| Term | Definition |
|---|
| abject | adj hopeless, miserable |
| abstemious | adj sparing in eating or drinking |
| abstruse | adj hard to understand |
| acerbic | adj harsh, sour in mood |
| baleful | adj threatening, evil |
| baneful | adj harmful, threatening |
| brusque | adj blunt, rough |
| bumptious | adj cocky |
| cajole | vb coax |
| cant | n jargon |
| callow | adj immature |
| calumny | n slander |
| deleterious | adj harmful to health |
| delineate | vb trace the outline of |
| demur | intrans verb to object |
| descry | vb to discover detect |
| efficacious | adj effective |
| effrontery | adj shameless, foolish, ignorant |
| egregious | adj flagrantly bad |
| empirical | derived from experience |
| feckless | adj ineffective |
| fatuous | adj inanely foolish |
| fastidious | adj fault-finding |
| fallacy | n false notion |
| glib | adj, fluent but insincere |
| gird | vb to support |
| gibe | vb jeer |
| germane | adj relevant |
| halcyon | adj calm, peaceful |
| harangue | n severe scolding |
| heterogeneous | adj consisting of unalike parts |
| histronic | adj overly dramatic |
| ignominy | n disgrace/shame |
| imbue | vb to inspire with feeling |
| impervious | adj inpenetrable |
| importune | vb to beg |
| juanty | adj confident |
| jettison | vb to discard |
| jingoist | n extreme nationalist |
| junta | n govt or committee formed after a revolution |
| knell | the toll of a bell |
| kaleidoscopic | adj rapidly changing |
| lacerate | vb to tear roughly |
| lachrymose | adj mournful, tearful |
| machination | n evil plot or scheme |
| malign | vb to slander/defame |
| manifest | adj obvious/evident |
| maudlin | adj foolishly sentimental |
| nebulous | adj hazy, indistinct |
| nefarious | adj extremely wicked |
| nominal | adj existing in name only |
| neophyte | n novice |
| obeisance | n gesture of respect |
| obloquy | n a scolding |
| odium | n intense hatred or dislike |
| officious | adj meddlesome |
| palliate | vb soothe without curing |
| panegyric | n lofty oration in praise of someone |
| paragon | n perfect model |
| paramount | adj of the utmost importance |
| quandary | n dilemma |
| quash | vb to subdue |
| querulous | adj full of complaints |
| quiescence | n silence |
| rancor | n bitter resentment |
| rankle | vb to irritate |
| raucous | adj loud, discordant |
| rebut | vb to contradict |
| sangfroid | n composure |
| sanctimonious | adj hypocritically pious |
| saliant | adj protruding/conspicious |
| salacious | adj aroused with sexual desire |
| talisman | n amulet |
| tantamount | adj equivalent to |
| tautological | adj repetitive/redundant |
| tenebrous | adj dark/obscure |
| umbrage | n offence |
| unremitting | adj never-ending |
| upbraid | vb to condemn |
| vacuous | adj empty |
| vagary | n whim |
| vapid | adj dull |
| veracity | n truthfullness |
| wane | vb to decrease in intensity |
| wheedle | vb to coax |
| wont | n habit/customs of a particular group of people |
| acquise | vb to assent without protest |
| acrimonious | adj bitter in nature |
| admonition | n warning/caution |
| adumbrate | vb to outline |
| capricious | adj unpredictable and impulsive |
| captious | adj fault-finding |
| castigate | vb to criticise severely |
| caustic | adj severely sarcastic |
| desultory | adj random/without pattern or plan |
| diatribe | n harsh scolding |
| diffident | adj not confident |
| discomfiture | n embarassment |
| encomium | n formal expression of praise |
Combine with other sets
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