Quiz 2 English Vocab Words

Ephemeral

Lasting for a very short time; transitory; fleeting; existing only briefly before fading or disappearing completely.

Fastidious

Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy, detail, and cleanliness; excessively particular, critical, or demanding.

Garrulous

Excessively talkative, especially about trivial matters; prone to lengthy and rambling conversation without much substance.

Hegemony

Leadership, dominance, or influence of one nation, region, or group over others; preponderant influence or authority, especially of one state over others.

Imperious

Assuming power or authority without justification; arrogantly domineering; overbearing in manner or attitude.

Indignant

Feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment; justified anger or outrage.

Judicious

Having, showing, or done with good judgment or sense; careful and deliberate in action or decision.

Kinetic

Relating to or resulting from motion; characterized by constant movement or activity; dynamic and energetic.

Liturgical

Relating to public worship or religious ceremonies; characteristic of formalized religious services.

Magnanimous

Very generous or forgiving, especially toward a rival or less powerful person; showing nobility of feeling and generosity of mind.

Nihilistic

Believing that life is meaningless and rejecting all religious and moral principles; characterized by extreme skepticism or philosophical pessimism.

Ostentatious

Characterized by pretentious or showy display; designed to impress or attract attention; conspicuously wealthy or elaborate.

Paradigm

A typical example or pattern of something; a model or framework for understanding the world or organizing information.

Quandary

A state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation; a practical dilemma.

Rhetoric

The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing; language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect but often regarded as lacking sincerity.

Subjugate

To bring under domination or control, especially by conquest; to make subservient or subordinate.

Taxonomy

The science or technique of classification; a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical system.

Unilateral

Performed by or affecting only one person, group, or country involved in a situation, without the agreement of others.

Vestige

A trace or remnant of something that is disappearing or no longer exists; a surviving evidence or memorial of some condition or practice.

Watershed

A crucial dividing point, line, or factor; a turning point in a course of action or state of affairs.

Allegory

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Belligerent

Hostile and aggressive; demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight.

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds; jarring, unpleasant noise or combination of noises.

Dialectic

The art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions; logical discussion and reasoning through dialogue.

Empyreal

Belonging to or deriving from heaven; celestial or sublime in character.

Fortuitous

Happening by chance rather than intention; occurring unexpectedly but with beneficial results.

Genuflect

To bend the knee or touch one knee to the ground in reverence or worship; to show servile deference or respect.

Harrowing

Extremely disturbing or distressing; acutely painful or agonizing to the emotions.

Inchoate

Just begun and so not fully formed or developed; in an initial or early stage.

Jingoism

Extreme patriotism, especially in the form of aggressive or warlike foreign policy.

Kaleidoscopic

Continually changing or quickly shifting; marked by constant change and variety.

Laconic

Using few words; expressing much in few words; concise to the point of being terse or brusque.

Mendacity

Untruthfulness; tendency to lie; the quality of being mendacious or dishonest.

Normative

Establishing, relating to, or deriving from a standard or norm; prescribing how something should be done.

Opulent

Ostentatiously luxurious and wealthy; characterized by abundance and wealth.

Palliate

To make less severe or intense without removing the cause; to moderate the intensity of.

Quotient

A degree or amount of a specified quality or characteristic; the magnitude of a specified quality.

Redolent

Strongly reminiscent or suggestive of something; having a strong smell, usually pleasant.

Solipsistic

Characterized by the view that the self is all that can be known to exist; extremely self-centered.

Temporal

Relating to worldly as opposed to spiritual affairs; relating to time or limited by time.

Umbrage

Offense or annoyance; resentment or displeasure, especially at a perceived slight or insult.

Verisimilitude

The appearance of being true or real; the quality of seeming real or probable.

Weltanschauung

A comprehensive conception or image of the universe and of humanity's relation to it.

Xenial

Of, relating to, or constituting hospitality or relations between host and guest.

Yeoman

A person who performs great and loyal service; a devoted and hardworking person.

Apotheosis

The elevation of someone to divine status; the highest point in the development of something.

Bucolic

Of or relating to the pleasant aspects of country life; rustic or pastoral.

Capitulate

To surrender under agreed conditions; to give up resistance or opposition.

Denouement

The final part of a story in which the strands of the plot are drawn together; the outcome or resolution.

Ethereal

Extremely delicate and light in a way that seems not to be of this world; heavenly or celestial.