Sets 1 & 2 (Fall Comp 1)

Abjure

To renounce under oath; to take back

Abrogate

To abolish or do away with

Antebellum

Belonging to the period before a war

Auspicious

Marked by success; prosperous; favorable circumstances

Bowdlerize

To remove material that is offensive or objectionable

Chicanery

Deception by trickery

Circumlocution

The use of unnecessarily wordy & indirect language; evasiveness in speech or writing

Circumnavigate

To proceed completely around; to go around; circumvent

Diffident

Lacking self-confidence; shy or timid

Enervate

To weaken or destroy the strength of

Equinox

The length of day and night are approximately equal (March & September)

Euro

Currency among members of the European Monetary Union

Facetious

Playfully jocular; humorous

Fatuous

Foolish or silly

Filibuster

Use of tactics, especially long speeches, to delay legislative action

Gamete

A reproductive cell with half the number of chromosomes

Hegemony

The predominant influence of a state, region, or group over others

Hemoglobin

Iron-containing pigment in red blood cells that carries O2 & CO2 between the lungs & tissues

Hypotenuse

The side of a right triangle opposite the right angle

Impeach

To make an accusation against; to charge with improper conduct in office

Inculcate

To teach by frequent instruction or repetition; to indoctrinate

Infrastructure

Basic services needed for a community to function (water, electricity, school, post office, etc.)

Jejune

Dull or not interesting; lacking maturity or childish

Kinetic

Energy relating to or produced by motion

Lexicon

A dictionary; a set of terms used in a specific profession

Loquacious

Very talkative

Lurid

Characterized by vivid descriptions or explicit details that are meant to provoke or shock

Machiavellian

Characterized by cunning and deceit

Mantra

A word or phrase that is expressed repeatedly

Maudlin

Excessively sentimental

Misnomer

A name wrongly or unsuitably applied to a person or an object

Narcissist

One who is excessively preoccupied with oneself; an extremely self-centered person

Nouveau riche

Characterized by newly acquired wealth

Oblivion

The condition of being completely forgotten; a condition of total forgetfulness

Ostracize

To exclude from a group

Panacea

A remedy for all diseases, evils, or difficulties; a cure-all

Perfunctory

Done routinely and with little interest or care

Philistine

A person who is smugly indifferent or antagonistic to art and culture

Quid pro quo

Something given in return for something else or accepted as a reciprocal exchange

Quintessential

Being the best or most typical example of its kind

Rhetoric

Language that is intended to persuade

Scintillating

Lively and exceptionally intelligent; animated and brilliant

Stoic

Seemingly indifferent to pleasure and pain; showing little or no emotion

Suave

Gracious and sophisticated

Teetotaler

One who abstains completely from alcoholic beverages

Tête-à-tête

A private conversation between two people

Ubiquitous

Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time

Unrequited

Not given, rewarded, or felt in return

Vile

Loathsome, disgusting; morally depraved, or wicked

Waft

To move or cause to move gently and smoothly through the air