Vocab Flashcards
Disinterested
Unbiased, neutral
The jury consisted only of disinterested members.
Venality
Being open or susceptible to bribes or corruption
Even sacred sports events are open to venality, with officials accepting bribes to make biased calls.
Prodigal
Extravagant - in a wasteful way
Impertinent
Being disrespectful; improperly forward
Belie
To misrepresent, give a false representation
Amorphous
Shapeless
Profligate
Spending resources extravagantly
Cupidity
Greed
Truculence
Belligerence, aggressive, quick to argue or fight
Braggadocio
Boastful or arrogant behavior
Inimical
Harmful, damaging. Or unfriendly hostile
Probing
Examining, exploring, investigating
Polemical
Strongly critical, controversial or disputatious writing or speech
Anachronism
A thing belonging to a period other than that in which it exists
Hew
Conform or adhere to
Catering
You can only cater to a person (not a thing)
Equivocal
Open to more than one interpretation, ambiguous :: uncertain or questionable in nature
Sacerdotal
Priestly
Unambiguous
Not open to more than one interpretation - clear
Incontrovertible
Indisputable, undeniable
Diminutive
Small
Ebullient
Cheerful, joyful
Dysphoria, dyspeptic
Profound depression, anxiety
Opposite of euphoria
Redress
Remedy or set right; remedy or compensate for a wrong doing
Mavericks
Nonconformists known for revolutionary ideas
Doyenne
Woman holding senior position in her field
Consigliere
Advisors
Potentate
Ruler with absolute power (monarch, etc)
Pugilists
Boxers, fighters
Antithetical
Directly contrasted to
Ingratiating
Intending to gain approval or favor, sycophantic
An ingratiating manner
Base
Ignoble, without moral principles, unscrupulous, dishonest
Aboveboard
Legitimate, honest
Taciturn
Untalkative, reticent
Divine
Predict, foretell, guess/surmise
Effect (verb and noun)
To bring about, realize something (verb)
Result or consequence of an action or other course (noun)
Forsake
Abandon (someone or something)
Renounce or give up something valued
Implacable
Unable to placated - unappeasable, unforgiving
Relentless or unstoppable
Stolid
Person who is calm, dependable, shows little emotion - impassive, phlegmatic unemotional, cool
Phlegmatic
Unemotional, calm, cool
Debonair
Confident, stylish, charming
Suave, sophisticated
Intransigent
Unwilling or refusing to change ones views or to agree to something
Uncompromising, inflexible, unbending
Umbrage
Annoyance, offense (take offense)
Dander
Lose one’s temper (noun)
Repast
Feast, meal
Torrid
Hot and dry
Or
Full of difficulty and tribulation
Provenance
The place of origin or earliest known history (origin), the beginning of somethings existence, a record of ownership
Inferring
Burying a corpse
Thrills
Sudden feeling of excitement or pleasure (noun)
Vicarious
Experience something secondhand - through somebody else
Genial
Happy, friendly, cheerful, pleasant
Immutable
Fixed, not changing
Indulgent
Overly favorable
Fastidious
Meticulous - overly focused on minor details
Trenchant
Incisive and sharp commentary
Poignant
Touching and emotional, evoking a sense of sadness or regret
Disambiguate
Make clear
Nettlesome
Causing annoyance or difficulty
Complicated and nettlesome regional disputes
Countermand
Revoke an order - to repeal something
Rescind, reverse, undo
Reticent
Not revealing ones thoughts or feelings
Reserved, withdrawn, diffident, shy
Nadir
Lowest point
Apogee
High point, climax or culmination
Chauvinist
Elitist
Philistine
Treats arts derisively, hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them
Inquisitor
Someone who aggressively asks questions
Staid
Boring and dull, quiet and serious
Boorishness
Rough and bad-mannered, coarser uncouth, rude
Diffidence
Shyness, resulting from lack of self-confidence
Dialectical
Relating to the Logical discussion of ideas and opinions (dialectical ingenuity)
Concerned with or acting through opposing forces (a dialectical opposition between social convention and individual libertarianism)
Lithe
Thin, supple, graceful, agile, lithesome
Panacea
A solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases ; a cure-all or universal cure, elixir
The panacea for all corporate ills / a panacea for the country’s economic problems.
Philippic
A bitter attack or denunciation, especially a verbal one; tirade/diatribe/harangue
No publisher wanted to touch his scathing philippic.
Paean
A song of praise; a thing that expresses enthusiastic praise
His books are paeans to combat
Crescendo
Apex, acme, apogee
Hale
Strong and healthy (person)
Healthy, fit, vigorous
Lissome
Thin, supple and graceful - same as liithe
Flagging
Indicate, identify
Draw attention to
Direct someone
Deify
Worship, revere someone, treat them like a god, venerate
She was deified by the early Romans.
Aver
State or assert to be the case
He averred that he was innocent of the allegations
Probity
The quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency
financial probity
Leniency
The fact or quality of being more merciful or tolerant than expected; clemancy
Quixotic
Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical
A vast and perhaps quixotic project
Pithy
Concise and forcefully expressive; concise, Terse, epigrammatic
Insidious
Treacherous, crafty
Proceeding in a gradual way with harmful effects
Stealthy, surreptitious, sly, underhanded
The insidious bond between big money and political decisions
Vicissitude
A change of circumstances or fortune; reversal, change alteration
A change between opposite or contrasting things
The vicissitude of the seasons
Munificent
Generous
Ersatz
Fake
Negatory
Without value
Mimetic
Copying
Mendacious
Lying
Solipsism/solipsistic
Theory that only the self exists or can be known to exist // figuratively means super selfish (like a newborn baby)
Ape
Mimic or copy
Facile
Simplistic and superficial
Effortless or easy (he achieved a facile victory)
Parochial
Narrow-minded; having a limited or narrow outlook or scope
His worldview seems incredibly naive and parochial
Ambivalent and equivocal
Mixed feelings, not totally clear
Ambiguous
Unclear, describes a situation or statement. Not really a person.
Outstrip; overtake
Physically passing something
Supersede
A more figurative word, mean to take over. Not physical
Affected vs effected
Influenced vs bring/brought about
Malign
Harmful (influence); evil in nature or effect; malevolent (adj)
Verb - speak about someone in a spitefully critical manner - defame, slander
Indignant
Feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived a unfair treatment; resentful, aggrieved, disgruntled
He was indignant at being the object of suspicion
Ingenuity
Quality of being clever, original and inventive; inventiveness, creativity
Sophomoric
Pretentious or juvenile, of or relating to being a sophomore.
Being immature or lacking judgement - sophomoric behavior
Undue
Unwarranted or inappropriate because excessive or disproportionate
Excessive, immoderate
Ponderous
Slow and clumsy because of great weight
Dull, laborious or excessively solemn (labored, awkward. Stilted)
Cabal
Secret political clique or faction
Cogent
Of an argument or case - clear, logical, convincing. Compelling, strong, etc.
Pertinent or relevant
Incendiary
Combustible, flammable
Tending to stir up conflict, inflammatory ( incendiary rhetoric)
Very exciting
Dulcet
Sweet and soothing. Mellow.
Urbane
Suave, courteous, debonair, sophisticated
Baneful
Noxious, deleterious, harmful
Stolid
Calm, dependable, unemotional placid
Officious
Assertive of authority in an annoying way
Intrusively enthusiastic in offering help or advice; interfering, meddlesome
An officious bystander
Poultice
Medical dressing
Foibles
Weakness, shortcoming, limitation, peccadilloes
Peccadillo
Small mistake or fault, that isn’t too serious, petty offense, indiscretion
Mores
Customs, convention, way of life
Sangfroid
Complete, equanimity, equilibrium
Protean
Like a prototype, not fully formed or realistic
faux naif
naive
dyed in the wool
unwilling to change
callow
inexperienced, immature, unsophisticated
portentous
1) ominous, warning, threatening
the envelop and it’s portentous contents
2) done in an overly pompous manner to impress
pompous, bombastic
the author’s portentous dialogue
purblind
having impaired or defective vision
i. e. myopic
i. e. lacking in vision, understanding or insight (obtuse)
slow or unable to understanding (dimwitted)
Astigmatic
visually impaired (actual condition of astigmatism) showing incapacity for observation or discrimination
meretricious
attractive in a cheap or false way
-something that’s attractive but has no actual value
worthless, cheap, tawdry
the meretricious souvenirs
lascvivious
feeling or showing sexual desire
usually it’s offensive
lecherous, lewd, licentious, lustful, libidinous, salacious
prim
super formal and respectable feeling or showing disapproval of anything not proper demure, proper, straight-laced wasps prim and proper lady!
impugn
dispute the truth, validity of a statement
call into question
challenge
