Vocabulary for Achievement Fifth Course Lessons 1-15

annotation, annotate

a critical or explanatory note

appellation

a name, title, or designation

eponym, eponymous

a person whose name is or is thought to be the source of something

linguistics, linguistic, linguist

the study of nature, structure, and variation of languagems

malapropism

a confusion of words with one of a similar sound

neologism

a new word, expression, or usage

parlance

a particular manner of speaking specific to a group or type

patois

a regional dialect, especially a nonstandard one that has not written tradition

polyglot

using different languages

vulgar, vulgarity

-of or related to the language of the common people

-crude; indecent

-offensively excessive in the display of one's wealth

contingent, contingency

conditional; depending on other things

eventuality, eventual

something that may occur, a possibility

implausible, implausibility

difficult to believe, not likely or credible

inconceivable

impossible to comprehend or fully grasp

in vain

without success; completely ineffective

perchance

perhaps; possibly

preposterous

absurd

proclivity

a natural inclination; a tendency

prone

having a tendency; likely to do or have done something

theoretical, theory

restricted to ideas; abstract or unproven

evolve, evolution

to develop or achieve gradually

immutable

unchangeable; not subject or susceptible to change

inveterate

firmly established and having existed for a long time, deep-rooted

malleable, malleability

-capable of being reshaped or fored

-easily controlled or influenced

metamorphosis

a marked change in form, character, or function; a transformation

modulate, modulation

to adjust or adapt to a certain level or proportion

protean

readily taking on different forms, characteristics, or meanings

sporadic

scattered; occurring at irregular intervals; having no regular pattern

transmute, transmutation

to change from one form to another

volatile, volatility

-tending to vary; inconstant

-tending toward violence

-evaporating normally at room temperatures and pressures

abstruse, abstruseness

difficult to understand

acumen

quickness and keenness of insight or judgement

ascertain, ascertainable

to determine with certainty

cerebral, cerebrum

of or relating to the brain

faculty

a natural power or ability

obfuscate, obfuscation

to make difficult to understand

ruminate, rumination

to think deeply about

stymie

to prevent from making progress; to thwart efforts

surmise

to draw a conclusion / a conclusive guess

tenet

a principle or belief held by a person or an organization

abeyance

a condition of being temporarily set aside

abstemious

eating and drinking little or in moderation; restricted to bare necessities

"hold in abeyance"

circumvent, circumvention

to avoid by bypassing

elude, elusive

to escape from with cleverness and skill

eschew

to avoid on moral or practical grounds

evasion, evade, evasive

the act of avoiding by cleverness or deceit

malinger, malingerer

to pretend to be ill or injured in order to avoid work or duty

oblique, obliqueness

indirect; intentionally vague or ambiguous

shirk

to avoid a duty or responsibility

shun

to willfully ignore

converge, convergence

to come together at the same point from different directions; to meet

crux, crucial

the main, central, or critical point or feature

degradation, degrade

a decline to a lower condition, quality, or level

initiate, initiation

to begin something; to formally admit someone into an organization through ritual

penultimate

next to last; second to last

pivotal, pivot

1. being of vital importance; crucial

2. a rod on which a related part rotates or swings

3. to turn as if on a pivot

sequel, sequence, sequential

a continuation; something that follows

supersede

to replace

tangential, tangent

only slightly connected or relevant

terminate, termination, terminal

to bring to an end

aspersions

attacks on a person's character or honesty

compunction

a strong feeling of uneasiness caused by a sense of guilt

derision, deride, derisive

hateful or mocking laughter; ridicule

disapprobation

moral disapproval

ostracize, ostracism

to shun

rebuke

to criticize sharply

revulsion

a sudden, intense feeling of disgust

scurrilous

vulgar language

spurn

to reject scornfully

vitriolic, vitriol

intensely and bitterly harsh

accountable, account

to be held responsible for one's actions

assiduous, assiduity, assiduousness

giving constant attention to; hard-working

default

a situation that remains in effect unless specifically set in some other way

feckless

a. ineffective; useless

b. careless and irresponsible

incumbent

a. imposed as a duty or obligation

b. a person who holds office

liability, liable

a legal responsibility or obligation

mandatory, mandate

commanded or required by authority

negligence, negligent

neglect; lack of proper care or attention

onerous

difficult to bear or do; troublesome; burdensome

remiss

careless in attending to duty

acquiesce, quiescent, acquiescence

to agree or accept passively or without protest

adamant

stubbornly determined

balk

to stubbornly refuse to do something

camaraderie

comradeship; friendliness among companions

cantankerous

disagreeable; bad-tempered; likely to quarrel

compliance, compliant, comply

the act of going along with a request or demand; obedience

presumptuous, presume, presumption

excessively bold or forward; presuming

propitiate, propitiatory

to soothe bad feelings; to regain friendship

tractable

easily managed or controlled

volition

the power of choosing or deciding; free-will

acuity, acute

Sharpness of vision or perception

consummate, consummation

a. adj: supremely accomplished or skilled

b. verb: to bring to completion or fulfillment

cunning

a. adj: Marked by tending to use sly deception; crafty

b. adj: Executed with or exhibiting ingenuity

c. noun: Skill in deception

d. noun: Skill or cleverness in execution or performance

deft, deftness

Quick and skillful

endowment, endow

a. A natural gift, ability, or quality

b. Funds or property donated to an institution, individual, or group that provide income for the recipient

facile, facility

a. Easy; done or achieved with little effort or difficulty

b. Working, acting, or speaking with effortless ease and fluency

c. Arrived at without sufficient care or effort; superficial

inept, ineptness, ineptitude

lacking skill or judgement; incompetent; clumsy

prescient, prescience

having foresight; having knowledge of events before they occur

proficient, proficience, proficiency

able to do something very well; highly skilled; expert

prowess

superior strength, skill, courage, or daring