Vocab 1 Flashcards
ambiguity / ambiguous / ambiguously
uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language ; a lack of decisiveness of commitment resulting from a failure to make a choice between alternatives
EX: there were some ambiguities in her letter
capitulate / capitulation / capitulator
cease to resist an opponent or an unwelcome demand; surrender; the action of surrendering or ceasing to resist an opponent or demand
EX: Management finally capitulated to the union’s demands.
enhance / enhancement / enhancer
Intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of something (synonyms are improve or boost)
EX: We’re using technology to enhance our levels of service.
expedite / expediter
make an action or process happen sooner or be accomplished more quickly (synonym is accelerate; antonym is obstruct)
EX: More money would, of course, expedite the construction.
extricate / extricable / extrication
free someone or something from constraint or difficulty (synonym is rescue)
EX: The woman spent more than $57,000 extricating her husband from jail.
innocuous / innocuously / innocuousness
not harmful or offensive
EX: an innocuous but boring movie
emanate / emanative / emanator / emanation
something abstract but perceptible that issues or spreads out from a source (sound, light, smells); originate from; be produced by; give out or emit something (synonym is originate)
solicit / solicitor / solicitation / soliciting
ask for or try to obtain something from someone; ask someone for something; accost someone and offer one’s or someone else’s services as a prostitute; someone who tries to obtain business orders, advertising, etc. (synonyms are beg, implore)
squander / squanderer
Waste something, especially time or money in a reckless and foolish manner; allow an opportunity to pass or be lost (synonym is waste)
tentative / tentatively / tentativeness
not certain or fixed; provisional; done without confidence; hesitant
undermine / underminer
erode the base or foundation of a rock formation; dig or excavate beneath a building so as to make it collapse; to damage or weaken someone or something, especially gradually or insidiously (antonyms are strengthen & fortify)
emulate / emulation / emulator / emulative
match or surpass a person or an achievement, typically by imitation; imitate; reproduce the function or the action of a different computer or software system;
indifference / indifferent / indifferently
lack of interest, concern, or sympathy; unimportance; unconcerned; neither good nor bad; mediocre; not especially good; fairly bad; neutral in respect of some specified physical property
relegate / relegation
dismiss to an inferior rank or position
repudiate / repudiation / repudiator
refuse to accept or to associate with; deny the truth or validity of; refute; refuse to fulfill or discharge an agreement, obligation, or debt
rescind / rescindable
Revoke, cancel, or repeal a law, order, or agreement (antonym is reinstate)
languor, n.; languorous, adj.; languid, adj.
languorously, adv.
the state or feeling, often pleasant, of
tiredness or inertia; an oppressive stillness
of the air
Another couple began turning in
languorous circles on the tiny dance floor.
lethargic, adj.; lethargically, adv.; lethargy,
n.
sluggish and apathetic; a lack of energy
and enthusiasm
Problems at home were making me feel
lethargic.
fluctuate, v.; fluctuation, n.; fluctuating,
adj.
rise and fall irregularly in number and
amount;
The state’s income from sales fluctuates
with the economy.
stagnant, adj.; stagnating, adj.; stagnate, v.;
stagnation, n.;
a body of water or the atmosphere of a confined
space having no current flow and often having an
unpleasant smell as a consequence; water or air that
ceases to flow or move; figuratively, cease
developing; become inactive or dull
Steel production has stayed stagnant.
hamper, v.; hamper, n.
hinder or impede the movement or progress of; a
basket with a lid for carrying food or laundry
The sailor’s expedition was hampered by bad
weather.
defer, v.; deferment, n.; deferrable, adj.;
deferral, n.; deference, n.
delay or put off an action or event until a later
time; postpone; submit humbly to or respect
for a person or a person’s wishes or qualities
College loan payments are deferred until
students finish their degrees.
ambivalent, adj.; ambivalently, adv.;
ambivalence, n.
having mixed feelings or contradictory
ideas about something or someone
Many members of the parish were
profoundly ambivalent about the protest.
dubious, adj.; dubiously, adv.;
dubiousness, n.
hesitating or doubting; not to be relied
upon; suspect or suspicious; morally
suspect or suspicious; of questionable
value
Newsome refused to explain his dubious
personal finances.
