Vocabulary List #7

Aberration - (noun)the act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course.
~My thoughts were all in order until an aberration disturbed my train of thought.
Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration
~We met ad hoc to put an end to the matter at hand.
Bane - (noun) something causes misery or death
~Jumping in cold water is my bane.
Bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos
~Expecting the movie to be intellectually stimulating, we were disappointed by its bathos.
Cantankerous - (adj.) having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
~The cantankerous, old man would not stop complaining about his aching hip.
Casuistry - (noun) moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas; argumentation that is specious or excessively subtle and intended to be misleading
~Casuistry is a way of life, that a lot of people live by.
De facto - (noun) in fact; in reality
~De facto Asians are not really that much smarter than other races.
Depredation - (noun) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action
~The depredation of the village left it in ruin.
Empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings
~I tried to empathize what my friend must have felt when his mother died.
Harbinger - (noun) an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage
~The echoing of the man's footsteps was the harbinger that someone was approaching.
Hedonism - (noun) an ethical system that evaluates the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good; the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle
~Hedonism is a widely followed principal, because everyone wants to experience pleasure.
Lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
~The dancer's performance was lackluster and lacked pizzazz.
Malcontent - (adj.) discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted
~He was malcontent, in that he had just lost a winnable game.
Mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear
~The singing of a mockingbird is mellifluous.
Nepotism - (noun) favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)
~The uncle showed some nepotism, when he chose his niece for the job, even though the other candidate was more deserving.
Pander - (noun) someone who procures customers for whores ; verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to
~The pander was very helpful in procuring a whore for the man to have sexual relations with.
Peccadillo - (noun) a petty misdeed
~The peccadillo the nine year old did was childish and immature.
Piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
~The Mona Lisa is the piece de resistance of all paintings.
Remand - (noun) the act of sending an accused person back into custody to await trial (or the continuation of the trial); verb refer (a matter or legal case) to another committee or authority or court for decision; lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
~The prosecutor demanded for the remand of the convict and to not let the convict post bail.
Syndrome - (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
~My little cousin, unfortunately has Down Syndrome.