The Hit Parade #2 Reverse Flashcards by Robyn Hall

to lessen in intensity or degree

Abate (v)

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an expression of praise

Accolade (n)

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excessive praise; intense adoration

Adulation (n)

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dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful

Aesthetic (adj)

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to make better or more tolerable

Ameliorate (v)

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one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion

Ascetic (n)

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greed, esp. for wealth (adj. form: avaricious)

Avarice (n)

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a universally recognized principle (adj. form: axiomatic)

Axiom (n)

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to grow rapidly or flourish

Burgeon (v)

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rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants

Bucolic (adj)

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harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance (adj. form: cacophonous)

Cacophony (n)

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an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature (adj. form: canonical)

Canon (n)

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severe criticism or punishment (verb form: castigate)

Castigation (n)

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a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change

Catalyst (n)

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burning or stinging, causing corrosion

Caustic (adj)

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wary; cautious; sparing

Chary (adj)

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appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing

Cogent (adj)

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the willingness to comply with the wishes of others (adj. form: complaisant)

Complaisance (n)

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argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement

Contentious (adj)

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regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness (noun form: contrition)

Contrite (adj)

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deserving blame (noun form: culpability)

Culpable (adj)

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smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack

Dearth (n)

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to question or oppose

Demur (v)

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intended to teach or instruct

Didactic (adj)

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cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions (adj. form: discrete)

Discretion (n)

free of bias or self-interest; impartial

Disinterested (adj)

expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles (noun form: dogma)

Dogmatic (adj)

the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings (adj. form: ebullient)

Ebullience (n)

composed of elements drawn from various sources

Eclectic (adj)

a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead (adj. form: elegiac)

Elegy (n)

soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smooths the skin

Emollient (adj)/(n)

based on observation or experiment

Empirical (adj)

mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand (noun form: enigma)

Enigmatic (adj)

brief; fleeting

Ephemeral (adj)

intended for or understood by a small, specific group

Esoteric (adj)

a speech honoring the dead (verb form: eulogize)

Eulogy (n)

to remove blame

Exonerate (v)

playful; humorous

Facetious (adj)

an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief (adj. form: fallacious)

Fallacy (n)

marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious

Furtive (adj)

sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people

Gregarious (adj)

to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech

Harangue (v)/(n)

violating accepted dogma or convention (noun form: heresy)

Heretical (adj)

an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech (adj. form: hyperbolic)

Hyperbole (n)

lacking funds; without money

Impecunious (adj)

beginning to come into being or to become apparent

Incipient (adj)

unmoving; lethargic; sluggish

Inert (adj)

harmless; causing no damage

Innocuous (adj)

refusing to compromise (noun form: intransigence)

Intransigent (adj)

to obtain by deception or flattery

Inveigle (v)

sad; sullen; melancholy

Morose (adj)

evoking intense aversion or dislike

Odious (adj)

impenetrable by light; not reflecting light

Opaque (adj)

the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm (verb form: oscillate)

Oscillation (n)

penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous

Penurious (adj)

extremely harmful; potentially causing death

Pernicious (adj)

to examine with great care (noun form: perusal)

Peruse (v)

extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion (noun form:piety)

Pious (adj)

one that precedes and indicates or announces another

Precursor (n)

to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care

Preen (v)

abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary

Prodigious (adj)

producing large volumes or amounts; productive

Prolific (adj)

to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor (adj. form: putrid)

Putrefy (v)

to drink deeply

Quaff (v)

stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest (adj. form: quiescent)

Quiescence (n)

awe-inspiring; worthy of honor

Redoubtable (adj.)

authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to

Sanction (n)/(v)

a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision (adj. form satirical)

Satire (n)

sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect (noun form: squalor)

Squalid (adj)

indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast (noun form: stoicism)

Stoic (adj)

to take the place of; to supersede

Supplant (v)

lethargic; sluggish; dormant (noun form: torpor)

Torpid (adj)

existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread

Ubiquitous (adj)

sophisticated; refined; elegant (noun form: urbanity)

Urbane (adj)

to defame; to characterize harshly

Vilify (v)

thick; sticky (noun form: viscosity)

Viscous (adj)