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490 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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abjure
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to renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid
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abnegate
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to deny, renounce
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abrogate
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to abolish or annul by authority; put down
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abstemious
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sparing in eating and drinking, temperate
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acclivity
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sharp upslope of a hill
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accoutre
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equip
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accretion
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growth; increase
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acerbic
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having a sour or bitter taste or character
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acetic
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vinegary
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acidulous
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sour in taste or manner
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acrid
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sharp; bitterly pungent
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acrimony
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bitterness, animosity
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acrophobia
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fear of heights
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None
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actuarial
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calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics
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adjuration
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solemn urging
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adjutant
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staff officer assisting the commander; assistant
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adumbrate
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to foreshadow vaguely, intimate, suggest or outline sketchily
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adventitious
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accidental
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advert
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refer (to)
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aegis
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shield; defense
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agog
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highly excited; intensely curious
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alacrity
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eager and enthusiastic willingness; cheerful promptness
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alimentary
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supplying nourishment
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alloy
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to commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior
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amalgamate
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to combine several elements into a whole
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ambrosia
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food of the gods
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amity
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friendship
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angular
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sharp-cornered; stiff in manner
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animadversion
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critical remark
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animus
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hostile feeling or intent
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anneal
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reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling
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anodyne
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something that soothes or calms pain
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apace
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done quickly
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aphasia
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loss of speech due to injury or illness
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aphorism
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pithy maxim or saying
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apiary
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a place where bees are kept
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apogee
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farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith
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apollonian
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harmonious, ordered, rational, calm (< Apollo god of sun, light & music; present sense from Nietzsche)
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apothegm
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a short, instructive saying
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appellation
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name; title
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apposite
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appropriate, pertinent, relevant, apropos
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apprise
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to give notice to, inform
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approbation
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an expression of approval or praise
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appurtenances
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subordinate possession
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aquiline
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curved, hooked
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arabesque
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complex, ornate design
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arcade
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a covered passageway; usually lined with shops
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arcana
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deep secrets (pl); sg form is arcanum
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argot
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slang
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aria
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operatic solo
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arrant
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impudent; in every way, being completely such, barefaced, utter
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arrears
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being in debt
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arroyo
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gully
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artifice
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deception; trickery
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artless
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withouth guile; open and honest
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aseptic
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preventing infection; having a cleasing effect
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askance
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scornfully
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asperity
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severity, rigor; roughness, harshness; acrimony, irritability
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aspersion
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an act of defamation or maligning
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aspirant
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seeker after position or status
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assay
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analyze; evaluate
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assiduous
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diligent, hard-working
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astringent
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having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe
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atavism
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resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; reversion to an earlier type; throwback
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attenuate
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to rarefy, weaken or make thinner, lessen
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augury
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omen, portent, the reading of omens
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august
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majestic, venerable
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aureole
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sun's corona; halo
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auspice
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protection or support, patronage; OR sign, portent
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aver
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to state as a fact; to confirm or support
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avid
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greedy; eager for
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avocation
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secondary or minor iccupation
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avuncular
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like an uncle
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azure
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sky blue
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badinage
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teasing conversation
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balk
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foil
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bandy
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discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly
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barrister
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counselor-at-law
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bate
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let down; restrain
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bedizen
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to adorn with vulgar finery, especially in a cheap showy manner; festoon, caparison
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bedraggle
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wet thoroughly
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beguile
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mislead or delude; cheat; pass time
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beleaguer
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besiege or attack; harass
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belie
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contradict; give a false impression
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bemuse
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to confuse, stupefy; plunge deep into thought
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benison
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blessing
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bent
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determined; leaning, inclination, proclivity, tendency
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bilious
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bad-natured
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blandish
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to coax with flattery, toady or fawn
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blandishment
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flattery intended to cajole or coax
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bluff
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rought but good natured
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boor
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rude or insensitive person; lout; yokel
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bowderlize
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expurgate, purge or cleanse
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brackish
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somewhat saline
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brandish
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to shake or wave menacingly
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brindled
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tawny or grayish with streaks or spots
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broach
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to bring up, announce, begin to talk about
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brocade
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rich, figured fabric
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bromide
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a dull, commonplace person or idea
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brook
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to tolerate, endure, countenance
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bucolic
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rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
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burlesque
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give an imitation that ridicules
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byzantine
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labyrinthine, complex
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cadge
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to sponge, beg or mooch
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callow
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immature, lacking sophistication
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caluminante
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to slander, make a false accusation
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calumny
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slander, aspersion
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canard
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a lie, false or unfounded story
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cant
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insincere expressions of piety; jargon of thieves
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capillary
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having very fine bore
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captious
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faultfinding
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carapace
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turtle's shell
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caret
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an insertion mark (^) used by editors and proofreaders
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carillon
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a set of bells capable of being played
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carom
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to strike and rebound
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caus, caut
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BURN (caustic, cauterize, cautery, encaustic, holocaust)
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cavalcade
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procession; parade
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cavil
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to raise trivial objections
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cerebration
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thought
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chary
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wary; cautious
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chauvinist
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one blindly devoted to a group of which one is a member
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churlish
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boorish, vulgar, loutish; difficult and intractable
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cicerone
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a tourist guide who explains sites to tourist (< Cicero whose oratory was long-winded & elegant)
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cipher
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nonentity; worthless person or thing
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clarion
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shrill, trumpetlike soun
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clime
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region; climate
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cloying
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indulging to excess; excessively sweet or sentimental
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coda
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concluding section of a musical or literary piece, something that concludes or completes
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coeval
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living at the same time as; contemporary
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coiffure
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hairstyle
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collation
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a light meal
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colloquy
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informal discussion (colluquium is formal)
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comely
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attractive, agreeable
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comestible
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something fit to be eaten
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comeuppance
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rebuke; deserts
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comity
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courtesy; civility
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compendious
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summarizing completely and briefly
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complaisance
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the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
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compunction
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feeling of uneasiness caused by guilt or regret; remorse
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concatenate
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link as in a chain
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concomitant
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that which accompanies
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condign
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appropriate; deserved (almost always, in the sense of deservedly severe)
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conifer
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pine tree; cone-bearing three
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connivance
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pretense of ignorance of something wrong; assistance; permission to forfend
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None
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connubial
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pertaining to marriage or the matrimonial state
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consanguine
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related by blood
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consanguinity
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kinship
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consequential
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pompous, self-important; usually means logical following; important
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contemn
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to scorn or despise; to express contempt
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contumacious
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disobedient; resisting authroity
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contusion
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bruise, injury from blunt object
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None
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conveyance
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vehicle; transfer
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convivial
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festive; gay; characterized by joviality
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coquette
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flirt
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cordon
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extended line of men or fortifications to prevent access or egress
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countenance
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to approve of or tolerate; brook
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cozen
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to deceive, beguile, hoodwink
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crabbed
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sour; peevish
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crim
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crime, fault, accusation (criminology, decriminalize, incriminate, recrimination)
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cygnet
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young swan
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cynosure
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object of general affection
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daguerreotype
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precursor to photograph
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decamp
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to leave suddenly
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delphic
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unclear, ambiguous or confusing (< oracle of Delphi whose epigrams were characterized this way)
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demur
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to question or oppose
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denigrate
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blacken
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depredate
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to plunder, pillage, ravage or destroy; to exploit in a predatory manner
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descry
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to discover or reveal
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desiccate
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to dry out; dehydrate; to make dry or dull
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desuetude
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disuse
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desultory
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random; thoughtless; marked by a lack of a plan or purpose
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detraction
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slandering, verbal attack, aspersion
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diaphanous
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transparent, gauzy
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diatribe
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a harsh denunciation
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didactic
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intended to teach or instruct
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die
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a tool used for shaping
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diffident
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reserved, shy, unassuming; lacking in self-confidence
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diffuse
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wordy, spread out
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digress
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to stray from the point; to go off on a tangent
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dilatory
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causing delay, procrastinating
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dilettante
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one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
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din
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loud, sustained noise
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discomfit
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to defeat, put down; to embarrass or make uncomfortable; to thwart the plans of
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discompose
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to disturb composure or serenity
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disconsolate
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unable to be consoled, extremely sad
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discursive
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wandering from topic to topic
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dissolution
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disintegration, looseness in morals
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distaff
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female branch of the family
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distrait
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distracted; absent-minded, especially due to anxiety
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dither
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to move or act confusedly or without clear purpose
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diurnal
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daily
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doggerel
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trivial, poorly constructed verse
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doleful
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sad, mournful
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dolor
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sadness
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droll
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amusing in a wry, subtle way
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dross
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slag, waste or foreign matter, impurity, surface scum
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dudgeon
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angry indignation
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dulcet
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melodious, harmonious, mellifluous
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ebullience
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the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
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effervescent
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bubbly, lively
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effrontery
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extreme boldness; presumptuousness
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effusive
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gushing; excessively demonstrative
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egress
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exit
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elegy
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a mournful poem esp. one lamenting the dead
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emollient
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soothing esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying
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encomium
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glowing and enthusiastic praise; panegyric, tribute, eulogy
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endemic
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characteristic of or often found in a particular locality or region or people
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endogamous
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marrying within a specific group due to law or custom
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enervate
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to weaken; to reduce in vitality
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epicure
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one devoted to sensul pleasure, particularly in food and drink; gourmand, sybarite
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episodic
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loosely connected, not flowing logically, occuring at intervals
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epitaph
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grave inscription (>'taphos' = Greek noun for tomb)
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epithet
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disparaging word or phrase
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equanimity
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composure, self-possession
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errant
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traveling, itinerant, peripatetic
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ersatz
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fake
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essay
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to test or try; attempt, experiment
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estimable
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worthy, formidable
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esurient
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hungry, greedy
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evanescent
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tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing
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evince
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to show clearly; to indicate
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exacerbate
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to make worse or more severe
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exact
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to demand, call for; require, take
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exculpate
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to exonerate; to clear of blame
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exigent
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urgent; pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
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expatiate
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to discuss or write about at length; to range freely
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expurgate
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to remove obscenity, purify, censor
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factitious
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made artifically
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fallow
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untilled, inactive, dormant
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febrile
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feverish
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feckless
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ineffective, careless, irresponsible
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felicitous
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apt, suitably experssed, well-choosen
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fell
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a barren or stony hill; an animal's hide
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fell
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cruel, savage, lethal
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fetid
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stinking, having a heavy bad smell
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fey
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otherworldly, doomed
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filigree
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an ornamental work, especially of delicate lacelike patterns; resembing such a pattern
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filigree
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to adorn with delicate lacelike patterns
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flip
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sarcastic, impertinent
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florid
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flushed with color, ruddy, ornate
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foible
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minor character weakness or flaw
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foment
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to stir up, incite, rouse
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ford
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to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream
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forfend
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to prevent
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forswear
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to renounce, disallow, repudiate
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fracas
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noisy fight or quarrel, brawl
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froward
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intractable, not willing to yield or comply, stubbornly disobedient
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fulminate
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to loudly attack or denounce
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fulsome
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excessive, overdone, sickeningly abundant
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gainsay
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to deny, dispute, contradict, oppose
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gambol
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to skip about playfully, frolic
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garner
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to gather and save, store up, acquire
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gauche
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crude, awkward, tasteless
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gaucherie
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a tactless or awkward act
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germane
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relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
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gibe
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to heckle, taunt
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glib
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marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial
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gossamer
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delicate, insubstantial or tenuous; insincere
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grandiloquent
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pompous, bombastic
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None
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grav
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heavy, weighty, serious (gravity, grave, gravid, gravitas, gravitate)
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gravid
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pregnant or enlarged with something
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grouse
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to complain or grumble
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guy
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a rope or cord attached to something as a brace or guide
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gyrate
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to move in a circular fashion
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hackneyed
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rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage
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halcyon
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calm and peaceful
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harangue
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to deliver a pompous speech or tirade
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harrow
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to distress, create or torment
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hector
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to bully, intimidate or harass by bluster or personal pressure
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hermetic
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airtight, impervious to outside influence
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hirsute
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hairy, shaggy
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hosp, host
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host, guest (hostage, hospice, hostel, inhospitable)
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imbroglio
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difficult or embarrassing situation
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immure
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to imprison
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impecunious
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lacking funds; without money
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impetuous
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hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement
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importune
|
to ask incessantly, beg, nag
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impugn
|
to attack or assail verbally, censure, execrate, deny
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impunity
|
immunity from punishment or penalty
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indigent
|
very poor
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indolent
|
lazy, listless, torpid
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ineluctable
|
certain, inevitable
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ingenuous
|
artless; trusting, frank and candid; lacking in sophistication
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ingress
|
entrance
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inimitable
|
one of a kind, peerless
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insipid
|
lacking flavor, dull
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insouciant
|
unconcerned, carefree, nonchalant
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intractable
|
unruly, stubborn, unyielding
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intransigent
|
refusing to compromise
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inured
|
accustomed to accepting something undesirable; hardened
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invective
|
abuse (verbal)
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inveigh
|
to attack verbally, denounce or deprecate
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inveterate
|
deep-rooted, ingrained, habitual
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invidious
|
likely to provoke ill-will, offensive
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irascible
|
easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
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jejune
|
vapid, uninteresting; childish, immature; lacking nutrition
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jibe
|
to agree, to be in accord
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jocose
|
given to joking; humorous
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jocularity
|
fun characterized by humor
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jocund
|
high-spirited rather than specifically humorous
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kinetic
|
having to do with motion; lively; active
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kismet
|
fate
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knell
|
sound of a funeral bell; omen of death or failure
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labile
|
readily open to change, unstable
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lachrymose
|
causing tears, tearful, showing sorrow
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laconic
|
using few words; terse; to the point
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lassitude
|
listlessness, languor, weariness
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latent
|
potential, but undeveloped or unseen
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legerdemain
|
trickery, product of a magician's skill
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levity
|
frivolity, humor, gaiety
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limn
|
to draw, outline in detail
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limpid
|
transparent, serene, clear and simple in style, untroubled
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list
|
to tilt or lean to one side
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logy
|
dull, heavy in motion as if ballasted by logs
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lugubrious
|
sorrowful, mournful
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malingner
|
to feign illness so as to avoid work
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manumission
|
release from slavery
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martial
|
associated with war and the armed forces
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martinet
|
strict disciplinarian, one who rigidly follows rules
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maunder
|
to talk or move aimlessly, mutter
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mealymouthed
|
reticent, not outspoken afraid to use plain terms; usually ingratiating, unctuous, hypocritical
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mellifluous
|
sweetly flowing, usually used to describe words or sounds
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mendacity
|
the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty
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mendicant
|
a beggar or supplicant
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mercurial
|
characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood
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meretricious
|
tawdry, pretentious, attractive but false, showy, having to do with prostitution
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mettlesome
|
courageous, high-spirited
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minatory
|
menacing, threatening
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mordacious
|
caustic, biting
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mordant
|
caustic, biting
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multifarious
|
varied, motley, greatly diversified
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munificent
|
generous
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nadir
|
low point, perigree
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natty
|
trimly neat and tidy, dapper
|
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nestor
|
a senior figure in one's field (<Nestor in Illiad the wise elder statesman)
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nice
|
exacting, extremely or even excessively precise, done with delicacy or skill
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noisome
|
offensive, especially to one's sense of smell, fetid
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nonplussed
|
baffled, in a quandry, at a loss for what to say, do or think
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nostrum
|
cure-all, placebo, questionable remedy
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novitiate
|
period of being a beginner or novice
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obdurate
|
unyielding; hardhearted; intractable
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objurgate
|
to scold
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oblique
|
indirect, evasive; misleading, devious
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obloquy
|
abusive language; ill repute
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obsequious
|
exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
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obsequy
|
funeral ceremony
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obstreperous
|
noisy, loudly stubborn, boisterous
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obviate
|
to anticipate and make unnecessary
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occlude
|
to obstruct or block, shut or close
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odium
|
hatred, contempt
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officious
|
meddlesome, pushy in offering one's services where they are unwanted
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opprobrium
|
disgrace; contempt; scorn; infamy
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ostensible
|
seeming, appearing as such, professed
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pac, peas
|
PEACE, AGREE (pacify, pacifist, pact, appease)
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paean
|
a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
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palliate
|
to make something appear less serious, gloss over, mitigate
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panegyric
|
formal expression of praise
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parsimonious
|
cheap, miserly
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peccadillo
|
a slight offense, literally a minor sin
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pellucid
|
transparent, translucent; lucid
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penurious
|
penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
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penury
|
poverty; destitution
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peregrinate
|
to wander from place to place
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peremptory
|
admitting of no contradiction, putting an end to further debate; haughty, imperious
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perfidy
|
intentional breach of faith; treachery
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perigee
|
lowest or closet point; the nadir
|
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periphrastic
|
containing too many words; verbose
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petrous
|
like a rock, hard, stony
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picaresque
|
involving clever rogues or adventurers
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picayune
|
petty, of little value
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piddling
|
trivial
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pillory
|
to punish, hold up to public scorn
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piquant
|
agreeably pungent, spicy, stimulating
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pique
|
resentment, feeling of irritation due to hurt pride
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plaintive
|
mournful, melancholy, sorrowful
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plangent
|
pounding, thundering, resounding
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precipitate
|
acting with excessive haste or impulse
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preempt
|
to replace, supersede, appropriate
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presage
|
to foretell, indicate in advance
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prize
|
to pry, press or force with a lever
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probity
|
adherence to highest principles; uprightness
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prodigal
|
wasteful
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prolific
|
producing large volumes or amounts; productive
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prolix
|
long-winded, verbose
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propinquity
|
nearness in time or place, affinity of nature, kinship
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protean
|
changeable, readily assuming different forms or characteristics
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proscribe
|
otracize, banish, outlaw
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prurient
|
lustful, exhibiting lewd desires
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puerile
|
childish, immature
|
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punctilious
|
precise, paying attention to trivialities, especially in regard to etiquette
|
|
|
|
purblind
|
unable to see in various senses: near-sighted or far-sighted or partial blindness
|
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|
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pusillanimous
|
cowardly, craven
|
|
|
|
quiescence
|
stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
|
|
|
|
quotidian
|
occurring or recurring daily; commonplace
|
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|
|
raillery
|
lighthearted jesting
|
|
|
|
ramify
|
to be divided or subdivided, branch out
|
|
|
|
rancorous
|
characterized by bitter & long-lasting resentment
|
|
|
|
rapacious
|
voracious, greedy, plundering, subsisting on prey
|
|
|
|
rarefy
|
to make or become thin or less dense; to refine
|
|
|
|
rebarbative
|
irritating, repellant
|
|
|
|
rebus
|
riddle, a representation of words or syllables by pictures or symbols that sound like words
|
|
|
|
recalcitrant
|
unruly, stubborn, unyielding
|
|
|
|
recidivism
|
tendency to repeat previous behavior
|
|
|
|
recondite
|
hidden; concealed; perplexing; obscure
|
|
|
|
recreant
|
disloyal; cowardly
|
|
|
|
recrimination
|
a retaliatory accusation in reply to an accusation to oneself
|
|
|
|
recumbent
|
leaning, resting, prone
|
|
|
|
redolent
|
fragrant, suggestive or evocative
|
|
|
|
redoubtable
|
awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
|
|
|
|
refractory
|
obstinately resistant
|
|
|
|
refulgent
|
radiant; shiny; brilliant
|
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|
|
remonstrate
|
to protest, object
|
|
|
|
renitent
|
resisting pressure, obstinate
|
|
|
|
repine
|
to feel or express dejection or discontent, long for
|
|
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reprehend
|
to criticize
|
|
|
|
ruth
|
mercy, sympathy
|
|
|
|
salacious
|
appealing to or causing sexual desire, bawdy
|
|
|
|
salubrious
|
promoting health or well-being
|
|
|
|
salutary
|
remedial, wholesome, causing improvement
|
|
|
|
sanctimony
|
self-righteousness, pretended piety
|
|
|
|
sanguine
|
cheerful, confident, optimistic
|
|
|
|
sap
|
to enervate or weaken the vitality of
|
|
|
|
sardonic
|
cynical, scornfully mocking
|
|
|
|
saturnine
|
gloomy, dark, sullen, morose
|
|
|
|
scion
|
descendent, child
|
|
|
|
scurvy
|
contemptible, despicable
|
|
|
|
sedulous
|
diligent; persistent; hardworking
|
|
|
|
seine
|
a large net hung out and dragged in to catch fish
|
|
|
|
senescent
|
aging, growing old
|
|
|
|
sententious
|
having a moralizing tone
|
|
|
|
sere
|
withered, arid
|
|
|
|
sidle
|
to cause to turn sideways; to move along one side
|
|
|
|
simper
|
to smirk, smile foolishly, say something with a silly coy smile
|
|
|
|
sinecure
|
position requiring little or no work, usually providing an income
|
|
|
|
sodden
|
soaked, drenched, unimaginative, dull
|
|
|
|
solicitous
|
concerned and attentive; eager
|
|
|
|
splenetic
|
bad-tempered, irritable
|
|
|
|
stentorian
|
extremely loud or powerful, often with deep, rich sound (< Stentor the chief orator for the Greeks in the Illiad)
|
|
|
|
stint
|
to restrain, be sparing or frugal
|
|
|
|
stolid
|
dull, impassive
|
|
|
|
striated
|
striped, grooved or banded
|
|
|
|
strut
|
a structural support used to brace a framework
|
|
|
|
stultify
|
to impair or reduce to uselessness
|
|
|
|
succor
|
assistance, relief in time of distress
|
|
|
|
sundry
|
various, miscellaneous, separate
|
|
|
|
supercilious
|
disdainful, arrogrant, haughty, characterized by haughty scorn
|
|
|
|
supine
|
inactive, lying on one's back, apathetic, mentally or morally slack
|
|
|
|
suppliant
|
asking humbly, beseeching
|
|
|
|
surfeit
|
excess; overindulgence
|
|
|
|
sybaritic
|
marked by a luxurious or sensual way of life (< Sybaris a Greek colony in Italy marked by such)
|
|
|
|
sycophant
|
someone who tries to flatter or please for personal gain, parasite
|
|
|
|
table
|
to remove (as a parliamentary motion) from consideration
|
|
|
|
taciturn
|
not talkative, silent
|
|
|
|
tendentious
|
biased, showing marked tendencies
|
|
|
|
tender
|
to offer formally
|
|
|
|
threnody
|
a sad poem or song
|
|
|
|
toady
|
syncophant, flatterer, yes-man
|
|
|
|
tonic
|
having property of increasing or restoring tone or physical health; strengthening, invigorating, bracing
|
|
|
|
torpid
|
lethargic; sluggish; dormant
|
|
|
|
torrid
|
scorching, ardent, passionate, hurried
|
|
|
|
tortuous
|
winding; twisting; excessively complicated
|
|
|
|
tractable
|
docile, obedient, easily led
|
|
|
|
travesty
|
mockery, caricature, parody
|
|
|
|
truculent
|
aggressive, fierce, cruel; eager to fight
|
|
|
|
tumescence
|
swelling
|
|
|
|
tumid
|
swollen
|
|
|
|
turbid
|
muddy, having sediment stirred up, clouded to the point of opacity, in a state of turmoil
|
|
|
|
turgid
|
swollen, bloated, pompous, excessively ornate
|
|
|
|
turpitude
|
depravity, baseness
|
|
|
|
tyro
|
novice, beginner in learning
|
|
|
|
umbrage
|
offense, resentment
|
|
|
|
unalloyed
|
pure
|
|
|
|
unctuous
|
greasy, oily; smug and falsely earnest
|
|
|
|
unguent
|
ointment used to heal or to soothe
|
|
|
|
unstinting
|
generous
|
|
|
|
urbane
|
sophisticated; refined; elegant
|
|
|
|
vaunt
|
to brag or boast
|
|
|
|
venal
|
capable of being bribed or bought, mercenary
|
|
|
|
versimilitude
|
appearing true or real
|
|
|
|
verve
|
(intellectual) energy, vitality
|
|
|
|
virulent
|
extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
|
|
|
|
vitiate
|
to reduce the value of, debase, spoil, make ineffective
|
|
|
|
vitriolic
|
burning, caustic; sharp, bitter
|
|
|
|
vituperate
|
to use harsh condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; berate
|
|
|
|
waft
|
a light breeze, puff
|
|
|
|
waft
|
to send floating through the air or over water
|
|
|
|
waspish
|
rude, behaving badly
|
|
|
|
welter
|
state of turmoil or chaotic jumble
|
|
|
|
welter
|
to writhe, toss about, be in turmoil
|
|
|
|
wend
|
to go, proceed, walk
|
|
