Unit 3 Vocabulary - English 9

Front 1

articulate

Back 1

–adjective
1. uttered clearly in distinct syllables.
2. capable of speech; not speechless.
3. using language easily and fluently; having facility with words: an articulate speaker.
4. expressed, formulated, or presented with clarity and effectiveness: an articulate thought.
5. made clear, distinct, and precise in relation to other parts: an articulate form; an articulate shape; an articulate area.
6. (of ideas, form, etc.) having a meaningful relation to other parts: an articulate image.
7. having parts or distinct areas organized into a coherent or meaningful whole; unified: an articulate system of philosophy.
segments.
–verb (used with object)
9. to utter clearly and distinctly; pronounce with clarity.
10. Phonetics. to make the movements and adjustments of the speech organs necessary to utter (a speech sound).
11. to give clarity or distinction to: to articulate a shape; to articulate an idea.

Front 2

cavort

Back 2

–verb (used without object)
1. to prance or caper about.
2. to behave in a high-spirited, festive manner; make merry.

Front 3

credence

Back 3

–noun
1. belief as to the truth of something: to give credence to a claim.
2. something giving a claim to belief or confidence: letter of credence.
3. Also called credence table, credenza. Ecclesiastical. a small side table, shelf, or niche for holding articles used in the Eucharist service.

Front 4

decry

Back 4

verb (used with object), -cried, -cry⋅ing.
1. to speak disparagingly of; denounce as faulty or worthless; express censure of: She decried the lack of support for the arts in this country.
2. to condemn or depreciate by proclamation, as foreign or obsolete coins.

Front 5

dissemble

Back 5

–verb (used with object)
1. to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of: to dissemble one's incompetence in business.
2. to put on the appearance of; feign: to dissemble innocence.
3. Obsolete. to let pass unnoticed; ignore.
–verb (used without object)
4. to conceal one's true motives, thoughts, etc., by some pretense; speak or act hypocritically.

Front 6

distraught

Back 6

dis⋅traught  [di-strawt] Show IPA
Use distraught in a Sentence
–adjective
1. distracted; deeply agitated.
2. mentally deranged; crazed.

Front 7

eulogy

Back 7

–noun, plural -gies.
1. a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, esp. a set oration in honor of a deceased person.
2. high praise or commendation.

Front 8

evince

Back 8

–verb (used with object), e⋅vinced, e⋅vinc⋅ing.
1. to show clearly; make evident or manifest; prove.
2. to reveal the possession of (a quality, trait, etc.).

Front 9

exhume

Back 9

–verb (used with object), -humed, -hum⋅ing.
1. to dig (something buried, esp. a dead body) out of the earth; disinter.
2. to revive or restore after neglect or a period of forgetting; bring to light: to exhume a literary reputation; to exhume old letters.

Front 10

feckless

Back 10

–adjective
1. ineffective; incompetent; futile: feckless attempts to repair the plumbing.
2. having no sense of responsibility; indifferent; lazy.

Front 11

Murky

Back 11

–adjective, murk⋅i⋅er, murk⋅i⋅est.
1. dark, gloomy, and cheerless.
2. obscure or thick with mist, haze, etc., as the air.
3. vague; unclear; confused: a murky statement.

Front 12

Nefarious

Back 12

–adjective
extremely wicked or villainous; iniquitous: a nefarious plot.

Front 13

piquant

Back 13

–adjective
1. agreeably pungent or sharp in taste or flavor; pleasantly biting or tart: a piquant aspic.
2. agreeably stimulating, interesting, or attractive: a piquant glance.
3. of an interestingly provocative or lively character: a piquant wit.
4. Archaic. sharp or stinging, esp. to the feelings.

Front 14

primordial

Back 14

–adjective
1. constituting a beginning; giving origin to something derived or developed; original; elementary: primordial forms of life.
2. Embryology. first formed.
3. pertaining to or existing at or from the very beginning: primordial matter.

Front 15

propinquity

Back 15

noun
1. nearness in place; proximity.
2. nearness of relation; kinship.
3. affinity of nature; similarity.
4. nearness in time.

Front 16

unwonted

Back 16

adjective
1. not customary or usual; rare: unwonted kindness.
2. Archaic. unaccustomed or unused.

Front 17

utopian

Back 17

–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or resembling Utopia.
2. (usually lowercase) founded upon or involving idealized perfection.

Front 18

verbiage

Back 18

–noun
1. overabundance or superfluity of words, as in writing or speech; wordiness; verbosity.
2. manner or style of expressing something in words; wording: a manual of official verbiage.

Front 19

verdant

Back 19

–adjective
1. green with vegetation; covered with growing plants or grass: a verdant oasis.
2. of the color green: a verdant lawn.
3. inexperienced; unsophisticated: verdant college freshmen.

Front 20

viscous

Back 20

–adjective
1. of a glutinous nature or consistency; sticky; thick; adhesive.
2. having the property of viscosity.