2015.01.26-[SGRE15]-6 Flashcards
(26 cards)
vituperate
/vɪˈtjuːpəˌreɪt/
verb
› to berate or rail (against) abusively; revile; to use harshly abusive language; rail; curse abuse in words:
When you insult someone and swear at them, you v-e.
He has a short temper and tends to v-e a lot.
ail
verb [I/T]
/eɪl/
› to feel or cause someone to feel ill, unhealthy, or weak; trouble; be ill:
I don’t know what’s a-ling her.
fulminate
verb [I usually + adv/prep] /ˈfʊl.mɪ.neɪt/ formal ---------- fulmination /ˌfʊl.mɪˈneɪ.ʃən/ noun [C or U]
› to criticize strongly:
› bitter protest
officious
adjective
/əˈfɪʃ.əs/
disapproving
› too eager to tell people what to do and having too high an opinion of your own importance; too eager or ready to help offer advice:
He’s an o-s little man and widely disliked in the company.
balk
verb [I]
/bɔk/
› to be unwilling to do something or let something happen; obstacle purposely to get on the way of:
I b-ked at the prospect of spending four hours on a train with him.
feckless
adjective
/ˈfek.ləs/
formal
› weak in character and lacking determination; lacking purpose or vitality, ineffective, careless:
He was portrayed as a f-s drunk.
disparate
adjective
/ˈdɪs.pər.ət/
/ˈdɪs.pɚ.ət/
formal
› different in every way; essentially different:
The two cultures were so utterly d-e that she found it hard to adapt from one to the other.
Equable
adjective
/ˈek.wə.bl̩/
———-
equably
/ˈek.wə.bli/
adverb
› always being pleasant:
Graham has a fairly e-e temperament - I haven’t often seen him really angry.
› not changing suddenly; steady; regular:
› She deals with problems reasonably and e-y, never losing her temper.
inimitable
adjective
[not gradable]
/ɪˈnɪm•ɪ•t̬ə•bəl/
formal
› impossible to copy because of being of very high quality or a particular style; defying imitation, unmatchable:
Louis Armstrong’s i-e gravelly voice
goad
verb [T]
/ɡoʊd/
› to cause someone to do something by being annoying; something urging a person to action:
His brother g-ded him into a wrestling match.
malapropism
noun [C]
/ˈmæl.ə.prɒp.ɪ.zəm/
/ˈmæl.ə.prɑː.pɪ.zəm/
› the wrong use of one word instead of another word because they sound similar to each other, with results that are unintentionally funny; misuse of a word (for one that resembles it):
George is prone to the occasional loose comment and malapropism, such as saying “allegory” instead of “alligator,” and “illiterate him from your memory” instead of “obliterate.”
snub
verb [T]
noun [C]
/snʌb/
› to treat someone rudely, esp. by ignoring that person; treat with contempt:
They’re likely to snub people who aren’t just like them.
She was annoyed by their s-bs.
rancor
```
noun [U]
formal
Cdn Br rancour
/ˈræŋ•kər/
——–
rancorous
/ˈræŋ•kər•əs/
adjective
formal
~~~
› bitter anger or unfriendly feelings:
Can we settle this disagreement without r-r?
› feeling bitterness spitefulness:
a r-s debate
macabre
adjective
/məˈkɑb•rə/
/məˈkɑb/
› causing shock and fear because connected with death, esp. strange or cruel death; gruesome, suggesting death:
After the diagnosis, he said he just wanted to stay “above ground,” she recalled, smiling at his m-e humor.
testy
adjective
/ˈtes.ti/
› easily annoyed and not patient:
a t-y old man
t-y comments
philistine
noun [C]
/ˈfɪl•əˌstin/
/fəˈlɪs•tin/
disapproving
› a person who enjoys only popular entertainment but does not appreciate art, literature, or music of high quality; a smug ignorant person one who lacks knowledge:
That guy is a p-e, who’s only interested in eating, sleeping, and watching game shows.
unfeigned
/ʌnˈfeɪnd/
adjective
› not pretended, sincere; not feigned; sincere; genuine:
Mary was happy, and proud, and still eager to talk about food with u-d enthusiasm.
mendacity
noun [U]
/menˈdæs.ə.ti/
/menˈdæs.ə.t̬i/
formal
› the act of not telling the truth; dishonesty:
Politicians are often accused of m-y.
insouciance
noun [U] /ɪnˈsuː.si.əns/ literary ---------- insouciant
/ɪnˈsuː.si.ənt/
adjective
› a relaxed and happy way of behaving without feeling worried or guilty:
› unconcerned; carefree:
In the beginning of the second act, when Manon is living in luxury in Paris, she sounded alert and i-t, yet warm.
apprise
verb [T]
/əˈprɑɪz/
formal
› to tell or inform someone about something; give notice, to inform:
The parents were a-ed of their son’s injuries.
puissance
/ˈpjuːɪsəns/
/pwiːsɑːns/
noun
› the power to influence what other people do or believe:
A celebrity who is extremely popular with teens has p-e to help end problems like bullying just by talking about it in interviews.
› (Horse Training, Riding & Manège) a competition in showjumping that tests a horse’s ability to jump a limited number of large obstacles
espouse
verb [T]
/ɪsˈpɑʊz/
formal
› to support an activity or opinion:
He e-ed conservative political views.
› to marry
ecumenical
adjective
/ˌek•jəˈmen•ɪ•kəl/
› tending to support and encourage unity among different religions:
an e-l movement
› representing the whole Christian world
overweening
adjective [before noun] /ˌəʊ.vəˈwiː.nɪŋ/ /ˌoʊ.vɚ-/ formal disapproving
› being too proud or confident in yourself; presumptuously arrogant, overbearing, immoderate, being a jerk:
She is driven by o-g ambition.
o-g pride
o-g arrogance
o-g vanity
