Vocabulary Lesson 3

1. Vocabulary Lesson 3 Abstruse to vilify

2. abstruse • adj.--Difficult to understand; unclear; concealed • Einstein’s theories were so abstruse they were esoteric.

3. affable • Adj.--Friendly; courteous; amiable • Someone with an affable nature is not likely to have anger management issues.

4. audacity • noun--Excessive boldness; daring; brashness • I can’t believe you have the audacity to talk back to your mother like that! • Obama ran for President on the slogan “the audacity of hope.”

5. contrite • Adj--Extremely apologetic; remorseful • Tiger was contrite when the news of his affairs went public.

6. credulous • Adj-Gullible; believing almost anything • Small children can be extremely credulous; it is easy to fool them.

7. depravity • Noun--Moral corruption; a wicked or perverse act • The criminal was completely depraved; he videotaped himself butchering his victims and sent the tapes to the victims’ families.

8. deprecate • Verb--To express disapproval; belittle • Candy is always so negative; she deprecates others all the time.

9. didactic • Adj--An instructive approach; teaching • Even when chatting with friends, the teacher could not break the habit of talking in a didactic manner.

10. dormant • Adj--Inactive; sleeping • The trees went into a dormant stage during the winter.

11. enigmatic • Mysterious; puzzling • It is better to be considered a bit enigmatic than banal.

12. erudite • Scholarly; extremely smart • The erudite professor was known to give esoteric lectures.

13. exotic • Foreign; unfamiliar • Her exotic eyes had all the guys wondering about her ethnicity.

14. fuse • To mix or join; usually by melting • She was able to fuse together the wires in order to deprogram the computer.

15. immutable • Adj--Not changing; opposite of capricious • His faith in God was immutable; no one or nothing could shake his resolve.

16. incorrigible • Adj.--Incapable of being reformed or improved • The jury agreed that the young boy who had been recruited in a gang since he was seven was incorrigible.

17. loathe • Verb---To hate or detest • I loathe eating my Grandma’s chili; it is so bland.

18. mitigate • To alleviate or make less severe • The judge considered the boy’s cruel upbringing as a mitigating circumstance before sentencing him to nine months in prison.

19. nullify • Verb--To negate; cause not to be in effect • After I realized I had joined the gym for life, I wanted to nullify the contract.

20. pacifistic • Adj--Opposed to war or use of force • Many people assumed the President would be pacifistic and were surprised he supported the war in Afghanistan.

21. pretentious • Adj--Self-important; making an extravagant, outward show of something; ostentatious • The country mouse was put off by the city mouse’s pretentious ways.

22. prologue • Noun--Introductory remarks in a speech, play, literary work; introductory action • In the prologue to Beowulf, the author mentions The Hero’s Journey.

23. recant • Verb--To withdraw, retract, or repudiate a statement • He recanted his testimony after he realized how damaging it would be to his family.

24. servile • Adj--Subservient; slavish; obsequious • Their religion taught that women should be servile to men.

25. trepidation • Noun--Fear, trembling; agitation • Many students have feel trepidation toward the SAT exams.

26. vilify • verb--To malign or defame; deprecate; disparage • The exchange student was vilified by the clique of mean girls for having dated one of the girls’ former boyfriends.