Week 1 Vocabulary

adjunct

n. something or someone that is helpful but not essential

bellwether

n. male sheep that leads the flock; leader

caterwaul

v. to howl or screech

chimerical

adj. wildly fantastical; impossible

effete

adj. worn-out; exhausted

fait accompli

n. irreversible deed

hidebound

adj. narrow-minded; rigid

hierarchy

n. system of things; order of rank

liturgy

n. a religious service; public worship

mirage

n. something illusory

morass

n. wet ground; swamp

noisome

adj. offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling

oblivious

adj. forgetful; unaware

poltroon

n. coward

proselyte

n. a convert; disciple

quasi

adj. resembling but not actually being

raillery

n. good-humored ridicule; teasing

ribald

adj. indecent

supine

adj. lying flat on one’s back

vignette

n. a short description or sketch

laissez-fair

n. the practice or doctrine of noninterference in the affairs of others