12th Grade Vocab Lesson 10

abet

(v.) to aid, help, encourage

ABET

The spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the inside to _____ him.

abstain

(v.) to freely choose not to commit an action

ABSTAIN

Everyone demanded that Angus put on the kilt, but he did not want to do it and _____-ed.

accolade

(n.) high praise, special distinction

ACCOLADE

Everyone offered _____s to Sam after he won the Noble Prize.

acerbic

(adj.) biting, bitter in tone or taste

ACERBIC

Jill became extremely _____ and began to cruelly make fun of all her friends.

acumen

(n.) keen insight

ACUMEN

Because of his mathematical _____, Larry was able to figure out in minutes problems that took other students hours.

anomaly

(n.) something that does not fit into the normal order

ANOMOLY

"That rip in the space time continuum is certainly a spatial _____," said Spock to Captain Kirk.

buttress 1.

(v.) to support, hold up

BUTTRESS

The column _____-es the roof above the statue.

candor

(n.) honesty, frankness

CANDOR

We were surprised by the _____ of the mayor's speech because he is usually rather evasive.

censure

1. (n.) harsh criticism 2. (v.) to rebuke formally

CENSURE

The frustrated teenager could not put up with anymore of her critical mother's _____.

concoct

(v.) to fabricate, make up

CONCOCT

She _____-ed the most ridiculous story to explain her absence.

deferential

(adj.) showing respect for another's authority

DEFERENTIAL

His _____ attitude toward her made her more confident in her ability to run the company.

derivative

(adj.) taken directly from a source, unoriginal

DERIVATIVE

She was bored by his music because she felt that it was _____ and that she had heard it before.

dispel

(v.) to drive away, scatter

DISPEL

She entered the office as usual on Monday, _____-ing the rumor that she had been fired.

divulge

(v.) to reveal something secret

DIVULGE

Pressured by the press, the government finally _____-ed the previously unknown information.

emulate

(v.) to imitate

EMULATE

I idolize Britney Spears so much that I _____ everything she does: I wear her outfits, sing along to her songs, and date a boy named Justin.

harangue

1. (n.) a ranting speech

HARANGUE

Everyone had heard the teacher's _____ about gum chewing in class before.

insipid

(adj.) dull, boring

INSIPID

The play was so _____, I fell asleep halfway through.

lenient

(adj.) demonstrating tolerance or gentleness

LENIENT

Because Professor Oglethorpe allowed his students to choose their final grades, the other teachers believed that he was excessively ____.

oscillate

(v.) to sway from one side to the other

OSCILLATE

My uncle _____-ed between buying a station wagon to transport his family and buying a sports car to satisfy his boyhood fantasies.

quagmire

(n.) a difficult situation

QUAGMIRE

We'd all like to avoid the kind of military _____ characterized by the Vietnam War.