Direct_Hits

Ambivalent mixed feelings

Anomaly/Atypical a deviation from the norm

Sarcastic/Sardonic derisive mocking comments

Dearth/Paucity scarcity or shortage

Prattle to babble incessantly

Wry dry humor

Unconventional/Unorthodox not ordinary or typical

Painstaking/Meticulous/Exacting highly detailed

Audacious very bold; daring

Indifferent/Apathetic lack of interest or concern

Diffident lacking self-confidence

Pragmatic practical, sensible

Evocation an imaginative recreation Presumptuous overbearing; impertinently bold Recalcitrant/Obdurate very stubborn, defiant

Boon a timely benefit

Bane a source of harm

Clandestine/Surreptitious secretive, not aboveboard, covert Affable/Amiable/Genial/Gregarious agreeable, friendly

Confounded/Perplexed/Mystified puzzled, confused

Prodigious enormous, massive

Ambiguous unclear, not definitive

Reproach/Censure to scold, rebuke

Nostalgia a sentimental longing for the past Conjecture/Supposition an inference

Obsolete no longer in use

Auspicious very favorable

Morose/Despondent very depressed

Impasse failure to reach an agreement Anachronism not in the proper time period

Belie to give a false impression

Mitigate/Mollify/Assuage/Alleviate to ease, relieve, lessen

Covet to strongly desire; to crave

Antithesis/antipodal direct opposite

Prototype an original model

Aloof detached, reserved

Trite/Hackneyed/Pedestrian/Platitudinous/Banal commonplace

Antecedent/Forerunner a preceding event

Plausible believable

Prudent careful, cautious

Aesthetic an appreciation of what is beautiful or attractive Paradox a seeming contraction that expresses a truth Enigmatic/Inscrutable mysterious; baffling

Acquiesce to comply

Na?ve/Credulous unsophisticated

Autonomous independent

Futile doomed to failure

Indigenous/Endemic native to an area

Ubiquitous/Prevalent everywhere, widespread, prevalent Pandemic widespread epidemic

Fortitude strength of mind

Diminutive very small

Archaic out of date

Exhort to strongly encourage

Antipathy/Animosity strong dislike

Digress to depart from a subject

Tenacious showing great determination

Indulgent overly tolerant

Polarize/divisive to break into opposing factions

Nebulous vague, lacking a fully developed form Analogy a similarity or likeness

Fleeting/Ephemeral very brief, short lived

Penchant/Predilection a preference for something; inclination Capricious/Mercurial fickle, constant shifting moods

Boorish/Uncouth vulgar, crude

Indignant outrage at something that is unjust

Innuendo a veiled reference

Thwart/stymie to stop; frustrate

Adroit, deft, dexterous skillful

Admonish to earnestly caution

Incontrovertible indisputable, beyond doubt

V oracious/Ravenous huge appetite, cannot be satisfied, insatiable Callous insensitive

Intrepid/Undaunted fearless, courageous

Nonchalant casual indifference

Convoluted twisted, intricate

Itinerant mobile, not sedentary

Poignant touching, heartrending

Impetus a stimulus or encouragement

Bucolic, rustic, pastoral charmingly rural

Equanimity calmness, composure

Panache/Verve dash and flamboyant

Provocative provokes controversy

Placid/serene very clam, quiet

Fortuitous an accidental but fortunate occurrence

Dispel to drive away, scatter

Amalgam a mixture, combination of different elements

Viable/feasible possible

Anguish agonizing physical or mental pain

Intemperate lacking restraint, excessive

Superficial shallow, lacking depth

Laud, extol, tout, acclaim praise, applaud

Dismissive to reject, disregard

Disparage belittle, slight

Pompous pretentious, filled with excessive self-importance Cryptic mysterious, having a hidden meaning

Subtle a gradual, almost imperceptible change

Disparity an inequality, an imbalance

Curtail to cut short or reduce

Innocuous harmless

Diatribe, tirade a bitter denunciation

Charlatan a fake, a fraud, a cheat

Skeptic a doubter

Rhetorician an eloquent writer or speaker

Hedonist seeker of pleasure

Ascetic a person who leads a life of self-denial

Raconteur a person who excels in telling anecdotes

Iconoclast someone who attacks cherished ideas and institutions Dilettante an amateur or dabbler

Partisan a person with biased beliefs

Mentor a teacher, a guide

Demagogue a speaker who appeals to emotions, fear or prejudices Automation a person who acts in a mechanical fashion, a mindless follower Recluse a person who leads a secluded solitary life

Bungler a clumsy or inept person

Clairvoyant a person who uses intuition to see into the future Prognosticator a person who makes predictions based upon data Pundit a professional commentator

Zealot a very enthusiastic person

Neophyte, novice, greenhorn a beginner

Benefactor a person who gives gifts

Benefi9ciary a person who receives benefits

Dissembler/Prevaricator a liar, deceiver

Proponent/advocate a champion of a cause

Prodigy a young genius

Oracle a person who is a source of wise counsel and prophetic advice Misanthrope a person who hates humankind

Innovator a person who introduces something new

Sycophant/Obsequious a person who behaves in a servile manner, a toady

Stoic a person who is impassive and emotionless

Reprobate a morally unprincipled person

Renegade a disloyal person

Draconian very strict laws and rules

Laconic, succinct, terse very concise, brief

Spartan, austere plain,simple

Halcyon idyllically calm and tranquil

Sophistry a deliberately misleading argument

Chimerical a fantastic scheme, unchecked imagination Ostracize to deliberately exclude from a group Impecunious poor, penniless, not affluent

Nefarious extremely wicked, vile

Jovial/jocular good-humored, cheerful

Dirge a funeral hymn, mournful music

Maudlin excessively sentimental

Quixotic foolishly impractical

Pandemonium a wild uproar, tumult

Martinet a strict disciplinarian

Fiasco/Debacle a complete failure

Bowdlerize to remove or delete objectionable parts of a book Galvanize to electrify, stire into action

Picayune something of small value, petty, trifling Gerrymander to divide a district so as to give one side an advantage Maverick an independent person

Juggernaut an irresistible force

Serendipity an accidental but fortunate discovery

Zenith and apex the highest point

Nadir the lowest point

Expunge, excise, expurgate delete, remove

Eccentric An odd, unconventional person

Extricate to get out of a difficult situation

Exemplary outstanding

Enumerate to list, to tick off

Elusive out of reach, difficult to catch

Exorbitant unreasonably expensive

Repudiate, recant, renounce to take back, disavow Redundant doing or saying something again and again Relinquish to give something back

Resilient to bounce back

Reaffirm to assert again

Reticent to hold back one's thoughts and feelings

Rebuff to repel or drive back, to reject

Renovate to make new again

Rejuvenate to make young again

Resurgent to rise again, surge back

Deleterious harmful, injurious

Decry to express strong disapproval

Despondent, forlorn feeling downcast, dejected

Denounce to speak against

Demise the final ending of something, the downfall

Debunk to put down by exposing false claims

Deride to put down with contemptuous jeering

Devoid completely lacking in something

Impeccable faultless, perfect

Implacable not capable of being appeased

Inexorable relentless, unstoppable

Incoherent lacking organization or lock

Insurmountable not being capable of overcome

Irreverent lacking proper respect, disrespectful Circumspect, prudent cautious, careful

Circuitous circular and therefore indirect

Circumvent to avoid by artful maneuvering

Circumscribe to narrowly restrict, to limit action, to draw a line around Magnanimous generous and forgiving

Erroneous filled with errors, wrongs

Momentous of great importance

Mellifluous smooth and sweet flowing

Ominous threatening and menacing

Acrimonious great bitterness

Copious abundant, a great amount

Abstemious moderate in eating and drinking

Malodorous foul smelling

Tedious boring and tiresome

Synopsis a brief summary

Simile a figure of speech using like or as to compare two unlike things Metaphor a figure of speech comparing two unlike things

Irony things are not what they are said to be or what they seem Satire a work that ridicules human vices and foibles Hyperbole an exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect Caricature a deliberately exaggerated portrait

Epic a long narrative poem

Saga a long narrative story

Euphony soothing, pleasant sound

Cacophony jarring, grating sound

Foreshadow suggest or indicate a future action, presage

Subplot a secondary plot in fiction or drama

Memoir a personal journal

Anecdote a short account of an interesting incident

Eulogy a laudatory speech or written tribute

Allusion an indirect or brief reference ot a person, place or event Catalyst an agent that provokes or triggers a change

Caustic a stinging or bitter remark

Synthetic produced artificially

Osmosis a gradual often unconscious process of assimilation Sedentary settled, not mobile

Virulent very toxic or poisonous

Empirical guided by practical experience and not theory Entomology the scientific study of insects

Gestate to conceive and develop in the mind

Paradigm a framework or model of thought Entrepreneur a person who organizes and runes a business Lucrative very profitable

Extravagant excessive

Avarice excessive greed

Glut, plethora, surfeit a surplus

Paucity a shortage

Destitute, impoverished, indigent very poor

Affluent, opulent very wealthy

Munificent very generous

Parsimonious excessively cheap, stingy

Depreciation a decrease in value

Remunerate to compensate, a salary

Accord a formal agreement

Enlighten to illuminate

Appeasement to grant concessions to maintain peace Nullify to make null, declare invalid

Triumvirate a group of three leaders

Pretext an excuse, an alleged cause

Watershed a critical turning point

Consensus a general agreement

Autocrat, despot a ruler with unlimited power

Manifesto a public declaration of beliefs

Enfranchise to receive the right to vote

Disenfranchise to lose the right to vote

Coerce to compel someone to do something

Egalitarian belief in a society based upon equality Belligerent hostile and aggressive, warlike

Inquisition a severe interrogation, a systematic questioning Ameliorate to make better

Exacerbate to make worse

Contiguous sharing an edge or boundary, touching Desiccate to thoroughly dry out, totally arid

Pertinent relevant and to the point

Complicity association or participation in a wrongful act Exonerate, exculpate to free from blame or guilt

Indisputable not open to question; irrefutable

Precedent an action or decision that serves as an example Unprecedented without a previous example

Malfeasance misconduct or wrongdoing by a public official Arrest to bring to a stop, halt

Gravity a serious situation or problem

Precipitate result or outcome of an action

Relief elevation of a land surface

Check to restrain, halt, contain

Flag to become weak, to lose interest

Discriminating selective or refined taste

Eclipse overshadow, surpass

Coin to devise a new word or phrase

Stock a stereotypical or formulaic character

Currency general acceptance or use

Bent a strong tendency, a leaning or inclination

Court to attempt to gain the favor or support of a person or group Negotiate to successfully travel through, around and over an obstacle Temper to soften, moderate

Pedestrian undistinguished, ordinary, conventional

Cavalier an arrogant attitude

Sanction official approval, disapproval of an action Compromise to reduce quality or value of something

Channel to direct along a desired course

Scathing harshly critical

Quiescent inactive, very quiet

Provisional temporary

Lurid sensational, shocking

Truculent, pugnacious defiantly aggressive, eager to fight

Propitiate to appease, conciliate

Elan great enthusiasm

Perfunctory performed in a mechanical, spiritless manner Aplomb admirable poise under pressure

Opacity impenetrably dense, hard to understand

Craven Cowardly

Venal corrupt, open to bribery

Licentious, dissolute immoral, debauched

Noxious harmful, injurious to physical mental or moral health Superfluous, extraneous unnecessary, extra

Duplicitous deliberate deceptiveness

Profligate very wasteful, especially of time and money Epiphany a sudden realization

Insidious causing harm in a subtle or stealthy manner, devious Vacuous empty, lacking serious purpose

Harbinger, portent, presage an omen that something will happen

Beleaguer to be beset with problems

Burgeon to rapidly grow and expand

Imperious domineering and arrogant

Petulant peevish, irritable

Complaisant agreeable, amiable

Fawn to behave in a servile manner, subservient

Obdurate. Intractable very stubborn, unyielding

Redolent exuding fragrance

Chicanery deception by artful subterfuge, deliberate trickery Conundrum a difficult problem, a dilemma with no easy solution Slight a disrespectful or disparaging remark, a put down Capitulate to surrender, comply without protest Disheartening very discouraged

Apocryphal of questionable authenticity

Magisterial learned and authoritative

Plasticity, malleable, pliable can be molded into any shape

Chagrin feeling of distress caused by humiliation or embarrassment Obstreperous noisily and stubbornly defiant, boisterous

Idyllic charmingly simple and carefree

Dilapidated broken-down, in deplorable condition Extemporize, improvise to speak without notes

Myriad many, numerous

Ungainly awkward, clumsy

Dilatory Habitually late, tardy

Vituperative bitter criticism

Discordant a note of disharmony

Perfidious treacherous, traitorous

Supine lying on one's back

Indomitable, resolute very determined

Moribund approaching death

Nuance a slight degree of difference

Flippant treating serious matters lightly

Credulous easy convinced, gullible

Florid very flowery, excessively ornate

Excoriate, lambaste to express strong disapproval

Interloper an intruder, a gatecrasher

Cerebral intellectual rather than emotional

Visceral instinctive rather than rational

Nonplussed completely puzzled

Flamboyant showy

Idiosyncrasy a trait or mannerism peculiar to an individual Censorious highly critical

Consternation a state of great dismay and confusion

Didactic, edify intended to provide instruction

Elucidate to make clear or plain

Effusive unrestrained praise

Prolific very productive

Furor a general commotion, an uproar

Paranoia irrational fear

Marginal of secondary importance, not central

Obfuscate to deliberately confuse

Flummox to confuse, perplex

Spate a large number or amount

Ineffable a feeling that cannot be put into words

Histrionic excessively dramatic

Placate to soothe or calm

Eschew to avoid

Stopgap a temporary solution

Flotsam floating wreckage, debris

Restitution compensation for a loss

Churlish, sullen, surly ill-tempered, rude

Disquieting disturbing, upsetting

Ornate characterized by elaborate and expensive decorations, lavish Execrable, odious, repugnant detestable and repulsive

Perspicacious, prescient, discerning very insightful

Eclectic using a variety of sources

Hiatus an interruption in time or continuity, a break Vertiginous dizziness

Esoteric, arcane obscure information known by a few people Supercilious haughty, arrogant

Cupidity excessive greed

Underwrite to assume financial responsibility for a project Discomfited to make uneasy, state of embarrassment

Taciturn habitually quiet

Sinecure a job that provides income but requires little work Lugubrious sad and mournful music

Cosmopolitan worldly, sophisticated

Provincial, parochial, insular isolated from mainstream

Fecund intellectually productive or inventive Ostentatious showy

Guile treacherous cunning, skillful deceit

Sanguine cheerfully confident, optimistic

Scintillating sparkling, shining

Pristine pure and uncorrupted

Rampant unrestrained, unchecked

Pernicious highly injurious, destructive

Oblivious unaware

Refractory obstinately resistant to authority or control Garrulous, verbose, loquacious very talkative

Convivial found of feasting, drinking and good company Brusque, curt abrupt, discourteously blunt

Tepid lukewarm, mild

Protean taking on many shakes and forms

Solicitous showing great care, attentive

Disingenuous not candid, insincere

Venerate, revere to greatly respect

Contentious argumentative, disputatious

Preclude to make impossible, to rule out Compunction, contrition, remorse sincere and deep regret

Demography the study of the characteristics of human populations Axiom a statement universally accepted as true, a maxim