VOCAB: SPRING 4

1) accolade (noun) - an award or tangible symbol of distinction
Example: The Congressional Medal of Honor is the most prestigious accolade awarded to soldiers.

2) acerbity (noun) - a rough and bitter manner
Example: The man now treats all security guards with acerbity after he had a bad experience with one of them.

3) attrition (noun) - the process of wearing down to weaken or destroy
Example: The rebels used guerrilla warfare to turn the fight into a war of attrition, eventually depleting their opposition's resources and morale with fast and violent attacks.

4) bromide (noun) - a statement that is intended to make someone feel better, but is hackneyed to the point that it completely loses its effect
Example: Many people don't hesitate to spew petty bromides when someone they know is feeling down, but they don't realize that they are most likely providing more irritation than console.

5) chauvinist (noun) - an attitude that members of one's own gender are inherently better than members of the opposite gender; fanatical patriotism.
Example: Feminists claim to seek equality, yet many of them are bigger chauvinists than their "oppressors".

6) chronic (adjective) - marked by long duration or frequent recurrence
Example: The man ended up having to get surgery to get rid of his chronic back pain.

7) expound (verb) - to state or explain or set forth
Example: The well-written report expounded the data in a clear, yet concise way.

8) factionalism (noun) - affiliation with a faction
Example: Factionalism is ubiquitous in our politically divided nation.

9) immaculate (adjective) - perfectly clean; having no flaws or errors
Example: The factory-new car was immaculate until a disgruntled firefighter took the Jaws of Life to it.

10) imprecation (noun) - an offensive word or phrase that people say when they are angry
Example: The defendant was held in contempt of court for yelling vulgar imprecations at the judge.

11) ineluctable (adjective) - impossible to escape or avoid
Example: The suspect attempted to flee from the authorities, but his fate was ineluctable and he was swiftly apprehended.

12) mercurial (adjective) - liable to sudden unpredictable change
Example: Mountain weather is notoriously mercurial; one minute you can be enjoying calm and sunny weather, and the next you can be in the midst of a thunderstorm.

13) palliate (verb) - to lessen the extent of
Example: Aloe vera can be applied to palliate the discomfort of a sunburn.

14) protocol (noun) - code of correct conduct
Example: It is important to follow safety protocol in machine shops in order to avoid injury.

15) resplendent (adjective) - very bright and attractive
Example: Coral reefs are often resplendent and teeming with life.

16) stigmatize (verb) - to openly brand as disgraceful
Example: The celebrity was irreversibly stigmatized after he cracked a racist joke on live television.    

17) sub rosa (adverb) - secretly or covertly
Example: Worried that he did poorly, the student asked his teacher to show him his score sub rosa in order to avoid embarrassment.

18) vainglory (noun) - excessive pride in one's achievements
Example: Professional athletes that demonstrate vainglory are often disliked by the fans.

19) vestige (noun) - a small trace of something that indicates what existed before
Example: Ancient ruins serve as a vestige of what was once a great empire.

20) volition (noun) - the capability of conscious choice and decision making and intention
Example: A government should never be so powerful that is threatens the volition of its citizens.