Vocab 7 Flashcards
to abuse verbally; to berate
vituperate
Vituperating someone is never a constructive way to effect change.
thick and adhesive, like a slow-flowing fluid
viscous
Most viscous liquids, like oil or honey, become even thicker as they are cooled down.
vitality and energy
vim
The vim with which she worked so early in the day explained why she was so productive.
to grow together to form a single whole
coalesced
The sun and planets eventually coalesced out of a vast could of gas and dust.
sickly sweet; excessive
cloying
When Enid and Jay first started dating, their cloying affection toward one another often made their friends ill.
cautious; aware of potential consequence
circumspect
She was very circumspect in her language and behavior when first introduced to her fiance’s parents.
deception by means of craft or guile
chicanery
Dishonest used-car salesmen often use chicanery to sell their beat-up old cars.
someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
chauvinist
The attitude that men must be obeyed since they are inherently superior to women is common among male chauvinists.
great disorder; a confused situation
chaos
biting in wit
caustic
Dorothy Parker gained her caustic reputation from her cutting, yet witty, insults.
a change or variation
vicissitude
Investors must be prepared for vicissitudes of the stock market.
a secret group seeking to overturn something
cabal
The boys on the street formed a cabal to keep girls out of their tree house.
to annoy, irritate, puzzle or confuse
vex
The old man who loved his peace and quiet was vexed by his neighbor’s loud music.
to polish
burnish
He burnished the silver coffee pot until it shone brightly.
to grow and flourish
burgeon
Faulkner neither confirmed nor denied stories about himself, allowing rumor to burgeon where it would.
a crude person; one lacking manners or taste
boor
That utter boor ruined by recital with his constant guffawing wailed the pianist.
a trace; a remnant
vestige
Vestiges of the former tenant still remained in the apartment, though he hadn’t lived there for years.
related to spring; fresh
vernal
Bea basked in the balmy vernal breezes, happy that winter was coming to an end.
good-natured geniality; an atmosphere of good cheer
bonhomie
The aspects of her job that Dana loved the most were the flexible hours and the pleasant bonhomie in the office.
pompous in speech and manner
bombastic
Mussolini’s speeches were mostly bombastic; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.
green with vegetation; inexperienced
verdant
He wandered deep into the verdant woods in search of mushrooms.
wordy
verbose
The professor’s answer was so verbose that his student forgot what the original question had been.
to support; to prop up
bolster
The presence of giant footprints bolstered the argument that Bigfoot was in the area.
joyful, cheerful or without appropriate thought
blithe
Summer had finally came, and the blithe students spent their days at the beach.
filled with truth and accuracy
veracity
She had a reputation for veracity, so everyone trusted her description of events.
response
rejoinder
Patrick tried desperately to think of a clever rejoinder to Marianna’s joke, but he couldn’t.
to respect deeply
venerate
In a traditional Confucian society, the young venerate their elders, deferring to the elders’ wisdom and experience.
to afflict; to destroy
blight
The farmers feared that the night’s frost would blight the potato crops entirely.
respected because of age
venerable
All of the villagers sought the venerable old woman’s advice whenever they had a problem.
to cheat; to defraud
bilk
When the greedy salesman realized that his customer spoke poor French, he bilked the tourist out of 20 euros.
varied; marked with different colors
variegated
The variegated foliage of the jungle allows it to support thousands of different animal species.
relaxation; leisure
repose
After working hard every day in the busy city, Mike finds his repose on the weekends playing golf with friends.
to divide into two parts
bifurcate
abundantly supplied; complete
replete
The gigantic supermarket was replete with consumer products of every kind.
a group
bevy
As predicted, a bevy of teenagers surrounded the rock star’s limousine.
meal or mealtime
repast
Ravi prepared a delicious repast of chicken tikka and naan.
to reduce in amount, degree, or severity
abate
As the hurricane’s force abated, the winds dropped and the sea became calm.
highly self-disciplined; frugal; austere
spartan
When he was in training, the athlete preferred to live in a spartan room, so he could shut out all distractions.
a bell tower; the room in which a bell is hung
belfry
causing sleep or lethargy
soporific
The movie proved to be so soporific that soon loud snores were heard throughout the cinema.
grammatical mistake
solecism
I ain’t going with you she said obviously unaware of her solecism.
predictable; cliched; boring
banal
His conversation consisted of banal phrases like Have a nice day or Another day, another dollar.
premise; postulate; self-evident truth
axiom
Hallie lived her life based on the axioms her grandmother had passed on to her.
nickname
sobriquet
to calm down or moderate
slake
In order to slake his curiosity, Bryan finally took a tour backstage at the theater.
severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
austere
The lack of decoration makes Zen temples seem austere to the untrained eye.
a well-paying job or office that requires little or no work
sinecure
extreme dislike
antipathy
angelic; sweet
seraphic
Selena’s seraphic appearance belied her nasty, bitter personality.
to annoy or provoke to anger
antagonize
The child discovered that he could antagonize the cat by pulling its tail.
