Reading...
Play button
Play button
Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;
Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;
H to show hint;
A reads text to speech;
201 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
|
Onerous
|
troublesome and oppressive; burdensome
|
|
|
paradox
|
contradiction or dilemma
|
|
|
Obviate
|
to prevent; make unnecessary
|
|
|
Occlude
|
to stop up, prevent the passage of
|
|
|
Opaque
|
impossible to see through; preventing the passage of light
|
|
|
Ostentatious
|
excessive showiness
|
|
|
Satiate
|
to satisfy fully or over indulge
cloy, glut, gorge, surfeit |
|
|
Impetuous
|
quick to act without thinking
|
|
|
Garrulous
|
tending to talk a lot
|
|
|
Lavish
|
extremely generous or extravagant; to give unsparingly
|
|
|
Latent
|
potential that is not readily apparent
|
|
|
Lassitude
|
a state of diminished energy
|
|
|
Lament
|
to express sorrow, to grieve
|
|
|
Laconic
|
using few words
concise, curt, pithy, taciturn |
|
|
Insipid
|
lacking interest or flavor
|
|
|
Laud
|
to give praise, to glorify
|
|
|
Diffident
|
lacking self-confidence
|
|
|
Desultory
|
jumping from one thing to another;disconnected
|
|
|
Dilatory
|
intended to delay
|
|
|
Deference
|
courtesy, respect
|
|
|
Naive
|
lacking sophistication or experience
|
|
|
Obdurate
|
hardened in feeling, resistant to persuasion
|
|
|
Deride
|
to speak of or treat with contempt, to mock
|
|
|
Malleable
|
capable of being shaped
|
|
|
Meticulous
|
extremely careful about details
|
|
|
Metaphor
|
a figure in speech comparing two different things, a symbol
|
|
|
Malinger
|
to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
|
|
|
Luminous
|
bright, brilliant, glowing
|
|
|
Lucid
|
clear and easily understood
|
|
|
Loquacious
|
talkative
|
|
|
Lethargic
|
acting in an indifferent or slow, sluggish manner
|
|
|
Inundate
|
to overwhelm, to cover with water
|
|
|
Impervious
|
impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
|
|
|
Implacable
|
unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
|
|
|
Austere
|
severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
|
|
|
Attenuate
|
reduce in force or degree; weaken
|
|
|
Archaic
|
ancient, old-fashioned
antediluvian, superannuated |
|
|
Articulate
|
able to speak clearly and expressively
silver-tongued |
|
|
Abstain
|
to choose not to do something
forbear |
|
|
Adulterate
|
to make impure
doctor, debase |
|
|
Anomaly
|
deviation from what is normal, preternaturalness
|
|
|
Antipathy
|
extreme dislike, enmity, animus, repugnance, revulsion, repulsion
|
|
|
Apathy
|
lack of interest or emotion, stolidity, listlessness, phlegm
|
|
|
Apocryphal
|
of questionable authority or authenticity
|
|
|
Arbitrary
|
depending solely on someone's will, inconsistent
|
|
|
Alacrity
|
speed or quickness, dispatch
|
|
|
Philanthropy
|
charity, a desire or effort to promote goodness
|
|
|
Placate
|
to soothe or pacify
|
|
|
Phlegmatic
|
calm and unemotional in temperament, apathetic, impassive
|
|
|
Pervade
|
to be present throughout, to permeate, infuse, imbue, suffuse, penetrate
|
|
|
Opprobrium
|
public disgrace, ignominy, obloquy
|
|
|
Innocuous
|
harmless, benign, harmless, inoffensive, insipid
|
|
|
Euphemism
|
use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
|
|
|
Estimable
|
admirable, meritorious
|
|
|
Exculpate
|
to clear from blame, prove innocent, absolve, acquit
|
|
|
Volatile
|
easily aroused or changeable; lively or explosive, fickle
|
|
|
Zeal
|
passion, excitement
|
|
|
Verbose
|
wordy, longwinded, prolix, superfluous, loquacious
|
|
|
Veracity
|
filled with truth and accuracy, probity
|
|
|
Ameliorate
|
to make better; to improve, pacify
|
|
|
Tacit
|
done without using words, unuttered, unsaid, implied
|
|
|
Viscous
|
thick and adhesive, like a slow flowing fluid, gelatinous, glutinous
|
|
|
Waver
|
to fluctuate between choices, dither, falter
|
|
|
Sublime
|
lofty or grand, regal
|
|
|
Abate
|
to reduce in amount, degree, or severity, ebb, slacken, wane, subside
|
|
|
Torpor
|
extreme mental and physical sluggisness, languor
|
|
|
Reticent
|
silent, reserved, undemonstrative, standoffish, introverted
|
|
|
Aggrandize
|
to increase in power, influence and reputation, swell, wax, apotheosize, ennoble
|
|
|
Dissemble
|
to present under a false appearance to disguise one's real intentions or character, feign, cloak, sham, masquerade
|
|
|
Discern
|
to perceive or recognize, espy, descry
|
|
|
Decorum
|
appropriateness of behavior or conduct;propriety
|
|
|
Credulous
|
too trusting; gullible
|
|
|
Corroborate
|
supporting evidence
|
|
|
Crescendo
|
steadily increasing in volume or force
|
|
|
Foment
|
to arouse or incite
|
|
|
Florid
|
excessively decorated or embellished
|
|
|
Frugality
|
tending to be thrifty or cheap
|
|
|
Fortuitous
|
happening by chance, fortunate
|
|
|
Eulogy
|
speech in praise
commend, extol, laud |
|
|
Phlegmatic
|
calm and unemotional in temperament;
apathetic, calm, emotionless, impassive, indifferent, passionless, unemotional |
|
|
Esoteric
|
known or understood by a few:
abstruse, arcane, obscure |
|
|
Explicit
|
clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression:
candid, frank, straightforward, unequivocal |
|
|
Iconoclast
|
one who opposes established beliefs, customs and institutions;
maverick, nonconformist, rebel, revolutionary |
|
|
Intransigent
|
uncompromising, refusing to be reconciled;
implacable, inexorable, irreconcilable, obdurate, obstinate, remorseless, rigid, unbending, unrelenting, unyielding |
|
|
Aberrant
|
deviating from normal or expected, divergent, deviant
|
|
|
Anachronism
|
something out of place, incongruity, archaism
|
|
|
Ardor
|
intense and passionate feeling, fervency, devotion
|
|
|
Dogma
|
firmly help opinion, especially a religious belief, doctrine, tenet, creed
|
|
|
Disparate
|
fundamentally different, entirely unlike, dissimilar, various, divergent, different
|
|
|
Inchoate
|
not fully formed, disorganized, amorphous, incomplete, unorganized
|
|
|
Whimsical
|
lightly acting, in a fanciful or capricious manner, unpredictable, capricious, erratic, frivolous, flippant
|
|
|
Tirade
|
long, harsh speech or verbal attack, diatribe, harangue, vilification, revilement, obloquy, fulmination
|
|
|
Venerate
|
respect deeply, adore, honor, idolize, revere
|
|
|
Vacillate
|
to physically sway or to be indecisive, dither, falter, oscilllate, vascillate, waver, fluctuate
|
|
|
Transitory
|
temporary, lasting a brief time, ephemeral, evanescent, fleeting, momentary, impermanent
|
|
|
Probity
|
complete honesty and integrity, morality, integrity, virtue, rectitude, uprightness
|
|
|
Proclivity
|
a natural inclination or predisposition, bias, leaning, partiality, penchant, predilection, predisposition, prejudice, propensity
|
|
|
Pristine
|
fresh and clean, uncorrupted
|
|
|
Approbation
|
approval and praise, acclaim, adulation, applause, commendation, kudos, extol
|
|
|
Aesthetic
|
concerning the appreciation of beauty
artistic, tasteful |
|
|
caustic
|
biting in wit
acerbic, biting, mordant, trenchant |
|
|
abyss
|
extremely deep hole
chasm, void abysmal: extremely bad |
|
|
Dilate
|
make larger
expand, amplify, develop, elaborate, enlarge, expand, expatiate |
|
|
exacerbate
|
to make worse
annoy, aggravate, irritate, intensify, provoque |
|
|
Homogenous
|
of a similar kind
uniform, standardized, consistent, unvarying |
|
|
Gregarious
|
sociable, outgoing, affable, congenial, communicative
|
|
|
Obsequious
|
over-submissive and eager to please, compliant, deferential, servile, subservient
|
|
|
Monotony
|
no variation, tediously the same, drone, tedium
|
|
|
Efficacy
|
effectiveness, dynamism, proficieny, productiveness
|
|
|
Dogmatic
|
dictatorial in one's opinion, authoritarian, bossy, dictatorial, doctrinaire, domineering, imperious, magisterial, masterful, overbearing, peremptory
|
|
|
Exigent
|
urgent, requiring immediate action, critical, imperative, needed
|
|
|
Candid
|
impartial and honest in speech,
direct, forthright, frank, undisguised |
|
|
Bombastic
|
pompous in speech and manner
bloated, declamatory, fustian, grandi/magniloquent, orotund, rhetorical |
|
|
Obstinate
|
stubborn, unyielding, intransigent, mulish, persistent, pertinacious, tenacious
|
|
|
Prevaricate
|
to lie or deviate from the truth
equivocate, lie, perjure |
|
|
Pungent
|
sharp and irritating to the senses
piquant, poignant, acrid, caustic, stinging |
|
|
Prudence
|
wisdom, caution and restraint
astuteness, circumspection, discretion, frugality, judiciousness, providence, thrift |
|
|
Rarefy
|
make thinner or sparser,
attenuate, thin |
|
|
Quiescent
|
motionless
latent, dormant |
|
|
Propriety
|
acting in a proper manner, obeying rules and customs
decency,decorum, modesty, seemly |
|
|
Convoluted
|
intricate and complicated
byzantine, labyrinthine, tangled, perplexing, knotty, elaborate |
|
|
Dupe
|
to deceive or a person who is easily deceived
beguile, betray, cozen, delude, humbug, hoodwink, take in, bluff |
|
|
Dirge
|
a funeral hymn or mournful speech
elegy, lament |
|
|
Dilettante
|
someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
amateur, dabbler, tyro, superficial |
|
|
Disabuse
|
set right, free from error
correct, undeceive |
|
|
Fawn
|
to grovel
bootlick, grovel, toady, pander |
|
|
Fanatical
|
acting excessively enthusiastic, filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion
extremist, fiery, frenzied, zealous |
|
|
Fervid
|
intensely emotional, feverish
burning, impassioned, passionate, vehement, zealous |
|
|
Diatribe
|
an abusive condemnatory speech
tirade, harangue, fulmination, invective, jeremiad, malediction, obloquy |
|
|
Desiccate
|
to dry out thoroughly
dry, parch, dehydrate |
|
|
Vex
|
to annoy, bane, irk, chafe, nuisance, peeve
|
|
|
Eclectic
|
selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
selective, catholic, broad |
|
|
Elegy
|
a sorrowful poem or speech
dirge, lament |
|
|
Engender
|
to produce, cause, bring about
beget, spawn, proliferate, procreate |
|
|
Enumerate
|
to count, list, itemize
catalog, index, tabulate |
|
|
Erudite
|
learned, scholarly, bookish, wise
|
|
|
Banal
|
predictable, cliched, boring
trite, bromidic, fatuous, jejune, musty, platitudinous, prosaic, quotidian |
|
|
Chauvinist
|
someone prejudiced in favor of a group he or she belongs to
biased, partisan, tendentious, prepossessed, colored |
|
|
Circumspect
|
cautious, aware of potential circumstances
alert, heedful, mindful, wary, prudent |
|
|
Coalesce
|
to grow together to form a single whole
amalgamate, consolidate, fuse, unite |
|
|
Chicanery
|
deception by means of craft or guile
artifice, conniving, craftiness, deception, deviousness, misrepresentation, sneakiness, sophistry, subterfuge |
|
|
Chaos
|
great disorder or confused situation
clutter, disarrangement, muddle, topsy-turviness, scramble, snarl, jumble |
|
|
Catalyst
|
brings about change in something else
|
|
|
Castigate
|
to punish or criticize harshly
admonish, chastise, chide, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove, scold, tax, upbraid |
|
|
Stigma
|
a mark of shame or discredit
blemish, blot, opprobrium, stain, taint |
|
|
Soporific
|
causing sleep or lethargy
hypnotic, narcotic, slumberous, somnolent |
|
|
Specious
|
deceptively attractive, seemingly plausible but fallacious
illusory, ostensible, plausible, spurious, sophistic |
|
|
Stolid
|
unemotional, lacking sensitivity
apathetic, impassive, indifferent, phlegmatic, stoical, unconcerned |
|
|
Rhetoric
|
effective writing or speaking
eloquence, oratory |
|
|
Repudiate
|
to reject the validity
deny, disavow, disclaim, disown, renounce |
|
|
Dissonance
|
a harsh and disagreeable, combination, especially of sounds
clash, contention, discord, dissension, dissent, dissidence, friction |
|
|
Paragon
|
model of excellence or perfection
apotheosis, ideal, quintessence, standard |
|
|
Connoisseur
|
a person with expert knowledge or discriminating tastes
authority, epicure, expert, gastronome, gourmet |
|
|
Propitiate
|
to conciliate, to appease
appease, conciliate, mollify, pacify, placate |
|
|
Proliferate
|
to increase in number quickly
breed, multiply procreate, propagate, reproduce, spawn |
|
|
Prodigal
|
lavish, wasteful
extravagant, profligate, spendthrift, wasteful |
|
|
Audacious
|
fearless and daring
mettlesome, dauntless, stout, undaunted, venturesome, venturous |
|
|
Assuage
|
to make something unpleasant less severe
allay, conciliate, mitigate, propitiate sweeten, pacify, mollify |
|
|
Antagonize
|
Annoy or provoke anger
irritate, vex |
|
|
Mitigate
|
to soften, to lessen
allay, assuage, moderate, temper, palliate, mollify, lighten |
|
|
Misanthrope
|
a person who dislikes others
|
|
|
mollify
|
to calm or make less severe
appease, conciliate, pacify |
|
|
Irascible
|
easily made angry
cantankerous, irritable, ornery, testy |
|
|
Perfunctory
|
done in a routine way, indifferent
apathetic, automatic, mechanical |
|
|
Pedant
|
someone who shows off learning
|
|
|
Perfidious
|
willing to betray one's trust
disloyal, faithless, treacherous, traitorous |
|
|
Permeate
|
to penetrate
imbue, infuse, pervade, suffuse |
|
|
Pragmatic
|
practical as opposed to idealistic
realistic, rational |
|
|
Precipitate
|
to throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation
headlong, hurried, prompt, sudden, impetuous, rash, hasty |
|
|
Plethora
|
excess
glut, overabundance, superfluity, surfeit |
|
|
Plastic
|
able to be molded, altered or bent
adaptable, ductile, malleable, pliant |
|
|
Amalgamate
|
to combine, to mix together
admix, blend, coalesce, intermingle, intermix, merge, mingle |
|
|
Inimical
|
hostile, unfriendly
adverse, antagonistic, dissident, recalcitrant |
|
|
Gullible
|
easily deceived
credulous, exploitable, naive |
|
|
Guile
|
deceit, trickery
artifice, chicanery, connivery, duplicity |
|
|
IMpertubable
|
not capable of being disturbed
composed, dispassionate, impassive, serene, stoical |
|
|
INgenuous
|
showing innocence or childlike simplicity
artless, guileless, innocent, naive, simple, unaffected |
|
|
Equivocate
|
to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
ambiguous, evasive, waffling |
|
|
Enervate
|
to reduce in strength
debilitate, enfeeble, sap, weaken |
|
|
Enigma
|
puzzle or mystery
conundrum, perplexity |
|
|
Erratic
|
wandering and unpredictable
capricious, inconstant, irresolute, whimsical |
|
|
Ephemeral
|
lasting a short time
evanescent, fleeting, momentary, transient |
|
|
Exonerate
|
to clear of blame
absolve, acquit, clear, exculpate, vindicate |
|
|
Burgeon
|
to grow and flourish
bloom, flourish, prosper, thrive |
|
|
Bolster
|
support, prop up
brace, buttress, crutch, prop, sustain, underpinning, uphold |
|
|
Cacophony
|
harsh, jarring noise,
discord, chaos, disharmony, noise, clamor, din |
|
|
Capricious
|
changing one's mind quickly and often
arbitrary, chance, changeable, erratic, fickle, inconstant, mercurial, random, whimsical, willful |
|
|
Burnish
|
to polish, buff, luster, scour
|
|
|
Embellish
|
to add ornamental or fictitious details
adorn, bedeck, elaborate, embroider, enhance, exaggerate |
|
|
Emulate
|
to copy, to try too equal or excel
ape, imitate, simulate |
|
|
Eloquent
|
persuasive and moving, especially in speech
articulate, expressive, fluent, meaningful, significant, smooth spoken |
|
|
Condone
|
to overlook, pardon or disregard
exculpate, excuse, pardon, remit |
|
|
Cogent
|
convincing and well reasoned
convincing persuasive, solid, sound, telling, valid |
|
|
Abscond
|
to leave secretly
flee, decamp, escape |
|
|
Alleviate
|
to make more bearable
allay, assuage, comfort, ease, lessen lighten, mitigate, palliate, relieve |
|
|
Arbitrate
|
to judge a dispute between two opposing parties
adjudge, adjudicate, decide, determine, judge, moderate, referee, rule |
|
|
Advocate
|
to speak in favor of
back, champion, support |
|
|
Ambiguous
|
doubtful or uncertain, can be interpreted several ways
cloudy, doubtful, nebulous, indeterminate, obscure, vague, unclear |
|
|
Analogous
|
similar or alike in some way, equivalent to
alike comparable, corresponding, equivalent, homogenuous, parallel, similar |
|
|
Profligate
|
extravagant
|
|
|
Quixotic
|
foolishly idealistic
|
