Daeil Overseas Studies Program (DOSP)

Here is another list of words that you guys may. This list is from the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionary. You can find the original article here at Houghton Mifflin.

I’ll give anyone extra credit if they can give definitions for each and type it in the comments.

abjure
abrogate
abstemious
acumen
antebellum
auspicious
belie
bellicose
bowdlerize
chicanery
chromosome
churlish
circumlocution
circumnavigate
deciduous
deleterious
diffident
enervate
enfranchise
epiphany
equinox
euro
evanescent
expurgate
facetious
fatuous
feckless
fiduciary
filibuster
gamete
gauche
gerrymander
hegemony
hemoglobin
homogeneous
hubris
hypotenuse
impeach
incognito
incontrovertible
inculcate
infrastructure
interpolate
irony
jejune
kinetic
kowtow
laissez faire
lexicon
loquacious

lugubrious
metamorphosis
mitosis
moiety
nanotechnology
nihilism
nomenclature
nonsectarian
notarize
obsequious
oligarchy
omnipotent
orthography
oxidize
parabola
paradigm
parameter
pecuniary
photosynthesis
plagiarize
plasma
polymer
precipitous
quasar
quotidian
recapitulate
reciprocal
reparation
respiration
sanguine
soliloquy
subjugate
suffragist
supercilious
tautology
taxonomy
tectonic
tempestuous
thermodynamics
totalitarian
unctuous
usurp
vacuous
vehement
vortex
winnow
wrought
xenophobe
yeoman
ziggurat

Update: JB Yun has sent me a list of definitions. I’m very proud of him. I’ve posted the list below:

Abjure: 1.to renounce under oath. 2.to recant solemnly 3.to give up, abstain from.

Abrogate: to abolish or annul esp. by authority.

Abstemious: exercising self-restraint in appetites or behavior.

Acumen: accuracy & keenness of judgement or insight

Antebellum: of the period before the American Civil War.

Auspicious: 1.favorable, propitious. 2.successful, prosperous

Belie: 1.to misinterpret or disguise. 2.to show to be false. 3.to be counter to; contradict

Bellicose: warlike in manner; belligerent

Bowdlerize: to expurgate for prudish reasons.

Chicanery: 1.deception by trickery. 2.a trick, subterfuge.

Chromosome: a linear strand of DNA and associated proteins in the nucleus of animal and plant cells that carries the genes determining heredity.

Churlish: rude, surly

Circumlocution: 1.the use of wordy and indirect language. 2.a roundabout expression

Circumnavigate: to go or proceed completely around.

Deciduous: Falling off at a specific season or stage of growth 2.shedding foliage at the end of the growing season.

Deleterious: harmful, injurious

Diffident: lacking self-confidence; timid

Enervate: to weaken or destroy the strength or validity of

Enfranchise: 1.to bestow a franchise on 2.to endow with the rights of citizenship esp. rights to vote.

Epiphany: a revelatory manifestation esp. of a divine being.

Equinox: either of the two times during a year when the sun crosses the celestial equation, and when the length of the day and night are approx, equal.

Euro: the basic unit of currency in participating EU countries.

Evanescent: disappearing, fading away like vapor.

Expurgate: to remove obscene or objectionable material from

Facetious: playfully jocular; humorous

Fatuous: smugly and unconsciously foolish

Feckless: 1.lacking purpose vitality; ineffective 2.careless, irresponsible

Fiduciary: relating to a holding in trust for another

Filibuster: an adventurer engaged in private warfare abroad.

Gamete: a reproductive cell esp. a mature sperm or egg capable of participating in fertilization.

Gauche: lacking social polish; tackless

Gerrymander: to divide a geographic area into voting districts so as to give unfair advantage to one political party in elections.

Hegemony: the dominance of one state over others.

Hemoglobin: the iron containing respiratory pigment in red blood cells.

Homogeneous: of the same or similar nature or kind.

Hubris: overbearing pride; arrogance

Hypotenuse: the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle.

Impeach: to try to discredit; challenge

Incognito: with one’s identity disguised or concealed.

Incontrovertible: impossible to dispute; unquestionable.

Inculcate: to teach or impress by frequent instruction or repetition ; instill

Infrastructure: an underlying base esp for an organization or system.

Interpolate: 1.to insert or introduce between part other elements or parts. 2.to change a text by introducing new or false material.

Irony: incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs.

jejune: not interesting, lacking maturity, childish, lacking in nutrition.

kinetic: of or produced by motion

kowtow: to show servile deference, to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in expression of deep respect, worship, submission.

laissez faire: noninterference esp and economic doctrine that opposes governmental involvement in commerce.

lexicon: a dictionary, a specialized vocabulary.

loquacious: very talkative.

lugubrious: mournful and gloomy esp. to a ludicrous degree.

metamorphosis: 1.a transformation as by magic or sorcery. 2.a marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function.

mitosis: 1.the process in cell division by which the nucleus divides, normally resulting in two new nuclei, each of which contains a complete copy of the parental chromosomes. 2.the entire process of cell division including division of the nucleus and the cytoplasm.

moiety: a half, a portion or share

nanotechnology: a science of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules

nihilism: 1.a doctrine holding that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. 2.the belief that destruction of existing political or social institutions is necessary for future improvements.

nomenclature: a system of names used in an art or science.

nonsectarian: nonpartisan, not narrow minded, not parochial.

notarize: to certify or attest to as a notary public.

obsequious: full of or exhibiting servile compliance.

oligarchy: a government by few/ those making up such a gov./ a state governed by such a gov.

omnipotent: having unlimited power.

orthography: correct spelling / a method of representing the sounds of a language by letters or diacritics.

oxidize: 1.to combine with oxygen 2.to increase the positive charge of valence of an element by removing electrons.

parabola: a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone and a plane parallel to an element of the cone.

paradigm: 1.an example that serves as a pattern or a model. 2.A list of all the inflectional forms of a word taken as an illustrative example.

parameter: a constant in an equation that can be varied to represent a family of curves or surfaces, such as the radius in a family of concentric circles. 2.a measurable factor, such as temperature, that helps define a system and its behavior.

pecuniary: of or relating to money.

photosynthesis: the process by which chlorophyll containing cells in green plants use light as an energy source to synthesize carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water.

plagiarize: to use and pass off as one’s own(the ideas or writing of another).

plasma: 1.the clear yellowish fluid portion of blood, lymph, or intramuscular fluid in which cells are suspended. 2.protoplasm or cytoplasm. 3.whey

polymer: any of numerous natural and synthetic compounds of usu. high molecular weight consisting of repeated linked units, each a relatively light and simple molecule.

precipitous: 1.resembling a precipice; extremely steep. 2.having precipices

quasar: A starlike object that emits powerful blue light and often radio waves.

quotidian: 1.Everyday; commonplace 2.recurring daily.

recapitulate: to repeat in concise form; summarize

reciprocal: 1.given or shown in return 2.performed or felt by both sides; mutual

reparation: 1.the act or process of making amends 2.something done or paid to make amends.

respiration: 1.the act or process of inhaling and exhaling. 2.the act or process by which a cell or organism without lugs exchange gases with its environment.

sanguine: 1.of the color of blood; red, ruddy. 2.cheerful; optimistic.

soliloquy: 1.a dramatic discourse in which a character reveals his or her thoughts when alone or unaware of the presence of other characters. 2.the act of speaking to oneself.

subjugate: 1.to bring under control; conquer. 2.to make subservient.

suffragist: an advocate of the extension of voting rights esp. to women.

supercilious: feeling or showing haughty disdain.

tautology: 1.needless repetition of the same sense in different words: redundancy. 2.logic, a statement that includes all logical possibilities and is therefore always true.

taxonomy: 1.the classification of organism in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships. 2.the science or principles of classification.

tectonic: 1.the geology of the earth’s structural features. 2.the art of large scale construction.

tempestuous: tumultuous ; stormy.

thermodynamics: physics that deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy.

talitarian: of or being a form of government in which the political authority exercises absolute control over all aspects of life and opposition is outlawed.

unctuous: 1.marked by affected exaggerated, or insincere earnestness. 2.greasy; oily

usurp: to seize and hold by force and without legal authority.

vacuous: 1.empty 2.inane; stupid 3.blank, vacant.

vehement: 1.characterized by forcefulness of expression or intensity of emotion ; fervid. 2.marked by vigor or energy; strong.

vortex: 1.a spiral motion of fluid esp. a whirling mass of water or air; whirlpool or whirlwind

winnow: 1.to separate a chaff from grain by means of a current of air. 2.to sort into categories sep of good or bad. 3.to separate or get rid of an undesirable part.

wrought: 1.fashioned, created. 2.shaped by hammering.

xenophobe: one unduly fearful or contemptuous of strangers for foreigners.

yeoman: an attendants servant or lesser official in a royal or noble household

ziggurat: A temple tower of the ancient Assyrian and Babylonians, having the form of a terraced pyramid.