Vocabulary Flashcards

1
Q

Brandish

A

wave or flourish (something, especially a weapon) as a threat or in anger or excitement.

“a man leaped out brandishing a knife”

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2
Q

counterfeit

A

a fraudulent imitation of something else.

“he knew the tapes to be counterfeits”

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3
Q

Lament

A

express passionate grief about.

“he was lamenting the death of his infant daughter”

express regret or disappointment about something.

“she lamented the lack of shops in the town”

Syn: regret, moan

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4
Q

Lease

A

a contract by which one party conveys land, property, services, etc. to another for a specified time, usually in return for a periodic payment.

“a six-month lease on a shop”

grant (property) on lease; let.

“she leased the site to a local company”

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5
Q

Penitent

A

feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong; repentant.

“a penitent expression”

a person who repents their sins and (in the Christian Church) seeks forgiveness from God.

(in the Roman Catholic Church) a person who confesses their sins to a priest and submits to the penance that he imposes.

Contrite, regretful, remorseful, repentant

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6
Q

Squall

A

a sudden violent gust of wind or localized storm, especially one bringing rain, snow, or sleet.

“low clouds and squalls of driving rain”

a loud cry.

“he emitted a short mournful squall”

Storm, gale

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7
Q

Sleet

A

rain containing some ice, as when snow melts as it falls.

“driving sleet and rain made conditions horrendous”

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8
Q

Sonnet

A

a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line.

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9
Q

Verbose

A

using or expressed in more words than are needed.

“much academic language is obscure and verbose”

loquacious, garrulous

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10
Q

Taint

A

contaminate or pollute (something).

“the air was tainted by fumes from the cars”

contaminate, pollute, adulterate

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11
Q

abhorrent

A

inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant.

“racism was abhorrent to us all”

detestable, loathsome

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12
Q

Perpetual

A

never ending or changing.

occurring repeatedly; so frequent as to seem endless and uninterrupted.

“their perpetual money worries”

ever-lasting, never-ending, eternal, endless

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13
Q

Exemplary

A

serving as a desirable model; very good.

“exemplary behaviour”

perfect, ideal, faultless, flawless

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14
Q

Unremitting

A

never relaxing or slackening; incessant.

“unremitting drizzle”

relentless, unabating

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15
Q

Stockpile

A

a large accumulated stock of goods or materials, especially one held in reserve for use at a time of shortage or other emergency.

“a stockpile of sandbags was being prepared”

accumulate a large stock of (goods or materials).

“he claimed that the weapons were being stockpiled”

amass, accumulate, hoarde

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16
Q

Segregate

A

set apart from the rest or from each other; isolate or divide.

separate or divide along racial, sexual, or religious lines.

“black people were segregated in churches, schools, and colleges”

separate, sort out, isolate

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17
Q

efface

A

erase (a mark) from a surface.

“with time, the words are effaced by the rain”

cause (a memory or emotion) to disappear completely.

“nothing could efface the bitter memory”

erase, eradicate, wipe out

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18
Q

tumultous

A

making an uproar or loud, confused noise.

“tumultuous applause”

excited, confused, or disorderly.

“a tumultuous crowd”

deafening, thunderous, ear-splitting

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19
Q

ardent

A

very enthusiastic or passionate.

“an ardent supporter of the cause of education”

passionate, avid, fervent

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20
Q

indifferent

A

having no particular interest or sympathy; unconcerned.

“he gave an indifferent shrug”

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21
Q

Quest

A

a long or arduous search for something.

“the quest for a reliable vaccine has intensified”

search, hunt, pursuit

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22
Q

upbeat

A

cheerful; optimistic.

“he was upbeat about the company’s future”

optimistic, positive

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23
Q

Optimistic

A

hopeful and confident about the future.

“the optimistic mood of the Sixties”

positive

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24
Q

Pensive

A

engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought.

“a pensive mood”

Contemplative

reflective, thoughtful

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25
Q

Charisma

A

compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.

“he has tremendous charisma and stage presence”

Charm, personality

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26
Q

simulate

A

feign, pretend

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27
Q

distort

A

become twisted out of shape.

“the pipe will distort as you bend it”

give a misleading or false account or impression of.

“many factors can distort the results”

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28
Q

Inscrutable

A

impossible to understand or interpret.

“Guy looked blankly inscrutable”

Enigmatic, unreadable, mysterious

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29
Q

Temerity

A

excessive confidence or boldness; audacity.

“no one had the temerity to question his conclusions”

Audacity, boldness

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30
Q

Impartial

A

treating all rivals or disputants equally.

“the minister cannot be impartial in the way that a judge would be”

Unbiased, neutral

31
Q

Rotund

A

large and plump.

“her brother was slim where she was rotund”

Plump, chubby, portly

32
Q

kin

A

one’s family and relations.

“many elderly people have no kin to turn to for assistance”

Relatives

33
Q

abate

A

become less intense or widespread.

“the storm suddenly abated

subside, lessen, decrease

34
Q

Brazen

A

bold and without shame.

“he went about his illegal business with a brazen assurance”

Shameless

35
Q

Abridge

A

shorten (a piece of writing) without losing the sense.

“the introduction is abridged from the author’s afterword to the novel”

Shorten, truncate

36
Q

Pique

A

eel irritated or resentful.

“she was piqued by his curtness”

Irritate, annoy

37
Q

Dupe

A

deceive; trick.

“the newspaper was duped into publishing an untrue story”

decieve, hoax, defraud, hoodwink

38
Q

Modest

A

unassuming in the estimation of one’s abilities or achievements.

“he was a very modest man, refusing to take any credit for the enterprise”

relatively moderate, limited, or small.

“drink modest amounts of alcohol”

39
Q

Stigma

A

a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person.

“the stigma of having gone to prison will always be with me”

Shame, stain, taint

40
Q

Fetter

A

a chain or manacle used to restrain a prisoner, typically placed around the ankles.

“he lay bound with fetters of iron”

Shackles

41
Q

Dismal

A

causing a mood of gloom or depression.

“the dismal weather made the late afternoon seem like evening”

dingy, gloomy, sombre, dreary, drab

42
Q

Overhaul

A

take apart (a piece of machinery or equipment) in order to examine it and repair it if necessary.

“the steering box was recently overhauled”

Mend, repair, rebuild

43
Q

Silt

A

fine sand, clay, or other material carried by running water and deposited as a sediment, especially in a channel or harbour.

Sediment, deposit

44
Q

Frolic

A

play or move about in a cheerful and lively way.

“Edward frolicked on the sand”

Gambol

45
Q

Novel

A

interestingly new or unusual.

“he hit on a novel idea to solve his financial problems”

a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism.

“the novels of Jane Austen”

46
Q

Zeal

A

great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective.

“his zeal for privatization”

Passion, fervour

47
Q

Imperishable

A

enduring forever.

“imperishable truths”

Enduring, ever-lasting, endless, timeless

48
Q

Shandy

A

beer mixed with a non-alcoholic drink (typically lemonade).

“a pint of lager shandy”

49
Q

Upkeep

A

the process of keeping something in good condition.

“we will be responsible for the upkeep of the access road”

Maintenance

50
Q

Bankroll

A

financial resources.

“his bankroll allowed him to run campaigns all over the US”

51
Q

assault

A

make a physical attack on.

“he pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer”

52
Q

Impetuous

A

acting or done quickly and without thought or care.

“she might live to rue this impetuous decision”

Impulsive, rash, foolhardy

53
Q

Unrealistic

A

not realistic.

“it was unrealistic to expect changes to be made overnight”

Impractical, unfeasible

54
Q

Impede

A

delay or prevent (someone or something) by obstructing them; hinder.

“the sap causes swelling which can impede breathing”

Hinder, obstruct, hamper

55
Q

Defile

A

damage the purity or appearance of; mar or spoil.

“the land was defiled by a previous owner”

debase, desecrate, violate

56
Q

Stoic

A

a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining.

57
Q

Varnish

A

resin dissolved in a liquid for applying on wood, metal, or other materials to form a hard, clear, shiny surface when dry.

“several coats of varnish”

58
Q

Lustre

A

a gentle sheen or soft glow.

“the lustre of the Milky Way”

Sheen, gloss, shine

59
Q

Askew

A

wrong; awry.

“the plan went sadly askew”

Crooked

60
Q

Cater

A

provide people with food and drink at a social event or other gathering.

“my mother helped to cater for the party”

Feed, serve

61
Q

Peerless

A

unequalled; unrivalled.

“a peerless cartoonist”

matchless, unrivalled, beyond compare

62
Q

Sermon

A

a long or tedious piece of admonition or reproof; a lecture.

“he understood that if he said any more he would have to listen to another lengthy sermon”

63
Q

Forebear

A

an ancestor.

“generations of his forebears had lived in London”

64
Q

Obsolete

A

no longer produced or used; out of date.

“the disposal of old and obsolete machinery”

Old-fashioned

65
Q

Endorse

A

declare one’s public approval or support of.

“the report was endorsed by the college”

recommend (a product) in an advertisement.

“he earns more money endorsing sports clothes than playing football”

Support, favour

66
Q

Highlight

A

Verb: draw special attention to.

“the issues highlighted by the report”

Noun:

an outstanding part of an event or period of time.

“he views that season as the highlight of his career”

67
Q

Naive

A

showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgement.

“the rather naive young man had been totally misled”

(of a person) natural and unaffected; innocent.

“Andy had a sweet, naive look when he smiled”

Innocent, inexperienced

68
Q

Antagonist

A

a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary.

“he turned to confront his antagonist”

Adversary, opponent, enemy, foe

69
Q

Speechless

A

unable to speak, especially as the temporary result of shock or strong emotion.

“he was speechless with rage”

dumstruck

70
Q

Cantankerous

A

bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative.

“he can be a cantankerous old fossil at times”

bad-tempered, irritable, grumpy

71
Q

Detrimental

A

tending to cause harm.

“recent policies have been detrimental to the interests of many old people”

Damaging

72
Q

Lenient

A

more merciful or tolerant than expected.

“in the view of the Court the sentence was too lenient”

Merciful, tolerant

73
Q

Memoirs

A

an account written by a public figure of their life and experiences.

“a revealing passage from Khrushchev’s memoirs”

74
Q

Congenial

A

pleasing or liked on account of having qualities or interests that are similar to one’s own.

“his need for some congenial company”