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174 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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ablution
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A washing or cleansing (esp. of the body)
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abrade
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To wear down or rub away through friction
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adage
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A traditional saying or proverb
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adumbrate
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To give a sketchy outline of or foreshadow
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aggrandize
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To make appear greater, larger, more powerful
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anachronism
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The representation of someone or something as existing outside their proper time
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antebellum
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Period before war
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aplomb
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Self-confident assurance
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apoplectic
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Extremely angry; furious
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apposition
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The placement of something next to or side by side
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arabesque
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An intricate pattern or design
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arbiter
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One empowered or chosen to judge or decide a disputed issue
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arboreal
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Of or pertaining to trees
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asperity
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Harshness or roughness of manner
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attenuate
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To make slender, small, fine or less dense; to weaken
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august
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Inspiring awe or admiration; majestic
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aver
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To affirm positively; to assert as fact
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baleful
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Portending evil; ominous; harmful in intent
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balk
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To refuse stubbornly and abruptly
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ballast
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Something that gives balance or stability (esp. in character)
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blandishment
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Flattery or wheedling intended to coax
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blithe
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Carefree
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brusque
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Abrupt and curt in manner or speech; discourteously blunt
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calumny
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A false statement intended to injure another's reputation; slander
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circumlocution
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Evasion in words or speech; a roundabout expression
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circumspect
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Heedful of circumstance and potential consequences; prudent
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cloy
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To cause distaste by supplying too much of something which was originally pleasant (e.g. by being too sweet)
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coeval
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Existing during the same period of time; a contemporary
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compendium
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A short, complete summary
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compunction
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A strong uneasiness caused by a sense of guilt
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corporeal
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Of or relating to the body; of a physical nature; tangible
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cravat
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A band of fabric worn around the neck as a tie
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deciduous
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Falling off or shedding at a specific season; ephemeral
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decry
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To condemn openly
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deign
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To deem worthy of account
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desideratum
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Something considered necessary or highly desirable
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discountenance
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To look upon with disfavor
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disinter
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To remover from a grave or tomb; exhume
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donnybrook
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An uproar or free-for-all
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dulcet
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Pleasant to the ear
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dynamo
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A machine that generates energy; an extremely energetic and forceful person
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eave
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The projecting overhang at the lower edge of a roof
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ebullient
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Zestfully enthusiastic; boiling or bubbling
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effulgence
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Splendor
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elegy
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A poem or song lamenting the dead
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entreat
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To ask for or request earnestly
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epicurean
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Devoted to the pursuit of pleasure
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epistle
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A letter
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epithet
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A term used to characterize a person or thing; an insult
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equipoise
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Equality in distribution of weight
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espy
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To catch sight of
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exculpate
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To relieve of blame
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expectorate
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To spit or cough up
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expedient
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Appropriate to a purpose; self-serving
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expiate
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To make amends for; to atone
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expropriate
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To deprive of possession; to transfer (another's property) to oneself
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exscind
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To cut outs
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extant
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Still in existence; not extinct
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extempore
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In an impromptu manner; done without preparation or forethought
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extenuate
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To lessen the seriousness or importance of
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extradite
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To hand someone over to the legal jurisdiction of another authority
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facile
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Easy
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finical
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Finicky
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fledge
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To take care of a young bird until it can fly; to cover with feathers
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florid
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Ruddy; flowery
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garrulous
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Tiresomely talkative
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gibe
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To make jaunting, heckling, or jeering remarks
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gossamer
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A soft, sheer gauzy fabric; light, delicate or tenuous
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grandstand
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To perform ostentatiously so as to impress
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hallow
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To make or set apart as holy; to revere
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hermetic
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Completely sealed; impervious to outside influence
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hew
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To cut down (with an ax)
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hibernal
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Of or relating to winter
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hirsute
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Hairy
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hubris
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Overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance
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idyll
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A short poem or prose piece which romanticizes pastoral life
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imbroglio
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A difficult situation or entanglement; a confused disagreement
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imperious
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Arrogantly dominating or overbearing; fearless
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improvident
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Not providing for the future; thriftless; rash
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impugn
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To attack as false or questionable (esp. in argument)
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indefatigable
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Tireless or seemingly tireless
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indigence
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Poverty; neediness
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inimitable
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Defying imitation; matchless
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inveterate
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Deep-rooted; habitual
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jibe
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To be in accord
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lackadaisical
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Lacking spirit, interest or liveliness; languid
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libation
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The pouring of a liquid offering as a religious ritual; an intoxicating beverage
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libertine
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One who acts without moral restraint; one who defies religious precepts
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licentious
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Lacking moral discipline or self restraint (esp. sexually); wanton
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lode
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A rich source or supply of something
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loll
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To stand, move or recline in an indolent or relaxed manner
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lucre
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Money or profits
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matriculate
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To admit or be admitted into a group (esp. a college or university)
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maudlin
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Effusively or tearfully sentimental
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mollycoddle
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To be overprotective and indulgent towards
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monomania
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A pathological obsession with one idea or subject
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moribund
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About to die
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obdurate
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Stubbornly impenitent; hardhearted or intractable
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obeisance
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A gesture or movement that expresses homage or deference
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oblique
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Slanting; indirect or evasive
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ossify
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To turn into bone
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ostentation
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Pretentious display meant to impress others
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ostracize
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To exclude from a group
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oxymoron
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A rhetorical device in which incongruous or contradictory terms are combined (e.g. deafening silence)
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palpitate
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To tremble, shake or quiver
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panoply
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A splendid or striking array; the entire armory of a warrior
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patois
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A regional dialect, esp. one without a written tradition
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pathos
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Sympathy, sadness or tenderness aroused by experience or art
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pecuniary
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Of or relating to money
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penurious
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Pettily unwilling to spend money
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peremptory
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Putting an end to all debate or action
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perjury
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The deliberate giving of false or misleading information under oath
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perturbation
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The act of being greatly disturbed; agitation
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philistine
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A smug or ignorant person hostile or indifferent to arts and culture
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pleat
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A fold made in cloth by doubling the material upon itself and then pressing or stitching it into place; a to press or arrange in pleats
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presage
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To foretell or portend; an omen or portent
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prescience
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Knowledge of events before they take place
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preternatural
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Out of or beyond the course of what is natural; extraordinary or supernatural
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prim
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Stiffly proper
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profundity
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Great depth of intellect, feeling or meaning
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propitious
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Presenting favorable circumstances; auspicious
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proscribe
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To denounce or condemn; to prohibit or forbid
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proxy
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A person authorized to act for another; an agent or substitute
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punctilious
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Strictly attentive to minute details of form in action or conduct
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purloin
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To steal
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quail
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To shrink back in fear; to cower
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quorum
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The minimum number of people to be present for a meeting or transaction to be valid
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quotidian
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Everyday or common; occurring daily
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ramify
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To divide or subdivide into branches or subdivisions
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recapitulate
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To repeat in concise form; to summarize
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redress
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To set right or rectify
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regicide
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The killing of a king
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rotund
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Rounded in figure; plump
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sagacious
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Having or showing keen judgment and discernment; wise
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salacious
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Appealing to or stimulating sexual desires
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sardonic
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Scornfully or cynically mocking
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sepulcher
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A burial vault
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shellac
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A thin varnish used to finish wood; to batter or beat severely
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shunt
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To turn or move aside to an alternate course; an object, act or process which moves something to an alternate course
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somniferous
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Inducing sleep; soporific
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somnolent
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Sleepy or drowsy
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sonorous
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Having or producing sound
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stanch
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To check or stop the flow of
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stave
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To break or smash inward; stave off 'to repel'
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striated
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Striped, grooved or ridged
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subsume
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To include in a more comprehensive category
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sundry
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Various; miscellaneous
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supplicate
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To beg
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surreptitious
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Obtained or done by clandestine or stealthy means
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teetotal
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Pertaining to complete abstinence from alcohol; total
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temperance
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Moderation; abstinence from or restraint in the use of alcohol
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tendentious
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Marked by a strong implicit point of view; partisan
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tertiary
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Third
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timorous
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Lacking courage
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toady
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A person who flatters or defers to for self-serving reasons; a sycophant
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torrid
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Excessively hot
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tout
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To solicit customers or votes brazenly; to promote or praise enthusiastically
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transmogrify
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To change in shape or form
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trite
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Made commonplace from overuse or repetition; hackneyed
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turpitude
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Depravity or baseness
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turgid
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Swollen or bloated; bloated or overly ornate language
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upbraid
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To reproach or reprove sharply
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usury
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The act of lending money at an exorbitant or illegally high rate
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vacuity
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A total absence or lack of
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veracious
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Honest or truthful; precise or accurate
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verdant
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Green with vegetation
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veritable
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Real, true or genuine
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wheedle
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To obtain through flattery; to cajole
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whelp
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The young offspring of a mammal
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winsome
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Attractive
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woo
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To court a woman romantically
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wrangle
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To bicker or quarrel; to obtain through argument; to herd
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wreak
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To bring about, cause or inflict (usu. something destructive)
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yeoman
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An assistant or other subordinate; workmanlike
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