Spelling/Vocabulary List #8

Alacrity - noun
brisk and cheerful readiness

Archipelago - noun
a group of islands

Assail - verb
make a concerted or violent attack on

Conflagration - noun
an extensive fire that destroys a great deal of land or property

Dank - adjective
disagreeably damp, musty and typically cold

Diffident - adjective
modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence

Doleful - adjective
expressing sorrow; mournful

Grist - noun
grain that is ground to make flour;
- malt crushed to make mash for brewing.
- figurative - useful material, especially to back up an argument

grist for the mill - useful experience, material or knowledge

Limpid - adjective
(of liquid) free of anything that darkens; completely clear
(of a person's eyes) unclouded; clear
(esp. of writing or music) clear and accessible or melodious

Quash - verb
reject or void, especially by legal procedure;
- put an end to; suppress

Nonplus -
verb
surprise and confuse (someone) so much that they are unsure how to react

noun
a state of being surprised and confused in this way.

Pandemonium - noun
wild and noisy disorder or confusion; uproar

Perturbed - verb [transitive]
make (someone) anxious or unsettled;
subject (a system, moving object or process) to an influence tending to alter its normal or regular state or path

Prowess - noun
skill or expertise in a particular activity or field; bravery in battle

Stave -
noun
1 a vertical post or plank in a building or other structure
2 MUSIC another term for staff
3 a verse or stanza of a poem

verb
1 break something by forcing it inward or piercing it roughly
2 avert or delay something bad or dangerous

Tessellate - verb [transitive]
decorate (a floor) with mosiacs
MATHEMATICS cover (a plane surface) by repeated use of a single shape, without gaps or overlapping.