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list 2
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| abash | To humiliate or embarrass |
| aberration | Deviation from a proper or expected course |
| abeyance | A state of temporary inaction; suspension |
| abide | To be faithful to or endure |
| abhor | To hate or detest |
| abstemious | Characterized by eating or drinking in moderation |
| acumen | Quickness, accuracy and keenness of judgment or insight |
| aegis | Protection; sponsorship; shield of Athena |
| alacrity | Cheerful willingness; speed or quickness |
| amalgamate | To mix or blend together into a homogeneous body |
| anachronistic | Out of historical order; old fashioned |
| anathema | A curse or denunciation; one that is cursed or reviled |
| animus | A feeling of animosity or ill-will |
| antipodal | Exactly opposite |
| approbation | Warm approval; praise |
| artless | Naïve or simple |
| ascetic | Leading a life of self-denial and austerity (usu. for spiritual improvement) |
| assiduous | Diligent, unceasing, persistent |
| belie | To picture falsely or misrepresent |
| bellicose | Warlike in manner |
| bucolic | Rustic, pastoral, or relating to the countryside; |
| buttress | A structure built against a wall for support or reinforcement; to support or reinforce |
| cachet | A mark of authenticity |
| cacophony | A harsh, discordant sound or combination of tones |
| callow | Immature; inexperienced |
| capacious | Spacious or roomy |
| capitulate | To give up all resistance or surrender; to come to terms |
| castigate | To punish severely; to criticize harshly |
| censure | To criticize severely; an expression of disapproval |
| chagrin | A keen feeling of mental unease from failure, disappointment or a disconcerting event |
| charlatan | A quack or fraud |
| catholic | Comprehensive or universal |
| chary | Wary or cautious |
| coda | A concluding passage (usu. of a musical movement or composition) |
| commensurate | Corresponding in size or degree |
| compensatory | Serving as a reimbursement, substitute of counterbalance |
| conciliatory | Intended to generate good-will |
| conundrum | A difficult or insoluble problem; a dilemma |
| deference | Courteous respect; yielding to the wishes of another |
| deleterious | Having a harmful effect; injurious |
| demur | To object or delay |
| denigrate | To speak ill of or attack the character of |
| deprecate | To belittle or deplore |
| desiccate | To dry out thoroughly |
| desultory | Random; disconnected from that which precedes it |
| diatribe | A bitter, abusive denunciation |
| dichotomy | Division into two contradictory parts or opinions |
| didactic | Intending to instruct (oft. morally); inclined to teach or moralize excessively |
| diffident | Shy and timid |
| discrete | Distinct; having distinct parts |
| dissonance | A harsh, disagreeable combination of sounds; discord; conflict |
| efficacy | Effectiveness |
| effigy | A crude dummy; a likeness or image (esp. of a person) |
| effloresce | To blossom or bloom |
| effrontery | Brazen boldness; presumptuousness |
| elicit | To bring or draw out (something latent) |
| emancipate | To set free ownership or oppression; to liberate |
| endemic | Particular to a specified country or people |
| enervate | To weak or destroy the strength or nerve of |
| engender | To produce or generate |
| evanescent | Vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor |
| expedite | To speed up the process |
| extemporize | To do something off the top of your head; to improvise |
| foment | To nurse to life or activity; to encourage |
| fulminate | To issue a thunderous verbal attack; to explode or cause to explode |
| gainsay | To declare false; to deny |
| germane | Both pertaining and fitting; relevant |
| glib | Performed with a natural, offhand ease; characterized by ease or fluidity that is superficial or insincere |
| halcyon | Calm and peaceful; tranquil |
| harangue | Speech or writing characterized by strong feelings; a tirade |
| hegemony | Predominant influence of one country over others |
| histrionics | Exaggerated emotional behavior |
| homogeneous | Uniform in composition or structure |
| hyperbole | A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for effect |
| iconoclast | One who attacks and seeks to overthrow popular ideas, practices or institutions |
| idiosyncratic | Peculiar, unusual, or uniquely individual |
| impecunious | Lacking money; penniless |
| impolitic | Not wise |
| indigent | Poor or needy |
| indolent | Habitually lazy |
| ineffable | Indescribable or unutterable |
| internecine | Relating to a struggle within a nation or a group; mutually destructive |
| inure | To habituate to something undesirable; to accustom |
| invective | Denunciatory or abusive language; a verbal attack |
| inveigle | To win over by flattery |
| irascible | Easily angered |
| irresolute | Lacking in resolution; indecisive |
| laconic | Using very few words; terse |
| lassitude | A state or feeling or weariness, diminished energy or listlessness |
| Machiavellian | Cunningly deceitful |
| malinger | To feign illness or incapacity in order to avoid duty or work; to shirk |
| malleable | Capable of being shaped, influenced or controlled; pliant |
| miscreant | A villain or evil-doer; a heretic |
| mitigate | To moderate (a quality or condition) in force or intensity |
| nadir | The lowest point |
| obfuscate | To make so confused as to be difficult to understand |
| obtuse | Lacking quickness of perception or intellect; blunt or dull |
| obviate | To render unnecessary |
| odious | Arousing strong dislike or displeasure; very unpleasant |
| officious | Excessively eager to offer unwanted services or advice; informal or unofficial |
| opprobrium | Scornful reproach or contempt |
| paean | A song of joyful praise |
| pedagogue | A teacher, esp. one who teaches in a dogmatic or pedantic manner |
| penury | Extreme want or poverty |
| pernicious | Deadly or destructive |
| perpetuity | Forever; eternity |
| perspicacious | Extremely perceptive |
| pervade | To permeate |
| phlegmatic | Of or relating to phlegm; unemotional |
| piquant | Pleasantly pungent or tart in taste; charming or attractive |
| pith | The essential or central part; strength, vigor or mettle |
| platitude | A trite or banal statement expressed as if it were original or significant; lack of originality |
| plethora | Excess; superabundance |
| polemic | A controversial argument (esp. one attacking the opinion of another) |
| precipitate | To fall or be thrown headfirst; to cause to happen; to condense and fall as rain or snow; moving rapidly and heedlessly |
| probity | Complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness |
| profusion | Abundance |
| proscribe | To denounce or condemn; to forbid; to banish |
| protuberance | Something that protrudes, such as a knob or a bulge |
| qualm | A feeling of sickness or uneasiness |
| querulous | Given to complaining; peevish |
| quixotic | Idealistic without regard to practicality; capricious or impulsive |
| raconteur | One who tells stories with skill and wit |
| recalcitrant | Marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority |
| redoubtable | Arousing fear or awe; formidable |
| refractory | Obstinately resistant to authority or control; resistant to heat |
| reprobate | A morally unprincipled person; morally unprincipled |
| rhapsody | Extreme enthusiasm, esp. in speech or writing; ecstasy |
| sanguinary | Accompanied by or eager for bloodshed; bloody |
| sedulous | Persevering in effort or endeavor |
| solicitous | Anxious or concerned |
| sophistry | Plausible but fallacious argumentation |
| specious | Having the ring of plausibility but actually fallacious |
| spurious | Not genuine; false |
| stolid | Expressing little emotion or feeling; impassive |
| surfeit | To feed or supply to excess, satiety or disgust; overindulgence |
| temerity | Foolhardy disregard of danger; recklessness |
| torpid | Dull; sluggish; inactive |
| tractable | Easily managed or controlled |
| trenchant | Cutting; incisive or keen; caustic |
| truculent | Disposed to fight; pugnacious or belligerent |
| virulent | Extremely infectious or poisonous; bitterly hostile |
| vitriolic | Bitterly scathing or caustic |
| vituperative | Harshly abusive |
Created by:
msbabione
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