Vocabulary Level FUnit 2Part A

Unit 2-A

ameliorate epitomeaplomb exhortbombastic ex officiocallow infringedrivel ingratiate

ameliorate

• To improve, make better, correct a flaw or shortcoming

• Syn: amend, better

ameliorate

• A hot meal can ameliorate the discomforts of even the coldest day.

aplomb

• Poise, assurance, great self-confidence

• Syn: composure, levelheadedness

aplomb

• Considering the• family’s tense • mood, you • handled the • situation with • aplomb.

bombastic

• Pompous or overblown in language; full of high-sounding words intended to conceal a lack of ideas

• Syn: inflated, pretentious

Bombastic

• He delivered a bombastic speech that did not even address the problem.

Callow

• Without experience; immature, not fully developed

• Syn: green, raw, unfledged, inexperienced

callow

• They entered the army as callow recruits and left as seasoned veterans.

Drivel

• Saliva or mucas flowing from the mouth or nose; foolish, aimless talk or thinking; nonsense

• Syn: balderdash, hogwash

Drivel • To me, my dream of becoming an

astronaut made perfect sense, but when I told it to my friend, it sounded like drivel.

Epitome

• A summary, condensed account; an instance that represents a larger reality

• Syn: model, archetype

Epitome

• Admitting when you have been fairly defeated is the epitome of sportsmanship.

• Oprah is the epitome of a TV star.

Exhort

• To urge strongly, advise earnestly

• Syn: entreat, implore

exhort

• With dramatic gestures, our captain vigorously exhorted the team to play harder.

Ex officio

• By virtue of holding a certain office

Ex officio • The President is the ex officio

commander in chief of the armed forces in time of war.

• The President of the college is an ex officio member of the Board of Trustees.

Infringe

• To violate, trespass, go beyond recognized bounds

• Syn: encroach, intrude

Infringe

• If you continue to infringe on my responsibilities, will you also take the blame for any mistakes?

• Many feel surveillance• Cameras infringe on• People’s rights.

Ingratiate

• To make oneself agreeable and thus gain favor or acceptance by others (sometimes used in a critical or derogatory sense)

• Syn: cozy up to, curry favor with

Ingratiate It is not a good idea to ingratiate

oneself by paying insincere compliments.