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50 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Dogma
Linu's central dogma was that children who believed in the Great Pumpkin would be rewarded. |
a firmly held opinion, especially a religious belief
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creed, doctrines, teaching, tenet
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Maudlin
The mother's death should have been a touching scene, but the movie's treatment of it was so maudlin that, instead of making the audience cry, it made them cringe |
overly sentimental
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bathetic, mawkish, saccharine, weepy
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Decorum
The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the decorum appropriate for a visit to the palace. |
appropriateness of behavior or conduct, propriety
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correctness, decency, etiquette, manners, mores, propriety, seemliness
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Fractious
The general had a hard time maintaining discipline among his fractitious troops |
unruly, rebellious
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contentious, cranky, peevish, quarrelsome
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requite
Thanks for offering to lend me $1000, but I know I'll never be able to requite your generosity. |
to return or repay
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compensate, reciprocate
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arbitrary
When you lack the information to judge what to do next, you will be forced to make an arbitrary decision. |
determined by chance or impulse
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changeable, erratic, indiscriminate, random, wayward
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bolster
The presence of giant footprints bolstered the argument that Bigfoot was in the area |
to support, prop up
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brace, buttress, crutch, prop, stay, support, sustain, underpinning, uphold
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arbitrate
Since the couple could not come to an agreement, a judge was forced to arbitrate their divorce proceedings. |
to judge a dispute between two opposing parties
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adjudge, adjudicate, determine, intermediate, intervene, judge, moderate, referee, rule
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rhetoric
Lincoln's talent for rhetoric was evident in his beautifully expressed Gettysburg Address. |
effective writing or speaking
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eloquence, oratory
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reticent
Physically small and verbally reticent, Joan Didion often went unnoticed by those she was reporting upon. |
silent, reserved
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cool, introverted, laconic, standoffish, taciturn, undemonstrative
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dogmatic
The dictator was dogmatic, claiming he and only he, was right. |
dictatorial in one's opinion
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authoritarian, bossy, dictatorial, doctrinaire, domineering, imperious, magisterial, masterful, overbearing, peremptory
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salubrious
Rundown and sickly, Rita hoped that the fresh mountain air would have a salubrious effect on her health. |
healthful
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bracing, curative, medicinal, therapeutic, tonic
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rococo
The ornate furniture in the house reminded Tatiana of the rococo style. |
very highly ornamented; relating to an 18th century artistic style of elaborate ornamentation
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intricate, ornate
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stolid
The prisoner appeared stolid and unaffected by the judge's harsh sentence. |
unemotional, lacking sensitivity
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apathetic, impassive, indifferent, phlegmatic, stoic, unconcerned
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implacable
His rage at the betrayal was so great that he remained implacable for weeks. |
unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
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inexorable, intransigent, irreconcilable, relentless, remoreseless, unforgiving, unrelenting
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diurnal
Diurnal creatures tend to become inactive during the night. |
existing during the day
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daylight, daytime
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sanguine
A sanguine person thinks the glass is half full, whereas a depressed person thinks it's half empty. |
ruddy, cheerfully optimistic
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confident, hopeful, positive, rosy, rubicund
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elegy
Though Thomas Gray's Elegy is about death and loss, it urges its readers to endure this life, and to trust in spirituality. |
a sorrowful poem or speech
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dirge, lament
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cogent
swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendent |
convincing and well reasoned
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persuasive, solid, sound, telling, valid
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stigma
In the Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne was required to wear the letter A on her clothes as a public stigma for her adultery. |
a mark of shame or discredit
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blemish, blot, opprobrium, stain, taint
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approbation
The approbation that Jerry Lewis received in France included a medal from the Ministry of Culture. |
approval and praise
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acclaim, adulation, applause, commendation, compliments, exalt, extol, hail, kudos, praise
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analgesia
After having her appendix removed, Tatiana welcomed the analgesia that the painkillers provided. |
a lessening of pain without loss of consciousness
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quiescent
Many animals are quiescent over the winter months, minimizing activity in order to conserve energy. |
motionless
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dormant, latent
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mendacious
So many of her stories were mendacious that I decided she must be a pathological liar. |
dishonest
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deceitful, false, lying, untruthful
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larceny
The crime of stealing a wallet can be categorized as petty larceny. |
theft of property
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burglary, robbery, stealing
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mirth
Vera's hilarious jokes contributed to the general mirth at the dinner party. |
frivolity, gaiety, laughter
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glee, hilarity, jollity, merriment
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plebeian
After five weeks of rigorous studying, the graduate settled in for a weekend of plebian socializing and television watching. |
crude or coarse, characteristic of commmoners
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conventional, unrefined
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mitigate
A judge may mitigate a sentence if she decides that a person committed a crime of need. |
to soften, to lessen
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allay, alleviate, assuage, ease, lighten, moderate, mollify, palliate, temper
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advocate
The vegetarian advocated a diet containing no meat. |
to speak in favor of
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back, champion, support
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august
The august view of the Grand Teton summit took my breath away. |
dignified, grandiose
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admirable, awesome, grand, majestic
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inculcate
Most parents inculcate their children with their beliefs and ideas instead of allowing their children to develop their own values. |
to teach, to impress in the mind
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implant, indoctrinate, instill, preach
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iniquity
"I promise to close every den of iniquity in this town!" thundered the conservative new mayor. |
sin, evil act
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enormity, immorality, injustice, vice, wickedness
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chauvinist
The attitude that men must be obeyed since they are inherently superior to women is common among male chauvinists. |
someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
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biased, colored, one-sided, partial, partisan, prejudicial, prepossessed, tendentious
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inchoate
The ideas expressed in Nietzche's mature work also appear in an inchoate form in his earliest writing. |
not fully formed, disorganised
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amorphous, incoherent, incomplete, unorganized
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plucky
The plucky young nurse dove into the foxhole, determined to help the wounded soldier. |
courageous, spunky
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brave, bold, gusty
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augury
Troy hoped the rainboy was an augury of good things to come. |
prophecy, prediction of events
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auspices, harbinger, omen, portent, presage
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antipathy
The antipathy between fans of the rival soccer teams made the game even more electrifying to watch. |
extreme dislike
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abhorrence, animosity, animus, antagonism, aversion, dislike, enmity, hatred, hostility, loathing, repellence, repungnance, repulsion, revulsion
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epicure
Niren is an epicure who always throws the most splendid dinner parties. |
person with refined taste in food and wine
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bon vivant, connoisseur, gastronome, gastronomist, gourmand, gourmet
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amalgamate
Giant Industries amalgamated with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products Incorporated. |
to combine, to mix together
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admix, blend, coalesce, combine, commingle, commix, compound, fuse, intermingle, intermix, merge, mingle, mix, unite
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distaff
The lazy husband refused to cook dinner for his wife, joking that the duty belongs to the distaff's side. |
a female branch of the family
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maternal
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burnish
He burnished the silver coffee pot until it shone brightly. |
to polish
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buff, luster, polish, scour
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pugilism
Pugilism has been defended as a positive outlet for aggressie impulses. |
boxing
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fighting, sparring
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engender
His fear and hatred of clowns was engendered when he witnessed a bank robbery carried out by five men wearing clown suits and make-up. |
to produce, cause, or bring about
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beget, generate, procreate, proliferate, reproduce, spawn
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caustic
Dorothy Parker gained her caustic reputation from her cutting, yet witty, insults |
biting in wit
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acerbic, biting, mordant, trenchant
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hoary
The old man's hoary beard contrasted starkly to the new stubble of his teenage grandson. |
very old, whitish gray from age
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ancient, antediluvian, antique, venerable, vintage
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sybarite
A confirmed sybarite, the nobleman fainted at the thought of having to leave his place and live in a small cottage. |
a person devoted to pleasure and luxury
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hedonist, sensualist
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militate
Lenin militated against the tsar for years before he overthrew him and established the Soviet Union. |
to operate against, to work against
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influence, affect, change
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philanthropy
The Metropolitan Museum of Art owes much of its collection to the philanthropy of private collectors who willed their estates to the museum. |
charity, a desire or effort to promote goodness
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altruism, humanitarianism
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calumny
The unscrupulous politician used calumny to bring down his opponent in the senatorial race. |
a false and malicious accusation, misrepresentation
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defamation, libel, slander
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hegemony
When Germany claimed hegemony over Russia, Stalin was outraged. |
the domination of one state or group over its allies
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authority, power
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