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30 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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browbeat
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bully; intimidate ;
Billy resisted Ted's attempts to browbeat him into handing over his lunch money. |
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disfigure
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mar the appearance of; spoil;
An ugly frown disfigured his normally pleasant face. |
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corpulent
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very fat
The corpulent man resolved to reduce. |
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irremediable
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incurable; uncorrectable;
The error she made was irremediable; she could see no way to repair it. |
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simplistic
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oversimplified
Though Jack's solution dealt adequately with one aspect of the problem, it was simplistic in failing to consider various complicating factors that might arise. |
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murkiness
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darkness; gloom;
The murkiness and fog of the waterfront that evening depressed me. |
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refractory
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stubborn; unmanageable;
The refractory horse was eliminated from the race when he refused to obey the jockey. |
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tract
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pamphlet; a region of indefinite size;
The King granted William Penn a tract of land in the New World. |
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plebeian
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common; pertaining to the common people;
His speeches were aimed at the plebeian minds and emotions; they disgusted the more refined. |
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anachronism
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something or someone misplaced in time
Shakespeare's reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is an anachronism; no clocks existed in Caesar's time. |
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extradition
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surrender of prisoner by one state to another
The lawyers opposed the extradition of their client on the grounds that for more than five years he had been a model citizen. |
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deference
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courteous regard for another's wish
In deference to his desires, the employers granted him a holiday. |
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founder
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fail completely; sink;
After hitting the submerged iceberg, the Titanic started taking in water rapidly and soon foundered. |
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lank
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long and thin
lank, gaunt, Abraham Lincoln was a striking figure. |
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cordon
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extended line of men or fortifications to prevent access or egress
The police cordon was so tight that the criminals could not leave the area. |
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irksome
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annoying; tedious;
He found working on the assembly line irksome because of the monotony of the operation he had to perform. |
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sidereal
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relating to the stars
Although hampered by optical and mechanical flaws, the orbiting Hubble space telescope has relayed extraordinary images of distant sidereal bodies. |
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sully
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tarnish; soil;
He felt that it was beneath his dignity to sully his hands in such menial labor. |
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accrue
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come about by addition
You must pay the interest that has accrued on your debt as well as the principal sum. |
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cliche
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phrase culled in meaning by repetition
High school compositions are often marred by such cliches as %22strong as an ox. |
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plasticity
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ability to be molded
When clay dries out, it loses its plasticity and becomes less malleable. |
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amphitheater
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oval building with tiers of seats
The spectators in the amphitheater cheered the gladiators. |
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extemporaneous
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not planned; impromtu;
Because his extemporaneous remarks were misinterpreted, he decided to write all his speeches in advance. |
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innuendo
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hint; insinuation;
I can defend myself against direct accusations; innuendos and oblique attacks on my character are what trouble me. |
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pachyderm
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thick-skinned animal
The elephant is probably the best-known pachyderm. |
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stanza
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division of a poem
Do you know the last stanza of %22The Star-Spangled Banner%22?. |
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convoke
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call together
Congress was convoked at the outbreak of the emergency. |
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invulnerable
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incapable of injury
Achilles was invulnerable except in his heel. |
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zealot
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fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal;
It is good to have a few zealots in our group for their enthusiasm is contagious. |
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humdrum
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dull; monotonous;
After years of adventure, he could not settle down to a humdrum existence. |
