Hit Parade N-Z
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- nascent
- coming into being; in early developmental stages
- nebulous
- vague; cloudy; lacking clearly defined form
- neologism
- a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses
- neophyte
- a recent convert; a beginner; novice
- noxious
- harmful; injurious
- obdurate
- unyielding; hardhearted; intractable
- obfuscate
- to deliberately obscure; to make confusing
- obsequious
- exhibiting a fawning attentiveness
- obstinate
- stubborn; hardheaded; uncompromising
- obtuse
- lacking sharpness of intellect; not clear or precise in thought or expression
- obviate
- to anticipate and make unnecessary
- occlude
- to obstruct or block
- odious
- evoking intense aversion or dislike
- onerous
- troubling; burdensome
- opaque
- impenetrable by light; not reflecting light
- opprobrium
- disgrace; contempt; scorn
- oscillation
- the act or state of swinging back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm
- ostentatious
- characterized by or given to pretentiousness
- paean
- a song or hymn of praise and thanksgiving
- pedagogy
- the art or profession of training, teaching, or instructing
- pedantic
- the parading of learning; excessive attention to minutiae and formal rules
- penurious
- penny-pinching; excessively thrifty; ungenerous
- penury
- poverty; destitution
- perennial
- recurrent through the year or many years; happening repeatedly
- perfidy
- intentional breach of faith; treachery
- perfunctory
- cursory; done without care or interest
- pernicious
- extremely harmful; potentially causing death
- perspicacious
- acutely perceptive; having keen discernment
- peruse
- to examine with great care
- pervade
- to permeate throughout
- pervasive
- having the tendency to permeate or spread throughout
- phlegmatic
- calm; sluggish; unemotional
- pine
- to yearn intensely; to languish; to lose vigor
- pious
- extremely reverent or devout; showing strong religious devotion
- pirate
- to illegally use or reproduce
- pith
- the essential or central part
- pithy
- precise and brief
- placate
- to appease; to calm by making concessions
- platitude
- a superficial remark, esp. one offered as meaningful
- plethora
- an overabundance; a surplus
- plummet
- to plunge or drop straight down
- polemical
- controversial; argumentative
- pragmatic
- practical rather than idealistic
- prattle
- to babble meaninglessly; to talk in an empty and idle manner
- precipitate
- to cause or happen before anticipated or required
- precursor
- one that precedes and indicates or annouces another
- predilection
- a disposition in favor of something; preference
- preen
- to dress up; to primp; to groom oneself with elaborate care
- prescience
- foreknowledge of events; knowing of events prior to their occurring
- presumptuous
- overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties
- prevaricate
- to deliberately avoid the truth; to mislead
- pristine
- pure; uncorrupted; clean
- probity
- adherence to highest principles; uprightness
- proclivity
- a natural predisposition or inclination
- prodigal
- recklessly wasteful; extravagant; profuse; lavish
- prodigious
- abundant in size, force, or extent; extraordinary
- profligate
- excessively wasteful; recklessly extravagant
- profuse
- given or coming forth abundantly; extravagant
- proliferate
- to grow or increase swiftly and abundantly
- prolific
- producing large volumes or amunts; productive
- propensity
- a natural inclination or tendency, penchant
- prosaic
- dull; unimaginative
- pungent
- characterized by a strong, sharp smell or taste
- putrefy
- to rot; to decay and give off a foul odor
- quaff
- to drink deeply
- qualms
- misgiving; reservations; causes for hesitancy
- queries
- questions; inquiries; doubts in the mind; reservations
- querulous
- prone to complaining or grumbling; quarrelsome
- quiescence
- stillness; motionlessness; quality of being at rest
- quixotic
- foolishly impractical; marked by lofty romantic ideals
- quotidian
- occurring or recurring daily; commonplace
- rancorous
- characterized by bitter, long-lasting resentment
- rarefy
- to make or become thin, less dense; to refine
- recalcitrant
- obstinately defiant of authority; difficult to manage
- recant
- to retract, esp. a previously held belief
- recondite
- hidden; concealed; difficult to understand; obscure
- redoubtable
- awe-inspiring; worthy of honor
- refulgent
- radiant; shiny; brilliant
- refute
- to disprove; to successfully argue against
- relegate
- to forcibly assign, esp. to a lower place or position
- renege
- to fail to honor a commitment; to go back on a promise
- repudiate
- to refuse to have anything to do with; disown
- rescind
- to invalidate; to repeal; to retract
- reticent
- quiet; reserved; reluctant to express thoughts and feelings
- reverent
- marked by, feeling, or expressing a feeling of profound awe and respect
- rhetoric
- the art of study of effective use of language for communication and persuasion
- salubrious
- promoting health or well-being
- sanction
- authoritative permission or approval; a penalty intended to enforce compliance
- satire
- a literary work that ridicules or criticizes a human vice through humor or derision
- sedulous
- diligent; persistent; hard-working
- shard
- a piece of broken pottery or glass
- solicitous
- concerned and attentive; eager
- solvent
- able to meet financial obligations; able to dissolve another substance
- soporific
- causing drowsiness; tending to induce sleep
- sordid
- characterized by filth, grime, or squalor; foul
- sparse
- thin; not dense; arranged at widely spaced intervals
- specious
- seeming true, but actually being fallacious; misleadingly attractive
- spendthrift
- one who spends money wastefully
- sporadic
- occurring only occasionally, or in scattered instances
- spurious
- lacking authenticity or validity; false; counterfeit
- squalid
- sordid; wretched and dirty as from neglect
- squander
- to waste by spending or using irresponsibly
- static
- not moving, active or in motion; at rest
- stoic
- indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; steadfast
- stupefy
- to stun, baffle, or amaze
- stymie
- to block; thwhart
- subpoena
- a court order requiring appearance and/or testimony
- subtle
- not obvious; elusive; difficult to discern
- succinct
- brief; concise
- superfluous
- exceeding what is sufficient or necessary
- supplant
- to take the place of; supersede
- surfeit
- excess, overindulgence
- synthesis
- the combination of parts to make a whole
- tacit
- implied; not explicitly stated
- tenacity
- the quality of adherence or persistence to something valued
- tenuous
- having little substance or strength; flimsy; weak
- terse
- brief and concise in wording
- tirade
- a long and extremely critical speech; a harsh denunciation
- torpid
- lethargic; sluggish; dormant
- torque
- a force that causes rotation
- tortuous
- winding; twisting; excessively complicated
- tout
- to publicly praise or promote
- transient
- fleeting; passing quickly; brief
- trenchant
- sharply perceptive; keen; penetrating
- truculent
- fierce and cruel; eager to fight
- ubiquitous
- existing everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread
- unfeigned
- genuine; not false or hypocritical
- untenable
- indefensible; not viable; uninhabitable
- urbane
- sophisticated; refined; elegant
- vacillate
- to waver indecisively between one course of action or opinion and another; waver
- variegated
- multicolored; characterized by a variety of patches of different color
- veracity
- truthfulness; honesty
- vexation
- annoyance; irritation
- vigilant
- alertly watchful
- vilify
- to defame; to characterize harshly
- virulent
- extremely harmful or poisonous; bitterly hostile or antagonistic
- viscous
- thick; sticky
- vituperate
- to use harsh condemnatory language; to abuse or censure severely or abusively; berate
- volatile
- readily changing to a vapor; changeable; fickle; explosive
- waver
- to move to and fro; to sway; to be unsettled in opinion
- zealous
- fervent; ardent; impassioned