Verbal Flashcards
Apocryphal
of questionable authority or authenticity
“There is no hard of authoritative evidence to support the apocryphal tales that link the Roswell, New Mexico, incident to a downed U.F.O”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- disputed
- fictitious
- doubtful
- fraudulent
Diatribe
an abusive, condemnatory speech
“The trucker bellowed a diatribe at the driver who had cut him off”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- fulmination
- jeremiad
- harangue
- malediction
- tirade
- invective
- obloquy
Fervid
intensively emotional, feverish
“The fans of Maria Callas were particularly fervid, ding anything to catch a glimpse of the great opera singer”
Related Words -
Fervent: enthusiastic
Fervor: passion
Words of Similar Meaning:
- burning
- impassioned
- passionate
- vehement
- zealous
Mollify
to calm or make less severe
“Their argument was so intense that it was difficult to believe any compromise would mollify them”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- appease
- conciliate
- assuage
- pacify
Ardor
intense and passionate feeling
“Bishop’s ardor for landscape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the scenic Hudson Valley.”
Related Words -
Ardent: Expressing ardor; passionate
Words of Similar Meaning:
- devotion
- enthusiasm
- fervidness
- fervency
- fervidity
- passion
- fervor
- fire
- zealousness
- zeal
Dirge
a funeral hymn or mournful speech
“Melville wrote the poem A Dirge for James McPherson for the funeral of a Union general who was killed in 1864.”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- elegy
- lament
Garrulous
tending to talk a lot
“The garrulous parakeet distracted its owner with its continuous talking”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- effusive
- loquacious
Obstinate
stubborn, unyielding
“The obstinate child could not be made to eat any food which he perceived to be ‘yucky.’”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- intransigent
- mulish
- persistant
- pertinacious
- stubborn
- tenacious
Austere
severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
“The lack of decoration makes Zen temples seem austere to the untrained eye”
Related Words -
Austerity: severity, especially poverty
Words of Similar Meaning:
- bleak
- hard
- dour
- harsh
- grim
- severe
Dissonance
a harsh and disagreeable combination, especially of sounds
“Cognitive dissonance is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- clash
- dissension
- friction
- contention
- dissent
- strife
- discord
- dissidence
- variance
Impervious
impossible to penetrate; incapable f being affected
“A good raincoat will be impervious to moisture”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- resistant
- impregnable
Burgeon
to grow and flourish
” Sally neither confirmed nor denied stories about herself, allowing rumor to burgeon where it would”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- bloom
- flourish
- prosper
- thrive
Exculpate
to clear from blame, prove innocent
“The legal system is intended to convict those who are guilty and exculpate those who are innocent”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- absolve
- acquit
- clear
- exonerate
- vindicate
Antipathy
extreme dislike
“The antipathy between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- abhorrence
- animosity
- animus
- antagonism
- aversion
- dislike
- enmity
- hatred
- hostility
- loathing
- repellence
- repugnance
- repulsion
- revulsion
Paradox
a contradiction or dilemma
“It is a paradox that those most in need of medical attention are often those eat able to obtain it”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- incongruity
- ambiguity
Probity
complete honesty and integrity
“George Washington’s reputation for probity is illustrated in the legend about his inability to lie after he chopped down the cherry tree”
Words of Similar Meaning:
- morality
- rectitude
- integrity
- virtue
- uprightness
Taciturn
silent, not talkative
“The clerk’s taciturn nature earned him the nickname Silent Bob”
Related Words -
Tacit: done without using words
Words of Similar Meaning:
- laconic
- reticent
Proliferate
to increase in number quickly
“Although he only kept two guinea pigs initially, they proliferated to such an extent that he soon had dozens.”
Related Words -
Prolific: very productive or highly able to reproduce rapidly
Words of Similar Meaning:
- breed
- propagate
- multiply
- reproduce
- procreate
- spawn
Transitory
temporary, lasting a brief time
“The reporter lived a transitory life, staying in one place only long enough to cover the current story”
Related Words -
Transit: to pass through, to change, or make a transition
Transient: passing quickly in and out of existence, one who stays a short time
Words of Similar Meaning:
- ephemeral
- evanescent
- fleeting
- impermanent
- fleeting
- momentary
