english vocab

Nadir (n.) the lowest point of something (My day was boring, but the nadir came when I accidentally spilled a bowl of spaghetti on my head.)

Nascent (adj.) in the process of being born or coming into existence (Unfortunately, my brilliant paper was only in its nascent form on the morning that it was due.)

Nefarious (adj.) heinously villainous (Although Dr. Meanman’s nefarious plot to melt the polar icecaps was terrifying, it was so impractical that nobody really worried about it.)

Obfuscate (v.) to render incomprehensible (The detective did want to answer the newspaperman’s questions, so he obfuscated the truth.)

Obsequious (adj.) excessively compliant or submissive (Mark acted like Janet’s servant, obeying her every request in an obsequious manner.)

Onerous (adj.) burdensome (My parents lamented that the pleasures of living in a beautiful country estate no longer outweighed the onerous mortgage payments.)

Panacea (n.) a remedy for all ills or difficulties (Doctors wish there was a single panacea for every disease, but sadly there is not.)

Pariah (n.) an outcast (Following the discovery of his plagiarism, Professor Hurley was made a pariah in all academic circles.)

Penitent (adj.) remorseful, regretful (The jury’s verdict may have been more lenient if the criminal had appeared penitent for his gruesome crimes.)

Perfunctory (adj.) showing little interest or enthusiasm (The radio broadcaster announced the news of the massacre in a surprisingly perfunctory manner.)

Pillage (v.) to seize or plunder, especially in war (Invading enemy soldiers pillaged the homes scattered along the country’s border.)

Propensity (n.) an inclination, preference (Dermit has a propensity for dangerous activities such as bungee jumping.)

Quagmire (n.) a difficult situation (We’d all like to avoid the kind of military quagmire characterized by the Vietnam War.)

Rail (v.) to scold, protest (The professor railed against the injustice of the college’s tenure policy.)

Rapport (n.) mutual understanding and harmony (When Margaret met her paramour, they felt an instant rapport.)

Raze (v.) to demolish, level (The old tenement house was razed to make room for the large chain store.)

Rectitude (n.) uprightness, extreme morality (The priest’s rectitude gave him the moral authority to counsel his parishioners.)

Respite (n.) a break, rest (Justin left the pub to gain a brief respite from the smoke and noise.)

Saccharine (adj.) sickeningly sweet (Tom’s saccharine manner, although intended to make him popular, actually repelled his classmates.)

Salient (adj.) significant, conspicuous (One of the salient differences between Alison and Nancy is that Alison is a foot taller.)

Seminal (adj.) original, important, creating a field (Stephen Greenblatt’s essays on Shakespeare proved to be seminal, because they initiated the critical school of New Historicism.)

Solicitous (adj.) concerned, attentive (Jim, laid up in bed with a nasty virus, enjoyed the solicitous attentions of his mother, who brought him soup and extra blankets.)

Sycophant (n.) one who flatters for self-gain (Some see the people in the cabinet as the president’s closest advisors, but others see them as sycophants.)

Tacit (adj.) expressed without words (I interpreted my parents’ refusal to talk as a tacit acceptance of my request.)

Trite (adj.) not original, overused (Keith thought of himself as being very learned, but everyone else thought he was trite because his observations about the world were always the same as David Letterman’s.)

Ubiquitous (adj.) existing everywhere, widespread (It seems that everyone in the United States has a television. The technology is ubiquitous here.)

Vestige (n.) a mark or trace of something lost or vanished (Do you know if the Mexican tortilla is a vestige of some form of Aztec corn-based flat bread?)

Vex (v.) to confuse or annoy (My little brother vexes me by poking me in the ribs for hours on end.)

Vacillate (v.) to fluctuate, hesitate (I prefer a definite answer, but my boss kept vacillating between the distinct options available to us.)

Wizened (adj.) dry, shrunken, wrinkled (Agatha’s grandmother, Stephanie, had the most wizened countenance, full of leathery wrinkles.)

Yoke (v.) to join, link (We yoked together the logs by tying a string around them.)

Zenith (n.) the highest point, culminating point (I was too nice to tell Nelly that she had reached the absolute zenith of her career with that one hit of hers.)