abate | subside; decrease; become less in amount or intensity |
aberration | deviation, not normal |
abhor | fill with horror and loathing; horrify; hate |
abstruse | obscure; profound; difficult to understand. |
accost | approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with demand or request |
acumen | mental keenness; quickness of perception |
adamant | extremely hard; inflexible; stubbornly unyielding |
adept | expert at; very skilled; having or showing knowledge and skill and aptitude |
adroit | skillful and adept under pressing conditions |
affected | speaking or behaving in artificial way; emotionally stirred or moved; infected or attacked |
alacrity | cheerful promptness or willingness; eagerness; speed or quickness |
altruistic | unselfishly generous; concerned for others |
amenable | responsive to advice or suggestion; responsible to higher authority; willing to comply with; agreeable |
amiable | good-natured and likable; lovable; warmly friendly |
amicable | exhibiting friendliness or goodwill; not quarrelsome |
antediluvian | antiquated; extremely old and ancient; belonging to very ancient times |
anthropology | social science that studies origins and social relationships of human beings |
antipathy | strong feeling of aversion; dislike |
apathetic | feeling or showing a lack of interest or concern; indifferent |
apt | likely; exactly suitable; appropriate; quick to learn or understand |
arcane | secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated |
ascendancy | superiority or decisive advantage; domination |
ascetic | leading a life of self-discipline and self-denial; austere |
aspire | seek to attain; long for; strive toward an end |
assail | assault; attack with or as if with violent blows |
assiduous | constant in application or attention; diligent; unceasing or persistent |
assuage | ease or lessen pain; satisfy or appease |
atrophy | wasting away; decrease in size; reduction in the functionality of an organ caused by disease |
attenuate | make slender, fine, or small; weaken; lessen density of |
august | impressive; majestic; inspiring awe or admiration |
auspicious | attended by favorable circumstances; marked by success; prosperous |
autocrat | dictator; ruler having unlimited power |
automaton | mechanism that imitates actions of humans |
avarice | greediness for wealth; insatiable desire of gain |
banal | obvious and dull; commonplace; lacking originality |
barrage | artificial obstruction; heavy curtain of artillery fire; rapid, concentrated discharge of missiles |
belie | contradict; give a false impression |
belligerent | inclined or eager to fight; aggressive |
benevolent | generous in providing aid to others; charitable |
bequeath | leave to someone by a will; hand down |
berate | rebuke or scold angrily and at length |
bitartisanship | supported by two opposing parties |
blighted | suffering from a disease; destroyed, ruined, or spoiled |
bolster | support or prop up with or as if with a long narrow pillow or cushion |
bombastic | pompous; using inflated language; high-sounding but with little meaning |
boorish | rude and clumsy in behavior; ungentlemanly; awkward in manners |
buoyant | able to float; cheerful and optimistic |
burgeon | grow forth; send out buds; grow or develop rapidly |
buttress | support physically; prop up; support something or someone by supplying evidence |
byzantine | convoluted, complex |
cacophonous | discordant; inharmonious; sounding harshly; ill-sounding |
cajole | influence or urge by gentle urging or flattering |
callous | emotionally hardened; unfeeling; toughened |
cantankerous | ill humored; irritable; marked by ill-tempered contradiction or opposition; ugly; malicious |
capricious | fickle; impulsive and unpredictable; apt to change opinions suddenly |
castigate | criticize severely; punish; revise or make corrections to publication |
caustic | capable of burning, corroding, dissolving, or eating away by chemical action |
censorious | critical; addicted to censure; severe in making remarks on others, or on their writings or manners; implying or expressing censure |
censure | expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism; blame |
cerebral | relating to the brain or cerebrum; intellectual rather than emotional |
chagrin | anxiety caused by humiliation or injured pride; disappointment |
charlatan | quack; one who pretends to knowledge, skill, or importance |
chastise | punish, as by beating; criticize severely; rebuke |
chide | scold mildly so as to correct or improve; express disapproval |
churlish | difficult to work with; rude; unyielding; unmanageable |
circuitous | being or taking a roundabout, lengthy course; going round in a circuit; not direct |
circumscribe | limit narrowly; confine; draw a line around; encircle |
circumvent | surround an enemy; enclose or entrap; beat by cleverness and wit |
clandestine | secret; conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods |
coalesce | combine; fuse; grow together; come together so as to form one whole; unite |
complacency | feeling of contented self-satisfaction, especially when unaware of upcoming trouble |
compliant | yielding to request or desire; ready to accommodate; disposed or willing to comply |
conciliate | compromising, apologizing |
conflagration | large destructive fire; burning; large-scale military conflict |
confluence | act of two things flowing together; junction or meeting place where two things meet |
conscientious | diligent; responsible; reliable |
consternation | intense state of fear or dismay; astonishment combined with terror |
contempt | state of being despised or dishonored; disgrace; disobedience to, or open disrespect of |
contemptible | worthy of contempt; deserving of scorn or disdain; mean |
contentious | quarrelsome; disagreeable; marked by heated arguments or controversy |
convivial | festive; occupied with or fond of the pleasures of good company |
copious | plentiful; containing plenty; affording ample supply |
corroborate | establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts; support with evidence |
cosmopolitan | sophisticated; of worldwide scope |
credulity | readiness of belief; disposition to believe on slight evidence |
cursory | casual; brief or broad; not cautious, nor detailed |
dauntless | bold; incapable of being discouraged; fearless |
dearth | scarcity; shortage of food; famine from failure or loss of crops |
debacle | sudden downfall; complete disaster |
debilitate | make weak; enfeeble; impair the strength of |
debunk | expose as false, exaggerated, worthless; ridicule |
decimate | destroy or kill a large part of; select by lot and kill one in every ten of |
decorum | propriety in manners and conduct; good taste in manners; conventions or requirements of polite behavior |
deference | willingness to carry out the wishes of others; great respect |
deleterious | having harmful effect; injurious; having quality of destroying life; noxious; poisonous |
delineate | portray; depict; draw or trace outline of; sketch out |
demonstrative | openly emotional |
demure | modest and reserved in manner or behavior |
demystify | clarify; free from mystery or obscurity |
denigrate | blacken; defame; attack reputation of; degrade |
depose | force to leave; remove from office |
depravity | extreme corruption or degradation; wickedness |
deprecate | express disapproval of; protest against; belittle |
depreciation | devaluation; decrease in price or value |
deride | ridicule; make fun of; laugh at with contempt |
derivative | unoriginal; derived from another source |
derogatory | expressing low opinion; disparaging; belittling |
desecration | violate the sacredness of |
despondent | in low spirits from loss of hope or courage |
despot | tyrant; harsh, authoritarian ruler; eastern Orthodox bishop |
destitute | extremely poor; utterly lacking; devoid |
deterrent | something that discourages; tending to deter |
devoid | completely lacking; barren or empty |
didactic | excessively morally instructive |
diffuse | spread out widely; scatter freely; pour out and cause to spread freely |
digress(ion) | stray from the subject at hand |
dilatory | tending to waste time |
diminutive | below the average size; very small; little |
discomfited | disappointed, defeated |
discount | give reduction in price on |
disheartening | discouraging |
disillusionment | disenchantment, disappointment |
disingenuous | giving a false appearance of frankness; not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating |
disparage | belittle; speak of in a slighting or disrespectful way; reduce in esteem or rank |
dispassionate | calm; impartial; unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice |
dispel | scatter; drive away; cause to vanish |
disputatious | argumentative; fond of arguing; inclined to dispute |
disquiet | make uneasy or anxious; trouble |
disseminate | distribute; spread; scatter like seeds |
distaste | dislike, aversion |
divergent | differing; tending to move apart in different directions |
divisive | creating conflict |
divulge | reveal; make known to public |
doctrine | principles presented for belief, as by religious; principle of law; act of teaching; instruction |
dormant | sleeping; not active but capable of becoming active |
dupe | easily deceived person; duplicate of photographic image |
duplicitous | deliberately deceptive |
ebullient | showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm |
eclectic | composed of elements from a variety of sources |
efface | rub or wipe out; make indistinct as if by rubbing |
egalitarian | belief in equality |
elated | overjoyed; extremely happy and excited |
elicit | draw out; bring forth or to light; generate or provoke as response or answer |
elucidate | make clear or plain, especially by explanation; clarify |
elude | avoid cleverly; escape perception of |
elusive | difficult to describe; difficult to detect or grasp by mind |
embroiled | throw into confusion; deeply involved especially in something complicated |
empirical | derived from experiment and observation rather than theory |
encompass | surround; form a circle or ring around; enclose; envelop |
enigma | puzzle; difficult problem |
enumerate | list each one; mention one by one |
ephemeral | short-lived; enduring a very short time |
epiphany | sudden realization |
epitome | representative or perfect example of a class or type; brief summary, as of a book or article |
equanimity | calmness of temperament; steadiness of mind under stress. |
equitable | marked by or having equity; just and impartial |
equivocal | open to two or more interpretations and often intended to mislead |
erudite | learned; scholarly, with emphasis on knowledge gained from books |
esoteric | hard to understand; known only in a particular group |
eulogy | expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death |
evoke | bring out; arouse; call forth |
exacting | making severe demands; rigorous; requiring great care, effort, or attention |
excavate | unearth; dig out; make a hole in; hollow out |
exemplar | representative example |
exhibitionist | deliberately behaving a certain way to attract attention |
exhort | urge on or encourage, especially by shouts; make urgent appeal |
exorbitant | greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation; exceeding proper limits |
expedient | suitable; appropriate to a purpose; serving to promote your interest |
expose | set forth; set out to public view |
extol | praise highly; glorify; celebrate |
extricate | free, as from difficulties or perplexities; cause to be emitted or evolved |
facile | done or achieved with little effort or difficulty; ready or fluent |
faction | a party of persons having a common end in view |
fallacious | false; tending to mislead; deceptive |
fallacy | deceptive or false appearance; false notion; deception |
fanaticism | excessive zeal; extreme devotion to a belief or cause |
fastidious | difficult to please; having complicated requirements; excessively particular demanding about details |
fathom | measure the depth; come to understand |
felicitious | well-suited, happy |
finesse | refinement and delicacy of performance; skillful, subtle handling |
flagrant | obvious and offensive, blatant, scandalous; flaming into notice |
flippant | lacking proper seriousness; speaking freely; talkative; communicative |
florid | reddish; elaborately or excessively ornamented |
folly | foolishness; lack of good sense, understanding, or foresight |
foolhardy | rash; marked by unthinking boldness |
forlorn | sad and lonely; wretched; abandoned or left behind |
fortitude | bravery; force; power to attack or to resist attack |
fortuitous | accidental; by chance; coming or occurring without any cause |
fraudulent | cheating; deceitful; planning or using fraud; given to practice of fraud |
frugal | sparing; economical; costing little; inexpensive |
furor | great excitement; public disorder or uproar |
furtive | marked by quiet and caution and secrecy |
futile | useless; having no useful result; vain |
gait | manner of walking or stepping; bearing or carriage while moving; walk; rate of moving |
gallant | courtly; lively and spirited; having or displaying great dignity or nobility |
gargantuan | huge; of a tremendous size, volume, degree |
garish | over-bright in color; tastelessly showy |
genial | friendly; cordial; having a pleasant or friendly disposition or manner |
germinate | cause to sprout or grow; come into existence |
glutton | person who eats too much food and drink |
grandiose | impressive from inherent grandeur; large and impressive, in size, scope or extent |
hackneyed | repeated too often; over familiar through overuse |
hamper | put at disadvantage; prevent progress or free movement of |
hardy | in robust and good health; able to survive under unfavorable conditions |
hasten | accelerate; quicken |
heresy | opinion contrary to popular belief; opinion contrary to accepted religion |
histrionic | characteristic of acting or stage performance |
hubris | excessive pride or self-confidence |
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