Vocab Flashcards
adventitious
accidental
adventitious |ˌadvenˈtiSHəs|
adjective
happening or carried on according to chance rather than design or inherent nature: my adventures were always adventitious, always thrust on me.
• coming from outside; not native: the adventitious population.
• Biology formed accidentally or in an unusual anatomical position: propagation of sour cherries by adventitious shoots.
• Botany (of a root) growing directly from the stem or other upper part of a plant.
DERIVATIVES
adventitiously adverb
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin adventicius ‘coming to us from abroad’ (from advenire ‘arrive’) + -ous (see also -itious2).
verdure
fresh rich vegetation
verdure |ˈvərjər| noun lush green vegetation. • the fresh green color of such vegetation. • literary a condition of freshness. DERIVATIVES verdured adjective, verdurous |-jərəs|adjective ORIGIN late Middle English: via French from Old French verd ‘green,’ from Latin viridis .
minatory
menacing, threatening
minatory |ˈminəˌtôrē, ˈmī-|
adjective formal
expressing or conveying a threat: he is unlikely to be deterred by minatory finger-wagging.
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from late Latin minatorius, from minat- ‘threatened,’ from the verb minari .
condign
adj. fair; well deserved, fitting, adequate
condign |kənˈdīn|
adjective formal
(of punishment or retribution) appropriate to the crime or wrongdoing; fitting and deserved.
DERIVATIVES
condignly adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the general sense ‘worthy, appropriate’): from Old French condigne, from Latin condignus, from con- ‘altogether’ + dignus ‘worthy.’
diffident
lacking self confidence
diffident |ˈdifidənt|
adjective
modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence: a diffident youth.
DERIVATIVES
diffidently adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘lacking confidence or trust in someone or something’): from Latin diffident- ‘failing in trust,’ from the verb diffidere, from dis- (expressing reversal) + fidere ‘to trust.’
engender
to produce, cause or bring about; beget
engender |enˈjendər|
verb [ with obj. ]
cause or give rise to (a feeling, situation, or condition): the issue engendered continuing controversy.
• archaic (of a father) beget (offspring).
ORIGIN Middle English (formerly also as ingender): from Old French engendrer, from Latin ingenerare, from in- ‘in’ + generare ‘beget’ (see generate) .
equivocate
to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
equivocate |iˈkwivəˌkāt|
verb [ no obj. ]
use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself: [ with direct speech ] : “Not that we are aware of,” she equivocated.
DERIVATIVES
equivocator |-ˌkātər|noun,
equivocatory |-kəˌtôrē|adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘use a word in more than one sense’): from late Latin aequivocat- ‘called by the same name,’ from the verb aequivocare, from aequivocus (see equivocal) .
desultory
disconnected; jumping from one thing to another
desultory |ˈdesəlˌtôrē|
adjective
lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm: a few people were left, dancing in a desultory fashion.
• (of conversation or speech) going constantly from one subject to another in a halfhearted way; unfocused: the desultory conversation faded.
• occurring randomly or occasionally: desultory passengers were appearing.
DERIVATIVES
desultorily |-ˌtôrəlē|adverb,
desultoriness noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (also in the literal sense ‘skipping around’): from Latin desultorius ‘superficial’ (literally ‘relating to a vaulter’), from desultor ‘vaulter,’ from the verb desilire .
garrulous
tending to talk a lot
garrulous |ˈgar(y)ələs|
adjective
excessively talkative, esp. on trivial matters: Polonius is portrayed as a foolish, garrulous old man.
DERIVATIVES
garrulously adverb,
garrulousness noun
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin garrulus (from garrire ‘to chatter, prattle’) + -ous.
exigent
urgent; requiring immediate action
exigent |ˈeksijənt|
adjective formal
pressing; demanding: the exigent demands of the music took a toll on her voice.
ORIGIN early 17th cent.: from Latin exigent- ‘completing, ascertaining,’ from the verb exigere (see exact) .
iconoclast
one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions
iconoclast |īˈkänəˌklast|
noun
1 a person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions.
2 a destroyer of images used in religious worship, in particular:
• historical a supporter of the 8th- and 9th-century movement in the Byzantine Church that sought to abolish the veneration of icons and other religious images.
• historical a Puritan of the 16th or 17th century.
ORIGIN mid 17th cent. ( sense 2): via medieval Latin from ecclesiastical Greek eikonoklastēs, from eikōn ‘likeness’ + klan ‘to break.’
inchoate
disorganized, not fully formed, rudimentary
inchoate |inˈkō-it, -āt|
adjective
just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary: a still inchoate democracy.
• Law (of an offense, such as incitement or conspiracy) anticipating a further criminal act.
DERIVATIVES
inchoately adverb,
inchoateness noun
ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin inchoatus, past participle of inchoare, variant of incohare ‘begin.’
usage: Because inchoate means ‘just begun and so not fully formed or developed,’ a sense of ‘disorder’ may be implied. But to extend the usage of inchoate to mean ‘chaotic, confused, incoherent’ ( he speaks in an inchoate manner) is incorrect, although not uncommon. Perhaps even more common are incorrect pronunciations of inchoate, such as |inˈCHōt|, which assumes two syllables (rather than three) and a ch sound like that of chair or chosen (rather than a k sound like that of charisma or chorus).
ingenuous
showing innocence or childlike simplicity
ingenuous |inˈjenyo͞oəs|
adjective
(of a person or action) innocent and unsuspecting.
DERIVATIVES
ingenuously adverb,
ingenuousness noun
ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from Latin ingenuus, literally ‘native, inborn,’ from in- ‘into’ + an element related to gignere ‘beget.’ The original sense was ‘noble, generous,’ giving rise to ‘honorably straightforward, frank,’ hence ‘innocently frank’ (late 17th cent).
usage: On the difference between ingenuous and ingenious, see usage at ingenious.
irascible
easily made angry
irascible |iˈrasəbəl|
adjective
having or showing a tendency to be easily angered: an irascible man.
DERIVATIVES
irascibility |iˌrasəˈbilitē|noun,
irascibly |-blē|adverb
ORIGIN late Middle English: via French from late Latin irascibilis, from Latin irasci ‘grow angry,’ from ira ‘anger.’
laconic
using few words
laconic |ləˈkänik| adjective (of a person, speech, or style of writing) using very few words: his laconic reply suggested a lack of interest in the topic. DERIVATIVES laconically |-(ə)lē|adverb, laconicism |ləˈkänəˌsizəm|noun, laconism |ˈlakəˌnizəm|noun ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘Laconian’): via Latin from Greek Lakōnikos, from Lakōn ‘Laconia, Sparta,’ the Spartans being known for their terse speech.
obdurate
hardening in feeling; resistant to persuasion
obdurate |ˈäbd(y)ərit| adjective stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action. DERIVATIVES obduracy |-rəsē|noun, obdurately adverb, obdurateness noun ORIGIN late Middle English (originally in the sense ‘hardened in sin, impenitent’): from Latin obduratus, past participle of obdurare, from ob- ‘in opposition’ + durare ‘harden’ (from durus ‘hard’).
