Edison Prep Vocab List 1

abstruse

hard to understand; difficult to comprehend

aesthetic

relating to beauty and/or appearance

ample

plentiful; more than enough; a great amount

apocryphal

of questionable authenticity; probably false

apoplectic

furious; indignant; overcome with anger; LIVID

arcane

known only to a chosen few; mysterious and obscure

arid

very dry, like a desert

belie

when one's words or actions contradict one's true feelings; to create a false impression; to contradict

catalyst

an agent that provokes and produces change

circumspect

cautious; careful; prudent; word roots="inspect from afar"

conscientious

done carefully and meticulously; done scrupulously

contiguous

adjacent to each other; touching on the edges

copious

a large amount; ABUNDANT; plentiful

cryptic

mysterious; obscure; puzzling; ambiguous

cynical

doubtful; disbelieving; skeptical of other people's integrity

debunk

to disprove; to show to be false

delusion

a false belief or opinion, often illogically so

didactic

instructive; providing a lesson; (sometimes) preachy

diffident

shy; TIMID; lacking confidence

discrepancy

an inconsistency between two statements or facts

disingenuous

literally, "not genuine;" not straightforward; insincere

dissemble

to lie; to mislead

dubious

doubtful; of uncertain authenticity; questionable

enumerate

to list out items in a list

erroneous

literally, "full of errors;" incorrect

erudite

possessing great knowledge and/or learning

esoteric

known only by a select few people; RECONDITE

exculpate

to free from guilt or blame; to prove innocent; to exonerate

exonerate

to exculpate; to free from blame; to prove innocent

extricate

to remove from a sticky situation or entanglement; to free

fallacy

faulty reasoning that results in a false belief or notion

fastidious

meticulous with respect to cleanliness; PAINSTAKINGLY attentive to accuracy and detail

flippant

treating serious matters with inappropriate humor or lack of respect; AKA being flip

gingerly

showing great care or caution

glacial

cold and icily unsympathetic; OR moving very slowly

glut

a surplus; an overabundance of something

heedful

aware of and attentive to; MINDFUL; thoughtful; careful

illusion

that which deceives by providing a false impression

incredulous

not believable; skeptical; literally, "not CRED-ible"

indignant

anger at being treated unfairly or unjustly

inimical

unfavorable; harmful; hostile

intimidate

literally, "to make timid"; to frighten or fill with fear

irreverent

displaying a lack of respect for things that are usually taken seriously

lithe

flexible; graceful; PLIABLE; bending readily

malleable

bendable; pliable; easy to shape to one's will

meticulous

extremely careful in one's actions; paying attention to detail

myriad

a great number of; many

obscure

unclear; unknown; ambiguous; hard to see; NOT LUCID

ostensible

supposed; when one reason for something is given but an ulterior motive exists

plethora

a large amount of something; often more than is needed

pliable

malleable; flexible; easy to shape or alter; plastic

prevarication

a lie; an untruthful statement

prolific

producing a great amount; creating a lot of output; prodigious

protean

VERSATILE; able to change form or shape easily

replete

full of something; complete with

repugnant

offensive; distasteful; objectionable

scrupulous

honest; moral; principled; careful; full of scruples

scrutinize

to examine in detail

skeptical

doubting; not convinced

spate

a large number or amount; think "spurt"

specious

seemingly PLAUSIBLE on the surface, but actually false

spurious

false; fake; not genuine

superfluous

more than is necessary; having a surplus

surfeit

a surplus; an extra unneeded amount

surly

rude; hostile; menacing

vigilant

keenly watchful; alert; wary; awake

wary

exhibiting caution about potential dangers; keenly watchful