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english vocab
thanks mr broadway.
177
English
11th Grade
02/21/2010

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Cards

Term
uncanny
Definition
adj. of supernatural character or origin. Sharon had an uncanny ability to know exactly what other people were thinking.
Term
adumbrate
Definition
verb. to sketch out in a vague way. The couch adumbrated a game plan, but none of the players knew precisely what to do.
Term
impregnable
Definition
adj. resistant to capture or penetration. Though the invaders used battering rams, catapults, and rain dances, the fortress proved impregnable and relled all attacks.
Term
altercation
Definition
noun. a dispute fight. Jason and Lionel blamed each other for the car accident, leading to an altercation.
Term
intractable
Definition
adj. difficult to manipulate, obstinate. The intractable dog did not listen to his master.
Term
restive
Definition
adj. resistant, stubborn, impatient. The restive audience pelted the band with mud and yelled nasty comments.
Term
atypical
Definition
adj. not typical, unusual. Screaming and crying is atypical adult behavior.
Term
panacea
Definition
noun. a remedy for all ills or difficulties. If there were a panacea for every disease, we wouldn't need doctors
Term
arrogate
Definition
verb. to take without justification. The king arrogated the right to exclusively order executions.
Term
licentious
Definition
adj. displaying a lack of moral or legal restraint. Marilee has always been fascinated by the licentious private lives of politicians
Term
parody
Definition
noun. a satirical imitation. A hush fell over the classroom when the teacher returned to find Deborah acting out a parody of his teaching style.
Term
serendipity
Definition
noun. luck, finding good things without looking for them. In an amazing bit of serendipity, penniless Paula found a 20 bill in the subway station.
Term
turpitude
Definition
noun. Depravity, moral corruption. Sir Marcus's chivalry often contrasted with the turpitude he exhibited with the ladies at the tavern.
Term
ebullient
Definition
adj. extremely lively, enthusiastic. Elizabeth became ebullient upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first-choice college.
Term
forestall
Definition
verb. to prevent thwart, delay. I forestalled the cold I was getting by taking plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.
Term
penurious
Definition
adj. miserly, stingy. Stella complained that her husband's penurious ways made it impossible to live the lifestyle she felt she deserved.
Term
salutation
Definition
n. A greeting. Andrew regularly began letters with the bizarre salutation "ahoy ahoy"
Term
turgid
Definition
adj. swollen, excessively embellished in style or language. The haughty writer did not realize how we all really felt about her turgid prose.
Term
confound
Definition
verb. to frustrate, confuse. MacGuyver confounded the policemen pursuing him by covering his tracks.
Term
aerial
Definition
adj. somehow related to the air. We watched as the fighter plans conducted aerial maneuvers.
Term
venerate
Definition
verb. to regard with respect; to honor. The tribute to John Lennon sought to venerate his music, his words, and his legend.
Term
hackneyed
Definition
adj. unoriginal, trite. A girl can only hear i love you so many times before it begins to sound hackneyed and meaningless.
Term
despondent
Definition
adj. feeling depressed, discouraged, hopeless. Having failed the first math test, the despondent child saw no use in studying for the next and consequently failed that one too.
Term
assess
Definition
verb. to evaluate. A crew arrived to assess the damage after the crash.
Term
disrepute
Definition
noun. a state of being held in low regard. The officer fell into disrepute after everyone learned that he had disobeyed his own orders.
Term
amorphous
Definition
adj. Without definite shape or type
Term
cobbler
Definition
noun. a person who makes or repairs shoes. I had my neighborhood cobbler replace worn-out leather soles with new ones.
Term
dilatory
Definition
adj. tending to delay, causing delay. The general's dilatory strategy enabled the enemy to regroup
Term
debunk
Definition
verb. to expose the falseness of something. He debunked her claim to be the world's greatest chess player by defeating her in 18 consecutive matches.
Term
judicious
Definition
adj. having or exercising sound judgement. When the judicious kind decided to comprimise rather than send his army to certain death, he was applauded.
Term
noisome
Definition
adj. unpleasant, offensive, especially to the sense of smell. Nobody would enter the stalls until the horse's noisome leavings were taken away.
Term
disclose
Definition
v. to reveal, make public. The CEO disclosed to the press that the company would have to fire several employees.
Term
orthodox
Definition
adj conventional, conforming to established protocol. The company's profits dwindled because the management pursued orthodox business policies.
Term
swarthy
Definition
adj. of dark color or complexion. When he got drunk, Robinson's white skin became rather swarthy.
Term
vicissitude
Definition
n. event that occurs by chance. The vicissitudes of daily life prevent me from predicting what might happen from one day to the next.
Term
strident
Definition
adj. harsh, loud
A strident man, Captain Vn trapp yelled at his daughter and made her cry.
Term
mercurial
Definition
adj characterized by rapid change or fluctuating temperament.
Term
conflagration
Definition
n. great fire
Term
quotidian
Definition
adj. Arohi's quotidian routine includes drinking two cups of coffee in the morning.
Term
utilitarian
Definition
adj. relating to or aiming at usefulness.
This beautiful, fragile case couldn't hold flowers or serve any other utilitarian purpose.
Term
discordant
Definition
adj not agreeing, not in harmony with. The girls' sobs were discordant sound amid the general laughter that filled the restaurant
Term
allege
Definition
v. to assert, usually without proof. The policement alleged that Marshall committed the crime, but after the investigation turned up no evidence, Marshal was set free.
Term
impassive
Definition
adj. stoic not susceptible to suffering. Stop being so impassive it's healthy to cry every now and then.
Term
presumptuous
Definition
adj. disrespectfully bold. The princess grew angry after the presumptuous noble tried to kiss her
Term
solipsistic
Definition
adj. Believing that oneself is all that exists. Colette's solipsistic attitude completely ignored the plight of the homeless people on the street.
Term
accolade
Definition
n. high praise, special distinction. Everyone offered accolades to Sam after he wont the Noble Prize.
Term
enthrall
Definition
v. to charm, hold spellboudn. The sailor's stories of fighting off sharks and finding ancient treasures enthralled his young son
Term
increment
Definition
noun. an enlargement the process of increasing. The workmen made the walll longer, increment by increment.
Term
resilient
Definition
adj. able to recover from misfortune, able to withstand adversity.
Term
dirge
Definition
noun. A mournful song, especially for a funderal. The bagpipers played a dirge as the casket was carried to the cemetery
Term
nondescript
Definition
adj lacking distinctive character. I was surprised when i saw the movie star in person, because she looked nondescript
Term
renovate
Definition
verb. restore, return to original state. the renovated antique candleabra looked as good as new
Term
benevolent
Definition
adj. marked by goodness. Police officers should be commended for their benevolent service to the community
Term
benevolent
Definition
adj. marked by goodness. Police officers should be commended for their benevolent service to the community
Term
affinity
Definition
n. natural feeling of closeness. Jerry didnt know why, but he felt an incredible affinity for kramer the first time they met
Term
neophyte
Definition
noun. someone who is young or inexperienced. as a neophyte in the literary world, malik had trouble finding a publisher for his first novel.
Term
rhapsodize
Definition
verb to engage in excessive enthusiasm. the critic rhapsodized about the movie, calling it an instant classic
Term
fractious
Definition
adj. troublesome or irritable. although the child insisted he wasn't tired, his fractious behavior-especially his deccision to throw a tantrum-convinced everyone that it was hid bedtime
Term
officious
Definition
adj offering one's services when they are neither wanted nor needed. Nikki resented allan's officious behavior when he selected colors that he thought might best improve her artwork.
Term
abridge
Definition
verb. to cut down, shorten. the publisher thought the ditionary was too long and abridged it
Term
pallid
Definition
adj. lacking color. Dr. van Heising feared that lucy's pallid complexion was due to an unxeplained loss of blood
Term
resolute
Definition
adj. firm determined. With a resolute glint in her eye, catherine announced that she was set on going to college in nyc even though she was a little frightened of tall buildings.
Term
deter
Definition
verb to discourage, prevent from doing. Bob's description of scary snakes couldnt deter marcia from traveling in the rainforests.
Term
incendiary
Definition
noun a person who agitates. If we catch the incendiary who screamed bomb in the middle of the soccer match, we are going to put him in jail
Term
fastidious
Definition
adj. meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards. mark is so fastidious about grammar that he constantly corrects his friends's english
Term
collateral
Definition
adj. secondary or supporting. divorcing my wife had the collateral effect of making me poor as she was the only one of us with a job or money
Term
erudite
Definition
adj learned. My latin teacher is such an erudite scholar that she has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse ancient poetry.
Term
rancor
Definition
n deep bitter resentment. when elleen challenged me to a fight, i could see the rancor in her eyes.
Term
tirade
Definition
noun a long speech marked by harsh or biting language. every time jessica was late, her boyfriend went into a long tirade about punctuality
Term
vindicate
Definition
v. to avenge, to free from allegation, to set free. the attorney had no chance of cindicating the defendant, given all of the strong evidence presented by the sate.
Term
propagate
Definition
v. multiply, spread out. rumors of paul snartneys demise propagated like wildfire throughout the world.
Term
petulance
Definition
noun rudeness, irritability. the nanny resigned after she could no longer tolerate the child's petulance
Term
rectitude
Definition
noun. uprightness, extreme morality. The priest's rectitude gave him the moral authority to counsel his parishioneers
Term
scurrilous
Definition
adj vulgar. coarse. When bruno heard the scurrilous accusation being made against him, he could not believe it he had always tried to be nice to everyone.
Term
intrepid
Definition
adj brave in the face of danger. After scaling a live volcano prior to its eruption the explorer was praised for his intrepid attitude.
Term
inexorable
Definition
adj incapable of being persuaded or placated. Although i begged for hours, mom was inexorable and refused to let me stay out all night after the prom
Term
renunciation
Definition
n rejection, especially by public announcement. Fiona's renunciation of red meat resulted in weight loss but confused those people who thought she'd been a vegetarian for years.
Term
chide
Definition
v. to voice disapproval. Sarah chided sam for his vulgar habits and sloppy appearance
Term
myriad
Definition
adj consisting of a very great number. it was difficult to decide what to do friday night because the city presented us with myriad possibilities for fun
Term
subjugate
Definition
verb to bring under control, subdue. The invading force captured and subjugated the natives of that place.
Term
dissipate
Definition
v. to dissapear cause to dissappear. The sun finally came out dissipated the haze. v to waste. she dissipated her fortune on a series of bad investments.
Term
trite
Definition
adj. not originial, overused. althought keith thought of himself as quite learned, everyone else thought he was trite, because his observations about the cworld were always the same as david lettermans.
Term
abscond
Definition
verb to sneak away hide. in the confusion the super-spy absconded into the night with the secret plans
Term
irridescent
Definition
adj. showing rainbow colors. the socialties large diamond ring was iridescent in the afternoon sun
Term
trepidation
Definition
n frear apprehension. with great trepidation, anya entered the boss's office for an annual performance review
Term
amiable
Definition
adj friendly, an amiable fellow harry got along with just about everyone
Term
eminent
Definition
adj. distinguished, prominent, famous. mr jones is such an eminent scholar taht every professor on campus has come to hear him lecture. adj conspicuous the re is an eminent stain on that shirt
Term
sycophant
Definition
n. one who flatters for self gain. some see the cabinet as the presiden'ts closes advisors, but others see them as sycophants
Term
promulgate
Definition
v. to proclaim, make known. The film professor promulgated the idea that sean connery's james bond was suprerior to roger moors in terms of both sexual appeal and acting ability
Term
abjure
Definition
to oreject renounce. to prove his honesty, the president abjured the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.
Term
ingenious
Definition
adj. clever, resourceful. her ingenious use of walnuts, rather than the peanuts called for by the recipe was lauded by the other garden club members who found her cake delicious
Term
exacerbate
Definition
v. to make more violent or intense. the gruesom and scary movie i saw last night exacerbated my fear of the dark
Term
penitent
Definition
adj. remorseful, regretful. had the criminal appeared penitent for his gruesome crimes, the jurys' verdict might have been more lenient
Term
veneer
Definition
n. a superficial or deceptively attractive appearance facade. thanks to her flawless makeup, shannen was able to maintain a veneer of perfection that hid behind the blemishes underneath
Term
vex
Definition
v. to confuse or annoy. my litlte brother vexes me by poking me in the ribs for hours on end.
Term
reputable
Definition
adj. of good reputation. after the most reputable critic in the industry gave the novel a glowing review sales took off
Term
fervent
Definition
adj ardent passionate the fervent protestors chained themselves to the building and shouted all night long.
Term
sanctimonious
Definition
adj. giving a hypocritical appearance of piety. the sanctimonious bertrand delivered stern lectures to anyone who would listen, but thought of nothing of stealing cars.
Term
wily
Definition
adj crafty. sly. Thought they were not the strongest of the thundercats, wily kit and kat were definately the clverest and full of the most tricks.
Term
acquiesce
Definition
v. to agree without protesting. Mr. peters wanted to stay outside and work on his hot rod, but he nevertheless acquiesced to his wife's demands and went inside to watch entertainment tonight.
Term
denounce
Definition
v. to criticize publicly. The senator denounced her opponent as a greedy politician
Term
inure
Definition
v. to cause someone or something to become accustomed to a situation. twenty years in the salt mines inured the man to the discomforts of dirt and grime
Term
cordial
Definition
adj. warm, affectionate. His cordial greeting melted my anger at once.
Term
transgress
Definition
v. to violate, go over the limit. The monster's actions transgressed morality and human decency.
Term
viscous
Definition
adj. not free flowing. thick. The viscous syrup took three minutes to pour out of the bottle
Term
compound
Definition
verb. to combine parts. my enjoyment of the meal was compounded by the arrival of a cherry pie and two cupcakes
Term
animated
Definition
adj. lively. when he begins to talk about the drama, his true passion he becomes animated
Term
nominal
Definition
adj. trifiling insignificant. Because he was moving the following week and needed to get rid of his furniture, jordan sold everything for a nominal fee
Term
repentant
Definition
adj. penitent, sorry. the repentant dennis apologized profusely for breaking his mother's prized figurine
Term
stoic
Definition
adj. unaffected by passion or feeling. penelope's faithfulness to odysseus required that she be stoic and put off her many suitors
Term
exasperate
Definition
v. to irritate irk. George's endless compalints exasperated his roomate
Term
annul
Definition
v. to make void or invalid. afte rseeing its unforeseen and catastrophic effects. congress south to annul the law
Term
malediction
Definition
n. a curse. when i was arrested for speeding i screamed maledicitons at the policemen
Term
undulate
Definition
v. to move in waves. as the storm began to brew, the placid ocean began to undulate furiously
Term
engender
Definition
v. to bring about create, generate. During the olympics, the victories of us athletes engender a patriotic spirit among americans.
Term
undulate
Definition
v. to move in waves. as the storm began to brew, the placid ocean began to undulate furiously
Term
engender
Definition
v to bring about, create, generate. During the olympics, the victories of US athletes engender a patriotic spirit among americans.
Term
linchpin
Definition
n. something that holds separate parts together. The linchpin in the prosecution's case was a hair from the defendant's head, which was found at the scene of the crime.
Term
repose
Definition
v. to rest, lie dow. The cat after eating an entire can of tuna fish, reposed in the sun and took a nap
Term
acclaim
Definition
n high praise. Greg's excellent poem won the acclaim of his friends.
Term
congeal
Definition
v. to thicken into a solid. The sauce had congealed into a thick past.
Term
ascribe
Definition
v. to assign, credit, attribute to. Some scholars ascribe the invention of fireworks and dynamite to the chinese,
Term
notorious
Definition
adj. widely and unfavorably known. Jacob was notorious for always arriving late at parties
Term
repulse
Definition
v. to disgust. Antisocial Annie tried to repulse people by neglecting to brush her teeth.
Term
verdant
Definition
adj. green in tint or color. The verdant leaves on the trees made the world look emerald
Term
antecedant
Definition
n. something that came before. The great tradition of WEstern culture has its antecedent in the culture of ancient greece
Term
dissemble
Definition
v. to conceal, fake. Not wanting to appeare greedy, she dissembled her intention to sell her ailing father's stamp collection
Term
bias
Definition
n. A tendency, inclination, prejudice. The judge's hidden bias against smokers led him to make an unfair decision
Term
accessible
Definition
adj. obtainable, reachable. AFter using Sparknotes and getting a great score on the SAT, Sandy happilyl realized that her goal of getting into an Ivy League college was accessible
Term
litigant
Definition
noun. someone engaged in a lawsuit. When the litigants began screaming at one another, judge koch ordered them to be silent.
Term
precipice
Definition
n. the face of a cliff, a steep or overhanging place. The mountain climber hung from a precipice before finding a handhold an pulling himself up
Term
modicum
Definition
n. a small amount of something. Refusing to display even a modicum of sensitivity, Susan announced her boss's affair in front of the entire office.
Term
umbrage
Definition
n. resentment, offense. He called me a lilly-livered coward, and I took umbrage at the insult
Term
appropriate
Definition
v. to take, make use of. The government appropriated the farmer's land without justification
Term
daunting
Definition
adj intimidating, causing one to loose courage. He kept delaying the daunting act of asking for a promotion
Term
induce
Definition
v to bring about stimulate. Who knew that our decision to boycott lunch would induce a huge riot.
Term
pellucid
Definition
adj. easily intelligible, clear. Wishing his book to be pellucid to the common man, Albert Camus avoided using complicated grammar when composing the Stranger
Term
rancid
Definition
adj having a terrible taste or smell. Rob was double-dog dared to eat the rancid egg salad sandwich.
Term
trenchant
Definition
adj effective,, articulate, clear-cut. The directions that accoompanied my new cell phone were trenchant and easy to follow
Term
whimsical
Definition
adj. fanciful, full of whims. The whimsical little girl liked to pretend that she was an elfin princess
Term
circuitous
Definition
adj. roundabout. The bus's circuitous route took us through numerous outlying suburbs
Term
insolent
Definition
adj. rude arrogant. oberbearing/ this celebrity is so insolent, making fun of his fans right to their faces
Term
clemency
Definition
n. mercy. After he forgot their anniversary, Martin could only beg maria for clemency
Term
reclusive
Definition
adj. solitary, shunning solitary. Reclusive authors such as J.D. salinger, do not relish media attentnion and sometimes even enjoy holing up in remote cabins in the woods.
Term
inchoate
Definition
adj unformed or formless, in a beginning stage. The country's government is still inchoate and therefore quite unstable.
Term
propriety
Definition
n. the quality of being proper, decent. Erma's old fashioned parents believed that her miniskirt lacked the propriety expected of a "nice" girl.
Term
adroit
Definition
adj. skillful, dexterous. The adroit thief could pick someone's pocket without attracting attention
Term
refute
Definition
v. to prove wrong. Alice refuted the president's argument as she ylled and gesticulated at the tv.
Term
superfluous
Definition
adj exceeding what is necessary. Tracy had already won the campaign, so her constant flattery of others was superfluous
Term
derivative
Definition
adj taken directly from a source, unoriginal. Joe's lyircs were derivative, they sounded like they had been stolen from a beatles song.
Term
negligent
Definition
adj habitually careless, neglectful Jessie'es grandfather called me a negligent fool after I left the door to his apartment unlocked
Term
travesty
Definition
n. a grossly inferior imitation. According to the school newspapers merciless theatre critic, Pacifict Coast High's rendition of the musical Oklahoma was a travesty of the original
Term
reciprocate
Definition
v. to give in return. When steve gave samantha a sweater for christmas she reciprocated by giving him a kiss
Term
belated
Definition
adj. late delyed. lori gave her parents a belated anniversary card, because she had been on vacation on the actual date
Term
hypocrisy
Definition
n. pretending to believe what one does not. once the politican began passing legislationg that contradicted his campaign promises, his hypocrisy became apparent.
Term
noxious
Definition
adj. harmful unwholesome. Environmentalists showed that the noxious weeds were destroying the insect's natural habitats.
Term
atrophy
Definition
v. to wither away, decay. If muscles do not receive enough blood, they will soon atrophy and die.
Term
fanatic
Definition
n. a person possessed by an excessive and irrational zeal, especially for a religious or political cause. to the European world the whole province was a barbaric frontier inhabited by a sect of fanatics.
Term
predilection
Definition
n. a personal preference. This predilection for minding other people's business was time honored among the people of Salem.
Term
disproportionate
Definition
adj. out of proportion; of an unequal size or amount. Another reason to believe him a deeply embitered man was his attempt to break his father's will which left a disproprionate amount to a stepbrother
Term
subservient
Definition
adj. acting like a servant. Enter Mary Warren, breathless. She is a seventeen, a subservient, naive, lonely girl.
Term
arbitrate
Definition
v. to judge or act as a referee. He was called upon to arbitrate disputes as thought he were an unofficial judge.
Term
iniquity
Definition
n. wickedness; immorality. Mrs. putnam soon accused rebeccas spirit of tempting her to iniquity.
Term
ascertain
Definition
v. to find out. On being called here to ascertain witchcraft he felt the pride of the specialist whose unique knowledge has at last been publicly called for.
Term
indignant
Definition
adj. filled with anger caused by something unjust or mean. Marry warren spoke with an indignant edge.
Term
calamity
Definition
n. disaster. I had my doubts, but here's calamity.
Term
contentious
Definition
adj. quarrelsome. Giles Corey, sir, and a more contentious-
Term
deposition
Definition
n. a written statement by a witness. She has signed a deposition sir.
Term
plaintiff
Definition
n. the party that institutes a suit in court. I have the best sir-I am thirty-three time in court in my life. And always Plaintiff too.
Term
effrontery
Definition
n. disrespectful and insulting boldness. This is a court of law, Mister. I'll have no effrontery here!
Term
immaculate
Definition
adj. without stain; pure. I dare not take a life without there be a proof so immaculate no slightest qualm of consience may doubt it
Term
inaudibly
Definition
adv. unable to be heard clearly. Marry said almost inaudibly "I did sir."
Term
afflict
Definition
v. to trouble or attack, causing physical or mental suffering. You say you never saw no spirits, Mary, were never threatened or afflicted by any manifest of the DEvil or the DEvil's agents.
Term
unintelligible
Definition
adj. incomprehensible, unable to be understood. Marry utters something unintelligible, staring at Abigail, who keeps watching the "bird" up above.
Term
excommunication
Definition
n. banishment from a church. I cannot be forgot, sir, that when i sumoned the congregation for John Proctor's excommunication there were hardly thirty people come to hear it.
Term
indictment
Definition
n. accusation. It is the law, for he could not be condemned a wizard without he answer the indictment, aye or nay.
Term
empower
Definition
v. to invest with authority. I am not empowered to trade your life for a lie.
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