Units 7-9

austere

(adj.) severe or stern in manner; without adornment or luxury, simple, plain; harsh or sour.

beneficent

(adj.) performing acts of kindness or charity; conferring benefits, doing good.

cadaverous

(adj.) pale, gaunt, resembling a corpse.

concoct

(v.) to prepare by combining ingredients; to devise, invent, fabricate.

crass

(adj.) coarse, unfeeling; stupid.

debase

(v.) to lower in character, quality or value; to degrade, adulterate.

desecrate

(v.) to commit sacrilege upon, treat irreverently; to contaminate, pollute.

disconcert

(v.) to confuse; to disturb the composure of.

grandiose

(adj.) grand in an impressive or stately way; marked by pompous affectation or grandeur.

inconsequential

(adj.) trifling, unimportant.

infraction

(n.) a breaking of a law or obligation.

mitigate

(v.) to make milder or softer; to moderate in force or intensity.

pillage

(v.) to rob of goods by open force; (n.) the act of looting.

prate

(v.) to talk a great deal in a foolish or aimless fashion.

punctilious

(adj.) very careful and exact; attentive to fine points of etiquette.

redoubtable

(adj.) inspiring fear or awe; illustrious, eminent.

reprove

(v.) to find fault with; scold, rebuke.

restitution

(n.) the act of restoring someone or something to its rightful owner or former state.

stalwart

(adj.) strong and sturdy; brave; resolute.

vulnerable

(adj.) open to attack; capable of being wounded or damaged; unprotected.

acrimonious

(adj.) stinging, bitter in temper or tone.

bovine

(adj.) resembling a cow or ox; sluggish, unresponsive.

consternation

(n.) dismay, confusion.

corpulent

(adj.) fat; having a large, bulky body.

disavow

(v.) to deny responsibility for or connection with.

dispassionate

(adj.) impartial; calm, free from emotion.

dissension

(n.) disagreement, sharp difference of opinion.

dissipate

(v.) to cause to disappear; to scatter, dispel; to spend foolishly.

expurgate

(v.) to remove objectionable passages or words from a written text.

gauntlet

(n.) an armored or protective glove; a challenge.

hypothetical

(adj.) based on an assumption or guess.

ignoble

(adj.) mean, low, base.

impugn

(v.) to call into question; to attack as false.

intemperate

(adj.) immoderate, lacking in self-control; inclement.

odium

(n.) hatred, contempt; disgrace or infamy resulting from hateful conduct.

perfidy

(n.) faithlessness, treachery.

relegate

(v.) to place in a lower position; to assign, refer, turn over.

squeamish

(adj.) inclined to nausea; easily shocked or upset.

subservient

(adj.) subordinate in capacity or role; submissively obedient.

susceptible

(adj.) open to; easily influenced; lacking in resistance.

abate

(v.) to make less in amount, degree, etc.; to subside.

adulation

(n.) praise or flattery that is excessive.

anathema

(n.) an object of intense dislike; a curse or strong denunciation.

astute

(adj.) shrewd, crafty, showing practical wisdom.

avarice

(n.) a greedy desire, particularly for wealth.

culpable

(adj.) deserving blame, worthy of condemnation.

dilatory

(adj.) tending to delay or procrastinate.

egregious

(adj.) conspicuous, standing out from the mass in an unfavorable sense.

equivocate

(v.) to speak or act in a way that allows for more than one interpretation.

evanescent

(adj.) vanishing, soon passing away; light and airy.

irresolute

(adj.) unable to make up one's mind; hesitating.

nebulous

(adj.) cloudlike, resembling a cloud; vague, confused, indistinct.

novice

(n.) one who is just a beginner at some activity requiring skill.

penury

(n.) extreme poverty; barrenness, insufficiency.

pretentious

(adj.) done for show; striving to make a big impression.

recapitulate

(v.) to review a series of facts; to sum up.

resuscitate

(v.) to revive, bring back to consciousness or existence.

slovenly

(adj.) untidy, dirty, careless.

supposition

(n.) something that is assumed or taken for granted.

torpid

(adj.) inactive, sluggish, dull.