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English Semester 1 Vocab > Voacb > Flashcards

Voacb Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Altruistic

A

-Unselfishly concerned for the welfare of others, generous

-Nuns and nurses are usually very altruistic people since they seek ways to help people

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2
Q

Ambivalent

A

-Having contrary feelings or attitudes, uncertain as to course of action

-I am ambivalent about a permanent relationship with him, because I like him one day and don’t the next

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3
Q

Angular

A

-Lean; sharp cornered; gaunt

-The patient has lost so much weight that his face has become quite angular

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4
Q

Arrogant

A

-Overbearingly assuming; insolently proud

-Because the girl was so arrogant, she had few friends

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5
Q

Aversion

A

-Strong disinclination, disliking

-I have an aversion to getting married

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6
Q

Discern

A

-To differentiate between two or more things

-Because of the fog, I was barely able to discern the landing strip

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7
Q

Disdain

A

-Intense dislike; to treat with scorn or contempt, to reject as unworthy

-Never having has to do manual labor, he disdained the idea of becoming a cotton picker

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8
Q

Disparage

A

-To degrade, to speak of someone or something in a derogatory manner

-His disparaging remarks about me caused the committee to give the job to another person

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9
Q

Disparity

A

-Inequality, the condition or fact of being unequal in age, rank, or degree

-The couple got married even though there was a great disparity in their ages

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10
Q

Embellish

A

-To decorate, to make beautiful with ornamentation

-He would embellish his narratives with anecdotes about famous people

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11
Q

Engender

A

-To cause, to produce, to create

-His angry words engendered strife in his relationship with his wife.

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12
Q

Innocuous

A

-Harmless, producing no injury

-Since the drink is innocuous, it is okay for us to have some.

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13
Q

Insipid

A

-Boring and stupid

-I am bored by your insipid talk.

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14
Q

Lament

A

-To mourn or to express sorrow in a demonstrative manner

-She lamented the death of her father in a very lachrymose manner.

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15
Q

Laud

A

-To praise, to extol

-Her performance was lauded by all of the critics.

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16
Q

Obscure

A

-Difficult to see, vague

-Because the meaning of the play was obscure, I was unable to enjoy it.

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17
Q

Ostentatious

A

-Showy, pretentious

-The ostentatious socialite wore her mink fur coat even during the warmest days of August.

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18
Q

Prodigal

A

-Wasteful, a person given to extravagance

-The prodigal son squandered his inheritance.

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19
Q

Repudiate

A

-To reject, to disown, to disavow

-He announced that he would repudiate all debts that had been created by his wife.

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20
Q

Reticence

A

-Restraint in speech, reluctance to speak

-A lawyer must have great reticence in discussing matters that could violate his client’s rights.

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21
Q

Revere

A

-To honor, to regard with respect

-Nearly all Catholics revere the Pope.

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22
Q

Serene

A

-Calm, placid

-The mountain on a clear spring morning is a serene setting.

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23
Q

Subtle

A

-Delicate, elusive, not obvious

-To avoid being obtrusive in the elegant restaurant, he used subtle gestures to call the waiter to his table.

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24
Q

Superfluous

A

-Beyond what is needed or required, an overflow

-The meeting lasted so long because of many superfluous comments by some of the speakers.

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25
Q

Taciturn

A

-Quiet, not verbose

-A shy person is usually tacitum.

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26
Q

Antithesis

A

-A direct opposite, a contrast

-Good is the antithesis of evil.

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27
Q

Ascend

A

-To move upward, to rise from a lower station

-The climbers ascended the mountain

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28
Q

Austere

A

-Strict, stern; unadorned, ascetic

-Pioneers usually led an austere existence.

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29
Q

Autonomous

A

-Independent, self-contained

-One who is autonomous needs no help from others.

30
Q

Banal

A

-Common, ordinary, lacking freshmeng, hackneyed

-Because of his use of overused trite remark, his speeches are banal.

31
Q

Benign

A

-Not causing harm, of gentle disposition, beneficial

-The minister was loved because of his benign attitude toward all types of people.

32
Q

Capricious

A

-Changing suddenly, fickle

-Her capricious moods are difficult to anticipate.

33
Q

Dawdle

A

-To waste time, to spend time idly, to move in a lackadaisical manner

-Since we have a deadline, do not dawdle over your work.

34
Q

Defamation

A

-Act of harming or ruining another’s reputation

-The defamation of another’s character is a horrible thing.

35
Q

Esoteric

A

-Understood only by a small group or a select few

-The English teachers were having an esoteric discussion about the correct usage of some obscure word.

36
Q

Exacerbate

A

-To aggravate, to irritate, to vex

-You will only exacerbate the situation if you try and call her.

37
Q

Extol

A

-To praise, to glorify

-The teacher would always extol students who tried to do their best.

38
Q

Fastidious

A

-Reflecting a meticulous or demanding attitude, critical to an extreme

-He considered her fastidious because she was offended by insignificant mistakes or errors.

39
Q

Furtive

A

-Secret in an underhanded way, stealthy

-During the test, he made some furtive glances at other classmates’ papers.

40
Q

Gregarious

A

-Sociable and outgoing

-He became much more gregarious after he developed an interest in girls.

41
Q

Hypocrite

A

-One who is insincere or deceitful

-Saying one thing and then doing the other is the mark of a hypocrite.

42
Q

Innate

A

-Existing from birth, inborn

-He has innate athletic talents that cannot be taught.

43
Q

Lethargic

A

-Sluggish, languid

-Having had too much to drink, he was very lethargic the morning after the party.

44
Q

Melancholy

A

-Depression of spirits

-After Dad lost his job, he fell into a state of melancholy.

45
Q

Opaque

A

-Not allowing the passage of light, not transparent; hard to understand

-I am going to place something opaque in the window so that no one will be able to see into this room.

46
Q

Prolific

A

-Abundantly fruitful, marked by great productivity

-Since he has written a great number of books in a short period, Stephen King is known as a prolific writer.

47
Q

Reprove

A

-To scold or to rebuke for a misdeed usually with kindly intent

-A teacher sometimes needs to reprove a student for talking during class.

48
Q

Symmetry

A

-Balanced proportions

49
Q

Tranquil

A

-Peaceful, calm

50
Q

Venerate

A

-To honor, to revere

-although I do not always agree with President kennedy, I venerate his memory.

51
Q

Abstruse

A

-difficult to understand, recondite, concealed

-Some concepts of Einstein were so abstruse that many physicists could not understand them.

52
Q

Affable

A

-friendly, courteous, amiable

-He had a very affable nature, always saying “Hello” to everyone.

53
Q

Audacity

A

-excessive boldness, rashness, daring

-I was surprised that he had the audacity to approach the Queen.

54
Q

Contrite

A

-extremely apologetic, remorseful, repentant

-Her contrite tears were not enough to convince her father not to spank her for her disobedience.

55
Q

Credulous

A

-believing on slight evidence, gullible

-Because the lady’s horoscope said that she should stay inside, the credulous woman did not go to work.

56
Q

Depravity

A

-moral corruption, a wicked or perverse act

-The depravity of his behavior shocked everyone.

57
Q

Deprecate

A

-to disapprove regretfully, to belittle, to express mild disapproval

-Do not deprecate her act unless you fully understand her situation.

58
Q

Didactic

A

-instructive, designed to teach

-because of the coaches didatic approach, his players learn many blocking techniques.

59
Q

Dormant

A

-inactive, sleeping

60
Q

Enigmatic

A

-mysterious, puzzling

-The disappearing of Amelia Earhart is still an enigma today.

61
Q

Erudite

A

-scholarly

-The erudite physics professor had spent many years studying the theory of relativity.

62
Q

Exotic

A

-foreign, unfamiliar

  • The circus features exotic animals fram Africa.
63
Q

Fuse

A

-to mix or to join (usually by melting)

64
Q

Immutable

A

-unchanging

-Her love for her husband was immutable.

65
Q

Incorrigible

A

-incapable of being reformed or improved

-He was expelled from school because of his incorrigible conduct.

66
Q

Loathe

A

-to detest

-The fact that I loathe your brother does not mean that we cannot be friends.

67
Q

Mitigate

A

-to cause to become less harsh or hostile; to make less severe

-He apologized in order to mitigate her dislike for him.

68
Q

Nullify

A

-to cause not to be in effect, to negate

-am seeking to nullify the contract because he has not complied with it.

69
Q

Pacifistic

A

-opposed to war or use of force

-The man refused to fight because of his pacifistic beliefs.

70
Q

Pretentious

A

-making an extravagant outward show, self-important

-Isn’t it a little pretentious to spend two million dollars on a wedding?

English Semester 1 Vocab (1 decks)

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