Vocab Lists 1-5

English 2 Vocab List 1

1. aberration; noun – deviating from the right path or usual course of action; a mental disorder, especially of a minor or temporary nature. We were convinced that Ed’s poor test marks were an aberration, and that he would do better the next time.

2. belittle; verb – to make something seem less important. The purpose of much campaign oratory is to belittle your opponent’s record.

3. cache; noun – a hiding place; something hidden in a hiding place. Police searched in vain for the cache of jewels which the thieves had skillfully concealed.

4. dearth; noun – shortage. The dearth of citrus fruits led to a host of illnesses.

5. ebb; verb – to decline. Investors watched their fortunes ebb as the stock market plunged to a new low.

6. facilitate; verb – to make easy; to bring about. To facilitate our move, the company sent a crew to crate all of the furniture.

7. galvanize; verb – to arouse suddenly; to startle. It took a mishap at Chernobyl to galvanize the peace movement into protesting vigorously.

8. hackneyed; adjective – used too often; trite; commonplace. Creative writers cringe when they hear egregiously hackneyed expressions.

9. iconoclast; noun – a person who attacks cherished beliefs or established institutions. When she shook up the conservative firm, Gloria earned the reputation of being an iconoclast.

10. jargon; noun – the specialized vocabulary of members of a group. The club members adopted a jargon that made them feel exclusive.

11. kindle; verb – to ignite; to arouse or inspire; to catch fire; to become aroused. With the wind blowing furiously, Ted found it difficult to kindle a fire.

12. labyrinth; noun- a maze; a complicated, perplexing arrangement or course of affairs. Once inside the cave, the searchers were confronted with a labyrinth that defied them to find the route to the wounded explorer.

13. malicious; adjective- spiteful; intentionally mischievous or harmful. The malicious man led the widow through a labyrinth of schemes to deprive her of her fortune.

14. nomenclature; noun – a systematic naming in an art or science. The nomenclature can be quickly mastered by using memory devices.

15. obliterate; verb – to blot out leaving no traces; to destroy. The authorities feared that the heavy rain would obliterate all signs of the escaped prisoner.

English 2 Vocab List 2

1. abstinence; noun – the giving up of certain pleasures such as food or drink. Myra’s abstinence from cake, candy, and ice cream led to a dramatic weight loss.

2. bequeath; verb – to leave money or property by a will; to pass along. The austere, old tightwad would not bequeath even one penny to charity.

3. cacophony; noun- discord; harsh sound. While we sought harmony, our enemies were pleased with cacophony.

4. debilitate; verb – to weaken. The cruel jailer starved his prisoners in order to debilitate them.

5. eclectic; adjective – consisting of selections from various sources. With an eclectic interest in books, Sheila collected everything from Shakespeare to Superman.

6. fallacy; noun – false idea; mistaken belief. The economist revealed the fallacy in the government’s proposal.

7. garbled; adjective – confused; mixed up. The garbled message failed to facilitate the ambulance’s arrival.

8. haphazard; adjective – not planned; random. Taking haphazard aim, the hunter committed a fatal error.

9. immaterial; adjective – insignificant; unimportant. The prosecutor objected to the attorney’s exhibit, disparaging it as amateurish and immaterial.

10. judicious; adjective – wise; careful; showing sound judgment; prudent. Gary thought it more judicious to speak to his mother rather than his father about extending his curfew.

11. lackluster; adjective – lacking brightness; dull; lacking liveliness, vitality, or enthusiasm. His lackluster response to our suggestions made us lose our initial enthusiasm.

12. marred; verb – injured; spoiled; damaged; disfigured. The fight in the corridor marred Lorna’s otherwise perfect record as a model student.

13. nonchalance; noun – carelessness; lack of interest or concern. Edward’s nonchalance about his studies made it difficult to lampoon him about his poor showing in the midterm exams.

14. obscure; adjective – not clear or distinct; hidden; remote; not well known. Far from the well-traveled highway was an obscure village that seemed to belong to another age.

15. painstaking; adjective – very careful, diligent. Researchers are engaged in a painstaking effort to find a vaccine against the AIDS virus.  

English 2 Vocab List 3

1. abstract; adjective – theoretical, not applied or practical; not concrete; hard to understand. I prefer realistic art to abstract paintings, which are totally confusing to me.

2. bizarre; adjective – strikingly odd in appearance or style; grotesque. The beggar’s bizarre street behavior alerted the police to question her.

3. cajole; verb – to persuade by pleasant words or false promises. First he tried to cajole the witness into testifying; then he used threats.

4. decadence; noun – decay; decline. Many sermons tend to focus on the moral decadence in our time.

5. efface; verb – to wipe out; to erase. A devious attempt to efface the signature didn’t fool the bank teller.

6. fastidious; adjective – hard to please; dainty in taste. Everett was so fastidious that his messy fraternity brothers refused to room with him.

7. garner; verb – to gather and store away; to collect. By paying close attention, you may be able to garner some information will elucidate the situation.

8. hedonist; noun – one who lives solely for pleasure. Abandoning her lifestyle as a hedonist, Maria entered a convent.

9. imminent; adjective – about to occur. The ominous clouds told us that a storm was imminent.

10.  laconic; adjective – brief or terse in speech; using few words. The tense situation called for a laconic reply, not a lengthy exposition.

11. meager; adjective – thin; lean; of poor quality or small amount. The visiting team lampooned the meager dinner served by their hosts.

12. obsolete; adjective – out-of-date. Propeller planes have become obsolete.

13. pariah; noun – an outcast. The Western mind finds it difficult to accept the idea of a pariah class.

14. quandary; noun – condition of being doubtful or confused. The benefits and dangers of a nuclear plant leave us in a quandary.

15. raconteur; noun – a person skilled at telling stories or anecdotes. Comedians and masters of ceremonies must be consummate raconteurs.

English 2 Vocab List 4

1. acclaim; noun – loud applause; approval. Jonas Salk won great acclaim for his medical discoveries.

2. blithe; adjective – happy and cheerful; gay. Lori’s blithe attitude toward her terrible predicament was bizarre indeed.

3. callous; adjective – unfeeling; insensitive. It was a surprise to see the tears flowing from someone we had considered to be callous.

4. deference; noun – great respect. Out of deference to my father, we never smoked in the house.

5. effervescent; adjective – lively; giving off bubbles. Because I do not enjoy carbonated drinks, I do not like the effervescent quality of ginger ale.

6. fervor; noun – intense emotion; great warmth of feeling. Alicia does her volunteer work with tremendous fervor.

7. garrulous; adjective – talkative. Nothing galvanizes me into leaving a beauty parlor as much as a garrulous hairdresser.

8. heretic; noun – a person who upholds religious doctrines contrary to the established beliefs of his church. Severely chastised for being a heretic, brother Vincent was asked to leave the monastery.

9. immutable; adjective – never changing. My father’s immutable optimism can be traced back to the pleasant atmosphere in my grandmother’s home.

10. lampoon; noun – strong, satirical writing, usually attacking or ridiculing someone. The college quarterly featured a lampoon of fraternity hazing.

11. meandering; verb – winding back and forth; rambling. Meandering through the crowded streets of a foreign city is my idea of a tourist’s delight.

12. officious; adjective – meddling; giving unnecessary or unwanted advice or services. Mr. Klar’s officious manner helped him gain friends easily but lose them in short order.

13. parsimonious; adjective – too thrifty; stingy. Dickens’ Scrooge, before his metamorphosis, is regarded as the prototype of the parsimonious man.

14. querulous; adjective – peevish; faultfinding; expressing or suggestive of complaint. We tend to turn a deaf ear to querulous demands for attention.

15. rancor; noun – deep spite or malice; strong hate or bitter feeling. A forgiving heart will save you from the corrosive effects of rancor.

English 2 Vocab List 5

1. acquiesce; verb – to accept the conclusions or arrangements of others; to accede; to give consent by keeping silent. The president said that we will never acquiesce to the demands of the terrorists.

2. bombastic; adjective – high-sounding; marked by use of language without much real meaning. The citizens failed to be aroused by their mayor’s bombastic speech.

3. capitulate; verb – to surrender; to cease resisting. Colonel Leeds was adamant in his decision not to capitulate under any terms.

4. deflate; verb – to let air out of; to reduce in size or importance. The boss’s criticism deflated John’s ego.

5. egregious; adjective – extraordinarily bad. An egregious bookkeeping error cost our company $1,000,000.

6. fitful; adjective – spasmodic; intermittent. Monte’s fitful sleep tended to exacerbate his normal irritability.

7. gratuitous; adjective – freely given; unnecessary; uncalled-for. Hillary’s gratuitous suggestion was rejected by the other guests who blithely ignored it.

8. hierarchy; noun – organization by rank, class, or grade. In the company’s hierarchy, I’m the low man on the totem pole.

9. impartial; adjective – fair; just; showing no favoritism. An impartial attorney was asked to serve as a judge in the dispute.

10. lassitude; noun – state or feeling of being tired and listless; weariness. Lassitude comes from a feeling of hopelessness.

11. meticulous; adjective – very careful about details; fussy. Sidney was meticulous about his clothing but quite sloppy about his room.

12. opportunist; noun – one who takes advantage of any opportunity without regard for moral principles. The opportunist is so anxious to get ahead that he is ready to ignore the needs, feelings, and welfare of his fellow man.

13. partisan; noun – on who strongly supports a party or cause; characteristic of a guerilla fighter. A partisan of the animal rights cause, John believes all use of animals for testing should be banned.

14. quixotic; adjective – idealistic and utterly impractical. It is quixotic to think that we can ignore the environmental consequences of pollution.

15. raze; verb – to tear down completely; to destroy. The corporation voted to raze the decaying structure and replace it with a modern skyscraper.