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Terms

undefined, object
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culminate
to climax; to reach full effect
avow
To claim; to declare boldly; to admit
frenetic
a frantic ; frenzied
impeccable
a flawless ; entirely without sin
gregarious
a sociable ; enjoying the company of others
decorous
proper; in good taste; orderly
arduous
Hard; difficult
burgeon
To expand; to flourish
beset
Harass; to surround
defame
to libel or slander; to ruin the good name of
affable
Easy to talk to; friendly
fauna
N animals cf flora animal
itinerant
moving from place to place
discrete
unconnected; separate; distinct
depravity
extreme wickedness or corruption
banal
Unoriginal; ordinary
egregious
A extremely bad; flagrant
hegemony
n leadership especially of one nation over another
ambiguous
Unclear in meaning; confusing; capable of being interpreted in different ways
inept
a clumsy ; incompetent ; gauche
infer
v to conclude ; to deduce
facile
Adj fluent; skillful in a superficial way; easy
demagogue
a leader of the people but more a rabble rouser
figurative
Adj based on figures of speech; expressing something in terms usually for something else; metaphorical
existential
Adj having to do with existence; having to do with the body of thought called existentialism which basically holds that human beings are responsible for their own actions but is otherwise too complicated to summarize in a single sentence
finesse
N skillful maneuvering; subtlety; craftiness
enigma
N a mystery riddle
docile
easily taught; obedient; easy to handle
incipient
a beginning ; emerging
esoteric
Adj hard to understand; understood by only a select few; peculiar
facetious
Adj humorous; not serious; clumsily humorous
blatant
Unpleasantly or offensively noisy; glaring
exalt
V to raise high; to glorify
compelling
Forceful; causing to yield
intrinsic
a part of the essential nature of something ; inherent
diffident
timid; lacking in self-confidence
aggregate
Sum total; a collection of separate things mixed together
commensurate
Equal; proportionate
consecrate
To make or declare sacred
avuncular
Like an uncle especially a nice uncle ;
circumscribe
To draw a line around; to set the limits; to define; to restrict.
caricature
A portrait or description that is purposely distorted or exaggerated often to prove some point about its subject
clique
An exclusive group bound together by some shared quality or interest
covenant
a solemn agreement; a contract; a pledge
blasphemy
Irreverence; an insult to something held sacred; profanity
archetype
An original model or pattern
construe
To interpret
aloof
Uninvolved; standing off; keeping ones distance
dissolution
the breaking up or dissolving of something into parts; disintegration
arbitrary
Random; capricious random
bastion
Stronghold; fortress; fortified place
contentious
Argumentative; quarrelsome
apotheosis
Elevation to divine status; the perfect example of something
dearth
lack; scarcity
clemency
Mercy; forgiveness; mildness
condone
To overlook; to permit to happen
effusion
N a pouring forth Effuse v Effusive a
charisma
A magical-seeming ability to attract followers or inspire loyalty
increment
n an increase ; one in a series of increases
catharsis
Purification that brings emotional relief or renewal
beleaguer
To surround; to besiege; to harass
bureaucracy
A system of government administration consisting of numerous bureaus or offices especially one run according to inflexible and inefficient rules; any large administrative system characterized by inefficiency lots of rules and red tape
contiguous
Side by side; adjoining
hermetic
a impervious to external influence ; airtight
deluge
a flood; an inundation
apartheid
The abhorrent policy of racial segregation and oppression in the Repubic of South Africa
coerce
To force someone to do or not to do something
infamous
a shamefully wicked ; having an extremely bad reputation ; disgraceful
cosmopolitan
at home in many places or situations; internationally sophisticated
eclectic
A choosing the best from many sources; drawn from many sources n cf eclecticism
allocate
To distribute; to assign; to allot
concord
Harmony; agreement
anguish
Agonizing physical or mental pain
indolent
a lazy ;
dormant
A inactive; as though asleep; asleep ~volcano ~window
adamant
Stubborn; unyielding; completely inflexible
address
To speak to; to direct ones attention to
disseminate
to spread the seeds of something; to scatter; to make widely known
impugn
v to attack especially to attack the truth or integrity of something
idyllic
a charming in a rustic way ; naturally peaceful
artifice
A clever trick; cunning ;
dilettante
someone with superficial knowledge of the arts; an amateur; a dabbler
equitable
Adj fair
digress
to stray from the main subject
covert
secret; hidden
congenial
Agreeably suitable; pleasant
inaugurate
v to begin officially ; to induct formally into office
analogy
A comparison of one thing to another; similarity similarity
compendium
A summary; an abridgment
conjecture
To guess; to deduce or infer on slight evidence
hiatus
n a break or interruption often from work ;
complacent
Self-satisfied; overly pleased with oneself; contented to a fault
futile
a useless ; hopeless ;
conjure
To summon or bring into being as if by magic
antithesis
The direct opposite
alloy
A combination of two or more things usually metals
bereaved
Deprived or left desolate especially through death
assiduous
Hardworking; busy; quite diligent
incantation
n a chant ; the repetition of statements or phrases in a way reminiscent of a chant
fatalist
N someone who believes that future events are already determined and that humans are powerless to change them
husbandry
n thrifty management of resources ; livestock farming
astute
Shrewd; keen in judgment ;
chronicle
A record of events in order of time; a history
ideology
n a system of social or political ideas
egalitarian
A believing in the social and economic equality of all people
abhor
To hate very very much; to detest
acrid
Harsh; like acid
abdicate
To step down from a position of power or responsibility
flaunt
V show off; to display ostentatiously
appreciate
To increase in value
candor
Truthfulness; sincere honesty
apathy
Lack of interest; lack of feeling
eccentric
A not conventional; a little kooky; irregular
alacrity
Cheerful eagerness or readiness to respond
absolute
Total; unlimited; perfect
indulgent
lenient ; yielding to desire
adulterate
To contaminate; to make impure
gesticulate
v to make gestures especially when speaking or in place of speaking
circumlocution
An indirect expression; use of wordy or evasive language
acerbic
Bitter; sour; severe
fatuous
Adj foolish; silly; idiotic ;
exonerate
to free completely from blame, to exculpate
arcane
Mysterious; known only to a select few mysterious
expedient
providing an immediate advantage, serving one's immediate self-interest, practical
beget
To give birth to; to create; to lead to; to cause
cryptic
mysterious; mystifying; clandestine mysterious;
altruism
Selflessness; generosity; devotion to the interests of others
forbear
v to refrain from ; to abstain
affectation
Unnatural or artificial behavior usually intended to impress
deprecate
to express disapproval of
avarice
Greed; excessive love of riches
catholic
Universal; embracing everything
confluence
A flowing together especially of rivers; place where they begin to flow together
celibacy
Abstinence from sex
harbinger
n a forerunner ; a signal of ;
forsake
v to abandon ; to renounce ; to relinquish
incisive
a cutting right to the heart of the matter
exhaustive
Adj thorough; rigorous; complete; painstaking
ambiance
Atmosphere; mood; feeling mood
benefactor
One who provides help especially in the form of a gift or donation
incessant
a unceasing
circumvent
To frustrate as though by surrounding
ineffable
a incapable of being expressed or described
anecdote
A short account of a humorous or revealing incident
accost
To approach and speak to someone
aptitude
Capacity for learning; natural ability
accolade
An award; an honor
antipathy
Firm dislike; a dislike ↔sympathy ;
histrionic
a overly dramatic ; theatrical ;
integral
a essential
didactic
intended to teach; morally instructive; pedantic
countenance
face; facial expression especially an encouraging one
ethereal
Adj heavenly as light and insubstantial as a gas or ether heavenly
indignant
a angry especially as a result of something unjust or unworthy ; insulted
evanescent
Adj fleeting; vanishing; happening for only the briefest period
abject
Hopeless; extremely sad and servile; defeated; utterly bummed out
exasperate
V to annoy thoroughly; to make very angry; to try the patience of
exhort
V to urge strongly; to give a serious warning to
cajole
To persuade someone to do something he or she doesn't want to do
arbiter
One who decides; a judge
allege
To assert without proof
agenda
Program; the things to be done
adverse
Unfavorable; antagonistic
contrite
Admitting guilt; especially feeling remorseful
ascetic
Hermit like; practicing self-denial
covet
to wish for enviously
domestic
having to do with the household or family; not foreign
indifferent
a not caring one way or the other ; apathetic ; mediocre
explicit
clearly and directly expressed
appease
To soothe; to pacify by giving in to
bucolic
Charmingly rural; rustic; country like
impartial
a fair ; not favoring one side or the other ; unbiased
autonomous
Acting independently
felicity
N happiness; skillfulness especially at expressing things; adeptness
culinary
relating to cooking or the kitchen
dialectical
relating to discussions; relating to the rules and methods of reasoning; approaching truth in the middle of opposing extremes
ingenuous
a frank ; without deception ; simple ; artless ; charmingly na ve
infinitesimal
a very very very small ; infinitely small ;
brevity
Briefness
abash
To make ashamed; to embarrass
impotent
a powerless ; helpless ; unable to perform sexual intercourse
alleviate
To relieve usually temporarily or incompletely; to make bearable; to lessen
acquiesce
To comply passively; to accept; to assent; to agree
admonish
To scold gently; to warn
anomaly
An aberration; an irregularity; a deviation ;
concise
Brief and to the point; succinct
decimate
to kill or destroy a large part of 10:1
amiable
Friendly; agreeable
injunction
n a command or order especially a court order
insidious
a treacherous ; sneaky ;
hedonism
n the pursuit of pleasure as a way of life
autocratic
Ruling with absolute authority; extremely bossy
benign
Gentle; not harmful; kind; mild
espouse
V to support; to advocate
antecedent
Someone or something that went before; something that provides a model for something that came after it
encroach
Vi to make gradual or stealthy inroads into; to trespass on upon
inundate
v to flood ; to cover completely with water ; to overwhelm
blithe
Carefree; cheerful
egocentric
A selfish; believing that one is the center of everything n egoism egoistic -tical
exigency
an emergency
capricious
Unpredictable; like to change at any moment
fabrication
N a lie; something made up
elusive
Adj hard to pin down; evasive elude V elusion
implement
v to carry out
imminent
a just about to happen
cogent
Powerfully convincing
hyperbole
n an exaggeration used as a figure of speech ; exaggeration exaggeration
emulate
Vt to strive to equal or excel usually through imitation emulator emulation emulous be emulous of
congenital
A trait or condition acquired between conception and birth; innate
homily
n a sermon
disinterested
not taking sides; unbiased
guile
n cunning ; duplicity ; artfulness
desiccate
to dry out
dictum
an authoritative saying; an adage; a maxim; a proverb
bemused
Confused; bewildered
deride
to ridicule; to laugh at contemptuously
insurgent
n a rebel ; someone who revolts against a government
epitome
N a brief summary that captures the meaning of the whole; the perfect example of something; a paradigm ;
animosity
Resentment; hostility; ill will
conventional
common; customary; unexceptional
criterion
standard; basis for judgment
euphemism
N a pleasant or inoffensive expression used in place of an unpleasant or offensive one
edify
Vt to enlighten; to instruct especially in moral or religious matters; cfedifying
heyday
n golden age ; prime prime
conducive
Promoting
erudite
Adj scholarly; deeply learned ;
discreet
prudent; judiciously reserved
insatiable
a hard or impossible to satisfy ; greedy ; avaricious
equanimity
N composure; calm
burlesque
A ludicrous mocking or exaggerated imitation
acrimonious
Full of spite; bitter; nasty
distinguish
to tell apart; to cause to stand out
ardent
Passionate half-hearted
derogatory
disapproving; degrading
foible
N a minor character flaw
delineate
to describe accurately; to draw in outline
disparate
different; incompatible; unequal
apprehensive
Worried; anxious
condescend
To stoop to someone else level usually in an offensive way; to patronize
flagrant
Adj glaringly bad; notorious; scandalous
incorrigible
a incapable of being reformed
censure
To condemn severely for doing something bad
amenable
Obedient; willing to give in to the wishes of another; agreeable
impervious
a not allowing anything to pass through ; impenetrable
adroit
Skillful; dexterous; clever; shrewd; socially at ease
chasm
A deep gaping hole; a gorge
gratuitous
a given freely said of something bad ; unjustified ; unprovoked ; uncalled for
debilitate
to weaken; to cripple
consummate
Perfect; complete; supremely skillful
degenerate
to break down; to deteriorate
callow
Immature
abortive
Unsuccessful
categorical
Unconditional; absolute
elicit
Vt to bring out; to call forth ~a laugh from ~a reply elicitation n
consonant
Harmonious; in agreement
hackneyed
a overused ; trite ; stale
immutable
a unchangeable
allusion
An indirect reference often to a literary work; a hint hint
credulous
eager to believe; gullible
chicanery
Trickery; deceitfulness; artifice; especially legal or political
furtive
a secretive ; sly
equivocal
Adj ambiguous; intentionally confusing; capable of being interpreted in more than one way
assimilate
To take in; to absorb; to learn thoroughly
acute
Sharp; shrewd
corollary
something that follows; a natural consequence
contrived
Artificial; labored
doctrinaire
inflexibly committed to a doctrine or theory without regard to its practicality; dogmatic
cognizant
Aware; conscious
exacting
Adj extremely demanding; difficult; requiring great skill or care
collusion
Conspiracy; secret cooperation
discern
to have insight; to see things clearly to discriminate; to differentiate
irrevocable
irreversible
conciliatory
Making peace; attempting to resolve a dispute through goodwill
founder
v to fail ; to collapse ; to sink
aphorism
A brief often witty saying; a proverb
incense
a make very angry
foment
V to stir up; to instigate
fervor
N great warmth or earnestness; ardor; zeal ardor
abstinent
Abstaining; voluntarily not doing something especially something pleasant that is bad for you or has a bad reputation
insolent
a arrogant ; insulting
extrovert
an open, outgoing person, a person whose attention is focused on others rather than on himself or herself
cacophony
Harsh-sounding mixture of words voices or sounds
extrapolate
to project or deduce from something known, to infer
fecund
Adj fertile; productive
introspective
a tending to think about oneself ; examining ones feelings
colloquial
Conversational; informal in language
innocuous
a harmless ; banal
emigrant
a n immigrate
charlatan
Fraud; quack; con man
apocryphal
Of dubious authenticity; fictitious; spurious
disdain
arrogant scorn; contempt
denizen
inhabitant
ameliorate
To make better or more tolerable ;
debacle
violent breakdown; sudden overthrow; overwhelming defeat
expedite
to speed up or ease the progress of
garrulous
a talkative; chatty
abstract
Theoretical; impersonal
cadence
Rhythm the rise and fall of sounds
desultory
without a plan or purpose; disconnected; random
bourgeois
Middle class usually in a pejorative sense; boringly conventional
attrition
Gradual wearing away weakening or loss; a natural or expected decrease in numbers of size
capitulate
To surrender; to give up or give in
expatriate
to throw (someone) out of his or her native land;to move away from one's native land; to emigrate
copious
Abundant; plentiful
coherent
Holding together; making sense
approbation
Approval; praise
agrarian
Relating to land; relating to the management or farming of land
cognitive
Dealing with how we know the world around us through our senses; mental
insular
a like an island ; isolated
contingent
Dependent; possible
inordinate
a excessive ; unreasonable
adulation
Wild or excessive admiration; flattery
ambivalent
Undecided; neutral; wishy-washy
assuage
To soothe; to pacify; to ease the pain of; to relieve
exult
to rejoice, to celebrate
infatuated
a foolish ; foolishly passionate or attracted ; made foolish ; foolishly in love
auspicious
Favorable; promising; pointing to a good result
complicity
Participation in wrongdoing; the act of being an accomplice
grandiose
a absurdly exaggerated
caustic
Like acid; corrosive
innate
a existing since birth ; inborn ; inherent
blight
Disease in plants; anything that injures or destroys
indigent
a poor
efface
Vt to erase; to rub away the features of eclipse Cf effaceable effacement
circumspect
Cautious
inert
a inactive ; sluggish ; not reacting chemically
engender
V to bring into existence; to create; to cause produce ment
abridge
To shorten; to condense
abnegate
To deny oneself things; to reject; to renounce
appropriate
To take without permission; to set aside for a particular use
belie
To give a false impression of; to contradict
bequest
Something left to someone in a will
illicit
a illegal ; not permitted
extraneous
unnecessary, irrelevant, extra
coup
a brilliant victory or accomplishment; the violent overthrow of a government by a small internal group ;
daunt
to make fearful; to intimidate
concurrent
Happening at the same time; parallel
dubious
A full of doubt; uncertain a ~ friend be ~ about cf dubitable
comprehensive
Covering or including everything
incongruous
a not harmonious ; not consistent ; not appropriate not fitting in
civil
Polite; civilized; courteous
impetuous
a impulsive ; extremely impatient ;
fidelity
N faithfulness; loyalty
flout
V to disregard something out of disrespect
idiosyncrasy
n a peculiarity ; an eccentricity
destitute
extremely poor; utterly lacking
amoral
Lacking a sense of right and wrong; neither good nor bad neither moral nor immoral; without moral feelings
chagrin
Humiliation; embarrassed disappointment
enfranchise
V to grant the privileges of citizenship especially the right to vote
empirical
Adj relying on experience or observation; not merely theoretical ; ~philosophy Empiricism
fortuitous
a accidental ; occurring by chance
intransigent
a uncompromising ; stubborn
farcical
Adj absurd; ludicrous
archaic
Extremely old; ancient; outdated
decadent
decaying or decayed especially in terms of morals
belabor
To go over repeatedly or to an absurd extent
dissipate
to thin out drift away or dissolve; to cause to thin out drift away or dissolve; to waste or squander
axiom
Self-evident rule or truth; a widely accepted saying
despot
an absolute ruler; an autocrat
heresy
n any belief that is strongly opposed to established beliefs
enervate
V to reduce the strength or energy of especially to do so gradually
aristocratic
Of noble birth; snobbish
chastise
To inflict punishment on; to discipline
deduce
to conclude from evidence; to infer
inane
a silly ; senseless
elliptical
Adj oval; missing a word or words; obscure
acumen
Keenness of judgment; mental sharpness
grandiloquent
a pompous ; using a lot of big fancy words in an attempt to sound impressive
circuitous
Round about; not following a direct path
fetter
V to restrain; to hamper
agnostic
One who believes that the existence of a god can be neither proven nor disproven
deleterious
harmful
cursory
hasty; superficial
ignominy
n deep disgrace
Capitalism
Free enterprise
exacerbate
V to make worse ;
hierarchy
n an organization based on rank or degree ; pecking order
duplicity
N the act of being two-faced; double-dealing; deception cf duplication duplicate a n v
amnesty
An official pardon for a group of people who have violated a law or policy
dogmatic
arrogantly assertive of unproven ideas; stubbornly claiming that something often a system of beliefs is beyond dispute
insinuate
v to hint ; to creep in hind
incandescent
a brilliant ; giving off heat or light
cerebral
Brainy; intellectually refined
abstruse
Hard to understand
extricate
to free from difficulty
endemic
A native; restricted to a particular region or era; indigenous n endemicity
epigram
N a brief and usually witty or satirical saying
ephemeral
A lasting a very short time
intractable
a uncontrollable ; stubborn ; disobedient
belittle
To make to seem little; to put someone down
deference
submission to another's will; respect; courtesy
genteel
a refined ; polite ; aristocratic ; affecting refinement
invective
n insulting or abusive speech
anarchy
Absence of government or control; lawlessness; disorder
debauchery
wild living; excessive intemperance
genre
n a type or category especially of art or writing
ebullient
A boiling; bubbling with excitement; exuberant; n ebullience-cy n ebullition
belligerent
Combative; quarrelsome; waging war
convivial
Fond of partying; festive
aberration
Something not typical; a deviation from the standard
enormity
N extreme evil; a hideous offense; immensity
delude
to deceive
glut
n surplus ; an overabundance
amorphous
Shapeless; without a regular or stable shape
choleric
Hot-tempered; quick to anger
disparage
to belittle; to say uncomplimentary things about usually in a somewhat indirect way
emigrate
V to move to a new country; to move a new place to live; to expatriate
abate
To subside; to reduce
discriminate
to notice or point out the difference between two or more things; to discern; to differentiate ;
connoisseur
An expert particularly in matter of art or taste
castigate
To criticize severely; to chastise
faction
N a group usually a small part of a larger group united around some cause; disagreement within an organization
ascendancy
Supremacy; domination
coalesce
To come together as one; to fuse; to unite ;
cliche
An overused saying or idea
amorous
Feeling loving especially in a sexual sense; in love relating to love
ironic
a meaning the opposite of what you seem to say ; using words to mean something other than what they seem to mean
indigenous
a native ; originating in that area
extol
to praise highly, to laud
bovine
Cow related; cow like cf canine equine feline pis cine porcine ursine
awry
Off course; twisted to one side ;
augment
To make bigger; to add to; to increase ;
gravity
n seriousness
artful
Wily; sly ; =crafty
absolve
To forgive or free from blame; to free from sin; to free from an obligation
benevolent
Generous; kind; doing good deeds
austere
Unadorned; stern; forbidding; without excess
adherent
Follower; supporter; believer
aesthetic
Having to do with artistic beauty; artistic
amenity
Pleasantness; attractive or comfortable feature
exemplify
V to illustrate by example; to serve as a good example
comprise
To consist of; to be composed of cf constitute compose
iconoclast
n one who attacks popular beliefs or institutions
distend
to swell; to extend a great deal
bane
Poison; torment; cause of harm
frugal
a economical ; penny-pinching
hapless
a unlucky unlucky
corroborate
to confirm; to back up with evidence
inherent
a part of the essential nature of something ; intrinsic
cynic
one who deeply distrusts human nature; one who believes humans are motivated only by selfishness
instigate
v to provoke ; to stir up
chimera
An illusion; a foolish fancy
catalyst
In chemistry~; anyone or anything that makes something happen without being directly involved in it
anachronism
Something out of place in time or history; an incongruity
complement
To complete or fill up; to be the perfect counterpart
definitive
conclusive; providing the last word
chronic
Constant; lasting a long time; inveterate
inveterate
a habitual ; firm in habit ; deeply rooted
fraternal
a like brothers
affluent
Rich; prosperous
insipid
a dull ; bland ; banal
curtail
to shorten; to cut short ...
irascible
a easily angered or provoked ; irritable
inexorable
a relentless ; inevitable ; unavoidable
audacity
Boldness; reckless daring; impertinence ;
hypothetical
a uncertain ; unproven
affinity
Sympathy; attraction; kinship; similarity
broach
To open up a subject for discussion often a delicate subject
fastidious
Adj meticulous; demanding; finicky
Imperial`
a like an emperor or an empire
homogeneous
a uniform ; made entirely of one thing uniform
consensus
Unanimity or general agreement
despondent
extremely depressed; full of despair
abysmal
Extremely hopeless or wretched; bottomless
culpable
deserving blame; guilty
forgo
v to do without ; to forbear
apocalypse
A prophetic revelation especially one concerning the end of the world
Ellipsis
ellipsoid
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