Words I Dont Know

Front 1

calumny

Back 1

noun: making of a false statement meant to injure a person’s reputation

With the presidential primaries well under way, the air is thick with calumny, and the mud already waist-high.

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prodigal

Back 2

adjective: rashly or wastefully extravagant

Successful professional athletes who do not fall prey to prodigality seem to be the exception—most live decadent lives.

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venerate

Back 3

verb: to respect deeply

The professor, despite his sleep-inducing lectures, was venerated amongst his colleagues, publishing more papers yearly than all of his peers combined.

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parochial

Back 4

adjective: narrowly restricted in scope or outlook

Jasmine was sad to admit it, but her fledgling relationship with Jacob did not work out because his culinary tastes were simply too parochial; "After all," she quipped on her blog, "he considered Chef Boyardee ethnic food."

Front 5

anomalous

Back 5

adjective: not normal

According to those who do not believe in climate change, the extreme weather over the last five years is simply anomalous—daily temperatures should return to their old averages, they believe.

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aberration

Back 6

noun: a deviation from what is normal or expected

Aberrations in climate have become the norm: rarely a week goes by without some meteorological phenomenon making headlines.

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iconoclast

Back 7

noun: somebody who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions

Lady Gaga, in challenging what it means to be clothed, is an iconoclast for wearing a "meat dress" to a prominent awards show.

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veracious

Back 8

adjective: truthful

While we elect our leaders in the hope that every word they speak will be veracious, history has shown that such a hope is naive.

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demur

Back 9

verb: to object or show reluctance

Wallace disliked the cold, so he demurred when his friends suggested they go skiing in the Alps.

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venality

Back 10

noun: the condition of being susceptible to bribes or corruption

Even some of the most sacred sporting events are not immune to venality, as many of the officials have received substantial bribes to make biased calls.

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ambivalent

Back 11

adjective: mixed or conflicting emotions about something

Sam was ambivalent about studying for the exam because doing so ate up a lot of his time, yet he was able to improve his analytical skills.

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egregious

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adjective: standing out in a negative way; shockingly bad

The dictator’s abuse of human rights was so egregious that many world leaders demanded that he be tried in an international court for genocide.

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gregarious

Back 13

adjective: to be likely to socialize with others

Often we think that great leaders are those who are gregarious, always in the middle of a large group of people; yet, as Mahatma Gandhi and many others have shown us, leaders can also be introverted.

Front 14

ingenuous

Back 14

adjective: to be naïve and innocent

Two-years in Manhattan had changed Jenna from an ingenuous girl from the suburbs to a jaded urbanite, unlikely to fall for any ruse, regardless of how elaborate.

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preclude

Back 15

verb: keep from happening or arising; make impossible

The manager specified that all other gates be locked, to preclude the possibility of persons without tickets entering the arena undetected.

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didactic

Back 16

adjective: instructive (especially excessively)

Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a didactic novel, instructing the reader on how to live a good life.

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torpor

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noun: inactivity resulting from lethargy and lack of vigor or energy

After work, I was expecting my colleagues to be enthusiastic about the outing, but I found them in a state of complete torpor.

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dogmatic

Back 18

adjective: highly opinionated, not accepting that your belief may not be correct

Bryan is dogmatic in his belief that the earth is flat, claiming that all pictures of a spherical earth are computer generated.

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volubility

Back 19

noun: the quality of talking or writing easily and continuously

The professor's volubility knows no bounds; he could talk through a hurricane and elaborate a point from one St. Patrick's Day to the next.

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engender

Back 20

verb: give rise to

The restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles were so severe that they engendered deep hatred and resentment in the German people.

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eschew

Back 21

verb: avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of

Politicians are the masters of eschewing morals; academics are the masters of eschewingclarity.

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conspicuous

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adjective: without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious

American basketball players are always conspicuous when they go abroad--not only are they American, but some are over seven feet tall.

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reticent

Back 23

adjective: disinclined to talk, not revealing one's thoughts

When asked about her father, Helen lost her outward enthusiasm and became rather reticent.

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bucolic

Back 24

adjective: relating to the pleasant aspects of the country

The noble families of England once owned vast expanses of beautiful, bucolic land.

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germane

Back 25

adjective: relevant and appropriate

The professor wanted to tell the jury in detail about his new book, but the lawyer said it wasn'tgermane to the charges in the cases.

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impudent

Back 26

adjective: improperly forward or bold

In an impudent move, the defendant spoke out of order to say terribly insulting things to the judge.

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recondite

Back 27

adjective: difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge

I found Ulysses recondite and never finished the book, waiting instead to read it with someone else so we could penetrate its meaning together.

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gossamer

Back 28

adjective: characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy

The gossamer wings of a butterfly, which allow it to fly, are also a curse, so delicate that they are often damaged.

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perfidy

Back 29

noun: an act of deliberate betrayal; a breach of a trust

Sure, he was the best salesman in the company; but Michael had abused the trust of the firm, sharing product secrets with a competitor, and for such perfidy he was terminated.

Front 30

obscure

Back 30

verb: make unclear

On the Smith's drive through the Grand Canyon, Mr. Smith's big head obscured much of Mrs. Robinson's view, so that she only saw momentary patches of red rock.

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gall

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noun: the trait of being rude and impertinent

The speeding car had the gall to switch five lanes at once, run through a red light, and then cut off a police car before finally coming to a stop in front of a sea of flashing red lights.

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platitude

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noun: a trite or obvious remark

The professor argued that many statements regarded as wise in previous times, such as the Golden Rule, are now regarded as mere platitudes.

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banal

Back 33

adjective: repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

The professor used such banal expression that many students in the class either fell asleep from boredom or stayed awake to complete his sentences and humor friends.

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aesthete

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noun: one who professes great sensitivity to the beauty of art and nature

A true aesthete, Marty would spend hours at the Guggenheim Museum, staring at the same Picasso.

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diffident

Back 35

adjective: showing modest reserve; lacking self-confidence

As a young girl she was diffident and reserved, but now as an adult, she is confident and assertive.

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deferential

Back 36

adjective: showing respect

If you ever have the chance to meet the president, stand up straight and be deferential.

Front 37

didactic

Back 37

adjective: instructive (especially excessively)

Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich is a didactic novel, instructing the reader on how to live a good life.