Vocab List 2 Flashcards
abdicate
to resign
aberration
deviation (a departure from what is normal or expected)
acronym
a word made up of initials of other words
acumen
mental sharpness
aghast
terrified; shocked
agnostic
skeptic, unbeliever
anarchy
lawlessness, disorder
anathema
something or someone loathed or detested
appendage
something added on to something else; a supplement
apportion
to distribute proportionally
artifice
trickery, clever trick
artisan
a person skilled in craft
averse
reluctant
aversion
a strong feeling of dislike
benevolent
generous, charitable
benighted
ignorant; unenlightened
brink
edge
bristle
one of the short, stiff, coarse hairs of certain animals
carcinogenic
causing cancer
cardinal
most important; crucial; chief
chortle
to chuckle with glee
chronic
constant
colloquial
conversational
collusion
conspiracy
confederate
an ally; an accomplice
confer
to exchange ideas; to consult with; to bestow
contretemps
an embarrassing occurrence
contrite
admitting guilt
credulous
eager to believe; gullible
crescendo
a gradual increase in the volume of a sound
deduce
to conclude from the evidence
deem
to form or have an opinion
deplore
to regret deeply or strongly; lament
deploy
to arrange in a position of readiness
discern
to discriminate; to differentiate
disclaim
to deny any claim to; to renounce
distinguish
to tell apart
distraught
mad
effectual
effective; adequate
efficacy
effectiveness
enfranchise
to grant voting rights
engaging
charming; pleasing; attractive
eulogy
praise
eulogy
a spoken or written tribute to a person, especially if that person has just died
exterminator
destroyer
extol
to praise highly
fickle
likely to change for no good reason
fidelity
loyalty
frenetic
frantic, frenzied
frugal
economical; penny-pinching (simple and costing little)
habituate
to train; to accustom to a situation
hackneyed
made common by overuse
illicit
illegal; not permitted by law
imbue
to saturate or impregnate with moisture, color, etc.
incantation
chant
incarnation
embodiment
infraction
violation; infringement; the breaking of a law
infrastructure
the basic framework of a system; foundation
interminable
seemingly unending; tediously long
intermittent
occasional; repeatedly starting and stopping; recurrent
kinetic
active; lively
labyrinth
maze
magnanimous
forgiving; not resentful
magnate
rich businessperson
meticulous
precise and careful about details; fussy
microcosm
world in miniature
nihilism
belief in the absence of all values and morals
nirvana
a blissful, painless, worry-free state
opprobrious
damning; extremely critical; disgraceful
opulent
luxurious
paroxysm
a sudden, violent outburst; a severe attack
parsimonious
stingy
pertinent
relevant
perturb
to disturb greatly
postulate
axiom (assumed truth) (positive)
posture
the position of the limbs or the carriage of the body as a whole
pristine
perfectly clean and untouched; uncontaminated
privation
lack of comforts or necessities; poverty
provisional
conditional; temporary; tentative
provocation
the act of provoking; incitement; cause
rampant
uncontrollable; raging
rancor
bitter resentment
remission
the temporary or permanent disappearance of a disease; pardon
remonstrate
to argue against
revel
to take great pleasure or delight
revere
to honor
schism
division; separation; discord or disharmony
scintillate
to sparkle
sobriety
state of being sober
solace
consolation; comfort
stratum
layer
stricture
restriction
surreptitious
sneaky
surrogate
substitute
thwart
to prevent from accomplishing a purpose
timorous
fearful; easily frightened
underwrite
to sponsor; to subsidize; to insure
uniform
consistent
vilify
to defame
vindicate
to clear from suspicion
