| Term | Definition |
|
Acumen |
keen, accurate judgement or insight |
|
Aver |
to state as a fact; to declare or assert |
|
Bolster |
to provide support or reinforcement |
|
Bombastic |
pompous; grandiloquent |
|
Diatribe |
a harsh denunciation; a bitter criticism |
|
Dissemble |
to disguise or conceal; to mislead |
|
Endemic |
natural or characteristic of a people or place; belonging exclusively or confined to a specific place |
|
Evanescent |
vanishing; tending to disappear like vapor |
|
Germane |
relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter |
|
Grandiloquence |
pompous speech or expression |
|
Halcyon |
calm and peaceful |
|
Hedonism |
devotion to pleasurable pursuits esp. to the senses |
|
Hegemony |
the consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others |
|
Iconoclast |
one who attacks or undermines traditional convention or institutions |
|
Idolatrous |
given to intense or excessive devotion to something |
|
Impassive |
revealing no emotion |
|
Impunity |
immunity from punishment or penalty |
|
Inchoate |
an initial stage; not fully formed |
|
Infelicitous |
unfortunate; inappropriate |
|
Insipid |
w/o taste or flavor; lacking in spirit; bland |
|
Malevolent |
having or showing often vicious ill will, spite or hatred |
|
Malleable |
capable of being shaped or formed; tractable; pliable |
|
Mendacity |
the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty |
|
Misanthrope |
one who hates all other humans |
|
Mitigate |
to make or become less severe or intense; to moderate |
|
Obdurate |
unyielding; hardhearted; intractable |
|
Obsequious |
exhibiting a fawning attentiveness |
|
Opprobrium |
disgrace; contempt; scorn |
|
Pedagogy |
the profession or principles of teaching or instructing |
|
Pedantic |
the parading of learning; excessive attention to minutiae and formal rules |
|
Penury |
poverty; destitution |
|
Minutiae |
precise details; small trifling matters |
|
Pith |
the essential or central part |
|
Pithy |
precise and brief |
|
Platitude |
a superficial remark esp. one offered as meaningful |
|
Polemical |
controversial; argumentative |
|
Prodigal |
recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish |
|
Querulous |
prone to complaining or grumbling; peevish |
|
Pirate |
to illegally use or reproduce |
|
Placate |
to appease; to calm by making concessions |
|
Rancorous |
characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment |
|
Recalcitrant |
obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage |
|
Rescind |
to invalidate; to repeal; to retract |
|
Salubrious |
promoting health or well-being |
|
Solvent |
able to meet financial obligations; dissovle another substance |
|
Specious |
seemingly true, but actually being fallacious; plausible bu false; misleadingly attractive |
|
Spurious |
lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit |
|
Surfeit |
an overabundant supply; excess; to feed or supply to excess |
|
Tenacity |
the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued; persistent determination |
|
Tenuous |
having little substance or strength; flimsly; weak |
|
Tirade |
a long and extremely critical speech; harsh denunciation |
|
Zealot |
devoted to a cause; ardent; impassioned; fervent |
|
Adulterate |
to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients |
|
Amalgamate |
to combine several elements into a whole |
|
Archaic |
outdated; associated w/ an earlier, perhaps more primitive, time |
|
Eccentric |
departing from norms or conventions |
|
Exacerbate |
to make worse or more severe |
|
Fervent |
greatly emotional or zealous |
|
Fortuitous |
happening by accident or chance |
|
Hackneyed |
rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage |
|
Imperturbable |
marked by extreme calm, impassivity, and steadiness |
|
Implacable |
not capable of being appeased or significantly changed |
|
Loquacious |
extremely talkative |
|
Luminous |
characterized by brightness and the emission of light |
|
Meticulous |
characterized by extreme care and precision |
|
Occlude |
to obstruct or block |
|
Pervasive |
having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout |
|
Pine |
to yearn intensely; to languish; to lose vigor |
|
Plummet |
to plunge or drop straight down |
|
Profuse |
given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant |
|
Proliferate |
to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly |
|
Queries |
questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservations |
|
Repudiate |
to refuse to have anything to do with; disown |
|
Reverent |
marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect |
|
Rhetoric |
the art or study or effective use of language or communication and persuasion |
|
Subpoena |
A court order requiring appearance and/ or testimony |
|
Succinct |
brief; concise |
|
Superfluous |
exceeding what is sufficient or necessary |
|
Transient |
fleeting; passing quickly; brief |