A Rebel Life of Molly Ivins

polymath
Biography by Bill Minutaglio and W. Michael Smith
157 words 4 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. palliative
    moderating pain or sorrow by making it easier to bear
  2. perfunctory
    hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
  3. seditious
    inciting action or rebellion
  4. ilk
    a kind of person
  5. bloviate
    speak verbosely and windily
  6. languorous
    lacking spirit or liveliness
  7. deferential
    showing courteous regard for people's feelings
  8. foist
    force onto another
  9. eugenics
    the promotion of controlled breeding in human populations
  10. paroxysm
    a sudden uncontrollable attack
  11. fulminate
    cause to explode violently and with loud noise
  12. Zeitgeist
    the spirit of the time
  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
    a loud and harsh cry
  19. moribund
    being on the point of death
  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
  25. restive
    in a very 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 person who is tiny or diminutive
  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 a great circle
  34. affinity
    a natural attraction or feeling of kinship
  35. objectify
    treat or regard as a thing, rather than as a person
  36. furtive
    secret and sly
  37. finagle
    achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods
  38. nadir
    the lowest point of anything
  39. dactyl
    a finger or toe in human beings or corresponding body part in other vertebrates
  40. inscrutable
    difficult or impossible to understand
  41. copious
    large in number or quantity
  42. bittersweet
    having a taste that is a mixture of bitterness and sweetness
  43. juxtaposition
    the act of positioning close together
  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 strategies
  53. pragmatist
    an adherent of a theory of observable practical consequences
  54. droll
    comical in an odd or whimsical manner
  55. erudition
    profound scholarly knowledge
  56. impetigo
    a very contagious infection of the skin
  57. acerbic
    sour or bitter in taste
  58. prolific
    intellectually productive
  59. chicanery
    the use of tricks to deceive someone
  60. invoke
    request earnestly; ask for aid or protection
  61. dour
    showing a brooding ill humor
  62. candor
    the quality of being honest and straightforward
  63. drollery
    a comic incident or series of incidents
  64. adjunct
    something added to another thing but not essential to it
  65. ape
    any of various primates with short tails or no tail at all
  66. resonate
    produce a deep, clear sound
  67. pernicious
    exceedingly harmful
  68. coalesce
    fuse or cause to come together
  69. rueful
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
  70. solon
    a man who is a respected leader in national or international affairs
  71. caricature
    a representation of a person exaggerated for comic effect
  72. diverse
    distinctly dissimilar or unlike
  73. hinny
    hybrid offspring of a male horse and a female donkey or ass
  74. flummox
    be a mystery or bewildering to
  75. jaundice
    yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes
  76. ribald
    humorously vulgar
  77. laconic
    brief and to the point
  78. systemic
    affecting an entire structure, network, or complex of parts
  79. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
  80. taciturn
    habitually reserved and uncommunicative
  81. stalwart
    having rugged physical strength
  82. brio
    the quality of being lively, spirited, or vigorous
  83. irreverent
    showing lack of due respect or veneration
  84. aegis
    armor plate that protects the chest
  85. riff
    a jazz ostinato
  86. audacity
    aggressive or outright boldness
  87. percolate
    cause to pass through a permeable substance
  88. exponential
    a function in which an independent variable is a power
  89. potentate
    a powerful ruler, especially one who is unconstrained by law
  90. cabal
    a clique that seeks power usually through intrigue
  91. exultant
    joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success
  92. lurch
    move suddenly or as if unable to control one's movements
  93. ludicrous
    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
  97. banal
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
  98. unabashed
    not embarrassed
  99. foil
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
  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
    an expert who publicly gives opinions via mass media
  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
    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
  117. operative
    producing a desired effect
  118. indefatigable
    showing sustained enthusiasm with unflagging vitality
  119. mercurial
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
  120. essential
    basic and fundamental
  121. immolate
    kill as a sacrifice, especially by fire
  122. doyenne
    the most experienced or respected woman in some field
  123. fundamental
    serving as an essential component
  124. fandango
    a provocative Spanish courtship dance in triple time
  125. diatribe
    thunderous verbal attack
  126. cantankerous
    stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
  127. shtick
    (Yiddish) a contrived and often used bit of business that a performer uses to steal attention
  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
    politely refuse or 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
  136. populism
    political doctrine that supports the rights of common people
  137. coalition
    the union of diverse things into one body or form or group
  138. polarize
    cause to divide into conflicting 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 a fantasy
  142. elitist
    one who is biased in favor of those with high status
  143. ambiguity
    unclearness by virtue of having more than one meaning
  144. imam
    the person who leads prayers in a mosque
  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 acceding to demands
  150. rapprochement
    the reestablishing of cordial relations
  151. vitriol
    abusive or venomous language to express blame or censure
  152. tantamount
    being essentially equal to something
  153. reconnaissance
    the act of scouting, especially to gain information
  154. flap
    move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
  155. tepid
    moderately warm
  156. troll
    supernatural creature thought to live in caves or mountains
  157. bellicosity
    a natural disposition to fight
Created on Mon Feb 22 18:32:41 EST 2010

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