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219 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Abscond
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(verb): to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
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Aberrant
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(adj.): deviating from the norm
(noun form: Aberration) |
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Alacrity
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(noun): eager and enthusiastic willingness
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Anomaly
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(noun): deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality
(adj. form: Anomalous) |
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Approbation
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(noun): an expression of approval or praise
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Arduous
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(adj.): strenuous, taxing; requiring significant effort
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Assuage
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(verb): to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
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Audacious
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(adj.): daring and fearless; recklessly bold
(noun form: Audacity) |
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Austere
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(adj.): without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
(noun form: Austerity) |
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Axiomatic
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(adj.): taken as a given; possessing self–evident truth
(noun form: Axiom) |
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Canonical
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(adj.): following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards
(noun form: Canon) |
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Capricious
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(adj.): inclined to change one's mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable
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Censure
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(verb): to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
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Chicanery
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(noun): trickery or subterfuge
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Connoisseur
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(noun): an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert
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Convoluted
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(adj.): complex or complicated
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Disabuse
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(verb): to undeceive; to set right
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Discordant
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(adj.): conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
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Disparate
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(adj.): fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
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Effrontery
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(noun): extreme boldness; presumptuousness
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Eloquent
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(adj.): well–spoken, expressive, articulate
(noun form: Eloquence) |
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Enervate
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(verb): to weaken; to reduce in vitality
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Ennui
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(noun): dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
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Equivocate
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(verb): to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
(adj. form: Equivocal) |
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Erudite
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(adj.): very learned; scholarly
(noun form: Erudition) |
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Exculpate
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(verb): exonerate; to clear of blame
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Exigent
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(adj.): urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
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Extemporaneous
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(adj.): improvised; done without preparation
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Filibuster
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(noun): intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speech–making to delay legislative action
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Fulminate
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(verb): to loudly attack or denounce
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Ingenuous
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(adj.): artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication
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Inured
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(adj.): accustomed to accepting something undesirable
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Irascible
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(adj.): easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
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Laud
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(verb): to praise highly
(adj. form: Laudatory) |
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Lucid
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(adj.): clear; easily understood
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Magnanimity
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(noun): the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving
(adj. form: Magnanimous) |
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Martial
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(adj.): associated with war and the armed forces
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Mundane
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(adj.): of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary
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Nascent
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(adj.): coming into being; in early developmental stages
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Nebulous
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(adj.): vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form
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Neologism
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(noun): a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
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Noxious
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(adj.): harmful, injurious
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Obtuse
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(adj.): lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression
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Obviate
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(verb): to anticipate and make unnecessary
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Onerous
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(adj.): troubling; burdensome
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Paean
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(noun): a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
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Parody
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(noun): a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, esp. in literature and art
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Perennial
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(adj.): recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly
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Perfidy
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(noun): intentional breach of faith; treachery
(adj. form: Perfidious) |
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Perfunctory
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(adj.): cursory; done without care or interest
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Perspicacious
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(adj.): acutely perceptive; having keen discernment
(noun form: Perspicacity) |
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Prattle
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(verb): to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
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Precipitate
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(adj.): acting with excessive haste or impulse
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to Precipitate
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(verb): to cause or happen before anticipated or required
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Predilection
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(noun): a disposition in favor of something; preference
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Prescience
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(noun): foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring
(adj. form: Prescient) |
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Prevaricate
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(verb): to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead
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Qualms
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(noun): misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy
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Recant
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(verb): to retract, esp. a previously held belief
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Refute
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(verb): to disprove; to successfully argue against
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Relegate
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(verb): to forcibly assign, esp. to a lower place or position
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Reticent
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(adj.): quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
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Solicitous
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(adj.): concerned and attentive; eager
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Sordid
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(adj.): characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
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Sporadic
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(adj.): occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances
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Squander
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(verb): to waste by spending or using irresponsibly
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Static
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(adj.): not moving, active, or in motion; at rest
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Stupefy
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(verb): to stun, baffle, or amaze
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Stymie
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(verb): to block; to thwart
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Synthesis
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(noun): the combination of parts to make a whole
(verb form: Synthesize) |
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Torque
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(noun): a force that causes rotation
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Tortuous
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(adj.): winding, twisting; excessively complicated
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Truculent
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(adj.): fierce and cruel; eager to fight
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Veracity
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(noun): truthfulness, honesty
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Virulent
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(adj.): extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
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Voracious
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(adj.): having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous
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Waver
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(verb): to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion
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Acumen
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(noun): keen, accurate judgment or insight
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Adulterate
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(verb): to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
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Amalgamate
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(verb): to combine several elements into a whole
(noun form: amalgamation) |
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Archaic
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(adj.): outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive, time
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Aver
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(verb): to state as a fact; to declare or assert
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Bolster
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(verb): to provide support or reinforcement
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Bombastic
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(adj.): pompous; grandiloquent
(noun form: Bombast) |
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Diatribe
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(noun): a harsh denunciation
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Dissemble
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(verb): to disguise or conceal; to mislead
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Eccentric
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(adj.): departing from norms or conventions
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Endemic
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(adj.): characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, or people
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Evanescent
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(adj.): tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing
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Exacerbate
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(verb): to make worse or more severe
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Fervent
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(adj.): greatly emotional or zealous
(noun form: Fervor) |
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Fortuitous
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(adj.): happening by accident or chance
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Germane
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(adj.): relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
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Grandiloquence
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(noun): pompous speech or expression
(adj. form: Grandiloquent) |
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Hackneyed
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(adj.): rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage
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Halcyon
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(adj.): calm and peaceful
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Hedonism
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(noun): devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. to the pleasures of the senses (a hedonist is someone who pursues pleasure)
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Hegemony
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(noun): the consistent dominance of one state or group over others
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Iconoclast
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(noun): one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions
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Idolatrous
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(adj.): given to intense or excessive devotion to something
(noun form: Idolatry) |
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Impassive
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(adj.): revealing no emotion
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Imperturbable
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(adj.): marked by extreme calm, impassivity, and steadiness
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Implacable
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(adj.): not capable of being appeased or significantly changed
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Impunity
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(noun): immunity from punishment or penalty
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Inchoate
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(adj.): in an initial stage; not fully formed
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Infelicitous
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(adj.): unfortunate; inappropiate
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Insipid
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(adj.): lacking in qualities that interest, stimulate, or challenge
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Loquacious
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(adj.): extremely talkative
(noun form: Loquacity) |
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Luminous
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(adj.): characterized by brightness and the emission of light
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Malevolent
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(adj.): having or showing often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred
(noun form: Malevolence) |
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Malleable
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(adj.): capable of being shaped or formed; tractable; pliable
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Mendacity
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(noun): the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty
(adj. form: Mendacious) |
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Meticulous
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(adj.): characterized by extreme care and precision; attentive to detail
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Misanthrope
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(noun): one who hates all other humans
(adj. form: Misanthropic) |
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Mitigate
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(verb): to make or become less severe or intense; to moderate
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Obdurate
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(adj.): unyielding; hardhearted; intractable
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Obsequious
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(adj.): exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
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Occlude
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(verb): to obstruct or block
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Opprobrium
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(noun): disgrace; contempt; scorn
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Pedagogy
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(noun): the profession or principles of teaching, or instruction
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Pedantic
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(adj.): overly concerned with the trivial details of learning or education; show–offish about one's knowledge
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Penury
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(noun): poverty; destitution
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Pervasive
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(adj.): having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout
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Pine
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(verb): to yearn intensely; to languish; to lose vigor
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Pirate
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(verb): to illegally use or reproduce
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Pith
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(noun): the essential or central part
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Pithy
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(adj.): precise and brief
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Placate
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(verb): to appease; to calm by making concessions
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Platitude
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(noun): a superficial remark, esp. one offered as meaningful
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Plummet
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(noun): to plunge or drop straight down
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Polemical
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(adj.): controversial; argumentative
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Prodigal
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(adj.): recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish
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Profuse
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(adj.): given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant
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Proliferate
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(verb): to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly
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Queries
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(noun): questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservations
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Querulous
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(adj.): prone to complaining or grumbling; peevish
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Rancorous
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(adj.): characterized by bitter, long–lasting resentment
(noun form: Rancor) |
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Recalcitrant
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(adj.): obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage
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Repudiate
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(verb): to refuse to have anything to do with; to disown
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Rescind
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(verb): to invalidate; to repeal; to retract
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Reverant
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(adj.): marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect
(noun form: Reverence) |
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Rhetoric
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(noun): the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion
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Salubrious
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(adj.): promoting health and well–being
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Solvent
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(adj.): able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance
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Specious
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(adj.): seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive; plausible but false
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Spurious
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(adj.): lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit
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Subpoena
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(noun): a court order requiring appearance and/or testimony
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Succinct
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(adj.): brief; concise
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Superfluous
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(adj.): exceeding what is sufficient or necessary
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Surfeit
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(verb): an overabundant supply; excess; to feed or supply to excess
(noun form: A surfeit of supplies |
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Tenacity
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(noun): the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued; persistent determination
(adj. form: Tenacious) |
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Tenuous
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(adj.): having little substance or strength; flimsy; weak
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Tirade
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(noun): a long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation
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Transient
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(adj.): fleeting; passing quickly; brief
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Zealous
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(adj.): fervent; ardent; impassioned, devoted to a cause
(a zealot is a zealous person) |
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Alloy
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(verb): to commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior; unalloyed means pure
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Appropriate
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(verb): to take for one's own use; to confiscate
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Broach
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(verb): to bring up; to announce; to begin to talk about
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Brook
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(verb): to tolerate; to endure; to countenance
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Cardinal
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(adj.): major, as in cardinal sin
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Chauvinist
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(noun): a blindly devoted patriot
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Color
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(verb): to change as if by dyeing, i.e., to distort, gloss, or affect (usually the first)
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Consequential
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(adj.) pompous, self–important (primary definitions are: logically following; important)
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Damp
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(verb): to diminish the intensity or check the vibration of a sound
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Die
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(noun): a tool used for shaping, as in a tool–and–die shop
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Essay
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(verb): to test or try; to attempt; to experiment
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Exact
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(verb): to demand; to call for; to require; to take
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to Fell
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(verb): to cause to fall by striking
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Fell
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(adj.): inhumanly cruel
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Flag
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(verb): to sag or droop; to become spiritless; to decline
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Flip
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(adj.): sarcastic, impertinent, as in flippant: a flip remark
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Ford
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(verb): to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream
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Grouse
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(verb): to complain or grumble
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Guy
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(noun): a rope, cord, or cable attached to something as a brace or guide; to steady or reinforce using a guy
Think guide. (verb form: guyed, guying) |
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Intimate
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(verb): to imply, suggest, or insinuate
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List
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(verb): to tilt or lean to one side
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Lumber
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(verb): to move heavily and clumsily
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Meet
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(adj.): fitting, proper
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Milk
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(verb): to exploit; to squeeze every last ounce of
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Mince
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(verb): to pronounce or speak affectedly; to euphemize, to speak too carefully. Also, to take tiny steps; to tiptoe
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Nice
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(adj.): exacting, fastidious, extremely precise
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Occult
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(adj.): hidden, concealed, beyond comprehension
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Pedestrian
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(adj.): commonplace, trite, unremarkable, quotidian
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Pied
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(adj.): multicolored, usually in blotches
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Pine
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(verb): to lose vigor (as through grief): to yearn
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Plastic
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(adj.): moldable, pliable, not rigid
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Pluck
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(noun): courage, spunk, fortitude
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Prize
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(verb): to pry, to press or force with a lever; something taken by force, spoils
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Rail
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(verb): to complain about bitterly
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Rent
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(verb): torn (past tense of rend); an opening or tear caused by such
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Quail
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(verb): to lose courage; to turn frightened
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Qualify
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(verb): to limit
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to Sap
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(verb): to enervate or weaken the vitality of
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Sap
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(noun): a fool or nitwit
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Scurvy
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(adj.): contemptible, despicable
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Singular
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(adj.): exceptional, unusual, odd
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Stand
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(noun): a group of trees
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Steep
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(verb): to saturate or completely soak, as in to let a tea bag steep
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Strut
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(noun): the supporting structural cross–part of a wing
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Table
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(verb): to remove (as a parliamentary motion) from consideration
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Tender
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(verb): to proffer or offer
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Waffle
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(verb): to equivocate; to change one's position
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Wag
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(noun): wit, joker
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Conspicuous
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(adj.): standing out so as to be clearly visible; attracting notice or attention
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Tact
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(noun): adroitness and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues
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Adroitness
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(noun): cleverness or skill
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Ecclesiastical
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(adj.): of or relating to the Christian church or its clergy
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Effeminate
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(adj.): (of a man) having or showing characteristics regarded as typical of a woman; unmanly.
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Fatuous
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(adj.): silly and pointless
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Comely
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(adj.): pleasant to look at, attractive (typically of a woman); agreeable; suitable
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Gauche
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(adj.): lacking ease or grace; unsophisticated and socially awkward
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Banal
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(adj.): so lacking in originality as to be obvious and boring
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Benign
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(adj.): gentle; kindly; not harmful in effect
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Malign
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(adj./verb): evil in nature or effect; malevolent; to speak about (someone) in a spitefully critical manner
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Din
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(noun): a loud, unpleasant, and prolonged noise
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Litany
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(noun): a tedious recital or repetitive series
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Trite
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(adj.): (of a remark, opinion, or idea) overused and consequently of little importance; lacking originality or freshness
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Fastidious
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(adj.): very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail; very concerned about matters of cleanliness
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Prepossessing
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(adj.): attractive or appealing in appearance
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