100 smart words
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Created by:
francishannythompson on March 20, 2008
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100 terms
French | English |
|---|---|
 accolade | n. sound of praise, public recognition, knighting, curved molding |
| acrimony | n. bitterness |
| angst | n. existentialist dread, anxiety |
| anomaly | n. irregularity, peculiarity, angle in planet's orbit |
| antidote | n. substance that counteracts poison |
| avant-garde | n. artists with new ideas and methods |
| baroque | n. flamboyant style of architecture and art, highly ornamented 17C music |
| bona fide | a. authentic, sincere and honest |
| boondoggle | n. wasteful pursuit, politically motivated government project |
| bourgeois | a. conventional, capitalist, affluent middle-class people |
| bravado | n. boldness or courage, audacity, daring, bluster, boasting |
| brogue | n. regional accent |
| brusque | a. abrupt, blunt, or curt in manner or speech |
| byzantine | a. of Byzantium, of eastern Roman Empire, of Byzantine art of architecture |
| cacophony | n. unpleasant noise, use of jarring sounds |
| camaraderie | n. friendship, amity, companionship, solidarity, company, comradeship |
| capricious | a. given to sudden change |
| carte blanche | n. freedom to act, free rein, complete freedom/discretion, full authority |
| catch-22 | n. absurd situation or its cause |
| caustic | a. sarcastic, corrosive n. substance that corrodes, curve formed by reflections |
| charisma | n. personal magnetism, divine gift, charm, personality, appeal, allure |
| cloying | v. weary with excess |
| déjà vu | n. feeling of reliving something, boredom |
| dichotomy | n. separation of different or contradictory things, branching of plants |
| dilettante | n. dabbler in art or knowledge, art lover |
| disheveled | a. with messed-up hair or clothes, untidy |
| élan | n. vigor and enthusiasm, flamboyance, flair, style, confidence, elegance |
| ennui | n. boredom from lack of interest, languor, tedium, world-weariness |
| epitome | n. typical example, summary of a written work |
| equanimity | n. calm temperament |
| equivocate | v. be deliberately unclear, to speak vaguely or ambiguously in order to mislead |
| esoteric | a. restricted to initiates, abstruse, secret |
| euphemism | n. less offensive synonym, use of inoffensive words |
| fait accompli | n. something already cone |
| fastidious | a. demanding, delicate |
| faux pas | n. social blunder -> an embarrassing mistake that breaks a social convention |
| fiasco | n. humiliating failure, straw-covered wine bottle |
| finagle | v. get something by trickery, to trick, cheat, or manipulate somebody |
| Freudian slip | n. psychologically significant slip of tongue |
| glib | a. slick, superficial, casual and relaxed |
| gregarious | a. friendly, living communally, growing together |
| harbinger | n. somebody or something that foreshadows or anticipates a future event |
| hedonist | n. seeking of pleasure, philosophy of pleasure |
| heresy | n. unorthodox religious opinion, holding of unorthodox religious belief/opinion |
| idiosyncratic | n. quirk, unusual response to something |
| idyllic | a. serenely beautiful and happy |
| indelicate | a. tactless or offensive, physically unrefined |
| infinitesimal | a. tiny, close to zero |
| insidious | a. gradual and harmful, slowly and subtly harmful or destructive |
| junket | n. expense-paid trip, entertainment, set milk dessert |
| kitsch | n. artistic vulgarity(sentimentality, tastelessness, or ostentation in any of the art |
| litany | n. long repetitious list, prayers during worship |
| lurid | a. horrifying or shocking, unattractively bright, glowing unnaturally, pallid |
| Machiavellian | a. cunning and unscrupulous, relating to Machi.. |
| malaise | n. feeling of illness, general feeling of discontent |
| malinger | v. feign illness (pretend to be ill in order to avoid work), shirt, truant, play hooky |
| mantra | n. holy word in meditation, often repeated expression or idea |
| maudlin | a. sentimental, overly or tearfully sentimental esp. because of affected by alcohol |
| mercenary | n. fighting for money, somebody interested only in profit, motivated on by money |
| minimalist | n. advocate of smaller role for government, practitioner of artistic minimalism |
| misnomer | n. unsuitable name, calling something by wrong name |
| narcissist | n. self-admiration, personality disorder |
| nirvana | n. spiritual enlightenment, completely enjoyable experience |
| non sequitur | n. incongruous(unrelated to next) statement, unwarranted conclusion |
| nouveau riche | n. somebody with newly acquired wealth who likes to display it |
| oblivion | n. state of being forgotten, overlooking of past offenses |
| ogle | v. stare at somebody desirously for sexual enjoyment or showing sex interest |
| ostentatious | a. rich and showy, marked by vulgar display of wealth and success to impress |
| ostracize | v. exclude from society or a group in/formal, banish by a popular vote |
| panacea | n. supposed cure-all for all diseases or problems |
| paradox | n. something absurd or contradictory, self-contradictory statement |
| peevish | a. irritable, bad-tempered, or tending to complain |
| perfunctory | a. done routinely/hastily/superficially without thought, attention or genuine feeling |
| philistine | n. somebody from ancient Philistia, indifferent to intellectual matters |
| precocious | a. mentally advanced for age, blossoming or ripening early |
| propriety | n. quality of being socially appropriate, socially correct or appropriate behavior |
| quid pro quo | n. something done in exchange, returning a favor |
| quintessential | n. embodiment, extract, fifth element (after earth, air, fire, water) |
| red herring | n. misleading clue, smoked herring, preliminary business prospectus |
| revel | v. take pleasure, enjoy party for good time in company of others |
| rhetoric | n. persuasive speech or writing, pretentious words, empty talk, skill w/ language |
| scintillating | a. possessing/displaying a dazzling impressive liveliness, cleverness, or wit |
| spartan | n. marked by stern discipline, austerity, frugality, simplicity, or courage |
| stigma | n. sign of social unacceptability, spot on butterflies |
| stoic | n. impassive who is unemotional, showing patience & endurance during adversity |
| suave | a. charming, pleasingly dressed, well groomed, polite |
| Svengali | n. evil manipulator controls and manipulates somebody else for evil purposes |
| sycophant | n. a servile or obsequious person flatters somebody powerful for personal gain |
| teetotaler | a. resolved to abstain from alcoholic beverages, total (complete and absolute) |
| tête-à-tête | n. intimate conversation for two, type of sofa |
| tirade | n. long angry speech of criticism or denunciation, outburst, rant, harangue |
| tryst | n. arrangement to meet, secret meeting between lovers |
| ubiquitous | a. existing everywhere at once, or seeming to be |
| unrequited | a. not reciprocated, or not returned in the same way/degree, unavenged |
| untenable | a. not defendable (lacking sound reasoning to make defense possible) |
| vicarious | a. experienced thru another by imagining, delegated, endured for somebody else |
| vile | a. disgusting, abhorrence, wicked, very unpleasant, worthless |
| waft | v. float gently, something carried through air, waving motion, light breeze |
| white elephant | n. something costly to maintain, possession of questionable value |
| zealous | a. full of zeal (actively and unreservedly enthusiastic) |
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