All vocab

a catharsis

n. a purification that brings about spiritual renewal

a crony

n. a close, longtime friend

furtively

adv. done in a secretive way to avoid being noticed

incorrigibly

adv. refusing to be corrected or change

indigenous

adj. native to a region

jubilant

adj. feeling or expressing great joy

militant

adj. eager to fight (a war)

nimble

adj. moving quickly and lightly

notorious

adj. famous for bad reasons

to obliterate

v. to destroy completely

an obstinancy

n. a stubborn sticking to one’s opinion or intention

the periscope

n. an optical instrument that lets you see something otherwise blocked from view

pristine

adj. clean as new

proxy

adj. acting as a substitute for another

a varietal

n. a wine named for the grape from which it’s made

an affinity

n. a natural attraction

an anomaly

n. a thing that is abnormal or not easily classified

to assimilate

v. to be taken in or absorbed

authoritarian

adj. characteristic of an absolute ruler

to disavow

v. to refuse to acknowledge or accept

to harangue

v. to make a long, angry speech

a missive

n. a written communication

nomadic

adj. relating to a people who have no fixed home but move from place to place

an ostracism

n. an exclusion from society by general agreement

the pandemonium

n. a state of confusion and disorder

to preempt

v. to prevent from happening

to simulcast

v. to broadcast on radio and television at the same time

to spar

v. to battle

viable

adj. capable of working or developing

voracious

adj. having a huge appetite

to anglicize

v. to make something (usually a name or other word) look English

charismatic

adj. having an extraordinary ability to attract

the custody

n. a guardianship over

depleted

adj. emptied of substance or value

dilapidated

adj. fallen into ruin

exhilarating

adj. causing happy excitement

to gallivant

v. to wander about in search of pleasure

literate

adj. able to read and write, knowledgable in one or several subjects

manic

adj. characterized by excessive enthusiasm or uncontrolled by reason

obstensibly

adv. in appearance only

a patron

n. a regular customer, a supporter

to pillage

v. to steal goods

prodigal

adj. carelessly wasteful, or, returning after a long absence

a statute

n. a law passed by a legislative body

the subsistence

n. the condition of having barely enough resources (to survive)

clientele

n. the customers of a buisness

cosmopolitan

adj. made of people from all over the world

expatriate

n. a person who lives in a foreign country

expendable

adj. not worth keeping

the ghetto

n. a part of a city in which minorities are forced to live

institutionalized

adj. established as an accepted part of a culture

integrated

adj. brought together as equals (often used to describe the mixing of races)

a ramification

n. a development that complicates a situation

robust

adj. healthy and strong

the segregation

n. the act of separating one group from the rest of society

sovereign

adj. not controlled by outside forces

the status quo

n. the existing state of affairs (how things are now)

to subjugate

v. to take control of

the surveillance

n. a close watch kept over someone

token

adj. done only for show, meaningless

an accomplice

n. a person who helps another commit a crime

an alibi

n. a defense showing that the person accused of a crime should not have committed it

arbitrary

adj. based on personal preference rather than the reason for what’s right

a canteen

n. a store that sells food and other items at a school, business, or military base

a constituent

n. a member of a larger group, or, a citizen represented by an elected official

a construct

n. a product of the mind or of a belief system

contentious

adj. likely to cause disagreement or argument

a domestic

n. a servant hired to work for a household

frugal

adj. avoiding waste, preserving resources

the homogeneity

n. the state of being similar throughout (e.g., a society made up of one ethnic group)

the mayhem

n. a violent and unnecessary disturbance

a microcosm

n. a smaller version of something

a niche

n. a situation or activity for which a person in best fitted

a predicament

n. a difficult situation

a reprisal

n. a retaliatory act