VA Level 2 Flashcards
Word 1: ADVOCATE (AD-vuh-kayt)
To support, plead for, be in favor of, defend by argument; especially, to speak or write in favor or in defense of a person or cause. Synonyms include champion, endorse, and espouse (e-SPOWZ).
Advocate comes from the Latin ad-, to, and vocare, to call, summon. You can hear the Latin vocare in the English words vocation (voh-KAY-shin), a calling, profession; avocation, a hobby, sideline, subordinate occupation; and vocational, pertaining to an occupation or trade.
An advocate is a vocal supporter or defender of a cause, a champion: “He is an outspoken advocate of handgun control.” An advocate may also be a person who speaks for another, for example, a lawyer who pleads a case before a court. To advocate means to support, plead for, defend by argument: “Their organization advocates educational reform.”
Word 2: DELEGATE (DEL-uh-gayt)
To entrust with authority or power, deliver to another’s care or management, hand over to an agent or representative: “The executive director delegated various managerial duties to her assistant”; “Our department chief has trouble letting go of the reins and delegating responsibility.”
Word 3: UNPRECEDENTED (uhn-PRES-i-den-tid)
Unheard-of, novel, new, having no precedent or parallel, having no prior example.
A precedent is an authoritative example, something done or said that may serve as a reason to justify a later act or statement. Precedent is often used specifically of a legal decision or case used as an example or as authorization in a subsequent decision or case. Unprecedented means without a precedent, without prior example or justification, and so unheard-of, novel, new.
Word 4: POIGNANT (POYN-yint)
Piercing, sharp, biting, penetrating, keen.
Poignant is used to mean piercing, sharp, or penetrating in three ways. First, it may mean keenly affecting the senses: a poignant odor, poignant beauty, a poignant look. Second, it may mean piercing or penetrating to the feelings, emotionally touching, painfully moving: a poignant drama, a poignant family reunion. Third, it may mean biting, cutting, acute, piercingly effective: poignant wit, poignant delight, a poignant critique.
The odd spelling of poignant, with its silent g, comes from French; the word ultimately comes from the Latin pungere, to pierce or prick. Pungere is also the source of puncture, to pierce; pungent (PUHN-jint), piercing to the smell or taste; and expunge (ek-SPUHNJ), to punch out, erase, delete: “The editor expunged all potentially offensive and derogatory material from the book.”
Poignant means piercing or penetrating to the senses, to the emotions, or to the intellect.
Word 5: NEBULOUS (NEB-yuh-lus)
Unclear, vague, obscure, hazy, indefinite, indistinct.
In astronomy the word nebula (NEB-yuh-luh) refers to a cloudy mass of dust or gas visible between stars in space. The plural is nebulae (NEB-yuh-lee).
The adjectives nebular and nebulous both come from a Latin word meaning cloudy, misty, foggy, like a nebula, and according to dictionaries both words may still be used in this sense. It is probably best, however, to let nebular take over the meaning cloudy, misty, vaporous, and to use nebulous in its more popular sense of vague, indefinite, hazy, unclear, as in nebulous writing, a nebulous idea, a nebulous purpose or goal.
Word 6: CLANDESTINE (klan-DES-tin)
Kept secret, done in secrecy, especially for an evil, immoral, or illegal purpose: a clandestine affair; a clandestine business deal; a clandestine intelligence operation.
Synonyms include private, concealed, covert (properly KUH-vurt but now often KOH-vurt), underhand, sly, stealthy, furtive (FUR-tiv), and surreptitious (SUR-up-TISH-us).
Clandestine is sometimes pronounced klan-DES-tyn, klan-DES-teen, KLAN-des-tyn, or KLAN-des-teen. You should avoid all these recent variants. The traditional and preferred pronunciation is klan-DES-tin (DES-tin as in destiny).
Word 7: TIRADE (TY-rayd)
A long-drawn-out speech, especially a vehement and abusive one: “After suffering through yet another one of his boss’s frequent tirades, Joe decided it was time to quit and move on.”
Tirades have three characteristics: they are protracted (proh-TRAK-tid), drawn out to great length; they are vituperative (vy-T(Y)OO-pur-uh-tiv), full of harsh, abusive language; and they are censorious, meaning that they tend to censure (SEN-shur), to blame or condemn.
Tirade may also be pronounced with the accent on the second syllable: ty-RAYD.
Word 8: RECUR (ri-KUR)
To happen again, occur again, especially at intervals or after some lapse of time.
In The Careful Writer, Theodore M. Bernstein explains the difference between the words recur and reoccur: Both mean to happen again, he says, but reoccur “suggests a one-time repetition,” whereas recur “suggests repetition more than once.” Thus you would say “the revolt is not likely to reoccur,” but “as long as these skirmishes recur, the revolt will continue.”
Here’s another example: If economists predict that a recession will reoccur in this decade, that means they’re predicting it will happen only one more time. If economists predict that recession recurs on average every ten years, then they’re predicting it happens again and again at intervals.
“It is the ability to feel a fine distinction such as this,” writes Bernstein, “and to choose the word that precisely expresses the thought that marks the writer of competence and taste.”
Word 9: TACIT (TAS-it)
Unspoken, silent, implied or understood without words.
Tacit is most often used to mean done or made in silence, not expressed or declared openly. Tacit consent is approval given without words, perhaps with a look or a nod. A tacit agreement is an unspoken understanding, one arrived at in silence. Tacit comes from the Latin tacere, to be silent, hold one’s tongue, the source also of the word taciturn, reserved, uncommunicative, inclined to hold one’s tongue.
Word 10: ALLEGATION (AL-uh-GAY-shin)
An assertion or declaration, especially one made without proof.
In law, an allegation is an assertion of what one intends to prove. Often the word implies an unsupportable assertion: “The judge dismissed the allegations, citing lack of evidence to support them.” “A spokesperson for the company today denied the allegations of wrongdoing regarding the firm’s hiring practices.”
Word 11: GULLIBLE (GUHL-uh-bul)
Easily deceived, fooled, or cheated.
A more difficult synonym of gullible is credulous (KREJ-uh-lus). Credulous comes from the Latin credere, to believe, and means inclined to believe, willing to accept something as true without questioning.
To gull is to take advantage of someone who is foolish, unwary, or inexperienced. The gullible person is easily gulled, fooled, cheated. To dupe and to gull both mean to take advantage of. Dupe suggests unwariness on the part of the victim; gull suggests a willingness or readiness to be deceived.
Word 12: BENIGN (bi-NYN, rhymes with resign)
Kindly, good-natured, gracious, mild, having or showing a gentle disposition, as a benign old man, a benign smile, a benign intention, a benign government.
That is the first meaning of benign listed in dictionaries, and probably the most common. The word is also used in several other ways. It may mean favorable, positive, propitious: a benign omen; a benign view. It may be used of the weather or climate to mean healthful, wholesome, salubrious. And in medicine benign means mild, not deadly or severe, as a benign tumor or disease.
Word 13: PERIPHERAL (puh-RIF-uh-rul)
External, outer, lying at or forming the outside or boundary of something; hence, not essential, irrelevant.
The noun periphery means the boundary, the external surface or area. It may be used literally, as in “exploring the periphery of the polar icecap,” “situated on the periphery of the combat zone”; or it may be used figuratively, as in “the periphery of consciousness,” “the periphery of one’s sphere of influence.”
Peripheral may mean external in the literal sense of lying at the edge or on the boundary, or external in the figurative sense of irrelevant, nonessential, as peripheral issues, a peripheral point, or peripheral considerations.
Word 14: REBUFF (ri-BUHF)
To refuse bluntly, reject sharply, turn down abruptly, snub, spurn.
In colloquial terms—that is, in informal, conversational language—rebuff means to give the cold shoulder to, slam the door on, nix. A rebuff is an abrupt refusal or rejection, especially of a request, an offer to help, or a person making advances. To rebuff means to refuse or reject bluntly.
Word 15: ANIMOSITY (AN-i-MAHS-i-tee)
Ill will, hostility, antagonism, strong dislike or hatred: “There was long-standing animosity between the two families.” “After her coworker apologized for his rude remarks, she resolved not to harbor any animosity toward him.”
More difficult synonyms of animosity include malice (MAL-is), aversion (uh-VER-zhun), malevolence (muh-LEV-uh-lints), antipathy (an-TIP-uh-thee), rancor (RANG-kur), and enmity (EN-mi-tee).
Word 16: TENUOUS (TEN-yoo-us)
Thin, slender, slight, flimsy, weak, not dense or substantial, lacking a strong basis.
At high altitudes, air is tenuous, thin. In chemistry, certain fluids or compounds are said to be tenuous, not dense. In general, nonscientific usage, tenuous refers to something weak or flimsy, that has little substance or strength: a tenuous grip, a tenuous proposal, a tenuous argument, or tenuous construction.
Word 17: COMPLACENT (kum-PLAY-sint)
Self-satisfied, smug, overly pleased with oneself.
Complacent suggests being so satisfied with one’s abilities, advantages, or circumstances that one lacks proper concern for the condition of others and is unaware of the situation around one. A complacent smile is a smug, self-satisfied smile. Complacent behavior is self-centered and disregards others’ concerns. A complacently ignorant person is completely satisfied with his ignorance; he does not know he lacks knowledge and would not care if he did.
Complacent and complaisant (kum-PLAY-zint) should be distinguished in spelling, pronunciation, and meaning. Complaisant, with a z sound for the s in the final syllable, means inclined to please, gracious, obliging, courteous, affable (AF-uh-bul), urbane (ur-BAYN). It has a positive connotation. Complacent, with an s sound for the c in the final syllable, has a negative connotation. Complacent means self-satisfied, smug, overly pleased with oneself.
Word 18: ACME (AK-mee)
The peak, highest point, summit, zenith, especially the point of culmination, the highest possible point in the development or progress of something.
Acme comes directly from a Greek word meaning the highest point, extremity. The word is often used figuratively to mean the highest point in the development or progress of something, as in “the acme of his career,” “a company at the acme of the industry.” The corresponding adjective is acmatic (ak-MAT-ik): “Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity was an acmatic scientific breakthrough.” The antonym of the acme is the nadir (NAY-dur), the lowest point.
Word 19: DEFUNCT (di-FUHNGKT)
Dead, extinct, obsolete; no longer in existence, effect, operation, or use.
Defunct comes from the Latin defunctus, dead, departed, finished. A defunct law is no longer in existence or effect; a defunct organization is no longer functioning or doing business; a defunct factory is no longer in operation; a defunct procedure is no longer in use; a defunct species is extinct; a defunct expression is no longer in use; a defunct idea is no longer useful or popular; and a defunct person is dead.
Word 20: ABET (uh-BET)
To encourage, support, help, aid, promote, assist in achieving a purpose.
Some dictionaries note that abet means especially to encourage or assist in wrongdoing, as in the legal cliché “to aid and abet,” meaning to assist a criminal in the commission of a crime. That sense is perhaps more common, but abet may also be used favorably, as “to abet the cause of justice,” “to abet the committee’s efforts to get the plan approved.”
Word 21: HAGGARD (HAG-urd)
Worn out, tired, gaunt (GAWNT), drawn, emaciated (i-MAY-shee-AY-tid). A person who is haggard has a wild-eyed and wasted look, as from exhaustion, illness, or grief.
Long hours at work, lack of sleep, or inadequate nutrition can easily make you haggard, worn out, tired, wasted, gaunt.
Word 22: WAIVE (WAYV, like wave)
To relinquish voluntarily, give up, forgo.
To relinquish implies giving up something one doesn’t want to part with, either out of necessity or because one has been compelled or forced: to relinquish possession, to relinquish command. To waive implies a voluntary refusal to insist on one’s right or claim to something: to waive one’s right to a trial by jury; to waive one’s claim on a title or property.
Waive may also mean to postpone, defer, or dispense with, as to waive discussion, or to waive formalities and get on with business.
Word 23: CARNAL (KAHR-nal)
Bodily, pertaining to the flesh as opposed to the spirit. Sensual, corporeal /kɔːˈpɔːrɪəl/.
Relating to or given to crude bodily (sexual) pleasures and appetites
Carnal is not used to mean bodily in a general or neutral sense; we do not say carnal functions or carnal aches and pains. Carnal refers to the basic physical appetites of the body, especially the sexual appetite. We speak of carnal desires, carnal lust, carnal knowledge.
Word 24: SANCTION (SANGK-shun)
To approve, allow, permit, authorize, certify, ratify.
To sanction, certify, and ratify all mean to approve. Ratify means to officially approve something done by a representative: to ratify a treaty. Certify means to officially approve compliance with requirements or standards: a certified public accountant. Sanction means to give authoritative approval: the company’s board of directors sanctioned the merger; many religions do not sanction unmarried sexual relations; the law sanctions free speech but not antisocial behavior.
Word 25: AMBIGUOUS (am-BIG-yoo-us)
Uncertain, unclear, doubtful, dubious, questionable, puzzling, having an obscure or indefinite meaning.
By derivation, ambiguous means having two or more possible meanings, capable of being understood in more than one way. An ambiguous intention is uncertain, difficult to determine, and therefore questionable, dubious. An ambiguous statement is puzzling because it can be interpreted in more than one way; it is unclear and indefinite.
More difficult synonyms of ambiguous include enigmatic (EN-ig-MAT-ik), cryptic (KRIP-tik), and equivocal (i-KWIV-uh-kul). Antonyms of ambiguous include distinct, apparent, evident, conspicuous, and manifest.
Word 26: SPENDTHRIFT (rhymes with bend lift)
Wasteful, spending extravagantly or foolishly, squandering one’s resources: “His spendthrift habits will put the company out of business.”
You may use spendthrift either as an adjective meaning wasteful, spending extravagantly, or as a noun to mean a wasteful person, someone who foolishly squanders money or resources: “There isn’t a thrifty bone in his body. He’s a gambler and a spendthrift to the core.”
The words improvident, prodigal, profligate, and spendthrift all mean wasteful, spending thoughtlessly or squandering one’s resources.
Improvident (im-PRAHV-i-dent) means literally not provident, not providing for the future; the improvident person does not save money for retirement or for a rainy day.
Prodigal (PRAH-di-gal) is a close synonym of spendthrift and means spending money in a reckless or extravagant way, usually to support a lavish or luxurious lifestyle. In the Bible, the famous parable about the prodigal son tells of a young man who wasted his inheritance but was forgiven by his father.
Profligate (PRAHF-li-git) means extremely prodigal or spendthrift; it refers specifically to a person who spends money with reckless abandon and lives a life shamelessly devoted to pleasure: a profligate Hollywood movie star who squandered his fortune in exclusive nightclubs and casinos.
Spendthrift means wasteful, spending extravagantly: “The taxpayers want a more efficient and less spendthrift government.”
Word 27: MOLLIFY (MAHL-uh-fy)
To calm, soothe, pacify, appease, soften in feeling or tone, make less harsh or severe: “Nothing mollified his anger.”
Mollify comes from the Latin mollis, soft, and facere, to make, and means literally “to make soft.” Also from the Latin mollis, soft, comes the word emollient (i-MAHL-yint). As an adjective, emollient means softening, soothing, mollifying; as a noun it means a softening or soothing agent, such as a lotion or cream for the skin.
The verb to mollify once meant literally to make soft or tender, as to mollify meat, tenderize it. That sense is now obsolete and mollify today is used to mean to soften in feeling or tone, calm, soothe, make less harsh or severe: “The union leaders decided to mollify their demands”; “A good manager should be adept at mollifying conflicts that can damage morale”; “The plaintiff’s attorney said that only a million-dollar settlement would mollify her client”; “He was furious, and nothing she said mollified him.”
Word 28: UNEQUIVOCAL (UHN-i-KWIV-uh-kul)
Clear and direct, definite, straightforward, certain, having a single, obvious meaning, capable of being interpreted in only one way.
Unequivocal, clear and direct, and ambiguous, uncertain, unclear, are antonyms.
Unequivocal combines the common prefix un-, which means not, with the word equivocal, a synonym of ambiguous. Equivocal language can be interpreted in several ways; it is deliberately vague, evasive, or ambiguous. Unequivocal language is clear, straightforward, and direct: “Reporters are so accustomed to equivocal answers from government officials that they are often surprised and suspicious when they get an unequivocal response.”
Word 29: MALLEABLE (MAL-ee-uh-bul)
Capable of being shaped, able to be molded or manipulated, adaptable, impressionable.
Certain metals, such as gold and iron, are malleable; they can be molded or shaped. In a figurative sense, malleable can also apply to a person or abstract thing that can be molded or shaped. For example, a young person’s mind may be malleable, impressionable, capable of being shaped, or an idea may be malleable, adaptable, capable of being shaped to fit various purposes.
Malleable and the challenging word tractable (TRAK-tuh-bul) are close in meaning. Malleable comes from the Latin malleare, to hammer, and means literally “capable of being hammered into a desired shape.” Tractable comes from the Latin tractare, to handle, manage, haul or drag along. From the same source comes the familiar word tractor, the farm vehicle used to pull wagons, mowers, and other agricultural equipment. By derivation that which is tractable can be pulled or hauled; hence, a tractable person is manageable, easily handled. A malleable person or thing is easily hammered into shape, and therefore is adaptable, impressionable.
Antonyms of malleable and tractable include inflexible, unyielding, stubborn, obstinate (AHB-sti-nit), and intransigent (in-TRAN-zi-jint).
Word 30: VERBOSE (vur-BOHS)
Wordy, having too many words, long-winded, full of verbiage (VUR-bee-ij).
More difficult synonyms of verbose include garrulous (GAR-uh-lus), loquacious (loh-KWAY-shus), voluble (VAHL-yuh-bul), and prolix (PROH-liks).
Verbose refers to speech or writing that uses more words than necessary to get the point across. The corresponding noun is verbosity, wordiness, long-windedness, an overabundance of words.
Whenever you see verb- at the beginning of a word, you can safely assume that the meaning of the whole word has something to do with words. That’s because most English words containing verb- come from the Latin verbum, word. From this verbum come the English words verbal, pertaining to or expressed in words; verbatim, expressed in precisely the same words; verbiage, an excess or overabundance of words; and verbose, wordy, long-winded, using more words than necessary to get the point across.
Since I’m already waxing verbose about words from the Latin verbum, word, allow me to digress even further and proffer a few words of advice on the words verbal and verbiage. (Are you familiar with the verb to proffer, pronounced PRAHF-ur? It means to put forward for acceptance, present as a gift, as to proffer one’s services, or to proffer friendship.)
But back to the word verbiage (VUR-bee-ij), which is often mispronounced VUR-bij, as if it had only two syllables. Carriage and marriage have two syllables, but verbiage and foliage (FOH-lee-ij) have three. Try not to say VUR-bij and FOH-lij, or even worse, FOY-lij. You will hear many educated people mispronounce these words, but believe me when I say that careful speakers consider the two-syllable variants beastly mispronunciations. Take care to pronounce these words in three syllables: VUR-bee-ij and FOH-lee-ij.
Now for a word to the wise on the proper use of verbal. You will often hear or read such phrases as “a verbal agreement” or “a verbal understanding.” Have you ever stopped to ask yourself exactly what they mean? If you’re like most people, you probably figured that a verbal agreement or a verbal understanding meant one that was arrived at through conversation, one that was spoken but not written down—and therein lies the problem.
The word oral means spoken, not written, and the precise meaning of verbal is expressed in words, either orally or in writing. Too often verbal, expressed in words, is used to mean oral, spoken, and the message that results from that confusion is usually ambiguous. For example, listen to this sentence, which I found recently in the business section of my local newspaper: “Ensure all promises made verbally are included, in writing, in the contract.” As written, the sentence means that we should make sure that all promises, both spoken and written, are included in the contract. The writer wants to say that we should put all spoken promises in writing, but to convey that meaning precisely the sentence should read like this: “Ensure all promises made orally are included in the contract.”
In the future, whenever you refer to promises, agreements, or understandings, remember that if they are expressed in speech, they are oral, and if they are expressed in words, whether spoken or written, they are verbal. Of course, if they are expressed in too many words, like most long-winded legal contracts, then they are verbose, full of verbiage.
