Vocabulary List for Reading and Writing Comprehension

Flashcards of vocabulary words and definitions.

Abatement

the ending, reduction or lessening of something

Accentuate

to make more noticeable or prominent; to emphasize something

Adept

something you're good at

Adhere

stick to a surface OR believe in and follow the practice of a principle or philosophy

Aesthetics

set of principles concerned with nature or how things appear, especially the appreciation of beauty and art

Affecting

evoking the emotions or feelings

Ambiguous

open to more than one interpretation; unclear or inexact because a choice between alternatives has not been made

Ambivalent

torn between two options; can't decide between two things; does NOT mean indifferent (which means not to care)

Amorphous

having no definite form; shapeless; ALSO lacking organization or being without character or nature

Antagonistic

active opposition or hostility towards something or someone

Antecedent

preceding in time or order; a thing or event that previously existed; pre-existing

Arcane

understood by only a few; obscure; esoteric

Arduous

something that is very difficult, requiring strenuous effort

Ascribe

attribute something to (a cause or reason)

Assuage

make less intense or disagreeable; also to satisfy

Augment

make greater or better by adding to it

Banal

lacking originality; boring or common

Belies

fail to give a true notion or impression of something; disguise or contradict

Benevolent

kind, considerate, generous

Buttress

to support or increase the strength of

Candor/Candid

being open and honest; being frank and straightforward

Circumvent

to evade; to find a way around something; overcome something

Cited

a quote from a passage, book, research report, etc., as justification for an argument or claim

Compulsory

obligatory; something that is absolutely required

Conjecture

a hypothesis, opinion or judgement based on incomplete information

Consensus

a general agreement

Conspicuous

standing out or to be clearly visible; attracting notice or attention

Contentious

something that causes debate, disagreement, argument or rancor between people; something controversial

Contrive

create or bring about something intentionally or deliberately (though it probably wouldn't have happened naturally)

Copious

a lot of something

Corroborate

to confirm or give support

Dearth

inadequate, small supply; scarcity or lack of something

Defunct

no longer existing or functioning

Deliberate

done consciously or intentionally ALSO done carefully and in an unhurried manner ALSO to think over and debate or discuss thoroughly

Denigrate

criticize harshly and unfairly; disparage

Denounce

to condemn or harshly criticize

Depict

show or represent something; also to describe something

Desultory

lacking a plan, purpose or enthusiasm for something

Discern

to find out or recognize; ALSO "discerning" can be someone who has good judgment

Disingenuous

not sincere; not honest

Disparage

regard or represent as being of little worth; belittle, deride, discredit

Disparity

difference between two things

Dispersed

disseminated; widely distributed or spread out

Disseminate

to distribute, disperse, or spread widely

Dissonance

a tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious elements; noise

Dogmatic

to claim principles as incontrovertibly true and without debate

Eclipse

an obscuring of light; ALSO to make another person or thing seem much less important, good or famous; a falling into obscurity or decline

Elicit

to evoke or draw out a response from someone in reaction to one's own actions or questions

Emissary

a person sent on a special mission, usually in a diplomatic capacity

Entice

attract or tempt offering pleasure or advantage

Epitomize

a perfect example of something

Equivocal

open to debate or to more than one interpretation

Esteem

respect and admiration, typically for a person

Exacerbate

to make more intense or acute; to make something worse

Exactitude

being exact, precise or accurate

Extrapolate

to estimate or conclude something by extending the logic of something already known using similar methods

Foible

a minor weakness or eccentricity (unconventional or slightly strange) in someone's character

Fruitless

unproductive or useless; failing to achieve the desired result

Haphazard

lacking any obvious organization, unplanned, random; rushed and careless

Harbinger

a person or thing that announces or signals the approach of another person or thing; a forerunner of something

Hinder

impede, obstruct or prohibit

Idiosyncratic

a unique feature of a person or thing

Immutable

unable to be changed or unchanging over time

Impervious

not penetrable; can not be pierced

Implicit

implied though not plainly expressed; ALSO, very closely associated with or always to be found in

Inadvertent

not resulting from deliberate planning; done by chance or accident

Incongruous

not equivalent OR not in harmony with the surroundings

Indefatigable

relentless; persisting tirelessly

Ineluctable

unable to be resisted or avoided

Infeasible

not possible to do easily or conveniently

Innocuous

not harmful or offensive; benign

Insuperable

nearly impossible to overcome

Insurmountable

can not be overcome, achieved or beaten

Intrinsic

innate; belonging naturally OR something that is essential

Irrefutable

impossible to deny or disprove

Irreproachable

can't be criticized or faultless

Lament

a passionate expression of grief or sorrow

Manifest

to make evident or certain by displaying

Meager

a small amount

Mediate

bring about a result OR to intervene between people in order to bring about an agreement

Misanthropic

disliking humankind and avoiding human society

Misconstrue

to misunderstand or misinterpret

Mitigate

make something less severe, intense, serious or painful

Myopic

nearsighted; shortsighted; lacking imagination, foresight or intellectual insight; narrow-minded

Nebulous

unclear, vague or ill-defined; hazy (as in a cloud)