Mid Term Vocab for English 1600 - 2023

adjunct

adjunct

(n.) something added to something else as helpful or useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic

(adj.) added or connected in a subordinated capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary capacity

S: (n.) associate, addition, accessory

bellwether

(n.) the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in a desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends

S: ringleader, initiator, barometer

A: follower, imitator, emulator

chimerical

(adj.) absurd; wily fantastic; impossible

S: fanciful, visionary, quixotic, pie-in-the-sky

A: realistic, down-to-earth, practicable

effete

(adj.) lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn-out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out-of-date

S: decadent, enfeebled, outmoded

A: thriving, burgeoning, vigorous, dynamic

fait accompli

(n.) an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

S: accomplished fact

hidebound

(adj.) narrow-minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly and unthinking conservative

S: intolerant, inflexible

A: open-minded, tolerant, liberal, progressive

hierarchy

(n.) any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc.

S: chain of command, pecking order

liturgies

(n.) a religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship

S: observance

morass

(n.) a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand

S: bog, quagmire

A: solid ground, bedrock, terra firma

noisome

(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

S: fetid, noxious, vile, loathsome

A: wholesome, pleasant, sweet-smelling

poltroon

(n.) a base coward

S: craven, dastard, “chicken”

A: hero, stalwart, gallant

proselyte

(n.) a convert, a disciple

S: novice, neophyte

A: master, teacher, guide, guru

quasi

(adj.) resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely

S: kind of, semi-, as if

A: totally, completely, actually, in fact

raillery

(n.) good-humored ridicule; teasing

S: banter, persiflage

ribald

(adj.) irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar, or indecent in language

S: bawdy, risque

A: seemly, proper, decorous

vignettes

(n.) a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter

S: thumbnail sketch, anecdote

A: epic, full-length treatment

aegis

(n.) protection; patronage; sponsorship

S: auspices

apprise

(v.) to inform of; to make aware of by giving oral or written notice

S: acquaint, notify

A: keep secret, withhold information

bibulous

(adj.) found of or inclined to drink; absorbent

S: inebrious, alcoholic

A: teetotaling, abstemious, temperate

deracinate

(v.) to pull up by the roots; to root out, uproot, or dislocate; to eliminate all traces of

S: extirpate, eradicate, expunge

A: implant, nurture, foster, instill

indigenous

(adj.) originating in the country or region where found, native; inborn; inherent

S: endemic, domestic, homegrown

A: foreign, aliene, exoteric, imported

lachrymose

(adj.) given to tears or weeping; causing to shed tears; mournful, lugubrious

S: tearful, doleful, dolorous

A: dry-eyed, cheerful, merry, hilarious

lexicon

(n.) a dictionary of a language; the special vocabulary of a person, group, or subject; a compendium

S: wordbook, glossary

maudlin

(adj.) excessively or effusively sentimental

S: mushy, mawkish

microcosms

(n.) a miniature world or universe; a group or system viewed as the model of a larger group or system

S: epitome, world in little

A: universe, macrocosm, cosmos, totality

obfuscate

(v.) to darken or obscure; to confuse or bewilder

S: muddy the waters

A: clarify, elucidate, explicate

paternalism

(n.) the policy or practice of treating or governing people in the manner of a father dealing with his children

S: benevolence, solicitude, fatherlieness

purviews

(n.) the range, extent, or scope of something; in law, the scope of limit of what is provided in a statute

S: jurisdiction, orbit

sanguine

(adj.) having a ruddy complexion; of a naturally cheerful, confident, or optimistic outlook

S: flushes, rosy

A: bloodless, ashen, pessimistic, gloomy

solecism

(n.) a substandard or ungrammatical usage; a breach of etiquette; any impropriety or mistake

S: misusage, blunder, faux pas

A: correct usage

vassal

(n.) a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he or she owes allegiances; a subordinate or dependent; a servant

(adj.) subservient

S: (n.) menial, minion; (adj.) servile

A: (n.) overlord

verisimilitude

(n.) the quality of appearing to be true, real, likely, or probably

S: realism, lifelikeness, authenticity

bowdlerize

(v.) to remove material considered offensive (from a book, play, film, etc.)

S: censor, purge, expurgate

condescend

(v.) to come down or stoop voluntarily to a lower level; to deal with people in a patronizing manner

S: deign

cozen

(v.) to trick; to cheat or swindle

S: dupe, deceive, beguile, inveigle

enclave

(n.) an enclosed district, region, or area inhabited by a particular group of people or having a special character

S: island, subgroup

forte

(n.) a person’s strong point; what a person does best

S: gift, aptitude, speciality

A: weakness, shortcoming, foible

macrocosm

(n.) the universe considered as a whole; the entire complex structure of something

S: cosmos, entirety

A: model, miniature, microcosm

mountebank

(n.) a trickster or swindler; a charlatan

S: imposter, quack

A: sucker, dupe, “mark,” “pigeon”

persiflage

(n.) a light hearted joking, talk, or writing

S: banter, jesting, repartee, badinage

plethora

(n.) over fullness; superabundance; superfluity

S: surplus, surfeit, glut, excess

A: shortage, paucity, dearth, scarcity

quizzical

(adj.) puzzled; mocking; odd; equivocal

S: peculiar, perplexed, mystified, derisive

A: unequivocal, crystal-clear, unambiguous

rapacity

(n.) inordinate greed; the disposition to obtain one’s desires by force, extortion, or plunder

S: avarice, cupidity, voraciousness

A: liberality, generosity, altruism

virtuoso

(n.) a brilliant performer; a person with masterly skill or technique

(adj.) masterly or brilliant

S: (n.) expert, master, prodigy, maestro

A: (n.) amateur, beginner, novice; (adj.) mediocre

affinity

(n.) a natural attraction to a person, thing, or activity; a relationship, connection

S: inclination, penchant

A: distaste, aversion

bilious

(adj.) peevish or irritable; sickeningly unpleasant

S: choleric, irascible, peevish, splenetic

A: sweet-tempered, genial, pleasant, delightful

corollary

(n.) a proposition that follows from one already prove; a natural consequence or result

(adj.) resultant or consequent

S: (n.) deduction, conclusion

A: (n.) axiom, postular, premise

derring-do

(n.) a valor or heroism; daring deeds or exploits (often used to poke fun at false heroics)

S: audacity, bravado, pyrotechnics

A: cowardice, timidity, poltroonery

divination

(n.) the art or act of predicting the future or discovering the hidden knowledge

S: prophecy, augury

elixir

(n.) a potion once thought capable of curing all ills and maintaining life indefinitely, a panacea; a sweet liquid used as a vehicle in medicines

S: cure-all, nostrum, tonic

folderol

(n.) foolish talk, ideas, or procedures; nonsense; a trifle

S: hoopla, gibberish

A: sense, significance

hoi polloi

(n.) the common people, the masses

S: rank and file

A: aristocracy, elite, upper class

lackluster

(adj.) lacking brilliance or vitality; dull

S: vapid, insipid, drab, flat

A: brilliant, radiant, dazzling

lucubration

(n.) laborious study or thought, especially at night; the result of such work

S: burning the midnight oil, deep thought

malcontent

(adj.) discontented with or in open defiance of prevailing conditions

(n.) such a person

S: (adj.) dissatisfied, disgruntled (n.) grumbler

A: (adj.) satisfied, contented, complacent, smug

obloquy

(n.) a public abuse indicating strong disapproval or censure; the disgrace resulting from such treatment

risible

(adj.) pertaining to laughter; able or inclined to laugh; laughable

symptomatic

(adj.) typical or characteristic; being or concerned with a symptom of a disease

S: indicative

mnemonic

(adj.) relating to or designed to assist the memory

(n.) a device to aid the memory

S: (n.) reminder, cue

aficionado

(n.) an enthusiastic and usually expert follower or fan

S: devotee, enthusiast

browbeat

(v.) to intimidate by a stem or overbearing manner; to bully

S: cow, coerce

A: coax, cajole, wheedle, sweet-talk

emolument

(n.) profit derived from an office or position or from employment; a fee or salary

S: pay, wages, compensation

foray

(n.) a quick raid, especially for plunder; a venture into some field of endeavor

(v.) to make such a raid

S: (n.) sally, sortie

A: (n.)) retreat, strategic withdrawal

homily

(n.) a sermon stressing moral principles; a tedious moralizing lecture or discourse

insouciant

(adj.) blithely indifferent or unconcerned; carefree; happy-go-lucky

S: nonchalant, blase, devil-may-care

A: worried, careworn, agitated, distraught

philippic

(n.) a bitter verbal attack

S: harangue, tirade, diatribe

A: encomium, panegyric, tribute

prurient

(adj.) having lustful desires or interests; tending to arouse sexual desires

S: lascivious, salacious, lewd, titillating

A: prudish, demure, innocent

sacrosanct

(adj.) very sacred or holy; inviolable; set apart or immune from questioning or attack

tendentious

(adj.) intended to promote a particular point of view, doctrine, or cause; biased or partisan

S: partial

A: fair, impartial, equitable, disinterested

abortive

(adj.) failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose; only partially or imperfectly developed

S: miscarried, fruitless, premature

A: successful, realized, consummated

bruit

(v.) to spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumors

S: noise abroad, broadcast, blazon

A: cover up, conceal, hush up

contumelious

(adj.) insolent or rude in speech or behavior; insultingly abusive; humiliating

S: vituperative, scurrilous, excoriating

A: laudatory, commendatory, deferential

dictum

(n.) a short saying, an authoritative statement

S: maxim, precept, aphorism, axiom

ensconced

(v.) to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place

S: nestle, lodge, entrench

A: unseat, displace, oust

in media res

(adv.) in or into the middle of a plot; into the middle of things

internecine

(adj.) mutually destructive; characterized by great slaughter and bloodshed

S: murderous, savage, ruinous

A: peaceful, harmonious, constructive

modulate

(v.) to change or vary the intensity or pitch; to temper or soften; to regulate, adjust

S: adapt, moderate

prescience

(n.) knowledge of events or actions before they happen; foresight

S: foreknowledge

A: hindsight

saturnaliation

(adj.) characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry or licentiousness

S: dissipated, debauched, orgiastic

A: sedate, prim, decorous, seemly

touchstone

(n.) a means of testing worth or genuineness

S: criterion, yardstick, benchmark

traumatic

(adj.) so shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage

S: jolting

A: soothing, comforting agreeable, pleasant

vitiate

(v.) to weaken, debase, or corrupt; to impair the quality or value of

S: degrade, undermine

A: purify, fortify, strengthen, enhance

wag

(adj.) fond of making jokes; characteristic of a joker; playfully humorous or droll

S: whimsical, jocular

A: serious, grave, grim, dour, humorless

abeyance

(n.) a state of being temporarily inactive, suspended, or set aside

S: deferment, postponement, suspension

ambivalent

(adj.) having opposite and conflicting feelings about someone or something

S: equivocal, ambiguous, of two minds

A: unequivocal, unambiguous, clear-cut

carte blanche

(n.) full freedom or authority to act at one’s own discretion

S: blank check, free rein

cataclysm

(n.) a sudden, violent, or devastating upheaval; a surging flood, deluge

S: disaster, catastrophe

fastidious

(adj.) overly demanding or hard to please; excessively careful in regard to details; easily disgusted

S: precise, meticulous, exacting, finicky

A: careless, sloppy, messy, untidy, slovenly

imbue

(v.) to soak or stain thoroughly; to fill the mind

S: infuse, instill, inculcate

A: remove, expunge, eradicate, erase

inchoate

(adj.) just beginning; not fully shaped or formed

S: incipient, embryonic, rudimentary

A: mature, developed, complete

lampoon

(n.) a malicious satire

(v.) satirize, ridicule

S: (n.) burlesque (v.) parody

A: (n.) compliment, flattery, homage

malleable

(adj.) capable of being formed into different shapes; capable of being altered, adapted, or influenced

S: pliable, impressionable, adaptable

A: rigid, inflexible, unyielding, intractable

nemesis

(n.) an agent of force inflicting vengeance or punishment; retribution itself; an unbeatable rival

S: comeuppance, avenger

A: guardian angel, ally, patron

philistine

(adj.) lacking in, hostile to, or smugly indifferent to cultural and artistic values or refinements

(n.) such a person

S: (adj.) boorish, lowbrow; (n.) yahoo

A: (adj.) refined, cultivated; (n.) esthete, highbrow

picaresque

(adj.) involving or characteristic of clever rogues or adventurers

S: roguish, rascally, rakish

queasy

(adj.) nauseated or uneasy; causing nausea or uneasiness; troubled

S: unsettled

A: calm, untroubled, confident

refractory

(adj.) stubborn; hard or difficult to manage; not responsive to treatment

S: unruly, disobedient, willful, mulish

A: docile, tractable, dutiful, obedient

savior-faire

(n.) the ability to say and do the right thing in any situation; social competence

S: tact, finesse, suavity, sophistication

A: tactlessness, gaucherie, boorishness

bathos

(n.) the intrusion of commonplace or trite material into a context whose tone is lofty or elevated; grossly insincere or exaggerated sentimentality; the lowest phase, nadir; an anticlimax, comedown

S: mawkishness, mush, schmaltz

cantankerous

(adj.) ill-tempered, quarrelsome; difficult to get along or deal with

S: cranky, testy, peevish, irascible, ornery

A: good-natured, sweet-tempered, genial