Focus on the goal. Voc. Unit 1 Ms. B. Wulchak

Acquisitive (adj.) wanting to get, acquire, retain ideas, information, wealth Synonyms: greedy, grasping, avaricious, retentive She has an acquisitive nature; she wants more and more information.

Arrogate (verb) to claim or take without right Synonyms: expropriate, usurp, commandeer The club president arrogated to herself the decision of how to spend the money.

Banal (Adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace Synonyms: stale, insipid Routine lessons will become commonplace, mundane, and banal . Most daily chores and tasks are banal.

Belabor (verb) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly, go over repeatedly Synonym: overwork Do we need to belabor the point, and restate again and again the dangers of second hand smoke?

Carping Synonyms: nit-picking, caviling (adj./noun) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way. Synonyms: nit-picking, caviling His petty, nagging, carping remarks are irritating.

Coherent (adj.) holding or sticking together; making a logical whole. Synonyms: connected, unified, consistent, cohesive. He made a very logical and coherent argument in court.

Congeal (verb) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible. Synonyms: harden, jell, coagulate, solidify Hot liquid jello congeals in the refrigerator.

Emulate (verb) to imitate with the intent to copy and surpass Synonyms: copy, mimic, rival, match measure up to He emulates his father, and hopes to be a great dad someday.

Encomium (noun) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute Synonym: panegyric, eulogy, commendation The warm, lavish praise and encomium she received was quite flattering.

Eschew (verb) to shun, avoid, keep away from Synonyms: abstain from, steer clear of, forgo Eschew going to a party with a dangerous crowd.

Excoriation (noun) cutting or wearing away of the skin; denunciation, cutting down Synonyms: severe criticism On the news we heard of former President Carter’s excoriation of the government’s slow and inadequate response after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Aug. 28, 2005.

Germane (adj.) Relevant appropriate, apropos, fitting Synonyms: pertinent, related In class we heard a discussion that was germane and related to the topic.

Insatiable (adj.) so great or demanding as not to be satisfied. Synonyms: unquenchable, ravenous, voracious All the water did not quench their insatiable thirsts.

Intransigent (adj.) refusing to compromise. Synonyms: uncompromising, unyielding, obdurate (stubborn) He was intransigent, stubborn, and not able to be persuaded. We could not get ideas across to the mule.

Invidious (adj.) offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment Synonyms: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative Her invidious remarks were filled with evil.

Largesse (noun) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions Synonyms: liberality, munificence, bounty Bill Gates is known for his generosity and largesse. He has donated huge sums of money for AIDS research.

Ramify (verb) to branch out and affect, to have consequences What are the ramifications of ignoring environmental concerns?

Reconnaissance (noun) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination. Synonym: a scouting expedition The military unit engaged in a reconnaissance mission of scouting ahead.

Substantiate (verb) to establish by evidence, prove; give concrete or substantial form to Synonyms: verify, confirm, validate, authenticate Michael Phelps held up his gold medals to substantiate that he had won 8 events in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

Taciturn (adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little. Synonyms: tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic He tends to be an uncommunicative, quiet, taciturn young man.

Temporize (verb) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision ; to compromise Synonyms: hedge, dillydally, procrastinate The teacher cautioned us to Not temporize and delay for time by putting off projects and assignments.

Tenable (adj.) capable of being held or defended Synonyms: defensible, justifiable, maintainable Some old theories are no longer tenable and defensible.