Vocabulary 1 Flashcards
Define Lurid
(adj.) causing shock, horror, or revulsion; sensational; pale or shallow in color; terrible or passionate in intensity or lack of restraint
Define Umbrage
(n.) shade cast by trees, foliage giving shade; an overshadowing influence of power; offense, resentment; a vague suspicion
Define Perogative
(n.) a special right or privilege; a special quality showing excellence
Define Hackneyed
(adj.) used so often as to lack freshness or originality
Define Jaded
(adj.) wearied, worn-out, dulled (in the sense of being satiated by excessive indulgence)
Define Intercede
(v.) to plead on behalf of someone else; to serve as a third party or go-between in a disagreement
Define Hiatus
(n.) a gap, opening, break (in the sense of having an element missing)
Define Decadence
(n.) decline, decay, or deterioration; a condition or period of decline or decay; excessive self-indulgence
Define Innuendo
(n.) a hint, indirect suggestion, or reference (often in a derogatory sense)
Define Provincial
(adj.) pertaining to an outlying area; local;narrow in mind or outlook, countrified in the sense of being limited and backward; of a simple, plain design that originated in the countryside; (n.) a person with a narrow point of view, a person from outlying area; a soldier from a province or colony.
Define Approbation
(n.) the expression of approval or favorable opinion, praise; official approval
Define Coalition
(n.) a combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose
Define Transcend
(v.) to rise above or beyond, exceed
Define Petulant
(adj.) peevish, annoyed by trifles, easily irritated and upset
Define Meritorious
(adj.) worthy, deserving recognition and praise
Define Assuage
(v.) to make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to, appease, satisfy, quench
Define Elicit
(v.) to draw forth, bring out from some source (such as another person)
Define Simulate
(v.) to make a pretense of, imitate; to show the outer signs of
Define Unctuous
(adj.) excessively smooth or smug; trying too hard to give an impression of earnestness, sincerity, or piety; fatty, oily; pliable
Define Expostulate
(v.) to attempt to dissuade someone from some course or decision by earnest reasoning
The banjo, once thought to be a __________________ may do well in the city using charm alone, but charm, like novelty, wears thin.
Provincial
The wilted handclasp and the fast-melting smile mark the ____________ refugee from too many parties.
Jaded
Her eyes told me that more than a few well-chosen words would be needed to ___________ her hurt feelings.
Assuage
She will _____________ in the dispute between the two children, and soon they will be playing happily again.
Intercede
Many years of _______________ service could not dissuade him from feeling that he had not chosen work that he liked.
Meritorious
Shakespeare’s Hamlet finds it useless to ___________ with his mother for siding with his stepfather.
Expostualte
The Great Gatsby tells a universal story without being married by _______________ prose.
Hackneyed
Bright, sensational, and often __________, some old-time movie posters make today’s newspaper ads look tame.
Lurid
The various community organizations formed a ___________ to lobby against parking laws.
Coalition
She seemed to feel that a snooze at her desk was not an annoying habit but the ______________ of a veteran employee.
Perogative
Some skilled actors can ________________ emotions they might never have felt in life.
Simulate
A great work of art may be said to _______________ time, and it is remembered for decades, or even centuries
Transcend
My attempt to __________ information over the phone was met with a barrage of irrelevant recordings.
Elicit
Some characterized her love of chocolate as _____________ because she ate at least two candy bars a day.
Decadence
An overworked parent may be unlikely to indulge the complaints of a ____________ child.
Petulant
Her constant inquiring about the health of my family at first seemed friendly, later merely _____________ .
Unctuous
She hesitated to offer her opinion, fearing that they would take _____________ at her criticism.
Umbrage
My broad hint that I had paid for the lessons myself brought smiles of ____________ from all the judges at the piano recital.
Approbation
I was awakened not by a sudden sound but by a ______________ in the din of traffic.
Hiatus
Those lacking the facts or afraid of reprisals often tarnish an enemy’s reputation by use of _____________.
Innuendo
