Ryan Prep Vocab

abhor

to despise something, to find it repellent

chicanery

using deception to succeed in a legitimate field

cupidity

greed for material wealth

dearth

a striking lack of something

delectable

extremely pleasing to the senses

diaphanous

flimsy and see-through

emulate

to imitate in manner

feigns

falsifies temporarily

finesse

delicate handling

fleeting

only existent for a very short time

foment

to cause or encourage

forestall

to act in order to prevent something from happening

garrulous

prone to talking at length about unimportant things

grandiose

excessively large and elaborate

herald

to announce the arrival of something

insipid

bland and boring

invective

harsh, aggressive language

irascible

short-tempered and prone to crankiness

lax

careless

orthodox

done in a very traditional way, especially a religious practice

paternal

having to do with a father or fatherhood

perverse

wrong in an unnatural sense

pious

noticeably devoted to an ideal or a faith

placate

to satisfy someone's demands in hopes that they will be less angry

propound

to publicly support something and encourage others to do so

protract

to extend something's duration

prurient

appealing to dirty humor

pungent

having a strong odor

rebuff

to coldly dismiss or reject somebody

sublime

beautiful in an awe-inspiring way

supercilious

displaying a sense of superiority

timorous

nervous and shy

vacuous

shallow and devoid of substance

vocation

someone's chosen profession

annex

to take over a space previously belonging to another party; an independent unit part of a larger conglomeration

assert

to state or claim something in a firm manner

bent

an inclination or intended purpose

captivate

to fixate and capture someone's attention

concise

brief and efficient, usually used to describe communication

emigrate

to leave a country

idiosyncrasy

a quirk or unusual habit

junta

a cadre of military leaders which rules a country

nonchalant

not worried in the slightest about a situation

odious

so awful as to be repellent

posthumous

after someone's death

unfettered

released from any restraint

voracious

having an enormous appetite

abet

to help or encourage someone to perform an act, typically a wrongdoing

abject

dire or extreme in a bad way, can also be used to describe something in a desperate or extremely basic condition

abound

to be somewhere in an impressively large quantity or number; to have something in an impressively large quantity or number

abridge

to shorten something; usually a text or speech, by removing the parts which could be considered to be unnecessary to the overall meaning

accede

to agree to a request or accept an argument with which you were not predisposed to agree

acclaim

enthusiastic praise of an accomplishment; to enthusiastically praise an accomplishment to an audience

accolade

an award granted in recognition of some great honor or special achievement

accord

an agreement between two or more parties; or, to fit in neatly with another idea

acerbic

a dry, almost hostile manner of communicating with others

acquiesce

quiet agreement to a proposition or idea that does not appeal to you

acquit

to behave in such a way as to excuse yourself from criticism; or to judge as innocent after a courtroom trail

acrid

bitter and harsh in smell; typically associated with synthetic chemicals

acrimonious

a harsh, angry way of communicating

acumen

a skill set required to make sound strategic decisions in a certain field such as business or finance

adage

a saying or proverb containing to widely accepted truth, frequently intended to serve as a guide to behavior in certain situations

adamant

absolutely firm in your position on something

adept

so skilled at something that doing it well comes easily

admonish

to scold or criticize; to strongly encourage a particular course of action and discourage alternatives

adroit

to be highly competent or skillful at a certain task

advent

the highly anticipated arrival of an important person or event

advocate

a person who represents a defendant in a court of law or who performs this role in an informal setting; to argue for a position on behalf of someone else

affable

a warm and friendly, if not necessarily intimate, way of communicating

affluent

having a large amount of material wealth

affront

an action that makes someone feel threatened or insulted

aghast

the state of being completely shocked, horrified, or taken aback by something

allocate

to assign resources to users, typically done with the goal of efficiency

altruism

a desire to work for the well-being of others, even at the expense of your own convenience

amalgam

something that has been created by seamlessly blending several distinct components

ambiguity

a lack of clarity, typically of a word or phrase

ambivalent

having no preference regarding the outcome of a decision

ameliorate

to lessen the negative impacts of something

amenable

friendly or open to a particular argument or course of action

amiable

having a generally friendly and polite nature

amicable

free of discord and nastiness, usually used to describe relationships

amid

surrounded by something

amoral

having a decision-making process which acknowledged no moral standard

amorous

having to do with love or passion

anachronism

something which appears out of its historical context

analogy

a comparison made between two unlike things, frequently when explaining a concept

anathema

something which utterly repels a person

ancillary

secondary, yet inseparably associated with the carrying out of the primary objective

anguish

emotional or physical torment

animosity

strong personal dislike of or opposition to someone else

anomaly

something that does not fit an established pattern of events

antedate

to come earlier in time than something else

antediluvian

incomprehensibly old; literally "before the Biblical flood"

anterior

nearer to the front end of something

anthology

a collection of literary works

antipathy

a strong deeply held dislike for something

antipodal

something completely opposite to something else; literally "from the other side of the earth"

antiquated

so old as to be obsolete

antithetical

embodying the exact opposite of a proposition

apartheid

a system of government based on brutally enforced racial segregation