|
abate |
reduce |
|
|
abscond |
to leave secretly |
|
|
abyss |
deep hole |
|
|
aesthetic |
concerning the appreciation of beauty |
|
|
aggrandize |
increase in power/influence |
|
|
amalgamate |
combine, mix |
|
|
anachronism |
out of place in time |
|
|
analogous |
similar, equivalent, comparable |
|
|
anomal y/ous |
abnormal, irregular |
|
|
antagonize |
provoke to anger, annoy |
|
|
antipathy |
dislike |
|
|
apathy |
lack of interest, emotion |
|
|
aberrant |
abnormal, deviant |
|
|
abeyance |
suspended action |
|
|
abstemious |
Eating and drinking in moderation |
|
|
arbitrate |
judge a dispute between two opposing parties |
|
|
archaic |
ancient, old-fashioned |
|
|
ardor |
intense and passionate feeling |
|
|
articulate |
speak clearly and expressively |
|
|
assuage |
make something unpleasant less severe, ease, soothe |
|
|
attenuate |
reduce, weaken |
|
|
audacious |
fearless and daring |
|
|
austere |
sever or stern, undecorated |
|
|
admonish |
warn, reprove |
|
|
alacrity |
promptness, eagerness |
|
|
ambivalence |
Uncertainty or indecisiveness, coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings |
|
|
ameliorate |
improve |
|
|
appease |
pacify, soothe |
|
|
apprise |
inform |
|
|
approbation |
approval |
|
|
appropriate |
acquire |
|
|
arduous |
hard |
|
|
artless |
open and honest |
|
|
ascetic |
self-denying and austere, e.g. hermit |
|
|
assiduous |
diligent |
|
|
autonomous |
self-governing |
|
|
aver |
state confidently |
|
|
banal |
predictable, lacking originality |
|
|
belie |
contradict, give a false impression |
|
|
bolster |
support |
|
|
boorish |
rude, insensitive |
|
|
burgeon |
grow forth |
|
|
burnish |
shiny, polish |
|
|
buttress |
support |
|
|
cacophon y/ous |
inharmonious, discordant |
|
|
candid |
impartial and honest; candid nature |
|
|
capricious |
unpredictable, fickle |
|
|
castigate |
punish |
|
|
caustic |
sarcastically biting |
|
|
chicanery |
deception, trickery |
|
|
cogent |
convincing and well reasoned |
|
|
condone |
overlook, pardon, disregard |
|
|
convoluted |
intricate, complicated |
|
|
corroborate |
provide supporting evidence |
|
|
credulous |
too trusting, gullible |
|
|
crescendo |
increase in volume or intensity |
|
|
coagulate |
thicken, clot |
|
|
coda |
concluding section of some musical, literary piece |
|
|
commensurate |
Of the same size, extent |
|
|
compendium |
brief, summary |
|
|
complaisant |
trying to please |
|
|
conciliatory |
reconciling, soothing |
|
|
confound |
confuse |
|
|
connoisseur |
someone who appreciates, knows about fine art |
|
|
contention |
assertion , thesis.... bone of contention |
|
|
contentious |
quarrelsome |
|
|
contrite |
Feeling regret and sorrow for one's sins or offenses; penitent |
|
|
conundrum |
riddle; difficult problem |
|
|
craven |
cowardly |
|
|
deference |
respect, courtesy |
|
|
deride |
redicule, mock, make fun of |
|
|
desiccate |
dry out |
|
|
diatribe |
abusive speech, scolding, invective |
|
|
desultory |
aimless, haphazard, disconnected |
|
|
diffident |
lacking self-confidence, shyness |
|
|
dilate |
expand |
|
|
dilatory |
delaying |
|
|
dilettante |
amatuer |
|
|
dirge |
funeral hymm or mournful speech |
|
|
disabuse |
free from error |
|
|
discern |
perceive, recognize |
|
|
disparate |
fundamentally different |
|
|
dissemble |
present a false appearance, disguise |
|
|
dissonance |
discord, opposite of harmony |
|
|
dogma |
firmly held opinion |
|
|
dogmatic |
dictatorial in one's opinion |
|
|
dupe |
deceive |
|
|
daunt |
frighten |
|
|
default |
failure to act |
|
|
delineate |
portray, depict |
|
|
denigrate |
defame; belittle |
|
|
dichotomy |
split |
|
|
dirge |
lament with music |
|
|
discrete |
separate, unconnected |
|
|
disingenuous |
not naive, sophisticated |
|
|
disparage |
belittle |
|
|
disseminate |
spread, distribute |
|
|
distend |
expand |
|
|
eclectic |
made up of a variety of sources |
|
|
elegy |
sorrowful poem or speech |
|
|
emulate |
imitate, to copy, to try to equal |
|
|
enervate |
reduce in strength |
|
|
engender |
cause, bring about |
|
|
equivocate |
lie, mislead |
|
|
erratic |
unpredicatble, haphazard |
|
|
erudite |
learned, scholarly |
|
|
esoteric |
hard to understand, understood only by a few |
|
|
estimable |
admirable |
|
|
eulogy |
speech in praise of someone |
|
|
euphemism |
mild expression in place of an unpleasant one |
|
|
exacerbate |
to make worse |
|
|
exigent |
urgent |
|
|
ebullient |
excitement, enthusiasm |
|
|
effrontery |
shameless boldness |
|
|
elicit |
draw out by discussion |
|
|
embellish |
ornament, enhance |
|
|
empirical |
based on experience |
|
|
endemic |
prevailing among a specific group of people |
|
|
equanimity |
calmness of temperament, composure |
|
|
extrapolation |
conjecture |
|
|
fawn |
grovel, flattering |
|
|
fervid |
Marked by great passion or zeal |
|
|
foment |
arouse; insite; promote the growth of |
|
|
frugality |
thrift, Wise economy in the management of money |
|
|
facetious |
joking |
|
|
fallacious |
false |
|
|
fatuous |
foolish |
|
|
felicitous |
appropriate, well chosen, suitably expressed |
|
|
fervor |
intensity of feeling |
|
|
fledgling |
inexperienced |
|
|
flout |
reject; mock |
|
|
garrulous |
tending to talk a lot; loquacious |
|
|
gregarious |
outgoing; sociable |
|
|
guile |
deceit |
|
|
gullible |
easily deceived |
|
|
gainsay |
deny |
|
|
goad |
urge on |
|
|
gouge |
overcharge |
|
|
grandiloquent |
bombastic |
|
|
harangue |
speech |
|
|
iconoclast |
one who opposes established beliefs, customs |
|
|
imperturbable |
not capable of being disturbed |
|
|
impetuous |
quick to act without thinking |
|
|
implacable |
unable to be calmed down |
|
|
inchoate |
not full formed; disorganized |
|
|
ingenuous |
showing innocence |
|
|
inimical |
unfriendly; hostile |
|
|
innocuous |
harmless |
|
|
insipid |
lack of interest, flavor |
|
|
intransigent |
uncompromising |
|
|
inundate |
overwhelm; cover with water |
|
|
irascible |
easily made angry |
|
|
impassive |
without feeling |
|
|
impede |
hinder |
|
|
implode |
burst inward |
|
|
inadvertently |
unintentionally |
|
|
incongruity |
lack of harmony |
|
|
indigence |
poverty |
|
|
indolent |
lazy |
|
|
insinuate |
hint; imply |
|
|
insularity |
narrow mindedness; isolation |
|
|
intractable |
unruly; stubborn; not easily managed |
|
|
invective |
abuse |
|
|
laconic |
using few words; brief and to the point |
|
|
lament |
express sorrow; grieve |
|
|
laud |
praise |
|
|
lucid |
clearly and easily understood |
|
|
luminous |
bright |
|
|
lassitude |
weariness; languor |
|
|
latent |
dormant; hidden; undeveloped |
|
|
levity |
lack of seriousness |
|
|
malinger |
one who feigns illness to escape duty |
|
|
malleable |
capable of being shaped |
|
|
misanthrope |
a person who dislikes others |
|
|
mitigate |
soften; lessen |
|
|
mollify |
calm; make less severe |
|
|
monotomy |
lack of variation |
|
|
maverick |
rebel |
|
|
mendacious |
lying; habitually dishonest |
|
|
metamorphosis |
change of form |
|
|
morose |
melancholy; Sadness or depression |
|
|
mundane |
wordly; everyday |
|
|
neophyte |
beginner |
|
|
obdurate |
obstinate |
|
|
obsequious |
eager to please |
|
|
obviate |
prevent |
|
|
occlude |
stop |
|
|
onerous |
troublesome |
|
|
opprobrium |
public disgrace |
|
|
officious |
meddlesome |
|
|
paragon |
model of perfection |
|
|
pedant |
showing off learning |
|
|
perfidious |
willing to betray ones trust |
|
|
perfunctory |
indifferent |
|
|
philanthropy |
charity; desire to do good |
|
|
placate |
soothe; pacify |
|
|
plethora |
excess |
|
|
pragmatic |
practical |
|
|
precipitate |
hasty; quick; sudden |
|
|
prevaricate |
to lie |
|
|
pristine |
pure |
|
|
proliferate |
increase |
|
|
propitiate |
conciliate; appease |
|
|
prudence |
wisdom; caution |
|
|
partisan |
one-sided; prejudiced |
|
|
paucity |
scarcity |
|
|
penchant |
strong inclination; liking |
|
|
penury |
poverty |
|
|
perennial |
long lasting |
|
|
pervasive |
spread throughout |
|
|
phlegmatic |
calm |
|
|
platitude |
trite remark; commonplace statement |
|
|
precarious |
uncertain; risky |
|
|
presumptuous |
arrogant; taking liberties |
|
|
probity |
uprightness |
|
|
propensity |
natural inclination |
|
|
proscribe |
outlaw |
|
|
quiescent |
motionless |
|
|
repudiate |
reject the validity |
|
|
reticent |
silent; reserved |
|
|
rhetoric |
effective writing or speaking |
|
|
recalcitrant |
stubborn |
|
|
recant |
confess |
|
|
recluse |
hermit; loner |
|
|
recondite |
profound; secret |
|
|
refractory |
resistant; stubborn |
|
|
relegate |
banish to an inferior position |
|
|
reproach |
express disapproval |
|
|
reprobate |
devoid of decency |
|
|
rescind |
cancel |
|
|
specious |
deceptively attractive; misleading |
|
|
stigma |
mark of shame |
|
|
stolid |
unemotional |
|
|
sublime |
grand |
|
|
tacit |
without words |
|
|
tirade |
verbal attack |
|
|
torpor |
lethargy |
|
|
transitory |
temporary |
|
|
vacillate |
indecisive; unpredictable |
|
|
venerate |
to respect deeply |
|
|
veracity |
filled with truth |
|
|
vex |
annoy |
|
|
waver |
fluctuate between choices |
|
|
whimsical |
unpredictable (whimsical fantasies) |
|
|
zeal |
passion; excitement |
|
|
salubrious |
healthy |
|
|
savor |
have a distinctive flavor, smell |
|
|
shard |
fragment |
|
