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173 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Puerile
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Childish, immature, silly
His Puerile antics are really annoying, sometimes he acts like a five-year-old! |
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Pugilism
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Boxing
Pugilism has been defended as a positive outlet for aggressive impulses. |
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Pugnacious
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quarrelsome, eager and ready for a fight
the serene eighty-year-old used to be a pugnacious troublemaker in her youth, but she's softer now. |
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Recant
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to retract a statement, opinion, etc.
The statement was so damaging that the politician had no hopes of recovering his credibility, even though he tried to recant the words. |
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Remediable
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capable of being corrected
in the belief that the juvenile delinquent was remediable and not a hardened criminal, the judge put him on probation. |
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Reticent
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not speaking freely, reserved
Physically small and reticent, Joan Didion often went unnoticed by those upon whom she was reporting. |
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Retiring
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Shy, modest, reserved
A shy and retiring man, Chuck was horrified at the idea of having to speak in public. |
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Revelry
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boisterous festivity
An atmosphere of revelry filled the school after its basketball team's surprising victory. |
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Ribald
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humorous in a vulgar way
the court jesters ribald brand of humor delighted the rather uncouth king |
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Ruminate
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to contemplate, reflect on
the scholars spent days at the retreat ruminating upon thee complexities of the geopolitical situation. |
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Sentient
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aware, concious, able to percieve
Despite his complete lack of sleep, Jorge was still sentient when i spoke to him this morning. |
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Perfunctory
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done in a routine way; indifferent
The machinelike bank teller processed the transaction and gave the waiting customer a perfunctory smile. |
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Permeable
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penetrable
Karen discovered that her raincoat was permeable when she was drenched while wearing it in a rainstorm. |
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Pestilence
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epidemic; plaque
The country went into national crisis when it was plagued by both pestilence an d floods at the same time. |
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Petulance
|
redeness; peevishness
The child's petulance annoyed the teacher, who liked her students to be careful and cooperative. |
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Pilfer
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to steal
Marianne did not pilfer the money for herself but rather for her sick brother, who needed medicine. |
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Pithy
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profound, substantial;
concise, succinct, to the point Martha's pithy comments during the interview must have been impressive, because she got the job. |
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Pittance
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meager amount or wage
Zack felt sure he would not be able to but food for his family with the small pittance the government gave him. |
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Placate
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to soothe, pacify
the burglar tried to placate the snarling Doberman by saying "nice doggy," and offering it a treat. |
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Predilection
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preference, liking
The old woman's predilection for candy was evident from all the chocolate bar wrappers strewn around her apartment. |
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Proclivity
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tendency, inclination
His proclivity for speeding got him into trouble with the highway patrol on many occasions. |
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Tome
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book, usually large and academic
The teacher was forced to refer to various tomes to find the answer to the advanced students question. |
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Trepidation
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fear and anxiety
Alana approached the door of the principal's office with trepidation. |
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Trifling
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of slight worth, trivial, insignificant
That little glitch in the computer program is a trifling error; in general, it works very well. |
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Trite
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shallow, superficial
Lindsay's graduation speech was the same trite nonsense we have heard hundreds of times in the past. |
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Truncate
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to cut off, shorten by cutting
The mayor truncated his standard lengthy speech when he realized that the audience was not in the mood to listen to it. |
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Usurp
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to seize by force
The vice-principal was power-hungry, and threatened to usurp the principal's power. |
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Utilitarian
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efficient, functional, useful
The suitcase was undeniably utilitarian, with its convenient compartments of different sizes. |
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Vacillate
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to waver, show indecision
the customer held up the line as he vacillated between ordering chocolate or coffee ice cream. |
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Vacuous
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empty, void; lacking intelligence, purposeless
The congresswoman's vacuous speech angered the voters, who were tired of hearing empty platitudes. |
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Vapid
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tasteless, dull
Todd found his date vapid and boring, and couldn't wait to get away from her. |
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Vestige
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trace, remnant
Vestiges of the former tenant still remained in the apartment, although he hadn't lived there for years. |
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Seraphic
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angelic, pure, sublime
Selena's sweet, seraphic appearance belied her nasty, bitter personality |
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Simper
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to smirk, smile foolishly
The spoiled girl simpered as her mother praised her extravagantly to the guests at the party. |
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Sinuous
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winding; intricate, complex
Thick, sinuous vines wound around the trunk of the tree. |
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Staid
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self-restrained to the point of dullness
The lively young girl felt bored in the company of her staid, conservative date. |
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Stoic
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indifferent to or unaffected by emotions
While most of the mourners wept, the dead woman's husband kept up a stoic, unemotional facade. |
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Subterfuge
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trick or tactic used to avoid something
Spies who are not skilled in the act of subterfuge are generally exposed before too long. |
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Surreptitious
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characterized by secrecy
the queen knew nothing of the surreptitious plots being hatched against her at court. |
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Sycophant
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self-serving flatterer, yes-man
Dreading criticism, the actor surrounded himself with admirers and sycophants. |
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Tacit
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silently understood or implied
Although not a word had been said, everyone in the room knew that a tacit agreement had been made about which course of action to take. |
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Tangential
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digressing, diverting
Your argument is interesting, but it's tangential to the matter at hand, so I suggest we get back to the point. |
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Juggernaut
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huge force destroying everything in its path
The juggernaut of the army surged ahead until it was halted in its tracks by the brutal winter. |
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Juxtaposition
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side-by-side placement
The porcelain dog was placed in juxtaposition with the straw doghouse on the mantelpiece. |
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Knell
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sound of a funeral bell; omen of death or failure
When the townspeople heard the knell from the church bell, they knew their mayor had died. |
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Limpid
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clear, transparent
Shelly could see all the way to the bottom of the lake through the ponds limpid water. |
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Machination
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plot or scheme
Tired of his employees' endless machinations to destroy the company, the boss had them fired. |
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Maelstrom
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whirlpool; turmoil; agitated state of mind
The transportation system of the city had collapsed into the maelstrom of war. |
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Magnanimous
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generous, noble in spirit
Although at first he seemed mean, Uncle Frank turned out to be a very magnanimous fellow. |
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Matriculate
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to enroll as a member of a college or university
When Suda-May matriculates at yale this coming fall, she will move to New Haven. |
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Maudlin
(MOD-lin) |
overly sentimental
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. |
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Meticulous
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extremely careful, fastidious, painstaking
To clean every square inch of the huge mural, the restorers had to be maticulous. |
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Mettle
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courageousness, edurance
The helicopter pilot showed her mettle as she landed in the battlefield to rescue the wounded soldiers. |
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Mirth
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frivolity, gaiety, laughter
Vera's hilarious jokes contributed to the general mirth at the party. |
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Negligible
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not worth considering
It's obvious from our negligible dropout rate that our students love our program. |
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Notoriety
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Unfavorable fame
Wayne realized from the silence that greeted him as he entered the office that his notoriety preceded him. |
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Noxious
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harmful, unwholesome
The people on the sidewalk covered their noses and mouthes as the bus passed to avoid breathing in the noxious exhaust films. |
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Nuance
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shade of meaning
The scholars argue for hours over tiny nuances in the interpretation of the last line of the poem. |
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Nullify
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to make legally invalid; to counteract the effect of
Crystal nullified her contract with her publisher when she received a better offer fro her another company. |
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Obtuse
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insensitive, stupid, dull, unclear
The directions were so obtuse that Alfred did not understand what was expected of him. |
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Omniscient
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having infinite knowlage, all-seeing
Fiction writers have the ability to be omniscient about the characters they create. |
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Opulence
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wealth
Livingston considered his expensive car to be a symbol of both opulence and style |
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Perdition
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complete and utter loss; damnation
Faust brought perdition upon himself when he made a deal with the Devil in exchange for power. |
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Insidious
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sly, treacherous, devious
Lago's insidious comments about Desdemona fueled Othello's feelings of jealousy regarding his wife. |
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Interloper
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trespasser, meddler in others affairs
The wolf pack rejected the lone pup as an interloper. |
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Goad
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to prod or urge
Denise goaded her sister Leigh into running the marathon with her. |
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Gratis
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free, costing nothing
The college students swarmed around the gratis buffet in the lobby. |
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Harbinger
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precursor, sign of something to come
THe groundhog's appearance on February 2nd is a harbinger of spring. |
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Harrowing
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extremely distressing, terrifying
We stayed up all night listening to Dave and Will talk about their harrowing adventures at sea. |
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Immutable
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unchangeable, invariable
Poverty was an immutable fact of life for the Wood family; every moneymaking scheme they tried failed. |
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Impetuous
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quick to act without thinking
The impetuous day trader rushed to sell all his stocks at the first sign of trouble, and lost $300,000. |
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Indigent
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very poor
Because the suspect was indigent, the state paid for his legal representation. |
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Indignant
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angry, incensed, offended
The innocent passerby was indignant when the police treated his as a suspect in a crime. |
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Inert
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unable to move, tending to inactivity
In the heat of the desert afternoon, lizards lie inert. |
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Ingenious
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original, clever, inventive
Luther found in ingenious way to solve the complex math problem. |
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Extricate
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to free from, disentangle
The fly was unable to extricate itself from the flypaper. |
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Fastidious
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careful with details
Brett was normally so fatidious that Rachel was astonished to find his desk littered with clutter. |
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Fetid
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foul-smelling, putrid
The fetid stench fro the outhouse caused Laura to wrinkle her nose in disgust. |
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Flaccid
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limp, flabby, weak
The woman jiggled her flaccid arms in disgust, resolving to begin lifting weights as soon as possible. |
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Forte
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strong point, something a person does well
Since math was Dan's forte, his friends always asked him to calculate the bill whenever they went out to dinner together. |
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Founder
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to fail helplessly; to sink
After colliding with the jagged rock, the ship foundered, forcing the crew to abandon it. |
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Fracas
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noisy dispute
When the players discovered that the other team was cheating, a violent fracas ensued. |
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Garner
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to gather and store
The director managed to garner financial backing from several different sources for her next project. |
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Glower
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to glare, stare angrily and intensely
the cranky waitress glowered at the indecisive customer. |
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Exhume
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to remove from a grave; un cover secret
The archaeologist exhumed the scrolls from the ancient tomb. |
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Exonerate
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to clear of blame, absolve
The fugitive was exonerated when another criminal confessed to committing the crime. |
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Dissension
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difference of opinion
The government was forced to abandon the extensive reforms it had planned, due to continued dissension within its party ranks about the form these changes would take. |
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Dissipate
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to scatter, to pursue pleasure to excess
The fog gradually dissipated, revealing all the ships docked in the harbor. |
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Duress
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threat or force or intimidation; imprisonment
Under duress, the political dissident revealed the names of others in her organization to the secret police. |
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Ebb
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to fade away, recede
From her beachside cottage, Melissa watched the tide ebb and flow. |
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Edict
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law, command, official public order
Pedestrians often disobey the edict that they should not jaywalk. |
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Effigy
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stuffed doll; likeness of a person
The anti-American militants burned Uncle Sam during their demonstration. |
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Egregious
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conspicuously bad
The english textbook contained several egregious errors; for example, "grammar" was misspelled as "gramer" throughout. |
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En treat
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to plead, beg
I entreated him to just tell me what the problem was instead of bottling it up inside, but he refused. |
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Ethereal
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not earthly, spiritual, delicate
Her delicate, ethereal beauty made her a popular model for pre-Raphaelite artists. |
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Exacerbate
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to aggravate, intensify the bad qualities of
It is unwise to take aspirin to relieve heartburn; instead of providing relief, the drug will only exacerbate the problem. |
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Despot
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tyrannical ruler
The despot banished half the nobles in his court on a whim. |
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Destitute
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very poor, poverty stricken
After the stock market crash, Jeanette was destitute, forced to beg on the streets in order to survive. |
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Dexterous
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skilled physically or mentally
The gymnast who won the contest was far more dexterous than the other competitors. |
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Diabolical
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fiendish, wicked
Sherlock Holmes' archenemy is the diabolical Professor Moriarty. |
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Diatribe
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bitter verbal attack
During the CEO's lengthy diatribe, the board members managed to remain calm and self controlled. |
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Diminutive
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small
Napoleon made up for his diminutive stature with his aggressive personality, terrifying his courtiers. |
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Disconcerting
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bewildering, perplexing, slightly disturbing
Brad found his mother-in-law's hostile manner so disconcerting that he acted like a fool in her presence. |
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Disparage
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to belittle, speak disrespectfully about
Gregorio loved to disparage his brother's dancing skills, pointing out every mistake he made on the floor. |
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Disseminate
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to spread far and wide
The wire service disseminates information so rapidly that events get reported shortly after they happen. |
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Despondent
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discouraged, dejected
Mr. Baker was lonely and despondent after his wife's death. |
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Desecrate
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to abuse something sacred
The archaeologist tried to explain to the explorer that she has desecrated the temple by spiting in it. |
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Debase
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to degrade or lower in quality or stature
The president's deceitful actions debased the stature of his office. |
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Debilitate
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to weaken, enfeeble
The flu debilitated the postal worker; she was barely able to finish her rounds. |
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Debunk
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to discredit, disprove
It was the teachers mission in life to debunk the myth that females are bad at math. |
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Deferential
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respectful and polite in a submissive way
The respectful young clerk was differential to the Supreme Court justice. |
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Deft
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skillful, dexterous
It was a pleasure to watch the deft carpenter as he repaired the furniture. |
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Deluge
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to submerge, overwhelm; flood
The popular actor was deluged with fan mail. |
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Denigrate
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to slur or blacken someone's reputation
The people still loved the president, despite his enemies' attempts to denigrate his character. |
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Depravity
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sinfulness, moral corruption
The depravity of the actors Hollywood lifestyle shocked his traditional parents. |
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Deprecate
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to belittle, disparage
Ernest deprecated his own contribution, instead praising the efforts of his coworkers. |
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Deft
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skillful, dexterous
It was a pleasure to watch the deft carpenter as he repaired the furniture. |
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Deluge
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to submerge, overwhelm; flood
The popular actor was deluged with fan mail. |
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Denigrate
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to slur or blacken someone's reputation
The people still loved the president, despite his enemies' attempts to denigrate his character. |
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Depravity
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sinfulness, moral corruption
The depravity of the actors Hollywood lifestyle shocked his traditional parents. |
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Deprecate
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to belittle, disparage
Ernest deprecated his own contribution, instead praising the efforts of his coworkers. |
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Deft
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skillful, dexterous
It was a pleasure to watch the deft carpenter as he repaired the furniture. |
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Deluge
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to submerge, overwhelm; flood
The popular actor was deluged with fan mail. |
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Denigrate
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to slur or blacken someone's reputation
The people still loved the president, despite his enemies' attempts to denigrate his character. |
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Depravity
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sinfulness, moral corruption
The depravity of the actors Hollywood lifestyle shocked his traditional parents. |
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Deprecate
(DEP-re-cate) |
to belittle, disparage
Ernest deprecated his own contribution, instead praising the efforts of his coworkers. |
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Depreciate
(DE-pre-ci-ATE) |
to lose value gradually
The Barrettas sold their house, fearful that its value would depreciate due to the nuclear reactor being built around the corner. |
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Convoluted
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twisted, complicated, involved
Although many people bought A Brief History of Time, few could follow its convoluted ideas and theories. |
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Copious
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abundant, plentiful
The hostess had prepared copious amounts of food for the banquet. |
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Corroborate
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to confirm, verify
Roberto was able to corroborate his friend's story by showing the receipt that proved they were indeed at a restaurant all night. |
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Countenance
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facial expression; look of approval or support
Jeremy was afraid of the new Music Appreciation teacher because she had such an evil countenance. |
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Crescendo
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gradual increase in volume of sound
The crescendo of tension became unbearable as Evel prepared to jump his motorcycle over the school buses. |
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Culpable
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guilty, responsible for wrong
The CEO is culpable for the bankruptcy of the company.; he was, after all, in charge of it. |
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Curmudgeon
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cranky person
The old man was a notorious curmudgeon who snapped at anyone who disturbed him for any reason. |
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Cursory
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hastily done, superficial
The copyeditor gave the article a cursory once-over missing dozens of errors. |
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Daunt
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to discourage, intimidate
She tried hard not to let the enormity of the situation daunt her. |
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Construe
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to explain or interpret
"I wasn't sure how to construe that last remark he made." |
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Consummate
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accomplished, complete, perfect
THe skater delivered a consummate performance, perfect in every aspect. |
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Convoke
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to call together, summon
The president convoked a group of experts to advise him on how to deal with the crisis. |
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Chagrin
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shame, embarrassment, humiliation
No doubt, the president felt a good deal of chagrin after forgetting the name of the prime minister at he state banquet. |
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Charlatan
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quack, fake
"That charlatan of a doctor prescribed the wrong medicine for me!" complained the patient. |
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Clandestine
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secretive, concealed for a darker purpose
The double agent paid many clandestine visits to the president's office in the dead of night. |
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Clemency
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merciful leniency
Kyle begged for clemency, explaining that he robbed the bank to pay for his medical bills |
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Collateral
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accompanying
"let's try to stick to the main issue here and not get into all the collateral questions," urged the committee leader. |
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Comeliness
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physical grace and beauty
Ann's comeliness made her perfect for the roll of sleeping beauty. |
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Congenital
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existing since birth
The infant's congenital health problem was corrected through surgery. |
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Conjecture
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speculation, prediction
The actor refused to comment, forcing gossip columnists to make conjectures on his love life |
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Conjure
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to evoke a spirit, cast a spell
The cotton candy conjured up the image of the fairgrounds he used to visit as a child. |
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Bilk
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to cheat, defraud
Though the lawyer seemed honest, the woman feared he would try to bilk her out of her money. |
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Boon
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blessing, something to be thankful for
Dirk realized that his new coworker's computer skills would be a real boon to the company. |
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Breach
|
act of breaking, violation
The record company sued the singer for breach of contract when he recorded for another company without permission. |
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Brusque
|
rough and abrupt in manner
The bank teller's brusque treatment of his customers soon evoked several complaints. |
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Cadence
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rhythmic flow of poetry; marching beat
Pierre spoke with a lovely cadence, charming all those who heard him. |
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Cajole
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to flatter, coax, persuade
The spoiled girl could cajole her father into buying her anything. |
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Catharsis
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purification, cleansing
Plays can be more satisfying if they end in some sort of emotional catharsis for the characters involved. |
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Cavalier
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carefree, happy; with lordly disdain
The nobleman's cavalier attitude towards the suffering of the peasants made them hate him. |
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Centripetal
|
directed or moving towards the center
It is centripetal force that keeps trains from derailing as they round the curves. |
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Belligerent
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hostile, tending to fight
The angry customer was extremely belligerent despite the manager's offer to return his money. |
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Bequeath
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to give or leave through a will; to hand down
Grandpa bequeathed the house to his daughter and the car to his son. |
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Beseech
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to beg, plead, implore
She beseeched him to give her a second chance, but he refused. |
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Beleaguer
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to harass, plague
Mickey beleaguered his parents until they finally gave in to his request for a new computer. |
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Banal
|
trite, overly common
He used banal phrases like "Have a nice day" or "another day, another dollar." |
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Auspicious
|
having favorable prospects, promising
Tamika thought that having lunch with the boss was an auspicious start to her new job. |
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Ardor
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great emotion or passion
Bishop's ardor for land scape was evident when he passionately described the beauty of the hudson valley. |
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Astringent
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harsh, severe, stern
The principal's punishments seemed overly astringent, but the students did not dare complain. |
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Atrocious
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The young boy committed the atrocious act of vandalizing the new community center.
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Atrophy
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to waste away, wither from disuse
When Mimi stopped exercising, her muscles began to atrophy. |
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Avarice
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greed
Rebecca's avarice motivated her to stuff the $100 bill in her pocket instead of returning it to the man who had just dropped it. |
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Ardent
|
passionate, enthusiastic, fervent
After a 25-game losing streak, even the Mets' most ardent fans realize he team wouldn't finish first. |
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Antipathy
|
dislike, hostility; extreme opposition or aversion
The antipathy between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare. |
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Anterior
|
preceding, previous, prior (to)
Following tradition, the couples' wedding was anterior to the honeymoon. |
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Allegory
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symbolic representation
The novelist used the stormy ocean as an allegory for her life's struggles. |
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Aggrandize
(a-GRAND-ize) |
to make larger or greater in power
All the millionaire really wanted was to aggrandize his personal wealth as much a possible. |
