American lit. vocab Unit 2

Ameliorate

To improve, make better or correct a flaw

Aplomb

Poise, assurance, great self confidence; perpendicularity

Bombastic

Pompous or overblown in language; full of high surrounding words intended to conceal a lack of ideas

Callow

Without experience; immature, not fully developed; lacking sophistication and poise.

Drivel

(n.) Saliva or mucus flowing from the mouth or nose, foolish/aimless talk or thinking, (v.) to waste or fritter away foolishly

Epitome

A summary, condensed account; an instance that represents a larger reality; the perfect example

Exhort

To urge strongly or advise earnestly

Ex officio

By virtue of holding a specific office

Infringe

To violate, trespass, or go beyond recognized bounds

Ingratiate

To make oneself agreeable and thus gain favor and acceptance by others

Interloper

One who moves in where he or she is not wanted or has no right to be, an intruder

Intrinsic

Belonging to something or someone by its very nature, essential, inherent; originating in a bodily organ or part

Inveigh

To make a violent attack in words, express strong disapproval

Lassitude

Weariness of body or mind, lack of energy

Millennium

A period of one thousand years, a period of great joy

Occult

(n.) Secret, hidden from view, not detectable by ordinary means; mysterious, magical, uncanny, (v.) to hide or cover up

Permeate

To spread through, penetrate, to soak through

Precipitate

(v.) To fall as moisture; to bring about suddenly; to hurl down from a great height, (adj.) characterized by excessive haste, (n.) moisture, the product of an action or progress.

Stringent

Strict, severe; rigorously or urgently binding or compelling, sharp or bitter to the taste

Surmise

To think or believe without certain supporting evidence, to conjecture or guess