Vocabulary Units 1-10
Terms
undefined, object
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- discernment
- keeness or sharpness in detecting, distinguishinig, or selecting
- initiative
- the power, ability, or instinct to begin or follow through with a plan or task; enterprise
- tantalize
- to tease or torment by presenting something desirable while it is out of reach
- broach
- to talk or write about for the first time; to bring up
- bland
- mild; soothing; not irritating
- policy
- a general plan, principle, or course of action followed by an organization or an individual
- integral
- necessary for completeness
- novice
- a person new to field or activity; a beginner
- idiosyncracy
- an individual mannerism or habit
- intricate
- having a complicated structure or pattern; complex
- gape
- to stare in amazement with the mouth open
- maverick
- a person who refuses to go along with policies or views of his or her group
- deficit
- being just short of full measure; inadequate
- scant
- a shortage
- edible
- suitable for eating; capable of being eaten
- deficient
- lacking an essential quality; insufficient
- morsel
- a small bite or a small amount of food
- overt
- open and observable; apparent
- geopolitics
- the study of the relationship between geography and politcs
- cosmopolitan
- sophisticated in an international way
- generate
- to cause or create
- myopia
- shortsightedness or lack of good judgement in thinking or planning
- dilemma
- a situation forcing a choice between two alternatives that are often difficult or unpleasant
- enigma
- someone or something that is hard to figure out; a puzzle
- convene
- to assemble, usually for an official or public purpose; meet formally
- impolitic
- unwise; not exhibiting good judgement
- archaic
- referring to words and language that were once common but are now rarely used
- exhaustive
- thourough; testing all possiblities
- insight
- the ability to see and understand the true nature of something
- idiom
- an expression having a special meaning that is not clear from the usual meaninig of the individual words in the expression
- semantics
- the study of historical changes in the meanings of words
- metropolitan
- pertaining to a major city
- prevalent
- widespread; generally accepted or practiced
- devious
- done in an underhanded manner; tricky; shifty
- mentor
- a person depended upon for wise advce and guidance
- masquerade
- to have or put on a deceptive appearance; to wear a mask or disguise
- perceptive
- having the ability to be keenly aware of things and situations; knowing
- abnormal
- not conforming to expected norms
- jovial
- full of fun or good cheer; sociable
- galvanize
- to stir into action or awareness
- quaff
- to drink heartily and deeply of
- politico
- an informal journalistic term for a politician
- duplicity
- deliberate deception or trickery by speaking or acting in two different ways concerning the same matter
- quaint
- charmingly old-fashioned
- quixotic
- full of impractical ideas; idealistic
- prosaic
- lacking an imagination
- soluble
- capable of being solved or explained
- pungent
- sharp; strong; penetrating; producing a sharp sensation, usually of taste and smell
- incipient
- in an early stage; just beginning to exist or appear
- devour
- to eat up greedily; swallow; engulf
- precedent
- an action that later serves as an example
- embark
- to set out on a venture; commence
- epicure
- a person with refined tastes in food and drink; gourmet
- overture
- an act, offer, or proposal that indicates readiness to undertake a course of action
- conventional
- conforming to most standards
- jargon
- the specialized technical vocabulary used by people in the same profession or field
- survey
- to examine or look at broadly
- baffle
- to cause uncertainty in; puzzle
- debut
- the beginning of a career or other course of action
- behold
- to gaze upon; look upon
- ambiguous
- having two or more possible meanings or interpretations; unclear; vague
- connotation
- the mental connections or associations suggested by a word that go beyond its literal meaning or its dictionary definition
- convoluted
- coiled or twisted
- rarity
- something uncommon and valued
- guiless
- free of slyness or craftiness; simple and innocent
- forsee
- to see or know beforehand
- paltry
- meager; insignificant
- nemesis
- someone or something that is the source of just punishment
- labyrinth
- a network of winding, connected passages through which it is difficult to find one's way without help; a maze
- macadam
- a paving material made of layers of small stones that are packed together with asphalt or tar
- argot
- the informal vocabulary used by a particular class of group; a secret language
- comprehensive
- covering completely or broadly
- hypocritical
- pretending to have soome desirable or publically approved attitude; insincere
- plethora
- superabundance; excess
- vernacular
- the normal spoken language of a country or region as distinct from the literary or learned language
- ravenous
- extremely hungry
- megalopolis
- a unified urban region comprising several large cities and their surrounding areas
- dearth
- a scarcity or lack
- replenish
- to make complete again
- innovation
- a creative act
- urban
- like a city; characteristic of cities
- quandry
- a state of uncertainty or doubt
- envision
- to picture in the mind
- standard
- conforming to established usage in speech or writing
- tactic
- a method of acheiving a goal; strategy
- ficticious
- adopted or assumed in order to decieve; false
- boycott
- to take part in an organized group refusal to use a prodct or a service as means of protest
- veracity
- devotion to the truth; honesty
- impressionistic
- of or pertaining to a highly personalized response to art of experience as opposed to response based on reason or fact
- reputable
- having a good name; well thought of; honorable
- odyssey
- a long, adventurous, wandering journey
- gullible
- easily deceived or fooled
- delectable
- greatly pleaseing, especially to the sense of taste; delicious; delightful
- culinary
- pertaining to cooking or the kitchen
- suburban
- characteristic of the suburbs, the mainly residential areas surrounding large cities
- orthodox
- adhering to tradition
- singular
- out of the ordinary; peculiar
- denotation
- the exact meaning of a word
- urbane
- elegantly polite or sophisticated
- slang
- highly informal language that occurs most offen in casual conversations