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Words 101 > Set 5 > Flashcards

Set 5 Flashcards

1
Q

obfuscate

A
  • to deliberately obscure, to make confusing, to bewilder
  • obscure, confuse,

The governor obfuscated the issue with big words and numbers.

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1
Q

encomium

A
  • a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly
  • eulogy, panegyric

That country’s national anthem is an encomium to the heroes of a war long past.

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2
Q

din

A
  • a loud, prolonged and unpleasant noise
  • tumult, racket, clamor

During the concert, Jill couldn’t hear Rick over the din of the loudspeakers.

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3
Q

alloy

A
  • a mixture of superior and inferior ingredients
  • mixture

The heroism one sees nowadays is often alloyed with some degree of self-interest.

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4
Q

pugilism

A
  • the skill or practice of fighting with fists; boxing

Mike Tyson is known throughout the world for his pugilism.

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5
Q

sanctimony

A
  • self-righteousness, pretended piety

His sanctimony was laughable, since we all knew he was one of the worst offenders.

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6
Q

sanctimonious

A
  • pretending to be devout; making a show of being morally superior to other people

The sanctimonious old bore pretended to be deeply offended when Lucius whispered a mild swearword after dropping the anvil on his bare foot.

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7
Q

baleful

A
  • full of sinister influence
  • pernicious, evil, sinister, harmful, baneful

The basilisk’s baleful glare is lethal.

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8
Q

hallow

A
  • to set apart as holy; make holy
  • sanctify, consecrate, bless, dedicate

The site for the church was hallowed in a special ceremony.

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9
Q

ostensible

A
  • stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so
  • seeming, apparent, sham

Blake’s ostensible mission was to repair a broken telephone, but his real goal was to plant a bomb inside the building.

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10
Q

sinecure

A
  • a comfortable job requiring little work

Carolyn’s position in the office is a sinecure; she does nothing all day; she does nothing all day yet she draws the same salary as everyone else.

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11
Q

lackey

A
  • servant, servile follower

Lori’s boyfriend becomes a lackey during her shopping trips.

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12
Q

redress

A
  • to set right, to remedy
  • repair, rectify, compensate

The peaceful petitioning for redress of wrongs is a right enshrined in our country’s founding document.

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13
Q

unctuous

A
  • oily, greasy; characterized by insincere earnestness

The king had the unctuous toady removed from his palace.

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14
Q

arrant

A
  • complete, utter, impudent

Though the professor is considered one of the greats in his discipline, lately his lectures have verged on arrant nonsense.

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15
Q

vaunt

A
  • boast about or praise (something) excessively
  • boast, brag, flaunt

Chris, though usually very modest, will readily vaunt his achievements in a job interview.

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16
Q

affectation

A
  • show or pretence; artificial behaviour to impress others
  • pretence, simulation

That American doctor’s affectation of a British accent has drawn much criticism.

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17
Q

philately

A
  • the study of postage stamps

His grandfather is obsessed with philately.

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18
Q

canonical

A
  • in agreement with accepted principles; authorized, accepted

The canonical Mozart sonatas were consulted in order to compare them to the newly- discovered manuscript attributed to him.

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19
Q

whit

A
  • a very small part or amount
  • bit, particle, iota, jot

The bank robber did not have a whit of self-respect.

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20
Q

epaulet

A
  • a shoulder ornament, esp a strap on military uniforms
  • epaulette, shoulder strap

The veteran’s uniform was adorned by a pair of impressive epaulets.

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21
Q

panoply

A
  • a complete or impressive collection of things; splendid display
  • armor

A porcupine’s panoply of quills is quite a protective arsenal.

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22
Q

pantheon

A
  • a temple dedicated to the gods

The Greek pantheon included Zeus and his consort, Hera

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23
Q

blandish

A
  • to coax or influence with flattery
  • coax, cajole, adulate

Steve blandished her into going out with him.

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24
Q

peremptory

A
  • (of a person’s manners or actions) insisting on immediate attention or obedience; not open to appeal or challenge, final
  • imperative, imperious, authoritative, definitive

He ended the discussion with a peremptory wave of his hands.

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25
Q

tyro

A
  • a beginner or novice in any kind of skill
  • novice, rookie, neophyte

The hapless tyro tripped over the ropes on his way to the boxing ring.

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26
Q

fetid

A
  • smelling extremely unpleasant
  • noisome, malodorous

The fetid green substance had taken over the entire fridge.

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27
Q

fecundity

A
  • the intellectual productivity of a creative imagination
  • fertility, fruitfulness

An artist’s period of fecundity can come at any time of her life.

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28
Q

rarefied

A
  • thin, pure, refined

The rarefied air of higher altitudes makes it very difficult to climb Mt. Everest.

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29
Q

delectation

A
  • pleasure and delight
  • pleasure, delight, enjoyment

The played wiffle ball for the delectation for it, not for the competition.

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30
Q

fickle

A
  • prone to changing often
  • changeable, unsteady, variable

Suzanne was a fickle friend who could not be relied upon.

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31
Q

fidelity

A
  • devotion to obligations or loyalties
  • allegiance, faithfulness, loyalty

Kevin’s parents were proud of him for his fidelity to the family business.

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32
Q

fission

A
  • the act of separating into parts
  • cleavage, split

The controversial legislation led to the fission of the administration.

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33
Q

flag

A
  • to become tired, weaker or less enthusiastic
  • droop, languish

The runner’s enthusiasm flagged when she realized she still had many miles ahead of her.

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34
Q

florid

A
  • healthy-looking, ornate or flowery

The author’s florid prose did not impress the critics, who found her work pretentious.

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35
Q

forbear

A
  • politely or patiently restrain an impulse to do something
  • refrain, abstain, eschew

Rebecca could not forbear a smile.

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36
Q

forestall

A
  • prevent or obstruct by taking action ahead of time
  • anticipate, prevent

The mayor called the police before the protest even began in order to forestall rioting.

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37
Q

quail

A
  • to shrink with fear

The puppy quailed at my angry tone.

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38
Q

forthright

A
  • direct and outspoken; straightforward and honest
  • candid, frank, outspoken

One should be forthright and honest with the authorities so as not to seem suspicious.

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39
Q

fortuity

A
  • an event that happens by chance without a known cause

By sheer fortuity, Linda was assigned to same homeroom as her twin brother.

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40
Q

mince

A
  • to speak carefully; to euphemize

Don’t mince words with me; just say what you need to say!

41
Q

visceral

A
  • related to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect
  • splanchnic

Jeb’s visceral response to his mother’s racist ramblings was visible to all of us.

42
Q

refectory

A
  • a room or dining area where meals are served
  • dining room, canteen

The students milled about the entrance to the refectory, counting down the seconds until supper would be served.

43
Q

frenetic

A
  • fast and energetic in a rather wild and uncontrolled way
  • frenzied, frantic

Frenetic screams filled the room as people tried to get out before the fire spread.

44
Q

infinitesimal

A
  • immeasurably small

The proportion of truly selfless people in this world is surely infinitesimal.

45
Q

sanguine

A
  • cheerfully optimistic
  • optimistic, ruddy, hopeful

Samantha had a sanguine attitude towards life that enriched those around her.

46
Q

ruddy

A
  • having a healthy red color

  • rubicund, florid, sanguine, rosy
47
Q

furtive

A
  • attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble
  • sly, secretive, surreptitious, privy

At the party, Julia cast furtive glances around the room to make sure her older sister was not around to send her back home.

48
Q

quotidian

A
  • of or occurring everyday; ordinary
  • daily, ordinary, diurnal

Joe’s small, quotidian pleasures seemed more substantial than Mattias’s high profile jet-setting.

49
Q

salacious

A
  • causing sexual desire
  • lascivious, prurient, raunchy, lecherous

Many parents were unhappy with the magazine’s salacious material.

50
Q

importune

A
  • ask (someone) pressingly and persistently for or to do something
  • pester, beg

Kate importuned her father every day to teach her how to sail.

51
Q

impregnable

A
  • able to withstand attack
  • invincible, unassailable, inexpugnable

The fortress was surrounded by a moat so as to make it impregnable.

52
Q

daft

A
  • mad, crazy, foolish

The daft man was walking about the room conversing with himself.

53
Q

solemn

A
  • not cheerful or smiling, serious; formal and dignified
  • grave, serious, formal

Carter’s solemn voice made his family suspect that a tragedy had occurred.

54
Q

impromptu

A
  • spontaneously done without preparation
  • extemporaneous

During a lull in the live broadcast, the host began an impromptu dance number with some of the contestants.

55
Q

impudent

A
  • not showing due respect for another person
  • impertinent, insolent,

The girl was forced to apologize in front of the class for her impudent attitude towards her teachers.

56
Q

bedizen

A
  • to adorn, usually in a poorly conceived or tasteless manner

Paula was bedizened with gaudy decorations.

57
Q

incense

A
  • to make very angry
  • enrage, exasperate, infuriate

The class’s behavior incensed the teacher to the point that she gave them all extra homework.

58
Q

volition

A
  • a conscious decision or the capability of choosing
  • wish, desire

Though his friends had egged him on, it was determined that Pat stole the sunglasses of his own volition.

59
Q

tamp

A
  • to drive in or down by a series of blows
  • ram, plug

They tamped down the soil around the base of the new sapling.

60
Q

steel

A
  • mentally prepare (oneself) to do or face something difficult; to make hard, strong
  • harden

John realized that he would lose the chess match and steeled himself for the disappointment.

61
Q

gossamer

A
  • delicate, insubstantial, flimsy
  • fine, thin, slight, subtle

The gossamer kite broke in two at the first gust of wind.

62
Q

inimical

A
  • unfriendly, hostile; tending to obstruct or harm
  • hostile, adverse, unfriendly, antagonistic

The Antarctic is inimical to life.

63
Q

vainglorious

A
  • boastful of one’s accomplishments or accolades

Dave’s vainglorious attitude unfortunately overshadowed his considerable accomplishments.

64
Q

pariah

A
  • an outcast; a rejected or despised person

Alex left the party feeling like a pariah.

65
Q

indelible

A
  • impossible to remove or to forget
  • ineffaceable

The memory of that day had become indelible in his mind.

66
Q

byzantine

A
  • complex, intricate, labyrinthine

The byzantine rules of the card game confused everyone.

67
Q

inveigh

A
  • speak or write about (something) with great hostility
  • vituperate, abuse, remonstrate

The protesters were inveighing against government policies.

68
Q

peccadillo

A
  • slight infraction of rules, a minor sin

As a society, we tend to take our politicians to task over peccadilloes while overlooking the failings of our political system as a whole.

69
Q

panegyric

A
  • a public speech or published text in praise of someone or something
  • eulogy, encomium

The mayor extended a panegyric to all of the citizens who were fighting overseas.

70
Q

quaff

A
  • to drink deeply; to intoxicate oneself with great enjoyment

He quaffed the pint in a three hearty gulps.

71
Q

inchoate

A
  • just begun and so not fully formed or developed
  • rudimentary

inchoate stage of development

72
Q

essay

A
  • an attempt or trial

My frequent essays at piano have only met with failure.

73
Q

incisive

A
  • quick to understand or perceptive; clearly expressed; decisive
  • trenchant, sharp, keen

The boy’s incisive mind allowed him to excel in all of his classes.

74
Q

incorrigible

A
  • unable to be corrected or reformed
  • unimprovable, irredeemable

Incorrigible juvenile offenders are sent to a special program within the prison.

75
Q

inculcate

A
  • to teach by frequent repetition
  • implant, instill, infuse

Throughout the year, the faculty is expected to inculcate the essentials of fire safety in the students.

76
Q

indigenous

A
  • originating in a certain place
  • native, aboriginal, native-born

The aborigines are a people indigenous to Australia.

77
Q

indigent

A
  • extremely poor
  • impecunious, poor, needy, necessitous

The organizations’ mission was to provide educational resources to indigent woman in various countries.

78
Q

indolent

A
  • habitually lazy
  • lazy, idle, sluggish, supine

The company’s owner decided to fire the most indolent workers first.

79
Q

redolent

A
  • strongly smelling of something
  • fragrant, odoriferous, odorous

The fraternity house was redolent of stale beer and day-old pizza.

80
Q

provident

A
  • making or indicative of timely preparation for the future
  • prudent, cautious, thrifty, economical

The young couple’s provident financial planning was an asset to them later in life.

81
Q

untoward

A
  • unexpected and inappropriate or inconvenient
  • unfavorable, unlucky, unfortunate

This is not the first time I have noted untoward similarities between those two students’ papers.

82
Q

paean

A
  • a song or expression of joy or praise
  • hymn

After their country won the World Cup, the band wrote a paean to the national team that became a Top 20 hit.

83
Q

lucid

A
  • expressed clearly, easy to understand
  • clear, pellucid, perspicuous

The artist was unable to express his abstract ideas in a lucid manner.

84
Q

luminous

A
  • emitting light, bright; enlightening

My friend raves about this luminous collection of poems, though I didn’t think it was particularly insightful.

85
Q

luxuriant

A
  • growing in extreme abundance
  • lush, exuberant, rich, opulent, rampant

Anne’s luxuriant garden was considered the nicest in the neighborhood.

86
Q

malevolent

A
  • wishing evil on others
  • malicious, malignant, spiteful

The malevolent old woman was always trying to make her neighbors miserable.

87
Q

manifest

A
  • (v)to exhibit a quality; (n) a list of people aboard a ship or plane
  • (v) show, evince, exhibit, display

Linda’s laziness was manifest in the messy state of her appartment.

88
Q

mannered

A
  • of, relating to, or exhibiting mannerisms, artificial or affected
  • affected, mincing

The pretentious socialite had a mannered way of speaking that did not impress many of her peers.

89
Q

mantle

A
  • a symbol of power or duty

-

Amid the spate of resignations at town hall, the untested woman was forced to accept the mantle of leadership as the town’s youngest mayor ever.

90
Q

mar

A
  • impair the appearance or quality of
  • disfigure, deface, vitiate, damage

Although entertaining and well written, the screenplay was marred by its dependence on stereotypes instead of well-developed characters.

91
Q

martinet

A
  • one who demands strict adherence to rules

The nanny was hired for the unruly children because of her reputation as a martinet who would be sure to keep them in line.

92
Q

matrix

A
  • a place in which something originates or develops

The computer program is the matrix for the movie’s digital art.

93
Q

palette

A
  • a range of colors; a board used by artists to mix paint colors

The poor artist managed to make an interesting piece with a palette of only black and white.

94
Q

paradigm

A
  • a standard example; a pattern or model
  • example, exemplar, model

He used the Civil war as a historical paradigm to support his point.

95
Q

paramount

A
  • most important; supreme

-

Educational reform was a paramount issue for both mayoral candidates.

96
Q

parch

A
  • to make dry, to make thirsty
  • dry, scorch, sear

The sun’s intense heat parched the ground and wilted the leaves on the trees.

97
Q

parsimonious

A
  • unwilling to spend money or use resources
  • stingy, frugal, thrifty. miserly

Her aunt was too parsimonious to chip in for the family’s annual reunion.

98
Q

pathology

A
  • the study of disease; a disease’s progression or manifestation

An oncologist concerns herself with the pathology of cancer.

99
Q

paucity

A
  • presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities or amount
  • scarcity, shortage, dearth, lack, want, deficiency

The paucity of resources meant the film had to be made with unpaid actors and few crew members.

Words 101 (6 decks)

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