 | Term | Definition |
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absolve |
(v.) to clear from blame, responsibility, or guilt |
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caricature |
(n.) a representation (especially in drawing) in which the subject's characteristic features are deliberately exaggerated; (v.) to present someone or something in a deliberately distorted way |
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clangor |
(n.) a loud ringing sound; (v.) to make a loud ringing noise |
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contiguous |
(adj.) side by side, touching; near; adjacent in time |
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cupidity |
(n.) an eager desire for something; greed |
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deleterious |
(adj.) harmful, injurious |
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enhance |
(v.) to raise to a higher degree; to increase the value or desirability of |
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enthrall |
(v.) to captivate, charm, hold spellbound; to enslave; to imprison |
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extenuate |
(v.) to lessen the seriousness or magnitude of an offense by making partial excuses |
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implicit |
(adj.) implied or understood though unexpressed; without doubts or reservations, unquestioning; potentially contained in |
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incisive |
(adj.) sharp, keen, penetrating (with a suggestion of decisiveness and effectiveness) |
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ostentatious |
(adj.) marked by conspicuous or pretentious display, showy |
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paragon |
(n.) a model of excellence or perfection |
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paraphrase |
(v.) to restate in other words (n.) a statement that presents a given idea in new language |
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politic |
(adj.) prudent, shrewdly conceived and developed; artful, expedient |
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prosaic |
(adj.) dull, lacking in distinction and originality; matter-of-fact, straightforward; characteristic of prose, not poetic |
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redundant |
(adj.) extra, excess, more than is needed; wordy, repetitive; profuse, lush |
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sanctimonious |
(adj.) making a show of virtue or righteousness; hypocritically moralistic or pious, self-righteous, canting, holier-than-thou |
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scintillating |
(adj., part.) sparkling, twinkling, exceptionally brilliant (applied to mental or personal qualities) |
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winsome |
(adj.) charming, attractive, pleasing (often suggesting a childlike charm and innocence) |
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Amenable |
(adj.) willing to follow advice or authority, tractable, submissive; responsible; liable to be held responsible |
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Berate |
(v.) to scold sharply |
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Carnage |
(n.) large-scale slaughter or loss of life |
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Credulous |
(adj.) too ready to believe, easily deceived |
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Criterion |
(n.) a rule, test; a standard for judgment or evaluation |
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Deplete |
(v.) to use up as a result of spending or consumption; to diminish greatly |
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Expatiate |
(v.) to expand on, write or talk about at length or in detail; to move about freely |
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Extraneous |
(adj.) coming from the outside, foreign; present but not essential, irrelevant |
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Inception |
(n.) the beginning, start, earliest stage of some process, institution, etc. |
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Infirmity |
(n.) weakness or ailment (physical, mental, moral, etc.) |
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Jejune |
(adj.) lacking in nutritive value; lacking in interest or substance; immature, juvenile |
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Obdurate |
(adj.) stubborn, unyielding |
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Potpurri |
(n.) a collection of diverse or miscellaneous items; a general mixture; petals mixed with spices for scent |
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Precocious |
(adj.) showing unusually early development (especially in talents or capacity) |
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Sadistic |
(adj.) delighting in cruelty, excessively cruel |
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Sententious |
(adj.) self-righteous, characterized by moralizing; given to use of maxims or adages; saying much in few words; pithy |
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Supplicate |
(v.) to beg earnestly and humbly |
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Surfeit |
(n.) an excess or overindulgence, as in eating or drinking, causing disgust; (v.) to feed or supply with anything to excess |
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Tortuous |
(adj.) winding, twisted, crooked; highly involved, complex; devious |
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Turgid |
(adj.) swollen, bloated, filled to excess; overdecorated or excessive in language |
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Adamant |
(adj.) firm in purpose or opinion, unyielding, obdurate, implacable, inflexible; (n.) an extremely hard substance |
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Brouhaha |
(n.) a confused hodgepodge of sounds, hubbub; an uproar of commotion that goes far beyond what is justified |
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Bulwark |
(n.) a strong defense or protection, a solid wall-like structure for defense; (v.) to provide such defense or protection |
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Choleric |
(adj.) easily made angry, bad-tempered |
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Cloy |
(v.) to spoil or destroy an appetite by too much indulgence, especially in sweet or rich things; to glut, satiate, surfeit |
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Curtail |
(v.) to cut short, bring to a halt or end sooner than expected; to reduce |
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Deference |
(n.) courteous yielding to the wishes and ideas of another person; great respect marked by submission, as to a superior |
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Definitive |
(adj.) conclusive, final, representing the limit of what can be done |
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Demeanor |
(n.) the way a person behaves, overall impression made by comportment, manner, etc.; facial appearance, mien |
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Enigmatic |
(adj.) puzzling, perplexing, inexplicable, not easily understood |
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Impromptu |
(adj., adv.) without preparation, offhand, suddenly or hastily done; (n.) an extemporaneous composition or remark; a minimal piece suggestive of improvisation |
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Mawkish |
(adj.) excessively and objectionably sentimental; having a mildly sickening flavor |
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Mollify |
(v) to soften, make gentle, pacify; to calm, allay (as an emotion), assuage, appease, placate; to reduce in intensity |
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Onus |
(n.) something that is heavy or burdensome (especially an unwelcome responsibility); a stigma; blame |
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Presentiment |
(n.) a vague sense of approaching misfortune |
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Profligate |
(adj.) given over of approaching misfortune |
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Remit |
((v.) to send or hand in (as money); to cancel (as a penalty or punishment), forgive, pardon; to lessen, diminish; to put off, postpone, defer |
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Requisite |
(adj.) needed, necessary, regarded as essential or indispensable |
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Sartorial |
(adj,) of or pertaining to a tailor or his work; having to do with clothes or dress (especially men's) |
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Thwart |
(v.) to oppose successfully; to prevent, frustrate |
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abet |
to encourage, assist, aid, support (especially in something wrong or unworthy). A: hamper, hinder, impede, frustrate |
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aver |
to affirm, declare confidently. S: assert, asseverate, avouch. A: deny, disavow, repudiate, disclaim. |
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blatant |
noisy in a coarse, offensive way; obvious or conspicuous, especially in an unfavorable sense. S: flagrant, glaring, egregious, disagreeably loud. A: inconsequential, trifling, piddling, petty. |
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broach |
to bring up or begin to talk about; to announce, introduce; to break the surface of the water; to turn sideways to the wind and waves; to pierce in order to draw off liquid; a spit for roasting; a tool for tapping casks. |
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buttress |
to support, prop up, strengthen; a supporting structure. S: bolster, reinforce, brace, shore up. A: undermine, weaken, impair. |
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carousal |
noisy revelry or merrymaking (with a suggestion of heavy drinking). S: drinking bout, drunken revel, binge. |
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collate |
to compare critically in order to note differences, similarities, etc; to arrange in order for some specific purpose. S: sort out, cross-check, rearrange. |
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connoisseur |
an expert; one who is well qualified to pass critical judgments, especially in one of the fine arts. S: authority, savant, pundit. A: ignoramus, philistine, yahoo. |
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disconsolate |
deeply unhappy or dejected; without hope, beyond consolation. s: grief-stricken, inconsolable, comfortless. A: cheerful, blithe, buoyant, jaunty. |
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encumber |
weight down or burden; fill up, block up, hinder. S: overload, saddle, hamper, clog. A: unburden, unload, relieve. |
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foment |
to promote trouble or rebellion; to apply warm liquids to, warm. S: instigate, stir up, incite. A: quell, quash, squelch, suppress. |
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grisly |
frightful, horrible, ghastly. S: gruesome, gory, hideous. A: pleasant, delightful, attractive. |
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herculean |
relating to hercules (capital H); characterized by great strength |
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impassive |
showing no feeling or emotion, inanimate, motionless. S: emotionless, stoical, unemotional, insensible. A: emotional, passionate, excitable. |
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inauspicious |
unfavorable, unlucky. S: unpropitious, unpromising, untimely. A: propitious, favorable. |
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incontrovertible |
unquestionable, beyond dispute. S: incontestable, indisputable, indubitable. A: debatable, dubious, open to question. |
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nonplussed |
puzzled, at a loss. S: perplexed, baffled, stumped, flabbergasted. A: poised, confident, assured. |
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opportune |
suitable or convenient for a particular purpose; occurring at an appropriate time. S: timely, appropriate, felicitous. A: untimely, inconvenient, inappropriate. |
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prolific |
abundantly productive, abundant, profuse. S: fruitful, fecund, proliferous. A: barren, unproductive, sterile, sparse. |
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rejoinder |
a reply to a reply, especially from the defendant in a legal suit. S: answer, reply, response, riposte, retort. |
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