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114 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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abate
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v. to reduce in amount, degree, or intensity
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aberrant
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adj. departing from the right, normal, or usual course
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abeyance
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n. temporary inactivity, cessation, or suspension:
Let's hold that in abeyance for a while. |
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abscond
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v. to depart in a sudden and secret manner, esp. to avoid capture and legal prosecution:
The cashier absconded with the money. |
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abstemious
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adj. sparing or moderate; temperate
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adulterate
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v. to debase or make impure
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alacrity
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n. cheerful readiness, promptness or willingness:
We accepted the invitation with alacrity. |
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amalgamate
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v. to mix or merge so as to make a combination; blend; unite; combine:
to amalgamate two companies. |
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anachronism
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n. something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chrnonological time:
The sword is an anachronism in modern warfare |
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apprise
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v. to give notice to; advise:
to be apprised of the death of an old friend |
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approbation
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n. approval; commendation
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assiduous
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adj. constant; unremitting: assiduous reading.
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assuage
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v. to make milder or less severe
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attenuate
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v. to weaken or reduce in force, intensity, effect, quantity, or value: to attenuate desire.
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aver
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v. to assert or affirm with confidence; declare in a positive or peremptory manner.
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belie
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v. to show to be false; contradict: His trembling hands belied his calm voice.
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boorish
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adj. of or like a boor; unmannered; crude; insensitive.
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burgeon
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v. to grow or develop quickly; flourish: The town burgeoned into a city. He burgeoned into a fine actor.
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burnish
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v. to make smooth and bright.
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castigate
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v. to criticize or reprimand severely
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caustic
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adj. capable of burning, corroding, or destroying living tissue
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chicanery
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n. trickery or deception by quibbling or sophistry:
He resorted to the worst flattery and chicanery to win the job. |
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coagulate
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v. to change from a fluid into a thickened mass; curdle; congeal:
Let the pudding stand two hours until it coagulates |
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cogent
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adj. convincing or believable by virtue of forcible, clear, or incisive presentation; telling.
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comensurate
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adj. corresponding in amount, magnitude, or degree:
Your paycheck should be commensurate with the amount of time worked. |
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compendium
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n.
1. a brief treatment or account of a subject, esp. an extensive subject; concise treatise: a compendium of medicine. 2. a summary, epitome, or abridgment. 3. a full list or inventory: a compendium of their complaints. |
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complaisant
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adj. inclined or disposed to please; obliging; agreeable or gracious; compliant:
the most complaisant child I've ever met. |
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contrite
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adj. filled with a sense of guilt and the desire for atonement; penitent: a contrite sinner.
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deference
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n. respectful submission or yielding to the judgment, opinion, will, etc., of another.
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desultory
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adj. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
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diatribe
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n. a bitter, sharply abusive denunciation, attack, or criticism: repeated diatribes against the senator.
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diffident
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adj. lacking confidence in one's own ability, worth, or fitness; timid; shy.
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dirge
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n. a funeral song
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disabuse
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v. to free (a person) from deception or error.
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distend
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v. to expand by stretching, as something hollow or elastic:
Habitual overeating had distended his stomach. to spread in all directions; expand; swell: The sea distended about them. |
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ebullient
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adj. overflowing with fervor, enthusiasm, or excitement; high-spirited:
The award winner was in an ebullient mood at the dinner in her honor. |
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enervate
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v. to deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken.
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equanimity
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n. mental or emotional stability or composure, esp. under tension or strain; calmness; equilibrium.
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equivocate
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v. to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead; prevaricate or hedge:
When asked directly for his position on disarmament, the candidate only equivocated. |
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exculpate
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v. to clear from a charge of guilt or fault; free from blame; vindicate.
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exigency
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n. urgency
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facetious
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adj. not meant to be taken seriously or literally:
a facetious remark. |
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fatuous
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adj. foolish or inane, esp. in an unconscious, complacent manner; silly.
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felicitous
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adj. well-suited for the occasion, as an action, manner, or expression; apt; appropriate:
The chairman's felicitous anecdote set everyone at ease. |
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foment
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v. to instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the growth or development of:
to foment trouble; to foment discontent. |
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gainsay
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v. to deny, dispute, or contradict.
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gandiloquent
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adj. speaking or expressed in a lofty style, often to the point of being pompous or bombastic.
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iconoclast
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n. a breaker or destroyer of images, esp. those set up for religious veneration.
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idolatry
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1. the religious worship of idols.
2. excessive or blind adoration, reverence, devotion, etc. |
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impassive
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without emotion; apathetic; unmoved.
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implacable
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adj. not to be appeased, mollified, or pacified; inexorable:
an implacable enemy. |
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inchoate
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adj. not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
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incongruous
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inappropriate; unbecoming: an incongruous effect; incongruous behavior.
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indigence
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seriously impoverished condition; poverty.
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ingenuous
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1. free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation; candid; sincere.
2. artless; innocent; naive. |
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insensible
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incapable of feeling or perceiving; deprived of sensation; unconscious, as a person after a violent blow.
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insipid
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without distinctive, interesting, or stimulating qualities; vapid: an insipid personality.
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intransigent
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adj. refusing to agree or compromise; uncompromising; inflexible.
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inundate
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to overwhelm: inundated with letters of protest.
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inured
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to accustom to hardship, difficulty, pain, etc.; toughen or harden; habituate (usually fol. by to): inured to cold.
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invective
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vehement or violent denunciation, censure, or reproach.
also an adj. |
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irascible
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easily provoked to anger; very irritable: an irascible old man.
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irresolute
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not resolute; doubtful; infirm of purpose; vacillating.
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laconic
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using few words; expressing much in few words; concise: a laconic reply.
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lassitude
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1. weariness of body or mind from strain, oppressive climate, etc.; lack of energy; listlessness; languor.
2. a condition of indolent indifference: the pleasant lassitude of the warm summer afternoon. |
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latent
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present but not visible, apparent, or actualized; existing as potential: latent ability.
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levity
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lightness of mind, character, or behavior; lack of appropriate seriousness or earnestness.
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malinger
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to pretend illness, esp. in order to shirk one's duty, avoid work, etc.
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mendacious
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telling lies, esp. habitually; dishonest; lying; untruthful: a mendacious person.
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mollify
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to soften in feeling or temper, as a person; pacify; appease.
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neophyte
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a beginner or novice: He's a neophyte at chess.
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obdurate
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unmoved by persuasion, pity, or tender feelings; stubborn; unyielding.
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obsequious
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characterized by or showing servile complaisance or deference; fawning: an obsequious bow.
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obviate
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to anticipate and prevent or eliminate (difficulties, disadvantages, etc.) by effective measures; render unnecessary: to obviate the risk of serious injury.
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occlude
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to close, shut, or stop up (a passage, opening, etc.).
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officious
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objectionably aggressive in offering one's unrequested and unwanted services, help, or advice; meddlesome: an officious person.
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onerous
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burdensome, oppressive, or troublesome; causing hardship: onerous duties.
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opprobium
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the disgrace or the reproach incurred by conduct considered outrageously shameful; infamy.
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ostentatious
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characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others: an ostentatious dresser.
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paucity
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smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness: a country with a paucity of resources.
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penchant
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a strong inclination, taste, or liking for something:
a penchant for outdoor sports |
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penury
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extreme poverty; destitution.
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perfidious
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deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful:
a perfidious lover. |
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perfunctory
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performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial:
perfunctory courtesy. |
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phlegmatic
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not easily excited to action or display of emotion; apathetic; sluggish.
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plasticity
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the capability of being molded, receiving shape, or being made to assume a desired form:
the plasticity of social institutions; the great plasticity of clay. |
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platitude
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a flat, dull, or trite remark, esp. one uttered as if it were fresh or profound.
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precipitate
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rushing headlong or rapidly onward.
a precipitate fall down the stairs |
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prevaricate
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to speak falsely or misleadingly; deliberately misstate or create an incorrect impression; lie.
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probity
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integrity and uprightness; honesty.
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prodigal
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wastefully or recklessly extravagant: prodigal expenditure.
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propitiate
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to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.
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proscribe
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\to denounce or condemn (a thing) as dangerous or harmful; prohibit.
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quiescent
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being at rest; quiet; still; inactive or motionless:
a quiescent mind. |
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rarefied
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extremely high or elevated; lofty; exalted:
the rarefied atmosphere of a scholarly symposium. |
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recalcitrant
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resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory.
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recondite
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dealing with very profound, difficult, or abstruse subject matter:
a recondite treatise. |
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refractory
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hard or impossible to manage; stubbornly disobedient: a refractory child.
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reprobate
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a depraved, unprincipled, or wicked person: a drunken reprobate.
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reticent
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disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved.
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salubrious
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favorable to or promoting health; healthful: salubrious air.
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solicitious
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1. anxious or concerned (usually fol. by about, for, etc., or a clause): solicitous about a person's health.
2. anxiously desirous: solicitous of the esteem of others. |
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soporific
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causing or tending to cause sleep.
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specious
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apparently good or right though lacking real merit; superficially pleasing or plausible:
specious arguments. |
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stint
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to be frugal; get along on a scanty allowance:
Don't stint on the food. They stinted for years in order to save money. |
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stolid
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not easily stirred or moved mentally; unemotional; impassive.
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striated
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furrowed; striped; streaked.
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torpor
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sluggish inactivity or inertia.
lethargic indifference |
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tortuous
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full of twists, turns, or bends; twisting, winding, or crooked: a tortuous path.
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tractable
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easily managed or controlled; docile; yielding: a tractable child; a tractable disposition.
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truculent
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fierce; cruel; savagely brutal.
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veracious
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habitually speaking the truth; truthful; honest: a veracious witness.
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vituperative
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abusively critical
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welter
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verb (used without object)
1. to roll, toss, or heave, as waves or the sea. 2. to roll, writhe, or tumble about; wallow, as animals (often fol. by about): pigs weltering about happily in the mud. 3. to lie bathed in or be drenched in something, esp. blood. 4. to become deeply or extensively involved, associated, entangled, etc.: to welter in setbacks, confusion, and despair. –noun 5. a confused mass; a jumble or muddle: a welter of anxious faces. |
