Select words from Sparknotes 250 Hardest Words List

John S. (United States of America)
http://www.sparknotes.com/testprep/books/newsat/chapter15section4.rhtml
129 words 12 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. abjure
    formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief
  2. abrogate
    revoke formally
  3. adumbrate
    describe roughly or give the main points or summary of
  4. alacrity
    liveliness and eagerness
  5. anathema
    a formal ecclesiastical curse accompanied by excommunication
  6. approbation
    official acceptance or agreement
  7. arrogate
    seize and take control without authority
  8. aspersion
    a disparaging remark
  9. blandish
    praise somewhat dishonestly
  10. brusque
    rudely abrupt or blunt in speech or manner
  11. burnish
    polish and make shiny
  12. cacophony
    loud confusing disagreeable sounds
  13. cajole
    influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
  14. calumny
    a false accusation of an offense
  15. capricious
    determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
  16. concomitant
    following or accompanying as a consequence
  17. contrite
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
  18. credulity
    tendency to believe readily
  19. cupidity
    extreme greed for material wealth
  20. demure
    shy or modest, often in a playful or provocative way
  21. deprecate
    express strong disapproval of; deplore
  22. desiccated
    thoroughly dried out
  23. discursive
    tending to cover a wide range of subjects
  24. dissemble
    behave unnaturally or affectedly
  25. dither
    be undecided or uncertain
  26. effulgent
    radiating or as if radiating light
  27. egregious
    conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
  28. enervate
    weaken physically, mentally, or morally
  29. evince
    give expression to
  30. exculpate
    pronounce not guilty of criminal charges
  31. execrable
    unequivocally detestable
  32. exigent
    demanding immediate attention
  33. expiate
    make amends for
  34. fallacious
    containing or based on incorrect reasoning
  35. fastidious
    giving careful attention to detail
  36. fatuous
    devoid of intelligence
  37. fecund
    capable of producing offspring or vegetation
  38. fetid
    offensively malodorous
  39. fractious
    easily irritated or annoyed
  40. grandiloquence
    high-flown style; excessive use of verbal ornamentation
  41. gregarious
    temperamentally seeking and enjoying the company of others
  42. ignominious
    deserving or bringing disgrace or shame
  43. impassive
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
  44. impertinent
    improperly forward or bold
  45. impinge
    infringe upon
  46. impudent
    improperly forward or bold
  47. inexorable
    impossible to prevent, resist, or stop
  48. ingenuous
    lacking in sophistication or worldliness
  49. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
  50. intransigent
    impervious to pleas, persuasion, requests, or reason
  51. invective
    abusive language used to express blame or censure
  52. inveterate
    habitual
  53. laconic
    brief and to the point
  54. largess
    liberality in bestowing gifts
  55. latent
    potentially existing but not presently evident or realized
  56. legerdemain
    an illusory feat
  57. limpid
    clear and bright
  58. maudlin
    very sentimental or emotional
  59. mendacious
    given to lying
  60. mercurial
    liable to sudden unpredictable change
  61. morass
    a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
  62. myriad
    a large indefinite number
  63. nadir
    the lowest point of anything
  64. neophyte
    a participant with no experience with an activity
  65. obdurate
    stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing
  66. obfuscate
    make obscure or unclear
  67. oblique
    slanting or inclined in direction or course or position
  68. odious
    extremely repulsive or unpleasant
  69. pariah
    a person who is rejected from society or home
  70. parsimony
    extreme stinginess
  71. pathos
    a quality that arouses emotions, especially pity or sorrow
  72. pejorative
    expressing disapproval
  73. pellucid
    transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity
  74. penurious
    excessively unwilling to spend
  75. perfidious
    tending to betray
  76. perfunctory
    hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough
  77. pertinacious
    stubbornly unyielding
  78. petulance
    an irritable feeling
  79. pithy
    concise and full of meaning
  80. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
  81. polemic
    a verbal or written attack, especially of a belief or dogma
  82. probity
    complete and confirmed integrity
  83. propitious
    presenting favorable circumstances
  84. proscribe
    command against
  85. protean
    taking on different forms
  86. pugnacious
    ready and able to resort to force or violence
  87. pulchritude
    physical beauty, especially of a woman
  88. punctilious
    marked by precise accordance with details
  89. recalcitrant
    stubbornly resistant to authority or control
  90. reprobate
    a person without moral scruples
  91. reprove
    reprimand, scold, or express dissatisfaction with
  92. repudiate
    refuse to acknowledge, ratify, or recognize as valid
  93. rescind
    cancel officially
  94. restive
    in a very tense state
  95. ribald
    humorously vulgar
  96. rife
    excessively abundant
  97. sagacity
    the trait of having wisdom and good judgment
  98. salient
    conspicuous, prominent, or important
  99. sanguine
    confidently optimistic and cheerful
  100. scurrilous
    expressing offensive, insulting, or scandalous criticism
  101. serendipity
    good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
  102. solicitous
    full of anxiety and concern
  103. spurious
    plausible but false
  104. stolid
    having or revealing little emotion or sensibility
  105. surreptitious
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
  106. taciturn
    habitually reserved and uncommunicative
  107. tantamount
    being essentially equal to something
  108. temerity
    fearless daring
  109. torpid
    in a condition of biological rest or suspended animation
  110. tractable
    easily managed
  111. transmute
    change or alter in form, appearance, or nature
  112. trenchant
    having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought
  113. truculent
    defiantly aggressive
  114. turgid
    ostentatiously lofty in style
  115. turpitude
    a corrupt or depraved or degenerate act or practice
  116. undulate
    move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
  117. upbraid
    express criticism towards
  118. usurp
    seize and take control without authority
  119. vacillate
    be undecided about something
  120. vacuous
    devoid of matter
  121. vapid
    lacking significance or liveliness or spirit or zest
  122. verdant
    characterized by abundance of vegetation and green foliage
  123. vex
    disturb, especially by minor irritations
  124. vicissitude
    a variation in circumstances or fortune
  125. vilify
    spread negative information about
  126. vitriolic
    harsh, bitter, or malicious in tone
  127. vituperate
    spread negative information about
  128. winsome
    charming in a childlike or naive way
  129. wistful
    showing pensive sadness
Created on Sat Sep 08 15:21:10 EDT 2012 (updated Fri Sep 14 17:12:31 EDT 2012)

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