Acolyte
n - A person who assists in some religious services by carrying out minor duties; one who attends or assists, a follower.
Example: The movie director’s acolytes hung on his every word.
Bibulous
adj- Given to the consumption of alcoholic drinks.
Example: Health education classes provide information about the damage that can result from an excessively bibulous lifestyle.
2.
Coalesce
n. To grow together; to unite to form a whole.
Example: Dissatisfied Republicans and Democrats coalesced behind the third-party candidate.
Covert
adj. Not openly acknowledged; secret.
Example: The intelligence operation was supposed to be covert, but sophisticated technology revealed it.
Declaim
V. To recite something in the style of a public speech; to speak in a loud, theatrical way.
Example: “To be or not to be—,” declaimed the actor, “that is the question.”
Delineate
- v. To describe vividly and in detail.
Example: Jane Austen’s description of the Netherfield ball delineates the social practices of late eighteenth-century upper-class England. - To draw an outline of; to represent by drawing.
Example: In her studio, the architect delineated her plan for the new wing of the building.
Demagogue
n. A leader who seeks power by appealing to people’s emotions and prejudices and by making false claims and promises.
Example: During the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy was a demagogue who played on people’s fear of communism.
Encomium
n. (plural: encomiums or encomia) An expression of warm and enthusiastic praise; a tribute.
Example: At a dinner in his honor, the philanthropist received encomiums for his generous financial gift to the cancer center.
Obdurate
adj. 1- Resistant to persuasion; inflexible.
Example: Despite our pleadings, Maisie remained obdurate in her determination to hike the hazardous trail.
2. Persistent in wrongdoing.
Example: The judge reasoned that the obdurate high schooler would benefit more from focused education than stealing
Prescience
n. Foresight; knowledge beforehand of events.
Example: The ancient Greeks consulted oracles because they believed them to have the power of prescience.
Protagonist
n. The chief character in a drama or story.
Sedulous
adj. Completed with careful perseverance; diligent.
Example: Through their sedulous efforts, workers in Project HOPE delivered medicine and supplies to doctors and patients in the disaster zone.
Trenchant
adj. very strong, clear, and effective
Example: The reviewer’s trenchant criticism did not please the book’s author.
Utopia
n. A place or state of perfect social and political conditions.
Valedictory
n. A farewell address, especially one given at a graduation ceremony.
Example:The valedictory is usually given by a student who has achieved great distinction.
adj. Of or relating to such a farewell address
Example: General Lee’s valedictory remarks to the Army of Virginia were tinged with sadness.
Absolve
v. To clear guilt, or free from a promise or a responsibility.
Example: The court-ordered DNA test absolved the suspect of the assault charges.
Adumbrate
V. 1) to foreshadow vaguely
Example: The league of nations adumbrated the United Nations
2. to suggest, disclose, or outline partially
Apothegm
n. a short phrase that expresses a true or wise idea
Example: What do you think of the apothegm “Easy come; easy go”?
Aspersion
n. A defamatory expression; slander.
Casting aspersions on another’s good character is a despicable act.
Coadjutor
n. One who works with another, usually in a subordinate position; an assistant.
Example: The film director’s coadjutor arranged the schedule so the production ran smoothly.
Congenital
adj. existing at birth
Surgeons can now make dramatic improvements on congenital physical abnormalities.
élan
n. energy, style, and enthusiasm
The band played with such élan that it was invited to lead the parade.
Germane
adj. Relating to a subject in an appropriate way
During her press conference, the governor refused to answer questions that weren’t germane to her proposed budget.
Hiatus
n. An interruption or gap in space, continuity, or time.
Example: The sculptor expressed frustration at the hiatus in his productivity in recent years.
Immure
v. To confine within or as if within walls; to imprison.
Rapunzel let down her long hair to escape from the high tower in which she was immured.
Ineluctable
Adj. Not to be avoided or changed; inevitable.
The ineluctable involvement of the United States in European affairs began in 1917.
Internecine
Adj. 1.occurring between members of the same country, group, or organization
Example: The internecine fighting among gangs distressed the community.
2. Relating to conflict within a group.
Example: Word leaked to the outside world of the internecine struggle among Iraq’s ruling elite.
Invoke
v. 1. to mention (someone or something) in an attempt to make people feel a certain way or have a certain idea in their mind
2.to refer to (something) in support of your ideas
Example: The petitioners invoked the support of their Congressional representatives to continue public television funding.
2. to make use of (a law, a right, etc.)
Example: The witness refused to testify by invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination
Prototype
n. A person or thing that serves as an example of it’s kind; an original
Example: the prototype of the automobile actually did look like a horseless carriage
Quadrennial
adj. 1. Occurring every four years
Example: Presidential elections are a quadrennial event in the US
2. lasting 4 years
Example: The governor’s quadrennial term of office ends next January
Amalgam
n. 1) An alloy of mercury and other metals.
Example: Silver amalgam, which was commonly used for filling teeth, is being replaced by a composite of other materials.
2. A mixture of different elements.
Example: The report is a curious amalgam of practical proposals and questionable claims of past accomplishments.
Antediluvian
adj. : very old or old-fashioned
Example: n this age of cell phones, faxes, and e-mail, picking up a pen to write a letter seems almost antediluvian.
Apothecary
n. one who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes
Example: Romeo convinced the impoverished apothecary to sell him the deadly poison illegally.
Ascetic
adj. 1. Refraining from self-indulgence.
Example: Henry David Thoreau lived an ascetic life during his two years in a cabin at Walden Pond.
2. A person who practices self-denial.
Example: As he searched for the meaning of life, the man who became the Buddha lived for many years as an ascetic.
Beneficent
adj. doing or producing good
charlatan
a person who falsely pretends to know or be something in order to deceive people
Example: the famed faith healer turned out to be a charlatan
denizen
a person, animal, or plant that lives in or often is found in a particular place or region
Example: one of those muscle-bound denizens of the gym
doyen
- A senior member of a group, especially one who is highly respected.
Example: Anthropologist Louis Leakey was the doyen of a small group searching for evidence of human origins. - Oldest example of a catagory
Flora
Plants considered as a group in a particular area or era.
Example: Prominent among the flora of Florida are dozens of varieties of palm trees.
imbibe
- To drink (alcohol)
example: As the designated driver, I will not imbibe even one alcoholic drink. - to take in mentally
Example: The graphic arts students imbibed the capabilities of the new computer with enthusiasm.
nostrum
A medicine or remedy whose effectiveness has not been proven.
Example: Here is a nostrum that the makers claim reverses hair loss.
Obviate
to make (something) no longer necessary : to prevent or avoid (something) Example: The new medical treatment obviates the need for surgery
Perennial
- Lasting indefinitely.
example: scientists are warning that a perennial viral threat, the upcoming flu season, could be far more dangerous than usual - a plant that lives for 3 or more years
putative
generally believed to be something
example: the putative reason for her dismissal was poor job performance
savant
a person who knows a lot about a particular subject
Example: a savant in the field of medical ethics
approbation
An expression of approval; praise.
Example: The company’s flexible-hours policy won the employees’ approbation.
benighted
having no knowledge or education
Example: the poor benighted souls who do not know the joys of reading
bourgeois
- Middle class
Example: Madame Loisel is miserable in her status as a member of the bourgeois. - having qualities or values associated with the middle class : too concerned about wealth, possessions, and respectable behavior
Example: Was it really imperative to wear a suit to this event, Sam wondered, or was it just one more bourgeois demand for which he had no patience?
credo
A strongly held belief that guides the action of a person or a group
Example: The credo of the Three Musketeers was “All for one, and one for all.”
empirical
based on testing or experience
Example: They collected plenty of empirical data from their experiments
eschew
to avoid (something) especially because you do not think it is right, proper, etc Example: They now eschew the violence of their past
expatiate
to speak or write about something in a way that includes a lot of details or uses many words
Example: the naturalist is known for her willingness to expatiate on any number of issues relating to wildlife and the environment
iconoclast
a person who criticizes or opposes beliefs and practices that are widely accepted
Example: notorious as an iconoclast, that music critic isn’t afraid to go after sacred cows
indigence
a level of poverty in which real hardship and deprivation are suffered and comforts of life are wholly lacking
Example: there are various state and federal programs to help relieve indigence
laudable
deserving praise
Example: Improving the schools is a laudable goal.
mandate
- an official order to do something
Ex: The Constitution mandates the right of an accused to a fair trial. - the power to act that voters give to their elected leaders
Example: After years of battle with the French, in the 1960s the Muslim majority’s vote in Algeria mandated its independence.
ostensible
seeming or said to be true or real but very possibly not true or real
Example: the ostensible reason for the meeting turned out to be a trick to get him to the surprise party
recalcitrant
stubbornly refusing to obey rules or orders
Example: a heart-to-heart talk with the recalcitrant youth revealed that he had a troubled life at home
regurgitate
- to bring food that has been swallowed back to and out of the mouth
Example: Some birds feed their young by regurgitating food into their offsprings’ beaks. - to repeat (something, such as a fact, idea, etc.) without understanding it
Example: The speaker was just regurgitating facts and figures.
risible
deserving to be laughed at : very silly or unreasonable
Example: The suggestion was downright risible
archaic
old and no longer used
Example: The wearing of wigs by British courtroom lawyers seems archaic to Americans.
carouse
To take part in wild, noisy merrymaking.
Example: Some visitors to New Orleans during Mardi Gras carouse until the early hours of the morning.
chicanery
deception or trickery
Example: that candidate only won the election through chicanery
contentious
likely to cause people to argue or disagree
Example: The dispute involves one of the region’s most contentious leaders
Dissemble
To conceal with an intent to deceive
Example: children learn to dissemble at a surprisingly early age
egregious
very bad and easily noticed
Example: Although I believe that dissent is a right, I find egregious interruptions of a speaker unacceptable.
execrate
to dislike and criticize (someone or something) very strongly Example: She came to execrate the hypocritical values of her upper-class upbringing
Fealty
loyalty to a person, group, etc
Example: The knights of the Round Table pledged fealty to King Arthur
microcosm
something (such as a place or an event) that is seen as a small version of something much larger
Example: The village is a microcosm of the whole country
paroxysm
a sudden strong feeling or expression of emotion that cannot be controlled
Example: a paroxysm of laughter greeted the pratfall
pecuniary
relating to or in the form of money
Example: that makes good pecuniary sense
rectitude
the quality of being honest and morally correct
Example: Charles has a finely honed sense of rectitude that keeps him from cheating on exams
stratagem
a trick or plan for deceiving an enemy or for achieving a goal
Example: tried various stratagems to get the cat into the carrier, but the feisty feline was wise to them all
stultify
to cause (someone or something) to become dull, slow, etc Example: The government has been stultified by bureaucracy
vendetta
a prolonged and bitter feud
Example: It took the deaths of Juliet and Romeo to end the vendetta between the Montagues and the Capulets.
Actuate
- to make (a machine or electrical device) move or operate
Example: A thermostat is actuated by changes of temperature - to cause someone to do something or to act in a certain way
Example: Telecasts of the grievances of Native American women actuated Wilma Olaya, a Cherokee, to return to Oklahoma where she became the tribe’s first female chief.
brackish
somewhat salty;unpleasant in taste
Example: the river becomes brackish as we approach the tidemark
cognitive
Relating to mental processes such as awareness, remembering, and reasoning.
Example: cognitive delays
dissertation
A lengthy, usually written discussion of a topic, often for a college or university degree.
Example: On completion of her dissertation on phosphoarginine functions in invertebrates, Perry received her M.S. degree.
dolorous
experiencing or displaying sadness or pain
Example: dolorous ballads of death and regret
endemic
Widespread or peculiar to a certain place or among a certain people.
Example: Malaria is endemic to the tropics.
fecund
producing or able to produce many babies, young animals, or plants; or intellectually productive.
Example: a fecund imagination
Example: a fecund breed of cattle
genealogy
The study of family history
inebriated
affected by drinking too much alcohol
Example: He was clearly inebriated when he left the bar
insidious
causing harm in a way that is gradual or not easily noticed
Example: Most people with this insidious disease have no idea that they are infected
interloper
a person who is not wanted or welcome by the other people in a situation or place
Example: I had hoped to help my neighbors, but they regarded me as an interloper
precursor
A person or thing that comes before and indicates the approach of another; a forerunner.
Example: 18th-century lyric poets like Robert Burns were precursors of the Romantics
presentiment
a feeling or belief that something is going to happen
Example: He had a nagging presentiment of danger
ramification
something that is the result of an action, decision, etc.
Example: Eliminating the position of Department Chair has ramifications for all students in social studies courses.
torpor
a state of not being active and having very little energy
Example: The news aroused him from his torpor
abjure
to reject (something) formally Example: a strict religious sect that abjures the luxuries, comforts, and conveniences of the modern world
amorphous
having no definite or clear shape or form
Example: The amoeba’s lack of a fixed structure gives it an amorphous shape.
animus
a strong feeling of dislike or hatred
Example: She felt an animus against them
dichotomy
Division into two distinct parts or groups.
Example: She argues that moral relativism blurs the dichotomy between good and evil.
exemplar
An example or model, especially an ideal one.
Example: Mahatma Gandhi was the exemplar of nonviolent resistance to injustice.
herculean
Of extraordinary size, power, or difficulty
Example: Plowing the city streets after the blizzard of 1996 was a herculean task.
inchoate
Not fully formed or realized.
Example: Writers of fiction often explain that their inchoate ideas take shape as they write their novels.
invidious
unpleasant and likely to cause bad feelings in other people
Example: The report made invidious comparisons between the company’s claims and its performance.
mélange
a mixture of different things
Example: The garage sale was a mélange of clothes, furniture, and household bric-a-brac.
nefarious
evil or immoral
Example: The nefarious practice of enforced child labor is rampant in many poor countries.