| Word |
Definition |
| alchemy | medieval chemical philosophy based on changing metal into gold |
| assonance | repetition of vowel sounds in words for musical effect |
| augury | prophecy, prediction of events |
| bimetalism | use in currency of two metals whose value is fixed by law |
| demagogue | rabble rouser, popular leader |
| despondent | depressed; gloomy |
| ford | to cross a body of water at a shallow place |
| hypocritical | pretending to be virtuous; deceiving |
| invocation | prayer, asking God's blessing |
| ordain | to make someone a priest or minister; to order |
| perverse | contrary, obstinate, willful |
| placid | quiet, calm, unruffled |
| pluck | to pull strings on musical instrument |
| schizophrenic | a split or divided personality |
| stymie | to block or thwart |
| supplicant | one who asks humbly and earnestly |
| transitory | short-lived, existing only briefly |
| trying | difficult to deal with |
| vindictive | spiteful, vengeful, unforgiving |
| wan | sickly pale |
| arduous | extremely difficult, laborious |
| ascribed | attributed, assigned, alleged to belong to |
| cacophony | unpleasant, harsh, discordant sound |
| caulk | to make watertight |
| chastise | to punish, discipline, scold |
| culpable | blameworthy, deserving blame |
| egregious | prominent, conspicuous for bad quality, outstanding |
| explicit | clearly defined; specific; forthright in expression |
| facilitate | make less difficult; to aid, assist |
| feisty | excitable, easily drawn into quarrels |
| formulate | to conceive, devise; to draft, plan; to express, state |
| hasten | to hurry, to speed up |
| impound | to seize and confine |
| ingenious | inventive, clever, skilled, original |
| miserly | stingy; mean |
| numismatics | coin collecting |
| obdurate | hard, unyielding, stubborn |
| prevaricator | one who tells an untruth, liar |
| remission | lessening, relaxation |
| verbatim | word for word, in the exact words |
| aphasia | inability to speak or use words |
| cognomen | name, family name |
| conjure | to evoke a spirit, cast a spell |
| constraint | something that forces or compels; something which restrains or confines |
| contravene | to contradict, deny, act contrary to |
| dispassionate | calm; impartial; free from emotion; unbiased |
| forethought | anticipation, foresight |
| grasp | to perceive and understand; to hold securely |
| hinterland | wilderness |
| impose | to inflict, force upon |
| malapropism | humorous misuse of a word |
| monograph | written account on a single subject |
| novitiate | state of being a beginner or novice |
| quiescence | inactivity, stillness |
| satiate | to satisfy |
| seraphic | angelic, heavenly; pure; sublime |
| somnolent | drowsy, sleepy; inducing sleep |
| spectrum | radiant energies arranged in the order of their wave lengths so that when you observe all the colors of the rainbow are visible |
| treatise | a systematic composition of dignity and length |
| zealot | fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal; someone passionately devoted to a cause |
| ascertain | to determine, discover, make certain of |
| beleaguer | to harass, plague |
| curt | abrupt, blunt |
| deplete | reduce; exhaust |
| depraved | corrupt, base, wicked |
| essence | true substance, prime character |
| flammable | combustible, being easily burned |
| fortuitous | accidental, happening by chance or luck, fortunate |
| ignoble | dishonorable, not noble in character |
| infamy | reputation for bad deeds |
| ingenuous | straightforward, open; naive and unsophisticated |
| nominal | existing in name only, not in fact; negligible |
| nondescript | lacking interesting or distinctive qualities; dull |
| pittance | small portion, allowance, meager amount or wage |
| staid | dignified, sober, sedate; self-restrained to the point of dullness |
| stalk | to hunt, pursue |
| subside | to sink, to fall, to become tranquil |
| trounce | to beat severely, defeat |
| tyranny | oppression; cruel government |
| votaries | devoted followers, students, worshipers |
| captious | tricky, faultfinding, ensnaring |
| chromatic | of or pertaining to colors |
| conversant | familiar with, able to talk on |
| dainty | delicate, sweet |
| deleterious | harmful |
| euphemism | substitution of a mild or more pleasant term for a seemingly offensive or distasteful one |
| judicious | sound in judgment; wise; sensible; showing good judgment |
| malign | spoke evil of, defamed, slandered |
| paramount | supreme, dominant, primary |
| pomposity | self-important behavior; acting like a stuffed shirt |
| reserve | self-control; care in expressing oneself |
| reverent | respectful |
| seminal | relating to the beginning or seeds of something |
| sententious | abounding in sayings and maxims, very expressive or pithy; having a moralizing tone |
| sonorous | producing a full, rich sound |
| sophist | person good at arguing deviously |
| spasmodic | jerky, intermittent, fitful |
| surly | rude and bad-tempered |
| toady | flatterer, hanger-on, yes-man |
| umbrage | offense, resentment |
| belli, bell | war
ex. antebellum, bellicose, belligerent |
| cad, cas | to fall, happen
ex. cascade, decadent |
| cy | state of being (noun suffix)
ex. accuracy, democracy, obstinacy |
| ego | self
ex. egocentric |
| ex, e | out, out of
ex. evict, evoke, excerpt, excommunicate, expel |
| fall, fals | to deceive
ex. infallible, falsify |
| helio | sun
ex. heliocentric |
| inter | between, among
ex. intercept, interjection, international, intersect, intervene |
| ist | dealer, doer (noun suffix)
ex. artist |
| lig, lect | choose, gather
ex. eligible, elect, select |
| lig, li, ly | bind
ex. oblige, religion, liaison, ally |
| ped, pod
| foot
ex. pedestrian, tripod |
| sem | seed, sow
ex. seminal, disseminate |
| spec, spect | to look at, see
ex. perspective, spectator |
| tang, tact, tag | to touch
ex. tangent, tangible, contact, contagious |
| tempor | time
ex. contemporary, temporary |
