English Vocabulary List 1

Abrogate

: to officially end or cancel a law, agreement, or custom through formal action.

VERB

“The government decided to abrogate the speeding law”

Adumbrate

: to give a vague outline, a rough summary, or a faint image of something.

VERB

“The author adumbrated the main idea of her book"

Amalgamate

: to combine separate parts, groups, or organizations into a single, unified whole.

VERB

“The two companies chose to amalgamate into one”

Arcane

: secret, mysterious, or understood by only a very few people/

ADJECTIVE

“Only a few students knew the arcane secrets of the school”

Caveat

: a warning, limitation, or condition attached to a statement, agreement, or action.

NOUN

“I went to the party with the caveat that I had to be home by 10”

Consanguineous

: being related by blood or sharing a common ancestor.

ADJECTIVE

“The two families were consanguineous, sharing the same ancestor”

Discomfit

: to make someone feel uneasy, embarrassed, or confused, or to frustrate and thwart their plans.

VERB

“The teacher called on me and discomfited me by asking a question I didn’t know the answer to”

Disingenuous

: lacking sincerity, candor, or full honesty, often by pretending to know less than you actually do.

ADJECTIVE

“His apology seemed disingenuous because he didn’t really mean it”

Equivocate

: to use unclear or ambiguous words on purpose to hide the truth or avoid giving a clear answer.

VERB

“When I asked her if she broke the vase, she equivocated instead of answering”

Eschew

: to deliberately and intentionally stay away from something because you think it is wrong, harmful, or unwise.

VERB

“I eschew junk food because I want to make healthier choices”

Erudite

: having or showing great knowledge gained through reading and studying.

ADJECTIVE

“The professor was very erudite when discussing the topic of history”

Finite

: having a measurable limit, bound, or end rather than going on forever.

ADJECTIVE

“The amount of time we have to finish our project is finite”

Futile

: incapable of producing any useful result or serving no practical purpose.

ADJECTIVE

“Trying to convince him to change his mind was futile”

Implode

: to collapse or burst inward with force, rather than outward.

VERB

“The old building began to implode after the hurricane”

Inane

: something extremely silly, foolish or completely lacking any real sense, importance, or meaning.

ADJECTIVE

“He made an inane comment during class”

Libation

: a ritual of pouring out a liquid as an offering to a god, spirit, or in memory of the dead.

NOUN

“The guests enjoyed a libation at the celebration”

Loquacious

: tending to talk a great deal, chatty, or excessively wordy.

ADJECTIVE

“My friend is very loquacious and can talk for hours”

Obviate

: to remove a need or prevent a future difficulty before it happens, making an action unnecessary.

VERB

“Studying for the test will obviate the need to retake it”

Pernicious

: causing great harm or damage, often in a gradual, subtle, or deadly way.

ADJECTIVE

“The rumor had a pernicious effect on her reputation”

Provenance

: the place of origin, beginning, or verified history of ownership of an item.

NOUN

“The painting’s provenance can be traced to Paris”

Puerile

: childish, silly, or immature

ADJECTIVE

“His puerile jokes annoyed the whole class”

Salient

: something most noticeable, important, or prominent

ADJECTIVE

“The brown mark on her shirt was salient”

Sardonic

: a mocking, cynical, or bitterly ironic way of speaking, smiling, or expressing an opinion.

ADJECTIVE

“She made a sardonic comment about the school’s terrible wifi”

Symbiotic

: a close, long-term relationship between two different living things.

ADJECTIVE

“Bees and flowers have a symbiotic relationship because the bees get food while helping the flowers reproduce”

Vitiate

: to spoil, damage, or make something legally invalid or ineffective.

VERB

“The heavy rain vitiated our plants”