Vocab

Front 1

Acrimony

Back 1

A rough and bitter manner

Front 2

Baroque

Back 2

Relating to an elaborately ornamented style of art and music

Front 3

Bourgeois

Back 3

Being of the property-owning class

Front 4

Capricious

Back 4

Determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity

Front 5

Carte blanche

Back 5

Complete freedom or authority to act

Front 6

Dilettante

Back 6

An amateur engaging in an activity without serious intention

Front 7

Ennui

Back 7

The feeling of being bored by something tedious

Front 8

Equanimity

Back 8

Steadiness of mind under stress

Front 9

Equivocate

Back 9

Be deliberately ambiguous

Front 10

Fait accompli

Back 10

An irreversible accomplishment

Front 11

Finagle

Back 11

Achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods

Front 12

Gregarious

Back 12

Tempermentally seeking and enjoying the company of others

Front 13

Hedonist

Back 13

Someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures

Front 14

Idiosyncratic

Back 14

Peculiar to the individual

Front 15

litany

Back 15

Any long and tedious address or recital

Front 16

Malaise

Back 16

A general feeling of discomfort

Front 17

Malinger

Back 17

Avoid responsibilities and duties

Front 18

Maudlin

Back 18

Effusively or insincerely emotional

Front 19

Nouveau-riche

Back 19

Characteristic of someone who has risen economically or socially but lacks the social skills appropriate for this new position

Front 20

Ostracize

Back 20

Expel from a community or group

Front 21

Perfunctory

Back 21

Hasty and without attention to detail

Front 22

Philistine

Back 22

A person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits

Front 23

Precocious

Back 23

Characterized by exceprionally early development

Front 24

Svengali

Back 24

Someone who tries to pressure or force another person to do his bidding

Front 25

Untenable

Back 25

Incapable of being defended or justified

Front 26

Surmise

Back 26

Infer from incomplete evidence

Front 27

Fastidious

Back 27

Giving careful attention to detail

Front 28

Censure

Back 28

Rebuke formally

Front 29

Affectation

Back 29

A deliberate pretends or exaggerated display

Front 30

Supercilious

Back 30

Having or showing arrogant superiority to

Front 31

Stricture

Back 31

Severe criticism

Front 32

Litotes

Back 32

Describes the object to which it refers not directly but through the negation of the opposite

Front 33

Anapest

Back 33

A three syllabled word accented on the third syllable.

Front 34

Dactyl

Back 34

Stressed-unstressed-unstressed (three syllables)

Front 35

Synthaesthesia

Back 35

Mixed sensations seeing colour whilst listening to music

Front 36

Amenable

Back 36

Disposed or willing to comply

Front 37

Corroborate

Back 37

Give evidence for

Front 38

Congenial

Back 38

Suitable to your needs

Front 39

Deference

Back 39

Courteous regard for people's feelings

Front 40

Derision

Back 40

The act of treating with contempt

Front 41

Diffident

Back 41

Showing modest reserve

Front 42

Ephemeral

Back 42

Anything short-lived

Front 43

Fallacious

Back 43

Containing or based on indirect reasoning

Front 44

Garrulous

Back 44

Full of trivial conversation

Front 45

Iconoclastic

Back 45

Characterized by attack on established beliefs

Front 46

Incongruity

Back 46

The quality of disagreeing

Front 47

Ingenuous

Back 47

Lacking in sophistication

Front 48

Larceny

Back 48

The act of taking something from someone unlawfully

Front 49

Reprehensible

Back 49

Bringing or deserving serious rebuke or censure

Front 50

Repudiate

Back 50

Refuse to acknowledge as valid

Front 51

Reticent

Back 51

Reluctant to draw attention to yourself

Front 52

Stratagem

Back 52

Elaborate or deceitful scheme to deceive or evade

Front 53

Subversive

Back 53

In opposition to an established system or government

Front 54

Elegy

Back 54

A poetic lament upon the death of a particular person usually ending in consolation

Front 55

Allegory

Back 55

A story or poem that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning

Front 56

Anagnorisis

Back 56

The moment when a character moves from ignorance to knowledge - when Othello finds out about Desdemona's innocence after he's killed her

Front 57

Analepsis

Back 57

A flashback or retrospective in a narrative often used to provide background knowledge

Front 58

Anthropomorphism

Back 58

To impose human values or attributes upon creatures or inanimate objects

Front 59

Aphorism

Back 59

Philosophical or reflective statement, often witty

Front 60

Aptronym

Back 60

Name given to a character to reflect the personality of the character

Front 61

Bildungsroman

Back 61

A story following a character's growth

Front 62

Cacophony

Back 62

Harshness of sound in verse or prose

Front 63

Cadence

Back 63

Melodic fall and rise of patterns of speech, prose or verse

Front 64

Circumlocation

Back 64

Divressive speech to conceal information or avoid offence - when Iago speaks and obscures information

Front 65

Contemptus mundi

Back 65

Expressions of disaffection and mistrust of the world and human achievement

Front 66

Denouement

Back 66

The resolution of plot complications

Front 67

Deus ex machina

Back 67

The resolution of a plot by an improbably coincedence

Front 68

Dialectic

Back 68

Logical argument

Front 69

Dystopia

Back 69

Creation of a nightmare fictional world where human co duct is brutal and merciless

Front 70

Encomium

Back 70

The glorification or celebration of a person, place or event

Front 71

Epigram

Back 71

Statement notable for its wit and confusion (similar to aphorism)

Front 72

Epithalamion

Back 72

A poem celebrating a wedding

Front 73

Epithet

Back 73

An adjective set before a name to define character or properties

Front 74

Eponymous hero

Back 74

A character whom the book is named after

Front 75

Euphony

Back 75

Soft sounds inpoetrt achieved through assonance/sibilance

Front 76

Exegesis

Back 76

Difficult or obscure passages in literature

Front 77

Harangue

Back 77

An inflammatory speech calculated to rouse dangerous or passionate emotions

Front 78

Hypallage

Back 78

Adjective where it does not normally belong E.g. hot seat, fortunate path etc

Front 79

Idiolect

Back 79

Vocab peculiar to an individual

Front 80

Invocation

Back 80

Reference to a muse or deity e.g. God in paradise lost

Front 81

Litote

Back 81

'I've heard worse ideas' 'I wouldn't say no to winning the lottery' etc

Front 82

Locus amoenus

Back 82

Beautiful setting in literature

Front 83

Panegyric

Back 83

Enthusiastic praise of an individual

Front 84

Peripeteia

Back 84

The reversal of a protagonists fortunes from prosperity to misery

Front 85

Polysemy

Back 85

When a word carries a double meaning

Front 86

Prosopoeia

Back 86

Alternative term for personification

Front 87

Pyschomachia

Back 87

An internal battle within a character determining his moral behaviour

Front 88

Solecism

Back 88

A deviation from standard language that exposes the speakers or writers ignorance

Front 89

Syncope

Back 89

Shortening a word in poetry or drama "heav'n" instead of "heaven"

Front 90

Topographical poetry

Back 90

Poetry describing landscape

Front 91

Verisimilitude

Back 91

The appearance of being true or real

Front 92

Volta

Back 92

The change of thought or feeling

Front 93

Polysyllabic

Back 93

Words of two or more syllables

Front 94

Abeyance

Back 94

Not being used in the moment; suspended

Front 95

Abject

Back 95

Wretched or misery

Front 96

Abrade

Back 96

Scrape or wear something away by rubbing it

Front 97

Abscond

Back 97

Go away secretly

Front 98

Abstemious

Back 98

Eating or drinking small amounts; not greedy

Front 99

Abstruse

Back 99

Hard to understand

Front 100

Accede

Back 100

Agree to what is asked or suggested or become king or queen

Front 101

Acetylene

Back 101

A gas that burns with a bright flame

Front 102

Acme

Back 102

Highest degree of something

Front 103

Actuate

Back 103

Start something working

Front 104

Addenda

Back 104

Things added at the end of a book

Front 105

Adenoids

Back 105

Thick spongy flesh at back of nose and throat which may hinder breathing

Front 106

Ad hoc

Back 106

Done or arranged only when necessary and not planned in advance

Front 107

Ad infinitum

Back 107

Without limit

Front 108

Adjunct

Back 108

Something added that is useful but not essential

Front 109

Adroit

Back 109

Skilful

Front 110

Aegis

Back 110

Under the protection of

Front 111

Aerate

Back 111

Add air to somerhing

Front 112

Affidavit

Back 112

A statement written down and sworn to be true for use as legal evidence

Front 113

Agglomeration

Back 113

A mass of things collected together

Front 114

Albumen

Back 114

White of an egg

Front 115

Alimentary canal

Back 115

The tube along which food passes from the mouth to the anus while it is being digested and absorbed by the body

Front 116

Almanac

Back 116

Annual publication containing a calendar and other information

Front 117

Altruistic

Back 117

Unselfish; thinking of other people's welfare

Front 118

Ambivalent

Back 118

Having mixed feelings about something

Front 119

Ameliorate

Back 119

Improve

Front 120

Amenity

Back 120

Pleasant or useful feature of a place

Front 121

Amorphous

Back 121

Shapeless mass

Front 122

Anachronism

Back 122

Something wrong placed in a particular historical period

Front 123

Anathema

Back 123

Something you detest

Front 124

Anagesic

Back 124

Substance that relieves pain

Front 125

Ancillary

Back 125

Helping the people who do the main work

Front 126

Antediluvian

Back 126

Very old or out of date (before Noah's ark)

Front 127

Anthropoid

Back 127

Like a human being

Front 128

Antimony

Back 128

Brittle silver metal

Front 129

Antipathy

Back 129

Strong dislike

Front 130

Antipodes (an-TIP-od-eez)

Back 130

Opposites sides of the earth

Front 131

Apathy

Back 131

Not having much interest in or caring about something

Front 132

Aplomb

Back 132

Dignity and confidence

Front 133

Apocryphal

Back 133

Not likely to be true

Front 134

Apposite

Back 134

Suitable or relevant

Front 135

Apposition

Back 135

Placing things together

Front 136

Arcane

Back 136

Secret or mysterious

Front 137

Archipelago

Back 137

Group of islands

Front 138

Arrant

Back 138

Thorough and obvious

Front 139

Askance

Back 139

Regard a person or situation with distrust

Front 140

Aspersions

Back 140

Attack ones reputation (IAGO AND CASSIO)

Front 141

Asphyxia

Back 141

Suffocation

Front 142

Assimilate

Back 142

Take in and absorb something

Front 143

Astringent

Back 143

Harsh or severe

Front 144

Attenuate

Back 144

Making a thing thinner or weaker

Front 145

Attrition

Back 145

Wearing down an enemy by repeatedly attacking them

Front 146

Augment

Back 146

Increase or add to something

Front 147

Au pair

Back 147

A person from abroad

Front 148

Austere

Back 148

Very simple and plain

Front 149

Autonomy

Back 149

The right to act independently

Front 150

Avarice

Back 150

Greed for money or possessions

Front 151

Avuncular

Back 151

Kind and friendly towards someone younger

Front 152

Axiomatic

Back 152

Established general truth

Front 153

Ballistic missile

Back 153

A missile that is initially powered and guided and then falls under gravity on its target

Front 154

Banal

Back 154

Ordinary and uninteresting

Front 155

Barometer

Back 155

Instrument used to measure air pressure

Front 156

Bathos

Back 156

A sudden change from a serious subject or tone to a ridiculous and trivial one

Front 157

Beatific

Back 157

Showing great happiness

Front 158

Beguile

Back 158

Amuse or fascinate

Front 159

Bellicose

Back 159

Eager to fight

Front 160

Belligerent

Back 160

Aggressive

Front 161

Bête noir

Back 161

A person or thing you greatly dislike

Front 162

Bivouac

Back 162

A temporary camp without tents

Front 163

Blandishments

Back 163

Flattering or coaxing words

Front 164

BSE

Back 164

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy-mad cow disease

Affects the nervous system

Front 165

Bumptious

Back 165

Loud and conceited

Front 166

Cajole

Back 166

Persuade someone to do something by flattering them

Front 167

Callow

Back 167

Immature and inexperienced

Front 168

Calumny

Back 168

Slander

Front 169

Capitulate

Back 169

Admit that you are defeated and surrender

Front 170

Censorious

Back 170

Criticising something strongly

Front 171

Chauvinism

Back 171

Belief that men arw superior to women

Front 172

Circumvent

Back 172

Find a way of avoiding something