Words I Don't Know 3 Flashcards
Intractable
Adjective, hard to control or deal with
Ex: Not at all mellow like my old cat, Fifi was intractable and impossible to predict.
Adroit
Adjective, clever or skillful with hands or mind
Ex: He was a double danger con artist, as adroit with his plots as he was with his sleight of hand.
Vociferous
Adjective, vehement or clamorous
Ex: I was proud to voice my vociferous support for the pro-LGBT, environmentally minded candidate.
Plaudit
Noun, an expression of praise or approval
Ex: Roaring with excitement, the crowd’s exuberant response was plaudit enough to confirm his speech was a success.
Avuncular
Adjective
1) relating to an uncle
2) relating to the relationship between men and their siblings’ children
Ex: Though I was only his lab-senior by a few months, i felt a mentorish, even avuncular relationship with the new grad student.
Jocular
Adjective
Fond of or characterized by joking, humorous or playful
Ex: His jocular attitude was vital for alleviating our tension while we waited for dad to come out of surgery.
Lugubrious
Loo-goo-bree-us
Adjective
Looking or sounding sad and dismal
Ex: I was, as always, disappointed by the lugubrious state of Kat’s houseplants.
Propitiate
Pruh-pish-ee-ate
Verb
To win or regain the favor of a (god, spirit, authority) by doing something that pleases them.
Ex: My planting of lots of native grasses and butterfly flowers should propitiate the local nature spirits.
Unctuous
Unk-shoo-us
Adjective
1) (of a person) excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily
2) (of a mineral) having a greasy or soapy feel
Ex: His unctuous brown-nosing was nearly as greasy as his hair.
Anathema
Uh-nag-theh-muh
Noun
1) Someone or something vehemently disliked
Ex: Fennel used to be anathema to me, but now I put it in every meal!
2) a formal curse by the pope or church council, excommunicating a person or denouncing a doctrine
Ex: The USA’s new bill extending abortion access for all women swiftly received an anathema from the Pope.
Accoutrements
Noun, additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or work by a person for a particular activity
Ex: He brought along the usual accoutrements to the casual hike, like a water bottle and hat, but also some less-typical equipment like goggles and road flares.
Contiguity (con-tih-goo-itty)
Noun, the state of bordering or being in direct contact with something.
Ex: Oregon and Washington are contiguous states.
Allusive
Adjective, of a remark or reference, working by suggestion rather than explicit mention, ie alluding to something.
Ex: I like to pepper my writing with allusive references to better writers.
Metonymy (met-ah-nih-me)
Noun, the substitution of the name or an adjunct for that of the thing meant. So using something small as the stand-in for the whole thing.
Ex: Saying “there are 3 sails coming in to the dock” as a shorthand for 3 ships is an example of metonymy.
Incommensurable
Adjective, not able to be judged/measured by the same standards as something else, or having no common standard of comparison
Ex: My lab partner and I weren’t just apples and oranges, we’re completely incommensurable.
Heuristic
Adjective, enabling someone to discover or learn something for themselves.
Ex: I’m a big believer in heuristic learning and take a very hands-off approach to teaching my students.
Pecuniary (pih-q-nee-airy)
Adjective, relating to or consisting of money.
Ex: The difference in pecuniary knowledge between my boyfriend and I led to some difficult conversations about personal finances.
Sclerotic
Adjective, becoming rigid and unresponsive; losing the ability to adapt
Ex: Once an adaptive and flexible leader, he became increasingly sclerotic the longer he was in charge.
Sanguineous
Adjective, blood red or anything related to bloodshed, bloodthirsty, or blood.
Ex: My sanguineous werewolf costume raised some eyebrows at my daughter’s kindergarten Halloween party.
Gnomic
Adjective
1) expressed in or of the nature of short, pithy aphorisms or maxims
Ex 1: My mentor refused to provide long form advice and always provided guidance as gnomic responses.
2) enigmatic or ambiguous
Ex 2: His gnomic response to my inquiry left me with more questions than before.
Contemporary
Adjective
1) Living or occurring at the same time
Ex 1: The Edison biography written by a contemporary historian who actually knew the inventor shed illuminated just how scummy Edison‘a business practices really were.
2) belonging or occurring in the present
Ex 2) Contemporary art requires a different mindset to appreciate relative to the classics.
Voluble
Adjective, (of a person) talking fluently, readily, or incessantly. (Of speech) characterized by fluency and readiness of utterance.
Ex: Between the two debaters, it was readily apparent Kantbot was much better-read and his volubility quickly tipped the debate in his favor.
