Magoosh Basic Words 1 and 2 and 3 Flashcards
erratic
weird, strange, unconventional
e.g. “the teacher’s erratic moods have a bad effect on the children”
Synonyms: bizarre, eccentric, aberrant, capricious
dupe
deceive; trick
e.g. “She speaks not only for her constituents but for the many people who may have been duped by such schemes.”
Synonyms: hoodwink, gull, mislead, defraud, swindle
serendipity
good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
e.g. “Sometimes we stay in luxurious hotels, but often we’ll take a chance on serendipity and go somewhere simple.”
Synonyms: fortuitous, providence (means divine care or guidance)
embroiled
involve (someone) deeply in an argument, conflict, or difficult situation.
e.g. “By night he was embroiled in the drawn-out takeover talks.”
Synonyms: entangle, ensnare
demure
reserved, modest, and shy
e.g. “An unassuming town and its equally demure offspring have served one another well.”
Synonyms: reticent, timid, timorous
pinnacle
the most successful point; the culmination
e.g. “Although he reached the pinnacle of success, he was unspoilt by it.”
Synonyms: culminate, crescendo, apex, zenith
acme
the point at which something is at its best or most highly developed.
e.g. “His work is considered the acme of cinematic art.”
Synonyms: pinnacle, apex, zenith
remiss
lacking care or attention to duty; negligent.
e.g. “it would be very remiss of me not to pass on that information”
Synonyms: negligent, neglectful, slipshod, heedless
dog
to pursue relentlessly; to hound
Synonyms: hound
indignant
feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment.
e.g. “He was indignant that we would even suggest that he was dirty.”
Synonyms: livid, irate, resentful, scornful
macabre
disturbing because concerned with or causing a fear of death.
e.g. “This novel is a macabre tale of a mad scientist who creates animal-human hybrids”
Synonyms: gruesome, morbid, grim, grotesque
tirade
a long, angry speech of criticism
e.g. “the receptionist was subject to a tirade of abuse from the angry customer”
Synonyms: harangue, diatribe, polemic, berate
thrifty
using money and other resources carefully
e.g. “Motorists are thriftily running their old cars for longer before replacing them.”
Synonyms: frugal, parsimonious
inflammatory
(especially of speech or writing) arousing or intended to arouse angry or violent feelings.
e.g. “She suggested that the councillor should step down as his remarks were clearly inflammatory.”
Synonyms: incendiary, incense
diabolical
extremely wicked, devilish
e.g. “Any man who deliberately commits any injury to a submarine is guilty of a most diabolical act.”
Synonyms: evil, fiendish, satanic
vindictive
having or showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge.
e.g. “The state has proved how nasty and vindictive it can be over all this.”
Synonyms: vengeful, revenge
spendthrift
a person who spends money in an extravagant, irresponsible way.
e.g. “He struggled to support a large family that included his spendthrift father.”
Synonyms: profligate, prodigal, extravagant
telling
revealing
e.g. “Her experience is a telling example of why the nation’s educational system needs to be changed.”
Synonyms: revealing, cogent, convincing
voracious
engaging in an activity with great eagerness or enthusiasm.
e.g. “He’s a voracious reader of historical novels”
Synonyms: avid, excited, eager, enthusiastic, ardent
err
be mistaken or incorrect; make a mistake.
e.g. “The court erred in refusing to allow bail.”
Synonyms: error, blunder
amiable
having or displaying a friendly and pleasant manner.
e.g. “He was amiable and kind-hearted, and greatly liked by his neighbours”
Synonyms: cordial, friendly, amicable
retiring
to be inclined to retract from company
e.g. “Those retiring have worked hard for many years to reach the retirement age and are ready to have time to relax and enjoy their golden years.”
Synonyms: departing
tender
to offer up something formally (like “legal tender”)
e.g. He took his wallet from his inside coat pocket and tendered the permit.
affluent
(especially of a group or area) having a great deal of money; wealthy.
e.g. “The programme showed the sort of affluent lifestyle most of us can only aspire to”
Synonyms: wealth, opulent, plutocratic
thoroughgoing
involving or attending to every detail or aspect of something.
e.g. “The damage in question seems to have occasioned a thoroughgoing attempt at textual restoration on the part of an ambitious redactor.”
Synonyms: meticulous, thorough
profuse
(especially of something offered or discharged) very plentiful; abundant.
e.g. “Profusely sweating and quivering with chills, he murmured his last words.”
Synonyms: copious, prolific, abundant, ample, extravagant, lavish
censor
to remove objectionable material
e.g. “The censor demanded that the scene be written out.”
Synonyms: cut, delete, redact, expurgate
indict
formally accuse of or charge with a crime.
e.g. “He was later indicted on corruption charges.”
Synonyms: accuse, prosecute, incriminate, blame, impeach
summit
- a meeting of high-level leaders
e.g. “Chris led us over Burnt Edge and Adam Hill towards the summit of Winter Hill.” - the highest point (similar to apex, zenith, crescendo, etc.)
variance
the fact or quality of being different
e.g. “We noticed a slight variance between the quality of the samples.”
Synonyms: difference, variation, discrepancy, dissimilarity
candid
straightforward, honest
e.g. “His responses were remarkably candid”
Synonyms: frank, outspoken, forthright, blunt, open, honest
mesmerize
capture the complete attention of (someone); transfix
e.g. “they were mesmerized by charm and wit”
Synonyms: spellbind, enchant, hypnotize, enthrall
stipend
a regular allowance
e.g. “It had been a shock when he realized just how small in real terms his stipend would be as a country parson.”
Synonyms: allowance, fee, gratuity, pension
unnerve
make (someone) lose courage or confidence
e.g. “Seeing the police in there unnerved me.”
Synonyms: demoralize, discourage, dishearten, dispirit, deject, daunt, perturb
miser
a person who hoards wealth and spends as little money as possible
e.g. “a typical miser, he hid his money in the house in various places”
Synonyms: cheapskate, harpy, hoarder, moneygrubber
underwrite
to provide financial support
e.g. “The council had agreed to underwrite the costs of repair work.”
Synonyms: fund, finance, subsidize, capitalize, endow
zenith
the time at which something is most powerful or successful
e.g. “These years mark the zenith of Athenian greatness.”
Synonyms: culmination, apex, crescendo, summit
affable
friendly, good-natured, or easy to talk to
e.g. “I admired his affable charm and winning smile”
Synonyms: gregarious, amiable, genial, congenial, friendly
bleak
having a gloomy outlook
e.g. “The immediate outlook remains bleak.”
Synonyms: bare, exposed, desolate, stark, arid, desert, denuded, lunar
telltale
revealing, indicating, or betraying something.
e.g. “The telltale sound of the fridge being opened could be heard from the next room”
Synonyms: telling, revealing, betray
screed
- A long speech or piece of writing, typically one regarded as tedious
- an abusive rant
e.g. “Her criticism appeared in the form of screeds in a local film magazine”
reprobate
an unprincipled, immoral person
e.g. “Feeling every bit the reprobate she let herself into the flat.”
Synonyms: rogue, rascal, scoundrel
indigenous
originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native
e.g. “The indigenous plants include a rare form of fern, found nowhere else in the world”
Synonyms: native, endemic, local, domestic
slapdash
done too hurriedly and carelessly
e.g. “the company’s slapdash approach to data security caused problems”
Synonyms: haphazard, hasty
demean
cause a severe loss in the dignity of and respect for (someone or something)
e.g. “He plays a struggling immigrant who is forced to demean himself with a series of bread line jobs.”
Synonyms: degrading, humiliating, shaming, shameful
pine
miss or long for; yearn for
e.g. “He still pined for his lost love.”
Synonyms: yearn
peruse
read (something), typically thoroughly or carefully.
e.g. “he has spent countless hours in libraries perusing art history books and catalogues”
Synonyms: analyze, browse, inspect, skim
insolvent
unable to pay debts owed
e.g. “The company was unable to pay its debts and was declared insolvent.”
Synonyms: bankrupt
hound
to pursue relentlessly
Synonyms: dog
inundate
overwhelm (someone) with things or people to be dealt with.
e.g. “we’ve been inundated with complaints from listeners”
Synonyms: overwhelm, overpower, overburden, overrun, overload, swamp
desecrate
treat (a sacred place or thing) with violent disrespect.
e.g. “She shouldn’t have desecrated the picture of a religious leader.”
Synonyms: defile, dishonor, pervert, pillage, profane, ravage
catalyst
a person or thing that precipitates/speeds up an event.
e.g. “the prime minister’s speech acted as a catalyst for debate”
Synonyms: impetus, stimulus, fuel, tool, trigger
hodgepodge
a confused mixture; a hotchpotch
e.g. “I would like him to tell me for which of the ingredients of this hodgepodge he was responsible.”
Synonyms: jumble, ragbag, hotchpotch
bellicose
demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight.
e.g. “At the time, the government was very bellicose about a military campaign.”
Synonyms: belligerent, aggressive, hostile, threatening, antagonistic, pugnacious, truculent, confrontational, argumentative, quarrelsome, disputatious
corroborate
confirm or give support to (a statement, theory, or finding)
e.g. “I had access to a wide range of documents which corroborated the story.”
Synonyms: Confirm, verify, endorse, ratify, authenticate, validate, certify, support, back up, back, uphold, stand by, attest to, testify to, vouch for, give credence to
sanguine
cheerful, optimistic or positive
e.g. “he is sanguine about prospects for the global economy”
Synonyms: Optimistic, bullish, hopeful, buoyant, positive, confident.
immaterial
e.g. unimportant under the circumstances; irrelevant
Synonyms: unimportant, inconsequential, extraneous, impertinent (this word also means irrelevant in another of its meanings)
wax
increase in size or intensity
e.g. “As the moon grows towards fullness, it waxes.”
contrite
feeling or expressing remorse at the recognition that one has done wrong.
e.g. “She was contrite the morning after her angry outburst.”
Synonyms: remorseful, repentant, chastened, apologetic
melee
a confused fight or scuffle
e.g. “He described two fights within the extended melee outside the nightclub.”
Synonyms: Tumult, disturbance, rumpus, commotion, disorder, brawl, fracas.
