Vocabulary List #16: 1/12/97
| abdicate | to renounce a high office; dignity; to relinquish |
| abolition | the act of abolishing or doing away with |
| beneficence | the quality or state of being kind or good; kind action |
| coagulate | to become thick or viscous; to clot; curdle |
| decrepit | wasted and weakened by old age; impaired by wear |
| eke | increase; lengthen |
| fanatic | marked by excessive and intense devotion; overzealous |
| fetish | object of magic power to protect; object of irrational obsession |
| gargoyle | a spout to throw rain water in the form of a grotesque animal |
| gibe | to shake or handle roughly; to deride or tease by taunting |
| glean | to gather painstakingly, bit by bit |
| habiliment | the dress characteristic of an occupation or occasion |
| herbivorous | feeding on plants rather than animals; plant eating |
| imbecile | a mentally deficient person; feeble minded person |
| immersion | baptism by complete submersion; act of placing underwater |
| inert | lacking power to move; slow to move or act |
| jargon | technical language of a special group; confused, unintelligible |
| jugular | relating to throat or neck or to the jugular vein |
| kiosk | small structure used as a newsstand or booth |
| kismet | fate |
| lethargy | abnormal drowsiness; the state of being lazy or indifferent |
| lupine | wolfish; or an edible seed |
| nabob | a man of great wealth or prominence |
| obviate | to make unnecessary; dispose of beforehand |
| polemic | an aggressive attack on opinions of another |
| precipitate | to bring about; to cause to condense and fall or separate out |
| pristine | uncorrupted by civilization; fresh and clean |
| querulous | habitually complaining; fretful; whining |
| reconnaissance | exploratory military survey of enemy territory |
| venerable | sacred or respected through age and position; impressive by age |