Vocabulary Level F Unit 13

abet – v. to encourage, assist, aid, support (especially in something wrong or unworthy) Ex: You are just as guilty as the bank robber if you abet him by driving the getaway car.

aver – v. to affirm, declare confidently Ex: Will Cyrano aver his love for Roxane in the end?

blatant – adj. obvious or conspicuous, esp. in an unfavorable sense Ex: Driving through a red light is a blatant disregard for traffic laws.

broach – v. to bring up or begin to talk about (a subject) Ex: Just as Cyrano was about to broach the topic of his love for Roxane, she expresses her love for Christian.

buttress – v. to support, prop up, strengthen; n. a supporting structure Ex: I developed two more ideas into strong examples that would buttress my thesis on my research paper. Ex: The architecture of that building included stone buttresses that gave it a gothic look. buttresses

carousal – n. noisy revelry or merrymaking (often with a suggestion of heavy drinking) Ex: Cyrano and the cadets celebrated their victory through carousal and fireworks.

collate – v. to arrange in order for some specific purpose Ex: Please collate the handouts by page number, not color.

connoisseur – n. an expert Ex: Mark considers himself a connoisseur of fine wines, having toured the wine country and sampled many types.

disconsolate – adj. deeply unhappy or dejected; beyond hope or consolation Ex: Cyrano lived his life in disconsolate isolation, convinced no woman could ever love such a large-nosed man.

encumbered – v. to weigh down or burden (with difficulties, cares, debt, etc.) Ex: Sara’s decision to buy a luxury car encumbered her with a monthly payment she could barely afford.

foment – v. to promote trouble or rebellion Ex: The class president fomented a protest against the new school rules.

grisly – adj. frightful, horrible, ghastly Ex: Please spare me the grisly details of your bout of nausea; I’m just glad you’re feeling better!

herculean – characterized by great strength Ex: Her herculean courage during her fight with cancer was inspiring to everyone around her.

impassive – adj. showing no feeling or emotion Ex: Your impassive response to my idea suggests you aren’t really keen to it.

inauspicious – adj. suggesting bad luck for the future Ex: The dark clouds in the sky were an inauspicious sign of the likely postponement of our plans.

incontrovertible – adj. unquestionable, beyond dispute Ex: When the murder weapon was found to have Joe’s fingerprints on it, his guilt became incontrovertible.

nonplussed – adj. puzzled, at a loss, not knowing what to do Ex: My mother’s nonplussed expression told me she had no idea how to answer the question.

opportune – adj. occurring at an appropriate time Ex: My raise came at a very opportune time; my rent had just gone up!

prolific – adj. abundantly productive Ex: I used the fact that my parents were going out of town to have a prolific weekend of studying without the disruption of chores!

rejoinder – n. a reply to a reply (usually a legal response) Ex: My sister gets in trouble because she always has to have the last word, and her rejoinders are usually something as clever as, “Whatever!”