Vocabulary Unit 6 a - PowerPoint Presentation

Vocabulary Unit 6

a nomalous – adjabnormal, irregular, departing from the usual Can you imagine anything as anomalous as a successful drama coach who has never acted on the stage?

b izarre – adjextremely strange, unusual, atypical Wearing bizarre masks at Halloween is a tradition that goes back many centuries.

b rusque – adjabrupt, blunt, with no formalities What hurt my feelings was not so much his refusal to give me a job as the brusque way in which he told me that he had n othing for me.

h einous – adjvery wicked, offensive, hateful A town so peaceful, quiet, and law-abiding was bound to be h orrified by so heinous a crime.

i mmutable – adjnot subject to change, constant The one fact about nature that seems completely immutable is that e verything i s subject to change.

s urreptitious – adjstealthy, secret, intended to escape observation The surreptitious way in which they planned the undertaking shows t hat they were aware of its illegal character.

v icarious – adjperformed, suffered, or otherwise experienced by one person in place of another Although most of us lead a quiet, humdrum sort of life, we can all g et a vicarious thrill from the achievements of Olympic athletes.

a spersion – noun a damaging or derogatory statement; the act of slandering or defaming By casting aspersions on the ability and character of others, you r eveal the misgivings you have about yourself.

d emagogue – noun a leader who exploits popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power A favorite strategy of a demagogue is to appoint a convenient scapegoat upon whom a misguided populace can vent its anger.

e nnui – nounweariness and dissatisfaction from lack of occupation or interest, boredom With the innumerable activities open to a young person like you, I can’t understand why you should suffer from ennui .

f etter – nouna chain or shackle placed on the feet; anything that confines or restrains (v.) – to chain or shackle The old phrase “chain gang” refers to a group of prisoners forced t o work, each one joined to the next by linked fetters .

i nsurgent – nounone who rebels or rises against authority(adj.) – rising in revolt, refusing to accept authority George Washington and his contemporaries were insurgents a gainst Britain. The army was confident that they could crush the insurgent f orces.

m egalomania – nouna delusion marked by a feeling of power, wealth, talent, etc. Sudden fame and admiration can make people feel unworthy – or it c an bring on feelings of megalomania .

s inecure – nouna position requiring little or no work; an easy job The office of Vice President of the United States was once c onsidered little more than a sinecure . Anyone who refers to my job as a sinecure should spend just o ne day in my place!

c ajole – verbto coax, persuade through flattery or artifice; to deceive with soothing thoughts or false promises With a smile, a joke, and a second helping of pie, she would c ajole him into doing what she wanted.

c astigate – verbto punish severely; to criticize severely After he castigated the unruly children, they settled down to s tudy quietly.

c ontrive – verbto plan with ingenuity; to bring about through a plan She can contrive wonderful excuses; but when she tries to offer t hem, her uneasiness gives her away.

d isabuse – verbto free from deception or error, set right in ideas or thinking He thinks that all women adore him, but my sister will probably d isabuse him of that idea.

t ransgress – verbto go beyond a limit or boundary; to sin, violate a law The coach put his faith in his team, hoping they would not transgress t he bounds of their training and violate protocol.

t ransmute – verbto change from one nature, substance, or form to another The alchemists of the Middle Ages, who were both mystics and p rimitive chemists, hoped to transmute base metals into gold.