Word List 45 Flashcards
marrow
the inmost, best, or essential part; core
e.g. Personal liberty is the marrow of the American tradition.
matador
a bullfighter who has the principal role and who kills the bull in a bullfight
maxim
a general truth, fundamental principle, or rule of conduct
a proverbial saying
mayhem
needless or willful damage or violence
e.g. movies filled with murder and mayhem
megalomania
a mania for great or grandiose performance
a delusional mental disorder that is marked by feelings of personal omnipotence and grandeur
e.g. an arrogance that borders on megalomania
mesmerism
hypnotic induction held to involve animal magnetism; broadly, hypnotism
hypnotic appeal
miasma
a vaporous exhalation formerly believed to cause disease; also, a heavy vaporous emanation or atmosphere
an influence or atmosphere that tends to deplete or corrupt
e.g. a miasma of tobacco smoke
In the age of monarchy, the king lived surrounded by a miasma of intrigue.
mien
air or bearing especially as expressive of attitude or personality; demeanor
appearance, aspect
e.g. of aristocratic mien
the stern mien of the librarian
missive
a written communication; letter
e.g. missives filled with good-natured teasing and mock insults
mistral
a strong cold dry northerly wind of southern France
monograph
a learned treatise on a small area of learning; also, a written account of a single thing
e.g. a series of monographs on music in late medieval and Renaissance cities
moor
a broad area of open land that is not good for farming
e.g. a mysterious figure who was said to have haunted the moors of southwest England
mope
to give oneself up to brooding; become listless or dejected
to move slowly or aimlessly; dawdle
morass
marsh, swamp
a situation that traps, confuses, or impedes
e.g. He advised against becoming involved in that country’s civil war, warning that escape from that morass might prove nigh impossible.
mountebank
a person who sells quack medicines from a platform
a boastful unscrupulous pretender; charlatan
muggy
being warm, damp, and close
e.g. a muggy day in August
mulct
fine, penalty
to punish by a fine
to defraud especially of money; swindle
to obtain by fraud, duress or theft
e.g. The loan shark usually imposed a mulct of an additional 20% on overdue payments.
try to mulct the insurance company for an accident that never happened
multifarious
having or occurring in great variety; diverse
e.g. the multifarious interests and activities in which Benjamin Franklin immersed himself
muniment
(oft. pl.) the evidence that enables one to defend the title to an estate or a claim to rights and privileges
muzzy
deficient in brightness; dull, gloomy
lacking in clarity and precision
muddled or confused in mind
e.g. In an attempt to be all things to all people, the candidate offered to the voters an intentionally muzzy campaign message.
natation
the action or art of swimming
necessitous
needy, impoverished
urgent, pressing
necessary
e.g. all the dreaded, necessitous decisions that one must make when arranging the funeral of a loved on
Amidst the holiday feasting, merrymaking and spending, it was easy to overlook the necessitous members of the community.
necropolis
cemetery; especially, a large elaborate cemetery of an ancient city
e.g. an ancient necropolis that has given archaeologists valuable insights into how people once lived and died
nectar
the drink of the Greek and Roman gods
something delicious to drink
a beverage of fruit juice and pulp
neonate
a newborn child
nestling
a young bird that has not left the nest
nethermost
farthest down; lowest
niggling
petty; also, bothersome or persistent especially in a petty or tiresome way
e.g. niggling injuries
only niggling differences between the original Broadway musical and the film version that followed
nipping
sharp, chilling
e.g. waking up to the nipping air of the morning
nonesuch
a person or thing without an equal
nonpareil
having no equal
also
e.g. the nonpareil beauty of Helen of Troy
Elvis was the nonpareil of early American Rock and Roll.
noose
a loop with a slipknot that binds closer the more it is drawn
something that snares like a noose
e.g. A confirmed bachelor, he vows never to get caught in the noose of matrimony.
numinous
supernatural, mysterious
holy
spiritual
e.g. poetry filled with a numinous beauty
numismatics
the study or collection of coins, tokens, and paper money and sometimes related objects (as medals)
nuptial
of or relating to marriage or the marriage ceremony
characteristic of or occurring in the breeding season
e.g. newlyweds still in a state of nuptial bliss
nymph
girl
oar
a long pole with a broad blade at one end used for propelling or steeling a boat
to progress by or as if by using oars
e.g. Since the wind had completely died, they had to oar the sailboat back to shore.
oblation
the act of making a religious offering
something offered in worship or devotion
observance
a rule governing members of a religious order
an act or instance or instance of following a custom, rule, or law
e.g. the observance of the family tradition
obtrude
to thrust out, extrude
to force or impose (as oneself or one’s ideas) without warrant or request
e.g. The historical details in the movie do not obtrude - they enhance the story by making it more realistic.
obtrude in other people’s affairs
occidental
of, relating to, or situated in the Occident; western
ocular
of or relating to the eye
e.g. ocular inspection/diseases/muscles
ocular testimony
oddment
something left over; remnant
(pl.) odds and ends
something odd; oddity
e.g. The fabric store sells oddments left over from cutting.
One of those medical oddments has perplexed and intrigued generations of medical historians.
odoriferous
yielding an odor; odorous
morally offensive
e.g. odoriferous legislation
onslaught
an especially fierce attack
a vigorous onset
e.g. The massive onslaught of enemy troops caught the country by surprise.
an onslaught of technological changes
onus
burden; a disagreeable necessity; obligation
blame
stigma
e.g. hoping to avoid the onus of failure by lowering expectations ahead of time
shift the onus for any mistakes onto other members
opiate
a drug tending to induce sleep and alleviate pain
something that induces rest or inaction or quiets uneasiness
e.g. television as an opiate of the masses
opus
work; especially, a musical composition or set of compositions usually numbered in the order of its issue
e.g. The composer’s final opus was performed posthumously to great acclaim.
oracular
of an oracle
obscure, enigmatic
portentous, ominous
orotund
marked by fullness, strength, and clarity of sound; sonorous
pompous, bombastic
e.g. The tenor’s orotund voice was just what this soaring aria needs.
an orotund speech
otiose
producing no useful result; futile
being at leisure; idle
lacking use or effect; functionless
outfox
outsmart
overweening
arrogant, presumptuous
immoderate, exaggerated
e.g. a director with little patience for overweening actors who think they are above taking advice and criticism
overweening desire for wealth and fame
palaver
conference, discussion idle talk persuasive talk; flattery; cajolery to talk profusely or idly parley cajole
e.g. the seemingly endless palaver between the negotiating parties
mothers palavering while watching the children play
I let the salesclerk at the electronics store palaver me into a service contract that I didn’t need.
parley
to speak with another; confer; specifically, to discuss terms with an enemy
e.g. In an effort to win the goodwill of the locals, the developers parleyed with them before finalizing plans for the massive mall.
parlous
full of danger or risk
e.g. a parlous financial situation
parochial
of or relating to a parish
confined or restricted as if within the borders of a parish; limited in range or scope; provincial, narrow
e.g. voters worried about their own parochial concerns
peaky
pale and sick
peculate
embezzle
e.g. peculate from the public money
pecuniary
monetary, financial
e.g. make good pecuniary sense
The judge recused himself from the case because he had a pecuniary interest in the company that was being sued.
peddle
to travel about with wares for sale; broadly, sell
to be busy with trifles
e.g. They peddled fruits and vegetables out of their truck on the side of the road.
He peddled his idea for a new movie.
peddle innocence to reporters
penumbra
a space of partial illumination
something that covers, surrounds, or obscures; shroud
e.g. a penumbra of despair fell over the doomed city
peptic
relating to or promoting digestion; digestive
- pepsin
percolate
to be diffused through; penetrate
to ooze or trickle through a permeable substance; seep
simmer
e.g. allow the sunlight to percolate into our rooms
rumors percolating throughout the town
The feud had been percolating for a long time
perigee
the point nearest the earth’s center in the orbit of the moon of a satellite
periphrasis
use of a longer phrasing in place of a possible shorter form of expression
e.g. Congressional hearings into the Watergate scandal were marked by an orgy of periphrasis.
persnickety
fussy about small details; fastidious
snobby
requiring great precision
e.g. a persnickety teacher
lacking the patience to deal with such persnickety tasks as hanging wallpaper
