PR WS 1
Terms
undefined, object
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- ABASH
- to make ashamed; to embarrass
- ADMONISH
- to scold gently; to warn
- ADROIT
- skillful; dexterous; clever; shrewd; socially at ease
- AFFECTATION
- unnatural or artificial behavior, usually intended to impress
- AFFLUENT
- rich; prosperous
- ALACRITY
- cheerful eargerness or readiness to respond
- ALTRUISM
- selflessness; generosity; devotion to the interests of others
- AMBIENCE
- atmosphere; mood; feeling
- AMBIVALENT
- undecided; having opposed feelings simultaneously
- AMELIORATE
- to amke better or more tolerable
- AMENABLE
- obedient; willing to give in to the wishes of another; agreeable
- AMENITY
- pleasantness; attractive or comfortable feature
- AMNESTY
- an official pardon for a group of people who have violated a law or policy
- AMOROUS
- relating to love
- AMORPHOUS
- shapeless; without a regular or stable shape; bloblike
- ANACHRONISM
- something out of place in time or history; an incongruity
- ANTIPATHY
- firm dislike; a dislike
- ANTITHESIS
- the direct opposite
- APATHY
- lack of interest; lack of feeling
- APHORISM
- a brief, often witty saying; a proverb
- APOCRYPHAL
- of dubious authenticity; fictitious; spurious
- APOTHEOSIS
- elevation to divine status; the perfect example of something
- APPROBATION
- approval; praise
- APPROPRIATE
- to take without permission; to set aside for a particular use
- ARBITRARY
- random; capricious
- ARCANE
- mysterious; known only to a select few
- ARCHETYPE
- an original model or pattern
- ARDENT
- passionate; enthusiastic
- ARDUOUS
- hard; difficult
- ARTFUL
- crafty; wily; sly
- ARTIFICE
- a clever trick; cunning
- ASCETIC
- hermitlike; practicing self-denial
- ASSIDUOUS
- hardworking; busy; quite diligent
- ASSIMILATE
- to take in; to absorb; to learn thoroughly
- ASSUAGE
- to soothe; to pacifiy; to ease the pain of
- ASTUTE
- shrewd; keen in judgment
- ATTRITION
- gradual wearing away, weakening, or loss; a natural or expected decrease in numbers or size
- AUSPICIOUS
- favorable; promising; pointing to a good result
- AUSTERE
- unadorned; stern; forbidding; without excess
- AUTOCRATIC
- ruling with absolute authority; extremely bossy
- AVOW
- to declare boldly; to admit
- AWRY
- off course; twisted to one side
- AXIOM
- a self-evident rule or truth; a widely accepted saying
- BANAL
- unoriginal; ordinary
- BEGET
- to give birth to; to create; to lead to; to cause
- BELABOR
- to go over repeatedly or to an absurd extent
- BELEAGUER
- to surround; to besiege; to harass
- BELIE
- to give a false impression of; to contradict
- BELLIGERENT
- combative; quarrelsome; waging war
- BEMUSED
- confused; bewildered
- BEQUEST
- something left to someone in a will
- BEREAVED
- deprived or left desolate, especially through death
- BESET
- to harass; to surround
- BLIGHT
- a disease in plants; anything that injures or destroys
- BLITHE
- carefree; cheerful
- BOURGEOIS
- middle class, usually in a pejorative sense; boringly conventional
- BROACH
- to open up a subject for discussion, often a delicate subject
- BUCOLIC
- charmingly rural; rustic; countrylike
- BURGEON
- to expand; to flourish
- BURLESQUE
- ludicrous, mocking, or exaggerated imitation
- CADENCE
- rhytmn; the rise and fall of sounds
- CAJOLE
- to persuade someone to do something he or she doesn't want to do
- CALLOW
- immature
- CANDOR
- truthfulness; sincere honesty
- CAPITULATE
- to surrender; to give up or give in
- CAPRICIOUS
- unpredictable; likely to change at any moment
- CASTIGATE
- to criticize severely; to chastise
- CAUSTIC
- like acidl corrosive
- CEREBRAL
- brainy; intellectually refined
- CHAGRIN
- humiliation; embarrassed disappointment
- CHARISMA
- a magical-seeming ability to attract followers or inspire loyalty
- CHARLATAN
- fraud; quack; con man
- CHASTISE
- to inflict punishment on; to discipline
- CHICANERY
- trickery; deceitfulness; artifice, especially legal or political
- CHIMERA
- an illusion; a foolish fancy
- CHOLERIC
- hot-tempered; quick to anger
- CHRONIC
- constant; lasting a long time; inveterate
- CIRCUITOUS
- roundabout; not following a direct path
- CIRCUMLOCUTION
- an indirect expression; use of wordy or evasive language
- CIRCUMSCRIBE
- to draw a line around; to set the limits; to define; to restrict
- CIRCUMSPECT
- cautious
- CIRCUMVENT
- to frustrate as though by surrounding
- CLIQUE
- an exclusive group bound together by some shared quality or interest
- COALESCE
- to come together as one; to fuse; to unite
- COERCE
- to force someone to do or not to do something
- COGENT
- powerfully convincing
- COGNITIVE
- dealing with how we know the world around us through our senses; mental
- COGNIZANT
- aware; conscious
- COHERENT
- holding together; making sense
- COLLOQUIAL
- conversational; informal in language
- COLLUSION
- conspiracy; secret cooperation
- COMMENSURATE
- equal; proportionate
- COMPLACENT
- self-satisfied; overly pleased with oneself
- COMPLEMENT
- to complete or fill up; to be the perfect counterpart
- COMPLICITY
-
participation in wrongdoing; the act being an accomplice
SENTENCE - CONCILIATORY
- making peace; attempting to resolve a dispute through goodwill
- CONCORD
- harmony; agreement
- CONCURRENT
- happening at the same time; parallel
- CONDONE
- to overlook; to permit to happen
- CONDUCIVE
- promoting
- CONFLUENCE
- a flowing together, especially of rivers; the place where they begin to flow together
- CONGENIAL
- agreeably suitable; pleasant
- CONGENITAL
- describing a trait or condition acquired between conception and birth; innate
- CONNOISSEUR
- an expert; particularly in matters of art or taste
- CONSECRATE
- to make or declare sacred
- CONSONANT
- harmonious; in agreement
- CONSTRUE
- interpret
- CONSUMMATE
- perfect; complete; supremely skillful
- CONTENTIOUS
- argumentative; quarrelsome
- CONTIGUOUS
- side by side; adjoining
- CONTINGENT
- dependent; possible
- CONTRITE
- admitting guilt; especially feeling remorseful
- CONTRIVED
- aritifical; labored
- CONVIVIAL
- fond of partying; festive
- COPIOUS
- abundant; plentiful
- COROLLARY
- something that follows; a natural consequence
- CORROBORATE
- to confirm; to back up with evidence
- COSMOPOLITAN
- at home in many places or situations; internationally sophisticated
- COUP
- a brilliant victory or accomplishment; the violent overthrow of a government by a small internal group
- COVET
- to wish for enviously
- CREDULOUS
- eager to believe; gullible
- CULMINATE
- to climax; to reach full effect
- CULPABLE
- deserving blame; guilty
- CURSORY
- hasty; superficial
- CURTAIL
- to shorten; to cut short
- DAUNT
- to make feaful; to intimidate
- DEARTH
- lack; scarcity
- DEBACLE
- violent breakdown; sudden overthrow; overwhelming defeat
- DEBILITATE
- to weaken; to cripple
- DECADENT
- decaying or decayed, especially in terms of morals
- DECIMATE
- to kill or destroy a large part of
- DECOROUS
- propler; in good taste; orderly
- DEFERENCE
- submission to another's will; respect; courtesy
- DEFINITIVE
- conclusive; providing the last word
- DEGENERATE
- to break down; to deteriorate
- DELETERIOUS
- harmful
- DELINEATE
- to descrive accurately; to draw in outline
- DELUDE
- to deceive
- DELUGE
- a flood; an inundation
- DEMAGOGUE
- a leader of the people, but more a rabble rouser
- DENIZEN
- inhabitant
- DEPRAVITY
- extreme wickedness or corruption
- DEPRECATE
- to express disapproval of
- DERIDE
- to ridicule; to laugh at contemptuously
- DEROGATORY
- disapproving; degrading
- DESICCATE
- to dry out
- DESPONDENT
- extremely depressed; full of despair
- DESTITUTE
- extremely poor; utterly lacking
- DESULTORY
- without a plan or purpose; disconnected; random
- DIALECTICAL
- relating to discussions; relating to the rules and methods of reasoning; approaching truth in the middle of opposing extremes
- DICTUM
- an authoritative saying; an adage; a maxim; a proverb
- DIDACTIC
- intended to teach; morally instructive; pedantic
- DIFFIDENT
- timid; lacking in self-confidence
- DIGRESS
- to stray from the main subject
- DILETTANTE
- someone with superficial knowledge of the arts; an amateur; a dabbler
- DISCERN
- to have insight; to see things clearly; to discriminate; to differentiate
- DISCREET
- prudent; judiciously reserved
- DISDAIN
- arrogant scorn; contempt
- DISINTERESTED
- not taking sides; unbiased
- DISPARAGE
- to belittle; to say uncomplimentary things about, usually in a somewhat indirect way
- DISPARATE
- different; incompatible; unequal
- DISSEMINATE
- to spread the seeds of something; to scatter; to make widely known
- DISSIPATE
- to thin out, drift away, or dissolve; to cause to thin out, drift away, or dissolve; to waste or squander
- DISSOLUTION
- the breaking up or dissolving of something into parts; disintegration
- DISTEND
- to swell; to extend a great deal
- DOCILE
- easily taught; obedient; easy to handle
- DOCTRINAIRE
- inflexibly committed to a doctrineor theory regard to its practicality; dogmatic
- DOGMATIC
- arrogantly assertive of unproven ideas; stubbornly claiming that something (often a system of beliefs) is beyond dispute
- DUBIOUS
- full of doubt; uncertain
- EBULLIENT
- boiling; bubbling with excitement; exuberant
- ECLECTIC
- choosing the best from many sources; drawn from many sources
- EDIFY
- to enlighten; to instruct; especially in moral or religious matters
- EFFACE
- to erase; to rub away the features of
- EFFUSION
- a puring forth
- EGALITARIAN
- believing in the social and econmic equality of all people
- EGREGIOUS
- extremely bad; flagrant
- ELICIT
- to bring out; to call forth
- ELUSIVE
- hard to pin down; evasive
- EMINENT
- well-known and respected; standing out from all others in quality or accomplishment; outstanding
- EMPIRICAL
- relying on experience or observation; not merely theoretical
- ENERVATE
- to reduce the strength or energy of, especially to do so gradually
- ENFRANCHISE
- to grant the privileges of citizenship, especially the right to vote
- ENGENDER
- to bring into existence; to create; to cause
- ENORMITY
- extreme evil; a hideous offense; immensity
- EPHEMERAL
- lasting a very short time
- EPIGRAM
- a brief and usually witty or satirical saying
- EQUANIMITY
- composure; calm
- EQUITABLE
- fair
- EQUIVOCAL
- ambiguous; intentionally confusing; capable of being interpreted in more than one way
- ERUDITE
- scholarly; deeply learned
- ESOTERIC
- hard to understand; understood by only a select few; peculiar
- ESPOUSE
- to support; to advocate
- ETHEREAL
- heavenly; as light and insubstantial as a gas or ether
- EUPHEMISM
- a pleasant or inoffensive expression used in place of an unpleasant or offensive one
- EVANESCENT
- fleeting; vanishing; happening for only the briefest period
- EXACERBATE
- to make worse
- EXACTING
- extremely demanding; difficult; requiring great skill or care
- EXALT
- to raise high; to glorify
- EXASPERATE
- to annoy thoroughly; to make very angry; to try the patience of
- EXHAUSTIVE
- thorough; rigorous; complete; painstaking
- EXHORT
- to urge strongly; to give a serious warning to
- EXIGENCY
- an emergency; an urgency
- EXONERATE
- to free completely from blame; to exculpate
- EXPATRIATE
- to throw (someone) out of his or her native land; to move away from one's native land; to emigrate
- EXPEDIENT
- providing an immediate advantage; serving one's immediate self-interest; practical
- EXPEDITE
- to speed up or ease the progress of
- EXTOL
- to praise highly; to laud
- EXTRAPOLATE
- to project or deduce from something known; to infer
- EXTRICATE
- to free frin difficulty
- EXTROVERT
- an open, outgoing person; a person whose attention is focused on others rather than on himself or herself
- EXULT
- to rejoice; to celebrate
- FABRICATION
- a lie; something made up
- FACETIOUS
- humorous; not serious; clumsily humorous
- FACILE
- fluent; skillful in a superficial way; easy
- FARCICAL
- absurd; ludicrous
- FASTIDIOUS
- meticulous; demanding; finicky
- FATALIST
- someone who believes that future events are already determined and that humans are powerless to change them
- FATUOUS
- foolish; silly; idiotic
- FAUNA
- animals
- FECUND
- fertile; productive
- FELICITY
- happiness; skillfulness; especially at expressing things; adeptness
- FETTER
- to restrain; to hamper
- FIGURATIVE
- based on figures of speech; expressing something in terms usually used for something else; metaphorical
- FLOUT
- to disregard something out of disrespect
- FOMENT
- to stir up; to instigate
- FORBEAR
- to refrain from; to abstain
- FOREGO
- to do without; to forbear
- FORSAKE
- to abandon; to renounce; to relinquish
- FORTUITOUS
- accidental; occurring by chance
- FOUNDER
- to fail; to collapse; to sink
- FRENETIC
- frantic; frenzied
- FURTIVE
- secretive; sly
- GARRULOUS
- talkative; chatty
- GENTEEL
- refined; polite; aristocratic; affecting refinement
- GESTICULATE
- to make gestures, especially when speaking or in place of speaking
- GLUT
- surplus; an overabundance
- GRANDILOQUENT
- pompous; using a lot of big, fancy words in an attempt to sound impressive
- GRANDIOSE
- absurdly exaggerated
- GRATUITOUS
- given freely (said of something bad); unjustified; unprovoked; uncalled for
- GRAVITY
- seriousness
- GREGARIOUS
- sociable; enjoying the company of others
- GUILE
- cunning; duplicity; artfulness
- HACKNEYED
- overused; trite; stale
- HAPLESS
- unlucky
- HARBINGER
- a forerunner; a signal of
- HEDONISM
- the pursuit of pleasure as a way of life
- HEGEMONY
- leadership, especially of one nation over another
- HERMETIC
- impervious to external influence; airtight
- HEYDAY
- golden age; prime
- HIERARCHY
- an organization based on rank or degree; pecking order