| Term | Definition |
|---|
| abbreviate | shorten, abridge |
| abstinence | act of refraining from |
| amicable | agreeable; peaceful; politely friendly; not quarrelsome; Ex. ~ settlement; [Middle English, from Late Latin amīcābilis, from Latin amīcus, friend.] |
| anachronistic | out-of-date; n. -sm: an error involving time in a story; something or someone misplaced in time; [French anachronisme, from New Latin anachronismus, from Late Greek anakhronismos, from anakhronizesthai, to be an anachronism : Greek ana-, ana- + Greek khronizein, to take time (from khronos, time).] |
| antagonist | opponent |
| assiduous | hard-working; diligent |
| asylum | sanctuary; place of refuge or shelter; protection (religious or political) |
| camaraderie | trust among friends; good-fellowship; CF. comrade |
| circuitous | indirect, roundabout; Being or taking a roundabout, lengthy course: took a circuitous route to avoid the accident site. |
| clairvoyant | able to see the future; having foresight; fortuneteller; N. -ce; 1 : the power or faculty of discerning objects not present to the senses; 2 : ability to perceive matters beyond the range of ordinary perception |
| compassion | sympathy, mercy; ~ sympathy for the suffering of others; ADJ. -nate |
| compromise | to settle differences |
| condescending | patronizing; Displaying a patronizingly superior attitude; |
| congregation | crowd of people; The act of assembling.; A body of assembled people or things; a gathering. ; A group of people gathered for religious worship.; The members of a specific religious group who regularly worship at a church or synagogue.; |
| deleterious | harmful; Having a harmful effect; injurious: the ~effects of smoking.; [From Greek dēlētērios, from dēlētēr, destroyer, from dēleisthai, to harm.] |
| demagogue | rabble-rousing leader; person who appeals to people's prejudice; false leader of people; CF. -guery; [Greek dēmagōgos, popular leader : dēmos, people + agōgos, leading (from agein, to lead).] |
| digression | straying from main point |
| discredit | dishonor, disgrace; 1. To damage in reputation; disgrace. 2. To cause to be doubted or distrusted. 3. To refuse to believe.; defame; disgrace; destroy confidence in; disbelieve; N. CF. -table: causing ~; shameful |
| divergent | variant, moving apart |
| empathy | sharing of feelings; Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives. See synonyms at pity.; The attribution of one's own feelings to an object. |
| emulate | follow an example |
| ephemeral | momentary, fleeting; # Lasting for a markedly brief time: “There remain some truths too ~ to be captured in the cold pages of a court transcript” (Irving R. Kaufman).; short-lived; fleeting; [From Greek ephēmeros : ep-, epi-, epi- + hēmerā, day.] |
| evanescent | short-lived, as an image; fleeting; vanishing; soon disappearing; Vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor. V. -nesce |
| exasperation | irritation, frustration; gall; |
| exemplary | outstanding; Worthy of imitation; commendable: ~ behavior.; Serving as a model.;Serving as an illustration; typical.;Serving as a warning; admonitory. |
| extenuating | guilt diminishing; v. -ate, weaken; mitigate; lessen the seriousness of (bad behavior) |
| florid | flushed, ornate; ruddy; (of a complexion) reddish; flowery; very ornate; CF. rose; [from Latin flōridus, from flōs, flōr-, flower.] |
| fortuitous | lucky; Happening by accident or chance. See synonyms at accidental.n. -ty |
| haughty | arrogant, condescending; Scornfully and condescendingly proud. See synonyms at proud.; [From Middle English haut, from Old French haut, halt, alteration (influenced by Frankish hōh, high) of Latin altus, high.] |
| hedonism | 1. Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses.; practice of living one's life purely for pleasure; 2 : a way of life based on or suggesting the principles of ~; N.Person: -nist |
| impetuous | rash, impulsive; violent; hasty; rash; impulsive; without careful thought; Ex. ~ decision |
| impute | to attribute to someone; To relate to a particular cause or source; attribute the fault or responsibility to: ~ the rocket failure to a faulty gasket; kindly ~ed my clumsiness to inexperience.; To assign as a characteristic; credit: the gracefulness so often ~ed to cats. See synonyms at attribute; [Middle English imputen, from Old French emputer, from Latin imputāre : in-, in; see in–2 + putāre, to settle an account.] |
| inconsequential | trivial; insignificant; unimportant |
| integrity | honesty, decency |
| intrepid | fearless, adventurous; Resolutely courageous; fearless. See synonyms at brave. |
| nonchalant | calm, casual; Seeming to be coolly unconcerned or indifferent. See synonyms at cool.; Ex. ~ attitude to his debts; n. -ance indifference; lack of concern; composure;[French, from Old French, present participle of nonchaloir, to be unconcerned : non-, non- + chaloir, to cause concern to (from Latin calēre, to be warm, heat up).] |
| opulence | extreme wealth; luxuriousness; abundance; ADJ. -ent: possessing great wealth; abundant |
| ostentatious | displaying wealth; showy; trying to attract attention; pretentious; N. -tion: showy display |
| parched | dried up; Needing or desiring drink: dry, thirsty. Archaic athirst. See dry/wet. |
| perfidious | disloyal; Of, relating to, or marked by perfidy; treacherous. See synonyms at faithless |
| precocious | talented beyond one's age; advanced in development;Manifesting or characterized by unusually early development or maturity, especially in mental aptitude. Botany. Blossoming before the appearance of leaves. N. precocity; [From Latin praecox, praecoc-, premature, from praecoquere, to boil before, ripen early : prae-, pre- + coquere, to cook, ripen.] |
| pretentious | pompous, self-important; Claiming or demanding a position of distinction or merit, especially when unjustified.; Making or marked by an extravagant outward show; ostentatious. See synonyms at showy. |
| prosaic | run-of-the-mill; 1. a. Consisting or characteristic of prose. b. Matter-of-fact; straightforward. 2. Lacking in imagination and spirit; dull. |
| querulous | irritable; given to complaining; complaining; fretful; whining; [Middle English querulose, litigious, quarrelsome, from Old French querelos, from Late Latin querulōsus, querulous, from Latin querulus, from querī, to complain.] |
| rancorous | hateful |
| reconciliation | agreement after a quarrel |
| reverence | profound respect; A feeling of profound awe and respect and often love; veneration. ; # ~ Used as a form of address for certain members of the Christian clergy: Your ~. |
| sagacity | wisdom |
| spontaneity | impulsive action; lack of premeditation; naturalness; freedom from constraint; ADJ. spontaneous: self-generated; unpremeditated; happening without being planned |
| spurious | phony, false; Lacking authenticity or validity in essence or origin; not genuine; false.; Of illegitimate birth.; Botany. Similar in appearance but unlike in structure or function. Used of plant parts.; [From Late Latin spurius, from Latin, illegitimate, probably of Etruscan origin.] |
| substantiate | to verify, confirm; support (a claim) with evidence; establish with evidence; verify |
| superfluous | Being beyond what is required or sufficient.; more than enough; [from Latin superfluus, from superfluere, to overflow : super-, super- + fluere, to flow.] |
| surreptitious | secret, stealthy; Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means.; Acting with or marked by stealth. See synonyms at secret.; [Middle English, from Latin surreptīcius, from surreptus, past participle of surripere, to take away secretly : sub-, secretly; see sub– + rapere, to seize.] |
| tenacious | persistent, resolute; 1. Holding or tending to hold persistently to something, such as a point of view. 2. Holding together firmly; cohesive: a ~ material. 3. Clinging to another object or surface; adhesive: ~ lint. 4. Tending to retain; retentive: a ~ memory. |
| transient | temporary, fleeting; Passing with time; transitory: “the ~ beauty of youth” (Lydia M. Child).; Remaining in a place only a brief time: ~ laborers.; [Alteration of Latin trānsiēns, trānseunt-, present participle of trānsīre, to go over : trāns-, over; see trans– + īre, to go.] |
| venerable | respectable due to age |
| vindicate | to clear from blame; ~ clear from blame; free from blame or accusation (with supporting proof); exonerate; substantiate; justify or support; avenge; Ex. ~ one's client; Ex. ~ one's claim; CF. -tor [Latin vindicāre, vindicāt-, from vindex, vindic-, surety, avenger.] |
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