Vocab #6

abase	verb cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of ex: Don't abase the child about his bed-wetting issue- he is very self-conscious about it
abdicate	verb give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations ex: The ruler abdicated his authority when the people voted for a representative democracy.
abomination	noun an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence; a person who is loathsome or disgusting; hate coupled with disgust ex: The "No Selfie Act of 2014" was an abomination
brusque	adj. marked by rude or peremptory shortness ex: The brusque comment infuriated the teacher.
saboteur	noun someone who commits sabotage or deliberately causes wrecks; a member of a clandestine subversive organization who tries to help a potential invader ex: The saboteur left a traffic jam lying in his wake.
debauchery	noun a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
proliferate	verb cause to grow or increase rapidly; grow rapidly ex: The proliferation of the use of hashtags has done great wonders for alerting America's attention to pressing matters.
anachronism	noun an artifact that belongs to another time; a person who seems to be displaced in time; who belongs to another age; something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred ex: The watch posed as an anachronism on the model's wrist.
nomenclature	noun a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline ex: The nomenclature of the physics class was demonstrated by the aerospace engineer.
expurgate	verb edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate ex: Although the essay was long and sophisticated, the professor suggested the student to expurgate some parts of it for the sake of simplicity
bellicose	adj. having or showing a ready disposition to fight ex: The irresponsible barfly was bellicose after a few rounds
gauche	adj. lacking social polish ex: The prepubescent boy was very gauche around girls.
rapacious	adj. excessively greedy and grasping; devouring or craving food in great quantities; living by preying on other animals especially by catching living prey ex: Now five weeks into her pregnancy, the woman grew rapacious.
paradox	noun (logic) a statement that contradicts itself ex: The Liar paradox is demonstrated by the statement, "this sentence is false." If it were false, then it would be true, but it can't be true because it says that is is false, and so on.
conundrum	noun a difficult problem ex: The mystery behind Stonehenge is a true conundrum.
anomaly	noun (astronomy) position of a planet as defined by its angular distance from its perihelion (as observed from the sun); a person who is unusual; deviation from the normal or common order or form or rule ex: The power outage at the school was an anomaly, seeing as they are powered by solar panels, and it was perfectly sunny.
ephemeral	adj. lasting a very short time; noun anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form ex: To everyone's delight, the business meeting was ephemeral.
rancorous	adj. showing deep-seated resentment ex: The student was rancorous towards the teacher for locking him outside the classroom for being one minute late.
churlish	adj. having a bad disposition; surly; rude and boorish ex: The substitute teacher saw the kids as a bunch of churlish brats because of the silly way they pronounced their names.
precipitous	adj. characterized by precipices; extremely steep; done with very great haste and without due deliberation ex: The precipitous work of the assailant let him get away from the scene, but not the crime.