180 Most Common Words Flashcards
(180 cards)
1
Q
Abate
A
To reduce in amount, degree or severity
“As the hurricane’s force ABATED, the winds dropped and the sea became calm
2
Q
Abscond
A
To leave secretly
“The patron ABSCONDED from the restaurant without paying the bill by sneaking out the back door”
3
Q
Abstain
A
to choose not to do something
“She ABSTAINED from choosing a mouthwatering dessert from the tray”
4
Q
Abyss
A
an extremely deep hole
The submarine dove into the ABYSS to chart the previously unseen depths
5
Q
Adulterate
A
to make impure
“The chef made his ketchup last longer by ADULTERATING it with water
6
Q
Advocate
A
to speak in favor of
“The vegetarian ADVOCATED a diet containing no meat
7
Q
Aesthetic
A
concerning the appreciation of beauty
” Followers of the AESTHETIC movement regarded the pursuit of beauty as the only true purpose of art”
8
Q
Aggrandize
A
to increase in power, influence, and reputation
” The supervisor sought to AGGRANDIZE herself by claiming that the achievements of her staff were actually her own”.
9
Q
Alleviate
A
to make more bearable
“Taking aspirin helps alleviate a headache”
10
Q
Amalgamate
A
to combine, to mix together
“Giant Industries amalgamated with Mega Products to form Giant-Mega Products”
11
Q
Ambiguous
A
doubtful or uncertain, able to be interpreted in multiple ways
12
Q
Ameliorate
A
to make better; to improve
13
Q
Anachronism
A
something out of place in time
14
Q
Analagous
A
similar or alike in some way; equivalent to
15
Q
Anomaly
A
deviation from the norm
16
Q
Antagonize
A
to annoy or provoke anger
17
Q
Antipathy
A
Extreme dislike
“The antipathy between the French and the English regularly erupted into open warfare,”
18
Q
Apathy
A
lack of interest or emotion
19
Q
Arbitrate
A
to judge a dispute between two opposing parties
20
Q
Archaic
A
ancient, old fashioned
21
Q
Ardor
A
Intense an passionate feeling
22
Q
Articulate
A
able to speak clearly and expressively
23
Q
Assuage
A
to make something unpleasant less severe
“Serena used aspirin to assuage her headache”
24
Q
Attenuate
A
to reduce in force or degree, to weaken
25
Audacious
Fearless and daring
26
Austere
Severe or stern in appearance
27
Banal
predictable, cliched, boring
"He used banal phrases like ...."
28
Bolster
to support; to prop up
29
Bombastic
pompous in speech and manner
30
Cacophony
harsh, jarring noise
31
Candid
impartial and honest in speech
32
Capricious
changing one's mind quickly and often
"Queen Elizabeth was quite capricious..."
33
Castigate
to punish or criticize harshly
34
Catalyst
something that brings about a change in something else
35
Caustic
biting in wit
"Dorothy Parker gained her reputation for Caustic wit from her cutting, yet clever, insults"
36
Chaos
great disorder or confusion
37
Chauvinist
someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
38
Chicanery
deception by means of craft or guile
"Dishonest used car salesmen often use chicanery to sell their beat up old cars"
39
Cogent
convincing and well reasoned
"Swayed by the cogent argument of the defense, the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant"
40
Condone
To overlook, pardon, or disregard
41
Convoluted
intricate and complicated
42
Corroborate
to provide supporting evidence
43
Credulous
too trusting, gullible
44
Crescendo
steadily increasing in volume or force
45
Decorum
appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety
"The countess complained that the vulgar peasants lacked the decorum appropriate for a visit to the palace"
46
Deference
respect, courtesy
The respectful young law clerk treated the supreme court justice with the utmost Deference"
47
Deride
to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock
"The awkward child was often derided by his cooler peers"
48
Dessicate
To dry out thoroughly
49
Desultory
jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
"Dianne had a desultory academic record; she had changed majors 12 times in 3 years"
50
Diatribe
an abusive, condemnatory speech
51
Diffident
lacking self control
"Steve's diffident manner cost him his job"
52
Dilate
to make larger; expand
53
Dilatory
intended to delay
"Boehner used dilatory measures to delay the passage of the bill"
54
Dilettante
someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
55
Dirge
a funeral hymn or mournful speech
56
Disabuse
to set right; to free from error
Galileo's observations disabused scholars of the notion that the sun revolved around the earth
57
Discern
to perceive; recognize
"It's easy to discern between butter and butter flavoring"
58
Disparate
fundamentally different
"Although they were twins, their personalities were DISPARATE"
59
Dissemble
To present a false appearance; to disguise one's real intentions or character
"The villian could dissemble to the cops no longer- he admitted the deed and tore up the floor to reveal the body of the victim"
60
Dissonance
A harsh and disagreeable combination, often of sounds
61
Dogma
a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief
62
Dogmatic
dictatorial in one's opinions
"The dictator was dogmatic -- he and only he was correct"
63
Dupe
to deceive; a person who is easily deceived
64
Eclectic
selecting from or made from a variety of sources
65
Efficacy
effectiveness
66
Elegy
a sorrowful poem or speech
67
Eloquent
persuasive and moving, especially in speech
68
Emulate
to copy, to try to equal or excel
69
Enervate
to reduce in strength
"the guerrillas hoped the attacks would ENERVATE the regular army"
70
Engender
to produce, cause, or bring about
71
Enigma
a puzzle, a mystery
72
Enumerate
to count, list, or itemize
73
Ephemeral
lasting a short time
74
Equivocate
to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
"When faced with criticism of her policies, the politician equivocated and left all the parties thinking that she agreed with them
75
Erratic
wandering and unpredicatable
76
Erudite
learned, scholarly, bookish
The book club was a gathering of the most ERUDITE professors in the field
77
Esoteric
Known or understood by only a few
78
Estimable
admirable
79
Eulogy
speech in praise of someone
80
Euphemism
use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
81
Exacerbate
to make worse
82
Exculpate
to clear from blame; prove innocent
83
Exigent
urgent, requiring immediate action
"The patient was losing blood so rapidly that it was EXIGENT to stop the source of the bleeding"
84
Exonerate
to clear of blame
85
Explicit
clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression
86
Fanatical
acting excessively enthusiastic, filled with extreme unquestioned devotion
87
Fawn
to grovel
88
Fervid
intensely emotional, feverish
89
Florid
excessively decorated or embellished
90
Foment
to arouse or incite
91
Frugality
a tendency to be thrifty or cheap
92
Garralous
tending to talk a lot
93
Gregarious
outgoing, sociable
94
Guile
deceit or trickery
95
Gullible
easily deceived
96
Homogeneous
of a similar kind
97
Iconoclast
one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions
98
Imperturable
Not capable of being disturbed
99
Impervious
impenetrable
100
Impetuous
quick to act without thinking
101
Implacable
unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
102
Inchoate
not fully formed, disorganized
"the ideas expressed in Nietzsche's mature work also appear in an INCHOATE form of his earliest writing"
103
Ingenuous
showing innocence or childlike simplicity
"she was so ingenuous that her friend's feared she would be exploited"
104
Inimical
hostile, unfriendly
105
innocuous
harmless
106
Insipid
lacking flavor or interest
107
Intransigent
uncompromising, refusing to be reconciled
"the prof was intransigent on the deadline insisting that all must turn in the assignment at the same time"
108
Inundate
to overwhelm, to cover with water
109
Irascable
easily made angry
110
Laconic
using few words
111
Lament
To express sorrow
112
Laud
to give praise, to glorify
113
Lavish
to give unsparingly (v); extremely generous or extravagant
114
Lethargic
acting in an indifferent or slow sluggish manner
115
Loquacious
talkative
116
Lucid
clear and easily understood
117
Luminous
bright, brilliant
118
Malinger
to evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
119
Malleable
capable of being shaped
120
Metaphor
a figure of speech comparing two different things
121
Meticulous
extremely careful about details
122
Misanthrope
a person who dislikes others
123
Mitigate
to soften, to lessen
124
Mollify
to calm or make less severe
125
Monotony
lack of variation
126
Naive
lacking sophistication or experience
127
Obdurate
hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion
"The president was completely OBDURATE on the issue of gun control"
128
Obsequious
overly submissive and eager to please
129
Obstinate
stubborn, unyielding
130
Obviate
to prevent, to make unnecessary
131
Occlude
to stop up
132
Onerous
troublesome and oppressive; burdensome
133
Opaque
impossible to see through; preventing the passage of light
134
Opproborium
public disgrace
135
Ostentation
excessive showiness
136
Paradox
a contradiction or dilemma
137
Paragon
model of excellence or perfection
138
Pedant
Someone who shows off learning
139
Perfidious
willing to betray one's trust
140
Perfunctory
done in a routine way
141
Permeate
to penetrate
142
Philanthropy
charity, a desire or effort to promote goodness
143
Placate
to soothe or pacify
144
Plastic
able to be molded, altered, or bent
145
Plethora
excess
146
Pragmatic
practical as opposed to idealistic
147
Precipitate
to throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation
148
Prevaricate
to lie or deviate from the truth
149
Pristine
fresh and clean
150
Prodigal
lavish, wasteful
151
Proliferate
to increase in number quickly
152
Propitiate
to conciliate; to appease
153
Propriety
correct behavior; obedience to the rules and customs
154
Prudence
wisdom, caution, or restraint
155
Pungent
sharp and irritating to the senses
156
Quiescent
motionless
157
Rarefy
to make thinner or sparce
158
Repudiate
to reject the validity of
159
Reticent
silent or reserved
160
Rhetoric
effective writing or speaking
161
Satiate
to satisfy fully or overindulge
162
Soporific
causing sleep or lethargy
163
Specious
deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious
164
Stigma
a mark of shame or discredit
165
Stolid
unemotional; lacking sensitivity
166
Sublime
Lofty of Grand
167
Tacit
done without using words
168
Taciturn
silent, not talkative
169
Tirade
long, harsh speech or verbal attack
170
Torpor
extreme mental and physical sluggishness
171
Transitory
temporary; lasting a brief time
172
Vacillate
to sway physically, to be indecisive
173
Venerate
to respect deeply
174
Veracity
filled with truth and accuracy
175
Verbose
wordy
176
Vex
To annoy
177
Volatile
easily aroused or changeable; lively or explosive
178
Waver
to fluctuate between choices
179
Whimsical
acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredicatable
180
Zeal
passion; excitement
