Marple LOTF Vocab

succulent

succulent

• (adj) (of food) tender, juicy, and tasty

• (noun) a succulent plant, such as a cactus

furtive

(adj) done by stealth, sneaky; secretive

pallid

(adj) extremely pale

martyr

• (n) a person who sacrifices something great, such as their life, for something they believe in (eg. MLK Jr.)

• (v) to kill someone because of their beliefs

• (n) martyrdom - the death of a martyr

ebullient

(adj) full of enthusiasm and energy; exuberant; cheerful

conch

(n) a seashell

contrite

• (adj) feeling or expressing regret for any offense

• contrition (n) the act of feeling contrite

blatant

(adj) completely obvious; without shame

sinewy

(adj) tough; strong; muscular

incredulous

• (adj) unwilling or unable to accept or believe something; skeptical; doubtful

• incredulity (n)

derision

• （n) contemptuous ridicule or mockery

• deride (v)

tempestuous

(adj) characterized by strong and turbulent or conflicting emotion; intense; wild; volatile; unpredictable; very stormy

abominable

(adj) causing moral revulsion, despicable; abhorrent; repulsive

embroiled

• (v) to involve (someone) deeply in an argument, conflict, or difficult situation; entangle

• (adj)

plinth

(n) a heavy base supporting a statue or vase

truculent

(adj) eager or quick to fight; antagonistic; combative; pugnacious

obtuse

(adj) annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand; slow-witted; slow; unintelligent; stupid; thick

antonyms: clever; acute; astute; shrewd

demure

(adj) reserved; modest; shy; bashful; milquetoast; meek

impervious

• (adj) not able to be affected; immune

• (adj) not allowing fluid to pass through

scar

1. (noun) literally: a rip in the forest caused by the crash landing of the boys’ plane on the island

2. symbolically, it represents mankind’s savageness destroying the world

creepers

1. (noun) literally vines/branches

2. symbolically represents problems that literally and figuratively take ahold of the boys.

cynical

(adj) doubtful as to whether something will happen

dissentient

(adj) in opposition to a majority or official opinion

dissent

(n) the holding or expression of opinions at variance with those commonly held

enmity

(n) mutual hatred

ensconce

(v) to settle comfortably or safely (either a disagreement or into place)

benevolent

(adj) kind, compassionate

abolish

(v) to get rid

apathy

(n) lack of interest

apathetic

(adj) showing or feeling no interest or enthusiasm

gambol

(v) to run or jump about playfully

preeminent

(adj) the greatest; surpassing all others

tormentors

(n) a person who inflicts severe mental or physical suffering on someone

acute

(adj) mentally alert and awake; astute; shrewd; insightful

cryptic

(adj) mysterious; hidden; puzzling

maxim

(n) a rule

flog

(v) to beat with a stick; to whip

ignominious

(adj) shameful; disgraceful; humiliating

impromptu

(adj) done without being planned; spontaneous

irrepressible

(adj) not able to be controlled; uncontainable; uncontrollable

tractable

(adj) easy to control

perpetual

(adj) to last for a long time; never-ending; everlasting

perpetuate

(v) to make something continue indefinitely

articulate (adj)

the ability to express oneself clearly and coherently

articulate (v)

the act of expressing yourself clearly

communism

(n) political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating a community in which all property is communally owned

socialism

(n) a political and economic theory of a social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by society as a whole

capitalism

(n) an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners, rather than the state

totalitarianism

(n) a system of government that is a dictatorship

liable

• (adj) likely to do something

• (adj) responsible by law

manifest

(v) to display or show by one’s acts or appearance; demonstrate

pretext

(n) a reason given in justification of a course of action that is not the real reason; false excuse; alleged reason

procure

(v) to obtain something, especially with great care; to acquire; to get

arable

(adj) (of land) used or suitable for growing crops

intermediary

(n) a person who acts as a link between people in order to bring an agreement

capitulate

(v) cease to resist an opponent or an unwelcome demand; surrender; give in; yield; admit defeat

categorically

(adj) in a way that is unambiguously explicit and direct; absolutely

incite

(v) to encourage or stir up violent or unlawful behavior

retribution

(n) punishment inflicted on someone as vengeance for a wrong criminal act; punishment; penalty

cower

(v) to crouch or lean away in fear; cringe; flinch; recoil

censure

(v) or (n) to formally express disapproval; condemn; rebuke; reprove; admonish

conciliatory

(adj) intended or likely to placate or pacify; peace-making; appeasing

contrive

(v) to create or bring about (an object or situation) by deliberate use of skill; cause to happen

machination

(n) a plot or scheme; plan

rash

(adj) displaying a lack of careful consideration; reckless; impulsive; careless

complicity

• (n) partnership in wrongdoing; collusion; collaboration

• (adj) involved with others in illegal activity or wrongdoing

inebriate (v)

to make drunk

inebriated (adj)

drunk or intoxicated

inebriate (n)

a drunkard

morose

(adj) sad; gloomy

taciturn

(adj) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little; quiet; milquetoast; introverted

lexicon

(n) the vocabulary of a person

poignant

(adj) evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret

grovel

(v) to kneel, lie, or crawl on the ground; to treat someone with too much respect of fear in a way that shows weakness in order to gain approval or favor

charlatan

(n) a person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill; a fraud; a fake; an imposter

triage

(n and v) the assignment of degrees of urgency to wounds or illnesses to decide the order of treatment of a large number of patients

commandeer

(v) take possession of something; seize; confiscate; hijack

draconian

(adj) excessively harsh; severe; cruel

sycophant

(n) a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage; brown-noser; suck-up; somebody who grovels

voracious

(adj) wanting or devouring great quantities of something; insatiable; unquenchable; gluttonous

imbibe

(v) to drink; consume

dirge

(n) a song for the dead, typically sung at funerals

antithetical

(adj) directly opposed or contrasted; mutually incompatible; opposing

antithesis

(n) a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else; reverse

vociferously

(adv) in a loud or forceful manner; vehemently

vociferous

(adj) vehement or clamorous; outspoken; vocal

quintessence

(n) the most perfect or typical example of a quality; exemplar; epitome; prototype

persona non grata

(n) an unacceptable or unwelcome person

melifluous

(adj) sweet or musical; dulcet; pleasant to hear; harmonious; sweet-sounding

perfidious

(adj) deceitful and untrustworthy; disloyal; two-faced

cronyism

(n) the appointment of friends to positions of authority without regard to their qualifications; favoritism; preferential treatment; the old boy network

nepotism

(n) the appointment of family members to positions without regard to their qualifications

meritocracy

(n) government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability

precipitously

(adv) very steeply

precipitous

(adj) very steep

peruse

(v) read something, typically in a thorough or careful way

malleable

(adj) easily influenced; pliable

malleability

(n) the quality of being malleable

balderdash

(n) senseless talk or writing; nonsense; gibberish; baloney

duplicity

(n) deceitfulness; deception