| Term | Definition |
|---|
| palpable | capable of being touched or felt |
| receding | moving back or away |
| vitality | life or liveliness |
| disarming | peaceable, friendly, or harmless |
| quarry | the hunted or the prey |
| intricate | complicated or detailed |
| surmounted | overcame |
| condone | excuse or overlook or seem to approve |
| righteous | moral |
| repast | something taken as food |
| compounded | added to or combined |
| slackening | lessening or loosening |
| feverish | marked by intense emotion, activity, or instability |
| frail | weak |
| repercussion | consequence or reverberation |
| surge | to rise suddenly to an excessive or abnormal value |
| apparatus | a set of materials or equipment designed for a particular use |
| muffle | to deaden the sound of |
| tumultuously | riotously or with a violent commotion |
| resilient | able to bounce back or recover |
| avenge | to punish in retaliation for an injury or offense |
| venture | attempt or risk |
| impunity | lacking any fear or risk of punishment |
| retribution | payback or punishment |
| virtuoso | someone who is highly skilled in an art or science |
| immolation | to destroy or kill as a sacrificial victim, usually by fire |
| niche | small space or hollow in a wall for storing or displaying things |
| afflicted | suffering or caused pain or suffering |
| surpass | exceed or go beyond |
| gesticulation | a vigorous motion with the hands |
| iridescent | showing a rainbow-like display of color |
| infallible | unable to fail or make mistakes |
| dogged | persistent or persevering |
| reiterate | repeat or restate |
| faring | managing; getting along |
| siege | a steady or prolonged attempt to gain control over a town or other place |
| heresy | an opinion or behavior that goes against the teaching of the dominant religion or belief system |
| rubicund | rosy; reddish |
| precariously | dangerously or depending on uncertain circumstances |
| reconnaissance | investigative and explorative, usually for military purposes |
| hurled | having been thrown with great force; flung |
| heave | to raise or lift with effort or force; hoist |
| ricochet | the motion of an object or a projectile in rebounding or deflecting one or more times from the surface over which it is passing or against which it hits a glancing blow |
| benign | having a kindly disposition; gracious |
| Jarring | producing a harsh, grating sound; sounding discordantly |
| Jolted | having been disturbed suddenly and severely; stunned. |
| grimace | a facial expression, often ugly or contorted, that indicates disapproval, pain, etc. |
| reconcile | to win over to friendliness; cause to become amicable |
| truant | a student who stays away from school without permission |
| hoist | to raise or lift |
| surfeit | to feed, supply, or enjoy to the point of excess |
| shrew | a bad-tempered woman |
| lethargy | abnormal drowsiness |
| feign | to fake |
| abatement | to lessen or stop |
| syllogism | an argument that consists of two statements and a conclusion that must be true if these two statements are true |
| purge | to make clean |
| motley | composed of various often unlike kinds or parts |
| pestilence | a contagious or infectious epidemic disease that spreads quickly and is often fatal |
| abjure | to give up, abandon, or reject solemnly |
| mellifluous | sweetly flowing |
| knave | unethical, untrustworthy or dishonest person |
| caterwauling | howling, wailing |
| mitigation | act of making something less severe |
| malignant | evil |
| churlish | rude or grumpy |
| epistle | a formal letter |
| probation | period of trial for finding out or testing a person's fitness |
| scruple | a sense of guilt felt when one does wrong |
| abhor | to hate |
| whet | sharpen |
| upbraid | scold |
| laudable | worthy of praise |
| presage | omen, indication of something to come |
| pedant | one who overvalues petty details of book learning, grammar, etc. |
| acquit | settle, as with a debt; declare innocent |
| implacable | not to be mitigated |
| approbation | praise |
| penance | the act of making up for an offense |
| incense | to cause extreme anger |
| curate | clergyman, assistant to parish priest |
| requite | to repay, retaliate |
| plight | to pledge |
| jocund | merry |
| beguile | to deceive |
| dissemble | to conceal or disguise |
| usurp | to seize wrongfully |
| semblance | appearance, likeness, image |
| peruse | to read slowly and carefully |
| covetous | greedy |
| ethics | moral principles or code of right and wrong |
| dictum | a formal statement of principle |
| domicile | a house or place where a person lives |
| impotent | powerless |
| malevolent | evil or wishing to cause harm |
| predilection | preference or preferred way of doing something |
| taciturn | almost always silent or reserved |
| condescended | agreed to do something that you believe to be beneath your dignity |
| amiable | friendly |
| contemptuous | the feeling that someone or something is beneath you or is worthless |
| contentious | always ready to argue or fight |
| monosyllabic | one sound or speaking with a single, uninterrupted sound |
| benevolence | a generous or thoughtful gift or generosity |
| morbid | gruesome or horrible |
| tacit | unspoken or understood without being discussed |
| malignant | dangerous or evil |
| cordial | warm and friendly |
| unfathomable | cannot be understood |
| indigenous | native or originating in a region |
| auspicious | favorable or promising for the future |
| ambidextrous | able to use both hands with equal ease |
| audible | loud enough to be heard |
| congenital | in existence at birth |
| perpetual | everlasting or continuous |
| expunge | remove completely |
| volition | desire, choice or will |
| feral | wild, savage or animalistic |
| hypocrites | people who pretend to be something they are not or who say one thing and do another |
| remorse | feeling of regret or guilt over one's actions |
| recluse | someone who stays away from society and the company of others |
| mishap | unlucky or unfortunate accident |
| mortify | humiliate or embarrass |
| nocturnal | nightly or by night |
| ingenuous | naive or innocent |
| degradation | a state of low honor or moral character |
| denunciation | strong disapproval or condemnation |
| indignantly | angrily |
| devoid | completely without |
| prerogative | exclusive right, privilege, or choice |
| altercation | fight or heated argument |
| begrudge | feel resentment about or disapproval of someone else having something |
| ominous | threatening or sinister |
| venerable | impressive in age or historic associations |
| dispel | drive out |
| elucidate | explain or make clear |
| formidable | impressive |
| acrimonious | bitter or nasty |
| umbrage | offense or insult |
| apoplectic | highly upset or having a seizure |
| obstreperous | very noisy |
| industry | work or productivity |
| notoriety | fame, usually for something negative |
| nondescript | dull or having no interesting qualities |
| cynical | antisocial or unfriendly or expecting the worst |
| adamant | firm or insistent |
| forest primeval | a forest that has been largely untouched or unchanged by man |
| congenital | in existence at birth |
| expunge | remove completely |
| corroborate | support with evidence |
| indiscriminately | arbitrarily, haphazardly, or randomly |
| encumbrance | burden or hindrance |
| waif | orphan or stray |
| mysticism | spirituality or direct communication with or knowledge of God |
| prominent | famous or outstanding |
| decree | ruling or official announcement |
| expound | explain or elaborate on |
| firmament | heaven, sky or basis or foundation |
| premonition | forewarning, intuition or feeling about the future |
| ghetto | part of a city where a group is forced to live by law, poverty or prejudice |
| haggard | worn, tired or fatigued |
| edict | command, law or proclamation |
| truncheon | club used as a weapon |
| hermetically | in an isolated, solitary or airtight way |
| monotonous | dull or repetitive |
| abominable | vile, horrible or monstrous |
| unremittingly | constantly or without stopping |
| antechamber | entrance, foyer or waiting room |
| bestial | feral, savage or like a beast |
| lucidity | clarity or clearness |
| semblance | actual or seeming similarity |
| indeterminate | vague or not definite |
| clout | blow or hit |
| compulsory | required or not optional |
| wizened | withered, shriveled, or decayed |
| blandishment | flattery or cajolery |
| automaton | robot or android |
| privation | deprivation or dispossession |
| countenance | face |
| crucible | container in which metals are heated until they melt |
| knell | the sound of a bell, often signaling a funeral or the end of something |
| livid | red, often with anger |
| inert | motionless |
| plaintive | sad, mournful, or melancholy |
| humane | kind, benevolent, or compassionate |
| abyss | chasm, bottomless pit, or hell |
| infernal | hellish, fiery, or hot |
| beseeching | begging or making a plea |
| emaciated | abnormally skinny due to disease or starvation |
| robust | strong, vigorous, or healthy |
| simile | a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things using like or as |
| theme | the message about life or human nature that is inferred by the author in a literary work |
| irony | a contrast between what is said and is really meant |
| metaphor | a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things, but does not use like or as |
| protagonist | the central character in a story, the one upon whom the action centers |
| antagonist | character or force that opposes the central character in the story |
| climax | the point in the story when the reader finds out whether or not the protagonist has won the conflict |
| mood | the feeling a reader gets from reading a particular piece of writing. |
| tone | a manner, atmosphere, or attitude that carries, or conveys, a feeling. A tone can be scary, anxious, or serious |
| euphemism | more gentle or tactful term for a difficult, painful, or embarrassing subject |
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