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| deviating from normal or correct. |
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| to leave secretly and hide, often to avoid the law. |
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| to speak, plead, or argue for a cause, or in another’s behalf. (n) -- one who advocates. |
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| to make greater, to increase, thus, to exaggerate. |
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| to unite or mix. (n) -- amalgamation |
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| vague; subject to more than one interpretation |
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| extremely pleasing to the senses, divine (as related to the gods) or delicious (n: ambrosia) |
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| a person or artifact appearing after its own time or out of chronological order (adj: anachronistic) |
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| peculiar; unique, contrary to the norm (n: anomaly) |
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| hostility toward, objection, or aversion to |
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| to settle a dispute by impulse (n: arbitration) |
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| to make less severe; to appease or satisfy |
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| extremely bold; fearless, especially said of human behavior (n: audacity) |
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| commonplace or trite (n: banality) |
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| unconcealed, shameless, or brazen |
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| speech or action intended to coax someone into doing something |
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| pompous speech (adj: bombastic) |
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| a lapse, gap or break, as in a fortress wall. To break or break through.ex: Unfortunately, the club members never forgot his breach of ettiquette. |
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| a lapse, gap or break, as in a fortress wall. To break or break through.ex: Unfortunately, the club members never forgot his breach of ettiquette. |
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| to grow or flourish; a bud or new growth (adj: burgeoning ) |
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| to get something by taking advantage of someone |
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| impulse (adj: capricious) |
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| to chastise or criticize severely |
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| an agent of change (adj: catalytic; v. catalyze) |
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| capable of dissolving by chemical action; highly critical: "His caustic remarks spoiled the mood of the party." |
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| willingly compliant or accepting of the status quo (n: complaisance) |
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| of or having to do with material, as opposed to spiritual; tangible. (In older writings, coeporeal could be a synonym for corporal. This usage is no longer common) |
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| of the body: "corporal punishment." a non-commissioned officer ranked between a sergeant and a private. |
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| to strengthen or support: "The witness corroborted his story." (n: corroboration) |
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| deserving of blame (n: culpability) |
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| lack, scarcity: "The prosecutor complained about the dearth of concrete evidence against the suspect." |
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| submission or courteous yielding: "He held his tongue in deference to his father." (n: deferential. v. defer) |
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| to show, create a picture of. |
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| belittlement. (v. deprecate) |
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| the act of preying upon or plundering: "The depredations of the invaders demoralized the population." |
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| to dry out thoroughly (adj: desiccated) |
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| a bitter abusive denunciation. |
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| lacking self-confidence, modest (n: diffidence) |
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| to free a person from falsehood or error: "We had to disabuse her of the notion that she was invited." |
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| belittling (n: disparagement. v. disparage) |
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| calm; objective; unbiased |
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| to conceal one's real motive, to feign |
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| stubborn or determined: "Her dogged pursuit of the degree eventually paid off." |
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| relying upon doctrine or dogma, as opposed to evidence |
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| selecting or employing individual elements from a variety of sources: "Many modern decorators prefer an eclectic style." (n: eclecticism) |
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| effectiveness; capability to produce a desired effect |
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| the quality of flowing out. something that flows out, such as a stream from a river (n: effluence) |
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| softening; something that softens |
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| to strive to equal or excel (n: emulation) |
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| a formal eulogy or speech of praise |
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| prevalent in or native to a certain region, locality, or people: "The disease was endemic to the region." Don't confuse this word with epidemic. |
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| to weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: "The heatenervated everyone." (adj: enervating) |
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| to give rise to, to propagate, to cause: "His slip of the toungue engendered much laughter." |
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| puzzle; mystery: "Math is an enigma to me." (adj: enigmatic) |
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| puzzle; mystery: "Math is an enigma to me." (adj: enigmatic) |
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| lasting for only a brief time, fleeting (n: ephemera) |
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| ambiguous; unclear; subject to more than one interpretation -- often intentionally so: "Republicans complained that Bill Clinton's answers were equivocal." (v. equivocate) |
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| scholarly; displaying deep intensive learning. (n: erudition) |
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| intended for or understood by only a few: "The esoteric discussion confused some people." (n: esoterica) |
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| a spoken or written tribute to the deceased (v. eulogize) |
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| to increase the bitterness or violence of; to aggravate: "The decision to fortify the border exacerbated tensions." |
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| to demonstrate or prove to be blameless: "The evidence tended to exculpate the defendant."(adj: exculpatory) |
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| exceeding customary or normal limits, esp. in quantity or price: "The cab fare was exorbitant." |
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| fully and clearly expressed |
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| in existence, still existing: The only extant representative of that species." |
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| a measure of length (six feet) used in nautical settings. to penetrate to the depths of something in order to understand it: "I couldn't fathom her reasoning on that issue." |
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| to seek favor or attention; to act subserviantly (n, adj: fawning) |
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| to give false appearance or impression: "He feigned illness to avoid going to school." (adj: feigned) |
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| highly emotional; hot: "The partisans displayed a fervent patriotism." (n: fervor) |
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| a baby bird; an inexperienced person; inexperienced. |
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| flushed with a rosy color, as in complexion; very ornate and flowery: "florid prose." |
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| struggling: "We tried to save the floundering business." |
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| verbose; talkative; rambling: "We tried to avoid our garrulous neighbor." |
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| fine cobweb on foliage; fine gauzy fabric; very fine: "She wore a gossamer robe." |
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| skillful deceit: "He was well known for his guile." (v. bequile; adj: beguiling. Note, however, that these two words have an additional meaning: to charm (v.) or charming (adj:), while the word guile does not generally have any such positive connotations) |
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| honest; straightforward (n: guilelessness) |
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| headfirst; impulsive; hasty. impulsively; hastily; without forethought: "They rushed headlong into marriage." |
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| similar in nature or kind; uniform: "a homogeneous society." |
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| one who attacks traditional ideas or institutions or one who destroys sacred images (adj: iconoclastic) |
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| insinuation or connotation (v. implicate) |
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| to suggest indirectly; to entail: "She implied she didn't believe his story." (n: implication) |
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| an absence of foresight; a failure to provide for future needs or events: "Their improvidence resulted in the loss of their home." |
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| in an initial or early stage; incomplete; disorganized: "The act of writing forces one to clarify incohate thoughts." |
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| not capable of being corrected: "The school board finally decided the James was incorrigible and expelled him from school." |
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| permanent; unerasable; strong: "The Queen made an indelible impression on her subjects." |
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| undescribable; inexpressible in words; unspeakable |
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| to deduce: "New genetic evidence led some zoologists to infer that the red wolf is actually a hybrid of the coyote and the gray wolf." |
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| clever: "She developed an ingenious method for testing her hypothesis."(n: ingenuity) |
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| unsophisticated; artless; straightforward; candid: "Wilson's ingenuous response to the controversial calmed the suspicious listeners." |
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| to hold back, prohibit, forbid, or restrain (n: inhibition, adj: inhibited) |
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| harmless; having no adverse affect; not likely to provoke strong emotion |
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| numb; unconscious: "Wayne was rendered insensible by a blow to the head." unfeeling; insensitive: "They were insensibile to the suffering of others.: |
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| lacking zest or excitement; dull |
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| of or pertaining to an island, thus, excessively exclusive: "Newcomers found it difficult to make friends in the insular community." |
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| stubborn; immovable; unwilling to change: "She was so intransigent we finally gave up trying to convince her." (n: intransigence) |
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| prone to outbursts of temper, easily angered |
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| using few words; terse: "a laconic reply." |
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| present or potential but not evident or active (n: latency) |
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| praiseworthy; commendable (v. laud) |
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| giant whale, therefore, something very large |
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| clear; translucent: "He made a lucid argument to support his theory." |
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| weighty, mournful, or gloomy, especially to an excessive degree: "Jake's lugubrious monologues depressed his friends." |
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| generosity and nobility. (adj: magnanimous) |
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| malicious; evil; having or showing ill will: "Some early American colonists saw the wilderness as malevolent and sought to control it." |
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| one who hates people: "He was a true misanthrope and hated even himself." |
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| incorrect name or word for something |
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| to make less forceful; to become more moderate; to make less harsh or undesirable: "He was trying to mitigate the damage he had done." (n: mitigation) |
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| wicked, evil: "a nefarious plot." |
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| harmful, offensive, destructive: "The noisome odor of the dump carried for miles." |
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| hardened against influence or feeling; intractable. |
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| to prevent by anticipatory measures; to make unnecessary: |
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| to close or shut off; to obstruct (n: occlusion) |
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| not transparent or transluscent; dense; difficult to comprehend, as inopaque reasoning |
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| turned to bone; hardened like bone; Inflexible: "The ossified culture failed to adapt to new economic conditions and died out." |
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| a writing or speech in praise of a person or thing |
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| showing a narrow concern for rules or formal book learning; making an excessive display of one's own learning: "We quickly tired of his pedantic conversation." (n: pedant, pedantry). |
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| deliberately treacherous; dishonest (n: perfidy) |
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| easily or frequently annoyed, especially over trivial matters; childishly irritable |
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| tendency or action for the benefit of others, as in donating money or property to a charitible organization |
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| not easily excited; cool; sluggish |
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| to calm or reduce anger by making concessions: "The professor tried to placate his students by postponing the exam." |
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| related to being shaped or molded; capable of being molded. (n: plasticity n: plastic) |
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| excessively large quantity; overabundance: "We received a p lethora of applications for the position." |
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| heavy; massive; awkward; dull: "A ponderous book is better than a sleeping pill." |
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| concerned with facts; practical, as opposed to highly principled or traditional: "His pragmatic approach often offended idealists." (n: pragmatism) |
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| cliff with a vertical or nearly vertical face; a dangerous place from which one is likely to fall; metaphorically, a very risky circumstance |
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| to fall; to fall downward suddenly and dramatically; to bring about or hasten the occurrence of something: "Old World diseases precipitated a massive decline in the American Indian population." |
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| something (or someone) that precedes another: "The assasination of the Archduke was a precursor to the war." |
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| to stray away from or evade the truth: "When we asked him what his intentions were, he prevaricated."(n: prevarication; prevaricator) |
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| rashly wasteful: "Americans' prodigal devotion to the automobile is unique." |
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| to conciliate; to appease: "They made sacrifices to propitiate angry gods." |
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| beautiful (n: pulchritude) |
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| cowardly, timid, or irreselute; petty: "The pusillanimous leader soon lost the respect of his people." |
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| inactivity; stillness; dormancy (adj: quiescent) |
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| to make or become thin; to purify or refine (n: rarefaction, adj: rarefied) |
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| the act of censuring, scolding, or rebuking. (v. reprove). |
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| having a sharp or powerful intellect or discernment. (n: sagacity). |
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| cheerful; confident: "Her sanguine attitude put everyone at ease."(Sangfroid (noun) is a related French word meaning unflappibility. Literally, it means cold blood) |
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| to satisfy fully or to excess |
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| having a gloomy or morose temperament |
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| a very knowledgable person; a genious |
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| diligent; persevering; persistent: "Her sedulous devotion to overcoming her background impressed many." (n: sedulity; sedulousness; adv. sedulously) |
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| seemingly true but really false; deceptively convincing or attractive: "Her argument, though specious, was readily accepted by many." |
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| only covering the surface: "A superficial treatment of the topic was all they wanted." |
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| unspoken: "Katie and carmella had a tacit agreement that they would not mention the dented fender to their parents." |
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| habitually untalkative or silent (n: taciturnity) |
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| exercising moderation and self-denial; calm or mild (n: temperance) |
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| an angry speech: "His tirade had gone on long enough." |
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| twisted; excessively complicated: "Despite public complaints, tax laws and forms have become increasingly tortuous." Note: Don't confuse this with torturous. |
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| ability to be easily managed or controlled: "Her mother wished she were more tractable." (n: tractibility) |
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| depravity; baseness: "Mr. Castor was fired for moral turpitude." |
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| beginner; person lacking experience in a specific endeavor: "They easily took advantage of the tyro." |
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| empty; without contents; without ideas or intelligence:: "She flashed a vacuous smile." |
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| great respect or reverence: "The Chinese traditionally venerated their ancestors; ancestor worship is merely a popular misnomer for this tradition." (n: veneration, adj: venerable) |
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| wordy: "The instructor asked her verbose student make her paper more concise." (n: verbosity) |
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| wordy: "The instructor asked her verbose student make her paper more concise." (n: verbosity) |
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| to annoy; to bother; to perplex; to puzzle; to debate at length: "Franklin vexed his brother with his controversial writings." |
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| slow moving; highly resistant to flow: "Heintz commercials imply that their catsup is more viscous than others'." (n: viscosity) |
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| explosive; fickle (n: volatility). |
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| craving or devouring large quantities of food, drink, or other things. She is a voracious reader. |
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| to hesitate or to tremble |
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| extremely pitiful or unfortunate (n: wretch) |
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| enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal (n: zealot; zealoutry. adj: zealous) |
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