Accolade

praise

Allusion

indirect reference

Ambivalence

Ambivalent

Analogy

Anecdote

uncertainty; having 'mixed' feelings

unable to decide

comparison

short account of something interesting; story

Anomalous

odd; not fitting the pattern

Apparition

ghost; something that 'appears'

Aspersion

negative feeling; damaging remark

Belligerence

Bombastic

Candid

aggression

too elaborate; exaggerated

truthful

Capricious

changeable; fickle

Cherished

cared for; firmly-held

Cliche

over-used expression

Conception

1. idea; view. 2. beginning of pregnancy

Convoluted

complicated or long-winded

Credence

Cryptic

belief

hidden

Currency

1. widespread acceptance, 2. money

Decorous

good and correct (used of behavior)

Denunciation

Derailed

Derivative

act of speaking out against

thrown off course

unoriginal

Despotic

acting like a tyrant

Detritus

rubbish

Diaphanous

Dictum

very thin and transparent

often-used saying

Dilettante

person who dabbles in the arts

Disdained

showed contempt for

Dispassionate

unbiased; fair

Dowager

an elderly woman of elevate social status

Dubious

doubtful

Egalitarian

Elicit

Elliptical

equal; believer in equality

draw out (used mainly for information or feelings)

1. shaped like an ellipse, 2. indirect

Epitomizes

acts as a typical example of

Equivocate

speak ambiguously/vaguely

Evasiveness

trying to avoid something

Explicitly

very clear; nothing hidden

Foraging

searching for food

Hypothetical

Iconoclast

based on guesswork; not proven

person who goes against accepted authority

Idiosyncratic

quirky; unique to an individual

Imponderable

cannot be understood

Indecorous

Indigence

Inept

not well-behaved; lacking in dignity

extreme poverty

clumsy

Inherent

inbuilt; genetic

Intricate

complicated

Irrefutable

cannot be proved wrong

Jingoism

using words to stir up exaggerated patriotism

Jubilant

joyful

Judicious

Lament

fair and equal

express regret over something

Loquacious

talkative; using too many words

Mendicancy

begging

Metaphorical

Milieu

Mitigated

not literal; figurative

environment; surroundings

made less severe

Nascent

just begun; in an early stage of development

Nostalgia

longing for the past

Obtrusive

easily seen

Orthographical

Ossified

Ostentatious

concerned with writing and spelling

become fixed and rigid

showy

Palpable

can be felt

Pastoral

1. concerned with the countryside, 2. concerned with

the care a pastor gives to someone

Pedestrian

Perfidy

1. boring (adj), 2. person who walks (n)

treachery; betrayal

Profligacy

wasteful and immoral behavior

Prohibitive

very expensive

Prudence

Pugnacious

Purveyor

Resonance

Respite

Resurgence

Sparse

Stringent

wisdom; caution

aggressive

one who sells something or causes something to spread

echo

break (from work etc.)

revival

thin; not thick

strict

Succumbing

giving in to; falling under the influence of

Supercilious

arrogant

Tenacity

Transcend

firmness of purpose

go beyond a limit

Variegated

multi colored

Venerable

worthy of respect

Viable

workable; able to live or grow

Visceral

concerned with the 'guts'; physical rather than mental

.................................................................................

The 100 Most Beautiful

Words in English
Ailurophile A cat-lover.

Assemblage A gathering.

Becoming Attractive.

Beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.

Brood To think alone.

Bucolic In a lovely rural setting.

Bungalow A small, cozy cottage.

Chatoyant Like a cat's eye.

Comely Attractive.

Conflate To blend together.

Cynosure A focal point of admiration.

Dalliance A brief love affair.

Demesne Dominion, territory.

Demure Shy and reserved.

Denouement The resolution of a mystery.

Desuetude Disuse.

Desultory Slow, sluggish.

Diaphanous Filmy.

Dissemble Deceive.

Dulcet Sweet, sugary.

Ebullience Bubbling enthusiasm.

Effervescent Bubbly.

Efflorescence Flowering, blooming.

Elision Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.

Elixir A good potion.

Eloquence Beauty and persuasion in speech.

Embrocation Rubbing on a lotion.

Emollient A softener.

Ephemeral Short-lived.

Epiphany A sudden revelation.

Erstwhile At one time, for a time.

Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.

Evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.

Evocative Suggestive.

Fetching Pretty.

Felicity Pleasantness.

Forbearance Withholding response to provocation.

Fugacious Fleeting.

Furtive Shifty, sneaky.

Gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.

Glamour Beauty.

Gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider's silk

Halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.

Harbinger Messenger with news of the future.

Imbrication Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.

Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.

Imbue To infuse, instill.

Incipient Beginning, in an early stage.

Ineffable Unutterable, inexpressible.

Ing nue A na ve young woman.

Inglenook A cozy nook by the hearth.

Insouciance Blithe nonchalance.

Inure To become jaded.

Labyrinthine Twisting and turning.

Lagniappe A special kind of gift.

Lagoon A small gulf or inlet.

Languor Listlessness, inactivity.

Lassitude Weariness, listlessness.

Leisure Free time.

Lilt To move musically or lively.

Lissome Slender and graceful.

Lithe Slender and flexible.

Love Deep affection.

Mellifluous Sweet sounding.

Moiety One of two equal parts.

Mondegreen A slip of the ear.

Murmurous Murmuring.

Nemesis An unconquerable archenemy.

Offing The sea between the horizon and the offshore.

Onomatopoeia A word that sounds like its meaning.

Opulent Lush, luxuriant.

Palimpsest A manuscript written over earlier ones.

Panacea A solution for all problems

Panoply A complete set.

Pastiche An art work combining materials from various sources.

Penumbra A half-shadow.

Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.

Plethora A large quantity.

Propinquity An inclination.

Pyrrhic Successful with heavy losses.

Quintessential Most essential.

Ratatouille A spicy French stew.

Ravel To knit or unknit.

Redolent Fragrant.

Riparian By the bank of a stream.

Ripple A very small wave.

Scintilla A spark or very small thing.

Sempiternal Eternal.

Seraglio Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.

Serendipity Finding something nice while looking for something else.

Summery Light, delicate or warm and sunny.

Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.

Surreptitious Secretive, sneaky.

Susquehanna A river in Pennsylvania.

Susurrous Whispering, hissing.

Talisman A good luck charm.

Tintinnabulatio Tinkling.
n

Umbrella Protection from sun or rain.

Untoward Unseemly, inappropriate.

Vestigial In trace amounts.

Wafture Waving.

Wherewithal The means.

Woebegone Sorrowful, downcast.