Voca2 Flashcards
Litter
[lit-er]
noun
- objects strewn or scattered about; scattered rubbish.
- a condition of disorder or untidiness: We were appalled at the litter of the room.
- a number of young brought forth by a multiparous animal at one birth: a litter of six kittens.
- a framework of cloth stretched between two parallel bars, for the transportation of a sick or wounded person; stretcher.
- a vehicle carried by people or animals, consisting of a bed or couch, often covered and curtained, suspended between shafts.
Venue
[ven-yoo]
noun
- Law.
a. the place of a crime or cause of action.
b. the county or place where the jury is gathered and the cause tried.
c. the designation, in the pleading, of the jurisdiction where a trial will be held.
d. the statement naming the place and person before whom an affidavit was sworn. - the scene or locale of any action or event.
- the position taken by a person engaged in argument or debate; ground.
Intersperse
[in-ter-spurs]
verb (used with object)
- to scatter here and there or place at intervals among other things: to intersperse flowers among shrubs.
- to diversify with something placed or scattered at intervals: to intersperse a dull speech with interesting anecdotes.
Swathe
[sweyth]
verb (used with object)
1. to wrap, bind, or swaddle with bands of some material; wrap up closely or fully.
2. to bandage.
3. to enfold or envelop, as wrappings do.
4. to wrap (cloth, rope, etc.) around something.
noun
5. a band of linen or the like in which something is wrapped; wrapping; bandage.
Jostle
[jos-uhl]
verb (used with object)
- to bump, push, shove, brush against, or elbow roughly or rudely.
- to drive or force by, or as if by, pushing or shoving: The crowd jostled him into the subway.
- to exist in close contact or proximity with: The three families jostle each other in the small house.
- to contend with: rival gangs continually jostling each other.
- to unsettle; disturb: The thought jostled her complacency.
Alleviate
[uh-lee-vee-eyt]
verb (used with object)
to make easier to endure; lessen; mitigate: to alleviate sorrow; to alleviate pain.
Fume
[fyoom]
noun
1. Often, fumes. any smokelike or vaporous exhalation from matter or substances, especially of an odorous or harmful nature: tobacco fumes; noxious fumes of carbon monoxide.
2. an irritable or angry mood: He has been in a fume ever since the contract fell through.
verb (used with object)
3. to emit or exhale, as fumes or vapor: giant stacks fuming their sooty smoke.
4. to treat with or expose to fumes.
5. to show fretful irritation or anger: She always fumes when the mail is late.
Brunt
[bruhnt]
noun
the main force or impact, as of an attack or blow: His arm took the brunt of the blow.
Punctual
[puhngk-choo-uhl]
adjective
- strictly observant of an appointed or regular time; not late; prompt.
- made, occurring, etc., at the scheduled or proper time: punctual payment.
- pertaining to or of the nature of a point.
Atagonize
[an-tag-uh-nahyz]
verb (used with object)
- to make hostile or unfriendly; make an enemy or antagonist of: His speech antagonized many voters.
- to act in opposition to; oppose.
Estuary
[es-choo-er-ee]
noun
- that part of the mouth or lower course of a river in which the river’s current meets the sea’s tide.
- an arm or inlet of the sea at the lower end of a river.
Awning
[aw-ning]
noun
- a rooflike shelter of canvas or other material extending over a doorway, from the top of a window, over a deck, etc., in order to provide protection, as from the sun.
- a shelter.
Trek
[trek]
verb (used without object)
1. to travel or migrate, especially slowly or with difficulty.
Shunt
[shuhnt]
verb (used with object)
- to shove or turn (someone or something) aside or out of the way.
- to sidetrack; get rid of.
Remedial
[ri-mee-dee-uhl]
adjective
- affording remedy; tending to remedy something.
- intended to correct or improve one’s skill in a specified field: remedial math.
Provision
[pruh-vizh-uhn]
noun
- a clause in a legal instrument, a law, etc., providing for a particular matter; stipulation; proviso.
- the providing or supplying of something, especially of food or other necessities.
- arrangement or preparation beforehand, as for the doing of something, the meeting of needs, the supplying of means, etc.
- something provided; a measure or other means for meeting a need.
- a supply or stock of something provided.
Stunt
[stuhnt]
verb (used with object)
1. to stop, slow down, or hinder the growth or development of; dwarf: A harsh climate stunted the trees. Brutal treatment in childhood stunted his personality.
noun
2. a stop or hindrance in growth or development.
3. arrested development.
4. a plant or animal hindered from attaining its proper growth.
Lament
[luh-ment]
verb (used with object)
1. to feel or express sorrow or regret for: to lament his absence.
2. to mourn for or over.
verb (used without object)
3. to feel, show, or express grief, sorrow, or regret.
4. to mourn deeply.
noun
5. an expression of grief or sorrow.
6. a formal expression of sorrow or mourning, especially in verse or song; an elegy or dirge.
Iniquity
[ih-nik-wi-tee]
noun
- gross injustice or wickedness.
- a violation of right or duty; wicked act; sin.
Thump
[thuhmp]
noun
1. a blow with something thick and heavy, producing a dull sound; a heavy knock.
2. the sound made by or as if by such a blow.
verb (used with object)
3. to strike or beat with something thick and heavy, so as to produce a dull sound; pound.
4. (of an object) to strike against (something) heavily and noisily.
5. Informal. to thrash severely.
Disconcerting
[dis-kuhn-sur-ting]
adjective
- disturbing to one’s composure or self-possession; upsetting, discomfiting.
- confusing, usually in the face of something totally unexpected; perplexing.
Barge
[bahrj]
noun
1. a capacious, flat-bottomed vessel, usually intended to be pushed or towed, for transporting freight or passengers; lighter.
verb (used without object)
2. to move clumsily; bump into things; collide: to barge through a crowd.
3. to move in the slow, heavy manner of a barge.
Procure
[proh-kyoor, pruh-]
verb (used with object)
1. to obtain or get by care, effort, or the use of special means: to procure evidence.
2. to bring about, especially by unscrupulous and indirect means: to procure secret documents.
3. to obtain (a person) for the purpose of prostitution.
verb (used without object)
4. to act as a procurer or pimp.
Recluse
[n. rek-loos, ri-kloos; adj. ri-kloos, rek-loos]
noun
1. a person who lives in seclusion or apart from society, often for religious meditation.
2. Also, incluse. a religious voluntary immured in a cave, hut, or the like, or one remaining within a cell for life.
adjective, re·cluse, Also, re·clu·sive.
3. shut off or apart from the world; living in seclusion, often for religious reasons.
4. characterized by seclusion; solitary.
Emphatic
[em-fat-ik]
adjective
- uttered, or to be uttered, with emphasis; strongly expressive.
- using emphasis in speech or action.
- forceful; insistent: a big, emphatic man; I must be emphatic about this particular.
- very impressive or significant; strongly marked; striking: the emphatic beauty of sunset.
- clearly or boldly outlined: It stands, like a great, stone dagger, emphatic against the sky.
Adversity
[ad-vur-si-tee]
noun, plural ad·ver·si·ties for 2.
- adverse fortune or fate; a condition marked by misfortune, calamity, or distress: A friend will show his or her true colors in times of adversity.
- an adverse or unfortunate event or circumstance: You will meet many adversities in life.
Muster
[muhs-ter]
verb (used with object)
1. to assemble (troops, a ship’s crew, etc.), as for battle, display, inspection, orders, or discharge.
2. to gather, summon, rouse (often followed by up ): He mustered all his courage.
verb (used without object)
3. to assemble for inspection, service, etc., as troops or forces.
4. to come together; collect; assemble; gather.
noun
5. an assembling of troops or persons for formal inspection or other purposes.
6. an assemblage or collection.
7. the act of mustering.
8. Also called muster roll. (formerly) a list of the persons enrolled in a military or naval unit.
Epitome
[ih-pit-uh-mee]
noun
- a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class: He is the epitome of goodness.
- a condensed account, especially of a literary work; abstract.
Elude
[ih-lood]
verb (used with object)
- to avoid or escape by speed, cleverness, trickery, etc.; evade: to elude capture. Synonyms: shun, dodge.
- to escape the understanding, perception, or appreciation of: The answer eludes me.
Vain
[veyn]
adjective, vain·er, vain·est.
- excessively proud of or concerned about one’s own appearance, qualities, achievements, etc.; conceited: a vain dandy.
- proceeding from or showing pride in or concern about one’s appearance, qualities, etc.; resulting from or displaying vanity: He made some vain remarks about his accomplishments.
- ineffectual or unsuccessful; futile: vain hopes; a vain effort; a vain war.
- without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless: vain pageantry; vain display.
- in vain,
a. without effect or avail; to no purpose: lives lost in vain; to apologize in vain.
b. in an improper or irreverent manner: to take God’s name in vain.
Pilgrim
[pil-grim, -gruhm]
noun
- a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion: pilgrims to the Holy Land.
- a traveler or wanderer, especially in a foreign place.
- an original settler in a region.
- ( initial capital letter ) one of the band of Puritans who founded the colony of Plymouth, Mass., in 1620.
- a newcomer to a region or place, especially to the western U.S.
Cult
[kuhlt]
noun
- a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
- an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
- the object of such devotion.
- a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
Blitz
[blits]
noun
1. Military .
a. an overwhelming all-out attack, especially a swift ground attack using armored units and air support.
b. an intensive aerial bombing.
2. any swift, vigorous attack, barrage, or defeat: a blitz of commercials every few minutes.
verb (used with object)
3. to attack or defeat with or as if with a blitz: The town was blitzed mercilessly by enemy planes. The visitors really blitzed the home team.
4. to destroy; demolish: His last-minute refusal blitzed all our plans.
Akin
[uh-kin]
adjective
- of kin; related by blood (usually used predicatively): cousins who were too closely akin for marriage.
- allied by nature; having the same properties: Something akin to vertigo was troubling her.
- having or showing an affinity; kindred: They are emotionally but not intellectually akin.
Relent
[ri-lent]
verb (used without object)
- to soften in feeling, temper, or determination; become more mild, compassionate, or forgiving.
- to become less severe; slacken: The winds relented.
Belligerence
[buh-lij-er-uhns]
noun
- a warlike or aggressively hostile nature, condition, or attitude.
- an act of carrying on war; warfare.
Solipsistic
[sol-ip-sis-tik]
adjective
of or characterized by solipsism, or the theory that only the self exists, or can be proved to exist: Her treatment philosophy dealt with madness as a complete, self-contained, solipsistic world that sane people are not able to enter.
Annihilate
[uh-nahy-uh-leyt]
verb (used with object)
- to reduce to utter ruin or nonexistence; destroy utterly: The heavy bombing almost annihilated the city.
- to destroy the collective existence or main body of; wipe out: to annihilate an army.
- to annul; make void: to annihilate a law.
- to cancel the effect of; nullify.
- to defeat completely; vanquish: Our basketball team annihilated the visiting team.
Facetious
[fuh-see-shuhs]
adjective
- not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark.
- amusing; humorous.
- lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous: a facetious person.
Peculiar
[pi-kyool-yer]
adjective
- strange; queer; odd: peculiar happenings.
- uncommon; unusual: the peculiar hobby of stuffing and mounting bats.
- distinctive in nature or character from others.
- belonging characteristically (usually followed by to ): an expression peculiar to Canadians.
- belonging exclusively to some person, group, or thing: the peculiar properties of a drug.
Synthetic
[sin-thet-ik]
adjective
- of, pertaining to, proceeding by, or involving synthesis ( opposed to analytic ).
- noting or pertaining to compounds formed through a chemical process by human agency, as opposed to those of natural origin: synthetic vitamins; synthetic fiber.
- Also, syn·thet·i·cal. Logic. of or pertaining to a noncontradictory proposition in which the predicate is not included in, or entailed by, the subject.
- not real or genuine; artificial; feigned: a synthetic chuckle at a poor joke.
Accrue
[uh-kroo]
verb (used without object)
- to happen or result as a natural growth, addition, etc.
- to be added as a matter of periodic gain or advantage, as interest on money.
- Law. to become a present and enforceable right or demand.