Wordsmart Genius Flashcards
Mingy
“The mingy old man kept scaring away the children trying to sell lemonade and always refused to buy any.”
Mean and stingy
Schadenfreuda
“I felt a surge of schadenfreuda when I got the last tickets and saw the faces of those still waiting in line.”
The guilty pleasure one experiences when witnessing the misfortune of others.
Minatory
“There were minatory clouds across the sky, it looked like we were in for a pretty heavy storm.”
Something that expresses or conveys a threat
Stygian
“Stuart entered the stygian depths of the subway as he did every morning.”
Gloomy, dark or hellish; extremely dark, gloomy or forbidding
Onus
“The onus was on the prosecution to prove that he had committed the murders.”
Something that is one’s responsibility
Excoriate
“Because the duffle bag was hanging too low it rubbed my side, excoriating my arm.”
“After she went on a shopping spree, she had to endure an excoriating lecture from her parents.”
To abrade, scratch or wear the skin off of something; to denounce harshly
Screed
“She was sick of his galavanting and spent the day writing him a screed about responsibility.”
A long or monotonous letter or speech, not always condemning or accusatory, sometimes just boring.
Napenthe
(Napenthy)
“After her husband died, the caresses of Antony became her only napenthe.”
“The napenthian massage made her forget her cares.”
A drug or anything else that helps someone forget sorrow or grief.
Panacea/Panacean
“No matter what happened all week, the massage was virtual panacea.”
“His vacation seemed to have a panacean effect on him.”
A medicine which supposedly can kill all diseases or a cure-all
Nostrum
“The gypsies sold their secret nostrum, which they claimed would cure all diseases.”
“Every time crime went up, the mayor would lay out his familiar nostrum of the need for more prisons.”
A medicine thought to cure many things but is made by unqualified people and claims to its efficacy are questionable.
The go-to idea of a politician that may or may not work
Gemutlich (ge mootlik)
“Bill’s whole outlook on life was gemutlich.”
“After the house was renovated, it seemed much more gemutlich.”
Agreeably pleasant, comfortable
Hansel (hantsel)
“Every year the magnate would give his housekeepers a hansel for New Years.”
“We installed a floodlight to officially hansel the completed stadium.”
A gift given for good luck at the beginning of the year or to mark an acquisition or the start of an enterprise; To inaugurate
Troglodyte
A person who is regarded as being deliberately ignorant or old-fashioned, backward (probably considered an insult)
Fusty
“The fusty odor of decay”
Smelling stale, damp or stuffy
Declasse
“His parents were poor and déclassé”
Having fallen in social status
Bombilation
“The pound of the horse’s feet was lost in the titanic bombilation of the elements- the incessant crash and rumble of thunder and the ever increasing roar of rushing waters.”
Sound of rapid vibration, the sudden occurrence of an audible event
Succubus
A female demon that appears in dreams to seduce men, usually through sexual activity
Cuckold
A man whose wife is having an affair with another man
Hirsute
“Their hirsute chests”
Hairy
Pertinacious
“He worked with a pertinacious resistance to interruptions.”
Obstinate, stubborn; an irksome persistence toward goals
Mordant
“A mordant sense of humor”
(Especially of humor) Unkind, cruel & unfeeling
Bedizen
(Bedyzen)
“A uniform bedizened with resplendent medals”
Dress up or decorate gaudily
Elan
(A lan)
“A rousing march, played with great elan”
Energy, style and enthusiasm
Cognoscenti
(Kon yuh shen tee)
“The backlash from the dance music critics and cognoscenti has been neck-snapping.”
Persons who have superior knowledge and understanding of a particular field, especially in the fine arts, literature and world of fashion
Conurbation
“The major conurbations of London and Birmingham”
An extended urban area, typically consisting of several towns merging with the suburbs of one or more cities, transportation links areas more coherently, creating a singular economic region
Sine qua non
(Sini kwa NAHN)
“Reliability is a sinequanon for success”
Without which, not
Something absolutely indispensable or essential
Uxorious
“He had always impressed me as home-loving and uxorious.”
Having or showing an excessive or submissive fondness for one’s wife
Zaftig
(Zahftig)
“A zaftig brunette”
Having a full, rounded figure, voluptuous
Dowager
“A handsome dowager was standing in front of the mirror”
A dignified elderly woman
Agnate/Agnatic
“The heir will be the nearest agnate”
Related through male descent or on the father’s side
Consanguinity
“The marriage was annulled on the grounds of consanguinity”
The fact of being descended from the same ancestor
Vernal
“The vernal freshness of the land”
Of, in, or appropriate to Spring
Ensconce
“She ensconced herself in their bedroom”
“the sculpture is safely ensconced behind glass.”
Establish or settle (someone) in a comfortable, safe or secret place
Spelunker
Spi Len ker
“Come up with a name for a travel package for fellow spelunkers”
One who makes a hobby of exploring and studying caves
Mudsill
“The Pre-Historic Era was the mudsill of human development”
A person of the lowest social level; the lowest sill of a structure, usually placed in or on the ground
Tectonic
“A contest of tectonic quality and public attractiveness”
Relating to building or construction; relating to the structure of the earth’s crust and the large-scale processes which take place within it
Sylvan
“Vistas of sylvan charm”
Pleasantly rural or pastoral
Nimbus
“A nimbus of power played around him, brighter than lightning”
“Nimbus clouds”
A luminous cloud or a halo surrounding a supernatural being or a saint; a large gray rain cloud
Apogee/Zenith
“The White House is considered the apogee of American achievement”
The highest point in the development of something; a climax or culmination
Penumbra
Umbra- the central part of the shadow, light can’t reach umbra but can reach penumbra
The partially shaded outer region of the shadow cast by an opaque object
Zephyr
“A summer zephyr gently stirred her hair”
A gentle breeze
Fulgent
“The fulgent starlight cast hard shadows on the landscape below”
Shining brightly
