Sunday, September 9, 2012

Vocab List #5

acumen (noun)- keen insight.
With incredible acumen in business, the entrepreneur made good money.  

adjudicate (verb)- to settle or determine.
The separated couple adjudicated on their legal problems. 

anachronism (noun)- something or someone that is not in its correct historical time.
The reference to cars in a movie based in the 1800's  is considered an anachronism

apocryphal (adj)- of doubtful authorship or authenticity. 
The defendant presented the judge with apocryphal evidence.

disparity (noun)-  inequalityThere will always be disparity of wealth within this society.

dissimulate (verb)-  to disguise or conceal under a false appearance.
The police couldn't find the fugitive because he was dissimulated within a crowd of people

empirical (adj)-  derived from or guided by experience or experiment
Decision making should be empirical. 

flamboyant (adj)-   strikingly bold or brilliant; showy
Weddings should always be the most flamboyant party that a person puts together.

fulsome (adj)-  offensive to good taste, especially as being excessive;overdone or gross:
Having entered the ball, Stephanie realized that her dress might have been a little fulsome compared to the flamboyant attire everyone else had on.


immolate (verb)-  to sacrifice One must immolate sleep, time and energy to obtain success.

imperceptible (adj)-  very slight, gradual, or subtle.
Erosion of rock with the flow of water is imperceptible.  

lackey (noun)-  a servile follower
Every evil villain seems to have a equally evil lackey that supports him.

liaison (noun)-  a person who initiates and maintains such a contact or connection. 
The politician acted as a liaison in order to have a consensus between two other politicians.  

monolithic (adj)-  consisting of one piece; solid or unbroken
Sculptures from Rome are monolithic because they consist of just one solid rock.

mot juste (noun)-  the exact, appropriate word 
Dismal is mot juste to describe the man's appearance.

nihilism (noun)-  total rejection of established laws and institutions. Nihilism can be a dangerous concept because of its rejection of laws. 

patrician (noun)-  a person of noble or high rank; aristocrat. Patricians were regarded as more important because of their higher ranking in society.

propitiate (verb)-  to make favorably inclined; appease; conciliate.
The father predictable propitiated his daughter in order for her to get a job.


sic (verb)-to incite to attack 
An owner ordered his dog to sic the robber that intruded into their home.

sublimate(adj)-to make nobler or purer
The sublimated water still tasted like dirt.

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