Archive for December, 2006


  1. Absurdism: n: A philosophy, often translated into art forms, holding that humans exist in a meaningless, irrational universe and that any search for order by them will bring them into direct conflict with this universe: “True absurdism is not less but more real than reality.”
  2. Advocate: n: One that pleads in another’s behalf; an intercessor
  3. Aesthetics: adj: Of or concerning the appreciation of beauty or good taste
  4. Aloof: adj: Distant physically or emotionally; reserved and remote
  5. Ambivalent: adj: characterized by a mixture of opposite feelings or attitudes
  6. Amicable: adj: Characterized by or exhibiting friendliness or goodwill; friendly
  7. Angelic: adj: marked by utter benignity; resembling or befitting an angel or saint
  8. Apathetic: adj: Feeling or showing a lack of interest or concern; indifferent
  9. Apocalyptic: adj: Involving or portending widespread devastation or ultimate doom
  10. Aquiline: adj: Curved or hooked like an eagle’s beak
  11. Aristocracy: n.pl: A hereditary ruling class; nobility
  12. Arrogant: adj: Marked by or arising from a feeling or assumption of one’s superiority toward others
  13. Astrology: n: The study of the positions and aspects of celestial bodies in the belief that they have an influence on the course of natural earthly occurrences and human affairs
  14. Barbeque: n: meat that has been barbecued or grilled in a highly seasoned sauce
  15. Bureaucratic: adj: of or relating to or resembling the details of administrative procedure
  16. Cabal: n: A conspiratorial group of plotters or intriguers
  17. Canard: n: An unfounded or false, deliberately misleading story
  18. Chthonian: adj: Of or relating to the underworld
  19. Coup d’etat: n.pl: The sudden overthrow of a government by a usually small group of persons in or previously in positions of authority
  20. Cretin: n: a person of subnormal intelligence
  21. Crusade: n: A vigorous concerted movement for a cause or against an abuse
  22. Cult: n: A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader
  23. Cynical: adj: Believing or showing the belief that people are motivated chiefly by base or selfish concerns; skeptical of the motives of others
  24. Demoniac: adj: Of, resembling, or suggestive of a devil; fiendish
  25. Derivation: n: The form or source from which something is derived; an origin
  26. Dervish: n: A member of any of various Muslim ascetic orders, some of which perform whirling dances and vigorous chanting as acts of ecstatic devotion
  27. Doppelganger: n: A ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its fleshly counterpart
  28. Draconian: adj: Exceedingly harsh; very severe
  29. Effete: adj: Depleted of vitality, force, or effectiveness; exhausted Also Marked by self-indulgence, triviality, or decadence
  30. Emperor: n: The male ruler of an empire
  31. Empyrean: n: The highest reaches of heaven, believed by the ancients to be a realm of pure fire or light
  32. Ergonomics: n: The applied science of equipment design, as for the workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue and discomfort
  33. Erudite: adj: Having or showing profound knowledge
  34. Flippant: adj: Marked by disrespectful levity or casualness; pert
  35. Ghastly: adj: Inspiring shock, revulsion, or horror by or as if by suggesting death; terrifying
  36. Glorious: adj: Characterized by great beauty and splendor; magnificent
  37. Gossamer: n: Something delicate, light, or flimsy
  38. Grandiloquent: n: Pompous or bombastic speech or expression.
  39. Grandiose: adj: Characterized by greatness of scope or intent; grand
  40. Gypsy: n: One inclined to a nomadic, unconventional way of life
  41. Harp: v: To talk or write about to an excessive and tedious degree
  42. Haughty: adj: Scornfully and condescendingly proud
  43. Hoary: adj: Gray or white with or as if with age
  44. Idol: n: An image used as an object of worship
  45. Incarnadine: adj: Blood-red
  46. Incoherent: adj: Unable to think or express one’s thoughts in a clear or orderly manner
  47. Infinitely: adv: Having no boundaries or limits-(definition of infinite)
  48. Lambaste: tr.v: To give a thrashing to; beat
  49. Lampoon: n: A written attack ridiculing a person, group, or institution
  50. Legalese: n: The specialized vocabulary of the legal profession, especially when considered to be complex or abstruse
  51. Malevolent: adj: Having or exhibiting ill will; wishing harm to others; malicious
  52. Mélange: n: a motley assortment of things
  53. Misanthrope: n: One who hates or mistrusts humankind
  54. Mountebank: n: A flamboyant charlatan
  55. Narcissistic: n: A psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem
  56. Necrosis: n.pl: Death of cells or tissues through injury or disease
  57. Nihilism: n: Rejection of all distinctions in moral or religious value and a willingness to repudiate all previous theories of morality or religious belief. Also The belief that destruction of existing political or social institutions is necessary for future improvement
  58. Nuance: n: a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
  59. Obfuscate: tr.v: To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive or understand
  60. Obscure: adj: Not readily noticed or seen; inconspicuous
  61. Occidental: adj: Of or relating to the countries of the Occident or their peoples or cultures; western.  Opposite of oriental
  62. Operose: adj: Involving great labor; laborious.
  63. Opportune: adj: Occurring at a fitting or advantageous time
  64. Pablum: n: Trite, insipid, or simplistic writing, speech, or conceptualization
  65. Paradigm: n: A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality for the community that shares them, especially in an intellectual discipline
  66. Parvenu: n: A person who has suddenly risen to a higher social and economic class and has not yet gained social acceptance by others in that class
  67. Peculiarity: n.pl: An eccentricity; an idiosyncrasy
  68. Petard: n: A small bell-shaped bomb used to breach a gate or wall
  69. Philistine: n: A smug, ignorant, especially middle-class person who is regarded as being indifferent or antagonistic to artistic and cultural values
  70. Pirate: n: One who robs at sea or plunders the land from the sea without commission from a sovereign nation
  71. Portly: adj: Comfortably stout; corpulent
  72. Portmanteau: n.pl: A large leather suitcase that opens into two hinged compartments
  73. Position: n: A place or location
  74. Pragmatic: adj: Dealing or concerned with facts or actual occurrences; practical.
  75. Problematic: adj: Posing a problem; difficult to solve
  76. Pygmy: n: member of any of various peoples, especially of equatorial Africa and parts of southeast Asia, having an average height less than 5 feet (127 centimeters).
  77. Rapier: n: A light, sharp-pointed sword lacking a cutting edge and used only for thrusting
  78. Random: adj: Having no specific pattern, purpose, or objective
  79. Riparian: adj: Of, on, or relating to the banks of a natural course of water
  80. Ritualistic: adj: of or characterized by or adhering to ritualism
  81. Sabbath: n: a day of rest and worship
  82. Satirical: adj: exposing human folly to ridicule
  83. Scatological: n.pl: Obscene language or literature, especially that dealing pruriently or humorously with excrement and excretory functions
  84. Sequence: n: A following of one thing after another; succession
  85. Sesquipedalian: adj: Given to the use of long words
  86. Shadow: n: An area that is not or is only partially irradiated or illuminated because of the interception of radiation by an opaque object between the area and the source of radiation.
  87. Sinusoidal: adj: having a succession of waves or curves
  88. Stoic: adj: Seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain; impassive
  89. Stolid: adj: Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; impassive
  90. Sycophant: n: A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people
  91. Thaumaturgy: n: The working of miracles or magic feats
  92. Thematic: adj: relating to or constituting a topic of discourse
  93. Thunderous: adj: Loud and unrestrained in a way that suggests thunder
  94. Unattainable: adj: impossible to achieve
  95. Vast: adj: Very great in area or extent; immense
  96. Vernal: adj: Characteristic of or resembling spring
  97. Virile: adj: Having or showing masculine spirit, strength, vigor, or power
  98. Vital: adj: Necessary to continued existence or effectiveness; essential
  99. Worthy: adj: Having worth, merit, or value
  100. Wretched: adj: In a deplorable state of distress or misfortune; miserable:

All definitions taken from dictionary.com.  When a word has multiple definitions the primary or intended definition is used