WS1 Mastered

equivocal

adj. ambiguous; intentionally confusing

singular

adj. unique; exceptional; strange

acquiesce

v. to comply passively

malfeasance

(n.) an illegal act especially by a public official

patriarch

n. the male head of a family or tribe

cursory

adj. hasty; superficial

tenacious

adj. persistent; stubborn

indignant

adj. angry especially as a result of something unjust or unworthy; insulted

opulent

adj. luxurious

amorous

adj. feeling love especially in a sexual sense; relating to love

caricature

n. a portrait or description that is purposely distorted or exaggerated often to prove some point about its subject

resolute

adj. determined; firm; unwavering

instigate

v. to provoke; to stir up

nuance

n. a subtle difference or distinction

hedonism

n. the pursuit of pleasure as a way of life

assuage

v. to soothe; to pacify; to ease the pain of; to relieve

martial

adj. warlike; having to do with combat

degenerate

v. to break down; to deteriorate

dictum

n. an authoritative saying; an adage; a maxim; a proverb

analogy

n.a comparison of one thing to another; similarity

rogue

n. a criminally dishonest persons; a scoundrel ;

inaugurate

v. to begin officially ; to induct formally into office

precipitous

adj. steep

aesthetic

adj. having to do with artistic beauty; artistic

ubiquitous

adj. being everywhere at the same time

discern

v. to have insight; to see things clearly to discriminate; to differentiate

colloquial

adj. conversational; informal in language

recant

v. to publicly take back and deny something previously said or believed; to openly confess error

grandiose

adj. absurdly exaggerated

qualify

v. to modify or restrict

pristine

adj. original ; unspoiled ; pure

disseminate

v. to spread the seeds of something; to scatter; to make widely known

proponent

n. an advocate

bourgeois

n. middle class usually in a pejorative sense; boringly conventional

egalitarian

n. a believing in the social and economic equality of all people

dormant

adj. a inactive; as though asleep; asleep ~volcano ~window

amiable

adj. friendly; agreeable

panacea

n. something that cures everything

permeate

v. to spread or seep through ; to penetrate

abdicate

v. to step down from a position of power or responsibility

verbose

adj. using too many words; not succinct; circumlocutory

hyperbole

n. an exaggeration used as a figure of speech ; exaggeration exaggeration

paternal

adj. fatherly ; fatherlike

arduous

adj. hard; difficult

allocate

v.to distribute; to assign; to allot

gravity

n. seriousness

integral

adj. essential

redundant

adj. unnecessarily repetitive; excessive; excessively wordy

renounce

v. to give up formally or resign; to disown; to have nothing to do with anymore

insurgent

n. a rebel; someone who revolts against a government

neologism

n. a new word or phrase; a new usage of a word

monolithic

adj. massive, solid, uniform, and unyielding

egocentric

adj. a selfish; believing that one is the center of everything n egoism egoistic -tical

adherent

n.follower; supporter; believer

avuncular

adj. like an uncle especially a nice uncle;

infinitesimal

adj. very very very small; infinitely small;

slander

v. to speak badly about someone publicly; to defame; to spread malicious rumor

dearth

n. lack; scarcity

conjecture

v. to guess; to deduce or infer on slight evidence

pejorative

adj. negative; disparaging negative disparaging

eclectic

adj. a choosing the best from many sources; drawn from many sources n cf eclecticism

loquacious

adj. talking a lot or too much

epigram

n. a brief and usually witty or satirical saying

consummate

adj. perfect; complete; supremely skillful

pathology

n. the science of diseases

disparate

adj. different; incompatible; unequal

fetter

v. to restrain; to hamper

exult

v. to rejoice; to celebrate

disinterested

adj. not taking sides; unbiased

reclusive

adj. hermitlike; withdrawn from society

refute

v. to prove to be false; to disprove

chimera

n. an illusion; a foolish fancy

ostentatious

adj. excessively conspicuous; showing off

precedent

n. an earlier example or model of something

prodigious

remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree.

fastidious

adj. meticulous; demanding; finicky

cosmopolitan

including or containing people from many different countries.

abortive

adj. unsuccessful

antecedent

n. someone or something that went before; something that provides a model for something that came after it

juxtapose

v. to place side by side

criterion

n. standard; basis for judgment

fervor

n. great warmth or earnestness; ardor; zeal ardor

heyday

n. golden age; prime

alloy

n. a combination of two or more things usually metals

requisite

adj. required necessary

condone

v. to overlook; to permit to happen

expedite

v. to speed up or ease the progress of

inert

adj. inactive; sluggish; not reacting chemically

provincial

adj. limited in outlook to ones own small corner of the world; narrow

hackneyed

adj. overused; trite; stale

mandate

n. a command or authorization to do something; the will of the voters as expressed by the results of an election

archetype

n. an original model or pattern

exemplify

v. to illustrate by example; to serve as a good example

lethargy

n. sluggishness; laziness; drowsiness; indifference

esoteric

adj. hard to understand; understood by only a select few; peculiar

exacting

adj. extremely demanding; difficult; requiring great skill or care

covenant

n. a solemn agreement; a contract; a pledge

consonant

adj. harmonious; in agreement

dissipate

v. to thin out drift away or dissolve; to cause to thin out drift away or dissolve; to waste or squander

countenance

n. face; facial expression especially an encouraging one