Vocabulary List #8: 10/24/97
| abate | to reduce in degree or intensity; omit; deprive |
| affinity | an attractive force between two things; attraction |
| aphorism | a concise statement of a principle |
| caricature | exaggeration by means of ludicrous distortion |
| celestial | of or relating to the sky or visible heavens |
| desultory | marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose |
| drivel | nonsense; stupid or careless talk |
| ebony | black, dark |
| epithet | a character, word, or phrase occurring in place of the name of a person |
| fervor | warm; steady intensity of feeling or expression |
| furtive | obtained underhandedly; stolen |
| guileless | innocent, naive |
| impugn | to assail by words or arguments |
| luminous | bathed in or exposed to a steady light; emitting light |
| magnate | a person of rank or position often in a specified area |
| misanthrope | one who hates or distrusts mankind |
| myriad | having innumerable aspects or elements; innumerable |
| pariah | outcast |
| peremptory | putting an end to or precluding a debate or delay |
| poignant | painfully affecting the feelings or emotions |
| quintessence | the most typical example or representative |
| ramification | a branched structure; offshoot; growth |
| ruminate | to go over in the mind repeatedly, casually, or slowly |
| soliloquy | the act of talking to oneself; dramatic monologue |
| spectral | suggesting a spectator or ghost; ghostly |
| trenchant | sharply perceptive; keen; sharp |
| vacillate | to sway through a lack of equilibrium |
| veracity | devotion to the truth; something true |
| voracious | having a huge appetite; excessively eager |
| wizened | dried and wrinkled as a result of aging |