Vocab Ch. 9-12 pt. 2 Flashcards
cautionary
Offering or serving as a warning.
constrain
To confine, inhibit, or hold back by force or necessity.
flotilla
A fleet of boats or small ships.
gossamer
- Thin, sheer fabric resembling gauze.
2. A fine, filmy substance made of strands of cobweb.
ignominous
Marked by, deserving, or causing shame or disgrace.
incur
To bring upon oneself something undesirable, such as a debt.
liquidate
- To settle the affairs of a business; to convert into cash.
- To get rid of; to kill or destroy.
magnate
An important, often wealthy, person prominent in a large industry or business.
misnomer
A name that does not fit.
onerous
Burdensome; oppressive.
pandemonium
A state or place of great confusion or uproar.
quixotic
Romantic and idealistic, but impractical.
tenacious
Holding fast; persistent in adhering to something valued or habitual.
vestige
A trace of something that once was present.
zephyr
A light, gentle breeze.
attest
To declare or be evidence of something as true, genuine, or accurate.
axiom
A statement or principle that requires no proof because its truth is obvious.
churlish
Lacking good manners; rude, impolite.
concoct
To make up, prepare, or invent.
derivative
- Something that grows out of or results from an earlier form or condition.
- Based on what has gone before; lacking originality.
differentiate
- To see the difference; to distinguish.
2. To be or make different.
disparage
To criticize in a negative, disrespectful manner.
dissipate
- To break up and spread out so thinly as to disappear; to scatter or be scattered.
- To spend or use foolishly.
esoteric
Not generally known or understood; familiar to only a relatively small number of people.