abridge | v. condense; shorten; reduce length of written text |
accost | v. approach and speak to boldly or aggressively, as with demand or request |
affinity | n. natural attraction, liking, or feeling of kinship; relationship by marriage |
agnostic | n. one who is skeptical of existence of a god or any ultimate reality |
alacrity | n. cheerful promptness or willingness; eagerness; speed or quickness |
altruism | n. the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others |
amenity | n. pleasantness resulting from agreeable conditions |
attrition | n. gradual decrease in numbers; reduction in work force without firing employees; wearing away of opposition by means of harassment |
bastion | n. fortress; projecting part of fortification; well-fortified position |
cadence | n. rhythmic rise and fall of words or sounds; beat |
cohesion | n. tendency to keep together; sticking together of particles of the same substance |
contingent | a. possible, or liable, but not certain, to occur; incidental; casual. |
criterion | n. standard of judging; any approved or established rule or test |
debauchery | n. corruption of fidelity; seduction from virtue, duty, or allegiance; excessive indulgence of the appetites |
destitute | a. extremely poor; utterly lacking; devoid |
diffident | a. showing modest reserve; lacking self-confidence |
dissension | n. a conflict of people's opinions or actions or characters; disagreement among those expected to cooperate |
elevation | n. altitude; height above a given level, especially sea level |
erudite | a. learned; scholarly, with emphasis on knowledge gained from books |
exalted | a. superior; elevated in rank, character, or status; of high moral or intellectual value |
fabrication | n. making something a product from raw materials; the action or process of manufacturing or inventing something |
felicity | n. great happiness; pleasing and appropriate manner or style |
flagrant | a. obvious and offensive, blatant, scandalous; flaming into notice |
flout | v. reject; mock; express contempt for rules by word or action; behave with contempt |
futurist | n. someone who predicts the future |
gregarious | a. sociable; seeking and enjoying the company of others |
heyday | n. period of greatest popularity, success, or power; golden age |
homogenous | a. all of the same or similar kind or nature |
idiosyncrasy | n. behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual |
illicit | a. illegal; unlawful; not authorized or permitted |
implement | v. put into effect; supply with tools |
incisive | a. penetrating, clear, and sharp, as in operation or expression |
indigent | a. poor; experiencing want or need; impoverished |
ineffable | a. unutterable; cannot be expressed in speech |
infinity | n. unlimited extent of time, space, or quantity; eternity; boundlessness; immensity |
ingratitude | n. lack of gratitude; forgetfulness of kindness or favors received |
insidious | a. spreading harmfully in a subtle manner; designed or adapted to entrap |
insolence | n. scornful treatment; insulting speech or conduct |
insurgent | a. rising in revolt against established authority; rebelling against leadership of political party |
intrinsic | a. relating to essential nature of a thing; inherent; built-in |
jaded | a. fatigued dulled by surfeit; exhausted; worn out; wearied |
laconic | a. brief; effectively cut short; marked by use of few words |
laureate | n. someone honored for great achievements; figuratively someone crowned with a laurel wreath |
linguistic | a. relating to language or linguistics; relating to study of language |
machination | n. clever scheme or artful plot, usually crafted for evil purposes |
matriculate | v. enroll in college or graduate school |
metamorphosis | n. marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function; major transformation |
misanthropic | a. believing the worst of human nature and motives; hating mankind in general |
moot | a. open to argument or debate; subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty, and typically not admitting of a final decision |
mulatto | n. an offspring of a black and a white parent |
narcissism | n. an exceptional interest in and admiration for yourself |
nihilism | n. the delusion that things do not exist; a sense that everything is unreal; complete denial of all established authority and institutions |
novel | a. previously unknown; strikingly new, unusual, or different; young |
obdurate | a. hardened in wrongdoing or wickedness; not giving in to persuasion |
officious | a. marked by excessive eagerness in offering unwanted services or advice to others |
orthodoxy | n. a belief or orientation agreeing with conventional standards; the quality of being orthodox, especially in religion |
palpable | a. tangible; easily perceptible; unmistakable |
paradigm | n. one that serves as a pattern or model; system of assumptions, concepts, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality |
parody | n. work or performance that imitates another work or performance with ridicule or irony; make fun of |
patrician | a. belong to noble origin; having high birth |
pedagogy | n. teaching; art of education; science of teaching |
pejorative | a. tending to make or become worse; disparaging or belittling |
peremptory | a. offensively self-assured; dictatorial; not allowing contradiction or refusal |
periphery | n. edge, especially of a round surface; surface of a solid; circumference |
pivotal | a. being of vital or central importance; crucial |
plethora | n. excess; over-fullness in any respect; superabundance |
posterior | a. later in time; later in the order of proceeding or moving; coming after; located behind |
pragmatic | a. practical as opposed to idealistic; concerned with the practical worth or impact of something |
premise | n. proposition upon which an argument is based; assumption; land and the buildings on it |
promiscuous | a. having casual sexual relations frequently with different partners; irregular, casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior |
ramification | n. act or process of branching out or dividing into branches; subdivision or branch |
recede | v. move back; retreat; withdraw a claim or pretension |
reiterate | v. say, state, or perform again or repeatedly |
renaissance | n. revival; renewal; revival of learning and culture |
saffron | n. a moderate orange to orange yellow; a shade of yellow tinged with orange |
samovar | n. a metal urn with a spigot at the base; used in Russia to boil water for tea |
sardonic | a. disdainful or ironically humorous; cynical; scornful and mocking |
seismic | a. caused by earthquake or earth vibration; earthshaking |
servile | a. slavish; suitable to slave or servant; relating to servitude or forced labor |
stagnation | n. inactivity of liquids; without current or circulation |
stigmatize | v. accuse; condemn; mark as wicked |
tantamount | a. equivalent in effect or value |
tenacious | a. sticking together; stubbornly unyielding; holding together firmly |
unctuous | a. oily; composed of oil or fat; characterized by affected, exaggerated, or insincere earnestness |
verisimilitude | n. appearance of truth; probability; likelihood |
vicarious | a. acting as substitute; done by deputy; experienced at secondhand |
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