Week #3 Flashcards
Define
Loathe
(lōth)
To hate
I loathe spinach but I love other green vegetables.
Define
Reprimand
(repˊ rə mand)
To show sharp disapproval
When he arrived late, he knew that the grocer would reprimand him.
Define
Lackluster
(lakˊlusˊtər)
Dull
Speaking in a monotone, the politician was booed for his lackluster address.
Define
Caustic
(kôsˊtik)
Sarcastic, biting
In a caustic article, the drama critic slaughtered the
hapless actors.
Define
Wrest
(rest)
Take by force
With the help of his brothers he was able to wrest the leadership of the company from his partner.
Define
Crocodile Tears
Insincere tears
When the football player broke his leg, his substitute
wept crocodile tears.
Define
Infamous
(inˊ fə rāˊməs)
Having a bad reputation
The bombing of Pearl Harbor was referred to as an
infamous deed.
Define
Jostle
(Jostle)
To shove hard
When he attempted to jostle the old lady, she struck
him with her unbrella.
Define
Dupe
(düp or dūp)
A person easily tricked (n)
The wealthy dupe consented to buy the often sold
Brooklyn Bridge.
Define
Incipient
(in sipˊ i ənt)
Just beginning to exist
By telling the truth, we stopped the incipient rumor
from spreading.
Define
Inadvertent
(in əd vûrˊ tənt)
Heedless, not attentive
Through an inadvertent error, the guided missile sped
out of control.
Define
To Carry the Day
To win the approval of the majority
The secretary’s motion that we adjourn for lunch
carried the day, and we headed for the restaurant.
Define
Ominous
(omˊ ə nəs)
Threatening
After the weatherman had seen the ominous clouds,
he prognosticated rain.
Define
Tremulous
(tremˊyə ləs)
Quivering
The widow’s tremulous hands revealed her nervousness.
Define
Repudiate
(ri pūˊ dē āt)
To reject, decline
The general attempted to repudiate the testimony of the lieutenant, claiming that the young officer wasn’t
an authority on low level bombing.
Define
Cessation
(se sāˊshəsn)
A stopping
The cessation of the shooting was replete with benefits for both sides.
Define
Bristle
(brisˊl)
Stiffen with fear or anger (v)
Upon seeing the snake, the cat began to bristle with fear.
Define
Skid Row
Disreputable part of town, inhabited by
derelicts and people “on the skids”
The presence of so many bars has turned our
neighborhood into another Skid Row
Define
Euphemism
(ūˊ fə mizəm)
Use a less offensive term
The word “expired” is a euphemism for “died”.
Define
Mundane
(munˊ dān)
Worldly
The philosopher dealt with spiritual things, ignoring the mundane ones.
Define
Incongruous
(in kongˊgrü əs)
Inappropriate
The play was so incongruous that it seemed to be the work of several authors.
Define
Condolence
(kən dōˊ ləns)
Pity
When my neighbor’s dog was run over, we sent a
condolence card.
Define
Stipulate
(stipˊū lūt)
To specify a condition
We repudiated the contract because it did not stipulate a cost of living bonus.
Define
To Go Up In Smoke
To come to no practical results (kindling
smokes but it will not light a fire)
The mayor’s plans to get the gubernatorial nomination
went up in smoke when he couldn’t end the costly strike.
