Ad hominem
Appealing to personal considerations rather than to logic or reason:
Debaters should avoid ad hominem arguments that question their
opponents' motives.
1. directed against a person rather than against his arguments
2. based on or appealing to emotion rather than reason
Apogee
noun) The farthest or highest point; the apex. Synonyms:summit,
height, peak, climax, pinnacle, zenith, acme Usage:It took many years
for the industry to reach its apogee, but only a few more for it to
become defunct.
apropos
(adjective) Being at once opportune and to the point.
Synonyms:relevant, timely Usage:His book about safe investment,
published right before the stock market crash, was more apropos than
he expected.
argot
(noun) A specialized vocabulary or set of idioms used by a particular
group. Synonyms:jargon, lingo, patois, vernacular, slang, cant
Usage:He was a natural linguist, and he kept notebooks, making a
scientific study of the workers' slang or argot, until he could talk quite
intelligibly.
Banal
(adjective) Drearily commonplace and often predictable; trite.
Synonyms:stock, threadbare, hackneyed, old-hat, well-worn, tired
Usage:By his twelfth book, his plots had become downright banal.
blandishment
(noun) Flattery intended to persuade.
Synonyms:cajolery, palaver
Usage:Not even his favorite daughter's blandishment could persuade
him to submit to her whims.
bode
(verb) To be an omen of. Synonyms:augur, portend, foreshadow,
presage, foretell Usage:Her hesitation at his proposal boded trouble in
their future.
chicanery
(noun) Deception by trickery or [Link] trial revealed a
world of crime, corruption and political chicanery.
churl
(noun) A rude, boorish person. Synonyms:boor, barbarian, peasant
Usage:He is a drunken, brawling, perilous churl, as you may find to
your cost.
circumspect
Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; prudent.
Watchful, discreet, wary, cautious.
denizen
(noun) An inhabitant; a resident.
Synonyms:dweller
Usage:I wandered through the empty streets, looking for a single
denizen of this hamlet, but found not one.
encomium
(noun) A formal expression of praise; a tribute.
Synonyms:eulogy, paean, panegyric
Usage:We stand humbled by his heroics, and cannot help feeling that
this encomium is inadequate to extol his virtue.
ecumenical
(adjective) Of worldwide scope or applicability.
Synonyms:universal
Usage:The movement against violence is intended to be an ecumenical
one, applicable to all nations.
Exculpate
(verb) To clear of guilt or blame.
Synonyms:acquit, assoil, exonerate, discharge, clear
Usage:He was exculpated from the charge when the real criminal
confessed.
foible
A minor weakness or failing of character. Synonyms:fault, defect,
imperfection Usage:His father's foibles did not prevent his son from
loving and honoring him.
gibe
(noun) A derisive or provoking remark. Synonyms:barb, dig, shot
Usage:The referee heard the gibes from the crowd, but, ever the
professional, ignored them.
Gossamer
(adjective) Seer, light, delicate, or [Link] cotton candy
for the first time, the child was thrilled by the gossamer treat.
imbroglio
(noun) A difficult or intricate situation; an entanglement.
Synonyms:embroilment
Usage:And then there's a general imbroglio, everyone standing up and
the kid hollering and the dog barking.
impel
(verb) To urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate.
Synonyms:compel, drive, push, inspire, instigate, goad Usage:I don't
consider myself an activist, but I was impelled by recent events to take
a stand on this issue.
imprimatur (m
pr
-m
tr, -m
1. Official approval or license to print or publish, especially under
conditions of censorship.
2.
a. Official approval; sanction.
b. A mark of official approval: a directive bearing the imprimatur of
high officials.
t
r)
n.
insouciant
(adjective) Marked by blithe unconcern. Synonyms:casual, nonchalant
Usage:He showed an insouciant disregard for cold weather, wearing
only a T-shirt in the show.
instigate
(verb) Provoke or stir up.
Synonyms:incite
Usage:The violence was instigated by ex-members of the secret police.
inured
(adjective) Made tough by habitual exposure. Synonyms:hardened
Usage:Doctors become inured to death.
inviolate
(adjective) Free from violation, injury, desecration, or outrage.
Synonyms:intact, whole, untouched, undisturbed, unsullied, unpolluted,
unstained, undefiled
Usage:The old America had only one foreign policy, and that was to
hold inviolate the Monroe doctrine.
iota
noun) A very small amount; a bit. Synonyms:scintilla, shred, smidgeon,
whit Usage:There was not an iota of truth to that tale.
jejune
(adjective) Not interesting; dull. Synonyms:insipid Usage:The jejune
novel was full of trite phrases and dull banter that went on for pages at
a time, but I nevertheless read it from cover to cover.
jibe
(verb) To be in accord; agree. Synonyms:correspond, match Usage:I
expected to find some discrepancies in the books, but your figures jibe
with mine.
ken
(noun) Range of what one can know or understand.
Synonyms:cognizance Usage:This level of mathematics is beyond my
ken.
lacuna
1. An empty space or a missing part; a gap: "self-centered in opinion,
with curious lacunae of astounding ignorance" (Frank Norris).
2. Anatomy A cavity, space, or depression, especially in a bone,
containing cartilage or bone cells.
Laggard
(noun) Someone who takes more time than necessary; someone who
lags behind.
Synonyms:dawdler, trailer, poke
Usage:He was such a laggard that his friends were already paying the
bill by the time he reached the caf.
Languid
(adjective) Lacking energy or vitality; weak.
Synonyms:lackadaisical, languorous
Usage:He gave a languid wave of the hand to signify his indifference.
lascivious
(adjective) Given to or expressing lust; lecherous.
Synonyms:libidinous, lustful, lewd
Usage:Frustrated by his constant lascivious comments, she decided to
report him to the supervisor.
maudlin
(adjective) Effusively or tearfully sentimental.
Synonyms:bathetic, mawkish, schmaltzy, mushy
Usage:When the farewells were in danger of becoming maudlin, he
judged that it was time to leave.
Maven
A person who has special knowledge or experience; an expert.
mellifluous
(adjective) Pleasing to the ear.
Synonyms:mellisonant, dulcet, sweet
Usage:Her mellifluous voice could make him agree to anything.
mire
noun) An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog. Synonyms:morass,
quag, quagmire Usage:At last he came to a part of the road where the
wheels sank half-way into the mire, and the more the horses pulled, the
deeper sank the wheels.
Pallid
(adjective) Having an abnormally pale or wan [Link],
colorless, ashenIn the gray of the morning the two students, pallid and
haggard from anxiety, met at the medical college.
penurious
(adjective) Unwilling to spend money; stingy.
Synonyms:parsimonious
Usage:When solicited for a donation, the penurious man began to
extend a nickel, but, thinking twice, withdrew it.
Per se
Of, in, or by itself or oneself; intrinsically.
prevaricate
: (verb) To stray from or evade the truth; equivocate.
Synonyms:beat around the bush, palter, tergiversate
Usage:At the press conference, the politician continued to prevaricate
on the issue rather than provide a direct answer.
Onerous
adjective
1. (of a task, duty, or responsibility) involving an amount of effort
and difficulty that is oppressively burdensome.
"he found his duties increasingly onerous"
synonyms:burdensome, arduous, strenuous, difficult, hard,
severe, heavy, back-breaking, oppressive, weighty, uphill,
challenging, formidable, laborious, Herculean, exhausting,
tiring, taxing, demanding, punishing, grueling, exacting,
wearing, wearisome, fatiguing;
archaictoilsome
"the job had become onerous"
antonyms:effortless, easy
Law
involving heavy obligations.
"an onerous lease"
orphic
(adjective) Having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to
the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding. Synonyms:occult,
mysterious, mystical, secret Usage:The orphic symbols on the tome
could only be deciphered by the blind wizard.
ostracise
Definition: (verb) Expel from a community or group.
Synonyms:banish, blackball, cast out, shun, ban
Usage:I have been ostracized by my teammates ever since I
accidentally scored the winning goal for our opponents in the
championship game.
pusillanimous
Definition: (adjective) Lacking courage; cowardly.
Synonyms:spineless, craven
Usage:Why, you pusillanimous piece of dirt, you'd run with your tail
between your legs if I said boo!
quaff
(verb) To swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught.
Synonyms:gulp, swig Usage:Recently returned to port, the sailors
quaffed their ale with gusto.
quiescence
noun) A state of quiet (but possibly temporary) inaction.
Synonyms:dormancy Usage:The volcano erupted after centuries of
quiescence.
Rebarbative
Tending to irritate; repellent: "He became rebarbative, prickly, spiteful".
recalcitrant
(adjective) Marked by stubborn resistance to and defiance of authority
or guidance. Synonyms:refractory Usage:Neither could he mobilize his
army to go forth to war, nor could he punish his recalcitrant subjects.
recrudescent
- the revival of an unfortunate situation after a period of abatement;
"the patient presented with a case of recrudescent gastralgia"
redolence
(noun) A pleasingly sweet olfactory property.
Synonyms:bouquet, fragrance
Usage:The moonlight and the redolence of flowers made the garden a
romantic spot.
sere
(adjective) Dried up or withered. S
ynonyms:shriveled
Usage:The desert was edged with sere vegetation.
specious
1. Having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious: a
specious argument.
2. Deceptively attractive.
Splenetic
(adjective) Affected or marked by ill humor or irritability.
Synonyms:bristly, prickly, waspish
Usage:The splenetic tone of the complaint letter made James dread
meeting its author in person.
Supine
(adjective) Inactive, passive, or inert, especially from indolence or
indifference.
Synonyms:lethargic, passive, apathetic, listless
Usage:No other colony showed such supine, selfish helplessness in
allowing her own border citizens to be mercilessly harried.
Sycophant
(noun) A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering
influential people. Synonyms:crawler, toady, lackey Usage:The
sycophant erupted into laughter before the mayor had even finished the
joke.
tawdry
(adjective) Tastelessly showy.
Synonyms:flashy, garish, gaudy, gimcrack, loud, meretricious, tacky,
tatty, trashy, brassy, cheap
Usage:It was a tawdry affair, all Cupids and cornucopias, like a thirdrate wedding-cake.
termagent
(noun) A quarrelsome, scolding woman.
Synonyms:shrew
Usage:His aunt was such a termagant that he dreaded her annual visit.
turpitude
(noun) A corrupt or depraved or degenerate act or practice.
Synonyms:depravity
Usage:Seeing the various turpitudes of modern society shook her faith
in humanity.
vacuous
(adjective) Devoid of intelligence. Synonyms:asinine, fatuous, inane,
mindless Usage:The interviewer could tell by the candidate's vacuous
comments that he was not qualified for the position.
vitriolic
(adjective) Bitterly scathing; caustic.
Synonyms:acid, blistering, venomous, acrid, acerbic, bitter, virulent
Usage:The critic showed no mercy in writing the most vitriolic review
of her career.
wizened
(adjective) Lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness.
Synonyms:shrunken, withered, shriveled
Usage:The wizened face of the man of law was twisted into a wrinkled
smile.
zealot
Definition: (noun) An immoderate, fanatical, or extremely zealous
adherent to a cause, especially a religious one.
Synonyms:drumbeater, partisan
Usage:Jane, who had dabbled in vegetarianism during high school,
became an environmental zealot while in college.