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Cards > Wordsmart II > Flashcards

Wordsmart II Flashcards

1
Q

Aboriginal

A

Native, dating back to the very beginning

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2
Q

Aborigines

A

Earliest known human inhabitants of Australia

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3
Q

Antedate

“A civilization that antedated the Roman Empire”

A

Precede in time

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4
Q

Antediluvian

A

Incredibly old, “before the flood”

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5
Q

Callow

A

Youthfully naive, inexperienced, or unsophisticated

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6
Q

Fledgling

A

Inexperienced, very young, a baby bird

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7
Q

Impromptu

A

Done without preparation or on the spur of the moment

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8
Q

Inaugurate

A

To begin officially; to induct into office

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9
Q

Incumbent

A

The candidate who already holds office in a political race; currently holding office; obligatory

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10
Q

Neophyte

A

A beginner; a novice

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11
Q

Overture

A

An opening move or preliminary offer; the music at the beginning of a concert or show

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12
Q

Posterity

A

Succeeding or future generations collectively

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13
Q

Progeny

A

Offspring or descendants

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14
Q

Progenitor

A

Creator or parent of an offspring

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15
Q

Emigrate

A

To leave one’s country for another; to expatriate

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16
Q

Emigre

A

A person who leaves his or her country for another

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17
Q

Immigrate

A

To move to a country that is NOT your country of origin

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18
Q

Evanescent

A

Fleeting; appearing and disappearing quickly, not long-lasting

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19
Q

Galvanize
“Charities were galvanized by commercials about starving people.”

A

To cause people to become excited or concerned about an idea

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20
Q

Impasse

A

A deadlock, a situation from which there is no escape

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21
Q

Propagate

A

Spread and promote an idea or theory widely

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22
Q

Quiescent

A

Still, quiet, at rest, motionless

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23
Q

Reactionary

A

Ultra conservative, right-wing, backward-thinking; an ultra conservative person

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24
Q

Supine

A

On one’s back

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25
Q

Absolve

A

To forgive, to free of sin, blame, or responsibility

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26
Q

Censure

A

Condemnation or severe punishment, especially in a formal statement

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27
Q

Clemency

A

Mercy, mildness or forgiveness with regard to punishment

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28
Q

Inclement

A

Severe, lacking mildness

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29
Q

Contraband

A

Any illegal substance that’s smuggled in

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30
Q

Culpable

A

Deserving of blame, guilty

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31
Q

Exculpate/Provide exculpatory evidence

A

To find someone not culpable; to clear from alleged fault or guilt

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32
Q

Disinterested

A

Unbiased or impartial

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33
Q

Interloper

A

An unwanted intruder or trespasser

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34
Q

Larceny

A

Theft or robbery

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35
Q

Malfeasance

A

ANY illegal act, generally associated with political figures

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36
Q

Peccadillo

A

A minor offense, petty crime

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37
Q

Penitent

A

Sorry, repentant, or contrite

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38
Q

Denizen

A

An inhabitant

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39
Q

Indigenous

A

native, originating in a given area, belonging naturally

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40
Q

Matriculate

A

To enroll, usually in college

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41
Q

Nomadic

A

Wandering from place to place, having no permanent home

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42
Q

Odyssey

A

A long, difficult journey

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43
Q

Peripatetic

A

Walking or traveling about

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44
Q

Pilgrimage

A

A spiritual journey; a journey to a holy place

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45
Q

Emanate

“Warmth emanated from the fireplace.”

A

(Of something abstract but perceptible) To flow out; to issue from a source

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46
Q

Enigmatic/Inscrutable

“The Mona Lisa has a famously enigmatic smile.”
“Her face was inscrutable, and he could not guess her thoughts.”

A

Difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious

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47
Q

Armistice

A

A truce, an agreement to lay down one’s weapons

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48
Q

Conciliatory

“The U.S. government was not in a conciliatory mood.”

A

Showing willingness to end a disagreement, or trying to make someone less angry

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49
Q

Decimate

A

To destroy, wipe out

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50
Q

Halcyon

“The halcyon days of the mid-1980s, when profits were soaring.”

A

Denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful

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51
Q

Incursion

A

A hostile invasion or raid

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52
Q

Martial

“Martial bravery”

A

Of or appropriate to war, warlike

53
Q

Pastoral/Sylvan

Vernal-SPRING
Verdant- Green

A

Peaceful in a rustic, nature-oriented way

54
Q

Propitious

A

Favorable, fortunate

55
Q

Aspersion

A

Slanderous, damning remark

56
Q

Convivial

A

Sociable, festive

57
Q

Decorous

A

Orderly, proper, tasteful

58
Q

Indecorous
“It was indecorous to publish her sister’s diary in the newspaper.”

A

Not in keeping with good taste and propriety; Improper

59
Q

Decorum

A

Orderliness, propriety

60
Q

Invidious

A

Causing ill will or animosity

61
Q

Jocular

A

Given to joking or mischief

62
Q

Rapacious

“Rapacious landlords”

A

Having an aggressive, predatory, and insatiable desire for possessions and power

63
Q

Unctuous

A

Oily or insincere

64
Q

Corporeal

“He was frank about his corporeal appetites.”

A

Having to do with the body, especially as opposed to their spirit.

65
Q

Devout

A

Deeply religious or fervent

66
Q

Extant

A

Still in existence

67
Q

Incarnation

A

A concrete form of a quality or concept

68
Q

Olfactory

A

Having to do with the sense of smell

69
Q

Specter

A

A ghost, phantom, or something that haunts

70
Q

Spectral

A

Ghostly

71
Q

Bedlam

A

Chaotic, noisy uproar, comes from name of insane asylum

72
Q

Genteel

A

Polite, refined, aristocratic, affecting refinement

73
Q

Erotomania

A

An obsession with sex

74
Q

Melee

A

A huge brawl, a violent and confused free-for-all

75
Q

Nomenclature

A

A system of names, a terminology, or a designation

76
Q

Subvert/Subversive

A

Attempting to change things in ways that are contrary to the thinking of the majority

77
Q

Augur

“The end of the Cold War seemed to augur well.”

“The renewed violence this week hardly augurs well for smooth or peaceful change.”

A

To portend a good or bad outcome (more formal version)

78
Q

Epilogue

A

An afterword in a book or a speech at the end of a play

79
Q

Fatalist

A

One who believes events are predetermined and humans are powerless to change them

80
Q

Foreboding

A

A bad feeling about the future

81
Q

Harbinger

“Witch hazels are the harbingers of spring”

A

A person or thing that suggests the approach of something else

82
Q

Perennial

A

Continual, happening again and again

83
Q

Portent

“They believed that wild birds in the house were portents of death.”

A

A sign that something, especially something momentous or calamitous, is likely to happen

84
Q

Posthumously

A

Occurring after death

85
Q

Presage

“I took a quick glance at the sky to reassure myself that the scudding clouds did not presage rain.”

A

To foreshadow or predict (less formal version)

86
Q

Retrospective

A

A review of an artist’s work

87
Q

Destitute

A

Utterly and completely without means, financial or otherwise

88
Q

Impecunious

A

Without money, broke

89
Q

Peculation
“Many other Forest wardens were accused of peculation, oppression or neglect.”

A

The fraudulent appropriation of funds or property entrusted to your care but actually owned by someone else, embezzlement

90
Q

Impresario

A

A person who manages large-scale entertainments such as operas and concerts

91
Q

Magnate

A

A rich, powerful and influential businessperson

92
Q

Mendicant

A

A beggar

93
Q

Plebeian
“He wondered what the people at the country club would think of his plebeian origins.”

A

Common, bourgeois, vulgar; a commoner

94
Q

Proletariat

A

The industrial, blue-collar, or working class

95
Q

Depose

A

To remove someone from office or a position of power

96
Q

Diminution
“A permanent diminution of value.”

A

The act or process of diminishing

97
Q

Diminutive

A

Small

98
Q

Hubris

A

Arrogance or excessive pride

99
Q

Oust

A

To eject, to throw out or reject

100
Q

Sovereignty

“How can we hope to wrest sovereignty away from the oligarchy and back to the people?”

A

The authority of a state to govern itself or another state

101
Q

Transcendent

A

Above and beyond ordinary experience; exceeding usual limits

102
Q

Ubiquitous

A

Everywhere at the same time

103
Q

Demarche
“Foreign policy demarches”

A

A change in a course of action or political initiative

104
Q

Filibuster

A

To obstruct the passage of legislation by speaking in order to delay; the obstruction of the passage of legislation in this manner

105
Q

Gerrymander

A

To arrange political districts in a way that favors one political party

106
Q

Habeas Corpus

A

A writ demanding that a prisoner be brought forth in person

107
Q

Hagiography

A

The biography of a saint; a biography that shows its subject in a very favorable light

108
Q

Homologate
“One body of patrons elected the teacher, the others afterward homologating the appointment.”

A

To confirm officially or to agree

109
Q

Interregnum

A

The period between the regimes of two sovereigns or administrations

110
Q

Libation

A

A drink used in religious rituals; any intoxicating beverage

111
Q

Numinous

A

Having divine, magical or supernatural characteristics

112
Q

Omphaloskepsis

A

A meditation on one’s navel

113
Q

Throttlebottom

A

A harmless incompetent in public office

114
Q

Votary/Acolyte

“He was a votary of John Keats”

A

A devoted follower, adherent, or advocate of someone or something

115
Q

Crapulent

A

Sick from overeating or drinking too much

116
Q

Dyspeptic

A

Having indigestion, nauseated

117
Q

Educe

A

To draw out something that is latent

118
Q

Effluvium

A

Foul-smelling odor

119
Q

Embroil

A

To entangle or involve in a difficult or complicated situation

120
Q

Expunge

A

To erase or blot out, to strike from a record

121
Q

Extirpate

A

To destroy or remove; to pull up by the roots

122
Q

Imbroglio

A

A complicated and difficult situation

123
Q

Imbue

A

To fill or saturate with; to inspire profoundly

124
Q

Poniard

A

A small slender dagger

125
Q

Poultice

A

A substance used to draw out dirt and oil from beneath a surface, such as the skin

126
Q

Prophylaxis
“Antibiotic prophylaxis is the use of antibiotics before surgery or a dental procedure to prevent a bacterial infection.”

A

The prevention of disease or infection by protective means

127
Q

Putsch

A

A failed attempt to overthrow a government

128
Q

Quaff

A

To drink large amounts with great enjoyment

129
Q

Riposte
“I’d have made lamb chops had I known you’re a vegetarian,” Kris riposted.

A

A quick, clever reply to an insult or criticism.

Cards (4 decks)

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