Mid-Term Vocabulary

There are 193 words. The pretest and the exam will have 20 words and 25 definitions to be matched, just like the other vocab tests. I will try not to have two words with close meanings. Good luck!

abominable – detestable, loathsome
accord - to be in agreement or harmony
acquaint – to make aware
Acrostic: a poem in which letters form a name or message when read in sequence
albeit - although
Allegory: a symbolic representation
allusion – reference to a work of literature, film, art, or history
Alms – money, food, or donations to the poor
aperture - an opening, as a hole, gap, crack
Apocalypse: a writing prophesying a cataclysm in which evil forces are destroyed
Apt – given, prone, likely
askance - with suspension, mistrust
Assimilate – to confirm with customs and attitude of a group
astute – clever, cunning, ingenious
avail – to be of value or profit
Awe – an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration
Battle Ode: a poem dedicated to battle
bawdy – indecent, lewd
bequeathed - to hand down; pass on
bibliophile - lover of books
Biography: an account of series of events making up a person’s life
Blaspheme – to speak irreverently of God
boisterous – rough and noisy
Brood - a breed, species, group, or kind
candid – frank, outspoken
Caparisoned - dressed richly
capricious - erratic
Catechism - a series of questions to elicit a point of view
censure - strong or vehement expression of disapproval
Chaff - the husks of grains and grasses that are separated during threshing
chagrin – a feeling of vexation, marked by disappointment
Chaste - virginal
Chide - to scold or reproach
Churlish – rude, mean
Civet - cat
clamorous – vigorous in demands
Code: a set of rules or principles or laws
compunction – remorse, uneasiness about the rightness of an action
Consent – to permit or comply
contrive – to devise, invent, plot
conundrum - anything that puzzles
countenance – the look or expression of the face
Courtier – a person who seeks favor by flattery
covetous - wrongly desirous of wealth
Cuckold - a man whose wife has committed adultery
curs – a mean cowardly person (also a mongrel dog0
curt – rudely brief
Debility – a weakened or enfeebled state
Deify - to make a god of
Deportation - the lawful expulsion of an undesired alien or other person from a state.
Diligent - constant in effort to accomplish something
Discourse – a formal discussion of a topic
Doxology - a form of words containing an ascription of praise to God
Effigy – a representation or image
Elegy: a poem or song composed especially as a lament for a deceased person
Embossed – to decorate with raised ornament
Emmanuel – “God with us”
emulation - imitation
ennui – boredom, utter weariness and discontent
ephemeral – lasting a short time, fleeting
Epic: a long narrative poem about a hero
Epigram: a short witty poem expressing a single thought or observation
Epigraph - quote at the beginning of a chapter or a book
Epiphany: a literary work presenting a moment of revelation; a divine manifestation
Epitaph - inscription on a tomb
equanimity – calmness, emotional stability
erudition – learning, scholarship
Expedient - fit or suitable for the purpose
faction – a group of people inside a political party
Flog – to beat with a whip
florid – excessively ornate, showy, flowery
flout – to treat with disdain or contempt
Foil – minor character who parallels a major character – used for contrast
Folk Tale: legend forming part of the oral tradition of the common people
Folly – lack of understanding or sense
Galled - impudence
Gentile – people who are not Jewish
Glutton – a person who eats and drinks excessively
Gnash – to grind or strike teeth together
Hallow - to make holy; sanctify; consecrate.
Harass – to trouble by repeated attacks
heathen – an irreligious, uncultured or uncivilized person
Homage - respect or reverence paid
humdrum – lacking variety
Hymn: a song or ode in praise or honor of God, a deity, a nation, etc.
Hypocrite – a person who pretends to have virtues or moral beliefs
Infirmity – a physical weakness or ailment
insinuate – to suggest or hint slyly
introspect - to examine one’s own mind, feelings
Invectively - censoriously abusive
irksome – annoying, tiresome
irrevocable – unable to be repealed
Joke: something said or done to provoke laughter
knavery – untrustworthy or dishonest dealing
Lackey - a toady, servile follower
Lamentation – expressing grief
languid - lacking in spirit or interest
Law: a collection of rules imposed by authority
Legend: a non historical handed down by tradition from earlier times
Letter: a written message addressed a person or organization
Liable – legally responsible
Libertine – a person who is morally or sexually unrestrained
Liturgy: a form of public worship or ritual
Locust – grasshopper, cicada
Love Lyric: the lyric of a personal love song
lugubrious – mournful, gloomy
Malign – to defame; speak evil of
mar – to damage or spoil
Maul – to handle or use roughly
Meek – humbly patient
Melancholy - a gloomy state of mind, esp. when habitual
Mettle – courage and fortitude
mirth – amusement or laughter
morphology – the form or structure of anything
Motley – exhibiting great diversity
Mutton - the flesh of sheep
Myth: a traditional or legendary story
Narrative: a narrated account; a story
nebulous – hazy, vague, cloudlike
nomenclature – the names or terms comprising a system
nominal - minimal
odious – hateful, detestable
Oracle: an utterance, given by a priest at a shrine in response of a God to an inquiry
orator – public speaker
Ostentation - pretentious or conspicuous show, as of wealth or importance
Parable: a simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson
Parlous - dangerous
peevish – cross, querulous, fretful
Penury – extreme poverty
perspicacity – keenness of mental perception
Pharisees – a powerful Jewish sect that adhered to laws and traditions
Piety – reverence for God
Pinnacle – a lofty peak, the culminating point
Plunder – to rob
Poetry: metrical writing
pogrom – an organized massacre, esp. of Jews
pompous – ostentatiously lofty or high-flown
portly – heavy, fat, stout
Primogeniture – the eldest son inherits the estate
Proclaim – to announce or declare
Prodigal - wasteful
propagation – transmission or dissemination of information
Proverb: a pithy popular saying
Pun: a play on words
Quintessence - the pure essence of a substance
Quotidian - daily
Ravenous – extreme hunger
Reap – to gather or take
Rebuke – to express sharp disapproval
Recompense – to repay or reward for service
Reconcile – to bring into agreement
resolute – firmly resolved
revelry – noisy merrymaking
Revile – to address abusively
rhetoric - the undue use of exaggeration or display
Righteous - acting in an upright, moral way; virtuous.
Rote - from memory, without thought of the meaning
rudiments - undeveloped or imperfect form of something
rueful - causing sorrow or pity
rumination- to meditate or muse
rustic – simple, country, unsophisticated
Sadducees – priests and aristocrats who did not believe in the coming of a messiah
sanctity – saintliness or holiness
Saucy - rude, fresh, brazen
sententious – expressing much in a few words
Sermon: an address of a religious nature
Short Story: a work of fiction that is usually written in prose
shrewd – cunning, clever
simpering – smiling in a silly, self-conscious manner
Sinewy – tough, firm, resilient
slander - to utter slander against; defame
Smolder – to burn without flame
Song: a short musical composition with words
Sow – to scatter see over the earth
Splendor – brilliant in appearance, glory
tenacious – persistent, stubborn
Thresh - to separate the grain by some mechanical means, as by beating with a flail
traverse – to extend over, through, or across
Trespass – an offense, sin or wrong
Uncouth – awkward, clumsy or unmannerly
Unquenchable – unable to satisfy or allay
usurp – to seize by force without legal right
Venerable – commanding respect due to age or dignity
verity – truth, reality
vex – to irritate, annoy
victual – food supplies
Vindicate – to clear from an accusation
whetstone – a stone for sharpening
Winnow - to free grain from chaff and dirt, esp. by throwing it into the air
wooed - to seek favor, affection, or love
wrangling – arguing, haggling
wrath - anger
Yoke – a device for joining draft animals