 | Term | Definition |
| |
ABATE |
(v) to lessen in in intensity or degree |
| |
ACCOLADE |
(n) an expression of praise |
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ADULATION |
(n) excessive praise; intense adoration |
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AESTHETIC |
(adj) dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful |
| |
AMELIORATE |
(v) to make better or more tolerable |
| |
ASCETIC |
(n) one wo practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion |
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AVARICE |
(n) greed, esp. for wealth |
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AXIOM |
(n) a universally recognized principle |
| |
BURGEON |
(v) to grow rapidly or flourish |
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BUCOLIC |
(adj) rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants |
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CACOPHONY |
(n) harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance |
| |
CANON |
(n) an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature |
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CASTIGATION |
(n) severe criticism or punishment |
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CATALYST |
(n) a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction witout itself changing; a person or thing that causes change |
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CAUSTIC |
(adj) burning or stinging; causing corrosion |
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CHARY |
(adj) wary; cautious; sparing |
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COGENT |
(adj) appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing |
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COMPLAISANCE |
(n) the willingness to comply with the wishes of others |
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CONTENTIOUS |
(adj) argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement |
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CONTRITE |
(adj) regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness |
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CULPABLE |
(adj) deserving blame |
| |
DEARTH |
(n) smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack |
| |
DEMUR |
(v) to question or oppose |
| |
DIDACTIC |
(adj) intended to teach or instruct |
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DISCRETION |
(n) cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions |
| |
DISINTERESTED |
(adj) free of bias or self-interest; impartial |
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DOGMATIC |
(adj) expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles |
| |
EBULLIENCE |
(n) the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings |
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ECLECTIC |
(adj) composed of elements drawn from various sources |
| |
ELEGY |
(n) a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead |
| |
EMOLLIENT |
(adj/n) soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin |
| |
EMPIRICAL |
(adj) based on observation or experiment |
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ENIGMATIC |
(adj) mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand |
| |
EPHEMERAL |
(adj) brief; fleeting |
| |
ESOTERIC |
(adj) intended for or understood by a small, specific group |
| |
EULOGY |
(n) a speech honoring the dead |
| |
EXONERATE |
(v) to remove blame |
| |
FACETIOUS |
(adj) playful; humorous |
| |
FALLACY |
(n) an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief |
| |
FURTIVE |
(adj) marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious |
| |
GREGARIOUS |
(adj) sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people |
| |
HARANGUE |
(v/n) to deliver a pompous speech or tirade; a long, pompous speech |
| |
HERETICAL |
(adj) violating accepted dogma or convention |
| |
HYPERBOLE |
(n) an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech |
| |
IMPECUNIOUS |
(adj) lacking funds; without money |
| |
INCIPIENT |
(adj) beginning to come into being or to become apparent |
| |
INERT |
(adj) unmoving; lethargic; sluggish |
| |
INNOCUOUS |
(adj) harmless; causing no damage |
| |
INTRANSIGENT |
(adj) refusing to compromise |
| |
INVEIGLE |
(v) to obtain by deception or flattery |
| |
MOROSE |
(adj) sad; sullen; melancholy |
| |
ODIOUS |
(adj) evoking intense aversion or dislike |
| |
OPAQUE |
(adj) impenetrable by light; not reflecting light |
| |
OSCILLATION |
(n) the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm |
| |
PENURIOUS |
(adj) penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous |
| |
PERNICIOUS |
(adj) extremely harmful; potentially causing death |
| |
PERUSE |
(v) to examine with great care |
| |
PIOUS |
(adj) extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion |
| |
PRECURSOR |
(n) one that precedes and indicates or announces another |
| |
PREEN |
(v) to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care |
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PRODIGIOUS |
(adj) abundant in size, force or extent; extraordinary |
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PROLIFIC |
(adj) producing large volumes or amounts; productive |
| |
PUTREFY |
(v) to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor |
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QUAFF |
(v) to drink deeply |
| |
QUIESCENCE |
(n) stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest |
| |
REDOUBTABLE |
(adj) awe-inspiring; worthy of honor |
| |
SANCTION |
(n/v) authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce complience; to give permission or authority to |
| |
SATIRE |
(n) a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision |
| |
SQUALID |
(adj) sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect |
| |
STOIC |
(adj) indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast |
| |
SUPPLANT |
(v) to take the place of; supercede |
| |
TORPID |
(adj) lethargic; sluggish; dormant |
| |
UBIQUITOUS |
(adj) existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread |
| |
URBANE |
(adj) sophisticated; refined; elegant |
| |
VILIFY |
(v) to defame; to characterize harshly |
| |
VISCOUS |
(adj) thick; sticky |
