Word origins

• concomitantAccompanying; conjoining; attending; concurrent.
• returnableCapable of being returned.
• precedeTo go before, go in front of.
• tamperA tool used to tamp something down, such as tobacco in a pipe.
• conciliationThe process of bringing peace and harmony; the ending of strife.
• impunityExemption from punishment.
• timidLacking in courage or confidence.
• infestationThe presence of a large number of pest organisms in an area or field, on the surface of a host or anything that might contact a host, or in the soil.
• lustreUK standard spelling of luster (shine, etc.).
• navigableCapable of being navigated; deep enough and wide enough to afford passage to vessels.
• visceralOf or relating to, made up of, or positioned among or within, the viscera (“internal organs of the body, especially those contained within the abdominal and thoracic cavities”).
• carnationoriginally, Dianthus caryophyllus
• mutinyAn organized rebellion against a legally constituted authority, especially by seamen against their officers.
• commotionA state of turbulent motion.
• evadeTo get away from by cunning; to avoid by using dexterity, subterfuge, address, or ingenuity; to cleverly escape from.
• excisionThe removal of some text during editing.
• paraphraseA restatement of a text in different words, often to clarify meaning or from memory rather than verbatim.
• contraventionThe act of contravening (a rule, regulation, law, or order) or of not fulfilling (an obligation, promise, or agreement).
• justifiableThat can be justified.
• declarativeServing to declare; having the quality of a declaration.
• virulenceThe state of being virulent.
• ejectionThe act of ejecting.
• mohairYarn or fabric made from the hair of the angora goat, often as mixed with cotton or other materials.
• sequestrationThe process or act of sequestering; a putting aside or separating.
• procrastinationThe act of postponing, delaying or putting off, especially habitually or intentionally.
• foyFaith, allegiance.
• idiomA manner of speaking, a mode of expression peculiar to a language, language family, or group of people.
• volleyThe simultaneous firing of a number of missiles or bullets; the projectiles so fired.
• retractTo pull (something) back or back inside.
• exorcistA person, especially a priest or priestess, who is a practitioner in exorcism to force out evil spirits or demons from a living being.
• routA group of people; a crowd, a throng, a troop; in particular (archaic), a group of people accompanying or travelling with someone.
• ployA tactic, strategy, or scheme.
• monasticOf or relating to monasteries or monks.
• quartileAny of the three points that divide an ordered distribution into four parts, each containing a quarter of the population.
• pronounA part of speech that refers anaphorically to a noun or noun phrase, which cannot ordinarily be preceded by a determiner and rarely takes an attributive adjective.
• retrogradeDirected or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
• impurityThe condition of being impure; because of contamination, pollution, adulteration or insufficient purification.
• cutlassA short sword with a curved blade, and a convex edge; once used by sailors when boarding an enemy ship.
• incomprehensibleImpossible or very difficult to understand.
• polityOrganizational structure and governance, especially of a state or a religion.
• posterityAll the future generations, especially the descendants of a specific person.
• insidiousCausing harm in a stealthy, often gradual, manner.
• infractionA minor offence, petty crime.
• displaceTo put out of place; to disarrange.
• isletA small island.
• distributiveRelating to distribution.
• caskA large barrel for the storage of liquid, especially of alcoholic drinks. (See a diagram of cask sizes.)
• inseparableUnable to be separated; bound together permanently.
• juristAn expert of law or someone who researches jurisprudence.
• cornetA musical instrument of the brass family, slightly smaller than a trumpet, usually in the musical key of B-flat.
• catapultA device or weapon for throwing or launching large objects.
• impartialityThe quality of being impartial; fairness.
• mediocrityThe condition of being mediocre; having only an average degree of quality, skills etc.; no better than standard.
• contentmentThe state or degree of being contented or satisfied.
• heredityHereditary transmission of the physical and genetic qualities of parents to their offspring; the biological law by which living beings tend to repeat their characteristics in their descendants.
• sensualityThe state of being sensual or sensuous.
• parallaxAn apparent shift in the position of two stationary objects relative to each other as viewed by an observer, due to a change in observer position.
• sedentaryNot moving; relatively still; staying in the vicinity.
• transpositionThe act or process of transposing or interchanging.
• inciteTo call into action.
• regenerativeThat serves to regenerate.
• organistA musician who plays the organ.
• discernmentThe act of distinguishing between things.
• formalityThe state of being formal.
• meditativeOf or pertaining to meditation.
• supersedeTo take the place of.
• symbolizeTo be symbolic of; to represent.
• promulgationThe act of promulgating or announcing something, especially a proclamation announcing a new law.
• transitoryLasting only a short time; temporary.
• tenacityThe quality or state of being tenacious, or persistence of purpose; tenaciousness.
• vesicleA membrane-bound compartment found in a cell.
• intelligibleCapable of being understood; clear to the mind.
• exuberantVery cheery and peppy; extremely cheerful, energetic and enthusiastic.
• discerniblePossible to discern; detectable or derivable by use of the senses or the intellect.
• rutterA horseman or cavalryman, especially a German one, associated with the wars of the 16th and 17th centuries.
• vitreousOf or resembling glass; glassy.
• aggravationThe act of aggravating, or making worse; used of evils, natural or moral; the act of increasing in severity or heinousness; something additional to a crime or wrong and enhancing its guilt or injurious consequences.
• subordinationThe process of making or classing (something or somebody) as subordinate.
• defrayTo pay or discharge (a debt, expense etc.); to meet (the cost of something).
• zanyUnusual and awkward in a funny, comical manner; outlandish; clownish.
• superscriptA type of lettering form that appears as a number, figure, or symbol above the normal line of type, located at the right or left of another symbol or text.
• roanHaving a coat of a dark base color with individual white hairs mixed in.
• deliberativeThat deliberates, considers carefully.
• atrocityAn extremely cruel act; a horrid act of injustice.
• talcOriginally a large range of transparent or glistening foliated minerals. Examples include mica, selenite and the hydrated magnesium silicate that the term talc generally has referred to in modern times (see below). Also an item made of such a mineral and depending for its function on the special nature of the mineral (see next). Medieval writers adopted the term from the Arabic.
• notorietyAn infamous or notorious condition or reputation.
• irreparableIncapable of being repaired, amended, cured or rectified; unrepairable.
• exhaleTo expel air from the lungs through the nose or mouth by action of the diaphragm, to breathe out.
• verbosityThe excess use of words, especially using more than are needed for clarity or precision.
• obeliskA tall, square, tapered, stone monolith topped with a pyramidal point, frequently used as a monument.
• apparitionAn act of becoming visible; appearance; visibility.
• invisibilityThe state of being invisible.
• virilityThe state of being virile.
• sociableTending to socialize or be social.
• flagrantObvious and offensive; blatant; scandalous.
• assassinateTo murder someone, especially an important person, by a sudden or obscure attack, especially for ideological or political reasons.
• laxativeHaving the effect of moving the bowels, or aiding digestion and preventing constipation.
• industriousHard-working and persistent.
• manoeuvreCommonwealth standard spelling of maneuver.
• siphonA bent pipe or tube with one end lower than the other, in which hydrostatic pressure exerted due to the force of gravity moves liquid from one reservoir to another.