100 Words Everyone Hears but Few Can Explain

No.	Term	Definition
1.	Abrogate	Formally repeal or annul a law or agreement.
2.	Acrimony	Bitterness or sharpness in speech or manner.
3.	Ad hoc	Created for a specific purpose or situation.
4.	Aesthetic	Concerned with beauty or artistic taste.
5.	Affidavit	Written statement sworn to be true.
6.	Allegory	Story conveying hidden moral or political meaning.
7.	Ambivalent	Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas.
8.	Amortize	Pay off a debt in scheduled installments.
9.	Anachronism	Something out of its proper historical time.
10.	Anathema	Something intensely disliked or formally condemned.
11.	Antithesis	Direct contrast of ideas for emphasis.
12.	Apocryphal	Of doubtful authenticity; widely believed but false.
13.	Arbitrage	Profit from price differences across markets.
14.	Arcane	Understood by few; mysterious or obscure.
15.	Assiduous	Showing persistent, careful effort and attention.
16.	Auspicious	Favorable; suggesting a positive outcome.
17.	Banal	So ordinary it becomes uninteresting.
18.	Bellwether	Indicator of future trends or direction.
19.	Benevolent	Kindly and well-meaning; charitable in intent.
20.	Bifurcate	Split into two branches or parts.
21.	Bloviate	Speak at length in a pompous way.
22.	Bona fide	Genuine; made in good faith.
23.	Bourgeois	Middle-class; conventional in values or tastes.
24.	Cacophony	Harsh, discordant mixture of sounds.
25.	Capitulate	Surrender or yield after resistance.
26.	Catharsis	Emotional release leading to relief or renewal.
27.	Caveat	Warning or condition attached to an agreement.
28.	Chicanery	Deception by trickery or legalistic quibbling.
29.	Circumlocution	Using many words to avoid direct expression.
30.	Cliché	Overused expression lacking original impact.
31.	Cogent	Clear, logical, and convincing in argument.
32.	Cognizant	Aware of; having knowledge or understanding.
33.	Conflagration	Large, destructive fire; great blaze.
34.	Conundrum	Confusing problem; difficult question to solve.
35.	Corroborate	Confirm with evidence or supporting information.
36.	Credence	Belief accepted as true; trust.
37.	Cryptic	Mysterious; having a hidden or unclear meaning.
38.	Culpable	Deserving blame; responsible for wrongdoing.
39.	De facto	Existing in practice, not officially recognized.
40.	Debacle	Sudden, humiliating failure; complete fiasco.
41.	Decorum	Proper behavior; social appropriateness and politeness.
42.	Defenestration	Act of throwing someone out a window.
43.	Delineate	Describe or outline precisely and clearly.
44.	Demagogue	Leader who manipulates emotions to gain power.
45.	Denouement	Final resolution of a narrative’s plot.
46.	Depravity	Moral corruption; extreme wickedness.
47.	Desideratum	Something desired as essential or needed.
48.	Diatribe	Forceful, bitter verbal attack or criticism.
49.	Dichotomy	Division into two contrasting or opposed parts.
50.	Didactic	Intended to teach, often moral instruction.
51.	Disparate	Fundamentally different; not comparable.
52.	Dogma	Principle accepted as authoritative without proof.
53.	Ebullient	Cheerful and full of energy.
54.	Eclectic	Selecting from many sources; varied in style.
55.	Efficacy	Ability to produce the intended result.
56.	Egregious	Outstandingly bad; shockingly offensive.
57.	Eloquence	Fluent, persuasive speaking or writing.
58.	Embellish	Add details to make more attractive or interesting.
59.	Empirical	Based on observation or experiment, not theory.
60.	Enigma	Person or thing that is puzzling.
61.	Ephemeral	Lasting a very short time.
62.	Epistemology	Study of knowledge: its nature, sources, limits.
63.	Equivocate	Use ambiguous language to avoid commitment.
64.	Esoteric	Intended for or understood by a few.
65.	Euphemism	Mild term replacing a harsh or blunt one.
66.	Exacerbate	Make a problem or situation worse.
67.	Exculpate	Clear from blame or guilt.
68.	Exegesis	Critical explanation or interpretation of a text.
69.	Exorbitant	Unreasonably high, especially in price.
70.	Extant	Still existing; not lost or destroyed.
71.	Facetious	Treating serious matters with inappropriate humor.
72.	Fallacy	Mistaken belief or flawed reasoning.
73.	Fastidious	Very attentive to detail; hard to please.
74.	Fatuous	Silly and pointless; lacking intelligence.
75.	Feckless	Lacking initiative or effectiveness; irresponsible.
76.	Fiduciary	Legally bound to act in another’s interests.
77.	Florid	Excessively elaborate or flowery in style.
78.	Forbearance	Patient self-control; restraint under provocation.
79.	Fortuitous	Happening by chance, often luckily.
80.	Garrulous	Excessively talkative, especially about trivial matters.
81.	Germane	Relevant and appropriate to the subject.
82.	Gerrymander	Manipulate voting districts to favor a party.
83.	Grandiloquent	Pompous, high-flown language or style.
84.	Hackneyed	Overused and lacking original freshness.
85.	Hegemony	Dominance or leadership by one group or state.
86.	Heuristic	Practical method for quick problem-solving.
87.	Hubris	Excessive pride leading to downfall.
88.	Iconoclast	Person who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions.
89.	Idiosyncrasy	Unusual personal habit or distinctive trait.
90.	Imbroglio	Confusing, complicated situation; messy entanglement.
91.	Impunity	Freedom from punishment or consequences.
92.	Inchoate	Not fully formed; rudimentary or vague.
93.	Incontrovertible	Impossible to deny or dispute.
94.	Ineffable	Too great to be expressed in words.
95.	Innuendo	Indirect suggestion, often negative or sexual.
96.	Insidious	Proceeding subtly but harmfully over time.
97.	Interlocutor	Participant in a conversation or dialogue.
98.	Intransigent	Unwilling to compromise; stubbornly inflexible.
99.	Irony	Meaning opposite of what is expected or said.
100.	Juggernaut	Overwhelming force that crushes opposition.