Pantazis Final Exam Review Vocab

Improvident

not having or showing foresight; spendthrift or thoughtless

Impending

about to happen, hanging over in a menacing way

Planintive

expressing sorrow

Imperious

arrogantly domineering or overbearing

Emissary

messenger

Tendrils

A threadlike, clinging part of a climbing vine.

Contemptible

deserving contempt; despicable

Dregs

most worthless part; sediment at the bottom of a liquid

Brusqueness

abrupt in manner; blunt; rough

Plait

a hairdo formed by braiding or twisting the hair

Valedicition

farewell speech

Arduous

difficult

Reveled

celebrated

Pottage

soup or stew

Grandees

rulers

Taut

tight

Harbringer

an omen or sign

Copiously

large in quantity or number; abundant; plentiful

Coiffure

hairstyle

Specious

superficially plausible, but actually wrong

Agillity

ability to move the body and change direction quickly

Devoid

lacking

Manifest

obvious

Communal

used or shared in common by everyone in a group

Esoteric

intended for or understood by only a small group

Approbation

approval

F slurs (otherwise quizlet censors it)

sticks

Trifle

a thing of little value or importance

Forsook

abandoned

Lest

unless

Incipient

beginning to exist or appear

Tethered

tied

Raffia

plant material

Tumult

commotion; ruckus

Mirthless

joyless

Abomination

something that causes great horror or disgust

Callow

young and inexperienced

Fetishes

objects of worship

Miscreant

a vicious person

Caste

a rigid and hereditary social class

Adherents

believers, followers

Atonement

reparation for a wrong or injury

Blashphemous

sacrilegious against God or sacred things; profane

Ostricize

to exclude from a group

Tuber

edible root (i.e. potato, carrot, turnip)

Wherewithal

ability

Irreparable

incapable of being repaired

Resilient

quick to recover

Dispensation

a special allowance; privilege

Akin

related to or alike

Expedient

a means to an end

singlets

undershirts

clamoring

a loud uproar, as from a crowd of people

Amulet

ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits

Wan

pale

Guttural

produced in the throat; harsh; rasping; throaty

Palaver

idle talk

Infuriating

causing anger or outrage

Superfluous

unnecessary

Resolute

determined

Enthralled

fascinated

antipathy

(n.) a strong dislike, hostile feeling

Syn: hostility, enmity, aversion, bad blood

Ant: attraction, appeal, allure, sympathy

applicable

(adj.) capable of being applied; relevant, suitable

Syn: appropriate, fit, apt, apposite

Ant: inappropriate, unsuitable, irrelevant

asset

(n.) something of value; a resource; an advantage

Syn: property, possession, holding, endowment

Ant: drawback, handicap, liability

beset

(v.) to attack from all sides; to surround, hem in; (adj., part.) harassed, troubled; studded (as with jewels)

Syn: (v.) assail, harass, badger, pester, torment

compassion

(n.) sympathy for another's suffering; pity

Syn: concern, commiseration, empathy

Ant: indifference, callousness, heartlessness

decorum

(n.) proper behavior, good taste; orderliness

Syn: seemliness, good form, propriety

Ant: impropriety, bad form, bad taste

duress

(n.) compulsion by threat; forcible confinement

Syn: intimidation, coercion

Ant: persuasion, coaxing, sweet talk, cajolery

exuberant

(adj.) high-spirited, enthusiastic, unrestrained; excessive, abundant

Syn: lively, ebullient, irrepressible, lavish

Ant: depressed, despondent, sulky, restrained

facsimile

(n.) an exact copy

Syn: replica, duplicate, reproduction, clone

Ant: variation, modification, permutation

imbibe

(v.) to drink; to take in, absorb

Syn: swallow, gulp, quaff, assimilate, digest

Ant: eject, emit, expel, discharge

implacable

(adj.) not to be satisfied or pacified; unyielding

Syn: relentless, inexorable, unappeasable

Ant: lenient, indulgent, permissive, flexible

infinitesimal

(adj.) so small as to be almost immeasurable; minute

Syn: tiny, minuscule, microscopic, unnoticeable

Ant: vast, immense, huge, infinite

innocuous

(adj.) harmless, inoffensive; insignificant

Syn: feeble, impotent, unobjectionable, insipid
Ant: harmful, dangerous, pernicious, toxic, virulent

militate

(v.) to have effect or force on or against someone or something, fight against

Syn: counter, oppose, work against

patent

(n.) exclusive rights over an invention; copyright; (v.) to arrange or obtain such rights; (adj.) plain, open to view; copyrighted

Syn: (n.) exclusive, license; (adj.) evident

Ant: (adj.) concealed, hidden, secret, clandestine

prowess

(n.) distinguished bravery; superior skill or ability

Syn: valor, courage, heroism, mastery, proficiency

Ant: cowardice, incompetence, ineptitude

sedate

(adj.) quiet, settled, sober; (v.) to administer a tranquilizer

Syn: (adj.) unruffled, composed, cool and collected

Ant: (adj.) loud, brash, flashy, flamboyant, garish, flighty

stentorian

(adj.) extremely loud

Syn: thundering, booming, deafening, earsplitting

Ant: hushed, inaudible, whispered, mute

stipulate

(v.) to arrange specifically; to require as a condition of agreement

Syn:specify, contract, provide for

ultimatum

(n.) a final proposal or statement of conditions

Syn: final terms

alacrity

(noun) a cheerful readiness; brisk and eager action

syn: promptness, willingness, dispatch, celerity
ant: reluctance, unwillingness, hesitancy

Neighbors responded with *alacrity* to the woman's cry for help.

alleviate

(verb) to relieve, make more bearable

syn: lesson, lighten, allay, mitigate, assuage

The doctors and nurses did everything they could to *alleviate* the patient's severe pain.

antithesis

(noun) the direct opposite, a sharp contrast

syn: contrary, antipode

Discriminatory practices may be said to constitute the very *antithesis* of our nation's democratic ideals.

appall

(verb) to fill with dismay or horror

syn: shock, stun, stupefy, horrify
ant: please, cheer, gladden, elate, exhilarate

The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 *appalled* the nation and the world.

bellicose

(adjective) warlike in manner or temperament; quarrelsome

syn: aggressive, combative, belligerent
ant: amicable, peaceable, conciliatory, pacific

Teddy Roosevelt's foreign policy was often driver by a rather *bellicose* brand of patriotism.

disparage

(verb) to belitte, speak slightingly of; to undervalue

syn: degrade, decry, run down, underrate
ant: praise, extol, laud, plug

Don't you think voters are getting awfully tired of listening to politicians *disparage* their opponents' voting records?

dissonant

(adjective) not in harmony; disagreeing, at odds

syn: grating, strident, unmelodious, irreconcilable
ant: harmonious, agreeing, euphonious

The clamor of *dissonant* voices could be heard clearly through the closed doors of the meeting room.

droll

(adjective) amusingly odd

syn: comical, humorous, whimsical, zany
ant: humorless, solemn, dour

The hero or heroine of a popular sitcom may be surrounded by a cast of *droll* eccentrics.

edict

(noun) an order issued by someone in authority

syn: command, decree, proclamation

Only in fairy tales can human unhappiness and misery be banished forever by royal *edict*.

elucidate

(verb) to clarify, explain

syn: interpret, expound, explicate
ant: obscure, becloud, muddy, obfuscate

The precise meaning of a passage in Middlemarch is sometimes hard to *elucidate*.

laud

(verb) to praise

syn: hail, extol, glorify, exalt
ant: criticize, censure, belittle, disparage

At the assemble the principal *lauded* both students and teachers for the schoolwide improvement in reading scores.

loll

(verb) to act in a lazy manner; to lounge; to recline, droop

syn: loaf, loiter, sag, dangle

There is nothing I would rather do on a hot, humid summer afternoon than *loll* in a hammock under a tree.

loquacious

(adjective) talkative, wordy; fond of talking

syn: gossipy, voluble, garrulous, long-winded
ant: silent, reticent, closemouthed, terse, taciturn

My dinner companion was so *loquacious* that our conversation quickly turned into a monologue.

magnanimous

(adjective) generous in forgiving, above small meanness

syn: unselfish, charitable, noble, bighearted
ant: petty, selfish, unforgiving, spiteful

The general's victory was so decisive that he could afford to be *magnanimous* toward his former enemies.

mandatory

(adjective) required, obligatory

syn: compulsory, requisite, imperative
ant: optional, voluntary, discretionary

A union contrast may stipulate that members are t0 receive a *mandatory* annual cost-of-living increase.

nondescript

(adjective) ordinary, not outstanding; not easily classified

syn: plain, unremarkable, unimpressive
ant: distinctive, remarkable, vivid, prepossessing

Fashion critics judged the designer's clothing like to be disappointingly *nondescript*.

phlegmatic

(adjective) slow-moving, sluggish; unemotional

syn: lethargic, indolent, torpid, stolid, impassive
ant: emotional, sensitive, thin-skinned, excitable

Sloths are such *phlegmatic* creature that they have earned the reputation of being the slowest animals on Earth.

rescind

(verb) to repeal, cancel

syn: withdraw, revoke, retract, annul, abrogate
ant: affirm, endorse, uphold, ratify

A sitting Congress sometimes *rescinds* statutes passed by its predecessors.

vivacious

(adjective) lively, sprightly, full of energy

syn: spirited, animated, ebullient
ant: dull, spiritless, listless, indolent, languid

A *vivacious* individual will certainly never lack for companions.