English Vocab and Nifty Words

I'm taking English 11 Honors this semester, and each week we'll be getting a new list of vocab words (specifically SAT words). I thought it'd be a good idea to add them here (with definitions\*, of course) in case anyone wants to use them. I'll also occasionally add some random words I found on the website for Webster's Dictionary or Google's dictionary that don't seem to be used often. Also, if anyone is bored and just scrolling through, maybe you could alphabetize the words under the Nifty Words section because doing so would be much appreciated. :) On another note, I won't care if you add words you've encountered that aren't used very often. *\*: the definitions used for the English vocab may not be the only definitions for those words*

## Week 1

**Abstemious:** *(adj.)* marked by temperance in indulgence

**Acerbic:** *(adj.)* sour or bitter in taste

**Acolyte:** *(noun)* an assistant to a priest or minister in a liturgical service

**Acrimonious:** *(adj.)* marked by strong resentment or cynicism

**Adamant:** *(adj.)* refusing to be persuaded or to change one's mind

**Adept:** *(adj.)* having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude

**Adhere:** *(verb)* stick to firmly

**Admonish:** *(verb)* scold or reprimand; take to task

**Adroit:** *(adj.)* quick or skillful or adept in action or thought

**Adulation:** *(noun)* exaggerated flattery or praise

**Aesthetic:** *(adj.)* characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste

**Affable:** *(adj.)* diffusing warmth and friendliness

**Allusion:** *(noun)* passing reference or indirect mention

**Amalgam:** *(noun)* a combination or blend of diverse things

**Ambivalent:** *(adj.)* uncertain or unable to decide about what course to follow

## Week 2

**Ameliorate:** *(verb)* to make better

**Anachronism:** *(noun)* something located at a time when it could not have existed

**Analogous:** *(adj.)* similar or equivalent in some respects

**Analogy:** *(noun)* drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity

**Anecdote:** *(noun)* short account of an incident

**Anguish:** *(noun)* extreme distress of body or mind

**Animus:** *(noun)* a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility ~~| {in WoF: *(noun)* a super OP dragon}~~

**Anomaly:** *(noun)* deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule

**Antecedent:** *(noun)* a preceding occurrence or cause or event

**Antediluvian:** *(adj.)* of or relating to the period before the biblical flood

**Antithetical:** *(adj.)* sharply contrasted in character or purpose

**Aplomb:** *(noun)* great coolness and composure under strain

**Apoplectic:** *(adj.)* pertaining to a sudden loss of consciousness

**Arrest:** *(verb)* to take into custody

**Augment:** *(verb)* enlarge or increase

## Week 3

**Auspicious:** *(adj.)* auguring favorable circumstances and good luck

**Austerity:** *(noun)* self-denial, especially refraining from worldly pleasure

**Baleful:** *(adj.)* threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments

**Bane:** *(noun)* something causing misery or death

**Bastion:** *(noun)* projecting part of a rampart or other fortification

**Bellicose:** *(adj.)* having or showing a ready disposition to fight

**Bemoan:** *(verb)* regret strongly

**Benefactor:** *(noun)* a person who helps people or institutions

**Bewildered:** *(verb)* perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements

**Bias:** *(noun)* a partiality preventing objective consideration of an issue

**Bombastic:** *(adj.)* ostentatiously lofty in style

**Boorish:** *(adj.)* ill-mannered and coarse in behavior or appearance

**Brevity:** *(noun)* the attribute of being short or fleeting

**Broad:** (*adj.)* having great extent from one side to the other

**Brusque:** *(adj.)* marked by rude or peremptory shortness

## Week 4

**Burgeon:** *(verb)* grow and flourish

**Capricious:** *(adj.)* determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity

**Capture:** *(verb)* seize as if by hunting, snaring, or trapping

**Castigate:** *(verb)* inflict severe punishment on

**Catharsis:** *(noun)* purging the body to stimulate evacuation of the bowels

**Caustic:** *(adj.)* capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action

**Chagrin:** *(noun)* [sha-grin] strong feelings of embarrassment

**Channel:** *(noun)* a deep and relatively narrow body of water

**Chaotic:** *(adj.)* completely unordered and unpredictable and confusing

**Charismatic:** *(adj.)* possessing an extraordinary ability to attract

**Chicanery:** *(noun)* [shih-cay-nery] the use of tricks to deceive someone

**Churlish:** *(adj.)* having a bad disposition; surly

**Civility:** *(noun)* the act of showing regard for others

**Clandestine:** *(adj.)* conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods

**Coherent:** *(adj.)* marked by orderly and consistent relation or parts

## Nifty Words

**Avarice:** *(noun)* excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain; greediness; cupidity

**Bijouterie:** *(noun)* a collection of trinkets or ornaments

**Cupidity:** *(noun)* 1] inordinate desire for wealth; avarice; greed || 2] strong desire; lust

**Dubiety:** *(noun)* 1] a usually hesitant uncertainty or doubt that tends to cause vacillation || 2] a matter of doubt

**Farcical:** *(adj.)* 1] of, relating to, or resembling farce; ludicrous || 2] laughably inept; absurd

**Farouche:** *(adj.)* 1] wild || 2] marked by shyness and lack of social graces

**Gesticulate:** *(verb)* use gestures, especially dramatic ones, instead of speaking or to emphasize one's words.

**Pluralize:** *(verb)* to make plural or express in the plural form

**Thaumaturgist:** *(noun)* a performer of miracles

**Vacillation:** *(noun)* the inability to decide between different opinions or actions; indecision

**World-weary:** *(adj.)* feeling or showing fatigue from or boredom with the life of the world and especially material pleasures

## Words I didn't know from *A Tale of Two Cities*

Note: These words have not been alphabetized. I read it last year, so they're most likely in order of appearance

**Mire:** *(noun)* a stretch of swampy or boggy ground | a] soft and slushy mud or dirt | b] a wetland area or ecosystem based on peat

**Mutinous:** *(adj.)* refusing to obey the orders of a person in authority | a] willful or disobedient

**Tremulous:** *(hdfhedj)*

 etc...