Vocabulary Study 1 Flashcards
Archaic
Definition: antiquated, old, out of use
Synonyms: ancient, antique, obsolete, venerable
Derivatives: archaically, archaism, archaize, archaized, archaizing, archaizer
Shakespeare uses the archaic word “wherefore” where modern English speakers would use “why”.
Abstruse
Definition: difficult to understand, recondite, concealed
Synonyms: complex, complicated, intricate, knotty
Derivatives: abstrusely, abstruseness
The preacher struggled to explain a particularly abstruse passage of text
Assuage
Definition: to ease, to mitigate, to make less painful or burdensome, to calm
Synonyms: allay, alleviate, lighten, soothe
Derivatives: assuaged, assuaging, assuagement, assuager
During the Civil War, surgeons used morphine to assuage the pain of battle wounds.
Contentious
Definition: quarrelsome, stirring controversy
Synonyms: bellicose, belligerent, pugnacious
Derivatives: contentiously, contentiousness, contention
The contentious customer insisted on arguing with the manager, even after his money had been refunded.
Depravity
Definition: moral corruption, a wicked or perverse act
Synonyms: abasement, debasement, debauchery, perversion, vitiation
Derivatives: deprave, depraver, depravement, depraved
Stealing from helpless elderly people requires unimaginable depravity.
Disdain
Definition: intense dislike; to treat with scorn or contempt, to reject as unworthy
Synonyms: (to be) arrogant, haughty, high-handed, insolent, lordly, supercilious
Derivatives: disdained, disdaining, disdainer, disdainful, disdainfully, disdainfulness
I disdain liars and gossips: I find it difficult even to be in their company.
Dormant
Definition: inactive, sleeping
Synonyms: abeyant, latent, quiescent
Derivatives: dormancy
Maybe if I take a painting class, I’ll awaken some dormant talent I didn’t even know I had!
Enigmatic
Definition: mysterious, inexplicable, puzzling
Synonyms: abstruse, ambiguous, cryptic, equivocal, obscure, recondite
Derivatives: enigma, enigmatical, enigmatically, enigmatize
He said, “We’ll see,” but I don’t know what that enigmatic comment is supposed to mean.
Furtive
Definition: secret in an underhanded way, stealthy
Synonyms: clandestine, covert, surreptitious
Derivatives: furtively, furtiveness
He glanced furtively at his neighbor’s test paper, hoping the teacher wouldn’t notice.
Fuse
Definition: to mix or to join (usually by melting)
Synonyms: amalgamate, blend, coalesce, commingle, merge, mingle
Derivatives: fused, fusing, fuses, fusibility, fusible
To make steel, the manufacturer fuses iron with other metals.
Insipid
Definition: boring and stupid
Synonyms: banal, flat, inane, jejune, vapid
Derivatives: insipidity, insipidly, insipidness
Gossip is an insipid waste of valuable time.
Loathe
Definition: to detest
Synonyms: abhor, abominate
Derivatives: loathful, loathing, loathingly, loathness, loathsome
I loathe tapioca pudding; I can’t think of any food I detest more.
Mitigate
Definition: to cause to become less harsh or hostile; to make less severe
Synonyms: allay, alleviate, assuage, lighten
Derivatives: mitigation, mitigatedly, mitigative, mitigator, mitigatory
The gentle sun mitigated the chill in the December air.
Nullify
Definition: to cause not to be in effect, to negate
Synonyms: abrogate, annul, invalidate
Derivatives: nullified, nullifying, nullification, nullificationist, nullificator, nullifier
If anyone cheats on a state test, the state may nullify the scores of everyone in the room!
Obscure
Definition: difficult to see, vague
Synonyms: abstruse, ambiguous, cryptic, enigmatic, equivocal, recondite
Derivatives: obscuration, obscurative, obscuredly, obscurely, obscurement, obscureness, obscurity
The street sign was obscure, so we missed our turn and got lost.
