Vocabulary English II Honors Unit 5

Altruistic: unselfish, selfless The group was altruistic with their ‘feed the poor’ program.

Assent: agree, concur The police must assent to the demands of the robber in order to save his life.

Benefactor: one who does good The politician became a benefactor to the city when he wanted their votes.

Chivalrous: courteous and courageous A chivalrous man opens the door for his date.

Clemency: leniency, mercy Because it was his first offence, the judge showed clemency in his sentencing.

Dearth: insufficiency, scarcity As the winter grew colder, it seemed that there was a dearth in the food supply.

Diffident: shy, timid, bashful The greatest difficulty for a diffident person is to perform in front of others.

Discrepancy: inconsistency There was a discrepancy between the teacher’s story and what the student had said.

Embark: begin, launch The team was to embark on a voyage through Canada.

Facile: easily done or attained Last year’s vocabulary words seem facile compared to this year’s.

Indomitable: unconquerable, invincible During the whole race, her strength seemed indomitable.

Infallible: free from error, perfect To win the prize, one must have an infallible record of truthfulness.

Plod: trudge, to walk heavily It is easier to plod through the thick snow than to drag your feet.

Pungent: stinging, biting, sharp The pungent smell of onions can cause one’s eyes to water while cutting them.

Remiss: neglectful, negligence If you remiss in doing your chore’s now, you must do twice as much later.

Repose: rest, sleep After the long journey, a brief repose was requested before going back home.

Temerity: boldness, audacity It would take great temerity to talk back to the principal.

Truculent: belligerent, aggressive, harsh The truculent lawyer gave a fiery speech to preserve his client’s innocence.

Unfeigned: sincere, genuine, heartfelt He had an unfeigned love for his girlfriend.

Virulent: hateful, spiteful, poisonous She posed a virulent appeal to the courts.