| Word |
 |
|
| Definition |
 |
|
| Imperious |
Commanding |
| Improvidence |
shortsightedness; a failure to provide for future needs or events: "I weep bitter tears for my unpardonable xxx"; "the childlike xxx of this age and people." |
| Inchoate |
In an initial or early stage; incomplete; disorganized |
| Ingenuous |
unsophisticated; artless; straightforward; candid |
| Insipid |
lacking zest or excitement; dull |
| Intransigent |
Stubborn; immovable; unwilling to change |
| laconic |
using few words; terse |
| noisome |
Offensive to the point of arousing disgust, harmful: "a xxx odor.""xxx fumes." |
| aberrant |
deviating from the norm; not following the normal or correct way; deviating from the usual or natural type; atypical; abnormal or deviant |
| abscond |
to depart clandestinely; to steal away and hide; go away suddenly and secretly esp. in order to avoid arrest; to depart secretly and hide oneself; to go away suddenly ( to avoid arrest) |
| adulterate |
to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients; make poorer in quality by adding another substance; to corrupt, debase, or mak impure by the addition of a foreign or inferior substance or element stickler |
| amenable |
agreeable; responsive to suggestion; readily managed; willing to be led; (of people) willing to be influenced or controlled (by something) |
| approbation |
an expression of approval or praise; approval; consent; commendation, praise |
| arduous |
strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort; needing much effort or energy; laborious; hard to accomplish or achieve; difficult; steep, difficult ascent; laborious |
| chicanery |
deception by trickery |
| bombastic |
pompous, gradiloquent; pompous and empty |
| bucolic |
rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants; of country life or the countryside; rustic |
| cacophony |
harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance; loud unpleasant mixture of discordant sounds |
| canon |
an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature; a regulation or dogma decreed by a church council |
| canonical |
following or in agreement with orthodox requirements; appearing in a biblical canon; of or relating to or required by canon law |
| castigation |
severe criticism or punishment |
| censure |
to criticize severely; to officially rebuke; to find fault with and criticize as blameworthy |
| chary |
wary; cautious; careful; wary shy; timid |
| cogent |
appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing; convincing; strong |
| contentious |
argumentative, quarrelsome, causing controversy, or disagreement; strife; quarrelsome |
| contrite |
Feeling regret and sorrow for one's sins or offenses: (>zerknirscht<):"a xxx heart" |
| culpable |
deserving blame |
| demur |
to question or oppose |
| discordant |
conflicting, dissonant; nor in agreement: "views discordant with present-day ideas";"seemingly discordant facts" |
| disparage |
to slight or belittle; suggest; to depreciate by an indirect means; speak slightingly about |
| disparate |
fundamentally distinct or dissimilar: "such xxx attractions as grand opera and game fishing"; "xxx ideas" |
| dissemble |
to disguise or conceal to mislead; hide or disguise ("I xxx my hatred of the Fox") |
| divulge |
to disclose something secret; to make known (as a confidence or secret) |
| dogmatic |
Characterized by an authoritative, arrogant assertion of unproved or unprovable principles.("xxx writings" "I protest strongly against the entirely dogmatic assertion") |
| ebullience |
the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings; high spirits; exhilaration; exuberance |
| effrontery |
extreme boldness; presumptuousness; rudeness without shame; impertinence; impudence; arrogance |
| enervate |
to weaken; to reduce in vitality; cause to lose strength or energy |
| enigmatic |
mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand; of relating to, or resembling an enigma; mysterious |
| ennui |
dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy; a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom |
| equivocate |
speak in an ambiguous way to hide the truth or mislead people |
| evanescent |
tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing; quickly fading; soon disappearing from memory; tending to vanish like vapor |
| exculpate |
exonerate; to clear of blame; to clear from alleged fault or gulit; free somebody from blame
|
| exigent |
urgent, pressing, requiring immediate action or attention |
| extemporaneous |
improvised; done without preparation; spoken or done without preparation; extempore |
| facetious |
playful; humorous; intended to be amusing, often inappropriately; joking or jesting often inappropriately; waggish |
| fallacy |
an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief |
| filibuster |
intentional obstruction, especially using prolonged speech making to delay legislative action |
| flout |
to demonstrate contempt for, as in a rule or convention; to treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at; mock |
| fortuitous |
happening by fortunate accident or chance; happening by chance or coincidence |
| fulminate |
to loudly attach or denounce; protest strongly and loudly; to send forth censures or invectives |
| glib |
marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial; ready and smooth but not sincere; marked by ease and fluency in speaking or writing often to the point of being insincere or deceitful |
| grandiloquence |
pompous speech or expression |
| halcyon |
peaceful; Prosperous;"a xxx atmosphere""the xxx days of the clipper trade" |
| harangue |
to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; to address in a ranting way |
| heretical |
violating accepted dogma or convention; unorthodox |
| iconoclast |
one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions |
| idolatrous |
given to intense or excessive devotion to something; worshiping idols |
| imperturbable |
marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness; not easily troubled or worried; calm; marked by extreme calm, impassivity, and steadiness; serene |
| impetuous |
hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement; acting or done quickly and with little thought or care; rash or impulsive |
| impunity |
immunity from punishment or penalty; with impunity with freedom from punishment or injury |
| incipient |
beginning to come into being or to become apparent; in its early stages; beginning to happen |
| infelicitous |
unfortunate; inappropriate; not appropriate in application or expression |
| inimical |
damaging; harmful; malevolent |
| intractable |
not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate; uruly; refractory; stubborn |
| inured |
accustomed to accepting something undesirable; adapted
|
| inveigle |
To win over by coaxing, flattery, or artful talk: "xxx a free pass to museum.","We will xxx ladies fair, and wed them in our secret cavern." |
| irascible |
easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts; marked by hot temper and easily provoked by anger |
| maverick |
an independent individual who does not go along with a group o party; unbranded calf; unorthodox person; rebel; nonconformist |
| mendacity |
the condition of being untruthful; disnhonesty |
| mollify |
to calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity; lessen the anger of somebody; make calmer; soothe |
| neophyte |
a recenet convert; a beginner; novice |
| obdurate |
unyielding; hardhearted; intractable; impossible to change; stubborn; resistant to persuasion or softening influences |
| obfuscate |
to deliberately obscure; to make confusing; to make obscure or unclear; deliberately make something confused or difficult to understand |
| obtuse |
lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression; slow to understand; stupid |
| obviate |
to anticipate and make unnecessary; remove something; get rid of; to anticipate and prevent (as a situation) or make unnecessary (as an action) |
| occlude |
to obstruct or block; to close up or block off; obstruct |
| onerous |
troubling; burdensome; needing effort; burdensome |
| opprobrium |
disgrace, contempt; scorn |
| ostentatious |
characterized by or given to pretentiousness; characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others |
| penurious |
penny pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous; very poor; stingy |
| penury |
poverty; destitution; extreme poverty |
| perfidy |
intentional breach of faith; treachy; the quality or state of being faithless or disloyal; treachery; breaking of faith |
| pernicious |
1. deadly;2. extremely harmful,(a xxx virusxxx rumor) |
| perspicacious |
acutely perceptive; having keen discernment; having or showing great insight or judgement; discerning; keen |
| peruse |
to examine with great care; to examine or consider with attention and in detail; study; read something, especially carefully and thorougly |
| pith |
the eessential or central part; soft spongy substance that fills the stems of certain plants, essentail part, force, soft liquid substance |
| pithy |
precise and brief; concise and full of meaning; terse, having substance and point; tersely cogent |
| polemical |
controversial; argumentative; argued |
| prattle |
to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner |
| preen |
to dress up; primp |
| prescience |
foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occuring |
| presumptuous |
too bold or self confident; overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy taking liverties) |
| prevaricate |
to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead |
| probity |
adherence to highest principles uprightness; quality of being honest and trustworthy; integrity |
| prodigal |
recklessly wasteful; extravagant profuse; lavish |
| prodigious |
abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary |
| profilgate |
excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant; prodigal |
| prosaic |
dull; unimaginative; uninspired |
| putrefy |
to rot; decay; give off foul odor |
| quaff |
to drink deeply |
| qualm |
misgiving; reservation; causign of hestiancy; temporary feeling of sickness |
| querulous |
prone to complaining or grumbling; quarrelsome |
| quiescence |
the state or quality of being in repose or at rest“the volcano erupted after centuries of xxx”“leaned her head against the wall in fatigued xxx” |
| quixotic |
foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals; noble, unselfish or gallant in an extravagant or impractical way; generous |
| rancorous |
characterized by bitter, long lasting resentment; bitterness; spitefulness |
| recalcitrant |
obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage; resisting authoring or discipline; disobedient |
| recast |
to cast again or anew; to form, fashion, or arrange again, cast or fashion anew; put something into a new form |
| receptive |
able or quick to receive new ideas, suggestions, etc. |
| recidivism |
a tendency to relapse into a previous condition or mode of behavior; especially: relapse into criminal behavior; relapse into antisocial or criminal behavior |
| waver |
to hesitate or to tremble |
| wretched |
extremely pitiful or unfortunate |
| aberrant |
deviating from normal or correct. |
| abscond |
to leave secretly and hide, often to avoid the law. |
| advocate |
to speak, plead, or argue for a cause, or in another’s behalf. |
| aggrandize |
to make greater, to increase, thus, to exaggerate. |
| amalgamate |
to unite or mix. |
| ambiguous |
vague; subject to more than one interpretation |
| ambrosial |
extremely pleasing to the senses, divine (as related to the gods) or delicious |
| anachronism |
a person or artifact appearing after its own time or out of chronological order |
| attenuate |
weaken |
| aver |
declare |
| barefaced |
unconcealed, shameless, or brazen |
| blandishment |
speech or action intended to coax someone into doing something |
| bombast |
pompous speech |
| breach |
a lapse, gap or break, as in a fortress wall. To break or break through. |
| burgeon |
to grow or flourish; a bud or new growth |
| buttress |
to support. a support |
| cadge |
to get something by taking advantage of someone ("schnorren"): "xxx money for liquor" |
| complaisant |
willingly compliant or accepting of the status quo |
| conflagration |
a great fire |
| corporeal |
of or having to do with material, as opposed to spiritual; tangible. |
| corporal |
of the body: a non-commissioned officer ranked between a sergeant and a private. |
| craven |
cowardly; a coward |
| culpable |
deserving of blame |
| deference |
submission or courteous yielding: |
| deprecation |
belittlement:"He xxx her contribution" |
| depredation |
plundering; destructive action:"the normal xxxs of time" |
| descry |
to discover by looking carefully:"I xxx a message of hope in her words" |
| desiccate |
to dry out thoroughly |
| diffident |
lacking self-confidence, modest |
| disabuse |
to free a person from falsehood or error: |
| disparaging |
belittling |
| dispassionate |
calm; objective; unbiasedb |
| dissemble |
to conceal one's real motive, to feign |
| dogged |
stubborn or determined: |
| dogmatic |
relying upon doctrine or dogma, as opposed to evidence |
| efficacy |
effectiveness; capability to produce a desired effect |
| effluent |
the quality of flowing out. something that flows out, such as a stream from a river |
| emollient |
softening; something that softens |
| emulate |
to strive to equal or excel |
| encomium |
a formal eulogy or speech of praise |
| endemic |
prevalent in or native to a certain region, locality, or people: |
| enervate |
to weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: |
| ephemeral |
lasting for only a brief time, fleeting |
| equivocal |
ambiguous; unclear; subject to more than one interpretation -- often intentionally so: |
| eulogy |
a spoken or written tribute to the deceased |
| exacerbate |
to increase the bitterness or violence of; to aggravate: |
| exculpate |
to demonstrate or prove to be blameless: |
| explicit |
fully and clearly expressed |
| extant |
in existence, still existing: The only extant representative of that species." |
| fawn |
to seek favor or attention; to act subserviantly |
| fervid |
fervent highly emotional; hot: |
| floundering |
struggling: |
| gossamer |
fine cobweb on foliage; fine gauzy fabric; very fine: |
| guile |
skillful deceit: (v. bequile; adj: beguiling. Note, however, that these two words have an additional meaning: to charm (v.) or charming (adj:), while the word guile does not generally have any such positive connotations) |
| guileless |
honest; straightforward |
| hapless |
unfortunate |
| headlong |
headfirst; impulsive; hasty. impulsively; hastily; without forethought: |
| iconoclast |
one who attacks traditional ideas or institutions or one who destroys sacred images |
| impecunious |
penniless; poor |
| imperious |
commanding |
| improvidence |
an absence of foresight; a failure to provide for future needs or events: |
| inchoate |
in an initial or early stage; incomplete; disorganized: |
| indelible |
permanent; unerasable; strong: |
| ineffable |
undescribable; inexpressible in words; unspeakable |
| ingenious |
clever: |
| ingenuous |
unsophisticated; artless; straightforward; candid: |
| inhibit |
to hold back, prohibit, forbid, or restrain |
| insensible |
numb; unconscious: unfeeling; insensitive: |
| insipid |
lacking zest or excitement; dull |
| insular |
of or pertaining to an island, thus, excessively exclusive: |
| intransigent |
stubborn; immovable; unwilling to change: |
| irascible |
prone to outbursts of temper, easily angered |
| laconic |
using few words; terse: |
| leviathan |
giant whale, therefore, something very large |
| misogynist |
one who hates women |
| nefarious |
wicked, evil: |
| noisome |
harmful, offensive, destructive: |
| obdurate |
hardened against influence or feeling; intractable. |
| obviate |
to prevent by anticipatory measures; to make unnecessary: |
| occlude |
to close or shut off; to obstruct |
| ossified |
turned to bone; hardened like bone; Inflexible: |
| panegyric |
=a writing or speech in praise of a person or thing |
| peccadillo |
a small sin or fault |
| pedantic |
showing a narrow concern for rules or formal book learning; making an excessive display of one's own learning: |
| perfidious |
deliberately treacherous; dishonest |
| petulant |
easily or frequently annoyed, especially over trivial matters; childishly irritable |
| ponderous |
slow and laborious because of weight: "xxx prehistoric beasts"; "a xxx speech" |
| precipice |
cliff with a vertical or nearly vertical face; a dangerous place from which one is likely to fall; metaphorically, a very risky circumstance |
| precipitate |
to fall; to fall downward suddenly and dramatically; to bring about or hasten the occurrence of something: " |
| prevaricate |
to stray away from or evade the truth: |
| prodigal |
rashly wasteful: |
| propitiate |
to conciliate; to appease: |
| Pulchritudinous |
beautiful |
| pusillanimous |
cowardly, timid, or irreselute; petty: |
| quiescence |
inactivity; stillness; dormancy |
| rarefy |
to make or become thin; to purify or refine |
| reproof |
the act of censuring, scolding, or rebuking. |
| rescind |
to repeal or annul |
| sagacious |
having a sharp or powerful intellect or discernment. |
| sanguine |
cheerful; confident:"sanguine temper" |
| sate |
to satisfy fully or to excess |
| saturnine |
having a gloomy or morose temperament |
| sedulous |
diligent; persevering; persistent: "they still treated me with the same xxx attention as before" |
| specious |
seemingly true but really false; deceptively convincing or attractive: |
| temperate= |
exercising moderation and self-denial; calm or mild |
| tirade (diatribe) |
an angry speech: |
| tortuous |
twisted; excessively complicated: Note: Don't confuse this with torturous. |
| tractable |
ability to be easily managed or controlled: |
| turpitude |
depravity; baseness: |
| tyro |
beginner; person lacking experience in a specific endeavor |
| vacuous |
empty; without contents; without ideas or intelligence: |
| venerate |
great respect or reverence: |
| verbose |
wordy |
| viscous |
slow moving; highly resistant to flow |
| voracious |
craving or devouring large quantities of food, drink, or other things. |
| waver |
to hesitate or to tremble |
| wretched |
extremely pitiful or unfortunate |
| recondite |
obscure; little known: "xxx matters" |
| redoubtable |
awe-inspiring; worthy of honor; “born of a xxx family”"The xx Ms. Robinson" |
| refulgent |
radiant; shiny; brilliant; gloriously bright; shining |
| renege |
to fail or honor a commitment; to go back on a promise; fail to keep a promise; one's word, etc. |
| repudiate |
to refuse to have anything to do with; disown; to refuse to accept, especially; to reject as unauthorized or as having no binding force; disown |
| rescind |
to invalidate; to repeal; to retract; cancel or repeal (a law, contract etc.) annul |
| retinue |
group of attendants accompanying an important person; a group of retainers or attenddants |
| retrench |
make economies or reduce expenses; to cut out; excise |
| reverent |
marked by, feeling or expressing profound awe and respect; feeling or showing reverence |
| salubrious |
promoting health or well-being; (esp of the climate) health-giving; favorable to or promoting health or well-being |
| vacillate |
to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; keep changing one's mind; move backwards and forwards between two emotions |
| veracity |
truthfulness; honesty; truth |
| vilify |
to defame; to characterize harshly; salnder, say evil things |
| virulent |
extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic; extremely harmful or deadly |
| viscous |
thick, stick |
| vituperate |
to use harsh, condemnatory language; curse, abuse in words |
| voracious |
having an insatiable appetite for an actiivty or pursuit; ravenous |
| sedulous |
diligent, persistent; hardworking |
| solicitious |
concerned and attentive; eager; full of concerns or fears; apprehensive |
| specious |
seeming true, but actually being fallacious, misleading attractive |
| spurious |
lacking authenticity or validity; false; not genuine, authentic, or true |
| stupefy |
to stun, baffle, or amazie |
| stymie |
to block; thwart; to hinder, obstruct, or block |
| supplant |
to take the place of; supersede |
| surfeit |
excess; overindulgence; satiate |
| tenacity |
firmness; persistency; adhesiveness |
| terse |
brief and concise in wording; using few words; curt |
| tirade |
a long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation; long angry speech of criticism or accusation |
| torpid |
lethargic; sluggish; dormant; sleeping |
| tortuous |
winding; twisting; excessively complicated |
| trout |
to publicly priase or promote; tr to get people to buy (one's good or services) esp in a annoyling insistent way |
| trenchant |
sharply preceptive keen penetrating; strongly and effectively expressed |
| truculent |
fierce and cruel; eager to fight |
| unfeigned |
genuine |
| untenable |
indefnesible; that cannot be defedned; not viable |
| urbane |
sophisticated; refiend; elegant |
| foment |
agitate, stir up ("you xxx class hatred") |
| expletive |
swearword expressing emotion rather than meaning ("it was a mere xxx, but it came from his soul") |
| depreciate |
To xxx is to assign a lower than customary value to someone or something: "Some musicologists depreciate Liszt's compositions." |
| desolate |
unpopulated. "xxx patch of earth" |