50 Essays Vocabulary Words

querulous

tending to complain; whining

quantitative

relating to quantity; measurable

nonchalant

indifferent, calm, and unconcerned

promiscuous

demonstrating or applying and undiscriminating or unselective approach

anthropomorphism

attributing human characteristics to non humans

feign

pretend something, invent something

assuage

relieve something unpleasant

futile

in vein, having no useful result

sanguine

confident; cheerfully optimistic

philanthropy

desire to benefit humanity

misogyny

hatred of women

avarice

greed for wealth

gentility

refinement; upper class status

pragmatism

practical way of thinking about results

progeny

offspring; something resulting

posit

put something forward

condescension

snobby and pretentious manner

pedantic

too concerned with formal rules and details

polemic

passionate argument, often controversial

sardonic

disdainfully mocking

provocative

making people angry or excited, sexually arousing

candid

candor-honest; directness

modulated

alter something to make less strong

expunge

get rid of something completely

erudite

very knowledgeable through study

antecedent

something coming before; word that subsequent word refers to

parallelism

deliberate repetition of words or sentence structure for effect

metonymy

a figure of speech in which an attribute is used to represent the whole thing

engender

create or arise; have offspring

genesis

beginning

warrant

authorization to do something

cogent

rationally persuasive

cynicism

belief that people are insincere

empathy

vicarious understanding of another's feelings; especially due to similar or shared experience

antipathy

strongly negative feeling

ambivalence

conflict of ideas or attitudes; uncertainty

colloquial

informal speech

didactic

a message with an instructive purpose

synesthesia

the concurrent response of two or more of the senses to the stimulation of one

prescience

advance knowledge of things

lugubrious

gloomy, mournful; especially to an excessive degree

qualifier

somebody with right or skill, a word or phrase that modifies or restricts the meaning of another word or phrase

temporal

relating to time; brief

concession

reluctant, yielding

admonition

a mild but earnest rebuke

petulant

sulky or ill-tempered in a peevish manner

unscrupulous

not restrained by moral or ethical principals

immutable

unchanging or unchangeable

antithesis

direct opposite; figure of speech that use words or phrases to contrast each other to create a balanced effect

blasphemy

disrespect of religion

quantification

determine number or extent of something

diatribe

bitter verbal or written attack

rebuttal

to refute, to prove false, to deny the truth of something

qualification

essential attribute, official requirement

doleful

sad and mournful

salutary

useful, of value or benefit to something or someone

enmity

hostility; extreme hatred

supposition

hypothesis; suggestion that might be true

feckless

ineffective; unlikely to be successful

acerbic

bitter sharp in tone, taste, or manner

insolent

rude or arrogant, lack of respect

egregious

flagrant, conspicuously bad or offensive

nostalgic

sentimental recollection

hedonism

seeking of pleasure as a way of life

disingenuous

withholding information; not sincere

credibility

believability, willingness to believe

synecdoche

figure of speech in which part of something is used to signify the whole

sensory

relating to senses and the sense organs

confirmation

act of verifying or ratifying something

anomaly

irregularity, deviation

esoteric

abstruse; difficult to understand

asceticism

self-denying way of life