Abate (verb)
to lessen in intensity or degree
Accolade (noun)
an expression of praise
Adulation (noun)
excessive praise; intense adoration
Aesthetic (adj)
dealing with, appreciative of, or responsive to art or the beautiful
Ameliorate (verb)
to make better or more tolerable
Ascetic (noun)
one who practices rigid self-denial, esp. as an act of religious devotion
Avarice (noun)
greed, esp. for wealth (adj form: avaricious)
Burgeon (verb)
to grow rapidly or flourish
Bucolic (adj)
rustic and pastoral; characteristic of rural areas and their inhabitants
Cacophony (noun)
harsh, jarring, discordant sound; dissonance (adj form: cacophonous)
Canon (noun)
an established set of principles or set of laws, often religious in nature (adj form: canonical)
Castigation (noun)
severe criticism or punishment (verb form: castigate)
Catalyst (noun)
a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction without itself changing; a person or thing that causes change
Caustic (adj)
burning or stinging; causing corrosion
Chary (adj)
wary; cautious; sparing
Cogent (adj)
appealing forcibly to the mind or reason; convincing
Complaisance (noun)
the willingness to comply with the wishes of others (adj form: complaisant)
Contentious (adj)
argumentative; quarrelsome; causing controversy or disagreement
Contrite (adj)
regretful; penitent; seeking forgiveness(noun form: contrition)
Culpable (adj)
deserving blame (noun form: culpability)
Dearth (noun)
smallness of quantity or number, scarcity; a lack
Demur (verb)
to question or oppose
Didactic (adj)
intended to teach or instruct
Discretion (noun)
cautious reserve in speech; ability to make responsible decisions (adj form: discreet)
Disinterested (adj)
free of bias or self-interest; impartial
Dogmatic (adj)
expressing a rigid opinion based on unproved or improvable principles (noun dorm: dogma)
Ebullience (noun)
the quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings (adj form: ebullient)
Eclectic (adj)
composed of elements drawn from various sources
Elegy (noun)
a mournful poem, esp. one lamenting the dead (adj form: elegiac)
Emollient (adj)/(noun)
soothing, esp to the skin; making less harsh; mollifying; an agent that softens or smoothes the skin
Empirical (adj)
based on observation or experiment
Enigmatic (adj)
mysterious; obscure; difficult to understand (noun form: enigma)
Ephemeral (adj)
brief; fleeting
Esoteric (adj)
intended for or understood by a small, specific group
Eulogy (noun)
a speech honoring the dead (verb form: eulogize)
Exonerate (verb)
to remove blame
Facetious (adj)
playful; humorous
Fallacy (noun)
an invalid or incorrect notion; a mistaken belief (adj. form: fallacious)
Furtive (adj)
marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious
Gregarious (adj)
sociable; outgoing; enjoying the company of other people
Harangue (verb)/(noun)
to deliver a forceful or angry speech; ranting speech or writing
Heretical (adj)
violating accepted dogma or convention (noun form: heresy)
Hyperbole (noun)
an exaggerated statement, often used as a figure of speech (adj form: hyperbolic)
Impecunious (adj)
lacking funds; without money
Incipient (adj)
beginning to come into being or to become apparent
Inert (adj)
unmoving; sluggish; lethargic
Innocuous (adj)
harmless, causing no damage
Intransigent (adj)
refusing to compromise (noun form: intransigence)
Inveigle (verb)
to obtain by deception or flattery
Morose (adj)
sad; sullen; melancholy
Odious (adj)
evoking intense aversion or dislike
Opaque (adj)
impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
Oscillation (noun)
the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm (verb form: oscillate)
Penurious (adj)
penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
Pernicious (adj)
extremely harmful in a way that is not easily seen or noticed
Peruse (verb)
to examine with great care (noun form: perusal)
Pious (adj)
extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion (noun form: piety)
Precursor (noun)
one that precedes and indicates or announces another
Preen (verb)
to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
Prodigious (adj)
abundant in size, force or extent; extraordinary
Prolific (adj)
producing large volumes or amounts; productive
Putrefy (verb)
to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor (adj. form: putrid)
Quaff (verb)
to drink deeply
Quiescence (noun)
stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest (adj. form: quiescent)
Redoubtable (adj)
awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
Sanction (noun)/(verb)
authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance; to give permission or authority
Satire (noun)
a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision (adj form: satrical)
Squalid (adj)
sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect (noun form: squalor)
Stoic (adj)
indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast (noun form: stoicism)
Supplant (verb)
to take the place of; to supersede
Torpid (adj)
lethargic, sluggish, dormant (noun form: torpor)
Ubiquitous (adj)
existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
Urbane (adj)
sophisticated; refined; elegant (noun form: urbanity)
Vilify (verb)
to defame; to characterize harshly
Viscous (adj)
thick; sticky (noun form: viscosity)