Townsend Press- Advance Word Power Unit 2

appall

to horrify; dismay

loquacious

very talkative

diatribe

a bitter, abusively critical speech or piece of writing; denunciation

infraction

a breaking of a law or rule

edifice

a building, especially of large, imposing size

clamor

a loud outcry; hubbub

heretic

a person who holds unpopular or unaccepted beliefs; dissenter; nonconformist

recluse

a person who leads a solitary life; someone who withdraws from others

paucity

a scarcity; an insufficiency

uniform

all or always the same; without variety

hindrance

an obstacle; impediment

cognizant

aware

censure

blame; a rebuke

negligent

careless; irresponsible; casual

duplicity

deliberate deceptiveness; deceit

opaque

difficult to understand or explain; obscure; incomprehendable

blasphemy

disrespect toward something sacred or important; irreverence

irascible

easily angered; irritable

lavish

extravagant

affable

friendly; easy to get along with

cacophony

harsh, discordant aounds

enmity

hatred

ludicrous

laughable

erroneous

mistaken; in error

garbled

mixed up to such an extent as to be misleading or incomprehensible

desultory

moving from one thing to another in an unplanned way

stagnant

not moving; not flowing; motionless

apocryphal

of doubtful authenticity; not genuine

equivocal

open to more than one interpretation and often intended to mislead

accolade

praise

expedient

self-serving; convenient

gravity

severity; weighty importance

profane

showing disrespect or contempt for sacred things; irreverent

obtuse

slow to understand; dull

somber

solemn; sad and depressing; melancholy

garner

to collect

scrutinize

to examine carefully

peruse

to examine; read with great care

languish

to lose strength; fail in health; be weak

vilify

to make abusive statements about

contract

to reduce in size; become compressed

renounce

to reject; cast off; disown

assuage

to relieve; lessen

rescind

to repeal; take back

incite

to stir up

kindle

to stir up; arouse

recapitulate

to summarize or repeat briefly

commiserate

to sympathize; express compassion

untenable

unable to be held or defended; insupportable

irresolute

uncertain how to think or act; undecided