vocab Flashcards
(119 cards)
1
Q
Inculcate
A
verb
- instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction.
“the failures of the churches to inculcate a sense of moral responsibility”
- teach (someone) an attitude, idea, or habit by persistent instruction.
“they will try to inculcate you with a respect for culture”
2
Q
Conspectus
A
noun
- a summary or overview of a subject.
“five of his works give a rich conspectus of his art”
3
Q
Cognoscenti
A
noun
- people who are considered to be especially well informed about a particular subject.
“it was hailed by the cognoscenti as one of the best golf courses in Europe”
4
Q
Veritable
A
adjective
- used as an intensifier, often to qualify a metaphor.
“the early 1970s witnessed a veritable price explosion”
5
Q
Pervade
A
verb
- (especially of a smell) spread through and be perceived in every part of.
“a smell of stale cabbage pervaded the air”
- (of an influence, feeling, or quality) be present and apparent throughout.
“the sense of crisis that pervaded Europe in the 1930s”
6
Q
Promulgate
A
verb
- promote or make widely known (an idea or cause).
“these objectives have to be promulgated within the organization”
- put (a law or decree) into effect by official proclamation.
“in January 1852 the new Constitution was promulgated”
7
Q
Edict
A
noun
- an official order or proclamation issued by a person in authority.
“Clovis issued an edict protecting Church property”
8
Q
Zany
A
adjective
- amusingly unconventional and idiosyncratic.
“zany humor”
noun
- an erratic or eccentric person.
9
Q
Erudition
A
noun
- the quality of having or showing great knowledge or learning; scholarship.
“he was known for his wit, erudition, and teaching skills”
10
Q
Denigrate
A
verb
- criticize unfairly; disparage.
“there is a tendency to denigrate the poor”
11
Q
Acumen
A
noun
- the ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, typically in a particular domain.
“business acumen”
12
Q
Pernicious
A
adjective
- having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.
“the pernicious influences of the mass media”
13
Q
Didactic
A
adjective
- intended to teach, particularly in having moral instruction as an ulterior motive.
“a didactic novel that set out to expose social injustice”
- in the manner of a teacher, particularly so as to treat someone in a patronizing way.
“slow-paced, didactic lecturing”
14
Q
Impervious
A
adjective - not allowing fluid to pass through. "an impervious layer of basaltic clay" - unable to be affected by. "he worked, apparently impervious to the heat"
15
Q
Aggrandizing
A
verb
- increase the power, status, or wealth of.
“an action intended to aggrandize the Frankish dynasty”
- enhance the reputation of (someone) beyond what is justified by the facts.
“he hoped to aggrandize himself by dying a hero’s death”
16
Q
Opulence
A
noun
- great wealth or luxuriousness.
“rooms of spectacular opulence”
17
Q
Pariah
A
noun
- an outcast.
“they were treated as social pariahs”
- a member of a low caste in southern India.
18
Q
Anathema
A
noun
- something or someone that one vehemently dislikes.
“racial hatred was anathema to her”
- a formal curse by a pope or a council of the Church, excommunicating a person or denouncing a doctrine.
19
Q
Percolate
A
verb
- (of a liquid or gas) filter gradually through a porous surface or substance.
“the water percolating through the soil may leach out minerals”
- (of coffee) be prepared in a percolator.
“he put some coffee on to percolate”
20
Q
Exigency
A
noun
- an urgent need or demand.
“women worked long hours when the exigencies of the family economy demanded it”
21
Q
Vagary
A
noun
- an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone’s behavior.
“the vagaries of the weather”
22
Q
Vitiated
A
verb
- spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of.
“development programs have been vitiated by the rise in population”
- destroy or impair the legal validity of.
23
Q
Obviate
A
verb
- remove (a need or difficulty).
“the Venetian blinds obviated the need for curtains”
- avoid; prevent.
“a parachute can be used to obviate disaster”
24
Q
Epigrammatic
A
adjective
- of the nature or in the style of an epigram; concise, clever, and amusing.
“an epigrammatic style”
25
Epigram
noun
- a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way.
"a Wildean epigram"
- a short poem, especially a satirical one, having a witty or ingenious ending.
26
Pithy
adjective
- (of language or style) concise and forcefully expressive.
- (of a fruit or plant) containing much pith (spongy white tissue lining the rind of an orange, lemon, and other citrus fruits.).
27
Sardonic
adjective
- grimly mocking or cynical.
"Starkey attempted a sardonic smile"
28
Irascible
adjective
- having or showing a tendency to be easily angered.
"an irascible man"
29
Abject
adjective
- (of something bad) experienced or present to the maximum degree.
"his letter plunged her into abject misery"
- (of a person or their behavior) completely without pride or dignity; self-abasing.
"an abject apology"
30
Plaudit
```
noun
- an expression of praise or approval.
"the network has received plaudits for its sports coverage"
- the applause of an audience.
"the plaudits for the winner died down"
```
31
Moribund
adjective
- (of a person) at the point of death.
- (of a thing) in terminal decline; lacking vitality or vigor.
"the moribund commercial property market"
32
Effigy
noun
- a sculpture or model of a person.
"coins bearing the effigy of Maria Theresa of Austria"
- a roughly made model of a particular person, made in order to be damaged or destroyed as a protest or expression of anger.
"the senator was burned in effigy"
33
Dilettante
noun
- a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge.
"a wealthy literary dilettante"
- a person with an amateur interest in the arts.
34
Seminal
adjective
- (of a work, event, moment, or figure) strongly influencing later developments.
"his seminal work on chaos theory"
35
Celerity
noun
| - swiftness of movement.
36
Cupidity
noun
- greed for money or possessions.
"new wealth, however tainted by cupidity and egoism, tends to be favorable for the arts"
37
Mercantile
adjective
- relating to trade or commerce; commercial.
"the shift of wealth to the mercantile classes"
noun (dated)
- a general store.
"we walked to the local mercantile"
38
Assiduously
adverb
- with great care and perseverance.
"leaders worked assiduously to hammer out an action plan"
39
Coterie
noun
- a small group of people with shared interests or tastes, especially one that is exclusive of other people.
"a coterie of friends and advisers"
40
Patois
noun
- the dialect of the common people of a region, differing in various respects from the standard language of the rest of the country.
"the nurse talked to me in a patois that even Italians would have had difficulty in understanding"
- the jargon or informal speech used by a particular social group.
"the raunchy patois of inner-city kids"
41
Unilateral
adjective
- (of an action or decision) performed by or affecting only one person, group, or country involved in a particular situation, without the agreement of another or the others.
"unilateral nuclear disarmament"
- relating to, occurring on, or affecting only one side of an organ or structure, or of the body.
42
Interlocutor
noun
| - a person who takes part in a dialogue or conversation.
43
Geniality
noun
- the quality of having a friendly and cheerful manner; affability.
"he was endowed with geniality and good humor"
44
Temerity
noun
- excessive confidence or boldness; audacity.
"no one had the temerity to question his conclusions"
45
Erudite
adjective
- having or showing great knowledge or learning.
"Ken could turn any conversation into an erudite discussion"
46
Cardinal
adjective
- of the greatest importance; fundamental.
"two cardinal points must be borne in mind"
noun
- a leading dignitary of the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinals are nominated by the Pope, and form the Sacred College which elects succeeding popes (now invariably from among their own number).
- a New World songbird of the bunting family, with a stout bill and typically with a conspicuous crest. The male is partly or mostly red in color.
47
Adroit
adjective
- clever or skillful in using the hands or mind.
"he was adroit at tax avoidance"
48
Rankle
verb
- (of a comment, event, or fact) cause annoyance or resentment that persists.
"the casual manner of his dismissal still rankles"
- (of a wound or sore) continue to be painful; fester.
49
Videlicet (viz.)
adverb: viz.
- namely; in other words (used to introduce a gloss or explanation).
"the first music reproducing media, viz., the music box and the player piano"
50
Equanimity
noun
- mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.
"she accepted both the good and the bad with equanimity"
51
Verisimilitude
noun
- the appearance of being true or real.
"the detail gives the novel some verisimilitude"
52
Hapless
adjective
- (especially of a person) unfortunate.
"if you're one of the many hapless car buyers who've been shafted"
53
Envisage
verb
- contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or a desirable future event.
"the Rome Treaty envisaged free movement across frontiers"
54
Salient
adjective
- most noticeable or important.
"it succinctly covered all the salient points of the case"
- (of an angle) pointing outward.
noun
- a piece of land or section of fortification that juts out to form an angle.
55
Odium
noun
- general or widespread hatred or disgust directed toward someone as a result of their actions.
"his job had made him the target of public hostility and odium"
56
Vivacity
noun
- (especially in a woman) the quality of being attractively lively and animated.
"he was struck by her vivacity, humor and charm"
57
Sesquipedalian
adjective
- (of a word) polysyllabic; long.
"sesquipedalian surnames"
- characterized by long words; long-winded.
"the sesquipedalian prose of scientific journals"
58
Despot
noun
| - a ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically one who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way.
59
Obsequious
adjective
- obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.
"they were served by obsequious waiters"
60
Aphorism
noun
- a pithy observation that contains a general truth, such as, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it.”.
"the old aphorism “the child is father to the man”"
- a concise statement of a scientific principle, typically by an ancient classical author.
"the opening sentence of the first aphorism of Hippocrates"
61
Moniker
noun
- a name.
"his real moniker is Dave Kennedy"
62
Nadir
noun
- the lowest point in the fortunes of a person or organization.
"they had reached the nadir of their sufferings"
ASTRONOMY
- the point on the celestial sphere directly below an observer.
63
Metrosexual
noun
| - a young, urban, heterosexual male with liberal political views, an interest in fashion, and a refined sense of taste.
64
Solipsism
noun
| - the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist.
65
Torpor
noun
- a state of physical or mental inactivity; lethargy.
"they veered between apathetic torpor and hysterical fanaticism"
66
Ameliorations
noun
- the act of making something better; improvement.
"progress brings with it the amelioration of the human condition"
67
Onanism
```
noun
- masturbation
- coitus interruptus
- self-gratification
"the kind of intellectual onanism to which he was dedicated"
```
68
Coitus Interruptus
noun
| coitus in which the penis is withdrawn prior to ejaculation to prevent the deposit of sperm into the vagina
69
Harangue
verb
- lecture (someone) at length in an aggressive and critical manner.
"the kind of guy who harangued total strangers about PCB levels in whitefish"
70
Anachronism
noun
- a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, especially a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned.
"everything was as it would have appeared in centuries past apart from one anachronism, a bright yellow construction crane"
71
Psycholagny
noun
- (rare) The ability to achieve orgasm without any physical stimulation of the genitalia, usually achieved through mental stimulation or fantasy alone.
72
Ignominiously
adjective
- deserving or causing public disgrace or shame.
"no other party risked ignominious defeat"
73
Effete
adjective
- (of a person) affected, overrefined, and ineffectual.
"effete trendies from art college"
- no longer capable of effective action.
"the authority of an effete aristocracy began to dwindle"
74
Pallor
noun
- an unhealthy pale appearance.
"the deathlike pallor of his face"
75
Rote
noun
- mechanical or habitual repetition of something to be learned.
"a poem learned by rote in childhood"
76
Catatonically
adjective
- Relating to or exhibiting catatonia.
- (Informal) So tired or exhausted that one can barely move: "We arrived in Marostica the following day, hungry, cranky, and catatonic with jet lag" (Davis Phinney).
77
Cathartic
adjective
- providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions; causing catharsis.
"crying is a cathartic release"
78
Vacillate
verb
- alternate or waver between different opinions or actions; be indecisive.
"I had for a time vacillated between teaching and journalism"
79
Verboten
adjective
- forbidden, especially by an authority.
"bank fishing is verboten on Strathbeg"
80
Carafe
noun
- an open-topped glass flask typically used for serving wine or water.
"wine is available by glass, bottle, or carafe"
81
Abscond
verb
- leave hurriedly and secretly, typically to avoid detection of or arrest for an unlawful action such as theft.
"she absconded with the remaining thousand dollars"
- (of a person on bail) fail to surrender oneself for custody at the appointed time.
- (of a person kept in detention or under supervision) escape.
82
Malversation
noun
- corrupt behavior in a position of trust, especially in public office.
"ineptitude and malversation were major factors in the trouncing of the group's candidates"
83
preside
verb
- to exercise guidance, direction, or control
- to occupy the place of authority : act as president, chairman, or moderator
- to occupy a position similar to that of a president or chairman
- to occupy a position of featured instrumental performer —usually used with at
presided at the organ
84
Supposition
noun
- an uncertain belief.
"they were working on the supposition that his death was murder"
85
Consternation
noun
- feelings of anxiety or dismay, typically at something unexpected.
"I always welcomed clover, much to the consternation of the neighbors"
86
Peculate
verb
| - to steal or take dishonestly (money, especially public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
87
gaol
noun
- (jail) a place for the confinement of people accused or convicted of a crime.
"he served 15 months in jail"
88
Pillory
noun
| - a wooden framework with holes for the head and hands, in which an offender was imprisoned and exposed to public abuse.
89
Remission
noun
- the cancellation of a debt, charge, or penalty.
"the plan allows for the partial remission of tuition fees"
- a diminution of the seriousness or intensity of disease or pain; a temporary recovery.
"ten out of twenty patients remained in remission"
90
ben trovato
characteristic or appropriate even if not true
| : characteristic or appropriate even if not true the story is ben trovato.
91
Culpable
adjective
- deserving blame.
"sometimes you're just as culpable when you watch something as when you actually participate"
92
Enmity
noun
- the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.
"decades of enmity between the two countries"
93
Remonstrance
noun
- a forcefully reproachful protest.
"angry remonstrances in the Senate"
94
Cachet
noun
- the state of being respected or admired; prestige.
"no other shipping company had quite the cachet of Cunard"
- a distinguishing mark or seal.
95
Sheaf
noun
- a bundle of grain stalks laid lengthwise and tied together after reaping.
verb
- bundle into sheaves.
96
Scatalogical
noun
- The study of fecal excrement, as in medicine, paleontology, or biology. Also called coprology.
- Obscene language or literature, especially that dealing pruriently or humorously with excrement and excretory functions.
97
Intransigent
adjective
- unwilling or refusing to change one's views or to agree about something.
"her father had tried persuasion, but she was intransigent"
noun
- an intransigent person.
98
Tumult
noun
- a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people.
"a tumult of shouting and screaming broke out"
- confusion or disorder.
"the whole neighborhood was in a state of fear and tumult"
99
Insouciant
adjective
- showing a casual lack of concern; indifferent.
"an insouciant shrug"
100
Ersatz
adjective
- (of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else.
"ersatz coffee"
- not real or genuine.
"ersatz emotion"
101
Fulminate
verb
1.
express vehement protest.
"he fulminated against the evils of his time"
2.
LITERARY
explode violently or flash like lightning.
"thunder fulminated around the house"
102
Paucity
noun
- the presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities or amounts; scarcity.
"a paucity of information"
103
Fungible
adjective
- (of goods contracted for without an individual specimen being specified) able to replace or be replaced by another identical item; mutually interchangeable.
"it is by no means the world's only fungible commodity"
104
Aspersion
noun
- an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something. slander.
"I don't think anyone is casting aspersions on you"
105
Byzantine
adjective
1.
relating to Byzantium (now Istanbul), the Byzantine Empire, or the Eastern Orthodox Church.
2.
(of a system or situation) excessively complicated, and typically involving a great deal of administrative detail.
"Byzantine insurance regulations"
106
Tepid
adjective
1.
(especially of a liquid) only slightly warm; lukewarm.
"she soaked a flannel in the tepid water"
2.
showing little enthusiasm.
"the applause was tepid"
107
Gamut
noun
1.
the complete range or scope of something.
"the whole gamut of human emotion"
108
Reticence
noun
the quality of being reticent; reserve.
"the traditional emotional reticence of the British"
109
Ballache
noun
| an annoying or tedious person or thing.
110
loquacious
adjective
tending to talk a great deal; talkative.
"never loquacious, Sarah was now totally lost for words"
111
indemnify
verb
1: to secure against hurt, loss, or damage
2: to make compensation to for incurred hurt, loss, or damage
112
detritus
noun
waste or debris of any kind.
"streets filled with rubble and detritus"
113
mercurial
adjective
1.
(of a person) subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind.
"his mercurial temperament"
114
vicissitude
noun
a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.
"her husband's sharp vicissitudes of fortune"
115
coprophagia
is the consumption of feces
116
inchoate
adjective
1. just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary.
"a still inchoate democracy"
2. LAW
(of an offense,) anticipating or preparatory to a further criminal act.
117
Bifurcation
noun
1. the division of something into two branches or parts.
"the bifurcation of the profession into social do-gooders and self-serving iconoclasts"
2. either of two branches into which something divides.
plural noun: bifurcations
"right aortic bifurcation nodes were seen"
118
recalcitrant
adjective
having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline.
"a class of recalcitrant fifteen-year-olds"
noun
a person with an obstinately uncooperative attitude.
"a stiff-necked recalcitrant and troublemaker"
119
iconoclastic
adjective
characterized by attack on cherished beliefs or institutions.
"a fresh, even an iconoclastic, influence could work wonders"
