An award; honor; praise

ADROIT

adjective

Skillful; expert; ingenious; deft

ARCHAIC

adjective

Outdated; antiquated; ancient

AVER

verb

To state as fact; to assert; to claim; to confirm

AFFABLE

adjective

Friendly; amiable; cordial; polite

AGGRANDIZE

verb

To increase; to grow larger, to enlarge; to make something appear larger

ALIAS

noun

A false name or code name used to conceal identity

ANATHEMA

noun

A curse; a person or thing that is cursed

APATHY

noun

A lack of emotion; disinterest; indifference

BELLICOSE

adjective

Aggressive; belligerent; inclined to fight

BIGOT

noun

An intolerant person

BLEMISH

verb/noun

To flaw; to stain; a flaw; a defect; a stain; a blight

BAROMETER

noun

A device used to measure atmospheric pressure

CABAL

noun

A group of conspirators/plotters

CANDID

adjective

frank; forthright; direct; sincere; honest

CONTENTIOUS

adjective

Argumentative; quarrelsome; bellicose

CONVOLUTED

adjective

Complicated; intricate; twisted; coiled

CULPABLE

adjective

At fault; deserving blame

DEFT

adjective

Dexterous; nimble; skillful; clever; adroit

DEMAGOGUE

noun

Person who arouses people's emotions or passions; agitator; fanatic

DOCILE

adjective

Mild; compliant; tame; conformable; tractable

DOUBLET

noun

A close-fitting outer garment worn by men in the Renaissance

DUPLICITY

noun

Deceitfulness; double-dealing; deceptiveness; guile; cunning

EFFIGY

noun

Image someone disliked, used for purposes of ridicule; and image, figure, or likeness

ENIGMA

noun

A mystery; a puzzle; a riddle

EULOGY

noun

A speech or writing of praise

ELEGY

noun

A mournful poem or song; a lament; a funeral song

EXPLICIT

adjective

Fully explained; made clear; fully described

FERVENT

adjective

Passionate; zealous; full of emotion

FLAGRANT

adjective

Obvious; glaring; notorious; scandalous; shockingly noticeable

FRACAS

noun

A brawl; a noisy fight; an uproar; a disturbance

GAFFE

noun

A social blunder; a blooper; an impropriety; a faux pas

GIRDER

noun

A beam for supporting a building

HALCYON

adjective

Calm; peaceful; serene

HEDONIST

noun

A pleasure-seeker; a person whose life is devoted to self-gratification

HERETIC

noun

A nonconformist; a dissenter; a person who does not conform to an accepted ideology

HOMILY

noun

A sermon; a moralizing lecture; an inspirational saying

IDEOLOGY

noun

A set of beliefs or doctrines; world-view

MACE

noun

A steel club (used to break armor)

OBSEQUIOUS

adjective

Overly compliant; disgustingly obedient; servile

OPPROBRIUM

noun

Disgrace; shame; dishonor; humiliation; ignominy

PARRY

verb/noun

To block; to fend off; to evade; to dodge; a block; an evasion; a defense

PARTISAN

noun/adjective

A supporter; a person who supports a party/cause; biased towards or supportive of a party/cause

PENITENT

adjective/noun

Contrite; repentant; regretful; sorry; a person who is contrite, repentant, regretful, or sorry

PLACID

adjective

Calm; still; flat; undisturbed

POSTHUMOUS

adjective

Occurring after death; published after death (a posthumous novel)

PROSAIC

adjective

Dull; uncreative; unoriginal; hackneyed

PRIVY

adjective

Having knowledge of a secret (e.g. privy to a secret); private; secret

RECALCITRANT

adjective

Obstinate; not obediet; hard to manage; intractable

REDOLENT

adjective

Fragrant; aromatic; pleasant-smelling

REFULGENT

adjective

Bright; gleaming; radiant; brilliant

SAGE

adjective/noun

Wise; prudent; a pundit; a wise person

SANGUINE

adjective

Happy; optimistic; cheerful; rosy; ruddy

SATURATED

adjective

Sodden; soaked; full of; containing maximum amount of

SCRUPULOUS

adjective

Principled; conscientious; conforming to a code of conduct

SCURRILOUS

adjective

Verbally abusive; foul-mouthed

SUBLIME

adjective

Elevated; lofty; impressive; awe-inspiring

TACIT

adjective

Understood; unvoiced/unspoken; silent

TYRO

noun

A novice; an inexperienced person; a neophyte

UNSCRUPULOUS

adjective

Lacking morals; unprincipled; conscienceless

VIVID

adjective

Bright; intense; rich

ABHOR

verb

To despise; to hate; to detest; to loathe

ABSCOND

verb

To abandon; to depart secretly and hide

ADULATION

noun

Adoration; excessive praise; idolization

AUTHENTICATE

verb

To prove authentic; to prove real; to establish as genuine 

BANAL

adjective

Commonplace; uncreative; unoriginal; hackneyed; trite

BEATIFY

verb

To glorify; to deify; to make sacred; to make blissfully happy

BOISTEROUS

adjective

Noisy; rowdy; clamorous

BROACH

verb

To bring up; to introduce; to put forth

CANON

noun

A definition set; an authoritative set (as of books, ideas, or laws)

CHARY

adjective

Cautious; wary; timid

CENSURE

verb/noun

To criticize; to disapprove of; criticism; disapproval

CONCISE

adjective

Brief; short; to the point; succinct

CONJECTURE

noun/verb

A guess; a hypothesis; a speculation; to guess; to hypothesize; to speculate

DECREE

noun/verb

An order; a command; to order; to command

DEMUR

verb

To object; to protest; to challenge

DIATRIBE

noun

A criticism; a critical attack; a denunciation; a harangue

DIMINUITIVE

adjective/noun

Small; little; tiny; midget; a small thing; a small person

DISSEMBLE

verb

To disguise the truth; to hide something

DUBIOUS

adjective

Uncertain; doubtful; hesitant; skeptical; unsure

EBULLIENT

adjective

High-spirited; happy; buoyant; effervescent

ECCENTRIC

adjective/noun

Odd; strange; irregular; person who is odd or strange

EMINENT

adjective

Important; distinguished; prominent

EMOLLIENT

adjective/noun

Soothing; softening; a lotion with softening properties

EXONERATE

verb

To pardon; to acquit; to clear of guilt; to exculpate

ICONOCLAST

noun

Person who attacks tradition; a critic; a denouncer

IMMATERIAL

adjective

Unimportant; irrelevant; not pertinent

IMPERTINENT

adjective

Rude; inappropriate; uncivil; insolent

IMPERTURBABLE

adjective

Cool-headed; composed; calm; impossible to perturb

IMPUGN

verb

To attack; to challenge as false; to cast doubt on

INFELICITOUS

adjective

Inappropriate; ill-suited; unfortunate

INSIPID

adjective

Boring; bland; flavorless; vapid

INTRANSIGENT

adjective

Inflexible; stubborn; uncompromising; incompliant

LAUD

verb/noun

To praise; to acclaim; to honor; praise; acclaim; honor

MAGNANIMOUS

adjective

Big-hearted; generous; giving

MAVERICK

noun

A rogue; a lone nonconformist; an extremist; a radical

PALATABLE

adjective

Acceptable; tolerable

PENURIOUS

adjective

Stingy; miserly; poor; impoverished

PERIPHERAL

adjective

Minor; irrelevant; superficial; concerning the borders, boundaries, or exterior

PERSPICACIOUS

adjective

Astute; discerning; perceptive; wise

PERTINENT

adjective

Relevant; applicable

PERUSE

verb

Examine closely; scrutinize

PIECEMEAL

adjective

Done piece by piece; accomplished gradually; loosely connected; fragmentary

PRECURSOR

noun

A forerunner; a foreshadower; a predecessor

PRESCIENCE

noun

Foreknowledge; forsight

PROPAGATE

verb

To give off; to emit; to spread

RAREFY

verb

To make less dense; to make more refined, spiritual, or exalted

REFUTE

verb

To prove false; to contradict; to discredit; to abnegate; to confute

SANCTION

noun/verb

Permission; approval; to give permission; to give approval

SCRUTINIZE

verb

To examin closely; to inspect carefully

SUPPLANT

verb

To take the place of; replace; displace

TENUOUS

adjective

Thin; insubstantial; flimsy

THWART

verb

To prevent; to oppose; to foil

TRIVIAL

adjective

Unimportnat; inconsequential; insignificant; ordinary

UNINTELLIGIBLE

adjective

Incomprehensible; impossible to understand

VAPID

adjective

Bland; boring; insipid; having lost life, sharpness, or flavor

VILIFY

verb

To defame; to slander; to speak ill of

VIRULENT

adjective

Extremely harmful; deadly; pestilent

VOLATILE

adjective

Explosive; threatening to break out into violence (e.g. a volatile political situation)

WAVER

verb

To be unsteady; to be unsettled in opinion; to falter; to vacillate

WHIMSICAL

adjective

Unpredictable; acting on a whim; capricious; fickle

ALACRITY

noun

Eager and enthusiastic willingness

AMALGAMATE

verb

To combine several elements into a whole

AMELIORATE

verb

To make better or more tolerable

ASSUAGE

verb

To ease or lessen; to appease or pacify

AXIOM

noun

A universally recognized principle

AVARICE

noun

Greed, especially for wealth

CHICANERY

noun

Trickery or subterfuge

CONTINGUOUS

adjective

Sharing a border; touching; adjacent

DEARTH

noun

Smallness of quantity or number; scarcity; a lack

DERISION

noun

Scorn; ridicule; contemptuous treatment

DIDACTIC

noun

Intended to teach or instruct

DISPARAGE

verb

To slight or belittle

DISPARATE

adjective

Fundamentally distinct or dissimilar

EFFRONTERY

noun

Extreme boldness; presumptuousness

EPHEMERAL

adjective

Brief; fleeting

ERUDITE

adjective

Very learned; scholary

EVANESCENT

adjective

Tending to disappear like vapor; vanishing

EXTEMPORANEOUS

adjective

Improvised; done without preparation

FULMINATE

verb

To loudly attack or denounce

FURTIVE

adjective

Marked by stealth; covert; surreptitious

GARRULOUS

adjective

Pointlessly talkative; talking too much

HEGEMONY

noun

The consistent dominance of one state or ideology over others

IDOLATROUS

adjective

Give to intense or excessive devotion to something

IMPETUOUS

adjective

Hastily or rashly energetic; impulsive and vehement

IMPLACABLE

adjective

Not capable of being appeased or significantly changed

INERT

adjective

Unmoving; lethargic; sluggish

INNOCUOUS

adjective

Harmless; causing no damage

INTREPID

adjective

Steadfast and courageous

MERCURIAL

adjective

Characterized by rapid and unpredictable change in mood

MOLLIFY

verb

To calm or soothe; to reduce in emotional intensity

NASCENT

adjective

Coming into being; in early developmental stages

OBFUSCATE

verb

To deliberately obscure; to make confusing

OCCLUDE

verb

To obstruct or block

ODIOUS

adjective

Evoking intense aversion or dislike

PAEAN

noun

A song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving

PERENNIAL

adjective

Recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly

PERVADE

verb

To permeate thoughout

PLACATE

verb

To appease; to calm by making concessions

POLEMICAL

adjective

Controversial; argumentative

PREDILECTION

noun

A disposition in favor of something; preference

PROBITY

noun

Adherence to highest principles; uprightness

PROLIFERATE

verb

To grow or increase swiftly and abundantly

PROPENSITY

noun

A natural inclination or tendency; penchant

QUERIES

noun

Questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservation

QUERULOUS

adjective

Prone to complaining or grumbling; quarrelsome

REDOUBTABLE

adjective

Awe-inspiring; worthy of honor