Verbal Vocab Flashcards
Acrophobia
Fear of heights
Abacus
An ancient counting device
Advocate
Argue a certain point of view; offer support
Aerie
A man-made habitat for birds
Aficionado
An enthusiast
Agile
Moves easily like an athlete, nimble
Alliteration
Repetition of the same first letter or sound in a line of poetry
Altercation
A dispute that has gotten out of hand
Anvil
Hard metal surface upon which a blacksmith hammers
Arbiter (or arbitrator)
One who settles a dispute, one who mediates
Small wingless insects (spiders, scorpions, etc)
Arthropods
Person who claims to interpret the influence of the stars on events and persons
Astrologer
A story; note that a drama is a type of this
Ballad
Commonplace, trite
Banal
A very large stone
Boulder
Of or like a cow or an ox
Bovine
Heavy to bear, oppressive
Burdensome
Instrument used in measuring thickness
Caliper
Handwriting, especially exceptional handwriting
Calligraphy
Series of related military operations
Campaign
The tumbling flow of water as in a waterfall
Cascade
Sets of tuned bells, the sounds that tuned bells make
Chimes
A constituent of animal fats that is important in metabolism; steroids are a class of this
Cholesterol
Rough to the touch; opposite of silky
Coarse
A shoemaker
Cobbler
Strong columns that serve as support for some building or structure
Colonnades
May refer to a machine used to harvest crops
Combine
Worthy of praise
Commendable
One who directs (especially of an orchestra)
Conductor
Fond of socializing with friends
Convivial
A horn shaped container that, when filled, symbolizes plenty
Cornucopia
Extremely naive or gullible
Credulous
Caretaker (especially of a museum)
Curator
Can refer to a small amount being added (like a pinch)
Dash
Frighten, discourage, intimidate
Daunt
A unit that is used to measure the intensity of sound
Decibel
A type of tree that loses its leaves in winter
Deciduous
A bitter outburst aimed at a person or an idea
Diatribe
Carefully sensible inspect and action
Discreet
Breakup a gathering
Disperse
Disagreement, argument
Dispute
Positive in one’s opinions, overbearingly certain
Dogmatic
Fade, lessen, weaken
Ebb
Elaborate or enlarge in a decorative way
Embellish
A visible symbol such as a flag
Emblem
Attempts at, tries for
Endeavors
An artistic carving, a form of printing
Engraving
An undertaking or project
Enterprise
A person who is carried away by his feelings for a cause
Enthusiast
A person with a refined taste in eating and drinking
Epicure
A concluding statement
Epilogue
A short statement said in memory of a dead person; this often appears on a tombstone
Epitaph
Of or pertaining to horse
Equine
Wildly inconsistent
Erratic
The decorate front of a building
Facade
A division (cut) of a diamond just as a period is a division of an era
Facet
Uncultivated, inactive; an unseeded field is said to be lying (this word)
Fallow
A period of extreme lack of food; this thing might be caused by a drought
Famine
Of or like a cat
Feline
Very light; lacking substance; not thick
Flimsy
One who is in charge
Foreman
Honest, straight-forward
Frank
Showy but cheap, flashy
Gaudy
Having to do with a class (grouping) in general
Generic
A fissure in the ground that spews water
Geyser
Consumer to excess, overeat
Gorged
A person who is an expert in judging, choosing, and preparing fine foods
Gourmet
Building in which airplanes are kept
Hangar
Pocket for a gun or pistol
Holster
A certain shade of color
Hue
A container for cigars
Humidor
A type of flower
Hyacinth
Fill (especially with moisture or color), inspire
Imbue
Without feeling or emotion
Impassive
Hinder or halt some movement
Impede
Thrust forward, the opposite of impede
Impel
An absolute necessity, a requisite
Imperative
Make poor, opposite of prosper
Impoverish
To act without formal preparation
Improvisation
A hunger that cannot be satisfied
Insatiable
Man made canals used to bring water to dry land
Irrigation
Lacking skill
Inept
Property owner who rents said property to others
Landlord
An important product made from rubber
Latex
Praise; opposite of criticize
Laud
A unit that is used to measure the intensity of light
Lumen
Diminish, weaken
Languish
A vertebrate animal that gives milk to its young; note that a whale is this
Mammal
A large, extinct mammal; an ancestor of the elephant
Mammoth
A type of monkey (baboon)
Mandrill
A list of passengers for a plane or ship
Manifest
An animal that carries its young in a pouch; note that a kangaroo is this
Marsupial
One who studies philosophy
Metaphysic
A large city
Metropolis
Very tiny
Minute
One who is very cheap, a stingy person
Miser
The tendency to be easily duped or overly innocent
Naïveté
A prefix meaning one billionth of
Nano
A person suffering from obsessive desires
Neurotic
A prescription drug that treats heart disease and high cholesterol
Niacin
A bouquet of flowers
Nosegay
The study of coins and medals
Numismatics
Instrument used to measure the distance travelled
Odometer
Treatment of disease by manipulation of the bones
Osteopathy
A foot rest
Ottoman
A phrase that contains an obvious contradiction
Oxymoron
Thin board upon which colors are mixed by a painter
Palette
A plate of glass that is a component of a window
Pane
A wide expansive view
Panorama
A storage area for food
Pantry
Wax-like substance used for making candles
Paraffin
Animal (or person) that lives on (or off) another animal (or person)
Parasite
A leafy vegetable like lettuce
Parsley
A small stone
Pebble
Stingy, unwilling to spend money, extremely poor
Penurious
One who collects stamps
Philatelist
Facial feature
Physiognomy
Line of type that is 12 points
Pica
Pertaining to fish
Piscine
Degree of highness or lowness of sound
Pitch
Gland that secretes hormones
Pituitary
Calm, undisturbed
Placid
Tiny creatures found in an ocean or sea
Plankton
Of or like pigs (hogs)
Porcine
One who gauges value by practical consequences
Pragmatist
Process of the formation of a less mobile state from a more mobile state (e.g. Solid formed out of a liquid; or a state of sudden haste
Precipitation
An appendage (like a monkey’s tail or an elephant’s trunk) that is well suited for grasping or seizing
Prehensile
Can mean the vegetables sold by a grocer
Produce
Very deep, not ordinary; the opposite of banal
Profound
Any introductory (preliminary) act or event
Prologue
Sensible, discreet, wisely cautious
Prudent
One known for the rendering of opinions
Pundit
Fear of fire
Pyrophobia
A skilled teller of stories (anecdotes)
Raconteur
Tending to withdraw from the company of others
Reclusive
A judge of the play in games and sports
Referee
Easy to see through, clear (like a windowpane)
Reflective
A personal adjective; an example is found in “The boy hurt himself.” Himself is this kind of adjective.
Reflexive
The time period an autocrat (emperor) rules
Reign
One who judges things by their comparative value; a type of pragmatist
Relativist
A young tree
Sapling
A small planet that revolves around a larger planet
Satellite
One-fifth of a century (20 years)
Score
A disease caused by the lack of vitamin C
Scurvy
One who is fond of pleasure, a modern epicurean
Sensualist
A place where the water is shallow and which may cause a ship to run aground
Shoal
A device that opens and closes in front of the lens of a camera
Shutter
Burn slightly, especially around the edges
Singe
A list of candidates for a particular party (ticket)
Slate
Lazy, indolent, not industrious
Slothful
Loud breathing that occurs during sleep
Snore
A piece of music
Sonata
That part of a wheel that connects the center of the wheel to its rim
Spoke
Building in which animals (especially horses) are kept
Stable
Impassive, showing no emotion
Stolid
A musical composition whose parts are known as movements
Symphony
The specific steps taken to execute a strategy
Tactics
One engaged in speculations
Theorist
Very close growth of shrubs or bushes
Thicket
Beat; wheat is _______ed so as to separate the grain
Thrash
Small parasite of the skin often contracted in a forest
Tic
A set of three panels with pictures or carvings or the like on them
Triptych
A tool used by a bricklayer to spread mortar
Trowel
Tenant of a lord, servant, follower, slave
Vassal
Condition characterized by dizziness & loss of balance
Vertigo
Exhibiting high moral excellence
Virtuous
Very cautious, alert, watchful
Wary
A fanatic, an extreme enthusiast
Zealot
