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170 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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diffidence
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lacking self-confidence; timidity; shyness; self-doubt
IS NOT: self-confidence; brashness; self-assertiveness |
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obduracy
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hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion; stubbornness; obstinacy; inflexibility; intransigence
IS NOT: compliance; submissiveness; acquiescence |
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propensity
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innate inclination; bent; natural tendency; proclivity; penchant; predisposition
IS NOT: disinclination; aversion; antipathy |
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stint
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be frugal; set limits; be thrifty; restrict; be sparing; scrimp
IS NOT: squander; fritter away; spend lavishly |
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stint
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"Spare no expense," the bride's father said, refusing to ______ on the wedding arrangements.
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propensity
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Convinced of his own talent, Sol has an unfortunate _____ to belittle the talents of others.
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diffidence
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Doubting her ability to write English correctly, the young Japanese student felt some _____ about replying to the first letter she received from her American pen pal.
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obduracy
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When the English clergy refused to accede to King John's demands, the king, infuriated by what he considered their _____, persecuted the church.
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effrontery
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impudence; shameless boldness; sheer nerve; impertinence; insolence
IS NOT: deference; respectfulness; decorum; politeness |
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effrontery
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When his boss told Frank that she was firing him for laziness and insubordination, he had the _____ to ask her for a letter of recommendation.
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compendium
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comprehensive though brief summary of a larger work; digest or abstract; inventory
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compendium
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This text can serve as a valuable _____ of the tremendous amount of new discoveries being made in the field of nanotechnology.
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pedantic
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showing off one's learning; overly fussy about minute details; didactic; booklish; nitpicking
IS NOT: unscholarly; uncritical |
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pedantic
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Leavening her decision with humorous, down-to-earth anecdotes; Judge Judy does not match the conventional image of a _____, finicky legal scholar.
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fallacy
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mistaken idea based on flawed reasoning; invalid; argument; erroneousness
IS NOT: valid argument; soundness |
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fallacy
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It is a _____ to believe that a slow writer necessarily produces superior work: there is little, if any, relationship between the quantity of prose generated and its quality.
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magnanimity
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generosity; greatness of spirit; nobility; high-mindedness
IS NOT: pettiness; meanness stinginess; parsimoniousness |
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magnanimity
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Noted for his _____, philanthropist Eugene Lang donated millions to charity.
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dissonance
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a harsh and disagreeable combination, often in sounds; discord; inharmonious sound; cacophony, disagreement; incongruity
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dissonance
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Composer Charles Ives often used ____ (clashing or unresolved chords) for special effects in his musical works.
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salubrious
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conductive to good health; healthful; beneficial
IS NOT: noxious; unhealthy; unwholesome |
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salburious
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Many people with hay fever move to more _____ sections of the country during the months of August and September.
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irresolute
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unsure; uncertain how to act; weak; indecisive; vacillating
IS NOT: resolute; determined; decisive |
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irresolute
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Once you have made your decision, don't waver; a leader should never appear _____.
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equivocate
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lie; prevaricate; speak misleadingly; hedge
IS NOT: speak one's mind; tell the truth; speak ambiguously |
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equivocate
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No matter how bad the news is give it to us straight; above all, don't _____.
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banal
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predictable; cliched; boring; lack of originality; triteness; a commonplace expression
IS NOT: novelty; originality; freshness |
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banality
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Appalled by its worn-out cliches and trite ideas, the professor awarded the essay a D for _____.
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plummet
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plunge, drog sharply; fall swiftly; decline steeply
IS NOT: soar; ascend sharply; rise swiftly |
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plummeted
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Stock prices _____ as Wall Street reacted negatively to the rise in interest rates.
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flout
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reject mockingly; show contempt for; scoff at; disregard scornfully
IS NOT: treat respectfully; regard; obey |
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flouted
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The painter Julian Schnabel _____ the conventions of high art by painting on velvet and linoleum, materials more commonly used by sidewalk artists than by creators of fine art.
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rescind
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revoke; repeal; annul; abrogate; cancel; nullify; withdraw; countermand
IS NOT: levy; impose; enact |
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rescind
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Because of the public outcry against the new taxes, the senator proposed a bill to _____ the unpopular financial measure.
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extrapolation
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inference based on known facts; conjecture; estimate; projection
IS NOT: interpolation |
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extrapolation
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Based on their _____ from the results of the primaries on Super Tuesday, the networks predicted that John McCain would be the Republican candidate for the presidency.
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discrete
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separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts; isolated
IS NOT: attached; connected; continuous |
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discrete
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Because human populations have been migrating and intermingling for hundreds of centuries, it is hard to classify humans into _____ racial groups.
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foment
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stir up; incite; instigate; stimulate; provoke
IS NOT: squelch; inhibit; quell; defuse |
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fomented
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Cynical even for a political, he _____ conflict amount his fellow committee members to consolidate his own position.
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pathological
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relating to the study of disease; cause by disease; manifesting compulsive behavior; abnormal
IS NOT: healthy, normal |
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pathological
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Self-regard taken to an unhealthy extreme can become _____; in such cases the condition is diagnosable as the personality disorder narcissism.
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felicitous
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appropriate; apt; well-chosen; fortunate
IS NOT: ill-suited; inappropriate; unfortunate |
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felicitous
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Tyndale's greatest achievement as a translator was the he struck a _____ balance between the demands of biblical scholarship and the need for simplicity of expression.
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malinger
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shirk; feign illness to evade work
IS NOT: work dutifully; live up to one's responsibility |
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malingered
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Because the captain had threatened to throw anyone who _____ in the brig, even the perennial slackers and bellyachers were hard at work.
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engender
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cause; produce; stir up; prompt; create; breed
IS NOT: suppress; eradicate; squelch |
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engenders
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To receive praise for real accomplishments ______ self-confidence in a child.
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impassive
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without feeling; imperturbable; stoical; phlegmatic; expressionless
IS NOT: overwrought; susceptible to pain; ebullient |
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impassive
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Refusing to let the enemy see how deeply shaken he was by his capture, the prisoner kept his face _____.
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elicit
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evoke; draw forth; prompt; succeed in obtaining (information) from someone
IS NOT: stifle; suppress; inhibit |
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elicit
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The detectives tried to _____ where the burglar had hidden his loot.
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caustic
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1) biting in wit; bitingly sarcastic; stinging; harsh; corrosive
2)able to burn, dissolve, or corrode by chemical action IS NOT: mild; soothing |
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caustic
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Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for _____ wit from her cutting, yet clever, insults.
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efficacy
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effectiveness; power to bring about a desire effect; usefulness
IS NOT: ineffectiveness; uselessness; inefficacy |
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efficacy
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I'm not convinced of the _____ of this decongestant; although I've been taking it regularly for three weeks, my sinuses are still blocked.
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efficacy
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The _____ of penicillin was unsurpassed when it was first introduced; the drug completely eliminated almost all bacterial infections for which it was administered.
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elegy
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a sorrowful poem or speech; mournful poem; lament for the dead; melancholy musical composition
IS NOT: paean (song of joy) |
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elegy
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Although Thomas Gray''s "_____ Written in a Country Churchyard" is about death and loss, it urges its readers to endure this life and to trust in spirituality.
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elegy
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Moved by the death of his college friend Edward King, John Milton wrote his famous _____ "Lycidas."
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enervate
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to reduce in strength; weaken; debilitate; render feeble; drain
IS NOT: strengthen; invigorate; revitalize; energize |
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enervated
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She was slow to recover after her surgery; even a short walk to the window _____ her.
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eneverate
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The guerrillas hoped that a series of surprise attacks would _____ the regular army.
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fawning
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to grovel; obsequious; servile; sycophantic; bootlicking; toadying
IS NOT: assertive; domineering; imperious |
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fawned
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The understudy _____ over the director in hopes of being cast in the part on a permanent basis.
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latent
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potential but undeveloped; dormant; hidden
IS NOT: patent; manifest; overt |
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latent
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Polaroid pictures were popular in their time because people enjoyed the novelty of watching the ______ photographic image gradually appear on what had seemed a blank sheet of paper.
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permeable
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penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through
IS NOT: watertight; impermeable; waterproof; hermetic |
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permeable
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Filtration is the separation of a suspension into a solid filter cake and a liquid filtrate by passing it through a _____ filtering material.
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recalcitrant
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Which animal do you think is more _____, a pig or a mule? Both are proverbially stubborn.
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recalcitrant
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obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly; intractable; refractory; fractious
IS NOT: amenable; submissive; yielding; compliant; tractable |
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parsimony
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excessive frugality; stinginess; meanness
IS NOT: prodigality; extravagance; monetary wastefulness |
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parsimony
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Although Elizabeth I promised to reward her loyal troops richly, her _____ outweighed her generosity, and her soldiers failed to receive their promised reward.
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diffident
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Steve's _____ manner during the job interview stemmed from his nervous nature and lack of experience in the field.
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obdurate
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The president was completely _____ on the issue, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind.
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pedant
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someone who shows off learning
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pedant
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The graduate instructor's tedious and excessive commentary on the subject soon gained her a reputation as a _____.
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dissonance
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Cognitive _____ is the inner conflict produced when long-standing beliefs are contradicted by new evidence.
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banal
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He used _____ phrases like "Have a nice day" or "Another day, another dollar."
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erudite, erudition
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learned, scholarly, bookish; deep scholarly knowledge; scholarship; learning
IS NOT: ignorance; lack of knowledge |
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erudition
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Unlike much scholarly writing, Huiznga's prose is as lively as it is learned: his writing combines both wit and _____.
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erudite
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The annual meeting of philosophy professors was a gathering of the most _____, well-published individuals in the field.
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stigma
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a mark of shame or discredit; mark of disgrace; stain; blot; blemish; badge of infamy; taint
IS NOT: roken of esteem; mark of high regard |
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stigma
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He was reluctant to let new acquaintances know about his bipolar disorder, because he felt there was an unfortunate _____ attached to mental illness.
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stigma
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In "The Scarlet Letter", Hester Prynne was required to wear the letter "A" on her clothes as a public _____for her adultery.
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homogenous
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of a similar kind; uniformity of structure or composition; formation out of similar elements
IS NOT: heterogeneity; disparateness; diversity |
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homogeneity
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Because of the vast majority of Cambodia's population is made up of member of the Khmer ethic group, the country possesses a _____ unique in Southeast Asia that has encouraged a strong sense of national identity.
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homogenous
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The class was fairly _____, since almost all of the students were senior journalism majors.
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homo-
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same
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gen-
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kind or class
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exculpate
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clear from blame; exonerate; vindicate; acquit
IS NOT: convict; find guilty |
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exculpate
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The defense lawyer sought evidence that would _____ her client, but the case for his guilt was too strong.
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exculpate
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The adversarial legal system is intended to convict those who are guilty and to _____ those who are innocent.
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ex-
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without
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culpa-
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blame
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castigate
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to punish or criticize harshly; verbal punishment; scolding; severe criticism; public censure
IS NOT: public praise; strong approval; kudos |
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castigation
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Sensitive even to mild criticism, Woolf could not bear the _____ that she found in certain hostile reviews.
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castigate
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Many Americans are amazed at how harshly the authorities in Singapore _____ perpetrators of what would be considered minor crimes in the United States.
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abate
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to reduct in amount, degree, or severity; subside moderate; lessen in intensity; put an end to
IS NOT: intensify; increase; augment |
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abate
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Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to _____.
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abate
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As the hurricane's force _____, the winder dropped and the sea became calm.
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magn-
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great
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burgeon
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begin to grow or increase rapidly; develop rapidly; flourish; send out new buds
IS NOT: dwindle; wither |
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burgeon
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Despite political ups and down, the Tai economy continued to _____, until, by the early 1990s, a flourishing Thailand was one of the leading industrialized countries of Eastern Asia.
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endemic
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prevalent in a particular region or among a particular group; native to a certain country or region; indigenous
IS NOT: exotic; foreign; alien |
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endemic
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In some areas of africa, malaria is _____; 90 to 100 percent of children less than 5 years old have malaria parasites circulating in their blood all the time.
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endemic
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Kangaroos, a marsupial, are _____ to northeastern Australia.
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abscond
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to leave secretly
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absconded
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The patron _____ from the restaurant without paying his bill by sneaking out the back door.
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abstain
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to choose not to do something
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abstained
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She _____ from choosing a mouthwatering dessert from the tray.
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abyss
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an extremely deep hole
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abyss
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The submarine dove into the _____ to chart to previously unseen depths.
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adulterate
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to make impure; to make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances; contaminate; debase
IS NOT: purify |
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adulterated
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When consumers learned that the company had _____ its "pure" apple juice by mixing the juice with water, they protested vigorously.
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adulterating
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The chef made his ketchup last longer by ______ it with water.
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phlegmatic
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calm; composed; unruffled; sluggish; not easily disturbed or excited
IS NOT: emotional; excitable; vivacious |
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phlegmatic
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The nurse was a cheerful but _____ person, unexcited in the face of sudden emergencies.
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fatuous
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silly and pointless; smugly foolish; brainless; inane; asinine
IS NOT: sensible; intelligent; reasonable; sagacious |
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fatuous
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It is _____ for publishers to believe that a few flashy quotes on a dust jacket cover will dazzle readers so much that they won't notice that the book itself isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
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dogma
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a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief; a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true
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dogma
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Linus's central _____ was that children who believed in the Great Pumpkin would be rewarded.
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frugality
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a tendency to be thrifty or cheap
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frugality
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Scrooge McDuck's _____ was so great that he accumulated enough wealth to fill a giant storehouse with money.
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amalgamate
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to combine; to mix together; unite in one body; blend; merge
IS NOT: separate; divide |
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amalgamate
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It was the task of Henry II to weld the peoples of England together and to _____ the institutions of the conquerors and the conquered.
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amalgamated
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Giant Industries _____ with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products Incorporated.
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ameliorate
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to make better; to improve; to make more bearable; amend
IS NOT: worsen; exacerbate; aggravate |
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ameliorate
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The government's idealistic reforms did little to _____ the lot of the lower classes, who continued to be exploited by the aristocratic landed classes.
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ameliorate
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The doctor was able to _____ the patient's suffering using painkillers.
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chron-
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time
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anachronistic; anachronism
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something out of place in time; chronologically out of place; out of its proper time period
IS NOT: historically appropriate |
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anachronistic
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Shakespeare's reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is _____; no clocks existed in Caesar's time.
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anachronistic
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The aged hippies used _____ phrases like "groovy" and "far out" that had not been popular for years.
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anomaly
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deviation from what is normal or expected; irregularity; abnormality; deviation from the norm; something difficult to classify
IS NOT: typical example; normal specimen |
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anomaly
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A bird that cannot fly is an _____.
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anomaly
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In English literary history, the poet Burns is a kind of _____, for he defies classification, standing apart in isolated individuality.
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anomaly
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Albino animals may display too great an _____ in their coloring to attract normally colored mates.
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anti-
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against
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path-
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feeling
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antipathy
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extreme dislike; intense dislike; habitual aversion; natural repugnance; hatred
IS NOT: fondness; sympathy; attraction; benevolence; liking; goodwill |
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antipathy
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Tom's extreme _____ for disputes keeps him from getting into arguments with his temperamental wife.
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antipathy
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The _____ between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare.
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apathy
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lack of interest or emotion
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apathy
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The _____ of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to vote actually bother to do so.
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aspersion
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an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something; slanderous remark; abusive attack; disparaging comment; slut; calumny
IS NOT: commendation; flattery; praise; complimentary remark |
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aspersion
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Rather than attacking President Cleveland's arguments with logic, his opponent resorted to casting _____ on the president's moral character.
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assuage
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to make something unpleasant less severe; alleviate; mitigate; ease or lessen (pain); satisfy or appease (hunger); soothe or calm (anger)
IS NOT: intensify; exacerbate; harrow; inflict distress on |
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assuage
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Jilted by Jane, Dick tried to _____ his heartache by indulging in ice cream.
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assuage
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Serena used aspirin to _____ her pounding headache.
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attenuate
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to reduce in force or degree; to weaken; weaken or lessen (in density, force, or degree); make thinner or finer; become weak or fine; rarefy
IS NOT: intensify; strengthen |
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ten-
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thing
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attenuated
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The long, dry spell _____ the creek to the merest trickle.
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attenuated
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The Bill of rights _____ the traditional power of governments to change laws at will.
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autonomy
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political or personal independence; self-governance; freedom
IS NOT: dependence |
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auto-
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self
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nom-
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rule
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autonomy
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Under the Constitution, states have considerable _____ to pass, enforce, and interpret their own laws and to pursue their own public policy programs.
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audacious
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fearless and daring; willingness to take surprisingly bold risks
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audacious
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Her ______ nature allowed her to fulfill her dream of skydiving.
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moot
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subject to debate, dispute or uncertainty and typically not admitting of a final decision
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aesthetic
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concerning the appreciation of beauty
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aesthetic
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Followers of the _____ Movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art.
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aggrandize
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to increase in power, influence, and reputation; to increase in power, status or wealth of
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aggrandize
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The supervisor sought to _____ herself by calming that the achievements of her staff were actually her own.
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ambiguous
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doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways
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ambiguous
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The directions she gave were so _____ that we disagreed on which way to turn.
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analogous
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similar or alike in some way; equivalent to; comparable; comparable in certain respects, typically in a way that makes clearer the nature of the things compared
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analogous
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In the Newtonian construct for explaining the existence of God, the universe is _____ to a mechanical timepiece, the creation of divinely intelligence "clockmaker."
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analogous
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They saw the relationship between a ruler and his subjects as ______ to that of father and children.
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