Vocabulary List #23: 3/16/98
affectation | the act of displaying an attitude of behavior not genuinely felt |
agape | wide open; with the mouth open in surprise |
agility | being able to move with a quick, easy grace |
amorous | fond of loving; full of love or desire |
apostasy | abandonment of previous loyalty or principles |
attenuate | to lessen the amount, force, value of; to thin or dilute |
aural | of or related to the ear or sense of hearing |
autonomous | having the right or power of self-government; without outside control |
carrion | dead or putrefying flesh |
construe | to understand the intent of; to infer or deduce |
corrugated | folded into parallel ridges to create a wavy surface |
crevasse | a deep crack or fissure; a break on a glacier |
cygnet | a young swan |
demise | death; the transfer of an estate by will or death |
demur | delay, hesitate; to take exception, object |
disreputable | not respectable; discreditable |
enigmatic | puzzling, obscure |
factitious | artificial; produced by man rather than nature |
genesis | a beginning, origin, creation |
hegira | any journey or exodus for safety; flight |
immutable | not capable of or susceptible to change; fixed |
impending | about to happen; imminent; to hover or hang threateningly |
infernal | of or relating to hell; wicked |
ingenuous | showing innocent or child-like simplicity; candidness; natural |
intrepid | characterized by fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance |
leaven | to produce fermentation by means of yeast or other ferment |
mediocre | average; ordinary |
obtrude | to thrust oneself forward to gain attention |
pilfer | to steal in small quantities often again and again |
thwart | to oppose successfully; frustrate |