unit 1 level H definitions

Adjunct

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

added or connected in a subordinate capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary capacity

Bellwether

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

Caterwaul

to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel;

a harsh or noisy cry; a racket

Chimerical

absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible

Effete

lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn–out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out–of–date

Fait accompli

an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

Hidebound

narrow–minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly and unthinkingly conservative

Hierarchy

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

Laissez-faire

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

Liturgy

a religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship

Morass

a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand

Noisome

offensive or disgusting; foul–smelling; harmful or injurious

Oblivious

forgetful; unaware

Poltroon

A base coward

Proselyte

A convert; a disciple

Quasi

resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely

Raillery

good–humored ridicule; teasing

Ribald

irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar, or indecent in language

Supine

lying flat on one’s back; listless or lethargic; apathetic or passive

Vignette

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 or at the beginning or end of a chapter