Vocabulary #1

adumbrate: to represent in outline; to indicate faintly
The teacher adumbrated the math principle to the class.

apotheosis: exaltation of a person to rank of god; ideal example; epitome
She was the apotheosis of a senior in high school, working diligently on her college applications every day.

ascetic: rigorously abstinent; austere
The Puritans had a very ascetic lifestyle, strictly conforming to their religion and a plain way of life.

bauble: a showy, usually cheap, ornament; trinket
The peddler had many baubles for sale in his wagon.

beguile: mislead; delude; charm; take away by cheating or flattery
The evil queen beguiled Snow White into eating the poisoned apple.

burgeon: sprout; grow quickly; flourish
The village burgeoned into a large city of thousands of people and businesses.

complement: to complete; to make perfect; full quantity
Their personalities complemented each other; everything she lacked, he had.

contumacious: stubbornly rebellious; willfully disobedient
It was innate for the teenager to be contumacious towards her parents.

curmudgeon: a bad-tempered; cantankerous person
The town's librarian was such a curmudgeon that nobody wanted to ask him where anything was.

didactic: instructive; inclined to teach
The didactic approach he took in answering bored his friend.

disingenuous: insincere; lacking in candor
Instead of being candid with me, he was disingenuous when he explained his actions.

exculpate: to free from blame; vindicate
The prisoner was exculpated and released from jail after new evidence for his case surfaced.

faux pas: a blunder in conduct; an embarrassing indiscretion
Asking the overweight woman when her due date is, was an awful faux pas.

fulminate: to issue denunciations; to pronounce with condemnation
Abraham Lincoln fulminated against slavery.

fustian: inflated language in writing; worthless; cheap
The authors fustian hid the gaps in the plot.

hauteur: arrogance; haughty manner
In the beginning of the novel, Elizabeth disliked the hauteur with which Mr. Darcy regarded everything and everyone.

inhibit: to hinder; to forbid; to restrain
The loud music coming from her brother's room inhibited Jill from concentrating on her homework.

jeremiad: prolonged lamentation; mournful complaint
The students' loud jeremiads did nothing to change the teacher's mind about the pop quiz.

opportunist: the policy of adapting actions and decisions; someone who practices opportunism
She is an opportunist who takes advantage of other people to get what she wants from them.

unconscionable: unscrupulous; excessive; extortionate; not guided by conscience
Stealing from a child is an unconscionable act.