Personal Vocab Words

A list of words collected from various sources to help expand my vocabulary.

stultify

to make something arbitrary or useless

obsequious

subservient; eager to serve or please

penury

extreme poverty

castigate

to scold, admonish, and/or punish

vacillate

to be indecisive or ambivalent

foment

to incite or instigate

laconic

to express an idea or thought with minimal words 

mendacious

untruthful or dishonest

persiflage

lighthearted conversation; banter

ossify

to harden into bone

prosaic

ordinary and uninteresting; possessing the qualities of prose instead of poetry

veracity

to be truthful or accurate (usually in an objective sense)

reticent

the unwillingness to divulge one's feelings

stalwart

brave, loyal, strong, and/or persistent

mollify

to assuage one's anger or upset; to pacify

disport

to play or amuse oneself in a lighthearted fashion

temerity

recklessness; audacity or foolhardiness

acrimony

bitter; angry and resentful

urbane

polite; courteous

pernicious

to be harmful, usually in a way that occurs over time or subtly

impunity

exempt from punishment or the consequences of an action

schism

a divide between members of an organization or group

ancillary

secondary; in addition to a primary state or nature

lede

a segment of a news story intended to entice an audience into reading; the "hook" of a news story

clemency

to be merciful; to lessen due punishment

soporific

to have an effect that causes or induces sleep

officious

to offer action or input where it has not been asked for; meddlesome; nosy

susurrate

to whisper or speak quietly

pulchritudinous

of an attractive appearance; beautiful

perspicacious

of a quick intellect; sharp-witted; shrewd

mirific

instilling wonder and/or awe; wonderful

dearth

scarcity; a lack of something

vicissitude

transient; a state of being that is changeable

imbibe

to drink; to consume

scintillating

exciting

vim

energy and/or enthusiasm

vociferous

loud and boisterous; obnoxious

apropos

in respect or relation to something

sagacious

the ability to understand difficult concepts and/or make wise decisions

veristic

a style of art/portraiture that favors realism and naturalism

indolent

averse to activity, effort, or movement

effusive

expressing excessive emotion or enthusiasm

loquacious

well-spoken; articulate

aberrant

deviating from what is typical or normal; abnormal

accoutrement

an article of clothing or equipment for a specific setting and/or activity

fastidious

particular to an excessive degree; pedantic

perfidy

to be disloyal

duplicitous

intentionally misleading; deceitful