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;
101 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
|
Cacophony
|
tremendous noise, disharmonious sound.
|
The elementary school
orchestra created a cacophony at the recital. |
|
|
Cadence
|
a rhythm, progression of sound
|
The pianist used the foot pedal to
emphasize the cadence of the sonata. |
|
|
Cajole
|
to urge, coax
|
Fred’s buddies cajoled him into attending the bachelor party.
|
|
|
Calamity
|
an event with disastrous consequences
|
The earthquake in San Francisco
was a calamity worse than any other natural disaster in history. |
|
|
Calibrate
|
to set, standardize
|
The mechanic calibrated the car’s transmission to
make the motor run most efficiently. |
|
|
Callous
|
harsh, cold, unfeeling
|
The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the
jury. |
|
|
Calumny
|
an attempt to spoil someone else's reputation by spreading lies
|
The local
official’s calumny ended up ruining his opponent’s prospect of winning the election. |
|
|
Camaraderie
|
brotherhood, jovial unity
|
Camaraderie among employees usually
leads to success in business. |
|
|
Candor
|
honesty frankness
|
We were surprised by the candor of the mayor’s speech
because he is usually rather evasive. |
|
|
Canny
|
shrewd, careful
|
The canny runner hung at the back of the pack through
much of the race to watch the other runners, and then sprinted past them at the end. |
|
|
canvas
|
a piece of cloth on which an artist paints
|
Picasso liked to work on canvas
rather than on bare cement.) 2. (v.) to cover, inspect (We canvassed the neighborhood looking for clues.) |
|
|
capacious
|
very spacious
|
The workers delighted in their new capacious office
space |
|
|
capitulate
|
to surrender
|
The army finally capitulated after fighting a long costly
battle |
|
|
capricious
|
subject to whim, fickle
|
The young girl’s capricious tendencies made it
difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals |
|
|
captivate
|
to get the attention of, hold
|
The fireworks captivated the young boy, who
had never seen such things before. |
|
|
carouse
|
to party, celebrate
|
We caroused all night after getting married
|
|
|
carp
|
to annoy, pester
|
The husband divorced his wife after listening to her carping
voice for decades |
|
|
catalog
|
to list, ener into a list
|
The judge cataloged the victim’s injuries before
calculating how much money he would award.) 2. (n.) a list or collection (We received a catalog from J. Crew that displayed all of their new items |
|
|
catalyze
|
to charge, inspire
|
The president’s speech catalyzed the nation and
resuscitated the economy |
|
|
caucus
|
a meeting usually held by people working toward the same goal.
|
The
ironworkers held a caucus to determine how much of a pay increase they would request. |
|
|
Caustic
|
bitter, biting, acidic
|
The politicians exchanged caustic insults for over an
hour during the debate. |
|
|
Cavort
|
to leap about, behave biosterously
|
The adults ate their dinners on the patio,
while the children cavorted around the pool |
|
|
Censure
|
harsh criticism
to rebuke formally |
The frustrated teenager could not put up with anymore
of her critical mother’s censure. |
|
|
cerebral
|
related to intellect
|
the books we read in this classare too cerebral they don't engage my emotions at all
|
|
|
chaos
|
absolute disorder
|
Mr. Thornton’s sudden departure for the lavatory
plunged his classroom into chaos |
|
|
Chastise
|
to critisize severly
|
After being chastised by her peers for mimicking
Britney Spears, Miranda dyed her hair black and affected a Gothic style |
|
|
cherish
|
to feel or show affection towards something
|
She continued to cherish her
red plaid trousers, even though they had gone out of style and no longer fit her |
|
|
chide
|
to voice disapproval
|
Lucy chided Russell for his vulgar habits and sloppy
appearance. |
|
|
choreography
|
the arrangements of dances
|
The plot of the musical was banal, but the
choreography was stunning. |
|
|
chronicle
|
a written history
|
The library featured the newly updated chronicle of
World War II.) 2. (v.) to write a history (Albert’s diary chronicled the day-to-day growth of his obsession with Cynthia |
|
|
chronological
|
arrange in order of time
|
Lionel carefully arranged the snapshots
of his former girlfriends in chronological order, and then set fire to them |
|
|
Curtail
|
to lessen, ruduce
|
Since losing his job, he had to curtail his spending
|
|
|
curt
|
abruptly and rudely short
|
Her curt reply to my question made me realize
that she was upset at me |
|
|
cursory
|
brief to the point of being superficial
|
Late for the meeting, she cast a
cursory glance at the agenda. |
|
|
cupidity
|
greed, strong desire
|
His cupidity made him enter the abandoned gold
mine despite the obvious dangers |
|
|
cunning
|
sly, clever at being deceitful
|
The general devised a cunning plan to
surprise the enemy |
|
|
cumulative
|
increasing, building upon itself
|
The cumulative effect of hours spent
in the sun was a deep tan. |
|
|
cultivate
|
to nurture, improve, refine
|
(At the library, she cultivated her interest in
spy novels |
|
|
culpable
|
deserving blame
|
He was culpable of the crime, and was sentenced to
perform community service for 75 years |
|
|
culmination
|
the climax toward which something progresses
|
The culmination of
the couple’s argument was the decision to divorce. |
|
|
criteria
|
standards by which something is judged
|
Among Mrs. Fields’s criteria for
good cookies are that they be moist and chewy. |
|
|
circumlocution
|
indirect and wordy language
|
The professor’s habit of speaking in
circumlocutions made it difficult to follow his lectures |
|
|
circumscribed
|
marked off, bounded
|
The children were permitted to play tag
only within a carefully circumscribed area of the lawn |
|
|
circumspect
|
cautious
|
Though I promised Rachel’s father I would bring her home
promptly by midnight, it would have been more circumspect not to have specified a time |
|
|
circumvent
|
to get around
|
The school’s dress code forbidding navel-baring jeans
was circumvented by the determined students, who were careful to cover up with long coats when administrators were nearby. |
|
|
clarvoyant
|
able to preceive things that normal people cannot
|
Zelda’s uncanny
ability to detect my lies was nothing short of clairvoyant. |
|
|
clamor
|
loud noise
loudly insist |
Each morning the birds outside my window make such a
clamor that they wake me up. |
|
|
clandestine
|
secret
|
Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the gym,
Sophie actually went to meet Joseph for a clandestine liaison. |
|
|
cleave
|
to divide into parts
|
Following the scandalous disgrace of their leader, the
entire political party cleaved into warring factions.) 2. (v.) to stick together firmly (After resolving their marital problems, Junior and Rosa cleaved to one another all the more tightly. |
|
|
clemency
|
mercy
|
After he forgot their anniversary, Martin could only beg Maria
for clemency. |
|
|
clergy
|
members of Christian holy orders
|
Though the villagers viewed the church
rectory as quaint and charming, the clergy who lived there regarded it as a mildewy and dusty place that aggravated their allergies |
|
|
cloying
|
sickeningly sweet
|
Though Ronald was physically attractive, Maud
found his constant compliments and solicitous remarks cloying |
|
|
coagulate
|
to thicken, clot
|
he top layer of the pudding had coagulated into a thick
skin. |
|
|
crescendo
|
a steady increase in intensity or volume
|
The crescendo of the brass
instruments gave the piece a patriotic feel |
|
|
credulity
|
readiness to believe
|
His credulity made him an easy target for con men
|
|
|
covert
|
secretly engaged in
|
Nerwin waged a covert campaign against his enemies,
while outwardly appearing to remain friendly |
|
|
covet
|
to desire enviously
|
I coveted Moses’s house, wife, and car
|
|
|
coup
|
1. a brilliant, unexpected act
2. the overthrow of a government and assumption of authority |
1. Alexander pulled off an amazing coup when he
got a date with Cynthia by purposely getting hit by her car 2. In their coup attempt, the army officers stormed the Parliament and took all the legislators hostage. |
|
|
counteract
|
to neutralize, make ineffective
|
The antidote counteracted the effect of
the poison. |
|
|
cosmopolitan
|
sophisticated, worldly
|
(Lloyd’s education and upbringing were
cosmopolitan, so he felt right at home among the powerful and learned |
|
|
corrosive
|
having the tendancy to erode or eat away
|
The effect of the chemical
was highly corrosive |
|
|
coalesce
|
to fuse into a whole
|
Gordon’s ensemble of thrift-shop garments coalesced
into a surprisingly handsome outfit. |
|
|
cobbler
|
a person who makes or repairs shoes
|
I had my neighborhood cobbler replace my worn-out leather soles with new ones.
|
|
|
coerce
|
to make somebody do something by force or threat
|
The court decided that
Vanilla Ice did not have to honor the contract because he had been coerced into signing it. |
|
|
cogent
|
intellectually convincing
|
Irene’s arguments in favor of abstinence were so
cogent that I could not resist them. |
|
|
cognizant
|
aware, mindful
|
Jake avoided speaking to women in bars because he
was cognizant of the fact that drinking impairs his judgment. |
|
|
coherent
|
logically consistent, intelligible
|
Renee could not figure out what Monroe had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent statement.
|
|
|
collateral
|
secondary
security for a debt |
Divorcing my wife had the collateral effect of making me
poor, as she was the only one of us with a job or money. |
|
|
colloquial
|
characteristic of informational conversation
|
Adam’s essay on sexual
response in primates was marked down because it contained too many colloquial expressions. |
|
|
collusion
|
secret agreement, conspiracy
|
The three law students worked in collusion
to steal the final exam. |
|
|
colossus
|
a gigantic statue or thing
|
For 56 years, the ancient city of Rhodes featured
a colossus standing astride its harbor. |
|
|
combustion
|
the act or process of burning
|
The unexpected combustion of the
prosecution’s evidence forced the judge to dismiss the case against Ramirez. |
|
|
commendation
|
a notice of approval or recognition
|
Jared received a commendation
from Linda, his supervisor, for his stellar performance. |
|
|
commensurate
|
corresponding in size or amount
|
Ahab selected a very long roll
and proceeded to prepare a tuna salad sandwich commensurate with his enormous appetite. |
|
|
commondious
|
roomy
|
Holden invited the three women to join him in the back seat
of the taxicab, assuring them that the car was quite commodious. |
|
|
compelling
|
forceful, demanding attention
|
Eliot’s speech was so compelling that
Lenore accepted his proposal on the spot. |
|
|
compensate
|
to make an appropriate payment for something
|
Reginald bought
Sharona a new dress to compensate her for the one he’d spilled his ice cream on. |
|
|
complacency
|
self satisfied ignorance of danger
|
Colin tried to shock his friends out
of their complacency by painting a frightening picture of what might happen to them. |
|
|
complement
|
to complete, make perfect
|
Ann’s scarf complements her blouse
beautifully, making her seem fully dressed even though she isn’t wearing a coat. |
|
|
complicit
|
being an accomplice in a wrongful act
|
Sue had very
strong opinions about what to do on a first date, and Ted was absolutely compliant. |
|
|
compliment
|
an expression of esteem or approval
|
By keeping her daughter’s affair
a secret, Maddie became complicit in it. |
|
|
compound
|
to combine parts
|
The difficulty of finding a fire escape amid the smoke
was compounded with the dangers posed by the panicking crowds. |
|
|
comprehensive
|
including everything
|
She sent me a comprehensive list of the
ingredients needed to cook rabbit soufflé. |
|
|
compress
|
to apply pressure, squeeze together
|
Lynn compressed her lips into a
frown. |
|
|
compunction
|
distress caused by feeling guilty
|
He felt compunction for the shabby
way he’d treated her. |
|
|
concede
|
to accept as valid
|
Andrew had to concede that what his mother said about
Diana made sense. |
|
|
conciliatory
|
friendly, agreeable
|
I took Amanda’s invitation to dinner as a very
conciliatory gesture. |
|
|
concise
|
brief and direct in expression
|
Gordon did not like to waste time, and his
instructions to Brenda were nothing if not concise. |
|
|
concoct
|
to fabricate, make up
|
She concocted the most ridiculous story to explain her
absence. |
|
|
concomitant
|
accompanying in a subordinate fashion
|
His dislike of hard work
carried with it a concomitant lack of funds. |
|
|
concord
|
harmonious agreement
|
Julie and Harold began the evening with a
disagreement, but ended it in a state of perfect concord. |
|
|
condolence
|
an expression of sympathy in sorrow
|
Brian lamely offered his
condolences on the loss of his sister’s roommate’s cat. |
|
|
condone
|
to pardon, deliberately overlook
|
He refused to condone his brother’s
crime. |
|
|
conduit
|
a pipe or channel through which something passes
|
The water flowed
through the conduit into the container. |
|
|
confection
|
a sweet, fancy food
|
We went to the mall food court and purchased a
delicious confection. |
|
|
confidant
|
a person entrusted with secrets
|
Shortly after we met, she became my
chief confidant. |
|
|
conflagration
|
great fire
|
The conflagration consumed the entire building.
|
|
|
confluence
|
a gathering together
|
A confluence of different factors made tonight the
perfect night. |
|
|
conformist
|
one who behaves the same as others
|
Julian was such a conformist that
he had to wait and see if his friends would do something before he would commit. |
|
|
confound
|
to frustrate, confuse
|
MacGuyver confounded the policemen pursuing
him by covering his tracks. |
|
|
congeal
|
to thicken into a solid
|
the sauce had congealed into a thick paste.
|
