JARDELISA

100 Unfamiliar Words and Meaning 1. Anachronism - an anachronism is something (or someone) that is out of place in terms of time or chronology. Example: Showing the Pharaoh wearing a wristwatch was an obvious anachronism. 2. Accismus - a form of irony in which someone feigns indifference to something he or she desires. Example: Her natural affinity for accismus shining through. 3. Cacophony - a cacophony is a harsh mixture of sounds. It descends from the Greek word ph?n? which means sound or voice, and is joined with the Greek prefix kak-, meaning bad; creating the meaning bad sound. Example: I couldn’t hear over the cacophony of alarm bells. 4. Draconian - an adjective to describe something that is excessively harsh and severe. Example: The new parking fines are positively draconian. 5. Limerence - it can be defined as an involuntary state of mind resulting from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one’s feelings reciprocated. Example: Eva wasn’t sure how to shake her recent feelings of limerence. 6. Pareidolia - a psychological phenomenon in which the mind perceives a specific image or pattern where it does not actually exist, such as seeing a face in the clouds. Pareidolia can be used to explain a host of otherwise unexplained sightings. Example: Alex was sure he saw a human face on the moon’s surface, but it was more likely to be pareidolia. 7. Riposte - a quick or witty retaliatory reply. In the context of the sport of fencing, a riposte means a counterattack that is made after successfully fending off one’s opponent. Example: Cora was known for having an excellent riposte to any insult. 8. Sanctimony - pretend or hypocritical religious devotion or righteousness. Example: There was an air of sanctimony in the way he detailed his charity work. 9. Serendipity - the act of finding something valuable or interesting when you are not looking for it. Example: It had to be serendipity that I found my dream house during a random drive in the country. 10. Verisimilitude - something that merely seems to be true or real. Example: Many writers or filmmakers try for some kind of verisimilitude in their stories, to make them believable. 11. Abnegation - renouncing a belief or doctrine Example: I believe in the abnegation of political power. 12. Aggrandize - enhance power, wealth or status Example: It was an action intended to aggrandize the Frankish dynasty. 13. Alacrity - eagerness Example: He accepted the invitation with alacrity. 14. Anachronistic - misplaced chronologically Example: He is rebelling against the anachronistic morality of his parents. 15. Archetypal - quintessential of a certain kind Example: She is the archetypal country doctor. 16. Ascetic - one who practices self-denial as part of spiritual discipline Example: She has adopted an ascetic life of prayer, fasting, and manual labour. 17. Beguile - influence someone in a deceptive way Example: He beguiled the voters with his good looks. 18. Blandishment - intentional flattery for persuasion Example: The blandishments of the travel brochure. 19. Cajole - persuade by flattery or coaxing Example: He hoped to cajole her into selling the house. 20. Callous - disregard for others Example: Her callous comments about the murder made me shiver. 21. Camaraderie - a sense of solidarity arising out of familiarity and sociability Example: I like the enforced camaraderie of office life. 22. Circumlocution - expressing someone in an indirect way Example: His admission came after years of circumlocution. 23. Clamor - proclaim something noisily Example: The questions rose to a clamour in the meeting. 24. Cognizant - awareness or realization Example: Politicians must be cognizant of the political boundaries within which they work. 25. Construe - interpret or assign meaning Example: His words could hardly be construed as an apology. 26. Convivial - enjoyable atmosphere or jovial company Example: It is a convivial cocktail party. 27. Demagogue - a political leader who uses rhetoric to appeal to prejudices and desires of ordinary citizens Example: The minister is a gifted demagogue with particular skill in manipulating the press. 28. Denigrate - be little someone Example: There are many doom and gloom merchants who denigrate their own country. 29. Didactic - instructive with a moral intent Example: It is a didactic novel that set out to expose social injustice. 30. Disparate - of a distinct kind Example: They inhabit disparate worlds of thought. 31. Eclectic - deriving the best ideas and styles from a diverse range of sources Example: My university is offering an eclectic mix of courses. 32. Egregious - reprehensible or outrageously bad Example: It is an egregious abuse of copyright. 33. Embezzlement - misappropriation of funds Example: He has charges of fraud and embezzlement. 34. Enervate - lacking in vitality or mentally/ morally drained Example: The weather has an enervating heat today. 35. Ephemeral - lasting for a short duration Example: Fads are ephemeral: new ones regularly drive out the old. 36. Equanimity - maintaining composure in stressful situations Example: He accepted both the good and the bad with equanimity. 37. Fatuous - devoid of intelligence Example: It was a fatuous comment. 38. Gratuitous - uncalled for or unwarranted Example: Gratuitous violence was reported. 39. Iconoclast - someone who criticizes or attacks cherished ideas and beliefs Example: His son Gegnesius in 722 was taken to Constantinople, where he won over to his opinions the iconoclast emperor, Leo the Isaurian. 40. Idiosyncratic - something peculiar to an individual Example: He emerged as one of the great, idiosyncratic talents of the nineties. 41. Incumbent - something that is morally binding Example: The government realized that it was incumbent on them to act. 42. Inveterate - habitual Example: She is an inveterate gambler. 43. Libertarian - someone who cherishes ideas of free will Example: He is studying libertarian philosophy. 44. Licentious - someone who is promiscuous Example: The ruler’s tyrannical and licentious behaviour. 45. Largess - kindness or Generosity in bestowing gifts or money Example: The king can’t bestow these costly jewels with such largess 46. Multifarious - multifaceted or diverse Example: The university offers multifarious activities. 47. Obdurate - being stubborn and refusing to change one’s opinion Example: I argued this point with him, but he was obdurate. 48. Ostracism - excluding a person or certain section from society by majority consent Example: "The family suffered social ostracism". 49. Pejorative - showing disapproval Example: Permissiveness is used almost universally as a pejorative term. 50. Pertinacious - someone who is stubbornly unyielding Example: She worked with a pertinacious resistance to interruptions. 51. Phlegmatic - expressing little or no emotion Example: He portrays the phlegmatic British character on the show. 52. Promulgate - to broadcast or announce Example: These objectives have to be promulgated within the organization. 53. Quotidian - something that is of daily occurrence Example: The car sped noisily off through the quotidian traffic. 54. Recalcitrant - resistant to authority Example: A class of recalcitrant fifteen-year-olds raided the store. 55. Sanctimonious - pretense of being morally pious to exhibit moral superiority Example: What happened to all the sanctimonious talk about putting his family first? 56. Solipsism - the philosophical theory that only the self-existence is known and all that exists Example: We cannot avoid the popularity of solipsism mentality. 57. Travesty - distorting facts or imitation Example: The absurdly lenient sentence is a travesty of justice. 58. Ubiquitous - omnipresent or existing everywhere Example: His ubiquitous influence was felt by all the family. 59. Vicissitude - an unwelcome or unpleasant change in circumstances or fortune Example: Her husband’s sharp vicissitudes of fortune. 60. Vociferous - something or someone who is offensively/ conspicuously loud. Example: He was a vociferous opponent of the takeover. 61. Acquiesce - to assent tacitly; submit or comply silently or without protest; agree; consent: Example: To acquiesce halfheartedly in a business plan. 62. Clannish - this adjective is used to describe a group of people who are very close and as such rather closed off or standoffish towards others. Example: Their clannish behavior makes it hard to approach them to ask for help. 63. Cull - this is a noun that means to reduce the population of a group of animals by killing a select few. Example: The farmer will cull sickly chickens in the hope of saving the flock. 64. Dauntless - this adjective is used to describe a person or a person’s actions that are considered bold or brave. It also implies that they are persistent in the face of danger or people advising them to change their minds. Example: The most famous explorers in history needed to be dauntless in the face of the unknown. 65. Dreary - the adjective is used to describe a situation or a person that is gloomy or cheerless. Example: Dark clouds and the hint of rain cast a dreary light over the beach. 66. Gambol - you can use this verb if you want to say that someone or something is running and jumping around in a playful manner. Example: Watching the children gambol with their new puppy really lifted my spirits. 67. Grotesque - you can use this adjective to say that you think something is very ugly and odd-looking. Example: The gargoyles on medieval cathedrals were deliberately carved to be as grotesque as possible. 68. Jubilant - this adjective is used to imply that someone is extremely, visibly happy about something. Example: Henry and Paul were so jubilant over their football team winning they were dancing in the street. 69. Officious - this is an adjective that is used to describe someone who is overeager and offering unwanted help. Example: Allan and Betty just wanted to browse, but the officious salesperson trailing them around made them uncomfortable. 70. Opulence - this is a noun that denotes a show of wealth or abundance. Example: The opulence of the grand hotel had them staring around in awe. 71. Overt - this adjective is used to say that something is obvious. It is a synonym for apparent. Example: There were no overt signs that Zoe had heard Dan and Ben talking about her. 72. Pallid - this adjective is used to describe someone who is pale and white. It’s usually meant to say that someone looks unhealthy. Example : After coming home from the hospital, friends were concerned about how pallid John still looked. 73. Paragon - a paragon is someone who is considered a perfect example. This noun is a synonym for model. Example: Superheroes were originally meant to be paragons of humanity. 74. Pariah - this is a noun that is used to describe someone who is a social outcast or who is being shunned by the majority of their social group. Example: After Ben was caught trying to pass off Mandy’s work as his own, he became the office pariah. 75. Quandary - this is a noun that means a difficult situation or decision. Example: Having to decide between his job and an opportunity to study abroad had Harry in a quandary. 76. Querulous - this is an adjective that is used to describe someone who is fretful or has a habit of whining or complaining. Example: While Mindy loved working at the nursing home, Mr. Santos strained her patients with his querulous questions about meals. 77. Ransack - when you use the verb ransack you are saying that someone was searching for something so frantically, that they made a huge mess. Example: I ransacked my room looking for my phone and it turned out to be behind the sofa cushions. 78. Wonky - inclined to shake as from weakness or defect. Example: The bridge still stands though one of the arches is wonky. 79. Rambunctious - noisy and lacking in restraint or discipline. Example: A social gathering that became rambunctious and out of hand. 80. Quixotic - not sensible about practical matters; idealistic and unrealistic Example: As quixotic as a restoration of medieval knighthood. 81. Lethargic - deficient in alertness or activity Example: Bullfrogs became lethargic with the first cold nights. 82. Ken - range of what one can know or understand Example: "Beyond my ken". 83. Jejune - lacking interest or significance or impact. Example: “Jejune novel". 84. Fervent - characterized by intense emotion Example: “A fervent desire to change society”. 85. Dubious - fraught with uncertainty or doubt Example: “Dubious about agreeing to go”. 86. Capricious - to describe a person or thing that's impulsive and unpredictable. Example: "A capricious summer breeze". 87. Benevolent - for someone who does good deeds or shows goodwill. Example: If your teacher collects homework with a benevolent smile, she's hoping that you've done a good job. 88.Ambiguous - having more than one possible meaning Example: “frustrated by ambiguous instructions, the parents were unable to assemble the toy”. 89. Cynical - believing the worst of human nature and motives; having a sneering disbelief in e.g selflessness of others Example: If you think public officials are nothing but a bunch of greedy buffoons, you have a cynical attitude about politics. 90. Immure - to confine within or as if within walls; imprison. Example: She immure herself alive for the remainder of her existence. 91. Suffusion - the act or operation of suffusing or overspreading, as with a fluid or a color; also, the state of being suffused or overspread Example: A low-voltage landscape spotlight created the desired level and suffusion of light. 92. Mellifluous - having a pleasant and fluid sound. Example: Mellifluous speech of the old greeks. 93. Retinue - the retainers or attendants accompanying a high-ranking person. Example: He had come to accept the fact that he and his retinue were the only people left on earth. 94. Grimoire - a book of magical knowledge, especially one containing spells. Example: Then she unwittingly becomes the host for demonic magic sealed in a grimoire she finds at an estate sale. 95. Corpulent - having an abundance or excess of flesh or fat. Example: All these ladies were remarkably corpulent, which is considered here as the highest mark of beauty. 96. Blithe - carefree and happy and lighthearted. Example: “Was loved for her blithe spirit”. 97. Caesura - is a break in a conversation, a line of verse, or a song. Usually, a caesura means total silence, but not for long. Example: "After an ominous caesura the preacher continued”. 98. Churl - is a rude or nasty person. Example: The basketball player who's constantly jabbing opponents with his elbows and deliberately tripping them is a churl. 99. Ephemeral - lasting a very short time. Example: "The ephemeral joys of childhood”. 100. Litotes - understatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary). Example: “Saying `I was not a little upset' when you mean `I was very upset' is an example of litotes”. MARSILOG <3