Vocab #5

obsequious- adj. obedient, dutiful.

Carol’s obsequious nature made her the ideal student.

beatitude- n. extreme blessedness; exhaled happiness.

Her beatitude lighted up the room.

bete noire- n. a person or thing that one particularly dislikes or dreads.

Washing my car is my bete noire.

bode- v. to be an omen of; to announce beforehand; predict.

The stormy weather boded the day to come.

dank- adj. unpleasantly moist or humid; damp and often chilly.

My family never travels into our dank basement.

ecumenical- adj. general, universal.

The bible is a ecumenical symbol of religion.

fervid- adj. heated in spirit, enthusiasm.

The preacher had a redundancy to get fervid during his sermons.

fetid- adj. having an offensive odor, stinking.

The fetid fruit stunk up the whole house.

gargantuan- adj. gigantic, enormous, colossal.

Running a marathon is a gargantuan task.

heyday- n. the prime stage of great vigor and success.

The boxer was in his heyday during the last round.

incubus- n. a nightmare.
She awoke from the incubus in a panic.

infrastructure-n. the basic, underlying framework or features of a system or organization.
The infrastructure of the building was weak which concerned the managers.

inveigle- v. to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk orinducements (usually followed by into)

The woman inveigled the man to buy her a new porche.


kudos- n. honor, glory, acclaim.

He gave her kudos when she scored higher than him on the test.

lagniappe- n. a gratitiuty or tip.
Lily gave the waiter a generous lagniappe.

prolix- adj. extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy.
The prolix speech left the class bored and sleepy.

protege- n. a person under the patronage, protection, or care of someoneinterested in his or her career or welfare.
The artist’s protégé was eager to learn.

prototype- n. the original or model, on which something is based or formed.
The products first prototype was very promising.

sycophant- n. a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.

He called his classmate a sycophant, he was always giving him compliments in hope of receiving answers.


tautology- n. needless repetition of an idea, especially in words other than those of the immediate context, without imparting additional force or clearness,

Tautology in speeches makes them longer and more wordy.

truckle- v. to submit or yield obsequiously or tamely (usually followed by to ).


He truckled into submission after he saw the gun.