Vocabulary 1

Front 1

despondently

Back 1

Feeling or expressing despondency; dejected.

Front 2

distended

Back 2

To swell out or expand from or as if from internal pressure; To cause to expand by or as if by internal pressure; dilate.
To extend.

Front 3

acquiescence

Back 3

Passive assent or agreement without protest.
The state of being acquiescent.

Front 4

acquisitive

Back 4

Characterized by a strong desire to gain and possess.
Tending to acquire and retain ideas or information: an acquisitive mind.

Front 5

altercation

Back 5

A vehement quarrel.

Front 6

asphyxiate

Back 6

To cause asphyxia in; smother.

Front 7

assent

Back 7

To agree, as to a proposal; concur. Agreement.

Front 8

austere

Back 8

Severe or stern in disposition or appearance; somber and grave: the austere figure of a Puritan minister.
Strict or severe in discipline; ascetic: a desert nomad's austere life.
Having no adornment or ornamentation; bare: an austere style. See Synonyms at severe.

Front 9

avuncular

Back 9

Of or having to do with an uncle.
Regarded as characteristic of an uncle, especially in benevolence or tolerance.

Front 10

bedlam

Back 10

A place or situation of noisy uproar and confusion.
often Bedlam Archaic. An insane asylum.

Front 11

candelabrum

Back 11

A large decorative candlestick having several arms or branches.

Front 12

chastised

Back 12

To punish, as by beating. See Synonyms at punish.
To criticize severely; rebuke.
Archaic. To purify.

Front 13

complacent

Back 13

Contented to a fault; self-satisfied and unconcerned: He had become complacent after years of success.
Eager to please; complaisant.

Front 14

complaisant

Back 14

Exhibiting a desire or willingness to please; cheerfully obliging.

Front 15

convalescence

Back 15

Gradual return to health and strength after illness.
The period needed for returning to health after illness.

Front 16

demure

Back 16

Modest and reserved in manner or behavior.
Affectedly shy, modest, or reserved. See Synonyms at shy.

Front 17

demurred

Back 17

To voice opposition; object: demurred at the suggestion. See Synonyms at object.
Law. To enter a demurrer.
To delay.

Front 18

desiccated

Back 18

To dry out thoroughly.
To preserve (foods) by removing the moisture. See Synonyms at dry.
To make dry, dull, or lifeless.

Front 19

discordant

Back 19

Not being in accord; conflicting.
Disagreeable in sound; harsh or dissonant.

Front 20

dissonance

Back 20

A harsh, disagreeable combination of sounds; discord.
Lack of agreement, consistency, or harmony; conflict: “In Vietnam, reality fell away and dissonance between claim and fact filled the void” (Michael Janeway).
Music. A combination of tones contextually considered to suggest unrelieved tension and require resolution.

Front 21

exultant

Back 21

Marked by great joy or jubilation; triumphant.

Front 22

fastidious

Back 22

Possessing or displaying careful, meticulous attention to detail.
Difficult to please; exacting.
Excessively scrupulous or sensitive, especially in matters of taste or propriety. See Synonyms at meticulous.
Microbiology. Having complicated nutritional requirements.

Front 23

inexorably

Back 23

Not capable of being persuaded by entreaty; relentless: an inexorable opponent; a feeling of inexorable doom. See Synonyms at inflexible.

Front 24

ingratiatingly

Back 24

Pleasing; agreeable: “Reading requires an effort.... Print is not as ingratiating as television” (Robert MacNeil).
Calculated to please or win favor: an unctuous, ingratiating manner.

Front 25

intractable

Back 25

Difficult to manage or govern; stubborn. See Synonyms at unruly.
Difficult to mold or manipulate: intractable materials.
Difficult to alleviate, remedy, or cure: intractable pain.

Front 26

jibe

Back 26

To make taunting, heckling, or jeering remarks. To deride with taunting remarks. A derisive remark.

Front 27

liability

Back 27

The state of being liable. Something for which one is liable; an obligation, responsibility, or debt.
liabilities The financial obligations entered in the balance sheet of a business enterprise.
Something that holds one back; a handicap.
Likelihood.

Front 28

magisterial

Back 28

Of, relating to, or characteristic of a master or teacher; authoritative: a magisterial account of the history of the English language.
Sedately dignified in appearance or manner: “She would appear on the porch and reign over the street in magisterial beauty” (Harper Lee).
Dogmatic; overbearing: expounded on official protocol in magisterial tones.
Of or relating to a magistrate or a magistrate's official functions.

Front 29

magnanimous

Back 29

Courageously noble in mind and heart.
Generous in forgiving; eschewing resentment or revenge; unselfish.

Front 30

monogamously

Back 30

The practice or condition of having a single sexual partner during a period of time.

The practice or condition of being married to only one person at a time.
The practice of marrying only once in a lifetime.
Zoology. The condition of having only one mate during a breeding season or during the breeding life of a pair.

Front 31

mulishly

Back 31

ubborn and intractable; recalcitrant. See Synonyms at obstinate.

Front 32

mutinous

Back 32

Of, relating to, engaged in, disposed to, or constituting mutiny. See Synonyms at insubordinate.
Unruly; disaffected: a mutinous child.
Turbulent and uncontrollable: “mutinous passions, and conflicting fears” (Percy Bysshe Shelley).

Front 33

negligent

Back 33

Characterized by or inclined to neglect, especially habitually.
Characterized by careless ease or informality; casual.
Law. Guilty of negligence.

Front 34

nonplussed

Back 34

To put at a loss as to what to think, say, or do; bewilder.

Front 35

obstinate

Back 35

Stubbornly adhering to an attitude, opinion, or course of action; obdurate.
Difficult to manage, control, or subdue; refractory.
Difficult to alleviate or cure: an obstinate headache.

Front 36

oleaginous

Back 36

Of or relating to oil.
Falsely or smugly earnest; unctuous: oleaginous flattery. See Synonyms at unctuous.

Front 37

onerous

Back 37

Troublesome or oppressive; burdensome. See Synonyms at burdensome.
Law. Entailing obligations that exceed advantages.

Front 38

pell-mell

Back 38

In a jumbled, confused manner; helter-skelter.
In frantic disorderly haste; headlong: “I went to work pell-mell, blotted several sheets of paper with choice floating thoughts” (Washington Irving).

Front 39

pestilential

Back 39

Pestilent. See Synonyms at poisonous.

Front 40

piety

Back 40

The state or quality of being pious, especially:
Religious devotion and reverence to God.
Devotion and reverence to parents and family: filial piety.
A devout act, thought, or statement.

A position held conventionally or hypocritically.
A statement of such a position: “the liberated pieties of people who believe that social attitudes have kept pace with women's aspirations” (Erica Abeel).

Front 41

priggish

Back 41

A person who demonstrates an exaggerated conformity or propriety, especially in an irritatingly arrogant or smug manner.
Chiefly British. A petty thief or pickpocket.
Archaic. A conceited dandy; a fop.

Front 42

recalcitrant

Back 42

Marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority or guidance. See Synonyms at unruly.

Front 43

restive

Back 43

Uneasily impatient under restriction, opposition, criticism, or delay.
Resisting control; difficult to control.
Refusing to move. Used of a horse or other animal.

Front 44

reticent

Back 44

Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself. See Synonyms at silent.
Restrained or reserved in style.
Reluctant; unwilling.

Front 45

rotund

Back 45

Rounded in figure; plump. See Synonyms at fat.
Having a full, rich sound; sonorous.

Front 46

rueful

Back 46

Inspiring pity or compassion.
Causing, feeling, or expressing sorrow or regret.

Front 47

sanctimonious

Back 47

Feigning piety or righteousness: “a solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg that looked like he was waiting for a vacancy in the Trinity” (Mark Twain).

Front 48

solicitously

Back 48

Anxious or concerned: a solicitous parent.
Expressing care or concern: made solicitous inquiries about our family. See Synonyms at thoughtful.
Full of desire; eager.
Marked by or given to anxious care and often hovering attentiveness.
Extremely careful; meticulous: solicitous in matters of behavior.

Front 49

stridently

Back 49

Loud, harsh, grating, or shrill; discordant. See Synonyms at loud. See Synonyms at vociferous.

Front 50

tempest

Back 50

A violent windstorm, frequently accompanied by rain, snow, or hail.
Furious agitation, commotion, or tumult; an uproar: “The tempest in my mind/Doth from my senses take all feeling” (Shakespeare).

Front 51

tempestuous

Back 51

Of, relating to, or resembling a tempest: tempestuous gales.
Tumultuous; stormy: a tempestuous relationship.

Front 52

trenchant

Back 52

Forceful, effective, and vigorous: a trenchant argument. See Synonyms at incisive.
Caustic; cutting: trenchant criticism.
Distinct; clear-cut.

Front 53

unerringly

Back 53

Committing no mistakes; consistently accurate.

Front 54

veracity

Back 54

Adherence to the truth; truthfulness. See Synonyms at truth.
Conformity to fact or truth; accuracy or precision: a report of doubtful veracity.
Something that is true.

Front 55

vociferous

Back 55

Making, given to, or marked by noisy and vehement outcry.

Front 56

wrest

Back 56

To obtain by or as if by pulling with violent twisting movements: wrested the book out of his hands; wrested the islands from the settlers.
To usurp forcefully: wrested power from the monarchy.
To extract by or as if by force, twisting, or persistent effort; wring: wrest the meaning from an obscure poem.

To distort or twist the nature or meaning of: wrested the words out of context.
To divert to an improper use; misapply.

Front 57

wryly

Back 57

Dryly humorous, often with a touch of irony.
Temporarily twisted in an expression of distaste or displeasure: made a wry face.
Abnormally twisted or bent to one side; crooked: a wry nose.
Being at variance with what is right, proper, or suitable; perverse.

Front 58

despondency

Back 58

Depression of spirits from loss of hope, confidence, or courage; dejection.