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Week 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

im·pro·vise

/ˈimprəˌvīz/

A

create and perform (music, drama, or verse) spontaneously or without preparation.
“he was improvising to a backing of guitar chords”

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2
Q

pro·phet·ic

/prəˈfedik/

A

adjective
1.
accurately describing or predicting what will happen in the future.
“his warnings proved prophetic”

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3
Q

sub·jec·tive

/səbˈjektiv/

A

adjective
1.
based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.
“his views are highly subjective”

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4
Q

ap·a·thy

/ˈapəTHē/

A

noun
lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.
“widespread apathy among students”

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5
Q

prin·ci·pled

/ˈprinsəpəld/

A

a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.
“the basic principles of Christianity”

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6
Q

in·con·gru·ous

/ˌinˈkäNGɡro͞oəs/

A

adjective
not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something.
“the duffel coat looked incongruous with the black dress she wore underneath”

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7
Q

eq·ui·ta·ble

/ˈekwədəb(ə)l/

A

adjective
1.
fair and impartial.
“an equitable balance of power”

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8
Q

for·tu·i·tous

/fôrˈto͞oədəs/

A

adjective
happening by accident or chance rather than design.
“the similarity between the paintings may not be simply fortuitous”

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9
Q

in·con·se·quen·tial

/ˌinkänsəˈkwen(t)SHəl/

A

adjective
not important or significant.
“they talked about inconsequential things”

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10
Q

es·say·ist

/ˈesāəst/

A

noun
plural noun: essayists
a person who writes essays, especially as a literary genre.

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11
Q

flor·id

/ˈflôrid,ˈflärid/

A 
adjective
1.
having a red or flushed complexion.
"a stout man with a florid face"
2.
elaborately or excessively intricate or complicated.
"florid operatic-style music was out"
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12
Q

par·a·dox

/ˈperəˌdäks/

A

noun
a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true.
“in a paradox, he has discovered that stepping back from his job has increased the rewards he gleans from it”

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13
Q

e·gal·i·tar·i·an

/iˌɡaləˈterēən/

A

adjective
adjective: egalitarian
relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
“a fairer, more egalitarian society”

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14
Q

e·phem·er·al

/əˈfem(ə)rəl/

A

adjective
adjective: ephemeral
lasting for a very short time.
“fashions are ephemeral”

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15
Q

a·cu·men

/əˈkyo͞omən,ˈakyəmən/

A

noun
noun: acumen
the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain.
“business acumen”

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16
Q

rev·er·ence

/ˈrev(ə)rəns/

A

noun
noun: reverence; plural noun: reverences
deep respect for someone or something.
“rituals showed honor and reverence for the dead”

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17
Q

ca·pri·cious

/kəˈpriSHəs,kəˈprēSHəs/

A

adjective
adjective: capricious
given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.
“it’s terrible to feel our livelihood hinges on a capricious boss”

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18
Q

cor·rob·o·rate

/kəˈräbəˌrāt/

A

verb
verb: corroborate; 3rd person present: corroborates; past tense: corroborated; past participle: corroborated; gerund or present participle: corroborating
confirm or give support to (a statement, theory, or finding).
“the witness had corroborated the boy’s account of the attack”

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19
Q

mi·ser·li·ness

/ˈmīzərlēnəs/

A

noun
noun: miserliness
excessive desire to save money; extreme meanness.
“the party earned a damaging reputation for miserliness by cutting pensions”

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20
Q

illiberality

A

Illiberality is a characteristic of being either extremely narrow-minded or ungenerous. Your brother’s illiberality means he’s the last person you’d ask to loan you ten dollars.

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21
Q

fas·tid·i·ous

/faˈstidēəs/

A

adjective
very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail.
“he chooses his words with fastidious care”

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22
Q

po·lem·i·cal

/pəˈlemək(ə)l/

A

adjective
adjective: polemical
relating to or involving strongly critical, controversial, or disputatious writing or speech.
“a polemical essay”

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23
Q

nov·el1

/ˈnävəl/

A

adjective
adjective: novel
new or unusual in an interesting way.
“he hit on a novel idea to solve his financial problems

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24
Q

co·pi·ous

/ˈkōpēəs/

A

adjective
adjective: copious
abundant in supply or quantity.
“she took copious notes”

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25
Q

thrift

/THrift/

A 
noun
noun: thrift
1.
the quality of using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully.
"the values of thrift and self-reliance"
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26
Q

dif·fi·dence

/ˈdifidəns/

A

noun
noun: diffidence
modesty or shyness resulting from a lack of self-confidence.
“I say this with some diffidence”

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27
Q

in·volved

/inˈvälvd/

A

adjective
adjective: involved
difficult to comprehend; complicated.
“a long, involved conversation”

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28
Q

di·dac·tic

/dīˈdaktik/

A

adjective
adjective: didactic
intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.
“a didactic novel that set out to expose social injustice”

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29
Q

de·cep·tive

/dəˈseptiv/

A

adjective
adjective: deceptive
giving an appearance or impression different from the true one; misleading.
“he put the question with deceptive casualness”

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30
Q

a·cer·bic

/əˈsərbik/

A 
adjective
adjective: acerbic
1.
(especially of a comment or style of speaking) sharp and forthright.
"his acerbic wit"
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31
Q

scath·ing

/ˈskāT͟HiNG/

A

adjective
adjective: scathing
witheringly scornful; severely critical.

32
Q

dis·sim·i·lar

/ˌdi(s)ˈsimilər/

A

adjective
adjective: dissimilar
not alike; different.
“a collection of dissimilar nations lacking overall homogeneity”

33
Q

i·con·o·clast

/īˈkänəˌklast/

A

noun
noun: iconoclast; plural noun: iconoclasts
1.
a person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions.

34
Q

pi·ous

/ˈpīəs/

A

adjective
adjective: pious
devoutly religious.

35
Q

vol·u·bil·i·ty

/ˌvälyəˈbilədē/

A

noun
the quality of talking fluently, readily, or incessantly; talkativeness.
“her legendary volubility deserted her”

36
Q

pel·lu·cid

/pəˈlo͞osəd/

A

adjectiveLITERARY
translucently clear.
“mountains reflected in the pellucid waters”

37
Q

e·clipse

/əˈklips/

A

noun

2: a falling into obscurity or decline

38
Q

ru·mi·na·tion

/ˌro͞oməˈnāSH(ə)n/

A

noun
1.
a deep or considered thought about something.
“philosophical ruminations about life and humanity”
2.
the action of chewing the cud.
“cows slow down their rumination”

39
Q

pro·sa·ic

/prəˈzāik/

A

commonplace; unromantic.

“the masses were too preoccupied by prosaic day-to-day concerns”

40
Q

hack·neyed

/ˈhaknēd/

A

adjective
(of a phrase or idea) lacking significance through having been overused; unoriginal and trite.
“hackneyed old sayings”

41
Q

a·loof

/əˈlo͞of/

A

adjective
not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant.
“they were courteous but faintly aloof”

42
Q

plac·id

/ˈplasəd/

A

adjective
(of a person or animal) not easily upset or excited.
“this horse has a placid nature”

43
Q

res·tive

/ˈrestiv/

A

adjective
(of a person) unable to keep still or silent and becoming increasingly difficult to control, especially because of impatience, dissatisfaction, or boredom.
“the crowd had been waiting for hours and many were becoming restive”

44
Q

skit·tish

/ˈskidiSH/

A

adjective
excitable or easily scared.
(of a person) playfully frivolous or unpredictable.
“my skittish and immature mother”

45
Q

ve·he·ment

/ˈvēəmənt/

A

adjective
showing strong feeling; forceful, passionate, or intense.
“her voice was low but vehement”

46
Q

clam·or·ous

/ˈklamərəs/

A

adjective
making a loud and confused noise.
“a jostling, clamorous mob”

47
Q

vo·cif·er·ous

/vōˈsifərəs/

A

If you describe someone as vociferous, you mean that they speak with great energy and determination, because they want their views to be heard.

48
Q

aus·ter·i·ty

/ôˈsterədē/

A

a: a stern and serious quality
the formal austerity of his manner
b: a plain and simple quality

49
Q

in·trac·ta·ble

/ˌinˈtraktəb(ə)l/

A

adjective
hard to control or deal with.
“intractable economic problems”

50
Q

prolix

pro·​lix | \ prō-ˈliks

A

1: unduly prolonged or drawn out : too long
2: marked by or using an excess of words

51
Q

im·pet·u·ous

/imˈpeCH(o͞o)əs/

A

adjective
acting or done quickly and without thought or care.
“her friend was headstrong and impetuous”

52
Q

prodigality

[ prod-i-gal-i-tee ]

A

1an instance of spending money or resources without care or restraint

53
Q

taciturn

A

temperamentally disinclined to talk

Other Words from taciturn

54
Q

circumscribe

A

a: to constrict (see CONSTRICT sense 1) the range or activity of definitely and clearly
his role was carefully circumscribed
b: to define or mark off carefully

55
Q

dec·o·rous

/ˈdekərəs/

A

adjective
in keeping with good taste and propriety; polite and restrained.
“dancing with decorous space between partners”

56
Q

seemly

A

2: conventionally proper : DECOROUS
not seemly to brag about oneself
3: suited to the occasion, purpose, or person

57
Q

fallow

fal·​low

A

: of a light yellowish-brown color

58
Q

annul

A

: to declare or make legally invalid or void

59
Q

imperious

im·​pe·​ri·​ous

A

: marked by arrogant assurance : DOMINEERING

2: intensely compelling

60
Q

belligerent

A

1: inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness
2: waging war
specifically : belonging to or recognized as a state at war and protected by and subject to the laws of war

61
Q

intrinsic

A

: belonging to the essential nature or constitution of a thing

62
Q

frivolity

A

: of little weight or importance

: lacking in seriousness

63
Q

impenetrable

A

: incapable of being penetrated or pierced

64
Q

penitent

A

feeling or expressing humble or regretful pain or sorrow for sins or offenses

65
Q

accede

A

agree to a demand, request, or treaty.

“the authorities did not accede to the strikers’ demands”

66
Q

unsparing

A

not merciful or forbearing

67
Q

preclude

A

prevent from happening; make impossible.

“the secret nature of his work precluded official recognition”

68
Q

a·me·na·ble

/əˈmēnəb(ə)l,əˈmenəb(ə)l/

A

adjective
adjective: amenable
(of a person) open and responsive to suggestion; easily persuaded or controlled.
“parents who have had easy babies and amenable children”

69
Q

disquiet

A

: to take away the peace or tranquility of : DISTURB, ALARM

70
Q

conviction

A

: the act or process of finding a person guilty of a crime especially in a court of law
2a: a strong persuasion or belief

71
Q

disinterestedness

A

: the quality or state of being objective or impartial

72
Q

demanding

A

requiring much time, effort, or attention

73
Q

wary

A

: marked by keen caution, cunning, and watchfulness especially in detecting and escaping danger

74
Q

belie

A

: to give a false impression of

75
Q

impenetrable

A

: incapable of being penetrated or pierced

76
Q

scru·ple

/ˈskro͞opəl/

A

a feeling of doubt or hesitation with regard to the morality or propriety of a course of action.
“I had no scruples about eavesdropping”

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