11th Grade Vocabulary Packet One

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Vocabulary 1

1. vicarious adj. done by one person substituting for another, one who represents another

a. I live vicariously through the movie star who has everything

2. enigma n. mystery, puzzle, enigmatic adj. mysterious

a. The origins of the world is an enigma to me

3. adulate v. to praise excessively. Compare with adulatory adj., adulation n.

a. I give adulation to the team who won the Super Bowl

4. orthodox n. the established beliefs of a religion

a. He is an orthodox Catholic; he believes everything the Pope says.

5. anachronistic adj. something out of its proper time, anachronism n.

a. The boy with the knickers is an anachronism.

6. idiosyncratic adj. idiosyncrasy n. behavioral eccentricity

a. Her burping in class every day is idiosyncratic.

7. abhor v. to detest, loathe, abhorrence n., abhorrent adj. repellent

a. I abhor vocabulary tests.

8. surreptitious adj. secret or stealthy, surreptitiously adv.

a. I surreptitiously sent a text when the teacher wasn’t looking.

9. debacle n. a sudden disastrous collapse, downfall or defeat

a. The 20-0 loss our team had was a debacle.

10.consecration n., consecrate v. to make sacred

a. My minister consecrated me when he blessed me with water.

Vocabulary 2

1. equitable adj. impartial, fair

The teacher treated all students equitably.

2. calumny n. slander

He suffered calumny on Facebook when his friends betrayed him.

3. assiduous adj. diligent, assiduously adv. Diligently

She always does her homework; she is assiduous.

4. profound adj. deep, profundity n.

The meaning of life is profound.

5. amalgam n. a mixture

My son is an amalgamation of my husband and me.

6. polemic n. controversy, argument or debate, polemical adj.

As the polemic heats up, the debaters got louder.

7. laud v. to praise

We laud the winners of the game.

8. indefatigable adj. untiring

She is indefatigable; she can run for miles without stopping.

9. nefarious adj. evil, wicked

Hitler was a nefarious leader.

10. insidious adj. working in a subtle or secret manner

She insidiously looked at her friend’s answers.

Vocabulary 3

1. stagnation n., stagnant adj. stale, not moving

The goldfish was stagnant in the water; we surmised it was dead.

2. rancor n. deep-seated ill will, rancorous adj., rancorously adv.

The two opposing teams held rancor for each other.

3. decorous adj. proper, decorum n. conformity to social convention

She uses proper decorum when eating at a nice restaurant.

4. viscous adj. tending to resist flow (ex: honey is a viscous fluid)

When he talked to the pretty girl his words had a viscous quality.

5. frugal adj. careful with money; thrifty, frugality n.

He was so frugal he never bought things he didn’t need.

6. indiscreet adj. imprudent, indiscretion n.

She was indiscreet when she posted that picture on Instagram.

7. mendicant n. a beggar

The mendicant stood by the freeway with a sign asking for food.

8. sycophant n. a servile flatterer of important persons

Joey is such a sycophant when he tells his teacher she is his favorite.

9. dissembler n. one who feigns, dissemble v. to disguise the real nature of

He said everything he thought and could not dissemble his real feelings.

10. collusion n. the act of conspiring to defraud, collude v. to connive

They colluded to get the answers to the test.

Vocabulary 4

1. façade n. the front face of a building; an artificial or false appearance

He puts on a façade when he tells his parents where he is going.

2. buffoon n. a clown or jester, buffoonery n. clowning

Why do you always have to act like a buffoon; be serious sometimes.

3. affect v. artificial behavior assumed or simulated to impress others

His affectation that he is high class is annoying.

4. exhort v. to urge strongly by argument, exhortation n. a strong urging

The class exhorted the teacher to postpone the homework assignment.

5. benefactor n. literally a “do-gooder”, one who gives financial or other aid

The benefactor gives generously to charities.

6. avarice n. greed

When he took all the cookies he displayed his avarice well.

7. glutton n. one who eats to excess, gluttony n., gluttonous adj.

Don’t be such a glutton; leave something for the rest of us to eat.

8. eulogy n. a public speech given in praise of someone or something

The minister gave a eulogy at the funeral.

9. divert v. to amuse or entertain, diversion n. amusement or entertainment

Computer games are a diversion.

10. stoic n. one unmoved emotionally by pleasure or pain

She never smiled; she had a stoic demeanor.

Vocabulary 5

1. provincial adj. narrow-minded; rustic

a. His provincial thinking made him not accept the new philosophies.

2. impunity n. exemption from punishment or penalty

a. The boy received impunity because his mom called the school.

3. equanimity n. calmness, imperturbability

a. When she talked about her problems she did so with equanimity.

4. alacrity n. cheerful eagerness; sprightliness

a. Her alacrity lightened the mood of the room.

5. fortitude n. strength of mind that allows one to endure pain or adversity with courage

a. His fortitude in the midst of his difficulties was inspiring.

6. galvanize v. to arouse awareness or action

a. The protests galvanized the community.

7. rebuke v. scold, castigate; upbraid

a. She rebuked her dog when he peed on her rug.

8. sanguine adj. hopeful

a. The sanguine girl knew this year would be better.

9. dire adj. warning of disaster; urgent; grave

a. The fire alarm warned of dire circumstances.

10. tenuous adj. thin, insubstantial; flimsy

a. His tenuous hold on his girlfriend was evident when he saw her with another guy.

Vocabulary 6

1. florid adj. heavily embellished; flowery; flushed; ruddy.

Her face became florid when she realized her bra was showing.

2. raucous adj. boisterous, disorderly

The party became raucous after Peter and Noel arrived.

3. eclectic adj. drawn from different sources

She has an eclectic assortment of friends; they have many different interests.

4. indigenous adj. native, aborigine

The indigenous tribes showed the Pilgrims how to survive on the land.

5. pedestrian adj. commonplace

She should learn more vocabulary; her speech is pedestrian.

6. bereavement n. grief; mourning the death of another

The family’s period of bereavement never seemed to end.

7. animosity n. enmity; bitter hostility

His animosity toward his former friend was obvious by the look on his face.

8. elucidate v. to make clear, lucid adj. clear

The teacher elucidated her directions for the class.

9. pugnacity n. aggressiveness, adj. aggressive

Teenage boys are often pugnacious.

10. gullible adj. easily deceived or duped

Her gullibility showed when she said she believed in UFOs.

Vocabulary 7

1. posterity n. future generations

We write our family history for posterity.

2. eloquence n. fluid and persuasive discourse

The guest speaker spoke with true eloquence.

3. misanthrope n. one who hates mankind

Jobs for misanthropes are harder to come by these days.

4. nocturnal adj. occurring at night, awake at night

The nocturnal teenager was always sleeping in class.

5. cerebral adj. pertaining to the brain

The cerebral young man took all AP classes.

6. reticent adj. not inclined to speak out

He was reticent to speak even though he had a great idea.

7. zealot n. fanatic

Sports fans are often zealots.

8. ardent adj. passionate

He was an ardent lover of football.

9. officious adj. excessively forward in offering service or advice

The officious girl loved helping the teacher.

10. superfluous adj. unnecessary

The third explanation was superfluous.

Vocabulary 8

1. impetuous adj. impulsive

Her purchase of the new shoes was impetuous.

2. disparage v. belittle

Her older sister disparaged her every day.

3. vindicate v. to clear of blame

He was vindicated of taking the pencil when she found it.

4. veneer n. a thin layer of material used to cover an inferior material

His veneer of being a nice guy was obvious to everyone.

5. embellish v. to decorate

She embellished her appearance with very fancy earrings.

6. transcend v. to rise above, surpass; exceed

His love for video games transcended his enjoyment of television.

7. apprehension n. fearfulness

She felt great apprehension about the first date.

8. disquiet v. to make uneasy, to trouble

His sense of disquiet was enormous; he wasn’t sure what to tell her.

9. exemplary adj. admirable, ideal

His perfect attendance was exemplary.

10. trite adj. overused, lacking in originality

The term “lol” is trite.

Vocabulary 9

1. pliancy n. receptive to change

Play Dough is pliant.

2. shroud v. & n. to cover with a cloth; a burial cloth

Her face was shrouded by her long, thick hair.

3. torpid adj. sluggish

He felt torpid after the heavy meal.

4. belligerent adj. aggressively hostile, warlike

The young man became belligerent when told he could not text.

5. didactic adj. intended to teach a moral lesson

The didactic lesson really made her think about her life.

6. warrant v. to justify

His actions warranted a referral, but the teacher showed kindness.

7. oblique adj. indirect, devious

His oblique explanation of where he went last night made his mother suspicious.

8. verbose adj. wordy

He hated how verbose she was; why couldn’t she just get to the point?

9. tacit adj. quiet, silent

The girl tacitly waited for class to begin.

10. inimical adj. hostile, unfriendly

The inimical dog scared everyone.

Vocabulary 10

1. ameliorate v. to make better or more tolerable

a. Clear school rules can ameliorate many problems.

2. talisman n. a charm used to scare evil and bring good

a. Sally saw her four leaf clover as a talisman.

3. harbinger n. one who presages or foreshadows what is to come

a. Thunder is a harbinger of a coming storm.

4. beneficent adj. doing or producing good, especially acts of kindness

a. Someone who is beneficent helps homeless puppies.

5. dilettante n. a person having a superficial interest in an art

a. She says she is a lover of books; however you rarely see her read.

6. itinerant n. one who travels from place to place

a. Gardeners are considered itinerant because they work at many places.

7. obstreperous adj. stubbornly resistant to control

a. Those loud teenage girls are obstreperous.

8. soporific adj. something that induces sleep

a. The soft music is soporific.

9. repugnance n. strong dislike or distaste

a. Liver is repugnant to me.

10. molt v. the shedding of shells, horns, fur, or feathers

a. My mom has to vacuum because my puppy molts.

Vocabulary 11

1. digress v. to turn from the main subject of attention

She started to talk about her weekend but the conversation digressed to

homework.

2. voracious adj. having a huge appetite

He ate the pizza voraciously.

3. congenial adj. pleasant, sociable

She is a congenial girl; everyone likes her.

4. immaterial adj. of no substantial importance

The fact that he stayed up late was immaterial to the fact that he failed the

test.

5. drone n. a monotonous sound, also a drudge

He could drone on an on; it was so boring.

6. inflection n. a change in pitch or loudness of voice

Her voice had a sharp inflection when she was angry.

7. carp v. to find fault, complain

Joey carped every day about how much homework he had.

8. castigate v. severe punishment

Mom castigated me when I came home late.

9. collaborate v. to work jointly with others

We collaborate a lot in my teacher’s class

10. exacerbate v. to make more violent, bitter, or severe

She didn’t run today; she didn’t want to exacerbate her injury.

Vocabulary 12

1. exonerate v. to relieve of responsibility or blame

He was exonerated from the crime when the person responsible confessed.

2. temporal adj. relating to earthly life

Religious people believe that earthly rewards are temporal; God gives the

everlasting rewards.

3. impeccable adj. flawless

Her handwriting is impeccable.

4. mitigate v. to lessen in severity

The judge mitigated the teen’s sentence for good behavior.

5. propagate v. to increase; to foster growing knowledge

My teacher gives me vocabulary to propagate my writing.

6. revile v. to subject to verbal abuse

They reviled the girl who gossiped about them.

7. novice n. a beginner

I am a novice at knitting, but I’m getting better daily.

8. equivocate v. to use ambiguous language with intent to deceive

She equivocated when he asked her to the dance; she did not like him but

didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

9. paragon n. a model of excellence

He is a paragon of a student; he always does his work.

10. conundrum n. an intricate and difficult problem; mystery

How the world began is a conundrum.

Vocabulary 13

1. vignette n. a short, descriptive, literary sketch

She wrote a vignette of her favorite day.

2. somnolent adj. heavy with sleep, drowsy

The teacher made me somnolent because he talked in a monotone voice.

3. charlatan n. a fraud or faker

Joey’s friends knew he was a charlatan when he said Suzie

would go out with him.

4. quack n. a fraud, one who pretends to have medical skill

Dr. Dubious said he was a psychiatrist when he was actually

an animal doctor.

5. dubious adj. arousing doubt or uncertainty

His love for her is dubious; he always flirts with other girls.

6. multifarious adj. having great variety

My teacher’ s book collection is multifarious.

7. epitomize v. to sum up; to typify

Your life flawlessly epitomizes an unflushed toilet.

8. embroil v. to throw into conflict or confusion

She and her boyfriend were embroiled in a stunning argument.

9. mélange n. a mixture

I heard a mélange of Disney songs and wanted to watch the movies again.

10. sonorous adj. producing a full, deep, or rich sound; impressive, cf. grandiloquent

Music is more sonorous when played indoors.

Vocabulary 14

1. quell v. to quash; to pacify

The police quelled the anger of the mob.

2. denigrate v. to belittle maliciously

She denigrates her little brother when she calls him “ugly”.

3. unalloyed adj. complete; unqualified

It was an occasion of unalloyed joy.

4. innocuous adj. harmless

The mosquito was innocuous but bothersome.

5. scourge n. a person or thing that causes trouble or suffering

Unemployment is a scourge to the community.

6. insidious adj. intended to entrap; treacherous

He had an insidious plan to steal the answers.

7. overture n. an advancement or invitation

She was quite the flirt and made overtures to all the boys.

8. vigilance n. alert watchfulness

The mother watched her new baby with vigilance.

9. flippant adj. casually disrespectful

His flippant response of “whatever” upset the teacher.

10. ostracize v. to banish or exclude from a group

When she was rude to her friends, Nancy was ostracized from the table at lunch.

Vocabulary 15

1. incite v. to stir up

The players incited a fight when they laughed at the opponent’s mascot.

2. instigate v. to urge on; to goad

My brother instigates me to yell at him by taking my phone.

3. precarious adj. dangerously lacking in stability

Running with a knife is precarious.

4. cantankerous adj. grouchy, ill-tempered or quarrelsome

“You sound like a cantankerous old lady when you complain”

5. testy adj. irritable, grouchy

“Don’t be so testy; don’t sweat the small stuff”

6. altercation n. vehement argument

Their altercation was so loud they heard it next door.

7. vehemence n. forceful expression

His vehement expression let her know he was serious.

8. repartee n. conversation marked by swift, witty remarks

She is the life of the party; she’s got cleaver repartee.

9. encompass v. to surround or include

Her friends encompassed her with love.

10. reprehensible adj. deserving of rebuke or censure; blameworthy

His remarks about his ex on Facebook were reprehensible.

Vocabulary 16

1. gait adj. a way of moving on foot

After he broke his leg he had a peculiar gait.

2. garb n. clothing; an especially distinctive way of dressing

His garb was unique; he wore a tie every day

3. lilt n. a cheerful, rhythmic, or lively manner of speaking

She was such a happy girl; even her voice had a lilt.

4. hermetic adj. completely sealed, especially against the escape or entry of air

He hermetically sealed his collection of valuable stamps.

5. permeate v. to spread or flow throughout, pervade

Although she tried to hide her disappointment, it permeated through her tone of

voice.

6. dour adj. harsh, stern, glum, sullen

His dour expression showed what a serious person he was.

7. diffident adj. lacking self-confidence, timid

She is extremely outgoing, however he is diffident.

8. sibilant adj. producing a hissing sound

The sibilant sound of the whistle is annoying.

9. venerable adj. worthy of respect

She is a venerable teacher on campus.

10. pedantic adj. emphasizing trivial details of learning

The class is so pedantic; we have to memorize a lot of formulas.

Vocabulary 17

1. entourage n. a group of attendants accompanying an important person

President Obama travels with a large entourage

2. courtier n. an advisor to a king or queen

The courtier told the queen she was making bad decisions.

3. sovereign n. a king or monarch

The sovereign ruler of England is Queen Elizabeth.

4. peruse v. to read over carefully, to study

I peruse my vocabulary list right before the test.

5.perquisite n. gratuity, “perk”.

The perquisites of the job include use of the company car.

6. penchant n. leaning, tendency.

He has a penchant for spicy food.

7. pilfer v. to steal, usually small amounts

The students pilfer the post it notes with the teacher isn’t looking.

8. scope n. breadth or range

The scope of English 11 is literature through American history.

9. supple adj. elastic; showing freedom and ease of movement

He put on lotion so his skin would be supple.

10. adroit adj. astute, perspicacious, clever

He was adroit when he answered the question without really understanding it.

Vocabulary 18

1. docile adj. meek, obedient

My pup Shorty is only docile to me; she doesn’t listen to my kids.

2. circumvent v. to go around, frustrate, evade

Sarah circumvented the dress code police.

3. ameliorate v. to improve, to make better

Is there anything I can do to ameliorate my grade?

4. adept adj. proficient, adroit

I am adept at grading quickly

5. congenial adj. friendly, affable, harmonious

She’s a congenial girl; she talks to everyone.

6. amorphous adj. shapeless

That dress she is wearing is amorphous; it’s really baggy.

7. atrophy v. to waste away

When I had the cast on my leg my muscles atrophied.

8. quiescent adj. latent, calm, placid

The empty classroom was quiescent.

9. incredulous adj. unwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true

She was incredulous she got 100% on the test.

10. agnostic adj. undecided or unsure about the existence and nature of God

Although Joey went to church, he was an agnostic.

Vocabulary 19

1. iconoclast n. one who destroys sacred images; one who attacks popular ideas or

institutions

The young man who tagged on the church was an iconoclast.

2. empirical adj. based on factual information or observation

Empirical evidence shows studying helps pass tests.

3. quixotic adj. extremely idealistic

Sally is a quixotic girl; she believes there is good in everyone.

4. laity n. all those persons who are not members of the clergy or a given profession

The laity listened to the priest’s sermons every Sunday.

5. pliant adj. flexible

Silly putty is very pliant.

6. arboreal adj. treelike, inhabiting trees

Monkeys are an arboreal species.

7. extol v. to praise highly

SV’s reputation is extolled in Baldwin Park.

8. censure v. to publicly scold, upbraid

She censured him for cheating on the test.

9. furtive adj. secretive, stealthy

He furtively looked at the girl he liked.

10. venal adj. open to corrupting influence, especially bribery

He started out as an honest man but he was subject to the venal influence of the

gangsters.

Vocabulary 20

1. venial adj. pardonable, excusable, forgivable

If he had faults, they were venial ones.

2. extricate v. to free from an undesirable situation

He extricated himself from his lie to his mother; she believed him.

3. paucity n. scarcity

We have a paucity of A’s in our class.

4. cacophony n. din, loud, chaotic noise

On Halloween there was a cacophony in the streets.

5. insipid adj. banal, dull, bland

Are you watching an insipid movie instead of doing your homework?

6. impromptu adj. ad lib, extemporaneous, improvisational

He came up with an impromptu joke that made her laugh.

7. candid adj. frank, open, honest

My friend was candid when he told me my outfit was ugly.

8. olfactory adj. sense of smell

The strong perfume aroused his olfactory organs.

9. gustatory adj. sense of taste

Lunch did not appeal to his gustatory senses.

10. tactile adj. kinesthetic, sense of touch

He is a tactile learner; he likes to use his hands.

Vocabulary 21

1. auditory adj. sense of hearing

Dogs have strong auditory senses.

2. eminent adj. esteemed, prominent, famous

He is an eminent physician in Baldwin Park

3. impertinent adj. insolent, disrespectful

When you talk back to a teacher you are impertinent.

4. belie v. to show to be false

His sweet face belies his mean spirit.

5 .insolent adj. presumptuous and insulting manner of speech

The bully’s speech was usually insolent.

6. augment v. to increase, to make larger

She augmented her allowance by babysitting.

7. precursor n. one that precedes and indicates or announces another

Superman was the precursor to Superman II

8. charisma adj. a special quality of personal magnetism

He was a flirty boy full of charisma.

9. dearth n. scarcity

There is a dearth of As in third period.

10. pristine adj. remaining in a pure state

He washes is car frequently to keep it pristine.

Vocabulary 22

1. marred v. damage, deface, or spoil

The dent in the car marred its appearance.

2. diminutive adj. tiny

Her diminutive stature made her adorable.

3. invocation n. a prayer asking for assistance

When I pray an invocation, I believe I will be heard.

4. pseudonym n. a fictitious name, especially a pen name

Mark Twain is the pseudonym of writer Samuel Clemens.

5. motley adj. having components of great variety; varied

The team was a motley combination of geeks and jocks.

6. languid adj. lacking energy; showing little or no spirit

We sat around languidly after the race.

7. deference n. courteous respect

He showed deference when he let her eat first.

8. prose n. ordinary speech or writing

She preferred reading prose to reading poetry.

9. abstruse adj. difficult to understand

That calculus problem was abstruse.

11.esoteric adj. understood by only a small group

Although I don’t hate math, I find trigonometry esoteric.

Vocabulary 23

1. unequivocal adj. unambiguous, clear

There was an unequivocal winner in the race.

2. salutary adj. favorable to health

The charity made money at the salutary race.

3. hackneyed adj. overused

“Omg…omg is so hackneyed these days”

4. arcane adj. known or understood only by a few;

How artificial limbs actually work is an arcane science.

5. gesticulate v. to make gestures, especially while speaking

When she was talking about their first day she gesticulated wildly.

6. enunciate v. to pronounce clearly, articulate

When he asked her out he wanted to impress her, so he enunciated

carefully.

7. jaunt n. a short trip or excursion jaunty

It’s just a short jaunt from school to Target.

8. pundit n. a learned or authoritative person

The pundits on the news sound smarter than I think they are.

9. hapless adj. luckless, unfortunate

The hapless man never won the lottery.

10. luminary n. a notable person in a specific field

When luminaries come to school we are all on our best behavior.

Vocabulary 24

1. pragmatic adj. practical

It is pragmatic to practice something before you do it.

2. affable adj. easy to speak to; amiable

Everyone says she is an affable girl.

3. finagle v. to get or achieve by dubious or crafty methods

He always finagles ways to pass his tests.

4. conflagration n. a large destructive fire

There was a wild conflagration near a teacher’s house last year.

5. empathy n. identification with and understanding of another’s situation, feelings

and motives

She feels empathy for the homeless families.

6. preclude v. to make impossible, prevent; to exclude

Not studying precludes passing the tests.

7. androgynous adj. having male and female characteristics at the same time

The girl’s short hair and boyish clothes gave her an androgynous look.

8. ignominious adj. characterized by shame or disgrace

The 40 point loss made the team feel ignominious.

9. succinct adj. clearly expressed in few words

Boys are usually succinct in their conversations.

10.aberration n. a deviation from the normal or typical

Having so many As in a hard class is an aberration.