Vocabulary Building: Key Words and Definitions in English

Acumen

(n.) skill in making correct decisions and judgments in a particular subject such as business or politics

Capricious

(adj.) impulsive; unpredictable

Discretion(1)

The act of being careful not to cause embarrassment or attract too much attention, especially by keeping something secret

Discretion(2)

The right or ability to decide something; see also(discreet adj.)

Façade

(n.) an architectural term signifying the front of a building; or a false or deceptive appearance

idiosyncrasy

(n.) a structural or behavioral oddity (idiosyncratic adj.)

Macabre

(adj.) suggesting the horror of death and decay

Presumptuous

(adj.) overly forward; going beyond what is right or proper

Solicitous

(adj.) Anxious or concerned about another's needs; attentive

Ubiquitous

(adj.) Seeming to be everywhere at once

Veracity

(n.) Truthfulness(see verify(v.) to prove the accuracy or truth of something

Affiliate

(n.) to be connected with or controlled by another organization

Affiliate

(v.) to cause a person or group to become connected to or be controlled by another--usually larger--organization

Caveat

(n.) a warning to consider something before acting further, or a statement which limits a more general statement

Elegiac

(adj.) expressing sorrow or mourning

Faux Pas

(n.) a social blunder or mistake

Ignominious

(adj.) shameful; disgraceful

Manifest

(adj.) clearly apparent to

Quintessence

(n.) the purest most essential element or example of a thing (quintessential adj., quintessentially adv.)

Succinct

(adj.) short, direct, to the point

Unctuous

(adj.) marked by fake or exaggerated eagerness

Vicarious

(adj.) experienced as a result of watching, listening, or reading about the activities of other people, rather than doing the activities yourself

Altruistic

(adj.) unselfish; giving

Chagrin

(n.) distress of mind caused by embarrassment or humiliation

Elucidate

(v.) to explain; to make clear

Haggard

(adj.) having a worn or sickly appearance

Impugn

(v.) to attack with words and arguments

Misanthropic

(adj.) hateful towards mankind

Quixotic

(adj.) foolishly impractical

Succumb

(v.) to give in, especially after being overwhelmed

Vascillating

(adj.) swaying, tottering, fluctuating (vacillate v.)

Virulent

(adj.) highly infectious, like a virus