Words you should know

List of words worth knowing

opine - submit as your opinion

Lurid - garish, unpleasantly bright

pabulum - bland or insipid intellectual political matter.

juste milieu - The happy medium esp. political philosophy; judicious moderation

Valorize - Give or ascribe value or validity to.

Compunction - feeling of guilt before or after doing somethign bad

Gumption - spirited initiative/ resourcefullness.

Lilt - a characteristic rising and falling of the voice when speaking; a pleasant gentle accent

Balustrade - a railing supported by balusters, especially one forming an ornamental parapet to a balcony, bridge, or terrace.

Dyspeptic - having indigestion or a consequent air of irritable bad temper.

Sardonic - grimly mocking or cynical

Missive - a letter, especially a long or official one

Sodalite - a blue mineral consisting chiefly of an aluminosilicate and chloride of sodium, occurring chiefly in alkaline igneous rocks.

tincture - a medicine made by dissolving a drug in alcohol

Insouciance - casual lack of concern

consolation - The comfort received by a person after a loss or disappointment.

dialectic - the art of investigating or discussing the truth of opinions.

irrupt - Enter somewhere forcibly or suddenly.

Emollient - having the quality of softening or soothing the skin

Attenuate - reduce the force, effect, or value of

Cunctation - the action of delaying or putting off doing something.

Deontic - relating to duty and obligation as ethical concepts.

Jowl - the lower part of a person's or animal's cheek, especially when it is fleshy or drooping

Hermetic - (of a seal or closure) complete and airtight

Apothem - a line from the centre of a regular polygon at right angles to any of its sides.

Edifice - a large, imposing building.

Ameliorate - make (something bad or unsatisfactory) better

Pugilist - a boxer, especially a professional one.

Penchant - a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something

Cispontine - on the north side of the Thames bridges in London (originally the better-known side).

Gutter press

Torpid - mentally or physically inactive; lethargic

Curmudgeon - grumpy person

Anomie - lack of the usual social or ethical standards in an individual or group

Repine - feel or express discontent; fret

Propitious - giving or indicating a good chance of success; favourable

Auspicious - favourable

Sect - a group of people with somewhat different religious beliefs (typically regarded as heretical) from those of a larger group to which they belong.

Immolate

Roil

Caustic - able to burn or corrode organic tissue by chemical action

Excoriate

Sophism - a clever but false argument, especially one used deliberately to deceive.

Trenchant- incisive

Epicene - having characteristics of both sexes or no characteristics of either sex; of indeterminate sex

Aesthetes - person who appreciates fine things

Riposte - a quick, clever reply to an insult or criticism.

Thanatos - death

Fatuous - inane

Strife - conflict

Pejorative - negatively

Contempt -

Redolent - evocative

Roseate - rose coloured

Despot - a ruler or other person who holds absolute power, typically one who exercises it in a cruel or oppressive way.

Yore - of long ago or former times (used in nostalgic or mock-nostalgic recollection)

Cogitate - think deeply about something

Postulate - suggest or assume the existence, fact, or truth of (something) as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or belief

Latent - (of a quality or state) existing but not yet developed or manifest; hidden or concealed

Prometheus- innovative clever original

Serf - worker of the land for a land owner

Thraldom - the state of being in someone's power

Plus ca change

Pith essence

Rosa Luxemburg

Rectitude - morally right behaviour

Privation - deprivation

Inheres

Apotheosis - culmination/ climax. / Perfect example of..

Dissipation - overindulgence in sensual pleasures; dissipated living

Gradgrind

Zealot

Statism - a political system in which the state has substantial centralized control over social and economic affairs

Assent - the expression of approval or agreement

Acquiescence - the reluctant acceptance of something without protest

Suborning

Unfettered - not confined or restricted

Obloquy - strong public condemnation

Arrogate - take or claim (something) without justification

Atrophy - (of body tissue or an organ) waste away, especially as a result of the degeneration of cells, or become vestigial during evolution

Vindictive - having or showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge

Stolid - calm, dependable, and showing little emotion or animation

Casuistry - the use of clever but unsound reasoning, especially in relation to moral questions; sophistry

Sycophant - a person who acts obsequiously towards someone important in order to gain advantage.

Obsequious

Solipsism - the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist.

Servile - having or showing an excessive willingness to serve or please others

Turgid - swollen and distended or congested

Bombastic - high-sounding but with little meaning; inflated

Edification -

Credulous - gullible

Meretricious - apparently attractive but having no real value.

Approbation - approval or praise

Epistolary - (of a literary work) in the form of letters

Iconoclast - a person who attacks or criticizes cherished beliefs or institutions.*** - persons who attacks or criticises cherished beliefs.

Euphony - the quality of being pleasing to the ear*** - pleasing to the ear

Vindication - the action of clearing someone of blame or suspicion*** - clearing someone of blame.

Phlegmatic - (of a person) having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition*** - having unemotional disposition

Dissent - hold opinion at variance with those commonly held

Inured - accustom to something esp unpleasant

Non sequitur - it does not follow

Extirpation - complete excision / destruction

Syncretism - the amalgamation or attempted amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought

Apotropaic - supposedly have the power to avert evil/ bad luck

Castigate - reprimand (someone) severely.

Soi disant - self-styled, so-called

Stalwart - loyal,reliable/ hardworking (a stalwart supporter of something)

Incipient - impending/developing

Hucksterism - aggressive wheeler dealer

Derisive - showing mockery/ contempt / disrespect

Veridical - truthful

Acrimony - bitterness or ill feeling

Soporific - tending to induce drowsy or sleep

Seditious - insighting or causing people to rebel against the state/monarch(provocative)

Diffident - modest or shy because of lack of self confidence

Ersatz - made or used as an inferior substitute.

Cordial - warm/ friendly

Abnegation - renouncing or rejecting

Precocious - (of a child) advanced or developed skillset above expectations.

Quotidian - daily

Putative - reputed

Sui generis - unique

Gutteral - produced in throat/ harsh sounding

Aping - imitate esp in absurd or unthinking way.

Perennial - lasting for indefinitely long time.

Occult - mystical/ supernatural/ paranormal

Impunity - immunity (from law)

Pavlovian - give a a rat food and it will ring a bell

Panoply - extensive of impressive collection

Florid - red flushed (face)

Perochial - narrow minded ( relating to church parish)

Nascent - (especially of a process or organization) just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential.

Prescient - having or showing knowledge of events before they take place.

Deign - do something that one considers to be beneath one's dignity.

Repudiate - refuse to accept; reject.

Plight - dangerous / difficult / unfortunate situation.

Denizen - (formal/ humorous) inhabitant

Indignation - anger/ annoyance at (perceived) unfair treatment

Astringent - severe/ sharp manner/style

Recrudescence - a new outbreak after a period of abatement or inactivity

Schism - a split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties

Protectorate - a state that is controlled and protected by another

Abate - subside

Ignominy - public shame or disgrace.

Terse - sparing in the use of words; abrupt.

Suzerainty - a dominant state controlling the foreign relations of a vassal state but allowing it sovereign authority in its internal affairs

Imbricate - arrange so they overlap (like rooftiles)

Demagogue - political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires / prejudices rather than using rational argument.

Pelf - money, esp. dishonest acquisition

Surreptitious - kept secret esp. for reasons of disapproval

Admonish - reprimand firmly; rebuke, scold etc.

Cupidity - greed for money /possessions

Clemency - mercy/ lenience

Inveigle - persuade someone by deceptoin / flattery

Solemnise - duly perform

Affectation - behaviour, speech/ writing that is pretentious / designed to impress

Largesse - generosity in bestowing money/ gifts upon other

Promulgate - promote or spread idea

Hubris - excessive pride/ self-confidence

Sedulous - showing dedication / diligence

Eschew - desperately avoid

Provenance - place of origin/ earliest history of something

Trifling - unimportant/ trivial

Subterfuge - trickery

Vagary - unexpected change in someone's/thing behaviour

Charlatan - person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill.

Proliferation - large number/ rapid increase in something

Fulcrum - central or essential role in an activity

Subjugate - bring under domination or control, especially by conquest or make someone or something subordinate to

Lacuna - an unfilled gap

Resipiscence - change of mind/ heart. come to ones senses. Return to to correct view point

Burgeoning - grow / flourish

Expedient - convenient but immoral

Ascetic - characterized by severe self-discipline and abstention from all forms of indulgence

Myopic - short sighted

Impetuous - acting or done quickly and without thought or care.

Parvenu - person of humble origin who has gained wealth, influence, or celebrity.

Ephemeral - fleeting

Proletariat - collective working class Marxist.

Odious - disgusting

Impecunious - having little money

Disabuse - persuade (someone) that an idea or belief is mistaken.

Palatial - like a palace

Aegis - protection backing or support of a person or organisation

Espouse - adopt or support ( a cause/belief / way of life)

Hathos - compulsion for revulsion

Perniscious - having harmful effect esp. in gradual/ subtle way.

Apocryphal - fictitious appearing to be true / doubtful authenticity

Impasse - deadlock

Vicissitude - a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.

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