Vocab 1 Flashcards
Aberration
A departure from what is usual or normal. This word typically has a negative connotation and implies that the departure is unwelcome
Abscond
To leave quickly and secretly, to hide, typically to avoid detection for something illegal
“She absconded with the remaining one thousand dollars”
Alacrity
Eager and enthusiastic willingness
“She accepted the invitation with alacrity”
Anomaly
Deviation from the normal order or rule, abnormality
Approbation
An expression of approval or praise
“the opera met with high approbation”
Arduous
Strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort
Assuage
To ease or lessen
“the letter assuaged the fears of most members”
Audacious
Daring and fearless, recklessly bold
Austere
Without adornment, bare, very simple, severe or strict in manner or appearance
“Conditions in the prison could hardly be more austere”
“An austere man with a rigidly puritanical outlook”
Axiomatic
Taken as a given, self evident, unquestionable
“It is axiomatic that good athletes have a strong mental attitude”
Canonical
Following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards
Canon
A general law, rule, or principle, often religious in nature
“the appointment violated the canons of fair play and equal opportunity”
Capricious
Inclined to change one’s mind impulsively, erratic, unpredictable
Censure
To criticize severely, to officially rebuke
“a judge was censured for a variety of types of injudicious conduct”
Chicanery
The use of trickery to achieve a political, legal, or financial purpose
“the candidate only won the election through chicanery”
Connoisseur
An informed and astute judge in matters of taste, an expert
Convoluted
Complex or complicated
Disabuse
To undeceive, to set right, to persuade someone that an idea or belief is mistaken
Discordant
Conflicting, dissonant or harsh in sound
Disparate
Fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
Effrontery
Extreme boldness, presumptuousness, insolence
“She had the effrontery to ask for two free samples”
Eloquent
Well spoken, expressive, articulate
Enervate
To weaken, to reduce in vitality
“the heat enervated us all”
Ennui
Dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy, a feeling of listlessness
“The endless lecture produced an unbearable ennui”
Equivocate
To use ambiguous language with deceptive intent
When asked directly for his position on the issue, the candidate only equivocated
Equivocal
Open to more than one interpretation, ambiguous
Erudite
Very learned, scholarly
Exculpate
To exonerate, to clear of blame
“The court exculpated him after a thorough investigation”
Exigent
Urgent, pressing, requiring immediate action or attention
Extemporaneous
Improvised, done without preparation
“Caught by surprise, I had to make an extemporaneous speech at the awards banquet”
Filibuster
Intentional obstruction, especially using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
Fulminate
To loudly attack or denounce, to express vehement protest
“he fulminated against the evils of his time”
Ingenuous
Artless, frank and candid, lacking in sophistication, innocent and unsuspecting
“Her ingenuous nature made her an easy target for the con man”
Inured
Accustomed to accepting something undesirable
“these children have been inured to violence”
Irascible
Easily angered, prone to temperamental outbursts
Laud
To praise highly
“the obituary lauded him a great statesman”
Lucid
Clear, easily understood
Magnanimity
The quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, especially in forgiving
“He had the magnanimity to forgive her for lying about him”
Martial
Associated with war and the armed forces
Mundane
Typical of or concerned with the ordinary
Nascent
Coming into being, in early developmental stages
“The nascent republic is holding its first election this month”
Nebulous
Vague, cloudy, lacking clearly defined form
“a nebulous recollection of the meeting”
Neologism
A new word, expression, or usage, the creation of new words or sentences
Noxious
Harmful, injurious
Obtuse
Lacking sharpness of intellect, not clear or precise in thought or expression, not sharp, blunt
Obviate
To anticipate and make unnecessary
“to obviate the risk for serious injury”
Onerous
Troubling, burdensome
Paean
A song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
Parody
A humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, especially in literature and art
Perennial
Recurrent through the year or many years, happening repeatedly
“Classical literature remains a perennial in liberal arts classrooms”
Perfidy
Intentional breach of faith, treachery
Perfunctory
Cursory, done without care or interest
Perspicacious
Acutely perceptive, having keen discernment
“It offers quite a few facts to the perspicacious reporter”
Prattle
To babble meaninglessly, to talk in an empty and idle manner
Precipitate
Verb- to cause or happen before anticipated or required
Adjective- acting with excessive haste or impulse
Predilection
A preference, a disposition in favor of something
Prescience
Foreknowledge of events, knowing of events before they happen
Prevaricate
To deliberately avoid the truth, to mislead
“He seemed to prevaricate when the journalists asked pointed questions”
Qualms
Misgivings, reservations, causes for hesitancy
Recant
To retract, especially a previously held belief
Refute
To disprove, to successfully argue against
Relegate
To forcibly assign, especially to a lower place or position
Reticent
Quiet, reserved, reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
Solicitous
Concerned and attentive, eager
“She was always solicitous about the welfare of her students”
Sordid
Characterized by filth, grime, or squalor, foul
Sporadic
Occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances
Squander
To waste by spending or using irresponsibly
Static
Not moving, active, or in motion, at rest
Stupefy
To stun, baffle, or amaze
Stymie
To block, to thwart
Synthesis
The combination of parts to make a whole
Torque
A force that causes rotation
Tortuous
Winding, twisting, excessively complicated
“The route is remote and tortuous”
Truculent
Fierce and cruel, eager to fight
“his days of truculent defiance were over”
Veracity
Truthfulness, honesty
Virulent
Extremely harmful or poisonous, bitterly hostile or antagonistic
Voracious
Having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit, ravenous
Waver
To move to and fro, to sway, to be unsettled in opinion
