Advanced Vocab
Terms
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- nanocephalic
- having an abnormally small head and underdeveloped brain
- bagatelle
- a trifle; also a short light literary or musical piece
- risible
- exciting or provoking laughter.
- dictum
- an authoritative statement
- wayworn
- wearied by traveling
- valetudinarian
- A weak or sickly person especially one morbidly concerned with his or her health
- parole
- a promise; a word
- defenestrate
- to throw out of a window
- argot
- a specialized vocabulary peculiar to a particular group
- arcanum
- a secret a mystery
- assiduous
- constant in application or attention
- swain
- a male admirer or lover
- druthers
- preference
- apotheosis
- a model of excellence or perfection of a kind
- canard
- an unfounded or false report
- feral
- of or characteristic of wild animals
- friability
- crumbliness: excessive breakableness
- extemporaneous
- composed performed or uttered on the spur of the moment
- abstruse
- difficult to understand
- malleable
- capable of being shaped; also adaptable
- sang-froid
- coolness in trying circumstances
- positivism
- a philosophy that states that the only authentic knowledge is scientific knowledge
- callow
- lacking adult perception experience or judgment
- primogeniture
- An exclusive right of inheritance that belongs to the eldest son
- polyglot
- one who knows multiple languages
- longueur
- a tedious passage in a work of literature etc.
- woolgathering
- Indulgence in idle daydreaming
- indomitable
- incapable of being subdued or overcome
- redact
- to edit
- bedaub
- to besmear; also to overdecorate
- nadir
- the lowest point
- upbraid
- reproach: express criticism towards
- frigorific
- chilling
- dysgenic
- pertaining to or causing degeneration in the type of offspring produced
- solace
- comfort in grief
- gravitas
- high seriousness
- refulgent
- brilliant; resplendent
- bucolic
- rustic; pastoral
- immolate
- to kill or destroy often by fire
- firmament
- the sky; the heavens
- vituperate
- To rebuke or criticize harshly or abusively; berate
- temerarious
- Recklessly or presumptuously daring; rash.
- exculpate
- to clear from alleged fault or guilt
- indefatigable
- untiring
- panacea
- cure-all
- feral
- wild
- pablum
- something (as writing or speech) that is trite insipid or simplistic
- toothsome
- delicious; attractive; luscious
- deleterious
- harmful
- quietus
- Final discharge or acquittance as from debt or obligation.
- hidalgo
- A member of the minor nobility in Spain
- obstreperous
- noisily and stubbornly defiant; also boisterous.
- tyro
- a novice
- inimical
- having the disposition or temper of an enemy; unfriendly; unfavorable
- sine qua non
- an indispensable thing
- phantasmagoria
- a shifting series or succession of things seen or imagined
- masticate
- to chew
- flippant
- showing inappropriate levity; pert.
- inveterate
- deep-rooted; of long standing
- dryad
- a wood nymph
- recalcitrant
- stubbornly resistant to and defiant of authority or restraint
- segue
- to proceed without interruption
- sinecure
- an office or position that involves little work or responsibility
- propitious
- presenting favorable circumstances
- maladroit
- awkward; unskillful; inept.
- plebeian
- common; vulgar
- adumbrate
- to outline; also to foreshadow; also to suggest; also to shade
- quiescent
- at rest; still; inactive
- propinquity
- nearness
- parlous
- fraught with danger; hazardous
- maunder
- to talk or wander aimlessly
- blithe
- free-spirited; carefree
- unfledged
- lacking the feathers necessary for flight; not fully developed
- gauche
- lacking social polish; tactless
- sardonic
- scornful mocking
- leitmotif
- a dominant and recurring theme
- sartorial
- of or relating to a tailor tailoring or clothing
- perfunctory
- done routinely
- tawdry
- gaudy showy and cheap
- deracinate
- to uproot
- parsimonious
- frugal to excess
- convivial
- relating to feasting drinking and good company; festive
- languid
- lacking vigor or force
- inveigh
- to rail (against some person or thing)
- wheedle
- to entice by flattery
- turgid
- swollen bloated; also bombastic pompous.
- urbane
- polished and smooth in manner
- tryst
- an appointment (as between lovers) to meet
- exegete
- one who explains or interprets difficult parts of written works
- salient
- outstanding
- peccadillo
- a slight offense; a petty fault
- disheveled
- in loose disorder; disarranged
- ubiquitous
- being everywhere
- sycophant
- one who seeks favor by flattery; a toady
- faineant
- idle; lazy
- turbid
- muddy; not clear
- apogee
- the highest point
- chortle
- to utter or express with a snorting exultant laugh or chuckle
- extirpate
- to pull out by the stem or root; to destroy completely
- copse
- a thicket of small trees
- peccadillo
- a slight offense; a petty fault
- parturition
- childbirth
- tarradiddle
- A petty falsehood; a fib
- flummery
- empty compliment; unsubstantial talk or writing; mumbo jumbo; nonsense
- crucuble
- a severe test or trial
- obsequious
- servilely attentive; fawning
- mordant
- biting; caustic; sarcastic
- meshuga
- crazy; insane
- perfervid
- Ardent; impassioned; marked by exaggerated or overwrought emotion
- desultory
- jumping from subject to subject; erratic; inconsistent
- uxorious
- excessively fond of or submissive to a wife
- parsimony
- excessive sparingness in the expenditure of money
- lucubration
- nocturnal study
- stentorian
- extremely loud
- lascivious
- lewd; lustful
- cerebration
- the act or product of thinking
- efface
- to cause to disappear by rubbing out striking out etc.
- glower
- to stare angrily or with a scowl
- skulk
- to hide in a sneaking manner
- surfeit
- an excessive amount
- Ides
- the fifteenth day of March May July and October and the thirteenth day of the other months
- vapid
- flat; dull; spiritless
- neophyte
- a novice
- facile
- easily done or performed
- quorum
- such a number of the officers or members of any body as is legally competent to transact business
- popinjay
- a vain and talkative person
- bilk
- cheat; defraud
- perdurable
- very durable;lasting
- abscond
- to depart secretly
- edentate
- toothless
- donnybrook
- a brawl or dispute
- quisling
- a collaborator; a traitor
- profligate
- shamelessly immoral
- extant
- still existing
- interregnum
- the interval between two reigns
- bigot
- narrow-minded prejudiced person
- propitiate
- to appease; to conciliate
- fatidic
- of relating to or characterized by prophecy.
- proselytize
- to convert (someone) to another religion belief etc.
- pusillanimous
- lacking courage or resolution; cowardly;
- junta
- a governmental council or committee esp. one that rules after a revolution
- recidivism
- a tendency to lapse into a previous condition or pattern of behavior; esp. into prior criminal habits
- crapulous
- sick from or marked by excessive drinking
- kismet
- destiny; fate
- ab ovo
- from the beginning
- crux
- the essential point or feature
- fop
- a man who is vain about his dress and appearance
- titivate
- to smarten up; to spruce
- ersatz
- being a substitute or imitation
- saturnine
- sluggish in temperament; gloomy; taciturn
- mountebank
- quack; also a charlatan
- fungible
- interchangeable
- proclivity
- a natural inclination
- bombast
- pompous speech
- veldt
- elevated open grassland in southern Africa
- viscous
- slow-moving; highly resistant to flow
- pugnacious
- combative; quarrelsome
- flaneur
- One who strolls about aimlessly; a lounger; a loafer.
- circumlocution
- the use of many words to express an idea that might be expressed by few
- knell
- the stoke of a bell tolled at a funeral
- jackdaw
- a small type of crow known for collecting shiny objects in its nest
- logorrhea
- excessive talkativeness
- wraith
- a ghost; also something insubstantial or shadowy
- plaudit
- statement giving strong praise
- untrammelled
- not confined or limited
- jejune
- lacking in nutritional value; also immature; also dull
- bon vivant
- a person with refined and sociable tastes
- dotage
- feebleness of mind due to old age
- intrepid
- fearless
- nonplus
- to confound; to perplex; to bewilder
- pejorative
- disparaging; belittling
- caterwaul
- to make a harsh cry.
- avoirdupois
- weight; heaviness
- surfeit
- excess
- martinet
- a strict disciplinarian
- ephemeral
- short-lived
- plenipotentiary
- invested with full power
- stolid
- unexcitable; unemotional
- putative
- commonly thought or deemed; supposed.
- aplomb
- confidence; coolness
- nuptial
- of or pertaining to marriage
- dolorous
- marked by causing or expressing grief or sorrow
- soporific
- causing sleep; also something that causes sleep
- canorous
- richly melodious; pleasant sounding; musical
- rubicund
- inclining to redness; reddish; ruddy
- undulant
- resembling waves in form motion or occurrence
- hen-peck
- to nag
- hubris
- overbearing pride or presumption
- swan song
- a final or farewell appearance action or pronouncement.
- scion
- a descendant; an heir
- sere
- dry; withered
- chicanery
- the use of trickery to deceive
- salutary
- favorable
- lampoon
- ridicule; spoof
- replete
- full
- antediluvian
- extremely old
- peripatetic
- walking about or traveling from place to place
- inclement
- harsh; severe -- especially said of the weather
- panache
- dash or flamboyance in manner or style
- arcane
- known or understood by very few; esoteric
- spoonerism
- the transposition of initial or other sounds of words usually by accident
- missive
- a written message; a letter.
- ameliorate
- to make or grow better
- palindrome
- a word verse phrase or sentence that reads the same backward or forward.
- sciolism
- Superficial knowledge; a superficial show of learning
- nostrum
- a questionable remedy
- lachrymose
- tearful
- exegesis
- exposition; explanation
- tchotchke
- a trinket; a knickknack
- wainscot
- panel forming the lower part of an interior wall when it is finished differently from the rest of the wall
- egregious
- outrageously bad
- collude
- to act in concert; to conspire
- cephalic
- of or pertaining to the head
- factotum
- a person employed to do all kinds of work
- mendacious
- untruthful untrue
- fetid
- stinking
- epicure
- someone who appreciates good food and drink
- lambent
- softly radiant
- dulcet
- melodious
- plangent
- beating with a loud or deep sound; also expressing sadness
- mores
- customs; habits; ways
- unimpeachable
- without reproach; blameless
- wan
- pale; also lacking vitality or intensity
- abrogate
- to annul; to do away with
- fealty
- fidelity; allegiance; faithfulness
- sylvan
- pertaining to woods or forests
- pinafore
- A sleeveless garment that looks like an apron usually worn by young girls
- postprandial
- happening or done after a meal
- predation
- the act of an animal feeding on another animal
- hirsute
- hairy
- crepuscular
- pertaining to twilight
- braggadocio
- empty boasting
- hoi polloi
- the common people; the masses
- comport
- To conduct or behave (oneself) in a particular manner.
- florid
- flushed with red; also excessively ornate
- expunge
- to strike out or erase; to obliterate
- jocular
- given to or characterized by joking
- pugilist
- a boxer
- sagacious
- of keen penetration and judgment; wise
- hoary
- white or gray with age; hence extremely old
- pulchritudinous
- beautiful
- bete noire
- Something or someone particularly detested or avoided; a bugbear
- prevaricate
- to depart from or evade the truth
- myrmidon
- a loyal follower especially one who executes orders without question protest or pity
- palaver
- idle talk; also to talk idly
- doppelganger
- a ghostly double
- agog
- in eager desire.
- confabulation
- familiar talk
- sempiternal
- dateless: having no known beginning and presumably no end
- histrionic
- theatrical
- epigone
- an inferior imitator
- Zeitgeist
- the spirit of the time
- venial
- capable of being forgiven; excusable
- epicene
- having the characteristics of both the male and the female
- ossify
- to harden or to become bone
- truculent
- fierce; savage; ferocious
- circumambient
- surrounding; encompassing
- hedonism
- self indulgence; pleasure-seeking
- necromancy
- divination through communication with ghosts or corpses; black magic
- desultory
- jumping from subject to subject; erratic; inconsistent
- outlier
- A data item whose value falls outside the bounds enclosing most of the other corresponding values in the sample
- nebbish
- a weak-willed timid or ineffectual person
- mollify
- to reduce in intensity; to soothe; to soften
- bloviate
- to speak or write in a pompous manner
- bower
- a leafy shelter or recess; arbor
- ennui
- a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction arising from lack of interest
- obtuse
- slow to learn or understand; lacking intellectual acuity
- precipice
- a very steep perpendicular or overhanging place
- ingenue
- a naive girl or young woman or an actress representing such a person
- sui generis
- unique
- chimera
- a mental fabrication
- cajole
- to coax
- stolid
- impassive: having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
- lynchpin
- a central cohesive element
- verdure
- greenness
- maudlin
- excessively sentimental
- abstruse
- difficult to comprehend
- bellicose
- inclined to or favoring war or strife
- bifurcate
- to divide into two branches
- aver
- to declare
- tacit
- unspoken
- perambulate
- to stroll; to walk through or over
- miasma
- a thick vaporous atmosphere often noxious
- calumny
- malicious misrepresentation; slander
- cavil
- to raise trivial objections
- atelier
- a workshop; a studio
- paladin
- a champion of a cause.
- hyperbole
- extravagant exaggeration
- moribund
- dying
- slovenly
- untidy or unclean in appearance or habits
- sedulous
- diligent; persevering; persistent
- impecunious
- Not having money; habitually without money; poor
- consanguineous
- related by blood; descended from the same ancestor
- kvetch
- to complain habitually
- fealty
- Fidelity to one's lord; the feudal obligation by which the tenant or vassal was bound to be faithful to his lord
- sedition
- incitement of rebellion against lawful authority
- booboisie
- a class of people regarded as stupid or foolish
- verbose
- wordy
- ameliorate
- to improve
- gryphon
- winged monster with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion
- subterfuge
- a deceptive device or stratagem
- specious
- apparently right but not so in reality\
- copacetic
- Very satisfactory; fine.
- puissant
- powerful
- cogitate
- to think; to ponder
- dilatory
- given to or marked by procrastination or delay
- cant
- empty solemn speech
- quotidian
- daily or ordinary
- milieu
- environment; setting
- taciturn
- not inclined to talk
- apocryphal
- of doubtful authority or authenticity
- bellwether
- a leader or leading indicator
- roil
- agitate
- scuttlebut
- gossip; rumor
- wizened
- shriveled; withered
- interlope
- to intrude into some region or field of trade without a proper license
- hackneyed
- overused trite
- eschew
- to shun; to avoid
- eremitical
- of or relating to the life of a hermit
- interpolate
- to insert between; also to alter or corrupt by insertion
- alacrity
- a cheerful readiness willingness or promptness
- germane
- appropriate or fitting; relevant
- fakir
- An Indian holy man who lives by begging and is said to possess magical powers
- hale
- free from disease and weakening conditions; healthy
- pillock
- a person who is not very bright
- fecund
- fruitful; prolific
- travail
- painful arduous work
- gormandize
- to devour
- comestible
- suitable to be eaten
- abaft
- toward the stern
- flanerie
- Aimless idling; dawdling
- vicissitude
- a change in condition or fortune
- immanent
- taking place within the mind of the subject and having no effect outside of it
- bibulous
- given to or marked by the consumption of alcohol
- noisome
- offensive or disgusting
- inexorable
- unyielding; relentless
- tutelage
- guardianship; protection; also instruction.
- impregnable
- able to resist attack
- dour
- stern or unyielding or gloomy
- digerati
- persons knowledgeable about computers
- metier
- an occupation especially in which one excels
- inchoate
- partly but not fully in existence or operation
- jeremiad
- a doleful story
- pelf
- money; riches
- billet-doux
- a love letter
- munificent
- extremely liberal in giving; very generous.
- nugatory
- insignificant; also ineffectual
- surreptitious
- done made or gotten by stealth
- largess
- generous giving; also gifts of money or other valuables
- egress
- the act of going out or leaving; exit
- cad
- someone who is morally reprehensible