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25 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Belligerent
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adj. Showing a readiness to fight (n. belligerence)
Scott was so belligerent that he threw a chair at his teacher and was therefore expelled from school. |
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Mock
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v. To mimic insultingly (make fun of) (adj. mocking)
Everyone in the club mocked Trina as she danced - the unpopular girl looked awkward and clumsy. |
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Belie
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v. To give a false idea of, to prove wrong
Sylvester's public image as a stupid fighter was belied by his quiet, intellectual private life. |
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Curtail
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v. To reduce
The government curtailed support for the department after learning that they had spent $1000 on a toilet seat. |
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Adulation
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n. Hero worship
Barry loved the adulation of his fans, who thought he was the world's greatest baseball player. |
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Clandestine
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adj. kept secret (hiding something bad)
The CIA'S clandestine plot to overthrow the government of Beavisinia was exposed when the local newspapers reported it publicly. |
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Refute
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v. To prove someone wrong (n. refutation)
Galileo refuted his opponents and proved himself correct when he demonstrated that the Earth rotated around the sun. |
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Ambivalent
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adj. Having conflicting feelings about something/one (n. ambivalence)
The dictator was ambivalent - he couldn't decide whether to kill his enemy by shooting him or by pouring molten lead down his throat. |
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Tirade
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n. An angry speech
The teacher's tirade about the evils of cheating was caused by her discovery of "cheat sheets" inside of a student's dark glasses. |
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Conflagration
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n. A big fire
The conflagration in the Berkeley hills burned down thousands of homes and was visible from miles away. |
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Desiccate
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v. To remove moisture
They desiccated the solution by leaving it out under the dry Las Vegas sun. |
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Censure
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v. To condemn as wrong
Congressman Katzmann was censured by his colleagues for having an affair with a 16-year-old, but he was not expelled from Congress. |
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Stoic
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n. Someone indifferent to pleasure and pain
Because he was a stoic, Congressman Katzmann showed no emotion when he learned that he had been censured by his colleagues. |
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Avarice
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n. Greed
The landlord showed his avarice by evicting the little old lady to collect more rent from the yuppies who moved in instead. |
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Contrite
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adj. Feeling sorry about something you've done (n. contrition)
Later, the landlord felt contrite about evicting the little old lady and helped her find a new apartment. |
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Arduous
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adj. Difficult to do; strenuous
Hiking through the frozen mountains for ten hours a day makes the Outward Bound an arduous experience. |
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Dormant
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adj. Inactive, asleep
Volcanoes can remain dormant for centuries at a time before finally coming to life and erupting. |
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Renounce
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v. To give up (a belief)
The politician renounced his belief in gun control after learning that it was unpopular with his constituents. |
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Contentious
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adj. Always ready to argue
The debate over whether to have tracking in the school became so contentious that it almost degenerated into a fist fight. |
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Charlatan
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n. A faker, someone who pretends to be an expert
The charlatan convinced his audience that he had made an irresistible perfume out of salad dressing and nail polish remover. |
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Novice
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n. A beginner
Despite his athletic skill, Michael Jordan was a novice at baseball since he had not played the sport in 15 years. |
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Pious
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adj. Religious (n. piety)
Joan of Arc was so pious that she burned at the stake rather than give up her religious beliefs. |
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Enigmatic
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adj. Mysterious
Sharon found herself fascinated by enigmatic men whom she didn't understand and who refused to reveal much about themselves. |
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Replete
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adj. Plentifully supplied
Ernie's stories about his fellow sailors were so replete with cursing that his friends started calling him "The Swearing Sailor." |
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Superfluous
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adj. Extra, unnecessary
It is ofter superfluous to use a big word like "superfluous" when a simpler word like "extra" would work just as well. |
