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71 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abate |
to lessen in intensity or degree |
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accolade |
an expression of praise |
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adulation |
excessive praise; intense adoration |
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aesthetic |
dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful |
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ameliorate |
to make better or more tolerable |
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ascetic |
one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion |
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avarice |
greed, esp. for wealth (adj. form: avaricious) |
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axiom |
a universally recognized principle (adj. form: axiomatic) |
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burgeon |
to grow rapidly or flourish |
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bucolic |
rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants |
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cacophony |
harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance (adj. form: cacophonous) |
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canon |
an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature (adj. form: canonical) |
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castigation |
severe criticism or punishment (verb form: castigate) |
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catalyst |
a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change |
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caustic |
burning or stinging; causing corrosion |
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chary |
wary; cautious; sparing |
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cogent |
appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing |
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complaisance |
the willingness to comply with the wishes of others (adj. form: complaisant) |
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contentious |
argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement |
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contrite |
regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness (noun form: contrition) |
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culpable |
deserving blame (noun form: culpability) |
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dearth |
smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack |
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demur |
to question or oppose |
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didactic |
intended to teach or instruct |
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discretion |
cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions (adj. form: discreet) |
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disinterested |
free of bias or self-interest; impartial |
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dogmatic |
expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles (noun form: dogma) |
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ebullience |
the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings (adj. form: ebullient) |
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eclectic |
composed of elements drawn from various sources |
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elegy |
a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead (adj. form: elegiac) |
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emollient |
soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin |
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empirical |
based on observation or experiment |
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enigmatic |
mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand (noun form; enigma) |
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ephemeral |
brief; fleeting |
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esoteric |
intended for or understood by a small, specific group |
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eulogy |
a speech honoring the dead (verb form: eulogize) |
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exonerate |
to remove blame |
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facetious |
playful; humorous |
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furtive |
marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious |
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gregarious |
sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people |
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harangue |
to deliver a pompous speech tirade; a long, pompous speech |
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heretical |
violating accepted dogma or convention (noun form: heresy) |
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hyperbole |
an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech (adj. form: hyperbolic) |
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impecunious |
lacking funds; without money |
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incipient |
beginning to come into being or to become apparent |
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innocuous |
harmless, causing no damage |
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intransigent |
refusing to compromise (noun form: intransigence) |
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inveigle |
to obtain by deception or flattery |
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morose |
sad; sullen; melancholy |
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odious |
evoking intense aversion or dislike |
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opaque |
impenetrable by light; not reflecting light |
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oscillation |
the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm (verb form: oscillate) |
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penurious |
penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous |
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pernicious |
extremely harmful in a way that is not easily seen or noticed |
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pious |
extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion (noun form: piety) |
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preen |
to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care |
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prodigious |
abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary |
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prolific |
producing large volumes or amounts; productive |
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putrefy |
to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor |
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quaff |
to drink deeply |
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quiescence |
stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest (adj. form: quiescent) |
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redoubtable |
awe-inspiring; worthy of honor |
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satire |
a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision (adj. form: satirical) |
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squalid |
sordid, wretched and dirty as from neglect (noun form: squalor) |
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stoic |
indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; stead-fast (noun form: stoicism) |
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supplant |
to take the place of; to supersede |
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torpid |
lethargic; sluggish; dormant (noun form: torpor) |
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ubiquitous |
existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread |
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urbane |
sophisticated; refined; elegant (noun form: urbanity) |
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vilify |
to defame; to characterize harshly |
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viscous |
thick; sticky (noun form: viscosity) |
