Monday, August 18, 2014

Vocabulary #1

adumbrate - verb give to understand; describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of ex: Writers often adumbrate key ideas right away then elaborate on them later.
apotheosis - noun the elevation of a person (as to the status of a god); model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal ex: The pilot who landed the crashing plane in the Hudson River was an apotheosis.
ascetic - adj. practicing great self-denial; pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline;noun someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline ex: He had such an ascetic sense of clothes people often mistook him as an FBI agent.
bauble - noun a mock scepter carried by a court jester; cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing ex: Her shopping sprees always began with the search for some inexpensive bauble.
beguile - verb attract; cause to be enamored; influence by slyness ex: She didn't have enough money, but she was able to beguile the clerk to shortchange him.
burgeon - verb grow and flourish ex: My dad's garden has began to burgeon.
complement - noun something added to complete or make perfect;either of two parts that mutually complete each other; a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction; number needed to make up a whole force; a complete number or quantity;one of a series of enzymes in the blood serum that are part of the immune response; verb make complete or perfect; supply what is wanting or form the complement to ex: The pillow complements the bed cover in her room.
contumacious - adj. wilfully obstinate; stubbornly disobedient ex: My dog is a very contumacious puppy.
curmudgeon - noun a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas ex: His grandfather was a famous and wealthy but a curmudgeon towards his family and employees.
didactic - adj. instructive (especially excessively) ex:  The didactic book taught the class about the results of a World War II.
disingenuous - adj. not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness ex: It's disingenuous to search for a sentence with disingenuous.
exculpate - verb pronounce not guilty of criminal charges ex: The man was exculpated from the crime.
faux pasadj. not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article ex: Wearing shorts at a wedding is not faux pas  in Hawaii.
fulminate - noun a salt or ester of fulminic acid; verb cause to explode violently and with loud noise; come on suddenly and intensely; criticize severely ex: Public officials fulminated against the perceived security threat.
fustian - noun a strong cotton and linen fabric with a slight nap;pompous or pretentious talk or writing ex: The shirt was made out of fustian.
hauteur - noun overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors ex: Some artists use such hauteur to describe the works of other artists.
inhibit - verb limit the range or extent of; to put down by force or authority ex: I need to inhibit myself from eating too many cookies.
jeremiad - noun a long and mournful complaint ex: The employee turned in a long jeremiad.
opportunist - adj. taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit; noun a person who places expediency above principle ex: Albert Einstein was a huge opportunist.
unconscionable - adj. greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; lacking a conscience ex: My brother has an unconscionable behavior. 

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