English II Spring Semester Cumulative Vocabulary

Flashcards for reviewing vocabulary words from lecture notes.

Appease

To bring a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment.

Carousing

The activity of drinking alcohol and enjoying oneself with others in a noisy, lively way.

Deftly

In a way that is neatly skillful and quick in movement; in a clever way.

Diminutive

Indicating small size; sometimes the state or quality of being familiarly known, lovable, or pitiable.

Equivocate

To use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead.

Harbinger

A person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another.

Malice

Desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness.

Minion

A servile follower or subordinate of a person in power; a favored or highly regarded person.

Palpable

Readily or plainly seen, heard, perceived; evident; tangible.

Pernicious

Causing insidious harm or ruin; injurious; hurtful.

Scruples

A feeling of doubt or hesitation with regard to the morality or propriety of a course of action.

Bravado

A bold manner or a show of boldness often intended to impress or intimidate.

Clamor

Shouting loudly and insistently.

Flaunt

Display (something) ostentatiously, especially in order to provoke envy or admiration or to show defiance.

Indignantly

Feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment.

Ineffectual

Not producing the proper or intended effect; futile.

Inimical

Being adverse often by reason of hostility or malevolence.

Inscrutable

Not readily investigated, interpreted, or understood.

Recrimination

An accusation in response to one from someone else.

Sanctity

The state or quality of being holy, sacred, or saintly; ultimate importance.

Tacit

Understood or implied without being stated.

Tirade

A long, angry speech of criticism or accusation.

Vicissitude

A change of circumstances or fortune; typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.

Analogous

Comparable in certain respects, typically in a way that makes clearer the nature of the things compared.

Brevity

Concise and exact use of words in writing or speech.

Capitalize

Take the chance to gain advantage from.

Culmination

The highest or climatic point of something, especially attained after a long time.

Empirical

Based on, concerned with, or verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic.

Endow

Provide with a quality, ability, or asset.

Entrenched

(Of an attitude, habit, or belief) firmly established and difficult or unlikely to change; ingrained.

Pragmatic

Dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.

Postulate

Suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of something as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief.

Subsequent

Coming after something in time; following.

Substantiate

Provide evidence to support or prove the truth of.

Underscore

To make evident; emphasize, stress.