English 12 Unit 1-3 Vocab

derogatory

(adj.) Designed to belittle or degrade; disparaging

intractable

(adj.) Hard to manage, stubborn, not responsive to discipline

suppliant

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

murky

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

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 judgment

viscous

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

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

overt

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

piquant

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

carping

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

nefarious

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

eulogy

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

credence

(n.) belief, metal acceptance

gambit

(n.) in chess, an opening move that involves 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 of expression

propinquity

(n.) nearness in place or time; kinship

covenant

(n.)A solemn agreement

decry

(v.) to condemn, express strong disapproval

dissemble

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

evince

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

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 fit together in a system; able to use laguage effectivly; expressed clearly and forcefully

exhume

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

cavort

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

halcyon

A legendary bird identified wiht the King fish; of or relating to the halcyon; calm, peaceful; happy,golden;prosperous, affluent

summarily

Without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

animadversion

a comment indicating strong criticism or disapproval

encomium

a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute

exeroriation

a strong denunciation, act of stripping

reconnaissance

a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination

maelstrom

a whirlpool of great size and violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction

acquisitive

able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property

talisman

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

accost

approach and speak first to a person

tenable

capable of being held or defended

distraught

deeply upset and agitated

incendiary

deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion; one who deliberately sets fires, arsonist; one who causes strife

avid

desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager

largresse

generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

taciturn

habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little

banal

hackneyed, trite, commonplace

brackish

having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink

coherent

holding or sticking together; making a logical whole; comprehensible, meaningful

sacrilege

improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

invidious

offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment

histrionic

pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic

intransigent

refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

germane

relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

insatiable

so great or demanding as not to be satisfied

devious

straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way

celerity

swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

pejorative

tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement, derogatory, deprecatory, belittling

propriety

the state of being proper, appropriateness; standards of what is proper or socially acceptable

eschew

to avoid, shun, keep away from

congeal

to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid

arrogate

to claim or take without right

ramify

to divide and spread out like a branch

substantiate

to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to

emulate

to imitate with intent to equal or surpass.

temporize

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

belabor

to work on excessively; to trash soundly

propound

v. to suggest for consideration; to propose