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Must Know Vocab pt1
Impressive Vocab
60
Language - English
Not Applicable
02/24/2009

Additional Language - English Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
aberration
Definition
(n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1974, Poland won the World Cup, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and Poland have not won a World Cup since).
Term
abhor
Definition
(v.) to hate, detest (Because he always wound up getting hit in the head when he tried to play cricket, Marcin began to abhor the sport).
Term
acquiesce
Definition
(v.) to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Pospieszny wanted to stay outside and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner, he acquiesced to her demands.)
Term
alacrity
Definition
(n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Simon loved to help his girlfriend whenever he could, so when his girlfriend asked him to set the table he did so with alacrity.)
Term
amiable
Definition
(adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow, Neil got along with just about everyone.)
Term
appease
Definition
(v.) to calm, satisfy (When Jerry cries, his mother gives him chocolate to appease him.)
Term
arcane
Definition
(adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane Kashubian literature.)
Term
avarice
Definition
(n.) excessive greed (The banker’s avarice led him to amass an enormous personal fortune.)
Term
brazen
Definition
(adj.) excessively bold, brash, clear and obvious (Critics condemned the writer’s brazen attempt to plagiarise Frankow-Czerwonko’s work.)
Term
brusque
Definition
(adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (Simon’s brusque manner sometimes offends his colleagues.)
Term
cajole
Definition
(v.) to urge, coax (Magda's friends cajoled her into drinking too much.)
Term
callous
Definition
(adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the jury.)
Term
candor
Definition
(n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the politician’s speech because she is usually rather evasive.)
Term
chide
Definition
(v.) to voice disapproval (Hania chided Gregory for his vulgar habits and sloppy appearance.)
Term
circumspect
Definition
(adj.) cautious (Though I promised Marta’s father I would bring her home promptly by midnight, it would have been more circumspect not to have specified a time.)
Term
clandestine
Definition
(adj.) secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the library, Maria actually went to meet George for a clandestine liaison.)
Term
coerce
Definition
(v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat (The court decided that David Beckham did not have to honor the contract because he had been coerced into signing it.)
Term
coherent
Definition
(adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (William could not figure out what Harold had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent statement.)
Term
complacency
Definition
(n.) self-satisfied ignorance of danger (Simon tried to shock his friends out of their complacency by painting a frightening picture of what might happen to them.)
Term
confidant
Definition
(n.) a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met, he became my chief confidant.)
Term
connive
Definition
(v.) to plot, scheme (She connived to get me to give up my plans to start up a new business.)
Term
cumulative
Definition
(adj.) increasing, building upon itself (The cumulative effect of hours spent using the World English website was a vast improvement in his vocabulary and general level of English.)
Term
debase
Definition
(v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave himself debased his motives for running the charity.)
Term
decry
Definition
(v.) to criticize openly (Andrzej Lepper, the leader of the Polish Self Defence party decried the appaling state of Polish roads.)
Term
deferential
Definition
(adj.) showing respect for another’s authority (Donata is always excessively deferential to any kind of authority figure.)
Term
demure
Definition
(adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going crazy, she remained demure.)
Term
deride
Definition
(v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The native speaker often derided the other teacher’s accent.)
Term
despot
Definition
(n.) one who has total power and rules brutally (The despot issued a death sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)
Term
diligent
Definition
(adj.) showing care in doing one’s work (The diligent researcher made sure to double check her measurements.)
Term
elated
Definition
(adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When he found out he had won the lottery, the postman was elated.)
Term
eloquent
Definition
(adj.) expressive, articulate, moving (The best man gave such an eloquent speech that most guests were crying.)
Term
embezzle
Definition
(v.) to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was fired for embezzling €10,000 of the company’s funds.)
Term
empathy
Definition
(n.) sensitivity to another’s feelings as if they were one’s own (I feel such empathy for my dog when she’s upset so am I!)
Term
enmity
Definition
(n.) ill will, hatred, hostility (John and Scott have clearly not forgiven each other, because the enmity between them is obvious to anyone in their presence.)
Term
erudite
Definition
(adj.) learned (My English teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse Old English poetry.)
Term
extol
Definition
(v.) to praise, revere (Kamila extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat-loving boyfriend.)
Term
fabricate
Definition
(v.) to make up, invent (When I arrived an hour late to class, I fabricated some excuse about my car breaking down on the way to work.)
Term
feral
Definition
(adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so feral that I would fear being alone with it.)
Term
flabbergasted
Definition
(adj.) astounded (Whenever I read an Agatha Christie mystery novel, I am always flabbergasted when I learn the identity of the murderer.)
Term
forsake
Definition
(v.) to give up, renounce (I won't forsake my conservative principles.)
Term
fractious
Definition
(adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn’t tired, his fractious behaviour - especially his decision to crush his jam sandwiches all over the floor - convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)
Term
furtive
Definition
(adj.) secretive, sly (Claudia’s placement of her drugs in her sock drawer was not as furtive as she thought, as the sock drawer is the first place most parents look.)
Term
gluttony
Definition
(n.) overindulgence in food or drink (Helen’s fried chicken tastes so divine, I don’t know how anyone can call gluttony a sin.)
Term
gratuitous
Definition
(adj.) uncalled for, unwarranted (Every evening the guy at the fish and chip shop gives me a gratuitous helping of vinegar.)
Term
haughty
Definition
(adj.) disdainfully proud (The superstar’s haughty dismissal of her co-stars will backfire on her someday.)
Term
hypocrisy
Definition
(n.) pretending to believe what one does not (Once the politician began passing legislation that contradicted his campaign promises, his hypocrisy became apparent.)
Term
impeccable
Definition
(adj.) exemplary, flawless (If your grades were as impeccable as your brother’s, then you too would receive a car for a graduation present.)
Term
impertinent
Definition
(adj.) rude, insolent (Most of your comments are so impertinent that I don’t wish to dignify them with an answer.)
Term
implacable
Definition
(adj.) incapable of being appeased or mitigated (Watch out: once you shun Grandmother’s cooking, she is totally implacable.)
Term
impudent
Definition
(adj.) casually rude, insolent, impertinent (The impudent young woman looked her teacher up and down and told him he was hot.)
Term
incisive
Definition
(adj.) clear, sharp, direct (The discussion wasn’t going anywhere until her incisive comment allowed everyone to see what the true issues were.)
Term
indolent
Definition
(adj.) lazy (Why should my indolent children, who can’t even pick themselves up off the sofa to pour their own juice, be rewarded with a trip to Burger King?)
Term
inept
Definition
(adj.) not suitable or capable, unqualified (She proved how inept she was when she forgot two orders and spilled a pint of cider in a customer’s lap.)
Term
infamy
Definition
(n.) notoriety, extreme ill repute (The infamy of his crime will not lessen as time passes.)
Term
inhibit
Definition
(v.) to prevent, restrain, stop (When I told you I needed the car last night, I certainly never meant to inhibit you from going out.)
Term
innate
Definition
(adj.) inborn, native, inherent (His incredible athletic talent is innate, he never trains, lifts weights, or practices.)
Term
insatiable
Definition
(adj.) incapable of being satisfied (My insatiable appetite for blondes was a real problem on my recent holiday in Japan!)
Term
insular
Definition
(adj.) separated and narrow-minded; tight-knit, closed off (Because of the sensitive nature of their jobs, those who work for MI5 must remain insular and generally only spend time with each other.)
Term
intrepid
Definition
(adj.) brave in the face of danger (After scaling a live volcano prior to its eruption, the explorer was praised for his intrepid attitude.)
Term
inveterate
Definition
(adj.) stubbornly established by habit (I’m the first to admit that I’m an inveterate cider drinker—I drink four pints a day.)
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