| Term | Definition |
|---|
| viand | food |
| vignette | short literary sketch |
| vitreous | of or pertaining to glass |
| vulpine | like a fox; crafty |
| vouchsafe | guarantee |
| acclivity | sharp upslope of a hill |
| adventitious | accidental; casual |
| adjure | entreat earnestly |
| alcove | nook, recess |
| alimentary | supplying nourishment |
| unguent | ointment |
| unprepossessing | unattractive |
| untoward | unexpected and adverse; unlucky |
| unwonted | unaccustomed, unusual |
| urchin | mischievous boy |
| uproarious | very noisy; hilarious |
| talisman | object giving supernatural powers to its bearer |
| tantamount | equivalent in effect or value |
| tarry | linger |
| tawny | brownish yellow |
| temperament | characteristic frame of mind, disposition; emotional excess |
| tertiary | third |
| tessellated | mosaic, inlaid |
| timbre | distinctive quality of sound produced by an instrument or voice |
| titular | of a title; in name only |
| tonsure | shaving of the head |
| torrid | hot and scorching; passionate |
| agrarian | pertaining to land and its cultivation |
| alluvial | of soil deposits left by running water |
| amity | friendship; peaceful relations between nations |
| amok | in a state of rage |
| analgesic | causing insensitivity to pain |
| animadversion | critical remark |
| anathema | solemn curse; someone or thing regarded as a curse |
| annuity | yearly allowance |
| simper | smirk; smile in a silly way; smile affectedly |
| sinecure | well-paid position with little responsibility |
| sinuous | twisting; winding; not morally honest |
| sinewy | tough; strong and firm; muscular |
| skiff | small, light sailboat or rowboat |
| skinflint | miser; stingy person |
| skirmish | minor fight; minor battle in a war |
| skulk | move furtively and secretly |
| skulduggery | dishonest behavior or action |
| slag | waste matter; dross |
| sledge | large sled drawn by work animals |
| artifice | deception; trickery |
| ascendancy | controlling influence |
| aseptic | preventing infection; having a cleansing effect |
| ascetic | practicing self-denial; avoiding sensual pleasures and comforts |
| askance | with a sideways or indirect look (with disapproval) |
| asperity | sharpness; roughness; severity |
| atavism | reversion to an earlier type; throwback |
| attrition | rubbing away by friction; gradual decrease in numbers or strength; wearing away through harassment |
| conclave | private secret meeting |
| concomitant | existing or happening together with something else |
| concordat | formal agreement |
| condign | adequate (of punishment); severe and well deserved |
| conduit | passageway for fluids |
| connivance | pretense of ignorance of something wrong; assistance |
| consanguinity | kinship; relation by birth |
| consequential | self-important; significant; following as a result |
| conservatory | school or fine arts; glass-enclosed area |
| consolidation | unification; process of becoming firmer or stronger |
| consonance | harmony; agreement |
| consternation | great shock; dismay (not confusion) |
| earmark | set aside (money or time) for a particular purpose |
| ecclesiastic | pertaining to the church |
| efface | rub out; remove the surface of |
| effete | having lost one's original power; worn out; exhausted |
| effluvium | noxious, harmful smell |
| effulgent | shining brightly; brilliant |
| egress | opening for going out; exit |
| elegy | poem or song expressing lamentation |
| elixir | cure-all; panacea; something invigorating |
| elysian | relating to paradise; blissful |
| elysium | place or condition of bliss |
| fracas | brawl in which a number of people take part; melee |
| fractious | unruly; peevish; cranky |
| franchise | right or privilege granted by authority; right to vote |
| fraught | filled (with something unpleasant); full |
| fresco | painting on wet plaster |
| freebooter | pirate or plunderer who makes war in order to grow rich |
| frieze | ornamental horizontal band on a wall |
| fritter | waste (time or money on unimportant things) |
| fructify | bear fruit |
| fusillade | simultaneous firing or outburst (of missiles; questions, etc.) |
| hibernal | wintry; of or like winter |
| hieroglyphic | picture writing |
| hireling | one who serves for hire (used contemptuously) |
| hoary | frosty; white with age |
| hortatory | encouraging; exhortive; marked by exhortation |
| hothead | a person who does things without thinking; a violent, passionate person |
| hull | husk; dry outer covering of a seed; frame of a ship |
| hummock | small hill; hillock |
| humus | substance or rich soil formed by decaying vegetable matter |
| husbandry | frugality; thrift; agriculture; farming |
| husband | use sparingly; conserve; save |
| ichthyology | the study of fish |
| idyll | short poem idealizing country life; simple, happy period of life (in the country) |
| igneous | produced by fire; volcanic |
| imbue | saturate; soak thoroughly; fill (someone with feelings, ex.) |
| immolate | offer or kill as a sacrifice (by fire) |
| impalpable | imperceptible (not easily understood); intangible |
| impeach | charge (a public official) with a crime while in office; raise doubts about |
| imperious | domineering; too commanding; haughty |
| impious | irreverent |
| impolitic | unwise; not expedient |
| mauve | pale purple |
| mawkish | mushy and gushy icky-sticky sentimental |
| mealymouthed | indirect in speech (when something unpleasant must be said); hypocritical; evasive |
| matrix | point of origin; array of numbers; mold or die |
| megalomania | mania for doing grandiose things; mental disorder with delusions of wealth and importance |
| mercantile | concerning trade or merchants |
| metallurgy | science that deals with extracting metals from ores |
| metaphysics | branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality |
| militate | work against |
| metrical | metric; written in the form of poetry |
| patrimony | property inherited from a father |
| pendulous | hanging; suspended |
| penology | the study of prison management and criminal rehabilitation |
| penumbra | partial shadow (in an eclipse) |
| peon | landless agricultural worker; bonded servant |
| perdition | damnation; complete ruination; hell |
| perquisite | any gain above stipulated salary |
| perspicuity | clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity |
| pertinacious | holding tenaciously to an action; stubborn; persistent |
| phalanx | group of men packed together (for attack or defense) |
| Pharisee | member of ancient Jewish group that believed itself very holy; hypocritical self-righteous person |
| scintillating | animated, vivacious; effervescent; witty; brilliantly clever |
| striated | furrowed; striped; streaked |
| gibbous | convex at both edges (like a more than half-full moon); humpbacked |
| epiphenomenon | a secondary symptom or complication arising during the course of a disease |
| deracinate | pull up by the roots; isolate a person from her native culture or environment |
| flashpoint | a critical moment when action erupts |
| anomie | a state or condition of individuals or society characterized by a breakdown or absence of social norms and values, as in the case of uprooted people |
| strophe | (in modern poetry) any separate section or extended movement in a poem, distinguished from a stanza in that it does not follow a regularly repeated pattern |
| apostrophe | a digression in the form of an address to someone not present, or to a personified object or idea, as "O Death, where is thy sting?" |
| saber | a heavy, one-edged sword |
| zeitgeist | the spirit of an age; the general trend of thought or feeling of a time |
| filament | a very fine thread or threadlike structure |
| petrous | like a rock, hard, stony |
| philistine | a smug ignorant person; one who lacks knowledge |
| plurality | a majority |
| portend | be a sign or warning of (something in the future); foreshadow |
| potboiler | a literary or artistic work of poor quality, produced quickly for profit |
| prate | to talk long and idly; chatter |
| prelate | high-ranking clergyman, e.g. a bishop or an archbishop |
| puckish | impish; whimsical |
| purlieu | a frequently visited place; haunt |
| purloin | to appropriate wrongfully and often by a breach of trust |
| odium | general or widespread hatred or disgust felt towards a person or his actions |
| offish | somewhat cold and reserved; standoffish |
| orthography | (study or system of) spelling |
| nucleate | to form into a nucleus; cluster |
| mannered | having an unnatural style of speaking, writing, etc; affected |
| maven | one who is experienced or knowledgeable; expert |
| meliorism | the belief that society has an innate tendency toward improvement and that this tendency may be furthered through conscious human effort |
| minaret | a tall slender tower of a mosque having one or more balconies from which the summons to prayer is cried by the muezzin |
| mincing | affectedly dainty, nice, or elegant |
| mite | very small or modest contribution or offering |
| mote | small particle, usu of dust; speck |
| mottled | marked with patches of different colours without a regular pattern |
| mulish | unreasonably and inflexibly obstinate |
| lagniappe | trifling present given to a customer |
| lapidary | worker in precious stones |
| lariat | a long light rope (as of hemp or leather) used with a running noose to catch livestock or with or without the noose to tether grazing animals; lasso |
| lissome | nimble; active; lithe; supple; flexible |
| acetic | vinegary |
| acarpous | effete, no longer fertile, worn out |
| accoutre | to equip or outfit, esp. with military clothes, equipment, etc |
| acerbic | having sour or bitter taste or character |
| achromatic | designating color perceived to have zero saturation and therefore no hue, such as neutral grays, white, or black |
| acidulous | rather sharp or bitter in taste or manner |
| actuarial | calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics |
| actuary | expert who calculates insurance risks and premiums |
| adipose | fatty; consisting of, resembling, or relating to fat |
| adjuration | solemn urging |
| adjutant | army officer responsible for administrative work in a battalion |
| aerate | To supply with air or expose to the circulation of air |
| airy | having plenty of fresh air moving about; well-ventilated; high in the air; lofty; immaterial; unreal |
| ambulatory | walking; able to walk |
| anaerobic | living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen |
| anathematize | declare to be evil |
| anneal | make tough by cooling slowly after heating |
| aphorism | a short wise saying; a terse formulation of a truth or sentiment |
| apocrypha | writings or statements of dubious authenticity |
| apophasis | allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned |
| apoplectic | greatly agitated |
| aquifer | a water-bearing stratum of permeable rock, sand, or gravel |
| habiliments | clothes; the special dress or garb associated with an occasion or office |
| raillery | good natured joking; banter |
| renegade | a deserter; a traitor |
| recumbent | leaning; lying down |
| recrudesce | (of a sore, disease, etc.) renew activity, break out again |
| riposte | a quick and witty reply, often unfriendly |
| riven | (adj.) split violently apart |
| russet | of a reddish-brown or golden-brown color |
| integument | a covering, external coating, or skin |
| interdict | prohibit, forbid the use of, restrain a person from doing something |
| intestate | not having made a will before death |
| brass monkey | something solid that can only be affected by extremes |
| horse | latitudes of calm |
| halal | meat prepared according to Muslim law |
| sash | the wooden frame of a window |
| rapier | a slender sword |
| concameration | an arch or vault |
| mercenary | working or serving for money; venal |
| transfigure | to give an exalted meaning or glorified appearance to |
| buskin | a laced boot reaching halfway or more to the knee; a tragedy resembling ancient Greek drama |
| carmine | a rich crimson or scarlet lake (lacquer) made from cochineal; a vivid red |
| cochineal | a red dye consisting of the dried bodies of insects |
| choleric | easily moved to often unreasonable or excessive anger : hot-tempered |
| chiromancy | palmistry |
| podiatry | the medical care and treatment of the human foot |
| cerebrate | use the mind; think |
| collier | one that produces charcoal; a coal miner; a ship for transporting coal |
| contumely | (n.) harsh language or treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt |
| cortege | a train of attendants : retinue; a procession; a funeral procession |
| corsair | pirate; esp. a privateer of the Barbary Coast |
| demesne | the legal possession of land as one's own |
| desideratum | something desired as essential |
| convalesce | to recover health and strength after illness; make progress toward recovery of health |
| perforce | of necessity; necessarily; by force of circumstance |
| catalepsy | a physical condition characterized by suspension of sensation, muscular rigidity, fixity of posture, and often by loss of contact with environment |
| quick | the vital or most important part; the tender, sensitive living flesh of the human body, esp. under the nails |
| casement | a window sash opening on hinges that are generally attached to the upright side of its frame; a casing, or covering |
| draught | a serving of drink; a current of air; a dose of liquid medicine |
| bethink | to think; consider; resolve (used reflexively) |
| empyrean | the highest heaven; (adj:) heavenly, celestial |
| dishabille | the state of being negligently dressed |
| lout | rough, rude man |
| deprecatory | expressing disapproval, protest, or depreciation; apologetic |
| concourse | a place where crowds come together |
| lean | producing little; barren |
| integument | outer covering (such as a shell, the skin of a fruit) |
| recusant | refusing to obey official rules/official religious beliefs |
| recondition | repair |
| paregoric | a tincture of opium used chiefly to stop diarrhea in children.; any soothing medicine; anodyne |
| camphor | a substance in medicine as a counter-irritant for infections and in the treatment of pain and itching |
| purview | range of operation, one's concern, knowledge; scope |
| prospectus | printed statement describing the advantages of a college or a new business |
| capitation | tax paid at the same amount for each person |
| meridian | highest point reached by the sun; highest point |
| supernal | heavenly |
| lucubrate | write or study laboriously |
| fealty | loyalty |
| armistice | cease-fire; truce |
| spoliation | violent spoiling or destruction |
| lubricious | showing too great an interest in sex (in an unpleasant way) |
| proctor | person who makes sure students don't cheat in an exam |
| shuck | husk; pod; outer covering (as of an oyster) |
| fumigate | disinfect by means of fumes; clear of harmful stuff with smoke or gas |
| cephalous | connected with the head |
| lope | (of an animal) move easily and swiftly; gallop slowly |
| lathe | a machine for use in working wood, metal, etc., that holds the material and rotates it about a horizontal axis against a tool that shapes it |
| tuber | fleshy, swollen underground stem (such as the potato) |
| casuistry | false but clever argumentation |
| climacteric | important stage in a human life when changes take place in the body |
| escutcheon | ceremonial shield with a coat of arms |
| fusty | (of a room) having an unpleasant smell from being shut up for a long time |
| nosegay | small bunch of flowers (usually to be carried or worn on a dress) |
| coruscate | sparkle; flash |
| hauteur | haughtiness |
| proboscis | long lose or long tubelike part of the mouth |
| poltroon | coward |
| po-faced | having an overly serious demeanor or attitude; humorless |
| sobriquet | nickname |
| nave | long central part of a church often between two aisles |
| reticulated | covered with a net-like pattern of lines |
| scarify | make small cuts on (skin); break up and loosen the surface (of a road or field) with a pointed tool |
| trumpery | something decorative or attractive but with very little use |
| threnody | funeral song for the dead |
| spume | foam; light white air-filled mass on the top of a liquid |
| tocsin | (bell rung as a) warning signal |
| sarcophagous | decorated stone box for a dead body |
| trencherman | a person who eats a lot |
| troglodyte | a prehistoric cave dweller; a person living in seclusion; an animal living underground |
| trope | figurative use of a word |
| picaresque | telling the story of the adventures of a character of whom one disapproves (but who is not really wicked); roguish |
| orison | prayer |
| orotund | full and strong in sound |
| pediment | three-sided piece of stone placed above the entrance to a building |
| slaver | slobber; drool |
| soi-disant | self-styled; so-called |
| sine qua non | an indispensable thing |
| frangible | easily breakable |
| requiem | the Mass celebrated for the repose of the souls of the dead; a plainsong setting for this Mass |
| sloe | shrub bearing dark purple fruit |
| ploughshare | a sharp steel wedge that cuts loose the top layer of soil |
| missal | a book of prayers or devotions |
| missive | written message; letter |
| claptrap | pretentious but insincere or empty language; any artifice or expedient for winning applause or impressing the public |
| consort | keep company |
| impetus | the act of applying force suddenly |
| cocker | treat with excessive indulgence; cosset; coddle; mollycoddle; spoil; indulge |
| treacle | molasses; contrived or unrestrained sentimentality |
| homespun | hand woven |
| waggle | move back and forth |
| bamboozle | conceal one's true motives from especially by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end |
| plaintive | expressing sorrow |
| bodacious | thorough; blatant; unmistakable; bold and audacious; remarkable, outstanding |
| brassy | brazen; bold; loud; noisy; clamorous |
| synoptic | presenting or taking the same point of view |
| impeccable | not capable of sin |
| adactylia | congenital absence of fingers and/or toes |
| epicene | belonging to, or partaking of the characteristics of, both sexes; effeminate |
| demode | out of fashion; ex; old-fashioned; outmoded; passe; passee |
| temporal | of this earth; of this world |
| facile | expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively; fluent; silver; silver-tongued; smooth-spoken |
| verdigris | a green patina that forms on copper or brass or bronze that has been exposed to the air or water for long periods of time |
| pratfall | a fall in which one lands on the arse; a humiliating blunder or defeat |
| heterogeneous | originating outside of the body; composed of parts of different kinds; having widely dissimilar elements or constituents |
| taxonomy | the science or technique of classification |
| dasheen | taro; a tuber of the Caribbean |
| gage | place a bet on; stake |
| reactionary | extremely conservative; far-right |
| punk | dry, decayed wood that can be used as tinder; spunk |
| auberge | a hotel providing overnight lodging for travelers; inn; lodge |
| intransigent | refusing to agree or compromise; uncompromising; inflexible |
| plume | to feel complacent satisfaction with (oneself); (of a bird) to preen |
| shrimpy | puny; tiny |
| vaunt | to speak vaingloriously of; boast of; (n.) extravagant self-praise |
| pettifog | to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters; to practice chicanery |
| vixen | a female fox |
| sap | excavate the earth beneath |
| sternum | breastbone |
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