VSP VOCAB 1-6 Flashcards
retribution
n. punishment for offenses; compensation
s: chastisement, condemnation, discipline
a: acquittal, forgiveness, overlooking, pardoning
reticence
n. inclination to be silent
s: reserve, silence, taciturnity, uncommunicativeness
a: frankness, ingenuousness, openness, talkativeness
respite
n. an interval of relief or rest; a delay of punishment
s: intermission, lull, pause, postponement, recess, suspension
a: activity, continuity, movement; action, execution
reprisal
n. forcible seizure in retaliation for injuries received; injury done in return for injury received
s: counterattack, retaliation, revenge
a: compromise, reconciliation, submission
reprehensible
adj. deserving of blame, rebuke, or censure
s: blameworthy, condemnable, reprovable
a: blameless, commendable, laudatory
replete
adj. abundantly supplied; well-filled
s: bountiful, complete, full, plenary
a: drained, empty, insufficient
renunciation
n. the act of formally or voluntarily giving up a claim or title
s: abnegation, sacrifice, self-denial, surrender
a: assertion, claim, demand
remonstrance
n. the act of objecting or protesting
s: expostulation, objection, protestation
a:acquiescence, agreement, assent, consent
recumbent
adj. reclining; lying down; resting
s: couchant, dormant, prone, prostrate, supine
a: erect, standing, upright
discomfit
v. to cause uneasiness, embarrassment, or confusion
s: disconcert, fluster, unnerve
v. to thwart the plans or purposes of
s: foil, frustrate, hinder
a: accomplish, effect,fulfill
corroborate
v. to strengthen or confirm by agreeing statements or new evidence
s: authenticate, certify, document, substantiate, validate, verify
a: contradict, invalidate, negate, nullify
coerce
v. to force someone to comply or obey, as by pressure, threats or intimidation; to effect by force
s: bully, compel, constrain, extort, oblige
a: blandish, cajole, coax, entreat, inveigle, persuade
sporadic
adj. occuring in occasional or isolated instances
s: infrequent, irregular, occasional, random, spotty
a: frequent, regular, unbroken, unremitting
pseudonym
n. a fictitious name ,as one assumed by an author
s: alias cryptonym, nom de plume, pen name
plethora
n. excess, superabundance
s: oversupply, profusion, superfluity
a: dearth, inadequacy, insufficiency, scantiness
panacea
n. a supposed remedy for all diseases or ills
s: cure-all, elixir, nostrum
idiosyncrasy
n. a temperament peculiar to an individual; any personal peculiarity or mannerism
s: eccentricity, oddity, pecularity, singularity
a: commonness, normality, ordinariness
epithet
n. a name or title used to describe or characterize a person or thing
s: appellation, designation, label, nickname
eon
n. an indefinitely long time
s: ages, eternity, forever, years
demagogue
n. a leader who appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace in order to obtain power
s: agitator, haranguer, rabble-rouser
criterion
n. a test, rule, or standard by which something is judged
s: barometer, gauge, guideline, norm, touchstone, yardstick
caustic
adj. capable of burning, corroding, or destroying tissue by chemical action
s: acidic, cankerous, corrosive
a: healing, restorative
adj. cutting or sarcastic in utterance
s: sardonic, scathing
a: amiable, cordial, gracious, kind
anathema
n. a person or thing accursed or consigned to damnation; a formal ecclesiastical curse or ban
s: banishment, damnation, excommunication, interdiction
a: acceptance, reception, sanction
n. a person or thing greatly detested
s: abhorrence, abomination, nuisance
a: admiration, delight, joy
n. a curse or imprecation generally
s: denunciation, execration, malediction
a: benediction, blessing, praise
agnostic
n. one who holds that the existence of God is unknown and unknowable; one who asserts that all claims to knowledge are uncertain
s: nonbeliever, skeptic
a: believer
trajectory
n. the direction of an object through space
n. a course taken
s: curve, direction, flight, flow, movement, route, track, trail
a: deviation, misdirection
sanction
n. authoritative permission for an action
s: approcal, authorization, endorsement, ratification
a: disapprobation, disapproval
n. a penalty imposed to encourage compliance to law
s: ban, injunction
precursor
n. a person or thing that goes before and heralds the coming of another person or thing; one who precedes another in a course or office
s: harbinger, herald, messenger; forerunner, predecessor
plagiarism
n. ** the act of stealing and using the ideas or writings of another as one’s own**
s: appropriation, arrogation, theft
perdition
n. condition of the sould lost in eternal punishment
s: condemnation, damage, deprivation, desolation, destruction, doom, torment, wreckage
a: salvation
penury
n. extreme poverty
s: destitution, indigence, privation, want
a: affluence, luxury, opulence, wealth
hiatus
n. a break or interruption in something; a gap; a pause
s: intermission, interval, lacuna, recess, respite
a: continuation, continuity
frugality
n. the quality of being thrifty; not spending or using unnecessarily
s: economy, moderation, self-denial, thrift
a: extravagance, lavishness, prodigality, wastefulness
dirge
n. a funeral song or lament; any song or poem expressing mourning
s: elegy, requiem, threnody
clemency
n. mercy in the exercise of authority or power; leniency toward an offender or enemy
s: beneficence, easement, magnanimity, mitigation, relief
a: harshness, rigidity, severity, strictness
cadence
n. intonation of the voice
s: accent, inflection, lilt, tone
n. measured movement, such as in music and writing
s: beat, pace, pulse, rhythm, stroke, tempo
belligerence
n. revealing hostility and a readiness to fight
s: aggression, antagonism, combativeness, militarism, violence
a: civility, peace, submission, surrender
vulnerable
adj. susceptible to wounds; open to attack
s: defenseless, exposed, unprotected
a: impregnable, invulnerable, unconquerable
strident
adj. loud, harsh, grating
s: earsplitting, hoarse, loud, raucous, stentorian
a: low, low-pitched, muted, soft
ruminate
v. to chew the cud; to meditate or reflect on
s: meditate, muse, ponder
procrastinate
v. to put off doing something until a future time; to postpone habitually
s: dawdle, delay, lag, loiter
a: hasten, hurry
pestilent
adj. tending to destroy life; dangerous to the moral, social, or political welfare of society
s: baleful, destructive, detrimental, inurious, ruinous
a: harmless, innocuous, healthful, uncorrupting
penitent
adj. feeling sorrow for one’s sins and being willing to repent
s: contrite remorseful, repentant
a: adamant, inexorable, obdurate
insurgent
adj. rising in active revolt against constituted authority
s: factious, insubordinate, rebellious
a: acquiescent, resigned, submissive
indomitable
adj. not easily discouraged or defeated; unconquerable
s: determined, invincible, invulnerable, irrepressible, resolute, unbeatable
a: capitulating, conquerable, yielding
impeccable
adj. not capable of sin; faultless
s: errorless, flawless, infallible, sinless, undefiled
a: blameworthy, culpable, fallible, imperfect, sinful
elucidate
v. to make clear or plain especially by explanation
s: clarify, explicate, expound, illuminate, interpret
a: complicate, confuse, distract, muddle, obscure
augment
v. to make greater, as in size, quantity, and strength; to supplement
s: amplify, boost, enlarge, expand, extend, increase, intensify, strengthen
a: decrease, deduct, degrade, diminish, lessen, reduce
abdicate
v. to officially renounce power or neglect to complete a responsibility or duty
s: hand over, relinquish, resign, step down
a: assume, claim, continue, maintain
inundate
v. to cover with water; to overwhelm as if with a flood
s: drown, overpower, overwhelm, submerge
a: extricate, uncover
intrepid
adj. fearless
s: brave, courageous, daring, unafraid, undaunted
a: cowardly, craven, fearful, scared
insipid
adj. without excitement or appeal
s: banal, bland, boring, dull, inane,lifeless, trite
a: exciting, exhilarating, fascinating, fresh, interesting, lively, relevant
indemnify
v. to protect against or compensate for damage or loss
s: assure, cover, guarantee, insure, protect, refund, reimburse, repay
a: deprive, forfeit, lose
incarcerate
v. to imprison
s: confine, immure, impound, jail
a: emancipate, free, liberate, release
imbibe
v. to drink; to absorb or take in with the senses as if by drinking\
s: quaff; absorb, assimilate, digest, ingest
a: disgorge, eject, exude; dispel, disseminate, teach
extenuate
v. to lessen the seriousness of the circumstance by giving excuses
s: explanation, justification, mitigation, qualification, vindication
exorbitant
adj. going beyond what is reasonable; excessive
s: extravagant, inordinate, unreasonable
a: inadequate, insufficient
exemplify
v. to illustrate something by acting as an example
s: demonstrate, embody, epitomize, illustrate, personify, represent
a: distract, misrepresent, obscure
emanate
v. to flow forth or originate from a source
s: arise, derive issue, originate, proceed
a: cease, decrease, stop terminate
egregious
adj. outstandingly bad
s: flagrant, gross, infamous, notorious, outrageous
a: honorable, illustrious, noble, notable
efface
v, to erase or remove something as if by rubbing
s: destroy, erode, obliterate, rub out, wear away
a: ameliorate, build construct, restore
aggrandize
v. to make greater, richer, more powerful
s: enlarge, expand, increase, upgrade
a: decrease, degreade detract, lessen, lower, minimize
v. to exaggerate
s: amplify, boast, inflate, magnify, overstate, overvalue, puff up
a: belittle, debase
banal
adj. **lacking freshness or originality; commonplace, ordinary
s: insipid, pedestrian, platitudinous, vapid
a: original, piquing, pithy, stimulating
chicanery
n. trickery, especially in legal dealings; the use of subterfuge or trickery in debate
s: beguilement, deception, duplicity, fraud, sophistry, stratagem
a: candor, forthrightness, frankness, sincerity, straightforwardness
denote
v. to indicate
s: convey, express, imply suggest
entrepreneur
n. one who organizes and manages a business, assuming the risk of profit or loss
s: businessman, director, enterpriser, financier, manager
fetish
n. an inanimate object thought to have inherent magical powers, and therefore worshiped
n. anything irrationally reverenced; obession
s: amulet, attachment, charm, fixation, idol, talisman
heinous
adj. hatefully bad or wicked; abominable
s: atrocious, monstrous, outrageous
a: humane, noble, virtuous
pensive
adj. thinking deeply or seriously, often of sad or melancholy things
s: contemplative, meditative, reflective, thoughtful
a: carefree, flippant, heedless, unreflecting
pique
v. to evoke resentment in
s: anger, annoy, displease, irritate
a: appease, assuage, placate, soothe
v. to arouse
s: attract, interest, intrigue, provoke, stimulate
a: bore, disenchant, disenthrall, disinterest
plaintive
adj. expressing sorrow; mournful
s: doleful, dolorous, lugubrious, melancholy, rueful, sorrowful
a: cheerful, joyful, jubilant
trenchant
adj. forceful and effective, keen, penetrating
s: expressive, striking , vigorous; biting, cutting, incisive
a: banal, flat; dull, feeble
verdant
adj. green with growing plants or grass; green in color
s: grass-covered, grassy, green, plant-covered, verdurous
a: barren, waste
adj. unripe in knowledge or judgment; unsophisticated
s: inexperienced, immature, naive
a: knowledgeable,sophisticated
