9th Grade Words and Definitions

1. accompaniment

n. musical support for a solo instrument or voice

2. accomplice

n. a partner in a crime

3. acquiesce

v. to consent silently or without protest

4. acquittal

n. the act of declaring not guilty

5. affiliation

n. alliance,  partnership or connection

6. altercation

n. heated argument; quarrel

7. ambassador

n. accredited diplomat sent by one nation as its representative in a foreign country

8. ambiguous

adj. having an obscure or double meaning

9. animosity

n. spirit or feeling of strong hostility

10. apparatus

n. any complex instrument used for a specific purpose

11. austerity

n. austere quality; sternness; strictness

12. authenticate

v. confirm the truth, genuineness or validity of something

13. auxiliary

adj. supplementary; additional; reserve

14. blasphemous

adj. uttering or exhibiting a disrespect for God

15. bravado

n. show of boldness; bluster; boasting

16. camouflage

n. the act of obscuring things to trick an enemy

17. capricious

adj. subject to unpredictable change; erratic

18. cavalcade

n. a procession of people riding on horses, in carriages, in cars, etc. 

19. cerebral

adj. intellectual; analytical

20. chasm

n. a deep fissure in the earth's surface

21. chronic

adj. constant or habitual

22. clique

n. a small, exclusive group of people

23. conscientious     

adj. principled; governed by conscience; doing what is right                  

24. correspondence

n. communication by exchange of letters

25. corroborate

v. confirm or give support to a statement, finding or theory

26. defamation

v. to destroy the reputation of; defame; disgrace

27. deprivation

n. the act of denying a necessity

28. derelict

adj. left or deserted, as by the owner or guardian

29. disastrous

adj. causing great distress or injury; very unfortunate

30. diurnal

adj. of or relating to a day or each day; daily

31. elicit

v. to draw out, often by discussion or questioning

32. equinox

n. the time or day when night and day are of equal length

33. escapade

n. a mischievous adventure; prank or antic

34. espionage

n. the act of spying

35. exemplary

adj. worthy of imitating

36. expediency

n. quality of being advantageous or useful 

37. expunge

v. to completely delete, erase or remove

38. feasibility

n. practicability; usefulness

39. finesse

n. extreme skill in handling delicate matters

40. fluorescent

adj. a type of light bulb giving light by fluorescence

41. gratuity

n. money given for service; a tip

42. grotesque

adj. absurdly or repulsively distorted

43. hydrangea

n. a shrub with showy clusters of white, pink or bluish flowers

44. hypocrisy

n. a false claim to virtue; insincerity

45. idiosyncrasy

n. a mannerism or quirk unique to a specific person

46. impeccable

adj. faultless; exemplary; irreproachable

47. incalculable

adj. too great to be calculated; very numerous

48. incessant

adj. unending; continuing without interruption

49. irrevocable

adj. unable to be revoked, repealed or annulled

50. judicious

adj. sensible; wise; prudent

karaoke

kibbutz

languor

liaison

lustrous

magnanimous

malicious

martyr

metamorphosis

molecular

multiplicity

nival

notoriety

oblique

occasionally

omnipotent

oncologist

onomatopoeia

palatable

partiality

pastime

philanthropist

piscatorial

poignant

prophylactic

quixotic

reconnaissance

repertoire

retrieve

rococo

salient

squalid

subsistence

succinct

tenuous

tirade

transient

turbulence

ubiquitous

ulterior

unanimous

unforeseeable

vacillate

variegated

volatile

vying

wainwright

writhe

yakitori

ziggurat