The Soul of a Soulless World: English Vocabulary List

to make one feel isolated or hostile toward a person or group

"His rudeness will alienate his coworkers."

"His aggressive attitude during the meeting managed to alienate every single person on the team."

to feel or display a great amount of respect toward something or someone

"They venerate saints in their religion."

"The ancient temple was built to venerate the gods that the local people believed controlled the rain the sun and the harvest each year."

an ancestral or ancient trait, feeling, outlook, activity, etc. that modern humans revert to

"The sudden violence was an atavism."

"His sudden aggressive outburst was an atavism that reminded everyone of humanity's violent evolutionary past."

someone who strongly believes that their gender, race, country, or group is superior

"He is a male chauvinist who expects women to serve him."

"The male chauvinist refused to take orders from a female manager because of his outdated beliefs about gender roles."

the event when Jesus Christ was revealed to the Magi

"The feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6th."

"On Epiphany, many families exchange gifts to celebrate the visit of the three wise men."

an interpretation and thorough explanation of a piece of writing, particularly a religious one

"The theologian wrote an exegesis of the parable."

"The scholar's exegesis of the ancient biblical text revealed new interpretations that had been overlooked for centuries."

an individual who acts according to the belief that pursuing pleasure is of the highest importance in life

"The hedonist spent his life pursuing pleasure."

"As a committed hedonist he structured his entire life around the pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of pain."

a person who challenges or rejects established beliefs, customs, or values, often with the intent to provoke change or expose flaws

"The artist was an iconoclast who broke all the rules."

"The professor was an iconoclast who challenged long held theories and encouraged his students to question everything they had learned in their previous classes."

an individual who is not concerned with morality and overindulges in pleasure, particularly sexual pleasure

"The old libertine told scandalous stories."

"The eighteenth century libertine rejected all conventional morality in favor of sexual freedom and personal indulgence."

the customs and values of a society that characterize it

"The mores of the society strongly discouraged public displays of anger."

"Social mores about appropriate dress have changed significantly over the past fifty years in many countries."

a statement meaning to predict or guess the events of the future

"His prognostication was surprisingly accurate."

"The economist's gloomy prognostication about the job market proved accurate when unemployment rates rose sharply."

an individual who lives by themselves and avoids all sorts of contact with other people

"He became a recluse."

"After years of public life, the famous author chose to become a recluse, living in solitude."

a disposition or behavior that is extremely immoral or wicked

"The criminal was guilty of moral turpitude."

"The moral turpitude of the corporation's executives shocked the public when the scandal was finally revealed."

requiring specialized or secret knowledge to comprehend fully

"The ritual is arcane."

"The ritual is arcane and only a few people understand its secret meaning."

lacking in intellect, culture, knowledge, or morals

"The people were benighted."

"The poor are benighted and live in ignorance without access to education or opportunity."

expressing or experiencing deep regret or guilt because of a wrong act that one has committed

"He looks contrite."

"The child looked contrite after breaking the vase and he apologized sincerely to his mother promising that he would be more careful in the future."

tremendously wicked or evil, just like the Devil

"The plan was diabolical."

"The plan was diabolical and involved tricking innocent people into giving him all their money."

extremely enthusiastic or obsessed about something

"He is fanatical."

"The fanatical sports fan painted his entire body in the team's colors and screamed at the top of his lungs for the whole game."

(of people) delighted by the company of others

"She is a gregarious person."

"The gregarious host made sure that every guest felt welcome and introduced people who did not know each other at the party."

behaving in a manner that shows one's high moral standards

"She is principled."

"The principled politician refused to accept bribes from corporations even though they offered him large sums of money."

divided into groups that strongly disagree

"The community is polarized."

"The community is polarized and people on both sides refuse to listen to each other."

extremely important, to the point that it is not allowed to be condemned or changed

"The tradition is sacrosanct."

"The tradition is sacrosanct and cannot be changed or questioned by anyone."

not concerned or connected with religion

"The school is secular."

"The secular school does not teach religion and students learn about science history and literature from a non religious perspective."

behaving in a manner that is impolite and not in accordance with the situation

"His behavior was unseemly."

"His behavior was unseemly and inappropriate for a professional work environment."

to part and move in different directions

"Disperse the crowd."

"The police arrived to disperse the unruly crowd that had gathered in the square."

to ask or request humbly and earnestly, typically in a religious or devotional context

"They supplicated the gods for rain."

"The loyal subjects knelt before the king to supplicate for mercy and forgiveness after they had unknowingly violated one of his strict laws."

the act of elevating a person's rank to that of a god

"His apotheosis was celebrated."

"The final scene of the movie depicted the hero's apotheosis as he ascended to heaven to join the gods."

a moment in which one comes to a sudden realization

"It was an epiphany."

"Staring at the stars, she experienced a sudden epiphany about the universe's vastness."

a religious service that consists of the leading person saying some prayers followed by set responses from the people who are participating

"They recited a litany."

"The patient recited a litany of complaints about the hospital food the noise and the uncomfortable bed."

all that relates to the magical and supernatural, their events, practices, powers, etc.

"He believes in occult."

"She became fascinated with the occult after finding an old book about astrology and witchcraft in her grandmother's attic."

an act that is considered to be impolite or unacceptable

"His use of slang was a solecism in formal writing."

"Committing a grammatical solecism in a job application letter can create a very poor impression on employers."

not connected in an orderly or coherent way

"His speech was disjointed."

"His speech was disjointed and jumped from one topic to another without any logical connection."

(of people) delighted by the company of others

"He is a gregarious person."

"The gregarious host made sure that every guest felt included and introduced people who did not know each other."

unbiased and not favoring one side

"Be indifferent."

"As a judge, she remained strictly indifferent to the personal circumstances of the defendants, focusing solely on the law."

following established beliefs, traditions, or accepted standards

"His views are orthodox."

"The orthodox medical treatment did not help her so she tried alternative therapies like acupuncture."

having strong faith in a religion and living according to it

"She is a pious woman."

"She is a pious woman who prays every day and attends church services every Sunday morning."