Level G Vocabulary: Unit 1 (AP Seminar)

acquisitive

able to get and retain ideas or information, concerned with acquiring wealth or property.

Sentence: In an acquisitive society, there is a great deal of emphasis on buying and selling.

arrogate

to claim or take without right

Sentence: The ambitious noblemen will put the young king under house arrest and arrogate royal privileges to themselves.

banal

hackneyed, trite, commonplace

Sentence: The new play’s banal dialogue made it seem more like a soap opera than a serious drama.

belabor

to work on excessively; to thrash soundly

Sentence: His tendency to belabor the small points often made him miss the big picture.

carping

tending to find fault, especially in petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; petty, nagging criticism.

Sentence: The trainee resigned after a week rather than put up with the carping complaints of the sale manager.

coherent

holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful.

Sentence: The physics teacher gave a surprisingly coherent description of quantum mechanics.

congeal

to change from liquid to solid; thicken; to make inflexible or rigid

Sentence: If you do not wash your dishes right away, the food on them will congeal.

emulate

to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

Sentence: Most beginning writers try to emulate a great writer and later develop their own individual styles. 

encomium

a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute

Sentence: On Veterans Day, the president delivered a heartfelt encomium to those who died for their country.

eschew

to avoid, shun, keep away from

Sentence: The young athletes promised the coach that they would train vigorously and eschew bad habits.

germane 

relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

Sentence: Bringing up examples from the past is not germane to the present discussion.

insatiable

so great or demanding as not to be satisfied.

Sentence: People with an insatiable appetite for gossip often do not have compelling stories of their own.

intransigent

refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

Sentence: Little will get accomplished if the legislators of both parties maintain their intransigent attitudes.

invidious

offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment.

Sentence: Bosses should avoid making invidious comparisons between their employees.

largesse

generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

Sentence: The university was the fortunate beneficiary of the largesse of many of its graduate.

reconnaissance

a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination.

Sentence: the field officer required a thorough reconnaissance before ordering any troop movements.

substantiate

to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to.

Sentence: The prospector was unable to substantiate his claim to the land where the gold was found.

taciturn

habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little

Sentence: Woodrow Wilson has the reputation of having a dour and taciturn personality.

temporize

to stall or act evasively in order to gain time; avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise

Sentence: For most of Shakespeare’s great tragedy, the protagonist Hamlet chooses to temporize rather than act.

tenable

capable of being held or defended

Sentence: The researchers put forth a tenable theory, but their conclusions would be reviewed carefully by others.