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list 1
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| abdicate | To relinquish (power or responsibility) in a formal manner |
| aberrants | Different from an accepted norm or group (usu. considerably so) |
| abet | To urge, encourage or help someone or something (oft. an offense) |
| aboriginal | Having existed from the beginning |
| abridge | To shorten or condense |
| acclimate | To accustom oneself to a climate or situation |
| accost | To approach and speak to someone (oft. rudely so) |
| acquiesce | To comply or consent passively; submit |
| adamant | Stubborn or unyielding; an extremely hard substance |
| adulterate | To make impure through the addition of a foreign element; to corrupt |
| adversity | Hardship |
| aesthetic | Relating to the appreciation of beauty |
| affable | Easy and pleasant to talk to; approachable |
| affinity | A natural attraction or feeling of kinship |
| aggregate | Total; in a dense cluster |
| aghast | Horrified |
| alienate | To make unfriendly; to isolate emotionally |
| alleviate | To make more bearable; to lighten |
| altruism | Selfless benevolence or generosity |
| ambiguous | Open to more than one interpretation; uncertain |
| ambivalent | Feeling the coexistence of opposing emotions or attitudes |
| amenable | Responsive to advice, authority or suggestion |
| amorphous | Lacking definite form; shapeless |
| analogous | Similar in such a way as to permit the comparison to something otherwise dissimilar |
| anarchy | Absence of government; chaos or lawlessness |
| anomalous | Deviating from the usual or common order, form or rule |
| antipathy | Strong feelings of aversion |
| antiquated | Very old; outmoded |
| apathy | A lack of interest or concern; indifference |
| appease | To pacify |
| assimilate | To make similar or cause to resemble |
| audacity | Daring; bold recklessness |
| auspicious | Attended by favorable circumstances |
| austere | Severe or stern in character; bare or simple; somber or grave |
| autonomous | Independent |
| avarice | Greed |
| axiom | A self-evident truth |
| banal | Drearily commonplace; trite |
| belittle | To disparage; to make someone feel small or unimportant |
| benefactor | One that gives aid (esp. financial) |
| boisterous | Loud and noisy (oft. in a rough manner) |
| boorish | Rude; possessed of little refinement |
| bourgeois | A member of the middle class; typical of the middle class |
| canon | A law or code of laws |
| catharsis | A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions |
| caustic | Corrosive; biting (remark) |
| coagulate | To harden into a semi-solid |
| cogent | Appealing to the intellect; compelling |
| collusion | A secret agreement with deceitful intent |
| commiserate | To sympathize with |
| compliant | Willing to agree or obey |
| condone | To overlook, forgive or tolerate an offense without protest |
| conducive | Promoting or leading to |
| connoisseur | A person with expert knowledge or training (esp. in the fine arts) |
| consensus | An agreement between all parties |
| contentious | Quarrelsome |
| convoluted | Intricate or complicated |
| covenant | Sacred pact |
| covert | Not openly practiced, engaged in or shown |
| credence | Claim to legitimacy or trustworthiness |
| credulous | Gullible |
| cynical | Inclined to believe the worst; skeptical; scornful |
| dauntless | Fearless |
| dearth | A scarcity or lack of |
| defame | To damage someone’s or something’s reputation |
| delineate | To sketch out or depict |
| despot | A ruler with absolute power |
| destitute | Lacking or devoid of; poor |
| deterrent | Something that discourages |
| devoid | Lacking |
| devout | Devoted to religion |
| digress | To turn away from (esp. the main subject of a conversation) |
| disabuse | To free from misconception |
| discerning | Exhibiting good judgment; perceptive |
| discord | Strife; lack of agreement |
| discretion | Ability to act sensibly; freedom to act on one’s own |
| disingenuous | Not straightforward; crafty |
| disparate | Entirely dissimilar |
| disseminate | To scatter widely; to promulgate |
| dissent | Disagreement |
| dissolution | Decomposition into fragments or parts; debauchery |
| distend | To swell or stretch |
| divest | To get rid of |
| divulge | To make known (esp. a secret) |
| dogmatic | Characterized by an authoritative, arrogant assertion of principles that are unproved or can’t be proofed |
| dormant | Asleep or inactive |
| eclectic | Made up from a variety of sources; unusual |
| eloquence | Persuasive discourse |
| embellish | To make beautiful by decoration; to add fictitious details to a story |
| ennui | Boredom |
| enumerate | To count (out); to list |
| esoteric | Meant for or understood by only a small group of people; particular to a small group; confidential |
| euphemism | A mild substitute for an unpleasant or offensive term |
| euphoria | A feeling of great happiness or well-being |
| exacerbate | To increase the severity, violence or bitterness of; to aggravate |
| exasperate | To make angry or annoy greatly |
| exhibitionist | Someone who deliberately behaves to attract attention |
| exonerate | To free from blame |
| extol | To praise highly or exalt |
| facetious | Playfully jocular; humorous |
| facilitate | To assist or make easier |
| fallacy | A false notion |
| fathom | To comprehend; a measure of marine depth |
| fervor | Great warmth and intensity of emotion; intense heat or passion |
| fickle | Capricious |
| filibuster | Prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action |
| fledgling | An inexperienced person; a young bird |
| flout | To show contempt for; to scorn |
| forsake | To give up or abandon |
| fortuitous | Lucky |
| foster | To bring up or nurture |
| frugal | Economical |
| gratuitous | Unearned or unjustified; unnecessary; free |
| gregarious | Sociable, outgoing |
| hamper | To hinder or prevent; a large basket |
| harry | To vex or annoy |
| hedonism | Pursuit of pleasure |
| hypocritical | Speaking contrary to one’s true beliefs or actions |
| imminent | About to occur |
| imperative | A command or order; extremely necessary |
| imperturbable | Unshakably calm and collected |
| impervious | Impenetrable |
| impetuous | Impulsive or rash |
| implicit | Implied; not expressly stated |
| impulsive | Rash; acting on impulse rather than thought |
| impunity | Exempt from penalty, punishment or harm |
| inadvertent | Marked by unintentional lack of care |
| incendiary | Tending to inflame; an agitator |
| incipient | Beginning to exist or to appear |
| incontrovertible | Undeniable or impossible to dispute |
| incorrigible | Incapable of being corrected or informed; difficult to control |
| indifferent | Without bias |
| indomitable | Unconquerable |
| inert | Unable to move or act; sluggish or lethargic |
| inherent | Naturally a part of; intrinsic |
| inhibit | To hold back or forbid |
| inimical | Harmful in effect; hostile |
| insatiable | Impossible to satisfy |
| insidious | Deceitfully harmful; treacherous |
| insipid | Tasteless; lacking stimulation or interest |
| insufferable | Intolerable |
| insular | Of or relating to an island; narrow or provincial in outlook |
| intangible | Incapable of being perceived by the senses |
| intractable | Difficult to manage; stubborn |
| intrepid | Fearless |
| inundate | To cover, overwhelm or flood with water; to swamp |
| itinerary | The route or proposed route of a journey |
| judicious | Having or exhibiting sound judgment; prudent |
| laudatory | Expressing praise |
| levity | Lightness of manner; frivolity |
| lucid | Easily understood; intelligible |
| lurid | Gruesome; marked by sensation |
| magnanimous | Courageously noble in mind and heart; generous or unselfish |
| magnate | A powerful or influential person (esp. business) |
| malevolence | Ill-will |
| misanthrope | One who hates or mistrusts mankind |
| mundane | Commonplace or ordinary; everyday |
| narcissism | Excessive love of oneself |
| nascent | Just born; emerging |
| nonplused | In a state of confusion, bewilderment or perplexity |
| noxious | Harmful to one’s health, mind or morals |
| omnipotent | Having unlimited power |
| onerous | Burdensome |
| oscillate | To swing back and forth with a steady rhythm; to waver |
| paradigm | An example that serves as a model or pattern |
| paragon | A model of excellence; a peerless example |
| parody | A literary work that mockingly mimics a well-known story; a mocking imitation |
| parsimonious | Excessively sparing or frugal |
| paucity | Smallness of number; fewness |
| pedantic | Showing off one’s bookish knowledge (in a negative manner) |
| penchant | A definite liking; a strong inclination |
| philanthropy | Charitable aid; love of human kind |
| piety | Religious devotion; reverence |
| pious | Religiously devout; marked by false devoutness |
| platonic | Spiritual love; love between friends |
| posthumous | After death |
| pragmatic | Concerned with facts or actual occurrences; practical |
| precarious | Dangerously lacking in security or stability |
| precursor | One that indicates something to come; a forerunner or predecessor |
| preponderance | Superiority in weight, force, importance or influence |
| presumptuous | Beyond what is right or proper; excessively forward |
| pretentious | Believing you are better than you are; showy or ostentatious |
| pretext | An excuse; an effort to conceal something |
| prevaricate | To stray from or evade the truth; to lie or equivocate |
| problematic | Posing a problem; difficult to solve |
| prodigal | Rashly or wastefully extravagant |
| prodigious | Impressively great in size, force or extent; enormous |
| prodigy | A person with exceptional talents or powers; an omen |
| profligate | Recklessly wasteful |
| profound | Coming as if from the depths of one’s being; deep |
| prolific | Producing offspring in great abundance; producing a lot (of anything) |
| propensity | An innate inclination; a tendency |
| proportionate | Properly related in size |
| propriety | Polite behavior |
| prosaic | Lacking in imagination; dull |
| pundit | A (supposedly) learned critic or expert |
| pungent | Sharp smelling or tasting; penetrating, biting or caustic |
| recant | To withdraw formally a previously held belief |
| relegate | To banish or exile |
| renege | To fail to carry out a promise or commitment |
| renounce | To reject or disown (usu. by formal announcement) |
| reprehensible | Deserving blame |
| reproach | To express disapproval; to blame |
| repudiate | To reject the authority or validity of |
| requisite | Necessary; something that is required |
| rescind | To make void; to repeal or annul |
| reticent | Restrained or reserved; reluctant or unwilling |
| retribution | Punishment; reward |
| reverent | Worshipful |
| rhetoric | The art of using language persuasively (or artistically); language that is insincere |
| sanctimonious | Faking righteousness |
| sanction | To approve authoritatively |
| satiate | To satisfy |
| satire | A literary work that attacks human folly through wit or sarcasm |
| schism | A separation into factions |
| secular | Not specifically related to religion; occurring once in a century or from century to century |
| severance | The act or condition of being severed; separation |
| skeptical | Doubtful or questioning |
| solvent | Having sufficient funds to pay all debts |
| squander | To spend wastefully |
| stupefy | To amaze or stun |
| stymie | To thwart or stump |
| sullen | Gloomy; sulky |
| supercilious | Feeling or showing haughty disdain |
| superfluous | Beyond what is needed or required |
| synthesis | The combining of separate elements to form a coherent whole; the result of that combining |
| tacit | Silent; unstated or implied |
| tenuous | Long and thin; slender or slight |
| terse | Brief and to the point |
| transient | Remaining in one place only a brief time; one that does so |
| ubiquitous | Everywhere |
| ulterior | Lying beyond what is evident or revealed (oft. intentionally so as to deceive);occurring later or subsequent |
| untenable | Impossible to maintain or inhabit |
| untoward | Not favorable; troublesome or adverse |
| urbane | Polite, refined and often elegant in manner |
| vacillate | To sway between two sides, positions or opinions; to waver |
| venerable | Commanding respect; worthy of reverence |
| veracity | Truthfulness |
| verbose | Wordy |
| vernacular | The language of everyday people (as opposed to that of literary works) |
| vex | To annoy, bother or harass |
| viable | Useable; able to survive; capable of success |
| vilify | To make vicious and defamatory statements about |
| vivacious | Lively or full of spirit |
| volatile | Prone to quick and marked change |
| voluminous | Having great size or volume |
| voracious | Ravenous |
| xenophobia | Fear of hate of anything foreign (esp. people) |
| zealot | A person who is fanatically committed to an idea or cause |
Created by:
msbabione
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