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118 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Legerdemain
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trickery, guile, cunning, deceit
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finical
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fastidious, picky, fussy, exacting, persnickety
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trenchant
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keen, astute, perceptive, incisive
William was trenchant in his analysis of Venantius' manuscript |
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sycophant
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toady, a servile flatterer
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minatory
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think of minotaur: threatening and menacing
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svelte
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Because of her svelte upbringing and appearance, Blair Waldorf is compelled to feel superior than other girls.
elegant, sophisticated, lithe |
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docent
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college teacher, a person who is a knowledgeable guide, esp. one who conducts visitors through a museum and delivers a commentary on the exhibitions
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lubricious
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salacious, lewd, lascivious, libidinous, sexually stimulating, lustful, inciting lust
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cordiform
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heart-shaped
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diacritical
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distinguishing, distinctive; serving to separate or discriminate
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ire
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wrath, hatred, rancor
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persiflage
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frivolous or bantering talk, badinage, raillery
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calumny
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slur, slander, defamation, vilification
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salve
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to soothe, assuage, alleviate
Also a noun |
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lackadaisical
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tepid, lethargic, idle, lack enthusiasm
Note: tepid can also mean like lukewarm as in "tepid water" |
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hapless
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unfortunate, unlucky
Hapless= not happy |
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reticent
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quiet and reserved
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consolatory
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comforting, consoling
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derision
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ridicule, contemptuous mockery
Also as an adjective: derisive |
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glean
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to gather and find information; to discover
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Prognosticate
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to presage, to predict, to portend
Also as a noun: prognosticator |
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finagle
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to swindle, cheat, deceit
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profligate (only adj)
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wasteful, prodigal; immoral, dissolute, licentious
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fabulist
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a liar
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improvident
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myopic, thoughtless, careless
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fetid
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smelly, stinky
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amanuensis
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a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another; secretary.
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gnomic
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pertaining to maxims
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pithy
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terse, brief
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bagatelle
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something of insignifance
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hapless
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unfortunate, unlucky
Hapless= not happy |
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reticent
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quiet and reserved
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consolatory
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comforting, consoling
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derision
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ridicule, contemptuous mockery
Also as an adjective: derisive |
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glean
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to gather and find information; to discover
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Prognosticate
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to presage, to predict, to portend
Also as a noun: prognosticator |
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finagle
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to swindle, cheat, deceit
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fabulist
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a liar
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improvident
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myopic, thoughtless, careless
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fetid
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smelly, stinky, noisome
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amanuensis
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a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another; secretary.
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gnomic
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pertaining to maxims
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pithy
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terse, brief
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bagatelle
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something of insignifance
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pellucid
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clear and transparent; diaphanous
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animus
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ill will; animosity
animus=animosity |
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euthanasia
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painless death
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intimation
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hint, adumbration
also as a verb |
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masochist
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one who receives pleasure from pain
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desist
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to stop, cease
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gelid
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very cold; icy
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demure
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modest and reserved
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sedate
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calm, serene, tranquil
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invective
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vituperation, insulting remark, tirade, diatribe
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Fainéant
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a lazy dude, an idler
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slatternly
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squalid, dirty,unclean
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cupidity
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avarice, greed, avidity
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Pertinacious
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resolute, stubborn, obstinate
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mendacity
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dishonesty, falsehood
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lacuna
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gap, missing part
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quiescent
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motionless, inactive, dormant
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friable
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easily crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder
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panglossian
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naively optimistic
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insipid
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without taste of flavor, bland, lacking in spirit, dull, vapid
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pungent
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sharp and irritating especially to the sense of taste and smell; acrid; caustic, biting, or sharply expressive
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remonstrate
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to oppose, object, to say or plead in protest or opposition
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verdant
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green, leafy, covered with green plants, inexperienced
As a herbalist, Severinus possessed a verdant collection of plant species. |
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bilious
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irritable, vexed, cranky, grumpy
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atrabilious
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surly, irascible, melancholy, gloomy
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Imprimatur
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approval, official license or approval to print a text or book. Usually by a church; sanction or approval; support
A monk or clergy member or anyone back in the Middle Ages would need the authority of the church's imprimatur to publish a book. |
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noisome
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offensive smelling, stinking, putrid, fetid
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protean
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taking on various shapes or forms; exhibiting variety, versatile, changeable
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impetuous
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Quick to act without thinking; impulsive
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obsequious
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sycophantic, characterized by extreme flattery and slavishness
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lachrymose
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tearful, weepy, and causing tears
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prolix
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long and wordy
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upbraid
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to criticize or scold harshly
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pugnacious
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combative, belligerent, truculent
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pabulum
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that which nourishes or feeds; often used figuratively; i.e. "food for the mind"; fodder
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nolens volens
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whether willing or unwilling
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defenestration
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the act of tossing someone or something out of the window
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Caterwaul
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Take the “waul” and turn into “wail”, to make a harsh cry, a discordant sound
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agathism
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the belief that all things will ultimately lead to good
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fortuitous
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happening by accident or chance
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canorous
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melodious, musical
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sylvan
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pertaining to forests or woods or trees
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neophyte
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is a novice, a beginner in anything, a new convert
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magniloquent
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speaking or expressed in a lofty or grandiose style; pompous; bombastic; boastful.
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aberrant
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adj form of aberration
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extempore
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impromptu, extemporaneous
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ennui
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boredom
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copacetic
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satisfactory, OK
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raiment
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clothing
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virago
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a woman who is loud, noisy, quarrelsome, irritable
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abominate
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to loathe, to abhor
hence the noun: abomination |
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enervate
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to weaken the strength and vitality of
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vaunt
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to boast, brag
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gallivant
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to bop about happily esp. with members of the opposite sex
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raconteur
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One who tells stories and anecdotes with skill and wit.
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prevaricator
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a fabulist
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innocuously
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harmless, inoffensive
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rabid
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furious, raging, mad
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barb
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a carping remark
carping- fussy and petty faultfinding, as in carping crticism |
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snide
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as snide remarks
derogatory in a nasty and malicious manner |
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misconstrued
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to misinterpret
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unalloyed
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pure
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effervescent
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vivacious; gay; lively; sparkling.
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temerity
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rashness; boldness; audacity; effrontery
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contrive
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to plan, to devise, to invent
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contrivance
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something contrived, a plan or scheme; expedient.
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venal
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open to bribery, corruptible, obtainable by a price
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privation
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to be deprived, deprivation
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incendiary
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arousing to action or rebellion, capable of producing fire, inflammatory as in an incendiary speech
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facetious
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humorous, funny, not serious
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inimitable
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incapable of being imitated or copied; matchless
Ex: Michael Jordan's skill at basketball is absolutely inimitable |
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ossified
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hardened like or into bone; to become rigid or inflexible in habits, attitudes, opinions
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inscrutable
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incapable of being investigated, analyzed, or scrutinized; impenetrable; abstruse; not understood; mysterious
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preclude
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to prevent the presence, existence, or occurrence of; make impossible
Ex: My horrible SAT scores would preclude my entry into Harvard. |
