VOCABULARY!!!

BEST DAY EVER-

List 4

Prudent

Adj. using wisdom and good judgment

One mark of maturity is making prudent decisions; the wisest thing to do isn’t always the most fun and exciting.

Pallor

N. Unhealthy pale appearance

People see my pallor and think I’m sick, but I’m just really pale!

Hoary

Adj. Having grey or white hair

We have friends who, like the hoary uncle on Duck Dynasty, have scraggly grey ponytails and beards.

Prating

V. Talking about unimportant or uninteresting things

Her prating really got on my nerves. Even though I clearly was NOT interested, she kept babbling on.

Tarry

V. To stay in one place;to wait; to delay departing

I didn’t mean to tarry, but Mrs. Alexander asked me another question and, before I knew it, 20 minutes had passed.

Apothecary

N. Pharmacy or pharmacist

Now pharmacies are in every Walgreen and Kroger, but 50 years ago, most small towns didn’t even have one apothecary.

Covetousness

N. Extreme desire to have somethingThe covetousness I saw in Dena’s eyes as she toured my house made me lock up the valuables the next time she came over.

Perdition

N. Damnation; hell

“The road to perdition is paved with good intentions” essentially means that intending to do right is totally different from actually doing right.

Avarice

N. Extreme greed for wealth

Some people’s avarice causes them to miss their children’s formative years; they are working instead of being at ball games or home for dinner.

Knell

N. Sound of a bell

The phrase “death knell” comes from the old tradition of ringing the church bell when someone died.

Condescending

Adj. Acting superior; talking down to someone

The French have a reputation for being condescending and acting like they are far more cultured than any American tourist.

Forbearance

N. Patience; restraint

It’s hard to practice forbearance in today’s society; everyone tends to want all the latest and greatest immediately.

Impetus

N. The thing that causes something to be done

The impetus for my returning to school was the realization that my job had no future.

Prosperity

N. Wealth and success

Our country, even through the current recession, enjoys great prosperity; we are still far more privileged than most places in the world.

Accost

V. Approach and speak boldly to someone

When the man in the airport accosted me, I was at first worried that he was violent, but apparently he was just a little awkward.

Didactic

Adj. Designed to teach

He delivered the speech in a didactic tone, so we knew he thought he was enlightening us about the wonders of ear wax.

Duplicity

N. Deliberate deceptiveness

I always feel like politicians are practicing duplicity because they seem to change their opinions every time they speak.

Brazen

Adj. Bold; shameless

People today are so much more brazen about showing tattoos than they ever were in past generations; they used to be considered taboo by most.

Compunction

N. Guilt; regret

She looked back on her life without compunction; she had lived brazenly, but she would not have changed anything.