List 1
Abjure – verb w/obj – to renounce upon oath
Coalesce – noun – to grow together or into one body
Dogmatic – adjective – opinionated
Elucidate – verb w/ – to make lucid or clear; throw light upon – w/out obj – explain
Germane – adjective – being relevant, appropriate, or fitting
Harbinger – noun – one that pioneers in or foreshadows what is to come
Inveigh – verb – to protest strongly or attack vehemently with words
Lugubrious – adjective – dismal or gloomy, esp. in an affected, exaggerated or unrelieved manner
Mordant – adjective – sharply caustic or sarcastic, as wit or a speaker; biting
Pillory – noun – a wooden framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used to expose
an offender to public derision.
List 2
Abstemious adjective – marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol
Brevity noun – shortness of time or duration; briefness
Commodious adjective – spacious and convenient; roomy
Desiccate verb w/obj – to dry up; to preserve by drying; verb w/out obj – to become dried up
Ennui (än-ˈwē ) noun – feeling of utter weariness & discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest; boredom
Pundit noun – a learned person, expert, or authority
Recondite adjective – dealing with very profound, difficult, or abstruse subject matter
Spurious (spyu̇r-ē-əs ) adjective – not being what it purports to be; false or fake.
Timorous (ti-mə-rəs ) adjective – showing or suffering from nervousness, fear, or a lack of confidence
Vituperation (vī-ˌtü-pə-ˈrā-shən) noun – bitter and abusive language.
List 3
Anomaly noun – a deviation from the common rule, type arrangement or form
Cull verb w/obj – to choose, select or pick; to collect; noun – act of culling, something culled
Disparate adjective – distinct in kind; essentially different; dissimilar
Ignominious (ig-nuh-min-ee-uhs) adjective – discreditable, humiliating
Lascivious (lu-siv-ee-uhs) adjective – inclined to lustfulness, wanton, lewd
Nexus -- noun – a means of connection, link
Penury – noun – extreme poverty
Quixotic (kwik-sot-ik) adjective – extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical
Rife (rahyf) adjective – of common or frequent occurrence, prevalent
Verdant adjective – green with vegetation; covered with growing plants or grass; of the color green
List 4
Abrogate (ab-ruh-geyt) Verb – to abolish by formal or official means; repeal
Clandestine adjective – characterized by, done in, or executed with secrecy or concealment, esp. for purposes of subversion or
deception
Deleterious adjective – injurious to health; harmful
Echelon – noun – a level of command, authority or rank; level of worthiness
Fulminate verb w/o object – to explode with a loud noise; issue denunciations; verb w/object – to cause to explode; to issue or
pronounce with vehement denunciation.
Impugn verb—to challenge as false; cast doubt upon
Melee (mey-ley) noun – a confused hand-to-hand fight or struggle among several people; confusion
Polemic noun – a controversial argument, as one against some opinion, doctrine, etc. A person who argues in opposition to
another; controversialist
Sanguine (sang-gwin) adjective – cheerfully optimistic; hopeful; confident; reddish/ruddy
Ubiquitous adjective – existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent
List 5
Aberration (ab-uh-rey-shuh-n) noun – departing from the right, normal or usual course
Capricious (kuh-prish-uh-s) adjective – subject to, led by r indicative of a sudden, odd notion or unpredictable change, erratic
Dearth – noun – an inadequate supply, scarcity, lack
Egregious (ih-gree-juh-s) adjective – extraordinary in some bad way, glaring, flagrant
Indelible – adjective – making marks that cannot be erased, removed, or the like
Menagerie – noun – a collection of wild or unusual animals; a place where they are kept or exhibited; an unusual & varied
group of people;
Occlude (uh-klood) noun – to close, shut or stop up
Pernicious (per-nish-uhs) adjective – causing insidious harm or ruin; deadly, fatal
Sagacious (suh-gey-shus) adjective – showing acute mental discernment & keen practical sense; shrewd
Trenchant (tren-chun-t) adjective – incisive or keen, as language or a person
List 6
Abeyance (uh-bey-uns) – noun – temporary inactivity, cessation or suspension
Careen – (kuh-reen) – verb – (of a vehicle) to lean, sway or tip to one side while in motion; (nautical) – cause a ship to lie
over on a side
Derision (dih-rizh-un) noun – ridicule, mockery; object of ridicule
Enervate (en-er-veyt) – verb – to deprive of force or strength; weaken; for an adj, add “ed”
Fiat (fee-aht or fahy-uht) – noun – an authoritative decree, sanction or order
Insouciant (in-soo-see-uh-nt) – adj – free from concern, worry or anxiety, carefree, nonchalant
Lionize (lahy-uh-nahyz) – verb with obj – to treat (a person) as a celebrity; verb (w/out object) to pursue celebrities or seek
their company
Multifarious (muhl-tuh-fair-ee-uhs) – adj – having many different parts, elements, forms, etc.; numerous and varied
Parsimony (pahr-suh-moh-nee) noun – extreme or excessive economy or frugality; stinginess
Truculence (truhk-yuh-luh-nt) noun – fierce, cruel, savagely brutal
List 7
Acerbic adjective – sour or astringent in taste; harsh or severe as of temper or expression
Calumny (kal-uh-m-nee) noun – a false or malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something;
slander; defamation
Diaphanous (dahy-af-uh-nus) adjective -- very sheer and light, almost completely translucent; delicately hazy
Ephemeral (ih-fem-er-uhl) adjective – lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory; lasting but one day
Heterodox (het-er-uh-doks) adjective – not in accordance with establish or accepted doctrines or opinions, esp. in theology;
unorthodox
Invidious (in-vid-ee-uhs) adjective – calculated to create ill will or resentment or give offense; hateful; causing animosity,
resentment or envy; injurious
Munificence (myoo-nif-us-suh-ns) adjective – the quality of being extremely liberal in giving; or showing unusual generosity
Obfuscate (ob-fuh-skeyt) verb w/object – to confuse, bewilder or stupefy; to make obscure or unclear; to darken
Phlegmatic (fleg-mat-ik) adjective – not easily excited to action or display of emotion, apathetic, sluggish; self-possessed,
calm or composed;
Vacuity (va-kyoo-i-tee) noun – the state of being without contents’; vacancy, emptiness; absences of thought or intelligence; a
time or state of dullness, lacking in mental or physical action or productivity.
List 8 -- Complex sentence
Brazen – adj: shameless or impudent; verb: to make brazen; adv: brazenly; noun: brazenness
Compunction – noun: a feeling of uneasiness or anxiety of the conscience caused by regret doing wrong or causing pain,
contrition and remorse; any uneasiness or hesitation about the rightness of an action; adj: compunctionless
Despotic – adj: of or pertaining to, or of the nature of a tyrant; autocratic; also, despotical; adv: despotically
Edifice – noun: a building, especially one of large size or imposing appearance; any large, complex system or organization;
adj: edificial
Indomitable – adj: that cannot be subdued or overcome, as persons, will or courage; unconquerable; noun: indomitability,
indomitableness; adv: indomitably
Meretricious – adj: alluring by a show of flashy or vulgar attractions; tawdry; based on pretense, deception or insincerity;
pertaining to or characteristic of a prostitute; adv: meretriciously; noun: meretriciousness;
Probity – noun: integrity and uprightness, honesty
Sententious – adj: abounding in pithy aphorisms or maxims; given to excess moralizing, self-righteous; given to or using
pithy sayings or maxims; of the nature of a maxim; adv: sententiously; noun: sententiousness or sententiosity;
Sunder – verb w/out obj: to separate, part, divide, sever; verb with obj: to become separated; part; adj: sunderable; noun:
sunderance or sunderer
Turbid – adj: not clear or transparent because of stirred-up sentiment or the like; clouded; opaque; obscured; thick or dense as
smoke or clouds; confused, muddled, disturbed; noun: turbidity or turbidness; adv: turbidly
List 9 – Compound
Admonish – trans verb: to speak to (someone) in a way that expresses disapproval or criticism; to tell or urge (someone) to do
something; noun: admonisher or admonishment; adverb: admonishingly
Adumbrate – trans verb: to foreshadow vaguely; to suggest, disclose, or outline partially; overshadow, obscure; noun:
adumbration; adj: adumbrative; adverb: adumbratively
Lassitude – noun: weariness of body or mind from strain, oppressive climate, etc.; lack of energy; listlessness, languor; a
condition of indolent indifference
Licentious – adj: sexually unrestrained, libertine, lewd; unrestrained by law or general morality; lawless; immoral; going
beyond customary or proper bounds or limits; disregarding rules; adverb: licentiously; adj: licentiousness
Mendicant – adj: begging, practicing begging; living on alms; pertaining to or characteristic of a beggar; noun: a person who
lives by begging; a member of any of several orders of friars that originally forbade ownership of property
Palliate – verb: to relieve or lesson without curing; mitigate; alleviate; to try to mitigate or conceal the gravity of (an offense)
by excuses, apologies; noun: palliation or paliator
Piquant – adj: agreeably pungent or sharp in taste or flavor; pleasantly biting or tart; agreeably stimulating, interesting or
attractive; of an interestingly provocative or lively character; noun: piquancy or piquantness; adverb: piquantly
Propitious – adj: presenting favorable conditions, as in weather; indicative of favor; auspicious; favorably inclined, disposed
to bestow favors or forgive; adverb: propitiously; noun: propitiousness
Surreptitious – adj: obtained, done, made, etc. by stealth; secret or unauthorized clandestine; acting in a stealthy way; adv:
surreptitiously; noun: surreptitiousness
Vacuous – adj: without contents; empty; lacking in ideas or intelligence; expressing or characterized by a lack of ideas or
intelligence, inane, stupid; purposeless; idle; adverb: vacuously; noun: vacuousness
List 10 – compound/complex
Attenuation noun – the act of weakening or reducing in force or the state of being weakened
Callous adjective – made hard, hardened; verb to make or become hard
Capacious adjective – capable of holding much; spacious or roomy
Disparity noun – lack of similarity or equality
Efficacious adjective – capable of having the desired result or effect; effective as a means, measure or remedy
Equipoise noun – an equal distribution of weight; even balance; verb (w/obj) to equal or offset in weight; balance
Hegemony noun – leadership or predominant influence exercised by one nation over others, as in a confederation; leadership;
predominance; aggression / expansionism by large nations in effort to achieve world domination (esp. among smaller nations)
Impetuous adjective – of, relating to, or characterized by sudden or rash action, emotion, etc.; impulsive; having great
impetus, moving with great force, violent
Mitigate verb – to lessen in force or intensity, as wrath, grief, harshness, or pain, moderate; to make less severe; to make a
person milder or gentler; mollify, appease
Verity noun – state or quality of being true; accordance with fact or reality; a principle, belief, idea or statement that is true
List 11 – Chiasmus
Abrade verb(w/obj) – to wear off or down by scraping or rubbing; to scrape off
Corroborate verb (w/obj) – to make more certain, confirm;
Inexorable adjective – unyielding, unalterable; not to be persuaded, moved or affected by prayers or entreaties
Insipid adjective—w/out distinctive, interesting or stimulating qualities, vapid; w/out sufficient taste to be pleasing; bland
Nefarious adjective – extremely wicked or villainous
Physiognomy noun – the face or countenance, especially when considered as an index to the character; the outward
appearance of anything, taken as offering some insight into its character
Reticent adjective – disposed to be silent or not to speak freely; reserved; reluctant or restrained
Splenetic adjective – irritable, peevish; spiteful
Tedium noun—the quality or state of being wearisome, irksomeness; tediousness
Temerity noun – reckless boldness; rash
List 12 -- periodic
Affront – n: a personally offensive act or word; deliberate act or display of disrespect; intentional slight; insult. adv:
affrontedly, affrontingly. adj: unaffronted.
Banal – adj: devoid of freshness or originality; hackneyed; trite. adv: banally.
Canard – n: a false or baseless, usually derogatory story, report, or rumor.
Codicil – n: a supplement to a will, containing an addition, explanation, modification, etc., of something in the will; any
supplement; appendix.
Effulgent – adj: shining forth brilliantly; radiant. n: effulgence adv: effulgently.
Fecund – adj: very productive or creative intellectually.
Imbroglio – n: a misunderstanding, disagreement, etc., of a complicated or bitter nature, as between persons or nations.
Indolent – adj: having or showing a disposition to avoid exertion; slothful; causing little or no pain; inactive or relatively
benign. adv: indolently.
Litany – n: a ceremonial or liturgical form of prayer consisting of a series of invocations or supplications with responses that
are the same for a number in succession; recitation or recital that resembles a litany; a prolonged or tedious account.
Recidivist – n: repeated or habitual relapse as into crime; the chronic tendency toward repetition of criminal or antisocial
behavior patterns. adj: recidivist.
*List 13: balanced sentence
Adulation – n: excessive devotion to someone; servile flattery.
Censure – n: strong or vehement expression of disapproval; an official reprimand as by a legislative body or one of its
members; censurer. v: to criticize or reproach in a harsh or vehement manner; to give censure, adverse criticism, disapproval,
or blame.
Dissemble – v: to give a false or misleading appearance to conceal the truth or real nature; to put on the appearance of; feign;
to pass unnoticed; to conceal one’s true motives. n: dissembler. adv: dissemblingly
Dissident – adj: disagreeing as in opinion or attitude.
Emaciate – v: to make abnormally lean or thing by a gradual wasting away of flesh.
Expostulate – v: expostulated, expostulating; to reason earnestly with someone against something that person intends to do or
has done; remonstrate. adv: expostulatingly. n: expostulator.
Palpable – adj: readily or plainly seen, heard, perceived: obvious, evident; capable of being touched or felt; tangible. n:
palpability. adv: palpably.
Pejorative – adj: having a disparaging, derogatory, or belittling effect or force. adv: pejoratively.
Putative – adv: commonly regarded as such; reputed; supposed. adv: putatively.
Surfeit – n: an excessive amount; excess or overindulgence in eating or drinking; an uncomfortably full or crapulous feeling
due to excessive eating or drinking. v: to supply with anything to excess or satiety; to eat or drink to excess.
List 14: PERIODIC
Alloy – n: a less costly metal mixed with a more valuable one; admixture as of good with evil; anything added that serves to
reduce quality or purity. v: to reduce in value by an admixture of a less costly metal; to debase, impair, or reduce by
admixture; adulterate.
Cajole – v: to persuade by flattery or promises; wheedle; coax. n: cajolement; cajoler. adv: cajolingly.
Didactic – adj: intended for instruction; instructive; inclined to teach or lecture others too much; teaching or intending to teach
a moral lesson; didactical. adv: didactically. n: didacticism.
Dross – n: waste matter; refuse; a waste product taken off molten metal during smelting essentially metallic in character; coal
of little value.
Iconoclast –n: a person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions as being based on error or superstition; a breaker
or destroyer of images, especially those set up for religious veneration. adj: iconoclastic.
Moratorium – n: a suspension of activity; legally authorized period to delay payment of money due or the performance of
some other legal obligation, as in emergency; an authorized period of delay or waiting.
Obviate – verb - to anticipate and prevent (as a situation) or make unnecessary (as an action)
Paragon – n: a model or pattern of excellence or of a particular excellence; someone of exceptional merit; an unusually large
round pearl. v: to compare; to be a match for; rival; to surpass. adj: paragonless.
Perspicacious – adj: having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning; having keen vision. adv: perspicaciously.
Prolix – adj: extended to great, unnecessary, or tedious length; long and wordy; given to speaking or writing at great or
tedious length.. n: prolixity; prolixness. adv: prolixly.
List 15: Asyndeton
Acquiesce – v: to assent tacitly; submit or comply silently or without protest; agree; consent. adv: acquiescingly.
Amnesty – n: a general pardon for offenses, especially political offenses, against a government, often granted before any trial
or conviction; an act of forgiveness for past offenses, especially to a class of persons as a whole; forgetting or overlooking of
any past offense. v: to grant amnesty to; pardon.
Arduous adj: requiring great exertion; laborious; difficult; using much energy and vigor; strenuous; hard to endure; severe.
adv: arduously. n: arduousness.
Gambit n: any maneuver by which one seeks to gain an advantage; a remark made to open or redirect a conversation.
Incursion n: a hostile entrance into or invasion of a place or territory, especially a sudden one; raid; a harmful inroad; a
running in.
Pedantic – adj: ostentatious in one’s learning; overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, especially in teaching;
pedantical adv: pedantically. n: pedanticalness.
Petulant – adj: moved to or showing sudden, impatient irritation, especially over some trifling annoyance. adv: petulantly.
Preponderance – n: the fact or quality of being preponderant; superiority in weight; power, numbers; preponderancy.
Trepidation – n: tremulous fear, alarm, or agitation; perturbation; trembling or quivering movement; tremor. adj: trepidatious.
adv: trepidatiously.
Voluble – adj: characterized by a ready and continuous flow of words; fluent; glib; talkative. n: volubility: volubleness. adv:
volubly.
List 16: Polysyndeton
Acculturation – n: the process of adopting the cultural traits of social patterns of another group. adj: acculturational.
Apropos – adv: fitting; at the right time; to the purpose; opportunely; by the way. adj: opportune; pertinent. Idioms: with
reference to; in respect or regard to.
Barrage –n: an overwhelming quantity or explosion, as of words, blows, or criticisms.
Cognizant – adj: aware; having legal cognizance.
Commensurate – adj: having the same measure; of equal extent or duration; corresponding in amount, magnitude, or degree;
proper; adequate; having a common measure. adv: commensurately. n: commensurateness; commensuration.
Delve – v: to carry on intensive and thorough research for data, information, or the like; investigate; to dig, as with a spade; to
dig; excavate. n: delver.
Hermetic – adj: made airtight by fusion or sealing; not affected by outside influence or power; isolated; hermetical.
Paradigm – n: a set of forms all of which contain a particular element, especially the set of all inflected forms based on a
single stem or theme; an example serving as a model; pattern; framework containing the basic assumptions, ways of thinking,
and methodology that are commonly accepted by members of a scientific community.
Upbraid – v: to find fault with or reproach severely; censure; to utter reproaches. n: upbraider.
Vapid – adj: lacking or having lost life; sharpness or flavor; insipid; flat; without liveliness or spirit; dull or tedious. n:
vapidity, vapidness. adv: vapidly.
List 17: Anaphora
Ancillary – adj: subordinate; subsidiary; auxiliary; assisting. n: something that serves in an ancillary capacity.
Bane – n: a person/thing that ruins or spoils; a deadly poison; death; destruction; ruin; that which causes death or destroys life.
Chaste – adj: refraining from sexual intercourse that is regarded as contrary to morality or religion; virtuous; virgin; not
engaging in sexual relations; celibate; free from obscenity; decent; undefiled or stainless; pure in style; not excessively
ornamented; simple; unmarried; obsolete. adv: chastely. n: chasteness.
Diffidence – n: the state of lacking confidence in one’s own ability, worth, or fitness; timid; shy; restrained or reserved in
manner, conduct.
Dilatory – adj: tending to delay or procrastinate; slow; tardy; intended to cause delay, gain time, or defer decision. adv:
dilatorily. n: dilatoriness.
Foment – v: to instigate or foster; promote the growth or development of; to apply warm water or medicated liquid, ointments,
etc., to the surface of the body. n: fomenter.
Insular – adj: pertaining to an island or islands; dwelling or situated on an island; forming an island; detached; standing alone;
isolates; narrow-minded or illiberal; provincial. n: insularism, insularity; an inhabitant of an islander.
Panegyric – n: a lofty oration or writing in praise of a person or thing; eulogy; formal or elaborate praise. adj: panegyrical.
adv: panegyrically.
Querulous – adj: full of complaints; complaining; characterized by or uttered in complaint; peevish. adv: querulously. n:
querulousness.
Vociferous – adj: crying our noisily; clamorous. adv: vociferously. n: vociferousness.