Vocabulary #1

Adumbrate: to outline, or foreshadow.
-In many novels the author will adumbrate a major event that will happen in the future.
Apotheosis: the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of god; glorification.
-The priest at a church can be held to apotheosis, when preaching to the people.
Ascetic: a person who dedicates their life to a pursuit of contemplative ideals and practices extreme self denial for religious reasons.
-A nun chooses to live a reserved, and ascetic  life.
Bauble: a showy, cheap ornament.
-On the Christmas tree we hang many baubles because it is tradition.
Beguile: to influence by trickery; mislead.
-A magician can  beguile their way through a show.
Burgeon: to grow or develop quickly.
-A small business can burgeon in just a matter of years.
Complement : something that completes or makes perfect.
-Barbecue sauce and chicken nuggets really complement each other in a meal.
Contumacious: stubbornly perverse, or rebellious; disobedient.
-When you first get a puppy they can be very contumacious, until they get trained.
Curmudgeon: a bad-tempered, difficult, cantankerous person.
-When I first found out I had her for a teacher I was nervous, because she has a reputation of being very curmudgeon.
Didactic: teaching, or intending to teach a moral lesson.
-When making a documentary the director speaks to many didactic people to figure out all the facts.
Disingenuous: insincere; lacking frankness, or candor.
-When she apologized for being rude it seemed very disingenuous , which led me not to believe her.
Exculpate: free from blame, free from charge or guilt.
-If you are charged with a crime you didn't commit you want to exculpate your name.
Faux pas: a slip in etiquette, manner, or conduct.
-While she was at a ball she seemed very reserved, but she didn't want have a faux pas .
Fulminate: to explode with a loud noise.
-On the Fourth of July dogs become scared because the fireworks fulminate all night.
Fustian: inflated or turgid language in writing or speaking.
-We watched a fustian movie, and felt that it was quite strange.
Hauteur: haughty manner or spirit; arrogance.
-The man was very hauteur, which is why he no longer had any friends.
Inhibit: to restrain, hinder, arrest, prohibit.
-Schools inhibit students from chewing gum in class.
Jeremiad: a prolonged lamentation or mournful complaint.
-When students are assigned a big project they feel the need to have a jeremiad.
Opportunist: policy of adapting actions, decisions to effectiveness regardless of the sacrifice of ethical principles.
- People who are eager to find, and try new things in life can be known as opportunists.
Unconscionable: not in accordance with what is just or reasonable.
-Murder is an unconscionable crime, it is hard to understand how someone does it.