Level H Vocabulary
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- adjunct
- (n) something added to something else as helpful or useful but not essential
- bellwether
- (n) the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse
- caterwaul
- (v) to howl or screech like a cat
- chimerical
- (adj) absurd, impossible
- effete
- (adj) lacking in wholesome vigor or energy
- fait accompli
- (n) an accomplished and presumably irreversale deed, fact or action
- hidebound
- (adj) narrow-minded and rigid
- hierarchy
- (n) any system of things of people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank
- liturgy
- (n) a religous service or rite
- mirage
- (n) something illusory, without substance
- morass
- (n) a patch of low, soft, wet ground
- noisome
- (adj) offensive or disgusting
- oblivious
- (adj) forgetful, unaware
- poltroon
- (n) coward
- proselyte
- (n) disciple
- quasi
- (adj) resembling but not actually being
- raillery
- (n) good-humored ridicule
- ribald
- (adj) irreverently mocking, indecent in language
- supine
- (adj) laying flat on one's back
- vignette
- (n) a short description or sketch
- aegis
- (n) protection
- apprise
- (v) to inform of
- bibulous
- (adj) fond of or inclined to drink
- claque
- (n) a group of ppl hired to applaud a performer or performance
- deracinate
- (v) to pull up by the roots
- eleemosynary
- (adj) charitable
- indigenous
- (adj) native to
- lachrymose
- (adj) given to tears or weeping
- lexicon
- (n) a dictionary of a language
- melee
- (n) a confused struggle
- microcosm
- (n) a miniature world or universe
- minuscule
- (adj) very small
- obfuscate
- (v) to darken or obscure
- paternalism
- (n) the policy or practice of treating or governing people in the manner of a father dealing with children
- polarize
- (v) concentrate around two conflicting or contrasting positions
- purview
- (n) the range, extent, or scope of something
- sanguine
- (adj) having a ruddy complexion
- solecism
- (n) a substandard or ungrammatical usage
- vassal
- (n) a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he owes allegiance
- versimilitude
- (n) quality of appearing to be true, or probable
- ancillary
- (adj)subordinate or supplementary
- bowdlerize
- (v) to remove material considered offensive
- condescend
- (v) to come down or stoop voluntarily to a lower level
- cozen
- (v) to trick, cheat, or swindle
- enclave
- (n) an enclosed district, region, or area inhabited by a particular group of ppl
- forte
- (n) a person's strong point
- gratis
- (adj) free (adv) without charge
- icon
- (n) a representation or image
- interstice
- (n) a small, narrow space between things or parts of things
- macrocosm
- (n) the universe considered as a whole
- mounteback
- (n) a trickster or swindler
- paean
- (n) a song of praise
- persiflage
- (n) lighthearted joking, talk, or writing
- plethora
- (n) overfullness
- pragmatic
- (adj) concerned with practical considerations or values
- quizzical
- (adj) puzzled
- rapacity
- (n) inordinate greed
- schism
- (n) a formal split within a religous organization
- therapeutic
- (adj) having the power to heal or cure
- virtuoso
- (n) a brilliant performer
- affinity
- (n) a natural attraction to a person, thing, or activity
- bilious
- (adj)peevish or irritable
- cognate
- (adj)closely related in origin
- corollary
- (n) a proposition that follows from one already proven
- cul-de-sac
- (n) a blind alley or dead-end street
- derring-do
- (n) valor or heroism
- divination
- (n) the art or act of predicting the future or discovering hidden knowledge
- elixir
- (n) a potion once thought capable of curing all ills and maintaining life indefinitely
- folderol
- (n) foolish talk
- gamut
- (n) an entire range or series
- hoi polloi
- (n) the common ppl
- ineffable
- (adj) not expressible in words
- lucubration
- (n) laborious study or thought, esp at night
- mnemonic
- (adj) relating to or designed to assist the memory
- obloquy
- (n) public abuse indicating strong disapproval
- parameter
- (n) a determining or characteristic element
- pundit
- (n) a learned person
- risible
- (adj) pertaining to laughter
- symptomatic
- (adj) typical or characteristic
- volte-face
- (n) an about-face
- aficionado
- (n) an enthusiastic and usually expert follower or fan
- browbeat
- (v) to intimidate by a stern or overbearing manner
- commensurate
- (adj)equal in size, extent, duration, or importance
- diaphanous
- (adj) very sheer and light
- emolument
- (n) profit derived from an office or position or from employment
- foray
- (n) a quick raid esp for plunder
- genre
- (n) a type, class, or variety
- homity
- (n) a sermon stressing moral principles
- immure
- (v) to enclose or confine within walls
- insouciant
- (adj)carefree, happy-go-lucky
- matrix
- (n) a mold
- obsequies
- (n) funeral rites or ceremonies
- panache
- (n) a confident and stylish manner
- persona
- (n) a character in a novel or play
- philippic
- (n) a bitter verbal attack
- prurient
- (adj) having lustful desires or interests
- sacrosanct
- (adj) very sacred or holy
- systemic
- (adj) of or pertaining to the entire body
- tendentious
- (adj) intended to promote a particular point of view
- vicissitude
- (n) a change, variation, or alteration
- abortive
- (adj) failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose
- bruit
- (v) to spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumors
- contemelious
- (adj) insolent or rude in speech or behavior
- dictum
- (n) a short saying
- ensconce
- (v) to settle comfortably
- inconoclastic
- (adj) attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, or ideas
- in medias res
- (adv) in or into the middle of a plot
- internecine
- (adj) mutually destructive
- maladroit
- (adj) lacking skill or dexterity
- maudlin
- (adj) excessively or effusively sentimental
- modulate
- (v) to change or vary the intensity or pitch
- portentous
- (adj) foreshadowing an event to come
- prescience
- (n) knowledge of events or actions before they happened
- quid pro quo
- something given in exchange or return for something else
- salubrious
- (adj) conducive to health or well-being
- saturnalian
- (adj) characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry
- touchstone
- (n) a means of testing worth or genuineness
- traumatic
- (adj) so shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage
- vitiate
- (v) to weaken, debase, or corrupt
- waggish
- (adj) fond of making jokes
- abeyance
- (n) a state of being temporarily inactive
- ambivalent
- (adj)having opposite and conflicting feelings about something or someone
- beleaguer
- (v) to set upon from all sides
- carte blanche
- (n) full freedom
- cataclysm
- (n) a sudden, violent, or devastating upheaval
- debauch
- (v) to corrupt morally, seduce
- eclat
- (n) dazzling or conspicous success or acclaim
- fastidious
- (adj)overly demanding or hard to please
- gambol
- (v) to jump or skip about playfully
- imbue
- (v) to soak or stain thoroughly
- inchoate
- (adj) just beginning
- lampoon
- (n) a malicious satire
- malleable
- (adj) capable of being formed into different shapes
- nemesis
- (n) an agent of force inflicting vengeance or punishment
- opt
- (v) to make a choice
- philistine
- (adj) lacking in, hostile to, or smugly indiferent to culture or artistic values
- picaresque
- (adj) involving or characteristic of clever rogues or adventurers
- queasy
- (adj) nauseated
- refractory
- (adj) stubborn
- savoir-faire
- (n) ability to say and do the right thing in any situation
- aberration
- (n) a departure from what is proper, normal
- ad hoc
- (adj)improvised
- bane
- (n)the source or cause of fatal injury
- bathos
- (n)an anticlimax
- cantankerous
- (adj) ill-tempered, quarrelsome
- casuistry
- (n) the determination of right and wrong in questions of conduct
- de facto
- (adj) actually existing or in effect
- depredation
- (n) the act of preying upon
- empathy
- (n) a sympathetic understanding of or identification with the feelings of someone else
- harbinger
- (n) forerunner
- hedonism
- (n) belief that attainment of pleasure is life's chief aim
- lackluster
- (adj) lacking brilliance
- malcontent
- (adj) discontented with or in open defiance of prevailing conditions
- mellifluous
- (adj) flowing sweetly or smoothly
- nepotism
- (n)undue favoritism to or excessive patronage of one's relatives
- pander
- (v) to cater to or provide satisfaction for the low tastes or vices of others
- peccadillo
- (n) a minor sin or offense
- piece de resistance
- (n) the principal dish of a meal
- remand
- (v) to send or order back
- syndrome
- (n) a group of symptoms or signs that collectively characterize or indicate a disease
- beatitude
- (n) a state of perfect happiness
- bete noire
- (n) someone or something that one esp. dislikes
- bode
- (v) to be an omen of
- dank
- (adj) unpleasantly damp or wet
- ecumenical
- (adj) worldwide or universal in influence or application
- fervid
- (adj) burning with enthusiasm or zeal
- fetid
- (adj) having an unpleasant or offensive odor
- gargantuan
- (adj) of immense size
- heyday
- (n) the period of greatest power, prime years
- incubus
- (n) a demon
- infrastructure
- (n) a basic foundation or framework
- inveigle
- (v) to entice, lure, or snare by flattery or artful inducements
- kudos
- (n) the acclaim, prestige, or renown that comes as a result of some action or achievement
- lagniappe
- (n) unexpected gift
- prolix
- (adj) long-winded and wordy
- protege
- (n)someone whose welfare, training, or career is under the patronage of an influential person
- prototype
- (n) beginning or original pattern or model
- sycophant
- (n) someone who attempts to win favors or advance themselves by flattery
- tautology
- (n) needless repetition of an idea by equivalent words
- truckle
- (v) to yeild or submit tamely