AP Lang Units 13-15G

1. abstruse

(adj.) extremely difficult to understand

2. affront

(n.) an open or intentional insult; a slight; (v.) to insult to one's face; to face in defiance , confront

3. canard

(n.) a false rumor, fabricated story

4. captious

(adj.) excessively ready to find fault; given to petty criticism; intended to trap, confuse, or show up

5. cognizant

(adj.) aware, knowledgeable, informed; having jurisdiction

6. contrite

(adj.) regretful for some misdeed or sin; plagued by a sense of guilt

7. cynosure

(n.) the center of attraction, attention, or interest; something that serves to guide or direct

8. decorous

(adj.) well behaved, dignified, socially proper

9. deign

(v.) to think it appropriate or suitable to one's dignity to do something

10. desiccated

(adj.) thoroughly dried out; arid and uninteresting

11. efficacy

(n.) the power to produce a desired result

12. engender

(v.) to bring into existence, give rise to, produce; to come into existence

13. ethereal

(adj.) light, airy, delicate; highly refined; suggesting what is heavenly

14. facade

(n.) the front of a building; a surface appearance

15. ghoulish

(adj.) revolting in an unnatural or morbid way

16. incongruous

(adj.) not in keeping, unsuitable, incompatible

17. machination

(n.) a crafty, scheming, or underhanded action designed to accomplish some end

18. mesmerize

(v.) to hypnotize, entrance; to fascinate, enthrall, bewitch

19. opprobrium

(n.) disgrace arising from shameful conduct; contempt, reproach

20. putative

(adj.) generally regarded as such; reputed; inferred

21. Beatific

(adj.) blissful; rendering or making blessed

22. Behemoth

(n.) a creature of enormous size, power, or appearance

23. Blandishment

(n.) anything designed to flatter or coax; sweet talk, apple-polishing

24. Cacophonous

(adj.) harsh-sounding, raucous, discordant, dissonant

25. Chicanery

(n.) trickery, deceptive practices or tactices, double-dealing

26. Consign

(v.) to give over to another's care, charge, or control; to entrust, deliver; to set apart for a special
use

27. Coup

(n.) a highly successful stroke, masterstroke, tour de force, act, plan, or stratagem; a sudden takeover
of power or leadership

28. Euphemism

(n.) a mild or inoffensive expression used in place of harsh or unpleasant one; a substitute

29. Febrile

(adj.) feverish; pertaining to or marked by fever; frenetic

30. Gainsay

(v.) to deny, contridict, controvert; to dispute, oppose

31. Imminent

(adj.) about to happen, threatening

32. Innate

(adj.) natural, inborn, inherent; built-in

33. Loath

(adj.) unwilling, reluctant, disinclined

34. Manifest

(adj.) clear, evident to the eyes or mind; (v.) to show plainly, exhibit, evince; (n.) a list of cargo
and/or passengers

35. Minutiae

(pl. n.) small or trivial details, trifling matters

36. Moratorium

(n.) a suspension of activitiy; an offical waiting period; an authorized period of delay

37. Nostrum

(n.) an alleged cure-all; a remedy or scheme of questionable effectiveness

38. Pariah

(n.) one who is rejected by a social group or organization

39. Visionary

(adj.) not practical, lacking in realism; having the nature of a fantasy or dream; (n.) one given to
far fetched ideas; a dreamer or seer characterized by vision or foresight

40. Wizened

(adj.) dry, shrunken, and wrinkled (often as the result of aging)

41. amenity

(n.) that which is pleasant or agreeable

42. aperture

(n.) an opening, gap, hole; orifice

43. dissidence

(n.) a difference of opinion; discontent

44. epicurean

(adj.) devoted to the pursuit of pleasure; fond of good food;comfort and ease; (n.) a person with
discriminating taste

45. improvident

(adj.) not thrifty, failing to plan ahead

46. iniquity

(n.) wickedness, sin; a grossly immoral act

47. inviolable

(adj.) sacred; of such a character that it might not be broken, injured, or profaned

48. mutable

(adj.) open to or capable of change; fickle

49. nascent

(adj.) just beginning to exist or develop; having just come into existence

50. obeisance

(n.) a deep bow or other body movement indicating respect or submission; homage

51. panegyric

(n.) formal or elaborate praise; a tribute

52. pillory

(n.) a device for publicly punishing offenders; a means for exposing one to public contempt or ridicule

53. pittance

(n.) a woefully meager allowance, wage, or portion

54. presage

(v.) to foreshadow and point to a future event; to predict; (n.) a warning or indication of the future

55. progeny

(n.) descendants, offspring, children, followers

56. promulgate

(v.) to explain or issue officially; to make known far and wide

57. rectitude

(n.) uprightness, righteousness; correctness

58. restive

(adj.) restless, hard to manage, balky

59. seraphic

(adj.) angelic, heavenly, celestial

60. subsist

(v.) to have existence; to remain alive, manage to make a living or maintain life; to persist or continu