Vocabulary Flashcards for Exam Review

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and their definitions, useful for exam preparation.

Abasement

Humiliation; degradation; the state of being brought low or made to feel ashamed.

Abhor

Hate; to strongly dislike or detest something.

Abrasive

Rough; coarse; harsh; having a texture or manner that grates or irritates.

Abrogate

Cancel; deny; repeal; to officially end or abolish a law or agreement.

Absolution

Forgiveness; pardon; release; being freed from guilt or blame.

Abstain

Desist; go without; withdraw; to deliberately choose not to do or have something.

Abstemious

Self-denying; refraining from indulging; practicing moderation, especially with food and drink.

Abstruse

Difficult to understand; obscure; complex and hard to comprehend.

Accolade

Tribute; honor; praise; an award or expression of approval.

Acquiesce

To agree to; give in to; accept something reluctantly but without protest.

Acrid

Sharp; pungent; having an unpleasantly strong smell or taste (used to describe smells and tastes).

Acrophobia

Fear of heights; an extreme or irrational fear of high places.

Acuity

Sharpness; keenness of perception (mental or visual); clearness of thought or vision.

Adamant

Forceful; inflexible; refusing to change one's mind or position.

Adroit

Skillful; clever and quick in movement or thought.

Adulation

Strong admiration; worship; excessive praise or flattery.

Adversity

Hardship; difficult or unfortunate circumstances; troubles.

Advocate

Support; to publicly recommend or speak in favor of something.

Aesthetic

Concerning art or beauty; relating to the appreciation of what is beautiful.

Affable

Friendly; social; easygoing; pleasant and easy to talk to.

Alacrity

Eagerness; enthusiasm; quickness; cheerful readiness or willingness.

Alchemy

Medieval chemistry; the attempt to change base metal into gold; any seemingly magical transformation.

Alibi

An excuse that shows someone was not at a crime scene; proof of being elsewhere.

Allay

To lessen; to reduce or calm (fears, concerns, or pain).

Alleviate

Make less severe; to reduce pain, suffering, or difficulty.

Bigot

Narrow-minded, prejudiced person; someone intolerant of different opinions or beliefs.

Bilk

Cheat; defraud; to trick someone out of money or possessions.

Billowing

Swelling; fluttering; waving; moving in large rolling masses (like clouds or fabric).

Blasphemy

Speech which offends religious sentiments; irreverent talk about sacred things.

Blatant

Obvious; completely lacking in subtlety; very noticeable.

Blighted

Damaged; destroyed; ruined; harmed or spoiled, often beyond repair.

Blithe

Free-spirited; carefree; showing a casual and cheerful lack of concern.

Blunderbuss

Ancient weapon (type of gun); an old-fashioned short gun with a wide barrel.

Bolster

Support; prop up; to strengthen or reinforce.

Bombast

Arrogant, pompous language; high-sounding but meaningless speech.

Boorish

Ill-mannered; rude and lacking social graces.

Bourgeois

Middle class; relating to conventional, materialistic values.

Braggart

Someone who boasts; a person who brags excessively about themselves.

Brawny

Muscular; strong and physically powerful.

Brevity

Being brief; shortness of duration or expression; conciseness.

Bristle

To show irritation; to react with anger or defensiveness.

Broach

Start to discuss; approach; to bring up a topic for discussion.

Brusque

Blunt; abrupt; rudely brief in manner or speech.

Bulwark

Fortification; barricade; wall; a defensive structure or protective measure.

Bureaucracy

Officialdom; a system of government through departments and officials.

Burgeon

Grow; flourish; put forth new shoots; to develop or expand rapidly.

Burnish

Polish; to make shiny by rubbing; to enhance or perfect.

Buttress

Strengthen; support; to reinforce or back up.

Byline

The line that tells you who wrote an article; the author credit in a publication.

Cacophony

Discordant loud noises; harsh, jarring sounds that clash.

Counterfeit

Fake; false; made in imitation to deceive.

Covert

Hidden; undercover; secret or concealed.

Cower

Recoil in fear or servility; shrink away from; to crouch in fear.

Credible

Believable; worthy of trust or confidence.

Creditable

Praiseworthy; deserving approval or recognition.

Credulous

Gullible; ready to believe anything; too willing to trust.

Crepuscular

Active at dawn and dusk; occurring during twilight hours.

Cringe

Recoil; flinch; shy away; to shrink back in fear or embarrassment.

Cryptic

Puzzling; enigmatic; mysterious and difficult to understand.

Curtail

Cut short; to reduce or limit something.

Cynical

Believing that people act only out of selfish motives; distrustful of human sincerity.

Debility

Weakness; incapacity; lack of strength or vigor.

Debunking

Exposing false claims or myths; proving something to be untrue.

Decathlon

An athletic competition with ten events.

Decorum

Dignified, correct behavior; proper manners and etiquette.

Decoy

Lure; trap; trick; something used to mislead or attract into danger.

Defoliate

Causes leaves to fall off; to strip of foliage.

Defunct

No longer in existence; dead or obsolete.

Degradation

Deprivation; poverty; debasement; a decline to a lower condition or quality.

Deleterious

Harmful; causing damage or injury.

Deliberate

To think over deeply; to consider carefully.

Delineation

Demarcation; explanation; definition; outlining.

Demur

Hesitate; refuse; to raise objections or show reluctance.

Denounce

Condemn; speak out against; to publicly declare as wrong or evil.

Enfranchise

Give voting rights; to grant the privileges of citizenship, especially voting.

Engender

Cause; to bring about or give rise to.

Enhance

Improve; make better or clearer; to increase quality or value.

Enigma

Puzzle; mystery; something difficult to understand or explain.

Ensconce

Establish firmly in a position; to settle comfortably and securely.

Enunciation

Clear pronunciation; accent; articulation; the act of speaking words clearly.

Envenom

To cause bitterness and bad feeling; to poison or fill with venom.

Ephemeral

Short-lived; lasting only a brief time.

Epicure

Someone who appreciates good food and drink; a person with refined taste.

Epistle

A letter (form of communication); a formal or literary letter.

Epistolary

Concerned with letters; through correspondence.

Epitomized

Typified; characterized; personified; represented as a perfect example.

Equivocate

Speak ambiguously; avoid telling the truth; to use unclear language deliberately.

Erratic

Wandering; irregular; unpredictable or inconsistent.

Esoteric

Obscure and difficult to understand; intended for a small group with specialized knowledge.

Espouse

Promote; take up support; to adopt or advocate for a cause or belief.

Etymology

The study of word origins; the history of how words developed.

Eulogy

Praise; a speech or piece of writing that praises someone, especially someone who has recently died.

Euphemism

A polite phrase to cover something unpleasant; mild language substituted for harsh reality.

Euphony

Pleasant sounds; harmonious and agreeable sound.

Evacuate

Vacate; empty; abandon; to leave or remove from a place.

Exacerbate

Make worse; to intensify the severity of a problem.

Exasperated

Frustrated; annoyed; intensely irritated.

Hamper

Hinder; obstruct; to prevent progress or movement.

Hangar

Storage area (like a garage) for a plane; a building for housing aircraft.

Harangue

Noisy, attacking speech; a lengthy, aggressive verbal assault.