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49 Cards in this Set
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affable
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adj. easy to talk to; easy to approach, friendly; kind; amiable. ___________baseball players willingly sign autographs for the fans; the unfriendly ones refuse.
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amiable
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adj. friendly, kind. __________ Amy says only the kindest things about others; she doesn't understand the meaning of "nasty."
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amicable
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adj. showing goodwill; peaceable. The conflict came to an __________end when the adversaries finally shook hands.
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congenial
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adj. compatible; having kindred needs or tastes; sympathetic. Mr. and Mrs. Evans are a _________ couple. They share a passion for antiques and surfboarding.
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convivial
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adj. sociable, outgoing in a festive way, especially when pertaining to eating and drinking; fond of good company. A ________crowd will be coming to the party; therefore, it should be fun.
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cordial
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adj. warm and friendly; amiable. With a ________welcome, Harry made everyone feel glad to be at the meeting.
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gregarious
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adj. sociable, outgoing. I hope that Trudy soon emerges from her shell and becomes more ____________.
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jocular
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adj. liking to be with people, joke around with them and have fun. Samantha is a funny person, but she's somber compared to her ________sister.
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levity
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n. lightheartedness; gaiety; carefree disposition, particularly when not appropriate. "Cheating is a serious issue," said the exam proctor. "There's no room for ________in this discussion."
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animosity
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n. hatred; ill will. So much ______ grew between Mark and Mike that they never were buddies again.
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antagonism
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n. hatred or hostility. Stan's mocking and teasing incited ____________ among his teammates.
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bellicose
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adj. of a quarrelsome nature; eager to fight; warlike. The speech was full of ________ threats, suggesting war was at hand.
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belligerent
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adj. taking part in war or fighting; ready to fight. After two decades of war, the _________countries made peace.
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cantankerous
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adj. bad-tempered. ___________Timmy is my two-year old brother. He whines a lot and throws his oatmeal all over the kitchen.
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captious
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adj. made for the sake of quarreling; quibbling. My English teacher, Ms. Carr, quibbles over every word. She criticizes her students' writing with _______ comments.
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contentious
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adj. quarrelsome; belligerent. You can't talk to ________ Cal without getting into an argument.
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disputatious
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adj. likely to dispute or argue. Ken loves to argue just for the sake of arguing. With such a __________personality, he's sure to be a trial lawyer.
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polemical
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adj. inclined to argue or debate; controversial. When Donna disagrees, she doesn't calmly differ with you, but tends to be _________.
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predator
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n. one who takes advantage of another, exploits or feeds on another; a strong adversary or rival. Tonight I'll try to catch the _______ who raided the henhouse last night and killed my prize rooster.
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pugnacious
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adj. eager to fight. ___________Paul, as you might expect, was involved in another schoolyard brawl.
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altruistic
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adj. showing an unselfish concern for others. _________Al never thinks of himself; he devotes all his time to helping others.
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benevolent
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adj. giving freely and easily to others; charitable; kind. Ready to help anyone at any time, Tina is about the most ___________ person I know.
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largess
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n. generous giving. Sam is famous for his __________. Knowing Sam is a big tipper, the staff at his favorite hotel is always glad to see him.
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lavish
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adj. generous in giving to others or in spending money; sumptuously rich, elaborate, or luxurious. For her sixteenth birthday, Sarah received _______ gifts, including a trip to Hawaii and a BMW convertible
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magnanimous
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adj. generous in overlooking insult or injury by others; rising above pettiness. After the attempt on his life, the Pope _______ forgave the man who shot him.
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munificent
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adj. very generous. It's easy to be _________ when you already have more of everything than you'll ever want or need.
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philanthropic
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adj. showing a desire to help others by giving gifts; charitable; humane. My mother works for a _________ organization that disburses funds to needy hospitals.
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prodigal
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adj. wasteful; lavish. Marcia's ________ spending at the mall used up the money she'd been saving for college. Next time, maybe she'll spend more thoughtfully.
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squander
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vb. to spend money (or time) in a wasteful, uncaring fashion. "Don't _________ your paycheck on designer clothes," advised Aunt Rose. "Spend it on something useful."
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austere
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adj. having great economy; showing self-control when it comes to foregoing luxuries and frills; stern in manner or appearance. Early in their marriage, my parents lived on an ______ budget that allowed them to buy nothing beyond the bare essentials.
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avaricious
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adj. greedy. The mayor's ________ nature caused him to embezzle funds from the city's coffers.
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frugal
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adj. careful with money; not prodigal or wasteful. As a ______ carpenter, Emil finds a use for every scrap of wood. Nothing goes to waste in Emil's shop.
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mercenary
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adj. greedy for self-gain; thinking only of money-making. The ________ owner of the leather store was too money-hungry to ever hold a sale.
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miserly
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adj. careful with how money is spent. Too ______ to spend a dollar, she'd rather walk than take the crosstown bus.
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parsimonious
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adj. overly thrifty or miserly. _______ Paul never buys anything unless it's on sale.
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penurious
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adj. relating to great poverty, destitution. His _______ childhood taught my father the value of every penny.
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thrifty
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adj. showing care with how money and resources are spent or used. Be ________ for the next few months, and you'll save enough for a new stereo.
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adversity
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n. great trouble or difficulty. The book tells how he overcame the _____ of an impoverished childhood.
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conflagration
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n. a huge fire, an inferno. Flames from the _____ lit up the sky for miles around.
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confounding
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adj. puzzling; baffling. The world was fascinated by the _____ disappearance of Amelia Earhart.
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cryptic
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adj. hidden; hard to understand; mysterious; obscure . We found a _____ message scrawled on the blackboard. No one could figure out its meaning.
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debacle
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n. a failure or breakdown; a collapse that is often nonsensical. For me, physics class was a _____. I understood none of it, failed every test, and finally dropped the course.
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enigma
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n. a riddle or mystery; a puzzling or baffling matter or person. Isabelle is an _____. I can't figure her out. Her moods change like the wind, and sometimes I haven't the faintest idea what she's talking about.
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labyrinth
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n. a maze from which it is very hard to extricate or free oneself. The basement of our school is a _____ of tunnels, criss-crossing passageways, and dead ends in which it is easy to lose your way.
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precarious
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adj. dangerous or risky; uncertain. Bungee jumping is too ________ for me; I prefer safer activities like playing chess.
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quagmire
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n. a difficult or troubling situation; a swampy ground, bog, mire. A _____ of troubles kept Julia awake at night.
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quandary
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n. a dilemma; a confusing or puzzling situation. Walter faced the enviable _____ of deciding which of three hot colleges he should attend.
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turbulence
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n. great unrest; turmoil or disorder. Migrating whales caused the _______ in the water.
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turmoil
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n. a turbulent scenario or situation; tumult. There was _____ in the room because the teacher had lost control of the class.
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