English Vocab 5

Front 1

querulous

Back 1

1. full of complaints; habitually complaining
a querulous tone
constant querulous reminders of things to be done

syn: peevish, petulant, testy(); caviling()
carping(), discontented

Hint 1

testy: adj.
irritably impatient; touchy

cavil, carp: verbs
to raise irritating and niggling objections; find fault with unnecessarily/ unreasonably
(usually fol. by at or about):
He finds something to cavil at in everything I say.
to carp at minor errors.

niggling: adj
1. petty; trivial; inconsequential
2. demanding too much care, attention, time, etc.
niggling, fastidious guests

Front 2

fret

Back 2

v.
1. To cause to be uneasy; vex; to feel or express worry, annoyance or discontent:
Fretting about the lost ring isn't going to help.:
“fret thy soul with crosses and with cares” (Edmund Spenser).

2. To gnaw() or chafe(); erode; corrode
acids that fret at the strongest metals
the new hiking boots fretted my heels until they were bloody

(often fol. by away): Limestone slowly frets away under pounding by the wind and rain.


3. To form (a passage or channel) by erosion.
The river frets at its banks until a new channel is formed.

4. To disturb the surface of (water or a stream); agitate.

Hint 2

gnaw: verb:
to wear away by persistent biting or nibbling

chafe: verb
to wear away by rubbing

Front 3

fractious

Back 3

adj.
1. refractory() or unruly:
a fractious wild horse that would not submit to the harness.

2. irascible; peevish; quarrelsome; irritable; cranky; easily angered

an incorrigibly fractious young man

Hint 3

refractory: adj.
hard or impossible to manage; stubbornly disobedient:
a refractory child.

Front 4

unruly

Back 4

adj. Difficult or impossible to discipline, manage, control, or rule.
intractable()
recalcitrant()
refractory

describe persons or things that resist management or control.

Hint 4

Unruly suggests persistently disorderly behavior or character in persons or things:
an unruly child, peevish and willful;
wild, unruly hair.

—Synonyms disobedient, unmanageable, uncontrollable, stubborn, disorderly, riotous, ungovernable

Intractable –adjective
1. not easily controlled or directed; not docile or manageable; stubborn; obstinate: an intractable disposition.
2. (of things) hard to shape or work with: an intractable metal.
3. hard to treat, relieve, or cure: the intractable pain in his leg.

recalcitrant–adjective
1. resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory.
2. hard to deal with, manage, or operate.

refractory-adj.
1. hard or impossible to manage; stubbornly disobedient:
a refractory child.

2. difficult to fuse, reduce, or work, as an ore or metal.

3. resisting ordinary methods of treatment, as in a disease

Front 5

churl

Back 5

n.
1. A rude, boorish person.

2. A miserly person.

3. A ceorl (A freeman of the lowest class in Anglo-Saxon England).
chA-or-l

Front 6

intractable

Back 6

adj. ()

1. Difficult to manage or govern; stubborn; unruly.

2. Difficult to mold or manipulate:
intractable materials.

3. Difficult to alleviate, remedy, or cure:
intractable pain.

Hint 6

Intractable suggests in persons a determined resistance to all attempts to guide or direct them, in things a refusal to respond to attempts to shape, improve, or modify them: an intractable social rebel; a seemingly intractable problem in logistics.

Front 7

ruddy

Back 7

adj
1: inclined to a healthy reddish color often associated with outdoor life;
"a ruddy complexion"
"Santa's rubicund cheeks"
"a fresh and sanguine complexion"
rubicund (red or reddish)
sanguine (blood red, reddish, red)

2: having any of numerous bright or strong colors reminiscent of the color of blood or cherries or tomatoes or rubies

red, reddish
cherry, cherry-red
blood-red
ruby, ruby-red
scarlet (bright red inclining toward orange)
cerise (moderate to deep red)
carmine/crimson (deep purplish red)

Front 8

frowzy

Back 8

adj.
1. Unkempt(); slovenly()
frowzy clothes
a frowzy professor

2. Having an unpleasant smell; musty()
a frowzy pantry

Hint 8

unkempt: –adjective
1. not combed: unkempt hair.

2. uncared-for, neglected; disheveled; messy:
unkempt clothes; an unkempt lawn.

3. unpolished; rough; crude.

Slovenly: –adjective
1. untidy or unclean in appearance or habits.
2. slipshod; careless, seedy, shabby.

Musty: adj.
having a moldy or stale odor or flavor

Front 9

ribald

Back 9

adj.

vulgar or indecent in speech, language, etc.; coarsely mocking, abusive, or irreverent;

scurrilous.

Front 10

askew

Back 10

adj : turned or twisted toward one side
"a...youth with a gorgeous red necktie all askew"- G.K.Chesterton

"his wig was, as the British say, askew"

awry
cockeyed (twisted, tilted, or slanted to one side)
lopsided
skew-whiff (turned or twisted toward one side)

Front 11

impassive

Back 11

adj.
1. Having or showing little emotion; expressionless

2. Not easily aroused or excited;

3. Motionless; still

Front 12

decorous

Back 12

adj
characterized by propriety, dignity and good taste in manners and conduct

"the tete-a-tete() was decorous in the extreme"
[ant: indecorous]
"her becoming modesty";
"comely behavior";
"it is not comme il faut() for a gentleman to be constantly asking for money";
"a decent burial";
"seemly behavior"

[syn: becoming, comely, comme il faut, decent, seemly]

Hint 12

tete-a-tete: of, between, or for two persons together privately, without others.

comme il faut (kaw-meel foh): as it should be; proper; fitting; fittingly.

Front 13

sclerotic

Back 13

adj
1: relating to or having sclerosis; thickened or hardened; "a sclerotic blood vessel"

2: of or relating to the sclera of the eyeball; "sclerotic tissue"

Front 14

incursion

Back 14

n.
The act of entering another's territory or domain (country, house, etc.)

Front 15

hapless

Back 15

adj.
Luckless; unfortunate.

Front 16

emollient

Back 16

adj.
1. Softening and soothing, especially to the skin.

2. Making less harsh or abrasive; mollifying ()
the emollient approach of a diplomatic mediator.

Hint 16

mollify: soften

Front 17

rampant

Back 17

adj.
1. rearing upon the hind legs with forelegs extended -- used of a heraldic animal

2. menacingly or profusely widespread; rife(); in full sway

a rampant epidemic
rampant corruption
rampant rumors
rampant weeds

3. violent in action or spirit; raging; furious:

rampant lions

Hint 17

rife: abundant, plentiful, or numerous.

Front 18

kowtow

Back 18

v.
1. To kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in expression of deep respect, worship, or submission, as formerly done in China.

2. To show servile deference; fawn

Front 19

complaisant

Back 19

adj. Exhibiting a desire or willingness to please; cheerfully obliging; agreeable or gracious; compliant (complying; obeying, obliging, or yielding, esp. in a submissive way)

Front 20

hawk

Back 20

v. To peddle goods aggressively, especially by calling out.

Front 21

milch cow

Back 21

n : cattle that are reared for their milk [syn: dairy cattle, dairy cow, milk cow, milcher, milker]

Front 22

hamstrung

Back 22

v.

To cripple as if by cutting the hamstring of an animal or a person
“These worthwhile books are often hamstrung by unimaginative formats and inaccurate art“ (Don Lessem).

Front 23

fraught

Back 23

adj.

1. (usually followed by 'with') full of; accompanied by; involving:
a task fraught with danger;
an evening fraught with high drama.

2. Marked by distress; emotional:
an account of a fraught mother-daughter relationship (Francesca Simon).

Front 24

dotty

Back 24

adj.
1. crazy or eccentric.

2. feeble or unsteady in gait; shaky
the dotty drunk stumbled through the park

3. very enthusiastic or infatuated (usually fol. by about or over)
the girls were dotty about the Beattles
Michael was dotty over the Star Wars trilogy

Front 25

hapless

Back 25

adj.

Luckless; unfortunate.

Front 26

row

Back 26

rauw: n.

1. A boisterous() disturbance or a great noise; an uproar()

2.a loud quarrel; a commotion; a brawl()

Hint 26

boisterous: adj.
rough, rowdy and noisily jolly; clamorous; unrestrained:
the sound of boisterous laughter.

uproar: noun
a state of violent and noisy disturbance, as of a multitude; turmoil.

brawl: n.
1. a noisy quarrel, squabble, or fight.
2. a bubbling or roaring noise; a clamor.

clamor: noun
any loud and continued noise:
the clamor of traffic; the clamor of birds

Front 27

peckish

Back 27

adj.
1. Somewhat hungry

2. Ill-tempered; irritable.

Front 28

augur

Back 28

AW-ger

v.

To predict, especially from signs or omens; foretell; betoken()

trends that augur change in society

Hint 28

betoken: verb
to be a sign of; portend:
a thunderclap that betokens foul weather;
an angry word that betokens hostility.

Front 29

swan song

Back 29

n.
1. A farewell or final appearance, action, or work.

2. The beautiful legendary song sung only once by a swan in its lifetime, as it is dying.

Front 30

turbulent

Back 30

adj.

1. tumultuous, disturbed, disordered, agitated
turbulent feelings or emotions.
turbulent years

2. violent, aggressive:
the turbulent young soldiers.

Front 31

boisterous

Back 31

adj.
1. rowdy, rough, noisily jolly; clamorous(); unrestrained:
the sound of boisterous laughter
a boisterous party

2. (of waves, weather, wind, etc.) rough and stormy.
a boisterous thunderstorm

Hint 31

clamorous: adj.
1. Making or marked by loud outcry or sustained din.

2. Insistently demanding attention; importunate; vigorous in demands or complaints; vociferous.

Front 32

rambunctious

Back 32

adj.

turbulently active and noisy; difficult to control or handle; wildly boisterous()

a rambunctious child.

a social gathering that became rambunctious and out of hand

Hint 32

boisterous:
rowdy, rough; noisily jolly; clamorous; unrestrained

Front 33

robustious

Back 33

rō-BUS-chus

adjective

1. noisy and lacking in restraint; boisterous

2. Rough, coarse, or crude:
robustious comedy

Front 34

rankle

Back 34

verb
(of unpleasant feelings, experiences, etc.) to continue to cause keen irritation or bitter resentment within the mind; fester; be painful.

Front 35

sanguine

Back 35

–adjective
1. cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident:
a sanguine disposition
sanguine expectations

2. reddish; ruddy:
a sanguine complexion.

3. blood-red; reddish-purple tincture (dye or pigment)

Front 36

refractory

Back 36

adj.

1. hard or impossible to manage; stubbornly disobedient: a refractory child.

2. difficult to fuse, reduce, or work, as an ore or metal.
a refractory metal

3. resisting ordinary methods of treatment.
A refractory disease

Front 37

testy

Back 37

adj.
irritably impatient; touchy

Front 38

cavil

Back 38

cavil, carp: verbs
to raise irritating and niggling (petty, trivial) objections; find fault with unnecessarily/ unreasonably
(usually fol. by at or about):
He finds something to cavil at in everything I say.
to carp at minor errors.

Front 39

carp

Back 39

cavil, carp: verbs
to raise irritating and niggling objections; find fault with unnecessarily/ unreasonably

(usually fol. by at or about):

He finds something to cavil at in everything I say.

to carp at minor errors

Front 40

niggling

Back 40

niggling: adj
1. petty; trivial; inconsequential

2. demanding too much care, attention, time, etc.; fastidious
niggling guests

Front 41

din

Back 41

noun
a loud, confused, discordant noise; a continued loud or tumultuous sound; noisy clamor.

Front 42

clamor

Back 42

noun
1. any loud and continued noise
the clamor of the crowd at the gates.
the clamor of traffic;
the clamor of birds and animals in the zoo

2.a vehement expression of dissatisfaction or protest; a popular outcry
the clamor of the proponents of the law.
The senators could not ignore the clamor against higher taxation.

Front 43

clamorous

Back 43

: adj.
1. Making or marked by loud outcry or sustained din.

2. Insistently demanding attention; importunate; vigorous in demands or complaints

Hint 43

din: n.
a loud, confused noise; a continued loud or tumultuous sound;