English Vocab Units 1-3

Myopic

possessing a lack of foresight

Nebulous

unclear; vague; indefinite

Oblique

having a slanting position or direction; not straight to the point; indirect

Passé

out-of-date; old-fashioned

Rectitude

conduct according to moral principles; strict honesty

Sibilant

having or making a hissing sound

Tacit

making no sound; unspoken; silent; implied or understood

Umbrage

offense or resentment

Vehement

acting or moving with great force; having intense feeling; passionate

Wrought

formed or fashioned; shaped by hammering or beating (usually metals)

Banal

drearily commonplace and often predictable; trite

Cerebral

Brainy; intellectually refined

Disseminate

to spread the seeds of something

Elusive

hard to pin down; evasive

Feral

untamed; wild

Hypothetical

guessed; proposed outcome

Lampoon

to satirize; to mock; to parody

Maverick

a nonconformist; a rebel

Novel

new, original

Placid

undisturbed; tranquil; calm

Catalyst

in chemistry, something that changes the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being changed; anyone or anything that makes something happen without being directly involved in it

Decimate

to kill or destroy a large part of

Enigma

one that is puzzling, ambiguous, or inexplicable

Finesse

skillful maneuvering; subtlety; craftiness

Guile

treacherous cunning; skillful deceit

Homily

a sermon

Impeccable

flawless; entirely without sin

Malevolent

having or exhibiting ill will; wishing harm to others

Oblivion

total forgetfulness; the state of being forgotten

Prodigy

an extremely talented child; an extraordinary accomplishment or occurrence

Encumbered

burdened; hampered; hindered

Introspective

tending to think about oneself; examining one's feelings

Monolithic

massive, solid, uniform, and unyielding

Obstreperous

noisy, boisterous, or unruly

Purloined

stolen

Repertoire

the special skills, devices, techniques, etc. of a particular person or field

Spurious

not true or genuine; false

Temerity

boldness; recklessness; audacity

Undulate

to move in waves

Vex

to annoy; to pester; to confuse

Cadence

rhythm; the rise and fall of sounds

Chicanery

trickery; deceitfulness; artifice, especially legal or political

Futile

incapable of succeeding; useless; vain; hopeless

Inconspicuous

hard to see or perceive; attracting little attention

Livid

extremely angry; furious

Painstaking

extremely careful; taking pains

Puerile

belonging to childhood; juvenile; immature; childish

Respite

a period of rest or relief

Sordid

vile; filthy; squalid; foul

Sublime

awesome; extremely exalted; lofty; majestic

Compendium

a summary; an abridgement

Disparate

different; incompatible; unequal

Expatriate

to move away from one's native land; to emigrate

Histrionic

overly dramatic; theatrical

Inordinate

excessive; unreasonable

Manifesto

a public declaration of beliefs or principles, usually political ones

Nuance

a subtle difference or distinction

Peripatetic

wandering; travelling continually; itinerant

Rebut

to contradict; to argue in opposition to; to prove to be false

Scrupulous

strict; careful; hesitant for ethical reasons