10
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10
Nouns
You Should
Know
Verbs
You Should
Know
Adjectives
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Know
acrimony
coalesce
ascetic
arbiter
equivocate
bourgeois
demagogue
gerrymander
disparate
faux pas
impugn
equanimity
hubris
malinger
esoteric
nirvana
obfuscate
minimalist
paradigm
ostracize
ostentatious
paradox
palliate
quintessential
partisan
prognosticate
spurious
sycophant
proselytise
ubiquitous
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Word Savvy by Nancy Ragno
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Word Savvy by Nancy Ragno
Get more word know-how from
Word Savvy by Nancy Ragno
ascetic ( set' ik)
Practicing austere self-denial; hermitlike.
Denying himself all physical comforts, he prided
himself on his stark, ascetic lifestyle
coalesce (ko les')
To come together to form a whole; to fuse.
The two groups agreed to put aside their
differences and coalesce for a single cause.
bourgeois (bur zhwä')
Relating to the middle class and its values.
Often used n a derogatory sense.
Their tastes are so bourgeois!
equivocate (i kwiv' k t)
To intentionally use vague or ambiguous
language; to hedge.
When asked for her opinion, she answers frankly
and does not equivocate.
disparate (dis' sper t)
Entirely dissimilar; completely different
The couple was happy, despite their disparate
backgrounds.
equanimity ( kw ni' m t )
The quality of being composed, calm, and
even-tempered.
He faced the criticisms hurled against him with
equanimity.
esoteric (e s ter' ik)
Intended for or comprehended by a restricted
category of people.
This philosophical treatise is too esoteric to have
wide appeal.
minimalist (min' m list)
Relating to a style characterized by sparseness
and simplicity.
She favored minimalist design, with a few simple
furnishings.
ostentatious (äs t n ta' sh s) Pretentious
showiness meant to impress others.
In a square cut, this five-karat gem will be less
ostentatious.
quintessential (kwin t sen' sh l)
Being the most typical or best example of its
kind.
For the hero of her novel, the writer aimed to
portray the quintessential tough guy.
gerrymander (jer' man d r)
To divide an area into voting districts to give
unfair advantage to a party or political group.
Their plan was to gerrymander districts to
weaken voting strength of the opposition.
impugn (im pyün')
To brand as false or dishonest.
Are you trying to impugn the testimony I gave
under oath?
malinger (m ling' g r)
To avoid work by pretending to be ill or injured.
The workers complain and malinger to avoid
working in the intense heat.
obfuscate ( äb' f s k t)
To make obscure or confusing.
The defense objected at the prosecution’s attempts
to obfuscate.
ostracize (äs' tr s z)
To exlude from a group or banish.
His boorish behavior caused the group to
ostracize him.
palliate (pal' t)
To make seem less serious; to alleviate.
The analgesic helped palliate the patient’s pain.
spurious (spyur' s)
Not genuine; inauthentic.
The newly found Mozart manuscript was
spurious, a clever forgery.
prognosticate (präg näs' t k t)
To predict.
The stock analyst used charts to prognosticate a
downturn in the market.
ubiquitous (yü bik' w t s)
Seeming to be everywhere at once.
Ownership of a personal computer, once rare, is
now ubiquitous.
proselytize (prä' s l tiz)
To convert or recruit someone to one’s faith,
party, or cause.
He used his media appearance to proselytize for
his party. acrimony (a' kr m n n )
Harsh or bitter hostility, especially in speech.
Britain’s tea tax increased the Colonists’ acrimony.
arbiter (är' b t r)
One who has the power to decide; a judge.
An arbiter was called in to settle the dispute.
demagogue (de' m gäg)
A leader who gains power through lies and
appeal to prejudices.
The demagogue rose to power through
impassioned appeals to the people’s emotions.
faux pas (f pä')
A social blunder. A slip or blunder in matters
or etiquette.
It is a faux pas for the groom to chew gum during
the ceremony.
hubris (hyü' bris)
Over-bearing pride; arrogance.
Napoleon’s downfall resulted from his hubris.
nirvana (nir vä' n )
A condition or place of absolute harmony,
peace, and bliss.
The beautiful seaside garden was her retreat, her
nirvana.
paradigm (p r' dim)
An excellent or definitive example or model.
One paradigm for a paragraph is a topic sentence
followed by supporting details.
paradox (par' u däks)
1. A seemingly contradictory statement that
may be true. 2. A person or thing that has
contradictory aspects.
The familiar saying “less is more” expresses a
paradox.
sycophant (si'k f nt)
A self-serving, servile flatterer.
The fawning sycophant lavished insincere
flattery on the king.
partisan (pär' t h z n)
A firm supporter of a political party, cause,
person, or idea.
The non-objective commentator engaged in
partisan politics.