Spelling Chapter 4 2
Terms
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- affable
- courteous and pleasant, sociable, easy to speak to
- aggrandize
- to increase in greatness, power, or wealth; to build or intensify; to make appear greater
- amorphous
- shapeless, without definite form; of no particular type or character without organization, unity, or cohesion
- aura
- that which surrounds (as an atmosphere); a distinctive air or personal quality
- contraband
- illegal traffic, smuggled goods; (adj) illegal, prohibited
- erudite
- scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic
- gossamer
- thin, light, delicate, insubstantial; (n) a very thin, light cloth
- infer
- to find out by reasoning; to arrive at a conclusion on the basis of thought; to hint, suggest, imply
- inscrutable
- incapable of being understood; impossible to see through physically
- insular
- relating to, characteristic of, or situated on an island; narrow or isolated in outlook or experience
- irrevocable
- incapable of being changed or called back
- propensity
- a natural inclination or predilection toward
- querulous
- peevish, complaining, fretful
- remonstrate
- to argue or plead with someone against something, protest against, object to
- repudiate
- to disown, reject, or deny the validity of
- resilient
- able to return to an orginal shape or form; able to recover quickly
- reverberate
- to re-echo, resound; to reflect or be reflected repeatedly
- scurrilous
- coaresly abusive, vulgar or low (especially in language), foul-mouthed
- sedulous
- persistent, showing industry and determination
- sleazy
- thin or flimsy in texture; cheap; shoddy or inferior in quality or character; ethically low, mean, or disreputable
- amnesty
- a general pardon for an offense against a government; in general, any act or forgiveness or absolution
- autonomy
- self-government, political control
- axiomatic
- self-evident, expressing a universally accepted principle or rule
- blazon
- to adorn or embellish; to display conspicuously; to publish or proclaim widely
- caveat
- a warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior
- equitable
- fair, just, embodying principles of justice
- extricate
- to free from entagnlements or difficulties; to remove with effort
- filch
- to steal, expecially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts
- flout
- to mock, tread with contempt
- fractious
- tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary; unpredictable
- precept
- a rule of conduct or action
- salutary
- beneficial, helpful, healthful, wholesome
- scathing
- bitterly severe, withering; causing great harm
- scourge
- to whip, punish severely; a cause of affliction or suffering; a source of severe punishment or criticism
- sepulchral
- funereal, typical of the tomb; exremely gloomy or dismal
- soporific
- tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy
- straitlaced
- extremely strict in regard to moral standards and conduct; prudish, puritanical
- transient
- lasing only a short time, fleeting (n) one who stays only a short time
- unwieldy
- not easliy carried, handled, or managed because of size or complexity
- vapid
- dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force
- anamalous
- abnormal, irregular, departing from the usual
- aspersion
- a damaging or deragatory statement; the act of slandering or defaming
- bizarre
- extremely strange, unusual, atypical
- brusque
- abrupt, blunt, with no formalities
- cajole
- to coas, persuade through flattery or artifice; to deceive with woothing thoughts or false promises
- castigate
- to punish severely; to criticize severely
- contrive
- to plan to ingenuity, invent; to bring about as the result of a scheme or plan
- demagogue
- a leader who exploits popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power
- disabuse
- to free from deception or error, set right in ideas or thinking
- ennui
- weariness and dissatisfaction from lack of accupation or interest, boredom
- fetter
- a chain or shackle placed on the feet. anything that confined or restraints, to chain or shackle; to render helpless or impotent
- heinous
- very wicked, offensive, hateful
- immutable
- not subject to change, constant
- insurgnet
- one who rebels or rises against authority; rising in revolt refusing to accept authority; surging or rushing in or on
- megalomania
- a delusion marked by a feeling of power, wealth, talent, etc. for in excess of reality
- sinecure
- a position reuiring little or not work; an easy job
- surreptitious
- stealthy, secret, intended to escape observation; made or accomplished by fraud
- transgress
- to go beyond a limit or bounary; to sin, violate a law
- transmute
- to change from one nature, substance, or form to another
- vicarious
- performed, suffered, or otherwise experienced by one person in place of another