Abate |
To lessen in intensity or degree |
The storm abated, and the sun came out. |
Abjure |
To formally renounce or reject something |
The king abjured his claim to the throne. |
Abridge |
To shorten |
The publisher had to abridge the novel for the children’s edition. |
Acquiesce |
To accept reluctantly but without protest |
She had no choice but to acquiesce to their demands. |
Acumen |
Sharply insightful; keen judgment |
The detective’s sharp acumen helped crack the case. |
Aesthetic |
Concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty |
The minimalist design had a pleasing aesthetic. |
Alleviate |
To relieve |
Taking aspirin can alleviate a headache. |
Altruistic |
Unselfishly concerned for others |
Her altruistic actions earned her the community’s admiration. |
Amalgamate |
To merge or combine into one; unite |
The company will amalgamate its two marketing departments for better efficiency. |
Amicable |
Friendly; peaceable |
The neighbors reached an amicable agreement regarding the property line. |
Apathy |
Lack of interest or emotion |
The student’s apathy towards learning was evident in his grades. |
Appal |
Shock or horrify |
The brutality of the war appalled the entire world. |
Appease |
To calm or pacify someone by giving them what they want |
The king tried to appease the angry mob with promises of reform. |
Apprehensive |
Feeling anxious or fearful; worried |
John was apprehensive about his upcoming presentation. |
Arcane |
Mysterious and difficult to understand; obscure |
The ancient text contained arcane symbols and rituals. |
Belie |
To contradict or misrepresent |
His calm demeanor belied the turmoil inside him. |
Bellicose |
Demonstrating aggression or willingness to fight |
His bellicose demeanor often led to arguments with his peers. |
Belligerent |
Hostile and aggressive |
The belligerent customer argued with the store manager. |
Benevolent |
Kind-hearted |
The benevolent woman spent her weekends volunteering at the shelter. |
Bolster |
To support or strengthen |
The new evidence helped bolster their case in court. |
Bombastic |
Pompous; inflated language |
The politician’s bombastic speeches failed to impress the voters. |
Cacophony |
Harsh, discordant mixture of sounds |
The city streets were filled with the cacophony of traffic. |
Cadence |
The rhythm or flow of sound |
The poet used cadence to create a musical effect in his verses. |
Candor |
Frankness; openness in speech |
He appreciated her candor during their conversation. |
Capitulate |
To surrender |
The army had no choice but to capitulate to the enemy forces. |
Capricious |
Unpredictable; impulsive |
Her capricious nature made it difficult to anticipate her actions. |
Caustic |
Severely critical or sarcastic; harsh |
The comedian’s caustic remarks left the audience squirming. |
Chicanery |
Deceitful trickery or cheating |
The politician’s chicanery was exposed by the media. |
Circumspect |
Cautious; wary |
He was circumspect in his dealings with strangers. |
Cogent |
Convincing; reasonable |
She presented a cogent argument in favor of her proposal. |
Concomitant |
Accompanying or associated with something else; existing at the same time |
The rise in popularity of social media had a concomitant increase in cyberbullying. |
Conspicuous |
Easy to see or notice; prominent |
Her bright red dress made her conspicuous in the crowd. |
Conundrum |
A difficult problem or question |
The conundrum of balancing work and family life is a common challenge. |
Debilitate |
To weaken |
The illness debilitated him, and he was unable to work. |
Deleterious |
Harmful; damaging |
Smoking has deleterious effects on one’s health. |
Delineate |
To describe or portray precisely |
The artist delineated the features of the landscape. |
Desiccate |
Dry out completely |
The hot desert sun desiccated the plants. |
Diatribe |
A forceful and bitter verbal attack |
The politician’s speech turned into a diatribe against his opponents. |
Dilemma |
A situation where a difficult choice must be made between two equally undesirable options |
He faced a dilemma: accept the promotion and move away or stay in his current city and miss out on the opportunity. |
Disdain |
Contempt; scorn |
She looked at him with disdain after his rude comment. |
Disingenuous |
Insincere or misleading; lacking in candor |
Her disingenuous apology only made things worse. |
Disparate |
Fundamentally different; unrelated |
The two sisters had disparate interests and hobbies. |
Dogmatic |
Asserting opinions as if they were facts |
His dogmatic attitude made it difficult to have a constructive discussion. |
Ebullient |
Overflowing with excitement; exhilarated |
She was ebullient upon hearing the news of her promotion. |
Effervescent |
Lively and bubbly; full of enthusiasm |
The crowd was effervescent with excitement at the concert. |
Effusive |
Warmly enthusiastic and expressive |
She gave her best friend an effusive hug. |
Egregious |
Outstandingly bad; shocking |
The team’s performance was egregious, resulting in a humiliating defeat. |
Elicit |
To draw out or evoke a response |
The teacher used open-ended questions to elicit thoughtful answers from her students. |
Eloquent |
Fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing |
The speaker delivered an eloquent speech that moved the audience to tears. |
Enervate |
To weaken or sap the energy of something; make powerless |
The long commute enervated her, leaving her too tired to cook dinner. |
Enigmatic |
Mysterious; puzzling |
The enigmatic smile on her face left everyone curious. |
Ephemeral |
Lasting for a very short time |
The beauty of the cherry blossoms is ephemeral. |
Exacerbate |
To make something worse; intensify |
The argument only exacerbated the already tense situation. |
Facetious |
Treating serious issues with inappropriate humor |
His facetious remarks during the meeting were not appreciated. |
Fastidious |
Very attentive to detail; meticulous |
She was fastidious about keeping her house clean. |
Fervent |
Intensely passionate or earnest |
He was a fervent supporter of human rights. |
Fortuitous |
Happening by chance or luck |
It was fortuitous that she found the lost keys. |
Frugal |
Thrifty |
She lived a frugal lifestyle, saving money wherever she could. |
Furtive |
Secretive; sly |
The thief cast a furtive glance around before stealing the jewels. |
Garrulous |
Excessively talkative |
The garrulous old man told stories for hours. |
Glib |
Fluent but insincere or shallow |
His glib response to the question revealed his lack of understanding. |
Gregarious |
Sociable |
Mark was gregarious and made friends easily at the party. |
Hackneyed |
Overused; lacking significance |
The actor’s speech was filled with hackneyed phrases. |
Hapless |
Unfortunate; unlucky |
The hapless traveler lost his wallet on the trip. |
Haughty |
Arrogant |
The haughty aristocrat looked down on those she considered beneath her. |
Histrionic |
Overly dramatic; theatrical |
Her histrionic reaction to the news startled everyone. |
Hubris |
Excessive pride or self-confidence |
His hubris led to his downfall in the end. |
Imbibe |
To drink or absorb |
He imbibed too much wine at the party and ended up having a headache the next day. |
Impasse |
A situation in which progress is impossible; a deadlock |
The negotiations reached an impasse. |
Impassive |
Showing no emotion or feeling; indifferent |
The actor remained impassive despite the chaos unfolding around him. |
Impetuous |
Acting without thinking |
His impetuous decision led to regret later on. |
Imprudent |
Lacking good judgment; unwise |
It was imprudent of her to go swimming alone in the dark. |
Incandescent |
Emitting light as a result of being heated |
The incandescent bulb illuminated the room. |
Incessant |
Continuing without interruption |
The incessant noise from the construction site was annoying. |
Ineffable |
Too great or extreme to be expressed in words |
The beauty of the sunset was ineffable. |
Ingenious |
Clever, original, and inventive |
The engineer’s design for the bridge was ingenious and solved a major obstacle. |
Inimical |
Hostile or harmful |
The harsh environment was inimical to the survival of the plants. |
Innuendo |
An indirect or suggestive remark |
His innuendo implied that she was responsible for the mistake. |
Insidious |
Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way |
The insidious disease went undetected until it was too late. |
Interminable |
Seemingly endless; very long and tiring |
The meeting seemed interminable, dragging on for hours. |
Intransigent |
Unwilling to compromise or change one’s mind; stubborn |
The intransigent leader refused to listen to any alternative solutions. |
Jocular |
Playful and humorous; lighthearted |
He told a jocular joke to break the tension in the room. |
Jubilant |
Extremely joyful |
The team was jubilant after winning the championship. |
Juxtapose |
To place side by side for comparison |
The artist juxtaposed light and dark in her paintings. |
Kindle |
To ignite |
The teacher hoped to kindle an interest in science among her students. |
Knell |
The sound of a bell, especially when rung solemnly for a death or funeral |
The knell of the church bell signaled the end of the service. |
Lachrymose |
Tending to weep or cry often; tearful |
The lachrymose movie made the entire audience cry. |
Laconic |
Using few words; concise |
The detective gave a laconic response to the question. |
Lament |
To mourn; express sorrow or regret |
The villagers lamented the loss of their crops to the drought. |
Languid |
Lacking energy; slow and relaxed |
The hot weather made him feel languid and sleepy. |
Languish |
To become weak or feeble |
The plants began to languish during the drought. |
Lethargic |
Sluggish |
After a heavy meal, he felt lethargic and sleepy. |
Maladroit |
Clumsy or awkward in movement or behavior |
He tried to help, but his maladroit attempts only made things worse. |
Malaise |
A general feeling of discomfort, illness, or uneasiness |
A sense of malaise hung over the city after the natural disaster. |
Malicious |
Intending to do harm |
The rumors were spread with malicious intent. |
Mawkish |
Excessively sentimental; sappy |
The movie’s mawkish ending left the audience rolling their eyes. |
Meticulous |
Paying great attention to detail; careful and precise |
The scientist was meticulous in her lab work, ensuring accurate results. |
Mollify |
To soothe; appease |
She tried to mollify her angry boss with an apology. |
Meticulous |
Extremely careful about details |
The artist was meticulous in every brushstroke. |
Nebulous |
Unclear; vague |
The instructions were nebulous, leaving us confused. |
Nefarious |
Wicked or criminal |
The gang was involved in nefarious activities throughout the city. |
Nonchalant |
Appearing casually unconcerned or indifferent |
He acted nonchalant about the news, but deep down, he was worried. |
Nonplussed |
Surprised and confused |
She was nonplussed by the sudden turn of events. |
Oblivious |
Unaware |
She was so deep in thought that she was oblivious to her surroundings. |
Obfuscate |
To make something unclear or difficult to understand |
The politician’s answer obfuscated the real issue rather than addressing it directly. |
Obsequious |
Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree |
The obsequious assistant always agreed with his boss. |
Opaque |
Not transparent; not allowing light to pass through |
The windows were opaque, preventing anyone from seeing inside. |
Ostensible |
Apparent or seeming, but not necessarily true |
His ostensible reason for being late was car trouble, but it was probably something else. |
Ostentatious |
Showy; intended to impress others |
Her ostentatious display of wealth made others uncomfortable. |
Paradigm |
A typical example or pattern |
The discovery was a paradigm shift in the field of medicine. |
Parsimonious |
Stingy; excessively frugal |
His parsimonious nature made him reluctant to spend money. |
Pedantic |
Overly concerned with minor details and rules; fussy |
The professor’s pedantic lectures often bored his students. |
Pernicious |
Harmful |
The pernicious effects of smoking are well-documented. |
Plausible |
Believable; credible |
His explanation seemed plausible, given the circumstances. |
Portentous |
Suggesting the occurrence of something important or ominous |
The dark clouds were a portentous sign of an approaching storm. |
Precipitous |
Sudden and steep; abrupt |
The stock market took a precipitous drop after the bad news. |
Precipitate |
Sudden and steep; abrupt |
The stock market took a precipitous drop after the bad news. |
Quell |
To suppress; put an end to |
The police were called to quell the riot. |
Querulous |
Complaining |
His querulous nature made him difficult to work with. |
Quixotic |
Idealistic but impractical |
His quixotic dreams of world peace were admirable but unrealistic. |
Rebuke |
To criticize or express disapproval of someone or something |
The teacher gently rebuked the student for talking in class. |
Recondite |
Difficult to understand; obscure |
The book was filled with recondite philosophical concepts. |
Reprehensible |
Deserving criticism or condemnation |
His actions were deemed reprehensible by society. |
Resilient |
Able to recover quickly from difficulties |
Despite facing many setbacks, she remained resilient and optimistic. |
Reticent |
Reserved; reluctant to speak |
She was reticent about discussing her personal life. |
Sagacious |
Wise |
The sagacious old man gave valuable advice to the young prince. |
Salient |
Most noticeable or important |
The salient features of the proposal were highlighted. |
Sanguine |
Optimistic; cheerful |
Despite the setback, he remained sanguine about the future. |
Sedulous |
Showing great care and persistent effort |
He was a sedulous student who always went above and beyond. |
Solicitous |
Showing care and concern for the welfare of others; attentive |
The nurse was solicitous of the patient’s needs. |
Soliloquy |
A speech delivered by a character alone on stage |
The actor delivered a powerful soliloquy that revealed his character’s inner turmoil. |
Stoic |
Not showing feeling or emotion; unemotional |
He remained stoic even when faced with great adversity. |
Sumptuous |
Rich, splendid, and luxurious |
The king lived a sumptuous life in his palace. |
Supercilious |
Behaving as if one thinks one is superior to others; arrogant |
The professor’s supercilious attitude alienated his students. |
Superfluous |
Unnecessary; more than enough |
The extra decorations were superfluous and cluttered the room. |
Surreptitious |
Secretive; stealthy |
She made a surreptitious exit from the party. |
Taciturn |
Reserved; uncommunicative |
The taciturn man preferred listening to speaking. |
Tenacious |
Persistent |
She was tenacious in her pursuit of a career in medicine. |
Tenuous |
Weak or unreliable; flimsy |
The evidence supporting their claim was very tenuous. |
Transient |
Lasting for only a short time |
The transient feeling of happiness soon faded away. |
Trepidation |
Fear; apprehension |
She approached the haunted house with trepidation. |
Ubiquitous |
Being everywhere at the same time |
In today’s world, smartphones are ubiquitous. |
Unanimous |
In complete agreement |
The committee reached a unanimous decision. |
Vacillate |
To waver between different opinions or actions |
He vacillated between accepting the job offer and staying at his current position. |
Vehement |
Showing strong feeling; passionate |
He was vehement in his opposition to the proposal. |
Venerable |
Worthy of respect due to age, wisdom, or character |
The venerable professor had taught at the university for over 50 years. |
Wane |
To decrease gradually in size or intensity |
The moon’s brightness began to wane as it entered its last phase. |
Wary |
Cautious |
She was wary of strangers offering her help. |
Wistful |
Yearning; longing with sadness |
As she looked at the old photographs, she felt wistful. |
Xenophile |
A person who is attracted to foreign cultures or people |
As a xenophile, she loved traveling and experiencing new cultures. |
Xenophobia |
Fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers |
The rise of xenophobia in the country was concerning. |
Yearn |
To have a strong desire or longing |
He yearned for adventure and travel. |
Zeal |
Enthusiasm |
She tackled her new project with great zeal. |
Zealous |
Filled with zeal; fervent |
The volunteers were zealous in their efforts to help. |
Zephyr |
A gentle breeze |
The zephyr rustled the leaves of the trees in the park. |