English II Vocabulary and Allusions

Flashcards for vocabulary and allusions from Units 1-5.

Assuage

To make easier or milder, relieve; to quiet, calm; to put an end to; appease, satisfy, quench

Coalition

A combination, union, or merger for some specific purpose

Decadence

Decline, decay,; or deterioration; a condition or period of decline or decay; excessive self-indulgence

Hackneyed

Used so often as to lack freshness or originality

Hiatus

A gap, opening, break (in the sense of having an element missing)

Jaded

Wearied, worn-out, dulled (in the sense of being satiated by excessive indulgence)

Lurid

Causing shock, horror, or revulsion; sensational; pale or sallow in color; terrible or passionate in intensity or lack of restraint

Prerogative

A special right or privilege; a special quality showing excellence

Transcend

To rise above or beyond, exceed

Umbrage

Shade cast by trees; foliage; giving shade; and overshadowing influence or power, offense; resentment, a vague suspicion

Ameliorate

To improve, make better, correct a flow or shortcoming

Bombastic

Pompous or overblown in language; full of high-sounding words intended to conceal a lack of ideas.

Drivel

Saliva or mucus flowing from the mouth or nose; foolish, aimless talk or thinking; nonsense (Verb) To let saliva flow from the mouth; to utter nonsense or childish twaddle; to waste or fritter away foolishly.

Epitome

A summary, condensed account; an instance that represents a larger reality

Exhort

To urge strongly, advise earnestly

Infringe

To violate, trespass, go beyond recognized bounds.

Intrinsic

Belonging to someone or something by its very nature, essential, inherent; originating in  a bodily organ or part

Permeate

To spread through, penetrate, soak through

Stringent

Strict, severe; rigorously or urgently binding or compelling; sharp or bitter to the taste.

Surmise

To think or believe without certain supporting evidence; to conjecture or guess; (noun) likely idea that lacks definite proof.

Abominate

To have an immense dislike or hatred for.

Adventitious

Resulting from chance rather than from an inherent cause or character; accidental, not essential; (medicine) acquired, not congenital.

Ascribe

To assign or refer to (as a cause or source), attribute

Commiserate

To sympathize with, have pity or sorrow for, share a feeling of distress

Expedite

To make easy, cause to progress faster

Nominal

Existing in name only, not real; too small to be considered  or taken seriously

Proclivity

A natural or habitual inclination or tendency (especially of human character or behavior)

Seditious

Resistant to lawful authority having the purpose of overthrowing an established government.

Tenuous

Thin, slender, not dense; lacking clarity or sharpness; of slight importance; lacking a sound basis,  poorly supported

Vitriolic

Better, sarcastic, highly caustic or biting (like a strong acid)

Affable

Courteous and pleasant, sociable

Amorphous

Shapeless, without definite form; of no particular type or character; without organization, unity, or cohesion.

Archetype

An original model on which something was patterned or replicated; the ideal example of a particular type of person or thing

Erudite

Scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic

Inscrutable

Incapable of being understood; impossible to see through physically.

Insular

Relating to, characteristic of, or situated on an island; narrow or isolated in outlook or experience

Querulous

Peevish, complaining, fretful

Remonstrate

To argue with someone against something, protest against

Scurrilous

Coarsely abusive, vulgar or low (especially in language), foul-mouthed

Sedulous

Persistent, showing industry and determination

Amnesty

A general pardon for an offense against a government; in general, any act of forgiveness or absolution.

Caveat

A warning or caution to prevent misunderstanding or discourage behavior

Equitable

Fair, just, embodying principles of justice

Filch

To steal, especially in a sneaky way and in petty amounts

Fractious

Tending to be troublesome; unruly, quarrelsome, contrary, unpredictable

Salutary

Beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome

Sepulchral

Funereal, typical of the tomb; extremely gloomy or dismal

Soporific

(Adj) Tending to cause sleep, relating to sleepiness or lethargy (Noun) Something that induces sleep

Transient

(Adj) Lasting only a short time, fleeting. (Noun) One who stays only a short time.

Vapid

Uninteresting, tiresome; lacking in sharpness, flavor, liveliness, or force

Achilles’ Heel

A fatal weakness in spite of overall strength, which can lead to downfall.

Benedict Arnold

A traitor.

Ivory Tower

A place or situation where people are happily cut off from the rest of the world.

Sirens

Beautiful yet dangerous creatures that lure sailors to their doom with their voices.

Burning Bush

A medium through which authority speaks.

Narcissus

Obsessed with his own beauty.

Holy Grail

Something of supreme value.

Judas

A traitor.

Job

Endured suffering.

Phoenix

Symbol of rebirth and immortality.