Sadlier Vocabulary Workshop Level D Units 1-3

Admonish

v. to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly; to remind of a duty.

Brigand

n. a bandit, robber, outlaw, highwaymen.

Commandeer

v. to seize for military or official use.

Cumbersome

adj. clumsy, hard to handle; slow-moving.

Diffuse

v. to spread or scatter freely or widely; adj. wordy, long-winded, or unfocused; scattered or widely spread.

Dilemma

n. a difficult or perplexing situation or problem.

Muddle

v. to make a mess of; muddle through: to get by; n. a hopeless mess.

Predispose

v. to incline to beforehand.

Spurious

adj. not genuine, not true, not valid.

Unbridled

adj. lacking in restraint.

Breach

n. an opening, gap, rupture, rift; a violation or infraction; v. to create an opening, break through.

Circumspect

adj. careful, cautious.

Deadlock

n. a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces or factions; v. to bring to such a standstill.

Debris

n. scattered fragments, wreckage.

Efface

v. to wipe out; to keep oneself from being noticed.

Opinionated

adj. stubborn and often unreasonable in holding to one’s own ideas, having a closed mind.

Perennial

adj. lasting for a long time, persistent; n. a plant that lives for many years.

Relinquish

v. to let go, give up.

Salvage

v. to save from fire or shipwreck; n. property thus saved.

Spasmodic

adj. sudden and violent but brief; fitful; intermittent.

Alien

n. a citizen of another country; adj. foreign, strange.

Comely

adj. having a pleasing appearance.

Erratic

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

Fodder

n. food for horses or cattle; raw material for a designated purpose.

Fortify

v. to strengthen, build up.

Jeer

v. to make fun of rudely or unkindly; n. a rude remark of derision.

Mediocre

adj. average, ordinary, undistinguished.

Subjugate

v. to conquer by force, bring under complete control.

Tantalize

v. to tease, torment by teasing.

Terse

adj. brief and to the point.

Adjourn

v. to stop proceedings temporarily; move to another place.

Compensate

v. to make up for; to repay for services.

Dissolute

adj. loose in one’s morals or behavior.

Expulsion

n. the process of driving or forcing out.

Feint

n. a deliberately deceptive movement; a pretense; v. to make a deceptive movement; to make a pretense of.

Illegible

adj. difficult or impossible to read.

Lucrative

adj. bringing in money; profitable.

Proliferate

v. to reproduce, increase, or spread rapidly.

Sully

v. to soil, stain, tarnish, defile, besmirch.

Unflinching

adj. firm, showing no signs of fear, not drawing back.

Abridge

v. to make shorter.

Altercation

n. an angry argument.

Dissent

v. to disagree; n. disagreement

Eminent

adj. famous, outstanding, distinguished; projecting.

Fabricate

v. to make, manufacture; to make up, invent.

Irate

adj. angry.

Pauper

n. an extremely poor person.

Semblance

n. a likeness; an outward appearance; an apparation.

Terminate

v. to bring to an end.

Usurp

v. to sieze and hold a position by force or without right.

Adherent

n. a follower, supporter; adj. attached, sticking to.

Cherubic

adj. resembling an angel portrayed as a little child with a beautiful, round, or chubby face; sweet and innocent.

Condone

v. to pardon or overlook.

Exorcise

v. to drive out; to dispose of something troublesome.

Gluttony

n. engaging in extreme eating or drinking; greedy overindulgence.

Marauder

n. a raider, plunderer.

Pilfer

v. to steal in small quantities.

Rift

v. a split, break, breach.

Surmount

v. to overcome, rise above.

Trite

adj. commonplace; overused, stale.