Monday, September 16, 2013

Vocabulary #5

1.obsequious- (adj) obedient; dutiful; fawning
- They were served by obsequious waiters.

2.beatitude- (n) exalted happiness
- His beatitude was shown when he got accepted into his dream college. 

3.bete noire- (n) a person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads
- The presentations were the bete noire and I did not want to do mine. 

4.bode- (v) to be an omen of
-These rain clouds don't bode well for our picnic.

5.dank- (adj) unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and, often, chilly
The blokes have long dank hair and a laddish look in their eyes.

6.ecumenical- (adj) general; universal: promoting Christian unity throughout the world
- The ecumenical organization preached about Christianity.

7.fervid- (adj) heated in spirit, enthusiasm; intensely hot, burning
- His fervid attitude really got him going he had to sit down and relax. 

8.fetid- (adj) having an offensive odor; stinking
- The fetid woman in the salon really needed to bathe. 

9.gargantuan- (adj) gigantic, enormous
- The skyscraper was gargantuan

10.heyday- (n) the stage or period of greatest vigor, strength, success, etc.; prime
- The lawyer had a lot of heyday in his life. 

11.incubus- (n) a nightmare
- The child woke up from an incubus the other night. 

12.infrastructure- (n) the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organisation
-Roads and bridges are considered as infrastructure in the United States.

13.inveigle- (v) to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk; to acquire by beguiling talk or methods
-
Her son tried to inveigle her into giving him the money for a car.

14.kudos- (n) honor, glory, acclaim
-Susan gave kudos to Bob for his job well done.

15.lagniappe- (n) tip, bonus, gratuity 
-  The guitar player received lagniappe for a good gig. 

16.prolix- (adj) extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy
-His prolix speech was over forty five minutes long. 

17.protege- (n) a person under the care of someone interested in his or her career or welfare.
-
Under the guidance of his mentor, the young protege was able to achieve success in his field. 

18.prototype- (n) the original or model on which something is based on for formed; someone who serves to illustrate the typical qualities of something 
-The rocket scientist built a prototype of a rocket he planned on launching. 

19.sycophant- (n) a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite
-
Hoping to get the best mark in class,the sycophant flattered his teacher at every opportunity. 

20.tautology- (n) needless repetition of an idea
-Critics of evolutionary theory have long argued that the concept of natural selection is a tautology.

21.truckle- (v) to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely
Don't truckle to unreasonable demands.

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