| Term | Definition |
|---|
| divulge | unveil; disclose |
| abet | promote; incite |
| dogmatic | dictatorial |
| insipid | flat; lifeless |
| extraneous | inessential; irrelevant |
| coerce | compel |
| jaundiced | prejudiced; hostile; skeptical; cynical |
| meticulous | precise; fastidious |
| temerity | recklessness; audacity |
| gregarious | sociable; genial; friendly |
| heresy | the crime of holding a belief that goes against established doctrine |
| docile | submissive; compliant |
| libation | intoxicant |
| anathema | a formal curse |
| banter | teasing; joshing; badinage; raillery |
| castigate | to criticize or punish severely |
| gauche | lacking social graces; tactless |
| ignominy | public shame, disgrace, or dishonor |
| motley | made up of dissimilar parts; being of many colors |
| emaciated | extremely thin; wasted away; withered |
| avarice | greed desire for wealth |
| furtive | stealthy; secretive; surreptitious; sneaky |
| bacchanalian | wild and drunken |
| extradite | to turn over or deliver to the legal jurisdiction |
| copious | numerous; large in quantity; profuse |
| irascible | easily angered irritable; ill-tempered |
| mercenary | a professional soldier hired by a foreign army |
| bastion | stronghold |
| jettison | to cast overboard; to discard |
| ostracize | to banish; exile |
| bigot | racist; extremist |
| expunge | to erase or eliminate; obliterate |
| candid | outspoken; blunt; frank; direct |
| argot | jargon |
| negligence | carelessness |
| appease | to calm; mollify |
| strident | harsh sounding; grating; shrill |
| chaos | complete disorder; confusion; jumble |
| augment | to enlarge; expand; supplement |
| jingoism | extreme, chauvinistic patriotism, often favoring aggressive, warlike foreign policy |
| rancor | extreme hated or ill will |
| inexorable | unrelenting; unavoidable |
| Extol | to praise highly |
| Clement | merciful; lenient |
| Cliche | a worn-out idea or overused expression |
| Adamant | unyielding; firm in opinion |
| Diffident | lacking in self-confidence; shy |
| Opus | a creative work, especially a numbered composition |
| Ostensible | professed but not necessarily true |
| Disparity | inequality; difference |
| Condone | to forgive or overlook an offense |
| Nuance | a slight or subtle degree of difference |
| Connoisseur | an expert in matters of culture, food, or wine |
| Enigma | a mystery; something seemingly inexplicable |
| Apathy | lack of interest; state of not caring |
| Officious | excessively eager to deliver unasked-for or unwanted help |
| Credence | belief or trust |
| Jaunty | brisk and crisp |
| Dilettante | one who merely dabbles in an art or a science |
| Cult | an organized group of people with an obsessive devotion to a person or set of principles |
| cynical | doubtful or distrustful of the goodness or sincerity of human motives |
| ambivalent | unable to decide |
| demagogue | a leader who appeals to citizens' emotions to obtain power |
| demure | quiet and modest; reserved |
| intrepid | without fear; brave |
| destitute | extremely poor |
| erudite | scholarly; learned |
| dilemma | a choice between 2 unpleasant or difficult options |
| culmination | the highest point of attainment; the end or climax |
| concur | to be of the same opinion; to agree with |
| abate | subside |
| decorum | conformity to accepted standards of conduct |
| abhor | to detest |
| dole | to distribute |
| gamut | the whole range |
| extrovert | outgoing; energized |
| droll | amusing in an odd way; quaint |
| duplicity | intentional deceit in speech or conduct |
| effigy | image representing a hated person or group |
| austere | stern, plain; strict |
| emulate | to strive to be equal to |
| sere | dry and withered |
| enhance | increase value or beauty; improve |
| contrite | repentant, remorseful |
| magnanimous | noble, generous |
| enunciate | state clearly |
| collaborate | to work together toward a goal |
| impound | to confine; confiscate |
| Impeccable | perfect, faultless |
| evoke | to summon fourth |
| inane | without sense, silly |
| unctuous | oily |
| expatriate | someone who chooses to live outside of a native country |
| frowzy | unkempt |
| heinous | hatefully or shocking evil |
| expound | clarify, elaborate |
| cajole | coax, persuade with false promises |
| inscrutable | not easily understood, hard to fathom |
| balk | hesitate, object, refuse stubbornly |
| acrimony | ill-natured, bitter hostility |
| dour | stern and ill-humored |
| exult | to rejoice; feel triumphant |
| omniscient | all knowing |
| feasible | reasonable; possible; doable |
| fiasco | complete, ridiculous failure |
| metier | the work your suited for; forte |
| fluctuate | to rise and fall |
| harry | to annoy or harass; bother |
| incognito | disguised |
| lethargy | (lethe river - 1 of 5 rivers in Haiti) lack of energy |
| Epistle | a letter or literary composition in letter form |
| avid | enthusiastic, extremely interested |
| gadfly | irritating and persistent person |
| humility | humbleness |
| dolorous | exhibiting sorrow or pain |
| gargantuan | huge or extraordinary size and power |
| arduous | difficult |
| affable | friendly, agreeable |
| grandiloquent | pompous or high flown in speech |
| agrarian | concerning farms, farmers, and use of land |
| grimace | facial expression of fear, disapproval, or pain |
| harangue | a long, strongly expressed speech or lecture |
| formidable | arousing fear or awe |
| sycophant | a flatterer |
| explicit | clearly and openly stated |
| altercation | heated argument |
| lexicon | dictionary, specialized |
| hue | shade of color |
| galvanize | to startle into sudden activity |
| sanction | permission, support |
| hyperbole | extreme exaggeration for effect and not meant to be taken literally |
| ominous | threatening, foreboding evil |
| audacity | rude boldness, nerve |
| evince | to demonstrate clearly |
| implacable | unable to be appeased |
| exhort | to urge with stirring words |
| incarcerate | to put into prison |
| incisive | sharp, keen |
| expedient | practical, providing an immediate advantage |
| pertinent | having to do with the subject at hand |
| inert | unable to act or move |
| circumvent | to get around |
| clandestine | secret |
| acquit | to find not guilty of a fault or crime |
| deprecate | to express strong disapproval of |
| barrister | lawyer (British) |
| adulation | excessive praise or admiration |
| culinary | having to do with the kitchen or cooking |
| bawdy | indecent; humorously obscene |
| chastise | to punish severely |
| jocose | joking; humorous |
| myriad | too many count |
| latent | present, but not active; hidden |
| pernicious | destructive; deadly |
| frugal | thrifty; economical in money matters |
| levity | lack of seriousness |
| hoax | a trick |
| amicable | friendly; peaceable |
| obstreperous | aggressively boisterous; stubborn |
| enraptured | delighted beyond measure |
| marital | having to do with marriage |
| bask | to expose oneself to pleasant warmth |
| genial | friendly, amiable |
| charlatan | one who pretends to have knowledge in order to swindle others |
| mundane | commonplace; earthly and not spiritual |
| fickle | change without apparent reason |
| juggernaut | a terrible destructive or irresistible force |
| naïve | simple in outlook |
| nocturnal | having to do with night, occurring at night |
| novice | a beginner |
| noxious | harmful to the health |
| connive | conspire, cooperate secretly in wrongdoing |
| chutzpah | audacity |
| liege | lord, master |
| odium | hatred |
| crass | tasteless, coarse |
| hypercritical | overcritical, too severe in judgment |
| fallacy | a misconception |
| complacent | self satisfied |
| befuddle | to confuse, to perplex |
| pandemonium | a wild disorder, confusion |
| Parsimonious | cheap, especially thrifty |
| verbose | wordy |
| laudable | worthy of praise, commendable |
| indiscreet | not wise or judicious, imprudent, as in speech or action |
| Pique | to cause resentment, to provoke |
| linguistics | the scientific study of the structure and meaning of language |
| plebeian | noun- a commoner, one from lower classes, verb- common or vulgar |
| precocious | showing early development, especially mental |
| predatory | inclined to pray on others |
| prowess | superior skill or ability |
| pugnacious | eager and ready to fight; quarrelsome |
| purloin | to steal |
| pusillanimous | cowardly |
| quell | to put an end to, to quiet |
| quixotic | very idealistic |
| rabble | disorderly crowd, a mob |
| rabid | raging, fanatical |
| raconteur | person skilled at telling stories |
| vindictive | seeking revenge; bearing a grudge |
| mellifluous | smoothly flowing sound; harmonious |
| epicurean | taking pleasure in food and drink |
| oeuvre | the complete work of an artist |
| arbiter | a judge |
| verdant | lush; fresh and green, referring to plant life |
| vagary | unpredictable action or behavior |
| vacuous | lacking intelligence |
| attrition | erosion |
| archetype | model |
| approbation | authorization |
| burgeon | to grow, expand or bloom |
| commensurate | an equal measure |
| confluence | a meeting or gathering together |
| coup | a surprising, usually successful act |
| secular | not spiritual or religious |
| insouciant | free from care |
| static | stationary |
| stipulate | require |
| zeitgeist | general spirit of the time |
| proliferate | to grow or reproduce rapidly |
| tenet | creed |
| ruminate | to think deeply |
| vigilant | alert at all times |
| dissident | someone who disagrees |
| petulant | peevish |
| derivative | not the original |
| accolade | an award |
| demur | to disapprove |
| limpid | transparent, clear |
| invidious | tending to cause harm |
| Impregnable | impenetrable |
| Xenophobia | An intense dislike or fear of strangers or foreigners |
| Inherent | essential |
| Irreverent | disrespectful |
| subjugate | dominate, conquer |
| expedite | increase the rate of progress |
| filibuster | to attempt to block a bill from becoming law by speaking at length against it |
| pristine | pure; completely clean and uncontaminated |
| pithy | full of meaning; concise |
| invective | an insult or abuse in speech |
| prodigal | reckless, wasteful, and extravagant |
| pliable | easily bent or flexible |
| torpid | losing motion, feeling, lacking in energy |
| tenuous | not dense or thick; having little substance |
| discordant | being in disagreement |
| circumspect | careful |
| zephyr | gentle breeze |
| renegade | turncoat |
| retribution | something justly deserved |
| hurtle | fling swiftly |
| scourge | a person or thing that cause great trouble |
| caustic | biting |
| taciturn | usually silent |
| agnostic | skeptic |
| terse | brief and to the point |
| uncanny | weird, strange |
| exodus | mass departure |
| penitent | remorseful |
| vindicate | acquit |
| raillery | banter |
| august | magnificent |
| ancillary | providing assistance |
| semblance | an outward likeness in form or appearance |
| autodidact | a self-taught person |
| asinine | foolish |
| albeit | even though |
| conduit | channel |
| philatelist | one who collect stamps |
| indefatigable | tireless |
| martyr | on who suffers or sacrifices for a cause |
| indiscretion | a minor misdeed |
| osmosis | a gradual, often unconscious, process of absorption |
| picayune | of very little value |
| dossier | a file of detailed information on a person or subject |
| behest | a command or urgent request |
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