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Words I like Flashcards

1
Q

accolade

A

a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction

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2
Q

acrimony

A

a rough and bitter manner

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3
Q

anomaly

A

deviation from the normal or common order, form, or rule

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4
Q

avant-garde

A

radically new or original

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5
Q

bonhomie

A

a disposition to be friendly and approachable

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6
Q

boondoggle

A

work of little or no value done merely to look busy
You might think my mission to learn more long words is a complete boondoggle, but it’s actually extremely interesting.

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7
Q

brusque

A

rudely abrupt or blunt in speech or manner

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8
Q

cacophony

A

loud confusing disagreeable sounds

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9
Q

capricious

A

determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity

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10
Q

carte blanche

A

complete freedom or authority to act

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11
Q

cloying

A

overly sweet

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12
Q

dichotomy

A

a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses

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13
Q

dilettante

A

an amateur engaging in an activity without serious intention

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14
Q

elan

A

enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness

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15
Q

ennui

A

the feeling of being bored by something tedious

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16
Q

ephemeral

A

lasting a very short time
(an ephemeral love story)

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17
Q

equanimity

A

steadiness of mind under stress

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18
Q

equivocate

A

be deliberately ambiguous or unclear

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19
Q

ersatz

A

artificial and inferior

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20
Q

esoteric

A

understandable only by an enlightened inner circle

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21
Q

euphemism

A

an inoffensive expression substituted for an offensive one

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22
Q

facetious

A

cleverly amusing in tone, treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humour

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23
Q

fastidious

A

giving careful attention to detail

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24
Q

faux pas

A

a socially awkward or tactless act

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25
Q

finagle

A

achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods

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26
Q

glib

A

artfully persuasive in speech, fluent but insincere

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27
Q

gregarious

A

temperamentally seeking and enjoying the company of others

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28
Q

harbinger

A

something indicating the approach of something or someone

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29
Q

hedonist

A

someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures

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30
Q

idiosyncratic

A

peculiar to the individual

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31
Q

idyllic

A

charmingly simple and serene

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32
Q

lurid

A

glaringly vivid and graphic; marked by sensationalism

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33
Q

machiavellian

A

of or relating to amoral or conniving political principles

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34
Q

malaise

A

a feeling of mild sickness or depression

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35
Q

malinger

A

avoid responsibilities and duties, often by faking illness

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36
Q

misnomer

A

an incorrect or unsuitable name

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37
Q

non sequitur

A

a reply that has no relevance to what preceded it

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38
Q

ostentatious

A

intended to attract notice and impress others
(an ostentatious outfit?)

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39
Q

ostracise

A

expel from a community or group

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40
Q

panacea

A

hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases

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41
Q

peevish

A

easily irritated or annoyed

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42
Q

perfunctory

A

hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough

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43
Q

philistine

A

a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits

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44
Q

picayune

A

small and of little importance

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45
Q

precocious

A

characterized by exceptionally early development

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46
Q

propriety

A

correct behavior

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47
Q

quid pro quo

A

something given in exchange for something else

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48
Q

quintessential

A

representing the perfect example of a class or quality

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49
Q

scintillating

A

having brief brilliant points or flashes of light

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50
Q

suave

A

having a sophisticated charm

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51
Q

supercilious

A

having or showing arrogant superiority

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52
Q

sycophant

A

a person who tries to please someone to gain an advantage

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53
Q

tete-a-tete

A

a private conversation between two people

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54
Q

tirade

A

a speech of violent denunciation

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55
Q

tryst

A

a secret rendezvous, especially a romantic one or a secret agreement

56
Q

ubiquitous

A

being present everywhere at once

57
Q

untenable

A

incapable of being defended or justified

58
Q

verbose

A

using or containing too many words

59
Q

Sesquipedalian
Pronounced: Sess-kwi-peh-day-leean

A

Means: Loving of long words

60
Q

Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobic
Pronounced: Hippoh-poh-toh-mon-stroh-sess-kwi-ped-ah-lee-oh-foe-bik

A

Someone with a fear of long words

61
Q

Floccinaucinihilipilification
Pronounced: flok-sih-naw-kinih-hillih-pillih-fik-ay-shun

A

The act of deciding that something is worthless.
Sentence to use it in: I am very offended by my friend’s floccinaucinihilipilification of my amazing new vocabulary.

62
Q

Discombobulate
Pronounced: Dis-com-bob-bew-late

A

To confuse (someone)
Sentence to use it in: Do you want to learn some more long words too or are you too discombobulated after reading this article?

63
Q

Demure

A

Reserved, modest, shy

64
Q

Eloquence

A

Ability to beautifully express oneself

65
Q

Felicity

A

Happiness

66
Q

Ineffable

A

Difficult to accurately describe

67
Q

Melancholy

A

A feeling a pensive sadness

68
Q

Mellifluous

A

Beautifully sounding

69
Q

Nefarious

A

Wicked, evil

70
Q

Opulence

A

Luxury, abundance

71
Q

Propinquity

A

Another word for proximity

72
Q

Sanguine

A

Optimistic and positive

73
Q

Scintilla

A

A trace or spark of something

74
Q

Serendipity

A

A chain of events that occurs in a favorable way

75
Q

Sibilant

A

Making a hissing sound

76
Q

Sonorous

A

A deep and full sound

77
Q

Sumptuous

A

Rich, luxurious

78
Q

Surreptitious

A

Clandestine

79
Q

Tacit

A

understood or implied without being stated

80
Q

Ambiguity

A

the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness

81
Q

Sumptuously

A

Of a size or splendor suggesting great expense; lavish

82
Q

Arcane

A

secret, mysterious, understood only by a few

83
Q

Arcane

A

secret, mysterious, understood only by a few

84
Q

Sanguine

A

optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation

85
Q

Askance

A

with an attitude or look of suspicion or disapproval.

86
Q

Meticulous

A

showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.

87
Q

Galvanised

A

shock or excite

88
Q

Poignant

A

evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret. “a poignant reminder of the passing of time”

89
Q

Miscellaneous

A

various

90
Q

Pragmatic

A

practical, dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.
“a pragmatic approach to business ethics”

91
Q

Vie

A

compete eagerly with someone in order to do or achieve something: the athletes were vying for a place in the British team.

92
Q

Penultimate

A

next to last (the penultimate episode)

93
Q

Diminutive

A

tiny or little

94
Q

Confluence

A

use this word when discussing a meeting of minds, a group of ideas, or a coming together of diverse people for a gathering. A conference may include a confluence of ideas, for example.

95
Q

inebriation

A

a state of drunkenness or intoxication.

96
Q

Balter

A

to dance artlessly, without particular skill or grace but usually with enjoyment

97
Q

odious

A

extremely unpleasant; repulsive: a pretty odious character | odious hypocrisy

98
Q

nefarious

A

wicked or criminal: the nefarious activities of the organised-crime syndicates laborious

99
Q

Tantamount

A

equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as (tantamount to a lie)

100
Q

consternation

A

a feeling of anxiety or dismay, typically at something unexpected: to her consternation her car wouldn’t start.

101
Q

conglomerate

A

1 a thing consisting of a number of different and distinct parts or items that are grouped together: the Earth is a specialized conglomerate of organisms.
* a large corporation formed by the merging of separate and diverse firms: a media conglomerate.

102
Q

insidious

A

proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects: sexual harassment is a serious and insidious problem.

103
Q

mercurial

A

subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind: his mercurial temperament.

104
Q

insipid

A

lacking flavour; weak or tasteless: mugs of insipid coffee.
* lacking vigour or interest: many artists continued to churn out insipid, shallow works.

105
Q

modicum

A

a small quantity of a particular thing, especially something desirable or valuable: his statement had a modicum of truth.

106
Q

rheumy

A

(of a person’s eyes) watery: she was small and wizened, with rheumy eyes and bad teeth.

107
Q

platitude

A

a remark or statement, especially one with a moral content, that has been used too often to be interesting or thoughtful: he masks his disdain for her with platitudes about how she should believe in herself more

108
Q

Pithy

A

Fancy word for a brief comment of substance
Try: Pithy when you want to talk about how your friend replied to her Tinder prospect with a brief, clever, and forceful remark. Her response to the dude’s Tinder pick-up line wasn’t terse—it was pithy!

109
Q

Despondent

A

Fancy word for hopeless
Try: Despondent. If the past couple of years have taken a toll on you, go with a fancier word to indicate your hopelessness. Reserve depressed for a medical diagnosis and instead use despondent to articulate extreme dejection and hopelessness.

110
Q

flagrant

A

conspicuously or obviously offensive

111
Q

depleted

A

reduced, drained, emptied (also tired)

112
Q

complacency

A

Feeling smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s accomplishments

113
Q

impunity

A

exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of one’s actions

114
Q

truculent

A

defiant, aggressive, antagonising

115
Q

facsimile

A

an exact copy, especially of written or printed material; copy, reproduction, carbon copy

116
Q

captious

A

tending to find fault or raise petty objection; critical (a captious teacher)

117
Q

noxious

A

harmful, poisonous or very unpleasant (they were overcome by the noxious fumes)

118
Q

amenable

A

open and responsive to suggestion; easily persuaded or controlled; susceptible

119
Q

rapture

A

a feeling of intense pleasure or joy, intense pleasure or enthusiasm about something

120
Q

volubility

A

the quality of talking fluently, readily or incessantly; talkativeness

121
Q

alacrity

A

brisk and cheerful readiness (she accepted the invitation with alacrity)

122
Q

expedient

A

(of an action) convenient and practical although possibly improper or immoral (either side could break the agreement if it were expedient to do so)

123
Q

endorse

A

declare one’s public approval or support of, recommend (a product) in advertisement

124
Q

belligerent

A

hostile or agressive

125
Q

altruistic

A

showing a disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others; unselfish

126
Q

unilaterally

A

used to indicate that something is done by only one person, group, or country involved in a situation, without the agreement of others.

127
Q

oscillated

A

move or swing back and forth in a regular rhythm.


128
Q

vacillate

A

waver between different opinions


129
Q

divisive

A

tending to cause disagreement or hostility between people

130
Q

ascendancy

A

occupation of a position of dominant power or influence

131
Q

vagary

A

an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone’s behaviour

132
Q

unconscionable

A

unethical, amoral, indefensible

133
Q

tenuous

A

very weak or slight/ very slender or fine; insubstantial

134
Q

supine

A

flat on one’s back, prone, 2. weak, spineless, yeilding

135
Q

insensate

A

lacking physical sensation, 2. lacking sympathy or compassion; unfeeling, 3. completely lacking sense or reason

136
Q
A

words (2 decks)

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