Unit 2 Vocab

Epithet

Epithet

A word or phrase that describes or characterizes a person or thing; a descriptive name

Antonomasia: a shorthand substitution of a descriptive word or phrase for a proper name

Evasive

Avoiding by cleverness; not straightforward; misleading

Synonyms: Indirect, understated, allusive

Exacting

Hard to please; requiring hard work and close attention; demanding

Synonyms: Restrained, stern, stubborn, demanding, pedantic

Stolid: Not easily stirred or moved mentally; unemotional, impassive

Foreshadow

To indicate or suggest beforehand; to give a warning of

Synonyms: forebode

Infer

To conclude on the basis of reasoning or observation

Note that the writer implies but the reader infers

Laudable

Praiseworthy; commendable

Synonyms (towards something laudable): complimentary, proud, effusive, elated, eulogistic, laudatory

Lucid

Easily understood; clear; rational and sane

Scrutinize

To examine closely or critically

Synonyms (if the purpose is to scrutinize): satirical, critical

Symposium

A meeting for discussing a particular subject; a collection of writings on a subject

Affluent

Wealthy; abundant; plentiful

Synonyms (for an affluent person): Condescending, dogmatic, erudite, holier-than-though

Erudite: Characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly

Brevity

Briefness of duration; shortness; the quality of being concise or to the point

Synonyms: Succinct, pithy, incisive

Connotation

The suggested, or implied, meaning of a word, not its strict literal meaning; an idea or feeling associated with a word (related terminology: denotation)

Embellish

To decorate or adorn; to improve a story by adding details, even false ones

Synonyms: Exuberant, effusive

Imbibe

To drink, to drink in or absorb, to take in with the mind and keep (as in ideas or principles)

Nostalgic

Having a longing for things past

Synonyms: Wistful, sentimental, tender, reminiscent, elegiac, maudlin

Novice

An inexperienced person; a beginner

Philistine

A person who is insensitive or indifferent to the arts or to ideas; lacking in culture; boorish

Synonyms: Irreverent, facetious, frivolous

Reiterate

To restate, to repeat

An effect of a rhetorical technique; to reiterate

Stipend

Fixed or regular payment; a salary or allowance

Evoke

To call forth; to bring out; to elicit; to produce (a reaction)

An effect of a rhetorical technique: to evoke