High Frequency Flashcards
(156 cards)
1
Q
Abridge (v.)
A
Condense or shorten. Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to ABRIDGE the novel.
2
Q
Abstemious (adj.)
A
Sparing in eating and drinking; temperate. Concerned whether her vegetarian son’s ABSTEMIOUS diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him.
3
Q
Abstract (adj.)
A
Theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational. To him, hunger was an ABSTRACT concept; he had never missed a meal.
4
Q
Abstruse (adj.)
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Obscure; profound; difficult to understand. Baffled by the ABSTRUSE philosophical texts assigned in class, Dave asked Lexy to explain Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason.
5
Q
Accessible (adj.)
A
Easy to approach; obtainable. We asked our guide whether the ruins were ACCESSIBLE on foot.
6
Q
Acclaim (v.)
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Applaud; announce with great approval. The NBC sportscasters ACCLAIMED every American victory in the Olympics and decried every American defeat.
7
Q
Acknowledge (v.)
A
Recognize; admit. Although Iris ACKNOWLEDGED that the Beatles’ tunes sounded pretty dated nowadays, she still preferred them to the hip-hop songs her brothers played.
8
Q
Adulation (n.)
A
Flattery; admiration. The rock star thrived on the ADULATION of his groupies and yes men.
9
Q
Adversary (n.)
A
Opponent. The young wrestler struggled to defeat his ADVERSARY.
10
Q
Adversity (n.)
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Unfavorable fortune; hardship; a calamitous event. According to the humorist Mark Twain, anyone can easily learn to endure ADVERSITY, as long as it is another man’s.
11
Q
Advocate (v.)
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Urge; plead for. The abolitionists ADVOCATED freedom for the slaves.
12
Q
Aesthetic (adj.)
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Artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciation of the beautiful. The beauty of Tiffany’s stained glass appealed to Esther’s AESTHETIC sense.
13
Q
Affable (adj.)
A
Easily approachable; warmly friendly. Accustomed to cold, aloof supervisor, Nicholas was amazed at how AFFABLE his new employer was.
14
Q
Affirmation (n.)
A
positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge b one who refuses to take an oath. Despite Tom’s AFFIRMATIONS of innocence, Aunt Polly still suspected he had eaten the pie.
15
Q
Alleviate (v.)
A
Relieve. This should ALLEVIATE the pain; if it does not, we shall not have to use stronger drugs.
16
Q
Aloof (adj.)
A
Apart; reserved. Shy by nature, she remained ALOOF while all the rest conversed.
17
Q
Altruistic (adj.)
A
Unselfishly generous; concerned for others. In providing tutorial assistance and college scholarships for hundreds of economically disadvantaged youths, Eugene Lang performed a truly ALTRUISTIC deed.
18
Q
Ambiguous (adj.)
A
Unclear or doubtful in meaning. His AMBIGUOUS instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take.
19
Q
Ambivalence (n.)
A
The state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes. Torn between loving her parents one minute and hating them the next, she was confused by the AMBIVALENCE of her feelings.
20
Q
Analogous (adj.)
A
Comparable. She called our attention to the things that had been done in an ANALOGOUS and recommend that we do the same.
21
Q
Anarchist (n.)
A
Person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority. Denying she was an ANARCHIST, Kayta maintained she wished only to make charges in our government, not to destroy it entirely.
22
Q
Anecdote (n.)
A
Short account of an amusing or interesting event. Rather than make concrete proposals for welfare reform, President Reagan told ANECDOTES about poor people who became wealthy despite their impoverished backgrounds.
23
Q
Animosity (n.)
A
Active enmity. he incurred the ANIMOSITY of the ruling class because he advocated limitations of their power.
24
Q
Antagonism (n.)
A
Hostility; active resistance. Barry showed his ANTAGONISM toward his new stepmother by ignoring her whether she tried talking to him.
25
Antidote (n.)
Medicine to counteract a poison or disease. When Marge's child accidentally swallowed some cleaning fluid, the local poison control hotline instructed Marge how to administer the ANTIDOTE.
26
Antiquated (adj.)
Old-fashioned; obsolete. Philip had grown so accustomed to editing his papers on word processors that he thought typewriters were too ANTIQUATED for him to use.
27
Apathy (n.)
Lack of caring; indifference. A firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the APATHY of people who never bothered to vote.
28
Appease (v.)
Pacify or soothe; relieve. Tom and Jody tried to APPEASE the crying baby by offering him one toy after another, but he would not calm down until they APPEASED his hunger by giving him a bottle.
29
Apprehension (n)
Fear. His nervous glances at the passerby on the deserted street revealed his APPREHENSION.
30
Arbitrary (adj.)
Given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior (capricious); randomly chosen; tyrannical. Tom's ARBITRARY dismissal angered him; his boss had no reason to fire him. He threw an ARBITRARY assortment of clothes into his suitcase and headed off, not caring where he went.
31
Archaic (adj.)
Antiquated. ARCHAIC words that are no longer part of our normal vocabulary.
32
Arrogance (n.)
Pride; haughtiness. Convinced that Emma thought she was better than anyone else in the class, Ed rebuked her for her ARROGANCE.
33
Articulate (adj.)
Effective; distinct. Her ARTICULATE presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers.
34
Artifact (n.)
Object made by human beings, either handmade or mass-produced. Archaeologists debate the significance of the ARTIFACTS discovered in the ruins of Asia Minor but came to no conclusions about the culture they represented.
35
Artisan (n.)
Manually skilled worker; craftsman, as opposed to artist. A noted ARTISAN, Arturo was known for the fine craftsmanship of his inlaid cabinets.
36
Ascendancy (n.)
Controlling influence; domination. Leaders of religious cults maintain ASCENDANCY over their followers by methods that can verge on brainwashing.
37
Ascetic (adj.)
Practicing self-denial; austere (severe or strict in manner, attitude, or appearance). The wealthy, self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict, ASCETIC life led by members of some monastic orders.
38
Aspire (v.)
Seek to attain; long for. Because he ASPIRED to a career in professional sports, Philip enrolled in a graduate program in sports management.
39
Astute (adj.)
Wise; shrewd; keen. John Jacob Astor made ASTUTE investments in land, shrewdly purchasing valuable plots throughout New York City.
40
Attribute (v.)
Ascribe; explain. I ATTRIBUTE her success in science to the encouragement she received from her parents.
41
Augment (v.)
Increase; add to. Armies AUGMENT their forces by calling up reinforcements; teachers AUGMENT their salaries by taking odd jobs.
42
Austere (adj.)
Forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented. The headmaster's AUSTERE demeanor tended to scare off the more timid students, who never visited his study willingly. The room reflected the man, AUSTERE and bare, like a monk's cell, with no touches of luxury to moderate its AUSTERITY.
43
Authoritarian (adj.)
Subordinating the individual to the state; completely dominating another's will. The leaders of the AUTHORITARIAN regime ordered the suppression of the democratic protest movement. After years of submitting to the will of her AUTHORITARIAN father, Elizabeth Barrett ran away from home with the poet Robert Browning.
44
Aversion (n.)
Firm dislike. Bert had an AVERSION to yuppies; Alex had an AVERSION to punks. Their mutual AVERSION was so great that they refused to speak to one another.
45
Belie (v.)
Contradict; give a false impression. His coarse, hard-bitten exterior BELIED his inner sensitivity.
46
Benevolent (adj.)
Generous; charitable. Mr. Fezziwig was a BENEVOLENT employer, who wished to make Christmas merrier for young Scrooge and his other employees.
47
Bolster (v.)
Support; reinforce. The debaters amassed file boxes full of evidence to BOLSTER their arguments.
48
Braggart (n.)
Boaster. Modest by nature, she was no BRAGGART, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for themselves.
49
Brevity (n.)
Conciseness. BREVITY is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every word.
50
Cajole (v.)
Coax; wheedle. (employ endearments or flattery to persuade someone to do something or give one something) Diane tried to cajole her father into letting her to drive the family car.
51
Calculated (adj.)
Deliberately planned; likely. Lexy's choice of clothes to wear to the debate tournament was carefully calculated. her conventional suit was CALCULATED to appeal to the conservative judges.
52
Candor (n.)
Frankness; open honesty. Jack can carry CANDOR too far: when he told Jill his honest opinion of her, she nearly slapped his face.
53
Capricious (adj.)
Unpredictable; fickle; fanciful. The storm was CAPRICIOUS: it changed course constantly. Jill was CAPRICIOUS, too: she changed boyfriends almost as often as she changed clothes.
54
Censorious (adj.)
Critical. CENSORIOUS people delight in casting blame.
55
Censure (v.)
Blame; criticize. The senator was CENSURED for behavior inappropriate to a member of Congress.
56
Charlatan (n.)
Quack (a person who dishonestly claims to have special knowledge and skill in some field, typically in medicine); pretender to knowledge. When they realized that the Wizard didn't know how to get them back to Kansas, Dorothy and her companions were indignant that they'd been duped by a CHARLATAN.
57
Coercion (n.)
Use of force to get someone to obey. The inquisitors used both physical and psychological COERCION to force Joan of Arc to deny that her visions were sent by God.
58
Commemorate (v.)
Honor the memory of. The statue of the Minute Man COMMEMORATES the valiant soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War.
59
Compile (v.)
Assemble; gather; accumulate. We planned to COMPILE a list of the words most frequently used on the SAT examinations.
60
Complacency (n.)
Self-satisfaction; smugness. Full of COMPLACENCY about his latest victories, he looked smugly at the row of trophies on his mantel piece.
61
Compliance (n.)
Readiness to yield; conformity in fulfilling requirements. Bullheaded Bill was not noted for easy COMPLIANCE with the demands of others. As an architect, however, Bill recognized that his design had to be in COMPLIANCE with the local building code.
62
Composure (n.)
Mental calmness. Even the latest work crisis failed to shake her COMPOSURE.
63
Comprehensive (adj.)
Thorough; inclusive. This book provides a COMPREHENSIVE review of verbal and math skills for the SAT.
64
Concede (v.)
Admit; yield. Despite all the evidence Monica had assembled, Mark refused to CONCEDE that she was right.
65
Conciliatory (adj.)
Reconciling; soothing. She was still angry despite his CONCILIATORY words.
66
Concise (adj.)
Brief and compact. When you define a new word, be CONCISE: the shorter the definition, the easier it is to remember.
67
Concur (v.)
Agree. Did you CONCUR with the decision of the court or did you find it unfair?
68
Condone (v.)
Overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse. Unlike Widow Douglass, who CONDONED Huck's minor offenses, Miss Watson did nothing but scold.
69
Conflagration (n.)
Great fire. In the CONFLAGRATION that followed the 1906 earthquake, much of San Francisco was destroyed.
70
Confound (v.)
Confuse; puzzle. No mystery could CONFOUND Sherlock Holmes for long.
71
Consensus (n.)
General agreement. Every time the garden club members had nearly reached a CONSENSUS about what to plant, Mistress Mary, quite contrary, disagreed.
72
Constraint (n.)
Compulsion; repression of feelings. There was a feeling of CONSTRAINT in the room because no one dared to criticize the speaker.
73
Contend (v.)
Struggle; compete; assert earnestly. Sociologists Harry Edwards CONTENDS that young black athletes are exploited by some college recruiters.
74
Contentious (adj.)
Quarrelsome. Disagreeing violently with the referees' ruling, the coach became so CONTENTIOUS that they throw him out of the game.
75
Contract (v.)
Compress or shrink; make a pledge; catch a disease. Warm metal expands; cold metal CONTRACTS.
76
Conviction (n.)
Judgment that someone is guilty of a crime; strongly held belief. Even her CONVICTION for murder did not shake Peter's CONVICTION that Harriet was innocent of the crime.
77
Cordial (adj.)
Gracious; heartfelt. Our hosts greeted us at the airport with a CORDIAL welcome and a hearty hug.
78
Corroborate (v.)
Confirm; support. Though Huck was quite willing to CORROBORATE Tom's story, Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them.
79
Credulity (n.)
Belief on slight evidence; gullibility; naivete. Con artists take advantage of the CREDULITY of inexperienced investors to swindle them out of their savings.
80
Criterion (n.)
Standard used in judging. What CRITERION did you use when you selected this essay as the prizewinner?
81
Cryptic (adj.)
Mysterious; hidden; secret. Thoroughly baffled by Holme's CRYPTIC remarks, Watson wondered whether Holmes was intentionally concealing his thoughts about the crime.
82
Cursory (adj.)
Casual; hastily done. Because a CURSORY examination of the ruins indicates the possibility of arson, we believe the insurance agency should undertake a more extensive investigation of the fire's cause.
83
Curtail (v.)
Shorten; reduce. When Herb asked Diane for a date, she said she was really sorry she couldn't go out with him, but her dad had ordered her to CURTAIL her social life.
84
Decorum (n.)
Propriety (the state or quality of conforming to conventionally accepted standards of behavior or morals) ; orderliness and good taste in manners. Even the best-mannered students have trouble behaving with DECORUM on the last day of school.
85
Deference (n.)
Courteous regard for another's wish. In DEFERENCE to the minister's request, please do not take photographs during the wedding service.
86
Degradation (n.)
Humiliation; debasement; degeneration. Some secretaries object to fetching the boss a cup of copy because they resent the DEGRADATION of being made to do such lowly tasks.
87
Delineate (v.)
Portray; depict; sketch. Using only a few descriptive phrases, Austen DELINEATES the character of Mr. Collins so well that we can predict his every move.
88
Denounce (v.)
Condemn; criticize. The reform candidate DENOUNCED the corrupt city officers for having betrayed the public's trust.
89
Deplore (v.)
Regret; disapprove of. Although I DEPLORE the vulgarity of your language, I defend your right to express yourself freely.
90
Depravity (n.)
Extreme corruption; wickedness. The DEPRAVITY of Caligula's behavior came to sicken even those who had willingly participated in his earlier, comparatively innocent orgies.
91
Deprecate (v.)
Express disapproval of; protest against; belittle. A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Post DEPRECATED the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names.
92
Deride (v.)
Ridicule; make fun of. The critics DERIDED his pretentious (attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture, etc., than is actually possessed) dialogue and refused to consider his play seriously.
93
Derivative (adj.)
Unoriginal; derived from another source. Although her early poetry was clearly DERIVATIVE in nature, the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice.
94
Despondent (adj.)
Depressed; gloomy. To the dismay of his parents, William became seriously DESPONDENT after he broke up with Jan; they despaired of finding a cure for his gloom.
95
Detached (adj.)
Emotionally removed; calm and objective; physically unconnected. A psychoanalyst must maintain a DETACHED point of view and stay uninvolved with his or her patients' personal lives. To a child growing up in an apartment or a row house, to live in a detached house was an unattainable dream.
96
Deterrent (n.)
Something that discourages; hindrance. Does the threat of capital punishment serve as a DETERRENT to potential killers?
97
Detrimental (adjl.)
Harmful; damaging. The candidate's acceptance of major financial contributions from a well-known racist ultimately proved DETRIMENTAL to his campaign, for he lost the backing of many of his early grassroots supporters.
98
Devious (adj.)
Roundabout; erratic; not straightforward. The Joker's plan was so DEVIOUS that it was only with great difficulty we could follow its shifts and dodges.
99
Devise (v.)
Think up; invent; plan. How clever he must be to have DEVISED such a devious plan! What ingenious inventions might he have DEVISED if he had turned his mind to science and not to crime.
100
Diffuse (adj.)
Wordy; rambling; spread out (like a gas) if you pay authors by the word, you tempt them to produce DIFFUSE manuscripts rather than brief ones.
101
Digression (n.)
Wandering away from the subject. Nobody minded when Professor Renoir's lectures wandered away from their official theme; his DIGRESSIONS were always more fascinating than the topic of the day.
102
Diligence (n.)
Steadiness of effort; persistent hard work. Her employers were greatly impressed by her DILIGENCE and offered her a partnership in the firm.
103
Diminution (n.)
Lessening; reduction in size. Old Jack was as sharp at eighty as he had been at fifty; increasing age led to no DIMINUTION of his mental ability.
104
Discerning (adj.)
Mentally quick and observant; having insight. Though no genius, the star was sufficiently DISCERNING to tell her true friends from the countless phonies who flattered her.
105
Disclose (v.)
Reveal. although competitors offered him bribes, he refused to DISCLOSE any information about his company's forthcoming product.
106
Discordant (adj.)
Not harmonious; conflicting. Nothing is quite so DISCORDANT as the sound of a junior high school orchestra tuning up.
107
Discount (v.)
Disregard; dismiss. Be prepared to DISCOUNT hat he has to say about his ex-wife.
108
Discriminating (adj.)
Able to see differences; prejudiced. A superb interpreter of Picasso, she was sufficiently DISCRIMINATING to judge the most complex works of modern art.
109
Disdain (v.)
View with scorn or contempt. In the film Funny Face, the bookish heroine DISDAINED fashion models for their lack of intellectual interests.
110
Disinclination (n.)
Unwillingness. Some mornings I feel great DISINCLINATION to get out of bed.
111
Dismiss (v.)
Put away from consideration; reject. Believing in John's love for her, she DISMISSED the notion that he might be unfaithful.
112
Disparage (v.)
Belittle. A doting (be extremely and uncritically fond of) mother, Emma was more likely to praise her son's crude attempts at art than to DISPARAGE them.
113
Disparity (n.)
Difference; condition of inequality. Their DISPARITY in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.
114
Disperse (v.)
Scatter. The police fired tear gas into the crowd to DISPERSE the protesters.
115
Disputatious (adjl.)
Argumentative; fond of arguing. Convinced he knew more than his lawyers, Alan was a DISPUTATIOUS client, ready to argue about the best way to conduct the case.
116
Disseminate (v.)
Distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds). By their use of the Internet, propagandists have been able to DISSEMINATE their pet doctrines to new audiences around the globe.
117
Dissent (v.)
Disagree. In the recent Supreme Court decision, Justice O'Connor DISSENTED from the majority opinion.
118
Divergent (adj.)
Differing; deviating. Since graduating from medical school, the two doctors have taken DIVERGENT paths, one going on to become a nationally prominent surgeon, the other dedicating himself to a small family practice in his home town.
119
Doctrine (n.)
Teachings, in general: particular principle (religious, legal, etc.) taught. he was so committed to the DOCTRINES of his faith that he was unable to evaluate them impartially.
120
Document (v.)
Provide written evidence. She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to DOCUMENT her expenses for the firm.
121
Dogmatic (adj.)
Opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal. We tried to discourage Doug from being so DOGMATIC, but never could convince him that his opinions might be wrong.
122
Dubious (adj.)
Questionable; filled with doubt. Many critics of the SAT contend the test is of DUBIOUS worth. Jay claimed he could get a perfect 2400 on the SAT, but Ellen was DUBIOUS, she knew he hadn't cracked a book in three years.
123
Duplicity (n.)
Double- dealing; hypocrisy. When Tanya learned that Mark had been two-timing her, she was furious at his DUPLICITY.
124
Eclectic (adj.)
Composed of elements drawn from disparate sources. His style of interior decoration was ECLECTIC: bits and pieces of furnishings from widely divergent periods, strikingly juxtaposed to create a unique decor.
125
Egotistical (adj.)
Excessively self-centered; self-important; conceited. Sending constant Instagram DM's to people is pretty EGOTISTICAL, if i do say so myself.
126
Elated (adj.)
Overjoyed; in high spirits. I would be pretty ELATED if I became a National Merit Scholar.
127
Eloquence (n.)
Expressiveness; persuasive speech. The crowds were stirred by Martin Luther King's ELOQUENCE.
128
Elusive (adj.)
Evasive; baffling; hard to grasp. Trying to pin down exactly when the contractors would be finished remodeling the house, Nancy was frustrated by their ELUSIVE replies.
129
Embellish (v.)
Adorn; ornament. The costume designer EMBELLISHED the leading lady's ball gown with yards and yards of ribbon and lace.
130
Emulate (v.)
Imitate; rival. In a brief essay, describe a person you admire, someone whose virtues you would like to EMULATE.
131
Endorse (v.)
Approve; support. The congresswoman ENDORSED private companies to give contraceptives to women.
132
Enhance (v.)
Increase; improve. You can enhance your chances of being admitted to the college of your choice by learning to write well; an excellent essay can ENHANCE any application.
133
Enigma (n.)
Puzzle; mystery. Women's behavior is sometimes an ENIGMA to men.
134
Enmity (n.)
Ill will; hatred. God placed ENMITY between mankind and the serpent.
135
Ephemeral (adj.)
Short-lived; fleeting. Justin Bieber was an EPHEMERAL band to fangirl over.
136
Equivocal (adj.)
Ambiguous; intentionally misleading. Rejecting the candidate's EQUIVOCAL comments no tax reform, the reporters pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue.
137
Erroneous (adj.)
Mistaken; wrong. I thought my answer was correct, but it was ERRONEOUS.
138
Erudite (adj.)
Learned; scholarly. Unlike much scholarly writing, Huizinga's prose was entertaining as well as ERUDITE, lively as well as learned.
139
Esoteric (adj.)
Hard to understand; known only to the chosen few. The New Yorker short stories often included ESOTERIC allusions.
140
Eulogy (n.)
Expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death. Hazel gave a sad eulogy to Augustus Waters.
141
Euphemism (n.)
A mild expression in a place of an unpleasant one. The expression "he passed away" is a euphemism for "he died".
142
Exacerbate (v.)
Worsen; embitter. The latest bombing EXACERBATED England's already existing bitterness against the IRA.
143
Exalt (v.)
Raise in rank or dignity; praise.
144
Execute (v.)
Put into effect; carry out.
145
Exemplary (adj.)
Serving as a model; outstanding Ellen's EXEMPLARY work won a blue ribbon.
146
Exhaustive (adj.)
Thorough; comprehensive. We have made an EXHAUSTIVE study of all published SAT tests and are happy to share our research with you.
147
Exhilarating (adjl.)
Invigorating and refreshing; cheering. Jeffrey found the walk on the cold, crisp day EXHILARATING.
148
Exonerate (v.)
Acquit (free (someone) from a criminal charge by a verdict of not guilty) ; exculpate (show or declare that (someone) is not guilty of wrongdoing) Cynthia and I sought evidence to EXONERATE the client.
149
Expedient (adj.)
Suitable; practical; politic. A pragmatic politician, he was guided by what was EXPEDIENT rather than what was ethical.
150
Expedite (v.)
Hasten. Because we are on a tight schedule, we hope you will be able to EXPEDITE the delivery of our order.
151
Explicit (adj.)
Totally clear; definite; outspoken. Don't just hint around that your dissatisfied; be EXPLICIT about what's bugging you.
152
Exploit (v.)
Make use of, sometimes unjustly. Cesar Chavez fought attempts to EXPLOIT migrant farmworkers in California.
153
Extol (v.)
Praise; glorify. I will extol my Father.
154
Extraneous (adj.)
Not essential; superfluous. Adding eggs was EXTRANEOUS to the actual recipe.
155
Extricate (v.)
Free; disentangle. Ice breakers were needed to EXTRICATE the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.
156
Exuberance (n.)
Overflowing abundance; joyful enthusiasm; flamboyance; lavishness. I was bowled over by the EXUBERANCE of Amy's welcome.
