Monday, October 8, 2012

Vocabulary List #8

Abeyance- A state of temporary disuse or suspension.

Ambivalent-  Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.

Beleaguer- Beset with difficulties

Carte blanche-  Complete freedom to act as one wishes or thinks best.

Cataclysm- A sudden violent upheaval, esp. in a political or social context

Debauch-  Destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt.
- A bout of excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures, esp. eating and drinking

éclat- brilliant or conspicuous success

Fastidious-  Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail

Gambol-  Run or jump about playfully

Imbue-  Inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality: "imbued with deep piety".

Inchoate-  Just begun and so not fully formed or developed

Lampoon- Publicly criticize (someone or something) by using ridicule or sarcasm.
- A speech or text criticizing someone or something in this way

Malleable-  Easily influenced; pliable

Nemesis-  The inescapable or implacable agent of someone's or something's downfall

Opt- Make a choice from a range of possibilities

Philistine-  A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them

Picaresque-  Of or relating to an episodic style of fiction dealing with the adventures of a rough and dishonest but appealing hero

Queasy-  Nauseated; feeling sick

Refractory-  Stubborn or unmanageable

Savoir-faire-  The ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations.

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