The Archive
- fatuous
Silly and pointless, typically combined with a smug lack of awareness.
- Egregious
Outstandingly bad; shocking.
- diffident
Modest or shy resulting from a lack of self-confidence.
- Capricious
Impulsive and unpredictable; determined by chance, impulse, or whim
- bellicose
Demonstrating aggressiveness and a willingness to fight.
- Abstemious
Refraining from freely consuming food or strong drink; sparing in diet; abstinent, temperate.
- zealot
A person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals.
- winsome
Attractive or appealing in a fresh, innocent, or charming way.
- Venerate
To treat with great respect and deference.
- Taciturn
Characterised by reserve or a lack of communicative zeal; temperamentally untalkative and disinclined to speak.
- Recalcitrant
Marked by a stubborn unwillingness to obey authority.
- Querulous
Often complaining; suggesting a complaint in expression; fretful, whining.
- Parsimonious
Unwilling to spend money or use resources; frugal and sparing to excess.
- Obviate
To anticipate and prevent or bypass something which would otherwise have been necessary or required.
- Nadir
The lowest point or the point of greatest adversity or despair.
- Mendacious
Not telling the truth; lying or dishonest.
- Lethargic
Sluggish and lacking energy or vitality
- Jejune
Naive, simplistic, and superficial.
- Iconoclast
A person who attacks cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, or established values.
- Harangue
To give a forceful and lengthy lecture or criticism to someone.
- Gregarious
Describing someone who enjoys being in crowds and socialising.
- Ebullient
Enthusiastic; high-spirited.
- Deleterious
Harmful often in a subtle or unexpected way.
- Cogent
Reasonable and convincing; based on evidence.
- Castigate
To punish or reprimand someone severely.
- Banal
Common in a boring way, to the point of being predictable; containing nothing new or fresh.
- Alacrity
Eagerness; liveliness; enthusiasm.
- Pernicious
Causing much harm in a subtle way.
- Laconic
Using as few words as possible; pithy and concise.
- Elucidate
To make clear; to clarify; to shed light upon.
- Petulant
Childishly irritable or sulky
- Magnanimous
Noble and generous in spirit, especially towards a rival or someone less powerful.
- Inexorable
Impossible to prevent or stop; inevitable.
- Vicissitude
A change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant.
- Galvanise
To shock or excite someone into taking action.
- Nefarious
Sinful, villainous, criminal, or wicked, especially when noteworthy or notorious for such characteristics.
- Calligraphic
Relating to or characteristic of beautiful handwriting or calligraphy.
- Obsequious
Obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree.
- Scrutinise
To examine something with great care.
- Churlish
Rude in a mean-spirited and surly way.
- Enervate
To reduce strength or energy; debilitate.
- Sanguine
Optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation.
- tergiversation
The use of equivocal language; evasion of straightforward action or clear-cut commitment.
- Ostracise
To ban a person from a city for five or ten years through the procedure of ostracism.
- Palaver
A village council meeting.
- Ameliorate
To make better, or improve, something perceived to be in a negative condition.
- Garrulous
Excessively or tiresomely talkative.
- Pusillanimous
Showing ignoble cowardice, or contemptible timidity.
- Quixotic
Possessing or acting with the desire to do noble and romantic deeds, without thought of realism and practicality; exceedingly idealistic.
- Organise
To arrange in working order.
- Mellifluous
Flowing like honey.
- Assiduous
Hard-working, diligent or regular (in attendance or work); industrious.
- cacophony
A mix of discordant sounds; dissonance.
- ubiquitous
Being everywhere at once: omnipresent.
- ephemeral
Something which lasts for a short period of time.
- fastidious
Excessively particular, demanding, or fussy about details, especially about tidiness and cleanliness.
- sycophant
One who uses obsequious compliments to gain self-serving favor or advantage from another; a servile flatterer.
- mellifluous
Flowing like honey.
- obfuscate
To make dark; overshadow
- defenestrate
To eject or throw (someone or something) from a window; compare transfenestrate.
- perspicacious
Of acute discernment; having keen insight; mentally perceptive.
- susurration
A low, indistinct continuous whispering sound; a murmur.