Honors ELA 10 Vocab Definition

Acuity

(n.) Sharpness (particularly of the mind or senses)

Depraved

(adj.) Marked by evil and corruption, devoid of moral principles.

Esoteric

(adj.) Intended for or understood by only a select few, private, secret.

Figment

(n.) A fabrication of the mind; an arbitrary notion.

Garner

(v.) To acquire as the result of effort; to gather and store away, as for future use.

Idiosyncrasy

(n.) A peculiarity that serves to distinguish or identify.

Mundane

(adj.) Earthly, worldly, relating to practical and material affairs; concerned with what is ordinary.

Penchant

(n.) A strong attraction or inclination.

Sumptuous

(adj.) Costly, rich, magnificent.

Ubiquitous

(adj.) Present or existing everywhere.

Agnostic

(n.) one who believes that nothing can be known about God; a skeptic;

(adj.) without faith, skeptical

Effigy

(n.) a crude image of a despised person

equity

(n.) the state or quality of being just, fair, or impartial; fair and equal treatment;

• the money value of a property value of a property above and beyond any other mortgage or other claim

inane

(adj.) silly, empty of meaning or value ant- sensible, meaningful, profound

Indubitable

(adj.) certain, not to be doubted or denied, ant- questionable, debatable, dubious

Intermittent

(adj.) stopping and beginning again, sporadic

Neophyte

(n.) a new convert, beginner, novice

Surveillance

(n.) a watch kept over a person; careful, close, and disciplined observation

Sylvan

(adj.) pertaining to or characteristic or forest; living or located in a forest; wooded, woody

Travesty

(n.) a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation; a disguise,especially the clothing of the opposite sex;

Allay

(v.) To calm or pacify, set to rest; to lessen or relieve

Bestial

(adj.) Beastlike; beastly, brutal; subhuman in intelligence and sensibility

Coterie

(n.) A circle of acquaintance; a close-knit, often exclusive, group of people with a common interest

Embellish

(v.) To decorate, adorn, touch up; to improve by adding details

Ephemeral

(adj.) Lasting only a short time, short-lived

Furtive

(adj.) done slyly or stealthily, sneaky, secret, shifty; stolen

Garish

glaring; tastelessly showy or over decorated in a vulgar or offensive way

Illusory

(adj) - misleading, deceptive; lacking in or not based on reality

indigent

(adj) - needy, impoverished

jettison

(v) - to cast overboard, to get rid of unnecessary or burdensome things

allege

to assert without proof or confirmation

echelon

(n.) one of a series of grades in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a steplike formation or arrangement

exacerbate

(v.) to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful

irrefutable

impossible to disprove; beyond argument

juggernaut

(n.) a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path

lackadaisical

(adj.) lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted

litany

(n.) a prayer consisting of short appeals to God recited by the leader alternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long list

macabre

(adj.) grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject

paucity

(n.) an inadequate quantity, scarcity, dearth

portend

(v.) to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of

raze

(v.) to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out

recant

(v.) to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract

saturate

(v.) to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully

saturnine

(adj.) of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood

slough

(v.) to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud;

(n.) a mire; a state of depression