Vocab 1 Flashcards
mar
to damage or deface; to spoil
Telephone poles mar the natural beauty of the countryside.
blemish, disfigure, impair, injure, scar
abase
to humble; to disgrace
My intention was not to abase the comedian.
demean; humiliate
acidulous
sour in taste or manner
The acidulous taste of the spoiled milk made the young boy’s lips pucker.
acerbic, acetous, biting, piquant, pungent, tart
parley
discussion, usually between enemies
The parley between the rival cheerleading teams resulted in neither side admitting that they copied the other’s dance moves.
debate, dialogue, negotiations, talks
vacillate
to physically away; to be indecisive
The customer held up the line as he vacillated between ordering chocolate-chip or rocky-road ice cream.
dither, falter, fluctuate, oscillate, waver
imbue
to infuse, dye, wet, or moisten
Marcia struggled to imbue her children with decent values, a difficult task in this day and age.
charge, freight, impregnate, permeate, pervade
pastiche
a piece of literature or music imitating other works
The playwright’s clever pastiche of the well-known children’s story had the audience rolling in the aisles.
medley, spoof
zephyr
a gentle breeze; something airy or unsubstantial
The zephyr from the ocean made the intense heat on the beach bearable for the sunbathers.
breath, draft
acme
the highest point, the summit, the highest level or degree attainable
Just when he reached the acme of his power, the dictator was overthrown.
apex, peak, summit
mannered
artificial or stilted in character
The portrait is an example of the mannered style that was favored in that era.
affected, unnatural
deviating from what is normal or expected
abberant
to make worse
exacerbate
overly sentimental
maudlin
relief from wrong or injury
redress
to become thinner or sparser
rarefy
a witty, skillful storyteller
raconteur
occurring daily, commonplace
quotidian
to tarnish, to taint
sully
beggar
mendicant
quick, shrewd, and unpredictable
mercurial
neophyte
novice; beginner
A relative neophyte at bowling, Rodolfo rolled all of his balls into the gutter.
nettle
to irritate
I don’t particularly like having blue hair - I just do it to nettle my parents.
propriety
the quality of behaving in a proper manner; obeying rules and customs
The aristocracy maintained a high level of propriety, adhering to even the most minor social rules.
wily
clever, deceptive
Yet again, the wily coyote managed to elude the ranchers who wanted to capture it.
prudence
wisdom, caution, or restraint
The college student exhibited prudence by obtaining practical experience along with her studies, which greatly strengthened her resume.
whimsical
lightly acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredictable
The ballet was whimsical, delighting the children with its imaginative characters and unpredictable sets.
wan
sickly pale
The sick child had a wan face, in contrast to her rosy-cheeked sister.
ashen, sickly
voluble
talkative, speaking easily, glib
The voluble man and his reserved wife proved the old saying that opposites attract.
loquacious, verbose
pare
to trim off excess, to reduce
The cook’s hands were sore after she pared hundreds of potatoes for the banquet.
clip, peel
paragon
model of excellence or perfection
He is the paragon of what a judge should be: honest, intelligent, hardworking and just.
apotheosis, ideal, quintessence, standard
occlude
to stop up; to prevent the passage of
A shadow is thrown across the Earth’s surface during a solar eclipse, when the light from the sun is occluded by the moon.
barricade, block, close, obstruct
obviate
to prevent; to make unnecessary
The river was shallow enough to wade across at many points, which obviated the need for a bridge.
forestall, preclude, prohibit
obstinate
stubborn; unyielding
The obstinate child could not be made to eat any food that he perceived to be “yucky.”
intransigent, mulish, persistent, pertinacious, stubborn, tenacious
obsequious
overly submissive and eager to please
The obsequious new associated made sure to compliment her supervisor’s tie and agree with him on every issue.
compliant, deferential, servile, subservient
oblique
indirect or evasive; misleading or devious
Usually open and friendly, Reynaldo has been behaving in a curiously oblique manner lately.
glancing, slanted, tangential
obdurate
hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion
The president was completely obdurate on the issue, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind.
inflexible, intransigent, recalcitrant, tenacious, unyielding
numismatics
coin collecting
Tomas’s passion for numismatics has resulted in an impressive collection of coins from all over the world.
nuance
a subtle expression of meaning or equality
The scholar’s argued for hours over tiny nuances in the interpretation of the line line of the poem.
gradation, subtlety, tone
nominal
existing in name only; negligible
A nominal but far from devoted member of the high school yearbook committee, she rarely attends meetings.
minimal, titular
noisome
stinking; putrid
A dead mouse trapped in your walls produces a noisome odor.
disgusting, foul, malodorous
pariah
an outcast
Once he betrayed those in this community, he was banished and lived the life of a pariah.
castaway, derelict, leper, offscouring, untouchable
polemic
controversy; argument; verbal attack
The candidate’s polemic against his opponent was vicious and small-minded rather than convincing and well-reasoned.
denunciation, refutation
politic
shrewd and practical in managing or dealing with things; diplomatic
She was wise to curb her tongue and was able to explain her problem to the judge in a respectful and politic manner.
tactful
polyglot
a speaker of many languages
Ling’s extensive travels have helped her to become a true polyglot.
posit
to assume as real or conceded; to propose as an explanation mi
Before proving the math formula, we needed to posit that x and y were real numbers.
suggest
militate
to operate against; work against
Lenin militated against the tsar for years before he overthrew him and established the Soviet Union.
affect, change, influence
mirth
frivolity; gaiety; laughter
Vera’s hilarious jokes contributed to the general mirth at the dinner party.
glee, hilarity, jollity, merriment
satiate
to satisfy fully or overindulge
His desire for power was so great that nothing less than complete control of the country could satiate it.
cloy, glut, gorge, surfeit
scintilla
trace amount
This poison is so powerful that no more than a scintilla of it is needed to kill a horse.
atom, iota, mote, spark, speck
sedition
behavior that promotes rebellion or civil disorder against the state
Li was arrested for sedition after he gave a fiery speech in the main square.
conspiracy, insurrection
