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35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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COUNTENANCE (KOWN tuh nuns) n
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face; facial expression, especially an encouraging one
His father’s confident countenance gave Lou the courage to persevere. |
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COUP (koo) n
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a brilliant victory or accomplishment; the violent overthrow of a government by a small internal group
Winning a gold medal at the Olympics was a real coup for the skinny, sickly, fifty-year-old man. |
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COVENANT (KUV uh nunt) n
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a solemn agreement; a contract; a pledge
The warring tribes made a covenant not to fight each other anymore. |
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COVERT (KOV urt) adj
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secret; hidden
A covert military operation is one the public knows nothing about. |
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COVET (KUV it) v
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to wish for enviously
To covet thy neighbor’s wife is to want thy neighbor’s wife for thyself. |
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CREDULOUS (KREJ uh lus) adj
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eager to believe; gullible
The credulous housewife believed that she had won a million dollars from Publishers Clearing House. |
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CRITERION (krye TEER ee un) n
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standard; basis for judgment
When Norm judges a meal, he has only one criterion: Is it edible? |
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CRYPTIC (KRIP tik) adj
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mysterious; mystifying
Elaine’s remarks were cryptic; Jerry was baffled by what she said. |
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CULINARY (KYOO luh ner ee) adj
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relating to cooking or the kitchen
Allison pursued her culinary interests by attending the culinary institute. Her first meal, which was burned beyond recognition, was a culinary disaster. |
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CULMINATE (KUL muh nayt) v
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to climax; to reach full effect
Connie’s years of practice culminated in a great victory at the international juggling championship. |
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CULPABLE (KUL puh bul) adj
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deserving blame; guilty
The accountant’s failure to spot the errors made him culpable in the tax-fraud case. |
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CURSORY (KUR suh ree) adj
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hasty; superficial
To give a book a cursory reading is to skim it quickly without comprehending much. |
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CURTAIL (kur TAYL) v
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to shorten; to cut short
The vet curtailed his effort to cut the cat’s tail with the lawn mower. That is, he stopped trying. |
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CYNIC (SIN ik) n
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one who deeply distrusts human nature; one who believes humans are motivated only by selfishness
When the pop star gave a million dollars to the museum, cynics said he was merely trying to buy himself a reputation as a cultured person. |
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DAUNT (dawnt) v
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to make fearful; to intimidate
The steepness of the mountain daunted the team of amateur climbers, who hadn’t realized what they were in for. |
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DEARTH (durth) n
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lack; scarcity
When there is a dearth of food, many people may starve. |
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DEBACLE (di BAHK ul) n
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violent breakdown; sudden overthrow; overwhelming defeat
A political debate would become a debacle if the candidates began screaming and throwing dinner rolls at each other. |
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DEBAUCHERY (di BAW chuh ree) n
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wild living; excessive intemperance
Debauchery can be expensive; fortunately for Jeff, his wallet matched his appetite for extravagant pleasures. He died a poor, albeit happy, man. |
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DEBILITATE (di BIL uh tayt) v
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to weaken; to cripple
The football player’s career was ended by a debilitating injury to his knee. |
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DECADENT (DEK uh dunt) adj
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decaying or decayed, especially in terms of morals
A person who engages in decadent behavior is a person whose morals have decayed or fallen into ruin. |
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DECIMATE (DES uh mayt) v
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to kill or destroy a large part of
When locusts attack a crop, they sometimes decimate it, leaving very little that’s fit for human consumption. |
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DECOROUS (DEK ur us) adj
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proper; in good taste; orderly
The New Year’s Eve crowd was relatively decorous until midnight, when they went wild. |
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DEDUCE (di DOOS) v
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to conclude from the evidence; to infer
From the footprints on the ground, Clarice deduced that the criminal had feet. |
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DEFAME (di FAYM) v
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to libel or slander; to ruin the good name of
The local businessman accused the newspaper of defaming him by publishing an article that said his company was poorly managed. |
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DEFERENCE (DEF ur uns) n
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submission to another’s will; respect; courtesy
Dean showed deference to his grandfather: He let the old man have first dibs on the birthday cake. |
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DEFINITIVE (di FIN uh tiv) adj
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conclusive; providing the last word
Walter wrote the definitive biography of Keats; nothing more could have been added by another book. |
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DEGENERATE (di JEN uh rayt) v
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to break down; to deteriorate
Over the years, the nice old neighborhood had degenerated into a terrible slum. |
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DELETERIOUS (del uh TIR ee us) adj
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harmful
Smoking cigarettes is deleterious to your health. |
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DELINEATE (di LIN ee ayt) v
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to describe accurately; to draw in outline
After Jack had delineated his plan, we had no doubt about what he intended to do. |
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DELUDE (dye LOOD) v
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to deceive
The con man deluded us into thinking that he would make us rich. Instead, he tricked us into giving him several hundred dollars. |
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DELUGE (DEL yooj) n
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a flood; an inundation
The $1 million reward for the lost poodle brought in a deluge of hot leads. The distraught owner was deluged by phone calls all week. |
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DEMAGOGUE (DEM uh gawg) n
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a leader of the people, but more a rabble rouser
A demagogue is a leader, but not in a good sense of the word. He manipulates the public to support his aims, but he is little different from a dictator. A demagogue is often a despot. |
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DENIZEN (DEN i zun) n
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inhabitant
To be a denizen of a country is to live there. A citizen of a country is usually also a denizen. |
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DEPRAVITY (di PRAV uh tee) n
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extreme wickedness or corruption
Mrs. Prudinkle wondered whether the depravity of her class of eight-year-olds was the result of their watching Saturday morning television. |
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DEPRECATE (DEP ruh kayt) v
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to express disapproval of
To deprecate a colleague’s work is to risk making yourself unwelcome in your colleague’s office. |
