Words I Have Found Flashcards
Catalog of words I have run across who's definitions aren't completely clear to me yet.
1
Q
Naffandous
A
adj. unspeakable, unutterable, appalling
2
Q
Hegira
A
n. escape from danger, flight, exodus or migration
orig. Arabic> late Medieval Latin
3
Q
Bathos
A
n. an anticlimax, abrubt change in style creating a ludicrous effect, insincere pathos, gross sentimentality
4
Q
Banausic
A
adj. routine, mechanical, boring
5
Q
Adumbrate
A
v. disclose partly, hint at, foreshadow, give sketchy outline
6
Q
Aleatory
A
adj. based on chance, luck, characterized by gambling
7
Q
Zaftig
A
adj. plump, full figured
8
Q
Ukase
A
n. official edict or decree
9
Q
Antinomy
A
n. paradox, a contradiction between two true conclusions or beliefs that are both reasonable. Originally used to mean a conflict between two laws (early science).
10
Q
Satrap
A
n. subordinate ruler, bureaucrat
11
Q
Quiddity
A
n. the essence of, the real nature of, a hairsplitting distinction between, a quibble
12
Q
Shibboleth
A
n. identifying knowledge belonging to a specific group, like a tell but for ethnicity/culture
13
Q
Conduce
A
v. to contribute to a specific result,
orig. Middle English
Combination of “conduct” and “induce”
14
Q
Pellucid
A
adj. clear in style, transparent or translucent, admitting the passage of light
15
Q
Apotheosis
A
n. exaltation to divine status, trancendent
16
Q
Mephitic
A
adj. poisonous, foul smelling
17
Q
Daedal
A
adj. ingenious, complex in design, intricate
18
Q
Plenary
A
adj. complete, unlimited, full, attended by all members
19
Q
Junta
A
n. group that rules after a coup, can be military but doesn’t have to be
20
Q
Caducity
A
n. perishable, impermanent, the frailty of old age, senility
21
Q
Ana
A
n. a collection reflecting the character of a person or place
22
Q
Homoglate
A
v. confirm officially, approve
23
Q
Perorate
A
v. declaim, to speak at great length, to conclude with a recapitulation
24
Q
Sciolism
A
n. superficial knowledge
25
Agnate
adj. from the father's side of the family, coming from a common source, akin
26
Usafruct
n. the right to use another's property as long as it isn't damaged in the process
27
Clerisy
n. literati, cognoscenti, educated people considered as a group
28
Qua
prep. "in the capacity of”
| as, or that
29
Sina qua non
n. an essential element or condition
| translates as “without that not”
30
Esculent
adj. suitable for eating
31
Adjure
v. to plea earnestly, command solemnly (as under oath)
32
Sententious
adj. given to moralizing and aphorisms, pithy
33
Tenebrous
adj. dark and gloomy
34
Sui Generis
adj. unique, one of a kind
35
Apostacy
n. renunciation of religious or political belief, abandonment of one's principals
36
Bosky
adj. wooded, covered in trees, shrubs or bushes
37
Hortative
adj. exhortative, advice giving, instructive?
38
Etiolate
v. to make weak by stunting growth, to cause pale or sickly appearance
39
Recondite
adj. little known, cryptic, abstruse
40
Quisling
n. traitor, collaborator
41
Agathism
n. ultimate end of things is good, even if intermediate means are evil (things turn out for the best)
42
Incohate
adj. incomplete, unfinished
43
Gemeinschaft
n. group bound by kinship, tastes, or interests
44
Supervene
v. to follow immediately after, ensue
45
Temerarious
adj. rash, reckless, presumptuously daring
46
Acidulous
adj. sour, bad-tempered
47
Vitiate
v. to reduce in value or quality, to invalidate
48
Defulcate
v. to embezzle, to misuse funds
49
Nadir
n. from astrology: celestial body directly below observer in the heavens, used metaphorically for "lowest point"
50
Apogee/Perigee
n. the furthest/nearest point away in orbit: astronomy, apogee also used to mean "highest point"
51
Encomium
| syn. Panegyric
n. warm, glowing praise, a tribute, formal public compliment
52
Paean
n. song or poem of thanksgiving
53
Sedulous
adj. done diligently and carefully
54
Feckless
adj. lazy and irresponsible
55
Exegesis
n. critical explanation of a text, analysis (as of Bible)
56
Zenith
n. astrology: directly above observer in heavens, use metaphorically to mean "highest point" as in the zenith of a performer's career
57
Sycophant
n. servile self-seeker, flatterer, curries the favor of the influential
58
Insouciant
adj. nonchalant, light-hearted, unconcerned
59
Abrogate
v. to nullify
60
Perquisite
n. a perk of the job, a privilege
61
Imago
n. adult insect stage
62
Grig
adj. a lively person
63
Cavil
v. to raise trivial objections
64
Afflatus
n. creative impulse, divine inspiration
65
Serried
adj. crowded together (particularly in rows)
66
Manque´
n. a person who has failed to realize potential, unfulfilled person, a person of frustrated ambition
67
Tendentious
adj. biased
68
Raconteur
n. a witty speaker who uses anecdotes
69
Mulct
v. to penalize by fine, to the acquire by trickery/deception
| n. a fine
70
Expurgate
v. to remove erroneous, obscene, or objectionable material prior to publishing
71
Nugatory
adj. trifling, invalid, unimportant, unenforceable
72
Eclat
n. conspicuous success, brilliant performance or achievement, acclaim
73
Argot
n. specialized vocabulary, idioms (ie. jargon or slang)
74
Eupeptic
adj. relating to good digestions, cheerful or happy
75
Pulchritude
n. great physical beauty
76
Coruscate
v. to sparkly, glitter or shimmer, give off flashes of light
77
Homiletics
n. the art of preaching or writing sermons
78
Tocsin
n. alarm bell or signal
79
Equipoise
n. a balance of forces or interests, counterbalance
| v. to balance forces or interests
80
Involute
adj. intricate, involved, curled spirally
| v. to curl up
81
Fustian
n. pompous or pretentious speech or writing
82
Repine
v. feel or express discontent; fret
83
Refulgent
adj. shining brightly
84
Nostrom
n. an ineffective medicine especially one prepared by an unqualified person; used to refer to bringing about some social or political reform or improvement ineffectively
85
Edacious
adj. relating to or given to eating
86
Acarpous
adj. botany: not producing fruit, sterile
87
Mettlesome
adj. full of spirit, courage (mettle)
88
Cadge
v. ask for or obtain (something to which one is not strictly entitled)
89
Puissance
n. archaic: great power, influence, or prowess
90
Sententious
adj. given to moralizing in a pompous or affected manner
91
Atavistic
adj. relating to or characterized by reversion to something ancient or ancestral
92
Sophistry
n. the use of fallacious arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving
93
Meretricious
adj. apparently attractive but having no value or integrity, flashy, pretentious
94
Contumacious
adj. stubbornly or willfully disobedient to authority
95
Synecdoche
n. A figure of speech where a part is used for the whole (as in using hand for sailor), the whole for the part (as in law for police), the specific for the general (cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (thief for pickpocket), or the material the thing is made from (steel for sword)
96
Syllogism
n. a subtle, specious, or crafty argument
| n. deductive reasoning, formal argument with a major and minor premise and a conclusion
97
Balkanize
v. to divide a group or country into smaller, possibly hostile or incompatible units. Fragment, disintegrate, break-up
Could be used to describe the “silo” effect in corporations
98
Lagniappe
n. a small gift or benefit given to a valued customer. Similar to a baker’s dozen. Started as New Orleans French Quarter tradition. Can be applied to any unexpected bonus, “a little something extra”. (pronounced ‘lanny-yap’)
99
Chyrons
n. An electronically generated caption superimposed on a television or movie screen
100
Orthogonal
adj. of or involving right angles; at right angles
| Not pertinent to the matter, one does not imply the other (syn. immaterial, unrelated)
101
Petrichor
n. pleasant smell of first rain after a long dry spell
102
Defenestration
v. to throw someone or something out of a window
103
Vellichor
adj. the strange wistfulness of used bookstores
104
Mimetic
adj. Relating to, characteristic of, or exhibiting mimicry.
adj. Of or relating to an imitation; imitative.
adj. Using imitative means of representation: a mimetic dance.
105
Jeremiads
n. a long literary work, usually in prose, but sometimes in verse (poetry), in which the author bitterly laments the state of society and its morals in a serious tone of sustained invective, and always contains a prophecy of society's imminent downfall. Lamentation. Doleful complaint. Rhetoric of indignation.
106
Imprimatur
n. Seal of approval. Official approval or sanction.
107
Lacuna
la•cu•na (ləˈkyu nə)
n. , pl. -nae (-nē), -nas.
1. a gap or missing part, as in a manuscript; hiatus, gap, break in continuity
108
Reification
is a fallacy of ambiguity, when an abstraction (abstract belief or hypothetical construct) is treated as if it were a concrete real event or physical entity.
In other words, it is the error of treating something that is not concrete, such as an idea, as a concrete thing.
“the map is not the territory"
109
Reify
```
v. re·ify | \ ˈrā-ə-ˌfī , ˈrē-\
reified; reifying
Definition of reify
transitive verb
: to consider or represent (something abstract) as a material or concrete thing : to give definite content and form to (a concept or idea)
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