Vocab

Delineate (v)

to describe in words; to sketch

Abasement (n)

humiliation; degradation

Abstruse (adj)

difficult to understand

Aggrandizement (n)

growth in power

Credulous (adj)

gullible; ready to believe anything

Apocryphal (adj)

of doubtful authenticity; counterfeit

Assuage (v)

to calm or soothe; to satisfy

Bilk (v)

to cheat; defraud

Ensconce (v)

to establish firmly in position

Blasphemy (n)

speech which offends religious sentiments

Bombast (n)

speech too pompous for an occasion

Bombastic (adj)

inflated; pretentious

Catharsis (n)

an emotional purification or relief

Chimerical (adj)

absurd; wildly fanciful

Clemency (n)

mercy; mildness

Absolution (n)

forgiveness; pardon; release

Cache (n)

a hiding place; the thing hidden there

Abstemious (adj)

self denying; refraining from indulging

Blighted (adj)

damaged; destroyed; ruined

Conciliatory (adj)

tending to soothe or reconcile

Covert (adj)

hidden; undercover

Reprehensible (adj)

shameful; very bad

Enunciation (n)

clear pronunciation

Innocuous (adj)

harmless

Crepiscular (adj)

active at dawn and dusk

Cryptic (adj)

puzzling, mystifying, or enigmatic

Dearth (n)

a lack, scarcity, inadequate supply; a famine

Despot (n)

monarch with unlimited power; any tyrant or opressor

Blithe (adj)

free-spirited; carefree

Evanescent (adj)

fleeting; barely perceptible

Acquiesce (v)

to accept without protest; to agree or submit

Didactic (adj)

intended to instruct

Latent (adj)

present, but not active; hidden

Duplicity (n)

treachery, deceitfulness

Creditable (adj)

praiseworthy

Egregious (adj)

outstandingly bad

Enervate (v)

to weaken

Caustic (adj)

stinging, biting

Enfranchise (v)

to give voting rights to

Credible (adj)

believable

Urbane (adj)

suave, sophisticated, polished