english vocab

anodyne

anodyne

not likely to provoke dissent or offense; inoffensive (often deliberately so); painkilling drug/medicine. ("It was their delight, their folly, their ___, their intellectual stimulant.")

derisive

expressing contempt or ridicule. ("He was a tiny creature, smaller than Winston, with dark hair and large, protuberant eyes, at once mournful and ____, which seemed to search your face closely while speaking to you."

equivocal

subject to 2 or more interpretations and usually used to mislead or confuse, uncertain as an indication or sign. of certain nature of classification, of uncertain disposition, of doubtful advantage, genuineness, or moral rectitude. ("It would have been inconceivably dangerous even for a second, two seconds, they had exchanged an ____ glance, and that was the end of the story.")

pugnaciously

to be quick to argue, quarrel, or fight. ("'I arst you civil enough, aren't I?' said the man, straightening his shoulders ____."

sanguine

marked by eager hopefulness; confidently optimistic; consisting of or relating to blood, accompanied by, involving, or relating to blood shed. ("His hair was very fair, his face naturally ____, his skin roughened by coarse soap and blunt razor blades and the cold of the winter that had just ended.")

sordid

involving ignoble actions and motives; arousing moral distastes and contempts, dirty or squalid. ("Within three or four minutes he was our of the area which the bomb had affected, and the ___ swarming life of the streets was going on as though nothing had happened.")

truncheons

club carried by a police officer, a staff representing an office or authority. ("He would flog her to death with a rubber _____.")

tacitly

in a way tht is understood/implied without being directly stated ("Under this lies a fact never mentioned aloud, but ____ understood and acted upon: namely, that the conditions of life in all three super-states are very much the same.")

deprecating

expressing disapproval ("He had dragged out from the corners of his memory some more fragments of forgotten rhymes... 'It just occured to me you might be interested', he would say with a ____ little laugh whenever he produced a new fragment.")

execrate

to declare to be evil or detestable; denounce; to detest utterly. ("The citizen of Oceania is not allowed to know anything of the tenets of the other philosophies, but he is taught to ____ them as barbarous outrages upon morality and common sense.")

impudent

not showing respect for others; disrespectful ("Sometimes he talked to her of the Record Department and the _____ forgeries he committed there, such things did not appear to horrify her.")

indefatigable

incapable of being fatigued. ("The ____ voice sang on: 'They sye that time 'eals all things...'")

ossified

having turned into bone or bony tissue, having become rigid or fixed in attitude or position. ("All past ogliarchies have fallen from power either because they _______ or because they grew soft. Either they became stupid and arrogant, failed to adjust themselves to changing circumstances...")

prodigious

remarkably/impressively great in extent, size, or degree, unnatural or abnormal. ("Science and technology were developing at a ____ speed, and it seemed natural to assume that the would go on developing.")

abashed

made to feel uncomfortable, disconcerted, or embarrassed by something that happened or been said. ("At last he stood up, waddled clumsily across the cell, dug down into the pocket of his overalls, and, with an _____ air, held out a grimy piece of bread to the skull-faced man.")

flitting

to pass quickly or abruptly from one place to another, to move in an erratic fluttering manner ("His eyes _____ towards the dial. He not only did not know whether 'yes' or 'no' was the answer would save him from pain...")

forlorn

being in poor condition; lonely and sad, forsaken; expression of hopelessness, despairing; bereft and destitute. ("A ____ jailbird's face with a knobby forehead running back into a bald scalp, a crooked nose, and battered-looking cheekbones above which his eyes were fierce and watchful.")

irresolutely

uncertain how to act or proceed. ("He followed ____ for a little distance, half a pace behind her. They did not speak again.")

prevericate

to speak falsely or misleadingly; deliberately misstate or create an incorrect impression; lie. ("If you tell me any lies, or attempt to ___ in any way, or even fall below your usual level of intelligence, you will cry outwith pain, instantly.")

sardonic

grimly mocking or cynical. (I make ___comments to people I don't like.)

stultifying

(adj) tending to stifle enthusiasm, initiative, or freedom of action. (verb) cause to lose enthusiasm and initiative. ("Orwell describes the empire in "Burmese Days" as a 'stifling, ___ world in which to live.")

wayward

following one's capricious, wanton, or depraved inclinations; ungovernable; following no clear principle or law; unpredictable. ("O'Brien was looking down at him speculatively, more than ever he had the air of a teacher taking pains with a wayward bu promising child.")