Words of the Day Flashcards
Enormity
(n. )
1. Outrageous or heinous character; atrociousness
2. Something outrageous or heinous, as an offense
3. Greatness of size, scope, extent, or influence; immensity
Euphemism
(n. )
1. the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt
2. the expression to be substituted
narcissism
(n. )
1. inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity
polemic
(n. )
1. A controversial argument, as one against some opinion, doctrine, etc.
2. a person who argues in opposition to another; controversialist
callow
(adv. )
1. immature or inexperienced
reproach
(v. )
1. to find fault with (a person, group, etc.); blame; censure
2. to upbraid
3. to be a cause of blame or discredit to
apex
(n. )
1. the tip, point, or vertex; summit
2. climax; peak; acme
nadir
(n.)
the lowest point; point of greatest adversity or despair
acrimony
(n.)
sharpness, harshness, or bitterness of nature, speech, disposition, etc.
adjudicate
(v. )
1. to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence
2. to settle or determine (an issue or dispute) judicially
3. to sit in judgment (usually followed by upon)
joust
(n. )
1. a combat in which two knights on horseback attempted to unhorse each other with blunted lances
2. this type of combat fought in a highly formalized manner as part of a tournament
3. a personal competition or struggle
(v. )
3. to contend in a joust our tournament
4. to contend, compete, or struggle
joist
(n. )
1. any number of small, parallel beams of timber, steel, reinforced concrete, etc., for supporting floors, ceilings, or the like
(v. )
2. to furnish with or fix on joists
credulous
(adj. )
1. willing to believe or trust too readily, especially without proper or adequate evidence, gullible
credo
(n. )
1. any creed or formula of belief
spurious
(adj. )
1. not genuine, authentic, or true; not from the claimed, pretended, or proper source; counterfeit
2. of illegitimate birth; bastard
brio
(n. )
1. vigor; vivacity`
brusque
(adj. )
1. abrupt in manner; blunt; rough
broach
(v. )
1. to enlarge and finish with a broach
2. to mention or suggest for the first time
tenet
(n. )
1. any opinion, principle, doctrine, dogma, etc., especially one held as true by members of a profession, group, or movement
ethos
(n. )
1. the character or disposition of a community, group, person, etc.
2. the moral element in dramatic literature that determines a character’s action rather than his or her thought or emotion
ennui
(n. )
1. a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom
conflate
(v. )
1. to fuse into one entity; merge
complicit
(adj. )
1. choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, especially with others; having complicity
congruent
(adj. )
1. agreeing; accordant; congruous
impetus
(n. )
1. a moving force; impulse; stimulus
2. the momentum of a moving body, especially with reference to the cause of motion
innuendo
(n. )
1. an indirect intimation about a person or thing, especially of a disparaging or a derogatory nature
discreet
(adj. )
1. judicious in one’s conduct or speech, especially with regard to respecting privacy or maintaining silence about something of a delicate nature; prudent; circumspect
2. showing prudence and circumspection; decorous
3. modestly unobtrusive;
discrete
(adj. )
1. apart or detached from others; separate; distinct
2. consisting of or characterized by distinct or individual parts; discontinuous
wither
(v. )
1. to shrivel; fade; decay
2. to lose the freshness of youth, as from age
winnow
(v. )
1. to drive or blow away by fanning
wheedle
(v. )
1. to endeavor to influence (a person) by smooth, flattering, or beguiling words or acts
2. to persuade (a person) by such words or acts
3. to obtain (something) by artful persuasions
fraught
(adj. )
1. filled or laden with
foible
(n. )
1. a minor weakness or failing of character; slight flaw or defect
2. the weaker part of a sword blade, between the middle and the point
fulsome
(adj. )
1. offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive; overdone or gross
2. disgusting; sickening; repulsive
3. excessively or insincerely lavish
4. encompassing all aspects; comprehensive
5. abundant or copious
idiom
(n. )
1. an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, or from the general grammatical rules of a language, and that is not a constituent of a larger expression of like characteristics
2. a language, dialect, or a style of speaking peculiar to a people
3. a construction or expression of one language whose parts correspond to elements in another language but whose total structure or meaning is not matched in the same way in the second language
4. the peculiar character or genius of a language
5. a distinct style or character, in music, art, etc.
colloquial
(adj. )
1. characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal
2. involving or using conversation
vernacular
(n. )
1. the native speech or language of a place
2. the language or vocabulary peculiar to a class or profession
3. the plain variety of language in everyday use by ordinary people
salient
(adj. )
1. prominent or conspicuous
2. projecting or pointing outward
3. leaping or jumping
flummox
(v. )
1. to bewilder; confound; confuse
kerfuffle
(n. )
1. a fuss; commotion
impute
(v. )
1. to attribute or ascribe
impugn
(v. )
1. to challenge as false; cast doubt upon
impunity
(n. )
1. exemption from punishment
2. immunity from detrimental effects, as of an action
