firebrand(FYR brand) n.1. a piece of burning wood; 2. a person who stirs up a
revolution, strife, or trouble
- Keep the firebrandswell 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 flammabilityof children’s pajamas.
- What is now known as flammableused 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 flippancieswas 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 floridpassages in solo instrument parts that allow the soloist
to show his or her virtuosity. - Many homes become floridwith 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 floutingtheir father figures’ authority.
- Those Texans and Texacanos holed up in the Alamo floutedGeneral 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 fluentas he unhesitatingly galloped down the
home stretch. - Quentin is fluentin 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 fluentin technical terms, like
WYSIWYG.
[-ly adv.]
F: SAT Words 113