Vocabulary Unit #2

Ameliorate

• To improve, make better, correct a flaw.

• You would never think it, but a big hug can do wonders and ameliorate the stresses of a long & grueling day.

Aplomb

• Poise, assurance, great self-confidence.

• After Jocasta found out about the fulfilment of the prophecy, she did not handle the truth with aplomb and instead, ended her life.

Bombastic

• Pompous or overblown in language; inflated, pretentious.

• I guess you can say that presidential candidates who deliver bombastic speeches, are least likely to receive the peoples’ votes.

Callow

• Without experience; immature; lacking sophistication and poise.

• Most MHS freshmen start off as callow high school students, but usually develop into mature young adults.

Drivel

• Foolish, aimless talk or thinking; non-sense.

• As much as he tries to start a pleasant conversation, all he does is end up driveling on about his glory days.

Epitome

• A summary; an instance that represents a larger reality.

• After reading the Prologue of Antigone, the readers can conclude that Antigone is the epitome of a heroine.

Exhort

• To urge strongly, advise earnestly.

• Ms. Navarro is always exhorting her students to never give up and keep on trying to exceed their best.

Ex Officio

• By virtue of holding a certain office.

• Many citizens have proclaimed that they hope Donald Trump will not become an ex officio of the White House.

Infringe

• To violate, go beyond recognized bounds, intrude.

• Many teens are against their parents infringing on their privacy, especially when it comes to checking their text messages.

Ingratiate

• To make oneself agreeable and thus gain favor by others; cozy up to.

• Social climbers are well-known for ingratiating themselves with people of high financial status.

Interloper(n.) someone who

moves in somewhere they are not wanted, an outcast; someone who does not fit in a specific environment; a trespasser, an intruder.

Rudolph was considered an interloper in the North Pole because nobody wanted to play with him.

Intrinsic(adj.) belonging to

someone naturally by nature; inherent; existing as an inseparable/permanent element; originating in a bodily organ.

Elsa, the queen of Arendelle in Frozen, had intrinsic magical ice powers.

Inveigh

(v.) to make a violent attack in words; to verbally attack; to express strong disapproval.Politicians often inveigh each other’s ideas

and opinions during debates.

Lassitude(n.) a state of physical

or mental weariness, lack of energy; fatigue.

The student was in a state of lassitude after studying for his exam all night.

Millennium(n.) a period of one

thousand years; a period of joy/happiness.

The Millennium Falcon, a famous spaceship from Star Wars, traveled in light years.

Occult(adj.) secretive,

hidden; mysterious, magical; (v.) to hide, cut off from view; eclipse; (n.) supernatural beliefs.The solar eclipse occulted the

sun’s light.

Permeate(v.) to spread

throughout; to soak through something; pervade.

In the video, the astronaut permeated the water through the washcloth.

Precipitate(v.) to fall as moisture

(rain); to cause something suddenly/unexpectedly; (adj.) suddenly, hastily; without careful consideration; (n.) moisture; the product of an action/process.The man used an umbrella to shade

himself from the precipitation.

Stringent(adj.) strict, severe,

precise; sharp or bitter to the taste; rigorously binding or compelling.

The stringent teacher threatened to write a referral note.

Surmise

(v.) to have an opinion or believe something without supporting evidence; to stereotype/judge; to guess; (n.) likely idea that lacks proof; and educated guess.

When asked a challenging question to which she did not know the answer to, the

contestant surmised an answer.