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30 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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dutiful
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adj. respectful; obedient
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The dutiful child grew up to be a conscientious adult, aware of her civic oligations.
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ebb
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v. recede; lessen.
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His fortunes began to ebb during the Recession.
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eccentric
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adj. odd; whimsical; irregular.
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The comet passed close by the earth in its eccentric orbit.
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eclectic
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adj. selective in choosing from a variety of sources.
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The reviewers praised the new restaurant's eclectic selection of dishes, which ranged from Oriental stir fries to French ragouts and stews.
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eclipse
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v. darken' extinguish; surpass.
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The new stock market high eclipsed the previous record set in 1995.
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effervescent
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adj. exuberant; bubbly and excited.
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Nothing depressed Amy for long; she was so natually effervescent that she was soon as high-spirited as ever.
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egotistical
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adj. excessively self-centered; self-important; conceited.
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Typical egotistical remark: "but enough of this chit-chat about you and your little problems. Let's talk aobut what's really important: Me!"
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elaboration
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n. addition of details; intricacy.
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Tell what happened simply, without an elaboration.
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elated
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adj. overjoyed; in high spirits.
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Grinning from ear to ear, Bonnie Blair was clearly elated by her fifth Olympic gold medal.
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eloquence
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n. expressiveness; persuasive speech.
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The crowds were stirred by Martin Luther King's eloquence.
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distant
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adj. reserved or aloof; cold in manner.
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His distant greeting made me feel unwelcome from the start.
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divergent
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adj. differing; deviating.
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Since graduating from medical school, the two doctors have taken divergent paths, one going on to become a nationally prominent surgeon, the other dedication himself to a small family practice in his home town.
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diverse
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adj. differing in some characteristics; various.
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The professor suggested diverse ways of approaching the assignment and recommended that we choose one of them.
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diversion
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n. act of turning aside; pastime.
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After studying for several hours, he needed a diversion from work.
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divulge
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v. reveal.
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No lover of gossip, Charlotte would never divulge anything that a friend told her in confidence.
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document
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v. provide written evidence.
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She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to document her expenses for the firm.
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dogmatic
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adj. opionated; arbitrary; doctrinal.
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We tried to discourage Doug from being so dogmatic, but never could convince him that his opinions might be wrong.
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dormant
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adj. sleeping; lethargic; latent.
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At fifty her long-dormant ambition to write flared up once more; within a year she had completed the first of her great historical novels.
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dubious
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adj. doubtful; questionable.
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Many critics of SAT I contend the test is dubious worth.
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duplicity
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n. double-dealing; hypocrisy.
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When Tanya learned that Mark had been two-timing her, she was furious as his duplicity.
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disparity
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n. difference; condition of inequality.l
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Their disparity in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.
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dispassionate
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adj. calm; impartial.
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Known in the company for his cool judgment, Bill could impartially examine the causes of a problem, giving a dispassionate analysis of what had gone wrong, and go on to suggest how to correct the mess.
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dispel
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v. drive away; scatter; cause to vanish.
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The bright sunlight eventually dispelled the morning mist.
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disperse
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v. cause to break up, scatter.
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The police fired tear gas into the crowd to disperse the protesters.
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disputatious
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adj. argumentative; fond of arguing.
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Convinced he knew more than his lawyers, Alan was a disputatious client, ready to argue about the best way to conduct the case.
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disseminate
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v. distribute; spread; scatter 9l;ike seeds0.
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By their use of the Internet, propagandists have been able to disseminate their pet doctrines to new audiences around the globe.
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dissent
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v. disagree.
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In the recent Supreme Court dicision, Justice o'Connor dissented from the majority of opinion.
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dissipate
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v. sqander; waste; scatter.
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He is a fine artist, but I fear he may dissipate his gifts if he keeps wasting his time on such trivial pursuits.
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dissonance
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n. dissonance.
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Composer Charles Ives often used dissonce-clashing or unresolved chords-for special effects in his musical works.
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dissuade
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v. advise against.
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Tom could not dissuade Huck from funning away from home.
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