DeRuntz Week 5 ACT Vocab Flashcards
pedestrian
pedestrian - ordinary or dull
The crowd responded to the pedestrian speech with yawns.
bone fide
bone fide - in good faith
We made a bona fide offer for the property.
adventitious
Adventitious - accidental
The scientists admitted that the breakthrough was an adventitious result of the study.
fecund
fecund - fertile
The fecund soil produced a record number of tomatoes this year.
deviate
deviate - to stray
Sometimes it’s best to deviate from the truth than to hurt someone’s feelings.
obfuscate
obfuscate - confuse or bewilder
The realtor tried to obfuscate the issue, and it was working, because the confused buyer did not know if he was coming or going.
impale
impale - to pierce with a sharp stick through the body
The natives used sharp sticks to impale fish in the tide pools.
extenuate
extenuate - to lesson the seriousness or magnitude
The jury believes that the thief’s situation extenuates the crime of stealing food.
parochial
parochial - local, narrow, limited
Because he had never traveled outside his own town, Jim had a very parochial view of life.
glower
glower - to stare angrily
The boy glowered at his mother when she corrected his manners.
edify
edify - to instruct or improve spiritually
The sermon was meant to edify the congregation.
ambiguous
ambiguous - open to more than one interpretation
The candidate’s ambiguous comments tended to confuse the issue even more.
cataclysm
cataclysm - a violent change
The earthquake in Mexico was a cataclysm which no one could have foreseen.
optimum
optimum - the amount of degree of something that is favorable
The pilot was waiting for optimum weather conditions before setting out on the dangerous flight.
importune
importune - to request or beg for urgently
John importuned his father but could not get the car keys.
