English Midterm Vocab

acme

the highest point of achievement

Anoint

to proclaim/to sanctify

Auspicious

predictive of good fortune

Burgeon

to expand/to grow and flourish

Ebullient

lively

Efficacy

effectiveness

Felicitous

happy

Fortuitous

Accidentally favorable

Laudable

praiseworthy

Nirvana

a condition of great peace or happiness

Plaudits

statement giving strong praise

Prolific

productive

Propitious

favorable to success

Sanguine

optimistic

Viable

offering good prospect of success

Balk

to hesitate

Capitulate

to surrender

Carnage

bloodshed

Debacle

disaster

Harbinger

sign of bad luck

Impasse

stalemate

Moribund

dying

Nadir

the lowest point in fortunes

Ominous

portending doom

Quandary

dilemma

Ramifications

consequences

Repulse

to fend off

Stymie

to block another's success

Succumb

to give in

Thwart

to defeat another's plans

acuity

sharpness; perceptiveness (thought/vision/hearing)

apprise

to provide information

astute

clever; keenly observant (assess situation/people)

circumspect

thoughtful; cautious (unwilling to take risks)

cognizant

to be aware of specific information

incisive

clear and penetrating; harsh (intelligently analytical)

pedagogue

teacher; one who offers unsolicited information (strict)

pensive

thoughtful; nervous (deep or serious thought)

perspicacious

perceptive; discerning (insight into things)

peruse

to review with care (read thoroughly)

politic

careful to avoid giving offense; shrewd (sensible and judicious)

probity

upright moral character (honesty/decency)

prudence

caution; good sense

ruminate

to consider carefully (think deeply)

trenchant

observant; sarcastically witty (vigorous or incisive in expression or style)

asinine

foolish (extremely stupid)

brigand

robber

callow

immature; inexperienced

dilatory

slow; tending to cause delay

dilettante

one who has superficial knowledge of a subject (with a cultivated area of interest in it)

impish

mischievous (do naughty things for fun)

infamous

well known for negative reasons

iniquity

wickedness; unfairness (immoral behavior)

lurid

repulsive; horrifying (vivid in color/harsh)

nefarious

villainous; notorious (wicked/criminal)

obsequious

excessively flattering (obedient to an excessive degree)

slovenly

sloppy in appearance (messy/dirty)

scurrilous

vulgar (spreading claims with intent of damaging reputation)

sordid

morally questionable (ignoble action/moral distaste)

unsavory

distasteful (disagreeable to taste/smell/look at)

abscond

to sneak away

artifice

a lie of convenience

cabal

a secret group

canard

an unproven lie or rumor

charlatan

trickster

chicanery

scheming; trickery

duplicity

falseness of character

fallacious

based on faulty reasoning

fawning

excessive flattery

fulsome

obnoxious through excessive praise

mendacious

characterized by dishonesty

prevarication

dishonest or evasive statements

repress

to hold back opinions or emotions

subterfuge

trick to gain advantage

usurp

to seize unlawfully or by force

avarice

greed

copious

in great quantity

covet

to desire immorally; to envy

fiscal

relating to finance

largess

generosity

lucrative

profitable

mercenary

motivated solely by money

opulence

impressive wealth

pecuniary

related to money or finances

rapacious

overly greedy; willing to take by force

remuneration

compensation; reward

sinecure

a paid position without duties

sumptuous

characterized by great luxury

surfeit

an abundance

voracious

having great appetite

abjection

the worst degree of a bad situation

alms

charity for the poor

bereft

to be completely without something

dearth

a scarcity

destitution

abject poverty

futile

useless

indigent

the condition of being needy

insolvent

unable to pay one's debts

parsimonious

characterized by cheapness

paucity

a short supply