Vocabulary List with Definitions and Examples

abate

to reduce in degree or intensity

aberration

the fact or an instance of deviating or being aberrant especially from a moral standard or normal state / something or someone regarded as atypical and therefore able to be ignored or discounted

abscond

to depart secretly and hide oneself

adhere

to hold fast or stick by or as if by gluing, suction, grasping, or fusing / to give support or maintain loyalty (to adhere to traditional values)

abject

sunk to or existing in a low state or condition : very bad or severe (abject poverty)

accede

to express approval or give consent; to agree to a request or demand —usually + to (the government acceded to the demands)

acclaim

applause, praise; critics acclaimed her performance.

acumen

keenness and depth of perception, discernment, or discrimination especially in practical matters

adamant

unshakable or insistent especially in maintaining a position or opinion; unyielding

admonish

to express warning or disapproval to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner

alacrity

promptness in response : cheerful readiness

allude

to make indirect reference

ambivalent

having or showing simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings toward something or someone

antipathy

a strong feeling of dislike

arbitrary

existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of will

atypical

not typical; irregular, unusual

beguiling

agreeably or charmingly attractive or pleasing

biased

exhibiting or characterized by bias; tending to yield one outcome more frequently than others in a statistical experiment

brusque

markedly short and abrupt / blunt in manner or speech often to the point of ungracious harshness

buttress

something that supports or strengthens

cacophonous

harsh-sounding

callous

feeling or showing no sympathy for others; feeling no emotion

camaraderie

a spirit of friendly good-fellowship

capricious

governed or characterized by caprice; impulsive, unpredictable

champion

a militant advocate or defender; one that does battle for another's rights or honor (noun)

circumlocution

the use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea; a deliberate evasion in speech

circumspect

careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences; prudent

circumvent

to manage to get around especially by ingenuity or stratagem

clamor

noisy shouting; a loud continuous noise

coarse

crude or unrefined in taste, manners, or language; of ordinary or inferior quality or value

commend

to mention with approbation or praise; to entrust for care or preservation

commensurate

equal in measure or extent (was given a job commensurate with her abilities)

comparable

similar, alike (the two houses are comparable in size)

complementary

serving to fill out or complete; mutually supplying each other's lack (their economies are more complementary than competitive)

conceptualize

to form a concept of (to conceptualize a new car design)

conform

to be obedient or compliant, usually used with to (to conform to another's wishes)

conjecture

an inference formed without proof or sufficient evidence; a conclusion deduced by surmise or guesswork (The criminal's motive remains a matter of conjecture)

contemplate

to view or consider with continued attention; to ponder; to meditate on (to contemplate the vastness of the universe)

contend

to strive or vie in contest or rivalry or against difficulties; to struggle (contended with the problems of municipal government)

contrite

feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for improper or objectionable behavior, actions, etc.

corroborate

to support with evidence or authority; make more certain (the trustworthy witness corroborated the accused man's alibi)

dearth

a scarcity that makes dear; an utter lack of something (the investigation produced a dearth of evidence)

debacle

a great disaster; a fiasco

deferential

showing or expressing respect and high regard due a superior or an elder; showing or expressing deference (listened with deferential attention to his grandfather)

defiant

full of or showing a disposition to challenge, resist, or fight; full of or showing defiance; bold and impudent (a defiant refusal)

delegate

acting for or representing another; a person representing another individual or group (noun) (the nominee netted a handful of delegates in the state's caucus)

demur

the act or an instance of objecting; to hesitate (to do or accept something) usually based on doubt of the acceptability of something offered or proposed

desolate

devoid of inhabitants and visitors; deserted; showing the effects of abandonment and neglect

despot

a ruler with absolute power and authority; a tyrant

dirge

a slow, solemn, and mournful piece of music, especially one intended to accompany funeral or memorial rites

discern

to detect (discerned a figure approaching through the fog)

discernible

able to be perceived by a sense (such as sight or smell) or by the mind; capable of being discerned (Downpours are a near-daily occurrence throughout the year, and there are few discernible changes of season. Sunlight, warmth, and moisture are constants.)

discomfit

to put into a state of perplexity and embarrassment; to disconcert (was discomfited by the unexpected and probing question)

disconcerting

to throw into confusion (the counterstrategy disconcerted their plans)

disorienting

without one's bearings; to cause to lose the sense of time, place, or identity (verb)

disparate

containing or made up of fundamentally different and often incongruous elements (Like these imagined cities, identical twins are identical only in their blueprints.)

diverge

to become or be different in character or form (The friends' lives diverged after graduation)

divergent

differing from each other or from a standard (the divergent interests of capital and labor)

dormant

marked by a suspension of activity (a dormant volcano)

dubious

questionable or suspect as to true nature or quality (The recent rumbles and ruptures in the financial markets are finally making people reassess the dubious systems of credit that have arisen in the past few years)

duplicitous

deceptive in words or action (The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity)

eclipse

to obscure, darken; to reduce in importance or repute; to surpass (her score eclipsed the old record)

egalitarian

a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic affairs (By the 1960s, Sweden had one of the most robust social support systems in the world and one of the most egalitarian income distributions)

elicit

to call forth or draw out something, such as information or a response (her remarks elicited cheers)

eloquent

marked by forceful and fluent expression (an eloquent writer and speaker, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the founders of the women's rights movement)

elude

to avoid adroitly; to evade (the prison escapee managed to elude capture)

elusive

tending to evade grasp or pursuit (elusive prey); hard to comprehend or define (But for all their influence, D.C. lobbyists have failed to attain one elusive goal: public respect)

eminent

exhibiting eminence especially in standing above others in some quality or position; prominent (Next year sees the 150th anniversary of the 'invention' of the dinosaurs by the eminent English anatomist and palaeontologist, Richard Owen)

empirical

capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment (They collected plenty of empirical data from their experiments)

emulate

to strive to equal or excel; to imitate (She grew up emulating her sports heroes)

enigmatic

of, relating to, or resembling an enigma; mysterious (Mona Lisa's enigmatic smile)

ephemeral

fleeting; lasting a very short time (the autumnal blaze of colors is always to be treasured, all the more so because it is so ephemeral)

evanescent

tending to vanish like vapor; suggesting a quick vanishing and an airy or fragile quality.

evince

to display clearly

evoke

to bring to mind or recollection

exemplify

to show or illustrate by example

exhort

to incite by argument or advice; to urge strongly

expunge

to strike out, obliterate, or mark for deletion

extol

to praise highly; glorify

extricate

to free or remove from an entanglement or difficulty

fabricate

to invent, create, sometimes for the purpose of deception

fallacious

tending to deceive or mislead

foreboding

ominous; a feeling of coming evil

foretell

predict; to tell beforehand

fortuitous

fortunate or lucky

germane

being at once relevant and appropriate; fitting

guile

deceitfully cunning; duplicitous

guileless

innocent, naive

heed

to pay attention; to follow someone's advice or counsel

heterogeneous

consisting of dissimilar or diverse ingredients or constituents; mixed

hibernate

to be or become inactive or dormant

hinder

to hold back; prevent; check

homogeneous

of the same or a similar kind or nature

hyperbole

extravagant exaggeration

iconic

widely known and acknowledged especially for distinctive excellence

iconoclastic

a person who attacks settled beliefs or institutions

illicit

not permitted; unlawful; illegal

illusive

based on or producing illusion; illusory; deceptive

imminent

ready to take place : happening soon, often used of something bad or dangerous seen as menacingly near

immutable

not capable of or susceptible to change