Vocabulary List #30: 5/11/98
panacea | remedy for all diseases or troubles; cure-all |
invidious | tending to cause discontent or envy |
parley | to speak with another; conference; discussion |
obtuse | slow in understanding or feeling; insensitive |
sycophant | informer; self-seeking flatterer; parasite |
amalgamate | to mix, so as to make the whole; to merge |
calumny | a false or malicious statement to injure someone |
compulsion | an irresistible impulse to perform an irrational act |
guttural | of or pertaining to the throat; produced in the throat; rasping |
adroit | clever, sly; skillful in the use of hands |
deride | to subject to bitter ridicule |
debilitate | to impair the strength of; weaken |
diminution | the act or process of decreasing |
compilation | the act or process of collecting; something compiled |
gargantuan | of enormous size or capacity; gigantic |
kaleidoscope | a variety of changing patterns or scenes |
libertine | a freethinker, especially in religious matters |
effulgence | great brightness, luster, splendor |
despondency | dejection; hopelessness |
refulgent | radiant, brilliant; shining brightly |
refractory | stubbornly disobedient; unmanageable |
abstruse | difficult to comprehend |
posterity | descendants; all future generations |
coalition | alliance of parties, persons, or states |
ablution | the washing of one's body or part of it, especially religiously |
maudlin | weakly and effusively sentimental |
jocund | marked by high spirits and mirth; merry |
deprecate | to express disapproval of; belittle; play down |
disputation | an oral defense of a thesis by formal logic |
accolade | any award, honor, or laudatory notice |