Abase to humble; disgrace
Abate to reduce in amount, degree, or severity
Abdicate to give up a position, right, or power
Aberrant deviating from what is normal or expected
Abeyance temporary suppression or supension
Abjure to reject; abandon formally
Abscond to leave secretly
Abstain to chose not to do something
Abstemious moderate in appetite
Abyss an extreely deep hole
Accretion a growth in size; increase in amount
Acidulous sour in taste or manner
Acme highest point; summit; the highest level or degree attainable
Adulterate to make impure
Advocate to speak in favor of
Aerie a nest built high in the air; an elevated, often secluded, dwelling
Aesthetic concerning the appreciation of beauty
Affected phony; artificial
Aggrandize to increase in power, influence, and reputation
Alacrity speed or quickness
Alleviate to make more bearable
Amalgamate to combine; to mix together
Ambiguous doubtful or uncertain; can be interpreted several ways
Ameliorate to make better; to improve
Amortize to diminish by installment payments
Amulet ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits
Anachronism something out of place in time
Analgesia a lessening of pain without loss of consciousness
Analogous similar or alike insome way; equivalent to
Anodyne something that calms or soothes pain
Anomaly deviation from what is normal
Antagonize to annoy or provoke to anger
Antipathy extreme dislike
Apathy lack of interest or emotion
Apocryphal of questionable authority or authenticity
Apostate one who renounces a religious faith
Approbation approval and praise
Arbitrary determined by chance or impulse
Arbitrate to judge a dispute between two opposing parties
Archaic ancient; old-fashioned
Ardor intense and passionate feeling
Arrogate to claim without justification; to claim for oneself without right
Articulate able to speak clearly and expressively
Assail to attack; assault
Assuage to make something unpleasant less severe
Attenuate to reduce in force or degree; weaken
Audacious fearless and daring
Augury prophecy; prediction of events
August dignified; grandiose
Austere severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
Axiom premise; postulate; self-evident truth
Banal predictable; cliched; boring
Belfry bell tower; room in which a bell in hung
Bevy group
Bifurcate to divide into two parts
Bilk to cheat; defraud
Blight to afflict; destroy
Blithe joyful; cheerful; or without appropriate thought
Bolster to support; prop up
Bombastic pompous in speech and manner
Bonhomie good-natured geniality; atmosphere of good cheer
Boor crude person, one lacking manners or taste
Burgeon to grow and flourish
Burnish to polish
Cabal a secret group seeking to overturn something
Cacophony harsh, jarring noise
Calumny a false and malicious accusation; misrepresentation
Canard a lie
Candid impartial and honest in speech
Capricious changing one's mind quickly and often
Cartography science or art of making maps
Castigate to punish or criticize harshly
Catalyst something that brings about a change in something else
Catholic universal broad and comprehensive
Caustic biting in wit
Chaos great disorder or confused situation
Chauvinist someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
Chicanery deception by means of craft or guile
Circumspect cautious; aware of potential consequences
Cloying sickly sweet; excessive
Coalesce to grow together to form a single whole
Coffer strongbox; large chest for money
Cogent convincing and well-reasoned
Collusion collaboration; complicity; conspiracy
Condone to overlook, pardon, or disregard
Connoisseur a person with expert knowledge or discriminating tastes
Contrite deeply sorrowful and repentatnt for a wrong
Contumacious rebellious
Convoluted intricate and complicated
Corroborate to support with evidence
Cosset to pamper; treat with great care
Coterie an intimate group of persons with a similar purpose
Craven lacking courage
Credulous too trusting; gullible
Crescendo steadily increasing in volume or force
Cupidity greed; strong desire
Curmudgeon cranky person, usually old
Debutante young woman making debut in high society
Declivity downward slope
Decorous proper; tasteful; socially correct
Decorum appropriateness of behavior or conduct; propriety
Deface to mar the appearance of; vandalize
Deference respect; courtesy
Deleterious subtly or unexpectedly harmful
Demagogue a leader or rabble-rouser, usually appealing to emotion or prejudice
Demur to express doubts or objections
Deride to speak of or treat with contempt; to mock
Desiccate to dry out thoroughly
Desultory jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
Diaphanous allowing light to show through; delicate
Diatribe an abusive, condemnatory speech
Dictum authoritative statement
Diffident lacking self-confidence
Dilate to make larger; expand
Dilatory intended to delay
Dilettante someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
Dirge a funeral hymn or mournful speech
Disabuse to set right; free from error
Discern to perceive or recognize
Disparate fundamentally different; entirely unlike
Dissemble to present a false appearance; to disguise one's real intentions or character
Dissonance a harsh and disagreeable combination, especially of sounds
Distaff the female branch of a family
Distend to swell, inflate, or bloat
Dither to act confusedly or without clear purpose
Diurnal existing during the day
Divine to foretell or know by inspiration
Doctrinaire rigidly devoted to theories without regard for practicality; dogmatic
Dogma a firmly held opinion, especially a religious belief
Dogmatic dictatorial in one's opinions
Droll amusing in a wry, subtle way
Dupe to deceive; a person who is easily deceived
Dyspeptic suffering from indigestion; gloomy and irritable
Ebullient exhilarated; full of enthusiam and high spirits
Eclectic selecting from or made up from a variety of soures
Edify to instruct morally and spiritually
Efficacy effectiveness
Effigy stuffed doll; likeness of a person
Effrontery impudent boldness; audacity
Elegy a sorrowful poem or speech
Eloquent persuassive and moving, espcially in speech
Embellish to add ornamental or fictitious details
Emulate to copy; to try to equal or excel
Encomium warm praise
Endemic belinging to a particular area; inherent
Enervate to reduce in strength
Engender to produce, cause, or bring about
Enigma a puzzle; a mystery
Enumerate to count, list, or itemize
Ephemeral lasting a short time
Epicure person with refined taste in food and wine
Equivocate to use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
Erratic wandering and unpredictable
Ersatz fake
Erudite learned; scholarly; bookish
Eschew to shun; to avoid (as something wrong or distasteful)
Esoteric known or understood only by a few
Estimable admirable
Ethos beliefs or character of a group
Eulogy speech in praise of someone
Euphemism use of an inoffensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
Euphony pleasant, harmonious sound
Exacerbate to make worse
Exculpate to clear from blame; prove innocent
Exigent urgent; requiring immediate action
Exonerate to clear of blame
Explicit clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression
Exponent one who champions or advocates
Exprugate to censor
Fallow dormant; unused
Fanatical acting excessively enthusiastic; filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion
Fatuous stupid; foolishly self-satisfied
Fawn to grovel
Fecund fertile; fruitful; productive
Fervid intensely emotional; feverish
Fetid foul-smelling; putrid
Flag to decline in vigor; strength; or interest
Florid excessively decorated or embellished
Foment to arouse or incite
Ford to cross a body of water by wading
Forestall to prevent or delay; anticipate
Fortuitous happening by chance; fortunate
Fractious unruly; rebellious
Frenetic frantic; frenzied
Frugality tending to be thrifty or cheap
Furtive secret; stealthy
Gambol to dance or skip around playfully
Garner to gather and store
Garrulous tending to talk a lot
Gestation growth process from conception to birth
Glib fluent in an insincere manner; offhand; casual
Glower to glare or stare angrily and intensely
Gradation process occurring by regular degrees or stages; variation in color
Gregarious outgoing; sociable
Grievous causing grief or sorrow; serious and distressing
Grovel to humble oneself in a demeaning way
Guile deceit; trickery
Gullible easily deceived
Hapless unfortunate; having bad luck
Hegemony the domination of one state or group over its allies
Hermetic tightly sealed
Heterogeneous composed of unlike parts; different; diverse
Hoary very old; whitish or gray from age
Homogeneous of a similar kind
Husband to manage economically; to use sparingly
Hyperbole purposeful exaggeration for effect
Iconoclast one who opposes established beliefs, customs, and institutions
Idiosyncrasy peculiarity of temperament; eccentricity
Ignoble having low moral standards; not noble in character; mean
Imbue to infuse, dye, wet, or moisten
Impasse blocked path; dilemma with no solution
Impecunious poor; having no money
Imperturbable not capable of being disturbed
Impervious impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
Impetuous quick to act without thinking
Impious not devout in religion
Implacable unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
Imprecation a curse
Impugn to call into question; to attack verbally
Incarnadine blood-red in color
Inchoate no fully formed; disorganized
Inculcate to teach; impress in the mind
Indolent habitually lazy or idle
Inexorable inflexible; unyielding
Ingenuous showing innocence or childlike simplicity
Ingrate ungrateful person
Ingratiate to gain favor with another by deliberate effort; to seek to please somebody so as to gain an advantage
Inimical hostile; unfriendly
Iniquity sin; evil act
Innocuous harmless
Inquest an investigatin; an inquiry
Insipid lacking interest or flavor
Insurrection rebellion
Inter to bury
Interregnum period between reigns
Intractable not easily managed or manipulated
Intransigent uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled
Latent potential that is not readily apparent
Laud to giv praise; to glorify
Lavish extremely generous or extravagant; giving unsparingly
Leery suspicious
Languid lacking energy; indifferent
Lapidary relating to precious stones or the art of cutting them
Larceny theft of property
Largess generous giving (as of money) to others who may seem inferior
Lassitude a state of diminished energy
Legerdemain trickery
Lethargic acting in an indifferent or slow, sluggish manner
Levity an inappropriate lack of seriousness; overly casual
Liberal tolerant or broad-minded; generous or lavish
Libertine a free thinker, usually used disparagingly; one without moral restraint
Intrepid fearless; resolutely courageous
Inundate to overwhelm; to cover with water
Inure to harden; accustom; become used to
Invective abusive language
Investiture ceremony conferring authority
Invidious envious, obnoxious, or offensive, likely to promote ill-will
Irascible easily made angry
Itinerant wandering from place to place; unsettled
Jargon nonsensical talk; specialized language
Jettison to discard; to get rid of as unnecessary or encumbering
Jingoism belligerent support of one's country
Jocular playful; humorous
Judicious sensible; showing good judgement
Juncture point of time, especially where two things are joined
Keen having a sharp edge; intellectually sharp; perceptive
Kindle to set fire to or ignite; excite or inspire
Kinetic relating to motion; characterized by movement
Knell sound of a funeral bell; omen of death or failure
Kudos fame, glory, or honor
Lachrymose tearful
Laconic using few words
Lament to express sorrow; to grieve
Lampoon to ridicule with satire
Licentious immoral; unrestrained by society
Limpid clear; transparent
Lionize to treat as a celebrity
Lissome easily flexed; limber; agile
Listless lacking energy and enthusiasm
Livid discolored from a bruise; pale; reddened with anger
Loquacious talkative
Lucid clear and esily understood
Lugubrious sorrowful; mournful; dismal
Lumber to move slowly and awkwardly
Luminous btight; brilliant; glowing
Machination plot or scheme
Maelstrom whirlpool; turmoil; agitated state of mind
Magnate powerful or influential person
Malediction a curse; a wish of evil upon another
Malinger to evade responibilty by pretending to be ill
Malleable capable of being shaped
Mannered artifical or stilted in character
Mar to damage or deface; spoil
Martinet strict discipliarian; one who rigidly follows rules
Maudlin overly sentimental
Mendacious dishonest
Mendicant beggar
Mercurial quick, shrewd, and unpredictable
Meretricious gaudy; falsely attractive
Metaphor figure of speech comparing two different things
Meticulous extremely careful; fastidious; painstaking
Militate to operate against; work against
Mirth frivolity; gaiety; laughter
Misanthrope a person who dislikes others
Missive a written note or letter
Mitigate to soften; to lessen
Mollify to calm or make less severe
Molt to shed hair, skin, or an outer layer periodically
Monastic extremly plain or secluded, as in a monastery
Monotony no variaion; tedioulsly the same
Mores fixed customs or manners; moral attitudes
Multifarious diverse
Myopic lacking foresight; having a narrow view or long-range perspective
Nadir lowest point
Naive lacking sophistication or experience
Nascent starting to develop; coming into existence
Neologism new word or expression
Neophyte novice; beginner
Nettle to irritate
Noisome stinking; putrid
Nominal existing in name only; negligble
Nuance a subltle expression of meaning or quality
Numismatics coin collecting
Obdurate hardening in feeling; resistant to persuasion
Oblique indirect or evasive; misleading or devious
Obsequious overly submissive and eager to please
Obstinate stubborn; unyielding
Obviate to prevent; to make unnecessary
Occlude to stop up; prevent the passage of
Officious too helpful; meddlesome
Onerous troublesome and oppresive; burdensome
Opaque impossible to see through; preventing the passage of light
Opine to express an opinion
Opprobrium public disgrace
Orotund pompous
Ossify to change in to bone; to become hardened or set in a rigidly conventional pattern
Ostensible apparent
Ostentation excessive showiness
Overwrought agitated; overdone
Palatial relating to a palace; magnificent
Palliate to make less serious; ease
Pallid lacking color or liveliness
Panache flamboyance or dash in style and action; verve
Panegyric elaborate praise; formal hymn of praise
Panoply impressive array
Paradox a contradiction or dilemma
Paragon model of excellence or perfection
Pare to trim off excess; reduce
Pariah an outcast
Parley discussion, usually between enemies
Parry to ward off or deflect, especially by a quickwitted answer
Pastiche piece of literature or music imitating other works
Pathogenic causing disease
Peccadillo minor sin or offense
Pedant someone who shows off learning
Pejorative having bad connotations; disparaging
Penury an oppressive lack of resources (as money); severe poverty
Peregrinate to wander fro place to place; to travel; especially on foot
Perfidious willing to betray one's trust
Perfunctory done in a routine way; indifferent
Peripatetic wandering from place to place, especially on foot
Permeate to penetrate
Perspicacious shrewd, astute, or keen-witted
Pervade to be present throughout; to permeate
Phalanx a compact or close-knit body of people, animals, or things
Philanthropy charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness
Philistine a person who is guided by materialism and is disdainful of intellectual or artistic values
Phlegmatic calm and unemotional in temperament
Pithy profound or substantial yet concise, succinct and to the point
Placate to soothe or pacify
Plastic able to be molded, altered, or bent
Plebeian crude or coarse; characteristic of commoners
Plethora excess
Plucky courageous; spunky
Polemic controversy; argument; verbal attack
Politic shrewd and practical in managing or dealing with things; diplomatic
Polyglot a speaker of many languages
Posit to assume as real or conceded; propose as an explanation
Potentate a monarch or ruler with great power
Pragmatic practical, as opposed to idealistic
Prattle meaningless, foolish talk
Precipitate to throw violently or bring about abruplty; lacking deliberation
Precis short summary of facts
Prescient having foresight
Prevaricate to lie or deviate from the truth
Pristine fresh and clean; uncorrupted
Probity complete honesty and integrity
Proclivity a natural inclination or predisposition
Prodigal lavish; wasteful
Profligate corrupt; degenerate
Proliferate to increase in number quickly
Propitiate to conciliate; to appease
Propriety the quality of behaving in a proper manner; obeying rules and customs
Prudence wisdom, caution, or restraint
Puerile childish, immature, or silly
Pugilism boxing
Pulchritude beauty
Pungent sharp and irritating to the senses
Pusillanimous cowardly; without courage
Querulous inclined to complain; irritable
Quiescent motionless
Quixotic overly idealistic; impractical
Quotidian occurring daily; commonplace
Raconteur witty, skillful storyteller
Rarefy to make thinner or sparser
Redress relief from wrong or injury
Rejoinder response
Repast meal or mealtime
Replete abundantly supplied, complete
Repose rexlation; leisure
Repudiate to reject the validity of
Requite to return or repay
Restive impatient, uneasy, or restless
Reticent silent; reserved
Rhetoric effective writing or speaking
Ribald humorous in a vulgar way
Rococo very highly ornamented; relating to an 18th century artistic style of elaborate ornamentation
Rustic rural
Sacrosanct extremely sacred; beyond criticism
Sagacious shrewd; wise
Salient prominent; of notable significance
Salubrious healthful
Sanguine ruddy; cheerfully optimistic
Sardonic cynical; scornfully mocking
Satiate to satisfy fully or overindulge
Scintilla trace amount
Sedition behavior that promotes rebellion or civil disorder against the state
Sentient aware; conscious; able to perceive
Seraphic angelic; sweet
Sinecure a well-paying job or office that requires little or no work
Slake to calm down or moderate
Sobriquet nickname
Solecism gtrammatical mistake; blunder in speech
Soporific causing sleep or lethargy
Spartan highly self-disciplined; frugal; austere
Specious deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible but fallacious
Sportive frolicsome; playful
Stasis a state of static balance or equilibrium; stagnation
Stentorian extremely loud
Stigma a mark of shame or discredit
Stolid unemotional; lacking sensitivity
Stratagem trick designed to deceive an enemy
Sublime lofty or grand
Sully to tarnish; taint
Supplant to replace (another) by force; to take the place of
Surfeit excessive amount
Surly rude and bad-tempered
Sybarite a person devoted to pleasure and luxury
Sycophant a self-serving flatterer; yes-man
Symbiosis cooperation; mutual helpfulness
Syncopation temporary irregularity in musical rhythm
Tacit done without using words
Taciturn silent; not talkative
Talon claw of an animal, especially a bird of prey
Tangential digressing; diverting
Tawdry gaudy, cheap,or showy
Terrestrial earthly; down to earth; commonplace
Tirade long, harsh speech or verbal attack
Toady one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors
Tome book, usually large and academic
Torpor extreme mental and physical sluggishness
Transitory temporary; lasting a brief time
Trenchant acute, sharp, or incisive; forecful; effective
Turgid swollen as from a fluid; bloated
Tyro beginner; novice
Umbrage offense; resentment
Unconscionable unscrupulous; shockingly unfair or unjust
Unequivocal absolute; certain
Upbraid to scold sharply
Usury the practice of lending money at exorbitant rates
Vacillate to physically sway or to be indecisive
Variegated varied; marked with different colors
Venerable respected because of age
Venerate to respect deeply
Veracity filled with truth and accuracy
Verbose wordy
Verdant green with vegtation; inexperienced
Vernal related to spring; fresh
Vestige a trace; remnant
Vex to annoy; irritate; puzzle; confuse
Vicissitude a change or variation; ups and downs
Vim vitality and energy
Viscous thick and adhesive, like a slow-flowing fluid
Vituperate to abuse verbally; berate
Volatile easily aroused or changeable; lively or explosive
Voluble talkative; speaking easily; glib
Wan sickly pale
Wanton undisciplined; unrestrained; reckless
Waver to fluctuate between choices
Whimsical lightly acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredictable
Wily clever; deceptive
Winsome charming; happily engaging
Wizened shriveled; withered; wrinkled
Wraith a ghost or specter; a ghost of a living person seen just before his or her death
Xenophobia a fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers
Yoke to join together
Zeal passion; excitement
Zealot someone passionately devoted to a cause
Zenith the point of culmination; peak
Zephyr a gentle breeze; something airy or usubstantial
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