Set 7 Flashcards
Guile
noun
(gie uhl)
Deceit; trickery
Since he was not fast enough to catch the roadrunner on foot, the coyote resorted to GUILE in an effort to trap his enemy.
Synonyms: artifice; chicanery; connivery; duplicity
Exponent
noun
(ehk spoh nuhnt)
One who champions or advocates
The Vice President was an enthusiastic EXPONENT of computer technology.
Synonyms: representative; supporter
Adulterate
verb
(uh duhl tuhr ayt)
To make impure
The restauranteur made his ketchup last longer by ADULTERATING it with water.
Synonyms: debase; doctor; load
Propitiate
verb
(proh pih shee ayt)
To consolidate; to appease
Because their gods were angry and vengeful, the Vikings PROPITIATED them with many sacrifices.
Synonyms: appease; conciliate; mollify; pacify; placate
Mendicant
noun
(mehn dih kuhnt)
Beggar
“Please, sir, can you spare a dime?” begged the MENDICANT as the businessman walked past.
Synonyms: panhandler; pauper
Hoary
adj
(hohr ee)
Very old; whitish or gray from age
The old man’s HOARY beard contrasted starkly to the mew stubble of his teenage grandson.
Synonyms: ancient; antidiluvian; antique; venerable; vintage
Explicit
adj
(ehk splih siht)
Clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression
The journalist wrote an EXPLICIT description of the gruesome murder.
Synonyms: candid; clear-cut; definite; definitive; express; frank; specific; straightforward; unambiguous; unequivocal
Assail
verb
(uh sayl)
To attack; to assault
The foreign army will try to ASSAIL our bases, but they will not be successful in their attack.
Synonyms: beset; storm; strike
Dupe
verb
(doop)
To deceive
Bugs Bunny was able to DUPE Elmer Fudd by dressing up as a lady rabbit.
Synonyms: beguile; betray; bluff; cozen; deceive; delude; fool; hoodwink; humbug; mislead; take in; trick
Ossify
verb
(ah sih fie)
To change into bone; to become hardened or set in a rigidly conventional pattern
The forensics expert ascertained the body’s age based on the degree to which the facial structure had OSSIFIED.
Propriety
noun
(pruh prie uh tee)
The quality of behaving in a proper manner; obeying rules and customs
The aristocracy maintained a high level of PROPRIETY, adhering to even the most minor social rules.
Synonyms: appropriateness; decency; decorum; modesty
Fallow
noun
(faa loh)
Dormant; unused
This field should lie FALLOW for a year so the soil does not become completely depleted.
Synonyms: idle; inactive; unseeded
Querulous
adj
(kwehr yoo luhs)
Inclined to complain; irritable
Curtis’s complaint letter received prompt attention after the company labeled him a QUERULOUS potential troublemaker.
Synonyms: peevish; puling; sniveling; whiny
Elegy
noun
(eh luh jee)
A sorrowful poem or speech
Though the beautiful ELEGY is about death and loss, it urges its readers to endure this life, and to trust in spirituality.
Synonyms: dirge; lament
Arbitrate
verb
(ahr bih trayt)
To judge a dispute between two opposing parties
Since the couple could not come to an agreement, a judge was forced to ARBITRATE their divorce proceedings.
Synonyms: adjudge; adjudicate; determine; intermediate; intervene; judge; moderate; referee; rule
Ethos
noun
(ee thohs)
The beliefs or character of a group
It is the Boy Scout’s ETHOS that one should always be prepared.
Synonyms: culture; ethic; philosophy
Ardor
noun
(ahr duhr)
Intense and passionate feeling
Bishop’s ARDOR for landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley.
Synonyms: devotion; enthusiasm; fervency; fervid its; fire; passion; zeal
Desiccate
verb
(deh sih kayt)
To dry out thoroughly
After a few weeks lying on the desert’s baking sands, the cow’s carcass become completely DESICCATED.
Synonyms: dehydrate; dry; parch
Neophyte
noun
(nee oh fiet)
Novice; beginner
A relative NEOPHYTE at bowling, Rodolfo rolled all of his balls into the gutter.
Synonyms: apprentice; greenhorn; tyro
Mores
noun
(mawr ayz)
Fixed customs or manners; moral attitudes
In keeping with the MORES of ancient Roman society, Nero held a celebration every weekend.
Synonyms: conventions; practices
Philistine
noun
(fihl uh steen)
A person who is guided by materialism and is disdainful of intellectual or artistic values.
The PHILISTINE never even glanced at the rare violin in his collection but instead kept an eye on its value and sold it at a profit.
Synonyms: boor; bourgeois; capitalist; materialist; vulgarian
Knell
noun
(nehl)
Sound of a funeral bell; omen of death or failure
When the townspeople heard the KNELL from the church belfry, they knew that their mayor had died.
Synonyms: chime; peal; toll
Vim
noun
(vihm)
Vitality and energy
The VIM with which she worked so early in the day explained why she was so productive.
Synonyms: force; power
Ribald
adj
(rih buhld)
Humorous in a vulgar way
The court jester’s RIBALD brand of humor deligthed the rather uncouth king.
Synonyms: coarse; gross; indelicate; lewd; obscene
Tome
noun
(tohm)
A book, usually a large and academic one
The Cher was forced to refer to various TOMES to find the answer to the advanced student’s question.
Synonyms: codex; volume
Inure
verb
(ih nyoor)
To harden; accustom
Eventually, Hassad became INURED to the sirens that went off. Every night and could sleep through them.
Synonyms: condition; familiarize; habituate
Bombastic
adj
(bahm baast ihk)
Pompous in speech and manner
Mussolini’s speeches were mostly BOMBASTIC; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.
Synonyms: bloated; declamatory; fustian; grandiloquent; grandiose; mangniloquent; orotund; pretntious; rhetorical
Liberal
adj
(lihb uh ruhl)
Tolerant or broad-minded; generous or lavish
Cali’s LIBERAL parents trusted her and allowed her to mange her own affairs to a large extent.
Synonyms: bounteous; latitudinarian; munificent; permissive; progressive
Candid
adj
(kaan did)
Impartial and honest in speech
The observations of a child can be charming since they are CANDID and unpretentious.
Synonyms: direct; forthright; frank; honest; open; sincere; straight; straightforward; undisguised
Paragon
noun
(par uh gohn)
Model of excellence or perfection
He is the PARAGON of what a judge should be: honest, intelligent, hardworking, and just.
Synonyms: apotheosis; ideal; quintessence; standard
