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60 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Tenuous
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thin; meager; flimsy; weak; unsubstantial
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Francine’s already TENUOUS connection to her cousins was broken when they moved away and didn’t give her their new address.
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Threadbare
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shabby; worn out
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The family’s poverty was evident by the children’s THREADBARE clothes.
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Vexatious
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annoying; causing trouble
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The VEXATIOUS old man who loved his peace and quiet demanded that his neighbors turn down their music
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Soporific
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(adj) sleep-inducing; dulling
to the senses (n) a thing that causes sleep |
The movie proved to be so SOPORIFIC that soon loud snores were heard throughout the theatre.
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Subservient
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in an obedient and slavish manner; subordinate; submissively serving a higher authority
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21st century women no longer believe that they should be SUBSERVIENT to their husbands.
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Supplant
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to replace; to usurp the place of
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After his miserable performance, the raw young CEO was SUPPLANTED by a more experienced candidate.
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Reprove
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to disapprove; to censure or criticize adversely
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Mrs. Hernandez REPROVED her daughter for her poor grades and ordered her to work harder in school.
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Scrupulous
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careful; exact; upright; honorable
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David could not have stolen Carmen’s money; he’s too SCRUPULOUS to do such a thing.
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Scurrilous
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vulgar; obscene; evil in habit; coarse; foul; smutty
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The decadent aristocrat too part in SCURRILOUS activities every night, unbeknownst to his family.
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Neophyte
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a beginner; novice
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A relative NEOPHYTE at bowling, Seth rolled all of his bowls into the gutter.
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Progeny
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children; descendants from a common ancestor; offspring
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The old photograph showed Great-grandma Wells surrounded by her husband and all of their PROGENY.
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Quandary
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dilemma; a state of doubt or perplexity; predicament
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Bill found himself in quite a QUANDARY when he realized that he had promised to give the job to two different applicants.
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Ingratiate
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to win another's favor or affection; to create good will toward oneself
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Walter INGRATIATED himself with his new coworkers by bringing them donuts every morning.
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Insuperable
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impossible to overcome or defeat; unbeatable
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The difficulties we face may seem INSUPERABLE, but I’m confident that we will achieve all we set out to do.
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Jettison
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to discard; to cast out; to throw overboard, as from a boat
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The sinking ship JETTISONED its cargo in a desperate attempt to reduce its weight.
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Liquidate
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to abolish; to get rid of; to do away with; to pay off, like a debt
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She had to LIQUIDATE her holdings to pay off her partner.
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Meander
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(v) to drift; to wander aimlessly
(n) a winding stroll |
The path MEANDERED through the deep woods.
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Mesmerize
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to hypnotize; to spellbind; to transfix
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The ballet dancer’s rhythmic moves MESMERIZED the audience.
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Exacerbate
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to make worse; to cause greater bitterness or harm; to irritate
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It is unwise to take aspirin to relieve heartburn; instead of providing relief, the drug will only EXACERBATE the problem.
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Fervor
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intense feeling or enthusiasm; passion
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The FERVOR of Maria Callas’ fans was evident; they would do anything to catch a glimpse of the great singer.
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Indigent
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poor; poverty-stricken
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Because the suspect was INDIGENT, the state paid for his legal representation.
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Discursive
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unfocused; rambling; wandering from one subject to another
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The professor, known for his DISCURSIVE speaking style, covered everything from armadillos to zebras in his zoology lecture.
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Evanescent
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impermanent, fleeting, fragile
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It is lucky that eclipses are EVANESCENT, or the world would never see sunlight.
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Evince
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to display a quality or trait; to make evident
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The new secretary EVINCED impressive typing and filing skills.
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Brazen
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brash; boldly outspoken; harsh-sounding
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“That BRAZEN slut had better stay away from my husband, “fumed Mrs. Hayward.
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Contrite
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sorry; regretful; remorseful
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After three resident were mugged in the lobby while the watchman was away from his post, he felt very CONTRITE.
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Defame
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to lie about; to damage the reputation of; to libel
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The celebrity sued the tabloid for DEFAMING her reputation.
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Adroit
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skillful; handy
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The ADROIT athlete completed even the most difficult obstacle course with ease.
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Ascetic
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(adj) practicing self-denial for spiritual or other reasons
(n) a self-deprived person |
The monk lived an ASCETIC life deep in the wilderness, denying himself all forms of luxury.
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Benighted
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ignorant; uninformed; empty-headed
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Ben scoffed at the crowd, as he believed it consisted entirely of BENIGHTED individuals.
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Disquiet
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(n) uneasiness, restlessness
(v) to disturb or unsettle; to stir up |
The company’s poor earning report DISQUIETED its investors.
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Effrontery
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boldness; brashness; arrogance; excessive nerve; chutzpah
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The receptionist had the EFFRONTERY to laugh out loud when the CEO tripped over a computer wire and fell flat on his face.
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Egregious
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obviously wrong; of conspicuously bad quality
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The English textbook contained several EGREGIOUS errors; for example, “grammar” was misspelled grammer.
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Debunk
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to expose falsity or untrue claims; to unmask
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It was the girl’s mission in life to DEBUNK the myth that girls are bad at math.
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Decorous
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proper; decent; appropriate to accepted social standards; tasteful
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The countess trained her daughters in the finer points of DECOROUS behavior, hoping they would make a good impression when she presented them at Court.
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Disparage
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to belittle; to lower in value by negative criticism; to insult
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Gregorio loved to DISPARAGE his brother’s dancing skills, pointing out every mistake he made on the floor.
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Bellicose
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warlike; inclined to fight; belligerent
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Immediately after defeating one of his enemies, the BELLICOSE chieftain declared war on another.
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Carping
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critical; fault-finding
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If the new employee weren’t CARPING all the time, she might not have been fired.
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Chagrin
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(n) mental distress; shamed caused by failure or disappointment
(v) to cause emotional upset |
No doubt, the president felt a good deal of CHAGRIN after vomiting on his neighbor at the state banquet.
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Acrid
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excessively bitter; stinging to the taste or smell
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The ACRID smell of vinegar drove the children out of the kitchen.
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Adulation
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extreme flattery or admiration; unreasonable adoration or praise
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After Ana’s piano recital, the audience lavished her with ADULATION.
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Assuage
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to relieve a pain, a burden, or some other difficulty; to satisfy or quench a thirst or appetite
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Like many people, Philip Larkin used alcohol to ASSUAGE his sense of meaningless and despair.
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Flaunt
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to show off; to display boastfully; to exhibit in a showy manner
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Rhonda FLAUNTED her engagement ring all over the office.
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Ignoble
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humble; lowly; not honorable; vulgar; vile; wretched
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The IGNOBLE grocer took pride in selling his customers flour that was laced with dust.
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Impregnable
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unconquerable; not able to be broken into or passed through
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The fortress was IMPREGNABLE – until, that is, the defenders allowed the Trojan Horse to enter its gates.
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Inimitable
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matchless; unable to be imitated; one of a kind; unique
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Tiger Wood’s INIMITABLE success on the golf course keeps him in a league of his own.
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Jocular
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witty; jolly; humorous; having the character of a joke
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The JOCULAR old man entertained his grandchildren with jokes for hours.
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Magnanimous
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noble; generous; lofty in mind and spirit
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Although at first he seemed mean, Uncle Frank turned out to be a very MAGNANIMOUS fellow.
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Mercenary
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(adj) acting just for reward or pay
(n) a person hired to fight for a country or a group not his own |
Because his own army was so small, the dictator was forced to hire MERCENARIES to protect him.
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Pejorative
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(adj) insulting; uncomplimentary
(n) a demeaning work or remark |
The teacher scolded Mark for his unduly PEJORATIVE comments about his classmate’s presentation.
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Penchant
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a strong preference, leaning, or inclination
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Amber’s PENCHANT for rich, married men made her an object of hatred for their wives.
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Perturb
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annoy; bother; upset; agitate
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She was rather PERTURBED to hear that her company was planning serious layoffs.
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Petulant
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irritable; cranky; grouchy
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The child’s PETULANT behavior annoyed the teacher, who liked her young students to be cheerful and cooperative.
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Quixotic
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unrealistic; impractical; visionary
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The practical Daniel was skeptical of her roommate’s QUIXOTIC plans to build a rollercoaster in their yard.
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Sinuous
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winding, like a path or road; wavy; bending in and out
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Thick, SINUOUS vines wound around the trunk of the tree.
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Spurious
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false, counterfeit, inauthentic
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Quoting from a SPURIOUS bible, the cult leader declared that all property should be signed over to him.
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Tantamount
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the same as; equivalent in value, meaning or significance
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Her refusal to defend herself against the accusation was TANTAMOUNT to a confession in the eyes of the police officers.
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Traverse
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(n) a crossing
(v) to move to and fro over an area |
Once the rope pulley broke, the hikers were unable to TRAVERSE the river.
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Untenable
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illogical; unable to be defended or supported
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Unable to defend his UNTENABLE argument, Roger conceded that he must be wrong.
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Virulent
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deadly; extremely harmful; poisonous
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Alarmed at the VIRULENT hate mail she was receiving, the federal judge decided to hire a bodyguard.
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