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69 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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volatile
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adj. changeable; explosive; evaprating easily
the climate is volatile her temper is volatile volatil liquid |
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volition
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n. act of making a conscious choice
She selected this dress of her own volition |
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voluble
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adj. fluent; glib; talkative
an excessively voluble speaker |
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voluminous
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adj. bulky; large
it's a voluminous garment |
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voracious
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adj. ravenous
the wolf is a voracious animal; its hunger never satisfied |
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vortex
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n. whilrwind; whirlpool; center of turbulence; predicament into which one is inexorably plunged
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vouchsafe
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v. grant condescendingly; guarantee
I can safely vouchsafe you fair return on your investment |
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voyeur
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n. peeping tom
caught him aiming his binoculars at the bedroom window |
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vulpine
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adj. like a fox; crafty
She disliked his sly ways, but granted him a certain vulpine intelligence |
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waffle
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v. speak equivocally about an issue
the secretary waffled, talking all around the issue |
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waft
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v. moved gently by wind or waves
the leaves wafted past his window |
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waggish
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adj. mischievous; humorous; tricky
waggish tricks |
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waif
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n. homeless child or animal
he adopted another feline waif |
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wake
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n. trail of ship or other object through water; path of somethinhg that has gone before
wake of the swan gliding thru the water wake of the tornadow |
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wallow
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v. roll in; indulge in; become helpless
The hippo loves to wallow in mud |
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wan
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adj. having a pale or sickly color; pallid
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wanderlust
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n. strong longing to travel
He's too much of a wanderlust to settle down |
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wangle
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v. wiggle out; fake
she tried to wangle an invitation to the party |
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wanton
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adj. unrestrained; willfully malicious; unchaste
wanton expenditures She accused Nicole of making an unfounded, wanton attack |
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warble
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v. sing; babble
every morning the birds warbled outside her window |
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warren
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n. tunnels in which rabbits live; crowded conditions in which people live
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wary
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adj. very cautious
the spies grew wary as they approached the sentry |
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wastrel
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n. profligate (utterly and shamelessly immoral or dissipated; throughly dissolute; recklessly prodigal or extravagant)
He was denounced as a wastrel who had dissipated his inheritance |
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wax
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v. increase; grow
her fortunes waxed and she became rich |
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waylay
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v. ambush; lie in wait
They agreed to waylay their victim as he passed through the dark alley going home |
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wean
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v. accustom a baby not to nurse; give up a cherished activity
he decided to wean himself from eating junk food |
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weather
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v. endure the effects of weather or other forces
He weathered the changes in his personal life w/ difficulty |
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welt
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n. mark from a beating or whipping
her body was covered in welts and bruises |
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welter
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n. turmoil; bewildering jumble
the existing welter of overlapping federal and state proclaims cries out for immediate reform v. wallow the victims weltered in their blood |
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wheedle
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v. cajole; coax; deceive by flattery
she knows she can wheedle just about anything she wants from her father |
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whelp
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n. young wolf, dog, tiger etc
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whet
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v. sharpen; stimulate
the odors from the kitchen are whetting my appetite |
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whiff
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n. puff or gust (of air or scent)
get a whiff of his cologne |
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whimsical
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n. capricious; fanciful; unpredictable
In Mrs. Doubtfire, he is a whimsical man n. whimsy |
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whinny
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v. neigh like a horse
When he laughed through his nose, it sounded as if he whinnied |
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whit
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n. smallest speck
there is not a whit of intelligence in your observations |
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whittle
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v. pare; cut off bits
He whittled some clothespins out of wood |
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whorl
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n. ring of leaves around stem; ring
fingerprints - based on whorls on fingers |
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willful
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adj. intentional ; headstrong
willful murder willful youth |
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wily
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adj. cunning; artful
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wince
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v. shrink back; flinch
the screech of the chalk on the blackboard made her wince |
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windfall
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n. fallen fruit; unexpected lucky event
this huge tax refund is quite a windfall |
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winnow
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v. sift; separate good parts from bad
this test will winnow out the amazing students from the dumb ones |
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winsome
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adj. agreeable; gracious; engaging
Jocelyn's winsome manner is why she is liked by everyone |
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wispy
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adj. thin; slight; barely discernible
He was worried about preserving his wispy tufts of hair |
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wistful
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adj. vaguely longing; sadly pensive
She looked at the couples dancing with a wistful glance |
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withdrawn
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adj. introverted; remote
the researcher is very withdrawn |
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witless
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adj. foolish; idiotic
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witticism
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n. witty saying; wisecrack
your last supposed witticism really hurt my feelings |
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wizened
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adj. withered; shriveled
a wizened old man |
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woe
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n. deep, inconsolable grief; affliction; suffering
Pale and wan w/ grief, she was bowed down beneath the burden of her woes |
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wont
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n. custom; habitual procedure
As was her wont, she jogged 2 miles every morning before going to work |
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worldly
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adj. engrossed in matters of this earth; not spiritual
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wrangle
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v. quarrel; obtain through arguing; herd cattle
They wrangled over their inheritance |
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wreak
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v. inflict
I am afraid he will wreak his vengeance on the innocent as well as the guilty |
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wrench
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v. pull strain; twist
She wrenched free of her attacker |
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wrest
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v. pull away; take by violence
With only 10 seconds left, our team wrested victory from their grasp |
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writ
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n. written command issued by a court
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writhe
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v. twist in coils; contort in pain
the snake dancer wriggled sinuously as her boa constrictor writhed around her torso |
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wry
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adj. twisted; w/ a humorous twist
wry wit |
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xenophobia
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n. fear or hatred of foreigners
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yen
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n. longing; urge
She had a yen to get away and live on her own |
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yeoman
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n. man owning small estate; middle-class farmer
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yoke
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v. join together, unite
I don't wanna be yoked to him in marriage |
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yokel
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n. country bumpkin
the students laughed at the yokel's rustic mannerisms |
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yore
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n. time past
She dreamed of the elegant homes of yore |
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zany
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adj. crazy; comic
I can watch these zany cartoons for hours |
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zenith
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n. poit directly overhead in the sky; summit
when the sun was at its zenith, the glare was not as strong as at sunrise and sunset |
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zephyr
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n. gentle breeze; west wind
zephyr on the charles |
