Upgrade to remove ads
Only $2.99/month

Vocab- Week of 12/4

Terms in this set (37)

Abstruse
adj. difficult to understand; obscure
Venal
adj. showing or motivated by susceptibility to bribery
Thraldom
n. serfdom or slavery; a condition of servitude; hence, mental or moral bondage
Piety
n. Devotion to religion; reverence for God; honor and obedience to parents; as filial...
Ribald
Indecent; low; as, a... song; uproarious; Noisy and profane; as, ... mirth
Sordid
Mean; vile; base; without noble ideals; degraded; greedy of gain; miserly
Opportunist
n. one who takes advantage of circumstances to promote or push forward his own advantage
Purloin
v. to remove; take away; steal
Rapacious
Plundering; seizing by violence; grasping
Sardonic
Forced; bitter; heartless; also, derisive, mocking, or sneering, as laughter
Usury
n. Illegal action or practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest
Vindicative
Tending or serving to justify or defend; as, a... plea
Accessible
Easy to reach or enter; capable of being approached; open to influence; attainable
Canopy
n. an overhanging covering, as the arch of the sky
Cudgel
n. A short, thick club or stick
v. To beat, as with a thick club
Ablution
n. a washing or cleansing of the body; any ceremonial washing done as a religious duty
Agnomen
n. an additional name or title; usually given because of exploits, as, Washington, father of his country
Consecutive
successive; coming one after another without interruption; as... days
Convalesce
v. to recover strength and health after illness; Improve
Analogy
n. partial agreement or resemblance between things somewhat different
Blarney
n. soft, cajoling speech; flattery
Caprice
n. a sudden, impulsive change of the mind or intention; the tendency to sudden, unreasoning change in purpose
Citadel
n. any strongly fortified place; any refuge
Concise
condensed and clear-cut; terse
Creditable
deserving public acknowledgment and praise but not outstanding
Adamant
refusing to be persuaded or to change one's mind
Altruism
n. regard for and devotion to the interests of others, coupled with unselfish benevolence: opposite of egoism
Bacchanal
pertaining to Bacchus (the god of wine); riotous.
n. a drunken reveler; a riotous feast
Calumny
n. false accusations made deliberately in order to injure someone's reputation
Egregious
outstanding among others of the same kind
Finagle
v. to cheat and use underhand methods
Renascent
Coming into existence again; being born again; springing or rising again into vigor
Saturnalia
N. An occasion of riotous or dissolute merrymaking
Sycophant
A person who flatters; a yes-man
Topography
N. The surface features of the earth or of a particular region, including such physical characteristics as mountains, lakes, rivers, roads, cities, etc.
Vacillate
V. To move one way and the other; to be unsteady; to reel; to stagger
Virago
N. A quarrelsome woman; a woman possessing masculine qualities
THIS SET IS OFTEN IN FOLDERS WITH...