Vocab Unit 1

1. Anecdote n. -a short personal story 

2. Anemic adj. -weak or sickly looking 

3. Camaraderie n. -a sense of closeness, friendship, unity, and trust within a group 

4. Dearth n. -a lack or deficiency 

5. Debacle n. -a failure, disaster or defeat often associated with humiliation Ex: The campaign turned into a debacle fraught with accusations of scandal. 

6. Eloquent adj. -verbal expression that is effective and well styled 

7. Elucidate v. -to explain clearly 

8. Fray v. -to wear down to threads literally or metaphorically 

9. Frieze n. -a decorative band on a wall often near the ceiling. On classical buildings it was often covered with sculptures or other decorations. 

10. Incubus n. -anything that causes extreme worry or distress, typically an obsession or nightmare -in medieval times the word referred to a distinctively male demon 

11. Indecorous adj. -rude, shocking, or socially unacceptable 

12. Littoral adj. -on or near the shore, may specifically refer to the region between the high and low tide marks 

13. Liturgy n. -the events, activities, form, or order of a public religious ceremony or worship event 

14. Obfuscate v. -to make obscure or confusing 

15. Obliterate v. -to utterly destroy or erase without trace 

16. Postulate v. -to suggest an argument or theory; to make a claim often based on an assumption and relatively esoteric. 

17. Pragmatic adj. -concerned or devoted to practical results more than theories and principles 

18. Resolve v. -to solidify a decision -to find a solution 

19. Respite n. -a brief interval of rest or a delay

20. Subpoena n. -a written legal order requiring the appearance of a person or the submission of evidence to some authority.