Vocab. 1 Flashcards
acme
the highest point; the summit; the highest level or degree attainable (synonyms: apex, peak, summit)
adulterate
to make impure (synonyms: debase, doctor, load)
acidulous
sour in taste or manner (synonyms: acerbic, acetous, biting, piquant, pungent, tart)
accretion
a gradual growth in size; an increase in amount (synonyms: accumulation, buildup)
abyss
an extremely deep hole (synonyms: chasm, void)
abstemious
moderate in appetite; practicing moderation or abstinence (synonyms: abstinent, continent, self-restraining, sober, temperate)
abstain
to choose not to do something (synonyms: forbear, refrain, withhold)
abscond
to leave secretly (synonyms: decamp, escape, flee)
abjure
to reject; to abandon formally (synonyms: forswear, recall, recant, retract, take back)
abeyance
temporary suppression or suspension (synonyms: deferral, delay, dormancy, postponement, remission)
aberrant
deviating from what is normal or expect (synonyms: abnormal, anomalous, deviant, divergent, errant, irregular)
abdicate
to give up a position, right, or power (synonyms: cede, quit, relinquish, resign, yield)
abate
to reduce in amount, degree, or severity (synonyms: ebb, lapse, let up, moderate, relent, slacken, subside, wane)
abase
to humble; to disgrace (synonyms: demean, humiliate)
advocate
to speak in favor of (synonyms: back, champion, support)
aerie
a nest built high in the air; an elevated, often secluded, dwelling (synonyms: perch, stronghold)
aesthetic
concerning the appreciation of beauty (synonyms: artistic, tasteful)
affected
phony; artificial (synonyms: insincere, pretentious, put-on)
aggrandize
to increase in power, influence, and reputation (synonyms: amplify, apotheosize, augment, dignify, elevate, enlarge, ennoble, exalt, glorify, magnify, swell, uplift)
alacrity
speed or quickness (synonyms: celerity, dispatch, haste, swiftness)
alleviate
to make more bearable (synonyms: ally, assuage, comfort, ease, lessen, lighten, mitigate, palliate, relieve)
amalgamate
to combine; to mix together (synonyms: admix, blend, coalesce, combine, commingle, commix, compound, fuse, intermingle, intermix, merge, mingle, mix, unite)
ambiguous
doubtful or uncertain; can be interpreted several ways (synonyms: cloudy, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, indeterminate, nebulous, obscure, unclear, vague)
ameliorate
to make better; to improve (synonyms: amend, better, improve, pacify, upgrade)
amortize
to diminish by installment payments (synonyms: decrease, reduce)
amulet
an ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits (synonyms: talisman)
anachronism
something out of place in time (synonyms: archaism, incongruity)
analgesia
a lessening of pain without loss of consciousness
analogous
similar or alike in some way; equivalent (synonyms: alike, comparable, corresponding, equivalent, homogeneous, parallel, similar)
anodyne
something that calms or soothes pain (synonyms: narcotic, nepenthe, opiate)
bombastic
pompous in speech and manner (synonyms: bloated, declamatory, fustian, grandiloquent, grandiose, high-flown, magniloquent, orotund, pretentious, rhetorical, self-important)
bolster
to support; to prop up (synonyms: brace, buttress, crutch, prop, stay, support, sustain, underpin, uphold)
blithe
joyful, cheerful, or without appropriate thought (synonyms: carefree, lighthearted, merry)
blight
to afflict; to destroy (synonyms: damage, plague)
bilk
to cheat; to defraud (synonyms: beat, defraud, overreach)
bifurcate
to divide into two parts (synonyms: bisect, split)
bevy
a group (synonyms: band, bunch, gang, pack, troop)
belfry
a bell tower; the room in which a bell is hung (synonyms: spire, steeple)
banal
predictable; clichéd; boring (synonyms: bland, bromidic, commonplace, fatuous, hackneyed, innocuous, insipid, jejune)
axiom
premise; postulate; self-evident truth (synonyms: adage, aphorism, apothegm, maxim, rule)
austere
severe or stern in appearance, undecorated (synonyms: bleak, dour, grim, hard, harsh, severe)
august
dignified; grandiose (synonyms: admirable, awesome, grand, majestic)
augury
a prophecy; a prediction of events (synonyms: auspice, harbinger, omen, portent, presage)
audacious
fearless and daring (synonyms: adventuresome, aggressive, assertive, bold, brave)
attenuate
to reduce in force or degree; to weaken (synonyms: debilitate, devitalize, dilute, enervate, enfeeble, rarefy, sap, thin, undermine, undo, unnerve, weaken)
assuage
to make something pleasant less severe (synonyms: ally, alleviate, appease, comfort, conciliate, ease, lighten, mitigate, mollify, pacify, palliate, placate, propitiate, relieve, sooth, sweeten)
assail
to attack; to assault (synonyms: beset, storm, strike)
articulate
able to speak clearly and expressively (synonyms: eloquent, expressive, fluent, lucid, silver-tongued, smooth-spoken)
arrogate
to claim without justification; to claim for oneself without right (synonyms: appropriate, presume, take)
ardor
intense and passionate feeling (synonyms: devotion, enthusiasm, fervency, fervidity, fervidness, fervor, fire, passion, zeal, zealousness)
archaic
ancient; old-fashioned (synonyms: antediluvian, antique, bygone, dated, dowdy, fusty, obsolete, outdated, outmoded, passé, prehistoric, stale, superannuated, superseded, vintage)
arbitrate
to judge a dispute between two opposing parties (synonyms: adjudge, adjudicate, determine, intermediate, intervene, judge, moderate, referee, rule)
arbitrary
determined by chance or impulse (synonyms: changeable, erratic, indiscriminate, random, wayward)
approbation
approval and praise (synonyms: acclaim, adulation, applause, commendation, compliments, exaltation, extolment, hail, kudos, praise)
apostate
one who renounces a religious faith (synonyms: defector, deserter, traitor)
apocryphal
of questionable authority or authenticity (synonyms: disputed, doubtful, fictitious, fraudulent)
apathy
lack of interest or emotion (synonyms: coolness, disinterest, disregard, impassivity, indifference, insensibility, lassitude, lethargy, listlessness, phlegm, stolidity, unconcern, unresponsiveness)
antipathy
extreme dislike (synonyms: abhorrence, animosity, animus, antagonism, aversion, dislike, enmity, hatred, hostility, loathing, repellence, repugnance, repulsion, revulsion)
antagonize
to annoy or provoke to anger (synonyms: clash, conflict, incite, irritate, oppose, pester, provoke, vex)
anomaly
deviation from what is normal (synonyms: aberrancy, aberration, abnormality, deviance, deviation, irregularity, preternaturalness)
corroborate
to support with evidence (synonyms: authenticate, back, buttress, confirm, substantiate, validate, verify)
convoluted
intricate and complicated (synonyms: byzantine, complex, elaborate, intricate, knotty, labyrinthine, perplexing, tangled)
contumacious
rebellious (synonyms: factious, insubordinate, insurgent, mutinous, rebellious, seditious)
contrite
deeply sorrowful and repentant for a wrong (synonyms: apologetic, regretful, remorseful)
connoisseur
a person with expert knowledge or discriminating tastes (synonyms: authority, epicure, expert, gastronome, gourmet)
condone
to overlook, pardon, or disregard (synonyms: exculpate, excuse, pardon, remit)
collusion
a collaboration, complicity, conspiracy (synonyms: connivance, intrigue, machination)
cogent
convincing and well-reasoned (synonyms: convincing, persuasive, solid, sound, telling, valid)
coffer
a strongbox; a large chest for money (synonyms: chest, exchequer, treasury, war chest)
coalesce
to grow together to form a single whole (synonyms: amalgamate, blend, condense, consolidate, fuse, unite)
cloying
sickly sweet, excessive (synonyms: fulsome)
circumspect
cautious, aware of potential consequences (synonyms: alert, cautious, heedful, mindful, prudent, solicitous, vigilant, wary)
chicanery
deception of means of craft or guile (synonyms: artifice, conniving, craftiness, deception, deviousness, misrepresentation, pettifoggery, shadiness, sneakiness, sophistry, subterfuge, underhandedness)
chauvinist
someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs (synonyms: bigot, jingoist, partisan)
chaos
great disorder, a confused situation (synonyms: clutter, confusion, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, disorderliness, disorganization, jumble, mess, muddle, scramble, snarl, turmoil)
caustic
biting in wit (synonyms: acerbic, biting, mordant, trenchant)
catholic
universal, broad and comprehensive (synonyms: extensive, general)
catalyst
something that brings about change in something else (synonyms: accelerator, goad, impetus, impulse, incentive, motivation, spur, stimulant)
castigate
to punish or criticize harshly (synonyms: admonish, chastise, chide, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove, scold, tax, upbraid)
capricious
changing one’s mind quickly and often (synonyms: arbitrary, chance, changeable, erratic, fickle, inconstant, mercurial, random, whimsical, willful)
bonhomie
good-natured geniality, an atmosphere of good cheer (synonyms: affability, amiability, cordiality, geniality)
boor
a crude person, one lacking manners or taste (synonyms: clod, lout, oaf, vulgarian, yahoo)
burgeon
to grow and flourish (synonyms: bloom, prosper, thrive)
burnish
to polish (synonyms: buff, luster, polish, scour)
cabal
a secret group seeking to overturn something (synonyms: camp, circle, clan, clique, coterie, in-group, mafia, mob, ring)
cacophony
a harsh, jarring noise (synonyms: chaos, clamor, din, discord, disharmony, noise)
calumny
a false and malicious accusation, misrepresentation (synonyms: defamation, libel, slander)
canard
a lie (synonyms: falsehood, falsity, fib, misrepresentation, prevarication, tale, untruth)
candid
impartial and honest in speech (synonyms: direct, forthright, frank, honest, open, sincere, straight, straightforward, undisguised)
cartography
the science or art of making map (synonyms: charting, surveying, topography)
disparate
fundamentally different; entirely unlike (synonyms: different, dissimilar, divergent, diverse, variant, various)
discern
to perceive or recognize (synonyms: catch, descry, detect, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, epsy, glimpse, know, separate, spot, tell)
disabuse
to set right, to free from error (synonyms: correct, undeceive)
dirge
a funeral hymn or mournful speech (synonyms: elegy, lament)
dilettante
someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic (synonyms: amateur, dabbler, superficial, tyro)
dilatory
intended to delay (synonyms: dragging, flagging, laggard, lagging, slow, slow-footed, slow-going, slow-paced, tardy)
dilate
to make larger, to expand (synonyms: amplify, develop, elaborate, enlarge, expand, expatiate)
diffident
lacking self-confidence (synonyms: backward, bashful, coy, demure, modest, retiring, self-effacing, shy, timid)
dictum
an authoritative statement (synonyms: adage, aphorism, apothegm, decree, edict)
diatribe
an abuse, condemnatory speech (synonyms: fulmination, harangue, invective, jeremiad, malediction, obloquy, tirade)
diaphanous
allowing light to show through, delicate (synonyms: gauzy, sheer, tenuous, translucent, transparent)
desultory
jumping from one thing to another, disconnected (synonyms: aimless, disconnected, erratic, haphazard, indiscriminate, objectless, purposeless, random, stray, unconsidered, unplanned)
desiccate
to dry out thoroughly (synonyms: dehydrate, dry, parch)
deride
to speak of or treat with contempt; to MOCK (synonyms: give, jeer, mock, ridicule, scoff, sneer, taunt)
demur
to express doubts or objections (synonyms: dissent, expostulate, protest, remonstrate)
demagogue
a leader or rabble-rouser, usually one appealing to emotion to prejudice (synonyms: agitator, inciter, instigator)
deleterious
subtly or unexpected harmful (synonyms: adverse, hurtful, inimical, injurious)
deference
respect, courtesy (synonyms: honor, obeisance, respect, reverence, veneration)
deface
to mar the appearance of, to VANDALIZE (synonyms: disfigure, impair, spoil)
decorum
appropriateness of behavior or conduct, propriety (synonyms: correctness, decency, ETIQUETTE, manners, mores, seemliness)
decorous
proper, tasteful, socially correct (synonyms: appropriate, comme il faut, courteous, polite)
declivity
a downward slope (synonyms: decline, descent, drop, grace, pitch, slant, slope, tilt)
debutante
a young woman making debut in high society (synonyms: lady, maiden)
curmudgeon
a cranky person, usually an old one (synonyms: coot, crab, grouch)
cupidity
greed, strong desire (synonyms: avarice, covetousness, rapacity)
crescendo
steady increase in volume or force (synonyms: acme, capstone, climax, crest, culmination, meridian, peak)
credulous
too trusting, GULLIBLE (synonyms: naïve, susceptible, trusting)
craven
lacking courage (synonyms: fainthearted, spineless, timid)
coterie
an intimate group of persons with a similar purpose (synonyms: clique, set)
cosset
to pamper, to treat with great care (synonyms: cater to, cuddle, dandle, fondle, love, pamper, pet, spoil)