Vocab Video Contest (2016) - List 2

Vocabulary.com and the New York Times Learning Network have teamed up to launch a Vocabulary Video contest. Just create a short (15 seconds or less) video that defines or teaches any of the words in the Times' Word of the Day collection, post it online, and submit a link to your video in the comments section of the announcement. Click on these links to learn more about the eligible words: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, and List 6.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. comeuppance
    a usually negative outcome or fate that is well deserved
  2. commandeer
    take arbitrarily or by force
  3. communal
    for or by a group rather than individuals
  4. compelling
    capable of arousing and holding the attention
  5. compilation
    the act of putting together
  6. compile
    get or gather together
  7. complacency
    the feeling you have when you are satisfied with yourself
  8. complementary
    serving to fill out, enhance, or supply what is lacking
  9. compliance
    the act of submitting, usually surrendering power to another
  10. compliant
    disposed to act in accordance with someone's wishes
  11. comprehensive
    including all or everything
  12. compress
    squeeze or push together
  13. conceit
    the trait of being unduly vain
  14. concentric
    having a common center
  15. conception
    the creation of something in the mind
  16. concession
    the act of yielding
  17. conciliatory
    making or willing to make concessions
  18. concord
    a harmonious state of things and of their properties
  19. condiment
    a preparation to enhance flavor or enjoyment
  20. condole
    express one's sympathy on the occasion of someone's death
  21. conducive
    tending to bring about; being partly responsible for
  22. conformity
    correspondence in form, type, or appearance
  23. confound
    be confusing or perplexing to
  24. congeal
    solidify, thicken, or come together
  25. congruent
    corresponding in character or kind
  26. conifer
    a type of tree or shrub bearing cones
  27. connivance
    agreement on a secret plot
  28. connotation
    an idea that is implied or suggested
  29. connubial
    relating to marriage or the relationship between spouses
  30. conscript
    enroll into service compulsorily
  31. consensus
    agreement in the judgment reached by a group as a whole
  32. consequential
    having important effects or results
  33. consign
    give over to another for care or safekeeping
  34. consistent
    the same throughout in structure or composition
  35. consonance
    a harmonious state of things and of their properties
  36. consort
    keep company with
  37. conspiracy
    a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act
  38. construe
    make sense of; assign a meaning to
  39. contagion
    an incident in which an infectious disease is transmitted
  40. contention
    the act of competing as for profit or a prize
  41. contortion
    a tortuous and twisted shape or position
  42. contraband
    distributed or sold illicitly
  43. contrite
    feeling or expressing pain or sorrow
  44. controvert
    prove to be false or incorrect
  45. conveyance
    something that serves as a means of transportation
  46. corollary
    an inference following from the proof of another proposition
  47. corporeal
    having material or physical form or substance
  48. corpulent
    excessively large
  49. correlation
    a reciprocal connection between two or more things
  50. corrosive
    capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action
  51. corrugated
    shaped into alternating parallel grooves and ridges
  52. cosmic
    pertaining to or characteristic of the universe
  53. countermand
    cancel officially
  54. courier
    a person who carries a message
  55. covenant
    an agreement between a god and the people
  56. crabbed
    annoyed and irritable
  57. credulity
    tendency to believe readily
  58. creed
    any system of principles or beliefs
  59. crescendo
    a gradual increase in loudness
  60. crestfallen
    brought low in spirit
  61. cringe
    draw back, as with fear, pain, or embarrassment
  62. crotchety
    having a difficult and contrary disposition
  63. cryptic
    having a secret or hidden meaning
  64. cubicle
    small area set off by walls for special use
  65. culmination
    a concluding action
  66. cumulative
    increasing by successive addition
  67. cupidity
    extreme greed for material wealth
  68. curmudgeon
    an irascible, cantankerous person full of stubborn ideas
  69. dally
    behave carelessly or indifferently
  70. dank
    unpleasantly cool and humid
  71. dapper
    marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
  72. dappled
    having spots or patches of color
  73. daub
    an unskillful painting
  74. dauntless
    invulnerable to fear or intimidation
  75. dawdle
    hang or fall in movement, progress, development, etc.
  76. deadlock
    a situation in which no progress can be made
  77. deadpan
    deliberately impassive in manner
  78. decadence
    the state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities
  79. decant
    pour out
  80. deciduous
    shedding foliage at the end of the growing season
  81. decomposition
    the organic phenomenon of rotting
  82. decoy
    something used to lure fish or other animals
  83. decrepitude
    a state of deterioration due to old age or long use
  84. deduce
    reason from the general to the particular
  85. deface
    mar or spoil the appearance of
  86. defame
    charge falsely or with malicious intent
  87. deference
    courteous regard for people's feelings
  88. defile
    make dirty or spotty
  89. deflect
    turn from a straight course or fixed direction
  90. defrock
    remove from one's position in the church
  91. degenerate
    a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable
  92. degradation
    a change to a lower state
  93. deify
    exalt to the position of a God
  94. delete
    cut or eliminate
  95. delirium
    a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion
  96. delta
    the 4th letter of the Greek alphabet
  97. delusion
    a mistaken or unfounded opinion or idea
  98. delve
    turn up, loosen, or remove earth
  99. demented
    affected with madness or insanity
  100. demographic
    a statistic characterizing human populations
  101. demolition
    the act of destroying completely
  102. demotic
    of or for the common people
  103. demur
    politely refuse or take exception to
  104. denote
    have as a meaning
  105. depose
    force to leave an office
  106. deposition
    the act of putting something somewhere
  107. derision
    the act of treating with contempt
  108. desiccate
    lacking vitality or spirit; lifeless
  109. determination
    the act of finding out the properties of something
  110. deterrent
    something immaterial that interferes with action or progress
  111. detonation
    the act of setting off an explosive
  112. detrimental
    causing harm or injury
  113. dexterous
    skillful in physical movements; especially of the hands
  114. diadem
    an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty
  115. diatribe
    thunderous verbal attack
  116. diffident
    showing modest reserve
  117. diffuse
    spread out; not concentrated in one place
  118. dilate
    become wider
  119. diligence
    conscientiousness in paying proper attention to a task
  120. dilute
    lessen the strength or flavor of a solution or mixture
  121. diminution
    change toward something smaller or lower
  122. dinghy
    a small boat of shallow draft
  123. dirge
    a song or hymn of mourning as a memorial to a dead person
  124. disabuse
    free somebody from an erroneous belief
  125. disaffected
    discontented as toward authority
  126. disapprobation
    an expression of strong disapproval
  127. disavow
    refuse to acknowledge
  128. disband
    cause to break up or cease to function
  129. discernible
    perceptible by the senses or intellect
  130. discombobulated
    having self-possession upset; thrown into confusion
  131. disconsolate
    sad beyond comforting; incapable of being soothed
  132. discordant
    not in agreement or harmony
  133. discount
    an amount or percentage deducted
  134. discourse
    an extended communication dealing with some particular topic
  135. discretion
    power of making choices unconstrained by external agencies
  136. discursive
    tending to cover a wide range of subjects
  137. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
  138. disembark
    exit from a ship, vehicle, or aircraft
  139. disengage
    release from something that holds fast or entangles
  140. disfigure
    mar or spoil the appearance of
  141. disgorge
    eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth
  142. joint
    junction by which parts or objects are linked together
  143. dislodge
    remove or force from a position previously occupied
  144. dismember
    separate the limbs from the body
  145. dismiss
    stop associating with
  146. disparity
    inequality or difference in some respect
  147. dispassionate
    unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice
  148. disport
    occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
  149. disquisition
    an elaborate analytical or explanatory essay or discussion
  150. dissection
    the act of cutting so as to separate into pieces
  151. dissolution
    separation into component parts
  152. distill
    undergo condensation
  153. diurnal
    having a daily cycle or occurring every day
  154. diverge
    move or draw apart
  155. diversion
    a turning aside
  156. divest
    take away possessions from someone
  157. doctrinaire
    a stubborn person of arbitrary or arrogant opinions
  158. doff
    remove
  159. dogged
    stubbornly unyielding
  160. dogmatic
    pertaining to a code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
  161. domineer
    rule or exercise power over in a cruel and autocratic manner
  162. don
    teacher at a university or college
  163. dormer
    a gabled extension built out from a sloping roof
  164. dossier
    papers containing detailed information about a person
  165. dour
    showing a brooding ill humor
  166. douse
    wet thoroughly
  167. dowdy
    lacking in stylishness or taste
  168. downcast
    filled with melancholy and despondency
  169. dregs
    sediment that has settled at the bottom of a liquid
  170. drivel
    saliva spilling from the mouth
  171. droll
    comical in an odd or whimsical manner
  172. drone
    make a monotonous low dull sound
  173. dross
    worthless or dangerous material that should be removed
  174. drudgery
    hard, monotonous, routine work
  175. dubious
    fraught with uncertainty or doubt
  176. dulcet
    pleasing to the ear
  177. dupe
    fool or hoax
  178. duress
    compulsory force or threat
  179. dynamic
    characterized by action or forcefulness of personality
  180. earthy
    of or consisting of or resembling the soil
  181. eccentricity
    strange and unconventional behavior
  182. ecologist
    a biologist who studies organisms and their environment
  183. eddy
    a miniature whirlpool or whirlwind
  184. edify
    make understand
  185. effeminate
    lacking traits typically associated with men or masculinity
  186. effervescent
    giving off bubbles
  187. effete
    excessively self-indulgent, affected, or decadent
  188. effigy
    a representation of a person
  189. effusion
    an unrestrained expression of emotion
  190. egotistical
    having an inflated idea of one's own importance
  191. egress
    the act or means of going out
  192. elaborate
    marked by complexity and richness of detail
  193. elegy
    a mournful poem; a lament for the dead
  194. elixir
    a substance believed to cure all ills
  195. ellipsis
    a mark indicating that words have been omitted
  196. elliptical
    rounded like an egg
  197. eloquence
    powerful and effective language
  198. elusive
    skillful at evading capture
  199. embed
    fix or set securely or deeply
  200. embezzlement
    the fraudulent appropriation of funds or property
  201. embroider
    decorate with needlework
  202. embryonic
    of an organism prior to birth or hatching
  203. emollient
    a substance with a soothing effect when applied to the skin
  204. empathy
    understanding and entering into another's feelings
  205. encipher
    convert ordinary language into code
  206. encomiastic
    formally expressing praise
  207. encroachment
    any entry into an area not previously occupied
  208. endearment
    the act of showing affection
  209. engaging
    attracting or delighting
  210. enmity
    a state of deep-seated ill-will
  211. ennui
    the feeling of being bored by something tedious
  212. enterprising
    marked by initiative and readiness to undertake new projects
  213. entomology
    the branch of zoology that studies insects
  214. entree
    the principal dish of a meal
  215. eon
    the longest unit of geological time
  216. epic
    a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
  217. epilogue
    a short speech by an actor at the end of a play
  218. episodic
    divided into or composed of distinct scenes or events
  219. epithet
    descriptive word or phrase
  220. epitome
    a standard or typical example
  221. equanimity
    steadiness of mind under stress
  222. equinox
    when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator
  223. equity
    the quality of being fair, reasonable, or impartial
  224. equivocate
    be deliberately ambiguous or unclear
  225. errant
    straying from the right course or from accepted standards
  226. erroneous
    containing or characterized by mistakes
  227. escapade
    any carefree episode
  228. estrange
    remove from customary environment or associations
  229. estranged
    caused to be unloved
  230. ethereal
    characterized by lightness and insubstantiality
  231. ethnic
    distinctive of the ways of living of a group of people
  232. ethnology
    branch of anthropology dealing with divisions of humankind
  233. ethos
    the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era
  234. eulogistic
    formally expressing praise
  235. eulogy
    a formal expression of praise for someone who has died
  236. euphony
    any pleasing and harmonious sounds
  237. euthanasia
    the act of killing someone painlessly
  238. evenhanded
    without partiality
  239. evocative
    serving to bring to mind
  240. exceptionable
    likely to cause objection or disapproval
  241. excerpt
    a passage selected from a larger work
  242. exchequer
    the funds of a government or institution or individual
  243. excise
    remove by cutting
  244. execrable
    unequivocally detestable
  245. exemplary
    worthy of imitation
  246. exempt
    freed from or not subject to an obligation or liability
  247. exert
    put to use
  248. exhilarating
    making lively and joyful
  249. exigency
    a pressing or urgent situation
  250. exorcise
    expel through adjuration or prayers
Created on January 20, 2016 (updated January 25, 2016)

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