Hit Parade A-M
Terms
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- abate
- to lessen in intensity or degree
- aberrant
- deviating from the norm
- abscond
- to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide
- accolade
- an expression of praise
- acerbic
- having a sour or bitter taste or character
- acumen
- quick, keen, or accurate knowledge or insight
- adulation
- excessive praise; intense adoration
- adulterate
- to reduce purity by combining with inferior ingredients
- aesthetic
- dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
- aggrandize
- to increase in intensity, power, or prestige
- alacrity
- eager and enthusiastic willingness
- alchemy
- a medieval science aimed at the transmutation of metal, esp. base metals into gold
- amalgamate
- to combine several elements into a whole
- ameliorate
- to make better or more tolerable
- amenable
- agreeable; responsive to suggestion
- anachronism
- something or someone out of place in terms of historical or chronological context
- anomaly
- deviation from the norm order, form, or rule; abnormality
- approbation
- an expression of approval or praise
- archaic
- outdated; associated with an earlier, perhaps more primitive, time
- arduous
- strenuous, taxing, requiring significant effort
- ascetic
- one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
- assuage
- to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify
- astringent
- having a tightening effect on living tissue; harsh; severe
- audacious
- daring and fearless; recklessly bold
- austere
- without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic
- avarice
- greed, esp. for wealth
- aver
- to state as a fact; to confirm or support
- axiom
- a universally recognized principle, law
- axiomatic
- take as a given; possessing self-evident truth
- bolster
- to provide support or reinforcement
- bombast
- self-important or pompous writing or speech
- bombastic
- pompous; grandiloquent
- bucolic
- rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
- burgeon
- to grow rapidly or flourish
- cacophony
- harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance
- canon
- an established set of principles or code of laws, often religious in nature
- canonical
- following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards
- capricious
- inclined to change one's mind impulsively; erratic; unpredictable
- castigation
- severe criticism or punishment
- catalyst
- a person or thing that causes change
- caustic
- burning or stinging; causing corrosion
- censure
- to criticize severely; to officially rebuke
- chary
- wary; cautious; sparing
- chicanery
- trickery or subterfuge
- cogent
- appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
- complaisance
- the willingness to comply with the wishes of others
- connoisseur
- an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert
- contentious
- argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
- contiguous
- sharing a border; touching adjacent
- contrite
- regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness
- convention
- a generally agreed-upon practice or attitude
- convoluted
- complex or complicated
- credulous
- tending to believe too readily; gullible
- culpable
- deserving blame
- cynicism
- an attitude or quality of belief that all people are motivated by selfishness
- dearth
- smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack
- decorum
- polite or appropriate conduct or behavior
- demur
- to question or oppose
- derision
- scorn, ridicule, contemptuous treatment
- desiccate
- to dry out or dehydrate; to make dry or dull
- diatribe
- a harsh denunciation
- didactic
- intended to teach or instruct
- dilettante
- one with an amateurish or superficial interest in the arts or a branch of knowledge
- disabuse
- to undeceive; to set right
- discordant
- conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound
- discretion
- cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decision
- disinterested
- indifferent; free from self-interest
- disparage
- to slight or belittle
- disparate
- fundamentally distinct or dissimilar
- dissemble
- to disguise or conceal; to mislead
- divulge
- to disclose something secret
- dogmatic
- stubbornly opinionated
- ebullience
- the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings
- eccentric
- departing from norms or conventions
- eclectic
- composed of elements drawn from various sources
- effrontery
- extreme boldness; presumptuousness
- elegy
- a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead
- emollient
- soothing, esp. to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying
- empirical
- based on observation or experiment
- endemic
- characteristic of or often found in a particular locality, region, or people
- enervate
- to weaken; to reduce in vitality
- enigmatic
- mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand
- ennui
- dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy
- ephemeral
- brief; fleeting
- equivocate
- to use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent
- erudite
- very learned; scholarly
- esoteric
- intended for or understood by a small, specific group
- eulogy
- a speech honoring the dead
- evanescent
- tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing
- exacerbate
- to make worse or more severe
- exculpate
- exonerate; to clear of blame
- exigent
- urgent; pressing; requiring immediate action or attention
- exonerate
- to remove blame
- extemporaneous
- improvised; done without preparation
- facetious
- playful; humorous
- fallacy
- an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief
- fawn
- to flatter or praise excessively
- fervent
- greatly emotional or zealous
- filibuster
- intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action
- flout
- to demonstrate contempt for, as in a rule or convention
- fortuitous
- happening by fortunate accident or chance
- fulminate
- to loudly attack or denounce
- furtive
- marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
- garrulous
- pointlessly talkative, talking too much
- germane
- relevant to the subject at hand; appropriate in subject matter
- glib
- marked by ease or informality; nonchalant; lacking in depth; superficial
- grandiloquence
- pompous speech or expression
- gregarious
- sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
- hackneyed
- rendered trite or commonplace by frequent usage
- halcyon
- calm and peaceful
- harangue
- to deliver a pompous speech or tirade
- hedonism
- devotion to pleasurable pursuits, esp. to the pleasures of the senses
- hegemony
- the consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others
- heretical
- violating accepted dogma or convention
- hubris
- arrogant presumption or pride
- hyperbole
- an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech
- iconoclast
- one who attacks or undermines traditional conventions or institutions
- idolatrous
- given to intense or excessive devotion to something
- imminent
- about to happen; impending
- immutable
- not capable of change
- impassive
- revealing no emotion
- impecunious
- lacking funds; without money
- imperturbable
- marked by extreme calm, impassivity and steadiness
- impetuous
- hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement
- implacable
- not capable of being appeased or significantly changed
- impunity
- immunity from punishment or penalty
- inchoate
- in an initial stage; not fully formed
- incipient
- beginning to come into being or to become apparent
- indifferent
- having not interest or concern; showing no bias or prejudice
- inert
- unmoving; lethargic; sluggish
- infelicitous
- unfortunate; inappropriate
- ingenuous
- artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication
- inimical
- damaging; harmful; injurious
- innocuous
- harmless; causing no damage
- insipid
- without taste or flavor; lacking in spirit; bland
- intractable
- not easily managed or directed; stubborn; obstinate
- intransigent
- refusing to compromise
- intrepid
- steadfast and courageous
- inured
- accustomed to accepting something undesirable
- inveigle
- to obtain by deception or flattery
- irascible
- easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts
- laconic
- using few words; terse
- laud
- to praise highly
- loquacious
- extremely talkative
- lucid
- clear, easily understood
- luminous
- characterized by brightness and the emission of light
- magnanimity
- the quality of being generously noble in mind and heart, esp. in forgiving
- malevolent
- having or showing often vicious ill-will, spite, or hatred
- malleable
- capable of being shaped or formed; tractable; pliable
- maverick
- an independent individual who does not go along with a group or party
- mendacity
- the condition of being untruthful; dishonesty
- mercurial
- characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood
- meticulous
- characterized by extreme care and precision; attentive to detail
- misanthrope
- one who hates all other humans
- mitigate
- to make or become less severe or intense; to moderate
- mollify
- to calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity
- morose
- sad; sullen; melancholy
- mundane
- of the world; typical of or concerned with the ordinary