Greatest Hits List

Ambivalence

Ambivalence

The state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone

Brevity

Concise and exact use of words in writing or speech

Buttress

Increase the strength of or justification for; reinforce

Dissension

Disagreement that leads to discord

Concede

To admit that something is true or valid after first denying or resting it

Auspicious

Conductive to success; favorable

Dubious

Hesitating or doubting; not to be relied upon

Galvanizing

Shock or excite (someone) into taking action

Avant-garde

Favoring or introducing experimental or unusual ideas; innovative

Divulge

Make known (private or sensitive information)

Plaint

An accusation, charge, complaint, or lamentation

Commiserate

Express or feel sympathy or pity

Idiosyncratic

Unique to an individual

Tenuous

Having little substance or strength; flimsy, weak

Laudable

Deserving praise and commendation

Sermon

A talk on a religious or moral subject

Abound

Exist in large numbers or amounts

Enunciate

Say or pronounce clearly

Canvassing

To try to discover information

Strewn

Untidily scattered

Entourage

A group of people attending or surrounding an important person

Fretted

To distress or be distressed; worry

Poised

Ready or prepared to act or respond

Ratcheted Up

To increase repeatedly and by small amounts

Bullish

Aggressively confident and self-assertive

Standard-Bearer

A leading figure in a cause or movement

Staid

Sedate, respectable, and unadventurous; steady

Impersonal

Not influenced by, showing, or involving personal feelings

Draconian

Excessively harsh and severe

Subversive

Seeking to undermine the power of an established system

Innocuous

Not harmful or offensive

Deleterious

Causing harm or damage

Dissenting

Expressing opinions that differ from those commonly held

Dearth

A scarcity or lack of something

Lethargic

Sluggish and apathetic

Ravish

Fill with intense delight

Sensuous

Attractive physically; relating to senses rather than intellect

Interjected

Say abruptly, especially as an aside or interruption

Benign

Having no significant effect; harmless

Discernible

Able to be perceived by a sense or by the mind

Repudiates

Refuse to accept or be associated with; deny the truth of

Recants

Say that one no longer holds an opinion or belief

Interminable

Endless (often used hyperbolically)

Tenuous

Very weak or slight; insubstantial

Inexplicable

Unable to be explained or accounted for

Oeuvre

The works of a painter, composer, or author regarded collectively

Petulant

Childishly sulky or bad-tempered

Consensus

General agreement

Corroborate

To confirm or give support

Deference

Humble submission and respect

Denounce

Publicly declare to be wrong or evil

Evoke

Bring or recall to the conscious mind

Implicate

To connect or involve in something

Invoke

Cite or appeal to (someone or something)

Reconcile

To restore to friendship; to settle; to resign (oneself)

Renounce

Formally declare one’s abandonment of

Unobtrusive

Not conspicuous or attracting attention

Epitomizing

Be a perfect example of

Disparage

To belittle or speak of something in a derogatory manner

Incessant

Continuing without interruption; constant

Tacit

Understood or implied without being stated

Surmised

Suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it

Contrived

Deliberately created rather than arising naturally; created in a way that seems artificial and unrealistic

Disparate

Essentially different in kind; not allowing comparison

Paucity

The presence of something only in small or insufficient quantities; scarcity

Profusion

A great quantity or amount; a wealth or abundance of gifts

Verisimilitude

The appearance of being true or real