absorption | n. process of absorbing nutrients into the body after digestion; state of mental concentration |
accompaniment | n. act of accompanying someone or something |
accomplice | n. partner in crime; associate in wrongdoing |
acquiesce | v. assent; accept, comply, or submit tacitly or passively |
acquittal | n. state of being found or proved not guilty; judgment of not guilty |
affiliation | n. partnership; alliance; association in the same family or society |
altercation | n. noisy quarrel; contention in words; dispute carried on with heat or anger; controversy |
ambassador | n. authorized messenger or representative |
ambiguous | a. unclear or doubtful in meaning |
animosity | n. bitter hostility; active hatred; hostile feeling or act |
apparatus | n. a group of parts that work together to perform given function; appliance or device for particular purpose |
approximately | ad. nearly correct or exact; close in value or amount but not precise; about; roughly |
austerity | n. severe and rigid economy; severe or rigorous simplicity; absence of adornment or luxury |
authentic | a. not counterfeit or copied; valid; trustworthy |
authenticate | v. prove genuine; establish authenticity of |
auxiliary | a. giving help or support, especially to a more important person or thing |
benevolent | a. generous in providing aid to others; charitable |
blasphemous | a. characterized by profanity or cursing |
bravado | n. defiant or swaggering behavior; pretense of courage; false show of bravery |
camouflage | v. exploit natural surroundings to disguise something; conceal |
capricious | a. fickle; impulsive and unpredictable; apt to change opinions suddenly |
cavalcade | n. ceremonial procession or display; succession or series |
celestial | a. relating to the sky or the heavens; supremely good; god or angel |
cerebral | a. relating to the brain or cerebrum; intellectual rather than emotional |
chagrin | n. anxiety caused by humiliation or injured pride; disappointment |
chaotic | a. in utter disorder; lacking visible order or organization |
chasm | n. deep opening in the earth surface |
chastise | v. punish, as by beating; criticize severely; rebuke |
chronic | a. lasting for long period; marked by frequent recurrence, as certain diseases |
citadel | n. fortress; fortified place which people could go for shelter during battle |
clique | n. small exclusive group of friends or associates |
cocoon | n. silky envelope spun by the larvae of many insects to protect pupas and by spiders to protect eggs |
conceivable | a. capable of being conceived, imagined, or understood |
concurrent | a. simultaneous; coincident; occurring or operating at the same time |
conscientious | a. wishing to do what is right, especially to do one's work or duty well and thoroughly; diligent; responsible; reliable |
consciousness | n. having knowledge of ; special awareness or sensitivity: |
contiguous | a. sharing an edge or boundary; touching; neighboring |
correspondence | n. similarity or analogy; communication by the exchange of letters |
corroborate | v. establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts; support with evidence |
curriculum | n. the subjects comprising a course of study in a school or college; program |
defamation | n. an abusive attack on a person's character or good name |
deprivation | n. poverty; removal of rank or office; taking away |
derelict | a. left and abandoned; negligent in performing a duty |
diffidence | n. lack of self-confidence |
disastrous | a. extremely bad; terrible; dreadful |
dissociate | v. to undergo a reversible or temporary breakdown of a molecule into simpler molecules or atoms |
distinction | n. excellence or eminence; note or mark of difference |
diurnal | a. daily; relating to or occurring in a 24-hour period |
dominant | a. major; most important, powerful, or influential; outweighing |
dormitory | n. a college or university building for student living; a large bedroom where several people sleep |
drudgery | n. hard monotonous routine work |
elicit | v. draw out; bring forth or to light; generate or provoke as response or answer |
elimination | n. act of removing or getting rid of something |
embroidery | n. elaboration by the use of decorative detail; ornamentation of fabric with needlework |
equinox | n. period of equal days and nights; beginning of Spring and Autumn |
escapade | n. wild and exciting undertaking; adventurous or unconventional act |
espionage | n. spying; secret observation |
etiquette | n. manners; rules governing socially acceptable behavior |
exaggeration | n. act of making something more noticeable than it really is; overstatement |
exemplary | a. serving as model; outstanding; typical |
expediency | n. the quality of being suited to the end in view |
expedient | a. suitable; appropriate to a purpose; serving to promote your interest |
expunge | v. cancel; remove; erase or strike out |
facsimile | n. exact copy or reproduction, as of a document; fax |
fallacy | n. deceptive or false appearance; false notion; deception |
feasibility | n. the quality of being doable |
fictitious | a. existing only in imagination; feigned; not true or real |
finesse | n. refinement and delicacy of performance; skillful, subtle handling |
fluorescent | a. luminous; bright; emitting visible light |
fulfill | v. put in effect, fill or meet a want or need |
gruesome | a. causing horror; frightful and shocking |
handkerchief | n. a square piece of cloth used for wiping the eyes or nose or as a costume accessory |
hideous | a. frightful, shocking, or offensive to the eyes; offensive to moral sensibilities |
hindrance | n. something that holds back or causes problems with something else; obstacle |
homogenize | v. equalize; become similar, as by mixing |
hypocrisy | n. practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold; falseness; expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction |
idiosyncrasy | n. behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual |
impasse | n. road or passage having no exit; deadlock |
impropriety | n. improper act; improper or unacceptable usage in speech or writing |
incandescent | a. strikingly bright; shining with intense heat; emitting light as result of being heated |
incessant | a. uninterrupted; unceasing; continuing without interruption |
indelible | a. impossible to remove, erase, or wash away; permanent |
indispensable | a. essential; requisite; impossible to be omitted or remitted |
indisputable | a. not open to question; obviously true; beyond dispute or doubt |
insufficient | a. of a quantity not able to fulfill a need or requirement |
interrogative | n. some linguists consider interrogative sentences to constitute a mood |
irreconcilable | a. incompatible; not able to be resolved |
irrelevant | a. not related to what is being discussed or considered and therefore not important; not applicable; having no connection with |
irrevocable | a. unalterable; irreversible; impossible to retract or revoke |
judicious | a. exhibiting good judgment or sound thinking; prudent |
justifiable | a. capable of being justified, or shown to be just |
labyrinth | n. maze; complex structure of interconnecting passages |
liaison | n. close relationship, connection, or link; secret love affair |
lustrous | a. giving out or shedding light, as sun or fire; reflecting light; having brilliant surface |
magnanimous | a. generous; high-minded; chivalrous |
magnificence | n. grandeur; splendor; grand or imposing beauty |
maintenance | n. preservation; support; continuance; court-ordered support paid by one spouse to another |
malicious | a. deliberately harmful; proceeding from extreme hatred |
martyr | n. one who makes great sacrifices or suffers to further belief or principle; one who endures great suffering |
melee | n. fight in which the combatants are mingled; hand to hand conflict; noisy riotous fight |
metamorphosis | n. marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function; major transformation |
molecular | a. of molecules; relating to simple or basic structure or form |
monotony | n. uniformity or lack of variation; continual increase, or continual decrease; tedium as a result of repetition |
morose | a. ill humored; sullen; depressingly dark; gloomy; persistent |
multiplicity | n. state of being multiplex or various; condition of being numerous; a large number |
nausea | n. feeling of sickness in stomach by an urge to vomit; strong aversion; disgust |
nonchalance | n. indifference; lack of concern; composure |
notoriety | n. known for some unfavorable act or quality; bad or ill fame |
oblique | a. having slanting or sloping direction, course, or position; inclined |
occasionally | ad. now and then; from time to time; infrequently; irregularly |
olfactory | a. relating to, or contributing to sense of smell |
omnipotent | a. all-powerful; having unlimited or universal power, authority, or force |
onomatopoeia | n. using words that imitate the sound they denote |
palatable | a. acceptable; sufficiently agreeable in flavor to be eaten |
pandemonium | n. state of extreme confusion and disorder; very noisy place |
panorama | v. complete view in every direction. |
partiality | n. inclination; favorable prejudice or bias; special fondness |
pastime | n. an activity that is done for enjoyment; amusement |
patriarch | n. father and ruler of family or tribe |
pediatrician | n. physician or expert in children's diseases |
peril | n. danger; risk; hazard; jeopardy; exposure of person or property to injury, loss, or destruction |
perjury | n. false testimony while under oath; breach of an oath or promise |
philanthropist | n. person who loves mankind in general; very generous person or institution |
picturesque | a. attractive in appearance, especially in an old-fashioned way; scenic |
pittance | n. very small portion or allowance assigned, whether of food or money |
playwright | n. someone who writes plays |
poignancy | n. state of deeply felt distress or sorrow; keenness of emotion |
poignant | a. profoundly moving; touching; agreeably intense or stimulating |
potpourri | n. a musical composition consisting of a series of songs or other musical pieces from various sources |
prejudice | n. an unfair and unreasonable opinion or feeling; leaning toward one side of a question |
premonition | n. a feeling that something, especially something unpleasant, is going to happen |
primitive | a. belonging to an early stage; simple or naive in style; primeval |
proximity | n. state of being proximate; nearness in place, time, or relation |
quibble | n. minor objection or complaint; petty distinction |
quixotic | a. idealistic without regard to practicality |
quizzical | a. suggesting puzzlement; mocking; curious |
recipient | n. receiver; one that receives or is receptive |
redundant | a. exceeding what is necessary or natural; repetitious; excessively wordy |
reek | v. emit odor; be pervaded by something unpleasant |
remembrance | n. the ability to recall past occurrences; a recognition of meritorious service |
renegade | n. disloyal person; traitor or rebel |
renovate | v. restore to good condition; renew |
reservoir | n. tank used for collecting and storing a liquid; lake used to store water for community use |
respite | n. usually short interval of rest or relief; delay in punishment |
retaliate | v. do something harmful or negative to get revenge for some harm; fight back or respond in kind to an injury or affront |
retrieve | v. recover; find and bring in; get back |
rococo | n. fanciful but graceful asymmetric ornamentation in art and architecture that originated in France in the 18th century |
sabotage | v. destroy property or hinder normal operations |
salient | a. prominent or protruding; projecting outwardly; moving by leaps or springs |
satisfactorily | ad. in a way that fulfills expectations or needs; acceptably |
saunter | v. stroll slowly; walk at a leisurely pace |
scavenger | n. animal that eats other decaying organic matter; someone who collects things that have been discarded by others |
scourge | n. whip used to inflict punishment; severe punishment |
scuttle | v. deliberately sink ship by order of commander, rather than by enemy action |
seethe | v. be disturbed; boil; be in state of turmoil or ferment |
significance | n. the quality of being worthy of attention; importance |
soliloquy | n. talking to oneself; act of a character speaking to himself so as to reveal his thoughts to audience |
spasmodic | a. affected by involuntary jerky muscular contractions; periodic |
squalid | a. extremely dirty and unpleasant; showing a contemptible lack of moral standards |
strenuous | a. arduous; intense; performed with much energy or force; |
stringent | a. demanding strict attention to rules and procedures; binding; rigid |
subsequent | a. following in time or order; succeeding; later |
subsistence | n. something that has real or substantial existence; means of support or maintain life |
succinct | a. brief or compact; by clear, precise expression in few words |
summarize | v. give a brief statement of the main points of something |
supersede | v. be placed in or take the room of; replace; make obsolete; make void or useless by superior power |
surgeon | n. one who performs manual operations on a patient |
surveillance | n. watching; inspection; close observation of a person or group; supervision |
swelter | v. be oppressed by heat; suffer terribly from intense heat |
synthesis | n. combining parts into a coherent whole; putting of two or more things togethe |
tantalize | v. tease; torture with disappointment; bait someone by showing something desirable but leaving them unsatisfied |
technician | n. one skilled particularly in the technical details of work |
technique | n. practical method or art applied to some particular task; skillfulness |
tedious | a. tiresome by reason of length, slowness, or dullness; progressing very slowly |
tenuous | a. long and thin; slender; having little substance |
tirade | n. extended scolding; long angry or violent speech |
transcend | v. surpass; exceed; pass beyond the limits of |
transient | a. momentary; temporary; staying for short time |
transmutation | n. (physics) the change of one chemical element into another (as by nuclear decay or radioactive bombardment) |
tremor | n. shaking or vibrating movement; slight quiver |
turbulence | n. state of violent agitation; eddying motion; unstable flow of a liquid or gas; state of violent disturbance and disorder |
ubiquitous | a. being or existing everywhere; omnipresent |
ulterior | a. beyond or outside of immediate interest; coming at a subsequent time or stage |
unanimous | a. uniform; in complete agreement |
uncanny | a. strange; mysterious; peculiarly unsettling, as if of supernatural origin or nature |
uncouth | a. lacking refinement or cultivation or taste |
undoubtedly | ad. unquestionably; without doubt; certainly |
unforgettable | a. impossible to forget; very memorable |
upbraid | v. severely criticize; reprimand; reprove sharply |
variegated | a. streaked, spotted, or marked with a variety of color; very colorful |
vengeance | n. punishment inflicted in return for an injury or an offense; retribution |
versatile | a. having many talents; capable of working in many fields |
volatile | a. tending to vary often or widely, as in price; inconstant or fickle; tending to violence |
vulnerable | a. susceptible to wounds; capable of being wounded or hurt |
wary | a. very cautious; on guard; watchful |
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