College Vocabulary List

College Vocabulary List

decorum—propriety, properness

mettlesome--courageous, high-spirited. Don't confuse with "meddlesome,"

pith--heart of the matter, basic trait. Also force, strength, or vigor

supine--lying on the back. Also slow to act, passive.

truculence--aggressiveness, ferocity

garrulity--talkativeness. Adjective is garrulous--talkative

pragmatic--practical, favoring utility

malinger--to fake illness or injury, in order to shirk a duty.

paucity--scarcity, a lacking of

precarious--uncertain, risky, dangerous.

enervate--weaken, deprive of strength, attenuate.

partisan--one-sided, committed to a party, biased or prejudiced.

equivocate--lie, mislead, conceal the truth.

assiduous--diligent, hard-working, sedulous.

anachronism--something out of place for its time

lassitude--weariness, tiredness

phlegmatic--calm, sluggish temperament; unemotional

sycophant--flatterer, parasite; a suck-up

transient--temporary, fleeting

Quixotic--extravagantly chivalrous, romantically idealistic, impractical

reprobate--person hardened in sin; one devoid of decency

libertine--immoral person

craven--cowardly

picaresque--involving clever rogues or adventurers.

sedulous--diligent, assiduous, devoted to a task

intrepid--fearless, brave, undaunted

impassive--without feeling, not affected by pain

morose--gloomy, sullen

loquacious--talkative, garrulous

tawdry--cheap, gaudy, showy, tacky

mellifluous--sweetly flowing; usually used to describe use of words

harrow--to distress, create stress or torment

pariah--an outcast, a rejected and despised person

taciturn--untalkative, silent

pique--resentment at being slighted

adamant--hard and inflexible; unyielding

venal--corruptible, bribable, unprincipled

disingenuous--sophisticated, artful, trying to deceive, cunning

insensible--unconscious, unresponsive, unaffected

turbid--muddy, having the sediment stirred up

erudite--learned, scholarly

saturnine--gloomy, dark, sullen, morose

abeyance--suspended action

diaphanous--transparent, gauzy

epitome--representative, a summary or abstract, a typical example

squalid--foul, filthy

quiescent--at rest, dormant, torpid

misanthrope--one who hates mankind

misogynist--one who hates women/female

antipathy--aversion, dislike

hapless--unlucky, unfortunate

prevaricate--stray from or avoid the truth; equivocate

countenance--(n) mien, face (v) approve of

dogmatic--positive, certain, arbitrary, without room for discussion

apropos--appropriate to the situation; a

diffidence--shyness

sophistry--fallacious reasoning, faulty logic

assay--an analysis, examination, test. To put to a test

hallow--to make holy; consecrat

denouement--an outcome or solution; the unraveling of a plot

stolid--showing no emotion; impassive

dissemble--present false appearance; deceive

garner--to gather and save; to store up

quaff-drink large quantities

intractable--unruly, refractory, stubborn

delineate--to portray, depict, sketch out

ascetic--practicing self-denial, austere, stark

fervid--intense, zealous

prodigal--wasteful, reckless with money

lugubrious--mournful, excessively sad

baleful--harmful, ominous, causing evil

credulous--gullible, too willing to believ

blithe--cheerful, casual, carefree

verisimilitude--appearing true or real

auspicious--favorable, successful, prosperous

punctilious--precise, paying attention to trivialities, especially in regard to etique

urbane--elegant, refined in manner

obdurate--stubborn, inflexible, adamant

inimitable--defying imitation, unmatchable

inveterate--deep rooted, ingrained, habitual

umbrage--offense, resentment

ostensible--seeming, appearing as such, professed

illusory--deceptive; an illusion

overweening--presumptuously arrogant, overbearing, immoderate, being a jerk

lucubrate--write in scholarly fashion

impetuous--impulsive, forceful, with energy

bellicose--belligerent, pugnacious, warlike

pusillanimous--cowardly, craven

polemical--controversial, argued

luculent--easily understood, lucid, clear

poignant--physically painful, distressing, pertinent, touching, stimulating, emotional

ingenuous--naive, young, artless, frank, honest, sincere. Don't confuse with "ingenious"--very clever

epicure--food lover, a connoisseur of food

pugnacious--contentious, quarrelsome, contumacious, given to fighting, belligerent

peremptory--urgent, imperative, unchallengeable, ending debate

exigency--emergency, an urgent situation

ameliorate--improve, make better

august--majestic, venerable. Don't confuse with the month, "August," which is always capitalized.

fetter--to shackle, put in chains

pundit--a learned scholar, an authority on a subject

venal--corruptible, open to bribery

belie--contradict, give a false impression

epitome--brief summary or abstract; representative example; a typical model

prosaic--everyday, mundane, commonplace, trite, pedestrian

hermetic--sealed by fusion

fervor--zeal, ardor, intense emotion

endemic--prevailing in a specific area

reticent--reserved, untalkative, silent, taciturn

rapacious--voracious, greedy, plundering

coeval--of the same period, coexisting

austere--forbiddingly stern, simple, unadorned, very plain

indolence--laziness

pristine--primitive, unspoiled, pure, as in earlier times, unadulterated

capricious--fickle, whimsical, given to change, unpredictable

edifying--enlightening

philistine--a smug ignorant person; one who lacks knowledge

maladroit--clumsy, bungling

detumescence--diminishing or lessening of swelling

stygian--gloomy, dark

calumniate--to slander, present false accusal

baneful--causing harm or ruin, pernicious, destructive

forestall--prevent by taking action in advance, preempt

occult--hidden, concealed, beyond comprehension

irascible--irritable, easily angered

facetious--humorous, funny, jocular

trenchant--forceful, effective, vigorous; extremely perceptive, incisive

stymie--to hinder, obstruct, or block

intransigence--unwillingness to compromise, stubbornness, intractability

mundane--worldly as opposed to spiritual; commonplace, everyday

mitigate--appease, lessen, propitiate

abstruse--difficult to comprehend; obscure

expatiate--to roam, wander freely

propitiate--appease, mitigate

slake-- to assuage, to satisfy, allay

contentious--argumentative, pugnacious, combative, quarrelsome

inscrutable--incapable of being discovered or understood

elegy--a lament, a melancholy composition

derivative--unoriginal, obtained from another source

supercilious--disdainful; characterized by haughty scorn

sundry--various, miscellaneous, separate

mercurial--quick, changeable in character, fleeting

desultory--aimless, haphazard, digressing at random

sanctimony--self-righteousness, hypocritical, with false piety

flout--reject, mock, to go against (as in going against tradition or conventions)

obfuscate--to darken, make obscure, muddle

noisome--unwholesomely bad-smelling, putrid; (NOT "noisy)

paean-- a song of praise or triumph

ignominious--shameful, dishonorable, undignified, disgraceful

prolix--long and wordy

bane--cause of injury, poison, source of harm

conciliatory--reconciling, soothing, comforting, mollifying

dissolution--disintegration, looseness in morals

sophomoric--self-assured though immature, affected, bombastic, overblown, lacking maturity

burnish--to polish, rub to a shine

tenuous--unsubstantial, flimsy, weak

repudiate--disown, disavow, reject as untrue

maverick--rebel, nonconformist

effluvia--outflow in a stream of particles; a noxious odor or vapor

alacrity--cheerful promptness

paradigm--a model, example, or pattern

panegyric--formal praise, eulogy

mollify--to soothe

doggerel--trivial, poorly constructed verse

propitiatory--conciliatory, appeasing, mitigating

pedantic--bookish, showing off learning

nadir--bottom, the lowest point

zenith--top, the highest point

broach--bring up, announce, begin to talk about

episodic--loosely connected, not flowing logically

iconoclastic--attacking cherished beliefs

inherent--ingrained within one's nature; firmly established; a natural part of; definitionally so

torpid--sleeping, sluggish, lethargic, dormant

gregarious--sociable, outgoing

judicious--sound in judgment; wi

undulate--to move in wavelike fashion, fluctuate

interdict--prohibit, forbid

harangue--a long, passionate speech

petrify--to make hard, rockli

nexus--a connection, tie, or li

idyll--a carefree episode or experience; a short poem describing a picturesque episode

countenance-- to favor or approve of

chauvinist--a blindly devoted patriot

veritably--unquestionably, certainly

eulogy--formal praise; panegyric

querulous--complaining, peevish, discontented

proscribe--ostracize, banish, outlaw

platitude--a trite or banal statement; unoriginality

impetuous--having sudden energy, impulsive, thrusting ahead, forceful

obloquy--abusively detractive language, sharp criticism, vituperation

redoubtable--formidable, causing fear

regale--to delight or entertain; to feast

volatile--changeable, inconstant, fickle, unstable, explosive

blandishment--flattery, enticement

pernicious--deadly, very destructive

pedestrian--commonplace, trite, unremarkable

sanguine--cheerful, confident, optimistic

encomium--warm or glowing praise; eulogy, panegyric

arduous--steep, difficult ascent; laborious

stentorian--extremely loud and powerful

poseur--someone taking on airs to impress others; a phony