| A | B |
|---|
| abberation | deviating from the right path |
| abstract (n.) | a summary |
| acquiesce | to give consent by keeping silent |
| aggrandizement | growth in power |
| altruistic | thoughtful of the welfare of others |
| apocryphal | counterfeit |
| assuage | to calm or soothe, to satisfy |
| atrophy | to waste away |
| austere | stern in manner, strict in morals |
| bequeath | to leave in a will |
| blithe | happy and cheerful |
| bombastic | use of big words without meaning |
| cache | a hiding place, the thing hidden there |
| capitulate | to surrender |
| carping | complaining |
| catharsis | an emotional purification or relief |
| caustic | stinging, biting |
| censure | to criticize |
| chimerical | absurd, wildly fanciful |
| clandestine | secret |
| clemency | mercy, mildness |
| conciliatory | tending to soothe or reconcile |
| dearth | short |
| deference | great respect |
| delineate | to describe in words, to sketch |
| despot | monarch with unlimited power |
| diatribe | bitter verbal attack |
| didactic | intended to instruct |
| dogmatic | positive and emphatic in asserting opinions |
| duplicity | deceitfulness |
| efface | to wipe out, erase |
| egregious | extraordinarily bad |
| embellish | to decorate, to elaborate upon |
| enervate | to weaken, lessen the strength of |
| engender | to produce, bring into being |
| equanimity | evenness of temper |
| equivocate | to use double meanings in order to mislead, to be shifty, to quibble |
| esoteric | understood by only a select few |
| evanescent | fleeting |
| fastidious | hard to please, dainty in taste |
| furtive | done with stealth |
| galvanize | to startle |
| garrulous | talkative |
| hackneyed | trite, commonplace |
| hedonist | one who lives solely for pleasure |
| hyperbole | an exaggerated statement used as a figure of speech for rhetorical effect |
| iconoclast | a person who attacks cherished beliefs or established institutions |
| immutable | never changing |
| incipient | in an early stage |
| incisive | keen, penetrating |
| indefatigable | tireless |
| indigent | poverty-stricken |
| innocuous | harmless |
| inscrutable | too mysterious to be understood |
| insipid | lacking interest or spirit |
| intractable | hard to manage, not easily treated |
| laconic | using few words |
| lampoon | strong satirical writing, usually attacking or ridiculing someone |
| lassitude | weariness |
| latent | present, but invisble or inactive |
| laudable | worthy of praise |
| levity | lack of seriousness |
| mitigate | to make or to become less severe, to moderate |
| nomenclature | a systematic naming in an art or science |
| parsimonious | too thrifty, stingy |
| partisan | showing a strong support for a party or cause; characteristic of a guerrilla fighter |
| paucity | scarcity |
| perfidy | treachery; betrayal of trust |
| philistine | narrow-minded |
| platitude | a thought or remark that is dull, trite, flat or weak |
| ponderous | very heavy; labored and dull or tiresome |
| pragmatic | practical; opinionated |
| preclude | to make impossible; shut out; prevent |
| prodigious | enormous; extraordinary; marvelous |
| profusion | abudance; extravagance |
| querulous | peevish; fault finding; complaining |
| quixotic | idealistic and utterly impractical |
| raconteur | a person skilled at telling stories or anecdotes |
| rancor | deep spite or malice; strong hate |
| raze | to destroy |
| recalcitrant | refusing to obey rules or follow orders |
| sagacious | wise or shrewd |
| salutary | healthful; useful or helpful; remedial |
| sectarian | pertaining to a group within a larger group that is limited by common beliefs or interests; narrow-minded |
| soporific | causing sleep; drowsy |
| spurious | counterfeit; false |
| stultifying | causing to appear stupid or ridiculous |
| supercilious | proud and scornful; haughty; looking down on others |
| surreptitious | sly; stealthy; |
| sycophant | a servile self-seeker |
| tangential | diverging of trangressing |
| tawdry | gaudy and cheap; vulgarly ornamental |
| temerity | rashness; foolish or reckless boldness |
| unequivocal | plain; very clear in meaning |
| unimpeachable | beyond doubt or reproach; unquestionable |
| untenable | that which cannot be maintained; incapable of being defended or held |
| urbane | couteous; suave; polished |
| venerate | to regard with respect and reverance; to honor |
| vilify | to slander |
| virtuoso | one interested in the pursuit of knowledge; one with masterly skill in any field |
| vitriolic | extremely biting; sharp and bitter |
| voracious | ravenous; gluttonous |
| wanton | immoral; senseless; deliberately malicious; excessive |
| whet | to sharpen; make stronger; to stimulate |
| zealot | a person who shows great enthusiasm for a cause |
| zenith | the point in the sky directly above one; the highest point |
