|
VOCABULARY LISTS > USER LISTS

A Rebel Life of Molly Ivins 157 words

February 22, 2010 By polymath
Biography by Bill Minutaglio and W. Michael Smith

MORE ON THIS LIST:

0% Mastered %
Learn Bookmark Print Create New List 4 Comments
REVIEW LEARN THIS LIST COMMENTS
Definitions Notes & Examples Words Only
  1. palliative
    moderating pain or sorrow by making it easier to bear
  2. perfunctory
    hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
  3. seditious
    arousing to action or rebellion
  4. ilk
    a kind of person
  5. bloviate
    orate verbosely and windily
  6. languorous
    lacking spirit or liveliness
  7. deferential
    showing deference
  8. foist
    to force onto another
  9. eugenics
    the study of methods of improving genetic qualities by selective breeding (especially as applied to human mating)
  10. paroxysm
    a sudden uncontrollable attack
  11. fulminate
    cause to explode violently and with loud noise
  12. Zeitgeist
    the spirit of the time; the spirit characteristic of an age or generation
  13. fetid
    offensively malodorous
  14. obstreperous
    noisily and stubbornly defiant
  15. scion
    a descendent or heir
  16. stellar
    being or relating to or resembling or emanating from stars
  17. erudite
    having or showing profound knowledge
  18. squall
    utter a sudden loud cry
  19. moribund
    being on the point of death; breathing your last
  20. obsequious
    attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
  21. jingoistic
    fanatically patriotic
  22. oligarchy
    a political system governed by a few people
  23. sequel
    something that follows something else
  24. propitious
    presenting favorable circumstances; likely to result in or show signs of success
  25. restive
    being in a tense state
  26. metrification
    the act of changing from imperial units of measurement to metric units: meters, grams, seconds
  27. dishabille
    the state of being carelessly or partially dressed
  28. homunculus
    a tiny fully formed individual that (according to the discredited theory of preformation) is supposed to be present in the sperm cell
  29. homily
    a sermon on a moral or religious topic
  30. denizen
    a plant or animal naturalized in a region
  31. poignancy
    a quality that arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow)
  32. incipient
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
  33. equator
    an imaginary line around the Earth forming the great circle that is equidistant from the north and south poles
  34. affinity
    a natural attraction or feeling of kinship
  35. objectify
    make impersonal or present as an object
  36. furtive
    secret and sly or sordid
  37. finagle
    achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods
  38. nadir
    an extreme state of adversity; the lowest point of anything
  39. dactyl
    a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates
  40. inscrutable
    of an obscure nature
  41. copious
    large in number or quantity (especially of discourse)
  42. bittersweet
    having a taste that is a mixture of bitterness and sweetness
  43. juxtaposition
    the act of positioning close together (or side by side)
  44. sanctimonious
    excessively or hypocritically pious
  45. Byzantine
    of or relating to or characteristic of the Byzantine Empire or the ancient city of Byzantium
  46. obtuse
    of an angle; between 90 and 180 degrees
  47. obfuscation
    darkening or obscuring the sight of something
  48. euphemistic
    substituting a mild term for a harsher or distasteful one
  49. nexus
    the means of connection between things linked in series
  50. ardor
    feelings of great warmth and intensity
  51. inherent
    existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
  52. tactician
    a person who is skilled at planning tactics
  53. pragmatist
    an adherent of philosophical pragmatism
  54. droll
    comical in an odd or whimsical manner
  55. erudition
    profound scholarly knowledge
  56. impetigo
    a very contagious infection of the skin; common in children; localized redness develops into small blisters that gradually crust and erode
  57. acerbic
    sour or bitter in taste
  58. prolific
    intellectually productive
  59. chicanery
    the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
  60. invoke
    request earnestly (something from somebody); ask for aid or protection
  61. dour
    showing a brooding ill humor
  62. candor
    the quality of being honest and straightforward in attitude and speech
  63. drollery
    a comic incident or series of incidents
  64. adjunct
    something added to another thing but not an essential part of it
  65. ape
    any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all
  66. resonate
    sound with resonance
  67. pernicious
    exceedingly harmful
  68. coalesce
    fuse or cause to grow together
  69. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses
  70. solon
    a man who is a respected leader in national or international affairs
  71. caricature
    a representation of a person that is exaggerated for comic effect
  72. diverse
    distinctly dissimilar or unlike
  73. hinny
    hybrid offspring of a male horse and a female donkey or ass; usually sterile
  74. flummox
    be a mystery or bewildering to
  75. jaundice
    yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes caused by an accumulation of bile pigment (bilirubin) in the blood; can be a symptom of gallstones or liver infection or anemia
  76. ribald
    humorously vulgar
  77. laconic
    brief and to the point; effectively cut short
  78. systemic
    affecting an entire system
  79. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
  80. taciturn
    habitually reserved and uncommunicative
  81. stalwart
    having rugged physical strength; inured to fatigue or hardships
  82. brio
    quality of being active or spirited or alive and vigorous
  83. irreverent
    showing lack of due respect or veneration
  84. aegis
    armor plate that protects the chest; the front part of a cuirass
  85. riff
    a jazz ostinato; usually provides a background for a solo improvisation
  86. audacity
    aggressive boldness or unmitigated effrontery
  87. percolate
    cause (a solvent) to pass through a permeable substance in order to extract a soluble constituent
  88. exponential
    a function in which an independent variable appears as an exponent
  89. potentate
    a ruler who is unconstrained by law
  90. cabal
    a clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue
  91. exultant
    joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
  92. lurch
    walk as if unable to control one's movements
  93. ludicrous
    incongruous;inviting ridicule
  94. absurd
    inconsistent with reason or logic or common sense
  95. fatuous
    devoid of intelligence
  96. bonhomie
    a disposition to be friendly and approachable (easy to talk to)
  97. banal
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
  98. unabashed
    not embarrassed
  99. foil
    hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of
  100. expediency
    the quality of being suited to the end in view
  101. mire
    a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
  102. slog
    walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
  103. necromancer
    one who practices magic or sorcery
  104. rail
    a horizontal bar (usually of wood or metal)
  105. polemics
    the branch of Christian theology devoted to the refutation of errors
  106. pundit
    someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field
  107. precarious
    not secure; beset with difficulties
  108. patrician
    a person of refined upbringing and manners
  109. feral
    wild and menacing
  110. rascal
    one who is playfully mischievous
  111. languorous
    lacking spirit or liveliness
  112. overt
    open and observable; not secret or hidden
  113. gregarious
    instinctively or temperamentally seeking and enjoying the company of others
  114. ubiquitous
    being present everywhere at once
  115. eclectic
    selecting what seems best of various styles or ideas
  116. boomerang
    a curved piece of wood; when properly thrown will return to thrower
  117. operative
    effective; producing a desired effect
  118. indefatigable
    showing sustained enthusiastic action with unflagging vitality
  119. mercurial
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
  120. essential
    basic and fundamental
  121. immolate
    offer as a sacrifice by killing or by giving up to destruction
  122. doyenne
    a woman who is the senior member of a group
  123. fundamental
    any factor that could be considered important to the understanding of a particular business
  124. fandango
    a provocative Spanish courtship dance in triple time; performed by a man and a woman playing castanets
  125. diatribe
    thunderous verbal attack
  126. cantankerous
    stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
  127. shtick
    (Yiddish) a little; a piece
  128. pecuniary
    relating to or involving money
  129. cross hair
    either of two fine mutually perpendicular lines that cross in the focus plane of an optical instrument and are use for sighting or calibration
  130. prescient
    perceiving the significance of events before they occur
  131. linger
    remain present although waning or gradually dying
  132. demur
    take exception to
  133. missive
    a written message addressed to a person or organization
  134. concur
    happen simultaneously
  135. apotheosis
    model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal
  136. populism
    the political doctrine that supports the rights and powers of the common people in their struggle with the privileged elite
  137. coalition
    the union of diverse things into one body or form or group; the growing together of parts
  138. polarize
    cause to concentrate about two conflicting or contrasting positions
  139. fete
    an elaborate party (often outdoors)
  140. anathema
    a formal ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication
  141. illusive
    based on or having the nature of an illusion
  142. elitist
    someone who believes in rule by an elite group
  143. ambiguity
    unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning
  144. imam
    (Islam) the man who leads prayers in a mosque; for Shiites an imam is a recognized authority on Islamic theology and law and a spiritual guide
  145. flummox
    be a mystery or bewildering to
  146. lofty
    of imposing height; especially standing out above others
  147. assail
    attack someone physically or emotionally
  148. garrulousness
    the quality of being wordy and talkative
  149. appeasement
    the act of appeasing (as by acceding to the demands of)
  150. rapprochement
    the reestablishing of cordial relations
  151. vitriol
    abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will
  152. tantamount
    being essentially equal to something
  153. reconnaissance
    the act of reconnoitring (especially to gain information about an enemy or potential enemy)
  154. flap
    move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
  155. tepid
    moderately warm
  156. troll
    (Scandanavian folklore) a supernatural creature (either a dwarf or a giant) that is supposed to live in caves or in the mountains
  157. bellicosity
    a natural disposition to fight