100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know

Abjure (#1 on the list) should be familiar to Dungeons and Dragons gamer geeks — it’s a prominent “school” of magic.

Abjure – (v) to renounce under oath, to shun
abrogate – (v) to repeal or abolish
abstemious – (adj) abstaining from wine, sparing in diet, temperate
acumen – (n) quickness of perception or discernment
antebellum – (adj) a period prior to a war; in US, before Civil War
auspicious – (adj) a good omen, fortunate
belie – (v) to give a false representation of something
Bellicose – (adj) warlike in nature, aggressive, hostile
bowdlerize – (v) to remove parts considered offensive
chicanery – (n) deception by use of trickery
chromosome – part of cell that contains DNA
churlish – (adj) rude, vulgar, difficult to work with
Circumlocution – (n) a roundabout way of speaking, using more words than necessary
circumnavigate – (v) to travel completely around something
Deciduous – (adj) trees that lose their leaves in winter
deleterious – (adj) harmful, noxious
diffident – (adj) lacking confidence, timid, bashful, modest
enervate – (v) to reduce strength, debilitate
enfranchise – (v) to give the right to vote, to set free
epiphany – (n) an illuminating discovery resulting in personal feeling of elation
equinox – (n) when the Sun is over the equator
euro – (n) monetary unit of the European Union
evanescent – (adj) tending to vanish like vapor
expurgate – (v) to edit out offensive, incorrect, or useless information, to cleanse, to purge
facetious – (adj) treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor
fatuous – (adj) obnoxiously stupid, vacantly silly
feckless – (adj) lacking purpose, without skill, ineffective
fiduciary – (n) one who holds a thing in trust for another, a trustee
filibuster – (n) long, irrelevant speeches to delay the making of a decision
gamete – (n) a reproductive cell that has only half the usual number of chromosomes (egg or sperm)
gauche (adj) awkward or lacking in social graces, bumbling
gerrymander – (v) to divide a geographic area into voting districts to give unfair advantage to one party in an election
hegemony – (n) domination or authority over another, especially over a society or nation
hemoglobin – (n) substance in red blood cells that transports oxygen
homogeneous – (adj) uniform composition throughout
hubris – (n) excessive pride or arrogance
hypotenuse – (n) the side of a right triangle opposite the right angle
impeach – (v) to hinder, to bring legal proceeding against a public official, saying they should be removed from office
incognito – (adj) in disguise
incontrovertible – (adj) cannot be denied or disputed
inculcate – (v) to teach by repeated instruction, to induce understanding or a particular sentiment in people
infrastructure – (n) underlying base or foundation in an organization or system
interpolate – (v) to estimate value of a function between two points
irony – (n) a statement that means the opposite of what it says
jejune – (adj) empty or void of substance
kinetic – (adj) relating to motion
kowtow – (v) to kneel and bow low enough to touch one’s forehead to the ground
laissez faire – (adj) economic term which refers to an economy in which the government allows the free markets to make the decisions
lexicon – (n) a dictionary
loquacious – (adj) talkative or chatty
Lugubrious – (adj) overly gloomy, mournful, or dismal
metamorphosis – (n) a transformation
mitosis – (n) the division of a cell nucleus into two identical halves
moiety – (n) half, a share or portion
nanotechnology – (n) the science of machines that are very small
nihilism – (n) extreme skepticism, maintaining that nothing has a real existence, the rejection of all moral principles
nomenclature – (n) a system or arrangement of names
nonsectarian – (adj) not restricted to one sect or school or party
notarize – (v) to attest something as genuine
obsequious – (adj) fawning or subservient, excessively eager to please or to obey all instructions
oligarchy – (n) government controlled by a few, usually the wealthy
omnipotent – (adj) all-powerful
orthography – (n) the study of correct spelling
oxidize – (v) to combine with oxygen
parabola – (n) the locus of a point equidistant from a point and a line
paradigm – (n) an example serving as a model or pattern
parameter – (n) an arbitrary constant whose value characterized a member of a system
pecuniary – (adj) relating to money
photosynthesis – (n) the process by which plants generate carbohydrates and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water using light as a source of energy
plagiarize – (v) to use and pass off as one’s own someone else’s writing or speech
plasma – (n) a component of blood that assists in clotting and injury repair
polymer – a long molecule consisting of a chain of identical parts
precipitous – (adj) steep
quasar – (n) starlike objects thought to be the most distant and most luminous objects in the universe
quotidian – (adj) daily, common, ordinary, or trivial
recapitulate – (v) to summarize or repeat in concise form
reciprocal – (adj) an action or feeling done or felt by two people toward each other
reparation – (n) a payment of time, effort, or money to undue past transgressions
respiration – (n) the process of inhaling and exhaling
sanguine – (adj) cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident, blood-red
soliloquy – (n) a speech by a character to himself to reveal his thoughts to the audience
subjugate – (v) to forcibly impose obedience or servitude
suffragist – (n) a person who promotes the right to vote
supercilious – (adj) arrogantly superior, showing contemptuous indifference
tautology – (n) redundant use of words
taxonomy – (n) the science of finding, describing, classifying, and naming organisms
tectonic – (adj) having a strong and widespread impact
tempestuous – (adj) relating to a tempest, stormy
thermodynamics – (n) the science of the conversions between heat and other forms of energy
totalitarian – (adj) a system of government where the people have virtually no authority and the state wields absolute control
unctuous – (adj) oily, greasy, profusely and unpleasantly polite and insincerely earnest
usurp – (v) to seize power from another, usually by illegitimate means
vacuous – (adj) showing a lack of thought or intelligence, vacant
vehement – (adj) showing strong feeling, passionate, forceful, or intense
vortex – (n) a whirlwind or whirlpool in the form of a spiral or column
winnow – (v) to free or separate grain or the like from chaff or refuse matter, usually using the air, to free of unwanted or inferior elements
wrought – (adj) to bring to pass, having been worked or prepared somehow
xenophobe – (n) one who fears that which is unknown, one who fears people who are different from oneself, especially in the case of foreign people
yeoman – (n) an official providing honorable service in a royal household, one that performs great and loyal service
ziggurat – (n) a temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley