Week 7 Flashcards
Amortize
To gradually and systematically write off (such as a debt)
Cower
To shrink or cringe in fear
Dissonance
Harsh, unpleasantly conflicting, or cacophonous sounds
Inconsistency or lack of agreement
Baleful
Harmful in influence or intent
Foreboding, ominous
Distended
Extended, expanded, or increased in size or volume
Swollen
Paradox
A seemingly able or contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true
Preternatural
Exceeding the natural, normal, or regular, extraordinary
Existing outside of or beyond the normal course of nature
Supernatural
Preen
(Of animals) To smooth and clean one’s fur or feathers
To dress with great care or primp
To gloat, congratulate oneself, or swell with pride
Lambaste
To berate, criticize, or reprimand harshly
To beat or whip
Lassitude
Weariness or fatigue
Listlessness or indolence
Divest
To deprive or dispossess of property, ownership, title; to sell off, as an investment
To strip of clothing or equipment
Levity
Lightness or unseriousness of manner, mind, or character, to the point of being innapropriate; frivolty
Fickleness or inconstancy
Prodigal
Wastefully, recklessly extravagant or spendthrift
Lavish, profuse, or yielding in abundance
Banal
Without originality or freshness
Laggard
Slow, sluggish, or lagging behind
Profligate
Utterly dissolute
Wildly extravant or wasteful
Exigent
Urgent, pressing, demanding immediate action
Demanding a good deal or too much
Profundity
Something profound, intellectual, mental or emotional depth
Libertine
One who is dissolute, debauched, or without moral restraint
One who is unconventional in religious matters
Lethargy
A state of sluggishness, inactivity, laziness, or indifference
Unusually intense drowsiness or sleepiness
Prolix
Excessively long or tediously drawn-out
Exessively wordy
Ford
A shallow place in a body of water where one can cross on foot, by horse, etc.
To cross over a body of water, such as a river, in this way
Limpid
Clear or transparent
Simple, transparent, or easily understood (as in style or speech)
Untroubled or serene
Proscribe
To prohibit or forbid
To condemn as dangerous or harmful
To banish; to publish the name of a convicted outlaw
List
To lean to one side, as a ship
Pungency
The state or quality of being acrid in smell; biting, caustic, sharp or incisive
Loll
To move or rest in a reclined, indolent, manner; to droop or hang
Loquacious
Excessively talkative or garrulous, wordy
Emaciation
Extreme thinness due to starvation, undernourishment, or illness
Quell
To suppress, subdue, or put down forcefully
To calm or pacify
Pique
A feeling of offense or wounded pride; restentment
Lull
To soothe or put to sleep
To deceive or cause to feel a false sense of safety or security
Canon
That which is standard, approved, or sanctioned, especially in regards to scripture or literature
A rule, principal, or law
Quack
One who fraudulently claims to have medical skills; a charlatan
Lumber
To move in a clumsy, heavy, slow way; to move with a rumbling noise
Macerate
To make soft or dissolve by soaking, to emaciate
Desultory
Lacking in consistency or order; unplanned or fitful
Random of disconnected from the main subject
Epicure
Somone with refined, discriminating taste, especially in food or wine; a connoisseur
Rebuff
To reject or criticize bluntly or abruptly, to snub
To check, repel, or drive off
Recant
To formally repudiate or retract a former statement or belief
To openly admit error
Recondite
Challenging to those of average understanding or knowledge; abstruse or deep
Cocnealed or hidden
Soporific
Tending to cause, sleep or dull alertness
Sleepy, lethargic, or drowsy
Belie
To contradict or show to be false
To misrepresent or give a false impression of
Redoubtable
Causing fear; alarming or formidable
Illustrious; worthy of respect
Meander
To ramble or wander aimlessly and without urgency
To take a winding, indirect course
Mendacious
Lying, dishonest, misleading
Mercurial
Changeable, volatile, or given to rapid shifts in mood
Having qualities associate w/Greek god Mercury, inc. cleverness, eloquence, and thievishness
Metaphsyical
Concerned with abstract though, related to metaphysics (branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the nature of being and of the world); very subtle and abstruse
Metamorphose
To change or be transformed utterly in orm or appearance
To cause or subject to metamorphosis
Normative
Prescribing a norm or standard, expressing value judgments (how things should be) instead of just stating facts
Shyster
A person who uses petty or unethical practices, esp. a lawyer who does this
Mimetic
Imitative, copying, relating to mimicry
Crepuscular
Like twilight, dim
Syncretism
Reconciliation or fusion (esp. only partial) of different philosophies, religions, belief systems, etc.
Ecumenical
Universal, worldwide in scope
Rococo
A sytle of art origniating in 18th century France marked by elaborate ornamentation (an abundance of scrolls, foliage, etc.)
Extremely elaborate or complicated
