Words from Tests/Activities Flashcards
Stolid Stolidity
Not easily stirred; impassive; showing little emotion or animation phlegmatic, nonchalant
Adept Adeptness
Very skilled; proficient
Calumny
Slander
Impertinent Impertinence
Rude, presumptuous, insolent Impertinent youth
Adroit Adroitness
Skillful, accomplished =/= maladroit
Desiccant
Drying substance (packets in shoes and clothes)
Tyro Tyronic
Beginner, novice, rookie
Filigree - n, v
Anything delicate, ornamental
Tautology
Needless repetition or an idea Using different words to say the same thing
Quandary / qwan da ry
Predicament
Peroration
Long speech Concluding part of speech
Prestidigitation
Magic trick Legerdemain
Peregrination Peregrinate
Journey (usually on foot)
Pernicious
Causing harm
Mercurial
Volatile, erratic, unstable Lively, animated, quick-witted
Prescient / pre shunt Prescience / pre shuns
Having knowledge of things before they exist
Puerile Puerility
Pertaining to childhood, immature
Imbroglio / im bro lee oh
Confusion, misunderstanding, disagreement Intricate, perplexing state of affairs
Finesse - n and v
Extreme delicacy/skill/taste; Skillfulness To use finesse
Bemuse
To bewilder, confuse
Obfuscate Obfuscation
To confuse, bewilder; to make unclear
Kismet
Luck, fate, destiny, lot قسمة
Aplomb - n
Self-assurance; poise; self-confident manner; composure
Furtive - adj Furtively
Something done in secret; done by stealth
Stealth - n / stelth
Secret
Clandestine / clan DES tin
Something done in secrecy
Stentorian
Powerful sound - stentorian voice Very loud in sound
Vociferous Vociferance Vociferant
Clamorous, crying out noisily; loud
Imbibe / em BYE b
To consume by drinking Absorb
Sinecure - n / sin ek ure
Job that doesn’t require actual work
Addle
To confuse
Fervid - adj Fervidity
Someone enthusiastic, zealous
Fetid - adj
Having an offensive odor
Forlorn
Sad, lonely, abject
Acrimony
Bitterness, animosity
Acute - adj Acuity - n
Sharp Sharpness
Acumen Acuminous / ac YOO men ous
Sharpness of insight
Adage / ad - ij
Old saying or proverb
Egregious / eg ree djus
Outstandingly bad, shockingly bad
Peremptory
Leaving little or no room for refusal or denial; imperative a peremptory command
Prodigious
Extraordinary in size, amount, etc. Wonderful or marvelous
Inure / in Yoor - in noor
To accustom to hardship
Revile / re v EYE le
To address with contempt; to address or speak of abusively Disparage
Wizen Wizened
To wither, shrivel, dry up Dried up
Revere / re VEER
To respect, venerate
Expurgate
To amend by removing words; to deem offensive To censor
Edify
To instruct, especially morally or spiritually Uplift
Cosset
To pamper, as a pet
Dandle
To pet, pamper
Craven
Timid, cowardly
Pusillanimous / pyoo suh lan imous
Lacking courage
Deleterious
Injurious to health, harmful, pernicious
Noxious (knock shus)
Nocuous (knock yoo us), harmful =/= innocuous
Inchoate - in KO ate
Not fully developed; in its rudimentary stage; not organized
Vigilant Vigilance
Keenly watchful to detect danger, wary Alert
Calamity Calamitous
Great misfortune, disaster
Contrive / con tr EYE ve
To invent, create, engender
Parochial / pa RO key ul
Very limited or narrow in scope, provincial
Provincial
Narrow minded, unsophisticated, perhaps uncouth
Indelible
Cannot be erased, permanent indelible ink; indelible memories of war
Pertinacious
Tenacious
Haughty
Condescending, proud, snobbish
Supercilious
Haughty
Consequent
(to, upon, on) following as an effect or result … a fall in price consequent to a rise in production
Judicious
Astute; wise, using or showing good judgement
Pecuniary
Of or pertaining to money Pecuniary difficulties = Financial difficulties
Pellucid
Clear; VERY LUCID (per-)
Pulverize Pulverous
To reduce to dust or powder; demolish Powdery, like powder
Salacious / sala AY shus
Lustful
Lechery / letch ery Lecherous Lecher
Unrestrained or excessive indulgence of sexual desire
Invective
N - abusive speech, vehement denunciation; diatribe
Dearth
Shortage, inadequate supply
Depredate Depredation
To plunder, prey upon, ravage
Ravage
N - havoc, ruinous damage; ravages of war V - to work havoc upon, damage; a face ravaged by grief
Feign
To pretend He feigned sickness to skip class.
Undue
Excessive; undue haste Inappropriate, unjustifiable, improper; undue influence
Vehement / VEE uhment Vehemence / VEE umence
Zealous, ardent, impassioned
Consummate
adj - perfect; highest or most extreme degree - consummate master; consummate skill v - to bring to a state of perfection; fulfill to complete agreement by signing name to complete union of a marriage by having sex
Exacerbate / ex ass er bate
To worsen
Execrable / ek si kruh ble
Despicable, detestable, abominable, abhorrent Very bad, egregious - an execrable stage performance
Sidereal / si DEE re al
Determined by or from the stars
Sidereal time
Boisterous / bois ter ous
Rough and noisy; clamourous; unrestrained - the sound of boisterous laughter
Could also be weather - boisterous winds, storm
Boisterous winds of Hurricane Sandy
Etiolate / e tiol ate
To cause to become weak or sickly; to drain of color or vigor
Comportment
Demeanor; poise
Balk/ Bawk
To hesitate or be unwilling to accpet as an idea;
To stop and refuse to proceed
I balked at coming to Purdue. Gardneres balk at enclosing gardens.
Revel in
To take great pleasure or delight
She likes revel in luxury
Ominous
Portenidng evil harm
Quotidian / qwo tid ian
Daily - a quotidian report
Usual; commonplace, ordinary
Officious / offi shus
Meddlesome; aggressive in offering one’s unrequested and unwanted services
Flippant
Flippancy
Disrespectful; caustic
His flippant comments about the Pope did not sit well with Catholics.
Recreant / rek REE ant
Pusillanimous; cowardly
Querulous / kwer you lus
Full of complaints, complaining
She only speaks in a querulous tone. That bitch.
Dilatory
Intended to cause delay, gain time
The senator used dilatory measures by excercising his right to a filibuster.
Fastidious
Excessively particular, hard to please, very picky
He’s a fastidious eater! He won’t eat anything but cereal! That bitch.
Rescind / re send
To abrogate, annul, revoke, repeal
The Supreme Court rescinded last year’s law.
Obstreperous / ob strep ur ous
1) Refractory, resisting control, unruly
The obstreperous cellmate
2) Boisterous, clamorous
Her children are so obstreporous. She ought to raise them right.
Filial
Of, pertaning to, befitting a son or daughter
Sacrosanct
Extremely sacred
Lackadaisical / lak a day sical
1) Without interest, vigor or determination; lethargic
2) Lazy, indolent
Lethargic
Tired, sluggish, lazy
Conformable
1- (to) Consistent, similar to,
2- Docile, submissive
Rapture
Rapturous
Ecstatic joy
Feeling of great pleasure or enthusiasm, ecstatic
He was greeted with rapturous applause
Portend
Portent
Portentous / por tent us
To foreshadow, to indiciate in advance
Presage, bode, forbode
The soothsayer portended the fate of Ceasar
Omen
Ominous, inauspicious, sinister
Prosaic / pro zay ic
Commonplace, ordinary, dull, unimaginative
The prosaic mind.
Vituperate / v eye tuperate
To revile, disparage
Buffet
N - a blow (hand or first)
Violent shock or concussion
V - To strike, perhaps repeatedly
Contrite
Remorseful, filled with guilt
Impecunious / im pec yoo ne yus
Poor, destitute
Perpetual
Continuing, enduring, everlasting
My love for Nutella is perpetual.
Renege / re nig
To be perfidious; to go back on your words
Burgeon / bur gin
To grow or develop quickly
Indomitable
Cannot be subdued or overcome
The indomitable warrior
Conjure
To make something appear as though by magic
Sully
To soil, stain, mar, defile
The senator tried his best to occlude the aspersion because it had the potential to sully his reputation as a heterosexual.
Caliber
1 - Diameter (3 in. caliber)
2 - Ability, degree of competence
3 - Degree of merit, quality
Avant-garde
Vanguard, forefront in any movement - especially arts
Chagrin / cha GRIN
Feeling of vexation marked by disappointment or humiliation
Incisive / in s eye sive
1) Penetrating
2) Remarkably clear and direct; sharp, acute
of someone = intelligent, clear-thinking
Reprehend
Reprove (be strongly disapproving of), find fault with, censure
Liberality
1) Quality of being liberal in giving; generous
2) Broadness in physical attributes
Duplicity
Deceitfulness; double-dealing
Sumptuous
Costly, entailing great expense, lavish
Row
Altercation
Fracas
Uproar, nosiy disturbance
Panacea
Remedy for all diseases; cure-all
Vindicate
Vindication
To clear someone of accusations
= Exculpate = Exonerate = Acquit
Unwieldly
Difficult to carry or move because of its size, shape, weight…
Gargantuan
Huge, enormous
Cavalcade
Procession
Mendacious / men da shus
Compulsive liar;
Not telling the truth, lying
Surreptitious / surr ep ti shus
Done by stelth, secret
A surreptitious glance
Hallowed
Regarded as holy
Incendiary
Incinerator
(cind)
Designed to cause fires
The incendiary bombs
cind = ashes
Umbrage / um bridj
Offense, annoyance, displeasure
I took umbrage at her insolent question.
Lugubrious
Sad, depressed but in an affected, exaggerated way
Ersatz / air zatz
Artificial
Presage
N - omen
V - to portend
Henceforth
From now on
Insidious
Intended to deceive - insidious plan
Deceitful - insidious enemy
Fallacious
Logically unsound
Incipient
Incipiency
Nascent, beginning ot exist or appear, in initial stage
Foible
Minor weakness or failing of character; slight flaw
Hanan’s eyebrows were a foible of many.
Bastion / bas tchun
anything seen as preserving/protecting some quality
The US is the bastion of true democracy.
Plebeians / pleb eee ians
belonging to common people
=/= burgeoise
Patrician
Aristocrat
Indolent
Slouthful, showing a disposition to avoid exertion
Insolent
boldly rude or disrespectful
insolent reply
Esurient / es surient
Hungry or greedy
Expatiate / ex pay shi ate
Speak or write at length or in detail
Khawla Matter is coming to WSU to expatiate about media in the Arab world.
Vaunt
To boast of
Mo loves to vaunt his achievments
Provenance
Place or source of origin
Potentiate
To cause to be potent; more powerful
Solvent
Insolvent
Able to pay debts
Unable to pay debts
Tethered
Tied so movement is restricted
Myopic
Near-sighted
Also narrow-minded
Pliant
Flexible, adaptable
Disavow
Disclaim, disown, repudiate, deny responsibility or support for
The president disavowed the remark that had been attributed to him.
Solace
Comfort in times of sorrow/trouble
Consolation
Act of consoling, comforting
Impinge upon / im pinge
Have an impact (upon) or infinge (upon)
Israel impinges upon Palestinian Human Rights.
Decimate
To destroy a great number of (or proportion of)
The population was decimated by the plague.
Disconsolate
Without consolation or solace; hopelessly unhappy
The death of her dog made her disconsolate.
Inveterate
Settled or confirmed in a habit, practice…
Inveterate gambler
Firmly established by long continuance, chronic
Inveterae pain in my lower back
Fatuous
Asinine
Rana Zaban.
(foolish, inane, pointless)
Halcyon / hal see un
Calm, peaceful, tranquil (halcyon weather)
Rich, wealthy, prospoerous (halcyon times of peace)
Happy, joyful, carefree (halcyon times of youth)
Scotch
To put a definite end to; crush
To scotch a rumor, to scotch a plan
Frangible
Easily broken, breakable, fagile
Frangible toys are not suitable for young children
Extraneous
Of external origin - extraneous substance in water
Not pertinent, irrelevant
Salubrious
Favorable to or promoting health
Salabrious air along the Nile is JUST what I need
Germane
Relevant, significantly related
Please keep all statemnts germane to the issue
Windfall
Unexpected gain, good fortune
Conflagration
Destructive fire
Perquisite
Benefit, privilege or advantage over and above the regular income
Among the president’s many perquisites were free use of the company car
Eschew / es chew
Abstain, keep away from, avoid
Ghandi persuaded the Hindus to eschew violence
Nefarious
Wicked or criminal
The nefarious plot of the Purple gang
Feckless
Ineffective, incompetent, futile
Feckless atempts to repair the car
Irresponsible
Nugatory / noo ga tory
Worthless
Dissipate
Dissipation
To scatter, disperse, squander away
Wasting or misuse of fortune
Inscrutable
Cannot be scrutinized, abtruse, mysterious
Inscrutable smile
Foil
To prevent the success of
Loyal troops foiled his attempt to overthrow the government
Mephitic
Offensive to the smell
Argot / ar go
Jargon or slang of a particular group or class
Teenage argot
Introspection
Examination or observation of one’s own mental and emotional processes
Equanimous
Equanimity
Mental calmness, composure, evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation
Extempore - adj
Extemporize - v
Spur of the moment, without preperation, offhand
Protract
To draw out or lengthen, especially in time
Sensational
Producing (or designed to produce) a startling effect, causing great public interest
Palatable
Pleasant to the palates (taste)
Acceptable or agreeable to mind or feelings
Palatable ideas
Wayward
Someone who turns away from what is right or proper; disobedient
Wayward youth
Wayward servent who stole from the Pope
Winsome
Sweetly or innocently charming
Winsome smile
Exiguous / ex zig you us
Scanty, meager, small
I live on an exigous income :(
Fealty / fee uhl tee
Fidelity (especially to a lord)
Bonhomie / bawn ahmie
N - Frank and simple; good heartedness; geniality
Levity
Lightness of mind, character, behavior
humor or frivolity
دمــه خــفــيــف
Behest / be hest
Command, order
They assembled at his behest
Brevity
Shortness of time or duration; briefness
The brevity of human life
Expressing much in few words, terseness
Brevity is the soul of wit
Extirpate
Remove or destroy totally, exterminate
Conjecture
N - formation of an opinion or theory without sufficient evidence as proof
V - to do so ^
Tractable
Docil, amenable, easy to control or influence
Genial / jeen ial
Geniality
Warm and pleasantly cheerful, cordial
Frivolity
Frivolous
Lack of seriousness, carefree,
The frivolity of Mardi Gras
little or no weight/worth
The frivolous lawsuit
Conjuncture
Combination of circumstances or events
The peculiar political conjuncture culminated in a world war!
Crisis
Covenant
Agreement
Gossamer / gos am er
Thin cobweb;
extremely delicate, thin, flimsy
Tensile / ten sul
Pertaining to tension,
Capable of being drawn out or stretched; malleable, pliant
Adamantine / adam an teen
Obdurate, unyielding, intransigent
Premordial / pre mor dial
Pertaining to or existing at or from the very beginning
Moribund
In a dying state, almost dead
Camaraderie
Mutual trust and friendship, comradeship, amity
Denouement / (french)
final resolution, culmination, conclusion
Deferment
Postponement
Modish / mode ish
Trendy, fashionable, conforming to or following what is currently popular
Redress
V - to remedy or set right, disabuse, to balance
N - ^^
The judge had to redress the lawyer’s misconception of Affirmative Action :D
Conduit / con du it
N - pipe, tube for conveying fluids (water)
Jovial
Joviality
Joyous humor, good spirit, jovial, cheerful, friendly
Forbear
Forbearance
To refrain, abstain from
Act of ^
Extant
Still in existance
Actuate
To incite or move to action, impel, motivate
He was actuated by selfish motives
Dr. Roth’s email actuated me to move to Purdue
Inculcate
Inculcation
Implant or instill by persistent instruction (upon/in)
He inculcated the five pillars of Islam in the youth
I’m trying to inculcate these vocabulary words in my mind
to cause or influence (someone) to accept an idea (with…)
Plato inculcated his students with the love of sophisty.
Tenacious
Tenacity
Firm hold (of)
He was tenacious of old habits
Stubborn
Ineluctable
Inescapable, cannot be evaded
Ineluctable destiny
Levy
Imposing or collecting tax
conscription of troops
Extol
Praise highly
Inveigh
(against) fulminate, protest
speak or write w/ great hostility, revile, vituperate
Assiduity
Assiduous
Consant or close attention to what one is doing
I’m an assiduous student!
Seminal
Strongly influencing later developments
Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah’s works proved seminal; they continue to influence the works of his protege
Despot / des pot
Autocrat, dictator
Itinerant / i tin er ant
Someone traveling from place to place
Impung / im pyoon
To challenge as false; cast doubt upon; challenge; call into question
The new judge impugned those preceeding him.
Redound
Contribute greatly
Obama’s healthcare program will redound to his reelection.
Peripatetic
Walking or traveling about
Aristotle school of thought
Jaunty
Lively, cheerful, self-confident manner
He walks w/ a jaunty step.
Supervene
(upon)
To ensue
To be consequent or additional of another
The garage supervenes upon the house itself.
Postliminary
=/= Preliminary
Done or carried on after something else or as a conclusion
Effable
Ineffable
Describable in words
Too great or too extreme to be expressed in words; inexpresisble
Ineffable beauty
Incontestable
Indisputable - not able to be disputed
Aptly
W/ competence; appropriate
Hackneyed / hack need
Made ordinary or trite
The song instantly became hackneyed soon after the radio began playing it.
Vagary / va gay re
Unpredictable, unexpected change in action/course, behavior
Michigan is known for its vagaries of weather
The vagaries of the economic scene
FORD STOCKS!
Hapless
Unfortunate, unlucky
Piecemeal
Adv - piece by piece
I tore the leatter piecemeal
Synchronous
Simultaneous
Flounder
N - type of fish :)
V - Struggle helplessly (about)
He was floundering about in the water
Bungle
To do something clumsily and awkwardly; botch
He bungled every attempt to help
Giddy
Dizzy - What a giddy climb!
Fivolous - I get all chukkly like a giddy school girl!
Vertigo
Vertiginous
Dizzy sensation
Whirling; dizzy
Pluck
Plucky
Courage
Courageous
Frolic
Frolicsome
To play in a light-spirited way
Playful fun; merrily play
