abate, verb abate, to reduce in amount, degree or severity abdicate, verb abdicate, to renounce or relinquish a throne aberrant, adjective aberrant, abnormal or deviant abeyance, noun abeyance, suspended action abject, adjective abject, utterly hopeless; humiliating or wretched ablution, noun ablution, act of cleansing abscond, verb abscond, depart secretly and hide abstemious, adjective abstemious, sparing in eating and drinking; temperate acquiesce, verb acquiesce, to comply, give in acrid, adjective acrid, sharp or biting to the taste or smell acrimonious, adjective acrimonious, caustic, stinging or bitter in nature adjoin, verb adjoin, to be close or in contact with admonish, verb admonish, to counsel against something; caution; warn; reprove adulterate, verb adulterate, to make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances aesthetic, adjective aesthetic, artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful affable, adjective affable, friendly, courteous aggrandize, verb aggrandize, to increase in power, influence and reputation aggregate, verb aggregate, gather; accumulate alacrity, adjective alacrity, cheerful promptness; eagerness alleviate, verb alleviate, relieve altruist, noun altruist, a person unselfishly concerned for the welfare of others amalgamate, verb amalgamate, combine; unite in one body
amatory, adjective amatory, of or pertaining to lovers or lovemaking ambiguous, adjective ambiguous, unclear or doubtful in m eaning ambivalence, noun ambivalence, the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes ameliorate, verb ameliorate, to make better; to improve amity , noun friendship; peaceful harmony anachronism, noun anachronism, something or someone misplaced in time; an obsolete or archaic form anarchy, noun anarchy, absence of governing body; state of disorder androgynous, adjective androgynous, being both male and female anomalous, adjective anomalous, abnormal; irregular antipathy, noun antipathy, aversion; dislike apartheid, noun apartheid, any system or caste that separates people according to race apathy, adjective apathy, lack of interest or emotion; uncaring; indifference appease, verb appease, pacify or soothe; relieve approbation, noun approbation, approval; praise, consideration appropriate, adjective appropriate, acquire; take possession of for one’s own use arduous, adjective arduous, hard; strenuous artless, adjective artless, without guile; open and honest ascetic, adjective ascetic, practicing self-denial; austere assiduous, adjective assiduous, diligent, persistent, hardworking assuage, verb assuage, to make less severe; ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger) atrophy, verb atrophy, to waste away; wither or deteriorate; the wasting away of body tissue audacious, adjective audacious, daring; bold
austere, adjective forbiddingly stern in appearance; severely simple and unornamented autonomous, adjective self-governing; independent banal, adjective boring; commonplace; trite; lacking originality; clichéd; hackneyed belligerent, adjective warlike, given to waging war bemoan, verb to express pity for benevolent, adjective desiring to do good to others benign, adjective having a kindly disposition bilateral, adjective pertaining to or affecting two or both sides bolster, verb support; reinforce bombastic, adjective pompous in speech and manner ; using inflated language boorish, adjective rude; insensitive burnish, verb make shiny by rubbing; polish buttress, verb support; prop up capitulate, verb to surrender unconditionally or on stipulated terms capricious, adjective unpredictable; fickle; changing one’s mind quickly and often castigate, verb to punish or criticize harshly catalyst, noun agent that increases the rate of a chemical action; person or thing that causes action caustic, adjective burning; sarcastically biting chicanery, noun trickery; deception by means of craft or guile circuitous, adjective roundabout, indirect circumscribe, verb to draw a line around circumspect, adjective watchful and discreet
coagulate, verb thicken; congeal; clot cogent, adjective convincing and well reasoned commensurate, adjective corresponding in extent, degree, etc.; proportionate complacent, adjective self-satisfied, unconcerned compliant, adjective yielding; conforming to requirements compunction, noun a feeling of uneasiness for doing wrong concentric, adjective having a common center conciliate, verb to placate, win over conciliatory, adjective reconciling; soothing condone, verb overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse conflagration, noun a large destructive fire confluence, noun merging into one confound, verb confuse; puzzle congenital, adjective existing or as such from birth connoisseur, noun person competent to act as a judge of art; a lover of art contention, noun claim; thesis contentious, adjective quarrelsome contravene, verb to come into conflict with contrite, adjective feeling regret and sorrow for one’s sins or offenses; penitent conundrum, noun riddle; difficult problem convalescent, adjective recovering from illness converge, verb approach; tend to meet; come together
convoke, verb to call together convoluted, adjective intricate and complicated corroborate, verb to provide supporting evidence craven, adjective cowardly credulous, verb too trusting; gullible cursory, adjective going rapidly over something; hasty; superficial daunt, verb intimidate; frighten decadent, adjective decaying; deteriorating decorum, adjective propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners default, verb failure to act deference, noun respect; courteous regard for another’s wishes deferential, adjective respectful; to yield judgment to deign, verb to think fit or in accordance with one’s dignity delude, verb to mislead the mind of judgment of, deceive denigrate, verb blacken deride, verb ridicule; make fun of derision, noun contemptuous or jeering laughter; ridicule. derivative, noun unoriginal; obtained from another source desiccate, verb to dry out thoroughly desultory, adjective aimless; haphazard; digressing at random deterrent, adjective something that discourages; hindrance dichotomy, noun split; branching into two parts (especially contradictory ones)
diffident, adjective lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid. diffuse, verb to spread widely or thinly digression, noun wandering away from the subject dilatory, adjective inclined to delay or procrastinate dilettante, noun someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic dirge, noun lament with music disabuse, verb correct a false impression; to set right; to free from error discerning, adjective mentally quick and observant; having insight discordant, adjective not harmonious; conflicting discredit, verb defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve discrepancy, noun lack of consistency; difference discrete, adjective separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts disingenuous, adjective lacking genuine candor; insincere disinterested, adjective unprejudiced disjointed, adjective lacking coherence; separated at the joints dismiss, verb eliminate from consideration; reject disparage, verb belittle disparate, adjective fundamentally distinct or different in kind; entirely dissimilar disquiet, noun a lack of calm or peace dissemble, verb disguise; pretend; to disguise one’s real intentions or character disseminate, verb distribute; spread widely; scatter (like seeds) dissolution, noun disintegration; looseness in morals
dissonance, noun discord; opposite of harmony distend, verb to expand by stretching; swell out distill, verb purify; refine; concentrate diverge, verb vary; go in different directions from the same point doctrine, noun a principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief; dogma document, verb provide written evidence dogma, noun a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief dogmatic, adjective opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal doleful, adjective sorrowful, mournful dormant, adjective sleeping; lethargic; latent dour, adjective sullen, gloomy dupe, verb to deceive; a person who is easily deceived duplicity, noun deceitfulness in speech or conduct; double-dealing ebullient, adjective showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm eclectic, adjective selective; composed of elements from a variety of sources efficacy, noun effectiveness ; power to produce desired effect effigy, noun a dummy; a likeness or image, especially of a person. effrontery, noun impudence; shameless boldness; sheer nerve; presumptuousness elicit, verb draw out by discussion elocution, noun art of clear and expressive speaking embellish, verb adorn; ornament; enhance, as a story empathy, noun the identification with the feelings or thoughts of others
empirical, adjective based on experience emulate, verb imitate; rival endemic, adjective prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific area or country engender, verb to produce, cause or bring about enhance, verb increase; improve enigma, noun a puzzle; a m ystery ephemeral, adjective short-lived; fleeting equanimity, noun calmness of temperament; composure equivocate, verb lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the t ruth erudite, adjective learned, scholarly, bookish eulogy, noun expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death euphemism, noun an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive exacerbate, verb worsen; to increase bitterness or violence execrable, adjective abominable exigency, noun urgent situation; pressing needs or demands; state of requiring immediate attention exigent, adjective urgent; requiring immediate action expound, verb to set forth in detail exult, verb to show or feel triumphant joy facetious, adjective joking (often inappropriately); humorous facilitate, verb help bring about; make less difficult fallacious, adjective false; misleading fatuous, adjective brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug
fawning, adjective trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering, or cringing fervor, noun glowing ardor; intensity of feeling flag, verb droop; grow feeble; to decline in vigor or strength fledgling, adjective inexperienced flout, verb reject; mock; show contempt for foment, verb to arouse or incite forestall, verb prevent by taking action in advance fractious, adjective irritable, peevish frugality, noun thrifty; economy fusillade, noun continuous discharge of firearms or outburst o f criticism futile, adjective useless; hopeless; ineffectual garrulous, adjective loquacious; talkative; wordy goad, verb urge on grandiloquent, adjective pompous or inflated in language; bombastic; using high-sounding language gregarious, adjective sociable guile, noun deceit or trickery guileless, adjective without deceit gullible, adjective easily deceived harangue, noun long, passionate, and vehement speech homogeneous, adjective of the same kind hyperbole, noun exaggeration; overstatement hypocritical, adjective affecting virtues or qualities one does not have
idolatry, noun worship of idols; excessive admiration immutable, adjective unchangeable impair, verb injure; hurt impassive, adjective without feeling; imperturbable; showing or feeling no emotion impede, verb hinder; block impermeable, adjective impervious; not permitting passage through its substance imperturbable, adjective calm; placid impervious, adjective impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed impetuous, adjective quick to act without t hinking implacable, adjective incapable of being pacified implicit, adjective understood but not stated implode, verb burst inward inadvertently, adjective unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly incongruity, noun lack of harmony; absurdity inconsequential, adjective insignificant; unimportant incorporate, verb introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite incursion, noun a hostile entrance into a place indeterminate, adjective uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite indigence, noun poverty indigent, adjective experiencing want or need; impoverished. indolence, noun state of being lazy or slothful induce, verb to move or lead by influence
inert, adjective inactive; lacking power to move infusion, noun liquid extract so obtained inherent, adjective firmly established by nature or habit inimical, adjective hostile, unfriendly innocuous, adjective harmless insensible, adjective unconscious; unresponsive insidious, adjective intended to trap or beguile insinuate, verb hint; imply; creep in insipid, adjective lacking in interest or flavor; dull insolent, adjective boldly rude or disrespectful insularity, noun narrow-mindedness; isolation interloper, noun someone who intrudes in the domain of others intractable, adjective unruly; stubborn; unyielding intransigence, noun refusal of any compromise; stubbornness intransigent, adjective refusing to agree or compromise inundate, verb overwhelm; flood; submerge irascible, adjective irritable; easily angered irresolute, adjective uncertain how to act; weak itinerary, noun plan of a trip laconic, adjective brief and to the point; using few words lassitude, noun languor; weariness latent, adjective potential but undeveloped; dormant; hidden
laud, verb praise lethargic, adjective drowsy; dull levee, noun earth or stone embankment to prevent flooding levity, noun lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity litigate, verb to make the subject of a lawsuit log, noun record of a voyage or flight; record of day-to-day activities loquacious, adjective talkative lucid, adjective easily understood; clear; intelligible luminous, adjective shining; issuing light magnanimity, noun generosity magnanimous, adjective generous in forgiving an insult or injury magnate, noun a powerful or influential person maladroit, adjective clumsy, tactless malevolent, adjective characterized by or expressing bad will malign, verb to speak harmful untruths about, to slander malingerer, noun one who feigns illness to escape duty malleable, adjective capable of being shaped by pounding; impressionable maverick, noun rebel; nonconformist maxim, noun an expression of general truth or principle mendacious, adjective lying; habitually dishonest metamorphosis, noun change of form meticulous, adjective excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous
mitigate, verb to soften, to lessen mollify, verb to calm or make less severe; soothe morose, adjective ill-humored; sullen; m elancholy mundane, adjective worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday nascent, adjective starting to develop negate, verb cancel out; nullify; deny obdurate, adjective stubborn, hardened in feelings; resistant to persuasion oblique, adjective having a slanting or sloping direction obsequious, adjective overly submissive and eager to please; servile; sycophantic obsolescent, adjective becoming obsolete obstreperous, adjective noisily defiant, unruly obtuse, adjective not sharp, pointed or acute obviate, verb to prevent; make unnecessary; get rid of officious, adjective meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one’s services omnivorous, adjective eating or absorbing everything onerous, adjective troublesome and oppressive; burdensome opprobrium, noun public disgrace; infamy; vilification oscillate, verb vibrate; waver ostentatious, adjective showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention panoply , noun a wide-ranging and impressive array or display paragon, noun model of excellence or perfection partisan, adjective one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party
pathological, adjective pertaining to disease paucity, noun smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness pedantic, adjective showing off learning; bookish penchant, adjective strong inclination; liking penury, noun severe poverty; stinginess perennial, adjective something long-lasting perfidious, adjective treacherous; disloyal; willing to betray one’s trust perfunctory, adjective superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; done in a routine way; peripatetic, adjective walking or traveling about; itinerant permeable, adjective penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through pervasive, adjective spread throughout petulant, adjective showing sudden irritation, esp. over some annoyance philanderer, noun one who carries on flirtations philanthropy, noun charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness philology, noun the study of literary texts to establish their authenticity and determine their meaning phlegmatic, adjective calm; not easily disturbed piety, noun devoutness; reverence for God placate, verb pacify; conciliate plasticity, noun ability to be molded platitude, noun trite remark; commonplace statement plethora, noun excess; overabundance plummet, verb fall sharply
porous, adjective full of pores; like a sieve pragmatic, adjective practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something preamble, noun introductory statement precarious, adjective uncertain; risky precipitate , adjective adj. rash, premature, hasty, sudden preclude, verb to prevent the presence of precocious, adjective unusually advanced or mature in mental development or talent precursor, noun forerunner predilection, noun preference, liking presentiment, adjective a feeling of anticipation over a future event presumptuous, adjective arrogant; taking liberties prevaricate, verb to lie or deviate from the truth pristine, adjective characteristic of earlier times; primitive; unspoiled probity, noun honesty; uprightness; incorruptibility problematic, adjective doubtful; unsettled; questionable; perplexing prodigal, adjective lavish; wasteful; reckless with money profound, adjective deep; not superficial; complete prohibitive, adjective tending to prevent the purchase or use of something; inclined to prevent or forbid proliferate, verb grow rapidly; spread; multiply propensity, noun natural inclination propound, verb to set forth for consideration propriety, noun correct behavior or conduct, obedience to rules and customs
proscribe, verb to condemn as harmful or odious; ostracize; banish; outlaw protract, verb to prolong, draw out, extend provident, adjective having or showing foresight prudence, noun wisdom, caution or restraint puerile, adjective childish, immature pugnacious, verb to quarrel or fight readily punctilious, adjective strict or exact in the observance of formalities pungent, adjective stinging; sharp in taste or smell; caustic pusillanimous, adjective lacking courage or resolution qualified, adjective limited; restricted querulous, adjective full of complaints quibble, noun minor objection or complaint quiescence, noun n. the condition of being at rest, still, inactive quiescent, adjective adj. at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive; motionless rarefied, adjective made less dense (of a gas) recalcitrant, adjective obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly recant, verb disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error recluse, noun hermit; loner recumbent, adjective lying down; reclining; leaning refute, verb disprove rejoinder, verb to reply, retort relegate, verb banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign
remonstrate, verb to say or plead in protest, objection, or reproof reprehensible, adjective deserving rebuke or censure; blameworthy. reprisals, noun retaliation against an enemy reproach, verb express disapproval or disappointment reprobate, noun person hardened in sin; wicked person; devoid of a sense of decency repudiate, verb disown; disavow; to reject the validity of resolution, noun determination resolve, verb to make a firm decision about reticent, adjective silent; reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence reverent, adjective respectful; worshipful sage, noun person celebrated for wisdom salient, adjective prominent or conspicuous salubrious, adjective conducive or favorable to health or well-being sanction, noun approve; ratify satiate, verb satisfy fully saturate, verb soak thoroughly savor, verb enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality secrete, verb hide away or cache; produce and release a substance sedition, noun incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government skeptic, adjective doubter; person who suspends judgment until having examined evidence supporting a point of view sociopath, noun a person whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility solicitous, adjective worried; concerned
soporific, adjective sleep-causing; lethargy; marked by sleepiness specious, adjective having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious) spectrum, noun colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism sporadic, adjective occurring irregularly stigma, noun a mark of shame or discredit stint , verb to restrict or limit, as in amount or number; be sparing with stipulate, verb to lay down as a condition of an agreement; require by contract stolid, adjective dull; impassive; unemotional; lacking sensitivity strut, verb walk pompously wal subjugate, verb to conquer subpoena, noun a writ requiring appearance in court to give testimony subside, verb settle down; descend; grow quiet substantiate, verb establish by evidence; verify; support subterfuge, noun an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule supercilious, adjective arrogant, haughty, condescending supersede, verb cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete supplicate, verb to make humble and earnest entreaty supposition, noun hypothesis; surmise tacit, adjective understood; not put into words taciturn, adjective silent, not talkative tangential, adjective peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing tenable, adjective capable of being held, maintained or defended
tenacious, adjective holding fast; holding or tending to hold persistently to something tirade, noun extended scolding; denunciation; harangue torpor, noun lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy tortuous, adjective winding; full of curves tractable, adjective docile; easily managed or controlled transcendent, adjective going beyond ordinary limits transgression, noun violation of a law; sin truculence, noun aggressiveness; ferocity vacillate, verb waver; fluctuate venerate, verb revere veracity, noun filled with trust and accuracy verbose, adjective wordy verity, noun truthfulness viable, adjective practical or workable vicarious, adjective performed, exercised, received or suffered in place of another vilify, verb to slander, to defame viscous, adjective sticky, gluey vituperative, adjective abusive; scolding vociferous, adjective crying out noisily volatile, adjective changeable; explosive; evaporation rapidly volition, noun free choice, free will; act of choosing voracious, adjective having a great appetite
warranted, adjective justified; authorized wary, adjective very cautious whimsical, adjective capricious; fanciful zealot, noun fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal
