Vocabulary College Prep Advanced — Set 2: Meanings flashcards
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The next 100 of the 400 College Prep Advanced words, from indefatigable and demagogue to denouement and gossamer: pronunciation, a precise definition and three example sentences, the most common use first.
Learn deck · part of Vocabulary Level 9 · College Prep Advanced · written against: Our own grade placement (VOCABULARY-PLAN.md): word frequency (wordfreq, CC BY-SA 4.0) and editorial review; no publisher's grade or word list is reproduced. Updated 2026-10-10.
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indefatigable (adj.) · in-dih-FAT-ih-guh-buhlnever tiring, keeping up great effort for a long timeCharacter & Behavior
Mrs. Okafor, indefatigable as ever, has run the food bank for thirty years.
Even after twelve hours of rehearsal, the conductor seemed indefatigable.
Frederick Douglass was an indefatigable campaigner against slavery. -
rapt (adj.) · RAPTgiving something your full attention, often delighted by it, and losing track of everything else around youFeelings & Attitudes
Every child stayed rapt, hanging on the storyteller's words until the very end.
Millions watched in rapt silence as the astronauts stepped onto the moon.
Ivan was rapt, his eyes fixed on the chessboard for an hour.
Don't confuse with: wrapped, which sounds the same; it is “rapt attention,” not “wrapped attention.” -
incontrovertible (adj.) · in-kahn-truh-VUR-tuh-buhlso clearly proven that no one can reasonably argue against itThinking & Knowing
The security video was incontrovertible evidence that the package had been delivered.
It is an incontrovertible fact that the earth orbits the sun.
Her argument seemed incontrovertible until a student found an error in the data. -
discursive (adj.) · dih-SKUR-sivdrifting freely between subjects and often straying into side issues; using step-by-step logic, not intuition, to work out a conclusionSpeaking & Arguing
The professor's discursive lectures wandered from Roman roads to modern traffic.
Her memoir is discursive, full of side stories and long digressions.
Philosophers contrast discursive thought, built up argument by argument, with sudden insight. -
recuse (v.) · rih-KYOOZto bow out of judging or deciding a matter in which you may have a conflict of interestActions & Effort
Judge Patel, who owned stock in the company, recused herself at once.
Citing ties to the bidder, two directors recused themselves before the contract vote.
Commission rules say members must recuse themselves when a relative is involved.
Watch out: usually used with a reflexive pronoun: a judge recuses herself or himself. -
incipient (adj.) · in-SIP-ee-uhntnewly emerging or at its earliest stageChange & Growth
Doctors caught the incipient infection before it spread.
Engineers spotted incipient cracks in the bridge's steel beams.
The protest movement was still incipient when the first newspapers noticed it. -
agglomeration (n.) · uh-glahm-uh-RAY-shuhnmany things that have piled up or clumped in one place, often haphazardly; a large city with its built-up suburbsSize & Amount
The old market is an agglomeration of stalls, sheds and tiny shops.
The village grew as an agglomeration of farmhouses around a single well.
Economists study how urban agglomerations draw in businesses and workers. -
vacuous (adj.) · VAK-yoo-uhsmindless and meaningless, showing no real thought; emptyQuality & Judgment
The ad was full of vacuous slogans about "living your best life."
He gave a vacuous smile and nodded without listening.
Critics found the candidate's speech vacuous, all applause lines and no plans. -
meritocracy (n.) · mair-uh-TAHK-ruh-seea system where ability and achievement, not wealth or family, decide who gets aheadSociety & Power
Our debate team is a meritocracy: the strongest speakers earn the final-round spots.
China's imperial civil service exams were an early form of meritocracy.
Critics argue that meritocracy rewards those who started with every advantage. -
tempestuous (adj.) · tem-PES-choo-uhsemotionally stormy, with strong passions or conflict; (of weather or the sea) very stormyNature & Time
The two founders had a tempestuous partnership that ended in a lawsuit.
Beethoven's tempestuous moods were well known to his friends.
The ship crossed a tempestuous sea for three days.
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- Senses, parts of speech and sense order checked against Merriam-Webster.com, the American Heritage Dictionary and the frequency-ordered Oxford, Longman and Cambridge learner's dictionaries; all definitions, notes and example sentences are original.
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