Vocabulary

Accolade praise
Allusion indirect reference
Ambivalence uncertainty; having 'mixed' feelings
Ambivalent unable to decide
Analogy comparison
Anecdote short account of something interesting; story
Anomalous odd; not fitting the pattern
Apparition ghost; something that 'appears'
Aspersion negative feeling; damaging remark
Belligerence aggression
Bombastic too elaborate; exaggerated
Candid truthful
Capricious changeable; fickle
Cherished cared for; firmly-held
Cliche over-used expression
Conception 1. idea; view. 2. beginning of pregnancy
Convoluted complicated or long-winded
Credence belief
Cryptic hidden
Currency 1. widespread acceptance, 2. money
Decorous good and correct (used of behavior)
Denunciation act of speaking out against
Derailed thrown off course
Derivative unoriginal
Despotic acting like a tyrant
Detritus rubbish
Diaphanous very thin and transparent
Dictum often-used saying
Dilettante person who dabbles in the arts
Disdained showed contempt for
Dispassionate unbiased; fair
Dowager an elderly woman of elevate social status
Dubious doubtful
Egalitarian equal; believer in equality
Elicit draw out (used mainly for information or
feelings)
Elliptical 1. shaped like an ellipse, 2. indirect
Epitomizes acts as a typical example of
Equivocate speak ambiguously/vaguely
Evasiveness trying to avoid something
Explicitly very clear; nothing hidden
Foraging searching for food
Hypothetical based on guesswork; not proven
Iconoclast person who goes against accepted authority
Idiosyncratic quirky; unique to an individual
Imponderable cannot be understood
Indecorous not well-behaved; lacking in dignity
Indigence extreme poverty
Inept clumsy
Inherent inbuilt; genetic
Intricate complicated
Irrefutable cannot be proved wrong
Jingoism using words to stir up exaggerated patriotism
Jubilant joyful
Judicious fair and equal
Lament express regret over something
Loquacious talkative; using too many words
Mendicancy begging
Metaphorical not literal; figurative
Milieu environment; surroundings
Mitigated made less severe
Nascent just begun; in an early stage of development
Nostalgia longing for the past
Obtrusive easily seen
Orthographical concerned with writing and spelling
Ossified become fixed and rigid
Ostentatious showy
Palpable can be felt
Pastoral 1. concerned with the countryside, 2.
concerned with the care a pastor gives to
someone
Pedestrian 1. boring (adj), 2. person who walks (n)
Perfidy treachery; betrayal
Profligacy wasteful and immoral behavior
Prohibitive very expensive
Prudence wisdom; caution
Pugnacious aggressive
Purveyor one who sells something or causes something
to spread
Resonance echo
Respite break (from work etc.)
Resurgence revival
Sparse thin; not thick
Stringent strict
Succumbing giving in to; falling under the influence of
Supercilious arrogant
Tenacity firmness of purpose
Transcend go beyond a limit
Variegated multi colored
Venerable worthy of respect
Viable workable; able to live or grow
Visceral concerned with the 'guts'; physical rather than
mental

Ailurophile A cat-lover.
Assemblage A gathering.
Becoming Attractive.
Beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.
Brood To think alone.
Bucolic In a lovely rural setting.
Bungalow A small, cozy cottage.
Chatoyant Like a cat's eye.
Comely Attractive.
Conflate To blend together.
Cynosure A focal point of admiration.
Dalliance A brief love affair.
Demesne Dominion, territory.
Demure Shy and reserved.
Denouement The resolution of a mystery.
Desuetude Disuse.
Desultory Slow, sluggish.
Diaphanous Filmy.
Dissemble Deceive.
Dulcet Sweet, sugary.
Ebullience Bubbling enthusiasm.
Effervescent Bubbly.
Efflorescence Flowering, blooming.
Elision Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.
Elixir A good potion.
Eloquence Beauty and persuasion in speech.
Embrocation Rubbing on a lotion.
Emollient A softener.
Ephemeral Short-lived.
Epiphany A sudden revelation.
Erstwhile At one time, for a time.
Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
Evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.
Evocative Suggestive.
Fetching Pretty.
Felicity Pleasantness.
Forbearance Withholding response to provocation.
Fugacious Fleeting.
Furtive Shifty, sneaky.
Gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.
Glamour Beauty.
Gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider's silk
Halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.
Harbinger Messenger with news of the future.
Imbrication Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.
Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.
Imbue To infuse, instill.
Incipient Beginning, in an early stage.
Ineffable Unutterable, inexpressible.
Ingénue A naïve young woman.
Inglenook A cozy nook by the hearth.
Insouciance Blithe nonchalance.
Inure To become jaded.
Labyrinthine Twisting and turning.
Lagniappe A special kind of gift.
Lagoon A small gulf or inlet.
Languor Listlessness, inactivity.
Lassitude Weariness, listlessness.
Leisure Free time.
Lilt To move musically or lively.
Lissome Slender and graceful.
Lithe Slender and flexible.
Love Deep affection.
Mellifluous Sweet sounding.
Moiety One of two equal parts.
Mondegreen A slip of the ear.
Murmurous Murmuring.
Nemesis An unconquerable archenemy.
Offing The sea between the horizon and the offshore.
Onomatopoeia A word that sounds like its meaning.
Opulent Lush, luxuriant.
Palimpsest A manuscript written over earlier ones.
Panacea A solution for all problems
Panoply A complete set.
Pastiche An art work combining materials from
various sources.
Penumbra A half-shadow.
Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.
Plethora A large quantity.
Propinquity An inclination.
Pyrrhic Successful with heavy losses.
Quintessential Most essential.
Ratatouille A spicy French stew.
Ravel To knit or unknit.
Redolent Fragrant.
Riparian By the bank of a stream.
Ripple A very small wave.
Scintilla A spark or very small thing.
Sempiternal Eternal.
Seraglio Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.
Serendipity Finding something nice while looking for
something else.
Summery Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious Secretive, sneaky.
Susquehanna A river in Pennsylvania.
Susurrous Whispering, hissing.
Talisman A good luck charm.
Tintinnabulation Tinkling.
Umbrella Protection from sun or rain.
Untoward Unseemly, inappropriate.
Vestigial In trace amounts.
Wafture Waving.
Wherewithal The means.
Woebegone Sorrowful, downcast.
Aberration a state or condition markedly different from
the norm
Abhor feel hatred or disgust toward
Acquiesce agree or express agreement
Alacrity liveliness and eagerness
Amiable diffusing warmth and friendliness
Appease make peace with
Arcane requiring secret or mysterious knowledge
Avarice reprehensible acquisitiveness; insatiable
desire for wealth
Brazen unrestrained by convention or propriety
Brusque rudely abrupt or blunt in speech or manner
Cajole influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing,
or flattering
Callous emotionally hardened
Candor the quality of being honest and
straightforward
Chide scold or reprimand severely or angrily
Circumspect careful to consider potential consequences
and avoid risk
Coerce cause to do through pressure or necessity
Coherent marked by an orderly and consistent relation
of parts
Complacency the feeling you have when you are satisfied
with yourself
Confidant someone to whom private matters are told
Connive form intrigues (for) in an underhand manner
Cumulative increasing by successive addition
Debase corrupt morally or by intemperance or
sensuality
Decry express strong disapproval of
Deferential showing courteous regard for people's
feelings
Demure shy or modest, often in a playful or
provocative way
Deride treat or speak of with contempt
Despot a cruel and oppressive dictator
Diligent quietly and steadily persevering in detail or
exactness
Elated exultantly proud and joyful; in high spirits
Eloquent expressing yourself readily, clearly,
effectively
Embezzle appropriate fraudulently to one's own use
Empathy understanding and entering into another's
feelings
Enmity a state of deep-seated ill-will
Erudite having or showing profound knowledge
Extol praise, glorify, or honor
Fabricate make up something artificial or untrue
Flabbergasted as if struck dumb with astonishment and
surprise
Forsake leave someone who needs or counts on you;
leave in the lurch
Furtive secret and sly
Gluttony habitual eating to excess
Gratuitous unnecessary and unwarranted
Haughty having or showing arrogant superiority
Hypocrisy pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you
do not have
Impeccable without fault or error
Impertinent improperly forward or bold
Impudent improperly forward or bold
Indolent disinclined to work or exertion
Inept generally incompetent and ineffectual
Infamy a state of extreme dishonor
Inhibit limit the range or extent of
Innate present at birth but not necessarily hereditary
Insatiable impossible to fulfill, appease, or gratify
Insular narrowly restricted in outlook or scope
Intrepid invulnerable to fear or intimidation