Vocab List C1 - Study Island

Abscond Acumen

verb - to sneak away and hide, usually to avoid noun - quickness of intellectual insight or discernment;
punishment keenness of discrimination

(Roots: ab = from, away ) Bianca’s acumen when analyzing legal questions made
her a top-notch lawyer.
Realizing he would be convicted if the trial were to
continue, the defendant posted bail and then absconded.

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Adumbrate Aegis

verb - to produce a faint image or resemblance of; to noun - protection; shield, especially of classical gods;
foreshadow, prefigure sponsorship

(Roots: ad = to, toward, against ) The warring nations entered negotiations with each
other under the aegis of the United Nations.
The horrific ending of the movie was cleverly
adumbrated in the opening scenes.

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Alabaster Allusion

noun - a dense translucent, white or tinted fine-grained verb - indirect reference
gypsum
(Roots: ad (al) = to, toward, against )
For thousands of years, artists have chosen to use
alabaster when sculpting decorative ornaments. Hector's frequent allusions to his adventuresome past
made us impatient to hear the full story of his childhood.

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Analgesic Antipathy

adjective - a medicine that reduces or eliminates pain noun - strong dislike, repugnance

(Roots: an = not, without ) (Roots: anti = against; path = feeling, suffering )

I have tried numerous analgesic treatments, but my Raised by wolves since he was a babe, he had an
chronic pains persist. understandable antipathy towards bathing or walking
upright.

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Archipelago Assonance

noun - large group of islands noun - resemblance in sound, especially in vowel
sounds
Though most people think of Japan as a single land
mass, the nation is actually an archipelago of nearly (Roots: ad (as) = to, toward, against; son = sound )
7,000 islands, most of them tiny.
Poets unwilling to write in full rhymes may use
assonance to achieve a related, though subtler, effect.

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Atrophy Avatar

verb - to wither away, decay noun - an embodiment of a quality, concept,
philosophy, or tradition; an archetype; an incarnation of
(Roots: a = not, without ) a deity

When Karen woke from her coma she was distressed to Some admirers went as far as to say the dancer was an
find that, after years of disuse, her muscles had avatar of grace.
atrophied.

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Baleful Balk

adjective - harmful, with evil intentions verb - to stop abruptly and refuse to continue; to refuse
abruptly and refuse to compromise
I had expected Hammurabi to be in a good mood, so his
baleful glare surprised and frightened me. At first it looked like Cornelius would join our escape
attempt, but at the last moment he balked.

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Bereft Besiege

adjective - devoid of, without verb - surround with hostile forces, crowd around; hem
in, harass or importune, as with requests
After losing his job, his house, and his wife, Jared was
bereft of hope. Though besieged many times, the fortress was never
captured.

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Bourgeois Bovine

noun - an upper middle-class person, capitalist adjective - cow-like in manner or quality; relating to
cows
Despite being a founding father of communism,
Friederich Engels did not shy away from champagne Our family joked that Uncle Oscar, who looked a bit like
parties, fox hunts, and other traditionally bourgeois a cow to begin with, chewed so thoroughly and lengthily
activities. that it was positively bovine.

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Caulk Cerebral

verb - to make watertight adjective - relating to the intellect

Dad had bought the boat second hand, so we made sure Critics said the play was too cerebral - it was
to caulk its joints before taking it out on the water. interesting, but lacked emotional punch.

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Chimerical Circumlocution

adjective - fanciful, imaginary, visionary, impossible noun - the use of unnecessarily wordy and indirect
language; a roundabout expression
The young girl always had rather chimerical dreams,
always filled with unicorns, magical dragons, and (Roots: circum = around; loqu (locu) = speak )
wizards.
Unwilling to give a straightforward answer to the
press's questions, the president was criticized for his
circumlocution.

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Clerical Clerical

adjective - relating to the work of an office adjective - relating to priests or clerics

Filing, archiving, copying, and other clerical duties The minister's clerical garb was plain and drab
bored Olivia. compared to the ornate robes worn by the high
priestess.

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Commodious Conjugal

adjective - roomy adjective - pertaining to marriage

(Roots: con (com) = together, with ) (Roots: con = together, with; junct (jug) = join )

Mr. and Mrs. Johnson searched long and hard for an Though she had deceived him, Herschel remembered his
apartment commodious enough to house their twelve conjugal vows and stood by his wife.
children.

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Consonant Contemporaneous

adjective - harmonious, consistent with, in agreement adjective - existing during the same time
with
(Roots: con = together, with; tempor = time, for a time )

(Roots: con = together, with; son = sound ) Calculus is famous for having been discovered by two
roughly contemporaneous mathemeticians, Newton and
Though initially they disagreed, the two philosophers Liebniz, who spent years arguing over who had really
ended up expressing consonant opinions about the discovered it first.
nature of art.

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Copious Cornucopia

adjective - profuse, abundant, more than enough noun - abundance, plenty

(Roots: copia (copi) = supply, abundance ) (Roots: copia = supply, abundance )

After a generous donation from an anonymous To a member of a hunter-gatherer society, a
philanthropist, the school had a copious supply of pens supermarket would seem a veritable conrnucopia.
and paper.

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Curmudgeon Decorous

noun - a cranky person adjective - socially proper, appropriate

The old curmudgeon who lived next door never Ezekiel hid his evil intentions under polite and decorous
returned our frisbees when they flew into his yard. behavior.

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Deify Demarcation

verb - to regard or worship as a god. noun - the marking of boundaries or categories

(Roots: dei = god; fac (fy) = make, do ) (Roots: de = down, down from )

Though you may be fond of certain celebrities or Odin and Frey separated their sides of the bedroom
athletes, you should not deify them because they are from each other with a clear demarcation made of
only human. scotch tape down the middle of the floor.

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Depose Depravity

verb - to remove from a high position, as a throne noun - moral corruption or degradation

(Roots: de = down, down from; pose = place, position ) (Roots: de = down, down from )

All too often, revolutions that depose one tyrant end up No one knew the extent of his depravity until they looked
merely setting another in his place. in his basement and discovered that he had been selling
human organs on the black market.

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Derivative Desecrate

adjective - copied or adapted; not original verb - to violate the sacredness of a thing or place

(Roots: de = down, down from ) (Roots: de = down, down from; sacr (secr) = sacred,
holy )
The musician, who had never been very original,
surpassed himself with his latest collection of hackneyed Legend has it that grave robbers who desecrate ancient
and derivative songs. Egyptian tombs risk being cursed by the tombs'
inhabitants.

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Disavow Discursive

verb - to disclaim knowledge of, responsibility for, or adjective - rambling, lacking order
association with
(Roots: dis = apart )
(Roots: dis = apart; ad (a) = to, toward, against; vot
(vow) = vow, promise ) After years of reading dry, narrowly focused textbooks, I
welcomed the new book's discursive style.

After World War II, many former Nazi soldiers tried to
disavow their involvement in the Holocaust.

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Disingenuous Dissonance

adjective - not straightforward or candid; insincere or noun - a lack of harmony or consistency
calculating
(Roots: dis = apart; son = sound )
(Roots: dis = apart; in = not )
Modern classical music is hard to listen to because it
His disingenuous attempt to make everyone like him by makes extensive use of dissonance.
telling fantastic lies about himself only made him more
unpopular.

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Effigy Eminent

noun - a stuffed doll; the likeness of a person adjective - distinguished, high in rank, prominent

(Roots: ex (ef) = out of, outside ) (Roots: ex (e) = out of, outside )

It is an age-old custom for protesters to burn effigies of To be sure that there would be no mistake, we sent our
the leaders they wish to be rid of. questions to the most eminent scholar on the subject.

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Enfranchise Ensconce

verb - to grant the vote to verb - to settle comfortably into a place

(Roots: in (en) = in, into ) (Roots: in (en) = in, into )

In the 20th century, democratic governments around the Congressmen and -women quickly become ensconced in
world finally began to enfranchise women and their offices, making it difficult for newcomers to have a
minorities. shot at winning elections.

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Extemporaneous Extemporaneous

adjective - done or made without much preparation; adjective - skilled at or given to unrehearsed speech or
prepared in advance but delivered without notes or text performance

(Roots: ex = out of, outside; tempor = time, for a time ) (Roots: ex = out of, outside; tempor = time, for a time )

At the wedding ceremony, the father of the groom was Our extemporaneous professor could lecture for hours
suddenly inspired to make an extemporaneous speech about any question we asked him without once looking
about the virtues of his new daughter-in-law. at a text book or his notes.

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Farcical Fastidious

adjective - absurd, ludicrous adjective - meticulous, demanding, having high and
often unattainable standards (usually for oneself)
The farcical story was entertaining and funny, but it did
not seem to have much of a point. When the scientist passed away, it was only the survival
of his fastidious notes that prevented his numerous
observations from being lost.

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Flag Funereal

verb - to decline in vigor, strength, or interest adjective - sorrowful, solemn, sad

After hours of heavy lifting, my strength began to flag. I had expected a raucous party, but instead the
atmosphere at the gathering was solemn and funereal.

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Hegemony Homoeostasis

noun - leadership, domination, usually by a country noun - the tendency of a system to maintain internal
stability; the condition of equilibrium
Through its force of arms and cunning diplomacy, the
nation achieved hegemony in the region. (Roots: homo (homeo) = same )

One way the human body tries to achieve homeostasis is
by sweating, which helps prevent the body's temperature
from rising in hot weather.

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Hyperbole Imbibe

noun - an obvious exaggeration, intentionally used for verb - to drink or take in
emphasis and not to be taken literally
(Roots: in (im) = in, into )
(Roots: hyper = beyond, over )
It was our habit to stop off at a café after work to eat a
It was impossible to take Olga's descriptions at face bite and imbibe a little wine.
value since they were so over the top and loaded with
hyperboles.

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Incendiary Interlocutor

noun - a person who agitates a situation noun - speaker in conversation; interpreter

(Roots: in = in, into; cend = burn ) (Roots: inter = between, among; loqu (locu) = speak )

Everyone was surprised to see Jonah, originally Though Carol disagreed with her interlocutor, she
softspoken and meek, become the most incendiary of the didn't end the conversation.
protestors.

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Jaundice Jaundice

noun - a state or feeling of negativity or bitterness noun - the yellowish discoloration of the whites of the
arising especially from envy or world-weariness eyes, skin, and mucous membranes

As Bernice listened to her coworker accept the One of the most remarkable symptoms of liver failure is
promotion that she herself had fought for, an jaundice; doctors are able to diagnose this problem
overwhelming feeling of jaundice came over her. simply by monitoring the color of their patient's eyes.

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Kudos Largess

noun - some praise for an achievement noun - gift gift given in extreme generosity; the act of
bestowing gifts in a lofty or condescending manner
When the ballot count came in, the winner's friends gave
him kudos for running such a successful campaign. The charity would have gone bankrupt if not for the
largess of its chief donator.

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Lassitude Liaison

noun - lethargy, sluggishness noun - a linking or connection; cooperation; the person
who facilitates communication or cooperation between
We thought the dog might have been sick, but the vet two groups
ascribed its lassitude to poor diet.

As a liason between the federal and local police, Gaia
saw both sides of the investigation.

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Limpid Lode

adjective - clear, transparent; free from obscurity; noun - a somewhat continuous unstratified metal-
completely calm bearing vein

Visitors to the pond always commented on how clearly They found the lode of silver while installing a new well
they could see the fish through its limpid water. in their backyard and immediately took steps to set up a
full-scale silver mining operation.

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Meliorate Mendacious

verb - to make better or improve, as in quality or social adjective - untrue
or physical condition
(Roots: mend = fault )
After the earthquake, conditions were meliorated by the
tireless work of helpful volunteers. The tabloids ruined his reputation with mendacious
articles.

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Mercenary Moot

adjective - motivated by financial incentives adjective - debatable; deprived of practical significance

(Roots: merch (merc) = sell, trade ) Some say that the cause of global warming is a moot
point; what matters is how to deal with global warming
At first he seemed like a real public servent, but it soon now that it's here.
became clear that his attitude was quite mercenary.

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Nihilist Oblique

noun - an absolute skeptic, someone who rejects adjective - diverging from a straight line or course, not
traditional beliefs straightforward

(Roots: null (nihil) = nothing ) Percival didn't understand the poem's oblique
references to numerous obscure poets.
In the late 19th century, many were afraid that the
younger generation was composed of nihlists with no
respect for the old values.

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Pander Paucity

verb - to cater to the lowest desires of others noun - a small number or scarce amount

The candidate made a lot of admirable promises, but we The paucity of athletic students at my high school made
suspected he was just pandering to us. it possible for anyone to join the football team.

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Penultimate Peremptory

adjective - next to last adjective - putting an end to all debate or action; not
allowing contradiction or refusal
(Roots: ultim = last, final )
(Roots: per = through, throughout )
Throughout the penultimate lap, the runner made sure
to keep some energy in reserve for the one remaining After the king's peremptory judgment, it didn't matter
lap. whether or not the accused man was guilty - he had to
be jailed.

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Perfunctory Plaintive

adjective - done in a superficial way adjective - expressive of sorrow or melancholy; sad or
mournful
(Roots: per = through, throughout )
Everything seemed to share in my depressed mood, and
Having suffered a crisis of faith, the priest performed his the howling of dogs in the distance sounded especially
duties in a perfunctory manner. plaintive to me.

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Portend Prosaic

noun - to serve as a warning or omen of (usually adjective - plain, lacking liveliness
negative things)
The actor's prosaic performance did not do justice to the
(Roots: tend = stretch ) fiery and complex character she was playing.

When the town's water tower fell, everyone saw it as
portending the demise of our small community.

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Puerile Purgative

adjective - juvenile, immature adjective - tending to cleanse or purge

The rowdy students' peurile jokes did not amuse their All my negative feelings seemed washed away after a
wizened teacher. purgative swim in the ocean.

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Purgative Querulous

noun - a cathartic agent adjective - whiny, complaining

The tribe used birch bark as a common purgative for Conrad had been a querulous child, so it surprised
stomach aches. everyone when he matured into a quiet and
contemplative adult.

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Rue Ruminate

verb - to regret extremely verb - to contemplate, reflect

I swore that my enemies would rue the day they had Unsure how to handle her predicament, she decided to
crossed me. take some time to ruminate on the issue.

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Salient Salutary

adjective - significant, conspicuous adjective - beneficial, causing health

Some unimportant parts of the essay were difficult to (Roots: salut = health )
understand, but its more salient points came across loud
and clear. People suffering from illnesses frequented the hot
springs for their renowned salutary effects.

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Scintilla Surrogate

noun - trace amount noun - a substitute; a stand-in

The witness's convincing testimony left the jury without (Roots: sub (sur) = under; roga = ask, propose )
a scintilla of doubt regarding the guilt of the defendant.
After my dog passed away, our neighbor's golden
retriever became a sort of surrogate pet to me.

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Svelte Trenchant

adjective - gracefully slender adjective - effective, articulate, clear-cut

Admirers said the ballerina was svelte and lithe, but to The bill might have passed had Senator Olaf not made a
me she looked malnourished and sickly. trenchant argument against it.

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Tutelage Ubiquitous

noun - an apprenticeship; training under the guidance adjective - existing everywhere, widespread
and protection of another
Cell phones were a rare sight not so long ago, but now
Under the tutelage of my uncle, I learned the best ways they're quite ubiquitous.
to catch catfish.

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Vacuous Veneer

adjective - lacking content or ideas, stupid noun - a superficial or deceptively attractive appearance

(Roots: vac = empty ) Under his veneer of good manners, the count hid a cruel
and selfish heart.
The movie's high-tech special effects couldn't distract
from its insipid, vacuous plot.

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Vie Vituperate

verb - to compete verb - to scold harshly and abusively

Penelope was used to being surrounded by admirers Agamemnon would have vituperated his daughter if she
who all vied for her affection. hadn't apologized so sincerely for her mistake.

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Whit Xenophobia

noun - a tiny particle noun - an unreasonable fear of strangers, foreigners or
anything foreign, strange or different.
Despite all the committee's plans, not a whit of
improvement was accomplished. (Roots: phob = fear )

The locals' xenophobia made it difficult for the
immgrants to find work.

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