| Term | Definition |
|---|
| counterpart | thing that completes another; things very much alike; thing that has the same purpose in a different system |
| n coup | highly successful action or sudden attack; coup(s) d'\'etat; CF. coup de gr\^ace: deathblow or shot which kills |
| couple | join; unite; OP. uncouple |
| n courier | messenger |
| n covenant | binding agreement between two groups or people; compact; V: enter into a covenant; promise |
| s bargain | agreement between two groups or people; something for sale at a price advantageous to the buyer; V: negotiate; trade; Ex. bargaining power |
| covert | secret; hidden; implied; OP. overt |
| n covetous | avaricious; desirous of (someone else's possessions); V. covet: desire eagerly (someone else's possessions) |
| n cow | terrorize; intimidate |
| n cower | shrink quivering as from fear; cringe |
| n coy | shy (flirtatiously); showing a (pretended) lack of self-confidence; modest; coquettish; CF. job offer¸¦ ¹Þ¾ÒÀ» ¶§ |
| n cozen | cheat; hoodwink; swindle |
| n crabbed | sour; bad-tempered; peevish; difficult to read as handwriting |
| s peevish | bad-tempered; irritable; V. peeve: make angry |
| n crass | very unrefined; grossly insensible; crude and undiscriminating; Ex. crass behavior |
| craven | cowardly |
| credence | belief |
| n credo | creed |
| credulity | belief on slight evidence; gullibility; naivet\'e; ADJ. credulous |
| creed | system of religious or ethical belief |
| crescendo | increase in the volume or intensity as in a musical passage; climax; CF. crescent |
| s far-fetched | too improbable to be believed; implausible; Ex. far-fetched story |
| s overture | musical introduction to a long musical piece; first offer or proposal (to begin talks in the hope of reaching an agreement); Ex. overtures for peace |
| n crestfallen | dejected; dispirited |
| s crest | top (as of a hill or wave); showy feathers on the head of a bird |
| n crevice | crack; fissure |
| cringe | shrink back as if in fear; cower |
| criteria | standards used in judging; CF. criterion |
| n crone | hag; ugly old woman |
| n crotchety | (of someone old) eccentric; odd; whimsical; bad-tempered; N. crotchet: odd or whimsical notion |
| n crux | essential or main point; Ex. the crux of the problem; ADJ. crucial: of deciding importance |
| crypt | secret recess or vault usually used for burial; underground room (under a church) |
| cryptic | mysterious; hidden; secret |
| n cubicle | small chamber used for sleeping or work |
| s compartment | one of the parts into which an enclosed space is divided |
| n cuisine | style of cooking; Ex. French cuisine |
| n culinary | relating to cooking or kitchen |
| n cull | pick out from others (to kill the weakest members); reject; select; collect (information); N. |
| culmination | highest point; climax; V. culminate in: reach the highest point in; end in; Ex. a series of minor clashes culminating in war |
| culpable | deserving blame; blameworthy |
| s culprit | one guilty of a crime |
| n culvert | artificial channel for water; drain crossing under a road |
| cumbersome | heavy and awkward to carry or wear; burdensome; Ex. cumbersome parcel/uniform |
| cumulative | growing by addition; accumulative |
| cupidity | greed (for wealth); CF. cupid; CF. Cupid |
| curator | superintendent; manager (in charge of a museum or a library) |
| n curmudgeon | churlish, miserly individual; bad-tempered old person |
| n cursive | (of writing) flowing; running; having the successive letters joined |
| cursory | casual; hastily done with little attention to detail |
| curtail | shorten; reduce |
| cynical | skeptical or distrustful of human motives; N. cynicism; CF. cynic: person who believes all people are motivated by selfishness |
| n cynosure | object of general attention; person or thing that is a center of attention; CF. Ursa Minor |
| n dabble | work at in a nonserious fashion; splash around; move noisily in a liquid |
| n dais | raised platform for speakers or other important people |
| n dally | trifle with; toy with; treat without the necessary seriousness; procrastinate; waste time |
| n dank | damp; unpleasantly wet |
| n dapper | neat and trim (in appearance); (of small men) neat in appearance and quick in movements; neat; spry |
| n dappled | spotted |
| n daub | smear (as with paint); cover with something sticky; Ex. daub one's clothes with mud/paint; N: small bit of sticky substance; Ex. a daub of paint |
| s smear | spread or cover with a sticky substance; N: mark made by smearing |
| s smudge | dirty mark with unclear edges made by rubbing; V. |
| daunt | intimidate; frighten; discourage; dishearten |
| dauntless | bold; fearless |
| dawdle | loiter; hang around; waste time doing nothing |
| deadlock | standstill resulting from the opposition of two unrelenting forces; stalemate |
| s standstill | condition of no movement or activity; stop |
| n deadpan | wooden; impassive; with no show of feeling; with an expressionless face |
| dearth | scarcity |
| d\'eb\^acle | sudden disastrous downfall or defeat; complete disaster |
| debase | degrade; reduce in quality or value; degenerate; lower in esteem; disgrace; N. debasement |
| s kneel | go down on one's knee(s) |
| n debauch | corrupt morally; seduce from virtue; N. debauchery: wild behavior (with sex and alcohol) |
| s seduce | lead away from proper conduct; entice; ADJ. seductive |
| debilitate | weaken (esp. through heat, hunger, illness); enfeeble |
| s bout | match; short period of great activity; Ex. wrestling bout; bout of drinking/flu |
| n debonair | (of men) friendly, charming, and fashionably dressed; aiming to please; CF. of good disposition |
| d\'ebris | rubble; wreckage; scattered remains of something broken or destroyed |
| n debunk | expose as false, exaggerated, worthless, etc.; ridicule |
| n debutante | young woman making formal entrance into society |
| s debut | d\'ebut; first public appearance; formal presentation of a young woman to society |
| decadence | decay; fall to a lower level (of morality, civilization, or art); ADJ. decadent |
| decant | pour off gently (wine or liquid) |
| decapitate | behead |
| decelerate | slow down |
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