avuncular:
a. in manner of uncle, pertaining to uncle; kind, genial, benevolent or tolerant | axiom:
n. self-evident truth requiring no proof |
azure:
a. sky blue; light purplish-blue | bacchanalian:
a. drunken; relating to reveling and drunkenness |
badinage:
n. teasing conversation; good-humored, playful conversation | bailiff:
n. legal officer to whom some degree of authority |
baleful:
a. portending evil; harmful in intent or effect. | bang:
n. sudden loud noise, as of an explosion; sudden loud blow or bump; sudden burst of action |
barbarous:
a. being in the state of a barbarian; uncivilized; rude | batter:
v. hit heavily and repeatedly with violent blows |
bead:
n. small, often round piece of material, such as glass, plastic, or wood, that is pierced for stringing or threading | beamline:
n. line traveled by a particle beam in an accelerator |
beatific:
a. completely happy and contented; showing or producing exalted joy | beatitude:
n. blessedness; state of extreme happiness |
bedeck:
v. adorn or ornament in a showy fashion | beforehand:
ad. in advance; early; at an earlier or preceding time |
beget:
v. produce; give rise to | beguile:
v. mislead; delude; deceive by guile |
behemoth:
n. something enormous in size or power | beleaguer:
v. besiege or attack; harass; surround with troops |
bellicose:
a. warlike or hostile in manner or temperament; showing or having impulse to be combative | benediction:
n. blessing; invocation of divine blessing; expression of good wishes |
besiege:
v. surround with hostile forces; crowd around; cause to feel distressed or worried | bevy:
n. large group; a group of animals or birds, especially larks or quail |
bilious:
a. suffering from indigestion; appearing as if affected by disorder; sickly | bitumen:
n. any of various naturally occurring impure mixtures of hydrocarbons |
blare:
n. loud, harsh roar or screech; dazzling blaze of light | blaze:
n. brilliant burst of fire; flame |
bleak:
a. depressing, sombre, cold | blench:
v. draw back, from lack of courage or resolution; turn pale, as if in fear |
blindside:
v. to take by surprise | blithe:
a. gay; joyous; carefree and lighthearted |
boisterous:
a. rough and stormy; loud, noisy, and lacking in restraint or discipline | bolster:
v. support or prop up with or as if with a long narrow pillow or cushion |
bombastic:
a. pompous; using inflated language; high-sounding but with little meaning | bonny:
a. handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful |
booth:
n. small enclosed compartment with a window, used to separate the occupant from others; small stall for the display and sale of goods | boson:
n. any particle that obeys Bose-Einstein statistics but not the Pauli exclusion principle |
botnet:
n. a collection of compromised computers that is slowly built up then unleashed as a DDOS attack or used to send very large quantities of spam | bounteous:
a. liberal in charity; disposed to give freely; generously liberal; beneficent; free in bestowing gifts |
bounty:
n. liberality in giving; something that is given liberally; goodness, kindness | bovine:
a. dull, slow-moving, and stolid, like an ox; placid and dull |
breach:
n. an opening or tear; breaking of waves; a gap or rift | bridle:
n. headgear with which a horse is directed and which carries a bit and reins |
brimful:
a. full to the brim; completely full; ready to overflow | brindled:
a. of brownish, tawny colour, with streaks, spots, or patterns |
broil:
v. cook by direct exposure to heat over fire; subject to great heat; be subjected to the action of heat; be greatly heated | brood:
n. children in one family; young of certain animals |
bucolic:
a. rustic; pastoral; agricultural; relating to country affairs, or to shepherd's life and occupation | bulwark:
n. earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends |
burgeon:
v. to develop or grow rapidly | burnish:
v. make shiny by rubbing; polish |
bursary:
n. treasury, especially of a public institution or religious order; scholarship granted to a university student in need | buttress:
v. support physically; prop up; support something or someone by supplying evidence |
buxom:
a. healthily plump and ample of figure; full-bosomed; vigorous; jolly | bygone:
a. past; gone by |
cactus:
n. any of various succulent, spiny, usually leafless plants native mostly to arid regions | cadaverous:
a. like corpse; pale; Having appearance or color of dead human body |
cajole:
v. influence or urge by gentle urging or flattering | callow:
a. youthful; immature; inexperienced; without feathers |
calumny:
n. false statement maliciously made to injure another's reputation; slander | canister:
n. small box or case for tea, coffee, etc |
canker:
n. corroding or sloughing ulcer; anything which corrodes, corrupts, or destroy; disease incident to trees, causing the bark to rot and fall off | cannibalize:
v. remove parts of machine for use in other similar machines; consume another of one's own type or kind |
cantankerous:
a. ill humored; irritable; marked by ill-tempered contradiction or opposition; ugly; malicious | cantata:
n. story or poem set to music that can be sung by chorus |
capacious:
a. capable of containing a large quantity; spacious or roomy | caper:
n. crime, especially theft, or a narrative about such a crime |
capitalize:
v. to use something to one's benefit for advantage | capitulate:
v. surrender; end all resistance; give up; go along with or comply |
capsize:
v. overturn or cause to overturn; turn over or upset | captious:
a. intended to confuse in an argument |
captivate:
v. charm; enthrall; seize by force, as an enemy in war, or anything belonging to enemy | captivity:
n. state or period of being imprisoned, confined, or enslaved |
carapace:
n. hard outer covering or case of certain organisms such as arthropods and turtles | cardiovascular:
a. of, relating to, or involving the heart and the blood vessels |
careen:
v. lean to one side, as a ship under press of sail; sway from side to side | caribou:
n. large reindeer native to northern North America |
carnage:
n. massive slaughter, as in war; massacre; corpses, especially of those killed in battle | cartel:
n. a combination of independent business organizations formed to regulate production, pricing, and marketing of goods by the members |
cartographer:
n. one who makes maps or charts | castigate:
v. criticize severely; punish; revise or make corrections to publication |
cataclysm:
n. an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; deluge or overflowing of water | catapult:
v. increase the status of something rapidly; shoot forth or launch |
cataract:
n. disease of the eye causing its opacity and, unless treated, leading to blindness | categorical:
a. absolute; having no exception; of using category or categories |
caulk:
v. make watertight by filling in cracks | cavil:
v. criticise for petty or frivolous reasons; raise trivial objections |
cede:
v. yield or formally resign and surrender to another | celerity:
n. swiftness of action or motion; speed |
censorious:
a. critical; addicted to censure; severe in making remarks on others, or on their writings or manners; implying or expressing censure | centrifugal:
a. radiating; departing from the center |
centripetal:
a. tending toward center; moving or directed toward center or axis | cerebral:
a. intellectual rather than emotional |
cerebration:
n. act of cerebrating; thinking, mental activity | cession:
n. yielding to another; ceding or surrendering |
chagrin:
n. anxiety caused by humiliation or injured pride; disappointment | chary:
a. cautious; sparing or restrained about giving |
chasten:
v. rid of excess; refine or purify; correct by punishment or reproof | chastise:
v. punish, as by beating; criticize severely; rebuke |
chicanery:
n. mean or unfair artifice to obscure truth; deception by trickery or sophistry | chide:
v. scold mildly so as to correct or improve; express disapproval |
chimerical:
a. fantastically improbable; highly unrealistic; imaginative | choleric:
a. hot-tempered; easily angered; bad-tempered; expressing anger |
chortle:
v. chuckle with delight; joyful laugh or chuckle; laugh quietly or with restraint | christening:
n. a Christian ceremony involving baptizing and naming an infant |
chug:
v. dull explosive sound, usually short and repeated, made by or as if by a laboring engine | churlish:
a. difficult to work with; rude; unyielding; unmanageable |
circa:
ad. approximately, about; commonly abbreviated ca. -- used especially before dates and numerical measures. | circuitous:
a. being or taking a roundabout, lengthy course; going round in a circuit; not direct |
circumlocution:
n. indirect or roundabout expression; evasion in speech or writing | circumscribe:
v. limit narrowly; confine; draw a line around; encircle |
circumspect:
a. carefully aware of all circumstances; cautious | cistern:
n. reservoir or water tank; vessel to hold water for household uses |
clamorous:
a. speaking and repeating loud words; full of clamor; calling or demanding loudly or urgently; vociferous; noisy; bawling; loud | clamour:
a. loud outcry; loud sustained noise |
clan:
n. a large group of relatives, friends, or associates; a traditional social unit, consisting of a number of families claiming a common ancestor | cloister:
n. place, especially a monastery or convent, devoted to religious seclusion; secluded, quiet place |
cloying:
a. distasteful because excessive; excessively sweet or sentimental | coagulate:
v. cause transformation of liquid into or as if into soft, semisolid, or solid mass |
coalesce:
v. combine; fuse; grow together; come together so as to form one whole; unite | coffer:
n. casket, chest, or trunk, especially, one used for keeping money or other valuables |
cogency:
n. power of proving or of producing belief; quality of being highly probable or convincing; force; credibility | cogent:
a. reasonable and convincing; based on evidence; forcefully persuasive |
cogitate:
v. think earnestly or studiously; meditate; ponder; think deeply | cognate:
a. related by blood; having common ancestor; related or analogous in nature, character, or function |
colander:
n. bowl-shaped strainer, used to wash or drain foods | collate:
v. to assemble something in a logical sequence |
collateral:
n. guarantee, usually in the form of an asset, for the repayment of a loan if one cannot procure enough funds to repay | commentariat:
n. all commentators of the news media collectively |
commodious:
a. spacious and comfortable; fit; proper; convenient | complaisant:
a. trying to please; showing cheerful willingness to do favors for others |
compunction:
n. feeling of deep regret; strong uneasiness caused by a sense of guilt | computation:
n. calculation |
concave:
a. hollow; curved like inner surface of sphere | conceit:
n. overly high self-esteem; feelings of excessive pride |
concoct:
v. prepare by mixing ingredients, as in cooking; devise, using skill and intelligence | concomitant:
a. in conjunction with; accompanying; associated with |
concubine:
n. in certain societies, such as imperial China, a woman contracted to a man as a secondary wife, often having few legal rights and low social status | concurrent:
a. simultaneous; coincident; occurring or operating at the same time |
condescension:
n. act of condescending; voluntary descent from one's rank or dignity in intercourse with an inferior; courtesy toward inferiors | condole:
v. grieve; express sympathy; speak sympathetically to one in pain, grief, or misfortune |
conduit:
n. pipe or channel for conveying fluids; tube for enclosing electric wires or cable | confetti:
n. small pieces of colored paper generally thrown about at festive occasions |
conflagration:
n. large destructive fire | congregate:
v. assemble; convene; gather |
congruent:
a. possessing congruity; suitable; agreeing; corresponding | congruity:
n. relation or agreement between things; fitness; harmony; correspondence; consistency. |
conifer:
n. any gymnospermous tree or shrub bearing cones | conscientious:
a. thorough, careful, or vigilant; implies a desire to do a task well; characterized by extreme care and great effort |
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