APLIT Vocab List #8

expectorate

(verb) to cough up or spit out mucus from the throat or lungs

palpate

(verb) to examine by touch, especially for medical diagnosis

peremptory

(adjective) insisting on immediate obedience; not allowing refusal or debate

pusillanimous

(adjective) showing cowardice or a lack of courage

surfeit

(noun) an excessive amount; (verb) to supply with too much of something

inscrutable

(adjective) impossible to understand or interpret; mysterious

prognosticate

(verb) to predict or foretell future events

schism

(noun) a split or division between strongly opposed groups or beliefs

sedition

(noun) conduct or speech inciting rebellion against authority

quixotic

(adjective) idealistic in an unrealistic or impractical way

allay

(verb) to reduce fear, worry, or intensity; to calm

capacious

(adjective) spacious; able to hold a lot

didactic

(adjective) intended to teach, often with a moral lesson

diurnal

(adjective) active during the day; occurring daily

ignominious

(adjective) causing public disgrace or shame

mitigate

(verb) to make less severe, harmful, or painful

palpitate

(verb) to beat rapidly or irregularly, usually referring to the heart

phlegmatic

(adjective) calm, unemotional, and difficult to excite

propitious

(adjective) favorable; giving a good chance of success

prostrate

(adjective) lying stretched out on the ground face‑down; (verb) to lie flat in submission or exhaustion

pauciloquent

(adjective) using few words; terse or brief in speech

funambulist

(noun) a tightrope walker; someone who performs on a rope or wire

Asyndeton

leaving out conjunctions to make writing faster or more direct

Polysyndeton

(noun) using many conjunctions to slow the pace or add emphasis