Vocabulary List

Front 1

Quixotic

Back 1

If you describe someone's ideas or plans as quixotic, you mean that they are imaginative or hopeful but unrealistic.

Front 2

Verdant

Back 2

If you describe a place as verdant, you mean that it is covered with green grass, trees, and plants.

Front 3

Deposed

Back 3

If a ruler or political leader is deposed, they are forced to give up their position

Front 4

Facile

Back 4

If you describe someone's arguments or suggestions as facile, you are criticizing them because their ideas are too simple and indicate a lack of careful, intelligent thinking.

Front 5

Convoluted

Back 5

If you describe a sentence, idea, or system as convoluted, you mean that it is complicated and difficult to understand.

Front 6

Dulcet

Back 6

A dulcet voice is one that is gentle and pleasant to listen to.

Front 7

Amicable

Back 7

When people have an amicable relationship, they are pleasant to each other and solve their problems without quarrelling.

Front 8

Precocious

Back 8

A precocious child is very clever, mature, or good at something, often in a way that you usually only expect to find in an adult.

Front 9

Garrulous

Back 9

If you describe someone as garrulous, you mean that they talk a great deal, especially about unimportant things.

Front 10

Motley

Back 10

You can describe a group of things as a motley collection if you think they seem strange together because they are all very different.

Front 11

Polemical

Back 11

Polemical means arguing very strongly for or against a belief or opinion.

Front 12

Deification

Back 12

If you talk about the deification of someone or something, you mean that they are regarded with very great respect and are not criticized at all.

Front 13

Enervate

Back 13

to deprive of strength or vitality; weaken physically or mentally; debilitate

Front 14

Pedantry

Back 14

If you accuse someone of pedantry, you mean that you disapprove of them because they pay excessive attention to unimportant details or traditional rules, especially in connection with academic subjects.

Front 15

Parsimony

Back 15

Parsimony is extreme unwillingness to spend money.

Front 16

Pulchritude

Back 16

Physical beauty

Front 17

Peccadillo

Back 17

Peccadilloes are small, unimportant sins or faults.

Front 18

Flamboyant

Back 18

If you say that someone or something is flamboyant, you mean that they are very noticeable, stylish, and exciting.

Front 19

Laudatory

Back 19

A laudatory piece of writing or speech expresses praise or admiration for someone.

Front 20

Pounce

Back 20

If someone pounces on you, they come up towards you suddenly and take hold of you

Front 21

Approbation

Back 21

Approbation is approval of something or agreement to it

Front 22

Ascetic

Back 22

An ascetic person has a way of life that is simple and strict, usually because of their religious beliefs.

Front 23

Indolence

Back 23

Laziness

Front 24

Profligate

Back 24

Someone who is profligate spends too much money or uses too much of something.

Front 25

Inundant

Back 25

Overflowing

Front 26

Guileless

Back 26

If you describe someone as guileless, you mean that they behave openly and truthfully and do not try to deceive people.

Front 27

Cunning

Back 27

Someone who is cunning has the ability to achieve things in a clever way, often by deceiving other people.

Front 28

Desultory

Back 28

Something that is desultory is done in an unplanned and disorganized way, and without enthusiasm.

Front 29

Forge

Back 29

If one person or institution forges an agreement or relationship with another, they create it with a lot of hard work, hoping that it will be strong or lasting.

Front 30

provenance

Back 30

The provenance of something is the place that it comes from or that it originally came from.

Front 31

Suffrage

Back 31

Suffrage is the right of people to vote for a government or national leader.

Front 32

Egalitarian

Back 32

Egalitarian means supporting or following the idea that all people are equal and should have the same rights and opportunities.

Front 33

Fierce

Back 33

A fierce animal or person is very aggressive or angry.

Front 34

Appeal

Back 34

If you appeal to someone to do something, you make a serious and urgent request to them.

Front 35

Abysmal

Back 35

If you describe a situation or the condition of something as abysmal, you think that it is very bad or poor in quality.

Front 36

Exploitative

Back 36

If you describe something as exploitative, you disapprove of it because it treats people unfairly by using their work or ideas for its own advantage, and giving them very little in return.

Front 37

Pedigree

Back 37

If a dog, cat, or other animal has a pedigree, its ancestors are known and recorded. An animal is considered to have a good pedigree when all its known ancestors are of the same type.

Front 38

Allure

Back 38

The allure of something or someone is the pleasing or exciting quality that they have.

Front 39

Whimsical

Back 39

A whimsical person or idea is unusual, playful, and unpredictable, rather than serious and practical.

Front 40

Capricious

Back 40

Someone who is capricious often changes their mind unexpectedly.

Front 41

Porcelain

Back 41

Porcelain is a hard, shiny substance made by heating clay. It is used to make delicate cups, plates, and ornaments.

Front 42

Defang

Back 42

to weaken or compromise (something)

Front 43

Misogyny

Back 43

Misogyny is a strong dislike of women.

Front 44

Frivolity

Back 44

If you refer to an activity as a frivolity, you think that it is amusing and rather silly, rather than serious and sensible.

Front 45

Frippery

Back 45

If you refer to something as frippery, you mean that it is silly or unnecessary, and only done or worn for pleasure

Front 46

Triumph

Back 46

A triumph is a great success or achievement, often one that has been gained with a lot of skill or effort.

Front 47

Legion

Back 47

A legion is a large group of soldiers who form one section of an army.

Front 48

Elusive

Back 48

Something or someone that is elusive is difficult to find, describe, remember, or achieve.

Front 49

Contemporary

Back 49

Living or occuring at the same time. Belonging to or occuring in the present