Mrs p vocab

Sycophant (n)

one who is eager to please for personal gain; or more informally, a suck-up or brown-noser

Lugubrious (adj.)

extremely sad, gloomy, or mournful

Pernicious (adj.)

causing great harm & destruction, wicked

Insouciant (adj.)

unconcerned or unworried, often to the point of arrogance

Ubiquitous (adj.)

present everywhere at once, omnipresent

Non Sequitur (n)

a statement that is totally unrelated to the statement that it follows

Restive (adj)

uneasy, agitated; having little patience; unwilling to be controlled

Diatribe (n)

A bitter verbal or written attack on someone or something

Jingoistic (adj.)

extremely fervent and patriotic, to the point of even expressing hostility toward other countries.

Implacable (adj.)

not easily calmed or pacified; impossible to change or move

Hirsute (adj.)

covered with hair or having a large amount of hair

Affinity (n)

a natural liking for or inclination toward somebody or something, particularly because you identify with that person/thing

Accede (v)

to give consent or agreement to something

Bonhomie (n)

easy & good-humored friendliness

quotidian (adj.)

ordinary & commonplace, particularly because it occurs on a daily basis

Coquette (n)

a flirt

Harangue (v)

to criticize or question somebody in an angry way

Bovine (adj.)

displaying the slowness regarded as being typical of cattle

Facetious (adj.)

intended to be humorous, not to be taken seriously

Inchoate (adj.)

just beginning to develop, only partly formed (said: "in-co-hit")

Contrite (adj.)

genuinely & deeply sorry about something

Erudite (adj.)

having great knowledge gained from study & reading

Anomaly (n)

something that deviates from the norm or expectations

Cantankerous (adj.)

easily angered & difficult to get along with

Cotorie (n)

a small, exclusive group of people who share the same interests

Deride (v)

to ridicule/insult someone or something

Feckless (adj.)

lacking the thought or organization necessary to succeed, incompetent due to an inability to do anything useful

Excoriate (v)

to criticize and/or scold somebody very strongly

Debacle (n)

something that becomes a defeat or humiliating failure

Temerity (n)

reckless confidence that might be offensive

Penury (n)

the state of extreme poverty

Vituperation (n)

an outburst of violently abusive language

Supercilious (adj.)

full of contemptuous arrogance

Gambol (v)

to skip about playfully

Folderol (n)

silly nonsense

Ennui (n)

a bored weariness & dissatisfaction with life resulting from a loss of interest or sense of excitement

Curmudgeon (n)

a bad-tempered, disagreeable person

Sojourn (n)

a short trip or stay at a place

Truculent (adj.)

displaying great aggression

Gregarious (adj.)

very friendly & sociable.

Augment (v)

to grow/increase something in number, amount, size, strength, or intensity.

Insidious (adj.)

slowly and subtly harmful or destructive

Kismet (n)

fate or destiny

Enmity (n)

extreme hatred, particularly between enemies

Denizen (n)

somebody who is in a place or area and/or a regular visitor to a place

Fallacious (adj.)

deceptive AND liable to mislead people because of a mistaken belief or idea

Obfuscate (v)

to make something confusing and unclear, especially by making it unnecessarily complicated.

Malaise (n)

a general feeling of worry/depression, resulting is lethargy OR a general feeling of illness or sickness without any specific diagnosis.

Peculate (v)

to get money or property by embezzlement or theft

Efficacious (adj.)

having the power to produce the desired result

Exonerate (v)

to officially free someone from blame or fault, particularly of a crime

Altruism (n)

an attitude/way of behaving characterized my unselfish concern for the welfare of others; the belief that acting for the benefit of others I right and good

Ignominy (noun)

a total loss of dignity and self-respect, particularly a public disgrace

Soporific (adj.)

causing sleep or drowsiness or dull and boring, as though it would put a person to sleep

Enigma (n)

somebody or something that is not easily explained or understood, of then the point mysteriousness

Dilatory (adj.)

tending to waste time or move slowly; intended to cause a delay

Myopic (adj.)

short sighted, both literally and figuratively. Literal: can only see up close, so needs glasses to see long distances. Figurative: showing a lack of foresight or long-term planning, only seeing the short term and not looking beyond the immediate

Moribund (adj.)

nearly dead, having lost all sense of purpose or vitality

Alacrity (n)

eager and speedy readiness

Surfeit (n)

an excess number or quantity of something, especially so much of it that people become sickened, repelled, or bored by it.

Galvanize (v)

to arouse into awareness or action

Largess (n)

the generous giving to others

Gauche (adj)

lacking social refinement

Jocular (adj)

playful & humorous

Zenith (n)

the peak or highest point

Impunity (n)

exemption from punishment

Bellicose (adj)

ready or inclined to quarrel, fight, or go to war.

Maladroit (adj)

clumsy or insensitive in speech or behavior

futile (adj)

with no useful or practical effect, useless

Ruminate (v)

to think carefully and at length about something.

Acrimony (n)

bitterness & resentment, especially in speech, attitude, or tone

Solace (n)

somebody or something that provides comfort in times of sadness

Exorbitant (adj)

far greater than is reasonable or manageable

Censure (v or n)

verb form—to express disapproval or condemnation, particularly in official form (for example, by a vote of a legislature)

noun form—severe criticism or official expression of disapproval or condemnation

Reprimand (v)

to scold/punish somebody for a wrongdoing

Lackadaisical (adj)

without much enthusiasm, energy, or effort

Insipid (adj)

dull and lacking in lively qualities.

Archaic (adj)

old and out of use because it comes from a time period long past

Punctilious (adj)

showing great care in small details, particularly when it comes to behavior and etiquette.

Irreverant (adj)

disrespectful.

Aspersion (n)

The act of slandering or defaming someone; a damaging rumor

Candid (adj)

frank and sincere; direct honesty

Capricious (adj)

tending to make sudden and unpredictable changes

Despot (noun)

a tyrant; somebody who behaves in a tyrannical way

Diaphanous (adj)

so delicate it is transparent

Detritus (n)

debris or discarded material

Equivocate (v)

to speak vaguely or ambiguously, especially to mislead.

Iconoclast (n)

somebody who challenges or overturns traditional beliefs, customs, and values

Mendicant (n)

an extremely poor person, a beggar.

Pedestrian (adj)

ordinary, unimaginative, or uninspired

Visceral (adj)

characterized by instinct (from the "gut") rather than reasoned thinking

Ostentatious (adj)

marked by an obnoxious display of wealth and/or success designed to impress people

Nascent (adj)

in the process of emerging, being born, or starting to develop

Loquacious (adj)

tending to talk a great deal

Inept (adj)

lacking competence or skill for a particular task

derivative or derivate (adj)

copied from somewhere & not original

accolade (n)

an expression of high praise and esteem for somebody's achievements

Indigent (adj)

poor/impoverished, lacking in the necessities of life, such as food, clothing, & shelter

Mitigate (v)

to make something less harsh, severe, or violent