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Abate Subside or moderate

Aberrant Abnormal or deviant

Abeyance Suspended action

Abjure To renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid

Abscond Depart secretly and hide

Abstain To choose not to do something

Abstemious Sparing in eating and drinking; temperate

Abyss An extremely deep hole

Accolade An expression of praise

Acerbic Having a sour or bitter taste or character

Acumen Quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight

Admonish Warn; reprove

Adulation Excessive praise; intense adoration

Adulterate Make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances

AdumbrateTo foreshadow vaguely or intimate; to suggest or outline sketchily; to

obscure or overshadow

Advocate To speak in favor of

Aesthetic Artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful

Aggrandize To increase in power, influence and reputation

Aggregate Gather; accumulate

Alacrity Cheerful promptness; eagerness

Alleviate Relieve

Alloy To commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior

Amalgamate Combine; unite in one body

Ambiguous Unclear or doubtful in meaning

Ambivalence The state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes

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Ameliorate Improve

Amenable Agreeable; responsive to suggestion

Anachronism Something or someone misplaced in time

Analogous Comparable

Anarchy Absence of governing body; state of disorder

AnathemaA solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly

loathed person or thing

Anodyne Soothing, something that assuages or allays pain or comforts

Anomalous Abnormal; irregular

Antagonize To annoy or provoke anger

Antipathy Aversion; dislike

Apathy Lack of caring; indifference

Apogee Farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith

Apostate One who abandons long held religious or political convictions

ApotheosisDeification, glorification to godliness, an exhalted example, a model of

excellence or perfection

Appease Pacify or soothe; relieve

Apprise Inform

Approbation Approval

Appropriate Acquire; take possession of for one's own use

Arbitrate To judge a dispute between two opposing parties

Archaic Ancient; old-fashioned

Ardor Intense and passionate feeling

Arduous Hard; strenuous

Arrest To suspend; to engage; to hold one's attention

Articulate Able to speak clearly and expressively

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Artless Without guile; open and honest

Ascetic Practicing self-denial; austere

Asperity Severity, rigor, roughness, harshness, acrimony, irritability

Asseverate To aver, allege, assert

Assiduous Diligent

Assuage Ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger)

Attenuate Make thinner; weaken or lessen (in density, force, degree)

Audacious Daring; bold

Augury Omen, portent

August Majestic; venerable

Austere Forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented

Avarice Greed, esp. For wealth

Aver Assert confidently or declare; as used in law, state formally as a fact

Axiom A universally recognized principle

Banal Hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality

Belie Contradict; give a false impression

Bellicose Belligerent, pugnacious, warlike

Beneficent Kindly; doing good

Bent Leaning; inclination; proclivity; tendency

Bolster Support; reinforce

Bombastic Pompous; using inflated language

Boorish Rude; insensitiveBroach To bring up or announce; to begin to talk about

Brook To tolerate, endure, or countenance

Bucolic Rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants

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Burgeon Grow forth; send out buds

Burnish Make shiny by rubbing; polish

Buttress Support; prop up

Cacophonous Discordant; inharmonious

Calumniate To slander, make a false accusation

Candid Impartial and honest in speech

Canonical Following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards

Capricious Unpredictable; fickle

CaptiousDisposed to point out trivial faults; calculated to confuse or entrap in

argument

Cardinal Of great importance

Castigation Punishment; severe criticism

Catalyst Agent that stimulates or precipitates a reaction, development, or change

Caustic Burning; sarcastically biting

Cavil To find fault without good reason

Celerity Speed, alacrity (think accelerate)

Chaos Great disorder and confusion

Chary Wary; cautious; sparing

Chauvinist Someone prejudiced in favor of a group which he or she belongs

Chicanery Trickery; deception

Chimera An illusion; originally a fire-breathing she-monster

Coagulate Thicken; congeal; clot

CodaConcluding section of a musical or literary composition; something that

summarizes

Cogent Convincing

Commensurate Corresponding in extent, degree, amount, etc.; proportionate

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Compendium Brief, comprehensive summary

Complaisant Trying to please; overly polite; obliging

Compliant Yielding; conforming to requirements

Conciliatory Reconciling; soothing

Condone Overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse

Confound Confuse; puzzle

Connoisseur Person competent to act as a judge of art, etc.; a lover of an art

Contention Claim; thesis

Contentious Quarrelsome

Contentious Argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement

Contrite Penitent, seeking forgiveness

Contumacious Insubordinate, rebellious

Conundrum Riddle; difficult problem

Converge Approach; tend to meet; come together

Convoluted Coiled around; involved; intricate

Corroborate To provide supporting evidence

Craven Cowardly

Credulous Too trusting; gullible

Crescendo Steadily increasing volume or force

Culpable Deserving blame

Daunt Intimidate; frighten

Dearth Smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lackDebacle Rout, fiasco, complete failure

Decorum Propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners

Default Failure to act

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Deference Courteous regard for another's wish

Delineate Portray; depict; sketch

Demur To question or oppose

Denigrate Blacken

Denouement An outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot

Deride Ridicule; make fun of

Derivative Unoriginal; obtained from another source

Descry To discriminate or discern

Desiccate Dry up

Desuetude Disuse

Desultory Aimless; haphazard; digressing at random

Deterrent Something that discourages; hindrance

Diaphanous Transparent, gauzy

Diatribe Bitter scolding; invective

Dichotomy Split; branching into two parts (especially contradictory ones)

Didactic Intended to teach or instruct

Die A part of a machine that punches shaped holes or cuts

Diffidence Shyness

Diffuse Wordy; rambling; spread out (like a gas)

Digression Wandering away from the subject

Dilate To make larger; expand

Dilatory Intended to delayDilettante Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic

Dirge Lament with music

Disabuse Correct a false impression; undeceive

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Discerning Mentally quick and observant; having insight

Discordant Not harmonious; conflicting

Discredit Defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve

Discrepancy Lack of consistency; difference

Discrete Separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts

Discretion Cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions

Disingenuous Lacking genuine candor; insincere

Disinterested Unprejudiced

Disjointed Lacking coherence

Dismiss Eliminate from consideration; reject

Disparage Belittle

Disparate Basically different; unrelated

Dissemble Disguise; pretend

Disseminate Distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds)

Dissolution Disintegration; looseness in morals

Dissonance Discord; opposite of harmony

Distend Expand; swell out

Distill Purify; refine; concentrate

Diverge Vary; go in different directions from the same point

Divest Strip; deprive

Document Provide written evidence

Dogmatic Opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinalDormant Sleeping; lethargic; latent

Dupe Someone easily fooled

Ebullient Showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm

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Essay To test or try; to attempt or experiment

Estimable Admirable

Eulogy Expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death

Euphemism Mild expression in place of an unpleasant one

Evanescent Tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing

Exacerbate Worsen; embitter

Exact To demand, call for, require or take

Excoriate To censure scathingly, to upbraid

Exculpate Clear from blame

Execrate Denounce, feel loathing for, curse, declare to be evil

Exegesis Critical examination, explication

ExigencyUrgent situation; pressing needs or demands; state of requiring immediate

attention

Exonerate To clear of blame

Expiate To atone or make amends for

Explicit Clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression

Extemporaneous Improvised; done without preparation

Extirpate To destroy, exterminate, cut out, exscind

Extrapolation Projection; superfluous

Facetious Joking (often inappropriately); humorous

Facilitate Help bring about; make less difficult

Fallacious False; misleading

Fanatical Acting excessively enthusiastic; filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion

Fatuous Brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug

Fawning Trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering or cringing

Felicitous Apt; suitably expressed; well chosen

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Fervor Glowing ardor; intensity of feeling

Flag Droop; grow feeble

Fledgling Inexperienced

Flip Sarcastic, impertinent

Florid Excessively decorated or embellished

Flout Reject; mock; show contempt for

Foment Stir up; instigate

Ford To wade across the shallow part of a river or stream

Forestall Prevent by taking action in advance

Fortuitous Happening by fortunate accident or chance

Fractious Quarrelsome, rebellious, unruly, refractory, irritable

Frugality Thrift; economy

Fulminate To loudly attack or denounce

Furtive Marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious

Futile Useless; hopeless; ineffectual

Gainsay Deny

Garrulous Loquacious; wordy; talkative

Germane Relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter

Glib Marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial

Goad Urge on

Gouge Overcharge

Grandiloquent Pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding languageGregarious Sociable

Grouse To complain or grumble

Guileless Without deceit

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Gullible Easily deceived

Guy A cord or cable used to steady or guide some-thing

Hackneyed Rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage

Halcyon Calm and peaceful

Harangue Long, passionate, and vehement speech

Hedonism Devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. To the pleasures of the senses

Hegemony The consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others

Heretical Violating accepted dogma or convention

Heterodox Unorthodox, heretical, iconoclastic

Homogenous Of the same kind

Hubris Arrogant presumption or pride

Hyperbole Exaggeration; overstatement

Iconoclast Attacking cherished traditions

Idolatrous Given to intense or excessive devotion to something

Idolatry Worship of idols; excessive admiration

Imbroglio Difficult or embarrassing situation

Imminent About to happen; impending

Immutable Unchangeable

Impair Injure; hurt

Impassive Without feeling; imperturbable; stoical

Impecunious Lacking funds; without money

Impede Hinder, blockImpermeable Impervious; not permitting passage through its substance

Imperturbable Calm; placid

Impervious Impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed

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Impetuous Quick to act without thinking

Implacable Incapable of being pacified

Implicit Understood but not stated

Implode Burst inward

Impunity Immunity from punishment or penalty

Inadvertently Unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly

Inchoate Recently begun; rudimentary; elementary

Incipient Beginning to come into being or to become apparent

Incongruity Lack of harmony; absurdity

Inconsequential Insignificant; unimportant

Incorporate Introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite

Indefatigable Not easily exhaustible; tireless; dogged

Indeterminate Uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite

Indifferent Having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice

Indigence Poverty

Indolent Lazy

Ineluctable Certain; inevitable

Inert Inactive; lacking power to move

Infelicitous Unfortunate; inappropriate

Ingenuous Naive and trusting; young; unsophisticated

Inherent Firmly established by nature or habit

Inimical Hostile, unfriendlyInimitable One of a kind; peerless

Innocuous Harmless

Insensible Unconscious; unresponsive

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Insinuate Hint; imply; creep in

Insipid Lacking in flavor; dull

Insouciant Unconcerned, carefree, heedless

Insularity Narrow-mindedness; isolation

Intimate To imply, suggest, or insinuate

Intractable Unruly; stubborn; unyielding

Intransigence Refusal of any compromise; stubbornness

Intrepid Steadfast and courageous

Inundate Overwhelm; flood; submerge

Inured Accustomed; hardened

Invective Abuse

Inveigle To obtain by deception or flattery

Inveterate Deep rooted, ingrained, habitual

Irascible Irritable; easily angered

Irresolute Uncertain how to act; weak

Itinerary Plan of a trip

Jejune Vapid, uninteresting, nugatory, childish, immature, puerile

Laconic Brief and to the point

Lament To express sorrow; to grieve

Lassitude Languor; weariness

Latent Potential but undeveloped; dormant; hidden

Laud PraiseLavish To give unsparingly; extremely generous or extravagant

Lethargic Drowsy; dull

Levee Earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding

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Levity Lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity

List To tilt or lean to one side

Log Record of a voyage or flight; record of day-to-day activities

Loquacious Talkative

Lubricious Lewd, wanton, greasy, slippery

Lucid Easily understood; clear; intelligible

Lumber To move heavily and clumsily

Luminous Shining; issuing light

Magnanimity Generosity

Malevolent Having or showing often vicious ill-will, spite, or hatred

Malingerer One who feigns illness to escape duty

Malleable Capable of being shaped by pounding; impressionable

Maverick Rebel; nonconformist

Mendacious Lying; habitually dishonest

Mendicant A beggar, supplicant

Mercurial Characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood

Meretricious Cheap, gaudy, tawdry, flashy, showy; attracting by false show

Metamorphosis Change of form

Metaphor A figure of speech comparing two different things; a symbol

Meticulous Excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous

Milk To exploit; to squeeze every last ounce of

Minatory Menacing, threatening

MinceTo pronounce or speak affectedly; to speak too carefully; also, to take

tiny steps or tiptoe

Misanthrope One who hates mankind

Mitigate Lessen in intensity; moderate; appease

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Mollify Soothe

Monotony Lack of variation

Morose Ill-humored; sullen; melancholy

Mundane Worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday

Nadir Low point, perigee

Negate Cancel out; nullify; deny

Neophyte Recent convert; beginner

Nice Exacting; fastidious; extremely, even excessively, precise

Nonplussed Baffled, bewildered, at a loss for what to do or think

Obdurate Stubborn

Obfuscate To deliberately obscure; to make confusing

Obsequious Slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic

Obstinate Stubborn, unyielding

Obstreperous Noisily and stubbornly defiant, aggressively boisterous

Obtain To be established, accepted, or customary

Obviate Make unnecessary; get rid of

Occlude Shut; close

Occult Hidden; concealed; beyond comprehension

Odious Evoking intense aversion or dislike

Officious Meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one's services

Onerous Burdensome

Opaque Impossible to see through; preventing the passage of lightOpprobrium Infamy; vilification

Oscillate Vibrate pendulum like; waver

OssifiedTending to become more rigid, conventional, sterile, and reactionary

with age; literally, turned into bone

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Ostentatious Showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention

Paean A song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving

Palliate

To make something seem less serious, to gloss over, to make less severe

or intensePanegyric Formal praise, eulogy, encomium

Paradox A contradiction of dilemma

Paragon Model of perfection

Parsimonious Cheap, miserly

Partisan One-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party

Pathological Pertaining to disease

Paucity Scarcity

Pedagogy The art or profession of training, teaching, or instructing

Pedantic Showing off learning; bookish

PedanticThe parading of learning; excessive attention to minutiae and formal

rules

Pedestrian Commonplace; trite; unremarkable; quotidian

Pellucid Transparent, easy to understand, limpid

Penchant Strong inclination; liking

Penurious Penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous

Penury Severe poverty; stinginess

Perennial Something long-lasting

Perfidious Treacherous; disloyal

Perfunctory Superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm

Permeable Penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through

Pernicious Extremely harmful; potentially causing death

Peroration The concluding part of a speech; flowery, rhetorical speech

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Preen To dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care

Presumptuous Arrogant; taking liberties

Prevaricate Lie

Pristine Characteristic of earlier times; primitive; unspoiled

Prize To pry; to press or force with a lever; something taken by force; spoils

Probity Uprightness; incorruptibility

Problematic Doubtful; unsettled; questionable; perplexing

Prodigal Wasteful; reckless with money

Profound Deep; not superficial; complete

Profuse Given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant

Prohibitive Inclined to prevent or forbid

Proliferate Grow rapidly; spread; multiply

Prolix Long-winded, verbose

Propensity Natural inclination

Propitiate Appease

Propitiate To appease, to conciliate

Propriety Fitness; correct conduct

Proscribe Ostracize; banish; outlaw

Prudence Wisdom, caution, or restraint

Puerile Childish, immature, jejune, nugatory

Puissance Power, strength

Pungent Stinging; sharp in taste or smell; causticPusillanimous Cowardly, craven

Putrefy To rot; to decay and give off a foul odor

Quaff To drink deeply

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Quail To lose courage; to become frightened

Qualified Limited; restricted

Qualify To limit

Qualms Misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy

Queries Questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservations

Querulous Prone to complaining or grumbling; quarrelsome

Quibble Minor objection or complaint

Quiescent At rest; dormant; temporarily inactive

Rail To complain about bitterly

Rancorous Characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment

Rarefied Made less dense (of a gas)

Recalcitrant Obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly

Recant Disclaim or disavow; retract a previous statement; openly confess error

Recluse Hermit; loner

Recondite Abstruse; profound; secret

Redoubtable Awe-inspiring; worthy of honor

Refractory Stubborn; unmanageable

Refute Disprove

Relegate Banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign

Remonstrate To protest, object

Rent Torn, past of rend; an opening or tear caused by such

Reproach Express disapproval or disappointmentReprobate Person hardened by sin, devoid of a sense of decency

Repudiate Disown; disavow

Rescind Cancel

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Resolution Determination

Resolve Determination; firmness of purpose

Reticent Reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence

Reverent Respectful; worshipful

Rhetoric Effective writing or speaking

Sage Person celebrated for wisdom

Salacious Lustful, lascivious, bawdy

Salubrious Healthful

Salutary Remedial, wholesome, causing improvement

Sanction Approve; ratify

SanctionAuthoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce

compliance

Sanguine Cheerful, optimistic, confident

Sap To enervate or weaken the vitality of

Satiate Satisfy fully

SatireA literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor

or derision

Saturate Soak thoroughly

Saturnine Gloomy, dark, sullen, morose

Savor Enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality

Scurvy Contemptible; despicable

Secrete Hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism

Sedulous Diligent; persistent; hard-working

SententiousAphoristic or moralistic; epigrammatic; tending to moralize

excessively

Shard Fragment; generally of pottery

Singular Exceptional; unusual; odd

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Solicitous Worried, concerned

Solvent Able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance

Soporific Sleep-causing; marked by sleepiness

Sordid Characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul

Specious Seemingly reasonable but incorrect; misleading (often intentional)

Spectrum Colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism

Sporadic Occurring irregularly

Spurious Lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit

Squalid Sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect

Squander To waste by spending or using irresponsibly

Steep To saturate or completely soak

Stentorian Extremely loud and powerful

Stigma Token of disgrace; brand

Stint Be thrifty; set limits

Stipulate Make express conditions, specify

Stoic Indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast

Stolid Dull; impassive

Striated Marked with parallel bands; grooved

Strut Pompous walk

Strut Supporting bar

Stygian Gloomy, dark

Stymie To block; thwartSublime Lofty or grand

Subpoena Writ summoning a witness to appear

Subside Settle down; descend; grow quiet

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Substantiate Establish by evidence; verify; support

Succinct Brief; concise

Superfluous Exceeding what is sufficient or necessary

Supersede Cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete

Supplant To take the place of; supersede

Supposition Hypothesis; surmise

Surfeit Excess; overindulgence

Sycophant Toady, servile, self-seeking flatterer; parasite

Synthesis The combination of parts to make a whole

Table To remove (as a parliamentary motion) from consideration

Tacit Understood; not put into words

Taciturn Silent, not talkative

Tangential Peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing

Tenacity The quality of adherence or persistence to something valued

Tendentious Biased; showing marked tendencies

Tender To proffer or offer; to give

Tenuous Thin; rare; slim

Timorous Timid, fearful, diffident

Tirade Extended scolding; denunciation; harangue

Torpor Lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy

Tortuous Winding; full of curves

Tractable Docile; easily managedTransgression Violation of a law; sin

Transient Fleeting; passing quickly; brief

Transitory Temporary, lasting a brief time

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Truculence Aggressiveness; ferocity

Tyro Novice, greenhorn, rank amateur

Ubiquitous

Existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered;

widespreadUrbane Sophisticated; refined; elegant

Vacillate Waver; fluctuate

Venerate Revere

Veracious Truthful

Verbose Wordy

Vex To annoy

Vilify To defame; to characterize harshly

Virulent Extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic

Viscous Sticky, gluey

Vitiate To corrupt, debase, spoil, make ineffective

Vituperative Abusive; scolding

Volatile Changeable; explosive; evaporating rapidly

Voluble Fluent, verbal, having easy use of spoken language

Waffle To equivocate; to change one's position

Wag Wit; joker

Warranted Justified; authorized

Wary Very cautious

Waver To fluctuate between choices

Welter Turmoil; bewildering jumble

Whimsical Capricious; fanciful

Zealot Fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal