UNIT 8 VOCAB

Allege

To state something as a fact but without offering any proof or evidence to support it. It implies an assertion that is yet to be proven.

Arrant

Used to describe something that is completely or blatantly bad. It emphasizes the extreme nature of something negative, such as a mistake or behavior.

Badinage

Light, playful, and witty conversation. It involves teasing or good-natured banter and is typically amusing and entertaining.

Conciliate

To gain someone's trust or favor, often by appeasing them or making peace. It involves reducing hostility or conflict through friendly gestures.

Countermand

To revoke or reverse a previous order or command with a new one. The new order directly contradicts the original.

Echelon

A specific rank or level within an organization or hierarchy. It can also refer to a group of people at a particular level.

Exacerbate

To make a problem, situation, or feeling worse. It implies increasing the intensity or severity of something negative.

Fatuous

Describes someone who is foolish, silly, and lacking in intelligence, often in a self-satisfied way. Their actions or comments are absurd and pointless.

Irrefutable

Impossible to disprove or argue against. It describes evidence or facts that are so strong that they cannot be reasonably questioned.

Juggernaut

A massive, powerful, and unstoppable force or object that crushes everything in its path. It often implies an overwhelming and destructive entity.

Lackadaisical

Lacking enthusiasm, interest, or effort. It describes someone who is careless, lazy, and unmotivated.

Litany

A repetitive series of petitions or requests, often part of a religious service. It can also refer to a long and tedious list of complaints or problems.

Macabre

Describes something that is gruesome, horrifying, and related to death. It often involves a fascination with the disturbing or shocking aspects of mortality.

Paucity

A scarcity or lack of something. It means there is an insufficient quantity or amount of something needed or desired.

Portend

To indicate or warn of something that is about to happen in the future. It suggests that there are signs or omens that foreshadow an event.

Raze

To completely destroy a building, town, or other structure, typically by tearing it down to the ground. It implies total demolition.

Recant

To formally withdraw or renounce a statement, belief, or opinion that one has previously held. It implies a retraction of something once asserted.

Saturate

To soak something thoroughly so that it is completely filled or permeated. It can also mean to supply something to the point where no more is needed or wanted.

Saturnine

Having a gloomy, melancholic, or sullen temperament. It describes someone who is habitually pessimistic or cynical.

Slough

To shed or remove something, such as old skin or a burden. It can also mean to sink or trudge through mud or a difficult situation.