Words to learn before reading COSMIC BANDITOS
Here's a compilation of words I didn't know, or simply couldn't define, that will facilitate you along your journey through the pages of Cosmic Banditos by A.C. Weisbecker (available on Amazon.com). Defenestrate (verb) 1. to throw (a person or thing) out of a window. Nihilism (noun) 1. rejection of established laws and institutions. 2. anarchy, terrorism, or other revolutionary activity. 3. total and absolute destructiveness, especially toward the world at large and including oneself: the power-mad nihilism that marked Hitler's last years. 4. Philosophy. • an extreme form of skepticism: the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth. • nothingness or nonexistence. 5. (sometimes initial capital letter) the principles of a Russian revolutionary group, active in the latter half of the 19th century, holding that existing social and political institutions must be destroyed in order to clear the way for a new state of society and employing extreme measures, including terrorism and assassination. 6. annihilation of the self, or the individual consciousness, especially as an aspect of mystical experience. Brevity (noun) 1. shortness of time or duration; briefness: the brevity of human life. 2. the quality of expressing much in few words; terseness: Ironically, it is long-winded Polonius in Shakespeare's Hamlet who famously says that brevity is the soul of wit. Trepidation (noun) 1. tremulous fear, alarm, or agitation; perturbation. 2. trembling or quivering movement; tremor. Veritable (adjective) 1. being truly or very much so: a veritable triumph. 2. Obsolete. true, as a statement or tale. Predicate (verb) 1. to proclaim; declare; affirm; assert. 2. Logic. • to affirm or assert (something) of the subject of a proposition. • to make (a term) the predicate of such a proposition. 3. to connote; imply: His retraction predicates a change of attitude. 4. to found or derive (a statement, action, etc.); base (usually followed by on ): He predicated his behavior on his faith in humanity. Barrage (noun) 1. Military. a heavy barrier of artillery fire to protect one's own advancing or retreating troops or to stop the advance of enemy troops. 2. an overwhelming quantity or explosion, as of words, blows, or criticisms: a barrage of questions. 3. Civil Engineering. an artificial obstruction in a watercourse to increase the depth of the water, facilitate irrigation, etc. 4. Mycology. an aversion response of sexually incompatible fungus cultures that are growing in proximity, revealed by a persistent growth gap between them. Postmodern (noun) 1. noting or pertaining to architecture of the late 20th century, appearing in the 1960s, that consciously uses complex forms, fantasy, and allusions to historic styles, in contrast to the austere forms and emphasis on utility of standard modern architecture. 2. extremely modern; cutting-edge: postmodern kids who grew up on MTV. Affluent (adjective) 1. having an abundance of wealth, property, or other material goods; prosperous; rich: an affluent person. 2. abounding in anything; abundant. 3. flowing freely: an affluent fountain. Reverie (noun) 1. a state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing: lost in reverie. 2. a daydream. 3. a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea: reveries that will never come to fruition. 4. Music. an instrumental composition of a vague and dreamy character. Destitute (adjective) 1. without means of subsistence; lacking food, clothing, and shelter. 2. deprived of, devoid of, or lacking (often followed by of ): destitute of children. Ignominy (noun) 1. disgrace; dishonor; public contempt. 2. shameful or dishonorable quality or conduct or an instance of this. Convoluted (adjective) 1. twisted; coiled. 2. complicated; intricately involved: a convoluted way of describing a simple device. Baleful (adjective) 1. full of menacing or malign influences; pernicious. 2. Obsolete. wretched; miserable. Pernicious (adjective) 1. causing insidious harm or ruin; ruinous; injurious; hurtful: pernicious teachings; a pernicious lie. 2. deadly; fatal: a pernicious disease. 3. Obsolete. evil; wicked. Repose (noun) 1. the state of reposing or being at rest; rest; sleep. 2. peace; tranquillity; calm. 3. dignified calmness, as of manner; composure. 4. absence of movement, animation, etc.: When in repose, her face recalls the Mona Lisa. Dissipation (noun) 1. the act of dissipating. 2. the state of being dissipated; dispersion; disintegration. 3. a wasting by misuse: the dissipation of a fortune. 4. mental distraction; amusement; diversion. 5. dissolute way of living, especially excessive drinking of liquor; intemperance. 6. Physics, Mechanics. a process in which energy is used or lost without accomplishing useful work, as friction causing loss of mechanical energy. Bovine (adjective) 1. of or relating to the subfamily Bovinae, which includes cattle, buffalo, and kudus. 2. oxlike; cowlike. 3. stolid; dull. Clandestine (adjective) 1. characterized by, done in, or executed with secrecy or concealment, especially for purposes of subversion or deception; private or surreptitious: Their clandestine meetings went undiscovered for two years. Enveloped (verb) 1. to wrap up in or as in a covering: The long cloak she was wearing enveloped her completely. 2. to serve as a wrapping or covering for, as a membrane of an organ or a sheath. 3. to surround entirely. 4. Military. to attack (an enemy's flank). Moot 1. open to discussion or debate; debatable; doubtful: a moot point. 2. of little or no practical value or meaning; purely academic. 3. Chiefly Law. not actual; theoretical; hypothetical. Deft 1. dexterous; nimble; skillful; clever: deft hands; a deft mechanic. Esoteric 1. understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest; recondite: poetry full of esoteric allusions. 2. belonging to the select few. 3. private; secret; confidential. 4. (of a philosophical doctrine or the like) intended to be revealed only to the initiates of a group: the esoteric doctrines of Pythagoras. Stoic (adjective) 1. of or relating to the school of philosophy founded by Zeno, who taught that people should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, and submit without complaint to unavoidable necessity. 2. ( lowercase ) stoical. (noun) 1. a member or adherent of the Stoic school of philosophy. 2. ( lowercase ) a person who maintains or affects the mental attitude advocated by the Stoics. Poring (verb) 1. to read or study with steady attention or application: a scholar poring over a rare old manuscript. 2. to gaze earnestly or steadily: to pore over a painting. 3. to meditate or ponder intently (usually followed by over, on, or upon ): He pored over the strange events of the preceding evening. Vehement (adjective) 1. zealous; ardent; impassioned: a vehement defense; vehement enthusiasm. 2. characterized by rancor or anger; violent: vehement hostility. 3. strongly emotional; intense or passionate: vehement desire. 4. marked by great energy or exertion; strenuous: vehement clapping. Abominable (adjective) 1. repugnantly hateful; detestable; loathsome: an abominable crime. 2. very unpleasant; disagreeable: The weather was abominable last week. 3. very bad, poor, or inferior: They have abominable taste in clothes. Festoon (noun) 1. a string or chain of flowers, foliage, ribbon, etc., suspended in a curve between two points. 2. a decorative representation of this, as in architectural work or on pottery. 3. a fabric suspended, draped, and bound at intervals to form graceful loops or scalloped folds. 4. Dentistry. the garlandlike area of the gums surrounding the necks of the teeth. Quandary (noun) 1. a state of perplexity or uncertainty, especially as to what to do; dilemma. Headlong (adverb) 1. with the head foremost; headfirst: to plunge headlong into the water. 2. without delay; hastily: to plunge headlong into work. 3. without deliberation; rashly: to rush headlong into battle. (adjective) 1. undertaken quickly and suddenly; made precipitately; hasty: a headlong flight. 2. rash; impetuous: a headlong denunciation. 3. done or going with the head foremost: a headlong dive into the pool. Impassive (adjective) 1. without emotion; apathetic; unmoved. 2. calm; serene. 3. unconscious; insensible. 4. not subject to suffering. Crux (noun) 1. a vital, basic, decisive, or pivotal point: The crux of the trial was his whereabouts at the time of the murder. 2. a cross. 3. something that torments by its puzzling nature; a perplexing difficulty. Illusory (adjective) 1. causing illusion; deceptive; misleading. 2. of the nature of an illusion; unreal. Digress (verb) 1. to deviate or wander away from the main topic or purpose in speaking or writing; depart from the principal line of argument, plot, study, etc. 2. Archaic. to turn aside. Extrapolate (verb) 1. to infer (an unknown) from something that is known; conjecture. 2. Statistics. to estimate (the value of a variable) outside the tabulated or observed range. 3. Mathematics. to estimate (a function that is known over a range of values of its independent variable) to values outside the known range. Missive (noun) 1. a written message; letter. (adjective) 1. sent or about to be sent, especially of a letter from an official source. Volley (noun) 1. the simultaneous discharge of a number of missiles or firearms. 2. the missiles so discharged. 3. a burst or outpouring of many things at once or in quick succession: a volley of protests. Aft (adverb) 1. at, close to, or toward the stern or tail: Stow the luggage aft. (adjective) 1. situated toward or at the stern or tail: The aft sail was luffing. Ramshackle (adjective) 1. loosely made or held together; rickety; shaky: a ramshackle house. Quiescent (adjective) 1. being at rest; quiet; still; inactive or motionless: a quiescent mind. Emplacement (noun) 1. Fortification. the space, platform, or the like, for a gun or battery and its accessories. 2. a putting in place or position; location: the emplacement of a wall. 3. Geology. • the intrusion of igneous rocks into a particular position. • the development of an ore deposit in a particular place. Brandish (verb) 1. to shake or wave, as a weapon; flourish: Brandishing his sword, he rode into battle. Abated (verb) 1. to reduce in amount, degree, intensity, etc.; lessen; diminish: to abate a tax; to abate one's enthusiasm. 2. Law. • to put an end to or suppress (a nuisance). • to suspend or extinguish (an action). • to annul (a writ). 3. to deduct or subtract: to abate part of the cost. 4. to omit: to abate all mention of names. 5. to remove, as in stone carving, or hammer down, as in metalwork, (a portion of a surface) in order to produce a figure or pattern in low relief. Erroneous (adjective) 1. containing error; mistaken; incorrect; wrong: an erroneous answer. 2. straying from what is moral, decent, proper, etc. Carom (noun) 1. Billiards, Pool. a shot in which the cue ball hits two balls in succession. 2. any strike and rebound, as a ball striking a wall and glancing off. (verb) 1. to make a carom. 2. to strike and rebound. Parabola (noun) 1. a plane curve formed by the intersection of a right circular cone with a plane parallel to a generator of the cone; the set of points in a plane that are equidistant from a fixed line and a fixed point in the same plane or in a parallel plane. Equation: y 2= 2 px or x 2= 2 py. Errant (adjective) 1. deviating from the regular or proper course; erring; straying. 2. journeying or traveling, as a medieval knight in quest of adventure; roving adventurously. 3. moving in an aimless or lightly changing manner: an errant breeze. Conflagration (noun) 1. a destructive fire, usually an extensive one. Stupendous (adjective) 1. causing amazement; astounding; marvelous: stupendous news. 2. amazingly large or great; immense: a stupendous mass of information. Gamut (noun) 1. the entire scale or range: the gamut of dramatic emotion from grief to joy. 2. Music. • the whole series of recognized musical notes. • the major scale. Reticent (adjective) 1. disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved. 2. reluctant or restrained. Surreptitious (adjective) 1. obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance. 2. acting in a stealthy way. Folly (noun) 1. the state or quality of being foolish; lack of understanding or sense. 2. a foolish action, practice, idea, etc.; absurdity: the folly of performing without a rehearsal. 3. a costly and foolish undertaking; unwise investment or expenditure. 4. Architecture. a whimsical or extravagant structure built to serve as a conversation piece, lend interest to a view, commemorate a person or event, etc.: found especially in England in the 18th century. 5. follies, a theatrical revue. 6. Obsolete. wickedness; wantonness. Postulate (verb) 1. to ask, demand, or claim. 2. to claim or assume the existence or truth of, especially as a basis for reasoning or arguing. 3. to assume without proof, or as self-evident; take for granted. 4. Mathematics, Logic. to assume as a postulate. (noun) 1. something taken as self-evident or assumed without proof as a basis for reasoning. 2. Mathematics, Logic. a proposition that requires no proof, being self-evident, or that is for a specific purpose assumed true, and that is used in the proof of other propositions; axiom. 3. a fundamental principle. 4. a necessary condition; prerequisite. Malevolent (adjective) 1. wishing evil or harm to another or others; showing ill will; ill-disposed; malicious: His failures made him malevolent toward those who were successful. 2. evil; harmful; injurious: a malevolent inclination to destroy the happiness of others. 3. Astrology. evil or malign in influence. Denizen 1. an inhabitant; resident. 2. a person who regularly frequents a place; habitué: the denizens of a local bar. 3. British. an alien admitted to residence and to certain rights of citizenship in a country. 4. anything adapted to a new place, condition, etc., as an animal or plant not indigenous to a place but successfully naturalized. Succor (noun) 1. help; relief; aid; assistance. 2. a person or thing that gives help, relief, aid, etc. (verb) 1. to help or relieve. Ad hoc (adverb) 1. for the special purpose or end presently under consideration: a committee formed ad hoc to deal with the issue. (adjective) 1. concerned or dealing with a specific subject, purpose, or end: The ad hoc committee disbanded after making its final report. Raucous (adjective) 1. harsh; strident; grating: raucous voices; raucous laughter. 2. rowdy; disorderly: a raucous party. Swill (noun) 1. liquid or partly liquid food for animals, especially kitchen refuse given to swine; hogwash. 2. kitchen refuse in general; garbage. 3. any liquid mess, waste, or refuse; slop. 4. a deep draught of liquor. 5. contemptibly worthless utterance or writing; drivel. Doffed (verb) 1. to remove or take off, as clothing. 2. to remove or tip (the hat), as in greeting. 3. to throw off; get rid of: Doff your stupid ideas and join our side! 4. Textiles. • to strip (carded fiber) from a carding machine. • to remove (full bobbins, material, etc.) from a textile machine. Undulation (noun) 1. an act of undulating; a wavelike motion. 2. a wavy form or outline. 3. one of a series of wavelike bends, curves, or elevations. 4. Physics. • a wave. • the motion of waves. Vociferous (adjective) 1. crying out noisily; clamorous. 2. characterized by or uttered with vociferation: a vociferous manner of expression. Inexorable (adjective) 1. unyielding; unalterable: inexorable truth; inexorable justice. 2. not to be persuaded, moved, or affected by prayers or entreaties: an inexorable creditor. Calaboose (noun) 1. jail; prison; lockup. Strafe (verb) 1. to attack (ground troops or installations) by airplanes with machine-gun fire. 2. Slang. to reprimand viciously. Missive (noun) 1. a written message; letter. (adjective) 1. sent or about to be sent, especially of a letter from an official source. Frenetic (adjective) 1. frantic; frenzied. Flippant (adjective) 1. frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking in seriousness; characterized by levity: The audience was shocked by his flippant remarks about patriotism. 2. Chiefly Dialect. nimble, limber, or pliant. 3. Archaic. glib; voluble. Tryst (noun) 1. an appointment to meet at a certain time and place, especially one made somewhat secretly by lovers. 2. an appointed meeting. 3. an appointed place of meeting. Careen (verb) 1. (of a vehicle) to lean, sway, or tip to one side while in motion: The car careened around the corner. 2. (of a ship) to heel over or list. Assuage (verb) 1. to make milder or less severe; relieve; ease; mitigate: to assuage one's grief; to assuage one's pain. 2. to appease; satisfy; allay; relieve: to assuage one's hunger. 3. to soothe, calm, or mollify: to assuage his fears; to assuage her anger. Tirade (noun) 1. a prolonged outburst of bitter, outspoken denunciation: a tirade against smoking. 2. a long, vehement speech: a tirade in the Senate. 3. a passage dealing with a single theme or idea, as in poetry: the stately tirades of Corneille.