; false idea; false perception of objects with a compelling sense of their reality; objects so perceived; v. hallucinate; adj. hallucinatory
emolument
salary; payment for an office; compensation
serpentine
winding; twisting; of or like a serpent; ex. serpentine course of the river; n. serpent: snake
liaison
contact that keeps parties in communication; communication between groups; one that maintains communication; go-between; secret love affair; v. liaise: keep a connection
chasten
discipline; punish in order to correct; ex: castigate
whet
sharpen; stimulate;
adulation
flattery; admiration that is more than is necessary or deserved
portly
stout; corpulent
flush
redden; blush; flow suddenly and abundantly; wash out by a rapid brief flow of water; n. reddish tinge; blush; brief rush; rush of strong feeling; ex. flush of pride; adj. having surfaces in the same plane; even; blushing
detain
keep waiting; prevent from leaving or going; n. detention
indignity
treatment or situation that causes shame or loss of dignity respect; offensive or insulting treatment; humiliating or degrading treatment; ex. I suffered the indignity of having to say that in front of them.
palm
conceal in the palm of the hand; palm off: pass off; ex. palm off some bad oranges onto the lady/the painting as a real Renoir
lugubrious
mournful; sorrowful
espionage
spying
grisly
ghastly; horrifying; ex. grisly remains of the bodies
diurnal
daily; occurring during the daytime
indoctrinate
cause to accept a doctrine without questioning it; ex. indoctrinated with mindless anti-communism
transcendental
going beyond common thought or ideas; impossible to understand by practical experiences or practices; known only by studying thoughts or intuition; OP. empirical; ex: transcendentalism
corpulent
very fat; n. corpulence
defoliate
destroy leaves; deprive of leaves (by the use of chemicals); n. defoliant
mogul
powerful person; ex. oil moguls; ex: Mogol Moghul; ex: Mongolian
exodus
departure (of a large number of people)
intrepid
fearless
gruesome
grisly; horrible
dregs
sediment in a liquid; lees; worthless residue
mercurial
capricious; quick and changing; fickle; containing the element mercury; ex. mercurial temper; ex: mood
illuminate
brighten; clear up or make understandable; enlighten; enable to understand; ex. illuminating remarks
random
without definite purpose plan or aim; haphazard; ex. random shots; ex. chosen at random
tundra
rolling treeless plain in Siberia and arctic North America
mirth
merriment; laughter
trepidation
fear; nervous apprehension
Elysium
place or condition of bliss
jargon
language used by special group; technical terminology; gibberish; nonsensical or incoherent talk
pr'ecis
abstract; concise summing up of main points; concise summary of a text
condone
overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse
contingent
dependent on something uncertain or in the future; conditional; happening by chance; accidental; n. a group of soldiers ships to a larger force; ex: contingency: future event that may or may not occur; possibility; ex. prepare for every contingency
confound
confuse; puzzle
imbalance
lack of balance or symmetry; disproportion
bellicose
warlike
resign
give up (a position right or claim); submit (oneself) passively
fluted
having vertical parallel grooves (as in a pillar); v. flute: make long parallel inward curves in; n. flute: long rounded groove incised on the shaft of a column
plenitude
abundance; plenty; great amount; completeness; fullness; ex: plenary plenty
sedulous
diligent; assiduous; paying attention; n. sedulity
fanciful
whimsical; visionary; imaginary; produced by imagination; ex. fanciful scheme
annihilate
destroy
stamina
power of endurance; strength; staying power
subsistence
existence; means of subsisting; means of support; livelihood; v. subsist: exist; maintain life (at a meager level)
sarcasm
cutting ironic remark; scornful remarks; stinging rebuke; adj. sarcastic
inkling
hint; slight indication
choreography
art of representing dances in written symbols; arrangement of dances
phoenix
symbol of immortality or rebirth; ex. phoenix rising from its ashes
aboriginal
being the first of its kind in a region; primitive; native; indigenous; n. aborigine
fleece
wool coat of a sheep; v. shear the fleece from; rob by a trick; swindle; plunder
motif
theme; recurrent thematic element in a musical or literary work; single or repeated pattern; figure
euphoria
feeling of exaggerated or unfounded(ungrounded; baseless) well-being; feeling of great happiness or well-being (when unreasonable); adj. euphoriaric
pushy
disagreeably aggressive
attest
testify; bear witness
hiatus
gap; pause; gap or interruption in space or time; break
minion
servile dependent; obsequious follower
incident
event; event that causes a crisis
vise
vice; tool for holding work in place; clamping device
grudging
unwilling; reluctant; stingy(giving reluctantly)
expletive
meaningless word; interjection; profane oath; swear-word
euphony
sweet sound; adj. euphonious
incidental
not essential; minor; n. something incidental
amnesia
loss of memory
cohesion
tendency to keep together
pry
inquire impertinently (someone else’s private affairs); use leverage to raise or open something; prize; n. pries: tool for prying
overt
open to view; public; not secret; ex: covert
sibling
brother or sister
acclimate
adjust to climate or environment; adapt
exult
rejoice
rile
irritate; vex; muddy
amity
friendship; peaceful relationship as between nations
bruise
injure without breaking the skin; n.
sidetrack
switch (a railroad car) to a siding; divert from a main issue; n. ex: siding: short section of railroad track connected by switches with a main track
procurement
obtaining; v. procure: obtain by effort; obtain (a prostitute) for another
stump
base of a tree trunk left after the rest has been cut down; v. walk in a heavy manner; baffle; puzzle
forum
public square of an ancient Roman city; public place for open discussion; court of law
interregnum
period between two successive reigns or governments
realm
kingdom; field or sphere; ex. not within the realms of possibility
rhetoric
art of effective communication; art of using language effectively and persuasively; style of speaking or writing; grandiloquent language; ex. political rhetoric; adj. rhetorical; ex: rhetorical question: question to which no answer is expected as ``Who kn
sterile
incapable of producing young; free from microorganism; v. sterilize
mortify
humiliate by embarassing excessively; shame; punish the flesh; discipline (one’s body) by self-denial; ex. mortified by her blunder; ex. mortify the flesh; ex: cause to die
credulity
belief on slight evidence; gullibility; naivet'e; adj. credulous
brunt
main impact or shock (of an attack or blow); ex. brunt of the argument
perpetual
everlasting
connoisseur
person competent to act as a judge of art etc. (whose judgments are respected); a lover of an art
impolitic
not wise; not expedient; not politic
cogent
convincing
maraud
move in search of plunder; ex. marauding army
prefigure
be a sign of; foreshadow
char
make or become black by burning; reduce or be reduced to carbon or charcoal(black substance made by burning wood) by incomplete combustion
distinction
honor; excellence; difference; contrast; discrimination; ex. graduated with distinction; ex. a writer of real distinction
seep
pass slowly through small openings; ooze; trickle; n. seepage
contend
struggle; compete; assert earnestly; state strongly
appall
dismay; shock deeply
seismic
pertaining to earthquakes
bestow
confer
maudlin
effusively sentimental
disclaim
disown; renounce claim to; deny; ex: disclaimer
novice
beginner
stygian
unpleasantly dark; gloomy; hellish; deathly; ex: Styx: the chief river in the subterranean land of the dead
victuals
food; provisions; v. victual: provide with food
countermand
cancel; revoke (an order)
enervate
weaken; take away energy from
jaunt
trip; short journey
parched
extremely dry; very thirsty; v. parch: make or become extremely dry (by exposure to heat)
endear
make beloved; ex. endear her to everyone; adj. dear: loved; cherished; high-priced
aviary
enclosure for birds; large cage
commensurate
equal in extent; of the same size
hovel
shack; small wretched house
skinflint
miser; stingy person
traverse
go through or across
grandiose
affectedly grand; pretentious; high-flown; ridiculously exaggerated; impressive; great in size or scope; grand; ex. grandiose ideas
foster
rear; bring up (for a certain period only); encourage; promote the development of (feelings or ideas); ex. help foster friendly relations; adj. giving parental care although not related by blood; ex. foster parents
indisputable
too certain to be disputed; beyond doubt
rapacious
voracious; ravenous; taking everything one can; excessively grasping; plundering; subsisting on live prey; ex. rapacious birds
impoverish
make poor; deprive of natural strength or something important; ex. impoverished soil
recline
lie down
rip
tear or be torn quickly and violently; ex. The sail ripped under the force of the wind; n.
compost
mixture of decaying organic matter used as fertilizer; v. put or make compost
urchin
mischievous child (usually a boy); ex: urchin: hedgehog; ex: porcupine: pig with spikes ?; ex: sea urchin
lineage
descent; ancestry
parish
area in the care of a single priest and served by one main church
maladroit
clumsy; not skillful; awkward; bungling
snub
ignore or behave coldly toward; ex. I made a suggestion but she snubbed me; n.
functionary
official (who performs a particular function)
stringent
(of rules) binding; rigid; marked by scarcity of money; ex. stringent economic conditions
dire
warning of disaster; disastrous; (of needs and dangers) very great; urgent; ex. dire prediction/need of food
diffuse
wordy; verbose; rambling; spread out (like a gas); v. spread out in all directions; disperse; n. diffusion; ex: suffuse
helm
steering wheel of a ship; position of control
unction
the act of anointing with oil; ex. extreme unction
humility
humbleness of spirit
blotch
spot; blot; ex: blot+botch
fecundity
fertility; fruitfulness; adj. fecund: very productive of crops or young
buccaneer
pirate
tyro
beginner; novice
inductive
pertaining to induction or proceeding from the specific to the general
magniloquent
boastful; pompous
commemorate
honor the memory of; serve as a memorial to; ex. commemorate the 100th anniversary/those who died in the war
sluggard
lazy person
tertiary
third in order or rank
wag
shake repeatedly from side to side; ex. The dog wagged its tail; n. humorous person; wit
unprecedented
having no previous example; novel; unparalleled
missive
letter; written statement; ex: sent
skirmish
minor fight; minor battle in war; v.
deface
mar; disfigure
swarthy
(of a skin or complexion) dark; dusky; ex. swarthy Italian ?
reverie
daydream; abstracted musing
knave
untrustworthy person; rogue; scoundrel; jack; n. knavery
verity
quality of being true; lasting truth or principle; ex. the verity of his testimony; ex. one of the eternal verities
regime
method of system or government
rent
tear made by rending; rip; split
niggle
spend too much time on minor points (esp. when finding fault); find fault; ex. niggle over details; adj. niggling
abstain
refrain; withhold from participation; intentionally not use one’s vote; ±‰±‚‚ì«ô
betroth
become engaged to marry
matrix
point of origin; array of numbers or algebraic symbols; mold or die; ex. the matrix of Western civilization
comatose
in a coma; extremely sleepy
wizardry
sorcery; magic
remission
temporary moderation (of disease symptoms); remitting of a debt or punishment; cancelation of a debt; pardon; ex. The disease went into remission; ex. Christians pray for the remission of sins.
gory
bloody; n. gore: blood (from a wound)
diverge
vary; go in different directions from the same point; adj. divergent: differing; deviating
breach
breaking of contract or duty; fissure or gap; opening; v.
ambience
environment; atmosphere; ex. restraurant with a pleasant ambience; adj. ambient: completely surrounding; ex. ambient temperature
