Chary

(adj.) cautious; being sparing in giving

1. Be chary when driving at night.
2. The chary man had few friends.

(adj.) virtuous; free of obscenity

1. Because the woman believed in being chaste, she would not let her date into the house.

Chastise

(v.) to punish; discipline; admonish

1. The dean chastised the first-year student for cheating on the exam.

Cherish

(v.) to feel love for

1. The bride vowed to cherish the groom for life.

Chicanery

(n.) trickery or deception

1. The swindler was trained in chicanery.
2. A news broadcast is no place for chicanery.

Chimera

(n.) an impossible fancy

1. Perhaps he saw a flying saucer, but perhaps it was only a chimera.

Choleric

(adj.) cranky; cantankerous; easily moved to feeling displeasure

1. The choleric man was continually upset by his neighbors.
2. Rolly becomes choleric when his views are challenged.

Chortle

(v.) to make a gleeful, chuckling sound

1. The chortles emanating from the audience indicated it wouldn't be as tough a crowd as the stand-up comic had expected.

Churlishness

(n.) crude or surly behavior; behavior of a peasant; rude; difficult to work with

1. The fraternity's churlishness ran afoul of the dean's office.
2. The churlishness of the teenager caused his employer to lose faith in him.

Circumlocution

(n.) a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; not to the point

1. The man's speech contained so much circumlocution that I was unsure of the point he was trying to make.
2. The child made a long speech using circumlocution to avoid stating that it was she who had knocked over the lamp.

Circumlocutory

(adj.) being too long, as in a description or expression; a roundabout, indirect, or ungainly way of expressing something

1. It was a circumlocutory documentary that could have been cut to half its running time to say twice as much.

Circumspect

(adj.) considering all circumstances

1. A circumspect decision must be made when so many people are involved.

Citadel

(n.) a fortress set up high to defend a city

1. A citadel sat on the hill to protect the city below.

Clandestine

(adj.) secret

1. The clandestine plan must be kept between the two of us!

Clemency

(n.) mercy toward an offender; mildness

1. The governor granted the prisoner clemency.
2. The weather's clemency made for a perfect picnic.

Cloture

(n.) a parliamentary procedure to end debate and begin to vote

1. Cloture was declared as the parliamentarians readied to register their votes.

Cloying

(adj.) too sugary; too sentimental or flattering

1. After years of marriage the husband still gave cloying gifts to his wife.
2. Complimenting her on her weight loss, clothing and hairstyle was a cloying way to begin asking for a raise.

Coagulate

(v.) to become a semisolid, soft mass; to clot

1. The liquid will coagulate and close the tube if left standing.

Coalesce

(v.) to grow together

1. The bride and groom coalesced their funds to increase their collateral.
2. At the end of the conference the five groups coalesced in one room.

Coda

(n.) in music, a concluding passage

1. By the end of the coda, I was ready to burst with excitement over the thrilling performance.
2. The audience knew that the concerto was about to end when they heard the orchestra begin playing the coda.

Coddle

(v.) to treat with tenderness

1. A baby needs to be coddled.

Codify

(v.) to organize laws or rules into a systematic collection

1. The laws were codified by those whom they affected.
2. The intern codified all the city's laws into a computerized filing system.

Coffer

(n.) a chest where money or valuables are kept

1. The coffer that contained the jewels was stolen.

Cogent

(adj.) to the point; clear; convincing in its clarity and presentation

1. The lawyer makes compelling and cogent presentations, which evidently help him win 96 percent of his cases.
2. He made a short, cogent speech which his audience easily understood.

Cogitate

(v.) to think hard; ponder; meditate

1. It is necessary to cogitate on decisions which affect life goals.
2. The room was quiet while every student cogitated during the calculus exam.

Cognate

(adj.; n.) having the same family; a person related through ancestry

1. English and German are cognate languages.
2. The woman was a cognate to the royal family.

Cognitive

(adj.) possessing the power to think or meditate; meditative; capable of perception

1. Cognitive thought makes humans adaptable to a quickly changing environment.
2. Once the toddler was able to solve puzzles, it was obvious that her cognitive abilities were developing.

Cognizant

(adj.) aware of; perceptive

1. She became alarmed when she was cognizant of the man following her.
2. It was critical to establish whether the defendant was cognizant of his rights.

Coherent

(adj.) sticking together; connected; logical; consistent

1. The course was a success due to its coherent information.
2. If he couldn't make a coherent speech, how could he run for office?

Cohesion

(n.) the act of holding together

1. The cohesion of the group increased as friendships were formed.
2. The cohesion of different molecules forms different substances.