VOCAB #6

obsequious: showing servile complaisance; fawning; obedient; deferential
The obsequious child did whatever his parents wanted.

beatitude: exalted happiness; supreme blessedness
The beatitude she felt on her wedding day wiped away any doubts she had had.

bête noire: a person or thing especially disliked or dreaded
It is a sad thing when you become the bête noire of a community.

bode: to endure; to encounter; to wait; to dwell
He decided to bode his time wisely before asking his boss for a raise.

dank: unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and, often, chilly
The tourists took a guided tour through a dank and dark underground cave.

ecumenical: general; universal; promoting Christian unity throughout the world; interreligious or interdenominational
Their ecumenical relationship was criticized by their relatives.

fervid: vehement in spirit; overly enthusiastic; burning; glowing;
Her fervid attitude towards the group project had a positive effect on the attitudes of the other group members.

fetid: having an offensive odor; stinking
The fetid smell of trash stretches for miles on trash day.

gargantuan: gigantic; enormous; colossal
To an ant, an elephant must seem gargantuan.

heyday: the period of the greatest vigor, strength, success; prime
It was a sad time when he realized that the heyday of his acting career was over.

incubus: a nightmare; something that oppresses one like a nightmare
The incubus of her act of stealing the candy bar caused herself to turn herself in the next day.

infrastructure: the basic or underlying framework or features of a system or organization
The infrastructure of the store included a store manager and multiple clerks.

inveigle: to entice, lure, or snare by flattery; to acquire, win, or obtain by beguiling talk
She inveigled the boy into giving her the concert tickets for a cheaper price.

kudos: honor; glory; acclaim
Everyone wants kudos for their hard work.

lagniappe: a gratuity or tip; an unexpected benefit
They forgot to leave a lagniappe for the waiter for the meal in the restaurant.

prolix: extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy;
His prolix essay wasn't even comprehensible; it was filled with jargon.

protégé: a person under protection, patronage, or care of someone interested in his/her career or welfare
The carpenter's protégé was becoming better than the carpenter himself.

prototype: the original or model on which something is based or formed from; model; exemplar
The prototype of the airplane looked promising that it would fly properly.

sycophant: self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite
The sycophant hoped to earn a promotion by becoming the personal attendant of the boss.

tautology: needless repetition of an idea without imparting additional clearness
Tautology can be tiring when it makes writing appear to be a very complex on the surface, but it really isn't.

truckle: to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely
He truckled to his cravings for sweets and went out for ice cream.

accolade: any award, honor, or laudatory notice; a touch on the shoulder with a sword during a knighthood ceremony
The accolade she received for her photograph in the art show came with a $50 check.

acerbity: sourness, with roughness of taste; harshness or severity in temper or expression
Because of the employee's acerbity, many people chose not to got to the store.

attrition: a decrease in numbers, size, or strength; the wearing down or weakening of resistance
She developed attrition towards her monotonous life.

bromide:  a platitude or trite saying; a person who is platitudinous and boring
His essay contained so many bromides that his teacher didn't find any original material in it.

chauvinist: a person who aggressively and blindly patriotic; a person who believes one gender is superior to the other
The male chauvinist thought that only men should go to work, while the women should stay home.

chronic: constant; habitual; recurring frequently
The child's chronic cough worried her parents, and they took her to see a doctor.

expound: to state in detail; to explain; to interpret
He expounded the process by which machine was supposed to be assembled.

factionalism: of a faction or factions; self-interested; partisan
The factionalism of our government inhibits its effectiveness.

immaculate: spotlessly clean; pure; free from errors
The mother always seemed to want the teenage daughter's room to be immaculate.

imprecation: the act of cursing; a curse; malediction
He cast all the imprecations he could think of at the hammer that had hit his thumb.

ineluctable: inescapable; incapable of being evaded
School is ineluctable to students who want to learn and get good grades.

mercurial: volatile; erratic; flighty; animated; lively; quick-witted
The teenager's mercurial and energetic personality puzzled her parents.

palliate: mitigate; alleviate; to relieve or lessen without curing
The ice pack palliated the pain from the inflammation of a sprained ankle.

protocol: the regulations and customs dealing with formality, precedence, and etiquette
Every teacher has a specific protocol of their classroom that they expect students to follow.

resplendent: shining brilliantly; gleaming; splendid
The resplendent snow excited the children, who rushed to go sledding through it.

stigmatize: to set some mark of disgrace or infamy upon; to mark with a stigma or brand
His disgraceful actions abroad stigmatized his family in their town.

sub rosa: confidentially; secretly; privately
The content of the business meeting was asked to be kept sub rosa because of ruthless competitors.

vainglory: excessive elation and pride over one's achievements; empty pomp or show
He didn't want someone to mistake his announcement of his achievement as vainglorious.

vestige: the mark, trace, or evidence of something that no longer exists; a slight trace or amount
Only small vestiges of love existed between the divorced couple.

volition: the act of willing, choosing, or resolving; a decision made by will
She didn't want to listen to her parents because she wanted to make decisions of her own volition.