English Study - Vocab Builder Unknowns 745 Part 4

Front 1

denouement

Back 1

final outcome; final development of the plot of a play or other literary work; the end of a story when everything is explained

Front 2

cynosure

Back 2

1. something that strongly attracts attention by its brilliance, interest, etc.: the cynosure of all eyes.

2.something that provides guidance (as Polaris guides mariners);
"let faith be your cynosure to walk by"

Front 3

cupidity

Back 3

greed (for wealth);

Front 4

culvert

Back 4

artificial channel for water; drain crossing under a road

Front 5

cull

Back 5

pick out from others (to kill the weakest members); reject; select; collect (information); N.

Front 6

crone

Back 6

hag; ugly old woman

Front 7

credence

Back 7

belief

Front 8

cozen

Back 8

cheat; hoodwink; swindle

Front 9

countermand

Back 9

1. To cancel or reverse (a previously issued command or order). 2. To recall by a contrary order: countermanded the air strikes.

Front 10

countenance

Back 10

approve; support; tolerate; Ex. countenance his rude behavior; N: face; appearance

Front 11

corpuscle

Back 11

red or white cell in the blood

Front 12

corpulent

Back 12

very fat; N. corpulence

Front 13

corollary

Back 13

natural consequence (which naturally follows from something else)

Front 14

coquette

Back 14

flirt; flirtatious woman; woman who tries to attract the admiration of men without sincere feelings; V.

Front 15

convivial

Back 15

pleasantly merry; festive; joyous; gay; characterized by joviality; jovial

Front 16

convoke

Back 16

call together; Ex. convoke Parliament; N. convocation

Front 17

conversant

Back 17

familiar with; having knowledge of

Front 18

contumacious

Back 18

stubborn and disobedient; resisting authority (esp. disobedient to an order made by a court)

Front 19

continence

Back 19

self-restraint; sexual chastity; sexual abstinence; voluntary control over bladder and bowel functions; ADJ. continent

Front 20

consanguinity

Back 20

kinship; relationship by birth

Front 21

consanguineous

Back 21

having a common ancestor

Front 22

connubial

Back 22

. of or relating to marriage or to the relationship between a wife and husband; "connubial bliss"; "conjugal visits"

Front 23

connivance

Back 23

1. The act of conniving.
2. Law Knowledge of and tacit consent to the commission of an illegal act by another.

Front 24

condole

Back 24

express condolences; N. condolence: sympathy for someone who has experienced great sorrow

Front 25

condign (adj)

Back 25

adjectivefitting or appropriate and deserved; used especially of punishment; "condign censure"

Front 26

comport

Back 26

–verb (used with object) 1. to bear or conduct (oneself); behave:
He comported himself with dignity.

–verb (used without object) 2. to be in agreement, harmony, or conformity (usually followed by with):
His statement does not comport with the facts.

Front 27

compendium

Back 27

brief, comprehensive summary; ADJ. compendious

Front 28

commodious

Back 28

spacious and comfortable

Front 29

comity

Back 29

courtesy; civility; Ex. comity of nations

Front 30

comestible

Back 30

–adjective
1. edible; eatable.
–noun
2. Usually, comestibles. articles of food; edibles: The table was spread with all kinds of comestibles.

Front 31

comely

Back 31

attractive; agreeable; having a pleasing appearance

Front 32

colloquy

Back 32

informal discussion; conversation

Front 33

collation

Back 33

a light meal

Front 34

coiffure

Back 34

hairstyle

Front 35

cognate (adj)

Back 35

having a common origin; related linguistically; allied by blood; similar or akin in nature; Ex. cognate languages; N.

Front 36

cogitate

Back 36

verb (used without object)
1. to think hard; ponder; meditate: to cogitate about a problem.

–verb (used with object)
2. to think about; devise: to cogitate a scheme.

Front 37

coeval

Back 37

living at the same time as; existing during the same period of time; contemporary; of the same age

Front 38

coda

Back 38

concluding section of a musical or literary composition

Front 39

cloying

Back 39

excessive to the point of disgust

1. causing or tending to cause disgust or aversion through EXCESS: a perfume of cloying sweetness.
2. overly ingratiating or sentimental.

Front 40

clangor

Back 40

loud resounding noise; sound of repeated clanging

Front 41

circumspect

Back 41

prudent; cautious; acting after careful thought

Front 42

circumlocution

Back 42

indirect or roundabout expression (by using an uncecessarily large number of words esp. when trying to avoid answering a difficult question directly)

Front 43

Cipher

Back 43

nonentity; worthless person or thing; zero; secret code; V.

Front 44

ciliated

Back 44

having minute hairs;

Front 45

churlish

Back 45

boorish; rude

Front 46

boorish

Back 46

of or like a boor; unmannered; crude; insensitive.

Front 47

choleric

Back 47

hot-tempered; bad-tempered; irritable; easily angered; CF. cholera

Front 48

chary (adj)

Back 48

cautious; unwilling to take risks; sparing or restrained about giving; OP. bold

Front 49

cerebration

Back 49

thought; working of the brain

Front 50

centrifuge

Back 50

machine that separates substances by whirling them

Front 51

censorious

Back 51

severely critical

Front 52

cavil (v.)

Back 52

quibble; make frivolous objections; find fault unnecessarily

Front 53

cavalier

Back 53

5. haughty, disdainful, or supercilious: an arrogant and cavalier attitude toward others.
6. offhand or unceremonious: The very dignified officials were confused by his cavalier manner.

Front 54

cavalcade

Back 54

procession of riders or horse-drawn carriages; parade; CF. cavalry

Front 55

cataract (NOTE FIRST MEANING!!)

Back 55

great waterfall; eye abnormality (causing a gradual loss of eyesight)

Front 56

carping

Back 56

petty criticism; fault-finding; fretful complaining; quibble

Front 57

carillon

Back 57

a set of bells (often in a tower) capable of being played

Front 58

captious

Back 58

1. Marked by a disposition to find and point out trivial faults: a captious scholar.
2. Intended to entrap or confuse, as in an argument: a captious question.

Front 59

cant

Back 59

# Hypocritically pious language.
# The special vocabulary peculiar to the members of an underworld group or group of specialists; argot.

Front 60

canny

Back 60

1. careful; cautious; prudent: a canny reply.
2. astute; shrewd; knowing; sagacious: a canny negotiator.
3. skilled; expert.
4. frugal; thrifty: a canny housewife.

Front 61

canard

Back 61

An unfounded or false, deliberately misleading story.

This is just a canard that is assumed to be true because it has been repeated so often.

Front 62

calumny

Back 62

malicious misrepresentation; slander

Front 63

callow

Back 63

youthful; immature; inexperienced

Front 64

burnish

Back 64

make shiny by rubbing; polish

Front 65

burlesque

Back 65

4. involving ludicrous or mocking treatment of a solemn subject. 5. of, pertaining to, or like stage-show burlesque.

Front 66

burgeon

Back 66

grow rapidly; grow forth; send out buds; Ex. burgeoning computer industry

Front 67

bugaboo

Back 67

1. An object of obsessive, usually exaggerated fear or anxiety: "Boredom, laziness and failure . . . These bugaboos, magnified by imagination, keep [the workaholic] running" (Dun's Review). 2. A recurring or persistent problem: "the bugaboos that have plagued vision systems: high price and slow throughput" (Lawrence A. Goshorn).

Front 68

buffet

Back 68

1. To hit or beat, especially repeatedly. 2. To strike against forcefully; batter: winds that buffeted the tent. See Synonyms at beat. 3. To drive or force with or as if with repeated blows: was buffeted about from job to job by the vagaries of the economy. 4. To force (one's way) with difficulty.

Front 69

browse (other definition)

Back 69

graze; feed on growing grass

Front 70

brook (other definition)

Back 70

tolerate; endure; Ex. brook no interference; (i.e. will no longer tolerate someone's interference)

Front 71

bromide

Back 71

3. a platitude or trite saying.
4. a person who is platitudinous and boring.

Front 72

bridle

Back 72

harness fitted about a horse's head (used to restrain); curb; check; V: put a bridle on; control or restrain; show anger

Front 73

brackish

Back 73

somewhat saline

Front 74

bowlderize

Back 74

–verb (used with object), -ized, -iz·ing. to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable.1836, from Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825), English editor who in 1818 published a notorious expurgated Shakespeare, "in which those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family."

Front 75

bohemian

Back 75

unconventional (in an artistic way)

Front 76

blithe

Back 76

1. joyous, merry, or gay in disposition; glad; cheerful: Everyone loved her for her blithe spirit.
2. without thought or regard; carefree; heedless: a blithe indifference to anyone's feelings.

Front 77

blight

Back 77

plant disease; V: infect with blight; ruin; destroy

Front 78

blandishment

Back 78

Flattery.

Often, blandishments. something, as an action or speech, that tends to flatter, coax, entice, etc.: Our blandishments left him unmoved. We succumbed to the blandishments of tropical living.
[Origin: 1585–95; blandish + -ment]

Front 79

blackball

Back 79

vote against (an applicant); ostracize; N: negative vote

Front 80

bivouac

Back 80

temporary encampment; camp without tents;

Front 81

bilk

Back 81

1. to defraud; cheat: He bilked the government of almost a million dollars.
2. to evade payment of (a debt).
3. to frustrate: a career bilked by poor health.

Front 82

bilious

Back 82

suffering from indigestion; sick from having too much bile; irritable; easily irritated

Front 83

bevy

Back 83

large group; Ex. a bevy of starlets

Front 84

betoken

Back 84

"A" betokens "B"= "A" is a sign of "B"


1. to give evidence of; indicate: to betoken one's fidelity with a vow; a kiss that betokens one's affection. 2. to be or give a token or sign of; portend: a thunderclap that betokens foul weather; an angry word that betokens hostility.

Front 85

benison

Back 85

blessing

Front 86

bemused

Back 86

confused; lost in thought; preoccupied

Front 87

bedizen

Back 87

to dress or adorn in a showy, gaudy, or tasteless manner.

Front 88

beatitude

Back 88

1. supreme blessedness; exalted happiness.

Front 89

beatific

Back 89

giving or showing bliss; blissful

Front 90

bate

Back 90

1. to moderate or restrain: unable to bate our enthusiasm.2. to lessen or diminish; abate: setbacks that bated his hopes.

Front 91

bane

Back 91

posion; cause of ruin; ADJ. baneful: harmful; poisonous

Front 92

bandy

Back 92

discuss lightly or glibly; discuss in a frivolous manner; exchange (words) heatedly; quarrel; Ex. bandy words with

Front 93

baleful

Back 93

evil; malignant in intent or effect; deadly; having a malign influence; portending evil; ominous; threatening; Ex. baleful look

Front 94

badinage

Back 94

Light, playful talk; banter.

Ken was determined to put the cares of the world behind him and do what he loved best -- having a few celebrity friends round and enjoying an evening of anecdote and badinage over a bottle or two of vintage bubbly and some tasty cheese straws.

Front 95

bacchanalian

Back 95

drunken

Front 96

axiom

Back 96

self-evident truth requiring no proof

Front 97

avuncular

Back 97

adjective 1. resembling a uncle in kindness or indulgence 2. being or relating to an uncle

Front 98

avocation

Back 98

secondary or minor occupation

Front 99

averse

Back 99

reluctant; disinclined; not liking or opposed; Ex. averse to cats/doing the house work

Front 100

aver

Back 100

(v.) state confidently; declare as true

Front 101

aureole

Back 101

sun's corona; halo; bright circle of light

Front 102

august

Back 102

impressive; majestic

Front 103

augury

Back 103

omen; prophecy; sign of coming events; V. augur: predict; foretell; be a sign of (something in future)

Front 104

atrophy

Back 104

wasting away; V: weaken and lose flesh and muscle (through lack of blood or lack of use)

Front 105

atavism

Back 105

1. The reappearance of a characteristic in an organism after several generations of absence, usually caused by the chance recombination of genes. 2. An individual or a part that exhibits atavism. Also called throwback. 3. The return of a trait or recurrence of previous behavior after a period of absence.

Front 106

astringent

Back 106

binding; causing contraction (stopping bleeding); harsh or severe; stringent; Ex. astringent criticism

Front 107

astral

Back 107

relating to the stars

Front 108

assiduous

Back 108

diligent

Front 109

assay

Back 109

SIMPLE DEFINITION: "TO ANALYZE"


1. to examine or analyze: to assay a situation; to assay an event.
2. Metallurgy. to analyze (an ore, alloy, etc.) in order to determine the quantity of gold, silver, or other metal in it.
3. Pharmacology. to subject (a drug) to an analysis for the determination of its potency or composition.
4. to judge the quality of; assess; evaluate: to assay someone's efforts.
5. to try or test; put to trial: to assay one's strength; to assay one's debating abilities.

Front 110

aspersion

Back 110

slanderous remark; Ex. cast aspersions on

Front 111

asperity

Back 111

sharpness; roughness; severity (of temper or weather); Ex. asperities of a Russian winter

Front 112

aseptic

Back 112

preventing infection; having a cleansing effect

Front 113

artless

Back 113

without guile; open and honest

Front 114

artifice

Back 114

deception; trickery

Front 115

arrears

Back 115

being in debt; money that should have been paid; work that should have been done

Front 116

argot

Back 116

slang; speech spoken by only a small group of people

Front 117

ardor

Back 117

heat; passion; zeal; ADJ. ardent

Front 118

arcane

Back 118

(DOES NOT MEAN "ARCHAIC") esoteric; secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated; Ex. arcane ritual; Ex. arcane process closed to the uninitiated listener

Front 119

aquiline

Back 119

curved; hooked; of or like an eagle; Ex. aquiline nose

Front 120

appurtenances

Back 120

1. Something added to another, more important thing; an appendage. See Synonyms at appendage.
2. appurtenances Equipment, such as clothing, tools, or instruments, used for a specific purpose or task; gear.
3. Law A right, privilege, or property that is considered incident to the principal property for purposes such as passage of title, conveyance, or inheritance.

Front 121

approbation

Back 121

approval

Front 122

apposite

Back 122

appropriate; fitting

Front 123

appellation

Back 123

name; title

Front 124

apothegm

Back 124

A short, witty, and instructive saying

Front 125

apoplexy

Back 125

stroke; loss of consciousness caused by too much blood in the brain

Front 126

apocryphal

Back 126

widely believed but untrue

Front 127

apiculture

Back 127

bee-keeping

Front 128

apiary

Back 128

a place where bees are kept

Front 129

aphorism

Back 129

pithy maxim or saying; ADJ. aphoristic

Front 130

aphasia

Back 130

loss of speech due to injury or illness

Front 131

antiseptic

Back 131

substance that prevents infection in a wound; ADJ.

Front 132

antediluvian

Back 132

antiquated; extremely ancient

Front 133

anodyne

Back 133

drug that relieves pain or trouble; ÁøÅëÁ¦; opiate; ADJ. Ex. anodyne statement

Front 134

anneal

Back 134

v. tr.

1. To subject (glass or metal) to a process of heating and slow cooling in order to toughen and reduce brittleness.
2. To strengthen or harden.


v. intr.
To become strengthened or hardened: "the time she needed for opinion to anneal around her policy" (Alexander M. Haig, Jr.)

Front 135

animus

Back 135

hostile feeling or intent; animosity; hostility; disposition

Front 136

animadversion

Back 136

critical remark; V. animadvert: comment critically with disapproval

Front 137

amorphous

Back 137

formless; lacking shape or definition

Front 138

amazon

Back 138

female warrior

Front 139

alluvial

Back 139

pertaining to soil deposits left by running water

Front 140

alloy

Back 140

mixture as of metals; something added that lowers in value or purity; V: mix; make less pure; lower in value or quality; spoil; CF. unalloyed: not in mixture with other maetals; pure; complete; unqualified; Ex. unalloyed happiness

Front 141

allegory

Back 141

story, play, or picture in which characters are used as symbols; fable

Front 142

agog

Back 142

highly excited; intensely curious

Front 143

affidavit

Back 143

written statement made under oath (for use as proof in a court of law)

Front 144

adventitious

Back 144

accidental; casual; happening by chance

Front 145

adjuration

Back 145

solemn urging; V. adjure: entreat earnestly; enjoin solemnly

Front 146

abut

Back 146

border upon; adjoin

Front 147

abnegation

Back 147

1. the denial and rejection of a doctrine or belief; "abnegation of the Holy Trinity"
2. renunciation of your own interests in favor of the interests of others

Front 148

abash

Back 148

embarrass

Front 149

abase

Back 149

. to reduce or lower, as in rank, office, reputation, or estimation; humble; degrade.