Vocabulary: List #14

  1. élan (n): vigor and enthusiasm, often combined with style and self-confidence
  2. Even though she wasn’t as physically attractive as many of her peers, Jeanine was still voted Homecoming Queen because she carried herself with such élan and grace that nobody could ignore her beauty.
  3. adumbrate (v): to vaguely foreshadow something; to give a faint indication of something to come
  4. Jack London’s repeated allusions to the man’s ignoring warnings about the cold ADUMBRATED the traveler’s eventual death.
  1. apotheosis (n): the most glorious example of something; the highest point of glory/power
  2. Jackie Robinson was at the APOTHEOSIS of his career when he tragically died; his death was all the more sad given he perished at the height of his glory.
  1. bulwark (n): a person or thing that gives protection
  2. A good night’s sleep is my BULWARK against getting sick; a healthy body is a well rested body, and sleep keeps me safe from illness.
  1. cajole (v): to persuade somebody to do something by flattery or gentle, persistent argument
  2. I tried to CAJOLE my mother into allowing me to stay out late through giving her subtle & consistent compliments just before asking for her permission; by the 7th time, it worked!
  1. calumny (n): a slanderous/false accusation or the making of such false statements with hurtful intentions
  2. In The Crucible, Abigail misleads an entire town through her vicious CALUMNY; her lies cause death and destroy Salem.
  1. ephemeral (adj): lasting for only a short period of time
  2. Sadly, his time on earth was EPHEMERAL, for my puppy passed away within months of his birth.
  1. grandiloquent (adj): speaking in a lofty style, to the point of being pompous or supercilious (NOT a verb…)
  2. His GRANDILOQUENT speech did not impress the audience; instead, his big words and lofty style came off as annoying and snobby.
  1. harbinger (n): a person or thing that foreshadows a future event; an omen
  2. Finding a $20 bill on my way to school was a HARBINGER of things to come; by the end of the day, I’d won a raffle, earned a promotion, and found a lost earring!
  1. impetuous (adj): characterized by sudden or rash action, emotion
  2. Romeo is so IMPETUOUS; he doesn’t think before he acts, and he is so melodramatic, gushing out emotions everywhere he goes!