 | Term | Definition |
| |
Aborigine |
An original inhabitant |
| |
Altercation |
a noisy dispute |
| |
Amalgam |
a mixture of elements |
| |
Ambulatory |
walking or moving |
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Androgynous |
unisex; having both male and female characteristics |
| |
Aperture |
An opening; a hole |
| |
Appartion |
Unusual or unexpected sight |
| |
Arcane |
Secret; mysterious |
| |
Archetype |
The original pattern or model |
| |
Ballyhoo |
a noisy attention-getting demonstration or talk |
| |
Bedlam |
uproar |
| |
Bellicose |
warlike; quarrelsome |
| |
Bombast |
pretentious; inflated speech or writing |
| |
Boudoir |
A womens dressig room, bedroom, or private sitting room |
| |
Brouhaha |
hubbub; uproar; furor |
| |
Cacophonous |
harsh sounding or confused sounding |
| |
cameo |
a raised image on precious stone; a small role |
| |
candence |
rhythm |
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carcinogen |
a substance that causes cancer |
| |
carnivore |
a flesh-eating animal |
| |
caucus |
a closed meeting of members of a political party or faction |
| |
circumvent |
to avoid by going around; to encircle; to outwit |
| |
conflagration |
a large, destructive fire |
| |
contretemps |
an embarrassing incident |
| |
conveyance |
a means of transporting; a vehicle |
| |
cryptic |
secret; mysterious |
| |
debonair |
suave; charming; lighthearted |
| |
decanter |
a vessel used to receive liquid poured from another |
| |
demagogue: |
leader who promises things to gain power |
| |
dexterous: |
skilled with the hands; mentally adroit |
| |
disheveled: |
untidy |
| |
distaff: |
pertaining to females; a stick that holds wool or flax for spinning |
| |
doggerel: |
loose, irregular verse; inferior poetry |
| |
dormant: |
sleeping; inactive |
| |
dulcet: |
sweet, melodious, soothing |
| |
echelon: |
one in a series of levels of command |
| |
effervescent: |
bubbly; lively |
| |
egregious: |
flagrant; out of the ordinary |
| |
emaciated: |
painfully thin, wasted |
| |
embellish: |
to make beautiful with ornamentation; to decorate |
| |
equestrian: |
relating to horseback riding |
| |
equilibrium: |
a state of balance |
| |
escalate: |
to enlarge, to increase |
| |
exodus: |
to strike out, to erase, to remove |
| |
fecund: |
fruitful, productive |
| |
fiasco: |
a failure |
| |
flamboyant: |
ornate; showy |
| |
formidable: |
frightening; dreadful; awe-inspiring |
| |
germinate: |
to begin to grow; sprout |
| |
gossamer: |
something light, delicate, or tenuous |
| |
gregarious: |
living in groups; social |
| |
harbinger: |
forerunner, initiator, herald |
| |
hirsute: |
very hairy |
| |
impropriety: |
improper conduct; bad manners |
| |
incarcerate: |
to put in prison |
| |
inclement: |
stormy; harsh |
| |
indolent: |
lazy |
| |
intrepid: |
fearless; bold |
| |
irascible: |
easily angered; hot-tempered |
| |
Irreparable: |
cannot be repaired |
| |
itinerary: |
the route of a journey |
| |
jettison: |
to discard; to cast off as an encumbrance |
| |
juxtapose: |
to place side by side |
| |
kowtow: |
to be overly polite and flattering; to fawn |
| |
Labyrinthine: |
complicated; perplexing; mazelike |
| |
lambent: |
softly bright; flickering |
| |
languid: |
drooping; sluggish |
| |
libation: |
a beverage; the act of pouring out a liquid as a religious offering |
| |
lineage: |
descent in a direct line from an ancestor |
| |
loquacious: |
given to excessive talking |
| |
ludicrous: |
laughable because of obvious absurdity |
| |
lugubrious: |
exaggeratedly or affectedly mournful |
| |
maelstrom: |
a powerful whirlpool; turmoil |
| |
manacle: |
a handcuff; a retraint |
| |
masticate: |
to chew;to soften by chewing |
| |
Mellifluous: |
smoothly flowing; sweet |
| |
monolith: |
a single large stone, often in the form of a column or monument |
| |
nadir: |
the lowest point |
| |
nodule: |
a small lump |
| |
obdurate: |
hard; unmoved by persuasion |
| |
obsequious: |
fawning; servile |
| |
opulent: |
demonstrating great wealth; extravagant |
| |
oscillate: |
to swing back and forth |
| |
ostracize: |
to exclude from the group; to banish |
| |
ovation: |
enthusiastic display of approval; applause |
| |
panorama: |
a wide, unbroken view |
| |
pariah: |
an outcast |
| |
penurious: |
stingy; extremely poor |
| |
pinion: |
to restrain by binding the arms; to hold fast |
| |
pinnacle: |
the highest point; a spire |
| |
plummet: |
to fall or plunge straight downward |
| |
pogrom: |
an organized persecution or massacre |
| |
polyglot: |
using several different languages |
| |
potable: |
fit to drink |
| |
precarious: |
dangerous; risky; dependent on chance |
| |
progeny: |
offspring; descendants |
| |
projectile: |
a missile, something thrown |
| |
promontory: |
a high point of land or rock projecting into water |
| |
prostrate: |
lying flat; stretched out with face on the ground |
| |
pulchritude: |
physical beauty |
| |
queue: |
a waiting line, especially of persons or vehicles |
| |
ravenous: |
hungry; very eager |
| |
recalcitrant: |
stubbornly resistant to authority or restraint |
| |
remorse: |
regret for having done wrong , a feeling of deep regret (usually for some misdeed) |
| |
remuneration: |
payment; reward |
| |
rendezvous: |
an appointment; a meeting place |
| |
replicate: |
to duplicate; to repeat |
| |
reverberate: |
to echo; to resound |
| |
reverie: |
daydream; lost in thought |
| |
roster: |
a list of names |
| |
salutary: |
promoting good health, beneficial |
| |
sangfroid: |
poise and calmness, especially under strain |
| |
saturnine: |
gloomy; surly |
| |
scintillate: |
to sparkle; to flash |
| |
sediment: |
matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid |
| |
seraph: |
an angel |
| |
sibilant: |
producing a hissing sound |
| |
silhouette: |
a dark outline against a light background |
| |
sinewy: |
strong and firm; tough |
| |
somnambulist: |
sleepwalker |
| |
soporific: |
causing sleep |
| |
spectrum: |
a wide range or sequence |
| |
taciturn: |
disinclined to talk; silent |
| |
tantalize: |
to tease by keeping something out of reach |
| |
tendril: |
coiling part of a plant, serves as support. Also a tendril of hair |
| |
timorous: |
easily frightened; timid |
| |
titanic: |
huge; powerful |
| |
tortuous: |
winding or twisting; devious |
| |
transpose: |
to reverse the order or place of |
| |
tributary: |
a stream or river flowing into a larger stream or river |
| |
verve: |
energy and liveliness |
| |
vie: |
strive; contend; compete |
| |
vintage: |
classic; old; outstanding |
| |
virtuoso: |
person with unusual skill in any one field, particularly in the arts |
| |
votary: |
a person devoted to something |
| |
wanderlust: |
strong impulse to travel |
| |
whet: |
to sharpen; to stimulate |
| |
xenophobia: |
a fear or hatred of strangers |
