English 2 Horrors Vocabulary 1-10

Conscious

Aware of something or one's surroundings

Contrite

Feeling or expressing guilt, regret, or remorse

Filial

Of a child to a parent; ex: filial duty

Fraught

Causing or having extreme worry or anxiety; full of something negative

Futile

Pointless; unable to produce any useful result

Hierarchy

A ranking of things or people according to their importance

Inept

Lacking skill; inefficient

Innocence

Lack of worldly experience; lack of guilt or evil intention

Pensive

Thoughtful in a serious or sad way

Tenuous

Very weak or not substantial

Commiserate

To express or feel sympathy or pity

Scavenge

To collect items that have been thrown away

Activist

A person who works to bring about political or social change

Vex

To make someone feel annoyed, frustrated, or worried

Discreet

Careful or low-key; not drawing attention

Analogy

A comparison between two things

Eulogy

A speech that praises someone who has died

Psychedelic

Wildly patterned in bright, contrasting colors

Amorphous

Without form or shape; vague

Nostalgia

A longing for the past

Incongruent

Opposite or not the same; out of place

Shantytown

A poor town/section of a town consisting mostly of shacks or huts

Sterile

Poor in quality; lifeless

Chary

Cautious or hesitant to do something

Imminent

About to happen

Inexplicable

Unable to be explained

Reverie

A daydream

Degenerate

To worsen or decline

Stupor

Daze; a lack of awareness

Retribution

Punishment or revenge

Stoic

Not showing feelings or emotion

Exploit

An adventure

Revel

To get great pleasure from a situation or experience

Exuberance

The quality of being full of energy and cheerfulness

Incite

To encourage or stir up violent behavior

Degradation

Loss of pride or self-respect

Tenement

A run-down apartment building

Infatuated

Having an intense but short-lived passion for someone; love-struck

Vigilant

Keeping careful watch; paying close attention

Enthrall

To capture the attention of; to fascinate

Distraught

Deeply upset

Dilapidated

Run down or shabby

Solace

Comfort in a time of sadness

Dreary

Dull, bleak, and lifeless

Haggle

To dispute or bargain over the cost of something

Ember

A glowing fragment (as of coal) from a fire

Manacle

To handcuff; to restrain

Exploitation

The unfair use of someone or something for one's benefit

Incriminate

To make someone seem guilty of a crime

Invigorate

To fill with energy

Luminous

Bright, full of light

Oblivion

The state of being completely destroyed, forgotten or unaware

Odious

Unpleasant, offensive, or hateful

Pulverize

To crush into small bits or destroy

Radical

A person who wants extreme change in government or society

Rationalize

To create a reason or excuse for something

Subside

To become weaker or less intense

Abyss

A very deep gap or hole; a chasm

Ballistics

The study of the flight of bullets or other hurled objects

Cacophony

Harsh, jarring sound; noise

Cartographer

A mapmaker

Juggernaut

An unstoppable force

Conjure

To summon, or call up, as if by magic

Cower

To cringe in fear

Distilled

Purified or concentrated, as if by the processes of distillation

Feigning

Pretending

Mausoleum

A large stately tomb or the building that housed it

Nomadic

Traveling seasonally with no fixed home; wandering

Noncombustible

Not capable of igniting and burning; unexciting

Olfactory

Relating to the sense of smell

Pagan

Not Christian, Moslem, or Jewish; pre-Christian; heathen

Pratfall

A comical fall on the behind; a humiliating mishap or error

Proboscis

A long snout or nose

Stratum

A layer

Tallow

Hard animal fat used for candles

Tamped

Packed down

Titillation

Excitement, stimulation, often superficial

Aesthetic

Relating to beauty and taste; artistic

Convolution

A coiled shape or part

Falter

To be unsteady; to stumble

Guild

An association of people in the same trade

Limned

Outlined in clear detail; painted or drawn

Pedant

Someone who overemphasizes or shows off his or her learning; someone who focuses unduly on minutiae

Plummet

To fall straight down; to plunge

Quarry

Hunted animals or others

Ricocheted

Bounced from one or more surfaces

Scythe

A bladed tool with a long bent handle, used for cutting or mowing

Beatific

Blessedly happy

Cadence

Rhythmic; expressive

Discourse

Lengthy discussion in speech or writing

Filigree

Delicate, ornamental work made from twisted wire of gold or silver

Insidious

Spreading harm slowly and secretly; treacherous

Intuitively

Through the senses rather than rational thought

Linguist

A language specialist

Manifest

To show plainly; to reveal

Moor

An area of poorly drained open land

Oracle

A prophet; a wise person

Patronage

Support; attendance

Perfunctorily

In a routine manner

Phosphorescent

Glowing