Common Words 5

Front 1

COMMON WORDS 5

Back 1

inveterate, sanction, resurgent, subversive, foment, audacity, poignant, scrupulous, munificent, hegemony, brazen, prolific, lionize, accolade, sporadic, pedestrian, dilettante, rescind, arbitrary, vacillate, haphazard, precipitous, propitious, circumscribe, trite, ravenous, myriad, intrepid, prodigious, austere, ostracize, garrulous, taciturn, gauche, antithetical, tempered, winsome, inimical, reverent, sycophant, insolent, arcane, admonish, inscrutable, irrevocable, propitious, tractable, obsequious, pernicious

Front 2

inveterate

Back 2

habitual

He is an inveterate smoker and has told his family and friends that there is no way he will ever quit.

Front 3

sanction

Back 3

verb: give authority or permission to

The authorities have sanctioned the use of the wilderness reserve for public use; many expect to see hikers and campers enjoying the park in the coming months.

noun: a legal penalty for a forbidden action

International sanctions have been placed on certain shipping lanes that were thought to be involved in human trafficking.

Front 4

resurgent

Back 4

rising again as to new life and vigor

The team sank to fourth place in June, but is now resurgent and about to win the division.

Front 5

subversive

Back 5

seeking to undermine or disturb

*think: subversive verses

The poet was detained by government officials for what they called her "subversive verses."

Front 6

foment

Back 6

to stir up public opinion

After having his pay cut, Phil spread vicious rumors about his boss, hoping to foment a general feeling of discontent.

Front 7

scrupulous

Back 7

having integrity or being exact

*think: scrape the poop

If you are scrupulous, you will scrape your dog's poop off my lawn.

Front 8

munificent

Back 8

generous or giving

*think: money sent

The money sent to us by our grandparents every year makes us consider them to be munificent.

Front 9

hegemony

Back 9

dominance over a certain area

Until the Spanish Armada was defeated in 1587, Spain had hegemony over the seas, controlling waters stretching as far as the Americas.

Front 10

brazen

Back 10

unrestrained by convention or propriety

Their large "donations" to the local police department gave the drug cartel the brazen confidence to do their business out in the open.

Front 11

prolific

Back 11

abundantly productive

*think: pro-lit-fic

The prolific author wrote so many books because he was a pro-lit-fic - he was pro-literary fiction.

Front 12

lionize

Back 12

assign great social importance to; treat with great interest

*think: lionized

The cute little meerkat was so lionized by the zoo's visitors that he felt like a lion.

Front 13

accolade

Back 13

an award or praise granted as a special honor

Jean Paul-Sartre was not a fan of accolades, and as such, he refused to accept the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1964.

Front 14

pedestrian

Back 14

lacking imagination

While Nan was always engaged in philosophical speculation, her brother was occupied with far more pedestrian concerns: how to earn a salary and run a household.

Front 15

dilettante

Back 15

an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge

Fred has no formal medical training; while he likes to claim authority on medical issues, he is little more than a dilettante.

Front 16

vacillate

Back 16

be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action

Some students vacillate between schools when deciding which to attend, while others focus only on one school.

Front 17

precipitous

Back 17

done with very great haste and without due deliberation

He was expecting a precipitous rise in the value of a "hot" tech stock, so he was disappointed when it only inched up a dollar or two each day.

Front 18

propitious

Back 18

presenting favorable circumstances; likely to result in or show signs of success

*think: Propecia

After using his Propecia for a few weeks, he knew results were propitious when he saw sprigs of hair regrowing.

Front 19

circumscribe

Back 19

restrict or confine

Their tour of South America was circumscribed so that they saw only popular destinations and avoided the dangerous parts of cities.

Front 20

trite

Back 20

repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

Many style guides recommend not using idioms in writing because these trite expressions are uninteresting and show a lack of imagination on the part of the writer.

Front 21

intrepid

Back 21

fearless

Captain Ahab was an intrepid captain whose reckless and fearless style ultimate leads to his downfall.

Front 22

prodigious

Back 22

impressively large; extraordinary

*think: prodigy

The child prodigy could multiply prodigious numbers in his head.

Front 23

austere

Back 23

harsh in manner/temperament, unadorned in style/appearance, self-denial

Life among the alps in Austria is stern and austere - it's hard to party when there's a windchill of -20.

Front 24

garrulous

Back 24

full of trivial conversation; annoyingly talkative

Lynne was so garrulous that she had a fifteen minute conversation with a stranger before she realized the woman didn't speak English.

Front 25

taciturn

Back 25

*think: takes his turn

If he's passive and taciturn at the debate and just politely takes his turn when speaking, he'll never win.

Front 26

gauche

Back 26

awkward

*think: go douche

The gauche thing about Summer's Eve commercials is that they're basically telling you to go douche.

Front 27

antithetical

Back 27

sharply contrasted in character or purpose

His deep emotional involvement with these ideas is, in fact, antithetical to the disattachment Buddhism preaches.

Front 28

tempered

Back 28

moderated in effect

The wide-eyed optimism of her youth was now tempered after she had worked many years in the criminal justice system.

Front 29

winsome

Back 29

charming in a childlike or naive way

*think: win some

She'll probably win some dates at the school data because of her playful, winsome nature.

Front 30

inimical

Back 30

unfriendly; hostile

*think: enemy

Of course the other beauty contestant hid your lipstick, she's your enemy; it's no surprise she'll be inimical.

Front 31

reverent

Back 31

having deep respect for

*think: reverend

During church, the reverend reminded them to be reverent to Jesus.

Front 32

sycophant

Back 32

one who flatters for self gain

*think: sick of elephant

The animals were sick of the elephant, because he was a sycophant who kissed up to the zookeeper.

Front 33

repudiate

Back 33

reject as untrue or unfounded

Many in the public believed the rumors of a UFO crash outside town, so the chief of police did everything he could to repudiate the rumors.

Front 34

insolent

Back 34

rude and arrogant

Lilian could not help herself from being insolent, commenting that the Queen's shoes were showing too much toe.

Front 35

arcane

Back 35

requiring secret or mysterious knowledge

Most college fraternities are known for arcane rituals that those hoping to the join the fraternity must learn.

Front 36

admonish

Back 36

warned to do what's best

*think: add Monistat

"Add Monistat to your body if you're suffering from a vaginal yeast infection," the ad admonished.

Front 37

inscrutable

Back 37

not easily understood; unfathomable

His speech was so dense and confusing that many in the audience found it inscrutable.

Front 38

irrevocable

Back 38

incapable of being retracted or revoked

Once you enter your plea to the court, it is irrevocable, so think carefully about what you will say.

Front 39

tractable

Back 39

readily reacting to suggestions and influences; easily managed (controlled or taught or molded)

Compared to middle school students, who have an untamed wildness about them, high school students are somewhat more tractable.

Front 40

obsequious

Back 40

attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner; attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery

The obsequious waiter did not give the couple a moment's peace all through the meal, constantly returning to their table to refill their water glasses and to tell them what a handsome pair they made.

Front 41

pernicious

Back 41

destructive; deadly

*think: piranhas

Piranhas are vicious; lingering in waters they inhabit can be pernicious.

Front 42

rescind

Back 42

revoke, cancel, or repeal (a law, order, or agreement).

The government eventually rescinded the directive.

Front 43

myriad

Back 43

a large number

*think: merry ad

There are a myriad of merry ads for various products during the holiday season.

Front 44

ostracized

Back 44

excluded

*think: ostrich

The ostrich buried its head in the sand because the other birds ostracized it for its goofy looks.

Front 45

poignant

Back 45

sharply affecting

*think: pointed

The Notebook was such a poignant love story that watching it felt like something pointed was piercing my heart.

Front 46

arbitrary

Back 46

based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system.

His mealtimes were entirely arbitrary.

Front 47

audacity

Back 47

rude or disrespectful behavior; impudence.

She had the audacity to pick up the receiver and ask me to hang up.

Front 48

constituent

Back 48

being a part of a whole
ex. the constituent minerals of the rock

being a voting member of a community or organization and having the power to appoint or elect.
The constituent body has a right of veto.

Front 49

haphazard

Back 49

lacking any obvious principle of organization.

The kitchen drawers contained a haphazard collection of silver souvenir spoons

Front 50

ravenous

Back 50

extremely hungry

Front 51

sporadic

Back 51

occurring at irregular intervals or only in a few places; scattered or isolated

Sporadic fighting broke out.