Advanced English Vocabulary Words with

Meanings
Words Definition

Aberration Deviation from normal/expected

Enervate Sap energy from

Venality Susceptibility to bribes/corruption

Betray to reveal or make known something, usually unintentionally

Censure to express strong disapproval

Wanting lacking

Extant still in existence (usually refers to documents)

Maintain to assert

Profligate spending resources recklessly or wastefully

Involved complicated, and difficult to comprehend

Ingenuous to be naïve and innocent

Auspicious favorable, the opposite of sinister

Ambivalent mixed or conflicting emotions about something

Amorphous shapeless

Demur to object or show reluctance

Impertinent being disrespectful; improperly forward or bold

Prodigal rashly or wastefully extravagant

Equivocal confusing or ambiguous

Intimate to suggest something subtly

Belie to give a false representation to; misrepresent

Galvanize to excite or inspire (someone) to action

Veracious truthful

Restive restless

Calumny making of a false statement meant to injure a person’s reputation

Egregious standing out in a negative way; shockingly bad

Iconoclast somebody who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions

Castigate to reprimand harshly

to clear of accusation, blame, suspicion, or doubt with supporting

Vindicate arguments or proof

Ambiguous Open to more than one interpretation, not clear

Parochial narrowly restricted in scope or outlook

Disinterested unbiased; neutral

Mercurial prone to unexpected and unpredictable changes in mood

Artful Cunning/exhibiting artistic skill

Gregarious willingness to socialize

Laconic using very few words

Qualify to make less severe; to limit (a statement)

Upbraid to reproach; to scold

Anomalous not normal

Prevaricate to speak in an evasive way

Venerate to respect deeply

Acrimony bitterness and ill will

Frugal not spending much money (but spending wisely)

Harangue a long pompous speech; a tirade

Amenable easily persuaded

Undermine to weaken
Amalgam a mixture of multiple things

Parsimonious extremely frugal; miserly

Commensurate to be in proportion or corresponding in degree or amount

Innocuous harmless and doesn’t produce any ill effects

Chastise to reprimand harshly

Audacious willing to be bold in social situations or to take risks

Torpor inactivity resulting from lethargy and lack of vigor or energy

Dogmatic not accepting that one’s own beliefs may not be correct

Gall being rude and impertinent, feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will

Cryptic mysterious or vague, usually intentionally

Rustic characteristic of rural life; awkwardly simple and provincial

Didactic instructive (especially excessively)

Platitude a trite or obvious remark

Vociferous conspicuously and offensively loud; given to vehement outcry

Banal repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary

Recondite understanding or knowledge

acknowledge defeat, admit, give over; surrender or relinquish to the

Concede physical control of another

Meticulous marked by extreme care in treatment of details

Dictatorial expecting unquestioning obedience; characteristic of an absolute ruler

Entrenched fixed firmly or securely

Conspicuous without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious

Deferential showing respect

Exacerbate make worse

Fortuitous occurring by happy chance; having no cause or apparent cause

Perfidy deliberate betrayal; a breach of a trust

Decorous characterized by good taste in manners and conduct

Obscure make unclear, not known by many

Frivolous not serious in content or attitude or behavior

Querulous habitually complaining

Incisive having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions

Superfluous more than is needed, desired, or required; serving no useful purpose

Aesthete one who professes great sensitivity to the beauty of art and nature

Engender give rise to

Gossamer characterized by unusual lightness and delicacy

concerned with the appreciation of beauty, set of principles underlying

Aesthetic and guiding the work of a particular artist or artistic movement.

Predilection a strong liking

Inexorable impossible to stop or prevent; stubborn

Eschew Avoid and stay away from deliberately; stay clear of

Mawkish overly sentimental to the point that it is disgusting

Lambast criticize severely or angrily

Diffident modest reserve; lacking self-confidence

Prescience the power to foresee the future

Glut an excessive supply; supply with an excess of

Reticent disinclined to talk, not revealing one’s thoughts

Bucolic relating to the pleasant aspects of the country

Apathetic marked by a lack of interest

Germane relevant and appropriate

Preclude keep from happening or arising; make impossible

Culminate reach the highest or most decisive point

Impudent improperly forward or bold

Gainsay deny or contradict; speak against or oppose

Volubility the quality of talking or writing easily and continuously

Culpability a state of guilt, responsibility

Mitigate make less severe or harsh

Chortle to chuckle, laugh merrily, often in a breathy, muffled way

Treacherous tending to betray; dangerously unstable and unpredictable

exceptionally early development or maturity (especially in mental

Precocious aptitude)

Supplant take the place or move into the position of

earliest stages of development; being or involving basic facts or

Rudimentary principles

Frustrate hinder or prevent (the efforts, plans, or desires) of

Disaffected discontented as toward authority

Guileless free of deceit

Heretic person who holds unorthodox opinions in any field (not merely religion)

contain or include; consider (an instance of something) as part of a

Subsume general rule or principle

Insidious working in a subtle but destructive way

Vilify spread negative information about

Panache distinctive and showy elegance

Derivative not original but drawing strongly on something already in existence,

 especially in reference to a creative product (e.g. music, writing, poetry
etc.)

Immutable not able to be changed

Avaricious excessively greedy

having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one

Haughty views as unworthy

Quotidian found in the ordinary course of events

Refractory stubbornly resistant to authority or control

Jingoism fanatical patriotism

admitting of no doubt or misunderstanding; having only one meaning or

Unequivocal interpretation and leading to only one conclusion

Spurious plausible but false

Eclectic comprised of a variety of styles

Fallacious of a belief that is based on faulty reasoning

Ephemeral lasting a very short time

Staunch firm and dependable especially in loyalty

come from; be connected by a relationship of blood, for example; reason

Derive by deduction; establish by deduction

Elucidate make clearer and easier to understand

Denote be a sign or indication of; have as a meaning

Languid not inclined towards physical exertion or effort; slow and relaxed

Travesty an absurd presentation of something; a mockery

Apathy an absence of emotion or enthusiasm

Tantamount being essentially equal to something

Abstain choose not to consume or take part in (particularly something enjoyable)

Mollify to make someone angry less angry; placate

 noble and generous in spirit, especially towards a rival or someone less
Magnanimous powerful

Itinerant traveling from place to place to work

Tenacious stubbornly unyielding

Juxtapose place side by side for contrast

Vehement marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions

Jubilant full of high-spirited delight because of triumph or success

Ascetic practicing self-denial; one who practices great self-denial

Contrive to pull off a plan or scheme, usually through skill or trickery

Belligerent characteristic of one eager to fight

Forlorn marked by or showing hopelessness

Circumvent cleverly find a way out of one’s duties or obligations

Eminent standing above others in quality or position

Ameliorate make something bad better

Incongruous lacking in harmony or compatibility or appropriateness

Negligible so small as to be meaningless; insignificant

Delineate describe in detail

Aberrant markedly different from an accepted norm

Soporific inducing mental lethargy; sleep inducing

Ignoble dishonorable

Blatant without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious

Acerbic harsh in tone

Exacting requiring and demanding accuracy

Reconcile make (one thing) compatible with (another)

 dependent on (usually used with upon); a gathering of persons
Contingent representative of some larger group

Construe interpreted in a particular way

Provincial characteristic of a limited perspective; not fashionable or sophisticated

Iconoclastic defying tradition or convention

Apocryphal being of questionable authenticity

Intransigent unwilling to change one’s beliefs or course of action

Hackneyed lacking significance through having been overused

Forthcoming available when required or as promised; at ease in talking to others

Expound add details or explanation; clarify the meaning; state in depth

Implausible describing a statement that is not believable

marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial

Pedantic aspects

Petulant easily irritated or annoyed

Pragmatic guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory

Temperance the trait of avoiding excesses

Largess extreme generosity and giving

Espouse to adopt or support an idea or cause

Bumbling lacking physical movement skills, especially with the hands

Implacable incapable of making less angry or hostile

Pundit someone who has been admitted to membership in a scholarly field

Idiosyncrasy a behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual

Tortuous marked by repeated turns and bends; not straightforward

Underscore give extra weight to (a communication)

Abstruse difficult to understand; incomprehensible

Ostentatious intended to attract notice and impress others; tawdry or vulgar

Decorum propriety in manners and conduct

Laudable worthy of high praise

Copious in abundant supply

Opaque not clearly understood or expressed

Discrete constituting a separate entity or part

Refute prove to be false or incorrect

Confound To cause confusion; mistake one thing for another

Exalt praise or glorify

Unscrupulous without scruples or principles

Burgeon grow and flourish

Incorrigible impervious to correction by punishment

Ingratiate gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts

charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and
Denigrate reputation of someone

Eradicate to completely destroy

Exonerate pronounce not guilty of criminal charges

Myopic lacking foresight or imagination

Indifference the trait of seeming not to care

Adamant refusing to change one’s mind

Admonitory serving to warn; expressing reproof or reproach especially as a corrective

Angst A very high feeling of anxiety

Anomaly Something standing out from normal

Bonafede Something which is authentic and real

Bravado An act of bravery mainly for impressing somebody

Cacophony An unpleasant blend of sounds

Carte Blanche The freedom given to one to do what they want to do

Cloying Disgusted by an excess of sweetness

A feeling of already having experienced something that one is facing at

Deja Vu the moment

Dichotomy A contrast between two things totally different from each other

Disheveled Dirtying a person’s clothes

Epitome A person or a thing considered to be the most ideal

Equanimity Being in a very calm state

Equivocate Using a confusing way of speaking for avoiding commitment

Replacing a harsh word by a mild word to avoid saying something

Euphemism unpleasant

Faux Pas An embarrassing act in a social situation

Fiasco A failure which turns into humiliation

Glib A fluent but shallow way of speaking

Gregarious An adjective for being considering a fond person

Harbinger A person who announces the coming of another person

Idiosyncratic Being peculiar or distinctive

Indelicate Showing a lack of understanding and not being delicate

Insidious Proceeding being stealthy and, but having very harmful effects of it

Lurid A color which is so bright that it causes a bad effect

Machiavellian Being cunning, mainly in the field of politics

Malinger Acting to be ill just to skip out on work

Minimalist A person practicing minimalism, mainly in politics

Narcissist A person who admires themselves to a very high extent

Oblivion Being unaware of the happenings in surroundings

A contradictory statement or theory that can be proved true by digging

Paradox deep into it

Quid Pro Quo A favor granted in exchange for something