Vocabulary Workshop Level H units 1-6

foray

(n.) a quick raid, especially for plunder; a venture into some field of endeavor; (v.) to make such a raid

philippic

a bitter verbal attack

touchstone

a means of testing worth or genuineness

gamut

an entire range or series

emolument

profit derived from an office or position or from employment; a fee or salary

Proselyte

(n.) a convert; a disciple

Liturgy

(n.) a religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship

Interstice

(n.) a small, narrow space between things or parts of things

Paean

(n.) a song of praise, joy, or triumph

quid pro quo

(n.) something given in exchange or return for something else

ensconce

(v.) to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place

bruit

(v.) to spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumors

Cozen

(v.) to trick; to cheat or swindle

parameter

a determining or characteristic element; a factor that shapes the total outcome; a limit, boundary

dictum

a short saying; an authoritative statement

salubrious

conducive to health or well-being; wholesome

maudlin

excessively or effusively sentimental

abortive

failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose; only partially or imperfectly developed

portentous

foreshadowing an event to come; causing wonder or awe; self-consciously weighty, pompous

prescience

knowledge of events or actions before they happen; foresight

maladroit

lacking skill or dexterity; lacking tact, perception, or judgment

internecine

mutually destructive; characterized by great slaughter and bloodshed

modulate

to change or vary the intensity or pitch; to temper or soften; to regulate, adjust

vitiate

to weaken, debase, or corrupt; to impair the quality or value of

iconoclastic

(adj.) attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions

saturnalian

(adj.) characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry or licentiousness

waggish

(adj.) fond of making jokes; characteristic of a joker; playfully humorous or droll

contumelious

(adj.) insolent or rude in speech or behavior; insultingly abusive; humiliating

traumatic

(adj.) so shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage

in medias res

(adv.) in or into the middle of a plot; into the middle of things

volte-face

(n) an about-face; a complete reversal

vicissitude

(n.) a change, variation, or alteration; (pl.) successive or changing phases or conditions

persona

(n.) a character in a novel or play; the outward character or role that a person assumes

Melee

(n.) a confused struggle; a violent free-for-all; a tumultuous mingling

Chimmerical

(adj.) absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible

Eleemosynary

(adj.) charitable; dependent upon or supported by charity; derived from or provided by charity

Pragmatic

(adj.) concerned with practical considerations or values; dealing with actions and results rather than with abstract theory; stiff in one's opinions

Oblivious

(adj.) forgetful; unaware

Gratis

(adj.) free; (adv.) without charge

Lachrymose

(adj.) given to tears or weeping; causing to shed tears; mournful, lugubrious

Sanguine

(adj.) having a ruddy complexion; of a naturally cheerful, confident, or optomistic outlook

Theraputic

(adj.) having the power to heal or cure; beneficial

Ribald

(adj.) irreverently mocking; coarse, vulgar, or indecent in language

Effete

(adj.) lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn-out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out-of-date

Supine

(adj.) lying flat on one's back; listless or lethargic; apathetic or passive

Hidebound

(adj.) narrow-minded and rigid, especially in opinions or prejudices; stubbornly and unthinkingly conservative

ineffable

(adj.) not expressible in words; too great or too sacred to be uttered

systemic

(adj.) of or pertaining to the entire body; relating to a system or systems

Noisome

(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious

Indigenous

(adj.) originating in the country or regious where found, native; inborn; inherent

symptomatic

(adj.) typical or characteristic; being or concerned with a symptom of a disease

sacrosanct

(adj.) very sacred or holy; inviolable; set apart or immune from questioning or attack

Miniscule

(adj.) very small, tiny; (n.) a lowercase letter

Bellwether

(n.) The male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in a desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends

Lexicon

(n.) a dictionary of a language; the special vocabulary of a person, group, or subject; a compendium

Schism

(n.) a formal split within a religious organization; any division or separation of a group or organization into hostile factions

Claque

(n.) a group of people hired to applaud a performer or performance; enthusiastic or fawning admirers; an opera hat

Microcosm

(n.) a miniature world or universe; a group or sustem viewed as the model of alarger group or system

matrix

(n.) a mold; the surrounding situation or environment

Morass

(n.) a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand

Vassal

(n.) a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he or she owes allegiance; a subordinate or dependent; a servent; (adj.) subservient

Forte

(n.) a person's strong point; what a person does best

elixir

(n.) a potion once thought capable of curing all ills and maintaining life indefinitely; a panacea; a sweet liquid used as a vehicle in medicines

corollary

(n.) a proposition that follows from one already proven; a natural consequence or result; (adj.) resultant or consequent

Icon

(n.) a representation or image of a sacred personage, often considered sacred itself; an image or picture; a symbol; a graphic symbol on a comuter monitor display; an object of blind devotion

Vignette

(n.) a short description or sketch; a picture or illustration with edges that gradually shade off; a decorative design on the title page of a book or at the beginning or end of a chapter

Solecism

(n.) a substandard or ungrammatical usage; a breach of etiquette; any impropriety or mistake

Mountebank

(n.) a trickster or swindler; a charlatan

genre

(n.) a type, class, or variety, especially a distinctive category of literary composition; a style of painting in which everyday scenes are realistically depicted

Fait accompli

(n.) an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action

Enclave

(n.) an enclosed district, region, or area inhabited by a particular group of people or having special character

Hierarchy

(n.) any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc.

Virtuoso

(n.) brilliant performer; a person with masterly skill or technique; (adj.) masterly or brilliant

folderol

(n.) foolish talk, ideas, or procedures; nonsense; a trifle

obsequies

(n.) funeral rites or ceremonies

Rapacity

(n.) inordinate greed; the disposition to obtain one's desires by force, extortion, or plunder

lucubration

(n.) laborious study or thought, especially at night; the result of such work

Persiflage

(n.) lighthearted joking, talk, or writing

Plethora

(n.) overfullness; superabundance; superfluity

Aegis

(n.) protection; patronage; sponsorship

Mirage

(n.) something illusory, without substance, or without a basis in reality; an illusion

Paternalism

(n.) the policy or practice of treating or governing people in the manner of a father dealing with his children

Versimilitude

(n.) the quality of appearing to be true, real, likely, or probable

Polarize

(v.) to cause to conentrate around two conflicting or contrasting positions; to cause light to vibrate in a pattern

Condescend

(v.) to come down or stoop voluntarily to a lower level; to deal with people in a patronizing manner

immure

(v.) to enclose or confine within walls; to imprison; to seclude or isolate

Caterwaul

(v.) to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel; (n.) a harsh or noisy cry; a racket

Hello Nick

;)

diaphanous

Very sheer and light; almost completely transparent

cul-de-sac

a blind alley or dead-end street; any situation in which further progress is impossible; an impasse

panache

a confident and stylish manner, dash; a strikingly elaborate or colorful display

homily

a sermon stressing moral principles; a tedious moralizing lecture or discourse

insouciant

blithely indifferent or unconcerned; carefree; happy-go-lucky

commensurate

equal in size, extent, duration, or importance; proportionate; measurable by the same standards

prurient

having lustful desires or interests; tending to arouse sexual desires

tendentious

intended to promote a particular point of view, doctrine, or cause; biased or partisan

affinity

natural attraction a person, thing, or activity; a relationship, connection

bilious

peevish or irritable; sickeningly unpleasant

obloquy

public abuse indicating strong disapproval or censure; the disgrace resulting from such treatment

hoi polloi

the common people; the masses

browbeat

to intimidate by a stern or overbearing manner; to bully

cognate

(adj.) closely related in origin, essential nature, or function; (n.) such a person or thing

Bibulous

(adj.) fond of or inclined to drink; absorbent

risible

(adj.) pertaining to laughter; able or inclined to laugh; laughable

Quizzical

(adj.) puzzled; mocking; odd; equivocal

mnemonic

(adj.) relating to or designed to assist the memory; (n.) a device to aid the memory

Quasi

(adj.) resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely

Ancillary

(adj.) subordinate or supplementary

Adjunct

(n.) Something added to something else as helpful or useful but not essential; an assistant or helper; a valuable quality or characteristic; (adj.) added or connected in a subordinate capacity; attached to a faculty or staff in an auxiliary capacity

Poltroon

(n.) a base coward

Obfuscate

(v.) to darken or obscure; to confuse or bewilder

Apprise

(v.) to inform of; to make aware of by giving oral or written notice

Deracinate

(v.) to pull up by the roots; to root out, uproot, or dislocate; to eliminate all traces of

Bowdlerize

(v.) to remove material considered offensive (from a book, play, film, etc.)

divination

the art or act of predicting the future or discovering hidden knowledge

pundit

(n.) a learned person; one who gives authoritative opinions

Raillery

(n.) good-humored ridicule; teasing

Purview

(n.) the range, extent, or scope of something; in law, the scope or limit of what is provided in statute

Macrocosm

(n.) the universe considered as a whole; the entire complex structure of something

derring-do

(n.) valor or heroism; daring deeds or exploits (often used to poke fun at false heroics)

aficionado

an enthusiastic and usually expert follower or fan