Everything I Never Told You Vocab

innocuous

Not harmful or offensive.

tenure

Give (someone) a permanent post, especially as a teacher or professor.

whorl

A pattern of spirals or concentric circles.

impale

Pierce or transfix with a sharp instrument.

filch

Pilfer or steal (something, especially a thing of small value) in a casual way.

frivolous

Not having any serious purpose or value.

dawdle

Waste time; be slow.

wistful

Showing or evoking a sad longing for an often idealized past.

obstinate

Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or chosen course of action, despite attempts to persuade one to do so.

demure

Reserved, modest, and shy (typically used of a woman).

plaintive

Showing or expressing sorrow: mournful, sad.

solicitous

Showing attentive care or protectiveness.

insolent

Showing a rude and arrogant lack of respect.

kowtow

Act in an excessively subservient manner.

umbrage

Offense or annoyance.

coterie

An intimate and often exclusive group of persons with a unifying common interest or purpose.

talisman

An object, typically an inscribed ring or stone, that is thought to have magic powers and to bring good luck.

lithe

Thin, supple, and graceful.

unabashed

Not ashamed, embarrassed, or shy about something.

peremptory

Insisting on immediate attention or obedience, especially in a brusquely imperious way.

obliterate

To wipe out, erase.

laudable

Praiseworthy.

dichotomy

Contrast between opposite things.

paleontology

Study of animals or plants.

quintessential

Most perfect example of a quality or class.

gaggle

A disorderly climb out of somewhere.

salacious

Having or conveying undue or inappropriate interest in indecent matters.

clamber

Awkward or disorderly climb out of somewhere.

asphyxia

Death by suffocation.

crevice

Narrow opening in a rock or wall.

benign

Mild, favorable, not harmful.

behooves

Appropriate, in a person's best interest.

prostrate

Completely overcome, helpless.

berate

Scold or criticize angrily.

culpable

Deserving blame.

diligently

Showing care of conscientiousness.

subside

Become less intense, return to normal.

aphorism

Observation that contains a general truth.

incongruous

Not in harmony with the surroundings.

sparse

Scattered, thinly dispersed.

sedate

Calm, dignified, unhurried.

writhe

Respond with great emotional or physical discomfort to (a violent or unpleasant feeling or thought).