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20 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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abstain
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to chose not to do something
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She ABSTAINED from choosing a mouthwatering dessert from the tray.
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adulterate
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to make impure
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The restaurant made his ketchup last longer by ADULTERATING it with water.
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apathy
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lack of interest or emotion
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The APATHY of voters is so great that less than half the people who are eligible to cote actually bother to do so.
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audacious
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fearless and daring
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Her AUDACIOUS nature allowed her to fulfill her dream of skydiving.
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capricious
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changing one's mind quickly and often
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Queen Elizabeth I was quite CAPRICIOUS; her courtiers could never be sure which of their number would catch her fancy.
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corroborate
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to provide supporting evidence
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Fingerprints CORROBORATED the witness's testimony that he saw the defendant in the victim's apartment.
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desiccate
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to dry out throughly
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After a few weeks of lying on the desert's baking sand, the cow's carcass became completely DESICCATED.
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engender
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to produce, cause, or bring about
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His fear and hated of clowns was ENGENDERED when he witnessed the death of his father at the hands of a clown.
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ephemeral
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lasting a short time
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The lives of mayflies seem EPHEMERAL to us, since the flies' average life span is a matter of hours.
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gullible
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easily deceived
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The con man pretended to be a bank officer so as to fool GULLIBLE bank customers into giving him their account information.
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homogenous
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of a similar kind
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The class was fairly HOMOGENOUS, since almost all of the students were senior journalism majors.
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laconic
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using few words
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She was a LACONIC poet who built her reputation on using words as sparingly as possible.
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laudable
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to give praise; to glorify
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Parades and fireworks were staged to LAUD the success of the rebels.
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loquacious
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talkative
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She was naturally LOQUACIOUS, which was a problem in situations in which listening was more important than talking.
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mitigate
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to soften; to lessen
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A judge may MITIGATE a sentence if she decides that a person committed a crime out of need.
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pendant
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someone who shows off learning
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The graduate instructor's tedious and excessive commentary on the subject soon gained her a reputation as a PEDANT.
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pragmatic
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practical as opposed to idealistic
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When daydreaming gamblers think they can get rich by frequenting casinos, PRAGMATIC gamblers realize that the odds are heavily stacked against them.
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propriety
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correct behavior; obedience to rules and customs
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The aristocracy maintained a high level of PROPRIETY, adhering to even the most minor social rules.
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vacillate
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to sway physically; to be indecisive
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The customer held up the line as he VACILLATED between ordering chocolate chip or rocky road ice cream.
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volatile
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easily aroused or changeable; lively or explosive
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His VOLATILE personality made it difficult to predict his reaction to anything.
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