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Vocab 23

accede               v            1) To yield to or give in to. The senator from Tennessee wishes to accede the point to the senator from Pennsylvania. 2) To arrive at or come into some office or dignity. It was a proud day for us all when Prince Albert acceded to the throne of his father.

antecedent         n            Coming before something else, usu. with "to" 1) In the sentence, "Bob threw his hat," the word "Bob" is antecedent to the pronoun "his." 2) The Civil War was antecedent to the reconstruction.

covert                adj           Hidden or secretive, much as a spy might act. We have invited you along on this covert operation, but if you breathe a word about it, you'll be shot without a trial.

desultory            adj           Lackadaisical, haphazard, and uninterested. Russell did not want to Christmas shop for his cousin Katie, and so after a desultory day of wandering around the mall, he had nothing to show except a half-eaten pretzel.

flaccid                adj            Lacking tone, strength, or firmness. After six weeks of being bedridden, Arnold found that his once powerful muscles had become flaccid and nearly useless.

importunate        adj           Asking in a pleading way. Geoffrey was importunate as he begged the king to spare the life of his only son.

incredulous         adj            Incapable of believing. (cred = belief) His story about being taken aboard a flying saucer left me stunned and incredulous, and I never took him seriously again.

innocuous           adj            Harmless and without obvious effect. You may think what you're taking is a powerful medicine that's curing your "disease," but it's just an innocuous little sugar pill that has none but a psychological effect.

insensate            adj            1) Without senses or awareness, inanimate. It may appear that computers are brilliant servants, but they are merely insensate collections of chips and wires. 2) Lacking sensibility, unfeeling. This is an example of such insensate evil that no thinking person can ever forgive it.

lieu                     n            Place or stead. In lieu of the ice cream sundae, why don't you have a nice carrot stick? It's better for you.