This Side of Paradise Flashcards

1
Q

Modulate

A

to regulate by or adjust to a certain measure or proportion; soften; tone down
“She modulated her voice”

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2
Q

Glibly

A

speaking or spoken with careless ease and often with little regard for truth
“We do not talk glibly about how easy conditions are.”

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3
Q

Facile

A

easily achieved; effortless.
“He is a wonderfully facile writer”

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4
Q

Rejoiced

A

feel or show great joy or delight.
“I rejoiced in his directness”

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5
Q

Locality

A

a specific place or area within a broader region, typically exemplified by a neighbourhood, town, or village, which possess unique characteristics or features.
“They moved to another locality”

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6
Q

Incoherent

A

(of spoken or written language) expressed in an incomprehensible or confusing way; unclear.
“The fever made her incoherent”

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7
Q

Deplore

A

feel or express strong disapproval of (something).
“I deplore any act of violence”

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8
Q

Interlude

A

An interlude is a brief period of time that comes in the middle of something
“You might enjoy a relaxing lemonade interlude in the middle of a sweltering summer day”

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9
Q

Beset

A

trouble or threaten persistently.
“The anti Israel sentiment spread by the Arab student union beset the safety of Jews at our school“

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10
Q

Clerical

A

(of a job or person) concerned with or relating to work in an office, especially routine documentation and administrative tasks.
“I’m not one for clerical work”

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11
Q

Sappiness

A

the state of being extremely emotional in an embarrassing way
“The story expresses powerful emotions, without resorting to sappiness”

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12
Q

Delirium

A

mental state in which a person is confused and has reduced awareness of their surroundings
“He was in a state of delirium”

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13
Q

Rudimentary

A

basic, or at a very early stage
“He received a rudimentary education”
“The test only requires a rudimentary understanding of the materials”

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14
Q

Crude

A

an impolite manner that is vulgar and lacking tact or refinement
“His crudeness repelled people”

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15
Q

Conviction

A

a firmly held belief or opinion.
“I didn’t agree with his political convictions”

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16
Q

Innuendo

A

an allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one.
“The movie relies on sexual innuendo for its humor”

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17
Q

Disparage

A

regard or represent as being of little worth
“he never missed an opportunity to disparage his competitors”

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18
Q

Sly

A

having or showing a cunning and deceitful nature
“He has a sly nature”

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19
Q

Touchstone

A

a standard or criterion by which something is judged or recognized.
“Sports is the touchstone to power and popularity at school”

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20
Q

Squawk

A

a loud, harsh, or discordant noise made by a bird or a person.
“The baby never stopped squawking”

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21
Q

Debar

A

exclude or prohibit (someone) officially from doing something.
“We were debarred entry”

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22
Q

Scrupulous

A

(of a person or process) diligent, thorough, and extremely attentive to details.
“the research has been carried out with scrupulous attention to detail”

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23
Q

Detest

A

to hate; dislike extremely
“She detested traveling in hot weather”

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24
Q

Vanity

A

excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance or achievements.
“excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance or achievements.”

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25
Q

Recollect

A

remember (something); call to mind.
“he could not quite recollect the reason”

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26
Q

Requisite

A

a thing that is necessary for the achievement of a specified end.
“she believed privacy to be a requisite for a peaceful life”

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27
Q

Beseech

A

ask (someone) urgently and fervently to do something; implore; entreat.
“they beseeched him to stay”

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28
Q

Overlay

A

cover the surface of (something) with a coating.
“their fingernails were overlaid with silver or gold”

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29
Q

Reproving

A

conveying or expressing blame or disapproval.
“a reproving glance”

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30
Q

Prowess

A

exceptional skill or ability
“I was in awe by her acting prowess”

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31
Q

Prelude

A

an action or event serving as an introduction to something more important.
“education cannot simply be a prelude to a career”

32
Q

Bustling

A

(of a place) full of activity.
“the bustling little town

33
Q

Revel

A

enjoy oneself in a lively and noisy way, especially with drinking and dancing.
“they spent the evening reveling with their guests”

34
Q

At sea

A

confused or unable to decide what to do
“When you’re giving a speech, the last thing you want is to appear to be at sea, stumbling over your words and losing your place.”

35
Q

Preliminary

A

denoting an action or event preceding or done in preparation for something fuller or more important.
“the discussions were seen as preliminary to the policy paper”

36
Q

Skirmish

A

an episode of irregular or unpremeditated fighting, especially between small or outlying parts of armies or fleets.
“the unit was caught in several skirmishes and the commanding officer was killed”

37
Q

Innocuous

A

not harmful or offensive.
“it was an innocuous question”

38
Q

Disposed

A

to be willing or likely to do something
“After all the trouble she put me to, I didn’t feel disposed to help her”

39
Q

Exalted

A

in a state of extreme happiness.
“I felt exalted and newly alive”

40
Q

Quaver

A

(of a person’s voice) shake or tremble in speaking, typically through nervousness or emotion.
“his voice quavered with rage”

41
Q

Languorous

A

characterized by tiredness or inactivity, especially of a pleasurable kind.
“summer has a slow, languorous feel to it here”

42
Q

Unintelligible

A

impossible to understand.
“dolphin sounds are unintelligible to humans”

43
Q

Extort

A

obtain (something) by force, threats, or other unfair means.
“he was convicted of trying to extort $1 million from a developer”

44
Q

Subdivide

A

divide (something that has already been divided or that is a separate unit).
“The house is being subdivided into several apartments”

45
Q

Intrinsically

A

in an essential or natural way.
“There’s something intrinsically wrong with taking advantage of children”

46
Q

Alluring

A

powerfully and mysteriously attractive or fascinating; seductive.
“She was wearing an alluring dress”

47
Q

Dwarfed

A

stunted in growth or development.
“Dwarfed by my older brother”

48
Q

Dilapidated

A

(of a building or object) in a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect.
“old, dilapidated buildings”

49
Q

Imposition

A

a thing that is imposed, in particular an unfair or unwelcome demand or burden.
“I’d like to see you, if that wouldn’t be too much of an imposition”

50
Q

Exploration

A

the action of traveling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it.
“voyages of exploration”

51
Q

Redolent

A

having a strong pleasant odor
“the pine woods were more redolent”

52
Q

Brood

A

think deeply about something that makes one unhappy.
“he brooded over his need to find a wife”

53
Q

Pontificate

A

express one’s opinions in a way considered annoyingly pompous and dogmatic.
“he was pontificating about art and history”

54
Q

Nobility

A

the quality of being noble in character, mind, birth, or rank.
“a man of nobility and learning”

55
Q

Sputter

A

make a series of soft explosive sounds, typically when being heated or as a symptom of a fault.
“the engine sputtered and stopped”

56
Q

The sky is the limit

A

There is no limit (to ambition, aspirations, expense, or the like). For example, Order anything you like on the menu—the sky’s the limit tonight

57
Q

Perturbed

A

feeling anxiety or concern; unsettled.
“she didn’t seem perturbed about the noises around her”

58
Q

Covertly

A

without being openly acknowledged or displayed; secretly.
“she covertly studied his profile”

59
Q

Weariness

A

reluctance to see or experience any more of something.
After a while, fear gives way to weariness and boredom.

60
Q

Impel

A

drive, force, or urge (someone) to do something.
“I felt impelled to say something”

61
Q

Coined

A

invent or devise (a new word or phrase).
“I coined the term”

62
Q

Sidelined

A

remove from the center of activity or attention; place in a less influential position
“He was sidelined for criticizing school policy”

63
Q

Rapturous

A

characterized by, feeling, or expressing great pleasure or enthusiasm.
“he was greeted with rapturous applause”

64
Q

Downward spiral

A

a situation in which something continuously decreases or gets worse. “Her life was in a downward spiral as she battled depression and addiction.”

65
Q

When the bloom falls off the rose

A

The person, object, or situation identified in the context has lost its novelty, freshness, appeal, or acceptability.

66
Q

Proclivity

A

a tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition toward a particular thing.
“a proclivity for hard work”

67
Q

Bow out

A

to give up something, or to decide not to do something that you were considering doing
“He said he was bowing out of the race for senator”

68
Q

A force to be reckoned with

A

a powerful person or thing that must be taken seriously when being faced or dealt with.

69
Q

Gloat

A

contemplate or dwell on one’s own success or another’s misfortune with smugness or malignant pleasure.
“his enemies gloated over his death”

70
Q

Moot point

A

An issue that is subject to, or open for, discussion or debate, to which no satisfactory answer is found

71
Q

I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you

A

An indirect way of expressing that the addressee is gullible

72
Q

Pining away

A

to become very sick and weak because you miss somebody/something very much
“After his wife died, he just pined away.”

73
Q

Bristle

A

be covered with or abundant in.
“the roof bristled with antennas”

74
Q

Scandalize

A

shock or horrify (someone) by a real or imagined violation of propriety or morality.
“their lack of manners scandalized their hosts

75
Q

Golden prison

A

A place (or, by extension, situation) which is superficially attractive but nevertheless constraining; a comfortable but confined situation

76
Q

Imperative

A

of vital importance; crucial.
“immediate action was imperative”