Collected & Edited
Terms
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- abate
- to lessen in intensity or degree
- aberrant
- deviating from the norm
- abscond
- to steal off and hide
- accolade
- an expression of praise
- acerbic
- having a sour or bitter taste
- acumen
- accurate knowledge or insight
- adulation
- intense adoration
- adulterate
- to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
- aesthetic
- appreciative of beauty
- aggrandize
- to increase; extend; make appear greater
- alacrity
- eager and enthusiastic willingness
- alchemy
- a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metals
- amalgamate
- to combine several elements into a whole
- ameliorate
- to make better
- amenable
- agreeable
- anachronism
- something or someone out of place in terms of chronological context
- anomaly
- deviation from the normal order or rule; abnormality
- approbation
- an expression of approval or praise
- archaic
- outdated
- arduous
- strenuous
- ascetic
- one who practices rigid self- denial
- assuage
- to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
- astringent
- harsh
- audacious
- daring and fearless
- austere
- severely simple
- avarice
- greed for wealth
- aver
- to confirm or support
- axiom
- a universally recognized principle
- axiomatic
- possessing self-evident truth
- bombastic
- pompous
- bolster
- to provide support
- bombast
- pompous writing or speech
- bucolic
- characteristic of rural areas
- burgeon
- to grow rapidly
- cacophony
- harsh sound
- canon
- an established set of principles or code of law
- canonical
- following or in agreement with traditional standards
- capricious
- changing one's mind impulsively
- castigation
- severe criticism or punishment
- catalyst
- a person or thing that causes change
- caustic
- burning or stinging
- censure
- to criticize severely
- chary
- cautious
- chicanery
- trickery
- cogent
- convincing
- complaisance
- the willingness to comply with the with the wishes of others
- connoisseur
- expert
- contentious
- argumentative
- contiguous
- sharing a border
- contrite
- regretful
- convention
- a generally agreed-upon practice
- convoluted
- complicated
- credulous
- gullible
- culpable
- deserving blame
- cynicism
- a belief that all people are motivated by selfishness
- dearth
- smallness of quantity
- decorum
- polite or appropriate conduct
- demur
- to question or oppose
- derision
- ridicule; scorn
- desiccate
- to dry out
- diatribe
- a harsh denunciation
- didactic
- intended to teach or instruct
- dilettante
- one with superficial interest in the arts
- disabuse
- to undeceive
- discordant
- conflicting; dissonant or harsh sound
- discretion
- ability to make responsible decisions
- disinterested
- indifferent
- disparage
- to belittle
- disparate
- fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
- dissemble
- to mislead
- divulge
- to disclose something secret
- dogmatic
- stubbornly opinionated
- ebullience
- the quality of lively expression of thoughts or feelings
- eccentric
- departing from the norms
- eclectic
- composed of elements drawn from various sources
- effrontery
- extreme boldness
- elegy
- a mournful poem
- eloquent
- well spoken; expressive; articulate
- emollient
- making less harsh
- empirical
- based on experiment
- endemic
- often found in a particular locality or people
- enervate
- weaken; reduce in vitality
- enigmatic
- mysterious; difficult to understand
- ennui
- dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
- ephemeral
- brief
- equivocate
- to use ambiguous language with deceptive intent
- erudite
- scholarly
- esoteric
- understood by a small group
- eulogy
- speech honoring dead
- evanescent
- vanishing
- exacerbate
- to make worse
- exculpate
- exonerate; to clear of blame
- exigent
- urgent
- exonerate
- to remove blame
- extemporaneous
- done without preparation
- facetious
- humorous
- fallacy
- a mistaken belief
- fawn
- to flatter
- fervent
- greatly emotional
- Filibuster
- intentional obstruction
- flout
- to demonstrate contempt for
- fortuitous
- happening by fortunate chance
- fulminate
- to loudly attack or denounce
- furtive
- surreptitious
- garrulous
- talking too much
- germane
- relevant to the subject at hand
- glib
- superficial
- grandiloquence
- pompous speech
- gregarious
- sociable
- hackneyed
- commonplace by frequent usage
- halcyon
- peaceful
- harangue
- to deliver a pompous speech
- hedonism
- devotion to pleasurable pursuits
- hegemony
- the dominance of one state or ideology over others
- heretical
- violating accepted dogma
- hubris
- arrogant presumption or pride
- hyperbole
- an exaggerated statement
- iconoclast
- one who undermines traditional conventions
- idolatrous
- excessive devotion to something
- imminent
- about to happen
- immutable
- not capable of change
- impassive
- revealing no emotion
- impecunious
- without money
- imperturbable
- marked by extreme calm
- impetuous
- rashly energetic
- implacable
- not capable of being significantly changed
- impunity
- immunity from punishment
- inchoate
- not fully formed
- incipient
- beginning to come into being
- indifferent
- having no interest or concern
- inert
- lethargic
- infelicitous
- unfortunate
- ingenuous
- artless; lacking in sophistication
- inimical
- harmful
- innocuous
- harmless
- insipid
- bland
- intractable
- stubborn
- intransigent
- refusing to compromise
- intrepid
- courageous
- inured
- accustomed to accepting something undesirable
- inveigle
- to obtain by deception
- irascible
- easily angered
- laconic
- using few words
- laud
- to praise highly
- loquacious
- extremely talkative
- lucid
- easily understood
- luminous
- characterized by brightness
- magnanimity
- being noble in mind and heart
- malevolent
- having ill-witted spite or hatred
- malleable
- capable of being shaped
- martial
- associated with war
- maverick
- independent individual who does not go along w/ a group
- mendacity
- dishonesty
- mercurial
- characterized by unpredictable change in mood
- meticulous
- attentive to detail
- misanthrope
- one who hates all humans
- mitigate
- to make less severe
- mollify
- to calm or soothe
- morose
- sad
- mundane
- of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary
- nascent
- in early developmental stages
- nebulous
- vague
- neologism
- a new word or expression
- neophyte
- a beginner
- noxious
- harmful
- obdurate
- hardhearted
- obfuscate
- to make confusing
- obsequious
- exhibiting a flattering attentiveness
- obstinate
- stubborn
- obtuse
- lacking sharpness of intellect
- obviate
- to anticipate and make unnecessary
- occlude
- to obstruct or block
- odious
- evoking intense dislike
- onerous
- troubling
- opaque
- not reflecting light
- opprobrium
- disgrace
- oscillation
- swinging back and forth with steady rhythm
- ostentatious
- characterized by pretentiousness
- paean
- a song of praise
- parody
- a humorous imitation
- pedagogy
- the art of teaching or training
- pedantic
- excessive attention to formal rules
- penurious
- penny-pinching
- penury
- poverty
- perfidy
- treachery
- perfunctory
- done without care or interest
- pernicious
- extremely harmful
- perennial
- happening repeatedly
- perspicacious
- acutely perceptive
- peruse
- to examine with great care
- pervade
- to permeate throughout
- pervasive
- having tendency to permeate
- phlegmatic
- sluggish
- pine
- to yearn intensely
- pious
- showing strong religious devotion
- pirate
- to illegally use or produce
- pith
- the essential or central part
- pithy
- precise and brief
- placate
- to calm by making concessions
- platitude
- a superficial remark
- plethora
- an overabundance
- plummet
- to plunge or drop straight down
- polemical
- controversial
- pragmatic
- practical rather than idealistic
- prattle
- to babble meaninglessly
- precipitate(a)
- acting with excessive impulse
- precipitate(v)
- to cause or happen before anticipated
- precursor
- one that precedes or announces another
- predilection
- preference
- preen
- to dress up
- prescience
- foreknowledge of events
- presumptuous
- overstepping due bounds
- prevaricate
- to mislead
- pristine
- pure; uncorrupted
- probity
- adherence to highest principles
- proclivity
- a natural inclination
- prodigal
- extravagant
- prodigious
- extraordinary
- profligate
- excessively wasteful
- profuse
- extravagant
- proliferate
- to grow or increase abundantly
- prolific
- productive
- propensity
- a natural inclination
- prosaic
- dull
- pungent
- characterized by strong smell or taste
- putrefy
- to rot
- quaff
- to drink deeply
- qualms
- causes for hesitancy
- queries
- questions
- querulous
- quarrelsome
- quiescence
- stillness
- quixotic
- foolishly impractical
- quotidian
- occurring or recurring daily
- rancorous
- characterized by bitter resentment
- rarefy
- less dense; to make thin
- recalcitrant
- difficult to manage
- recant
- to retract
- recondite
- difficult to understand
- redoubtable
- worthy of honor
- refulgent
- radiant; shiny
- refute
- to disprove
- relegate
- to forcibly assign
- renege
- to go back on a promise
- repudiate
- to disown
- rescind
- to invalidate
- reticent
- reserved
- reverent
- marked by expressing a feeling of respect
- rhetoric
- the study of effective use of languages for communication
- salubrious
- promoting health or well-being