| Term | Definition |
|---|
| collaborate | work together; cooperate treasonably with the enemy |
| collage | work of art put together from fragments |
| collate | examine and compare in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order (the sheets of a book before they are bound) |
| collateral | security given for loan; ADJ: secondary; descended from the same person but through different sons or daughters |
| collation | a light meal; collating |
| collected | composed; calm; self-possessed |
| colloquial | pertaining to conversational or common speech; informal; N. colloquialism: colloquial expression |
| colloquy | informal discussion; conversation |
| collusion | conspiring in a fraudulent scheme to cheat or deceive others; V. collude |
| colossal | huge |
| colossus | gigantic statue; person or thing of great size or importance |
| coma | deep prolonged unconsciousness caused by disease, poison, or a severe blow |
| comatose | in a coma; extremely sleepy |
| combustible | easily burned; N. CF. combustion |
| comeback | retort; quick clever reply; return to former status |
| comely | attractive; agreeable; having a pleasing appearance |
| comestible | something fit to be eaten |
| comeuppance | deserts; well-deserved punishment or misfortune; rebuke |
| comity | courtesy; civility; Ex. comity of nations |
| commandeer | take (private property) for military use without needing permission or giving payment; draft for military purposes |
| commemorate | honor the memory of; serve as a memorial to; Ex. commemorate the 100th anniversary/those who died in the war |
| commemorative | remembering; honoring the memory of; Ex. commemorative stamp |
| commensurate | equal in extent; of the same size |
| commiserate | feel or express pity or sympathy for |
| commodious | spacious and comfortable |
| commonplace | ordinary; N: something ordinary or common; trite remark |
| commonwealth | nation governed by the people; republic; people of a nation |
| communal | held in common; public; of a group of people; of a commune |
| commune | small (often rural) community whose members share work and income; V: exchange thoughts or feelings; Ex. commune with nature |
| compact | agreement; contract; ADJ: tightly packed; firm; brief; concise; Ex. compact statement |
| compartment | one of the parts into which an enclosed space is divided |
| compassion | sympathy for the suffering of others; ADJ. compassionate |
| compatible | harmonious; in harmony with; able to exist together |
| compelling | overpowering; irresistible in effect; holding one's attention; that compels one to do something; Ex. a compelling adventure story; V. compel |
| compendium | brief, comprehensive summary; ADJ. compendious |
| compensatory | making up for; repaying |
| compilation | listing of information in tabular or book form; compiling |
| compile | assemble; gather; accumulate; make (a report or a book) from facts and information found in various places; Ex. compile a dictionary |
| complacency | self-satisfaction; smugness; ADJ. complacent |
| complaisant | trying to please; obliging; willing to please others |
| complement | complete; consummate; make perfect; N. |
| complementary | serving to complete something |
| compliance | conformity in fulfilling requirements; readiness to yield; disposition to yield to others; V. comply |
| compliant | readily acting in accordance with a rule, order, or the wishes or others; yielding; comforming to requirements |
| complicity | participation; involvement (in a questionable act or a crime) |
| component | element; ingredient |
| comport | bear one's self; behave; Ex. comport oneself; N. comportment |
| compost | mixture of decaying organic matter used as fertilizer; V: put or make compost |
| composure | mental calmness |
| compound | combine; produce by combining; increase; make worse by adding to or increasing; exacerbate; Ex. compound an error; ADJ: consisting of two or more parts; N: combination of two or more parts; area enclosed by a wall containing a group of buildings; |
| comprehend | include; understand |
| comprehensive | broad; including a lot or everything; thorough; inclusive |
| compress | force into less space; squeeze; contract; put into fewer words; N: thick mass of cloth pressed to part of the body to stop bleeding or swelling, reduce fever, etc. |
| comprise | include; consist of |
| compromise | adjust or settle by making mutual concessions; endanger the interests or reputation of; put into danger, disrepute, or a dishonorable position; Ex. compromise one's principle; N. |
| compulsion | compelling; strong desire that is difficult to control; irresistible impulse |
| compulsive | resulting from compulsion |
| compulsory | obligatory; that must be done |
| compunction | remorse; strong uneasiness caused by guilt |
| compute | reckon; calculate |
| concatenate | link as in a chain |
| concave | hollow; curved inwards; OP. convex |
| concede | admit; acknowledge as being true (often reluctantly); yield; grant; Ex. concede a goal |
| conceit | vanity or self-love; too high opinion of one's own value; extravagant metaphor (in poetry) |
| concentric | having a common center |
| conception | beginning; forming of an idea; fertilization; V. conceive: form an idea in the mind; devise; become pregnant; CF. inception |
| concerted | mutually agreed on; done together by agreement; Ex. concerted effort; CF. in concert: working together |
| concession | an act of yielding; conceding; something conceded; point, right, etc. given unwillingly; privilege of maintaining a business in a certain place; Ex. oil concessions in the North sea; CF. concessionaire |
| conciliatory | reconciling; soothing; V. conciliate: reconcile; soothe; win the friendly feelings (by removing anger) |
| concise | brief and compact |
| conclave | private secret meeting |
| conclusive | decisive; ending all debate |
| concoct | prepare by mixing or combining; make up in concert; devise (something false) so as to deceive; Ex. concoct an elaborate excuse for being late; N. concoction |
| concomitant | that which accompanies; Ex. Deafnes is a frequent concommitant of old age; ADJ: existing or happening together with something else |
| concord | harmony; accord |
| concordat | formal agreement |
| concur | agree; coincide; happen at the same time |
| concurrent | happening at the same time; in agreement |
| condescend | (derog.) bestow courtesies with a superior air; descend to the level of one considered inferior |
| condign | adequate; (of punishment) severe and well deserved |
| condiments | seasonings; spices |
| condole | express condolences; N. condolence: sympathy for someone who has experienced great sorrow |
| condone | overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse |
| conducive | helpful; contributive; V. conduce; Ex. conduce to/towards |
| conduit | aqueduct; passageway for fluids |
| confidant(confidante) | trusted friend (to whom one tells one's secret) |
| confide | tell in confidence (to a person one trusts); be confident about |
| confidence | self-assurance; calm unworried feeling based on a strong belief in one's abilities; strong belief in the ability of a person or plan; trust or faith in a person or thing; something confided; secret; Ex. confidence in your ability; Ex. I'm telling yo |
| confidential | spoken or written in secret; trusted with private matters; Ex. confidential secretary |
| confine | shut in an enclosed space; restrict; keep within limits; N. confinement |
| confiscate | seize; take possession of (private property) by official order (usu. as a punishment); commandeer |
| conflagration | great fire |
| confluence | flowing together; the place where two rivers flow together; crowd; gathering together |
| conformist | person who uncritically conforms to the customs of a group; OP. nonconformist: one who does not conform to accepted beliefs of norms |
| conformity | harmony; agreement with established rules or customs; similarity; Ex. behave in conformity with; V. conform: be similar; act in agreement; comply; Ex. conform to the rule; CF. conformance |
| confound | confuse; puzzle |
| congeal | freeze; coagulate |
| congenial | pleasant; friendly; in agreement with one's tastes and nature; Ex. congenial weather |
| congenital | existing at birth |
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