 | Term | Definition |
| |
obstreperous |
noisy, loud |
| |
contumacious |
insubordinate, rebellious |
| |
mettlesome |
courageous, high-spirited. Don't confuse with "meddlesome," meaning inclined to interfere. |
| |
cadge |
to beg, to get by begging |
| |
pith |
heart of the matter, basic trait. Also force, strength, or vigor |
| |
supine |
lying on the back. Also slow to act, passive. |
| |
remonstrate |
to protest, object |
| |
inveigh |
to attack verbally, denounce, deprecate |
| |
precepts |
rules establishing standards of conduct |
| |
impute |
to attribute to a cause or source, ascribe |
| |
feckless |
lacking purpose or vitality; ineffective; careless |
| |
decorum |
propriety, properness. |
| |
penchant |
strong inclination, a liking. |
| |
appropriate (verb) |
take for one's own use, acquire, set aside. Don't confuse with "appropriate (adjective)," which means fitting or suitable. |
| |
truculence |
aggressiveness, ferocity |
| |
garrulity |
talkativeness. Adjective is garrulous--talkative |
| |
arabesque |
a complex, ornate design. Also a dance position. |
| |
beatify |
to bless, make happy, or ascribe a virtue to. Regard as saintly. Don't confuse with "beautify," which means to make beautiful. |
| |
forbearance |
patience, willingness to wait. |
| |
veritable |
unquestionable, true. |
| |
pragmatic |
practical, favoring utility. |
| |
arrant |
in every way, being completely such. |
| |
consequential |
pompous, self important. Also having consequence, important. Also following as a result, or being an effect of some cause. |
| |
malinger |
to fake illness or injury, in order to shirk a duty. |
| |
paucity |
scarcity, a lacking of |
| |
striated |
striped, grooved, or banded. Having stripes. |
| |
seminal |
like a seed; constituting a source, originative. |
| |
attenuate |
make thin. weaken, enervate. |
| |
precarious |
uncertain, risky, dangerous. |
| |
enervate |
weaken, deprive of strength, attenuate. |
| |
partisan |
one-sided, committed to a party, biased or prejudiced. |
| |
equivocate |
lie, mislead, conceal the truth. |
| |
assiduous |
diligent, hard-working, sedulous. |
| |
anachronism |
something out of place for its time |
| |
lassitude |
weariness, tiredness |
| |
phlegmatic |
calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional |
| |
sycophant |
flatterer, parasite; a suck-up |
| |
perfunctory |
superficial, listless, not thorough |
| |
impair |
worsen, diminish in value |
| |
transient |
temporary, fleeting |
| |
qualify |
to limit |
| |
nascent |
coming into existence, emerging |
| |
Quixotic |
extravagantly chivalrous, romantically idealistic, impractical |
| |
reprobate |
person hardened in sin; one devoid of decency |
| |
libertine |
immoral person |
| |
tractable |
easily influenced, obedient, docile |
| |
craven |
cowardly |
| |
picaresque |
involving clever rogues or adventurers. Don't confuse with "picturesque," which means picture-like, charming, or quaint. |
| |
sedulous |
diligent, assiduous, devoted to a task |
| |
aver |
affirm, assert, prove, justify |
| |
intrepid |
fearless, brave, undaunted |
| |
impassive |
without feeling, not affected by pain |
| |
salient |
conspicuous, highly relevant, prominent |
| |
morose |
gloomy, sullen |
| |
raffish |
low, vulgar, base, tawdry |
| |
loquacious |
talkative, garrulous |
| |
piquant |
agreeably pungent, stimulating |
| |
demur |
to hesitate, raise objections |
| |
equipoise |
equal distribution of weight; equilibrium |
| |
abysmal |
extreme; low, like an abyss |
| |
tawdry |
cheap, gaudy, showy, tacky |
| |
dross |
waste product, sludge; something worthless, common, or trivial |
| |
ardor |
warm interest, passion, enthusiasm, zeal |
| |
insouciant |
unconcerned, carefree |
| |
volubility |
fluency, verbosity, easy use of spoken language |
| |
dulcet |
melodious, harmonious |
| |
mellifluous |
sweetly flowing; usually used to describe use of words (sweetly flowing words, as when the speech is characterized by high volubility. |
| |
desiccate |
to dry up, dehydrate |
| |
harrow |
to distress, create stress or torment |
| |
pellucid |
transparent, easy to understand |
| |
pariah |
an outcast, a rejected and despised person |
| |
taciturn |
untalkative, silent |
| |
pique |
resentment at being slighted |
| |
turgid |
excessively ornate; swollen or bloated |
| |
]pillory |
to punish, hold up to public scorn |
| |
adamant |
hard and inflexible; unyielding |
| |
multifarious |
varied, motley, greatly diversified |
| |
torpor |
lethargy, sluggishness, dormancy |
| |
imprecation |
an invocation of evil; a curse |
| |
audacious |
daring; bold |
| |
hirsute |
hairy, shaggy |
| |
tenacity |
firmness, persistency, adhesiveness, tending to hang on |
| |
apostate |
one who abandons long-held religious or political convictions |
| |
lachrymose |
causing tears, tearful |
| |
welter |
turmoil; a bewildering jumble |
| |
discomfit |
to defeat, put down |
| |
laconic |
brief, to the point, terse |
| |
venal |
corruptible, bribable, unprincipled |
| |
ossify |
to turn to bone; to settle rigidly into an idea or practice, become closed-minded |
| |
disingenuous |
sophisticated, artful, trying to deceive, cunning |
| |
insensible |
unconscious, unresponsive, unaffected |
| |
turbid |
muddy, having the sediment stirred up |
| |
erudite |
learned, scholarly |
| |
saturnine |
gloomy, dark, sullen, morose |
| |
abeyance |
suspended action |
| |
diaphanous |
transparent, gauzy |
| |
epitome |
representative, a summary or abstract, a typical example |
| |
squalid |
foul, filthy |
| |
quiescent |
at rest, dormant, torpid |
| |
recreancy |
cowardice, a cowardly giving up |
| |
misanthrope |
one who hates mankind |
| |
misogynist |
one who hates women/females |
| |
castigate |
to chastise, correct by punishing |
| |
apprehension |
misgiving, dread. Also a stopping or arrest. Also an understandingprosaic--dull, tedious, commonplace |
| |
gainsay |
deny |
| |
pungency |
sharpness; stinging quality |
| |
approbation |
approval |
| |
refractory |
stubborn, unmanageable, intractable |
| |
contentious |
quarrelsome, competitive, quick to fight, pugnacious |
| |
antipathy |
aversion, dislike |
| |
hapless |
unlucky, unfortunate |
| |
prevaricate |
stray from or avoid the truth; equivocate |
| |
countenance |
(n) mien, face (v) approve of |
| |
dogmatic |
positive, certain, arbitrary, without room for discussion |
| |
strut |
a supporting bar |
| |
felicitous |
apt; suitably expressed, well chosen, apropos |
| |
apropos |
appropriate to the situation; apt |
| |
implacable |
incapable of being placated, unpleasable |
| |
raffish |
disreputable; tawdry |
| |
guileless |
without deceit, honest |
| |
resigned |
unresisting, submissive |
| |
vituperate |
berate, rail against, attack verbally |
| |
render |
deliver, provide, represent |
| |
diffidence |
shyness |
| |
sophistry |
fallacious reasoning, faulty logic |
| |
fulminate |
berate, vituperate, to thunder out, to explode, |
| |
dynamo |
a generator, something that produces electric current; an energetic person |
| |
assay |
an analysis, examination, test. To put to a test |
| |
hallow |
to make holy; consecrate |
| |
disabuse |
to undeceive, correct a false impression |
| |
boisterous |
loud, noisy, rough, lacking restraint |
| |
inveigle |
wheedle, led astray |
| |
sodden |
soaked, saturated |
| |
perfidious |
violating good faith, treacherous, dishonest |
| |
conundrum |
a riddle, dilemma, enigma |
| |
denouement |
an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot |
| |
stolid |
showing no emotion; impassive |
| |
dissemble |
present false appearance; deceive |
| |
desuetude |
cessation of use; disuse |
| |
indefatigability |
not easily exhaustible; tirelessness |
| |
dilatory |
causing delay, procrastinating |
| |
garner |
to gather and save; to store up |
| |
intractable |
unruly, refractory, stubborn |
| |
delineate |
to portray, depict, sketch out |
| |
ascetic |
practicing self-denial, austere, stark |
| |
fervid |
intense, zealous |
| |
daunt |
intimidate, make fearful |
| |
burgeon |
grow forth, send out buds |
| |
anomalous |
unexpected, not normal, odd |
| |
nice |
precise, sensitive to subtleness |
| |
prodigal |
wasteful, reckless with money |
| |
lugubrious |
mournful, excessively sad |
| |
baleful |
harmful, ominous, causing evil |
| |
credulous |
gullible, too willing to believe |
| |
incredulous |
skeptical, unwilling to believe (NOT "incredible," as many think) |
| |
blithe |
cheerful, casual, carefree |
| |
verisimilitude |
appearing true or real |
| |
provident |
frugal; looking to the future |
| |
edacious |
voracious, devouring |
| |
expostulate |
argue earnestly to dissuade, correct, or protest |
| |
auspice |
protection or support, patronage |
| |
auspicious |
favorable, successful, prosperous |
| |
punctilious |
precise, paying attention to trivialities, especially in regard to etiquette |
| |
salutary |
remedial, wholesome, causing improvement |
| |
imbroglio |
difficult or embarrassing situation |
| |
wend |
to go, proceed |
| |
nostrum |
a quack remedy, an untested cure |
| |
personable |
pleasing in appearance, attractive |
| |
salacious |
obscene |
| |
exscind |
to cut out, cut away |
| |
sublime |
lofty, noble |
| |
quail |
lose courage, turn frightened |
| |
urbane |
elegant, refined in manners |
| |
tyro |
novice, amateur |
| |
boorish |
crude, offensive, rude |
| |
upbraid |
reprove, reproach |
| |
effete |
infertile, worn out, weak |
| |
obdurate |
stubborn, inflexible, adamant |
| |
mince |
pronounce or speak affectedly, euphemize, speak too carefully. Also to take tiny steps, tiptoe |
| |
inimitable |
defying imitation, unmatchable |
| |
inveterate |
deep rooted, ingrained, habitual |
| |
umbrage |
offense, resentment |
| |
extirpate |
to destroy, exterminate, cut out, exscind |
| |
forswear |
renounce, disallow, repudiate |
| |
ignoble |
dishonorable, common, undignified |
| |
ostensible |
seeming, appearing as such, professed |
| |
illusory |
deceptive; an illusion |
| |
overweening |
presumptuously arrogant, overbearing, immoderate, being a jerk |
| |
wag |
to be incessantly active, to waddle; also a mischievous person |
| |
lucubrate |
write in scholarly fashion |
| |
impetuous |
impulsive, forceful, with energy |
| |
bellicose |
belligerent, pugnacious, warlike |
| |
cabal |
a scheme or plot, a group of plotters |
| |
irresolute |
unresolved, indecisive |
| |
complaisance |
tending to comply, obliging, willingness to please |
| |
apprise |
give notice to, inform |
| |
pusillanimous |
cowardly, craven |
| |
polemical |
controversial, argued |
| |
luculent |
easily understood, lucid, clear |
| |
poignant |
physically painful, distressing, pertinent, touching, stimulating, emotional |
| |
engender |
cause, produce, give rise to |
| |
dissemble |
to hide, conceal, disguise |
| |
equanimity |
calmness of temperament |
| |
ingenuous |
naive, young, artless, frank, honest, sincere. Don't confuse with "ingenious"--very clever |
| |
epicure |
food lover, a connoisseur of food |
| |
salient |
prominent, protruding, conspicuous, highly relevant |
| |
inchoate |
not yet fully formed, rudimentary, elementary |
| |
pugnacious |
contentious, quarrelsome, contumacious, given to fighting, belligerent |
| |
peremptory |
urgent, imperative, unchallengeable, ending debate |
| |
exigency |
emergency, an urgent situation |
| |
ameliorate |
improve, make better |
| |
august |
majestic, venerable. Don't confuse with the month, "August," which is always capitalized. |
| |
minatory |
menacing, threatening |
| |
froward |
intractable, not willing to yield or comply, stubborn (NOT "forward") |
| |
fetter |
to shackle, put in chains |
| |
pundit |
a learned scholar, an authority on a subject |
| |
venal |
corruptible, open to bribery |
| |
belie |
contradict, give a false impression |
| |
epitome |
brief summary or abstract; representative example; a typical model |
| |
prosaic |
everyday, mundane, commonplace, trite, pedestrian |
| |
hermetic |
sealed by fusion |
| |
fervor |
zeal, ardor, intense emotion |
| |
endemic |
prevailing in a specific area |
| |
reticent |
reserved, untalkative, silent, taciturn |
| |
rapacious |
voracious, greedy, plundering |
| |
coeval |
of the same period, coexisting |
| |
austere |
forbiddingly stern, simple, unadorned, very plain |
| |
indolence |
laziness |
| |
pristine |
primitive, unspoiled, pure, as in earlier times, unadulterated |
| |
capricious |
fickle, whimsical, given to change, unpredictable |
| |
edifying |
enlightening |
| |
philistine |
a smug ignorant person; one who lacks knowledge |
| |
maladroit |
clumsy, bungling |
| |
detumescence |
diminishing or lessening of swelling |
| |
stygian |
gloomy, dark |
| |
calumniate |
to slander, present false accusal |
| |
baneful |
causing harm or ruin, pernicious, destructive |
| |
forestall |
prevent by taking action in advance, preempt |
| |
occult |
hidden, concealed, beyond comprehension |
| |
irascible |
irritable, easily angered |
| |
facetious |
humorous, funny, jocular |
| |
trenchant |
forceful, effective, vigorous; extremely perceptive, incisive |
| |
stymie |
to hinder, obstruct, or block |
| |
intransigence |
unwillingness to compromise, stubbornness, intractability |
| |
mundane |
worldly as opposed to spiritual; commonplace, everyday |
| |
mitigate |
appease, lessen, propitiate |
| |
abstruse |
difficult to comprehend; obscure |
| |
expatiate |
to roam, wander freely |
| |
propitiate |
appease, mitigate |
| |
slake |
to assuage, to satisfy, allay |
| |
contentious |
argumentative, pugnacious, combative, quarrelsome |
| |
inscrutable |
incapable of being discovered or understood |
| |
elegy |
a lament, a melancholy composition |
| |
derivative |
unoriginal, obtained from another source |
| |
supercilious |
disdainful; characterized by haughty scorn |
| |
sundry |
various, miscellaneous, separate |
| |
mercurial |
quick, changeable in character, fleeting |
| |
desultory |
aimless, haphazard, digressing at random |
| |
sanctimony |
self-righteousness, hypocritical, with false piety |
| |
indomitable |
not easily discouraged or subdued |
| |
foment |
to stir up, arouse, incite |
| |
splenetic |
bad-tempered, irritable |
| |
flout |
reject, mock, to go against (as in going against tradition or conventions) |
| |
obfuscate |
to darken, make obscure, muddle |
| |
noisome |
unwholesomely bad-smelling, putrid; (NOT "noisy") |
| |
incursion |
a raid, a sudden attack |
| |
paean |
a song of praise or triumph |
| |
turpitude |
wickedness, shamefulness |
| |
detraction |
slandering, verbal attack, aspersion |
| |
chastened |
corrected, punished |
| |
brook |
to tolerate, endure |
| |
ignominious |
shameful, dishonorable, undignified, disgraceful |
| |
prolix |
long and wordy |
| |
bane |
cause of injury, poison, source of harm |
| |
abrogate |
abolish or annul by authority; put down |
| |
conciliatory |
reconciling, soothing, comforting, mollifying |
| |
insularity |
narrow-mindedness, isolated |
| |
untoward |
perverse, unruly, unseemly |
| |
perverted |
twisted, corrupted, turned from normal course |
| |
odium |
contempt, dislike, aversion |
| |
dissolution |
disintegration, looseness in morals |
| |
sophomoric |
self-assured though immature, affected, bombastic, overblown, lacking maturity |
| |
enormity |
excessive wickedness; evilness. Don't confuse with "enormousness," which means great size. ENORMITY DOES NOT MEAN "BIGNESS" OR "GREAT SIZE" |
| |
obdurate |
hardened and unrepentant; stubborn, inflexible |
| |
fatuous |
complacently stupid |
| |
burnish |
to polish, rub to a shine |
| |
tenuous |
unsubstantial, flimsy, weak |
| |
repudiate |
disown, disavow, reject as untrue |
| |
denigrate |
blacken, belittle, sully, defame |
| |
maverick |
rebel, nonconformist |
| |
effluvia |
outflow in a stream of particles; a noxious odor or vapor |
| |
alacrity |
cheerful promptness |
| |
salubrious |
healthful |
| |
paradigm |
a model, example, or pattern |
| |
apotheosis |
deification, glorification to godliness |
| |
officious |
meddlesome, pushy in one's services |
| |
cogent |
convincing |
| |
spurious |
false, counterfeit |
| |
panegyric |
formal praise, eulogy |
| |
mollify |
to soothe |
| |
peregrination |
traveling about, wandering |
| |
acarpous |
effete, no longer fertile, worn out |
| |
bedizen |
to adorn, especially in a cheap, showy manner |
| |
alloy |
to debase by mixing with something inferior |
| |
fecund |
fertile |
| |
doggerel |
trivial, poorly constructed verse |
| |
peripatetic |
walking |
| |
mendicant |
a beggar |
| |
propitiatory |
conciliatory, appeasing, mitigating |
| |
pedantic |
bookish, showing off learning |
| |
nadir |
bottom, the lowest point |
| |
zenith |
top, the highest point |
| |
broach |
bring up, announce, begin to talk about |
| |
obtrusive |
projecting, prominent, undesirably noticeable |
| |
ramify |
to be divided or subdivided; to branch out |
| |
exculpate |
to clear from a charge of guilt |
| |
ineluctable |
certain, inevitable |
| |
gainsay |
to deny, declare false, to oppose |
| |
episodic |
loosely connected, not flowing logically |
| |
iconoclastic |
attacking cherished beliefs |
| |
recidivism |
relapse into antisocial or criminal behavior |
| |
profligate |
wasteful, prodigal, licentious, extravagant |
| |
inherent |
ingrained within one's nature; firmly established; a natural part of; definitionally so |
| |
torpid |
sleeping, sluggish, lethargic, dormant |
| |
gregarious |
sociable, outgoing |
| |
recondite |
profound, abstruse, obscure |
| |
judicious |
sound in judgment; wise |
| |
sinuous |
winding, undulating, serpentine |
| |
undulate |
to move in wavelike fashion, fluctuate |
| |
probity |
uprightness, incorruptibility, principle |
| |
rubric |
heading, title, or category |
| |
interdict |
prohibit, forbid |
| |
harangue |
a long, passionate speech |
| |
calumny |
slander, aspersion |
| |
petrous |
like a rock, hard, stony |
| |
petrify |
to make hard, rocklike |
| |
conjoin |
to join together |
| |
nexus |
a connection, tie, or link |
| |
penury |
extreme poverty |
| |
idyll |
a carefree episode or experience; a short poem describing a picturesque episode |
| |
countenance |
to favor or approve of |
| |
fulsome |
disgusting, offensive due to excessiveness |
| |
chauvinist |
a blindly devoted patriot |
| |
veritably |
unquestionably, certainly |
| |
itinerate |
to travel from place to place, to peregrinate |
| |
eulogy |
formal praise; panegyric |
| |
malleable |
yielding; easily shaped; moldable; adapting |
| |
bilge |
bulge, the protuberance of a cask |
| |
lubricious |
lewd, wanton, greasy, slippery |
| |
sagacious |
having sound judgment; perceptive, wise; like a sage |
| |
impecunious |
poor, penniless |
| |
recondite |
not easily understood, abstruse, inscrutable |
| |
querulous |
complaining, peevish, discontented |
| |
virago |
a loud, domineering woman; a scold or nag |
| |
rarefy |
to make thin, to make less dense, to purify or refine |
| |
expurgate |
to remove obscenity, purify, censor |
| |
propinquity |
nearness in time or place, affinity of nature |
| |
extenuate |
reduce the strength of, lessen seriousness, partially excuse |
| |
deprecate |
protest against, express disapproval of |
| |
excoriate |
to flay, strip off the skin; to denounce sharply |
| |
obviate |
to make unnecessary, get rid of |
| |
opprobrious |
shameful, expressing disgrace |
| |
succor |
assistance, relief in time of distress |
| |
censure |
expression of blame or disapproval; a rebuke |
| |
proscribe |
ostracize, banish, outlaw |
| |
platitude |
a trite or banal statement; unoriginality |
| |
impetuous |
having sudden energy, impulsive, thrusting ahead, forceful |
| |
obloquy |
abusively detractive language, sharp criticism, vituperation |
| |
plaintive |
mournful, melancholy, sorrowful |
| |
timorous |
fearful, timid, afraid |
| |
debacle |
a breakup, overthrow, sudden disaster |
| |
effrontery |
boldness, impudence, arrogance |
| |
specious |
illogical, of questionable truth or merit |
| |
redoubtable |
formidable, causing fear |
| |
regale |
to delight or entertain; to feast |
| |
volatile |
changeable, inconstant, fickle, unstable, explosive |
| |
inured |
accustomed to, adapted |
| |
blandishment |
flattery, enticement |
| |
pernicious |
deadly, very destructive |
| |
accretion |
growth, increase by successive addition, building up |
| |
deposition |
accretion, depositing, building up layer by layer |
| |
quotidian |
daily; commonplace, pedestrian |
| |
pedestrian |
commonplace, trite, unremarkable |
| |
sanguine |
cheerful, confident, optimistic |
| |
consternation |
sudden confusion or amazement |
| |
exsert |
thrust out, push forth |
| |
petulant |
impatient, irritable |
