12th grade vocabulary list
Week 1
- condiment – seasoning, sauce or spice
- pungent – sharp
or strong in smell or taste - maladroit – unskillful,
clumsy - transient (transitory)
– temporary, fleeting - onus – burden,
responsibility - fait accompli –
an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed, fact or action - dastardly - cowardly
- inebriated - drunk
- florid – red,
ruddy - zenith – highest
point
Week 2
- apparition – a
ghost - allusion - reference
- buffoon - clown
- adamant – firm,
unbending (opinion) - amalgamate – to
combine - capitulate – to
surrender - limpid - clear
- destitute – very
poor - accord - agreement
- proselytize –
to attempt to convert someone from one religion or belief to another
Week 3
- berserk – crazed,
madly excited - broach – to bring
up (a subject) - brooch – an ornamental
pin - cite – to quote
or to mention - procrastinate –
to delay or put off - rectify – to correct
- masticate – to
chew - adage – a saying
- caricature – exaggerated
drawing of someone’s peculiarities (poke fun at) - nihilism – a
belief that there are no values, morals or goodness in the world
Week 4
- incognito - disguised
- clairvoyant –
a psychic - panacea -
a cure-all - malingerer – one
who feigns illness - gape – to stare
(openly) - gist – real meaning
- fissure – narrow
opening - sepulcher - tomb
- affluent - wealthy
- taut – tight
Week 5
- circuitous – rambling,
indirect, roundabout - ambidextrous –
able to use both hands - pensive – thoughtful,
reflective - garish – gaudy
or flashy - deluge – to overwhelm
with flood - hirsute – hairy
- erudite – learned,
scholarly - indigent – very
poor - astute – wise,
shrewd - lucrative – profitable,
money-making
Week 6
- cajole – to coax
- tepid – lukewarm
- nebulous – cloudy,
unclear (meaning) - copious – plentiful
- coquette – a flirt
- debilitate – to
weaken - toxic – poisonous
- risque – almost
improper - trepidation –
fear - abyss – bottomless
pit
Week 7
- frugal - thrifty
- parody – a humorous
imitation - harass – to annoy,
to bother - agnostic – one
uncertain about God - ascertain – to
find out for sure - gregarious – fond
of company; sociable - arduous - difficult
- diaphanous - sheer
- ubiquitous – seemingly
everywhere at once - illimitable –
boundless, measureless
Week 8
- incorrigible - unmanageable
- nefarious – very
wicked; evil - dilettante – a
person who follows an art or study superficially though with interest - opiate – a drug,
narcotic (dulls the senses) - pittance – a small
portion or amount - cartage – act
or rate charged for transporting freight - quell – to put
down or crush - cogent - convincing
- dirge – sad poem
or song, a funeral hymn - gauche – socially
awkward or clumsy
Week 9
- coy – bashful
or shy to attract attention - covert –secret;
hidden - crone – hag; withered
old woman - placid – calm;
peaceful - crux – crucial
point - schism – a split
or division - dauntless – brave
- nepotism – favoritism
to relatives - façade – a front
- chastise – to
punish or scold
Week 10
- brusque – blunt;
abrupt - callous – unfeeling;
hardened - callus – thick
part of skin - dank – damp (dark
place) - feasible – practical
- burly – stout;
husky - attenuate – to
make thin or weaken (emotionally) - poignant – painfully
touching or piercing (emotionally) - throes – anguish;
pangs - buoyant – cheerful
Week 11
- chagrin – embarrassment;
disappointment - adulation – excessive
praise or flattery - tribulation –
suffering; distress - compunction –
regret; remorse - antipathy – a
strong dislike - a capella – without
musical accompaniment - acme – the highest
point - archaic – old-fashioned;
no longer used - haggard – gaunt;
careworn - nostalgia – yearning
for the past; homesickness
Week 12
- aloof - withdrawn
- apiary – place
where bees are kept - vain – worthless;
to no avail or conceited - diffident – lacking
self-confidence; shy - paltry – practically
worthless; piddling; petty - malleable – capable
of being shaped by hammering (a metal); adaptable - specious – apparently
reasonable but not really so - fallacious – erroneous;
misleading; deceptive - fallible – liable
to be mistaken; capable of error - choleric – easily
angered; irritable
Week 13
- indubitable –
certain; indisputable - carrion – decaying
flesh or carcass - flotsam – wreckage
of a ship or cargo found floating at sea
- jetsam – goods
deliberately cast overboard to lighten a ship in distress - teetotaler – a
person who totally abstains from liquor - callow – young
and inexperienced - dross – waste,
refuse - delectable – very
pleasing - phlegmatic – calm,
cool, collected, hard to rouse to action; apathetic - disconsolate –
cheerless; inconsolable
Week 14
- bliss – perfect
happiness - lackey – slavish
follower - sanguine – cheerful,
optimistic, hopeful - melancholy – dejected;
depressed - gala – characterized
by festivity - antithesis – the
direct opposite - malodorous – stinking;
ill-smelling - harlequin – buffoon;
clown - malevolent – evil
- insouciant –
blithely indifferent or unconcerned; carefree; happy-go-lucky
Week 15
- declivity – downward
slope - maudlin – weakly
sentimental and tearful - svelte – slender;
lithe - obsequious – slavishly
attentive; fawning - ornithology –
study of birds - benign – kindly;
harmless - salubrious – healthful
- plaudit – applause;
enthusiastic praise (plaudits) - inveterate – firmly
established by age; deep-rooted; habitual - progeny – children
Week 16
- Pathos – quality
that arouses pity - Cherubic – chubby;
innocent-looking (angelic) - Blandishment -word
or deed of mild flattery - Lesion – injury
or wound - Aviary – place
where birds are kept - Panache – confident
and stylish manner; dashing; strikingly elaborate or colorful display - Laudatory – expressing
praise; eulogistic - Calumnious – falsely
and maliciously accusing; defamatory; slanderous - Staid – settled;
sedate - Empathy – ability
to put one’s self in another’s place or feel someone’s emotions
