Vocabulary and Spelling 2.1 - 2.5

cabriolet

n. - A light two-wheeled one-horse carriage with a folding leather hood and upward-curving shafts

cachet

n. - A special quality that makes people admire or want something

cask

n. - A round wooden container for storing a liquid, especially alcoholic drink

chastise

vb. - To castigate or reprimand severely

conduit

n - A means of transmitting or distributing information

denouement

n. - The outcome of the main dramatic complication in a literary work

dystopia

n. - An imaginary place where people live dehumanized and fearful lives

faun

A figure or god in Roman mythology with a man's upper body, the legs of a goat, and goat’s horns on its head

fiendish

adj. - Extremely cruel or wicked

fray

vb. - To scare or frighten away

frisk

vb. - To search a person for something by running hands rapidly over their clothing and through their pockets

futon

n. - A firm mattress used as a bed or sofa

giddy

adj. - Joyfully elated or euphoric

gratuity

n. - Something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually a tip

indictment

n. - A formal written charge accusing someone of a legal offense

meringue

n. - A dessert topping made of stiffly beaten egg whites and sugar

pique

n. - An annoyed feeling when insulted or treated rudely

tyke

n. - A small child

ubiquitous

adj. - Existing or being everywhere at the same time

utopia

A place of ideal perfection in laws government and social conditions

brandish

t.v. - To shake or wave something menacingly

Chimera

n. - A fire-breathing she-monster in Greek mythology having a lion’s head, a goat’s body and a serpent’’s tail

crux

n. - An essential point requiring resolution or resolving an outcome

detriment

n. - A cause of injury or damage

emancipate

t.v. - To free from restraint, control, or power, especially yo free from bondage

emaciated

adj. - Extremely thin due to illness or lack of food

inimical

adj. - Adverse often by reason of hostility or malevolence

lummox

n. - A clumsy person

macabre

adj. - Tending to producing horror in a beholder

oxymoron

n. - A combination of contradictory and incongruous words

pallid

adj. - Deficient in color or pale

pariah

n. - Someone despised or rejected

petulant

adj. - Characterized by temporary or ill-tempered humor

pinafore

n. - A sleeveless usually low-necked garment fastened in the back and worn as an apron or dress

rectitude

n. - Moral integrity or righteousness

roseate

adj. - Resembling a rose in color

rostrum

n. - A raised platform on a stage

semaphore

n. - A system of visual signaling by two flags held one in each hand

turpitude

n. - Inherent baseness or depravity

xenophobia

n. - Fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything strange or foreign

albeit

conj. - although; even though

audacious

adj. - recklessly bold; rash

bereavement

n. - a state or instance when one suffers the death of a loved one

caveat

n. - a warning of the limits of a particular agreement or statement

dichotomy

n. - the difference between two opposite things or ideas

eponymous

adj. - of, relating to, or being the same person or thing for whom or which something is named

esoteric

adj. - known about or understood by very few people

flippant

adj. - not serious when one needs to be serious over important matters, often annoying others

fresco

n. - the art of painting on freshly spread moist lime plaster with water-based pigments

machete

n. - a large heavy knife used for cutting sugarcane and underbrush and as a weapon

marquis

n. - a man of middle rank in the nobility of a European country other than the UK

moniker

n. - name; nickname

opulent

adj. - amply provided or fashioned often to the point of ostentation

nepotism

n. - favouritism based on kinship

resonate

i.v. - to relate harmoniously; strike a chord

surreal

adj. - marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream; also, unbelievable, fantastic

stricken

adj. - afflicted or overwhelmed by or as if by disease, misfortune, or sorrow

schizophrenia

n. - a serious mental illness characterized by loss of connection with reality to the point of deterioration in the level of functioning in everyday life

tortuous

adj. - marked by repeated twists, bends, or turns

zephyr

n. - a gentle breeze

agape

adj. - wide open

angst

n. - a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity

buoy

n. - a floating object moored to the bottom to mark a channel or something lying under the water

chauvinism

n. - an attitude of superiority toward members of the opposite sex

cliché

n. - a phrase or idea that is boring because people use it a lot and it is no longer original

deuce

n. - a tie in tennis after each side has scored 40 requiring two consecutive points by one side to win

iconic

adj. - a sign whose form suggests a particular idea

incognito

adv. - with one’s identity concealed

Machiavellian

adj. - suggesting the principles of conduct laid down; marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith

phantasmagoria

n. - a constantly shifting complex succession of things seen or imagined

pleonasm

n. - the use of more words than those necessary to denote mere sense, redundancy

pyrrhic

adj. - achieved at excessive cost

rambunctious

adj. - marked by uncontrollable exuberance; unruly

rivulet

n. - a small stream

sarcophagus

n. - a stone coffin; broadly: coffin

shibboleth

n. - a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning

soiree

n. - a party or reception held in the evening

verisimilitude

n. - having the appearance of truth: propable

vicissitude

n. - a favorable or unfavorable event or situation that occurs by chance: a fluctuation of state or condition

whimsical

adj. - lightly fanciful

aglet

n. - the plain or ornamental tag covering the ends of a lace or point

alexithymia

n. - inability to express one's feelings

aplomb

n. - a confident relaxed manner when dealing with a difficult situation

burly

adj. - strong and heavily built

cantankerous

adj. - difficult or irritating to deal with

catharsis

n. - the process of expressing strong feelings that have been affecting a person so that they do not upset him/her

cortege

n. - a line of people and cars taking part in a funeral; funeral procession

delicatessen

n. - a shop that sells food such as cooked meat, cheese, and prepared salads

eviscerate

t.v. - take out the entrails; disembowel

ghastly

adj. - terrifyingly horrible to the senses

hubris

n. - exaggerated pride or self-confidence

katabatic

adj. - relating to or being a wind produced by the flow of cold dense air down a slope

monophagous

adj. - feeding on or utilizing a single kind of food: feeding on a single kind of plant or animal

precipice

n. - a hazardous situation; brink

sentient

adj. - finely sensitive in perception or feeling

signet

n. - a seal used officially to give personal authority to a document in lieu of signature

somnambulist

n. - sleepwalker

tintinnabulation

n. - the ringing or sounding of bells

yeoman

n. - a naval petty officer who performs clerical duties

zeitgeist

n. - when capitalized, it pertains to the spirit of time; when not, it pertains to the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era