Focus on the goal. Voc. Unit 9 Ms. B. Wulchak

By: Lynsay Francis Revised 2010 Vocabulary Ch.9 By: Lynsay Francis Revised 2010

Acclamation (N.)A shout of welcome; an overwhelming verbal vote of approval. Syn: Ovation, cheering, applause The players received wild acclamation as they ran out onto the field.

Bucolic (ADJ.) Characteristic of the country side, rural; relating to shepherds and cowherds, pastoral Syn: Rustic To escape the stress of big city living, many people vacation in bucolic settings.

Calumniate (V.) To slander; accuse falsely and maliciously Syn: defame, libel Abraham Lincoln was calumniated while he was in office.

Chary (ADJ.) Extremely cautious, hesitant, or slow; reserved, diffident Syn: Wary, skittish It doesn’t hurt to be chary and think carefully before making expensive purchases.

Collusion (N.) Secret agreement or cooperation Syn: Conspiracy, plot, connivance, cahoots, complicity The assassination plot involved collusion by the noblemen. Lady Macbeth is in collusion with her husband.

Dilettante (N.) A dabbler in the arts; one who is involved in an activity in an amateurish way (ADJ.) Superficial Syn: amateur, trifler Although not a professional, she loved being a dilettante with the lead role.

Imperturbable (ADJ.) Not easily upset; emotionally steady Syn: unexcitable, serene, unruffled If you can “give a little whistle,” you can remain in control of emotions and be imperturbable.

Increment (N.) An increase, addition Syn: accretion, gain You hope each year to see an increment in your pay checks.

Mandate (N.) An authoritative command (V.) To issue such an order Syn: a directive A landslide victory in an election is considered to be a mandate of the people.

Paltry (ADJ.) Trifling, small, insignificant; mean Syn: measly, meager, trivial, piddling During times of recession, states allocate an inadequate and paltry sum of money for school budgets.

Paroxysm (N.) A sudden outburst; a spasm, convulsion Syn: a fit, seizure The boy flew into a paroxysm of rage when he was told his punishment would be to lose video game privileges.

Pedantry (N.) A pretentious display of knowledge Syn: Nit-picking, hairsplitting We thought he was being pedantic to arrogantly tell us how Kafkaesque the book was.

Peregrination (N.) The act of traveling; an excursion, especially on foot or in a foreign country Syn: Journey, wondering, odyssey You should enjoy your peregrinations through Stratford-on-Avon when you tour the region where Shakespeare lived.

Redolent (ADJ.) Fragrant, smelling strongly Syn: Evocative, reminiscent, aromatic Sights, sounds and smells can evoke memories and be redolent of days gone by.

Refulgent (ADJ.) Bright, shining, radiant, resplendent Syn: Luminous, splendid We drove to school seeing the refulgent, orange sun filling the early morning sky.

Shibboleth (N.) A word, expression; a commonplace saying or truism Syn: Catchphrase, password, slogan “Buc Pride Never Dies” might be considered a shibboleth to students at Mainland.

Tyro (N.) A beginner, novice; one with little or no skill or background Syn: a neophyte Are you a tyro at tying ties?

Unremitting (ADJ.) Non stopping, maintained steadily, never letting up, relentless, persistent Syn: Constant, unrelenting, tenacious, pertinacious Be unremitting in your efforts to reach your goals.

Vacillate (V.) To swing indecisively from one idea to another Syn: seesaw, fluctuate, oscillate We vacillated between hope and despair when we heard of the fire at the daycare center.

Vituperative (ADJ.) Harshly abusive, severely scolding Syn: Abusive, scurrilous, insulting When being verbally attacked with loud, vituperative language, you should remain as calm as possible. It’s not you who needs anger management. You’re FIRED!

Profane /add-on (ADJ.) Obscene and impure (V.) To treat with irreverence Why settle for using profane language when you can call that blind, angry driver a myopic misanthrope?

Proffer /add-on (V.) To present or offer He proffered his ideas at the meeting. Edward proffered his hand in marriage to Jane.