Words (2022 Dec) Flashcards
Uncanny
Not regular, strange; mysterious…especially in an unsettling way
Trope
- Recurrent theme or motif e.g. Kafka in the shore - crow, painting, etc.
- Figurative or metaphorical use of words
Cul-de-sac
Street or passage closed at one end
Interstice
Gap, intervening space, especially a very small one e.g. sunshine filtered via the interstices of the tall leafy trees
Ephemera
Things exist for a short time e.g. bubble, pop culture
Jousting
Medieval sport - two knights on horses fight with lances
Epistolary
Literary work in form of letters
Gambit
- Chess - opening move - sacrifice pawn to gain a compensating advantage
- Act or remark to gain advantage, especially at the outset of a situation
Isomorphism
Sameness in shape, form and relations e.g. molecular structure
Rapacious
Aggressively greedy or grasping e.g. Dubai’s souk traders; locals in tourist towns
Oafish
Rough / clumsy/ unintelligent e.g. oafish behaviour
Corpulent
(of a person) fat; overweight, obese
hoity-toity
haughty or snobbish; condescending e.g. hoity-toity attitude of the elites
Normative
establishing, relating to, or deriving from a standard or norm, especially of behaviour
Raconteur
Person skilled at narrating tales / anecdotes e.g. John Watson
Sardonic
Grimly mocking or cynical
Skeptically humorous
e.g. sardonic smile / comment / look
Tongue in cheek
In an ironic manner, flippant or insincere way
e.g. after not being served on priority at the restaurant, the foodie decided to write a tongue in cheek review
Flippant
Not showing a serious or respectful attitude
E.g. flippant behaviour of the high school student towards the new teacher
Vilipend
Express a low opinion of someone
e.g Nitin is known for vilipending everyone he works with…
Different from vilify which is to embarrass or defame
Caluminate
Make false charges and allegations; defame;
Impetuous
Acting or done quickly, without much thought or care
E.g. taking impetuous decisions based on just the recent facts
Convalescent
(Of a person) Recovering from illness; recuperating
Convalesce - verb
E.g. John Watson was awarded 9 months to convalesce after he was injured in the Afghan war
Rusticate
Suspend from school or go to live in the country
E.g. rusticated from school for bad behaviour
Festoon
Adorn / decorate (a place) with garlands, balloons, especially in curves…hanging on a wall / in the air
Scruples
hesitate on the grounds of conscience e.g. warrior without any scruples
fulminate
express vehement protest e.g. player fulminated with the referee and was shown a red card
vitriol
bitter criticism or malice e.g. bhakts have been spraying vitriol on ravish kumar for years now, but he is still unfazed
Fraught
(Of a situation or course of action) filled with or that will likely result in (something undesirable) e.g. fraught with danger
Sprawling
- Spread over a large area in untidy and irregular way e.g. sprawling suburbs
- Lie with stretched hands and legs looking up e.g. Eternal Sunshine movie
Amorphous
Without a clearly defined shape or form e.g. Ideas or Leadership style
Epiphany
moment of sudden or great revelation or realization
Ineffable
indescribable e.g. Ineffable joy; taboo - e.g. Voldemort
Tunnel vision
Tendency to focus on single or limited objective
Inexorable
unrelenting e.g. inexorable march of far right (2000s) / democracy (1960s)
Unencumbered
not having any burden or impediment (looking forward to travel unencumbered soon, free of Covid restrictions)
Putative
○ commonly accepted, generally considered
○ reputed /recognized (Elon Musk e is a putative business leader)
Gaudiness
Showy, ornamental
Polymath
Person of wide knowledge and learning; knows a lot about different subjects
SNAFU
Military slang (Situation Normal, All Fouled Up)
Bowdlerize / expurgate
remove offensive / vulgar content from a book/artwork, etc.
Assailable
Open for attack, not guarded
Opposite - Unassailable: cannot be defeated, questioned or attacked
Piquant
- Pleasantly stimulating or exciting to mind; also provocative e.g. Gibran is known for his Piquant poems
- Pleasantly sharp taste or appetising flavour i.e. spicy / tang e.g. Pickles, tamarind
Torpor
Lethargy; state of physical or mental inactivity e.g. after a hard day’s work, one ends up in a torpor state in front of the TV
Desultory
Lacking a plan, purpose or enthusiasm; Similar to lukewarm, half-hearted e.g. after giving 2 easy goals; the team played in a desultory fashion
Occurring randomly or occasionally, Casual E.g. desultory passengers appeared
Bumptious
Irritatingly self-assertive e.g. Sherlock Holmes - impossibly bumptious and opinionated ass
Querulous
Complaining in a petulant (childishly sulky or bad-tempered) or whining manner e.g. Querulous behaviour of players shown yellow card, most of the times
