Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Vocab?

Cold War

intense political or ideological hostility between nations, resulting in high tension between them, but not in outright war

Pyrrhic Victory

a victory or achievement won at too great a cost.

Stream of Consciousness

in psychology, the content of an individual's consciousness seen as a continuous flow through time

Juxtaposition

a rhetorical device that places two elements in close relationship for purposes

Social Darwinism

a late-nineteenth-century social theory in which Darwinism is applied to the understanding of human society, as in the belief of the genetic superiority of some individuals or groups over others.

Abstruse

difficult to comprehend or understand; esoteric; arcane

Bucolic

of or suggesting the countryside or a rustic style of life, esp. one that is quiet and pleasant.

Cipher

a person or thing thought to be without importance; nonentity.

Contemptuous

feeling or expressing contempt; scornful.

Declension

noun, adjective, or pronoun inflection especially in some prescribed order of the forms 2: a falling off or away: deterioration

Convoluted

complex; intricate.

Derisive

ridiculing, mocking, or scoffing

Desist

to stop acting in a certain way

Encumber

to burden, as a heavy load or an obligation.

Euphemism

the substitution of a milder, vaguer, or pleasanter word or expression for one considered to be offensive or unpleasant.

Exorcism

the process of expelling an evil spirit.

Feign

to imitate in order to deceive; put on or give a false appearance of.

Flagellation

to strike with or as if with a whip; flog.+ \n to punish or drive by harsh methods.

Frenetic

\n frantic; frenzied

Incredulity

\n the state of refusal to believe

Insinuate

to suggest (something derogatory) subtly and indirectly.+ to use subtle and indirect means to advance (oneself)

Malignancy

the state or quality of being malignant + malignant actions, character, or the like.

Monolith

an organized whole that acts as a single unified powerful or influential force

Pertinent

of, concerning, or connected to a subject; relevant.

Pragmatic

concerned with actual causes and effects rather than abstract theories or ideas; practical.

Propensity

\n a natural or inborn tendency, aptitude, or preference (often fol. by an infinitive or "for")

Recondite

involving profound concepts and complexities; not easily understood

Salacious

excited by lust; lecherous + lewd or pornographic; obscene.

Vehemence

intensely emotional; impassioned; heated

Vulgar

indecent, obscene, or ostentatious