AP Senior Vocab Unit 4-10 - Definition

gamut

(n.) The whole range or sequence

derring-do

(n.) Bold or reckless action

affinity

(n.) A natural attraction, liking, or feeling of kinship

corollary

(n.) A proposition following so obviously from another that it requires little demonstration

bilious

(adj.) Appearing as if affected by such a malady; sickly

folderol

(n.) Foolishness; nonsense

cognate

(n.) A person or thing related to another; (adj.) Related in origin, nature, character, or function

elixir

(n.) A substance or medicine believed to have the power to cure all ills

cul-de-sac

(n.) An impasse; a dead-end street

divination

(n.) The pretended forecast of future events or discovery of what is lost or hidden

risible

(adj.) worthy to be laughed at; amusing

hoi polloi

(n.) The common people; the masses

obloquy

(n.) Strong public criticism or verbal abuse; Disgrace or public humiliation

symptomatic

(adj.) Showing signs of a disease

volte-face

(n.) A reversal, as in policy

ineffable

(adj.) incapable of being expressed

mnemonic

(n.) Something intended to assist the memory in learning; (adj.) Assisting or intended to assist the memory

lucubration

(n.) Laborious study or meditation

parameter

(n.) A factor that determines a range of variations; a boundary

pundit

(n.) A source of opinion; a critic

homily

(n.) A sermon or lecture about a religious or moral topic

aficionado

(n.) An enthusiastic admirer or follower; a fan

foray

(n.) A venture or an initial attempt, especially outside one's usual area; A sudden raid or military advance; (v.) To make a raid

insouciant

(adj.) Marked by unconcern; nonchalant

browbeat

(v.) To overwhelm, or attempt to do so, by stern, haughty, or rude address or manner

emolument

(n.) Payment for an office or employment; compensation

immure

(v.) To confine within or as if within walls; imprison

commensurate

(adj.) Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate

diaphanous

(adj.) allowing light to pass through

genre

(n.) A type or class

sacrosanct

(adj.) Regarded as sacred and inviolable

vicissitude

(n.) a change in circumstances; a fluctuation or shift;

matrix

(n.) That which contains and gives shape or form to anything

systemic

(adj.) Relating to or affecting the entire body or an entire organism

obsequies

(n.) Funeral rites

tendentious

(adj.) Marked by a strong unwavering point of view; partisan

persona

(n.) The role that one assumes or displays in public or society

panache

(n.) Distinctive and stylish elegance

prurient

(adj.) Inclined to lascivious thoughts and desires

philippic

(n.) A speech of violent denunciation

internecine

(adj.) Mutually destructive; ruinous or fatal to both sides

abortive

(adj.) Failing to accomplish an intended objective; fruitless

in medias res

(adv.) In or into the middle of a sequence of events, as in a literary narrative

maladroit

(adj.) Marked by one's ineptitude

maudlin

(adj.) excessively sentimental

bruit

(v.) To spread news of; repeat

ensconce

(v.) To settle securely or comfortably

iconoclastic

(adj.) Seeking to overthrow traditional or popular ideas or institutions

contumelious

(adj.) Rudeness or contempt arising from arrogance; insolence

dictum

(n.) an authoritative statement

waggish

(adj.) Witty or joking

prescience

(n.) Knowledge of events before they take place

saturnalian

(adj.) Of unrestrained and intemperate jollity; riotously merry; dissolute

portentous

(adj.) Ominously indicative or significant, foreshadowing something bad or important to come

salubrious

(adj.) Conducive or favorable to health or well-being

touchstone

(n.) An excellent quality or example that is used to test the excellence or genuineness of others

modulate

(v.) To vary in tone, inflection, pitch or other quality of sound

quid pro quo

(n.) An equal exchange or substitution

vitiate

(v.) to make faulty, or imperfect

traumatic

(adj.) Regarding an event or situation that causes great distress and disruption

gambol

(v.) to dance and skip about in play

ambivalent

(adj.) Characterized by a mixture of opposite feelings or attitudes

eclat

(n.) Great brilliance, as of performance or achievement; success

abeyance

(n.) suspension; temporary cessation

imbue

(v.) To permeate or saturate

carte blanche

(n.) Unrestricted power to act at one's own discretion; unconditional authority

fastidious

(adj.) Hard to please

cataclysm

(n.) Any overwhelming flood of water

beleaguer

(v.) To annoy persistently; harass

debauch

(n.) A wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity; (v.) To corrupt morally, to lead away from virtue, to seduce

lampoon

(n.) A humorous and often malicious satire; (v.) To mock or ridicule in a satire

savoir-faire

(n.) The ability to say or do the right or graceful thing

queasy

(adj.) Experiencing nausea; nauseated

inchoate

(adj.) partly but not fully in existence or operation

picaresque

(adj.) Of or involving clever rogues or adventurers

opt

(v.) To make a choice or decision

refractory

(adj.) stubbornly disobedient

philistine

(n.) A person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits; (adj.) Indifferent and smug to artistic and cultural values and refinements

nemesis

(n.) A goddess; divinity of chastisement and vengeance

malleable

(adj.) capable of being shaped; also, adaptable

ad hoc

(adj.) Improvised or impromptu, for or concerned with one specific purpose; (adv.) For one specific case, with respect to this

depredation

(n.) An act of plundering and pillaging and marauding

harbinger

(n.) One that indicates or foreshadows what is to come, a forerunner; (v.) To signal the approach of, to presage

de facto

(adj.) Existing in fact whether with lawful authority or not; (adv.) in reality or fact, actually

aberration

(n.) Deviation from a right, customary, or prescribed course

empathy

(n.) Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives

bathos

(n.) A ludicrous descent from the elevated to the low, in writing or speech; anticlimax

bane

(n.) Fatal injury or ruin

cantankerous

(adj.) Ill-tempered and quarrelsome; disagreeable

casuistry

(n.) False or excessively subtle reasoning intended to rationalize or mislead

peccadillo

(n.) a slight trespass or offense

syndrome

(n.) A group of signs and symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality

nepotism

(n.) favoritism shown to members of one's family

hedonism

(n.) Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses

piece de resistance

(n.) An outstanding accomplishment

remand

(v.) To send or order back

pander

(n.) A person who caters to the lower tastes and desires of others; (v.) To cater to the lower tastes and desires of others

mellifluous

(adj.) flowing sweetly or smoothly

lackluster

(adj.) Lacking brightness or vitality; dull

malcontent

(n.) One who is not satisfied or content with currently prevailing conditions or circumstances; (adj.) Not satisfied or content with currently prevailing conditions or circumstances