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26 Flashcards

(68 cards)

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1
Q

topsy-turvy

A

adjective & adverb
upside down: [as adverb] : the fairground ride turned riders topsy-turvy.
• in a state of confusion: [as adjective] : the topsy-turvy months of the invasion.
noun [in singular]
a state of utter confusion.

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2
Q

torpid

A

adjective
mentally or physically inactive; lethargic: we sat around in a torpid state.
• (of an animal) dormant, especially during hibernation.

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3
Q

torpor

A

noun

a state of physical or mental inactivity; lethargy: they veered between apathetic torpor and hysterical fanaticism.

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4
Q

torrential

A

adjective
(of rain) falling rapidly and in copious quantities: a torrential downpour.
• (of water) flowing rapidly and with force.

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5
Q

torrid

A

adjective
1 very hot and dry: the torrid heat of the afternoon.
• full of passionate or highly charged emotions arising from sexual love: a torrid love affair.

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6
Q

tortuous

A

adjective
full of twists and turns: the route is remote and tortuous.
• excessively lengthy and complex: a tortuous argument.

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7
Q

tractable

A

adjective
(of a person) easy to control or influence: tractable dogs that have had some obedience training.
• (of a situation or problem) easy to deal with: trying to make the mathematics tractable.

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8
Q

transfigure

A

verb [with object] (usually be transfigured)

transform into something more beautiful or elevated: the world is made luminous and is transfigured.

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9
Q

transgress

A

verb [with object]
infringe or go beyond the bounds of (a moral principle or other established standard of behavior): she had transgressed an unwritten social law | [no object] : they must control the impulses that lead them to transgress.

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10
Q

transient

A

adjective
lasting only for a short time; impermanent: a transient cold spell.
• staying or working in a place for only a short time: the transient nature of the labor force in catering.
noun
1 a person who is staying or working in a place for only a short time.
2 a momentary variation in current, voltage, or frequency.

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11
Q

transitory

A

adjective

not permanent: transitory periods of medieval greatness.

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12
Q

translucent

A

adjective
(of a substance) allowing light, but not detailed images, to pass through; semitransparent: fry until the onions become translucent.

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13
Q

travail

A 
noun (also travails)
painful or laborious effort: advice for those who wish to save great sorrow and travail.
• labor pains: a woman in travail.
verb [no object]
engage in painful or laborious effort.
• (of a woman) be in labor.
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14
Q

travesty

A

noun (plural travesties)
a false, absurd, or distorted representation of something: the absurdly lenient sentence is a travesty of justice.
verb (travesties, travestying, travestied) [with object]
represent in a false or distorted way: Michael has betrayed the family by travestying them in his plays.

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15
Q

trenchant

A

adjective

1 vigorous or incisive in expression or style: she heard angry voices, not loud, yet certainly trenchant.

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16
Q

trepidation

A

noun

1 a feeling of fear or agitation about something that may happen: the men set off in fear and trepidation.

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17
Q

trickle

A

verb [no object, with adverbial of direction]
(of a liquid) flow in a small stream: a solitary tear trickled down her cheek | (as adjective trickling) : a trickling brook.
• [with object and adverbial of direction] cause (a liquid) to flow in a small stream: he trickled the vodka onto the rocks.
• come or go slowly or gradually: the details began to trickle out.
noun
a small flow of liquid: a trickle of blood.
• a small group or number of people or things moving slowly: the traffic had dwindled to a trickle.

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18
Q

truant

A

noun
a student who stays away from school without leave or explanation.
adjective
(of a student) being a truant: truant children.
• wandering; straying: her truant husband.
verb [no object]
another way of saying play truant below.

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19
Q

truculent

A

adjective

eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant: his days of truculent defiance were over.

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20
Q

trudge

A

verb [no object, with adverbial of direction]
walk slowly and with heavy steps, typically because of exhaustion or harsh conditions: I trudged up the stairs | she trudged through blinding snow.
noun
a difficult or laborious walk: he began the long trudge back.

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21
Q

trumpet

A

verb (trumpets, trumpeting, trumpeted)

2 [with object] proclaim widely or loudly: the press trumpeted another defeat for the government.

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22
Q

tumult

A

noun [usually in singular]
a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people: a tumult of shouting and screaming broke out.
• confusion or disorder: the whole neighborhood was in a state of fear and tumult | his personal tumult ended when he began writing songs.

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23
Q

turbid

A

adjective
(of a liquid) cloudy, opaque, or thick with suspended matter: the turbid estuary.
• confused or obscure in meaning or effect: a turbid piece of cinéma vérité.

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24
Q

turbulent

A

adjective
characterized by conflict, disorder, or confusion; not controlled or calm: the country’s turbulent 20-year history | her turbulent emotions.
• (of air or water) moving unsteadily or violently: the turbulent sea.
• technical relating to or denoting flow of a fluid in which the velocity at any point fluctuates irregularly and there is continual mixing rather than a steady or laminar flow pattern.

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25
turgid
adjective swollen and distended or congested: a turgid and fast-moving river. • (of language or style) tediously pompous or bombastic: some turgid verses on the death of Prince Albert.
26
turncoat
noun | a person who deserts one party or cause in order to join an opposing one.
27
turpitude
noun formal | depravity; wickedness: acts of moral turpitude.
28
trope
noun a figurative or metaphorical use of a word or expression: he used the two-Americas trope to explain how a nation free and democratic at home could act wantonly abroad. • a significant or recurrent theme; a motif: she uses the Eucharist as a pictorial trope. verb [no object] create a trope.
29
tyro
noun (plural tyros) | a beginner or novice.
30
uncanny
adjective (uncannier, uncanniest) | strange or mysterious, especially in an unsettling way: an uncanny feeling that she was being watched.
31
unctuous
adjective 1 (of a person) excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily: he seemed anxious to please but not in an unctuous way. 2 (chiefly of minerals) having a greasy or soapy feel.
32
upbeat
adjective informal | cheerful; optimistic.
33
undergird
verb [with object] secure or fasten from the underside, especially by a rope or chain passed underneath. • formal provide support or a firm basis for.
34
usher
noun 1 a person who shows people to their seats, especially in a theater or at a wedding. • an official in a court whose duties include swearing in jurors and witnesses and keeping order. • British a person employed to walk before a person of high rank on special occasions. verb [with object and adverbial of direction] 1 show or guide (someone) somewhere: a waiter ushered me to a table. 2 (usher something in) cause or mark the start of something new: the railroads ushered in an era of cheap mass travel.
35
undue
adjective | unwarranted or inappropriate because excessive or disproportionate: this figure did not give rise to undue concern.
36
unexceptionable
adjective | not open to objection: the unexceptionable belief that society should be governed by law.
37
unflappable
adjective informal | having or showing calmness in a crisis.
38
ungainly
adjective | (of a person or movement) awkward; clumsy: an ungainly walk.
39
unimpeachable
adjective | not able to be doubted, questioned, or criticized; entirely trustworthy: an unimpeachable witness.
40
unkempt
adjective | (especially of a person) having an untidy or disheveled appearance: they were unwashed and unkempt.
41
unlettered
adjective | (of a person) poorly educated or illiterate.
42
unpretentious
adjective not attempting to impress others with an appearance of greater importance, talent, or culture than is actually possessed. • (of a place) pleasantly simple and functional; modest.
43
unflagging
adjective | tireless; persistent: his apparently unflagging enthusiasm impressed her.
44
unsung
adjective | not celebrated or praised: Harvey is one of the unsung heroes of the industrial revolution.
45
unruly
adjective (unrulier, unruliest) disorderly and disruptive and not amenable to discipline or control: figurative : Kate tried to control her unruly emotions | complaints about unruly behavior.
46
untenable
adjective (especially of a position or view) not able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection: this argument is clearly untenable.
47
untold
adjective 1 [attributive] too much or too many to be counted or measured: thieves caused untold damage. 2 (of a story or event) not narrated or recounted: no event, however boring, is left untold.
48
untoward
adjective unexpected and inappropriate or inconvenient: both tried to behave as if nothing untoward had happened | untoward jokes and racial remarks.
49
unwitting
adjective (of a person) not aware of the full facts: an unwitting accomplice. • not done on purpose; unintentional: we are anxious to rectify the unwitting mistakes made in the past.
50
unwonted
adjective [attributive] | unaccustomed or unusual: there was an unwonted gaiety in her manner.
51
upbraid
verb [with object] | find fault with (someone); scold: he was upbraided for his slovenly appearance.
52
urbane
adjective | (of a person, especially a man) suave, courteous, and refined in manner.
53
univocal
adjective Philosophy & Linguistics | (of a word or term) having only one possible meaning; unambiguous: a univocal set of instructions.
54
vacuous
adjective | having or showing a lack of thought or intelligence; mindless: a vacuous smile | vacuous slogans.
55
vagary
noun (plural vagaries) (usually vagaries) | an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone's behavior: the vagaries of the weather.
56
valediction
noun the action of saying farewell: he spread his palm in valediction. • a statement or address made at or as a farewell: his official memorial valediction.
57
versed
adjective (versed in) | experienced or skilled in; knowledgeable about: a native Icelander well versed in her country's medieval literature.
58
vanquish
verb [with object] literary | defeat thoroughly: Mexican forces vanquished the French army in a battle in Puebla.
59
vapid
adjective | offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging: tuneful but vapid musical comedies.
60
varigated
adjective exhibiting different colors, especially as irregular patches or streaks: variegated yellow bricks. • marked by variety: his variegated and amusing observations.
61
varnish
noun resin dissolved in a liquid for applying on wood, metal, or other materials to form a hard, clear, shiny surface when dry. • [in singular] literary an external or superficially attractive appearance of a specific quality: an outward varnish of civilization. verb [with object] apply varnish to: we stripped the floor and varnished it. • disguise or gloss over (a fact): the White House is varnishing over the defeat of the president's proposal.
62
valorize
verb [with object] give or ascribe value or validity to (something): the culture valorizes the individual. • raise or fix the price or value of (a commodity or currency) by artificial means, especially by government action.
63
vaunt
verb [with object] (usually as adjective vaunted) | boast about or praise (something), especially excessively: the much vaunted information superhighway.v
64
veer
verb [no object, with adverbial of direction] change direction suddenly: an oil tanker that had veered off course. • suddenly change an opinion, subject, type of behavior, etc.: the conversation eventually veered away from theatrical things. • (of the wind) change direction clockwise around the points of the compass: the wind veered southwest. The opposite of back. noun a sudden change of direction.
65
vehement
adjective | showing strong feeling; forceful, passionate, or intense: her voice was low but vehement | vehement criticism.
66
venal
adjective showing or motivated by susceptibility to bribery: their generosity had been at least partly venal | why should these venal politicians care how they are rated?
67
veneer
noun a thin decorative covering of fine wood applied to a coarser wood or other material. • a layer of wood used to make plywood. • [in singular] an attractive appearance that covers or disguises someone or something's true nature or feelings: her veneer of composure cracked a little. verb [with object] (usually as adjective veneered) cover (something) with a decorative layer of fine wood. • cover or disguise (someone or something's true nature) with an attractive appearance.
68
venial
adjective Christian Theology denoting a sin that is not regarded as depriving the soul of divine grace. Often contrasted with mortal. • (of a fault or offense) slight and pardonable.

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