| Term | Definition |
|---|
| prolific | producing a great deal of something; producing many young or much fruit |
| retainer | a fee paid in advance for services; a servant; an attendant |
| innovation | a new way to do something; something new |
| martial | military; suggesting war; warlike |
| cliché | an overused idea or expression; a trite saying |
| rivulet | a small stream; a brook |
| edifice | a building or structure, especially an imposing or elaborate one |
| inaccessible | not easily reached or approached; out of the way |
| coffer | a box or chest, especially one used to hold money or other valuables |
| subsidize | to aid or assist with a grant of money; to support; to promote |
| hieroglyphics | a picture or symbol representing a word, syllable, or sound, used by the ancient Egyptians and others, instead of alphabetical letters; a method of writing using these pictures or symbols; picture writing; pertaining to a system of writing that uses pictures or symbols |
| juncture | a point where things are joined; a crossing; a point in time; a crisis point |
| tawny | brownish-yellow; tan |
| throng | a great number of people or things crowded together; to gather about and crush; to jam or pack |
| jostle | to shove or push rudely; to come into close contact with; to collide |
| irrational | illogical; senseless; not reasonable |
| contend | to struggle for, battle; to compete; to debate, dispute; to assert |
| detonate | to blow up; to explode; to cause to explode; an explosion |
| daunt | to intimidate; to discourage; to subdue |
| eject | to throw out forcefully; to expel; to evict or drive out |
| rendezvous | a designated meeting place; a place where people habitually meet; a prearranged meeting; to meet or bring together at a certain place and time |
| lexicon | a dictionary; the vocabulary of a particular trade, group of people, or the like |
| simulate | to look or act like; to pretend to be like; to imitate |
| plausible | appearing to be true; reasonable; seeming to be logical or correct |
| exalted | overjoyed with excitement; raised in a status or rank; elevated in style or tone |
| pompous | overly dignified; self important; characterized by exaggerated stateliness, as in speech or manner |
| encumber | to hinder; to obstruct; to burden |
| unprecedented | never done or known before; without previous example |
| portly | comfortably fat or stout; large and heavy in a stately and dignified way |
| rejuvenate | to make young or vigorous again; to give youthful qualities to |
| affiliate | an associated person or organization; a member; to join or unite with a larger body |
| proximity | nearness; closeness; a neighboring area |
| invariably | continually; perpetually; constantly; always |
| contemptuous | showing or feeling scorn |
| inarticulate | unable to speak understandably or effectively or to use words; unable to say what one thinks |
| mentor | a wise and trusted teacher; a counselor |
| elite | of or suitable for a select group; a group or part of a group regarded as the best, most skilled, most powerful, etc. |
| acquittal | a setting free by judgment of a court; a release from a duty, obligation, etc. |
| assert | to express or state positively; to defend or claim |
| notoriety | fame, usually in an unfavorable sense |
| evolve | to develop gradually by process of growth and change |
| fortitude | patient courage in facing pain or danger; moral strength; endurance |
| condescend | to stoop to do something you think is unworthy of you |
| conceive | to imagine or develop as an idea; to understand or grasp; to become pregnant with |
| paradox | a statement that may be true but that seems to say contradictory things |
| emphatically | forcefully; assertively |
| recipient | a person who receives something |
| charisma | a special quality of leadership or a special charm that captures the public imagination and inspires devotion |
| aesthetic | artistic; having to do with art or beauty; sensitive to art and beauty |
| wan | sickly pale or faint; colorless |
| insipid | flavorless; dull or unexciting; lifeless |
| painstaking | very careful; diligent; requiring great care; meticulous |
| deteriorate | to become worse or less valuable; to diminish |
| lament | to feel deep sorrow; to express sorrow or mourning for; to grieve; an expression of grief; a song or poem expressing grief |
| compassion | pity for someone else's suffering, along with a desire to help |
| discern | to detect with one of the senses, to notice; to recognize as different or to identify as separate; to come to know mentally, to judge |
| repress | to restrain, put down |
| loathe | to feel intense dislike or hatred; to detest |
| composure | self-possession; tranquility |
| atrocious | exceedingly bad; wicked or cruel; abominable |
| insolence | quality or instance of being disrespectful and insulting; impudence |
| prone | having a tendency, inclined; lying flat, face down |
| diversion | a turning aside, as of traffic or attention; a game or pastime; a recreation |
| annihilate | to destroy completely; to vanquish; to make ineffectual or unimportant; to kill |
| purge | to remove undesirable elements from; to rid; to remove by cleansing; the removal of members by a higher authority |
| moderation | state of being restrained, avoidance of excesses; presiding over, as a meeting; mediation |
| concession | an act of granting or yielding; something granted or yielded; a privilege, such as the right to use land, granted for a specific purpose |
| flagrant | obviously bad; notorious; outrageous |
| decimate | to destroy or kill a large part of |
| evade | to escape or avoid something, especially by using deceit or cleverness; to avoid doing or answering something directly |
| Documentary | based on or consisting of documents; employing facts rather than fiction; a presentation (such as a film) built on factual conditions or historical events |
| reprieve | a temporary relief (from pain or trouble); an order temporarily delaying punishment or the execution of a sentence |
| fluctuate | to rise and fall or move back and forth; to change continually in an irregular way |
| casement | a window that opens on hinges along its side |
| vehement | marked by great emotion, force, or conviction; intense; violent |
| debut | to present for the first time; to make a a debut; a first public appearance, as of an actor; a formal entrance into society |
| melancholy | sad; depressed; causing or suggesting sadness; gloom; low spirits |
| requiem | music or a mass for the dead |
| theoretical | hypothetical; unproved or uncertain |
| bestride | to sit on something with a leg on each side, to straddle |
| precarious | unsafe; insecure; uncertain; dangerous |
| devastation | destruction; desolation |
| vulnerable | easily injured or hurt physically or emotionally; open to criticism or attack |
| besiege | to crowd around in order to ask for favors; to overwhelm; to enclose with armed forces |
| wreak | to inflict (as vengeance or punishment); to express (as anger or hatred) |
| perseverance | the act or habit of holding to a course of action or belief; persistence; steadfastness |
| autonomy | independence; the condition of having self-government |
| wane | to decrease gradually; to decline in power, importance, or size |
| inclement | without mercy; rough or stormy; harsh |
| latitude | freedom; scope |
| malleable | capable of being shaped by hammering or pressing; having the capacity to be changed easily |
| amiable | friendly; agreeable; good-natured |
| vibrant | vibrating rapidly; energetic, vigorous; produced by vibration(as in sound); stimulating |
| melodramatic | overly dramatic, emotional, or sentimental; sensational |
| grimace | to make a face showing pain, annoyance, and the like; a distortion of the face to show pain, annoyance, and the like |
| indomitable | unconquerable; unyielding; not easily overcome |
| succumb | to die; to yield or give in to an overpowering force or desire |
| bayou | a marshy inlet or outlet of a river or lake, especially in parts of the southern United States |
| whimsical | full of curious ideas or notions; oddly out of the ordinary; unpredictable |
| visage | a face or a facial expression; appearance |
Combine with other sets
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace