Collegiate Vocabulary 1-60

Adroit

adj. - skillful; clever

Adulterate

verb - to make impure; to contaminate

adj. - impure

Affectation

noun - a phony attitude; a pose

Affinity

noun - an attraction to

Affluence

noun - wealth; richness

Antipathy

noun - an intense dislike

Antithesis

noun - an exact opposite

adj. - common; ordinary

Banal

adj. - common; ordinary

Besmirch

verb - to make dirty; stain

Baroque

adj. - overly decorated

Bowdlerize

verb - to remove offensive passages of a play, novel, etc.

Boor

noun - a rude or impolite person

Bucolic

adj. - pertaining to the countryside; rural; rustic

Cataract

noun - large waterfall; abnormality of the eye

Cataclysm

noun - a violent change

Deference

noun - respect; consideration

Delineate

verb - to describe; to depict

Deign

verb - to lower oneself before an inferior

Edify

Edification

verb - improve someone morally or intellectually

noun

Eclectic

adj. - choosing from various sources

Elegy

noun - a sad or mournful poem

Enmity

noun - the state of being opposed to or hostile towards someone or something

Effete

adj. - worn out:spent; usually refers to morals or beliefs

Equanimity

noun - mental calmness, composure

Elicit

verb - to draw forth

Ergo

conj. - therefore

Eschew

verb - to keep away from; to avoid; to shun

Facetious

adj. - treating serious issues

Fastidious

adj. - hard to please; fussy

Factious

adj. - causing disagreement

Fervent

adj. - eager; earnest; passionate

Finesse

noun - artful management; tact

Garner

verb - to gather; acquire

Garish

adj. - tastelessly gaudy

Gambol

verb - to frolic; to romp about playfully

Garrulous

adj. - talkative

Hermetic

adj. - tightly sealed; airtight

Halcyon

adj. - calm; pleasant; peaceful

Harbinger

noun - an omen or sign of things to come

Importune

verb - to persistently ask

Elucidate

verb - make something clear; explain

Idiosyncrasy

noun - peculiar personality trait

Imminent

adj. - likely to happen soon; threatening

Impale

verb - to pierce with a sharp stake through the body

Imperious

adj. - domineering; haughty

Immutable

adj. - unchangeable; fixed

Knell

noun - sound made by a bell rung slowly for a death or funeral

Laconic

adj. using few words

Kinetic

adj. - pertaining to motion

Kismet

noun - destiny; fate; fortune

Languid

adj. - a lack of energy, vigor, or enthusiasm

Malleable

adj. - easily influenced, adaptable, or shaped by external forces or people

Nebulous

adj. - unclear, vague, or ill-defined

Martinet

noun - a person who is a very strict disciplinarian and demands rigid, often excessive, adherence to rules, forms, and methods

Maelstrom

noun - a powerful, often destructive, whirlpool or a state of confusion and disorder

Machination

noun - an evil design or plan

Nascent

adj. - just coming into existence

Obiate

verb - to prevent; to get around

Obdurate

adj. - stubborn

Onus

noun - responsibility; obligation