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299 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
to lessen in intensity or degree
(verb) |
abate
|
|
deviating from the norm
(adjective) |
aberrant
|
|
to depart clandestinely; to steal away and hide
(verb) |
abscond
|
|
an expression of praise
(noun) |
accolade
|
|
having a sour or bitter taste or character
(adjective) |
acerbic
|
|
quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight
(noun) |
acumen
|
|
excessive praise; intense adoration
(noun) |
adulation
|
|
to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
(verb) |
adulterate
|
|
dealing with, appreciate of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
(adjective) |
aesthetic
|
|
to increase in intensity, power, or prestige
(verb) |
aggrandize
|
|
eager and enthusiastic willingness
(noun) |
alacrity
|
|
a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, especially base metals, into gold
(noun) |
alchemy
|
|
to combine several elements into a whole
(verb) |
amalgamate
|
|
to make better or more tolerable
(verb) |
amelioroate
|
|
agreeable; responsive to suggestion
(adjective) |
amenable
|
|
something or someone out of place in terms of its historical or chronological context
(Noun) |
anachronism
|
|
deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality
(noun) |
anomaly
|
|
an expression of approval or praise
(noun) |
approbation
|
|
outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive time
(adjective) |
archaic
|
|
strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort
(adjective) |
arduous
|
|
one who practices rigid self-denial, especially as an act of religious devotion
(noun) |
ascetic
|
|
to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
(verb) |
assuage
|
|
having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh, severe
(adjective) |
astringent
|
|
daring and fearless; recklessly bold
(adjective) |
audacious
|
|
without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
(adjective) |
austere
|
|
greed, especially for wealth
(noun) |
avarice
|
|
to state as a fact; to confirm or support
(verb) |
aver
|
|
a universally recognized principle; taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth
(noun/adjective) |
axiom/axiomatic
|
|
to provide support or reinforcement
(bolster) |
verb
|
|
self-evident or pompous writing or speech; pompous; grandiloquent
(noun/adjective) |
bombast/bombastic
|
|
rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
(adjective) |
bucolic
|
|
to grow rapidly; to flourish
(verb) |
burgeon
|
|
harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
(noun) |
cacophony
|
|
an established set of prinicples or code of laws, often religious in nature
(noun) |
canon
|
|
following or in agreement with orthodox requirements
(adjective) |
canonical
|
|
inclined to change one's mind impulisvely; erratic; unpredictable
(adjective) |
capricious
|
|
severe criticism or punishment
(noun) |
castigation
|
|
a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change
(adjective) |
catalyst
|
|
burning or stinging; causing corrosion
(adjective) |
caustic
|
|
to criticize severely; to officialy rebuke
(verb) |
censure
|
|
wary; cautious
(adjective) |
chary
|
|
trickery or subterfuge
(noun) |
chicanery
|
|
appealing forcibly to the mind on reason; convincing
(adjective) |
cogent
|
|
the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
(noun) |
complaisance
|
|
an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expret
(noun) |
connoisseur
|
|
argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
(adjective) |
contentious
|
|
regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
(adjective) |
contrite
|
|
a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude
(noun) |
convention
|
|
complex or complicated
(adjective) |
convoluted
|
|
tending to believe too readily; gullible
(adjective) |
credulous
|
|
deserving blame
(adjective) |
culpable
|
|
an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness
(noun) |
cynicism
|
|
smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
(noun) |
dearth
|
|
polite or appropriate conduct or behavior
(noun) |
decorum
|
|
to question or oppose
(verb) |
demur
|
|
scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment
(noun) |
derision
|
|
to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull
(verb) |
dessicate
|
|
a harsh denunciation
(noun) |
diatribe
|
|
intended to teach or instruct
(adjective) |
didactic
|
|
one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
(noun) |
dilettante
|
|
to undeceive; to set right
(verb) |
disabuse
|
|
conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
(adjective) |
discordant
|
|
cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
(noun) |
discretion
|
|
indifferent; free from self-interest
(adjective) |
disinterested
|
|
to slight or belittle
(verb) |
disparage
|
|
fundamentally distinct or dissimiliar
(adjective) |
disparate
|
|
to disguise or conceal; to mislead
(verb) |
dissemble
|
|
to disclose something secret
(verb) |
divulge
|
|
stubbornly oppinionated
(adjective) |
dogmatic
|
|
the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
(noun) |
ebullience
|
|
departing from norms or conventions
(adjective) |
eccentric
|
|
composed of elements drawn from various sources
(adjective) |
eclectic
|
|
extreme boldness; presumptuousness
(noun) |
effrontery
|
|
a mournful poem, especially one lamenting the dead
(noun) |
elegy
|
|
well-spoken; expressive; articluate
(adjective) |
eloquent
|
|
soothing, especially to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying
(adjective) |
emollient
|
|
based on observation or experiment
(adjective) |
empirical
|
|
characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, or people
(adjective) |
endemic
|
|
to weaken; to reduce in vitality
(verb) |
enervate
|
|
mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
(adjective) |
enigmatic
|
|
dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
(noun) |
ennui
|
|
brief; fleeting
(adjective) |
ephemeral
|
|
to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
(verb) |
equivocate
|
|
very learned; scholarly
(adjective) |
erudite
|
|
intended for or understood by a small, specific group
(adjective) |
esoteric
|
|
a speech honoring the dead
(noun) |
eulogy
|
|
tending to dissapear like vapor; vanishing
(adjective) |
evanescent
|
|
to make worse or more severe
(verb) |
exacerbate
|
|
exonerate; to clear of blame
(verb) |
exculpate
|
|
urgent; pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
(adjective) |
exigent
|
|
to remove blame
(verb) |
exonerate
|
|
improvised; done without preparation
(adjective) |
extemporaneous
|
|
playful; humorous
(adjective) |
facetious
|
|
an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
(noun) |
fallacy
|
|
to flatter or praise excessively
(verb) |
fawn
|
|
greatly emotional or zealous
(adjective) |
fervent
|
|
intentional obstruction, especially using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
(noun) |
filibuster
|
|
to demonstrate contempt for, as in a rule or convention
(verb) |
flout
|
|
happening by fortunate accident or chance
(adjective) |
fortuitous
|
|
to loudly attack or denounce
(verb) |
fulminate
|
|
marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
(adjective) |
furtive
|
|
pointlessly talkative, talking too much
(adjective) |
garrulous
|
|
relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
(adjective) |
germane
|
|
marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial
(adjective) |
glib
|
|
pompous speech or expression
(noun) |
grandiloquence
|
|
sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
(adjective) |
gregarious
|
|
rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage
(adjective) |
hackneyed
|
|
calm and peaceful
(adjective) |
halcyon
|
|
to deliver a pompous speech or tirade
(verb) |
harangue
|
|
devotion to pleasurable pursuits, especially to the pleasures of the senses
(noun) |
hedonism
|
|
the consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others
(noun) |
hegemony
|
|
violating accepted dogma or convention
(adjective) |
heretical
|
|
arrogant presumption or pride
(noun) |
hubris
|
|
an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
(noun) |
hyperbole
|
|
one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions
(noun) |
iconoclast
|
|
given to intense or excessive devotion to something
(adjective) |
idolatrous
|
|
about to happen; impending
(adjective) |
imminent
|
|
not capable of change
(adjective) |
immutable
|
|
revealing no emotion
(adjective) |
impassive
|
|
lacking funds; without money
(adjective) |
impecunious
|
|
marked by extreme calm, impassivity, and steadiness
(adjective) |
imperturbable
|
|
hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement
(adjective) |
impetuous
|
|
not capable of being appeased or significantly changed
(adjective) |
implacable
|
|
immunity from punishment or penalty
(noun) |
impunity
|
|
in an initial stage; not fully formed
(adjective) |
inchoate
|
|
beginning to come into being or to become apparent
(adjective) |
incipient
|
|
having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice
(adjective) |
indifferent
|
|
unmoving; lethargic; sluggigh
(adjective) |
inert
|
|
unfortunate; inappropriate
(adjective) |
infelicitous
|
|
artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication
(adjective) |
ingenuous
|
|
damaging; harmful; malevolent
(adjective) |
inimical
|
|
harmless; causing no damage
(adjective) |
innocuous
|
|
without taste or flavor; lacking in spirit; bland
(adjective) |
insipid
|
|
not easily managed or directed; stubborn, obstinate
(adjective) |
intractable
|
|
refusing to compromise
(adjective) |
intransigent
|
|
steadfast and courageous
(adjective) |
intrepid
|
|
accustomed to accepting something undesirable
(adjective) |
inured
|
|
to obtain by deception or flattery
(verb) |
inveigle
|
|
easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
(adjective) |
irascible
|
|
using few words; terse
(adjective) |
laconic
|
|
to praise highly
(verb) |
laud
|
|
extremely talkative
(adjective) |
loquacious
|
|
clear; easily understood
(adjective) |
lucid
|
|
characterized by brightness and the emission of light
(adjective) |
luminous
|
|
the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, especially in forgiving
(noun) |
magnanimity
|
|
having or showing often vicious ill will, spite, or hatred
(adjective) |
malevolent
|
|
capable of being shaped or formed; tractable; pliable
(adjective) |
malleable
|
|
associated with war and the armed forces
(adjective) |
martial
|
|
an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party
(noun) |
maverick
|
|
the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty
(noun) |
mendacity
|
|
characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood
(adjective) |
mercurial
|
|
characterized by extreme care and precision; attentive to detail
(adjective) |
meticulous
|
|
one who hates all other humans
(noun) |
misanthrope
|
|
to make or become less severe or intense; to moderate
(verb) |
mitigate
|
|
to calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity
(verb) |
mollify
|
|
sad; sullen; melancholy
(adjective) |
morose
|
|
of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary
(adjective) |
mundane
|
|
coming into being; in early developmental stages
(adjective) |
nascent
|
|
vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form
(adjective) |
nebulous
|
|
a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
(noun) |
neologism
|
|
a recent convert; a beginner; novice
(noun) |
neophyte
|
|
harmful; injurious
(adjective) |
noxious
|
|
unyielding; hardhearted; intractable
(adjective) |
obdurate
|
|
to deliberately obscure; to make confusing
(verb) |
obfuscate
|
|
exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
(adjective) |
obsequious
|
|
stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising
(adjective) |
obstinate
|
|
lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression
(adjective) |
obtuse
|
|
to anticipate and make unnecessary
(verb) |
obviate
|
|
to obstruct or block
(verb) |
occlude
|
|
evoking intense aversion or dislike
(adjective) |
odious
|
|
troubling; burdensome
(adjective) |
onerous
|
|
impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
(adjective) |
opaque
|
|
disgrace; contempt; scorn
(noun) |
opprobrium
|
|
the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
(noun) |
oscillation
|
|
characterized by or given to pretentiousness
(adjective) |
ostentatious
|
|
a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
(noun) |
paean
|
|
a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, especially in literature and art
(noun) |
parody
|
|
the art or profession of training, teaching, or instructing
(noun) |
pedagogy
|
|
the parading of learning; excessive attention to minutiae and formal rules
(adjective) |
pedantic
|
|
penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
(adjective) |
penurious
|
|
poverty; destitution
(noun) |
penury
|
|
recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly
(adjective) |
perennial
|
|
intentional breach of faith; treachery
(noun) |
perfidy
|
|
cursory; done without care or interest
(adjective) |
perfunctory
|
|
extremely harmful; potentially causing death
(adjective) |
pernicious
|
|
acutely perceptive; having keen discernment
(adjective) |
perspicacious
|
|
to examine with great care
(verb) |
peruse
|
|
to permeate throughout
(verb) |
pervade
|
|
having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout
(adjective) |
pervasive
|
|
calm; sluggish; unemotional
(adjective) |
phlegmatic
|
|
to yearn intensely; to languish; to lose vigor
(verb) |
pine
|
|
extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion
(adjective) |
pious
|
|
to illegally use or reproduce
(verb) |
pirate
|
|
the essential or central part; precise and brief
(noun/adjective) |
pith/pithy
|
|
to appease; to calm by making concessions
(verb) |
placate
|
|
a superficial remark, especially one offered as meaningful
(noun) |
platitude
|
|
an overabundance; a surplus
(noun) |
plethora
|
|
to plunge or drop straight down
(verb) |
plummet
|
|
controversial; argumentative
(adjective) |
polemical
|
|
practical rather than idealistic
(adjective) |
pragmatic
|
|
to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
(verb) |
prattle
|
|
to cause or to happen before anticipated or required; acting with excessive haste or impulse
(verb/adjective) |
precipitate
|
|
one that indicates or announces someone or something to come
(noun) |
precursor
|
|
a disposition in favor of something; preference
(noun) |
predilection
|
|
to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
(verb) |
preen
|
|
foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occuring
(noun) |
prescience
|
|
overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties
(adjective) |
presumptuous
|
|
to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead
(verb) |
prevaricate
|
|
pure; uncorrupted; clean
(adjective) |
pristine
|
|
adherence to highest principles; uprightness
(noun) |
probity
|
|
a natural predisposition or inclination
(noun) |
proclivity
|
|
recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish
(adjective) |
prodigal
|
|
abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
(adjective) |
prodigious
|
|
excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant
(adjective) |
profligate
|
|
given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant
(adjective) |
profuse
|
|
to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly
(verb) |
proliferate
|
|
producing large volumes or amounts; productive
(adjective) |
prolific
|
|
a natural inclination or tendency; penchant
(noun) |
propensity
|
|
dull; unimaginative
(adjective) |
prosaic
|
|
characterize by a strong, sharp smell or taste
(adjective) |
pungent
|
|
to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor
(verb) |
putrefy
|
|
to drink deeply
(verb) |
quaff
|
|
misgiving; reservation; cause for hesitancy
(noun) |
qualm
|
|
prone to complaining or grumbling; quarrelsome
(adjective) |
querulous
|
|
question; inquiry; doubt in the mind; reservation
(noun) |
query
|
|
stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
(noun) |
quiescence
|
|
foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals
(adjective) |
quixotic
|
|
occurring or recurring daily; commonplace
(adjective) |
quotidian
|
|
characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment
(adjective) |
rancorous
|
|
to make or become thin, less dense; to refine
(verb) |
rarefy
|
|
obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage
(adjective) |
recalcitrant
|
|
to retract, especially a previously held belief
(verb) |
recant
|
|
hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure
(adjective) |
recondite
|
|
awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
(adjective) |
redoubtable
|
|
raidant; shiny; brilliant
(adjective) |
refulgent
|
|
to disprove; to successfully argue against
(verb) |
refute
|
|
to forcibly assign, especially to a lower place or position
(verb) |
relegate
|
|
to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise
(verb) |
renege
|
|
to refuse to have anything to do with; disown
(verb) |
repudiate
|
|
to invalidate; to repeal; to retract
(verb) |
rescind
|
|
quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
(adjective) |
reticent
|
|
marked by, feeling, or expressing profound awe and respect
(adjective) |
reverent
|
|
the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion
(noun) |
rhetoric
|
|
promoting health or well-being
(adjective) |
salubrious
|
|
authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance
(noun) |
sanction
|
|
a literary work that ridicules or criticized a human vice through humor or derision
(noun) |
satire
|
|
diligent; persistent; hardworking
(adjective) |
sedulous
|
|
a piece of broken pottery or glass
(noun) |
shard
|
|
concerned and attentive; eager
(adjective) |
solicitous
|
|
able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance
(adjective) |
solvent
|
|
causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep
(adjective) |
soporific
|
|
characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
(adjective) |
sordid
|
|
thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals
(adjective) |
sparse
|
|
seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive
(adjective) |
specious
|
|
one who spends money wastefully
(noun) |
spendthrift
|
|
occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances
(adjective) |
sporadic
|
|
lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit
(adjective) |
spurious
|
|
sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
(adjective) |
squalid
|
|
to waste by spending or using irresponsibly
(verb) |
squander
|
|
not moving, active, or in motion; at rest
(adjective) |
static
|
|
indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
(adjective) |
stoic
|
|
to stun, baffle, or amaze
(verb) |
stupefy
|
|
to block; thwart
(verb) |
stymie
|
|
a court order requiring appearance and/ or testimony
(noun) |
subpoena
|
|
not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern'
(adjective) |
subtle
|
|
brief; concise
(adjective) |
succinct
|
|
exceeding what is sufficient or necessary
(adjective) |
superfluous
|
|
to take the place of; supersede
(verb) |
supplant
|
|
excess; overindulgence
(verb) |
surfeit
|
|
the combination of parts to make a whole
(noun) |
synthesis
|
|
implied; not explicitly stated
(adjective) |
tacit
|
|
the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued
(noun) |
tenacity
|
|
having little substance or strength; flimsy; weak
(adjective) |
tenuous
|
|
brief and concise in wording
(adjective) |
terse
|
|
a long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation
(noun) |
tirade
|
|
lethargic; sluggish; dormant
(adjective) |
torpid
|
|
a force that causes rotation
(noun) |
torque
|
|
winding; twisting; excessively complicated
(adjective) |
tortuous
|
|
to publicly praise or promote
(verb) |
tout
|
|
fleeting; passing quickly; brief
(adjective) |
transient
|
|
sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating
(adjective) |
trenchant
|
|
fierce and cruel; earger to fight
(adjective) |
truculent
|
|
existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
(adjective) |
ubiquitous
|
|
genuine; not false or hypocritical
(adjective) |
unfeigned
|
|
indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable
(adjective) |
untenable
|
|
sophisticated; refined; elegant
(adjective) |
urbane
|
|
to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another
(verb) |
vacillate
|
|
multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color
(adjective) |
variegated
|
|
truthfulness; honesty
(noun) |
veracity
|
|
annoyance; irritation
(noun) |
vexation
|
|
alertly watchful
(adjective) |
vigilant
|
|
to defame; to characterize harshly
(verb) |
vilify
|
|
extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
(adjective) |
virulent
|
|
thick; sticky
(adjective) |
viscous
|
|
to use harsh, condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; berate
(verb) |
vituperate
|
|
readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive
(adjective) |
volatile
|
|
having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous
(adjective) |
voracious
|
|
to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion
(verb) |
waver
|
|
fervent; ardent; impassioned
(adjective) |
zealous
|