Top 100 Vocabulary Words That Adults Should Know – Flashcards
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
Acquiesce
answer
to assent tacitly; submit or comply silently or without protest; agree
question
Acronym
answer
a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words and pronounced as a separate word
question
Ambiguity
answer
doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention
question
Analogy
answer
a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based
question
Anachronism
answer
something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time: The sword is an anachronism in modern warfare.
question
Andragogy
answer
the methods or techniques used to teach adults
question
Antithesis
answer
opposition; contrast
question
Antonym
answer
a word opposite in meaning to another.
question
Articulate
answer
expressed, formulated, or presented with clarity and effectiveness
question
Assonance
answer
partial agreement or correspondence. resemblance of sounds.
question
Benchmarking
answer
a standard of excellence, achievement, etc., against which similar things must be measured or judged
question
Brainstorming
answer
a conference technique of solving specific problems, amassing information, stimulating creative thinking, developing new ideas, etc., by unrestrained and spontaneous participation in discussion.
question
Circumspect
answer
watchful and discreet; cautious; prudent
question
Clandestine
answer
characterized by, done in, or executed with secrecy or concealment, especially for purposes of subversion or deception; private or surreptitious
question
Cognition
answer
the act or process of knowing; perception
question
Collaborate
answer
to work, one with another; cooperate, as on a literary work
question
Colloquial
answer
characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal.
question
Connotation
answer
something suggested or implied by a word or thing, rather than being explicitly named or described
question
Contrived
answer
obviously planned or forced; artificial; strained
question
Conundrum
answer
a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words; anything that puzzles
question
Correlation
answer
mutual relation of two or more things, parts
question
Criterion
answer
a standard of judgment or criticism; a rule or principle for evaluating or testing something.
question
Cumulative
answer
increasing or growing by accumulation or successive additions
question
Curriculum
answer
the regular or a particular course of study in an education
question
Deference
answer
respectful submission or yielding to the judgment, opinion, will
question
Developmental
answer
the act or process of developing; growth; progress
question
Dialect
answer
a special variety of a language
question
Diction
answer
style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words
question
Didactic
answer
intended for instruction; instructive
question
Dissertation
answer
any formal discourse in speech or writing.
question
Divergent
answer
differing; deviating.
question
Egregious
answer
extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant
question
Eloquence
answer
the practice or art of using language with fluency and aptness.
question
Emergent
answer
coming into view or notice; issuing.
question
Empathy
answer
the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another.
question
Enigma
answer
a puzzling or inexplicable occurrence or situation:
question
Epitome
answer
a person or thing that is typical of or possesses to a high degree the features of a whole class
question
Epiphany
answer
a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.
question
Epitaph
answer
a commemorative inscription on a tomb or mortuary monument about the person buried at that site.
question
Erudite
answer
characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly
question
Existential
answer
pertaining to existence. EX: an existential hero.
question
Exponential
answer
of or relating to an exponent or exponents.
question
Formative
answer
giving form or shape; forming; shaping; fashioning; molding
question
Holistic
answer
incorporating the concept of holism, or the idea that the whole is more than merely the sum of its parts, in theory or practice
question
Homonym
answer
a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not, as heir and air
question
Hubris
answer
excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance.
question
Hyperbole
answer
obvious and intentional exaggeration.
question
Incongruous
answer
out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming
question
Infamy
answer
extremely bad reputation, public reproach, or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal, or outrageous act
question
Initiation
answer
formal admission or acceptance into an organization or club, adult status in one's community or society, etc.
question
Innate
answer
existing in one from birth; inborn; native; nherent in the essential character of something
question
Intellectual
answer
appealing to or engaging the intellect
question
Interactive
answer
acting one upon or with the other.
question
Irony
answer
the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning
question
Jargon
answer
the language, especially the vocabulary, peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group
question
Juxtaposition
answer
an act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.
question
Malapropism
answer
an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound.
question
Magnanimous
answer
generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness; high minded; noble
question
Mentor
answer
a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.
question
Metaphor
answer
a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance. Something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem; symbol.
question
Meticulous
answer
taking or showing extreme care about minute details; precise; thorough
question
Mnemonic
answer
assisting or intended to assist the memory
question
Monologue
answer
a prolonged talk or discourse by a single speaker, especially one dominating or monopolizing a conversation.
question
Motif
answer
a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work.
question
Myriad
answer
a very great or indefinitely great number of persons or things. EX: the myriad stars of a summer night.
question
Nemesis
answer
something that a person cannot conquer, achieve
question
Nominal
answer
being such in name only; so-called; putative
question
Norms
answer
a standard, model, or pattern.
question
Obfuscate
answer
to confuse, bewilder, or stupefy.
question
Obtuse
answer
not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull.
question
Onomatopoeia
answer
the formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.
question
Ostentatious
answer
characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others: an ostentatious dresser.
question
Oxymoron
answer
a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect, as in "cruel kindness" or "to make haste slowly.
question
Paradox
answer
a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.
question
Paraphrase
answer
a restatement of a text or passage giving the meaning in another form, as for clearness; rewording.
question
Pedantic
answer
overly concerned with minute details or formalisms, especially in teaching.
question
Pedagogy
answer
the art or science of teaching
question
Perusal
answer
a reading
question
Phonemes
answer
any of a small set of units, usually about 20 to 60 in number, and different for each language, considered to be the basic distinctive units of speech sound by which morphemes, words, and sentences are represented.
question
Phonological
answer
the study of the distribution and patterning of speech sounds in a language and of the tacit rules governing pronunciation.
question
Plagiarism
answer
an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author:
question
Plethora
answer
overabundance; excess:
question
Posthumously
answer
arising, occurring, or continuing after one's death: a posthumous award for bravery.
question
Preposition
answer
any member of a class of words found in many languages that are used before nouns, pronouns, or other substantives to form phrases functioning as modifiers of verbs, nouns, or adjectives, and that typically express a spatial, temporal, or other relationship, as in, on, by, to, since.
question
Pretentious
answer
characterized by assumption of dignity or importance, especially when exaggerated or undeserved
question
Pseudonym
answer
a fictitious name used by an author to conceal his or her identity; pen name.
question
References
answer
a mention; allusion.
question
Reflection
answer
a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration.
question
Rubric
answer
any established mode of conduct or procedure; protocol
question
Sardonic
answer
characterized by bitter or scornful derision; mocking; cynical; sneering: a sardonic grin.
question
Satire
answer
the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
question
Simile
answer
a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in "she is like a rose.".
question
Soliloquy
answer
the act of talking while or as if alone.
question
Superfluous
answer
being more than is sufficient or required; excessive. unnecessary or needless.
question
Syntax
answer
the study of the patterns of formation of sentences and phrases from words.
question
Thesis
answer
a proposition stated or put forward for consideration, especially one to be discussed and proved or to be maintained against objections:
question
Validity
answer
legal soundness or force.
question
Vernacular
answer
using plain, everyday, ordinary language.
question
Virtual
answer
being such in power, force, or effect, though not actually or expressly such
question
Vocational
answer
a strong impulse or inclination to follow a particular activity or career.
