English 12--words to know before you graduate

Ms M. (United States of America)
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. irony
    incongruity between what might be expected and what occurs
  2. wrought
    shaped to fit by altering the contours of a pliable mass
  3. vehement
    marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions
  4. usurp
    seize and take control without authority
  5. pecuniary
    relating to or involving money
  6. sanguine
    confidently optimistic and cheerful
  7. infrastructure
    the basic features of a system or organization
  8. reciprocal
    concerning each of two or more persons or things
  9. omnipotent
    having unlimited power
  10. auspicious
    indicating favorable circumstances and good luck
  11. precipitous
    extremely steep
  12. diffident
    showing modest reserve
  13. subjugate
    make subservient; force to submit or subdue
  14. inculcate
    teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions
  15. reparation
    something done or paid in expiation of a wrong
  16. yeoman
    a free man who cultivates his own land
  17. soliloquy
    speech you make to yourself
  18. belie
    be in contradiction with
  19. metamorphosis
    striking change in appearance or character or circumstances
  20. tempestuous
    characterized by violent emotions or behavior
  21. facetious
    cleverly amusing in tone
  22. homogenous
    all of the same or similar kind or nature
  23. obsequious
    attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
  24. enfranchise
    grant freedom to, as from slavery or servitude
  25. interpolate
    insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby
  26. oligarchy
    a political system governed by a few people
  27. abjure
    formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief
  28. supercilious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
  29. fatuous
    devoid of intelligence
  30. recapitulate
    summarize briefly
  31. abrogate
    revoke formally
  32. nomenclature
    a system of words used to name things in a discipline
  33. acumen
    shrewdness shown by keen insight
  34. lugubrious
    excessively mournful
  35. incognito
    without revealing one's identity
  36. winnow
    the act of separating grain from chaff
  37. unctuous
    unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating
  38. totalitarian
    of a government with an authority exerting absolute control
  39. lexicon
    a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words
  40. nihilism
    complete denial of established authority and institutions
  41. vacuous
    devoid of matter
  42. loquacious
    full of trivial conversation
  43. churlish
    having a bad disposition; surly
  44. incontrovertible
    impossible to deny or disprove
  45. circumnavigate
    travel completely around something
  46. circumlocution
    an indirect way of expressing something
  47. kinetic
    relating to the motion of material bodies and their forces
  48. bellicose
    having or showing a ready disposition to fight
  49. hegemony
    the dominance or leadership of one social group over others
  50. chicanery
    the use of tricks to deceive someone
  51. paradigm
    a standard or typical example
  52. feckless
    generally incompetent and ineffectual
  53. gauche
    lacking social poise or refinement
  54. expurgate
    edit by omitting or modifying parts considered indelicate
  55. fiduciary
    relating to or of the nature of a legal trust
  56. hubris
    overbearing pride or presumption
  57. xenophobia
    a fear of foreigners or strangers
  58. tautology
    useless repetition
  59. plagiarize
    take without referencing from someone's writing or speech
  60. kowtow
    bend the knees and bow in a servile manner
  61. ameliorate
    make better
  62. ardent
    characterized by intense emotion
  63. epiphany
    a usually sudden insight, perception, or understanding of something
  64. quotidian
    found in the ordinary course of events
  65. nonsectarian
    not restricted to one religious or political group
  66. predilection
    a predisposition in favor of something
  67. chimerical
    like a grotesque product of the imagination
  68. progeny
    the immediate descendants of a person
  69. imbue
    spread or diffuse through
  70. hallowed
    worthy of religious veneration
  71. palpable
    capable of being perceived
  72. incipient
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
  73. vacillate
    be undecided about something
  74. prognosticate
    make a prediction about; tell in advance
  75. assuage
    provide physical relief, as from pain
Created on Mon Sep 14 19:43:27 EDT 2015 (updated Mon May 09 15:24:41 EDT 2016)

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