| Term | Definition |
|---|
| admonish | to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly |
| breach | an opening, gap, rupture; to create an opening, break through |
| brigand | a bandit, robber, outlaw |
| circumspect | careful, cautious |
| commandeer | to seize for military or official use |
| cumbersome | clumsy, hard to handle |
| deadlock | a standstill resulting from the opposition of two equal forces; to bring to such a standstill |
| debris | scattered fragments, wreckage |
| diffuse | to spread or scatter freely or widely; wordy, long winded |
| efface | to wipe out |
| muddle | to make a mess of |
| opinionated | stubborn and often unreasonable in holding to one's own ideas |
| perennial | lasting for a long time; a plant that lives for many years |
| predispose | to incline to before hand |
| relinquish | to let go, give up |
| salvage | to save from fire or shipwreck; property thus saved |
| spasmodic | sudden and violent but brief |
| spurious | not genuine |
| unbridled | uncontrolled, lacking in restraint |
| adjourn | to stop proceedings temporarily, move to another place |
| comely | having a pleasing appearance |
| compensate | to make up for |
| dissolute | loose in one's morals or behavior |
| erratic | not regular or consistent |
| expulsion | the process of driving or forcing out |
| feint | a deliberately deceptive movement; to make a deceptive movement |
| fodder | food for horses or cattle |
| fortify | to strengthen |
| illegible | difficult or impossible to read |
| jeer | to make fun of rudely or unkindly; a rude remark or derision |
| lucrative | bringing in money |
| mediocre | average |
| proliferate | to reproduce |
| subjugate | to conquer by force |
| sully | to soil; stain |
| tantalize | to tease |
| terse | brief and to the point |
| unflinching | firm |
| abridge | to make shorter |
| adherent | a follower; attached |
| altercation | an angry argument |
| cherubic | resembling an angel |
| condone | to pardon |
| dissent | to disagree; disagreement |
| eminent | famous |
| exorcise | to drive out by magic |
| fabricate | to make |
| irate | angry |
| marauder | a raider |
| obesity | excessive fatness |
| pauper | an extremely poor person |
| pilfer | to steal in small quantities |
| rift | a split |
| semblance | a likeness; an outward appearance |
| surmount | to overcome |
| terminate | to bring to an end |
| trite | overused |
| usurp | to seize and hold a position by force or without right |
| abscond | to run off and hide |
| access | approach or admittance to places; to get at |
| anarchy | a lack of government and law; confusion |
| auspicious | favorable; fortunate |
| biased | favoring one side unduly |
| daunt | to overcome with fear |
| disentangle | to free from tangles |
| fated | determined in advance by destiny or fortune |
| hoodwink | to mislead by a tick |
| inanimate | not having life |
| incinerate | to burn to ashes |
| intrepid | very brave |
| larceny | theft |
| pliant | bending readily |
| pompous | overly self-important in speech and manner |
| precipice | a very steep cliff |
| rectify | to make right |
| reprieve | a temporary relief or delay; to grant a postponement |
| revile | to attack with words |
| accomplice | a person who takes part in a crime |
| annihilate | to destroy completely |
| arbitrary | unreasonable |
| brazen | shameless |
| catalyst | a substance that causes or hastens a chemical reaction |
| exodus | a large scale departure |
| facilitate | to make easier |
| incorrigible | not able to be corrected |
| latent | hidden |
| militant | given to fighting; an activist |
| morose | having a gloomy manner |
| opaque | not letting light through |
| paramount | chief in importance |
| prattle | to talk in an aimless, foolish, or simple way; baby talk |
| rebut | to offer arguments or evidence that contradicts an assertion |
| reprimand | to scold; a rebuke |
| servitude | slavery |
| slapdash | careless and hasty |
| stagnant | not running or flowing |
| succumb | to give way to a superior force |
| atone | to make up for |
| bondage | slavery |
| credible | believable |
| defray | to pay for |
| diligent | hardworking |
| doleful | sad |
| ghastly | frightful |
| hamper | to hold back |
| hew | to shape or cut down with an ax |
| impoverished | poor |
| incessant | never stopping |
| intricate | complicated |
| lucid | easy to understand |
| posthumous | occurring or published after death |
| prim | overly neat |
| sardonic | bitterly sarcastic |
| superfluous | exceeding what is sufficient or required |
| supplant | to take the place of |
| taunt | to jeer at; an insulting or mocking remark |
| tenacious | holding fast |
| adieu | farewell |
| advent | an arrival |
| apex | the highest point |
| assimilate | to absorb fully |
| interim | the time between |
| bogus | false |
| exorbitant | unreasonably high |
| inundate | to flood |
| malign | to speak evil of; evil |
| meander | to wander about; a sharp turn or twist |
| metropolis | a large city |
| momentous | very important |
| obstreperous | noisy, unruly, disorderly |
| pensive | thoughtful |
| perilous | dangerous |
| shoddy | of poor quality |
| sprightly | lively, full of life |
| surly | angry and bad tempered; rude |
| tirade | a long, angry speech |
| vagrant an | idle wanderer; wandering aimlessly |
| assurance | a pledge; freedom from doubt; self-confidence |
| asylum | an institution for the care of children, elderly; a place of safety |
| console | to comfort; the keyboard of an organ |
| dilate | to make or become larger or wider |
| dross | refuse, waste products |
| dwindle | to lessen |
| flippant | lacking in seriousness |
| immunity | resistance to disease |
| institute | to establish; an organization for the promotion of learning |
| liability | a debt |
| preposterous | ridiculous |
| pugnacious | quarrelsome |
| rabid | furious; mad; infected with rabies |
| realm | a kingdom |
| rejuvenate | to make young again |
| remunerate | to reward, pay |
| sparse | meager, scant |
| sterling | genuine, excellent |
| venture | a risky or daring undertaking; to expose to danger |
| warp | to twist out of shape; an abnormality |
| auxilliary | giving assistance or support |
| candid | frank, sincere |
| cubicle | a small room or compartment |
| drudgery | work that is hard and tiresome |
| envoy | a representative or messenger |
| escalate | to elevate |
| expedient | a means to an end |
| feign | to pretend |
| flair | a natural quality, talent, or skill |
| grievous | causing sorrow or pain |
| heterogeneous | composed of different kinds |
| horde | a vast number |
| impel | to force |
| incredulous | disbelieving |
| inscribe | to write or engrave |
| monologue | a speech by one actor |
| prognosis | a forecast of the probable course and outcome of a disease or situation |
| rasping | with a harsh, grating sound |
| repugnant | offensive |
| scuttle | to sink a ship by cutting holes in it |
| adept | thoroughly skilled |
| aspire | to have amitious hopes or plans |
| bleak | bare, dreary |
| chide | to scold |
| despicable | worthy of scorn |
| diminutive | small |
| emancipate | to free from slavery |
| erroneous | incorrect |
| exploit | to make use of |
| extemporaneous | made or delivered on the spur of the moment |
| impair | to make imperfect |
| invincible | not able to be defeated |
| languid | drooping |
| mire | muddy ground |
| obtrusive | forward |
| preamble | an introduction |
| render | to cause to become |
| rugged | rough |
| skeptical | inclined to doubt |
| slipshod | untidy in dress |
| brevity | shortness |
| comport | to conductor bear oneself |
| concise | expressing much in a few words |
| demure | sober or serious |
| depreciation | a lessening in value |
| deteriorate | to lower in quality |
| divulge | to tell |
| enlightened | free from ignorance and false ideas |
| forestall | to prevent by acting first |
| garble | to distort in such a way as to make unintelligible |
| proponent | one who puts forward a proposal |
| quaver | to shake |
| recoil | to spring back |
| recoup | to make up for |
| reek | an unpleasant smell |
| relentless | unyielding, harsh |
| rivulet | a small stream |
| squander | to spend foolishly |
| staccato | detached or disconnected in sound or style |
| statute | a law |
| appreciable | sufficient to be noticed or measured |
| autocratic | absolute in power or authority |
| blanch | to remove the color from |
| blasphemy | an act, utterance, or writing showing contempt for something sacred |
| brawny | strong, muscular |
| concerted | planned or performed in cooperation with others |
| contend | to fight |
| humane | kind |
| illustrious | very famous |
| intolerable | unbearable |
| irreverent | disrespectful |
| laborious | not easy |
| lithe | bending easily |
| maltreat | to abuse |
| ponder | to consider carefully |
| subversive | intedned to undermine or overthrow |
| synthetic | artificial |
| temperate | mild, moderate |
| venomous | poisenous |
| wily | sly |
| ad infinitum | endlessly |
| apportion | to divide and give out in shares |
| bona fide | genuine |
| buoyant | able to float easily |
| clique | a small, exclusive group of people |
| concede | to admit as true |
| papa smurf | my father |
| congenial | getting on well with others |
| lofty | very high, noble |
| migration | a movement from one country or region to another |
| perceive | to be aware of through the senses |
| perverse | inclined to go against what is expected |
| prelude | an introduction |
| rancid | stale |
| rustic | country-like |
| sever | to separate |
| sordid | whretchedly poor |
| untenable | not capable of being held or defended |
| versatile | able to do many things will |
| vindicate | to clear from hint or charge of wrongdoing |
| wane | to lis size, strength, or power |
| annex | to add to |
| cleave | to cut or split open |
| cordial | in a friendly manner |
| cornerstone | the starting point of a building |
| debacle | an overwhelming defeat |
| devitalize | to make weak or lifeless |
| embroil | to involve in a conflict or difficulty |
| exonerate | to clear from a charge or accusation |
| glib | ready and fluent in speech |
| haphazard | by chance |
| improvise | to compose or perfrom without preperation |
| incite | to rouse |
| influx | a coming in |
| pallor | an extreme or unnatural paleness |
| pedigree | a list of ancestors |
| precipitous | very steep |
| profuse | very abundant |
| reconcile | to restore to friendship |
| shackle | to put into chains |
| threadbare | shabby |
| abase | to lower in esteem |
| actuate | to move into action |
| avert | to turn aside |
| boorish | rude |
| brunt | the main impact |
| combatant | a fighter |
| dormant | inactive |
| dubious | causing uncertainty or suspicion |
| harangue | to deliver a loud speech |
| harry | to make a destructive raid on |
| impenitent | not feeling remorse or sorrow for errors or offenses |
| knave | a tricky fellow |
| legion | a large military force |
| liberality | generosity |
| plaintiff | one who begins a lawsuit |
| probe | to examine |
| protract | to draw out or lengthen in space or time |
| quarry | to cut or take from a quarry |
| spurn | to refuse with scorn |
| subterfuge | an excuse or trickfor escaping or hiding something |
| arduous | hard to do, requiring much effort |
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