Building a Better Vocabulary

Glossary of Target Words

Target Word

and Part of Speech 'H¿QLWLRQ

LECTURE

No.

coterie (noun) a small, often select group of people

who associate with one another

frequently and share a common

interest, background, or purpose

20

craven (adjective) very cowardly; abjectly afraid 23

deduction (noun) process of reasoning in which a conclusion

necessarily follows from the stated premises

18

denude (verb) to lay bare; to strip; to make nude 21

desuetude (noun) a state of disuse or inactivity 25

detritus (noun) disintegrated or eroded matter; debris 26

dialect (noun) a variety of a language often associated

with a certain region or social class

27

diaspora (noun) the movement, migration, or scattering

of a people away from an established

or ancestral homeland

20

didactic (adjective) inclined to teach or moralize excessively 18

dilettante (noun) DGDEEOHULQWKHDUWVRUVRPH¿HOGRI

knowledge; often used in a pejorative sense

8

GLPLQXHQGR (noun) a decrease in loudness or intensity 30

discursive (adjective) rambling from topic to topic,

aimless, digressive

27

dishabille (noun) a state of being dressed in a very casual

or even careless, disheveled,

and disorderly style

13

GLVVHPEOH (verb) to disguise or conceal behind

a false appearance

14

GRJPDWLF (adjective) characterized by an authoritative, arrogant

assertion of unproven ideas

14

donnybrook (noun) a free-for-all; a brawl;

a scene of disorder and uproar

5

doppelgänger (noun) 1. a ghostly double of a living person

that haunts its living counterpart

2. someone who has a close,
   even eerily close, resemblance to another

34

draconian (adjective) exceedingly harsh; very severe; cruel 17