Vocabulary Glossary: 59 Concise Definitions

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards based on the provided glossary of 59 high-level terms and definitions.

Abate

To become less intense, or to make something less intense.

Abatement

A reduction, decrease, or lessening.

Acquiesced

Accepted something reluctantly but without protest.

Affront

An action or remark that insults or offends someone.

Amorphous

Lacking a clear shape, form, or structure.

Anachronistic

Belonging to the wrong historical period; out of date.

Anthropogenic

Caused or produced by human activity.

Appraise

To evaluate the quality, condition, or value of something.

Assuage

To lessen or relieve an unpleasant feeling.

Attrition

A gradual reduction through loss, pressure, or wearing down.

Banal

Boring because it is unoriginal or overly common.

Burgeoning

Growing or expanding rapidly.

Clandestine

Kept secret, often because it is unlawful or improper.

Contrivance

A device, plan, or method created for a particular purpose.

Demarcation

A boundary or line that separates two things.

Desultory

Lacking a clear plan or direction; moving from one thing to another.

Disparage

To belittle or speak of someone or something negatively.

Dissonance

A lack of harmony, agreement, or consistency.

Eccentric

Unconventional or unusually different in behavior or style.

Efficacy

The ability to produce the intended result; effectiveness.

Embellished

Decorated or made more elaborate, sometimes with exaggerated details.

Emissary

A representative or messenger sent on someone else's behalf.

Engender

To cause or give rise to a feeling, condition, or situation.

Extemporaneous

Spoken or performed with little or no preparation.

Fecund

Fertile or highly productive, especially in ideas or offspring.

Foment

To stir up or encourage conflict, unrest, or strong feeling.

Forestalls

Prevents or delays something by acting in advance.

Iconoclasm

The rejection or criticism of established beliefs and traditions.

Iconoclastic

Challenging or rejecting established beliefs and traditions.

Imbue

To fill or inspire someone or something with a quality or feeling.

Immoderate

Excessive or lacking reasonable restraint.

Impartial

Fair and unbiased.

Indolence

Laziness or an unwillingness to make an effort.

Intercede

To step in on another person's behalf, especially to settle a conflict.

Inure

To make someone accustomed to something difficult or unpleasant.

Pervade

To spread throughout and be present in every part of something.

Pervasive

Widespread and present throughout something.

Placate

To calm or appease someone who is angry or upset.

Preclude

To prevent something or make it impossible.

Predicate

To base something on a condition; in grammar, what is said about the subject.

Prescient

Showing knowledge of or insight into what will happen in the future.

Proclivity

A natural tendency or inclination toward something.

Promulgate

To announce, publish, or officially put a rule or idea into effect.

Quintessential

Representing the most perfect or typical example of something.

Quotidian

Ordinary, everyday, or occurring daily.

Recalcitrant

Stubbornly resistant to authority, control, or guidance.

Sagacity

Wisdom and sound judgment.

Sanguine

Optimistic or confident about the future.

Sophist

A person who uses clever but misleading reasoning.

Spurious

False, fake, or not supported by valid evidence.

Steward

A person who responsibly manages or cares for something entrusted to them.

Stymie

To block, hinder, or prevent progress.

Subtlety

A fine, delicate, or not immediately obvious distinction.

Supplant

To replace or take the place of someone or something.

Unpalatable

Unpleasant to experience or difficult to accept.

Untenable

Unable to be defended, maintained, or sustained.

Utilitarian

Designed mainly to be practical and useful rather than decorative.

Vacillate

To waver back and forth between choices or opinions.

Wrought

Made, shaped, created, or caused, often through effort.