English Words Vocab

Front 1

hyperbole

Back 1

1. obvious and intentional exaggeration.
2. an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally, as “to wait an eternity.”

Front 2

odious

Back 2

1. deserving or causing hatred; hateful; detestable.
2. highly offensive; repugnant; disgusting.

Front 3

ignominious

Back 3

1. marked by or attended with ignominy; discreditable; humiliating: an ignominious retreat.
2. bearing or deserving ignominy; contemptible.

Front 4

lackadaisical

Back 4

1. without interest, vigor, or determination; listless; lethargic: a lackadaisical attempt.
2. lazy; indolent: a lackadaisical fellow.

Front 5

juxtapose

Back 5

to place close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast.

Front 6

fastidious

Back 6

1. excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please: a fastidious eater.
2. requiring or characterized by excessive care or delicacy; painstaking.

Front 7

euphony

Back 7

agreeableness of sound; pleasing effect to the ear, esp. a pleasant sounding or harmonious combination or succession of words: the majestic euphony of Milton's poetry.

Front 8

machiavelian

Back 8

–adjective 1. of, like, or befitting Machiavelli.
2. being or acting in accordance with the principles of government analyzed in Machiavelli's The Prince, in which political expediency is placed above morality and the use of craft and deceit to maintain the authority and carry out the policies of a ruler is described.
3. characterized by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty: He resorted to Machiavellian tactics in order to get ahead.
–noun 4. a follower of the principles analyzed or described in The Prince, esp. with reference to techniques of political manipulation.

Front 9

anthropomorphism

Back 9

Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena.

Front 10

frivolous

Back 10

1. characterized by lack of seriousness or sense: frivolous conduct.
2. self-indulgently carefree; unconcerned about or lacking any serious purpose.
3. (of a person) given to trifling or undue levity: a frivolous, empty-headed person.
4. of little or no weight, worth, or importance; not worthy of serious notice: a frivolous suggestion.

Front 11

jocularity

Back 11

given to, characterized by, intended for, or suited to joking or jesting; waggish; facetious: jocular remarks about opera stars.

Front 12

facetious

Back 12

1. not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark.
2. amusing; humorous.
3. lacking serious intent; concerned with something nonessential, amusing, or frivolous: a facetious person.

Front 13

lexicon

Back 13

1. a wordbook or dictionary, esp. of Greek, Latin, or Hebrew.
2. the vocabulary of a particular language, field, social class, person, etc.
3. inventory or record: unparalleled in the lexicon of human relations.
4. Linguistics. a. the total inventory of morphemes in a given language.
b. the inventory of base morphemes plus their combinations with derivational morphemes.

Front 14

diction

Back 14

1. style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words: good diction.
2. the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation.

Front 15

mores

Back 15

folkways of central importance accepted without question and embodying the fundamental moral views of a group.

Front 16

milieu

Back 16

surroundings, esp. of a social or cultural nature: a snobbish milieu.

Front 17

ambivalent

Back 17

1. uncertainty or fluctuation, esp. when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things.
2. Psychology. the coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings toward the same person, object, or action, simultaneously drawing him or her in opposite directions.

Front 18

insomniac

Back 18

–noun 1. a person who suffers from insomnia.
–adjective 2. having insomnia: a nervous, insomniac person.
3. of, pertaining to, or causing insomnia.

Front 19

stoicism

Back 19

an indifference to pleasure or pain

Front 20

indolent

Back 20

1. having or showing a disposition to avoid exertion; slothful: an indolent person.
2. Pathology. causing little or no pain; inactive or relatively benign: an indolent ulcer that is not painful and is slow to heal.

Front 21

insolent

Back 21

–adjective 1. boldly rude or disrespectful; contemptuously impertinent; insulting: an insolent reply.
–noun 2. an insolent person.

Front 22

homogeneous

Back 22

1. composed of parts or elements that are all of the same kind; not heterogeneous: a homogeneous population.
2. of the same kind or nature; essentially alike.
3. Mathematics. a. having a common property throughout: a homogeneous solid figure.
b. having all terms of the same degree: a homogeneous equation.
c. relating to a function of several variables that becomes multiplied by some power of a constant when each variable is multiplied by that constant: x2y3 is a homogeneous expression of degree 5.
d. relating to a differential equation in which a linear combination of derivatives is set equal to zero.

Front 23

conspicuous

Back 23

1. easily seen or noticed; readily visible or observable: a conspicuous error.
2. attracting special attention, as by outstanding qualities or eccentricities: He was conspicuous by his booming laughter.

Front 24

predilection

Back 24

a tendency to think favorably of something in particular; partiality; preference: a predilection for Bach.

Front 25

osmosis

Back 25

1. Physical Chemistry, Cell Biology. a. the tendency of a fluid, usually water, to pass through a semipermeable membrane into a solution where the solvent concentration is higher, thus equalizing the concentrations of materials on either side of the membrane.
b. the diffusion of fluids through membranes or porous partitions. Compare endosmosis, exosmosis.

2. a subtle or gradual absorption or mingling: He never studies but seems to learn by osmosis.

Front 26

percolation

Back 26

1. the act or state of percolating or of being percolated.
2. Pharmacology. the extraction of the soluble principles of a crude drug by the passage of a suitable liquid through it.
3. Geology. the slow movement of water through the pores in soil or permeable rock.

Front 27

metamorphose

Back 27

verb (used with object) 1. to change the form or nature of; transform.
2. to subject to metamorphosis or metamorphism.
–verb (used without object) 3. to undergo or be capable of undergoing a change in form or nature.

Front 28

socioeconomic status

Back 28

An individual's or group's position within a hierarchical social structure. Socioeconomic status depends on a combination of variables, including occupation, education, income, wealth, and place of residence. Sociologists often use socioeconomic status as a means of predicting behavior.

Front 29

miscible

Back 29

capable of being mixed: miscible ingredients.

Front 30

connote

Back 30

verb (used with object) 1. to signify or suggest (certain meanings, ideas, etc.) in addition to the explicit or primary meaning: The word “fireplace” often connotes hospitality, warm comfort, etc.
2. to involve as a condition or accompaniment: Injury connotes pain.
–verb (used without object) 3. to have significance only by association, as with another word: Adjectives can only connote, nouns can denote.

Front 31

narcissist

Back 31

1. inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.
2. Psychoanalysis. erotic gratification derived from admiration of one's own physical or mental attributes, being a normal condition at the infantile level of personality development.

Front 32

verisimilitude

Back 32

1. the appearance or semblance of truth; likelihood; probability: The play lacked verisimilitude.
2. something, as an assertion, having merely the appearance of truth.

Front 33

assimilate

Back 33

–verb (used with object) 1. to take in and incorporate as one's own; absorb: He assimilated many new experiences on his European trip.
2. to bring into conformity with the customs, attitudes, etc., of a group, nation, or the like; adapt or adjust: to assimilate the new immigrants.
3. Physiology. to convert (food) to substances suitable for incorporation into the body and its tissues.
4. to cause to resemble (usually fol. by to or with).
5. to compare; liken (usually fol. by to or with).
6. Phonetics. to modify by assimilation.
–verb (used without object) 7. to be or become absorbed.
8. to conform or adjust to the customs, attitudes, etc., of a group, nation, or the like: The new arrivals assimilated easily and quickly.
9. Physiology. (of food) to be converted into the substance of the body; be absorbed into the system.
10. to bear a resemblance (usually fol. by to or with).
11. Phonetics. to become modified by assimilation.

Front 34

veracity

Back 34

1. habitual observance of truth in speech or statement; truthfulness: He was not noted for his veracity.
2. conformity to truth or fact; accuracy: to question the veracity of his account.
3. correctness or accuracy, as of the senses or of a scientific instrument.
4. something veracious; a truth.

Front 35

elucidate

Back 35

verb (used with object) 1. to make lucid or clear; throw light upon; explain: an explanation that elucidated his recent strange behavior.
–verb (used without object) 2. to provide clarification; explain.

Front 36

prudent

Back 36

1. wise or judicious in practical affairs; sagacious; discreet or circumspect; sober.
2. careful in providing for the future; provident: a prudent decision.

Front 37

attenuate

Back 37

–verb (used with object) 1. to weaken or reduce in force, intensity, effect, quantity, or value: to attenuate desire.
2. to make thin; make slender or fine.
3. Bacteriology, Immunology. to render less virulent, as a strain of pathogenic virus or bacterium.
4. Electronics. to decrease the amplitude of (an electronic signal).
–verb (used without object) 5. to become thin or fine; lessen.
–adjective 6. weakened; diminishing.
7. Botany. tapering gradually to a narrow extremity.

Front 38

auspicious

Back 38

1. promising success; propitious; opportune; favorable: an auspicious occasion.
2. favored by fortune; prosperous; fortunate.

Front 39

archetypal

Back 39

1. the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.
2. (in Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.

Front 40

ubiquitous

Back 40

existing or being everywhere, esp. at the same time; omnipresent: ubiquitous fog; ubiquitous little ants.

Front 41

obsequious

Back 41

1. characterized by or showing servile complaisance or deference; fawning: an obsequious bow.
2. servilely compliant or deferential: obsequious servants.
3. obedient; dutiful.

Front 42

compunction

Back 42

1. a feeling of uneasiness or anxiety of the conscience caused by regret for doing wrong or causing pain; contrition; remorse.
2. any uneasiness or hesitation about the rightness of an action.

Front 43

poignant

Back 43

1. keenly distressing to the feelings: poignant regret.
2. keen or strong in mental appeal: a subject of poignant interest.
3. affecting or moving the emotions: a poignant scene.
4. pungent to the smell: poignant cooking odors.

Front 44

innocuous

Back 44

1. not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy.
2. not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.
3. not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel.

Front 45

benign

Back 45

1. having a kindly disposition; gracious: a benign king.
2. showing or expressive of gentleness or kindness: a benign smile.
3. favorable; propitious: a series of benign omens and configurations in the heavens.
4. (of weather) salubrious; healthful; pleasant or beneficial.
5. Pathology. not malignant; self-limiting.