Vocabulary - 6

Front 1

Provintial

Back 1

Unsophisticated
"Cindy's love for small shops seemed provintial to his friends from New-York, who always seemed to go to big malls for shopping"

Front 2

Litany

Back 2

Long account
"The patient recited a litany of complaints regarding the Hospital"

Front 3

Anathema

Back 3

Detested person
"Hundreds of years ago, Galileo was an anathema to the church. Today the church is anathema to some on the left side of the political spectrum"

Front 4

Vindicate

Back 4

Clear of blame
"Even seven Tour De France wins cannot vindicate Lance Armstrong in the eyes of the public. Because the athlete used performance enhancing drugs which invalidates all those wins"

Front 5

Sedulous

Back 5

Diligent
"He sedulously amassed a collection of 5000 coins from countries all over the globe"

Front 6

Antithetical

Back 6

Sharply contrasted
"His deep emotional involvement with these ideas is, in fact, antithetical to the detachment Buddhism preaches"

Front 7

Desideratum

Back 7

Necessity
"A desideratum of the environmental group is that motorists should rely on carpooling"

Front 8

Quisling

Back 8

Traitor
"History looks unfavorably upon quislings, indeed they're accorded about the same fondness as Nero: he who watched his city burn down while playing his violin"

Front 9

Largess

Back 9

Generosity
"Uncle Frank was known for his largess, he'd often give freebies to poor kids from the slums"

Front 10

Precocious

Back 10

Developing early
"Though only seven years old, she's a precocious chess prodigy, beating players twice her age"

Front 11

Leery

Back 11

Distrustful
"WIthout a thorough background check, the employers are usually leery of hiring the candidate"

Front 12

Stolid

Back 12

Having little emotion
"Uncle Tom was a stolid fellow, often kept to himself and never laughed at our jokes"

Front 13

Delineated

Back 13

Described in detail
"After a brief introduction on proper swimming techniques, the coach delineated the specifics of each stroke, spending 30 minutes alone on the backstroke"

Front 14

Renege

Back 14

Go back on, failing to keep a promise
"The politicians usually renege on their promises to develop the city"

Front 15

Pyrrhic

Back 15

Of a costly victory
"G.W. Bush's win in the 2000 election was in many ways a Pyrrhic victory, the circumstances of his win alienated half of the US population"

Front 16

Expansive

Back 16

Sociable
"The ever so laconic and quiet Tom goes cheerfully expansive after a few sips of wine"

Front 17

Soporific

Back 17

Causing sleep
"Although the professor is brilliant, his bland monotone gives his lectures a soporific effect"

Front 18

Canard

Back 18

False report
"The public will always be fooled by media's canards"

Front 19

Feckless

Back 19

Lazy, irresponsible
"Two years after graduation, Charlie still lived with his parents and had no job, becoming more feckless with each passing day"

Front 20

Beatific

Back 20

Blissfully happy
"Peter had a beatific smile on his face on his way back home, since he had cracked the interview and got selected in his dream company"

Front 21

Furtive

Back 21

Stealthy
"While at work, George and his boss Regina felt the need to be as furtive as possible about their romantic relationship"

Front 22

Raillery

Back 22

Light teasing
"The new recruit was not bothered by the raillery, finding most of it light hearted"

Front 23

Admonitory

Back 23

Serving to warn, Expressing reproach
"At the assembly, the vice principal gave the students an admonitory speech, warning them of the many risks and dangers of prom night"

Front 24

Appurtenant

Back 24

Supporting
"Good physical health is appurtenant to mental well-being"

Front 25

Fete

Back 25

Celebrate a person
"After WWII, war heroes were feted at first but quickly forgotten"

Front 26

Redoubtable

Back 26

Inspiring fear
"The terrorist attacks proved that we have a redoubtable and determined enemy"

Front 27

Devolve

Back 27

Delegate
"The company is full of managers known for devolving their tasks to the lower management and not doing much of the work themselves"

Front 28

Underwrite

Back 28

Support financially
"The new metro coach system in the city was underwrited by a private firm"

Front 29

Infelicitous

Back 29

Inappropriate
"It would be infelicitous to complain about the AC system in your mercedes while volunteering in a homeless shelter"

Front 30

Winsome

Back 30

Charming
"She was winsome by nature, and many people were drawn to this free and playful spirit"

Front 31

Defray

Back 31

Pay cost of
"In order for Sean to attend the prestigious college, his generous uncle helped defray the excessive tuition with a monthly tuition"

Front 32

Simulacrum

Back 32

Bad imitation
"This videogame is only a simulacrum of playing football"

Front 33

Invidious

Back 33

Showing prejudice
"Employers make invidious comparisons all the time while selecting new hires"

Front 34

Tendentious

Back 34

Biased to view
"Like all Trump pitches, this one would be over-the-top, tendentious, totally oblivious to valid countervailing considerations and arguments"

Front 35

Posit

Back 35

Assume as fact
"Scientists posit many ideas: called hypothesis, that they then try to prove or disprove by experimentation and research"

Front 36

Sordid

Back 36

Morally questionable
"X news agency simply announced that the senator had had an affair, but Y news agency published all sordid details of the interaction"

Front 37

Incorrigible

Back 37

Not reformable
"The school advised Earl's parents to enroll his son in behavioral therapy, despite the fact that he's an incorrigible bully and won't stop pushing kids around"

Front 38

Smattering

Back 38

Small amount
"Going by her short and inconclusive essay, she seems like having nothing more than a smattering of knowledge on the subject matter"

Front 39

Impute

Back 39

Attribute
"He imputed his subpar performance on the test to a combination of stress and poor sleep"

Front 40

Limpid

Back 40

Clear
"Her limpid prose made even the most recondite subjects accessible to all"

Front 41

Chortle

Back 41

Laugh merrily
"Walking into the cafe, I could hear chortling people and smell the rich aroma of coffee"

Front 42

Prodigious

Back 42

Great in size, extent
"The young Mozart had a prodigious talent"

Front 43

Tortuous

Back 43

Winding, twisty
"His road to commercial success has been a tortuous one"

Front 44

Surly

Back 44

Bad-tempered
"They'd never invite Uncle Jim to dinner, for he was always a surly old man ready to erupt into a polemic argument over some touchy subject"

Front 45

Edifying

Back 45

Enlightening
"The pictures in the museum served an edifying purpose, even for those who could not read"

Front 46

Entrenched

Back 46

Fixed firmly
"By the time we reach our 60s, most of our habits are so entrenched that it's difficult for us to change"

Front 47

Stultifying

Back 47

Deprive of energy and enthusiasm
"If you're in a stultifying relationship, you should find a way out"

Front 48

Cavalier

Back 48

Not caring
"Penny dismissed the issue with a cavalier wave of her hand"

Front 49

Munificent

Back 49

Very generous
"Uncle Charley was known for his munificence, giving all seven of his nephews lavish Christmas presents each year"

Front 50

Sang-froid

Back 50

Poise under pressure
"The hostage negotiator exhibited a sang-froid that was oftentimes more menacing than the sword at his throat"

Front 51

Pillory

Back 51

Ridicule publicly
"The celebrity was pilloried on Facebook after she made some snarky comments on her enemy"

Front 52

Doughty

Back 52

Brave, bold
"The Spartans were doughty soldiers"

Front 53

Flummox

Back 53

Bewilder
"Mary's behavior flummoxes me, I never have an idea what her motivations might be"

Front 54

Fleece

Back 54

Deceive
"Many people have been fleeced by Internet scams"

Front 55

Importuned

Back 55

Ask persistently
"After weeks of importuning the star for a fifteen minute interview, the journalist got what she wanted"

Front 56

Travail

Back 56

Hard work
"An average coal miner's whole life is nothing short of a travail"

Front 57

Rakish

Back 57

Disreputable
"The rakish young fellow that you met last night isn't a good person to be around in the long run"

Front 58

Perquisite

Back 58

Exclusive right
"The workers at McDonald have the perquisite of being able to eat the food for much less than original price"

Front 59

Benighted

Back 59

Lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture
"The Dark ages are thought to have been a benighted time, full of primitive ideas"

Front 60

Hamstrung

Back 60

Powerless
"The FBI has put so many restrictions on the local police that they're absolutely hamstrung"

Front 61

Specious

Back 61

Misleadingly attractive
"Almost every image on TV is specious and not to be trusted"

Front 62

Factious

Back 62

Causing dissension
"The controversial bill proved factious, as dissension even within parties resulted"

Front 63

Sinecure

Back 63

Easy job
"The position of research director is a sinecure in government colleges"

Front 64

Enjoin

Back 64

Prohibit, To give instructions
"The government enjoined chemical companies from dumping chemical wastes into the river."

Front 65

Dissolution

Back 65

Debauchery
"Many Roman emperors were known for their dissolution, indulging in unspeakable desires of the flesh"

Front 66

Temperance

Back 66

Moderation
"Wells wasn't known for his temperance

Hint 66

he usually ate enough for two and drank enough for three"

Front 67

Arrant

Back 67

Utter, complete
"An arrant fool, he lost all his hard earned money on a pyramid scheme that was every bit as transparent as it was corrupt"

Front 68

Dilatory

Back 68

Time wasting
"Lawyers use dilatory tactics so that it takes years before the case is decided"

Front 69

Expound

Back 69

Add details to
"The CEO refused to expound on the decision to merge our department with another one"

Front 70

Splenetic

Back 70

Highly irritable
"We rarely invite Tim here. Ever since his big loss in gambling he has become splenetic and unpleasant"

Front 71

Spurn

Back 71

Reject with contempt
"She spurned his advances before he walked away all emabarrassed."

Front 72

Itinerant

Back 72

Travelling from place to place
"Doctor's used to be itinerant, travelling between patients' homes"

Front 73

Inscrutable

Back 73

Unfathomable, of obscure nature
"His speech was inscrutable, hence many from audience left before he could complete it"

Front 74

Eke out

Back 74

Scrape by
"Straned in a cabin for whole winter, Peter was able to eke out an existence on canned food"

Front 75

Subversive

Back 75

Opposing authority
"The ruling party has begun a campaign to shut down subversive websites that it deems is a threat to national safety"

Front 76

Insolvent

Back 76

Bankrupt
"With the credit card bubble forming gradually, many Americans are truly insolvent"

Front 77

Contrive

Back 77

Pull off a scheme
"They contrived to murder their boss"

Front 78

Engender

Back 78

Give rise to
"Decades of warlike situation between Indian and Pakistan has engendered hatred in people for each other"

Front 79

Remiss

Back 79

Be negligent
"Remiss in his duty to keep the school functioning, the prinicipal was relieved of his position"

Front 80

Vicissitude

Back 80

Change in fortune
"No one can escape the vicissitudes of life"

Front 81

Overweening

Back 81

Presumptiosly arrogant
"The team needs to watch themselves so that they don't become overweening because of the latest back to back wins"

Front 82

Slapdash

Back 82

Hastily put together
"The office building has been constructed in a slapdash manner and may fall for a minor earthquake"

Front 83

Exegesis

Back 83

Critical analysis
"With over multiple interpretations over the past five centuries, the Bible is a fertile ground for exegesis"

Front 84

Arch

Back 84

Teasing
"He teased his friend with an arch comment about his shyness around girls"

Front 85

Ferret

Back 85

Search for
"Ever the resourceful lexicographer, Pete was able to ferret out the word origin of highly obscure words"

Front 86

Foment

Back 86

Stir up, agitate
"After having his pay cut, Phil spread vicious rumors about his boss, hoping to foment a general feeling of discontent"

Front 87

Portentous

Back 87

Prophetic
"Crows circling above your home at 6 am might be a portentous sign of something bad about to happen"

Front 88

Prescience

Back 88

Able to see future
"Baxter's warning about investing in technology stocks seemed like an act of prescience after the stock market declined significantly"

Front 89

Hagiographic

Back 89

Idealizing a subject
"Most of the accounts of Tiger Woods were hagiographic, untill his affairs made the headlines"

Front 90

Peremptory

Back 90

Bossy
"My sister used to peremptorily tell me to do the dishes"

Front 91

Inimical

Back 91

Hostile
"The western world has been inherently inimical towards Russia ever since the beginning of cold war"

Front 92

Propitiate

Back 92

Appease
"Mark forgot the flowers for his wife on their anniversary. Fortunately he was able to propitiate her by sending a bouquet the next day"

Front 93

Picayune

Back 93

Trifling, petty
"Airline disaster investigators spend decades rummaging through the debris, knowing that it might be the most picayune detail that leads them to understand the cause of crash"

Front 94

Innocuous

Back 94

Harmless
"The rally which seemed innocuous at first resulted in major riots across the city"

Front 95

Languid

Back 95

Tired
"The city's usual languid pleasures were punctuated by visible signs of heightened security"

Front 96

Pernicious

Back 96

Harmful
"The most successful viruses are quite pernicious, an infected host may feel perfectly healthy for several months while incubating and spreading the virus"

Front 97

Virago

Back 97

Screaming woman
"Poor billy was the victim of the virago's invective -- she railed at him for a good 30 minutes"

Front 98

Raft

Back 98

Large number
"A raft of letters"

Front 99

Chary

Back 99

Cautious
"After his investment in the technology market gave bad results, Mark was chary about investing in the same"

Front 100

Blinkered

Back 100

Limited in outlook
"A gambling addict is easily blinkered by his past successes"

Front 101

Palimpsest

Back 101

Something reused
"As I walked in the abandoned home, I searched for a palimpset of the past, writ in a brick or something else"

Front 102

Harried

Back 102

Trouble persistently
"With a team of new hires to train, Martha was consistently harried by little questions"

Front 103

Foible

Back 103

Minor weekness, peculiarity in character
"Matt used to stare at chairs, before his friends made him realize of his foible"

Front 104

Venial

Back 104

Pardonable
"I used to think driving a few miles over the speed limit was at most a venial sin"

Front 105

Carping

Back 105

Fault-finding
"What seemed to be like incessant nagging and carping about my behavior from my mother turned out to be useful advise in the long run"

Front 106

Bowlderize

Back 106

Censor
"To receive an R rating, the entire movie was bowlderized because it contained so much grotesque subject matter"