Vocabulary Set Two

Front 1

Approbation

(Noun)

"The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance."

- Brian Tracy

Back 1

Definition: The expression of approval or favorable opinion, praise; official approval

Synonym: approval, acceptance, recognition

Antonym: condemnation, criticism

Front 2

Assuage

(Verb)

"Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain."

- Joseph Campbell

Back 2

Definition: To make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to, appease, satisfy, quench

Synonym: alleviate, soothe

Antonym: aggravate, irritate

Front 3

Coalition

(Noun)

"Close alliances with despots are never safe for free states."

- Demosthenes

Back 3

Definition:A combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose

Synonym: alliance, union

Antonym: enemy, adversary

Front 4

Decadence

(Noun)

"America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between."

-Oscar Wilde

Back 4

Definition: Decline, decay, or deterioration; a condition or period of decline or decay; excessive self indulgence.

Synonym: licentiousness, debauchery

Antonym: prudence, morality

Front 5

Elicit

(Verb)

"The test of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there"

- James Buchanan

Back 5

Definition:To draw forth, bring out from some source.

Synonym: extract, evoke

Antonym: supress, cover

Front 6

Expostulate

(Verb)

"I detest life-insurance agents: they always argue that I shall some day die, which is not so."

-Stephen Leacock

Back 6

Definition: To attempt to dissuade someone from some course or decision by earnest reasoning.

Synonym: dissuade, discourage
Antonym: persuade, encourage

Front 7

Hackneyed

(Adjective)

"Every cliche about kids is true; they grow up so quickly, you blink and they're gone, and you have to spend the time with them now."

-Liam Neeson

Back 7

Definition: Used so often as to lack freshness or originality.

Synonym: overused, clichéd

Antonym: original, authentic

Front 8

Hiatus

(Noun)

"He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed."

-Albert Einstein

Back 8

Definition:A gap, opening, break (in the sense of having an element missing)

Synonym: pause, gap

Antonym: continuation, extension

Front 9

Innuendo

(Noun)

"I can see why many Southerners, black ones in particular, don't like the implication that Southernness and the Confederate heritage are one and the same, because they're not."

-John Shelton Reed

Back 9

Definition: A hint, indirect suggestion, or reference (often in a derogatory sense).

Synonym: implication, suggestion

Antonym: statement, explanation

Front 10

Intercede

(Verb)

"Trying to negotiate getting a couple of kids to watch the same TV show requires serious diplomacy."

-Dee Dee Myers

Back 10

Definition:To plead on behalf of someone else; to serve as a third party or go-between in a disagreement

Synonym: mediate, negotiate

Antonym: relinquish, abstain

Front 11

Jaded

(Adjective)

"I always get bored with my hair. That's why I would always change it throughout my career."

-Janet Jackson

Back 11

Definition:Wearied, worn-out, dulled (in the sense of being satiated by excessive indulgence)

Synonym: bored, weary

Antonym: activated, fresh

Front 12

Lurid

(Adjective)

"Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality."

-Edgar Allen Poe

Back 12

Definition: Causing shock, horror, or revulsion; sensational; pale or sallow in color; terrible or passionate in intensity or lack of restraint

Synonym: revolting, grim

Antonym: pleasant, mild

Front 13

Meritorious

(Adjective)

"What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god."

-William Shakespeare

Back 13

Definition:Worthy, deserving recognition and praise.

Synonym: admirable, exemplary

Antonym: corrupt, immoral

Front 14

Petulant

(Adjective)

"I'm irritated by how-do-you-do chit-chat, but that's how new relationships usually begin."

-Ariel Gore

Back 14

Definition: Peevish, annoyed by trifles, easily irritated and upset

Synonym: irritated, cranky

Antonym: patient, cheerful

Front 15

Prerogative

(Noun)

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

- The American Declaration of Independence

Back 15

Definition: A special right or privilege; a special quality showing excellence

Synonym: choice, liberty

Antonym: obligation, duty

Front 16

Provincial

(Adjective or Noun)

"It is better to be high-spirited even though one makes more mistakes, than to be narrow-minded and all too prudent."

-Vincent Van Gogh

Back 16

Definition: (adj.) Pertaining to an outlying area; local; narrow in mind or outlook, countrified in the sense of being limited and backward; of a simple plain design that originated in the countryside; (n.) a person with a narrow point of view; a person from an outlying area; a soldier from a province or colony

Synonyms: rural, narrow

Antonyms: liberal, urban

Front 17

Simulate

(Verb)

"When you fail at something, the best thing to do is think back to your successes, and try to replicate whatever you did to make them happen."

-Rosabeth Moss KanterRead

Back 17

Definition: To make a pretense of, imitate; to show the outer signs of

Synonym: replicate, reproduce

Antonym: authenticate, validate

Front 18

Transcend

(Verb)

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?"

-Robert Browning

Back 18

Definition: To rise above or beyond, exceed

Synonym: exceed, outshine

Antonym: surrender, fail

Front 19

Umbrage

(Noun)

"I've had a few arguments with people, but I never carry a grudge. You know why? While you're carrying a grudge, they're out dancing."

-Buddy Hackett

Back 19

Definition: Shade cast by trees; foliage giving shade; an overshadowing influence or power; offense, resentment; a vague suspicion

Synonym: grudge, wrath

Antonym: comfort, delight

Front 20

Unctuous

(Adjective)

"A free life cannot acquire many possessions, because this is not easy to do without servility to mobs or monarchs."

-Epicurus

Back 20

Definition:Excessively smooth or smug; trying too hard to give an impression of earnestness, sincerity, or piety; fatty, oily; pliable

Synonym: groveling, servile

Antonym: sincere, genuine