For Good English

Nefarious [ne·far·i·ous] adj.  Infamous by way of being extremely wicked. Wicked in the extreme; abominable; iniquitous; atrociously villainous; execrable; detestably vile. “His nefarious scheme cost investors millions of dollars.”

Voluminous [vo·lu·mi·nous] adj.  Having great volume, fullness, size, or number; ample or lengthy in speech or writing. “Voluminous paperwork.”

Insipid [in·sip·id] adj.  Lacking flavor or zest; not tasty. Lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; dull. “The insipid play caused many to walk out of the theater.”

Fortuitous [for·tu·i·tous] adj.  Happening by accident or chance. Happening by a fortunate accident or chance. Lucky or fortunate. “The check could not have arrived at a more fortuitous time.”

Antiquated [an·ti·quat·ed] adj.  Very old; aged. Too old to be fashionable, suitable, or useful; outmoded, obsolete. “The committee thought the marketing strategy was too antiquated to approve.”

Atypical [a·typ·i·cal] adj.  Not conforming to type; unusual or irregular. Deviating from what is usual or common or to be expected; often somewhat odd or strange. “The strong sales were atypical of the normally weak market.”

Placate (pla·cate) verb To appease or pacify; make (someone) less angry or hostile. “The customer service representative tried to placate the dissatisfied customer.”

Bucolic (bu·col·ic) adj. Of or relating to the pleasant aspects of country life. “He retired to a more bucolic life on his farm.”

Odious (o·di·ous) adj. Extremely unpleasant; repulsive. Deserving of hatred or repugnance. “The detective said it was the most odious crime she had ever seen.”

Recalcitrant (re·cal·ci·trant) adj. Stubborn, often defiant of authority; difficult to manage or control. “After months of recalcitrant behavior, the employee was terminated.”

Anomalous (a·nom·a·lous) adj. Deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected. “The marketing department could not explain the anomalous sales performance.”

Prodigious (pro·di·gious) adj. Remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree. “Her prodigious sales performance resulted in a promotion.”

Nebulous [neb·u·lous] adj. 1. Lacking definition or definite content. 2. Lacking definite form or limits; vague. “The test results were nebulous and determined to be unusable.”

Anachronism [a·nach·ro·nism] n. One that is out of its proper, chronological, or historical order, especially a person or practice that belongs to an earlier time. “A sword is an anachronism in modern warfare.”

Ominous [om·i·nous] adj. Menacing; threatening. “Ominous black clouds;” “An ominous scream prior to the shooting.”

Incongruous [in·con·gru·ous] adj. 1. Lacking in harmony; incompatible. 2. Not in agreement, as with principles; inconsistent. “A plan incongruous with reason.” 3. Not in keeping with what is correct, proper, or logical; inappropriate. “She showed incongruous behavior.”

Esoteric [es·o·ter·ic] adj. 1. Difficult to understand; abstruse. 2. Not publicly disclosed; confidential. 3. Of rare, special, or unusual interest. “Her software’s success was based on an esoteric programming language.”

Acerbic [a·cer·bic] adj. Sharp or biting, as in character or expression. “The director occasionally allowed an acerbic tone to an otherwise subtle dialogue.”

Capricious [ca·pri·cious] adj.  Characterized by or subject to whim; impulsive and unpredictable. “He’s such a capricious boss I never know how he’ll react.”

Dogmatic [dog·mat·ic] adj. 1. Expressing rigid opinions; Prone to expressing strongly held beliefs and opinions. “A dogmatic speech.” 2. Asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner; opinionated.

Gregarious [gre·gar·i·ous] adj. 1. Seeking and enjoying the company of others; sociable. “She is a gregarious, outgoing person

Visceral [vis·cer·al] adj. 1. Instinctual: proceeding from instinct rather than from reasoned thinking or intellect. “A visceral business decision.” 2. Emotional: characterized by or showing crude or elemental emotions.

Pugnacious [pug·na·cious] adj. 1. Quarrelsome or combative in nature; belligerent. 2. Expressing an argument or opinion very forcefully. “Rather than maintaining a calm demeanor, his boss was quite pugnacious.”

Incredulous [in·cred·u·lous] adj. 1. Skeptical; disbelieving. “Most people are incredulous of stories about flying saucers.” 2. Expressive of disbelief. “An incredulous stare.”

Quixotic [quix·ot·ic] adj. 1. Idealistic without regard to practicality; impractical. 2. Impulsive: tending to act on whims or impulses. “It was clearly a quixotic case against the defendant.”

Specious [spe·cious] adj.  1. Having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious. “A specious argument.” 2. Deceptively attractive.

Cognitive [cog·ni·tive] adj. 1. Relating to the process of acquiring knowledge by the use of reasoning, intuition, or perception. 2. Having a basis in or reducible to empirical factual knowledge. “A Cognitive model for success.”

Pensive [pen·sive] adj. Deeply, often wistfully or dreamily thoughtful. Expressive of melancholy thoughtfulness. “She was feeling pensive after seeing an old boyfriend.”

Auspicious [aus·pi·cious] adj. Marked by success; prosperous. Suggesting a positive and successful future. “An auspicious time to purchase the stock.”

Myriad [myr·i·ad] adj.  Constituting a very large, indefinite number; innumerable: “The myriad snowflakes in the winter

Ephemeral [e·phem·er·al] adj. 1. Lasting for a markedly brief time: “The ephemeral nature of fashion trends.” 2. Living or lasting only for a day, as with certain plants or insects.

Plethora [pleth·o·ra] n. A superabundance; an excessive amount or number: “Upon returning from the trip, she had a plethora of calls to make.”

Petulant; Petulance [pet·u·lant] adj. 1. Contemptuous in speech or behavior. 2. Unreasonably irritable or ill-tempered; rude. “She was fired over her petulant attitude to our customers.”

Mercurial [mer·cu·ri·al] adj.  1. Quick and changeable in temperament; volatile: “His mercurial temperament made him difficult to work for.”

Autonomous [au·ton·o·mous] adj. 1. Independent in mind or judgment; self-directed. 2. Not controlled by others or by outside forces; independent: “The business divisions operate autonomously.”

Innocuous [in·noc·u·ous] adj. 1. Having no adverse effect; harmless. 2. Not likely to offend or provoke to strong emotion; insipid. “The innocuous looking e-mail actually contained a virus.”

Feckless [feck·less] adj. 1. Careless and irresponsible. “The kids were feckless during spring break.” 2. Lacking purpose or vitality; feeble or ineffective – unlikely to be successful. “It was a feckless attempt to make the company a success.”

Sanguine [san·guine] adj. Cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident: “A sanguine disposition;” “Sanguine expectations.”

Derisive (de·ri·sive) adj. Expressing contempt or ridicule; mocking or scornful. “A derisive laugh.”

Duplicitous [du·plic·i·tous] adj.  Given to or marked by deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech. “They warned him not to trust the duplicitous telemarketer.”

Disingenuous [dis·in·gen·u·ous] adj. Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating.  “It was disingenuous of her to claim she had no financial interest in the company.”

Ostensible [os·ten·si·ble] adj.  Stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so. Being such in appearance, plausible rather than demonstrably true or real. “The ostensible purpose of the trip was for 

business.”

colophon   :
1. A note at the end of the book giving information about its production: font, paper, binding, printer, etc.
2. A publisher’s emblem, usually on the spine or the title page of the book.

recto : The front of a leaf, the side that is to be read first.  In languages that are written left-to-right, such as English, recto is the right-hand page. In languages written right-to-left, such as Arabic, recto is the left-hand page. The other side is called verso.

bibliogony : The art of producing or publishing books. Also known as bibliogenesis.

codex : A manuscript volume (as opposed to a scroll), especially of an ancient text

opisthograph : A text written on both front and back (of some parchment, papyrus, stone, etc.).

quiescent :Still; inactive; not showing symptoms.

Frangible : Readily broken; breakable.

Euphemism [eu·phe·mism] n. A mild, inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is often considered harsh or offensive. “To pass away” is a euphemism for “to die.”

Austere [aus·tere] adj. 1. Markedly simple without adornment or ornamentation. “An austere office;” “An austere writing style.” 2. Strict or stern in appearance or manner. “He was an austere movie critic.”

Ambiguous [am·big·u·ous] adj.  Open to more than one interpretation: “An ambiguous response.” Doubtful or uncertain. “The survey results were ambiguous.”

Copious [co·pi·ous] adj.  Large in quantity; abundant. Abounding in matter, thoughts, or words; wordy.  “He took copious notes during the business meeting.”

Altruism [al·tru·ism] n.  Unselfish concern for the welfare of others; selflessness.  (also ‘Altruistic’). “Despite his miserly demeanor, his life is driven by Altruism.” “Altruistic motives.”

Laborious [la·bo·ri·ous] adj.  Hard-working; industrious. Marked by or requiring long, hard work. “It was a laborious project, but they still kept it under budget.”

Diminutive [di·min·u·tive] adj. Extremely small in size; tiny. A very small person or thing. “Although diminutive in stature, they were a formidable opponent;” “A diminutive report.”

Stolid : Having or showing little emotion; dull; impassive.

Ascetic : One who practices severe self-discipline or self-denial.

Dour  :  Sullen; severe; gloomy; stubborn

Pragmatic [prag·mat·ic] adj.  More concerned with practical results than with theories and principles. “The CEO used a pragmatic approach to making his business a success.”

Temporal [tem·po·ral] adj.  Relating to, or limited by time. Lasting only for a time; not eternal.  Also: fleeting, passing, momentary, temporary, transient, short-lived. “The beneficial effects of the loan were temporal.”

Exacerbate [ex·ac·er·bate] transitive verb.  To make more violent, bitter, or severe; to irritate or make worse. “The continued delays were greatly exacerbated by the lack of workers on the project.”