Sadlier Vocabulary Workshop Level H: Unit 1

adjunct

(noun): something added to something else as helpful or useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic

(adjective): added or connected in a subordinate capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary capacity

bellwether

(noun): the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in a desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends

caterwaul

(verb): to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel

(noun): a harsh or noisy cry; a racket

chimerical

(adjective): absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible

effete

(adjective): lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn-out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out-of-date

fait accompli

(noun): an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

hidebound

(adjective): narrow-minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly and unthinkingly conservative

hierarchy

(noun): any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc.

laissez-faire

(adjective): a philosophy or practice characterized by a usually deliberate abstention from direction or interference, especially with individual freedom of choice and action

liturgy

(noun): a religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship

SYN: observance

morass

(noun): a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one in entrapped, as in quicksand

noisome

(adjective): offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

oblivious

(adjective): forgetful; unaware

poltroon

(noun): a base coward

proselyte

(noun): a convert; a disciple

quasi

(adjective): resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely

raillery

(noun): good-humored ridicule; teasing

SYN: persiflage

ribald

(adjective): irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar, or indecent in language

supine

(adjective): lying flat on one's back; listless or lethargic; apathetic or passive

vignette

(noun): a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title page of a book at the beginning or end of a chapter