Unit 4 Flashcards
Lackluster
(adj) not shiny; dull, mediocre, lacking brilliance or vitality
Quandary
(n) uncertainty or confusion about what to do, dilemma
Meticulous
(adj) taking extreme care in regards to details; precise, fussy
Paucity
(n) scarcity, the state of being small in number
daunt
(v) discourage, dishearten, lessen the courage of
Elevate
(v) raise, lift up; lift the spirits of; move up to a higher rank or status or raise up to a higher spiritual or intellectual plane
Inconsequential
(adj) insignificant, unimportant; illogical
Mercurial
(adj) quickly unpredictably changing moods; fickle, flighty
Quibble
(v) make trivial arguments or criticisms, find faults in a petty way, esp. to evade something more important
cosmopolitan
(adj) belonging to the entire world, at home globally; free from local or national prejudices or attachments
Pristine
(adj) in an original, pure state; uncorrupted
Qualified
(adj) modified, limited, conditional on something else
Languid
(adj) drooping from exhaustion, sluggish, slow; lacking in spirit
Paradox
(n) contradiction, or seeming contradiction that is actually true
apocryphal
(adj) of questionable authenticity; false
discredit
(v) injure the reputation of, destroy credibility of or confidence in
Embellish
(v) decorate, add ornamentation; enhance (a story) with fictional or fanciful details
Pariah
(n) social outcast, untouchable
Trifling
(adj) trivial, not very important; so small as to be unimportant; frivolous, shallow
Emulate
(v) copy in an attempt to equal or be better than
Exponent
(n) person who expounds or explains; champion, advocate, or representative
Glib
(adj) fluent and easy in a way that suggests superficiality or insincerity
capricious
(adj) acting on impulse, erratic
commensurate
(adj) the same in size, extent, etc., equivalent; proportional
Inform
(v) inspire, animate; give substance, essence, or context to; be the characteristic quality of
clinch
(v) make final or settle conclusively; to fasten or hold together
Status Quo
(n) existing state or condition
censure
(n, v) strong disapproval or official reprimand (noun); to issue such disapproval or reprimand (verb)
Plastic
(adj) able to be shaped or formed; easily influenced
arcane
(adj) known or understood by only a few; obscure, secret
counterpoint
(n) contrasting item, opposite; a complement; the use of contrast or interplay in a work of art
Ubiquitous
(adj) existing everywhere at the same time
Erudite
(adj) scholarly, knowledgeable; possessing a deep, often systematic, knowledge
Futile
(adj) producing no useful result, ineffective; trivial unimportant
Spearhead
(v) be the leader of
Slight
(adj, v, n) small, not very important, slender or delicate (adj); treat as though not very important; snub, ignore (verb); an act of treating in this way, a discourtesy (noun)
advocate
(v, n) speak or argue in favor of (verb); a person who pleads for a cause or on behalf of another person (noun)
Intrinsic
(adj) belonging to the essential nature of a thing
Unprecedented
(adj) never before known or seen, without having happened previously
Virtual
(adj) existing only in the mind or by means of a computer network; existing in results or in essence but not officially or in name
Erroneous
(adj) mistaken, in error; improper, morally incorrect
Modest
(adj) humble; simple rather than showy; decent (esp. “covering up” in terms of dress); small, limited
Pervasive
(adj) tending to spread throughout
Gregarious
(adj) sociable, pertaining to a flock or crowd
activism
(n) the practice of pursuing political or other goals through vigorous action, often including protests and demonstrations
Potentate
(n) ruler, person of great power
alienate
(v) cause to become unfriendly, hostile, or distant
Timely
(adj) well-timed, happening at a suitable time
Tenuous
(adj) long and thin, slender; flimsy, having little substance
Intractable
(adj) difficult to control, manage, or manipulate; hard to cure; stubborn
Lavish
(adj, v) abundant or giving in abundance; marked by excess (adj); give very generously (verb)
Prohibitive
(adj) tending to forbid something, or serving to prevent something
Underscore
(v) emphasize (or, literally, to underline text)
Table
(v) lay aside to discuss later, often as a way to postpone discussion indefinitely
Scant
(adj) not enough or barely enough
Pragmatic
(adj) practical; dealing with actual facts and reality
clamor
(v) noisy uproar or protest, as from a crowd; a loud, continuous noise
deleterious
(adj) harmful, unhealthy
Placate
(v) satisfy or calm down (angry or dissatisfied person), esp. by conciliatory gestures
Profound
(adj) very insightful, penetrating deeply into a subject; pervasive intense, “down to the very bottom;” at the very bottom
Enigma
(n) puzzle, mystery, riddle; mysterious or contradictory person
Moreover
(adv) besides; in addition to what was just stated
Whimsical
(adj) marked or motivated by whims (odd, fanciful ideas); erratic, unpredictable
counterproductive
(adj) defeating the purpose; preventing the intended goal
Extrapolate
(v) conjecture about an unknown by projecting information about something known; predict by projecting past experience
appease (v.)
pacify, satisfy, relieve; concede to be belligerent demands, sometimes at the expense of principles
Exculpate
(v) clear from guilt or blame
Hearken
(v) listen, pay attention to
Permeate
(v) spread or penetrate throughout
Solicitous
(adj) concerned or anxious (about another person), expressing care; eager or desirous; very careful
Warranted
(adj) justified, authorized (warrant can mean to justify or a justification, but can also mean to vouch for or guarantee)
cacophony
(n) harsh, discordant, or meaningless mixture of sounds
disjointed
(adj) disconnected, not coherent, jerky; having the joints separated
Kudos
(n) praise, honor, congratulations
Heterogeneous
(adj) different in type, incongruous; composed of different types of elements
Homogeneous
(adj) of the same kind; uniform throughout
ascetic
(adj, n) abstinent or austere in lifestyle (adj); a person who leads an austere and simple like without material pleasures, esp. someone who does this for religious reasons
cartography
(n) mapmaking
dispatch
(n, v) speed, promptness; send off or deal with in a speedy way
Laudable
(adj) worthy of praise
Dormant
(adj) asleep, inactive, on a break
Vituperate
(v) verbally abuse, rebuke or criticize harshly
Novel
(adj) new, fresh, original
Patronizing
(adj) condescending, having a superior manner, treating as an inferior
Naive
(adj) simple and unsophisticated, unsuspecting, lacking worldly experience and critical judgment
Ranks
(n) personnel; a group of people considered all together
Succeeding
(adj) coming after or following
Obsolete
(adj) out of date, no longer in use
Synchronous
(adj) happening at the same time; occurring at the same rate and thus happening together repeatedly
Torpor
(n) sluggishness, lethargy, or apathy; a period of inactivity
Mores
(n) customs, manners, or morals of a particular group
Sedulous
(adj) persevering, persistent, diligent in one’s efforts
Juncture
(n) critical point in time, such as a crisis or a time when a decision is necessary; a place where two things are joined together
Partial
(adj) biased, prejudiced, favoring one over the others; having a special liking for something or someone (usually partial to)
contextualize
(v) place in context, such as by giving the background or circumstances
Obviate
(v) prevent, eliminate, or make unnecessary
eccentric
(adj) peculiar, odd, deviating from the norm esp. in a whimsical way
Eulogy
(n) speech of praise or written work of praise, esp. a speech given at a funeral
Pathological
(adj) relating to or caused by disease; relating to compulsive bad behavior
Levity
(n) lightness (of mind, spirit, or mood) or lack of seriousness, sometimes in an inappropriate way
