Vocabulary List #5: 10/6/97
| acerbity | acidity in manner or mood; sharpness of temper or words |
| agrarian | related to the farmer or his way of life; agricultural |
| allusion | an indirect reference to something |
| altruistic | showing unselfish devotion to the welfare of others |
| antithesis | opposition or contrast |
| apocalypse | something viewed as a prophetic message |
| apothegm | an instructive saying or formulation, aphorism |
| bovine | related or resembling an ox or cow; stupid, slow |
| chattel | a piece of personal property; slave, bondsman |
| condescension | voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in relations to an inferior |
| covetous | having a craving for possession or power |
| disconsolate | dejected, downcast |
| discursive | passing from one topic to another, digressive |
| ephemeral | lasting only one day, lasting a short time; fleeting |
| facetious | joking in an inappropriate manner |
| gossamer | a film of cobwebs floating in the wind |
| hegemony | influence on authority of one nation over others; preponderant influence |
| incarcerate | to put in prison |
| indomitable | unconquerable, incapable of being subdued |
| innuendo | hint, insinuation, veiled reflection of character |
| jurisprudence | system of body of law |
| loquacious | given to excessive talking |
| lurid | ghastly pale |
| meander | to wander aimlessly |
| mercenary | one who serves merely for wages, hired for military service |
| meretricious | of or related to a prostitute; falsely attractive |
| mnemonic | assisting or intending to assist memory |
| scrupulous | having moral integrity |
| temerity | unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger/opposition |
| winsome | cheerful, happy |