| Term | Definition |
|---|
| occlude | block, obstruct |
| propitiate | appease, conciliate |
| peroration | conclusion of a speech; flowery, rhetorical speech |
| alloy | debase by mixing with something inferior |
| canonical | following accepted standards |
| exegesis | critical examination |
| abjure | renounce or reject solemnly |
| parsimonious | cheap, miserly |
| decorum | appropriateness of behaviour or conduct |
| malinger | evade responsibility by pretending to be ill |
| opprobrium | public disgrace |
| prodigal | lavish, wasteful |
| specious | deceptively attractive |
| blandishment | speech or action intended to coax someone into doing something |
| deprecation | belittlement |
| florid | ornate; flushed with rosy colour |
| ineffable | indescribable in words |
| insensible | numb; unconscious |
| noisome | harmful; offensive; destructive |
| aplomb | poise; composure in difficult situations; assurance |
| apiary | a place where bees are kept |
| apoplexy | stroke; loss of blood due to too much blood in the brain |
| secession | formal withdrawal |
| sedition | conduct or language inciting rebellion |
| chaffing | bantering; joking |
| chimerical | fantastically improbably; highly unrealistic |
| chisel | swindle or cheat |
| cipher | nonentity; worthless person or thing; secret code |
| circumvent | outwit; baffle; avoid; get around |
| disport | amuse; divert |
| distrait | absentminded; distracted |
| diurnal | daily; occurring during the daytime |
| docket | program as for a trial; list of things to be done |
| dour | sullen; gloomy; stubborn |
| ferment | agitation; commotion; unrest |
| ferret | drive or hunt out of hiding; expel |
| fester | rankle; produce irritation or resentment |
| fetid | malodorous; foul |
| fiasco | total failure |
| fetter | shackle; restrict the freedom of |
| fiat | command; arbitrary order |
| filial | pertaining to or befitting a son or daughter |
| firebrand | piece of burning wood; hothead; person who stirs up trouble |
| gambit | action made to produce a future advantage |
| gambol | romp; skip about; leap about playfully |
| gaunt | lean and angular; emaciated; bony; barren |
| gauche | clumsy (in social behavior); coarse and uncouth |
| germinal | creative |
| gerrymander | change voting district lines in order to favour a political party |
| macerate | soften by soaking in liquid; waste away |
| roseate | rosy; optimistic |
| rubric | title or heading (in red print); directions for religious ceremony; protocol |
| scrappy | quarrelsome |
| parochial | confined or restricted as if within the borders of a parish : limited in range or scope |
| sectarian | of a sect; narrow-minded; parochial |
| skittish | inconstant; capricious; frivolous; not serious |
| solstice | sun farthest |
| rapacious | greedy, esp for money; grasping |
| rankle | to cause anger, irritation, or deep bitterness |
| ravening | rapacious; seeking prey |
| remit | to transmit (money) in payment; to refrain from exacting a fee or penalty |
| rendition | a surrender |
| palmy | marked by prosperity |
| apostle | one who pioneers an important reform movement, cause, or belief; a passionate adherent; a strong supporter |
| parlance | particular way of speaking or use of words; phraseology |
| parse | to resolve (as a sentence) into component parts of speech and describe them grammatically |
| patois | dialect spoken by the common people of a region and differing from the standard language of the country |
| perfervid | marked by overwrought or exaggerated emotion; excessively fervent |
| persiflage | to provide with an incentive; move to action; impel |
| restive | marked by impatience; fidgety |
| rigmarole | a set of confused and meaningless statements; a long and complicated and confusing procedure |
| roister | to engage in noisy revelry; carouse |
| rout | utter defeat |
| rubicund | having a healthy reddish color; ruddy; florid |
| austere | severe or stern in appearance; undecorated |
| credulous | too trusting |
| obsequious | overly submissive and eager to please |
| pedant | someone who shows off learning |
| abominate | loathe; hate |
| go to seed | weaken; deteriorate |
| aberrant | deviating from the norm; incorrect |
| lodestar | guiding principle |
| retrograde | moving backwards |
| propitious | favorable; fortunate; of good omen |
| provident | showing forethought; providing for future needs |
| multivalent | having various meanings |
| puissant | potent; wielding great power |
| abdicate | resign and renounce one's powers |
| effrontery | extreme boldness; presumptuousness |
| perfunctory | cursory; done without care or interest |
| perspicacious | acutely perceptive |
| scullion | a low or contemptible person |
| watchword | a secret password; a word or phrase expressive of a principle or rule of action; slogan; a rallying cry; a cheer |
| bluff | good-naturedly direct, blunt, or frank; heartily outspoken; presenting a bold and nearly perpendicular front, as a coastline |
| rheumatism | stiffness |
| abbess | the lady superior of a nunnery |
| achillean | invulnerable |
| adjudge | to award or bestow by formal decision |
| alkali | anything that will neutralize an acid, as lime, magnesia, etc |
| amatory | designed to excite love |
| annals | a record of events in their chronological order, year by year |
| dapple | a small contrasting blotch; also, to mark with spots |
| metier | an occupation, especially in which one excels |
| mien | demeanor; also, aspect; appearance |
| fin de siecle | sophisticated; world-weary |
| choler | anger |
| bete noire | something or someone particularly detested or avoided |
| quondam | former; sometime |
| fulsome | offensive from excess of praise |
| unctuous | marked by a false or smug earnestness or agreeableness |
| purblind | having greatly reduced vision |
| coxcomb | a vain, showy fellow |
| arcane | understood or known by only a few |
| kvetch | to complain habitually |
| rara avis | a rare or unique person or thing |
| billingsgate | foul language |
| otiose | ineffective; also, being at leisure; also, of no use |
| fustian | pompous or pretentious language |
| palaver | idle talk; also, to talk idly |
| woebegone | woeful; also, run-down |
| grandee | a man of elevated rank or station; a nobleman |
| Promethean | boldly original |
| parlous | fraught with danger; hazardous |
| patina | a superficial layer |
| cormorant | a gluttonous or greedy person |
| voluptuary | a person devoted to luxury and the gratification of sensual appetites |
| harridan | a scolding, vicious woman |
| wassail | an expression of good wishes on a festive occasion, especially in drinking to some one |
| penurious | penny-pinching, ungenerous |
| quiescence | stillness, motionlessness |
| torpid | lethargic; sluggish |
| fervent | greatly emotional or zealous |
| fortuitous | happening by accident or chance |
| impassive | revealing no emotion |
| inchoate | not fully formed |
| infelicitous | unfortunate; inappropriate |
| insipid | without taste or flavour; lacking in spirit |
| mendacious | untruthful |
| pedantic | overly concerned with trivial details of learning |
| pine | yearn; lose vigour |
| profuse | extravagant; abundant |
| rancorous | long bitter, resentful |
| repudiate | refuse to have anything to do with |
| phlegmatic | sluggish; calm, unemotional |
| sanctimonious | displaying ostentatious and hypocritical devoutness |
| scaffold | temporary platform for workers |
| scintilla | trace; minute amount |
| score | mark with lines or notches |
| scotch | stamp out; thwart; hinder |
| scurvy | contemptible, despicable |
| amulet | object worn and believed to protect against evil and bad luck |
| ancillary | serving as an aid or accessory |
| animus | hostile feeling or intent |
| antediluvian | antiquated; extremely ancient |
| antipathy | aversion; dislike or opposition |
| cataract | great waterfall; eye abnormality |
| catcall | shout of disapproval or displeasure (as at a sports match) |
| caucus | private meeting of a political party to select members or determine policy |
| catholic | (of likings and interests) universal; broad |
| chafe | warm by rubbing; make sore by rubbing |
| despoil | plunder; sack |
| dialectical | relating to the art of debate; mutual or reciprocal |
| didactic | intended to teach a moral lesson |
| dictum | authoritative and weighty statement (made by a judge); saying; maxim |
| diminution | lessening in size; shrinking |
| dint | means; effort |
| disaffected | disloyal; lacking loyalty |
| disclaim | disown; renounce claim to; deny |
| discursive | digressing; rambling; marked by analytical reasoning; relating to discourse |
| factious | inclined to form factions; causing dissention |
| factitious | artificial; produced artificially; sham |
| factotum | handyman; person who does all kinds of work |
| fallow | plowed but not sowed; uncultivated; not in use |
| fatalism | belief that events are determined by forces or fates beyond one's control |
| fatuous | smugly and unconsciously foolish; inane; silly |
| felicity | happiness; appropriateness (of a remark, etc.) |
| labile | likely to change; unstable |
| lackadaisical | lacking purpose or effort; halfhearted; lazy; languid |
| laity | laymen; persons not connected with the clergy |
| languor | lack of physical or spiritual energy; lassitude; depression |
| larder | pantry; place where food is kept |
| lexicographer | compiler of a dictionary |
| lien | legal claim or right on a property |
| oligarchy | government by the privileged few |
| opalescent | iridescent; lustrous like an opal |
| ordination | ceremony confirming a priest |
| overweening | arrogant; presumptuous |
| protean | able to take on many forms; versatile |
| protuberance | protrusion; swelling; bulge |
| provender | dry food for livestock; fodder |
| punctilious | minutely attentive (perhaps too much so) to fine points; stressing niceties of conduct or form |
| putative | supposed; reputed; generally regarded as such |
| refectory | dining hall; room where meals are served (in a school) |
| refulgent | brilliant; brightly shining; gleaming |
| regent | a person who governs in place of a ruler who is ill, absent, or still a child |
| remunerative | (of work) compensating; rewarding; profitable; well-paid |
| repartee | quick clever reply |
| repine | fret; complain; be annoyed |
| retiring | shy and reserved (of a person); modest |
| retrench | cut down; cut down expenses; economize |
| rostrum | raised platform for speech-making; pulpit |
| needle | goad; prod; tease |
| susurrate | issue soft noises |
| pogrom | an organized massacre, especially of Jews |
| supervene | to ensue; to take place or occur as something additional or extraneous |
| mere | an expanse of standing water |
| whelm | to turn (as a dish or vessel) upside down usually to cover something : cover or engulf completely with usually disastrous effect |
| idiolect | the language or speech pattern of one individual at a particular period of life |
| keystone | something on which associated things depend for support |
| insuperable | incapable of being surmounted, overcome, passed over, or solved |
| agog | eager and excited |
| cask | barrel for holding liquids |
| caliper | thickness or depth; instrument for measuring thickness, usually with legs |
| imprecation | an invocation of evil; a curse |
| incogitant | thoughtless; inconsiderate |
| indemnify | promise to compensate someone for any harm she may suffer |
| involute | complex; intricate; curled or curved inward or spirally |
| hallmark | any mark or special indication of genuineness, good quality, or purity |
| hamstring | to make ineffective or powerless; cripple |
| bellwether | a person or thing that shows the existence or direction of a trend; index |
| bilge | foolish talk or worthless ideas |
| blazon | the official symbol of a group; to publish widely; proclaim |
| bonhomie | good-natured easy friendliness |
| bravura | marked by an ostentatious display of skill |
| bumptious | presumptuously, obtusely, and often noisily self-assertive; obtrusive |
| arabesque | a complex, ornate design; (adj:) whimsical |
| arrant | downright; thorough; unmitigated; notorious |
| athwart | across; in opposition |
| augur | to divine or predict, as from omens; prognosticate; to serve as an omen; foreshadow |
| augury | an omen, token, or indication |
| autocracy | government in which one person possesses unlimited power |
| avulse | to separate, cut, or tear off |
| germane | relevant to the subject at hand |
| implacable | not capable of being appeased or changed |
| immure | imprison |
| spurious | false; forged |
| impute | blame; credit, attribute |
| feckless | lacking strength of character |
| obdurate | unmoved by persuasion |
| temerity | rashness, recklessness |
| viscid | sticky; gooey |
| turpitude | depravity |
| abjure | renounce; avoid |
| refractory | stubbornly disobedient |
| pith | essence; important part |
| axiomatic | taken as a given |
| equivocate | use ambiguous language to deceive |
| exigent | urgent, pressing |
| ingenuous | artless; frank and candid; lacking sophistication |
| perennial | recurrent all year |
| precipitate | hasty, impulsive |
| precipitate | cause or happen prematurely |
| ascetic | one who practices rigid self-denial |
| demur | question or oppose |
| facetious | playful, humourous |
| tribulation | suffering; ordeal; distress |
| transpose | reverse the order or position of |
| turncoat | traitor |
| tutelary | protective; pertaining to guardianship |
| caliber | ability; quality; diameter of the inside of a sphere |
| callow | youthful; immature; inexperienced |
| canard | unfounded false rumour |
| canny | shrewd in money matters; thrifty |
| canker | something that corrodes, corrupts, or irritates |
| cant | insincere speech; speech used by a small group of people; an oblique surface |
| capillary | resembling a hair; fine and slender |
| careen | lurch; stagger; sway from side to side |
| carousal | drunken revel |
| carping | faultfinding; petty criticism |
| dally | treat without the necessary seriousness; procrastinate |
| daub | smear; cover with something sticky |
| dabble | move noisily in a liquid |
| dais | raised platform for speakers or other important people |
| debacle | sudden disastrous downfall or defeat; complete disaster |
| decollete | having a low-cut neckline |
| decry | express strong disapproval of; condemn openly |
| demagogue | person who appeals to people's prejudice |
| deprecate | deplore; protest against; belittle |
| ethereal | like a spirit or fairy; unearthly light; unusually refined |
| euphony | sweet sound |
| exiguous | small in amount; minute |
| extirpate | root up; uproot; destroy completely |
| expatiate | talk at length; speak or write in detail |
| interpolate | insert between |
| interstice | narrow space between things |
| intrigue | make secret plans; plot; arouse the curiosity of |
| invective | a vehement or violent denunciation; an insulting or abusive word or expression |
| invidious | designed to create ill will or envy |
| nostrum | questionable medicine; quack medicine |
| nugatory | worthless; futile |
| nova | star that suddenly becomes much brighter then returns to its original brightness |
| obfuscate | cause confusion; make needlessly complex |
| obloquy | slander; disgrace; infamy |
| obstreperous | boisterous; noisy and uncontrollable |
| obtrude | intrude |
| premonitory | serving to warn |
| prefigure | be a sign of; foreshadow |
| pretention | claim (without foundation) |
| privation | lack of the basic necessities or comforts of life; hardship; want |
| profligate | wasteful (of money); dissipated; wildly immoral; dissolute |
| prognosticate | predict (according to present indications) |
| rampart | defensive mound of earth |
| ravel | fall apart into tangles; untangle; unravel or untwist |
| rasp | rub with something rough |
| rebus | puzzle in which pictures or letters stand for words |
| recondite | abstruse; not easily understood; profound; secret |
| pantheon | a public building containing tombs or memorials of the illustrious dead of a nation; the gods of a particular mythology considered collectively |
| detente | a relaxing of tension, esp. between nations, as by negotiations or agreements |
| node | a knot, protuberance, or knob; a centering point of component parts |
| syncretism | the attempted reconciliation or union of different or opposing principles, practices, or parties, as in philosophy or religion |
| nosology | a classification or list of diseases |
| wangle | achieve by cleverness or trick; wiggle out; fake |
| swarthy | of a dark color, complexion, or cast |
| fugacious | lasting a short time; evanescent |
| escarpment | a steep slope in front of a fortification |
| whimsical | full of odd and fanciful ideas |
| whimsy | tendency to behave amusingly strangely |
| writ | written order |
| ventral | of the abdomen |
| vertex | summit; highest point or top; apex |
| vise | tool with tightened jaws for holding work in place |
| unlettered | lacking facility in reading and writing and ignorant of the knowledge to be gained from books |
| tamp | tap or drive down by repeated light blows |
| tendinous | consisting of tendons; sinewy |
| tonsorial | of or relating to a barber or the work of a barber |
| trammel | a hindrance or impediment to free action; restraint |
| turret | a little tower; specifically: an ornamental structure at an angle of a larger structure |
| sacerdotal | of or like a priest |
| cavort | to walk or move in a spirited manner; prance |
| chevron | a sleeve badge that usually consists of one or more stripes that indicates the wearer's rank and service |
| circumlocution | a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; the use of more words than necessary to express an idea |
| clarion | loud, clear and rousing; a shrill, trumpet-like sound |
| collate | examine and compare in order to find differences; to assemble in proper numerical or logical sequence |
| comity | friendly social atmosphere; social harmony |
| comport | conduct oneself in the specified way; behave |
| contemn | to treat or regard with disdain, scorn, or contempt |
| coquette | girl or woman who flirts |
| corpuscle | any of the red or white cells in the blood; any minute particle |
| cosset | to treat as a pet; pamper |
| cronyism | the practice of favoring one's close friends, esp. in political appointments |
| crux | most vital or difficult part of a matter or an issue; the part of an issue requiring resolution |
| backset | setback |
| balky | refusing or likely to refuse to proceed, act, or function as directed or expected |
| bathos | insincere or grossly sentimental pathos; an anticlimax |
| mince | emphasize; speak too carefully |
| vitiate | corrupt; debase; make ineffective |
| voluble | fluent |
| brook | tolerate, endure |
| cardinal | major, serious |
| assay | test; try |
| flag | sag or droop |
| plangent | pounding, thundering, resounding |
| remonstrate | object; protest |
| salacious | bawdy; lustful |
| saturnine | dark; gloomy; sullen |
| sententious | moralizing |
| stentorian | extremely loud and powerful |
| tendencious | biased |
| descry | to catch sight of |
| diffident | reserved; shy; lacking confidence |
| execrate | denounce; loathe |
| gainsay | deny, dispute |
| heterodox | unorthodox |
| minatory | like a monster |
| insouciant | carefree; unconcerned |
| jejune | vapid, uninteresting; childish, puerile |
| mendicant | beggar |
| meretricious | attracting by false show |
| nonplussed | baffled, bewildered |
| ossify | become hardened and stuck in a conventional pattern |
| wag | joker |
| meet | fitting, proper |
| pied | multicoloured |
| quail | lose courage |
| cavil | find fault without good reason |
| apotheosis | model of excellence |
| captious | pointing out trivial faults |
| asperity | harshness; irritability |
| asseverate | aver, assert, allege |
| adumbrate | foreshadow vaguely, intimate |
| apogee | highest point |
| apostate | one who abandons long-held convictions |
| uncouth | boorish; clumsy in speech or behavior |
| unequivocal | plain, clear, obvious |
| unexceptionable | entirely acceptable |
| tawdry | cheap and gaudy |
| temporize | gain time by postponing an action; avoid committing oneself |
| tensile | capable of being stretched |
| testator | maker of a will |
| thrall | bondage, slavery |
| toady | servile flatterer; yes man |
| traduce | violate; betray; expose to shame |
| touchstone | criterion, standard |
| bilious | suffering from indigestion; easily irritated |
| billow | large wave; great swell or surge (of smoke) |
| bivouac | temporary encampment |
| blackball | vote against (an applicant); ostracize |
| blowhard | talkative boaster |
| bluster | blow in heavy gusts; threaten emptily |
| sophistry | seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning |
| spectral | ghostly |
| squelch | produce a splashing sound (in mud); crush; squash |
| staid | serious and sedate; sober |
| stalwart | physically strong; brawny; steadfast |
| stanch | stop or check the flow of blood |
| stilted | bombastic; stiffly pompous |
| stockade | fixed line of posts used as a defensive barrier |
| stodgy | dull; stuffy; boringly conservative |
| stratagem | deceptive scheme; clever trick |
| browbeat | bully; intimidate |
| bugaboo | bugbear; object of baseless terror |
| bulwark | strong wall built for defense |
| burlesque | give an imitation that ridicules; imitate mockingly |
| cadaverous | like a corpse; pale |
| cupidity | greed for wealth |
| epilogue | short speech at the conclusion of a dramatic work |
| epistemology | the study of the nature of knowledge |
| epithet | word or phrase used to characterize a person or thing |
| equanimity | calmness of temperament; composure |
| equipoise | balance; balancing force |
| errant | wandering around; straying from proper morals |
| eschew | avoid habitually |
| indite | write; compose |
| inexorable | relentless; unyielding; implacable |
| iniquitous | wicked; immoral; unrighteous |
| insensate | without feeling; lacking sense; foolish |
| internecine | mutually destructive; involving slaughter within a group |
| munificent | very generous in giving |
| myopic | nearsighted; lacking foresight |
| mummer | a masked or costumed merrymaker, especially at a festival |
| navigable | able to be steered; (of water) wide and deep enough to be passed through |
| necromancy | art that professes to communicate with the spirits of the dead so as to predict the future |
| nexus | connection; connected series or group |
| nicety | precision; accuracy; minute distinction or difference |
| niggle | spend too much time on minor points (especially when finding fault) |
| nomenclature | terminology; system of naming things |
| plumb | exactly vertical |
| plutocracy | society ruled by the wealthy |
| politic | prudent; judicious; well judged; expedient; well devised |
| pontifical | pertaining to the pope; pompous or pretentious |
| polity | (particular form of) political organization; form of government of nation or state |
| polarity | state of having two opposite qualities |
| poultice | soothing application applied to sore and inflamed portions of the body |
| prerogative | privilege; unquestionable right |
| id | the part of the psyche, residing in the unconscious, that is the source of instinctive impulses |
| libido | all of the instinctual energies and desires that are derived from the id |
| extralegal | being beyond the province or authority of law |
| ecumenical | worldwide or general in extent, influence, or application; representing the whole Christian world; interreligious |
| elf | a small lively creature; also: a usually lively mischievous or malicious person |
| elliptical | of or relating to deliberate obscurity (as of literary or conversational style) |
| dastard | a person who acts treacherously or underhandedly |
| defalcate | misuse money held in trust |
| deliquesce | to melt and disappear |
| desuetude | cessation of use; disuse |
| die | tool for imparting a desired shape |
| dignitary | person with a high rank or position |
| dingus | an ornamental attachment or decoration; doodad |
| dirge | a song sung at a burial or for a dead person |
| discommode | to cause inconvenience to; trouble |
| discountenance | refusal to approve of something |
| doctrinaire | (adj.) rigidly applying a theory with no concern for practical problems |
| doggo | in hiding |
| doughty | courageous, brave |
| catechism | summary of the principles of a religion in the form of questions and answers; a similar book of instructions on another subject |
| cavalier | a horseman; a gallant or chivalrous man; a gentleman |
| quidnunc | a gossip; a busybody |
| scuttlebutt | gossip; rumour |
| gaucherie | a socially awkward or tactless act |
| scrabble | to scrape or scratch with the hands or feet |
| tetchy | peevish; testy; irritable |
| virago | an ill-tempered, overbearing woman; also, a woman of great strength and courage |
| phantasmagoria | a shifting series or succession of things seen or imagined |
| cognoscente | a person with special knowledge |
| galvanic | pertaining to a direct current of electricity; also, having the effect of an electric shock |
| redound | to have a consequence or effect |
| hardscrabble | barren, marginal; also, marked by poverty |
| arcanum | a secret; a mystery |
| bon vivant | a person who enjoys the good things in life |
| louche | of questionable taste or morality |
| contretemps | something inopportune or embarrassing |
| jape | to jest |
| betimes | early; also, on occasion |
| atelier | a workshop; a studio |
| subterfuge | a deceptive device or stratagem |
| largess | generous giving; also, gifts of money or other valuables |
| punctilio | a fine point of exactness in conduct, ceremony, or procedure |
| foofaraw | excessive or flashy ornamentation; also, a fuss over a trivial matter |
| trice | an instant; a moment |
| cloy | to weary or become distasteful through excess |
| mead | a meadow |
| damask | a reversible fabric of linen, silk, cotton, or wool, woven with patterns |
| career | to run or move rapidly along; go at full speed |
| gall | to chafe; to vex or irritate greatly |
| bole | the stem or trunk of a tree |
| miff | a trivial quarrel |
| milksop | a weak or ineffectual person |
| ponderable | appreciable; significant |
| pedagogue | a dull, formal, or pedantic teacher |
| cornucopia | an inexhaustable store |
| cozen | to deceive or induce to do something by artful coaxing |
| accretion | the growing of separate things into one |
| flounder | struggle |
| ponderous | heavy, massive; awkward, dull |
| rarefy | make or become thin; purify |
| abnegation | renunciation; self-sacrifice |
| abstemious | sparing in eating or drinking |
| accede | agree |
| actuate | motivate, cause to act |
| addle | make or become confused; muddle; drive crazy |
| affable | easily approachable; easy to talk to |
| zenith | point directly overhead in sky; summit; acme |
| yore | time long past |
| waggish | humourous, mischievous, tricky |
| wanton | unrestrained; willfully cruel; unchaste |
| waylay | ambush |
| wheedle | cajole, coax, obtain by flattery |
| winnow | separate the good parts from the bad |
| winsome | charming (in a childlike way); agreeable; gracious; engaging |
| valedictory | pertaining to farewell |
| vassal | subordinate or dependent |
| verbiage | excessive and pompous array of words |
| verisimilar | having the appearance of truth |
| arcade | a covered passageway lined with shops |
| arraign | charge in court; indict |
| argot | slang; speech spoken by only a small group of people |
| sheaf | a bundle of things tied together |
| shoddy | made of inferior material; not genuine; dishonest |
| shunt | turn aside; divert; sidetrack |
| shyster | lawyer using questionable methods |
| clout | great influence; hard blow with a fist |
| cloying | distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental |
| cog | tooth projecting from a wheel; unimportant part in a large enterprise |
| collation | a light meal |
| colloquy | informal discussion; conversation |
| comestible | something fit to be eaten |
| comity | courtesy; civility |
| commodious | spacious and comfortable |
| draught | current of air; act of swallowing liquid |
| dross | waste matter; worthless impurities |
| ductile | malleable; pliable; easily influenced or controlled |
| fleece | rob by a trick; swindle; plunder |
| flighty | (of a woman's behavior) fickle; often changing (from one lover to another) |
| foible | small weakness of character; slight fault |
| foist | insert improperly; impose upon another; pass off as genuine or worthy |
| fop | a man who is vain about dress or appearance |
| foray | raid; sudden military advance |
| forensic | suitable to debate or courts of law |
| forswear | renounce under oath; make a solemn promise to give up |
| gull | trick; deceive; hoodwink |
| hackles | hairs on the back and neck (that rise) |
| harbinger | forerunner (which foreshadows what is to come) |
| harry | harass; annoy; torment by repeated attacks; raid |
| headlong | hasty; rash; headfirst |
| manacle | restrain; handcuff |
| manumit | emancipate; free from slavery or bondage |
| marshal | put in order; guide ceremoniously to the correct place |
| martinet | strict disciplinarian; one who demands total obedience to rules and orders |
| matriculate | enroll (in a college or graduate school) |
| mausoleum | monumental tomb; large, stately tomb |
| adduce | to offer as an example, reason, or proof in a discussion or analysis |
| overblown | inflated; exaggerated |
| pall | become boring; grow tiresome |
| pallet | small poor bed |
| panache | flair; manner of doing things without difficulty (causing admiration); flamboyance |
| cadre | a tightly-knit group of zealots active in advancing the interests of a revolutionary party |
| paramour | illicit lover |
| parry | ward off a blow; deflect |
| parity | equality; close resemblance |
| parley | conference (between opponents) |
| parvenu | upstart; newly rich person |
| pathological | pertaining to disease |
| patrician | person of high rank; aristocrat |
| supererogatory | superfluous; more than needed or demanded |
| supplicate | petition humbly; pray to grant a favor |
| suture | stitches sewn to hold the cut edges of a wound or incision |
| swarthy | (of a skin or complexion) dark; dusky |
| sybarite | lover of luxury; person devoted to pleasure and luxury |
| sylvan | pertaining to the woods or the country |
| vegetate | live in a monotonous way (without interests or activity) |
| vendetta | blood feud; an often prolonged series of retaliatory, vengeful, or hostile acts or exchange of such acts |
| wizened | shriveled; withered |
| battlement | a parapet with open spaces that surmounts a wall and is used for defense or decoration |
| parapet | a wall, rampart, or elevation of earth or stone to protect soldiers |
| avatar | an incarnation in human form; an embodiment (as of a concept or philosophy) often in a person |
| votary | a sworn adherent; a devoted admirer |
| outre | violating convention or propriety |
| a priori | deductive; derived from reasoning |
| a posteriori | inductive; reasoning from observed facts |
| recherche | exotic; rare; exquisitely refined |
| remand | to send back (a case) to a lower court from which it was appealed, o send back (a prisoner or accused person) into custody |
| nonpareil | a person or thing having no equal |
| flagon | a container for holding liquids, as for use at table, esp. one with a handle, a spout, and usually a cover |
| peremptory | leaving no opportunity for denial or refusal; imperative, imperious or dictatorial |
| homily | a sermon; an admonitory or moralizing discourse; an inspirational saying or cliche |
| valence | the capacity of one person or thing to react with or affect another in some special way, as by attraction or the facilitation of a function |
| assignation | an appointment for a meeting, esp. a lover's secret rendezvous |
| aporia | a difficulty encountered in establishing the theoretical truth of a proposition, created by the presence of evidence both for and against it. |
| fungible | (esp. of goods) being of such nature or kind as to be freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another of like nature or kind |
| sequela | a secondary consequence or result |
| sop | a conciliatory or propitiatory bribe, gift, or gesture |
| spartan | (of conditions) simple and harsh; highly self-disciplined |
| splenetic | bad-tempered, irritable |
| sub rosa | in strict confidence; secretly; privately |
| supine | lying down; exhibiting indolent or apathetic inertia or passivity; especially: mentally or morally slack |
| racketeer | one who obtains money by an illegal enterprise usually involving intimidation |
| raffish | marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness |
| syncopate | to place (the accents) on beats that are normally unaccented; to contract (a word) by omitting one or more sounds from the middle |
| vestibule | a passage, hall, or antechamber between the outer door and the interior parts of a house or building |
| garret | an attic, usually a small, wretched one |
| haberdashery | men's clothing; small wares or notions |
| notions | small articles, as buttons, thread, ribbon, and other personal items |
| rout | (v.) to disperse in defeat |
| vet | subject to thorough appraisal; evaluate |
| valetudinarian | a weak or sickly person |
| billet-doux | love letter |
| succour | aid; help; relieve |
| plenipotentiary | invested with full power |
| preternatural | beyond of different from what is natural; inexplicable; extraordinary; abnormal |
| prima facie | at first view |
| nebbish | a weak-willed, timid, or ineffectual person |
| spry | nimble |
| apologia | a formal defense or justification |
| swan song | a final or farewell appearance, action, or pronouncement |
| sotto voce | spoken low or in an undertone |
| bailiwick | a person's specific area of knowledge, authority, interest, skill, or work |
| pastiche | a hodgepodge; a potpourri |
| gadabout | one who roams about in search of amusement |
| discomfit | disconcert; thwart |
| blackguard | a scoundrel |
| fait accompli | an accomplished and presumably irreversible act |
| senescence | the state of being or growing old |
| fey | possessing or displaying a strange and otherworldly aspect or quality |
| caterwaul | to make a harsh cry or screech |
| suasion | the act of persuading |
| pablum | something (as writing or speech) that is trite, insipid, or simplistic |
| redact | edit |
| hector | to bully or harass |
| gamine | a neglected street girl; a diminutive or very slender girl, esp. one who is pert, impudent, or playfully mischievous |
| lubricious | lewd; also, slippery or smooth |
| excrescence | something growing out from something else; also, a disfiguring or unwanted part |
| galumph | to move in a clumsy manner or with a heavy tread |
| autochthonous | indigenous; native |
| foundling | a deserted or abandoned child |
| myrmidon | a loyal follower |
| claque | a group of fawning admirers |
| fugacious | lasting but a short time |
| gelid | extremely cold; icy |
| farrago | an assortment; a medley |
| friable | easily crumbled, pulverized, or reduced to powder |
| cosset | to treat with excessive indulgence; to pamper |
| lambent | playing on the surface; flickering. |
| rapine | the act of plundering |
| polymath | a person of great or varied learning |
| bagatelle | a trifle; also, a short, light literary or musical piece |
| numinous | spiritual; holy |
| paladin | a champion of a cause |
| littoral | on a coastal or shore region |
| fiduciary | relating to the holding of something in trust for another |
| chthonic | dwelling in or under the earth; also, pertaining to the underworld |
| ersatz | being a substitute or imitation |
| algorithm | a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem |
| viand | food |
| vitreous | of or pertaining to glass |
| vulpine | like a fox; crafty |
| vouchsafe | guarantee |
| adventitious | accidental; casual |
| alcove | nook, recess |
| 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 |
| tarry | linger |
| tawny | brownish yellow |
| temperament | characteristic frame of mind, disposition; emotional excess |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| sinecure | well-paid position with little responsibility |
| sinuous | twisting; winding; not morally honest |
| sinewy | tough; strong and firm; muscular |
| 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 |
| consequential | self-important; significant; following as a result |
| conservatory | school or fine arts; glass-enclosed area |
| consonance | harmony; agreement |
| consternation | great shock; dismay (not confusion) |
| ecclesiastic | pertaining to the church |
| effete | having lost one's original power; worn out; exhausted |
| effluvium | noxious, harmful smell |
| effulgent | shining brightly; brilliant |
| elegy | poem or song expressing lamentation |
| elysium | place or condition of bliss |
| 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 |
| pirate | corsair, freebooter, buccaneer |
| frieze | ornamental horizontal band on a wall |
| fusillade | simultaneous firing or outburst (of missiles; questions, etc.) |
| hull | husk; dry outer covering of a seed; frame of a ship |
| humus | substance or rich soil formed by decaying vegetable matter |
| 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.) |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| militate | work against |
| metrical | written in the form of poetry |
| patrimony | property inherited from a father |
| peon | landless agricultural worker; bonded servant |
| perspicuity | clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity |
| phalanx | group of men packed together (for attack or defense) |
| scintillating | animated, vivacious; effervescent; witty; brilliantly clever |
| epiphenomenon | a secondary symptom or complication arising during the course of a disease |
| 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 |
| filament | a very fine thread or threadlike structure |
| philistine | a smug ignorant person; one who lacks knowledge |
| plurality | a majority |
| prelate | high-ranking clergyman, e.g. a bishop or an archbishop |
| puckish | impish; whimsical |
| purlieu | a frequently visited place; haunt |
| odium | general or widespread hatred or disgust felt towards a person or his actions |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| acetic | vinegary |
| acarpous | effete, no longer fertile, worn out |
| actuarial | calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics |
| actuary | expert who calculates insurance risks and premiums |
| adjuration | solemn urging |
| ambulatory | walking; able to walk |
| anaerobic | living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen |
| anneal | make tough by cooling slowly after heating |
| apocrypha | writings or statements of dubious authenticity |
| aquifer | a water-bearing stratum of permeable rock, sand, or gravel |
| 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 |
| interdict | prohibit, forbid the use of, restrain a person from doing something |
| intestate | not having made a will before death |
| horse | latitudes of calm |
| concameration | an arch or vault |
| mercenary | working or serving for money; venal |
| transfigure | to give an exalted meaning or glorified appearance to |
| chiromancy | palmistry |
| 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 |
| demesne | the legal possession of land as one's own |
| 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 |
| empyrean | the highest heaven; (adj:) heavenly, celestial |
| dishabille | the state of being negligently dressed |
| deprecatory | expressing disapproval, protest, or depreciation; apologetic |
| concourse | a place where crowds come together |
| lean | producing little; barren |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| armistice | cease-fire; truce |
| lubricious | showing too great an interest in sex (in an unpleasant way) |
| 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 |
| casuistry | false but clever argumentation |
| escutcheon | ceremonial shield with a coat of arms |
| fusty | (of a room) having an unpleasant smell from being shut up for a long time |
| coruscate | sparkle; flash |
| poltroon | coward |
| po-faced | having an overly serious demeanor or attitude; humorless |
| 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 |
| spume | foam; light white air-filled mass on the top of a liquid |
| tocsin | (bell rung as a) warning signal |
| trencherman | a person who eats a lot |
| troglodyte | one who lives in seclusion (like in a cave) |
| trope | figurative use of a word |
| orotund | full and strong in sound; pompous |
| slaver | slobber; drool |
| sine qua non | an indispensable thing |
| requiem | the Mass celebrated for the repose of the souls of the dead; a plainsong setting for this Mass |
| 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 |
| temporal | of this earth; of this world |
| facile | expressing yourself readily, clearly, effectively; fluent; silver; silver-tongued; smooth-spoken |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| plume | to feel complacent satisfaction with (oneself); (of a bird) to preen |
| vaunt | to speak vaingloriously of; boast of; (n.) extravagant self-praise |
| pettifog | to bicker or quibble over trifles or unimportant matters; to practice chicanery |
| sap | excavate the earth beneath |
| avocation | secondary or minor occupation |
| awl | pointed tool used for piercing |
| awry | distorted; crooked; bent |
| backslide | revert (to bad habits) |
| badinage | teasing conversation; banter; joking talk |
| baleful | evil; malignant; deadly; threatening; ominous |
| bandy | discuss lightly and glibly; exchange (words) heatedly |
| bedizen | dress or adorn in a gaudy manner |
| sleight | dexterity; quickness of the hands in doing tricks |
| sleeper | one that achieves unexpected success |
| sluggard | lazy person |
| smolder | be liable to break out at any moment |
| soliloquy | monologue; long speech manipulating a conversation |
| sonorous | producing sound; producing a full, deep sound |
| kismet | fate; destiny |
| jaundiced | affected with prejudice, envy, hostility, or bias |
| jibe | agree; be in harmony with |
| jingoist | extremely aggressive and warlike patriot |
| jocose | given to joking (jocUND = merry) |
| juggernaut | overwhelming advancing force that crushed everything in its path |
| junket | trip taken for pleasure by a public official |
| junta | group of military officers ruling a country after seizing power |
| jurisprudence | the science of law |
| quorum | minimum number of members necessary to conduct a meeting |
| bedraggle | wet thoroughly |
| belabor | harp on; assail verbally; beat severely |
| beleager | besiege or attack (with an army); beset; harass |
| belie | contradict; give a false impression; disguise |
| beset | harass or trouble from all directions |
| betoken | signify; indicate; be a sign of |
| cabal | small group of people secretly united to promote their own interests |
| contumacious | stubborn and disobedient |
| contusion | bruise |
| cordon | extended line of men or fortifications |
| corollary | natural consequence |
| countermand | cancel; revoke (an order) |
| coup | highly successful action or sudden attack |
| crabbed | peevish; difficult to read as handwriting |
| culvert | artificial channel for water (passing under a road) |
| ellipsis | omission of words from a text |
| emblazon | ornament richly |
| emetic | substance causing vomiting |
| emolument | salary; payment for an office |
| enclave | territory enclosed within an alien land |
| encomiastic | praising; eulogistic |
| endue | provide with some quality; endow |
| enjoin | command; order; forbid |
| ensconce | settle comfortably; place comfortably (in a secure place) |
| environ | enclose; surround |
| epicurean | believing that pleasure is good and suffering is bad and should be avoided |
| imponderable | weightless; unable to undergo precise evaluation |
| importune | beg repeatedly; make requests (in an annoying way) |
| improvident | thriftless; not providing for the future |
| inamorata | woman whom a man loves |
| impugn | attack as false or questionable; challenge; gainsay |
| incidental | not essential; minor |
| incontinent | lacking self-restraint; licentious |
| incursion | temporary invasion |
| incur | bring upon oneself |
| mettle | courage to continue bravely in a difficult situation |
| militia | army composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers |
| millennium | hopeful period of happiness and prosperity |
| minutiae | petty or trivial details |
| mordant | bitingly sarcastic; stinging; cutting; incisive |
| moribund | dying; at the point of death |
| motile | able to move spontaneously |
| mountebank | charlatan; boastful pretender |
| mulct | defraud a person of something; swindle |
| pharisaical | self-righteous; hypocritical |
| philology | the study of language and words |
| piebald | of different colours; mottled; spotted with different colours |
| pillory | punish by placing in a wooden frame; subject to criticism or ridicule |
| pinion | restrain and immobilize by binding the wings or legs; the wing of a bird |
| plane | carpenter's tool for smoothing and leveling wood |
| plaudit | praise; enthusiastic approval; round of applause |
| plenary | (of power) complete; full; fully attended by all qualified members |
| electorate | the body of qualified voters |
| slake | quench; sate |
| flotilla | a fleet of ships; an indefinite large number |
| suppurate | to form or discharge pus |
| moiety | half; one of the portions into which something is divided |
| serried | (of people) pressed together or compacted |
| barrack | shout boisterously for or against a team; building in which troops are lodged |
| whet | to sharpen by grinding; to make keen and eager; stimulate |
| oneirism | absentminded dreaming while awake |
| smattering | a slight or superficial understanding of a subject |
| bromide | a platitude or trite saying; a person who is platitudinous and boring |
| ramble | a stroll; a promenade |
| funk | to draw back as with fear or pain |
| allay | to satisfy (a thirst); to assuage |
| shoal | a place where a sea, river, or body of water is shallow |
| copacetic | completely satisfactory |
| agonist | a person engaged in a contest, conflict, struggle, etc., esp. the protagonist in a literary work; a person who is torn by inner conflict |
| impugn | to challenge as false (another's statements, motives, etc.); cast doubt upon |
| disquisition | a formal discourse or treatise in which a subject is examined and discussed; dissertation |
| predicate | to proclaim, declare, affirm, assert; to connote or imply; to base (one's actions on) |
| cathect | to invest emotion or feeling in (an idea, object, or another person) |
| rapprochement | an establishment or reestablishment of harmonious relations |
| metropolitan | pertaining to or constituting a mother country |
| arrogate | to claim unwarrantably or presumptuously; assume or appropriate to oneself without right; to attribute or assign to another; ascribe |
| recriminate | to bring a countercharge against an accuser |
| gestalt | a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its part |
| topography | a description or an analysis of a structured entity, showing the relations among its components |
| worldling | a person devoted to the interests and pleasures of this world; a worldly person |
| apologue | a didactic narrative; a moral fable; an allegory |
| congenital | of or pertaining to a condition present at birth, whether inherited or caused by the environment; having aby nature a specified character |
| gall | to make sore by rubbing; chafe severely; to vex greatly |
| goldbrick | to shirk duty or responsibility |
| fission | splitting or division (esp. of cells) |
| foundry | an establishment for producing castings in molten metal |
| froward | intractable, not willing to yield or comply, stubborn |
| frowzy | dirty and untidy; slovenly; ill-smelling; musty |
| functionary | person with official duties |
| eclat | brilliant or conspicuous success |
| edacious | devouring; voracious; consuming |
| ensign | flag; badge |
| exscind | to cut out, cut away |
| plinth | a square base or a lower block, as of a pedestal |
| palsied | paralyzed |
| hypostasis | fluid leavins; the essence of a person |
| etiolated | made feeble |
| anamnesis | a recalling to mind |
| allotrope | one of two or more existing forms of an element |
| ataxia | loss of coordination of the mmuscles |
| suborn | to induce someone to do something bad |
| peroration | the flowery conclusion of a speech |
| vituperative | scathing, abusive |
| temporize | be indecisive or evasive to gain time |
| modality | way of doing **** |
| belle | prove false |
| mawkish | sentimental |
| investiture | official ceremony conferring the authority of high office |
| barefaced | shameless, impudent |
| mealymouthed | avoiding the use of direct and plain language |
| vituperative | (of remarks) blistering, scalding, scathing |
| disparate | fundamentally, entirely different |
| castigate | criticize, but *also* punish |
| dilatory | intended to delay |
| dirge | funeral hymn of mournful speech |
| estimable | admirable |
| eulogy | speech in praise of someone |
| inchoate | not fully formed; disorderly |
| irascible | easily angered |
| travesty | gross or sucky parody |
| civic | of the city; of citizenship |
| alternately | in turns |
| bimonthly | every two months |
| semimonthly | twice a month |
| councilor | member of an assembly called together for discussion |
| flounder | move about clumsily, act with confusion |
| founder | sunk; fail; break down |
| ab | away |
| ad | toward |
| jur | swear |
| gainsay | deny; speak against |
| objurgate | the "criticize" word I learned from Kaplan |
| craven | cowardly |
| plucky | showing courage; brave |
| truss | to tie; one of those triangley bridge structures |
| abnegate | deny or renounce |
| amortize | reduce through periodic payments |
| analgesia | the reduction of pain without the loss of consciousness |
| cosset | pamper or treat with great indulgence |
| distaff | the female branch of a family |
| fettle | a state of good health |
| gallivant | wander aimlessly |
| glib | ready and fluent in speech but with an insincere and thoughtless manner |
| incarnadine | blood red in colour |
| lissome | moving or flexing with grace and ease |
| martinet | one who enforces strict discipline |
| numismatics | coin collecting |
| panoply | a large or impressive array |
| peregrinate | to wander from place to place |
| solecism | a grammatical mistake; an incorrect use of language |
| tyro | a beginner |
| adjure | to swear, entreat, or request earnestly |
| dispassionate | unbiased |
| dither | to act irresolutely; vacillate |
| multifarious | numerous and varied; having many different parts |
| refract | pass through a material and change direction |
| abstruse | hard to understand |
| deference | respect; courtesy |
| apprize | appraise |
| enfranchise | set free; give the vote to |
| vexillology | the study of flags |
| sapphire | a blue gem |
| sublimate | refine or purify; divert energy from its immediate goal |
| ordinal | pertaining to order (of animals or position) |
| drone | male honeybee (who makes no honey); person who lives on the labour of others |
| posse | body or force armed with legal authority |
| lubricious | lewd, wanton, and salacious |
| tender | to proffer |
| table | remove from consideration |
| pied | multicoloured |
| sap | to enervate or weaken the vitality of |
| sap | a fool or nitwit |
| nice | exacting, fastidious, extremely precise |
| grouse | to complain or grumble |
| damp | to diminish the intensity of something |
| plethora | an excess |
| immanent | remaining within; inherent |
| weighted | adjusted to have a more representative value (like a vote) |
| candescent | incandescent |
| decrepit | weakened by old age; feeble |
| blithe | without appropriate thought |
| sardonic | cynical; scornfully mocking |
| verdant | inexperienced |
| pathogenic | causing disease |
| oblique | evasive, misleading, devious |
| guile | deceit, trickery |
| levity | an inappropriate lack of seriousness |
| coffer | strongbox; large chest for money |
| garner | to gather and store |
| arrogate | to claim for oneself without justification |
| larceny | the theft of property |
| rebarbative | causing annoyance or irritation |
| surly | rude and bad tempered |
| trepidation | tremulous fear |
| hedge | counterbalance a bet with other transactions to limit the risk |
| abrogate | to declare null and void |
| admonish | to counsel against something; to scold |
| wry | (of a person's face, features, etc) twisted into an expression of disappointment, disgust or mockery |
| unassuming | not drawing attention to oneself or to one's merits or rank; modest |
| throes | pangs of pain or emotion |
| throttle | seize by the throat and strangle |
| tablet | slab or panel with words cut or written on it, esp one fixed to a wall as a memorial |
| kidney | refulates amounts of stuff in the blood, filters wastes, and produces urine |
| liver | secretes bile (a liquid that aids in digestion) |
| organ | a grouping of tissues into a distinct structure that performs a specialized task |
| forensics | the art and study of formal debate |
| repast | mealtime |
| seemly | good-looking, proper |
| risible | causing laughter |
| welter | to roll or tumble about in something; to become deeply involved |
| natty | neat in appearance |
| regale | to entertain, delight |
| equable | free from variations; uniform |
| seine | net |
| coda | concluding section |
| stand | the growing trees in a particular area |
| populist | appealing to the common people; grass roots |
| dispose | to put in a particular order or place |
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