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The Giant Vocab Test
if you are in a class other than Wilson's this might not be all the words youre gunna be tested on
214
Literature
9th Grade
06/04/2009

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Term
decorous
Definition
(adj) well mannered; proper
Term
lithe
Definition
(adj) pliant; limber; flexible
Term
archaic
Definition
(adj) of an earlier period; ancient
Term
dulcet
Definition
(adj) pleasant to the senses
Term
utopia
Definition
(noun) an ideally perferct place
Term
pedant
Definition
(noun) one who pays undue attention to book learning and formal rules
Term
treason
Definition
(noun) betrayal of one's country/state etc.
Term
banality
Definition
(noun) a condition or quality of being unoriginal; trite
Term
copulation
Definition
(noun) sexual intercourse
Term
puritanitcal
Definition
(adj) very strict in moral or religious matters
Term
languor
Definition
(noun) lack of physical or mental energy
Term
magnanimous
Definition
(adj) generous in forgiving
Term
magnanimous
Definition
(adj) generous in forgiving
Term
amiable
Definition
(adj) friendly; good-natured and likable
Term
benign
Definition
(adj) kind; gentle
Term
imperious
Definition
(adj) arrogantly domineering or overbearing
Term
impotence
Definition
(noun) the condition of lacking physical strength or vigor; weakness
Term
vile
Definition
(adj) unpleasant; disgusting
Term
uncouth
Definition
(adj) awkward, clumsy, or unmannerly; crude
Term
paradox
Definition
(noun) a seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true
Term
vapid
Definition
(adj) lacking or having lost life, sharpness, or flavor; dull
Term
parable
Definition
(noun) a short story meant to teach a moral or lesson
Term
sexton
Definition
(noun) a church official in charge of maintaining the church and/or ringing the bells
Term
throng
Definition
(noun) a crowd; large group of people
Term
summons
Definition
(noun) an authoritative command
Term
meditative
Definition
(adj) contemplative
Term
accord
Definition
(noun) and agreement
(verb) to make an agreement
Term
swathed
Definition
(verb) to wrap, bind, with bands of some material
Term
variance
Definition
(noun) the state or quality of being different
Term
repose
Definition
(verb) to lie or be at rest
Term
venerable
Definition
(adj) commanding respect because of great age or impressive dignity
Term
countenance
Definition
(noun) appearance, especially the expression of the face
Term
emblem
Definition
(noun) something that fuctions as a symbol
Term
oratory
Definition
(noun) skill in public speaking
Term
pathos
Definition
(noun) a quality that arouses feelings of pity, sympathy, tenderness, or sorrow
Term
iniquity
Definition
(noun) gross injustice or wickedness
Term
perturbation
Definition
(noun) the act of agitating
Term
ostentatious
Definition
(adj) showy, intended to attract notice
Term
profane
Definition
(adj) vulgar; irreligious; unholy
Term
sagacious
Definition
(adj) having sound judgement; wise
Term
parsonage
Definition
(noun) the residence or a member of the clergy as provided by the church
Term
imbued
Definition
(verb) to inspire or influence thoroughly
Term
disposition
Definition
(noun) one's usual mood; temperament
Term
impertinent
Definition
(adj) intrusive; rude
OR
(adj) irrelevant
Term
censure
Definition
(noun) an expression of strondisapproval
(verb) to criticize severely
Term
remonstrance
Definition
(noun) the act of protesting, complaining
Term
visage
Definition
(noun) the face or facial expression of a person
Term
mitigate
Definition
(verb) to lessen in force or intensity
Term
vagaries
Definition
(noun) an unpredictable action or occurrence
Term
apt
Definition
(adj) inclined; prone; likely
Term
cognizance
Definition
(noun) conscious knowledge; the range of one's knowledge
Term
wanton
Definition
(adj) done maliciously or unjustifiably
Term
crucible
Definition
(noun) a severe test or trial
Term
catharsis
Definition
(noun) a release of emotional tension
Term
denouement
Definition
(noun) the final resolution of a plot
Term
creed
Definition
(noun) a formal statement of religious belief; a system of belief
Term
innate
Definition
(adj) existing in one from birth; inborn
Term
hubris
Definition
(noun) excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance
Term
dallied
Definition
(verb) to waste time; loiter; delay
Term
antagonist
Definition
(noun) one who opposed against another; principal character in opposition to the protagonist
Term
rankle
Definition
(verb) to cause persistent irratation or resentment
Term
heathen
Definition
(noun) an irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized person
Term
abomination
Definition
(noun) the feeling of extreme disgust and hatred
Term
barbaric
Definition
(adj) uncivilized
Term
congeries
Definition
(noun) a collection of items in one mass
Term
junta
Definition
(noun) a group of military officers who have taken control of a country
Term
parochial
Definition
(adj) of or pertaining to a parish; narrow-minded
Term
intimate
Definition
(adj) associated in close personal relations
Term
inculcation
Definition
(noun) the act of impressing upon the mind of another by frequent instruction or repetition
Term
lascivious
Definition
(adj) lustful; lewd
Term
catholic
Definition
(adj) broad-minded; liberal
Term
smirch
Definition
(verb) to soil, stain or dirty
Term
calumny
Definition
(noun) a false statement maliciously made to injure another's reputation
Term
fetish
Definition
(noun) and abnormally obsessive preoccupation or attachment; a fixation
Term
abide
Definition
(verb) to put up with; tolerate
Term
dissemble
Definition
(verb) to conceal or disguise behind a false appearance
Term
marauded
Definition
(verb) to raid for plunder
Term
sidle
Definition
(verb) to move sideways
Term
malign
Definition
(verb) to speak harmful untruths
Term
licentious
Definition
(adj) sexually unrestrained
Term
dissonant
Definition
(adj) harsh and inharmonious in sound
Term
introspections
Definition
(noun) the act of looking within oneself
Term
allegory
Definition
(noun) a representation of an abstract meaning through a concrete form
Term
metaphor
Definition
(noun) a comparison between two unlike objects wihtout using like or and
Term
symbol
Definition
(noun) something used for representing something else
Term
synecdoche
Definition
(noun) figure of speech in which a part of soemthing is used for the whole or the whole for a part
Term
resonance
Definition
(noun) richness or significance
Term
perspicacious
Definition
(adj) having keen mental perception and understanding
Term
allusion
Definition
(noun) in literature, a reference to something well-known
Term
personification
Definition
(noun) literary technique of giving inanimate objects human-like characteristics
Term
understatement
Definition
(noun) restraint or lack of emphasis, as for rhetorical or ironic effect
Term
auspicious
Definition
(adj) attended by favorable circumstances; promising success
Term
craven
Definition
(noun) a coward
Term
hyperbole
Definition
(noun) obvious and intentional exaggeration
Term
simile
Definition
(noun) a comparison between two unlike things using like or as
Term
metonymy
Definition
(noun) a figure of speech that consists of the use of the name of one object or concept for that of another to which it is related

ex. "count heads" for "count people"
Term
conspicuous
Definition
(adj) easy to notice; obvious
Term
ignominious
Definition
(adj) marked by shame or disgrace; humiliating
Term
connotation
Definition
(noun) the meaning that a word suggests or implies
Term
denotation
Definition
(noun) the dictionary definition of a word
Term
diction
Definition
(noun) word choice
Term
syntax
Definition
(noun) the order of words
Term
alliteration
Definition
(noun) the repetition of the same sounds at the beginning of words
Term
onomatopoeia
Definition
(noun) the formation of a word, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with it
Term
assonance
Definition
(noun) the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds
Term
couplet
Definition
(noun) a pair of successive lines of verse, esp. a pair that rhyme and are of the same length
Term
epigram
Definition
(noun) any witty, ingenious, or pointed saying tersely expressed; a short, often satirical poem dealing concisely with a single subject and usually ending with a witty or ingenious turn of thought
Term
sonnet
Definition
(noun) a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter
Term
villanelle
Definition
(noun) a short poem of fixed form, written in tercets, usually five in number, followed by a final quatrain, all being based on two rhymes.
Term
end rhyme
Definition
(noun) rhyme of the terminal syllables of lines of poetry
Term
stanza
Definition
(noun) an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem.
Term
iamb
Definition
(noun) a foot of two syllables, a short followed by a long in quantitative meter, or an unstressed followed by a stressed in accentual meter
Term
narrative poetry
Definition
(noun) poetry that tells a story
Term
epic
Definition
(noun) a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style
Term
ballad
Definition
(noun) a simple narrative poem of folk origin, composed in short stanzas and adapted for singing
Term
haiku
Definition
(noun) a major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables,often on the subject of nature
Term
enjambment
Definition
(noun) the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break
Term
blank verse
Definition
(noun) unrhymed verse, esp. the unrhymed iambic pentameter most frequently used in English dramatic, epic, and reflective verse
Term
lyric poetry
Definition
(noun) a type of emotional songlike poetry, distinguished from dramatic and narrative poetry
Term
elegy
Definition
(noun) a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, esp. a funeral song or a lament for the dead
Term
ode
Definition
(noun) a lyric poem typically of elaborate or irregular metrical form and expressive of exalted or enthusiastic emotion
Term
internal rhyme
Definition
(noun) a rhyme created by two or more words in the same line of verse
Term
end stopped lines
Definition
(noun) Ending in a syntactic and rhythmic pause. Used of a line of verse or a couplet
Term
open form (free verse)
Definition
(noun) Verse composed of variable, usually unrhymed lines having no fixed metrical pattern
Term
verbal irony
Definition
(noun) a figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant
Term
dramatic irony
Definition
(noun) irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play
Term
situational irony
Definition
(noun) an outcome that turns out to be very different from what was expected, the difference between what is expected to happen and what actually does
Term
whimper
Definition
(verb) to cry with low, plaintive, broken sounds
Term
gouged
Definition
(verb) to dig or force out
Term
ethereal
Definition
(adj) light, airy, or tenuous; heavenly or celestial
Term
euphoria
Definition
(noun) a feeling of happiness, confidence, or well-being sometimes exaggerated in pathological states as mania
Term
dross
Definition
(noun) waste matter; refuse
Term
groused
Definition
(verb) to grumble; complain
Term
joss sticks
Definition
(noun) a slender stick of a dried, fragrant paste, burned by the Chinese as incense before a joss
Term
irked
Definition
(verb) to irritate, annoy, or exasperate
Term
ramparts
Definition
(noun) fortification; anything serving as a bulwark or defense
Term
spigots
Definition
(noun) faucet
Term
usurped
Definition
(verb) to seize and hold (a position, office, power, etc.) by force or without legal right
Term
embroidery
Definition
(noun) elaboration or embellishment
Term
nuzzled
Definition
(verb) to burrow or root with the nose, snout; to thrust the nose, muzzle, etc
Term
surmise
Definition
(verb) to think or infer without certain or strong evidence; conjecture; guess
Term
mulling
Definition
(verb) ponder; to think about carefully; consider
Term
cosmology
Definition
(noun) the branch of philosophy dealing with the origin and general structure of the universe
Term
psychosomatic
Definition
(adjective) pertaining to or involving both the mind and the body
Term
rebuffed
Definition
(verb)to reject bluntly or abruptly
Term
linguistics
Definition
(noun) the science of language
Term
unassailable
Definition
(adjective) not open to attack or assault, as by military force or argument
Term
geyser
Definition
(noun) a hot spring that intermittently sends up fountainlike jets of water and steam into the air
Term
deranged
Definition
(adj.) disordered; disarranged
Term
bifurcated
Definition
(verb) to divide or fork into two branches
Term
sarcophagus
Definition
(noun) a stone coffin, esp. one bearing sculpture, inscriptions, etc., often displayed as a monument
Term
polyglot
Definition
(noun) the ability to speak or write several languages; multilingual
Term
temblors
Definition
(noun) a tremor; earthquake
Term
halcyon
Definition
(adj) calm; peaceful; tranquil
Term
sadistic
Definition
(adj) finding enjoyment in being cruel
Term
maudlin
Definition
(adj) tearfully or weakly emotional (because of drunkenness)
Term
gaff
Definition
(noun) an iron hook with a handle for landing large fish
Term
ornery
Definition
(adj) ugly and unpleasant in disposition or temper
Term
antebellum
Definition
(adj) before or exsisting before the war
Term
hegemony
Definition
(noun) the predominant influence, as of a state, region, or group, over another or others
Term
oligarchy
Definition
(noun) form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons; government by the few
Term
bellicose
Definition
(adj) inclined or eager to fight; aggressively hostile
Term
abdicate
Definition
(verb) to give up or renounce (a throne)
Term
euphemism
Definition
(noun) the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt
Term
chronic
Definition
(adj) of long duration; continuing
Term
matriarchy
Definition
(noun) a society governed by women
Term
giddy
Definition
(adj) having a reeling, lightheaded sensation; dizzy
Term
jetty
Definition
(noun) a wharf or landing pier
Term
bedlam
Definition
(noun) a scene or state of wild uproar and confusion
Term
epiphany
Definition
(noun) a comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization
Term
pecuniary
Definition
(adj) of or pertaining to money
Term
formidable
Definition
(adj) arousing fear, dread, or alarm
Term
futility
Definition
(noun) the quality of having no useful result; uselessness
Term
aberration
Definition
(noun) a deviation from the proper or expected course
Term
precocious
Definition
(adj) unusually advanced or mature in development, esp. mental development
Term
gripe
Definition
(verb) to complain naggingly or constantly
Term
notorious
Definition
(adj) widely and unfavorably known
Term
bile
Definition
(noun) bitter, alkaline, yellow or greenish liquid, secreted by the liver, that aids in absorption and digestion
Term
ramshackle
Definition
(adj) loosely made or held together; rickety; shaky
Term
platitude
Definition
(noun) a flat or dull remark, esp. one expressed as if it were original or profound
Term
evanescent
Definition
(adj) vanishing; fading away
Term
xenophobe
Definition
(noun) a person who is fearful of foreign people and customs
Term
diffident
Definition
(adj) lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid
Term
glutton
Definition
(noun) a person who eats and drinks excessively
Term
adroit
Definition
(adj) cleverly skillful, resourceful, or ingenious
Term
prototype
Definition
(noun) the original or model on which something is based or formed
Term
braggart
Definition
(adj) one given to loud, empty boasting; a bragger
Term
hovel
Definition
(noun) a small, miserable dwelling
Term
lobotomy
Definition
(noun) surgical incision into the frontal lobe of the brain to treat certain mental disorders
Term
plutocrat
Definition
(noun) government by the wealthy
Term
belligerent
Definition
(adj) inclined or eager to fight; hostile or aggressive
Term
caste
Definition
(noun) a social class
Term
betroth
Definition
(verb) to promise to give in marriage
Term
verdant
Definition
(adj) green with vegetation; covered with green growth
Term
appease
Definition
(verb) to bring peace, quiet, or calm to; soothe
Term
predilection
Definition
(noun) a preference
Term
blasphemy
Definition
(noun) a contemptuous or profane act
Term
morose
Definition
(adj) gloomy; ill-humored
Term
acrimonious
Definition
(adj) caustic, stinging, or bitter in nature, speech, behavior, etc.
Term
ecclesiastical
Definition
(adj) of or relating to a church
Term
feral
Definition
(adj) existing in a natural state, as animals or plants; not domesticated or cultivated; wild
Term
prerogative
Definition
(noun) an exclusive right or privilege held by a person or group
Term
unmitigated
Definition
(adj) not diminished or moderated in intensity or severity; unrelieved
Term
acquiescence
Definition
(noun) agreement or consent by silence or without objection; compliance
Term
corroborating
Definition
(verb) to make more certain; confirm
Term
palliate
Definition
(verb) to relieve or lessen without curing; mitigate; alleviate
Term
premise
Definition
(noun) a proposition upon which an argument is based or from which a conclusion is drawn
Term
undulate
Definition
(verb) to move with a wavelike motion
Term
cantankerous
Definition
(adj) ill-tempered and quarrelsome; disagreeable
Term
mollified
Definition
(verb) to calm in temper or feeling; soothe
Term
temerity
Definition
(noun) foolhardy disregard of danger; recklessness
Term
umbrage
Definition
(noun) offense; resentment
Term
reconnaissance
Definition
(noun) an inspection or exploration of an area, especially one made to gather military information
Term
mores
Definition
(noun) the accepted traditional customs and usages of a particular social group
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