| Term | Definition |
|---|
| accentuate | To stress; to single out as important |
| capricious | Changeable; determined by change, impulse, or whim; unpredictable |
| consternation | alarm; sudden confusion or amazement |
| impinge | To infringe upon; to encroach; to advance beyond the usual limit |
| didactic | intended for instruction; intended to teach a moral lesson; inclined to teach or lecture others too much |
| malleable | ductile; easily influenced; able to be bent or shaped |
| exacerbate | To increase the severity of; to worsen |
| insular | relating to or characteristic of an island; narrowly restricted in outlook or scope |
| portend | to give an omen; to indicate beforehand that something is about to happen; to give advance warning of |
| spurious | inauthentic; plausible but false |
| mollify | to soften in feeling or temper; pacify; appease; to mitigate or reduce |
| supercilious | having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy |
| sagacious | insightful, wise, showing or posessing farsightedness, good judgement |
| tranquility | untroubled state; a state of peace and quiet |
| juxtapose | to place side to side, compare or contrast |
| berate | to scold; rebuke; to censure severely or angrily |
| assiduous | constant in application or effort; working diligently at a task; industrious; attentive; persevering |
| delineate | define; specify; describe in vivid detail |
| obsolete | no longer in general use; out of date |
| rancorous | showing bitter, long-lasting resentment and deep-seated ill will; implacably spiteful or malicious |
| diffuse | V: to pour or spread; to scatter widely ADJ: wordy |
| quiescent | at rest; quiet; inactive |
| munificent | extremely liberal in giving; very generous |
| grandiose | impressive because of unnecessary largeness or grandeur |
| punitive | Inflicting or aiming to inflict punishment |
| truncate | to shorten abruptly (by or as if by cutting off) |
| vestige | trace; an indication that something has been present |
| intrepid | invulnerable to fear or intimidation; resolutely fearless; bold; audacious |
| cohesive | uniting together; well integrated; solid; unified |
| nuance | a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude; A fine shade of meaning |
| abridge | To reduce the scope by means of the omission or words without sacrificing their meaning; condense |
| perfunctory | casual; hasty and without attention to detail; performed merely as a routine duty; apathetic |
| confidant | someone to whom private matters are confided |
| replete | satiated, filled to satisfaction with food or drink; abundantly supplied or provided |
| precocious | unusually advanced or mature in development, esp. mental development |
| myriad | a very great or indefinitely great number of persons or things; countless |
| cursory | casual, hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough |
| platitude | a trite, meaningless, or dull statement uttered as if it were fresh or profound |
| paucity | smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness |
| lucid | easily understood; rational or sane; shining or bright; transparent |
| recalcitrant | resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant, not responsive to treatment |
| austere | severely simple; of a stern or strict demeanor; hard; dry; rigorously self-disciplined and severely moral |
| unobtrusive | inconspicuous, unassertive |
| facilitate | to make easier or less difficult; to assist the progress of |
| superfluous | serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being; excess: more than is needed, desired, or required; over the top |
| ephemeral | Short-lived; transitory; lasting for a very short time |
| deleterious | injurious to one's health; harmful |
| convivial | friendly; agreeable; fond of feasting, drinking, and merry company; jovial; fond of the pleasures of good company |
| efface | to wipe out; to erase; to obliterate |
| plagiarize | to take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech |
| querulous | full of complaints; complaining; characterized by or uttered in complaint; peevish |
| voracious | craving or consuming large quantities of food; exceedingly eager or avid |
| reticent | disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved |
| deference | respectful submission or yielding to the judgment, opinion, will, etc., of another. |
| euphemism | an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive |
| guile | cunning; craftiness |
| savory | appetizing; agreeable. |
| jargon | specialized technical terminology characteristic of a particular subject |
| prodigious | so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe |
| surmise | to think or infer without certain or strong evidence; conjecture; guess |
| laconic | brief and to the point |
| officious | objectionably aggressive in offering one's unrequested and unwanted services, help, or advice |
| decadence | the state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities |
| elucidate | make clear and more comprehensible |
| meticulous | taking or showing minute care about minute details |
| propensity | an inclination to do something |
| copious | large in number or quantity (especially of discourse) |
| fortuitous | accidental; by chance |
| egregious | conspicuously bad or offensive |
| soporific | sleep-causing |
| bellicose | warlike |
| upbraid | to find fault with or reproach severely; to express criticism toward |
| augment | enlarge or increase |
| gratuitous | 1) given, done, bestowed, or obtained without charge or payment; free; voluntary 2) without cause |
| placate | pacify; bring peace to; conciliate; appease |
| irrefutable | impossible to deny or disprove |
| embellish | to beautify by or as if by ornamentation; to adorn; to ornament |
| diatribe | a bitter, sharply abusive denunciation, attack, or criticism |
| esoteric | known only to a chosen few who have special knowledge or interest; private; confidential |
| labyrinth | difficult maze; any confusingly intricate state of things or events |
| parsimonious | excessively unwilling to spend |
| chimerical | unreal; imaginary; visionary; unrealistic |
| fervor | feelings of great warmth and intensity |
| tenet | any opinion, principle, doctrine, dogma, etc., esp. one held as true by members of a profession, group, or movement. |
| engender | cause; produce; give rise to |
| ebullient | showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm; high-spirited |
| hyperbole | obvious and intentional exaggeration. |
| pompous | overly self-important in speech and manner; puffed up with vanity |
| incipient | beginning to exist or appear; in an initial stage |
| distraught | distracted; deeply agitated; very troubled; crazed |
| eclectic | selecting or choosing from various sources |
| stoic | one who is indifferent and free from passion; unaffected; restrained |
| cacophony | harsh discordance of sounds; dissonance; a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds |
| sycophant | a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite |
| stringent | demanding strict attention to rules and procedures |
| tangential | merely touching; slightly connected; divergent or digressive, as from a subject under consideration |
| condone | excuse, overlook, or make allowances for |
| disparity | inequality or difference in some respect |
| emulate | to try to equal or excel; imitate with effort to equal or surpass |
| autonomy | independence or freedom of one's will or actions |
| respite | a pause for relaxation |
| succinct | expressed in few words; concise; compressed into a small area, scope |
| tirade | a prolonged outburst of bitter, outspoken denunciation; a long vehement speech |
| dogmatic | characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles; asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner; opinionated. |
| venerate | to honor; to revere |
| chronic | constant; habitual; inveterate; continuing a long time or recurring frequently |
| vapid | lacking significance or liveliness or spirit or zest; empty |
| epithet | descriptive word or phrase (sometimes defamatory); an insult |
| duplicity | deceitfulness in speech or conduct; speaking or acting in two different ways concerning the same matter with intent to deceive; double-dealing. |
| conciliatory | tending to overcome the distrust or hostility of, placate or win over |
| enervate | to deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken. |
| meandering | following a winding and turning course; moving aimlessly and idly without fixed direction |
| recluse | person who leads a secluded or solitary life; hermit |
| stagnate | to be or become inactive; dull or motionless |
| taciturn | disinclined to talk |
| altruistic | unselfishly concerned for or devoted to the welfare of others |
| capitulate | to agree or surrender according to arranged or proposed terms; to accept defeat; acquiesce |
| embroil | to bring into discord or conflict; involve in contention or strife; to throw into confusion; to complicate |
| quandary | a state of perplexity or uncertainty, esp. as to what to do; dilemma. |
| apocryphal | of doubtful authorship or authenticity; false; spurious |
| aberration | a state or condition markedly different from the norm |
| ameliorate | to make better or more bearable |
| criterion | a standard of judgment or criticism; a rule or principle for evaluating or testing something. |
| lassitude | weariness, tiredness |
| mitigate | make less severe or harsh |
| homogeneous | composed of parts or elements that are all of the same kind |
| imminent | impending; near at hand |
| verbose | wordy |
| zenith | top, the highest point |
| laudable | praiseworthy |
| expunge | erase; remove |
| perceptive | having or showing keenness of insight, understanding, or intuition |
| fastidious | excessively particular, critical, or demanding; hard to please |
| perfidy | treachery |
| agglomeration | a jumbled collection or mass |
| preclude | to prevent the presence, existence, or occurrence of; make impossible |
| alleviate | to relieve; reduce |
| clandestine | done secretly |
| enigma | something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained |
| latent | present but not visible, apparent, or actualized; existing as potential |
| assuage | to soothe, to pacify, to ease the pain of |
| opulent | wealthy or rich; abundant or plentiful |
| obscure | not clear or plain; vague; uncertain |
| affinity | a natural attraction or feeling of kinship |
| pique | to affect with sharp irritation and resentment, esp. by some wound to pride 2) to excite (interest, curiosity, etc) |
| pariah | outcast |
| coalesce | to unite so as to form one mass; community, etc; to blend or come together |
| sporadic | occurring irregularly; intermittent |
| malicious | having the nature of or resulting from malice |
| incorrigible | uncorrectable |
| untenable | (of theories etc) incapable of being defended or justified |
| equanimity | calmness of temperament; composure |
| surreptitious | marked by quiet and caution and secrecy |
| raconteur | a person who excels at telling stories |
| cryptic | mysterious in meaning; puzzling; ambiguous; abrupt; secret |
| audacious | extremely bold or daring; recklessly brave; fearless |
| urbane | showing a high degree of refinement and social experience |
| vitriolic | harsh or corrosive in tone |
| relegate | assign to a lower position |
| prudent | careful and sensible |
| lethargic | slow-moving; sleepy or tired. |
| implausible | unlikely; difficult to believe |
| judicious | characterized by good judgment or sound thinking |
| morose | gloomy, sullen |
| corroborate | to make more certain; to confirm |
| cajole | to persuade by flattery or promises; coax |
| perspicacious | having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning |
| inception | start; beginning |
| alienate | to make indifferent or hostile |
| disperse | to scatter; spread widely |
| equivocate | be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information |
| fallacy | incorrect idea; wrong assumption; an error |
| obliterate | to destroy completely, without leaving a trace |
| rebuff | reject outright and bluntly |
| temerity | boldness, brashness, intrepidness |
| susceptible | admitting or capable of some specified treatment; accessible or especially liable or subject to some influence, mood, agency, etc. |
| insurgent | someone in opposition to an authority |
| garrulous | 1) excessively talkative in a rambling, roundabout manner, esp. about trivial matters 2) wordy or diffuse |
| incongruous | 1) out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming 2) lacking harmony 3) inconsistent |
| aesthetic | concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste |
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