P. Hatcher, English IV
SENIOR VOCABULARY LIST
Words occurring frequently on standardized tests:
List 1
Indifferent – not caring one way or the other; mediocre; lacking a preference; neutral
Apathy – lack of emotion or interest
Obscure – unclear; clouded; partially hidden; hard to understand
Impartial – unbiased; neutral
Objective – without bias (as opposed to subjective)
Revere – to worship; to honor (think of a reverend)
Discriminate – to differentiate; to make a clear distinction; to see the difference
Denounce – to speak out against; to condemn
Innovate – to be creative; to introduce something new
Relevant – important; pertinent
Candid – honest; frank
List 2
Discernment – insight; ability to see things clearly
Disdain – arrogant scorn; contempt
Abstract – theoretical; lacking substance (the opposite of concrete)
Temperate – moderate; restrained
Enigma – mystery
Inevitable – unavoidable; bound to happen
Eccentric – not conventional; a little kooky; irregular
Provincial – limited in outlook to one’s own small corner of the world; narrow
Futile –hopeless; without effect
Diverse – varied
List 3
Benevolent – kind; good-hearted; generous
Pious – reverent or devout; outwardly (and sometimes falsely) reverent or devout
Conciliatory – making peace; attempting to solve a dispute through goodwill
Resignation – reluctant acceptance of a bad situation (secondary meaning)
Resolute – determined; firm; unwavering
Servile – submissive and subservient; like a servant
Acute – sharp; shrewd
Reticent – restrained; uncommunicative
Anarchy – absence of government or control; lawlessness; disorder
Virulent – extremely poisonous; malignant; full of hate
List 4
Scrutinize – to examine closely
Discord – disagreement (the opposite of concord)
Repudiate – to reject; to deny
Diligent – hardworking
Superficial – on the surface only; shallow; not thorough
Contempt – reproachful disdain
Lucid – clear; easy to understand
Aesthetic – having to do with artistic beauty; artistic (not to be confused with ascetic)
Prodigal – extravagant; wasteful
Augment – to add to; to increase; to make bigger
List 5
Complacent – smug; self-satisfied; pleased with oneself; contented to a fault
Guile – cunning; duplicity
Squander – to waste
Incessant – unceasing; never-ending
Laudable – worthy of praise
Deter – to prevent; to stop; to keep from doing something
Redundant – repetitive; unnecessary; excessively wordy
Infamous – shamefully wicked; having (and deserving) an extremely bad reputation;
disgraceful
Provocative – exciting; attracting attention
Depravity – moral corruption
Gravity – seriousness (secondary meaning)
List 6
Banal – unoriginal; ordinary
Extol – to praise
Euphony – pleasant sound (the opposite is cacophony)
Deride – to ridicule; to laugh at contemptuously
Insipid – dull; banal
Austere – unadorned; stern; forbidding; without much money
Expedite – to make faster or easier
Heresy – an opinion violently opposed to established beliefs
Novel – new; original
Philanthropy – love of mankind; donating to charity
Tentative – experimental; temporary; uncertain
List 7
Deference – submission to another’s will; respect; courtesy
Vacillate – to be indecisive; to waver back and forth
Fervor – passion
Dispassionate – without passion; objective; neutral
Pragmatic – practical; down-to-earth; based on experience rather than theory
Rigorous – strict; harsh; severe
Solemn – serious; grave
Alleviate – to lesson; to relieve, usually temporarily or incompletely; to make bearable
Negligence – carelessness
Conspicuous – standing out; obvious
List 8
Advocate – to speak in favor of; to support
Ascetic – hermitlike; practicing self-denial
Profound – deep; insightful (the opposite of superficial)
Ironic – satiric; unexpected
Dogmatic – arrogantly assertive of unproven ideas; arrogantly claiming that something (often a
system of beliefs) is beyond dispute
Condone – to overlook; to permit to happen
Dissent – disagreement
Volition – will; conscious choice
Voluntary – willing; unforced
Didactic – instructive; intended to instruct
Disparate – different; incompatible
List 9
Disparage – to belittle; to say uncomplimentary things about, usually in a somewhat indirect
way
Ephemeral – short-lived; fleeting; not lasting
Compliant – yielding; submissive
Prosaic – dull; unimaginative; like prose
Profuse – flowing; extravagant
Expedient – providing an immediate advantage; serving one’s immediate self-interest
Fastidious – meticulous; demanding
Belligerent – combative; quarrelsome; waging war
Astute – perceptive; intelligent
Languish – to become weak, listless, or depressed
Censure – to condemn severely for doing something bad
List 10
Stagnation – motionlessness; inactivity
Mitigate – to lesson the severity of something
Reprehensible – worthy of blame or censure
Engender – to create; to produce
Exemplary – outstanding; setting a great example
Neutral – unbiased; not taking sides; objective
Relegate – to banish; to send away
Anecdote – a brief, entertaining story
Scanty – inadequate; minimal
Fallacious – false
Acclaim – praise; applause; admiration
Uniform – consistent; unchanging; the same for everyone
List 11
Incoherent – jumbled; chaotic; impossible to understand
Repress – to hold down
Articulate – speaking clearly and well
Solicit – to ask for; to seek
Reproach – to scold
Condescend – to stoop to someone else’s level, usually in an offensive way; to patronize
Indolence – laziness
Congenial – agreeably suitable; pleasant
Preclude – to prevent; to make impossible; to shut out
List 12
Apprehensive – worried; anxious
Elaborate – detailed; careful; thorough
Arrogant – feeling superior to others; snooty
Elusive – hard to pin down; evasive
Efface – to erase; to rub away the features of
Taciturn – untalkative by nature
Ameliorate – to make better or more tolerable
Acquiesce – to give in; to agree
Atrophy – to waste away from lack of use
Dubious – doubtful; uncertain
Flagrant – shocking; outstandingly bad
List 13
Concise – brief and to the point; succinct
Immutable – unchangeable; permanent
Static – stationary; not changing or moving (not radio fuzz)
Credulous – believing; gullible
Blasphemy – irreverence; an insult to something held sacred; profanity
Coalesce – to come together as one; to fuse; to unite
Lax – careless; not diligent; relaxed
Cryptic – mysterious; mystifying
Levity – lightness; frivolity; unseriousness
Ambivalent – undecided; blowing hot and cold
Innate – existing since birth; inborn; inherent
List 14
Sycophant – one who sucks up to others
Amiable – friendly
Esoteric – hard to understand; understood only by a select few; peculiar
Extraneous – irrelevant; extra; unnecessary; unimportant
Tedious – boring
Caustic – like acid; corrosive
Inadvertent – lax; careless; without intention
Exhaustive – thorough; complete
Belittle – to make to seem little
Unprecedented – happening for the first time; novel; never seen before
Digress – to go off the subject
List 15
Appease – to soothe; to pacify by giving in to
Frivolous – not serious; not solemn; with levity
Instigate – to provoke; to stir up
Sage – wise; possessing wisdom derived from experience or learning
Predecessor – someone or something that came before another
Jeopardy – danger
Tangible – touchable; palpable
Indulgent – lenient; yielding to desire
Remorse – sadness; regret
Pivotal – crucial
Scrupulous – strict; careful; hesitant for ethical reasons
List 16
Refute – to disprove; to prove to be false
Respite – a rest; a period of relief
Stoic – indifferent (at least outwardly) to pleasure or pain, to joy or grief, to fortune or
misfortune
Volatile – quick to evaporate; highly unstable; explosive
Peripheral – unimportant
Hedonistic – pleasure-seeking; indulgent
Idiom – a peculiar expression
Benefactor – generous donor
Brevity – briefness
Apocryphal – of doubtful origin; false
Virtuoso – masterful musician; a masterful practitioner in some other field
Slander – to defame; to speak maliciously of someone
List 17
Animosity – resentment; hostility; ill will
Deplete – to use up; to reduce; to lessen
Amity – friendship
Stringent – strict; restrictive
Voluminous – very large; spacious (this word has nothing to do with sound)
Auspicious – favorable; promising; pointing to a good result
Fickle – capricious; whimsical; unpredictable
Lethargy – sluggishness; laziness; drowsiness; indifference
Hackneyed – banal; overused; trite (a cliché is a hackneyed expression)
Amass – to accumulate
Willful – deliberate; obstinate; insistent on having one’s way
List 18
Bastion – stronghold; fortress; fortified place
Trepidation – fear; apprehension; nervous trembling
Desecrate – to profane a holy place (the opposite is consecrate)
Fortuitous – accidental; occurring by chance
Vehement – urgent; passionate
Assuage – to soothe; to pacify; to ease the pain of; to relieve
Prodigious – extraordinary; enormous
Torpor – sluggishness; inactivity; apathy
Furtive – secretive
Supercilious – haughty; patronizing
Prudent – careful; having foresight
Verbose – wordy; overly talkative
List 19
Pedestrian – common; ordinary; banal (secondary meaning)
Innocuous – harmless; banal
Fanatic – one who is extremely devoted to a cause or idea
Enhance – to make better; to augment
Retract – to take back; to withdraw; to pull back
Ambiguous – unclear in meaning; confusing; capable of being interpreted in at least two
similarly plausible ways
Paucity – scarcity
Rescind – to repeal; to take back formally
Subtle – not obvious; able to make fine distinctions; ingenious; crafty
Zealous – fervent; enthusiastically devoted to something
Benign – gentle; not harmful; kind; mild
List 20
Compliant – yielding; submissive
Emulate – to strive to equal or excel, usually through imitation
Innumerable – too many to number or count; many
Meander – to wander slowly, like a winding river
Authoritarian – like a dictator
Brawn – bulk; muscles
Contrite – deeply apologetic; remorseful
Exemplify – to serve as an example of
Facilitate – to make easier
Hypothetical – uncertain; unproven
Recalcitrant – stubbornly defiant of authority or control
Ambulatory – able to walk; walking
List 21
Diffident – timid; lacking in self-confidence
Drone – to talk on and on in a dull way
Gullible – overly trusting; willing to believe anything
Marred – damaged; bruised
Nullify – to make unimportant
Parsimony – stinginess
Propriety – properness; good manners
Rejuvenate – to make young and strong again
Skeptical – doubting (opposite of gullible)
Tenacious – tough; hard to defeat
Animated – alive; moving
Authentic – real
Bias – prejudice; tendency; tilt
List 22
Blithe – carefree; cheerful
Dearth – a lack of; scarcity
Divert – to change the direction of; to alter the course of; to amuse
Enthrall – to thrill
Heed – to listen to
Hindrance – an obstruction; an annoying interference or delay
Irascible – irritable
Merger – a joining or marriage
Nostalgia – a sentimental longing for the past; homesickness
Pretentious – pompous; self-important; ETS-like
Saccharine – sweet; excessively or disgustingly sweet
Stanza – a section of a poem; verse
Venerate – to revere; to treat as something holy, especially because of great age
Vilify – to say vile things about; to defame