AICE LANG AS: VOCABULARY LIST 4

1) ADULATE – v. to praise or flatter too greatly; fawn over

Students who are ADULATED often end up with swelled heads, but not Sean. In spite of the awe he inspires, he’s very modest.

2) ADVERSITY – n. great trouble or difficulty

The book tells how he overcame the ADVERSITY of an impoverished childhood.

3) ALLEVIATE – v. to lessen pain or tension

Grandma takes Aleve to ALLEVIATE her arthritic pain.

4) AMICABLE – adj. friendly, kind

The conflict came to an AMICABLE end when the adversaries finally shook hands.

5) ANTAGONISM – n. hatred or hostility

Stan’s mocking and teasing incited ANTAGONISM among his teammates.

6) ANTEDILUVIAN – adj. very, very old; antiquated

The shop contains ANTEDILUVIAN machines that ought to be replaced with up-to-date equipment.

7) ARTISAN – n. a person who is skillful with his or her hands

In Italy, my grandfather worked as an ARTISAN, more specifically as a glassblower.

8) ASCETIC – n. a person who refrains from indulging in earthly pleasures

Tiffany lives ASCETICALLY. Her home is a simple one-room cabin in the woods.

9) AUSTERE – adj. having great economy; showing self-control when it comes to foregoing luxuries, frills; stern in manner or appearance

The poet had lived an AUSTERE life, foregoing all luxuries and creature comforts.

10) AVID – adj. showing enthusiasm; ardent

Walt is an AVID hiker; he never misses a chance to hit the trail.

11) CACOPHONY – n. lack of harmony; loud and unpleasant noise; a racket

The clash of metal on the rocks created a CACOPHONY that was hard to bear.

12) CHASTISE – v. to punish or scold harshly

My parents CHASTISED me for putting bubble gum in my little sister’s hair.

13) CIRCUMSPECT – adj. careful and cautious before acting

Myra is too personally involved in the case to be CIRCUMSPECT about it.

14) CLANDESTINE – adj. hidden, secret, concealed

During the party, Gia and Jason stole away into the woods for a CLANDESTINE rendezvous.

15) CONFOUNDING – adj. puzzling; baffling

The world was fascinated by the CONFOUNDING disappearance of Amelia Earhart.

16) CONTEMPORARY – adj. modern, new; relating to the same time period

The course is called CONTEMPORARY Civilization, but much of it is devoted to the study of ancient history and all it entails.

17) COPIOUS – adj. abundant; much; plentiful

I couldn’t attend the meeting, so Julie took COPIOUS notes. Now I know everything that happened there.

18) DETRIMENTAL – adj. harmful

To the DETRIMENT of its Nielsen ratings, Friends went on the air at the same time as Survivor.

19) EPHEMERAL – adj. lasting a short time; fleeting

Jodi’s romances are usually EPHEMERAL. She just skips from one boy to another.

20) FURTIVE – adj. secretive, sneaky

Jane and Henry didn’t know that I observed them exchanging FURTIVE glances in biology class.

21) INCONSPICUOUS – adj. hardly noticeable

Because the bandit made the mistake of wearing a CONSPICUOUS red hat during the holdup, he was arrested almost immediately. He should have worn something more INCOSPICUOUS and less noticeable.

22) INIQUITOUS – adj. showing a lack of fairness; wicked; vicious

The INIQUITOUS referee plainly favored the other team over ours. Every call went against our team.

23) INTRACTABLE – adj. stubborn; hard to manage

Because neither his teachers nor his counselor could control Ivan’s INTRACTABLE behavior, he was sent to the psychologist for testing.

24) LANGUOR – n. a weak or lifeless feeling

By nine o’clock, I feel too LANGUOROUS to do anything except watch TV.

25) LOQUACIOUS – adj. very talkative; liking to talk; garrulous

The LOQUACIOUS audience grew quiet when the movie started.

26) MELLIFLUOUS – adj. sweet and smooth sounding

Mother’s MELLIFLUOUS singing voice was so sweet and soothing that the baby fell asleep in seconds.

27) METICULOUS – adj. very careful with details

A METICULOUS carpenter, Emil makes perfect joints and dovetails, even better than a machine does.

28) MITIGATE – v. to make or become less severe; to lessen pain or damage

A sudden shift in the wind MITIGATED the intensity of the storm.

29) MUNIFICENT – adj. very generous

It’s easy to be MUNIFICENT when you already have more of everything than you’ll ever want or need.

30) NOMADIC – adj. wandering

NOMADIC tribes wandered endlessly around the land.

31) NONCHALANT – adj. casual and indifferent; not showing any great concern or worry about anything

She appears to be NONCHALANT on the court, but she’s really trying very hard.

32) NOVEL – adj. new

The teacher came up with a NOVEL approach to teaching algebraic formulas

33) OBSEQUIOUS – adj. obeying or performing a service for someone in an overly attentive manner

Emily practiced OBSEQUIOUS by always telling others what a privilege it was to be of service to them.

34) OBSOLETE – adj. old; outdate, as in no longer in use

My dad has a shelf full of OBSOLETE phonograph records containing some of the same music I have on my phone.

35) PALATABLE – adj. pleasing to the taste buds; acceptable

The treaty was PALATABLE to both countries.

36) PHLEGMATIC – adj. hard to get excited or emotional; calm

I feel too PHLEGMATIC to go on a bike ride today. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be more motivated.

37) PLATITUDE – n. quality of being dull; an obvious remark uttered as it were original

How Rick’s poem won an award for originality boggles the mind, for it consists of nothing but PLATITUDES.

38) PRECARIOUS – adj. dangerous or risky; uncertain

Bungee jumping is too PRECARIOUS for me; I prefer safer activities, like playing chess.

39) PRESUMPTUOUS – adj. too forward or bold; overstepping proper bounds

Isn’t it PRESUMPTUOUS of Julie to expect all her friends to do only what she wants to do on Fridays?

40) PRODIGAL – adj. wasteful; lavish

Marcia’s PRODIGAL spending at the mall used up the money she’d been saving for college. Next time, maybe she’ll spend more thoughtfully.

41) QUELL – v. to pacify; to subdue; to quiet down

Having been tipped off, the police managed to QUELL the disturbance.

42) RETICENT – adj. not talking much; reserved

Usually RETICENT, Ms. Worthy surprised us all with a long story at lunch.

43) RHETORICAL – adj. relating to speech that is used to persuade or have some effect; insincere in expression

The speech of politicians is often thick and RHETORIC.

44) SUBORDINATE – adj. inferior; lower in rank or status

In a sentence, a SUBORDINATE (dependent) clause depends on the main (independent) clause for its meaning.

45) TRIFLING – adj. lacking significance; unimportant

In the long run, cutting down one tree may seem TRIFLING, but once the precedent is set, the whole forest may be cut down.

46) UNPRECEDENTED – adj. never happened before

The number of delayed flights is UNPRECEDENTED. Never before have so many travelers arrived so late to their destinations.

47) VIGILANT – adj. watchful

The driving instructor told his students, “When switching lanes, always look for other cars. VIGILANCE is the price of safety.”

48) VIRTUOSO – n. a highly skilled performer, usually a musician

Ellen gave a VIRTUOSO performance on the court, scoring 60 points and grabbing 24 rebounds.

49) VOLATILE – adj. explosive or changing very quickly

Mia and Greg are a VOLATILE couple. One heated argument and their relationship is history.

50) ZEALOUS – adj. filled with enthusiasm

A ZEALOUS bodybuilder, Derek works out in the weight room during every spare moment.