Abeyance – a state of temporary disuse or suspension Abject – (of something bad) experienced or present to the maximum degree Abjure – solemnly renounce Abridge – shorten, condense without losing meaning Abstemious – not self-indulgent, especially when eating or drinking Abstruse – difficult to understand, obscure Accretion – the process of growth or increase, typically by the gradual accumulation of addition layers of matter Acolyte – a person assisting the celebrant in a religious service or procession Acrid – sharp, pungent (smells and tastes) Adulation – obsequious flattery; excessive admiration or praise Adulterate – to make impure or weaker by adding something of inferior quality Adumbrate – report as an outline, describe roughly or give the main points or summary of Affable – friendly, good-natured Agog – very eager or curious to hear of see something Alacrity – eagerness, speed Ambivalent – having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone Ambulatory – relating to or adopted for walking Amorphous – without a clearly defined shape or form Anathema – something or someone that one vehemently dislikes Anodyne – not likely to provoke dissent or offence Antagonist – the adversary Antediluvian – of or belonging to the time before the biblical flood Antipathy – a strong feeling of dislike Apace – quickly, swiftly Aplomb – confidence, coolness Apocryphal – of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true Apostate - a person who renounces a religious or political belief or principle Apotheosis – model of excellence or perfection of a kind – the highest point of development of something; culmination or climax Approbation – approval or praise Apropos – in regard to Arboreal - relating to trees Arcana – secrets or mysteries Arcane – understood by few, mysterious or secret Ardor – great enthusiasm or passion Arrogate – take or claim without justification Ascetic – severe self-discipline and abstention Assiduous – showing great care and perseverance Augury – a sign of what will happen in the future; an omen Auspices – with the support and approval of, patronage Auspicious – favorable Avocation – a hobby or minor occupation Bane – something causing misery or death Belie – fail to give a true notion or impression of Bemuse – confuse Bestial – of or like an animal or animals, savagely cruel and depraved Blithe – showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous and improper Brackish - (of water) slightly salty, as is the mixture of river water and seawater in estuaries Brevity – concise and exact use of words Bromide – platitude Bucolic – relating to the pleasant aspects of country life and the countryside Callous – unfeeling or insensitive Callow – without experience, lacking sophistication Calumny – slander, false accusation Canard – unfounded rumor or story Canonical – according to or ordered by Church Law; belonging to a literary or artistic canon; something following a principal or rule Cantankerous – bad tempered, quarrelsome Capacious – very large, spacious Capricious – given to sudden and unaccountable changes in mood or behavior Captious - quick to find fault about trifle Caustic – biting wit, sarcastic and severe Chagrin – embarrassment, loss of courage Chicanery – trickery, deception Choleric – easily moved to unreasonable or excessive anger Circuitous – longer than the most direct way Circumlocution – indirect expression of something, a deliberate attempt to be vague or evasive Circumspect – wary and unwilling to take risks Cloture – a procedure for ending a debate and taking a vote Coda – a concluding event, remark or section Cogent – clear, logical, convincing Commiserate – express or show sympathy or pity; sympathize Compendium – a collection of concise but detailed information about a particular subject Complaisant - willing to please others; obliging; agreeable Compunction – a feeling of guilt or moral scruple that prevents or follows the doing of something bad Conciliate – placate, pacify Concupiscence – strong sexual desire, lust Consternation – worry or concern Contrite – feeling or expressing remorse Contumacious – willfully disobedient Convivial – friendly, lively and enjoyable Corporeal – of, relating to or characteristic of the body Cosset – care for and protect in an overindulgent way Coterie – a small group of people with shared interests or tastes Countenance – appearance especially facial expressions Craven – cowardly Credulous – gullible; naïve Crepuscular – of, resembling, or relating to twilight; an animal appearing or active in twilight Daguerreotype – a photograph taken by an early photographic process employing an iodinesensitized silvered plate and mercury vapor Dauntless – showing fearlessness and determination Dearth – an insufficient quantity of something Dearth – lack, scarcity Deign – do something one considers to be beneath one’s dignity Demur – raise doubts or objections or show reluctance Demure – reserved, modest and shy Denizen – an inhabitant or occupant of a particular place Desiccate – remove moisture from something Desultory - lacking a plan, purpose, or enthusiasm; (of conversation or speech) going constantly from one subject to another in a halfhearted way; unfocused Diaphanous – very sheer and light, almost completely transparent or translucent Dictum – a short statement that expresses a general truth or principle Didactic – instructive Diffidence – modesty out of shyness resulting from a lack of self-confidence Diffident – modest and shy because of lack of self-confidence Diffuse – spread out over a large area Dilettante – a person who cultivates an area of interest without real commitment or knowledge Direful – extremely bad, dreadful Dirge - Lament with music Discursive – wandering from one topic to another, rambling Disparate – fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind Dissemble – conceal one’s true motives, feelings, beliefs Dissonance – disharmony between things Distend - swell or cause to swell by pressure from inside Diurnal – active in the daytime Divagation – to wander or stray from a course Doff – remove (an item of clothing) Droll – curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement Dross – something regarded as worthless Dulcet – sweet and soothing (especially of sound) Dyspeptic – of or having indigestion or consequent irritability or depression Dysphoria – a state of unease or dissatisfaction with life Ebullient – cheerful and full of energy Eclectic – wide-ranging; broad Eddy – to move in a circular way Edifice – a building, especially a large imposing one Edify – to instruct or improve morally or intellectually Efface – to blot out, to erase Effervescent – giving off bubbles, fizzy; vivacious and enthusiastic Effete – no longer productive, worn out Effusive – gushing Emancipate – set free Emollient – having the quality of softening or smoothing the skin Endemic – disease or condition regularly found among particular people or in a certain area Enervate – cause to feel drained of energy; weaken; tiring Enmity – the state of feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something Ennui – weariness and dissatisfaction from lack of occupation or interest, boredom Ephemeral – lasting a very short time Epigram – a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way Epistemology – the theory of knowledge Epistle – a letter Epithet – label, smear Equanimity – mental calmness, composure and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation Equivocal – ambiguous Ersatz – used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else Erudite – scholarly, learned Eschew – avoid using, abstain Esoteric – intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with specialized knowledge or interest Ethereal – extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world Ethos – the characteristic spirit of a culture, era or community as manifested in its attitudes and aspirations (appeal using correct form, personal character and qualifications, trustworthiness, manner, credibility) Euphemism – substituting a pleasant or polite word or phrase for an unpleasant reality Euphony – the quality of being pleasing to the ear Evanescent – soon passing out of sight, memory or existence, quickly fading or disappearing Evince – give expression to, indicate Eviscerate – disembowel, deprive of its essential content Excoriate – censure or criticize severely Execrable – extremely bad or unpleasant Exigent – demanding immediate attention Expiate – atone for Expurgate – censor, redact Extant – still in existence, surviving Facetious – treating serious issues with inappropriate humor Facile – (especially of a theory or an argument) appearing neat and comprehensive only by ignoring the true complexities of an issue; superficial Factious – turbulent, causing disagreement Fallow – unplanted; inactive Fastidious – very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail Fatuous – silly and pointless, obtuse, devoid of intelligence Fecund – fertile, productive Felicity – intense happiness, the ability to find appropriate expression for one’s thoughts Feral – in a wild state, especially after an escape from captivity or domestication Fetid – smelling extremely unpleasant Fetter – a shackle for the ankles or feet Flaccid – lacking firmness Florid – using unusual words or complicated rhetorical constructions, ornate Flout - openly disregard (a rule, law or convention) Foible – a minor weakness or eccentricity in character Forbearance – patience, restraint Force Majeure – unforeseeable circumstances that prevent fulfillment of a contract Frieze – a broad horizontal band of sculpted or painted decoration, especially on a wall near the ceiling Furtive – attempting to avoid notice or attention typically because of guilt or a belief that discovery would lead to trouble Fusillade – a series of shots fired of missiles thrown Gainsay – speak against or oppose Garrulous – excessively talkative Genuflect – lower one’s body briefly by bending one knee to the ground Gerontocracy – a state, society, or group governed by old people Gesticulate – using gestures instead of speaking or to emphasize one’s words Gossamer – something light, thin, insubstantial or delicate Gourmand – a person who enjoys eating and often eats too much Grandiloquent – pompous in language style or manner Grotto – a little cavern, small cave Grouse – complain pettily, grumble Guileless - devoid of guile; innocent and without deception Hackneyed – lacking significance through having been overused, unoriginal and trite Halcyon – denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful Hale – healthy Hermetic – insulated or protected from outside influences Heterodox – not conforming with accepted or orthodox standards or beliefs Heterogeneous – diverse in character or content Hoary – old Iconoclast – a person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions Idiosyncratic – distinctive, individual, peculiar Idolatry - worship of idols; excessive admiration Idyll – an extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque episode or scene Ignoble – not honorable in character or purpose Ignominious – deserving or causing public disgrace/ shame Illicit – forbidden by law, rules or custom Illustrious – well known, respected and admired for past achievements; great, grand, noble Imbibe – drink Immaculate – perfectly clean, neat, tidy; perfect Impecunious – having little or no money Imperious – assuming power or authority without justification, marked by arrogant assurance Impetuous – done quickly without though or care; rash Implacable - incapable of being pacified Importune – to ask persistently, to beg Imprecation – a curse Impudent – rudely bold, overly confident Impute – represent (something, especially something undesirable) as being done, caused or possessed by someone; attribute, ascribe Inchoate – just begun and so not fully formed Inchoate – not fully formed, at an initial stage Incipient – in an initial stage; beginning to happen or develop; developing, impending Incisive – quick and direct (of an action) , intelligently analytical and clear thinking (of a person or mental process) Incredulous – unwilling or unable to believe something Incubus – a cause of distress or anxiety Inculcate – instill by persistent instruction Incumbent – necessary as a duty or responsibility Indemnify – compensate for loss, damage, injury Indigent – poor, humble Indignant – feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment Indolence – avoidance of activity or exertion Indolent – lazy, idle Inexorable – impossible to stop or prevent Ingenuous – innocent and unsuspecting, naturally simple, not complicated Inherent – permanent, essential or characteristic attribute Inimical – unfriendly, hostile Innocuous – safe, harmless Insipid – lacking flavor, lacking vigor or interest Insouciance - casual lack of concern; indifference Instantiate – represent as, or by an instance Interminable – endless Internecine - destructive to both sides in a conflict; internal, bloody conflict Intrepid – fearless Inure – accustom to something unpleasant Inured – accustomed to something unpleasant Invective – insulting, abusive Inveterate – habitual Invidious – likely to arose or incur resentment or anger in others; unfairly discriminating, unjust Irascible – a tendency to be easily angered Jargon – special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand Jocund – cheerful, pleasant Knell – the sound of a bell, especially when rung solemnly for a death or funeral Lachrymose – tearful, sad Laconic – using very few words Lacuna – an unfilled space or interval, a gap Largesse – generosity in bestowing money or gifts upon others Legerdemain – an illusory feat, deception, trickery, slight of hand Libertine – a person who rejects accepted opinions in matters of religion Licentious – debauched, salacious, promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters Liege – feudal superior or sovereign Limpid – clear and accessible, melodious, understandable Lithe – limber, bending easily Logos – reasoned discourse, reason, rationality, logic (appeal to logic) Loquacious – tending to talk a great deal Lugubrious – looking or sounding sad and dismal Lustrous – shiny Magnanimous – generous or forgiving, especially towards a rival or less powerful person Malady – sickness Malapropism – the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar sounding one, often with unintentionally amusing effect Malignant – cancerous, harmful Maudlin – self-pitying or tearfully sentimental Maverick – an unorthodox or independent-minded person Mendacious – not telling the truth, lying, deceitful Mercurial – liable to sudden unpredictable change Meretricious – apparently attractive but having in reality no value or integrity Metaphor – poetically calling things something else Mien – air, manner Milieu – a person’s social environment Mince – use polite or moderate expressions to indicate disapproval Mirth – amusement, especially expressed in laughter Misanthrope – a person who dislikes humankind Miser – one who saves greedily Miserly – stingy, mean Monolithic – large, powerful and intractably indivisible and uniform Morass – an area of muddy or boggy ground; a complicated or confused situation Mores – the conventions embodying the fundamental values of a group Motif – decorative design or pattern; a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition Munificent – larger or more generous than is usual Mutable – changeable Nadir – the lowest point in the fortunes of a person or organization Nascent – just coming into existence and beginning to show signs of future potential Natty – smart and fashionable Neophyte – a person who is new to a subject, skill or belief Nexus – connection or series of connections; the central and most important point or place Noisome – having an extremely offensive smell Nonplussed – surprised and confused so much that they are unsure how to react Nostrum – a pet scheme or favorite remedy especially one for bringing about some social or political reform or improvement Obdurate – stubborn Oblique – not explicit of direct Obsequious - excessively servile Obstinate – stubborn Obstreperous – noisy and difficult to control, defiant Occlude – stop, close up, or obstruct Onerous – burdensome, oppressively burdensome Opprobrium - infamy; vilification Ornery – bad tempered, stubborn Orthogonalize – the process of splitting a problem or system into its distinct components; statistically independent Ostensible – stated, seeming, or appearing to be true but not necessarily true Ostentation – pretentious and vulgar display, especially of wealth Overwrought – too elaborate or complicated in design or construction Oxymoron – a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction Paean – a song of praise or triumph Palindrome – word spelled the same forwards and backwards Pallid – pale, typically because of poor health Panache – confidence of style or manner Panoply – a complete or impressive collection of things Parable – a short moral story Pastiche – an artistic work consisting of a medley of pieces taken from various sources Pathos – a quality that evokes pity, emotions, belief (elicits and appeals to emotion) Paucity – the presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities or amounts Pecuniary – pertaining to money Pedant – a person who makes an excessive display of learning Pedestrian – ordinary, dull, commonplace Pellucid – lucid in style or meaning; easily understood Penitent – to show remorse Peremptory – leaving no opportunity for denial or refusal Perennial – something long lasting Perfidious – deceitful and untrustworthy Perfidy – treachery, faithlessness Perfunctory – done in a routine way, indifferent, half-hearted Permeance – the property of allowing the passage of lines of magnetic flux Pernicious – harmful, especially in a gradual and subtle way Perpetual – never ending or changing; occurring repeatedly – so frequent as to seem endless and uninterrupted Perquisite – perk Persnickety - placing too much emphasis on trivial or minor details; fussy Pertinacious – holding firmly to an opinion or a course of action; unyielding Perverse Instantiation – the implementation of a benign final goal through deleterious methods unforeseen by a human programmer Petulant – displaying impatience, childishly sulky or bad tempered Phalanx – a body of troops standing or moving in close formation Philistine – a person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts Phlegmatic – unemotional and calm disposition Photovoltaic Effect – the process in which two dissimilar materials in close contact produce an electrical voltage when struck by light or other radiant energy Picayune – not important, petty Pique – a feeling of irritation or resentment resulting from a slight Pithy – terse and vigorously expressive Plaintive – sounding sad and mournful Platitude – a remark or statement that has been used too often to be interesting of thoughtful Plenitude – an abundance Pleonasm – use of more words than necessary Polemic – a strong verbal or written attack Polemical – causing debate or argument Pollyannic – unfailingly cheerful Polyglot – speaking several languages Portent – a sign that something, especially something momentous or calamitous is likely to happen Precipitous – dangerously high or steep; (of an action) done suddenly and without careful consideration Precis – a summary or abstract of a text or speech Precocious – having developed certain abilities or proclivities at an earlier age than usual Presage – a sign or warning (of an imminent event, typically an unwelcome one) Prescient – having foreknowledge of things before they happen Prestidigitation – magic tricks performed as entertainment Prevaricate – avoid telling the truth by not directly answering a question Primeval – of or resembling the earliest ages in the history of the world Probity – integrity Prodigal – wastefully extravagant Profligate – recklessly extravagant, wasteful Profundity – deep insight; great dpth of knowledge or thought; great depth or intensity of a state, quality or emotion Prolific – producing many works Promulgate – promote or make widely known (an idea or cause); put into law by formal declaration Propitiate – appease Prosaic – ordinary, commonplace; unromantic Proscribe – banish, forbid Protagonist – the leading character; an advocate or champion of a particular cause or idea Protean – tending or able to change frequently or easily Puerile – childishly silly and trivial Pugnacious – eager or quick to argue, quarrel or fight Purloin – to steal Quant – an abbreviation for analysts who use a quantitative, algorithmic approach to markets and trading Querulous – complaining in petulant or whining manner Quibble – argue or raise objections about a trivial matter Quiescence – a state or period of inactivity or dormancy Quixotic – exceedingly idealistic, unrealistic, and impractical Quotidian – ordinary or everyday, especially when mundane Raconteur – a person who tells anecdotes in a skillful and amusing way Ramify – form branches or offshoots Rancor – bitter resentment or ill-will Rapacious – grasping, seizing everything, greedy Rarefied - made less dense (of a gas) Recalcitrant – having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority Recondite - (of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse Rectitude – morally correct behavior or thinking, righteousness, virtue, honor Redoubtable – formidable, especially as an opponent Redundant – no longer needed or useful; superfluous Remonstrate – make a forcefully reproachful protest Repartee – quick witty conversation or reply Repast – a meal Repose – a state of rest, sleep or tranquility Reprobate – depraved, vicious, unprincipled person, wicked Reprobation – severe disapproval Resplendent – shining brilliantly, splendor Restive – resisting authority, difficult to control Reticence – the quality of not revealing one’s thought or feelings readily Reticent – not revealing one’s thoughts or feelings readily Ribald – referring to sexual matters in an amusingly rude or irreverent way Rigor – activity of being careful, paying attention to detail, being thorough Rococo – characterized by an elaborately ornamental late baroque style of decoration Rodomontade – boastful or inflated talk or behavior Saccharine – sugary Sacrosanct – sacred, inviolable Sagacious – good judgement or discernment Salient – most noticeable or important Sallow – sick; (of a person’s face or complexion) of an unhealthy yellow or pale brown color Salubrious – healthy; health giving Sanctimonious – making a show of being morally superior to other people; self-righteous Sanguinary – involving or causing much bloodshed Sanguine – optimistic or positive especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation; blood red Sardonic – grimly mocking or cynical Scourge – to punish severely, to afflict, a person or thing that causes great trouble Scrupulous – diligent, thorough, and extremely attentive to details Scurrilous – making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation Seminal – formative, pioneering, strongly influencing later developments Simile – comparison of two different things using “like” or “as” Similitude – the quality or state of being similar to something Simulacrum – a superficial likeness or imitation Sobriquet – a person’s nickname Solicitous – worried, concerned Soliloquy – an act of speaking one’s thoughts aloud when by oneself, especially by a character in a play Solipsism – the view that the self is all that can be known to exist Soporific – tending to induce drowsiness or sleep Sordid – involving ignoble actions or motives, wretched, arousing moral distaste Specious – illogical, plausible but false Spurious – false, untrue Staccato - describing the breaks between successive sounds Stalwart – strongly and stoutly built; strong and brave Stint – thrifty, limit or restriction, fixed share of work Stolid – dull, impassive; (of a person) calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation Sublimate – divert or modify (an instinctual impulse) into a culturally higher or socially more acceptable activity Succor – to give help or assistance Succulent – tender, juicy, tasty Supine – failing to act as a result of moral weakness or indolence Supplicate – to beg Surfeit – an excessive amount of something Surly – bad tempered and unfriendly Surmise – suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it Surreptitious – kept secret, secret, clandestine Syncopation – a displacement of the beat or accents in music so that the strong beats become weak and vice versa Synoptic – taking or involving a comprehensive mental view Syntax – the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in language Tawdry – showy but cheap and of poor quality Teleology – explaining things in terms of the purpose they serve or the end result Telos – an ultimate aim or object Temerity – audacity Temperate – region of climate characterized by mild temperatures Tergiversate - make conflicting or evasive statements; equivocate; change one's loyalties; be apostate Timorous – cowardly, fearful Tippet – shawl, scarf Toady – act in an obsequious way Torpid – inactive, lethargic Torpor – mentally or physically inactive, lethargic Torrid – full of difficulty and tribulation Tortuous - winding; full of curves Tractable - docile; easily managed Trenchant – vigorous or incisive in expression or style, keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought Truculent – eager or quick to argue or fight, aggressively defiant Turgid – tediously pompous or bombastic Turpitude – conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, corrupt, depraved Turpitude – depravity, wickedness Tyro – a beginner or novice Umbrage – sense of injury or insult, offence Undulate – move or go with a smooth up and down motion Urbane – courteous and refined in manner Usury – lending money at high interest rates Venality – the condition of being open to bribery or corruption Verdant – green with grass or other rich vegetation Vestibule – an antechamber, lobby or hall next to the outer door of a building Vicissitude – a change in circumstances or fortune typically one that’s unwelcome or unpleasant Visceral – relating to deep inward feelings rather than to the intellect Viscous – thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid Vitiate – destroy or impair the legal validity of Vituperative – scolding; abusive Vociferous – loud, noisy, clamorous Volatile – liable to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse, unstable, explosive Voracious – insatiable, unquenchable, excessively eager Wanton – deliberate and unprovoked Welter – a large number of items in no order, a confused mess Whet – excite or stimulate Winnow – blow a current of air through (grain) in order to remove the chaff Winsome – attractive or appealing in appearance or character Wry – using or expressing dry especially mocking humor Yoke – a wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plow or cart that they are to pull Zephyr – a breeze
