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100 Words Every College Students Should Know

Terms in this set (100)

Abrogate
to cancel, destroy, revoke, or void
Acerbic
sharp, biting, or acid in temper, expression, or tone
Acrimony
bitter, harsh, or biting sharpness
Acumen
quickness of perception or discernment (understanding)
Adumbrate
to sketch, outline in a shadowy way
Ameliorate
to make or grow better
Aphorism
a tensely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; an adage
Apocryphal
of doubtful authority or authenticity
Allegory
the representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form
Arcane
understood by only a few
Avarice
an excessive desire of gain; greediness
Banal
commonplace; trivial
Bifurcate
to divide into two parts or branches
Binary
characterized by or consisting of two parts or components
Bi-polar
having two opposite or contradictory ideas
Cadre
a core or nucleus of trained or otherwise qualified personnel around which an organization is formed
Capricious
whimsical; changeable
Carpe diem
seize the moment
Caveat
a warning or caution
Chicanery
the use of trickery to deceive
Chortle
to utter, or express with, a snorting, exultant laugh or chuckle
Codicil
an amendment to an existing will
Collegial
characterized by or having authority vested equally among colleagues
Concatenation
a chain; a succession
Consanguineous
related by blood, descended from the same ancestor
Demagogue
a leader who tries to stir up people by appeals to emotion, prejudice, etc., in order to achieve power
Diction
the choice and use of words in speech or writing
Didactic
conveying instruction; teaching some moral lesson
Dilatory
inclined to put off what ought to be done at once
Disingenuous
not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating
Eclectic
made up of or combining elements from varying sources
E.g.
exempli gratia (for example)
Egalitarian
favoring social equality
Ellipsis
Omission or suppression of parts of words or sentences with a mark or series of marks (... or *** for example)
Ephemeral
short lived
Equivocate
to be deliberately ambiguous or unclear
Erudite
characterized by extensive reading or knowledge; well instructed; learned
Ethereal
characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible
Euphemism
a mild or vague word or phrase replacing one considered harsh or offensively direct
Exiguous
extremely scanty (bare)
Facetious
"tongue-in-cheek-advice" characterized by wit and pleasantry
Fait accompli
an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed or fact
Finite
having bounds
Forbearance
patience; good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence
Fortuitous
happening by chance
Halcyon
peaceful, undisturbed, and happy
Hyperbole
extravagant exaggeration
Iconoclast
one who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas of institutions
i.e.
id est (that is)
Inane
without contents, empty; void of sense or intelligence; purposeless; pointless; useless
Inchoate
partially but not fully in existence or operation
Indolent
avoiding labor and exertion; lazy
Ken
perception; understanding; knowledge
Levity
frivolity (not serious or sensible)
Lexicon
a stock of terms used in a particular profession, subject or style; a vocabulary
Limited liability companies
(LLC) combine the liability protection of a coorporation with the tax benefits and simplicity of a partnership
Logomachy
argument over the definition of words
Loquacious
very talkative
Metaphor
a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them
Milieu
environment; setting
Myopic
lack of discernment or long-range perspective in thinking or planning
NB
nota bene (Latin meaning note well); used to direct attention to something particularly important
Nefarious
wicked in the extreme
Obviate
to prevent by interception
Patrician
a person of refined upbringing, manners and taste
Pecuniary
relating to money
Pedantic
characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious concern for book learning and formal rules
Pejorative
disparaging, belittling
Pernicious
deadly
Plenary
full; entire; complete
Prevaricate
to depart from or evade the truth
Probity
honesty, uprightness
Proclivity
a natural inclination; predisposition
Puerile
displaying a lack of maturity
Pusillanimous
lacking in courage and resolution
Renege
to go back on a promise or commitment
Requisite
necessary; indispensable
Res Ipsa Loquitur
the thing speaks for itself
Reticent
inclined to keep quiet
Salient
noticeable; also, projecting; also, leaping
Sardonic
bitterly sarcastic
Scintilla
a minute amount; an iota or trace
Simile
a word or phrase by which anything is likened to something else; it's often introduced by "like" or "as"
Sine qua non
an indispensable thing
Sojourn
a temporary stay; a brief period of residence
Specious
apparently right; superficiallly fair, just, or correct, but not so in reality; appearing well at first view; plausible
Succinct
brief, concise
Supercilious
lofty with pride
Superfluous
more than is wanted or is sufficient
Syllogism
logic: a form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion
Symbiotic
a relationship of mutual benefit or depencence
Syntax
the study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences
Tautological
needless repetition of the same sense in different words; redundancy
Ubiquitous
being everywhere
Unilateral
having only one side
Verve
energy and enthusiasm in the expression of ideas
Vilify
to make vicious and defamatory statements about
Visceral
course, base, instinctive
Vitiate
to make faulty or imperfect
Vociferous
making a loud outcry
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