Chapter 4 Vocabulary

abridge

(v) to shorten

acquisitive

(adj) excessively interested in acquiring things

altruistic

(adj) unselfishly concerned with others’ welfare

amiable

(adj) friendly and pleasant

apathetic

(adj) uninterested and showing little emotion

apprehensive

(adj) fearful and nervous

attenuate

(v) to weaken or reduce, or make thin

avid

(adj) enthusiastic, eagerly interested in something

befuddle

(v) to make confused

bleak

(adj) inhospitable, discouraging, not favorable

blunder

(n) a careless or stupid mistake

buttress

(v) to support or strengthen

cloying

(adj) sickeningly sweet or sentimental

conceal

(v) to hide or keep secrete

concede

(v) to reluctantly admit or give up

confer

(v) to consult together, to exchange views in discussion; to give or grant (a characteristic, right, honor, etc.)

connoisseur

(n) expert judge of taste or quality

considerable

(adj) great in amount or importance

conspicuous

(adj) obvious, very noticeable

contend

(v) to assert to be true

conundrum

(n) a confusing or difficult problem

copious

(adj) large in quantity

corroborate

(v) to confirm or provide supporting evidence for (a statement, finding, etc)

cosmopolitan

(adj) worldly and sophisticated; culturally diverse

covert

(adj) secrete

credible

(adj) believable, convincing

crescendo

(n) gradual increase to peak intensity; the peak of such an increase

curtail

(v) to restrict or reduce

deplorable

(adj) shockingly bad, disgraceful

diatribe

(n) a long, angry speech or written work

discount

(v) to disregard or minimize importance

discredit

(v) to damage one’s reputation

discreet

(adj) careful not to attract attention

discrepancy

(n) a difference between things that should match; an inconsistency

disingenuous

(adj) not honest or sincere

divert

(v) to redirect, to cause to change course, to distract

duplicitous

(adj) decitful

embellish

(v) to add decorative detail to; to make more appealing by adding untrue details

engross

(v) to completely absorb attention

ephemeral

(adj) lasting a very short time

equanimity

(n) mental and emotional calmness and composure; even temper

evident

(adj) clearly visible or obvious

existential

(adj) relating to existence

explicit

(adj) clearly stated without ambiguity

fathom

(v) to understand; to comprehend

fervent

(adj) having or showing intense feeling

fledgling

newly emerging and developing

furtive

(adj) secretive, sneaky

futile

(adj) pointlessly ineffective, useless gaffe

gaffe

(n) a clumsy or embarrasing error made in a social situation

galvanize

(v) to stimulate into taking action

grave

(adj) very serious

groundbreaking

(adj) innovatively original

hackneyed

(adj) overused, unoriginal

heed

(v) to pay attention to advice

heterodox

(adj) different from accepted beliefs or standards

heterogeneous

(adj) consisting of diverse components

hyperbole

(n) exaggeration

implicit

(adj) understood without being said

impudent

(adj) rude and disrespectful

impugn

(v) to attack as false or questionable

incessant

(adj) never stopping, continuous

incredulous

(adj) unwilling or unable to believe

indignant

(adj) angry about something unfair or wrong

indolent

(adj) lazy, prone to laziness

inexplicable

(adj) unexplainable

ingenuous

(adj) innocent and trusting

inordinate

(adj) excessive or disproportionately large

insoluble

(adj) impossible to solve or dissolve

intermittent

(adj) not continuous, occasional

intriguing

(adj) mysteriously interesting, esp. because it is mysterious; arousing curiosity

judicious

(adj) showing good judgment; sensible

keen

(adj) highly developed; sharp; eager; keen on

lampoon

(v) to criticize humorously

mawkish

(adj) overly sentimental

mercenary

(adj) concerned only with making money, esp. without regard for ethics

mimic

(v) to imitate or resemble

misconstrue

(v) to interpret wrongly, misunderstand

mitigate

(v) to make less severe

mock

(v) to tease or make fun of

mount

(v) to organize and begin; to increase

myopic

(adj) shortsighted

neophyte

(n) beginner, a person who is new to something

notorious

(adj) well-known for something bad

offbeat

(adj) unusual, uncovnentional

ornate

(adj) elaborately decorate

overlook

(v) to ignore or excuse

overshadow

(v) to exceed in importance or impressiveness

overstate

(v) to exaggerate

overt

(adj) done openly, obvious

paltry

(adj) not sufficient, too small

parsimonious

(adj) extremely unwilling to spend money or use resources

perplex

(v) to make someone very confused

preeminent

(adj) most important or accomplished

prodigious

(adj) impressively large or great

prodigy

(n) young person of exceptional talent

proliferation

(n) rapid increase in quantity

prolific

(adj) producing a large quantity of something; doing or existing in large amounts

propitious

(adj) indicating future success, favorable or promising

proscribe

(v) to forbid or prohibit