VOCABULARY Flashcards
(24 cards)
verb
carry out (a task) badly or carelessly.
“the ability to take on any task without ____ing it”
noun
a bungled or badly carried out task or action.
“I’ve probably made a botch of things”
botch
verb
Similar:
bungle
do badly
do clumsily
make a mess of
mismanage
mishandle
mangle
fumble
mess up
make a hash of
hash
muff
fluff
foozle
butcher
bodge
make a botch of
foul up
bitch up
screw up
blow
louse up
make a muck of
make a pig’s ear of
cock up
make a Horlicks of
flub
goof up
bobble
noun
Similar:
mess
fiasco
debacle
blunder
failure
wreck
hash
bodge
flop
foul-up
screwup
fail
cock-up
pig’s ear
snafu
Opposite:
success
verb
1. suggest or hint (something bad or reprehensible) in an indirect and unpleasant way.
“he was ____ that I had no self-control”
- slide (oneself or a thing) slowly and smoothly into a position.
“the bugs _____ themselves between one’s skin and clothes”
insinuate
Similar:
imply
suggest
hint
intimate
whisper
indicate
convey the impression
give a clue
give an inkling
allude to the fact
make reference to the fact
let it be known
give someone to understand
give someone to believe
make out
tip someone the wink
Similar:
slide
slip
maneuver
insert
edge
work
move into position
maneuver oneself into (a position of favor or office) by subtle manipulation.
“she seemed to be taking over, insinuating herself into the family”
Similar:
worm one’s way into
work one’s way into
ingratiate oneself with
curry favor with
foist oneself on
introduce oneself into
squeeze oneself into
edge one’s way into
infiltrate
invade
sneak into
intrude on
impinge on
get in with
verb
avoid or neglect (a duty or responsibility).
“their sole motive is to _____ responsibility and rip off the company”
shirk
Similar:
evade
dodge
avoid
get out of
sidestep
shuffle off
run away from
shrink from
shun
slide out of
play truant from
skip
miss
not attend
neglect
let slide
not attend to
pay little/no attention to
be remiss about
be lax about
leave undone
lose sight of
skimp on
duck
duck out of
cop out of
skive off
funk
cut
duck-shove
evade one’s duty
be remiss
be negligent
skulk
play truant
malinger
skive (off)
wag
dodge the column
swing the lead
scrimshank
slack
goof off
goldbrick
play hooky
adjective
1. (of a person) avoiding work; lazy.
“_____ students”
2. without purpose or effect; pointless.
“he did not want to waste valuable time in ____ chatter”
verb
1. spend time doing nothing.
“four men were idling outside the shop”
2. (of an engine) run slowly while disconnected from a load or out of gear.
“the car is noisily idling in the street”
idled
adjective
Similar:
lazy
indolent
slothful
work-shy
shiftless
loafing
inactive
inert
sluggish
lethargic
languorous
listless
torpid
remiss
negligent
slack
lax
lackadaisical
impassive
good-for-nothing
do-nothing
leisurely
bone idle
fainéant
otiose
Opposite:
industrious
Similar:
frivolous
trivial
trifling
minor
petty
foolish
lightweight
shallow
superficial
insignificant
unimportant
worthless
valueless
pointless
paltry
niggling
peripheral
without depth
inane
fatuous
senseless
meaningless
purposeless
unnecessary
time-wasting
Opposite:
serious
meaningful
verb
Similar:
do nothing
be inactive
vegetate
sit back
take it easy
rest on one’s oars
mark time
kick one’s heels
twiddle one’s thumbs
kill time
languish
laze (around)
lounge (around)
loll (around)
loaf (around)
slouch (around)
go to seed
degenerate
molder
stagnate
hang around
veg out
mooch about
mooch around
slummock
bum around
bat around
lollygag
lay on one’s oars
fritter
while
laze
loiter
pass
spend
use
employ
use up
occupy
take up
fill up
fill in
fill
beguile
expend
devote
waste
dissipate
kill
adjective
causing annoyance, anger, or another strong reaction, especially deliberately.
arousing sexual desire or interest, especially deliberately.
“a _____ sidelong glance”
provocative
Similar:
annoying
irritating
exasperating
infuriating
provoking
maddening
goading
vexing
galling
affronting
insulting
offensive
inflaming
rousing
arousing
agitational
inflammatory
incendiary
controversial
aggravating
in-your-face
instigative
agitative
Opposite:
soothing
calming
Similar:
sexy
sexually arousing
sexually exciting
alluring
seductive
tempting
suggestive
inviting
tantalizing
titillating
indecent
pornographic
indelicate
immodest
shameless
erotic
sensuous
slinky
passionate
sexual
piquant
racy
juicy
risqué
raunchy
steamy
coquettish
amorous
flirtatious
come-hither
kinky
Opposite:
modest
decorous
noun
1. a slight objection or criticism about a trivial matter.
“the only _____ about this book is the price”
2. archaic
a play on words; a pun.
verb
argue or raise objections about a trivial matter.
“they are always ______ about the amount they are prepared to pay”
quibble
noun
Similar:
minor criticism
trivial objection
trivial complaint
adverse comment
protest
query
argument
exception
moan
grumble
grouse
cavil
twine
niggle
gripe
beef
grouch
nitpicking
pettifogging
evasion
dodge
avoidance
equivocation
prevarication
hedging
fudging
verb
Similar:
find fault with
raise trivial objections to
complain about
object to
cavil at
carp about
split hairs
chop logic
criticize
query
fault
pick
holes in
nitpick
pettifog
be evasive
equivocate
avoid the issue
prevaricate
hedge
fudge
be ambiguous
beat around the bush
adjective
triumphantly happy.
“she felt _____ and powerful”
exultant
Similar:
jubilant
thrilled
triumphant
delighted
exhilarated
happy
overjoyed
joyous
joyful
gleeful
cock-a-hoop
excited
animated
exulting
rejoicing
beside oneself with happiness
ecstatic
euphoric
elated
rapturous
in raptures
enraptured
rapt
walking on air
on cloud nine/seven
in seventh heaven
jumping for joy
in transports of delight
transported
carried away
in a frenzy of delight
delirious (with happiness)
hysterical
wild with excitement
frenzied
crowing
gloating
boastful
swaggering
blissed out
over the moon
on a high
wigged out
corybantic
Opposite:
sorrowing
gloomy
noun
a young horse or related animal.
foal
Similar:
young horse/donkey/pony/mule
colt
filly
noun
a female sheep.
ewe
noun
male sheep
or
acronym
short-term memory storage for a computer’s central processing unit (CPU).
ram / RAM
noun
a young swan.
cygnet
adjective
1. affected by or associated with nausea or vomiting.
“I had eaten something that didn’t agree with me and I was a little ______”
2. spiteful; bad-tempered.
“outbursts of _____ misogyny”
bilious
Similar:
nauseous
sick
queasy
nauseated
green around the gills
liverish
barfy
Similar:
bad-tempered
irritable
irascible
tetchy
testy
grumpy
grouchy
crotchety
cantankerous
curmudgeonly
ill-tempered
ill-natured
ill-humored
peevish
fractious
disagreeable
pettish
crabbed
crabby
waspish
prickly
peppery
touchy
scratchy
crusty
splenetic
shrewish
short-tempered
hot-tempered
quick-tempered
dyspeptic
choleric
liverish
cross-grained
cranky
ornery
Opposite:
good-humored
adjective
bitter and abusive.
“the criticism soon turned into a ____ attack”
vituperative
adjective
literary
feeling or expressing great sorrow or distress.
“a _____ and repetitive tale of atrocity”
dolorous
Similar:
mournful
woeful
doleful
sorrowful
sad
unhappy
depressed
dismal
gloomy
morose
melancholy
miserable
forlorn
wretched
woebegone
despondent
dejected
disconsolate
downcast
crestfallen
downhearted
heartbroken
heavy-hearted
despairing
desolate
grief-stricken
tearful
teary
lachrymose
blue
down
down in the mouth
down in the dumps
weepy
heartsick
heartsore
Opposite:
cheerful
adjective
affected by lethargy; sluggish and apathetic.
“I felt tired and a little ______”
lethargic
Similar:
sluggish
inert
inactive
slow
torpid
lifeless
dull
languid
listless
lazy
idle
indolent
shiftless
slothful
phlegmatic
apathetic
passive
past caring
weary
tired
fatigued
sleepy
drowsy
enervated
somnolent
narcotic
Opposite:
vigorous
energetic
animated
noun
plural noun: galoshes
a waterproof overshoe, typically made of rubber.
galosh
noun
a strap or cord for restraining and guiding a dog or other animal.
verb
put a leash on (a dog).
“he called Azor to heel so that he could ______ him”
leash
noun
Similar:
lead
rein
tether
rope
cord
chain
line
strap
restraint
verb
Similar:
put a leash on
put a lead on
fasten
hitch up
tether
tie up
secure
bind
fetter
confine
restrain
Opposite:
unleash
release
noun
serious and immediate danger.
“a setback to the state could present a _____ to the regime”
verbarchaic
expose to danger; threaten.
“Jonathon _____ his life for love of David”
peril
Similar:
danger
jeopardy
risk
riskiness
hazard
insecurity
uncertainty
menace
threat
perilousness
pitfall
problem
Opposite:
safety
security
noun
excessive concern with minor details and rules.
“to object to this is not mere ______”
pedantry
Similar:
dogmatism
purism
literalism
formalism
overscrupulousness
scrupulousness
precision
exactness
perfectionism
fastidiousness
punctiliousness
meticulousness
finickiness
finicality
captiousness
quibbling
hairsplitting
fault-finding
cavilling
carping
casuistry
sophistry
nitpicking
pettifogging
pettifoggery
pretentiousness
pomposity
pompousness
dullness
tedium
intellectualism
academicism
scholasticism
scholarliness
erudition
noun
outward behavior or bearing.
“a quiet, somber ______”
demeanor
Similar:
manner
air
attitude
appearance
look
aspect
mien
cast
bearing
carriage
way of carrying oneself
behavior
conduct
way of behaving
comportment
deportment
adjective
having concern for one’s own welfare and interests before those of others; self-serving.
“the ______ aggrandizement of Party bosses”
noun
concern for oneself before others.
“everywhere he encounters self-seeking, hypocrisy, and dishonesty”
self-seeking
Similar:
self-interested
self-serving
self-obsessed
self-absorbed
self-regarding
wrapped up in oneself
egocentric
egotistic
egotistical
egomaniacal
inward-looking
introverted
selfish
inconsiderate
thoughtless
unthinking
uncaring
looking after number one
Opposite:
altruistic
noun
protection of or authority over someone or something; guardianship.
instruction; tuition.
“he felt privileged to be under the ____ of an experienced actor”
tutelage
noun
1. strong criticism.
“you must be strong enough to take the ___ if things go wrong”
2. antiaircraft fire.
flak
Similar:
criticism
censure
disapproval
disapprobation
hostility
complaints
castigation
condemnation
denunciation
opprobrium
obloquy
calumny
calumniation
execration
excoriation
vilification
abuse
revilement
lambasting
brickbats
knocking
panning
slamming
tongue-lashing
a bad press
stick
verbal
slagging off
activities or goals that are considered unimportant, inconsequential, or of low value.
trivial pursuits
