vocabulary workshop level H unit 1-2
chimerical
(adj.) absurd; wildly fantastic; impossible
oblivious
(adj.) forgetful; unaware
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 lacking in wholesome vigor or energy; worn-out or exhausted; sterile or unable to produce; out of date
poltroon
(n.) a base coward
proselyte
(n.) a convert; a disciple
morass
(n.) a patch of low, soft, wet ground; a swamp; a confusing situation in which one is entrapped, as in quicksand
liturgy
(n.) a religious service or rite; the form of a ritual or other act of public worship
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
caterwaul
(v.) to howl or screech like a cat; to quarrel; (n.) a harsh or noisy cry; a racket
claque
a group of people hired to applaud a performer or performance; opera hat
microcosm
a mini world or universe
eleemosynary
charitable; dependent upon charity
bibulous
found of or inclined to drink; absorbent
lachrymose
given to tears or weeping; lugubrious
indigenous
native
paternalism
policy of treating people in the manner of a father dealing with his children
aegis
protection, patronage, sponsorship
purview
range of something; in law, the scope of what is provided in a statute
minuscule
small, tiny; lower case letter
verisimilitude
the quality of appearing to be true, real, likely, or probable
polarize
to cause to concentrate around tow conflicting or contrasting positions
apprise
to inform of; to make aware of by giving oral or written notice
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
noisome
(adj.) offensive or disgusting; foul-smelling; harmful or injurious
quasi
(adj.) resembling but not actually being; seemingly but not actually or completely
fait accompli
(n.) an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact, or action
hierarchy
(n.) any system of things or people arranged or graded one above another in order of rank, wealth, class, etc.
raillery
(n.) good-humored ridicule; teasing
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
mirage
(n.) something illusory, without substance, or without a basis in reality; an illusion
bellwether
(n.) the male sheep that leads the flock to the slaughterhouse; a leader, as in desperate or violent undertaking; an indicator of trends.
vassal
a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he/she owes allegiance; a subordinate; subservient
solecism
a substandard or ungrammatical usage; a breach of etiquette; any impropriety or mistake
melee
confused struggled; violent free-for-all; a tumultuous mingling
obfuscate
darken or obscure; to confuse or bewilder
lexicon
dictionary of a language; a compendium
sanguine
having a ruddy complexion; of a naturally cheerful outlook
deracinate
to pull up by the roots
