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Big GRE Vocab List
Definitions include synonyms.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| abacus | A calculating table or frame. |
| abase | To lower physically or depress; humiliate, humble, degrade, debase. |
| abash | To make ashamed, embarrass, confuse, confound; to put to shame; disconcert; discomfit. |
| abate | To reduce to a lower state, amount, or degree; diminish in force or intensity; ebb, relent, lessen, diminish, subside, wane. |
| abdicate | To surrender, renounce or relinquish, as sovereign power of office, throne; to resign. |
| aberration | Deviation from what is expected; abnormality, anomaly, divergence, irregularity. |
| abet | To assist, encourage by aid, countenance; especially in crime. |
| abeyance | Suspension; temporary suppression; condition of being undetermined. |
| abhor | To regard with horror or detestation; to shrink back with shuddering from; to detest, loathe, abominate, hate. |
| abide | To endure; sustain; bear patiently; tolerate; put up with. |
| abjure | To renounce upon oath; forswear, disavow, recant, abandon, reject, repudiate. |
| abnegation | Renunciation; self-denial, repudiation. |
| abominate | Detestable, detested, loathsome; to detest, hate, loathe, abhor. |
| abraded | Rubbed off, worn away by friction. |
| abrogate | To repeal or annul by authority; to abolish, as of laws, decrees, ordinances, customs, etc. |
| abscond | To hide, withdraw, or depart secretly, especially to avoid prosecution; decamp, flee, escape. |
| absolve | To set free, release or discharge from obligation, debt, responsibility, blame, sin, guilt. |
| abstain | To choose not to do something; forbear, refrain, withhold. |
| abstemious | Used with temperance or moderation; sparing in diet or indulgence; continent, self-restraining. |
| abstruse | Difficult to comprehend or understand; obscure; recondite. |
| abut | To border on; to lie adjacent; to project; to terminate; to be contiguous; to meet. |
| abysmal | Bottomless; pertaining to or resembling an abyss; extremely bad. |
| acarpous | No longer fertile; worn out; effete. |
| accede | To give in; to agree or assent to a proposal or a view. |
| acclaim | To applaud; to express great approval. |
| acclaimed | Greatly praised or lauded, revered, highly respected. |
| acclivity | Incline; ascent. |
| accolade | An expression of approval, praise; a special acknowledgment or award. |
| accord | Agreement or concurrence of opinion, will, or action. |
| accouter | To equip; attire, array. |
| accretion | Increasing by natural growth; growing together of parts naturally separate. |
| acerbity | Sourness of taste; harshness, bitterness, or severity as of temper, of language, of pain. |
| acidulous | Sour in taste or manner; acerbic, biting, piquant, tart. |
| acme | Highest point; apex, summit, peak. |
| acquiesce | To rest satisfied or without opposition; submit, comply, yield, assent, consent, accede. |
| acrimonious | Sharp, bitter, mean-spirited, hateful; sharp in language or tone. |
| acrophobia | Fear of heights. |
| actuarial | Calculating; relating to statistical calculation, especially of life expectancy. |
| actuate | To motivate or activate. |
| acuity | Sharpness, acuteness. |
| adamant | Resistant to reason; determined, inflexible, unshakable, unyielding. |
| addle | To muddle, confuse. |
| adherent | Supporter; having the quality of clinging or sticking. |
| adjunct | An appendage; something attached to something else in a subordinate capacity. |
| adjuration | A grave warning or solemn urging. |
| admonitory | Of or pertaining to counsel against fault or oversight; of admonition; of warning. |
| adorn | To make more beautiful and attractive; to decorate. |
| adroit | Dexterous, deft, skillful. |
| adulation | Flattery; fulsome praise. |
| adulterate | To make impure; debase, doctor, dope, load. |
| adulteration | Mixing with extraneous material, substitution of one substance for another; to make impure. |
| adventitious | Not innate or inherent, foreign; accidental, additional, appearing casually. |
| adversity | The state of adverse conditions; state of misfortune or calamity. |
| advert | To call attention, refer. |
| aegis | Shield, defense, protection, guidance, endorsement. |
| aerie | The nest of a large bird; any high and remote but commanding place. |
| aesthetic | Concerning the appreciation of beauty. |
| affable | Easily approachable, polite, friendly. |
| affected | Influenced or changed by something; artificial, simulated in order to impress. |
| affinity | A natural attraction or feeling of kinship to a person or thing. |
| affliction | A state of pain, suffering, distress, agony; the cause of such state. |
| affront | An open or intentional offense, slight, or insult. |
| agglomeration | The act or process of collecting in a mass; a heaping together. |
| aggrandize | Increase in power, influence, reputation; to make appear great or greater; exalt, elevate, glorify. |
| aggravate | To make worse, or more severe; to render less tolerable, more offensive; to intensify. |
| agile | Quick; apt or ready to move; nimble; active. |
| agnostic | One who is uncertain of the existence of a deity; unaware or non concerned with the specific nature of interaction. |
| agog | Highly excited, anxious, eager, impatient. |
| agrarian | Pertaining to land; agricultural or rural. |
| ail | To cause to suffer or hurt; to trouble; to afflict. |
| alacrity | Speed, quickness; celerity, dispatch, haste; eagerness, liveliness, enthusiasm. |
| alcove | Nook, recess, partially enclosed place. |
| allay | To make quiet or put at rest; to pacify or appease; to quell; to calm. |
| allegiance | Loyalty; fidelity; adherence. |
| allegory | A story in which characters are used as symbols; fable. |
| alleviate | To reduce in severity, as in pain; allay, assuage, comfort, ease, relieve. |
| alliteration | The repetition of beginning sounds. |
| alloy | To mix or combine; often used of metals. |
| allude | To refer to something indirectly or by suggestion; insinuate, hint, imply, indicate, suggest, intimate. |
| allure | To entice, attract, bait. |
| allusion | Indirect reference, hint, covert indication. |
| aloof | Reserved, indifferent, without sympathy, away, apart. |
| altruistic | Beneficent; unselfish; selfless; humane. |
| amalgamate | To combine, mix, unite; merge, mingle, blend, coalesce. |
| ambidextrous | Able to use the left hand or the right equally well. |
| ambiguous | Open to multiple interpretations; vague; unclear; uncertain, nebulous. |
| ambivalence | A state of uncertainty or indecisiveness; the coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings. |
| ambrosial | Succulently sweet or fragrant; worthy of the gods. |
| ameliorate | To heal, improve, make better, solve. |
| amenable | Readily manageable; open to suggestion; willing; receptive. |
| amity | Friendship. |
| amok | Out of control, especially when armed and dangerous. |
| amoral | Being neither moral nor immoral. |
| amorous | Inclined to love; having a propensity to love; indicating love or sexual desire. |
| amorphous | Without form or shape. |
| amortize | To decrease an amount gradually or in installments, especially to write off an expenditure or liquidate a debt. |
| amulet | An ornament worn as a charm against evil spirits; talisman, fetish. |
| anachronism | Something misplaced in time. |
| analgesic | Reducing pain without loss of consciousness. |
| analogous | Comparable; corresponding to something else. |
| analogy | A relationship of resemblance or equivalence between two things, as a basis for explanation. |
| anarchist | One who believes in or advocates the absence of government. |
| anathema | A solemn curse, denunciation, imprecation; anything pronounced as such. |
| anecdote | A short account of an incident, often humorous. |
| anguish | Severe suffering; excruciating distress. |
| animadversion | A criticism, a critical remark. |
| animosity | Violent hatred leading to active opposition; active enmity; strong dislike. |
| animus | Hostile feeling; basic impulses and instincts which govern one's actions. |
| anneal | To make less brittle; to temper; to toughen. |
| annotate | To comment; to add critical or explanatory commentary or analysis. |
| anodyne | Capable of soothing or eliminating pain; comforting; analgesic. |
| anoint | To consecrate; to smear or rub over with oil or an unctuous substance, especially for consecration. |
| anomalous | Abnormal; irregular. |
| anomaly | A deviation from a rule or from what is regarded as normal; aberration, irregularity, abnormality. |
| antagonism | A strong natural opposition, dislike, or hatred; antipathy. |
| antecede | To precede; to predate or antedate. |
| antediluvian | Extremely ancient or antiquated; old; prehistoric. |
| anthology | A book of literary selections. |
| anthropoid | Human-like; humanoid. |
| anthropomorphic | Given human attributes; having human form. |
| anticlimax | A break in the final crescendo or climax of a narrative, producing a disappointing end. |
| antidote | Medicine used against a poison or disease. |
| antipathy | Extreme dislike; aversion, incompatibility, repugnance, distaste, emnity, contrariety. |
| antiquated | Out of date; old-fashioned; obsolete. |
| antithesis | Opposite; contrast. |
| antithetical | Directly opposing. |
| apartheid | The policy of racial separation used in South Africa from 1948 to 1990. |
| apathy | Lack of interest or enthusiasm; disinterest. |
| aphasia | Loss of speech or language faculty. |
| aphorism | An original laconic phrase conveying some principle or concept; a saying or maxim. |
| apiary | A place where bees and their hives are kept. |
| aplomb | Self-confidence; poise, composure, assurance. |
| apocryphal | Of doubtful authenticity, or lacking authority; anecdotal, doubtful, disputed, fraudulent. |
| apologist | one who speaks or writes in defense of a cause |
| apophthegm | A short, witty, instructive saying; an aphorism or maxim |
| apostate | One who renounces long-held religious or political convictions; defector, deserter, traitor. |
| apothecary | A person or store providing drugs and medicines. |
| apothegm | A short, witty, instructive saying; an aphorism or maxim. |
| apotheosis | Glorification, exaltation; glorified example or ideal; apex. |
| appease | To make pacify; dispel, placate, quell, mollify, propitiate. |
| appellation | A name, title, or designation. |
| apposite | Appropriate, relevant, well-suited; fit for; positioned at rest in respect to another. |
| apprehensive | Anticipating something with anxiety or fear; Perceptive; quick to learn; intelligent. |
| apprise | To notify or inform. |
| approbation | Approval, sanction, commendation or official recognition; praise, acclaim. |
| appropriate | To claim or use as by an exclusive right; to take at the exclusion of others; |
| appurtenance | Subordinate possession; equipment used for a specific task or purpose; gear. |
| apropos | Regarding or concerning, with reference to; appropriate or pertinent to the situation |
| apt | Well-suited, quick-witted. |
| aquiline | Curved; hooked; of, pertaining to, or characteristic of eagles. |
| arabesque | An elaborate design of intertwined floral figures or complex geometrical patterns. |
| arbitrage | Any market activity in which a commodity is bought and then sold quickly for substantial profit. |
| arbitrary | Determined by chance or impulse; indiscriminate, erratic, random, changeable. |
| arbitrate | To make a judgment on a dispute; adjudicate, moderate, intervene, judge. |
| arboreal | Of, relating to, or resembling a tree. |
| arboretum | A place where many varieties of trees are grown for research, educational, and ornamental purposes. |
| arcade | A row of arches; a covered passageway with shops. |
| arcane | Obscure; secret; esoteric. |
| archaic | Antiquated; out-dated; ancient, bygone, obsolete, stale, vintage. |
| archetype | Prototype, primitive pattern; a quintessence. |
| ardor | Intense and passionate feeling; devotion, fervor, fire, zeal, enthusiasm. |
| arduous | Difficult to ascend; laborious; strenuous. |
| argot | Jargon; slang; specialized informal vocabulary. |
| aria | Operatic solo. |
| arraign | To charge in court; indict. |
| arrant | Utter; complete; in the highest degree. |
| array | To clothe, ornament, adorn, attire; An orderly series, arrangement, sequence. |
| arrogance | Proud, superior manner of behavior. |
| arrogate | To claim for oneself without justification or right; take, appropriate, presume. |
| arroyo | A water course; rivulet; gully. |
| articulate | To speak clearly and expressively; fluent, eloquent; to connect by joints. |
| artifice | Trickery, deception. |
| artless | Without guile, cunning, or deceit; honest, natural; lacking art, knowledge, or skill. |
| ascend | To go up. |
| ascendancy | Controlling influence; supremacy; superiority; dominant control. |
| ascertain | To find out; discover; establish; determine. |
| ascetic | Practicing self-denial; austere; stark. |
| ascribe | To refer; to attribute. |
| aseptic | Free from microbes; sterile. |
| ashen | Ash colored; pale, wan, pallid. |
| asinine | Stupid; failing to exercise intelligence or judgment. |
| askance | Sideways; obliquely; (of a look or glance) with disapproval, skepticism, or suspicion. |
| askew | Turned or twisted to one side; unfavorable. |
| asperity | Roughness; harshness; ill temper, irritability. |
| aspersion | A slanderous remark. |
| assail | To assault; beset, strike, storm. |
| assay | To analyze or evaluate; a trial, attempt, essay. |
| assiduous | Diligent, hard-working; sedulous. |
| assuage | To make an unpleasant thing less severe; ease, allay, alleviate, mitigate, relieve, pacify, soothe. |
| asterisk | A symbol to highlight words or characters. |
| astral | Relating to or resembling the stars. |
| astringent | Sharp, caustic, severe, binding; a substance causing tissue contraction. |
| astute | Quick to find an advantage; shrewd; clever; critically discerning. |
| asunder | Into separate parts or pieces; apart. |
| atavism | The recurrence/reversion to a past behavior, characteristic, or style after a long period of absence. |
| atheistic | Absence of, or rejection of, belief in the existence of deities |
| atonement | A repair done for the sake of a damaged relationship. |
| atrophy | Wasting or withering away, from lack of use. |
| attenuate | To reduce in size, force, value, amount, or degree; weaken, enervate, dilute. |
| attribute | A characteristic or quality of a thing; To associate ownership with. |
| attune | To bring into harmony. |
| audacious | Daring, foolishly bold; impudent. |
| augury | An omen, prediction, or prophecy; auspices, harbinger, portent, presage. |
| august | Dignified, grand; of noble birth; admirable, majestic, awe-inspiring, venerable. |
| auspicious | Of good omen; indicating future success. |
| austere | Severely simple, unornamented, strictly plain, forbiddingly stern. |
| autocratic | Having absolute, unchecked power; dictatorial. |
| automaton | Mechanism that follows precise sequences of instructions; a formal system. |
| auxiliary | Helping, supporting; additional or subsidiary. |
| avarice | Excessive or inordinate desire of gain; greed for wealth; cupidity |
| aver | To assert the truth of; affirm with confidence; declare in a positive manner; justify. |
| aversion | Strong dislike; opposition, antipathy, disinclination, reluctance. |
| avert | To turn aside or away; to prevent. |
| aviary | A house, enclosure, large cage, or other place for keeping birds confined; a bird house. |
| avid | Enthusiastic; passionate; longing eagerly; eager; greedy. |
| avocation | Secondary or minor occupation. |
| avow | To declare openly, boldly, as something believed to be right; to own, acknowledge or confess frankly. |
| avuncular | Like an uncle. |
| awl | A pointed tool for piercing. |
| awry | Oblique, crooked; askew; perverse, improper. |
| azure | Sky blue. |
| babble | Idle talk; senseless prattle; gabble; twaddle; inarticulate speech; a sound like flowing water. |
| bacchanalian | Of or pertaining to the festival of Bacchus; given to reveling and drunkenness. |
| badinage | Teasing conversion; playful raillery; banter. |
| bait | To intentionally harass, tease; attract, entice. |
| baleful | Portending evil; ominous; having a malign influence; deadly. |
| balk | To stop, check, block, foil, refuse suddenly; a ridge or beam. |
| balmy | Soothing, fragrant, mild, pleasant. |
| banal | Predictable, boring, or cliched; common, hackneyed, insipid, stale, tired, prosaic, vapid. |
| bandy | To use or pass about casually, as a name; to exchange. |
| baneful | Causing harm or ruin; pernicious; destructive. |
| baroque | Ornate; intricate; embellished; decorated; laden with detail. |
| barrage | An artificial obstruction, such as a dam, in a river; a concentrated discharge of projectile weapons; an overwhelming outburst of words, especially of criticism. |
| barren | Of poor fertility, infertile; sterile; bleak. |
| bastion | A stronghold; one who strongly defends some principle. |
| bathetic | Possessing insincere or excessive pathos; |
| bawdy | Obscene, unchaste, filthy; of rudely humorous sexual nature. |
| beatific | Blessed; blissful; heavenly. |
| beatify | To make blissful; to bless or ascribe a virtue to. |
| beatitude | Supreme, utmost bliss; blessedness; happiness. |
| bedizen | To ornament something in showy, tasteless, or gaudy finery. |
| beholden | Owing something to another; indebted, bound, obligated. |
| beleaguer | To surround with troops; besiege; vex, harass, or beset. |
| belie | to give a false representation of, to misrepresent; to contradict, to show (something) to be false. |
| bellicose | Belligerent; pugnacious; warlike; hostile. |
| belligerent | Of or pertaining to war; engaged in warfare; warring; antagonistic, bellicose, combative, pugnacious, quarrelsome, truculent. |
| benign | Kind; gentle; mild. Not malign or malignant. |
| benison | A blessing; beatitude, benediction. |
| berate | To rate or chide vehemently; to scold or lecture; to reprehend. |
| bereft | Deprived of, lacking, stripped of, robbed of; pained by the loss of someone. |
| besmirch | To make dirty or soiled; tarnish, especially someone's reputation; debase. |
| bevy | A large group; bunch, pack, band, troop. |
| bilk | To cheat or defraud; beat, gyp, overreach, swindle. |
| blandishment | Flattering speech or actions designed to persuade or influence. |
| blithe | Joyful, cheerful, or without concern; carefree, careless, merry. |
| bluff | An expression of self-confidence for the purpose of intimidation; braggadocio. |
| bolster | To support or prop up; brace, buttress, stay, sustain, underpinning, uphold. |
| bonhomie | Good-natured geniality; atmosphere of good cheer. |
| boor | Crude person lacking manners; oaf, clod, lout, vulgarian, rude, uncultured, insensitive. |
| bowdlerize | To remove parts of a work considered to be offensive; expurgate, censor; after Thomas Bowdler. |
| braggadocio | A braggart; empty boasting. |
| braggart | Someone who boasts. |
| brevity | The quality of being brief in duration; succinctness, conciseness. |
| brook | To tolerate; a small body of running water. |
| burgeon | To grow or expand; swell to the point of bursting; bud, bloom, flourish, prosper, thrive. |
| burlesque | A derisive art form that mocks by imitation or parody; a variety adult entertainment show, usually including titillation such as striptease. |
| burnish | To make smooth or shiny by rubbing; polish, shine, buff. |
| buttress | Anything that serves to support something; a prop. |
| cabal | A secret group seeking to overturn something; coterie, circle, clan, clique, mafia, ring. |
| cacophony | A harsh, jarring noise; chaos, clamor, din, noise. |
| callow | Immature, lacking in life experience; lacking color; shallow or weak-willed. |
| canard | A lie or false rumor. |
| candid | Impartial and honest; direct, frank, sincere, forthright. |
| caprice | A whim; an impulsive, seemingly unmotivated notion or action. |
| capricious | Impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim; fickle; whimsical; arbitrary. |
| castigate | To punish or criticize harshly; admonish, rebuke, reprimand, reprove, upbraid. |
| catholic | Universal, broad, comprehensive; extensive, general. |
| celerity | Speed. |
| chary | Cautious, wary, careful, shy; sparing, ungenerous. |
| chicanery | Deception by use of trickery or subterfuge; a false argument; artifice, deception, dishonesty, sophistry, underhandedness. |
| chimeric | Fantastically improbable; unrealistic; of or related to a chimera. |
| circlet | A small circle; a crown without arches or a covering. |
| circumspect | Cautious; aware of potential consequences; prudent, mindful, solicitous, wary. |
| clarion | Loud and clear; a medieval brass instrument, related to the trumpet, or its sound. |
| coeval | Existing during the same era, age, time period; contemporary. |
| cogitate | To meditate, ponder, think deeply; consider, devise. |
| collation | Bringing together, collecting or gathering. |
| colligate | To formally link or connect together logically. |
| collusion | Conspiracy, collaboration, or complicity; intrigue, machination, connivance. |
| commensurate | Equal in extent; proportionate. |
| complaisance | Tending to comply; obliging; willing to please; amiable; agreeable. |
| complaisant | Willing to do what pleases others; obliging; compliant. [Distinct from homophone: "complacent."] |
| conceit | Overly high self-esteem; vain pride; hubris; a whimsical idea, notion, thought, extravagant metaphor. |
| conclave | A prive, confidential or secret meeting. |
| consort | The spouse of a monarch; a partnership or association. |
| contagion | The agent that causes a contagious disease, such as a bacterium or a virus. |
| contemn | To view with contempt; despise. |
| contrite | Filled with deep sorrow for wrongdoing; penitent, apologetic, regretful, remorseful. |
| convoluted | Intricate, complicated; byzantine, complex, elaborate, perplexing. |
| corroborate | To support with evidence; authenticate, back, buttress, confirm, substantiate, validate, verify. |
| cosset | To treat with great care; overly indulge; pamper, spoil. |
| coterie | An intimate group of persons with a similar purpose; clique, set. |
| craven | Lacking courage, cowardly; spineless, timid, fainthearted. |
| cupidity | Greed; avarice, covetousness, rapacity. |
| cygnet | A young swan. |
| cynosure | That which serves to guide or direct; something that is the center of attention; an object that serves as a focal point of attraction and admiration. |
| debutante | A young woman making formal debut in society; maiden. |
| declivity | Downward slope; decline, descent, slant. |
| décolleté | Having a low-cut neck line. |
| decorous | Proper, tasteful, socially correct; appropriate, courteous, polite, comme il faut. |
| decorum | Appropriate behavior or conduct; propriety, decency, etiquette. |
| deference | Courteous regard for another’s wish; respect, courtesy, honor, obeisance, reverence, veneration. |
| deluge | A torrential rain; to overwhelm or overrun; inundate. |
| demagogue | An orator or leader who gains favor by appealing to emotion or o prejudice; agitator. |
| demoniac | Of or pertaining to demons; demonic, fiendish; possessed by a demon. |
| demotic | Of or relating to the common people; popular. |
| denizen | Inhabitant or resident; regular visitor. |
| depredation | An act of consuming agricultural resources (crops, livestock), especially as plunder; a raid or predatory attack |
| dereliction | Willful neglect of one's duty; the act of abandoning something, or the state of being abandoned |
| deride | To speak of or treat with contempt; mock; ridicule, gibe, jeer, scoff, sneer, taunt. |
| descry | To discover by looking carefully; detect. |
| diadem | A royal crown. |
| diaphanous | Allowing light to show through; delicate, gauzy, sheer, tenuous, translucent. |
| diatribe | An abusive, condemnatory speech; invective, tirade, jeremiad, fulmination, harangue. |
| dictum | An authoritative statement; adage, apothegm, aphorism, decree, edict, maxim. |
| dilate | To expand or cause to be expanded; to speak or write at length, adding details and clarifying meaning. |
| dilatory | Intended to cause delay; dragging, flagging. |
| dint | Means, way, agency. |
| dirge | A funeral hymn or mournful speech; lament, elegy. |
| disabuse | To correct a false impression; undeceive; set right. |
| disaffected | Resentful and rebellious, especially against authority; disloyal, antagonistic, seditious. |
| discrete | Individually distinct, separate, unconnected, non-continuous. |
| disenfranchise | To deprive of a civil right. |
| disparate | Essentially different, entirely unlike; divergent, diverse, variant. |
| disputatious | Argumentative, fond of arguing; of or relating to something that is in question as to its value or intent; contentious. |
| dissemble | To present a false appearance; to disguise one's true intentions or character; act, affect, camouflage, disguise, pose, sham. |
| dissent | To disagree or withhold assent; a difference of opinion; protest, objection, resistance. |
| divestiture | The sale, liquidation, or spinoff of a corporate division or subsidiary. |
| divulge | To make known something private or secret; disclose, reveal, expose. |
| docket | A calendar of cases awaiting action in a court; a list of things to be done; an agenda. |
| doctrinaire | Unable to compromise; dogmatic, unyielding, dictatorial. |
| doggerel | Drivel, nonsense; comic verse, usually irregular in measure. |
| dogmatic | Dictatorial in opinion; authoritarian, arbitrary, doctrinal, imperious, domineering. |
| droll | Amusing in a wry, subtle way; funny, entertaining, witty. |
| duplicity | Intentional or deliberate deception; double dealing; hypocrisy. |
| dyslogistic | Expressing censure or disapproval. Opposite of eulogistic. |
| eclectic | Selecting from or composed of elements drawn from various sources; broad, selective, catholic. |
| edify | To instruct morally and spiritually; educate, enlighten, guide, teach. |
| efficacy | Effectiveness; vigor, strength, force, dynamism, efficiency, productiveness, proficiency. |
| effigy | Likeness of a person, stuffed doll; dummy, figure, image. |
| effrontery | Impudence, boldness; audacity; brashness; gall; nerve; presumption; temerity. |
| egress | An exit or way out; the process of exiting or leaving. Opposite of ingress. |
| elegy | A speech, poem, song expressing sorrow; dirge, lament. |
| elucidate | To make clear; to clarify; to shed light upon; to explain, enlighten, explicate, illuminate. |
| emblazon | To adorn with prominent markings; to draw, inscribe; to celebrate or extol as with deeds or merit. |
| encomium | Warm praise, especially a formal expression of such; tribute, salutation, eulogy, panegyric. |
| enduring | To continue or carry on with something, despite obstacles or hardships; to last. |
| enervate | To reduce strength; debilitate, sap, weaken, enfeeble, unnerve. |
| entreat | To make an earnest petition or request; importune, supplicate, beseech; to prevail upon by prayer or solicitation; persuade. |
| epicure | Person with refined taste in food and drink; connissuer, gastronomist, gourmand. |
| erratic | Irregular, wandering, and unpredictable; capricious, irresolute, whimsical, inconstant. |
| erudite | Learned, scholarly, with emphasis on knowledge gained from books; scholastic. |
| eschew | To avoid; to shun; applied to the avoidance or shunning of an idea, concept, or other intangible. |
| esoteric | Understood only by a few; related to concepts that are highly theoretical, without obvious practical application; abstruse, obscure. |
| espouse | To accept, support, adopt, take on as one’s own; to become married to. |
| estimable | Admirable; commendable, laudable, praiseworthy, venerable, worthy. |
| ethos | The character or fundamental values of a group; culture, philosophy, ethic. |
| eulogistic | Praising highly is speech or writing; of or pertaining to a eulogy; meliorative. |
| eulogy | An oration to honor a deceased person, usually at a funeral; the act of praising, speaking highly, commending; panegyric. |
| euphemism | A word or phrase used to replace one that is considered distasteful. |
| euphony | Pleasant, harmonious sound; melody, music, sweetness. Opposite of Cacophony. |
| euthanasia | The practice of killing a human being or animal for humane reasons; an easy death. |
| exacerbate | To make worse; aggravate, irritate, intensify, provoke, annoy. |
| exculpate | To free from blame or guilt; vindicate, exonerate, acquit. |
| exegesis | An explanation or critical interpretation of a religious text. |
| exigency | Urgent requirements, pressing needs (often used in the plural). |
| exonerate | To free from accusation or blame; acquit; to free from an obligation, responsibility or task. |
| exorbitant | Exceeding proper limits; extravagant; excessive or unduly high, as a fee or interest rate. |
| explicate | To explain meticulously or in great detail; to elucidate; to analyze or interpret. |
| exploit | A heroic action, achievement, or deed; to use for one's own advantage; to use. |
| exponent | One who champions or advocates; supporter, representative, proponent. |
| expurgate | To censor; sanitize, cut, purge, bowdlerize. |
| exscind | To cut out. |
| extant | Still in existence; currently existing; not having disappeared; still alive; not extinct. |
| factotum | A person having many diverse activities or responsibilities; a general servant; handyman. |
| fallacious | Characterized by fallacy; false or mistaken; deceptive or misleading. |
| fallow | Inactive; undeveloped; uncultivated, as of land. |
| falter | To waver or be unsteady; to stammer; to stumble; to hesitate or be uncertain. |
| fanatical | Filled with unquestioned devotion to a cause; extremist, zealous, frenzied, fiery. |
| fancied | Imagined, unreal; desired. |
| faneant | Shiftless, lazy, work-shy. |
| farce | A style of humor marked by broad improbabilities with little regard to regularity or method; sarcasm; broad comedy; mockery. |
| fatuous | Stupid; foolishly self-satisfied; inane, ludicrous, preposterous, silly. |
| febrile | Feverish, or having a high temperature; full of nervous energy. |
| feckless | Lacking purpose, careless; without skill, ineffective, incompetent. |
| fecundity | Fertility; fruitfulness; the ability to cause growth. |
| feint | A movement made to confuse an opponent; that which is feigned; an assumed or false appearance; a pretense, stratagem, or fetch. |
| felicitous | Well-fitting, happening at the right time; well-chosen; apropos, appropriate, opportune, apt. |
| felicity | Happiness; apt and pleasing; appropriateness. |
| fell | Having an extremely cruel or irrational trait; deadly; to cut, knock, bring down. |
| felon | A person convicted of a serious criminal offense. |
| ferment | To stir up, agitate, cause unrest; to react, brew, catalyze, foment. |
| ferocity | Marked by extreme and violent energy; extreme or intense; savage cruelty; fierceness; furiousness; fury; vehemence; wildness. |
| ferret | To uncover and bring to light by searching; to drive or hunt out of hiding |
| fervid | Intensely hot, emotional, or zealous; extremely hot; very passionate; fervent, ardent. |
| fervor | An intense, heated emotion; passionate enthusiasm; passion, ardor. |
| fester | To become septic, rotten; to worsen from lack of attention; rankle, resentment. |
| fete | A festival open to the public, the proceeds from which are often given to charity; a feast, celebration, or carnival. |
| fetid | Foul-smelling; malodorous. |
| fetter | To shackle, bind, restrain, impede; to hamper; anything that restricts or restrains in any way. |
| feud | A state of long-standing mutual hostility. |
| fiat | An authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree; a command |
| fidelity | Faithfulness, loyalty; accuracy, or exact correspondence to some input or given. |
| fidget | To wiggle or twitch; to move around nervously, idly, restlessly. |
| figurehead | A carved figure on the prow of a ship; someone in a nominal position of leadership who has no actual power; a front. |
| filch | To steal. |
| filial | Pertaining to son or daughter; of generations descending from a specific previous one. |
| filibuster | Delaying tactics, especially long, often irrelevant speeches given in order to delay progress or block legislation. |
| filigree | A delicate and intricate ornamentation made from twisted metal wire. |
| firebrand | An argumentative troublemaker or revolutionary; one who agitates against the current situation; hothead; agitator. |
| flak | Criticism; anti-aircraft artillery. |
| florid | Elaborately ornate; flowery, embellished, baroque, rococo; red in color. |
| foil | Defeat, frustrate, prevent, counter; contrast. |
| foment | To arouse or incite; agitate, inflame, instigate, kindle. |
| ford | A shallow place where a a body of water can be crossed on foot; to cross a body of water on foot; traverse, wade. |
| foreman | The member of a jury who presides over it and speaks on its behalf; leader of a work crew. |
| fortuitous | Happening by chance, fortunate; lucky, propitious, haphazard. |
| fragile | Easily broken or destroyed; often of subtle or intricate structure. |
| furtive | Stealthy or secretive; clandestine, covert, shifty, surreptitious, underhand. |
| gambol | To dance, skip, leap playfully; caper, cavort, frolic, rollick, romp. |
| gaudy | Very showy or ornamented; excessive, or in a tasteless or vulgar manner. |
| glower | To glare or stare angrily and intensely; scowl, frown. |
| grave | Of importance; momentous; weighty; influential; sedate; serious; solemn; staid; weighty. |
| gregarious | Outgoing, sociable; congenial, affable, communicative. |
| grievous | Causing grief or sorrow; series and distressing; dire, dolorous, grave, mournful. |
| guile | Deceit or trickery; artifice, duplicity, chicanery, cunning. |
| gust | A strong, abrupt rush of wind; any rush or outburst. |
| gymnosperm | A coniferous plant. |
| hapless | Unfortunate, having bad luck; ill-fated, unlucky, jinxed. |
| heterogeneous | Diverse in kind or nature; composed of diverse parts; assorted, mixed, varied. |
| hoary | White with age; ancient, venerable, antique. |
| hoi polloi | The masses; Greek for 'the many'. |
| husband | To manage economically, use sparingly; conserve. |
| hyperbole | Exaggeration for effect; embellishment, overstatement, inflation. |
| ichthyology | The study of fish. |
| iconoclast | One who attacks popular beliefs or traditions; rebel, nonconformist, revolutionary, maverick. |
| idiosyncrasy | A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group; quirk, mannerism, foible. |
| idolatry | Blind or excessive devotion to something; worship of idols. |
| idyll | A short poem or prose piece depicting a rural or pastoral scene, usually in idealized terms; a carefree or romantic interlude. |
| ignoble | Having low moral standards; not noble in character; lowly; vulgar; common; undignified. |
| ignominious | Marked by shame or disgrace; dishonorable, undignified, degrading. |
| impecunious | Poor; indigent, destitute, impoverished. |
| impetuous | Quick to act without thinking; impulsive, rash, reckless, spontaneous. |
| impious | Not devout; profane, immoral, irreverent. |
| imprecation | A curse; damnation. |
| impugn | To call into question; challenge, dispute, contradict. |
| incarnadine | Blood-red in color; reddened; ruddy. |
| inchoate | Not fully formed; amorphous, elementary, immature, rudimentary, chaotic, confused, incoherent. |
| inculcate | To teach, impress in the mind; implant, indoctrinate, instill, preach. |
| indolent | Habitually lazy or idle; faneant, languid, slothful, sluggish. |
| ineluctable | Impossible to avoid or escape; inescapable, irresistible; inevitable. |
| inerrancy | Freedom from error. |
| inexorable | Unyielding; relentless, implacable, adamant, obdurate. |
| ingrate | ungrateful person; cad, churl. |
| ingratiate | To seek to please another to gain favor or advantage; flatter, suck up. |
| inimical | Adverse; hostile, unfriendly, harmful, detrimental. |
| inquest | An investigation or inquiry; probe, quest, research. |
| insipid | Flavorless; flat; lacking character or definition; cloyingly sweet or sentimental; dull, bland, vapid. |
| interregnum | A period between two reigns; interval. |
| intractable | Not easily manipulated; stubborn, unyielding, unruly. |
| intrepid | Fearless; brave, courageous. |
| inundate | To overwhelm; to cover with water; deluge; drown; engulf; flood; submerge. |
| invective | Abusive language; denunciation, revilement, vituperation. |
| investiture | Ceremony conferring authority; inauguration, induction, initiation, installment. |
| invidious | Envious, obnoxious, or offensive; likely to promote ill-will; insulting, discriminatory, jaundiced, resentful. |
| irascible | Irritable, easily angered; cantankerous, ornery, testy. |
| isthmus | A narrow strip of land, bordered on both sides by water, and connecting two larger landmasses. |
| jabber | To talk rapidly, indistinctly, or unintelligibly; to utter gibberish or nonsense. |
| jettison | To discard, as something encumbering or unneeded; eject,dump. |
| jibe | A facetious or insulting remark; a jeer, taunt, barb. |
| jingoism | Belligerent nationalism; chauvinism. |
| jocular | Playful; humorous, amusing, comical. |
| judicious | Sound in judgement; circumspect, prudent, sagacious, sapient. |
| juncture | A place where things join, a junction; a critical moment in time; crossroads, confluence, convergence. |
| junket | A feast, banquet, picnic; a trip, meeting, errand, especially one taken for pleasure by an official at public expense. |
| ken | Range of knowledge. |
| kinetic | Relating to motion; characterized by movement; active, dynamic, mobile. |
| knell | The sound of a bell, especially to indicate a funeral, disaster, failure; toll, peal, chime. |
| knoll | A small mound or rounded hill. Variant of knell. |
| kudos | Fame, glory, honor; acclaim, encomium, praise, homage. |
| labile | Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize; apt or likely to change; unstable. |
| lachrymose | Pertaining to tears; tearful, weeping. |
| laconic | Using few words; briefing and to the point; concise, curt, pithy, terse, taciturn. |
| lapidary | Relating to precious stones or the art of cutting them. |
| larceny | The theft of property; robbery, stealing. |
| largess | Generous giving; benevolence, boon, compliment, favor. |
| lascivious | Driven by lust; wanton, lewd. |
| lassitude | A state of diminished energy; fatigue, languor, weariness, tiredness. |
| latent | Present but not yet apparent, active, or developed; concealed, dormant, inert, potential, quiescent. |
| lavish | Extremely generous of extravagant; giving unsparingly; opulent, luxuriant, profuse, superabundant. |
| legerdemain | Trickery or sleight of hand; chicanery, conjuring. |
| levity | An inappropriate lack of seriousness; frivolity, humor, amusement. |
| libertine | A free thinker, usually used disparagingly; one without moral restraint; hedonist, debauched person, roué. |
| libidinous | Having lustful desires; characterized by lewdness; sensual, lascivious. |
| libretto | The text of a dramatic musical work, such as an opera. |
| licentious | Lacking restraint, or ignoring societal standards, particularly in sexual conduct; amoral, incontinent. |
| limpid | Clear, transparent; lucid; pellucid; serene. |
| lionize | To treat as a celebrity; honor, ply, regail. |
| lissome | Easily flexed; limber, agile, lithe, graceful. |
| livid | Discolored from a bruise, black and blue; enraged, furious, reddened, insulted; pale, ashen, pallid. |
| loquacious | Talkative; effusive, garrulous, verbose. |
| lugubrious | Sorrowful, mournful; dismal, gloomy, somber, woeful, funeral. |
| macerate | To soften or separate something into pieces by means of immersing it in liquid. |
| maelstrom | Whirlpool, turmoil; agitated state of mind; Charybdis, eddy, turbulence. |
| magisterial | Of or relating to a magister; commanding, authoritative, domineering, dictatorial. |
| malady | Any ailment or disease of the human body; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder. |
| malapropism | The blundering use of an inappropriate word or expression in place of a similar sounding one. |
| malediction | A curse; evil speech. |
| malign | Evil or malignant; malevolent; to make defamatory statements about someone or something. |
| malison | A curse; malediction. |
| mantic | Prophetic; of or relating to divination and prophecy. |
| martinet | Strict disciplinarian; one who rigidly follows rules; stickler, tyrant, dictator. |
| maudlin | Overly sentimental; bathetic; mawkish; saccharine; weepy. |
| mawkish | Overly sentimental; nauseating or insipid in taste or smell. |
| mellifluous | Sweet, smooth, flowing; often used of a person's voice, tone or writing style; melodious. |
| mendacious | Dishonest; deceitful, false, lying, untruthful. |
| mendicant | Panhandler, beggar, pauper. |
| mercurial | Quick, shrewd, and unpredictable; capricious, clever, volatile, fickle, whimsical. |
| meretricious | Attractive on the surface but of little value; flashy, gaudy, tawdry, insincere. |
| mesmerize | To hypnotize; enchant. |
| metaphor | An figure of speech that creates an implicit, non-literal comparison, e.g. 'sea of troubles'. |
| mete | To measure; dispense, measure (out), allot, especially punishment, reward etc. |
| militate | To operate against; influence, affect, change. |
| miscellaneous | Consisting of a variety of ingredients or parts; having diverse characteristics; sundry, various. |
| missive | A letter or message. |
| moribund | Near death; stagnant, obsolete, declining; without force or vitality. |
| multifarious | Diverse; motley, legion, varied, assorted. |
| munificent | Very generous; liberal, lavish, unsparing. |
| mutable | Capable of or subject to change or alteration; prone to frequent change. |
| myriad | Constituting a very large, indefinite number; innumerable; composed of numerous diverse elements or facets. |
| nadir | Lowest point. Opposite of Zenith. |
| naiveté | Lack of sophistication, experience, judgement or worldliness; artlessness; gullibility; credulity. |
| nascent | Coming into existence; incipient, emerging, embryonic, inchoate. |
| natation | The act or process of swimming. |
| neologism | New word or expression; slang. |
| neophyte | Novice; beginner, apprentice, greenhorn, tyro. |
| nettle | To irritate; annoy, vex. |
| noisome | Stinking; putrid, disgusting, foul, malodorous. |
| nominal | Existing in name only; minimal, negligible, trifling, titular. |
| nonplus | To perplex or bewilder; to confound, flummox; surprise. |
| nostrum | A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects. |
| noxious | Unpleasant and possibly also harmful, typically in reference to odorous fumes |
| nuance | A subtle expression of meaning or quality; minor distinction; gradation, subtlety, tone. |
| nubile | Of an age suitable for marriage; marriageable; attractive. |
| nugatory | Trivial, trifling or of little importance; ineffective, invalid or futile. |
| numismatics | Coin collecting. |
| nuptial | Of or pertaining to wedding and marriage; capable or characteristic of breeding. |
| obdurate | Hardened, resistant to persuasion; inflexible, intransigent, recalcitrant, tenacious, unyielding. |
| obloquy | Abusive language; disgrace suffered from abusive language; defamation, insult, slander, disgrace, infamy. |
| obtain | To get hold of; gain possession of, procure, acquire; to exist or be the case; to hold true, be in force, or last. |
| obviate | To prevent, or make unnecessary; preclude, prohibit, forestall. |
| odious | Arousing or meriting strong dislike, aversion, or intense displeasure; repulsive; hateful; vile. |
| odium | Hatred, dislike, detestation; the quality that provokes hatred; offensiveness. |
| odor | Any smell, whether fragrant or offensive, scent, perfume; strong, pervasive quality; esteem, repute. |
| odoriferous | Giving off an odor. |
| officious | Offensively intrusive or interfering; meddlesome, eager, intrusive, pushy. |
| ominous | Foreboding misfortune or evil; having significance as an omen; menacing, threatening. |
| onerous | Burdensome; troublesome and oppressive; arduous, difficult, exacting, laborious, trying. |
| opaqueness | Preventing passage of light; not transparent; obscure. |
| opine | To express an opinion; point out, voice. |
| opprobrium | Public disgrace; disrepute; ignominy; infamy, obloquy. |
| ornithology | The scientific study of birds. |
| overweening | Unduly confident, arrogant, presumptuous, conceited; exaggerated, excessive, overbearing. |
| paean | Any loud and joyous song; a song of triumph; an expression of praise. |
| palatial | Relating to a palace; magnificent; grand; stately |
| panegyric | A formal speech or opus of public praise; homage; eulogy; encomium. |
| panoply | Impressive array; display; fanfare; parade; pomp; shine; show. |
| paradox | a contradiction or dilemma; ambiguity, incongruity. |
| parry | To ward off or deflect; avoid, evade, repel. |
| pastiche | A work imitating another work of literature, music, arts; medley, spoof. |
| pastoral | Of or pertaining to shepherds; relating to rural life; relating to the care of souls, or to the pastor of a church. |
| patent | Explicit and obvious; open to the public to read. |
| pathological | Pertaining to pathology, disease; relating to or caused by a physical or mental disorder. |
| pathos | That quality which which awakens tender emotions, such as pity, sorrow; contagious warmth of feeling, action, or expression. |
| patina | The color or incrustation which age and wear give to objects; green crust on bronze; tone slowly taken by varnished paintings. |
| patois | A local or provincial dialect; Creole. |
| patrician | Of or pertaining to a person of high birth; noble, privileged, not plebeian. |
| patron | A supporter, customer, sponsor. |
| paucity | Fewness in number; a small number or amount; meagerness; dearth; scantiness; scarcity. |
| peccadillo | A small flaw, offense, sin; a weakness in one's character; lapse, failing, fault, misstep. |
| pecuniary | Of, or relating to, money; monetary. |
| pedant | One who is overly concerned with formal rules, technicalities, and trivial points of learning. |
| pedantic | Being overly concerned with formal rules and trivial points; showing off one’s knowledge, often in a boring manner. |
| pedestrian | Ordinary, dull, unimaginative; everyday; unexceptional, unremarkable, commonplace. |
| peerless | Having no equal, incomparable. |
| pejorative | Negative in connotation; disparaging, belittling, derogatory, dyslogistic. |
| pellucid | Transparent; easily understood; clear; limpid. |
| pensive | Having the appearance of deep, often melancholic, thinking; looking thoughtful, especially from sadness. |
| penury | Severe poverty; oppressive lack of resources; destitution, impoverishment. |
| perfidious | Treacherous, disloyal, faithless. |
| perfunctory | Done in a routine way; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; indifferent, superficial, not thorough. |
| peripatetic | Wandering, esp on foot; itinerant; nomadic; wayfaring. |
| permeate | To penetrate and pass through without causing rupture or displacement; pervade, suffuse, imbue, infuse. |
| peruse | To look over casually; to skim; to read with care. |
| pervade | To permeate; imbue, infuse, penetrate, suffuse. |
| perverse | Willfully erring; obstinately in the wrong; stubbornly wayward; intractable; vexing; wicked; contrary. |
| pest | An annoying, harmful, often destructive creature; an annoying person. |
| pestilential | Producing pestilence or plague; pestilent; baneful. |
| petrify | To produce rigidness akin to stone; to immobilize with fright. |
| phalanx | A compact or organized body of people or things; legion, mass, formation. |
| philistine | Lacking in appreciation for art or culture; narrow minded; exclusively interested in material gain; boor, materialist. |
| philology | The humanistic study of historical linguistics. |
| phlegmatic | Calm and unemotional, indifferent, impassive, apathetic, sluggish. |
| phoenix | A symbol of rebirth or immortality; anything that is reborn after apparently being destroyed. |
| phylum | A rank in the classification of organisms, below kingdom and above class; a division. |
| physiognomy | The general appearance or aspect of a thing; the face or countenance. |
| physiological | Pertaining to the science of the functions of life and of the physical and chemical phenomena involved. |
| pied | Decorated or colored in blotches; variegated. |
| pith | The spongy substance in the center of the stems of many plants; the essential or vital part of an idea, theory, thing; core, marrow, essence, substance. |
| plastic | Able to be molded, altered, or bent; adaptable, ductile, malleable, pliant. |
| pleonastic | Using an excessive number of words, especially using different words having the same meaning; redundant; "killed it dead." |
| plethora | Excess; glut, overabundance, surfeit. |
| polemic | Controversy; argument, denunciation, refutation. |
| politic | Shrewd and practical; diplomatic; tactful. |
| posit | To assume as real or conceded; propose as an explanation; suggest. |
| posse | A group of people summoned to help law enforcement; a group of associates. |
| pragmatic | Useful in practice, not just theory; functional, practical, utilitarian, realistic. |
| prate | To talk much and to little purpose; be loquacious, speak foolishly, chatter, babble. |
| precept | A rule or principle, especially one governing personal conduct. |
| precipitate | To bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation; abrupt, hasty, ill-considered, impetuous, rash, reckless. |
| precis | A short summary of facts; abstract, overview, dossier. |
| preclude | To remove the possibility of; rule out; prevent or exclude. |
| precocious | Characterized by exceptionally early development or maturity. |
| predilection | Condition of favoring or liking; tendency towards, proclivity, predisposition. |
| prefatory | Introductory, preliminary, serving as a prelude or preface. |
| prevaricate | To lie or deviate from the truth; equivocate; perjure. |
| prim | Very precise and formal; prudish, overly correct in behavior, straight-laced. |
| primogeniture | Seniority by birth; an exclusive right of inheritance belonging to the eldest son. |
| probity | Complete honesty and integrity; virtue, rectitude, uprightness. |
| proclivity | A natural inclination or predisposition; tendency, bias, leaning, penchant, predilection, prejudice, propensity. |
| prodigal | Lavish; wasteful; extravagant; profligate. |
| profligate | Corrupt or degenerate; dissolute, wasteful, extravagant, improvident, prodigal. |
| progenitor | Any of a person's direct ancestors; a predecessor of something, especially if also a precursor or model. |
| propitiate | To conciliate or appease; mollify, pacify, placate. |
| propriety | Obeying customs and rules; decency, decorum, modesty, appropriateness. |
| provoke | To incite to anger or resentment; harass, molest, goad; to bring about deliberately; induce, elicit, evoke, cause, stimulate. |
| prudence | Wisdom, caution, or restraint; astuteness, circumspection, judiciousness, discretion. |
| prurient | Arousing or appealing to sexual desire; lustful, lascivious. |
| puerile | Childish or immature; juvenile, jejune, silly, infantile. |
| pugilist | Professional boxer. |
| punctilious | Strictly attentive to detail; meticulous or fastidious, particularly to codes or conventions; precise or scrupulous; finicky, nitpicky. |
| pusillanimous | Lacking courage; cowardly, fainthearted, timid, craven. |
| qualified | Meeting the standards, requirements, and training for a position; restricted or limited by conditions. |
| quibble | A trivial or minor complaint, objection or argument; To complain or argue in such a manner. |
| quiescent | Dormant, latent; at rest, motionless. |
| raconteur | A witty skillful storyteller; monologist. |
| ratiocination | The activity or process of reasoning; thought or reasoning that is exact, valid and rational; a proposition arrived at by such thought. |
| rebus | A kind of word puzzle which uses pictures to represent words or parts of words. |
| recreant | Unfaithful or disloyal to a cause; a faithless or disloyal person, a coward. |
| redoubtable | Eliciting respect or fear; imposing; awe-inspiring; formidable. |
| redress | Relief for wrong or injury; amends, reparation, restitution, quittance, indemnity. |
| refractory | Obstinate, unruly, stubborn, unmanageable; strongly opposed to something; incapable of registering a reaction or stimulus. |
| rejoinder | Response; retort, riposte, come-back. |
| render | To cause to become; to interpret; to deliver, give, provide; to secretly capture and turn over. |
| renowned | Famous, celebrated, or well-known. |
| repast | A meal. |
| repine | To regret; to complain; to be low spirited or fretful. |
| replete | Abundantly supplied, complete; full, abounding. |
| repose | Relaxation; leisure, calmness, tranquility. |
| repudiate | To reject validity; deny, disavow, disclaim, disown, renounce. |
| restive | Restlessly impatient, obstinately resisting control; agitated, anxious, fretful. |
| retroactive | Extending to a prior time or to prior conditions; ex post facto. |
| retrograde | Directed backwards, retreating; reverting especially inferior state, declining; inverse, reverse. |
| rider | Amendment or clause added to a legislative bill |
| rococo | Very highly ornamented; 18th century French artistic style of elaborate ornamentation. |
| roseate | Like the rose flower, pink, rosy; optimistic. |
| rostrum | A dais, pulpit, or other platform for a speaker, conductor, performer; the snout of a dolphin. |
| rote | Mechanical routine; a fixed, habitual, repetitive, or mechanical course of procedure; learning by this method. |
| rout | To roar; to bellow; to snort; to snore loudly; to defeat completely, forcing into disorderly retreat; to search or root in the ground, as a swine. |
| rubric | A heading or title highlighted in red; a title of a category or a class; an established rule, custom, guideline. |
| rue | To repent of or regret (some past action or event); to wish that a past action or event had not taken place. |
| ruffian | A scoundrel, rascal, or unprincipled, deceitful, brutal and unreliable person; rogue; scamp. |
| ruminate | To chew over; to meditate or reflect; mull over, ponder. |
| rumple | To make wrinkled. |
| runic | Of, pertaining to, or written using runes; mysterious. |
| rustic | Rural; bucolic, pastoral. |
| saccharine | Of or relating to saccharin or sugar; excessively sweet; syrupy; cloying. |
| sacrosanct | Most sacred, inviolable; holy; beyond alteration, criticism, or interference, especially due to religious sanction. |
| sagacious | Having keen discernment, judgment, farsightedness; shrewd, wise, astute, sage-like. |
| salacious | Promoting sexual desire or lust; lascivious or bawdy; obscene or lewd; lascivious, lustful, obscene. |
| salient | Worthy of note, pertinent or relevant; prominent, marked, outstanding. |
| sallow | Having a grayish, yellow-green hue; dirty, murky; sickly in color. |
| salubrious | Promoting health or well-being, especially related to air; wholesome, bracing, therapeutic, tonic. |
| salutary | Effecting or designed to effect an improvement; remedial: as advice; promoting good health; wholesome; curative. |
| sanctimonious | Making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious; self-righteous, phony. |
| sanction | An approval, by an authority, that makes something valid. A penalty or coercive measure, intended to ensure compliance, esp. one adopted by nations or an international body. |
| sanguinary | Eager for bloodshed; bloodthirsty; bloody, gory. |
| sanguine | Ruddy or rosy; cheerfully optimistic; confident, hopeful, positive. |
| sapient | Possessing wisdom and discernment. |
| sardonic | Scornfully mocking or cynical; disdainfully or ironically humorous; sarcastic, acerbic, caustic, satirical, snide. |
| sartorial | Of or relating to the quality of dress; to tailoring; vestiary. |
| sash | A decorative length of cloth worn as a broad belt or over the shoulder, often for ceremonial purposes; opening part of a window. |
| sate | To satisfy; fill up. |
| satiate | To fill to satisfaction or excess; glut, gorge, surfeit. |
| saturnine | Of or born under Saturn's influence; containing lead, or suffering from lead poisoning; gloomy, depressed, dull. |
| satyr | A lecherous man; a faun. |
| savant | A person of learning, scholar; a person extremely knowledgeable in one area, but deficient in others. |
| savor | To possess a particular taste, smell, distinctive quality; to appreciate, enjoy or relish something. |
| scad | A large number or quantity; a type of fish. |
| scent | A smell or odor; a perfume. |
| schism | A split or separation within a group or organization, typically caused by discord; a formal division or split within a religious body. |
| scintilla | A small spark or flash; a trace amount; iota, mote, speck. |
| scotch | Of Scottish origin; a surface cut or abrasion; to cut or score; to debunk or discredit an idea or rumor. |
| scourge | A persistent pest, illness, or source of trouble; a whip often of leather; to strike, as with a whip. |
| scribble | To write or draw carelessly, hurriedly. |
| scurrilous | Given to vulgar verbal abuse, foul-mouthed; (of language) coarse, vulgar, abusive, or slanderous. |
| scurry | To run away with quick light steps, to scamper. |
| sedition | Behavior that promotes rebellion or civil disorder against the state; conspiracy, insurrection, insubordination. |
| seemly | Proper, appropriate. |
| seine | A long net having floats attached at the top and weights at the bottom, used in shallow water for catching fish. |
| semblance | Likeness, similarity; seeming, outward appearance, guise, show; figure, form. |
| sententious | Using as few words as possible; pithy, concise, terse; tending to use trite aphorisms or maxims. |
| sentient | Capable of sensation, aware, conscious; intelligent, thinking, feeling, sensitive. |
| sequester | To separate from all external influence; isolate, segregate, seclude. |
| seraphic | Angelic; sweet, cherubic, heavenly. |
| sere | Without moisture, dry; the entire sequence of ecological communities successively occupying an area from the initial stage to the climax. |
| serendipity | An unsought, unintended, unexpected discovery or learning experience that happens by accident. |
| sermon | Religious discourse; a written or spoken address on a religious or moral matter; a lengthy speech of reproval. |
| servile | Of or pertaining to a slave; submissive or slavish. |
| sever | To cut free. |
| shallow | Having little depth; concerned with superficial matters; lacking interest or substance. |
| sham | A fake; an imitation that purports to be genuine; trick, hoax; a decorative cover for a pillow. |
| shard | A piece of broken glass or pottery, especially one found in an archaeological dig. |
| sheaf | Any collection of things bound together; a bundle. |
| shrew | Any of numerous small mouselike chiefly nocturnal mammals; an ill-tempered, nagging woman: a scold. |
| shunt | To divert, turn aside, re-direct. |
| shyster | Someone who acts in a disreputable, unethical or unscrupulous way, especially in the practice of law and politics, or a con artist. |
| sibylline | Of or pertaining to a sibyl or female oracle; prophetic, oracular, clairvoyant. |
| simian | Of or pertaining to apes; ape-like. |
| simile | A figure of speech in which unlike things are compared, generally using "like" or "as." |
| simper | To smile in a frivolous, self-conscious, often coy manner. |
| simulate | To model, replicate, duplicate the behavior, appearance or properties of. |
| sinecure | A well paid job or office with little responsibility. |
| skein | A length of thread or yarn wound in a loose long coil; something suggesting the coil of a skein; a complex tangle. |
| skiff | A small flat-bottomed open boat with a pointed bow and square stern; a boat small enough for sailing or rowing by one person. |
| skinflint | One who is excessively stingy or cautious with money; a tightwad; a miser. |
| skit | A short comic performance. |
| skittish | Easily scared; timid. |
| skullduggery | Activities intended to deceive; a con or hoax. |
| slack | Lax; not tense; not hard drawn; not firmly extended; weak; not holding fast. |
| slake | To become mixed with water; to quench, sate, satisfy. |
| sleeper | Something that achieves unexpected success, value, or importance after an interval of time; a saboteur who lives unobtrusively until activated by a prearranged signal. |
| sleight | Cunning, craft, artful practice; dexterity, skill. |
| slew | A large quantity; change of position; to rotate or turn something about its axis. |
| smolder | To burn with no flame and little smoke; to show signs of repressed anger or other strong emotion. |
| solecism | Error in the use of language, especially etiquette; any faux pas against behavioral norms; intentional use of grammar/spelling errors for effect. |
| solicitous | Anxious or concerned; marked by or given to anxious care, hovering attentiveness. |
| soliloquy | The act of a character speaking to himself so as to reveal his thoughts to the audience; written discourse of this form. |
| solstice | Either of two points when the sun is at its greatest distance from the celestial equator. |
| somatic | Of the body. |
| sonnet | A fixed verse form of Italian origin; a poem. |
| sophistry | An argument that seems plausible, but is fallacious or misleading, often deliberately; trickery, rhetoric. |
| sophomoric | Conceited and overconfident of knowledge but poorly informed and immature; overblown; affected. |
| soporific | Causing sleep or lethargy; hypnotic, somnolent, narcotic. |
| specious | Deceptively attractive; of questionable truth or merit; illusory, sophistic, spurious. |
| spurious | False, not authentic or genuine; illegitimate, fake, counterfeit. |
| squander | To waste, lavish, splurge. |
| staid | Serious, organized, and professional; always fixed in the same location; stationary; composed, regular, steady, sober. |
| stasis | A state of balance or equilibrium; standstill, inertia. |
| stickler | One who is extremely fussy or particular; one who insists on precision or correctness. |
| stilted | Stiff and artificially formal; supported by stilts. |
| stint | A period of time spent doing or being something; a spell; to be sparing, thrifty, stingy, mean. |
| stoic | Indifferent to pleasure or pain, impassive; of or related to Stoicism. |
| stolid | Unemotional, impassive; indifferent, phlegmatic, stoic, apathetic. |
| stratagem | A trick designed to deceive an opponent; trojan horse, artifice, feint, ruse, wile. |
| strut | To walk proudly or haughtily; to bulge out; a supporting bar. |
| stygian | Dark, gloomy; infernal, hellish, deathly; of the river Styx. |
| subaltern | Of a lower rank or position; inferior or secondary; subordinate. |
| subdue | To overcome or bring under control. |
| sublimate | To change from solid to gas; to purify or refine; to divert the primitive instinct into socially acceptable behavior. |
| sublime | Lofty or grand; exalted, glorious, magnificent, majestic, noble, resplendent. |
| suborn | To induce someone to commit an unlawful or malicious act, or to commit perjury. |
| substantiate | To verify something by supplying evidence; corroborate, authenticate; to give material form or substance to something; embody. |
| subsume | To include or contain under something else; encompass; in logic, to consider an occurrence as part of a principle or rule. |
| succor | Aid, assistance or relief given to one in distress; ministration. |
| sully | To soil, stain, tarnish; to dirty; to damage or corrupt, as a reputation. |
| summarily | Performed speedily and without formal ceremony; over a short period of time, briefly. |
| superannuated | Obsolete due to age; retired, discarded, disqualified due to age. |
| supercilious | Arrogantly superior; showing contemptuous indifference; haughty, condescending, patronizing, disdainful. |
| supererogatory | More than needed or demanded; pertaining to supererogation, or doing more than is required, especially with reference to good works in Roman Catholicism; superfluous. |
| superfluous | In excess of what is needed or required; excessive, extraneous, extra, pleonastic. |
| supplant | To replace by force; to take place of; displace, supersede. |
| suppliant | Entreating with humility; beseeching; one who pleads or requests earnestly. |
| supplicate | To petition humbly; pray, beg, plead. |
| sustain | To maintain (something), or keep it in existence; provide for or nourish; experience or suffer. |
| swarthy | Tawny, dusky, dark; dark-skinned; evil, malicious; weathered, rough. |
| swathe | A bandage, band; to bind with a swathe, band, bandage, or rollers. |
| swerve | To go out of a straight line; to bend; to turn aside or deviate to avoid impact. |
| swill | To drink greedily; kitchen waste, garbage. |
| sybarite | A person devoted to pleasure and luxury; hedonist, sensualist, voluptuary. |
| sycophant | A self-serving flatter; toady, bootlicker, yes-man. |
| syllogism | A subtle or deceptive piece of reasoning; a deductive inference in logic. |
| sylvan | Pertaining to the forest or woodlands; wooded. |
| symbiosis | A mutually beneficial relationship; cooperation, interdependence, association. |
| synoptic | Of, or relating to a synopsis; pertaining to or affording an overall view. |
| tacit | Done without using words; implicit, implied, unsaid, undeclared. |
| taciturn | Habitually silent; untalkative, reticent, laconic. |
| talon | A sharp, hooked claw of a bird of prey or other predatory animal. |
| tarnish | To discolor due to oxidation; to soil, sully, damage or compromise. |
| tautology | A redundant or repetitive use of words; a logical statement that is true for all values of its variables. |
| tellurian | Of, relating to, or inhabiting the Earth. |
| tendentious | Marked by a strong implicit point of view or tendency; partisan, biased. |
| terrene | Pertaining to the earth; earthly, terrestrial, worldly as opposed to heavenly. |
| terrestrial | Earthly; earthbound, commonplace, sublunary, tellurian, terrene. |
| thrall | One who is enslaved or mind-controlled; the state of being under another's control; enthall. |
| timorous | Fearful, afraid, timid. |
| tirade | A long, angry or violent speech; diatribe, obloquy, fulmination, revilement, harangue. |
| torpid | Apathetic, sluggish, or lethargic; unable to move or feel; dormant. |
| torpor | Extreme mental and physical sluggishness; languor, lethargy, lassitude, apathy. |
| torque | A turning or twisting force producing rotation about an axis. |
| transitory | Lasting for a brief time; ephemeral, fleeting, impermanent, evanescent, momentary. |
| travesty | An absurd or grotesque misrepresentation; a parody or stylistic imitation; caricature. |
| trenchant | Acute, sharp, or incisive; biting, caustic, cunning, keen; very effective and articulate. |
| turgid | Swollen from fluid; bloated, distended. |
| tyro | Beginner; novice, apprentice, neophyte, tenderfoot. |
| ulterior | Beyond what is obvious or evident; subsequent; situated beyond. |
| umbrage | Anger or annoyance caused by something offensive; doubt or suspicion; leaves that provide shade, as the foliage of trees. |
| unconscionable | Unfair or unjust; unscrupulous; dishonorable, indefensible. |
| uncouth | Rough, clumsy, awkward, unrefined, crude. |
| unction | A religious or ceremonial anointing; a smug, exaggerated use of language; smarminess. |
| unctuous | Insincerely and profusely polite; oily, slimy; rich, lush, concentrated. |
| undermine | Hinder, sabotage; to dig, tunnel, hollow out as if making a cave or opening. |
| undulate | To move or cause to move in a wavelike motion; fluctuate, oscillate. |
| unequivocal | Absolute or certain; categorical, clear, explicit, express, unambiguous. |
| unerring | Not missing the target; consistently accurate; infallible. |
| unfledged | Immature or inexperienced. |
| unguent | Any cream containing medicinal ingredients applied to the skin for therapeutic purposes; ointment, salve. |
| union jack | The flag of the United Kingdom. |
| unrequited | Not reciprocated. |
| upbraid | To criticize severely; reprove, rebuke, chide, exprobrate, blame, censure, condemn, reproach. |
| upshot | Outcome. |
| urbane | Socially refined and assured from wide experience; polite, polished, svelte, suave. |
| ursine | Resembling, characteristic of, pertaining to bears. |
| usury | An exorbitant rate of interest, in excess of any legal or moral standards; the practice of lending at such rates. |
| uxorious | Overly devoted or submissive to one's wife. |
| vacillate | To alternate between extremes; to be indecisive; fluctuate, oscillate, waver, dither. |
| vagary | An erratic notion, action, desire; caprice, whim. |
| vainglorious | With excessive vanity or unwarranted pride; boastful; conceited. |
| vanguard | The leading units at the front of an army or fleet; the persons at the forefront of any group or movement. |
| vanquish | To defeat or conquer in battle; subjugate; to defeat in a contest, conflict, or competition; to overcome or subdue. |
| vassal | A person, nation, etc., in a subordinate, suppliant, or dependent position relative to another. |
| vaunted | Highly or widely praised, boasted, publicized. |
| venerable | Respected because of age; distinguished, respectable, honored, revered, elderly. |
| ventral | Related to the abdomen or stomach; abdominal; on the front side of the human body. |
| verbiage | An overabundance of words; the manner in which something is expressed in words. |
| verdant | Green, lush in vegetation; grassy, leafy, wooded; inexperienced. |
| verdigris | A blue-green patina on weathered copper, brass, or bronze; also used as a paint pigment. |
| verisimilar | Appearing to be true or real; probable, likely. |
| verisimilitude | The property of seeming true, of resembling reality; realism; something which merely appears to be true. |
| veritable | True, real, rightly named. |
| verity | The quality of being true, factual, or real; lasting truth or principle. |
| vernal | Pertaining to spring; fresh, youthful. |
| verve | Excitement of imagination, artistic energy and enthusiasm; vigor, vitality, liveliness; rapture, spirit, energy. |
| vestige | A faint trace or sign left by something no longer present; remnant, remains, hint, relic. |
| vex | To annoy, irritate, puzzle, confuse; bother, chafe, exasperate, irk, nettle, provoke. |
| vexillology | The study of flags. |
| viand | An item of food; a choice of dish. |
| vicarious | Experienced or gained by substitution of another, such as through watching or reading; done on behalf of others, by a deputy or intermediary. |
| vicissitude | Regular change or succession from one thing to another, or one part of a cycle to the next; alternation, mutual succession, interchange, a change in one's fortunes. |
| victuals | Food supplies; provisions. |
| vim | Vitality and energy; force; power. |
| virago | A large, strong, courageous or aggressive woman; a noisy, scolding, or domineering woman. |
| visceral | Perceived in or as if in the viscera; profound; instinctive. |
| viscid | Adhesive, gluey, gummy, viscous. |
| vitiate | To spoil, make faulty; to reduce the value, quality, or effectiveness of something; to corrupt; debase |
| vitriol | Bitterly scathing or abusive language; corrosive, caustic criticism. |
| vituperation | Overly harsh criticism or invective; severe censure, castigation, reproach. |
| volition | The mental power or ability of choosing; agency, will. |
| voluble | Talkative; garrulous, loquacious, glib, verbose. |
| voracious | Having a great appetite for something; ravenous; wanting or devouring great quantities of food. |
| vouchsafe | To condescendingly grant a right, benefit, outcome; to deign to acknowledge; guarantee |
| vulpine | Of, resembling, or characteristic of a fox; cunning; clever. |
| waffle | To speak equivocally; to vacillate; to be vague. |
| waft | To float easily or gently through the air. |
| wanderlust | A strong impulse or longing to travel. |
| wane | To decrease in size, power, value, intensity; draw gradually to an end; decline; often used of light and moon phases. |
| wangle | To obtain through manipulative or deceitful methods; falsify. |
| wanton | Unrestrained, undisciplined, reckless; capricious, malicious, lewd, licentious. |
| welter | To be soaked or steeped in, to wallow; a general confusion, a disorderly mixture. |
| wend | To go or proceed along some course or way. |
| wheedle | To cajole or attempt to persuade by flattery; to obtain something by guile or trickery. |
| whelp | The young of a mammal; an insolent youth. |
| whimsical | Determined by, arising from, or marked by whim; capricious, impulsive, fanciful, playful, arbitrary, flippant. |
| whinny | To neigh, as a horse. |
| whorl | A pattern of concentric circles; a volution or turn in concentric lines, as in fingerprints. Homophones: whirl. |
| wince | A sudden movement or gesture of shrinking away; to flinch as if in pain or distress. |
| winsome | Charming; inspiring trust and approval in an innocent manner; attractive, delightful. |
| wispy | Lacking clarity or distinctness; barely discernible; thin, slight, faint. |
| wistful | Full of yearning or longing; sadly pensive. |
| witless | Without wit or understanding; hence, indiscreet; not under the guidance of judgment; foolish, idiotic. |
| witticism | A witty remark; wisecrack, joke, jape, bon mot. |
| wizened | Withered; wrinkled, shriveled, dried up, as from age or illness. |
| woe | Deep distress or misery, as from grief; wretchedness, sorrow. |
| wont | Accustomed or used (to or with a thing); likely. |
| woo | To seek the affection of with intent to romance; to seek to achieve, try to gain; to tempt or invite; to entreat, solicit, importune. |
| wraith | A ghost; a ghost of a living person seen just before his/her death; apparition, shade, spirit. |
| wrest | To obtain by pulling or violent force; to usurp forcefully. |
| writ | A written order. |
| writhe | To twist, as in pain, struggle, or embarrassment; to move with a twisting or contorted motion; to suffer acutely. |
| xenophobia | An exaggerated or abnormal fear of strangers or foreigners. |
| yarn | A story, a tale, especially one that is incredible; bundles of fibers twisted together. |
| yen | A strong desire, urge, yearning, longing; the unit of Japanese currency. |
| yeoman | A subordinate, deputy, aide, or assistant; person owning small estate, commoner of good standing. |
| yoke | To link, to join; to unite, to connect. |
| yokel | An unsophisticated person (pejorative); a person of rural background. |
| zephyr | A light wind from the west; a gentle breeze; any thing of fine, soft, or light quality, especially fabric. |
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noahcollins
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