Vocabulary+Q3

1 abscond vi. to leave secretly and hide. Huck Finn and Jim abscond from the widow’s home. 2 accolade n. praise, honors. The Nobel Prize is the highest accolade a scientist can achieve. 3 altercation n. an angry dispute. Police had to intervene to settle an altercation in the streets. 4 antidote n. anything that counteracts poison or disease. An antidote saved the victim’s life. 5 archipelago n. a group of islands. Zanzibar is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. 6 atrophy (AT-tro-fee) n. decrease or wasting away, esp. of a body part. Unused muscles suffer atrophy. vi. to degenerate or waste away. Unused muscles can atrophy. 7 bias n. prejudice, tendency. The coach has a bias against left-handed quarterbacks. vt. to instill prejudice in. One bad date biased her against all the boys from his school. 8 blithe (–th as in thin or this) adj. happy, carefree. Blithe boys whistled happy tunes. 9 capitulate vi. to surrender, esp. after negotiation. Lacking the votes to win, the party capitulated. 10 chastise vt. to punish or criticize harshly. The surgeon chastised the intern for carelessness. 11 coercion (co-ER-zhun or –shun) n. moral or physical force. If persuasion fails, they resort to coercion. 12 confluence n. a flowing together. Pittsburgh was founded at the confluence of two rivers. 13 contingent adj. uncertain, dependent. Our meeting is contingent upon her schedule. 14 curb vt. to restrain. Curb your enthusiasm. n. a restraint. The government put a curb on prices. 15 deign (dane) vi. to condescend reluctantly. The snob would not deign to wear Kmart clothes. 16 desecration n. violation of or disrespect toward something deserving reverence. Vandals’ desecration of the altar outraged members of the church. 17 disgruntled adj. ill-humored, discontented. The disgruntled customer refused to pay the bill. 18 disseminate vt. to spread. The executives disseminated new policies throughout the company. 19 divulge vt. to reveal. They will not divulge the identity of the winner until the awards ceremony. 20 dogmatism n. narrow-minded belief in a set of ideas. The bishop’s dogmatism prevented reform. 21 eccentric (ik-SEN-tric) adj. odd, unconventional. His eccentric habits disturbed newcomers to our town. n. an eccentric person. The eccentric’s habits disturbed newcomers. 22 emaciated adj. very thin; wasted away physically. After a month of fasting, he was emaciated. 23 engulf vt. to flow over; to overwhelm. Debts engulfed the struggling business. 24 equanimity (EK-wa- or EEK-wa-) n. poise, calm. Despite hardships she maintained her equanimity. 25 exacerbate vt. to worsen. Hours at the keyboard can exacerbate the pain of arthritis. 26 expedite vt. to speed up the process of. She asked the business office to expedite the paperwork. 27 fallible adj. capable of making mistakes. Everyone’s memory is fallible. 28 flagrant adj. conspicuously offensive. Spiked pink hair is a flagrant violation of the dress code. 29 fruitless adj. unsuccessful despite labor. Efforts to achieve peace unfortunately proved fruitless. 30 guile n. deceit. He used guile to outwit stronger foes. 31 heretic n. nonconformist: one who disagrees with an established belief, esp. a religious belief. The heretic believed in God but not in the immaculate conception. 32 hinder vt. to impede, hold back. Bad weather hindered the construction project. 33 incantation n. the use of spells to enchant; spell. The witch’s incantation raised evil spirits. 34 incorporeal (in-cor-POR-ee-al) adj. lacking bodily substance. Ghosts are incorporeal beings. 35 ineffectual adj. not achieving the desired effect. Efforts to deter crime proved ineffectual. 36 insouciant (in-SOO-see-ant) adj. lightheartedly careless. His insouciant jokes annoy teachers. 37 invariable adj. unchanging. When I play the chess master, the result is invariable: he wins. 38 irascible (ir-RASS-ible) adj. hot-tempered. The irascible coach often screamed at referees. 39 larceny n. robbery. The car thieves were charged with larceny. 40 luscious adj. delicious in taste or smell. I was tempted to pick the luscious fruit. 41 meander vi. to wander aimlessly. Lovers meandered through the park. 42 moribund adj. inactive, obsolete, dying. The model’s career was moribund when she turned thirty. 43 oblique adj. indirect. Avoiding open criticism, he made oblique attacks. 44 overwrought adj. 1. agitated, excited. The night before her recital, she was too overwrought to sleep. 2. overdone; too elaborate. Overwrought with curlicues, the fence was too fancy for me. 45 paucity n. lack. The paucity of applicants forced the boss to hire someone inexperienced. 46 perjury n. falsehood under oath. President Clinton committed perjury to avoid embarrassment. 47 pique (PEEK) n. a brief feeling of wounded pride. In a moment of pique, I said something I quickly regretted. vt. to excite or arouse. Movie previews pique the interest of audiences. 48 prescriptive adj. laying down rules. The artist found the how-to-draw books too prescriptive. 49 presumptuous adj. overstepping due bounds; taking liberties. The presumptuous young actress told the director how to film the scene. 50 protean (PRO-tee-in) adj. able to take different forms; versatile. The actor had a protean ability to 51 ramshackle adj. rickety; ready to break down. The ramshackle barn collapsed in the storm. 52 recluse n. one who leads a secluded life. Sick of publicity, the retired celebrity became a recluse. 53 refurbish vt. to renovate or freshen up. They refurbished the computer lab with new equipment. 54 repudiate vt. to refuse to acknowledge. The rebellious teen repudiated her parents’ values. 55 sacrosanct adj. sacred, or treated as if sacred: immune from criticism or change. He thinks the traditional ways of doing things are sacrosanct. 56 secular adj. relating to the worldly or temporal: not religious or eternal. The religious poet John Donne also wrote secular poems on love and other themes. 57 solicit vt. 1. to plead to; to approach with a request. My dinner was interrupted by a phone call soliciting me for financial support. 2. to lure, esp. into evil. Prostitutes solicit men on the streets. 58 staid adj. serious, self-restrained. His staid manner concealed all personality and emotion. 59 subsist vi. to have or get the necessities of life. Imported species cannot subsist in the desert. 60 syncopation n. musical rhythm with stress on the weak beat. Some jazz features syncopation. 61 terrestrial adj. 1. of the earth. The equator spans the terrestrial circumference. 2. of the land. The otter is not solely a terrestrial mammal. 62 trenchant adj. sharply perceptive; penetrating. Her trenchant analysis cut to the heart of the problem. 63 venerate vt. to respect highly; to revere. We venerate the great artists of the past. 64 viable adj. able to survive or function. In such a small city, a pro sports franchise is not viable. 65 willful adj. 1. stubborn. The willful child would not obey. 2. intentional. It was willful vandalism.
 * Study Guide: Iolani School Elective Vocabulary List 7**