English 3H Vocab Set

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1. Aggrandizement: (N) the act of enlarging or expanding 28. Interregnum: (N) a period when normal government is
something's power or status suspended, especially between successive reigns or regimes
2. Amaranthine: (adj.) unfading; everlasting; of purplish-red color. 29. Laconic: (adj) using very few words, brief
3. Anathema: (N) something or someone that one vehemently 30. Lambent: (adj.) (of light or fire) glowing, gleaming, or flickering
dislikes with a soft radiance
4. Antediluvian: (adj.) of or belonging to the time before the 31. Maladroit: (adj.) ineffective or bungling; clumsy
biblical Flood; ridiculously old-fashioned 32. Mellifluous: (adj.) sweet or musical; pleasant to hear
5. Atavistic: (adj.) recurrence of or reversion to a past style, 33. Milieu: (N) a person's social environment
manner, outlook, approach, or activity
34. Mimesis: (N) and imitation
6. Bailiwick: (N) The area of operations or particular area of
35. Moribund: (adj.) at the point of death
interest
36. Nugacity: (N) a trivial or frivolous thing or idea
7. Bathos: (N) an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional
lapse in mood from the sublime to trivial; anticlimax or 37. Odious: (adj.) extremely unpleasant; repulsive
letdown 38. Otiose: (adj.) serving no practical purpose or result
8. Billingsgate: (N) coarsely abusive language 39. Palimpsest: (N) something reused or altered but still bearing
visible traces of its earlier form
9. Chicanery: (N) the use of trickery to achieve a political,
financial, or legal purpose 40. Pedantic: (adj.) narrowly, stodgily, and often ostentatiously
learned
10. Chimerical: (adj.) existing only as the product of unchecked
imagination; fantastically visionary 41. Pejorative: (adj.) expressing contempt or disapproval
11. Circumlocution: (N) the use of many words where fewer would 42. Perfunctory: (adj.) carried out with a minimum of effort
do, especially in a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive 43. Phantasmagoric: (adj.) having a fantastic or deceptive
12. Compathy: (N) a shared feeling, like happiness or grief, with a appearance, as something in a dream or created by the
group of people imagination
13. Concatenation: (N) a series of interconnected things or events 44. Plaudit: (N) Praise
14. Cynosure: (N) a person or thing that is the center of attention 45. Preantepenultimate: (adj.) third from the end
or admiration 46. Primogeniture: (N) the state of being the firstborn child
15. Defenestration: (N) the action of throwing someone or 47. Promulgated: (V) promote or make widely known
something out of a window or dismissing someone from a 48. Pronk: (V) a leap in the air with an arched back and stiff legs
position of power or authority
49. Puissance: (N) a competitive test of a horse's ability to jump
16. Demagogue: (N) a political leader who seeks support by large obstacles in show jumping
appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by
using rational argument OR
17. Desultory: (adj.) lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm
18. Effulgent: (adj.) shining brightly; radiant (N) great power, influence, or prowess
19. Elanguescence: (N) The process of gradually fading away into 50. Quixotic: (adj.) exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and
non-existence impractical
20. Erudite: (adj.) having or showing great knowledge or learning 51. Sagacious: (adj.) showing a keen in sense perception
21. Esoteric: (adj.) intended for or likely to be understood by only 52. Saxicolous: (adj.) living or growing among rocks
a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or 53. Sempiternal: (adj.) Everlasting; eternal and unchanging
interest 54. Soporific: (adj.) tending to induce drowsiness or sleep
22. Flummox: (V) to perplex or bewilder 55. Supercilious: (adj.) behaving or looking as though one thinks
23. Gerrymander: (V) manipulate the boundaries of an electoral one is superior to others
constituency so as to favor one party or class 56. Thrasonical: (adj.) bragging or boastful
24. Grandiloquent: (adj.) pompous or extravagant in language, 57. Titivate: (V) to make small enhancing alterations, to make
style, or manner, especially in a way that is intended to impress oneself look attractive
25. Harangue: (N) a lengthy and aggressive speech 58. Vicissitude: (N) a change of circumstances or fortune, typically
26. Hegemony: (N) leadership or dominance, especially by one one that is unwelcome or unpleasant
country or social group over others 59. Vitriolic: (adj.) filled with bitter criticism or malice
27. Ignominy: (N) public shame or disgrace