Vocabulary Unit #3
He abominates cats because when he was a child, he
was badly scratched by a neighbor’s cat.
abominate—v.—to have an intense dislike or hatred
for; to despise or detest
Native Americans have gone through a process of
acculturation over the years.
acculturation—n.—the modification of the social
patterns, traits, or structures of one group or society
by contact with those of another; adaptation
His adventitious meeting with her kicked off their long love
affair which ended in their happy marriage.
adventitious—adj.—resulting from chance;
accidental
You may ascribe these holes to gophers, but I blame
the dog from next door for digging them.
ascribe—v.—to assign or refer to (as a cause or
source); to attribute or credit
I followed a circuitous path through the woods, but
not because I feared being followed, but because I
was lost.
circuitous—adj.—roundabout; not direct; winding
The mom commiserated with her daughter after she
lost the championship race.
commiserate—v.—to sympathize with, have pity or
sorrow for; to empathize
I enjoined them to stop spending so much money or
to face the consequences.
enjoin—v.—to direct or order; to prescribe a course
of action in an authoritative way; to prohibit
We decided to expedite the arrival of the holiday
packages by sending them through FedEx.
expedite—v.—to make easy, to cause to progress
further; to speed up or accelerate
He seemed more than willing to expiate his guilt by
whatever means necessary.
expiate—v.—to make amends, to make up for
Caught in the ferment of revolution, the young men
enlisted with the local militias.
ferment—n.—a state of great excitement, agitation,
or turbulence; commotion, turmoil
My mom inadvertently bumped into the pole with
her car.
inadvertent—adj.—resulting from or marked by
lack of attention; unintentional; accidental
The new health clinic for lower-income residents
charges only nominal fees.
nominal—adj.—too small to be considered or taken
seriously; inconsequential
This man is being very noncommittal about going
out on another date.
noncommittal—adj.—not decisive or definite;
unwilling to take a clear position
The police discovered that the cashier came up with
a scheme to peculate money from the store by
voiding some of the purchases and pocketing the
money.
peculate—v.—to steal something that has been
given into one’s trust; to defraud
Curious, patient, and fond of long walks outdoors,
she soon displayed a proclivity for nature study.
proclivity—n.—a natural or habitual inclination or
tendency; a propensity
Even when they forget their lines, experienced actors
can usually perform with sangfroid.
sangfroid—n.—composure or coolness; poise
Dictators usually begin their reigns by searching out
and silencing seditious opinion.
seditious—adj.—resistant to lawful authority;
rebellious
My grasp of trigonometry was tenuous until I
attended the remedial study session.
tenuous—adj.—thin, slender; lacking clarity or
sharpness; hazy
Though hurt by his vitriolic language, I had to admit
that some of his points were valid.
vitriolic—adj.—bitter, sarcastic
The frog tried to wheedle a kiss from Tiana.
wheedle—v.—to use coaxing or flattery to gain
some desired end; sweet-talk