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Flashcards in AP English Deck (65)
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0
Q

Def: umbrage n

A

Offense, resentment

The candidate took umbrage at the remark of his opponent.

1
Q

Def: canard n

A

A false statement or rumor

Her reputation was damaged by the canard.

2
Q

Def: dank adj

A

Damp, chilling

The cellar became dank in the winter.

3
Q

Def: inimical adj

A

Hostile, unfriendly

The warming climate is inimical to migrating birds.

4
Q

Def: peccadillo n

A

A slight fault or offense

The British public is willing to overlook Prince Harry’s peccadillo.

5
Q

Def: choleric

A

ill tempered, easily angered

The choleric man yelled at the kids for being to loud.

6
Q

Def: solemnity

A

1) a deep reverend feeling often associated with a religious occasion
2) religious occasion, observation, sermon
The church service was filled with solemnity.

7
Q

Def: munificent

A

Showing great generosity

The civic group made a munificent donation to the homeless shelter.

8
Q

Def: clandestine

A

Secret (conspiracy)

The press was not informed of the clandestine meeting.

9
Q

Def: conjoin

A

Combine

The classes will conjoin to do the play.

10
Q

Def: fetish

A

Anything to which one gives excessive devotion

The play figure is a fetish of the fertility goddess

11
Q

Def: cohort

A

A group, a band

The cohort of teens gathered at the athletic field.

12
Q

Def: antipathy

A

A strong dislike, repugnance

The colonies antipathy for the British stemmed from the burdensome taxes

13
Q

Def: conclave

A

Any private meeting or assemble

The pope is chosen by a conclave of high Catholic Church officials.

14
Q

Def: conglomeration

A

A collection or mixture of various things

The beach boardwalk was crowded with a conglomeration of vendors, artists, and people.

15
Q

Def: abstruse

A

Hard to understand

The concept is too abstruse for the average first year student to grasp.

16
Q

Def: cohesion

A

The act of holding together

The cohesion of the group increased as friendships were born.

17
Q

Def: cavil

A

To bicker unnecessarily

The mother and daughter often cavil over trivial matters.

18
Q

Def: fecund

A

1) productive, fruitful
2) intellectually, productive
The fecund valley supported many acres of fruit trees.

19
Q

Def: contiguous

A

Sharing a boundary, touching

The U.S has 48 contiguous state and Alaska and Hawaii

20
Q

Def: coherent

A

Unified, connected; logical, consistent

Coherent arguments are supported by relevant and convincing evidence.

21
Q

Def: adept

A

Skills practiced

The carpenter was adept at constructing beautiful furniture.

22
Q

Def: wheedle

A

To influence or persuade by flattery

The student tried to wheedle extra points from the teachers.

23
Q

Def: dais

A

A raised platform for speakers or guests

The guest of honor was visible on the dais.

24
Q

Def: irreparable

A

That which cannot be repaired or regained.

The flood did irreparable damage to the city.

25
Q

Def: culpable

A

Deserving blame

The convict still denies that he is culpable for the crime.

26
Q

Def: dauntless

A

Fearless, not discouraged

The dauntless rescue party continued searching into the night

27
Q

Def: Motif

A

Repeated figure element or design

The short melody served as a unifying motif in the symphony.

28
Q

Def: derisive

A

Disrespectful or scornful

A parents derisive comments can undermine a child’s self confidence

29
Q

Def: paucity

A

Scarcity

The drought led to a paucity of food

30
Q

Def: carte blanche

A

Unlimited authority

The students were giving carte glance in designing the float.

31
Q

Def: cursory

A

Hasty and with out care

It was getting late so he did a cursory job on his homework.

32
Q

Def: Dexterous

A

Physically skillful and graceful; mentally quick and able

The gymnast was dexterous on the balance beam.

33
Q

Def: moot

A

Subject to debate; no longer important or relative

The decision has been made; further discussion is moot.

34
Q

Def: egress

A

A way out, act of exiting
The gate provided egress from the garden.
His egress was blocked by the guard.

35
Q

Def: diatribe

A

A bitter or abusive denunciation

His diatribe against the team was hurtful and embarrassing.

36
Q

Def: dint

A

Force or excursion

The lawyer won the case by dint of argument.

37
Q

Def: portend

A

To be an omen of or signify

The roll of thunder portends an oncoming storm.

38
Q

Def: cataclysm

A

Great upheaval; violent change, such as an earthquake or war
San Francisco was largely destroyed by the cataclysm of 1906.

39
Q

Def: anachronism

A

Something out of chronological place/order

Anachronisms, like the use of cars, ruined the credibility of the civil war movie.

40
Q

Def: dichotomy

A

A division into two parts

The dichotomy between good and evil is embodied by angels and the devil.

41
Q

Def: conciliatory

A

Tending to overcome distrust and animosity(hatred)

After World War 2 the allies were conciliatory towards their former enemy.

42
Q

Def: wreak

A

To vent, to inflict

The dragon will wreak havoc upon the countryside.

43
Q

Def: suave

A

Smoothly agreeable and curtious

His suave manner made him a very successful salesman.

44
Q

Def: enigmatic

A

Puzzling, perplexing

The detectives were unable to crack the enigmatic crime.

45
Q

Def: beholden

A

In debuted

Children are beholden to their many sacrifices of parenting.

46
Q

Def: comeliness

A

Beauty, attractiveness in appearance or behavior

The actress had talent, but her comeliness made her a star.

47
Q

Def: diffident

A

Timid, lacking self confidence

She is diffident off stage, but on stage she projects strength and charisma.

48
Q

Def: disparate

A

Unequal but similar

Equal education overcomes disparate wealth

49
Q

Def: effusive

A

Excessive emotional expression; abundant overflowing

She was embarrassed by his effusive praise; The effusive run off caused landslides and flooding.

50
Q

Def: sordid

A

Filthy foul, morally degrading

The convict was denied parole because his crime was disturbingly sordid.

51
Q

Def: ruminate

A

Carefully consider

The doctor will ruminate before giving his diagnosis

52
Q

Def: endorse

A

To support, to recommend

The Union endorsed legislature that would increase construction jobs.

53
Q

Def: impromptu

A

Without advance thought

The guest of honor was called on to make an impromptu speech.

54
Q

Def: explicit

A

Fully and clearly expressed

The instructions are explicit you shouldn’t get lost.

55
Q

Def: placate

A

To appease or pacify

The entire family tried to placate the sulking child.

56
Q

Def: equivocation

A

Purposely misleading statement

Equivocation can be better then the truth if you need to spare a friends feeling

57
Q

Def: facsimile

A

Copy, reproduction, replicate

The facsimile of the priceless painting was substituted for the original

58
Q

Def: sojourn

A

To stay temporarily

The family was sojourn at their summer home

59
Q

Def: mellifluous

A

Having a sweet sound

The flute played a mellifluous melody

60
Q

Def: fissure

A

A cleft or crack

The earthquake caused a fissure which split the hillside

61
Q

Def: dowdy

A

Shabby in appearance, old fashioned

She was well dressed and groomed, but her clothes were dowdy

62
Q

Def: edifice

A

A building, especially on imposing one

The edifice rose 40 stories and covered two blocks

63
Q

Def: hybrid

A

Anything of mix origin

The yak-cow, a hybrid of a cow and yak, are used as pack animals in Nepal.

64
Q

Def: obviate

A

To dispose of effectively, to make unnecessary

The invention of cars obviated the use of the horse and buggy.