| Term | Definition |
|---|
| abate | subside or moderate |
| aberrant | abnormal or deviant |
| abeyance | suspended action |
| abscond | depart silently and hide |
| abstemious | sparing in eating adn drinking (ADJ) |
| admonish | warn; reprove (V) |
| adulterate | make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances |
| aesthetic | artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful; |
| aggregate | gather; accumulate; |
| alacrity | cheerful promptness; eagerness; |
| alleviate | relieve |
| ambiguous | unclear or doubtful in meaning |
| ambivalence | the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes; |
| amalgamate | combine; unite in one body; |
| ameliorate | improve |
| anachronism | something or someone misplaced in time; |
| analogous | comparable |
| anarchy | absence of governing body; state of disorder; |
| anomalous | abnormal; irregular; |
| antipathy | aversion; dislike; |
| apathy | lack of caring; indifference; |
| appease | pacify or soothe |
| apprise | inform |
| approbation | approval; |
| appropriate | acquire; take possession of for one's own use; |
| arduous | hard; strenuous; |
| artless | without guile; open and honest; |
| ascetic | practicing self denial; austere; |
| assiduous | diligent |
| assuage | easen or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger); |
| attenuate | make thinner; weaken or lessen (in density, force, degree) |
| audacious | daring; bold; |
| austere | forbiddingly stern; severely simple; severely simple and unornamented; |
| autonomous | self-governing |
| aver | assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact; |
| banal | hackneyed; commonplace; |
| belie | contradict; give a false impression |
| beneficent | kindly; doing good; |
| bolster | support; reinforce; |
| bombastic | pompous; using inflated language; |
| boorish | rude; insensitive |
| burgeon | grow forth; send out buds; |
| burnish | make shiny by rubbing; polish; |
| buttress | support; prop up; |
| cacophonous | discordant; inharmonious |
| capricious | unpredictable; fickle; |
| castigation | punishment; severe criticism; |
| catalyst | agent that influences the pace of a chemical reaction while it remains unaffected and unchanged; |
| catalyst | person or thing that causes action; |
| caustic | burning; sarcastically biting; |
| chicanery | trickery; deception; |
| coagulate | thicken; congeal; clot; |
| coda | concluding section of a musical or literary composition; something that rounds out, summarizes or concludes; |
| cogent | convincing; |
| commensurate | corresponding in extent, degree, amount, etc.; proportionate; |
| compendium | brief, comprehensive summary; |
| complaisant | trying to please; overly polite; obliging; |
| compliant | yielding; conforming to requirements; |
| conciliatory | reconciling; soothing; |
| condone | overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse; |
| confound | confuse; puzzle |
| connoisseur | person competent to act as a judge of art, etc.; a lover of an art; |
| contention | claim; thesis; |
| contentious | quarrelsome; |
| contrite | penitent; |
| conundrum | riddle; difficult problem; |
| converge | approach; tend to meet; come together; |
| convoluted | coiled around; involved; intricate; |
| craven | cowardly; |
| daunt | intimidate; frighten; |
| decorum | propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners; |
| default | failure to act (N) |
| deference | courteous regards for another's wish |
| delineate | portray; depict; sketch; |
| denigrate | blacken; |
| deride | ridicule; make fun of; |
| derivative | unoriginal; obtained from another source |
| desiccate | dry up; |
| desultory | aimless; haphazard; digressing at random; |
| deterrent | something that discourages; hindrance; |
| diatribe | bitter scolding; invective; |
| dichotomy | split; branching into two parts; |
| diffidence | shyness; |
| diffuse | wordy; rambling; spread out (like a gas); |
| digression | wandering away from the subject; |
| dirge | lament with music |
| disabuse | correct a false impression; undeceive; |
| discerning | mentally quick and observant; having insight; |
| discordant | not harmonious; conflicting; |
| discredit | defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve; |
| discrepancy | lack of consistency; difference; |
| discrete | separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts; |
| disingenuous | lacking genuine candor; insincere; |
| disinterested | unprejudiced; |
| disjointed | lacking coherence; separated at the joints; |
| dismiss | eliminate from consideration; reject; |
| disparage | belittlle |
| disparate | basically different; unrelated; |
| dissemble | disguise; pretend; |
| disseminate | distribute; spread; scatter; |
| dissolution | disintegration; looseness in morals; |
| dissonance | discord; opposite of harmony; |
| distend | expand; swell out; |
| distill | purify; refine; concentrate; |
| diverge | vary |
| divest | strip; deprive; |
| document | provide written evidence; |
| dogmatic | opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal; |
| dormant | sleeping; lethargic; latent; |
| dupe | somebody easily fooled |
| ebullient | showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm; |
| eclectic | selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources; |
| efficacy | power to produce desired effect; |
| effrontery | impudence; shameless boldness; sheer nerve; presumptuousness; |
| elegy | poem or song expressing lamentation; |
| elicit | draw out by discussion; |
| embellish | adorn; ornament; enhance, as a story; |
| empirical | based on experience; |
| emulate | imitate; rival; |
| endemic | prevailing in a specific group of people or in a specific area of country; |
| enervate | weaken; |
| engender | cause; produce; |
| enhance | increase; improve; |
| ephemeral | short-lived; fleeting; |
| equanimity | calmness or temperament; composure; |
| equivocate | lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth; |
| erudite | learned; scholarly; |
| esoteric | hard to understand; known only to a chosen few; |
| eulogy | expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death; |
| euphemism | mild expression in place of an unpleasant one; |
| exacerbate | worsen; embitter; |
| exculpate | clear from blame; exonerate; |
| exigency | urgent situation; |
| extrapolation | projection; conjecture; |
| facetious | joking (often inappropriately); humorous; |
| facilitate | help bring about; make less difficult; |
| fallacious | false; misleading; |
| fatuous | brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug; |
| fawning | trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering or cringing; |
| felicitous | apt; suitably expressed; well-chosen; |
| fervor | glowing ardor; intensity of feeling; |
| flag | droop; grow feeble; |
| fledgling | inexperienced; |
| flout | reject; mock; show contempt for; |
| foment | stri up; instigate; incite; |
| forestall | prevent by taking action in advance; |
| frugality | thrift; economy; |
| futile | useless; hopeless; ineffectual; |
| gainsay | deny |
| garrulous | loquacious; wordy; talkative; |
| goad | urge on; |
| gouge | overcharge |
| grandiloquent | pompous; bombastic; using high sounding language; |
| gregarious | sociable; |
| guileless | without deceit; |
| gullible | easily deceived; |
| harangue | long; passionate, and vehement speech; |
| homogeneous | of the same kind; |
| hyperbole | exaggeration; overstatement; |
| iconoclastic | attacking cherished traditions; |
| idolatry | worship of idols; excessive admiration; |
| immutable | unchangeable; |
| impair | injure; hurt; |
| impassive | without feeling; imperturbable; stoical; |
| impede | hinder; block; |
| impermeable | impervious; not permitting passage through its substance; |
| imperturbable | calm; placid; |
| impervious | impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed; |
| implacable | incapable of being pacified; |
| implicit | understood but not stated; |
| implode | burst inward; |
| inadvertently | unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly; |
| inchoate | recently begun; rudimentary; elementary; |
| incongruity | lack of harmony; absurdity; |
| inconsequential | insignificant; unimportant; |
| incorporate | introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite; |
| indeterminate | uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite; |
| indigence | poverty; |
| indolent | lazy |
| inert | inactive; lacking power to move |
| ingenuous | naive and trusting; young; unsophisticated; |
| inherent | firmly established by nature or habit; |
| innocuous | harmless |
| insensible | unconscious; unresponsive; |
| insinuate | hint; imply; creep in; |
| insipid | lacking in flavor; dull; |
| insularity | narrow-mindedness; isolation; |
| intractable | unruly; stubborn; unyielding; |
| intransigence | refusal fo any compromise; stubbornness; |
| inundate | overwhelm; flood; submerge; |
| inured | accustomed; hardened; |
| invective | abuse; |
| irascible | irritable; easily angered; |
| irresolute | uncertain how to act; weak; |
| itinerary | plan of a trip; |
| laconic | brief and to the point; |
| lassitude | languor; weariness; |
| latent | potential but undeveloped;dormant; |
| laud | praise; |
| lethargic | drowsy; dull; |
| levee | earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding |
| levity | lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity; |
| log | record of a voyage ro fight; record of day to dat activities; |
| loquacious | talkative; |
| lucid | easily understood; clear; intelligible; |
| luminous | shining; issuing light; |
| magnanimity | generosity; |
| malingerer | one who feigns illness to escape duty; |
| malleable | capable of being shaped by pounding; impressionable; |
| maverick | rebel; nonconformist; |
| mendacious | lying; habitually dishonest; |
| metamorphosis | change of form |
| meticulous | excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous; |
| misanthrope | one who hates mankind; |
| mitigate | lessen in intensity; moderate; appease; |
| mollify | soothe |
| morose | ill-humored; sullen; melancholy; |
| mundane | worldly as opposed to spiritual; |
| negate | cancel out; nullify; deny; |
| neophyte | recent convert; beginner; |
| obdurate | stubborn; |
| obsequious | slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic; |
| obviate | make unnecessary; get rid of; |
| occlude | shut; close; |
| officious | meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one's services; |
| onerous | burdensome; |
| opprobrium | infamy; vilification; |
| oscillate | vibrate pendulumlike; waver; |
| ostentatious | showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention; |
| paragon | model of perfection; |
| partisan | one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party; |
| pathological | pertaining to disease; |
| paucity | scarcity |
| pedantic | showing off learning; bookish; |
| penchant | strong inclination; liking; |
| penury | severe poverty; stinginess; destitution; |
| perennial | something long-lasting; |
| perfidious | treacherous; disloyal; |
| perfunctory | superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care or enthusiasm; |
| permeable | penetrable; porous; allowing liquid or gas to pass through; |
| pervasive | spread throughout; |
| phlegmatic | calm; not easily disturbed; |
| piety | devoutness; reverence for God; |
| placate | pacify; conciliate; |
| platitude | trite remark; commonplace statement; |
| plethora | excess; overabundance; |
| plummet | fall sharply; |
| porous | full of pores; like a sieve; |
| plasticity | ability to be molded; |
| pragmatic | practical (ass opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something; |
| preamble | introductory statement; |
| precarious | uncertain; risky; |
| precipitate | rash; premature; hasty; sudden; (ADJ) |
| precipitate | throw headlong; hasten; (V) |
| precursor | forerunner; |
| presumptuous | arrogant; taking liberties; |
| prevaricate | lie; |
| pristine | characteristic of earlier times; primitive; unspoiled; |
| probity | uprightness; incorruptibility; |
| problematic | doubtful; questionable; unsettled; perplexing; |
| prodigal | wasteful; reckless with money; |
| profound | deep; not superficial; complete; |
| prohibitive | tending to prevent the purchase or use of something; inclined to prevent or forbid; |
| proliferate | grow rapidly; spread; multiply; |
| propensity | natural inclination; |
| propitiate | appease; |
| propriety | fitness; correct conduct; |
| proscribe | ostracize; banish; outlaw; |
| pungent | stinging; sharp in taste or smell; caustic; |
| qualified | limited; restricted; |
| quibble | minor objection or complaint; |
| quiescent | at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive; |
| rarefied | made less dense [of a gas] |
| recalcitrant | obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly; |
| recant | disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error; |
| recluse | hermit; loner; |
| recondite | abstruse; profound; secret; |
| refractory | stubborn; unmanageable; |
| refute | disprove; |
| relegate | banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign; |
| reproach | express disapproval or disappointment; |
| reprobate | person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency; |
| repudiate | disown; disavow; |
| rescind | cancel |
| resolution | determination |
| resolve | determination; firmness of purpose; |
| reticent | reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence; |
| reverent | respectful; worshipful; |
| sage | person celebrated for wisdom; |
| salubrious | healthful; |
| sanction | approve; ratify; |
| satiate | satisfy fully; |
| saturate | soak thoroughly; |
| savor | enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell or quality; |
| secrete | hide away or cache, produce and release a substance into an organism; |
| shard | fragment, generally of pottery; |
| skeptic | doubter; person who suspends judgment until having experienced the evidence supporting a point of view; |
| solicitous | worried; concerned; |
| soporific | sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness; |
| specious | seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally) |
| spectrum | colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism; |
| sporadic | occurring irregularly; |
| stigma | token of disgrace; brand; |
| stint | thrifty; set limits; |
| stipulate | make express conditions specify; |
| stolid | dull; impassive; |
| striated | marked with parallel bands; grooved; |
| strut | pompous walk; |
| strut | supporting bar |
| subpoena | writ summoning a witness to appear |
| subside | settle down; descend; grow quiet; |
| substantiate | establish by evidence; verify; support; |
| supersede | cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete; |
| supposition | hypothesis; surmise; |
| tacit | understood; not put into words; |
| tangential | peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing; |
| tenuous | thin; rare; slim; |
| tirade | extended scolding; denunciation; harangue; |
| torpor | lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy; |
| tortuous | winding; full of curves; |
| tractable | docile; easily managed; |
| transgression | violation of a law; sin; |
| truculence | aggressiveness; ferocity; |
| vacillate | waver; fluctuate; |
| venerate | revere; |
| veracious | truthful; |
| verbose | wordy; |
| viable | practical or workable; capable of maintaining life; |
| viscous | sticky; gluey; |
| vituperate | abusive; scolding; |
| volatile | changeable; explosive; evaporating rapidly; |
| warranted | justified; authorized; |
| wary | very cautious; |
| welter | turmoil; bewildering jumble; (N) |
| welter | wallow |
| whimsical | capricious; fanciful; |
| zealot | fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal; |
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