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Hit Parade 2
Princeton Review-2008 ed. #2
Word | Definition |
---|---|
abate | to lessen in intensity or degree |
accolade | an expression of praise |
adulation | excessive praise; intense adoration |
aesthetic | dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful |
ameliorate | to make better or more tolerable |
ascetic | one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion |
avarice | greed, esp. for wealth |
axiom | a universally recognized principle |
burgeon | to grow rapidly |
bucolic | rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants |
cacophony | harsh, jarring, discodant sound; dissonance |
canon | an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature |
castigation | severe criticism or punishment |
catalyst | a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change |
caustic | burning or stinging; causing corrosion |
chary | wary; cautious; sparing |
cogent | appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing |
complaisance | the willingness to comply with the wishes of others |
contentious | argumentative; quarrelsom; causing controversy or disagreement |
contrite | regretful; penitent; seeking forgivenes |
culpable | deserving blame |
dearth | smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack |
demur | to question or oppose |
didactic | intended to teach or instruct |
discretion | cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions |
disinterested | free of bias or self-interest; impartial |
dogmatic | expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles. |
ebullience | the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings |
eclectic | composed of elements drawn from various sources |
elegy | a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead |
emollient | soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin |
empirical | based on observation or experiment |
enigmatic | mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand |
ephemeral | brief; fleeting |
esoteric | intended for or understood by a small, specific group |
eulogy | a speech honoring the dead |
exonerate | to remove blame |
facetious | playful; humorous |
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 | to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech |
heretical | violating accepted dogma or convention |
hyperbole | an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech |
impecunious | lacking funds; without money |
incipient | beginning to come into being or to become apparent |
inert | unmoving; lethargic; slugish |
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 |
oscillation | the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm |
penurious | penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous |
pernicious | extremely harmful; potentially causing death |
peruse | to examine with great care |
pious | extremely reverent or decout; showing strong religious devotion |
precursor | one that precedes and indicates or announces another |
preen | to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care |
prodigious | abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary |
prolific | producing large columes or amounts; productive |
putrefy | to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor |
quaff | to drink deeply |
quiescence | stillness; motionless; quality of being at rest |
redoubtable | awe-inspiring; worthy of honor |
sanction | authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority to |
satire | a literary work that ridicules or criticizes human vice through humor or derision |
squalid | sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect |
stoic | indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast |
supplant | to take the place of; supersede |
torpid | lethargic; sluggish; dormant |
ubiquitous | existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; wide-spread |
urbane | sophisticated; refined; elegant |
vilify | to defame; to characterize harshly |
viscous | thick; sticky |