gre vocbuarly f3
Terms
undefined, object
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- fledging
- inexperienced. The folk dance club set up a apprentice program to allow fledgling dance callers a chance to polish their skills
- fleck
- spot. Pollack's coverails, flecked with paint,m bore witness to the sloppiness of the spatter school of art
- flay
- strip off skin; plunder; whi[ ; attack with harsh criticism. The reviewer's stinging comments flayed the actress's sensitive spirit. HOw could she go on, afer such a vicious attack?
- flaunt
- display ostentatious. Mae West saw nothing wrong with showing off her considerably physical charms, saying, 'Honey, if you've got it, flaunt it'
- flamboyant
- ornate. Modern archituecture has discarded the famboyant trimming on buildings and emphsizes simplicity of line
- flair
- talent. She has an uncanny flair of discovering new artists before the public has become aware of their existence
- flail
- thresh grain by hand; strike or slap; toss about. In medieval times, warriors flaied their foe ith a metal ball attached to a handle
- flagrant
- conspiciously wicked; blatant; outrageous. the governor's appointment of his brother-in-law to the state Supreme Court was a flagrant violation of the state laws against nepotism )favoritism based on kinship)
- flag
- droop; grow feeble. When the opposing hockey team scored its third goal only minutes into the first priod, the home team's spirits flagged
- flaccid
- flabby. His sedentary life had left him with flaccid muscles
- fitful
- spasmodic; intermittent. After several fitful attempts, he decided to postpone the start of the project until he felt more enrgetic again
- fissure
- crevice. The mountain climbers secured footholds in tiny fissures in the rock.
- firebrand
- hothead; troublemaker. The police tried to keep track of all the local firebrands when the president came to town.
- finite
- limited. It is difficult for humanity with its finite existence to grapsy the infinite
- finicky
- too particular; fussy. The little girl was finicky about her food, leaving anything that wasn't to her taste
- finesse
- delicate skill. The finesses and adroitness with which the surgeon wielded her scalpel impressed the observers in the operating theater
- finale
- conclusion. It is ont until we reach the finale of this play that we can understand the author's message
- filing
- particle removed by a fie. As the prisoner filed away at the iron bar on the cell window, a small heap of filings accumulated on the window sill
- filigree
- delicate, lacelike metalwork. The pendant with gold filigree that she wore round her neck trembled with each breath she took.
- filibuster
- block legislation by making long speeches. Even tho we disapproved of Senator Foghorn's political goals, we were impressed by his ability to fillibuster endlessy to keep an issue from coming to a vote
- filial
- pertaining to a son or daughter. Many children forget their filial obligations and disregard the wishes of their parents
- filch
- steal. The boys filched apples from the fruit stand
- figurine
- small ornamental statuette. The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade was hired to trace the missing figurine of a black bird
- figment
- invention; imgainary thing. Was he hearing real voices in the night, or were they just a figment of his imagination?
- fidelity
- loyalty. Lago wickedly manipulates Othelio, aroudsing his jealousy and causing him to question his wife's fidelity
- fictitious
- imaginary. Although this book purports to be a biography of George Washington, many of the incidents are fictitious.
- fickle
- changeable; faithless. As soon as Romeosaw Juliet, he forgot all about his crush on Rosaline. Was Romeo fickle?
- fiat
- command; authorization. Although the bill abolishing the allowances and priviledges of the former princes was rejected by the upper ouse, it was put into effect by prsidential fiat
- fiasco
- total failure. Our ambitious venture ended in a fiasco and we were forced to flee
- fetter
- shackle. The prisoner was fettered to the wall.
- fetid
- malodorous; foul-smelling. When a polecat is alarmed, the scent gland under its tail emits a fetid secretion used for territorial maring. Stinky! Does fet cheese smell fetid to you?
- fete
- honor at a festival. The returning hero was feted at a community supper and dance.
- festive
- joyous; celebratory. Their wedding in the park was a festive occasion.
- fester
- rankle; produce irritation or resentment. Joe's insult festered in Anne's mind for days, and made her too angry to speak to him
- fervor
- glowing ardor; intensity of feeling. At the protest rally, the students cheered the strikers and bood the ean with equal fervor
- ferret
- drive or hunt out of hiding. She ferreted out their secret
- ferment
- agitation; commotion. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, much of Eastern Europe was in a state of ferment
- feral
- not domestic; wild. Abandoned by their owners, dogs may revert to their feral state, roaming the woods in packs
- felon
- person convicted of a grave crime. A convicted felon loses the right to vote
- fell
- cut or knock down; bring down (with a missile)> crying 'timber!' Paul Bunywan felled the mighty redwood tree. Robin Hood loosed his arrow and felled the king's deer
- felicity
- happinessl appropriateness (of a remark, choice, etc) she wrote a note to the newly weds wishing them great felicity in their wedded life
- felicitous
- apt; suitably expressed; well chosen. he was famous for his felicitous remarks and was called upon to serve as master-of-ceremonies at many a banquet
- feint
- trick; shift; sham blow. THe boxer was fooled by his opponent's feint and dropped his guard
- feign
- pretend. Lady Macbeth feigned illness in the courtyard although she was actually healthy
- fecundity
- fertility; fruitfullness/ The fecundity of her mind is illustrated by the many vivid images in her poems. Rabbits are noted for their fecundity; in the absence of natural predators, they multiply, well, like rabbits, as the Australians learned to their dismay.
- feckless
- feeble and ineffective; careless and irresponsible. Richard II proved such a feckless ruler that Bolingbroke easily convinced Parliament to elect him king in Richard's place. The film The Perfect Circle tells the tale of a feckless poet who, unwillingly saddled with two warorphans, discovers a sense of responsibility and community that had eluded him in his own previous family life
- febrile
- feverish. In his febrile condition, he was subject to nightmares and hallucinations
- feasible
- practical. Is it feasible to build a new stadium for the Yankees on New York's West Side? Without additional funding, the project is clearly unrealistic
- faze
- disconcert; dismay. No crisis could faze the resourceful hotel manager
- fawning
- trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering, or cringing. In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Collins is the archetypal fawning clergyman, wholly dependent for his living on the goodwill of his patron.
- fauna
- animals of a period or region. The scientist could ivsualize the fauna of the period by examining the skletal remains and the fossils
- fatuous
- brainless; inane; follish, yet smug. Attacking the notion that women should defer to men's supposedly superior intelligence, Germaine Greer wrote that she was sick of pretending that some fatuous male's self-iportant pronoucements were the objects of her undivided attention.
- fathom
- comprehend; investigate. I find his motives impossible to fathom; in fact, I'm totally clueless about what goes on in his mind
- fatalism
- belief that events are determined by forces beyond one's control. With fatalism, he accepted the hardships that beset him
- fastidious
- difficult to please; squeamish. Bobby was such a fastidious eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust
- farce
- road comedy; mockery. Nothing went right; the entire interview degernated into a farce. farical, adj
- fanfare
- call by bugles or trumpets; showy display. The exposition was opened with a fanfare of trumpets and the firign of cannon
- fancy
- notion; whim; inclination. martin took a fancy to paint his toenails purple. Assuming he would outgrow such a fanciful notion, his parents ignored his fancy feet
- fancier
- breeder or dealer of animals. The dog fancier exhibited her prize collie at the nnual Kennel Club show.