College Vocabulary

abaseVocabulary verb (noun: abasement)
to lower in rank, honor or esteem; to humble.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 2 (grade 8)

abashedVocabulary adjective (verb: abash)
embarrassed and ashamed; made shy or uneasy.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 18 (grade 6)

abateVocabulary verb (noun: abatement)
to lessen or grow less in strength or amount; to die down.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 10 (grade 8)

abdicateVocabulary verb (noun: abdication)
to formally give up a throne, office, or duty.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 3 (grade 8)

abecedarianVocabulary adjective
Arranged alphabetically; rudimentary.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 26 (grade 12)

aberrantVocabulary adjective
Departing from what is normal, usual, or right.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 15 (grade 11)

aberrationVocabulary noun
A departure from what is normal, usual, or expected.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 3 (grade 11)

abetVocabulary verb
Assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 6 (grade 9)

abeyanceVocabulary noun
Temporary cessation or suspension.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 27 (grade 10)

abhorVocabulary verb (adjective: abhorrent)
to hate deeply; to shrink from in disgust.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 5 (grade 6)

abhorrenceVocabulary noun (verb: abhor; adjective: abhorrent)
a feeling of strong hatred and disgust.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 1 (grade 10)

abhorrentVocabulary adjective (verb: abhor)
causing disgust and hatred; morally detestable.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 33 (grade 7)

abideVocabulary verb (past: abode or abided)
To stay or dwell in a place; to remain; to put up with or accept (the common test sense: "abide by the rules," "I cannot abide rudeness").
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 17 (grade 6)

abidingVocabulary adjective (verb: abide)
lasting a long time; firm and unchanging.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 35 (grade 6)

abjectVocabulary adjective
Utterly miserable or hopeless; without pride or dignity (as in "an abject apology").
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 20 (grade 7)

abjureVocabulary verb (noun: abjuration)
to give up a belief or claim solemnly, often under oath or under pressure.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 8 (grade 7)

ablutionVocabulary noun
The act of washing oneself; a ceremonial washing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 5 (grade 11)

abnegationVocabulary noun (often "self-abnegation")
the denial or giving up of one's own interests or desires for a higher purpose.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 3 (grade 8)

abodeVocabulary noun
a home or dwelling place; where one lives or stays.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 15 (grade 8)

abolishVocabulary verb
To formally put an end to a system, practice, or institution.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 12 (grade 9)

abolitionVocabulary noun (verb: abolish; for a person: abolitionist)
the act of ending something completely, especially by law.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 6 (grade 7)

abominableVocabulary adjective
Causing moral revulsion; very bad.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 10 (grade 11)

abominationVocabulary noun (verb: abominate; adjective: abominable)
something hateful and disgusting; a thing that rightly causes loathing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 6 (grade 6)

aboriginalVocabulary adjective
Inhabiting or existing in a land from the earliest times or from before the arrival of colonists.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 26 (grade 12)

abortiveVocabulary adjective
Failing to produce the intended result.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 31 (grade 9)

aboundVocabulary verb
to be present in great numbers; to be richly supplied with something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 28 (grade 6)

abradeVocabulary verb
To scrape or wear away by friction or erosion.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 22 (grade 11)

abridgeVocabulary verb (noun: abridgment)
to shorten a book, speech or passage while keeping its main sense.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 22 (grade 8)

abrogationVocabulary noun
The formal repeal or abolition of a law, treaty, or agreement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 17 (grade 11)

abruptVocabulary adjective (adverb: abruptly)
sudden and unexpected; (also) short or curt in manner.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 21 (grade 6)

abscondVocabulary verb
to leave secretly and in a hurry, usually to escape the law or to get away with something stolen.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 10 (grade 6)

absolutionVocabulary noun
Formal release from guilt or punishment; the declaration of forgiveness of sins.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 18 (grade 10)

absolveVocabulary verb (noun: absolution)
to set free from guilt, blame or punishment; to declare forgiven.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 11 (grade 7)

absorbingVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Capable of arousing and holding the attention.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 16 (grade 9)

abstainVocabulary verb (noun: abstinence)
to hold oneself back from doing or having something, especially food, drink or a pleasure.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 13 (grade 6)

abstemiousVocabulary adjective
sparing in eating and drinking; moderate and self-denying.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 12 (grade 8)

abstemiousnessVocabulary noun
The quality of being sparing or moderate, especially in eating and drinking.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 11 (grade 12)

abstentionVocabulary noun
The act of refraining from something, especially from voting or from drink.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 5 (grade 11)

abstinenceVocabulary noun (verb: abstain)
the choice to hold back from a pleasure or appetite, especially food, drink or sin.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 20 (grade 7)

abstractionVocabulary noun (adjective: abstract)
an idea that cannot be seen or touched; (also) the state of being lost in thought.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 19 (grade 8)

abstruseVocabulary adjective
hard to understand; deep, obscure or highly technical.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 2 (grade 10)

absurdVocabulary adjective (noun: absurdity)
wildly unreasonable or silly; making no sense.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 16 (grade 6)

absurdityVocabulary noun
The quality of being wildly unreasonable, illogical, or ridiculous.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 5 (grade 10)

abundanceVocabulary noun (adjective: abundant)
a very large amount; more than enough.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 12 (grade 6)

abutVocabulary verb
To lie next to or share a boundary with.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 8 (grade 9)

abysmalVocabulary adjective
Extremely bad; very deep.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 15 (grade 10)

abyssVocabulary noun (adjective: abysmal)
a bottomless or immeasurably deep pit or gulf; (also) anything too vast to measure, such as "an abyss of despair."
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 17 (grade 8)

accedeVocabulary verb
To agree or express agreement; yield to another's wish or opinion.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 6 (grade 10)

accentuateVocabulary verb
To stress, single out as important; put stress on; utter with an accent.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 19 (grade 10)

accessionVocabulary verb (also a noun)
The attainment of a position of rank or power, especially a throne.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 6 (grade 9)

accessoryVocabulary adjective
A thing that can be added to something else to make it more useful or attractive; one who aids another in a crime.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 11 (grade 9)

acclaimVocabulary noun and verb
(noun) enthusiastic public praise; (verb) to praise loudly and publicly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 35 (grade 6)

acclamationVocabulary noun
Enthusiastic approval.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 5 (grade 11)

acclimateVocabulary verb
To become accustomed to a new climate or situation.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 16 (grade 9)

accoladeVocabulary noun
The ceremony that makes a man a knight; an award or a mark of high praise (the common test sense).
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 18 (grade 6)

accompliceVocabulary noun
a person who helps another commit a wrong or a crime.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 23 (grade 7)

accordVocabulary noun (also a verb: to accord = to agree, or to grant)
agreement or harmony; "with one accord" means all together, as with one mind.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 11 (grade 6)

accostVocabulary verb
to approach and speak to someone directly and boldly, sometimes aggressively.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 2 (grade 9)

accoutermentsVocabulary noun
Additional items of dress or equipment carried for a particular activity.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 25 (grade 12)

accretionVocabulary noun
Growth or increase by the gradual accumulation of additional layers or matter.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

accrueVocabulary verb
To accumulate or come as a natural result over time.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 5 (grade 9)

accumulateVocabulary verb (noun: accumulation)
to gather or pile up little by little.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 10 (grade 8)

accuracyVocabulary noun (adjective: accurate)
the quality of being exactly correct and true to the facts.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 34 (grade 6)

accusationVocabulary noun
A charge or claim that someone has done something wrong.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 4 (grade 9)

accuseVocabulary verb (noun: accusation)
to charge someone with a fault or crime.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 23 (grade 6)

accustomVocabulary verb
Make psychologically or physically used (to something).
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 19 (grade 10)

acerbicVocabulary adjective
Sharp and forthright in speech or wit; harsh.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 16 (grade 11)

acknowledgmentVocabulary noun
Acceptance of the truth or existence of something; an expression of thanks.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 16 (grade 10)

acmeVocabulary noun
The point at which something is at its best or most highly developed.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

acolyteVocabulary noun
A person assisting the celebrant in a religious service; a follower or assistant.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 24 (grade 12)

acquaintVocabulary verb
To make someone aware of or familiar with.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 26 (grade 9)

acquiesceVocabulary verb (noun: acquiescence)
to accept or agree quietly, without protest.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 4 (grade 7)

acquireVocabulary verb (noun: acquisition)
to gain or come to have something, especially a skill or knowledge, by one's own effort.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 22 (grade 8)

acquisitiveVocabulary adjective
eager to get and keep possessions; grasping.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 12 (grade 7)

acquitVocabulary verb (noun: acquittal)
To declare someone not guilty of a charge; "acquit oneself" = to behave or perform in a certain way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 33 (grade 6)

acquittalVocabulary noun
A judgment of not guilty.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 10 (grade 10)

acridVocabulary adjective
Having an unpleasantly bitter or pungent taste or smell; bitter in manner.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 24 (grade 9)

acrimoniousVocabulary adjective
Angry and bitter in speech or debate.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 5 (grade 10)

acrimonyVocabulary noun (adjective: acrimonious)
bitterness and ill will in speech or manner.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 11 (grade 7)

actuateVocabulary verb
to move a person to act; to drive or motivate.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 32 (grade 7)

acumenVocabulary noun
keen insight and quickness in understanding and judging, especially in a particular field.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 21 (grade 8)

acuteVocabulary adjective (noun: acuteness)
Sharp and keen in noticing or thinking; severe and sudden, as an acute pain or an acute shortage.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 32 (grade 6)

ad hominemVocabulary adjective (also used as a noun: "an ad hominem")
aimed at a person's character or traits instead of at his argument; the fallacy of attacking the man.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 23 (grade 6)

adageVocabulary noun
a short, well-known saying that expresses a general truth.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 26 (grade 8)

adamantVocabulary adjective
firmly fixed in a view or decision; refusing to be moved.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 23 (grade 6)

adaptVocabulary verb (noun: adaptation)
to change oneself or something else in order to suit new conditions.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 9 (grade 6)

addleVocabulary verb
To confuse.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 15 (grade 9)

adduceVocabulary verb
to bring forward or cite something as evidence or proof.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 5 (grade 7)

adeptVocabulary adjective; also a noun (an adept = an expert)
very skilled; expert.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 8 (grade 6)

adherenceVocabulary noun (verb: adhere; adjective: adherent)
the act of sticking closely to a rule, plan or belief; faithful following.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 34 (grade 6)

adherentVocabulary noun (verb: adhere; noun: adherence)
a loyal follower or supporter of a leader, party or cause.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 28 (grade 7)

adhesionVocabulary noun
The action or process of sticking firmly to something; steady devotion or loyalty.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 12 (grade 9)

adjacentVocabulary adjective
lying near or next to something; neighboring.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 12 (grade 8)

adjournVocabulary verb
To break off a meeting with the intention of resuming it later.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 29 (grade 9)

adjudgeVocabulary verb
Declare to be.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 23 (grade 10)

adjudicateVocabulary verb
To make a formal judgment or decision about a disputed matter.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 17 (grade 10)

adjureVocabulary verb
To urge or command someone solemnly, as if under oath.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 23 (grade 9)

administerVocabulary verb
To manage or be responsible for; to dispense or give out, as justice or medicine.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 13 (grade 9)

admissibleVocabulary adjective
Deserving to be admitted.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 1 (grade 11)

admittanceVocabulary noun
The right to enter; the act of admitting someone to enter.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 22 (grade 10)

admixtureVocabulary noun
A mixture; something mixed in.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 5 (grade 11)

admonishVocabulary verb (noun: admonition)
to warn or gently correct someone, usually to help him do better.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 2 (grade 6)

admonitionVocabulary noun (verb: admonish)
a gentle but serious warning or correction.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 27 (grade 6)

admonitoryVocabulary adjective (verb: admonish; noun: admonition)
giving a gentle warning or reproof; meant to caution.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 4 (grade 10)

adolescentVocabulary adjective
In the stage of growth between childhood and adulthood; immature, like a youth.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 17 (grade 9)

adorationVocabulary noun
A feeling of profound love and admiration; the act of admiring strongly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 7 (grade 10)

adornVocabulary verb (noun: adornment)
to make beautiful by adding ornaments; to decorate or add honor to.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 29 (grade 7)

adroitVocabulary adjective
clever and skillful, with the hands or with the mind.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 22 (grade 7)

adroitnessVocabulary noun
Skill, cleverness, or expertness in using the hands or mind.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 11 (grade 12)

adulationVocabulary noun (verb: adulate)
excessive praise or admiration, more than a person deserves.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 11 (grade 7)

adulatoryVocabulary adjective
Expressing excessive admiration or praise.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

adulterateVocabulary verb (also a adjective)
To make impure by adding inferior or foreign substances.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 16 (grade 11)

adumbrationVocabulary noun
The act of providing vague advance indications; representing beforehand; a sketchy or imperfect or faint representation.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 13 (grade 11)

advantageousVocabulary adjective (noun: advantage)
helpful or favorable; likely to bring benefit.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 2 (grade 9)

adventVocabulary noun
The arrival of a notable person or thing; capitalized, the season before Christmas.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 30 (grade 8)

adventitiousVocabulary adjective
Associated by chance and not an integral part.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 8 (grade 11)

adversaryVocabulary noun (adjective: adversarial)
an opponent or enemy in a contest or conflict.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 4 (grade 8)

adverseVocabulary adjective
Contrary to your interests or welfare; in an opposing direction.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 29 (grade 8)

adversityVocabulary noun (adjective: adverse)
hardship, trouble or misfortune.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 7 (grade 6)

advertVocabulary verb (followed by "to")
to turn attention to; to mention or refer to briefly. (Test trap: do not confuse it with *avert*, "to turn away.")
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 12 (grade 8)

advisableVocabulary adjective
Worthy of being recommended or suggested; prudent or wise.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 27 (grade 9)

advocateVocabulary noun and verb (noun: a person who speaks for another; verb: to speak or argue in favor of)
to support or plead for a cause or a person in public; (as a noun) a person who does so.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 6 (grade 7)

aegisVocabulary noun
The protection, backing, or support of a particular person or organization.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

aestheteVocabulary noun
A person who has or affects a special appreciation of art and beauty.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

affabilityVocabulary noun
A disposition to be friendly and approachable (easy to talk to).
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 27 (grade 10)

affableVocabulary adjective (noun: affability)
friendly, pleasant and easy to talk to.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 14 (grade 7)

affectVocabulary verb (adjective: affected = put on, artificial)
To pretend to have or feel something; to put on a show of it; (the more common sense) to influence or change. Tests often use sense 1 and the adjective *affected*.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 25 (grade 8)

affectationVocabulary noun (adjective: affected)
behavior that is put on to impress others; an unnatural or showy manner.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 29 (grade 6)

affidavitVocabulary noun
A written statement confirmed by oath, for use as evidence in court.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 25 (grade 12)

affinityVocabulary noun
a natural attraction or liking; a close likeness or connection. In chemistry, the attraction that makes substances combine.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 10 (grade 8)

affirmVocabulary verb (noun: affirmation)
to state firmly and publicly that something is true.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 9 (grade 6)

affirmativeVocabulary adjective and noun
saying "yes"; in a debate, the side that argues for the resolution.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 30 (grade 6)

afflictVocabulary verb
To cause pain or suffering to; to trouble greatly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 16 (grade 9)

afflictionVocabulary noun (verb: afflict)
great suffering, or the cause of it.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 6 (grade 6)

affluenceVocabulary noun
Abundant wealth.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 30 (grade 10)

affrayVocabulary noun
Noisy quarrel; a noisy fight.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 18 (grade 10)

affrontVocabulary noun; also a verb (to affront = to insult openly)
an open insult that wounds a person's honor or dignity.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 13 (grade 7)

aforesaidVocabulary adjective
Being the one previously mentioned or spoken of.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 14 (grade 10)

aforethoughtVocabulary adjective
Planned beforehand; premeditated, as in malice aforethought.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 28 (grade 12)

agapeVocabulary noun (also a adjective)
In Christian theology, the self-giving love of God for man and of man for God and neighbor.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 18 (grade 12)

agglomerateVocabulary verb (also a adjective)
To collect or form into a mass or group.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 25 (grade 12)

aggrandizeVocabulary verb
To increase the power, status, or wealth of; to make something appear greater than it is.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 27 (grade 12)

aggrandizementVocabulary noun (verb: aggrandize; also self-aggrandizement)
increasing one's own power, wealth, rank or reputation, often at the expense of others.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 29 (grade 7)

aggravateVocabulary verb
Make worse; exasperate or irritate.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 17 (grade 10)

aggressorVocabulary noun (adjective: aggressive)
a person or nation that attacks first or starts a quarrel without provocation.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 3 (grade 10)

aggrieveVocabulary verb
To distress or wrong someone; to treat unjustly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 14 (grade 10)

aghastVocabulary adjective
filled with sudden horror, shock or amazement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 15 (grade 8)

agileVocabulary adjective (noun: agility)
able to move quickly and easily; (also) quick in thinking.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 34 (grade 6)

agilityVocabulary noun
The ability to move quickly and easily.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 18 (grade 9)

agitateVocabulary verb
To make someone troubled or nervous; to stir or shake briskly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 30 (grade 9)

agitationVocabulary noun (verb: agitate)
a state of nervous excitement or troubled worry; (also) a stirring or shaking.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 31 (grade 6)

agogVocabulary adjective
Highly excited.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 6 (grade 11)

agonyVocabulary noun (adjective: agonizing)
very great pain or suffering of body or mind.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 25 (grade 6)

agrarianVocabulary adjective
Relating to cultivated land or the cultivation of land.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

akimboVocabulary adverb (also a adjective)
With hands on the hips and elbows turned outward.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

akinVocabulary adjective
Of similar character; related by blood.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 34 (grade 7)

alacritousVocabulary adjective
Cheerfully eager and ready.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 11 (grade 12)

alacrityVocabulary noun
cheerful eagerness and speed in doing something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 22 (grade 7)

alchemyVocabulary noun (person: alchemist)
the medieval practice that tried to turn common metals into gold and find hidden powers in matter. Some of its careful work with substances later grew into chemistry.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 22 (grade 6)

alembicVocabulary noun
A distilling apparatus once used in alchemy; something that refines or transforms.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 32 (grade 12)

alienateVocabulary verb
To make someone feel isolated or estranged; to turn away the affection of.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 19 (grade 9)

allayVocabulary verb
to calm or lessen a fear, a suspicion, a hunger or a thirst.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 32 (grade 7)

allegationVocabulary noun
A claim or assertion that someone has done something wrong, typically without proof.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 29 (grade 10)

allegeVocabulary verb (noun: allegation)
to claim that something is true, especially a charge of wrongdoing, without yet having proved it.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 21 (grade 6)

allegianceVocabulary noun
loyalty owed to a ruler, nation or cause.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 13 (grade 10)

allegoryVocabulary noun (adjective: allegorical)
a story or picture in which characters and events stand for deeper moral or spiritual meanings.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 3 (grade 9)

alleviateVocabulary verb (noun: alleviation)
to make suffering, pain or a problem less severe.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 1 (grade 10)

alliterationVocabulary noun
The repetition of the same sound at the beginning of nearby words, as in sing a song of sixpence.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 19 (grade 9)

alludeVocabulary verb
To suggest or call attention to indirectly; to hint at.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 23 (grade 9)

allureVocabulary noun and verb (adjective: alluring)
(noun) the power to attract or tempt; (verb) to tempt with something desirable.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 10 (grade 7)

alluringVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Highly attractive and able to arouse hope or desire.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 9 (grade 10)

allusionVocabulary noun (verb: allude)
a brief, indirect reference to a well-known person, story or text.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 18 (grade 7)

alluvialVocabulary adjective
Relating to soil or sand deposited by flowing rivers or floods.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 10 (grade 10)

aloofVocabulary adjective and adverb
standing apart; cool, distant, and reserved toward others.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 18 (grade 6)

alterationVocabulary noun
The action or process of changing something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 6 (grade 10)

altercationVocabulary noun
Noisy quarrel.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 27 (grade 10)

altitudeVocabulary noun
The height of an object or point above sea level.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 30 (grade 8)

altruismVocabulary noun
Selfless concern for the well-being of others.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 28 (grade 12)

amalgamVocabulary noun
A mixture or blend of different elements.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 16 (grade 11)

amalgamateVocabulary verb (also a adjective)
To combine or unite to form one organization or structure.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 11 (grade 12)

amanuensisVocabulary noun
A literary or artistic assistant, especially one who takes dictation or copies manuscripts.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 24 (grade 12)

amassVocabulary verb
to gather or collect a large amount over time.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 34 (grade 6)

ambidextrousVocabulary adjective
Able to use the right and left hands equally well.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 6 (grade 11)

ambiguityVocabulary noun
Uncertainty of meaning; the quality of being open to more than one interpretation.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 16 (grade 11)

ambiguousVocabulary adjective
Open to two or more interpretations; or of uncertain nature or significance; or (often) intended to mislead; having more than one possible meaning.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 9 (grade 11)

ambitVocabulary noun
The scope, extent, or bounds of something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 29 (grade 12)

ambitiousVocabulary adjective
Having a strong desire for success or achievement; requiring great effort.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 28 (grade 8)

ambivalentVocabulary adjective
Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

ambleVocabulary verb
To walk at a slow, relaxed pace.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 34 (grade 8)

ambrosialVocabulary adjective
Exceptionally pleasing to taste or smell; worthy of the gods.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 20 (grade 9)

ambulatoryVocabulary adjective
Relating to walking; able to walk, not bedridden.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 17 (grade 11)

ameliorationVocabulary noun (verb: ameliorate)
the act of making something bad better; improvement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 32 (grade 7)

amenableVocabulary adjective
Open to being acted upon in a certain way; disposed or willing to comply.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 5 (grade 10)

amendVocabulary verb (noun: amendment)
to correct or improve something by making changes; to change one's ways for the better.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 35 (grade 6)

amendsVocabulary noun (usually in the phrase *make amends*)
something done or given to make up for a wrong or an injury.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 19 (grade 8)

amiableVocabulary adjective
friendly, pleasant and easy to like.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 12 (grade 6)

amicableVocabulary adjective
Having a spirit of friendliness; without serious disagreement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 31 (grade 9)

amityVocabulary noun
friendship and goodwill, especially between people or nations.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 20 (grade 8)

amorphousVocabulary adjective
Without a clearly defined shape or form.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 32 (grade 9)

amortizeVocabulary verb
To reduce or pay off a debt with regular payments over time.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 25 (grade 12)

amphibiousVocabulary adjective
Able to live or operate both on land and in water.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 33 (grade 8)

ampleVocabulary adjective
more than enough; large and roomy.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 27 (grade 6)

amplifyVocabulary verb (noun: amplification)
to enlarge or increase; in rhetoric, to make the true size of a good or a wrong felt by its effects, pictures and details.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 1 (grade 7)

amplitudeVocabulary noun
Great size, breadth, or abundance.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 13 (grade 9)

anachronismVocabulary noun (adjective: anachronistic)
something placed in the wrong time period, such as a word, object or idea that does not belong to the age being shown.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 7 (grade 8)

anagnorisisVocabulary noun
The moment in a drama when a character makes a critical discovery, especially of his true identity or situation.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 3 (grade 12)

anagramVocabulary noun (also a verb)
A word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of another.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 19 (grade 12)

analogousVocabulary adjective (noun: analogy)
alike in some ways, so that the two can be fairly compared.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 1 (grade 8)

analogyVocabulary noun
A comparison between two things, usually for the purpose of explanation or clarification.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 30 (grade 8)

analyticalVocabulary adjective (noun: analysis; verb: analyze)
examining something by breaking it into its parts and studying each one logically.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 33 (grade 6)

anaphoraVocabulary noun
repeating the same word or words at the start of several sentences or clauses.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 8 (grade 7)

anarchyVocabulary noun
A state of lawlessness and disorder (usually resulting from a failure of government).
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 13 (grade 9)

anathemaVocabulary noun
Something or someone that one vehemently dislikes; originally, a formal curse by church authority.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

ancestralVocabulary adjective
Belonging to or inherited from one's ancestors.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 5 (grade 9)

anchoriteVocabulary noun
A religious recluse who lives in a sealed cell.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 24 (grade 12)

ancillaryVocabulary adjective
Providing support to a primary activity; subordinate or auxiliary.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 19 (grade 11)

anecdoteVocabulary noun (adjective: anecdotal)
a short story about a person, often told to show character; (on college tests, "anecdotal evidence" means proof that rests on stories, not on careful records).
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 6 (grade 6)

anguishVocabulary noun (adjective: anguished)
severe pain or suffering of body or mind.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 33 (grade 7)

angularVocabulary adjective
Having sharp corners or angles; lean and bony.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 11 (grade 9)

animadvertVocabulary verb
To pass criticism or censure on; to comment critically.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 11 (grade 12)

animateVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
To bring to life; to give energy or spirit to.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 8 (grade 9)

animosityVocabulary noun
strong hostility or hatred.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 13 (grade 6)

animusVocabulary noun
Hostility or ill will, often deep-seated.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 16 (grade 11)

annalsVocabulary noun
A record of events year by year; historical records.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 7 (grade 11)

annexVocabulary verb
To add territory to one's own country by taking possession of it.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 18 (grade 9)

annihilationVocabulary noun (verb: annihilate)
complete destruction; reduction to nothing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 2 (grade 10)

annotateVocabulary verb (noun: annotation)
to add brief notes that explain or comment on a text or a source.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 24 (grade 8)

annuityVocabulary noun
A fixed sum of money paid to someone each year, typically for the rest of their life.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 25 (grade 12)

annulVocabulary verb
to declare invalid; to cancel officially (a law, contract or charter).
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 13 (grade 10)

anodyneVocabulary adjective
Not likely to provoke dissent or offense; inoffensive, often blandly so (originally, pain-relieving).
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 16 (grade 11)

anomalousVocabulary adjective
Deviating from the general or common order or type.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 6 (grade 11)

anomalyVocabulary noun (adjective: anomalous)
something that departs from the normal or expected pattern.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 21 (grade 8)

anonymityVocabulary noun (adjective: anonymous)
the state of having one's name unknown or kept secret.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 29 (grade 6)

antagonistVocabulary noun
the character or force that opposes the main character in a story.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 14 (grade 6)

antagonizeVocabulary verb
To cause someone to become hostile.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 28 (grade 12)

antebellumVocabulary adjective
Occurring or existing before a particular war, especially the American Civil War.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 26 (grade 12)

antecedentVocabulary adjective
Preceding in time or order.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 32 (grade 9)

antedateVocabulary verb
To precede in time; to come before.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

antediluvianVocabulary adjective
Of or relating to the period before the biblical flood; so extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 8 (grade 11)

anthologyVocabulary noun
A published collection of poems or other pieces of writing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 19 (grade 12)

anticVocabulary noun (also a verb)
(Usually plural) grotesque, foolish, or outrageous behavior.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 11 (grade 12)

anticipateVocabulary verb (noun: anticipation)
to expect something and prepare for it ahead of time.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 2 (grade 6)

antimetaboleVocabulary noun
The repetition of words in successive clauses in reverse grammatical order.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 1 (grade 12)

antipathyVocabulary noun (adjective: antipathetic)
a deep-seated feeling of dislike or opposition.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 3 (grade 10)

antiphonVocabulary noun
A short sentence sung or recited before or after a psalm or canticle; a verse sung in response.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 31 (grade 10)

antiquatedVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
So extremely old as seeming to belong to an earlier period.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 9 (grade 10)

antiqueVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Made in or typical of earlier times and valued for its age; out of fashion.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 28 (grade 8)

antiquityVocabulary noun (adjective: antique, antiquated)
The distant past, especially the age of the ancient Greeks and Romans; great age; (plural, antiquities) objects from ancient times.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 1 (grade 8)

antithesisVocabulary noun (plural: antitheses; adjective: antithetical)
Setting two opposite ideas side by side in balanced words; the direct opposite of something (a common test sense).
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 3 (grade 7)

apatheticVocabulary adjective
Showing or feeling no interest, enthusiasm, or concern.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 23 (grade 9)

apathyVocabulary noun (adjective: apathetic)
a lack of interest, feeling or concern; indifference.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 5 (grade 8)

apeVocabulary verb (also a noun, the animal)
to imitate or copy, often in a foolish or clumsy way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 3 (grade 6)

apercuVocabulary noun
A comment or brief reference that makes an illuminating or entertaining point.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 11 (grade 12)

apertureVocabulary noun
An opening, hole, or gap.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 26 (grade 12)

aphorismVocabulary noun
a short, clever saying that states a general truth; another word for a maxim.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 3 (grade 6)

aplombVocabulary noun
calm self-confidence and steadiness, especially under pressure.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 30 (grade 7)

apocalypticVocabulary adjective
Describing or prophesying the complete destruction of the world; momentous or catastrophic.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

apocryphalVocabulary adjective
of doubtful truth or origin; widely told but probably not true.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 1 (grade 8)

apogeeVocabulary noun
The highest or most developed point; the climax.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 15 (grade 11)

apologeticsVocabulary noun
Reasoned arguments in defense of a doctrine, especially of the Christian faith.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 2 (grade 12)

apologyVocabulary noun (verb: apologize; a person who defends a cause = an apologist)
A formal defense or explanation of one's words, actions or beliefs (the older sense, and the one often met in test passages); an expression of regret for a wrong.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 25 (grade 7)

apophasisVocabulary noun
Mentioning something by saying that it will not be mentioned.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 1 (grade 12)

apoplecticVocabulary adjective
Overcome with anger; furious.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 28 (grade 10)

aporiaVocabulary noun
An expression of doubt, real or pretended, about how to proceed; also, an unresolvable puzzle in an argument.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 1 (grade 12)

apostasyVocabulary noun
The abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief or principle.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

apostateVocabulary noun (also adjective; noun for the act: apostasy)
a person who abandons his faith, cause or principles.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 32 (grade 7)

apostropheVocabulary noun (verb: apostrophize)
a figure of speech in which the speaker turns aside to address someone absent or something not human, as if it could hear.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 18 (grade 8)

apothecaryVocabulary noun
A person who prepared and sold medicines; a pharmacist.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 32 (grade 12)

apothegmVocabulary noun
A concise saying or maxim; an aphorism.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

apotheosisVocabulary noun
The highest point in the development of something; the elevation of someone to divine status.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 27 (grade 10)

appallingVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
Causing shock or dismay; very bad.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 6 (grade 9)

apparitionVocabulary noun
a ghostlike figure; a sudden, startling appearance.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 13 (grade 10)

appeaseVocabulary verb (noun: appeasement)
to calm someone's anger by giving in to demands; to satisfy or quiet.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 15 (grade 7)

appellationVocabulary noun
Identifying word or words by which someone or something is called and classified or distinguished from others.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 5 (grade 11)

appendVocabulary verb
Add to the very end; fix to; attach.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 6 (grade 11)

appetiteVocabulary noun
A feeling of craving something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 31 (grade 8)

apportionVocabulary verb
To divide and share out according to a plan.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 1 (grade 11)

appositeVocabulary adjective
Apt in the circumstances; well suited.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

appreciableVocabulary adjective
Enough to be estimated or measured.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 3 (grade 11)

apprehendVocabulary verb (noun: apprehension; adjective: apprehensive)
To grasp with the mind, to understand; to arrest; to anticipate with fear (as in *apprehensive*).
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 6 (grade 8)

apprehensionVocabulary noun (adjective: apprehensive)
Anxious fear that something bad will happen; understanding; arrest.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 20 (grade 7)

apprehensiveVocabulary adjective (noun: apprehension)
anxious or fearful that something bad will happen.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 4 (grade 10)

apprenticeVocabulary noun; also a verb (to be apprenticed)
a person who learns a trade by working under a skilled master.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 22 (grade 6)

appriseVocabulary verb
To inform or tell someone.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 7 (grade 10)

approbationVocabulary noun
approval or praise, especially from someone in authority.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 27 (grade 6)

appropriateVocabulary verb (here, pronounced uh-PRO-pree-ate); also an adjective (suitable)
to take something for one's own use, often without permission.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 23 (grade 8)

approximateVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Close to the actual, but not exact.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 17 (grade 9)

appurtenanceVocabulary noun
An accessory or other item associated with a particular activity or style of living; a minor right attached to property.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 25 (grade 12)

aproposVocabulary adverb (also a adjective)
With reference to; concerning.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

aptVocabulary adjective (noun: aptness; adverb: aptly)
Exactly suited to the moment; fitting; quick to learn; likely or inclined to do something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 32 (grade 6)

aptitudeVocabulary noun
Inherent ability.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 10 (grade 11)

aptnessVocabulary noun
The quality of being appropriate or suitable; a natural tendency.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 14 (grade 11)

aquilineVocabulary adjective
Curved down like an eagle's beak.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 12 (grade 11)

arabesqueVocabulary noun
An ornamental design of intertwined flowing lines; a ballet position on one leg.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 3 (grade 11)

arbiterVocabulary noun (verb: arbitrate)
a person with the authority to judge and settle a dispute; one whose judgment is final.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 11 (grade 8)

arbitraryVocabulary adjective
based on personal whim or chance rather than on reason or a fair rule.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 21 (grade 6)

arbitratorVocabulary noun (verb: arbitrate; noun: arbitration)
a person chosen by both sides to hear a dispute and settle it.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 28 (grade 7)

arborealVocabulary adjective
Living in trees; relating to trees.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

arcaneVocabulary adjective
Understood by few; mysterious or secret.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 18 (grade 11)

archaeologyVocabulary noun (person: archaeologist; adjective: archaeological)
the study of the past by digging up and examining what people left behind.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 11 (grade 6)

archaicVocabulary adjective
Very old or old-fashioned; belonging to an earlier time.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 8 (grade 9)

archaismVocabulary noun
A very old or old-fashioned word or expression no longer in everyday use.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 14 (grade 10)

archetypeVocabulary noun
A perfect or typical example; an original model on which others are based.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 18 (grade 11)

archipelagoVocabulary noun
A group of islands.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 26 (grade 12)

archivistVocabulary noun (related: archive, archives)
a person who keeps, sorts and studies old records and documents.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 10 (grade 6)

ardentVocabulary adjective (noun: ardor)
full of strong, eager feeling; passionate and devoted.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 17 (grade 6)

ardorVocabulary noun (adjective: ardent); British spelling *ardour*
intense enthusiasm or passion.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 1 (grade 10)

arduousVocabulary adjective
needing great effort and endurance; hard and tiring.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 18 (grade 7)

argotVocabulary noun
The jargon or slang of a particular group.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

argumentVocabulary noun (verb: argue)
a claim supported by reasons and evidence; (also) a quarrel. Here, and on college tests, it usually means the first sense.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 21 (grade 6)

aridVocabulary adjective
Very dry, with little or no rain; dull and lifeless (as in "an arid lecture").
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 12 (grade 8)

aridityVocabulary noun
The state of being very dry; lack of interest or imagination.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 5 (grade 11)

aristocraticVocabulary adjective
Belonging to or characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 17 (grade 10)

armisticeVocabulary noun
A state of peace agreed to between opponents so they can discuss peace terms.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 7 (grade 10)

aromaticVocabulary adjective
Having a pleasant and distinctive smell; fragrant.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 16 (grade 9)

arouseVocabulary verb
To stir up a feeling or response; to awaken from sleep.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 4 (grade 9)

arraignVocabulary verb
Call before a court to answer an indictment; accuse of a wrong or an inadequacy.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 16 (grade 10)

arrantVocabulary adjective
Complete; utter (used of something bad, as an arrant fool).
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 19 (grade 10)

arrayVocabulary verb and noun
(verb) to set in order, as troops for battle; to dress in fine clothing; (noun) an orderly or impressive display; a wide range (an array of choices).
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 16 (grade 8)

arrearsVocabulary noun
Money that is owed and should already have been paid.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 18 (grade 9)

arrogantVocabulary adjective (noun: arrogance; KJV form: arrogancy)
proud in an overbearing way; acting as though one is better than others.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 3 (grade 6)

arrogateVocabulary verb
To take or claim something for oneself without justification.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 11 (grade 12)

artfulVocabulary adjective (adverb: artfully)
Clever and skillful; sly and crafty, using cleverness to deceive (the more common sense on tests).
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 15 (grade 6)

articulateVocabulary adjective (ar-TIK-yuh-lit); also a verb (ar-TIK-yuh-late, to put into clear words)
spoken clearly in distinct words; (of a person) able to express ideas clearly and well.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 19 (grade 6)

artificeVocabulary noun
a clever trick or stratagem, especially one meant to deceive; also, skill in making things.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 12 (grade 8)

artlessVocabulary adjective
Characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious; simple and natural; without cunning or deceit.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 16 (grade 10)

ascendancyVocabulary noun
Occupation of a position of dominant power or influence.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 28 (grade 12)

ascendantVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
Rising in power or influence.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 30 (grade 9)

ascertainVocabulary verb
to find out for certain by careful checking.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 10 (grade 6)

asceticVocabulary adjective; also a noun (an ascetic = a person who lives by strict self-denial)
practicing strict self-denial, especially for religious reasons; avoiding comfort and pleasure.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 4 (grade 7)

ascribeVocabulary verb
to credit something to a person or cause; to regard a quality, deed or work as belonging to someone.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 2 (grade 8)

aseityVocabulary noun
The property by which a being exists of and from itself; in theology, God's self-existence.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 18 (grade 12)

ashenVocabulary adjective
Very pale, as with shock or fear.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 14 (grade 9)

asinineVocabulary adjective
Extremely stupid or foolish.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

askanceVocabulary adverb (usually "look askance" or "eye askance")
with a sideways look of doubt, distrust or disapproval.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 19 (grade 6)

askewVocabulary adjective
Not in a straight or level position; awry.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 11 (grade 12)

asperityVocabulary noun
Harshness of tone or manner.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 21 (grade 10)

aspersionVocabulary noun
A disparaging remark; an abusive attack on a person's character or good name.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 9 (grade 11)

aspirantVocabulary adjective
Desiring or striving for recognition or advancement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 29 (grade 10)

aspirationVocabulary noun (verb: aspire)
a strong hope or desire to reach something high or noble.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 20 (grade 7)

aspireVocabulary verb (noun: aspiration; adjective: aspiring)
to long for and aim at something high, such as an honor, an office or an achievement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 6 (grade 8)

assailVocabulary verb (noun: assailant)
to attack violently; also, to attack with words or to trouble greatly ("assailed by doubts").
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 28 (grade 7)

assayVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To try or attempt; to test the purity or quality of a metal.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 27 (grade 8)

assentVocabulary verb; also a noun (to give one's assent)
to agree to a proposal or opinion, often formally.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 7 (grade 6)

assertionVocabulary noun (verb: assert)
a confident statement that something is true, often made without proof.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 7 (grade 6)

asseverateVocabulary verb
To declare or state solemnly and emphatically.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

assiduityVocabulary noun
Great and constant diligence and attention.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 28 (grade 10)

assiduousVocabulary adjective (adverb: assiduously)
showing great care, steady attention and hard work.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 4 (grade 7)

assignationVocabulary noun
An appointment to meet someone; the allocation of something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 25 (grade 12)

assimilateVocabulary verb
To take in and understand fully; to absorb into a larger group.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 3 (grade 11)

assonanceVocabulary noun
The repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words, as in "a host of golden daffodils."
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 22 (grade 11)

assuageVocabulary verb
To make an unpleasant feeling less intense; to soothe or relieve.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 32 (grade 8)

assumeVocabulary verb
To take for granted without proof; to put on a look or quality, often falsely (the sense Bassanio uses, and one tests like to check).
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 12 (grade 7)

assuranceVocabulary noun
A positive declaration intended to give confidence; confidence or certainty.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 35 (grade 8)

astonishVocabulary verb
To surprise or impress greatly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 29 (grade 9)

astoundVocabulary verb
To shock or greatly surprise.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 35 (grade 7)

astoundingVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Surprisingly impressive or notable.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 16 (grade 9)

astralVocabulary adjective
Being or relating to or resembling or emanating from stars.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 9 (grade 11)

astrayVocabulary adverb (also adjective)
off the right path; wandering into error or danger.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 23 (grade 6)

astringentVocabulary adjective
Sharp and severe in manner or criticism; also, causing body tissue to contract.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 15 (grade 11)

astuteVocabulary adjective
quick to see what matters and to use it to one's advantage; shrewd.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 8 (grade 7)

asyndetonVocabulary noun
The omission of conjunctions between words or clauses for effect.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 1 (grade 12)

atavismVocabulary noun
The reappearance of a characteristic from remote ancestors after several generations; a reversion to an earlier type.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

atavisticVocabulary adjective
Relating to or characteristic of distant ancestors; reverting to something ancient or primal.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

atoneVocabulary verb (noun: atonement)
to make amends for a wrong; to set right what one has done wrong.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 25 (grade 6)

atonementVocabulary noun (verb: atone)
making amends for a wrong; (theology) reconciliation between God and sinners, made by Christ's sacrifice.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 2 (grade 9)

atrabiliousVocabulary adjective
Melancholy or ill-tempered.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 11 (grade 12)

atrociousVocabulary adjective
Shockingly brutal or cruel; exceptionally bad or displeasing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 6 (grade 11)

atrocityVocabulary noun (adjective: atrocious)
a shockingly cruel or wicked act.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 32 (grade 7)

atrophyVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To waste away, typically from lack of use.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

attainVocabulary verb (noun: attainment)
to reach or gain something by effort.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 1 (grade 6)

attainmentVocabulary noun
The action of achieving something; an accomplishment.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 27 (grade 9)

attentiveVocabulary adjective (noun: attention; verb: attend)
paying close and careful attention; also, thoughtful of others' needs.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 19 (grade 7)

attenuateVocabulary verb (also a adjective)
To reduce the force, effect, or value of; to weaken or make thin.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 16 (grade 11)

attestVocabulary verb (noun: attestation)
to declare that something is true, especially as a witness; to be clear proof of something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 9 (grade 6)

attributeVocabulary verb (uh-TRIB-yoot); also a noun (AT-ri-byoot, a quality or trait)
(verb) to say that something was written, said or caused by a certain person or source; (noun) a quality belonging to someone.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 35 (grade 6)

attritionVocabulary noun
The gradual wearing down of strength or numbers, as by constant pressure.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 20 (grade 11)

audaciousVocabulary adjective (noun: audacity)
boldly daring, willing to take great risks; (also) shockingly bold or rude.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 3 (grade 6)

audacityVocabulary noun (adjective: audacious)
a willingness to take bold risks; (in a bad sense) rude or shameless boldness.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 8 (grade 7)

audibleVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
Able to be heard.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 6 (grade 9)

auditoryVocabulary adjective
Of or relating to the process of hearing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 11 (grade 10)

augmentVocabulary verb (noun: augmentation)
to make greater in size, amount or strength.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 1 (grade 10)

augurVocabulary verb
To be a sign of a future outcome; to foretell.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 21 (grade 9)

auguryVocabulary noun
An event that is experienced as indicating important things to come.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 22 (grade 9)

augustVocabulary adjective
Respected and impressive; majestic.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

auralVocabulary adjective
Relating to the ear or to the sense of hearing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 17 (grade 11)

aureateVocabulary adjective
Made of or having the color of gold; (of language) highly ornamented or elaborate.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

aureoleVocabulary noun
A circle of light or brightness around the head or body of a person in a painting, especially a saint; a halo.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 11 (grade 11)

auricularVocabulary adjective
Relating to the ear or hearing; told privately in the ear.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 26 (grade 12)

auroralVocabulary adjective
Relating to the dawn; rosy and radiant like the dawn.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 2 (grade 11)

auspicesVocabulary noun
Protection or support; patronage.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 18 (grade 9)

auspiciousVocabulary adjective (noun: auspices)
showing signs of future success; favorable.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 3 (grade 10)

austereVocabulary adjective (noun: austerity)
Severe or strict in manner; plain, simple, and without comfort or ornament.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 12 (grade 8)

austerityVocabulary noun (adjective: austere)
strictness and plainness; a severe, simple way of living without luxury.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 4 (grade 7)

australVocabulary adjective
Of the south; southern.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 26 (grade 12)

authenticVocabulary adjective (noun: authenticity)
genuine; really coming from the person or time it claims to come from.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 7 (grade 8)

authoritativeVocabulary adjective
Reliable because it comes from the best or most official source; commanding, confident in manner.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 21 (grade 8)

authorityVocabulary noun
the right to give orders and make decisions; (also) a person or group that holds that right.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 14 (grade 6)

autocracyVocabulary noun
A system of government by one person with absolute power.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 29 (grade 12)

autocraticVocabulary adjective (nouns: autocrat, autocracy)
ruling with unlimited power and expecting complete obedience; bossy and domineering.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 17 (grade 7)

autodidactVocabulary noun
A self-taught person.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

autumnalVocabulary adjective
Relating to autumn; past the prime of life.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 21 (grade 9)

auxiliaryVocabulary adjective
Functioning in a supporting capacity; furnishing added support.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 12 (grade 10)

avariceVocabulary noun
extreme greed for money or riches. One of the seven deadly sins in the classical Christian tradition.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 14 (grade 6)

avariciousVocabulary adjective
Having or showing an extreme greed for wealth.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 5 (grade 11)

avengeVocabulary verb
To inflict harm in return for a wrong.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 5 (grade 9)

averVocabulary verb
to state firmly that something is true; to declare.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 3 (grade 8)

averseVocabulary adjective
Having a strong dislike of or opposition to something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 4 (grade 9)

aversionVocabulary noun (adjective: averse)
a strong dislike, or a wish to turn away from something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 20 (grade 7)

avertVocabulary verb
To turn away (one's eyes or thoughts); to prevent something bad from happening.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 33 (grade 7)

avidityVocabulary noun (adjective: avid)
intense eagerness or greed for something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 21 (grade 7)

avocationVocabulary noun
A hobby or minor occupation pursued alongside one's main work.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 15 (grade 10)

avowVocabulary verb (noun: avowal; adjective: avowed)
to declare openly and plainly; to admit or affirm.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 2 (grade 9)

avowalVocabulary noun
A statement asserting the existence or the truth of something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 22 (grade 10)

avuncularVocabulary adjective
Kind and friendly toward a younger person, like an uncle.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 26 (grade 10)

awfulVocabulary adjective
(today) very bad; (older, literal sense) full of awe; showing or inspiring reverent fear and wonder.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 16 (grade 8)

awryVocabulary adjective
Away from the expected course; amiss; out of position.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 7 (grade 9)

axiomVocabulary noun
A statement or proposition regarded as self-evidently true.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 22 (grade 10)

azureVocabulary adjective; also a noun (the azure = the blue sky)
bright blue, like a clear sky.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 17 (grade 6)

bacchanalVocabulary noun (also a adjective)
An occasion of wild and drunken revelry.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

badinageVocabulary noun
Frivolous banter.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 27 (grade 9)

baffleVocabulary verb (adjective: baffling)
To confuse completely; to puzzle; to block or check a movement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 16 (grade 7)

balderdashVocabulary noun
Senseless talk or writing; nonsense.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

balefulVocabulary adjective
Threatening harm; menacing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 20 (grade 9)

balkVocabulary verb
To hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 6 (grade 9)

balustradeVocabulary noun
A railing supported by small ornamental pillars.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 22 (grade 12)

banalVocabulary adjective
So lacking in originality as to be dull and ordinary.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 17 (grade 11)

banausicVocabulary adjective
Not operating on a refined or elevated level; mundane and merely utilitarian.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

bandyVocabulary verb (also a adjective)
To pass on or discuss an idea or rumor casually; to exchange words, especially in a quarrel.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

banefulVocabulary adjective (noun: bane)
harmful, destructive or poisonous.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 1 (grade 9)

banishVocabulary verb (noun: banishment)
to drive out or send away for good; to expel from a country or from the mind.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 2 (grade 10)

banterVocabulary noun and verb
friendly, playful teasing talk.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 27 (grade 6)

barbarityVocabulary noun (adjective: barbarous)
savage cruelty; a brutal act.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 32 (grade 7)

baroqueVocabulary adjective
Highly ornate and extravagant in style, as in 17th-century European art and music.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

barrenVocabulary adjective
(of land) producing few or no plants; (in older usage) unable to have children; (figuratively) empty and unfruitful.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 28 (grade 6)

barrennessVocabulary noun
The state of being unable to bear children or produce fruit; bleakness and lifelessness.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 13 (grade 11)

bashfulVocabulary adjective
Reticent, shy, and easily embarrassed.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 31 (grade 9)

bastionVocabulary noun
A projecting part of a fortification; figuratively, an institution that strongly defends particular principles.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

bathosVocabulary noun
An abrupt, unintended shift from the lofty to the trivial in speech or writing, producing a ridiculous effect.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

batteredVocabulary adjective (verb: batter)
damaged or worn by repeated blows, attacks, or hard use.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 4 (grade 8)

baubleVocabulary noun
A small, showy trinket or ornament of little value.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 7 (grade 10)

beatificVocabulary adjective
Blissfully happy; imparting holy bliss.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 17 (grade 12)

beatitudeVocabulary noun
Supreme blessedness; any of the blessings pronounced by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 11 (grade 11)

bedevilVocabulary verb
To cause great and continual trouble to; to plague.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

bedlamVocabulary noun
A scene of uproar and confusion (from Bethlem, an old London hospital for the insane).
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

bedraggledVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Limp and soiled as if dragged in the mud; in deplorable condition.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 9 (grade 11)

befallVocabulary verb (befell, befallen)
to happen to someone or something, usually something bad.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 6 (grade 6)

befittingVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Appropriate to.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 8 (grade 10)

befuddleVocabulary verb
To cause to become unable to think clearly; to confuse.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

begetVocabulary verb (past: begot or begat; past participle: begotten)
To father a child; to cause or bring about (the common test sense: "violence begets violence").
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 30 (grade 7)

begrudgeVocabulary verb
to resent someone for having something; to give something unwillingly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 2 (grade 8)

beguileVocabulary verb
to trick or deceive, often by charm; (also) to charm or pass the time pleasantly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 14 (grade 6)

behemothVocabulary noun
A huge or monstrous creature or thing (from the beast described in Job 40).
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

behestVocabulary noun
An authoritative command or request.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 12 (grade 9)

beholdenVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Under a moral obligation to someone.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 9 (grade 10)

belaborVocabulary verb
To argue or explain at excessive length; to attack with harsh criticism.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 19 (grade 10)

belatedVocabulary adjective
After the expected or usual time; delayed.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 16 (grade 9)

beleagueredVocabulary adjective (verb: beleaguer)
surrounded by enemies or troubles; under constant pressure.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 10 (grade 8)

belfryVocabulary noun
The part of a bell tower in which bells are housed.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 22 (grade 12)

belieVocabulary verb
To give a false idea of; to disguise (tests often check this sense: "her calm face belied her fear"); to show something to be false.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 25 (grade 7)

belittleVocabulary verb
to make a person or deed seem small or unimportant; to speak of someone as less than he is.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 2 (grade 8)

bellicoseVocabulary adjective (noun: bellicosity)
eager to fight; warlike and aggressive.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 19 (grade 7)

belligerentVocabulary adjective; also a noun (a nation or person at war)
eager to fight; hostile and aggressive.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 13 (grade 7)

bellwetherVocabulary noun
One who leads or indicates trends; originally, the lead sheep wearing a bell.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

bemoanVocabulary verb
To express sorrow or discontent about.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 19 (grade 9)

bemusedVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Puzzled, confused, or bewildered.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

benedictionVocabulary noun
a blessing, especially one spoken at the close of a worship service.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 26 (grade 8)

benefactorVocabulary noun
a person who gives help to another person or to a cause, especially money or protection.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 6 (grade 7)

beneficenceVocabulary noun (adjective: beneficent)
active kindness; doing good to others.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 13 (grade 8)

beneficialVocabulary adjective (noun: benefit; person: benefactor)
producing good results; helpful or useful.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 10 (grade 7)

benevolenceVocabulary noun (adjective: benevolent)
kindness; a wish to do good to others.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 6 (grade 7)

benevolentVocabulary adjective (noun: benevolence)
kindly; wishing and doing good to others.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 8 (grade 6)

benightedVocabulary adjective
Overtaken by night; in a state of ignorance, lacking knowledge or understanding.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 17 (grade 8)

benignVocabulary adjective
Gentle and kind; harmless (a benign tumor is not dangerous).
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 33 (grade 7)

benignityVocabulary noun (adjective: benign)
kindness and gentleness of character; a gracious, well-meaning disposition.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 2 (grade 10)

benisonVocabulary noun
A spoken blessing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 15 (grade 10)

bequeathVocabulary verb (noun: bequest)
to leave property to someone in a will; (more broadly) to hand something down to those who come after.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 33 (grade 7)

bequestVocabulary noun (verb: bequeath)
something left to another person by a will, such as money, land or an instruction.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 27 (grade 7)

berateVocabulary verb
Censure severely or angrily.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 3 (grade 11)

bereaveVocabulary verb (most often as adjective "bereaved"; noun: bereavement)
to take away a loved one, especially by death; to leave someone grieving.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 33 (grade 7)

bereavedVocabulary adjective (verb: bereave; noun: bereavement)
having lost a close relative or friend through death.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 25 (grade 6)

bereftVocabulary adjective (verb: bereave)
sadly deprived of something or someone; left without.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 34 (grade 6)

beseechVocabulary verb (past: besought)
to ask earnestly; to beg.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 5 (grade 6)

besetVocabulary verb (past: beset)
to trouble or attack on all sides and without letup.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 23 (grade 8)

besiegeVocabulary verb (noun: siege)
To surround a town or castle with an army in order to capture it; to crowd around or overwhelm with requests.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 7 (grade 6)

besmirchVocabulary verb
to soil or stain; most often, to damage someone's good name.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 22 (grade 7)

besottedVocabulary adjective
Strongly infatuated; stupefied, as with drink.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 29 (grade 10)

bespokeVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Made to order; custom-made.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

bestialVocabulary adjective
Resembling a beast; showing lack of human sensibility.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 14 (grade 10)

bestowVocabulary verb
to give something as a gift or an honor; (older sense) to put away or store.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 12 (grade 6)

bestrideVocabulary verb
To stand or sit astride something; to dominate.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 15 (grade 9)

betokenVocabulary verb
Be a signal for or a symptom of; indicate by signs.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 7 (grade 11)

betrayalVocabulary noun (verb: betray)
the act of breaking faith with someone who trusted you, or handing them over to an enemy.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 9 (grade 7)

bevyVocabulary noun
A large group of people or things of a particular kind.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

bewailVocabulary verb
to express deep sorrow over something; to mourn aloud.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 3 (grade 9)

bewilderedVocabulary adjective (verb: bewilder; noun: bewilderment)
completely confused and puzzled.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 30 (grade 6)

bewildermentVocabulary noun (verb: bewilder; adjective: bewildered)
deep confusion, like that of someone who is lost.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 16 (grade 6)

bewitchVocabulary verb
To put under a spell; to charm or delight so strongly that one cannot look away (the common modern sense).
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 26 (grade 6)

biasVocabulary noun; also a verb (to bias = to influence unfairly)
a leaning for or against someone or something that keeps a person from judging fairly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 21 (grade 6)

bibliophileVocabulary noun
A person who collects or has a great love of books.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 19 (grade 11)

bibulousVocabulary adjective
Excessively fond of drinking alcohol.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

bickerVocabulary verb (also a noun)
Argue over petty things.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 15 (grade 9)

bifurcateVocabulary verb (also a adjective)
To divide into two branches or forks.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

bigotryVocabulary noun
Stubborn and unreasonable intolerance of others' opinions or of other people.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 18 (grade 9)

bildungsromanVocabulary noun
A novel dealing with a person's formative years and moral education.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 3 (grade 12)

biliousVocabulary adjective
Bad-tempered and irritable; affected by nausea.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 14 (grade 10)

bilkVocabulary verb
To cheat or defraud, especially out of money.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 20 (grade 11)

biographerVocabulary noun (noun: biography; adjective: biographical)
a person who writes the account of another person's life.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 4 (grade 8)

birthrightVocabulary noun
A right or privilege belonging to a person because of birth, often to the firstborn son.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 26 (grade 9)

bitternessVocabulary noun
A feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will; a rough and bitter manner.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 34 (grade 8)

bivouacVocabulary verb
A temporary camp without tents or cover, used especially by soldiers.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 2 (grade 11)

bizarreVocabulary adjective
very strange or odd, especially in a way that is hard to explain.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 32 (grade 6)

blamelessVocabulary adjective
free from fault or guilt; innocent of wrongdoing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 11 (grade 6)

blanchVocabulary verb
To turn pale from shock, fear, or cold.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 24 (grade 9)

blandishVocabulary verb
To coax with flattery; to cajole.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

blandishmentVocabulary noun
A flattering or pleasing statement or action used to persuade.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 27 (grade 9)

blandnessVocabulary noun
The quality of being smooth and mild, sometimes insincerely so; lack of strong features.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 14 (grade 11)

blasphemyVocabulary noun
Speaking irreverently or contemptuously about God or sacred things.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 15 (grade 9)

blatantVocabulary adjective
very obvious and done openly, without shame (usually of something bad); in older use, noisy and loud-mouthed.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 21 (grade 7)

blazonVocabulary verb
To display prominently or proclaim; to describe or paint a coat of arms.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 25 (grade 9)

bleakVocabulary adjective
cold, bare, and gloomy; (also) offering little hope.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 10 (grade 8)

blemishVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To spoil the appearance or beauty of; to tarnish one's character.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 23 (grade 9)

blightVocabulary verb and noun
(verb) to spoil, damage or ruin; (noun) a disease that withers plants, or anything that spoils or ruins.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 15 (grade 6)

blissfulVocabulary adjective
Completely happy and contented.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 22 (grade 9)

blitheVocabulary adjective (adverb: blithely)
Cheerful and carefree; careless, not showing proper concern (tests often check this second sense).
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 14 (grade 6)

blockadeVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To seal off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 5 (grade 9)

bludgeonVocabulary verb
To beat with a heavy club; to bully into doing something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 28 (grade 9)

bluestockingVocabulary noun
An intellectual or literary woman.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 24 (grade 12)

blunderVocabulary noun and verb
a careless or foolish mistake; (verb) to make one, or to move clumsily.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 29 (grade 6)

blusterVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To talk in a loud, aggressive, or boastful way with little effect; of wind, to blow in gusts.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 9 (grade 10)

bodeVocabulary verb (noun: foreboding)
to be a sign of what is coming; to foretell. Usually in the phrases *bode well* and *bode ill*.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 1 (grade 9)

boisterousVocabulary adjective (adverb: boisterously)
noisy, rough, and full of energy.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 17 (grade 6)

bolsterVocabulary verb
To support or strengthen; to prop up.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 4 (grade 9)

bombardVocabulary verb
To attack continuously with shells or bombs; to direct a flow of questions at.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 31 (grade 9)

bombastVocabulary noun (adjective: bombastic)
high-sounding, puffed-up language with little real meaning behind it.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 29 (grade 7)

bonhomieVocabulary noun
Cheerful friendliness; geniality.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

boomingVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Loud and deep; flourishing and growing rapidly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 6 (grade 9)

boonVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
A thing that is helpful or beneficial; a blessing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 28 (grade 8)

boondoggleVocabulary noun (also a verb)
Work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of value.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

boorishVocabulary adjective (noun: boor)
rough and ill-mannered; coarse and careless of other people's feelings.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 19 (grade 8)

bootlessVocabulary adjective
Unproductive of success.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 12 (grade 11)

botchVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To carry out a task badly or carelessly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

bounteousVocabulary adjective
Given or giving freely.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 17 (grade 10)

bountifulVocabulary adjective (noun: bounty)
Generous in giving; large in quantity, plentiful.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 7 (grade 7)

bourgeoisVocabulary adjective
Belonging to or typical of the middle class, especially in a conventional or materialistic way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 8 (grade 9)

bovineVocabulary adjective
Relating to cattle; dull, slow, and stolid like an ox.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 10 (grade 9)

bowdlerizeVocabulary verb
To remove material considered improper from a text, often weakening it.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

brackishVocabulary adjective
Slightly salty, as is the mixture of river water and seawater.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 6 (grade 11)

braggadocioVocabulary noun
Vain and empty boasting.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 13 (grade 11)

braggartVocabulary noun
a person who boasts loudly about himself.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 1 (grade 9)

brandishVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To wave or flourish something, especially a weapon, as a threat or in excitement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 32 (grade 8)

brashVocabulary adjective
Self-assertive in a rude, noisy, or overbearing way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 10 (grade 11)

bravadoVocabulary noun
a bold, showy display of courage meant to impress, often hiding fear or foolishness.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 22 (grade 7)

bravuraVocabulary noun
Great technical skill and brilliance shown in a performance.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

brawlVocabulary noun and verb
a rough, noisy fight or quarrel; to fight in this way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 17 (grade 6)

brawnyVocabulary adjective
(of a person) possessing physical strength and weight; rugged and powerful.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 22 (grade 9)

brazenVocabulary adjective; also a verb (to brazen it out = to face something boldly and without shame)
bold in a shameless way; showing no embarrassment when one should.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 14 (grade 8)

breachVocabulary noun; also a verb (to breach = to break through)
A break or gap, as in a wall; in older English, the breaking of waves; the breaking of a law, promise or trust (the common test sense).
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 13 (grade 7)

brevityVocabulary noun (adjective: brief)
the quality of being short, especially of using few words.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 23 (grade 7)

brigandVocabulary noun
A member of a gang that ambushes and robs people in forests and mountains.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 23 (grade 12)

brillianceVocabulary noun
Intense brightness of light; exceptional talent or intelligence.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 11 (grade 10)

brimstoneVocabulary noun
Sulfur; the fire of divine punishment.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 12 (grade 11)

brineVocabulary verb
Water strongly saturated with salt; the sea.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 6 (grade 9)

briskVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Quick and energetic; imparting vitality and energy.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 30 (grade 8)

bristleVocabulary verb
To stand up stiffly, as hair does; to react angrily or defensively.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 34 (grade 8)

brittleVocabulary adjective
Hard but liable to break or shatter easily.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 8 (grade 9)

broachVocabulary verb
To open a cask to draw out liquid; to bring up a subject for discussion (the common modern and test sense).
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 14 (grade 6)

broadsideVocabulary noun
A large printed sheet posted or read in public; a strong attack in words. The second sense is common on college tests, as in "a broadside against the new tax.".
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 34 (grade 6)

bromideVocabulary noun
A trite and unoriginal idea or remark, intended to soothe (originally, a sedative).
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

brookVocabulary verb
To tolerate or allow (usually in the negative).
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

brotherhoodVocabulary noun
The relationship between brothers; a feeling of kinship and fellowship among people.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 35 (grade 8)

brouhahaVocabulary noun
A noisy and overexcited reaction or response to something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

browbeatVocabulary verb
To intimidate with stern or abusive words.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 26 (grade 10)

bruitVocabulary verb
To spread a report or rumor widely.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 15 (grade 12)

bruntVocabulary noun
The chief impact of a blow, attack, or burden.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 24 (grade 9)

brusqueVocabulary adjective
Abrupt or offhand in speech or manner.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 34 (grade 8)

brutishVocabulary adjective
like a beast; coarse, savage, or without reason.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 15 (grade 8)

buccaneerVocabulary noun (also a verb)
A pirate, originally one preying on Spanish colonies in the West Indies; a reckless adventurer.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

bucolicVocabulary adjective
Relating to the pleasant aspects of country life; pastoral.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 17 (grade 11)

buffoonVocabulary noun (noun: buffoonery)
a ridiculous clown; a person who acts the fool, often to win favor.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 13 (grade 7)

buffooneryVocabulary noun
Behavior that is ridiculous but amusing; clowning.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

bugbearVocabulary noun
A cause of obsessive fear, irritation, or loathing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

bulwarkVocabulary verb
A defensive wall; a person or thing acting as a defense.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 19 (grade 9)

bumptiousVocabulary adjective
Self-assertive or proud to an irritating degree.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

bunglerVocabulary noun
A person who does something clumsily or incompetently.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

buoyantVocabulary adjective (noun: buoyancy)
Able to float; cheerful and quick to recover from trouble (the sense tests often check).
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 29 (grade 7)

burbleVocabulary verb
To make a continuous murmuring noise; to speak in an unintelligible or silly way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

burdensomeVocabulary adjective
Not easily borne; wearing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 29 (grade 10)

burgeonVocabulary verb
To begin to grow or increase rapidly; to flourish.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 16 (grade 11)

burlesqueVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
A parody or absurd imitation of a serious work.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 32 (grade 9)

burnishVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To polish by rubbing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 18 (grade 9)

bustleVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To move energetically and busily.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 33 (grade 8)

busybodyVocabulary noun
A meddling or prying person who interferes in the affairs of others.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 32 (grade 11)

buttressVocabulary verb
A projecting support of stone or brick built against a wall; something that supports or strengthens.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 25 (grade 9)

bygoneVocabulary adjective (also a noun: "let bygones be bygones")
belonging to an earlier time; past.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 26 (grade 7)

byzantineVocabulary adjective
Excessively complicated and detailed, often deviously so.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 24 (grade 11)

cabalVocabulary verb
A secret political clique or faction; a group of plotters.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 11 (grade 9)

cabalisticVocabulary adjective
Having a secret or hidden meaning.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 17 (grade 10)

cachetVocabulary noun
Prestige; the state of being respected or admired.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

cacophonyVocabulary noun
A harsh, jarring mixture of sounds.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 15 (grade 11)

cadaverousVocabulary adjective
extremely pale, thin or gaunt, like a corpse.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 4 (grade 10)

cadenceVocabulary noun
the rise and fall of the voice in speaking or reading; a regular rhythm or beat.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 19 (grade 7)

cadgeVocabulary verb
To ask for or obtain something to which one is not strictly entitled; to beg.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 3 (grade 11)

caesuraVocabulary noun
A pause or break in a line of verse, often marked by punctuation.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 1 (grade 12)

cageyVocabulary adjective
Reluctant to give information owing to caution or suspicion.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

cajoleVocabulary verb
to coax someone into doing something by flattery, sweet talk or gentle pressure.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 11 (grade 7)

calamitousVocabulary adjective
Involving calamity; catastrophic or disastrous.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

calamityVocabulary noun (adjective: calamitous)
a sudden event that causes great loss or distress; a disaster.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 21 (grade 7)

calculatingVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Acting in a scheming and selfish way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 9 (grade 10)

calibrateVocabulary verb
To adjust precisely for a particular function; to correlate readings with a standard.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

calligraphyVocabulary noun
Decorative handwriting or handwritten lettering.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 20 (grade 12)

callousVocabulary adjective (noun: callousness)
hardened so that one no longer feels pity for others' suffering; insensitive.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 1 (grade 7)

callowVocabulary adjective
young and inexperienced; not yet mature.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 18 (grade 6)

calumniateVocabulary verb
Charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 28 (grade 10)

calumnyVocabulary noun (plural: calumnies)
a false statement made on purpose to damage someone's good name.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 8 (grade 7)

camaraderieVocabulary noun
friendship and trust among people who share work, hardship or danger.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 10 (grade 7)

canardVocabulary noun
An unfounded rumor or false story.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 17 (grade 11)

candidVocabulary adjective (noun: candor)
honest and direct; speaking openly, without hiding what one thinks.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 8 (grade 7)

candorVocabulary noun (adjective: candid)
open, honest frankness in speech, even when the truth is hard.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 6 (grade 6)

cannyVocabulary adjective
Having or showing shrewdness and good judgment.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 6 (grade 9)

canonVocabulary noun (adjective: canonical)
A rule, law or standard by which things are judged; the accepted list of books in Scripture or of great works in literature. Do not confuse it with *cannon*, the gun.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 15 (grade 8)

cantVocabulary noun (also a verb)
Hypocritical and sanctimonious talk; also, the special jargon of a group.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

cantankerousVocabulary adjective
Bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 35 (grade 7)

canticleVocabulary noun
A hymn or chant forming a regular part of a church service, with words taken from the Bible.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 18 (grade 12)

capaciousVocabulary adjective
Having a lot of space inside; roomy.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 20 (grade 9)

capitulateVocabulary verb (noun: capitulation)
to surrender, especially on agreed terms; to give in to pressure or argument.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 31 (grade 7)

capitulationVocabulary noun (verb: capitulate)
surrender, especially on agreed terms; giving in to an opponent's demands.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 28 (grade 7)

capriceVocabulary noun (adjective: capricious)
a sudden, unexplained change of mind or behavior; a whim.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 2 (grade 10)

capriciousVocabulary adjective
Given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 27 (grade 9)

captiousVocabulary adjective
Tending to find and call attention to faults.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 27 (grade 9)

captivateVocabulary verb
To attract and hold the interest and attention of; to charm.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

carapaceVocabulary noun
The hard upper shell of a turtle or crustacean; figuratively, a protective shell of manner.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

cardinalVocabulary adjective
Of the greatest importance; chief.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 27 (grade 8)

careenVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To move swiftly and in an uncontrolled way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 25 (grade 9)

caricatureVocabulary verb (also a noun)
A picture or description in which features are exaggerated for comic or grotesque effect; to portray in this way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 29 (grade 9)

carnageVocabulary noun
the killing of large numbers of people, especially in battle.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 3 (grade 10)

carnalVocabulary adjective
Relating to the body and its appetites rather than the spirit.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 6 (grade 9)

carouseVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To drink plenty of alcohol and enjoy oneself with others in a noisy, lively way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 4 (grade 11)

carpVocabulary verb
To complain or find fault continually about trivial matters.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 11 (grade 11)

carpingVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
Continually finding fault, especially about trivial matters.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

cartographerVocabulary noun
A person who draws or produces maps.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 32 (grade 12)

cartographyVocabulary noun
The science or practice of drawing maps.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

castellanVocabulary noun
The governor of a castle.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 21 (grade 12)

castigationVocabulary noun
A severe scolding; verbal punishment.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 14 (grade 11)

casuistryVocabulary noun
The use of clever but unsound reasoning, especially in relation to moral questions; sophistry.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 25 (grade 12)

catachresisVocabulary noun
The misuse of a word, or a strained and paradoxical metaphor.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 1 (grade 12)

cataclysmVocabulary noun (adjective: cataclysmic)
a sudden, violent event that brings great destruction or change.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 5 (grade 8)

catalogueVocabulary noun; also a verb (to catalogue = to list in order)
a list of items or examples set out one after another.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 8 (grade 7)

catalystVocabulary noun
a person or thing that causes or speeds up an important change; (in chemistry) a substance that speeds up a reaction without being used up itself.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 24 (grade 8)

cataractVocabulary noun
A large waterfall; a sudden rush of water; a clouding of the lens of the eye.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 25 (grade 9)

catastropheVocabulary noun
A state of extreme (usually irremediable) ruin and misfortune; an event resulting in great loss and misfortune.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 6 (grade 10)

catechesisVocabulary noun
Religious instruction given to prepare a person for full membership in the church, often by question and answer.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 2 (grade 12)

catechismVocabulary noun
A summary of Christian doctrine in the form of questions and answers, used for teaching.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 11 (grade 10)

categoricalVocabulary adjective
Unambiguously explicit and direct.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 18 (grade 10)

caterwaulVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To make a shrill howling or wailing noise.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

catharsisVocabulary noun
The release of strong, pent-up emotion, especially through art or tragedy.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 15 (grade 11)

catholicVocabulary adjective
Including a wide variety of things; universal (lowercase, as in the Creed's catholic church).
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 18 (grade 12)

causalityVocabulary noun
The relation between causes and effects.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 13 (grade 11)

causeVocabulary noun (also a verb: to cause = to make happen)
The case or side a person argues for, as in a court or a debate; a principle or purpose people work for; a reason something happens. "Words in context" questions often test sense 1 or 2.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 30 (grade 6)

causticVocabulary adjective
Able to burn or eat away by chemical action; bitingly sarcastic or harsh in speech (the test sense).
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 11 (grade 7)

cauterizeVocabulary verb
To burn the skin or flesh of a wound to stop bleeding or prevent infection; to deaden feeling.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 25 (grade 10)

cautiousVocabulary adjective (noun: caution)
careful to avoid danger or mistakes.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 28 (grade 6)

cavalcadeVocabulary noun
A formal procession of people on horseback or in carriages.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 6 (grade 11)

cavalierVocabulary adjective
Showing a lack of proper concern; offhand.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 16 (grade 9)

caveatVocabulary noun
A warning or proviso of specific stipulations or limitations.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 28 (grade 12)

cavilVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To raise trivial or petty objections.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 15 (grade 11)

cavortVocabulary verb
To jump or dance around excitedly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 2 (grade 11)

ceaseVocabulary verb (noun: cessation; adjective: ceaseless)
to stop; to bring or come to an end.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 22 (grade 6)

ceaselessVocabulary adjective
Uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 22 (grade 10)

cedeVocabulary verb
To give up power or territory.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 28 (grade 12)

celebratedVocabulary adjective (verb: celebrate; noun: celebrity)
widely known and praised; famous.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 25 (grade 7)

celerityVocabulary noun
swiftness of movement or action; speed.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 24 (grade 8)

celestialVocabulary adjective
of the sky or of heaven; heavenly, divine.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 3 (grade 7)

cenotaphVocabulary noun
A monument to someone buried elsewhere, especially one commemorating soldiers who died in war.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 22 (grade 12)

censorVocabulary verb
To examine and remove material considered objectionable.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 19 (grade 9)

censoriousVocabulary adjective
Harshly critical or expressing censure.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 8 (grade 11)

censureVocabulary verb and noun
to criticize strongly and formally; (noun) harsh, official disapproval.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 6 (grade 8)

centrifugalVocabulary adjective
Tending to move away from a center; tending away from centralization, as of authority.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 3 (grade 11)

centurionVocabulary noun
The commander of a century in the ancient Roman army.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 23 (grade 12)

cerebralVocabulary adjective
Intellectual rather than emotional or physical; of the brain.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 26 (grade 12)

ceremonialVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
Marked by pomp or ceremony or formality.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 33 (grade 8)

certaintyVocabulary noun (adjective: certain)
the state of being sure; a fact that is settled beyond doubt.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 11 (grade 6)

certifyVocabulary verb
To declare or confirm formally as true or accurate.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 13 (grade 9)

ceruleanVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
Deep blue in color, like a clear sky.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 30 (grade 12)

cessationVocabulary noun
A stopping.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 7 (grade 10)

cessionVocabulary noun
The act of ceding.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 32 (grade 10)

chafeVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To make sore by rubbing; to become impatient because of a restriction.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 31 (grade 9)

chaffVocabulary noun (also a verb)
The husks separated from grain; figuratively, worthless things.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

chagrinVocabulary noun (also verb: to be chagrined)
a feeling of embarrassment and annoyance at having failed or looked foolish.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 23 (grade 6)

chancelVocabulary noun
The part of a church near the altar, reserved for the clergy and choir.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 22 (grade 12)

chaosVocabulary noun (adjective: chaotic)
complete disorder and confusion; in older writers, the formless matter before God gave the world its shape.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 17 (grade 8)

chaoticVocabulary adjective
In a state of complete confusion and disorder.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 31 (grade 8)

charitableVocabulary adjective
Generous in giving to the needy; kind and lenient in judging others.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 16 (grade 9)

charlatanVocabulary noun
A person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge or skill.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 24 (grade 12)

charnelVocabulary adjective
A building or vault where bones or bodies are kept; ghastly, suggesting death.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 29 (grade 10)

charyVocabulary adjective
Characterized by great caution and wariness.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 10 (grade 10)

chasmVocabulary noun
a deep, wide opening in the earth; (figuratively) a great gap or difference between people or ideas.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 20 (grade 6)

chastenVocabulary verb
to correct or discipline someone in order to make him better; (also) to make humble.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 24 (grade 6)

chastiseVocabulary verb (noun: chastisement)
to punish or scold severely in order to correct.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 4 (grade 6)

chattelVocabulary noun
A personal possession; an item of property other than land or buildings.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 21 (grade 12)

cherishVocabulary verb
To protect and care for lovingly; to hold dear.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 33 (grade 8)

cherubicVocabulary adjective
Having the plump, innocent, or childlike face of a cherub.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

chiasmusVocabulary noun
A rhetorical figure in which words or ideas are repeated in reverse order, as in the pattern "A of B, B of A."
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 1 (grade 12)

chicaneryVocabulary noun
The use of trickery to deceive.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 18 (grade 11)

chideVocabulary verb (past tense: chided or chid)
to scold or rebuke someone, usually mildly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 18 (grade 7)

chimeraVocabulary noun (adjective: chimerical)
an impossible or foolish fancy; a hope or idea that cannot come true.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 1 (grade 10)

chimericalVocabulary adjective
Existing only as the product of unchecked imagination; fantastically visionary.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 13 (grade 11)

chivalrousVocabulary adjective
Courteous and gallant, especially toward women; marked by the ideals of knighthood.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

chivalryVocabulary noun (adjective: chivalrous)
the medieval code of knighthood (courage, honor, loyalty, and protecting the weak); (also) courteous, gallant behavior.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 17 (grade 6)

cholericVocabulary adjective
Easily moved to anger; quickly aroused to anger.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 11 (grade 11)

choralVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
Related to or written for or performed by a chorus or choir.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 11 (grade 9)

chortleVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To laugh in a breathy, gleeful way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

christenVocabulary verb
To baptize and give a name to; to name.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 34 (grade 8)

chronicleVocabulary noun and verb
(noun) a record of events set down in the order they happened; (verb) to record events in that way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 10 (grade 6)

chronologicalVocabulary adjective (noun: chronology)
arranged in the order in which events happened.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 10 (grade 6)

chthonicVocabulary adjective
Relating to or inhabiting the underworld.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 30 (grade 12)

churlVocabulary noun
A rude, ill-bred, or mean-spirited person.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

churlishVocabulary adjective (noun: churl)
rude, ungracious and mean-spirited.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 22 (grade 7)

cipherVocabulary noun (also a verb)
A secret or disguised way of writing; a code; also, a person of no importance.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 12 (grade 12)

circuitousVocabulary adjective
Deviating from a straight course; marked by obliqueness or indirection in speech or conduct.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 20 (grade 10)

circulateVocabulary verb
To move continuously through a closed system; to pass from person to person or place to place.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 5 (grade 10)

circumferenceVocabulary noun
The boundary line encompassing an area or object; the size of something as given by the distance around it.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 23 (grade 10)

circumlocutionVocabulary noun
A style that involves indirect ways of expressing things; an indirect way of expressing something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 11 (grade 11)

circumnavigateVocabulary verb
Travel around, either by plane or ship.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 23 (grade 10)

circumscribeVocabulary verb
To restrict within limits; to draw a line around.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 29 (grade 11)

circumspectVocabulary adjective
careful to consider all circumstances and consequences before acting or speaking; cautious.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 8 (grade 8)

circumventVocabulary verb (noun: circumvention)
to find a way around an obstacle; to get around a rule or an enemy by cleverness.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 29 (grade 7)

citadelVocabulary noun
a fortress that guards a city; (figuratively) a safe stronghold or place of retreat.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 20 (grade 7)

citeVocabulary verb (noun: citation)
to name a source or quote it as proof or as an example.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 12 (grade 6)

civilityVocabulary noun (adjective: civil)
formal politeness and respect in speech and behavior, especially toward someone you disagree with.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 21 (grade 6)

claimVocabulary noun; also a verb (to claim = to state that something is true)
a statement that something is true, made in a way that invites proof; in an argument, the main point you want the reader to accept.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 21 (grade 6)

clairvoyantVocabulary adjective; also a noun (a clairvoyant = one who claims to see the future)
seeming to see things that cannot be seen by ordinary means, especially things to come.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 19 (grade 7)

clamberVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To climb or move awkwardly, using both hands and feet.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

clamorVocabulary noun and verb (British and KJV spelling: clamour; adjective: clamorous)
a loud, confused noise, especially of shouting; (verb) to demand loudly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 19 (grade 6)

clamorousVocabulary adjective
Conspicuously and offensively loud; given to vehement outcry.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 29 (grade 10)

clandestineVocabulary adjective
done in secret, usually because it is forbidden or dangerous.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 1 (grade 7)

clangorVocabulary noun (also a verb)
A continuous loud banging or ringing sound.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

clarifyVocabulary verb
To make a statement or situation less confused and more clear.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 29 (grade 8)

clarionVocabulary verb (also a adjective)
A shrill, narrow-tubed war trumpet; as an adjective, loud and clear.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 12 (grade 10)

clarityVocabulary noun
the quality of being clear and easy to understand; in description, plain, exact words in a clear order.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 9 (grade 8)

classifyVocabulary verb
To arrange in classes or categories.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 9 (grade 9)

cleftVocabulary noun (also a verb)
A fissure or split, especially in rock or the ground.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 27 (grade 11)

clemencyVocabulary noun
mercy or leniency, especially from a judge or ruler toward someone who deserves punishment.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 2 (grade 7)

clericalVocabulary adjective
Having to do with the clergy, such as priests or ministers; having to do with office work like filing and copying, which is the newer sense.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 14 (grade 8)

clerisyVocabulary noun
Learned or literary people regarded as a class.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 30 (grade 12)

climaxVocabulary noun (adjective: climactic)
the turning point of a story, the moment of highest tension and decision; (in general) the highest or most intense point of anything.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 16 (grade 6)

clinchVocabulary verb; also a noun
to settle something firmly and finally, as with an argument, a deal or a victory.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 17 (grade 7)

cloisterVocabulary noun; also a verb (to cloister = to shut away from the world). Adjective: cloistered.
A covered walkway around a courtyard in a monastery; a monastery or convent, or the quiet life lived there; any place shut off from the busy world.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 25 (grade 7)

cloutVocabulary noun (also a verb)
Influence or power, especially in politics or business.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 28 (grade 11)

cloyVocabulary verb
To disgust or sicken with an excess of sweetness, richness, or sentiment.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 13 (grade 12)

coagulateVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Of a fluid, to change to a solid or semisolid state; to clot.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 26 (grade 10)

coalesceVocabulary verb
To come together and form one mass or whole.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 1 (grade 11)

coarseVocabulary adjective
Rough or harsh in texture; rude or vulgar in manner.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 27 (grade 8)

coaxVocabulary verb
To persuade gradually or gently.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 14 (grade 9)

codaVocabulary noun
The concluding passage of a piece of music or a work of literature.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 10 (grade 11)

coddleVocabulary verb
To treat in an overprotective or indulgent way.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 34 (grade 8)

codexVocabulary noun
An ancient manuscript in book form rather than a scroll.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 3 (grade 12)

codicilVocabulary noun
An addition or supplement that explains, modifies, or revokes a will.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

codifyVocabulary verb
To arrange laws, rules, or practices into a systematic code.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 17 (grade 11)

coerceVocabulary verb
To persuade an unwilling person to do something by force or threats.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 9 (grade 11)

coercionVocabulary noun (verb: coerce; adjective: coercive)
the use of force or threats to make someone act against his will.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 14 (grade 7)

coevalVocabulary adjective
Of the same period.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 4 (grade 11)

cogentVocabulary adjective
clear, logical and convincing; strong enough to persuade.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 9 (grade 6)

cogitationVocabulary noun
Attentive consideration and meditation; a carefully considered thought about something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 13 (grade 11)

cognateVocabulary adjective
Related in origin, especially of words from the same root.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 23 (grade 11)

cognizantVocabulary adjective
having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization or perception.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 1 (grade 11)

cognomenVocabulary noun
A nickname; an extra personal name given to an ancient Roman citizen.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 14 (grade 11)

coherentVocabulary adjective (noun: coherence)
logically connected and easy to follow; making sense as a whole.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 9 (grade 6)

cohortVocabulary noun
A group of people banded together; an ancient Roman military unit.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 24 (grade 12)

coincidenceVocabulary noun
A remarkable occurrence of events or circumstances at the same time without apparent causal connection.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 12 (grade 9)

collaborateVocabulary verb (noun: collaboration)
to work together with others on a shared task.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 21 (grade 8)

collateVocabulary verb (noun: collation)
To gather information from several sources and arrange it in order; to compare texts carefully to note where they differ.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 22 (grade 8)

collateralVocabulary noun (also a adjective)
Something pledged as security for repayment of a loan.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 28 (grade 12)

collideVocabulary verb
To hit by accident when moving; to come into conflict.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 6 (grade 9)

collocationVocabulary noun
The act of positioning close together (or side by side); a grouping of words in a sentence.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 14 (grade 11)

colloquialVocabulary adjective (noun: colloquialism)
suited to ordinary, everyday conversation rather than formal writing.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 25 (grade 8)

colloquyVocabulary noun
A conversation, especially a formal one; a conference.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 13 (grade 12)

colludeVocabulary verb
To cooperate secretly in order to deceive or gain an unfair advantage.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

collusionVocabulary noun
Agreement on a secret plot; secret agreement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 12 (grade 11)

colonnadeVocabulary noun
A row of columns supporting a roof or entablature.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 22 (grade 12)

colophonVocabulary noun
A statement at the end of a book giving information about its printing; a publisher's emblem.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 3 (grade 12)

colossalVocabulary adjective
Extremely large.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 14 (grade 9)

colossusVocabulary noun
A statue much bigger than life size; a person or thing of enormous size or importance.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 29 (grade 12)

combativeVocabulary adjective
Ready or eager to fight; argumentative.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 7 (grade 11)

combustibleVocabulary adjective
Able to catch fire and burn easily; excitable, easily angered.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 13 (grade 12)

combustionVocabulary noun
The process of burning; violent agitation or excitement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 13 (grade 9)

comelinessVocabulary noun
The quality of being good looking and attractive.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 13 (grade 11)

comelyVocabulary adjective
pleasant to look at; attractive in a wholesome way. Also, in older English, fitting or proper.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 18 (grade 8)

comestibleVocabulary noun (also a adjective)
An item of food.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 26 (grade 11)

comeuppanceVocabulary noun
A punishment or fate that someone deserves.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 13 (grade 12)

comityVocabulary noun
Courtesy and mutual respect, especially between nations or groups.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 19 (grade 11)

commandeerVocabulary verb
To take possession of something, especially by military authority, without the owner's consent.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 13 (grade 12)

commemorateVocabulary verb (noun: commemoration)
to honor the memory of a person or event with a ceremony, a day, or a monument.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 24 (grade 6)

commemorativeVocabulary adjective (verb: commemorate)
serving to honor and keep alive the memory of a person or event.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 5 (grade 7)

commenceVocabulary verb
To begin; to start.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 34 (grade 8)

commendVocabulary verb (noun: commendation; adjective: commendable)
To praise formally; to entrust to someone's care.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 4 (grade 8)

commensurateVocabulary adjective
Corresponding in size or degree or extent.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 2 (grade 11)

commingleVocabulary verb
Mix or blend; mix together different elements.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 24 (grade 10)

commiserationVocabulary noun (verb: commiserate)
sympathy and sorrow for someone else's suffering.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 3 (grade 10)

commissionVocabulary noun; also a verb (to commission = to order or authorize)
An official paper that gives an officer his rank and command; a duty or task given to someone; a group given authority to do a task.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 3 (grade 8)

committalVocabulary noun
The action of sending someone to prison or a hospital; the burial of a body at a funeral.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 27 (grade 10)

commodiousVocabulary adjective
roomy and comfortable; having plenty of space.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 13 (grade 6)

commonplaceVocabulary noun and adjective
In rhetoric, a speech that amplifies a wrong or good deed everyone already admits; (the usual test sense) ordinary, unremarkable, met with every day.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 1 (grade 7)

commotionVocabulary noun
A state of confused and noisy disturbance.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 25 (grade 9)

communicativeVocabulary adjective
Able or tending to communicate; of or relating to communication.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 22 (grade 10)

comparativeVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
Measured or judged by comparison with something else; relative.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 8 (grade 9)

compassionVocabulary noun (adjective: compassionate)
sorrow for another person's suffering, together with a desire to help.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 13 (grade 6)

compatriotVocabulary noun
A fellow citizen or countryman.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 24 (grade 12)

compelVocabulary verb
To force or oblige someone to do something.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 14 (grade 9)

compellingVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Evoking interest or attention in a powerful way; persuasive.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 17 (grade 9)

compendiousVocabulary adjective
Containing all necessary or essential facts about a subject, but in a concise form.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 13 (grade 12)

compendiumVocabulary noun (plural: compendiums or compendia)
a collection that gathers much information or many pieces into one; a concise but complete summary.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 32 (grade 7)

compensateVocabulary verb
To give something to make up for loss, suffering, or injury; to make amends.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 10 (grade 9)

competentVocabulary adjective
Having the necessary ability or skill.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 28 (grade 8)

compileVocabulary verb (noun: compilation)
to gather material from many places and arrange it into one collection, such as a book, list or record.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 32 (grade 6)

complacentVocabulary adjective (noun: complacency)
too pleased with oneself or one's situation, and so careless about danger or the need to improve.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 1 (grade 6)

complaisanceVocabulary noun (adjective: complaisant)
a willingness to please others or to go along with what they want; easy obligingness. (Do not confuse it with *complacence*, self-satisfaction.)
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 20 (grade 8)

complaisantVocabulary adjective (adverb: complaisantly)
eager to please; easygoing and willing to go along with others. (Do not confuse it with *complacent*, "smugly self-satisfied.")
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 27 (grade 7)

complementVocabulary verb (also a noun)
To add to something in a way that completes or improves it.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 8 (grade 9)

complexionVocabulary noun
The natural color and look of the skin of the face; the general character or nature of something ("the whole complexion of the war changed").
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 17 (grade 7)

compliantVocabulary adjective
Inclined to agree with others or obey rules, especially to an excessive degree.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 27 (grade 12)

complicityVocabulary noun
taking part with others in a wrong or a crime.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 23 (grade 7)

complyVocabulary verb (noun: compliance)
to act according to a rule, command, or request; to obey.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 24 (grade 6)

comportVocabulary verb
To conduct oneself; to behave.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 13 (grade 12)

composedVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
Serenely self-possessed and free from agitation especially in times of stress.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 34 (grade 7)

compositionVocabulary noun (verb: compose)
the way the parts of a work of art or writing are arranged into a whole; (also) a piece of writing or music.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 11 (grade 8)

composureVocabulary noun (adjective: composed)
calmness and self-control, especially under pressure.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 13 (grade 10)

comprehensibleVocabulary adjective (noun: comprehension)
able to be understood; clear enough to grasp.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 32 (grade 7)

compriseVocabulary verb
To consist of; to be made up of.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 8 (grade 9)

compromiseVocabulary verb and noun
To settle a quarrel by each side giving up something; to expose to danger, suspicion or disgrace (the sense in the reading, and a favorite "words in context" trap).
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 30 (grade 6)

compulsionVocabulary noun
The action of forcing someone to do something; an irresistible urge.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 7 (grade 10)

compunctionVocabulary noun
a pang of conscience; a feeling of guilt that keeps one from doing wrong or follows it.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 23 (grade 6)

concatenateVocabulary verb
To link together in a chain or series.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 22 (grade 11)

concaveVocabulary adjective
Having an outline or surface that curves inward like the inside of a bowl.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 7 (grade 9)

concealVocabulary verb (noun: concealment)
to hide something, or to keep it secret.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 29 (grade 6)

concedeVocabulary verb (noun: concession)
to admit, often unwillingly, that something is true; to give up a point or a contest.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 30 (grade 6)

conceitVocabulary noun (adjective: conceited)
Too high an opinion of oneself; in older English, an idea or opinion (the KJV sense).
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 7 (grade 6)

conceiveVocabulary verb (noun: conception)
to form an idea or plan in the mind; to imagine; to bring something into being.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 23 (grade 7)

conceptionVocabulary noun (verb: conceive)
an idea or plan formed in the mind; (also) the forming of such an idea.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 5 (grade 6)

concertedVocabulary adjective (verb: concert = to plan together)
planned or done together by agreement; jointly arranged. On college tests it usually comes in the phrase "a concerted effort."
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 32 (grade 7)

concessionVocabulary noun (verb: concede)
something granted or admitted, especially a point yielded to the other side in an argument.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 9 (grade 7)

conciliateVocabulary verb (adjective: conciliatory)
to win over from anger; to make peace with by gentle and friendly acts.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 16 (grade 7)

conciseVocabulary adjective (noun: concision)
saying much in few words; brief but complete.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 24 (grade 6)

conclaveVocabulary noun
A private meeting; the assembly of cardinals for the election of a pope.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 13 (grade 12)

conclusiveVocabulary adjective
settling a question beyond reasonable doubt; decisive.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 10 (grade 6)

concoctVocabulary verb
To make a dish by combining ingredients; to invent a story or plan.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 1 (grade 11)

concomitantVocabulary adjective (also a noun)
Naturally accompanying or associated.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

concordVocabulary noun
agreement and harmony between people or things.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 19 (grade 7)

concordanceVocabulary noun
An alphabetical list of the principal words in a book, with their locations; agreement.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 29 (grade 12)

concreteVocabulary adjective (also a noun: the building material)
real, specific and able to be seen or touched; not abstract or vague.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 20 (grade 7)

concurVocabulary verb (noun: concurrence)
to agree; to share the same opinion or to give the same account.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 12 (grade 6)

concurrenceVocabulary noun
Agreement of results or opinions; acting together, as agents or circumstances or events.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 22 (grade 10)

condemnVocabulary verb (noun: condemnation)
To declare guilty and sentence to punishment; to express strong disapproval of.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 30 (grade 6)

condemnationVocabulary noun (verb: condemn)
the act of declaring someone guilty and deserving punishment; strong public disapproval.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 9 (grade 7)

condenseVocabulary verb (noun: condensation)
To change from a gas or vapor into a liquid; to make something shorter or more compact.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 9 (grade 8)

condescendVocabulary verb (adjective: condescending)
(older sense) to come down kindly from a high rank to deal with someone lower; (modern sense, common on tests) to treat others as if they were beneath you.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 17 (grade 6)

condescendingVocabulary adjective
Having or showing a feeling of patronizing superiority.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 9 (grade 10)

condescensionVocabulary noun (verb: condescend; adjective: condescending)
an attitude of acting superior while stooping to deal with "lesser" people. In older English it could also mean gracious kindness toward those of low station.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 3 (grade 10)

condignVocabulary adjective
Fitting and deserved, especially of punishment.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 25 (grade 11)

conditionalVocabulary adjective
Depending on a condition being met.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 14 (grade 9)

condolenceVocabulary noun (verb: condole)
an expression of sympathy to someone who is grieving.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 15 (grade 6)

condoneVocabulary verb
To accept or overlook behavior that is morally wrong.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 11 (grade 9)

conduciveVocabulary adjective (verb: conduce, an older word)
tending to bring about or help produce a result.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 10 (grade 8)

conductVocabulary verb (also a noun: one's conduct = one's behavior)
to lead, carry out or manage something, such as an interview, a meeting or an experiment.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 26 (grade 7)

confederateVocabulary adjective (also a verb)
A person one works with, especially in something secret or wrong; an ally or accomplice.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 4 (grade 9)

conferVocabulary verb
To grant a title, degree, or honor; to consult together.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 32 (grade 8)

confidantVocabulary noun (do not confuse with the adjective *confident*)
a trusted friend to whom one tells private matters and secrets.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 33 (grade 6)

confidenceVocabulary noun (adjective: confident)
firm trust in someone or something, or in what one knows.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 25 (grade 6)

confinementVocabulary noun (verb: confine)
the state of being kept shut in or restricted.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 14 (grade 6)

confirmationVocabulary noun (verb: confirm)
An argument that a story or claim is believable and true; any proof or evidence that shows something is true.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 9 (grade 6)

confiscateVocabulary verb (noun: confiscation)
to take property by authority, often as a penalty.
College Vocabulary, Grade 7, Week 29 (grade 7)

conflagrationVocabulary noun
a great, destructive fire.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 20 (grade 6)

conflateVocabulary verb
To combine two or more ideas or texts into one, often mistakenly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 16 (grade 11)

conflictVocabulary noun; also a verb (con-FLICT = to clash)
a struggle between opposing forces; in a story, what the main character struggles against.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 13 (grade 6)

confluenceVocabulary noun
The junction of two rivers; an act or process of merging.
College Vocabulary, Grade 12, Week 13 (grade 12)

conformableVocabulary adjective
Similar in form or nature; willing to comply.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 33 (grade 8)

confoundVocabulary verb
To throw into confusion or mix up; to puzzle or baffle; to defeat or put to shame.
College Vocabulary, Grade 6, Week 4 (grade 6)

confrontVocabulary verb
To face in hostility or defiance; to deal with a problem directly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 27 (grade 8)

confuteVocabulary verb (noun: confutation)
to prove a person or an argument wrong, completely and convincingly.
College Vocabulary, Grade 8, Week 25 (grade 8)

congealVocabulary verb
To become thick or solid, especially by cooling.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 20 (grade 9)

congenialVocabulary adjective
Pleasant because of a personality or interests similar to one's own; agreeable.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 12 (grade 10)

congregateVocabulary verb
Come together, usually for a purpose.
College Vocabulary, Grade 9, Week 26 (grade 9)

congruentVocabulary adjective
In agreement or harmony; corresponding.
College Vocabulary, Grade 11, Week 15 (grade 11)

conjectureVocabulary noun and verb
a guess or opinion formed without full proof; to form such a guess.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 13 (grade 10)

conjoinVocabulary verb
To join or combine.
College Vocabulary, Grade 10, Week 23 (grade 10)