LOFT Vocabulary Flashcards
Specious (Adjective)
Having a false look of truth or genuineness; Seeming reasonable but actually wrong
“Ralph had been deceived before now by the specious appearance of depth in a beach pool and he approached this one preparing to be disappointed”
Effulgence (Noun)
Radiant splendor; Brilliance; Brightness taken to the extreme; Sending out rays of light
“With that word the heat seemed to increase till it became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence”
Enmity (Noun)
State of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something; Mutual hatred or ill will
“He trotted through the sand, enduring the sun’s enmity, crossed the platform, and found his scattered clothes”
Decorous (Adjective)
Marked by propriety and good taste; Polite and restrained; Proper
“Suddenly Piggy was a-bubble with decorous excitement”
Indignation (Noun)
Anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment; Aroused by something unjust, unworthy, or mean; Resentment or anger
“Piggy stood and the rose of indignation faded slowly from his cheeks”
Hiatus (Noun)
An interruption in time or continuity; A period when something is interrupted or suspended; A pause, gap, or break in a sequence, series, or process
“There came a pause, a hiatus, the pig continued to scream and the creepers to jerk, and the blade continued to flash at the end of a bony arm”
Ebullience (Noun)
The quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts or feelings; Being cheerful and full of energy; Exuberance or joy
“Then, with the martyred expression of a parent who has to keep up with the senseless ebullience of the children, he picked up the conch, turned toward the forest, and began to pick his way over the tumbled scar”
Recrimination (Noun)
A retaliatory accusation; An accusation in response to one from someone else
“His voice lifted into the whine of virtuous recrimination”
Tumult (Noun)
Disorderly agitation of a crowd usually with uproar and confusion of voices; Loud, confused noise caused by a large group of people; Commotion or riot
“He paused in the tumult, standing, looking beyond them and down the unfriendly side of the mountain to the great patch where they had found dead wood”
Furtive (Adjective)
Done in a quiet and secretive way to avoid being noticed; Avoid attention - Secretive because discovery would lead to trouble
“Jack himself shrank at this cry with a hiss of indrawn breath, and for a minute became less a hunter than a furtive thing, ape-like among the tangle of trees”
Inscrutable (Adjective)
Not readily investigated or impossible to interpreted or understand; Mysterious
“Jack lifted his head and stared at the inscrutable masses of creeper that lay across the trail”
Incredulous (Adjective)
Unwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true / to believe something; Skeptical or distrustful
“They were silent again: Simon intent, Ralph incredulous and faintly indignant”
Belligerence (Noun)
An aggressive or warlike behavior, attitude, atmosphere or disposition
“Johnny was well built, with fair hair and a natural belligerence”
Chastisement (Noun)
To inflict punishment on; A severe criticism or punishment
“In his other life Maurice had received chastisement for filling a younger eye with sand”
Incursion (Noun)
A hostile entrance into a territory; An invasion or attack, especially sudden or brief; Raid
“Perhaps food had appeared where at the last incursion there had been none; bird droppings, insects perhaps, any of the strewn detritus of landward life”
Disinclination (Noun)
A preference for avoiding something; A reluctance or lack of enthusiasm; Slight aversion or unwillingness
“There had grown up tacitly among the biguns the opinion that Piggy was an outsider, not only by accent, which did not matter, but by fat, and ass-mar, and specs, and a certain disinclination for manual labor”
Derisive (Adjective)
Expressing or causing disdainful mockery or scorn; Expressing or causing contempt or ridicule; Mocking; Make fun of
“The derisive laughter that rose had fear in it and condemnation”
Discursive (Adjective)
Moving from topic to topic without order; Rambling
“The assembly shredded away and became a discursive and random scatter from the palms to the water and away along the beach, beyond night-sight”
