Vocab Flashcards
(199 cards)
1
Q
Abasement
A
the act of humbling, or bringing low, a state of depression, degredation, or humiliation
2
Q
abstruse
A
difficult to understand
3
Q
acculturation
A
the modification of the culture of a group or individuals as a result of contact with a different culture, or the process by which the culture of a particular society is instilled in a human
4
Q
acrimony
A
bitter, sharp animosity, especially as exhibited in speech or behavior
5
Q
adroit
A
quick and skilfull in body or mind, deft.
6
Q
affectless
A
having or showing no emotion, unfeeling
7
Q
albatross
A
a source of worry or distress, an obstacle to success, similar to burden.
8
Q
anathema
A
a formal ban, curse or excommunication, a vehement denunciation, or one that is cursed or damned.
9
Q
anomie
A
social instability resulting from a breakdown of standards and values, also personal unrest, alienation and uncertanty that comes from a lack of purpose or ideals
10
Q
antedated
A
(n) a date assigned to an event earlier than the actual date of the event.
(v) to date as of a time prior to that of execution.
11
Q
antediluvian
A
of or relationg to the period before the biblical flood.
12
Q
ape (v.)`
A
to copy closely but often clumsily and ineptly
13
Q
aphorism
A
a concise statement of a principle.
14
Q
apocrypha
A
writings or statemtens of dubious authenticity.
15
Q
apologia
A
a defense especially of ones opinions positions or actions
16
Q
appellations
A
an identifying name or title: designation
17
Q
approbation
A
Commendation, praise
18
Q
aquiline
A
curving like an eagles beak,
of, relating to, or resembling an eagle
19
Q
arcadian
A
(n) a person who lives a simple quiet life.
(a) idyllically pastoral
20
Q
asperity
A
roughness of manner or of temper; harshness of behavior or speech that expresses bitterness or anger, also roughness of a surface.
21
Q
autodidact
A
a self taught person
22
Q
avaricious
A
greedy of gain, excessively acquisitive especially in seeking to hoard riches.
23
Q
aver
A
to declare positively, to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause.
24
Q
baroque
A
characterized by grotesqueness, extravagance, complexity or flamboyance.
25
belletristic
a writer of belles lettres
26
bellicose
favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars
27
besotted
blindly or utterly infatuated.
28
blandishments
something that tends to coax or cajole : allurement
29
bon-mots
a clever remark : witticism
30
boorish
resembling or befitting a rude or insensitive person
31
boosterish
marked by or showing extremely or excessively enthusiastic support for something
32
brusque
markedly short and abrupt
33
bucoloic
of or relating to shepherds or herdsmen : PASTORAL
34
calumnies
a misrepresentation intended to harm another's reputation
35
castigate
to subject to severe punishment, reproof, or criticism
36
chary
discreetly cautious
37
coltish
not subjected to discipline: Frisky/Playful
38
comestible
Edible
39
concomitant
accompanying especially in a subordinate or incidental way
40
consanguineous
of the same blood or origin
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contravening
to go or act contrary to : VIOLATE
to oppose in argument : CONTRADICT
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conversant
having knowledge or experience
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convivial
relating to, occupied with, or fond of feasting, drinking, and good company
44
covey
COMPANY, GROUP
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crouchback
Hunchback
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decamped
to depart suddenly : ABSCOND
47
defeasible
capable of being annulled or made void
48
delimit
to fix or define the limits of
49
desultory
marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose
disappointing in progress, performance, or quality: Aimless
50
dialectic
discussion and reasoning by dialogue as a method of intellectual investigation
51
didactic
designed or intended to teach
52
dilettante
a person having a superficial interest in an art or a branch of knowledge : DABBLER
53
doyenne
a woman who is the senior member of a body or group similar to doyen
54
dramaturgy
the art or technique of dramatic composition and theatrical representation
55
ebullient
cheerful, bubbly
56
effacement
the act or process of effacing or eliminating something
57
effete
no longer fertile, having lost character, vitality, or strength
58
enervate
To weaken or destroy strenght or vitality
59
equable
marked by lack of variation or change : UNIFORM
60
equanimity
evenness of mind especially under stress
61
ersatz
being a usually artificial and inferior substitute or imitation
62
erudite
having or showing knowledge that is gained by studying
63
euphony
pleasing or sweet sound
64
evanescent
tending to vanish like vapor, ephemeral
65
evinced
to constitute outward evidence of, to prove beyond a doubt
66
excoriation
to wear off the skin of : ABRADE
67
exculpate
to clear from alleged fault or guilt
68
exegetic
EXPLANATORY, expository
69
expatiation
to move about freely or at will : WANDER
70
explicate
to give a detailed explanation of
71
extemporaneous
composed, performed, or uttered on the spur of the moment : IMPROMPTU
72
extirpate
to destroy completely : WIPE OUT
73
facile
easily accomplished or attained: SHALLOW, SIMPLISTIC
74
fatuous
complacently or inanely foolish : SILLY
75
fecund
fertile
76
flagrant
conspicuously offensive
77
fulminate
To issue a thunderous verbal attack or denunciation
78
gadfly
a person who stimulates or annoys other people especially by persistent criticism
79
garrulous
given to prosy, rambling, or tedious loquacity : pointlessly or annoyingly talkative
80
gauche
lacking social experience or grace, tactless
81
genteel
having an aristocratic quality or flavor : STYLISH
82
germane
being at once relevant and appropriate : FITTING
83
grandiloquent
a lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or bombastic style, manner, or quality especially in language
84
hadron
any of the subatomic particles (such as protons and neutrons) that are made up of quarks and are subject to the strong force
85
hector
to bully
86
hermeneutic
Explanatory
87
heuristic
involving or serving as an aid to learning, discovery, or problem-solving by experimental and especially trial-and-error methods
88
hirsute
covered with coarse stiff hairs
89
histrionic
deliberately affected : overly dramatic or emotional : THEATRICAL
90
iconoclast
a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions
91
idiosyncratic
a peculiarity of constitution or temperament : an individualizing characteristic or quality
92
ignominious
HUMILIATING, DEGRADING
93
impecunious
having very little or no money usually habitually : PENNILESS
94
importunate
troublesomely urgent : overly persistent in request or demand
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inchoate
being only partly in existence or operation : INCIPIENT
96
incipient
beginning to come into being or to become apparent
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indolence
inclination to laziness : SLOTH
98
inimical
being adverse often by reason of hostility or malevolence
99
insouciance
lighthearted unconcern : NONCHALANCE
100
intransigent
characterized by refusal to compromise or to abandon an often extreme position or attitude : UNCOMPROMISING
101
inveigle
to win over by wiles : ENTICE
102
investiture
the act of establishing in office or ratifying
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irascible
marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger
104
jingoistic
extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy
105
labile
: readily or continually undergoing chemical, physical, or biological change or breakdown : UNSTABLE
106
laconic
: using or involving the use of a minimum of words : concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious
107
languid
drooping or flagging from or as if from exhaustion : WEAK
108
lascivious
filled with or showing sexual desire : LEWD, LUSTFUL
109
lassitude
a condition of weariness or debility : FATIGUE
110
leitmotifs
: a dominant recurring theme
111
lissome
: easily flexed
112
literati
: the educated class
113
lubricious
: marked by wantonness : LECHEROUS
114
magnanimity
: the quality of being magnanimous : loftiness of spirit enabling one to bear trouble calmly, to disdain meanness and pettiness, and to display a noble generosity
115
maladroitness
lacking adroitness : INEPT
116
manumit
: to release from slavery
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maudlin
: drunk enough to be emotionally silly
118
melange
: a mixture often of incongruous elements
119
mellifluous
: having a smooth rich flow
120
mendacious
: given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute truth
121
messianic
: marked by idealism and an aggressive crusading spirit
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mimetic
: relating to, characterized by, or exhibiting mimicry
123
modishness
: FASHIONABLE, STYLISH
124
mollifies
to soothe in temper or disposition : APPEASE
: to reduce the rigidity of : SOFTEN
: to reduce in intensity : ASSUAGE, TEMPER
125
monological
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a monologue
126
mordant
: biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style : INCISIVE
127
moribund
: being in the state of dying : approaching death
128
munificent
: very liberal in giving or bestowing (see BESTOW sense 4) : LAVISH
129
nadir
: the lowest point
130
nugatory
: of little or no consequence : TRIFLING, INCONSEQUENTIAL
131
obloquies
: a strongly condemnatory utterance : abusive language
132
obsequious
: marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
133
obviate
: to anticipate and prevent (something, such as a situation) or make (an action) unnecessary
134
opprobrium
: something that brings disgrace
135
pacific
: tending to lessen conflict : CONCILIATORY
136
palliate
: to reduce the violence of
: to cover by excuses and apologies
137
parlous
: full of danger or risk
138
parochial
: of or relating to a parish as a unit of local government
139
parsimony
: the quality of being careful with money or resources : THRIFT
140
patrician
: a person of high birth : ARISTOCRAT
141
paucity
: smallness of number : FEWNESS
142
peccadilloes
: a slight offense
143
perspicacious
: of acute mental vision or discernment : KEEN
144
philandering
: to have casual or illicit sex with a person or with many people
145
phlegmatic
: having or showing a slow and stolid temperament
146
piddling
: TRIVIAL, PALTRY
147
pidgins
: a simplified speech used for communication between people with different languages
148
pillory
: a means for exposing one to public scorn or ridicule
149
pithy
: having substance and point : tersely cogent
150
plaudits
: enthusiastic approva
151
polemic
A controversial argument, especially one refuting or attacking a specific opinion or doctrine
152
polymath
: a person of encyclopedic learning
153
presage
something that foreshadows or portends a future event : OMEN
154
preternatural
: existing outside of nature
155
prig
: THIEF
156
probity
: adherence to the highest principles and ideals : UPRIGHTNESS
157
profligate
: wildly extravagant
158
prolix
: unduly prolonged or drawn out : too long
159
propound
: to offer for discussion or consideration
160
proscribe
: to condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful : PROHIBIT
161
protean
: displaying great diversity or variety : VERSATILE
162
prurient
: marked by or arousing an immoderate or unwholesome interest or desire
163
puckish
: IMPISH, WHIMSICAL
164
puerile
: JUVENILE
165
pulchritude
: physical comeliness
166
putative
1
: commonly accepted or supposed
2
: assumed to exist or to have existed
167
pynchon
168
redoubtable
1
: causing fear or alarm : FORMIDABLE
2
: ILLUSTRIOUS, EMINENT
169
redresses
: to set right : REMEDY
170
repertory
: a place where something may be found : REPOSITORY
171
sagacious
: of keen and farsighted penetration and judgment : DISCERNING
172
salubrious
: favorable to or promoting health or well-being
173
sangfroid
: self-possession or imperturbability especially under strain
174
sardonic
: disdainfully or skeptically humorous : derisively mocking
175
sartorial
: of or relating to a tailor or tailored clothes
176
scanty
: limited or less than sufficient in degree, quantity, or extent
177
sedulous
: involving or accomplished with careful perseverance
178
semiotic
: a general philosophical theory of signs and symbols that deals especially with their function in both artificially constructed and natural languages and comprises syntactics, semantics, and pragmatics
179
simony
: the buying or selling of a church office or ecclesiastical preferment
180
sinecure
: an office or position that requires little or no work and that usually provides an income
181
sobriquets
: a descriptive name or epithet : NICKNAME
182
solecisms
: something deviating from the proper, normal, or accepted order
183
solipsistic
: a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing
184
sophistry
: subtly deceptive reasoning or argumentation
185
specious
: having a false look of truth or genuineness : SOPHISTIC
186
tendentious
: marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view : BIASED
187
timorous
: of a timid disposition : FEARFUL
188
tony
: marked by an aristocratic or high-toned manner or style
189
torpid
: sluggish in functioning or acting
190
truculent
: aggressively self-assertive : BELLIGERENT
191
turpitude
: inherent baseness : DEPRAVITY
192
unpropitious
: not likely to have or produce a good result : not favorable or advantageous : not propitious
193
urbane
: notably polite or polished in manner
194
vainglorious
: marked by vainglory : BOASTFUL
195
venal
: capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration : PURCHASABLE
196
vicissitude
: the quality or state of being changeable : MUTABILITY
197
vituperations
: sustained and bitter railing and condemnation : vituperative utterance
198
vociferous
: marked by or given to vehement insistent outcry
199
voluble
1
: easily rolling or turning : ROTATING
2
: characterized by ready or rapid speech : GLIB, FLUENT
