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
