 | Term | Definition |
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knave |
untrustworthy person; rogue; scoundrel; jack; N. knavery |
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debutante |
young woman making formal entrance into society |
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escapade |
prank; flighty conduct; reckless adventure that disobeys rules |
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archipelago |
group of closely located islands |
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incommodious |
not spacious; inconvenient |
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tiller |
handle used to move boat's rudder (to steer) |
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missile |
object to be thrown or projected |
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genteel |
well-bred; elegant; striving to convey an appearance of refinement; Ex. genteel poverty |
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pedantic |
bookish; showing off learning; marked by an excessive ostentatious concern for book learning; N. pedantry |
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blotch |
spot; blot; CF. blot+botch |
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carapace |
shell covering the back (of a turtle, tortoise, crab, etc.) |
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grievance |
cause of complaint; complaint |
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start |
move suddenly or involuntarily; Ex. start at the sight of a snake |
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voracious |
ravenous; eating large quantities of food; exceedingly eager; insatiable; Ex. voracious animal/reader |
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conglomeration |
mass of material sticking together |
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proximity |
nearness; ADJ. proximate |
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humid |
damp; N. humidity |
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hackles |
hairs on back and neck, especially of a dog; Ex. make someone's hackles rise |
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courier |
messenger |
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regicide |
murder of a king or queen |
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gouge |
overcharge (with high price); extort from; Ex. gouge the public; CF. usury |
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embody |
give a bodily form to; incorporate; include |
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badinage |
teasing conversation; banter; joking talk |
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grouse |
complain; fuss; grumble; grouch; N: plump chickenlike game bird |
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trenchant |
cutting; incisive; keen |
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oversee |
watch over and direct; supervise; N. oversight: unintentional failure to notice or do something; supervision |
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miniature |
small model; small painting; ADJ: small |
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snicker |
half-stifled(suppressed) laugh; V. |
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wrongheaded |
stubbornly wrong |
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rend |
split; tear apart; N. rent; CF. heartrending: causing deep sorrow |
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gloss over |
explain away with the intention of deceiving or hiding faults |
| |
definitive |
most reliable; authorative and complete; that cannot be improved; conclusive; decisive; definite; Ex. definitive decision by the supreme court |
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angular |
sharp-cornered; having an angle; not rounded (body); bony; lean; gaunt; stiff in manner |
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shyster |
lawyer using questionable methods; unscrupulous practioner |
| |
preponderance |
superiority of power, quantity, etc.; V. preponderate: be greater in power, weight, or importance; ADJ. preponderant |
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pedigree |
line of ancestors; ancestry; lineage; ADJ. (of an animal) descended from of a chosen family; Ex. pedigree dog; CF. crane's foot |
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impunity |
freedom from punishment or harm; CF. punish |
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levy |
impose (a fine); collect (a payment); impose or collect (a tax); Ex. levy a tax on tobacco |
| |
efficacy |
power to produce desired effect; ADJ. efficacious: effectual |
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collected |
composed; calm; self-possessed |
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dupe |
someone easily fooled or deceived; V: deceive |
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mettle |
courage (to continue bravely in spite of difficulties); spirit; ADJ. mettlesome |
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salutary |
tending to improve; beneficial; wholesome; Ex. The punishment had a ~ effect on the boy; CF. health |
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burlesque |
give an imitation that ridicules; imitate mockingly |
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aerie |
(aery,eyrie,eyry) nest of a large bird of prey |
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enormity |
hugeness (in a bad sense); excessive wickedness; Ex. enormity of the crime; ADJ. enormous |
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salubrious |
healthful; conducive to health or well-being; socially desirable; Ex. salubrious area; CF. health |
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vitreous |
of glass; pertaining to or resembling glass; V. vitrify: change into glass; CF. petrify |
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premonitory |
serving to warn |
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elevation |
elevated position; altitude; height; flat upright side of a building; angle made by pointing a gun; Ex. The elevation of her style is much admired; Ex. front elevation of the house |
| |
gorge |
narrow canyon; steep rocky cleft; ravine (made by a stream which runs through it) |
| |
cache |
hiding place; V. |
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sophistry |
seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning; sophism |
| |
penitent |
repentant; N. |
| |
vignette |
small drawing placed at the beginning or end of a chapter; picture; short literary sketch; short written description of a character or scene |
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slew |
large quantity or number; Ex. ~ of errands left |
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delude |
deceive |
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poultice |
soothing application applied to sore and inflamed portions of the body |
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inebriated |
habitually intoxicated; drunk; N. inebriety |
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psyche |
soul; mind |
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eschew |
avoid habitually; Ex. ~ alcoholic drinks |
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irrepressible |
unable to be restrained or held back; impossible to hold back |
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innate |
inborn |
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receptive |
quick or willing to receive (ideas, suggestions, etc.); Ex. receptive to the proposal |
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assuage |
mak less severe; ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger) |
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inasmuch as |
since; owing to the fact that |
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exposé |
public revelation of something discreditable |
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précis |
abstract; concise summing up of main points; concise summary of a text |
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abominate |
loathe; hate |
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underhand |
(underhanded) done slyly and secretly (being dishonest) |
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atavism |
resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; reversion to an earlier type; throwback; ADJ. atavistic |
| |
seminary |
school for training future ministers; secondary school, especially for young women |
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personable |
attractive (in personality or appearance) |
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muggy |
(of weather) warm and damp |
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duress |
forcible restraint, especially unlawfully; coercion by threat; illegal coercion; Ex. a promise made under duress |
| |
peevish |
bad-tempered; irritable; V. peeve: make angry |
| |
swerve |
deviate; turn aside sharply from a straight course; Ex. swerve from the principle; Ex. The car swerved to the right. |
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indentation |
notch; deep recess; V. indent; CF. tooth |
| |
quandary |
dilemma; state of uncertainty; Ex. She is in a ~ about whether to go. |
| |
demure |
(of a woman or child) grave; quiet and serious; coy; pretending to be ~ |
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sanguine |
optimistic; cheerful; hopeful; of the color of blood; red |
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bombardment |
attack (as with missiles or bombs); V. bombard |
| |
flaccid |
flabby; lacking firmness; weak; Ex. flaccid muscles |
| |
unearthly |
not earthly; supernatural; weird; ghostly |
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deplore |
regret; express sorrow and severe disapproval for something bad; Ex. ~ their violent behavior; ADJ. deplorable: very bad; deserving severe disapproval; Ex. deplorable living condition |
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retribution |
deserved punishment for wrongdoing; punishment for offenses; compensation; vengeance; CF. pay back |
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manifestation |
outward demonstration; manifesting; indication of the presence of something; Ex. manifestation of his pronounced musical bent |
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irrefutable |
indisputable; incontrovertible; undeniable |
| |
clangor |
loud resounding noise; sound of repeated clanging |
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reverend |
deserving reverence; N: priest |
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engaged |
employed; busy; betrothed; involved in conflict |
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repartee |
quick clever reply |
| |
enfranchise |
admit to the rights of citizenship (especially the right to vote); CF. franchise |
| |
suppliant |
entreating; beseeching; N. |
| |
fusillade |
simultaneous firing or outburst (of missiles, questions, etc.) |
| |
disabuse |
correct a false impression; undeceive; free from a wrong belief |
| |
transcendental |
going beyond common thought or ideas; impossible to understand by practical experiences or practices; known only by studying thoughts or intuition; OP. empirical; CF. transcendentalism |
| |
multifarious |
varied; greatly diversified; Ex. multifarious activities |
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callous |
hardened; unfeeling; without sympathy for the sufferings of others; unkind |
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retroactive |
taking effect before its enactment (as a law) or imposition (as a tax); (of a law) having effect on the past as well as the future |
| |
blatant |
extremely (offensively) obvious; loudly offensive; Ex. blatant lie; N. blatancy |
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buxom |
full-bosomed; plump; jolly |
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centurion |
Roman army officer (commanding a company of about 100 soldiers) |
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coda |
concluding section of a musical or literary composition |
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bolster |
support; reinforce |
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striated |
marked with parallel bands; striped; grooved; Ex. striated rocks; V. striate; N. stria: thin groove or line |
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rejuvenate |
make young again |
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apiculture |
bee-keeping |
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promiscuous |
mixed indiscriminately; indiscriminate; not choosing carefully; indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners; irregular, particularly sexually; Ex. ~ life/girl; N. promiscuity |
| |
warranted |
justified; authorized |
| |
evasive |
not frank; trying to hide the truth; eluding; evading; V. evade: avoid (a duty or responsibility) or escape from by deceit |
| |
nib |
beak(bill); pen point |
| |
tanner |
person who turns animal hides into leather |
| |
redundant |
superfluous; more than is necessary; verbose; excessively wordy; repetitious |
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elicit |
draw out fact or information (by discussion or from someone) |
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authenticate |
prove genuine |
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unwonted |
unaccustomed; unusual; Ex. He arrived with unwonted punctuality. |
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choice |
delicate; of very fine quality |
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caldron(cauldron) |
large kettle |
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impermeable |
impervious; not permitting passage through its substance; impossible to permeate |
| |
sly |
clever in deceiving; secretive; not telling one's intentions |
| |
strident |
loud and harsh; insistent; N. stridency |
| |
wanton |
unrestrained; gratuitously cruel; willfully malicious; unchaste; sexually improper; promiscuous; Ex. wanton spending/killing; CF. having no just cause |
| |
maculated |
spotted; stained; CF. immaculate |
| Add or remove terms from this set |
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