Vocabulary #1

Adumbrate: Indicate, or outline faintly.
 I had difficulty understanding his light adumbration.

Apotheosis: The glorification of a subject to a divine level. (think poisonwood)
 His vigorous apotheosis on the greatest flavor of ice cream was quite unnecessary.

 Ascetic: Practicing strict self denial as a measure of discipline.
Her ascetic tendency to refuse sweets was admirable considering her sweet tooth.

Bauble: A sort of trinket or material object of little emotional value (trifle).
Bits and baubles were used to beguile the belligerent boy into a calm demeanor.

Beguile: To deceive someone in an enchanting, or charming manner.
See the sentence above.

Burgeon: To grow or increase quickly (has a connotation to plants).
The eager little seedling kept a burgeoning pace of growth.

Complement: Something that agrees with something of like aspects.
That color really complements your eyes.

Contumacious: Stubbornly resilient to authority.
the rebels were contumacious in the face of the jury.

Curmudgeon: Bad tempered or agitated (that old curmudgeon).
The crotchety old curmudgeon yelled at the loud kids.

Didactic: Designed to relay information or to teach.
The didactic nature of books led them to be a primary tool for knowledge.

Disingenuous: Not serious. Sarcastic usually in the way of mocking ignorance. (like me)
The guide's disingenuous response to the foreigners questions contributed to the lack of a tip.

Exculpate: To declare someone of a fault or malicious error.
The attournies exculpation of the defendant shocked the jury into a favorable vote.

Faux Pas: Socially awkward, usually in a sense of customs being violated (ugly American).
The bikini clad woman didnt realize her faux pas as she strolled the Arabic beaches.

Fulminate: Showing explosive protest or response. (the act of symptoms showing up suddenly)
The man walked into the feminist meeting brandishing a sexist comment and hoping for afulminative responce
Fustian: High flown or broad type of speech-writing. (gibberish)
The politicians fustian speech was a red herring to the fact of his own ignorance.

Hauteur: Supreme arrogance or pretentiousness. (pride and prejudice)
Joining a conversation with burning hauteur will not win you any friends.

Inhibit: To stop or slow progress. (inhibition of creativity)
The denaturing of the nerve endings inhibetid the biomechanical relay time.

Jeremiad: A story or novel pertaining to the downfall of societal standards.
One could say 1984 was a glum jeremiad with a dash of George Orwell.

Opportunist: A being who who springs at chances as they occur.
Opportunistic animals have the tendancy to eat what they can when they can.

Unconscionable: Not just or reasonable. Excessive in lawman terms.
The act of replacing the water with vinnegar wa unconsionaable and cruel to the young lady.