Vocabulary III

1. Guile – cunning, duplicity

Smith is very guile when he made fun of one Engelbert.
2. Squander – to waste; to waste money, time, etc. in a stupid or careless way
The prodigal son in the parable of Jesus squandered his wealth.
3. Incessant – unceasing; never-ending; never stopping (disapproving); constant
I do not like that in Mindanao there is an incessant war and bombing which harm
the people’s well-being
4. Laudable – worthy of praise; SYN: commendable; deserving to be praised or admired, even if
not really successful.
Joseph is laudable despite of the mistakes in his life.
5. Deter – to prevent; to stop; to keep from doing something; to make sb decide not to do sth or
continue doing sth, especially by making them understand the difficulties and unpleasant results
of their actions.
Luigino made me realize how important is to deter my unhealthy desires and
needs.
6. Infamous – shamefully wicked; having (and deserving) an extremely bad reputation;
disgraceful; well known for being bad or evil; SYN: notorious
I knew Adolf Hitler as infamous and notorious in the page of World History
7. Depravity – moral corruption; the state of being morally bad; SYN: wickedness
Depravity is another fruit of lack of empathy.
8. Gravity – seriousness (second meaning); extreme importance and a cause for worry
Be mindful of the gravity of your offences against your loved ones, most
especially those who are powerless.
9. Banal – unoriginal; ordinary; (disapproving) very ordinary and containing nothing that is
interesting or important
Sometimes, I find some words in my essay banal and unnecessary.
10. Extol – to praise; to praise sb/ sth very much
I extol the Lord for his marvelous works in my life.
11. Euphony – pleasant sound (the opposite of cacophony); EUPHONIOUS; pleasant to listen to
When I listen to Moira dela Torre’s music, I would always give heed to the
euphony of her ukulele.
12. Deride – to ridicule; to laugh at contemptuously; SYN: mock; to treat sb/sth as ridiculous and
not worth considering seriously
I could not forget my high school friends who deride me because of my color
13. Insipid – dull; banal; having almost no taste or flavor; flavorless
I took this morning an insipid cocoa and bread
14. Austere – unadorned; stern; forbidding; without much money; simple and plain; without any
decorations; (of a person) strict and serious in appearance and behavior; allowing nothing that
gives pleasure; not comfortable
To be austere does not mean to be deprived of basic needs but to apply discipline
to the body and spirit.
15. Expedite – to make faster or easier; to make a process happen more quickly; SYN: to speed up
Technological innovations have been doing a very good job to expedite the needs
of the people.
16. Heresy – an opinion violently opposed to established beliefs; a belief or an opinion that is
against the principles of a particular religion; the fact of holding such beliefs; a belief or an
opinion that disagrees strongly with what most people believe
My classmates are playing about heresies of the Church and how ridiculous they
are.
17. Novel – new; original; (approving) different from anything known before; new, interesting and
often seeming slightly strange
Every in my life I like to see novel things.
18. Philanthropy – love of mankind; donating to charity; the practice of helping the poor and those
in need, especially by giving money
I hope that my siblings will be philanthropist to be grateful to what God has done
in their lives.
19. Tentative – experimental; temporary; uncertain; not definite or certain because you may want
to change it later; not behaving or done with confidence; SYN: hesitant
I do not like tentative claims; I tend to be definite and certain.
20. Vacillate – to be indecisive; to waver back and forth; to keep changing your opinion or thoughts
about sth, especially in a way that annoys other people; SYN waver
Please, keep yourself from vacillating what you have in mind. Mark your words.
21. Fervor – passion; very strong feelings about sth; SYN: enthusiasm
I have this fervor to change but why I cannot progress?
22. Dispassionate – without passion; objective; neutral; not influenced by emotion; SYN impartial
I would rather be dispassionate in the midst of the strife among our relatives and
friends.
23. Solemn – serious; grave; (a person) not happy or smiling; SYN: serious
Do not show a solemn face, it is very grouchy.
24. Conspicuous – standing out; obvious; easy to see or notice; likely to attract attention
Romeo is very conspicuous because he performs very well in order to be noticed
by people he seduces.
25. Ascetic – hermitlike; practicing self-denial; not allowing yourself physical pleasures, especially
for religious reasons; related to a simple and strict way of living
To live an ascetic life is to accept the mortifications of the daily life.
26. Dogmatic – arrogantly assertive of unproven ideas; arrogantly claiming that something
(often a system of beliefs) is beyond dispute; being certain that your beliefs are right and that
others should accept them, without paying attention to evidence or other opinions
Sometimes I tend to be dogmatic with my thoughts and principles which might
not be accepted by others.
27. Condone – to overlook; to permit to happen; to accept behavior that is morally wrong or to
treat it as if it were not serious
His parents condone his bad habits such as alcoholism and womanizing.
28. Dissent – disagreement; the fact of having or expressing opinions that are different from those
that are officially accepted;
In my community there are fraternal dissents which harm the solidarity and
openness.
29. Volition – will; conscious choice; the power to choose sth freely or to make your own decisions;
SYN: free will
Volition is one of the gifts God has given us when we were created, we should be
responsible of it.
30. Voluntary – willing; unforced; done willingly, not because you are forced
 My mother worked for our upkeep voluntarily.
31. Didactic – instructive; intended to instruct; designed to teach people sth, especially a moral
lesson; (usually disapproving) telling people things rather than letting them find out for
themselves
I have didactic activities which comprise of sharing about the Jesus’s life and the
saints.
32. Disparate – different; incompatible; made up of parts or people that are very different from
each other; (two or more things) so different from each other that they cannot be compared or
cannot work together
When my sister cooks our food for our dinner, she is very careful of disparate
recipes and ingredients. She improvises the dish.
33. Ephemeral – short-lived; fleeting; not lasting; lasting or used for only a short time; SYN: short-
lived
I am looking for something not ephemeral in my life.
34. Compliant – yielding; submissive; (usually disapproving) to willing to agree with other people
or to obey rules
Many people are compliant to those who are popular and famous in order to get
favor from them and be with them too.
35. Prosaic – dull; unimaginative; like prose; ordinary and not showing any imagination; dull; not
romantic; SYN: mundane
The life of a person prosaic when it is merely existing not living.
36. Profuse – extravagant; flowing; produced in large amounts; pour forth
I give you profuse gratitude for being with me in my suffering and depression.
37. Expedient – providing an immediate advantage; serving one’s immediate self-interest; useful
or necessary for a particular purpose, but not always fair or right
People who are consumerists are expedient for they are self-referential in terms
of amassing almost everything for themselves.
38. Fastidious – meticulous; demanding; being careful that every detail of sth is correct;
(sometimes disapproving) not liking things to be dirty or untidy
Romeo is fastidious most especially when he goes out and passes by a certain
place in Manila where street kids are rampant.
39. Astute – perceptive; intelligent; very clever and quick at seeing what to do in a particular
situation, especially how to get an advantage; SYN: shrewd
Joseph is very astute, he can read between the lines.
40. Languish – to become weak; listless, or depressed; to be forced to stay somewhere or suffer sth
unpleasant for a long time; to become weaker or fail to make progress
I languished in a prison cell as I fill myself with contempt of oneself and
shamefulness.