Vocab Flashcards
Compendium
Collection of concise but detailed info
Curtail
reduce in extent or quantity; impose a restriction
Asperity
harshness of tone or manner
Salubrious
health-giving; healthy
Intractable
hard to control or deal with, difficult, stubborn
Exculpate
Declare that someone is not guilty
Expiate
Atone for sins
Jocular
They like to joke, humorous, playful
Facetious
treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant
Enjoin
Instruct or urge someone to do something
diffidence
modesty or shyness resulting from a lack of self confidence
injudicious
poor judgment; unwise
volubility
talkativeness
prolixity
unnecessarily or tediously wordy
impetuous
impulsive; acting quickly or without care; moving rapidly
prodigality
spending money w/o restraint
pellucidity
easy to understand; translucent
prosaic
lacking poetic beauty; commonplace/ unromantic
vociferous
vehement
restive
unable to keep still; becoming increasingly difficult to control because of impatience, dissatisfaction, or boredom
indecorous
improper
circumscribed
restricted within limits
probity
quality of having strong moral principles; honesty or decency
disapprobation
strong disapproval, typically on moral grounds
acquisitive
excessively interested in acquiring money or material things
illiberal
opposed to liberal principles; restricting freedom of thought or behavior
tendentious
tendency to promote a particular, biased point of view
fractiousness
unruly, quarelsome, peevish
inimical
unfriendly, hostile
diffuse
spread over a large area
paucity
scarcity; presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities
credulous
overly ready to believe something; gullible
martinet
strict disciplinarian
dissembler
pretending to believe something to hide their true feelings
ascetic
someone who practices strict self-discipline and abstention
sophist
a person who reasons with clever but fallacious arguments
pastiche
imitating that of another work/ artist/ and or period. like parody, but it celebrates instead of mocks.
spurn
reject with disdain or contempt
flout
openly disregard
germane
relevant
spurious
false/ bogus
moribund
a person at the point of death. something in terminal decline, lacking vitality and rigor (like the moribund S&P500)
ideologue
an uncompromising and dogmatic adherent of an ideology
immured in
enclose or confine (someone) against their will
indemnify
compensate (someone) for harm or loss ; to protect (someone) by promising to pay for the cost of possible future damage, loss, or injury
“the amount of insurance that may be carried to indemnify the owner in the event of a loss”
antimonian
relating to the view that Christians are released by grace from the obligation of observing the moral law
venal
corrupt; showing or motivated by susceptibility to bribery
latitude
scope for freedom of action or thought
“journalists have considerable latitude in criticizing public figures”
normative
a standard or norm, especially of behavior
equivocal
open to more than one interpretation; ambiguous
debased
reduced in quality or value
recrudescent
a new outbreak after a period of abatement or inactivity : renewal a recrudescence of the symptoms a recrudescence of guerrilla warfare
florid
having a red or flushed complexion OR elaborately or excessively intricate or complicated
inveigle
persuade (someone) to do something by means of deception or flattery
calumny
a false and slanderous statement
prevarication
to deviate from the truth; equivocate.
Some common synonyms of prevaricate are equivocate, fib, lie, and palter. While all these words mean “to tell an untruth,” prevaricate softens the bluntness of lie by implying quibbling or confusing the issue
equivocate
use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself
““Not that we are aware of,” she equivocated”
mendacity
untruthfulness
modish
conforming to or following what is currently popular and fashionable
notwithstanding
in spite of
inductive
observations are synthesized to come up with a general principle (contrast: deductive - reasoning from one or more statements to come up with a logical conclusion)
valedictory
a farewell address
encomiastic
formally praising; eulogistic
excoriate
censure or criticize severely
querulous
complaining in a petulant or whining manner
pugnacity
readiness to quarrel or fight
prudence
1 : the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. 2 : sagacity or shrewdness in the management of affairs. 3 : skill and good judgment in the use of resources. 4 : caution or circumspection as to danger or risk.
tractable
opposite of intractable. easy to control or influence
apace
swiftly; quickly
countenance
a person’s face
OR
admit as acceptable or possible
mainstay
a person or thing on which something else is based or depends
“farming is the mainstay of the rural economy”
munificent
larger or more generous than is usual or necessary
dudgeon
a feeling of offense or deep resentment
pique
stimulate (interest or curiosity)
OR
feel irritated or resentful
umbrage
offense or annoyance
waspish
readily expressing anger or irritation
novitiate
being a novice, especially in religion
proselyte
someone who has converted from one opinion, religion, or party to another
tyro
a beginner or novice
buregoning
beginning to grow or increase rapidly; flourishing
“manufacturers are eager to cash in on the burgeoning demand”
callow
inexperienced and immature
inchoate
just begun and so not fully formed or developed
“an inchoate democracy”
incipient
in an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop
acerbic
sharp and forthright
“his acerbic wit”
acidulous
share-tasting; sour
(of a person’s remarks or tone) - bitter; cutting
mordacious
biting sarcasm
invective
insulting, abusive, or highly critical language
mordant
sharp/ critical/ biting sense of humor
trenchant
vigorous or incisive in expression or style
“she heard angry voices, not loud, yet certainly trenchant”
insipid
lacking flavor, vigor, or interest
“many artists continued to churn out insipid, shallow works”
quotidian
ordinary or everyday, especially when mundane
iniquity
immoral or grossly unfair behavior
“a den of iniquity”
reprobate
unprincipled (often used humorously or affectionately)
“a long-missed old reprobate drinking comrade”
turpitude
depravity; wickedness
mercurial
a person subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind
“his mercurial temperament”
facsimile
an exact copy, especially of written or printed material
factitious
artificially created or developed
“a largely factitious identity”
aspersion
an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something
“I don’t think anyone is casting aspersions on you”
castigate
reprimand severely
gainsay
deny or contradict (a fact or statement)
“the impact of the railroads cannot be gainsaid”
impugn
dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of (a statement or motive); call into question
“the father does not impugn her capacity as a good mother”
inveigh
speak or write about (something) with great hostility
objurgate
rebuke severely; scold
obloquy
strong public criticism or verbal abuse.
“he endured years of contempt and obloquy”
disgrace, especially that brought about by public abuse.
“conduct to which no more obloquy could reasonably attach”
opprobrium
harsh criticism or censure
“his films and the critical opprobrium they have generated”
the public disgrace arising from someone’s shameful conduct.
“the opprobrium of being closely associated with thugs and gangsters”
pillory
attack or ridicule publicly
remonstrate
make a forcefully reproachful protest
“he turned angrily to remonstrate with Tommy”
reprove
reprimand or censure (someone)
vituperate
blame or insult someone in strong or violent language
dolorous
feeling or expressing great sorrow or distress
obsequies
funeral rites
sepulchral
relating to a tomb
OR
gloomy; dismal
abnegate
renounce or reject (something desired or valuable).
“he attempts to abnegate personal responsibility”
peremptory
not open to appeal or challenge; final.
insisting on immediate attention or obedience, especially in a brusquely imperious way.
““Just do it!” came the peremptory reply”
bemuse
puzzle, confuse, or bewilder someone
recondite
little known; abstruse
“the book is full of recondite information”
abstruse
difficult to understand; obscure
turbid
confused or obscure in meaning or effect
invidious
unfairly discriminating; unjust. likely to arouse or incur resentment or anger in others.
“it seems invidious to make special mention of one aspect of his work”
noisome
having an extremely offensive smell
disagreeable unpleasant (“noisome scandals”)
rebarbative
unattractive and objectionable
“rebarbative modern buildings”
compunction
a feeling of guilt or moral scruple that prevents or follows the doing of something bad.
“spend the money without compunction”
foible
a minor weakness or eccentricity in someone’s character
“they have to tolerate each other’s little foibles”
gaucherie
awkward, embarrassing, or unsophisticated ways.
“she had long since gotten over gaucheries such as blushing”
apocryphal
of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true
canard
an unfounded rumor or story
dissemble
conceal one’s true motives, feelings, or beliefs
equivocate
concealing truth with ambiguous language
““Not that we are aware of,” she equivocated”
prevaricate
speak or act in an evasive way.
“he seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions”
specious
superficially plausible, but actually wrong.
“a specious argument”
consanguine
people descended from the same ancestor
distaff
of or concerning women
endogamous
marriage within a specific group as required by custom or law. characteristic of aristocracies, religions, and ethnic minorities
scion
a person who was born into a rich, famous, or important family
He’s a scion of a powerful family.
palliate
allay or moderate. make (a disease or its symptoms) less severe or unpleasant without removing the cause.
“this eliminated, or at least palliated, suspicions aroused by German unity”
gibe
an insulting or mocking remark; a taunt.
“a gibe at his old rivals”
raillery
good-humored teasing.
“she was greeted with raillery from her fellow workers”
riposte
a quick, clever reply to an insult or criticism.
interregnum
a period when normal government is suspended, especially between successive reigns or regimes.
an interval or pause between two periods of office or other things.
“the interregnum between the discovery of radioactivity and its detailed understanding”
unstinting
given or giving without restraint; unsparing.
“he was unstinting in his praise”
penurious
extremely poor; poverty-stricken.
“a penurious old tramp”
parsimonious; mean.
“a tight-fisted, penurious boss whose wage scale is well below other bandleaders”
rapacious
aggressively greedy or grasping.
“rapacious landlords”
venal
showing or motivated by susceptibility to bribery.
“their generosity had been at least partly venal”
fell
of terrible evil
mordant
(especially of humor) having or showing a sharp or critical quality; biting.
“a mordant sense of humor”
truculent
eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant`
vituperation
bitter and abusive language
“no one else attracted such vituperation from him”
baleful
threatening harm; menacing
“shooting baleful looks”
baneful
harmful or destructive
“the baneful effects of envy and jealousy”
deleterious, injurious
causing harm or damage
“divorce is assumed to have deleterious effects on children”
pernicious
harmful, especially in a gradual or subtle way
“the pernicious influences of the mass media”
strident
loud and harsh; grating.
“his voice had become increasingly sharp, almost strident”
minatory
expressing or conveying a threat.
“he is unlikely to be deterred by minatory finger-wagging”
perfidious
deceitful and untrustworthy.
“a perfidious lover”
anathema
something or someone that one vehemently dislikes.
“racial hatred was anathema to her”
antipathy
a deep-seated feeling of dislike; aversion.
“his fundamental antipathy to capitalism”
enmity
the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.
“decades of enmity between the two countries”
odium
general or widespread hatred or disgust directed toward someone as a result of their actions.
“his job had made him the target of public hostility and odium”
salutary
(especially with reference to something unwelcome or unpleasant) producing good effects; beneficial.
“a salutary reminder of where we came from”
dither
be indecisive.
“he was dithering about the election date”
antithetical
directly opposed or contrasted; mutually incompatible.
“people whose religious beliefs are antithetical to mine”
churlish
rude in a mean-spirited and surly way.
“it seems churlish to complain”
curmudgeon
a bad-tempered person, especially an old one.
fulsome
complimentary or flattering to an excessive degree.
“they are almost embarrassingly fulsome in their appreciation”
unctuous
excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily.
“he seemed anxious to please but not in an unctuous way”
assay
attempt.
“I assayed a little joke of mine on him”
descry
catch sight of.
“she descried two figures”
peruse
read (something), typically in a thorough or careful way.
“he has spent countless hours in libraries perusing art history books and catalogues”
examine carefully or at length.
“Laura perused a Caravaggio”
phlegmatic
having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition.
“the phlegmatic British character”
quiescent
in a state or period of inactivity or dormancy.
“strikes were headed by groups of workers who had previously been quiescent”
torpid
mentally or physically inactive; lethargic.
“we sat around in a torpid state”
propitiate
win or regain the favor of (a god, spirit, or person) by doing something that pleases them.
“the pagans thought it was important to propitiate the gods with sacrifices”
propitious
giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorable.
“the timing for such a meeting seemed propitious”
cavil
make petty or unnecessary objections.
“they caviled at the cost”
exhort
strongly encourage or urge (someone) to do something.
““Come on, you guys,” exhorted Linda”
obviate
remove (a need or difficulty).
“the Venetian blinds obviated the need for curtains”
avoid; prevent.
“a parachute can be used to obviate disaster”
aplomb
self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a demanding situation.
“Diana passed the test with aplomb”
magnanimity
generosity
askance
with an attitude or look of suspicion or disapproval.
“the reformers looked askance at the mystical tradition”
reproof
an expression of blame or disapproval.
“she welcomed him with a mild reproof for leaving her alone”
carom
to strike and rebound (the car caromed off a tree)
bombastic
high-sounding but with little meaning; inflated.
“bombastic rhetoric”
garrulous
excessively talkative, especially on trivial matters.
“Polonius is portrayed as a foolish, garrulous old man”
grandiloquent
pompous or extravagant in language, style, or manner, especially in a way that is intended to impress.
“a grandiloquent celebration of Spanish glory”
periphrastic
(of speech or writing) indirect and circumlocutory.
“the periphrastic nature of legal syntax”
prolix
(of speech or writing) using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy.
“he found the narrative too prolix and discursive”
turgid
swollen and distended or congested.
“a turgid and fast-moving river”
(of language or style) tediously pompous or bombastic.
“some turgid verses on the death of Prince Albert”
esurient
hungry or greedy.
impecunious
having little or no money.
“a titled but impecunious family”
indigent
poor; needy.
“a charity for the relief of indigent artists”
aggrandize
increase the power, status, or wealth of.
“an action intended to aggrandize the Frankish dynasty”
enhance the reputation of (someone) beyond what is justified by the facts.
“he hoped to aggrandize himself by dying a hero’s death”
encomium
a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly.
augur
(of an event or circumstance) portend a good or bad outcome.
“the end of the cold war seemed to augur well”
fey
giving an impression of vague unworldliness.
“his mother was a strange, fey woman”
prognosticate
foretell or prophesy (an event in the future).
“the economists were prognosticating financial Armageddon”
forfend
avert, keep away, or prevent (something evil or unpleasant).
““The fiend forfend” said the grim Earl”
protect (something) by precautionary measures.
“the sacrifice of Mississippi was forfended against even the treason of Wilkinson”
perspicacious
having a ready insight into and understanding of things.
“it offers quite a few facts to the perspicacious reporter”
dolor
a state of great sorrow or distress.
“they squatted, hunched in their habitual dolor”
plaintive
sounding sad and mournful.
“a plaintive cry”
threnody
a lament.
“a brooding threnody to urban desolation”
intransigent
unwilling or refusing to change one’s views or to agree about something.
“her father had tried persuasion, but she was intransigent”
obdurate
stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action.
“I argued this point with him, but he was obdurate”
refractory
stubborn or unmanageable.
“his refractory pony”
renitent
resisting physical pressure; resisting constraint; recalcitrant
untoward
unexpected and inappropriate or inconvenient.
“both tried to behave as if nothing untoward had happened”
compendious
containing or presenting the essential facts of something in a comprehensive but concise way.
“a compendious study”
antecede
to go before in time
diurnal
of or during the day
daily; of each day (diurnal rhythms)
penultimate
second to last
craven
contemptibly lacking in courage; cowardly.
“a craven abdication of his moral duty”
pusillanimous
showing a lack of courage or determination; timid.
recreant
cowardly.
“what a recreant figure must he make”
2.
unfaithful to a belief; apostate.
apostate
a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle.
“after fifty years as an apostate he returned to the faith”
Similar:
dissenter
heretic
nonconformist
timorous
showing or suffering from nervousness, fear, or a lack of confidence.
“a timorous voice”
peripatetic
traveling from place to place, in particular working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
“the peripatetic nature of military life”
a person who travels from place to place.
“peripatetics have been cut under local management of schools”
discursive
digressing from subject to subject.
“students often write dull, secondhand, discursive prose”
expatiate
speak or write at length or in detail. "she expatiated on working-class novelists"
itinerant
traveling from place to place.
“itinerant traders”
peregrination
a journey, especially a long or meandering one.
“she kept Aunt Ilsa company on her peregrinations”
enervate
cause (someone) to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken.
“the heat enervated us all”
stultify
tending to stifle enthusiasm, initiative, or freedom of action.
“the corporate environment, with its relentless emphasis on results, has become stultifying”
vitiate
spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of.
“development programs have been vitiated by the rise in population”
apothegm
a concise saying or maxim; an aphorism.
“the apothegm “tomorrow is another day””
axiom
a statement or proposition which is regarded as being established, accepted, or self-evidently true.
“the axiom that supply equals demand”
bromide
a trite and unoriginal idea or remark, typically intended to soothe or placate.
“feel-good bromides create the illusion of problem solving”
epigram
a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way.
“a Wildean epigram”
sententious
given to moralizing in a pompous or affected manner.
“he tried to encourage his men with sententious rhetoric”
truism
a statement that is obviously true and says nothing new or interesting.
“the truism that you get what you pay for”
aphorism
1 : a concise statement of a principle. 2 : a terse formulation of a truth or sentiment : adage the high-minded aphorism, “Let us value the quality of life, not the quantity”
abeyance
a state of temporary disuse or suspension.
“matters were held in abeyance pending further inquiries”
abjure
solemnly renounce (a belief, cause, or claim). "his refusal to abjure the Catholic faith"
abnegation
the act of renouncing or rejecting something.
“abnegation of political lawmaking power”
self-denial.
“people are capable of abnegation and unselfishness”
abrogate
repeal or do away with (a law, right, or formal agreement).
“a proposal to abrogate temporarily the right to strike”
evade (a responsibility or duty).
“we believe the board is abrogating its responsibilities to its shareholders”
abortive
failing to produce the intended result.
recant
say that one no longer holds an opinion or belief, especially one considered heretical.
“heretics were burned if they would not recant”
recidivism
the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend.
“the prison has succeeded in reducing recidivism”
