| Term | Definition |
|---|
| quackery | n. Charlatanry |
| quadrate | v. To divide into quarters. |
| quadruple | v. To multiply by four. |
| qualification | n. A requisite for an employment, position, right, or privilege. |
| qualify | v. To endow or furnish with requisite ability, character, knowledge, skill, or possessions. |
| qualm | n. A fit of nausea. |
| quandary | n. A puzzling predicament. |
| quantity | n. Magnitude. |
| quarantine | n. The enforced isolation of any person or place infected with contagious disease. |
| quarrelsome | adj. Irascible. |
| quarter | n. One of four equal parts into which anything is or may be divided. |
| quarterly | adj. Occurring or made at intervals of three months. |
| quartet | n. A composition for four voices or four instruments. |
| quarto | n. An eight-page newspaper of any size. |
| quay | n. A wharf or artificial landing-place on the shore of a harbor or projecting into it. |
| querulous | adj. Habitually complaining. |
| query | v. To make inquiry. |
| queue | n. A file of persons waiting in order of their arrival, as for admittance. |
| quibble | n. An utterly trivial distinction or objection. |
| quiescence | n. Quiet. |
| quiescent | adj. Being in a state of repose or inaction. |
| quiet | adj. Making no noise. |
| quietus | n. A silencing, suppressing, or ending. |
| quintessence | n. The most essential part of anything. |
| quintet | n. Musical composition arranged for five voices or instruments. |
| quite | adv. Fully. |
| Quixotic | adj. Chivalrous or romantic to a ridiculous or extravagant degree. |
| rabid | adj. Affected with rabies or hydrophobia. |
| racy | adj. Exciting or exhilarating to the mind. |
| radiance | n. Brilliant or sparkling luster. |
| radiate | v. To extend in all directions, as from a source or focus. |
| radical | n. One who holds extreme views or advocates extreme measures. |
| radix | n. That from or on which something is developed. |
| raillery | n. Good-humored satire. |
| ramify | v. To divide or subdivide into branches or subdivisions. |
| ramose | adj. Branch-like. |
| rampant | adj. Growing, climbing, or running without check or restraint. |
| rampart | n. A bulwark or construction to oppose assault or hostile entry. |
| rancor | n. Malice. |
| rankle | v. To produce irritation or festering. |
| rapacious | adj. Disposed to seize by violence or by unlawful or greedy methods. |
| rapid | adj. Having great speed. |
| rapine | n. The act of seizing and carrying off property by superior force, as in war. |
| rapt | adj. Enraptured. |
| raptorial | adj. Seizing and devouring living prey. |
| ration | v. To provide with a fixed allowance or portion, especially of food. |
| rationalism | n. The formation of opinions by relying upon reason alone, independently of authority. |
| raucous | adj. Harsh. |
| ravage | v. To lay waste by pillage, rapine, devouring, or other destructive methods. |
| ravenous | adj. Furiously voracious or hungry. |
| ravine | n. A deep gorge or hollow, especially one worn by a stream or flow of water. |
| reaction | n. Tendency towards a former, or opposite state of things, as after reform, revolution, or inflation. |
| reactionary | adj. Pertaining to, of the nature of, causing, or favoring reaction. |
| readily | adv. Without objection or reluctance. |
| readjust | v. To put in order after disarrangement. |
| ready | adj. In a state of preparedness for any given purpose or occasion. |
| realism | n. The principle and practice of depicting persons and scenes as they are believed really to exist. |
| rearrange | v. To arrange again or in a different order. |
| reassure | v. To give new confidence. |
| rebellious | adj. Insubordinate. |
| rebuff | n. A peremptory or unexpected rejection of advances or approaches. |
| rebuild | v. To build again or anew. |
| rebut | v. To oppose by argument or a sufficient answer. |
| recant | v. To withdraw formally one's belief (in something previously believed or maintained). |
| recapitulate | v. To repeat again the principal points of. |
| recapture | v. To capture again. |
| recede | v. To move back or away. |
| receivable | adj. Capable of being or fit to be received - often money. |
| receptive | adj. Having the capacity, quality, or ability of receiving, as truths or impressions. |
| recessive | adj. Having a tendency to go back. |
| recidivist | n. A confirmed criminal. |
| reciprocal | adj. Mutually interchangeable or convertible. |
| reciprocate | v. To give and take mutually. |
| reciprocity | n. Equal mutual rights and benefits granted and enjoyed. |
| recitation | n. The act of reciting or repeating, especially in public and from memory. |
| reck | v. To have a care or thought for. |
| reckless | adj. Foolishly headless of danger. |
| reclaim | v. To demand or to obtain the return or restoration of. |
| recline | v. To cause to assume a leaning or recumbent attitude or position. |
| recluse | n. One who lives in retirement or seclusion. |
| reclusory | n. A hermitage. |
| recognizance | n. An acknowledgment entered into before a court with condition to do some particular act. |
| recognize | v. To recall the identity of (a person or thing). |
| recoil | v. To start back as in dismay, loathing, or dread. |
| recollect | v. To recall the knowledge of. |
| reconcilable | adj. Capable of being adjusted or harmonized. |
| reconnoiter | v. To make a preliminary examination of for military, surveying, or geological purposes. |
| reconsider | v. To review with care, especially with a view to a reversal of previous action. |
| reconstruct | v. To rebuild. |
| recourse | n. Resort to or application for help in exigency or trouble. |
| recover | v. To regain. |
| recreant | n. A cowardly or faithless person. |
| recreate | v. To refresh after labor. |
| recrudescence | n. The state of becoming raw or sore again. |
| recrudescent | adj. Becoming raw or sore again. |
| recruit | v. To enlist men for military or naval service. |
| rectify | v. To correct. |
| rectitude | n. The quality of being upright in principles and conduct. |
| recuperate | v. To recover. |
| recur | v. To happen again or repeatedly, especially at regular intervals. |
| recure | v. To cure again. |
| recurrent | adj. Returning from time to time, especially at regular or stated intervals. |
| redemption | n. The recovery of what is mortgaged or pledged, by paying the debt. |
| redolent | adj. Smelling sweet and agreeable. |
| redolence | n. Smelling sweet and agreeable. |
| redoubtable | adj. Formidable. |
| redound | n. Rebound. |
| redress | v. To set right, as a wrong by compensation or the punishment of the wrong-doer. |
| reducible | adj. That may be reduced. |
| redundance | n. Excess. |
| redundant | adj. Constituting an excess. |
| reestablish | v. To restore. |
| refer | v. To direct or send for information or other purpose. |
| referrer | n. One who refers. |
| referable | adj. Ascribable. |
| referee | n. An umpire. |
| refinery | n. A place where some crude material, as sugar or petroleum, is purified. |
| reflectible | adj. Capable of being turned back. |
| reflection | n. The throwing off or back of light, heat, sound, or any form of energy that travels in waves. |
| reflector | n. A mirror, as of metal, for reflecting light, heat, or sound in a particular direction. |
| reflexible | adj. Capable of being reflected. |
| reform | n. Change for the better. |
| reformer | n. One who carries out a reform. |
| refract | v. To bend or turn from a direct course. |
| refractory | adj. Not amenable to control. |
| refragable | adj. Capable of being refuted. |
| refringency | n. Power to refract. |
| refringent | adj. Having the power to refract. |
| refusal | n. Denial of what is asked. |
| refute | v. To prove to be wrong. |
| regale | v. To give unusual pleasure. |
| regalia | n. pl. The emblems of royalty. |
| regality | n. Royalty. |
| regenerate | v. To reproduce. |
| regent | n. One who is lawfully deputized to administer the government for the time being in the name of the ruler. |
| regicide | n. The killing of a king or sovereign. |
| regime | n. Particular conduct or administration of affairs. |
| regimen | n. A systematized order or course of living with reference to food, clothing and personal habits. |
| regiment | n. A body of soldiers. |
| regnant | adj. Exercising royal authority in one's own right. |
| regress | v. To return to a former place or condition. |
| regretful | adj. Feeling, expressive of, or full of regret. |
| rehabilitate | v. To restore to a former status, capacity, right rank, or privilege. |
| reign | v. To hold and exercise sovereign power. |
| reimburse | v. To pay back as an equivalent of what has been expended. |
| rein | n. A step attached to the bit for controlling a horse or other draft-animal. |
| reinstate | v. To restore to a former state, station, or authority. |
| reiterate | v. To say or do again and again. |
| rejoin | v. To reunite after separation. |
| rejuvenate | v. To restore to youth. |
| rejuvenescence | n. A renewal of youth. |
| relapse | v. To suffer a return of a disease after partial recovery. |
| relegate | v. To send off or consign, as to an obscure position or remote destination. |
| relent | v. To yield. |
| relevant | adj. Bearing upon the matter in hand. |
| reliance | n. Dependence. |
| reliant | adj. Having confidence. |
| relinquish | v. To give up using or having. |
| reliquary | n. A casket, coffer, or repository in which relics are kept. |
| relish | v. To like the taste or savor of. |
| reluctance | n. Unwillingness. |
| reluctant | adj. Unwilling. |
| remembrance | n. Recollection. |
| reminiscence | n. The calling to mind of incidents within the range of personal knowledge or experience. |
| reminiscent | adj. Pertaining to the recollection of matters of personal interest. |
| remiss | adj. Negligent. |
| remission | n. Temporary diminution of a disease. |
| remodel | v. Reconstruct. |
| remonstrance | n. Reproof. |
| remonstrant | adj. Having the character of a reproof. |
| remonstrate | v. To present a verbal or written protest to those who have power to right or prevent a wrong. |
| remunerate | v. To pay or pay for. |
| remuneration | n. Compensation. |
| Renaissance | n. The revival of letters, and then of art, which marks the transition from medieval to modern time. |
| rendezvous | n. A prearranged place of meeting. |
| rendition | n. Interpretation. |
| renovate | v. To restore after deterioration, as a building. |
| renunciation | n. An explicit disclaimer of a right or privilege. |
| reorganize | v. To change to a more satisfactory form of organization. |
| reparable | adj. Capable of repair. |
| reparation | n. The act of making amends, as for an injury, loss, or wrong. |
| repartee | n. A ready, witty, or apt reply. |
| repeal | v. To render of no further effect. |
| repel | v. To force or keep back in a manner, physically or mentally. |
| repellent | adj. Having power to force back in a manner, physically or mentally. |
| repentance | n. Sorrow for something done or left undone, with desire to make things right by undoing the wrong. |
| repertory | n. A place where things are stored or gathered together. |
| repetition | n. The act of repeating. |
| repine | v. To indulge in fretfulness and faultfinding. |
| replenish | v. To fill again, as something that has been emptied. |
| replete | adj. Full to the uttermost. |
| replica | n. A duplicate executed by the artist himself, and regarded, equally with the first, as an original. |
| repository | n. A place in which goods are stored. |
| reprehend | v. To find fault with. |
| reprehensible | adj. Censurable. |
| reprehension | n. Expression of blame. |
| repress | v. To keep under restraint or control. |
| repressible | adj. Able to be kept under restraint or control. |
| reprieve | v. To grant a respite from punishment to. |
| reprimand | v. To chide or rebuke for a fault. |
| reprisal | n. Any infliction or act by way of retaliation on an enemy. |
| reprobate | n. One abandoned to depravity and sin. |
| reproduce | v. To make a copy of. |
| reproduction | n. The process by which an animal or plant gives rise to another of its kind. |
| reproof | n. An expression of disapproval or blame personally addressed to one censured. |
| repudiate | v. To refuse to have anything to do with. |
| repugnance | n. Thorough dislike. |
| repugnant | adj. Offensive to taste and feeling. |
| repulse | n. The act of beating or driving back, as an attacking or advancing enemy. |
| repulsive | adj. Grossly offensive. |
| repute | v. To hold in general opinion. |
| requiem | n. A solemn mass sung for the repose of the souls of the dead. |
| requisite | adj. Necessary. |
| requital | n. Adequate return for good or ill. |
| requite | v. To repay either good or evil to, as to a person. |
| rescind | v. To make void, as an act, by the enacting authority or a superior authority. |
| reseat | v. To place in position of office again. |
| resemblance | n. Similarity in quality or form. |
| resent | v. To be indignant at, as an injury or insult. |
| reservoir | n. A receptacle where a quantity of some material, especially of a liquid or gas, may be kept. |
| residue | n. A remainder or surplus after a part has been separated or otherwise treated. |
| resilience | n. The power of springing back to a former position |
| resilient | adj. Having the quality of springing back to a former position. |
| resistance | n. The exertion of opposite effort or effect. |
| resistant | adj. Offering or tending to produce resistance. |
| resistive | adj. Having or exercising the power of resistance. |
| resistless | adj. Powerless. |
| resonance | n. The quality of being able to reinforce sound by sympathetic vibrations. |
| resonance | adj. Able to reinforce sound by sympathetic vibrations. |
| resonate | v. To have or produce resonance. |
| resource | n. That which is restored to, relied upon, or made available for aid or support. |
| respite | n. Interval of rest. |
| resplendent | adj. Very bright. |
| respondent | adj. Answering. |
| restitution | n. Restoration of anything to the one to whom it properly belongs. |
| resumption | n. The act of taking back, or taking again. |
| resurgent | adj. Surging back or again. |
| resurrection | n. A return from death to life |
| resuscitate | v. To restore from apparent death. |
| retaliate | v. To repay evil with a similar evil. |
| retch | v. To make an effort to vomit. |
| retention | n. The keeping of a thing within one's power or possession. |
| reticence | n. The quality of habitually keeping silent or being reserved in utterance. |
| reticent | adj. Habitually keeping silent or being reserved in utterance. |
| retinue | n. The body of persons who attend a person of importance in travel or public appearance. |
| retort | n. A retaliatory speech. |
| retouch | v. To modify the details of. |
| retrace | v. To follow backward or toward the place of beginning, as a track or marking. |
| retract | v. To recall or take back (something that one has said). |
| retrench | v. To cut down or reduce in extent or quantity. |
| retrieve | v. To recover something by searching. |
| retroactive | adj. Operative on, affecting, or having reference to past events, transactions, responsibilities. |
| retrograde | v. To cause to deteriorate or to move backward. |
| retrogression | n. A going or moving backward or in a reverse direction. |
| retrospect | n. A view or contemplation of something past. |
| retrospective | adj. Looking back on the past. |
| reunite | v. To unite or join again, as after separation. |
| revelation | n. A disclosing, discovering, or making known of what was before secret, private, or unknown. |
| revere | v. To regard with worshipful veneration. |
| reverent | adj. Humble. |
| reversion | n. A return to or toward some former state or condition. |
| revert | v. To return, or turn or look back, as toward a former position or the like. |
| revile | v. To heap approach or abuse upon. |
| revisal | n. Revision. |
| revise | v. To examine for the correction of errors, or for the purpose of making changes. |
| revocation | n. Repeal. |
| revoke | v. To rescind. |
| rhapsody | n. Rapt or rapturous utterance. |
| rhetoric | n. The art of discourse. |
| rhetorician | n. A showy writer or speaker. |
| ribald | adj. Indulging in or manifesting coarse indecency or obscenity. |
| riddance | n. The act or ridding or delivering from something undesirable. |
| ridicule | n. Looks or acts expressing amused contempt. |
| ridiculous | adj. Laughable and contemptible. |
| rife | adj. Abundant. |
| righteousness | n. Rectitude. |
| rightful | adj. Conformed to a just claim according to established laws or usage. |
| rigmarole | n. Nonsense. |
| rigor | n. Inflexibility. |
| rigorous | adj. Uncompromising. |
| ripplet | n. A small ripple, as of water. |
| risible | adj. capable of exciting laughter. |
| rivulet | n. A small stream or brook. |
| robust | adj. Characterized by great strength or power of endurance. |
| rondo | n. A musical composition during which the first part or subject is repeated several times. |
| rookery | n. A place where crows congregate to breed. |
| rotary | adj. Turning around its axis, like a wheel, or so constructed as to turn thus. |
| rotate | v. To cause to turn on or as on its axis, as a wheel. |
| rote | n. Repetition of words or sounds as a means of learning them, with slight attention. |
| rotund | adj. Round from fullness or plumpness. |
| rudimentary | adj. Being in an initial, early, or incomplete stage of development. |
| rue | v. To regret extremely. |
| ruffian | adj. A lawless or recklessly brutal fellow. |
| ruminant | adj. Chewing the cud. |
| ruminate | v. To chew over again, as food previously swallowed and regurgitated. |
| rupture | v. To separate the parts of by violence. |
| rustic | adj. Characteristic of dwelling in the country. |
| ruth | n. Sorrow for another's misery. |
| sacrifice | v. To make an offering of to deity, especially by presenting on an altar. |
| sacrificial | adj. Offering or offered as an atonement for sin. |
| sacrilege | n. The act of violating or profaning anything sacred. |
| sacrilegious | adj. Impious. |
| safeguard | v. To protect. |
| sagacious | adj. Able to discern and distinguish with wise perception. |
| salacious | adj. Having strong sexual desires. |
| salience | n. The condition of standing out distinctly. |
| salient | adj. Standing out prominently. |
| saline | adj. Constituting or consisting of salt. |
| salutary | adj. Beneficial. |
| salutation | n. Any form of greeting, hailing, or welcome, whether by word or act. |
| salutatory | n. The opening oration at the commencement in American colleges. |
| salvage | n. Any act of saving property. |
| salvo | n. A salute given by firing all the guns, as at the funeral of an officer. |
| sanctimonious | adj. Making an ostentatious display or hypocritical pretense of holiness or piety. |
| sanction | v. To approve authoritatively. |
| sanctity | n. Holiness. |
| sanguinary | adj. Bloody. |
| sanguine | adj. Having the color of blood. |
| sanguineous | adj. Consisting of blood. |
| sapid | adj. Affecting the sense of taste. |
| sapience | n. Deep wisdom or knowledge. |
| sapient | adj. Possessing wisdom. |
| sapiential | adj. Possessing wisdom. |
| saponaceous | adj. Having the nature or quality of soap. |
| sarcasm | n. Cutting and reproachful language. |
| sarcophagus | n. A stone coffin or a chest-like tomb. |
| sardonic | adj. Scornfully or bitterly sarcastic. |
| satiate | v. To satisfy fully the appetite or desire of. |
| satire | n. The employment of sarcasm, irony, or keenness of wit in ridiculing vices. |
| satiric | adj. Resembling poetry, in which vice, incapacity ,or corruption is held up to ridicule. |
| satirize | v. To treat with sarcasm or derisive wit. |
| satyr | n. A very lascivious person. |
| savage | n. A wild and uncivilized human being. |
| savor | v. To perceive by taste or smell. |
| scabbard | n. The sheath of a sword or similar bladed weapon. |
| scarcity | n. Insufficiency of supply for needs or ordinary demands. |
| scholarly | adj. Characteristic of an erudite person. |
| scholastic | adj. Pertaining to education or schools. |
| scintilla | n. The faintest ray. |
| scintillate | v. To emit or send forth sparks or little flashes of light. |
| scope | n. A range of action or view. |
| scoundrel | n. A man without principle. |
| scribble | n. Hasty, careless writing. |
| scribe | n. One who writes or is skilled in writing. |
| script | n. Writing or handwriting of the ordinary cursive form. |
| Scriptural | adj. Pertaining to, contained in, or warranted by the Holy Scriptures. |
| scruple | n. Doubt or uncertainty regarding a question of moral right or duty. |
| scrupulous | adj. Cautious in action for fear of doing wrong. |
| scurrilous | adj. Grossly indecent or vulgar. |
| scuttle | v. To sink (a ship) by making holes in the bottom. |
| scythe | n. A long curved blade for mowing, reaping, etc. |
| seance | n. A meeting of spirituals for consulting spirits. |
| sear | v. To burn on the surface. |
| sebaceous | adj. Pertaining to or appearing like fat. |
| secant | adj. Cutting, especially into two parts. |
| secede | v. To withdraw from union or association, especially from a political or religious body. |
| secession | n. Voluntary withdrawal from fellowship, especially from political or religious bodies. |
| seclude | v. To place, keep, or withdraw from the companionship of others. |
| seclusion | n. Solitude. |
| secondary | adj. Less important or effective than that which is primary. |
| secondly | adv. In the second place in order or succession. |
| second-rate | adj. Second in quality, size, rank, importance, etc. |
| secrecy | n. Concealment. |
| secretary | n. One who attends to correspondence, keeps records. or does other writing for others. |
| secretive | adj. Having a tendency to conceal. |
| sedate | adj. Even-tempered. |
| sedentary | adj. Involving or requiring much sitting. |
| sediment | n. Matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid. |
| sedition | n. Conduct directed against public order and the tranquillity of the state. |
| seditious | adj. Promotive of conduct directed against public order and the tranquillity of the state. |
| seduce | v. To entice to surrender chastity. |
| sedulous | adj. Persevering in effort or endeavor. |
| seer | n. A prophet. |
| seethe | v. To be violently excited or agitated. |
| seignior | n. A title of honor or respectful address, equivalent to sir. |
| seismograph | n. An instrument for recording the phenomena of earthquakes. |
| seize | v. To catch or take hold of suddenly and forcibly. |
| selective | adj. Having the power of choice. |
| self-respect | n. Rational self-esteem. |
| semblance | n. Outward appearance. |
| semicivilized | adj. Half-civilized. |
| semiconscious | adj. Partially conscious. |
| semiannual | adj. Recurring at intervals of six months. |
| semicircle | n. A half-circle. |
| seminar | n. Any assemblage of pupils for real research in some specific study under a teacher. |
| seminary | n. A special school, as of theology or pedagogics. |
| senile | adj. Peculiar to or proceeding from the weakness or infirmity of old age. |
| sensation | n. A condition of mind resulting from spiritual or inherent feeling. |
| sense | n. The signification conveyed by some word, phrase, or action. |
| sensibility | n. Power to perceive or feel. |
| sensitive | adj. Easily affected by outside operations or influences. |
| sensorium | n. The sensory apparatus. |
| sensual | adj. Pertaining to the body or the physical senses. |
| sensuous | adj. Having a warm appreciation of the beautiful or of the refinements of luxury. |
| sentence | n. A related group of words containing a subject and a predicate and expressing a complete thought. |
| sentience | n. Capacity for sensation or sense-perception. |
| sentient | adj. Possessing the power of sense or sense-perception. |
| sentinel | n. Any guard or watch stationed for protection. |
| separable | adj. Capable of being disjoined or divided. |
| separate | v. To take apart. |
| separatist | n. A seceder. |
| septennial | adj. Recurring every seven years. |
| sepulcher | n. A burial-place. |
| sequacious | adj. Ready to be led. |
| sequel | n. That which follows in consequence of what has previously happened. |
| sequence | n. The order in which a number or persons, things, or events follow one another in space or time. |
| sequent | adj. Following in the order of time. |
| sequester | v. To cause to withdraw or retire, as from society or public life. |
| sequestrate | v. To confiscate. |
| sergeant | n. A non-commissioned military officer ranking next above a corporal. |
| sergeant-at-arms | n. An executive officer in legislative bodies who enforces the orders of the presiding officer. |
| sergeant-major | n. The highest non-commissioned officer in a regiment. |
| service | n. Any work done for the benefit of another. |
| serviceable | adj. Durable. |
| servitude | n. Slavery. |
| severance | n. Separation. |
| severely | adv. Extremely. |
| sextet | n. A band of six singers or players. |
| sextuple | adj. Multiplied by six. |
| sheer | adj. Absolute. |
| shiftless | adj. Wanting in resource, energy, or executive ability. |
| shrewd | adj. Characterized by skill at understanding and profiting by circumstances. |
| shriek | n. A sharp, shrill outcry or scream, caused by agony or terror. |
| shrinkage | n. A contraction of any material into less bulk or dimension. |
| shrivel | v. To draw or be drawn into wrinkles. |
| shuffle | n. A mixing or changing the order of things. |
| sibilance | n. A hissing sound. |
| sibilant | adj. Made with a hissing sound. |
| sibilate | v. To give a hissing sound to, as in pronouncing the letter s. |
| sidelong | adj. Inclining or tending to one side. |
| sidereal | adj. Pertaining to stars or constellations. |
| siege | n. A beleaguerment. |
| significance | n. Importance. |
| significant | adj. Important, especially as pointing something out. |
| signification | n. The meaning conveyed by language, actions, or signs. |
| similar | adj. Bearing resemblance to one another or to something else. |
| simile | n. A comparison which directs the mind to the representative object itself. |
| similitude | n. Similarity. |
| simplify | v. To make less complex or difficult. |
| simulate | v. Imitate. |
| simultaneous | adj. Occurring, done, or existing at the same time. |
| sinecure | n. Any position having emoluments with few or no duties. |
| singe | v. To burn slightly or superficially. |
| sinister | adj. Evil. |
| sinuosity | n. The quality of curving in and out. |
| sinuous | adj. Curving in and out. |
| sinus | n. An opening or cavity. |
| siren | n. A sea-nymph, described by Homer as dwelling between the island of Circe and Scylla. |
| sirocco | n. hot winds from Africa. |
| sisterhood | n. A body of sisters united by some bond of sympathy or by a religious vow. |
| skeptic | n. One who doubts any statements. |
| skepticism | n. The entertainment of doubt concerning something. |
| skiff | n. Usually, a small light boat propelled by oars. |
| skirmish | n. Desultory fighting between advanced detachments of two armies. |
| sleight | n. A trick or feat so deftly done that the manner of performance escapes observation. |
| slight | adj. Of a small importance or significance. |
| slothful | adj. Lazy. |
| sluggard | n. A person habitually lazy or idle. |
| sociable | adj. Inclined to seek company. |
| socialism | n. A theory of civil polity that aims to secure the reconstruction of society. |
| socialist | adj. One who advocates reconstruction of society by collective ownership of land and capital. |
| sociology | n. The philosophical study of society. |
| Sol | n. The sun. |
| solace | n. Comfort in grief, trouble, or calamity. |
| solar | adj. Pertaining to the sun. |
| solder | n. A fusible alloy used for joining metallic surfaces or margins. |
| soldier | n. A person engaged in military service. |
| solecism | n. Any violation of established rules or customs. |
| solicitor | n. One who represents a client in court of justice; an attorney. |
| solicitude | n. Uneasiness of mind occasioned by desire, anxiety, or fear. |
| soliloquy | n. A monologue. |
| solstice | n. The time of year when the sun is at its greatest declination. |
| soluble | adj. Capable of being dissolved, as in a fluid. |
| solvent | adj. Having sufficient funds to pay all debts. |
| somber | adj. Gloomy. |
| somniferous | adj. Tending to produce sleep. |
| somnolence | n. Oppressive drowsiness. |
| somnolent | adj. Sleepy. |
| sonata | n. An instrumental composition. |
| sonnet | n. A poem of fourteen decasyllabic or octosyllabiclines expressing two successive phrases. |
| sonorous | adj. Resonant. |
| soothsayer | n. One who claims to have supernatural insight or foresight. |
| sophism | n. A false argument understood to be such by the reasoner himself and intentionally used to deceive |
| sophistical | adj. Fallacious. |
| sophisticate | v. To deprive of simplicity of mind or manner. |
| sophistry | n. Reasoning sound in appearance only, especially when designedly deceptive. |
| soprano | n. A woman's or boy's voice of high range. |
| sorcery | n. Witchcraft. |
| sordid | adj. Of degraded character or nature. |
| souvenir | n. A token of remembrance. |
| sparse | adj. Thinly diffused. |
| Spartan | adj. Exceptionally brave; rigorously severe. |
| spasmodic | adj. Convulsive. |
| specialize | v. To assume an individual or specific character, or adopt a singular or special course. |
| specialty | n. An employment limited to one particular line of work. |
| specie | n. A coin or coins of gold, silver, copper, or other metal. |
| species | n. A classificatory group of animals or plants subordinate to a genus. |
| specimen | n. One of a class of persons or things regarded as representative of the class. |
| specious | adj. Plausible. |
| spectator | n. One who beholds or looks on. |
| specter | n. Apparition. |
| spectrum | n. An image formed by rays of light or other radiant energy. |
| speculate | v. To pursue inquiries and form conjectures. |
| speculator | n. One who makes an investment that involves a risk of loss, but also a chance of profit. |
| sphericity | n. The state or condition of being a sphere. |
| spheroid | n. A body having nearly the form of a sphere. |
| spherometer | n. An instrument for measuring curvature or radii of spherical surfaces. |
| spinous | adj. Having spines. |
| spinster | n. A woman who has never been married. |
| spontaneous | adj. Arising from inherent qualities or tendencies without external efficient cause. |
| sprightly | adj. Vivacious. |
| spurious | adj. Not genuine. |
| squabble | v. To quarrel. |
| squalid | adj. Having a dirty, mean, poverty-stricken appearance. |
| squatter | n. One who settles on land without permission or right. |
| stagnant | adj. Not flowing: said of water, as in a pool. |
| stagnate | v. To become dull or inert. |
| stagnation | n. The condition of not flowing or not changing. |
| stagy | adj. Having a theatrical manner. |
| staid | adj. Of a steady and sober character. |
| stallion | n. An uncastrated male horse, commonly one kept for breeding. |
| stanchion | n. A vertical bar, or a pair of bars, used to confine cattle in a stall. |
| stanza | n. A group of rimed lines, usually forming one of a series of similar divisions in a poem. |
| statecraft | n. The art of conducting state affairs. |
| static | adj. Pertaining to or designating bodies at rest or forces in equilibrium. |
| statics | n. The branch of mechanics that treats of the relations that subsist among forces in order. |
| stationary | adj. Not moving. |
| statistician | n. One who is skilled in collecting and tabulating numerical facts. |
| statuesque | adj. Having the grace, pose, or quietude of a statue. |
| statuette | n. A figurine. |
| stature | n. The natural height of an animal body. |
| statute | n. Any authoritatively declared rule, ordinance, decree, or law. |
| stealth | n. A concealed manner of acting. |
| stellar | adj. Pertaining to the stars. |
| steppe | n. One of the extensive plains in Russia and Siberia. |
| sterling | adj. Genuine. |
| stifle | v. To smother. |
| stigma | n. A mark of infamy or token of disgrace attaching to a person as the result of evil-doing. |
| stiletto | n. A small dagger. |
| stimulant | n. Anything that rouses to activity or to quickened action. |
| stimulate | v. To rouse to activity or to quickened action. |
| stimulus | n. Incentive. |
| stingy | adj. Cheap, unwilling to spend money. |
| stipend | n. A definite amount paid at stated periods in compensation for services or as an allowance. |
| Stoicism | n. The principles or the practice of the Stoics-being very even tempered in success and failure. |
| stolid | adj. Expressing no power of feeling or perceiving. |
| strait | n. A narrow passage of water connecting two larger bodies of water. |
| stratagem | n. Any clever trick or device for obtaining an advantage. |
| stratum | n. A natural or artificial layer, bed, or thickness of any substance or material. |
| streamlet | n. Rivulet. |
| stringency | n. Strictness. |
| stringent | adj. Rigid. |
| stripling | n. A mere youth. |
| studious | adj. Having or showing devotion to the acquisition of knowledge. |
| stultify | v. To give an appearance of foolishness to. |
| stupendous | adj. Of prodigious size, bulk, or degree. |
| stupor | n. Profound lethargy. |
| suasion | n. The act of persuading. |
| suave | adj. Smooth and pleasant in manner. |
| subacid | adj. Somewhat sharp or biting. |
| subaquatic | adj. Being, formed, or operating under water. |
| subconscious | adj. Being or occurring in the mind, but without attendant consciousness or conscious perception. |
| subjacent | adj. Situated directly underneath. |
| subjection | n. The act of bringing into a state of submission. |
| subjugate | v. To conquer. |
| subliminal | adj. Being beneath the threshold of consciousness. |
| sublingual | adj. Situated beneath the tongue. |
| submarine | adj. Existing, done, or operating beneath the surface of the sea. |
| submerge | v. To place or plunge under water. |
| submergence | n. The act of submerging. |
| submersible | adj. Capable of being put underwater. |
| submersion | n. The act of submerging. |
| submission | n. A yielding to the power or authority of another. |
| submittal | n. The act of submitting. |
| subordinate | adj. Belonging to an inferior order in a classification. |
| subsequent | adj. Following in time. |
| subservience | n. The quality, character, or condition of being servilely following another's behests. |
| subservient | adj. Servilely following another's behests. |
| subside | v. To relapse into a state of repose and tranquillity. |
| subsist | v. To be maintained or sustained. |
| subsistence | n. Sustenance. |
| substantive | adj. Solid. |
| subtend | v. To extend opposite to. |
| subterfuge | n. Evasion. |
| subterranean | adj. Situated or occurring below the surface of the earth. |
| subtle | adj. Discriminating. |
| subtrahend | n. That which is to be subtracted. |
| subversion | n. An overthrow, as from the foundation. |
| subvert | v. To bring to ruin. |
| succeed | v. To accomplish what is attempted or intended. |
| success | n. A favorable or prosperous course or termination of anything attempted. |
| successful | adj. Having reached a high degree of worldly prosperity. |
| successor | n. One who or that which takes the place of a predecessor or preceding thing. |
| succinct | adj. Concise. |
| succulent | adj. Juicy. |
| succumb | v. To cease to resist. |
| sufferance | n. Toleration. |
| sufficiency | n. An ample or adequate supply. |
| suffrage | n. The right or privilege of voting. |
| suffuse | v. To cover or fill the surface of. |
| suggestible | adj. That can be suggested. |
| suggestive | adj. Stimulating to thought or reflection. |
| summary | n. An abstract. |
| sumptuous | adj. Rich and costly. |
| superabundance | n. An excessive amount. |
| superadd | v. To add in addition to what has been added. |
| superannuate | v. To become deteriorated or incapacitated by long service. |
| superb | adj. Sumptuously elegant. |
| supercilious | adj. Exhibiting haughty and careless contempt. |
| superficial | adj. Knowing and understanding only the ordinary and the obvious. |
| superfluity | n. That part of anything that is in excess of what is needed. |
| superfluous | adj. Being more than is needed. |
| superheat | v. To heat to excess. |
| superintend | v. To have the charge and direction of, especially of some work or movement. |
| superintendence | n. Direction and management. |
| superintendent | n. One who has the charge and direction of, especially of some work or movement. |
| superlative | n. That which is of the highest possible excellence or eminence. |
| supernatural | adj. Caused miraculously or by the immediate exercise of divine power. |
| supernumerary | adj. Superfluous. |
| supersede | v. To displace. |
| supine | adj. Lying on the back. |
| supplant | v. To take the place of. |
| supple | adj. Easily bent. |
| supplementary | adj. Being an addition to. |
| supplicant | n. One who asks humbly and earnestly. |
| supplicate | v. To beg. |
| supposition | n. Conjecture. |
| suppress | v. To prevent from being disclosed or punished. |
| suppressible | adj. Capable of being suppressed. |
| suppression | n. A forcible putting or keeping down. |
| supramundane | adj. Supernatural. |
| surcharge | n. An additional amount charged. |
| surety | n. Security for payment or performance. |
| surfeit | v. To feed to fullness or to satiety. |
| surmise | v. To conjecture. |
| surmount | v. To overcome by force of will. |
| surreptitious | adj. Clandestine. |
| surrogate | n. One who or that which is substituted for or appointed to act in place of another. |
| surround | v. To encircle. |
| surveyor | n. A land-measurer. |
| susceptibility | n. A specific capability of feeling or emotion. |
| susceptible | adj. Easily under a specified power or influence. |
| suspense | n. Uncertainty. |
| suspension | n. A hanging from a support. |
| suspicious | adj. Inclined to doubt or mistrust. |
| sustenance | n. Food. |
| swarthy | adj. Having a dark hue, especially a dark or sunburned complexion. |
| Sybarite | n. A luxurious person. |
| sycophant | n. A servile flatterer, especially of those in authority or influence. |
| syllabic | adj. Consisting of that which is uttered in a single vocal impulse. |
| syllabication | n. Division of words into that which is uttered in a single vocal impulse. |
| syllable | n. That which is uttered in a single vocal impulse. |
| syllabus | n. Outline of a subject, course, lecture, or treatise. |
| sylph | n. A slender, graceful young woman or girl. |
| symmetrical | adj. Well-balanced. |
| symmetry | n. Relative proportion and harmony. |
| sympathetic | adj. Having a fellow-feeling for or like feelings with another or others. |
| sympathize | v. To share the sentiments or mental states of another. |
| symphonic | adj. Characterized by a harmonious or agreeable mingling of sounds. |
| symphonious | adj. Marked by a harmonious or agreeable mingling of sounds. |
| symphony | n. A harmonious or agreeable mingling of sounds. |
| synchronism | n. Simultaneousness. |
| syndicate | n. An association of individuals united for the prosecution of some enterprise. |
| syneresis | n. The coalescence of two vowels or syllables, as e'er for ever. |
| synod | n. An ecclesiastical council. |
| synonym | n. A word having the same or almost the same meaning as some other. |
| synopsis | n. A syllabus or summary. |
| systematic | adj. Methodical. |
| tableau | n. An arrangement of inanimate figures representing a scene from real life. |
| tacit | adj. Understood. |
| taciturn | adj. Disinclined to conversation. |
| tack | n. A small sharp-pointed nail. |
| tact | n. Fine or ready mental discernment shown in saying or doing the proper thing. |
| tactician | n. One who directs affairs with skill and shrewdness. |
| tactics | n. Any maneuvering or adroit management for effecting an object. |
| tangency | n. The state of touching. |
| tangent | adj. Touching. |
| tangible | adj. Perceptible by touch. |
| tannery | n. A place where leather is tanned. |
| tantalize | v. To tease. |
| tantamount | adj. Having equal or equivalent value, effect, or import. |
| tapestry | n. A fabric to which a pattern is applied with a needle, designed for ornamental hangings. |
| tarnish | v. To lessen or destroy the luster of in any way. |
| taut | adj. Stretched tight. |
| taxation | n. A levy, by government, of a fixed contribution. |
| taxidermy | n. The art or process of preserving dead animals or parts of them. |
| technic | adj. Technical. |
| technicality | n. Something peculiar to a particular art, trade, or the like. |
| technique | n. Manner of performance. |
| technography | n. The scientific description or study of human arts and industries in their historic development. |
| technology | n. The knowledge relating to industries and manufactures. |
| teem | v. To be full to overflowing. |
| telepathy | n. Thought-transference. |
| telephony | n. The art or process of communicating by telephone. |
| telescope | v. To drive together so that one slides into the another like the sections of a spy-glass. |
| telltale | adj. That gives warning or information. |
| temerity | n. Recklessness. |
| temporal | adj. Pertaining to or concerned with the affairs of the present life. |
| temporary | adj. Lasting for a short time only. |
| temporize | v. To pursue a policy of delay. |
| tempt | v. To offer to (somebody) an inducement to do wrong. |
| tempter | n. An allurer or enticer to evil. |
| tenacious | adj. Unyielding. |
| tenant | n. An occupant. |
| tendency | n. Direction or inclination, as toward some objector end. |
| tenet | n. Any opinion, principle, dogma, or doctrine that a person believes or maintains as true. |
| tenor | n. A settled course or manner of progress. |
| tense | adj. Strained to stiffness. |
| tentative | adj. Done as an experiment. |
| tenure | n. The term during which a thing is held. |
| tercentenary | adj. Pertaining to a period of 300 years. |
| termagant | adj. Violently abusive and quarrelsome. |
| terminal | adj. Pertaining to or creative of a boundary, limit. |
| terminate | v. To put an end or stop to. |
| termination | n. The act of ending or concluding. |
| terminus | n. The final point or goal. |
| terrify | v. To fill with extreme fear. |
| territorial | adj. Pertaining to the domain over which a sovereign state exercises jurisdiction. |
| terse | adj. Pithy. |
| testament | n. A will. |
| testator | n. The maker of a will. |
| testimonial | n. A formal token of regard, often presented in public. |
| thearchy | n. Government by a supreme deity. |
| theism | n. Belief in God. |
| theocracy | n. A government administered by ecclesiastics. |
| theocrasy | n. The mixed worship of polytheism. |
| theologian | n. A professor of divinity. |
| theological | adj. Based on or growing out of divine revelation. |
| theology | n. The branch of theological science that treats of God. |
| theoretical | adj. Directed toward knowledge for its own sake without respect to applications. |
| theorist | n. One given to speculating. |
| theorize | v. To speculate. |
| thereabout | adv. Near that number, quantity, degree, place, or time, approximately. |
| therefor | adv. For that or this. |
| thermal | adj. Of or pertaining to heat. |
| thermoelectric | adj. Denoting electricity produced by heat. |
| thermoelectricity | n. Electricity generated by differences of temperature, |
| thesis | n. An essay or treatise on a particular subject. |
| thoroughbred | adj. Bred from the best or purest blood or stock. |
| thoroughfare | n. A public street or road. |
| thrall | n. One controlled by an appetite or a passion. |
| tilth | n. Cultivation. |
| timbre | n. The quality of a tone, as distinguished from intensity and pitch. |
| timorous | adj. Lacking courage. |
| tincture | n. A solution, usually alcoholic, of some principle used in medicine. |
| tinge | n. A faint trace of color. |
| tipsy | adj. Befuddled with drinks. |
| tirade | n. Harangue. |
| tireless | adj. Untiring. |
| tiresome | adj. Wearisome. |
| Titanic | adj. Of vast size or strength. |
| toilsome | adj. Laborious. |
| tolerable | adj. Moderately good. |
| tolerance | n. Forbearance in judging of the acts or opinions of others. |
| tolerant | adj. Indulgent. |
| tolerate | v. To passively permit or put up with. |
| toleration | n. A spirit of charitable leniency. |
| topography | n. The art of representing on a map the physical features of any locality or region with accuracy. |
| torpor | n. Apathy. |
| torrid | adj. Excessively hot. |
| tortious | adj. Wrongful. |
| tortuous | adj. Abounding in irregular bends or turns. |
| torturous | adj. Marked by extreme suffering. |
| tractable | adj. Easily led or controlled. |
| trait | n. A distinguishing feature or quality. |
| trajectory | n. The path described by a projectile moving under given forces. |
| trammel | n. An impediment. |
| tranquil | adj. Calm. |
| tranquilize | v. To soothe. |
| tranquility | n. Calmness. |
| transalpine | adj. Situated on the other side of the Alps. |
| transact | v. To do business. |
| transatlantic | adj. Situated beyond or on the other side of the Atlantic. |
| transcend | v. To surpass. |
| transcendent | adj. Surpassing. |
| transcontinental | adj. Extending or passing across a continent. |
| transcribe | v. To write over again (something already written) |
| transcript | n. A copy made directly from an original. |
| transfer | v. To convey, remove, or cause to pass from one person or place to another. |
| transferable | adj. Capable of being conveyed from one person or place to another. |
| transferee | n. The person to whom a transfer is made. |
| transference | n. The act of conveying from one person or place to another. |
| transferrer | n. One who or that which conveys from one person or place to another. |
| transfigure | v. To give an exalted meaning or glorified appearance to. |
| transfuse | v. To pour or cause to pass, as a fluid, from one vessel to another. |
| transfusible | adj. Capable of being poured from one vessel to another. |
| transfusion | n. The act of pouring from one vessel to another. |
| transgress | v. To break a law. |
| transience | n. Something that is of short duration. |
| transient | n. One who or that which is only of temporary existence. |
| transition | n. Passage from one place, condition, or action to another. |
| transitory | adj. Existing for a short time only. |
| translate | v. To give the sense or equivalent of in another language or dialect. |
| translator | n. An interpreter. |
| translucence | n. The property or state of allowing the passage of light. |
| translucent | adj. Allowing the passage of light. |
| transmissible | adj. That may e sent through or across. |
| transmission | n. The act of sending through or across. |
| transmit | v. To send trough or across. |
| transmute | v. To change in nature, substance, or form. |
| transparent | adj. Easy to see through or understand. |
| transpire | v. To come to pass. |
| transplant | v. To remove and plant in another place. |
| transposition | n. The act of reversing the order or changing the place of. |
| transverse | adj. Lying or being across or in a crosswise direction. |
| travail | n. Hard or agonizing labor. |
| travesty | n. A grotesque imitation. |
| treacherous | adj. Perfidious. |
| treachery | n. Violation of allegiance, confidence, or plighted faith. |
| treasonable | adj. Of the nature of betrayal, treachery, or breech of allegiance. |
| treatise | n. An elaborate literary composition presenting a subject in all its parts. |
| treble | adj. Multiplied by three. |
| trebly | adv. Triply. |
| tremendous | adj. Awe-inspiring. |
| tremor | n. An involuntary trembling or shivering. |
| tremulous | adj. Characterized by quivering or unsteadiness. |
| trenchant | adj. Cutting deeply and quickly. |
| trepidation | n. Nervous uncertainty of feeling. |
| trestle | n. An open braced framework for supporting the horizontal stringers of a railway-bridge. |
| triad | n. A group of three persons of things. |
| tribune | n. Any champion of the rights and liberties of the people: often used as the name for a newspaper. |
| trickery | n. Artifice. |
| tricolor | adj. Of three colors. |
| tricycle | n. A three-wheeled vehicle. |
| trident | n. The three-pronged fork that was the emblem of Neptune. |
| triennial | adj. Taking place every third year. |
| trimness | n. Neatness. |
| trinity | n. A threefold personality existing in the one divine being or substance. |
| trio | n. Three things grouped or associated together. |
| triple | adj. Threefold. |
| triplicate | adj. Composed of or pertaining to three related things or parts. |
| triplicity | n. The state of being triple or threefold. |
| tripod | n. A three-legged stand, usually hinged near the top, for supporting some instrument. |
| trisect | v. To divide into three parts, especially into three equal parts. |
| trite | adj. Made commonplace by frequent repetition. |
| triumvir | n. One of three men united coordinately in public office or authority. |
| trivial | adj. Of little importance or value. |
| troublesome | adj. Burdensome. |
| truculence | n. Ferocity. |
| truculent | adj. Having the character or the spirit of a savage. |
| truism | n. A statement so plainly true as hardly to require statement or proof. |
| truthful | adj. Veracious. |
| turgid | adj. Swollen. |
| turpitude | n. Depravity. |
| tutelage | n. The act of training or the state of being under instruction. |
| tutelar | adj. Protective. |
| tutorship | n. The office of a guardian. |
| twinge | n. A darting momentary local pain. |
| typical | adj. Characteristic. |
| typify | v. To serve as a characteristic example of. |
| typographical | adj. Pertaining to typography or printing. |
| typography | n. The arrangement of composed type, or the appearance of printed matter. |
| tyrannical | adj. Despotic. |
| tyranny | n. Absolute power arbitrarily or unjustly administrated. |
| tyro | n. One slightly skilled in or acquainted with any trade or profession. |
| ubiquitous | adj. Being present everywhere. |
| ulterior | adj. Not so pertinent as something else to the matter spoken of. |
| ultimate | adj. Beyond which there is nothing else. |
| ultimatum | n. A final statement or proposal, as concerning terms or conditions. |
| ultramundane | adj. Pertaining to supernatural things or to another life. |
| ultramontane | adj. Beyond the mountains, especially beyond the Alps (that is, on their Italian side). |
| umbrage | n. A sense of injury. |
| unaccountable | adj. Inexplicable. |
| unaffected | adj. Sincere. |
| unanimous | adj. Sharing the same views or sentiments. |
| unanimity | n. The state or quality of being of one mind. |
| unavoidable | adj. Inevitable. |
| unbearable | adj. Unendurable. |
| unbecoming | adj. Unsuited to the wearer, place, or surroundings. |
| unbelief | n. Doubt. |
| unbiased | adj. Impartial, as judgment. |
| unbridled | adj. Being without restraint. |
| uncommon | adj. Rare. |
| unconscionable | adj. Ridiculously or unjustly excessive. |
| unconscious | adj. Not cognizant of objects, actions, etc. |
| unction | n. The art of anointing as with oil. |
| unctuous | adj. Oily. |
| undeceive | v. To free from deception, as by apprising of the real state of affairs. |
| undercharge | v. To make an inadequate charge for. |
| underexposed | adj. Insufficiently exposed for proper or full development, as negatives in photography. |
| undergarment | n. A garment to be worn under the ordinary outer garments. |
| underman | v. To equip with less than the full complement of men. |
| undersell | v. To sell at a lower price than. |
| undersized | adj. Of less than the customary size. |
| underhanded | adj. Clandestinely carried on. |
| underlie | v. To be the ground or support of. |
| underling | n. A subordinate. |
| undermine | v. To subvert in an underhand way. |
| underrate | v. To undervalue. |
| understate | v. To fail to put strongly enough, as a case. |
| undervalue | v. To underestimate. |
| underworld | n. Hades. |
| underwrite | v. To issue or be party to the issue of a policy of insurance. |
| undue | adj. More than sufficient. |
| undulate | v. To move like a wave or in waves. |
| undulous | adj. Resembling waves. |
| unfavorable | adj. Adverse. |
| ungainly | adj. Clumsy. |
| unguent | n. Any ointment or lubricant for local application. |
| unicellular | adj. Consisting of a single cell. |
| univalence | n. Monovalency. |
| unify | v. To cause to be one. |
| unique | adj. Being the only one of its kind. |
| unison | n. A condition of perfect agreement and accord. |
| unisonant | adj. Being in a condition of perfect agreement and accord. |
| Unitarian | adj. Pertaining to a religious body that rejects the doctrine of the Trinity. |
| unlawful | adj. Illegal. |
| unlimited | adj. Unconstrained. |
| unnatural | adj. Artificial. |
| unnecessary | adj. Not essential under the circumstances. |
| unsettle | v. To put into confusion. |
| unsophisticated | adj. Showing inexperience. |
| unspeakable | adj. Abominable. |
| untimely | adj. Unseasonable. |
| untoward | adj. Causing annoyance or hindrance. |
| unutterable | adj. Inexpressible. |
| unwieldy | adj. Moved or managed with difficulty, as from great size or awkward shape. |
| unwise | adj. Foolish. |
| unyoke | v. To separate. |
| up-keep | n. Maintenance. |
| upbraid | v. To reproach as deserving blame. |
| upcast | n. A throwing upward. |
| upheaval | n. Overthrow or violent disturbance of established order or condition. |
| upheave | v. To raise or lift with effort. |
| uppermost | adj. First in order of precedence. |
| uproarious | adj. Noisy. |
| uproot | v. To eradicate. |
| upturn | v. To throw into confusion. |
| urban | adj. Of, or pertaining to, or like a city. |
| urbanity | n. Refined or elegant courtesy. |
| urchin | n. A roguish, mischievous boy. |
| urgency | n. The pressure of necessity. |
| usage | n. Treatment. |
| usurious | adj. Taking unlawful or exorbitant interest on money loaned. |
| usurp | v. To take possession of by force. |
| usury | n. The demanding for the use of money as a loan, a rate of interest beyond what is allowed by law. |
| utilitarianism | n. The ethical doctrine that actions are right because they are useful or of beneficial tendency. |
| utility | n. Fitness for some desirable practical purpose. |
| utmost | n. The greatest possible extent. |
| vacate | v. To leave. |
| vaccinate | v. To inoculate with vaccine virus or virus of cowpox. |
| vacillate | v. To waver. |
| vacuous | adj. Empty. |
| vacuum | n. A space entirely devoid of matter. |
| vagabond | n. A wanderer. |
| vagrant | n. An idle wanderer. |
| vainglory | n. Excessive, pretentious, and demonstrative vanity. |
| vale | n. Level or low land between hills. |
| valediction | n. A bidding farewell. |
| valedictorian | n. Student who delivers an address at graduating exercises of an educational institution. |
| valedictory | n. A parting address. |
| valid | adj. Founded on truth. |
| valorous | adj. Courageous. |
| vapid | adj. Having lost sparkling quality and flavor. |
| vaporizer | n. An atomizer. |
| variable | adj. Having a tendency to change. |
| variance | n. Change. |
| variant | n. A thing that differs from another in form only, being the same in essence or substance. |
| variation | n. Modification. |
| variegate | v. To mark with different shades or colors. |
| vassal | n. A slave or bondman. |
| vaudeville | n. A variety show. |
| vegetal | adj. Of or pertaining to plants. |
| vegetarian | n. One who believes in the theory that man's food should be exclusively vegetable. |
| vegetate | v. To live in a monotonous, passive way without exercise of the mental faculties. |
| vegetation | n. Plant-life in the aggregate. |
| vegetative | adj. Pertaining to the process of plant-life. |
| vehement | adj. Very eager or urgent. |
| velocity | n. Rapid motion. |
| velvety | adj. Marked by lightness and softness. |
| venal | adj. Mercenary, corrupt. |
| vendible | adj. Marketable. |
| vendition | n. The act of selling. |
| vendor | n. A seller. |
| veneer | n. Outside show or elegance. |
| venerable | adj. Meriting or commanding high esteem. |
| venerate | v. To cherish reverentially. |
| venereal | adj. Pertaining to or proceeding from sexual intercourse. |
| venial | adj. That may be pardoned or forgiven, a forgivable sin. |
| venison | n. The flesh of deer. |
| venom | n. The poisonous fluid that certain animals secrete. |
| venous | adj. Of, pertaining to, or contained or carried in a vein or veins. |
| veracious | adj. Habitually disposed to speak the truth. |
| veracity | n. Truthfulness. |
| verbatim | adv. Word for word. |
| verbiage | n. Use of many words without necessity. |
| verbose | adj. Wordy. |
| verdant | adj. Green with vegetation. |
| verification | n. The act of proving to be true, exact, or accurate. |
| verify | v. To prove to be true, exact, or accurate. |
| verily | adv. In truth. |
| verity | n. Truth. |
| vermin | n. A noxious or troublesome animal. |
| vernacular | n. The language of one's country. |
| vernal | adj. Belonging to or suggestive of the spring. |
| versatile | adj. Having an aptitude for applying oneself to new and varied tasks or to various subjects. |
| version | n. A description or report of something as modified by one's character or opinion. |
| vertex | n. Apex. |
| vertical | adj. Lying or directed perpendicularly to the horizon. |
| vertigo | n. Dizziness. |
| vestige | n. A visible trace, mark, or impression, of something absent, lost, or gone. |
| vestment | n. Clothing or covering. |
| veto | n. The constitutional right in a chief executive of refusing to approve an enactment. |
| vicarious | adj. Suffered or done in place of or for the sake of another. |
| viceroy | n. A ruler acting with royal authority in place of the sovereign in a colony or province. |
| vicissitude | n. A change, especially a complete change, of condition or circumstances, as of fortune. |
| vie | v. To contend. |
| vigilance | n. Alert and intent mental watchfulness in guarding against danger. |
| vigilant | adj. Being on the alert to discover and ward off danger or insure safety. |
| vignette | n. A picture having a background or that is shaded off gradually. |
| vincible | adj. Conquerable. |
| vindicate | v. To prove true, right, or real. |
| vindicatory | adj. Punitive. |
| vindicative | adj. Revengeful. |
| vinery | n. A greenhouse for grapes. |
| viol | n. A stringed instrument of the violin class. |
| viola | n. A musical instrument somewhat larger than a violin. |
| violator | n. One who transgresses. |
| violation | n. Infringement. |
| violoncello | n. A stringed instrument held between the player's knees. |
| virago | n. A bold, impudent, turbulent woman. |
| virile | adj. Masculine. |
| virtu | n. Rare, curious, or beautiful quality. |
| virtual | adj. Being in essence or effect, but not in form or appearance. |
| virtuoso | n. A master in the technique of some particular fine art. |
| virulence | n. Extreme poisonousness. |
| virulent | adj. Exceedingly noxious or deleterious. |
| visage | n. The face, countenance, or look of a person. |
| viscount | n. In England, a title of nobility, ranking fourth in the order of British peerage. |
| vista | n. A view or prospect. |
| visual | adj. Perceptible by sight. |
| visualize | v. To give pictorial vividness to a mental representation. |
| vitality | n. The state or quality of being necessary to existence or continuance. |
| vitalize | v. To endow with life or energy. |
| vitiate | v. To contaminate. |
| vituperable | adj. Deserving of censure. |
| vivacity | n. Liveliness. |
| vivify | v. To endue with life. |
| vivisection | n. The dissection of a living animal. |
| vocable | n. a word, especially one regarded in relation merely to its qualities of sound. |
| vocative | adj. Of or pertaining to the act of calling. |
| vociferance | n. The quality of making a clamor. |
| vociferate | v. To utter with a loud and vehement voice. |
| vociferous | adj. Making a loud outcry. |
| vogue | n. The prevalent way or fashion. |
| volant | adj. Flying or able to fly. |
| volatile | adj. Changeable. |
| volition | n. An act or exercise of will. |
| volitive | adj. Exercising the will. |
| voluble | adj. Having great fluency in speaking. |
| voluptuous | adj. having fullness of beautiful form, as a woman, with or without sensuous or sensual quality. |
| voracious | adj. Eating with greediness or in very large quantities. |
| vortex | n. A mass of rotating or whirling fluid, especially when sucked spirally toward the center. |
| votary | adj. Consecrated by a vow or promise. |
| votive | adj. Dedicated by a vow. |
| vulgarity | n. Lack of refinement in conduct or speech. |
| vulnerable | adj. Capable of receiving injuries. |
| waif | n. A homeless, neglected wanderer. |
| waistcoat | n. A vest. |
| waive | v. To relinquish, especially temporarily, as a right or claim. |
| wampum | n. Beads strung on threads, formerly used among the American Indians as currency. |
| wane | v. To diminish in size and brilliancy. |
| wantonness | n. Recklessness. |
| warlike | adj. Belligerent. |
| wavelet | n. A ripple. |
| weak-kneed | adj. Without resolute purpose or energy. |
| weal | n. Well-being. |
| wean | v. To transfer (the young) from dependence on mother's milk to another form of nourishment. |
| wearisome | adj. Fatiguing. |
| wee | adj. Very small. |
| well-bred | adj. Of good ancestry. |
| well-doer | n. A performer of moral and social duties. |
| well-to-do | adj. In prosperous circumstances. |
| whereabouts | n. The place in or near which a person or thing is. |
| whereupon | adv. After which. |
| wherever | adv. In or at whatever place. |
| wherewith | n. The necessary means or resources. |
| whet | v. To make more keen or eager. |
| whimsical | adj. Capricious. |
| whine | v. To utter with complaining tone. |
| wholly | adv. Completely. |
| wield | v. To use, control, or manage, as a weapon, or instrument, especially with full command. |
| wile | n. An act or a means of cunning deception. |
| winsome | adj. Attractive. |
| wintry | adj. Lacking warmth of manner. |
| wiry | adj. Thin, but tough and sinewy. |
| witchcraft | n. Sorcery. |
| witless | adj. Foolish, indiscreet, or silly. |
| witling | n. A person who has little understanding. |
| witticism | n. A witty, brilliant, or original saying or sentiment. |
| wittingly | adv. With knowledge and by design. |
| wizen | v. To become or cause to become withered or dry. |
| wizen-faced | adj. Having a shriveled face. |
| working-man | n. One who earns his bread by manual labor. |
| workmanlike | adj. Like or befitting a skilled workman. |
| workmanship | n. The art or skill of a workman. |
| wrangle | v. To maintain by noisy argument or dispute. |
| wreak | v. To inflict, as a revenge or punishment. |
| wrest | v. To pull or force away by or as by violent twisting or wringing. |
| wretchedness | n. Extreme misery or unhappiness. |
| writhe | v. To twist the body, face, or limbs or as in pain or distress. |
| writing | n. The act or art of tracing or inscribing on a surface letters or ideographs. |
| wry | adj. Deviating from that which is proper or right. |
| yearling | n. A young animal past its first year and not yet two years old. |
| zealot | n. One who espouses a cause or pursues an object in an immoderately partisan manner. |
| zeitgeist | n. The intellectual and moral tendencies that characterize any age or epoch. |
| zenith | n. The culminating-point of prosperity, influence, or greatness. |
| zephyr | n. Any soft, gentle wind. |
| zodiac | n. An imaginary belt encircling the heavens within which are the larger planets. |
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