English Vocab
Terms
undefined, object
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- dire
- fraught with danger; nearly hopeless; desperate
- demagogue (n.)
- a leader who obtains power by appealing to the emotions and prejudices of the populace (think of Hitler or Mussolini)
- rueful
- feeling or expression of sorrow or regret for sins of offenses
- subversive
- intending to overthrow or undermine an established government
- idiom
- an expression (or style of expression) peculiar to a given people
- transfix (v.)
- to pierce or impale with a weapon; to render motionless with terror or amazement
- perdition
- eternal damnation; loss of the soul
- infuse
- to fill or cause to be filled: infused them with a love of the land
- pedagogical
- characterized by pedantic formality ; academically snobbish
- calumnious
- slanderous; defamatory; malicious
- sullen (adj.)
- showing a brooding ill humor; morose or sulky (perhaps the perfect word to describe Hamlet)
- voracious (adj.)
- marked by an insatiable appetite; ravenous
- incarnate
- embodied in human form
- myriad
- constituting a large, indefinite number, innumerable
- pulsate
- to expand and contract rhythmically; beat
- cleft
- split or divided (past tense of cleave)
- belie
- to show to be false; to picture falsely
- quandary
- a state of uncertainty or perplexity
- entreat
- to ask for earnestly (sincerely)
- nonchalant
- indifferent; careless; coolly unconcerned
- felicity
- happiness; bliss
- inexorable
- relentless; inflexible; determined
- umbrage (n.)
- offense or resentment took umbrage at their rudeness (follows the verb to take)
- lilting
- a cheerful or lively manner of speaking: she joked with a lilting voice
- conjure (v.)
- to produce or influence as if by magic
- peruse
- to read or examine, typically with great care
- indiscriminate
- unselective; haphazard; unrestrained
- imminent
- threatening or about to happen
- nascent
- coming into existence; emerging
- dearth
- a scarce supply; a lack; a shortage
- filial
- pertaining to a son or daughter
- amiss
- improper; defective; faulty
- coalesce
- to grow together; to fuse; to unite
- desultory
- occurring haphazardly; random
- incantation
- a ritual recitation; a charm or spell
- tactual (adj.)
- tactile; relating to the sense of touch
- fortitude (n.)
- strength of mind that allows one to courageously face adversity
- auspicious
- favorable circumstances
- jocund
- cheerful and lighthearted in disposition or quality
- qualms
- reservations; reluctance
- requiem
- a mass for a dead person
- beatific (adj.)
- blissful; saintly
- chasten (v.)
- to chastise for the sake of moral improvement
- crystalline
- resembling crystal; transparent or distinct of structure or outline
- prodigal
- wastefully extravagant
- usurp (v.)
- to seize and hold without legal authority
- dominion
- sovereignty; a territory of influence or control; a supreme authority
- cynical
- suspicious of others' motives; negative and pessimistic
- emissary (n.)
- an agent sent on a mission to represent the interests of another
- zephyr (n.)
- a gentle breeze; a light fabric or garment
- suave
- smoothly agreeable and courteous
- collateral
- property acceptable as security for a loan
- opaque
- impenetrable by light; dense or obscure
- incognito
- with one's identity concealed or disguised
- contrition
- sincere remorse for wrongdoing
- encompass
- to enclose or envelope or surround
- expostulate
- to reason with someone in an effort to dissuade or correct
- apocryphal (adj.)
- of questionable authenticity; erroneous
- garish
- loud and flashy; gaudy
- proficient
- having an advanced degree or level of competence
- superfluous (adj.)
- beyond what is necessary or sufficient
- blasé
- uninterested because of frequent exposure; nonchalant
- equivocation
- an intentionally vague or ambiguous statement (pretty close to a flat-out lie)
- avaricious
- greedy
- rapt
- deeply absorbed; engrossed; enraptured
- behoove
- to be necessary or proper
- despotic
- possessing and abusing unlimited power
- reiterate
- to repeat; to say again repeatedly
- antithesis
- (a figure of speech) a contradiction that establishes a work's theme
- versatile (adj.)
- capable of doing many things competently; changeable
- provocative
- tending to provoke or stimulate
- aggregation (n.)
- the state of being collected (e.g., the third phase of the liminal process)
- circumvent
- to avoid or get around by maneuvering
- pervasive
- having the ability to spread throughout
- diatribe (n.)
- a bitter and abusive verbal attack or criticism
- pall
- a cover for a coffin; a gloomy effect or atmosphere
- surcease (v.)
- to bring or come to an end
- precept
- a rule of conduct
- hone
- to sharpen or whetstone; to make perfect or more intense
- depreciate
- to lesson the price for value of; to belittle
- inexplicable
- difficult or impossible to explain
- portentous
- full of unspecified significance; ominous
- castellated
- like a castle
- droll
- amusingly odd; whimsically comical
- impeccable
- flawless; perfect