Basic words Flashcards
(181 cards)
1
Q
Onerous
A
Troublesome and oppressive; burdensome
2
Q
Obviate
A
To prevent or make unnecessary
3
Q
Obdurate
A
Hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion
4
Q
Naive
A
Lacking sophistication or experience
5
Q
Mollify
A
To calm; make less severe
6
Q
Malinger
A
To evade responsibility; pretending to be ill. Exaggerate or feign illness to escape duty or work
7
Q
Lavish
A
(v.) to give unsparingly
(adj.) extremely generous or extravagant
8
Q
Laconic
A
Using few words
9
Q
Irascible
A
Easily made angry
10
Q
Intransigent
A
Uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled
11
Q
Insipid
A
Lacking interest or flavor
12
Q
Innocuous
A
Harmless
13
Q
Inimical
A
hostile; unfriendly
14
Q
Inchoate
A
not fully formed; disorganized
15
Q
Impetuous
A
Quick to act without thinking
16
Q
Iconoclast
A
One who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions
17
Q
Guile
A
Deceit or trickery
18
Q
Gregarious
A
Outgoing, sociable
19
Q
Garrulous (antonym: laconic)
A
Tending to talk a lot
20
Q
Foment
A
To arouse or incite
21
Q
Florid
A
Excessively decorated or embellished
22
Q
Fervid
A
Intensely emotional, feverish
23
Q
Fanatical
A
acting excessively enthusiastic, filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion
24
Q
Exculpate
A
to clear from blame; prove innocent
25
Eulogy
Speech in praise of someone
26
Estimable
admirable
27
Esoteric
Known or understood by only a few
28
Erudite
Learned, scholarly, bookish
29
Equivocate
To use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
30
Equivocal
Open to more than one interpretation; misleading
31
Ephemeral
Lasting a short time
32
Enigma
Puzzle; mystery
33
Engender
To produce, cause, or bring about
34
Enervate
to reduce in strength
35
Eloquent
persuasive and moving (especially in speech)
36
Eclectic
Selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
37
Dogmatic
Dictatorial in one's own opinions
38
Dissemble
to present a false appearance; to disguise one's real intentions or character
39
Disparate (antonym: homogenous)
Fundamentally different; entirely unlike
40
Discern
to perceive; to recognize
41
Disabuse
to set right; to free from error
42
Dirge
a funeral hymn or mournful speech
43
Dilettante
Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
44
Dilatory
intended to delay
45
Diffident
Lacking self-confidence
46
Desultory
jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
47
Desiccate
to dry out thoroughly
48
Deride
to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock
49
Deference
respect, courtesy
50
Credulous
too trusting; gullible
51
Cogent
Convincing and well-reasoned
52
Chicanery
Deception by means of craft or guile
53
Chauvinist
Someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
54
Caustic
Sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way
55
Castigate
To punish or criticize harshly
56
Cacophany
Harsh, jarring noise
57
Bombastic
Pompous in speech and manner
58
Austere
Rigorous, severe, stern in appearance
59
Audacious
Fearless and daring
60
Attenuate
To reduce in force or degree, to weaken
61
Assuage
to make something unpleasant, less severe
62
Ardor
Intense and passionate feeling
63
Antipathy
extreme dislike
64
Ameliorate
to make better; to improve
65
Amalgamate
to combine; mix together
66
Aggrandize
to increase in power, influence, and reputation
67
Adulterate
to make impure
68
Occlude
to stop up; prevent the passage of
69
Opprobrium
public disgrace
70
Ostentation
excessive showiness
71
Paragon
model of excellence or perfection
72
Pedant
someone who shows off learning
73
Perfidious
willing to betray one's trust
74
Prevaricate
to lie or deviate from the truth
75
Perfunctory
done in a routine way, indifferent
- lack of interest, quickly and carelessly
76
Plastic
able to be shaped, molded, altered, or bent
77
Pragmatic
practical as opposed to idealistic
78
Precipitate
to throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation
79
Prodigal
lavish; wasteful
80
Proliferate
to increase in number quickly
81
Propitiate
to conciliate; to appease
82
Propriety
decorum; appropriate behavior; obedience to rules and customs
83
Prudence
wisdom, caution, or restraint
84
Quiescent
motionless
85
Rarefy
to make thinner or sparser
86
Repudiate
to reject the validity of
87
Reticent
silent; reserved
88
Rhetoric
effective writing or speaking
89
Soporific
causing sleep or lethargy
90
Specious
deceptively attractive, seemingly plausible but fallacious
91
Stolid
unemotional; lacking sensitivity
92
Sublime
lofty or grand
93
Tacit
done without using words
94
Taciturn
silent, not talkative
95
Torpor
extreme mental and physical sluggishness
96
Transitory (syn. - ephemeral)
temporary, lasting a brief time
97
Vacillate
to sway physically; to be indecisive
98
Venerate
to respect deeply
99
Veracity
truthfulness; accuracy
100
Verbose
wordy
101
Zeal
passion, excitement
102
Whimsical
acting in a fanciful or capricious manner, unpredictable
103
Waver
to fluctuate between choices
104
Volatile
easily aroused or changeable, lively or explosive
105
Vex
to annoy
106
Tirade
long, harsh speech or verbal attack
107
Stigma
a mark of shame or discredit
108
Satiate
to satisfy fully or overindulge
109
Pungent
sharp and irritating to the senses
110
Pristine
fresh and clean; uncorrupted
111
Plethora
excess
112
Placate
to soothe or pacify
113
Philanthropy
charity; a desire or an effort to promote goodness
114
Permeate
to penetrate
115
Paradox
contradiction or dilemma
116
Opaque
impossible to see through; preventing the passage of light
117
Obstinate
stubborn; unyielding
118
Obsequious
overly submissive and eager to please
119
Monotony
lack of variation
120
Mitigate
to soften; to lessen
121
Misanthrope
a person who dislikes others
122
Meticulous
extremely careful about details
123
Metaphor
a figure of speech comparing two different things; a symbol
124
Malleable
capable of being shaped
125
Luminous
bright, brilliant, glowing
126
Lucid
clear and easily understood
127
Loquacious
talkative
128
Lethargic
acting in an indifferent or slow, sluggish manner
129
Laud
to praise
130
Lament
to express sorrow; to grieve
131
Inundate
to overwhelm; to cover with water
132
Ingenuous
showing innocence or childlike simplicity
133
Implacable
unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
134
Impervious
impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
135
Imperturbable
not capable of being disturbed
136
Homogenous
of a similar kind
137
Gullible
easily deceived
138
Frugality
a tendency to be thrifty or cheap
139
Fawn
to grovel
140
Explicit
Clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression
141
Exonerate
to clear of blame
142
Exigent
urgent; requiring immediate action
143
Exacerbate
to make worse
144
Euphemism
use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
145
Erratic
wandering and unpredictable
146
Enumerate
to count, list, or itemize
147
Emulate
to copy; to try to equal or excel
148
Elegy
a sorrowful poem or speech
149
Efficacy
effectiveness
150
Dupe
to deceive; a person who's easily deceived
151
dogma
a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief
152
Dissonance
A harsh and disagreeable combination, often of sounds
153
Dilate
to make larger, to expand
154
Diatribe
an abusive, condemnatory speech
155
Decorum
appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety
156
Crescendo
steadily increasing in volume or force
157
Corroborate
to provide supporting evidence
158
Convoluted
intricate and complicated
159
Condone
to overlook, pardon, or disregard
160
Chaos
great disorder or confusion
161
Catalyst
something that brings about a change in something else
162
Capricious
Changing one's mind quickly and often
163
Candid
Impartial and honest in speech
164
Bolster
to support, to prop up
165
Banal
predictable, cliched, boring
166
articulate
able to speak clearly and expressively
167
Archaic
ancient, old-fashioned
168
Arbitrate
to judge a dispute between two opposing parties
169
Apathy
lack of interest/emotion
170
Antagonize
to annoy or provoke to anger
171
Anomaly
deviation from what is normal
172
Analogous
similar or alike in some way; equivalent to
173
Anachronism
out of place in time
174
Ambiguous
doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted several ways
175
Alleviate
to make more bearable
176
Aesthetic
concerning the appreciation of beautty
177
Advocate
to speak in favor of
178
Abyss
an extremely deep hole
179
Abstain
to refrain from
180
Abscond
to leave secretly
181
Abate
to reduce in amount, degree, or severity
