Edison Prep Vocab List 2

abridged

to make shorter; to condense; to summarize

accord

agreement; concord

acumen

a quality of keen insight and sound judgment

adept

talented at; skilled

adroit

nimble; skilled; talented

affluent

wealthy; well-to-do

austere

simple; UTILITARIAN (practical and not fancy); spartan; strict

avarice

greed; strong desire for wealth; cupidity

banal

trite; hackneyed; dull from overuse

bombastic

talking in an arrogant, pompous way; showy

brevity

"briefness"; short; concise, CURT; especially in talking or writing

cliché

a saying or idea that has been overused

compromise

1) to make an agreement where both parties make CONCESSIONS; OR 2) to make vulnerable to danger

concise

using few words; brief; SUCCINCT; to the point

consensus

general agreement

cupidity

greedy; strong desire for wealth; avarice

deft

skilled; adept

derivative

"derived from"; taken from something else; not original

despondent

hopeless; discouraged

diatribe

a harsh and bitter verbal attack; a passionate rant

excoriate

to criticize severely; to BERATE; "to rip someone's heart out."

exorbitant

extremely costly or expensive

facetious

funny; jocular; "treating serious matters with a lack of respect"

frugal

THRIFTY; ECONOMICAL in spending; prudent; not wasteful

hackneyed

a commonplace saying made trite by overuse

indigenous

native to; originating in

indolent

lazy, trying to avoid exertion, SLOTHFUL

ineffable

incapable of being expressed in words; indescribable

insipid

lacking taste or flavor

jocular

done in a joking manner

lackluster

"lacking luster"; lacking energy and liveliness; boring

laconic

using few words; concise to the point of being impolite

lethargic

lazy; slow-moving; LANGUID; SLUGGISH; IMPASSIVE

lucrative

extremely profitable; very REMUNERATIVE

mandate

a formal order, command, or law

mediate

to arbitrate or play counselor; to act as a neutral party

mercenary

a "hired gun"; motivated only by desire for money

miserly

stingy; tight with money; very FRUGAL

moribund

on the verge of dying; in decline; lacking vigor or life

mundane

commonplace; boring; ordinary

negligent

REMISS; irresponsible; neglectful

negotiate

to attempt to reach agreement; OR to successfully navigate

opportunistic

acting to maximize personal gain, regardless of ethics

ornate

elaborately decorated; EMBELLISHED; INTRICATE

palpable

capable of being touched; real; TANGIBLE

panacea

a "cure-all"; something that remedies all difficulties

parsimonious

MISERLY; stingy; very cheap with money

pedestrian

incredibly ordinary; normal; CONVENTIONAL; PROSAIC; dull

perfunctory

something done in a mechanical, robotic, passionless manner

pithy

brief but full of meaning; concise; TERSE

platitude

a dull and commonplace saying

prattle

to continue to talk incessantly (often about a trivial subject)

prosaic

commonplace; dull; everyday; TRITE; overused

quiescent

quiet (even looks like quiet!); not moving; inactive

raiment

clothing; apparel

rant

to speak loudly and passionately

redundant

repetitive; duplicative

sardonic

scornfully mocking or DERIDING; joking in a hurtful way

scathing

severely critical; damaging; withering

sedentary

inactive; not moving around much

soporific

causing sleepiness; extremely boring

taciturn

habitually silent; RETICENT; unspeaking

tedious

long; slow; dull; tiresome; monotonous

tirade

a diatribe; a harsh negative rant

vacuous

literally, "empty." Lacking thought or intelligence, mindless

vapid

lacking vitality or spirit; not stimulating; INSIPID; flat

vilify

to SLANDER; to speak about in a bad / DISPARAGING manner

wry

clever, dry humor, DROLL