Vocab 2 Flashcards
Pulchritudinous
Physically beautiful/attractive
Incontrovertible
Indisputable; irrefutable; undeniable
Ignominy
Public shame; humiliation
Eg; “the ignominy of being imprisoned”
Decadent
(n. ) Describes someone who is luxuriously self-indulgent
(adj. ) Describes state of moral/cultural decline
Cadaver
A corpse
Penury
Extreme poverty; destitution
Peruse
Carefully read or study something
Adulterate
Vitiate something by adding another substance; contaminate
Assuage
Alleviate; abate; appease; mitigate; mollify; relieve; palliate
Eg; “The letter assuaged the fears of most members”
Desiccate
Remove moisture from something and cause dryness; dehydrated
Eg; “The vegetation was desiccated by months of sun”
Engender
Cause or give rise to a feeling, situation, or condition
Eg; “Acts of prejudice engenders animosity”
Ephemeral
Lasting for a short-time; fleeting; transient
Erudite
Having great knowledge or learning; scholarly
Fervid
Extreme enthusiasm or passion
Eg; “The fervid fans chanted his name”
Laudable
Something praiseworthy and commendable
Eg; “There were laudable efforts to help the homeless”
Loquacious
Talkative; garrulous; voluble
Pedant
Formalist; doctrinaire;
Person overly concerned with trivial details
Placate
Make someone less angry; calm; appease; pacify
Pragmatic
Practical/sensible approach to problems rather than theoretical
Propriety
Conforming to conventional standards of behaviour/morals; courtesy; decency; orthodoxy
Eg; “Behave with the upmost propriety”
Vacillate
To be indecisive; dither
Zeal
Great enthusiasm and dedication for a particular cause/objective
Eg; “His zeal for homeless rights”
Volatile
Liable to rapid and unpredictable change, typically negative
Substance that easily evaporates at normal temperatures
Consummate
“Mate” (adj.) Showing high degree of skill and flair; complete; perfect; proficient; quintessential
“Met” (v.) Making relationship complete by having sex
Succinct
Briefly and clearly expressed; laconic; terse
Eg; “Use short, succinct sentences”
Bellicose
Combative; pugnacious; belligerent
Blithe
Showing casual and cheerful indifference; improper behaviour
Eg; “A blithe disregard for the driving rules”
Treachery
Betrayal of trust; perfidy (deceitfulness)
Eg; “His abandonment was seen as an act of treachery”
Voluble
Talkative; loquacious; verbose
Eg; “We had an exciting and voluble discussion”
Despot
Cruel or oppressive dictator
Indignation
Feeling or showing anger at unfair treatment; resentful
Munificent
A gift or sum of money larger or more generous than usual/necessary
Eg; “A munificent gesture”
Clandestine
Covert/surreptitious actions, typically illicit
Nugatory
Of no value/importance; trivial
Mendacious
Lying; deceitful; dishonest; dissemble
Ersatz
Artificial; counterfeit; substitute; spurious; fake
Eg; “She has an ersatz eye”
Ingenuity
Quality of being clever, original, and inventive
Iteration
Repetition of a process/utterance
New version of a piece of computer hardware/software
Arresting
Conspicuous; striking or eye-catching
Eg; “At 6ft 6in he was an arresting figure”
Undue
Extreme; fulsome; superfluous; unbecoming
Eg; “Undue delays in the hospital is dangerous”
Solipsism/Solipsistic
Theory that only the self exists and external world is unsure; extreme ego-centrism
Sophomoric
Pretentious and juvenile behaviour
Gamut
Complete range/spectrum of something
Eg; “The whole gamut of emotions”
Ape
(v.) To absurdly imitate a behavior or manner
Purport
(n. ) Meaning/substance of something; essence; gist; implication
(v. ) Falsely claim/appear; profess; pretend
Eg1; “I do not understand the purports of your remark”
Eg2; “She’s not the person she purports to be”
Baser
Describes one’s actions/feelings as dishonorable and selfish; immoral; ignoble; sordid
Eg; “Trumps baser instincts of greed and selfishness”
Cabal
A secret political clique or small group of people seeking power through intrigue
Intrigue
Make secret plans to do something illicit or detrimental to someone
Hoi Polloi
The public; common people
Dulcet
Sweet-sounding; mellifluous
Parochial
Limited and narrow-minded
Eg; “This worldview seems naive and parochial”
Urbane
A man who is suave, courteous, and refined in manner; sophisticated; elegant
Baneful
Harmful or destructive
Eg; “the baneful effects of envy and jealousy”
Officious
Domineering authority, esp with petty/trivial matters; overbearing
Eg; “The security people were very officious”
Stolid
Showing little emotion/excitement; phlegmatic
Whimsical
Acting or behaving capriciously; fanciful
Outstrip
Move faster than and surpass someone; overtake
Paean
Song of praise or triumph
Peccadilloes
A minor, relatively unimportant offense; misdemeanor
Faculty
Inherent mental/physical ability; potential
Eg; “She still holds her faculties in poetry”
Poultice
Moist plant spread on cloth - applied to body to relieve soreness/inflammation
Eg; “He poulticed the wound”
Mores
Social norms in a particular society/culture
Puerile
Immature and trivial; jejune; fatuous; asinine
Eg; “you’re making puerile excuses”
Abound
Abundant; plentiful; prolific; munificent
Eg; “The ocean is abound in fish”
Insipid
Lacking flavour or vigor/interest; boring; bland
Humdrum
Routine and dull - mundane; banal; trite
Flout
Disregard or defy a law/convention
Eg; “these companies still flout basic ethical practices”
Taciturn
(Adj) Reserved; reticent; quiet
Amorphic
Lacking a defined shape/form
Misanthropic
Hatred for humankind; cynicism
Deify
Worship; revere; extol; exalt; lionize
Abhor
Regard with disgust and hatred; loathe; despise
Eg; “They abhorred such trivial arguments”
Turgid
- Pompous (arrogant) and Bombastic (showy but meaningless) style or language; inflated
- Swollen and congested/distended
Tortuous
Full of twists and turns
Sedulous
Assiduous; attentive; diligent; meticulous; scrupulous; laborious; industrious; punctilious
NOT salacious
Granularity
Characterizes level of detail or specificity
Bravado
Bold manner/style intended to impress or intimidate; swagger
Herald
Person/thing viewed as a sign that something is about to happen; harbinger
Progeny
A descendant of something; offspring
Indigent
Poor; needy; impecunious
Eg; “A charity for the relief of indigent students”
Autocratic
Domineering; despotic; oppressive; peremptory; tyrannical
Eg; “an autocratic management style”
Assiduous
Diligent; meticulous; sedulous; punctilious
Eg; “She was assiduous in pointing out every feature”
Conspicuous
Attracting attention; clear; visible
Derivative
Unoriginal; banal; trite; hackneyed; imitative
Eg; “That artist is not in the slightest bit derivative”
Ornate
Describes something excessively intricate/complex; adorned; embellished; rococo
Specious
Superficially plausible but wrong; fallacious; misleading