buoyant cheerful

buoyant able to float

complacency self-satisfaction; smugness
complacent too pleased with oneself-- often without awareness of possible dangers or defects; self-
satisfied; smug
convivial fond of eating and drinking with friends; sociable
conviviality sociability
delectable very pleasing; delightful
elated in high spirits; joyful
elation state of being elated; euphoria
ascetic a person who shuns pleasures and lives simply
ascetic shunning pleasures; self-denying; austere
chagrin embarrassment; mortification; disappointment
chagrined ashamed; mortified
compunction regret; remorse; misgiving; qualm; scruple
nostalgia homesickness; yearning for the past
nostalgic homesick
pensive thoughtful in a sad way; melancholy
emaciated made unnaturally thin; abnormally lean because of starvation or sickness
haggard careworn; gaunt
svelte slender; lithe
adulation excessive praise; flattery
cajole wheedle; coax
cajolery persuasion by flattery; wheedling; coaxing
fulsome offensive because of insincerity; repulsive; disgusting
ingratiate work (oneself) into favor
lackey follower who carries out another's wishes like a servant; toady
obsequious showing excessive willingness to serve; subservient; fawning
sycophant parasitic flatterer
badger tease; annoy; nag
lionize treat as highly important
parasitic living at the expense of another; sponging
eulogize praise; extol; laud; glorify
laudable praiseworthy; commendable
derogatory expressing low esteem; belittling; disparaging
malign speak e evil of; vilify; traduce
stigma mark of disgrace
levity lack of proper seriousness; trifling gaiety; frivolity
ludicrous exciting laughter; ridiculous; farcical; absurd
travesty imitation that makes a serious thing seem ridiculous; mockery
convalescent person recovering from sickness
fester form pus; rankle; rot; putrefy
dross waste; refuse
immaculate spotless; absolutely clean; pure and faultless
purge cleanse; purify; rid of undesired element or person
offal waste parts of a butchered animal; garbage
squalor filth; degradation; sordidness
juxtapose to put side by side or close together
arbitrary autocratic; despotic; tyrannical; proceeding from a whim or fancy
axiom self evident truth; maxim
cogitate consider with care; ponder
criterion standard; rule or test for judging
dogmatic asserting opinions as if they were facts; opinionated; asserted without proof; doctrinaire
eclectic choosing from various sources; selective
fallacious misleading; deceptive
fallible liable to be mistaken
orthodox generally accepted especially in religion; conventional
paradoxical having the characteristics of a self-contradictory statement which may nevertheless be true
plausible apparently trustworthy; superficially true or reasonable
preposterous senseless; absurd; irrational
sophistry clever but deceptive reasoning
speculate reflect; meditate; conjecture; to buy or sell with the hope of profit
teneble capable of being maintained or defended; defensible
amorphous shapeless; having no definite form; unorganized
malleable capable of being shaped by hammering as a metal; adaptable and pliant
sinuous bending in and out; winding; serpentine
grave deserving serious attention; weighty; momentous
paltry practically worthless; trashy; piddling; petty
paramount above others; supreme
coy pretending to be shy
ostentatious done to impress others; showy; pretentious
overweening thinking too highly of oneself; arrogant; presumptuous
languish to be or become weak or feeble; droop; fade
degenerate to fall beneath a desirable level in physical, mental, or moral quality; to deteriorate
wallow to roll about or lie in water; snow; mud; dust; or the like; as refreshment
swelter to suffer from oppressive heat
nullify to render or declare legally void or inoperative
alliteration the repetition of constant sounds especially at the beginning of words
connotation the associations called up by a word that goes beyond the dictionary meaning
denotation the dictionary meaning of a word
figurative language a form of language used in which writers and speakers convey something other than the
literal meaning of their words
free verse poetry without a regular pattern; a meter or rhyme. The verse is not bound by earlier poetic
conventions requiring poems to adhere to an explicit identifiable meter ad rhyme scheme in
a form such as the sonnet or ballad
hyperbole a figure of speech involving exaggeration
imagery language that appeals to the senses: sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch
irony A contrast of discrepancy between what is said and what is meant, or between what happens
and what is expected to happen in life and literature.
metaphor a comparison between essentially unlike things without an explicitly comparative word such
as like or as
personification the endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with inanimate living qualities
rhyme the matching or final vowel or constant sound in two or more words
simile a figure of speech involving a comparison between unlike things using like or as
stanza one of the divisions of a poem composed of two or more lines, usually characterized by a
common pattern of meter, rhyme, and number of lines
symbol an object or action in a literary work that means more than itself that stands fore something
beyond itself
tone the implied attitude of a writer towards the subject and characters of a work

tragedy A casually related series of events in the life of a person of significance culminating in an
unhappy catastrophe. The whole is treated with seriousness and respect.
lesion injury; hurt
malignant threatening to cause death; very evil
morbid gruesome; having to do with disease
regimen set of rules especially to improve health
salubrious healthful
alacrity cheerful willingness, readiness, and liveliness
loath unwilling; averse; disinclined; reluctant
volition will
volition perfect; superb; carried to the highest degree
eminent standing out; notable; famous
precipitous steep as a precipice; hasty; rash
sublimate redirect the energy of a bad person's impulses into socially and morally higher channels; to
purify and refine
abject deserving contempt; sunk to a low condition
menial low; mean; subservient and servile
nepotism favoritism to relatives by those on power
progeny offspring; children; descendants
pungent sharp in smell or tasted; acrid; biting; stimulating
antediluvian antiquated; belonging to the time before the biblical flood
archaic no longer used except in special context; old fashioned
crone withered old woman
decrepit weakened by old age
juvenile of or for youth; youthful; immature
longevity long life; length of life
obsolete no longer in use; out of date
posthumous published after the author's death; occurring after death
primeval pertaining to the world's first ages; primitive
pristine in original long ago state; uncorrupted
venerable worthy of respect because of advanced age, achievements, virtue, or historical importance
carousal drinking party; drunken revelry
inebriated drunk; intoxicated
teetotaler person who totally abstains from intoxicating beverages
jettison throw (goods) overboard to lighten a ship of a plain; discard
contaminate make impure by mixture; pollute; defile
topic sentence the first sentence in a body paragraph that must have a subject and an opinion
concrete details specific details from the backbone or core of a body paragraph
commentary not a concrete detail and includes opinions or interpretation
thesis the opening sentence in an essay that states an opinion and what is going to be talked about
in the essay
concluding the closing sentence in an essay that sums up all of the opinions talked about in the essay
sentence