Vocab ch 3
Terms
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- climactic
- adj. arranged in order of increasing force and interest
- arbitrary
- adj. autocratic; despotic; tyrannical; proceeding from a whim or fancy
- symmetry
- n. balance, harmony
- astringent
- n. substance that shrinks tissue and checks flow of blood
- jetsam
- n. goods cast overboard to lighten a ship in distress
- travesty
- n. imitation that makes a serious thing seem ridiculous; mockery
- paternal
- adj. of or like a father
- scent
- v. get suspicion of
- aroma
- n. pleasant odor, bouquet
- hilarious
- adj. boisterously merry; very funny
- vanity
- n. condition of being too vain about one's apperance or achievements
- jocose
- adj. given to jesting; playfully humorous
- slander
- n. false and defamatory spoken statement
- precipitous
- adj. steep as a precipitous; hasty, rash
- immunize
- v. make immune
- inveterate
- adj. firmly established by age; deep-rooted
- malign
- v. speak evil of; vilify
- nepotism
- n. favoritism to relatives by those in power
- malleable
- adj. capable of being shaped; adaptable; pliant
- hypothetical
- adj. supposed
- elation
- n. state of being elated; euphoria
- convivial
- adj. fond of eating and drinking with friends.
- libel
- n. false and defamatory printed or written statement
- crux
- n. most important point; essention part
- poignant
- adj. painfully touching; piercing
- approximate
- adj. nearly correct
- involuntary
- adj. not done of one's own free will; automatic
- arbitrate
- v. decide a dispute, acting as an arbiter or arbitrator
- sophistry
- n. clever but deceptive reasoning
- humility
- n. freedom from pride; humbleness; modesty
- infantile
- adj. of or like an infant or infancy childish
- declivity
- n. downward slope
- buxom
- adj. plump and attractive
- obsequious
- adj. showing excessive willingness to serve; subservient
- sebaceous
- adj. greasy
- menagerie
- n. place where animals are kept and trained; collection of wild animals
- defunct
- adj. dead; deceased; extinct
- immaculate
- adj. spotless; absolutely clean; pure; faultless
- frolic
- v. play and run about hapily; have fun
- patriarch
- n. father and ruler of a family or tribe; founder
- aviary
- n. place where birds are kept
- eminence
- n. high rank
- paradoxical
- adj. having the characteristics of a paradox
- environs
- n. pl. districs surrouding a place; suburbs
- hypochondria
- n. one who is mobidly anxious about their health, or suffering from imagined illness
- droll
- adj. odd and laugter provoking
- brazen
- adj. shameless; impudent
- jubilant
- adj. showing great joy; rejoicing; exultant
- contaminate
- make impure by mixture; pollute
- convalesce
- v. recover health after illness; recuperate
- rancid
- adj. unpleasant to smell or taste from being spoiled or stale
- disgruntled
- adj. in bad humor; displeased
- jocund
- adj. merry; cheerful; lighthearted
- ravine
- deep, narrow gorge worn by water
- juxtaposition
- n. close or side-by-side position
- sober
- adj. not drunk; temperate
- viral
- adj. caused by a virus
- brine
- n. salty water; ocean; sea
- nonage
- n. legal minority; period before maturity
- pungent
- adj. sharp in smell or tast; acrid; biting; stimulating
- regimen
- n. set of rules, esp to improve health
- sully
- v. tarnish; besmirch; defile
- sinuous
- adj. bending in and out; winding; serpentine
- vainglorious
- adj. excessively proud or boastful; elated by vanity
- puerile
- adj. foolish for a grown up to say or do; childish
- sordid
- adj. filthy, vile
- longevity
- n. long life
- lackey
- n. follower who carries out another's wishes like a servant
- chagrin
- n. embarrassment; mortification
- decrepit
- adj. weakened by age
- levity
- n. lack of proper seriousness; trifling gaiety
- eminent
- adj. standing out; notable; famous
- dilemma
- n. situation requiring a choice between two equally bad alternatives; predicament
- pert
- adj. too free in speech or action; bold; sauch; impertinent
- dejected
- sad; in low spirits; depressed
- marine
- adj. of the sea or shipping; nautical; maritime
- irony
- n. species of humor whose intended meaning is the opposite of the words used
- relevant
- adj. bearing upon the matter at hand; pertinent
- indubitable
- adj. certain; incontrovertible; indisputable
- nostalgic
- adj. homsick
- axiomatic
- adj. self evident; universally accepted as true
- rank
- adj. ahving a strong bad odor or taste; offensively gross or coarse
- stigma
- n. mark of disgrace
- frolicsome
- adj. full of merriment; playful
- obese
- adj. extremely overweight; portly
- axiom
- n. self evident truth; maxim
- fusty
- adj. stale-smelling; musty; moldy; old-fashioned
- parasitic
- libing at the expense of another
- salubrious
- adj. healthful
- satiric or satirical
- adj. given to or expressing satire
- consanguinuity
- n. blood relationship
- putrid
- adj. stinking from decay; extremely bad; corrupt
- venerable
- adj. worthy of respect because of advanced age, achievement, virtue
- vain
- adj. conceited; excessively proud; empty; worthlessness
- ironic or ironical
- containing or expressing irony
- mariner
- n. sailor; seaman
- abstemious
- adj. sparing in eating and drinking; temperate; abstinent
- unsavory
- adj. unpleasant to taste or smell; morally offensive
- gala
- adj. characterized by festivity
- callow
- adj. young and inexperienced; unfledged
- veteran
- n. person experienced in some occupation
- obesity
- n. excessive body weight
- malodorous
- adj. ill-smelling; stinking; fetid; undpleasantly odorous
- carousal
- n. drinking party; drunken revelry
- banter
- n. playful teasing; joking; raillery
- lank
- adj. lean; ungracefully tall; lanky
- blandishment
- n. word or deed of mild flattery; allurement; enticement
- progenitor
- n. forefather; ancestor
- contour
- n. outline of a figure
- egoism
- n. excessive concern with for oneself; selfishness; conceit
- profound
- adj. very deep; deeply felt; intellectually deep
- nonagenarian
- person 90-99 years old
- loath
- adj. unwilling; averse
- jubilation
- n. rejoicing; exultation
- plaudit
- n. applause; enthusiastic praise; acclaim
- unguent
- n. salve; ointment
- blithe
- n. perfect happiness.
- earthy
- adj. down-to-earth; realistic
- dross
- n. waste; refuse
- forebear
- n. forefather; ancestor; progenitor
- scent
- n. smell, perfume
- expurgate
- v. remove objectionable material from a book; purify
- dipsomania
- n. abnormal, uncontrollable craving for alcohol, alcoholism
- plumb
- v. get to the bottom of; ascertain the depth of
- genealogy
- n. a person's or family's descent; pedigree; lineage
- adjacent
- adj. lying near or next to; bordering; adjoining
- libelous
- adj. injurious to reputation; defamatory; calumnious
- staid
- adj. setted of quiet disposition; sedate
- blithe
- adj. merry, joyous.
- fragrant
- adj. having a pleasant odor; pleasantly odrous or odoriferous
- eclectic
- adj. choosing ideas from various sources
- olfactory
- adj. pertaining to the sense of smell
- ascetic
- adj. shunning pleasures; self-denying
- attentuate
- v. make thin; weaken
- morbid
- adj. gruesome, having to do with disease
- humble
- adj. of low position or condition; not proud; unpretentious
- overweening
- adj. thinking too highly of oneself; arrogant; presumptuous
- ethereal
- adj. of the heaven; celestial; airy; delicate
- squalor
- n. filth; degradation; sordidness
- sloven
- n. person habitually untidy, dirty, or careless in dress
- progeny
- n. offspring; children; descendants
- filial
- adj. of or like a son or daughter
- noisome
- adj. offensive to smell; disgusting; harmful; noxious
- cherubic
- adj. chubby and innocent looking
- nostalgia
- n. homesickness
- dejection
- n. lowness of spirits; sadness
- derogatory
- adj. expressing low esteem; belittling; disparaging
- ornithology
- n. study of birds
- reek
- v. emit a strong, disagreeable smell; be permeated with
- sarcastic
- adj. given to or expressing sarcasm
- nugatory
- adj. of little or no value; trifling; worthless
- humiliate
- v. lower the pride, position, or dignify of; degrade
- sublime
- adj. elevated; noble; exalted
- curry favor
- v. n. seek to gain favor by flattery
- buoyant
- adj. cheerful, able to float
- plausible
- adj. apparently trustworthy; superficially true or reasonable
- harlequin
- n. buffoon; clown
- dregs
- n. pl. most worthless part; sediment at the bottom of a liquid
- flotsam
- n. wreckage of a ship or its cargo found floating on the sea; driftage
- imputation
- n. charge esp and unjust or false ccharge
- amorphous
- adj. shapeless; having no definite form
- bigoted
- adj. intolerant; narrow-minded
- zenith
- n. highest point; culmination; peak: point in the heavens directly overhead
- crone
- n. withered old woman
- senile
- adj. showing the weakness of age
- blissful
- adj. very happy.
- satire
- n. language or writing that exposes follies or abuses by holding them up to ridicule
- pathos
- n. quality in eents or in art that arouses our pity
- sardonic
- adj. bitterly sarcastic; mocking; sneering
- volition
- n. will
- heterodox
- adj. rejecting regularly accepted beliefs or doctrines; heretical; non-conformist
- buoy
- v. keep afloat, raise spirits of, encourage
- ludicrous
- adj. exciting laughter; ridiculous farcical
- primeval
- adj. pertaining to the world's first age
- bias
- n. opinion formed before there are grounds for it; prejudice
- lionize
- v. treat as highly important
- pathetic
- adj. arousing pity
- calumnious
- adj. falsely and maliciously accusing; defamatory; slanderous
- kudos
- n. fame or praise due to achievement
- molt
- v. shed feathers, skin, hair
- superannuated
- adj. retired on a pension; advanced in years; very old
- incense
- n. substance yielding a pleasant odor when burned
- vertex
- n. farthest point oppostie the base, as in a triangle or pyramid
- anticlimax
- n. abrupt decline from the dignified or important to the trivial or ludicrous; comedown
- adolescent
- adj. growing from childhood to adulthodd; roughly of the teenage period
- purge
- v. cleanse; purify; rid of undesired element or person
- truckle
- submit in a subservient manner to a superior; fawn; make a doormat of oneself
- burly
- adj. strongly and heavily built
- ostentatious
- done to impress others; showy; pretentious
- specious
- adj. superficially true, reasonable, or just but not really so
- preeminent
- adj. standing out above others; superior
- yore
- long ago
- laudable
- adj. praiseworthy; commendable
- parody
- n. humorous imitation
- badger
- v. tease, annoy, nag
- criterion
- n. standard; rule or test for judging
- antidote
- n. remedy for a poison or evil
- prisitine
- adj. in original; long ago state
- facetious
- adj. in the habit of joking; said in jest without serious intent
- toxic
- adj. poisonous
- carrion
- n. decaying flesh of a carcass
- aromatic
- adj. sweet-scented; fragrant
- pestilential
- adj. morally harmful
- posthumous
- adj. published after the author's death; occuring after death
- contrite
- adj. showing deep regret and sorrow for wrongdoing
- immuntiy
- n. resistance to a disease
- distort
- v. twist out of shape
- paltry
- adj. practically worthless; trashy; piddling
- inebriated
- adj. drunk, intoxicated
- obsolete
- adj. no longer in use; out of date
- svelte
- adj. slender; lithe
- sarcasm
- n. sneering and often ironic language intended to hurt a person's feelings
- abysmal
- adj. deep; profound; immeasurably great
- flipant
- adj. treating serious matters lightly
- antediluvian
- adj. antiquated; belonging to the time before the Biblical Flood
- analogy
- n. likeness in some respects between things otherwise different; similarity; comparison
- jettison
- v. throw goods overboard to lighten a ship or plane; discard
- throes
- n. pl. anguish; pangs
- maudlin
- adj. weakly sentimental and tearful
- haggard
- adj. careworn, gaunt
- aversion
- n. strong dislike; repugnance
- obsolescent
- adj. going out of use; becoming obsolete
- speculate
- v. reflect; meditate; conjecture
- contrition
- n. repentance, remorse, penitence
- convalescent
- n. person recovering from sickness
- fester
- v. form pus; rankle; rot
- grave
- adj. deserving serious attention; weighty
- cajole
- v. persuade by pleasant words; wheedle
- dogmatic
- adj. asserting opinions as if they were facts; opinionated; asserted without proof
- mature
- adj. full grown; ripe
- lament
- v. mourn; deplore
- ecstatic
- adj. in ecstasy, enraptured
- squalid
- adj. filthy from neglect; dirty; degraded
- gentility
- n. good manners
- leeward
- adj. in the direction away from the wind
- sullen
- adj. resentfully silent; glum; morose
- apogee
- n. farthest point from the earth in the orbit of a heavenly body
- caricature
- n. drawing, imitation, or description that ridiculously exaggerates peculiarities or defects
- sot
- n. person made foolish by excessive drinking; drunkard
- acme
- n. highest point; pinnacle
- alacrity
- n. cheerful wilingness; readiness
- doldrums
- calm, windless part of the ocean near the equator; listlessness
- lesion
- n. injury, hurt
- rationalize
- v. invent excuses for one's actions, failures, desires
- contemporary
- adj. of the same period or duration; modern, up-to-date
- juxtapose
- v. put side by side; put close together
- adulation
- n. excessive praise; flattery
- puberty
- n. physical beginning of manhood or womanhood
- acclivity
- n. upward slope
- juvenille
- adj. of or for youth; youthful; immature
- emaciated
- adj. made unaturally thin; abnormally lean because of starvation or illness
- precipice
- n. very steep or overhanging place; cliff
- hoary
- adj. white or gray with age
- coy
- adj. pretending to be shy
- symmetrical
- adj. balanced in arrangement; capable of division by a central line into similar halves
- rotund
- adj. rounded out; plump; full-toned
- virulent
- adj. extremely poisonous; deadly; venomous
- sobriety
- n. temperance; abstinence
- sublimate
- v. redirect the energy of a person's bad impulses into sociallyand morally higher channels
- fraternal
- adj. of or like a brother
- glum
- adj. moody, gloomy
- tribulation
- n. suffering; distress
- scavenger
- n. animal or person removing refuse
- acclaim
- v. welcome with approval; applaud loudly
- ecstasy
- n. state of overwhelming joy; rapture
- orthodox
- adj. generally accepted, especially in religion; conventional
- loathe
- v. have an intense aversion to; detest
- slatternly
- adj. untidy; dirty from habitual neglect
- chagrined
- adj. ashamed; mortified
- diffident
- adj. lacking self-confidence; unduly timid
- archaic
- adj. no longer used, except in a special context; old-fashioned
- hilarity
- n. noisy gaiety; mirth; jollity
- preposterous
- adj. senseless; absurd; irrational
- therapeutic
- adj. curative
- benign
- adj. not dangerous
- elated
- adj. in high spirits; joyful
- eulogize
- v. praise; extol; laud
- stigmatize
- v. brand with mark of disgrace
- modest
- adj. not thinking too highly of one's merits; humble
- illusion
- n. misleading appearance; false impression; misconception
- nadir
- n. lowest point
- laudatory
- adj. expressing praise; eulogistic
- starboard
- adj. pertaining to the right-hand side of a ship when you are on deck and facing the bow
- sycophant
- parasitic flatterer; truckler
- apiary
- n. place where bees are kept
- maternal
- adj. of or like a mother
- menial
- adj. low; mean; subservient
- fallible
- adj. liable to be mistaken
- cajolery
- n. persuasion by flattery
- compunction
- n. regret, remorse
- consummate
- adj. perfect; superb; carried to the highest degree
- doleful
- adj. causing grief or sadness; mournful
- propinquity
- n. kinship; nearness of place; proximity
- delectable
- adj. very pleasing; delightful.
- plight
- n. unfortunate state; predicament
- pensive
- adj. thoughtful in a sad way
- conviviality
- n. sociability.
- modesty
- n. freedom from conceit or vanity; humility
- disconsolate
- adj. cheerless; inconsolable
- fulsome
- adj. offensive because of insincerity
- fallacious
- adj. based on a fallacy; misleading; deceptive
- tenable
- adj. buy or sell with the hope of profiting by price fluctuation; capable of being maintaned or defended
- sibling
- n. one of two or more children of a family
- deduce
- v. derive by reasoning; infer
- bow
- n. forwrd part of a ship; prow
- malignant
- adj. threatening to cause death
- demure
- adj. falsley modest or serious
- kith and kin
- n. pl. friends and relatives; kindred
- abyss
- n. bottomless depth; immeasurably great space
- complacent
- adj. too pleased with oneself-often without awareness
- parasite
- n. animal, plant, or person living on others; freeloader
- teetotaler
- n. person who totally abstains from intoxicating beverages
- paramount
- adj. chief; above others; supreme
- lamentable
- adj. pitiable; rueful
- offal
- waste parts of a butchered animal; refuse; garbage
- primordial
- adj. existing at the very beginning; elementary; primary
- matriarch
- n. mother and ruler of a family or tribe; founder
- parrot
- v. repeat mechanically
- chasm
- n. deep breach; wide gap
- virus
- n. disease causing substace too small to be seen through a microscope
- contiguous
- adj. touching; adjoining
- abject
- adj. deserving contempt; sunk to a low condition; wretched
- cogitate
- v. think over; consider with care
- exalt
- v. lift up with joy, pride, etc
- halcyon
- adj. calm; peaceful
- rational
- adj. able to think clearly; having the power to reason; based on or agreeable to reason; intelligent
- encominium
- n. speech or writing of high praise; tribute; eulogy
- concave
- adj. curved inward creating a hollow space
- prelapsarian
- adj. of the time or state before the fall of mankind
- complacency
- n. self-satisfaction; smugness
- bigotry
- n. views or behavior of a bigot; intolerance
- ingratiate
- v. work into favor
- pudgy
- adj. shorty and plump; chubby