abbreviate
v. make shorter; reduce to shorter form intended to represent full form, as for word or phrase |
abdicate
v. give up, renounce, abandon, lay down, or withdraw from, as a right or claim |
abstinence
n. restraint from eating or drinking; refraining from indulging appetite or desire |
adulation
n. excessive flattery or admiration; unmerited praise |
adversity
n. state of misfortune, hardship, or affliction; misfortune |
aesthetic
a. elegant or tasteful; of or concerning appreciation of beauty or good taste |
amicable
a. exhibiting friendliness or goodwill; not quarrelsome |
anachronistic
a. having time error in story; erroneous in date; in wrong time |
anecdote
n. short account of amusing or interesting event; short narrative; secret story of history or biography |
anonymous
a. having no name; having unknown or unacknowledged name |
antagonist
n. one who contends with another, especially in combat; an adversary; opponent |
arid
a. dry; lacking moisture, especially having insufficient rainfall to support trees or plants |
assiduous
a. constant in application or attention; diligent; unceasing or persistent |
asylum
n. place of refuge or shelter; protection |
benevolent
a. generous in providing aid to others; charitable |
camaraderie
n. good-fellowship; companionship; close friendship in friends or teammates |
censure
v. expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism; blame |
circuitous
a. being or taking a roundabout, lengthy course; going round in a circuit; not direct |
clairvoyant
n. having foresight; fortuneteller |
collaborate
v. work together, especially in a joint intellectual effort |
compassion
n. sensation of sorrow excited by the distress or misfortunes of another; pity; commiseration |
compromise
v. accept that you will reduce your demands to reach an agreement with someone |
condescending
a. (used of behavior or attitude) characteristic of those who treat others with condescension |
conditional
a. imposing or depending on or containing a condition |
congregation
n. act of congregating, or bringing together; collection or mass of separate things |
deleterious
a. having harmful effect; injurious; having quality of destroying life; noxious; poisonous |
demagogue
n. person who appeals to people's prejudice; false leader of people |
digression
n. wandering from the main path of a journey; diversion |
diligent
a. assiduous; industrious; hard working |
discredit
v. defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve |
disdain
v. view with scorn or contempt; feel with aversion |
divergent
a. differing; tending to move apart in different directions |
empathy
n. understanding and entering into another's feelings |
emulate
v. be a match or counterpart for; eager to equal or excel |
enervating
a. causing debilitation |
enhance
v. make better or more attractive; increase; improve |
ephemeral
a. short-lived; enduring a very short time |
evanescent
a. fleeting; vanishing or likely to vanish like vapor |
exasperation
n. an exasperated feeling of annoyance; actions that cause great irritation |
exemplary
a. serving as model; outstanding; typical |
extenuating
a. partially excusing or justifying |
florid
a. reddish; elaborately or excessively ornamented |
fortuitous
a. accidental; by chance; coming or occurring without any cause |
frugal
a. sparing; economical; costing little; inexpensive |
hackneyed
a. repeated too often; over familiar through overuse |
haughty
a. high; lofty; bold; arrogant; overbearing |
hedonist
n. one who believes that pleasure is the sole aim in life |
hypothesis
n. assumption; theory |
impetuous
a. marked by sudden and violent force; hasty; impulsive and passionate |
impute
v. lay responsibility or blame for, often unjustly |
incompatible
a. inharmonious; impossible to coexist; not easy to combine harmoniously |
inconsequential
a. insignificant; lacking importance; not following from premises or evidence; illogical |
inevitable
a. unavoidable; incapable of being avoided or prevented |
integrity
n. quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness |
intrepid
a. fearless; indicating or springing from courage |
intuitive
a. based on feelings rather than facts or proof; automatic, without requiring conscious thought |
jubilation
n. rejoicing; feeling of extreme joy |
longevity
n. long life; great duration of life; long duration or continuance, as in an occupation |
mundane
a. belonging to this earth or world; not ideal or heavenly; concerned with commonplaces; ordinary |
nonchalant
a. behaving in a calm manner, often in a way that suggests you are not interested or do not care |
novice
n. beginner; person new to a field or activity |
opulent
a. rich and superior in quality |
orator
n. skilled public speaker; person who pronounces discourse publicly on some special occasion, as pleader or lawyer |
ostentatious
a. showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention |
parched
a. dried out by heat; toasted or roasted slightly |
perfidious
a. tending to betray; disloyal; faithless |
precocious
a. showing mental development or achievement much earlier than usual; appearing or developing early |
pretentious
a. intended to attract notice and impress others; making unjustified claims; overly ambitious |
procrastinate
v. postpone or delay needlessly; put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness |
prosaic
a. dull and unimaginative; matter-of-fact; factual |
prosperity
n. good fortune; financial success; physical well-being |
provocative
a. arousing anger or interest; tending to provoke or stimulate |
prudent
a. cautious; careful in regard to one's own interests |
querulous
a. habitually complaining; expressing complaint or grievance |
rancorous
a. full of deep-seated enmity or, malice, or hatred |
reclusive
a. avoiding the company of other people; solitary |
reconciliation
n. act of reconciling, or state of being reconciled; reconcilement; restoration to harmony; renewal of friendship |
renovation
n. improving by renewing and restoring; state of being restored to its former good condition; renewal |
resilient
a. elastic; having power of springing back or recover readily |
restrained
v. keep under control; keep in check |
reverence
n. profound respect and esteem with fear and affection, as for a holy being or place; act showing respect, especially a bow or curtsy |
sagacity
n. quality of being sagacious; quickness or acuteness of sense perceptions; keenness of discernment; shrewdness |
scrutinize
v. examine closely and critically |
spontaneity
n. naturalness; freedom from constraint; happening or arising without external cause; self-generated |
spurious
a. false; counterfeit; forged; illogical |
submissive
a. yielding; inclined or ready to submit |
substantiate
v. establish by evidence; make firm or solid; support |
subtle
a. slight; be difficult to detect or grasp by the mind |
superficial
a. trivial; of little substance; involving a surface only |
superfluous
a. being beyond what is required or sufficient |
suppress
v. put down by force or authority; overwhelm; keep from being revealed |
surreptitious
a. secret; done or made by stealth, or without proper authority; made or introduced fraudulently |
tactful
a. showing skill and sensitivity in dealing with people |
tenacious
a. sticking together; stubbornly unyielding; holding together firmly |
transient
a. momentary; temporary; staying for short time |
venerable
a. deserving high respect; impressive by reason of age; profoundly honored |
vindicate
v. clear from blame; exonerate; maintain, uphold, or defend |
wary
a. very cautious; on guard; watchful |
zealot
n. fanatically committed person; person who shows excessive zeal |