Vocabulary Flashcards
Chimerical
Imaginary or unreal
Cavalier
1) horseman, knight, or aristocrat
2) to be proud or careless; having no concern for important or serious matters
Choleric
Irritable; made angry easily
Melancholy
1) sad mood
2) black bile
Phlegmatic
Not easily upset, excited, or angered; apathetic or impassive; emotionless
Stoic
A person who accepts what happens without complaining or showing emotion
Sanguine
Excessive cheerfulness; optimistic; confident and hopeful
Juggernaut
Something that is extremely large and powerful and cannot be stopped
Maudlin
Showing or expressing too much emotion especially in a foolish or annoying way
Behemoth
Something very big and powerful
Gargantuan
Very large in size or amount
Meretricious
Attractive in a cheap or false way; relating to prostitution
Ostracism
Exclusion or temporary banishment by general consent from common privileges or social acceptance
Laconic/Spartan
Using few words in speech or writing; marked by simplicity, frugality, or avoidance of luxury and comfort
Synonyms: curt & austere
Sybaritic
Self-indulging; devotion to luxury and pleasure
Serendipity
Making valuable or pleasant discoveries by accident or unintentionally
Cherubic
Angelic; having a plump, pretty innocence
Masochist
A person who enjoys or gets pleasure from being abused or hurt
Pariah
Person who is hated and rejected by other people
Posh
Very attractive, expensive, and popular; elegant; fashionable; typical of or intended for the upper class
Quixotic
To be hopeful or romantic in a way that is not practical
Utopia
An imaginary place in which the government, laws, and social conditions are perfect; perfect society
Circumnavigate
To travel all the way around in a ship, airplane, etc.
Antecedent
Something that came before something else and may have influenced or caused it; a preceding event or cause
Animate
Having life; to be alive or living
Unanimous
Agreed to by everyone
Nonentity
1) Person who is not famous or important
2) something or someone that does not exist, exists only in the imagination, or of little significance
Egregious
Very bad and easily noticed; something that stands out by being conspicuously bad
Agnostic
1) A person who does not have a definite belief about whether god exists or not
2) A person who is unwilling to commit to an opinion about something
Belligerent
1) angry and aggressive feeling; hostile; showing readiness to fight
2) waging war; engaged in a war
Bellicose
Having or showing a tendency to argue or fight
Antebellum
Existing before a war, especially before the American Civil War
Belladonna
A poisonous plant that has reddish bell-shaped flowers
Democracy
A government by the people through rule of the majority; organization where everyone is treated equally and has equal rights
Demographic
Of or relating to the study of changes that occur in large groups of people over a period of time
Demagogue
A leader who tries to get support by making false claims and promises and using arguments based on emotion rather than reason
Demolition
1) deliberate destruction of a building or other structure
2) destruction in war by means of explosives
Antacid
An agent or medicine that prevents or lessens the pain caused by having too much acid in your stomach by neutralizing the acidity
Antiperspirant
A substance that is used to prevent sweating
Antiquity
1) ancient times
2) of very great age
3) relics or monuments from ancient times
Anticipate
To look forward to something; to think of in advance; to foresee and deal with in advance
Homicide
The act of killing another person
Homogenize
To blend into a uniform mixture; to change something so that its parts are the same or similar
Homonym
A word that is spelled and pronounced like another word but is different in meaning
Homosexual
To be sexually attracted to people of the same sex
Perfidy
The act of betraying someone or something; the state of being disloyal; treachery
Perimeter
The boundary or outside edge of a closed figure, area, or surface
Permanent
Lasting or continuing for a very long time or forever; stable
Perambulate
To stroll; to travel over or through especially on foot; to make an official inspection of a boundary on foot
Inanimate
Not living; not capable of life
Invisible
Incapable by nature of being seen
Inadvisable
Not wise, sensible, or reasonable
Inexorable
Not able to be stopped, persuaded, moved, or changed
Platitude
A statement that expresses an idea that is not new; a banal, trite, or stale remark
Trite
Not fresh, original, or effective from being used too often; hackneyed
Seraphic
To be like or resembling a celestial being
Depot
1) train or bus station
2) place where military supplies are kept or where soldiers are trained
3) place where goods or motor vehicles are stored
Lucidity
Clearness of thought or style; a presumed capacity to perceive the truth directly and instantaneously; clarity
Clairvoyance
Ability to perceive matters beyond the range of ordinary perception or not present to the senses
Foal
A young horse
Bewilder
To confuse someone very much; to perplex or confuse by a complexity, variety, or multitude of objects or considerations; puzzle
Misguided
Having wrong or improper goals or values; led or prompted by wrong or inappropriate motives or ideals
Elusive
1) hard to find or capture
2) hard to understand, define, or remember
Controversial
Relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument
Conventional
Used and accepted by most people; usual or traditional; common and ordinary
Upsurge
A rapid or sudden increase or rise
Permissive
Giving people a lot of freedom or too much freedom to do what they what to do; indulgent, lax, or tending to grant permission
Immorality
The state of being not morally good or right, thus conflicting with generally or traditionally held moral principles
Succinct
Using few words to state or express an idea without including extra or unnecessary information; concise
Verbose
Using more words than are needed; wordy
Cynic
A person who has negative opinions about the things people do; a person who believes that people are selfish and are only interested in helping themselves
Impartial
Treating all people and groups equally; not partial or biased; fair
Apocryphal
Well-known but probably not true; of doubtful authenticity; fictitious
Hackneyed
Lacking freshness or originality due to being used too often
