1st Semester Vocab

admonish (v)

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

breach (n)

an opening, gap, rupture, rift; a violation or infraction

breach (v)

to create an opening, break through

brigand (n)

a bandit, robber, outlaw, highwayman

circumspect (adj)

careful, cautious

commandeer (v)

to seize for military or official use

cumbersome (adj)

clumsy, hard to handle; slow-moving

deadlock (n)

a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces or factions;

deadlock (v)

to bring to such a standstill

debris

scattered fragments, wreckage

diffuse (v)

to spread or scatter freely or widely;

diffuse (adj)

wordy, long-winded, or unfocused; scattered or widely spread

dilemma

a difficult or perplexing situation or problem

efface

to wipe out; to keep oneself from being noticed

muddle (v)

to make a mess of; muddle through: to get by;

muddle (n)

a hopeless mess

opinionated

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

perennial (adj)

lasting for a long time, persistent;

perennial (n)

a plant that lives for many years

predispose

to incline to beforehand

relinquish

to let go, give up

salvage (v)

to save from fire or shipwreck;

salvage (n)

property thus saved

spasmodic

sudden and violent but brief; fitful; intermittent

spurious

not genuine, not true, not valid

unbridled

lacking in restraint

adjourn

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

alien (n)

a citizen of another country

alien (adj)

foreign, strange

comely

having a pleasing appearance

compensate

to make up for; to repay for services

dissolute

loose in one's morals or behavior

erratic

not even or regular in pattern or movement; unpredictable

expulsion

the process of driving or forcing out

feint (n)

a deliberately deceptive movement

feint (v)

to make a deceptive movement; to make a pretense of

fodder

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

fortify

to strengthen, build up

illegible

difficult or impossible to read

jeer (v)

to make fun of rudely or unkindly

jeer (n)

a rude remark of derision

lucrative

bringing in money; profitable

mediocre

average, ordinary, undistinguished

proliferate

to reproduce, increase, or spread rapidly

subjugate

to conquer by force, bring under complete control

sully

to soil, stain, tarnish, defile, besmirch

tantalize

to tease, torment by teasing

terse

brief and to the point

unflinching

firm, showing no signs of fear, not drawing back

abridge

to make shorter

adherent (n)

a follower, supporter

adherent (adj)

attached, sticking to

altercation

an angry argument

cherubic

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

condone

to pardon or overlook

dissent (v)

to disagree

dissent (n)

disagreement

eminent

famous, outstanding, distinguished; projecting

exorcise

to drive out by magic; to dispose of something troublesome, menacing, or oppressive

fabricate

to make, manufacture; to make up, invent

gluttony

engaging in extreme eating or drinking; greedy overindulgence

irate

angry

marauder

a raider, plunderer

pauper

an extremely poor person

pilfer

to steal in small quantities

rift

a split, break, breach

semblance

a likeness; an outward appearance; an apparition

surmount

to overcome, rise above

terminate

to bring to an end

trite

commonplace; overused, stale

usurp

to seize and hold a position by force or without right

abscond

to run off and hide

access (n)

approach or admittance to places, persons, things; an increase

access (v)

To get at, obtain

anarchy

a lack of government and law; confusion

arduous

hard to do, requiring much effort

auspicious

favorable; fortunate

daunt

to overcome with fear, intimidate; to dishearten, discourage

disentangle

to free from tangles or complications

fated

determined in advance by destiny or fortune

hoodwink

to mislead by a trick, swindle

inanimate

not having life; without energy or spirit

incinerate

to burn to ashes

intrepid

very brave, fearless, unshakable

larceny

theft

pliant

bending readily; easily influenced

pompous

overly self-important in speech and manner; excessively stately or ceremonious

precipice

a very steep cliff; the brink or edge of disaster

prototype

an original model on which later versions are patterned

rectify

to make right, correct

reprieve (n)

a temporary relief or delay

reprieve (v)

to grant a postponement

revile

to attack with words, call bad names

accomplice

a person who takes part in a crime

annihilate

to destroy completely

arbitrary

unreasonable; based on one's own wishes or whims without regard for reason or fairness

brazen

shameless, impudent; made of brass

catalyst

a substance that causes or hastens a chemical reaction; any agent that causes change

exodus

a large-scale departure or flight

facilitate

to make easier; to assist