100 words that will enhance your reading and writing

Brendan V.
100 words 50 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. aberrant
    markedly different from an accepted norm
  2. acerbic
    sour or bitter in taste
  3. acquiescence
    agreement with a statement or proposal to do something
  4. acrimonious
    marked by strong resentment or cynicism
  5. aesthetic
    characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste
  6. ambivalence
    mixed feelings or emotions
  7. antipathy
    a feeling of intense dislike
  8. assuage
    provide physical relief, as from pain
  9. banal
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
  10. bereft
    lacking or deprived of something
  11. brusque
    rudely abrupt or blunt in speech or manner
  12. cathartic
    emotionally purging
  13. censure
    harsh criticism or disapproval
  14. construe
    make sense of; assign a meaning to
  15. contrived
    showing effects of planning or manipulation
  16. cynicism
    a pessimistic feeling of distrust
  17. daunt
    cause to lose courage
  18. debunk
    expose while ridiculing
  19. denounce
    speak out against
  20. depict
    give a description of
  21. diatribe
    thunderous verbal attack
  22. diminution
    change toward something smaller or lower
  23. discerning
    having or revealing keen insight and good judgment
  24. disparage
    express a negative opinion of
  25. disparity
    inequality or difference in some respect
  26. dissuade
    turn away from by persuasion
  27. dogmatic
    pertaining to a code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
  28. duplicity
    a fraudulent representation
  29. ebullient
    joyously unrestrained
  30. eclectic
    selecting what seems best of various styles or ideas
  31. enigmatic
    not clear to the understanding
  32. epiphany
    a usually sudden insight, perception, or understanding of something
  33. equivocal
    open to two or more interpretations
  34. erroneous
    containing or characterized by mistakes
  35. espouse
    choose and follow a theory, idea, policy, etc.
  36. euphemism
    an inoffensive expression substituted for an offensive one
  37. exonerate
    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
  38. fallacious
    containing or based on incorrect reasoning
  39. faux pas
    a socially awkward or tactless act
  40. fortuitous
    lucky; occurring by happy chance
  41. frugal
    avoiding waste
  42. galvanise
    to stimulate to action
    Support is galvanising for further investigations into Rupert Murdoch's media empire in Australia.
  43. garrulous
    full of trivial conversation
  44. glib
    artfully persuasive in speech
  45. grandiose
    impressive because of unnecessary largeness or magnificence
  46. heinous
    extremely wicked or deeply criminal
  47. hyperbole
    extravagant exaggeration
  48. impervious
    not admitting of passage or capable of being affected
  49. implicit
    suggested though not directly expressed
  50. inane
    devoid of intelligence
  51. imperious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
  52. facile
    arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth
  53. incumbent
    necessary as a duty or responsibility; morally binding
  54. inertia
    the tendency of something to stay in rest or motion
  55. insipid
    lacking interest or significance or impact
  56. integral
    existing as an essential constituent or characteristic
  57. intractable
    difficult to manage or mold
  58. juxtapose
    place side by side
  59. laconic
    brief and to the point
  60. malevolent
    wishing or appearing to wish evil to others
  61. mercenary
    profit oriented
  62. misogynist
    a misanthrope who dislikes women in particular
  63. mitigate
    lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
  64. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
  65. obtuse
    lacking in insight or discernment
  66. overt
    open and observable; not secret or hidden
  67. oxymoron
    conjoined contradictory terms
  68. paradigm
    the generally accepted perspective of a discipline
  69. placate
    cause to be more favorably inclined
  70. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
  71. pragmatic
    concerned with practical matters
  72. preclude
    make impossible, especially beforehand
  73. predilection
    a predisposition in favor of something
  74. querulous
    habitually complaining
  75. quintessential
    representing the perfect example of a class or quality
    "The library in his mind was the quintessential educational institution for the whole community," said David Nasaw, history professor at City University of New York.
  76. rancour
    a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
    Choking with shame and rancour, "the Monk" went away, after picking up a pebble which he threw in fury at them. Dinet, Etienne
  77. reminiscent
    serving to bring to mind
  78. resonate
    evoke or suggest a strong meaning or belief
  79. reticent
    reluctant to draw attention to yourself
  80. sagacious
    acutely insightful and wise
  81. sporadic
    recurring in scattered or unpredictable instances
  82. steadfast
    marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
  83. stoic
    seeming unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
  84. sycophantic
    attempting to win favor by flattery
  85. synergy
    the working together of two or more things to produce an effect
  86. tantamount
    being essentially equal to something
  87. tautology
    useless repetition
    Going off to find yourself isn't a new idea and in this age of sophisticated marketing techniques "spiritual journey" is almost a tautology.
  88. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
  89. transient
    lasting a very short time
  90. trite
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
  91. ubiquitous
    being present everywhere at once
  92. vacillate
    be undecided about something
  93. veracity
    unwillingness to tell lies
  94. vernacular
    the everyday speech of the people
  95. vitriolic
    harsh, bitter, or malicious in tone
  96. vociferous
    conspicuously and offensively loud
  97. whimsical
    determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
  98. woeful
    affected by or full of grief or sadness
    He took the Italian job two years ago, after the Azzurri had returned from a woeful World Cup failure in South Africa. New York Times (Jun 22, 2012)
  99. yearning
    prolonged unfulfilled desire or need
  100. zealot
    a fervent and even militant proponent of something
Created on Thu Jul 12 07:50:50 EDT 2012

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