vocab test unit 1-3

cavort

cavort

(v.) to romp or prance around exuberantly; to make merry

credence

(n.) belief, mental acceptance

decry

(v.) to condemn, express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate

dissemble

(v.) to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression

distraught

(adj.) very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict

eulogy

(n.) a formal statement of commendation; high praise

evince

(v.) to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke

exhume

(v.) to remove from a grave; to bring to light

feckless

(adj.) lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable

murky

(adj.) dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity and precision

nefarious

(adj.) wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards

piquant

(adj.) stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative

primordial

(adj.) developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage; fundamental, basic

propinquity

(n.) nearness in place or time; kinship

substantive

(adj.) real, having a solid basis; considerable in number or amount; meaningful and on topic

unwonted

(adj.) not usual or expected; not in character

utopian

(adj.) founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world; impractical

verbiage

(n.) language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner of expression

verdant

(adj.) green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgment

viscous

(adj.) having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity

-gen-

born, produced

-gnos-

knowledge

-graph-

written, writing

-gram-

to record

-fac-

do, make

-ject-

throw

Accost

V. To approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way

Brackish

Adj. having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink

Celerity

N. Swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

Halcyon

N. A legendary bird identified with the kingfisher

Adj. of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent

Incendiary

Adj. deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion

N. One who deliberately sets fires, arsonist; one who causes strife

Maelstrom

N. A whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling whirlpool in violence and destruction

Overt

Adj. open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized

Pejorative

Adj. tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling

Suppliant

N. One who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor

Undulate

V. To move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

Animadversion

N. A comment indication strong criticism or disapproval

Avid

Adj. desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager

Devious

Adj. straying or wandering from a direct or straight course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way

Gambit

N. In chess, an opening move that involves a risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type

Histrionic

Adj. pertaining to actor and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic

Myopic

Adj. nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment

Propriety

N. The state of being proper, appropriateness

Pl. standards of what is proper or socially acceptable

Sacrilege

N. Improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

Summarily

Adv. without delay or formality; briefly concisely

Talisman

N. An object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish

mid-

middle

mis-

wrong, badly

-meter-

measure

-micro-

small, tiny

-morph-

shape, form

-mis-

wrong, badly

-mitt-

to send

Acquisitive

(adj.) Able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property.

Arrogate

(v.) To claim or take without right.

Banal

(adj.) Hackneyed, trite, commonplace.

Belabor

(v.) To work on excessively; to thrash soundly.

Carping

(adj.) Tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; (n.) petty, nagging criticism.

Coherent

(adj.) Holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful.

Congeal

(v.) To change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid.

Emulate

(v.) To imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model.

Encomium

(n.) A formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute.

Eschew

(v.) To avoid, shun, keep away from.

Germane

(adj.) Relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting.

Insatiable

(adj.) So great or demanding as not to be satisfied.

Intransigent

(adj.) Refusing to compromise, irreconcilable.

Invidious

(adj.) Offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment.

Largesse

(n.) Generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions.

Reconnaissance

(n.) A survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination.

Substantiate

(v.) To establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to.

Taciturn

(adj.) Habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little.

Temporize

(v.) To stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise.

Tenable

(adj.) Capable of being held or defended.

bi-

two, twice

com-

with, together, in association, completely

de-

off, from

astr-

related to a star

chron-

time

cosm-

the universe, world order

-cap-

to take, seize

-cede-

to withdraw, yield, to go, to move away

-cred-

believe, trust