Midterm exam vocab review

admonish

(v.) to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly; to remind of a duty

breach

(n.) an opening, gap, rupture, rift; a violation or infraction; (v.) to create an opening, break through

brigand

(n.) a bandit, robber, outlaw, highwayman

circumspect

(adj.) careful, cautious

commandeer

(v.) to seize for military or official use

cumbersome

(adj.) clumsy, hard to handle; slow-moving

deadlock

(n.) a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces or factions; (v.) to bring such a standstill

debris

(n.) scattered fragments, wreckage

diffuse

(v.) to spread or scatter freely or widely; (adj.) wordy, long-winded, or unfocused; scattered or widely spread

dilemma

(n.) a difficult or perplexing situation or problem

efface

(v.) to wipe out; to keep oneself from being noticed

muddle

(v.) to make a mess of; muddle through: to get by; (n.) a hopeless mess

opinionated

(adj.) stubborn and often unreasonable in holding to one’s own ideas, having a closed mind.

perennial

(adj.) lasting for a long time, persistent; (n.) a plant that lives for many years

predispose

(v.) to incline to beforehand

relinquish

(v.) to let go, give up

salvage

(v.) to save from fire or shipwreck; (n.) property thus saved

spasmodic

(adj.) sudden and violent but brief; fitful; intermittent

spurious

(adj.) not genuine, not true, not valid

unbridled

(adj.) uncontrolled, lacking in restraint

adjourn

(v.) to stop proceedings temporarily; move to another place

alien

(n.) a citizen of another country; (adj.) foreign, strange

comely

(adj.) having a pleasing appearance

compensate

(v.) to make up for; to repay for services

dissolute

(adj.) loose in one’s morals or behavior

erratic

(adj.) not regular or consistent; different from what is ordinarily expected; undpendable

expulsion

(n.) the process of driving or forcing out

feint

(n.) a deliberately deceptive movement; a pretense; (v.) to make a deceptive movement; to make a pretense of

fodder

(n.) food for horses or cattle; raw material for a designated purpose

fortify

(v.) to strengthen, build up

illegible

(adj.) difficult or impossible to read

jeer

(v.) to make fun of rudely or unkindly; (n.) a rude remark or derision

lucrative

(adj.) bringing in money; profitable

mediocre

(adj.)average, ordinary, undistinguished

proliferate

(v.) to reproduce, increase, or spread rapidly

subjugate

(v.) to conquer by force, bring under complete control

sully

(v.) to soil, stain, tarnish, defile, besmirch

tantalize

(v.) to tease, torment by teasing

terse

(adj,) brief and to the point

unflinching

(adj.) firm, showing no signs of fear, not drawing back

abridge

(v.) to make shorter

adherent

(n.) a follower, supporter; (adj.) attached, sticking to

altercation

(n.) an angry argument

cherubic

(adj.) resembling an angel portrayed as a little child with a beautiful, round, or chubby face; sweet and innocent

condone

(v.) to pardon or overlook

dissent

(v.) to disagree; (n.) disagreement

eminent

(adj.) famous, outstanding, distinguished; projecting

exorcise

(v.) to drive out by magic; to dispose of something troublesome, menacing, or oppressive

fabricate

(v.) to make, manufacture; to make up, invent

irate

(adj.) angry

marauder

(n.) a raider, plunderer

obesity

(n.) excessive fatness

pauper

(n.) an extremely poor person

pilfer

(v.) to steal in small quantities

rift

(n.) a split, break, breach

semblance

(n.) a likeness; an outward appearance; an apparition

surmount

(v.) to overcome, rise above

terminate

(v.) to bring to an end

trite

(adj.) commonplace; overused, stale

usurp

(v.) to seize and hold a position by force or without right