Elite Vocab AB 800-825
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Created by:
mishaxawesome on August 6, 2009
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50 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 humane | adj. kind; compassionate |
| progeny | n. children or descendants |
| depreciate | v. to reduce in price or value |
| plausible | adj. appearing worthy of belief or trust |
| rout | n. a disorderly retreat or flight following a defeat; an overwhelming defeat; v. to defeat overwhemingly |
| elocution | n. the art of public speaking, with attention to delivery |
| fetter | v. to confine, to restrain, or keep down; n. chains; shackles |
| exalt | v. to raise in status or character; to increase the effect or intensity of |
| philanthropic | adj. donating to charity |
| start | v. to move suddenly or involuntarily |
| contemplate | v. to look at or think about carefully; to consider as a possibility |
| own | v. to admit, esp. taking personal reponsibility for one's own actions or thoughts |
| hedge | v. to protect against possible loss by taking compensatory measures; to avoid making a direct statement |
| mimic | v. to copy closely, esp. with intent to ridicule |
| lachrymose | adj. causing tears; weeping or inclined to weep |
| hospitable | adj. friendly, kind, and solicitous toward guests; receptive or open |
| meritocracy | n. a system in which promotion is based on individual ability or achievement |
| desolate | adj. left alone; lonely; deserted |
| paean | n. a song of joy, triumph, or praise |
| covet | v. to desire strongly |
| decadence | n. a period of decline, as in morals |
| contingent | adj. unpredictable because dependent on chance; dependent on something uncertain |
| debacle | n. an overwhelming defeat or rout |
| hefty | adj. heavy |
| reproof | n. an expression of disapproval; a rebuke |
| emphatic | adj. done or expressed with force |
| ineluctable | adj. unable to be avoided; inescapable |
| doldrums | n. an area in the ocean of calm wings; a state of boredom or listlessness |
| scenario | n. an outline for a planned series of events, either real of imagined; a summary of a work of fiction |
| disinterested | adj. free from bias |
| emblematic | adj. symbolic, representative of more |
| juncture | n. a point of time; a concurrence of events |
| nettle | v. to bother; to irritate |
| relent | v. to become less severe; to give in |
| beget | v. to produce; to father offspring |
| appellation | n. name; title |
| invidious | adj. tending to arouse hostility or resentment |
| flabbergast | v. to overcome with astonishment |
| deadpan | adj. showing no expression |
| tautology | n. needless repetition of an idea in different words (e.g., "widow woman") |
| craven | adj. cowardly; contemptibly timid |
| proverbial | adj. well-known because widely repeated |
| quintessence | n. a pure substance or essence of something |
| extol | v. to praise highly and lavishly |
| relinquish | v. to surrender or release |
| jocular | adj. characterized by joking |
| incarnate | adj. in human form and shape |
| brood | v. to be deep in thought; to think over moodily and at length |
| obviate | v. to stop from occuring; to prevent or make unnecessary |
| linchpin | n. a central element that holds other parts together |
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