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158 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Etymology
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The study of word origins, development and changes in accepted meaning; such a history of the word.
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A course in etymology will help you to increase your vocabulary
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Prevaricator
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One who invades the truth; a liar
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Truth means nothing to the prevaricator as long as he gets what he wants.
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Gyration
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A revolving actions around an axis; a or spinning motions
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The gyration of the ballerina made me dizzy.
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Nefarious
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Wicked; vicious
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He was given a long prison term for his nefarious crime.
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Gregarious
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Living in groups; sociable
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Sheep are, in general, gregarious animals
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Diurnal
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Of the daytime; during the course of a day; daily.
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The sun moves from east to west in its diurnal course.
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Ostracized
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Banished; excluded; shut out.
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He was ostracized by polite society because of his scandalous behavior.
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Officious
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Forcing' one's service or attentions upon another; overly meddlesome or attentive.
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A good administrator is available but not officious.
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Stereotyped
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Following pattern; unoriginal; conventional; trite; formalized.
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Those stereotyped characters in the book were boring.
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Stilted
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Stiffly formal; pompous
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His speaking style is too stilted to appeal to a general audience.
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Askance
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Disapprovingly; disdainfully; distrustfully; with a side glance
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After his improper remark, his father looked at him askance.
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Inscrutable
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Incapable of being searched into and understood
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The inscrutable countenance of a good poker helps him win the game.
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Insidious
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Progressing harmful but hardly notice; deceitful in a subtle way; wily; treacherous.
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He was so insidious that it took us long time to find out he was an enemy.
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Insouciance
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Lack of concern; the state of being light-hearted or carefree
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He assumed an attitude of insouciance, although he really was very much concerned
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Insulation
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Nonconducting material wich prevents passage of electricity, heat, etc; the act of insulating; the state of being or isolated from.
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Insulation in the attic saves on fuel bills.
His insulation of the attic is wise. Insulations from distractions helps he think better |
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Intelligentsia
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The highly educated and cultured.
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He had so little educations that he felt uncomfortable among the intelligentsia.
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Intercessor
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One who acts between two parties, a mediator.
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The misunderstand between a student and a teacher was resolved by a friendly intercessor.
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Interim
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Time between; meantime
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We had two business meeting but in the interim we went sightseeing.
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Interstellar
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Among the star; between the stars.
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The astronomer is interested in interstellar space.
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Interstices
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Narrow spaces between thing; small gaps
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They ere careful to fill the interstices
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Intransigent
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Refusing to come to terms; uncompromising; unyielding; one who acts in such a manner.
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The intransigent senator adhere to his original stand on the questions.
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Intrepid
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fearless; dauntless
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The intrepid hero was given a great ovation when he came home.
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Foment
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To arouse; to cause; to incite
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The police are afraid that the demonstrations will foment violence.
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Fortuitous
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Happening by chance; accidental.
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He didn't plan on getting rich; it was a foryuitous occurrence.
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Gourmet
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One who appreciates and is a good judge of fine food and drinks.
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She is gourmet who never buys cheap wine and never hurries through a good dinner
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Aphorism
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A terse saying embodying truth; an adage; a maxim
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A ministger may often use an aphorism to summarize the essence of his sermon.
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Aplomb
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Self assurance; self confidence; self possessions; poise.
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If the speaker was nervous she didn't show it, facing the audience with aplomb
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Maudlin
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Overlay sentimental; emotionally silly
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Instead of being a serious drama the play was completely maudlin.
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Apocryphal
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Of uncertain authenticity; suspect; spurious.
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i think his story is apocryphal because I've never heard or read any proof concerning it
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Appurtenances
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Things added to a more important thing; supplementary equipment; accessories.
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He made sure that all of the appurtenances came with the boat.
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Arabesque
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A gracefully elaborate design with interwoven lines; such a form in ballet or music.
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The table covering contained an attractive arabesque design.
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Archaic
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Of an earlier or primitive time; ancient; no longer in popular use; outdated
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The head of a modern school should not have archaic ideas.
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Archipelago
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A sea within many islands; such a group of islands.
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Can you locate the greek archipelago on the map?
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Grandiloquent
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Pompous in speech; bombastic; flamboyant.
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Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was simple and powerful, and anything but grandiloquent.
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Pandemonium
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Wild tumult; disorder on grand scale
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The earthquake wrecked many homes and sent hordes of people into pandemonium.
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Panegyric
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Tribute; a speech of praise.
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He requested the honor of speaking the panegyric at his friend's funeral.
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Fraught
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Teeming with; laden; full of
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Although the mission was fraught with danger he was willing to carry it out
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Fructify
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To make fruitful; to make productive.
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The farmer must work hard to fructify his fields.
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Arterial
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Related to the tube carrying blood from the heart; serving as a major carrier, channel or thoroughfare.
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The new arterial highway will connect several major cities.
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Nectar
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Any very pleasant-tasting drink; the drink of the gods mythology; plant secretion used by bees to make honey.
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He called the wine the nectar of the gods.
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Nemesis
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Deserved punishment or its source; anything or anyone that always seems certain to defeat or frustrate.
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His failure to notice his opponent's strength proved to be his nemesis
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Nepotism
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Favoritism shown to relatives, especially in job appointments.
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We could hardly accuse him of nepotism his nephew really is the best qualified candidate for the job.
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Niggardly
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Not generous; stingy
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He was niggardly in his contribution to the campaign for funds.
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Noisome
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Harmful; offensive to smell; disgusting
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The decaying flowers give off a noisome odor.
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Nomadic
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Wandering from place to place; having no fixed location.
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it took a long time before the nomadic tribes settled down.
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Nominal
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In name only, not in fact; relatively trifling or quite small in value.
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he is only a nominal president; he does not have any real powers. her fee is so nominal that will never get rich from it.
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Nonplussed
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Baffled; confused; puzzled
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We ware nonplussed by his actions because we had never seen him behave that way before.
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Grotesque
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Distorted; strangely ugly; outlandish; bizarre.
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He appeared at the ball in a grotesque costume.
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Habiliments
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Clothing; garb; attire.
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The faculty appeared at Commencement in full academic habiliments.
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Habitat
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Natural place of living
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The habitat of the polar bear is the arctic region.
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Hackneyed
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Commonplace; trite; overused.
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He uses many hackneyed expressions in his writings
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Panoramic
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As seen or viewable from all directions; comprehensive as in review or coverage.
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You can get a panoramic view of the whole campus from this tower. Your panoramic book leaves out no details of your subject
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Haggard
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Wasted or gaunt in appearance
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The smooth feature of his youth had turned into the haggard face of a worn-out old man
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Paradox
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That which may be true but which seems to be contradictory, flase or absurb; a self contradictory statement.
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To be both rational and passionate would seem to be a paradox
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Verbatim
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Word for word; in the exact words.
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Repeat the instructions verbatim to assure me you know what to do.
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Verbiage
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Excess of words; verbosity
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Your verbiage takes too long to read and it hides your main ideas.
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Polyglot
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Speaking or writing in several languages; multilingual; a mixture of languages.
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I hope I can find someone who speaks English in this polyglot neibourhood.
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Verbose
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Using too many words.
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A speaker should be concise, not verbose.
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Exorbitant
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Beyond reasonable limits; excessive.
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That is an exorbitant price to ask for that object.
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Frustration
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That which baffles or thwarts accomplishment; the state of being so affected.
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He felt a great frustration when he did not receive the answer he had hoped for.
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Verdant
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Green with vegetation.
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A verdant landscape attracts the poet as well as the botanist
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Aridity
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Dryness; barrenness; the state of being dull, without interest.
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The aridity of the soil prevented the development of the crops.
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Modicum
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A small quantity or portion.
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Everyone expect at least a modicum of praise for his accomplishments.
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Momentous
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Of great importance or consequence.
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In crossing the Rubicon, Julius Caesar mad a momentous decision.
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Monograph
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A scholarly or formal writing on a single subject.
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The professor publish a monograph on the working habits of bees.
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Modulate
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To change, adjust or regulate; to vary the pitch or tone of sound or frequency or radio waves.
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No other actor could express so many moods by merely modulating his voice.
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Mollify
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To calm or appease; to soothe; to make less severe.
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Not even her apology could mollify the angry teacher.
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Buttress
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A support or prop for a wall, etc; to prop up or bolster.
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The wall of the cathedral were reinforced by buttress
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Descried
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Caught in sight of; discerned; spied.
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The sentry descried enemy troops moving over the top of the hill
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Cacophony
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Unpleasant, harsh, or discordant sound.
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the cacophony of a band not in tune hurts my ears.
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Shoddy
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Of inferior material; lacking the quality claimed; sham
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They have been selling us these shoddy products long enough; from now on we go elsewhere.
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Shibboleth
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A custom of phrase distinctive of a particular group, class, etc; a password or watchword.
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Showing special respect to elders is an oriental shibboleth. If you don't know the new shibboleth, you can't get past our guard.
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Shrew
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A scolding, brawling woman.
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She is such a shrew that her husband simply left her.
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Discursive
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Passing from one subject to another.
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The old man's conversation was so discursive that we could not follow it.
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Shuffle
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A walk chracterized by scraping or sliding of the feet; to walk in such manner
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We could detect the sound of his peculiar shuffle all the way down the hall.
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Sidled
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Stepped or moved sideways in a shy or stealthy manner.
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The bashful child at last sidled up to her new aunt.
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Simile
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A figure of speech likening one thing to another using "as", "like," etc.
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In Burn's famous smile, he describes his love as "like a red, red rose."
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Simulated
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Had the appearance but not the actuality of; imitated; pretended; feigned.
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With this training device, you can experience simulated flying. he is not attentive; his interest is merely simulated.
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Disheveled
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Disarranged; untidy; tousled; rumpled.
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He was so disheveled that he looked as though he had slept in his clothes.
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Disparaging
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Degrading; depreciating; "cutting down"; belittling
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We were surprised by her disparaging remarks about her roommate; they seemed to get along so well
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Disparity
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Unlikeness;inequality; difference.
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Disparity in rank did not prevent the soldier and officers from enjoying the party
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Sinecure
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A paid position that require little or no work or responsibility
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The vice president has no sinecure, for she does a lot of important work
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Sinister
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Tending towards disaster; threatening; foreboding; evil; wicked; (literally: left or left-hand)
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He dedicated his life to combating the sinister force in society
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Dispersion
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A spreading or scattering or separating.
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A teacher's function is more than just the dispersion of information.
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Dissemble
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To conceal or disguise; to show falsely; to dissimulate.
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He claimed that he was not afraid, but we knew that he was dissembling
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Skeptical
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Doubtful; unbelieving.
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He no longer was skeptical when he saw what they were talking about
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Sobriety
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The state of being sober, serious or temperate; abstinence from intoxicating substance.
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Absolute sobriety is necessary when one is driving. He seldom laugh but maintains sobriety
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Skittish
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Nervous; easily frightened "high strung"
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the skittish animal approached the stranger with caution.
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Soiree
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An evening party or celebration.
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The soiree at the fraternity house was the outstanding social of the year.
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Solicitous
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Showing concern, careful attention or protectiveness; eagerly desirous, willing.
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In trying to answer the questions the boy was annoyed by the solicitous prompting of his mother.
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Disseminated
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Scattered; spread widely; broadcast.
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The information was disseminated over the radio.
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Dissenter
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One who dissents, disagrees, differs in principle; one who refuses to assent to established doctrine.
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When everyone else agreed on the proposal, Mr. Brown was the lone dissenter
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Dissonance
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Lack of harmony; lack of agreement; discord; incongruity.
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Dissonance among friends and dissonance in music are both disturbing.
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Dissuade
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To persuade not to do something.
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It was hard to dissuade him from doing what he planned.
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Distraught
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Mentally agitated; emotionally upset; worried and bewildered.
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The mother was distraught by the absence of her daughter.
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Somnambulist
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One who walks and performs other actions during sleep.
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When a somnambulist awakes, he often does not know where he is.
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Divulge
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To make known; to reveal; to tell.
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you must promise not to divulge that secret.
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Sophisticated
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Worldly-wide; not simple; refined; cultivated.
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She is so sophisticated that she disdains football games and country picnics.
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Soporific
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Causing sleepiness; drowsy sleepy.
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The lullaby had a soporific effect upon baby.
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Spasmodic
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Temporarily impulsive or violent; intermittent and intense; convulsive.
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He cannot be relied upon because he is too spasmodic in doing his work.
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Specious
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Apparently but not actually just, sound, correct, etc.; suspect; deceiving.
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We really wanted to believe him but his reasoning was found to be specious.
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Doleful
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Sad; sorrowful; mournful.
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that doleful look on his face aroused my sympathy.
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Flout
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To defy contemptuously; to scorn or scoff; such an act.
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he was punished for flouting the authority of his teachers.
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Focalization
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The act or action of focusing or concentrating; the location of concentrated attention.
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Today focalization will be on chapter three.
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Dogma
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A set of specific ideas or beliefs; a doctrine.
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Although he is not an atheist, he cannot accept the dogma of any particular religious group.
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Dromedary
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Arabian or one-humped camel.
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the dromedary can travel swiftly across the dessert.
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Dual
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Of two; having or composed of two parts double; twofold.
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Vehicle intended for operator instruction are usually equipped with dual controls.
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Ductile
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Capable of being drawn thin or worked with without breaking
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Wire is made from ductile metal.
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Dulcet
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Melodious; pleasing to the ear; soothing pleasant
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The dulcet tones of the organ were most pleasing.
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Duplicity
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Deception; deceitfulness; double-dealing.
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Honestly and duplicity are impossible companions.
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Spontaneous
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Unplanned; acting from a natural impulse; self- generated.
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Words-worth define poetry as the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling."
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Sporadic
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Isolated in occurrence; occasional; intermittent.
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Because his studying was sporadic, there are many gaps in his knowledge.
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Spurious
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Not genuine; counterfeit
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Several plays attributed to Shakespeare seem to be spurious.
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Squalid
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Dirty, foul; wretched; low class.
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The squalid condition in the tenement were reported to the city commission.
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ebullient
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Happily excited; exuberant; bubbling or boiling up.
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Her ebullient spirits told us that she had won.
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Ecstatic
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Overwhelmingly happy; intensely delighted; rapturous.
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She was ecstatic at the idea of being accepted to Princeton.
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Edict
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An authoritative order issued publicly a decree.
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When the mayor issues an edict, all citizens should respect it and comply with it.
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Edification
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Instruction for improvement; enlightenment; clarification.
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He did that for our edification, not our amusement.
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staid
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Very reserved; sedate; sober; grave.
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We were ecstatic about the news but, as usual, she remained staid.
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Stark
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Not ornamented; bleak; plain; absolute; downright
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The stark reality of the situation did not occur to him until later.
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Stentorian
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Extremely loud.
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The sergeant's stentorian command was readily heard by all.
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Precocious
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Prematurely developed; matured earlier than is normal; mentally advanced beyond one's years.
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Most of the class found the precocious student annoying.
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Sheen
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Shine; luster; brightness.
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The sheen of the satin costumes added beauty to the pageant.
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Resuscitate
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To restore from apparent death; to bring back to consciousness; to revive.
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The lifeguard could not resuscitate the drowned woman.
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Scathing
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Harshly critical; extremely sever; caustic.
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His scathing remarks about the organization showed how much he hated it.
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Deviation
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A turning away or departure from; a divergence.
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Any deviation from original plans will involve great expense.
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Devoid
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Not containing or possessing; empty; without.
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He is devoid of sense of humor.
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Diaphanous
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Allowing light to show through; transparent or translucent.
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She selected diaphanous material for the curtains.
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Diatribe
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Abusive speech; harsh denunciation.
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The senator's diatribe against his opponent was unfair and untrue.
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Didactic
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Instructive; teaching a moral lesson.
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His didactic story illustrated the responsibilities of good citizenship.
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Diffident
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Lacking confidence; timid; shy.
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He was so diffident in his request for a raise that he was denied it.
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Reticent
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Not outspoken; uncommunicative; taciturn.
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Although he talks constantly at home, he is extremely reticent in class.
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Retract
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To draw back; to withdraw; to take back.
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He was willing to retract the statement he made yesterday.
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Retrench
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To reduce; to curtail; to economize.
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As his bank account began to dwindle he knew he had to retrench on expenditures.
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Dilate
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To open wide; to enlarge.
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Medicines are used to dilate the pupil of the eye.
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Dilatory
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Causing or characterized by delay; tardy; slow.
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The reporter was so dilatory in completing his assignment that he missed the deadline.
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Dilettante
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One who is superficially interested; a dabbler; a lower of fine art without deep knowledge of it.
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Although he spends a great deal of money on paintings, he is only a dilettante.
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Diminutive
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Little; small; diminished or diminishing; a word expressing smallness, familiarity, etc.
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Her husband is tall but she is diminutive "Billy" is a diminutive for William.
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Discordant
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Not harmonious, jarring to the ear; harsh; not in agreement; conflicting.
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Several discordant notes spoiled the concert. they have discordant opinions even the time of day.
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Anathema
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A person or thing greatly detested, cursed or damned; a person excommunicated; a curse.
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Because of his opposition to the Archbishop's edict, the king was declared anathema.
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Anesthetist
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A person trained to administer anesthetics.
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Toward the end of the operation the anesthetist substituted ether for gas.
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Retrograde
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Going backwards; worsening; declining; to recede; to grow worse; to degenerate.
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We must either advance or retrograde; we can't stand still.
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Reverberations
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Echoes; rebounding; vibrations.
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The reverberations of the shot were loud and sharp.
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Revered
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Regarded with reverence or deep respect.
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The old priest was revered by everyone in his parish because of his saintly life.
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Animadversion
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An unfavorable remark; adverse criticism; blame.
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He was less concerned over the animadversions of his colleagues than over the jokes they made about his plan.
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Animated
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Given life, motion or inspiration; full of life; spirited; active; inspired.
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He seemed especially animated by the good news.
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Anomaly
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That which differs from what is commonly expected; a deviation from the rule; an irregularity or abnormality.
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Everything in the whole test was related, except for one anomaly.
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Chronic
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Continuing for long time; recurrent.
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He found no relief for his chronic ailment.
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Antecedent
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Going before; that which goes before.
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to understand the plot of this story, we must know about certain antecedent actions.
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Reverie
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A state of daydreaming, being lost in thought or musing; a daydream.
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In her reverie, she appeared not to see me and did not respond to my question.
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Lucid
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Clear; shinning; distinct; easily understood; mentally alert; rational.
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We never mistake her lucid instructions. He was struck hard on the head but remained lucid.
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Ludicrous
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Ridiculously humorous; absurd.
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His comment was so ludicrous that we did not think he was serious.
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Malign
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To speak badly of; to defame; to slander.
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He maligned his opponent, hoping voters would believe the worst about him.
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Rococo
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Fancy style of ornamentation with curves and shell work.
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She doesn't like rococo decorations; she prefers simple designs.
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Homogenous
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Of the same kind, quality or degree.
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Some group consist of different things and some groupings are homogenous.
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Writhe
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To make twisting or turning movements; to squirm; to contort the body as in agony.
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As I present the stick against the snake's neck, it writhed awhile and then lay still.
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Zenith
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Highest point; summit; peak.
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He reached the zenith of his career when he was elected president.
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Desideratum
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Something needed and wanted; something much desire.
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To visit every corner of the world was his driving desideratum.
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