APL - U:13 Vocabulary - Grant

abstruse

(adj.) extremely difficult to understand

affront

(n.) an open or intentional insult; a slight; (v.) to insult one’s face; to face in defiance, confront

canard

(n.) a false rumor, fabricated story

captious

(adj.) excessively ready to find fault; given to petty criticism; intended to trap, confuse, or show up

cognizant

(adj.) aware, knowledgeable, informed; having jurisdiction

contrite

(adj.) regretful for some misdeeds or sin; plagued by a sense of guilt; thoroughly penitent

cynosure

(n.) center of attraction, attention, or interest; something that serves to guide or direct

decorous

(adj.) well behaved, dignified, socially proper

deign

(v.) to think it appropriate or suitable to one’s dignity to do something; to condescend

desiccated

(adj., part.) thoroughly dried out; divested of spirit or vitality; arid and uninteresting

efficacy

(n.) the power to produce a desired result

engender

(v.) to bring into existence, give rise to; produce; to come into existence, assume form

ethereal

(adj.) light, airy, delicate; highly refined; suggesting what is heavenly (rather than earthbound)

facade

(n.) the front or face of a building; a surface appearance (as opposed to what may lie behind)

ghoulish

(adj.) revolting in an unnatural or morbid way; suggestive of someone who robs graves or otherwise preys on the dead

incongruous

(adj.) not in keeping, unsuitable, incompatible

machination

(n) a crafty, scheming, or underhanded action designed to accomplish some (usually evil) end

mesmerize

(v.) to hypnotize, entrance; to fascinate, enthrall, bewitch

opprobrium

(n.) disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt, reproach

putative

(adj.) generally regarded as such; reputed; hypnotized; inferred