Vocab Ch. 5-8 Flashcards
acrimony
Bitterness or sharpness of temper, manner, or speech; hostility.
affinity
Attraction for someone or something with which one feels a closeness or kinship.
ambivalent
Having mixed, often opposing, feelings about something or someone; indecisive.
cessation
A stopping, either final or temporary.
emaciated
Very thin or wasted away, especially from lack of nourishment; scrawny.
enclave
A distinct region or community enclosed within a larger territory.
engender
To bring into being, to produce.
exacerbate
To make more severe, bitter, or violent.
illicit
Not allowed, improper, or unlawful.
indigenous
Naturally living or growing in a certain area; native.
inexorable
Not to be persuaded, stopped, or moved by entreaty or plea; relentless.
infatuated
Filled with excessive, shallow, or foolish love or desire.
insatiable
Never satisfied; greedy.
poignant
Painfully moving, affecting, or touching.
proselytize
To convert someone to a faith, belief, or cause.
ameliorate
To make better; to become better; to improve.
baleful
Expressing hatred or evil; harmful, ominous.
berate
To criticize vigorously; to scold vehemently.
circumvent
To avoid through craftiness.
compunction
A feeling of uneasiness or anxiety caused by guilt.
condone
To overlook or accept without punishment; to pardon or excuse.
dimunitive
Very small; tiny.
euphemism
A polite term used to avoid directly naming something considered offensive or unpleasant.
expendable
Able to be used up and then discarded or replaced.
heresy
The expression of shocking or unacceptable views.
infirmity
Physical or mental weakness or defect.
profane
- To treat with scorn or irreverence.
- Disrespectful of sacred things.
- Not connected with religion; worldly.
recompense
To pay or compensate.
repast
Food and drink; a meal.
servitude
A lack of freedom; forced labor.
castigate
To punish by criticizing sharply; to berate.
colloquial
Characterized by informal language.
epitaph
The words carved on a tombstone in memory of the deceased.
exodus
A mass departure.
inter
To put in a grave; to bury.
lacerate
To tear or cut roughly.
largesse
The act of giving generously; gifts.
obituary
A notice of someone’s death, such as in a newspaper, usually with a brief summary of that person’s life.
omnivorous
- Eating all kinds of food, including both animal and vegetable food.
- Taking in everything available.
permeate
To spread throughout; to pass through.
rendition
An interpretation or translation; a performance.
resurgence
A rising again to life, use, acceptance, or prominence; a revival.
stereotype
A generalization that is used to characterize a person without acknowledging individual differences.
stipend
A regular and fixed amount of pay for work done or to help cover living or work expenses.
subservient
Serving or acting in a subordinate manner; servile.
adjacent
Near or next to; adjoining.
beset
- To surround or to attack repeatedly.
2. To trouble or weigh down.
cede
To give up or transfer, especially by treaty or formal agreement.
circuitous
Roundabout; indirect.
desultory
Proceeding or carried out in an aimless or random way.
galvanize
To excite or arouse action.
implement
- A tool or instrument.
2. To carry out.
inconsequential
Lacking importance or worth; unable to make an impact; trivial.
magnitude
Greatness of size, power, or influence.
materialize
- To become real or actual.
2. To appear in physical form, especially suddenly.
muster
- A gathering, usually of military forces.
2. To summon or call forth; to gather.
prohibitive
Serving to restrain action or discourage use of.
reminisce
To think or talk about one’s past.
vanguard
The leading or forward position in a movement.
visionary
- A person who is given to ideas that are not currently realistic; a dreamer.
- Able to see what might be accomplished in the future.
