Word List #6 Flashcards
Abolitionist
One who opposes slavery
Acclimatization
Becoming used to something; getting comfortable
Acquiesce
To agree; to give in
Adjunct
Something attached to a main body
Aesthetic
Having to do with art or beauty
Air
To bring out into the open
Allegory
Symbolic story
Altruism
Goodness; selflessness; generosity
Amorphous
Without shape
Anecdote
A short and amusing story
Annulment
Cancellation
Anterior
Placed in front; earlier
Aperture
Opening; hole
Apprehensive
Worried
Arcane
Mysterious; secret
Aristocratic
High-class; as in the qualities of nobility
Ascetic
- (n) a person who refuses bodily pleasures
2. (adj) without luxuries
Assuage
To clam down; to soothe
Audacity
Nerve; boldness; gall
Autocratic
Favoring complete rule by one person
Avow
To swear by
Balk
To hesitate suddenly
Barracks
Housing for soldiers
Becalmed
Made peaceful or still
Bellicose
Warlike in manner
Berate
To scold; to criticize
Bicker
To argue about unimportant things
Abase
To lower; to humble
Bland
Without any taste
Blunderbuss
Old fashioned shotgun
Bourgeois
Middle-class; conformist and materialistic
Browbeat
To intimidate; to bully
Burnish
To polish; to shine
Cacophonous
Harsh-sounding; not harmonious
Callow
Immature; inexperienced
Castigate
To punish or criticize harshly
Catharsis
Sudden emotional relief
Caustic
Unkind; bitter; sarcastic
Ceremonious
Formal
Charted
Planned; plotted; mapped
Cherubic
Angelic; like a baby
Circuitous
Roundabout; not straightforward
Cite
To quote
Clemency
Mercy
Coerce
To force someone to do something
Coherent
Logical; clear
Colloquial
Informal but common speech
Commend
To praise
Compliant
Giving in to others; obedient
Condescend
To talk down to; to patronize
Confiscate
To take away; to seize
Congenial
Pleasant; friendly
Conscript
To force into service (usually military)
Contentious
Argumentative
Contusion
Bruise
Corpulent
Fat
Cosmopolitan
- Sophisticated
2. From the city
Crest
Peak; top
Cupidity
Greed
Dart
To move quickly
Debauchery
Corruption; physical self indulgence
Decorum
Proper behavior
Defector
One who leaves his or her side to join the enemy
Defy
To resist openly
Demographer
An expert on population statistics
Deprecate
To criticize
Despise
To hate
Determinate
Definite; limited
Dialect
Regional variety of a language
Didactic
Intended to teach; preachy
Dilapidated
Run-down; needing repairs
Dirge
Funeral song
Disbursement
Spending
Disenfranchise
To take away someone’s right to vote
Dispassionate
Neutral; objective
Dissent
Disagreement; difference in opinion
Dither
To be indecisive
Doctrine
Something taught ( as in the principles of a religion)
Dormant
- Asleep
2. Inactive
Drape
To cover loosely
Drudgery
Boring work
Ebullient
Bubbly; high-spirited
Edifying
Enlightening; uplifting
Elicit
To bring out
Emaciated
Very thin
Embody
To express; to give concrete form to
Emulate
To imitate someone who is admired
Endemic
Limited to, but widespread in, a particular place
Enthrall
To fascinate
Enunciate
To pronounce clearly
Equanimity
Calmness
Eschew
To avoid
Ethos
Values of a culture
Exacerbate
To make worse
Exemplary
Praiseworthy; serving as an excellent example
Expatriate
To remove one from his/her homeland
Extemporize
To preform without rehearsal
Extricate
To remove (ex. From difficulty)
Facade
- The front of a building
2. Surface appearance
Fallow
Unplowed; not fertile
Feint
An action intended to mislead an opponent
Fetter
- (n) a chain
2. (v) to prevent from moving
Finesse
Skill; gracefulness
Flippant
Joking disrespectfully
Fluster
To embarrass; to upset
Forswear
To reject
Fraught
Filled with
Furrow
- (n) ditch or hole in the ground
2. (v) to wrinkle ( as in ones brow)
Gag
- (n) joke
2. (v) to prevent from speaking
Gambol
To jump or dance playfully
Gargantuan
Huge
Gavel
Hammer-like instrument used by a judge to get attention
Gentry
Upper class
Gill
A fish’s breathing organ
Glaring
- (adj) obvious
2. (v) staring angrily
Gouge
To put holes in
Gratuitous
Uncalled for; unnecessary
Hack
- (n) a writer for hire; anyone with low professional standards
- (v) to cut; to chop
Hedonist
One who loves physical pleasures (ex. Food, drink, sex, etc.)
Heretofore
Until now
Iconoclast
One who attacks established beliefs; rebel
Impalpable
Unable to be touched or understood
Implacable
Incapable of being soothed or changed
Impudence
Rudeness
Incantation
Magical chant or spell
Incisive
Sharp; cutting
Incorporeal
Without physical existence; not of the body
Indecorum
Lack of good manners; improper behavior
Indignant
Characterized by a sudden feeling of anger or shock
Ineffectual
Useless
Infinitesimal
Extremely small
Ingenious
Clever; resourceful
Inlet
Small bay; indentation in a shoreline
Insidious
Dangerous in a way that is difficult to see
Intemperate
- Extreme
2. Violent
Intransigent
Stubborn; refusing to compromise
Invective
Insult
Irate
Very angry
Jaded
Cynical; tired; bored
Juxtaposition
The placing of two things side by side
Labyrinth
Maze
Lampoon
To ridicule
Levity
Humor; lightheartedness
Lilting
Pleasantly rising and falling (as in voices or songs)
Loquacious
Talkative
Maelstrom
- Giant whirlpool
2. Violent storm
Malediction
A curse
Manifest
- (Adj) obvious
2. (v) to demonstrate
Martyr
One who dies or suffers for a cause or a person
Meander
To wander about without direction or purpose
Mirth
Happiness
Momentous
Very important
Morbidity
Unhealthiness; gloominess
Mundane
Common; ordinary; of this world; boring
Musty
Stale smelling
Nebulous
Vague; unclear; cloudy
Nettle
To annoy
Nocturnal
Relating to the night; active at night
Oaf
A big, clumsy, stupid person
Obsequious
Overly submissive; asskissing
Officious
Pushy; offering unwanted help or advice
Opulence
Wealth; abundance
Ordination
A ceremony for initiation of a priest
Outlandishness
Unconventional; absurd
Pacifist
A person strongly opposed to war
Paltry
Unimportant; insignificant; trivial
Papyrus
Paper made from the papyrus plant
Parochial
- Narrow-minded
2. Relating to a church parish
Pathogenic
Capable of causing disease
Peccadillo
Small crime
Penitent
Sorry
Perdition
Hell; damnation
Perjure
To lie under oath
Peruse
To read carefully
Phoenix
Bird that symbolizes immortality
Pithy
Short and to the point; full of meaning
Platitude
Cliché; trite or hackneyed remark
Plight
Bad situation
Polemical
Deliberately controversial
Posterity
Future generations
Prattle
Foolish or meaningless talk; babble
Précis
Summary
Prestidigitation
Magic tricks
Prodigious
Very big; extraordinary in degree
Proliferation
Rapid growth in numbers
Propriety
Proper behavior
Protocol
Rules for proper behavior
Provisional
Temporary
Pulverize
To crush
Purse
To bring together (ex. To purse one’s lips)
Quack
One who pretends to be a doctor; a dishonest person
Quarantine
Strict isolation to prevent the spread of disease
Quiescence
State of inactivity; stillness
Rabid
- Furious or mad; irrationally extreme
2. Infected by rabies
Ramshackle
Shaky; unstable; rickety
Ratify
To approve; to pass into law
Rebut
To oppose
Red herring
Misleading clue
Refute
To reject; to disprove
Relinquish
To give up
Repast
Meal
Repose
Rest; relaxation
Reproach
To scold; to blame
Repulse
To drive back; to repel
Resurgence
Rising up again
Retrogress
To go back to an earlier or simpler condition
Revile
To insult
Rider
An addition to a document
Rogue
One who cheats or plays tricks
Ruddiness
Reddish in complexion
Runt
A weak, undersized animal
Saga
Long story of adventure
Salve
- (n) a soothing lotion
2. (v) to sooth
Saunter
To walk slowly
Scintillating
Exciting; brilliant
Scrupulous
Strictly honest; moral
Secede
To withdraw from an organization
Seditionist
Revolutionary; rebel
Self-effacement
Modesty; humility
Serrated
Having sharp, notch-like edges, as on a saw or knife
Shortchange
To give less than the right amount
Skinflint
A cheap person
Slothfulness
Laziness
Smear
To ruin the reputation of
Snarl
To tangle, as in string
Soliloquy
A speech given by one person (usually in a play)
Sophomoric
Immature
Spangle
A small sparkling object
Sporadic
Stopping and starting; irregular
Squander
To spend wastefully
Stasis
State of not moving
Stench
Bad smell
Stoke
To stir up and feed fuel to (a fire); to kindle
Stratum
One of many layers (ex. of rock or social class)
Stupefaction
Astonishment
Subjugate
To conquer or oppress
Subvert
To overthrow or ruin
Sullen
Resentful; depressed
Superficial
Shallow; on the surface
Supplement
- (n) something added
2. (v) to add
Surmount
To overcome
Swarthy
Having a dark complexion or color
Table
To delay considering something
Tangential
Off the topic
Tawdry
Cheap; gaudy
Threadbare
Worn out (ex. Threadbare clothing)
Titter
Short, nervous laugh; giggle
Torrid
- Hot
2. Passionate
Transient
Short-lived
Trifle
To treat as unimportant
Truncate
To shorten by cutting off
Turpitude
Wickedness
Ubiquitous
Everywhere at the same time
Underplay
To play down (opposite of to exaggerate)
Unflappable
Calm; having self control
Unnerve
To make nervous; to upset
Unquenchable
Unable to be satisfied
Unsound
- Not logical
2. Unhealthy
Upbraid
To criticize harshly
Vacillate
To change back and forth
Vanity
Excessive pride in ones own appearance
Vendetta
Plan for revenge
Veracity
Truth; accuracy
Verve
Enthusiasm or energy
Vignette
- Small picture
2. Short description or scene
Virtuoso
Someone with a lot of talent
Vivid
- Bright
- Strong clear
- Clear
Voluminous
Big
Wail
To cry loudly
Warranted
Justified; appropriate
Wheedle
To pursue by flattery
Wholesome
Healthful
Winsome
Winning; charming
Workaday
Ordinary; common; boring
Yearning
A strong desire
Zenith
The highest point
