Vocab unit 13 level g

abstruse

adj) extremely difficult to understand

affront

n) an open or intentional insult; a slight; (v) to insult to one’s face; to face in defiance, confront

canard

n) a false rumor, fabricated story

captious

adj) excessively read to find fault; given to petty criticism; intended to trap, confuse or show up

cognizant

adj) aware, knowledgeable, informed, having jurisdiction

contrite

adj) regretful for some misdeed or sin; plagued by a sense of guilt; thoroughly penitent

Cynosure

n) the center of attraction, attention, or interest; something that serves to guide or direct

decorous

adj) well behaved, dignified, socially proper

deign

v) to think it appropriate or suitable to one’s dignity to do something; to condescend

desiccated

adj) thoroughly dried out; divested of spirit or vitality; arid and uninteresting

efficacy

n) the power to produce a desired result

engender

v) to bring into existence, give rise to, produce; to come into existence, assume form

ethereal

adj) light, airy, delicate; highly refined; suggesting what is heavenly (rather than earthbound)

facade

n) the front or face of a building; a surface appearance (as opposed to what may lie behind)

ghoulish

adj) revolting in an unnatural or morbid way; suggestive of someone who robs graves or otherwise preys on the dead

incongruous

adj) not in keeping, unsuitable, incompatible

machination

n) a crafty, scheming, or underhanded action designed to accomplish some (unusually evil) end

mesmerize

v) to hypnotize, entrance; to fascinate, enthrall, bewitch

opprobrium

n) to disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt, reproach

putative

adj) generally regarded as such; reputed; hypothesized, inferred