Vocabulary Workshop Level D Units 1-6

irate

(adj.) angry

mediocre

(adj.) average, ordinary, undistinguished

pliant

(adj.) bending readily; easily influenced

terse

(adj.) brief and to the point

lucrative

(adj.) bringing in money; profitable

circumspect

(adj.) careful, cautious

slapdash

(adj.) careless and hasty

paramount

(adj.) chief in importance, above all others

cumbersome

(adj.) clumsy, hard to handle; slow-moving

trite

(adj.) commonplace; overused, stale

fated

(adj.) determined in advance by destiny or fortune

illegible

(adj.) difficult or impossible to read

eminent

(adj.) famous, outstanding, distinguished; projecting

auspicious

(adj.) favorable, fortunate

biased

(adj.) favoring one side unduly; prejudiced

unflinching

(adj.) firm, showing no signs of fear, not drawing back

militant

(adj.) given to fighting; active and aggressive in support of a cause; (n.) an activist

arduous

(adj.) hard to do, requiring much effort

morose

(adj.) having a gloomy or sullen manner; not friendly or sociable

comely

(adj.) having a pleasing appearance

latent

(adj.) hidden, present but not realized

perennial

(adj.) lasting for a long time, persistent; (n.) a plant that lives for many years

dissolute

(adj.) loose in one's morals or behavior

incorrigible

(adj.) not able to be corrected; beyond control

spurious

(adj.) not genuine, not true, not valid

inanimate

(adj.) not having life; without energy or spirit

opaque

(adj.) not letting light through; not clear or lucid; dense, stupid

erratic

(adj.) not regular or consistent; different from what is ordinarily expected; undependable

stagnant

(adj.) not running or flowing; foul from standing still; inactive, sluggish, dull

pompous

(adj.) overly self-important in speech and manner; excessively stately or ceremonious

cherubic

(adj.) resembling an angel portrayed as a little child with a beautiful, round, or chubby face; sweet and innocent

brazen

(adj.) shameless, impudent; made of brass

opinionated

(adj.) stubborn and often unreasonable in holding to one's own ideas, having a closed mind.

spasmodic

(adj.) sudden and violent but brief; fitful, intermittent

unbridled

(adj.) uncontrolled, lacking in restraint

arbitrary

(adj.) unreasonable; based on one's wishes or whims without regard for reason or fairness

intrepid

(adj.) very brave, fearless, unshakable

brigand

(n.) a bandit, robber, outlaw, highwayman

alien

(n.) a citizen of another country; (adj.) foreign, strange

feint

(n.) a deliberately deceptive movement; a pretense; (v.) to make a deceptive movement; to make a pretense of

dilemma

(n.) a difficult or perplexing situation or problem

adherent

(n.) a follower, supporter; (adj.) attached, sticking to

anarchy

(n.) a lack of government and law; confusion

exodus

(n.) a large-scale departure or flight

semblance

(n.) a likeness; an outward appearance; an apparition

accomplice

(n.) a person who takes part in a crime

marauder

(n.) a raider, plunderer

rift

(n.) a split, break, breach

deadlock

(n.) a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces or factions; (v.) to bring to such a standstill

catalyst

(n.) a substance that causes or hastens a chemical reaction; any agent that causes change

reprieve

(n.) a temporary relief or delay; (v.) to grant a postponement

precipice

(n.) a very steep cliff; the brink or edge of disaster

altercation

(n.) an angry argument

pauper

(n.) an extremely poor person

breach

(n.) an opening, gap, rupture, rift; a violation or infraction; (v.) to create an opening, break through

access

(n.) approach or admittance to places, persons, things; an increase; (v.) to get at, obtain

obesity

(n.) excessive fatness

fodder

(n.) food for horses or cattle; raw material for a designated purpose

debris

(n.) scattered fragments, wreckage

servitude

(n.) slavery, forced labor

expulsion

(n.) the process of driving or forcing out

larceny

(n.) theft

revile

(v.) to attack with words, call bad names

terminate

(v.) to bring to an end

incinerate

(v.) to burn to ashes

admonish

(v.) to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly; to remind of a duty

subjugate

(v.) to conquer by force, bring under complete control

annihilate

(v.) to destroy completely

dissent

(v.) to disagree; (n.) disagreement

exorcise

(v.) to drive out by magic; to dispose of something troublesome, menacing, or oppressive

disentangle

(v.) to free from tangles or complications

succumb

(v.) to give way to superior force, yield

predispose

(v.) to incline to beforehand

relinquish

(v.) to let go, give up

muddle

(v.) to make a mess of; muddle through: to get by; (n.) a hopeless mess

facilitate

(v.) to make easier; to assist

jeer

(v.) to make fun of rudely or unkindly; (n.) a rude remark of derision

rectify

(v.) to make right, correct

abridge

(v.) to make shorter

compensate

(v.) to make up for; to repay for services

fabricate

(v.) to make, manufacture; to make up, invent

hoodwink

(v.) to mislead by a trick, deceive

rebut

(v.) to offer arguments or evidence that contradicts an assertion; to refute

daunt

(v.) to overcome with fear, intimidate; to dishearten, discourage

surmount

(v.) to overcome, rise above

condone

(v.) to pardon or overlook

proliferate

(v.) to reproduce, increase, or spread rapidly

abscond

(v.) to run off and hide

salvage

(v.) to save from fire or shipwreck; (n.) property thus saved

reprimand

(v.) to scold; find fault with; (n.) a rebuke

usurp

(v.) to seize and hold a position by force or without right

commandeer

(v.) to seize for military or official use

sully

(v.) to soil, stain, tarnish, defile, besmirch

diffuse

(v.) to spread or scatter freely or widely; (adj.) wordy, long-winded, or unfocused; scattered or widely spread

pilfer

(v.) to steal in small quantities

adjourn

(v.) to stop proceedings temporarily; move to another place

fortify

(v.) to strengthen, build up

prattle

(v.) to talk in an aimless, foolish, or simple way; to babble; (n.) baby talk; babble

tantalize

(v.) to tease, torment by teasing

efface

(v.) to wipe out; to keep oneself from being noticed