1. Focus on the goal. Voc. Unit 1 Ms. B. Wulchak

2. Acquisitive
(adj.) wanting to get, acquire, retain ideas, information, wealth
Synonyms: greedy, grasping, avaricious, retentive
She has an acquisitive nature; she wants more and more information.

3. Arrogate (verb) to claim or take without right
Synonyms: expropriate, usurp, commandeer
The club president arrogated to herself the decision of how to spend the money.

4. Banal (Adj.) hackneyed, trite, commonplace Synonyms: stale, insipid
Routine lessons will become commonplace, mundane, and banal .
Most daily chores and tasks are banal.

5. Belabor
(verb) to work on excessively; to thrash soundly, go over repeatedly
Synonym: overwork
Do we need to belabor the point, and restate again and again the dangers of second hand smoke?

6. Carping Synonyms: nit-picking, caviling
(adj./noun) tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way.
Synonyms: nit-picking, caviling
His petty, nagging, carping remarks are irritating.

7. Coherent (adj.) holding or sticking together; making a logical whole.
Synonyms: connected, unified, consistent, cohesive.
He made a very logical and coherent argument in court.

8. Congeal
(verb) to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible.
Synonyms: harden, jell, coagulate, solidify
Hot liquid jello congeals in the refrigerator.

9. Emulate (verb) to imitate with the intent to copy and surpass
Synonyms: copy, mimic, rival, match measure up to
He emulates his father, and hopes to be a great dad someday.

10. Encomium (noun) a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute
Synonym: panegyric, eulogy, commendation
The warm, lavish praise and encomium she received was quite flattering.

11. Eschew (verb) to shun, avoid, keep away from
Synonyms: abstain from, steer clear of, forgo
Eschew going to a party with a dangerous crowd.

12. Excoriation (noun) cutting or wearing away of the skin;
denunciation, cutting down
Synonyms: severe criticism
On the news we heard of former President Carter’s excoriation of the government’s slow and inadequate response after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Aug. 28, 2005.

13. Germane (adj.) Relevant appropriate, apropos, fitting
Synonyms: pertinent, related
In class we heard a discussion that was germane and related to the topic.

14. Insatiable (adj.) so great or demanding as not to be satisfied.
Synonyms: unquenchable, ravenous, voracious
All the water did not quench their insatiable thirsts.

15. Intransigent (adj.) refusing to compromise.
Synonyms: uncompromising, unyielding, obdurate (stubborn)
He was intransigent, stubborn, and not able to be persuaded. We could not get ideas across to the mule.

16. Invidious
(adj.) offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment
Synonyms: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative
Her invidious remarks were filled with evil.

17. Largesse
(noun) generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions
Synonyms: liberality, munificence, bounty
Bill Gates is known for his generosity and largesse. He has donated huge sums of money for AIDS research.

18. Ramify (verb) to branch out and affect, to have consequences
What are the ramifications
of ignoring environmental
concerns?

19. Reconnaissance
(noun) a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination.
Synonym: a scouting expedition
The military unit engaged in a reconnaissance mission of scouting ahead.

20. Substantiate (verb) to establish by evidence, prove;
give concrete or substantial form to
Synonyms: verify, confirm, validate, authenticate
Michael Phelps held up his gold medals to substantiate that he had won 8 events in the Beijing 2008 Olympics.

21. Taciturn
(adj.) habitually silent or quiet, inclined to talk very little.
Synonyms: tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic
He tends to be an uncommunicative, quiet, taciturn young man.

22. Temporize
(verb) to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid a confrontation, or postpone a decision ; to compromise
Synonyms: hedge, dillydally, procrastinate
The teacher cautioned us to Not temporize and delay for time by putting off projects and assignments.

23. Tenable (adj.) capable of being held or defended
Synonyms: defensible, justifiable, maintainable
Some old theories are no longer tenable and defensible.