vocabulary

pernicious

having a harmful effect

avarice

greed; desire for wealth

anachronistic

out-of-date

rapacious

aggressively greedy or grasping

virulent

extremely severe or harmful in its effects; bitterly hostile

subversive

intended to undermine or overthrow

calmitous

disastrous

enunciated

say or pronounce clearly

acquisitive

excessively interested in acquiring money or material things

prescient

to have foreknowledge of events

hubristic

to be exessively prideful or arrogant

euphonious

pleasing to the ear

mellifluous

smooth and musical to here

obfuscate

make obscure or unclear

undulate

move smoothly up and down

autonomy

self-government

monotony

tedious repetition

indefatigable

persisting tirelessly

intrepid

fearless

teratology

study of malformations

degenerate

corrupted or deteriorated

heterogeneous

diverse in character or content

irreverent

showing a lack of respect for people or things that are generally taken seriously

lugubrious

looking or sounding sad and dismal

perfunctory

carried out without real effort or feeling

preliminary

done in preparation for something fuller

archaic

very old or old-fashioned

obsolete

out of date

superfluous

unnecessary

exonerate

to clear of blame or duty

effigy

a sculpture or model of a person

enclave

a place or group distinct from that surrounding it

aslant

at an angle

horsy

resembling a horse

copulating

have sex (especially dogs)

precocious

developing unusually early

punitive

inflicting or aiming at punishment

approbation

approval or praise

sensuous

appealing to the senses

ignominious

deserving or causing public disgrace or shame

filch

steal casually

altruism

unselfish regard for the welfare of others

acquisitive

excessively interested in acquiring money or material things

peccadillo

a relatively minor fault or sin.

banal

lacking in originality; obvious; boring

uncouth

lacking good manners or refinement

compunction

a feeling of guilt or moral scruple that prevents or follows the doing of something bad

scruple

doubt about the morality of an action

indecorous

improper; not in good taste

semaphore

method of visual signaling, usually by means of flags or lights

sedition

conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against authority

defunct

no longer existing or functioning

amalgamation

the action, process, or result of combining/uniting

penance

punishment inflicted on oneself as an outward expression of repentance for wrongdoing

voracious

wanting/devouring a lot of food; engaging in an activity with great eagerness

palimpsest

something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form

macabre

disturbing because concerned with or causing fear of death

decampment

the act or instance of escaping

congenial

(of a person) pleasing/liked due to being like-minded, (of an object) pleasant because suited to ones taste

querulous

complaining in a whining matter

frieze

a broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration

cupola

rounded dome on a building

expostulate

express strong disapproval or disagreement

bewail, bemoan

to express sadness about something

deplore

to express disapproval about something

disingenuous

lacking in candor

ostentation

the pretentious display of wealth and luxury

deign

do something considered to be beneath one’s dignity

wraith

ghost(like), a wisp or faint trace of something

dissipation, debauchery, decadence

overindulgence in sensual pleasures

subservient, acquiescent

prepared to obey others unquestioningly

affable

friendly, good natured, easy to talk to

palpable

so intense as to seem tangible

perfidy

the state of being deceitful and untrustworthy

implacable

unable to be appeased/stopped

abase

to behave in a way that belittles of degrades someone

coquettish

behaving in a way to suggest sexual attraction, flirty

visceral

relating to deep inward feelings as opposed to the intellect

salient

most noticeable or important

locus

the place where something happens or the central area of interest in something being discussed

locus classicus

a passage commonly cited to illustrate or explain a subject or word

equivocal

ambigious

ostentacious

characterized by pretentious or showy display

odious

extremely unpleasant, repulsive

potency

the power of something to influence or make an impression

despotic

tyrannical

endemic

(of a disease) regularly occurring with an area/community, (of a plant/animal) native and restricted to a certain place

intelligentsia

intellectuals or highly educated people as a group

remediable

capable of being cured, rectifiable

iconoclasm

the action of attacking cherished beliefs/values/practices, the rejection/destruction of religious images as heretical

extemporised

improvised

palaeography

the study of pre-modern manuscripts

meliorism

the belief that the world can be made better by human effort

emissary

a person sent as a diplomatic representative on a special mission

fastidious

very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail

facetious

treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humour, flippant

pedantry

excessive concern with minor details and rules

empirical

based on/concerned with/verified by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic

bifurcate

divide into two branches

decidious

shedding its leaves annually