| Bog | similar to a swamp but it is a collection of large stagnant water that is usually located on a higher level than what is around it | Scientists put on their wading boots so that they could march up the incline to test the plant life in the bog. |
| Boggle | To hesitate as if in fear or doubt, to baffle or confuse someone’s mind | Difficult math equations and tricky logic questions were enough to boggle the minds of the students. |
| Bogus | sham; counterfeit; not genuine | The jewelry store owner was arrested for selling bogus diamonds as genuine gems |
| Boisterous | noisy; restraint | Your boisterous actions at church cannot be tolerated. |
| Bolster | give greatly needed support, to make something stronger or bolder | In order to bolster its profits, the computer company is cutting its workforce. |
| Bombast | high-sounding language with little meaning, used to impress people. | he was bombasting talking without any meaning |
| Boor | an insensitive or inconsiderate individual | Jack was such a boor he would not even hold a door for his mother. |
| Boorish | crude; rude, bad-mannered, rude, or insensitive | After annoying all the cocktail waitresses for two hours, the boorish drunk was finally thrown out of the bar |
| Bourgeois | characteristic of the social middle class | Although he came from a poor family, Charles always acted bourgeois when he was out with his friends. |
| Braggart | boastful, an individual who brags a great deal | Since Jim does not want to be seen as a braggart, he never talks about the expensive gifts he receives from his father. |
| Brash | hasty rush; cheeky; saucy, assertive in an aggressive way that often comes across as unpleasant | Because Anna is so brash at work, she often offends people with her aggressive personality. |
| Brass | yellow metal (mixing copper and zinc) | a brass plate on the door |
| Brawny | well-built; strong | It was easy for the brawny men to move the grand piano. |
| Brazen | made of brass, bold and without shame | In a brazen assault, the gang fired their weapons at the policeman. |
| Breach | a violation of an agreement, opening; broken place; breaking | According to the teacher-district contract, teachers who tutor their own students for money commit a breach of conduct. |
| Brevity | the quality of expressing something in very few words; briefness | The president made his points with praiseworthy brevity. |
| Brisk | very active and quick | A brisk jog helped to clear my mind. |
| Bristle | to display indications of being angry | Because my daughter is disabled, I tend to bristle when people make fun of individuals with disabilities. |
| Brittle | easily broken | Because elderly people have brittle bones, they frequently injure themselves. |
| Broach | bring up; announce; begin to talk about, to mention a topic for debate or discussion | The confused boy was afraid to broach the subject of his homosexuality to his parents. |
| Brobdingnagian | gigantic, huge | The brobdingnagian hamburger was so large that it would not fit inside my mouth for a bite |
| Brood | the offspring or youngsters in a household unit | Because my wife is pregnant, our brood will be increasing in February. |
| Brook | to tolerate; endure, a body of running water smaller than a river; a small stream | Oscar and I prefer to fish at the quiet brook because it is less crowded than the beach. |
| Brummagem | Cheap and showy | a vile Brummagem substitute for the genuine article |
| Brusque | blunt in manner or speech to the point of harshness, unfriendly | What did I do to make you so brusque with me? |
| Bulwark | an object that acts as a shield | Vaccines act as a bulwark against many childhood diseases. |
| Buoyant | able to float; light-hearted, joyful and self-assured, | When I talked to my doctor, he was buoyant about my weight loss under the new diet.a buoyant substance |
| Bureaucracy | Government by bureaus or their administrators or officer | The bureaucracy of the legislative government is delaying the passage of much needed educational funding. |
| Burgeon | grow forth send out buds, to grow and expand rapidly | As car prices go down, car dealers are expecting sales to burgeon. |
| Burlesque | A derisive art form that mocks by imitation; a parody | The burlesque war film depicts our president as a kid playing with toy soldiers |
| Burnish | to polish; rub to a shine | I applied car polish to my Porsche repeatedly, making sure to burnish it to perfection. |
| Buttress | something that gives support; brick or stone structure built against another structure to support it | For over two centuries, the U.S. Constitution has been a buttress for the government. |
| Byline | a line in a newspaper naming the writer of an article | his byline appeared in the first issue |
| Cabal | a scheme or plot a group of plotters, a collection of people who come together to work against something or someone | A number of board members were part of the cabal that sought to remove the company founder from his position as chairman |
| Cacophony | an unpleasant mixture of loud sounds | When the actor walked into the theater, there was a cacophony of screams from the reporters. |
| Cadge | to beg; to get by begging | By flirting with the bartender, the pretty girl was able to cadge free drinks. |
| Cajole | use flattery or deceit to persuade | Using dry tuna, I was able to cajole the kitten out of the corner. |
| Caldron | a situation characterized by instability and strong emotions, a large metal pot with a lid and handle, used for cooking over an open fire. | a cauldron of repressed anger |
| Calibrate | Before weighing substances in the lab, you should calibrate the scale to make sure it’s properly balanced. | The hospital pharmacist knows how important it is to calibrate the IV medications correctly. |
| Calipers | metal supports attached to the legs measuring instrument | I have buy new calipers |
| Calisthenics | simple exercises that are performed by people to stay fit but don’t require the use of equipment | The pool calisthenics program allows those wanting to lose weight to burn calories through water based exercises |
| Callow | immature, lacking in life experience | Since the callow baker was new to cake decorating, she did not know how to properly frost the multi-layer cake. |
| Calumny | slander; aspersion, a false statement made to damage someone’s reputation | The editor refused to publish the calumny that could possibly destroy the politician’s career. |
| Candid | frank; straight-forward | Because the politician made a candid speech, he earned the respect of the voters. |
| Candor | the state or quality of being frank, open, and sincere in speech or expression | The politician’s candor and honesty made him the favorite candidate in the election. |
| Canonical | according to or ordered by canon law | the canonical rites of the Roman Church |
| Cant | insincere talk/jargon, the unique vocabulary used by a specific group of people | The older woman did not understand the modern cant spoken by her grandchildren. |
| Cantankerous | bad-tempered/quarrelsome | Although Jenna’s father can be quite cantankerous at times, he will do anything to make her happy. |
| Canvass | discuss thoroughly sort of touting, to seek out support from people | Because my aunt is active in politics, she never fails to canvass her neighborhood in support of her favorite candidates. |
| Capacious | having the ability to hold a great amount | When Janet bought a capacious home, she was finally able to use all the furniture she had been keeping in storage. |
| Capitulate | to give in; to surrender under certain terms | If Henry does not capitulate and turn himself in to authorities, he will spend the rest of his life running. |
| Caprices | a sudden and unaccountable change of mood or behaviour. | her caprices made his life impossible |
| Cardinal | fundamental; of the greatest importance | The judge explained, “The cardinal action for any plaintiff in a lawsuit is to bring evidence to court.” |
| Caret | sign | a mark (‸, ⁁) placed below the line to indicate a proposed insertion in a text |
| Carping | having the tendency to complain or criticize | My carping mother-in-law is constantly criticizing my housekeeping skills. |
| Carrion | flesh of a deceased animal | My sister is a strict vegetarian who refuses to eat carrion. |
| Cartographer | an individual who specializes in the creation of maps | The cartographer decided to fly over the area before creating a geographical representation of the terrain. |
| Castigate | to chastise; correct by punishing | My mother was a cruel woman who never missed an opportunity to castigate my father |
| Castigation | severe punishment, to criticize someone or something severely | My mother was a cruel woman who never missed an opportunity to castigate my father. |
| Cataclysmic | (of a natural event) large-scale and violent | a cataclysmic earthquake |
| Catalyst | substance that causes speeding up | The enzyme was the catalyst that triggered the chemical reaction. |
| Catharsis | the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions | music is a means of catharsis for them |
| Caucus | a gathering of individuals who come together to work for a shared objective – generally political in nature | I wonder what names will come up as possible presidential candidates during next month’s electoral caucus. |
| Caulk | a waterproof filler and sealant, used in building work and repairs | use silicone caulk to ensure that you have an all-season moisture seal |
| Caustic | biting sarcastic | Because my uncle was a mean man, he took pleasure in making caustic statements to people. |
| Cavalcade | a procession, a procession of things, usually related to movement | he parade will be brought to a close by a group of veterans driving a cavalcade of antique vehicles. |
| Cavern | a large cave or chamber | Because it was so dark inside the cavern, the hikers couldn’t see the bats hanging from the top of the cave. |
| Celerity | quickness of motion; speed | The slave will be punished if his celerity is not fast enough for his master. |
| Censorious | extremely critical | Although I found the painting very unappealing, I smiled at the artist and kept my censorious thoughts to myself. |
| Censure | expression of blame or disapproval a rebuke | The tardy fireman is going to be given a censure by his commander. |
| Centrifuge | a piece of machinery that spins rapidly in order to create a force which separates substances | In the nuclear plants, scientists take every precaution as they separate uranium in a centrifuge. |
| Centurion | leader of a unit of 100 soldiers | The Roman centurion lead his group of one hundred soldiers into battle. |
| Cerebral | involving the brain or intellect | Because of Adam’s intellectual sense of humor, he is the only one who ever laughs at his cerebral jokes. |
| Certitude | the condition of being certain or sure about something | Unfortunately, the witness could not describe her attacker’s face with certitude. |
| Cessation | the termination of something | Since the bad weather has caused a temporary building cessation, the office building will not be completed on time. |
| Chagrin | vexation, a feeling of being frustrated or annoyed because of failure or disappointment | Much to my chagrin, I failed my math test. |
| Chantey, shanty | a portable shed placed on a frozen lake Sea | The river’s edge was covered with shanty after shanty, build by gypsies who decided to stick around for a while. |
| Charlatan | a person who falsely pretends to know or be something in order to deceive people | The charlatan pretended to be a doctor so he could go into the hospital and steal prescription drugs. |
| Charter | a government-issued document that provides a group or individual with certain rights | The king’s charter gave the colonists the right to set up residence in the new world. |
| Chary | cautious; wary, worry about doing something | While Tim has plans to leave college, he is chary about telling his parents of his decision. |
| Chaste | pure, wholesome; pure in thought | Because I am very religious, I told my boyfriend we could do nothing more than exchange chaste kisses. |
| Chastened | corrected punished, | When I was a child, my parents would chasten me by taking all of my toys. |
| Chastisement | punishment | If you bully someone in Mrs. Marshall’s class, she will chastise you and keep you after school. |
| Chauvinist | a blindly devoted patriot | a chauvinist rejection of foreign interference |
| Chicane | deception, a sharp double bend created to form an obstacle on a motor-racing track or a road | the Austrian’s car flew out of control and spun across the chicane |
| Chicanery | legal trickery/false argument | You can smell the chicanery from a dishonest politician. |
| Chimerical | wildly fanciful or imaginative | The company was fined when the government discovered it had used chimerical data to get approval for its new drug. |
| Chisel | steel tool for shaping materials | A chisel is a bladed tool with a handle that is hammered into a solid material like stone or ice to break off pieces of it. |
| Choleric | easily irritated; grumpy | The choleric baby would not stop crying. |
| Chorales | a stately hymn tune, especially one associated with the German Lutheran Church | Chorales is associated with german |
| Chortle | loud chuckle of pleasure or amusement | As Santa Claus listened to the little boy’s joke, he started to chortle in amusement. |
| Chronic | appearing for a lengthy period of time | My anxiety disorder causes me to be a chronic worrier. |
| Chronicler | a person who writes accounts of important or historical events | a chronicler of 18th-century American life |
| Churl | bad-tempered person | He was the churl with kaleidoscope eyes. |
| Churlish | (adj) boorish, rude; impolite | Although Ms. X is a beautiful and talented actress, she has a reputation for being churlish and difficult to get along with. |
| Circuitous | not said or done simply or clearly | My boss asked me to simplify the circuitous language for the average reader. |
| Circumlocution | the use of too many words to say something, especially in order to avoid saying something clearly | The con man tried to use circumlocution to avoid explaining his real intentions to the wealthy couple. |
| Circumscribe | to limit the range or scope of something to a particular degree | When my husband drinks too much, I hide his car keys to circumscribe his capacity to drive. |
| Circumspect | to think carefully before doing or saying anything, in order to avoid risks or consequences; cautious | In this day and age, you need to be circumspect about giving out too much personal information on the internet. |
| Circumvent | to avoid or get around something; to bypass | If we do not find a way to circumvent this problem, we will not be able to finish the project. |
| Clairvoyant | able to see beyond the range of ordinary observation | The psychic’s clairvoyant abilities allowed her to see into the future. |
| Clamor | shout complain with a lot of noise | As soon as the people learn about the little boy’s murder, they are going to clamor for justice. |
| Clandestine | done in an unobtrusive manner to avoid detection | We waited until after our parents went to sleep to have our clandestine meeting about their surprise party. |
| Clemency | a decision not to punish someone severely | The killer’s wife begged the judge to give her husband clemency so he would be out of prison before she died. |
| Cliché | a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought | that old cliché ‘a woman’s place is in the home’ |
| Clientele | customers | If we don’t treat our clientele well, they won’t return to our store. |
| Clinch | come to grips/settle conclusively | They can clinch a wild card with a victory or tie. |
| Cling | to resist separation, hold tightly | Eric does not like to swim while wearing an undershirt because wet clothes cling to his body. |
| Cloistered | to isolate from others | Although the girl was quite shy, she tried hard to not cloister herself in the corner at parties. |
| Clot | half-solid lump formed from liquid | a blood clot |
| Cloture | closing device (in Parliament) to end a debate by voting | There was a call for cloture on the discussion so voting could begin. |
| Clumsy | awkward in movement or handling, prone to accidents or mistakes | I would never trust someone who is clumsy as a surgeon, since such a career requires finesse and precision. |
| Coagulant | a substance that causes blood or another liquid to coagulate | an injection of blood coagulant |
| Coagulation | change to a thick and solid state | a supplement that inhibits blood coagulation |
| Coalescing | coming together and uniting into one substance, to join into a single mass | Olivia stared into the distance and concentrated, hoping that all her random thoughts would somehow coalesce into one brilliant idea. |
| Coax | get somebody to do something by kindness | My sister tried to coax me to do her chores by offering me money. |
| Coda | passage that completes a piece of music | the first movement ends with a fortissimo coda |
| Coddle | treat with care and tenderness | Our teacher was very fair in that she would neither coddle nor chastise her students. |
| Coerce | compel to force to make obedient, to make someone do something by using force or threats | The bully tried to coerce the small kids into giving him their lunch money. |
| Coeval | of the same period; coexisting | Since my sister and I are twins, we have coeval birthdays. |
| Cogent | strong; convincing | Because the child was so young, I worked hard to give her cogent answers to her questions. |
| Cogitate | think deeply mediate, to think hard about; to consider | If you cogitate on your destiny for too long, you will miss out on your life. |
| Cognition | the mental courses by which one obtains knowledge through experiences and thoughts | In the car accident, Steve acquired a head injury that affected his cognition and prevented him from learning new things. |
| Cognizant | being fully aware of, knowledgeable of something, especially through personal experience | Because I have been on a tight budget for two years, I am very cognizant of the importance of using coupons to get the best deals. |
| Coherent | logical and clear | If you can’t explain this concept in a more coherent way, I will never be able to understand it. |
| Cohort | a group or band of people | a cohort of civil servants patiently drafting legislation” |
| Colander | bowl-shaped vessel with many holes used to drain off water | use colander to drain water |
| Collage | an artistic creation made by sticking many different things together | Creating a collage out of all her childhood pictures, Jaleesa used her artistic ability helped her make the perfect mother’s gift. |
| Collate | to put information in a specific order | The software program allows people to collate their photographs by dates. |
| Colloquial | involving or using conversation, casual and conversational language | Because a job interview is such a serious event, one should not speak to the interviewer in a colloquial tone. |
| Collusion | secret agreement for a deceitful purpose, a private agreement for a dishonest purpose | Under the collusion between the crooked cops and the drug dealers, the officers receive fifteen percent of the drug profits. |
| Combustion | process of burning | The combustion of leaves can lead to a forest fire if not handled properly. |
| Comeliness | attractiveness; beauty | Although she has the comeliness of a model, the short beauty queen is too petite for a runway. |
| Commemorate | keep the memory of | The general will commemorate the soldier’s act of heroism by presenting him with a medal |
| Commensurate | in proportion; equal | A punishment of 10 years in prison with hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread is not commensurate with the crime. |
| Commingle | mix; blend | the part of the brain where the senses commingle |
| Commodious | having plenty of space for what is needed | I finally found an inexpensive hotel with rooms that are commodious enough for the whole family. |
| Commuter | person who travels regularly | As a commuter in the summertime, Rose made sure she drove a car with a working air conditioner. |
| Complacent | pleased; overly content | I am rightfully not complacent with low quality service. |
| Complaisance | marked by an inclination to please or oblige | Marsha’s complaisant character made her the perfect servant. |
| Complaisant | trying to please; obliging | Marsha’s complaisant character made her the perfect servant. |
| Compliant | observing the requirements and rules, willing to do what someone wants | My friend recently bought a shock collar to make her dog more compliant. |
| Composure | peace of mind | When Jane’s wedding dress ripped, she kept her composure and walked down the aisle with her head held high. |
| Compunction | feeling of regret for one’s action, anxiety arising from awareness of guilt | The serial killer showed no compunction when his guilty verdict was announced. |
| Concatenation | taking two separately located things and placing them side by side so that they become two things | The student’s concatenation of the words ‘air’ and ‘plane’ formed the word airplane. |
| Conceal | hide keep secret | Did Mary really think she could conceal her affair from her husband? |
| Concede | to admit something is true or to admit defeat in a contest | Since he was trailing behind, the politician decided to concede the election to his opponent. |
| Conceit | over-high opinion of too much pride | The conceited man would not stop talking about himself. |
| Conciliate | make calm and content; placate | Before mediating between the two parties, the judge attempted to conciliate the plaintiff to prevent unnecessary litigatio |
| Conciliatory | reconciling; soothing; comforting; mollifying | The mediator made a conciliatory statement which helped the two parties find common ground. |
| Concise | short | The concise exam was greatly appreciated by the exhausted students who had studied all night for the test |
| Concoct | invent, prepare by mixing together, to make something using cleverness or ability | Using only his cellphone, the talented filmmaker was able to concoct a wonderful film that won several awards. |
| Concord | agreement or harmony | The war will end when the two countries reach a concord on the disputed territory that aligns their borders. |
| Concur | agree in opinion happen together | With no other facts on hand, I can only concur with your statement. |
| Condense | increase in density strength make laconic | Beat egg yolks until thick; combine with sweetened condensed milk. |
| Condescend | show that one feels superior; be patronizing | take care not to condescend to your reader |
| Condone | forgive | Good police officers will not condone speeding. |
| Conduce | To bring about | nothing would conduce more to the unity of the nation |
| Confidential | intended to be kept secre | he dropped his voice to a confidential whisper |
| Confine | keep or restrict someone or something within certain limits of (space, scope, or time) | within the confines of the hall escape was difficult |
| Conflagration | conflict or war | It seems as though the conflagration in the Middle East has been going on for centuries. |
| Conflate | to blend two or more things into one whole | The scientist tried to conflate the two chemicals, but they exploded instead of blending. |
| Confound | to mix up or confuse | If the nurse does not read the labels, she will confound the medications and possibly harm patients. |
| Confrontation | a hostile or argumentative situation or meeting between opposing parties | a confrontation with the legislature |
| Congeal | make or become stiff and solid, to change from a liquid to solid state | They refrigerated the liquid gelatin so it would congeal before they ate it. |
| Congenital | existing since birth | Her deafness was considered congenital because she was born without hearing. |
| Congruent | matching in type or makeup | Eating five chocolate bars is not congruent with your plan for losing weight. |
| Conifer | tree | a tree which bears cones and needle-like or scale-like leaves that are typically evergreen |
| Conjecture | an opinion or idea formed without proof or sufficient evidence | The jury rejected the attorney’s conjecture about the defendant’s motive because of a lack of evidence. |
| Conjoin | to join together | Wedding ceremonies serve to conjoin two separate families. |
| Conjure | to bring into existence, sometimes by magic | The magician was able to conjure a rabbit out of his empty top hat. |
| Conniving | discreetly working to complete a dishonest task | Alan’s wife is a conniving woman who only married him for his money.v |
| Connoisseur | a person with good judgement (e.g.. in art) | Because the psychologist talks to many individuals, she considers herself to be a connoisseur of people and their relationships. |
| Connotation | suggestion in addition to | No matter how you look at it, the word lucky will always have a positive connotation. |
| Connote | Suggest or imply in addition to the precise, literal meaning, to imply something in addition to what is apparent | A yellow flag on the football field is meant to connote a penalty during the game. |
| Conscript | One who is compulsorily enrolled, often into a military service; a draftee. | they were conscripted into the army |
| Consecrate | To declare, or otherwise make something holy. | the monks will consecrate the temple as a house of worship. |
| Consensus | general agreement about something | Fortunately for homeowners, a consensus has not been reached in favor of a property tax increase. |
| Consequential | pompous self important, significant; important | The partial footprint was consequential in solving the case. |
| Consign | to pass something to another individual so the item can be sold | Ginger is going to consign her jewelry to a well-known auction house. |
| Console | give comfort or sympathy to | I tried to console my best friend when her husband died. |
| Conspicuous | easily seen remarkable, very easy to notice | Standing beside the skinny models, the fat girl looked very conspicuous. |
| Conspire | to make covert plans to perform an illegal or bad deed | The students have decided to conspire to steal the test answers. |
| Consternation | surprise and fear; dismay, a feeling of worry, shock, or fear – often happens when something unexpected happens |
I sleep in consternation not knowing where my keys are. |
| Constrain | compel, to restrict, limit or hold back | Dave purchased a play pen to constrain his energetic puppy while he was at work. |
| Constrict | make tight or smaller, to narrow or reduce | Because I am allergic to peanuts, any contact makes my throat constrict. |
| Consume | get to the end of | people consume a good deal of sugar in drinks” |
| Consummate | perfect/make; perfect/complete | All the directors wanted to work with Cary because he was a consummate actor who never forgot his lines. |
| Contemn | to scorn or despise | If my ex-boyfriend decides to contemn me at the party, I will treat him with the same disdain. |
| Contemporary | quite recent | While young people tend to prefer contemporary music, the older generation prefers to listen to music from the 1970’s and the 1980’s. |
| Contend | to argue or challenge | Many of the politicians who are opposing the bill contend it will harm the middle class. |
| Contention | a dispute between groups or individuals | Does anyone know the point of contention that started the fight between Jim and Bob? |
| Contentious | argumentative pugnacious combative quarrelsome | The author wrote a contentious novel which caused a great deal of unrest. |
| Contiguous | touching neighboring near | Having a balcony that is contiguous to my bedroom allows me to view the sunrise from my bed. |
| Contingent | depending on whether or not something else occurs | The job offer was contingent upon the return of a clean background review. |
| Contrite | filled with deep sorrow for wrongdoing | The local news was noticeably contrite and apologized to viewers for the countless on-air technical difficulties. |
| Contrition | the state of feeling remorseful and penitent, remorse | to show contrition for his crime he offered to do community service |
| Contumacious | insubordinate rebellious, rebellious against laws or those in authority | Because the contumacious student refused to obey the principal’s instructions, he was suspended from school. |
| Contusion | a region of injured tissue or skin in which blood capillaries have been ruptured; a bruise. | a dark contusion on his cheek was beginning to swell |
| Conundrum | a riddle dilemma enigma | Trying to solve this conundrum is really making my head hurt. |
| Conventional | describing the standard or the norm | In many cultures, a handshake is a conventional greeting exchanged between people meeting for the first time. |
| Conviction | convincing firm belief | He had such a lack of conviction of his suitability for the job that he skipped the interview entirely. |
| Convoke | call together summon | The chairman decided to convoke a meeting to discuss the company’s budget issue. |
| Convoluted | complicated;coiled; twisted, extremely complex and difficult to follow | My head began to hurt as I listened to the professor’s convoluted speech. |
| Cordial | warm and sincere | If you treat people in a cordial manner, they will treat you well also. |
| Cordon | line (of police acting as a guard), to create a barrier around or from something | Since children could get injured on playgrounds, it is essential to cordon off a playground so they don’t have access to it through the fence. |
| Cornucopia | abundant supply | The gigantic farmer’s market has a cornucopia of fresh foods. |
| Corporeal | physical of or for the body | As Jack reached for the ghost, he realized it was not corporeal when his hands went straight through the shape. |
| Corpulent | having a large bulky body | After overeating for months, the skinny girl became somewhat corpulent. |
| Corpuscle | a minute body or cell in an organism, especially a red or white cell in the blood of vertebrates | these subparticles at the centre of an antimony corpuscle are fluid and volatile |
| Correlate | have a mutual relation | Over the years, scientists have proven that smoking does indeed correlate with cancer. |
| Corroborate | to strengthen or support with other evidence; make more certain | I prayed my friend would corroborate the lie I told my parents! |
| Corroboration | additional strengthening evidence, evidence which confirms or supports a statement, theory, or finding; confirmation. | there is no independent corroboration for this |
| Corrugated | To wrinkle, to fold into parallel folds, grooves or ridges. | The roof was made of corrugated material so the rain could flow down easily. |
| Coruscate | sparkle, to give off flashes of light | the diamonds began to coruscate in the bright light. |
| Coterie | a group of individuals who hang out together for a certain reason | Our coterie of girls always sits at the best table in the school cafeteria. |
| Countenance | a person’s face or facial expression | Even though Janet is a very young woman, her rough countenance makes her appear much older. |
| Counterfeit | forgery, a fake version of an original item | The man was arrested for making counterfeit money. |
| Countervail | counterbalance | the dominance of the party was mediated by a number of countervailing factors |
| Covert | disguised, hidden or secret | The spy went to great lengths to make sure his enemies would not discover his covert plans. |
| Covet | to greatly desire something you lack | In the book by Dickens, the miser did nothing but covet money. |
| Covetous | eagerly desirous | While I ate, my covetous dog eyed my every bite. |
| Cower | crouch shrink back, to crouch as in fear or shame | I can always count on my cat to cower in the corner whenever I turn on the vacuum cleaner. |
| Coy | shy/modest (especially of a girl) | From behind her fan, the young woman gave her suitor a coy smile. |
| Crass | without refinement or sensitivity; gross. stupid, vulgar, insensitive | If you don’t want to hear crass comments about the way you dress, don’t wear that outfit to the night club. |
| Cravat | piece of linen worn as a necktie, A tie | you are wearing beautiful cravat |
| Crave | to feel a powerful desire for something | While trying to cut out sweets from her diet, Belle began to desperately crave cake and other sweets. |
| Craven, cowardly | cowardly, Lack of courage | My husband James proves he is not craven every time he runs into a burning building to save a stranger. |
| Crease | line made by crushing white line on the ground in cricket | he sank into the chair, careful not to crease his dinner jacket |
| Credible | believable; trustworthy | As a member of the jury, I didn’t find the witness testimony credible so I disregarded it. |
| Creditable | deserving of praise | Although Ellen didn’t win the singing competition, her efforts were creditable enough to earn her a recording contract. |
| Credulity | too great a readiness to believe things | Because my brother is a credulous consumer, he is a salesperson’s dream. |
| Credulous | ready to believe things | Because my brother is a credulous consumer, he is a salesperson’s dream. |
| Crepuscular | resembling or relating to twilight, active insects in twilight | At sunset, the entomologists study the crepuscular insects as they move across the beach. |
| Cringe | to shrink or flinch, as in fear, disgust or embarrassment | Because I’m afraid of the dentist, I cringe every time I get my teeth cleaned. |
| Crockery | plates, dishes, cups, and other similar items, especially ones made of earthenware or china | plates, dishes, cups, we buyed crickery |
| Crush | press lose shape subdue overwhelm | Simply crush aspirin and add the powder to your shampoo if you want to cure your dandruff. |
| Cryptic | secret with a hidden meaning | Younger children will find it hard to understand the cryptic directions that go along with the chemistry set. |
| Cues | a signal (as a word, a gesture, or phrase) for somebody to do something | she had not yet been given her cue to come out on to the dais |
| Culpable | guilty; deserving blame | The judge found the man culpable of the crime and sentenced him to life in prison. |
| Cumbersome | burdensome; heavy and awkward to carry | The cumbersome box was too big for the shopping cart. |
| Curb | something that holds back or limits | Popping a small piece of candy into your mouth would curb your hunger but only temporarily. |
| Curmudgeon | bad-tempered person | My neighbor is a curmudgeon who keeps the soccer balls that accidentally come into his yard. |
| Curriculum | course of study | While Sarah was being homeschooled, her mother decided what should be included in the math curriculum. |
| Cursory | quick; hurried | After doing a cursory head count, Claire realized that two of the campers were not in their tents. |
| Curtail | make shorter then was planned, to limit something | Until the celebrity’s stalker is caught, we will curtail her public appearances. |
| Cynical | distrustful of human nature and motives | Helen is a cynical woman who does not trust anyone. |
| Dabble | to casually participate or have an interest in an activity, immerse (one’s hands or feet) partially in water and move them around gently | Feeling bored and out of place at the casino, I decided to dabble in a game of poker. |
| Daguerreotype | a photograph taken by an early photographic process employing an iodine-sensitized silvered plate and mercury vapour. | My grandfather photo do by Daguerreotype |
| Dainty | pretty/delicate(food)/difficult to please | The dainty precious tea cups were so beautiful to behold. |