Vocab unit 8

allege

v. to assert without proof or confirmation

arrant

adj. thoroughgoing, out-and-out; shameless, blatant

badinage

n. light and playful conversation

concillate

v. to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent

countermand

v. to cancel or reverse one order of command with another that is contrary to the first

echelon

n. one of a series of grades in an organization or field of activity; an organized military unit; a steplike formation or arrangement

exacerbate

v. to make more violent, severe, bitter, or painful

fatuous

adj. stupid or foolish in a self-satisfied way

irrefutable

adj. impossible to disprove; beyond argument

juggernaut

n. a massive and inescapable force or object that crushes whatever is in its path

lackadaisical

adj. lacking spirit or interest, halfhearted

litany

n. a prayer consisting of short appeals to God recited by the leader alternating with responses from the congregation; any repetitive chant; a long list

macabre

adj. grisly, gruesome; horrible, distressing; having death as a subject

paucity

n. an inadequate quantity, scarcity, death

portend

v. to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen, to give advance warning of

raze

v. to tear down, destroy completely; to cut or scrape off or out

recant

v. to withdraw a statement or belief to which one has previously been committed, renounce, retract

saturate

v. to soak thoroughly, fill to capacity; to satisfy fully

saturine

adj. of a gloomy or surly disposition; cold or sluggish in mood

slough

v. to cast off, discard; to get rid of something objectionable or unnecessary; to plod through as if through mud; n. a mire; a state of depression