Monday, August 19, 2013

Vocabulary #1


Adumbrate- to produce a faint image or resemblance of; to outline or sketch.
Apotheosis- the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god.
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.
Bauble- a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket.
Beguile- to influence by trickery, flattery, etc.; mislead; delude.
Burgeon- to grow or develop quickly; flourish.
Complement- something that completes or makes perfect.
Contumacious- stubbornly perverse or rebellious; willfully and obstinately disobedient.
Curmudgeon- a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.
Didactic- intended for instruction; instructive
Disingenuous- lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; falsely or hypocritically
Exculpate- to clear from a charge of guilt or fault; free from blame; vindicate.
Faux pas- a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion.
Fulminate- to explode with a loud noise; detonate.
Fustian-pompous or bombastic, 
Hauteur- haughty manner or spirit; arrogance.
Inhibit- to restrain, hinder, arrest, or check (an action, impulse, etc.).
Jeremiad- a prolonged lamentation or mournful complaint.
Opportunist- the policy of adapting actions, decisions, etc., to effectiveness regardless of the sacrifice of ethical principles.
Unconscionable- not guided by conscience; unscrupulous.


Definitions courtesy of dictionary.com

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