Vocab 10 Flashcards
cajole (kə jōl´) v.
to persuade with false promises and flattery
Despite her best efforts, the mayor could not cajole Madame Harris into donating the land to the city.
syn: coax; wheedle ant: dissuade; deter
expound (ik spownd´) v.
to explain in detail; to clarify
Closing the Bible, the minister expounded the passage he had just read.
syn: elaborate ant: muddle; confuse
inscrutable (in skrōō´ tə bəl) adj.
not easily understood; hard to fathom”“fathom
The crazed stalker left an inscrutable message on my answering machine.
syn: enigmatic ant: obvious; evident
balk (bôk) v.
to refuse stubbornly or abruptly; to stop short and refuse to go on
Although Paul desperately needed the money, he balked at the idea of working for less than minimum wage.
syn: hesitate; object ant: agree; continue
acrimony (a´ krə mō nē) n.
ill-natured, bitter hostility
Because of his acrimony, the old man found himself lonely and friendless.
syn: animosity ant: friendliness
dour (dowr) adj.
stern and ill-humored
The librarian’s dour expression and stereotypical bifocals contradicted her tattoos and noisy motorcycle.
syn: forbidding ant: pleasant
exult (ig zult´) v.
to rejoice; to feel triumphant
When the results were announced, the town wildly exulted in its team’s victory.
syn: celebrate
omniscient (om nish´ ənt) adj.
having unlimited knowledge; all-knowing
Dad described Santa Claus as an omniscient old man who knew whether we had been bad or good this year.
feasible (fē´ zə bəl) adj.
reasonable;”“capable of being carried out
Though he is still young, Jeff has a feasible plan to participate in the Olympic games.
syn: possible; doable ant: unworkable
fiasco (fē as´ kō) n.
a complete, ridiculous failure
Our first date was a fiasco: I lost a contact lens, we got mugged, and a child threw up on Amber’s shoes in the subway.
syn: disaster ant: success
métier (me tyā´) n.
the work one is especially suited for; one’s specialty; an occupation
Justin is a decent singer, but dancing is his real métier.
syn: forte ant: weakness
fluctuate (fluk´ chōō āt) v.
to rise and fall; to vary irregularly
The stock market fluctuates so much that it seems silly to get upset when your stock goes down; it will probably go back up tomorrow.
syn: waver; vacillate ant: stabilize
harry (har´ ē) v.
to annoy or harass
The baby’s constant crying began to harry the other passengers on the train.
syn: bother; pester ant: soothe
incognito (in kog nē´ tō) adj.
disguised; pretending not to be oneself
To avoid clamoring fans, the actor donned a disguise and traveled incognito.
lethargy (leth´ ər jē) n.
lack of ener”“energy; sluggishness
The heat and humidity made me sink into the couch, too overwhelmed with lethargy to move.
syn: torpor; lassitude ant: vigor; vitality”
