Vocab Flashcards
profligate
recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources
Don’t ___ your scratch paper
She was very ___ in her spending.
militate
to have weight or effect
His boyish appearance ___ against his getting an early promotion
gainsay
v. to deny or contradict
They repeatedly tried to ___ me, though every point I made was backed up by facts.
miscreant
n. a person who behaves badly; adj. behaving badly or breaking rules
The park was taken over by a pack of drug dealing miscreants.
interloper
n. an intruder; a person who interferes or meddles in the affairs of others; a person not wanted by or belonging to a group
I had hoped to help my neighbors, but they regarded me as an ___.
impassioned
adj. filled with or showing great emotion
She gave an ___ speech that spurred the people into action.
ignoble
adj. not honorable in character or purpose; of low grade or quality (inferior); of humble descent or rank
He was an ___ child who would one day grow up to be a prince among playwrights.
…something cowardly and ___ in his attitude.
facetious
adj. joking or jesting often inappropriately; meant to be funny, not serious
…a ___ and tasteless remark about people in famine-stricken countries being spared the problem of overeating.
pedantic
adj. Like a pedant, overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points of learning; ostentatiously learned, showy of one’s knowledge
The ___ type might note that Hippolytus makes no prophetic mention of the cinema or the Internet.
ostentatious
adj. given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others; intended to attract notice
As far as we know, the peacock’s tail feathers are an ___ display with the sole purpose of attracting a mate.
cogent
adj. convincing or believable by virtue of forcible, clear, or incisive presentation; telling; to the point
You will assess the cogency of the argument, analyzing the author’s chain of reasoning and evaluating his use of evidence.
The author makes a cogent argument.
insipid
lacking strong flavor, taste, or savor; not interesting, exciting, stimulating, or challenging
The soup was rather insipid.
I’d climbed and fished in the emptiest reaches of the American West, but Alaska made the wilds of the lower 48 seem insipid and tame.
dolorous
feeling or expressing great sorrow, distress, or grief
…dolorous ballads of death and regret.
lucid
expressed clearly, easy to understand; characterized by clear perception or understanding, rational or sane
The seven-page memo on Russia and the former Soviet Bloc wowed Clinton for being “so lucid [and] so well-written.”
vociferous
expressing feelings or opinions in a very loud or forceful way; clamorous, vehement
He is her most vociferous critic.
He was vociferous in his support of the proposal.
The decision was made over their vociferous objections.
dearth
a scarcity or lack of something
There is a dearth of evidence.
There was a dearth of usable firewood at the campsite
vicissitude
- a change or variation occurring in the course of something. 2. successive, alternating, or changing phases or conditions, as of life or fortune; ups and downs 3. change; mutation; mutability. 4. regular change or succession of one state or thing to another.
They remained friends through the vicissitudes of 40 years.
her husband’s sharp vicissitudes of fortune
the vicissitude of the seasons
Vituperative
Bitter and abusive
The vituperative politician didn’t get many votes.
Despot
a ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically one who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way
munificent
(of a gift or sum of money) larger or more generous than is usual or necessary; (of a person) very generous
ersatz
fake
mendacious
lying
nugatory
without value
clandestine
hidden; kept secret or done secretively, especially because illicit
solipsism
the theory that only the self exists or can be known to exist
ponderous
awkward or dull
cogent
clear, logical, and convincing
peccadilloes
imperfections; a small, relatively unimportant offense or sin
