English Vocab List 4

Ablution (n)

The act of washing oneself, often for ritual purposes (baptism, cleansing)

Calumny (n)

A misrepresentation intended to harm one’s reputation (libel, slander, defamation, aspersion)

Cataract (n)

A fall of water, usually from a great height (waterfall, cascade, torrent)

Despoil (v)

To search through with the intent of committing robbery (plunder, sack, loot, pillage)

Dirge (n)

A composition expressing one’s grief over a loss (lament, elegy, requiem)

Dryad (n)

A mythical goddess represented as a young girl and said to live outdoors (mermaid, nymph)

Enervate (v)

To deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality (exhaust, deplete, devitalize)

Eremitic (adj)

Of, relating to, or benefitting a hermit (quiet, reclusive, solitary)

Genial (adj)

Having an easygoing and pleasing manner, especially in social situations (gracious, amiable, affable)

Harangue (n)

A long, angry speech or scolding (effusion, tirade, rant)

Importune (v)

To make a request to someone in an earnest or urgent manner (petition, beg, ask, beseech)

Lustrous (adj)

Giving off or reflecting much light (lambent, radiant, gleaming, glossy)

Numinous (adj)

Filled with a sense of the presence of divinity (supernatural, holy, mysterious)

Overwrought (adj)

Being in a state of increased activity or agitation (heated, frenzied, feverish)

Prodigious (adj)

Causing wonder or astonishment (miraculous, stupendous, extraordinary)

Recompense (n)

Payment to another for a loss or injury (compensation, damages, reparations)

Ribald (adj)

Depicting or referencing sexual matters in a way that’s unacceptable in public society (obscene, vulgar, bawdy)

Sallow (adj)

Having an unhealthy, yellowish skin color (pallid, jaundiced, waxy)

Sublime (adj)

Causing wonder or astonishment (miraculous, staggering, astonishing)

Sylvan (adj)

Consisting of or associated with woods; wooded (verdant, pastoral)

Tumult (n)

A state of noisy, confused activity (commotion, uproar, stir, turmoil)

Uncanny (adj)

Being beyond one’s powers to know, understand, or explain (cryptic, enigmatic, mystic)

Vicissitude (n)

An often unexpected change in variation of circumstance (change, misfortune, reversal)

Vituperate (v)

To criticize harshly and usually publicly (scold, criticize, insult)

Yoke (n)

A thing that is used to chain two animals together (harness, collar, bondage)