Vocab 5/17/14

vacuous (adj.) -- devoid of matter; empty

devoid (adj.) -- completely lacking; destitute or empty

destitute (adj.) -- utterly lacking; devoid

utterly (adv.) -- completely; absolutely; entirely

perpetrate (v) -- to be responsible for; commit

remonstrate (v) -- to say or plead in protest, objection, or reproof

petulant (adj.) -- unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; peevish

peevish (adj.) -- querulous or discontented

querulous (adj.) -- given to complaining; peevish

curdle (v) -- to change into curd

curd (n) -- the part of milk that coagulates when the milk sours or is treated with enzymes

coagulate (v) -- to cause transformation of (a liquid or sol, for example) into or as if into a soft, semisolid, or solid mass

protein (n) -- any of a group of complex organic macromolecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and usually sulfur and are composed of one or more chains of amino acids. Proteins are fundamental components of all living cells and include many substances, such as enzymes, hormones, and antibodies, that are necessary for the proper functioning of an organism; they are essential in the diet of animals for the growth and repair of tissue and can be obtained from foods such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, and legumes

macro- (pref.) -- large

enzymes (n) -- any of numerous proteins or conjugated proteins produced by living organisms and functioning as biochemical catalysts

conjugate (v) -- 1. grammar to inflect (a verb) in its forms for distinctions such as number, person, voice, mood, and tense 2. to join together

biochemistry (n) -- the study of the chemical substances and vital processes occurring in living organisms; biological chemistry; physiological chemistry

catalyst (n) -- 1. chemistry a substance, usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process 2. one that precipitates a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences

relative (adj.) -- 1. having pertinence or relevance; connected or related 2. considered in comparison with something else

precipitate (v) -- 1. to throw from or as if from a great height; hurl downward 2. to cause to happen, especially suddenly or prematurely 3. meteorology to cause (water vapor) to condense and fall from the air as rain, snow, sleet, or hail 4. chemistry to cause (a solid substance) to be separated from a solution