English II Honors All Vocab Peters Exam
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120 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 approbation | the expression of approval or favorable opinion, praise; official approval |
| assuage | to make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to, appease, satisfy, quench |
| coalition | a combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose |
| decadence | decline, decay, or deterioration; a condition or period of decline or decay; excessive self-indulgence |
| elicit | to draw forth, bring out from some source (such as another person) |
| expostulate | to attempt to dissuade someone from some course or decision by earnest reasoning |
| hackneyed | used so often as to lack freshness or originality |
| hiatus | a gap, opening, break (in the sense of having an element missing) |
| innuendo | a hint, indirect suggestion, or reference (often in a derogatory sense) |
| intercede | to plead on behalf of someone else; to serve as a third party or go-between in a disagreement |
| jaded | wearied, worn-out, dulled (in the sense of being satisfied by excessive indulgence) |
| lurid | causing shock, horror, or revulsion; sensational; pale or sallow in color; terrible or passionate in intensity or lack of restraint |
| meritorious | worthy, deserving recognition and praise |
| petulant | peevish, annoyed by trifles, easily irritated and upset |
| prerogative | a special right or privilege; a special quality showing excellence |
| provincial | pertaining to an outlying area; local; narrow in mind or outlook, countrified in the sense of being limited and backward; of a simple, plain design that originated in the countryside; a person with a narrow point of view; a person from an outlying area; a soldier from a province or colony |
| simulate | to make a pretense of, imitate; to show the outer signs of |
| transcend | to rise above or beyond, exceed |
| umbrage | shade cast by trees; foliage giving shade; an overshadowing influence or power; offense, resentment; a vague suspicion |
| unctuous | excessively smooth or smug; trying too hard to give an impression of earnestness, sincerity, or piety; fatty, oily; pliable |
| ameliorate | to improve, make better, correct a flaw or shortcoming |
| aplomb | poise, assurance, great self-confidence; perpendicularity |
| bombastic | pompous or overblown in language; full of high-sounding words intended to conceal a lack of ideas |
| callow | without experience; immature, not fully developed; lacking sophistication and poise; without feathers |
| drivel | saliva or mucus flowing from the mouth or nose; foolish, aimless talk or thinking; nonsense; to let saliva flow from the mouth; to utter nonsense or childish twaddle; to waste or fritter away foolishly |
| epitome | a summary, condensed account; an instance that represents a larger reality |
| exhort | to urge strongly, advise earnestly |
| ex officio | by virtue of holding a certain office |
| infringe | to violate, trespass, go beyond recognized bounds |
| ingratiate | to make oneself agreeable and thus gain favor or acceptance by others (sometimes used in a critical or derogatory sense) |
| interloper | one who moves in where he or she is not wanted or has no right to be, an intruder |
| intrinsic | belonging to someone or something by its very nature, essential, inherent; originating in a bodily organ or part |
| inveigh | to make a violent attack in words, express strong disapproval |
| lassitude | weariness of body or mind, lack of energy |
| millennium | a period of one thousand years; a period of great joy |
| occult | mysterious, magical, supernatural; secret, hidden from view; not detectable by ordinary means; to hide, conceal; eclipse; matters involving the supernatural |
| permeate | to spread through, penetrate, soak through |
| precipitate | to fall as moisture; to cause or bring about suddenly; to hurl down from a great height; to give distinct form to; characterized by excessive haste; moisture; the product of an action or process |
| stringent | strict, severe; rigorously or urgently binding or compelling; sharp or bitter to the taste |
| surmise | to think or believe without certain supporting evidence; to conjecture or guess; likely idea that lacks definite proof |
| abominate | to have an intense dislike or hatred for |
| acculturation | the modification of the social patterns, traits, or structures of one group or society by contact with those of another; the resultant blend |
| adventitious | resulting from chance rather than from an inherent cause or character; accidental, not essential; (medicine) acquired, not congenital |
| ascribe | to assign or refer to (as a cause or source), attribute |
| circuitous | roundabout, not direct |
| commiserate | to sympathize with, have pity or sorrow for, share a feeling of distress |
| enjoin | to direct or order; to prescribe a course of action in an authoritative way; to prohibit |
| expedite | to make easy, cause to progress faster |
| expiate | to make amends, make up for; to avert |
| ferment | a state of great excitement, agitation, or turbulence, to be in or work into such a state; to produce alcohol by chemical action |
| inadvertent | resulting from or marked by lack of attention; unintentional, accidental |
| nominal | existing in name only, not real; too small to be considered or taken seriously |
| noncommittal | not decisive or definite; unwilling to take a clear position or to say yes or no |
| peculate | to steal something that has been given into one's trust; to take improperly for one's own use |
| proclivity | a natural or habitual inclination or tendency (especially of human character or behavior) |
| sangfroid | composure or coolness, especially in trying circumstances |
| seditious | resistant to lawful authority; having the purpose of overthrowing an established government |
| tenuous | thin, slender, not dense; lacking clarity or sharpness; of slight importance or significance; lacking a sound basis, poorly supported |
| vitriolic | bitter, sarcastic; highly caustic or biting (like a strong acid) |
| wheedle | to use coaxing or flattery to gain some desired end |
| affable | courteous and pleasant, sociable, easy to speak to |
| aggrandize | to increase in greatness, power, or wealth; to build up or intensify; to make appear greater |
| amorphous | shapeless, without definite form; of no particular type or character; without organization, unity or cohesion |
| aura | that which surrounds (as an atmosphere); a distinctive air or personal quality |
| contraband | illegal traffic, smuggled goods; illegal, prohibited |
| erudite | scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic |
| gossamer | thin, light, delicate, insubstantial. a very thin, light cloth |
| infer | to find out by reasoning; to arrive at a conclusion on the basis of thought; to hint, suggest, imply |
| inscrutable | incapable of being understood; impossible to see through physically |
| insular | relating to, characteristic of, or situated on an island; narrow or isolated in outlook or experience |
| irrevocable | incapable of being changed or called back |
| propensity | a natural inclination or predilection toward |
| querulous | peevish, complaining, fretful |
| remonstrate | to argue or plead with someone against something, protest against, object to |
| repudiate | to disown, reject, or deny the validity of |
| resilient | able to return to an original shape or form; able to recover quickly |
| reverberate | to re-echo, resound; to reflect or be reflected repeatedly |
| scurrilous | coarsely abusive, vulgar or low (especially in language), foul mouthed |
| sedulous | persistent, showing industry and determination |
| sleazy | thin or flimsy in texture, cheap; shoddy or inferior in quality or character; ethically low, mean, or disreputable. |
| amnesty | a general pardon for an offense against a government, in general, any act of forgiveness or absolution |
| autonomy | self-government, political control |
| axiomatic | self-evident, expressing a universally accepted principle or rule |
| blazon | to adorn or embellish; to display conspicuously; to publish or proclaim widely |
| caveat | a warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior |
| equitable | fair, just, embodying principles of justice |
| extricate | to free from entanglement or difficulties; to remove with effort |
| filch | to steal, especially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts |
| flout | to mock, treat with contempt |
| fractious | tending to be troublesome, unruly, quarrelsome, contrary; unpredictable |
| precept | a rule of conduct or action |
| salutary | beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome |
| scathing | bitterly severe, withering; causing great harm |
| scourge | to whip, punish severly; a cause of affliction or suffering, a source of severe punishment or criticism |
| sepulchral | funereal, typical of the tomb; extremely gloomy or dismal |
| soporific | tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy; something that induces sleep |
| straitlaced | extremely strict in regard to moral standards and conduct; prudish, puritanical |
| transient | lasting only a short time, fleeting; one who stays only a short time |
| unwieldy | not easily carried, handled, or managed because of size or complexity |
| vapid | dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force |
| anomalous | abnormal, irregular, departing from the usual |
| aspersion | a damaging or derogatory statement; the act of slandering or defaming |
| bizarre | extremely strange, unusual, atypical |
| brusque | abrupt, blunt, with no formalities |
| cajole | to coax, persuade through flattery or artifice; to deceive with soothing thoughts or false promises |
| castigate | to punish severely; to criticize severely |
| contrive | to plain with ingenuity; invent; to bring about as the result of a scheme or plan |
| demagogue | a leader who exploits popular prejudices, false claims and promises in order to gain power |
| disabuse | to free from deception or error, set right in ideas or thinking |
| ennui | weariness and dissatisfaction from lack of occupation or interest, boredom |
| fetter | a chain or shackle placed on the feet (often used in plural), to chain or shackle; to render helpless or impotent |
| heinous | very wicked, offensive, hateful |
| immutable | not subjected to change, constant |
| insurgent | one who rebels or rises against authority, rising in revolt, refusing to accept authority; surging or rushing in or on |
| megalomania | a delusion marked by a feeling of power, wealth, talent, etc., far in excess of reality |
| sinecure | a position requiring little or no work; an easy job |
| surreptitious | stealthy, secret, intended to escape observation; made or accomplished by fraud |
| transgress | to go beyond a limit or boundary; to sin, violate a law |
| transmute | to change from one nature, substance, or form to another |
| vicarious | performed, suffered, or otherwise experienced by one person in a place of another |
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