 | Term | Definition |
| |
abhor |
to hate |
| |
abridge |
to shorten |
| |
abstemious |
conservative with eating and drinking |
| |
aesthetic |
relating to beauty |
| |
ambiguous |
having several possible meanings |
| |
ambivalent |
having two conflicting opinions, “torn” |
| |
amorphous |
shapeless |
| |
antidote |
substance that counteracts a poison |
| |
apathy |
lack of care |
| |
arrogance |
overconfidence |
| |
audacious |
too bold |
| |
benevolent |
generous, kind |
| |
comprehensive |
complete |
| |
condemn |
to disapprove |
| |
conflagration |
a huge fire |
| |
conformity |
state of blending in |
| |
conventional |
traditional |
| |
cynicism |
lack of faith in mankind's goodness |
| |
debunk |
to reveal as false |
| |
defendant |
person accused of a crime |
| |
deliberate |
adj. done on purpose v. to think something over |
| |
detrimental |
harmful |
| |
discern |
to notice |
| |
discordant |
conflicting |
| |
disparity |
difference |
| |
divergent |
spreading in opposite directions |
| |
diversity |
variety |
| |
dupe |
a sucker, chump |
| |
eloquent |
well-spoken |
| |
elusive |
difficult to pin down or comprehend |
| |
embellish |
to decorate |
| |
enigma |
puzzle |
| |
erratic |
unpredictable |
| |
esoteric |
obscure |
| |
exacerbate |
to make worse |
| |
exemplary |
serving as an admirable example |
| |
exploit |
to take advantage |
| |
extol |
to praise |
| |
extraneous |
irrelevant, extra |
| |
fallacious |
misleading |
| |
fluid |
flowing, changeable |
| |
fundamental |
basic |
| |
ghastly |
grotesque |
| |
gullible |
easy to deceive |
| |
hackneyed |
overused, clichéd |
| |
hedonism |
commitment to pursuing pleasure |
| |
heir |
person who inherits something |
| |
hiatus |
a temporary break or absence |
| |
hoard |
to accumulate, stash away |
| |
implausible |
highly unlikely |
| |
implicit |
implied, understood without being said |
| |
impudence |
rude boldness |
| |
inane |
silly |
| |
inaudible |
too quiet to be heard |
| |
incisive |
sharp, insightful |
| |
incorrigible |
beyond rehabilitation |
| |
indecision |
inability to decide |
| |
indelible |
permanent |
| |
indifferent |
not caring either way |
| |
indomitable |
unconquerable |
| |
infallible |
always right; cannot be disproved |
| |
infer |
deduce, reason out |
| |
ingenuity |
cleverness |
| |
injurious |
damaging |
| |
innate |
inherent, a natural part of someone or something |
| |
innocuous |
harmless |
| |
inquisitive |
curious |
| |
insipid |
dull, boring |
| |
integrity |
honesty, morality |
| |
irrelevant |
unrelated and unimportant |
| |
jargon |
specialized vocabulary used by a particular group |
| |
lament |
to express grief |
| |
lampoon |
satire |
| |
laud |
to praise |
| |
levity |
lack of seriousness |
| |
lofty |
strikingly tall or arrogant |
| |
lucid |
clear, understandable |
| |
lurid |
gruesome |
| |
magnate |
person with power and influence |
| |
mar |
to damage |
| |
meager |
low in quantity or quality |
| |
mediocre |
so-so, unimpressive |
| |
methodical |
regular and systematic |
| |
meticulous |
careful and detail-oriented |
| |
migrate |
to move |
| |
miser |
money-hoarder |
| |
mitigate |
to improve, make less severe |
| |
mobility |
ability to move |
| |
monarch |
a ruler |
| |
monotonous |
boring, repetitive |
| |
morose |
depressed |
| |
mundane |
ordinary |
| |
negate |
to counteract |
| |
novel |
new |
| |
novice |
an inexperienced person |
| |
nullify |
to invalidate |
| |
objective |
purely rational |
| |
obliterate |
to destroy |
| |
obscure |
adj. hard to understand v. to cover up |
| |
obsolete |
outdated |
| |
ominous |
signaling doom |
| |
omniscient |
all-knowing |
| |
opaque |
hard to understand, not see-through |
| |
opulence |
richness |
| |
ostentatious |
showy |
| |
paradox |
a self-contradiction |
| |
parochial |
having a narrow focus |
| |
pastiche |
a "collage" of styles in art, music, or writing |
| |
patent |
obvious |
| |
paucity |
a lack |
| |
penchant |
a liking for something |
| |
perfunctory |
lacking thoroughness |
| |
persecution |
oppression directed at a minority group |
| |
phenomenon |
notable occurrence |
| |
philanthropist |
person who supports a charity |
| |
pioneer |
n. leader v. to lead |
| |
pious |
committed to one's religion or spirituality |
| |
plagiarize |
to pass off others' work as your own |
| |
plateau |
n. a flat area v. to level off |
| |
pragmatic |
practical |
| |
precarious |
unstable |
| |
preclude |
to make impossible |
| |
predecessor |
person who previously held a role |
| |
premonition |
a hunch about the future |
| |
presumptuous |
too bold |
| |
pretentious |
stuck-up |
| |
prevailing |
standard |
| |
prevalent |
mainstream, common |
| |
prodigal |
wasteful |
| |
profane |
unholy (like profanity) |
| |
prolific |
very productive |
| |
prominent |
important, noticeable |
| |
promontory |
an elevated peninsula in the sea |
| |
proposal |
an offer or suggestion |
| |
provincial |
having a narrow, "small town" focus |
| |
provoke |
to anger someone and spur them to react |
| |
purgation |
cleansing |
| |
quarry |
where stone is "mined" from |
| |
quibble |
to make a minor objection |
| |
raconteur |
storyteller |
| |
rebuttal |
a reply |
| |
recant |
to take back |
| |
recluse |
hermit |
| |
reconcile |
to resolve a disagreement or contradiction |
| |
rectify |
to fix |
| |
redundant |
overly repetitive |
| |
regulate |
to impose a structure or law upon something |
| |
reign |
to rule |
| |
reiterate |
say or do again |
| |
reminisce |
to think about the past |
| |
renounce |
to give something up |
| |
repeal |
to take back a law or judgment |
| |
repertoire |
the collection of things a person can perform or do |
| |
replete |
sated, full |
| |
repudiate |
to deny or shun |
| |
residual |
left over |
| |
resolute |
determined |
| |
resourceful |
versatile, good at solving problems |
| |
reticent |
shy |
| |
retort |
a snappy comeback |
| |
revelation |
realization, epiphany |
| |
revere |
to be in awe of something |
| |
rivalry |
competition |
| |
sagacious |
wise (like a sage) |
| |
sanction |
v. to allow n. a penalty that forces compliance |
| |
sanctuary |
a place of safety or worship |
| |
satiate |
satisfy |
| |
sect |
a group |
| |
sentinel |
a guard |
| |
serene |
peaceful |
| |
skeptical |
doubtful |
| |
slander |
lies to attack someone's reputation |
| |
slothful |
lazy |
| |
sluggish |
low-energy |
| |
sobriety |
seriousness |
| |
solidarity |
companionship and mutual support |
| |
solitude |
aloneness |
| |
soporific |
sleep-inducing |
| |
speculate |
think, hypothesize |
| |
spendthrift |
money-waster |
| |
stanza |
"paragraph" of a poem or song |
| |
stimulus |
something causing a response |
| |
stoic |
unemotional |
| |
strident |
loud and irritating |
| |
strive |
to try very hard |
| |
stupefy |
to amaze someone or dull their senses |
| |
stylized |
in an exaggerated style |
| |
subdued |
quiet, peaceful |
| |
subordinate |
underneath, lower-ranked |
| |
subtle |
hard to notice |
| |
succinct |
brief, concise |
| |
succumb |
to give up and admit defeat |
| |
sullen |
sulky |
| |
superficial |
on the surface, shallow |
| |
superfluous |
unnecessary, extra |
| |
supple |
flexible, limber |
| |
supremacy |
state of being in power |
| |
surfeit |
excess |
| |
surreptitious |
secret, stealthy |
| |
swindle |
to cheat someone |
| |
symmetry |
equivalence, mirror-image proportions |
| |
synchronize |
to make happen simultaneously |
| |
synopsis |
summary |
| |
synthesize |
to combine parts into a whole |
| |
systematic |
orderly and structured |
| |
tacit |
implied, implicit |
| |
taciturn |
quiet |
| |
tactful |
good at not putting one's foot in one's mouth |
| |
taint |
contaminate |
| |
tantamount |
equivalent |
| |
taper |
to decrease or narrow |
| |
temper |
to make more moderate |
| |
temperament |
personality, demeanor |
| |
tenet |
belief |
| |
terminate |
to end |
| |
terrestrial |
related to the earth |
| |
testimony |
spoken statement |
| |
theologian |
religious expert |
| |
theoretical |
in theory, not proven |
| |
thesis |
a major claim |
| |
tirade |
a long, angry speech |
| |
torpid |
sluggish |
| |
tract |
section of land |
| |
traitor |
person who commits betrayal |
| |
tranquility |
peacefulness |
| |
transcend |
to go beyond |
| |
trite |
overused, clichéd |
| |
truant |
person who cuts school |
| |
truncate |
to shorten |
| |
tumultuous |
noisy and chaotic |
| |
ubiquitous |
located everywhere |
| |
unanimity |
agreement |
| |
undermine |
to interfere and cause harm |
| |
unethical |
immoral |
| |
unheralded |
unannounced |
| |
uniform |
consistently the same |
| |
unnerving |
causing nervousness |
| |
unprecedented |
existing for the first time |
| |
unseemly |
inappropriate |
| |
unsound |
not strong and healthy |
| |
unwitting |
unaware |
| |
urbane |
sophisticated |
| |
usurp |
to seize power |
| |
utility |
usefulness |
| |
vacillate |
to go back and forth |
| |
vagary |
inconsistency, unpredictability |
| |
vague |
general and imprecise |
| |
vanquish |
to defeat |
| |
vegetation |
plants |
| |
veiled |
concealed |
| |
vengeful |
pursuing revenge |
| |
verbosity |
wordiness |
| |
verifiable |
provable |
| |
versatile |
multitalented |
| |
viable |
workable |
| |
vigor |
health and energy |
| |
virtue |
morality |
| |
virtuoso |
talented artist |
| |
vital |
required for life; energetic |
| |
vitality |
liveliness |
| |
vivid |
intense |
| |
vociferous |
loud |
| |
void |
to invalidate |
| |
vulnerable |
able to be harmed |
| |
wallow |
to stew (in a liquid or an emotion) |
| |
wariness |
cautiousness |
| |
whimsical |
unpredictable |
| |
wily |
clever, sly |
| |
witty |
cleverly amusing |
| |
wry |
characterized by dry humor |
| |
yearning |
longing |
| |
zealous |
enthusiastic |
