| criterion | a standard of judgment or criticism; a rule or principle for evaluating or testing something. |
| derive | to receive or obtain from a source or origin |
| excerpt | a passage or quotation taken or selected from a book, document, film, or the like; extract. |
| implication | something implied or suggested as naturally to be inferred or understood: to resent an implication of dishonesty. |
| imply | to indicate or suggest without being explicitly stated: His words implied a lack of faith. |
| likelihood | the state of being likely or probable; probability. |
| overrated | to rate or appraise too highly; overestimate: I think you overrate their political influence. |
| plausible | having an appearance of truth or reason; seemingly worthy of approval or acceptance; credible; believable: a plausible excuse; a plausible plot. |
| suggestive | that suggests; referring to other thoughts, persons, etc.: His recommendation was suggestive of his boss's thinking. |
| tentative | of the nature of or made or done as a trial, experiment, or attempt; experimental: a tentative report on her findings. |
| abstract | thought of apart from concrete realities, specific objects, or actual instances: an abstract idea. |
| analogy | a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: the analogy between the heart and a pump. |
| antithesis | opposition; contrast: the antithesis of right and wrong. |
| argumentative | fond of or given to argument and dispute; disputatious; contentious: The law students were an unusually argumentative group. |
| assertion | a positive statement or declaration, often without support or reason: a mere assertion; an unwarranted assertion. |
| cite | to quote (a passage, book, author, etc.), esp. as an authority: He cited the Constitution in his defense. |
| concrete | constituting an actual thing or instance; real: a concrete proof of his sincerity. |
| evidence | that which tends to prove or disprove something; ground for belief; proof. |
| explanatory | serving to explain: an explanatory footnote. |
| expository | of the nature of exposition; serving to expound, set forth, or explain: an expository essay; expository writing. |
| generalization | 1. the act or process of generalizing. 2. a result of this process; a general statement, idea, or principle. |
| narrative | a story or account of events, experiences, or the like, whether true or fictitious. |
| persuasive | able, fitted, or intended to persuade: a very persuasive argument. |
| rhetorical | used for, belonging to, or concerned with mere style or effect. |
| thesis | a proposition stated or put forward for consideration, esp. one to be discussed and proved or to be maintained against objections |
| aloof | at a distance, esp. in feeling or interest; apart: They always stood aloof from their classmates. |
| ambivalent | uncertainty or fluctuation, esp. when caused by inability to make a choice or by a simultaneous desire to say or do two opposite or conflicting things. |
| brusque | abrupt in manner; blunt; rough: A brusque welcome greeted his unexpected return. |
| cautionary | of the nature of or containing a warning: cautionary advice; a cautionary tale. |
| compassionate | having or showing compassion: a compassionate person; a compassionate letter. |
| condescension | voluntary assumption of equality with a person regarded as inferior; the act of condescending. |
| cynical | like or characteristic of a cynic; distrusting or disparaging the motives of others. |
| defensive | serving to defend; protective: defensive armament. |
| detachment | aloofness, as from worldly affairs or from the concerns of others; freedom from prejudice or partiality. |
| didactic | intended for instruction; instructive: didactic poetry. |
| disdain | to look upon or treat with contempt; despise; scorn. |
| disparaging | to speak of or treat slightingly; depreciate; belittle: Do not disparage good manners. |
| dispassionate | free from or unaffected by passion; devoid of personal feeling or bias; impartial; calm: a dispassionate critic. |
| esteem | to regard highly or favorably; regard with respect or admiration: I esteem him for his honesty. |
| flippant | frivolously disrespectful, shallow, or lacking in seriousness; characterized by levity: The audience was shocked by his flippant remarks about patriotism. |
| grudging | a feeling of ill will or resentment: to hold a grudge against a former opponent. |
| hypocritical | a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs. |
| indifference | lack of interest or concern: We were shocked by their indifference toward poverty. |
| ironic | containing or exemplifying irony: an ironic novel; an ironic remark. |
| judicious | using or showing judgment as to action or practical expediency; discreet, prudent, or politic: judicious use of one's money. |
| naive | having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous. |
| nostalgia | a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time. |
| objective | something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish; purpose; goal; target: the objective of a military attack; the objective of a fund-raising drive. |
| optimism | a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome. |
| pedantic | ostentatious in one's learning; overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, esp. in teaching. |
| pessimism | the tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions, problems, etc.: His pessimism about the future of our country depresses me. |
| pomposity | an instance of being pompous, as by ostentatious loftiness of language, manner, or behavior. |
| prosaic | commonplace or dull; matter-of-fact or unimaginative: a prosaic mind. |
| resigned (adj.) | submissive or acquiescent; characterized by or indicative of resignation. |
| sarcasm | harsh or bitter derision or irony. |
| satirical | of, pertaining to, containing, or characterized by satire: satirical novels. |
| skeptical | inclined to skepticism; having doubt: a skeptical young woman. |
| trite | lacking in freshness or effectiveness because of constant use or excessive repetition; hackneyed; stale: the trite phrases in his letter. |
| whimsical | given to whimsy or fanciful notions; capricious: a pixyish, whimsical fellow; erratic; unpredictable. |