American Classics Set 1

Front 1

beleaguered

Back 1

adj.
constantly confronted with obstacles, beset with many troubles, embattled.

"the beleaguered actor will have to overcome many obstacles to become famous."

Front 2

belie

Back 2

v.
to disprove or demonstrate to be false.

"by laughing, the man belied his sadness"

Front 3

belligerent

Back 3

adj.
aggresive, eager to start a fight, war-like

"the school bully was very belligerent"

Front 4

bete noire (bet nwahr)

Back 4

n.
something one does not like or is scared of.

"the student was afraid to take the SAT. it was his bete noire."

Front 5

bigamy

Back 5

n.
the crime of taking marriage vows while still legally married to someone else

"her husband was guilty of bigamy because he married another woman."

Front 6

bilk

Back 6

v.
to cheat or swindle

"the car salesman made a lot of money bilking his customers"

Front 7

binary

Back 7

adj.
consisting of two parts or elements

"10 is a binary number"

Front 8

biogenesis

Back 8

n.
the process of life coming from other living things

"a cow giving birth to a calf is biogenesis"

Front 9

bipolar

Back 9

possessing two sides, having two opposite extremes

"the bipolar man had dramatic mood swings"

Front 10

bilateral

Back 10

adj.
involving or pertaining to both sides of something

"the bilateral agreement affected both sides"

Front 11

blase (blah-zay)

Back 11

unimpressed; bored.

"after watching the movie for the 5th time the boy was blase"

Front 12

blather

Back 12

v.
to talk ridiculously, to talk nonsense or discuss meaningless issues.

"they blathered for hours about the soap opera that was on the night before."

Front 13

canard

Back 13

n.
false rumor, a fabrication or unfounded story

"someone spread a canard that the girl was a drug addict, when she really wasn't."

Front 14

candor

Back 14

n.
openness or honesty

"the man spoke with candor during his trial."

Front 15

canonical

Back 15

adj.
conforming to established law, esp. church.

"the canonical requirements of being a nun are very strict."

Front 16

capacious

Back 16

adj.
spacious or capable of holding a lot of something.

"the capacious auditorium could hold 1,000 people."

Front 17

caveat emptor

Back 17

latin expression/phrase
let the buyer beware. warning that swindles and misrepresentation are common in the world of commerce.

"the girl bought something for a high price on ebay and regretted it: caveat emptor!"

Front 18

cavil

Back 18

v.
to find fault in trivial matters or raise petty objections. to unnecissarily find fault with something.

"the librarian cavilled about the book being returned 1 minute late"

Front 19

celerity

Back 19

n.
speed; swiftness of action or motion. (comes from accelerate)

"the waiter brought the food with celerity, leaving his customers impressed."

Front 20

celibacy

Back 20

n.
the act of abstaining from sexual activity. abstinance from sexual relations.

"the priest was commited to a life of celibacy"

Front 21

censure

Back 21

n.
disapproval or blame.

"the bad behavior of the senator led to censure from the rest of the senate."

Front 22

cessation

Back 22

n.
the act of bringing to an end.

"the cessation of smoking in the building will make it easier to breathe."

Front 23

chagrin

Back 23

n.
a feeling of humiliation or embarrassment

"to the boy's chagrin, he was rejected by all the colleges he applied to."

Front 24

charismatic

Back 24

adj.
possessing good qualities like condfidence, authority, leadership, and overall personal appeal.

"the charismatic politician won over the audience with his speech."

Front 25

despondency

Back 25

n
depression; lost courage or hope.

"after her mother's death, the girl's life was filled with despondency"

Front 26

despotism

Back 26

n
authoritarian rule, absolute authority, power or control.

"when the dictator took power it resulted in despotism in the country"

Front 27

desultory

Back 27

adj
aimless; lacking consistency; random.

"it was a desultory summer, the girl had nothing planned"

Front 28

dexterous

Back 28

adj
skillful

"the pianist had dexterous fingers"

Front 29

diabolical

Back 29

adj
devilish, evil; wicked or cruel.

"the murderer was diabolical, with no good in him"

Front 30

diagnostic

Back 30

adj
pertaining to diagnosis. used in evaluating someone.

"the girl took a diagnostic test to evaluate how intelligent she was on the subject"

Front 31

dialectic

Back 31

adj and n
having to do with logical arguments

"the debator had to have dialectic arguments in order to win"

Front 32

diatribe

Back 32

n
bitter denunciation, criticism or attack.

"the employee lost his temper and began a diatribe towards his boss"

Front 33

dichotomy

Back 33

n
division into two contrasting or opposing sides

"the football player was also a ballerina; it was a dichotomy"

Front 34

didactic

Back 34

adj
teaching a moral lesson, made for the purpose of moral or ethical betterment.

"the didactic story taught everyone that it was important to share"

Front 35

diffident

Back 35

adj
shy; lacking confidence or self-worth.

"the boy was diffident about giving a speech infront of the whole school"

Front 36

ennui (on-noo-EE)

Back 36

n.
boredom, listlessness

Front 37

enshrine

Back 37

v.
to cherish as sacred
"her childhood memories will be enshrined in her heart forever"

Front 38

enthrall

Back 38

v.
to captivate or mesmerize

"the audience was enthralled by the performance"

Front 39

entity

Back 39

n.
existence or being

Front 40

enunciate

Back 40

v.
to articulate or pronounce

Front 41

envisage

Back 41

v.
to picture or visualize

"he envisaged

Front 42

epicure

Back 42

n.
a connoisseur, a person with a refined taste for something (esp. food or wine)

"the epicure could tell the slight differences between every wine"

Front 43

equanimity

Back 43

n.
calmness (esp. under pressure)

"he ______ with equanimity"

Front 44

equicoval

Back 44

adj.
dubious or uncertain,
ambiguous

Front 45

eradicate

Back 45

v.
to remove or destroy utterly, to erase

Front 46

erratic

Back 46

adj.
inconsistent, lacking a set course

Front 47

ersatz (AIR-sats)

Back 47

n.
an unconvincing substitute

"it was obvious that the ersatz necklace was not made of real gold, it looked nothing like the original."