Vocabulary #4

Obsequious - attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner; attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery

Ex.  She's constantly followed by obsequious assistants who will do anything she tells them to.

Beatitude - a state of supreme happiness

Ex.  Not from earthly riches but from the milk of human kindness comes true beatitude.

Bete noire - a person or thing that one particularly dislikes

Ex. Doing my own tax return is the bête noire that haunts me every April.

Bode - indicate by signs.

Ex. This could bode disaster for all involved.

Dank - unpleasantly cool and humid

Ex. The cellar of my mind was quite dank and lacked light.

Ecumenical - of worldwide scope or applicability; concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions

Ex. Christianity will never be an ecumenical religion; it is broken up into many sects that will never agree with one another.

Fervid - extremely hot; characterized by intense emotion

Ex. The fervid weather was eating away at his nerves.

Fetid - offensively malodorous

Ex. The land appeared to be quite fetid making me believe it was un farmable.

Gargantuan - of great mass; huge and bulky

Ex. That Gargantuan space station is still up there to this day.

Heyday - the period of greatest prosperity or productivity

Ex. Incubus - a male demon believed to lie on sleeping persons and to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; someone who depresses or worries others; a situation resembling a terrifying dream

Ex. The Incubus took all women it could find then proceeded to slaughter them after the encounter.

Infrastructure - the stock of basic facilities and capital equipment needed for the functioning of a country or area; the basic structure or features of a system or organization

Ex. The countries infrastructure seem to be collapsing onto itself.

Inveigle - influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering

Ex. It wasn't until the next week, after she had left, that I questioned how she was able to inveigle me to such a huge degree.

Kudos - an expression of approval and commendation

Ex. Kudos to your exemplary deeds in the government’s politics.

Lagniappe - a small gift (especially one given by a merchant to a customer who makes a purchase)

Ex. When he showed me the lagniappe that he was offering to go along with the book (a small collectible created by the author) I knew I had to make the purchase.

Prolix - tediously prolonged or tending to speak or write at great length

Ex. The lectures seem to be very prolix every day we enter class for our daily 50 minutes.

Protégé - a person who receives support and protection from an influential patron who furthers the protege's career

Ex. After the death of his protégé he never took the liberty to invest into another.

Prototype - a standard or typical example

Ex. The prototype of this computer is in everyone’s homes.

Sycophant - a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage

Ex. Everyone appears to be a Sycophant in the culture that the USA provides.

Tautology - useless repetition of an idea, statement, or word

Ex. The president focuses on the tautology of useless ideas generally every time he speaks.

Truckle -yield to out of weakness; try to gain favor by cringing or flattering

Ex. Tom’s truckle was amusing to begin with but has become rather bothersome.