Vocabulary Set I & II Flashcards
(175 cards)
1
Q
spurious (adj)
A
fake; counterfeit
The head of the FBI cursed the spurious tip that incorrectly led them to an abandoned warehouse.
Synonyms: fictitious, dubious, fabricated
Antonyms: substantiated
2
Q
guile (n)
A
trickery; deceit
The Big Bad Wolf deceived Little Red Riding Hood with guile and cunning.
Synonyms: cleverness, cunning, duplicity
Antonyms: straightforwardness
3
Q
beguile (v)
A
to deceive with charm
The con artist beguiled me out of my money, convincing me to play his game over and over.
Synonyms: charm, entrance, captivate
Antonym: disenchant
4
Q
strategem (n)
A
a deceitful scheme (strategos army general)
The teenager devised an elaborate strategem to escape
Synonyms: ploy, gimmick, ruse, subterfuge
5
Q
surreptitious (adj)
A
deceptive; sneaky (sub- secretly + rapere seize)
The surreptitious movements of the lion lured the gazelle into a trap
Synonym: covert, furtive, stealthy
Antonyms: honest, trustworthy, overt
6
Q
clandestine (adj)
A
secret; hidden
The clandestine military facility in the capital city was unknown even to the President of the United States
Synonyms: stealthy, surreptitious, covert
Antonyms: straightforward, candid
7
Q
stealth (n)
A
sneakiness, ability to avoid detection
The “stealth bomber” is so effective because it is undetectable
Synonyms: furtiveness, covertness
Antonyms: perceptible
8
Q
duplicity (n)
A
deceit, hypocritical deception (duplit twofold)
Synonyms: chicanery, improbity
9
Q
specious (adj)
A
false, but plausible (specere - to look at)
Synonyms: ostensible, sophistic
10
Q
furtive (adj)
A
secretive, sneaky <a></a>
Synonyms: stealthy, cloaked, guileful
11
Q
pseudonym (n)
A
pen name (pseudo- fake + onoma name)
Synonyms: alias, anonym
12
Q
fallacious (adj)
A
deceptive; false (fallacia deceit + -ious full of)
Synonyms: delusory, erroneous
13
Q
rapacious (adj)
A
greedy; ravenous (rapere seize + -ious full of)
Synonyms: ravenous, covetous
14
Q
transient (adj)
A
fleeting; short-lived (transire to go across)
We never understand the transient nature of childhood until we wake up one day and realize we’re all grown up.
Synonyms: ephemeral, evanescent, deciduous, transitory
Antonyms: permanent, interminable
15
Q
ephemeral (adj)
A
short-lived (hemera day)
Critics wrote off the band as a fad, their success as an ephemeral phenomenon.
Synonyms: transient, evanescent, fleeting
Antonyms: permanent, everlasting, interminable
16
Q
sporadic (adj)
A
irregular or unpredictable, infrequent (sporas scattered)
He has experienced sporadic success as an actor, with occasional big rolas amid many unmemorable parts.
Synonyms: intermittent, episodic, mercurial
Antonyms: permanent, frequent, regular
17
Q
capricous (adj)
A
whimsical, impulsive
My English teacher runs her class capriciously, flitting from idea to idea with no reason or direction.
Synonyms: fickle, volatile, mercurial, erratic
18
Q
evanescent (adj)
A
likely to vanish (vansecere to disappear)
The aurora borealis is beautfiul but evanescent, a curtain of cascading light that can disappear in a heartbeat.
Synonyms: transient, ephemeral, transitory
Antonyms: perpetual, enduring
19
Q
extemporaneous (adj)
A
done with little or no practice (ex tempore of time)
The speech was all the more remarkable because Dr. Sherman extemporaneously, filling in for the scheduled speaker at the last moment.
Synonym: impromptu
20
Q
anachronism (n)
A
something out of place in time (ana- backward + chronos time)
Her old-fashioned perspective on motherhood makes her an anachronism among her friends.
Synonyms: archaism, incongruity, asynchronism
21
Q
transitory (adj)
A
lasting for a short time (transitus gone across)
Synonyms: transient, fleeting
22
Q
expedite (v)
A
to speed up (ex- out + pedis foot)
Synonyms: hasten, quicken, facilitate
23
Q
influx (n)
A
a flowing in (in- in + fluere to flow)
The country of Chad has seen a massive influx of refugees from the fighting in neighboring Sudan.
24
Q
superfluous (adj)
A
beyond what is necessary or sufficient (super- over + fluere to flow)
25
contemporaneous (adj)
existing or occurring at about the same time (con- together + tempore time)
26
interminable (adj)
prolonged; extended in time (pro- forward + tract pull)
Synonyms: incessant, unremitting
27
protracted (adj)
prolonged; extended in time (pro- forward + tract pull)
Synonym: drawn out
28
censure (n)
official condemnation; harsh criticism (censor Roman supervisor for morals)
Congress voted to declare censure on the represantitive who took money and gifts from a lobbyist.
Synonyms: castigation, derision, rebuke
Antonyms: laudation, endorsement
29
calumny (n)
slander, false accusation
Too many tabloids know that calumny about celebrities is more profitable than the truth.
Synonyms: libel, denigration, defamtion
Antonyms: acclaim, extolment, approbation
30
diatribe (n)
malicious criticism or abuse (dia- through + tribein to rub)
A good debate must avoid vicious personal diatribe, and focus on a respectful discussion of issues.
Synonyms: castigation, derision, harangue
Antonyms: laudation, extolment, honor
31
caustic (adj)
corrosive, sarcastic
James immediately regretted making such a caustic remark; he could tell his words truly hurt Vanessa.
Synonyms: abrasive, acrimonious
Antonyms: mitigating, conciliatory, mollifying
32
repudatie (v)
to cast off publicly (repudium divorce)
The consumers repudiated the shoe company for using sweatshops, began buying from its competitor.
Synonyms: disavow, abjure, forswear
Antonym: condone
33
derogatory (adj)
disparaging; belittling (de- down, away)
Derogatory remarks are not allowed in class; discussions should critise ideas, not people.
Synonyms: pejorative, derisive, disparaging
34
admonish (v)
to reprimand mildly (ad- to + monere to warn)
The boy was admonished by his mom for spilling his soda on the brand-new rug.
Synonyms: rebuke, reprove
Antonyms: laud, revere, endorse
35
disparage (v)
to belittle; to demean (dis- apart + parage rank, peer)
Synonyms: deprecate, discredit
36
impugn (v)
to attack as untrue; to refute by argument (in- against + pugn to fight)
37
malediction (n)
a curse (mal- bad + dictus declared)
Synonyms: anathema, execration
38
denigrate (v)
to attack the character of; to disparage
Synonyms: slander, decry
39
harangue (n)
a long, critical, and pompous speech
Synonyms: diatribe, discourse
40
pejorative (adj)
tending to make worse (pejor worse)
The senator suggested that discussing the issue dispassionately would be more productive than slinging pejorative personal comments.
Synonym: disparaging
41
slander (n)
false comments that injure another's reputation (scandalum scandal)
42
fake; counterfeit
spurious
störend
zweifelhaft
43
trickery; deceit
guile
List
Tücke
44
to deceive with charm
beguile
täuschen
45
A deceitful scheme
strategem
List
Trick
46
deceptive; sneaky
surreptitious
heimlich
verstohlen
betrügerisch
47
secret; hidden
clandestine
geheim
heimlich
verborgen
48
sneakiness; ability to avoid detection
stealth
Tarnung
49
deceit; hypocritical
duplicity
Doppelzüngigkeit
falsches Spiel
50
false, but plausible
specious
trügerisch
fadenscheinig
51
secretive; sneaky
furtive
heimlich
verstohlen
52
pen Name
Pseudonym
53
deceptive; false
fallacious
trügerisch
falsch
irreführend
54
greedy; ravenous
rapacious
habgierig
räuberisch
55
fleeting; short-lived
transient
vorübergehend
flüchtig
56
short-lived
ephemeral
vergänglich
eintägig
57
whimsical, impulsive
capricious
launisch
wechselhaft
unberechnbar
58
likely to vanish
evanescent
vergänglich
flüchtig
59
done with little or no practice
extemporaneous
unvorbereitet
improvisiert
60
something out of place in time
anachronism
zeitwidrige Erscheinung
61
lasting for a short time
transitory
vorübergehend
flüchtig
62
to speed up;
expedite
beschleunigen
vorantreiben
63
a flowing in
influx
Zustrom
Einfuhr
64
beyond what is necessary
superfluous
superfluid
mehr als nötig
65
existing or occurring at about the same time
contemporaneous
gleichzeitg
zeitgleich
66
never ending
interminable
endlos
langwierig
67
prolonged, extended in time
protracted
langwierig
hingezogen
68
official condemnation; harsh condemnation
censure
tadeln
monieren
69
slander; accusation
calumny
Rufmord
Verleumdung
70
malicious criticism or abuse
diatribe
Hetzrede
Tirade
71
corrosive; sarcastic
caustic
ätzend
sarkastisch
bissig
72
to cast off publicly
repudiate
ablehnen
zurückweisen
73
disparaging; belittling
derogatory
abwertend
abfällig
74
to reprimand mildly
admonish
mahnen
warnen
75
to belittle; to demean
disparage
verunglimpfen
herabwürdigen
76
to attack as untrue; to refute by argument
impugn
bestreiten
anfechten
77
to attack the character of; to disparage
denigrate
schlechtmachen
verleumden
78
A long, critical, and pompous speech
harangue
eine Ansprache, Tirade halten
79
tending to make worse
pejorative
abwertend
abschätzig
80
false comments that injure another's reputation
slander
beleidigen
81
gratis (adj)
free of charge (grat- thank)
He let me borrow his gratis
82
free of charge
gratis
frei, kostenlos, umsonst
83
immutable (adj)
unchangeable (im- not + mut change)
Emily is an immutable vegetarian. No matter how hard we try, we cannot get her to eat meat.
Synonyms: permanent, inveterate
Antonyms: mutable, protean, vacillating, mercurial
84
permanent, inveterate, unchangeable
immutable
unveränderbar
standhaft
85
metamorphosis (n)
a transformation (meta- change + morph form)
The old house underwent a metamorphosis from a rundown shack into a beautiful cottage.
Synonyms: transformation, mutation, transmogrification
86
transformation, mutation, transmogrification
metamorphosis
Wandel, Wechsel, Veränderung
87
fickle (adj)
likely to change opinion unpredictably
Synonyms: capricious, vacillating, mercurial
88
capricious, vacillating, mercurial
likely to change opinion
fickle
launisch
unbeständig
wankelmütig
89
rupture (v)
to break open (rupt- break)
When the vat of smelly liquid ruptured, we picked up our feet to avoid getting the stuff on our shoes
Synonyms: burst, fissure, cleave
90
burst, fissure, cleave
to break open
rupture
zerbrechen
zerreißen
91
transmute (v)
to transform (trans- across + mut change)
Harry Potter was able to transmute a feather into a frog using a spell he learned in incantations class.
Synonyms: metamorphose, alter, transmogrify
92
metamorphose, alter, transmogrify, transform
transmute
verwandeln
umwandeln
transmutieren
93
amorphous (adj)
lacking shape, changeable in form (a- without + morph shape)
Rather than marching in precise formation, the battalion broke down into an amorphous mass of charging soldiers.
Synonyms: shapeless, nebulous, vague, nondescript
Antonyms: crystalline
94
shapeless, nebulous, vague, nondescript, lacking shape, changeable in form
amporphous
formlos
unorganisiert
gestaltlos
95
mercurial (adj)
erratic, subject to wild changes in character (from the speedy god Mercury)
Molly is the most mercurial person in the office; we can never tell if she'll be the evil Molly or the sympathetic Molly.
Synonyms: fickle, capricious, vacillating
Antonyms: immutable, stable
96
fickle, capricious, vacillating, erratic, subject to wild changes in character
mercurial
launenhaft
lebhaft
quicklebendig
97
protean (adj)
capable of assuming different forms (from the form-changing sea god Proteus)
He has changed his position on issues so many times that he is considered the most protean member of the Congress.
Synonyms: polymorphous, labile
Antonyms: immutable, stable
98
polymorphous, labile, capable of assuming different forms
protean
vielgestaltig
proteisch
99
fluctuate (v)
to vary irregularly (flux flow)
Synonyms: vacillate, waver
100
vacillate, waver, to vary irregularly
fluctuate
schwanken
fluktuieren
101
vacillate (v)
to change one's mind repeatedly
Synonyms: fluctuate, waver
102
fluctuate, waver, to change one's mind repeatedly
vacillate
schwingen, noch unentschlossen sein
103
revamp (v)
to revise; to renovate (re- again)
Synonyms: refurbish, renovate
104
refurbish, renovate, revise
revamp
umgestalten, ausbessern, aufpolieren
105
amend (v)
to improve; to remove the faults of
Synonyms: rectify, redress, ameliorate, mitigate
106
rectify, redress, ameliorate, mitigate, to improve, to remove the faults of
amend
abändern
berichtigen
ergänzen
107
hackneyed (adj)
overused; trite
This film was hackneyed remake with a storyline that has been done a hundred times.
Synonyms: trite, prosaic, banal
Antonyms: original, novel
108
trite, prosaic, banal, overused, trite
hackneyed
abgedroschen, abgegriffen, ausgeleiert
109
mundane (adj)
ordinary; typical (mund- world)
Having worked for years behind a desk, she wanted to leave the mundane world behind for exotic adventures abroad.
Synonyms: routine, workaday, banal
Antonyms: singular, extraordinary, sublime
110
routine, workaday, banal, ordinary, typical
mundane
alltäglich, nüchtern, profan, weltlich
111
vacuous (adj)
lacking substance (vac- empty)
His latest book is widely criticized as vacuous and unintelligent.
Synonyms: inane, asinine, fatuous
Antonyms: profound, thoughtful, deep
112
inane, asinine, fatuous, lacking substance
vacuous
nichtssagend, ausdruckslos, leer, gestaltlos
113
prosaic (adj)
unimaginative; ordinary
I don't understand why his oration was selected as the best; it was prosaic that I nearly fell asleep.
Synonyms: mundane, pedestrian
Antonyms: innovative, quixotic, whimsical
114
mundane, pedestrian, unimaginative, ordinary
prosaic
fantasielos, trocken
115
insipid (adj)
uninteresting; dull; without flavor (in- not + sapere taste)
Christine is the life of the party, but Tom is as insipid as they come; hardly anyone wants to talk with him.
Synonyms: bland, nondescript, vapid
Antonyms: engaging, enchanting, piquant
116
bland, nondescript, vapid, uninteresting, dull, without flavor
insipid
fade, geschmacklos, schal
117
banal (adj)
ordinary; trivial
That show used to be my favorite, but its story lines became so banal that I could no longer stand it.
Synonyms: hackneyed, trite
Antonyms: extraordinary, singular, sublime
118
hackneyed, trite, ordinary, trivial
banal
gewöhnlich
119
pedestrian (adj)
commonplace; ordinary
Synonyms: prosaic, banal, vapid
120
prosaic, banal, vapid, commonplace, ordinary
pedestrian
umständlich, langweilig, schwunglos
121
dormant (adj)
inactive; sleeping (dormire sleep)
Synonyms: inert, fallow
122
inert, fallow, inactive, sleeping
dormant
schlafend, ruhend, untätig
123
unanimous (adj)
in full agreement (un- one + anima mind)
Synonyms: concordant, concerted
124
concordant, concerted, in full agreement
unanimous
einig, einstimmig, einer Meinung
125
uniform (adj)
unvarying; always the same (un- one + forma form)
Synonym: homogeneous
Antonym: heterogeneous
126
homogeneous, unvarying, always the same
uniform
einheitlich, einheitsgemäß
127
equanimity (n)
the quality of being even-tempered (equa- same + anima mind)
Synonyms: composure, imperturbability, aplomb
128
composure, imperturbability, aplomb, the quality of being even-tempered
equanimity
Gelassenheit, Gleichmut
129
Dolorous (adj)
Marked by or expressive of sorrow or pain (dolor- pain)
Synonyms: lugubrious, doleful
130
Lugubrious, doleful, marked by or expressive if sorrow or pain
Dolorous
131
Animosity (n)
Hostility; ill-will (animosus bold)
Synonyms: malevolence, antagonism, individiousness
132
Malevolence, antagonism, invidiousness, hostility, ill-will
animosity
133
pusillanimous
Cowardly (pusillus weak + anima spirit)
Synonyms: timorous, craven, dastardly
134
Timorous, craven, dastardly, cowardly
Pusillanimous
135
Lassitude
Feeling of weakness or listlessness
Synonyms: lethargy, languor, torpor, stupor
136
lethargy, languor, torpor, stupor, feeling of weakness or illness
lassitude
137
benefactor (n)
one who supports or helps another (bene- good + fact to make)
Mr King is the benefactor who generously donated the money for the new children's wing in the hospital.
Synonyms: philanthropist, patron
Antonyms: malefactor, nemesis, antagonist, adversary
138
philanthropist, patron, one who supports or helps another
benefactor
139
benign (adj)
harmless (bene good)
She was relieved to find out that her tumor was benign.
Synonym: innocuous
Antonyms: malignant, virulent
140
innocuous, harmless
benign
141
benevolent (adj)
kind; considerate (bene- good + vole wish)
The benevolent Cub Scout did his good deed for the day when he helped a motorist change a tire.
Synonyms: gracious, altruistic, magnanimous
Antonyms: malevolent, malicious, inimical, pernicious
142
gracious, altruistisc, Kind, considerate
benevolent
143
euphonious (n)
sweet sounding (eu- good + Phon sound)
Synonyms: mellifluous, dulcet, lyrical
144
mellifluous, dulcet, lyrical, sweet sounding
euphonious
145
eulogy (n)
a praising tribute (eu- good + logia discourse)
Although associated with funerals, "eulogy" has a positive tone.)
His touching eulogy for his fallen friend left all the mourners weeping.
Synonyms: encomium, laudation, extolment, paean
Antonyms: denunciation, execration, censure
146
encomium, laudation, extolment, paean, a praising tribute
eulogy
147
beneficiary (n)
one who receives benefits (bene- good + fic to make)
Synonyms: heir, recipient, legatee
148
heir, recipient, legatee, one who receives benefits
beneficiary
149
gratuity (n)
a small payment in gratitude (grat- thank)
| Don't confuse with gratuitous (adj) unnecessary
150
a small payment in gratitude
gratuity
151
gratify (v)
to please (grat- please)
Synonyms: appease, mollify, indulge
152
appease, mollify, indulge, to please
gratify
153
euphoria (n)
a feeling of extreme happiness (eu- good)
| Synonyms: elation, rapture, jubiliation, ecstasy
154
elation, rapture, jubilation, ecstasy, a feeling of extreme happiness
euphoria
155
magnanimous (adj)
noble of heart; generous; forgiving (magna great + anima mind)
Synonyms: philanthropic, altruistic, merciful
156
philanthropic, altruistic, merciful, noble of heart, generous, forgiving
magnanimous
157
sanguine (adj)
cheerfully optimistic (sanguis blood)
After acing his final, David was sanguine about his prospects for a good overall course grade
Synonyms: blithe, buoyant
Antonyms: morose, forlorn, melancholy, sullen
158
phlegmatic (adj)
sluggish
His prolonged illness turned Julio from a spry, happy bin vivant into a morose and phlegmatic bore.
Synonyms: languorous, lethargic, somnolent, torpid
Antonyms: vigorous, vibrant, hale, spry
159
languorous, lethargic, somnolent, torpid, sluggish
phlegmatic
160
melancholy (adj)
sad, depressed (melan- black + choler bile)
She has eben so melancholy ever since she broke up with her boyfriend; sometimes she is even too depressed to talk to her friends.
Synonyms: morose, despondent, disconsolate, sullen
Antonyms: blithe, buoyant, sanguine
161
morose, despondent, disconsolate, sullen, sad, depressed
melancholy
162
choleric (adj)
easily angered (choler- bile + ic characterized by)
Gena's mom is really nice but her dad is choleric; he freaks out about the smallest things.
Synonyms: irascible, fractious, bilious, splenetic
163
irascible, fractious, bilious, splenetic, easily angered
choleric
164
recalcritant (adj)
stubbornly resistant to authority (re- back + calcitarre kick)
Christine is a talented volleyball player, but she's so recalcritant that our coach often keeps her on the bench.
Synonyms: refractory, intractable
Antonyms: compliant, docile, tractable, obsequious
165
lethargic (adj)
sluggish, dully pathetic
After three weeks of factoring polynominals, my entire class became lethargic, we were bored to death.
Synonyms: langurous, phlegmatic, torpid
Antonyms: vigorous, vibrant
166
langurous, phlegmatic, torpid, sluggish, dully
lethargic
167
splenetic (adj)
irritable, easily angered (splen- spleen)
Synonyms: bilious, choleric
168
bilious, choleric, irritable, easily angered
splenetic
169
querulous (adj)
disposed to complaining
Synonyms: peevish, captious, carping, caviling
170
peevish, captious, carping, caviling, disposed to complaining
querulous
171
benediction (n)
an expression of good wishes (bene- good + dictus declaration)
At the reception, the father of the bride offered a benediction, wishing the couple never-ending love & happiness.
Synonyms: blessing, sanction
Antonyms: curse, malediction, execrution
172
blessing, sanction, an expression of good wishes
benediction
173
euphemism (n)
the Substitution of an inoffensive term for an offensive one (eu- good phemis speech)
A good journalist avoids the euphemism of "war" like "ordnance" for bombs and "physical damage" for casualities.
174
ingratiate (v)
to put oneself in good favor with another (in- in + grat to please)
When starting at a new school, Mary sought to ingratiate herself with her classmates in being excessively nice.
Synonyms: flatter, wheedle, toady, cajole
175
flatter, wheedle, toady, cajole, to put oneself in good favor with another
ingratiate
