Word List 6 Flashcards
acquiesce
to agree; to give in
altruism
goodness; selflessness
anterior
placed in front
aperture
opening, hole
arcane
mysterious, secret
ascetic
without luxuries
bellicose
warlike in manner
becalmed
made peaceful or still
blunderbuss
old fashioned shotgun
catharsis
emotional relief
caustic
unkind; bitter; sarcastic
colloquial
informal but common speech
corpulent
fat
cupidity
greed
demographer
expert on population statistics
didactic
preachy
dirge
funeral song
dither
to be indecisive
ebullient
bubbly
eschew
to avoid
ethos
values of a culture
expatriate
to remove one from their homeland
fallow
not plowed; unfertile
gambol
to jump or dance playfully
gargantuan
huge
hedonist
one who loves physical pleasures
heretofore
until now
iconoclast
one who attacks estsab
indecorum
lack of good manners
intransigent
stubborn
lampoon
to ridicule
maelstorm
giant whirlpool or violent storm
nebulous
vague
obsequious
overly submissive
ordination
a ceremony for initiation of a priest
parochial
narrow minded
peccadillo
small crime
perjure
to lie under oath
platitude
cliche`
polemical
deliberately controversial
retrogress
to go back to an earlier or simpler condition
rider
addition to a document
sophomoric
immature
stasis
state of not moving
stoke
to stir up and feed fuel
stratum
one of many layers
subvert
to overthrow or ruin
torrid
hot, passionate
truncate
to shorten by cutting off
ubiquitous
everywhere at the same time
upbraid
to criticize harshly
vacillate
to change back and forth
workaday
ordinary; common; boring
zenith
the highest point