Page 122 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

10_571656 ch06.qxd 11/10/04 12:35 PM Page 113
113
F: SAT Words
firebrand (FYR brand) n. 1. a piece of burning wood; 2. a person who stirs up a
revolution, strife, or trouble
• Keep the firebrands well isolated in the fireplace so that they don’t ignite
flammable curtains or furniture.
• Samuel Adams was a real firebrand, always ready to incite the crowd.
flammable (FLA muh bl) adj. easily burnable; quick to catch fire; readily ignited
• Laws now restrict the flammability of children’s pajamas.
• What is now known as flammable used to be “inflammable,” or how
readily something would go up in flame.
[flammability n.]
flippancy (FLIP uhn see) n. 1. the quality or state of being frivolous and disre-
spectful; sauciness; impertinence; 2. such a remark
• Some of the most effective stand-up comedians have built a carreer on
flippancy.
• One of the late Hennie Youngman’s most famous flippancies was the line
“Now, take my wife—please!”
[flippancies pl.]
florid (FLAW rid) adj. 1. pink; rosy or ruddy in complexion; 2. highly showy;
decorated
• After three hours in the wind, Anna’s cheeks were florid.
• Cadenzas are florid passages in solo instrument parts that allow the soloist
to show his or her virtuosity.
• Many homes become florid with holiday lights in December.
[-ly adv.] [Syn. ornate]
flout (FLOWT) vt. 1. to show contempt or scorn for; mock; 2. to disregard open-
ly; to defy; ignore
• Teenage boys are infamous for flouting their father figures’ authority.
• Those Texans and Texacanos holed up in the Alamo flouted General Santa
Ana’s demands for surrender.
[-ed, -ing]
fluent (FLOO int) adj. 1. flowing or smoothly moving along; 2. able to read or
write smoothly and clearly in a foreign language or technical terminology
• The horse’s motion was fluent as he unhesitatingly galloped down the
home stretch.
• Quentin is fluent in French, but he should be because his parents were
born there and speak it at home.
• To get along in today’s world, you need to be fluent in technical terms, like
WYSIWYG.
[-ly adv.]