Vocabulary Flashcards by Bea Tanese

stealthy

furtive; surreptitious

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clamorous

vociferous; raucous

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enfranchise

give voting rights

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hamper

hinder; obstruct

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noxious

harmful; poisonous; lethal

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kindle

to start a fire

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bilk

cheat; defraud

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covert

hidden; undercover

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engender

cause

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hangar

storage area (like garage) for a plane

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approbation

approval or praise

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meander

(of a river or road) follow a winding course

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amble

saunter

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equivocal

ambiguous

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meager

lacking; paltry

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encumber

restrict

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pinion

bind; fetter

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abstruse

obscure

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germane

relevant

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inculcate

instill

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ascertain

fathom; deduce

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judicious

sensible; shrewd

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penurious

destitute

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temerity

audacity

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trite

banal; hackeyned

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voluble

effusive

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sonorous

resonant

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proliferate

burgeon

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paucity

scarcity

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capricious

mercurial; fanciful

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conscientious

punctilious; sedulous

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curmudgeon

a surly person

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diffuse

spread

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alacrity

eagerness; enthusiasm; quickness

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deleterious

harmful

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postulate

hypothesize; propose

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tractable

obedient; dutiful; polite

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abasement

humiliation; degradation

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harangue

noisy, attacking speech

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abrogate

cancel; deny; repeal

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plaudit

statement giving strong praise

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ensconce

establish firmly in a position

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obdurate

stubborn

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reprieve

a respite; postponement of a sentence

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tawdry

of little value; gaudy

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enshroud

cover

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obfuscate

deliberately make something difficult to understand

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repudiate

shun; eschew

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incur

become subject to (something unwelcome or unpleasant) as a result of one’s own behavior or actions

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blithe

free-spirited; carefree

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rescind

retract; repeal

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temper

to moderate; soften

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blunderbuss

a clumsy person

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acquiesce

give in

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bombast

arrogant, pompous language

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curtail

cut short

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epicure

someone who appreciates good food and drink

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lampoon

ridicule; spoof

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tenuous

flimsy; not solid

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acrid

sharp; pungent

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boorish

ill-mannerede

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epistle

letter

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heresy

against orthodox opinion

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lance

spear; spike; javelin

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respite

a break; intermission

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terse

concise; to the point

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acrophobia

fear of heights

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debility

weakness; incapacity

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epistolary

concerned with letters; through correspondence

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resplendent

shining; glowing

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languid

tired; slow

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acuity

sharpness (mental or visual)

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braggart

someone who boasts

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hidebound

rigid in opinions

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languish

decay; fade away; get weaker

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obsequious

servile; submissive

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restorative

a tonic

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equivocate

speak ambiguously; avoid telling the truth

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larceny

theft; robbery; stealing

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ponderous

weighty; slow and heavy

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timorous

cowardly; fearful

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adroit

skilful/skillful

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largess

generosity

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pontificate

speak pompously or dogmatically

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bristle

to show irritation

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obstreperous

noisy and boisterous

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portend

foretell

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titter

giggle quietly

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broach

start to discuss; approach

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deference

respect

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portent

a warning sign; omen

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tome

large book

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defoliate

cause leaves to fall off

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espouse

promote; take up; support

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torpid

inactive; lazy; stagnant

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bulwark

fortification; barricade; wall

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defunct

no longer in existence

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posterity

future generations

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torpor

dormancy; sluggishness; inactivity

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affable

friendly; social; easygoing

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officious

domineering; intrusive; meddlesome

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totter

walk unsteadily

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burnish

polish

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euphony

pleasant sounds

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levity

flippancy; joking about serious matters

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allay

to lessen

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byline

the line that tells you who wrote an article

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demur

hesitate; refuse

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ignominious

shameful

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liniment

soothing lotion

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ruse

trick; stratagem

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lithe

flexible; supple

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cacophony

discordant loud noises

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cajole

coax

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onerous

burdensome; hard to undertake

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preamble

introductory material

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sacrosanct

very holy; inviolable

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traverse

to move across

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deplore

regret

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exculpate

free someone from blame; pardon; acquit

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illusory

deceptive; false; misleading

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precarious

unstable; risky

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onus

burden

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sagacious

wise

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trepidation

fear

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callow

immature

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execrable

very, very bad

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immoderate

excessive; extreme

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precedent

a previous occurrence used as a guide

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sage

a wise person

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exegesis

scholarly explanation or interpretation

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precept

guiding principle

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salacious

lecherous; erotic

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trite

unoriginal; dull

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candor

frankness; openness

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loquacious

talkative

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ordain

destine; 2. confer holy orders on a priest

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precinct

district of a city

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sallow

yellowish

cantankerous

bad-tempered; quarrelsome

exemplify

to serve as a good example

impecunious

having no money

precipice

steep slope

salubrious

health-giving

ambulatory

able to walk around (used of hospital patients)

capacious

spacious

exhaustive

complete and thorough

impious

wicked; profane

precipitous

done in a hurry

salutary

something which teaches you a lesson; beneficial

truncate

cut short

ameliorate

make better

capitulate

surrender; give in to

exonerate

acquit; absolve

destitute

impoverished

ossify

become fixed and rigid

preclude

prevent or make impossible

sanctimonious

hypocritically holy

tumult

uproar; noise

carping

constant criticism

lummox

clumsy person

sanction

give approval to

turpitude

depravity

despondent

having no hope; miserable

expatriate

refugee; emigrant; someone living away from his own country

inadvertent

not intentional

oust

push out of a position

tyro

novice; beginner

sycophant

yes-man

amity

friendship

castigate

scold strongly

expedient

convenient; practical

incantation

chant; invocation; prayer

sanguine

optimistic; cheerful

unalloyed

undiluted; total

caucus

type of private political meeting

exposition

clear explanation

maelstrom

whirlpool; storm in the ocean

palatable

good to eat; agreeable

savant

person with knowledge

unctuous

oily; using excessive flattery

analogous

comparable

extol

praise

incipient

just beginning

magnanimous

generous; big-hearted

palisade

fence made of posts

prescient

having fore-knowledge

cavalcade

procession of vehicles

extradite

deport from one country back to the home country

magnate

powerful businessman

palliative

a remedy that improves but doesn’t cure

presentiment

a feeling that something might happen

celerity

speed

extraneous

irrelevant

dexterous

skilful with hands

maladroit

clumsy; unskillful

pallid

pale

presumptuous

assuming too much; arrogant

scrupulous

careful; diligent; painstaking

unequivocal

clear; obvious

censorious

disapproving; critical

extrapolate

extend; predict on the basis of known data

unfetter

set free

annex

a building which is an addition to an existing building; take possession of

censure

blame

didactic

intended to teach; instructive

prevaricate

speak misleadingly and evasively

scuttle

sink

unfrock

to remove a priest from his position

malefactor

a wrong-doer

paradigm

example; 2. model; 3. way of looking at things

falter

hesitate; waver

indelible

cannot be wiped out

malinger

deliberately avoid work; shirk

proclivity

tendency towards

charlatan

trickster who claims knowledge he doesn’t have

dike

dam; embankment

paragon

a perfect example

unwitting

not deliberate; unconscious

chary

wary of; cautious about; reluctant to give

dilatory

low; falling behind with one’s work

paramount

of supreme importance

prodigal

wasteful; extravagant

sequester

isolate

upbraid

scold; tell off; reprimand

uproarious

hilarious; hysterical; very funny

serendipity

fortunate coincidence; unsought discovery

prodigious

very large

mallet

wooden hammer; 2. stick used for polo

indolence

laziness

fastidious

overly particular; finicky

chicanery

trickery

dilettante

person who dabbles in a subject without serious study

fatuous

silly; foolish

inductee

novice; beginner

upshot

outcome

anthropocentrism

putting man at the center of one’s philosophy

chimerical

changeable; unstable

serrated

jagged; saw-like

urbane

sophisticated; suave

diorama

model of a scene

fecund

fertile

inebriation

drunkenness; intoxication

marshal

to gather together

parity

equality

servile

overly submissive; groveling

usurp

take someone’s position (usually by force)

dirge

mournful song

felicitous

apt

ineffable

cannot be expressed in words

marsupial

pouched mamma

parochial

narrow-minded; concerned only with local matters

circuitous

indirect

disapprobation

disapproval

martinet

person who believes in strict discipline

proletarian

member of the working class

skirmish

minor battle

apocryphal

of doubtful origin

circumlocution

using too many words; long-windedness

parry

ward off; avoid

vacillate

waver; hesitate

circumscribe

limit

parsimonious

economical; frugal; thrifty

proponents

promoters; supporters

smelt

refine an ore

circumspect

cautious; considering all sides

discordancy

cacophony; harshness; jarring

fitful

not continuous; stopping and starting

inexorable

relentless

maverick

loner

prosaic

dull; boring; ordinary

smorgasbord

a Swedish buffet of cold dishes

vagrant

person wandering without a home

arable

can be cultivated

circumvent

avoid

discrepancy

something which does not match up; inconsistency

inexpedient

not advisable

meager

in short supply

partian

biased; one-sided; committed to one group

proscribe

forbid

discriminate

to make a clear distinction; see the difference

meander

wander from side to side

pathos

evoking sadness or pity

prosody

study of versification

variegated

multicolored; speckled

arcane

obscure; known only to a few people

clamor

shout; scream

discursiveness

long windedness; indirectness

mellow

soft; melodious; ripe

prostration

lying face down; 2. be overcome with extreme weakness

somnambulist

sleepwalker

clandestine

secret; covert; stealthy

flippant

making jokes about serious matters

menagerie

collection of animals

soothsayer

fortuneteller

clemency

mercy

disinterested

unbiased

flout

defy; reject

ingénue

naïve, unsophisticated person

mendacious

given to lying

paucity

shortage

protean

changeable

sophomoric

juvenile; immature

venal

corrupt; can be bribed

ingrave

ungrateful person

mercenary

concerned only with money

peccadillo

minor weakness; trivial offence

veneer

surface coating

fly-by-night

unreliable; disreputable

inimical

hostile

venerate

revere; worship

specious

false

venial

minor; unimportant

provincial

unsophisticated; narrow-minded

forensic

concerned with argument or debate (esp. for legal evidence)

dispassionate

neutral; objective

artifice

deception; trickery

artisan

craftsman

disseminating

circulating; broadcasting; spreading (information)

fortitude

bravery

peerless

without equal

ascetic

without luxuries; severely simple

fortuitous

happening by chance

verbose

talkative; long-winded; rambling

assiduous

thorough; diligent

cogent

lucid; well argued

fractious

irritable; difficult to control

inscrutable

mysterious; impenetrable

mettle

courage; bravery; valor

punctilious

paying attention to small details

spurious

false

assuage

to calm

cogitate

think over something; ponder

milieu

environment

purloin

steal

vertigo

dizziness

astute

perceptive; sharp-witted

insipid

dull; bland; boring

mire

swamp; muddy ground

penury

poverty

pusillanimous

cowardly

staid

dull; sober; serious

vestigial

not developed

vignette

small sketch

collate

arrange in order