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47 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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aggrandize; verb
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to increase in intensity, power, or prestige
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The win helped to aggrandize his reputation for the best athlete ever
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alchemy; noun
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a medieval science aimed as the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold; also interpersonal chemistry
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it was a mysterious alchemy that brought them together, as they hated one another to begin with.
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anachronism; noun
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something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
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Bill & Ted's was a movie full of anachronisms; characters from history were brought to present day
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astringent; adj
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having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe; acerbic
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His bitter attitude caused him to utter astringent remarks to his family
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contiguous; adj
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sharing a border, touching, adjacent
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Due to the contiguous meetings throughout the day, I had no break time to eat.
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convention; noun
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a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude
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By convention, we do not call professors by their first name.
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cynicism; noun
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An attitude of scornful or jaded negativity, especially a general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others
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Her cynicism was too much, she was just so negative and mistrusting of everyone's motives
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decorum; noun
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polite or appropriate conduct or behavior
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The queen was worried the prince's bride did not have the decorum for the royal court
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derision; noun
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scorn, ridicule, contemtuous treatment
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The corrupt leader found nothing but derision when he stepped outside the office.
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desiccate; verb
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to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull
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the dessicated carcus was found in the desert
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dilettante; noun
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one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
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He was a merely a dilettante- not taking the art seriously, only dabbling enough to impress a girl
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disparage; verb
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to slight or belittle
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Don't be so disparaging of yourself, have more self-esteem and don't call yourself an idiot.
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divulge; verb
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to disclose something secret
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She divulged to me the recipe before she died.
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immutable; adj
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unchangeable; not capable of change
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The obstinate man's rules are immutable - what he says goes, and there's no changing!
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inimical; adj
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damaging; harmful; injurious; unfriendly; hostile
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The old, mean man's voice was so inimical, the children feared him unfriendly and wanting to harm them.
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intractable; adj
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hard to manage or direct; stubborn; obstinate
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this intractable pain is too much! I have to have a prescription.
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neophyte; noun
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one that is new to something; a recent convert; a beginner
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Being the first time at a meeting, the neophyte didn't say much to anyone.
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presumptuous; adj
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overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties
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It was very presumptuous to paint my room, you should have asked me which color first.
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pristine; adj
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pure; uncorrupted; clean; primitive or original
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The pristine forest was untouched by man.
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probity; adj
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adherence to highest principles; uprightness;Complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness
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He is chivalrous and complete integrity; a man of midwestern probity.
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proclivity; noun
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a natural predisposition or inclination; predilection
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She's got a proclivity for exaggeration; always proclaiming to the world she's dying with some malady or another
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profligate; adj
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excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant
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Since she married that rich guy, she's been so profligate- buying things she doesn't even know what to do with.
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propensity; noun
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a natural inclination or tendency; penchant; predilection
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She has a propensity to do well in academia, she never has to study and she gets As.
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prosaic; adj
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dull; unimaginative; straight-forward; matter of fact
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The article was dull and unimaginative, the writer must have a prosaic attitude.
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pungent; adj
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characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste; to the point; sharp
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the pungent talks, where the major issues were confronted
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quixotic; adj
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foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals; idealistic w/ out regard to practicality
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well, my quixotic one, why don't you run for president and see how easy it is make world peace!
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quotidian; adj;
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occurring or recurring daily; commonplace
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Nothing like a talkative bus-driver to color a quotidian commute.
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rarefy; verb
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to make or become thin, less dense, to refine
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the bones have become rarified; you need to start taking calcium supplements
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recondite; adj
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hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure
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the recondite matters of the esoteric are too obscure for the mere average joe.
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refulgent; adj
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radiante; shiny; brilliant
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After the braces were removed, timmy raced out of the office to show his mother his refulgent smile.
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renege; verb
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to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise; to renounce or disown
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You cannot trust his promises, he has a proclivity to renege at the last minute.
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shard; noun
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a piece of broken pottery or glass
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He wasn't angry when the vase broke, he just used the shards in his next art piece.
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sparse; adj
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thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals
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The willows were sparse in the forest; there were many more oak trees.
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spendthrift; noun
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one who spends money wastefully
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the profligate consumer spent her money progidally, so she was known as a spendthrift
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subtle; adj
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not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern; crafty, sly, devious
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The magicians subtle tricks had the audience guessing his methods
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tacit; adj
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implied; not explicitly stated; implied or inferred from actions or statements
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The lack of astringent remarks resulted in a tacit truce between them
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terse; adj
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brief and concise in wording
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it was a terse response; he only said "no."
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tout; verb
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to publicly praise or promote; to solicit or importune
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the street vendors touted the passers by with praise for their own goods
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trenchant; adj
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sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating; forceful, effective; distinct; clear-cut
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trenchant distinctions between right and wrong; his trenchant argument won the jury over
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unfeigned; adj
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genuine; not false or hypocritical
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His smile was unfeigned, he really was happy to see me.
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untenable; adj
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indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable
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you are in an untenable position, my friend, no one can defend you on this one.
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vacillate; verb
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to waver indecisively between one course of aciton or opinion and another; waver
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When running for office, one cannot vacillate; you have to stick to one position and defend it.
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variegated; adj
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multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of idfferent color; diversified
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All of those cats are variegated, don't you have any uni-colored ones?
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vexation; noun
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annoyance irritation
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The mosquito is nothing but a vexation, I'm so irritated, I can't study!
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vigilant; adj
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alertly watchful
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We just have to be very vigilant, making sure we don't miss the turn-off
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vituperate; verb
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to use harsh condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severly or abusively; berate
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The new book was vituperated by all the reviews, now it's never going to sell!
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volatile; adj
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readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive; lighthearted & flighty
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It's a volatile situation, war could errupt any moment.
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