Vocab 9

abate (v) to make less in amount, degree, etc.; to subside, become less; to nullify; to deduct, omit Over time his anger will abate and he will be happy again. He ate very healthy in order to abate his weight.

Adulation (n) praise or flattery that is excessive The girl gave much adulation to the woman because she hoped to get hired for the job. She complimented her on every piece of jewelry, her hair, and her clothing.

Anathema (n) an object of intense dislike; a curse or strong denunciation The toddler considered the vegetables an anathema because he hated eating them so much.

Astute (adj) shrewd, crafty, showing practical wisdom The astute student studied a little bit everyday for the final exams in order to not cram the night before. As a result, he received all A’s.

Avarice (n) a greedy desire, particularly for wealth Motivated by his avarice, the man stole millions of dollars from his company and left the country.

Culpable (adj) deserving blame, worthy of condemnation The culprit was culpable for the theft; the jury convicted him and sent to him to jail since it was obvious he had committed the crime.

Dilatory (adj) tending to delay or procrastinate, not prompt; intended to delay or postpone The little boy used dilatory strategies to avoid going to bed, such as asking for an extra bedtime story or crying every time his mom left the room.

Egregious (adj) conspicuous, standing out from the mass (used particularly in an unfavorable sense) The egregious girl wore a bright outfit, which caused everyone to notice her since they were all wearing black and gray.

Equivocate (v) to speak or act in a way that allows for more than one interpretation; to be deliberately vague or ambiguous The witches from Macbeth would often equivocate their responses to Macbeth and trick him into thinking one thing when they meant something else.

Evanescent (adj) vanishing, soon passing away; light and airy The evanescent moment only lasted for a little bit of time, and the group of friends wished it could last forever.

Irresolute (adj) unable to make up one’s mind, hesitating The irresolute ending of The Giver left people wondering exactly what had happened to Jonas and Gabe. My mother was irresolute about the directions my aunt had given her, so she looked up directions on her phone.

Nebulous (adj) cloudlike, resembling a cloud; cloudy in color, not transparent; vague, confused, indistinct Beauty is a very nebulous idea since people have many different ideas about what makes someone or something beautiful.

Novice (n) one who is just a beginner at some activity requiring skill and experience (also used adjectively) The novice swimmer thought he could take on the large swell of the ocean, but he ended up nearly drowning since he was not very experienced.

Penury (n) extreme poverty; barrenness, insufficiency Many people in third world countries live in penury and poverty. They struggle to afford food and clothing.

Pretentious (adj) done for show, striving to make big impressions; claiming merit or position unjustifiably; making demands on one’s skill or abilities, ambitious Even though Shay was a millionaire, she still avoided hanging out with pretentious people who liked to show off their wealth. The pretentious girl constantly talked about the fancy vacations her family took and would always show off her designer clothes and bags.

Recapitulate (v) to review a series of facts; to sum up At the beginning of a new episode, the Big Bang Theory will recapitulate what happened in the episode before.

Resuscitate (v) to revive, bring back to consciousness or existence The lifeguard managed to perform CPR and resuscitate the young girl who nearly drowned in the water.

Slovenly (adj) untidy, dirty, careless My mother always had to remind my slovenly brother to clean up his room and put his dirty clothes in the laundry basket instead of the floor.

Supposition (n) something that is assumed or taken for granted without conclusive evidence The tabloids based many of their stories on suppositions about famous celebrities, even though there is no proof to support the stories.

Torpid (adj) inactive, sluggish, dull When I am sick, I often am torpid and stay in bed all day reading and sleeping.