Vocabulary Words Lesson 8 Descriptives

Banal Adjective Lacking originality; stale The speaker bored the well-informed class with a banal presentation.

Debonair Adjective Elegant; gracious; suave The debonair host greeted each guest with a smile.

Disproportionate Adjective Not properly balanced in size, shape, or amount The power of the nobility was disproportionate to their number.

Ephemeral Adjective Short-lived; occurring only briefly. Even though sunsets are ephemeral, they are a source of beauty.

Frothy Adjective Foamy Do not let the soup boil or it will become frothy.

Hackneyed Adjective Routine; overused “Last but not least” is a good example of a hackneyed phrase.

Lustrous Adjective Radiant; bright The blue scarf was made of lustrous silk.

Menial Adjective Pertaining to work that is appropriate to a servant; servile Stacking boxes on the shelf all day long was a menial task.

Moderate Adjective Not excessive; reasonable There was a moderate turnout for our annual town fair.

Nebulous Adjective Vague; lacking definite form My family’s plans for summer vacation are still nebulous

Nocturnal Adjective Pertaining to or occurring at night We know little about many nocturnal animals because it is difficult to observe them in the dark..

Perfunctory Adjective Indifferent; done with little interest or care The waiter gave us a perfunctory greeting as we entered the restaurant.

Pious Adjective Religious; devout The pious young girl entered the convent.

Potent Adjective Powerful; convincing The documentary was a potent reminder of the horrors of war.

Preposterous Adjective Absurd; ridiculous The mayor’s plan that the city council unanimously voted against it.

Provincial Adjective Rural; having to do with areas away from metropolises We enjoy visiting the provincial town in the outlaying areas.

Quixotic Adjective Absurdly romantic and unrealistic The character’s quixotic view of love was the basis of this comedy.

Raucous Adjective Harsh; rough-sounding From a distance we could hear only the raucous laughter of the crowd.

Secondary Adjective After the first; not the primary The state’s concerns were secondary to the federal government’s.

Superfluous Adjective Unnecessary; extra Please omit all superfluous and redundant words from your compositions.