Vocabulary #1

 

adumbrate- to produce a faint image or resemblance of; to outline or sketch.

The student adumbrated the picture he was going to draw for the chalk festival.

 

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

His apotheosis has led to great things.

 ascetic- a person who dedicates his or her life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self-denial or self-mortification for religious reasons.

She became a very famous ascetic, with a lot of fans.

bauble- a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket; gewgaw.

The bauble on the tree shattered.

beguile- to take away from by cheating or deceiving.

Since the little girl didn't understand the situation, the older children beguiled her into it.

burgeon- to begin to grow, as a bud; put forth buds, shoots.

The flower burgeoned as the weather got warmer.

complement- something that completes or makes perfect.

The curtains complemented the paint in her new room.

 contumacious- stubbornly perverse or rebellious; willfully and obstinately disobedient.

The kid I was watching was contumacious.

curmudgeon- a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.

Her boss was a curmudgeon.

 

didactic- teaching or intending to teach a moral lesson.

The job required teaching experience and didactic skills.

disingenuous- lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; falsely

The jury found the arguments to be disingenuous and found her guilty.

 

exculpate- to clear from a charge of guilt or fault; free from blame; vindicate.

The one who committed the crime turned themselves in, so she was exculpated.

faux pas- a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion

He made a serious faux pas by joking about her family.

 

fulminate- to explode with a loud noise; detonate

The bomb fulminated in the quiet room.

.fustian- a stout fabric of cotton and flax

The shirt she bought was fustian.

hauteur- haughty manner or spirit; arrogance.

His manner was hauteur.

inhibit- to restrain, hinder, arrest, or check.

The guard inhibited the people from entering.

jeremiad- a prolonged lamentation or mournful complaint.

The jeremiad took its place in the subject.

 

opportunist- a person who practices opportunism, or the policy of adapting actions, decisions, etc., to effectiveness regardless of the sacrifice of ethical principles

She was an opportunist, always trying to get ahead.

unconscionable- not guided by conscience; unscrupulous.

To him, it was unconscionable to use unfair tactics to get ahead.