Unit 8 Vocab
PEJORATIVE ☹ (pəˈjôrədiv) – adj. expressing contempt or disapproval
Synonyms: disparaging, derogatory, deprecatory, slanderous, defamatory, insulting
Example: Some individuals have a habit of expressing a pejorative view about everything in their lives. They must dread waking up every morning.
ESOTERIC ± (ˌesəˈterik) – adj. intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.
Synonyms: obscure, arcane, enigmatic, cryptic, complex, mysterious, incomprehensible
Example: The annual report of the investment group was so esoteric that very few shareholders could actually derive any meaning from it.
SHIRK ☹ (SHərk) – v. to avoid or neglect; to be unwilling to do
Synonyms: evade, dodge, avoid, get out of, sidestep, shrink from, shun, skip
Example: It’s always difficult to collaborate with a teammate who has a habit of shirking his or her responsibilities.
IDIOSYNCRASY ± (ˌidēəˈsiNGkrəsē) – n. a distinctive or peculiar feature or characteristic of a place or thing; a mode of behavior or way of thought peculiar to an individual
Synonyms: peculiarity, oddity, eccentricity, mannerism, trait, singularity, quirk
Example: Mary had endured unusual experiences in her life, which evolved into idiosyncrasies that inspired profound creativity in her writing.
TUMULT ☹ (ˈt(y)o͞oˌməlt) – n. a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people; confusion or disorder
Synonyms: clamor, din, racket, commotion, ruckus, maelstrom, rumpus, pandemonium; havoc, turmoil, disorder, chaos, mayhem
Example: After the planes crashed into the Twin Towers on 9/11, the streets of Lower Manhattan were filled with panic and tumult.
AMELIORATE ☺ (əˈmēlyəˌrāt) – v. to make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better
Synonyms: improve, enhance, help, amend, boost, benefit
Example: If you study hard and earn an excellent score on the Unit 11 Vocabulary Test, you will ameliorate your average score and improve your grade for the quarter.
RETINUE ± (ˈretnˌ(y)o͞o) – n. a group of advisers, assistants, or others accompanying an important person
Synonyms: entourage, escort, company, court, staff, personnel
Example: Many monarchs and dignitaries travel with an extensive retinue creating a traffic nightmare as they travel through congested urban areas.
RATIOCINATE ± (ratēˈōsənāt) – v. to form judgments by a process of logic; to reason
Synonyms: reason, think logically, conclude, cogitate
Example: Paradoxes force us to ratiocinate as we attempt to discover a deeper meaning.
TRUNCATE ± (ˈtrəNGˌkāt) – v. to shorten by cutting off the top or the end
Synonyms: curtail, abbreviate, condense, reduce, prune
Example: The power company sends out crews during the warmer months to truncate every tree that might interfere with the power lines during a winter storm. Even though their work is necessary, it always makes me sad to see a beautiful tree awkwardly shaped by the hand of the power company.
RELINQUISH ± (rəˈliNGkwiSH) – v. to voluntarily cease to keep or claim; to give up
Synonyms: release, renounce, forswear, forego, quit, waive
Example: Historically, many royals relinquished their claims to the throne in order to marry commoners.
COGITATE ± (ˌkäjəˈtāt) – v. to reflect upon; to turn over in one’s mind; to consider carefully and deeply
Synonyms: ruminate, contemplate, ponder, muse, meditate, speculate
Example: After the jury delivered a verdict of “guilty”, the judge required privacy to allow him the opportunity to cogitate about the kind of sentence he should pass.
DUBIOUS ☹ (ˈd(y)o͞obēəs) – adj. fraught with uncertainty or doubt; not convinced; lacking conviction; morally suspect or of questionable value
Synonyms: doubtful, dubitable, unconvinced; suspicious, untrustworthy, unreliable
Example: In spite of her dubious ancestry, the con artist continued to claim her parents were of noble birth.
REPREHENSIBLE ☹ (ˌreprəˈhensəb(ə)l) – adj. deserving censure or condemnation
Synonyms: deplorable, disgraceful, discreditable, despicable, blameworthy, culpable, vicious, criminal
Example: Texting while driving is a reprehensible habit that endangers everyone on the road.
INDOLENCE ☹ (ˈindələns) – n. inactivity resulting from a dislike of work; avoidance of activity or exertion
Synonyms: laziness, idleness, sloth, shiftlessness, lethargy, languor, torpidity, languidness, torpor
Example: “Contentment is, after all, simply refined indolence.” (Thomas Chandler Haliburton)
FECUND ☺ (ˈfe-kənd) – adj. fruitful in offspring or vegetation; intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree
Synonyms: prolific, fertile
Antonym: barren
Example: Most employers are looking for fecund individuals who can successfully complete multiple tasks with little supervision.
CRYPTIC ☹ (ˈkriptik) – adj. of an obscure nature; having a secret or hidden meaning; expressing much in few words; having a puzzling terseness
Synonyms: inscrutable, mysterious, cabalistic, enigmatic, puzzling, abstruse
Example: I am occasionally mystified by the cryptic handwriting I discover while reading a student’s essay.
SYCOPHANT ☹ (ˈsikəˌfant, ˈsi-kə-fənt) – n. a servile, self-seeking flatterer; a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage
Synonyms: yes-man, bootlicker, brown-noser, toady, flatterer, flunky, lackey
Example: While it helps to be a sycophant if you want to excel in politics, you can also go far simply by being straightforward with people.
TACITURN ± (ˈtasəˌtərn) – adj. (of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.
Synonyms: reticent, quiet, secretive, tight-lipped, silent, mute, inarticulate, reserved, withdrawn
Example: Many students who are taciturn when they enter my classroom at the beginning of their sophomore year become very chatty by the time they leave MVGS.
BANAL ☹ (bə-ˈnal, ba-, -ˈnäl;bā-ˈnal) – adj. repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse; lacking originality, freshness, or novelty
Synonyms: commonplace, timeworn, trite, cliché, hackneyed
Example: An excellent writer avoids the use of banal expressions when composing an academic essay.
FALLACIOUS ☹ (fəˈlāSHəs) – adj. tending to deceive or mislead; based on mistaken belief
Synonyms: fraudulent, deceitful, incorrect, erroneous, inaccurate, mistaken, misguided
Example: Social media is dominated by fallacious assertions that far too many gullible readers believe.
PEJORATIVE ☹ (pəˈjôrədiv) – adj. expressing contempt or disapproval
Synonyms: disparaging, derogatory, deprecatory, slanderous, defamatory, insulting
Example: Some individuals have a habit of expressing a pejorative view about everything in their lives. They must dread waking up every morning.
ESOTERIC ± (ˌesəˈterik) – adj. intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.
Synonyms: obscure, arcane, enigmatic, cryptic, complex, mysterious, incomprehensible
Example: The annual report of the investment group was so esoteric that very few shareholders could actually derive any meaning from it.
SHIRK ☹ (SHərk) – v. to avoid or neglect; to be unwilling to do
Synonyms: evade, dodge, avoid, get out of, sidestep, shrink from, shun, skip
Example: It’s always difficult to collaborate with a teammate who has a habit of shirking his or her responsibilities.
IDIOSYNCRASY ± (ˌidēəˈsiNGkrəsē) – n. a distinctive or peculiar feature or characteristic of a place or thing; a mode of behavior or way of thought peculiar to an individual
Synonyms: peculiarity, oddity, eccentricity, mannerism, trait, singularity, quirk
Example: Mary had endured unusual experiences in her life, which evolved into idiosyncrasies that inspired profound creativity in her writing.
TUMULT ☹ (ˈt(y)o͞oˌməlt) – n. a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people; confusion or disorder
Synonyms: clamor, din, racket, commotion, ruckus, maelstrom, rumpus, pandemonium; havoc, turmoil, disorder, chaos, mayhem
Example: After the planes crashed into the Twin Towers on 9/11, the streets of Lower Manhattan were filled with panic and tumult.
AMELIORATE ☺ (əˈmēlyəˌrāt) – v. to make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better
Synonyms: improve, enhance, help, amend, boost, benefit
Example: If you study hard and earn an excellent score on the Unit 11 Vocabulary Test, you will ameliorate your average score and improve your grade for the quarter.
RETINUE ± (ˈretnˌ(y)o͞o) – n. a group of advisers, assistants, or others accompanying an important person
Synonyms: entourage, escort, company, court, staff, personnel
Example: Many monarchs and dignitaries travel with an extensive retinue creating a traffic nightmare as they travel through congested urban areas.
RATIOCINATE ± (ratēˈōsənāt) – v. to form judgments by a process of logic; to reason
Synonyms: reason, think logically, conclude, cogitate
Example: Paradoxes force us to ratiocinate as we attempt to discover a deeper meaning.
TRUNCATE ± (ˈtrəNGˌkāt) – v. to shorten by cutting off the top or the end
Synonyms: curtail, abbreviate, condense, reduce, prune
Example: The power company sends out crews during the warmer months to truncate every tree that might interfere with the power lines during a winter storm. Even though their work is necessary, it always makes me sad to see a beautiful tree awkwardly shaped by the hand of the power company.
RELINQUISH ± (rəˈliNGkwiSH) – v. to voluntarily cease to keep or claim; to give up
Synonyms: release, renounce, forswear, forego, quit, waive
Example: Historically, many royals relinquished their claims to the throne in order to marry commoners.
COGITATE ± (ˌkäjəˈtāt) – v. to reflect upon; to turn over in one’s mind; to consider carefully and deeply
Synonyms: ruminate, contemplate, ponder, muse, meditate, speculate
Example: After the jury delivered a verdict of “guilty”, the judge required privacy to allow him the opportunity to cogitate about the kind of sentence he should pass.
DUBIOUS ☹ (ˈd(y)o͞obēəs) – adj. fraught with uncertainty or doubt; not convinced; lacking conviction; morally suspect or of questionable value
Synonyms: doubtful, dubitable, unconvinced; suspicious, untrustworthy, unreliable
Example: In spite of her dubious ancestry, the con artist continued to claim her parents were of noble birth.
REPREHENSIBLE ☹ (ˌreprəˈhensəb(ə)l) – adj. deserving censure or condemnation
Synonyms: deplorable, disgraceful, discreditable, despicable, blameworthy, culpable, vicious, criminal
Example: Texting while driving is a reprehensible habit that endangers everyone on the road.
INDOLENCE ☹ (ˈindələns) – n. inactivity resulting from a dislike of work; avoidance of activity or exertion
Synonyms: laziness, idleness, sloth, shiftlessness, lethargy, languor, torpidity, languidness, torpor
Example: “Contentment is, after all, simply refined indolence.” (Thomas Chandler Haliburton)
FECUND ☺ (ˈfe-kənd) – adj. fruitful in offspring or vegetation; intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree
Synonyms: prolific, fertile
Antonym: barren
Example: Most employers are looking for fecund individuals who can successfully complete multiple tasks with little supervision.
CRYPTIC ☹ (ˈkriptik) – adj. of an obscure nature; having a secret or hidden meaning; expressing much in few words; having a puzzling terseness
Synonyms: inscrutable, mysterious, cabalistic, enigmatic, puzzling, abstruse
Example: I am occasionally mystified by the cryptic handwriting I discover while reading a student’s essay.
SYCOPHANT ☹ (ˈsikəˌfant, ˈsi-kə-fənt) – n. a servile, self-seeking flatterer; a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage
Synonyms: yes-man, bootlicker, brown-noser, toady, flatterer, flunky, lackey
Example: While it helps to be a sycophant if you want to excel in politics, you can also go far simply by being straightforward with people.
TACITURN ± (ˈtasəˌtərn) – adj. (of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.
Synonyms: reticent, quiet, secretive, tight-lipped, silent, mute, inarticulate, reserved, withdrawn
Example: Many students who are taciturn when they enter my classroom at the beginning of their sophomore year become very chatty by the time they leave MVGS.
BANAL ☹ (bə-ˈnal, ba-, -ˈnäl;bā-ˈnal) – adj. repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse; lacking originality, freshness, or novelty
Synonyms: commonplace, timeworn, trite, cliché, hackneyed
Example: An excellent writer avoids the use of banal expressions when composing an academic essay.
FALLACIOUS ☹ (fəˈlāSHəs) – adj. tending to deceive or mislead; based on mistaken belief
Synonyms: fraudulent, deceitful, incorrect, erroneous, inaccurate, mistaken, misguided
Example: Social media is dominated by fallacious assertions that far too many gullible readers believe.
