Week 2 Flashcards
Adulterate
v - to debase or make impure by adding inferior materials; use cheaper, inferior or less desirable goods in the product
“the meat was ground fine and adulterated with potato flour”
Advocate
n - a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause/policy
“he was an untiring advocate of unionizing”
aggrandize
v - increase the power, status or wealth of; enhance the reputation of someone beyond what is justified by the facts
“he hopes to aggrandize himself by dying a hero’s death”
alacrity
n - brisk and cheerful readiness; eager
“she accepted the invitation with alacrity”
ambivalent
n - having mixed feeling or contradictory ideas about something or someone
“she had ambivalent feelings about him because of his sweet but pretentious demeanor”
ameliorate
v - to make something that was bad or unsatisfactory better
“the reform did much to ameliorate living standards”
amenable
adj. - person that is open and responsive to suggestion; easily persuaded or controlled
“parents who have had easy babies and amenable children”
adj. - thing that is capable of being acted upon in a particular way; susceptible to
“the patients had cardiac failure not amenable to medical treatment”
anachronistic
adj. - belonging or appropriate to an earlier period, especially so as to seem conspicuously old fashioned
“she is rebelling against the anachronistic morality of her parents”
audacious
adj. - showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks; showing an impudent lack of respect
“the audacious remarks of these men”
avaricious
adj. - having or showing extreme greed for wealth or material gain
“avaricious corporate bosses (Bezos) looking to maximize profits
banal
adj. - so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring
“songs with banal, repeated words”
benign
adj. - gently, kindly; (disease) not harmful in effect
“his benign but firm manner”
brazen
adj. - bold and without shame
“he went about his illegal business with a brazen assurance”
v - endure an embarrassing or difficult situation by behaving with apparent confidence and lack of shame
“there was nothing else to do but brazen it out”
calumny
n - the making of false and defamatory statements about someone in order to damage their reputation; slander
“a bitter struggle marked by calumny and litigation”
candid
adj. - truthful and straightforward; frank
adj. - of a photograph: taken informally, especially without the subject’s knowledge
castigate
v - reprimand someone severely
“he was castigated for not setting a good example”
caustic
adj. - able to burn or corrode organic tissue by chemical action; sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way
“the players were making caustic comments about the refereeing”
construe
v - interpret a word or action in a particular way
“his words could hardly be construed as an apology”
contrite
adj. - feeling of expressing remorse or penitence; affected by guilt
“a broken and contrite heart”
convoluted
adj. - extremely complex and difficult to follow
“its convoluted narrative encompasses all manner of digression”
adj. - technical - intricately folded, twisted or coiled
“the shell of a walnut is hard and convoluted”
covet
v - yearn to possess or have something
“he covets time for exercise and fishing”
craven
adj. - contemptibly lacking in courage; cowardly
“a craven abdication of his moral duty”
decorum
n. behavior in keeping with good taste and propriety; etiquette
“you exhibit remarkable modest and decorum”
deft
adj. - neatly skillful and quick in one’s movement; demonstrating skill and cleverness
“the script was both deft and literate”
demur
v - raise doubts or objections or show reluctance
“normally she would have accepted the challenge, but she demurred”
n - the action or process of objection to or hesitating over something
“they accepted this ruling with demur”
derivative
adj. - imitative of the work of another person, and usually disapproved of for that reason
“to some, his art was considered derivative, but others believe he simply was inspired by Pierre”
n - something that is based of another source
“a derivative of the system was chosen for the aircraft”
dessicate
v - to remove the moisture of something; cause to become completely dry
“ both the older growth and new vegetation were desiccated by months of relentless sun”
diatribe
n - a forceful and bitter attack against something/someone
“a diatribe against the Roman Catholic Church”
incredulous
adj. - (of a person or their manner) unwilling or unable to believe something
“an incredulous gasp”
ingenuous
adj. - innocent and unsuspecting
“he eyed her with wide, ingenuous eyes”
