Word | Definition |
factious | causing disagreement |
ignoble | dishonorable; shameful |
boor | a rude or impolite person |
aegis | a shield; protection |
perspicacity | keenness of judgment |
fervent | eager |
rectify | to correct; to make right |
enervate | to weaken |
besiege | to overwhelm |
ephemeral | lasting a brief time |
altruism | carrion |
erotic | pertaining to sexual love |
amorphous | shapeless |
opulent | rich; wealthy |
impotent | powerless |
antithesis | exact opposite |
maelstrom | whirlpool or an agitated state of mind |
emendation | a correction |
chagrin | embarrassment |
bauble | a showy but useless thing |
diaphanous | very sheer and light |
labyrinth | a maze; a complicated network of winding passages |
gloat | to brag; to look at or think about with great satisfaction |
impediment | a barrier |
bestial | savage; brutal |
effete | worn out |
shard | a fragment |
bland | dull; tasteless |
nihilism | a rejection of laws |
pedestrian | ordinary and dull |
bona fide | in good faith |
adventitious | accidental |
fecund | fertile |
deviate | to stray; to turn aside from a course |
obfuscate | to confuse; bewilder |
impale | to pierce with a sharp stake through the body |
extenuate | to lessen seriousness by providing partial excuses |
parochial | narrow; limited
(sometimes referred to a point of view) |
glower | to glare; to stare at angrily |
edify | to improve someone morally |
ambiguous | open to more than one interpretation |
cataclysm | a violent change |
optimum | best; most favorable |
importune | to beg; to ask persistently |
celibate | abstaining from intercourse |
fortuitous | happening by chance or accident |
recapitulate | to summarize |
perfunctory | done with care |
baroque | overly decorated |
hedonism | pursuit of pleasure |
obloquy | strong disapproval |
debacle | a complete failure |
quasi | resembling; seeming |
besmirch | to stain; to make dirty |
imperative | extremely necessary |
sacrosanct | extremely holy |
sadistic | deriving pleasure from inflicting pain on others |
demeanor | behavior |
facetious | comical |
fop | a fashionable man |
imprecation | a course |
non sequitur | something that does not logically follow |
sanguine | cheerful; optimistic |
bowdlerize | to remove offensive passages of a play, novel, etc. |
impair | to weaken; cause to become worse |
panegyric | an expression of praise |
quandary | a puzzling situation; a dilemma |
ebullient | enthusiastic |
deference | respect; consideration |
carnal | relating to physical appetite, especially sexual |
nebulous | hazy; vague; uncertain |
rakish | carefree; dashing; jaunty |
elegy | a sad or mournful poem |
pedantic | tending to show off one's learning |