Sunday, October 21, 2012

Vocabulary #8

abeyance (noun) A state of temporary disuse or suspension

ambivalent (adjective) Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone


beleaguer (verb) Beset with difficulties


carte blanche (noun) Complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best


cataclysm (noun) A large-scale and violent event in the natural world


debauch (verb) Destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt.


eclat (noun) An enthusiastic approval


fastidious (adjective) Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail


gambol (verb) Run or jump about playfully


imbue (verb) Inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality


inchoate (adjective) Just begun and so not fully formed or developed


lampoon (verb) Publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule or sarcasm


malleable (adjective) Easily influenced; pliable


nemesis (noun) The inescapable or implacable agent of someone's or something's downfall


opt (verb) Make a choice from a range of possibilities


philistine (noun) A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them


picaresque (adjective) Of or relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the

adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero


queasy (adjective) Nauseated; feeling sick


refractory (adjective) Stubborn or unmanageable


savoir-faire (noun) The ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations



I give credit to Katelyn Porraz. http://kporrazrhsenglitcomp.blogspot.com/2012/10/vocabulary-8.html

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