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Vocabulary Flashcards

(131 cards)

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1
Q

Star-studded

A

Relating to many famous people or celebrities.

“It was a star-studded event.”

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2
Q

Lambast

A

Criticise harshly.

“Wilder was lambasted by Hollywood directors for his film, Sunset Blvd.”

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3
Q

Serendipitous

A

By chance, accidental.

“I serendipitously bumped into Joe.”

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4
Q

Spectacle

A

A public display or performance.

“The play last night was a spectacle to behold!”

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5
Q

Marooned

A

Stranded, left behind.

“She was marooned on the deserted island.”

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6
Q

Agog

A

Eager, excited.

“He was agog to jump into the pool.”

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7
Q

Epitomize

A

Be a perfect example of.

“Rio Tinto’ destruction of the lake epitomises Australia’s failure to recognise and respect Indigenous Australians.”

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8
Q

Abet

A

Encourage or assist with.

“She was abet by the promise of wealth.”
“We are abetting this traffic jam by driving slowly.”

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9
Q

Sycophantic

A

Behaving or acting in a way to gain personal advantage.

“Glazing your teachers is syncophantic behaviour.”

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10
Q

Erstwhile

A

Former

“I was her erstwhile husband.”

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11
Q

Harangue

A

A lengthy, aggressive speech.

“I grew tired of his harangue.”

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12
Q

Prescient

A

Having foresight, having knowledge of events before they happen, having the ability to foreshadow.

“The priest bore prescient thoughts.”
“He gave us a prescient warning.”

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13
Q

Femme fatale

A

Of a women: uses her beauty and charm to manipulate others.

“Norma Desmond is an example of a femme fatale who manipulates Joe Gillis into staying with her.”

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14
Q

Extol

A

Praise enthusiastically.

“Oedipus was extolled by the people when he defeated the Sphinx.”

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15
Q

Virtue (2)

A

Relating to high moral standards OR the good quality of something.

“You are a very virtuous person.”
“I looked at the virtues of the car to decide whether to buy it or not.”

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16
Q

Banal

A

Lacking originality.

“Your story idea is quite banal.”

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17
Q

Truism

A

A statement that is so obviously true it doesn’t require discussion and is widely accepted.

“The Earth is round is a truism.”

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18
Q

Trite

A

Something so commonplace and lacking originality, to the point it becomes boring and dull.

“Your idea is so trite!”

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19
Q

Constitute

A

Be a part of.

“Academically achieving students constitute a large proportion of people suffering from depression.”

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20
Q

Prejudice

A

An unfair dislike towards a particular group of people, often sharing a common race, culture, opinion, etc.

“He had prejudice towards the new immigrants.”

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21
Q

Inscrutable

A

Impossible to understand.

“Her mumbling was inscrutable.”

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22
Q

Relinquish

A

Voluntarily give something up.

“He relinquished his manager role to spend more time with his family.”

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23
Q

Revelation

A

A previously unknown piece of information that has been made known.

“John’s desire for fame was a revelation.”

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24
Q

Blandishment

A

Things used to gently persuade someone about something.

“Despite our efforts, our blandishments did not faze him in making his final decision.”

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25
Scathing
Harshly critical / criticize. “He launched a scathing attack on the film for its absurd message.”
26
Pretension (2)
Claiming to be better than you actually are, claiming something. “Norma Desmond announces herself as a star with pretension.” “His pretensions for the throne.”
27
Ensnare - ensnarement
Catch or trap in. “Gillis was ensnared by Desmond.”
28
Scathing
Harshly critical / criticize. “He launched a scathing attack on the film for its absurd message.”
28
Unwieldy
Too disorganised to function efficiently or as intended. “Norma’s plan for a comeback were unrealistic and unwieldy.”
30
Seminal
Strongly influencing future developments. “His seminal works on special relativity.”
31
Menial
Of a job or task, lacking prestige, low-grade. “Menial factory workers.”
32
Subordinate
Less important, low ranking. “He was a subordinate officer.”
33
Admonish
Warn or express disapproval firmly. “She admonished his gum chewing habits.”
34
Celluloid
Meaning the cinema. “Norma was crazy about her celluloid self.”
35
Muse
A source of inspiration. “The war was the muse for the film.”
36
Ennui
Feeling of dissatisfaction from a lack of occupation or excitement, no activities to do. “He succumbed to feelings of ennui.”
37
Clandestine
Kept secret, done in secrecy. “The meeting was clandestine.”
38
Modicum
A small quantity of something, especially desirable or valuable. “There was a modicum of truth.”
39
Discursive
Changing subjects often, rambling. “A discursive text.”
40
Spectral, spectrality
Relating to ghostly characteristics.
41
Archetypal
Very typical. “She lived in an archetypal haunted house.”
42
Whim
Sudden desire or change of mind in an unusual way. “On a whim.”
43
Supplant
Supersede and replaced. “Norma was supplanted by the talkies.”
44
Incongruity
Out of place, not in harmony. Think congruency. “His body was in a state of incongruity with his face.”
45
Suturing
Stitch up
46
Insinuate (2)
Suggest or hint in an indirect and unpleasant way. Slide smoothly into some place. “He was insinuating that I was dumb.” “Uncanniness insinuates itself into the film.”
47
Contrive
Artificially make something. Something that seems artificial and unrealistic. “The plot was contrived by Pat.”
48
Tenuous
Weak, delicate, fragile. “His skinny body was tenuous.”
49
Disparage
Represent as being of little worth. “He always disparaged his competitors.”
50
Conviction (2)
Declaration of being guilty. “He was convicted of assault.” Firmly held belief or opinion. “She stood proud of her political convictions.”
51
Vitiate
Spoil or worsen the quality or efficiency of.
52
Out of kilter
Out of harmony or balance. “Their relationship was out of kilter.”
53
Delimit
Determine the limits or boundaries of something. “The teachers delimited to rules to the children.”
54
Facile (2)
Ignoring the true complexities of something, oversimplified. “His speech about Sunset Boulevard was boring and facile.” Easily achieved. “A facile win.”
55
Temporality
Relating to time.
56
Ghostwriting
Writing for someone else, for which the text will be credited to them. “Joe was a ghostwriter for Norma.”
57
Putative
Generally considered or assumed. “He was the putative author.”
58
Rift
Serious disagreement that separates a relationship.
59
Testimony (2)
A formal written or spoken statement, usually given in court. “He gave a testimony in court.” Evidence or proof of something. “His fingers were a testimony to his uncanniness.”
60
Vacillate
Waver between different opinions or choices, be indecisive. “He vacillated between maths and english.”
61
Clamour (2)
Shout loudly. Protesting or demanding.
62
Perpetuate
Continue indefinitely. “His confusion was perpetuated through his harangue of a speech.”
63
Insular
Ignorant or uninterested in things outside one’s own experience or world.
64
Reify
Consider or represent something abstract as concrete.
65
Acerbic
Critical, sarcastic, ironic
66
Cynicism
The belief that people are motivated by self-interest.
67
Verisimilitude
Being true or real. “That book has a sense of verisimilitude.”
68
Flattering (2)
Enhancing someone’s appearance or in relation to praise and compliments.
69
Agonising
Causing great pain.
70
Predicated
Based on. “It was predicated on the fact that…”
71
Candid
Truthful and straightforward.
72
Depravity
Moral corruption and wickedness.
73
Akin
Similar to. “It was akin to the wrath of God!”
74
Apotheosis
The climax of something, the peak. “Norma at 21 was the apotheosis of her career.”
75
Invidious
Likely to cause anger and resentment in others.
76
Resentment
Feelings of anger, frustration and disappointment.
77
Opulence
Great wealth and luxury.
78
Ambivalent
Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about someone.
79
Aversion
A strong dislike or disinclination.
80
Ravages
The destructive effects of. “The ravages of age.”
81
Obscurity
State of being unknown or unimportant.
82
Jilted
Suddenly rejected (usually relating to love).
83
Allure
Powerfully attractive, makes people want to pursue something.
84
Limelight
The public spotlight.
85
Paradoxically
Involving contradiction between things.
86
Mercurial
Subject to sudden changes in mood and mind.
87
Egocentric
Self-centred, only thinking about oneself and not about others.
88
Brazen
Bold and without shame.
89
Ambiguous
Open to multiple interpretations.
90
Poignantly
In a way that evokes sadness or regret.
91
Imbue
Inspire or permeate with (a feeling).
92
Decrepit
Worn out or ruined because of age or neglect.
93
Rapacious
Aggressively greedy or grasping.
94
Glossy
Superficially attractive, lacks actual depth or substance.
95
Slick
Similar to glossy. Appearing attractive but lacks depth or substance.
96
Dichotomy
Contrast between things that are represented as being entirely different.
97
Amorality
Not understanding morals, neither immoral nor moral.
98
Inextricable
Impossible to separate
99
Sombre
Dark, dull, sadness.
100
Caustic
Sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way.
101
Tawdry
Showy and attractive, but of cheap and poor quality.
102
Callous
Having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others.
103
Polarise
Divide or cause to divide into two sharply contrasting groups.
104
Subvert
Undermine the power and authority of
105
Concomitant
Naturally accompanying or associated with. “The concomitant worries of travelling.”
106
Immoderate
Not sensible or restrained, excessive
107
Flippant
Not showing a serious or respectful attitude
108
Posit
Put forward as a fact or basis for argument
109
Subjugate
Bring under domination or control
110
Discern
Recognise or find out
111
Subsume
Include or absorb something into something else
112
Eschew
Deliberately avoid using
113
Exemplify
Illustrate or clarify by giving an example.
114
Ego-ideal
The image someone wants to become.
115
Overzealous
Showing too much energy or enthusiasm
116
Elucidate
Make something clear (explaining)
117
Evince
Reveal the presence of, indicating something
118
Attest
Provide or serve as clear evidence of
119
Obscelence
The process of becoming obsolete
120
Ubiquitous
Present, appearing everywhere.
121
Omnipresent
Widely or constantly present
122
Enervating
Causing one to feel drained of energy or vitality
123
Fulminate
Express protest in a passionate intense way.
124
Vehement
Strong feelings of force, passion and intense.
125
Obsequious
Showing servile obedience or excessive eagerness to please others.
126
Stave off
Delay something bad or dangerous
127
Sunder
Split apart.
128
Fickle
Changing a lot (usually changing mind)
129
Capricious
Impulsive and unpredictable
130
Innocuous
Not harmful or offensive
131
Evince
Reveal the presence of, indicate

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