| Term | Definition |
|---|
| amiss | improper; defective; faulty |
| antithesis | the direct opposite |
| auspicious | favorable circumstances |
| avaricious | greedy |
| behoove | to be necessary or proper |
| belie | to show to be false; to picture falsely |
| blase | uninterested because of frequent exposure |
| calumnious | slanderous; defamatory |
| castellated | like a castle |
| circumvent | to avoid or get around by artful maneuvering |
| cleft | split or divide |
| coalesce | to grow together; to fuse; to unite |
| collateral | property acceptable as security for a loan. (adj.) secondary |
| contrition | sincere remorse for wrongdoing |
| crystalline | resemble crystal; transparent |
| cynical | suspicious of others' motives; negative and pessimistic; callously selfish |
| dearth | a scarce supply; a lack; a shortage |
| despotic | possessing and abusing unlimited power |
| desultory | random |
| depreciate | to lessen the price for value of |
| sentence fragment | a sentence missing a subject or verb or complete thought |
| run-on sentence | two complete sentences joined incorrectly with nothing |
| comma splice | two complete sentences joined incorrectly with only a comma |
| usage | an error in word choice |
| punctuation | an error involving incorrect or missing punctuation |
| subject verb agreement | subjects and verbs must agree in number |
| pronoun antecedent agreement | pronouns and antecedents must agree in number and gender |
| case | how pronouns relate to other words in a sentence (subjective, objective, and possessive) |
| dire | fraught with danger; hopeless; desperate |
| dominion | sovereignty; a territory of influence or control |
| droll | amusingly odd |
| encompass | to enclose of envelope or surrender |
| entreat | to ask for earnestly |
| equivocation | close to a flat-out lie; ambiguous statement |
| expostulate | to reason with someone in an effort to dissuade or correct |
| felicity | happiness |
| filial | pertaining to a son or daughter |
| garish | loud and flashy; gaudy |
| hone | to make perfect or more intense |
| idiom | an expression (or style of expression) peculiar to a given person |
| impeccable | flawless; perfect |
| incantation | a ritual recitation; a charm or spell |
| incarnate | embodied in human form |
| incognito | with one's identity concealed or disguised |
| indiscriminate | unselective; haphazard; unrestrained |
| inexorable | relentless; inflexible; determined |
| inexplicable | difficult or impossible to explain |
| infuse | to fill or cause to be filled |
| jocund | cheerful and lighthearted in disposition or quality |
| lilting | a cheerful or lively manner of speaking |
| myriad | constituting a large, indefinite number; innumerable |
| nascent | coming to existence; emerging |
| nonchalant | indifferent; careless; coolly unconcerned |
| opaque | impenetrable by light; dense or obscure |
| pall | a cover for a coffin; a gloomy effect or atmosphere |
| pedagogical | characterized by pedantic formality; academically snobbish |
| perdition | eternal damnation; loss of the soul |
| peruse | to read or examine, typically with great care |
| pervasive | having the ability to spread throughout |
| portentous | full of unspecified significance; ominous |
| precept | a rule of conduct |
| prodigal | wastefully extravagant |
| proficient | having an advanced degree or level of competence |
| provocative | tending to provoke or stimulate |
| pulsate | to expand and contract rhythmically; beat |
| qualms | reservations |
| quandary | a state of uncertainty or perplexity |
| rapt | deeply absorbed; engrossed; enraptured |
| requiem | a mass for a dead person |
| rueful | feeling or expressing sorrow or regret for sins or offenses |
| suave | smoothly agreeable and courteus |
| subversive | intending to overthrow or undermine an established government; (n) one who advocates subversion |
| versatile | capable of doing many things competently; changeable |
| fortitude | strength of mind that allows one to courageously face adversity |
| emissary | an agent sent on a mission to represent that interests of another |
| diatribe | a bitter and abusive verbal attack or criticism |
| demagogue | a leader who obtains power by appealing to the emotions and prejudices of the populace |
| conjure | to produce or influence as if by magic |
| chasten | to chastise for the sake of moral improvement |
| beatific | blissful; saintly |
| apocryphal | of questionable authenticity; erroneous |
| aggregation | the state of being collected |
| sullen | showing a brooding ill humor (perfect to describe Hamlet) |
| superfluous | beyond what is necessary |
| surcease | to bring or come to an end |
| tactual | relating to the sense of touch |
| transfix | to pierce or impale with a weapon |
| umbrage | offense or resentment |
| usurp | to seize and hold without legal authority |
| accede | to yield or give consent to another's opinion or request; to assume an office |
| acquiesce | to submit or comply silently or without protest |
| acumen | keep insight; shrewdness |
| castigate | to criticize or reprimand severely |
| daunt | to overcome with fear; to intimidate |
| demise | termination of existence or operation |
| denigrate | to belittle or disparage; to treat something as having little value or importance |
| enclave | a small, distinct area isolated within a larger one |
| epitaph | a gravestone inscription |
| epithet | a characterizing word or phrase firmly associated with a person or thing |
| voracious | marked by an insatiable appetite |
| zephyr | a gentle breeze; a light fabric or garment |
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