Vocabulary List One

Word Meaning

1. abhor hate

2. bigot narrow-minded, prejudiced person

3. counterfeit fake; false

4. enfranchise give voting rights

5. hamper hinder; obstruct

6. kindle to start a fire

7. noxious harmful; poisonous; lethal

8. placid calm; peaceful

9. remuneration payment for work done

10. talisman lucky charm

Vocabulary List Two

Word Meaning

1. abrasive rough; coarse; harsh

2. bilk cheat; defraud

3. Covert hidden; undercover

4. engender cause

5. hangar storage area (like garage) for plane

6. knotty complex; difficult to solve

7. nuance something subtle; a find shade of meaning

8. plagiarism taking credit for someone else’s writing or ideas

9. renown fame

10. tangent going off the main subject

Vocabulary List Three

Word Meaning

1. abasement humiliation; degradation

2. billowing swelling; fluttering; waving

3. cower recoil in fear or servility; shrink away from

4. enhance improve; make better or clearer

5. harangue noisy, attacking speech

6. labyrinth a maze

7. nullify to counter; make unimportant

8. plaintiff petitioner (in court of law)

9. replete full

10. tangible can be touched

Vocabulary List Four

Word Meaning

1. abrogate cancel; deny; repeal

2. blasphemy speech which offends religious sentiments

3. credible believable

4. enigma puzzle; mystery

5. harbingers indicators; bringers of warnings

6. labyrinthine complicated; highly convoluted

7. nuzzle cuddle; snuggle

8. plaudit statement giving strong praise

9. reprehensible shameful; very bad

10. tardy slow; late; overdue; delayed

Vocabulary List Five

Word Meaning

1. absolution forgiveness; pardon; release

2. blatant obvious

3. creditable praiseworthy

4. ensconce establish firmly in a position

5. hasten hurry; accelerate; rush

6. laceration a cut

7. obdurate stubborn

8. plausible can be believed; reasonable

9. reprieve a respite; postponement of a sentence

10 tawdry of little value; gaudy

Vocabulary List Six

Word Meaning

1. abstain desist; go without; withdraw

2. blighted damaged; destroyed; ruined

3. credulous gullible; ready to believe anything

4. enshroud cover

5. haughtiness arrogance; pride

6. lachrymose tearful; sad

7. obfuscate deliberately make something difficult to understand

8. plethora an excess

9. repudiate shun; eschew

10. tedium boredom

Vocabulary List Seven

Word Meaning

1. abstemious self denying; refraining from indulging

2. blithe free-spirited; carefree

3. crepuscular active at dawn and dusk

4. enunciation clear pronunciation; accent; articulation

5. headstrong stubborn; willful

6. lackluster dull; monotonous; bland

7. objective unbiased; not subjective

8. pliable flexible; not stubborn

9. rescind retract; repeal

10. temper to moderate; soften

Vocabulary List Eight

Word Meaning

1. abstruse difficult to understand; obscure

2. blunderbuss 1. ancient weapon 2. a clumsy person

3. cringe recoil; flinch; shy away

4. envenom to cause bitterness and bad feeling

5. hedonism self indulgence; pleasure-seeking

6. laconic using few words; brief; to the point

7. oblique indirect; slanting

8. plumage feathers of a bird

9. resignation acceptance of fate

10. tenacious stubborn; resolute; holding firm to a purpose

Vocabulary List Nine

Word Meaning

1. accolade tribute; honor; praise

2. bolster support; prop up

3. cryptic puzzling; enigmatic

4. ephemeral short-lived

5. hedonist a pleasure seeker

6. lamentation expression of regret or sorrow

7. obliterate destroy; demolish; eradicate

8. plummet fall suddenly and steeply

9. resolution determination

10. tentative not certain

Vocabulary List Ten

Word Meaning

1. acquiesce to agree to; give in to

2. bombast arrogant, pompous language

3. curtail cut short

4. epicure someone who appreciates good food and drink

5. heed listen to

6. lampoon ridicule; spoof

7. oblivious totally unaware

8. podium raised platform

9. resonant echoing

10. tenuous flimsy; not solid

Vocabulary List Eleven

Word Meaning

1. abase humiliate, degrade

2. Balk to stop, block abruptly

3. cacophony tremendous noise, disharmonious sound

4. daunting intimidating, causing one to lose courage

5. ebullient extremely lively, enthusiastic

6. fabricate to make up, invent

7. garish gaudy, in bad taste

8.hackneyed unoriginal, trite

9. iconoclast one who attacks common beliefs or institutions

10. jubilant extremely joyful, happy

Vocabulary List Twelve

Word Meaning

1. abate to reduce, lesson

2. banal dull, commonplace

3. cadence rhythm, progression of sound

4. dearth a lack, scarcity

5. eclectic consisting of a diverse variety of elements

6. façade the wall of a building

7. garrulous talkative, wordy

8. hallowed revered, consecrated

9. idiosyncratic peculiar to one person, highly individualized

10. judicious having or exercising sound judgment

Vocabulary List Thirteen

Word Meaning

1. abdicate to give up a position, usually of of leadership

2. bane a burden

3. cajole to urge, coax

4. debacle a disastrous failure, disruption

5. ecstatic intensely and overpoweringly happy

6. facile easy, requiring little effort

7. genial friendly, affable

8. hapless unlucky

9. idolatrous excessively worshipping one object or person

10.juxtaposition act of placing two things next to each other for comparison

Vocabulary List Fourteen

Word Meaning

1. abduct to kidnap, take by force

2. bard poet, often a singer as well

3. calamity an event with disastrous consequences

4. debacle a disastrous failure, disruption

5. edict order, decree

6. fallacious incorrect, misleading

7. gluttony overindulgence in food or drink

8. harangue a ranting speech or to give such a speech

9. ignominious humiliating, disgracing

10. knell the solemn sound of a bell, often indication a death

Vocabulary List Fifteen

Word Meaning

1. aberration something that differs from the norm

2. bashful shy, excessively timid

3. calibrate to set, standardize

4. debase to lower the quality or esteem of something

5. efface to wipe out, obliterate, rub away

6. fastidious meticulous, demanding, having high standards

7. goad to urge, spur, incite to action

8. hardy robust, capable of surviving through adverse conditions

9. illicit forbidden, not permitted

10. kudos praise for an achievement

Vocabulary List Sixteen

Word Meaning

1. abet to aid, help, encourage

2. battery 1. device that supplies power 2. assault, beating

3. callous harsh, cold, unfeeling

4. debauch to corrupt by means of sensual pleasures

5. effervescent bubbly, lively

6. fathom understand, comprehend

7. harrowing greatly distressing, vexing

8. immerse to absorb, deeply involve, engross

9. laceration a cut, tear

10. maelstrom a destructive whirlpool which rapidly sucks in objects

Vocabulary List Seventeen

Word Meaning

1. abject wretched, pitiful

2. beguile to trick, deceive

3. camaraderie brotherhood, jovial unity

4. debunk to expose the falseness of something

5. efficacious effective

6. fatuous silly, foolish

7. immutable not changeable

8. laconic brief or short in speech or writing

9. magnanimous noble, generous

10. nadir the lowest point of something

Vocabulary List Eighteen

Word Meaning

1. abject wretched, pitiful

2. behemoth something of tremendous power or size

3. candor honesty, frankness

4. decorous socially proper, appropriate

5. effrontery impudence, nerve, insolence

6. fecund fruitful, fertile

7. haughty disdainfully proud

8. impassive stoic, not susceptible to suffering

9. languid sluggish from fatigue or weakness

10. malediction a curse