Vocab Unit 4 Quiz on 12/11 or 12/12

Affable Adjective Courteous and pleasant, sociable, easy to talk to Everyone was friends with the affable girl because she was so friendly.

Aggrandize verb to increase in greatness, power or wealth; to build up or intensify; to make appear greater The business man attempted to aggrandize his status in the company by bribing his superiors and gaining more control.

Amorphous adjective shapeless, without definite form; of no particular type of character; without organization, unity, or cohesion The amorphous creature in the film Flubber could easily fit into any crevice or space.

Archetype noun An original mode on which something was patterned or replicated; the ideal example of a particular type of person or thing Modern Disney princesses do not fall under the archetype of a damsel in distress like previous princesses did.

Aura noun that which surrounds (as an atmosphere); a distinctive air or personal quality The whole class had a peaceful aura after they took a brief moment to meditate and relax.

Contraband noun illegal traffic, smuggled goods adjective illegal, prohibited The group of smugglers tried to sneak in contraband to sell on the black market, but they were caught at the border by police.

Erudite adjective scholarly, learned, bookish, pedantic The erudite boy could always be found one step ahead of the class since he enjoyed learning so much.

Gossamer adjective thin, light, delicate, insubstantial noun a very thin, light cloth Her gossamer clothing looked like it barely kept her warm in this cold weather.

Inscrutable adjective incapable of being understood; impossible to see through physically Many people in the 15th Century struggled to understand the seemingly inscrutable theories of Galileo.

Insular adjective relating to, characteristic of, or situated on an island; narrow or isolated in outlook or experience Her insular point of view kept her from being open minded and listening to what others thought of the topic.

Irrevocable adjective incapable of being changed or called back The woman regretted her irrevocable decision to quit her job since she was unable to find employment elsewhere.

Propensity noun a natural inclination or predilection toward Although Taylor was very intelligent, her propensity to procrastinate and not turn in her work led her to fail the class.

Querulous adjective peevish, complaining, fretful When the student earned a poor grade on the exam, he became querulous and complained that the test was too hard, even though he didn’t study enough.

Remonstrate verb to argue or plead with someone against something, to protest against, object to Whenever my aunt tells my cousin he can’t have a cookie, he remonstrates and throws a temper tantrum.

Repudiate verb to disown, reject, or deny the validity of The attorney repudiated all of the evidence set forth by the opposition and said that it was all insufficient to prosecute his client.

Resilient adjective able to return to an original shape or form; able to recover quickly Despite being down 5-0 at the half, the resilient soccer team came back to win the game by one point.

Reverberate verb to re-echo, resound; to reflect or be reflected repeatedly The nasty rumor spread quickly and reverberated throughout the halls of the school for the rest of the day.

Scurrilous adjective coarsely abusive, vulgar or low (especially in language), foul-mouthed Rather than respond to his scurrilous insults and swearing, he decided to be mature and walk away. The scurrilous squirrel swore like a sailor.

Sedulous adjective persistent, showing determination De Guiche was sedulous in pursuing Roxane, which is why he tried to skip going to war so he could be with her.

Sleazy adjective thin or flimsy in texture; cheap; shoddy; of inferior in quality or character; ethically low, mean, or disreputable Only someone incredibly sleazy would try to steal girl scout cookies from the troop selling outside the grocery store.