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

(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

(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

(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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