Vocab #7

aberration - (noun) an optical phenomenon resulting from the failure of a lens or mirror to produce a good image; a disorder in one's mental state; a state or condition markedly different from the norm
*After her mothers death ,the aberration took over her life; she was never the same anymore.

Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration
*The ad hoc dress was perfect for the wedding.

bane - (noun) something causes misery or death
*Her mothers death caused lots of bane in her life.

bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos
*When the smart girl failed her classes she caused bathos in her family because she was always an A student.

cantankerous - (adj.) having a difficult and contrary disposition; stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate
*The cantankerous boy was always giving the teacher a hard time because he was so stubborn.

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
*The boy used his casuistry to make the girl feel sorry for him.

de facto - (noun) in fact; in reality
*The girl was fed up with her boyfriend, de facto she broke up with him yesterday.

depredation - (noun) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding; (usually plural) a destructive action
*The depredation caused a big drama at the school.

empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings
*I have much empathy for everyones feelings, thats why I want to be a psychologist.

harbinger - (noun) an indication of the approach of something or someone; verb foreshadow or presage
*Every book has a harbinger because it makes the action more interesting.

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
*Every American has the dream of hedonism.

lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
*The old car had lackluster tires.

malcontent - (adj.) discontented as toward authority; noun a person who is discontented or disgusted
*The malcontent boy , threw up when he saw the blood.

mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear
*The mellifluous boy always knows how talk to girls.

nepotism - noun favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)
*The napotism was shown when the coach chose his son to start over all the other players even though he was not very good.

pander - (noun) someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce); verb arrange for sexual partners for others; yield (to); give satisfaction to
*The pander made lots of money of the girls.

peccadillo - (noun) a petty misdeed

piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
*The girl was the piece de resistance for the boy because he was in love with her.

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
*After court , the judge remanded the criminal back to jail.

syndrome - (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease