Honors English 11 Semester 2 Review

Aegis

a shield; protection

Amorphous

shapeless, formless;vague

enervate

to weaken

ephermeral

lasting only a brief time; short-lived

factious

causing disagreement

perspicacity

keenness of judgement

diaphonous

very sheer and light

effete

worn out; barren

fecund

fertile; productive

obfuscate

to confuse; bewilder

parochial

local; narrow; limited

facetious

comical; jocular; flippant

hedonism

the pursuit of pleasure, especially of the senses

obloquy

string disapproval; a bad reputation resulting from public criticism

perfunctory

done without care; in a routine fashion

ebullient

enthusiastic

pedantic

tending to show off one’s learning

onerous

burdensome; heavy; hard to endure

antipathy

an intense dislike

amoral

lacking a sense of right and wrong

sanguine

cheerful; optimistic

scurrilous

coarsely abusive; vulgar

sedulous

hard working; diligent

adroit

skillful; clever

bovine

pertaining to cows or cattle

callow

young and inexperienced

dichotomy

a division of two parts

fatuous

foolish; inane

laconic

using few words; short; concise

quiddity

an essential quality

sagacious

wise; having keen perception and sound judgement

agape

open-mouthed; surprised; agog

hoi polloi

the common people; the masses

grandiose

impressive; showy; magnificent

hackneyed

commonplace; overused

immolate

to kill someone as a sacrificial victim, usually by fire

quagmire

a swamp; a difficult or inextricable situation

obsequious

excessively submissive or overly attentive

calumny

the act of uttering false charges

chimerical

imaginary; fantastic

contiguous

making contact or touching at some point

harbinger

an omen or sign

idiosyncrasy

a peculiar personality trait

machination

an evil design or plan

nubile

suitable for marriage in age and physical development, referring to a female

pejorative

having a negative effect; insulting

sapient

wise; full of knowledge

sentient

concious; capable of feeling or percieving

bucolic

pertaining to a countryside; rural; rustic

caveat

a warning

gratuitous

unnecessary or uncalled for

impecunious

without money; penniless

impious

disrespectful towards God

licentious

taking legal or moral restraint

redolent

having a pleasant odor

sedition

rebellion or resistance against the government

bombast

impressive but meaningless language

desiccated

dried up

epitome

a typical example

garrulous

talkative

juxtapose

to place side-by-side for comparison

lachrymose

tearful, weepy

legerdemain

sleight of hand; deception

mendacious

lying; false; deceitful

fastidious

hard to please; fussy

halcyon

calm; pleasant

hegira

flight; escape

malapropism

ma word humorously misused

kismet

destiny; fate; fortune

panache

self-confidence; a showy manner

meretricious

attractive in a cheap, flashy way

miscreant

a vicious person

salacious

obscene; lustful

ennui

boredom; a weariness resulting from lack of interest

sang-froid

Calmness;composure or self-possession

apothesis

the finest example

pontificate

to speak in a pretentiously dignified or dogmatic way

specious

deceptive or misleading

credulity

Willingness to believe readily

fulminate

to voice disapproval or protest

gravitas

seriousness

truculent

marked by ferocity

androgynous

having features of both sexes; suitable for both male and female

diaspora

a dispersion of people from their homeland

tendentious

biased in perspective; preferring one view over anotherz

succour

Something that provides relief or aid

xeric

characterized by or adapted to a dry habitat

plenary

complete in every way; full

travesty

a poor representation or imitation; distortion

clandestine

marked by secrecy

mal

bad

grad, gress

step/walk

dem

people

greg

flock/herd

fin

end/limit

cred

to believe

ac,acr

sharp/pointed

cur, curs

to run

via

way, path

sal, sult

to jump/leap