VOCAB Flashcards
Abjure (verb)
formally renounce a former belief
Abrogate (verb)
Repeal a law or evade a duty
Abstemious (adjective)
Not self-indulging (norm. eating n drinking)
Acumen (noun)
Ability to make good judgements quickly, norm. in a specific thing
Antebellum (adjective)
Existing before a war esp American civil war
Auspicious (adjective)
Favorable; sign of future success
Belie (verb)
Fail to give the true impression of something; fail to fulfill or justify
Bellicose (adjective)
Having or showing a ready disposition to fight
Bowdlerize (verb)
Remove improper or offensive material from a text, often making it less effective
Chicanery (noun)
Trickery for a legal, political, or financial purpose
Churlish (adjective)
Rude in a mean way
Circumlocution (noun)
The use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive.
Circumnavigate (verb)
To travel completely around something; to avoid
Deciduous (adjective)
Shedding leaves annually
Deleterious (adjective)
Causing harm or damage
Diffident (adjective)
Modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence.
Enervate (verb)
Cause (someone) to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken
Enfranchise (verb)
Give the right to vote to; historically to free a slave
Epiphany (noun)
An inspiration or divine manifestation
Equinox (noun)
The time (twice each year) when the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of approximately equal length
Evanescent (adj)
Soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence
Expurgate (verb)
Remove matter thought to be objectionable or unsuitable from a text
Facetious (adjective)
Treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor
Fatuous (adjective)
Silly and pointless
Feckless (adjective)
Lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible
Filibuster (verb/noun)
Act in an obstructive manner in a legislature, especially by speaking at inordinate length in order to delay or prevent a decision
Gauche (adjective)
Lacking ease or grace; unsophisticated and socially awkward
Hegemony (noun)
Leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others
Hubris (noun)
Excessive pride or self-confidence
Impeach (verb)
Call into question the integrity or validity of (a practice)
Incognito (adjective)
(of a person) having one’s true identity concealed
Incontrovertible (adjective)
Not able to be denied or disputed.
Inculcate (verb)
Instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction
Infrastructure (noun)
The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise
Interpolate (verb)
Insert (something of a different nature) into something else normally insert (words) in a book or other text, esp in order to give a false impression as to its date
Irony (noun)
The expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect
Jejune (adjective)
Naive, simplistic, and superficial; (of ideas or writings) dry and uninteresting
Kowtow (verb)
Act in an excessively subservient manner
Laissez faire (noun)
A policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering
Lexicon (noun)
The vocabulary of a person, language, or branch of knowledge; a dictionary, especially of Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, or Arabic
