VOCABULARY #4

accolade: (noun) praise or approval; a ceremonial embrace or greeting.
She received great accolade after she got a 2400 on her SAT.

acerbity: (noun) sourness or bitterness of taste; harshness or severity of manner or expression.
The teacher's acerbity made her very unpopular around the school.

attrition: (noun) the process of wearing down by friction or gradual impairment.
She had to stop dancing at age 30 due to attrition because after years of a strenuous career, her body didn't work the way that it used to.

bromide: (noun) a trite or commonplace remark; a tiresome or boring person; a sedative.
Many people consider him a bromide but if you actually talk to him, you will discover that he is quite interesting.

chauvinist: (adj.) extravagantly patriotic; blindly devoted to a cause; or (noun) a person like that.
The activists took a very chauvinistic stand on the issue and refused to listen to other opinions.

chronic: (adj.) continuing over a long period of time or recurring often.
Her disease was chronic and she simply had to learn to live with it.

expound: (verb) to explain in detail.
I grew quite bored as I listened to her expound her entire life story.

factionalism: (noun) party strife and intrigue.
Because of the deep factionalism in Congress, nothing important is ever passed.

immaculate: (adj.) spotless; without blemish or fault.
I thought that room looked immaculate but because of her OCD, she continued frantically cleaning.

imprecation: (noun) a curse; the act of cursing.
After he set the curve at 100%, I said a few imprecations towards him that I should have kept to myself.

ineluctable: (adj.) not able to be avoided, changed, or overcome.
She acted like failing the class was ineluctable and she altogether stopped trying.

mercurial: (adj.) characterized by rapid and unpredictable changes of mood; fickle or inconstant.
She was very talented, but her mercurial personality made people not want to be around her.

palliate: (verb) to make less serious or severe by glossing over; to relieve without actually curing, mitigate.
We palliated the problems that our relationship was having but the underlying issues were still present.

protocol: (noun) customs and regulations dealing with official behavior and etiquette; a type of international agreement; an official account or record.
The protocol outlined very specific rules, and it was clear what was expected of the company members.

resplendent: (adj.) shining or gleaming brilliantly; splendid or magnificent.
She walked onstage looking resplendent and the audience immediately quieted down.

stigmatize: (verb) to brand or mark as in some way discreditable, disgraceful, or ignominious.
It is unfair to stigmatize someone based off of something you heard about them that may or may not be true.

sub rosa: (adv.) in secret; confidentially; privately.
Someone leaked the game plans to the opponents sub rosa.

vainglory: (noun) excessive pride in and boastfulness about one's own accomplishments or qualities; a vain show or display.
He was a good player, but his vainglory made him an unpopular team member.

vestige: (noun) a trace or visible evidence of something that once existed but is now lost or vanished.
The pile of burnt items was the only vestige of my house after the fire.

volition: (noun) the power to choose, will, or decide; the act of choosing, willing, or deciding.
I ignored his warnings and acted on my own volition when deciding to get a tattoo.