Vocab 2 Flashcards
officious
too helpful; meddlesome
While planning her wedding, Maya discovered just how officious her future mother-in-law could be.
eager, intrusive, unwanted
puerile
childish, immature, or silly
Olivia’s boyfriend’s puerile antics are really annoying; sometimes he acts like a five-year-old!
infantile, jejune, juvenile
pugilism
boxing
Pugilism has been defended as a positive outlet for aggressive impulses.
fighting, sparring
pulchritude
beauty
The mortals gazed in admiration at Venus, stunned by her incredible pulchritude.
comeliness, gorgeousness, handsomeness, loveliness, prettiness
pungent
sharp and irritating to the senses
The smoke from the burning tires was extremely pungent.
acrid, caustic, piquant, poignant, stinging
pusillanimous
cowardly; without courage
The pusillanimous man would not enter the yard where the miniature poodle was barking.
cowardly, timid
querulous
inclined to complain; irritable
Curtis’s complaint letter received prompt attention after the company labeled him a querulous potential troublemaker.
peevish, puling, sniveling, whiny
quiescent
motionless
Many animals are quiescent over the winter months, minimizing activity in order to conserve energy.
dormant, latent
quixotic
overly idealistic; impractical
The practical Danuta was skeptical of her roommate’s quixotic plans to build a roller coaster in their yard.
capricious, impulsive, romantic, unrealistic
supplant
to replace (another) by force; to take the place of
The overthrow of the government meant a new leader to supplant the tyrannical former one.
displace, supersede
surfeit
excessive amount
Because of the surfeit of pigs, pork prices have never been lower.
glut, plethora, repletion, superfluity, surplus
rhetoric
effective writing or speaking
Lincoln’s talent for rhetoric was evident in his beautifully expressed Gettysburg Address.
eloquence, oratory
ribald
humorous in a vulgar way
The court jester’s ribald brand of humor delighted the rather uncouth king.
coarse, gross, indelicate, lewd, obscene
rococo
very highly ornamented; relating to an 18th century artistic style of elaborate ornamentation
The ornate furniture in the house reminded Tatiana of the rococo style.
intricate, ornate
rustic
rural
The rustic cabin was an ideal setting for a vacation in the country.
bucolic, pastoral
sacrosanct
extremely sacred; beyond criticism
Many people considered Mother Teresa to be sacrosanct and would not tolerate any criticism of her.
holy, invoilable, off-limits
sagacious
shrewd; wise
Owls have a reputation for being sagacious, perhaps because of their big eyes, which resemble glasses.
astute, judicious, perspicacious, sage, wise
salient
prominent; of notable significance
His most salient characteristic is his tendency to dominant every conversation.
marked, noticeable, outstanding
monastic
extremely plain or secluded, as in a monastery
The philosopher retired to his monastic lodgings to contemplate life free from any worldly distraction.
austere, contemplative, disciplined, regimented, self-abnegating
monotony
no variation; tediously the same
The monotony of the sound of the dripping faucet almost drove the research assistant crazy.
drone, tedium
mores
fixed customs or manners; moral attitudes
In keeping with the mores of ancient Roman society, Nero held a celebration every weekend.
conventions, practices
multifarious
diverse
Ken opened the hotel room window, letting in the multifarious noises of the great city.
assorted, heterogeneous, indiscriminate, legion, motley, multifold, multiform, multiplex, populous, varied
myopic
lacking foresight; having a narrow view or short-range perspective
Not wanting to spend a lot of money up front, the myopic business owner would likely suffer the consequences later.
short-sighted, unthinking
nadir
lowest point
As Joey waited in line to audition for the diaper commercial, he realized he had reached the nadir of his acting career.
bottom, depth, pit
naive
lacking sophistication or experience
Inexperienced writers often are naive and assume that big words make them sound smarter.
artless, credulous, guileless, ingenuous, simple, unaffected, unsophisticated
nascent
starting to develop; coming into existence
The advertising campaign was still in a nascent stage, and nothing had been finalized yet.
embryonic, emerging, inchoate, incipient
neologism
new word or expression
Aunt Mabel simple doesn’t understand today’s youth; she is perplexed by their clothing, music and neologisms.
slang, coinage
orotund
pompous
Roberto soon grew tired of his date’s orotund babble about her new job, and decided their first date would probably be their last.
aureate, bombastic, declamatory, euphuistic, flowery, grandiloquent, magniloquent, oratorical, overblown, sonorous
ossify
to change into bone; to become hardened or set in a rigidly conventional pattern
The forensics expert ascertained the body’s age based on the degree to which the facial structure had ossified.
ostensible
apparent
The ostensible reason for his visit was to borrow a book, but he secretly wanted to chat with the lovely Wanda.
represented, supposed, surface
ostentation
excessive showiness
The ostentation of the Sun King’s court is evident in the lavish decoration and luxuriousness of his palace at Versailles.
conspicuousness, flashiness, pretentiousness, showiness
overwrought
agitated; overdone
The lawyer’s overwrought voice on the phone made her clients worry about the outcome of their case.
elaborate, excited, nervous, ornate
palatial
relating to a palace; magnificent
After living in a cramped studio apartment for years, Sible thought the modest one bedroom looked downright palatial.
grand, stately
disparate
fundamentally different; entirely unlike
Although the twins are physically identical, their personalities are disparate.
different, dissimilar, divergent, diverse, variant, various
dissemble
to present a false appearance; to disguise one’s real intentions or character
The villain could dissemble to the police no longer - he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the stash of stolen money.
dissimulate, fake, feign, pose, counterfeit, sham
dissonance
a harsh and disagreeable combination, especially of sounds
Cognitive dissonance is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence.
clash, contention, discord, dissension, dissent, dissidence, friction, strife, variance
distaff
the female branch of a family
The lazy husband refused to cook dinner for his wife, joking that the duty belongs to the distaff’s side.
maternal
distend
to swell, inflate, or bloat
Her stomach was distended after she gorged on the six-course meal.
broaden, bulge
dither
to act confusedly or without clear purpose
Ellen dithered around her apartment, uncertain how to tackle the family crisis.
falter, hesitate, vacillate, waffle, waver
diurnal
active or occurring during the day
Diurnal creatures tend to become inactive during the night.
daylight, daytime
divine
to foretell or know by inspiration
The fortune-teller divined from the pattern of the tea leaves that her customer would marry five times.
auger, foresee, intuit, predict, presage
doctrinaire
rigidly devoted to theories without regard for practicality; dogmatic
The professor’s manner of teaching was considered doctrinaire for such a liberal school.
dictatorial; inflexible
dogma
a firmly held opinion, especially a religious belief
Linus’s central dogma was that children who believed in the Great Pumpkin would be rewarded.
creed, doctrine, teaching, tenet
endemic
belonging to a particular area; inherent
The health department determined that the outbreak was endemic to the small village, so they quarantined the inhabitants before the virus could spread.
indigenous, local, native
perspicacious
shrewd, astute, or keen-witted
Inspector Gadget used his perspicacious mind to solve mysteries.
insightful, intelligent, sagacious
pervade
to be present throughout; to permeate
Four spices - cumin, turmeric, coriander, and cayenne - pervade almost every Indian dish, ad give the cuisine its distinctive flavor.
imbue, penetrate, permeate, suffuse
phalanx
a compact or close-knit body of people, animals, or things
A phalanx of guards stood outside the prime minister’s home day and night.
legion, mass
droll
amusing in a wry, subtle way
Although the play couldn’t be described as hilarious, it was certainly droll.
comic, entertaining, funny, visible, witty
dupe
to deceive
Bugs Bunny was able to dupe Elmer Fudd by dressing up as a lady rabbit.
beguile, betray, bluff, cozen, deceive, delude, fool, hoodwink, humbug, mislead, take in, trick
philanthropy
charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness
The Metropolitan Museum of Art owes much of its collection to the philanthropy of private collectors who willed their estates to the museum.
altruism, humanitarianism
