Hard English Words

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 Introduction
These 100 hard English words are for 12th graders to check vocabulary skills in minutes. As we know, a young adult, like a student being leaving high school for college, has 20K active words plus other 20K passive words on average. How to evaluate vocabulary skills easily and handily? Here you have an option: 100 difficult words in English. It is selected from high school's academic classes and readings and is a good sample set to quickly check your English vocabulary level. 
 Hard English Words

Hard English Words

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abjure
abrogate
abstemious
acumen
antebellum
auspicious
belie
bellicose
bowdlerize
chicanery
chromosome
churlish
circumlocution
circumnavigate
deciduous
deleterious
diffident
enervate
enfranchise
epiphany
equinox
evanescent
expurgate
fatuous
feckless
fiduciary
filibuster
gamete
gauche
gerrymander
hegemony
hemoglobin
homogeneous
hubris
hypotenuse
impeach
incognito
incontrovertible
inculcate
infrastructure
interpolate
irony
jejune
kinetic
kowtow
laissezfaire
lexicon
loquacious
lugubrious
metamorphosis
mitosis
moiety
nanotechnology
nihilism
nomenclature
nonsectarian
notarize
obsequious
oligarchy
omnipotent
orthography
paradigm
parameter
pecuniary
photosynthesis
plagiarize
plasma
polymer
precipitous
quasar
quotidian
recapitulate
reciprocal
reparation
respiration
sanguine
soliloquy
subjugate
suffragist
supercilious
tautology
taxonomy
tectonic
tempestuous
thermodynamics
totalitarian
unctuous
vehement
fervid
vortex
winnow
wrought
xenophobe
yeoman
ziggurat
Word and Definition List
abjure   Speak
v. formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure
abrogate   Speak
v. revoke formally, repeal or do away with (a law, right, or formal agreement)
abstemious   Speak
a. sparing in consumption of especially food and drink, marked by temperance in indulgence
acumen   Speak
n. shrewdness shown by keen insight, a tapering point
antebellum   Speak
a. belonging to a period before a war especially the American Civil War
auspicious   Speak
a. auguring favorable circumstances and good luck
belie   Speak
v. represent falsely, be in contradiction with
bellicose   Speak
a. having or showing a ready disposition to fight
bowdlerize   Speak
v. edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
chicanery   Speak
n. the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)
chromosome   Speak
n. a threadlike strand of DNA in the cell nucleus that carries the genes in a linear order
churlish   Speak
a. having a bad disposition, rude in a mean-spirited and surly way
circumlocution   Speak
n. a style that involves indirect ways of expressing things, an indirect way of expressing something
circumnavigate   Speak
v. travel around either by plane or ship, go around or avoid (an obstacle)
deciduous   Speak
a. shedding foliage at the end of the growing season, being shed at the end of a period of growth
deleterious   Speak
a. harmful to living things, causing harm or damage
diffident   Speak
a. showing modest reserve, lacking self-confidence
enervate   Speak
v. weaken mentally or morally, disturb the composure of
enfranchise   Speak
v. grant freedom to; as from slavery or servitude, grant voting rights
epiphany   Speak
n. a divine manifestation, twelve days after Christmas
equinox   Speak
n. either of two times of the year when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator and day and night are of equal length
evanescent   Speak
a. tending to vanish like vapor, soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing
expurgate   Speak
v. edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
fatuous   Speak
a. devoid of intelligence, silly and pointless
feckless   Speak
a. generally incompetent and ineffectual, not fit to assume responsibility
fiduciary   Speak
a. involving trust, referring to paper currency depending on securities for its value
filibuster   Speak
n. a tactic for delaying or obstructing legislation by making long speeches
gamete   Speak
n. a mature sexual reproductive cell having a single set of unpaired chromosomes
gauche   Speak
a. lacking social polish, lacking ease or grace
gerrymander   Speak
v. divide unfairly and to one's advantage, of voting districts
hegemony   Speak
n. the dominance or leadership of one social group or nation over others
hemoglobin   Speak
n. function primarily to transport oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues
homogeneous   Speak
a. all of the same or similar kind or nature
hubris   Speak
n. overbearing pride or presumption, excessive pride or self-confidence
hypotenuse   Speak
n. the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
impeach   Speak
v. challenge the honesty or veracity of, bring an accusation against; level a charge against
incognito   Speak
a. with your identity concealed
incontrovertible   Speak
a. necessarily or demonstrably true, impossible to deny or disprove
inculcate   Speak
v. teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
infrastructure   Speak
n. the basic structure or features of a system or organization
interpolate   Speak
v. estimate the value of, insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby
irony   Speak
n. a trope that involves incongruity between what is expected and what occurs
jejune   Speak
a. lacking in nutritive value, displaying or suggesting a lack of maturity
kinetic   Speak
a. relating to the motion of material bodies and the forces associated therewith
kowtow   Speak
v. try to gain favor by cringing or flattering
laissezfaire   Speak
n. unwillingness to get involved in or influence other people's activities
lexicon   Speak
n. a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words with information about them
loquacious   Speak
a. full of trivial conversation, tending to talk a great deal; talkative
lugubrious   Speak
a. excessively mournful, looking or sounding sad and dismal
metamorphosis   Speak
n. a complete change of physical form or substance especially as by magic or witchcraft
mitosis   Speak
n. type of cell division that results in two daughter cells each having same number and kind of chromosomes as parent nucleus
moiety   Speak
n. one of two basic subdivisions of a tribe, one of two (approximately) equal parts
nanotechnology   Speak
n. the branch of engineering that deals with things smaller than 100 nanometers (especially with the manipulation of individual molecules)
nihilism   Speak
n. rejection of all religious and moral principles
nomenclature   Speak
n. a system of words used to name things in a particular discipline
nonsectarian   Speak
a. not involving or relating to different religious sects or political groups
notarize   Speak
v. authenticate as a notary, acknowledge or attest as a notary public
obsequious   Speak
a. attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
oligarchy   Speak
n. a political system governed by a few people
omnipotent   Speak
a. having unlimited power, having virtually unlimited authority or influence
orthography   Speak
n. a part of language study that deals with letters and spelling
paradigm   Speak
n. the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given time
parameter   Speak
n. any factor that defines a system and determines (or limits) its performance
pecuniary   Speak
a. relating to or involving money, consisting of or measured in money
photosynthesis   Speak
n. synthesis of compounds with the aid of radiant energy (especially in plants)
plagiarize   Speak
v. take without referencing from someone else's writing or speech; of intellectual property
plasma   Speak
n. the colorless watery fluid of the blood and lymph that contains no cells, but in which the blood cells are suspended
polymer   Speak
n. a naturally occurring or synthetic compound consisting of large molecules made up of a linked series of repeated simple monomers
precipitous   Speak
a. done with very great haste and without due deliberation, extremely steep
quasar   Speak
n. massive and extremely remote celestial object
quotidian   Speak
a. found in the ordinary course of events, occurring every day
recapitulate   Speak
v. repeat an earlier theme of a composition, repeat stages of evolutionary development during the embryonic phase of life
reciprocal   Speak
a. of or relating to the multiplicative inverse of a quantity or function
reparation   Speak
n. compensation exacted from a defeated nation by the victors, compensation (given or received) for an insult or injury
respiration   Speak
n. the bodily process of inhalation and exhalation, the process of taking in oxygen from inhaled air and releasing carbon dioxide
sanguine   Speak
n. a blood-red color, confidently optimistic and cheerful
soliloquy   Speak
n. a (usually long) dramatic speech intended to give the illusion of unspoken reflections, speech you make to yourself
subjugate   Speak
v. put down by force or intimidation, make subservient, force to submit or subdue
suffragist   Speak
n. an advocate of the extension of voting rights (especially to women)
supercilious   Speak
a. having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy, expressive of contempt
tautology   Speak
n. (logic) a statement that is necessarily true, useless repetition
taxonomy   Speak
n. practice of classifying plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships
tectonic   Speak
a. pertaining to the structure or movement of the earth's crust ,of or pertaining to construction or architecture
tempestuous   Speak
a. (of the elements) as if showing violent anger, characterized by violent emotions or behavior
thermodynamics   Speak
n. the branch of physics concerned with the conversion of different forms of energy
totalitarian   Speak
a. characterized by a government in which the political authority exercises absolute and centralized control
unctuous   Speak
a. unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech
vehement   Speak
a. marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently
fervid   Speak
a. characterized by great force or energy, intensely enthusiastic or passionate, especially to an excessive degree
vortex   Speak
n. a powerful circular current of water, the shape of something rotating rapidly
winnow   Speak
v. blow away or off with a current of air, separate the chaff from by using air currents
wrought   Speak
a. shaped to fit by or as if by altering the contours of a pliable mass (as by work or effort)
xenophobe   Speak
n. person having dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries
yeoman   Speak
n. officer in the (ceremonial) bodyguard of the British monarch
ziggurat   Speak
n. a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians