| Term | Definition |
|---|
| palpable | capable of being handled, touched, or felt; easily perceived |
| obstinate | unreasonably stubborn |
| surmise | to infer something by intuition or with slender evidence; such an inference |
| debilitated | showing impairment of energy or strenth |
| affluence | wealth |
| elicit | to draw out; to invoke |
| salient | important, prominent, most noticable |
| acrid | harsh; sarcastic; bitter to the taste |
| gustatory | relating to the sense of taste |
| noisome | disgustingly offensive; foul |
| palatable | pleasant or acceptable to the taste |
| abstract | without reference to specific instance or concrete existence; theoretical; to remove |
| contract | to reduce in size by drawing together |
| detract | to take away a desirable part; to diminish |
| protract | to extend the duration of; prolong |
| retract | to take back; to pull back |
| tract | an area of land or water; a brief written work, usu. on a religious or political topic |
| traction | the ability (as of a tire or wheel) to stay on a surface wihtout sliding; the act of pulling |
| bristle | to react in an angry or offended manner |
| husband | to use sparingly; to conserve |
| just | honorable and fair; consistent with what is right |
| quail | to draw back in fear; lose heart or courage |
| retire | to retreat, as from battle |
| table | to postpone consideration of |
| till | to prepare the soil for planting |
| wax | to become larger |
| weather | to survive |
| arable | suitable for growing crops |
| belated | delayed; postponed; detained |
| callous | lacking pity or mercy; unfeeling |
| chaste | pure; not engaging in sexual activity |
| collateral | parallel; serving to support; of a secondary nature |
| collude | to plot secretly for a deceitful or illegal purpose |
| condone | to pardon or overlook voluntarily |
| corroborate | to strengthen; confirm; support |
| crestfallen | feeling disappointment; feeling shame or humiliation |
| decisive | conclusive; beyond doubt; showing determination |
| deride | to ridicule |
| diffident | lacking self-confidence; timid; shy |
| diffuse | to spread around or scatter; widely scattered |
| dilemma | a situation in which one must choose between two equally bad alternatives |
| disparate | entirely unlike |
| dowdy | lacking in neatness or style; shabby |
| dupe | to deceive; to trick; a person easily tricked |
| duress | strain or hardship, often illegally applied |
| embezzle | to take money for one's own use, in violation of a trust |
| epigram | a short, cleverly-worded statement |
| ethereal | delicate; soft; airy; intangible |
| extant | currently or actually existing |
| flighty | unstable or easily excited |
| foible | a minor weakness of character |
| frivolous | of little importance |
| gestate | evolve, as in prenatal growth |
| groggy | confused, sluggish, or dizzy, as from lack of sleep or drunknness |
| hangar | a structure used for housing aicraft |
| harrowing | very distressing; painful |
| impute | to assign credit, often of guilt or blame |
| insensible | not able to feel or perceive; unresponsive |
| insular | narrowing in outlook; provincial |
| junta | a group of military officers ruling a country after seizing power |
| legerdemain | trickery; deception; sleight of hand |
| lethargic | dull; sluggish; moving slowly |
| manumit | to grant freedom to slaves; to emancipate |
| pervade | to spread through, or be present throughout |
| pique | to arouse (interest, curiosity, etc); to irritate |
| poise | self-assurance; composure; equilibrium |
| proliferate | to grow or reproduce rapidly |
| quotidian | daily; customary |
| regale | to delight or entertain |
| repel | to drive or force back; to drive off |
| scapegoat | one who takes blame |
| schism | a division; a split; a break |
| sediment | a residue that settles in the bottom of something |
| temperate | consistent; moderate; without extremes |
| tortuous | winding; twisted |
| unpretentious | modest; not showy |
| wane | to decrease; lessen |
| testy | irritable; touchy |
| stoic | apparently indifferent to joy, grief, pleasure, or pain |
| sentinel | one who keeps watch |
| scour | to wash by scrubbing vigorously |
| revere | to honor |
| remunerate | to pay or compensate |
| pulverize | to crush; to grind into powder or dust |
| jargon | the specialized terminology of a profession; incoherent speech |
| knell | to ring in a slow, solemn way. the sound of a bell esp. of one rung at a funeral |
| maim | to cipple; mutilate; disable |
| manifesto | a public delcaration of principles, often political |
| dediocre | ordinary to inferior in quiality; not stnading out from the average |
| morbid | gruesome; awful |
| nemesis | one who inflicts justified or great punishment; a source of harm or ruin |
| ovation | enthusiastic and lengthy applause |
| pittance | a small amount, esp. of money |
| plethora | an excessive amount |
| inexorable | not able to be persuaded |
| incumbent | necessary or obligatory; a person who currently holds a particular position |
| incongruous | lacking agreement; incompatible |
| impugn | challenge; call into question |
| impalpable | that which cannot be flet by touching; not easily understood |
| heinous | extremely wicked; abominable |
| grovel | to beg; to lower oneself to please another |
| grimace | a facial expression that shows disapproval or pain; to make such an expression |
| glut | an oversupply |
| fractious | disruptive or irritable |
| foliage | leaves |
| flounder | to proceed with clumsiness and confusion |
| fastidious | not easy to please; very critical or discriminating |
| etymology | the study of origins of words |
| entail | to have as a necessary result |
| ensue | to happen subsequently |
| dissent | to disagree |
| dictum | an authoritatives, often formal, pronouncement |
| demagogue | a leader who obtains power by appealing to the emotions and passions of the people |
| debonair | easy and carefree in manner |
| daunt | to make afraid; intimidate |
| crony | a long-time friend or close companion |
| cordial | warm and friendly; hearty |
| complaisant | showing a desire to please; cheerfully obliging |
| complacent | too pleased with oneself; self-satisfied |
| cavil | to argue in a petty fashion; make trifling objections |
| ambivalence | simultaneous existence of opposing feelings; uncertainty as to what to do |
| affable | friendly; easy to talk to |
| averse | opposed, reluctant; repelled |
| broach | to raise for discussion |
| pallet | a narrow, hard bed or straw-filled mattress |
| stanch | to stop the flow of something |
| staunch | strongly loyal |
| scribe | a professional copyist of manuscrips and documents; esp. in ancient times |
| proscribe | to prohivit or forbid.. to denounce |
| prescribe | to set down as a rul |
| postscript | additional informaiton added to the end of a letter or other document |
| nondescript | lacking distinction or individual character |
| inscribe | to write, carve or engrave words or letters on or in a surface |
| conscript | to draft compulsorily, esp. into military service |
| circumscribe | to define the limits of |
| ascribe | to attribute to a specific source |
| diurnal | daily; occurring during the daytime |
| antediluvian | very old; oudated |
| anachronism | something not belonging to a certain time period |
| desultory | lacking a plan or purpose; unmethodical |
| foment | to stir up negative feeligns, esp. those that lead to violent action |
| commensurate | equal in proportion; having the same size, duration, etc. |
| predileciton | a preference |
| dissipate | to scatter; to spend wastefully |
| surreptitious | done secretly, often of something unseemly or unethical |
| serendipity | unexpected gift or discovery |
| poignant | sharply painful to the feelings |
| attrition | gradual reduction |
Combine with other sets
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