Vocabulary List 7

accomplice  noun  a person who helps another commit a crime  connotation: neutral Both the robber and his accomplice were arrested.

amalgamation  noun  the result of putting together, combining, or uniting; a mixture  connotation: neutral The new Royals remix was an amalgamation of five of Lorde’s best songs.

implicit  adjective  not plainly expressed; stated indirectly  connotation: neutral While the cake recipe did not mention salsa, it was implicit that I shouldn’t add it to the batter.

infer  verb  to determine that something is probably true based on information you have  connotation: neutral Though she was silent as she shivered, we could all easily infer that Juanita was cold.

retribution  noun  severe punishment for something very serious; vengeance; revenge  connotation: negative Nelson Mandela would rather see problems solved peacefully than through acts of retribution.

pejorative  adjective  showing disapproval; insulting; offensive  connotation: negative Many words that are otherwise not offensive can be used in pejorative ways.

vice  noun  a bad or immoral quality; a bad habit  connotation: negative Smoking cigarettes may be America’s harmful vice, as over 16 million people live with a smoking- related illness.

cursory  adjective  done very quickly with little attention to detail  connotation: negative Sparknotes will only give you a cursory understanding of a book.

perpetual  adjective  continuing all the time without changing or stopping  connotation: neutral The changing of the seasons every three months is perpetual—it will never end.

conflate  adjective  to fuse or combine things, especially in error; to confuse  connotation: neutral People sometimes conflate Bernie Sanders’ position on veterans’ issues with this position on the military.

constitute  verb  to be; to be made up of  connotation: neutral Bricks, wood, and cement are the materials that constitute the walls of most older buildings on the East Coast.

vary  verb  to change from being one way to being another  connotation: neutral The temperature outside will vary depending on the season.