Dale Carnegie's Vocabulary

incessant

(adj.) Never stopping; going on all the time. s. ceaseless, constant, uninterrupted. a. occasional, sporadic, intermittent e.g. Talk incessantly about yourself.

eloquent

(adj.) fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing. e.g. for I was but a bad speaker, never eloquent.

therein

(adverb) in that place, document, or respect. e.g. Therein is a drop of honey that catches his heart which, say what you will is the great high road to reason.

varnish

(n.) an external or superficially attractive of a specific quality. e.g. The unvarnished(basically, it means hidden) truth is that almost all the people you meet feel themselves superior to you in some way.

ire

(n.) anger e.g. For example, he once wrote to a man who had aroused his ire...

futility

(n.) pointlessness or uselessness e.g. So, as I have already said, Lincoln put the letter aside, for he had learned by bitter experience that sharp criticisms and rebukes almost invariably end in futility.

reprimand

(n.)/(v.) a rebuke (express sharp disapproval or criticism for their behavior or actions) , especially and official one. e.g. The habit of finding fault of reprimanding-this was my reward to you for being a boy.

exalted

(adj.) (of a person or their rank or status) place at a high or powerful level; held in high regard. s. high, high-ranking, elevated, prominent, superior, lofty, grand, noble, dignified, eminent, prestigious, august, illustrious, distinguished, esteemed, venerable; influential, important, powerful e.g. Any young man who has such an exalted opinion of my ability must be brilliant. (adj.) in a state of extreme happiness. s. elated, exultant, jubilant, joyful, joyous, triumphant, rapturous, rhapsodic, ecstatic, blissful, transported, delighted, happy, gleeful, exuberant, exhilarated

incisive

(adj.) - intelligently analytical and clear-thinking. e.g. in incisive, cultured, well-bred tones: To whom have I the honor of speaking? s. penetrating, acute, sharp, sharp-witted, razor-sharp, keen, rapier like, astute, shrewd, trenchant, piercing, perceptive, insightful, percipient, perspicacious, discerning, analytical, intelligent, canny, clever, smart, quick; concise, succinct, pithy, to the point, crisp, clear

gallant

(adj.) a person or brave; heroic. s. grave, courageous, valiant, valorous, bold, plucky, daring, fearless, intrepid, heroic, lionhearted, stouthearted, doughty, mettlesome, great-spirited; honorable, noble, manly, manful, macho, dashing, daredevil, death-or-glory, undaunted, unflinching, unshrinking, unafraid, dauntless, indomitable e.g. it was a gallant sight.

unmitigated

(adj.) absolute; unqualified e.g. You unmitigated ass. e.g. "the tour had been an unmitigated disaster" s. absolute, unqualified, unconditional, categorical, complete, total, thoroughgoing, downright, outright, utter, out-and-out, unadulterated, unalloyed, undiluted, unmixed, untempered, unmoderated, unmodified, unabated, undiminished, unmollified, unsoftened, unredeemed, unambiguous, unequivocal, veritable, perfect, consummate, pure, sheer, rank, in every way, positive, real, deep-dyed;

purported

(adj.) appearing or stated to be true, though not necessarily so; alleged. e.g. I received a letter which purported to come from her husband, though it was in he same handwriting as all others. purport (v.) - appear or claim to be or do something, especially falsely; profess. purport (n.) - the meaning or substance of something, typically a document or speech. e.g. "I do not understand the purport of your remarks" s. gist, substance, drift, implication, intention, meaning, significance, signification, sense, essence, import, tenor, thrust, message, spirit

imperious

(adj.) assuming power or authority without justification; arrogant and domineering synonyms - peremptory, high-handed, commanding, imperial, overbearing, overweening, domineering, authoritarian, dictatorial, authoritative, lordly, officious, assertive, dominating, bullish, forceful, bossy, arrogant e.g. But there is one longing-almost as deep, almost as imperious, as the desire for food or sleep-which is seldom gratified (satisfy/give).

sullen

(adj.) bad-tempered and sulky; gloomy. e.g. No sullenness, no resentment. s. surly, sulky, pouting, sour, morose, resentful, glum, moody, gloomy, joyless, frowning, glowering, grumpy, touchy, peevish, indignant, embittered; bad-tempered, ill-tempered, cross, angry, testy; unresponsive, uncommunicative, unsociable, uncivil, unmannerly, unfriendly;

ghastly

(adj.) causing great horror or fear; frightful or macabre. s. terrible, frightful, horrible, grim, awful, dire; frightening, terrifying, horrifying, alarming; distressing, shocking, appalling, harrowing; dreadful, fearful, hideous, horrendous, monstrous, unspeakable, gruesome, tragic, calamitous, grievous, grisly e.g. All the time, the enemy's cannon was tearing ghastly holes in their ranks.

tempestuous

(adj.) characterized by strong and turbulent or conflicting emotion. s. turbulent, stormy, tumultuous, violent, wild, lively, heated, explosive, uncontrolled, unrestrained, feverish, hysterical, frenetic, frenzied, frantic e.g. Such an event had never been heard of before in the long, tempestuous history of American labor wars. (adj.) very stormy.

petulant

(adj.) childishly sulky or bad-tempered. e.g. Ferdinand E. wrren, a commercial artist, used this technique to wi the good will of a petulant, scholding buyer of art. s. peevish, bad-tempered, ill-tempered, pettish, cross, impatient, irritable, moody, in a bad mood, sulky, snappish, crotchety, touchy, waspish, irascible, tetchy, testy, querulous, fractious, captious, cantankerous, grumpy, complaining, whiny, fretful, huffish, huffy, pouty, disgruntled, crabbed, crabby, ill-humored; sullen, surly, sour, churlish, ungracious; splenetic, choleric

perplexed

(adj.) completely baffled; very puzzled e.g. Theodore Roosevelt said that when he, as President, was confronted with a perplexing problem, he used to lean back and look up at a large painting of Lincoln which hung above his desk in the White House and ask himself, "What would Lincoln do if he were in my shoes?"

perfunctory

(adj.) done without care; in a routine fashion e.g. And there was nothing perfunctory about his thanks. He mean' what he said. I could feel that. s. cursory, desultory; quick, brief, hasty, hurried, rapid, passing, fleeting, summary; token, casual, superficial, uninterested, careless, halfhearted, unthinking, sketchy, mechanical, automatic, routine, offhand, indifferent, inattentive; dismissive

stupendous

(adj.) extremely impressive. s. amazing, astounding, astonishing, extraordinary, remarkable, wonderful, prodigious, phenomenal, staggering, breathtaking e.g. Such is the power, the stupendous power, of course, heartfelt appreciation.

fallacious

(adj.) false; misleading e.g. Most of them attempt by a form of reasoning, fallacious or logical, to justify their antisocial acts even to themselves, consequently stoutly maintaining that they should never have been imprisoned at all.

indignant

(adj.) feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is perceived as unfair treatment e.g. Mrs. Douglas was about to walk out indignantly, swearing never to return to that store ever, when she was greeted by the department manager, who knew her from her many years of patronage.

steadfast

(adj.) firmly fixed; constant, not moving or changing e.g. he would sit in the front yard with his beautiful eyes staring steadfastly at the path, and as soon as he heard my voice... s. loyal, faithful, committed, devoted, dedicated, dependable, reliable, steady, true, constant, staunch, trusty

illicit

(adj.) forbidden by law, rules, or custom. s. illegal, unlawful, illegitimate, against the law; outlawed, banned, forbidden, prohibited, interdicted, proscribed, not allowed, not permitted; criminal, lawbreaking, actionable, felonious; unlicensed, unauthorized, unsanctioned, unwarranted, unofficial; contraband, black-market, under the counter, bootleg; malfeasant; verboten; rarenon licet "illicit drugs" e.g. but find ourselves filled with an illicit passion for them when anyone proposes to rob us of their companionship.

belligerent

(adj.) given to fighting, warlike; combative, aggressive; s. hostile, aggressive, threatening, antagonistic, pugnacious, bellicose, truculent, confrontational, argumentative, quarrelsome, disputatious, contentious, militant, combative; quick-tempered, hot-tempered, ill-tempered, bad-tempered, irascible, captious e.g. he was slated for demotion when he was sixty-five because of his belligerence, because of his inability to lead people skillfully. (n.) one at war, one engaged in war

iniquitous

(adj.) grossly unfair and morally wrong. s. wicked, sinful, evil, immoral, improper; villainous, criminal, heinous, nefarious; vile, foul, base, odious, abominable, execrable, atrocious, dreadful, egregious, malicious; outrageous, monstrous, obscene, intolerable, shocking, scandalous, reprehensible; unjust, unfair e.g. Ben Franklin tells how he conquered the iniquitous habit of argument and transformed himself into one of the most able, suave and diplomatic men in American history.

rakish

(adj.) having or displaying a dashing, jaunty, or slightly disreputable quality or appearance. e.g. his cap set at a rakish angle over his right ear. s. dashing, debonair, sporty, jaunty, devil-may-care, breezy; stylish, fashionable, dapper, spruce; raffish, disreputable, louche

jaunty

(adj.) having or expressing a lively, cheerful, and self-confident manner. e.g. He rode jauntily toward the Union lines.

tactless

(adj.) having or showing lack of adroitness (clever or skillful in using of the hands or mind) and sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues. e.g. Benjamin Franklin, tactless in his youth, became so diplomatic, so adroit at handling people, that he was made American Ambassador to France.

feeble

(adj.) lacking physical strength, especially as a result of age or illness. synonyms - weak, weakly, weakened, puny, wasted, frail, infirm, delicate, sickly, ailing, unwell, poorly, failing, helpless, powerless, impotent, enfeebled, enervated, debilitated, incapacitated, effete; decrepit, doddering, doddery, tottering, tottery, shaky, trembling, trembly; shilpit; rareetiolated (adj.) Lacking strength of character. synonyms - cowardly, craven, faint-hearted, spineless, spiritless, lily-livered, chicken-livered, pigeon-hearted; timid, timorous, fearful, unassertive, soft, weak, ineffective, ineffectual, inefficient, incompetent, inadequate, indecisive; informalwishy-washy, wimpy, sissy, sissified, gutless, weak-kneed, yellow, yellow-bellied, chicken; e.g. It is a feeble atonement.

ulterior

(adj.) lying beyond what is evident, revealed, or claimed e.g. there are no ulterior motives: he doesn't want to sell you any real estate, and he doesn't want to marry you. s. secondary, underlying, undisclosed, undivulged, unexpressed, unapparent, under wraps, unrevealed, concealed, hidden, covert, secret, personal, private, selfish

deft

(adj.) neatly skillful and quick in one's movements e.g. By deft maneuvering he managed to land the plane, but it was badly damaged although nobody was hurt.

unpalatable

(adj.) not plesant to taste or difficult to tolerate or accept. s. disagreeable, unpleasant, displeasing, unattractive, regrettable, unwelcome, upsetting, distressing, lamentable, repugnant, nasty, horrible, dreadful, hateful, distasteful, offensive, objectionable, obnoxious, repulsive, repellent, vile, foul e.g. But not if someone else is trying to ram the unpalatable fact down our esophagus.

impertinent

(adj.) not showing proper respect; rude. e.g. how you can be severe with a person who has commited impropriety, or even been a little impertinent. s. rude, insolent, impolite, unmannerly, ill-mannered, bad-mannered, uncivil, discourteous, disrespectful; impudent, cheeky, audacious, bold, brazen, brash, shameless, presumptuous, forward, pert; tactless, undiplomatic, unsubtle, personal;

heedless

(adj.) showing a reckless lack of care of attention. s. incautious, imprudent, rash, reckless, foolhardy, blithe, precipitate, unthinking, thoughtless, improvident, unwary, unobservant, e.g. We are incredibly heedless in the formation of our beliefs.

callous

(adj.) showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others. s. heartless, unfeeling, uncaring, cold, cold-hearted, hard, as hard as nails, hard-hearted, with a heart of stone, stony-hearted, insensitive, lacking compassion, hard-bitten, cold-blooded, hardened, case-hardened, harsh, cruel, ruthless, brutal; unsympathetic, uncharitable, indifferent, unconcerned, unsusceptible, insensible, bloodless e.g. defending the public rights against callous exploitation.

innumerable

(adj.) too many to be counted s. countless, numerous, very many, manifold, multitudinous, multifarious, untold, incalculable, numberless, unnumbered, e.g. He filed innumerable complaints.

scathing

(adj.) witheringly scornful; severely critical. e.g. he wrote me a scathing rebuke s. devastating, withering, blistering, extremely critical, coruscating, searing, scorching, fierce, ferocious, savage, severe, stinging, biting, cutting, mordant, trenchant, virulent, caustic, vitriolic, scornful, sharp, bitter, acid, harsh, unsparing

invariably

(adv.) in every case or on every occasion; always. e.g. So, as I have already said, Lincoln put the letter aside, for he had learned by bitter experience that sharp criticisms and rebukes almost invariably end in futility.

imputation

(n.) a charge or claim that someone has done something undesirable; an accusation. e.g. we resent the imputation and harden our hearts.

alibi

(n.) a claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken place. e.g. he could have found a score of alibis (v.) offer an excuse or defense for (someone), especially by providing an account of their whereabouts at the time of an alleged act.

hallmark

(n.) a distinctive feature, especially one of excellence. s. distinctive feature, mark, sign, indicator, indication, sure sign, telltale sign; feature, characteristic, trait, attribute, property, quality; trademark, earmark, stamp, badge, symbol e.g. incidentally(by the way), they are the hallmark of good breeding.

impropiety

(n.) a failure to observe standards or show honesty or modesty, improper language, behavior, or character. s. wrongdoing, misconduct, dishonesty, corruption, unscrupulousness, illegitimacy, unprofessionalism, irregularity; inappropriateness; unseemliness, indecorousness, indiscretion, indelicacy, injudiciousness, indecency, immorality, unwholesomeness, immodesty, indecorum, bad taste, impoliteness

exultation

(n.) a feeling of triumphant elation or jubilation; rejoicing. e.g. gives one a feeling of nobility and exultation to admit one's mistakes. s. jubilation, rejoicing, happiness, pleasure, joy, gladness, delight, glee, elation, cheer, euphoria, exhilaration, delirium, ecstasy, rapture, transports (of delight), exuberance, glory, triumph; celebration, revelry, merrymaking, festivity, feasting; crowing, gloating, boasting

ultimatum

(n.) a final demand or statement of terms, the rejection of which will result in retaliation or a breakdown in relations. e.g. Naturally, an ultimatum like that made me feel good.

tumult

(n.) a loud, confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people. s. in, loud noise, racket, uproar, commotion, ruckus, rumpus, hubbub, pandemonium, babel, bedlam, brouhaha, fracas, furor, melee, frenzy, ado; shouting, yelling, clamor, clangor; (n.) confusion or disorder. s. turmoil, confusion, disorder, disarray, disturbance, unrest, chaos, turbulence, mayhem, havoc, upheaval, upset, ferment, agitation, trouble

incentive

(n.) a thing that motivates or encourages one to do something. s. inducement, motivation, motive, reason, stimulus, stimulant, spur, impetus, encouragement, impulse; incitement, goad, provocation; attraction, lure, bait

rancor

(n.) bitterness or resentfulness, especially when long-standing. e.g. That strike ended with a compromise settlement within a week-ended without any ill feeling or rancor. s. bitterness, spite, hate, hatred, resentment, malice, ill will, malevolence, malignancy, animosity, antipathy, enmity, hostility, acrimony, venom, poison, vindictiveness, balefulness, vengefulness, vitriol, virulence, perniciousness, meanness, nastiness;

desperado

(n.) bold outlaw; dangerous criminal e.g. When Crowley was captured, Police Commissioner E.P. Mulrooney declared that the two-gun desperado was one of the most dangerous criminals ever encountered in the history of New York.

conceit

(n.) excessive pride in oneself. s. vanity, narcissism, conceitedness, self-love, self-admiration, self-adulation, self-regard, egotism, egoism, egocentricity, egomania e.g. And the part of it is that frequently those who have the least justification for feeling of achievement bolster up their egos by a show of tumult and conceit which is truly nauseating. (n.) a fanciful expression in writing or speech; an elaborate metaphor. s. mage, imagery, figurative expression, metaphor, simile, trope, figure of speech;

vanity

(n.) excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements OR (n.) the quality of being worthless of futile. e.g. We are dealing with creatures of emotions, creatures bristling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity.

drivel

(n.) nonsense (v.) talk nonsense. s. nonsense, twaddle, claptrap, balderdash, gibberish, rubbish, babble, ramble, gibber, burble, blather, blether, prate, prattle, gabble, chatter, twitter, maunder

benefactor

(n.) one who does good to others e.g. He actually regarded himself as a public benefactor

personages

(n.) people of distinction or importance e.g. And not only important personages crave a good listener, but ordinary folk do too.

tact

(n.) skill in dealing with people in difficult situations

interlocutor

(n.) someone who participates in a conversation

approbation

(n.) the expression of approval or favorable opinion, praise; official approval e.g. I am hearty in my approbation and lavish in my praise. s. approval, acceptance, assent, endorsement, encouragement, recognition, appreciation, support, respect, admiration, commendation, congratulations; praise, acclamation, adulation, regard, esteem, veneration, kudos, applause, ovation, accolades, salutes,

reconciliation

(n.) the restoration of friendly relations. s. reuniting, reunion, bringing (back) together (again), conciliation, reconciliation; pacification, appeasement, placating, propitiation, mollification e.g.The father felt that i was up to his son to take the initiative toward reconciliation.

gaiety

(n.) the state or quality of being lighthearted or cheerful e.g. I was astonished at their laughter and gaiety.

coax

(v.) To persuade or urge in a gentle way e.g. The usual scolding, pleading, coaxing methods had all ended in futility. s. persuade, wheedle, cajole, talk into something, get round, prevail on, beguile, flatter, seduce, lure, entice, tempt, inveigle, woo, maneuver

mollify

(v.) appeased the anger or anxiety of (someone) e.g. That mollified her and she wrote me a note saying she was sorry she had written as she had. s. appease, placate, pacify, conciliate, humor, soothe, calm, calm down, still, quieten, propitiate;

err

(v.) be mistaken or incorrect; make a mistake. s. make a mistake, be wrong, be in error, be mistaken, mistake, make a blunder, blunder, be incorrect, be inaccurate, misjudge, miscalculate, get things/something/it wrong, bark up the wrong tree, get the wrong end of the stick, be wide of the mark; e.g. We may have erred in your case.

emblazon

(v.) conspicuously (conspicuous (adj.) - standing out as to be clearly visible. attracting notice or attention.) inscribe or display a design on, display. s. adorn, decorate, ornament, embellish, illuminate; color, paint e.g. he launched a career that emblazoned his name across the sky. (v.) celebrate or extol (extol (v.) - praise enthusiastically s. eulogize, rhapsodize, rave, acclaim) publicly

pontificate

(v.) express one's opinion in a way considered annoyingly pompous and dogmatic. s. hold forth, expound, declaim, preach, lay down the law, express one's opinion (pompously), sound off, spout (off), dogmatize, sermonize, moralize, pronounce, lecture, expatiate

beget

(v.) give rise to; bring about. s. cause, give rise to, lead to, result in, bring about, create, produce, generate, engender, spawn, occasion, effect, bring to pass, bring on, precipitate, prompt, provoke, kindle, trigger, spark off, touch off, stir up, whip up, induce, inspire, promote, foster; e.g. This friendliness on Mr. Black's part did what friendliness always does: it begot friendliness.

deluge

(v.) inundate with a great quantity of something. s. inundate, overwhelm, overload, overrun, flood, swamp, snow under, engulf; shower, bombard e.g. I was deluged with letters and telegrams.

rationalize

(v.) justify; give reason for e.g. So they rationalize, they explain.

flout

(v.) openly disregard s. defy, refuse to obey, go against, rebel against, scorn, disdain, show contempt for, fly in the face of, thumb one's nose at, make a fool of, poke fun at; disobey, break, violate, fail to comply with, fail to observe, contravene, infringe, breach, commit a breach of, transgress against; ignore, disregard, set one's face against, kick against e.g. the bank's rules and regulations could not be flouted.

hurl

(v.) throw (an object) with great force. (v.) push or impel (someone) violently. (v.) utter (abuse) vehemently. e.g. Suppose he had argued with those miners and hurled devastating facts in their faces.

languish

(v.) to become weak, feeble, or dull; to droop; to be depressed or dispirited; to suffer neglect e.g. For some weeks, the invalid languished; then she got up, and put on her clothing, and resumed living again. s. weaken, grow weak, deteriorate, decline, go into a decline; wither, droop, flag, wilt, fade, fail, waste away

rankle

(v.) to cause anger, irritation, or bitterness (with the suggestion that the pain grows worse with time) e.g. If you and I want to stir up a resentment tomorrow that may rankle across the decades and endure until death, just let us indulge in a little stinging criticism-no matter how certain we are that it is justified.

admonish

(v.) to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly; to remind of a duty e.g. The next time we a re tempted to admonish somebody, let's pull a five-dollar bill out of our pocket, look at Lincoln's picture of the bill, and ask, "How could Lincoln handle this problem if he had it?"

subdue

(v.) to conquer or bring under control s. conquer, defeat, vanquish, get the better of, overpower, overcome, overwhelm, crush, quash, quell, beat, trounce, subjugate, master, suppress, gain the upper hand over, triumph over, tame, bring someone to their knees, hold in check, humble, chasten, cow; e.g. The chronic kicker, even the most violent critic, will frequently soften and be subdued in the presence of a patient.

dilate

(v.) to make or become larger or wider; to expand upon s. enlarge, become larger, widen, become wider, expand, distend, swell (v.) speak or write at length on (a subject). s. expatiate, expound, expand, enlarge, elaborate e.g. while the irate fault-finder dilates like a king cobra and spews the poison out from his system.

enumerate

(v.) to mention a number of things, list, itemize, catalog, set out. e.g. I enumerated my ideas and the qualifications I had to realize these ideas, as well as how they would contribute to his personal success and that of his business.

conciliate

(v.) to overcome the distrust of, win over; to appease, pacify; to reconcile, make consistent e.g. Hatred is never ended by hatred but by love, and a misunderstanding is never ended by an argument but by tact, diplomacy, conciliation and a sympathetic desire to see the other person's viewpoint. s. appease, placate, pacify, mollify, propitiate, assuage, calm down, soothe, humor, reconcile, disarm

reverberate

(v.) to re-echo, resound; to reflect or be reflected repeatedly e.g. Then they mounted their machine guns on surrounding buildings, and for more than an hour one of New York's fine residential areas reverberated with the crack of pistol fire and the rat-tat-tat of machine guns.

malign

(v.) to speak evil of, slander; s. defame, slander, libel, blacken someone's name/character, smear, run a smear campaign against, vilify, speak ill of, spread lies about, accuse falsely, cast aspersions on, run down, misrepresent, calumniate, traduce, denigrate, disparage, slur, derogate, abuse, revile e.g. do you know that the man of whom you speak so highly is one of your bitterest enemies who misses no opportunity to malign you? (adj.) evil s. harmful, evil, bad, baleful, hostile, inimical, destructive, malevolent, evil-intentioned, malignant, injurious, spiteful, malicious, vicious

imbue

(v.)to inspire or influence; to saturate s. instill; pervade e.g. This experience imbued him with a confidence that was invaluable.

prostrate

(v./adj.)lying flat or stretched out faced down e.g. As the dying officer fell, Crowley leaped out of the car, grabbed the officer's revolver, and fired another bullet into the prostrate body.

fret

(v./n.) be constantly or visibly worried or anxious e.g. I have enough trouble overcoming my own limitations without fretting over the fact that God has not seen fit to distribute evenly the gift of intelligence.

indespensable

absolutely necessary e.g. If you wish to get the most out of this book, there is one indispensable requirement, one essential infinitely more important than any rule or technique.

Atonement

reparation for a wrong or injury synonym - reparation, compensation, recompense, payment, repayment, redress, restitution, indemnity, indemnification, expiation, penance, redemption; amends; e.g. It is a feeble atonement.