MineZone Wiki

For a few years now, I have been making a note of words I came across that I didn't know or cases where the words were used in a different sense than I knew them (the word "catholic," with a small "c," is a good example). Here is the resulting list of words.

• a priori=adj. made before or without examination; not supported by factual study
• abattoir=n. a building where animals are butchered; butchery, shambles, slaughterhouse
• abdicate=v. give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations
• abeyance=n. suspension; temporary cessation
• ablutions=n. the water etc. with which anything has been washed
• abnegation=n. renunciation of your own interests in favor of the interests of others
• accede=v. to become a party (as to an agreement); to express approval or give consent; give in to a request or demand
• acerbic=adj. harsh or corrosive in tone
• acrid=adj. having a very bitter and pungent smell or taste
• acuity=n. a quick and penetrating intelligence
• ad hoc=adj. 'to this'; often improvised or impromptu; for the present purpose alone; not provable by reference to other phenomena
• ad misericordiam=phrase. appeal to pity
• addle=v. mix up or confuse
• adjunct=n. something added to another thing but not an essential part of it; a person who is an assistant or subordinate to another
• adjure=v. ask for or request earnestly; beseech; entreat
• affectation=n. a deliberate pretense or exaggerated display
• affray=n. a noisy fight
• aggrandize=v. add details to
• aggregate=v. gather in a mass, sum, or whole
• alacrity=n. liveliness and eagerness
• alsatian=n. german sheppard
• ambivalent=adj. characterized by a mixture of opposite feelings or attitudes
• ameliorate=v. to make better
• ancient=adj. ancient
• animism=n. the doctrine that all natural objects and the universe itself have souls
• annealed=adj. made less brittle by heating and then cooling
• antipathy=n. a feeling of intense dislike
• apercus=n. a short synopsis
• aphorism=n. a short pithy instructive saying
• aplomb=n. great coolness and composure under strain
• apocryphal=adj. of questionable authenticity
• apostasy=n. the state of having rejected your religious beliefs or your political party or a cause (often in favor of opposing beliefs or causes); renunciation
• apostate=n. a disloyal person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc.
• ardour=n. a feeling of strong eagerness; zeal
• argot=n. a characteristic language of a particular group
• assiduous=adj. showing hard work, care, serious interest or attention to detail; diligent
• assignation=n. tryst; a secret rendezvous (especially between lovers)
• assuaged=v. cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
• attenuate=v. weaken the consistency of
• au courant=adj. being up to particular standard or level especially in being up to date in knowledge; up on
• auberge=n. an inn; hostel
• auteur=n. a filmmaker who has a personal style and keeps creative control over his or her works
• auto-da-fé=n. public announcement of the sentences imposed by the Inquisition
• autoclave=n. apparatus for cooking or sterilizing instruments at high pressure
• aver=v. to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
• avuncular=adj. being or relating to an uncle; like an uncle in kindness or indulgence
• baleful=adj. deadly or sinister
• banal=adj. obvious and dull; trivial
• barmy=adj. informal or slang terms for mentally irregular
• beatific=adj. experiencing or bestowing celestial joy
• belletristic=adj. written and regarded for aesthetic value rather than content
• bellicose=adj. having or showing a ready disposition to fight
• bellwether=n. sheep that leads the herd often wearing a bell; someone who assumes leadership of a movement or activity
• bemused=v. cause to be confused emotionally
• bereft=adj. unhappy in love; suffering from unrequited love
• bête noire=n. something or someone particularly disliked
• blithe=adj. lacking or showing a lack of due concern
• bloviate=v. to orate verbosely or windily
• boilerplate=n. standardized text
• boîte=n. a small restaurant or nightclub
• bolshie=(british informal) adj. angrily provocative. originating from the socialist revolutionaries the bolsheviks.
• bon mot=n. a clever remark
• bricolage=n. construction or something constructed by using whatever comes to hand
• brigand=n. an armed thief who is (usually) a member of a band
• brio=n. quality of being active or spirited or alive and vigorous
• brogue=n. a thick and heavy shoe
• bucolic=n. a country person
• busman’s holiday=n. A vacation during which a person engages in activity that is the same as or similar to his or her usual employment
• caducity=the frailty of old age
• caliginous=adj. dark and misty and gloomy
• canard=n. a deliberately misleading fabrication; fabrication, fiction, fable
• capacious=adj. large in capacity
• captious=adj. tending to find and call attention to faults
• casuistry=n. moral philosophy based on the application of general ethical principles to resolve moral dilemmas
• catholic=adj. free from provincial prejudices or attachments
• Charybdis=n. a whirlpool off the Sicilian coast, opposite the cave of Scylla
• chattel=n. personal as opposed to real property; any tangible movable property (furniture or domestic animals or a car etc)
• chimera=n. a grotesque product of the imagination
• chimerical=adj. produced by a wildly fanciful imagination
• chthonic=adj. of the underworld
• churlish=adj. rude and boorish
• cicatrice=n. a mark left by the healing of injured tissue
• cogitation=n. attentive scrutiny and thought
• colloquy=n. a conversation especially a formal one
• comely=adj. very pleasing to the eye
• comestible=n. edible; any substance that can be used as food
• commensal=n. either of two different animal or plant species living in close association but not interdependent
• concomitant=n. an event or situation that happens at the same time as or in connection with another
• consigliere=n. an adviser or counselor, especially to a capo or leader of an organized crime syndicate
• contretemps=n. an awkward clash
• contrite=adj. feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses
• coolie=n. an offensive name for an unskilled Asian laborer
• coprophagy=n. feeding on dung
• coterminous=adj. coextensive; of equal extent or duration
• credulity=n. willingness to believe or trust too readily, esp. without proper or adequate evidence; gullibility
• crepitate=v. make a crackling sound
• crotchet=n. a small tool or hook-like implement
• cuckold=n. a man whose wife committed adultery
• cupola=n. a small structure with a separate, usually domed roof that projects upward from a building and is often used to house a bell, light, or the like
• de rigueur=adj. prescribed or required by fashion, etiquette, or custom
• decathect=v. to withdraw one's feelings of attachment from (a person, idea, or object), as in anticipation of a future loss
• defenestration=n. a throwing of a person or thing out of a window
• demagogue=n. an orator who appeals to the passions and prejudices of his audience
• dendroid=adj. resembling a tree in form and branching structure
• denude=v. to remove the covering of
• depredation=n. an act of plundering
• diaspora=n. the spreading of people from one original country to other different countries
• didactic=adj. instructive especially excessively
• diffident=adj. hesitant in acting or speaking through lack of self-confidence; shy, timid, unsure
• disapprobation=n. an expression of strong disapproval; pronouncing as wrong or morally culpable
• disingenuous=adj. not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness
• docent=n. a lecturer at a college or university who is not a regular member of the faculty; a lecturer or guide in a museum, historic home, or the like
• dolor=n. mental suffering or anguish
• dosh=n. money (Brit. informal)
• dotage=n. mental infirmity as a consequence of old age; sometimes shown by foolish infatuations
• double-blind=n. of, relating to, or being an experimental procedure in which neither the subjects nor the experimenters know the makeup of the test and control groups during the actual course of the experiments
• droll=adj. comical in an odd or whimsical manner
• dross=n. worthless material that should be removed
• dunning=v. the process of communicating with customers to insure the collection of accounts receivable
• earnest=adj. characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions
• ebullient=adj. joyously unrestrained
• efferent=adj. directed away from a central organ or section
• effete=adj. marked by excessive self-indulgence and moral decay
• efficacy=n. capacity or power to produce a desired effect
• effulgence=n. the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light; radiance, radiancy, shine, refulgence, refulgency
• egalitarian=n. a person who believes in the equality of all people
• egregious=adj. conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
• élan=n. impetuosity; dash or style; brilliancy or vivacity
• eldritch=adj. suggesting the operation of supernatural influences
• eleemosynary=adj. generous in assistance to the poor; philanthropic
• emetic=n. a medicine that induces nausea and vomiting
• empiricism=n. the doctrine that knowledge derives from experience
• encomium=n. a formal expression of praise
• endemic=n. a disease that is constantly present to a greater or lesser degree in people of a certain class or in people living in a particular location
• enfant terrible=n. an incorrigible child
• enmity=n. a state of deep-seated ill-will; hostility, antagonism
• ennui=n. the feeling of being bored by something tedious
• ensconce=v. to settle securely or comfortably
• entreaty=n. earnest or urgent request
• entrechat=n. a leap in which a ballet dancer repeatedly crosses the legs and sometimes beats them together
• envisage=v. form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case; imagine
• epexegesis=n. additional explanation or explanatory matter
• epigrams=n. a witty saying
• epigraph=n. an inscription on a building, statue, or coin; a short quotation or saying introducing a book or chapter
• epistolary=adj. written in the form of or carried on by letters or correspondence
• equable=adj. not varying
• equanimity=n. steadiness of mind under stress; composure, calm, calmness
• equipoise=n. equality of distribution; balance
• ersatz=adj. artificial and inferior
• ersatz=n. an artificial or inferior substitute or imitation
• erstwhile=adj. belonging to some prior time; former, once, onetime, quondam, sometime
• erudite=adj. having or showing profound knowledge
• escheat=n. property that has reverted to the state when no legal heirs or claimants exist
• espy=v. to catch sight of (something distant, partially hidden, or obscure); glimpse
• eugenics=n. the study of methods of improving genetic qualities by selective breeding (especially as applied to human mating)
• evanescent=adj. tending to vanish like vapor
• evince=v. to show clearly; make evident or manifest; prove
• execrable=adj. of very poor quality or condition
• exegesis=n. an explanation or critical interpretation (especially of the Bible)
• exeunt=v. exit from stage
• exhortation=n. a communication intended to urge or persuade the recipients to take some action
• explication=n. a detailed explanation of the meaning of something
• extant=adj. still in existence; not extinct or destroyed or lost
• facile=adj. arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth
• factotum=n. a servant employed to do a variety of jobs
• farrago=n. a motley assortment of things
• fatwa=n. proscription pronounced by Islamic religious leader
• feckless=adj. not fit to assume responsibility
• fecundity=n. the intellectual fruitfulness of a creative imagination; fruitfulness; fertility
• felicitous=adj. exhibiting an agreeably appropriate manner or style
• fete=v. have a celebration
• feuilleton=n. the part of a European newspaper devoted to light fiction, reviews, and articles of general entertainment; light, popular work of fiction
• fey=adj. having or displaying an otherworldly quality
• fin de siècle=adj. of or characteristic of the last part of the 19th century, especially with reference to its artistic climate of effete sophistication
• foment=v. to promote the growth or development of
• frieze=n. a heavy woolen fabric with a long nap
• fugue=n. a dreamlike state of altered consciousness that may last for hours or days
• fulmination=n. thunderous verbal attack
• funicular=n. a railway up the side of a mountain pulled by a moving cable and having counterbalancing ascending and descending cars
• gainsay=v. take exception to
• gambol=n. gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement; play, frolic, romp, caper
• gamelan=n. musical instrument like xylophone; percussion, string and flute orchestra of SE Asia.
• germane=adj. having close kinship and appropriateness
• gestalt=n. a configuration or pattern of elements so unified as a whole that it cannot be described merely as a sum of its parts
• gibbous=adj. convex; hump-backed; applied to moon between half and full
• glibly=adv. with superficial plausibility
• goad=v. to urge or provoke someone to action
• gossamer=n. a gauze fabric with an extremely fine texture; cobweb
• gravitas=n. seriousness and importance of manner, causing feelings of respect and trust in others
• gulag=n. a Russian prison camp for political prisoners
• gustatory=adj. of or pertaining to taste or tasting
• habeas corpus=n. a writ ordering a prisoner to be brought before a judge
• hackles=n. a feeling of anger and animosity
• hagiography=n. a biography that idealizes or idolizes the person
• halcyon=adj. idyllically calm and peaceful
• hale=v. to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means
• hapless=adj. deserving or inciting pity
• harried=adj. troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances
• hector=v. be bossy towards; bully
• hegemony=n. the domination of one state over its allies
• heuristic=n. a commonsense rule (or set of rules) intended to increase the probability of solving some problem
• hirsute=adj. hairy
• hoary=adj. gray or white with age
• honorific=n. an expression of respect
• horologist=n. someone who makes or repairs watches
• hubris=n. exaggerated pride or self-confidence
• ichthyologist=n. a zoologist who studies fishes
• ideation=n. the process of forming and relating ideas
• ignoble=adj. completely lacking nobility in character or quality or purpose
• immolation=n. to kill as a sacrifice by fire
• imperious=adj. able to deal authoritatively with affairs; masterful
• impertinent=adj. exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold
• imprimatur=n. formal and explicit approval
• impudent=adj. marked by casual disrespect
• in situ=adj. being in the original position; not having been moved; unmoved
• inchoate=adj. only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
• incorporeal=adj. without material form or substance
• incredulity=n. doubt about the truth of something; disbelief, skepticism, mental rejection
• incunabulum=n. a book printed before 1501; an artifact of an early period.
• indefatigable=adj. showing sustained enthusiastic action with unflagging vitality; tireless
• indictment=n. an accusation of wrongdoing
• indolence=n. inactivity resulting from a dislike of work
• ineffable=adj. too sacred to be uttered
• ineluctable=adj. impossible to avoid or evade; unavoidable
• inexorable=adj. not to be persuaded or moved by entreaty
• infer=v. reason by deduction; establish by deduction
• infra dig=adj. being beneath one's dignity
• inimical=adj. not friendly
• inimitable=adj. defying imitation
• inscrutable=adj. of an obscure nature; cryptic, mysterious
• insensate=adj. devoid of feeling and consciousness and animation
• insoluble=adj. without hope of solution
• insouciant=adj. free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant
• insular=adj. narrowly restricted in outlook or scope
• interdict=n. an ecclesiastical censure by the Roman Catholic Church withdrawing certain sacraments and Christian burial from a person or all persons in a particular district
• interlard=v. introduce one's writing or speech with certain expressions
• internecine=adj. characterized by bloodshed and carnage for both sides
• intrepid=adj. invulnerable to fear or intimidation
• inveigh=v. complain bitterly; rail
• inveterate=adj. having a habit of long standing; chronic
• ipso facto=adv. by the fact itself; by the very nature of the deed
• isometric=adj. having equal dimensions or measurements
• jape=n. a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter
• jejune=adj. lacking in nutritive value
• jeremiad=n. a long and mournful complaint
• jocose=adj. characterized by jokes and good humor
• junta=n. a clique that seeks power usually through intrigue; cabal, faction
• ken=n. range of what one can know or understand
• kirigami=n. Japanese art of cutting and folding paper into ornamental objects or designs
• laconic=adj. brief and to the point; curt
• lacuna=n. a blank space or a missing part; gap
• lament=n. a cry of sorrow and grief; a mournful poem; a lament for the dead
• languid=adj. lacking spirit or liveliness
• largesse=n. extremely liberal generosity of spirit
• legerdemain=n. sleight of hand
• leitmotiv=n. a melodic phrase that accompanies the reappearance of a person or situation (as in Wagner's operas)
• libation=n. an amount of alcoholic drink poured out or drunk in honour of a god or a dead relative, or humorous a drink of alcohol
• licentious=adj. lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained
• limn=v. trace the shape of; outline
• litany=n. any long and tedious address or recital
• liturgy=n. body of church services and ritual
• loupe=n. small magnifying glass (usually set in an eyepiece) used by jewelers and horologists
• lucre=n. monetary gain; profit; money
• lupine=adj. of or relating to or characteristic of wolves
• mana=n. supernatural force believed to dwell in a person or sacred object
• martinet=n. someone who demands exact conformity to rules and forms
• massif=n. a block of the earth's crust bounded by faults and shifted to form peaks of a mountain range
• mea culpa=n. acknowledgment of a personal error or fault
• melanism=n. an increased amount of black or nearly black pigmentation (as of skin, feathers, or hair) of an individual or kind of organism
• menarche=n. the first occurrence of menstruation in a woman
• mendacious=adj. given to lying
• mendicant=n. a pauper who lives by begging
• midden=n. in Archaeology, a large refuse heap that is associated with intense human occupation
• minyan=n. the quorum of 10 adult Jews required for communal worship
• miscegenation=n. reproduction by parents of different races (especially by white and non-white persons)
• moribund=adj. not growing or changing; without force or vitality; stagnant
• munificence=n. extremely liberal generosity of spirit
• natch=adv. of course (slang; short for naturally)
• nephrologist=n. the branch of medicine concerned with the kidney - its development and anatomy and physiology and disorders
• nom de guerre=n. a fictitious name used when the person performs a particular social role
• non compos mentis=adj. not of sound mind and hence not legally responsible
• nonce=n. the present occasion
• nonpareil=n. a flat disk of chocolate covered with beads of colored sugar; model of excellence or perfection of a kind; one having no equal;
• noumena=n. in the philosophy of Kant, an object as it is in itself independent of the mind, as opposed to a phenomenon
• nyabinghi=n. death to the white and black oppressors (a cult from the Rastafarian Movement whose music and dances form an integral part of the ritual of the cult itself)
• obdurate=adj. stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing; obstinate
• obeisance=n. the act of obeying; dutiful or submissive behavior with respect to another person
• obsequious=adj. attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
• obstinate=v. persist stubbornly
• obstreperous=adj. boisterously and noisily aggressive
• obviate=n. do away with
• occlude=v. block passage through
• ofay=n. a white person
• oligopoly=n. market dominated by a few producers
• omphaloskepsis=n. contemplation of ones belly button
• ontology=n. the metaphysical study of the nature of being and existence
• opprobrium=n. a state of extreme dishonor
• orrery=n. planetarium consisting of an apparatus that illustrates the relative positions and motions of bodies in the solar system by rotation and revolution of balls moved by wheelwork; sometimes incorporated in a clock
• orthogonal=adj. mutually independent; well separated; sometimes, irrelevant to (computer jargon)
• ostensibly=adv. from appearances alone; apparently, seemingly
• palanquin=n. a closed litter carried on the shoulders of four bearers
• palaver=n. flattery intended to persuade; loud and confused and empty talk
• pallor=n. unnatural lack of color in the skin
• pangram=n. a piece of text which uses every letter of the alphabet
• pantaloon=n. trousers worn in former times; a character in the commedia dell'arte; portrayed as a foolish old man
• pantheon=n. all the gods of a religion
• paroxysm=n. a sudden uncontrollable attack
• parsimony=n. extreme care in spending money; reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
• pas de deux=n. (ballet) a dance for two people
• pashmina=n. wool, and products made from the wool, derived from the undercoat of the Capra hircus goat
• patisserie=n. a bakery specializing in French pastry
• paucity=n. smallness of number
• pedagogy=n. the profession of a teacher
• penny-farthing=n. a type of bicycle used in the past which had a very large front wheel and a small back wheel
• penultimate=n. the next to last syllable in a word
• penury=n. a state of extreme poverty or destitution; indigence, need, beggary, pauperism
• perforce=adv. by necessity; by force of circumstance
• peripatetic=n. a person who walks from place to place
• perspicacity=n. keenness of mental perception and understanding
• phalanx=n. closely-ranked infantry formation; any such closely packed or organized body
• philology=n. the humanistic study of language and literature
• phlegmatic=adj. showing little emotion
• picaresque=adj. involving clever rogues or adventurers especially as in a type of fiction
• pincer=n. a hand tool for holding consisting of a compound lever
• pious=adj. having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity
• piquant=adj. engagingly stimulating or provocative
• pique=n. a sudden outburst of anger
• pithy=adj. concise and full of meaning
• plebiscite=n. a vote by the electorate determining public opinion on a question of national importance
• plutocracy=n. a political system governed by the wealthy people
• pogram=n. organized persecution of an ethnic group (especially Jews)
• polemic=n. a controversy (especially over a belief or dogma)
• polymath=n. a person of great or varied learning
• portentous=adj. of momentous or ominous significance
• predicate=v. affirm or declare
• presage=n. a foreboding about what is about to happen
• prescient=adj. perceiving the significance of events before they occur
• preternaturally=adj. differing from the natural; extraordinary
• prima facie=adj. true, authentic, or adequate at first sight; ostensible
• privation=n. act of depriving someone of food or money or rights
• pro forma=adj. as a formality only
• probity=n. complete and confirmed integrity
• profligate=adj. recklessly wasteful
• progenerate=v. to produce
• proles=n. a member of the working class (not necessarily employed)
• prolixity=n. boring verboseness
• propitious=adj. presenting favorable circumstances
• prosaic=adj. not fanciful or imaginative
• proscribe=v. command against; prohibit
• proscription=n. a decree that prohibits something
• prosopography=n. a study that identifies and relates a group of persons or characters within a particular historical or literary context
• provenance=n. source; origin
• province=n. the proper sphere or extent of your activities
• pulchritude=n. physical beauty (especially of a woman)
• punitive=adj. inflicting punishment
• pupik=n. navel (Yiddish)
• putative=adj. commonly put forth or accepted as true on inconclusive grounds
• Putonghua=n. the form of Chinese, based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin, adopted as the official national language of China
• quid pro quo=n. something for something; that which a party receives
• quiescent=adj. being quiet or still or inactive
• quixotic=adj. not sensible about practical matters; unrealistic
• quotidian=adj. found in the ordinary course of events
• quotidian=adj. found in the ordinary course of events
• raison d'être=n. the most important reason or purpose for someone or something’s existence; French, literally “reason for being"
• rapprochement=n. the reestablishing of cordial relations
• rara avis=n. 'rare bird'; any unusual person or thing, especially of excellence
• recondite=adj. difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge
• rectitude=n. uprightness as a consequence of being honorable and honest
• reify=v. consider an abstract concept to be real
• remonstrate=n. argue in protest or opposition
• remunerate=v. make proper payment to
• replete=v. fill to satisfaction
• republic=n. a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them
• resplendent=adj. having great beauty and splendor; richly and brilliantly colorful
• riposte=n. a quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one)
• sacerdotal=adj. associated with the priesthood or priests
• sacrament=n. a formal religious act conferring a specific grace on those who receive it
• salient=adj. striking; outstanding or prominent
• salubrious=adj. promoting health; healthful; healthy; good for you
• sangfroid=n. ability to stay calm in a difficult or dangerous situation
• sardonic=adj. disdainfully or ironically humorous; scornful and mocking
• sartorial=adj. pertaining to tailoring or men's clothes
• saturnalia=n. a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
• scabrous=adj. rough to the touch; covered with scales or scurf
• schadenfreude=n. malicious satisfaction
• schist=n. any metamorphic rock that can be split into thin layers
• scion=n. a descendent or heir
• score=n. a set of twenty members
• scry=v. to see or predict the future by means of a crystal ball
• scupper=n. drain that allows water on the deck of a vessel to flow overboard
• sectarian=n. a member of a sect who is intolerant of the views of any other sect
• secular=adj. worldly rather than spiritual
• seigniorage=n. charged by a government for coining bullion
• semiotics=n. a philosophical theory of the functions of signs and symbols
• servile=adj. involving slaves
• sesquipedalian=adj. given to the use of long words
• sidereal=adj. of or relating to the stars or constellations
• sinecure=n. an office that involves minimal duties; a benefice to which no spiritual or pastoral duties are attached
• Sisyphus=n. a legendary king of Corinth condemned eternally to repeat the cycle of rolling a heavy rock up a hill in Hades only to have it roll down again as it nears the top
• skive=v. to avoid work of any type, esp. by staying away or leaving it early (british slang)
• slake=v. satisfy, quench
• smite=v. to hit someone forcefully or to have a sudden powerful or destructive effect on someone
• sobriquet=n. a familiar name (often a shortened version of a person's given name)
• soffit=n. the underside of an architectural feature, as a beam, arch, ceiling, vault, or cornice
• solipsism=n. the philosophical theory that the self is all that you know to exist
• somatic=adj. affecting or characteristic of the body as opposed to the mind or spirit
• sonority=n. having the character of a loud deep sound
• soubrette=n. a pert or flirtatious young girl
• spaldeen=n. a smooth, pink rubber ball used in playing catch, stickball
• specie=n. coins collectively
• specious=adj. plausible but false
• spurious=adj. plausible but false
• stentorian=adj. using a very loud voice; booming
• stevedore=n. a laborer who loads and unloads vessels in a port
• strident=adj. conspicuously and offensively loud
• stygian=n. hellish
• subfusc=adj. devoid of brightness or appeal
• succor=n. assistance in time of difficulty
• superfices=n. the purely external aspect of a thing; superficial appearance
• supine=adj. lying face upward; offering no resistance
• surcingle=n. A belt, band, or girth which passes over a saddle, or over anything laid on a horse's back, to bind it fast
• surfeit=n. the state of being more than full; excess
• syllogism=n. deductive reasoning in which a conclusion is derived from two premises
• sylph=n. a slender graceful young woman; an elemental being believed to inhabit the air
• sylvan=adj. relating to or characteristic of wooded regions
• tantamount=adj. equivalent in value, signification, or effect
• taw=n. the 23rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet; a large marble used for shooting in the game of marbles, shooter
• temerity=n. fearless daring; audacity, audaciousness
• tendentious=adj. having or marked by a strong tendency especially a controversial one
• tendentious=adj. having or marked by a strong tendency especially a controversial one
• tertiary=adj. coming next after the second and just before the fourth in position
• Thanatos=n. an ancient Greek personification of death
• timbre=n. (music) the distinctive property of a complex sound (a voice or noise or musical sound)
• tonsure=n. the shaved crown of a monk's or priest's head
• torpor=n. a state of motor and mental inactivity with a partial suspension of sensibility
• trafficator=n. a blinking light on a motor vehicle that indicates the direction in which the vehicle is about to turn; blinker, turn signal
• treacly=adj. overly sweet
• tress=n. braid
• troponyms=n. a word that denotes a manner of doing something; ('march' is a troponym of 'walk')
• truculent=adj. defiantly aggressive
• tryworks=n. a brick furnace in which try-pots are placed; also : the furnace with the pots
• turgid=adj. ostentatiously lofty in style
• tutelary=adj. providing protective supervision; watching over or safeguarding; custodial, guardian
• unctuous=adj. unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech
• unguents=n. semisolid preparation (usually containing a medicine) applied externally as a remedy or for soothing an irritation
• urbane=adj. characterized by tact and propriety
• vanguard=n. the leading position in any movement or field
• venal=adj. capable of being corrupted
• verdure=n. green foliage; lush greenness of flourishing vegetation
• verisimilitude=having the appearance of truth
• verity=n. an enduring or necessary ethical or religious or aesthetic truth; conformity to reality or actuality
• vesture=n. covering designed to be worn on a person's body
• vet=v. examine carefully
• vicissitude=n. change or variation; the quality of being changeable; mutability
• vitriolic=adj. harsh or corrosive in tone
• vituperative=adj. marked by harshly abusive criticism
• vociferous=adj. conspicuously and offensively loud; given to vehement outcry
• voluble=adj. marked by a ready flow of speech
• vouchsafe=v. to tell or give (something) esp. to someone considered to be less important
• wanly=adv. in a weak or pale or languid manner
• warren=n. an overcrowded residential area
• withers=n. the highest part of the back at the base of the neck of various animals especially draft animals
• zaftig=adj. euphemism for slightly fat

Words to be added/learned

• histrionics=n. a deliberate display of emotion for effect
• guile=n. the quality of being crafty
• beguile=v. influence by slyness
• inexorable=adj. not capable of being swayed or diverted from a course; unsusceptible to persuasion
• deus ex machina=n. any active agent who appears unexpectedly to solve and insoluble difficulty
• fungible=adj. of goods or commodities; freely exchangeable for or replaceable by another of like nature or kind in the satisfaction of an obligation
• omerta=n. a code of silence practiced by the Mafia; a refusal to give evidence to the police about criminal activities
• fusty=adj. old-fashioned and out of date
• travertine=n. white concretionary form of calcium carbonate, usually hard and semicrystalline. It is deposited from the water of springs or streams holding lime in solution. Extensive deposits exist at Tivoli, near Rome.
• solipsism=n. the philosophical theory that the self is all that you know to exist
• organoleptic=adj. involving use of the sense organs
• palimpsest=n. a manuscript (usually written on papyrus or parchment) on which more than one text has been written with the earlier writing incompletely erased and still visible
• motility=n. ability to move spontaneously and independently
• demure=adj. affectedly modest or shy especially in a playful or provocative way
• apologia=n. a formal written defense of something you believe in strongly
• Roman à clef=n. a novel in which real people or events appear with invented names
• votary=n. a devoted (almost religiously so) adherent of a cause or person or activity
• vitrine=n. glass show case for displaying fine wares, specimens, etc.
• ancien regime=n. a political and social system that no longer governs (especially the system that existed in France before the French Revolution)
• beleaguered=v. surround so as to force to give up
• intifada=n. an uprising by Palestinian Arabs (in both the Gaza Strip and the West Bank) against Israel in the late 1980s and again in 2000
• pram=n. a small vehicle with four wheels in which a baby or child is pushed around
• grimoire=n. a manual of black magic (for invoking spirits and demons)
• uxorial=adj. of or befitting or characteristic of a wife
• noetic=adj. of or associated with or requiring the use of the mind
• militate=v. have force or influence; bring about an effect or change
• paean=n. a hymn of praise
• sanguine=adj. confidently optimistic and cheerful
• cynosure=n. something that strongly attracts attention and admiration
• archetype=n. an original model on which something is patterned
• plenary=adj. full in all respects
• matrilineal=adj. based on or tracing descent through the female line
• ashplant=n. walking stick
• celerity=n. a rate that is rapid
• salad days=plural n. the period of a person's life when he or she is young, innocent, naive, and inexperienced (literary)
• untenable=adj. (of theories etc) incapable of being defended or justified
• shibboleth=n. a manner of speaking that is distinctive of a particular group of people
• agitprop=n. political propaganda (especially Communist propaganda) communicated via art and literature and cinema
• exemplar=n. something to be imitated
• eugenics=n. the study of methods of improving genetic qualities by selective breeding (especially as applied to human mating)
• iniquity=n. absence of moral or spiritual values
• affordance=n. a visual clue to the function of an object
• restive=adj. being in a tense state
• avowal=n. a statement asserting the existence or the truth of something
• tuple=n. a mathematical term for a finite sequence of n terms. For example, the set {1, 2, 3, 4} is a four-tuple. The set {Frank, Jane, Ed} is a three-tuple. Any time there is a list of n things in a certain order, you can think of it as an n-tuple
• exigency=n. a pressing or urgent situation
• polemicist=n. a writer who argues in opposition to others (especially in theology)
• tarry=v. to linger in expectation of something or until something is done or happens
• doggerel=n. a comic verse of irregular measure
• muezzin=n. the Muslim official of a mosque who summons the faithful to prayer from a minaret five times a day
• provenance=n. where something originated or was nurtured in its early existence
• logolept=n. a person who is obsessed with words
• orotund=adj. ostentatiously lofty in style
• inure=v. cause to accept or become hardened to; habituate

Phrases

• Sellin' wolf tickets=engaging in threatening or intimidating verbal aggression
• repertory [theatre]=n. a form of theatre production company, usually with a permanent company of actors, where each production has a run of limited length. At any time there is normally one production in performance, one in rehearsal, and several in varying degrees of planning.
• whistle in the dark=to attempt to keep one's courage up