Vocabulary #1

Adumbrate - verb give to understand; describe roughly or briefly or give the main points or summary of

Ex. The ending of the novel is already adumbrated in the first chapter.
Apotheosis - noun the elevation of a person (as to the status of a god); model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal

Ex. The pilot who landed the plane in the Hudson river, was an apotheosis.
Ascetic - adj. practicing great self-denial; pertaining to or characteristic of an ascetic or the practice of rigorous self-discipline; noun someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline
Ex. He spent many years in a monastery, living as an ascetic.

Bauble - noun a mock scepter carried by a court jester; cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing

Ex. My grandfather bought a bauble on the clearance rack at a swap meet.
Beguile - verb attract; cause to be enamored; influence by slyness

Ex. Beguile the time and compose his mind he asked that a book might be read to him.
Burgeon - verb grow and flourish

Ex. The apple trees I planted last year began to burgeon.
Complement - noun something added to complete or make perfect; either of two parts that mutually complete each other; a word or phrase used to complete a grammatical construction; number needed to make up a whole force; a complete number or quantity; one of a series of enzymes in the blood serum that are part of the immune response; verb make complete or perfect; supply what is wanting or form the complement to

Ex. He could issue the highest complement and make it sound like an insult.
Contumacious - adj. wilfully obstinate; stubbornly disobedient

Because the contumacious student refused to obey the principal’s instructions, he was suspended from school.
Curmudgeon - noun a crusty irascible cantankerous old person full of stubborn ideas

Ex. No one liked the a grumpy old curmudgeon. 
Didactic - adj. instructive (especially excessively)

Ex. While the professor’s lectures were designed to be didactic, they only served to confuse the students.
Disingenuous - adj. not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness
Ex. The detective was a disingenuous man who often played dumb to trick others into confessing.

Exculpate - verb pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
Ex. Both men were endeavoring to exculpate themselves, and therefore both statements are subject to suspicion.

Faux Pas - noun an embarrassing or tactless act or remark in a social situation.

Ex. We were each engaged in impression management and doing our best not to commit a faux pas.
Fulminate - noun a salt or ester of fulminic acid; verb cause to explode violently and with loud noise; come on suddenly and intensely; criticize severely

Ex. She fulminated about the dangers of drinking alcohol. 
Fustian - noun a strong cotton and linen fabric with a slight nap; pompous or pretentious talk or writing

Ex. The shirt he bought at a garage sale was made out of fustian.
Hauteur - noun overbearing pride evidenced by a superior manner toward inferiors

Ex. The unmistakable hauteur in his tone implied that there was no chance of his being wrong.
Inhibit - verb limit the range or extent of; to put down by force or authority

Ex. I need to inhibit myself from eating too many junk food.
Jeremiad - noun a long and mournful complaint

Ex. The new, bratty employee wouldn’t stop with the jeremiads.
Opportunist - adj. taking immediate advantage, often unethically, of any circumstance of possible benefit; noun a person who places expediency above principle

Ex. He is a hustler of sensibility, an opportunist of inspiration.
Unconscionable - adj. greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; lacking a conscience

Ex. The act is not confined to providing for the registration of moneylenders and for the reopening of harsh and unconscionable bargains.