English Vocab 2

Blanch

to take the color out (v)

Auspicious

favorable (adj)

Courtesan

a prostitute with wealthy clientele (n)

Benign

kind and gentle (adj)

Mollify

to calm (v)

Raffish

marked by a flashy vulgarity (positive for some people) (adj)

Attenuate

reduce the force, effect, or value of (v)

Dubious

doubtful (adj)

Implicit

implied, though not plainly expressed (adj)

Apprehensive

anxious that something bad will occur (adj)

Slander

false charges and malicious oral statements about someone (must be verbally stated) (n)

Spurious

not genuine (adj)

Astute

clever (adj)

Clandestine

secretive (adj)

Smolder

burn slowly with smoke but no flame (v)

Methodical

done according to a established form of procedure (adj)

Improvident

thoughtless (adj)

Gaudy

extravagantly showy (adj)

Spasmodic

done in brief irregular bursts

Auxiliary

providing additional support (adj)

Disingenuous

not straightforward; crafty (adj)

Ruse

a crafty trick (n)

Stratagem

a clever trick used to deceive (n)

Surreptitiously

done by secretive means (adj)

Endow

provide with an asset (v)

Lurid

presented using very vivid details, especially giving explicit details of crime or sexual exploits (adj)

Feign

pretend to be impacted by something (v)

Ambivalent

uncertain (adj)

Dissonant

lacking harmony (adj)

Baying

to bark (v)

Capricious

impulsive and unpredictable (adj)

Stolid

calm or dependable (adj)

Coquettish

flirtatious (adj)

Affectation

behavior, speech, or writing that is artificial and designed to impress (n)

Whimsical

fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way (adj)

Inconsequential

unimportant (adj)

Blithely

a cheerful indifference that others might seem as calloused (adv)

Tenuous

having little substance or strength (adj)

Trivial

of little importance (adj)

Assiduous

hard-working (adj)

Demureness

the trait of behaving with reserve and decorum (n)

Diligent

marked by painstaking effort (adj)

Dogged

stubbornly persevering (adj)

Intrepid

courageous (adj)

Pinioned

Tie or hold the arms or legs of someone (v)

Maverick

one who is independent and resists adherence to a group (n)

Obdurate

stubborn (adj)

Gallantry

courteous attention to a lady (n)

Proliferate

to increase rapidly (v)

Contrapuntal

two voices are intertwined offering different perspectives but similar meanings (adj)

Diffidently

hesitant in speaking due to low self-confidence (adv)

Earnest

showing intense and sincere conviction (adj)

Vitality

energy (n)

Assimilation

to absorb (v)

Consensus

general agreement (n)

Samanas

group of traveling ascetics who believe self deprivation and denial is the path to self actualization (n)

Derived

adapted from a source (v)

Incumbent

obligatory (adj)

Placate

to make someone less angry (v)

Malleable

easily influenced (adj)

Subdue

to hold back (v)

Myopic

shortsighted (adj)

Epitomize

to embody the essential characteristics of a traits (v)

Innate

possessed from birth (adj)

Inveterate

long established (adj)

Conundrum

a confusing and difficult problem (n)

Foster

to promote the development of something (v)

Transient

temporary (adj)

Transitory

not permanent (adj)

Affable

friendly (adj)

Amenable

responsible (adj)

Sojourn

temporary stay (n)

Envelop

to wrap up (v)

Camaraderie

good will between friends (n)

Facetious

playfully humorous (adj)

Impinge

interfere with (v)

Lament

express grief for (v)

Truncated

shorten (adj)

Melancholy

sadness (adj)

Acquisitiveness

excessive interest in acquiring material things (n)

Aesthetic

having to do with the appreciation of beauty (adj)

Dilettante

superficial understanding of a field of knowledge (n)

Stoic

indifferent to pleasure or pain (adj)

Condemn

denounce (v)

Disparage

to speak of negatively (v)

Pejorative

describing words or phrases that belittle someone (adj)

Vilify

to make vicious statements about (v)

Brusque

rudely abrupt (adj)

Caustic

bitingly sarcastic (adj)

Fractious

unruly (adj)

Incorrigible

unable to be reformed (adj)

Ingrate

an ungrateful person (n)

Insolent

Insulting in manner or speech (adj)

Brittle

easily broken (adj)

Deleterious

having a harmful effect (adj)

Enmity

mutual hatred (n)

Heinous

hatefully evil (adj)

Servility

befitting a slave (n)

Tranquil

free from agitation (adj)