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Key Terms Group 1
Term | Definition |
---|---|
aberrant (adj.) | deviating from the norm |
alacrity (noun) | eager and enthusiastic willingness |
approbation (noun) | an expression of approval or praise |
assuage (verb) | to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify |
austere (adj.) | without adornment; bare; severely simple |
axiomatic (adj.) | taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth |
chicanery (noun) | trickery or subterfuge |
disabuse (verb) | to undeceive; to set right |
effrontery (noun) | extreme boldness; presumptuousness |
enervate (verb) | to weaken; to reduce in vitality |
ennui (noun) | dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy |
equivocate (verb) | to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent |
erudite (adj.) | very learned; scholarly |
exculpate (verb) | to exonerate; to clear of blame |
exigent (adj.) | urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention |
extemporaneous (adj.) | improvised; done without preparation |
fulminate (verb) | to loudly attack or denounce |
ingenuous (adj.) | artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication |
inured (adj.) | accustomed to accepting something undesirable |
irascible (adj.) | easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts |
magnanimity (noun) | the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, especially in forgiving |
nascent (adj.) | coming into being; in early developmental stages |
neologism (noun) | a new word, expression or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses |
obviate (verb) | to anticipate and make unnecessary |
perfidy (noun) | intentional breach of faith; treachery |
perfunctory (adj.) | cursory; done without care or interest |
perspicacious (adj.) | acutely perceptive; having keen discernment |
precipitate (adj.) | acting with excessive haste or impulse |
predilection (noun) | a disposition in favor of something; preference |
prescience (noun) | foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring |
prevaricate (verb) | to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead |
reticent (adj.) | quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings |
stymie (verb) | to block; to thwart |
truculent (adj.) | fierce and cruel; eager to fight |
virulent (adj.) | extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic |