Vocabulary Set 2 (23.06.18) Flashcards
Stade (stay d) (adj.)
marked by settled sedateness and often prim self-restraint : SOBER, GRAVE
Ex: Everyone was surprised by the racy joke from the staid professor.
wan (waan) (adj.)
SICKLY, PALLID // DIM, FAINT // LANGUID
Ex: A wan smile // She looks a little wan after all that tiring work.
draggle(drag guhl) (v.) / bedraggle (adj.)
to make wet and dirty by dragging
Ex: The wet grasses had draggled her skirt to the knees.
prolix ( pro licks) (adj.)
unduly prolonged or drawn out : too long
Ex: He was a powerful thinker, but an obscure and prolix writer.
physiognomy (fizz ee og na me) (n.)
the art of discovering temperament and character from outward appearance
ex: He formed a favorable judgment of his physiognomy.
drawn (drawn) (adj.)
showing the effects of tension, illness or pain
Ex: His illness left him looking very pale and drawn.
drow/trow (drau/trau) (n.)
a cold mist or drizzle (Scottish archaic) / a momentary illness, especially a fainting spell; a strong gust of wind / a malignant or mischievous fairy or spirit in the folkloric traditions of the Orkney and Shetland islands.
Keen/Keening (keen) (v.) (n.)
to make a loud sorrowful sound for mourning.
Ex: a keening siren
Skosh (sk oh sh) (n.) (adj.)
a small amount or derogatory term for a small soldier in Korean War. Can be used adverbally with -a in front. (ex: down a skosh). Comes from Japanese word sukoshi.
Ex: Price growth slowed a skosh.
Grubby (grub ee) (adj.)
grimy, dirty
Ex: the boy’s grubby face
Benighted (be night ed) (adj.)
in a state of pitiful or contemptible intellectual or moral ignorance, typically owing to a lack of opportunity / overtaken by darkness
Ex: A storm developed and we were forced to wait benighted near the summit
Ex: They saw themselves as bringers of culture to poor benighted peoples.
Expansively (ex span siv ely) (adv.) (TALK)
If you talk expansively, you happily talk to people in a friendly way
Ex: We talked expansively after dinner.
bedizened (be dies end) (v.)
to dress or adorn gaudily
Ex: The elderly actress bedizened herself with makeup and jewelry.
dispense (dis pence) (v.)
to get rid of or manage without // to distribute
Ex: Let’s dispense with the formalities, shall we?
Ex: We dispensed food among the needy.
solicitous (so liss eh tous) (adj.)
characterized by or showing interest or concern
Ex: She was always solicitous about the welfare of her students.
extenuate (ex ten u ate) (v.)
to lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of (something, such as a fault or offense) by making partial excuses : MITIGATE
Ex: There is no economic analysis that can extenuate bigotry.
superciliously (super sill ee ous ly)
coolly and patronizingly haughty
Ex: He reacted to their breach of etiquette with a supercilious smile.
welter (wel tur) (v.)
to become deeply sunk, soaked, or involved // to rise and fall or toss about in or with waves
Ex: He had been found in the morning weltering in blood.
postern (poss turn) (n.)
a back door or gate // a private or side entrance or way
Ex: I passed through the postern.
superannuated (super an u ate ed) (adj.)
incapacitated or disqualified for active duty by advanced age // OUTMODED, OLD-FASHIONED
ex: superannuated planes // a superannuated graduate student
truculent (truck you lent) (adj.)
aggressively self-assertive : BELLIGERENT // scathingly harsh : VITRIOLIC
ex: truculent criticism
ex: die-hard fans who became truculent and violent after their team’s loss
starling (star ling) (n.)
a defensive bulwark, usually built with pilings or bricks, surrounding the supports (or piers) of a bridge or similar construction.
Ex: The starlings of Tower Bridge in London are clearly seen.
misgivings (miss givings) (n.)
a feeling of doubt or apprehension about the outcome or consequences of something
Ex: We have misgivings about the way the campaign is being run.
Career vs Careen (ka reer, ka reen) (v.)
career is to go wildly at full speed, while careen is to go wildly from side to side.
Ex: The car careered off the cliff.
Ex: The car careened down the street.
(Note: Today, they are mostly interchangeable.)
Equanimity (e kwa nim itee) (n.)
mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation
Ex: She accepted both the good and the bad with equanimity.
Rapine (ra pine) (n.) (LITERARY)
the violent seizure of another’s property
Ex: Sanders would be inclined to make excuses for our adversaries and look on the bright side of their repression and rapine.
Steal up on (idiom/v.)
to approach someone or something in a quick, sneaky, and furtive manner so as to reach them or it without being noticed.
Ex: Someone managed to steal up on Sneaky Pete.
Pall (paul) (n.)
a heavy cloth draped over a coffin // a coffin especially when holding a body // something that covers or conceals; especially : an overspreading element that produces an effect of gloom // a feeling of gloom
Ex: A pall of thick black smoke // A pall of suspicion
Pall (paul) (v.) (LOSS)
to lose strength or effectiveness // to dwindle // to lose in interest or attraction
Ex: He found that his retirement hobbies began to pall after a couple of years.
Druidic (drew id ic) (adj.)
one of an ancient Celtic priesthood appearing in Irish and Welsh sagas and Christian legends as magicians and wizards
Ex: Druidic lore consisted of a large number of verses learned by heart.
Gyre (j+eye ur) (n.) (v.)
a giant circular oceanic surface current (n.) // to move in a circle or spiral (v.)
Ex: Prevailing winds often push sea ice to the east, where a gyre traps it against land.
Sinusoidal (sign you soy dul) (adj.)
shaped like a sine curve or sine wave
Ex: The Suns’ sinusoidal season continues, as they’ve now won six out of seven games after a stretch in which they lost nine out of 10.
refectory (r fec tor ee) (n.)
a dining hall (as in a monastery or college)
Ex: The monastery included a church, refectory, cisterns and cells.
remark (re mark) (v.)
to take notice or OBSERVE // to express as an observation or comment
Ex: I remarked a new expression on her face.
abeyance (a bey ance) (n.)
a state of temporary inactivity : SUSPENSION —used chiefly in the phrase in abeyance // a lapse in succession during which there is no person in whom a title is vested
Ex 1: New contracts on all but one existing mine are in abeyance pending the outcome of a government inquiry.
Ex 2: an estate in abeyance
By dint of (phrase)
by force of : BECAUSE OF
Ex: He succeeded by dint of hard work.
exordium (ex or de um) (n.)
a beginning or introduction especially to a discourse or composition
Ex: It was the grave beginning of a portentous business exordium.
ex: in his exordium the author warns his readers
indite (in + die + t) (v.)
MAKE UP, COMPOSE // to put down in writing
Ex: He indited a poem.
cumber (cum bur) (v.)
to hinder or encumber by being in the way // to clutter up
Ex: cumbered with heavy clothing
Ex: rocks cumbering the yard
orthography (or thog ra fee) (n.)
the art of writing words with the proper letters according to standard usage
Ex: I know most of the rules of English orthography.
