| Words |
Meaning |
| 1. Abate |
v. to become less strong, or to make something less strong |
| 2. Abstract |
adj. existing as an idea, feeling, or quality, not as a material object |
| 3. Abysmal |
adj. very bad |
| 4. Adversarial |
adj. involving opposition or disagreement |
| 5. Agitate |
v. to argue energetically, esp. in public, in order to achieve a particular type of change |
| 6. Benevolent |
adj. kind and helpful |
| 7. Beguile |
v. to charm, attract, or interest, sometimes in order to deceive |
| 8. Bereft |
adj. having to do without something or someone and suffering from the loss |
| 9. Blandishments |
n. pleasant words or actions used in order to persuade someone to do something |
| 10. Bilk |
v. to get money from someone unfairly or dishonestly |
| 11. Cajole |
v. to persuade someone to do something they might not want to do, by pleasant talk and (sometimes false) promises |
| 12. Callous |
adj. unkind, cruel, and without sympathy or feeling for other people |
| 13. Calumny |
n. (the act of making) a statement about someone that is not true and is intended to damage the reputation of that person |
| 14. Camaraderie |
n. a feeling of friendliness towards people that you work or share an experience with |
| 15. Congruity |
n. the quality of being the same as, or in agreement with, other facts or principles |
| 16. Dearth |
n. an amount of something that is too small: a lack |
| 17. Debauch |
v. to destroy or damage something so that it is no longer considered good or moral |
| 18. Demagogue |
n. a person, esp. a political leader, who wins support by exciting people’s emotions rather than giving them reasons |
| 19. Denigrate |
v. to say that someone or something is not good or important |
| 20. Diaphanous |
adj. A diaphanous substance, especially cloth, is so delicate and thin that you can see through it |
| 21. Eclectic |
adj. consisting of different types, methods, styles, etc. |
| 22. Ebullient |
adj. excited and enthusiastic |
| 23. Egregious |
adj. (of something bad) extreme; beyond any reasonable degree |
| 24. Embezzlement |
n. the crime of secretly taking money that is in your care or that belongs to an organization or business you work for |
| 25. Emollient |
n. a cream or liquid that makes dry or sore skin softer or less painful |
| 26. Flagrant |
adj. shocking because of being so bad and so obvious |
| 27. Forbearance |
n. the quality of being patient and being able to forgive someone or control yourself in a difficult situation |
| 28. Fortuitous |
adj. (esp. of something to your advantage) happening by chance |
| 29. Fractious |
adj. tending to argue, fight, or complain, and hard to control |
| 30. Fetter |
v. to keep someone within limits or stop them from making progress |
| 31. Garrulous |
adj. having the habit of talking a lot, esp. about unimportant things |
| 32. Gourmand |
n. a person who enjoys eating large amounts of food |
| 33. Grandiloquent |
adj. A grandiloquent style or way of using language is complicated in order to attract admiration and attention, especially in order to make someone or something seem important |
| 34. Gratuitous |
adj. not necessary; with no reasonable cause |
| 35. Goulash |
n. a dish originally from Hungary consisting of meat cooked in a sauce with vegetables and paprika (= a red spice) |
| 36. Hegemony |
n. (especially of countries) the position of being the strongest and most powerful and therefore able to control others |
| 37. Heterogeneous |
adj. consisting of different parts or types |
| 38. Hapless |
adj. unlucky |
| 39. Hoard |
v. to collect a large supply of something, more than you need now, often because you think you will not be able to get it later |
| 40. Hokey |
adj. too emotional or artificial to be believed |
| 41. Idiosyncratic |
adj. having strange or unusual habits, ways of behaving, or features |
| 42. Impecunious |
adj. having very little money |
| 43. Inchoate |
adj. only recently or partly formed, or not completely developed or clear |
| 44. Incumbent |
adj. officially having the named position |
| 45. Intransigent |
adj. refusing to change your opinions or behavior |
| 46. Jubilant |
adj. feeling or expressing great happiness, especially because of a success |
| 47. Jacaranda |
n. any of a genus (= group of related plants) of tropical American trees with attractive, usually purple flowers |
| 48. Jumbotron |
n. a very large video screen like those used in sports stadiums (= large areas of land with rows of seats and often no roof where people watch sports) |
| 49. Jabber |
v. to speak or say something quickly in a way that is difficult to understand |
| 50. Juxtapose |
v. to put things that are not similar next to each other |
| 51. Kibosh |
n. to spoil or destroy an idea or plan |
| 52. Keloid |
n. a scar that grows bigger and more lumpy than the wound it is healing |
| 53. Knell |
n. the sound of a bell rang slowly to announce a death |
| 54. Kleptomania |
n. a very strong wish to steal that you cannot control, especially without any need or purpose, usually considered to be a type of mental illness |
| 55. Knave |
n. a dishonest man |
| 56. Laconic |
adj. using very few words to express what you mean |
| 57. Largesse |
n. willingness to give money, or money given to poor people by rich people |
| 58. Legerdemain |
n. skillful hiding of the truth in order to trick people |
| 59. Licentious |
adj. (especially of a person or their behavior) sexual in an uncontrolled and socially unacceptable way |
| 60. Linchpin |
n. the most important member of a group or part of a system, that holds together the other members or parts or makes it possible for them to operate as intended |
| 61. Maelstrom |
n. a situation in which there is great confusion, violence, and destruction |
| 62. Maudlin |
adj. feeling sad and sorry for yourself, especially after you have drunk a lot of alcohol |
| 63. Mawkish |
adj. showing emotion or love in an awkward or silly way |
| 64. Maverick |
n. a person who thinks and acts in an independent way, often behaving differently from the expected or usual way |
| 65. Mendacious |
adj. not telling the truth |
| 66. Negligent |
adj. not being careful or giving enough attention to people or things that are your responsibility |
| 67. Nadir |
n. the worst moment, or the moment of least hope and least achievement |
| 68. Neophyte |
n. someone who has recently become involved in an activity and is still learning about it |
| 69. Noisome |
adj. very unpleasant and offensive |
| 70. Noxious |
adj. Something, especially a gas or other substance, that is noxious is poisonous or very harmful |
| 71. Obdurate |
adj. extremely determined to act in a particular way and not to change despite what anyone else says |
| 72. Obfuscate |
v. to make something less clear and harder to understand, especially intentionally |
| 73. Obstreperous |
adj. difficult to deal with and noisy |
| 74. Officious |
adj. too eager to tell people what to do and having too high an opinion of your own importance |
| 75. Ostensible |
adj. appearing or claiming to be one thing when it is really something else |
| 76. Palliate |
v. to reduce the bad effects of something |
| 77. Paradigm |
n. a model of something, or a very clear and typical example of something |
| 78. Pariah |
n. a person who is not accepted by a social group, especially because they are not liked, respected, or trusted |
| 79. Paucity |
n. the fact that there is too little of something |
| 80. Pejorative |
adj. expressing disapproval or suggesting that something is not good or is of no importance |
| 81. Quaint |
adj. attractive because of being unusual and especially old-fashioned |
| 82. Quixotic |
adj. having or showing ideas that are different and unusual but not practical or likely to succeed |
| 83. Quandary |
n. a state of not being able to decide what to do about a situation in which you are involved |
| 84. Quibble |
v. to argue about, or say you disapprove of, something that is not important |
| 85. Quiescence |
n. the state of being temporarily quiet and not active |
| 86. Recalcitrant |
adj. (of a person) unwilling to obey orders or to do what should be done, or (of an animal) refusing to be controlled |
| 87. Redoubtable |
adj. very strong, especially in character; producing respect and a little fear in others |
| 88. Relegate |
v. to put someone or something into a lower or less important rank or position |
| 89. Reprieve |
n. an official order that stops or delays the punishment, especially by death, of a prisoner |
| 90. Rescind |
v. to make a law, agreement, order, or decision no longer have any (legal) power |
| 91. Sanctimonious |
adj. acting as if morally better than others |
| 92. Sanguine |
adj. (of someone or someone’s character) positive and hoping for good things |
| 93. Scurrilous |
adj. expressing unfair or false criticism that is likely to damage someone’s reputation |
| 94. Serendipity |
n. the fact of finding interesting or valuable things by chance |
| 95. Sobriety |
n. the state of being sober |
| 96. Tangential |
adj. of or along a tangent |
| 97. Torpid |
adj. not active; moving or thinking slowly, especially as a result of being lazy or feeling that you want to sleep |
| 98. Trenchant |
adj. severe, expressing strong criticism or forceful opinions |
| 99. Trite |
adj. expressed too often to be interesting or seem sincere |
| 100. Truculent |
adj. unpleasant and likely to argue a lot |
| 101. Ubiquitous |
adj. seeming to be everywhere |
| 102. Umbrage |
n. to feel upset or annoyed, usually because you feel that someone has been rude or shown no respect to you |
| 103. Upbraid |
v. to forcefully or angrily tell someone they should not have done a particular thing and criticize them for having done it |
| 104. Utilitarian |
adj. designed to be useful rather than decorative |
| 105. Uberize |
v. to change the market for a service by introducing a different way of buying or using it, especially using mobile technology |
| 106. Veracity |
n. the quality of being true, honest, or accurate |
| 107. Vestige |
n. a small part or amount of something larger, stronger, or more important that still exists from something that existed in the past |
| 108. Vicissitudes |
n. changes that happen at different times during the life or development of someone or something, especially those that result in conditions being worse |
| 109.Vilify |
v. to say or write unpleasant things about someone or something, in order to cause other people to have a bad opinion of them |
| 110. Virtuoso |
n. a person who is extremely skilled at something, especially at playing an instrument or performing |
| 111. Wanton |
adj. (of something bad, such as damage, cruelty, waste) extreme and showing no care at all |
| 112. Winsome |
adj. attractive and pleasing, with simple qualities, sometimes like those a child has |
| 113. Wily |
adj. (of a person) intelligent, having a very good understanding of situations, possibilities, and people, and often willing to use tricks to achieve an aim |
| 114. Wodge |
n. a thick piece or a large amount of something |
| 115. Wuthering |
adj. used to describe a wind that is blowing very strongly or a place where the wind blows strongly |
| 116. Yodel |
v. to sing by making a series of very fast changes between the natural voice and a much higher voice |
| 117. Yore |
n. of a long time ago |
| 118. Yack |
v. to talk continuously, especially informally about things that are not very important |
| 119. Yomp |
v. (often of soldiers) to walk quickly and energetically, usually while carrying a lot of equipment |
| 120. Yokel |
n. a stupid or awkward person who lives in the countryside rather than a town, especially one whose appearance is in some way strange or humorous |
| 121. Zealot |
n. a person who has very strong opinions about something, and tries to make other people have them too |
| 122. Zephyr |
n. a light wind |
| 123. Zap |
v. to get rid of or kill something or someone, especially intentionally |
| 124. Zeal |
n. great enthusiasm or eagerness |
| 125. Zenith |
n. the highest point reached by a heavenly body (= any object existing in space, especially a planet, or the sun) as it travels around, or appears to travel around, another body |
