The Words You Should Know to Sound Smart (2 page)

apropos
(ah-pro-POE), adverb

Appropriate, or at an opportune time.

Charlie began screaming the words “Too late! Too late!” APROPOS of nothing.

arcane
(are-CAYNE), adjective

Strange and mysterious; understood by only a few.

Bill’s ARCANE knowledge of all Lexus models and their accessories is just a waste of gray matter.

archetype
(ARE-ke-type), noun

A prototypical example; a recurrent theme or pattern; an original model that is widely imitated.

Boys never played with dolls until G.I. Joe became the ARCHETYPE of the “action figure.”

argosy
(are-guh-SEE), noun

A rich, seemingly endless, supply.

The deceased hermit’s home turned out to be an ARGOSY of Cuban cigars, Swiss timepieces, and historical erotica.

artifice
(ARE-ti-fis), noun

The use of clever strategies and cunning methods to fool or best others and tip an outcome in your favor.

ascetic
(uh-SET-ik), noun

A person who deliberately chooses to live a plain and simple life; characterized by lack of material possessions and strong self-discipline in all matters of behavior.

When Steve Jobs started Apple, a magazine profile portrayed him as an ASCETIC, noting that he had no furniture in his apartment.

asperity
(a-SPARE-ih-tee), noun

Something hard to endure.

Sorry, I can’t handle the ASPERITY of a ballet. Could we watch football instead?

assiduously
(ah-SID-you-us-lee), adverb

Diligent and persistent, especially in an effort to help others, achieve a goal, or deliver on one’s promises.

David worked ASSIDUOUSLY to complete his first novel, writing for three hours a night after work and dinner.

assuage
(ah-SWAYJ), verb

To put someone at ease; to comfort or soothe; to erase doubts and fears.

“
But history must not yet tell the tragedies enacted here; let time intervene in some measure to ASSUAGE and lend an azure tint to them.” – Henry David Thoreau, American author and transcendentalist

asunder
(ah-SUN-derr), adjective

A whole that has been split into parts; a union that has been eliminated, leaving the people or things once joined now separate.

His marriage torn ASUNDER, Mike decided to quit his job, move to Tangiers, and become a year-round beach bum.

asynchronous
(aye-SINK-crow-nuss), adjective

Acting or functioning with no regularity or discernible time schedule.

Maggie’s ASYNCHRONOUS habits drive her friends crazy because they can never make advance plans with her.

augur
(AW-ger), verb

To predict or foretell the future.

The three witches of Shakespeare’s
Macbeth
AUGUR the cataclysmic fate of the play’s titular character.

auspicious
(awe-SPIH-shus), adjective

A good beginning giving rise to the belief that the venture, journey, or activity will end in success.

The blind date did not have an AUSPICIOUS start because Max kept calling his friend’s cousin “Mallory” instead of “Mary.”

austere
(aw-STEER), adjective

Stern; grim and lacking humor or warmth; clean and unornamented; severe or strict in manner.

In the movie
Dead Poets Society,
Robin Williams clashes with an AUSTERE headmaster at a private boy’s school.

autodidact
(AW-toe-dih-dakt), noun

A self-educated person.

In the twentieth century, the library was the university of the AUTODIDACT; in the twenty-first century, it is the Internet.

autonomy
(aw-THAN-ah-mee), noun

Maintaining independent thought and action; free; self-governing; without dependence on, or under control of, a higher authority.

Herb claims he wants AUTONOMY, but he goes absolutely nuts whenever his boss gives him unstructured assignments.

avant-garde
(AH-vant-GARD), noun, adjective

New and experimental; especially referring to art, writing, architecture, and music.

“AVANT-GARDE art jousts with propriety, but takes care never to unseat.” – Mason Cooley, American aphorist

avarice
(AH-ver-iss), noun

The insatiable desire to have a lot of money, greed.

“What you call AVARICE,” Mary said, “I just call getting my share.”

aver
(uh-VER), verb

To assert the truthfulness of a statement.

avuncular
(a-VUN-cue-lar), adjective

Kind, genial, benevolent, like an uncle.

Myron’s AVUNCULAR personality makes women think of him as a friend, not as a lover.

axiom
(AKS-e-um), noun

A truth or fact that is seen as self-evident, leaving no room for question or debate.

Much to the chagrin of his creditors, Max adopted the AXIOM of those who have amassed great wealth: “Pay yourself first.”

bacchanal
(bah-kan-AL), noun

A wild celebration; a party at which the partygoers are loud and out of control, often fueled by excess alcohol consumption.

The initiation ceremony at the fraternity turned into a full-blown BACCHANAL requiring the intervention of the campus police to restore order.

badinage
(BAH-dih-nadge), noun

Light, good-natured, even playful banter.

“If you don’t care for me, you can move out now. I’m frankly not up to BADINAGE.” – Harlan Ellison, American author

bailiwick
(BALE-ee-wick), noun

A person’s specific area of expertise, experience, skill, knowledge, education, or authority.

Foreign language is not my BAILIWICK, I soon realized after failing out of Hebrew School.

basilisk
(BAH-sill-isk), noun

A mythical reptile with a lethal stare or breath.

With poisonous saliva that can kill a man with one bite, the Komodo Dragon is truly a modern-day BASILISK.

bastion
(BAS-tee-uhn), noun

An institution, individual, or something else protecting or preserving a particular way of life, society, set of beliefs, or moral code.

Cliff, a Yale BASTION, continuously quibbles with Irene, who graduated summa cum laude from Harvard.

bathos
(BAY-thoss), noun

A sudden change in mood from the solemn and serious to a more light-hearted, relaxed, and humorous outlook.

When the clock ticked at midnight on December 31, 1999, and we moved into the new century without the computers shutting down, the grim look and worried faces disappeared, and the IT department was suddenly enveloped in a feeling of BATHOS.

beatitude
(bee-AT-it-tood), noun

Being in the highest possible state of happiness, good humor, and contentment.

“Kindness is a virtue neither modern nor urban. One almost unlearns it in a city. Towns have their own BEATITUDE; they are not unfriendly; they offer a vast and solacing anonymity or an equally vast and solacing gregariousness.” – Phyllis McGinley, American author and poet

beguiling
(bee-GUY-ling), adjective

Charming; bewitching; enchanting.

The BEGUILING charm Monica learned at finishing school more than makes up for her vapid personality.

beleaguer
(beh-LEE-gir), verb

To persistently surround, harass, or pester until you get what you want.

To the embarrassment of her friends, Kristen BELEAGUERED the sommelier until he brought her a satisfactory Bordeaux.

belie
(bee-LYE), verb

To contradict or misrepresent.

Luther’s mild-mannered, almost sickly appearance BELIED his physical conditioning and surprising strength.

belles lettres
(BELL-LET-truh), noun

Novels, short stories, poems, and other writings read for their grace and literary style and not necessarily their content.

bellicose
(BELL-ih-kose), adjective

Belligerent, surly, ready to argue or fight at the slightest provocation.

Doug is so touchy about his new Jaguar that he’ll instantly grow BELLICOSE if you so much as brush against it.

bellwether
(BELL-weather), noun

A leading indicator or factor in determining a course of action or outcome.

The fact that Robert got thrown out of Groton and Exeter was a BELLWETHER for his lackadaisical years at Dartmouth.

beneficent
(be-NE-fih-sent), adjective

Kindly in action, purpose, or speech.

In a BENEFICENT gesture, the neighborhood raised $10,000 to help pay for the young boy’s leukemia treatments.

benighted
(bee-NYE-ted), adjective

To be lost, ignorant, or unenlightened.

The Medieval period was a BENIGHTED era of superstition.

benign
(beh-NINE), adjective

Kindly, gentle, generous of spirit, not harmful.

We thought Amanda BENIGN until she began to inflate her family pedigree.

bereaved
(beh-REEVD), adjective

To be in a state of grief as the result of the death of someone you love or care deeply about.

bereft
(Beh-REFT), adjective

Lacking a certain characteristic, possession, or trait; isolated and lonely.

“A woman moved is like a fountain troubled. / Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, BEREFT of beauty, / And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty / Will deign to sip or touch one drop of it.” – William Shakespeare

besotted
(bih-SOTT-ed), adjective

Made foolish, stupid, or dull due to an infatuation with love, money, the pursuit of power, etc.

Aline thinks Jake is BESOTTED with her, but he’s really BESOTTED with her father’s stock portfolio.

bespoke
(bih-SPOHK), adjective

Clothes, shoes, and other goods custom-made for a particular client.

Taylor’s big secret is that though he wears BESPOKE clothing, he’s only leasing his new Lexus.

bête noire
(Bett-NWAR), noun

A thing for which one has an intense dislike or great fear; a dreaded enemy or foe.

Sunlight was Dracula’s greatest BÊTE NOIRE.

betoken
(bee-TOE-ken), verb

To serve as a warning.

For Mary and Paul, the breakdown of their new Porsche while they were still two hours away from their summer home BETOKENED a disastrous vacation.

bibelot
(BIB-low), noun

A small object of beauty or rarity.

The Rossington’s collection of BIBELOTS contains numerous Faberge eggs.

bibliomania
(bib-lee-oh-MAY-nee-uh), noun

A preoccupation with the acquisition and ownership of books.

Lauren’s BIBLIOMANIA extends only to her stockpile of catalogues for exclusive shops.

bibulous
(BIB-yuh-luss), adjective

Related to drinking or to drunkenness.

Arthur thinks he’s “fine,” but his BIBULOUS activities are causing the club to consider permanent expulsion.

bicameral
(by-KAM-er-el), adjective

A government or parliament with two chambers or houses.

With a Senate and a House of Representatives, the United States has a BICAMERAL legislature.

bifurcate
(BYE-fur-kate), verb

To divide something into two branches or forks.

“François Truffaut defined a great movie as a perfect blend of truth and spectacle. Now it’s become BIFURCATED. Studio films are all spectacle and no truth, and independent films are all truth and no spectacle.” – Howard Franklin, American screenwriter and director

bilateral
(by-LAT-ur-ul), adjective

Touching, existing on, or having or being agreed to by two sides.

The president signed a BILATERAL disarmament agreement with the nation bordering to the north.

bildungsroman
(BILL-dungs-roh-man), noun

A coming-of-age novel, such as
The Catcher in the Rye
or
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
.

Alex has started writing a BILDUNGSROMAN about his experiences in prep school.

bilious
(BILL-yuss), adjective

Having a nasty temperament or disagreeable disposition; to be “full of bile” and hatred.

The polo team’s BILIOUS captain made his team miserable as he proceeded to criticize their every move.

billet
(BILL-uht), noun

A job, position, or appointment.

With his wealthy father’s influence, Miles was able to secure a lucrative BILLET in a major brokerage house.

blandishments
(BLAN-dish-ments), noun

Compliments rendered primarily to influence and gain favor with the person you are praising.

The BLANDISHMENTS heaped upon the consultant by his client were not sufficient to persuade him to take a staff position with them.

blazon
(BLAY-zuhn), noun or verb

A coat of arms; or, to proclaim something widely.

You’ll find the Rutherford’s family BLAZON on every one of Prescott’s ties.

bloviate
(BLOH-vee-ayt), verb

To speak pompously and at length

Maxwell BLOVIATES about his “excellent” golf game, but everyone knows he inflates his handicap exponentially.

bona fide
(BO-nah-fyed), adjective

Legitimate, the real thing, the genuine article.

He may not come across as particularly intelligent, but Brian’s Phi Beta Kappa key is, in fact, BONA FIDE.

bonhomie
(bon-uh-MEE), noun

A good-natured, genial manner.

Even though he has no family pedigree, Walker is accepted into our group because of his contagious BONHOMIE.

bourgeois
(boor-ZHWAH), adjective

Pertaining or relating to the middle class, as opposed to the upper class or royalty on one end and the peasants or common laborers on the other.

“The representation of the garrison thus turned out to be incomparably more moderate and BOURGEOIS than the soldier masses.” – Leon Trotsky, Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist

bovine
(BO-vyne), adjective

Anything related to or reminiscent of cows or other dull, docile, slow-moving, grazing mammals.

bowdlerize
(BOWED-ler-eyes), verb

To remove obscenity, violence, and other inappropriate content from a novel, play, or story so as to make it appropriate for a younger reader.

Hollywood BOWDLERIZED his script so, instead of being R-rated, the film was rated PG-13.

braggadocio
(brag-uh-DOH-see-oh), noun

Empty boasting or bragging.

Eric claims he is a consummate wine connoisseur, but it is just BRAGGADOCIO.

breviary
(BREE-vee-air-ee), noun

A brief summary or abridgement.

She called it a BREVIARY, but Lana’s recounting of her family’s month on the Riviera was anything but short.

Brobdingnagian
(brahb-ding-NAG-ian), adjective

Describes a thing or person of enormous size; huge.

Andre the Giant was a man of BROBDINGNAGIAN proportions, standing seven-foot-five-inches and weighing over 500 pounds.

brouhaha
(BREW-ha-ha), noun

A confusing, exciting, and turmoil-rife event.

Madeline caused a BROUHAHA when she told her parents she was eschewing Harvard for a state school in order to be closer to her boyfriend.

bromide
(BRO-mide), noun

A cliché or tired saying used to express an idea without any thought or originality.

Helen’s Harvard education does not stop her from peppering her speech with insipid BROMIDES.

brummagem
(BRUHM-uh-juhm), noun or adjective

Describes something that looks great but performs poorly.

“Our press is certainly bankrupt in … reverence for nickel plate and brummagem.” – Mark Twain

bucolic
(byoo-KOL-ick), adjective

A peaceful, serene, rural object, place, or environment.

We bought a weekend place in a BUCOLIC little village in the country.

bugaboo
(BUHG-uh-boo), noun

Something that causes fear and worry, often needlessly.

Angela caused a BUGABOO when she informed her family that she was leaving the Episcopal Church.

bulwark
(bull-WARK), noun

A defensive, protective barrier, wall, or force.

bumptious
(BUMP-shuss), adjective

Loud and assertive in a crude way.

The club’s golf pro was fired due to his BUMPTIOUS behavior on the links.

burgeon
(BURR-jin), verb

To sprout, to grow; to blossom and flourish.

Natalia does her part for the BURGEONING “green” movement by having her gardener turn manure from her stables into fertilizer.

byzantine
(biz-ann-TEEN), adjective

A convoluted plan; a scheme that is overly complicated; a puzzle or task that’s difficult to figure out because of its complexity.