Vocab List 11

affinity: a natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing, idea, etc.
-His affinity for the outrageous gave him a reputation as class clown.

bilious : peevish, irritable, cranky; or extremely distasteful
-The bilious decor put him into a bilious mood.

cognate : allied or similar in nature or quality
-To him, apples and oranges were cognates -- both fruit, after all.

cul-de-sac : any situation in which further progress is impossible
-After a lifetime of hard work, he finally reached a cul-de-sac in his chosen field.

derring-do : daring deeds; heroic daring
-Through a mixture of fool-hardiness and derring-do, he emerged the victor.

divination : instinctive foresight; perception by intuition
-No amount of divination could have predicted a disaster of this magnitude.

elixir : an alchemic preparation believed to either prolong life or turn base metals into gold; or the quintessence or absolute embodiment of anything
-The alchemist is, in many ways, the elixir of mad scientists.

folderol : mere nonsense; foolish talk or ideas
-"Aliens?  Zombies?  Alien zombies?  Folderol, all of it!"

gamut : the entire scale or range
-After thoroughly testing the gamut of colors between red and white, he concluded that yes, pink is indeed a color. (Actually, it kinda isn't, apparently)

hoi polloi : the common people; the masses
-On his mountaintop throne, he surveyed the hoi polloi below disdainfully.

ineffable : incapable of being expressed or described in words (esp. due to greatness, sacredness, etc.)
-The grandeur of the monument was ineffable.

lucubration : laborious work, study, thought, etc. (esp. at night)
-My typical method of study.

mnemonic : assisting or attempting to assist the memory

obloquy : censure, blame, or abusive language aimed at a person or thing (esp. by numerous people or general public)
-Not able to stand the brutal obloquy, he dropped out of the race.

parameter : limits or boundaries; guidelines
-While there were few parameters in place, those that existed were of great importance.

pundit : a learned person, expert, or authority
-When in doubt, refer to a pundit.

risible : causing or capable of causing laughter
-Although the situation may have been tragic to some, his lighthearted nature somehow made it risible.

symptomatic : constituting or indicative of a symptom (evidence or indication of something)
-The doctor attributed thought the unusual behavior was simply symptomatic of the flu -- it turned out to be something much more sinister.

volte-face : a turnabout, especially a reversal of opinion or policy
-Charisma and clever speaking was able to incite a volte-face.