vocab 4-6

Atrophy

Atrophy

the wasting away of a body organ or tissue; any progressive decline or failure

Bastion

a fortified place, stronghold

Concord

a state of agreement, harmony, unanimity; a treaty, pact, covenant

Consummate

complete or perfect in the highest degree; to bring to a state of completion or perfection

Disarray

disorder, confusion; to throw into disorder

Exigency

urgency, pressure; urgent demand, pressing need; an emergency

Flotsam

floating debris; homeless, impoverished people

Frenetic

frenzied, highly agitated

Glean

to gather bit by bit; to gather small quantities of grain left in a field by the reapers

Grouse

a type of game bird; a complaint; to complain, grumble

Incarcerate

to imprison, confine, jail

Incumbent

obligatory, required; one who holds a specific office at the time spoken of

Jocular

humorous, jesting, jolly, joking

Ludicrous

ridiculous, laughable, absurd

Mordant

biting or caustic in thought, manner, or style; sharply or bitterly harsh

Nettle

a prickly or stinging plant; to arouse displeasure, impatience, or anger; to vex or irritate severely

Pecuniary

consisting of or measured in money; of or related to money

Pusillanimous

contemptibly cowardly or mean-spirited

Recumbent

in a reclining position, lying down, in the posture of one sleeping or resting

Stratagem

a scheme to outwit or deceive an opponent or to gain an end

Acuity

sharpness (particularly of the mind or senses)

Delineate

to portray, sketch, or describe in accurate and vivid detail

Depraved

marked by evil and corruption, devoid of moral principles

Enervate

to weaken or lessen the mental, moral, or physical vigor of; enfeeble, hamstring

Esoteric

intended for or understood by only a select few, private, secret

Fecund

fruitful in offspring or vegetation; intellectually productive

Fiat

an arbitrary order or decree; a command or act of will or consciousness

Figment

a fabrication of the mind; an arbitrary notion

Garner

to acquire as the result of effort; to gather and store away, as for future use

Hallow

to set apart as holy or sacred, sanctify, consecrate; to honor greatly, revere

Idiosyncrasy

a peculiarity that serves to distinguish or identify

Ignominy

shame and disgrace

Mundane

earthly, worldly, relating to practical and material affairs; concerned with what is ordinary

Nuance

a subtle or slight variation (as in color, meaning, quality), delicate gradation or shade of difference

Overweening

conceited, presumptuous; excessive, immoderate

Penchant

a strong attraction or inclination

Reputed

according to reputation or general belief; having widespread acceptance and good reputation

Sophistry

reasoning that seems plausible but is actually unsound; a fallacy

Sumptuous

costly, rich, magnificent

Ubiquitous

present or existing everywhere

Abject

degraded; base, contemptible; cringing, servile; complete and unrelieved

Agnostic

one who believes that nothing can be known about God; a skeptic; without faith, skeptical

Complicity

involvement in wrongdoing; the state of being an accomplice

Derelict

someone or something that is abandoned or neglected; left abandoned; neglectful of duty

Diatribe

a bitter and prolonged verbal attack

Effigy

a crude image of a despised person

Equity

the state or quality of being just, fair, or impartial; fair and equal treatment; something that is fair; the money value of a property above and beyond any mortgage or other claim

Inane

silly, empty of meaning or value

Indictment

the act of accusing; a formal accusation

Indubitable

certain, not to be doubted or denied

Intermittent

stopping and beginning again, sporadic

Meretricious

apparently attractive but having no real value

Motif

a principal idea, feature, theme, or element; a repeated or dominant figure in a design

Neophyte

a new convert, beginner, novice

Perspicacity

keenness in observing and understanding

Plenary

complete in all aspects or essentials; absolute; attended by all qualified members

Surveillance

a watch kept over a person; careful, close, and disciplined observation

Sylvan

pertaining to or characteristic of forests; living or located in a forest; wooded, woody

Testy

easily irritated; characterized by impatience and exasperation

Travesty

a grotesque or grossly inferior imitation; a disguise, especially the clothing of the opposite sex; to ridicule by imitating in a broad or burlesque fashion