Vocabulary Mastery: Units 1-15 Key Terms and Definitions

Dour

stern, unyielding, gloomy, ill-humored

Intimation

a hint; indirect suggestion

Fortitude

courage in facing difficulties

Amicable

peaceable, friendly

Meticulous

extremely careful, particular about details

Benevolent

kindly, charitable

Coerce

to compel, force

Inclement

stormy, harsh; severe in attitude or action

Sojourn

a temporary stay

Affiliated

associated, connected

Panacea

a remedy for all ills, cure-all, an answer to all problems

Ascertain

to find out

Assent

to express agreement

Discrepancy

a difference, a lack of agreement

Remiss

neglectful in performance of one's duty, careless

Deft

skillful, nimble

Extirpate

to tear up by the roots, to destroy totally

Solace

comfort, relief; to comfort, console

Renegade

one who leaves a group; a deserter, an outlaw

Martinet

a strict disciplinarian; a stickler for the rules

Discern

to see clearly, recognize

Recalcitrant

stubbornly disobedient, unruly, ornery

Quandary

confusion, dilemma, predicament

Consecrate

to make sacred or holy, devote

Emaciated

unnaturally thin

Ardent

very enthusiastic, impassioned

Sophomoric

immature and overconfident; conceited

Respite

a period of relief or rest

Profess

to affirm openly; to state belief in; to claim, to pretend

Misnomer

an unsuitable or misleading name

Integrity

honesty, high moral standards, completeness

Endemic

native or confined to a particular region or people

Misconstrue

to interpret wrongly, mistake the meaning of

Clandestine

secret, concealed; underhanded

Platitude

a commonplace, stale, or trite remark

Tacit

unspoken, silent, implied, inferred

Innocuous

harmless, inoffensive; insignificant

Decorum

proper behavior, good taste, orderliness

Ultimatum

a final proposal or statement of conditions

Bellicose

warlike in manner or temperament, quarrelsome

Rescind

to repeal, take back, cancel

Alleviate

to relieve, make more bearable

Pandemonium

a wild uproar, din, or commotion

Complacent

self-satisfied; overly content

Vehement

intense, forceful, powerful