abash
v. embarrass; make ashamed or uneasy; disconcert |
abnegate
v. give up or surrender; deny something to oneself |
affluent
a. having an abundant supply of money or possessions of value |
alleviate
v. provide physical relief, as from pain; make easier; remove in part |
burgeon
v. grow forth; send out buds; grow or develop rapidly |
burlesque
v. give an imitation that ridicules; imitate mockingly or humorously |
coalesce
v. combine; fuse; grow together; come together so as to form one whole; unite |
consort
v. habitually associate with someone; keep company |
contagion
n. the communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of people; any disease easily transmitted by contact |
copious
a. plentiful; containing plenty; affording ample supply |
decimate
v. destroy or kill a large part of; select by lot and kill one in every ten of |
deleterious
a. having harmful effect; injurious; having quality of destroying life; noxious; poisonous |
delude
v. deceive mind or judgment of; lead from truth or into error; frustrate or disappoint |
demagogue
n. person who appeals to people's prejudice; false leader of people |
derision
n. the act of treating with contempt; contemptuous laughter |
domesticity
n. domestic activities or life; home or family life |
edify
v. instruct or correct, especially so as to encourage intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement |
elusive
a. difficult to describe; difficult to detect or grasp by mind |
espouse
v. take in marriage; marry; give one's loyalty or support to; adopt |
exonerate
v. acquit; free from blame; discharge from duty |
faction
n. a party of persons having a common end in view |
fetter
v. restrain with U-shaped bar for ankles or feet; impede; hamper |
flamboyant
a. elaborately or excessively ornamented |
fortuitous
a. accidental; by chance; coming or occurring without any cause |
garrulous
a. talking much and repetition of unimportant or trivial details |
grisly
a. frightfully; terribly; causing horror or disgust |
hiatus
n. gap; interruption in duration or continuity; pause |
hyperbole
n. figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis; overstatement |
idyllic
a. excellent and delightful in all respects |
impeccable
a. faultless; incapable of sin or wrongdoing |
inane
a. silly; senseless; unconsciously foolish; void |
incorrigible
a. not correctable; difficult or impossible to control or manage |
indignant
a. affected with indignation; wrathful; passionate; irate; feeling wrath by unworthy or unjust treatment |
inexhaustible
a. incapable of being exhausted, emptied, or used up; unfailing; not to be wasted or spent |
inflammation
n. the act of setting something on fire; arousal to violent emotion |
innate
a. possessed at birth; inborn; originating in the mind |
insinuate
v. hint; suggest; introduce by subtle and artful means |
insolent
a. strange; unusual; haughty or brutal in behavior or language; grossly rude or disrespectful |
integrate
v. make whole; combine; make into one unit |
introversion
n. the folding in of an outer layer so as to form a pocket in the surface; the condition of being folded inward or sheathed |
judicious
a. exhibiting good judgment or sound thinking; prudent |
languish
v. lose animation; be or become weak or feeble; lose strength or vigor |
legislative
a. relating to a legislature or composed of members of a legislature; of or relating to or created by legislation |
loquacious
a. talkative; given to continual talking; chattering |
magnanimous
a. very generous or forgiving, especially toward someone less powerful than oneself; chivalrous |
maxim
n. proverb; formulation of fundamental principle or general truth |
milieu
n. environment; person’s social setting or environment |
mollify
v. make less rigid or softer; calm in temper or feeling |
morose
a. ill humored; sullen; depressingly dark; gloomy; persistent |
mundane
a. belonging to this earth or world; not ideal or heavenly; concerned with commonplaces; ordinary |
nebulous
a. lacking definite form or limits; hazy; cloudy |
nocturnal
a. of or relating to or occurring in the night; most active at night |
noxious
a. harmful to living things; injurious to health |
obstinacy
n. the quality or state of being difficult to remedy, relieve, or subdue; resolute adherence to own ideas or desires |
onerous
a. burdensome or oppressive; not easily borne; wearing |
ostentatious
a. showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention |
paltry
a. insignificant; lacking in importance or worth; worthless |
paradox
n. something apparently contradictory in nature; statement that looks false but is actually correct |
patent
a. open for the public to read; obvious; plain |
paucity
n. scarcity; smallness of number; the presence of something only in small or insufficient amounts |
pedantic
a. marked by narrow focus on or display of learning, especially formal rules and trivial points |
penchant
n. strong inclination; definite liking |
perennial
n. lasting indefinitely long time; suggesting self-renewal; remaining active throughout all the time |
pernicious
a. very destructive; tending to cause death or serious injury; deadly |
platitude
n. dullness; insipidity of thought; commonplace statement; lack of originality |
polarize
v. split into opposite extremes or camps |
postulate
n. essential premise; underlying assumption |
preclude
v. make impossible, as by action taken in advance; prevent; eliminate |
pristine
a. uncorrupted by civilization; primitive; remaining free from dirt or decay |
prosaic
a. dull and unimaginative; matter-of-fact; factual |
rationale
n. fundamental reasons; basis; exposition of principles or reasons |
redolent
a. fragrant; odorous; suggestive of odor |
relegate
v. assign to obscure place, position, or condition; delegate; assign |
reprisal
n. action taken in return for injury or offense |
salient
a. prominent or protruding; projecting outwardly; moving by leaps or springs |
sanctimonious
a. excessively or hypocritically pious; possessing sanctity; sacred; holy; saintly; religious |
scrupulous
a. exactly and carefully conducted; by extreme care and great effort; cautious |
sentient
a. endowed with feeling and unstructured consciousness; consciously perceiving |
sloth
n. laziness; apathy and inactivity in the practice of virtue; any of several slow-moving arboreal mammals |
static
a. having no motion; being at rest; fixed; stationary |
surfeit
v. eat until excessively full; be more than full; feed someone to excess |
temerity
n. boldness; rashness; foolhardy disregard of danger |
tenuous
a. long and thin; slender; having little substance |
urbane
a. showing a high degree of refinement |
vernacular
n. everyday speech of people, as distinguished from literary language; natural style; standard native language of a country or locality |
vindicate
v. clear from blame; exonerate; maintain, uphold, or defend |