English Semester One Vocab

Approbation

noun: The expression of approval or favorable opinion, praise; an official approval.

Assuage

verb: To make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to, appease, satisfy, quench.

Coalition

noun: A combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose.

Decadence

noun: Decline, decay, or deterioration; a condition or period of decline or decay; excessive self

Elicit

verb: To draw forth, bring out from some source.

Expostulate

verb: To attempt to dissuade someone from some course or decision by earnest reasoning.

Hackneyed

adjective: Used so often as to lack freshness or originality.

Hiatus

noun: A gap, opening, break (in the sense of having an element missing).

Innuendo

noun: A hint, indirect suggestion, or reference (often in a derogatory sense).

Intercede

verb: To plead on behalf of someone else; to serve as a third party or go

Jaded

adjective: Wearied, worn

Lurid

adjective: Causing shock, horror, or revulsion; sensational; pale or sallow in color; terrible or passionate in intensity or lack of restraint.

Meritorious

adjective: Worthy, deserving recognition and praise.

Petulant

adjective: Peevish, annoyed by trifles, easily irritated and upset.

Prerogative

noun: A special right or privilege; a special quality showing excellence.

Provincial

adjective: Pertaining to an outlying area; local; narrow in mind or outlook; countrified in the sense of being limited and backward.

Provincial

noun: A person with a narrow point of view; a person from an outlying area; a soldier from a province or colony.

Simulate

verb: To make a pretense of, imitate; to show the outer signs of.

Transcend

verb: To rise above or beyond; to succeed.

Umbrage

noun: Shade cast by trees; foliage giving shade; an overshadowing influence or power; offense, resentment; a vague suspicion.

Unctuous

adjective: Excessively smooth or smug; trying too hard to give an impression of earnestness, sincerity, or piety; fatty, oily; pliable.

Ameliorate

verb: To improve, make better; to correct a flaw or a shortcoming.

Aplomb

noun: Poise, assurance; great self

Bombastic

adjective: Pompous or overblown in language; full of high

Callow

adjective: Without experience; immature, not fully developed; lacking sophistication and poise; without feathers.

Drivel

noun: Saliva or mucus flowing from the mouth or nose; foolish aimless talk or thinking; nonsense.

Drivel

verb: To let saliva flow from the mouth; to utter nonsense or childish twaddle; to waste or fritter away foolishly.

Epitome

noun: A summary, condensed account; an instance that represents a larger reality.

Exhort

verb: To urge strongly; to advise earnestly.

Ex Officio

adjective: By virtue of holding a certain office.

Infringe

verb: To violate, trespass, go beyond recognized bounds.

Ingratiate

verb: To make oneself agreeable and thus gain favor or acceptance by others (sometimes used in a critical or derogatory way).

Interloper

noun: One who moves in where he or she is not wanted or has no right to be; an intruder.

Intrinsic

adjective: Belonging to someone or something by its very nature, essential, inherent; originating in a bodily organ or part.

Inveigh

verb: To make a violent attack in words; to express strong disapproval.

Lassitude

noun: Weariness of body or mind; lack of energy.

Millennium

noun: A period of one thousand years; a period of great joy.

Occult

adjective: Secret, hidden from view; not detectable by ordinary means; mysterious, magical, uncanny.

Occult

verb: To hide, cover up; to eclipse.

Occult

noun: Matters involving the supernatural.

Permeate

verb: To spread through, penetrate, soak through.

Precipitate

verb: To fall as moisture; to bring about suddenly; to hurl down from a great height; to give distinct form to.

Precipitate

adjective: Characterized by excessive haste.

Precipitate

noun: Moisture; the product of an action or process.

Stringent

adjective: Strict, severe; rigorously or urgently binding or compelling; sharp or bitter to taste.

Surmise

verb: To think or believe without certain supporting evidence; to conjecture or guess.

Surmise

noun: A likely idea that lacks definite proof.

Abominate

verb: To have an intense dislike or hatred for.

Acculturation

noun: The modification of the social patterns, traits, or structures of one group or society by contact with another; the resultant blend.

Adventitious

adjective: Resulting from chance rather than from an inherent cause or character; accidental, not essential; (medicine) acquired, not congenital.

Ascribe

verb: To assign or refer to (as a cause or source); to attribute.

Circuitous

adjective: Roundabout, not direct.

Commiserate

verb: To sympathize with, have pity or sorrow for; to share a feeling of distress.

Enjoin

verb: To direct or order; to prescribe a course of action in an authoritative way; to prohibit.

Expedite

verb: To make easy; to cause to progress faster.

Expiate

verb: To make amends, make up for; to avert.

Ferment

noun: A state of great excitement, agitation, or turbulence.

Ferment

verb: To be in or work into such a state; to produce something by chemical action.

Inadvertent

adjective: Resulting from or marked by lack of attention; unintentional, accidental.

Nominal

adjective: Existing in name only, not real; too small to be considered or taken seriously.

Noncommittal

adjective: Not decisive or definite; unwilling to take a clear position.

Peculate

verb: To steal something that has been given into one’s trust; to take improperly for one’s own use.

Proclivity

noun: A natural or habitual inclination or tendency (especially of human character or behavior).

Sangfroid

noun: Composure or coolness, especially in trying circumstances.

Seditious

adjective: Resistant to lawful authority; having the purpose of overthrowing an established government.

Tenuous

adjective: Thin, slender, not dense; lacking clarity or sharpness; of slight importance; lacking a sound basis, poorly supported.

Vitriolic

adjective: Bitter, sarcastic; highly caustic or biting (like a strong acid).

Wheedle

verb: To use coaxing or flattery to gain some desired end.

Affable

adjective: Courteous and pleasant; sociable, easy to speak to.

Aggrandize

verb: To increase in greatness, power, or wealth; to build up or intensify; to make appear greater.

Amorphous

adjective: Shapeless, without definite form; of no particular type or character; without organization, unity, or cohesion.

Archetype

noun: An original model on which something was patterned or replicated; the ideal example of a particular type of person or thing.

Aura

noun: That which surrounds (as an atmosphere); a distinctive air or personal quality.

Contraband

noun: Illegal traffic, smuggled goods.

Contraband

adjective: Illegal, prohibited.