| Term | Definition |
|---|
| accede | to agree to do what people have asked you to do |
| acquiesce | to accept or agree to something, often unwillingly |
| acumen | skill in making correct decisions and judgments in a particular subject, such as business or politics |
| beatific | expressing happiness and calmness, especially in a holy way |
| behoove | to be necessary, proper, or advantageous for |
| belie | to give a false impression of; to show (something) to be false or wrong; to run counter to; contradict, disguise |
| collateral | accompanying as secondary or subordinate |
| conjure | to make a picture or idea appear in someone's mind |
| contrition | the state of being repentant, penitent |
| dire | exciting horror, dismal, oppressive, desperately urgent, warning of disaster |
| dominion | domain, supreme authority, sovereignty, absolute ownership, power |
| droll | having a humorous, whimsical, or odd quality |
| echelon | a particular level or group of people within an organization such as an army or company |
| emend | to correct or improve a text |
| emissary | a person sent by one government or political leader to another to deliver messages or to take part in discussions |
| felicity | the quality or state of being happy; especially: great happiness; a pleasing manner or quality especially in art or language; an apt expression |
| filial | of, relating to, or befitting a son or daughter; having or assuming the relation of a child or offspring |
| fortitude | bravery over a long period |
| garish | clothed in vivid colors; excessively or disturbingly vivid; offensively or distressingly bright : GLARING ; tastelessly showy : FLASHY; synonym see GAUDY |
| hone | to sharpen or smooth with a whetstone; to make more acute, intense, or effective |
| idiom | the language peculiar to a people or to a district, community, or class; a style or form of artistic expression that is characteristic of an individual, a period or movement, or a medium or instrument broadly : MANNER, STYLE |
| imminent | ready to take place; especially : hanging threateningly over one's head |
| impeccable | not capable of sinning or liable to sin; free from fault or blame : FLAWLESS |
| jocund | marked by or suggestive of high spirits and lively mirthfulness; synonym see MERRY |
| lilting | characterized by a rhythmical swing or cadence; CHEERFUL, BUOYANT |
| Aggregation | something formed by adding together several amounts or things; a total: |
| amiss | in a mistaken way; wrongly |
| nabob | a rich or powerful person |
| nascent | coming or having recently come into existence |
| nonchalant | behaving in a calm manner, often in a way which suggests lack of interest or care |
| opaque | preventing light from travelling through, and therefore not transparent or translucent; describes writing or speech that is difficult to understand. |
| pall | to become less interesting or enjoyable; a thick dark cloud of smoke; a negative atmosphere; a cloth used to cover a coffin at a funeral |
| pedagogy | the study of the methods and activities of teaching |
| perdition | a state of punishment which goes on for ever, suffered by evil people after death |
| qualm | an uncomfortable feeling of doubt about whether you are doing the right thing |
| quandary | a state of not being able to decide what to do about a situation in which you are involved |
| rapt | giving complete attention, or showing complete involvement, or (of attention) complete |
| reiterate | to say something again, once or several times |
| requiem | a mass (= Christian religious ceremony) at which people honour and pray for a dead person; a piece of music written for this ceremony |
| rueful | feeling sorry and full of regret: |
| suave | describes a man who is very polite, charming and usually attractive, often in a way that is slightly false |
| subversive | describing attempts to destroy or weaken an established system or government: |
| Sullen | angry and unwilling to smile or be pleasant to people |
| Tactual | Perceptible to the sense of touch; tangible. |
| transfix | to make a person or animal seem unable to move or stop looking at something because they are so interested, surprised or frightened, usually because their interest in or fear of something is so strong |
| Umbrage | to feel upset or annoyed, usually because you feel that someone has been rude or shown a lack of respect to you |
| usurp | to take control or a position of power, especially without having the right to |
| versatile | able to change easily from one activity to another or able to be used for many different purposes: |
| Voracious | very eager for something, especially a lot of food |
| zephyr | a light wind |
| calumnious | adjective for a misrepresentation intended to harm another's reputation; or for the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to harm another's reputation |
| castellated | having battlements |
| blasé | apathetic to pleasure or excitement as a result of excessive indulgence or enjoyment; WORLD-WEARY; SOPHISTICATED, WORLDLY-WISE; UNCONCERNED; SOPHISTICATED |
| enclave | a part of a country that is surrounded by another country, or a group of people who are different from the people living in the surrounding area |
| demagogue | a person, especially a political leader, who wins support by exciting people's emotions rather than by having good ideas |
| bonanza | a situation from which large profits are made; a large amount of something good |
| cadence | the regular rise and fall of the voice |
| avaricious | greedy of gain : excessively acquisitive especially in seeking to hoard riches; synonym see COVETOUS |
| antithesis | the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences (as in "action, not words" or "they promised freedom and provided slavery") (2) : OPPOSITION, the direct opposite |
| apocryphal | describes a story that is probably not true although often told and believed by some people to have happened |
| daunt | to make someone feel slightly frightened or worried about their ability to achieve something; to discourage; making you feel slightly frightened or worried about your ability to achieve something; showing determination and a lack of fear |
| dearth | from scarcity that makes dear; FAMINE; an inadequate supply : LACK |
| inexplicable | incapable of being explained, interpreted, or accounted for |
| cataclysm | a great destructive event or sudden violent change |
| precept | a rule for action or behaviour, especially obtained from moral consideration |
| epithet | an adjective added to a person's name or a phrase used instead of it, usually to criticize or praise them |
| demise | death; the end of something that was previously considered to be powerful, such as a business, industry or system |
| proficient | skilled and experienced |
| equivocation | The use of language with intent to deceive,or to avoid committing oneself in what one says. 2. An equivocal statement or expression. synonym LIE |
| castigate | to criticize someone or something severely |
| encompass | to form a circle about : ENCLOSE b obsolete : to go completely around 2 a : ENVELOP b : INCLUDE, COMPREHEND 3 : BRING ABOUT, ACCOMPLISH |
| depreciate | to lower in estimation or esteem; 2 a : to lower the price or estimated value of |
| expostulate | to reason earnestly with a person for purposes of dissuasion or remonstrance |
| denigrate | to say that someone or something is not good or important |
| prodigal | wasteful with money; tending to spend large amounts without thinking of the future |
| catapult | a device which can throw objects at a high speed; to throw someone or something with great force |
| circumvent | to hem in; to make a circuit around; to manage to get around especially by ingenuity or stratagem |
| cleft | a space or opening made by or as if by splitting : FISSURE; 2 : a usually V-shaped indented formation : a hollow between ridges or protuberances |
| coalesce | to grow together: to unite into a whole : FUSE; to unite for a common end; join forces |
| crystalline | strikingly clear or sparkling |
| cynical | CAPTIOUS, PEEVISH; having a sneering disbelief in sincerity or integrity |
| despotic | autocratic; tyrannical |
| desultory | marked by lack of definite plan, regularity, or purpose; disappointing progress, performance, quality |
| diaspora | the spreading of people from one original country to other countries |
| diatribe | an angry speech or piece of writing which severely criticizes something or someone |
| entreat | to plead with especially in order to persuade : ask urgently; synonym see BEG |
| epitaph | a short piece of writing or a poem about a dead person, especially one written on their gravestone |
| incarnate | invested with bodily and especially human nature and form; made manifest or comprehensible : EMBODIED |
| incognito | avoiding being recognized, by changing your name or appearance |
| indiscriminate | not marked by careful distinction : deficient in discrimination and discernment; HAPHAZARD, RANDOM; PROMISCUOUS, UNRESTRAINED; HETEROGENEOUS, MOTLEY |
| inexorable | not to be persuaded, moved, or stopped: relentless |
| infuse | to cause to be permeated with something (as a principle or quality) that alters usually for the better; INSPIRE, ANIMATE; to steep in liquid (as water) without boiling so as to extract the soluble constituents or principles; implies a pouring in of something that gives new life or significance |
| peruse | to read through something, especially in order to find the part you are interested in |
| pervasive | present or noticeable in every part of a thing or place |
| portentous | too serious and trying to be very important |
| Provocative | causing thought about interesting subjects: causing a reaction, especially a negative one |
| pulsate | to beat or move with a strong, regular rhythm |
| superfluous | more than is needed or wanted |
| surcease | to desist from action ; also : to come to an end : cease; to put an end to : discontinue |
| chasten | to make someone aware that they have failed or done something wrong and make them want to improve |
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