Vocabulary Workshop Level G (Units 1, 2, 3)

credence

(n.) belief, mental acceptance

acquisitive

(adj.) able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property

suppliant

(adj.) asking humbly and earnestly; (n.) one who makes a request humbly and earnestly, a petitioner, suitor

tenable

(adj.) capable of being held or defended

murky

(adj.) dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity and precision

feckless

(adj.) lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable

myopic

(adj.) nearsighted; lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment

unwonted

(adj.) not usual or expected; not in character

invidious

(adj.) offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment

overt

(adj.) open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized

histrionic

(adj.) pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic

intransigent

(adj.) refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

germane

(adj.) relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

insatiable

(adj.) so great or demanding as not to be satisfied

piquant

(adj.) stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative

devious

(adj.) straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or unhanded way

carping

(adj.) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way (n.) petty, nagging, criticism

pejorative

(adj.) tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling

reconnaissance

(n.) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination

maelstrom

(n.) a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction

talisman

(n.) an object that serves as a charm or is believed to confer magical powers, an amulet, fetish

largesse

(n.) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

sacrilege

(n.) improper or disrespectful treatment of something held scared

dissemble

(v.) to disguise or conceal, deliberately give false impression

coherent

(adj.) holding or sticking together, making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful

distraught

(adj.) very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict

nefarious

(adj.) wicked, depraved, devoid or moral standards

summarily

(adj.) without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

animadversion

(n.) a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

encomium

(n.) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute

eulogy

(n.) a formal statement of commendation; high praise

halcyon

(n.) a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; (adj.) of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy, golden; prosperous, affluent

gambit

(n.) in chess, an opening move that involves a risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type

verbiage

(n.) language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner or expression

propinquity

(n.) nearness in place or time; kinship

celerity

(n.) swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

propriety

(n.) the state of being proper, appropriateness; (pl.) standards of what is proper or socially acceptable

accost

(v.) to approach and speak to first; to confront in a challenging or aggressive way

eschew

(v.) to avoid, shun ,keep away from

congeal

(v.) to change from liquid to solid; to make inflexible or rigid

arrogate

(v.) to claim or take without right

decry

(v.) to condemn, express strong disapproval; to oficially depreciate

evince

(v.) to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke

substantiate

(v.) to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to

emulate

(v.) to imitate with the intent of equaling or surpassing the model

undulate

(v.) to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

articulate

(v.) to pronounce distinctly; to express well in words; to connect by a joint or joints; (adj.) expressed clearly and forcefully; able to employ language clearly and forcefully; jointed

exhume

(v.) to remove from a grave; to bring to light

cavort

(v.) to romp or prance around exuberantly; to make merry

temporize

(v.) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise

belabor

(v.) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly

incendiary

(adj.) deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion; (n.) one who deliberately sets fires, arsonist; one hwo causes strife

avid

(adj.) desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager

primordial

(adj.) developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage; fundamental, basic

utopian

(adj.) founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world; impractical

verdant

(adj.) green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgement

taciturn

(adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little

banal

(adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace

viscous

(adj.) having a gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity

brackish

(adj.) having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink