Unit 10 vocab sent.

Charlatan

One who feigns knowledge or ability, a pretender, imposter, or quack Any "investment counselor" who promises to double your money overnight must be regarded as a charlatan or a crook.

Concatenation

A linking together in a sequence, a chain I find it absolutely incredible that such a bizarre concatenation of improbabilities could actually lead to the outbreak of a major war.

Shambles

A slaughterhouse, a place of mass bloodshed, a state of complete disorder and confusion In one horrible moment, the airplane crash converted the quiet streets of that suburban community into a ghastly shambles.

Foible

A weak point, failing, minor flaw The man's personality was a strange mixture of strengths and weaknesses, fortes and foibles.

Concomitant

Accompanying, occurring concurrently, something that accompanies another thing I think the World Turned Upside Down is an apt title for any study of war and the concomitant social and economic dislocations.

Obtuse

Blunt, not coming to a point, slow or dull in understanding, measuring between 90 degrees and 180 degrees, not causing sharp impression His statements have been so uniformly obtuse that I get the impression that he is wearing a permanent pair of mental blinders.

Luminous

Emitting or reflecting light, glowing, illuminating Although the moon appears to be a luminous body, the fact is that it only reflects light received from the sun.

Fraught

Full or loaded with, accompanied by In a typical James Bond movie, agent 007 has a series of adventures that are fraught with tongue in cheek peril.

Benign

Gentle, kind, forgiving, understanding, having a favorable or beneficial effect, not malignant I was relieved to find out that the tumor on my arm was benign and my worst fears groundless.

Peremptory

Having the nature of a command that leaves no opportunity for debate, denial, or refusal, offensively self assured, dictatorial, determined, resolute Good supervisors know that they can get more cooperation from their staff by making polite requests rather than by issuing peremptory orders.

Obsequious

Marked by slavish attentiveness, excessively submissive, often for purely self interested reasons. During imperial times, the Roman senate was little more than a collection of obsequious yes men, intent upon preserving their own lives by gratifying the emperors every whim.

Sporadic

Occurring at irregular intervals, having no set plan or order Although there had been some sporadic fighting earlier, the real battles of the civil war did not begin until Bull Run in July 1861.

Penitent

Regretful for ones sins or mistakes, one who is sorry for wrongdoing No doubt he's very sorry he got caught, but that does not mean he's at all penitent about what he did.

Forgo

To do without, abstain from, give up Unless the title special aide to the assistant section manager involves a salary increase, I would just as soon forgo it.

Reconnoiter

To engage in reconnaissance, to make a preliminary inspection The general sent scouts on ahead of the army to reconnoiter the area for a suitable site to pitch camp.

cavil

To find fault in a petty way, carp, a trivial objection or criticism Though critics caviled at minor faults in the broadway show, the general public loved the piece.

Decimate

To kill or destroy a large part of During the 14th century, the Black Death suddenly swept across Europe, decimating the population and paralyzingly every day life.

Attenuate

To make thin or slender, to weaken or lessen in force, intensity, or value Though my childhood recollections have been attenuated by the passage of time they have not been totally effaced from my memory.

Rebuff

To snub, to repel, drive away, a curt rejection, a check, setback I was totally taken aback when they rebuffed my kind offers of assistance so rudely and nastily.

Oscillate

To swing back and forth with steady rhythm, to fluctuate or waver As all kinds of wild rumors ran rampant through the besieged city, the mood of the populace oscillated between hope and despair.

Inure

To toughen, harden, to render used to something by long subjection Life on the family farm has inured me to hard physical labor and long hours of unremitting toil.

Askance

With suspicion, mistrust, or disapproval We look askance at any program that makes it harder for city dwellers to get out and enjoy the beauties of nature.