Lesson 3
Senior Vocabulary

1. bombast  noun  impressive but meaningless language
   Please, professor, no more bombast; just give me the facts.



2. bona fide  adj.  in good faith
   We made a bona fide offer for the property
   syn: legitimate, genuine        ant: fraudulent, phony



3. boor  noun  a rude or impolite person
   My brother was acting like a boor.
   syn: buffoon, clown         ant: sophisticate
   
   
4. bovine  adj.  pertaining to cows or cattle
   The critic described the large figures in the painting as bovine.



5. bowdlerize  verb  to remove offensive passages of a play, novel, etc.
   If the editors bowdlerize much more of the book, there won't be anything left to read.
   syn: to censor



6. brevity  noun  briefness; short duration
   The brevity of the candidate's speech surprised everyone.
   syn: terseness, conciseness           ant: long-windedness



7. bucolic  adj.  pertaining to the countryside; rural, rustic
   Jim wanted to find an old inn in a bucolic setting in which to have lunch.
   
   
8. cajole  verb  to coax, to persuade, to wheedle
   Tim tried to cajole his parents into letting him us the new car



9. callow  noun  young and inexperienced
   Although he was no the typical callow youth, he was not as experienced as he pretended.
   syn: immature           ant: mature, sophisticated



10. carcinogen  noun  causing cancer
    It is widely believed that nicotine is a carcinogen



11. carnal  adj.  sensual, sexual
    Even though Evelyn didn't understand the painting, she knew it had a carnal feeling about it.
    syn: erotic, voluptuous       ant: chaste, modest



12. carrion  noun  decaying flesh
    The vultures circling in the sky led the border patrol to the carrion they had been seeking since the report of the disaster.
    
    
13. cataclysm  noun  a violent change
    The earthquake in Mexico was a cataclysm which no one could have foreseen.
    syn: disaster, catastrophe        ant: triumph, boon




14. cataract  noun  1.  large waterfall
                           2.  abnormality of the eye
    Because of the cataracts in that part of the river, you can't put a canoe in the water.
    My grandmother had to have a cataract surgically removed from her eye.
    

15. caveat  noun  a warning
    John did not heed that old caveat about swimming along because he had such a confidence in his own ability.