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english vocab

Terms

undefined, object
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ascertain
to find out definitely
Roguishly
adv. unscrupulously or dishonestly, sometimes in a mischievously playful manner. The man roguishly smiled at his friends, and they knew that he was up to no good.
2) Inanely
adv. foolishly and stupidly. That is an inane remark.
subterfuge
deceptive stratagem or device, cunning
18) Corpulent
adj. large or bulky of body. He was so corpulent, that he couldn't fit into the suit he bought last year.
delicatessen
ready to eat
portentous
evil
corpulent
large or bulky body
languid
dropping or flagging
8) Portentous
adj. ominous, evil. The terrible weather on her wedding was portentous, and it made the bride scared.
12) Proprietary
adj. privately owned and run. Her boyfriend has a proprietary interest in his girlfriend, and most people wouldn't like that about him.
laudable
praise worthy
18) Corroborate
verb. To make certain, to confirm. The defendant needed a witness to corroborate her testimony.
1) Laudable
adj. admirable and worthy of praise. The swim team has done well this season, and their successes are laudable.
3) Abortive
adj. failed, unsuccessful. The mission to send the Challenger into space was abortive.
tenet
a doctrine, dogma
rapture
delight
fractious
unruly
7) Extemporize
verb. To perform without preparation. In debates, the skill to extemporize is critical in a political campaign.
transitory
lasting on a short time
insidious
awaiting a chance to entrap
harrowing
inflicting great distress or torment
Emissary
noun. An agent or representative sent on a particular mission. The emissary to Baghdad tried to find the minister, but he was locked up in his fortress.
Gild
verb. To make golden. She gilded the story when she had done something wrong.
Beseech
verb. To ask strongly. He implored her to marry him, and she demurely accepted.
8) Intimation
noun. Hint, illusion. She intonated that she wouldn't be in school tomorrow, because she wasn't feeling very well today.
Impertinent
adj. showing a bold or rude lack of respect, especially to a superior. The impertinent young man kept arguing his point, even though the crowd disagreed with him.
27) Harrowing
inflicting great distress or torment. The harrowing news from Iraq is depressing.
25) Delicatessen
noun. Read - to - eat. The place where one eats them.
redolent
having a nice odor
meretricious
alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions HOOKER
15) Innuendo
noun. An indirect remark or gesture that usually carries a suggestion of impropriety. The candidates in a political campaign use innuendos to attack their opponents.
1) Consummation
verb. The ultimate end, fulfillment, perfection. I consummated the business deal.
Beleaguered
verb. To make somebody feel harassed. She felt beleaguered by all of the work she still had to do.
16) Vacuous
adj. without contents; empty. Small talk is vacuous conversation.
21) Interminable
adj. with no end. Classes seem interminable, they are 60 min, but they seem to last forever.
5) Dilatory
adj. tending to cause delay; made of the purpose of gaining time or deferring decision. His dilatory approach or actions meant that he did not make the event on time.
Contritely
adv. deeply sorry for having behaved wrongly. After she lied to her parents, she felt so contrite that she told the truth the next day.
colloquial
informal, conversational
austere
stern, strict, severe, imposing
20) Inapt
adj. lacking in fitness or aptitude, unfit. She was so inapt in foreign language, that she couldn't speak Spanish.
Credulous
adj. believing or trusting. Her credulous nature got her into trouble.
23) Nebulous
adj. hazy, vague. The ideas in her paper were too nebulous for the reader to follow.
Florid
adj. elaborate, fancy, reddish colors. His florid complexion suggests that he was drinking too much.
10) Colloquial
adj. informal, conversational. Her diction was to colloquial for her presentation.
Tumult
noun. Disturbance. There is often so much tumult that we never got any work done.
2) Euphemisms
noun. Substitution of a mild expression for one thought to be offensive or harsh. When she was giving me the bad news, she used euphemisms to make me feel better.
15) Hoary
adj. gray or white w/ or as if w/ age. The hoary bearded gentleman had trouble walking, so he used a cane to help him.
complacency
state of being please/satisfied
retribution
punishment or vengeance for something
juxtapose
to place two or more things together
3) Debauchee
noun. A self- indulgently immoral person. The debauchee drank all night, and woke up w/ a hang over.
Archetype
noun. A typical specimen. Ben Hubbard is an archetype of a greedy, selfish businessman.
9) Contiguous
adj. touching, in actual contact. My neighbor's property is contiguous to mine.
12) Commensurate
adj. of equal extent or duration.
24) Vestige
noun. Trace of something gone. You could see the vestige of her tears on her face.
intimation
hint, illusion
4) Meretricious
adj. alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions, or referring to a prosetitute, or cheap. Her meretricious attraction did not last for very long, because she looked like an old lady when she took off her make up.
Effete
adj. characterized by having lost character, vitality, or strength. The movement had grown effete over the years, and it was very hard to raise the membership.
17) Homogeneity
noun. The quality of uniform throughout in composition. Classes in most schools are either homogeneously grouped, or heterogeneously grouped.
14) Subterfuge
noun. A deceptive stratagem or device, cunning, deceptions. She used subterfuge to get her way.
19) Austere
adj. Stern, strict, severe, imposing. The Amish lead austere lifestyles.
22) Office
duty. The Scarlet Letter had not fulfilled its office.
commensurate
equal extent of duration
Imminent
adj. about to happen. They thought disaster was imminent when they found out that the plane was going to crash.
contiguous
touching, in actual contact
innuendo
an indirect remark or gesture that usually carries a suggestion of sex
extemporize
to preform without preparation
Awry
adv. in a turned or twisted direction. They went awry when they were trying to get to the party, because they ended up in the wrong town.
Pinion
verb. To restrain or immobilize somebody, especially by tying his or her arms. The mother pinioned her son when he was throwing a temper tantrum.
pastoral
rustic
nebulous
hazy, vague
5) Complacency
noun. State of being pleased/satisfied with a person/thing. The complacent student was satisfied with Bs.
6) Unobtrusive
adj. inconspicuous, blatant, not assertive. She unobtrusively slipped into class in hopes that the teacher wouldn't see her.
Implore
verb. To ask earnestly. She implored him to go on a date with her.
21) Juxtapose
verb. To place two or more things together. If you juxtapose these two papers, then you will see that one of these is more replete with examples than the other.
24) Rend
verb. To tear apart. Rend fabric is sometimes desirable for some sowing projects.
6) Insidious
adj. awaiting a chance to entrap. Cancer is an insidious disease.
dilatory
tending to cause delay
13) Stratum
noun. A layer or level within an ordered system. India remains a very stratified society.
4) Languid
adj. drooping of flagging from or as if from exhaustion. After a long day of work, she lay languid on the couch in front of the TV.
Hyperbole
verb. An exaggeration for the service of truth
stratum
a layer or level within an ordered system
hoary
gray or white as with age
23) Bereft
deprived of something in a serious way. She felt bereft after the dog she had for 20 years had died.
parry
to turn aside
Callous
adj. being hardened or thickened. The callous leader did not show any interest in freeing the slaves.
Dispatch
verb. To send something to a place. The dispatcher sent police offers to the crime scene.
2) Supercilious
adj. haunty disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or facial expression. I would never go on a date with him, because he is way too supercilious.
26) Rout
noun. A swift and disorderly retreat by a defeated army. There was a rout of confederate forces that were fleeing away.
Brazen
adj. shameless or impudent or bold. She brazenly asked the teacher when she was born.
Masticate
verb. To grind or crushed as with teeth, to chew. If you do not masticate your food properly, then you will choke.
punctilious
careful about correct behavior, exacting,
Credible
adj. trustworthy. She was a credible witness.
11) Fortuitous
adj. occurring by chance. The fortuitous meeting led to a summer job that I hadn't expected.
fortuitous
occurring by chance
rout
swift and disorderly retreat by a defeated army
Libel
noun. A published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation. The man sued for libel when he found out that the magazine's comment about him was false.
corroborate
to make certain
28) Exult
verb. To be extremely happy or joyful about something. She exulted in the chocolate cake, which was her favorite dessert.
Ineluctable
adj. inescapable. Time moves in an ineluctable fashion.
17) Equivocal
adj. vague or ambiguous. His response was equivocal and left me unsure of whether or not to date him.
abortive
failed
9) Transitory
adj. lasting only a short time, temporary. His membership at the country club was only transitory, because he could not afford the club dues.
11) Pastoral
adj. rural, rustic. She set her story in a pastoral environment that suggested the 19th century world of farm workers.
14) Tenet
noun. A doctrine, dogma, principle, or opinion. The tenets of a philosophy or religion. He had to accept the tenet of the new religion
16) Parry
verb. To turn aside, evade. She tried to parry the attack w/ an explanation but nobody believed her
debauchee
self-indulgent immoral person
supercilious
contemptuous
exult
to be extremely happy or joyful
Demurely
adv. looking shyly modest. The demure lady refused to get involved in the ugly dispute.
Menagerie
noun. A collection of animals.
22) Retribution
noun. Punishment or vengeance for something someone has done. After her child was murdered, the mother sought retribution.
Querulous
adj. complaining. Notoriety. The querulous lady could not help but to bicker with me.
7) Redolent
adj. having a pleasant odor; fragrant. She opened her closet, and it was redolent of lavender.
proprietary
privately owned and run
vestige
trace of something
euphemisms
substitution of a mild expression for one thought to be offensive or harsh
equivocal
vague or ambiguous
Traipsing
verb. Walking around aimlessly or idling. She traipsed around with no idea where she was going.
10) Rapture
noun. Ecstatic joy or delight. She was in raptured by the news.
20) Punctilious
adj. careful about correct behavior, exacting, demanding. When I introduced my boyfriend to my mother, she was impressed by his punctilious manner.
Stark
adj. sheer, contrast. She had the stark impression that the situation had deteriorated by the time she came home.
13) Prodigality
noun. Extreme abundance; lavishness. He was prodigal in his tastes, and therefore he bought the fanciest car in the lot.
Emulate
to match or surpass someone by imitation. Her parents were very hard on her, and she learned to emulate them and develop good study habits.
19) Ascertain
verb. To find out definitely. She needed to ascertain the start time of the movie, so that she could call her mom to pick her up when it was over.
vacuous
without contents
Temporal
adj. enduring for an amount time only, related to worldly affairs. The King's temporal authority is not as strong as the Pope's power.
unobtrusive
inconspicuous, blatent
homogeneity
uniform throughout in composition
prodigality
extreme abundance
Implacable
adj. Not to be appeased, mollified or pacified. The abusive parent had an implacable tempure, and he was angered easily.
1) Fractious
adj. unruly; readily angered. The fractious group could not make a decision.

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