Word List 34 Flashcards
excoriate
v. flay; abrade
execrate
v. curse; express abhorrence for
exegesis
n. explanation, especially of Biblical passages
ex officio
adj. by virtue of one’s office
expletive
n. interjection; profane oath
febrile
adj. feverish
excision
n. act of cutting away
fiduciary
adj. pertaining to a position of trust
floe
n. mass of floating ice
fluted
adj. having vertical parallel grooves (as in a pillar)
fracas
n. brawl, melee
frond
n. fern leaf; palm or banana leaf
fulcrum
n. support on which a lever rests
fulgent
adj. beaming; radiant
gambit
n. opening in chess in which a piece is sacrifice
garrulous
adj. loquacious; wordy
gasconade
n. bluster; boastfulness
gauche
adj. clumsy; borrish
genealogy
n. record of descent; lineage
genuflect
v. bend the knee as in worship
germinal
adj. pertaining to a germ; creatice
gerrymander
v. change voting district lines in order to favor a political party
gestate
v. evolve, as in prenatal growth
gratuity
n. tip
hackles
n. hairs on back and neck of a dog
hegira
n. flight
hermetically
adv. sealed by fusion so as to be airtight
hew
v. cut to pieces with ax or sword
hortatory
adj. encouraging; exhortive
hoyden
n. boisterous girl
hummock
n. small hill
husbandry
n. frugality; thrift; agriculture
hustings
n. meetings particularly to choose candidates
hyperbole
n. exaggeration; overstatement
hyperborean
adj. situated in extreme north; arctic; cold
hypothecate
v. mortgage; pledge as security
idiosyncratic
adj. private; peculiar to an individual
illusive
adj. decieving
imbrue
v. drench, stain, especially with blood
immure
v. imprison; shut up in confinement
impalpable
adj. imperceptible; intangible
imperturbable
adj. calm; placid