Essential Concepts Defined: A Vocabulary Collection

Default

An action that is natural or standard.

Untainted

Not contaminated or polluted.

Aberration

A deviation from what is normal or expected.

Profiteering

The act of making an illegal or unfair profit.

Delusion

A belief maintained despite being proven untrue. Example: "The Miami Dolphins will win the Super Bowl this year."

Placate

To make someone less angry or hostile.

Sop

Something of little value given to appease someone whose concerns are not being met.

Deliverance

The act of being rescued or set free.

Anodyne

Not likely to offend; bland or inoffensive.

Narthex

A room or area at the entrance of a church.

Urbane

(Of a person) courteous and refined in manner.

Longevity

Long existence or service; a long life.

Collaboration

The action of working with someone to produce or create something.

Utopian

Relating to or aiming for a state in which everything is perfect; idealistic.

Resignation

The acceptance of something undesirable but inevitable.

Proximate

Closest in relationship; immediate.

Trope

A recurring theme or motif in literature, art, or rhetoric.

Retribution

Punishment inflicted in return for an injury or offense; revenge.

Pliable

Easily bent, flexible; easily influenced or persuaded.

Outstrips

Exceeds in amount, degree, or performance; surpasses.

Cynicism

An inclination to believe that people are motivated purely by self-interest; skepticism.

Prevail

To prove more powerful or superior; to triumph.

Indifference

Lack of interest, concern, or sympathy.

Dystopian

Relating to or denoting an imagined state or society where there is great suffering or injustice, typically totalitarian or environmentally degraded.

Abide

To continue without fading or being lost; to remain.

Afforded

Provided or supplied with; given.

Insufferable

Too extreme, unpleasant, or annoying to endure.

Canard

An unfounded rumor or story.

Relegated

Consigned to an inferior position, place, or condition; downgraded.

Civility

Formal politeness and courtesy in behavior and speech.

Benign

Gentle and kind; not harmful in effect.

Passive

Accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance.

Grandiloquent

Pompous or extravagant in language, style, or manner, especially to impress.

Aphoristic

Expressed in aphorisms; concise and often witty observations containing a general truth.

Offhand

Casual and informal; unthinking or careless.

Compound (verb)

To combine (two or more elements) to form something new; to make something worse or more intense.

Tempering (verb)

To moderate or soften; to improve the hardness and elasticity of (metal or glass) by heating it and then cooling it.

Urbanity

Courtesy and refinement of manner.

Malevolent

Having or showing a wish to do evil to others.

Collective

Done by people acting as a group; shared or done by all members of a group.

Pedantic

Excessively concerned with minor details and rules or with displaying academic learning.

Sardonic

Grimly mocking or cynical.

Euphemistic

Using or constituting a euphemism; substituting a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt.

Rapport

A close and harmonious relationship in which the people or groups concerned understand each other's feelings or ideas and communicate well.

Naive

(Of a person or action) showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment.

Genocide

The deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.

Detachment

The state of being objective or aloof; separation or isolation.

Rhetorical

Relating to or concerned with the art of rhetoric; expressed in terms intended to persuade or impress.

Flippant

Not showing a serious or respectful attitude.

Florid

Having a red or flushed complexion; elaborately or excessively intricate or complicated.

Redemptive

Acting to save someone from error or evil; serving to redeem or atone for past faults.