Word List 07

Group 1

Archetype
classic example of

Clemency
mercy

Disinterested
unbiased

Flout
defy; reject

Ingénue
naïve, unsophisticated person

Mendacious
given to lying

Paucity
shortage

Protean
changeable

Sophomoric
juvenile; immature

Venal
corrupt; can be bribed

Group 2

Archives
collections of old records; place of storage of old documents

Cliché
overused expression; something unoriginal

Disparage
criticize; belittle

Flustered
worked-up; not calm

Ingrate
ungrateful person

Mercenary
concerned only with money

Peccadillo
minor weakness; trivial offence

Protégé
person under protection of, or guided by another

Soporific
inducing sleep

Veneer
surface coating

Group 3

Articulate
clear; lucid; eloquent

Clientele
customers

Disparity
an inequality

Fly-by-night
unreliable; disreputable

Inimical
hostile

Mercurial
volatile; changeable

Pedant
person who insists on strict adherence to rules or narrow learning

Protocol
procedure; code of behavior

Sparse
spare; bare; meager

Venerate
revere; worship

Group 4

Artifice
deception; trickery

Coalesce
come together; merge

Dispassionate
neutral; objective

Forensic
concerned with argument or debate (esp. for legal evidence)

Innate
inherited; inborn

Merge
come together

Pedestrian
common; mundane; banal

Provincial
unsophisticated; narrow-minded

Specious
false

Venial
minor; unimportant

Group 5

Artisan
craftsman

Coddle
pamper; fuss over; indulge

Disseminating
circulating; broadcasting; spreading (information)

Fortitude
bravery

Innocuous
harmless; inoffensive

Metaphorically
symbolically; figuratively

Peerless
without equal

Prudent
cautious; wise

Speckled
spotted; freckled; dotted

Veracity
truthfulness

Group 6

Ascetic
without luxuries; severely simple

Coercion
force

Diurnal
active in daytime

Fortuitous
happening by chance

Innovate
create; introduce something new

Meticulous
very careful; painstaking

Pejorative
derogatory

Puerile
childish

Sporadic
not continuous; intermittent

Verbose
talkative; long-winded; rambling

Group 7

Assiduous
thorough; diligent

Cogent
lucid; well argued

Divert
1. entertain; 2. distract; 3. cause a detour

Fractious
irritable; difficult to control

Inscrutable
mysterious; impenetrable

Mettle
courage; bravery; valor

Pellucid
transparently clear

Punctilious
paying attention to small details

Spurious
false

Verbosity
using too many words

Group 8

Assuage
to calm

Cogitate
think over something; ponder

Docile
gentle and easily lead

Fraudulent
fake; false

Insentient
unfeeling

Milieu
environment

Pensive
in a thoughtful mood; thinking deeply

Purloin
steal

Stagnant
still; not moving

Vertigo
dizziness

Group 9

Astute
perceptive; sharp-witted

Collage
picture made from fragments of other pictures

Dogmatic
having stubbornly held opinions

Frivolous
not serious

Insipid
dull; bland; boring

Mire
swamp; muddy ground

Penury
poverty

Pusillanimous
cowardly

Staid
dull; sober; serious

Vestigial
not developed

Group 10

Asylum
place of refuge or safety

Collate
arrange in order

Dolt
stupid person

Frugal
economical; not wasting anything

Instigate
to start; provoke

Misanthrope
hater of the rest of mankind

Perceptive
observant

Pyromania
compulsion to start fires

Stanza
section of a poem

Vignette
small sketch