Stems List 31-37 Vocabulary ONLY

thanatopsis

view of death

vacuous

stupidly empty of ideas

lucubration

late studying

ex cathedra

from the throne

legerdemain

sleight of hand

suspiration

deep sigh

nepotism

favoritism to relatives

synoptic

general in view

lionize

treat as a celebrity

assiduous

persevering

subterfuge

evasive dodge

bon vivant

indulger in luxury

saturnine

gloomy and remote

sedentary

sitting

pusillanimous

small-minded

malapropism

ludicrous misuse of a word

nonplussed

perplexed (perplexed\=puzzled)

postlude

concluding section

hierarchy

ranking

portly

stout

interdiction

prohibition

vide

see

omnibus

covering many things

monolithic

massive and uniform

imponderable

difficult to ponder

benediction

blessing

incredulous

not believing

omniscient

all-knowing

neophyte

beginner

unilateral

one-sided

hypothecate

pledge as security

heterodox

unorthodox

paterfamilias

male head of family

putative

thought-to-be

aver

affirm or declare

megaton

force of a million tons of dynamite

sangfroid

cold-blooded composure

alter ego

second self

altercation

heated dispute

contravene

go against

confluence

a flowing together

circumlocution

talking in circles

soliloquy

speech to oneself

mollify

make soft

gregarious

sociable

declaim

speak rhetorically

sotto voce

in a low voice

translucent

semitransparent

forte

strong point

fortissimo

very loudly

acerbity

sharpness of temper

perambulate

wander through

perfidy

breach of faith

impugn

attack as false

non sequitur

an idea which does not follow

egocentric

self-centered

loquacious

talkative

sacrosanct

sacred

cacophony

bad noise

tangible

touchable

obiter dictum

passing remark

obsequious

servilely following

abase

to lower

pathetic fallacy

ascribing feelings to things

ratiocination

methodical thinking

mutatis mutandis

with necessary changes

interstice

small space

terra incognita

unknown land

sedate

calm

retort

swift reply

nihilism

belief in nothing

supersede

replace

inanimate

lifeless

condescend

lower oneself

epigram

witty comment

anthropocentric

man-centered

gastronome

a gourmet or epicure

autodidact

self-taught person

monism

doctrine that reality is one

in medias res

in the middle of things

lycanthrope

werewolf

circumambient

surrounding

transmogrify

change form

reify

treat as real

au contraire

on the contrary

vivacious

lively

circumvent

get around

heliotropic

sun-following

exculpate

free from blame

introspective

inward looking

a priori

from theory

a posteriori

from observation

parthenogenesis

unfertilized birth

assonance

vowel repetition

objurgation

rebuke

demotic

of the common people

soporific

sleep-inducing

internecine

mutually destructive

sesquipedalian

very long words

sui generis

unique