Lang./Lit. 2 Honors- Vocab #1 Study Guide

Abstruse

hard to understand; obscure

Amity

a state of peace or friendly relations

Arrogant

A person who is boastful; cocky

Bolster

to support, boost, or strengthen

Clemency

showing kindness or mercy, usually in the judgement of someone in power

Contingent

something that depends on a sequence of events to precede it

Cupidity

an extreme greed for wealth or money

Desultory

lacking a clear, focused plan; jumping from one place to another

Dissolution

the breaking down or closing of something; usually a formal contract

Emulate

mimicking someone out of admiration to obtain their success

Euphemism

a polite, demure word used to replace a more harsh or taboo one

Fastidious

giving extreme attention to small details; meticulous

Garish

unpleasantly decorated in a way that shows bad taste

Heed

to pay close attention to and yield to a warning

Impetuous

done quickly without a thought of the consequences

Incredulous

unwilling to believe something

Insolent

showing a bold disrespect for authority

Jeopardy

in danger of being destroyed

Legacy

long-lasting impacts passed through generations

Malefactor

a person who does bad things or hurts others; a criminal

Mitigate

to make a problem less severe

Nurture

to care for something to help it succeed

Optimist

a person with a positive outlook on life

Pervade

to spread through an area to make an influence felt everywhere; to make something ubiquitous

Preclude

to make something impossible to occur; to prevent

Proximity

nearness or closeness

Recluse

a person who chooses to withdraw from society

Revere

to respect something very much; to awe

Seditious

actions done to incite rebellion against authority

Stealth

moving or acting in a quiet, hidden manner

Tangent

a digression from a fixed topic

Trite

an idea lacking authenticity

Vacillate

to waver in between two ideas due to indecisiveness

Wane

to slowly decrease or lose strength

Affable

friendly and easy to speak with

Antiquated

outdated for modern times

Assail

to attack something viciously

Belie

to give a false impression of something; to show that something is wrong

Candor

the quality of being open and honest

Complacent

feeling overly happy with your current situation

Converge

to come together; to meet

Daunted

feeling frightened due to the imposing nature of something

Digress

to stray from the main subject

Dogmatic

the quality of stating your beliefs as if they are indisputable facts

Enigma

something that is puzzling or difficult to figure out

Expurgate

to remove the offensive parts from literature before releasing it

Fledgeling

a beginner or newcomer

Gravity

a metaphorical denotation of the seriousness of a situation

Hyperbole

a figure of speech that uses extreme exaggerations to show humor

Inadvertent

not planned; done by accident

Infamy

being famous for bad actions/deeds

Intractable

hard to manage or control

Jubilant

feeling great joy and excitement

Loath

unwilling or reluctant to do something; to despise

Meager

very small; lacking in quantity or quality

Mundane

ordinary, unexciting, or dull

Obscure

not well-known; hard to see; difficult to understand

Paragon

something viewed as an example of excellence

Plegmatic

the quality of being calm and hard to excite

Pretentious

attempting to seem more intelligent or important to impress others

Quandary

a state of perplexity in a complicated situation

Reprove

to scold in a gentle manner

Sanction

official approval OR punishment used to enforce a rule

Slander

a false statement meant to harm someone’s reputation

Subtle

something that is not obvious

Tenacious

persistent; showing great determination

Ubiquitous

present everywhere at the same time

Vapid

lacking passion, spirit, or intelligence

Wax

to grow larger or increase in intensity

Alienate

to emotionally detach from yourself or others, causing a feeling of separation

Arbitrary

made on a whim without logic or reasoning

Astute

showing keen awareness and adaptability to any situation; quick to notice and change based on the moment

Benign

causing no harm

Censure

to give a strong announcement of firm disapproval

Composure

a steady, calm state

Cordial

politely sincere or friendly

Deplore

to feel or express deep regret for something

Disdain

a lack of respect combined with deep-rooted dislike

Elated

feeling thrilled or very happy

Erratic

unpredictable and inconsistent; having no fixed course

Extraneous

not connected to the main subject

Fulminate

to shout loud, angry words to criticize someone

Harbor

to keep something

Imminent

about to occur

Incompatible

unable to coexist with one another due to extreme differences

Infer

to figure out using clues or facts

Irascible

easily enraged

Laconic

using few words to express oneself

Lucid

clear or easy to understand

Mellifluous

a sound that is pleasant to hear

Novelty

the quality of being striking or unusual

Obtuse

slow to understand; not very intelligent or bright

Penury

extreme poverty or destitution

Ponderous

something very heavy or slow due to its great mass

Profound

very deep; having a strong impact

Rampant

growing out of control

Reserve

a supply of something for potential use; a resevoir

Scrutinize

to examine something thoroughly

Sporadic

happening at irregular intervals; lacking a steady pattern

Surreptitious

done in secret