Unit 1
salutary
(adj.) beneficial, helpful; healthful, wholesome his words had salutary intentions but were generally ineffectual in calming the project team down
nebulous
(adj.) cloudlike, resembling a cloud; cloudy in color, not transparent; vague, confused, indistinct
specious
(adj.) deceptive, apparently good or valid but lacking real merit; suspect while his speech sounded eloquent and sanctimonious, his claims were specious and quickly debunked with a few web searches
feckless
(adj.) lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable they couldn't be relied on to come up with the money needed to pay for their share of the school festival so the teacher went to the students' parents directly
timorous
fearful, timid, unsteady the investors were timorous folks who needed constant reassurance
perennial
(adj.) lasting for a long time, persistent; (n.) a plant that lives for many years
sedulous
(adj.) persistent, showing industry and determination their crew members' schedules reflected the team's sedulousness, with training from 5 AM to practices ending at 3 PM
perspicacity
(n.) keenness in observing and understanding, shrewdness, cleverness Athena's chosen maidens exhibited a profound perspicacity and were lauded scholars of her temples
ennui
(n.) weariness and dissatisfaction from lack of occupation or interest, boredom; generally refers to the feeling of jadedness that can result from living a life of too much ease. the characters in the novel effected a sense of ennui, layered in rich furs and crocodile skins
dilettante
(n.)amateur, a dabbler in the arts; one who engages in an activity in an amateurish, trifling way; (adj.) superficial Afraid of only ever being known as a dilettante of the arts, he dedicated hours each day to honing his craft under the watchful eye of a masterful artisan
impugn
(v.) to call into question; to attack as false; scorn they should not impugn her ability as a skilled entrepreneur by withholding crucial funding and investments
evince
(v.) to display clearly, to make evident, to provoke, to reflect the truth of she didn't need to say it, but her actions evinced that she truly despised him
burnish
(v.) to make smooth or glossy by rubbing, polish; (n.) gloss, brightness, luster i burnished the car side with sharpie and old polish in hopes that the bike scratch wouldn't show
expurgate
(v.) to remove objectionable passages or words from a written text; to cleanse, purify the public schools took it upon themselves to expurgate the books of any curse words or content they disagreed with
calumniate
(v.) to slander; to accuse falsely and maliciously the press calumniated her promiscuity after photos were leaked
enervate
(v.) to weaken or lessen the mental, moral, or physical vigor of; enfeeble, hamstring her questions gradually enervated the witness until he broke down on the stand
accolade
tribute; honor; praise 盛赞 - 盛赞一项义举 sheng4zan4 xiang4yi4ju3 accolade philanthropic acts
parried
Deflected or warded off; avoided like a skilled swordsman, she parried the insults and subtle derisions with grace
mellifluous
Sweetly flowing or sounding she had a mellifluous voice, perfect for choir
numismatist
a coin collector
elegy
a sad or mournful poem syn: dirge; lament 悲歌,哀歌
centurion
an officer in the ancient Roman army, which originally had one hundred men
archaic
ancient; old-fashioned
apposite
appropriate; fitting he always managed to find the apposite phrases that best communicated the ideas she was trying to convey
contentious
argumentative we entered a contentious debate over which of the author's novels was the best
resplendent
attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous, shining, glowing the christmas decorations were resplendent and continued down the length of the street
piquant
attractive, strong flavor, delightful, pleasantly sharp taste or flavor that wine was *chef's kiss,* full and piquant indeed
nascent
beginning to exist, develop, emerge his skills were nascent, but the piano teacher knew that they could develop further 新生
tendentious
biased, marked by a strong pov He took issue with the tendentious style of the documentary, citing it deviated too far from the reality of construction workers
puerile
childish, immature they were exceedingly puerile in their approach to resolving workplace disputes and conflicts
solicitous
concerned, attentive, eager she was solicitous to show her interest in working for the campaigner's team
iconoclastic
contradictory to tradition, heretical 左,邪说xie2
pith
core, essence; forceful and concise expression his closing arguments hit the pith of the case in question: the role of choice in taking one's own life
despondent
depressed, without courage or hope i was despondent after my boyfriend broke up with me, but elated after reflection
opprobrium
disgrace, contempt, reproach, scorn he was an object of opprobrium after news leaked of his embezzlement and wasteful character 冒大不韪 - 不韪 mao4dabuwei3 to face opprobrium (idiom)
belie
disprove, contradict, disagree with current conditions of inequality so gross that party members on both sides belied existing issues and sought to find policy solutions
plastic
easily influenced, not rigid his personality was remarkably plastic and his opinions -- or lack thereof -- reflected as such
edifying
enlightening, uplifting (moral/educational improvement); instruct or improve one's moral upstanding the works of Dickens are edifying texts that criticize the negative effects of social isolation and debt prisons
nice
exacting, fastidious, precise he made a nice distinction between nice and nice.
surfeit
excess i bought a surfeit of books at barnes and noble the other day
garrulousness
extreme talkativeness networking is tiring sometimes it requires me to be a false, garrulous person
mendicant
given to begging; beggar along the streets, there were dozens of tents that housed mendicants and their associates
profundity
great depth of intellect, feeling, or meaning she thought he would confess with greater profundities rather than "you're cool let's hang"
parlous
greatly, excessively (adverb); dangerous, precarious, uncertain the household finances were in parlous condition with more account payables than receivables
rapacious
greedy, aggressively plundering the landlords rapaciously knocked on the tenants' doors demanding last month's rent
jocular
humorous, jesting, jolly, joking he said the comment jocularly but the rest of the group was uneasy about the delivery and took offense
derivative
imitative, secondary, unoriginal, usually with negative connotation Nobody sees through the tacky, derivative reality tv shows better than the commercial viewer
sophomoric
immature, puerile there's a reason why sophomores are called sophomores; after only a year in college, they already deem themselves wise despite their sophomoric status 幼稚 you4zhi4
pugnacity
inclined to quarrel or fight readily; quarrelsome; belligerent; combative the bullies were pugnacious and ready to fight for some pocket money
obstreperous
noisy; unruly, disorderly could not sleep till 2 because the neighbors were obstreperous with their constant arguments and fights
intransigent
irreconcilable, uncompromising no matter how much the children bickered, the mother was intransigent in donating her millions to several nonprofits 顽固不化wan2gu4 stubborn no change
execrable
loathsome, detestable the local credit unions were highly suspect and execrable, charging exorbitant interest rates on mortgage loans
august
majestic, impressive, inspiring admiration and respect she toured the august libraries of the old Austrian monks of the newly restored estate
quiescent
motionless, still, at rest the pond reflected the quiescent, still moon
enigmatic
mysterious~~, puzzling, obscure, difficult to understand stupid cliche tropes paint fancy rich people as enigmatic and above-board
inchoate
not fully formed, disorganized, not fully realized i was trying to form sentences in Korean but my language skills were still inchoate 不发达,朴素pu3su4
philanderer
one who makes love insincerely; one who engages in passing love affairs hope my friends do not fall into the arms of a philanderer
canonical
orthodox, following traditional standards
sinecure
position that requires minimal work but gives the holder status, money, or other benefits he not only managed to find sinecures in the government legislative office but also in his father's multinational corporation
encomium
praise, tribute, eulogy
pillory
punish, hold to public scorn or contempt
bellicose
quarrelsome, ready to square up
maverick
rebel, unorthodox, iconoclast Elvis could be considered a hip-swinging maverick
pecuniary
related to money I can't say I did not have pecuniary motivations for my career of choice
temporal
relating to the everyday world as opposed to that which is spiritual or eternal she considered herself a more practical, temporal person at the cost of developing her individual spirituality
acquiescent
reluctantly agreeable; compliant
flag
sag, droop, decline; mark something of notice the dog flagged down as the tranquilizer kicked in
steep
saturate, soak, sharp incline i steeped the earl gray tea bags in hot milk for four minutes
axiomatic
self-evident, unquestionable, obvious his claims in his diary were more axiomatic, with only a dash profoundness
austere
severe, strict, unadorned
assiduous
showing great care, engagement, and perseverance she assiduously poked him on the cheeks every morning to wake him up
emollient
softening, smoothening many of the ingredients in moisturizers are ideally emollient and emulsified together 润肤剂 run4fu1ji4
pedant
someone who shows off learning, obsessed with details/rules/academia he was a pedant, ascribing centuries' old rules and practicum on his ten year old son
mollifying
soothing, appeasing, reducing (temper) intensity the cat's purrs had a mollifying effect on her poor temper after returning home from work
exagitate
stir up, agitate; censure or harass
apocryphal
sus, fictional even the text threads were so wild they seemed apocryphal
loquacious
talk a lot 啰嗦 luo1suo
philately
the collection and study of postage stamps
zenith
the highest point
erudition
the quality of having or showing great knowledge or learning; scholarship as a liberal arts student, she was inclined to give off an air of erudition and stick-up-buttness
renege
to break a promise, go back on one's word bruh u reneged how dare u i already gave u 10 stones for this mission not pog 返回
rail
to complain about bitterly she railed against her parents over her boyfriend
dessicate
to dry out i picked up some dessicated deer skin from the grocers
expatiate
to elaborate, write about in detail, pontificate about they could expatiate for hours about their experiences as a counselor for young juveniles
reconnoitered
to make an observation of (a region), especially for military purposes the army ships reconnoitered the shore before landing
consecrate
to make sacred, hallow; to set apart for a special purpose
beatify
to make very happy, to bless i would be honored if you would beatify me by getting rid of my cat
auspice
to predict, support; to favor, protect the department was under the auspices of the watchful dean, who regarded the faculty highly 由主办,展览会将由农业部主板 you2zhu3ban4
forestall
to prevent by taking action first, obstructs an action, prevents someone from doing something she forestalled his departure by hiding his keys
exculpate
to prove innocent, free from blame 开脱罪责 kai1tuo1zui4ze2
abrogate
to repeal, cancel, do away with a law/right/formal agreement avoid responsibility as a manager one cannot abrogate client interests and fiduciary duties in favor of their own
vituperate
to use harsh condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; to berate the partner's vituperative and vengeful attitude towards first year analysts made incoming employees cower and avoid him
vitiate
to weaken, debase, corrupt; reduce the quality of DOC budget cuts vitiated the already dwindling supply of correctional officers to work at the prisons
brook
tolerate, allow, endure, countenance he would brook anyone who smelled dank from entering his household
inured
used to or hardened to something tough the children were inured to rigorous academic instruction
equivocation
using vague language to avoid commitment/making a point/conceal the truth will you not show me your true self without equivocation? *uwu eyes*
prefigure
v. to look like or predict a later thing or event, foreshadow the horrifying dreams prefigured a shitty day to come
prolix
verbose, wordy their commencement address was unnecessarily prolix, composing of a twenty-minute sermon on education and morals 烦冗 fan2rong3
dross
waste, refuse, worthless stuff i wonder how much of the things i leave behind will be considered dross or junk
perigee
where a satellite is closest to the earth