Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Vocabulary: Fall List 2

intercede: intervene on behalf of another.
I begged him to intercede for Theresa, but he never did a thing.
hackneyed: (of a phrase or idea) lacking significance through having been overused; unoriginal and trite. 
The show about an inept spy was banal and relied on hackneyed gimmicks
approbation: the action of taking something for one's own use, typically without the owner's permission; a sum of money or total of assets devoted to a special purpose
The politics cut the money and the appropriation is small.
innuendo: an allusive or oblique remark or hint, typically a suggestive or disparaging one
Some people have a resistance to innuendo and to rumor, and some people have absolutely no immunity to it.
coalition: an alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states
But the coalition is already collaborating on the legislative effort.
elicit: evoke or draw out (a response, answer, or fact) from someone in reaction to one's own actions or questions; draw forth (something that is latent or potential) into existence
His mournful words elicit emphatic shouts of release from the dancers.
hiatus: a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process; a break between two vowels coming together but not in the same syllable
The board may come to regret the management hiatus it has caused.
assuage: make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense; satisfy (an appetite or desire)
 To assuage security concerns, each watch is given its own serial number.
decadence: moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury;
luxurious self-indulgence
The sign's of a long and inexorable decadence are quite clear.
expostulate: express strong disapproval or disagreement
But because the author had a weighty thesis to propound and did so in long expostulation, the picture often sags in the telling.
simulate: imitate the appearance or character of; pretend to have or feel (an emotion); produce a computer model of
So textbooks have to be revised, and so must online and simulated demonstrations.
jaded: tired, bored, or lacking enthusiasm, typically after having had too much of something
His strategy is so simple and earnest, it may sound naïve to the jaded.
umbrage: offense or annoyance; shade or shadow, especially as cast by trees
Taking umbrage to a blonde joke, Jenna stormed out of the room.
prerogative: a right or privilege exclusive to a particular individual or class; arising from the prerogative of the Crown (usually delegated to the government or the judiciary) and based in common law rather than statutory law
But she insists on the prerogative of writing her own b.iography
lurid: very vivid in color, especially so as to create an unpleasantly harsh or unnatural effect; (of a description) presented in vividly shocking or sensational terms 
Papers carried lurid pieces describing the havoc it wreaked.
transcend: be or go beyond the range or limits of (something abstract, typically a conceptual field or division); surpass (a person or an achievement)
They teach us to transcend the false supremacy of one's own ego.
provincial: of or concerning a province of a country or empire; of or concerning the regions outside the capital city of a country, especially when regarded as unsophisticated or narrow-minded; an inhabitant of a province of a country or empire; an inhabitant of the regions outside the capital city of a country, especially when regarded as unsophisticated or narrow-minded
There are local provincial governments that are in the business of making rugs. 
petulant: (of a person or their manner) childishly sulky or bad-tempered
His reply reads as testy and petulant, which may or may not be the intended tone. 
unctuous: (of a person) excessively or ingratiatingly flattering; oily; chiefly of minerals) having a greasy or soapy feel
The used-car salesman had an unctuous manner. 
meritorious: deserving reward or praise; (of an action or claim) likely to succeed on the merits of the case
It is not every one who is able to discover a really meritorious monster.

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