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English Vocab Units 7-9

Terms in this set (60)

austere (ô stēr')
(adj.) severe or stern in manner; without adornment or luxury, simple, plain; harsh or sour in flavor
beneficent (be nef' e sent)
(adj.) performing acts of kindness or charity; concerning benefits, doing good
cadaverous (ke dav' er es)
(adj.) pale, gaunt, resembling a corpse
concoct (kän käkt')
(v.) to prepare by combining ingredients, make up (as a dish); to devise, invent, fabricate
crass (kras)
(adj.) coarse, unfeeling; stupid
debase (di bās')
(v.) to lower in character, quality, or value; to degrade, adulterate; to cause to deteriorate
desecrate (des' e krāt)
(v.) to commit sacrilege upon, treat irreverently; to contaminate, pollute
disconcert (dis ken sert')
(v.) to confuse; to disturb the composure of
grandiose (gran' dē ōs)
(adj.) grand in an impressive or stately way; marked by pompous affectation or grandeur, absurdly exaggerated
inconsequential (in kän se kwen' shel)
(adj.) trifling, unimportant
infraction (in frak' shen)
(n.) a breaking of a law or obligation
mitigate (mit' e gāt)
(v.) to make milder to softer, to moderate in force or intensity
pillage (pil' ij)
(v.) to rob of goods by open force (as in war), plunder; (n.) to act of looting; booty
prate (prāt)
(v.) to talk a great deal in a foolish or aimless fashion
punctilious (penk til' ē es)
(adj.) very careful an exact, attentive to fine points of etiquette
redoubtable (ri daū' te bel)
(adj.) inspiring fear or awe; illustrious, eminent
reprove (ri prüv')
(v.) to find fault with, scold, rebuke
restitution (res te tü' shen)
(n.) the act of restoring someone or something to the rightful owner or to a former state or position; making good on a loss or damage
stalwart (stôl' wert)
(adj.) strong and sturdy; brave; resolute; (n.) a brave, strong person; a strong supporter; one who takes an uncompromising position
vulnerable (vel' ner e bel)
(adj.) open to attack; capable of being wounded or damaged; unprotected
acrimonious (ak re mō' nē es)
(adj.) stinging, bitter in temper or tone
bovine (bō' vin)
(adj.) resembling a cow or ox; sluggish, unresponsive
consternation (kän ster nā' shen)
(n.) dismay, confusion
corpulent (kôr' pye lent)
(adj.) fat; having a large, bulky body
disavow (dis e vau')
(v.) to deny responsibility for or connection with
dispassionate (dis pash' e net)
(adj.) impartial; calm, free from emotion
dissension (di sen' shen)
(n.) disagreement, sharp difference of opinion
dissipate (dis' e pāt)
(v.) to cause to disappear; to scatter, dispel; to spend foolishly, squander; to be extravagant in pursuit of pleasure
expurgate (ek' sper gāt)
(v.) to remove objectionable passages or words from a written text; to cleanse, purify
gauntlet (gônt' let)
(n.) an armored or protective glove; a challenge; two lines of men armed with weapons with which to beat a person forced to run between them; an ordeal
hypothetical (hī pe thet' e kel)
(adj.) based on an assumption or guess; used as a provisional to tentative idea to guide or direct investigation
ignoble (ig nō' bel)
(adj.) mean, low, base
impugn (im pyün')
(v.) to call into question; to attack as false
intemperate (in tem' per et)
(adj.) immoderate, lacking in self-control; inclement
odium (ō' dē em)
(n.) hatred, contempt; disgrace or infamy resulting from hateful conduct
perfidy (per' fe dē)
(n.) faithlessness, treachery
relegate (rel' e gāt)
(v.) to place in a lower position; to assign, refer, turn over; to banish
squeamish (skwē' mish)
(adj.) inclined to nausea; easily shocked or upset; excessively fastidious or refined
subservient (seb ser' vē ent)
(adj.) subordinate in capacity or role; submissively obedient; serving to promote some end
susceptible (se sep' te bel)
(adj.) open to; easily influenced; lacking in resistance
abate (e bat')
(v.) to make less in amount, degree, etc.; to subside, become less; to nullify; to deduct, omit
adulation (aj e lā' shen)
(n.) praise or flattery that is excessive
anathema (e nath' e me)
(n.) an object of intense dislike; a curse or strong denunciation (often used adjectively without the article)
astute (e stüt')
(adj.) shrewd, crafty, showing practical wisdom
avarice (av' er is)
(n.) a greedy desire, particularly for wealth
culpable (kel' pe bel)
(adj.) deserving blame, worthy of condemnation
dilatory (dil' e tôr ē)
(adj.) tending to delay or procrastinate; not prompt ; intended to delay or postpone
egregious (i grē' jes)
(adj.) conspicuous, standing out from the mass (used particularly in an unfavorable sense)
equivocate (i kwiv' e kāt)
(v.) to speak or act in a way that allows for more than one interpretation; to be deliberately vague or ambiguous
evanescent (ev e nes' ent)
(adj.) vanishing, soon passing away; light and airy
irresolute (ir ez' e lüt)
(adj.) unable to make up one's mind, hesitating
nebulous (neb' ye les)
(adj.) cloud-like, resembling a cloud; cloudy in color, not transparent; vague, confused, indistinct
novice (näv' is)
(n.) one who is just a beginner at some activity requiring skill and experience (also used adjectivally)
penury (pen' ye rē)
(n.) extreme poverty; barrenness, insufficiency
pretentious (prē ten' shes)
(adj.) done for show, striving to make a big impression; claiming merit or position unjustifiably; ambitious
recapitulate (rē la pich' e lāt)
(v.) to review a series of facts; to sum up
resuscitate (ri see' e tāt)
(v.) to revive, bring back to consciousness or existence
slovenly (slev' en lē)
(adj.) untidy, dirty, careless
supposition (sep e zish' en)
(n.) something that is assumed or taken for granted without conclusive evidence
torpid (tôr' pid) (adj.)
(adj.) inactive, sluggish, dull
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