Vocab 3+4

Adventitious 

accidental; nonessential.

Ambiguous

open to more than one interpretation; vague.

Bona fide

in good faith; genuine.

Cataclysm

a violent change or disaster.

Deviate

to turn aside from a course; to stray.

Edify

to improve someone morally or intellectually.

Extenuate

to lessen the seriousness of an offense by providing partial excuses.

Fecund

fertile; productive; capable of producing offspring or vegetation.

Glower

to stare angrily; to scowl.

Impale

to pierce with a pointed object; to spear.

Importunate

extremely demanding; insistent.

Obfuscate

to confuse; to bewilder; to make unclear.

Optimum

the best; the most favorable; ideal.

Parochial

local; narrow; limited in scope or outlook.

Pedestrian

ordinary or dull; lacking inspiration.

Baroque

overly decorated; extravagant in style or detail.

Besmirch

to make dirty; to stain someone’s reputation.

Celibate

abstaining from intercourse; unmarried.

Debacle

a complete failure; a total collapse.

Demeanor

behavior; the manner of conducting oneself.

Facetious

comical; jocular; flippant.

Fortuitous

happening by chance or accident; lucky.

Hedonism

pursuit of pleasure, especially of the senses.

Imperative

extremely necessary; vitally important.

Obloquy

strong disapproval; a bad reputation resulting from public criticism.

Perfunctory

done without care; in a routine fashion.

Quasi

resembling; seeming; half.

Recapitulate

to summarize; to repeat briefly.

Sacrosanct

extremely holy; regarded as too important to be interfered with.

Sadistic

deriving pleasure from inflicting pain on others.