Vocab for English
About this set
Created by:
airbender10 on December 14, 2010
Description:
Ch.1-Ch.7
STUDY BY GOING TO "TEST" THEN RECONFIGURING IT TO MULTIPLE CHOICE ONLY!
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140 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 acquisitive | adj; able to get and retain ideas or information, concerned with acquiring wealth or property |
| arrogate | v; to clai or take without right |
| banal | adj; hackneyed, trite, commonplace |
| belabor | v; to work on excessively, to thrash soundly |
| carping | adj; tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplittnig way -- n; petty, nagging criticism |
| coherent | adj; holding or sticking together, making a logical whole, comprehensible, meaningful |
| congeal | v; to change from liquid to solid, thickened, to make inflexible or rigid |
| emulate | v; to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model |
| encomium | n; a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute |
| eschew | to avoid, shun, keep away from |
| germane | adj; relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting |
| insatiable | adj; so great or demanding as not to be satisfied |
| intransigent | adj; refusing to compromise, irreconcilable |
| invidious | adj; offensive, hateful, tending to cause bitterness and resentment |
| largesse | n; generosity in giving, lavish or bountiful contributions |
| reconnaissance | n; a survery made for military purposes, any kind of preliminary inspection or examination |
| substantiate | v; to establish by evidence, prove, to give concrete or substantial form to |
| taciturn | adj; habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little |
| temporize | v; to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision, to compromise |
| tenable | adj; capable of being held or defended |
| accost | v; to approach and speak to first, to confront in a challenging or aggressive way |
| animadversion | n; a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval |
| avid | adj; desirous of something to the point of greed, intensely eager |
| brackish | adj; having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink |
| celerity | n; swiftness, rapidity of motion or action |
| devious | adj; straying or wandering from a straight or direct course, done or acting in s shiftly or underhanded way |
| gambit | n; in chess, an opening move that involves risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage, any opening move of this type |
| halcyon | n; a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher -- adj; of or relating to calm, peaceful, happy, golden, prosperous, affluent |
| histrionic | adj; pertaining to actors and their technique, theatrical, artificial, melodramatic |
| incendiary | adj; deliberately setting or causing fires, designed to start fires, tending to stir rebellion -- n; one who deliberately sets fires, arsonist |
| maelstrom | n; whirlpool of great size and violence, a situation resembling a whirlpool in destruction |
| myoptic | adj; nearsighted, lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation, lacking foresight or discernment |
| overt | open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized |
| pejorative | adj, tending to make worse, expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling |
| propriety | n; the state of being proper, appropriateness, (pl.) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable |
| sacrilege | n; improper or disrespectful treatment of somthing held sacred |
| summarily | adv; without delay or formality, briefly, concisely |
| suppliant | adj; asking humbly and earnestly -- n; one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor |
| talisman | n; an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish |
| undulate | v; to move in waves or with a wavelike motion, to have a wavelike appearance or form |
| articulate | v; to pronounce distinctively, to express well in words, to connect by a joint or joints -- adj; expressed clearly and forcefully, able to employ language clearly |
| cavort | v; to romp or prance around exunberantly, to make merry |
| credence | n; belief, mental acceptance |
| decry | v; to condem, express strong disapproval, to officially depreciate |
| dissemble | v; to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression |
| distraught | adj; very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict |
| eulogy | n; a formal statement of commendation, high praise |
| evince | v; to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke |
| exhume | to remove from a grave, to bring to light (like Yorick's skull from Hamlet) |
| feckless | adj; lacking in spirit and stength, ineffective, weak |
| murky | adj; dark and gloomy, obscure, lacking in clarity and precision |
| nefarious | adj; wicked, depraved, devoid or moral standards |
| piquant | adj; stimulating to the tast or mind, spicy, pungent, appealingly provocative |
| primordial | adj; developed or created at the very beginning, going back to the most ancient times or earliest stages, fundamentals |
| propinquity | n; nearness in place or time, kinship |
| unwonted | adj; not usual or expected, not in character |
| utopian | adj; founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world, impractical |
| verbiage | n; language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness |
| verdant | adj; green in color, immature in experience or judgment |
| viscous | adj; having a gelatinous or gluey quaility, lacking in easy movement or fluidity |
| atrophy | n; the wasting away of a body organ or tissue, any progressive decline or failure -- v; to waste away |
| bastion | n; a fortified place, stronghold |
| concord | n; a state of agreement, harmony, unanimity, a treaty, pact, convenant |
| consummate | adj; complete or perfect in the highest degree -- v; to bring to a state of completion or perfection |
| disarray | n; disorder, confusion -- v; to throw into disorder (like when Mrs. Zefo gives us our class calendars...she throws us into...) |
| exigency | n; urgency, pressure, urgent demand, pressing need, an emergency |
| flotsam | n; floating debris, homeless, impoverished people |
| frenetic | adj; frenzied, highly agitated |
| glean | v; to gather bit by bit, to gather small quantities of grain left in a field by the reapers |
| grouse | n; a type of game bird, a complaint -- v; to complain, grumble |
| incarcerate | v; to imprison, confine, jail |
| incumbent | adj; obligatory, required -- n; one who holds a specific office at the time spoken of |
| jocular | adj; humorous, jesting, jolly, joking |
| ludicrous | adj; ridiculous, laughable, absurd |
| mordant | adj; biting or caustic in thought, manner, or style, sharply or bitterly harsh |
| nettle | adj; a prickly or stinging plant -- v; to arouse displeasure, impatience, or anger, to vex or irritate |
| pecuniary | adj; consisting of or measured in money; of or related to money |
| pusillanimous | adj; contemptibly cowardly or mean-spirited |
| recumbent | adj; in a reclining position, lying down, in the posture of one sleeping or resting |
| stratagem | n; a scheme to outwit or deceive an opponent or to gain an end |
| acuity | n; sharpness (particularly in mind or senses) |
| delineate | v; to portray, sketch, or describe in accurate and vivid detail, to represent pictorially |
| depraved | adj; marked by evil and corruption, devoid of moral principles |
| enervate | v; to weaken or lessen the mental, moral, or physical vigor of, enfeeble, hamstring |
| esoteric | adj; intended for or understood by only a select few, private, secret |
| fecund | adj; fruitful in offspring or vegetation, intellectually productive |
| fiat | n; an arbitrary order or decress, a command or act of will or conciousness |
| figment | n; a fabrication of the mind, an arbitrary notion |
| garner | v; to acquire as the result of effort, to gather or store away, as for future use |
| hallow | v; to set apart as holy or sacred, sanctify, consecrate, to honor greatly, revere |
| idiosyncrasy | n; a peculiarity that serves to distinguish or identify |
| mundane | adj; earthly, worldly, relating to practical and material affairs, concerned with what is ordinary |
| nuance | n; a subtle or slight variation (as in color, meaning, quality, shade of difference) |
| overweening | adj, conceited, presumptuous, excessive, immoderate |
| penchant | n; a strong attraction or inclination |
| reputed | adj; according to reputation or general belief, having a widespread acceptance and good reputation |
| sophistry | n; reasoning that seems plausible but is actually unsound; a fallacy |
| sumptuous | adj; costly, richly, magnificent |
| ignominy | n; a shame and disgrace |
| ubiquitous | adj; present or existing everywhere |
| abject | adj; degraded, base, contemptible, cringing, servile, complete and unrelieved |
| agnostic | n; one who believes that nothing can be known about God -- adj; without faith, skeptical (learned about them in Mulv's class) |
| complicity | n; involvement in wrongdoing, the state of being an accomplice |
| derelict | n; someone or something that is abandoned or neglected -- adj; left, abandoned, neglectful of duty (B4...Jake's comment about Zoolander might be a good hint) |
| diatribe | n; a bitter and prolonged verbal attack |
| effigy | n; a crude image of a despised person |
| equity | n; the state or quality of being just, fair, or impartial, fair and equal treatment, something that is fair |
| inane | adj; silly, empty of meaning or value |
| indictment | n; the act of accusing, a formal accusation (Animal House fans--Otter's speech in the court room) |
| indubitable | adj; certain, not to be doubted or denied |
| intermittent | stopping and beginning again, sporadic |
| moot | adj; open to discussion and debate, unresolved -- v; to bring up for discussion -- n; a hypothetical law case argued by students |
| motif | n; a principle idea, feature, theme, or element, a repeated or dominant figure in a design |
| neophyte | n; a new convert, beginner, novice |
| perspicacity | n; keeness in observing and understanding |
| plenary | adj; complete in all aspects or essentials, absolute, attened by all qualified members |
| surveillance | n; a watch kept over a person, careful, close, and disciplined observation |
| testy | adj; easily irritated, characterized by impatience and exasperation |
| travesty | n; a grotesque or grossy inferior imitation, a disguise, especially in close of the opposite sex -- v; to ridicule by imitating in a broad or burlesque fashion (think drag queen) |
| allay | v; to calm, pacify, set to rest, to lessen or relieve |
| bestial | adj; beastlike, beastly, brutal, subhuman in intelligence and sensibility (Glee fans--think of the Coach Beiste) |
| convival | adj; festive, sociable, having fun together, genial |
| coterie | n; a circle of aquaintences, a close-knit, often exclusive, group of people with a common interest |
| counterpart | n; a person or thing closely resembling or corresponding to another, a complement |
| demur | v; to object or take exception to -- n; an objection |
| effrontery | n; shameless boldness, impudence |
| embellish | v; decorate, adorn, touch up, to improve by adding details |
| ephemeral | adj; lasting only a short time, short-lived |
| felicitous | adj; appropriate, apt, well chosen, marked by well-being or good fortune, happy |
| furtive | adj; done slyly or stealthily, sneaky, secret, shifty |
| garish | adj; glaring, tastelessly showy or overdecorated in a vulgar or offensive way |
| illusory | adj; misleading, deceptive, lacking in or not based on reality |
| indigent | adj; needy, impoverished |
| inordinate | adj; far too great, exceeding reasonable limits, excessive |
| jettison | v; to cast overboard, get rid of as unnecessary or burdensome |
| misanthrope | n; a person who hates or despises people |
| pertinacious | adj; very persistent, holding firmly to a course of action or a set of beliefs, hard to get rid of |
| picayune | adj; of little value or importance, paltry, measly, concerned with trifling matters, small-minded |
| raiment | n; clothing, garments |
| sylvan | adj; pertaining to or characteristic of forests, living ot located in a forest, woody |
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