| Term | Definition |
|---|
| abeyance | suspended action |
| ablution | washing |
| abnegation | renunciation; self-sacrifice; self-abnegation |
| abrogate | abolish |
| abstemious | sparing in eating and drinking; temperate |
| accoutre | equip; N. accoutrement |
| acquiesce | assent; agree passively; comply without protest |
| acrimonious | stinging; caustic; bitter in words or manner; N. acrimony: bitter ill-natured animosity in speech or behavior |
| acrophobia | fear of heights |
| actuate | motivate; activate; cause to act |
| addle | make or become confused; muddle; drive crazy; become rotten (egg) |
| adjuration | solemn urging; V. adjure: entreat earnestly; enjoin solemnly |
| adjutant | staff officer assisting the commander; assistant |
| adventitious | accidental; casual; happening by chance |
| advert | refer |
| agog | highly excited; intensely curious |
| alacrity | cheerful promptness without reluctance |
| alimentary | supplying nourishment |
| ambulatory | able to walk |
| analgesia | condition of being unable to feel pain |
| anathema | solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse; V. anathematize |
| animadversion | critical remark; V. animadvert: comment critically with disapproval |
| animus | hostile feeling or intent; animosity; hostility; disposition |
| anneal | reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling (metal or glass) |
| anodyne | drug that relieves pain or trouble; ÁøÅëÁ¦; opiate; ADJ. Ex. anodyne statement |
| antecede | precede |
| antecedents | preceding events that influence what comes later; ancestors or early background |
| antediluvian | antiquated; extremely ancient |
| antiseptic | substance that prevents infection in a wound; ADJ. |
| aperture | opening; hole; adjustable opening in a camera that limits the amount of light |
| aphasia | loss of speech due to injury or illness |
| aphorism | pithy maxim or saying; ADJ. aphoristic |
| apiary | a place where bees are kept |
| aplomb | poise; composure in difficult situations; assurance; self-confidence |
| apocryphal | (of a story) widely believed but untrue |
| apologist | one who writes in defense of a cause or institution; N. apologia |
| apoplexy | stroke; loss of consciousness caused by too much blood in the brain |
| apostate | one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs; N. apostasy |
| apothegm(apophthegm) | pithy, compact saying |
| apotheosis | elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something |
| appellation | name; title |
| append | attach |
| apprise | inform |
| approbation | approval |
| appurtenances | subordinate possessions; something added to a more important thing |
| aquiline | curved; hooked; of or like an eagle; Ex. aquiline nose |
| argot | slang; speech spoken by only a small group of people |
| aria | operatic solo; a song sung by one person in an opera or oratorio |
| arrears | being in debt; money that should have been paid; work that should have been done |
| artless | without guile; open and honest |
| askance | with a sideways or indirect look (with disapproval or distruct); Ex. look askance at |
| assiduous | diligent |
| assuage | make less severe; ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger) |
| regent | a person who governs in place of a ruler who is ill, absent, or still a child; ADJ. Ex. the Prince regent |
| atavism | resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; reversion to an earlier type; throwback; ADJ. atavistic |
| august | impressive; majestic |
| aureole | sun's corona; halo; bright circle of light |
| austere | forbiddingly stern; ascetic; without comfort or enjoyment; severely simple and unornamented; Ex. a monk's austere life; Ex. austere grandeur of the cathedral; N. austerity |
| avarice | greediness for wealth |
| aver | state confidently; declare as true |
| avocation | secondary or minor occupation |
| avuncular | of or like an uncle |
| awry | distorted; crooked; bent; Ex. Our plans have gone awry. |
| bacchanalian | drunken |
| bacchanal | noisy party with a lot of drinking |
| badinage | teasing conversation; banter; joking talk |
| balk | stop short, as if faced with an obstacle, and refuse to continue; foil; stop or get in the way of; frustrate |
| bandy | discuss lightly or glibly; discuss in a frivolous manner; exchange (words) heatedly; quarrel; Ex. bandy words with |
| barefaced | shameless and noticeable; blatant; bold; unconcealed; having no covering on the face; Ex. barefaced lie |
| unregenerate | making no attempt to change one's bad practices |
| baroque | highly ornate |
| bate | let down; lessen the force of; moderate; restrain; Ex. with bated breath; CF. abate |
| bawdy | indecent; obscene; about sex in a rude funny way; CF. bawd |
| beatific | giving or showing bliss; blissful |
| beatitude | blessedness; state of great happiness |
| bedizen | dress with vulgar finery |
| belie | contradict; give a false impression; disguise; Ex. The poor sales belied our high hopes; Ex. Her smile belies her true feeling of displeasure. |
| bellicose | warlike |
| benison | blessing |
| besmirch | soil; defile; make dirty |
| betoken | signify; indicate; be a sign of |
| bilious | suffering from indigestion; sick from having too much bile; irritable; easily irritated |
| bivouac | temporary encampment; camp without tents; V. |
| blanch | bleach; whiten; make white or pale |
| blandishment | flattery |
| blithe(blithesome) | gay; joyous |
| blowhard | talkative boaster; braggart |
| bohemian | unconventional (in an artistic way) |
| bombast | grandiloquent, pompous speech |
| bouillon | clear beef (or meat) soup |
| bowdlerize | expurgate; CF. Thomas Bowdler |
| braggadocio | boasting |
| brindled | tawny or grayish with streaks or spots (of animals) |
| tawny | brownish yellow |
| broach | introduce as a subject; moot; open up |
| brocade | rich, figured(patterned) fabric |
| brook | tolerate; endure; Ex. brook no interference; N: small stream |
| brusque | blunt; abrupt; curt; not wanting to waste time being nice |
| bugaboo | bugbear; object of baseless terror |
| bulwark | strong wall built for defense; earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends |
| bungle | mismanage; blunder; botch; blow; spoil by clumsy behavior |
| burlesque | give an imitation that ridicules; imitate mockingly |
| buxom | full-bosomed; plump; jolly |
| cabal | small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests |
| cache | hiding place; V. |
| cajole | persuade by praise or false promise; coax; wheedle |
| callow | youthful; immature; inexperienced |
| calumny | malicious misrepresentation; slander |
| canard | unfounded false rumor; exaggerated false report |
| cant | insincere speech or expression of piety; jargon of thieves; special words used by a particular group of people |
| cantankerous | ill-humored; irritable |
| cantata | story set to music to be sung by a chorus (shorter than an oratorio) |
| canter | slow gallop; V. CF. trot |
| canto | division of a long poem |
| capacious | spacious |
| capitulate | surrender; give up all resistance |
| caprice | whim; sudden change of mind without any real cause |
| capricious | unpredictable; fickle |
| captious | faultfinding; too critical |
| carillon | a set of bells (often in a tower) capable of being played |
| carousal | drunken revel; V. carouse |
| carping | petty criticism; fault-finding; fretful complaining; quibble |
| castigation | punishment; severe criticism or disapproval |
| catharsis | purging or cleansing of any passage of the body; purging and weakening of strong emotions as a result of experiencing a dramatic work of art |
| cathartic | purgative; medicine that causes the bowels to empty; ADJ. |
| cauterize | burn (a wound or snakebite, etc.) with hot iron or caustic substance to stop bleeding and prevent infection |
| cavil | quibble; make frivolous objections; find fault unnecessarily |
| hereafter | life after death |
| censorious | severely critical |
| censure | blame; criticize; express strong disapproval; N: severe criticism; strong disapproval |
| chaff | worthless products of an endeavor; husk(outer seed cover) separated from grain; Ex. separate the wheat from the chaff |
| chaffing | bantering; joking |
| chagrin | annoyance and disappointment; vexation (caused by humiliation or injured pride) |
| charlatan | quack; pretender to knowledge (esp. in medicine) |
| chary | cautious; unwilling to take risks; sparing or restrained about giving; OP. bold |
| chase | ornament a metal surface by indenting; follow rapidly to catch |
| chauvinist | blindly devoted patriot; zealous adherent of a group, cause, or sex; ADJ. chauvinistic; CF. chauvinism; Nicolas Chauvin |
| chicanery | trickery; deception |
| chide | scold; rebuke (someone who has done wrong) |
| choleric | hot-tempered; bad-tempered; irritable; easily angered; CF. cholera |
| cipher | nonentity; worthless person or thing; zero; secret code; V. |
| circumlocution | indirect or roundabout expression (by using an uncecessarily large number of words esp. when trying to avoid answering a difficult question directly) |
| circumscribe | limit; confine; draw a line around |
| circumspect | prudent; cautious; acting after careful thought |
| circumvent | outwit; defeat by behaving more cleverly; outsmart; baffle; avoid; get around |
| clarion | shrill, trumpetlike sound; kind of trumpet used in former times |
| clemency | disposition to be lenient in deciding punishments; mildness as of the weather; ADJ. clement |
| bromide | platitude; chemical compound used to calm excitement |
| cloister | monastery or convent |
| cloying | distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental; V. cloy: become unpleasant through too much sweetness or excess |
| coda | concluding section of a musical or literary composition |
| codicil | supplement to the body of a will; later addition to a will |
| coeval | living at the same time as; existing during the same period of time; contemporary; of the same age |
| cogent | convincing |
| coiffure | hairstyle |
| collation | a light meal; collating |
| colloquial | pertaining to conversational or common speech; informal; N. colloquialism: colloquial expression |
| colloquy | informal discussion; conversation |
| comely | attractive; agreeable; having a pleasing appearance |
| comestible | something fit to be eaten |
| comeuppance | deserts; well-deserved punishment or misfortune; rebuke |
| comity | courtesy; civility; Ex. comity of nations |
| commiserate | feel or express pity or sympathy for |
| commodious | spacious and comfortable |
| compendium | brief, comprehensive summary; ADJ. compendious |
| complicity | participation; involvement (in a questionable act or a crime) |
| comport | bear one's self; behave; Ex. comport oneself; N. comportment |
| compunction | remorse; strong uneasiness caused by guilt |
| concatenate | link as in a chain |
| conceit | vanity or self-love; too high opinion of one's own value; extravagant metaphor (in poetry) |
| conciliatory | reconciling; soothing; V. conciliate: reconcile; soothe; win the friendly feelings (by removing anger) |
| concomitant | that which accompanies; Ex. Deafnes is a frequent concommitant of old age; ADJ: existing or happening together with something else |
| condign | adequate; (of punishment) severe and well deserved |
| condole | express condolences; N. condolence: sympathy for someone who has experienced great sorrow |
| condone | overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse |
| conflagration | great fire |
| connivance | pretense of ignorance of something wrong; assistance; permission to offend; V. connive: feign ignorance (of a wrong); cooperate secretly in an illegal action; conspire |
| connubial | pertaining to marriage or the matrimonial state |
| patrimony | property inherited from a father |
| consonance | harmony; agreement |
| consonant | harmonious; in agreement; N. |
| consort | associate with; keep company; N: husband or wife (or a ruler) |
| continence | self-restraint; sexual chastity; sexual abstinence; voluntary control over bladder and bowel functions; ADJ. continent |
| contravene | contradict; oppose; violate (a rule, law, or custom); N. contravention |
| contrite | penitent; repentant; N. contrition |
| controvert | oppose with arguments; attempt to refute; contradict; ADJ. controversial; N. controversy |
| contumacious | stubborn and disobedient; resisting authority (esp. disobedient to an order made by a court) |
| convivial | pleasantly merry; festive; joyous; gay; characterized by joviality; jovial |
| copious | plentiful |
| coquette | flirt; flirtatious woman; woman who tries to attract the admiration of men without sincere feelings; V. |
| cordon | extended line of men or fortifications to prevent access or egress; (¾î±ú¿¡¼ °Üµå¶û ¹ØÀ¸·Î °ÉÄ¡´Â) Àå½Ä ¸®º»; V. |
| cornice | projecting molding on building (usually above columns or pillars); ó¸¶ Àå½Ä |
| corpulent | very fat; N. corpulence |
| corpus | collection (of writings or information); Ex. the corpus of Shakespear's works; Cf. corpse |
| corpuscle | red or white cell in the blood |
| coterie | group that meets socially; select circle; close group of people with shared interests |
| countenance | approve; support; tolerate; Ex. countenance his rude behavior; N: face; appearance |
| countermand | cancel; revoke (an order) |
| coup | highly successful action or sudden attack; coup(s) d'\'etat; CF. coup de gr\^ace: deathblow or shot which kills |
| cow | terrorize; intimidate |
| coy | shy (flirtatiously); showing a (pretended) lack of self-confidence; modest; coquettish; CF. job offer¸¦ ¹Þ¾ÒÀ» ¶§ |
| cozen | cheat; hoodwink; swindle |
| craven | cowardly |
| credulity | belief on slight evidence; gullibility; naivet\'e; ADJ. credulous |
| overture | musical introduction to a long musical piece; first offer or proposal (to begin talks in the hope of reaching an agreement); Ex. overtures for peace |
| crone | hag; ugly old woman |
| crux | essential or main point; Ex. the crux of the problem; ADJ. crucial: of deciding importance |
| culpable | deserving blame; blameworthy |
| culvert | artificial channel for water; drain crossing under a road |
| cupidity | greed (for wealth); CF. cupid; CF. Cupid |
| cursory | casual; hastily done with little attention to detail |
| cynosure | object of general attention; person or thing that is a center of attention; CF. Ursa Minor |
| dais | raised platform for speakers or other important people |
| dally | trifle with; toy with; treat without the necessary seriousness; procrastinate; waste time |
| daub | smear (as with paint); cover with something sticky; Ex. daub one's clothes with mud/paint; N: small bit of sticky substance; Ex. a daub of paint |
| daunt | intimidate; frighten; discourage; dishearten |
| debauch | corrupt morally; seduce from virtue; N. debauchery: wild behavior (with sex and alcohol) |
| decadence | decay; fall to a lower level (of morality, civilization, or art); ADJ. decadent |
| decant | pour off gently (wine or liquid) |
| declivity | downward slope |
| decollete | (of a dress) having a low-cut neckline; CF. d\'ecolletage: low neckline (on a dress) |
| defrock | strip a priest or minister of church authority; unfrock |
| deign | condescend; stoop |
| demagogue | person who appeals to people's prejudice; false leader of people; CF. demagoguery |
| demur | object (because of doubts, scruples); raise an objection (showing qualms); hesitate; Ex. demur at the idea of working on Sunday |
| demure | (of a woman or child) grave; quiet and serious; coy; pretending to be demure |
| denigrate | blacken; defame |
| denouement | final outcome; final development of the plot of a play or other literary work; the end of a story when everything is explained |
| descry | catch sight of (something distant) |
| despondent | without hope and courage; depressed; gloomy; N. despondency: loss of hope with gloom; dejection |
| devolve | deputize; pass or be passed to others (power, work, or property); Ex. devolve on/upon/to |
| diadem | crown |
| dialectical | relating to the art of debate; mutual or reciprocal; Ex. dialectical situation; N. dialectic: art of arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments |
| didactic | (of speech or writing) intended to teach a moral lesson; teaching; instructional; N. didacticism |
| diffidence | shyness; lack of self-confidence; timidity; ADJ. diffident |
| dilatory | delaying; tending to delay |
| dint | means; effort; Ex. by dint of hard work |
| dirge | funeral song; slow mournful piece of music (sung over a dead person) |
| disabuse | correct a false impression; undeceive; free from a wrong belief |
| disaffected | disloyal; lacking loyality; V. disaffect: cause to lose affection or loyalty |
| disapprobation | disapproval; condemnation |
| disburse | pay out (as from a fund); N. disbursement; CF. purse |
| discomfit | frustrate; put to rout; defeat; disconcert; embarrass; perturb |
| disconsolate | hopelessly sad (at the loss of something) |
| discursive | (of a person or writing) digressing; rambling (without any clear plan) |
| disenfranchise | disfranchise; deprive of a civil right; OP. enfranchise |
| disingenuous | not naive; not candid; sophisticated; worldly wise; OP. ingenuous |
| disinter | dig up; unearth; OP. inter |
| disport | amuse; Ex. disport oneself; CF. divert |
| disputatious | argumentative; fond of argument |
| disquisition | formal systematic inquiry; explanation of the results of a formal inquiry; long formal speech or written report |
| dissemble | disguise; hide the real nature of; pretend |
| distend | expand; swell out |
| distrait | absentminded; distracted |
| divest | strip (as of clothes); deprive (as of rights); dispossess; N. divestiture(divestment) |
| dowse | use a divining rod to search for underground water or minerals |
| doctrinaire | unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding; marked by inflexible attachment to a doctrine without regard to its practical difficulties |
| doddering | shaky; infirm from old age; V. dodder |
| doff | take off; OP. don |
| doggerel | poor verse |
| dolorous | sorrowful; N. dolor |
| dormer | window projecting upright from roof; CF. sleeping room |
| dossier | file of documents on a subject or person; file; CF. bundle of papers labeled on the back |
| dotage | senility; feeblemindedness of old age; Ex. In one's dotage |
| dote | be excessively fond of; show signs of mental decline |
| draconian | extremely severe; Ex. draconian punishment; CF. Draco: Athenian politician |
| droll | queer and amusing |
| dross | waste matter; worthless impurities |
| dulcet | sweet sounding; pleasing to the ear; melodious |
| ebullient | showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm; boiling; N. ebullience; N. ebullition: state of boiling |
| ecclesiastic | ecclesiastical; pertaining to the church; N: minister; priest; cleric; clergyman |
| padre | chaplain (in the armed forces) |
| rapture | great joy and delight; ecstasy; ADJ. rapturous |
| edify | instruct; correct morally |
| edifice | building (of imposing size) |
| efface | rub out; remove the surface of |
| effervescence | inner excitement or exuberance; showing high spirits; emitting bubbles forming inside; bubbling from fermentation or carbonation; ADJ. effervescent; V. effervesce |
| effete | having lost one's original power; barren; worn out; exhausted |
| effluvium | noxious(harmful) smell |
| effulgent | shining brightly; brilliant |
| effusion | pouring forth; unrestrained outpouring of feeling; V. effuse: pour out; ADJ. effusive: pouring forth; gushing |
| elegy | poem or song expressing lamentation (for the dead); ADJ. elegiacal, elegiac |
| elysian | relating to paradise; blissful |
| Elysium | place or condition of bliss |
| emend | correct (usually a text); N. emendation: correction of errors; improvement |
| emollient | soothing or softening remedy (for the skin); ADJ. |
| emolument | salary; payment for an office; compensation |
| encomiastic | praising; eulogistic; N. encomium: very high praise; eulogy |
| encumber | burden; N. encumbrance |
| endue | provide with some quality; endow |
| enfranchise | admit to the rights of citizenship (especially the right to vote); CF. franchise |
| engender | cause; produce; give rise to |
| enjoin | command; order; forbid |
| enmity | ill will; hatred; hostility |
| ennui | boredom; listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; CF. annoy |
| ensconce | settle comfortably; place comfortably (in a secure place) |
| entreat | plead; ask earnestly |
| epaulet(epaulette) | ornament worn on the shoulder (of a uniform, etc.) |
| epicure | connoisseur of food and drink; gourmet; ADJ. epicurean; CF. Epicurus |
| Epicurean | believing that pleasure is good and suffering is bad and should be avoided; N. |
| epigram | witty thought or saying, usually short |
| epistemologist | philosopher who studies the nature of knowledge; N. epistemology |
| epithet | word or phrase characteristically used to describe a person or thing; descriptive phrase to characterize a person (often contemptous) |
| equable | tranquil; of even calm temper; (of temperature) steady; uniform |
| equanimity | calmness of temperament; composure |
| equipoise | balance; balancing force; equilibrium |
| equivocal | (of words or statements) ambiguous; intentionally misleading; (of behavior) questionable; OP. unequivocal |
| equivocate | use equivocal language to deceive people; lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth; N. equivocation |
| erudite | (of a person or book) learned; full of learning; scholarly; N. erudition |
| flighty | (esp. of a woman's behavior) capricious; often changing, esp. from one lover to another; impulsive |
| eschew | avoid habitually; Ex. eschew alcoholic drinks |
| espouse | adopt; support (an idea or aim); marry; N. espousal |
| airy | of air; high in the air; lofty; immaterial; unreal |
| ethos | underlying character of a culture, group, etc.; character or ideas peculiar to a specific person, group, or culture; Ex. the company ethos |
| etymology | study of word parts; study of the origins of words |
| evanescent | fleeting; vanishing; soon disappearing; V. evanesce |
| evince | show clearly |
| excoriate | scold with biting harshness; censure strongly; strip the skin off |
| exculpate | clear from blame or guilt |
| execrable | very bad; detestable |
| execrate | curse; express abhorrence for; detest |
| exegesis | explanation, especially of biblical(of the bible) passages |
| exhort | urge (by strong argument or advice); Ex. The general exhorted his men to fight bravely; N. exhortation |
| exigency | urgent situation; ADJ. exigent |
| exiguous | small in amount; minute |
| exonerate | acquit; exculpate; free from blame or guilt |
| expatiate | talk at length; speak or write in detail |
| expedient | suitable (for a particular purpose although not necessarily morally correct); practical; politic(prudent); N: something expedient |
| expiate | make amends for (a sin) |
| explicate | explain in detail; interpret; clarify; CF. explicable |
| expostulation | protest; remonstrance; reasoning with someone to correct or dissuade; V. expostulate |
| expound | explain |
| expropriate | take possession of (often for public use and without payment) |
| expunge | cancel; remove a word or name (from a book or list); erase |
| expurgate | clean; remove offensive parts of a book |
| extemporaneous | not planned; impromptu; extempore |
| extenuate | weaken; mitigate; lessen the seriousness of (bad behavior) |
| extradition | surrender of prisoner by one state to another; Ex. extradition treaty; V. extradite |
| exult | rejoice |
| facile | easily accomplished; ready or fluent; superficial; not deep; Ex. facile solution to a complex problem; Ex. facile speaker; N. facility: ability to do something easily and well; ease in doing resulting from skill or aptitude; something that facilitates an action; amenity; Ex. with great facility |
| factotum | handyman; person who does all kinds of work; CF. do everything |
| fatalism | belief that events are determined by forces or fates beyond one's control; ADJ. fatalistic; CF. fatal: causing death |
| fatuous | smugly and unconsciously foolish; inane; silly; N. fatuity, fatuousness |
| febrile | feverish |
| feint | trick; shift; sham blow; feigned attack to draw away defensive action; V. |
| ferment | agitation; commotion(noisy and excited activity); unrest (of a political kind); V. produce by fermentation; undergo fermentation; cause (a state of trouble) |
| fester | rankle; produce irritation or resentment; (of a cut or wound) generate pus or rot; Ex. His insult festered in my mind for days. |
| fete | honor at a festival; celebrate or honor with a feast; N. (outdoor) festival or feast; CF. feast |
| fetter | shackle; restrict the freedom of; N. chain or shackle for the foot of a prisoner; CF. foot |
| fiat | command; arbitrary order; Ex. presidential fiat; CF. let it be done |
| filch | steal (things of small value) |
| filigree | delicate ornamental lacelike metalwork |
| thresh | beat (cereal plants) with a machine or flail to separate the grains from the straw |
| flay | strip off skin; plunder; remove the skin from; criticize harshly |
| flippant | lacking proper seriousness; Ex. flippant remarks about death; N. flippancy |
| flit | fly; fly or move lightly or quickly; dart lightly; pass swiftly by; Ex. a bee flitting from flower to flower |
| floe | flat mass of floating ice |
| flout | reject; mock; show contempt for; scorn; Ex. flout the rules |
| curb | chain or strap used with a bit to restrain a horse; something that checks; V: check; restrain |
| fluted | having vertical parallel grooves (as in a pillar); V. flute: make long parallel inward curves in; N. flute: long rounded groove incised on the shaft of a column |
| foible | small weakness of character; slight fault; CF. feeble |
| foil | contrast; one that by contrast enhances the distinctive characteristics of another |
| foist | insert improperly; impose upon another by coercion; palm off; pass off as genuine or worthy; CF. fist |
| foment | stir up; incite; instigate; promote the growth of (something evil or unpleasant) |
| foppish | vain about dress and appearance; N. fop: man who takes too much interest in his clothes and appearance |
| forbearance | patience; forgiveness; V. forbear: refrain from (in a generous and forgiving way); be patient; Ex. forbear to send him to prison |
| prefigure | be a sign of; foreshadow |
| forswear | renounce under oath; abandon; make a solemn promise to give up; CF. abjure |
| forte | strong point or special talent in a person's character |
| fractious | unruly; peevish; cranky; bad-tempered; Ex. fractious horse |
| franchise | right or privilege granted by authority; right to vote; license to sell a product in a particular territory |
| fraught | filled (with something unpleasant); full; Ex. fraught with danger and difficulties; CF. freight |
| frieze | ornamental horizontal band on a wall |
| fritter | waste (time or money on unimportant things) |
| fructify | bear fruit; produce fruit |
| fulminate | thunder; explode; issue a severe denunciation |
| fulsome | disgustingly excessive; offensively flattering; Ex. fulsome praise/expressions of admire |
| furor | frenzy; great anger and excitement; CF. fury |
| fusillade | simultaneous firing or outburst (of missiles, questions, etc.) |
| gadfly | animal-biting fly; irritating person |
| gainsay | deny |
| gall | bitterness of feeling; nerve; effrontery; ´ãÁó(bile); CF. gall bladder |
| gall | annoy; exasperate; chafe; N: skin sore caused by rubbing (as on the skin of a horse); exasperation |
| pinnace | small boat |
| galvanize | stimulate or shock by an electric current; stimulate by shock; shock into action; stir up; coat with rust-resistant zinc by using electricity |
| galvanic | of the production of electricity by the action of an acid on a metal; having the effect of an electric shock; Ex. galvanic cell; galvanic effect; CF. Luigi Galvani |
| garrulous | loquacious; wordy; talkative; N. garrulity |
| gastronomy | art and science of preparing and serving good food; CF. gastronome |
| gauche | clumsy (in social behavior); coarse and uncouth |
| genteel | well-bred; elegant; striving to convey an appearance of refinement; Ex. genteel poverty |
| germane | pertinent; bearing upon(having connection with) the case at hand; appropriate |
| germinal | pertaining to a germ; creative; Ex. germinal idea |
| gerrymander | change voting district lines in order to favor a political party; N. CF. Elbridge Gerry + (sala)mander |
| gesticulation | motion; gesture; V. gesticulate: make gestures (while speaking) |
| gibe | mock; make jeering remarks; N: jeering remarks |
| glean | gather leavings; gather grain left behind by reapers; gather bit by bit (facts or information) often with difficulty |
| glib | fluent (with insincerity or superficiality); facile; slick |
| gossamer | sheer; very light; like cobwebs; N: soft and sheer fabric; cobweb |
| gourmand | epicure; person who takes excessive pleasure in food and drink |
| graduate | arrange into categories or grades; divide into marked intervals (for use in measurement); Ex. graduated ruler |
| grandiloquent | (of a person or speech) using high sounding or important-sounding language; pompous; bombastic |
| high-flown | highly pretentious or inflated |
| grouse | complain; fuss; grumble; grouch; N: plump chickenlike game bird |
| guile | deceit; duplicity; wiliness; cunning; Ex. persuade her by guile |
| guileless | without deceit |
| gull | trick; deceive; hoodwink; N: person who is easily tricked; dupe |
| gustatory | affecting or relating to the sense of taste |
| gusto | eager enjoyment; zest; enthusiasm |
| hackles | hairs on back and neck, especially of a dog; Ex. make someone's hackles rise |
| haggard | wasted away; gaunt; Ex. haggard faces of the rescued miners |
| halcyon | calm; peaceful; Ex. halcyon days |
| hale | healthy |
| hapless | unfortunate; luckless |
| harangue | long, passionate, and vehement speech; V. |
| harping | tiresome dwelling on a subject; V. harp: dwell on(think or speak a lot about) tediously |
| harrowing | agonizing; distressing; traumatic; V. harrow: break up and level (soil) with a harrow; inflict great distress on; agonize; N: farming machine to break up the earth |
| harry | harass, annoy, torment (by repeated attacks); raid |
| haughtiness | pride; arrogance; ADJ. haughty |
| hermetic | concerning alchemy or magic; obscure and mysterious; occult |
| hinterlands | back country; inner part of a country; OP. foreland |
| hirsute | hairy; having a lot of hair |
| histrionic | theatrical; excessively dramatic or emotional; affected; of actors or acting; N. histrionics: histrionic behavior |
| hoary | white with age |
| hortatory | encouraging; exhortive; marked by exhortation; CF. exhort |
| hue_and_cry | outcry; loud cry or clamor; strong protest; Ex. hue and cry against the new rule |
| hummock | small hill; hillock |
| husbandry | frugality; thrift; economy; agriculture; farming; Ex. animal husbandry; CF. husbandman |
| idiom | expression whose meaning as a whole differs from the meanings of its individual words; distinctive style (of expression); Ex. idiom of the modern popular music; ADJ. idiomatic |
| idyll(idyl) | short poem idealizing rural life; simple happy period of life (in the country); scene from such a time; Ex. idyll of two young lovers |
| ignoble | unworthy; not noble; dishonorable; Ex. ignoble deed |
| ignominy | deep disgrace; shame or dishonor; ADJ. ignominious; Ex. ignominous defeat |
| illicit | illegal |
| illimitable | infinite; limitless |
| imbroglio | complicated situation (as in a play); painful or complex misunderstanding (as in a play); entanglement; confused mass (as of papers); V. embroil |
| immure | imprison; shut up in confinement; CF. wall |
| impasse | predicament(dangerous condition) from which there is no escape; situation allowing for no further progress |
| credential | evidence concerning one's authority; written proof of a person's position; Ex. The new ambassador presented his credentials to the court. |
| impecunious | without money |
| impel | drive or force onward; drive to take action; urge to action |
| impolitic | not wise; not expedient; not politic |
| importunate | urging; always demanding; troublesomely urgent or persistent |
| importune | beg persistently; make repeated requests (in an annoying way) |
| imposture | assuming a false identity; masquerade; CF. impostor |
| imprecation | curse; swearword |
| improvident | thriftless; not providing for the future |
| impugn | dispute or contradict (often in an insulting way); attack as false or questionable; challenge; gainsay; CF. fight |
| impuissance | powerlessness; feebleness |
| impunity | freedom from punishment or harm; CF. punish |
| impute | attribute; ascribe; charge; N. imputation |
| incendiary | arsonist; ADJ: causing fire; of arson; Ex. incendiary bomb |
| incense | enrage; infuriate(make furious); make extremely angry; outrage; N: aromatic substance burned to produce a pleasant odor |
| inclement | stormy; unkind; unmerciful; CF. clement |
| incommodious | not spacious; inconvenient |
| incontinent | lacking self-restraint; not continent; licentious |
| incontrovertible | indisputable; impossible to dispute; not open to question; unquestionable |
| incorrigible | uncorrectable |
| incredulous | withholding belief; skeptical; showing disbelief |
| incubus | burden; very worriying problem; mental care; nightmare; male devil; CF. succubus |
| inculcate | teach (ideas or principles); instill |
| indelible | not able to be erased |
| indemnify | make secure against damage or loss; compensate for damage or loss; CF. make uninjured |
| indigence | poverty |
| indigent | poor; destitute |
| indignation | anger at an injustice; Ex. righteous indignation; ADJ. indignant |
| indite | write; compose |
| indubitable | unable to be doubted; which cannot be doubted; unquestionable |
| ineffable | unutterable; not to be uttered; taboo; that cannot be expressed in speech; indescribable; unspeakable; inexpressible; Ex. ineffable name/joy |
| ineluctable | irresistible; not to be escaped; unavoidable |
| inexorable | relentless; unyielding; implacable; not capable of being changed by entreaty or efforts; Ex. inexorable price rises |
| infamous | notoriously bad; notorious; well known for being bad; Ex. infamous behavior; N: infamy: infamous act; evil fame or reputation |
| ingenuous | naive and trusting; young; unsophisticated; candid |
| ingenue | young innocent girl |
| inimical | (of someone) unfriendly; hostile; (of something) harmful; detrimental; CF. enemy |
| inimitable | matchless; not able to be imitated |
| inscrutable | difficult to understand; impenetrable; not readily understood; mysterious |
| insensible | unconscious; unresponsive; insensitive; unaware; imperceptible; Ex. insensible of his danger/to pain; Ex. insensible change; CF. not the opposite of sensible |
| insouciant | without concern or care; unconcerned; indifferent |
| insularity | narrow-mindedness; isolation; ADJ. insular: of an island; isolated; narrow-minded; CF. peninsula |
| insuperable | insurmountable; unbeatable; Ex. insuperable difficulties |
| interdict | prohibit; forbid; N. |
| internecine | mutually destructive |
| inveigh | denounce; utter censure or invective; Ex. inveigh against the evils of drink |
| inveigle | deceive; lead astray by deception; wheedle(cajole); Ex. inveigle her into joining the club; CF. interest dishonestly |
| inviolable | secure from corruption, attack, or violation(or profanation); unassailable; Ex. inviolable oath/rights; N. inviolability |
| irascible | irritable; easily angered |
| itinerant | wandering; traveling from place to place (to perform work); Ex. itinerant preacher |
| jaunty | cheerful and pleased with life; lighthearted; animated; easy and carefree; dapper in appearance; Ex. jaunty person/hat |
| jingoist | extremely aggressive and militant patriot; warlike chauvinist; N. jingoism: extreme nationalism |
| jocose | given to(having a tendency of) joking |
| jocund | merry |
| jollity | gaiety; cheerfulness; ADJ. jolly: merry; gay |
| junket | trip especially one taken for pleasure by an official at public expense |
| junta | group of persons joined in political intrigue; cabal; group of military officers ruling a country after seizing power (by force) |
| jurisprudence | science of law |
| ken | range of knowledge; Ex. beyond one's ken |
| kernel | central or vital part; core; whole seed (as of corn) |
| knell | tolling of a bell especially to indicate a funeral, disaster, etc.; sound of the funeral bell; V. |
| labile | likely to change; unstable; Ex. emotionally labile; N. lability |
| lachrymose | producing tears; tearful |
| laggard | slow; sluggish; N: one who lags; straggler |
| lancet | small surgical tool for making incisions |
| languish | lose animation or strength |
| languor | lack of physical or mental energy; lassitude; depression |
| largess | generous gift (given to people who do not have enough) |
| lascivious | lustful |
| lassitude | languor; weariness; listlessness |
| latitude | freedom from narrow limitations |
| lechery | gross lewdness; lustfulness; ADJ. lecherous; N. lecher: lecherous man |
| legerdemain | sleight(dexterity) of hand; CF. light of hand |
| leonine | like a lion |
| libidinous | lustful |
| libretto | text of an opera or oratorio; CF. book |
| licentious | amoral; lewd and lascivious; unrestrained |
| lilliputian | extremely small; CF. Lilliput in Gulliver's Travels |
| limn | draw; outline; describe; CF. line ? |
| limpid | crystal clear |
| lineaments | features especially of the face; distinctive shape or contour of the face; CF. line |
| lithe | flexible; supple; CF. limber |
| litotes | understatement for emphasis; Ex. ``not bad(=pretty good)'' |
| livid | lead-colored; black and blue (as from a bruise); ashen; enraged; extremely angry |
| loath | reluctant; unwilling; disinclined; Ex. Romeo and Juliet were both loath for him to go. |
| lope | gallop slowly |
| low | moo; make the sound of a cow |
| lucre | money; profit; Ex. filthy lucre |
| lugubrious | mournful; sorrowful |
| lumen | unit of light energy (one candle's worth) |
| luminary | celebrity (in a specific field); dignitary; object that gives light (as a celestial body) |
| lurid | wild; sensational; graphic; gruesome; horrible; Ex. lurid details of the murder |
| macabre | gruesome; grisly; ghastly; CF. of death |
| macerate | soften by soaking in liquid; waste away; Ex. macerate powdered wood to make paper |
| Machiavellian | crafty; double-dealing; of the political doctrine of Machiavelli, which holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing political power |
| maculated | spotted; stained; CF. immaculate |
| madrigal | pastoral song; song for several singers without instruments |
| magnanimity | generosity; ADJ. magnanimous: generous |
| magniloquent | boastful; pompous |
| malapropism | comic misuse of a word; CF. Mrs. Malaprop |
| malediction | curse |
| maleficient | doing evil; N. maleficience |
| malingerer | one who feigns illness to escape duty; V. malinger: feign illness to avoid work |
| manacle | restrain; handcuff; N. |
| mange | skin disease (esp. of domestic animals) marked by loss of hair |
| manifold | many in number or kind; numerous; varied |
| manumit | emancipate; free from slavery or bondage |
| martinet | strict disciplinarian; person who demands total obedience to rules and orders; CF. Jean Martinet |
| masochist | person who enjoys his own pain; CF. masochism |
| maudlin | effusively sentimental |
| mawkish | mushy(sentimental) and gushy; icky-sticky sentimental; excessively and objectionably sentimental |
| mealymouthed | indirect in speech (when something unpleasant must be said); hypocritical; evasive |
| mendacious | lying; habitually dishonest; N. mendacity |
| mercurial | capricious; quick and changing; fickle; containing the element mercury; Ex. mercurial temper; CF. mood |
| meretricious | flashy; tawdry; attractive on the surface but of no real value; Ex. metericious argument/jewel; CF. prostitute |
| mete | measure; distribute; administer; Ex. mete out justice/punishment |
| mettle | courage (to continue bravely in spite of difficulties); spirit; ADJ. mettlesome |
| miasma | swamp gas; heavy vaporous atmosphere often emanating from decaying matter; pervasive corrupting influence; noxious atmosphere or influence |
| milieu | social environment; means of expression; Ex. feel out of one's milieu; Ex. His proper milieu is watercolor. |
| militate | work against; Ex. militate against the chances of promotion; CF. serve as a soldier |
| minatory | menacing; threatening |
| mincing | affectedly dainty(delicate); V. mince: cut (esp. meat) into very small pieces; walk with exaggerated primness; walk in an unnatural way, taking little short steps; Ex. The actor minced across the stage; CF. mincemeat; CF. mincer |
| misanthrope | one who hates mankind; misanthropist |
| misogamy | hatred of marriage |
| misogynist | hater of woman; CF. misogyny |
| missive | letter; written statement; CF. sent |
| modish | fashionable; conforming to the current fashion |
| mollycoddle | pamper; coddle; baby; indulge excessively |
| mordant | biting; sarcastic; stinging; (apprec.) incisive; cutting; Ex. mordant pen/wit |
| mores | conventions; moral standards; moral customs |
| moribund | dying; at the point of death; CF. death |
| morose | ill-humored; sullen; sullenly melancholy |
| mountebank | charlatan; boastful pretender |
| mulct | defraud a person of something; swindle; Ex. mulct the boy of his legacy |
| munificent | very generous in giving; Ex. munificent benefactor; N. munificience |
| narcissist | conceited person; N. narcissism; CF. narcissus |
| nascent | incipient; coming into being or existence; Ex. nascent ability in music |
| natation | swimming |
| natty | neatly or smartly dressed; dapper; smart; Ex. natty dresser |
| neologism | new or newly coined word or phrase |
| nepotism | favoritism (to a relative); CF. nephew |
| nether | lower; Ex. nether garments/regions |
| nettle | irritate; annoy; vex; ADJ. nettlesome |
| nexus | connection |
| nib | beak(bill); pen point |
| nicety | precision; accuracy; minute distinction or difference; Ex. to a nicety: exactly; precisely; Ex. distinguish between niceties |
| niggardly | meanly stingy; parsimonious; N. niggard: stingy person |
| niggle | spend too much time on minor points (esp. when finding fault); find fault; Ex. niggle over details; ADJ. niggling |
| nihilist | one who considers traditional beliefs to be groundless and existence meaningless; absolute skeptic; revolutionary terrorist; CF. nihilism: belief that nothing has meaning or value; belief that destruction of existing political or social institutions is necessary for future improvement |
| nonplus | put at a loss; bring to a halt by confusion; perplex; CF. no more |
| nostrum | questionable medicine; quack medicine; CF. our (remedy) |
| nubile | marriageable; of marriageable age; CF. connubial |
| nugatory | worthless; futile |
| numismatist | person who collects coins; N. numismatics: study or collection of money, coins, and medals |
| obdurate | stubborn; refusing to change one's belief |
| obeisance | bow (to show respect and obedience) |
| obloquy | slander; disgrace; infamy |
| obsequious | slavishly attentive; servile; full of servile compliance; sycophantic |
| obsequy | funeral ceremony |
| scion | detached plant shoot used in grafting; descendant |
| obstetrician | physician specializing in delivery(assisting in giving birth) of babies; N. obstetrics; CF. midwife |
| obstreperous | boisterous; noisy and uncontrollable |
| obtrude | push (oneself or one's ideas) forward or intrude; impose (oneself or one's ideas) on others; butt in; stick out or extrude; thrust out; Ex. obtrude A on B; ADJ. obtrusive; N. obtrusion; CF. unobtrusive |
| obviate | make unnecessary; get rid of; Ex. obviate the need |
| Occident | the West |
| officious | meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one's services; overly eager in offering unwanted services or advices; Ex. officious bellboy |
| onerous | burdensome |
| onus | burden; responsibility |
| opprobrium | infamy; disgrace arising from shameful conduct; vilification(slander); scorn; contempt; Ex. opprobrium hurled against him; ADJ. opprobrious: expressing contempt; shameful or infamous |
| opus | work (esp. musical composition); Ex. magnum opus: masterpiece; CF. opera |
| oratorio | dramatic poem set to music; long musical work with singing but without acting; CF. cantata |
| ordination | ceremony conferring holy orders; ceremony of ordaining a priest |
| orthography | correct spelling; CF. ortho-: straight; correct; Ex. orthodontics |
| osseous | made of bone; bony |
| ostensible | apparent; appearing as such; professed(pretended); pretended; Ex. ostensible purpose of the expedition |
| blackball | vote against (an applicant); ostracize; N: negative vote |
| overweening | arrogant; presumptuous |
| pachyderm | thick-skinned animal |
| paean | song of praise or joy; Ex. paeans celebrating the victory |
| palimpsest | parchment or piece of writing material used for second time after original writing has been erased |
| pall | become boring; grow tiresome |
| palliate | ease pain (without curing); make less severe or offensive (a crime or illness) |
| palpable | tangible; (of something bad) easily perceptible; obvious; Ex. palpable blunder |
| palpitate | throb; beat rapidly; flutter; tremble; Ex. Her heart began to palpitate. |
| panacea | cure-all; remedy for all diseases |
| panache | flair; manner of doing things without any difficulty (causing admiration); flamboyance; bunch of feathers (on a helmet); Ex. with great panache; CF. ÀÜ ¾Æ·¡·Î õÀ» »©³»´Â ¼Ø¾¾ |
| panegyric | formal praise; encomium; Ex. I don't deserve such panegyrics. |
| paragon | model of perfection; Ex. paragon of virtue |
| paramour | illicit lover |
| inamorata | woman whom a man loves |
| pariah | social outcast; Ex. Mariah the pariah |
| parity | equality; close resemblance; CF. disparate |
| parlance | language; manner of speaking; idiom; Ex. in legal/common parlance |
| paroxysm | fit or attack of pain, laughter, rage; sudden outburst |
| parquet | floor made of wood strips inlaid in a mosaic like matter; CF. strip: long narrow piece |
| parvenu | upstart; newly rich person |
| pastiche | imitation of another's style in musical composition or in writing; work of art openly imitating the works of other artists |
| pathos | tender sorrow; pity; quality in art or literature that produces these feelings; Ex. pathos that runs through the novel |
| patina | green crust on old bronze works or copper; tone slowly taken by varnished painting |
| patois | local or provincial dialect |
| peccadillo | slight offense or fault; CF. sin |
| pedagogy | teaching; art of education |
| pejorative | (of a word or phrase) suggesting that someone is of little value; negative in connotation; having a belittling effect; Ex. Many women now considers ``housewife'' a pejorative expression, because it patronized them. |
| pell-mell | in confusion; disorderly; Ex. dash pell-mell |
| pellucid | transparent; limpid(crystal clear); clear in meaning; easy to understand |
| pendant(pendent) | hanging down from something; pending; N: ornament (hanging from a necklace etc.) |
| penury | extreme poverty; stinginess; ADJ. penurious: very poor; stingy |
| peremptory | demanding and leaving no choice; imperative; Ex. peremptory decree/knock |
| perfidious | treacherous; disloyal; N. perfidy: treachery |
| perforate | pierce; put a hole through |
| perfunctory | done routinely and with little care; superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; Ex. perfunctory kiss |
| perigee | point of moon's orbit when it is nearest the earth; CF. apogee |
| peroration | conclusion of an oration; perorating; V. perorate: conclude a speech; speak at great length |
| perquisite | any gain above stipulated salary; Ex. perquisites such as free meals and a car |
| perspicacious | (of someone) having insight; penetrating; astute |
| perspicuity | clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity |
| perspicuous | (of something) plainly expressed; easy to understand; Ex. perspicuous comments |
| pertinacious | holding tenaciously to an action; stubborn; persistent |
| peruse | read through with care; N. perusal |
| petulant | touchy; peevish; ill-tempered |
| philanderer | faithless lover; flirt |
| philistine | narrow-minded person, uncultured and exclusively interested in material gain; uncultured person who is indifferent to artistic and cultural values; member of an ancient people in Palestine; OP. aesthete |
| philology | study of language or words |
| phlegmatic | calm and unexcitable; not easily disturbed; CF. phlegm: sticky mucus produced in the respiratory tract |
| piebald | of different colors; mottled; spotted in different colors (esp. in black and white); Ex. piebald horse; CF. pie+bald |
| pied | piebald; variegated(many-colored); multicolored |
| pillory | punish by placing in a wooden frame or pillory; subject or expose to criticism and ridicule; N. |
| pinion | restrain or immobilize by binding the wings or legs; N: bird's wing |
| piquant | pleasantly tart-tasting; spicy; pleasantly stimulating; Ex. piquant situation when my old enemy asked for my help |
| pique | irritation; resentment from wounded pride (eg. loss in a contest); V: provoke; arouse; annoy; cause to feel resentment; Ex. pique her curiosity |
| piscatorial | pertaining to fishing; CF. Pisces |
| pith | core or marrow; spongelike substance in the center of stems; essence; substance |
| pithy | concise and meaningful; substantial; meaty |
| plaintive | expressing sorrow; mournful; Ex. plaintive song |
| platitude | trite remark; commonplace statement; ADJ. platitudinous |
| plaudit | praise; enthusiastic approval; round(succession or series) of applause; ADJ. plauditory; CF. applaud |
| plebiscite | direct vote by the entire electorate (on an important issue) |
| plenary | (of power) complete; full; fully attended by all qualified members; Ex. plenary power |
| plenitude | abundance; plenty; great amount; completeness; fullness; CF. plenary, plenty |
| plumb | exactly vertical; N: weight on the end of a line; V: examine very carefully or critically in order to understand; measure depth (by sounding); Ex. plumb the depth of |
| plutocracy | society ruled by the wealthy |
| politic | prudent; judicious; well judged; expedient; well devised |
| polity | (particular form of) political organization; form of government of nation or state; Ex. student polity |
| ponderous | having great weight; weighty; unwieldy; lacking lightness; dull; Ex. ponderous body/style of writing |
| pontifical | pertaining to a bishop or pope; pompous or pretentious; CF. pontiff: pope; bishop |
| portend | foretell; presage; be a sign or warning of; N. portent: sign; omen; forewarning |
| poseur | person who pretends to be sophisticated, elegant, etc., to impress others; person who poses; CF. pose |
| potentate | monarch; sovereign |
| poultice | soothing application applied to sore and inflamed portions of the body |
| precedent | preceding (in time, rank, etc.) |
| precept | practical rule guiding conduct; Ex. mother's precept |
| precis | abstract; concise summing up of main points; concise summary of a text |
| precocious | advanced in development; N. precocity |
| preempt | prevent in advance; head off(forestall); forestall by acting first; appropriate for oneself before others; supplant; take the place of; displace; Ex. preempt any attempts; ADJ. preemptive |
| prefatory | introductory; of a preface |
| prelate | church dignitary; priest of high position in the church (esp. bishop) |
| premonitory | serving to warn |
| preponderance | superiority of power, quantity, etc.; V. preponderate: be greater in power, weight, or importance; ADJ. preponderant |
| presage | foretell; be a warning or sign of; N: presentiment; foreboding; omen |
| presentiment | premonition; foreboding; feeling something will happen; anticipatory fear |
| pretext | excuse |
| prevaricate | lie; hide the truth (by equivocating) |
| primogeniture | seniority by birth; state of being the first-born child; right of the eldest child (to inherit the entire property of one or both parents) |
| privation | lack of the basic necessities or comforts of life; hardship; want; CF. deprive |
| probity | uprightness; honesty; incorruptibility |
| defalcate | embezzle |
| prodigal | wasteful; reckless with money; profuse; Ex. a mind prodigal of ideas; N. prodigality |
| prodigious | enormous; marvelous; extraordinary; Ex. prodigious amount/memory |
| profligate | wasteful (of money); dissipated; wildly immoral; dissolute; N: profligate person; N. profligacy |
| profusion | great amount; plenty; overabundance; excess; lavish expenditure; Ex. profusion of choices; ADJ. profuse: plentiful; copious; giving or given abundantly; extravagant |
| proletarian | member of the working class; blue collar guy; N. proletariat: working class (who have to work for wages) |
| prolixity | tedious wordiness; verbosity; ADJ. prolix: wordy; verbose; diffuse |
| promulgate | announce; proclaim a doctrine or law; make known by official publication |
| prophylactic | used to prevent disease; N: something prophylactic; condom; N. prophylaxis: prevention of disease |
| propinquity | nearness (in space or relationship); proximity; kinship |
| propitiate | appease; conciliate; make peaceful; ADJ. propitiatory |
| propitious | favorable; auspicious; advantageous; fortunate; Ex. propitious day/sign |
| propound | put forth for consideration or analysis; set forth; Ex. propound a problem/theory |
| propriety | fitness; quality of being proper; correct conduct; conformity to prevailing customs and usages; CF. proprietor, proprietary |
| prosaic | lacking in imagination; dull and unimaginative; matter-of-fact(concerned with facts, not imagination or feelings); factual; CF. prose |
| proscenium | part of stage in front of curtain; front arch of a stage |
| proscribe | prohibit; ostracize; banish; outlaw |
| proselytize | (induce someone to) convert to a religion or belief; N. proselyte: new convert to a doctrine or religion |
| prosody | art of versification; study of the metrical structure of verse |
| prostrate | stretch out full on ground; make prostrate; enervate; Ex. prostrating illness; ADJ: lying face down; having lost all strength |
| protean | able to take on many forms; versatile; CF. Proteus: sea god to change his shape at will |
| provenance | place of origin; origin or source of something; Ex. Gunpowder is of Chinese provenance; CF. come |
| provender | dry food for livestock; fodder |
| proviso | stipulation; condition in an agreement; provision |
| prurient | having or causing lustful desires and thoughts; arousing immoderate sexual desire |
| prize | pry; move with a lever; value highly; esteem; Ex. his most prized possession; N: something captured during war-time (esp. an enemy ship) |
| puerile | childish; immature; CF. puer: boy |
| puissant | powerful; strong; potent; N. puissance: power |
| punctilious | minutely attentive (perhaps too much so) to fine points; stressing niceties of conduct or form; N. punctilio, punctiliousness: careful attention payed to every small exact detail |
| purchase | secure grasp or hold; firm grasp or footing |
| purport | intention; purpose; meaning; V: claim; profess; Ex. order which purports to be signed by the general |
| putative | supposed; reputed; generally regarded as such; Ex. putative father of the child |
| quaff | drink with zest; drink with relish(zest; hearty enjoyment); ²Ü²©²Ü²© ¸¶½Ã´Ù; CF. sip |
| quail | cower; shrink back in fear; lose heart |
| quay | dock; wharf; pier; landing place (for boats) |
| quell | suppress; put an end to; put down forcibly; extinguish; quiet; Ex. ``Army Quells Rebellion'' in newspaper; CF. kill |
| querulous | given to complaining; complaining; fretful; whining |
| quintessence | purest and highest embodiment; perfect example; apotheosis; most essential element; Ex. quintessence of wit; ADJ. quintessential; CF. fifth essence |
| quip | taunt; clever sarcastic remark; V. |
| quisling | traitor who aids invaders; CF. Vidkun Quisling |
| quorum | minimal number of members necessary to conduct a meeting |
| raconteur | story-teller; one who tells stories with wit and skill |
| rakish | jaunty; stylish; sporty; morally corrupt; dissolute; Ex. He wore his hat at a rakish and jaunty angle. |
| rake | angle of a slope; V: slant from the perpendicular |
| rake | immoral or dissolute person |
| ramification | branching out; subdivision; one branch of a system; one of the results following from an action or decision; Ex. ramifications of a business/the decision |
| ramify | branch out; divide into branches or subdivisions |
| rankle | irritate; fester; annoy |
| rapacious | voracious; ravenous; taking everything one can; excessively grasping; plundering; subsisting on live prey; Ex. rapacious birds |
| ratiocination | reasoning; act of drawing conclusions from premises; V. ratiocinate: reason logically |
| raucous | (of voice) harsh and unpleasant; (of people) disorderly and boisterous; Ex. raucous shouts |
| reactionary | strongly opposed to social or political change; opposing progress; politically ultraconservative; N. OP. radical |
| rebuff | reject bluntly; snub; beat back; Ex. She rebuffed his invitation; N. |
| rebus | representation of words in the form of pictures or symbols; puzzle in which pictures or letters stand for words; Ex. ``R U 18'' is a rebus for ``Are you 18''. |
| recalcitrant | disobedient or resisting authority even after being punished; obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly; Ex. recalcitrant child |
| recant | disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error; Ex. recant one's faith/a statement |
| recidivism | habitual return to crime (even after being punished); N. recidivist |
| recondite | abstruse; not easily understood; profound; secret |
| recourse | resorting to help when in trouble; Ex. without recourse to |
| recreant | disloyal; cowardly; N: disloyal and cowardly person |
| recrimination | countercharges; V. recriminate |
| rectitude | moral correctness; moral uprightness; moral virtue; correctness of judgment |
| recumbent | reclining; lying down completely or in part |
| redolent | odorous; fragrant; suggestive (of an odor); Ex. redolent of onions/mystery |
| redress | remedy; compensation; Ex. seek redress for the damage to your car; V: put right; remedy or rectify (a wrong); make amends for |
| redundant | superfluous; more than is necessary; verbose; excessively wordy; repetitious |
| refectory | dining hall; room where meals are served (in a school) |
| refractory | unmanageable; disobedient and stubborn; Ex. refractory horse |
| refulgent | effulgent; brilliant; brightly shining; gleaming; Ex. refulgent moon |
| penology | study of prison management and criminal rehabilitation |
| rejoinder | reply; retort; comeback; V. rejoin: say in reply |
| remit | transmit (money) in payment; free someone from a debt or punishment |
| remunerative | (of work) compensating; rewarding; profitable; well-paid; V. remunerate: reward; pay (someone) for work or trouble |
| repartee | quick clever reply |
| repast | meal; feast; banquet |
| repine | fret; complain; be annoyed; Ex. repine over the undone work |
| replete | fully filled; filled to the brim or to the point of being stuffed; abundantly supplied; Ex. report replete with errors |
| reprise | musical repetition; repeating of a piece of music; repeat performance; recurrent action; Ex. reprise in the finale; Ex. constant reprises |
| reprobate | morally disapproved person; person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency; CF. disapproved by God ? |
| repugnance | disgust; strong dislike; loathing; ADJ. repugnant: arousing disgust; repulsive |
| requiem | mass for the dead; dirge |
| resound | (of a place) be filled with sound; (of a sound) sound loudly; sound back; echo; Ex. hall resounded with laughter |
| restive | impatiently restless (induced by external coercion or restriction); restlessly impatient; obstinately resisting control; Ex. restive horses because of wolves; CF. not a general synonym for `restless' |
| reticent | inclined to silence; uncommunicative; reserved; Ex. He was reticent about the reasons; N. reticence |
| retiring | shy and reserved (of a person); modest; Ex. her retiring personality |
| retrench | cut down; cut down expenses; economize |
| reverie | daydream; abstracted musing |
| revile | attack with abusive language; vilify(slander) |
| rider | amendment or clause added to a legislative bill |
| roil | make liquids murky by stirring up sediment; disturb |
| roseate | rosy; optimistic; Ex. roseate views |
| rostrum | raised platform for speech-making; pulpit |
| rote | repetition; memorization through repetition without understanding; Ex. learn poetry by rote |
| rubric | title or heading (in red print); directions for religious ceremony; protocol |
| rusticate | banish to the country; dwell in the country |
| saccharine | cloying sweet; characteristic of sugar or saccharin |
| salient | prominent; projecting beyond a line; conspicuous; Ex. salient features |
| saline | salty |
| sallow | (of the skin) yellowish and unhealthy-looking; sickly in color; Ex. sallow complexion due to jaundice |
| sanctimonious | displaying ostentatious or hypocritical devoutness; N. sanctimony: hypocritical piety |
| sanguinary | bloody; with much bloodshed |
| sanguine | optimistic; cheerful; hopeful; of the color of blood; red |
| sartorial | pertaining to tailors or tailoring; Ex. a man of great sartorial elegance; CF. sartor: tailor |
| sate | satisfy to the full; satisfy to excess; cloy |
| saturnine | morose; gloomy; Ex. Do not be misled by his saturnine countenance. |
| satyr | half-human, half-bestial being in the court of Dionysus (resembling a goat), portrayed as wanton(unrestrained) and cunning; lecher; CF. faun; CF. goat: lecherous man |
| saunter | stroll(go for a leisurely walk) slowly; N. |
| scad | a great quantity; Ex. scads of clothes |
| scintillate | sparkle; flash; be animated; be full of life; Ex. scintillating conversation |
| scotch | stamp out(put an end to); thwart; hinder; Ex. scotch the rumor; CF. cut; CF. È°µ¿À» ÁÙÀÌ´Â ÀÇ¹Ì |
| scruple | hesitate for ethical reasons; fret about; Ex. She did not scruple to read his diary; N: uneasy feeling arising from conscience; conscience |
| scurrilous | abusive; obscene; indecent |
| scuttle | sink (a ship) by cutting holes in the hull; scrap; discard; N: small hatch in a ship's deck or hull |
| seamy | sordid; base; filthy; unwholesome; Ex. seamy side of city life |
| sedition | conduct or language inciting rebellion; rebellion; resistance to authority; insubordination; ADJ. seditious |
| sedulous | diligent; assiduous; paying attention |
| sententious | pithy; terse; concise; aphoristic |
| septic | of or causing sepsis; putrid; producing putrefaction; N. sepsis: poisoning of part of the body (producing pus) |
| sepulcher | tomb; V: place in a sepulcher; ADJ. sepulchral |
| sere | sear; parched; dry |
| serendipity | gift for finding valuable things by accident; accidental good fortune or luck; CF. The Three Princes of Serendip |
| sheaf | bundle of stalks of grain; any bundle of things tied together |
| shunt | move (a railway train) from one track to another; turn aside; divert; sidetrack; Ex. shunt traffic around an accident; N. |
| shyster | lawyer using questionable methods; unscrupulous practioner |
| sibylline | prophetic; oracular; N. sibyl: woman prophet (in the ancient world) |
| sidereal | relating to stars; Ex. sidereal day |
| simper | smirk; smile in a silly way; smile affectedly |
| sinecure | well-paid position with little responsibility; CF. sine cure: without care; CF. San Serif |
| skinflint | miser; stingy person |
| skulduggery(skullduggery) | dishonest behavior or action; Ex. skulduggery in the election |
| slacken | slow up; loosen; make or become slack |
| slack | moving slowly; sluggish; inactive; (of a rope) loose; negligent; lax; Ex. slack season; Ex. slack in one's work; N. V. |
| slapdash | hasty and careless; haphazard; sloppy(carelessly done) |
| slipshod | slovenly; careless; sloppy; untidy; shabby; Ex. slipshod work |
| slough | (of a snake) shed or cast off (dead outer skin); N: outer layer that is shed |
| sledge | large sled drawn by work animals |
| sluice | artificial channel for directing or controlling the flow of water (with a gate to regulate the flow) |
| sodden | thoroughly soaked; dull or stupid as if from drink |
| sojourn | temporary stay; V: stay for a time |
| solecism | nonstandard grammatical construction; construction that is flagrantly incorrect grammatically; violation of social etiquette |
| solicitous | anxious; worried; concerned; eager; Ex. solicitous to do something; N. solicitude |
| somnambulist | sleepwalker; V. somnambulate; N. somnambulism |
| somnolent | half asleep; drowsy; N. somnolence |
| sonorous | resonant; producing a full deep sound; producing sound |
| sophist | teacher of philosophy; quibbler; employer of fallacious reasoning; N. sophism: plausible but fallacious argument |
| sophistry | seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning; sophism |
| soporific | sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness; drowsy |
| spangle | small shiny metallic piece sewn to clothing for ornamentation |
| spate | sudden flood or rush; Ex. spate of accidents |
| specious | seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentionally) |
| spendthrift | someone who wastes money; CF. thrift: accumulated wealth |
| sphinx-like | enigmatic; mysterious |
| spoonerism | accidental transposition of sounds in successive words; Ex. ``Let me sew you to your sheet'' for ``Let me show you to your seat''; CF. William Spooner |
| spurious | false; counterfeit; forged; illogical; Ex. spurious arguments |
| spurn | reject disdainfully; scorn; Ex. She spurned all offers of help. |
| staccato | played in an abrupt manner; marked by abrupt sharp sound; Ex. staccato applause |
| legato | (of music) played smoothly |
| staid | serious and sedate; sober; Ex. staid during the funeral ceremony |
| stanch | stop or check flow of blood; Ex. stanch the gushing wound |
| stem | stop or check (the flow of); Ex. stem the bleeding from the slashed artery; N: main axis of a plant; stalk |
| stentorian | (of the voice) extremely loud; CF. Stentor: a loud herald in the Iliad |
| stickler | perfectionist; person who insists things be exactly right |
| stilted | bombastic; stiffly pompous; Ex. stilted rhetoric; CF. stiff: formal |
| stint | set limits in amount or number; be thrifty; ADJ. stinting, unstinting; CF. stint:savings |
| stodgy | dull; stuffy; boringly conservative; Ex. stodgy book |
| stolid | dull; impassive; showing little emotion when strong feelings are expected |
| stricture | severe and adverse criticism; critical comments; limit or restriction |
| strident | loud and harsh; insistent; N. stridency |
| stultify | make stupid in mind; cause to appear or become stupid or inconsistent; suppress; frustrate or hinder; Ex. stultifying effect of uninteresting work; Ex. stultify free expression |
| stygian | unpleasantly dark; gloomy; hellish; deathly; CF. Styx: the chief river in the subterranean land of the dead |
| stymie | thwart; present an obstacle; stump |
| subaltern | subordinate |
| sublimate | refine; purify; replace (natural urges) with socially acceptable activities; change between a solid state and a gaseous state |
| suborn | persuade to act unlawfully (especially to commit perjury); N. subornation |
| subsume | include (as a member of a group); encompass |
| succor | assist (someone in difficulty); aid; comfort; N. |
| suffuse | spread through or over (with a color or liquid); charge; Ex. A blush suffused her cheeks. |
| sultry | (of weather) hot; sweltering; sensual; voluptuous |
| sumptuous | grand suggesting great expense; lavish; rich; Ex. sumptuous feast |
| sunder | separate; part; CF. asunder |
| sundry | miscellaneous; various; several; N. sundries: small miscellaneous items |
| superannuated | retired or disqualified because of age; outmoded; obsolete |
| supercilious | haughty; arrogant; condescending; patronizing; CF. eyebrow, cilium |
| supererogatory | superfluous; more than needed or demanded |
| supernumerary | person or thing excess of what is necessary; extra; ADJ: additional to the usual or necessary number |
| surreptitious | done secretly; secret; furtive; sneaky; hidden |
| swarthy | (of a skin or complexion) dark; dusky; |
| swathe | wrap around; bandage |
| sybarite | lover of luxury; person devoted to pleasure and luxury; CF. Sybaris: an ancient Greek city in Italy |
| syllogism | logical formula consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion; deceptive or specious argument |
| sylvan | pertaining to the woods or the country |
| tantamount | equivalent in effect or value; Ex. This invasion is tantamount to a declaration of war; CF. amount |
| tautological | needlessly repetitious; Ex. ``It was visible to the eye''; N. tautology: needless repetition of the same sense; statement that is always true |
| teetotalism | practice of abstaining totally from alcoholic drinks; N. teetotaler;; ADJ. teetotal; CF. T + total |
| temerity | boldness; nerve; rashness; Ex. temerity to ask for a pay increase after only three day's work |
| tendentious | promoting a particular point of view; biased; having an aim; designed to further a cause; Ex. tendentious rather than truth-seeking; CF. tend: move in a certain direction |
| tender | offer formally; extend; Ex. tender one's resignation/the exact fare; N: formal offer; money; Ex. legal tender; ADJ: young and vulnerable; sensitive to the touch; sore; soft; delicate; Ex. child of tender years; Ex. tender wound |
| tepid | lukewarm; slightly warm; ¹ÌÁö±ÙÇÑ; half-hearted; not eager; Ex. tepid reaction to the new film; Ex. tepid supporter |
| tessellated | mosaic; inlaid; Ex. tessellated pattern |
| testator | maker of a will; CF. testatrix |
| thrall | slave; bondage; slavery; Ex. Her beauty held him in thrall; CF. enthrall |
| throttle | strangle; regulate the speed of with a throttle; N: valve that regulates the flow; CF. throat ? |
| tiller | handle used to move boat's rudder (to steer) |
| tipple | drink (alcoholic beverages) frequently; N: alcoholic drink |
| titillate | tickle; excite pleasantly; Ex. not to titillate the audience but to enlighten it |
| titter | nervous giggle; nervous laugh; V. |
| titular | of a title; in name only; nominal; having the title of an office without the obligations; Ex. titular head of the company |
| tonsure | shaving of the head especially by person entering religious orders; V. |
| torrid | (of weather) hot or scorching; passionate; Ex. torrid love affairs |
| tortuous | winding; full of curves; Ex. tortuous mountain road |
| tract | propaganda pamphlet (esp. by a religious or political group); expanse of land; region of indefinite size; system of related organs; Ex. digestive tract |
| tractable | docile; easily managed; (of something) easily changed or molded; N. tractability |
| traduce | expose to slander |
| travail | strenuous work; toil; painful labor; labor of childbirth |
| troth | pledge of good faith especially in betrothal; betrothal; Ex. by my troth |
| truculence | aggressiveness; ferocity; ADJ. truculent: aggressive; pugnacious; fierce |
| tryst | meeting arranged by lovers; arrangement between lovers to meet |
| tumid | (of a part of the body) swollen; distended; bombastic; pompous |
| tumult | commotion of a great crowd; riot; noise; uproar; ADJ. tumultuous: noisy and disorderly |
| tureen | deep dish for serving soup |
| turpitude | depravity; baseness; Ex. moral turpitude |
| tutelary | protective; pertaining to a guardianship; Ex. tutelary deities |
| ubiquitous | being everywhere; omnipresent; N. ubiquity |
| ulterior | intentionally hidden; beyond what is evident; situated beyond; unstated and often questionable; Ex. ulterior motive |
| umbrage | resentment; anger; sense of injury or insult; Ex. take umbrage at his rudeness |
| unassuaged | unsatisfied; not soothed |
| unction | the act of anointing with oil; Ex. extreme unction |
| unctuous | oily; bland; insincerely suave |
| unequivocal | plain; clear; obvious |
| unexceptionable | entirely acceptable; not offering any basis for criticism |
| unfaltering | steadfast; firm; not changing |
| debar | bar; forbid; exclude; Ex. debarred from jury services |
| unguent | ointment |
| unprepossessing | unattractive |
| untenable | (of a position, esp. in an argument) indefensible; not able to be maintained |
| untoward | unexpected and adverse; unfortunate or unlucky; Ex. untoward encounter |
| unwonted | unaccustomed; unusual; Ex. He arrived with unwonted punctuality. |
| urbane | suave; refined in manner; elegant |
| Shangri-la | imaginary remote paradise on earth; CF. Lost Horizon |
| uxorious | excessively submissive or devoted to one's wife; CF. uxor: wife |
| vagary | capricious happening; caprice; whim; CF. wander |
| vainglorious | boastful; excessively conceited; N. vainglory: great vanity |
| valedictory | pertaining to farewell; N: farewell address (esp. at graduation exercises) |
| vanguard | forerunners; foremost position of an army; advance forces; foremost position in a trend or movement; CF. rearguard |
| vapid | lacking liveliness; dull and unimaginative; insipid and flavorless; Ex. vapid lecture |
| vaunted | boasted; bragged; highly publicized; V. vaunt: boast; brag |
| venal | capable of being bribed; corrupt; CF. vernal |
| ventral | abdominal |
| veracious | (of a person) truthful |
| veracity | truthfulness; adherence to the truth |
| verbiage | pompous array of words; too many unnecessary words; wordiness |
| verdigris | green coating or patina on copper which has been exposed to the weather |
| verve | enthusiasm (as in artistic performance or composition); liveliness; vigor |
| viand | food; CF. live |
| vicar | parish priest; representative |
| vicissitude | change (esp. from good to bad); change of fortune; CF. the last emperor of China |
| victuals | food; provisions; V. victual: provide with food |
| visceral | felt in one's inner organs; N. viscera: internal body organs; CF. eviscerate |
| viscid | adhesive; gluey |
| vitiate | spoil the effect of; make inoperative; corrupt morally |
| vitreous | of glass; pertaining to or resembling glass; V. vitrify: change into glass; CF. petrify |
| vitriolic | causing sharp pain to the mind; caustic; corrosive; sarcastic; of vitriol; N. vitriol: sulphuric acid (which burns flesh deeply); bitterly abusive expression; caustic expression; CF. glass |
| vituperative | abusive; scolding; V. vituperate: berate; scold; rail against abusively |
| vivacious | lively or animated; sprightly |
| vivisection | act of dissecting living animals |
| vociferous | clamorous; noisy; V. vociferate: cry out loudly (when complaining) |
| volition | act of using one's will; act of making a conscious choice; Ex. She selected this dress of her own volition. |
| voluble | fluent; talkative; glib; N. volubility |
| vouchsafe | grant condescendingly; guarantee; Ex. vouchsafe your fair return on your investment |
| vulpine | like a fox; crafty |
| waffle | speak equivocally about an issue; N. |
| waggish | humorous; mischievous; tricky |
| waif | homeless child or animal; Ex. waifs and strays |
| wangle | achieve by cleverness or trick; wiggle out; fake; Ex. She tried to wangle an invitation to the party. |
| wastrel | waster; profligate |
| welter | confusion; turmoil; confused mass; bewildering jumble; Ex. welter of data |
| wheedle | deceive, persuade, or obtain by flattery; cajole; coax; Ex. wheedle a promise out of her |
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