#cuecard file version 3 Abase to humiliate; to humble Askance with suspicion or disproval Bracing invigorating finding Abaft on or by aft (relating to a ship) Abate to become less Abeam at right angles to a ship’s length or keel Abet support or encourage someone (esp. someone doing wrong) Abeyance suspension, temporary cessation Abhor to shrink from in disgust Abjure to repudiate, to take back, to refrain from Abnegate to deny one self things; to reject; to renounce Abomination something despised or abhorred, extremely loathing Abrogate to abolish or repel formally, to set aside, to nullify Abscond to leave hastily Abstemious sparing or moderate, especially in food or drink Abstruse hard to understand Accede to give in, to yield, to agree Accouterments personal clothing, accessories; equipment, trappings Accrete increase by growth or addition Acrimonious full of spite, bitter, nasty Acumen keenness of judgment; mental sharpness Adduce to bring forward as example or truth; to cite Adherent follower; supporter; believer Adjudicate hear and settle by judicial process Adroit skillful; dexterous; socially at ease Adulate to flatter, adore, praise Adumbrate to sketch, outline; give hint of things to come Adventitious accidental; related to but nonetheless unrelated Aerie house or a stronghold at a high place Affable easy to talk to; friendly Affectation unnatural/artificial behavior, intended to impress Affront insult; deliberate act of disrespect Aggrieve to mistreat; to distress Agnostic one believes existence of g-d neither proven/disprove Agog eager, excited Alacrity cheerful eagerness or readiness to respond Alcove a room extension Amalgam blend of different things Ameliorate to make better or more tolerable Amenable obedient; willing to give into the wish of others Amortize to put money aside at intervals of gradual payment Anachronistic something which is out of it’s proper historical place Anathema something/someone loathed or detested Ancillary subordinate, providing assistance Angst anxiety, fear, dread Annex to add or attach Anomaly aberration; an irregularity; a deviation Anomie collapse in social structure Antedate to be older than, to have come before Antedate to be older than; to come before Antipathy firm dislike Antipodal situated on opposite sides of the earth; exactly opposite Apace fast rate Aphorism brief often witty saying; proverb Apocryphal of doubtful origin, false Apogee most distant point in orbit of moon Apogee most distant point in orbit of moon Apoplexy stroke Apostasy abandonment or rejection of faith or loyalty Apostate one who forsakes his faith Apotheosis elevation to divine status Appellation a name Appellation name Approbation approval; praise Appurtenance something extra; an accessory Apropos appropriate, coming at the right time Arable able to be farmed Arbiter one who decides, judges Arcade passage designated by series of arches Arcane mysterious, know only to a select few Archetype an original model or pattern Ardent passionate Ardor emotional warmth; passion Arrant unmitigated; very bad Arrears state of being in debt Artful crafty; sly Artifice clever trick; cunning Ascendancy supremacy; domination Ascetic hermitlike; practicing self denial Askance with suspicion or disapproval Aspersion an insult, slander, defamation Assail attack vigorously Assiduous hard-working, busy Astringent harsh; sever Atrophy a wasting away or failure to grow Attenuated make slender or small, lessen in strength Augur to serve as an omen or a sign, predict or foretell August protection; support Aural to ear or sense of hearing Avail to help or be of use Avant garde members of a group that cutting edge in their field Avarice greed for money Aver to assert, state as true Bacchanal a party animal Badinage playful talk Baleful menacing; threatening Ballast heavy matter placed on a ship to create stability Bandy to toss back and forth; to exchange Behest command; order Benighted ignorant, unenlightened Bilious ill-tempered, cranky Bilk to cheat Bivouac temporary encampment, esp. of soldiers Blanch to turn pale, to cause to turn pale Blandishment flattery Blithe cheerful, carefully Bombast pompous or pretentious speech or writing Bon vivant person who enjoys the good life Boon blessing, benefit Boor rude person Bracing invigorating Bristle stiffen with anger Bromide a dull, obvious over familiar saying Brook to bear or tolerate, put up with something Brusque abrupt in manner, blunt Burgeon to expand or flourish Burlesque silly imitation, racy entertainment Byzantine extremely intricate or complicated in structure Cabal a clique Cache hiding place Cacophony harsh, jarring sounds; discord Calamity a disaster. Calumniate to slander; i.e. make false statements about Calumnity slander Cant insincere speech Canvass to seek votes or opinions; to conduct a survey Capacious spacious; roomy Caprice impulsive change of mind Captious critical, fault Cartography art of making maps and charts Caucus meeting of members of a political party Caveat Emptor let the buyer be ware Cavil to quibble; to raise trivial objections Chagrin humiliation; embarrassed disappointment Charlatan fraud; quack; con man Chaste pure and unadorned Chicanery trickery; deceitfulness; esp. in legal/ political Chimera an illusion; a foolish fancy Choleric hot tempered; quick to anger Churl a rude person; a boor Chutzpah audacity Cipher zero; a nobody; a code Circuitous roundabout; not following a direct path Circumlocution indirect expression; use wordy or evasive language Circumspect cautious Circumvent to frustrate as though by surrounding Clamor to cry out loud, public noise Clemency mercy; forgiveness Cloister tranquil/secluded space Cloy to cause to feel full Coalesce to come together as one Cogent powerfully convincing Cogitate to ponder; think carefully Colloquial conversational; informal in language Collusion conspiracy; secret cooperation Coltish frisky, frolicsome Commensurate equal; proportionate Commiserate express sorrow or sympathy for; to pity Commodious spacious ; roomy; capacious Complaisant eager to please Complicity participation in wrongdoing; the act of being an accomplice Compunction an uneasy feeling prompted by guilt Conciliatory making peace, attempt to resolve dispute through good will Concomitant following from; accompanying Conflagration large fire Confluence flow together (rivers) Congeal to solidify Congenital innate Conjecture to guess; to deduce or infer on slight evidence Conscript to draft Consecrate to make or declare sacred Consonant harmonious; in agreement Consternation sudden confusion Contentious argumentative, quarrelsome Contiguous side by side; adjoining Contretemps an embarrassing occurrence Contrite admitting guilt; especially feeling remorseful Contumely rudeness or contempt in behavior or speech; insolence Conundrum a riddle; puzzle Conversant familiar; experienced Convivial fond of partying; festive Convoluted rolled or folded together with one over the other Corollary something that follows; a natural consequence Corpulence fatness, obesity Corroborate to confirm, to back up with evidence Cosmopolitan at home in many places or situations Covenant a solemn agreement; a pledge Credulous gullible; eager to believe Cull out from among many; to select or collect Curmudgeon bad tempered person; superficial Cursory hasty Daunt to make fearful; to intimidate Dearth scarcity, lack, paucity Debauchery wild living Debunk expose the nonsense of; to denounce Decadent decaying or decayed, esp. in terms of morals Decry to put down; to denounce Deference respect; submission to another’s will Deign to condescend Deleterious harmful to health/well being, injurious Delineate to describe accurately; to draw in outline Demagogue a leader of people ( manipulate public to support aim) Demur to take exception Demure shy; reserved; sedate Denizen inhabitant Depose remove from offices or position of power Depravity extreme wickedness or corruption Deprecate to express disapproval of Depredate to prey upon Deride to ridicule; to laugh at Descry to perceive something, especially hard to see Desiccate to dry out Despondent extremely depressed Destitute impoverished, lacking, devoid Desultory random; with out a plan or purpose Dialectical relating to discussions; rules of reasoning Diatribe an abusive denunciation Dictum an authoritative saying; a proverb; adage Didactic intended to teach Diffident timid; lacking in self confidence Dilettante an amateur Diminution the act of diminishing Discomfit to frustrate; to confuse Discursive rambling from one topic to another Disdain arrogant scorn; contempt Disparage to belittle Dispirit to discourage; to lose spirit Disquiet to make uneasy Dissemble to conceal the real nature of; act falsely to deceive Disseminate to spread the seeds of something; to make widely known Dissident a person who disagrees Dissolution breaking up or dissolving something into parts Distend to swell; to extend a great deal Diurnal occurring every day Divine to intuit; to prophesy Doctrinaire inflexibility committed to doctrine w/o regard practicality Doggerel comic, loose verse Dogmatic arrogantly assertive or unproven ideas Doleful sorrowful; filled with grief Dolorous sorrowful, sad Dolt a stupid person; a dunce Dotage senility; foolish affection Double entendre word/phrase with double meaning (usually risqué) Dour sever; gloomy Draconian harsh; severe; cruel Droll humorous, funny, comical Dross worthless stuff Dubious full of doubt; uncertain Duplicity act of being two-faced; double dealing; deceptive Ebb to diminish Ecclesiastical having to do with the church Eclectic choosing the best from many sources Edify to enlighten; to instruct; esp. moral and religious matters Efface to erase; to rub away the features of Effigy a likeness of someone Effusion a pouring forth Eleemosynary of, for, or supported by charity Ellipsis omission of words from a sentence Elliptical oval; missing a word or words; obscure Elocution the art of public speaking Elucidate to explain, make understandable Emend to change Empirical relying on experience or observation; not theoretical Encomium high praise Encroach to make gradual or stealthy inroads into; to trespass Endemic native; restricted to particular region/era; indigenous Enervate to reduce strength/energy of; esp. to do so gradually Engender to bring into existence; to create or cause Enmity deep hatred; animosity Ennui boredom; lack of interest Entreat to beg; to plead Enumerate to name one by one; to list Ephemeral lasting a very short time Epicure a person with a refined taste in wine and food Epigram a brief and usually witty or satirical saying Epitome a brief summary that captures the meaning of the whole Equivocal ambiguous; intentionally confusing; Erudite scholarly; deeply learned Eschew to shun or avoid Espouse give one’s loyalty and support to Espy to glimpse, to descry Estimable worthy of admiration; capable of being estimated Evanescent fleeting; vanishing; happening for briefest period Evince to prove Exhort to urge strongly; to give a serious warning to Exigent demanding prompt action, urgent Exonerate free someone from blame Exoteric open to everyone, public Expatriate to throw (someone) our of native land; to emigrate Expedient providing an immed. Advent; serv self intrst, practical Expiate to make amends for wrongdoing or guilt Explicate to make a detailed explanation of the meaning of Expostulate to reason with someone to warn Expound give a detailed statement of, explain Expurgate remove passages considered obscene, censor Extant still in existence Extol to praise highly; to laud Extricate to free from difficulty Facile fluent; skillful in a superficial way; easy Farcical absurd; ludicrous Fastidious meticulous; demanding Fatuous foolish; silly; idiotic Fauna animals Fawn to exhibit affection; to suck up; to seek favor through flattery Fecund fertile, productive Fervor great warmth or earnestness; ardor; zeal Fetter to restrain, to hamper Fiat an arbitrary decree or order Flippant disrespectful; saucy Florid ruddy; flushed; red-faced Flout to disregard something out of disrespect Foible a minor character flaw Foment to stir up or incite trouble Foppish overly dressed Forbear to refrain from; to abstain Forlorn abandoned, suffering extreme want, desperate Forswear to retract; denounce; to take back Frenetic frantic; frenzied Fulminate to denounce vigorously; to protest against Furtive secretive; sly Fusillade a rapid outburst, as of gunfire Futile hopeless, without effect Gaffe social blunder; embarrassing mistake Galvanize to startle into sudden activity; to revitalize Gambit a scheme to gain an advantage; a play Garish too gaudy; showy; ostentatious Garner to gather and store Garrulous talking much about unimportant things Gauche lacking social grace Genteel refined; polite; aristocratic; affecting refinement Germinal in first stage of growth and development Gesticulate to make gestures; esp. when speaking Goad to urge forcefully Grandiloquent pompous; use lots of big fancy words to be impressive Gratis free of charge Gravity seriousness Grill to question searchingly, catechize Guile slyness or cunning in dealing with others Gustatory of the sense of taste Hackneyed made trite by overuse Halcyon peaceful; carefree; serene Harbinger a precursor; an indication ; an omen Harry to harass; to annoy Hegemony predominance, rule of one state over another Heterodoxy conventional wisdom Histrionic overly dramatic; theatrical Hoary gray or white with age; ancient; stale Homeopathy system of natural healing Homily sermon Hubris arrogance; excessive Husbandry thrifty management or resources; livestock farming Hyperbole an exaggeration used as a figure of speech Iconoclast on whom attacks popular beliefs or institutions Idyllic charming in a rustic way, naturally peaceful Ignominy deep disgrace Imbue to inspire; to permeate or tinge Immutable unchangeable Impecunious without money Impetuous rash; over impulsive Implacable angry; really pissed off, unable to be pleased Importune to urge with annoying persistence; to trouble Improvident lacking foresight or thrift Impudent bold, impertinent Impugn to attack, especially the truth or integrity of something Impunity freedom from punishment Impute to attribute to another (esp. a fault or misconduct) Inane senseless Incendiary tending to arouse passion or anger Incipient beginning; emerging Incorrigible incapable of being reformed or corrected Inculcate to instill or implant by repeated suggestions Incursion a hostile invasion Indigent poor Indolent lazy Indomitable invincible, unconquerable Ineffable incapable of being expressed or described Ineluctable inescapable, unavoidable Ineradicable incapable of being removed or destroyed Inert inactive; not reacting chemically Inexorable unyielding Inextricable incapable of being untied Ingenuous frank; simple; w/o deception; charmingly naïve Ingratiate to work to make your self liked Inimical unfavorable; harmful Inimitable impossible to imitate; the best Iniquitous evil, unjust Innocuous harmless; banal Insipid dull; bland; banal Insolent arrogant; insulting Insouciant nonchalant; lighthearted; carefree Insular of limited outlook or experience, isolated Insuperable unable to be overcome; overwhelming Insurrection the act of open rebellion Interloper intruder; trespasser Interregnum period between two successive governments Intractable uncontrollable; stubborn; disobedient Intransigent refusing to compromise Intransigent uncompromising; stubborn Invective insulting or abusive in speech Inveterate habitual; deeply rooted Invidious causing envy or resentment; offensively harmful Irascible irritable Jaunt short pleasure trip Jingoism belligerent; chauvinistic patriotism Junta small group ruling a country after a coup d’ tat Laconic using few words, especially to the point of being rude Lampoon to mock; to satirize Languish to become weak or depressed Larceny theft Largess generous giving of gifts; generosity Lascivious lustful; obscene Lassitude exhaustion, weakness Licentious promiscuous; lascivious Ligneous wood like Limpid transparent; lucid; clear Litigant a person involved in a lawsuit Lope to run at a steady pace, easy pace Lout boor; oaf; clod Lugubrious exaggeratedly mournful, make a big show of being sad Machination scheming activity for an evil purpose Magnanimous generous in overlooking injury/insult, not petty Magnate a rich, powerful, successful business person Malapropism humorous misuse of word that sounds similar to intended Malfeasance an illegal act, esp. by public official Marshal to arrange in order, to gather together for a purpose Martial warlike; intending to fight Maudlin silly and overly sentimental Mawkish overly sentimental Mellifluous sweetly flowing Menagerie a collection of animals Mendacious lying; dishonest Mendicant a beggar Mercurial emotionally unpredictable; rapidly changing in mood Milieu environment; surrounding Mitigate to make or become less severe or painful Mollify to soften; sooth; pacify Molt to she occasionally an outer covering of skin or feathers Monolithic massive, solid, uniform Moratorium suspension of activity; a period of delay Mordant caustic, sarcastic Moribund dying Motility spontaneous movement Munificent very generous; lavish Muse to ponder of mediate upon Myopia nearsightedness; lack of foresight Nadir point opposite the zenith; lowest point Nefarious flagrantly wicked Neologism a new word of phrase; new usage of word Nihilism the belief that there are no values/morals in the universe Nirvana blissful; painless; worry free state Noisome offensive or disgusting; noxious Nostrum a quack remedy Nubile ready for marriage Numinous spiritually elevated, give evidence of inner spirit Numismatist coin collector/specialist Obdurate stubborn, inflexible Obdurate stubborn; intensive Obeisance a bow or curtsy; deep reverence Obfuscate to confuse or bewilder Obsequious fawning; subservient Obstreperous noisy or unruly esp. in resisting Obtuse blunt, slow to understand Obviate to make unnecessary; to avert Officious annoyingly eager to help or advise Officious overly helpful, meddlesome, interfering Ogle to stare at, especially in a disrespectful way Omniscient all knowing; having infinite wisdom Omnivorous eating any sort of food Onerous burdensome; oppressive Opprobrious damning; extremely critical; disgraceful Opulent luxurious Ostensible apparent (but misleading), professed Overture opening move; preliminary offer Overwrought overly nervous, overly detailed or complicated Palliate hide seriousness of something with excuses or apologies Panacea something that cures everything Pandemic prevalent through a large area Panegyric elaborate praise; eulogy Panoply complete suit of armor, magnificent covering Paragon a model or pattern of excellence Parochial narrow or confined point of view Paroxysm a sudden, violent outburst; a severe attack Parsimony stinginess, extreme frugality Pastoral rural; rustic; peaceful and calm, like the country Pathos that which makes people feel pity or sorrow Patina surface discoloration caused by age and oxidation Patrician person of noble birth, an aristocrat Paucity Scarcity Peccadillo a minor offense Pecuniary of or involving money Pedantic relating to strict adherence to rules, emphasizing trivial manners of learning Pedestrian common, ordinary, banal Pejorative negative, disparaging Penury extreme poverty Peregrination wandering; traveling Peremptory final, categorical, dictatorial Perfidy treachery Perfunctory unenthusiastic, careless Peripatetic wandering, traveling continually Perorate to speak formally Perquisites privilege that goes along with a job Perspicacious having keen judgment, discerning, showing great insight Peruse to read carefully Pestilent tending to cause death, morally/socially noxious Petulant rude, cranky, ill tempered Philistine ignorant with no appreciation of intellectual matters Phlegmatic calm or indifferent; not easily aroused to excitement Piebald spotted or patched, especially in black and white Pious reverent or devout Piquant pleasantly disturbing Piquant pungent Placate to pacify, to appease, to soothe Platitude a dull or trite remark; a cliché Pluck spirit, courage Polemic power of argument made in refutation Ponderous so large as to be clumsy Pontificate to speak pompously or dogmatically Portent an omen; a sign of something coming in the future Posture to speak artificially or affectedly Prattle to chatter on and on; to babble Precipitate to cause to happen abruptly Precipitous steep Precocious unusually mature; uncommonly gifted Predilection a natural preference for something Preeminent better then any one else; outstanding; supreme Preen to adorn one self carefully; to primp Pregnant highly significant; overflowing Prelude preliminary part especially of music, an introduction Preponderance superiority in weight, number, size; majority Presage to foreshadow; forecast or predict Presentiment felling something bad going to happen Privation lack of comforts or necessities, poverty Probity integrity, uprightness, honesty Prodigal extravagant Profane not having to do with religion; irrelevant; blasphemous Profligate extravagantly wasteful and usually wildly immoral Progeny offspring; descendant Promulgate to proclaim; to publicly or formally declare something Propagate to reproduce, spread or disseminate Propitious marked by favorable signs or conditions Propound to set forth or propose, to offer for consideration Prosaic dull; unimaginative; like prose Proscribe to outlaw; to prohibit Proselytize convert someone from one religion to another Protract to prolong Provident preparing for the future; frugal Provincial limited outlook to one’s own corner of the world; narrow Prurient having lustful thoughts or desires, causing lust Puerile childish, silly Punctilious meticulously attentive to detail; exact Pundit an authority; a learned person Purblind particularly blind; lacking understanding/ imagination Purported rumored; claimed Putative commonly accepted; supposed; reputed Putrefy to rot (putrefaction) Quandary state of perplexity, predicament Quiescent motionless, at rest, still Quixotic romantic/idealistic to a foolish impractical degree Quotidian daily; everyday; ordinary Rancor bitter, long lasting ill will or resentment Rapacious greedy, plundering, avaricious Rapture ecstasy; bliss Rarefied esoteric; interesting to a selected group of people only; exalt Ratiocination logical reasoning Rebuke to criticize sharply Recalcitrant stubbornly defiant of authority or control Recidivism tendency to relapse into a former pattern of behavior Recondite hard to understand Recrimination a bitter counteraccusation Redolent fragrant Remonstrate to argue against, to protest or raise objections Remuneration payment; recompose Rend to tear; to rip Repartee a quick, witty reply Replete completely filled, abounding Repose rest, tranquility, relaxation Reprehensible worthy of blame or censure Reprisal act of taking an “eye for an eye” Reprobate a depraved wicked person; a degenerate Reprove criticize mildly Repudiate reject, renounce, disown Respite period of rest or relief Resplendent brilliantly shinning; radiant; dazzling Reticent restrained, uncommunicative Revile to scold abusively, to berate, to denounce Rhapsodize to speak extremely enthusiastically, to gush Rife occurring frequently, widespread, common Saccharine excessively sweet Sacrosanct very scared, holy, inviolable Sagacious wise Salient sticking out; conspicuous, leaping Sally sudden rushing attack, an excursion, an expedition/repartee Salubrious in good health Salutary healthful, remedial, curative Sanctimonious pretending to be devout, affecting religious feeling Sanguine cheerful, optimistic, hopeful Sardonic mocking, scornful Sartorial of tailors or their work Saturnine sluggish, gloomy, grave Schism division, separation, discord or disharmony Scintillate sparkle (literally or figuratively) Sedition treason, indictment of public disorder or rebellion Self deprecating modest, humble, reserved, retiring Sententious preachy, pompous, moralizing, self righteous Sentient able to perceive by senses Shibboleth a distinctive word, pronunciation typify group; slogan Simper to smile foolishly Sinuous having many curves Skiff small boat Slake to satisfy, to assuage Solvent not broke or bankrupt Soporific causing sleep Specious something seems correct but lacks real worth, deceptive Spurious doubtful, bogus Spurn to reject disdainfully, to scorn Stark utter; unmitigated; harsh; desolate Staunch firmly committed; steadfast Stigmatize brand with disgrace Stint to restrict or hold back on; frugal Stodgy dull, uninteresting; old fashioned, conventional Stolid not easily aroused by emotion, apathetic, phlegmatic Stratum layer; level Stricture restriction, limitation; negative criticism Strife bitter conflict, struggle or clash Stultify to make seem foolish Sublime awesome, extremely exalted; lofty Subterfuge artifice, a trick or stratagem, a ruse Subversive corrupting; overthrowing Suffuse to cover, to overspread, to saturate Supercilious haughty, patronizing Superfluous extra, unnecessary Supine laying on one’s back Supplication humble prayer, earnest entreaty Surcease an end, cessation Surfeit excessive amount; overindulgence in eating and drinking Surreptitious sneaky, secret Sycophant one who sucks up to others Sylvan of, characteristic of, or living in the woods Tacit not spoken Tantamount equivalent to Tautological redundant; circular Temerity boldness, recklessness, audacity Temporize to stall, cause a delay by indecision Tenable defensible (esp. in argument); valid Tenet shared principle or belief Terse using no unnecessary word; succinct Tetrahedron solid figure with four triangle faces Timorous fearful, easily frightened Titillate to excite or stimulate interest, to tease Titular in title or name only, nominal Torpor sluggishness, inactivity, apathy Tortuous full of twists and turns; trickery or deceitful Touchstone standard, test of authenticity or quality Tractable easily managed or controlled Trenchant concise, effective, caustic, sarcastic Triumvirate any group of three working together, ruling coalition of 3 Truculent savagely brutal, aggressively hostile Tryst secret meeting of lovers Turbid unclear, opaque, murky Turpitude shameful wickedness, depravity Ubiquitous being everywhere at the same time Ululate to howl, hoot or wail loudly Unctuous oily (literally or figuratively), insincere Unlettered ignorant, unschooled, unsophisticated Urbane poised, sophisticated, refined Usury lending money at high interest rate Uxorious dotingly fond of or submissive to one’s wife Vapid without liveliness, dull; spiritless Venal capable of being bribed; corrupt Venerate to revere, treat as something holy Veracity truthfulness Verisimilitude similarity to reality, appearance of truth, looking like the real thing Vernal of or in the spring; youthful Vicarious experienced, performed Vicissitude upheaval, natural change Vilify defame, say vile things about Virago a quarrelsome, shrewish woman; scold Viscid thick, syrupy, sticky Vitiate to spoil, corrupt, pervert, pollute Vulpine of or like a fox, cunning Welter a confused mass Xenophobia fear of strangers Zeitgeist the mood or spirit of the times