Sadlier Oxford Level H Units 4-6
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Created by:
aclayton13 on February 10, 2011
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60 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 aficionado | (n.) an enthusiastic and usually expert follower or fan |
| browbeat | (v.) to intimidate by a stern or overbearing manner; to bully |
| commensurate | (adj.) equal in size, extent, duration, or importance; proportionate, measurable by the same standards |
| diaphanous | (adj.) very sheer and light; almost completely transparent |
| emolument | (n.) profit derived from an office or position from employment; a fee or salary |
| foray | (n.) a quick raid, especially for plunder; a venture into some field of endeavor; (v.) to make such a raid |
| genre | (n.) a type, class, or variety, especially a distinctive category of literary composition; a style of painting in which everyday scenes are realistically depicted |
| homily | (n.) a sermon stressing moral principles; a tedious moralizing lecture or discourse |
| immure | (v.) to enclose or confine within walls; to imprison; to seclude or isolate |
| insouciant | (adj.) blithely indifferent or unconcerned; carefree; happy-go-lucky |
| matrix | (n.) a mold; the surrounding situation or environment |
| obsequies | (n.) funeral rights or ceremonies |
| panache | (n.) a confident and stylish manner, dash; a strikingly elaborate or colorful display |
| persona | (n.) a character in a novel or play; the outward character or role that a person assumes |
| philippic | (n.) a bitter verbal attack |
| prurient | (adj.) having lustful desires or interests; tending to arouse sexual desires |
| sacrosanct | (adj.) very sacred or holy; inviolable; set apart or immune from questioning or attack |
| systemic | (adj.) of or pertaining to the entire body; relating to a system or systems |
| tendentious | (adj.) intending to promote a particular point of view, doctrine, or cause; biased or partisan |
| vicissitude | (n.) a change, variation, or alteration; (pl.) successive or changing phases or conditions |
| affinity | (n.) a natural attraction to a person, thing, or activity; a relationship, connection |
| bilious | (adj.) peevish or irritable; sickeningly unpleasant |
| cognate | (adj.) closely related in origin, essential nature, or function; (n.) such a person or thing |
| corollary | (n.) a proposition that follows from one already proven; a natural consequence or result; (adj.) resultant or consequent |
| cul-de-sac | (n.) a blind alley or dead-end street; any situation in which further process is impossible; an impasse |
| derring-do | (n.) valor or heroism; daring deeds or exploits (often used to poke fun at false heroics) |
| divination | (n.) the art or act of predicting the future or discovering hidden knowledge |
| elixir | (n.) a potion once thought capable of curing all ills and maintaining life indefinitely; a panacea; a sweet liquid used as a vehicle in medicines |
| folderol | (n.) foolish talk, ideas, or procedures; nonsense; a trifle |
| gamut | (n.) an entire range or series |
| hoi polloi | (n.) the common people, the masses |
| ineffable | (adj.) not expressible in words; too great or too sacred to be uttered |
| lucubration | (n.) laborious study or thought, especially at night; the result of such work |
| mnemonic | (adj.) relating to or designed to assist the memory; (n.) a device to aid the memory |
| obloquy | (n.) a public abuse indicating strong disapproval or censure; the disgrace resulting from such treatment |
| parameter | (n.) a determining or characteristic element; a factor that shapes the total outcome; a limit, boundary |
| pundit | (n.) a learned person; one who gives authoritative opinions |
| risible | (adj.) pertaining to laughter; able or inclined to laugh; laughable |
| symptomatic | (adj.) typical or characteristic; being or concerned with a symptom of a disease |
| volte-face | (n.) an about-face; a complete reversal |
| abortive | (adj.) failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose; only partially or imperfectly developed |
| bruit | (v.) to spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumors |
| contumelious | (adj.) insolent or rude in speech or behavior; insultingly abusive; humiliating |
| dictum | (n.) a short saying; an authoritative statement |
| ensconce | (v.) to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place |
| iconoclastic | (adj.) attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions |
| in media res | (adv.) in or into the middle of a plot; into the middle of things |
| internecine | (adj.) mutually destructive; characterized by great slaughter and bloodshed |
| maladroit | (adj.) lacking skill or dexterity; lacking tact, perception, or judgment |
| maudlin | (adj.) excessively or effusively sentimental |
| modulate | (v.) to change or vary the intensity or pitch; to temper or soften; to regulate, adjust |
| portentous | (adj.) forshadowing an event to come; causing wonder or awe; self-consciously weighty, pompous |
| prescience | (n.) knowledge of events or actions before they happen; foresight |
| quid pro quo | (n.) something given in exchange or return for something else |
| salubrious | (adj.) conducive to health or well-being; wholesome |
| saturnalian | (adj.) characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry or licentiousness |
| touchstone | (n.) a means of testing worth or genuineness |
| traumatic | (adj.) so shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage |
| vitiate | (v.) to weaken, debase, or corrupt; to impair the quality or value of |
| waggish | (adj.) fond of making jokes; characteristic of a joker; playfully humorous or droll |
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