Unit One Vocab

admonish

to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly; to remind of a duty

breach

an opening, gap, rupture, rift; a violation or infraction; (v.) to create an opening, break through

brigand

a bandit, robber, outlaw, highwayman

circumspect

careful, cautious

commandeer

to seize for military or official use

cumbersome

clumsy, hard to handle; slow-moving

deadlock

a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces or fractions; (v.) to bring to such a standstill

debris

scattered fragments, wreckage

diffuse

to spread or scatter freely or widely; (adj.) wordy, long-winded, or unfocused; scattered or widely spread

dilemma

a difficult or perplexing situation or problem

efface

to wipe out; to keep oneself from being noticed

muddle

to make a mess of; muddle through; to get by; (n.) a hopeless mess

opinionated

(adj.) stubborn and often unreasonable in holding to one’s own ideas, having a closed mind

perennial

(adj.) lasting for a long time, persistent; (n.) a plant that lives for many years

predispose

(v.) to incline beforehand

relinquish

(v.) to let go, give up

salvage

(v.) to save from fire or shipwreck; (n.) property thus saved

spasmodic

(adj.) sudden and violent but brief; fitful; intermittent

spurious

(adj.) not genuine, not true, not valid

unbridled

(adj.) lacking in restraint