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37 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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tumult (N)
a tumult of shouting and screaming broke out |
A loud, confused noise, esp. one caused by a large mass of people
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extricate (V)
he was trying to extricate himself from official duties |
Free (someone or something) from a constraint or difficulty
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brusque (ADJ)
she could be brusque and impatient |
Abrupt or offhand in speech or manner
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wizened (ADJ)
a wizened, weather-beaten old man |
Shriveled or wrinkled with age
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incessant (ADJ)
the incessant beat of the music |
(of something regarded as unpleasant) Continuing without pause or interruption
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debase (V)
the love episodes debase the dignity of the drama |
Reduce (something) in quality or value; degrade
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preclude (V)
the secret nature of his work precluded official recognition |
Prevent from happening; make impossible
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abdicate (V)
in 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm abdicated as German emperor |
(of a monarch) Renounce one's throne
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motley (ADJ)
a motley crew of discontents and zealots |
Incongruously varied in appearance or character; disparate
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bedizen (ADJ)
in an attempt to increase the houses' value, it was quickly and bedizenly decorated |
decorate tastelessly
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bemoan (V)
single women bemoaning the absence of men |
Express discontent or sorrow over (something)
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affable (ADJ)
an affable and agreeable companion |
Friendly, good-natured, or easy to talk to
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monolithic (ADJ)
rejecting any move toward a monolithic European superstate |
(of an organization or system) Large, powerful, and intractably indivisible and uniform
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succor (N)
prisoners of war were liberated and succored |
Give assistance or aid to
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chicanery )N)
an underhanded person who schemes corruption and political chicanery behind closed doors |
The use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose
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pragmatist (N)
as a teacher, she was a pragmatist and handled things calmly |
a person who takes a practical approach to problems and is concerned primarily with the success or failure of her actions
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requiem (N)
he designed the epic as a requiem for his wife |
(esp. in the Roman Catholic Church) A Mass for the repose of the souls of the dead
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annals (N)
- eighth-century Northumberland annals |
A record of events year by year
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snuffle (V)
Alice was weeping quietly, snuffling a little |
Breathe noisily through the nose due to a cold or crying
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filibuster (N)
- it was defeated by a Senate filibuster in June |
An action such as a prolonged speech that obstructs progress in a legislative assembly while not technically contravening the required procedures
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tenuous (ADJ)
he tenuous link between interest rates and investment |
Very weak or slight
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clandestine (ADJ)
she deserved better than these clandestine meetings |
Kept secret or done secretively, esp. because illicit
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knave (N)
Prof Snape is a knave |
A dishonest or unscrupulous man
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archipelago (N)
the Florida Key's are an archipelago |
A sea or stretch of water containing many islands
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incommodious (ADJ)
Her sprained ankle was an incommodious nuisance |
Causing inconvenience or discomfort
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tiller (N)
Tony was a the back of the boat manning the tiller |
A horizontal bar fitted to the head of a boat's rudder post and used as a lever for steering
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concatenate (V)
some words may be concatenated, such that certain sounds are omitted |
Link (things) together in a chain or series
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pedantic (ADJ)
Dr. Reed is pedantic over many trivial facts |
academic: marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects
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carapace (N)
The turtle's carapace was painted by the children |
The hard upper shell of a turtle or crustacean
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append (V)
the results of the survey are appended to this chapter |
Add (something) as an attachment or supplement
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voracious (ADJ)
he had a voracious appetite |
Wanting or devouring great quantities of food
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yokel (ADJ)
Growing up in Fowler, he never attended college, thus he was a yokel |
An uneducated and unsophisticated person from the countryside
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hackles (N)
off-road vehicles have long raised the hackles of environmentalists |
The hairs on the back of a person's neck, thought of as being raised when the person is angry or hostile
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regicide (N)
They plotted regicide against King Robert |
The action of killing a king
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badinage (N)
- cultured badinage about art and life |
Humorous or witty conversation
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grouse (V)
she heard him grousing about his assistant |
Complain pettily; grumble
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trenchant (ADJ)
she heard angry voices, not loud, yet certainly trenchant |
Vigorous or incisive in expression or style
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