Advanced English Vocabulary

Abeyance

a temporary cessation or suspension

Abject 

(of something bad) experienced to the max, most contemptible

Abnegation

rejecting or renouncing something

Acuity

sharpness or keenness of thought, vision, or hearing

Agentic

(of AI) act autonomously

Alacrity

brisk and cheerful readiness

Ambivalent

Having mixed feelings

Annuity

contract requiring regular payments (longer than a year)

Antipathy

strong dislike

Aphorism

pithy statement of a general truth

Augury

an omen / or the profession of studying them

Auxiliary

functioning in a supporting capacity

Burgeon 

grow or increase rapidly, flourish

Cachet

prestige

Caper

playful skipping / dancing OR (informal) illicit or ridiculous act

Cleave

split or sever something, divide cells (biology)

Commensurate

corresponding in size or degree

Congenital

condition or trait present since birth

Consternation 

anxiety + dismay, typically at something unexpected

Defer

postpone

Deleterious

causing harm or damage

Demobilize

take troops out of service (end of war usually)

Depredation

act of attacking or plundering

Dichotomy 

a contrast between two things that are represented as entirely opposites

Disseminate 

spread widely

Distal

situated away from the center of the body or the point of attachment

Distended

swollen due to pressure from inside

Ebullience 

quality of being cheerful + full of energy, exuberance

Effulgence

shining brightly, radiant

Eidetic

unusually detailed and vivid mental image

Endemic

confined to a particular country or area

Enmity

being actively opposed or hostile towards something/one

Equanimity

mental calmness, composure (esp. in a difficult situation)

Esthetic

characterized by appreciation of beauty / good taste

Ethos 

the values or beliefs that define a people`

Expostulate

express strong disapproval / disagreement

Expropriate

dispossess (someone) of property

Extemporize

improvise (less general, usually in a speaking/writing context)

Extrapolate

use small details/specific evidence to make general claims

Fallow

inactive; unproductive

Fecund

fertile; productive

Florid

Red, healthy complexion OR Elaborately or excessively intricate

Gregarious

sociable

Hebetude

state of being dull / lethargic

Heterogeneity

different in kind; incongrous

Histrionic

overly dramatic and attention seeking

Holistic

the parts are interconnected and can only be explained by reference to the whole

Ignominy 

public shame or disgrace

Imbroglio

difficult or embarrassing situation; entanglement

Immolate

to kill or sacrifice (especially by burning)

Impugned

challenged; called into question

Impunity

exemption from punishment

Imprecation 

to curse

Incontinent

not restrained or controlled (usually about peeing/pooping)

Inculcate

instill / teach by persistent instruction

Indelible

cannot be removed or forgotten

Indomitable

impossible to subdue

Inhibition 

a feeling that makes one self-conscious + unable to act in a relaxed + natural way

Inimical

tending to obstruct or harm / unfriendly; hostile

Iniquity

immoral or grossly unfair behavior

Investiture

formally investing a person with honors/ranks

Irascibility

exasperation

Jocund 

cheerful + lighthearted

Knell

solemn bell ringing for a death

Lugubrious

looking/sounding sad + dismal

Macerate

soften by soaking in water (archaic: thin, or waste away esp. by fasting)

Maudlin

emotional, sad

Mire 

involve in a difficult situation OR covered in mud

Modicum

small quantity of something desirable/valuable

Multilateral

having many sides; participated in by more than two participants

Myopic

nearsighted: lacking foresight, imagination or intellectual insight

Nascent

just created with signs of future potential

Obsequious 

obedient + attentive to an excessive/servile degree

Parity

state of being equal (especially in status or pay)

Paucity

an insufficient quantity

Perfidy

faithlessness, treachery

Pernicious

gradually harmful in the long term

Posterity 

future generations

Presuppose

making a statement/claim based on a preconceived assumption

Promulgated 

promote or make widely known

Rectitude 

morally correct behavior

Refractory

person resistant to authority

Remittance

transfer of money by workers to people in the country from which they emigrated

Remunerate

pay money for work/service, compensate

Reticent

not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily

Riven

split or tear apart violently (literary) OR crack a stone

Sanguine 

cheerful; optimistic

Sardonic

grimly mocking or cynical

Scold (n.)

person who nags or grumbles (usually woman)

Seminal

(of a moment, event, person, work) strongly influencing later developments

Spasmodic 

occurring in brief, irregular bursts

Stratified

(of society) divided into classes

Subsist

maintaining or supporting oneself at a minimum level

Sumptuous 

splendid + expensive looking

Superfluous

unnecessary, more than enough

Supple

bending or moving flexibly

Tacit

implied

Vacuous

lack of thought or intelligence, mindless

Vagulous 

vague or wayward

Vindicate

to be proven right or innocent