Vocabulary for Smarties

succinct

expressed in very few words; verbal brevity

nebulous

hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused: a nebulous recollection of the meeting; a nebulous distinction between pride and conceit.

pejorative

derogatory, disparaging or belittling in effect

litany

religious chant or prayer

felicity

great bliss; happiness
*pleasing style - felicity of expression

winnow

separate the good from the bad

nexus

means of connection or link; core or center

abstruse

difficult to understand

ontological

study of the nature of being

epistemological

study of the nature of knowledge

pernicious

deadly

contemptible

regarded as acting inferior

volition

conscious choice; free will

apologia

formal defense or justification

mea culpa

acknowledgement of personal error

watershed

important division or transition between phases

fiat

an arbitrary authoritative decree exp. by someone in power

apropos

with regard to; concerning
"apropos hotness, your mom has a nice rack"

pulchritude

great physical beauty and appeal

rapacity

taking by force; greedy; ravenous

anathema

a curse; a person consigned to damnation

execrate

detest utterly; abhor; to curse or damn

brachiation

movement accomplished by arm swinging from one hold to another i.e. Tarzan

sedentary

accustomed to sit or rest or take little exercise; staying in one place; not migratory

bode

to be an omen; portend; foretell "does not bode well" "the peace treaty bodes well for the city"

robust

strong and healthy; hardy; vigorous

spurious

not genuine or authentic; illegitimate (bastard!) "spurious graves were often manufactured to prove royal lineage"

dotage

senility; mental deterioration

cosmopolitan

at home in all parts of the world; all important

obligatory

moral or legally binding; required

reciprocity

reciprocal condition; mutual exchange of favors

rubicon

point of no possible return

non sequitur

a statement that does not logically follow

mellifluous

smooth and flowing sweetness

erudition

deep extensive learning

erroneous

containing error; mistaken

axiom

self evident universal truth

maxim

fundamental principle

pragmatic

concerned with facts; practical

nomenclature

system of names

entropy

inevitable steady deterioration

incredulous

not credulous; disinclined or indisposed to believe; skeptical; showing unbelief "an incredulous smile"

ephemeral

lasting for a brief time; transient; transitory

paradigm

one that serves as a system or model; a set of assumptions, concepts or values for reality

innocuous

harmless

ethos

disposition, values or character

lexicon

dictionary

lacuna

missing part

adroit

dexterous; skillful under pressure

fallacious

misleading; based on fallacy

polemic

controversial argument; a person inclined to controversy

hubris

overbearing pride

pathos

feelings of sympathy, pity or sorrow

magnanimous

courageously noble in mind and heart

surreptitious

done with stealthy means

etymology

origin of linguistic forms

hegemony

predominant influence (state, religion, group...)

soverign

supreme power

nefarious

infamous for wickedness

solvent

capable of meeting financial obligations

ambivalent

having opposing feelings; mixed emotions

zeitgeist

spirit of the time; taste of a generation

intimated

hinted at

machismo

exaggerated masculinity

vrypto
proto
neo

secret; covert
the first; primitive
new; different

galvanize

arouse to action; stimulate; shock

schema

plan; scheme; underlying framework

moratorium

suspension of activity; period of delay

parsimony

extreme or excessive economy or frugality; stinginess; niggardliness

caveat

warning; admonition

agrarian

related to the land; composed of farmers

laud

praise; glorify

colloquy

conversation; dealogue

corporeal

material; tangible; of the body

jilted

discarded by a lover

avarice

insatiable greed for riches

cupidity

excessive desire

reprehensible

deserving rebuke or censure; blame worthy

rebuke

reprimand; reprove

evanescence

disappear gradually; vanish; fade

trumped up

fabricated; fraudulent; spuriously devised

caprice

sudden unpredictable change; tendency to change ones mind

promulgate

set fourth publicly; publish; put into operation

canonical

authorized; accepted; biblical

partisan

partial to a specific party

bereft

deprived of something; lacking something neeed

dissent

disagreement

bellicose

eager to fight; hostile

chimera

horrible unreal monster of imagination; mental illusion

ascribe

tocreit or assign as to a cause; attribute

modality

mode; manner; one of the primary forms of sensation, vision or touch

inscrutable

not easily understood; mysterious; incapable of being investigated

disabuse

to free from deception or error

circumscribe

draw a line around; define; limit or confine within bounds

encroach

approach beyond proper, established, or usual limits
"a dictatorial majority encroaches on the rights of individuals"

oblique

non-direct; divergent; indirectly stated
"oblique answers to direct questions"

aggregation

the whole; a group or mass

ecumenical

general; universal; of or pertaining to a movement; a mixture of diverse elements

efficacy

effectivness

concomitant

existing or occurring with something else; accompanying

esoteric

understood by few
"poetry full of esoteric allusions"

desideratum

something wanted or needed (plural = desiderata)

opulence

wealth; riches; affluence; abundance

apocryphal

doubtful authorship or authenticity; spurious

wont

custom; likely; accustomed to use

perennial

lasting indefinitely; recurring from year to year

salient

prominent or conspicuous

ubiquitous

existing or being everywhere at the same time
"ubiquitous fog", "an ubiquitous spirit"

Philistine

a person lacking culture, intellectual pursuits, aesthetic refinements; contentedly commonplace in ideals

misanthrope

a hater of humankind

patriarchy

social organization in which men dominate i.e. the father rules

clemency (clement)

mild or merciful; compassionate
"the clement judge reduced his sentence"

assiduous

constant application of effort; unremitting;
"an assiduous student and his assiduous reading habits"

prosaic

commonplace or dull; unimaginative
"a prosaic job serving coffee"

prostrate

to cast (oneself) face down on the ground in humility; physically weak or exhausted
"prostrate grief", "he prostrated himself before Brent and his superior skillz"

discursiveness

passing aimlessly from one subject to another; digressive; proceeding by reasoning or argument rather than intuition

sordid

morally ignoble or base; vile; meanly selfish or self-seeking
"the sordid details of his orgies stank under his very nostrils"

charlatan

a person who pretends to more knowledge or skill than he or she possesses; quack (quack quack)

fodder

people considered readily available and of little value:
"cannon fodder"

laconic

using few words; concise

demure

characterized by shyness and modesty; reserved

nabob

wealthy, influential or powerful person
"nattering nabobs of negativism" -Spiro Agnew

invidious

calculated to create ill will or resentment: invidious remarks

sophomoric

juvenile; immature

arcane

understood by few; mysterious or secret

assuage

to mitigate; to subdue

calumny

the making of false and defamatory statements in order to damage someone's reputation; slander.

splenetic

irritable; peevish; spiteful.

stentorian

very loud or powerful in sound

inculcate

to teach and impress by frequent repetition or instruction. "...inculcate religion by a means of coercion"

roseate

cheerful; bright

bucolic

rustic; pastoral.

raffish

characterized by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity, crudeness, or rowdiness

malodorous

having a bad odor.

vivify

to endue with life; to enliven.
"After convulsing for several minutes during a violent drug-induced seizure, the lucky young boy stuck his tongue down maryam's throat in attempt to vivify her comatose spirit"

descry

to catch sight of; to detect.

clerisy

the well educated class; the intelligentsia.

specious

pleasing to the eye but deceptive; superficially pleasing or plausible: specious arguments

malapropism

the usually unintentionally humorous misuse of a word, especially by confusion with one of similar sound

excursus

a digression

cogitate

to think; to ponder.

ambrosial

extremely pleasing to the senses, divine (as related to the gods) or delicious (n: ambrosia)

anachronism

a person or artifact appearing after its own time or out of chronological order

chicanery

deception by way of trickery

impecunious

penniless; poor

turpitude

depravity; basenes

cadge

to obtain something by taking advantage of someone

antediluvian

ancient; outmoded; (literally means before the flood)

inchoate

in an initial or early stage; incomplete; disorganized

sedulous

diligent; persevering; persistent:
(n: sedulity; sedulousness; adv. sedulously)

irascible

prone to outbursts of temper, easily angered

peccadillo

a small sin or fault

ribald

vulgar or indecent in speech, language, etc.; coarsely mocking, abusive, or irreverent; scurrilous.

adumbrate

to give a slight representation of; to outline

saturnine

having a gloomy or morose temperament

alacrity

cheerful readiness, promptness, or willingness: We accepted the invitation with alacrity.

inclivity

rudeness, discourtesy, impoliteness, disrespect, boorishness

vivisection

ruthlessly sharp and detailed criticism or analysis : "the vivisection of America's seamy underbelly."

Maryam

a hot babe with a mind as sharp and true as the famed sword Excalibur: "that chick is so NOT Maryam"

perfidious

deliberately faithless; treacherous; deceitful: a perfidious lover

histrionic

overly theatrical or melodramatic in character or style

schadenfreude

pleasure derived from another person's misfortune

solipsism

the theory that only the self can be proven to exist or extreme preoccupation with and indulgence of one's feelings, desires, etc.; egoistic self-absorption.

etiolate

to cause to become weakened or sickly; drain of color or vigor.

privative

consisting in or characterized by the taking away, loss, or lack of something.

putative

commonly regarded as such; reputed; accepted as true on inconclusive grounds

simulacrum

a slight, unreal, or superficial likeness or semblance, an image or representation: "a simulacrum of Aphrodite"

milquetoast

a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, esp. one who is easily dominated or intimidated

crestfallen

dejected; dispirited; discouraged

titular

existing or being such in title only; nominal; having the title but none of the associated duties, powers, etc.: the titular head of the company.

nepotism

patronage bestowed or favoritism shown on the basis of family relationship, as in business and politics

theist

belief: God has his hand in everything

deist

belief: God created the laws the govern the universe

pantheist

belief: God IS nature

atheist

belief: God who?

procrustean

Producing conformity by ruthless or arbitrary means.
(From the Greek word prokroustes:
stretcher, obviously)

crepuscular

Of or like twilight; dim

farrago

A confused mass of objects or people; any disordered mixture.

Luddite

One who opposes technical or technological change

cataclysm

a momentous and violent event marked by overwhelming upheaval and demolition

sequacious

subservient, tractable; intellectually servile

defenestration

a usually swift dismissal or expulsion (as from a political party or office)

apoplectic

overcome with anger; extremely indignant

panache

flamboyant confidence of style or manner

ataraxia

calmness untroubled by mental or emotional disquiet

absquatulate

to leave abruptly

concupiscence

strong sexual desire; lust.

platitude

a trite or banal remark or statement, especially one expressed as if it were original or significant

morass

any confusing or troublesome situation, esp. one from which it is difficult to free oneself; soft wet marshy ground

copacetic

satisfactory

louche

of questionable taste or morality.

kvetch

to complain habitually.

persiflage

frivolous or bantering talk

rodomontade

pretentious, bragging speech.

philippic

a discourse or declamation full of bitter condemnation

chthonic

THAH-nik
of or relating to the underworld , infernal

dégringolade

day-gran-guh-LAHD
a rapid decline or deterioration (as in strength, position, or condition)

jingoism

extreme patriotism

rebarbative

unattractive and objectionable

pugnacious

combative; quarrelsome

exiguity

smallness; thinness; the quality of being meager.

sapient

wise; sage; discerning.

tabula rasa

a mind not yet affected by experiences, impressions, etc.; blank slate