01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Vocab 18
amenable adj agreeable, willing to go along with. Oft. used with "to" 1) Because Dilbert seldom made up his own mind, he was usually amenable to any plans we made. 2) He was such a gentle and amenable soul that we all got along with him with no conflict at all.
derogatory adj difficult, tending to condemn or criticize, esp. as comments His constant complaining and his derogatory comments about everything his son did eventually drove the young man away.
exorbitant adj extremely expensive and overpriced, outrageous We were shocked at the exorbitant prices charged for food at the baseball game; just because they had us captive, they thought $5.00 for a hot dog was a fair amount.
haughty adj proud and arrogant, disdainful of others Because the duchess thought she was the social superior of everyone at the clambake, she walked around with a haughty attitude and refused to play horseshoes.
lascivious adj 1. Given to or expressing lust, lecherous 2. Exciting sexual desires The young woman was made so uncomfortable by the lascivious leering of the old man seated across from her that she complained to the hostess and asked to have her seat changed. Ours is a family newspaper, and we refuse to accept lingerie ads of a lascivious nature.
laudable adj worthy of praise, commendable (note the root "laud" in "applaud" and in "plaudit") Even though you could not keep the dike from bursting in the flood, your 24 hours of labor to protect the fields was a laudable effort worthy of an award.
ominous adj 1. menacing or threatening 2. of or being an omen The ominous black clouds on the horizon and the distant rumblings of thunder made us decide to postpone our picnic.
parsimony n unusual or excessive frugality, stinginess Herbert's desire to save money began with thrift, grew into parsimony, and ended in miserliness; he no lives in an unheated shack with bags of money stashed beneath the floorboards.
prowess n skill or ability in an art or craft We sat openmouthed at the prowess of the acrobat who rode a unicycle across a tightrope while juggling three bowling balls--all while blindfolded.
vernacular n 1. The everyday language spoken by the people, as opposed to a more fomal literary language 2. The language common to a particular trade or profession (the legal vernacular) Reginald certainly knew a lot of fancy words, and he used them all in his speech, but it was almost incomprehensible to us common workers, and we wished he had spoken in the vernacular.