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45 Cards in this Set
- Front
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- 3rd side (hint)
Abeyance
noun (uh bay uhns) |
Temporary suspension or suppression
syn. delay, postpone, remission |
The baseball game was held in abeyance while it continued to rain.
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Abstain
verb (uhb stayn) |
To choose not to do something
syn. forbear, refrain, withhold |
Before the medical procedure you must abstain eating.
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Accretion
noun (uh kree shuhn) |
A growth in size; an increase in an amount
syn. accumulation, build-up |
The committee's strong fund-raising efforts resulted in an accretion in scholarship money.
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Aggrandize
verb (uh graan diez) (aa gruhn diez) |
To increase in power, influence, and reputation
syn. amplify, augment, dignify, elevate, glorify, magnify |
The supervisor saw to aggrandize himself by claiming that the achievements of his staff were actually his own.
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Abase
verb (uh bays) |
To humble; to disgrace
syn. demean, humiliate |
My intention was not to abase the comedian.
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Abate
verb (uh bayt) |
To reduce an amount, degree, or severity
syn. ebb, lapse, let up, wane, subside, moderate |
As the hurricane's force abated the winds dropped and the sea became calm.
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abyss
noun (uh bihs) |
An extremely deep hole
syn. chasm, void |
The submarine dove into the abyss to chart the previously unseen depths.
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Anomaly
noun (uh nahm uh lee) |
Deviation from what is normal
syn. abnormality, deviance, deviation, irregularity |
Albino animals may display too great an anomaly in their coloring to attract normally colored mates.
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Abdicate
verb (aab duh kayt) |
To give up a position, right, or power
syn. cede, relinquish, resign, quit, yield |
With the angry mob clamoring outside the palace, the king abdicated his throne and fled.
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Gestation
noun (jeh stay shuhn) |
growth process from conception to birth
syn. development, gravidity, pregnancy |
The longer the gestation period of an organism, the more developed the baby is at birth.
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Coffer
noun (kah fuhr) |
strongbox; large chest for money
syn. chest, treasury, exchequer |
The bulletproof glass of the coffer is what keeps the crown jewels secure.
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Enervate
verb (ehn uhr vayt) |
to reduce in strength
syn. debilitate, enfeeble, sap, weaken |
The guerrillas hoped that a series of surprise attacks would enervate the regular army.
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latent
adjective (lay tnt) |
Potential that is not readily apparent
syn. concealed, dormant, inert, potential |
Latent trait testing seeks to identify skills that the test taker may have that they're not aware of.
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Maelstrom
noun (mayl struhm) |
whirlpool; turmoil; agitated state of mind
syn. turbulence, eddy |
The transportation system of the city had collapsed in the maelstrom of the war.
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Sagacious
adjective (suh gay shuhs) |
shrewd; wise
syn. astute, sage, wise, judicious |
Owls have a reputation for being sagacious, perhaps because of their big eyes, which resemble glasses.
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Naive
adjective (nah eev) |
lacking sophistication or experience
syn. artless, ingenuous, simple, credulous |
Inexperienced writers often are naive and assume that big words make them sound smarter.
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Multifarious
adjective (muhl tuh faar ee uhs) |
diverse
syn. assorted, multivarious, varied, indiscriminate |
Ken opened the hotel room window, letting in the multifarious noises of the great city.
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Enumerate
verb (ih noo muhr aty) |
to count, list, or itemize
syn. catalog, index, tabulate |
Before making his decision, Jacob asked the waiter to enumerate the different varieties of ice cream that the restaurant carried.
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Erratic
adjective (ih raat ihk) |
wandering and unpredictable
syn. capricious, whimsical, inconstant |
The plot seemed predictable until it suddenly took a series of erratic turns that surprised the audience.
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Monastic
adjective (muh naas tihk) |
extremely plain or secluded, as in a monastery
syn. contemplative, disciplined, regimented |
The philosopher retired to his monastic lodgings to contemplate life free from any worldly distractions.
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Pastiche
noun (paah steesh) |
piece of literature or music imitating other works
syn. medley, spoof |
The playwright's clever pastiche of the well known childrens story had the audience rolling in the aisles.
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Wraith
noun (rayth) |
A ghost or specter; a ghost of a living person seen just before his or her death
syn. apparition, bogeyman, phantasm, spirit |
Gideon thought he saw a wraith late one night as he sat vigil outside his great uncle's bedroom door.
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Lionize
verb (lie uhn ieze) |
To treat as a celebrity
syn. feast, honor, ply, regale |
After the success of his novel, the author was lionized by the press.
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Exponent
noun (ihk spoh nuhnt) (ehk spoh nuhnt) |
One who champions or advocates
syn. representative, supporter |
The vice president was an enthusiastic exponent of computer technology.
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Permeate
verb (puhr mee ayt) |
To penetrate
syn. suffuse, infuse, imbue, pervade |
The miraculous new cleaning fluid is able to permeate stains and dissolve them in minutes.
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Politic
adjective (pah lih tihk) |
Shrewd and practical in managing or dealing with things; diplomatic
syn. tactful |
She was wise to curb her tongue and was able to explain her problem to the judge in a respectful and politic manner.
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Amortize
verb (uh mohr tiez) |
To diminish by installment payments
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While college students are notorious for accumulating credit card debt, they are not as well known for amortizing it.
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Dither
verb (dihth uhr) |
To act confusedly or without clear purpose
syn. falter, hesitate, waiver |
Ellen dithered around her apartment, uncertain how to tackle the family crisis.
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Parley
noun (par lee) |
Discussion, usually between enemies
syn. debate, dialogue, negotiations, talks |
The parley between the rival cheer leading teams resulted in neither side admitting that they copied the others dance moves.
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Incarnadine
adjective (in car nuh deen) |
Blood red in color
syn. reddened, ruby, ruddy |
At his mother's mention of his baby pictures, the shy boy's cheeks turned incarnadine with embarrassment.
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Ingratiate
verb (ihn gray shee ayt) |
To gain favor with another by deliberate effort; to seek to please somebody so as to gain an advantage.
syn. curry favor, flatter |
The new intern tried to ingratiate herself with the managers so that they might consider her for a future job.
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Pithy
adjective (pih thee) |
Concise; succinct; to the point
syn. brief, compact, terse |
Martha's pithy comments during the interview must have been impressive because she got the job.
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Obdurate
adjective (ahb duhr uht) |
Hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion
syn. inflexible, tenacious, unyielding |
The president was completely obdurate on the issue, and no amount of persuasion would change his mind.
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Prodigal
adj. (prah dih guhl) |
Lavish; wasteful
syn: extravagant; spendthrift; wasteful |
The prodigal son quickly wasted all of his inheritance on a lavish lifestyle devoted to pleasure.
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Idiosyncrasy
noun (ih dee uh sihn kruh see) |
peculiarity of temperament; eccentricity
syn: humor; oddity; quirk |
His numerous idiosyncrasies included a fondness for wearing bright green shoes with mauve socks.
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Furtive
adj. (fuhr tihv) |
Secret; stealthy
syn: covert; shifty; underhand |
Glenn was furtive when he peered out of the corner of his eye at the stunningly beautiful model.
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Ethos
noun (ee thohs) |
Beliefs or character of a group
syn. culture, ethic, philosophy |
It is the Boy Scouts' ethos that one should always be prepared.
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Catholic
adj. (kaa thuh lihk) (kaa thlihk) |
Universal; broad and comprehensive
syn. extensive, general |
Hot tea with honey is a catholic remedy for a soar throat.
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Meretricious
adj. (mehr ih trihsh uhs) |
Gaudy; falsely attractive
syn. flashy, insincere, loud, tawdry |
The casino's meretricious decor horrified the cultivated interior designer.
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Gullible
adj. (guh luh buhl) |
Easily deceived
syn. credulous, exploitable, naive |
The conman pretended to be a bank officer, so as to fool gullible bank customers into giving him their account information.
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Plastic
adj. (plaa stihk) |
Able to be molded, altered, or bent
syn. adaptable, malleable, pliant, ductile |
The new material was very plastic, it could be formed into products of vastly different shape.
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Husband
verb (huhz buhnd) |
To manage economically; to use sparingly
syn. conserve |
The cyclist paced herself at the start of the race, knowing that if she husbanded her resources, she'd have the strength to break out of the pack later on.
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Connoisseur
noun (kah nuh suhr) |
A person with expert knowledge or discriminating tastes
syn. authority, expert, gourmet |
Dr. Crane was a connoisseur of fine food and wine, drinking and eating only the best.
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Plebeian
adj. (plee bee uhn) |
Crude or coarse; characteristic of commoners
syn. conventional, unrefined |
After five weeks of rigorous studying, the graduate settled in for a weekend of plebeian socializing and television watching.
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Pulchritude
noun (puhl kruh tood) |
Beauty
syn. comeliness; gorgeousness; handsomeness; loveliness; prettiness |
The mortals gazed in admiration at Venus, stunned by her incredible pulchritude.
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