List 1 Of Most Important Words

Front 1

abashed

Back 1

indicates a state of embarrassment; a person abashed feels disconcerted and put to shame

Front 2

adversity

Back 2

condition marked by bad luck, troubles, woes, hard times; adversary means opponent; Latin adversitas, opposite of prosperity

Front 3

amorphous

Back 3

without definite shape or form, formless; Greek amorphos (shapeless)

Front 4

apogee

Back 4

in astronomy, the point in the orbit of a planet, satellite, the moon, etc. when it is farthest from the earth; frequently used to mean high point, climax, summit; Greek apogaion (off-earth)

Front 5

aspersion

Back 5

aspersons = damaging assertions and slandering vilifications; expression = to cast aspersions; Latin aspersio (sprinkling)

Front 6

beleaguer

Back 6

to besiege, harass, or beset; literally; it means "to surround with military forces"; commony means to harass in the sense of besetting someone with problems and annoyances

Front 7

cadge

Back 7

to get something by begging, with the emphasis on imposing on the other person's good nature; Middle English caggen

Front 8

catholic

Back 8

applies to people having universal sympathies and appreciation; Greek katholikos (general)

Front 9

cloy

Back 9

to become distasteful through excess

Front 10

contretemps

Back 10

an unfortunate occurance, a mischance that results in discomfort, especially embarrassment

Front 11

cursory

Back 11

hasty, superficial, without attention to details, opposite of thorough; Latin cursor (runner)

Front 12

delectation

Back 12

delight and enjoyment

Front 13

diatribe

Back 13

a bitter attack in words; Greek diatribe (discourse) and diatribein (to rub away)

Front 14

doggerel

Back 14

a noun that describes trivial, poor verse

Front 15

efficacious

Back 15

productive of the desired result; used where a specific result is attained; Aspirin is efficacious in bringing down body temperature; Latin facere (to make)

Front 16

enigmatic

Back 16

puzzling and obscure; Greek aenigma (riddle)

Front 17

ethereal

Back 17

light, delicate, airy; Greek, ether

Front 18

expropriate

Back 18

to take something away without the owner's consent

Front 19

felicity

Back 19

great happiness, as in marital felicity

Front 20

foible

Back 20

describes the French word faible, meaning weak; describes a minor, relatively harmless weakness in a person's character, and is especially appropriate when the character is otherwise a strong one; more general than peccadillo (a minor offense, a trivial fault)

Front 21

gentry

Back 21

upper-class people (well-born and well-bred); also used to describe the people of any particular class or group

Front 22

herbivorous

Back 22

plant-eating; Latin herba (plant) and vorare (to eat greedily, gulp)

Front 23

immutable

Back 23

unchangeable; Latin mutare (change)

Front 24

incognito

Back 24

usual use is in the adverb expression traveling incognito; the assumed identity is also known as an incognito; Latin incognitus (unrecognized)

Front 25

inscrutable

Back 25

unfathomable, mysterious; Latin scrutari (to investigate)

Front 26

jejune

Back 26

insipid, childish; literally, unnourishing; Latin jejunus (literally, fasting, by extension, hungry, and then on to poor, mean, meager)

Front 27

ethereal

Back 27

light, delicate, airy; Greek, ether

Front 28

expropriate

Back 28

to take something away without the owner's consent

Front 29

felicity

Back 29

great happiness, as in marital felicity

Front 30

foible

Back 30

describes the French word faible, meaning weak; describes a minor, relatively harmless weakness in a person's character, and is especially appropriate when the character is otherwise a strong one; more general than peccadillo (a minor offense, a trivial fault)

Front 31

gentry

Back 31

upper-class people (well-born and well-bred); also used to describe the people of any particular class or group

Front 32

herbivorous

Back 32

plant-eating; Latin herba (plant) and vorare (to eat greedily, gulp)

Front 33

immutable

Back 33

unchangeable; Latin mutare (change)

Front 34

incognito

Back 34

usual use is in the adverb expression traveling incognito; the assumed identity is also known as an incognito; Latin incognitus (unrecognized)

Front 35

inscrutable

Back 35

unfathomable, mysterious; Latin scrutari (to investigate)

Front 36

jejune

Back 36

insipid, childish; literally, unnourishing; Latin jejunus (literally, fasting, by extension, hungry, and then on to poor, mean, meager)

Front 37

lament

Back 37

an expression of grief, especially a vivid or passionate one; as a verb, to lament is to feel deep sorrow and regret

Front 38

loquacious

Back 38

talkative, garrulous; the opposite of laconic; Latin loqui (to talk)

Front 39

mellifluous

Back 39

sweet and smooth (literally, flowing with honey); usually found in the expression mellifluous voice; Latin mel (honey) and fluere (to flow)

Front 40

misogyny

Back 40

hatred of women; adj. Misogynous; Greek misos (hatred) and gyne (woman)

Front 41

nether

Back 41

lower; German nieder (low); The Netherlands are sometimes referred to as "the Low Countries", because it lies lower than sea level

Front 42

obstreperous

Back 42

unruly and boisterous; Latin obstrepere (to make a noise)

Front 43

paean

Back 43

a song of praise, a shout of exultation, and by extension, any lavish expression of praise or joy

Front 44

pathological

Back 44

caused by disease; pathological liar, describes a person whose constant tendency to lie arises from a mental disorder; pathology, is a general term for the study of diseases

Front 45

travesty

Back 45

literally, a comic imitation of a serious work of art, generally a literary or dramatic work, poking fun at it; in this sense, travesty has about the same meaning as burlesque; by extension, it is used to denote any grotesque or degraded imitation

Front 46

tactile

Back 46

describes anything pertaining to or using the sense of touch, or anything perceptible to touch, i.e., tangible; Latin tangere

Front 47

sub rosa

Back 47

literally, "under the rose"; in Roman times, hanging a rose over the table at a meeting meant the participants were sworn to secrecy; it means "secret(ly), confidential(ly)"; expression applied especially to actions that must be hidden from the public eye

Front 48

yen

Back 48

a powerful desire or craving, a longing or yearning

Front 49

visage

Back 49

applied to the face of a human being, usually with reference to its features, expression, or size

Front 50

vacillate

Back 50

to waver, hesitate, be indecisive, swing back and forth between feelings or opinions, be unable to make up one's mind; originally meant to sway to and fro; noun is vacillation; Latin vacillare (to totter, sway to and fro)