Vocabulary Flashcards
Bombastic
Pompous in speech and manner
The ranting of the talk-show host was mostly bombastic; his boasting had no basis in fact.
Specious
Deceptively attractive
The student’s specious excuse for being late sounded legitimate but was proven otherwise when the teacher called her home.
Exigent
Urgent; requiring immediate attention
The patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was exigent to stop the source of the bleeding.
Amalgamate
To combine; to mix together
Company 1 amalgamated with Company 2 to form a giant corporation.
Occlude
To stop up; to prevent the passage of
During a solar eclipse, the light from the sun is occluded by the moon.
Foment
To arouse or incite
The protestors tried to foment feelings against the war through their speeches and demonstrations.
Stolid
Unemotional; lacking sensitivity
The prisoner appeared stolid and unaffected by the judge’s harsh sentence.
Opprobrium
Public disgrace
After the scheme to embezzle the elderly was made public, the treasurer resigned in utter opprobrium.
Soporific
Causing sleep or lethargy
The movie proved to be so soporific that soon loud snores were heard throughout the theater.
Aggrandize
To increase in power, influence and reputation
The supervisor sought to aggrandize herself by taking credit for her staff members’ work.
Malinger
To evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
A common way to avoid the draft was by malingering.
Esoteric
Known or understood by only a few
Only a handful of experts are knowledgeable about the esoteric world of particle physics.
Cogent
Convincing and well-reasoned
Swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.
Taciturn
Silent; not talkative
The clerk’s taciturn nature earned him the nickname “Silent Bob”.
Propitiate
To conciliate; to appease
The management propitiated the irate union by agreeing to raise wages for its members.
Inchoate
Not fully formed; disorganized
The ideas expressed in Nietzsche’s mature work also appear in an inchoate form in his earliest writing.
Diffident
Lacking self-confidence
Steve’s diffident manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.
Inimical
Hostile; unfriendly
Even though the children had grown up together, they were inimical to each other at school.
Condone
To overlook, pardon, or disregard
Some believe that failing to prosecute minor crimes is the same as condoning an air of lawlessness.
Compendium
A collection of concise but detailed info about a specific subject
Apace
Swiftly; quickly
The vaccine rollout continues apace.
Ancillary
Providing support to the primary activities or operation of an organization; or a person who does this
The bookkeeper serves in an ancillary role, providing support to the treasurer.
Countenance
Facial expression; or support; or (v) to admit as acceptable or possible
She was giving her specific countenance to the occasion.
He was reluctant to countenance the use of force.
Espouse
To adopt or support
In middle age, he turned his back on the values he had espoused when he was young.
Munificent
Larger or more generous than is usual or necessary
A former student has donated a munificent amount of money to the college.
Stalwart
Loyal, reliable, and hardworking
He remained a stalwart supporter of the cause.
Bilious
Spiteful; bad-tempered; or nauseous
He was prone to outbursts of bilious misogyny.
Words that generally indicate “Bad Mood”
Bilious
Dudgeon
Irascible
Pettish
Petulant
Pique
Querulous
Umbrage
Waspish
Proselyte
A person who has converted from one opinion, religion, or party to another
As a Democratic proselyte, the former Republican changed his political views along with the candidates he voted for.
Tyro
A beginner or novice
I look forward to seeing this young tyro’s next ballet.
Callow
Inexperienced; immature
The undergraduates were callow but eager to learn.
Incipient
In an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop
He could feel incipient anger building up.
Nascent
Just coming into existence or beginning to show potential
The nascent space industry of the 19__’s had high goals and support from the government.
Acidulous
Bitter; cutting
The acidulous resentment in his tone indicated that he had cared about the results more than we realized.
Asperity
Harshness of tone or manner
She pointed out his shortcomings with some asperity.
Mordacious
Using biting sarcasm
His mordacious look showed plainly that he hated us all.
Mordant
Having a sharp or critical quality
He had a mordant sense of humor; no one wanted to be the target of his jokes.
Trenchant
Vigorous or incisive
She heard angry voices, not loud, but certainly trenchant.
Hackneyed
Unoriginal and trite
The plot of the movie was just a hackneyed boy-meets-girl scenario.
Prosaic
Commonplace; having the style of prose rather than poetry
Prosaic language couldn’t describe the experience.
Quotidian
Ordinary; everyday
Her quotidian routine was beginning to bore her, so she began looking for a new job.
Iniquity
Immoral or grossly unfair behavior
The jury convicted the defendant after concluding that he not only knew about the strange expenses in his company’s budget, but understood the iniquity of them.
Turpitude
Depravity or wickedness
Immigration officers denied his entry, citing issues of moral turpitude.
Adulturate
To make impure
The chef made his ketchup last longer by adulturating it with water.
Ameliorate
Painkillers helped to ameliorate the patient’s suffering.
Assuage
To make something unpleasant less severe
She used aspirin to assuage her pounding headache.
Attenuate
To reduce in force or degree; to weaken
The Bill of Rights attenuated the traditional powers of governments to change laws at will.
Credulous
Too trusting; gullible
While many young children believe in the Easter Bunny, only the most credulous 9-year-olds still do so.
Desultory
Disconnected; jumping from one thing to another
Diane had a desultory academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in 3 years.
Dilatory
Intended to delay
The congressman used dilatory measures to delay the passage of the bill.
Elegy
A sorrowful poem or speech
Although Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” is about death and loss, it urges readers to trust in spirituality.
Equivocal
Equivocate
Open to more than one interpretation; or using expressions that are so
Asked a pointed question, the politician still gave an equivocal answer.
When faced with criticism of her policies, the politician equivocated and left all parties thinking she agreed with them.
Exculpate
To clear from blame; prove innocent
Our legal system is meant to convict the guilty and exculpate the innocent.
