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Vocabulary Flashcards

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1
Q

divest

A

(v) deprive (something) of a particular quality.

“he has divested the original play of its charm”

(v) rid oneself of something that one no longer wants or requires, such as a business interest or investment.

“the government’s policy of divesting itself of state holdings”

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2
Q

tenuous

A

(adj) very weak or slight.

“the tenuous link between interest rates and investment”

(adj) very slender or fine; insubstantial.

“a tenuous cloud”

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3
Q

loquacious

A

(adj) tending to talk a great deal; talkative.

“never loquacious, Sarah was now totally lost for words”

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4
Q

tedium

A

(n) the state of being tedious.

“cousins and uncles filled the tedium of winter nights with many a tall tale”

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5
Q

impious

A

(adj) not showing respect or reverence, especially for a god.

“the emperor’s impious attacks on the Church”

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6
Q

pell-mell

A

(adj) recklessly hasty or disorganized; headlong.

“steering the pell-mell development of Europe onto a new and more gradual course”

(adv) in a confused, rushed, or disorderly manner.

“the contents of the sacks were thrown pell-mell to the ground”

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7
Q

isthmus

A

(n) a narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger areas of land.

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8
Q

aggrandize

A

(v) increase the power, status, or wealth of.

“an action intended to aggrandize the Frankish dynasty”

enhance the reputation of (someone) beyond what is justified by the facts.

“he hoped to aggrandize himself by dying a hero’s death”

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9
Q

somnambulist

A

(n) a person who walks about in their sleep. A sleepwalker.

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10
Q

egress

A

(n) the action of going out of or leaving a place.

“direct means of access and egress for passengers”

(v) go out of or leave (a place).

“they’d egress the area by heading southwest”

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11
Q

lackadaisical

A

(adj) lacking enthusiasm and determination; carelessly lazy.

“a lackadaisical defense left the Spurs adrift in the second half”

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12
Q

comely

A

(adj) pleasant to look at; attractive (typically used of a woman).

“the comely Italian actress Valeria Golino”

agreeable; suitable.

“a comely specimen”

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13
Q

objective

A

(adj) not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts.

“historians try to be objective and impartial”

(n) a thing aimed at or sought; a goal.

“the system has achieved its objective”

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14
Q

sever

A

(v) divide by cutting or slicing, especially suddenly and forcibly.

“the head was severed from the body

put an end to (a connection or relationship); break off.

“he severed his relations with Lawrence”

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15
Q

subjective

A

(adj) based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

“his views are highly subjective”

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16
Q

crap ton

A

(slang, mildly vulgar) a very large amount.

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17
Q

obsequious

A

(adj) obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.

“they were served by obsequious waiters”

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18
Q

livery

A

(n) special uniform worn by a servant or official.

“yeomen of the guard wearing a royal red and gold livery”

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19
Q

colloquial

A

(adj) (of language) used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary.

“colloquial and everyday language”

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20
Q

addiction

A

(n) the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.

“he committed the theft to finance his drug addiction”

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21
Q

bombastic

A

(adj) high-sounding but with little meaning; inflated.

“bombastic rhetoric”

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22
Q

clever

A

(adj) quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas; intelligent.

“a clever and studious young woman”

(adj) skilled at doing or achieving something; talented.

“he was clever at getting what he wanted”

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23
Q

tedious

A

(adj) too long, slow, or dull; tiresome or monotonous.

“a tedious journey”

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24
Q

benevolent

A

(adj) well meaning and kindly.

“a benevolent smile”

(adj) (of an organization) serving a charitable rather than a profit-making purpose.

“a benevolent fund”

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25
Q

virtue

A

(n) behavior showing high moral standards.

“paragons of virtue”

(n) a quality considered morally good or desirable in a person.

“patience is a virtue”

(n) a good or useful quality of a thing.

“Mike was extolling the virtues of the car”

(n) (in traditional Christian angelology) the seventh highest order of the ninefold celestial hierarchy.

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26
Q

heraldry

A

(n) the system by which coats of arms and other armorial bearings are devised, described, and regulated.

“the use of the rose in heraldry”

(n) armorial bearings or other heraldic symbols.

“the monument shows the heraldry of William Paget”

(n) colorful ceremony.

“all the pomp and heraldry provided a splendid pageant”

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27
Q

pomposity

A

(n) the quality of being pompous; self-importance.

“his reputation for arrogance and pomposity”

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28
Q

fester

A

(v) (of a wound or sore) become septic; suppurate.

“I developed a tropical sore that festered badly.”

(n) (of food or garbage) become rotten and offensive to the senses.

“a gully full of garbage that festered in the shade”

(n) (of a negative feeling or a problem) become worse or more intense, especially through long-term neglect or indifference.

“anger which festers and grows in his heart”

29
Q

insidious

A

(adj) proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects.

“sexually transmitted diseases can be insidious and sometimes without symptoms”

(adj) treacherous; crafty.

“tangible proof of an insidious alliance”

30
Q

ubiquitous

A

(adj) present, appearing, or found everywhere.

“his ubiquitous influence was felt by all the family”

31
Q

abbey

A

(n) the building or buildings occupied by a community of monks or nuns.

(n) a church or house that was formerly an abbey.

32
Q

punctilious

A

(adj) showing great attention to detail or correct behavior.

“he was punctilious in providing every amenity for his guests”

33
Q

parsimonious

A

(adj) unwilling to spend money or use resources; stingy or frugal.

“even the parsimonious Joe paid for drinks all round”

34
Q

fledgling

A

(n) a young bird that has just fledged.

(n) a person or organization that is immature, inexperienced, or underdeveloped.

“A New York businessman accused of defrauding a fledgling Broadway production has been held without bail”

35
Q

tenable

A

(adj) able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection.

“such a simplistic approach is no longer tenable”

(of an office, position, scholarship, etc.) able to be held or used.

“the post is tenable for three years”

36
Q

ire

A

(n) anger

“the plans provoked the ire of conservationists”

37
Q

monarchy

A

(n) a form of government with a monarch at the head.

(n) the monarch and royal family of a country.

38
Q

monarch

A

(n) a sovereign head of state, especially a king, queen, or emperor.

“the reigning monarch”

39
Q

abdicate

A

(v) (of a monarch) renounce one’s throne.

“in 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated as German emperor”

(v) fail to fulfill or undertake (a responsibility or duty).

“the secretary of state should not abdicate from leadership on educational issues”

40
Q

stupefied

A

(v) make (someone) unable to think or feel properly.

“the offense of administering drugs to a woman with intent to stupefy her”

41
Q

inebriated

A

(adj) drunk; intoxicated.

“I got mildly inebriated”

42
Q

equivocator

A

(n) a respondent who avoids giving a clear direct answer.

43
Q

subversive

A

(adj) seeking or intended to subvert an established system or institution.

“subversive literature”

(n) a subversive person.

“they and their companions were identified as subversives”

44
Q

sociopath

A

(n) a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.

45
Q

narcissistic

A

(adj) having an excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one’s physical appearance.

“a narcissistic actress”

46
Q

devious

A

(adj) showing a skillful use of underhanded tactics to achieve goals.

“he’s as devious as a politician needs to be”

(adj) (of a route or journey) longer and less direct than the most straightforward way.

“they arrived at the town by a devious route”

47
Q

deceitful

A

(adj) guilty of or involving deceit; deceiving or misleading others.

“such an act would have been deceitful and irresponsible”

48
Q

mendacious

A

(adj) not telling the truth; lying.

“mendacious propaganda”

49
Q

dissemble

A

(v) conceal one’s true motives, feelings, or beliefs.

“an honest, sincere person with no need to dissemble”

(v) disguise or conceal (a feeling or intention).

“she smiled, dissembling her true emotion”

50
Q

flippant

A

(adj) not showing a serious or respectful attitude.

“a flippant remark”

51
Q

parsimonious

A

(adj) unwilling to spend money or use resources; stingy or frugal.

“even the parsimonious Joe paid for drinks all round”

52
Q

fervor

A

(n) intense and passionate feeling.

“he talked with all the fervor of a new convert”

53
Q

tyke

A

(n) (informal) a small child.

“is the little tyke up to his tricks again?”

(n) (dated-British) an unpleasant or coarse man.

54
Q

maladroit

A

(adj) ineffective or bungling; clumsy.

“both men are unhappy about the maladroit way the matter has been handled”

55
Q

inveigle

A

(v) persuade (someone) to do something by means of deception or flattery.

“we cannot inveigle him into putting pen to paper”

56
Q

tryst

A

(n) a private romantic rendezvous between lovers.

“a moonlight tryst”

(v) keep a private, romantic rendezvous.

57
Q

nonplus

A

(v) surprise and confuse (someone) so much that they are unsure how to react.

“Diane was nonplussed by such an odd question”

(n) a state of being very surprised and confused.

“reduced to a perfect nonplus, he rose from his chair”

58
Q

sieve

A

(n) a utensil consisting of a wire or plastic mesh held in a frame, used for straining solids from liquids, for separating coarser from finer particles, or for reducing soft solids to a pulp.

“puree the potatoes through a sieve”

59
Q

curmudgeon

A

(n) a bad-tempered person, especially an old one.

60
Q

surly

A

(adj) bad-tempered and unfriendly.

“he left with a surly expression”

61
Q

confound

A

(v) cause surprise or confusion in (someone), especially by acting against their expectations.

“the inflation figure confounded economic analysts”

62
Q

trope

A

(n) a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression.

The phrase, ‘stop and smell the roses,’ and the meaning we take from it, is an example of a trope. Derived from the Greek word tropos, which means, ‘turn, direction, way,’ tropes are figures of speech that move the meaning of the text from literal to figurative.

63
Q

persnickety

A

(adj) placing too much emphasis on trivial or minor details; fussy.

“she’s very persnickety about her food”

(adj) requiring a particularly precise or careful approach.
adjective: pernickety

“it’s hard to find a film more persnickety and difficult to use than black-and-white infrared”

64
Q

neologism

A

(n) a newly coined word or expression.

65
Q

dwy

A

(n) a gusty flurry or shower; a brief squall or storm accompanied by precipitation.

“the last dwies of winter;nothing more than a little rain dwy.”

66
Q

subsidize

A

(v) support (an organization or activity) financially.

“it was beyond the power of a state to subsidize a business

(v) pay part of the cost of producing (something) to reduce prices for the buyer.

“the government subsidizes basic goods including sugar, petroleum, and wheat”

67
Q

pyrrhic

A

(adj)

(of a victory) won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor.

“the best they can hope for is a pyrrhic victory”

68
Q

librocubicularist

A

(n) a person who reads in bed

69
Q

espy

A

(v) catch sight of.

“she espied her daughter rounding the corner”

Vocabulary Building (2 decks)

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