| abject | sunk to a low condition; groveling; mean; despicable |
| abstract | considered apart from matter or from specific examples; not concrete |
| acclaim | To salute or applaud |
| acquiesce | to consent without protest |
| acrimonious | sharpness or bitterness of speech or temper |
| acumen | quickness of insight or discernment |
| aesthetic | keenly responsive to beauty in art, nature, etc. |
| affinity | a liking for; a natural attraction |
| affluence | riches; wealth |
| alacrity | cheerful willingness and promptness; speed or quickness |
| analogous | resembling or comparable in certain respects |
| apathy | lack of emotion; indifferent; unconcerned |
| arbitrary | based on or subject to one’s opinion, judgment, prejudice, etc. |
| benevolent | disposed to do good; kindly |
| blatant | Offensively obvious, loud, and noisy |
| brevity | brief or concise |
| candid | honest and open; sincere; frank |
| candor | frankness of expression |
| capacious | spacious, capable of holding a large quantity |
| capricious | fickle or whimsical in character |
| chicanery | trickery; quibbling |
| clairvoyant | having insight or second sight beyond normal perception; seeing the future |
| cognizant | having knowledge; aware of |
| complacent | smug; self-satisfied |
| compulsory | required; obligatory |
| conciliatory | tending to reconcile or conciliate |
| conjecture | to conclude from incomplete evidence; guess; infer; surmise |
| conspicuous | clearly visible; easy to be seen |
| deduce | to reach a reasoned conclusion |
| deleterious | causing moral or physical injury |
| derivative | copied or adapted from others |
| destitute | not having; entirely lacking; extremely poor |
| deviate | to depart from an acceptable norm or standard procedure |
| devious | leading away from a direct course; not straightforward; cunning; |
| diaphanous | delicate, fine texture |
| diligent | showing perseverance; industrious |
| discernible | perceptible; distinguishable |
| disdain | to treat with contempt; to consider beneath oneself |
| disparage | to treat or speak of with disrespect or contempt; belittle |
| disseminate | to scatter, as if sowing |
| diverse | marked by distinct differences; not alike; varied |
| dogmatic | asserting an opinion or belief in an authoritative or arrogant manner; opinionated |
| eccentric | Differing conspicuously in behavior, appearance, or opinions; peculiar |
| emulate | try to equal or surpass |
| encumbered | weighed down, burdened |
| enigma | anything that puzzles or baffles; a mystery |
| epiphany | a sudden illumination or understanding |
| erudite | very learned; scholarly |
| erudition | deep, extensive learning |
| exonerate | to free from accusation or blame |
| expedite | to speed up the process or progress of; facilitate; quick efficiency |
| extricate | to free from entanglement, hindrance, or difficulties |
| facetious | marked by levity or flippant humor; not to be taken seriously |
| fallacious | deceptive or misleading; containing a fallacy |
| fallacious | deceptive, misleading |
| fortuitous | occurring by chance rather than design; casual; accidental |
| futile | done in vain; useless; being of no avail |
| germane | pertains to the point at hand |
| gratuitous | given or obtained without payment or return; free |
| gregarious | sociable |
| hackneyed | made commonplace by frequent use; trite |
| homogeneous | having the same composition, structure, or character throughout; uniform |
| impasse | no exit or escape, stalemate |
| impeccable | flawless; incapable of doing wrong |
| impervious | incapable of being passed through; impenetrable |
| impetuous | tending to act on sudden impulse and without forethought |
| incessant | continuing without interruption; never ceasing |
| incognito | in disguise; so as to avoid recognition or attention |
| incorrigible | incapable of being corrected or amended |
| indifferent | having no interest or feeling; unconcerned |
| indolent | averse to exertion or work; lazy |
| inevitable | cannot be avoided or prevented from happening |
| innocuous | having no harmful qualities or effects; harmless |
| inquisitive | somewhat too curious; prying; eager for knowledge or learning |
| insatiable | incapable of being satisfied; extremely greedy |
| insidious | somewhat cunning or deceitful; treacherous; wily |
| integrity | uprightness of character; honesty |
| jocular | given to joking; like a joke |
| jubilation | joy, celebration |
| judicious | having, showing, or exercising good judgment; prudent |
| kindle | to cause to burn; ignite; to excite, as feelings |
| kinetic | pertaining to motion; produced or caused by motion |
| lacerate | to rip or cut, cause deep distress |
| languor | no energy, lazy mood |
| lethargy | a state of indifference; apathy; forgetful; sluggish |
| loquacious | characterized by continuous talking |
| ludicrous | ridiculous; absurd |
| lugubrious | very sad; mournful in a ludicrous manner |
| mandate | authoritative command or instruction |
| mediator | one who reconciles differences between opposing parties |
| mesmerize | to enthrall or hypnotize |
| meticulous | extremely or overly precise about details |
| mitigate | to make or become milder or less severe |
| morose | ill-humor; sullen; gloomy |
| mundane | characterized as practical, routine, or ordinary |
| negligence | neglect, failure to act |
| nihilism | total denial of all traditional principles, values, and institutions |
| nocturnal | pertaining to or occurring in the night |
| novice | a beginner; an inexperienced person |
| obdurate | hardened in wrongdoing, hardhearted |
| oblique | indirect or evasive |
| obscure | not clear or plain to the mind; hard to understand; difficult to discern
|
| obsequious | excessively obedient or submissive; servile |
| opportune | suited for a particular purpose |
| oscillate | to swing back and forth as a pendulum; to fluctuate among various courses of action or thought |
| ostensible | apparent; offered as real or genuine |
| ostentatious | showy; intended to attract notice |
| paginate | to number pages |
| palaver | idle chatter |
| palliate | to make less severe or intense |
| palpable | capable of being touched or felt; readily perceived; obvious |
| pandemonium | marked by disorder and uproar |
| paradigm | any pattern or example |
| penitent | affected by a sense of one’s own guilt |
| pertinent | relevant; related to or properly bearing on the matter |
| plausible | something likely or probably, but open to doubt; trustworthy; believable |
| precipitous | hasty; or, very steep |
| precocious | unusually developed or advanced for one’s age; premature development |
| prerogative | an exclusive right; peculiar privilege; preeminence |
| prevaricate | to speak or act in a deceptive, ambiguous, or evasive manner; lie |
| propensity | a natural disposition or tendency; bent |
| provocative | to stimulate; to provoke |
| querulous | to complain or be fretful; a whining disposition |
| quiescent | a state of repose or inaction; quiet; still; free from anxiety |
| quintessence | pure, concentrated essence of something |
| quixotic | idealistic in an impractical way |
| ramification | the result or consequences stemming from a main source. |
| rapacious | given to plunder; grasping; greedy |
| recalcitrant | not complying; obstinate; rebellious |
| recant | to formally withdraw one’s belief in something previously believed or maintained |
| reclamation | restoration |
| reclusive | secluded or retired from the world |
| recrimination | to accuse in return; to counter one accusation with another |
| rectify | to make right; correct; amend |
| recumbent | resting, lying down |
| redolent | full of or defusing a pleasant fragrance |
| redundant | more than is required; repetitive |
| refutable | something that can be proven incorrect or false |
| regressive | a tendency to move backwards or withdrawal |
| relegate | to send off or consign to an obscure position or place |
| relinquish | to give up; abandon |
| remonstrate | to say or plead in protest or objection; argue against an action |
| reparation | to repay; the act of making amends; atonement |
| replenish | to fill again, as something partially emptied |
| repose | the act of taking rest or the state of being at rest; calm; at peace |
| reprehensible | deserving blame or censure |
| repudiate | to refuse to accept as valid or binding; reject |
| requisite | required by the nature or circumstances of things; indispensable; a necessity |
| rescind | repeal or annul |
| resilient | springing back to a former shape or position |
| resolute | determined; bold; unflinching |
| reticent | habitually silent or reserved; restrained |
| reverence | a feeling of profound respect often mingled with awe and affection |
| rigorous | marked by or acting with rigor; uncompromising; severe |
| rudimentary | pertaining to a first principle; elementary |
| sanguine | a cheerful, hopeful disposition; robust |
| scrutinize | to observe carefully; examine in detail |
| sedentary | characterized or resulting from much sitting; habitually sitting |
| skitter | to skip, glide, or move lightly along a surface |
| soporific | causing or tending to cause sleep; drowsy; sleepy |
| spontaneous | not premeditated; done or resulting from one’s own impulse or desire; unrestrained |
| squander | to spend money, time, etc., wastefully |
| stringent | compelled to strict requirements; severe, like regulations |
| succinct | consisting of brief and meaningful language; terse; concise |
| superficial | lying near or affecting only the surface; shallow |
| superficial | lying near or affecting only the surface; shallow |
| surreptitious | accomplishing or acting secretly by improper means |
| terse | short and to the point; concise |
| theoretical | relating to or consisting of theory; hypothetical |
| truncate | to cut the top or end squarely off |
| ubiquitous | existing, or seeming to exist, everywhere at once; omnipresent |
| unctuous | characterized by affected emotion; oily-tongued; unduly suave |
| unobtrusive | not readily noticeable |
| unscrupulous | having no morals; unprincipled |
| vacuous | having no contents; empty |
| vindictive | having a revengeful spirit |
| virulent | exceedingly noxious; harmful |
| wanton | licentious; lustful; malicious |
| xenophile | to hate or distrust strangers or foreigners |
| zenith | the highest or culminating point; or peak |
