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  1. overwrought
    deeply agitated especially from emotion
  2. pastiche
    a work of art that imitates the style of some previous work
  3. purblind
    having greatly reduced vision
  4. contentious
    showing an inclination to disagree
  5. codify
    organize into a system, such as a body of law
  6. codex
    a written manuscript, typically from ancient times
  7. phlegmatic
    showing little emotion
  8. prescient
    perceiving the significance of events before they occur
  9. mea culpa
    an acknowledgment of your error or guilt
  10. moniker
    a familiar name for a person
  11. cognomen
    the name used to identify the members of a family
  12. sobriquet
    a familiar name for a person
  13. hermetic
    completely sealed or airtight
  14. pungency
    a strong odor or taste property
  15. pungent
    strong and sharp to the sense of taste or smell
  16. laconic
    brief and to the point
  17. rapprochement
    the reestablishing of cordial relations
  18. reconciliation
    the reestablishment of cordial relations
  19. ire
    anger; irritability
  20. choler
    a humor that was once believed to be secreted by the liver and to cause irritability and anger
  21. petulance
    an irritable feeling
  22. peevishness
    a cranky, irritable, or petulant feeling or disposition
  23. biliousness
    gastric distress caused by a disorder of the liver or gall bladder
  24. surliness
    a disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger
  25. profane
    grossly irreverent toward what is held to be sacred
  26. banality
    a trite or obvious remark
  27. bromide
    a trite or obvious remark
  28. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
  29. appropriation
    a deliberate act of acquisition, often without permission
  30. quid pro quo
    something given in exchange for something else
  31. reductio ad absurdum
    (reduction to the absurd) a disproof by showing that the consequences of the proposition are absurd; or a proof of a proposition by showing that its negation leads to a contradiction
  32. culpable
    deserving blame or censure as being wrong or injurious
  33. malfeasance
    wrongful conduct by a public official
  34. chagrined
    feeling or caused to feel uneasy and self-conscious
  35. abashed
    feeling or caused to feel uneasy and self-conscious
  36. usurpation
    wrongfully seizing and holding by force
  37. churn
    a vessel to separate butterfat from buttermilk
  38. stringent
    demanding strict attention to rules and procedures
  39. hitherto
    up to this point; until the present time
  40. sentient
    endowed with feeling and unstructured consciousness
  41. comity
    a state or atmosphere of harmony or mutual civility
  42. laissez faire
    a doctrine that government should not interfere in commerce
  43. spurious
    plausible but false
  44. casus belli
    an event used to justify starting a war
  45. sapphic
    of or relating to or characterized by homosexual relations between woman
  46. sanguinary
    accompanied by bloodshed
  47. trope
    language used in a nonliteral sense
  48. canard
    a deliberately misleading fabrication
  49. certitude
    complete assurance or confidence
  50. de facto
    existing, whether with lawful authority or not
  51. de jure
    by right; according to law
  52. cacophony
    loud confusing disagreeable sounds
  53. dissonance
    disagreeable sounds
  54. civility
    the act of showing regard for others
  55. defamation
    an abusive attack on a person's character or good name
  56. calumny
    a false accusation of an offense
  57. hatchet job
    a false accusation or a malicious misrepresentation
  58. aspersion
    a disparaging remark
  59. disingenuous
    not straightforward or candid
  60. unabashed
    not embarrassed
  61. equanimity
    steadiness of mind under stress
  62. systemic
    affecting an entire structure, network, or complex of parts
  63. feckless
    generally incompetent and ineffectual
  64. commemoration
    a recognition of meritorious service
  65. verity
    conformity to reality or actuality
  66. verisimilitude
    the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true
  67. depredation
    an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding
  68. holocaust
    an act of mass destruction and loss of life
  69. Balkanize
    divide a territory into small, hostile states
  70. fief
    a piece of land held under the feudal system
  71. affable
    diffusing warmth and friendliness
  72. correlative
    expressing a reciprocal or complementary relation
  73. risible
    arousing or provoking laughter
  74. revelatory
    serving to make something apparent or clearly visible
  75. patently
    unmistakably
  76. invocation
    the act of appealing for help
  77. scion
    a descendent or heir
  78. inexorable
    impossible to prevent, resist, or stop
  79. hyperbole
    extravagant exaggeration
  80. bully pulpit
    a public office of sufficiently high rank that it provides the holder with an opportunity to speak out and be listened to on any matter
  81. fawning
    attempting to win favor by flattery
  82. toadyish
    attempting to win favor by flattery
  83. bourgeois
    being of the property-owning class
  84. flout
    treat with contemptuous disregard
  85. wily
    marked by skill in deception
  86. brio
    the quality of being lively, spirited, or vigorous
  87. vivification
    the activity of giving vitality and vigour to something
  88. gyre
    a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles
  89. linchpin
    a central cohesive source of support and stability
  90. lambaste
    censure severely or angrily
  91. hardscrabble
    involving struggle, difficulties, or poverty
  92. rectitude
    righteousness as a consequence of being honorable and honest
  93. convention
    the act of meeting formally
  94. pilfer
    make off with belongings of others
  95. kerfuffle
    a disorderly outburst or tumult
  96. piquant
    having an agreeably pungent taste
  97. besot
    make someone dazed or foolish
  98. nascent
    being born or beginning
  99. evanescent
    short-lived; tending to vanish or disappear
  100. yoke
    a wooden frame across the shoulders for carrying buckets
  101. evocation
    stimulation that calls up a particular class of behaviors
  102. canonization
    the act or process of proclaiming someone a saint
  103. canonize
    declare (a dead person) to be a saint
  104. pejorative
    expressing disapproval
  105. engender
    call forth
  106. palatable
    acceptable to the taste or mind
  107. anachronism
    locating something at a time when it couldn't have existed
  108. anomaly
    deviation from the normal or common order, form, or rule
  109. gubernatorial
    relating to the head of a state government
  110. collegial
    having authority vested equally among colleagues
  111. de rigueur
    required by etiquette, custom, or fashion
  112. contrition
    sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation
  113. malefactor
    someone who has committed a crime
  114. turpitude
    a corrupt or depraved or degenerate act or practice
  115. polymath
    a person of great and varied learning
  116. maniacal
    wildly disordered
  117. outlier
    a person or thing that does not conform to a norm
  118. faux
    not genuine or real
  119. populist
    an advocate of democratic principles
  120. Cassandra
    (Greek mythology) a prophetess in Troy during the Trojan War whose predictions were true but were never believed
  121. Mullah
    a Muslim trained in the doctrine and law of Islam
  122. gambit
    a chess move in which the player sacrifices minor pieces
  123. theocracy
    a political unit governed by a deity
  124. authoritarianism
    government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator
  125. vie
    compete for something
  126. profligacy
    the trait of spending extravagantly
  127. bombastic
    ostentatiously lofty in style
  128. turgid
    ostentatiously lofty in style
  129. tumescent
    swollen or distended
  130. tumid
    abnormally distended especially by fluids or gas
  131. ostentatiously
    in a manner intended to attract notice and impress others
  132. ostentatious
    intended to attract notice and impress others
  133. pretentious
    creating an appearance of importance or distinction
  134. galvanize
    stimulate (muscles) by administering a shock
  135. impetuosity
    rash impulsiveness
  136. impetuousness
    rash impulsiveness
  137. glasnost
    a Soviet policy allowing freer discussion of social problems
  138. intransigence
    stubborn refusal to compromise or change
  139. intransigency
    the trait of being intransigent
  140. anomie
    lack of moral standards in a society
  141. craven
    lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful
  142. Hermes
    messenger and herald of the gods
  143. boondoggle
    work of little or no value done merely to look busy
  144. junket
    dessert made of sweetened milk coagulated with rennet
  145. callow
    young and inexperienced
  146. diss
    treat, mention, or speak to rudely
  147. chasten
    censure severely
  148. hoi polloi
    the common people generally
  149. remonstrate
    argue in protest or opposition
  150. chagrin
    strong feelings of embarrassment
  151. giddiness
    an impulsive scatterbrained manner
  152. delusional
    suffering from or characterized by erroneous beliefs
  153. delusion
    a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea
  154. insolvency
    the lack of financial resources
  155. dour
    showing a brooding ill humor
  156. saturnine
    bitter or scornful
  157. bastion
    projecting part of a rampart or other fortification
  158. interdict
    command against
  159. rive
    tear or be torn violently
  160. remittance
    a payment of money sent to a person in another place
  161. abstruse
    difficult to understand
  162. apercu
    a short synopsis or outline
  163. grit
    small coarse bits of stone, sand, or gravel
  164. gumption
    fortitude and determination
  165. punctuate
    insert marks to clarify meaning
  166. sinuous
    curved or curving in and out
  167. quisling
    someone who collaborates with an enemy occupying force
  168. scurrilous
    expressing offensive, insulting, or scandalous criticism
  169. ecumenical
    concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions
  170. ecumenic
    concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions
  171. paladin
    someone who fights for a cause
  172. eponymous
    relating to a name derived from a person
  173. eponym
    the person for whom something is named
  174. perfidious
    tending to betray
  175. riposte
    a counterattack made immediately after successfully parrying
  176. abdicate
    give up power, duties, or obligations
  177. philanthropic
    of or relating to charitable giving
  178. insouciance
    a casual or lighthearted feeling of unconcern
  179. anagrams
    a game whose object is to form words from a group of randomly chosen letters
  180. adenoidal
    of or pertaining to the adenoids
  181. jejune
    lacking interest or significance or impact
  182. Sisyphean
    both extremely effortful and futile
  183. raffish
    marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputability
  184. surfeit
    indulge (one's appetite) to satiety
  185. blithe
    carefree and happy and lighthearted
  186. brusqueness
    an abrupt discourteous manner
  187. plaint
    (United Kingdom) a written statement of the grounds of complaint made to court of law asking for the grievance to be redressed
  188. panache
    distinctive and stylish elegance
  189. astringent
    tending to draw together or constrict soft organic tissue
  190. prophylactic
    preventing or contributing to the prevention of disease
  191. sophistry
    a deliberately invalid argument in the hope of deceiving
  192. irrepressible
    impossible to control
  193. jeremiad
    a long and mournful complaint
  194. verisimilitude
    the appearance of truth; the quality of seeming to be true
  195. exemplar
    a person or thing to be imitated; ideal model
  196. inexorability
    mercilessness characterized by an unwillingness to relent or let up
  197. exemplar
    a person or thing to be imitated; ideal model
  198. inexorability
    mercilessness characterized by an unwillingness to relent or let up
  199. enervating
    causing weakness or debilitation
  200. iteration
    the act or process of doing or saying again
  201. salubrious
    promoting health
  202. au courant
    being up to a particular standard or up to date in knowledge
  203. trope
    language used in a nonliteral sense
  204. avuncular
    being or relating to an uncle
  205. complicity
    guilt as a confederate in a crime or offense
  206. polemical
    of or involving dispute or controversy
  207. polemic
    a verbal or written attack, especially of a belief or dogma
  208. ruefully
    in a manner expressing pain or sorrow
  209. iteration
    the act or process of doing or saying again
  210. messianic
    of or relating to a savior promising deliverance
  211. apocalyptic
    of or relating to a catastrophe
  212. ocular
    relating to or resembling the eye
  213. fealty
    the loyalty that one owes to a country, sovereign, or lord
  214. foundling
    a child who has been abandoned and whose parents are unknown
  215. profligately
    in a dissolute way
  216. incumbent
    necessary as a duty or responsibility; morally binding
  217. interlocutor
    a person who takes part in a conversation
  218. de jure
    by right; according to law
  219. mirthless
    lacking mirth
  220. mirth
    great merriment
  221. derivative
    a compound obtained from another compound
  222. profligate
    unrestrained by convention or morality
  223. gratuitous
    unnecessary and unwarranted
  224. lexicon
    a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words
  225. canoodle
    fondle or pet affectionately
  226. egregious
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
  227. stasis
    inactivity resulting from a balance between opposing forces
  228. dissembling
    pretending with intention to deceive
  229. innocuous
    not injurious to physical or mental health
  230. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
  231. remittance
    a payment of money sent to a person in another place
  232. deficiency
    lack of an adequate quantity or number
  233. sui generis
    constituting a class of its own; unique
  234. deign
    do something that one considers to be below one's dignity
  235. limn
    make a portrait of
  236. disinter
    dig up for reburial or for medical investigation
  237. libertine
    unrestrained by convention or morality
  238. sanctimonious
    excessively or hypocritically pious
  239. nefarious
    extremely wicked
  240. malefactor
    someone who has committed a crime
  241. dissolute
    unrestrained by convention or morality
  242. avuncular
    being or relating to an uncle
  243. Tartuffe
    a hypocrite who pretends to religious piety
  244. aplomb
    great coolness and composure under strain
  245. pique
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
  246. stripling
    a person who is older than 12 but younger than 20
  247. putsch
    a sudden attempt to overthrow the government
  248. grotesquery
    ludicrous or incongruous unnaturalness or distortion
  249. quadrennium
    a period of four years
  250. hegemony
    the dominance or leadership of one social group over others
  251. hubris
    overbearing pride or presumption
  252. Mulla
    a Muslim trained in the doctrine and law of Islam
  253. hagiography
    a biography that idealizes or idolizes the person
  254. ombudsman
    an official who investigates public complaints or disputes
  255. prolix
    tediously prolonged or tending to speak or write at length
  256. excoriate
    express strong disapproval of
  257. rescission
    the cancellation of a contract
  258. brook
    a natural stream of water smaller than a river
  259. demagogic
    characteristic of or resembling a demagogue
  260. demagogue
    a leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions
  261. capricious
    determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
  262. soliloquize
    talk to oneself
  263. voluble
    marked by a ready flow of speech
  264. rabble-rouser
    political leader who seeks support by appealing to passions
  265. circumscribed
    subject to restrictions or constraints
  266. antecedent
    a preceding occurrence or cause or event
  267. apparatchik
    a communist who was a member of the administrative system of a communist party
  268. claque
    a group of followers hired to applaud at a performance
  269. tutelage
    attention and management implying responsibility for safety
  270. extirpate
    destroy completely, as if down to the roots
  271. frisson
    an almost pleasurable sensation of fright
  272. nullity
    the state of nonexistence
  273. soporific
    inducing sleep
  274. hermetic
    completely sealed or airtight
  275. demagogue
    a leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions
Created on Sun Nov 16 16:29:18 EST 2008 (updated Wed Aug 18 00:29:58 EDT 2010)

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