abstruse: Hard to understand
acerbic: Sharp and harsh in tone
admonish: To warn gently but firmly
anachronism: Something out of its proper time
anathema: A thing strongly disliked
apocryphal: Of doubtful authenticity
appease: To calm by giving in
arcane: Known by few; mysterious
auspicious: Suggesting a good future
avarice: Greed for wealth
beguile: To charm or trick
bombastic: High-sounding but meaningless
cajole: To persuade with flattery
censorious: Severely critical
charlatan: A person who fakes skill
churlish: Rude and bad-tempered
cloying: Too sweet
conundrum: A confusing problem
countenance: A person's face or expression
deleterious: Harmful
demur: To object politely
despot: A ruler with absolute power
disabuse: To free from a false belief
efficacious: Producing the wanted result
enmity: Deep hostility
ennui: Boredom
ephemeral: Short-lived
equivocate: To use unclear words to avoid commitment
esoteric: Understood by only a few
exculpate: To clear from blame
exigent: Urgent
extant: Still existing
facetious: Joking at the wrong time
fatuous: Silly
fecund: Fertile
fulminate: To protest loudly
gainsay: To deny
gauche: Awkward socially
grandiloquent: Using fancy language
hegemony: Leadership or dominance by one group
histrionic: Overly dramatic
hubris: Excessive pride
impecunious: Having little money
inchoate: Just begun, not formed
ineffable: Too great to be put in words
insipid: Lacking flavor or interest
inveterate: Long established
lachrymose: Tearful
loquacious: Talkative
lugubrious: Mournful
malleable: Easily shaped
mendacious: Lying
mercurial: Quickly changing in mood
misanthrope: One who dislikes people
mollify: To soothe
obdurate: Stubbornly refusing
obsequious: Too eager to please

Free flashcards from Peabody at peabody.kids/flashcards/la-vocab-grade-11