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282 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abate
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subside or moderate.
Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate. |
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abeyance
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suspended action.
The deal was held in abeyance until her arrival. |
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abscond
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depart secretly and hide.
The staff member absconded with all the money. |
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abstemious
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sparing in eating and drinking; temperate.
concerned whether her vegetarian son's abstemious diet provided him with sufficient protein... |
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admonish
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warn; reprove.
He admonished his listeners to change their wicked ways. |
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adulterate
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make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances.
It is a crime to adulterate foods without informing the buyer. |
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aggregate
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gather; accumulate.
the dealers aggregated great wealth in a short period of time. |
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alacrity
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cheerful promptness; eagerness.
They were raring to get off to the mountains and packed thier ski gear with alacrity. |
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amalgamate
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combine; unit in one body.
The unions attempted to amalgamate thier groups into one national body. |
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ambivalence
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the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes.
Torn between loving her one minite and hating her the next, he was confused by the ambivalence of his feelings. |
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ameliorate
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improve.
many social workers attempted to ameliorate the conditions of people living in the slums. |
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anachronism
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something or someone misplaced in time.
Shakespear's reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is an anachronism. |
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anomalous
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abnormal; irregular.
We're getting anomalous readings on the heart monitor. |
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antipathy
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aversion; dislike.
his antipathy for disputes keeps him from getting into arguments with his temperamental wife. |
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apathy
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lack of caring; indifference.
she could not understand that apathy of people who never bothered to vote. |
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appease
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pacify or soothe; relieve.
appease the crying baby. |
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apprise
|
inform.
Whe she was apprised of the dangerous weather conditions, she decided to postpone her trip. |
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approbation
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approval.
wanting her parents' regard, she looked for some sign of their approbation. |
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appropriate
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acquire; take possession of for one's own use.
The ranch owners appropriated the lands that had originally been set aside for the Indians' use. |
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arduous
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hard; strenuous.
Her arduous efforts had sapped her energy. |
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artless
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without guile; open and honest.
Red Reding Hood's artless comment, "Grandma, what big eyes you have!" indicates the child's innocent surprise at her "grandmother's" changed appearance. |
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ascetic
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practicing self-denial; austere.
The wealthy, self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict, ascetic life led by members of some monastic orders. |
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assiduous
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diligent.
It took Rembrandt weeks of assiduous labor before he was satisfied with his portrait of his son. |
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assuage
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ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger).
he tried to assuage his heartache by indulging in icecream. |
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attenuate
|
make thin; weaken.
By withdrawing their forces, the generals hoped to attenuate the enemy lines. |
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audacious
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daring; bold.
an audacious death-defying leap |
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austere
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forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented.
The headmaster's austere demeanor tended to scare off the more timid students, who never visited his study willingly. |
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autonomous
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self-governing.
Although the Univeristy of California at Berkeley is just one part of the stat university system, in many ways Cal Berkeley is autonomous. |
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aver
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state confidently.
I wish to aver that I am certain of success. |
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banal
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hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality.
The writer's worn-out cliches made his comic sketch seem banal. |
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belie
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contradict; give a flase impression.
His coarse, hard-bitten exterior belied his innate sensitivity. |
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beneficent
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kindly; doing good.
The overgenerous philanthropist had to curb his beneficent impulses before he gave away all his money and left himself with nothing. |
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bolster
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support; reinforce.
The debaters ammassed file boxes full of evidence to bolster their arguments. |
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bombastic
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pompous; using inflated language.
Puffed up with conceit, the orator spoke in such a bombastic manner that we longed to deflate him. |
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boorish
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rude; insensitive.
Although he constantly interupted his wife, she ignored his boorish behavior. |
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burgeon
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grow forth; send out buds.
In the spring, the plants that burgeon are a promise of the beauty that is to come. |
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burnish
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make shiny by rubbing; polish.
The maid burnished the brass fixtures unil they reflected the lamplight. |
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buttress
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support; prop up.
Just as architects buttress the walls of cathedrals with flying buttresses, debaters buttress their arguments with facts. |
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cacophonous
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discordant; inharmoniuos.
Do the students in the orchestra enjoy the cacophonous sounds they make when they're tuning up? I don't know how they can stand the cacophony. |
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capricious
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unpredictable; fickle.
Angelique was capricious: she changed boyfriends almost as often as she changed clothes. |
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castigation
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punishment; severe criticism.
Sensitive even to mild criticism. he could not bear the castigation that he found in certain reviews. |
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caustic
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burning; sarcastically biting.
The critic's caustic remarks angered the hapless actors who were subjects of his sarcasm. |
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chicanery
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trickery; deception.
Those sneaky lawyers misrepresented what occurred ad depended on chicanery to win the case. |
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coda
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concluding section of a musical or literary composition.
The piece concluded with a distinctive coda that strikingly brought together various motifs. |
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cogent
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convincing.
... cogent reasons |
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commensurate
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equal in extent.
Your reward will commensurate your effort. |
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compendium
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brief, comprehensive summary.
the text can serve as a compendium of the tremendous amount of new material being developed in this field. |
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complaisant
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trying to please; obliging.
obey orders in a complaisant manner. |
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compliant
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yielding; cconforming to requirements.
Because he usually have in and went along with whatever his friends desired, his mother worried that he might be too compliant. |
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conciliatory
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reconciling; soothing.
She was still angry despite his conciliatory words. |
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condone
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overlook; forgive; hive tacit approval; excuse.
Unlike his grandmother, who condoned his minor offenses, his mother did nothing but scold. |
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confound
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confuse; puzzle.
No mystery could confound Sherlock Holmes for too long. |
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connoisseur
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person competent to act as a judge of art, etc; a lover of an art.
She had developed int a connoisseur of fine china. |
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contention
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claim; thesis.
It is our contention that, if you follow our tactics, you will boost your score on the GRE. |
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contentious
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quarrelsome.
the coach became so contentious that the referees threw him out of the game. |
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contrite
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penitent.
Her contrite tears did not influence the judge when he imposed the sentence. |
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craven
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cowardly.
Her craven refusal to join the protest was criticized by her comrades. |
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daunt
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intimidate; frighten.
Boast all you like of your prowess. Mere words cannot daunt me. |
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decorum
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propriety; orderliness and good tast in manners.
Even the best mannered students have trouble behaving with decorum on the last day of school. |
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default
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failure to act.
They lost the game by default when they failed to show up for the game. ... he had defaulted on his debt (not payed it) |
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deference
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courteous regard for another's wish.
In deference to the minister's request, please do not take photographs during the wedding service. |
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delineate
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portray; depict; sketch.
Ising only a few dexcriptive phrases, he delineates her character so well. |
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deliniate
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portray; depict; sketch.
Using only a few descriptive phrases, Austen delineates the character so welll that we can predict his every move. |
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denigrate
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blacken.
All attempts to denigrate the character of our late president have failed; the people still love him and cherish his memory. |
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deride
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ridicule; make fun of.
The critics derided his pretentious dialogue and refused to consider his play seriously. |
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derivative
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unoriginal; obtained from another source.
Although her early poetry was clearly derivative in nature, the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice. |
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desiccate
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dry up
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desultory
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aimless; haphazard; digressing at random.
... reading straight through the dictionary, his reading was purposeful, not desultory |
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deterrent
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something that discourages
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diatribe
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bitter scolding; invective.
During the lengthy diatribe delivered by his opponent he remained calm |
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diffidence
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shyness.
You must overcome your diffidence if you intend to become a salesperson |
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digression
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wandering away from the subject
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dirge
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lament with music
The funeral dirge stirred us to tears |
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disabuse
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correct a false impression; undeceive.
I will attempt to disabuse you of your impression of my client's guilt - I know he is innocent. |
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discerning
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mentally quick and observant.
the discerning buyer. |
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discordant
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not harmonious; conflicting.
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discrepancy
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lack of consistency; difference.
the police noticed some discrepancies of his description of the crime. |
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disingenuous
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not naive; sophisticated
Although he was young, his remarks indicated that he was disingenuous |
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disinterested
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unprejudiced.
Fiven the judge's political ambitions and the lawyer's financial interest in the case, the only disinterested person in the courtroom may have been the court reporter. |
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disparage
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belittle.
The mother was more likely to praise her child's attempts than to disparage them. |
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disparate
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basically different; unrelated.
They have disparate ideas about marriage. |
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dissemble
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disguise; pretend.
Even though he tried to dissemble he motive for taking modern dance, we all knew it was to meet women |
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disseminate
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distribute; spread; scatter.
disseminate their doctrines through the internet |
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dissolution
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disintegration; looseness in morals
The profligacy and dissolution of life in Caligula's Rome appall some historians. |
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dissonance
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discord; opposite of harmony.
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distend
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expand; swell out.
I can tell he is under stress by the way his veins distend on his forehead |
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distill
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purify; refine; concentrate.
To separate or extract the essential elements of: distill the crucial points of the book. |
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divest
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strip; deprive.
He was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern |
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dogmatic
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opinionated; arbitary; doctrinal.
We tried to discourage him from being so dogmatic, but never could convince him that his opinions might be wrong. |
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dormant
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sleeping; lethargic; latent
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dupe
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someone easily fooled.
While the gullible Watson often was made a dupe by unscrupulous parties, Sherlock Holmes was far more difficult to fool. |
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ebullient
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showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm.
Amy's ebullient nature could not be repressed; she was always bubbling over with excitement |
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eclectic
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selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources.
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efficacy
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power to produce the desired effect.
The efficacy of this drug depends on the regularity of the dosage. |
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effrontery
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shameless boldness.
She had the effrontery to insult the guest. |
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elegy
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poem or song expressing lamentation.
He composed the elegy after the death of his friend |
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elicit
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draw out by discussion
The detectives tried to elicit where he had hidden his loot. |
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elegy
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poem or song expressing lamentation.
He composed the elegy after the death of his friend |
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elicit
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draw out by discussion
The detectives tried to elicit where he had hidden his loot. |
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embellish
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adorn; ornament; enhance.
embellish the ball gown with lace |
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empirical
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based on experience, observation or experiments.
empirical data |
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emulate
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imitate; rival.
Someone whose virtues you would like to emulate |
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endemic
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prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific area or country.
The disease is endemic in Africa. |
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enervate
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weaken.
after her illness, a short walk enervated her. |
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engender
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cause; produce.
Receiving praise for accomplishments engenders self-confidence in a child. |
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ephemeral
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short-lived; fleeting.
The mayfly is an ephemeral creature: its adult life last little more than a day. |
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equanimity
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calmness of temperament; composure.
the new problem did not disturb her equanimity |
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equivocate
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lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth.
The judge saw through his attempts to equivocate |
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erudite
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learned; scholarly.
Though his fellow students thought him erudite, he knew he would have to spend many years in serious study before he could consider himself a scholar. |
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esoteric
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hard to understand. known only to the chosen few.
... esoteric allusions to obscure people and events. |
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eulogy
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expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death.
Instead of delivering a spoken eulogy at the memorial service, he sang a song written in her honor. |
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exacerbate
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worsen; embitter.
The bombing exacerbated Bush's bitterness against terrorists |
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exculpate
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clear from blame.
She was exculpated of the crime when the reral criminal confessed. |
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exigency
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urgent situation.
In this exigency, we must look for aid from our allies. |
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extrapolation
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projection; conjecture.
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facetious
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joking (often inappropriately). humorous.
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fallacious
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false, misleading.
fallacious reasoning yields erroneous results |
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fatuous
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foolish; inane.
She is far too intelligent to utter such fatuous remarks. vacuous, mindless. |
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fawning
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courting favor by flattering.
She was constantly surrounded by a group of fawning admirers |
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felicitous
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apt; suitably expressed. well chosen.
He was famous for his felicitous remarks and was called upon to serve as master-of-ceremonies at many a banquet. |
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fervor
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growing ardor; intensity of feeling.
At the protest rally, the students cheered the strikers and booed the dean with equal fervor |
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flag
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droop; grow feeble.
the teams spirits flagged when the other team scored a goal |
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fledgling
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inexperienced.
While it is necessary to provide these fledgling poets with an opportunity to present their work, it is not essential that we admire everything that they write. |
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flout
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reject; mock.
The headstrong youth flouted all authority. |
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foment
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stir up; insitgate.
spread rumors and fomented trouble. |
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forestall
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prevent by taking action in advance.
By setting up a prenuptial agreement, the prospective bride and groom hoped to gorestall any potential arguments about money in the event of a divorce |
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frugality
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thrift; economy.
In these economically difficult days businesses must practice frugality or risk bankuptcy. |
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gainsay
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deny.
She was too honest to gainsay the truth |
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garrulous
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loquacious; wordy; talkative.
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goad
|
urge on
She was goaded by her friends until she yielded to their wishes. |
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gouge
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overcharge.
ticket sellers tried to gouge the public. also: tear out. gouge each other's eyes out. |
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grandiloquent
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pompous; bombastic.
using high sounding language. The politician could never speak simply; she was always grandiloquent. |
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gregarious
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sociable.
party throwers are gregarious. |
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guileless
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without deceit.
He is naive, simple and guileless. |
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harangue
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long, passionate and vehement speech.
In her lengthy harangue, the principal berated the offenders. |
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iconoclastic
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attacking cherished traditions.
Deeply iconoclastic, he deliberately set out to shock conventional theatergoers with his radical play. |
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idolatry
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worship of idols; excessive admiration;
such idolatry of singers is typical of the excessive enthusiasm of youth |
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immutable
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unchangeable.
All things change over time; nothing is immutable. |
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imperturbable
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calm; placid;
he remained imperturbable despite the hysteria and panic around him |
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impervious
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impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed.
...impervious to ordinary wear and tear. |
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implacable
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incapable of being pacified.
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implicit
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understood but not stated.
his love was implicit in his deeds. |
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implode
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burst inward
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inadvertently
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unintentionally;
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inchoate
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recently begun. rudimentary.
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incongruity
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lack of harmony; absurdity
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inconsequential
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insignificant; unimportant.
don't worry about your mistake - its inconsequential. |
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indigence
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poverty
eliminate indigence from our society |
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indolent
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lazy.
couch potatoes lead an indolent life. |
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ingenuous
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naive and trusting; young; unsophisticated.
the little girls was ingenuous and accepted candy from the stranger |
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innocuous
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harmless.
As occasional glass of wine is innocuous. |
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insensible
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unconscious; unresponsive.
at times when I would be embarrassed, she seems insensible to shame |
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insinuate
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hint; imply; creep in.
did you mean to insinuate that I am fat? |
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insipid
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lacking in flavor; dull.
English food is insipid. |
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insularity
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narrow-mindedness; isolation.
The insularity of the islanders manifested itself in their suspicion of anything foreign. |
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intractable
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unruly; stubborn; unyielding.
The boy was intractable: he absolutely refused to take a bath. |
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intransigence
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refusal of any compromise; stubbornness.
The negotiating team had not expected such intransigence from the striking workers. |
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inundate
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overwhelm; flood; submerge.
inundated with work |
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inured
|
accustomed; hardened.
She became inured to the cold weather. |
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invective
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abuse.
He had expected criticism but not the invective the greeted his proposal. |
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irascible
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irritable; easily angered.
her irascible temper intimidated the young girls. |
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irresolute
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uncertain of how to act; weak.
Once you have made a decision, don't waiver; a leader should never appear irresolute. |
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itinerary
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plan of a trip
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laconic
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brief and to the point.
He is a laconic type - a strong man with few words. |
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lassitude
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languour; weariness.
I surrended to my growing lassitude and lay down for a nap |
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latent
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potential but underdeveloped; dormant; hidden.
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laud
|
praise.
They lauded his efforts to raise money to combat cystic fibrosis |
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levee
|
earther or stone embankment to prevent flooding.
As the river rose and threatened to overflow the levee, emergency workers rushed to reinforce the walls. |
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levity
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lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity;
Stop giggling - such levity is improper in chuch. |
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log
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record of a voyage or flight.
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loquacious
|
talkative
...see how loquacious she can be - our phone bills are unbelievable |
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lucid
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easily understood, clear, intelligible.
...lucid enough for a child to grasp |
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luminous
|
shining, issuing light.
The sun is a luminous body |
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magnanimity
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generosity.
noted for his magnanimity, he dontated millions to charity. |
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malingerer
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one who feigns ilness to escape duty.
The captain ordered the sergeant to punish all malingerers and force them to work |
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malleable
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capable of being shaped by pounding.
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maverick
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rebel; nonconformist.
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mendacious
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lying; habitually dishonest.
...assumed he was mendacious and refused to believe a word he said. |
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meticulous
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excessively careful, painstaking, scrupulous.
...a meticulous housekeeper, fussing about each and every detail. |
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misanthrope
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one who hates mankind.
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mitigate
|
appease, moderate.
nothing he did could mitigate her anger. |
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mollify
|
soothe.
...the airling customer service representative tried to mollify the angry passenger by offering her a seat in first class. |
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morose
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ill-humored. sullen, melancholy.
after his divorce he acted morose for months. |
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mundane
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wordly as opposed to spiritualö everyday.
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negate
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cancel out, nullify, deny.
a sudden surge of addrenaline can negate the efects of fatigue. |
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neophyte
|
recent convert, beginner.
this climb will challenge experts as well as neophytes |
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obdurate
|
stubborn
He was obdurate in his refusal to listen to our complaints. |
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obsequious
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slavishly attentive, servile, sycophantic.
...His obsequious attendance soon wore on my nerves. Definition: groveling, submissive Antonyms: arrogant, assertive, brazen, confident, domineering, presumptuous Obsequious comes from Latin obsequiosus, from obsequium, "compliance," from obsequi, "to comply with," from ob-, "toward" + sequi, "to follow." |
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obviate
|
make unnecessary, get rid of.
...obviate the need |
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occlude
|
shut, close.
A blood clot occluded an artery to the heart. |
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officious
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meddlesome, excessively pushy in offering one's services.
...the officious bellboy was intent on showing her all the special features of her hotel room. |
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onerous
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burdensome.
She asked for an assistant because her workload was too onerous. |
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opprobrium
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vilification, a cause of shame or disgrace.
He refused to defend himself against the slander and opprobrium hurled against him by the newspapers - he prefered to rely on his record. blame, castigation, censure, curse, defamation, derision, insults, invective, reproach, revilement, scolding, slander, swearing, tirade, upbraiding, vilification, vituperation |
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ostentatious
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showy, pretentious.
...the ostentatious gambling palace |
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paragon
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model of perfection.
she was pointed out as a paragon of virtue |
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partisan
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one-sided, prejudiced. committed to a party.
Rather than joining forces to solve our nation's problems, the Democrats and Rebublicans spend their time on partisan struggles. |
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pathological
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pertaining to disease
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paucity
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scarcity.
the paucity of customers made the restaurant uneconomical to operate. |
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pedantic
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showing off learning, bookish.
...a pedantic attention to details. |
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penchant
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strong inclination, liking.
he had a penchant for taking risks |
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penury
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severe poverty, stinginess.
he became such a penny-pincher that he turned into a closefisted, penurious miser. |
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perennial
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something long lasing.
These plants are hardy perennials and will bloom for many years. |
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perfidious
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treacherous, disloyal.
When Ceasar realiyed that Brutus had betrayed him, he reproached his perfidious friend. |
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perfunctory
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superficial, not thorough, lacking interest, care or enthusiasm.
The auditor's perfunctory inspection of the books overlooked many errors. |
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pervasive
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spread throughout.
she could not rid her clothes of the pervasive odor of mothballs. |
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phlegmatic
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calm, not easily disturbed.
The nurse was a cheerful but phlegmatic person, unexcited in the face of sudden emergencies. |
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piety
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devoutness, reverence for God.
Mother Teresa exemplified the true spirit of piety. |
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placate
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pacify, conciliate.
...to placate the angry customer. |
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platitude
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trite remark, commonplace statement.
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plethora
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excess, overabundance.
she offered a plethora of excuses for her shortcomings. |
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plummet
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fall sharply.
stock prices plummeted |
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preamble
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introductory statement.
...in the preamble to the Constitution, the purpost of the document is set forth. |
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precarious
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uncertain, risky.
...a precarious investment. |
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precipitate
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rash, premature, hasty, sudden.
Though I was angry enough to resign on the spot, I had enough sense to keep myself from quitting a job in such a precipitate fashion. |
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presumptuous
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arrogant, taking liberties.
It seems presumptuous for one so relatively new to the field to challenge the conclusions of its leading experts. |
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prevaricate
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lie.
some people believe that to prevaricate in a good cause is justifiable and regard the statement as a "white lie". |
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probity
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uprightness, incorruptibility.
Everyone took his probity for grantedö his defalcations, therefore, shocked us all. |
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prodigal
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wasteful, reckless with money.
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propensity
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natural inclination.
Many people have a propensity for eating too much chocolate. |
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propitiate
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appease.
The natives offered sacrifices to propitiate the gods. |
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propriety
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fitness, correct conduct.
...behave with propriety in any social situation. |
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proscribe
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ostracize, banish, outlaw.
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pungent
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stinging, shard in taste or smell. caustic.
the pungent odor of cheese |
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qualified
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limited, restricted
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quibble
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minor objection or complaint
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quiescent
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at rest, dormant, temporarily inactive.
...quiescent volcano |
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rarefied
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made less dense (of a gas)
...the rarefied atmosphere at a high altitude |
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recalcitrant
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obstinately stubborn, determined to resist aurthority, unruly.
Is a pig or a mule more recalcitrant? |
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recant
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disclaim or disavow, retract a pervious statement, openly confess error.
...make Joan of Arc recant her sworn testimony |
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recluse
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hermit, loner
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recondite
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abstruse, profound, secret.
he read many recondite books to obtain the material for his thesis |
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refractory
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stubborn, unmanageable
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relegate
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banish to an inferior position
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reproach
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express disapproval or disappointment
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reprobate
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person hardened in sin
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repudiate
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disown, disavow
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rescind
|
cancel.
...rescind the unpopular tax laws |
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resolution
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determination
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resolve
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determination, firmness of purpose.
...my resolve to take up sky-diving |
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reticent
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reserved, uncommunicative, inclined to silence.
Hughes preferred reticent employess to loquacious ones |
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reverent
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respectful, worshipful
...feel reverent at church |
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sage
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person celebrated for wisdom.
...the legendary sage |
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salubrious
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healthful.
people with hay fever should move to more salubrious sections of the country during the months of August and September |
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sanction
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approve, ratify.
Nothing will convince me to sanction the engagement of my daughter |
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satiate
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satisty fully.
...stuffed themselves until they were satiated. |
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savor
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enjoy, have a distinctive flavor, smell or quality.
...he savored the chargrin of his critics |
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secrete
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hide away or cache.
the rate secretes odds and ends in its nest |
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shard
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fragement
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skeptic
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doubter
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solicitious
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worried, concerned.
...the employer was solicitious about the health of his employees |
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soporific
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sleep-causing. marked by sleepiness.
the lecures were so soporific that Oliver fell asleep |
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specious
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seemingly reasonable but incorrect, misleading (often intentionally)
...specious reasoning |
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sporadic
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occurring irregularly.
sporadic outbursts of laughter |
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stigma
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token of disgrace, brand.
I do not attach stigma to the fact that you were accused of the crime. |
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stint
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be thrifty, set limits.
refusing to stint of the wedding plans. |
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stipulate
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make express conditions, specify.
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stolid
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dull, impassive.
...the event shattered his usual stolid demeanor |
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strut
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pompus walk OR supporting bar
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subpoena
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writ summoning a witness to appear.
... a subpoena on the reluctant witness |
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subside
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settle down, descend.
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substantiate
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establish be evidence, verify
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supersede
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cause to be set aside, replace, make obsolete.
TV superseded the radio |
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supposition
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hypothesis, surmise.
I based my decision on the supposition that... |
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tacit
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understood but not put in words
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tangential
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perhiperal, only slightly connected
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tenuous
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thin, rare, slim.
...the allegiance of our allies is held by rather tenuous ties. |
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triade
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extended scolding, denunciation, harangue.
... he goes into a lenghty triad, scolding us about everything... |
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torpor
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lethargy
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tortuous
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winding, full of curves.
...a tortuous road |
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tractable
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docile, easily managed
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transgression
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violation of a law, sin.
forgive us out transgressions... |
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truculence
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aggressiveness, ferocity.
...their caustic attacks and tone of truculence. |
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vacillate
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waver, fluctuate.
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venerate
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revere. To regard with great awe and devotion
...venerate the leader. |
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veracious
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truthful.
...he is veracious and reliable. |
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verbose
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wordy
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vituperative
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marked by harshly abusive criticism
abusive, scolding. contumelious, invective, opprobrious, scurrilous |
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warranted
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justified, authorized.
...is this action warranted? |
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wary
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very cautious.
the spies grew wary as they approached the sentry |
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welter
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turmoil, bewildering jumble.
The welter of overlapping federal and state proclaims cries out for immediate reform. |
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whimsical
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capricious, fanciful.
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zealot
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fanatic, person who shows excessive zeal.
Though he was devout, he was not zealot - he would never force his religious beliefs on his friends. |
