English Vocab

Front 1

asperse

Back 1

charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
(defame, slander, smirch, denigrate, calumniate)
"o cast an aspersion on Bolt alone for being on drugs smacks of simple- mindedness."

Front 2

ecumenical

Back 2

1. of worldwide scope or applicability
"the shrewdest political and ecumenical comment of our time"
(cosmopolitan, universal)
2. concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions (ecumenical thinking)
"The development has given the Riviera Maya a bit of a snooty reputation. But it is actually a demographically ecumenical place, one long mall of second-home possibilities that stretches from the lofty heights..."

Front 3

extirpate

Back 3

1. destroy completely, as if down to the root (uproot, eradicate, root out)
2. pull up by or as if by the roots (deracinate, uproot)
"It’s not a pretty world and it serves no purpose in kidding ourselves by attempting to extirpate our own involvement by blaming the Business-Barons from the likes of WorldCom."

Front 4

talisman

Back 4

tal-is-muhn
a trinket or piece of jewelry usually hung about the neck and thought to be a magical protection against evil or disease
(amulet)
"Vitamins aren't a magical talisman against the flu, you have to use common sense..."

Front 5

reductive

Back 5

characterized by or causing diminution or curtailment
"their views of life were reductive and depreciatory"
"But where Greenberg favored reductive purity in abstract painting, Mr. Bavington offers conceptual mongrelism and psychedelic hedonism."
"Mr. Cohen engages in reductive reasoning in which universities are nothing more than places young people park themselves for four-odd years..."

Front 6

piffle

Back 6

1. trivial nonsense (balderdash, fiddle-faddle)
2. (verb) speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly
(chatter, palaver, prate, twaddle, clack, maunder, prattle)
"We don’t get any ancient wisdom that 'will profoundly change the world as you know it' — just a lot of New Agey piffle"

Front 7

amanuensis

Back 7

someone skilled in transcription of speech (especially dictation)
(stenographer, shorthand typist)

Front 8

noetic

Back 8

of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind (intellectual, rational)

"They may inspire authority and they may have noetic wisdom, but where's the beef ? Why can't everybody just agree that they played their role..."

Front 9

lithe

Back 9

moving and bending with ease (lissome, lithesome, slender, svelte)
"This book’s looker, Katherine Solomon, is a lithe, gray-eyed expert in Noetic science, the study of “the untapped potential of the human mind.”

Front 10

doppelganger

Back 10

a ghostly double of a living person that haunts its living counterpart

Front 11

nostrum

Back 11

nah-strum
1. hypothetical remedy for all ills or diseases; once sought by the alchemists (panacea, catholicon, cure-all)
2. patent medicine whose efficacy is questionable

Front 12

anodyne

Back 12

an-uh-dahyn
1. medicine used to relieve pain (analgesic, painkiller)
2. capable of relieving pain (the anodyne properties of certain drugs)
" Yesterday, the Democratic Senate leadership sent out its daily talking points to its members’ offices. Among them was the relatively anodyne argument that, “Under our [health-care reform] plan, if you like what you have you can keep it, but if you don’t there will be affordable choices for you that can’t be taken away.”

The only problem with this talking point: It isn’t true."

Front 13

denouement

Back 13

dey-noo-mahn (silent n)
1. the outcome of a complex sequence of events
2. the final resolution fo the main complication of a literary or dramatic work
"Mr. Hefner, the legendarily libidinous founder of Playboy, the prophet of hedonism, does not believe that his denouement is at hand."

Front 14

burnish

Back 14

polish and make shiny (buff)

Front 15

esurient

Back 15

i-soor-ee-uhnt
1. extremely hungry (fell into the esurient embrace of a predatory enemy)
2. ardently or excessively desirous for something (the esurient eyes of an avid curiosity)

"The nations inhabitants again pay for lack of diligence in checking such esurient executives as were 'entrusted' to self-regulate the market system"

Front 16

traduce

Back 16

speak unfavorably about (badmouth, malign, drag through the mud)

Front 17

heuristic

Back 17

a commonsense rule intended to increase the probability fo solving some problem

Front 18

lacuna

Back 18

a blank gap or missing part (blank)
"The Art and Design Fair, with 43 galleries from Europe and America displaying their finest, fills a glaring lacuna in the structure of the world art market."

Front 19

pulchritude

Back 19

physical beauty (esp. of a woman)
"To the astonishment of the court, accustomed to a monarch whose tastes ran more to pulchritude than to piety, she exerted such influence over him in his final years that once he was a widower he even, despite her shameful origins as a convicted felon’s daughter, deigned to wed her."
"Wary of Western influences and her nation-corrupting pulchritude, the government battled the presence of Barbie in bazaars."

Front 20

daedal

Back 20

complex and ingenious in design or function (the daedal hand of nature)
2. an Athenian inventor in Greek mythlogy who built the labyrinth of Minos; to escape he fashioned wings for himself and his son Icarus

Front 21

vagary

Back 21

an unexpected and inexplicable change in something (in a situation or a person's behavior)
"Its contents do not presume to provide rules for every vagary of the English language. ..."
"The vagaries of the weather"

Front 22

orotund

Back 22

1. (of sounds) full and rich (orotund tones)
2. ostentatiously lofty in style (bombastic, declamatory, tumid, turgid)
"Well, there's nothing dry about this guy, with his orotund voice, expansive gestures and arch smile."
"All through the winter and spring of 1960, the Continental League remained a Page 1 story, with Rickey using all of his orotund skills to sustain the belief that the new league was, as he put it, 'as inevitable as tomorrow morning.'"

Front 23

quidnunc

Back 23

a person who meddles in the affairs of others (busybody, nosy-parker)
"It is a restaurant with a loyal clientele and, as a quidnunc might put it, a place whose fame has been hushed about for seven years"

Front 24

montage

Back 24

a paste-up made by sticking together pieces of paper or photos to form an artistic image
"From the seven deadly sins portrayed by barnyard animals, to paintings that resemble a Where's Waldo montage..."
"to which other teachers might object) or watching a montage of clips from movies like “Gladiator” or “Saving Private Ryan. ..."

Front 25

soupcon

Back 25

a slight but appreciable amount (touch, hint, mite, pinch)
"The story, of course, is of a doomed love affair kindled by a chance meeting, but the show’s soupcon of dramatic substance feels like mere seasoning."

Front 26

pastiche

Back 26

1. a work of art that imitates the style of some previous work
2. a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources
"Since the reclusive Belgian designer’s apparent departure, a “team” has been making a pastiche of Mr. Margiela’s vision."
"I didn’t want to do parody; I didn’t want to do pastiche,” Mr. Benedictus said of the danger of imitating someone else’s style. 'Dorothy Parker thought Pooh was twee beyond words.'"

Front 27

imbue

Back 27

1. spread or diffuse through (permeate, pervade, penetrate, riddle)
"Owning a couple CDs does not imbue one with a true understanding of the group's contributions to the advancement of rap music"
2. fill, soak, or imbue totally
"The excellent actors imbue them all with a sharp specificity."

Front 28

sedulous

Back 28

1. diligent in attention or application
2. marked by care and persistent effort (sedulous pursuit of legal and moral principles; sedulous flattery)
(assiduous)
"In her sedulous style, Angwin recounts how DeWolfe and Anderson chafed at the demands of News Corp. as their creation became ever more unpredictable and unruly. But corporate infighting is only so interesting, and the book ends in May 2008, a year too soon"

Front 29

glabrous

Back 29

gley-bruhs (glay-bruss)
having no hair or similar growth; smooth (glabrous stems, glabrous leaves)
"If alopecia is baldness, why would a bald person need to purchase hair tonic?? Anyway, glabrous is glamorous!"

Front 30

sapid

Back 30

full of flavor (flavorful, saporous)

Front 31

aplomb

Back 31

great coolness and composure under strain (assuredness, cool, poise)
"The audience, too, needs to be fooled for a while, and Mr. Sarsgaard handles a tricky role with sly aplomb, allowing doubt and then revulsion to mix, drop by drop, into our impression of him."
"He was thrust into the same role in Game 1 last year — a young left-hander counted on to anchor a decent, if unstable, rotation — and handled it with aplomb, guiding the Phillies to victory that night"

Front 32

lineament

Back 32

1. a characteristic property that defines the apparent individual nature of something (quality, character)
2. the characteristic parts of a persons face: eyes and nose and mouth and chin (his lineaments were very regular)
"His fine lineaments made him the very image of his father"
"It suggests continuous and strong movement. Such a long and clear lineament should trigger a big quake. Other scientists have had similar ideas."

Front 33

desultory

Back 33

DES-uhl-tory
1. Lacking consistency, constancy; disconnected
2. marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another (desultory thoughts, desultory conversation characteristic of cocktail parties)
"The new Wild Things game, published by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, is the somewhat desultory requisite marketing tie-in."
"Primarily it expresses a belief among Jets fans that this team cannot stand prosperity, that they have a tendency to put together a stretch of good football, then relapse into desultory performances."

Front 34

brio

Back 34

quality of being active or spirited or alive and vigorous (animation, spiritedness, invigoration)
"But the formal rigor and intellectual brio that made his best films — “Breaking the Waves” and “Dogville” — as hard to dismiss as they were easy to loathe seems to have abandoned him."
"Halie, dressed in thrift shop clothes styled with unfettered brio, striking provocative and sometimes raunchy poses that are, as she noted, “quite popular” on the Internet."

Front 35

hebetude

Back 35

Heb-eh-tude
mental lethargy or dullness
"Urban hebetude, he discovers, can be cured at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge."

Front 36

insouciant

Back 36

marked by blithe unconcern (an utterly insouciant financial policy; an elegantly insouciant manner)

Front 37

peradventure

Back 37

1. doubt or uncertainty as to whether something is the case (this proves beyond peradventure that he is innocent)
2. chance

Front 38

metier

Back 38

as asset of special worth or utility (forte, strong suit, long suit)

Front 39

cynosure

Back 39

1. something that provides guidance (as Polaris guides mariners) "let faith be your cynosure to walk by"
2. something that strongly attracts attention and admiration (if he was the cynosure of all eyes he didn't notice)

Front 40

bowdlerize

Back 40

edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate (bowdlerize a novel) (shorten, castrate)

Front 41

carom

Back 41

1. a glancing rebound (ricochet)
2. rebound after hitting (the car caromed off several lampposts)

Front 42

dalliance

Back 42

1. the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working (dawdling, trifling)
2. playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest (flirt, toying)

Front 43

gadabout

Back 43

a restless seeker after amusement or social copmanionship

Front 44

epicurean

Back 44

1. a person devoted to refined sensuous enjoyment (esp. good food and drink)
2. displaying luxury and furnishing gratification to the senses

Front 45

voluptuary

Back 45

1. a person addicted to luxury and pleasures of the senses (sybarite)
2. displaying luxury and furnishing gratification to the senses (epicurean, luxurious, luxuriant, sybaritic)

Front 46

desideratum

Back 46

something desired as a necessity (the desiderata for a vacation are time and money)

Front 47

timorous

Back 47

timid by nature or revealing timidity (timorous little mouse; in a timorous tone)

Front 48

elan

Back 48

1. a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of a person or cause) (ardor, zeal)
2. distinctive and stylish in elegance (dash, flair, panache)
3. enthusiastic and assured vigor and liveliness (a performance of great elan and sophistication)

Front 49

scabrous

Back 49

1. rough to the touch; covered with scales or scurf (lepidote, scaly)
2. dealing with salavious or indecent material (a scabrous novel)

Front 50

adamantine

Back 50

1. consisting of or having the hardness of adamant
2. impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, reason (adamant, inexorable)
3. having the hardness of a diamond

Front 51

guffaw

Back 51

a burst of deep loud hearty laughter

Front 52

ambuscade

Back 52

the act of concealing yourself and lying in wait to attack by surprise (verb - wait hiding to attack - ambush, waylay, lurk, lie in wait)

Front 53

tumid

Back 53

1. ostentatiously lofty in style (tumid political prose)
2. abnormally distended especially by fluids or gas (puffy tumid flesh)

Front 54

agape

Back 54

1. selfless love of one person for another without sexual implications (esp. love that's spiritual in nature), as in "agape love"

Front 55

skulduggery

Back 55

verbal misrepresentation intended to take advantage of you in some way (trickery, hocus-pocus, slickness, hanky panky)

Front 56

soubriquet

Back 56

a familiar name for a person (often a shortened version of a person's given name)

Front 57

sordid

Back 57

1. unethical or dishonest (a sordid political campaign)
2. foul and run-down and repulsive

Front 58

somniferous

Back 58

sleep inducing (soporific, soporiferous, somnific)

Front 59

effulgence

Back 59

the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light (radiance, shine, refulgency)

Front 60

tutelary

Back 60

providing protective supervision; watching over or safeguarding (tutelary gods) (custodial, tutelar)

Front 61

pule

Back 61

cry weakly or softly, whimper

Front 62

megrim

Back 62

a severe recurring vascular headache; occurs more frequently in women than men

Front 63

pother

Back 63

1. an excited state of agitation (dither, fuss, tizzy, flap)
2. to make upset or troubled

Front 64

cosset

Back 64

treat with excessive indulgence (pamper, baby, coddle)

Front 65

deracination

Back 65

1. to move something from its natural environment
2. the act of pulling up or out, uprooting, cutting off from existence

Front 66

brabble

Back 66

argue over petty things (quibble, niggle, bicker)

Front 67

abjure

Back 67

formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure (she abjured her beliefs) (forswear, retract)

Front 68

abduce

Back 68

advance evidence for

Front 69

abasia

Back 69

inability to walk

Front 70

syllogism

Back 70

deductive reasoning in which a conclusion is derived from two premises

Front 71

exogenous

Back 71

derived or originating externally

Front 72

punctillious

Back 72

marked by precise accordance with details (punctilious in his attention to rules of etiquette) (meticulous)

Front 73

redolent

Back 73

1. having a strong or pleasant odor (the pine woods were more redolent)
2. noticeably odorous (the hall was redolent of floor wax; air redolent with the fumes of beer and whiskey)

Front 74

diaspora

Back 74

1. the body of jews outside palestine
2. the dispersion or spreading of something that was originally localized (as a people or language or culture)

Front 75

sisyphean

Back 75

both extremely effortful and futile (relating to sisyphus)

Front 76

inured

Back 76

made tough by habitual exposure (a peasant, dark, lean-faced, wind-inured)

Front 77

adumbrate

Back 77

1. describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of
2. give to understand

Front 78

vim

Back 78

energy, enthusiasm
"In his youth, he was full of vim and vigor"