December - High frequency words

1. Chicanery - Deception by trickery or sophistry; lack of straightforwardness and honesty in action; legal trickery or false argument; deception, trickery
2. Countenance - Appearance, especially the expression of the face; face or facial features; look or expression indicative of encouragement or of moral support; give sanction or support to; tolerate or approve; disposition of the facial features that conveys meaning, feeling, or mood
3. Circuitry - The design of or a detailed plan for an electric circuit
4. Conundrum - A riddle in which a fanciful question is answered by a pun; paradoxical, insoluble, or difficult problem; a dilemma; anything that arouses curiosity or perplexes because it is unexplained, inexplicable, or secret
5. Commotion - A condition of turbulent motion; clamor, uproar; noisy confusion; disorder
6. Convoluted - Having numerous overlapping coils or folds; intricate; complicated; coiled; twisted
7. Comprehend - To take in the meaning, nature, or importance of; grasp; take in as a part; include; fully understand
8. Chuckle - To laugh quietly or to oneself; cluck or chuck, as a hen; quiet laugh of mild amusement or satisfaction; a soft partly suppressed laugh
9. Nuance - A subtle or slight degree of difference, as in meaning, feeling, or tone; a gradation; expression or appreciation of subtle shades of meaning, feeling, or tone; slight difference; shading; slight variation between nearly identical entities
10. Austerity - The quality of being austere; severe and rigid economy; austere habit or practice; barrenness; grimness; refraining; abstinence; severity
11. Perspicacious - Having or showing penetrating mental discernment; clear-sighted; observant, perceptive
12. Mottled - Mark with many small spots; variegated pattern, as on marble; spotted or blotched with different shades or colors; speckled
13. Edifice - Something that is built, as for human habitation; a structure; act, process, art, or occupation of constructing; structure that stands more or less permanently in one place
14. Buttress - A means or device that keeps something erect, stable, or secure; present evidence in support of; support, bolster; support built to strengthen a wall
15. Obfuscate - To render indistinct or dim; darken; to make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand
16. Range - A row of connected mountain; limits within which there are changes or differences; line of objects in direct succession, as a range of columns
17. Dilettante - A dabbler in an art or a field of knowledge; lover of the fine arts; a connoisseur; superficial; amateurish; lacking professional skill and ease in a particular pursuit
18. Resilience - The ability to recover quickly from illness, change, or misfortune; buoyancy; property of a material that enables it to resume its original shape or position after being bent, stretched, or compressed; elasticity; flexibility; strength of character
19. Garbled - To mix up or distort to such an extent as to make misleading or incomprehensible; to scramble (a signal or message), as by erroneous encoding or faulty transmission; to sort out; cull; mix up, misrepresent; make false by mutilation or addition
20. Mulish - Stubborn and intractable; recalcitrant; unreasonably rigid in the face of argument or entreaty or attack
21. Gaunt - Thin and bony; angular; emaciated and haggard; drawn; bleak and desolate; barren; skinny, pale; having little flesh or fat on the body; worn and lean, as from hunger or illness
22. Recant - To make a formal retraction or disavowal of (a statement or belief to which one has previously committed oneself); make a formal retraction or disavowal of a previously held statement or belief; to disavow (something previously written or said) irrevocably and usually formally; take back something said; to take back formally an opinion or belief
23. Dust jacket - A removable paper cover used to protect the binding of a book; cardboard sleeve in which a phonograph record is packaged; a paper jacket for a book; a jacket on which promotional information is printed
24. Subterfuge - A deceptive stratagem or device; indirect, usually cunning means of gaining an end; trickery; something intended to misrepresent the true nature of an activity
25. Pugnacious - Combative in nature; belligerent; having or showing an eagerness to fight
26. Taut - Pulled or drawn tight; not slack; strained; tense; marked by the efficient, sparing, or concise use of something, such as language or detail; kept in trim shape; neat and tidy; rigid, tight; (of a ship) having a disciplined and efficient crew
27. Repudiate - To refuse to recognize or acknowledge; reject; turn one's back on; disown
28. Ruminative - Inclined to, or engaged in, rumination or meditation; persistently or morbidly thoughtful
29. Evoke - To summon or call forth; call to mind by naming, citing, or suggesting; create anew, especially by means of the imagination; induce, stimulate
30. Malaise - A vague feeling of bodily discomfort, as at the beginning of an illness; general sense of depression or unease; general feeling of discomfort or uneasiness, often the first indication of an infection or other disease
31. Inept - Unskillful; or not fit or suitable; clumsy, unskilled; incompetent; not suitable; improper
32. Peremptory - Urgent; imperative; overbearing, authoritative; tending to dictate; offensively self-assured; dictatorial; having the nature of or expressing a command; urgent; not allowing contradiction or refusal; imperative; putting an end to all debate or action
33. Emulate - To take as a model or make conform to a model; to strive against (others) for victory; to imitate with intent to learn; strive to equal or excel, especially through imitation; compete with successfully; approach or attain equality with; ambitious; emulous
34. Deplore - To feel or express strong disapproval of; feel or express sorrow for; regret; condemn
35. Exacerbate - To increase the severity, violence, or bitterness of; aggravate; infuriate; make more sharp, severe, or virulent
36. Stymie - An obstacle or obstruction; situation in golf in which an opponent's ball obstructs the line of play of one's own ball on the putting green; frustrate, hinder; a thwarting and distressing situation
37. Vile - Very evil; unpleasant; so objectionable as to elicit despisal or deserve condemnation; heavily soiled; very dirty or unclean; extremely unpleasant to the senses or feelings; having or proceeding from low moral standards; offensive, horrible; loathsome; disgusting
38. Deplore - To feel or express strong disapproval of; feel or express sorrow for; regret; condemn
39. Thwart - To prevent from accomplishing a purpose; stop, hinder; oppose and defeat the efforts, plans, or ambitions of; seat across a boat on which a rower may sit
40. Ostracize - To exclude from a group; to exclude from normal social or professional activities; to force to leave a country or place by official decree; exile, banish; to put into public disfavor
41. Imbue - To inspire or influence thoroughly; pervade; to permeate or saturate; to stain or dye deeply; to cause to be filled, as with a particular mood or tone; infuse, saturate
42. Stinting - To be sparing or thrifty; economize; hold back; restrict or limit, as in amount or number; be sparing with; subsist on a meager allowance; be frugal; length of time spent in a particular way; fixed amount or share of work allotted; limitation or restriction
43. Drivel - To talk foolishly; foolish talk; slobber; drool; saliva flowing from the
44. Accrue - Accumulate or increase; increasing by addition of growth, often financial
45. Taciturn - Disinclined to speak. or inclined to silence; untalkative
46. Draconian - Exceedingly harsh; very severe; of or relating to Draco or his harsh code of laws
47. Propensity - An innate inclination; a tendency; inclination, weakness; ending towards or natural liking
48. Voracious - Consuming or eager to consume great amounts of food; ravenous; having or marked by an insatiable appetite for an activity or pursuit; greedy; very hungry; eating with greediness or in very large quantities
49. Oblivion - The condition or quality of being completely forgotten; act or an instance of forgetting; total forgetfulness; official overlooking of offenses; amnesty; mental blankness; nothingness; state of having been totally forgotten
50. Obduracy - The state or quality of being intractable or hardened; resoluteness by virtue of being unyielding and inflexible; quality or state of being stubbornly inflexible
51. Panache - Dash; verve; bunch of feathers or a plume, especially on a helmet; person's flamboyant spirit; dash or flamboyance in style
52. Debilitate - To sap the strength or energy of; enervate; lessen or deplete the nerve, energy, or strength of; incapacitate; reduce in strength; to weaken
53. Ruminate - To turn a matter over and over in the mind; chew cud; reflect on over and over again; think about seriously; chew over again, as food previously swallowed and regurgitated. ; to think about something for a long time
54. Palpable - Capable of being handled, touched, or felt; tangible; obvious; concrete, real
55. Repertoire - The stock of songs, plays, operas, readings, or other pieces that a player or company is prepared to perform; class of compositions in a genre; range or number of skills, aptitudes, or special accomplishments of a particular person or group; the entire range of skills or aptitudes or devices used in a particular field or occupation; a collection of works that an artist or company can perform
56. Slake - To satisfy (a craving); quench; to lessen the force or activity of; moderate; to cool or refresh by wetting or moistening; to combine (lime) chemically with water or moist air; make less active or intense
57. Apocryphal - Of questionable authorship or authenticity; erroneous; fictitious; questionable; fake; of questionable authenticity
58. Flamboyant - Highly elaborate; ornate; given to ostentatious or audacious display; extravagant, theatrical
59. Buoyant - Having the ability to float; light in weight; lighthearted; gay
60. Extort - To obtain from another by coercion or intimidation; get or cause to become in a difficult or laborious manner
61. Hoodwink - To take in by deceptive means; deceive; trick or mislead; cause to accept what is false, especially by trickery or misrepresentation; influence by slyness; conceal one's true motives from esp. by elaborately feigning good intentions so as to gain an end
62. Slack - Looseness, excess; loose, baggy; lazy, negligent; mixture of coal fragments, coal dust, and dirt that remains after screening coal; small dell or hollow
63. Sunder - To break or wrench apart; sever; a division or separation; to crack or split into two or more fragments by means of or as a result of force, a blow, or strain
64. Bibulous - Given to or marked by the consumption of alcoholic drink; very absorbent, as paper or soil; inclined to drink; of or relating to drink or drinking
65. Miff - A petulant, bad-tempered mood; a huff; petty quarrel or argument; a tiff; cause to become offended or annoyed; annoy, bewilder; a state of irritation or annoyance; extreme displeasure caused by an insult or slight
66. Abrasion - The process of wearing down or rubbing away by means of friction; scraped area on the skin or on a mucous membrane, resulting from injury or irritation; that which is rubbed off
67. Lubricant - A substance, such as grease or oil, that reduces friction when applied as a surface coating to moving parts; one that helps reduce difficulty or conflict; a substance capable of reducing friction by making surfaces smooth or slippery
68. Aesthetic - Showing good taste
69. Orator - A public speaker; eloquent and skilled public speaker
70. Articulate - To speak clearly and distinctly; say clearly, coherently; connect; form a joint; be jointed; characterized by the use of clear, expressive language
71. Addle - To muddle; confuse; become rotten, as an egg; cause to be unclear in mind or intent; mix up or confuse
72. Encipher - To put (a message, for example) into cipher; convert plain text into unintelligible form by means of a cipher system
73. Disparate - Fundamentally distinct or different in kind; entirely dissimilar; containing or composed of dissimilar or opposing elements; at odds, different; not like another in nature, quality, amount, or form; including markedly dissimilar elements; fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind
74. Tantalizing - Enticingly in sight, yet often out of reach; arousing desire or expectation for something unattainable or mockingly out of reach; very pleasantly inviting
75. Catholic - Broad in tastes or interests; all-embracing, general; member of a Catholic church, especially a Roman Catholic
76. Unbuttoned - Free and unrestrained in expression; not under constraint in action or expression; not buttoned
77. Manumit - To free from slavery or bondage; emancipate; free from slavery or servitude
78. Squall - To scream or cry loudly and harshly; brief sudden violent windstorm, often accompanied by rain or snow; short, violent storm
79. Ladle - A long-handled spoon with a deep bowl for serving soup, stew etc
80. Truncate - To decrease, as in length or amount, by or as if by severing or excising; shorten
81. Afflatus - A strong creative impulse, especially as a result of divine inspiration; divine guidance and motivation imparted directly; a creative impulse, an inspiration
82. Tendentious - Marked by a strong implicit point of view; partisan; having or marked by a strong tendency especially a controversial one; bias
83. Profundity - Great depth; depth of intellect, feeling, or meaning; wisdom that is recondite and abstruse and profound; intellectual depth; penetrating knowledge; keen insight; the intellectual ability to penetrate deeply into ideas; the quality of being physically deep
84. Synergy - The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects; cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect; process in which two organs, substances, or agents work simultaneously to enhance the functions and effects of one another; joint work toward a common end
85. Cavil - To find fault unnecessarily; raise trivial objections; quibble about; detect petty flaws in; carping or trivial objection; critic of our own work
86. Spurious - Lacking authenticity or validity in essence or origin; not genuine; false; of illegitimate birth; similar in appearance but unlike in structure or function; counterfeit, fake; fraudulently or deceptively imitative
87. Restive - Uneasily impatient under restriction, opposition, criticism, or delay; resisting control; difficult to control; impatient, nervous; being in a tense state; impatient especially under restriction or delay
88. Demur - To express opposition, often by argument; disagree; to delay
89. Skimp - To deal with hastily, carelessly, or with poor material; be stingy or very thrifty; scanty; be cheap or frugal about; give barely enough or not enough attention, funds or effort
90. Parsimonious - Excessively sparing or frugal; penny-pinching; too economical; stingy
91. Lionize - To look on or treat (a person) as a celebrity; treat as a celebrity; treat as a famous person
92. Chronological - Arranged in order of time of occurrence; relating to or arranged according to temporal order
93. Munificent - Very liberal in giving; generous; showing great generosity
94. Affable - Easy and pleasant to speak to; approachable; gentle and gracious; friendly; characterized by kindness and warm, unaffected courtesy
95. Dapper - Neatly dressed; trim; very stylish in dress; lively and alert
96. Tenable - Capable of being maintained in argument; capable of being held against assault; defensible; reasonable
97. Abate - To lessen; to subside; in metalwork, to cut away or beat down so as to show a pattern or figure in low relief
98. Elucidate - To make clear or plain, especially by explanation; clarify; give an explanation that serves to clarify; make clear or clearer; explain in detail; make the facts more clear; explain
99. Ennui - Listlessness and dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; boredom; condition of being bored
100. Grimace - A sharp contortion of the face expressive of pain, contempt, or disgust
101. Laconic - Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise; short, to the point
102. Hapless - Luckless; unfortunate; involving or undergoing chance misfortune
103. Torrid - Parched with the heat of the sun; intensely hot; sensuous; passionate; ardent; hurried; rapid
104. Gruffness - A throaty harshness; an abrupt discourteous manner
105. Baneful - Causing harm, ruin, or death; harmful; ruinous, injurious
106. Gully - A deep ditch or channel cut in the earth by running water after a prolonged downpour; to wear a deep ditch or channel in; deep ditch cut by running water
107. Canyon - A narrow chasm with steep cliff walls, cut into the earth by running water; a gorge; gulf in mountain area; long, narrow valley with high cliffs on each side
108. Invigorate - To impart vigor, strength, or vitality to; animate; stimulate; heighten or intensify; give life or energy to; make lively; impart vigor, strength, or vitality to
109. Saunter - To walk at a leisurely pace; stroll; leisurely pace; leisurely walk or stroll; stroll; walk in a confident manner; act of walking, especially for pleasure
110. Teeter - To move or behave in an unsteady manner; wobble; wobble back and forth; walk unsteadily; move back and forth or from side to side, as if about to fall; vacillate
111. Hoary - Gray or white with or as if with age; covered with grayish hair or pubescence; old as to inspire veneration; ancient; elderly; trite
112. Arabesque - A ballet position in which the dancer bends forward while standing on one straight leg with the arm extended forward and the other arm and leg extended backward; complex, ornate design of intertwined floral, foliate, and geometric figures; ornate, whimsical composition especially for piano; intricate or elaborate pattern or design
113. Philanthropist - One who practices philanthropy; one who loves mankind, and seeks to promote the good of others; rich (and usually bald) old gentleman who has trained himself to grin while his conscience is picking his pocket
114. Ruminative - Inclined to, or engaged in, rumination or meditation; persistently or morbidly thoughtful; characterized by, or disposed to thought
115. Deflated - To cause to be no longer believed or valued; humiliate; reduce or cause to contract; release contained air or gas from; collapse by releasing contained air or gas; reduce the amount or availability of (currency or credit), effecting a decline in prices
116. Bifurcate - To divide into two parts or branches; separate into two parts or branches; fork; split or divide into two branches
117. Peregrination - A traveling from one country to another; a wandering; sojourn in foreign countries; travel (especially by foot); travels
118. Quagmire - Land with a soft muddy surface; difficult or precarious situation; a predicament; usually low-lying area of soft waterlogged ground and standing water; difficult, often embarrassing situation or condition; bad situation
119. Cortege - A train of attendants, as of a distinguished person; a retinue; ceremonial procession; funeral procession; group following and attending to some important person
120. Obtuse - Lacking in intelligence; blunt, not sharp; stupid; not quick to understand
121. Loft - A large, usually unpartitioned floor over a factory, warehouse, or other commercial or industrial space; a floor converted into an apartment or artist's studio; gallery or balcony, as in a church; backward slant of the face of a golf club head, designed to drive the ball in a high arc; golf stroke that drives the ball in a high arc; thickness of a fabric or yarn; thickness of an item, such as a down comforter, that is filled with compressible insulating material; lay out a full-size drawing of (the parts of a ship's hull, for example); rise high into the air
122. Facet - Any of the many polished sides of a cut gem; any of various sides or appearances; small, plane surface on a hard body such as a bone; flat surface between two column flutes, a fillet; flattened, highly polished wear pattern, as noted on a tooth; particular angle from which something is considered
123. Priggish - Marked by excessive concern for propriety and good form; exaggeratedly proper; conceited; pragmatical
124. Proselytize - To induce someone to convert to one's own religious faith; induce someone to join one's own political party or to espouse one's doctrine; convert (a person) from one belief, doctrine, cause, or faith to another; convert to another faith or religion
125. Recidivism - A slipping from a higher or better condition to a lower or poorer one; the tendency for an ill person to relapse or return to the hospital; the return to a life of crime after a conviction and sentence; tendency to recidivate
126. Hearsay - Unverified information heard or received from another; rumor; evidence based on the reports of others rather than the personal knowledge of a witness and therefore generally not admissible as testimony; idle, often sensational and groundless talk about others; unsubstantiated information
127. Morose - Sullenly melancholy; gloomy; very depressed, pessimistic; gloomy in attitude
128. Malleable - Capable of being shaped or formed, as by hammering or pressure; tractable; able to adjust to changing circumstances; adaptable; pliable; flexible
129. Diminution - The act or process of diminishing; a lessening or reduction; resulting reduction; decrease; statement of a theme in notes of lesser duration, usually one-half, of the original; lessening, reduction
130. Garrulous - Given to excessive and often trivial or rambling talk; tiresomely talkative; wordy and rambling; talkative
131. Inane - One that lacks sense or substance; stupid
132. Patent - A document granting an inventor sole rights to an invention; clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment; unconcealed, conspicuous; easily seen through due to a lack of subtlety; readily seen, perceived, or understood; invent, originate, or be the proprietor of (an idea, for example); grant made by a government that confers on an individual fee-simple title to public lands
133. Surreptitious - Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means; sneaky, secret; trickily secret; conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods; Marked by quiet and caution and secrecy
134. Turbulent - Violently agitated or disturbed; tumultuous; a chaotic or restless character or tendency; causing unrest or disturbance; unruly; rebellious, unmanageable; unsettled, raging (weather); (of a liquid) agitated vigorously; in a state of turbulence; characterized by unrest or disorder or insubordination
135. Upbraid - To criticize for a fault or an offense; to scold; utter a reproach to
136. Infuriate - To make furious, enrage; make very angry
137. Hasten - To move or act swiftly; cause to hurry; speed up; accelerate
138. Spontaneous - Happening or arising without apparent external cause; self-generated; arising from a natural inclination or impulse and not from external incitement or constraint; unconstrained and unstudied in manner or behavior; growing without cultivation or human labor; impulsive, willing; said or done without having been planned or written in advance
139. Vivid - Perceived as bright and distinct; brilliant; having intensely bright colors; having a very high degree of saturation; presented in clear and striking manner; felt with the freshness of immediate experience; active in forming lifelike images
140. Rile - To stir to anger; to stir up (liquid); roil; to trouble the nerves or peace of mind of, especially by repeated vexations; anger, upset; cause annoyance in; disturb, esp. by minor irritations; make turbid by stirring up the sediments of
141. Lacerated - Having a deeply and irregularly incised margin or apex; Cut or wounded in a jagged manner; rip, cut, or tear; wounded; cause deep emotional pain to; distress
142. Graze - To feed on grass or other plants; make light and momentary contact with, as in passing; strike a surface at such an angle as to be deflected; light and momentary contact with another person or thing
143. Turncoat - A person who betrays or deserts his cause or religion or political party or friend etc; who traitorously switches allegiance; person who deserts one cause or party to join an opposing one
144. Nadir - The lowest point
145. Acme - The highest point, as of achievement or development; highest point or state; pinnacle of achievement or physical object; peak of perfection
146. Fastidiousness - Attentiveness to detail; the trait of being meticulous about matters of taste or style
147. Boor - A person with rude, clumsy manners and little refinement; a peasant; clod; a rude or ill-mannered person
148. Stultify - To allege or prove insane and so not legally responsible; cause to appear foolish; deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless; cripple
149. Offhand - Without preparation or forethought; extemporaneously; abrupt, careless; without previous study or preparation; performed or expressed without preparation or forethought
150. Augmented - Larger by a semitone than the corresponding major or perfect interval; added to or made greater in amount or number or strength
151. Exanimate - Lifeless; dead; to deprive of life or spirit; destitute of animation; spiritless; disheartened; deprive of animation or of life; deprived of life
152. Exude - To ooze forth; to discharge or emit (a liquid or gas, for example) gradually; to exhibit in abundance; to flow or leak out or emit something slowly; display, emit
153. Ignominy - Great personal dishonor or humiliation; shameful or disgraceful action, conduct, or character; loss of or damage to one's reputation; shame
154. Harangue - A long pompous speech, especially one delivered before a gathering; speech or piece of writing characterized by strong feeling or expression; a tirade; long, violent, or blustering speech, usually of censure or denunciation; speak in a loud, pompous, or prolonged manner; lecture; long passionate speech
155. Mollify - To calm in temper or feeling; soothe; lessen in intensity; temper; reduce the rigidity of; soften; ease the anger or agitation of; ause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of; make more temperate, acceptable, or suitable by adding something else; moderate
156. Gratuitous - Costing nothing; not required, necessary, or warranted by the circumstances of the case; not necessary; free
157. Quisling - A traitor who serves as the puppet of the enemy occupying his or her country; someone who collaborates with an enemy occupying force
158. Tawdry - Gaudy and cheap in nature or appearance; cheap, tasteless
159. Lull - To make or become calm; pause, calm; ease off; to cause to sleep or rest
160. Tacit - Implied by or inferred from actions or statements; not spoken; not voiced or expressed; conveyed indirectly without words or speech; taken for granted; understood, implied
161. Precept - A principle governing affairs within or among political units; principle intended as a general rule; rule or principle prescribing a particular course of action or conduct; authorized direction or order; a writ