to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead | equivocate |
1. unnecessary; 2. being more than is sufficient or required
| superfluous |
two-sided | bilateral |
one-side | unilateral |
cautious | circumspect |
1. having the same measure; 2. corresponding in amount, magnitude, or degree | commensurate |
evil intent | malevolence |
beginner | neophyte |
people-hater | misanthropist |
warlike | bellicose |
Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena | anthropomorphic |
easily notices and makes much of trivial faults or defects; faultfinding; difficult to please. | captious |
new word | neologism |
a curse | malediction |
Skeptical; disbelieving | incredulous |
all-knowing | omniscient |
obsession with one thing | monomania |
1. false; 2. Having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious | specious |
To express strong disapproval of; to denounce | excoriate |
the original or model on which something is based or formed | prototype |
fear of foreigners | xenophobia |
blessing; an expression of good wishes | benediction |
lacking definite form; having no specific shape; formless, shapeless | amorphous |
superiority in weight, power, numbers, etc.; bulk | preponderance |
great-minded; courageously noble in mind and heart | magnanimous |
to soften in feeling or temper, as a person; pacify; appease | mollify |
fish scientist | ichthyologist |
able to speak or write several languages; multilingual | polyglot |
almost completely transparent or translucent | diaphanous |
an easy profitable job | sinecure |
speech to oneself | soliloquy |
supporter | adherent |
renounce; to give up | abjure |
burning | caustic |
flowing together | confluence |
to remove from office or position | depose |
self-obsession | egomania |
outrageously bad or reprehensible; blatant, flagrant | egregious |
painkiller | analgesic |
palm reading | chiromancy |
government by a few | oligarchy |
not easily controlled; stubborn | intractable |
not compromising | intransigent |
treacherous; deceitful | perfidious |
clearly expressed or presented; easy to understand | perspicuous |
innocent and naive | ingenuous |
a roundabout expression | circumlocution |
sociable | gregarious |
rambling | discursive |
bringing sleep | somniferous |
sef-centered | egocentric |
touchable | tangible |
person who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people | demagogue |
prevent | preclude |
code breaker | cryptologist |
racial or cultural prejudice | ethnocentrism |
teacher | pedagogue |
to withdraw or disavow a statement | recant |
cancel | revoke |
combative | pugnacious |
sharp; cutting | incisive |
abusive criticism | diatribe |
abnormality | anomaly |
to list; count | enumerate |
limited | circumscribed |
mediate | intercede |
argumentative | disputatious |
talkative | loquacious |
to abolish, do away with, or annul | abrogate |
foreknowledge | prescience |
sacred | sacrosanct |
masculine and feminine | androgynous |
word from initial letters | acronym |
at birth | congenital |
bad sound; harsh or discordant sound | cacophony |
to speak or write in favor of | advocate |
weighty | ponderous |
revenge | retribution |
robot | android |
unbeliever | infidel |
rising again | resurgence |
precise in conduct | punctilious |
lower oneself | condescend |
side by side | collateral |
unalterable; unable to be repealed or annulled | irrevocable |
explain | elucidate |
witty comment | epigram |
oddness | eccentricity |
aware | cognizant |
strict; binding | stringent |
manlike | anthropoid |
shy | diffident |
tumult or chaos | pandemonium |
sophisticated; suave | urbane |
docile; easily managed or controlled | tractable |
replace | supersede |
delay | temporize |
sleepwalker | somnambulist |
bloody | sanguinary |
lifeless | inanimate |
inward looking | introspective |
come between | intervene |
group of symptoms | syndrome |
lower | subordinate |
harsh in sound; inharmonious | dissonant |
warlike | belligerent |
believable | credible |
about to happen | impending |
multi-melodic | polyphonic |
free from blame | exculpate |
pleasant name | euphemism |
helper | benefactor |
delusions of greatness | megalomania |
powerful person | magnate |
lively | vivacious |
sun-following | heliotropic |
self-esteem; self-love | amour-propre |
an eighty-year-old | octogenarian |
persons who have superior knowledge | cognoscenti |
excess | surfeit |
monkeys, apes, humans | primate |
crystal clear | pellucid |
get around | circumvent |
paralysis on one side | hemiplegia |
attack of sleep | narcolepsy |
to outline | delineate |
softener | emollient |
moving backward | retrograde |
dark sadness | melancholy |
within the skull | intracranial |
of the heart and vessels | cardiovascular |
revelation | epiphany |
study of living tissues | histology |
orbital point nearest the sun | perihelion |
built-in | inherent |
government of the wealthy | plutocracy |
essential element | sine qua non |
full-bodied | corpulent |
two-part division | dichotomy |
diseased | pathological |
having hidden meaning | cryptic |
having two equal sides | isosceles |
disease-causer | pathogen |
loudly-voiced | vociferous |
correct | rectify |
affectedly holy | sanctimonious |
twisting | tortuous |
right-angled | rectilinear |
change of shape | metamorphosis |
rock carving | petroglyph |
lasting, constant | chronic |
overstatement | hyperbole |
full-sounding | sonorous |
related | germane |
jovial, festive | convivial |
nickname | cognomen |
one against government | anarchist |
criticism | animadversion |
cowardly | pusillanimous |
evasive dodge; deceptive stratagem | subterfuge |
gloomy and remote | saturnine |
person of eminence or brilliant achievement | luminary |
unreasonable | exorbitant |
lacy design | filigree |
words of praise | eulogy |
sitting | sedentary |
joy | euphoria |
good-naturedness | bonhomie |
good faith; authentic | bona fide |
indulger in luxury | bon vivant |
changeable | mutable |
attribute the fault or responsibility to | impute |
the present state | status quo |
model | paradigm |
banish, exile | expatriate |