Letters to a Young Contrarian -- Christopher Hitchens

Jefferson H.
134 words 55 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dispiriting
    destructive of morale and self-reliance
  2. surreptitious
    marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
  3. obfuscation
    darkening or obscuring the sight of something
  4. defamation
    an abusive attack on a person's character or good name
  5. meretricious
    tastelessly showy
  6. epistolary
    written in the form of letters or correspondence
  7. emulate
    strive to equal or match, especially by imitating
  8. consecrated
    made, declared, or believed to be holy
  9. diminutive
    very small
  10. approbation
    official acceptance or agreement
  11. curmudgeon
    an irascible, cantankerous person full of stubborn ideas
  12. anomie
    lack of moral standards in a society
  13. propitious
    presenting favorable circumstances
  14. sectarian
    of or relating to a subdivision of a larger religious group
  15. annexation
    incorporation by joining or uniting
  16. axiom
    a proposition that is not susceptible of proof or disproof
  17. caustic
    capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action
  18. odious
    extremely repulsive or unpleasant
  19. obstinacy
    resolute adherence to your own ideas or desires
  20. sophism
    a deliberately invalid argument intended to deceive
  21. exculpation
    the act of freeing from guilt or blame
  22. infallible
    incapable of failure or error
  23. pedagogical
    relating to the study of teaching
  24. inculcate
    teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
  25. nihilist
    someone who rejects all theories of morality
  26. emphatic
    spoken with particular stress
  27. trenchantly
    in a vigorous and effective manner
  28. quasi
    having some resemblance
  29. aesthete
    one who professes great sensitivity to the beauty of art
  30. tautology
    useless repetition
  31. piety
    righteousness by virtue of being religiously devout
  32. riposte
    a counterattack made immediately after successfully parrying
  33. eros
    a desire for sexual intimacy
  34. metaphysical
    pertaining to the philosophical study of being and knowing
  35. Thanatos
    the Greek personification of death; son of Nyx
  36. decadent
    relating to indulgence in something pleasurable
  37. fatuity
    a ludicrous folly
  38. pejorative
    expressing disapproval
  39. dialectic
    arriving at the truth by the exchange of logical arguments
  40. sapience
    ability to apply knowledge, experience, or understanding
  41. interlocutor
    a person who takes part in a conversation
  42. fatuous
    devoid of intelligence
  43. non sequitur
    a reply that has no relevance to what preceded it
  44. ashram
    (India) a place of religious retreat for Hindus
  45. acolyte
    an assistant to a priest or minister in a liturgical service
  46. purveyor
    someone who supplies provisions, especially food
  47. redolent
    having a strong pleasant odor
  48. roseate
    of something having a dusty purplish pink color
  49. anthropomorphism
    the representation of objects as having human form
  50. induction
    reasoning from detailed facts to general principles
  51. theocracy
    the belief in government by divine guidance
  52. empirical
    derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
  53. visceral
    coming from deep inward feelings rather than from reasoning
  54. thralldom
    the state of being under the control of another person
  55. presciently
    with foresight
  56. epigram
    a witty saying
  57. apotheosis
    model of excellence or perfection of a kind
  58. platitude
    a trite or obvious remark
  59. analgesic
    capable of relieving pain
  60. corollary
    an inference following from the proof of another proposition
  61. propagate
    cause to become widely known
  62. realpolitik
    politics based on practical rather than moral considerations
  63. symbiotic
    of organisms living together, especially to mutual advantage
  64. phlegmatic
    showing little emotion
  65. regnant
    exercising power or authority
  66. posterity
    all future generations
  67. propitious
    presenting favorable circumstances
  68. obfuscation
    the activity of obscuring people's understanding
  69. salient
    conspicuous, prominent, or important
  70. arrogate
    seize and take control without authority
  71. extirpate
    destroy completely, as if down to the roots
  72. atrophy
    undergo weakening or degeneration as through lack of use
  73. sycophancy
    fawning obsequiousness
  74. obsequious
    attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
  75. solipsism
    the philosophical theory that the self is all that exists
  76. altruistic
    showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others
  77. turgid
    ostentatiously lofty in style
  78. promulgation
    the formal act of proclaiming; giving public notice
  79. credulity
    tendency to believe readily
  80. abnegation
    renunciation of one's own interests in favor of others
  81. abjection
    a low or downcast state
  82. repartee
    adroitness and cleverness in reply
  83. repudiate
    reject as untrue, unfounded, or unjust
  84. prescient
    perceiving the significance of events before they occur
  85. fastidious
    giving careful attention to detail
  86. aggregate
    formed of separate units gathered into a mass or whole
  87. constituent
    one of the individual parts making up a composite entity
  88. demagogue
    a leader who seeks support by appealing to popular passions
  89. plebiscite
    a vote determining public opinion on a question
  90. hedonism
    the pursuit of pleasure as a matter of ethical principle
  91. misanthropy
    a disposition to dislike and mistrust other people
  92. promiscuous
    casual and unrestrained in sexual behavior
  93. prestidigitator
    someone who performs magic tricks to amuse an audience
  94. surreptitious
    conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
  95. junta
    a group of officers who rule a country after seizing power
  96. temerity
    fearless daring
  97. aphorism
    a short pithy instructive saying
  98. anecdotal
    based on stories rather than data or scientific observation
  99. jingoism
    fanatical patriotism
  100. coterie
    an exclusive circle of people with a common purpose
  101. irruption
    a sudden violent entrance; a bursting in
  102. libertarian
    an advocate of freedom of thought and speech
  103. torpid
    in a condition of biological rest or suspended animation
  104. opacity
    incomprehensibility resulting from obscurity of meaning
  105. arbitrariness
    the trait of acting unpredictably and more from whim or caprice
  106. protean
    taking on different forms
  107. retrograde
    moving or directed or tending in a backward direction
  108. xenophobia
    a fear of foreigners or strangers
  109. mirth
    great merriment
  110. bathos
    a change from a serious subject to a disappointing one
  111. allusive
    characterized by indirect references
  112. reliquary
    a container where religious relics are stored or displayed
  113. impiety
    unrighteousness by virtue of lacking respect for a god
  114. gibbet
    an instrument of public execution
  115. banal
    repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
  116. admonition
    cautionary advice about something imminent
  117. quotidian
    found in the ordinary course of events
  118. polemical
    of or involving dispute or controversy
  119. irredenta
    a region that is related ethnically or historically to one country but is controlled politically by another
  120. prelate
    a senior clergyman and dignitary
  121. asphyxiating
    tending to deprive of oxygen
  122. vicarious
    experienced at secondhand
  123. farcical
    broadly or extravagantly humorous
  124. mordant
    harshly ironic or sinister
  125. chauvinist
    a person with a prejudiced belief in his own superiority
  126. exemplifying
    clarifying by use of examples
  127. placate
    cause to be more favorably inclined
  128. pogrom
    organized persecution of an ethnic group, especially Jews
  129. gesticulating
    making gestures while speaking
  130. herbivorous
    feeding only on plants
  131. peroration
    the concluding section of a rhetorical address
  132. clarion
    loud and clear
  133. crepuscular
    like or relating to twilight; dim
  134. lapidary
    relating to precious stones or the art of working with them
Created on Tue Nov 20 16:48:13 EST 2012 (updated Tue Nov 20 16:58:17 EST 2012)

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