Vocab 5

Rampant Adj. Growing quickly and difficult to control There was nothing she could do to stop the rampant, false rumors that she had cheated on her boyfriend.

Inane Adj. Being very silly or stupid; lacking sense or significance Raj quickly tired of his little cousins inane comments about videogames.

Placate Verb To soothe, pacify or appease by doing what a person wants The new mom placated her toddler by buying her that bunny she wanted.

Concur Verb To cooperate or agree in opinions; to occur at the same time; happen together The Justice League concurred on the issue of preventing crime and the prevention of mass destruction at the Watch Tower.

Clandestine Adj. Being secretive or hidden for illegal purposes; done in secret The clandestine drug cartels were being funded by the senator before he was caught.

Flagrant Adj. Being obviously wrong or offensive; shockingly noticeable or evident The fans booed the ref as he completely ignored the flagrant foul against their player.

Admonish Verb To caution, advise, or counsel against something; to scold in a gentle or mild manner The teacher admonished her students for talking, but continued to lecture after they quieted down.

Duress Noun Force or threats meant to make someone do something against their will; (blackmail is a form of duress) The jury decided that the prisoner was innocent under duress because he was tortured until he confessed to falsehoods.

Culprit Noun A person guilty of a crime; the source or cause of a problem The police caught the culprit three blocks from the scene of the crime.

Inexorable Adj. Being impossible to stop, alter, or resist; unrelenting; cannot be moved or influenced by persuasion or entreaty Steph couldn’t believe her inexorable boss was going through with what many thought was a horrible merger.

Egregious Adj. Being outstanding for undesirable qualities; remarkably bad Dillon was considered egregious because he always lied about everything and no one knew when he was telling the truth.

Distraught Adj. Being extremely troubled or agitated from worry or grief The mother was distraught when she couldn’t find her kids from the burning building.

Duplicity Noun Deceitfulness in speech or conduct by speaking or acting two different ways; double dealing Sarah was caught with her duplicity when she was acting like a popular girl when in reality she wasn’t.

Acrimonious Adj. Being bitter or harsh in manner, speech, or feelings When the couple was arguing, the girlfriend acted in an acrimonious way which made the boyfriend questions whether the relationship was worth it.

Paucity Noun A smallness of quantity; scarcity In the Middle East, there are many countries that have a paucity of resources and are begging for help.

Elicit Verb To get a response, information, or facts from; to evoke; to cause to be revealed The linebacker’s hackling elicited unsportsmanlike conduct from the other team’s running back.

Pernicious Adj. Causing harm, ruin, or destruction; harmful; injurious Many don’t realize the pernicious effects intense drug use can do to a young person.

Tolerate Verb To allow something unpleasant or bad to exist, happen or be done I had to tolerate my grandfather’s smoking even though I gag at the smell.

Construe Verb To explain or give the meaning of or to analyze or figure out something The detectives tried to construe a tale as to explain why three billon dollars were missing.

Impunity Noun A freedom or exemption from punishment, harm, or loss The child who stole his mother’s purse was given impunity since he was only trying to find gum.