CAT Vocabulary Set 5

Perpetual

continuing forever

Hubris

excessive pride

Vitality

energy / liveliness

Cog

small but necessary part

Resilience

ability to recover

Probe

investigate

Prodded

pushed/encouraged

Breathalyser

device that measures alcohol in breath

Stringent

very strict

Catastrophic

causing huge damage

Schism

serious division

Deterrence

prevention through threat

Waded

walked through water; dealt with something difficult

Proximity

closeness

Remittances

money sent home by workers abroad

Expat

person living outside their home country

Mounting

increasing

Unscathed

unharmed

Hobbled

restricted / weakened

Devise

create / plan

Rendition

version / performance

Deteriorating

getting worse

Archaic

very old-fashioned

Agglomerations

large clusters/groups

Slew

a large number

Stipulated

specified / required

Hefty

large / heavy

Strikingly

noticeably / remarkably

Discretionary

optional / based on choice

Interventions

actions taken to change a situation

Revelling

enjoying something greatly, often a celebration or pleasure

Frivolous

not serious / silly

Angst

deep anxiety

Tainted

spoiled / corrupted

Agitation

disturbance / anxiety

Oddities

unusual things

Assuage

reduce / calm

Lurch

sudden movement / sudden change

Concede

admit / accept reluctantly

Unpalatable

unpleasant / difficult to accept

Apparel

clothing

Fawned

showed excessive admiration

Cascade

flow/fall rapidly in stages

Trickle-down

benefits spreading from the wealthy/top to others

Myopic

short-sighted / lacking long-term thinking

Fallacious

based on false reasoning

Imputation

accusation / attribution of blame

Centrifuges

machines that separate substances by spinning

Prerogatives

special rights/powers

Notorious

famous for something bad

Grumble

complain

Credulously

too readily believing

Embezzler

person who steals money entrusted to them

Earmarked

reserved for a specific purpose

Inexplicable

impossible to explain

Colossal

enormous

Cumbersome

difficult to handle

Squandered

wasted

Crippling

severely damaging/weakening

Endowments

money/property given to support an institution

Knell

sound of a bell, often announcing death; a sign of an ending

Unveiled

revealed / made public

Ergo

therefore

Quarried

extracted from a quarry

Invasive

spreading where unwanted; intruding

Arboreal

related to trees / living in trees

Conscripts

people forced into military service

Discourse

discussion / formal communication

Guardrails

limits or protections preventing harmful actions

Vetted

carefully checked

Caveat

warning / condition

Rendered

made / caused to become; also performed or provided

Entendre

a word/phrase with a double meaning

Incumbent

current office-holder

Long-festering

existing for a long time and causing problems

Allegiance

loyalty

Curated

carefully selected/organized

Cordoned

blocked off / surrounded

Contours

outlines / main features

Snarky

sarcastic / mocking

Garner

collect / gain

Ambits

limits / boundaries

Contentious

controversial / causing disagreement

Ushered

introduced / brought in

Prominence

importance / fame

Ingrained

deeply fixed / established

Espouses

supports / adopts

Surge

sudden increase

Propel

push / drive forward

Blunderbuss

old-fashioned weapon; figuratively, a clumsy approach

Imperialism

a powerful country controlling or influencing weaker countries.

De facto

in practice, even if not officially

Strangling

severely restricting / choking

Whim

sudden/unreasonable desire

Vapid

dull / uninteresting

Gumption

courage / initiative

Plutocrats

very wealthy people with political power

Shibboleth

belief/phrase identifying a particular group

Evoke

bring a feeling/memory to mind

Cohort

group of people sharing a characteristic