VOCABULARY WORDS WS02 Flashcards
altruistic (adjective)
showing a wish to help or bring advantages to others, even if it results in disadvantage for yourself:
“I doubt whether her motives for donating the money are altruistic - she’s probably looking for publicity.”
selfless, approving
ameliorate (verb)
to make a bad or unpleasant situation better:
“Foreign aid is badly needed to ameliorate the effects of the drought.”
make better, enhance
blatant (adjective)
very obvious and intentional, when this is a bad thing;
“she told a blatant lie”
easy to see, recognize, or understand
cursory (adjective)
quick and probably not detailed:
“a cursory glance/look”
casual, passing
decadence (noun)
low moral standards and behaviour characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury
“In a moment of sheer decadence I eat cheese on toast in bed.”
unethical, unprincipled, abhorrent
duress (noun)
threats used to force a person to do something:
“He claimed that he signed the confession under duress.”
force, pressure
efficacy (noun)
the ability of something to produce the intended result:
“she doubted the efficacy of the method”
effectiveness, success,
productiveness
eschew (verb)
to avoid something intentionally, or to give something up:
“We won’t have discussions with this group unless they eschew violence.”
shun, abstain from, refrain from
extortion (noun)
the act of getting something, especially money, by force or threats:
“He was found guilty of obtaining the money by extortion.”
germane (adjective)
relevant to a subject under consideration:
“that is not germane to our theme”
relevant
histrionics (noun)
very emotional and energetic behaviour that is not sincere and has no real meaning:
“I’d had enough of Lydia’s histrionics.”
insincere, dramatic
impunity (noun)
freedom from punishment or from the unpleasant results of something that has been done:
“these criminals think they can act with impunity”
exemption from punishment
indolent (adjective)
showing no real interest or effort:
“they were too indolent to work when it was hot”
lazy, slothful
intrepid (adjective)
extremely brave and showing no fear of dangerous situations:
“The intrepid kitten walked slowly in front of the two big dogs.”
courageous, dauntless
itinerant (adjective)
travelling from one place to another, usually to work for a short period:
“She is an itinerant teacher who travels between schools teaching special education students.”
nomadic, roving, wandering
malevolent (adjective)
causing or wanting to cause harm or evil:
“How malevolent of you to wish that I was dead!”
sinister, malicious, wicked
paucity (noun)
the fact that there is too little of something:
“a paucity of information”
shortage, lack of something
plethora (noun)
a very large amount of something, especially a larger amount than you need, want, or can deal with:
“I don’t see why my mother wants more shoes when she already has a plethora of them.”
overabundance, too much
risible (adjective)
so lacking in quality or usefulness that it deserves to be laughed at:
“She’s been making risible attempts to learn the trumpet.”
laughable
ubiquitous (adjective)
seeming to be everywhere:
“Its influence is so ubiquitous that it comes to dictate a lot of our conversations.”
all over the place, present everywhere
