Abate
To reduce in amount or severity
Abscond
To leave secretly
Abstain
To choose not to do something
Abyss
An extremely deep hole
Adulterate
To make impure
Advocate
To speak in favor of
Aesthetic
Concerning the appreciation of beauty
Aggrandize
To increase in power, influence and reputation
Alleviate
To make more bearable
Amalgamate
To combine or mix together
Ambiguous
Doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted in different ways
Ameliorate
To make better or improve
Anachronism
Something out of place in time
Analogous
Similar or alike in some way; equivalent to
Anomaly
Deviation from what is normal
Antagonize
To annoy or provoke to anger
Antipathy
Extreme dislike
Apathy
Lack of interest or emotion
Arbitrate
To judge a dispute between 2 opposing parties
Archaic
Ancient, old fashioned
Ardor
Intense and passionate feeling
Articulate
Able to speak clearly and expressively
Assuage
To make something unpleasant less severe
Austere
Severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
Attenuate
To reduce in force or degree; to weaken
Audacious
Fearless and daring
Banal
Predictable, cliched, boring
Bolster
To support, prop up
Bombastic
Pompous in speech and manner
Cacophony
Harsh, jarring noise
Candid
Impartial and honest in speech
Capricious
Changing ones mind quickly and often
Castigate
Punish or criticize harshly
Catalyst
Something that brings about Change in something else
Caustic
Biting in wit
Chaos
Great disorder of confusion
Chauvinist
Someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
Chicanery
Deception by means of craft or guile
Cogent
Convincing and well reasoned
Condone
To overlook, pardon or disregard
Convoluted
Intricate, complicated
Corroborate
To provide supporting evidence
Credulous
Too trusting, gullible
Crescendo
Steadily increasing in volume or force
Decorum
Appropriateness of behavior or conduct
Deference
Respect, courtesy
Deride
To speak of or treat with contempt; to mock
Desiccate
To dry out thoroughly
Desultory
Jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
Diatribe
An abusive, condemnatory speech
Diffident
Lacking in self-confidence
Dilate
To make larger, to expand
Dilatory
Intended to delay
Dilettante
Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
Dirge
Funeral hymn or mournful speech
Disabuse
To set right or free from error
Discern
To perceive or recognize
Disparate
Fundamentally different; entirely unlike
Dissemble
To prevent a false appearance; to disguise ones real intentions or character
Dissonance
Harsh and disagreeable combination; often of sounds
Dogma
Firmly held opinion, often a religious belief
Dogmatic
Dictatorial in ones opinions
Dupe
To deceive; a person easily decieved
Eclectic
Selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
Efficacy
Effectiveness
Elegy
A sorrowful poem or speech
Eloquent
Persuasive and moving, especially in speech
Emulate
To copy; try to equal or excel
Enervate
To reduce in strength
Engender
To produce, cause or being about
Enigma
A puzzle; a mystery
Abscond
To leave secretly
Abstain
To choose not to do something
Abyss
An extremely deep hole
Adulterate
To make impure
Advocate
To speak in favor of
Aesthetic
Concerning the appreciation of beauty
Aggrandize
To increase in power, influence and reputation
Alleviate
To make more bearable
Amalgamate
To combine or mix together
Ambiguous
Doubtful or uncertain; able to be interpreted in different ways
Ameliorate
To make better or improve
Anachronism
Something out of place in time
Analogous
Similar or alike in some way; equivalent to
Anomaly
Deviation from what is normal
Antagonize
To annoy or provoke to anger
Antipathy
Extreme dislike
Apathy
Lack of interest or emotion
Arbitrate
To judge a dispute between 2 opposing parties
Archaic
Ancient, old fashioned
Ardor
Intense and passionate feeling
Articulate
Able to speak clearly and expressively
Assuage
To make something unpleasant less severe
Austere
Severe or stern in appearance; undecorated
Attenuate
To reduce in force or degree; to weaken
Audacious
Fearless and daring
Banal
Predictable, cliched, boring
Bolster
To support, prop up
Bombastic
Pompous in speech and manner
Cacophony
Harsh, jarring noise
Candid
Impartial and honest in speech
Capricious
Changing ones mind quickly and often
Castigate
Punish or criticize harshly
Catalyst
Something that brings about Change in something else
Caustic
Biting in wit
Chaos
Great disorder of confusion
Chauvinist
Someone prejudiced in favor of a group to which he or she belongs
Chicanery
Deception by means of craft or guile
Cogent
Convincing and well reasoned
Condone
To overlook, pardon or disregard
Convoluted
Intricate, complicated
Corroborate
To provide supporting evidence
Credulous
Too trusting, gullible
Crescendo
Steadily increasing in volume or force
Decorum
Appropriateness of behavior or conduct
Deference
Respect, courtesy
Deride
To speak of or treat with contempt; to mock
Desiccate
To dry out thoroughly
Desultory
Jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
Diatribe
An abusive, condemnatory speech
Diffident
Lacking in self-confidence
Dilate
To make larger, to expand
Dilatory
Intended to delay
Dilettante
Someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic
Dirge
Funeral hymn or mournful speech
Disabuse
To set right or free from error
Discern
To perceive or recognize
Disparate
Fundamentally different; entirely unlike
Dissemble
To prevent a false appearance; to disguise ones real intentions or character
Dissonance
Harsh and disagreeable combination; often of sounds
Dogma
Firmly held opinion, often a religious belief
Dogmatic
Dictatorial in ones opinions
Dupe
To deceive; a person easily decieved
Eclectic
Selecting from or made up from a variety of sources
Efficacy
Effectiveness
Elegy
A sorrowful poem or speech
Eloquent
Persuasive and moving, especially in speech
Emulate
To copy; try to equal or excel
Enervate
To reduce in strength
Engender
To produce, cause or being about
Enigma
A puzzle; a mystery
Enumerate
To count, list or itemize
Ephemeral
Lasting a Short time
Equivocate
To use expressions of double meaning in order to mislead
Erratic
Wandering and unpredictable
Erudite
Learned, scholarly, bookish
Esoteric
Known or understood by only a few
Estimable
Admirable
Euology
Speech in praise of someone
Euphemism
Use of an offensive word or phrase in place of a more distasteful one
Exacerbate
To make worse
Exculpate
To clear from blame; prove innocent
Exigent
Urgent, requiring immediate action
Exonerate
To clear from blame
Explicit
Clearly stated or shown; forthright in expression
Fanatical
Acting excessively enthusiastic; filled with extreme, unquestioned devotion
Fawn
To grovel; suck up
Fervid
Intensely emotional; feverish
Florid
Excessively decorated or embellished
Foment
To arouse or excite
Frugality
A tendency to be thrifty or cheap
Garrulous
Tending to talk a lot
Gregarious
Outgoing, sociable
Guile
Deceit or trickery
Gullible
Easily deceived
Homogeneous
Of a similar kind
Iconoclast
One who opposes established beliefs
Imperturbable
Not capable of being disturbed
Impervious
Impossible to penetrate; incapable of being affected
Impetuous
Quick to act without thinking
Implacable
Unable to be calmed down or made peaceful
Inchoate
Not fully formed; disorganized; rudimentary
Ingenuous
Showing innocence or childlike simplicity
Insipid
Lacking interest or flavor
Intransigent
Uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled
Inundate
To overwhelm; to cover with water
Iracible
Easily made angry
Laconic
Using few words
Laconic
Using few words
Lament
To express sorrow or grieve
Laud
To give praise; glorify
Lavish
To give unsparingly; extremely generous or extravagant
Lethargic
Acting in an indifferent or slow, sluggish manner
Loquacious
Talkative
Lucid
Clear and easily understood
Luminous
Bright, brilliant, glowing
Malinger
To evade responsibility by pretending to be ill
Malleable
Capable of being shaped
Metaphor
A figure of speech comparing 2 different things; a symbol
Meticulous
Extremely careful about details
Misanthrope
A person who hates mankind
Mitigate
To soften, to lessen
Mollify
To calm or make less severe
Monotony
Lack of variation
Naive
Lacking sophistication or experience
Obdurate
Hardened in feeling; resistant to persuasion
Obsequious
Overly submissive; easy to please
Obstinate
Stubborn. Unyielding
Obviate
To avoid/prevent, remove
Occlude
To stop up; prevent passage of
Onerous
Troublesome and oppressive
Opaque
Impossible to see through; preventing the passage of light
Opprobrium
Public disgrace
Paradox
A contradiction or dilemma
Paragon
Model of excellence or perfection
Pedant
Someone who shows off learning
Perfidious
Willing to betray ones trust
Perfunctory
Done in a routine way, indifferent
Permeate
To penetrate
Philanthropy
Charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness
Placate
To sooth or pacify
Plastic
Able to be molded, altered or bent
Plethora
Excess
Pragmatic
Practical as opposed to idealistic
Precipitate
To throw violently or bring about abruptly; lacking deliberation
Prevaricate
To lie or deviate from the truth
Pristine
Fresh and clean; in corrupted
Prodigal
Lavish; wasteful
Proliferate
To increase in number quickly
Propitiate
To conciliate; to appease (agreeing to raise wages for angry union members)
Propriety
Correct behavior; obedience to rules and customs
Prudence
Wisdom, caution, or restraint
Pungent
Sharp and irritating to the senses
Quiescent
Motionless
Rarefy
Make thinner or sparser
Repudiate
To reject the validity of
Reticent
Silent, reserved
Rhetoric
Effective writing or speaking
Satiate
To satisfy fully or overindulge
Soporific
Causing sleep or lethargy
Specious
Deceptively attractive; seemingly plausible or attractive
Stigma
A mark of shame or discredit
Stolid
Unemotional; lacking sensitivity
Sublime
Lofty; grand
Tacit
Done without using words (making an agreement without using words)
Taciturn
Silent; not talkative
Tirade
Long, harsh speech or verbal attack
Torpor
Extreme mental and physical sluggishness
Transitory
Temporary, lasting a brief time
Vacillate
To away physically; to be indecisive
Venerate
To respect deeply
Veracity
Filled with truth and accuracy
Verbose
Wordy
Vex
To annoy
Volatile
Easily aroused or changeable; lively or explosive
Waver
To fluctuate between choices
Whimsical
Acting in a fanciful or capricious manner; unpredictable
Zeal
Passion, excitement
Perfidy
An act of treachery
Expiate
Atonement
Preclude
Prevent
Sophistry
A false argument; a fallacious argument
Complaisance
Tendency to yield to the will of others
Didactic
Teaching someone in a patronizing way
Pavonine
Colorful