VOCABULARY AND TERMS
List #4  
1 Meticulous adj. Excessivelycareful; fastidious.
He was meticulous in checking his accounts andnever made mistakes.
2 Miserly adj . Stingy; mean;excessively cheap in nature.
The miserly old man hoarded his coins not out of prudence but out of greed.
3 Mitigate v. Appease; mollify; easeor quiet.
Nothing he did could mitigate her wrath; she was unforgiving.
4 Modicum A small quantity or portion
Everyone expects at least a modicum of praisefor his accomplishments.
5 Momentous Of great importance or consequence.
In crossing the Rubicund, Julius Caesar made a momentous decision.
6 Morose adj. Ill humored; sullen.
When we first meet Hamlet, we find him morose and depressed.
7 Mundane adj. Ordinary; worldly as opposed to spiritual.
He was concerned only with mundane matters, especially the daily stock market quotations.
8 Nemesis Deserved punishment or its source; anything or anyone that always seems certain to defeat to frustrate.
His failure to notice his opponent's strengthproved to be his nemesis.
9 Nepotism Favoritism shown to relatives,especially in job appointments.
We could hardly accuse him of nepotism: his nephew really is the best qualified candidate for the job.
10 Nomadic Wandering from place to place: havingno fixed location.
It took a long time before the nomadic tribes settled down .
11 Nominal In name only, not in fact; relatively trifling or quite small in value.
He is only a nominal president; he does not haveany real powers. Her fee is so nominal that she will never get rich from it.
12 Nonplussed Baffled; confused; puzzled
We were nonplussed by his actions because we had never seen him behave that way before.
13 Notoriety n. Disrepute; ill fame.
If the starlet couldn't have a good reputation,she'd settle for notoriety.
14 Nullify v. To make invalid; void
Once the contract was nullified, it no longer had any legal force.
15 Nurture v. Bring up; feed; educate.
We must nurture the young so that they will develop into good citizens.
16 Oblivion n. Forgetfulness.
Her works had fallen into a state of oblivion; no one bothered to read them.
17 Opaque adj. Dark; not transparent.
The opaque window shade kept the sunlight out of the room.
18 Opulence n. Wealth.
Visitors from less wealthy lands are amazed and impressed by the opulence of this country.
19 Oscillation A swinging back and forth; indecision or wavering.
Her oscillation between the two choices was like the oscillation of a pendulum.
20 Ostentatious adj . Showy; pretentious; too fancy.
The real hero is modest, never ostentatious .
21 Pacifist n. One who is peaceful or opposed to use of force.
The pacifists urged that we reduce our military budget and recall our troops stationed over seas.
22 Panacea A glib or Facetious for anything and everything; a supposed universal cure; a cure all.
The committee's suggestion was only a panacea ;it did nothing to solve the real problem.
23 Pandemonium Wild tumult; disorder on grandscale.
The earthquake wreaked many homes and sent hordes of people into pandemonium .
24 Paradox That which may be true but which seems to be contradictory, false or absurd; a self contradictory statement.
To be both rational and passionate would seem to be a paradox .
25 Pedantic Making a show of learning; being formal or precise about minor matters in scholarship.
He is not pompous or boring, never pedantic when he lectures.
26 Perfunctory adj. Superficial; cursory; not thorough; routine.
He overlooked many weaknesses when he inspected the factory in his perfunctory manner.
27 Peripheral adj. Marginal; outer.
We lived, not in central London, but in one of those peripheral suburbs that spring up on the outskirts of a great city.
28 Pervasive adj. Spread throughout ;permeating.
The pervasive odor of mothballs clung to the clothes and did not fade away until they had been thoroughly aired.
29 Philanthropist n. Lover of mankind; doer of good.
As he grew older, he became famous as a philanthropist and benefactor of the needy.
30 Piety n. Religious devotion; godliness.
The nuns in the convent were noted for their piety, spendingtheir days in worship and prayer.
31 Placate v. Pacify; conciliate; mitigate; appease.
The teacher tried to placate the angry mother.
32 Plausible Seeming to be probable or likely;apparently trust worthy or believable.
He had no proof but his explanation was plausible ;so we accepted it.
33 Poignant Sharply painful or saddening to thefeelings; emotionally affective; piercing; sharp; cutting in effect.
Pictures in a photo album can be poignant reminders of happy times long gone
34 Polyglot Speaking or writing in several languages; multilingual; a mixture of languages.
I hope I can find someone who speaks English in this polyglot neighborhood.
35 Ponderous adj. Weighty; heavy.
His humor lacked the light touch; his jokes were always ponderous .
36 Potpourri A mixture of various things orsubjects.
Her book is a potpourri of poems, essays and witticisms on at least fifty different subjects
37 Pragmatic adj. Practical;realistic.
The test should provide us with a pragmatic analysis of the value of this course.
38 Pragmatic adj. Practical; concerned withpractical values.
This test should provide us with a pragmatic analysis of the value of this course.
39 Precedent An action that may justify or serveas a standard for future ones; a guiding principle; proceeding; former.
The proposal was voted down because it would have set an undesirable precedent.
40 Preclude v. Make impossible;prevent or eliminate.
This contract does not preclude my being employed by others at the same time that I am working for you.
41 Precocious Prematurely developed; maturedearlier than is normal; mentally advanced beyond one's years.
Most of the class found the precocious student annoying.
42 Predilection n. Partiality;preference; liking; tendency.
Although the artist used various media from time totime, she had a predilection for watercolors.
43 Prevalent adj . Widespread; generally accepted.
Reed had no patience with the conservative views prevalent in the America of his day.
44 Prodigal Wasteful; recklessly extravagant.
He was so prodigal in his youth that he has nothing left for his old age.
45 Profane v. Violate; desecrate.
Tourists were urged not to profane the sanctity of holy places by wearing improper garb.
46 Profound adj. Deep; not superficial.
Freud's remarkable insights into human behavior caused his fellow scientists to honor him as a profound thinker.
47 Profusion n. Lavish expenditure; large amount.
Seldom have I seen food and drink served in such profusion as at the wedding feast.
48 Prolific adj. Abundantly fruitful.
She was a prolific writer and wrote as many as three books a year.
49 Protagonist The leading or central characterin a play or story; a person most concerned and active in resolving a situation.
As the protagonist in uncovering city corruption he stood out like the protagonist in a mystery novel.
50 Proximity n. Nearness.
The deer sensed the hunter's proximity and bounded away.
51 Quandary n. Dilemma.
When two colleges accepted him, he was in a quandary as to which he should attend.
52 Rebuff v .Snub; reject.
She rebuffed his invitation so smoothly that he did not realize he had been snubbed.
53 Recluse One who lives shut off from others; ahermit
The old man was such a recluse that no one knew he had died.
54 Redundant adj. Superfluous; repetitious.
Your composition is redundant; you can easily reduce its length.