Lesson 8—acquiesce to zeal

Acquiesce--verb To give in; to comply No matter how much the Egyptians revolted, the leader refused to acquiesce to their demands.

Affinity--noun a likeness, a natural relationship, a kinship She had an affinity for chocolate ice cream.

Blasphemous--adj Irreverent; profane (disrespectful) The show South Park can be incredibly blasphemous when parodying religion s.

Buttress--noun A support or prop—as a verb---to prop up The Victorian era was characterized by elaborate architecture with flying buttresses.

Circumspect--adjective careful to consider consequences, cautious, prudent Always be circumspect when using a blow dryer in the bathroom.

Corroboration--noun Confirmation ---to corroborate (verb) She needed corroboration from her friends before believing his story.

Deplete--verb to use up gradually, to lessen in amount or value The food reserves were depleted on the first day of the rescue mission.

Despotic--adj ruling oppressively and absolutely; tyrannical The despotic ruler surrounded himself with armed guards and sentenced to death anyone who disagreed with him.

Emaciated--adj very thin (usually as a result of starvation), wasting away It breaks my heart to see this emaciated dog whose owner was so abusive.

Empirical--adj based on observation or experiment and not on theory I can only trust studies with empirical proof.

Extraneous--adj not essential or vital Try not to get bogged down by the extraneous details, and just concentrate on the important parts.

Fallow--adj inactive, plowed but not sowed Although the farm land was fallow , and the building was abandoned, the property was worth millions.

Homogeneous--adj of the same kind; similar in nature In a decade, the school’s population changed from being culturally homogenous to highly diverse.

Hyperbole--noun obvious exaggeration She was so dramatic, she often peppered her conversations with hyperboles and flowery language.

Incontrovertible--adj Indisputable The winner of the debate was incontrovertible, yet the loser was determined to win the sympathy of the audience.

Irascible--adj irritable, easily angered, cranky, cross Don’t bother Mom when she gets home from work; she is usually quite contentious and irascible.

Laconic--adj using a minimum of words; concise to the point of seeming rude I hate laconic replies to text messages…like “ha ha ha” or “LOL.”

Magnanimity--n having a lofty, generous, and courageous spirit Beowulf was known for the magnanimity he showed Hrothgar.

Obsequious--adj overly attentive, like a sycophant, servile The student was obsequious toward her teacher in an attempt to persuade him to give her an A.

Proliferation—noun (to proliferate-verb) an increase in number, multiplication The proliferation of assault weapons in our country is alarming to those who want gun control legislation.

Scrupulous--adj very principled, very careful and conscientious Before submitting her college application, she scrupulously looked over every item.

Sublime--adj Exalted, noble, uplifting, transcendent, awe-inspiring The ocean front setting of their vacation was absolutely sublime.

Surreptitious--adj Secret; clandestine; stealthy His efforts to be surreptitious confused us; we thought he was up to something bad.

Veracity-noun Devotion to the truth We questioned the politician’s veracity; it seems people will say anything these days to get elected.

ZEAL --noun Enthusiasm; fervor Everyday, Mrs. Fossum wakes up with zeal---just ready to start the day.

Test Yourself T/F ---If I have an affinity for chocolate, I abhor it. T/F---A person who has trepidation about climbing will not be circumspect. This week’s vocabulary word closest in meaning to superfluous is ____________. A sycophant is likely to be ____________.