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vocab3 Flashcards

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1
Q

Abate

A

to reduce in amount, degree, or severity; The headache abated after taking medicine.

“nothing abated his crusading zeal”

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2
Q

abhor

A

to hate or detest; She abhors cruelty to animals.

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3
Q

Abstain

A

to refrain or hold back voluntarily; He abstained from smoking.

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4
Q

Accretion

A

a gradual buildup or growth by addition; An accretion of dust covered the furniture.

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5
Q

Acerbic

A

sharp, biting, or caustic in tone; She made an acerbic retort.

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6
Q

Acumen

A

keen insight or judgment; She has excellent business acumen.

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7
Q

Admonish

A

to caution or advise against; The teacher admonished the students not to be late.

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8
Q

Affable

A

friendly, good

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9
Q

Banal

A

lacking originality, freshness, or novelty; The movie’s banal plot was forgettable.

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10
Q

Belligerent

A

hostile, aggressive, or pugnacious; The belligerent gang was known for fighting.

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11
Q

Benevolent

A

characterized by or expressing goodwill; He made a benevolent donation to the animal shelter.

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12
Q

Boon

A

a blessing, timely benefit, or assistance; Winning the scholarship was a boon that enabled her to attend college.

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13
Q

Brevity

A

concise expression without wasted words; Brevity is essential in a 30

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14
Q

Brusque

A

abrupt or offhand in speech or manner; rudely concise; My request was met with a brusque refusal.

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15
Q

Byzantine

A

very complicated or intricate; The byzantine tax codes were impossible to decipher.

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16
Q

Callous

A

showing little sympathy for others; insensitive; He acted in a callous way toward those less fortunate.

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17
Q

Candor

A

honesty, frankness, or sincere expression; I appreciated her candor and straightforward advice.

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18
Q

Capricious

A

characterized by or subject to whim; impulsive; unpredictable; My capricious toddler was happy one minute, fussy the next.

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19
Q

Castigate

A

to punish or criticize severely; The boss castigated the employee for repeated mistakes.

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20
Q

Circumspect

A

cautious or prudent, especially in speech or action; We were circumspect in sharing details until we understood the risks involved.

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21
Q

Coarse

A

rough, harsh, or uneven in texture; lacking refinement or elegance; His coarse language was inappropriate at the dignified ceremony.

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22
Q

clamour

A

a loud and confused noise especially of people shouting

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23
Q

Conscientious

A

guided by or in accordance with conscience or sense of right; governed by principle; a conscientious decision after much deliberation.

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24
Q

complacent

A

overly satisfied with oneself and unaware of potential dangers or problems

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25
Q

Deride

A

to ridicule, mock, or scornfully laugh at; The bullies derided the shy student’s stutter.

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26
Q

Disclose

A

to make known, reveal, or uncover; The CEO disclosed the company’s financial problems.

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27
Q

Dubious

A

doubtful or suspect; of uncertain quality or outcome; She had dubious qualifications for the job.

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28
Q

Eclectic

A

deriving ideas or style from a diverse range of sources; Their home decor had an eclectic mix of modern and antique.

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29
Q

disparage

A

to belittle or criticize someone

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30
Q

Egalitarian

A

relating to or believing in equality for all people; He advocated an egalitarian society.

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31
Q

egregious

A

outstandingly bad

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32
Q

expedient

A

suitable for achieving a particular end; pragmatically useful; In a crisis, quick action may be more expedient than detailed planning.

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33
Q

Eminent

A

prominent, distinguished, or noteworthy; The eminent scholar was awarded the Nobel Prize.

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34
Q

extol

A

to praise highly

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35
Q

Equivocal

A

open to more than one interpretation; purposefully vague or ambiguous; His equivocal instructions left me confused about what to do.

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36
Q

Extricate

A

to free or release from a difficult situation or entanglement; Firefighters extricated the injured driver from the mangled car.

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37
Q

Fatuous

A

silly, foolish, smugly ignorant; He made fatuous arguments that revealed little understanding of the issue.

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38
Q

Feckless

A

weak, ineffective, incompetent; irresponsible; His feckless leadership led the company to ruin

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39
Q

Fervor

A

great warmth and intensity of feeling; She spoke with fervor about her political beliefs.

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40
Q

Flagrant

A

glaringly bad or offensive; a flagrant foul during the game; flagrant disregard for the law.

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41
Q

Flimsy

A

thin and easily bent or damaged; lacking plausibility; She offered a flimsy excuse for missing class.

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42
Q

Flout

A

to openly disregard rules or conventions; She flouted the school dress code with her outfit.

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43
Q

Garrulous

A

excessively talkative, especially about trivial matters; My garrulous neighbor loved chatting over the fence each morning.

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44
Q

Gregarious

A

sociable, seeking and enjoying the company of others; Humans are naturally gregarious and form bonds through social contact

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45
Q

Germane

A

relevant and appropriate for the subject at hand; His rambling anecdote was not germane to the discussion.

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46
Q

Guile

A

cunning, deceitful shrewdness or treachery; She betrayed her friend out of pure guile.

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47
Q

Gross

A

blatant, outrageous, or unambiguous; lacking refinement or dignity; His gross exaggerations undermined his credibility.

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48
Q

Iconoclast

A

one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions; The rebel was an iconoclast who challenged the status quo.

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49
Q

Impending

A

about to happen, imminent, approaching; We prepared for the impending storm.

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50
Q

Inadvertent

A

unintentional; not resulting from or due to a particular cause; His insult was inadvertent; he didn’t realize his remark would offend.

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51
Q

Incisive

A

showing keen discernment, sharpness of mind; Her incisive critiques greatly improved the manuscript.

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52
Q

Incongruous

A

inconsistent; not harmonious; The bright pink couch was incongruous with the room’s subdued color scheme.

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53
Q

Incredulous

A

unable or unwilling to believe something; She was incredulous that she won the lottery against such odds.

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54
Q

Indelible

A

making marks that cannot be erased, washed away, or removed; Childhood memories of summers at the lake were indelible, never fading with time.

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55
Q

Innocuous

A

harmless, causing no damage or offense; The comments in her speech were innocuous enough not to provoke much reaction.

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56
Q

Intrinsic

A

belonging naturally to someone or something; innate, inherent; Learning is an intrinsic reward of teaching.

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57
Q

Inundate

A

to overwhelm as if with a flood; My desk was inundated with paperwork.

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58
Q

immaterial

A

of no importance

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59
Q

implicate

A

to show or suggest that someone is involved in a wrong doing

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60
Q

implode

A

to burst inwards or to collapse violently

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61
Q

impromptu

A

done or said without preparation

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62
Q

inane

A

silly or stupid

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63
Q

Irreverent

A

showing lack of due respect or veneration; The student’s irreverent remarks during chapel earned him a detention.

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64
Q

inaugurate

A

to officially begin or launch something

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65
Q

inherent

A

innate

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66
Q

insipid

A

lacking in taste or meaning

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67
Q

iternary

A

a planned route or scheduled travel

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68
Q

letharge

A

sluggish or slow-moving

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69
Q

magnimous

A

generous or forgiving

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70
Q

Laconic

A

using few words; terse, succinct; His laconic reply gave little information.

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71
Q

Languid

A

lacking energy, vitality or strength; lazy and relaxed; Moving with languid grace, the cat stretched in a patch of sunlight.

72
Q

Misconstrue

A

to interpret something erroneously; take in a wrong sense; She misconstrued the honking horn to be meant as an insult.

73
Q

Nebulous

A

vague, cloudy, lacking clearly defined form; The future was nebulous, and no one knew exactly what to expect.

74
Q

mitigate

A

alleviate

75
Q

momentus

A

of great importance

76
Q

Notoriety

A

the condition of being famous or well

77
Q

Nuance

A

a subtle difference or distinction in expression or meaning; There were subtle nuances in meaning between those two words that most people missed.

78
Q

Obsolete

A

no longer used, out of date; Replaced by email, fax machines are now obsolete.

79
Q

Onerous

A

involving heavy effort, burden, or hardship; The onerous chore of clearing the snowy driveway took several grueling hours.

80
Q

Opulent

A

characterized by extravagant luxury and sumptuousness; The opulent mansion had every expensive amenity imaginable.

81
Q

Overt

A

done or shown openly, plainly apparent; not hidden; His overt stare made his attraction to her obvious.

82
Q

onslaught

A

a fierce attack

83
Q

Palliate

A

to lessen the severity of; moderate; His medication helped palliate, but not eliminate, his chronic pain.

84
Q

Paltry

A

insignificant or inadequate; The paltry sum barely covered expenses.

85
Q

Perfunctory

A

routine, mechanical, done without care; His perfunctory handshake revealed his apathy toward meeting me.

86
Q

Perpetual

A

uninterrupted, ceaseless, eternal; The perpetual tide ebbs and flows without pause.

87
Q

Perspicacious

A

acutely perceptive or discerning; penetrating; The detective was known for his perspicacious observations at crime scenes.

88
Q

Pertinent

A

directly and significantly related to the matter at hand; His pertinent insights shed new light on the issue being discussed.

89
Q

Peruse

A

to read or examine, typically with thoroughness or care; I perused the document carefully before signing it.

90
Q

Petulant

A

rudely impatient, irritable; childishly sulky or bad

91
Q

Placate

A

to make less hostile or angry, typically by showing willingness to negotiate or compromise; The management tried to placate the dissatisfied workers by promising better conditions.

92
Q

Precarious

A

dangerously lacking stability or certainty; dependent on chance; The vase was in a precarious position on the tilting table.

93
Q

Preclude

A

to prevent from happening; exclude; Circumstances precluded her from accepting the job offer.

94
Q

Preeminent

A

superior in achievement or standing; foremost; She is the preeminent expert in her scientific field.

95
Q

Premeditate

A

to plan or plot in advance; The robbery was premeditated, not spontaneous.

96
Q

Presumptuous

A

overstepping due bounds; taking liberties; I felt it was presumptuous of him to assume we were friends.

97
Q

Pretense

A

a false display, a claim not supported by fact; His anger was just a pretense to cover his sadness and hurt.

98
Q

Principled

A

guided by moral values; She was a principled leader who always tried to do what was right.

99
Q

Profound

A

showing deep knowledge and insight; His speech shared profound wisdom from decades of experience.

100
Q

Prolific

A

abundantly productive; immensely creative; The prolific composer created hundreds of musical works in his lifetime.

101
Q

Promulgate

A

to proclaim or put a law or policy into action or force; The president promulgated a controversial new initiative.

102
Q

Prudent

A

wisely careful and sensible, marked by sound judgment; It would be more prudent to save for retirement than splurge on a fancy car.

103
Q

palpable

A

able to be touched or felt; easily perceived

104
Q

paragon

A

a model of excellence

105
Q

patronize

A

treat someone in a condescending mannerr

106
Q

perennial

A

lasting for a long time

107
Q

pernicious

A

insidious

108
Q

pertinent

A

relevant or applicable to a particular matter

109
Q

piety

A

the quality of being religious

110
Q

pragmatic

A

dealing with things sensibly

111
Q

predilection

A

a preference or liking for something

112
Q

protract

A

to extend to a period of time

113
Q

prudent

A

showing care

114
Q

Quandary

A

a state of perplexity, uncertainty what to do; I faced an ethical quandary between competing loyalties.

115
Q

Quibble`

A

to argue or complain about trivial matters; He has a tendency to quibble over minor details.

116
Q

Quiescent

A

at rest, dormant, temporarily inactive; The volcanoes were quiescent for centuries before unexpectedly erupting.

117
Q

Quixotic

A

idealistic without regard to practicality; impractical or unrealistic; His quixotic plan had little chance of succeeding in the real world.

118
Q

Quotidian

A

everyday, mundane, commonplace; Making my morning coffee was part of my quotidian routine.

119
Q

Rancid

A

having a harsh or unpleasant smell or taste, often due to decay; The rancid milk was spoiled and inedible.

120
Q

Rarefied

A

refined; relating to a select group; The rarefied intellectual discussion was beyond me.

121
Q

Rebuff

A

to reject bluntly; snub; She rebuffed his flirtatious advances.

122
Q

Recalcitrant

A

obstinately defiant; stubbornly resistant to authority; The recalcitrant child flatly refused to obey her parents’ rules.

123
Q

Recant

A

to retract a previous statement; take back as erroneous; Under questioning, she recanted her earlier testimony.

124
Q

Reconcile

A

to make consistent or compatible; settle; I tried to reconcile the contradictory statements.

125
Q

Relegate

A

to assign to an unimportant position; The actor was relegated to minor supporting roles after starring in films.

126
Q

Render

A

to provide, deliver, or represent; I will render assistance any way I can.

127
Q

Renege

A

to fail to honor a commitment or promise; She reneged on her offer to help with the bake sale.

128
Q

Reprehensible

A

deserving severe condemnation, completely unacceptable; Society considered racism utterly reprehensible.

129
Q

Reprobate

A

an unprincipled, wicked person; That reprobate was nothing but trouble and should be avoided.

130
Q

Retribution

A

deserved punishment for wrongdoing; He avoided jail, but retribution finally caught up to him.

131
Q

Reverent

A

feeling or displaying a sense of awe and respect; She had a reverent admiration of nature’s power and beauty.

132
Q

Rue

A

to feel regret, remorse, or repentance over; He rued the mistake that cost him his job.

133
Q

Ruthless

A

having no pity; merciless, cruel; The ruthless conqueror showed no mercy to those defeated.r

134
Q

rancor

A

bitter or resentful feeling

135
Q

ratify

A

to approve or confirm something

136
Q

raze

A

to completely destroy or demolish

137
Q

rebuke

A

to express sharp disproval of something

138
Q

reclusive

A

avoiding the company of others

139
Q

regress

A

to return to an earlier or less advanced state

140
Q

reparation

A

making amends

141
Q

repudiate

A

to reject or deny the validity of

142
Q

reulgent

A

shining brightly

143
Q

Sacrilegious

A

violating or misusing what is regarded as sacred; The artwork was considered sacrilegious for its irreverent depiction of religious figures.

144
Q

Sagacious

A

having keen discernment and good judgment; perceptive; My sagacious grandmother gave insightful advice on life.

145
Q

Sanction

A

authoritative permission or approval; officially authorized; The government put sanctions on trade with certain nations.

146
Q

Satiate

A

to satisfy fully; The lavish buffet left us satiated, unable to take another bite.

147
Q

Scant

A

barely sufficient; meager; lacking in quantity; I arrived with scant minutes to catch my departing train.

148
Q

Scathing

A

severely critical; harshly condemnatory; Her scathing review showed no mercy, tearing apart the flawed novel.

149
Q

Slander

A

defamation; false statements harming a reputation; She sued over the slanderous accusations against her good character.

150
Q

Sober

A

marked by serious thoughtfulness; solemnly thoughtful; She maintained a sober attitude despite the celebratory mood.

151
Q

Solicit

A

to try to obtain by entreaty, earnest or respectful request; He solicited donations from the wealthy philanthropist.

152
Q

Somber

A

gloomy; depressing; The somber rainy day matched her melancholy mood.

153
Q

Sordid

A

vile, base; marked by immorality and squalor; He described sordid details from a childhood spent neglected and deprived.

154
Q

Specious

A

deceptively plausible or attractive but actually wrong; He argued that the specious reasoning sounded good but lacked substance.

155
Q

Spew

A

to eject or discharge in a gushing stream; The volcano spewed hot lava down its slopes.

156
Q

Sporadic

A

occurring at irregular intervals; not constant; only occasional; Power outages were sporadic, but we never knew when to expect one.

157
Q

Staid

A

sedate, sober, characterized by dignity and propriety; The staid professor conducted class with utmost seriousness.

158
Q

Stalwart

A

steadfast, loyal, unwavering; The stalwart fans supported their team through years of defeat.

159
Q

Stigma

A

mark of disgrace or infamy; a stain on one’s reputation; Unfair stigma still surrounds certain conditions that need better awareness.

160
Q

Stolid

A

expressing little or no sensibility; impassive; She remained stolid and composed even under immense pressure.

160
Q

Strenuous

A

requiring tremendous energy or stamina; difficult; arduous; marathon training is strenuous work.

161
Q

Strife

A

bitter conflict or rivalry; They sought to settle their strife peacefully before it escalated further.

162
Q

Stringent

A

imposed strictly; harsh; having a precise standard; Stringent security made entering difficult.

163
Q

Stymie

A

to block, thwart; Confusion will stymie their efforts to move forward on the project.

164
Q

Suave

A

smoothly and effortlessly polished; charmingly tactful; He had a suave manner that put everyone at ease in conversation.

165
Q

Sublime

A

awe

166
Q

Subpoena

A

writ commanding a person to appear in court under penalty for failure; She was subpoenaed to testify at the criminal trial.

167
Q

Subside

A

to decrease in amount or intensity; The fever subsided after a few days.

168
Q

Substantiate

A

to provide evidence or proof in support of a claim; Can you substantiate your alibi that you were elsewhere that night?

169
Q

Sumptuous

A

richly splendid or magnificent; luxurious; We dined on a sumptuous feast of lobster and chocolate cake.

170
Q

Surly

A

rudely unfriendly or impatient; The surly cashier was clearly in a bad mood.

171
Q

Supposition

A

an uncertain belief; something theoretically assumed to be true; I made the supposition he would arrive on time, but I was wrong.

172
Q

Sweltering

A

intensely hot, stifling; We sweltered in the sweltering heat without air conditioning.

173
Q

Sycophant

A

one who flatters for self

174
Q

Tacit

A

implied or indicated but not directly expressed; Her tacit disapproval was obvious though she didn’t criticize out loud.

175
Q

Tactile

A

perceptible by touch; relating to the sense of touch; The tactile exhibit let blind visitors feel the sculptures.

176
Q
A

SAT (8 decks)

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