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30 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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undermine
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to weaken
The clown suit my new attorney was wearing undermined my confidence in his abilities. Antonyms: bolster, buttress *If you dig underneath something, you can cause it to collapse. |
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cursory
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hasty, disregarding details
A merely cursory glance through words in this set won't help your scores much. Synonym: perfunctory |
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reticent
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quiet, untalkative
The girl had been shy and reticent with me, but now she was telling me aloud the secrets of her heart. Synonym: taciturn Antonyms: voluble, garrulous |
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refute
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to disprove, offer arguments against
Photos from space refuted the theory that the Earth is flat. |
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frugal
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not spending freely
Frugal Frank fought the urge to buy another new suit. Antonyms: prodigal, lavish, extravagant |
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inevitable
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unavoidable, certain to happen
Death is inevitable; it comes to everyone. |
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vindicate
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to clear of blame or suspicion
The prisoner was immediately set free after the new evidence vindicated him. Synonym: exonerate |
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abstract
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theoretical;difficult to understand
The string theory of matter is so abstract that it can be fully understood only by advanced students. Synonyms: obscure, esoteric, abstruse |
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discord
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lack of agreement or harmony
The group was too full of discord to work well together. Synonym: dissonance *When a cat walks across a piano, what you hear is a discord because it's not a chord. |
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intractable
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stubborn, difficult to manage
The mule was so intractable that he wouldn't even lie down when told to. Synonyms: recalcitrant, wilful |
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ponderous
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very dull, boring
The students moaned when the teacher asked them to read two hundred pages of the ponderous novel. *Not related to ponder. |
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spontaneous
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impulsive, not planned
Both sides broke into spontaneous cheers at the skillful play. *It's related to capricious. If you are capricious, you make many spontaneous decisions. |
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inept
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lacking skill, clumsy
The audience booed the actor's inept portrayal of the passions of King Lear. Synonym: maladroit Antonyms: competent, proficient |
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copious
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abundant, plentiful
There was a copious supply of the new Barry Manilow CD, because no one wanted to buy it. Synonym: plethora Antonyms: dearth, paucity |
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conventional
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traditional, ordinary
The ode and the sonnet are conventional forms of English poetry. Synonym: orthodox |
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vulnerable
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easy to injure or harm
Pollution of its water left the city vulnerable to disease. *Vulnus is the Latin word for wound, so vulnerable = wound + able. |
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impartial
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fair, not favouring either side
A judge can hardly be impartial if the accused is his own son. Synonyms: indifferent, objective, unbiased. *If you are impartial, you do not take a side or party. |
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deplore
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to strongly disapprove of
The senator deplores the tax hike and plans to write an article criticizing it. |
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innate
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inborn, present at birth
Some artists have an innate talent for drawing; others must learn it. *Innate comes from the same root as nature. |
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contrite
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regretful, feeling guilt
Jeopardy contestant Connie felt contrite for getting the Daily Double question wrong, not right. |
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contemporary
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modern
The professor admired the works of the old masters much more than the pieces by contemporary artists. Antonym: archaic *The root temp also appears in the word temporary. |
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contentious
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quarrelsome, fond of arguing
The contentious girl argued so much that she lost her friends. Synonyms: cantankerous, pugnacious Antonym: pacifistic *Related to contend but not related to content or contentment. |
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hypocrite
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a person who claims to be what he is not
The hypocrite hippo said he only ate plants (really, he preferred a good steak for dinner). |
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deplete
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to use up
Because the traveler's funds were depleted, she returned home. |
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discursive
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rambling, confused
His carefully planned speech was not discursive but stayed right on the subject. Synonyms: desultory, erratic *Discursive is nearly always used to describe a lecture or speech that wanders from topic to topic. |
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tyranny
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absolute power that is often cruel
The king's tyranny spread fear throughout the land. |
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accolade
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praise; a statement of approval
The pianist's marvelous performance earned him many accolades. Synonym: commendation Antonym: invective |
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daunt
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to intimidate; to discourage
Danger did not daunt the hero. *To daunt someone is to fill him with trepidation. |
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enigmatic
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mysterious, puzzling
She answered our questions with an enigmatic smile; we could not find out her real opinion. Synonyms: obscure, esoteric, cryptic, inscrutable, abstruse. Antonym: comprehensible |
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verbose
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wordy
The editor rejected the young author's manuscript with the explanation that it was too verbose. Antonyms: succinct, terse *The root verb means word. |
