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52 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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abate; verb
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to lessen in intensity or degree
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the bait will ___ the pain, there is an anasthetic in it.
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accolade; noun
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an expression of praise
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The child's smile was an ___ to the parade, I knew we had done well.
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Adulation; noun
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excessive praise, intense adoration, excessive flattery
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The standing ovation was a sign of ___ and the performer was excessively flattered
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Aesthetic; adj
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of or concerning the appreciation or being responsive of beauty or good taste;
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the illustrations made the book an ___ success- artisticly pleasing to the eye
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avarice; noun
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greed, esp. for wealth; excessive desire to aquire or possess more, or from another
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His willingness to invest is out of shear __; he is greedy for money.
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burgeon; verb
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to grow rapidly or flourish
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The forest, ___ in the tropical climate, quickly grew over the foreign species.
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cacophony; noun
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harsh; discordant sound; dissonance; jarring
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The fire engines roared in a ___, so jarring and harsh, we had to cover our ears.
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canon; noun
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an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature; also the literary works of someone
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We live by the ___ of a polite society, those that don't follow are against the law and shall die by canon ball.
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castigation; noun
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severe criticism or punishment
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The cast director's ___ sent the entire cast to their trailers with their heads low.
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catalyst; noun
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a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing
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with the ___ the reaction increases its rate 1000-fold
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catalyst; noun
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a person or thing that causes change
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Having a heart attack was the ___ in changing his lifestyle.
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caustic; adj
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burning or stinging; causing corrosion; harsh or corrosive in tone
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His comments were ___; they hurt my feelings.
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Chary; adj
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wary, cautious; sparing & not freely giving
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I'm chary of stepping into the haunted house, isn't it scary??
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Cogent; adj
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appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
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It was a ___ example, the entire class was convinced.
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complaisance; noun
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the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
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They complained he was too much a rebel, not a lick of ___ in him.
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contrite; adj
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regretful; penitent; seeking forgivness; rueful; remorseful
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Don't feel so ___, you tried to do the best you could without offense.
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dearth; noun
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smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
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There was a ___ that fell upon the earth, and no one could eat for a month.
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demur; verb
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to question or oppose; to object; to delay
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He demurred at the suggestion to study with me, instead going out with his friends.
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didactic; adj
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intended to teach or instruct
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It was deliberately written to be didactic, I wanted to teach through the song.
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discretion; noun
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cautious reserve in speech, ability to make responsible decisions; decide responsibly; knowing how to avoid embarrassment
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All decisions were left to my own ___- I decided everything on my own.
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disinterested; adj
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indifferent; free from self interest; impartiality; indifference
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By showing ___, we knew he was not biased by self-interest.
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dogmatic; adj
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stubbornly opinionated; expressing rigid opinions;
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Like an old dog, he continued to be ___ - rigid in his opinions, not learning new tricks.
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ebullience; adj
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overflowing with enthusiasm; in expression of thought & feeling
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His ebullience was just inappropriate after we lost the game.
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elegy; noun
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a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead
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In the elegy, she sung words of praise for her dead father
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emollient; adj
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soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying
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The emollient approach of the diplomatic mediator eased tensions between the leaders.
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emprical; adj
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based on observation or experiment
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Based on ___ evidence, the medication should work at 90%
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enigmatic; adj
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mysterious; obscure, difficult to understand; puzzling
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The concept was so enigmatic, the professor spent a week explaining it to us.
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estoeric; adj.
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intended for or understood by a small, specific group
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The cult was __, only known to a few individuals.
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exonerate; verb
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to remove blame; exculpate; also clear from responsibility; aquit, discharge, clear
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The judge exonerated the defendant of all charges.
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fallacy; noun
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an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
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It is a fallacy, to think I am young just because I look young.
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furtive; adj
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marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
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His furtive eyes thoroughly registered all cameras of the bank.
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gregarous; adj
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sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
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He has a gregarious nature, likes to go out with people every night.
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harangue; verb
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to deliver a pompous speech or tirade
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Before the meeting could begin, the president harangued for half an hour
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tirade; noun
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A long angry or violent speech, usually of a censorious or denunciatory nature; a diatribe
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heretical; adj
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violating accepted dogma or convention
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Her heretical notions caused the townspeople to think she a witch.
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impecunious; adj
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lacking funds; without money
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College students are often impecunious, asking their parents for money all the time.
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incipient; adj
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beginning to come into being or to become apparent; imperfectly formed; inchoate
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the new equipment allows us to see incipient tumors, just as they start to form
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inert; adj
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unmoving; lethargic; sluggish
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You could call him a couch-potato… he prefer's "inert substance."
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innocuous; adj
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harmless; causing no damage; Not likely to offend or provoke to strong emotion; insipid
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The drug is innocuous, simply allowing you to sleep without adverse affect.
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intransigent; adj
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refusing to compromise
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He stuck to his ground, being intransigent to the wills and wishes of the others.
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inveigle; verb
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to obtain by deception or flattery; sweet-talk
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We inveigled our way into the museum after hours without paying.
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morose; adj
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sad; sullen; meloncholy
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I grew morose and sad as the days pressed on without my love.
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odious; adj
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evoking intense eversion or dislike
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Vile and odious, the villain could not garner sympathy from the jury.
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opaque; adj
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not reflecting light; impenetrable to light; unintelligible; obtuse of mind
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The opaqueness to his essay was reason for a bad grade, you just couldn't understand it
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peruse; verb
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to examine with great care
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I perused each line, examining for errors during my editing.
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preen; verb
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to dress up, to primp, to groom oneself with great care; also to pride or congratulate onself
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Be sure to preen before going out, you have to groom yourself to attract the boys!
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prodigious; adj
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abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
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the prodigious storm wiped out villages, it was so large and forceful
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putrefy; verb
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to rot; to decay and give a foul odor
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the dead animal began to putrefy, it was rotting and smelled awful
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quaff; verb
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to drink deeply; gulp
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sure enough, the boys quaffed their beers, as if they'd just walked through the sahara
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sanction; noun
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authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance
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He received sanction to maintain tropical pets even though it was against the law.
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urbane; adj
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sophisticated, elegant, refined
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I should have dressed up, everyone is so urbane in their elegant attire.
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viscous; adj
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thick; sticky
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blood becomes more viscous if you use EPO.
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