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GAW/ACT/SAT/AP WORD LIST

Terms

undefined, object
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aberration
a deviation from the proper or expected course, a departure from the normal or typical
abeyance
the condition of being temporarily set aside; suspension
acerbic
sour or bitter tasting, acid
acuity
acuteness of vision or perception; keenness, sharpness, clearness, and distinctness of perception or vision
admonish
to reprove gently but earnestly, to counsel against something to be avoided; caution
adroit
dexterous, deft; skillful and adept to under pressing conditons, skillful in adapting means to ends
aesthete
one who cultivates an unusually high sensitivity to beauty, as in art or nature
altruistic
unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness
ameliorate
to make or become better; improve
amorphous
lacking definite from, shapeless, of no particular shape, lacking organization
antediluvian
extrememly old and aniquated (outdated), occurring or belonging to the era before the Flood
apocryphal
of questionable authorship or authenicity, erroneous
arable
fit for cultivation, land fit to be cultivated
ascetic
a person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of self-disciple as an act of religious devotion
assuage
to make less intense or severe, to satisfy or appease, to pacify or calm
atrophy
a wasting or decrease in size of a body organ, tissue, or part, a wasting away, deterioration, to waste away
avarice
immoderate desire for wealth, excessive or insatible desire for greed
aviary
a large enclosure for holding birds in confinement, a building where birds are kept
avow
to acknowledge openly, boldy, and unashamedly, to state positively, to declare or affirm as true
bilk
to defraud, cheat, or swindle, one who cheats
broach
to bring up for discussion or debate, to announce, to pierce in order to draw off liquid
buttress
a structure, usually brick or stone, build against a wall for support or reinforcement, something that serves to support
celerity
swiftness of action of motion; speed, a rate that is rapid
charlatan
a person who makes elaborate, fradulent (deceitful), and often valuable claims to skill or knowledge, a quack or fraud
cherubic
having a sweet nature befitting an angel or cherub
churlish
of, like, of befitting a churl; boorish or bulgar, having a bad disposition, difficult to work with, rude
circuitous
being or taking a roundabout, lengthy couse, deviating from a straight course
clandestine
keep or done in secret, of in order to concean an illicit or improper purpose, hidden aims or methods
commensurate
of the same size, extent, or duration as another, corresponding in size or degree, porportional
concomitant
occurring or existing concurrently, one that occurs or exists concurrently with another
cryptic
having hidden meaning, mystifying secret or beyong the realm of human comprehension, tending to conceal or camouflage
diffidence
lack of self confidence, timidity or shyness, quality or state of being diffident
dearth
a scarce supply, a lack, shortage of food, a scarcity of provisions
dissemble
to disguise or conceal behind a false appearance, to make a false show of, make believe with the intent to deceive
dissonant
harsh and inharminous in sound, disagreeing, lacking in harmony
desecrate
to violate the sacredness of, violate the sacred nature of a place or language
disparage
to speak of in a disrespectful way, belittle, to reduce in esteem or rank, express a negative opinion of
dilatory
intended to delay, tending to postpone or delay, inclined to waste time and lag behind
credulous
disposed to believe too readily, guillible, disposed to believe on little evidence
duplicity
deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech, acting in bad faith, deception by pretending
divination
the art or act of foretelling future events, an inspired guess, successful conjecture by unusual insight, gift of prophecy
dispassionate
devoid or unaffected by passion, emotion, or bias, unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice
elucidate
to make clear or plain, especially by explaination; clarify, to make clear
dotard
a person who is in his or her senility, someone whos age has impaired his intellect
conjugal
of or relating to marriage or the relationship of spouses
confluence
a flowing or meeting together; a joining, a place where things merge or flow together, a coming together of people
disaffected
to cause to loss affection or loyalty, resentful and rebellious especially against authority
coterie
a small or often select group of persons who associate with one anotehr frequently, an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
demagogue
a leader who obtains power by means of impassioned appeals to the emotions and prejudices of the populace
elegiac
mouring or expressing sorrow for that which is in the past, expressing lament for a deceased person
emanate
to come or send forth, as from a source, to give out or emit
curmudgeon
an ill tempered person full of resentment and stubborn notions, an easily angered, disagreable person full of stubborn ideas
diatribe
a bitter, abusive act of accusing another of a crime, thunderous verbal attack
conundrum
a riddle in whihc a fanciful question is answered by a pun, a paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem
ex: If a turtle loses its shell is it naked or homeless?
corpulence
the condtiion of being excessively fat, obesity
contentious
quarrelsome, involving or likely to cause controversy, inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree
discursive
covering a wide field of subjects; rambling, proceeding to a conclusion by reason/argument rather than intuition
egregious
obviously bad or offensive
copious
large in quantity, abundant, to be fully supplied in matter, thoughts or words, full of information or matter
dissuade
to deter a person from a course of action or a purpose by persuasion, turn away from
emulate
to strive to equal or excel, especially through imitation, to compete with successfully, approach or reach equality with
enigmatic
of or resembling an enigma; not clear to the understanding
ennui
listlessness and dissatisfication resulting from lack of interest; boredom, the feeling of being bored by something tedious
ephermeral
lasting for a brief time, living or lasting only for a day; short-lived, short time
epicure
a person with refined taste, especially in food and wine, a person devoted to sensuous pleasure and luxurious living
equivocate
to use of doubtful or uncertain nature, langauge, intentionally, be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information
erudition
deep extensive learning, profound scholarly knowledge
esoteric
intended for or understood by only a particular group, confined to a small group
espouse
to take in marriage, to give one's loyalty or support to, choose and follow, take up the cause
ethereal
not of this world, spiritual, intangible, characterized by lightness, of the celestial spheres
extol
to praise highly, glorify, honor
fatuous
smugly and unconsciously foolish, delusive, unreal, one that lacks common sense/substance
fecund
capable of producing offspring/vegetation; fruitful, intellectually productive
felicity
great happiness; bliss, a cuase or souce of happiness
fetid
having an offensive odor
flippant
marked by disrespectful speech/casualness, inappropriate lack of seriousness
florid
flushed with rosy color, very ornate; flowery, elaborately/excessively ornamented
foible
a minor weakness or failing of character, a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual
furtive
characterized by not disclosing one's true ideology, affiliations or positions, expressive of hidden motives or purposes
garish
marked by strident color or excessive ornamentation, gaudy, loud and flashy
garner
to gather and store in or as if in a granary, to amass, acquire, store grain, pull your thoughts together
guile
treacherous, cunning, skillful/deceit, to deceive, the use of tricks to deceive someone
hedonism
pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, the belief that only what is pleasant is intrinsically good, pleasure/happiness is the cheif gola in life
heretic
a person who holds religious beliefs in conflict with the dogma of the Catholic church
hiatus
a gap or interruption in space, time, or continuity, a break, a fissure in an organ
histrionic
of or relating to actors or acting, excessively dramatic or emotional
hoary
gray or white with or as if with age, ancient, showing chracteristics of age
iconoclasm
the beliefs, practices of one who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional/popular ideas, someone who tries to destroy traditional ideas
immutable
not subject or susceptible to change
impervious
incapable of being penetrated, incapable of being affected
impregnable
impossible to capture or enter by force, difficult or impossible to attack, challenge, or refute with sucess
impugn
to attack as false or questionable; challenge in argument, attack as false or wrong
inauspicious
not favorable; not prosperous
incipient
beginning to exist or appear, beginning to come into being or to become apparent
incisive
penetrating, clear and sharp, as in operation or expression, having or demostrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
incorrigible
incapable of being corrected or reformed, difficult or impossible to control or manage: firmly rooted
indecorous
lacking propriety or good taste in manners and conduct
indefatigable
incapable of being fatigued, tireless
innocuous
having no adverse effect; harmless, not likely to offend or provoke strong emotions
inscrutable
difficult to fathom or understand, of an obscure nature
insipid
lacking flavor or zest; not tasty, lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; dull
intonate
to intone, to utter with a particular tone of voice, speak carefully as with rising and falling pitch
intractable
difficult to manage or govern; stubborn, difficult to mold or manipulate
intrinsic
of or relating to the essential nature of a thing, originating or due to causes or factoes within a body, organ, or part
inveigh
to give vent to angry disapproval; protest vehemently, complain bitterly
inveterate
firmly and long established; deep-rooted, persisting in an ingrained habit; habitual
irascible
prone to outbursts of temper; easily angered, characterizedd by anger, quickly aroused to anger
jettison
to cast overboard or off, to discard as unwanted or burdenson, throw away
juncture
the act of joining or the condition of being joined, a place where two things are joined, an event that occurs at a critical time
juxtapose
to place side by side, especially for comparison or contrast
laconic
using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise, brief and to the point
lampoon
a written attack ridiculing a person, group, or institution, a light, good-natured satire
largess
liberality in bestowing gifts, money or gifts bestowed, generosity of spirit or attitude
lassitude
a state or feeling of weariness, diminshed energy a feeling of lack of interest or energy
lethargy
a state of sluggishness, inactivity, and apathy
lithe
readily bent; supple, marked by effortless grace, gracefully slender; moving and bending with ease
lurid
causing shock or horror; gruesome, glowing or shining with the glare of fire through a haze, glaringly vivid and graphic
malevolent
having or exhibiting ill will; wishing harm to others; mallicious, having an evil or harmful influence
maudlin
effusively or tearfully sentimental
meander
to follow a winding and turning course, to move aimlessly and idly without fixed direction

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