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72 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Fortuitous |
Happening by chance, often lucky or fortunate. Mark proved to be fortuitous by selecting all six winning lotto numbers.Long ago, Neil had a fortuitous meeting with a television producer which helped him become a star. |
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Prowess |
skill or expertise in a particular activity or field. "his prowess as a fisherman"
He boasted of his prowess as a lover. |
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Hegemony |
Domination over others. leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others.the predominant influence of one group over another.The president of the company has hegemony over his employees.While I cannot tell my husband what to do, I do have some hegemony over his actions"Germany was united under Prussian hegemony after 1871"
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The opposite of hegemony is subordination, or the act of giving someone or something less importance or power |
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Conundrum |
a confusing and difficult problem or question."one of the most difficult conundrums for the experts |
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Conspicuous |
Very easy to notice. Stand out
Joe tried to make the stain on his shirt look less conspicuous by using bleach.
standing out so as to be clearly visible."he was very thin, with a conspicuous Adam's apple".
During the summer months, the mosquitos are very conspicuous near the water. It would be inappropriate for you to wear such a short conspicuous dress to your father’s funeral
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It would be inappropriate for you to wear such a short conspicuous dress to your father’s funeral |
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Extraneous |
Not necessarily. Irrelevant . I always check my credit card bills for extraneous charges.
refers to something that is beside the point and really has nothing to do with the topic of conversation or matter at hand. Extra means "outside," so something extraneous is outside of importance or relevance. |
The extraneous noise from the street was keeping us awake all night, so we moved to a different apartment |
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Exasperate |
To irritate, irk(irritate, annoy) to make s.o. very angry or annoyed.
The criticism of his latest movie is sure to exasperate his admirers.
We were exasperated by the delays.
Since I am a hard worker, I get exasperated when I am placed on a team with lazy people.
After waiting forever at the drive-thru window, I threw my hands up in exasperation and drove away without paying for my food.
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Even though Bill likes his doctor, he becomes exasperated when he has to wait two hours to see him.
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Toady |
One who flatters in the hope of gaining favors. She was always toadying to the boss. She imagined him in his gallery, toadying to his rich clients. He was unused to people not toadying to him. They are all grimly obsequious, like boys toadying to teachers. |
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Prosaic |
commonplace or dull; unimaginative.
Something doesn't have to happen everyday to be classified as prosaic.
a person, thing, or idea that is bland or unoriginal. Ex, a lackluster response or an unimaginative description could be labeled as prosaic.
Because the biggest thing in my hometown is the grocery store, the city really is a prosaic little place.
The title of your book is so prosaic that most people are going to walk right past it in the store.
Students were yawning during the prosaic graduation speech.
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Students were yawning during the prosaic graduation speech |
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Enervate |
cause so to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken.
"the heat enervated us all" (v.) invigorate is antonyms. Studying for too long without a break left the student enervated.
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Emaciated |
abnormally thin or weak, especially because of illness or a lack of food. "she was so emaciated she could hardly stand" |
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Quiescence |
State of being at rest, dormancy, temporarily inactivity. |
Any extended period of quiescence in the Brady house meant that the unusually quiet children were up to no good |
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Ephemeral |
lasting for a brief period of time. 1. Unlike graffiti, sidewalk chalk art is ephemeral because it will wash away in the rain. 2. Because of her ephemeral memory, she forgets things all the time! 3. The thunderstorm was ephemeral, starting suddenly and gone within seconds. 4. Did you know that bees have an ephemeral 5 week lifespan? 5. An ephemeral stay in the waiting room was a nice treat compared to my usual long waits. 10. An ephemeral storm moved through the city, only staying briefly but leaving much destruction behind. 🔉7. The homeowner’s excitement was short-lived, with a house fire putting an end to their ephemeral bliss. 🔉8. While we were waiting in the drive-thru, we sang for our ephemeral amusement.
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Beguile |
Charm, mislead or delude. enchant (someone), sometimes in a deceptive way. The conman beguiled my mother with a sob story about how his child needed money for an operation. A good magician uses number of tricks to beguile his audience into believing that what they are saying it's real |
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Querulous |
Complaining. Fretful. After six hours of nonstop driving, miss chambers six kids are becoming querulous. |
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Colloquial |
language used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary. Since I am from a different country, I have a difficult time understanding the colloquial language in this country
Colloquial Phrases / Idioms:“Hard to swallow” = difficult to believe.“Kick the bucket” = to die.“Stir up a hornet's nest” = provoke a strong negative reaction.“Up for grabs” = available to anyone.“Knee jerk reaction” = a quick or automatic response.“Head over heels” = in love.“Elbow grease” = hard work. |
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Aloof |
removed or distant either physically or emotionally. . The aloof princess stood in a corner alone |
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Trifling |
Trivial, unimportant. |
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Mitigate. |
To lessen, reduce the intensity of pain of something |
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Misogynist |
Women haters
"a bachelor and renowned misogynist" |
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Gleaned |
Extract infos from various sources.
The information is gleaned from press clippings. |
I was not able to glean much information from my uncle’s intoxicated ramblings |
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Sociopath |
a personality disorder that has very little regard or concern for others |
A sociopath does not practice understanding or compassion for others, as he is only concerned with self |
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narcissism |
extreme love for oneself. Personality qualities include thinking very highly of oneself, needing admiration, believing others are inferior, and lacking empathy for others.
excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one's physical appearance. |
After being accused of narcissism, the young girl tried to stop looking at herself in the mirror and explaining how great she is |
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sadism |
the tendency to derive pleasure, especially sexual gratification, from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others
People who exhibit everyday sadism experience pleasure from others' physical or psychological pain as they go about daily life. For example, they might enjoy seeing a fight outside the pub, or someone messing up an important presentation at work. But more than that, they also enjoy doing things to elicit suffering |
Disgusted by the creep’s obvious display of sadism, the judge sentenced him guilty of one charge of cruelty to animals for skinning his neighbor’s pet cat |
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Dissent |
To disagree |
I dissent with the rest of the jury. |
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Paradigm |
On the example that is a perfect pattern or model. |
Handsome, intelligent, and kind, Trent is the paradigm of the perfect man |
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Odious |
unpleasant; repulsive. Instilling hatred or intense displeasure. The athlete got arrested for participating in the odious sport of dog fighting. Odious smell Odious task Odious personality |
Mark was assigned the odious task of cleaning the cat's litter box. |
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Arbitrary |
not done for any particular reason; chosen or done at random.
In spite of the cold weather, we made an arbitrary trip to the beach. based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system."his mealtimes were entirely arbitrary |
The boy's decision to choose one college over another seems arbitrary.
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Rhetorical |
relating to the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing.
Speech or writing that's intended to persuade were to impress others. The politician’s rhetorical responses were released to persuade the public to believe his lies. During the classroom debate, the speaker used rhetorical wording to convince his peers to see his viewpoint.
Pertaining to effective communications, insincere in language, characterized by overly elaborate, bombastic language
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Antediluvian |
Antiquated, extremely old. |
The origins of Egypt are lost in the mists of antediluvian times. Your ideas are so antediluvian. Today all the girls are getting tattoos. |
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Conflagration |
Great fire. The conflagration destroyed the entire town. |
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Avarice |
Greediness for wealth. Extreme desire for money |
The avarice of the country's dictators had no end. |
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Abscure |
Not clear or easily understood |
He enjoyed living in a obscure life in the country. The obscure writer wrote twenty books before finally capturing the attention of the reading public |
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Exuberance |
Joyful enthusiasm, overflowing abundance high spirit |
She is exuberant about her new job offer |
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Tantamount |
Equivalent in effect or value
equal to something1. Mooching off your mother at age 35 is tantamount to being a lazy bum. 🔉2. To leave a dog in a hot car is tantamount to torture. 🔉3. Some parents say that spanking is tantamount to child abuse while others believe it's effective discipline. 4. Taking money from your mother's purse without asking her first is tantamount to stealing. 5. Our relationship now is not tantamount to the passionate love we had for each other two years ago. 6. For some environmentalists, cutting down trees is tantamount to destroying our ecosystem. 7. While some believe IQ tests are tantamount to measuring your true intelligence, others believe these tests cannot survey your intellect. 8. Many consider the old man's efforts of cooking for the homeless tantamount to charity. 9. Young man, your behavior in church should be tantamount to that of a behaved gentleman! 10. Nervously answering the investigator's questions is almost tantamount to admitting guilt.
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Tantamount often refers to an action or thing being compared to another greater action or quality, as in, “Missing your finals is tantamount to dropping out of college.” While the two sides are essentially equal, you would not say, "Dropping out of school is tantamount to missing your finals.” |
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Anti Semitic |
Hostility or hatred of jews |
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Indifferent |
Not caring w/o feeling. Not interested in or concerned. |
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Induce |
To Persuade, bring about. To make s.o. do s.t |
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Fastidious |
Difficult to please, really careful.
John is a very unusual teenager he's fastidious and keeping his room neat. |
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Torpor |
Lethargy, sluggishness. Dormancy. The state of being in motionless or inactive.
After over Over eating on xmas, I fell into a satisfied torpor. Hopefully the stock market will rise from its torpor and reach a year-end high. If my husband does not come out of his torpor and get a job, I will divorce him |
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Autonomous |
Self governing. |
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Morose |
feeling sad, in a bad mood, and not wanting to talk to anyone. -ill humored. Sullen.
Some people become morose after someone close to them dies. The funny movie was exactly what I needed to improve my morose mood |
When her dog died, the little girl was morose for months. |
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Coalesce |
Combine, fuse. To grow or joine together. Our business plan begins to coalesce in our minds after several discussions. |
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Austere |
Forbiddingly stern, severely simple and unornamented.unsmiling, very serious.without any decoration; strict and serious in manner. I enjoy the austere beauty of the arizona desert. |
A person- cold and self disciplined.
Place-with no human warmth or comfort. The desert is in an altered place, hot by day and cold by night. |
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Ambivalence |
Mixed feelings or emotions.
The state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes. uncertain.
Sal was ambivalent about whether to try out for the football team or the soccer team because he enjoyed playing sport.
After five days, the jury is still ambivalent about the defendant’s guilt.
Even though the new job meant more money, Tad felt a great deal of ambivalence about accepting the position. |
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Servile |
Slavish, cringing. Submissive |
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Elusive |
Hard to grasp |
Evidence for the existence of life outside of earth has proved elusive |
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Lucid |
easy to understand or thinking clearly. expressed clearly. Even though he was drunk, Henry insisted he was lucid and capable of driving home |
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Ratify |
Approve formally. Confirm verify. To officially go on the record as approving something. |
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Contentious |
likely to cause an argument. Controversial.
"a contentious issue. contentious debate.
As a rule, I tend to avoid contentious topics of conversation which might lead to arguments
How is this contentious issue being handled by the usually reserved committee? causing or likely to cause an argument.controversial."a contentious issue."the socioeconomic plan had been the subject of contentious debate.How is this contentious issue being handled by the usually reserved committee? controversial."a contentious issue."the socioeconomic plan had been the subject of contentious debate.How is this contentious issue being handled by the usually reserved committee? |
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Belie |
To give a false impression of. In an attempt to belie the vehicle’s high mileage, the car salesman turned back the speedometer on the car |
The woman hoped her excessive shopping would fool her friends and belie the truth about her empty bank account |
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Adulation |
great praise for someone, often more than what is deserved. The adulation and applause from the crowd made the former president smile |
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Dichotomy |
a difference between two opposite things or ideas.
His dichotomy of heaven and hell became an excellent essay on the contrast between paradise and eternal suffering. If we ignore the gender dichotomy between the two candidates, we can easily tell they are both equally qualified for the security position |
The main highlight of his mural is the visual dichotomy illustrating the difference between the moon and the sun. |
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Status quo |
the way things are. Because the council wants to maintain the status quo, they will not vote to add another member to the group. Jenna wanted to proceed with the next step, but then she decided it would be better to keep the status quo.” |
A lack of desire to change the status quo is the reason for the poor voter turnout at last year’s election. In the movie, the government views anyone who questions the status quo as a terrorist. |
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Beguile |
to attract or interest someone. The car salesman tried to beguile the customer with an offer of free gas for a year. Because Sarah knows she is beautiful, she often tries to beguile wealthy men with her looks. |
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Respite |
brief interval of rest or relief. Gardening is the perfect hobby for those who need respite from hectic city life. |
In most places, summer brings a much-needed respite to teachers and students alike. |
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Effulgent |
Radiant. Splendorous. Glowing The effulgent sun was shining brightly as we headed out for our picnic. Effulgent bride. |
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Subservient |
Submissive. Servile.
When the genie came out of the bottle, she was subservient to her master and fulfilled his every wish.
The little boy usually became subservient in the presence of bullies. |
Wives do not exist simply to be servile and to do their husbands’ bidding. |
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Conciliatory |
Friendly, agreeable To regain (friendship or goodwill) by pleasant behavior; to reconcile. Even though Henry hated fruit cake, he still accepted the conciliatory gift from his neighbor. |
Don’t think you are going to appease me with your conciliatory attitude. Despite his conciliatory gesture, Franklin could not forgive the man who accidentally shot his dog. |
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Redacted |
edited or revised a document, having removed certain information before publishing.After he redacted the private inforamtion, the editor went back to make sure that no mistakes were made. edited or revised a document, having removed certain information before publishing.After he redacted the private inforamtion, the editor went back to make sure that no mistakes were made.Because he redacted certain information from his financial documents, the mayor was questioned by the state auditor. edited or revised a document, having removed certain information before publishing.After he redacted the private inforamtion, the editor went back to make sure that no mistakes were made.Because he redacted certain information from his financial documents, the mayor was questioned by the state auditor. Because he redacted certain information from his financial documents, the mayor was questioned by the state auditor. |
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Oppresive |
unjustly inflicting hardship and constraint, especially on a minority or other subordinate group. "an oppressive dictatorship" Similar: overwhelming; " |
Many people come to this country because the oppressive leaders in their native lands took away their freedoms. |
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Plasticity |
Changeability Because of the brain’s plasticity, a child who grew up in China can adapt to the English language once he or she has migrated to the U.S . The neurosurgeon explained that blain plasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and grow over time. |
Bending the object into a new shape, the child was surprised by its plasticity. Behavioral plasticity studies show that animals who are constantly exposed to stress actually change the way they interact with others. |
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Infiltrate |
enter or gain access to (an organization, place, etc.) surreptitiously and gradually, especially in order to acquire secret information. "the organization has been infiltrated by informers" |
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Quell |
Put an end to ( a rebellion, or other disorder) typically by the use of force. |
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Orgy |
A wild party, especially one involving excessive drinking and unrestrained sexual activity.
Had a reputation for Drunken orgies. The organization of violence and destruction and killing continued unabated.(without any reduction in intensity or strength."the storm was raging unabated) |
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Euphoria |
a feeling or state of intense excitement and happiness. The euphoria of success will fuel your desire to continue training |
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Destitute |
Without the basic necessaries of life. |
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Cordon |
A line or circle of police comma soldiers comma or guards preventing access to or from an area or building. Troops threw a cordon around the headquarters. |
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Tribunal |
A court of Justice. A seat or bench for a judge or judges. |
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Wry pronounced ra-yi |
using or expressing dry, especially mocking, humor."a wry smile |
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Incredulous |
unbelievable; cannot accept as true.The lottery winner was incredulous and could not believe his good fortune. unbelievable; cannot accept as true.The lottery winner was incredulous and could not believe his good fortune.Miriam’s envious friends were incredulous about her engagement to a wealthy doctor. unbelievable; cannot accept as true.The lottery winner was incredulous and could not believe his good fortune.Miriam’s envious friends were incredulous about her engagement to a wealthy doctor. Miriam’s envious friends were incredulous about her engagement to a wealthy doctor. |
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Influx |
the arrival of a large flow of people, things, or emotions.
I was unprepared for the influx of joy I felt when my boyfriend proposed. |
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