Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
54 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
abscond
v |
to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
|
|
|
ameliorate
v |
to make better or more tolerable
|
|
|
arduous
adj |
strenuous; taxing; requiring significant effort
|
|
|
ascetic
n |
one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
|
|
|
austere
adj |
without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
|
|
|
axiom
n |
a universally recognized principle
|
|
|
axiomatic
adj |
taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth
|
|
|
bucolic
adj |
rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
|
|
|
canonical
adj |
following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards
|
|
|
contentious
adj |
argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
|
|
|
convoluted
adj |
complex or complicated
|
|
|
culpable
adj |
deserving blame
|
|
|
disabuse
v |
to undeceive; to set right
|
|
|
eclectic
adj |
composed of elements drawn from various sources
|
|
|
effrontery
n |
extreme boldness; presumptuousness
|
|
|
ephemeral
adj |
brief; fleeting
|
|
|
erudite
adj |
very learned; scholarly
|
|
|
eulogy
n |
a speech honoring the dead
|
|
|
extemporaneous
adj |
improvised; done without preparation
|
|
|
facetious
adj |
playful; humorous
|
|
|
fulminate
v |
to loudly attack or denounce
|
|
|
hyperbole
n |
an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
|
|
|
lucid
adj |
clear; easily understood
|
|
|
oscillation
n |
the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterupted rhythm
|
|
|
paean
n |
a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
|
|
|
penurious
adj |
penny-pinching, excessively thrifty; ungenerous
|
|
|
perfidy
n |
intentional breach of faith; treachery
|
|
|
pernicious
adj |
extremely harmful; potentially causing death
|
|
|
perspicacious
adj |
acutely perceptive; having keen discernment
|
|
|
pious
adj |
extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion
|
|
|
precipitate
adj |
acting with excessive haste or impulse
|
|
|
precipitate
v |
to cause or happen before anticipated or required
|
|
|
precursor
n |
one that precedes and indicates or announces another
|
|
|
predilection
n |
a disposition in favor of something; preference
|
|
|
prolific
adj |
producing large volumes or amounts; productive
|
|
|
qualms
n` |
misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy
|
|
|
quiescence
n |
stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
|
|
|
recant
v |
to retract, esp. a previously held belief
|
|
|
redoubtable
adj |
awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
|
|
|
reticent
adj |
quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
|
|
|
satire
n |
a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
|
|
|
sordid
adj |
characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
|
|
|
squalid
adj |
sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
|
|
|
squander
v |
to waste by spending ro using irresponsibly
|
|
|
stoic
adj |
indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
|
|
|
stymie
v |
to block; thward
|
|
|
supplant
v |
to take the place of; supersede
|
|
|
synthesis
n |
the combination of parts to make a whole
|
|
|
torpid
adj |
lethargic; sluggish; dormant
|
|
|
torque
n |
a force that causes rotation
|
|
|
ubiquitous
adj |
existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
|
|
|
veracity
n |
truthfulness; honesty
|
|
|
vilify
v |
to defame; to characterize harshly
|
|
|
virulent
adj |
extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
|
