| Term | Definition |
|---|
| precarious | unsafe; insecure; uncertain; dangerous |
| devestation | destruction; desolation |
| vulnerable | easily injured or hurt physically or emotionally; open to criticism or attack |
| besiege | to crowd around in order to ask for favors; to overwhelm; to enclose with armed forces |
| wreak | to inflict; to express |
| perseverance | the act or habit of holding to a course of action or belief; persistence; steadfastness |
| autonomy | independence; the condition of haveing self-government |
| wane | to decrease gradually; to decline in power, importance, or size |
| inclement | without mercy; rough or stormy; harsh |
| latitude | freedom; scope |
| balmy | mild and pleasant; soothing |
| facsimile | an exact reproduction or copy, in telecommunications, also called a fax; duplicate |
| vigilant | alert; watchful; wary |
| commence | to begin, to initiate; to start |
| archaic | no longer in general use; old-fashioned; belonging to an earlier period; ancient |
| invincible | not to be overcome; unconquerable |
| beguile | to cheat or decieve; to mislead by tricking or cheating |
| appease | to soothe or pacify, especially by giving in to demands |
| pretext | a false reason concealing a real one; an excuse |
| espionage | spying |
| juncture | a point where things are joined; a crossing; a point in time; a crisis point |
| tawny | browning-yellow; tan |
| hieroglyphics | a picture or symbol representing a word. syllable, or sound, used by the ancient Egyptians and others, instead of alphabetical letters; a method of writing using these pictures or symbols; picture writing; pertaining to a system of writing that used pictures or symbols |
| subsidize | to aid or assist with a grant of money; to support; to promote |
| inaccessible | no easily reached or approaches; out of the way |
| coffer | a box or chest, especially one used to hold money or other valuables |
| rivulet | a small stream, a brook |
| edifice | a building or structure, especially an imposing or elaborate one |
| retainer | a fee paid in advance for services; a servant; an attendant |
| innovation | a new way to do something; something new |
| canine | any animal belonging to the dog family; of or like a dog |
| ossify | to change into bone; to harden like a boner; to become rigid, hardhearted, or opposed to change |
| meager | noticeably inadequate; scanty; lean; thin |
| obliterate | to inflict terrible destruction; to ruin violently; the act of destroying; great damage |
| apex | the highest point of something; vertex; the culmination or point of climax |
| defunct | no longer in existence or functioning; dead |
| percieve | to become aware of or to understand by means of the senses; to detect; to observe; to grasp the meaning of |
| bourgeois | of or like the middle class- often referring to a focus upon material things and respectability; a middle-class person; the middle class |
| influx | a flowing in, as of people or things |
| ravage | to blot or whipe out completely; to erase; leaving no trace |
| ensue | to come next, or follow; to happen as a consequence |
| succulent | juicy; not dry or dull; having fleshy plant tissue that conserves moisture; a plant that has such tissues |
| facilitate | to make easier or more convenient; to aid or assist in |
| steppe | a vast, almost treeless plain in southeastern Europe or Asia |
| horsd'oeuvre | a food served either before a meal or with drinks |
| expedient | suitable; advantageous; based on self-interest |
| platable | acceptable to the mind; fit to be eaten; pleasant-tasting |
| buffet | a piece of dinging room furniture with cupboards and drawers; a meal set out so that people may serve themselves |
| lapse | to fall from a higher level; to a lower; to pass gradually; to come to an end; a slight, temporary error or slip; a fall from a better to a worse condition |
| delectable | very pleasing; delightful; delicious |
| quantitative | capable of being measured or expressed as an amount |
| zenith | the highest point of any course or path; the point in the sky directly above an observer |
| astute | showing a clever or shrewd min; crafty |
| recur | to return in though or speech; to happen or appear again; to occure at intervals |
| conducive | helpful; tending to promote as a result; contributory |
| erratic | irregular; not steady; uncertain |
| mosque | a Muslim house of worship |
| pastoral | relating to a simple country way of life; relating to shepherds; rural |
| requisite | a necessity; a requirement; absolutely necessary; required by circumstances |
| aptiture | a natural ability; the ability to learn |
| insolence | quality or instance of being disrespectful and insulting; impudence |
| prone | having a tendency; inclined; lying flat, face down |
| diversion | a turning aside, os of traffic or attention; a game or pastime; a recreation |
| annihilate | to destroy completely; to vanquish; to make ineffectual or unimportant; to kill |
| purge | to remove undesirable elements from; to rid; to remove by cleansing; the removal of members by a higher authority |
| moderation | state of being restrained, avoidance of excesses; presiding over, as a meeting; mediation |
| concession | an act of granting or yielding; something granted or yielded; a privilege, such as the right to use land, granted for a specific purpose |
| flagrant | obviously bad; notorious; outrageous |
| decimate | to destroy or kill a large part of |
| evade | to escape or avoid something, especially by using deceit or cleverness; to avoid doing or answering something directly |
| protocol | the code prescribing formal etiquette and precedence for official ceremonies and dealings, as with the diplomates and the military; an original draft or record of a negotiation or document |
| dissent | to object or oppose, not to approve; a difference of opinion, protest |
| pacifist | a person opposed to forces as a way of settling disputes; one who refuses to bear arms in war |
| ultimatum | a final demand or proposition |
| clemency | a lenient or merciful act; mildness, as of weather |
| mannerism | a distinctive personal trait; an idiosyncrasy; an exaggerated or unnatural style or habit, as in speech or dress |
| inhibition | the act of holding back; an inner belief, feeling, or force that checks one's actions, thoughts or feelings |
| meticulous | extremely careful; overly precise or fussy about details |
| submission | obedience; humbleness |
| mandatory | required; obligatory |
| censure | to criticize or blame; a condemning judgement; a reprimand |
| abound | to teem; to exist in large numbers; to have plenty |
| rift | a general pardon, especially for political prisoners |
| amnesty | to break open; to split; a split; a break in friendly relations |
| admirably | in a worthy manner; commendably; excellently |
| inalienable | not capable of being fiven or withdrawn |
| bias | a line slanting diagonally across the weave of a fabric; a prejudice or personal tendency; to prejudice or sway |
| timorous | easily frightened; fearful; timid; cowardly |
| affidavit | a written statement made under oath |
| diminuitive | referring to suffixes or altered word forms that designate smallness, affection, or familiarity; a very small person or thing; tinyl; of small size |
| ornate | elaborate; excessibely adorned or ornamented |
| constituent | a necessary part or element; a voter represented by an elected official; necessary in making up a whole; component |
| destitute | poverty-stricken; penniless; being without |
| prelude | anything serving as an introduction, such as an introductory section of a piece of music; an opening |
| colloquial | informal in language; conversational |
| exultant | rejoicing greatly; triumphant |
| bedlam | a place or condition of chaos or turmoil |
| curtail | to shorten; to decrease |
| consolidate | to unite; to strengthen; to make solid or firmly established |
| emancipate | to set free; to release from slavery or oppression |
| documentary | based on or consisting of documents; employing facts rather than fiction; a presentation built on factual conditions or historical events |
| reprieve | a temporary relief; an order temporarily delaying punishment or the execution of a sentence |
| fluctuate | to rise and fall or move back and forth; to change continually in an irregular way |
| casement | a window that opens on hinges along its side |
| vehement | marked by great emotion, force, or conviction; intense; violent |
| debut | to present for the first time; to make a debut; a first public appearance, as of an actor; a formal entrance into society |
| melancholy | sad; depressed; causing or suggesting sadness; gloom; low spirits |
| requiem | music or a mass for the dead |
| theoretical | hypothetical; unproved or unceratin |
| bestride | to sit on something with a leg on each side; to straddle |
| gloat | to regard with mean or greedy pleasure, greed, or great rejoicing |
| legacy | something inherited or handed down; money or property left by a will |
| clangor | a continuous clanging; a loud ringing sound, as of metal being hit |
| wheedle | to influence or persuade by using flattery or soothing words; to coax |
| patent | a government document giving a person the right to profit from an invention; to acquire such a document; evident; obvious |
| indite | to charge with an offense or a crime; to make a formal accusation on the basis of legal evidence |
| patriarch | a founder and leader or a tribe or family; a respected old man |
| mortify | to humilitate; to discipline oneself by self-denial or punishment |
| enjoin | to command, especially in law; to forbid |
| livid | discolored by a bruise; pail, white, or red with anger of affliction; very angry or furious |
| closure | the act of closing or condition of being closed; a conclusion or finish |
| indifferent | unprejudiced; regarded as not mattering one way or another, neutral; unimpressive; average or moderate |
| cronie | a close friend or companion; a buddy |
| convene | to call, bring, or gather together; to assemble for a common purpose; to meet |
| botch | to spoil by inferior performance; a second-rate piece of work |
| impartial | fari; just; showing no favoritism; without prejudice |
| condole | to express sympathy; to grieve in sympathy; to commiserate |
| stipulate | to specify as a condition of an agreement; to guarantee in an agreement; to promise |
| clientelle | customers or patrons collectively |
| momentum | the force exerted by a moving body, found by multiplying its mass times its speed; speed or force, usually increasing in strength |
| oblivious | unaware, unmindful; forgetful |
| subsidiary | a company controlled by another company; subordiate; secondary |
| cant | insincere or almost meaningless speech; jargon; hypocritical speech; to speak insincerely or tritely |
| equilibrium | a state of balance; mental or emotional poise or control |
| rectify | to set right; to adjust |
| substantially | largely; considerably; significantly |
| arbiter | a person chosen to decide a dispute; a judge |
| strategem | a scheme or trick for achieving some purpose, such as to decieve a military enemy; a deception |
| disconcerting | causing a loss of calmness, disturbing, embarrassing; frustrating |
| breach | to break throughl to violate; to leap clear of; a violation of a law, obligation, or standard; a gap or broken place |
| mull | to think about at length; to ponder |
| imposition | something forced on a person, such as a tax, an undue burden, or oneself |
| synthesis | the combining of parts or elemnts to form a whole; the production of a complex compound by union of chemical elements |
| effervescent | high-spirited; lively; giving off many small bubbles of gas; foaming; bubbly |
| debase | to cheapen; to decrease the worth of something or someone |
| resonant | deep and rich in tone or sound; resounding or reechoing |
| explicate | to explain in detail; to clairify the meaning of |
| immaculate | without stain; free from error; innocent, without sin; pure |
| quible | to find a minor fault with; to avoid the point being argued; a petty objection |
| sporadic | occurring at irregular intervals |
| translucent | letting some lgiht through without beging completely transparent |
| itinerary | a route, plan, or record of a trip |
| stimulant | something that excites or activates; a substance or an agent that quickens body activity temporarily |
| infallible | free from or incapable of error; absolutely reliable and dependable |
| sardonic | bitter; sarcastic; scornful |
| inadvertent | not done on purpose; unintentional |
| naive | lacking in sophistication; simple; inexperienced; revealing a lack of subtle understanding of the nature of things |
| abdicate | to give up or renounce power |
| rankle | to cause continual irritation, anger, or resentment |
| episode | an event or a series of events that is part of a larger continuing experience; an incident in a written work; an installment, as of a series of television programs |
| pallid | abnormally pale; lacking in color, vitality, or interest |
| intermittent | stopping and starting with pauses between; occurring at irregular intervals; occasional |
| redundant | unnecessarily wordy or repetitive; excessive; superfluous |
| sequel | a story complete in itself that continues an earlier one; continuation; a consequence |
| demure | assuming an air of modesty or shyness; reserved |
| irrelevant | not applicable; not relevant; not related to the subject |
| synopsis | a brief review, outline, or condensation; a summary |
| edify | to instruct, expecially morally or spiritually; to reveal the facts of |
| intuition | a knowing or becoming aware through an inner feeling rather than through logic; immediate understanding; sharp insight |
| reminiscent | thinking or telling about events of the past; suggestive of something seen or known before |
| lexicon | a ditictionary; the voccabulary of a particular trade, group of people, or the like |
| simulate | to look or act like; to pretend to be like; to imitate |
| eject | to throw out forcefully; to expel; to evict or drive out |
| rendezvous | a designated meeting place; a place where people habitually meet; a prearranged meeting; to meet or bring together at a certain place and time |
| detonate | to blow up; to explode; to cause to explode; an explosion |
| daunt | to intimidate; to discourage; to subdue |
| irrational | illogical; senseless; not reasonable |
| contend | to struggle for, battle; to compete; to debate, dispute; to assert |
| jostle | to shove or push rudely; to come into close contact with; to collide |
| throng | a great number of people or things crowded together; to gather about and crush; to jam or pack |
| irksome | annoying, irritating; tiresome |
| malignant | actively evil; having an evil influence; tending to do great harm; life-threatening |
| farce | a broad comedy using exaggeration and absurd action; a mockery; empty pretense |
| parody | an imitatioin that ridicules the original; to imitate in order to ridicule; to mimic |
| jargon | the specialized language of a trade of profession; nonsensical speech; gibberish |
| rebuke | to accuse or scold sharply; a scolding; a sharp reprimand |
| decrepit | worn out or broken down by age, illness, or long use; feeble; weak |
| pertinent | related to the matter at hand; to the point; appropriate |
| inconsistant | not in harmony or agreement; containing elements that contradict one another; changeable |
| obligatory | required; compulsory; legally binding |
| negligible | to small or unimportant to bother with; insignificant |
| sordid | dirty; degrading; ignoble; squalid; greedy and selfish |
| protrude | to project or stick out |
| carp | to find fault in an unpleasant or nagging way; to complain, expecially about a minor grievance |
| incendiary | capable of causing fire; stirring up discord or rebellion; a person who sets fire to property; a person who stirs up discord or rebellion |
| caustic | a substance that burns or corrodes; corrosive; marked by sharp and biting wit; sarcastic |
| scenario | a brief summary of a play or opera; a script of a motion picture; an outline of proposed events, real or imagined |
| transition | a changing from on form, state, or place to another; a passing from one subject to another |
| odious | hateful; disgusting; detestable |
| coincidental | occurring together by accident; existing or happening at the same time |
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