Magoosh Words Flashcards
lambast
criticize severely or angrily.
=> showing no patience, the manager lambasted the sales team.
predilection
strong liking, bias
*predilection = preference.
But given those choices, judges tend to pick whatever authority supports their predilection.
Dogmatic
highly opinionated and asserting principles as the truth undeniably.
=> Kant himself distinguished two types of philosophy, which he called the dogmatic and critical types.
torpor
inactivity resulting from lethargy or lack of vigor or energy.
*How to remember: A topper does not torpor.
=> Elizabeth alone had the power to draw me from these fits; her gentle voice would soothe me when transported by passion, and inspire me with human feelings when sunk in torpor.
reticent
disinclined to talk, keeping thoughts to oneself, chilled, introverted.
=> Danger appears not to stir him, but he becomes reticent when asked about his work.
Volubility
sheer quality of talking and writing, fluency.
=> I’m talking, freed of all restraint a volubility which isn’t pleasant should you share the room with me.
Vociferous
conspicuously and offensively loud, outspoken, outcry.
=>
deferential
respectful in manner.
=> He reached forward and, head bowed in deferential respect, he made so as to lift the holy book, and it yielded to his purity and righteousness, and opened for him.
Superfluous
serving no useful purpose.
=> After defeated in the fight with Sakura, Sasori was superfluous to the Akatsuki.
God never intended for one group of people to live in superfluous inordinate wealth, while others live in abject deadening poverty. ‘
mawkish
overly sentimental.
=> The last episode was incredibly mawkish, to the point that racism was apparently a sane concept in comparison.
apathetic
marked by a lack of interest.
(way to remember: a__pathetic)
=> The fact that some may call San Diegans lazy and apathetic is just inaccurate and beyond the bounds of reasonableness and decency.
bucolic
relating to the pleasant aspects of the country life.
=> Casey was so intrigued after watching one season of Heartland that she wanted to move from NYC to the bucolic life of the pastures.
impudent
*How to remember: I’m putting a “dent”.
improperly forward or bold.
=> What some would call impudent, Teddy said, others might call spirited.
culpability
*How to remember: Culprit’s Ability.
a state of guilt.
=> I believe the issue of culpability is very important, and this nonsense of guilt on the part of derivative players such as Pelosi is a red herring, both legally and practically.
platitude
*How to remember: Pretty Latitude(obvious)
obvious remark.
=> Morley once warned the Emersonian that a platitude is not transformed into a profundity by being dressed up as a conundrum.
querulous
habitually complaining.
=> “Don’t stand looking any longer, for mercy’s sake!” called the querulous voice from the house.
gall
the trait of being rude or impertinent.
*how to remember: Gall -> Gal -> Girl -> rude without reason. -> defining trait.
=> The speeding car had the gall to switch five lanes at once, run through a red light, and then cut off a police car before finally coming to a stop in front of a sea of flashing red lights.
recondite
difficult to penetrate.
*How to remember: “recon” => difficult to infiltrate without recon.
=> For a popular treatment of the somewhat recondite underpinnings of this thesis, see R.
banal
repeated too often, overfamiliar through overuse.
*How to remember: offence repeated too often => you get banned; hence banal.
In his letter the pope said that in the wake of the sexual abuse crisis, the church had to be all the more watchful and attentive about who should become priests and ensure that future ministers do not succumb to what he called a banal and destructive sexuality.
chortle
to laugh or chuckle merrily.
*How to remember: choking chuckle => muffled laugh.
Walking into the cafe, I could hear happy, chortling people and smell the rich aroma of roasted coffee beans.
culminate
reach the highest or the most decisive point.
=> Beethoven’s musical genius culminated in the 9th Symphony, which many consider his greatest work.
culminate
reach the highest or the most decisive point.
=> Beethoven’s musical genius culminated in the 9th Symphony, which many consider his greatest work.
germane
relevant or appropriate.
=> The professor wanted to tell the jury in detail about his new book, but the lawyer said it wasn’t germane to the charges in the cases.
ameliorate
make something bad better.
*How to remember: opposite of deteriorate.
=> The question for me is: will the execution of Hussein ameliorate or worsen the situation in Iraq in the short term and in the long run?
staunch
support firmly.
*steady stance => staunch
=> Menino was described as a “staunch opponent” of the retailer.
languid
slow and relaxed; not inclined towards physical exertion.
*langda == slow => languid.
=> I find it interesting that the review says the first half was ‘languid’ - I thought it was rushed and choppy .. the romance is more assumed than shown, which was too bad.
Delineate
explain something meticulously and properly.
*Delineate = (Diligently and neatly)
=> Tallies of living languages differ widely depending on how evaluators delineate one language from another.
subsume
contain or include.
*subsume = consume but not completely(i.e. sub-consume)
=> Don Quixote of La Mancha subsumes all other modern novels, demonstrating modern literary devices and predating even the idea of a postmodern, metanarrative.
quotidian
found in ordinary course of events.
*Quotidian=Quoted every day.
=> Under his expert hand, the Wiener Philharmoniker, apt to phone it in for something as “quotidian” as Mozart’s 40th, shines and sparkles with the swank and swagger only it has.
vehement
marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions.
*Vehement: Via-payment; hence forcefully.
=> Andrew responded in a vehement manner, tipping over his desk and shouting at the top of his lungs.
eclectic
comprising of variety of styles.
=> I rarely match in that official “ladies who lunch” way, but I firmly believe that coloring outside of the lines and being eclectic is the true measure of an interesting person that I want to know better.
forlorn
marked by or showing hopelessness.
*FOR + LOAN =aap loan lene gaye aur vaha se hope less ho kar vapas aaye.. FORLON
=> I saw my kind, our women with us, in forlorn hopes and lost endeavors, pent in hill fortresses, rotted in jungle fastnesses, cut down to the last one on the decks of rocking ships.
rudimentary
in the early stages of development.
=> Without memory we would have to relearn everything every day and society would remain rudimentary at best.
ephemeral
lasting a very short time.
*e-funeral = electric funeral = SHORT.
=> How, then, with that kind of history, do you think the government will fare attempting to prevent the flow of something so ephemeral is “electronic bits” around the world?
avaricious
excessively greedy.
*a + very + rich > a strong greed to be ‘a very rich’ person.
=> Men hate the individual whom they call avaricious only because there is nothing to be gained by him.
vilify
spread negative information about.
*opposite of glorify.
=> However, hardly anyone has seriously attempted to “vilify” them since the fact of the matter is simple: one lost and the other is losing.
belligerent
characteristic of one that is eager to fight.
=> Tom said that he was arguing the matter purely for philosophical reasons, but his belligerent tone indicated an underlying anger about the issue.
precocious
characterized by exceptionally early development.
=> Though only seven years old, she was a precocious chess prodigy, able to beat players twice her age.
tantamounted
being essentially equal to something.
*tanta = tauto
=> In many situations, remaining silent is tantamount to admitting guilt, so speak to prove your innocence.
spurious
plausible but false.
* to “spurn” means to reject.
=> A novel on more positive, constructive lines, and not emotionally spurious, is at present very difficult to imagine
mollify
to make someone angry less angry.
*mollify = PACIFY.
=>In the morning, Janine was unable to mollify Harry, if he happened to become angry, unless he’d had his cup of coffee.
mollify
to make someone angry less angry.
*mollify = PACIFY.
=>In the morning, Janine was unable to mollify Harry, if he happened to become angry, unless he’d had his cup of coffee.
unequivocal
having only one meaning or interpretation.
=> The President’s first statement on the subject was vague and open to competing interpretations, so when he spoke to Congress about the same subject later, he was careful to make his position completely unequivocal.
