Vocabulary #7

1)aberration - (noun) A departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically one that is unwelcome.
His plan is aberration, ... Ah don't know....
2)Ad hoc- (adverb) for the special purpose or end presently under consideration
The group met ad hoc, whenever the need to.
3)bane - (noun) A cause of great distress or annoyance.
The neighbours’ kids are the bane of my life.
4)bathos - (noun) triteness or triviality of style; a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one; insincere pathos
The story was brillian inthe beginning but it became bathos.
5)cantankerous - (adj.) Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative.
He has cantankerous brother and no one likes to talk to him.
6)casuistry - (noun) The use of clever but unsound reasoning, esp. in relation to moral questions; sophistry.
7)de facto - (noun) in fact; in reality
She is the de facto manager of the company.
8)depredation - (noun) An act of attacking or plundering.
I need to defeat the depredation of Britain.
9)empathy - (noun) understanding and entering into another's feelings
Identicle twins feel empathy of eachother.
10)harbinger - (noun) A person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another.
Warm weather is a harbinger of spring.
11)hedonism - (noun) The pursuit of pleasure;The ethical theory that pleasure is the highest good and proper aim of human life.
12)lackluster - (adj.) lacking luster or shine; lacking brilliance or vitality
His first novel was very tedious and lackluster.
13)malcontent - (adj.) Dissatisfied and complaining or making trouble.
The usual malcontents turned up to the meeting and went to trouble.
14)mellifluous - (adj.) pleasing to the ear
His piano playing has been beautiful and melliflous.
15)nepotism - (noun) The practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends, esp. by giving them jobs.
Government will become dictatorship if they allow nepotism on election.
16)pander - (noun) Gratify or indulge (an immoral or distasteful desire, need, or habit or a person with such a desire, etc.).
He was forced to pander to her every whim.
17)peccadillo - (noun) A small, relatively unimportant offense or sin.
It is good to forget about peccadillo, think about big mistakes.
18)piece de resistance - (noun) the most noteworthy or prized feature, aspect, event, article, etc., of a series or group; special item or attraction.
Season one of Sherlock Holmes was the piece de resistance.
19)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
20)syndrome - (noun) a complex of concurrent things; a pattern of symptoms indicative of some disease
That child with Down's syndrome has a loving relationship with their parents.