Vocabulary Set I & II Flashcards
spurious (adj)
fake; counterfeit
The head of the FBI cursed the spurious tip that incorrectly led them to an abandoned warehouse.
Synonyms: fictitious, dubious, fabricated
Antonyms: substantiated
guile (n)
trickery; deceit
The Big Bad Wolf deceived Little Red Riding Hood with guile and cunning.
Synonyms: cleverness, cunning, duplicity
Antonyms: straightforwardness
beguile (v)
to deceive with charm
The con artist beguiled me out of my money, convincing me to play his game over and over.
Synonyms: charm, entrance, captivate
Antonym: disenchant
strategem (n)
a deceitful scheme (strategos army general)
The teenager devised an elaborate strategem to escape
Synonyms: ploy, gimmick, ruse, subterfuge
surreptitious (adj)
deceptive; sneaky (sub- secretly + rapere seize)
The surreptitious movements of the lion lured the gazelle into a trap
Synonym: covert, furtive, stealthy
Antonyms: honest, trustworthy, overt
clandestine (adj)
secret; hidden
The clandestine military facility in the capital city was unknown even to the President of the United States
Synonyms: stealthy, surreptitious, covert
Antonyms: straightforward, candid
stealth (n)
sneakiness, ability to avoid detection
The “stealth bomber” is so effective because it is undetectable
Synonyms: furtiveness, covertness
Antonyms: perceptible
duplicity (n)
deceit, hypocritical deception (duplit twofold)
Synonyms: chicanery, improbity
specious (adj)
false, but plausible (specere - to look at)
Synonyms: ostensible, sophistic
furtive (adj)
secretive, sneaky <a></a>
Synonyms: stealthy, cloaked, guileful
pseudonym (n)
pen name (pseudo- fake + onoma name)
Synonyms: alias, anonym
fallacious (adj)
deceptive; false (fallacia deceit + -ious full of)
Synonyms: delusory, erroneous
rapacious (adj)
greedy; ravenous (rapere seize + -ious full of)
Synonyms: ravenous, covetous
transient (adj)
fleeting; short-lived (transire to go across)
We never understand the transient nature of childhood until we wake up one day and realize we’re all grown up.
Synonyms: ephemeral, evanescent, deciduous, transitory
Antonyms: permanent, interminable
ephemeral (adj)
short-lived (hemera day)
Critics wrote off the band as a fad, their success as an ephemeral phenomenon.
Synonyms: transient, evanescent, fleeting
Antonyms: permanent, everlasting, interminable
sporadic (adj)
irregular or unpredictable, infrequent (sporas scattered)
He has experienced sporadic success as an actor, with occasional big rolas amid many unmemorable parts.
Synonyms: intermittent, episodic, mercurial
Antonyms: permanent, frequent, regular
capricous (adj)
whimsical, impulsive
My English teacher runs her class capriciously, flitting from idea to idea with no reason or direction.
Synonyms: fickle, volatile, mercurial, erratic
evanescent (adj)
likely to vanish (vansecere to disappear)
The aurora borealis is beautfiul but evanescent, a curtain of cascading light that can disappear in a heartbeat.
Synonyms: transient, ephemeral, transitory
Antonyms: perpetual, enduring
extemporaneous (adj)
done with little or no practice (ex tempore of time)
The speech was all the more remarkable because Dr. Sherman extemporaneously, filling in for the scheduled speaker at the last moment.
Synonym: impromptu
anachronism (n)
something out of place in time (ana- backward + chronos time)
Her old-fashioned perspective on motherhood makes her an anachronism among her friends.
Synonyms: archaism, incongruity, asynchronism
transitory (adj)
lasting for a short time (transitus gone across)
Synonyms: transient, fleeting
expedite (v)
to speed up (ex- out + pedis foot)
Synonyms: hasten, quicken, facilitate
influx (n)
a flowing in (in- in + fluere to flow)
The country of Chad has seen a massive influx of refugees from the fighting in neighboring Sudan.
superfluous (adj)
beyond what is necessary or sufficient (super- over + fluere to flow)
contemporaneous (adj)
existing or occurring at about the same time (con- together + tempore time)
interminable (adj)
prolonged; extended in time (pro- forward + tract pull)
Synonyms: incessant, unremitting
protracted (adj)
prolonged; extended in time (pro- forward + tract pull)
Synonym: drawn out
censure (n)
official condemnation; harsh criticism (censor Roman supervisor for morals)
Congress voted to declare censure on the represantitive who took money and gifts from a lobbyist.
Synonyms: castigation, derision, rebuke
Antonyms: laudation, endorsement
calumny (n)
slander, false accusation
Too many tabloids know that calumny about celebrities is more profitable than the truth.
Synonyms: libel, denigration, defamtion
Antonyms: acclaim, extolment, approbation
diatribe (n)
malicious criticism or abuse (dia- through + tribein to rub)
A good debate must avoid vicious personal diatribe, and focus on a respectful discussion of issues.
Synonyms: castigation, derision, harangue
Antonyms: laudation, extolment, honor
caustic (adj)
corrosive, sarcastic
James immediately regretted making such a caustic remark; he could tell his words truly hurt Vanessa.
Synonyms: abrasive, acrimonious
Antonyms: mitigating, conciliatory, mollifying
repudatie (v)
to cast off publicly (repudium divorce)
The consumers repudiated the shoe company for using sweatshops, began buying from its competitor.
Synonyms: disavow, abjure, forswear
Antonym: condone
derogatory (adj)
disparaging; belittling (de- down, away)
Derogatory remarks are not allowed in class; discussions should critise ideas, not people.
Synonyms: pejorative, derisive, disparaging
admonish (v)
to reprimand mildly (ad- to + monere to warn)
The boy was admonished by his mom for spilling his soda on the brand-new rug.
Synonyms: rebuke, reprove
Antonyms: laud, revere, endorse
disparage (v)
to belittle; to demean (dis- apart + parage rank, peer)
Synonyms: deprecate, discredit
impugn (v)
to attack as untrue; to refute by argument (in- against + pugn to fight)
malediction (n)
a curse (mal- bad + dictus declared)
Synonyms: anathema, execration
denigrate (v)
to attack the character of; to disparage
Synonyms: slander, decry
harangue (n)
a long, critical, and pompous speech
Synonyms: diatribe, discourse
pejorative (adj)
tending to make worse (pejor worse)
The senator suggested that discussing the issue dispassionately would be more productive than slinging pejorative personal comments.
Synonym: disparaging
slander (n)
false comments that injure another’s reputation (scandalum scandal)
fake; counterfeit
spurious
störend
zweifelhaft
trickery; deceit
guile
List
Tücke
to deceive with charm
beguile
täuschen
A deceitful scheme
strategem
List
Trick
deceptive; sneaky
surreptitious
heimlich
verstohlen
betrügerisch
secret; hidden
clandestine
geheim
heimlich
verborgen
sneakiness; ability to avoid detection
stealth
Tarnung
deceit; hypocritical
duplicity
Doppelzüngigkeit
falsches Spiel
false, but plausible
specious
trügerisch
fadenscheinig
secretive; sneaky
furtive
heimlich
verstohlen
pen Name
Pseudonym
deceptive; false
fallacious
trügerisch
falsch
irreführend
greedy; ravenous
rapacious
habgierig
räuberisch
fleeting; short-lived
transient
vorübergehend
flüchtig
short-lived
ephemeral
vergänglich
eintägig
whimsical, impulsive
capricious
launisch
wechselhaft
unberechnbar
likely to vanish
evanescent
vergänglich
flüchtig
done with little or no practice
extemporaneous
unvorbereitet
improvisiert
something out of place in time
anachronism
zeitwidrige Erscheinung
lasting for a short time
transitory
vorübergehend
flüchtig
to speed up;
expedite
beschleunigen
vorantreiben
a flowing in
influx
Zustrom
Einfuhr
beyond what is necessary
superfluous
superfluid
mehr als nötig
existing or occurring at about the same time
contemporaneous
gleichzeitg
zeitgleich
never ending
interminable
endlos
langwierig
prolonged, extended in time
protracted
langwierig
hingezogen
official condemnation; harsh condemnation
censure
tadeln
monieren
slander; accusation
calumny
Rufmord
Verleumdung
malicious criticism or abuse
diatribe
Hetzrede
Tirade
corrosive; sarcastic
caustic
ätzend
sarkastisch
bissig
to cast off publicly
repudiate
ablehnen
zurückweisen
disparaging; belittling
derogatory
abwertend
abfällig
to reprimand mildly
admonish
mahnen
warnen
to belittle; to demean
disparage
verunglimpfen
herabwürdigen
to attack as untrue; to refute by argument
impugn
bestreiten
anfechten
to attack the character of; to disparage
denigrate
schlechtmachen
verleumden
A long, critical, and pompous speech
harangue
eine Ansprache, Tirade halten
tending to make worse
pejorative
abwertend
abschätzig
false comments that injure another’s reputation
slander
beleidigen
gratis (adj)
free of charge (grat- thank)
He let me borrow his gratis
free of charge
gratis
frei, kostenlos, umsonst
immutable (adj)
unchangeable (im- not + mut change)
Emily is an immutable vegetarian. No matter how hard we try, we cannot get her to eat meat.
Synonyms: permanent, inveterate
Antonyms: mutable, protean, vacillating, mercurial
permanent, inveterate, unchangeable
immutable
unveränderbar
standhaft
metamorphosis (n)
a transformation (meta- change + morph form)
The old house underwent a metamorphosis from a rundown shack into a beautiful cottage.
Synonyms: transformation, mutation, transmogrification
transformation, mutation, transmogrification
metamorphosis
Wandel, Wechsel, Veränderung
fickle (adj)
likely to change opinion unpredictably
Synonyms: capricious, vacillating, mercurial
capricious, vacillating, mercurial
likely to change opinion
fickle
launisch
unbeständig
wankelmütig
rupture (v)
to break open (rupt- break)
When the vat of smelly liquid ruptured, we picked up our feet to avoid getting the stuff on our shoes
Synonyms: burst, fissure, cleave
burst, fissure, cleave
to break open
rupture
zerbrechen
zerreißen
transmute (v)
to transform (trans- across + mut change)
Harry Potter was able to transmute a feather into a frog using a spell he learned in incantations class.
Synonyms: metamorphose, alter, transmogrify
metamorphose, alter, transmogrify, transform
transmute
verwandeln
umwandeln
transmutieren
amorphous (adj)
lacking shape, changeable in form (a- without + morph shape)
Rather than marching in precise formation, the battalion broke down into an amorphous mass of charging soldiers.
Synonyms: shapeless, nebulous, vague, nondescript
Antonyms: crystalline
shapeless, nebulous, vague, nondescript, lacking shape, changeable in form
amporphous
formlos
unorganisiert
gestaltlos
mercurial (adj)
erratic, subject to wild changes in character (from the speedy god Mercury)
Molly is the most mercurial person in the office; we can never tell if she’ll be the evil Molly or the sympathetic Molly.
Synonyms: fickle, capricious, vacillating
Antonyms: immutable, stable
fickle, capricious, vacillating, erratic, subject to wild changes in character
mercurial
launenhaft
lebhaft
quicklebendig
protean (adj)
capable of assuming different forms (from the form-changing sea god Proteus)
He has changed his position on issues so many times that he is considered the most protean member of the Congress.
Synonyms: polymorphous, labile
Antonyms: immutable, stable
polymorphous, labile, capable of assuming different forms
protean
vielgestaltig
proteisch
fluctuate (v)
to vary irregularly (flux flow)
Synonyms: vacillate, waver
vacillate, waver, to vary irregularly
fluctuate
schwanken
fluktuieren
vacillate (v)
to change one’s mind repeatedly
Synonyms: fluctuate, waver
fluctuate, waver, to change one’s mind repeatedly
vacillate
schwingen, noch unentschlossen sein
revamp (v)
to revise; to renovate (re- again)
Synonyms: refurbish, renovate
refurbish, renovate, revise
revamp
umgestalten, ausbessern, aufpolieren
amend (v)
to improve; to remove the faults of
Synonyms: rectify, redress, ameliorate, mitigate
rectify, redress, ameliorate, mitigate, to improve, to remove the faults of
amend
abändern
berichtigen
ergänzen
hackneyed (adj)
overused; trite
This film was hackneyed remake with a storyline that has been done a hundred times.
Synonyms: trite, prosaic, banal
Antonyms: original, novel
trite, prosaic, banal, overused, trite
hackneyed
abgedroschen, abgegriffen, ausgeleiert
mundane (adj)
ordinary; typical (mund- world)
Having worked for years behind a desk, she wanted to leave the mundane world behind for exotic adventures abroad.
Synonyms: routine, workaday, banal
Antonyms: singular, extraordinary, sublime
routine, workaday, banal, ordinary, typical
mundane
alltäglich, nüchtern, profan, weltlich
vacuous (adj)
lacking substance (vac- empty)
His latest book is widely criticized as vacuous and unintelligent.
Synonyms: inane, asinine, fatuous
Antonyms: profound, thoughtful, deep
inane, asinine, fatuous, lacking substance
vacuous
nichtssagend, ausdruckslos, leer, gestaltlos
prosaic (adj)
unimaginative; ordinary
I don’t understand why his oration was selected as the best; it was prosaic that I nearly fell asleep.
Synonyms: mundane, pedestrian
Antonyms: innovative, quixotic, whimsical
mundane, pedestrian, unimaginative, ordinary
prosaic
fantasielos, trocken
insipid (adj)
uninteresting; dull; without flavor (in- not + sapere taste)
Christine is the life of the party, but Tom is as insipid as they come; hardly anyone wants to talk with him.
Synonyms: bland, nondescript, vapid
Antonyms: engaging, enchanting, piquant
bland, nondescript, vapid, uninteresting, dull, without flavor
insipid
fade, geschmacklos, schal
banal (adj)
ordinary; trivial
That show used to be my favorite, but its story lines became so banal that I could no longer stand it.
Synonyms: hackneyed, trite
Antonyms: extraordinary, singular, sublime
hackneyed, trite, ordinary, trivial
banal
gewöhnlich
pedestrian (adj)
commonplace; ordinary
Synonyms: prosaic, banal, vapid
prosaic, banal, vapid, commonplace, ordinary
pedestrian
umständlich, langweilig, schwunglos
dormant (adj)
inactive; sleeping (dormire sleep)
Synonyms: inert, fallow
inert, fallow, inactive, sleeping
dormant
schlafend, ruhend, untätig
unanimous (adj)
in full agreement (un- one + anima mind)
Synonyms: concordant, concerted
concordant, concerted, in full agreement
unanimous
einig, einstimmig, einer Meinung
uniform (adj)
unvarying; always the same (un- one + forma form)
Synonym: homogeneous
Antonym: heterogeneous
homogeneous, unvarying, always the same
uniform
einheitlich, einheitsgemäß
equanimity (n)
the quality of being even-tempered (equa- same + anima mind)
Synonyms: composure, imperturbability, aplomb
composure, imperturbability, aplomb, the quality of being even-tempered
equanimity
Gelassenheit, Gleichmut
Dolorous (adj)
Marked by or expressive of sorrow or pain (dolor- pain)
Synonyms: lugubrious, doleful
Lugubrious, doleful, marked by or expressive if sorrow or pain
Dolorous
Animosity (n)
Hostility; ill-will (animosus bold)
Synonyms: malevolence, antagonism, individiousness
Malevolence, antagonism, invidiousness, hostility, ill-will
animosity
pusillanimous
Cowardly (pusillus weak + anima spirit)
Synonyms: timorous, craven, dastardly
Timorous, craven, dastardly, cowardly
Pusillanimous
Lassitude
Feeling of weakness or listlessness
Synonyms: lethargy, languor, torpor, stupor
lethargy, languor, torpor, stupor, feeling of weakness or illness
lassitude
benefactor (n)
one who supports or helps another (bene- good + fact to make)
Mr King is the benefactor who generously donated the money for the new children’s wing in the hospital.
Synonyms: philanthropist, patron
Antonyms: malefactor, nemesis, antagonist, adversary
philanthropist, patron, one who supports or helps another
benefactor
benign (adj)
harmless (bene good)
She was relieved to find out that her tumor was benign.
Synonym: innocuous
Antonyms: malignant, virulent
innocuous, harmless
benign
benevolent (adj)
kind; considerate (bene- good + vole wish)
The benevolent Cub Scout did his good deed for the day when he helped a motorist change a tire.
Synonyms: gracious, altruistic, magnanimous
Antonyms: malevolent, malicious, inimical, pernicious
gracious, altruistisc, Kind, considerate
benevolent
euphonious (n)
sweet sounding (eu- good + Phon sound)
Synonyms: mellifluous, dulcet, lyrical
mellifluous, dulcet, lyrical, sweet sounding
euphonious
eulogy (n)
a praising tribute (eu- good + logia discourse)
Although associated with funerals, “eulogy” has a positive tone.)
His touching eulogy for his fallen friend left all the mourners weeping.
Synonyms: encomium, laudation, extolment, paean
Antonyms: denunciation, execration, censure
encomium, laudation, extolment, paean, a praising tribute
eulogy
beneficiary (n)
one who receives benefits (bene- good + fic to make)
Synonyms: heir, recipient, legatee
heir, recipient, legatee, one who receives benefits
beneficiary
gratuity (n)
a small payment in gratitude (grat- thank)
Don’t confuse with gratuitous (adj) unnecessary
a small payment in gratitude
gratuity
gratify (v)
to please (grat- please)
Synonyms: appease, mollify, indulge
appease, mollify, indulge, to please
gratify
euphoria (n)
a feeling of extreme happiness (eu- good)
Synonyms: elation, rapture, jubiliation, ecstasy
elation, rapture, jubilation, ecstasy, a feeling of extreme happiness
euphoria
magnanimous (adj)
noble of heart; generous; forgiving (magna great + anima mind)
Synonyms: philanthropic, altruistic, merciful
philanthropic, altruistic, merciful, noble of heart, generous, forgiving
magnanimous
sanguine (adj)
cheerfully optimistic (sanguis blood)
After acing his final, David was sanguine about his prospects for a good overall course grade
Synonyms: blithe, buoyant
Antonyms: morose, forlorn, melancholy, sullen
phlegmatic (adj)
sluggish
His prolonged illness turned Julio from a spry, happy bin vivant into a morose and phlegmatic bore.
Synonyms: languorous, lethargic, somnolent, torpid
Antonyms: vigorous, vibrant, hale, spry
languorous, lethargic, somnolent, torpid, sluggish
phlegmatic
melancholy (adj)
sad, depressed (melan- black + choler bile)
She has eben so melancholy ever since she broke up with her boyfriend; sometimes she is even too depressed to talk to her friends.
Synonyms: morose, despondent, disconsolate, sullen
Antonyms: blithe, buoyant, sanguine
morose, despondent, disconsolate, sullen, sad, depressed
melancholy
choleric (adj)
easily angered (choler- bile + ic characterized by)
Gena’s mom is really nice but her dad is choleric; he freaks out about the smallest things.
Synonyms: irascible, fractious, bilious, splenetic
irascible, fractious, bilious, splenetic, easily angered
choleric
recalcritant (adj)
stubbornly resistant to authority (re- back + calcitarre kick)
Christine is a talented volleyball player, but she’s so recalcritant that our coach often keeps her on the bench.
Synonyms: refractory, intractable
Antonyms: compliant, docile, tractable, obsequious
lethargic (adj)
sluggish, dully pathetic
After three weeks of factoring polynominals, my entire class became lethargic, we were bored to death.
Synonyms: langurous, phlegmatic, torpid
Antonyms: vigorous, vibrant
langurous, phlegmatic, torpid, sluggish, dully
lethargic
splenetic (adj)
irritable, easily angered (splen- spleen)
Synonyms: bilious, choleric
bilious, choleric, irritable, easily angered
splenetic
querulous (adj)
disposed to complaining
Synonyms: peevish, captious, carping, caviling
peevish, captious, carping, caviling, disposed to complaining
querulous
benediction (n)
an expression of good wishes (bene- good + dictus declaration)
At the reception, the father of the bride offered a benediction, wishing the couple never-ending love & happiness.
Synonyms: blessing, sanction
Antonyms: curse, malediction, execrution
blessing, sanction, an expression of good wishes
benediction
euphemism (n)
the Substitution of an inoffensive term for an offensive one (eu- good phemis speech)
A good journalist avoids the euphemism of “war” like “ordnance” for bombs and “physical damage” for casualities.
ingratiate (v)
to put oneself in good favor with another (in- in + grat to please)
When starting at a new school, Mary sought to ingratiate herself with her classmates in being excessively nice.
Synonyms: flatter, wheedle, toady, cajole
flatter, wheedle, toady, cajole, to put oneself in good favor with another
ingratiate
