Lit Vocab

Front 1

banal

Back 1

lacking originality, freshness, or novelty
adjective

Front 2

bellicose

Back 2

favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars
adjective

Front 3

finesse

Back 3

skillful handling of a situation
noun

Front 4

glib

Back 4

marked by ease and fluency in speaking or writing often to the point of being insincere or deceitful
adjective

Front 5

pseudonym

Back 5

a fictitious name
noun

Front 6

lampoon

Back 6

a harsh satire usually directed against an individual
verb/noun

Front 7

lugubrious

Back 7

mournful, dismal, or gloomy, esp. in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner
adj

Front 8

nefarious

Back 8

flagrantly wicked or impious
adjective

Front 9

nemesis

Back 9

a formidable and usually victorious rival or opponent
noun

Front 10

purloin

Back 10

to appropriate wrongfully and often by a breach of trust
verb

Front 11

Abject

Back 11

sunk to or existing in a low state or condition
adjective

Front 12

prosaic

Back 12

everyday, ordinary
adjective

Front 13

propriety

Back 13

conformity to what is socially acceptable in conduct or speech
noun

Front 14

revile

Back 14

to subject to verbal abuse
verb

Front 15

admonish

Back 15

to express warning or disapproval to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner
verb

Front 16

commensurate

Back 16

equal in measure or extent
adjective

Front 17

phlegmatic

Back 17

having or showing a slow and stolid temperament
adjective

Front 18

distraught

Back 18

agitated with doubt or mental conflict or pain
adjective

Front 19

nebulous

Back 19

indistinct; vague
adjective

Front 20

euphemism

Back 20

the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant
noun

Front 21

Assimilate

Back 21

to take into the mind and thoroughly comprehend
verb

Front 22

cognizant

Back 22

knowledgeable of something especially through personal experience
adjective

Front 23

discursive

Back 23

moving from topic to topic without order
adjective

Front 24

ennui

Back 24

a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction
noun

Front 25

farcical

Back 25

laughably inept
adjective

Front 26

fortuitous

Back 26

occurring by chance
adjective

Front 27

hyperbole

Back 27

extravagant exaggeration
noun

Front 28

incognito

Back 28

with one's identity concealed
adjective/adverb

Front 29

mesmerism

Back 29

hypnotic induction held to involve animal magnetism
noun

Front 30

omniscient

Back 30

having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight
adjective

Front 31

Adroit

Back 31

having or showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness in handling situations
adjective

Front 32

allay

Back 32

to subdue or reduce in intensity or severity
verb

Front 33

blazon

Back 33

to publish widely
verb

Front 34

bravado

Back 34

a pretense of bravery
noun

Front 35

choleric

Back 35

easily moved to often unreasonable or excessive anger
adjective

Front 36

colloquy

Back 36

a high-level serious discussion
noun

Front 37

despot

Back 37

a ruler with absolute power and authority
noun

Front 38

expatriate

Back 38

banish, exile
verb

Front 39

feign

Back 39

to give a false appearance of
verb

Front 40

dirge

Back 40

a song or hymn of grief or lamentation
noun

Front 41

Amorphous

Back 41

having no definite form
adjective

Front 42

guile

Back 42

deceitful cunning
noun

Front 43

sanguine

Back 43

confident, optimistic
adjective

Front 44

protégé

Back 44

one who is protected or trained or whose career is furthered by a person of experience, prominence, or influence
noun

Front 45

facile

Back 45

easily accomplished or attained
adjective

Front 46

ascetic

Back 46

practicing strict self-denial as a measure of personal and especially spiritual discipline
noun

Front 47

doggerel

Back 47

loosely styled and irregular in measure especially for burlesque or comic effect
adjective

Front 48

decorum

Back 48

propriety and good taste in conduct or appearance
noun

Front 49

seraphic

Back 49

angelic; of the highest order of angels
adjective

Front 50

proffer

Back 50

to present for acceptance
verb

Front 51

dogma

Back 51

something held as an established opinion
noun

Front 52

exhort

Back 52

urge strongly
verb

Front 53

implicit

Back 53

capable of being understood from something else though unexpressed
adjective

Front 54

inveigle

Back 54

to win over by wiles
verb

Front 55

nondescript

Back 55

lacking distinctive or interesting qualities
adjective

Front 56

nonentity

Back 56

something that does not exist or exists only in imagination.

Front 57

parsimonious

Back 57

frugal to the point of stinginess
adjective

Front 58

scurrilous

Back 58

using or given to coarse language
adjective

Front 59

sundry

Back 59

miscellaneous; various
adjective

Front 60

vociferous

Back 60

marked by or given to vehement insistent outcry
adjective

Front 61

broach

Back 61

to make known for the first time
verb

Front 62

charlatan

Back 62

one making usually showy pretenses to knowledge or ability
noun

Front 63

erudite

Back 63

learned
adjective

Front 64

etymology

Back 64

historic development of a word

Front 65

extol

Back 65

to praise highly
verb

Front 66

gratuitous

Back 66

given unearned or without recompense
adjective

Front 67

immutable

Back 67

not capable of or susceptible to change
adjective

Front 68

predispose

Back 68

to make susceptible
verb

Front 69

truism

Back 69

an undoubted or self-evident truth
noun

Front 70

venerate

Back 70

to regard with reverential respect or with admiring deference
verb

Front 71

absolve

Back 71

to set free from an obligation or the consequences of guilt
verb

Front 72

antipathy

Back 72

settled aversion or dislike
noun

Front 73

antipodes

Back 73

the parts of the earth diametrically opposite —usually used in plural —often used of Australia and New Zealand as contrasted to the western hemisphere
noun

Front 74

indigent

Back 74

totally lacking in something specified
adjective

Front 75

infringe

Back 75

to encroach upon in a way that violates law or the rights of another
verb

Front 76

nettle

Back 76

to strike or sting with or as if with nettles; irritate
verb

Front 77

ostensible

Back 77

being such in appearance
adjective

Front 78

retroactive

Back 78

extending in scope or effect to a prior time or to conditions that existed or originated in the past
adjective

Front 79

specious

Back 79

having a false look of truth or genuineness
adjective

Front 80

subjugate

Back 80

to bring under control and governance as a subject
verb

Front 81

abnegation

Back 81

self-denial
noun

Front 82

copious

Back 82

plentiful in number
adjective

Front 83

eulogy

Back 83

a commendatory oration or writing especially in honor of one deceased
noun

Front 84

euphony

Back 84

pleasant or sweet sounding
noun

Front 85

extraneous

Back 85

existing on or coming from the outside
adjective

Front 86

mundane

Back 86

characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary
adjective

Front 87

poignant

Back 87

painfully affecting the feelings
adjective

Front 88

progeny

Back 88

descendants; children
noun

Front 89

sonorous

Back 89

producing sound
adjective

Front 90

tenure

Back 90

the act, right, manner, or term of holding something
noun

Front 91

ascribe

Back 91

to refer to a supposed cause, source, or author
verb

Front 92

elegy

Back 92

a song or poem expressing sorrow or lamentation especially for one who is dead
noun

Front 93

engender

Back 93

to cause to exist or to develop
verb

Front 94

humdrum

Back 94

monotonous, dull
adjective

Front 95

introvert

Back 95

a reserved or shy person
noun

Front 96

homily

Back 96

a usually short sermon
noun

Front 97

idiosyncrasy

Back 97

characteristic peculiarity
noun

Front 98

hackneyed

Back 98

lacking in freshness or originality
adjective

Front 99

paragon

Back 99

a model of excellence or perfection
noun

Front 100

inconsequential

Back 100

having no major effect; unimportant
of no significance
adjective