Vocabulary List with Definitions and Examples

Bantam

A small breed of fowl; often feisty despite its small size.

Clodhopper

A thick, heavy shoe, often associated with rural workers.

Austerity

Sternness or severity of manner; extreme plainness and simplicity.

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds.

Aesthete

One who has or professes a special sensitivity to beauty, especially in art.

Contentious

Inclined to argue or cause disagreement.

Cordovan

A fine leather originally from Córdoba, Spain, used especially for shoes.

Connive

To secretly allow something immoral, illegal, or harmful to occur; to scheme in an underhanded way.

Anarchy

A state of lawlessness or disorder due to absence of government or authority.

Consternation

Sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion.

Abashed

Embarrassed or ashamed.

Accolade

An award, honor, or praise.

Ambiguously

Uncertainly; in a way that can be understood in more than one way.

Aphorism

A short, witty saying expressing a general truth.

Automaton

A person who acts in a mechanical, unemotional way; a robot.

Blitzkrieg

A sudden, intense military attack designed to achieve a swift victory.

Bolshevik

A member of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party, which seized power in the 1917 Russian Revolution; broadly, a radical or revolutionary.

Conspiratorial

Suggesting a secret plan made by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.

Candid

Honest, straightforward, and sincere.