32 Flashcards
(25 cards)
defray
provide money to pay (a cost or expense).
edifying
providing moral or intellectual instruction.
truculent
eager or quick to argue or fight; aggressively defiant.
furtive
attempting to avoid notice or attention, typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble; secretive.
munificent
(of a gift or sum of money) larger or more generous than is usual or necessary.
stolid
(of a person) calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation.
prescience
the fact of knowing something before it takes place; foreknowledge.
perquisite
a thing regarded as a special right or privilege enjoyed as a result of one’s position.
insidious
proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects.
temperance
abstinence from alcoholic drink.
picayune
petty; worthless.
subversive
seeking or intended to subvert an established system or institution.
venial
(of a fault or offense) slight and pardonable.
mendacity
untruthfulness.
contrive
create or bring about (an object or a situation) by deliberate use of skill and artifice.
lambast
criticize (someone or something) harshly.
specious
superficially plausible, but actually wrong.
dissolution
the closing down or dismissal of an assembly, partnership, or official body.
virago
a domineering, violent, or bad-tempered woman
intransigent
unwilling or refusing to change one’s views or to agree about something.
foible
a minor weakness or eccentricity in someone’s character.
forlorn
pitifully sad and abandoned or lonely.
inimical
tending to obstruct or harm.
gauche
lacking ease or grace; unsophisticated and socially awkward.
