Vocabulary GUnit Nine

Paltry• Although the donation seemed paltry,

the homeless man accepted it gratefully.

adj.) trifling; insignificant; mean, despicable; inferior,

trashy(

Mandate • John despised the school’s mandate to

wear a tie every Monday.

(n.) an authoritative

command, formal order,

authorization.(v.) to issue such

an order

Shibboleth

A word, expression, or custom that distinguishes a particular group of persons from all others; a commonplace saying or truism.

“There aint no rest for the weary” is a common Shibboleth used when people are extremely tired.

Acclamation

(n.) a shout of welcome; an overwhelming verbal vote of approval

When my sister comes home from college my parents yell in acclamation and it usually scares us!

Vacillate

(v.) to swing indecisively from one idea or course of action to another; to waver weakly in mind or will

Martha was vacillating between chicken pox and small pox when faced with a new patient. Fortunately Dr. House was present to state that small pox has been isolated from the world by the CDC.

Vituperative

• (adj.) harshly abusive, severely scolding

The vituperative teacher yelled at the student for an hour for simply spelling a word wrong.

Dilettante Def: a dabbler in the arts who engages in an activity in an amateurish, trifling way

The Harlem Globetrotters are professional dilettantes of the game of basketball.

Tyro • A beginner, novice; one with little or no background or skill • Manny was such a tyro when it came to snowboarding in the

mountains.

Unremitting • Not stopping, maintained steadily, never letting up, relentless • The girl was in unremitting pain all day long from being sick.

Paroxysm (n.)A sudden outburst; a spasm, convulsion

Ex. Hyenas are known for bursting out into sudden paroxysms of laughter.

Pedantry (n.)A pretentious display of knowledge; overly rigid attention to rules and details

Ex. Katie always seems to annoy the entire class with her boastful pedantry.

refulgent

• (adj.) shining, radiant, resplendent• The couple sat in the field and watched the refulgent sunset.

Imperturbable Adj. not easily excited; emotionally steadyThe imperturbable woman did not stir when her friends surprised her with a birthday party.

Incrementn. An enlargement, increase, addition

The scientist added the base to the solvent in small, precise increments to be sure that nothing would spontaneously combust.

Peregrination• (n.) the act of traveling, an excursion, especially on foot or to a

foreign country

• The Trail of Tears is a symbolic peregrination of solitude.

Redolent• (adj.) fragrant, smelling strongly; tending to arouse memories

or create an aura• The dozen roses that my boyfriend gave me for Valentine’s day

had a redolent air to them.

Calumniate v- to slander; to accuse falsely and maliciously

The kid tried to calumniate the other boy’s reputation as the best Halo player.

Chary-adj-extremely cautious, hesitant, or slow (to); reserved, diffident

• After Neo killed Agent Smith, the other agents were chary about being near him.

Acclamationn. A shout of welcome; an overwhelming verbal vote of approvalAs soon as the birthday man walked into his house, everyone yelled “SURPRISE!”.

Bucolic

Adj. Characteristic of the countryside, rural; relating to shepherds and cowherds, pastoral

The girl living in the bucolic area had never been to a real shopping mall before.