Lang/Lit 2 Honors Vocab 1st Quarter

abstruse (adj.)

hard to understand

amity (n.)

friendship

arrogant (adj.)

overbearingly assuming; insolently proud

averse (adj.)

opposed; unwilling

bolster (v.)

to support

clemency (n.)

mercy

contingent (adj.)

dependent; possible

cupidity (n)

greed; strong desire

desultory (adj)

jumping from one thing to another; disconnected

Dissolution (n)

the breaking up into parts; termination of a legal bond or contract

Emulate (v)

to imitate

Euphemism (n)

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant

Fastidious (adj)

Difficult to please

Garish (adj)

(adj.) glaring; tastelessly showy or overdecorated in a vulgar or offensive way

heed (v)

to pay attention to

impetuous (adj)

rash, impulsive

incredulous (adj)

disbelieving, skeptical

insolent (adj)

showing a rude and arrogant lack of respect

jeopardy (n)

danger

legacy (n)

An inheritance; something handed down from an ancestor or from the past

malefactor (n)

an evildoer; a person who does bad things

mitigate (v)

to make milder or softer, to moderate in force or intensity

nurture (v)

to care for

optimist (n)

person who looks on the good side

pervade (v)

to spread throughout

preclude (v)

(v.) to make impossible, prevent, shut out

proximity (n)

(n.) nearness, closeness

recluse

(n.) a person who leads a life shut up or withdrawn from the world

revere

to honor, to regard with respect

seditious

resistant to lawful authority

stealth

quiet, secret, or sneaky behavior (think Ninja!)

tangent

going off the main subject

trite

(adj.) commonplace; overused, stale

vacillate

(v.) to swing indecisively from one idea or course of action to another; to waver weakly in mind or will

wane

(v.) to lose size, strength, or power

affable

(adj.) courteous and pleasant, sociable, easy to speak to

antiquated

no longer used or useful; very old

assail

attack, assault

belie

contradict; give a false impression

candor

honesty, frankness

complacent

self-satisfied; smug

converge

to move toward one point, approach nearer together

daunted

make (someone) feel intimidated or apprehensive.

digress

to stray from the main subject

dogmatic

stubbornly opinionated

enigma

a puzzle; a mystery

expurgate

(v.) to remove objectionable passages or words from a written text; to cleanse, purify

fledgling

an inexperienced person, beginner; a young bird about to leave the nest; inexperienced, budding

gravity

A force of attraction between objects that is due to their masses.

hyperbole

extreme exaggeration

inadvertent

unintentional; accidental

infamy

evil fame or reputation

intractable

stubborn; obstinate; hard to move forward

jubilant

extremely joyful, happy

loath

unwilling, reluctant

meager

(adj.) poor, scant, unsatisfactory; thin, slight

mundane

ordinary, commonplace

obscure

difficult to see, vague

paragon

a model of excellence or perfection

phlegmatic

slow-moving, sluggish; unemotional

pretentious

pompous, self-important

quandary

a state of perplexity or doubt

reprove

to find fault with, scold, rebuke

sanction

authorize

slander

spoken defamation

subtle

delicate, elusive, not obvious

tenacious

persistent, resolute

ubiquitous

present or existing everywhere

vapid

(adj.) dull, uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force

wax

(v.) - to increase gradually in size or degree

alienate

to turn away; to make indifferent or hostile; to transfer, convey

arbitrary

(adj.) unreasonable; based on one's wishes or whims without regard for reason or fairness

astute

(adj.) shrewd, crafty, showing practical wisdom

benign

kind and gentle

censure

to criticize harshly

composure

mental calmness

cordial

warm and friendly

deplore

(v.) to feel or express regret or disapproval

disdain

(v.) to look upon with scorn; to refuse scornfully; (n.) a feeling of contempt

elated

in high spirits, jubilant; extremely pleased

erratic

(adj.) not regular or consistent; different from what is ordinarily expected; undependable

extraneous

irrelevant

fulminate

to loudly attack or denounce

harbor

to give shelter or refuge

imminent

about to happen

incompatible

unable to work together

infer

to find out by reasoning; to arrive at a conclusion on the basis of thought; to hint, suggest, imply

irascible

easily angered

laconic

using few words

lucid

easy to understand, clear; rational, sane

mellifluous

sweetly flowing

novelty

something new

obtuse

annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand

penury

extreme poverty

ponderous

Heavy and slow moving

profound

deep

rampant

growing without check, running wild

reserve

self-restraint

scrutinize

to examine closely

sporadic

(adj.) occurring at irregular intervals, having no set plan or order