Grade 12 Vocabulary List, Week of 03/17

Enfant Terrible

a person known for shocking remarks or outrageous behavior (esp. a child)

Enfant Terrible

a usually young and successful person who is strikingly unorthodox, innovative, or avant-garde

Succès d'Estime

something (such as a work of art) that wins critical respect but not popular success

Nouveau Riche

a person newly rich or powerful : parvenu

Bête Noire

a person or thing strongly detested or avoided : bugbear

Avant-Garde

Someone that develops new or experimental concepts (esp. in the arts)

Avant-Garde

of or relating to new or experimental concepts

Raison d'Être

reason or justification for existence

Coup d'etat

a sudden decisive exercise of force in politics (esp. the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group)

Weltschmerz

mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state of the world with an ideal state

Weltanschauung

a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world especially from a specific standpoint : worldview

Zeitgeist

the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era