Semester 2 vocab English Lit

iconoclast

a person who attacks settled beliefs or instiutions.

travail

work especially of a painful or laborious nature.

affinity

an attraction to or liking for something.

supplicant

one who makes humble entreaties.

interlocutors

one who takes part in dialogue or conversation.

accede

to express approval or give consent. give into a request or demand.

contrite

feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin or a shortcoming.

amenable

readily brought to submit, yield, or cooroperate; willing.

convivial

related to or occupied with feasting, drinking and good company.

evanescent

tending to vanish like vapor.

forbearance

patient endurance under provocation.

fallacious

embodying false mistaken idea.

jettison

to get rid of as superfluous or encumbering.

empirical

originating in or based on observation or experience.

encroch

to enter by gradual steps or stealth into the possessions or rights of others.

ethereal

celestial, heavenly. unworldly or spirital.

archaic

of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more primitive time.

obsequious

marked by or exhibiting a fawning attentiveness.

shrewd

marked by clever discerning awareness and hard headed acumen.

euphemism

the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant.

prerogative

an exclusive or special right power or privilege. as one belonging to an office or official body.

erratic

having no fixed course. characterized by lack of consistency, regularity, or uniformity.

auspicious

predicting good or favorable or conducive to success.

dither

to act nervously or indecisively.

chary

discretely cautious. hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks.

mettle

vigor in strength of spirit or temperment.

besmirch

soil, get dirty.

blase

apathetic to pleasure or excitement due to over indulgence or enjoyment.

obtuse

lacking sharpness or quickness of sensibility or intellect.

wan

suggestive of poor health. sickly, pallet.

brevity

shortness of duration.

oblige

to constraint by physical, moral or legal force or by the exigencies of circumstance. to do a favor for.

wont

habitual way of doing.

blench

to draw back or turn aside from lack of courage.

satyr

a lecherous man.

lecherous

inordinate interest in sex.

trappings

outward decoration or dress. outward signs.

exigency

that which is required in a particular situation. a state of affairs that makes urgent demands.

pestilent

destructive of life. injuring or endangering society.

usurp

to take possession without legal claim. to seize and hold by force or without rights.

mirth

gladness or gaiety as shown by and accompanied by laughter.

dexterity

mental skill or quickness.

tack

a course or method of action especially one sharply divergent from one previously followed.

tact

sensitive, mental, or aesthetic perception a keen sense of what to do or say in order to maintain good relations or avoid offense

countenance

that face as an indication of mood, emotion, or character.

libertine

a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality.

entreaty

to plead with especially in order to persuade.

paragon

a model of excellence or perfection.

impertinent

not restrained within due or proper bounds of propriety or good taste. rude.

insolent

insultingly contemptuous in speech or conduct.

visage

the face, countenance , or appearance of a person or sometimes an animal.

adulterate

to corrupt, debase, or make impure by the addition of a foreign or inferior substance or element.

indolent

averse to activity, effort, or movement.

offal

the waste or byproduct of a process.

cloister

a monastic establishment.

beguile

to lead by deception.

quandary

a state of perplexity or doubt.

genial

marked by or diffusing sympathy or friendliness.

deft

characterized by facility and skill.

quintessence

the essence of a thing in its purest and most concentrated form.

malefaction

an evil deed, or crime.

spurn

to reject something distainfully.

conjecture

inference from, defective, or presumptive evidence.

tenuous

having little substance or strength.

impute

to lay the responsibility or blame often falsely or unjustly.

misanthrope

a person who hates or distrusts human kind.

knave

a man of humble birth or position. a tricky fellow.

gall

brazen boldness coupled with impudent assurance and insolence.

valor

strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness.

mellifluous

having a smooth rich flow.

ostensible

stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so.

wax

to increase in size, number, strength, prosperity, or intensity.

aberrant

straying from the right or normal way. deviating from the usual or natural type.

fatuous

complacently or innately foolish.

inane

lacking significant meaning or point.

complacent

self-satisfied especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies.

forestall

to exclude, hinder or prevent by prior occupation or measures.

toady

one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors.

precarious

dependent upon chance, circumstances, unknown conditions, or uncertain developments. lack of security.

candor

unreserved, honest or sincere expression.

foible

a minor flaw or shortcoming in character or behavior.

inordinate

exceeding reasonable limit.

intuity

espouse

to take up and support as a cause.

inveterate

firmly established by long persistence.

impetuous

marked by an impulsive vehemence or passion.

husband

to conserve or use sparings.

rue

to feel remorse or regret for.

consummate

complete in every detail; perfect.

gambol

to skip or leap about in play/frolic.

equivocate

to use equivocal language especially with intent to deceive.

imperious

befitting or characteristic of one of imminent rank or attainment.

mountebank

a person who sells quack medicines.

lavish

to expend or bestow with profusion. produced in abundance.

rhetoric

the art of speaking or writing affectivly.

bravado

blustering swaggering conduct. fake bravery.

cursory

rapidly and often superficially produced or performed.

abate

to reduce in degree or intensity.

promuigate

to make known by open declaration.

ostentatious

marked by or found of conspicuous or pretencious display.