 | Term | Definition |
| |
maxim |
n. concise statement of a fundamental principle |
| |
melancholy |
adj. sad; depressing |
| |
metamorphosis |
n. change, transformation |
| |
meticulous |
adj. very careful, fastidious |
| |
mitigate |
v. to cause to become less harsh, severe or painful; alleviate |
| |
mollify |
v. to soothe |
| |
morose |
adj. ill-humored; sullen |
| |
mundane |
adj. worldly as opposed to spiritual; concerned with the ordinary |
| |
myriad |
adj. made up of a large number |
| |
nebulous |
adj. vague; cloudy |
| |
orthodox |
adj. traditional; conservative |
| |
panacea |
n. cure-all |
| |
paradigm |
n. model; pattern |
| |
paragon |
n. model of excellence or perfection |
| |
partisan |
n. one-sided; committed to a party, group, or cause; prejudiced |
| |
paucity |
n. scarcity |
| |
pervasive |
adj. spread throughout every part |
| |
placate |
v. to lessen another’s anger; to pacify |
| |
plethora |
n. excess, overabundance |
| |
postulate |
n. principle provisionally adopted as a basis for argument |
| |
pragmatic |
adj. practical |
| |
precursor |
n. forerunner; predecessor |
| |
premise |
n. proposition upon which an argument is based |
| |
prodigal |
adj. wasteful; extravagant, lavish |
| |
profound |
adj. deep; not superficial |
| |
proliferation |
n. rapid reproduction or growth |
| |
propensity |
n. inclination; tendency |
| |
prosaic |
adj. dull; commonplace |
| |
proscribe |
v. to condemn; forbid, outlaw |
| |
radical |
adj. extreme; favoring great change; basic; fundamental |
| |
refute |
v. to contradict; disprove |
| |
relegate |
v. to consign to an inferior position |
| |
repudiate |
v. to reject as having no authority |
| |
reticent |
adj. not speaking freely; reserved; reluctant |
| |
sagacious |
adj. having insight; wise |
| |
sanction |
v. to approve; ratify; permit; penalize |
| |
skeptical |
adj. doubting; questioning |
| |
sporadic |
adj. occurring irregularly |
| |
sublime |
adj. awe-inspiring; of high spiritual value |
| |
tenuous |
adj. weak; insubstantial |
| |
transcendent |
adj. superior; beyond the material |
| |
trivial |
adj. unimportant |
| |
vacillate |
v. to waver; show indecision |
| |
veneration |
n. adoration; respect |
| |
veracity |
n. truth |
| |
verbose |
adj. wordy |
| |
viable |
adj. practicable; capable of developing |
| |
volatile |
adj. tending to vary frequently; fickle |
| |
whimsical |
adj. fanciful; unpredictable |
