Vocabulary

Week One

A la carte– individual food items

Abate– to diminish, lessen in intensity

Abeyance– temporary break, or stopping

Abject–brought low in condition or status; wretched

Abjure– to renounce or give up rights or loyalty

Abrade– to erode

Abscond–to depart in secrecy, usually for evil purposes

Abstruse— hard to understand, hidden

Accede–to give one’s consent, usually yielding to the insistence of others.

Accord– agreement

Accost–to approach and speak to in an openly aggressive or hostile manner

Accoutrements– equipment, clothing

Acquiesce–to accept passively without implying assent or argument

Acrimonious–bitter in behavior, feeling, speech, or disposition; stinging; sharp; biting

Acumen–great skill or intellectual ability

Adamant– unyielding

Adapt– to get used to

Adjacent–near to; next to, adjoining

Adulate–to praise too much

Adulterate– to make impure

Advent

– arrival

Aesthetic

-artistic; of, relating to, or dealing with the beautiful

Affect

– to influence, the verb

Agglomeration

– collection

Aggrandize

–to make great or greater; to praise highly

Aghast

– horrified

Agile

– nimble

Agoraphobia

– fear of open spaces

Alacrity

–cheerful willingness; readiness; liveliness

Allay

–to calm; to diminish in strength; to subdue or reduce the intensity of; alleviate

Altercation

–a noisy, heated, angry dispute; noisy controversy.

Ambidextrous

– skilled in using both hands

Ambiguous

–indicating the presence of two or more possible meanings; unclear

Ambivalent

– having 2 conflicting emotions, vacillating

Amenable

–submissive, agreeable, responsive; responsible

Amity

–friendship; peaceful relations

Amorphous

– shapeless

Anachronism

–anything that is out of place in time

Anarchy

– absence of rule

Anathema

–a curse or excommunication; one that is cursed or damned; one that is greatly reviled, loathed, or shunned

Anglophobia

– dislike of England

Annex

– to add on

Annuity

– yearly remittance

Anomaly

–aberration; deviation; irregularity

Anoxia

– without oxygen

Anthropoid

– resembling man or the highest developed apes

Anthropomorphic

– attributing human form and characteristics to non-humans, especially gods

Antipodes

– opposite parts of the globe

Antithesis

– the exact opposite

Apartheid

– district racial segregation and discrimination against native Negroes in South Africa

Aplomb

–great poise; imperturbable self-possession

Apocalypse

– a revelation

Appellation

– a name

Append

–to add on

Appropriate

–to take, set aside for a purpose

Arbitrary

–selected at random and without reason

Arcane

–beyond comprehension; mysterious; secret

Archaic

–no longer current or applicable; antiquated; outdated

Armageddon

– final great battle

Ascetic

– shunning pleasures

Askew

–leaning to the side, tilted

Assiduous

–diligent or constant in carrying out a task or doing one’s duty.

Assuage

– to ease, soothe

Astringent

– drawing tissues together

Atheism

–state of having no belief in God

Atrocity

– savage cruelty, brutality

Atrophy

–to waste away due to malnourishment or lack of use

Atypical

– not typical

Audacious

–bold; daring

Audacity

– arrogant boldness, recklessness; insolence

Augment

– to make greater, increase

Augur

– foretell the future with omens

Austere

–severe or stern; strict or severe in discipline; having no adornment; bare

Autonomy

–independence or self-rule; a person or thing that can function independently without control by others; self-government

Avarice

– greed

Averse

– opposed, against

Avert

– turn away from

Axiomatic

– universally accepted as true

Badinage

– small talk, palaver

Baffled

– puzzled

Baleful

– foreshadowing evil

Banal

–drearily commonplace and often predictable; trite

Baneful

– deadly, poisonous

Baroque

– over decorated

Barrister

– lawyer

Bawdy

– obscene; showy and flashy in an indecent manner

Beatific

– saintly; bestowing happiness

Bellicose

–having a natural disposition to fight; warlike; pugnacious

Benediction

– a blessing

Benefaction

– an act of doing good

Benefactor

– person who does good

Beneficial

– good

Beneficiary

– a person who receives the good

Benevolent

– wishing others well; kind, giving

Benighted

–unenlightened; intellectually or morally ignorant

Bereft

– lacking, sadly experiencing loss

Bete nois

– dreaded person or thing

Betroth

– to engage for marriage

Bias

– a prejudice

Bibliophile

– a lover of books

Biennial

– occurring every 2 years

Bigoted

– intolerant, prejudiced

Blight

– to ruin

Blithe

–merry, joyful; heedless

Boisterous

– rowdy

Bona fide

– made in good faith, true or real

Bow

– the front of the ship

Brazen

– having no shame; rudely bold

Brine

– salty water

Broach

–to open up a topic for discussion; break a surface

Brusque

– curt

Bucolic

– pastoral, rural

Bumptious

– pushy and offensive

Burnish

– to polish

Cajole

–to try to persuade with flattery and insincere talk

Callous

– unfeeling

Callow

–young and inexperienced; immature

Calumniate

– to slander

Calumny

–a false accusation of crime or offense; maliciously reported to slander another; slander

Candor

– honesty

Canonical

– authoritative

Cantankerous

– quarrelsome

Capacious

– spacious, roomy

Capitulate

–to surrender under specified conditions; to give up under pressure or inevitability; to acquiesce

Capricious

–apt to change suddenly; unpredictable

Captious

– fault finding

Carnivore

– a flesh-eating animal

Carrion

– carcass of a dead animal

Carte blanche

– freedom to use one’s own judgement

Cassandra

—one who prophesies doom or disaster; pessimist; one who utters unheeded prophecies

Caste

–a rigid social class

Castigate

–to punish

Cataclysm

–a flood, deluge; any violent change involving sudden and extensive alterations of the earth’s surface; an upheaval of any kind

Catharsis

– a cleansing, usually emotional; a purging

Cause celebre

– incident that attracts much attention

Caustic

–corrosive; cutting; causing a burning or stinging sensation as from intense emotion; sarcastic

Cauterize

– to burn tissue

Cavil

– to raise trivial questions; to voice petty objections

Celerity

– speed; readiness

Celibate

– unmarried; refraining from sexual relations

Cerebral

– relating to the brain

Cerebration

– a thought

Chagrin

– embarrassment

Changeling

– a child who was exchanged for another in infancy

Chaste

– pure in morals; sexually pure

Chattel

– personal property

Cheeky

– saucy, witty

Choleric

–bad-tempered; irascible; irritable or touchy

Churlish

– rude

Circumlocution

– roundabout speaking

Circumspect

–cautious; prudent; careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences

Claustrophobia

– fear of enclosed spaces

Cogent

– clear, well thought out

Cogitate

– to think about carefully

Cohesion

– force that keeps parts together; unity

Colloquy

– talking together, a conversation

Commensurate

– equal

Commiserate

–to sympathize; to be miserable together

Complacency

–contented self-satisfaction; total lack of concern

Complacent

– self-satisfied

Complaisance

–disposition to please or comply; affability; submission

Complement

–to complete; bring to perfection

Complicity

– assistance in crime; being an accomplice in a wrongdoing

Comport

–to behave in a certain way

Comprehensive

–completely covering all bases; in-depth

Compunction

–anxiety arising over awareness of guilt; distress of mind over anticipated action or result; a twinge of misgiving.

Concubine

– mistress

Condescend

– to stoop to a lower level

Confidant

– one to whom secrets are entrusted

Conflagration

– fire or widespread destruction

Coniferous

– bearing cones

Consecrate

– to dedicate, to bless

Constrict

–to draw together, bind

Contemplative

— slowly thinking, pondering or considering something,

Contiguous

– touching

Contingent

– dependent upon something else

Contradict

– to speak against

Contrite

– deeply sorry; penitent

Contrived

– planned, devised (sometimes negatively)

Contumacious

– disobedient; rebellious

Contumely

–haughty and contemptuous rudeness; humiliating and insulting treatment or language

Conundrum

–a paradoxical, unsolvable, or difficult problem; a dilemma, riddle

Convalesce

– to recuperate

Converge

– to come together

Convivial

– fond of socializing with friends; outgoing, friendly

Copious

–plentiful; abundant; ample

Corroborate

–to confirm; to back up with evidence

Coterie

–set or circle of acquaintances; clique

Couth

– refined in behavior, polite

Covert

– secret; hidden from sight

Covet

– to want enviously

Covetous

– desirous; envious

Cozen

–to cheat

Credence

– belief or trust

Credible

–believable

Credulous

–gullible, overly trusting; inclined to believe

Creed

– principles held, often part of a religious doctrine

Crestfallen

– dejected, sad

Crux

– the most important point

Cryptic

–suggests a puzzling terseness that is often intended to discourage understanding

abjure—formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure

abrogate-– To abolish, do away with, or annul, especially by authority.
abstemious—sparing in consumption of especially food and drink
acumen—quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight.
antebellum—Belonging to the period before a war, especially the American Civil War.
auspicious—attended by favorable circumstances
belie— to give a false representation to; misrepresent
bellicose—warlike in nature; aggressive; hostile
bowdlerize—to remove material that is considered offensive or objectionable from (a book, for example)
chicanery—trickery: the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)

chromosome—components in a cell that contain genetic information. Each chromosome contains numerous genes.
churlish—of, like, or befitting a churl; boorish or vulgar.
circumlocution—the use of unnecessarily wordy and indirect language. Evasion in speech or writing.
circumnavigate—to circumnavigate is to travel around the entire Earth (or around another given object).
deciduous-–having leaves that fall off or are shed seasonally to avoid adverse weather conditions such as cold or drought.
deleterious—harmful in subtle or unexpected ways
diffident—lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid.
enervate--weaken mentally or morally
enfranchise—to grant a person the right to vote.
epiphany—sudden realization: a sudden intuitive leap of understanding

equinox—the time when the sun crosses the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth and occurring about March 21 (the spring or vernal equinox) and September 22 (autumnal equinox).
euro–-the single currency of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) introduced in January 1999.
evanescent––tending to vanish like vapor; "evanescent beauty"
expurgate–to remove erroneous, vulgar, obscene, or otherwise objectionable material
facetious–meant to be humorous or funny : not serious
fatuous–complacently or inanely foolish
feckless—not fit to assume responsibility
fiduciary—A person in a position of great trust and confidence, as the relationship between principal and broker.
filibuster–a device, used only in the Senate, to delay or prevent a vote by time-consuming talk. It can be stopped only by a 60-member vote of the senators present and voting.
gamete–Mature male or female reproductive cell (sperm or ovum) with a haploid set of chromosomes

gauche-lacking social polish; tactless
gerrymander-to divide a geographic area into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections
hegemony-to divide a geographic area into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one party in elections
hemoglobin-the iron-containing respiratory element in red blood cells of vertebrates which is necessary for life
homogeneous-of the same of similar nature or kind
hubris-overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance
hypotenuse-the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
impeach-to make an accusation against; to charge a public official with improper conduct in office before a proper tribunal; to challenged the validity of, try to discredit
incognito-with one’s identity disguised or concealed
incontrovertible-impossible to dispute

Inculcate (tr.v.) — To teach (others) by frequent instruction or repetition; indoctrinate
Infrastructure (n.) — An underlying base or foundation especially for an organization or system; the basic facilities, services, and installations needed for the functioning of a community or society, such as transportation and communications systems, water and power lines, and public institutions including schools, post offices, and prisons
Interpolate (v) — To insert or introduce between other elements or parts; in mathematics to estimate a value of (a function or series) between two known values
Irony (n) — The use of words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal meaning; incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.
Jejune (adj) — Not interesting; dull; lacking maturity; childish
Kinetic (adj.) 1. relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces associated therewith; 2. characterized by motion; 3. supplying motive force
Laissez faire (n.) An economic doctrine that opposes governmental regulation of or interference in commerce beyond the minimum necessary for a free-enterprise system to operate according to its own economic laws; Noninterference in the affairs of others
Lexicon (n) Dictionary
Loquacious (adj) Very talkative; garrulous
Lugubrious (adj) Mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially to an exaggerated or ludicrous degree
Metamorphosis (n) — A transformation; a marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function
Mitosis (n) — The process in cell division by which the nucleus divides
Nanotechnology (n) — The science and technology of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules
Nihilism (n) — 1) Philosophy. a. An extreme form of skepticism that denies all existence; b. a doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated; 2) Rejection of all distinctions in moral or religious value and a willingness to repudiate all previous theories of morality or religious belief; 3) The belief that destruction of existing political or social institutions is necessary for future improvement
Nomenclature (n) — A system of names used in an art or science
Nonsectarian (adj) Not limited to or associated with a particular religious denomination
Notarize (tr. v.) To certify or attest to (the validity of a signature on a document, for example) as a notary public
Obsequious (adj) Full of or exhibiting servile compliance; fawning

Oligarchy (n) — Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families
Omnipotent (adj) — Having unlimited or universal power, authority, or force
Orthography (n) — The art or study of correct spelling according to established usage
Oxidize (v.) — To combine with oxygen; make into an oxide
Parabola (n.) — A plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the cone or by the locus of points equidistant from a fixed line and a fixed point not on the line
Paradigm (n.) — A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline:
Parameter (n)— One of a set of measurable factors, such as temperature and pressure, that define a system and determine its behavior and are varied in an experiment; a factor that determines a range of variations; a boundary
Pecuniary (adj) — Of or relating to money
Photosynthesis (n) — The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct
Plagiarize (v.) — To use and pass off (the ideas or writings of another) as one's own
Plasma (n.) — Cell-free, sterilized blood plasma, used in transfusions
Polymer (n.) — Any of numerous natural and synthetic compounds of usually high molecular weight consisting of up to millions of repeated linked units, each a relatively light and simple molecule
Precipitous (adj) — Resembling a precipice; extremely steep; a sharp drop
Quasar (n) — An extremely distant, and thus old, celestial object whose power output is several thousand times that of our entire galaxy
Quotidian (adj) — Everyday; commonplace
Recapitulate (v) — To repeat in concise form
Reciprocal (adj) — Concerning each of two or more persons or things; interchanged, given, or owed to each other; performed, experienced, or felt by both sides; interchangeable; complementary
Reparation (n) — The act or process of repairing or the condition of being repaired; the act or process of making amends, expiation; something done or paid to compensate or make amends
Respiration (n)— The act or process of inhaling and exhaling; breathing
Sanguine (adj)— 1: confidently optimistic and cheerful