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666 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Abate (verb)
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to lessen in intensity or degree
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Aberrant (adj)
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deviating from the norm
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Abjure (verb)
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to renounce or reject solemnly; to recant; to avoid
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Abrogate (verb)
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to abolish or annul by authority; to put down
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Abscission (noun)
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The act of cutting off or removing
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Abscond (verb)
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to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
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Acarpous (adj)
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Effete; no longer fertile; worn out
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Accolade (noun)
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an expression of praise
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Accretion (noun)
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Growth; increase by successive addition; building up
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Acerbic (adj)
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having a sour or bitter taste or character
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Acumen (noun)
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quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight
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Admonish (verb)
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To reprove; to express warning or disapproval
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Adroit (adj)
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Adept; dextrous
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Adulation (noun)
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excessive praise; intense adoration
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Adulterate (verb)
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to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
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Adumbrate (verb)
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To foreshadow or intimate; to suggest sketchily; to obscure
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Aesthetic (adj)
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dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
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Aggrandize (verb)
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to increase in intensity, power, or prestige
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Alacrity (noun)
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eager and enthusiastic willingness
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Alchemy (noun)
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a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals, esp. base metals into gold
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Amalgamate (verb)
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to combine several elements into a whole
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Ameliorate (verb)
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to make better or more tolerable
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Amenable (adj)
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agreeable; responsive to suggestion
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Anachronism (noun)
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something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
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Anathema (noun)
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A solemn or ecclesiastical (religious) curse; accursed or thoroughly loathed person or thing
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Anodyne (adj/noun)
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Soothing; something that assuages or allays pain or comforts
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Anomaly (noun)
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deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality
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Antipathy (noun)
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Aversion; dislike
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Antithetical (adj)
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Diametrically opposed; as in antithesis
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Apocryphal (adj)
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Of dubious authenticity or origin; spurious
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Apogee (noun)
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Farthest or highest point; culmination; zenith (antonym: perigee)
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Apostate (noun)
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One who abandons long-held religious or political convictions
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Apotheosis (noun)
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Deification; glorification to godliness
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Apposite (adj)
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Appropriate; pertinent; relevant; apropos
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Apprise (verb)
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To give notice to; to inform
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Approbation (noun)
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an expression of approval or praise
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Arabesque (noun)
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A complex, ornate design; also to a dance position
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Arcane (adj)
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Mysterious; abstruse; esoteric; knowable only to initiates
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Archaic (adj)
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outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive, time
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Arduous (adj)
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strenuous; taxing; requiring significant effort
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Arrant (adj)
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Impudent
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Artless (adj)
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Completely without guile; natural; without artificiality
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Ascetic (noun)
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one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
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Ascetic (noun/adj)
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Someone practicing self-denial; austere; stark
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Asperity (noun)
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Severity; rigor; roughness; harshness; acrimony; irritability
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Aspersion (noun)
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An act of defamation or maligning; animadversion
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Assay (noun/verb)
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An analysis; examination; test; to put to a test
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Asseverate (verb)
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To aver; to allege; to assert
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Assiduous (adj)
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Diligent; hard-working; sedulous
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Assuage (verb)
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to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
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Astringent (adj)
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having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe
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Attenuate (verb)
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To rarefy; to weaken or make thinner
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Audacious (adj)
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daring and fearless; recklessly bold
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Augury (noun)
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Omen; portent
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Auspice (noun)
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Protection or support; patronage
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Auspicious (adj)
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Favorable; propitious; successful; prosperous
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Austere (adj)
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without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
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Avarice (noun)
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greed, esp. for wealth
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Aver (verb)
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to state as a fact; to confirm or support
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Aver (verb)
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To affirm; to assert; to prove; to justify; to asseverate
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Axiom (noun)
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a universally recognized principle
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Axiomatic (adj)
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taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth
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Baleful (adj)
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Sinister; pernicious; ominous
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Bane (noun)
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Cause of injury; poison; source of harm
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Beatify (verb)
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To bless, make happy, or ascribe a virtue to; to regard as saintly
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Bedizen (verb)
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To adorn, especially in a cheap, showy manner; to festoon
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Belie (verb)
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To give a false impression of; to misrepresent
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Bellicose (adj)
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Belligerent; pugnacious; warlike
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Bilge (noun)
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Bulge the protuberance of a cask
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Blandish (verb)
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To toady or fawn
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Blithe (adj)
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Carefree; merry
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Boisterous (adj)
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Loud; noisy; rough; lacking restraint
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Bolster (verb)
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to provide support or reinforcement
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Bombast (noun)
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self-important or pompous writing or speech
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Bombastic (adj)
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pompous; grandiloquent
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Boor (noun)
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A rude or insensitive person; lout
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Bucolic (adj)
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rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
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Burgeon (verb)
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to grow rapidly or flourish
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Burnish (verb)
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To polish; to rub to a shine
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Byzantine (adj)
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Labyrinthine; complex
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Cabal (noun)
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A scheme or plot; a group of plotters
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Cachinnate (verb)
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To laugh loudly
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Cacophony (noun)
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harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
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Cadge (verb)
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To sponge or mooch
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Cajole (verb)
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To inveigle, coax, or wheedle
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Calumniate (verb)
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To slander; to make a false accusation
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Calumny (noun)
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Slander; aspersion
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Canon (noun)
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an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
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Canonical (adj)
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following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards
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Caparison (verb)
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To adorn or bedizen
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Capricious (adj)
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inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erratic; unpredictable
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Captious (adj)
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Calculated to confuse or entrap in argument; hypercritical; caviling
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Caret (noun)
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An insertion mark used by editors and proof-readers
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Castigation (noun)
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severe criticism or punishment
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Catalyst (noun)
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a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing
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Catalyst (noun)
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a person or thing that causes change
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Caustic (adj)
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burning or stinging; causing corrosion
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Cavil (verb)
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To find fault without good reason
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Celerity (noun)
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Speed; alacrity
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Censure (verb)
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to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
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Chary (adj)
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wary; cautious; sparing
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Chasten (verb)
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To chastise or correct
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Chauvinist (noun)
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A blindly devoted patriot
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Chicanery (noun)
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trickery or subterfuge
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Chimera (noun)
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An illusion; originally, an imaginary fire-breathing she-monster
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Churlish (adj)
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Boorish; vulgar; loutish; difficult and intractable
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Coalesce (verb)
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To come together; to fuse or unite
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Coda (noun)
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Concluding section of a musical or literary piece
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Coeval (adj)
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Of the same period; coexisting
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Cogent (adj)
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appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
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Commensurate (adj)
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Matching; corresponding or proportionate in degree, size or amount
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Complaisance (noun)
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the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
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Connoisseur (noun)
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an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert
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Contemn (verb)
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To scorn or despise
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Contentious (adj)
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argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
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Contiguous (adj)
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sharing a border; touching; adjacent
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Contrite (adj)
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regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
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Contumacious (adj)
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Insubordinate; rebellious
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Convention (noun)
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a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude
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Convoluted (adj)
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complex or complicated
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Corrigible (adj)
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Capable of being set right; correctable; reparable
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Countenance (verb/noun)
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To approve of or tolerate; face; composure
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Cozen (verb)
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To deceive, beguile, or hoodwink
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Craven (adj)
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Contemptibly fainthearted; lacking any courage
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Credulous (adj)
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tending to believe too readily; gullible
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Culpable (adj)
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deserving blame
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Curmudgeon (noun)
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A crusty, ill-tempered coot; a misanthrope
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Cynicism (noun)
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an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness
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Daunt (verb)
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To cow or dismay
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Dearth (noun)
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smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
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Debacle (noun)
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Rout; fiasco; complete failure
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Decorous (adj)
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Correct; formal; marked by decorum
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Decorum (noun)
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polite or appropriate conduct or behavior
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Defalcate (verb)
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To embezzle or misappropriate
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Demur (verb)
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to question or oppose
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Denigrate (verb)
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To blacken; to belittle; to sully; to defame; to disparage
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Denouement (noun)
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An outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot
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Deposition (noun)
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Accretion; depositing; building up layer by layer; official testimony
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Deprecate (verb)
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To disparage or belittle; to put down
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Depredate (verb)
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To plunder, pillage, ravage, or destroy; to exploit in a predatory manner
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Derision (noun)
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scorn; ridicule; contemptuous treatment
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Derivative (adj)
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Unoriginal; obtained from another source
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Descant (verb )
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To comment at length
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Descry (verb)
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To discriminate or discern
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Desiccate (verb)
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to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull
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Desuetude (noun)
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Disuse
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Desultory (adj)
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Random; thoughtless; marked by a lack of plan or purpose
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Detraction (noun)
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Slandering; verbal attack; aspersion
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Diaphanous (adj)
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Transparent; gauzy
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Diatribe (noun)
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a harsh denunciation
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Didactic (adj)
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intended to teach or instruct
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Diffident (adj)
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Reserved, shy, or unassuming; lacking in self-confidence
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Digress (verb)
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To stray from the point; to go off on a tangent
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Dilatory (adj)
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Causing delay; procrastinating
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Dilettante (noun)
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one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
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Din (noun)
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Loud, sustained noise
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Dirge (noun)
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A song of grief or lamentation
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Disabuse (verb)
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to undeceive; to set right
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Disaffect (verb)
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To estrange or alienate the affection of
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Discomfit (verb)
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To defeat; to put down
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Discordant (adj)
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conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
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Discretion (noun)
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cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions
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Discursive (adj)
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Digressive; passing from one topic to another
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Disinterested (adj)
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indifferent; free from self-interest
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Disparage (verb)
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to slight or belittle
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Disparate (adj)
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Fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
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Dissemble (verb)
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to disguise or conceal; to mislead
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Dissolution (noun)
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Disintegration; looseness in morals
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Distention (noun)
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The state or act of extending or being swollen out of shape
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Distrait (adj)
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Distracted; absent-minded, especially due to anxiety
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Divulge (verb)
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to disclose something secret
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Doggerel (noun)
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Trivial, poorly constructed verse
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Dogmatic (adj)
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stubbornly opinionated
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Dross (noun)
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Slag, waste, or foreign matter; impurity; surface scum
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Dulcet (adj)
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Melodious; harmonious; mellifluous
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Dynamo (noun)
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Generator; forceful, energetic person
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Ebullience (noun)
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the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
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Eccentric (adj)
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departing from norms or conventions
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Eclectic (adj)
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composed of elements drawn from various sources
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Eclectic (adj)
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Culled from many sources
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Edacious (adj)
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Voracious; devouring
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Edifying (adj)
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Enlightening
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Effluvia (noun)
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Outflow in a stream of particles; a noxious odor or vapor
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Effrontery (noun)
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extreme boldness; presumptuousness
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Effrontery (noun)
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Boldness; impudence; arrogance
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Effusive (adj)
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Gushing; excessively demonstrative
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Egress (noun)
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Exit
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Elegy (noun)
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a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead
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Eloquent (adj)
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well-spoken; expressive; articulate
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Emollient (adj)
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soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh
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Empirical (adj)
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based on observation or experiment
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Encomium (noun)
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Glowing and enthusiastic praise; panegyric; tribute; eulogy
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Endemic (adj)
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characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, or people
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Endemic (adj)
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Restricted or peculiar to a particular region; indigenous
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Enervate (verb)
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to weaken; to reduce in vitality
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Engender (verb)
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To cause; to produce; to give rise to
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Enigmatic (adj)
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mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
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Ennui (noun)
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dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
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Enormity (noun)
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Excessive wickedness; evilness
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Ephemeral (adj)
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brief; fleeting
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Ephemeral (adj)
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Evanescent; fleeting; short-lived
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Epicure (noun)
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One devoted to sensual pleasure, particularly in food and drink; gourmand; sybarite
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Episodic (adj)
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Loosely connected; not flowing logically
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Epithet (noun)
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Disparaging word or phrase
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Epitome (noun)
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Embodiment; quintessence
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Equanimity (noun)
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Composure; self-possession
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Equipoise (noun)
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Equal distribution of weight; equilibrium
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Equivocate (verb)
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to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
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Errant (adj)
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Traveling; itinerant; peripatetic
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Erudite (adj)
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very learned; scholarly
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Eschew (verb)
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To shun or avoid
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Esoteric (adj)
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intended for or understood by a small, specific group
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Estimable (adj)
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Worthy; formidable
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Eulogy (noun)
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a speech honoring the dead
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Evanescent (adj)
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tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing
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Evince (verb)
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To show clearly; to indicate
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Exacerbate (verb)
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to make worse or more severe
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Excoriate (verb)
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To censure scathingly; to upbraid
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Exculpate (verb)
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exonerate; to clear of blame
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Exegesis (noun)
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Critical examination; explication
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Exemplar (noun)
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Typical or standard specimen; paradigm; model
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Exigent (adj)
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urgent; pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
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Exonerate (verb)
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to remove blame
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Expatiate (verb)
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To descant; to discourse; to discuss or write about at length
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Expiate (verb)
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To atone or make amends for
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Expostulate (verb)
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To argue earnestly in order to dissuade
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Expurgate (verb)
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To remove obscenity; to purify; to censor
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Exscind (verb)
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To cut out or extirpate
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Extant (adj)
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Existing; not destroyed or lost
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Extemporaneous (adj)
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improvised; done without preparation
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Extirpate (verb)
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To destroy; to exterminate; to cut out; to exscind
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Facetious (adj)
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playful; humorous
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Fallacy (noun)
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an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
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Fallow (adj)
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Untilled; inactive; dormant
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Fatuous (adj)
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Silly; inanely foolish
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Fawn (verb)
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to flatter or praise excessively
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Feckless (adj)
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Ineffectual;
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Felicitous (adj)
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Apt; suitably expressed; well-chosen; apropos
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Fervent (adj)
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greatly emotional or zealous
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Fetid (adj)
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Stinking; smelly; malodorous
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Fetter (verb)
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To shackle; to put in chains
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Filibuster (noun)
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intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
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Filigree (noun)
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An ornamental work, especially of delicate lacelike patterns
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Florid (adj)
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Flowery; ruddy; ornate
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Flout (verb)
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to demonstrate contempt for, as in a rule or convention
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Foment (verb)
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To incite; to rouse
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Forbearance (noun)
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Patience; willingness to wait
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Forestall (verb)
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To act in a way to hinder; to exclude or prevent an action; to avert
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Forswear (verb)
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To renounce; to disallow; to repudiate
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Fortuitous (adj)
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happening by fortunate accident or chance
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Fracas (noun)
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Noisy quarrel; imbroglio; brawl
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Fractious (adj)
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Quarrelsome; rebellious; unruly; refractory; irritable
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Frieze (noun)
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A semi-sculptural, raised-surface ornamental façade to a building
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Froward (adj)
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Intractable; not willing to yield or comply; recalcitrant
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Fulminate (verb)
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to loudly attack or denounce
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Furtive (adj)
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marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
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Gainsay (verb)
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To deny, dispute, contradict, to oppose
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Gambol (verb)
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To skip about playfully
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Garner (verb)
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To gather and save; to store up
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|
|
Garrulous (adj)
|
pointlessly talkative; talking too much
|
|
|
Gauche (adj)
|
Crude; awkward; tasteless
|
|
|
Germane (adj)
|
relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
|
|
|
Glib (adj)
|
marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial
|
|
|
Gossamer (adj)
|
Delicate; insubstantial or tenuous; insincere
|
|
|
Grandiloquence (noun)
|
pompous speech or expression
|
|
|
Gregarious (adj)
|
sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
|
|
|
Guile (noun)
|
Artfulness; trickery; chicanery; duplicity
|
|
|
Hackneyed (adj)
|
rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage
|
|
|
Halcyon (adj)
|
calm and peaceful
|
|
|
Hallow (verb)
|
To make holy; to consecrate
|
|
|
Harangue (verb)
|
to deliver a pompous speech or tirade
|
|
|
Harrow (verb)
|
To distress; to create stress; to torment
|
|
|
Hedonism (noun)
|
devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. to the pleasures of the senses
|
|
|
Hegemony (noun)
|
the consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others
|
|
|
Heretical (adj)
|
violating accepted dogma or convention
|
|
|
Heretical (adj)
|
Unorthodox; iconoclastic; dissenting from established dogma
|
|
|
Hermetic (adj)
|
Sealed by fusion; airtight
|
|
|
Heterodox (adj)
|
Unorthodox; heretical; iconoclastic
|
|
|
Hirsute (adj)
|
Hairy; shaggy
|
|
|
Homiletics (noun)
|
The art of preaching
|
|
|
Homily (noun)
|
A sermon or morally instructive lecture
|
|
|
Hubris (noun)
|
arrogant presumption or pride
|
|
|
Hyperbole (noun)
|
an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
|
|
|
Iconoclast (noun)
|
one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions
|
|
|
Iconoclastic (adj)
|
Attacking cherished beliefs; heretical; heterodox
|
|
|
Idolatrous (adj)
|
given to intense or excessive devotion to something
|
|
|
Idyll (noun)
|
A carefree, light-hearted pastoral or romantic episode; a literary or musical piece describing such
|
|
|
Ignominious (adj)
|
Shameful; dishonorable; ignoble; undignified
|
|
|
Imbroglio (noun)
|
Difficult or embarrassing situation
|
|
|
Imminent (adj)
|
about to happen; impending
|
|
|
Immutable (adj)
|
not capable of change
|
|
|
Impassive (adj)
|
revealing no emotion
|
|
|
Impassive (adj)
|
Expressionless; stoic; stolid; unsusceptible to emotion; apathetic; phlegmatic
|
|
|
Impecunious (adj)
|
lacking funds; without money
|
|
|
Imperious (adj)
|
Commanding; masterful; arrogant; domineering; haughty
|
|
|
Imperturbable (adj)
|
marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness
|
|
|
Impetuous (adj)
|
hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement
|
|
|
Implacable (adj)
|
not capable of being appeased or significantly changed
|
|
|
Importune (verb)
|
To ask incessantly; to beg; to nag
|
|
|
Impugn (verb)
|
To attack or assail verbally; to censure; to execrate
|
|
|
Impunity (noun)
|
immunity from punishment or penalty
|
|
|
Impute (verb)
|
To attribute to a cause or source; to ascribe
|
|
|
Inchoate (adj)
|
in an initial stage; not fully formed
|
|
|
Incipient (adj)
|
beginning to come into being or to become apparent
|
|
|
Indefatigable (adj)
|
Tirelessness; doggedness
|
|
|
Indifferent (adj)
|
having no interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice
|
|
|
Indolent (adj)
|
Lazy; listless; torpid
|
|
|
Ineluctable (adj)
|
Certain; inevitable
|
|
|
Inert (adj)
|
unmoving; lethargic; sluggish
|
|
|
Infelicitous (adj)
|
unfortunate; inappropriate
|
|
|
Ingenuous (adj)
|
artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication
|
|
|
Ingenuous (adj)
|
Guileless; trusting; naïve; credulous
|
|
|
Inherent (adj)
|
Ingrained within one’s nature; intrinsic; innate; firmly established
|
|
|
Inimical (adj)
|
damaging; harmful; injurious
|
|
|
Inimical (adj)
|
Hostile; adverse; unfriendly
|
|
|
Inimitable (adj)
|
One of a kind; peerless
|
|
|
Iniquity (noun)
|
Gross injustice; wickedness
|
|
|
Innervate (verb)
|
To supply with nerves; to embolden; to energize
|
|
|
Innocuous (adj)
|
harmless; causing no damage
|
|
|
Inscrutable (adj)
|
Incapable of being discovered or understood
|
|
|
Insensible (adj)
|
Unconscious; unresponsive; unaffected; numb
|
|
|
Insipid (adj)
|
without taste or flavor; lacking in spirit; bland
|
|
|
Insouciant (adj)
|
Carefree; unconcerned; heedless
|
|
|
Insular (adj)
|
Parochial; narrow-minded
|
|
|
Interdict (verb)
|
To prohibit; to forbid; to ban; to halt
|
|
|
Intractable (adj)
|
not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate
|
|
|
Intransigent (adj)
|
refusing to compromise
|
|
|
Intrepid (adj)
|
steadfast and courageous
|
|
|
Inured (adj)
|
accustomed to accepting something undesirable
|
|
|
Inveigh (verb)
|
To attack verbally; to denounce; to deprecate
|
|
|
Inveigle (verb)
|
to obtain by deception or flattery
|
|
|
Inveterate (adj)
|
Deep-routed; ingrained; habitual
|
|
|
Involute (adj)
|
Intricate; complex; convoluted
|
|
|
Irascible (adj)
|
easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
|
|
|
Itinerate (adj)
|
To travel from place to place; to peregrinate
|
|
|
Jejune (adj)
|
Vapid; uninteresting; immature; puerile
|
|
|
Jibe (verb)
|
To agree; to be in accord
|
|
|
Jocose, Jocular (adj)
|
Humorous; gay; blithe
|
|
|
Labile (adj)
|
Readily open to change; unstable
|
|
|
Lachrymose (adj)
|
Causing tears; tearful
|
|
|
Laconic (adj)
|
using few words; terse
|
|
|
Lambaste (verb)
|
To censure; to excoriate; to berate
|
|
|
Lassitude (adj)
|
Listlessness; languor; weariness
|
|
|
Laud (verb)
|
to praise highly
|
|
|
Libertine (noun)
|
Someone unrestrained by morality or convention
|
|
|
Limn (verb)
|
To draw; to outline in detail; to delineate; to describe
|
|
|
Limpid (adj)
|
Transparent; serene; clear; untroubled; pellucid
|
|
|
Loquacious (adj)
|
extremely talkative
|
|
|
Lubricious (adj)
|
Lewd; wanton; greasy; slippery
|
|
|
Lucid (adj)
|
clear; easily understood
|
|
|
Luculent (adj)
|
Easily understood; lucid; clear
|
|
|
Luminous (adj)
|
characterized by brightness and the emission of light
|
|
|
Macerate (verb)
|
To waste away; to soften or wear away by excessive fasting or by excessive steeping
|
|
|
Maculate (adj)
|
Marked with spots or blotches; besmirched; impure
|
|
|
Magnanimity (noun)
|
the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving
|
|
|
Malevolent (adj)
|
having or showing often vicious ill-will, spite, or hatred
|
|
|
Malinger (verb)
|
To feign illness so as to avoid work; to avoid work
|
|
|
Malleable (adj)
|
capable of being shaped or formed; tractable; pliable
|
|
|
Martial (adj)
|
associated with war and the armed forces
|
|
|
Maunder (verb)
|
To digress; to meander; to stray from the topic or path
|
|
|
Maverick (noun)
|
an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party
|
|
|
Mellifluous (adj)
|
Sweetly flowing usually used to describe use of words
|
|
|
Mendacity (noun)
|
the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty
|
|
|
Mendicant (noun)
|
Beggar; supplicant
|
|
|
Mercurial (adj)
|
characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood
|
|
|
Meretricious (adj)
|
Cheap; gawdy; tawdry; flashy; showy
|
|
|
Metamorphose (verb)
|
To transform; to change utterly
|
|
|
Meticulous (adj)
|
characterized by extreme care and precision; attentive to detail
|
|
|
Mettle (noun)
|
Strength of spirit; courage; stamina
|
|
|
Mettlesome (adj)
|
Courageous; high-spirited
|
|
|
Militate (verb)
|
To have weight; to bear on; to argue (against)
|
|
|
Minatory (adj)
|
Menacing; threatening
|
|
|
Misanthrope (noun)
|
one who hates all other humans
|
|
|
Misogynist (noun)
|
One who hates women or females
|
|
|
Mitigate (verb)
|
to make or become less severe or intense; to moderate
|
|
|
Mollify (verb)
|
to calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity
|
|
|
Morose (adj)
|
sad; sullen; melancholy
|
|
|
Multifarious (adj)
|
Varied; motley; greatly diversified
|
|
|
Mundane (adj)
|
of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary
|
|
|
Nadir (noun)
|
Low point; perigee
|
|
|
Nascent (adj)
|
coming into being; in early developmental stages
|
|
|
Natty (adj)
|
Trimly neat and tidy; smart
|
|
|
Nebulous (adj)
|
vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form
|
|
|
Neologism (noun)
|
a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
|
|
|
Neophyte (noun)
|
a recent convert; a beginner; novice
|
|
|
Nexus (noun)
|
A connection, tie, or link
|
|
|
Noisome (adj)
|
Offensive, especially to one’s sense of smell; fetid
|
|
|
Nonplused (adj)
|
Baffled; in a quandary; at a loss for what to say or do
|
|
|
Nostrum (noun)
|
Panacea; cure all; placebo; questionable remedy; palliative
|
|
|
Noxious (adj)
|
harmful; injurious
|
|
|
Nugatory (adj)
|
Trifling; inconsequential
|
|
|
Obdurate (adj)
|
unyielding; hardhearted; intractable
|
|
|
Obfuscate (verb)
|
to deliberately obscure; to make confusing
|
|
|
Obloquy (noun)
|
Abusively detractive language; sharp criticism; vituperation; calumny
|
|
|
Obsequious (adj)
|
exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
|
|
|
Obstinate (adj)
|
stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising
|
|
|
Obstreperous (adj)
|
Noisy; loud
|
|
|
Obtuse (adj)
|
lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression
|
|
|
Obviate (verb)
|
to anticipate and make unnecessary
|
|
|
Occlude (verb)
|
to obstruct or block
|
|
|
Odious (adj)
|
evoking intense aversion or dislike
|
|
|
Officious (adj)
|
Meddlesome; pushy in one’s services
|
|
|
Onerous (adj)
|
troubling; burdensome
|
|
|
Opaque (adj)
|
impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
|
|
|
Opprobrium (noun)
|
disgrace; contempt; scorn
|
|
|
Oscillation (noun)
|
the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
|
|
|
Ossified (adj)
|
Tending to become more rigid; conventional; sterile and reactionary with age; literally, tuned into bone
|
|
|
Ostensible (adj)
|
Seeming; appearing as such; professed
|
|
|
Ostentatious (adj)
|
characterized by or given to pretentiousness
|
|
|
Overweening (adj)
|
Presumptuously arrogant; supercilious; overbearing
|
|
|
Paean (noun)
|
a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
|
|
|
Palliate (verb)
|
To make something appear less serious; to gloss over
|
|
|
Panegyric (noun)
|
Formal praise; eulogy; encomium
|
|
|
Paradigm (noun)
|
A mode, example, or pattern; exemplar
|
|
|
Pariah (noun)
|
An outcast; a rejected and despised person
|
|
|
Parody (noun)
|
a humorous imitation intended for ridicule or comic effect, esp. in literature and art
|
|
|
Parry (verb)
|
To block; to evade or ward off, as a blow
|
|
|
Parsimonious (adj)
|
Cheap; miserly
|
|
|
Partisan (adj/noun)
|
Committed to a party; biased or prejudiced; supporter; adherent
|
|
|
Paucity (noun)
|
Scarcity; a lacking of
|
|
|
Peccadillo (noun)
|
A slight offense; literally, a minor sin
|
|
|
Pedagogy (noun)
|
the art or profession of training, teaching, or instructing
|
|
|
Pedantic (adj)
|
the parading of learning; excessive attention to minutiae and formal rules
|
|
|
Pellucid (adj)
|
Transparent; easy to understand; limpid
|
|
|
Penchant (noun)
|
Strong inclination; a liking
|
|
|
Penurious (adj)
|
penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
|
|
|
Penury (noun)
|
poverty; destitution
|
|
|
Peregrination (noun)
|
Traveling about; wandering
|
|
|
Peremptory (adj)
|
Admitting of no contradiction; haughty; imperious
|
|
|
Perennial (adj)
|
recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly
|
|
|
Perfidy (noun)
|
intentional breach of faith; treachery
|
|
|
Perfunctory (adj)
|
cursory; done without care or interest
|
|
|
Perigee (noun)
|
Closest or lowest point in an orbit; nadir
|
|
|
Peripatetic (adj)
|
Itinerant; traveling; nomadic
|
|
|
Pernicious (adj)
|
extremely harmful; potentially causing death
|
|
|
Peroration (noun)
|
The concluding part of a speech; grandiloquent speech
|
|
|
Personable (adj)
|
Pleasing in appearance; attractive
|
|
|
Perspicacious (adj)
|
acutely perceptive; having keen discernment
|
|
|
Peruse (verb)
|
to examine with great care
|
|
|
Pervade (verb)
|
to permeate throughout
|
|
|
Pervasive (adj)
|
having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout
|
|
|
Petrous (adj)
|
Like a rock; hard; stony
|
|
|
Petulant (adj)
|
Impatient; irritable
|
|
|
Philistine (noun)
|
A crass individual guided by material rather than by intellectual or artistic values
|
|
|
Phlegmatic (adj)
|
calm; sluggish; unemotional
|
|
|
Phlegmatic (adj)
|
Impassive; stoical; lethargic; sluggish
|
|
|
Picaresque (adj)
|
Involving clever rogues or adventures
|
|
|
Pillory (verb)
|
To punish; to hold up to public scorn
|
|
|
Pine (verb)
|
to yearn intensely; to languish; to lose vigor
|
|
|
Pious (adj)
|
extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion
|
|
|
Piquant (adj)
|
Agreeably pungent; stimulating
|
|
|
Pique (noun/verb)
|
Resentment; to annoy, irritate, or offend; to excite, provoke, or arouse
|
|
|
Pirate (verb)
|
to illegally use or reproduce
|
|
|
Pith (noun)
|
the essential or central part
|
|
|
Pithy (adj)
|
precise and brief
|
|
|
Placate (verb)
|
to appease; to calm by making concessions
|
|
|
Placebo (noun)
|
Inactive pill prescribed for mental relief rather than for physical effect; something tending to soothe
|
|
|
Plangent (adj)
|
Pounding; thundering; resounding
|
|
|
Platitude (noun)
|
a superficial remark, esp. one offered as meaningful
|
|
|
Plethora (noun)
|
an overabundance; a surplus
|
|
|
Plumb (verb)
|
To measure the depth; to examine critically
|
|
|
Plummet (verb)
|
to plunge or drop straight down
|
|
|
Poignant (adj)
|
Distressing; pertinent; touching; stimulating; emotional
|
|
|
Polemical (adj)
|
controversial; argumentative
|
|
|
Poseur (noun)
|
Affected or insincere person; literally, a poser
|
|
|
Pragmatic (adj)
|
practical rather than idealistic
|
|
|
Prate (verb)
|
To chatter; to babble, as in prattle
|
|
|
Prattle (verb)
|
to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
|
|
|
Precarious (adj)
|
Uncertain; risky; dangerous
|
|
|
Precept (noun)
|
Rule establishing standards of conduct
|
|
|
Precipitate (adj)
|
acting with excessive haste or impulse
|
|
|
Precipitate (verb)
|
to cause or happen before anticipated or required
|
|
|
Précis (noun)
|
Concise summary of essential points
|
|
|
Precursor (noun)
|
one that precedes and indicates or announces another
|
|
|
Predilection (noun)
|
a disposition in favor of something; preference
|
|
|
Preempt (verb)
|
To replace; to supersede; to appropriate
|
|
|
Preen (verb)
|
to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
|
|
|
Prescience (noun)
|
foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring
|
|
|
Presumptuous (adj)
|
overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties
|
|
|
Prevaricate (verb)
|
to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead
|
|
|
Pristine (adj)
|
pure; uncorrupted; clean
|
|
|
Probity (noun)
|
adherence to highest principles; uprightness
|
|
|
Proclivity (noun)
|
a natural predisposition or inclination
|
|
|
Prodigal (adj)
|
recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish
|
|
|
Prodigious (adj)
|
abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
|
|
|
Profligate (adj)
|
excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant
|
|
|
Profligate (adj)
|
Spendthrift; prodigal; wildly extravagant
|
|
|
Profuse (adj)
|
given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant
|
|
|
Proliferate (verb)
|
to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly
|
|
|
Prolific (adj)
|
producing large volumes or amounts; productive
|
|
|
Prolix (adj)
|
Long-winded; verbose
|
|
|
Propensity (noun)
|
a natural inclination or tendency; penchant
|
|
|
Propinquity (noun)
|
Nearness in time or place; affinity of nature
|
|
|
Propitiate (verb)
|
To appease; to conciliate
|
|
|
Prosaic (adj)
|
dull; unimaginative
|
|
|
Proscribe (verb)
|
To ostracize; to banish; to outlaw
|
|
|
Provident (adj)
|
Frugal; looking to the future
|
|
|
Puerile (adj)
|
Childish; immature
|
|
|
Pugnacious (adj)
|
Contentious; quarrelsome; contumacious; given to fighting; belligerent
|
|
|
Puissance (noun)
|
Power; strength
|
|
|
Punctilious (adj)
|
Precise; paying attention to trivialities, especially in regard to etiquette
|
|
|
Pundit (noun)
|
An authority on a subject; one who gives opinion
|
|
|
Pungent (adj)
|
characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste
|
|
|
Pusillanimous (adj)
|
Cowardly; craven
|
|
|
Putrefy (verb)
|
to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor
|
|
|
Quaff (verb)
|
to drink deeply
|
|
|
Qualms (noun)
|
misgivings; reservations; causes for hesitancy
|
|
|
Queries (noun)
|
questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservations
|
|
|
Querulous (adj)
|
prone to complaining or grumbling; quarrelsome
|
|
|
Querulous (adj)
|
Habitually complaining; whining
|
|
|
Quiescence (noun)
|
stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
|
|
|
Quixotic (adj)
|
foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals
|
|
|
Quotidian (adj)
|
occurring or recurring daily; commonplace
|
|
|
Raffish (adj)
|
Tawdry; flashy; meretricious; low; vulgar; base
|
|
|
Ramify (verb)
|
To be divided or subdivided; to branch out
|
|
|
Rancorous (adj)
|
characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment
|
|
|
Rapacious (adj)
|
Voracious; greedy; plundering
|
|
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Rarefy (verb)
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to make or become thin, less dense; to refine
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Rebus (noun)
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Riddle; a representation of words by pictures or symbols
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Recalcitrant (adj)
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obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage
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Recant (verb)
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to retract, esp. a previously held belief
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Recidivism (noun)
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Relapse into antisocial or criminal behavior
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Recondite (adj)
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hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure
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Recondite (adj)
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Abstruse; profound; arcane
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Reconnaissance (noun)
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Preliminary survey to gain information, especially of an enemy
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Reconnoiter (verb)
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To engage in reconnaissance
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Recreant (noun/adj)
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Coward; cowardly; craven; pusillanimous
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Recumbent (adj)
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Leaning; resting; prone
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Redolent (adj)
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Fragrant; suggestive or evocative
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Redoubtable (adj)
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awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
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Refractory (adj)
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Stubborn; unmanageable; intractable; unruly; fractious
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Refulgent (adj)
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radiant; shiny; brilliant
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Refute (verb)
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to disprove; to successfully argue against
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Regale (verb)
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To delight or entertain; to feast
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Relegate (verb)
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to forcibly assign, esp. to a lower place or position
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Remonstrate (verb)
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To protest; to object
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Renege (verb)
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to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise
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Repine (verb)
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To feel or express dejection or discontent; to long for
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Repudiate (verb)
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to refuse to have anything to do with; to disown
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Repudiate (verb)
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To disown; to disavow; to reject as untrue
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Rescind (verb)
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to invalidate; to repeal; to retract
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Resolute (adj)
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Adamant; steadfast; determined; irresolute
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Reticent (adj)
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quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
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Reverent (adj)
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marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect
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Rhetoric (noun)
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the art or study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion
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Rubric (noun)
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Heading, title or category
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Rue (verb)
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To regret; to feel remorse or sorrow
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Runic (adj)
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Mysterious; magical
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Sagacious (adj)
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Having sound judgment; perceptive; wise
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Salacious (adj)
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Obscene
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Salient (adj)
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Prominent; protruding; conspicuous; relevant
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Salubrious (adj)
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promoting health or well-being
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Salutary (adj)
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Wholesome; causing improvement; favorable to health
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Sanctimony (noun)
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Self-righteousness
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Sanction (noun)
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authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance
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Sanguine (adj)
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Cheerful; confident; optimistic
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Satiate (verb)
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To surfeit; to overindulge
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Satire (noun)
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a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
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Saturnine (adj)
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Gloomy; dark; sullen; morose
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Sedulous (adj)
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diligent; persistent; hard-working
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Seine (noun)
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A large net dragged to catch fish
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Seminal (adj)
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Like a seed; constituting a source; originative
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Sententious (adj)
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Aphoristic or moralistic; epigrammatic; tending to moralize excessively
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Shard (noun)
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a piece of broken pottery or glass
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Sidereal (adj)
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Astral; relating to stars or constellations
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Simper (verb/noun)
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To smirk; a silly smile
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Sinecure (noun)
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Position requiring little or no work and usually providing an income
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Sinuous (adj)
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Winding; undulating; serpentine
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Slake (verb)
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To satisfy or quench
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Sodden (adj)
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Soaked or drenched; unimaginative; dull
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Solder (verb)
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To weld, fuse, or join
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Solicitous (adj)
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concerned and attentive; eager
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Solvent (adj)
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able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance
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Sophistry (noun)
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Fallacious reasoning; faulty logic
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Sophomoric (adj)
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Self-assured though immature; affected; bombastic; lacking maturity
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Soporific (adj)
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causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep
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Sordid (adj)
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characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
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Sparse (adj)
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thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals
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Specious (adj)
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seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive
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Spendthrift (noun)
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one who spends money wastefully
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Splenetic (adj)
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Bad-tempered; irritable
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Sporadic (adj)
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occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances
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Spurious (adj)
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lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit
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Squalid (adj)
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sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
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Squander (verb)
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to waste by spending or using irresponsibly
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Stanch (verb)
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To stop the flow of a fluid
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Static (adj)
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not moving, active, or in motion; at rest
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Stentorian (adj)
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Extremely loud and powerful
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Stint (verb)
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To restrain; to be sparing or frugal
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Stoic (adj)
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indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
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Striated (adj)
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Striped; grooved; banded
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Stupefy (verb)
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to stun, baffle, or amaze
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Stygian (adj)
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Gloomy; dark
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Stymie (verb)
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to block; thwart
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Subpoena (noun)
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a court order requiring appearance and/or testimony
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Subtle (adj)
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not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern
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Succinct (adj)
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brief; concise
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Succor (noun)
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Assistance; relief in time of distress
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Sundry (adj)
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Various; miscellaneous; separate
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Supercilious (adj)
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Disdainful; arrogant; haughty
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Superfluous (adj)
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exceeding what is sufficient or necessary
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Supine (adj)
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Mentally or morally slack; literally, lying on one’s back; prone
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Supplant (verb)
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to take the place of; supersede
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Suppliant (adj)
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Supplicant; asking humbly; beseeching
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Supplicant (noun)
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Beggar; mendicant
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Surfeit (verb)
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excess; overindulgence
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Synthesis (noun)
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the combination of parts to make a whole
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Tacit (adj)
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implied; not explicitly stated
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Tamp (verb)
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To plug; to drive in or down by a series of blows
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Tautology (noun)
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A repetition; a redundancy
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Tawdry (adj)
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Cheap; gaudy; showy; tacky; meretricious
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Tenacity (noun)
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the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued
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Tendentious (adj)
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Biased; showing marked tendencies
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Tenuous (adj)
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having little substance or strength; flimsy; weak
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Terse (adj)
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brief and concise in wording
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Timorous (adj)
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Timid; fearful; diffident
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Tirade (noun)
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a long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation
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Toady (noun)
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Sycophant; flatterer
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Torpid (adj)
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lethargic; sluggish; dormant
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Torque (noun)
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a force that causes rotation
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Torrid (adj)
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Scorching; ardent; passionate
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Tortuous (adj)
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winding; twisting; excessively complicated
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Tout (verb)
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to publicly praise or promote
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Tractable (adj)
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Docile; obedient; easily led
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Transient (adj)
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fleeting; passing quickly; brief
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Travesty (noun)
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Mockery; caricature; parody
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Trenchant (adj)
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sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating
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Truculent (adj)
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fierce and cruel; eager to fight
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Tumid (adj)
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Swollen
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Turbid (adj)
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Roiled; muddy; clouded to the point of being opaque
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Turgid (adj)
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Swollen; tumid; thick; pompous; bombastic
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Turpitude (noun)
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Depravity; prurience
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Tyro (noun)
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Novice; greenhorn; rank amateur
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Ubiquitous (adj)
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existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
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Umbrage (noun)
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Offense; resentment; pique
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Undulate (verb)
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To move in wavelike fashion; to fluctuate
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Unfeigned (adj)
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genuine; not false or hypocritical
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Untenable (adj)
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indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable
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Untoward (adj)
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Perverse; unruly; unseemly
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Upbraid (verb)
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To scold; to censure; to rebuke; to chastise
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Urbane (adj)
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sophisticated; refined; elegant
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Usury (noun)
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The practice of charging an exorbitant or illegal rate of interest
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Vacillate (verb)
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to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; to waver
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Variegated (adj)
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multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color
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Vaunt (verb)
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To brag or boast
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Venal (adj)
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Capable of being bought or bribed; mercenary; purchasable
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Venerate (verb)
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To revere; to worship
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Veracity (noun)
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Truthfulness; honesty
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Verisimilitude (noun)
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Appearance of truth or reality
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Veritable (adj)
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Authentic; honest-to-goodness
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Vexation (noun)
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annoyance; irritation
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Vigilant (adj)
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alertly watchful
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Vilify (verb)
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to defame; to characterize harshly
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Virago (noun)
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A loud, domineering woman; a scold or nag
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Virulent (adj)
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extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
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Viscous (adj)
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thick; sticky
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Vitiate (verb)
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To pervert; to debase; to spoil; to make ineffective
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Vituperate (verb)
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to use harsh condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; to berate
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Volatile (adj)
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readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive
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Volubility (noun)
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Fluency; verbosity; easy use of spoken language
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Voracious (adj)
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having an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; ravenous
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Waft (verb)
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To cause to move as if by a light breeze
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Waver (verb)
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to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion
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Welter (verb)
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To writhe; to toss about; to be in turmoil
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Wend (verb)
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To go; to proceed; to walk
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Zealous (adj)
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fervent; ardent; impassioned
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