Vocabulary List # 4
1. flippant- ADJECTIVE. lacking proper seriousness. When Mark told Mona he
loved her, she dismissed his earnest declaration with a flippant, “Oh, you say
that to all the girls!”
2. hiatus- NOUN. gap; interruption in duration or continuity; pause. During the
summer hiatus, many students try to earn enough money to pay their tuition
for the next school year.
3. malign- VERB. speak evil of; bad-mouth; defame. Her hatred of her ex-husband
ran so deep the she maligned anyone who even casually dated him.
4. lurid- ADJECTIVE. wild; sensational; graphic. Do the lurid cover stories in The
Enquirer actually attract people to buy that trashy tabloid?
5. pugnacity- NOUN. Combativeness; disposition to fight. “Put up your dukes!”
he cried, holding up his fist to show is pugnacity.
6. quell- VERB- extinguish; put down; quiet. Miss Minchin’s demeanor was so
stern and forbidding she could quell any unrest among her students with one
intimidating glance.
7. rudimentary- ADJECTIVE- not developed; elementary; crude. Although my
Cuban-born grandmother’s English was limited to a few rudimentary phrases,
she could always make herself understood.
8. squander- VERB. Waste. If you squander your allowance on candy and comic
books, you want have any money left to buy the new crayons you want.
9. terse- ADJECTIVE- concise, abrupt; pithy. There is a fine line between a speech
that is terse and to the point and a speech that is too abrupt.
10. tirade- NOUN- extended scolding; denunciation. The cigar smoker went into a
bitter tirade denouncing the anti-smoking forces that had succeeded banning
smoking in public places.