 | Term | Definition |
| |
manacles |
shackles; handcuffs |
| |
taciturn |
almost always silent; not liking to talk |
| |
remnant |
a small amount left over after the rest has been used; a surviving trace |
| |
demeanor |
outward behavior, esp. that reveals one's personality or attitude |
| |
schema |
an outline or model, often drawn as a diagram |
| |
vendetta |
a bitter feud or quarrel; fight |
| |
verbatim |
word for word |
| |
bigot |
one who favors his own group and is intolerant of those who differ |
| |
masquerade |
to wear a disguise; to put on a false appearance |
| |
pivotal |
crucial |
| |
corroborate |
to strengthen; confirm; support |
| |
stagnant |
inactive; not moving |
| |
truculent |
inclined to fight; expressing violence or hostility |
| |
dissipate |
to scatter; to spend wastefully |
| |
maraud |
to raid; to invade for plunder |
| |
exhort |
to urge strongly |
| |
sententious |
expressing much in few words; given to pompous moralizing |
| |
wheedle |
to persuade or obtain through flattery or cunning |
| |
aloof |
distant or removed in attitude or manner |
| |
foray |
a sudden raid; an initial attempt, esp. outside one's usual field |
| |
ensconce |
to settle or secure snugly |
| |
chicanery |
deception by trickery |
| |
tenet |
a belief |
| |
latitude |
freedom from normal limitations; room for movement or action |
| |
genial |
cheerful; friendly |
| |
obstinate |
unreasonably stubborn |
| |
chronicle |
a recording of events in order of time |
| |
innuendo |
an indirect suggestion about someone or something, esp. of a negative nature |
| |
dowdy |
lacking in neatness or style; shabby |
| |
garrulous |
talking too much, esp. about trivial things |
| |
nullify |
to make void or unimportant |
| |
colloquial |
appropriate to spoken, as opposed to written, language; informal |
| |
eclat |
great brilliance, as of performance or achievement; conspicuous success |
| |
stigma |
a sign of disgrace; a mark that lowers a reputation |
| |
beguile |
to deceive by charm |
| |
affliction |
pain; suffering; anything causing pain |
| |
congenital |
present since birth; being an essential characteristic |
| |
exert |
to put forth or bring to bear |
| |
extrovert |
an outgoing person |
| |
meticulous |
extremely or excessively careful about details; finicky |
| |
eugenics |
the study of hereditary improvement of human beings by controlled breeding |
| |
ingratiate |
to bring oneself into another's favor or good graces by conscious effort |
| |
propensity |
a natural inclination; a tendency |
| |
rummage |
to search thoroughly by handling or disarranging the contents of |
| |
denouement |
conclusion; resolution; the falling action of a story after its climax |
| |
posit |
to assume as a fact or principle |
| |
derelict |
abandoned; negligent |
| |
vociferous |
loud and vehement |
| |
commensurate |
equal in proportion; having the same size, duration, etc. |
| |
chimerical |
created by or as if by a fanciful imagination |
| |
coddle |
to treat indulgently |
| |
exodus |
the departure of a large number of people |
| |
affinity |
a natural attraction or feeling of kinship; an inherent similarity |
| |
caste |
a rigid and hereditary social class |
| |
elude |
to escape from, as by daring or skill; to escape the understanding of |
| |
unfledged |
not yet grown; immature; undeveloped |
| |
gall |
boldness; impudence |
| |
liability |
something for which one is responsible; a debt; a disadvantage |
| |
leverage |
strategic advantage |
| |
alacrity |
cheerful willingness; swiftness |
| |
erstwhile |
former; of an earlier time |
| |
invigorate |
to give strength and energy to |
| |
sentinel |
one who keeps watch |
| |
insular |
narrow in outlook; provincial |
| |
saunter |
to walk in a leisurely manner |
| |
reprobate |
a person who lacks morals |
| |
fledging |
a young inexperienced person; a young bird just growing feathers |
| |
supplicate |
to request with great humility, as though by praying |
| |
haughty |
stuck-up; arrogant; snobbish |
| |
qualm |
a sudden feeling of sickness; an uneasy feeling about the moral rightness of an action |
| |
evince |
to give outward evidence of; to display clearly |
| |
dally |
to waste time; loiter |
| |
elicit |
to draw out; to invoke |
| |
befuddle |
to confuse |
| |
naive |
simple; childlike; lacking worldly wisdom |
| |
vagary |
an erratic notion or action |
| |
zest |
hearty enjoyment; flavor or interest |
| |
impassioned |
filled with emotion; fervent |
| |
forebear |
a person from whom one is descended; an ancestor (usu. plural) |
| |
debonair |
easy and carefree in manner |
| |
confluence |
joining together of different streams |
| |
demagogue |
a leader who obtains power by appealing to the emotions and passions of the people |
| |
decrepit |
lacking strength because of old age |
| |
foible |
a minor weakness of character |
| |
diverge |
to depart from a set course or opinion |
| |
inevitable |
not able to be avoided |
| |
scrutiny |
close examination; minute inspection; a careful watch |
| |
belie |
to picture falsely; to contradict |
| |
homage |
a sign of respect |
| |
expedient |
adj. helping one's self-interest; n. a means to an end |
| |
proximity |
closeness |
| |
exculpate |
to clear from blame or guilt |
| |
pragmatic |
dealing practically with a situation or a thing; based on experience rather than theory |
| |
niche |
a place or situation suited fro a person or thing; a recess in a wall |
| |
keen |
having a sharp edge; perceptive |
| |
insolent |
boldly disrespectful in speech or behavior; impertinent; impudent |
| |
foment |
to stir up negative feelings, esp. those that lead to violent action |
| |
preoccupied |
absorbed in thought; engrossed |
| |
paean |
a song of joy, triumph, or praise |
| |
congregate |
to assemble into a group |
| |
divert |
to change the direction of; to amuse |
| |
behemoth |
an enormous animal or person |
| |
mitigate |
to improve by lessening the severity of |
| |
circumspect |
showing discretion and careful judgment |
| |
recount |
to tell in detail |
| |
attribute |
v. to assign as the source; n. quality, characteristic |
| |
impute |
to assign credit, often of built or blame |
| |
soporific |
promoting sleep |
| |
baffle |
to frustrate, as by confusing |
| |
inadvertent |
unintentional; accidental |
| |
ostracize |
to shun |
| |
enmity |
the bitter attitude or feelings of an enemy or of mutual enemies |
| |
reckon |
to calculate |
| |
facile |
with effortless ease; without proper care; superficial |
| |
deduce |
to reach a conclusion by reasoning |
| |
cede |
to give or formally surrender to another |
| |
inundate |
to flood |
| |
dilatory |
characterized by delay; tardy |
| |
mainstay |
a chief support |
| |
anthropomorphism |
the attribution of human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects |
| |
brevity |
briefness |
| |
torpid |
inactive; sluggish; dormant |
| |
ravenous |
very hungry |
| |
arraign |
to bring before a court to answer a legal charge |
| |
ascribe |
to attribute to a specific source |
