Vocabulary Words # 10 (Week of March 8, 2010)

Ego- self-esteem

Subjectivity- personal interpretation based on personal feelings or opinion

Metacognition- knowledge of your own thoughts and the factors that influence your thinking

Epistemology- branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge, in particular its foundations, scope, and validity

Mollify- to calm or pacify somebody, temper or soften something

Abrogate- to end an agreement or contract formally and publicly

Bureaucracy- an administration system that divides work into specific categories carried out by special departments of nonelected officials

Viscosity- to have a thick and sticky consistency or quality, a property that causes a fluid to resist flowing

Filibuster- a tactic used to delay or prevent the passage of legislation

Reconcile- to end a conflict or put people back on friendly terms

Vilify- to make malicious and abusive statements about somebody

Aggregate- collected together from different sources and considered as a whole

Vocabulary Words # 9 (Week of March 15, 2010)

Bourgeoisie- middle-class people, materialistic in outlook

Proletariat- working class, wage-earning workers in society

Stop-loss- a provision that limits the amount of some types of insurance or investment loss to a predetermined level

Elucidate- to explain or clarify something

Elusive- hard to find/catch, pin down, or remember

Profligate- wasteful, having low morals

Chasm- A deep hole in the earth, a wide difference in feelings, ideas interests, etc.

Fulminate- to speak critically, to explode

Ostentatious- rich and showy

Obfuscate- to make something unclear, especially to make things complicated, to confuse

Vocabulary Words # 8 (Spring Break)

Hubris- excessive pride, arrogance, or ambition

Popinjay- an arrogant person

Superfluous- more than necessary, excessive, inessential

Neophyte- a beginner, a recent convert to a religion

Portentous- significant, excessively serious, amazing

Sylvan- relating to a forest, wooded area, rural

Impecunious- having little or no money, and so unable to lead a comfortable life

Lucre- money, wealth, or profit

Defenestrate- to throw somebody or something out of a window

Exiguous- limited

Vocabulary Words # 7 (Weeks of April 18-23)

Disport- to behave in a playful manner, to amuse oneself in a playful manner

Transmogrify- to change the appearance or form of something, especially in a grotesque or bizarre way

Oneiric- relating to, in, or similar to dreams* A place I saw in a dream

Pelf- money, wealth, or riches, especially if obtained dishonestly *Robber Barons

Bloviate- to speak at length in a pompous self-aggrandizing way

Neologism- a recently coined word or phrase, or a recently extended meaning of an existing word or phrase

Dishabille- A state of casual dress

Ne plus ultra- perfection, the highest level of excellence

Trammel- a limitation to freedom

Gubernatorial- relating to, involving, or associated with a governor

Vocabulary Words # 6 (Week of April 26, 2010)

Indemnification - to provide somebody with protection, especially financial protection, against possible loss, damage, or liability

Sultry- hot and damp

Raze- to destroy or level a building or settlement completely

Quell- to put a stop to something, usually by force

Mollify- to calm or pacify somebody, temper or soften something

Licentious- pursuing desires aggressively and selfishly, unchecked by morality, especially in sexual matters

Rectify- to correct convert, or purify something

Cognizance- knowledge or awareness of something, the right of a court of law to deal with a particular matter

Pluralism- the existence of groups with different ethnic, religious, or political backgrounds within one society

Tier- a row of seats in rising series

Vocabulary Words # 5 (Week of May 10, 2010)

Mugwump- somebody who takes an independent or neutral position, especially when referring to politics

Muliebrity- the qualities conventionally associated with women

Chevron- a V-shaped symbol, especially one used as a sign of rank on military or police uniforms

Eristic- argumentative

Perpend- a binding stone or brick

Vamoose- to go away quickly

Iatrogenic- a symptom or illness brought on unintentionally by something that a doctor does or says

Jnana- sense of spiritual knowledge or awareness

Fatuous- unintelligent

Doff- to take off or remove, tip ones hat as a sign of respect

Vocabulary Words # 4

Intrepid – fearless

Trepidation - fear or uneasiness about the future or a future event

Despondent - extremely unhappy and discouraged

Decorum - dignity or good taste that is appropriate to a specific occasion

Aspire - have particular ambition

Vacillate - be unable to decide, swing back and forth * Love Triangle

Desultory - aimlessly passing from one thing to another, random

Fallacy - something that is believed to be true but is erroneous, invalid argument

Formidable – difficult to deal with, inspiring respect or wonder because of size, strength, or ability, frightening

Heritage - the status, conditions, or character acquired by being born into a particular family or social class

guru – a leader of a religious group, an admirable teacher or counselor

Vocabulary Words # 3

Subtle – Slight, pleasantly understated

Vehement – Expressed with or showing conviction or intense feeling, done forcefully

Adverse – unfavorable or undesired results

Blatant – offensively conspicuous (attracting attention) or noisy

Alleged - asserted but not yet proven to have taken place, have been committed, or be as described

Aggravate – to annoy or make worse

Discreet – tactful, good at keeping secrets

Factoid - something that may not be true but is widely accepted as true because it is repeatedly quoted

* The factoid that dogs are colorblind

Flout - to show contempt for a law or convention by openly disobeying or defying it

Forte - something that somebody is particularly good at, to be played or sung loudly

Disinterested - free from bias or self-interest