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75 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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abscond
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to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
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"He is just the man to abscond with all the money and leave us in the lurch, the scoundrel!" Balzac - Old Goriot
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aberrant
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deviating from the norm
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“The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellencies, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations” - Descartes
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alacrity
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eager and enthusiastic willingness
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"I have not that alacrity of spirit, nor cheer of mind, that I was wont to have." Shakespeare
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anomaly
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deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality
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In the annals of English literature, Burns is a kind of anomaly. He defies classification.
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approbation
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an expression of approval or praise
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"Superstars strive for approbation; heroes walk alone." Kissinger
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arduous
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strenuous, taxing; requiring significant effort
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"Thoroughly to unfold the labyrinths of the human mind is an arduous task." Fielding
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assuage
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to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
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"Nor will the love, gay as any leaf, assuage his anguish." Larkin
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audacious
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daring and fearless; recklessly bold
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"I have come, Sire, to complain of one of your subjects who has been so audacious as to kick me in the belly." Marie Antoinette
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austere
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without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
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"A self-denial, no less austere than the saint's, is demanded of the scholar." Emerson
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axiomatic
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taken as a given; possessing a self-evident truth
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canonical
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following or in agreement with accepting, traditional standards
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capricious
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inclined to change one's mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable
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censure
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to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
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chicanery
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trickery or subterfuge
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connoisseur
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an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert
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convoluted
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complex or complicated
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disabuse
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to undeceive; to set right
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discordant
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conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
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disparate
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fundamentally disctint or dissimilar
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effrontery
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extreme boldness; presumptuousness
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eloquent
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well-spoken, expressive, articulate
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enervate
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to weaken; to reduce in vitality
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ennui
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dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
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equivocate
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to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
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erudite
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very learned; scholarly
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exculpate
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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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extemporaneous
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improvised; done without preparation
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filibuster
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intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
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fulminate
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to loudly attack or denounce
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"I confess that I do not see what good it does to fulminate against the English tyranny while the Roman tyranny occupies the palace of the soul." J Joyce
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ingenuous
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artless; frank and candid; lackiing in sophistication
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inured
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accustomed to accepting something undesirable
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irascible
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easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
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laud
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to praise highly
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lucid
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clear; easily understood
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magnanimity
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the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving
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martial
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associated with war and the armed forces
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mundane
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of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary
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nascent
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coming into being; in early developmental stages
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nebulous
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vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form
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neologism
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a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
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noxious
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harmful, injurious
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obtuse
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lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression
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"When the elder Osborne gave what he called a hint, there was no possibility for the most obtuse to mistake his meaning." Thackeray
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obviate
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to anticipate and make unnecessary
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onerous
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troubling; burdensome
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paean
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a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
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parody
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a humorous imitaton intended for ridicule or comic effect, esp. in literature and art
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perennial
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recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly
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perfidy
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intentional breach of faith; treachery
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"They offer a false affection; for perfidy lurks within their clothing." 1001 Nights
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perfunctory
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cursory; done without care or interest
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perspicacious
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acutely perceptive; having keen discernment
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prattle
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to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
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precipitate (adj)
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acting with excessive haste or impulse
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precipitate (v)
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to cause or happen before anticipated or required
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prevaricate
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to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead
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qualms
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misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy
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recant
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to retract, esp. a previously held belief
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refute
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to disprove; to sucessfully argue against
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relegate
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to forcibly assign, esp. to a lower place or position
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reticent
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quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
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solicitous
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concerned and attentive; eager
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sordid
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characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
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sporadic
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occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances
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squander
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to waste by spending or using irresponsibly
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static
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not moving, active, or in motion; at rest
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stupefy
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to stun, baffle, or amaze
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stymie
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to block; thwart
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synthesis
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the combination of parts to make a whole
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torque
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a force that causes rotation
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tortuous
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winding, twisting; excessively complicated
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truculent
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fierce and cruel; eager to fight
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veracity
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truthfulness, honesty
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virulent
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extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
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voracious
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having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous
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waver
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to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion
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