Week 4 Flashcards
clandestine
done secretively, especially to deceive
I met the secret agent in an alleyway, where she handed me the plans for the clandestine operation.
ingenuous
lacking in cunning, guile, or worldiness
Janine was so ingenuous that it was too easy for her friends to dupe her.
subterfuge
a deceptive stratagem or device
The submarine pilots were trained in the art of subterfuge; the were excellent at faking out their enemies.
surreptitious
secretive; sneaky
Sara drank the cough syrup surreptitiously because she didn’t want anyone to know that she was sick
dearth
scarce supply; lack
There was a dearth of money in my piggy bank; it collected dust, not bills.
modicum
a small, moderate, or token amount
A modicum of effort may result in a small score improvement; in order to improve significantly, however, you must stuyd as often as possible
paucity
smallnes in number; scarcity
The struggling city had a paucity of resources and therefore a high level of poverty
squander
to spend wastefully
Carrie squandered her savings on shoes and wasn’t able to buy her apartment
temperate
moderate; restrained
Temperate climates rarely experience extremes in temperature
tenuous
having littlte substance or strength; shaky
Her grasp on reality is tenuousat best; she’s not even sure what year it is
diligent
marked by painstaking effort; hardworking
With diligent effort, they were able to finish the model airplane in record time
maverick
one who is independent and resists adherence to a group
In the movie Top Gun, Tom Cruise played a maverick who often broke rules and did things his own way
mercenary
motivated soley be a desire for money or material gain; a professional soldier
During the war, Mercer was a mercenary; he’d fight for whichever side paid him the most for his services
obstinate
stubbornly attached to an opinion or a course of action
Despite Jeremy’s broken leg, his parents were obstinate; they steadfastly refused to buy him an Xbox.
proliferate
to grow or increase rapidly
Because fax machines, pagers, and cell phones have proliferated in recent years, many new area codes have been created to handle the demand for phone numbers.
tenacity
persistence
With his overwhelming tenacity, Clark was finally able to interview Brad Pitt for the school newspaper.
vigilant
on the alert; watchful
The participants of the candlelight vigil were vigilant, as they had heard that the fraternity across the street was planning to egg them
extraneous
irrelevant; inessential
The book, though interesting, had so much extraneous information that it was hard to keep track of the important points
juxtapose
to place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast
Separately the pictures look identical, but if you juxtapose them, you can see the differences.
novel
fresh; original; new
It was a novel idea, the sort of thing no one had tried before
superfluous
extra; unnecessary
If there is sugar in your tea, honey would be superfluous
synergy
combined action or operation
The synergy of hydrogen and oxygen creates water
tangential
merely touching or slightly connected; only superficially relevant
Though Abby’s paper was well written, its thesis was so tangential to its proof that her teacher couldn’t give her a good grade
aesthetic
having to do with the appreciation of beauty
Aesthetic considerations determined the arrangement of paintings at the museum; as long as art looked good together, it didn’t matter who had painted it.
aural
of or related to the ear or the sense of hearing
It should come as no surprise that musicians prefer aural to visual learning
cacophony
discordant, unpleasant noise
Brian had to shield his ears from the awful cacophony produced by the punk band on stage
dirge
a funeral hymn or lament
The dirge was so beautiful that everyone cried, even those who hadn’t known the deceased
eclectic
made up of a variety of sources or styles
Lou’s taste in music is quite eclectic; he listens to everything from rap to polka
incongruous
lacking in harmony; incompatible
My chicken and jello soup experiment failed; the tastes were just too incongruous
sonorous
producing a deep or full sound
My father’s sonorous snoring keeps me up all night unless I close my door and wear earplugs
strident
loud, harsh, grating, or shrill
The strident shouting kept the neighbors awake all night
debacle
disastrous or ludicrous defeat or failure; fiasco
Jim’s interview was a complete debacle; he accidentally locked himself in the bathroom, sneezed on the interviewer multiple times, and knocked over the president of the company
debilitate
impair the strength of; weaken
Deb ran the NYC marathon without proper training; the experience left her debilitated for weeks
tumultuous
noisy and disorderly
The tumultuous applause was so deafening that the pianist couldn’t hear the singer
anachronistic
the representation that something as existing or happening in the wrong time period
I noticed an anachronism in the museum’s ancient Rome display: a digital clock ticking behind a statue of Venus
archaic
characteristic of an earlier time; antiquated; old
“How dost thou?” is an archaic way of saying “How are you”
dilatory
habitually late
Always waiting until the last moment to leave home in the morning, Dylan was a dilatory student
ephemeral
lasting for only a brief time
The importance of SAT scores is truly ephemeral; when you are applying, they are crucial, but once you get into college, no one cares how well you did.
redolent
fragrant; aromatic; suggestive
The aroma of apple pie wafted into my room, redolent of weekends spent baking with my grandmother
temporal
of, relating to, or limited by time
One’s enjoyment of a Starubcks mocha latte is bound by temporal limitations; all too soon, the latte is gone
onerous
troublesome or oppresive; burdensome
The onerous task was so difficult that Ona thought she’d never get through it
portent
indication of something important or calamitous about to occurr; omen
A red morning sky is a terrible portent for all sailors – it means that stormy seas are ahead
prescience
knowledge of actions or events before they occur; foreknowledge; foresight
Preetha’s prescience was such that people wondered if she was psychic; how else could she know so much about the future?
austere
without decoration; strict
The gray walls and bare floors of his monastery cell provided an even more austere setting than Brother Austen had hoped for
banal
drearily commonplace; predictable; trite
The poet’s imagery is so banal that I think she cribbed her work from Poetry for Dummies
hackneyed
worn out through overuse; trite
All Hal could offer in the way of advice were hackneyed old phrases that I’d already heard a hundred times before.
insipid
uninteresting; unchallenging; lacking taste or savor
That insipid movie was so predictable that I walked out
prosaic
unimaginative; dull
Rebecca made a prosaic mosaic consisting of identical, undecorated tiles.
soporific
inducing or tending to induce sleep
The congressman’s speech was so soporific that even his cat was yawning
vapid
lacking liveliness, animation, or interest; dull
Valerie’s date was so vapid that she thought he was sleeping with his eyes open.
