inman vocabulary 1-5

aegis

a shield; protection

altruism

a concern for others; generosity

amorphous

shapeless, formless, vague

besiege

to overwhelm; to surround and attack

boor

a rude or impolite person

carrion

decaying flesh

enervate

to weaken

ephemeral

lasting only a brief time; short-lived

erotic

pertaining to sexual love

factious

causing disagreement

fervent

eager; earnest

ignoble

dishonorable; shameful

opulent

rich, luxurious; wealthy

perspicacity

keenness of judgement

rectify

to make right, correct

antithesis

an exact opposite; an opposite extreme

bauble

a showy but useless thing

bestial

savage; brutal

bland

mild; tasteless; dull

chagrin

embarrassment; a complete loss of courage

diaphanous

very sheer and light

effete

worn out; barren

emendation

a correction

gloat

to look at or think about with great satisfaction

impediment

a barrier; obstruction

impotent

powerless; lacking strength

labyrinth

a complicated network of winding passages; a maze

maelstrom

whirlpool; turbulence; agitated state of mind

nihilism

a total rejection of established laws

shard

fragment

adventitious

accidental; nonessential

ambiguous

open to more than one interpretation

bona fide

in good faith

cataclysm

a violent change

deviate

to turn aside from a course; to stray

edify

improve someone morally

extenuate

to lessen seriousness by providing partial excuses

fecund

fertile; productive

glower

to stare angrily

impale

to pierce with a sharp stake through the body

importune

to ask persistently; to beg

obfuscate

to confuse; to bewilder

optimum

best; most favorable; ideal

parochial

local; narrow; limited

pedestrian

ordinary or dull

baroque

overly decorated

besmirch

to make dirty; to stain

celibate

abstaining from intercourse; unmarried

debacle

a complete failure; a total collapse

demeanor

behavior; manner of conducting oneself

facetious

comical; jocular; flippant

fortuitous

happening by chance or accident

hedonism

pursuit of pleasure, especially of the senses

imperative

extremely necessary; vitally important

obloquy

strong disapproval; a bad reputation resulting from public criticism

perfunctory

done without care; in a routine fashion

quasi

resembling; seeming; half

recapitulate

to summarize; to repeat briefly

sacrosanct

extremely holy

sadistic

deriving pleasure from inflicting pain on others

bowdlerize

to remove offensive passages of a play, novel, etc.

carnal

relating to physical appetite, especially sexual

deference

respect; consideration

ebullient

enthusiastic

elegy

a sad or mournful poem

fop

an excessively fashion-conscious man

impair

to weaken; to cause to become worse

impercation

a curse

nebulous

hazy; vague; uncertain

non sequitur

something that does not logically follow

panegyric

an expression of praise

pedantic

tending to show off one's learning

quandary

a puzzling situation; a dilemma

rakish

dashingly stylish and confident

sanguine

cheerful; optimistic