Word List 5 Flashcards
abate
(uh BATE)
verb
Definition: To become less intense (as in something threatening or negative); to lessen
Examples:
- The storm finally began to abate after several hours.
- His mother told him that time would heal all wounds, but his misery had not abated.
abort
(uh BORT)
verb
Definition: to bring to a premature end, usually because of a problem
Examples:
- The covert operatives were told to abort their mission immediately.
- Due to a severe storm, the pilot aborted the flight, landing at an airport 100 miles from his destination.
aloof
(uh LOOF)
adj
Definition: not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant
Examples:
- My friend has become very aloof lately.
- Throughout the party she remained aloof and unapproachable.
circumvent
(sir kum VENT)
verb
Definition: to go around or bypass
Examples:
- He circumvented the road work by taking a detour.
- The police officer gave a speech to the boy because he had repeatedly tried to circumvent the laws.
congeal
(kun JEAL)
verb
Definition: to solidify or coagulate, esp. by cooling
Examples:
-The fat from the chicken stock congealed into blobs.
denounce
(dih NOUNCE)
verb
Definition: to publicly declare bad or evil
Examples:
- He denounced me for things I didn’t even do.
- After being denounced for his deceit and trickery, the mayor quietly resigned.
docile
(DAH sull)
adj
Definition: easily managed or handled; easily trained or taught
Examples:
- The docile dog enjoyed obedience training.
- The students were docile and eager to learn.
emaciated
(ih MAY she ay ted)
adj
Definition: abnormally weak or thin, esp. because of illness or lack of food
Examples:
- She’s always been thin, but the illness has left her emaciated.
- The emaciated children in the infomercial inspired compassion in the viewers.
furtive
(FUR tiv)
adjective
Definition: attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive
Examples:
- She furtively peeked at her notes during the test.
- She took a furtive glance inside the woman’s purse.
immutable
(ih MUTE uh bull)
adj
Definition: unchangeable; changeless
Examples:
- The new law protecting human rights is–we hope–immutable.
- The excessive use of hairspray made Mark’s hairstyle immutable… at least until his next shower.
mollify
(MALL uh fy)
verb
Definition: to make someone less angry or anxious; to calm someone down
(Note: Pacify, appease, mollify, and placate are all similar words with slightly different definitions.)
Examples:
- After spilling soda on her friend’s new coat, Janet was able to mollify her by offering to buy dinner.
- He tried both apologies and gifts, but she could not be mollified.
mundane
(mun DANE)
adj
Definition: Ordinary; boring; tedious
Examples:
- Washing the dishes is a very mundane task.
- He wasn’t very excited about going to the lecture; it was one of the more mundane parts of the course.
pejorative
(puh JOR uh tiv)
adj
Definition:
expressing contempt or disapproval
Examples:
- “Hacker” is sometimes considered a pejorative term (depending on who uses it).
- That was a very pejorative statement!
placate
(PLAY kate)
verb
Definition: to make someone less angry or hostile
(Note: Pacify, appease, mollify, and placate are all similar words with slightly different definitions.)
Examples:
- She was able to placate the angry, spoiled child by letting him watch a movie.
- He tried to placate her by promising that he’d never lie again, but she remained angry and mistrustful.
plausible
(PLAW zuh bull)
adj
Definition: (as in an argument or statement) seeming reasonable or probable
Examples:
- Her alibi was plausible, but her eyes gave away the fact that she was lying.
- After wasting a large amount of time arguing with the man, I realized, with embarrassment, that his argument was more plausible than mine.
