RCC A5 and RCC Baron's Test Words

bolster

• verb

• support and strengthen

• hold up and maintain

Delineate

• adjective

• represented accuracy and precisely

• describe or portray (something) precisely

• show the form or outline of

Depict

• verb

• give a description of

• portray in words; describe

Discredit

• noun

• the state of being held in a low esteem

• loss or lack of reputation and respect

Document

• noun

• a representation of a person’s thinking with symbolic marks

• a piece of written, printed, or electronic matter that provides information or evidence or that serves as an official record

• record in detail

Elaborate

• adjective

• marked by complexity and richness of detail

• to work out in detail (to give more information)

• refine

Endorse

• verb

• approve of

• declare one's public approval or support of

Exemplify

• verb

• be characteristic of

• be a typical example of

• perfect example

Illustrate

• verb

• depict with a visual representation

• provide (a book, newspaper, etc.) with pictures

Refute

• verb

• overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof

• prove (a statement or theory) to be wrong or false; disprove

Speculate

• verb

• reflect deeply on a subject

• form a theory or conjecture about a subject without firm evidence

• suppose; hypothesize

Abstract

• adjective

• existing only in mind

• existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence

• conceptual

Analogy

• noun

• drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity

• a comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification

Antithesis

• noun

• exact opposite

• a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else

Argumentative

• adjective

• given to or characterized by a tendency to dispute

• given to expressing divergent or opposite views

• quarrelsome

Assertion

• noun

• a declaration that is made emphatically (forceful)

• a confident and forceful statement of fact or belief

Cite

• verb

• make reference to

• quote (a passage, book, or author) as evidence for or justification of an argument or statement, especially in a scholarly work

• mention

Concrete

• adjective

• capable of being perceived by the senses

• object or idea is real and physical — something you can directly observe or experience

Evidence

• noun

• knowledge on which to base belief

• the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid

Explanatory

• adjective

• serving or intended to make clear

• serving to explain something

• instructive

Expository

• adjective

• serving to expound or set forth

• intended to explain or describe something

• instructive

Generalization

• noun

• the process of abstracting common properties of instances

• a general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases

Narrative

• noun

• an account that tells the particulars of an act or event

• a spoken or written account of connected events; a story

Persuasive

• adjective

• intended or having the power to induce action or belief

• good at persuading someone to do or believe something through reasoning or the use of temptation

Rhetorical

• adjective

• relating to using language effectively

• relating to or concerned with the art of rhetoric

Thesis

• noun

• an unproved statement advanced as a premise in an argument

• a statement or theory that is put forward as a premise to be maintained or proved

Aesthetic

• adjective

• characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste

• concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty

Allusion

• noun

• passing reference or indirect mention

• an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference

Assumption

• noun

• the act of taking something for granted

• premise

Attribute

• noun

• a quality belonging to or a characteristic of an entity

Divergent

• adjective

• tending to move apart in different directions

Fluctuate

• verb

• move or sway in a rising and falling or wavelike pattern

Hypothetical

• noun

• a conjectural possibility or circumstance

Incompatible

• adjective

• not in harmonious or agreeable combination

• disagreeable

Indicative

• adjective

• pointing out or revealing clearly

Inherent

• adjective

• existing as an essential constituent or characteristic

• inbuilt

Innate

• adjective

• present at birth but not necessarily hereditary

• inborn; natural

Innovative

• adjective

• introducing new ideas or creative methods

• inventive

Misconception

• noun

• an incorrect assumption

Phenomenon

• noun

• any state or process known through the senses

Preclude

• verb

• make impossible, especially beforehand

• forestall

Criterion

• noun

• the ideal in terms of which something can be judged; judging

• standard

Excerpt

• noun

• a passage selected from a larger work

Implication

• noun

• something that is inferred

Imply

• verb

• express or state indirectly

• mean

Likelihood

• noun

• the probability of a specified outcome

Plausible

• adjective

• apparently reasonable, valid, or truthful

Suggestive

• adjective

• tending to imply

• revealing

Tentative

• adjective

• hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion

Aloof

• adjective

• distant, cold, or detached in manner

• apart

Ambivalent

• adjective

• uncertain or unable to decide about what course to follow

• unsure

Brusque

• adjective

• rudely abrupt or blunt in speech or manner

• sudden and unexpected

Cautionary

• adjective

• serving to warn

Compassionate

• adjective

• showing or having sympathy for another’s suffering

Condescension

• noun

• showing arrogance by patronizing those considered inferior

• they believe they're superior to others

Cynical

• adjective

• believing the worst of human natures and motives

• often distrusts the sincerity or goodness of others and may be skeptical of their motives

Defensive

• noun

• an attitude of excessive sensitivity to criticism

• someone who gets easily upset or offended by criticism

Detachment

• noun

• lack of emotion or trust

Didactic

• adjective

• instructive, especially excessively

• intended to teach, particularly in a way that conveys a moral lesson or instruction

Disdain

• noun

• lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike

Disparaging

• adjective

• expressing of low opinion

Dispassionate

• adjective

• unaffected by strong emotion and prejudice

• not influenced by strong emotion or personal bias

Esteem

• noun

• the condition of being honored

Flippant

• adjective

• showing an inappropriate lack of seriousness

• lacking proper seriousness or respect

Grudging

• adjective

• petty or reluctant in giving or spending

• unwilling

Hypocritical

• adjective

• professing feelings or virtues one does not have

• someone whose actions contradict their stated beliefs or moral standards; deception

Indifference

• noun

• the trait of remaining calm and seeming not to care

Ironic

• adjective

• displaying incongruity between what is expected and what is

• contrast or discrepancy between appearance and reality, or between expectation and outcome

Judicious

• adjective

• marked by the exercise of common sense in practical matters

• good judgment and sense

Naive

• adjective

• marked by or showing unaffected simplicity

• showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment

Nostalgia

• noun

• a longing for something past

Objective

• noun

• the goal intended to be attained

• aim/goal

Optimism

• noun

• the hopeful feeling that all is going to turn out well

Pedantic

• adjective

• marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning

• nerdy

Pessimism

• noun

• a general disposition to expect the worst in all things

Pomposity

• noun

• lack of elegance from being puffed up with vanity

• being overly formal, serious, or grand in a way that often comes across as arrogant or showy

Prosaic

• adjective

• lacking wit or imagination

Resign

• verb

• accept as inevitable

• accept that something undesirable cannot be avoided

Sarcasm

• noun

• witty (humorous) language used to convey insults or scorn

Satirical

• adjective

• exposing human folly to ridicule

Skeptical

• adjective

• marked by or given to doubt

Trite

• adjective

• repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

Whimsical

• adjective

• determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity

• playfully quaint or fanciful