Vocabulary List 4

Front 1

1. to pronounce or decree by judicial sentence.
2. to settle or determine (an issue or dispute) judicially.

Back 1

adjudicate

The decision has been made to adjudicate the individual.

syn: adjudge, arbitrate, decide, determine, mediate, referee, settle, umpire
ant: defer, dodge, ignore, not judge

Front 2

1. belonging to, characteristic of, or consisting of the middle class.
2. conventional; middle-class.
3. dominated or characterized by materialistic pursuits or concerns.

Back 2

bourgeois

The bourgeois revolution could no longer satisfy the masses.

syn:Philistine, Victorian, common, conservative, conventional, hidebound, illiberal, materialistic, middle-class, old-line, traditional
ant:adventurous, imaginative, inspired, nonconforming, original, untraditional

Front 3

emotional purging; release of emotion

Back 3

cathartic

It was quite cathartic to bang a drum loudly first thing on a Monday morning!

Front 4

excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures; intemperance.

Back 4

debauchery

Their lives are full of violence, sex, and general debauchery as Bruno and Michael try to find happiness.

syn:indulgence, intemperance, intimacy, lasciviousness, lechery, lewdness
ant:benevolence, giving, mercifulness, unselfishness

Front 5

adj. Disagreeing, as in opinion or belief.
n. One who disagrees; a dissenter.

Back 5

dissident

a ban on dissident magazines.

syn:discordant, dissentient, dissenting, heretical, heterodox, nonconformist, schismatic, sectarian, unorthodox
ant:agreeing, conforming

Front 6

shameless or impudent boldness; barefaced audacity:

Back 6

effrontery

She had the effrontery to ask for two free samples.

syn:arrogance, assurance, audacity, backtalk, brashness,
ant:manners, modesty, shame, shyness

Front 7

1. a breaker or destroyer of images, esp. those set up for religious veneration.
2. a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., as being based on error or superstition.

Back 7

iconoclast

The iconoclast doesn't go to a church because he doesn't believe in any faiths.

syn:critic, cynic, denouncer, dissenter, dissident, heretic, radical
ant:conformist, orthodox

Front 8

using few words; expressing much in few words; concise:

Back 8

laconic

a laconic reply

syn:concise, crisp, curt, pithy, sententious, short and sweet, succinct, terse
ant:long-winded, verbose, wordy

Front 9

tearfully or weakly emotional; foolishly sentimental:

Back 9

maudlin

a maudlin story of a little orphan and her lost dog

syn:teary, overemotional, befuddled, confused, cornball, drippy, gushing, insipid, lachrymose, mawkish, mushy, romantic
ant: calm, matter-of-fact, unimaginative

Front 10

hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused:

Back 10

nebulous

a nebulous recollection of the meeting; a nebulous distinction between pride and conceit.

syn:ambiguous, amorphous, cloudy, dark, dim, hazy, imprecise, indefinite
ant:apparent, definite, obvious, plain

Front 11

1. a remedy for all disease or ills; cure-all.
2. an answer or solution for all problems or difficulties:

Back 11

panacea

His economic philosophy is a good one, but he tries to use it as a panacea.

syn:catholicon, cure, elixir, nostrum, patent medicine, relief, remedy

Front 12

a tendency to think favorably of something in particular; partiality; preference:

Back 12

predilection

a predilection for Bach.

syn: partiality, bias, predilection
ant:antipathy, disinterest, dislike, hate

Front 13

1. a descendant or offspring, as a child, plant, or animal.
2. such descendants or offspring collectively.
3. something that originates or results from something else; outcome; issue.

Back 13

progeny

I want to clean up the world for my progeny.

syn:breed, children, descendants, family,
ant: parent

Front 14

Payment or compensation received for services or employment; reward; pay

Back 14

remuneration

He received little remuneration for his services.

syn:commission, compensation, pay, reimbursement, reward, wage

Front 15

characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering:

Back 15

sardonic

a sardonic grin.

syn:acerbic, arrogant, biting, bitter, carping, caustic, cynical, derisive, disrespectful, evil, irascible, mean, mocking
ant:agreeable, content, genial, kind, nice, pleasant, sweet

Front 16

1. of settled or sedate character; not flighty or capricious.
2. fixed, settled, or permanent.

Back 16

staid

HONDA has gone all out to change its rather staid image with an excitingly different look for its latest Civic.

syn:calm, cold sober, collected, composed, cool, decorous, demure, dignified, earnest, formal, grave
ant: adventurous, frivolous, fun, sporting, willing

Front 17

reckless boldness; rashness.

Back 17

temerity

With total temarity, the teen raced down the streets without his headlights on.

syn:assurance, boldness, brass, carelessness, daring, effrontery
ant:care, caution, cowardice, forethought, hesitation

Front 18

1. having the polish and suavity regarded as characteristic of sophisticated social life in major cities:
2. reflecting elegance, sophistication, etc., esp. in expression:

Back 18

urbane

He maintained an urbane tone in his letters.
an urbane manner.


syn:affable, balanced, bland, civil, cosmopolitan, courteous, cultivated, cultured, debonair, elegant, genteel, gracious,
ant:uncivilized, uncouth, unsophisticated

Front 19

1. performed, exercised, received, or suffered in place of another:
2. taking the place of another person or thing; acting or serving as a substitute.
3. felt or enjoyed through imagined participation in the experience of others:

Back 19

vicarious

a vicarious thrill.
vicarious punishment.

syn:commissioned, delegated, deputed, empathetic, eventual, imagined, indirect, pretended, secondary, substituted, substitutional, surrogate

Front 20

1. the act of willing, choosing, or resolving; exercise of willing:
2. a choice or decision made by the will.

Back 20

volition

She left of her own volition.

syn:accord, choice, choosing, conation, desire, determination, discretion