Vocab Words Flashcards

adverse

describing negative/harmful reaction

censure

to provide negative feedback

discrete

non-continuous

immanent

inherent

enervated

drained of energy

clandestine

secretive

esoteric

only understood by specialists

aspersions

extremely negative criticism, attack on reputation

impudent

disrespectful

solecism

incorrect writing or behavior

tractable

easy to influence

ephemeral

lasting a short time

commiserate

to sympathize

dearth

scarcity

erudite

having great knowledge

nascent

budding, displays signs of future potential

despot

oppressive and cruel ruler

vacillation

indecision

ameliorated

approved

ephemera

things for short time use

guileless

innocent

guile

slyness

enmity

feeling hostile towards something

lackadaisical

lacking enthusiasm

perfunctory

action done with minimal effort

equanimity

calmness

scrupulous

thorough

nebulous

hazy

acrimony

bitterness

abate

to become less intense

circumlocution

speaking in a vague and evasive way

pithy

language that is concise and forcefully expressive

depraved

morally corrupt

duress

threats and pressuring

zeitgeist

defining spirit or mood during a period of history

earmark

to designate something for a particular purpose

entomologist

person who studies insects

mendacity

lying

proscriptive

forbidding something

supplant

replace

ostensible

appearing to be true but not true

tacit

implied without being stated

chaff

husks of seeds

adjure

formally request

concurrent

happening at the same time

contentious

controversial

discomfit

to make someone feel uneasy

stanch

restrict the flow of blood from a wound

tortuous

full of twists and turns

venal

motivated by bribery

venial

a slight offense that is pardonable

presage

to indicate something bad will happen

predilection

liking for something

predicate

to base something on

precipitate

acts without thinking

laconic

speaks little as possible

cicerone

person who gives speeches to sightseers

jeremiad

speech with complaints

draconian

strict with rules

engender

to give rise to

repute

opinion of something

acumen

ability to make good decisions

exonerate

release someone from responsibility

impute

to attribute crimes to someone

polemical

expressing strong criticism

juggernaut

unstoppable force

maudlin

self pitying

hector

to bully someone

adroit

skillful

chicanery

deception

demur

to object to doing something

insouciant

showing lack of interest

arriviste

ambitious, recently got rich

parvenu

person who recently gained status

subterfuge

deceit in order to achieve a goal

raconteur

skilled storyteller

gauche

awkward

sangfroid

calmness under pressure

demurral

disagreeing politely

insolvency

inability to pay debts

oblique

slanted

truncate

shorten duration

distended

bloated

myopic

nearsighted

salvo

a sudden attack

imbroglio

complicated situation

sedulous

hardworking

restive

restless

equivocate

be vague and misleading

prepossessing

charming

gratuitous

uncalled for

burnish

to make shiny

quiescent

describing a period of inactivity

redress

to make right

remiss

negligent

preeminent

the best of its kind

obstreperous

noisy, out of control

impetuous

reckless

chary

cautious

reticent

not talking