Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
46 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
|
expunge |
|
After Nicholas proved he had been in school on the day in question, the absence was expunged from his record.
The experience was something he had tried to expunge from his memory. |
|
|
vicissitude |
You use vicissitudes to refer to changes, especially unpleasant ones, that happen to someone or something at different times in their life or development. |
Even great rulers have their vicissitudes—massive kingdoms have diminished overnight, and once beloved kings have faced the scorn of angry masses.
her husband’s sharp vicissitudes of fortune |
|
|
byzantine
|
If you describe a system or process as byzantine, you are criticizing it because it seems complicated or secretive. |
Getting a driver’s license is not simply a matter of taking a test; the regulations and procedures are so byzantine that many have found themselves at the mercy of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Byzantine insurance regulations |
|
|
conciliate - 1 -
|
similar: propitiate
The verb conciliate means to placate, appease, or pacify. |
His duty was to conciliate the people, not to provoke them.
His opponents believed his gesture to be conciliatory, yet as soon as they put down their weapons, he unsheathed a hidden sword. |
|
|
expansive
|
If you are expansive, you talk a lot, or are friendly or generous, because you are feeling happy and relaxed. |
she felt expansive and inclined to talk
His father was an outgoing, large and expansive man while his mother was a polite, passive person. |
|
|
equivocate
|
Focus: 'deliberately' When someone equivocates, they deliberately use vague language in order to deceive people or to avoid speaking the truth. |
He had asked her once again about her finances. And again she had equivocated.
Why doesn't the president say so without equivocation? |
|
|
malfeasance
|
Wrongdoing, especially by a public official |
Unions and victims' groups have already accused the company of fraud, deceit and corporate malfeasance.
Ashok Khemka cannot be tormented and penalised by the deliberate and wilful acts of malfeasance of the authorities. |
|
|
chary 1 - -
|
chary of doing something
If you are chary of doing something, you are fairly cautious about doing it. |
Having received three speeding tickets in the last two months, Jack was chary of driving at all above the speed limit, even on a straight stretch of highway that looked empty for miles ahead.
most people are chary of allowing themselves to be photographed |
|
|
apostate
|
An apostate is someone who has abandoned their religious faith, political loyalties, or principles. |
An apostate of the Republican Party, Sheldon has yet to become affiliated with any party and dubs himself an independent.
Shiite pilgrims are often targeted by Sunni militants who regard them as apostates. |
|
|
kowtow 1 2 -
|
He kowtows to somebody
related: grovel, fawn If you say that someone kowtows to someone else, you are criticizing them because they are too eager to obey or be polite to someone in authority. |
Paul kowtowed to his boss so often the boss herself became nauseated by his sycophancy.
See how stupidly they kow-tow to persons higher in the hierarchy. |
|
|
artless
|
Someone who is artless is simple and honest, and does not think of deceiving other people. Without effort or pretentiousness; natural and simple |
Despite the president's seemingly artless speeches, he was a skilled and ruthless negotiator.
an artless literary masterpiece |
|
|
feckless
|
Irresponsible If you describe someone as feckless, you mean that they lack determination or strength, and are unable to do anything properly. |
Two years after graduation, Charlie still lived with his parents and had no job, becoming more feckless with each passing day.
an unfortunate example of feckless filmmaking |
|
|
exegesis
|
Critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture |
The Bible is fertile ground for exegesis—over the past five centuries there have been as many interpretations as there are pages in the Old Testament.
a close exegesis of the plot |
|
|
prosaic - 1 -
|
similar: mundane
Something that is prosaic is dull and uninteresting. (compare prose & poetry, poetry is imaginative & interesting) |
the masses were too preoccupied by prosaic day-to-day concerns
Unlike the talented artists in his workshop, Paul had no such bent for the visual medium, so when it was time for him to make a stained glass painting, he ended up with a prosaic mosaic. |
|
|
lascivious
|
कामुक, If you describe someone as lascivious, you disapprove of them because they show a very strong interest in sex. |
If someone gives you a lascivious smile, they've got only one thing in mind.
their lewd and lascivious talk. |
|
|
arrant
|
Arrant is used to emphasize that something or someone is very bad in some way. Complete, utter |
what arrant nonsense!
An arrant criminal is one heck of a criminal. |
|
|
truculent - 3 -
|
similar: belligerent, bellicose, pugnacious
If you are quick to argue, always looking for a fight, and hard to please, you are truculent. |
""What do you want?"" she asked with her usual truculence.
Standing in line for six hours, she became progressively truculent, yelling at DMV employees and elbowing other people waiting in line. |
|
|
diatribe 1 2 -
|
diatribe against
similar: tirade, invective A diatribe is an angry, critical speech. |
a diatribe against the Roman Catholic Church
Reacting to Ram Jethmalani's constant diatribe against party chief Nitin Gadkari, the BJP on Sunday suspended the eminent lawyer. |
|
|
choleric - 3 2
|
similar: irascible, petulant, peevish
A choleric person gets angry very easily. You can also use choleric to describe a person who is very angry |
While a brilliant lecturer, Mr. Dawson came across as choleric and unapproachable—very rarely did students come to his office hours.
He was affable at one moment, choleric the next. |
|
|
factious
|
factious group
confusing: fractious The idea behind factious is that of dissent. |
Among bakers, almost all agree that you have to be precise when measuring ingredients. A factious group however never uses measuring cups or spoons and has called for them to be abolished.
The will of Nelson Mandela is due to be read on Monday, potentially kicking off another round of squabbling among members of his large and factious family. |
|
|
churlish
|
Someone who is churlish is unfriendly, bad-tempered, or impolite. |
The room was so nice it seemed churlish to argue.
The manager was unnecessarily churlish to his subordinates, rarely deigning to say hello. |
|
|
alacrity 1 - -
|
do something with alacrity
तत्परता, If you do something with alacrity, you do it quickly and eagerly. |
she accepted the invitation with alacrity
The first three weeks at his new job, Mark worked with such alacrity that upper management knew it would be giving him a promotion. |
|
|
contentious - - 2
|
विवादास्पद, A contentious issue causes a lot of disagreement or arguments. a contentious person is someone who likes to argue or fight. |
Sanctions are expected to be among the most contentious issues.
a contentious amateur politician who has offended minority groups |
|
|
jingoist
|
Jingoists really dislike people from outside their own borders. |
In the days leading up to war, a nation typically breaks up into the two opposing camps: doves, who do their best to avoid war, and jingoists, who are only too eager to wave national flags from their vehicles and vehemently denounce those who do not do the same.
|
|
|
penurious - 2 2
|
confusing: pernicious, pugnacious, precarious, precocious.
similar: impecunious, indigent Extremely poor; poverty-stricken miserly |
Truly penurious, Mary had nothing more than a jar full of pennies.
Warren Buffett, famous multi-billionaire, still drives a cheap sedan, not because he is penurious, but because luxury cars are gaudy and impractical. |
|
|
insufferable
|
असह्य, If something is insufferable, it's unbearable |
the heat would be insufferable by July
He was an insufferable bore. |
|
|
apogee
|
The apogee of something such as a culture or a business is its highest or its greatest point. |
the White House is considered the apogee of American achievement
|
|
|
zeitgeist 1 - -
|
zeitgeist of
Zeitgeist is the spirit or essence of a particular time. |
the story captured the zeitgeist of the late 1960s
Each decade has its own zeitgeist—the 1990’s was a time of economic reforms in India. |
|
|
perfunctory - 1 -
|
similar: cursory
A perfunctory action is done quickly and carelessly, and shows a lack of interest in what you are doing. |
She gave the list only a perfunctory glance.
The short film examines modern perfunctory cleaning rituals such as washing dishes, doing laundry and tooth-brushing. |
|
|
catholic 1 - -
|
catholic taste
(Especially of a person’s tastes) including almost all kinds varieties of things, universal |
He was a man of catholic tastes, a lover of grand opera, history, and the fine arts.
|
|
|
cow 1 - -
|
to be cowed by |
Do not be cowed by a 3,000-word vocabulary list: turn that list into a deck of flashcards! |
|
|
fractious
- 2 2 |
confusing: factious
similar: recalcitrant, unruly
(Of a group or organization) difficult to control; unruly |
We rarely invite my fractious Uncle over for dinner; he always complains about the food, and usually launches into a tirade on some touchy subject. |
|
|
ponderous - - 2 |
|
Laden with 20 kilograms of college text books, the freshman moved ponderously across the campus.
Liz could hardly restrain herself from finishing all his ponderous sentences |
|
|
anathema 1 - -
|
anathema to me
If something is anathema to you, you strongly dislike it. |
Hundreds of years ago, Galileo was anathema to the church
racial hatred was anathema to her. |
|
|
precipitate 2 - 2
|
precipitated a situation
precipitated someone/something into ""suddenly resulted in"" If something precipitates an event or situation, usually a bad one, it causes it to happen suddenly or sooner than normal. (precipitate someone/something into) Send someone or something suddenly into a particular state or condition |
the incident precipitated a political crisis
The killings in Vilnius have precipitated the worst crisis yet. they were precipitated into a conflict for which they were quite unprepared |
|
|
attenuate - 2 -
|
similar: abate, subside
Attenuate is a verb that means to make or become weaker. |
You could never eliminate risk, but preparation and training could attenuate it.
Her animosity towards Bob attenuated over the years, and she even went so far as to invite him to her party. |
|
|
indigent - 2 -
|
similar: penurious, impecunious
poor and needy |
In the so-called Third World, many are indigent and only a privileged few have the resources to enjoy material luxuries.
Instead, they say, it has actually increased the gap between rich and poor countries and between well-off and indigent inhabitants within countries. |
|
|
imbibe - - 2
|
Drink (alcohol) Absorb or assimilate (ideas or knowledge) |
they were imbibing far too many pitchers of beer
If you have imbibed every detail about every battle of the U.S. Civil War, you must find the subject interesting. |
|
|
saturnine
|
(Of a person or their manner) slow and gloomy |
He had a rather forbidding, saturnine manner.
The Congress has in the last few days produced Rahul and Sonia Gandhi in the battlefield. The response has been saturnine. The public is visibly bored. |
|
|
turpitude 1 - -
|
moral turpitude
shameful |
Prisons are filled with criminals who have engaged in acts of moral turpitude.
|
|
|
sedulous - 2 -
|
similar: industrious, diligent
showing dedication and diligence |
Harold sedulously amassed a collection of coins from over 100 countries—an endeavor that took over fifteen years, and to five continents.
If you make repeated and sedulous but failed attempts to fix a leaky pipe, it might be time to go online and find the number of a plumber. |
|
|
beg 1 - -
|
beg the question
Raise an obvious question Avoid the question; evade the issue. |
Celebrating weddings, festivals and happy events is one thing. But what of lavish and ostentatious displays of wealth, pomp and status? Does this not beg the question, where is this wealth coming from, Sonia Gandhi told party leaders at the meeting.
|
|
|
hector
|
Talk to (someone) in a bullying way |
The boss’s hectoring manner put off many employees, some of whom quit as soon as they found new jobs.
The teacher hectored his students incessantly. |
|
|
bully
|
Use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone) |
We think an attempt to bully them into submission would be counterproductive.
a local man was bullied into helping them |
|
|
untoward
|
|
The surveyor's report didn't highlight anything untoward.
both tried to behave as if nothing untoward had happened |
|
|
supercilious
- 2 - |
similar: haughty, imperious
|
Congress has spent much of its energy in proving the BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi a supercilious pretender for power.
|
