Common Words 2

Front 1

gainsay*

Back 1

to deny or contradict

*think: against say

Those who gainsay us are against what we say.

Front 2

reticent*

Back 2

reserved and quite

*think: ready but hesitant

If you have to recite a speech and you're technically ready but hesitant, you might be reticent.

Front 3

aesthete

Back 3

one who professes great sensitivity to the beauty of art and nature

A true aesthete, Marty would spend hours at the Guggenheim Museum, staring at the same Picasso.

Front 4

cryptic

Back 4

mysterious or vague, usually intentionally

Since Sarah did not want her husband to guess his Christmas present, she only answered cryptically when he would ask her about it.

Front 5

conspicuous

Back 5

without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious

American basketball players are always conspicuous when they go abroad--not only are they American, but some are over seven feet tall.

Front 6

culminate

Back 6

reach the highest or most decisive point

Beethoven's musical genius culminated in the 9th Symphony, which many consider his greatest work.

Front 7

exacerbate

Back 7

make worse

Her sleeplessness exacerbated her cold--when she woke up the next day, her sinuses were completely blocked.

Front 8

didactic*

Back 8

designed to teach (especially excessively instructive)

*think: dictionary tactic

The definitions in a dictionary use the tactic explaining words clearly in order to be didactic.

Front 9

deferential

Back 9

showing respect

If you ever have the chance to meet the president, stand up straight and be deferential.

Front 10

chortle

Back 10

to chuckle, laugh merrily

Walking past the bar, I could hear happy, chortling people and the blast of horns from a jazz band.

Front 11

inexorable*

Back 11

unstoppable

*think: in-x-out-able

The fighter's inexorable rise made it impossible to cross his name off the contender list; he was "in-x-out-able."

Front 12

prescience

Back 12

the power to foresee the future

Baxter's warnings about investing in technology stocks seemed like an act of prescience after the whole market declined significantly.

Front 13

querulous*

Back 13

whiny and complaining

*think: quarrel us

We'd invite you over more, but you're so querulous that you always end up in a quarrel with us!

Front 14

dictatorial

Back 14

expecting unquestioning obedience; characteristic of an absolute ruler

The coach was dictatorial in his approach: no players could ever argue or question his approach.

Front 15

rustic

Back 15

characteristic of rural life; awkwardly simple and provincial

The vacation cabin had no electricity and no indoor plumbing, but despite these inconveniences, Nigel adored its rustic charm.

Front 16

lambast

Back 16

criticize severely or angrily

Showing no patience, the manager utterly lambasted the sales team that lost the big account.

Front 17

mawkish*

Back 17

overly sentimental

*think: Ma's awkward kiss

My ma is awkward because she has to kiss us every time we leave the house - she's mawkish.

Front 18

recondite*

Back 18

not easily understood

*think: reckoned it

I couldn't understand my professor's recondite lecture, but I reckoned it had something to do with the fourth dimension.

Front 19

predilection

Back 19

a strong liking

*think: predi-Like-tion

Monte had a predilection for the fine things in life: Cuban cigars and 200 dollar bottles of wine.

Front 20

volubility

Back 20

the quality of talking or writing easily and continuously

The professor's volubility knows no bounds; he could talk through a hurricane and elaborate a point from one St. Patrick's Day to the next.

Front 21

perfidy

Back 21

treachery; treason

*think: perforated fidelity

When I realized my friend spread rumors about me, I felt like I had a perforated fidelity because of his perfidy.

Front 22

fortuitous*

Back 22

lucky

*think: fortunate for us

It was fortuitous and fortunate for us that the polar bear we encountered had just eaten a seal and was too full to eat us.

Front 23

bucolic*

Back 23

relating to the pleasant aspects of the country

*think: blue collar

I'm a broccoli farmer - a blue collar worker - I don't understand what those suits are talking about!

Front 24

germane

Back 24

relevant and appropriate

The professor wanted to tell the jury in detail about his new book, but the lawyer said it wasn't germane to the case.

Front 25

meticulous

Back 25

marked by extreme care in treatment of details

The Japanese noodle maker was meticulous in making his noodles and would never let another person take over the task.

Front 26

obscure

Back 26

make unclear
On the Smith's drive through the Grand Canyon, Mr. Smith's big head obscured much of his wife's view.

known by only a few
Many of the biggest movie stars were once obscure actors who got only bit roles in long forgotten films.

Front 27

mitigate*

Back 27

to lessen or make less severe

*think: mitt gate

The thief put an oven mitt on the spiked gate of the mansion to mitigate the pain in his hands.

Front 28

glut*

Back 28

an excess of something; to supply with an excess of something

*think: glutton

Since my dog is a glutton for dog treats, I have a glut of Snausages in my house.

Front 29

culpability

Back 29

state of guilt

Since John had left his banana peel at the top of the stairwell, he accepted culpability for Martha's broken leg.

Front 30

platitude*

Back 30

an overused expression

*think: blah attitude

Dude, she's giving you that blah attitude, because your pick up line was a platitude.

Front 31

aesthetic*

Back 31

relating to beauty

*think: athletic body

If you're athletic, then you're likely to have a body that is aesthetically pleasing.

Front 32

torpor

Back 32

inactivity resulting from lethargy and lack of vigor or energy

After work, I was expecting my colleagues to be enthusiastic about the outing, but I found them in a state of complete torpor.

Front 33

diffident*

Back 33

timid

*think: difficult dentures

I'm diffident when in public, because I'm self-conscious about how weird my difficult dentures look.

Front 34

superfluous*

Back 34

unnecessary

*think: super flu us

We wanted to catch your cold so we could stay home from school, but it was superfluous of you to give the super flu to us.

Front 35

decorous

Back 35

characterized by good taste in manners and conduct

Sally's parties are decorous affairs, and instead of beer and music, there is tea and intellectual conversation.

Front 36

entrenched

Back 36

fixed firmly or securely

By the time we reach 60-years old, most of our habits are so entrenched that it is difficult for us to change.

Front 37

gossamer

Back 37

characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy

The gossamer wings of a butterfly, which allow it to fly, are also a curse, so delicate that they are often damaged.

Front 38

vociferous*

Back 38

conspicuously and offensively loud

*think: voice for us

The announcer's loud voice, for us, was too vociferous.

Front 39

concede

Back 39

acknowledge defeat or admit (to a wrongdoing)
After a long, stern lecture from her father, Olivia conceded to having broken the window.

surrender to the physical control of another
The Spanish were forced to concede much of the territory they had previously conquered.

Front 40

preclude

Back 40

keep from happening or arising; make impossible

The manager specified that all other gates be locked, to preclude the possibility of persons without tickets entering the arena undetected.

Front 41

incisive*

Back 41

sharp and direct; able to recognize fine distinctions

*think: incision

Luckily, the surgeon was incisive - she only had seconds to make an incisions before the patient's appendix burst.

Front 42

impudent

Back 42

improperly forward or bold

In an impudent move, the defendant spoke out of order to say terribly insulting things to the judge.

Front 43

gall

Back 43

rude and impertinent
Even though Carly was only recently hired, she had the gall to question her boss's judgment.

feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
In an act of gall, Leah sent compromising photos of her ex-boyfriend to all his co-workers.

Front 44

banal*

Back 44

unoriginal

*think: ban all

The banal librarian thought there were enough books already and wanted to ban all the new ones.

Front 45

frivolous

Back 45

not serious in content or attitude or behavior

Compared to Juliet's passionate concern for human rights, Jake's concern about football seems frivolous.

Front 46

apathetic

Back 46

marked by a lack of interest

Mr. Thompson was so talented at teaching math that even normally apathetic students took interest.

Front 47

engender

Back 47

give rise to

The restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles were so severe that they engendered deep hatred and resentment in the German people.

Front 48

dogmatic*

Back 48

stubborn and inflexible

*think: dog bath

My dog automatically becomes dogmatic if you try to give him a bath since he hates water.

Front 49

audacious

Back 49

willing to be bold in social situations or to take risks

As all of the other campers cowered in their tents, Bill audaciously tracked down the bear that had raided their food.

Front 50

eschew*

Back 50

to avoid deliberately

*think: Ah-Choo!

Eschew people who say "Ah-Choo!" unless you want to catch their colds.