 | Term | Definition |
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waver |
to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion |
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voracious |
having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous |
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virulent |
extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic |
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veracity |
truthfulness, honesty |
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truculent |
fierce and cruel; eager to fight |
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tortuous |
winding, twisting; excesively complicated |
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torque |
a force that causes rotation |
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synthesis |
the combination of parts to make a whole (verb form: synthesize) |
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stymie |
to block; thwart |
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stupefy |
to stun, baffle, or amaze |
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static |
not moving, active, or in motion; at rest |
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squander |
to waste by spending or using irresponsibly |
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sporadic |
ocurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances |
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sordid |
characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul |
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solicitous |
concerned and attentive; eager |
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reticent |
quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings |
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relegate |
to forcibly assign, esp. to a lower place or position |
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refute |
to disprove; to successfully argue against |
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recant |
to retract, esp. a previously held belief |
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qualms |
misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy |
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prevaricate |
to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead |
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prescience |
foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring (adj. form:prescient) |
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predillection |
a disposition in favor of something; preference |
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precipitate |
to cause or happen before anticipated or required |
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precipitate |
acting with excessive haste or impulse |
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prattle |
to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner |
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perspicacious |
acutely perceptive; having keen discerment (noun form: perspicacity) |
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perfunctory |
cursory; done without care or interest |
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perfidy |
intentional breach of faith; treachery (adj. form: perfidious) |
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perennial |
recurrent trough the year of many years; happening repeatedly |
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parody |
a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, esp. in literature and art |
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paean |
a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving |
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onerous |
troubling; burdensome |
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obviate |
to anticipate and make unnecessary |
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obtuse |
lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expresion |
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noxious |
harmful, injurious |
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Abscond |
Verb. to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide |
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Aberrant |
Adj. Deviating from the norm (noun form: aberration) |
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Alacrity |
Noun: Eager and enthusiastic willngness |
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Anormaly |
Noun: deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality (adj. form: anomalous) |
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Approbation |
noun: an expression of approval or praise |
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Arduous |
adjetive: strenuous, taxing; requiring significant effort |
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Assuage |
verb: to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify |
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audacious |
adjetive: daring and fearless; recklessly bold (noun form: audacity) |
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austere |
adjetive: without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic (noun form: austerity) |
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axiomatic |
adjetive: taken as a given; possessing selfevident truth (noun form: axiom) |
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canonical |
adjetive: following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards (noun) |
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capricious |
adjetive: inclined to change one's mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable |
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censure |
verb: to criticize severely; to officially rebuke |
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chicanery |
trickery or subterfuge |
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connoisseur |
noun: an informated an astute judge in matters of taste; expert |
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convoluted |
adjetive: complex or complicated |
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disabuse |
verb: to undeceive; to set right |
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discordant |
adjetive: conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound |
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disparate |
adjetive: fundamentally distinct or dissimilar |
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effrontery |
noun: extreme blodness; presumptuousness |
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eloquent |
adjetive: well-spoken, expressive, articulate (noun form: eloquence) |
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enervate |
verb: to weaken; to reduce in vitality |
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ennui |
noun: dissatisfaction and restlessness resultong for boredom or apathy |
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equivocate |
verb: to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent (adj. form: equivocal) |
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exulpate |
verb: exonerate; to clear of blame |
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exigent |
adjetive: urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention |
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extemporaneous |
adjetive: improvised; done without preparation |
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filibuster |
noun: intentional obstruction, eso. using prolonged speechmaking do delay legislative action |
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fulminate |
verb: to loudly attack or denounce |
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ingenuous |
adjetive: artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication |
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inured |
adjetive: accoustomed to accepting something undesirable |
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irascible |
adjetive: easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts |
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laud |
verb: to praise highly (adj. form: laudatory) |
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lucid |
adjetive: clear; easily understood |
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magnanimity |
noun: the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, asp. in forgiving (adj. form: magnanimous) |
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martial |
adjetive: associated with war and the armed forces |
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mundane |
adjetive: of the word; typical of or concerned with the ordinary |
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nascent |
adjetive: being; in early developmental stages |
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nebulous |
adjetive: vague; cloudly; lacking clearly defined form |
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neologism |
noun: a new word, expression or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses. |
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Acumen |
(noun) keen,accurate judgment or insight |
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Adulterate |
(verb) to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients |
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Amalgamate |
(verb) to combine several elements into a whole (noun form : amalgamation) |
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Archaic |
(adjective) outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive, time |
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Aver |
(verb) to state as a fact; to declare or assert |
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Bolster |
(verb) to provide support or reinforcement |
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Bombastic |
(adjective) pompous; grandiloquent (noun form: bombast) |
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Diatribe |
(noun) a harsh denunciation |
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Dissemble |
(verb) to disguise or conceal; to mislead |
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Eccentric |
(adjective) departing from norms or conventions |
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Endemic |
(adjective) Characteristics of or often found in a particular locality, region, or peole |
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Evanescent |
(adjective) tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing |
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Exacerbate |
(verb) to make worse or more severe |
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Fervent |
(adjective) greatly emotional or zealous (noun form: fervor) |
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Fortuitous |
(adjective) happening by accident or chance |
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Germane |
(adjective) relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter |
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Grandiloquence |
(noun) pompous speech or expression (adj. form: grandiloquent) |
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Hackneyed |
(adjective) rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage |
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Halcyon |
(adjective) calm and peaceful |
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Hedonism |
(noun) devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. to the pleasures of the senses (a hedonist is someone who pursues pleasure) |
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Hegemony |
(noun) the consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others |
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Iconoclast |
(noun) one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions |
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Idolatrous |
(adjective) given to intense or excessive devotion to something (noun form: idolatry) |
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Impassive |
(adjective) revealing no emotion |
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Imperturbable |
(adjective) marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness |
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Implacable |
(adjective) not capable or being appeased or significantly changed |
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Impunity |
(noun) immunity from punishment or penalty |
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Inchoate |
(adjective) in an initial stage; not fully formed |
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Infelicitous |
(adjective) unfortunate; inappropriate |
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Insipid |
(adjective) without taste or flavor; lacking in spirit; bland |
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Loquacious |
(adjective) extremely talkative (noun form : loquacity) |
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Luminous |
(adjective) characterized by brightness and the emision of light |
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Malevolent |
(adjective) Having or showing often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred (noun form: malevolance) |
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Malleable |
(adjective) capable of being shaped or formed; tractable;pliable |
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Mendacity |
(noun) the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty (adj. form: mendacious) |
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Meticulous |
(adjective) characterized by extreme care and precision; attentive to detail |
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Misanthrope |
(noun) One who hates all other humans (adj.form: misanthropic) |
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Mitigate |
(verb) to make or become less severe or intense; to moderate |
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Obdurate |
(adjective) unyielding;hardhearted;intractable |
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Obsequious |
(adjective) Exhibiting a fawning attentiveness |
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Occlude |
(verb) to obstruct or block |
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Opprobrium |
(noun) disgrace; contempt; scorn |
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Pedagogy |
(noun) the proffesion or principles of teaching, or instructing |
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Pedantic |
(adjective) overly concerned with the trivial details of learning or education; show-offish about one´s knowledge |
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Penury |
(noun) poverty; destitution |
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Pervasive |
(adjective) having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout |
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Pine |
(verb) to yearn intensely; to languish; to lose vigor |
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Pirate |
(verb) to illegally use or reproduce |
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Pith |
(noun) the essential or central part |
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Pithy |
(adjective) precise and brief |
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Placate |
(verb) to appease; to calm by making concessions |
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Platitude |
(noun) a superficial remark, esp. one offeredas maeaningful |
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Plummet |
(verb) to plunge or drop straight down |
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Polemical |
(adjective) controversial; argumentative |
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Prodigal |
(adjective) recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish |
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Profuse |
(adjective) given a coming forth abundantly; extravagant |
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Proliferate |
(verb) to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly |
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Queries |
(noun) questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservations |
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Querulous |
(adjective) prone to complaining or grumbling; peevish |
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Rancorous |
(adjective) characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment (non form: rancor) |
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Recalcitrant |
(adjective) obdtinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage |
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Repudiate |
(verb) to refuse to have anything to do with; disown |
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Rescind |
(verb) to invalidat; to repeal; to retract |
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Reverent |
(adjective) marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect (noun form: reverence) |
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Rhetoric |
(noun) the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion |
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Salubrious |
(adjective) promoting health or well-being |
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Solvent |
(adjective) able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance |
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Specious |
(adjective) seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive; plausible but false |
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Spurious |
(adjective) lacking authenticity or validit; false; counterfeit |
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Subpoena |
(noun) a court order requiring appearance and /or testimony |
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Succint |
(adjective) brief, concise |
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Superfluous |
(adjective) exceeding what is sufficient or necessary |
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Surfeit |
(noun / verb) an overabundant supply; excess, to feed or supply to excess |
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Tenacity |
(noun) the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued; persistent determination (adj. form: tenacious) |
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Tenuous |
(adjective) having little substance or strength; fimsy; weak |
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Tirade |
(noun) a long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation |
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Transient |
(adjective) fleeting; passing quickly; brief |
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Zealous |
(adjective) fervent; ardent; impassioned, devoted to a cause (a zelot is a zealous person) |
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acerbic |
having a sour or bitter taste or character; sahrp ; biting |
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aggrandize |
to increase in intensity, power, influence or prestige |
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Alchemy |
A medieval sience aimed as the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold (an alchemist is one thath paractice alchemy) |
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amenable |
aggreable, responsive to suggestion |
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ananchronism |
something or someone put of place in therms of historical or crhonological context |
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astringent |
having thightening effect on living tissue; harsh, severe, something with a tightening efect on tissue |
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Contiguous |
sharing a border; touching; adjacent |
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convention |
a generaly agreed-upon practice or attitude |
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credulous |
tending to believe too readily; gullible (noun form: credulity) |
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Cynism |
an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness (cynical) |
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decorum |
polite or appropiate conduct or bahavior |
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derision |
scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment (asj. form: decorous) |
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dessicate |
to dry out or to dehydrate; to make dry or dull |
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dilettante |
one with amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a brand of knowledge |
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disparage |
to slight or belittle |
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divulge |
to disclose something secret |
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fawn |
to flatter ir praise excessively |
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flout |
to show contempt for, as in a rule or convention |
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garrulous |
pointlesly talkative, talking too much |
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glib |
marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depht; superficial |
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hubris |
overbearing presumption or pride; arrogance |
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imminent |
about to happen; impending |
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immutable |
not capable of change |
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impetuous |
hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement |
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indifferent |
having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice |
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inimical |
damaging, harmful, injurious |
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intractable |
not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate |
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intrepid |
steadfast or courageous |
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laconic |
using few words; tense |
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maverick |
an independent individual that does nto go along with a group or party |
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mercurial |
characterized by an rapid and unpredictable change in the mood |
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mollify |
to calm or soohteto reduce in emotional intensity |
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neophyte |
a recent convert; a beginner, a novice |
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obfuscate |
to deliberately obscure; to make confusing |
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obstinate |
stubborn, hardheaded, uncompromising |
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ostentatious |
charachterized or given to pretentious display; showy |
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pervade |
to permeate throught (adj form: pervasive) |
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phlegmatic |
calm, sluggish, unemotional |
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plethora |
an overabundance, a surplus |
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pragmatic |
practical, rather than idealistic |
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presumptuous |
overstepping due bounds (as property or courtesy) takn liberties |
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pristine |
pure, incorrupted; clean |
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probity |
adherence to highest principles; complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness |
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proclivity |
a natural predisposition or inclination |
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profligate |
excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant (non for: profligacy) |
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propensity |
a natural inclination or tendency, penchant |
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prosaic |
dull, lacking in spirit or imagination |
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pungent |
charachterized by a strong sharp smell or taste |
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quixotic |
foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals |
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quotidian |
ocurring or recurring daily |
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rarefy |
to make or become thin, less dense; to refine |
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recondite |
hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure |
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refulgent |
radiant; shiny; brillinat |
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renege |
to fail to honor a commitment, to go back on a promise |
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sedulous |
diligent, persistent, hardworking |
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shard |
a piece of broken pottery or glass |
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soporific |
causing drowsinnes, tending to induce sleep |
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sparse |
thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals |
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spendthrift |
one who spends money wastefuly |
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subtle |
not obvious, elusive, difficult to discern |
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abate |
to lessen in intensity or degree |
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accolade |
an expression of praise |
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aesthetic |
dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or beatiful |
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adulation |
excessive praise, intense adoration |
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avarice |
greed, esp for wealth |
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burgeon |
to grow rapidly or flourish |
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cacophony |
harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance |
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canon |
an established set of principles or codes of laws, often religious in nature |
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castigation |
severe criticism or punishment |
| |
catalyst |
a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing |
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catalyst |
a person or thing that causes change |
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caustic |
burning or stinging; causing corrosion |
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chary |
wary; cautious, sparing |
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cogent |
appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing |
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complaisance |
the willingness to comply with the wishes of others |
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contrite |
regretful, penitent; seeking forgiveness |
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dearth |
smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack |
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demur |
to question or oppose |
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didactic |
intended to teach or instruct |
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discretion |
cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions |
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disinterested |
indifferent; free from self-interest |
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dogmatic |
stubbornly opinionated |
| |
ebullience |
the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings |
| |
elegy |
a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead |
| |
emollient |
soothing, esp to the skin, making less harsh |
| |
empirical |
based on observation or experiment |
| |
enigmatic |
mysterious, obscure, difficult to understand |
| |
esoteric |
intended for or understood by a small, specific group |
| |
exonerate |
to remove blame |
| |
fallacy |
an invalid or incorrect notion, a mistaken belief |
| |
furtive |
marked by stealth, covert, surreptitious |
| |
gregarious |
sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people |
| |
harangue |
a deliver a pompous speech or tirade |
| |
heretical |
violating accepted dogma or convention |
| |
impecunious |
lacking funds; without money |
| |
incipient |
beginning to come into being or to become apparrent |
| |
inert |
unmoving; lethargic; sluggish |
| |
innocuous |
harmless; causing no damage |
| |
intransigent |
refusing to compromise |
| |
inveigle |
to obtain by deception or flattery |
| |
morose |
sad; sullen; melancholy |
| |
odious |
evoking intense aversion or dislike |
| |
opaque |
impenetrable by light; not reflecting light |
| |
peruse |
to examine with great care |
| |
preen |
to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care |
| |
prodigious |
abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary |
| |
putrefy |
to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor |
| |
quaff |
to drink deeply |
| |
sanction |
authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance |
| |
urbane |
sophistication; refined; elegant |
| |
viscous |
thick; sticky (noun form:viscousity) |
| |
ameliorate |
to make better or more tolerable |
| |
ascetic |
one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion |
| |
axiom |
a universally recognized principle (adj. form: axiomatic) |
| |
bucolic |
rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants |
| |
contentious |
argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement |
| |
culpable |
deserving blame (noun form: culpability) |
| |
eclectic |
composed of elements drawn from various sources |
| |
ephemeral |
brief; fleeting |
| |
eulogy |
a speech honoring the dead (verb form: eulogize) |
| |
facetious |
playful; humorous |
| |
hyperbole |
an exaggerated statement, often used as figure of speech (adj. form: hyperbolic) |
| |
oscillation |
the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhytm (verb form: oscillate) |
| |
penurious |
penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous |
| |
pernicious |
extremely harmful; potentially causing death |
| |
pious |
extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion (noun form:piety) |
| |
precursor |
one that preceeds and indicates or announces another |
| |
prolific |
peoducing large volumes or amounts; productive |
| |
quiescence |
stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest (adj. form:quiescent) |
| |
redoubtable |
awe-inspiring; worthy of honor |
| |
satire |
a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision (adj. form: satirical) |
| |
squalid |
sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect (noun form:squalor) |
| |
stoic |
indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast (noun form: stoicism) |
| |
supplant |
to take the place of; supersede |
| |
torpid |
lethargic; sluggish; dormant (noun form:torpor) |
| |
ubiquitous |
existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread |
| |
vilify |
to defame; to characterize harshly |
| |
tacit |
implied; not explicitly stated |
| |
terse |
brief and concise in wording |
| |
tout |
to publicly praise or promote |
| |
trenchant |
sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating |
| |
unfeigned |
genuine; not false or hypocritical |
| |
untenable |
indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable |
| |
vacillate |
to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; waver |
| |
variegated |
multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color |
| |
vexation |
annoyance; irritation (verb form:vex) |
| |
vigilant |
alertly watchful (noun form:vigilance) |
| |
vituperate |
to use harsh, condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; berate |
| |
volatile |
readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive (noun form:volatility) |
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