Source: Oxford Languages, Oxford English Dictionary.
| Word. | Meaning. | Origin. |
|---|---|---|
| abberant | adjective. departing from an accepted standard. “this somewhat aberrant behavior requires an explanation” • [Biology] diverging from the normal type. “aberrant chromosomes” | mid 16th century: from Latin aberrant- ‘wandering away’, from the verb aberrare, from ab- ‘away, from’ + errare ‘to stray’. |
| abominable | adjective. causing moral revulsion. “the uprising was suppressed with abominable cruelty” • very bad or unpleasant. “a cup of abominable tea” | Middle English: via Old French from Latin abominabilis, from abominari (see abominate). The term was once widely believed to be from ab- ‘away from’ + Latin homine (from homo ‘human being’), thus ‘inhuman, beastly’, and frequently spelled abhominable until the 17th century. |
| accoutre | verb clothe or equip in something noticeable or impressive. “magnificently accoutred, he was led up to the high altar” | mid 16th century: from French accoutrer, from Old French acoustrer, from a- (from Latin ad ‘to, at’) + cousture ‘sewing’. |
| acquisitive | adjective excessively interested in acquiring money or material things. “we live in a competitive and acquisitive society” • relating to or involving acquisition. “acquisitive crimes” | late 16th century (in the sense ‘relating to acquisition’): from French acquisitif, -ive, from late Latin acquisitivus, from Latin acquisit- ‘acquired’, from the verb acquirere (see acquire). |
| anomalous | adjective deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected. “an anomalous situation” | mid 17th century: via late Latin from Greek anōmalos (from an- ‘not’ + homalos ‘even’) + -ous. |
| appetitive | adjective characterized by a natural desire to satisfy bodily needs. “the appetitive behavior of animals” | mid 16th century: from French appétitif or medieval Latin appetitivus, from appetire ‘seek after’ (see appetite). |
| approbation | noun [Formal] approval or praise. “the opera met with high approbation” | late Middle English: via Old French from Latin approbatio(n- ), from the verb approbare (see approbate). |
| astute | adjective having or showing an ability to accurately assess situations or people and turn this to one’s advantage. “an astute businessman” | early 17th century: from obsolete French astut or Latin astutus, from astus ‘craft’. |
| audacious | adjective 1. showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks. “a series of audacious takeovers” 2. showing an impudent lack of respect. “an audacious remark” | mid 16th century: from Latin audax, audac- ‘bold’ (from audere ‘dare’) + -ious. |
| auspicious | adjective conducive to success; favorable. “it was not the most auspicious moment to hold an election” • giving or being a sign of future success. “they said it was an auspicious moon—it was rising • [Archaic] “characterized by success; prosperous. “he was respectful to his auspicious customers” | late 16th century: from auspice + -ous. |
| bacchanalian | adjective characterized by or given to drunken revelry; riotously drunken. “a bacchanalian orgy” | |
| boorish | adjective rough and bad-mannered; coarse. “boorish behavior” | |
| bon vivant | noun a person who enjoys a sociable and luxurious lifestyle. “he was a diplomat, bon vivant, and womanizer par excellence” | late 17th century: from French, literally ‘person living well’, from bon ‘good’ and vivre ‘to live’. |
| bona fide | adjective genuine; real. “only bona fide members of the company are allowed to use the logo” adverb [Law] sincerely; without intention to deceive. “the court will assume that they have acted bona fide” | Latin, literally ‘with good faith’, ablative singular of bona fides. |
| braggadocious | adjective [Informal • US] boastful or arrogant. “it sounds braggadocious, but I don’t think I ever dropped a pass in a game” | mid 19th century: from braggadocio + -ous. |
| carnal | adjective relating to physical, especially sexual, needs and activities. “carnal desire” | late Middle English: from Christian Latin carnalis, from caro, carn- ‘flesh’. See also: Significance of Carnal lust |
| clandestine | adjective kept secret or done secretively, especially because illicit. “she deserved better than these clandestine meetings” | mid 16th century: from French clandestin or Latin clandestinus, from clam ‘secretly’. |
| dispensable | adjective able to be replaced or done without; superfluous. “tiny battlefield robots will be cheap and dispensable” • (of a law or other rule) able to be relaxed in special cases. | early 16th century (in the sense ‘permissible in special circumstances’): from medieval Latin dispensabilis, from Latin dispensare (see dispense). |
| dubious | adjective 1. hesitating or doubting. “Alex looked dubious, but complied” 2. not to be relied upon; suspect. “extremely dubious assumptions” • morally suspect. “time-sharing has been brought into disrepute by dubious sales methods” • of questionable value. “she earned the dubious distinction of being the lowest-paid teacher in the nation” | mid 16th century (in dubious (sense 2)): from Latin dubiosus, from dubium ‘a doubt’, neuter of dubius ‘doubtful’. |
| febrile | adjective having or showing the symptoms of a fever. “a febrile illness” • having or showing a great deal of nervous excitement or energy. “a febrile imagination” | mid 17th century: from French fébrile or medieval Latin febrilis, from Latin febris ‘fever’. |
| fanciful | adjective (of a person or their thoughts and ideas) overimaginative and unrealistic. “a fanciful story about a pot of gold” • existing only in the imagination or fancy. “the Moon Maiden is one of a number of fanciful lunar inhabitants” • designed to be exotically ornamental rather than practical. “fanciful bonnets” | |
| grandstanding | noun the action of behaving in a showy or ostentatious manner in an attempt to attract favorable attention from spectators or the media. “they accused him of political grandstanding” | |
| hedonistic | adjective engaged in the pursuit of pleasure; sensually self-indulgent. “a hedonistic existence of drink, drugs, and parties” | |
| inordinate | adjective unusually or disproportionately large; excessive. “a case that had taken up an inordinate amount of time” • [Archaic] (of a person) unrestrained in feelings or behavior; disorderly. | late Middle English: from Latin inordinatus, from in- ‘not’ + ordinatus ‘arranged, set in order’ (past participle of ordinare ). |
| lascivious | adjective (of a person, manner, or gesture) feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire. “he gave her a lascivious wink” | late Middle English: from late Latin lasciviosus, from Latin lascivia ‘lustfulness’, from lascivus ‘lustful, wanton’. |
| leer | verb look or gaze in an unpleasant, malicious, or lascivious way. “bystanders were leering at the nude painting” | mid 16th century (in the general sense ‘look sideways or askance’): perhaps from obsolete leer ‘cheek’, from Old English hlēor, as though the sense were ‘to glance over one’s cheek’. |
| lewd | adjective crude and offensive in a sexual way. “she began to gyrate to the music and sing a lewd song” | Old English lǣwede, of unknown origin. The original sense was ‘belonging to the laity’; in Middle English, ‘belonging to the common people, vulgar’, and later ‘worthless, vile, evil’, leading to the current sense. |
| limelight | noun the focus of public attention. “the works that brought the artists into the limelight” • intense white light obtained by heating a cylinder of lime, formerly used in theaters. | History Channel |
| narcissistic | adjective having an excessive or erotic interest in oneself and one’s physical appearance. “a narcissistic actress” • relating to narcissism. “narcissistic personality disorder” | |
| perverse | adjective (of a person or their actions) showing a deliberate and obstinate desire to behave in a way that is unreasonable or unacceptable, often in spite of the consequences. “Kate’s perverse decision not to cooperate” • contrary to the accepted or expected standard or practice. “in two general elections the outcome was quite perverse” • [Law] (of a verdict) against the weight of evidence or the direction of the judge on a point of law. • sexually perverted. | late Middle English (in the sense ‘turned away from what is right or good’): from Old French pervers(e ), from Latin perversus ‘turned about’, from the verb pervertere (see pervert). |
| priapic | adjective relating to or resembling a phallus. “priapic carvings” • relating to male sexuality and sexual activity. “priapic cartoons” • [Medicine] (of a male) having a persistently erect penis. | late 18th century: from Priapos (Greek form of Priapus) + -ic. |
| primeval | adjective of or resembling the earliest ages in the history of the world. “mile after mile of primeval forest” • (of feelings or actions) based on primitive instinct; raw and elementary. “a primeval desire” | mid 17th century: from Latin primaevus (from primus ‘first’ + aevum ‘age’) + -al. |
| provocative | adjective causing annoyance, anger, or another strong reaction, especially deliberately. “a provocative article” • arousing sexual desire or interest, especially deliberately. “a provocative sidelong glance” | late Middle English: from Old French provocatif, -ive, from late Latin provocativus, from provocat- ‘called forth, challenged’, from the verb provocare (see provoke). |
| pulchritude | noun [Literary] beauty. “the irresistible pulchritude of her friend” | late Middle English: from Latin pulchritudo, from pulcher, pulchr- ‘beautiful’. |
| solipsism | noun 1. the quality of being very self-centered or selfish. “she herself elicits scant sympathy, such is her solipsism and lack of self-awareness” 2. [Philosophy] the view or theory that the self is all that can be known to exist. “solipsism is an idealist thesis because ‘Only my mind exists’ entails ‘Only minds exist’” | mid 19th century: from modern Latin solipsismus, from Latin solus ‘alone’ + ipse ‘self’ + -ism. Both senses are first taken from uses by German philosophers. |
| subversive | adjective seeking or intended to subvert an established system or institution. “subversive literature” noun a subversive person. “they and their companions were identified as subversives” | mid 17th century: from medieval Latin subversivus, from the verb subvertere (see subvert). |
| sybaritic | adjective fond of sensuous luxury or pleasure; self-indulgent. “their opulent and sybaritic lifestyle” | mid 16th century (originally denoting an inhabitant of Sybaris, an ancient Greek city in southern Italy, noted for luxury): via Latin from Greek Subaritēs . |
| transgressive | adjective 1. involving a violation of moral or social boundaries. “the poets have well-earned reputations for transgressive behavior as well as verse” • relating to art or literature in which orthodox moral, social, and artistic boundaries are challenged by the representation of unconventional behavior and the use of experimental forms. “the contrast of such transgressive films with their mainstream counterparts should be clear” | |
| vaunt | verb boast about or praise (something), especially excessively “he was initially vaunted by the West for his leadership of the country” noun [Archaic] a boast. | late Middle English: the noun a shortening of obsolete avaunt ‘boasting, a boast’; the verb (originally in the sense ‘use boastful language’) from Old French vanter, from late Latin vantare, based on Latin vanus ‘vain, empty’. |
| virile | adjective having strength, energy, and a strong sex drive (typically used of a man). “he was a powerful, virile man” • having or characterized by strength and energy. “a strong, virile performance of the Mass” | late 15th century (in the sense ‘characteristic of a man’): from French viril or Latin virilis, from vir ‘man’. |
| voluptuary | noun a person devoted to luxury and sensual pleasure. adjective concerned with luxury and sensual pleasure. “a voluptuary decade when high living was in style” | early 17th century: from Latin volupt(u)arius, from voluptas ‘pleasure’. |
| voracious | adjective wanting or devouring great quantities of food. “he had a voracious appetite” • having a very eager approach to an activity. “his voracious reading of literature” | mid 17th century: from Latin vorax, vorac- (from vorare ‘devour’) + -ious. |
| vulpine | adjective relating to a fox or foxes. “the thriving vulpine population” • crafty; cunning. “Karl gave a vulpine smile” | early 17th century: from Latin vulpinus, from vulpes ‘fox’. |
