English 8 Unit 2 Vocabulary Words

Front 1

adroit

Back 1

adjective
1. expert or nimble in the use of the hands or body.
2. cleverly skillful, resourceful, or ingenious: an adroit debater.

Front 2

cursory

Back 2

adjective
going rapidly over something, without noticing details; hasty; superficial: a cursory glance at a newspaper article.

Front 3

holocaust

Back 3

noun
1. a great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire.
2. a sacrifice completely consumed by fire; burnt offering.
3. ( usually initial capital letter ) the systematic mass slaughter of European Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II (usually preceded by the ).
4. any mass slaughter or reckless destruction of life.

Front 4

nostalgia

Back 4

noun
1. a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time: a nostalgia for his college days.
2. something that elicits or displays nostalgia.

Front 5

amicable

Back 5

adjective
characterized by or showing goodwill; friendly; peaceable: an amicable settlement.

Front 6

duplicity

Back 6

noun, plural du·plic·i·ties for 2, 3.
1. deceitfulness in speech or conduct, as by speaking or acting in two different ways to different people concerning the same matter; double-dealing. Synonyms: deceit, deception, dissimulation, fraud, guile, hypocrisy, trickery. Antonyms: candidness, directness, honesty, straightforwardness.
2. an act or instance of such deceitfulness.
3. Law. the act or fact of including two or more offenses in one count, or charge, as part of an indictment, thus violating the requirement that each count contain only a single offense.
4. the state or quality of having two elements or parts; being twofold or double.

Front 7

impervious

Back 7

adjective
1. not permitting penetration or passage; impenetrable: The coat is impervious to rain.
2. incapable of being injured or impaired: impervious to wear and tear.
3. incapable of being influenced, persuaded, or affected: impervious to reason; impervious to another's suffering.

Front 8

quintessence

Back 8

noun
1. the pure and concentrated essence of a substance.
2. the most perfect embodiment of something.
3. (in ancient and medieval philosophy) the fifth essence or element, ether, supposed to be the constituent matter of the heavenly bodies, the others being air, fire, earth, and water.

Front 9

averse

Back 9

adjective
having a strong feeling of opposition, antipathy, repugnance, etc.; opposed: He is not averse to having a drink now and then.

Front 10

extol

Back 10

verb (used with object), ex·tolled, ex·tol·ling.
to praise highly; laud; eulogize: to extol the beauty of Naples.

Front 11

impetus

Back 11

noun, plural im·pe·tus·es.
1. a moving force; impulse; stimulus: The grant for building the opera house gave impetus to the city's cultural life.
2. (broadly) the momentum of a moving body, especially with reference to the cause of motion.

Front 12

retrogress

Back 12

verb (used without object)
1. to go backward into an earlier and usually worse condition: to retrogress to infantilism.
2. to move backward.

Front 13

belligerent

Back 13

adjective
1. warlike; given to waging war.
2. of warlike character; aggressively hostile; bellicose: a belligerent tone.
3. waging war; engaged in war: a peace treaty between belligerent powers.
4. pertaining to war or to those engaged in war: belligerent rights.
noun
5.a state or nation at war.
6. a member of the military forces of such a state.

Front 14

feasible

Back 14

adjective
1. capable of being done, effected, or accomplished: a feasible plan.
2. probable; likely: a feasible theory.
3. suitable: a road feasible for travel.

Front 15

jeopardy

Back 15

noun, plural jeop·ard·ies.
1. hazard or risk of or exposure to loss, harm, death, or injury: For a moment his life was in jeopardy.
2.peril or danger: The spy was in constant jeopardy of being discovered.
3. Law. the danger or hazard of being found guilty, and of consequent punishment, undergone by criminal defendants on trial.

Front 16

scrutinize

Back 16

verb (used with object), scru·ti·nized, scru·ti·niz·ing.
1. to examine in detail with careful or critical attention.
verb (used without object), scru·ti·nized, scru·ti·niz·ing.
2. to conduct a scrutiny.

Front 17

benevolent

Back 17

adjective
1. characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings: a benevolent attitude; her benevolent smile.
2. desiring to help others; charitable: gifts from several benevolent alumni.
3. intended for benefits rather than profit: a benevolent institution.

Front 18

grimace

Back 18

noun
1. a facial expression, often ugly or contorted, that indicates disapproval, pain, etc.
verb (used without object), grim·aced, grim·ac·ing.
2. to make grimaces.

Front 19

meticulous

Back 19

adjective
1. taking or showing extreme care about minute details; precise; thorough: a meticulous craftsman; meticulous personal appearance.
2. finicky; fussy: meticulous adherence to technicalities.

Front 20

tepid

Back 20

adjective
1. moderately warm; lukewarm: tepid water.
2. characterized by a lack of force or enthusiasm: tepid prose; the critics' tepid reception for the new play.