Nomenclature specialized naming system; often used in scientific classification
Euro currency used in many European countries
Loquacious talkative
Deciduous falling off or shedding at a certain stage of growth
Equinox equal parts day and night; occurs twice yearly (autumnal & vernal)
Plethora a lot of; many
Xenophobe one who fears strangers or foreigners
Soliloquy a speech to oneself; often used in theatrical productions
Diffident the opposite of confident
Verbatim word for word
Respiration breathing
Orthography correct writing and/or spelling
Epiphany an A-Ha! Moment OR a Christian holiday celebrated in January
Proposition a suggested plan
Irony when you expect one thing and you get the opposite OR when you say one thing and mean the opposite
Surreptitiously slyly or in a sneaky manner
Imperious proud or overbearing
Barbaric crude, violent, untamed
Destiny your fate or what's "supposed" to be
Deleterious harmful
Comply to do as you're told
Plagiarize to take/copy something from another person and claim it as your own work or not give credit to the person who created it
Chromosome genetic part of our DNA; most humans have 46
Gauche foolish, awkward, socially inept
Naïve innocent; unaware of what's going on
Opportunist one who seeks an opportunity
Vacuous empty; vacant
Introspective looking inside oneself
Metamorphosis a complete change
Imperative a command; something that must be done
Circumnavigate to make your way around
Circumlocution to talk in circles, or go on and on (around and around)
Amicable friendly or agreeable
Ambiguous many possible meanings; unclear or unsure
Impeach to accuse someone (usually an elected official) of improper conduct
Filibuster a REALLY long speech used to get in the way of legislation being passed
Suffragist a person who fights for voting rights
Voracious craving or consuming large quantities (food, books, collectibles)
Lugubrious gloomy
Notarize to make a signature legal
Incognito in disguise
Enervate to have energy sapped, be depleted
Heterogeneous mixed, having many different components
Homogeneous all the same
Photosynthesis plants getting energy from sunlight
Contrite truly sorry
Facetious trying to be funny or lighthearted; joking
Ominous sign that something is on the way (usually something bad)
Vortex a swirling mass of something (often water)
Wrought made out of; eg. Wrought iron
Sanguine cheerfully optimistic
Kowtow to do as you're told; to bow down in a servant like way
Bellicose warlike; always looking for a fight
Hubris extreme arrogance or haughtiness
Parameter guideline or boundary
Acumen keen insight or wit
Gregarious being a social butterfly
Tempestuous stormy or turbulent
Articulate to speak clearly; describing someone who speaks clearly
Chivalry distinguished; like a knight would have been
Philosophical the love of thoughts and thinking about thinking