Vocabulary

Definition Usage
Word
Existing in thought or as an idea but not Abstract concepts such as love or
1. Abstract
having a physical or concrete existence beauty can be difficult to define
Concise and exact use of words in The brevity of his speech surprised the
2. Brevity
writing or speech audience
3. Cacophony A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds A cacophony of voices filled the room
Make (someone) feel intimidated or The size of the task would daunt most
4. Daunt
apprehensive people
(of a person or their behavior) My eccentric aunt lives in a world of
5. Eccentric
unconventional and slightly strange her own
Treating serious issues with His facetious comments were not
6. Facetious
deliberately inappropriate humor appreciated at the serious meeting
7. Gregarious Fond of company; sociable He was a popular and gregarious man
8. The city is a heterogeneous mix of
Diverse in character or content
Heterogeneous architectural styles
Unchanging over time or unable to be
9. Immutable His love for her was immutable
changed
Place or deal with close together for Black-and-white photos of slums were
10. Juxtapose
contrasting effect starkly juxtaposed with color images
An acquired or natural skill at He has a knack for making people feel
11. Knack
performing a task at ease
A passionate expression of grief or His mother’s night-long laments for his
12. Lament
sorrow father
13. Mundane Lacking interest or excitement; dull His mundane, humdrum existence
A sentimental longing or wistful I was overcome with acute nostalgia for
14. Nostalgia
affection for the past my days at university
15. Obsolete No longer produced or used; out of date The machinery is now obsolete
Spreading widely throughout an area or Ageism is pervasive and entrenched in
16. Pervasive
a group of people our society
Complaining in a petulant or whining
17. Querulous She became querulous and demanding
manner
(of a person or animal) able to
The resilient locals are determined to
18. Resilient withstand or recover quickly from
rebuild their village
difficult conditions
Calm, peaceful, and untroubled; Her serene countenance made him feel
19. Serene
tranquil at ease
Tending to keep a firm hold of
20. Tenacious She had a tenacious grip on reality
something; clinging or adhering closely
21. Contrary to what is usual, traditional, or His unorthodox methods often drew
Unorthodox accepted; not orthodox criticism
Alternate or waver between different He had for some time been vacillating
22. Vacillate
opinions or actions; be indecisive about his future
 Vocabulary
Definition Usage
Word
Playfully quaint or fanciful, especially The ballet was whimsical, delighting
23. Whimsical
in an appealing and amusing way the children
Having or showing a dislike of or
24. His speech was condemned as
prejudice against people from other
Xenophobic xenophobic and hate-filled
countries
A person who is fanatical and
He was a zealot, unwilling to listen to
25. Zealot uncompromising in pursuit of their
other viewpoints
religious, political, or other ideals
Vocabulary
Definition Usage
Word
Showing or feeling no interest,
26. Apathetic He seemed apathetic about the situation
enthusiasm, or concern
High-sounding but with little meaning; He made a bombastic speech about his
27. Bombastic
inflated achievements
A person falsely claiming to have a
28. Charlatan The charlatan pretended to be a doctor
special knowledge or skill
29. Deferential Showing deference; respectful He was always deferential to his mother
A person or thing that is mysterious, The man was an enigma to all who
30. Enigma
puzzling, or difficult to understand knew him
A mistaken belief, especially one based The fallacy of their ideas about
31. Fallacy
on unsound arguments medicine became apparent
Excessively talkative, especially on The garrulous gentleman held up the
32. Garrulous
trivial matters line
A person or thing that announces or Witch hazels are the harbingers of
33. Harbinger
signals the approach of another spring
A person who attacks cherished beliefs She was known as an iconoclast,
34. Iconoclast
or institutions challenging the norms
35. Jovial Cheerful and friendly He was in a jovial mood
The sound of a bell, especially when
36. Knell The church bell knell softly
rung solemnly for a death or funeral
37. Lethargic Sluggish and apathetic I felt tired and a little lethargic
Showing great attention to detail; very
He had always been so meticulous
38. Meticulous
careful and precise about his appearance
(typically of an action or activity) The nefarious activities of the
39. Nefarious
wicked or criminal organized-crime syndicates
The spelling changes will deform some
Render obscure, unclear, or
40. Obfuscate familiar words and obfuscate their
unintelligible
etymological origins
A person or thing regarded as a perfect It would have taken a paragon of virtue
41. Paragon
example of a particular quality not to feel viciously jealous
Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and
42. Quixotic A vast and perhaps quixotic project
impractical
43. Reticent Not revealing one’s thoughts or feelings She was extremely reticent about her
 Vocabulary
Definition Usage
Word
readily personal affairs
A person who can endure pain or
44. Stoic hardship without showing their feelings She endured his criticism like a stoic
or complaining
A feeling of fear or agitation about
45. Trepidation The men set off in fear and trepidation
something that may happen
Present, appearing, or found His ubiquitous influence was felt by all
46. Ubiquitous
everywhere the family
Make (someone) feel annoyed,
The memory of the conversation still
47. Vex frustrated, or worried, especially with
vexed him
trivial matters
Attractive or appealing in appearance or
48. Winsome A winsome smile
character
An individual who is attracted to As a xenophile, she enjoyed exploring
49. Xenophile
foreign peoples, cultures, or customs different cultures
The council was extremely zealous in
50. Zealous Having or showing zeal
the application of the regulations

Vocabulary
Definition Usage
Word
51. Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas She has ambivalent feelings
Ambivalent about something or someone about her career
Make (someone or something) seem
52. Belittle This is not to belittle his role
unimportant
His responses were remarkably
53. Candid Truthful and straightforward; frank
candid
54. A lack of compatibility or similarity between There’s a discrepancy between
Discrepancy two or more facts your account and his
55. Eloquent Fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing An eloquent speaker
56. Frivolous Not having any serious purpose or value Rules to stop frivolous lawsuits
The quality of being thankful; readiness to She expressed her gratitude to the
57. Gratitude
show appreciation for and to return kindness committee for their support
The kitchen utensils are in
58. Haphazard Lacking any obvious principle of organization
haphazard order
He was very chatty and
59. Inquisitive Curious or inquiring
inquisitive about everything
Tired, bored, or lacking enthusiasm, typically Meals to tempt the most jaded
60. Jaded
after having had too much of something appetites
The kinetic energy of the
61. Kinetic Relating to or resulting from motion
particles
A lucrative career as a stand-up
62. Lucrative Producing a great deal of profit
comedian
 Vocabulary
Definition Usage
Word
63. A feeling of pensive sadness, typically with An air of melancholy surrounded
Melancholy no obvious cause him
A subtle difference in or shade of meaning, He was aware of every nuance in
64. Nuance
expression, or sound her voice
Not aware of or not concerned about what is She became absorbed, oblivious
65. Oblivious
happening around one to the passage of time
Tending to see the worst aspect of things or He was pessimistic about the
66. Pessimistic
believe that the worst will happen future
A state of perplexity or uncertainty over what Kate is in a quandary about
67. Quandary
to do in a difficult situation whether to go
The art of effective or persuasive speaking or
68. Rhetoric The rhetoric of political slogans
writing
Having or showing keen mental discernment They were sagacious enough to
69. Sagacious
and good judgment; wise or shrewd avoid any outright confrontation
Huge fines were imposed for
70. Trivial Of little value or importance
trivial offenses
Strange or mysterious, especially in an An uncanny feeling that she was
71. Uncanny
unsettling way being watched
Check or prove the validity or accuracy of These estimates have been
72. Validate
(something) validated by periodic surveys
Having or showing a feeling of vague or
73. Wistful A wistful smile
regretful longing
The supposed generation of offspring
74. The idea of xenogenesis is often
completely and permanently different from
Xenogenesis explored in science fiction
the parent
Great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a
75. Zeal His zeal for reform was unabated
cause or an objective

Vocabulary
Definition Usage
Word
Concerned with beauty or the The pictures give great aesthetic
76. Aesthetic
appreciation of beauty pleasure
(of bad behavior) done openly and
77. Blatant Blatant lies
unashamedly
Persuade (an unwilling person) to do He was coerced into signing the
78. Coerce
something by using force or threats contract
Having or showing care and After diligent searching, he found a
79. Diligent
conscientiousness in one’s work or duties job
(especially of an official body) absolve
80. Exonerate (someone) from blame for a fault or The court hearing exonerated him
wrongdoing
 Vocabulary
Definition Usage
Word
Changing frequently, especially as She was described as being fickle
81. Fickle
regards one’s loyalties or affections and flighty
Move toward or be attracted to a place, Readers will gravitate towards your
82. Gravitate
person, or thing strong, original voice
83. Heed Pay attention to; take notice of He should have heeded the warnings
They were in imminent danger of
84. Imminent About to happen
being swept away
85. Jovial Cheerful and friendly The jovial host put everyone at ease
86. Kindle Light or set on fire The dry wood kindled quickly
Never one to be loquacious, Sarah
87. Loquacious Tending to talk a great deal; talkative
was now totally lost for words
Characteristic of melodrama, especially
88. It was a melodramatic reaction to a
in being exaggerated, sensationalized, or
Melodramatic simple suggestion
overemotional
Famous or well known, typically for
89. Notorious Los Angeles is notorious for its smog
some bad quality or deed
Make the best or most effective use of (a To optimize your workout, consider
90. Optimize
situation or resource) hiring a personal trainer
(of an argument or statement) seeming
91. Plausible A plausible explanation
reasonable or probable
He was the quintessential tough
92. Representing the most perfect or typical
guy—strong, silent, and self-
Quintessential example of a quality or class
contained
Avoiding the company of other people;
93. Reclusive She lived a reclusive life
solitary
Unnecessary, especially through being The purchaser should avoid asking
94. Superfluous
more than enough for superfluous information
Be or go beyond the range or limits of (a
95. Transcend This issue transcends party politics
field of activity or conceptual sphere)
The government took the
96.
Never done or known before unprecedented step of releasing
Unprecedented
confidential correspondence
Using or expressed in more words than Much academic language is obscure
97. Verbose
are needed and verbose
Feeling or showing caution about Dogs which have been ill-treated
98. Wary
possible dangers or problems often remain very wary of strangers
Relating to hospitality between host and The local people are known for their
99. Xenial
guest xenial nature
A type of rigid airship named after the
100. Zeppelin A Zeppelin flew over the city
German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin