Hard Words

Acclaim

Public praise or approval for achievements.

Accolade

An award or privilege granted as a special honor.

Acrimonious

Angry and bitter in speech or debate.

Affirm

To state something positively or declare firmly that it is true.

Allegiance

Loyalty or commitment to a group or cause.

Alliance

A union formed for mutual benefit.

Ambulatory

Related to walking or capable of walking.

Amnesty

A pardon for offenses, often political.

Annull

To declare invalid or void.

Attest

To show or prove that something is true.

Banish

To send someone away from a place.

Bashful

Shy or easily embarrassed.

Beguile

To attract or interest someone.

Beget

To cause (something) to happen or exist. To father.

Belligerent

Hostile and aggressive; eager to fight.

Bigot

A person intolerant of differing opinions.

Callous

Emotionally insensitive or unfeeling.

Canny

Having shrewdness and good judgment.

Capitulate

To surrender or give in to demands.

Carnal

Relating to physical, especially sexual, needs.

Circumstantial

Something that seems to be true but is not proven.

Cohesive

Forming a united whole; well-integrated.

Commotion

A state of confused and noisy disturbance.

Compendium

A concise collection of information.

Comprise

To consist of; to be made up of.

Concede

To admit something is true after denial.

Conceive

To come up with a plan or idea.

Conducive

To cause or produce something.

Conduction

The process of heat transfer through materials.

Consort

To associate or keep company with.

Conspicuous

Easily seen or noticed; attracting attention.

Contentious

Causing or likely to cause an argument.

Convection

The transfer of heat through fluid movement.

Coveted

Greatly desired or wished for.

Credence

Mental acceptance of something as true or real.

Cryptic

Having a meaning that is mysterious or obscure.

Culminate

To reach the highest point or climax.

Culpability

Responsibility for a fault or wrong.

Cupidity

Greed for money or possessions.

Dandy

Excellent

Decadent

Corrupt or degraded

Deluge

A severe flood or overwhelming amount.

Derogatory

Insulting and lack of respect for someone or something.

Desiccated

Dried out; lacking moisture.

Discernible

Noticeable.

Discerning

Having or showing good judgment.

Disparage

To regard or represent as being of little worth.

Dissident

A person who opposes official policy.

Dissipation

Gradual loss or fading.

Distention

The state of being stretched or swollen.

Diversion

The act of changing course or direction. Distraction or amusement.

Dogmatic

Expressing personal opinions or beliefs as if they are certainly correct and cannot be doubted.

Dubious

Hesitating or doubting.

Eclectic

Composed of elements drawn from various sources.

Ensconce

To settle securely or snugly.

Engulf

To totally surround or cover.

Entice

To persuade someone to do something by offering him/her something nice.

Extrapolate

To predict by projecting past experience or known data.

Fable

A short story, typically with animals as characters, conveying a moral lesson.

Facilitate

To make an action or process easier.

Fallacy

An idea or belief that is false but many people think is true.

Famine

Extreme scarcity of food.

Finagle

To acquire something by deception or scam.

Foil

To prevent something from succeeding.

Galvanize

To shock or excite someone into taking action. To motivate.

Goofy

Amusingly silly or eccentric.

Imperceptible

Not perceptible by a sense or by the mind.

Impervious

Not allowing something to enter or pass through.

Implore

To beg someone earnestly or desperately.

Imprudent

Not showing care for the consequences.

Incredulous

Unwilling or unable to believe something.

Ingenuity

The quality of being clever or inventive.

Incessant

Continuing without pause or interruption.

Incisive

Clear and sharp in thought or expression.

Incoherent

Not logical or easily understood.

Incorrigible

Not able to be corrected or reformed.

Indomitable

Not capable of being defeated.

Induce

To persuade someone to do something, or to cause something to happen.

Infer

To deduce or conclude information from evidence.

Inquisitive

Curious or inquiring; eager for knowledge.

Insatiable

Impossible to satisfy; constantly wanting more.

Insolence

Rude and disrespectful behavior.

Insurrection

A violent uprising against an authority.

Intercede

To try to help settle an argument or disagreement between two or more people or groups.

Intermittent

Occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous.

Invoke

To request aid, usually from a deity.

Levity

A lack of seriousness.

Livid

Furiously angry; dark bluish color.

Miscegenation

Interbreeding of people considered to be of different racial types.

Negligible

So small or unimportant as to be not worth considering.

Onslaught

A very strong attack or criticism.

Ordinance

A law of a city or town.

Overzealous

Excessively enthusiastic or eager.

Overbearing

Overly bossy, domineering, or arrogant.

Paradox

A statement that contradicts itself but may reveal a truth.

Persecute

To subject someone to hostility or ill-treatment.

Perceptive

Having or showing sensitive insight.

Perdition

A state of eternal punishment or damnation.

Perpetrate

To carry out or commit a harmful act.

Pester

To trouble or annoy someone persistently.