Special Flashcards
VOLITION
Synonyms:
The act of making a choice
Examples: “Without conscious volition she backed into her office.”
APOCRYPHAL
Synonyms: fictitious, made-up, untrue, fabricated, false, spurious
Of doubtful authencity
Examples: “an apocryphal story about a former president”
EXTOLS
Synonyms: acclaim, exalt, eulogize, adulate, overpraise
praise enthusiastically
Examples: He extolled the virtues of the Russian peoples.
REGALES
Synonyms: entertain, amuse, divert, delight, fascinate, captivate
entertain or amuse (someone) with talk.
Examples: He regaled her with a colorful account of that afternoon’s meeting.
SUBVERTS
Synonyms:* destabilize, unsettle, overthrow, overturn*
undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution).
Examples: An attempt to subvert democratic government.
INCULCATED
Synonyms:
instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction.
Examples: He has inculcated bad habits over the time.
ELUCIDATED
Synonyms: explain, illuminate, unravel, clarify
make (something) clear; explain.
Examples: Work such as theirs will help to elucidate this matter.
IMBUED
Synonyms: **permeate, saturate, diffuse, suffuse, pervade **
inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality.
Examples: The entire performance was imbued with sparkle and elan.
GRATUITOUS
Synonyms: unjustified, uncalled for, unwarranted, unprovoked, undue
uncalled for; lacking good reason; unwarranted.
Examples: Gratuitous violence.
MALICIOUS
Synonyms: * spiteful, malevolent, evil-intentioned, vindictive, vengeful, malign*
characterized by malice; intending or intended to do harm.
Examples: Malicious destruction of property,
TRANSIENT
Synonyms:* temporary, short-lived, short-term, impermanent, brief, short*
lasting only for a short time; impermanent.
Examples: a transient cold spell
INDELIBLE
Synonyms: * ineradicable, permanent, lasting, ingrained, persisting, enduring*
not able to be forgotten or removed.
Examples: His story made an indelible impression on me.
FASTIDIOUSLY
Synonyms: Particular
particular; hard to please.
Examples: He checked the product very fastidiously.
ULULATE
Synonyms:
howl or wail as an expression of strong emotion, typically grief.
Examples: Women were ululating as the body was laid out.
CONSTRUE
Synonyms: * interpret, understand, read, see, take*
interpret (a word or action) in a particular way.
Examples: His words could hardly be construed as an apology.
PATHOS
Synonyms: poignancy, tragedy, sadness, pitifulness, piteousness
a quality that evokes pity or sadness.
Examples: The actor injects his pathos into the role.
PREPONDERANCE
Synonyms: * prevalence, predominance, dominance*
the quality or fact of being greater in number, quantity, or importance.
Examples: The preponderance of women among older people.
ARTIFICE
Synonyms: * trickery, deceit, deception, duplicity, guile, cunning*
clever or cunning devices or expedients, esp. as used to trick or deceive others.
Examples: Artifice and outright fakery.
DESPONDENCY
Synonyms: * hopelessness, despair, discouragement, low spirits*
a state of low spirits caused by loss of hope or courage.
Examples: He hinted at his own deep despondency
PORTENTOUS
Synonyms: ominous, warning, premonitory, threatening, menacing
of or like a portent.(Portent: a sign or warning that something)
Examples: The envelope and its portentous contents.
INIMICAL
Synonyms: * harmful, injurious, detrimental, deleterious, prejudicial*
tending to obstruct or harm.
Examples: Actions inimical to our interests.
ABROGATED
Synonyms: repeal, revoke, rescind, repudiate, overturn, annul
repeal or do away with
Examples: A proposal to abrogate temporarily the right to strike.
ESPOUSED
Synonyms: adopt, embrace, take up, accept, welcome
adopt or support (a cause, belief, or way of life).
Examples: Western culture is being espoused all around the world.
MONOLITH
Synonyms:
a very large and characterless building.
Examples: The 72-story monolith overlooking the waterfront
FIASCO
Synonyms: ** failure, disaster, catastrophe**
a thing that is a complete failure, esp. in a ludicrous or humiliating way.
Examples: His plans turned into a fiasco.
CONDESCENDING
Synonyms: * patronizing, supercilious, superior, snobbish, snobby, disdainful, lofty*
having or showing a feeling of patronizing superiority
Examples: She thought the teachers were arrogant and condescending.
REPUDIATE
Synonyms: reject, renounce, abandon, give up, turn one’s back on
refuse to accept or be associated with
Examples: She has repudiated policies associated with previous party leaders.
PREVARICATE
Synonyms: ** beat around the bush, hedge, fence, shilly-shally, dodge **
speak or act in an evasive way
Examples: He seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions.
ARBITRATE
Synonyms: adjudicate, judge, referee, umpire
reach an authoritative judgment or settlement
Examples: The board has the power to arbitrate in disputes.
REGNANT
Synonyms:
reigning; ruling
Examples: A queen regnant.
IMPLACABLE
Synonyms: * unappeasable, unforgiving, unsparing*
unable to be placated.
Examples: He was an implacable enemy of Ted’s
ANNEXED
Synonyms: appropriate, seize, conquer, occupy
append or add as an extra or subordinate part
Examples: The first ten amendments were annexed to the Constitution.
DILETTANTE
Synonyms: dabbler, amateur, nonprofessional, nonspecialist, layman, layperson
a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge.
Examples: A dilettante approach to science.
