Chapter 10 Vocab

accost

(v.) to confront verbally (Though Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and accosted the man.)

adulation

(n.) extreme praise (Though the book was pretty good, Marcy did not believe it deserved the adulation it received.)

berate

(v.) to scold vehemently (The angry boss berated his employees for failing to meet their deadline.)

contrite

(adj.) penitent, eager to be forgiven (Blake's contrite behavior made it impossible to stay angry at him.)

deplore

(v.) to feel or express sorrow, disapproval (We all deplored the miserable working conditions in the factory.)

fervent

(adj.) having or showing great warmth, passionate

grievous

(adj.) injurious, hurtful; serious or grave in nature (Electrocuting the inmate without being sure of his guilt would be a truly grievous mistake.)

imperious

(adj.) commanding, domineering (The imperious nature of your manner led me to dislike you at once.)

neophyte

(n.)someone who is young or inexpirienced

pejorative

(adj.) derogatory, uncomplimentary (The evening's headline news covered an international scandal caused by a pejorative statement the famous senator had made in reference to a foreign leader.)

polemic

(n.) an agressive argument against a specific opinion

punitive

(adj.) involving punishment (If caught smoking in the boys' room, the punitive result is immediate expulsion from school.)

sophmoric

(adj. ) immature, uninformed

sacrosanct

(adj.) holy, something that should not be criticized (In the United States, the Constitution is often thought of as a sacrosanct document.)

sublime

(adj.) lofty, grand, exalted (The homeless man sadly pondered his former wealth and once sublime existence.)

tacit

(adj.) expressed without words (I interpreted my parents' refusal to talk as a tacit acceptance of my request.)

utilitarian

(adj.) relating to or aiming at usefulness (The beautiful, fragile vase couldn't hold flowers or serve any other utilitarian purpose.)

vindicate

(v.) to avenge; to free from allegation; to set free (The attorney had no chance of vindicating the defendant with all of the strong evidence presented by the state.)

wane

(v.) to decrease in size, dwindle (Don't be so afraid of his wrath because his influence with the president is already beginning to wane.)

wrath

(n.) vengeful anger, punishment (Did you really want to incur her wrath when she is known for inflicting the worst punishments legally possible?)