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150 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abdicate
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to denounce; to discard; to abandon
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aberration
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something not typical; a deviation
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abhorrence
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repugnance; detestation
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abjure
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to renounce upon oath
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abnegation
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self-denial
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abrogate
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to break, as a treaty or law
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abbscond
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to depart secretly; to hide (oneself)
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absolve
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to set free from an obligation or the consequences of guilt
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abstain
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to refrain deliberately from an action or practice, usu, as a form of self-denial
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abstemious
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sparing or moderate, especially in eating or drinking (antonym: self-denial)
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abstruse
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hard to understand or grasp; esoteric
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abut
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to border on; to terminate at the boundary or point of contact
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abysmal
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immeasurable; bottomless
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accolade
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an award or honor; high praise
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acquiesce
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to agree silently; to accept tacitly
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acrophobia
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the fear of heights
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acumen
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keenness
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adamant
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unyielding; stubborn
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addle
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to throw into confusion; to confound
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adjure
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to command solemnly; to advise earnestly; to beg
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adroit
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showing skill, cleverness, or resourcefulness
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adulation
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excessive praise
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adumbrate
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to intimate or foreshadow; to obscure
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aestivate (estivate)
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to spend the summer in an inactive state
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agglomeration
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a collection in a mass, heap, or cluster; aggrandizement
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agoraphobia
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the fear of open spaces
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alacrity
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liveliness or eagerness; readiness (antonym: lassitude)
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allegory
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a symbolic expression or description
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allusion
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an indirect reference to something else; a hint
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alms
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charity; something given to the poor (usu, refers to small change)
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alpinism
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mountain climbing
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altruistic
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unselfish; concerned with the welfare of others
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ambergris
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a product of sperm whales used in the manufacture of perfume
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amphora
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an ancient two-handled Greek jar
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anathema
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a ban or curse; a denunciation accompanied by excommunication
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andiron
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a metal support used for holding logs in a hearth
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androphobia
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the fear of men
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anneal
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to toughen or to strengthen
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anondyne
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a pain reliever
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anomaly
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an aberration; a deviation; an irregularity
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antipathy
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firm dislike; hatred (antonym: sympathy)
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antiseptic
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free from germs, exceptionally clean
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antithesis
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the direct opposite
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aphelion
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the point in a planet's orbit that is farthese from the sun
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apocalyptic
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of, or relating to, a revelation or discovery
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apocryphal
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of doubtful authenticity; spurious
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apogee
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the point in a satellite's orbit that is fartheset from the center of the earth
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aquiline
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hooked; like an eagle
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arachnophobia
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the fear of spiders
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archon
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the chief magistrate in ancient Athens; any ruler
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arid
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dull; unimaginative; extremely dry
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arrogate
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to claim or seize without justification; to usurp
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artifice
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cleverness; ingenuity
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assiduous
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diligent
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assuage
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to ease the intensity of; to appease; to pacify (antonym: exacerbate)
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astraphobia
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the fear of lightning
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atrophy
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a wasting away; degeneration
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attenuate
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to lessen in the amount, force, or value; to weaken
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austral
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southern (antonym; boreal)
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axiom
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a self-evedent rule or truth; a widely accepted saying
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azure
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sky blue
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baleful
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menacing; harmful
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balmy
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soothing; mild
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banal
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trite; commonplace
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bellicose
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inclined to start wars or fights (antonym: pacific)
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beneficent
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beneficial (antonym: deleterious)
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benign
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gracious; favorable; not threatening to health (antonym: malignant)
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bibliophile
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one who loves books
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biennial
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occurring every two years
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bifurcate
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divided in two branches; forked
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blighted
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withered or rotten; destroyed; frustrated
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blithe
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happy; merry; cheerful
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bombastic
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pompous; overblown; turgid
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boreal
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northern (antonym: austral)
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boycott
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to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (a person, store, organization) as a sign of disapproval (derived from Charles C. Boycott, an English land agent who was ostracized in Ireland because of his refusal to lower rents)
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broach
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to make known for the first time; to open up (a subject) for discussion
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bromidic
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lacking originality; trite
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brontophobia
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the fear of thunder
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brook
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to bear or tolerate; to put up with
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brusque
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abrupt or short in manner or speech
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buccal
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pertaining to the cheeks or side of the mouth
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bucolic
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pastoral; relating to rural life
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buffoon
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a clown or ludicrous figure; someone who amuses with jokes or tricks
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bulbous
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rotund; round like a bulb
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bumptious
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aggressive and assertive in an offensive way (antonym: shy; self-effacing)
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buoyant
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(1) having the ability to float (2) cheerful; gay
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burnish
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to make shiny or lustrous; to polish
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burnoose
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a hooded Arabic cloak
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cassock
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a loose robe worn by priests
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cabal
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a group united to plot, esp the overthrow of authority
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cache
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(1) a hiding place (2) something hidden in a secure place
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cacophony
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a harsh-sounding mixture of words, voices or sounds
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caduceus
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the emblem of the medical profession (a staff with intertwined snakes and wings at the top)
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cajole
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to persuade a reluctant person to do something; to coax
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caliber
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the diameter of the bore of a gun
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gauge
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the size of a shotgun; measure of the interior diameter of the barrel
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calumny
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a lie told to damage another's reputation; slander
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candid
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frank
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canonical
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orthodox; authoritative
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capitulate
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to cease resisting; to surrender (often after negotiations)
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capricious
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unpredictable; governed by a whim
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captious
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critical;fault-finding
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carp
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to complain
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cashmere
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a fine wool from a cashmere goat (derived from Kashmir, India)
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catharsis
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purification of emotions, esp through art
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bathos
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sentimentalism; overdone pathos; triteness; anticlimax
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pathos
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something that evokes pity, compassion, or sorrow
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catholic
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universal (antonym: provinial; parochial)
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caustic
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acrid; biting
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cavil
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to raise trivial objections; to nitpick
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cerulean
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resembling the blue of the sky
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chaff
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waste material from the threshing of wheat
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dross
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waste material fro molten metal
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slag
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scoria; refuse from the melting of metals of reduction of ore
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tailings
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waste material from the preparation of ores or grains
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chartreuse
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yellow-green
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chastise
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to criticise harshly; to castigate
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chauvinism
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excessive or blind patriotism (derived from Nicholas Chauvin, a character in a French play)
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chicanery
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trickery; artful deception
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chimerical
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fantastically visionary; wildly fanciful
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choleric
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easily angered or irritated
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Cimmerian
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(1)adj. shrouded in gloom and darkness (2) n. a mythical people described by Homer as dwelling in gloom
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stygian
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(1) darky and gloomy (2) relating to the Styx (in Greek mythology, the river of the underworld)
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circumlocution
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an indirect expression; wordy or evasive language
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circumspect
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considering all options; cautious
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clandestine
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surreptitious; secret
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claustrophobia
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the fear of closed places
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clemency
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an act of leniency; mercy
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cloy
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to satiate
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glut
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to oversupply; to satiate
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coda
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a passage that concludes a musical or literary work
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coalesce
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to grow together; to unite into a whole
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cogent
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pertinent; compelling; convincing
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cognizant
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perceptive; observant
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colloquial
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of or relating to conversation; characteristic of informal speech
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choleric
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easily angered or irritated
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Cimmerian
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(1)adj. shrouded in gloom and darkness (2) n. a mythical people described by Homer as dwelling in gloom
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stygian
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(1) darky and gloomy (2) relating to the Styx (in Greek mythology, the river of the underworld)
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circumlocution
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an indirect expression; wordy or evasive language
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circumspect
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considering all options; cautious
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clandestine
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surreptitious; secret
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claustrophobia
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the fear of closed places
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clemency
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an act of leniency; mercy
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cloy
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to satiate
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glut
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to oversupply; to satiate
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coda
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a passage that concludes a musical or literary work
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coalesce
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to grow together; to unite into a whole
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cogent
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pertinent; compelling; convincing
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cognizant
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perceptive; observant
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colloquial
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of or relating to conversation; characteristic of informal speech
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