Megaton English 10 Vocab List: Round 2

abhor

to regard with extreme repugnance; to detest utterly; to loathe

accolade

praise, an award

ascetic

one who leads a life of self-denial and contemplation; absent of luxury

bequeath

to hand down, to give or to leave in a will

charlatan

one who claims to know something that he does not, a quack

conflagration

a large fire

dearth

a lack, a scarcity

diffidence

shyness, reserve, unassertiveness

effervescent

showing high spirits

ethereal

heavenly, unusually delicate, light, lacking material substance, intangible

expunge

to remove, to erase

guile

deceitfulness, duplicity

implausible

not believable

incongruity

nonconformity, disagreement, incompatibility

insularity

qualities of an island; narrow-mindedness of opinion

invective

an utterance of violent censure or verbal attack; a denunciation

placate

to appease or to pacify by making concessions

poignant

piercing, incisive, and keen

provincial

lacking sophistication, narrow-minded

reiterate

to repeat

acquiesce

to give in, to comply

affinity

a likeness, a natural relationship, a kinship

blasphemous

irreverent, profane

buttress

a support or prop

circumspect

careful to consider consequences, cautious, prudent

irony

a figure of speech in which the literal meaning is opposite of what is intended

spontaneous

having no external cause, acting on impulse

synthesis

combining parts into a whole

vigilant

very alert, watchful

voluble

ability to use words easily, fluent and glib

Corroboration

Confirmation

deplete

to use up gradually, to lessen in amount or value

despotic

ruling oppressively and absolutely ; tyrannical

emaciated

very thin (usually resulting from starvation) ; wasting away

empirical

based on observation or experiment and not on theory

extraneous

Not essential or vital

fallow

Inactive ; plowed but not sowed

homogenous

Of the same kind

hyperbole

Obvious exaggeration

incontrovertible

indisputable

inference

a reasonable conclusion from information actually presented

irascible

irritable, easily angered, cranky, cross

laconic

using a minimum of words; concise to the point of seeming rude

magnanimity

having a lofty, generous, and courageous spirit

obsequious

overly attentive, like a sycophant, servile

proliferation

an increase in number, multiplication

scrupulous

very principled, very careful and conscientious

surreptitious

secret, clandestine, stealthy

veracity

devotion to the truth

zeal

enthusiasm, fervor

ambiguous

having more than one meaning; unclear, uncertain

amiable

friendly, sociable, and congenial; civil and urbane

crass

coarse, crude, and unrefined

discursive

rambling, moving from one topic to another randomly

docile

easily managed, obedient, passive

estrange

to alienate, to separate

exonerate

to free from blame, obligation, or responsibility; to exculpate

gratuitious

given freely, unwarranted

indignation

anger as a result of something unjust

metonomy

the name of one object is substituted for something closely related to it.

induce

to bring on or to bring about

intractable

stubborn, difficult to manage

introspective

the quality of examining one's own mind or thoughts

lucid

easily understood, mentally sound

meticulous

taking great care

onomatopoeia

natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words such as “buzz” or “hiss”

plagiarize

to steal and to use another's writings as one's own

profuse

extravagantly abundant, flowing freely

munificent

very generous

recluse

a person who lives in solitude, a hermit

abstracted

removed in thought from the immediate situation, lost in one's own mind

adulation

extreme praise or admiration

adversity

misfortune, unfavorable happening

burgeon

to sprout, to newly emerge

chimera

a fantasy; a horrible creature of the imagination

oxymoron

contradictory terms are grouped together to suggest a paradox

sated

satisfied fully, indulged to excess

terse

concise

transient

quickly passing, fleeting

virtuoso

one skilled in the fine arts as an accomplished musician, a savant

culpable

deserving blame; guilty

decadent

decaying

entreaty

a plea, an earnest request

fatuous

foolish, silly in an obnoxious way, inane

indulgent

lenient, especially toward oneself

ineptness

lack of competence or judgment

ingrate

an ungrateful person

inundate

to flood, to overflow

miser

one who lives in wretched circumstances to save and hoard money

parody

a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing