Vocab Midterm Study Strategies

Since these are words I have already seen, I will most likely just look at the definitions I have previously posted on this blog. I will make sure I can use words in context and compare and contrast words with similar meanings.

Vocabulary words thus far:

adumbrate - to outline; foreshadow

apotheosis - the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of God.

ascetic - simple life, denies material satisfaction.

bauble - a showy, cheap ornament, jester's scepter.

beguile - to influence by trickery, flattery

burgeon - to begin to grow or blossom

complement - something that completes, makes up a whole or brings to perfection.

contumacious - disobedient or rebellious

curmudgeon - an ill-tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions.

didactic - intended to instruct

disingenuous - not straightforward or candid; insincere

exculpate - to clear of guilt or blame

faux pas - a social blunder or indiscretion

fulminate - to explode or detonate

fustian - pretentious speech or writing; pompous, bombastic

hauteur - arrogance, pride

inhibit - to hold back, restrain

jeremiad - a literary work or speech expressing a bitter lament or a righteous prophecy of doom.

opportunist - one who takes advantage of any opportunity to achieve an end with no regard for consequences.

unconscionable - not restrained by conscience; excessive.

accolade - any award, honor or laudatory notice

acerbity - harshness or severity, as of temper or expression.

attrition - a reduction or decrease in numbers, size or strength

bromide - a platitude or trite saying

chauvinist - a person who is aggressively and blindly patriotic.

chronic - constant, habitual

expound - to set forth or state in detail

factionalism - self-interested: partisan

immaculate - free from spot or stain; spotlessly clean; free from blemish

imprecation - a curse; malediction

ineluctable - incapable of being evaded, inescapable

mercurial - changeable, volatile, fickle, flighty, erratic

palliate - to relieve or lessen without curing

protocol - the customs and regulations dealing with diplomatic formality

resplendent - shining brilliantly; gleaming

stigmatize - to mark with a stigma or brand

sub rosa - confidentially, secretly

vainglory - empty pomp or show

vestige - a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence.

volition - the power of willing; will

apostate: a person who forsakes his religion, cause, party, etc.

effusive: unduly demonstrative; lacking reserve.

impasse: a position or situation from which there is no escape.

euphoria: a state of intense happiness and self-confidence.

lugubrious: mournful, dismal, or gloomy, especially in an affected, exaggerated, or unrelieved manner.

bravado: a pretentious, swaggering display of courage.

consensus: majority of opinion

dichotomy: division into two parts

constrict: to slow or stop the natural course or to contract or shrink

gothic: noting or pertaining to a style of
architecture, originating in France in the middle of the 12th century and existing in the western half of Europe through the middle of the 16th century, characterized by the use of the pointed arch and the ribbed vault, by the use of fine woodwork and stonework, by a progressive lightening of structure, and by the use of such features as flying buttresses, ornamental gables, crockets, and foils.

punctilio: a fine point, particular, or detail, as of conduct, ceremony, or procedure.

metamorphosis: a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation

raconteur: to tell

sine qua non: an indispensable condition, element, or factor; something essential

quixotic: extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable.

vendetta: any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention

non sequitur: an inference or a conclusion that does not follow from the premises.

mystique: a framework of doctrines, ideas, beliefs, or the like, constructed around a person or object,
endowing the person or object with enhanced value or profound meaning

quagmire: anything soft or flabby

parlous: perilous; dangerous


acumen (noun)- keen insight.

adjudicate (verb)- to settle or determine.

anachronism (noun)- something or someone that is not in its correct historical time.

apocryphal (adj)- of doubtful authorship or authenticity.

disparity (noun)- inequalityThere will always be disparity of wealth within this society.

dissimulate (verb)- to disguise or conceal under a false appearance.

empirical (adj)- derived from or guided by experience or experiment.

flamboyant (adj)- strikingly bold or brilliant; showy

fulsome (adj)- offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive;overdone or gross

immolate (verb)- to sacrifice

imperceptible (adj)- very slight, gradual, or subtle.

lackey (noun)- a servile follower

liaison (noun)- a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection.

monolithic (adj)- consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken

mot juste (noun)- the exact, appropriate word

nihilism (noun)- total rejection of established laws and institutions.

patrician (noun)- a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat.

propitiate (verb)- to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.

sic (verb)-to incite to attack

sublimate(adj)-to make nobler or purer


beatitude- Supreme blessedness

bete noire- a detested person (disliked or avoided)

bode- Be an omen of a particular outcome

dank- Disagreeably damp, musty, and typically cold

ecumenical- Promoting or relating to unity among the world's Christian churches

fervid- Intensely enthusiastic or passionate

fetid- Smelling extremely unpleasant

gargantuan- of great mass

heyday- The period of a person's or thing's greatest success or popularity

incubus- A cause of distress or anxiety like a nightmare

infrastructure- The basic physical and organizational structures and facilities needed for the operation

inveigle- Persuade (someone) to do something by means of deception or flattery

kudos- Praise and honor received for an achievement

lagniappe- Something given as a bonus or extra gift

prolix- Using or containing too many words; tediously lengthy

protege- a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's career

prototype- A first or preliminary model of something, esp. a machine, from which other forms are developed or copied

sycophant- A person who acts obsequiously toward someone in order to gain advantage; a servile flatterer

tautology- The saying of the same thing twice in different words

truckle- Submit or behave obsequiously

aberration - (noun) an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image; a disorder in one's mental state; a state or condition markedly different from the norm

Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration

bane - (noun) something causes misery or death

bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos

cantankerous - (adj.) having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate

casuistry - (noun) moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading

de facto - (noun) in fact; in reality

depredation - (noun) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action

empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings

harbinger - (noun) an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage

hedonism - (noun) an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle

lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality

malcontent - (adj.) discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted

mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear

nepotism - (noun) favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)

pander - (noun) someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce); verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to

peccadillo - (noun) a petty misdeed

piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.

remand - (noun) the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial); verb refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail

syndrome - (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease