Honors English Unit 1 Vocab Big Test Bursby Mentor High School

ambiguous

Not clear; having more than one meaning

berate

To scold

collaborate

To work together

despondent

Overwhelmed by sadness

detriment

Something that causes damage, harm

dexterous

Skillful in using hands or body

discretion

Good judgment or tact

dissident

Someone opposed to accepted beliefs

embellish

To decorate; to add details

equivocate

To be vague to deliberately misled

estrange

To alienate

euphoric

Overjoyed

facetious

Humorous

fortuitous

Lucky, happening by chance

fritter

To spend or waste a little at a time

gregarious

Sociable

impeccable

Faultless, perfect

impetuous

Impulsive

inadvertent

Unintentional

inane

Foolish; meaningless

infallible

Unable to make a mistake

instigate

To stir up

juxtapose

To place close together; next to each other

lethargy

Inactivity

liaison

A go-between

maudlin

Overly emotional

optimum

Best possible

ostentatious

Flashy

predisposed

Tending toward something beforehand

propensity

A natural preference or tendency

regress

To go backward

relinquish

To yield

reprehensible

Deserving of blame, criticism

resilient

Able to recover quickly from harm, illness

retrospect

Reviewing the past

rudimentary

Basic

scoff

To make fun of

scrupulous

Conscientious

sensory

Having to do with seeing, hearing, etc.

sham

A pretense or counterfeit; meant to deceive

solace

Comfort in sorrow, consolation

solicitous

Showing concern, care, attention

sporadic

Occasional

squelch

To silence

subsidize

To support financially

ubiquitous

Found everywhere

venerate

To respect deeply

vicarious

Having indirect experience

zealot

A person who is totally devoted

zenith

To the highest point