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