Unit 9 Vocab
ACUMEN ☺ ± (əˈkjuː.mən) – n. shrewdness shown by keen insight; skill in making correct decisions and judgments in a particular subject, such as business or politics
Synonyms: awareness, cleverness, acuity, discernment, sagacity
Example: The Virginia Department of Transportation needs leadership with not only a vision for a more efficient infrastructure, but also the political acumen to affect long-overdue improvements.
INIMITABLE ☺ (iˈnimədəb(ə)l) – adj. defying imitation; matchless; so good or unusual as to be impossible to reproduce or duplicate
Synonyms: unique, distinctive, idiosyncratic, quirky, rare
Example: Antonio Brown once thought his inimitable talents would ensure his position with the Pittsburgh Steelers forever. Unfortunately, his ego exceeded the perceived value of his talent.
OBDURATE ☹ (ˈäbd(y)ərət) – adj. stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action; stubbornly persisting in wrongdoing; showing unfeeling resistance to tender feelings
Synonyms: unrepentant, obstinate, intractable, intransigent; granitic, stony, flinty
Example: I perhaps sound like an obdurate woman lacking the maternal instincts worthy of such a precious gift as a child, but nothing could be further from the truth.
CAPRICIOUS ☹ (kəˈpriSHəs,kəˈprēSHəs) – adj. given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior; determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason
Synonyms: impulsive, whimsical, fickle, mercurial, volatile, erratic, vacillating
Example: The true gods are fickle and capricious and care little for the affairs of men.
PERSPICUOUS ☺ (pər-ˈspi-kyə-wəs) – adj. (of language) transparently clear, easily understandable
Synonyms: lucid, limpid, manifest, unambiguous, unequivocal, evident
Example: Word choice is important in every genre of writing to create perspicuous prose that clearly communicate even the most complex ideas.
HUBRIS ☹ (ˈ(h)yo͞obrəs) – n. excessive pride or self-confidence; overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors
Synonyms: arrogance, haughtiness, vanity, conceit, pomposity, superciliousness
Example: Many politicians are so inflated by their own hubris they can no longer empathize with their constituents.
CIRCUMLOCUTION ☹ (ˌsərkəmˌləˈkyo͞oSH(ə)n) – n. the use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive
Synonyms: tautology, verbosity, wordiness, superfluity, periphrasis
Example: The Navajo language is complex, and through circumlocution the Code Talkers made it even more so.
INSIPID ☹ (inˈsipid) – adj. lacking flavor; lacking vigor, significance, or impact
Synonyms: flavorless, bland; vapid, boring, dull, anemic
Example: The main storylines follow his turbulent, yet pathetic, attempts to escape from his own chronically insipid persona.
STRIDENT ☹ (ˈstrīdnt) – adj. unpleasantly loud and harsh; being sharply insistent on being heard
Synonyms: shrill, raucous, ear-piercing, screeching; clamorous, vociferous
Example: Dissonance is a common tonal quality of 20th century classical music that sometimes sounds strident until the musical blend resolves into a combination more palatable to the human ear.
RECONDITE ± (ˈrekənˌdīt,rəˈkänˌdīt) – adj. incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge
Synonyms: deep, abstruse, obscure, arcane, esoteric, profound, cryptic, complex
Example: She metamorphosed into a highly intelligent woman who engaged the General on recondite matters of French history and culture.
OSTENTATIOUS ☹ (ˌästənˈtāSHəs) – adj. characterized by vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress or attract notice
Synonyms: pretentious, flamboyant, gaudy, obtrusive, overelaborate
Example: The book was needlessly massive and it came in a choice of eight ostentatious satin covers.
PENURY ☹ (ˈpenyərē) – n. extreme poverty; destitution
Synonyms: indigence, deprivation, pauperism, beggary, bankruptcy, insolvency, ruin
Example: During the Great Depression following the stock market crash of 1929, many previously affluent Americans were reduced to penury and even starvation.
CHURLISH ☹ (ˈCHərliSH) – adj. rude in a mean-spirited way; lacking charm and good taste; having an irritable and unpleasant disposition
Synonyms: ungracious, ill-natured, rude, boorish, impolite, discourteous, ungallant
Example: Ebenezer Scrooge is a churlish, old miser who evolves into a charming and generous man by the end of the story.
SOLEMNITY ☺ (səˈlemnədē) – n. the state or quality of sedateness; a formal, dignified rite of ceremony
Synonyms: dignity, gravity, staidness, magnificence; ceremony, ritual, festivity
Example: With solemnity, the jury foreman stated the verdict.
LUGUBRIOUS ☹ (ləˈɡ(y)o͞obrēəs) – adj. looking or sounding sad and dismal; excessively mournful
Synonyms: sorrowful, mournful, gloomy despondent, Eeyorish, melancholic
Example: It’s embarrassing when someone is so naturally lugubrious that they find it impossible to ever laugh at your jokes, assuming your jokes are actually funny.
BAIZE ± (bāz) – n. a coarse, typically green woolen material resembling felt, used for covering billiard and card tables.
Synonyms: cloth, textile, fabric, felt
Example: A train roared by the pool hall just as Floyd took his shot, and he not only missed the ball he tore a nasty hole in the baize on a brand new pool table.
IMPORTUNATE ☹ (imˈpôrCHənət) – adj. persistent, especially to the point of annoyance or intrusion; begging, demanding in an annoying way
Synonyms: dogged, tenacious, unrelenting, indefatigable, insistent, beseeching, imploring
Example: The importunate woman must have called the server to her table at least ten times in a ten-minute period.
OBSEQUIOUS ± (əbˈsēkwēəs) – adj. attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery; obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.
Synonyms: sycophantic, fawning, unctuous, ingratiating, groveling, servile
Example: An excellent waiter is one who is obsequious and caters to a guest’s every need.
FEIGN ☹ (fān) – v. pretend to be affected by; make believe with the intent to deceive
Synonyms: dissemble, sham, fake, simulate, make a show of
Example: I understand some of your impractical jokes, but to feign your own death on April Fool’s Day is a little over the top.
COLLOQUIAL ± (kəˈlōkwēəl) – adj. (of language) used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary
Synonyms: informal, conversational, casual, nonliterary
Example: The author makes use of colloquial speech to highlight the differences in upbringing between the novel’s hero and heroine.
ACUMEN ☺ ± (əˈkjuː.mən) – n. shrewdness shown by keen insight; skill in making correct decisions and judgments in a particular subject, such as business or politics
Synonyms: awareness, cleverness, acuity, discernment, sagacity
Example: The Virginia Department of Transportation needs leadership with not only a vision for a more efficient infrastructure, but also the political acumen to affect long-overdue improvements.
INIMITABLE ☺ (iˈnimədəb(ə)l) – adj. defying imitation; matchless; so good or unusual as to be impossible to reproduce or duplicate
Synonyms: unique, distinctive, idiosyncratic, quirky, rare
Example: Antonio Brown once thought his inimitable talents would ensure his position with the Pittsburgh Steelers forever. Unfortunately, his ego exceeded the perceived value of his talent.
OBDURATE ☹ (ˈäbd(y)ərət) – adj. stubbornly refusing to change one’s opinion or course of action; stubbornly persisting in wrongdoing; showing unfeeling resistance to tender feelings
Synonyms: unrepentant, obstinate, intractable, intransigent; granitic, stony, flinty
Example: I perhaps sound like an obdurate woman lacking the maternal instincts worthy of such a precious gift as a child, but nothing could be further from the truth.
CAPRICIOUS ☹ (kəˈpriSHəs,kəˈprēSHəs) – adj. given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior; determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason
Synonyms: impulsive, whimsical, fickle, mercurial, volatile, erratic, vacillating
Example: The true gods are fickle and capricious and care little for the affairs of men.
PERSPICUOUS ☺ (pər-ˈspi-kyə-wəs) – adj. (of language) transparently clear, easily understandable
Synonyms: lucid, limpid, manifest, unambiguous, unequivocal, evident
Example: Word choice is important in every genre of writing to create perspicuous prose that clearly communicate even the most complex ideas.
HUBRIS ☹ (ˈ(h)yo͞obrəs) – n. excessive pride or self-confidence; overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors
Synonyms: arrogance, haughtiness, vanity, conceit, pomposity, superciliousness
Example: Many politicians are so inflated by their own hubris they can no longer empathize with their constituents.
CIRCUMLOCUTION ☹ (ˌsərkəmˌləˈkyo͞oSH(ə)n) – n. the use of many words where fewer would do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive
Synonyms: tautology, verbosity, wordiness, superfluity, periphrasis
Example: The Navajo language is complex, and through circumlocution the Code Talkers made it even more so.
INSIPID ☹ (inˈsipid) – adj. lacking flavor; lacking vigor, significance, or impact
Synonyms: flavorless, bland; vapid, boring, dull, anemic
Example: The main storylines follow his turbulent, yet pathetic, attempts to escape from his own chronically insipid persona.
STRIDENT ☹ (ˈstrīdnt) – adj. unpleasantly loud and harsh; being sharply insistent on being heard
Synonyms: shrill, raucous, ear-piercing, screeching; clamorous, vociferous
Example: Dissonance is a common tonal quality of 20th century classical music that sometimes sounds strident until the musical blend resolves into a combination more palatable to the human ear.
RECONDITE ± (ˈrekənˌdīt,rəˈkänˌdīt) – adj. incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge
Synonyms: deep, abstruse, obscure, arcane, esoteric, profound, cryptic, complex
Example: She metamorphosed into a highly intelligent woman who engaged the General on recondite matters of French history and culture.
OSTENTATIOUS ☹ (ˌästənˈtāSHəs) – adj. characterized by vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress or attract notice
Synonyms: pretentious, flamboyant, gaudy, obtrusive, overelaborate
Example: The book was needlessly massive and it came in a choice of eight ostentatious satin covers.
PENURY ☹ (ˈpenyərē) – n. extreme poverty; destitution
Synonyms: indigence, deprivation, pauperism, beggary, bankruptcy, insolvency, ruin
Example: During the Great Depression following the stock market crash of 1929, many previously affluent Americans were reduced to penury and even starvation.
CHURLISH ☹ (ˈCHərliSH) – adj. rude in a mean-spirited way; lacking charm and good taste; having an irritable and unpleasant disposition
Synonyms: ungracious, ill-natured, rude, boorish, impolite, discourteous, ungallant
Example: Ebenezer Scrooge is a churlish, old miser who evolves into a charming and generous man by the end of the story.
SOLEMNITY ☺ (səˈlemnədē) – n. the state or quality of sedateness; a formal, dignified rite of ceremony
Synonyms: dignity, gravity, staidness, magnificence; ceremony, ritual, festivity
Example: With solemnity, the jury foreman stated the verdict.
LUGUBRIOUS ☹ (ləˈɡ(y)o͞obrēəs) – adj. looking or sounding sad and dismal; excessively mournful
Synonyms: sorrowful, mournful, gloomy despondent, Eeyorish, melancholic
Example: It’s embarrassing when someone is so naturally lugubrious that they find it impossible to ever laugh at your jokes, assuming your jokes are actually funny.
BAIZE ± (bāz) – n. a coarse, typically green woolen material resembling felt, used for covering billiard and card tables.
Synonyms: cloth, textile, fabric, felt
Example: A train roared by the pool hall just as Floyd took his shot, and he not only missed the ball he tore a nasty hole in the baize on a brand new pool table.
IMPORTUNATE ☹ (imˈpôrCHənət) – adj. persistent, especially to the point of annoyance or intrusion; begging, demanding in an annoying way
Synonyms: dogged, tenacious, unrelenting, indefatigable, insistent, beseeching, imploring
Example: The importunate woman must have called the server to her table at least ten times in a ten-minute period.
OBSEQUIOUS ± (əbˈsēkwēəs) – adj. attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery; obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.
Synonyms: sycophantic, fawning, unctuous, ingratiating, groveling, servile
Example: An excellent waiter is one who is obsequious and caters to a guest’s every need.
FEIGN ☹ (fān) – v. pretend to be affected by; make believe with the intent to deceive
Synonyms: dissemble, sham, fake, simulate, make a show of
Example: I understand some of your impractical jokes, but to feign your own death on April Fool’s Day is a little over the top.
COLLOQUIAL ± (kəˈlōkwēəl) – adj. (of language) used in ordinary or familiar conversation; not formal or literary
Synonyms: informal, conversational, casual, nonliterary
Example: The author makes use of colloquial speech to highlight the differences in upbringing between the novel’s hero and heroine.
