The following words are all examples high-level diction commonly found in college-level texts and collegiate entrance exams (ACT and SAT). Know these words. Use them correctly.
abash, abate, aberrant, abhor, abide, abjure, abolition, abrogate, abscission, abscond, abstemious, accentuate, acolyte, acquiesce, acrid, acumen, admonish, adulterate, adversary, aesthetic, aggregate, agog, agony, agrarian, alacrity, alleviate, amalgamate, ambiguous, ambivalent, ambrosia, ameliorate, amiable, anachronistic, analogous, analogy, anarchy, androgyny, anomalous, antebellum, antecedent, antipathy, antithesis, apathy, aplomb, apophasis, apposite, apprehensive, apprise, approbation, appropriate, arcane, arduous, armada, articulate, artless, asinine, aspire, assiduous, assuage, attenuate, audacious, augury, august, auspicious, austere, autonomous, avarice, aver
baleful, ballyhoo, bamboozle, banish, barricade, beget, belie, bellicose, bellwether, bemused, bizarre, bluff, boisterous, bolster, bombastic, bonanza, boondocks, boondoggle, boorish, bowdlerize, boycott, brackish, brandish, brazen, burgeon, burnish
cacophonous, cadaver, cajole, calumny, camaraderie, camouflage, candor, cant, cantankerous, capricious, cardinal, carrion, castigation, catalyst, caustic, caveat, chauvinist, chicanery, chide, chronology, churlish, chutzpah, cinematography, circumlocution, clandestine, coagulate, coda, cogent, cloister, colloquial, commemorate, commensurate, commotion, compendium, complaisant, compliant, conciliatory, concoction, condone, confound, congruent, connoisseur, conspicuous, contention, contortion, contrite, contrived, conundrum, converge, convoluted, copacetic, coquettish, coterie, counter, cower, craven, criterion, cunning, cupidity
dally, damask, daunt, debris, decadent, deciduous, decorum, deduction, deference, defiance, deft, deign, deleterious, delineate, deluge, demagogue, demure, denigrate, deride, derivative, desiccate, despondent, despot, desultory, diaphanous, diatribe, dichotomy, Dickensian, didactic, diffident, diffuse, dirge, disabuse, discerning, discordant, discrepancy, discrete, disdain, disingenuous, dismal, disparage, disparate, dissemble, disseminate, dissonance, distend, diverge, divest, divisive, divulge, doff, dogmatic, dormant, dote, dupe
eavesdrop, ebony, ebullient, eclectic, eddy, efficacy, effigy, effrontery, egregious, elegy, elicit, ellipse, elucidate, embargo, ember, embezzle, emerge, empirical, emulate, encomium, endemic, enervate, enfranchise, engender, engross, enigma, enmity, enormity, ephemeral, epiphany, epithet, epitome, equanimity, equinox, equivocate, errant, erudite, eschew, esoteric, euphoria, euphonious, evanescent, exacerbate, exculpate, exhilarate, exigency, expurgate, extirpation, extol, extrapolation, exult
facetious, fallacious, fallow, falter, fascist, fatuous, feckless, feint, feral, ferrous, fervid, fiduciary, filibuster, filigree, flourish, foible, foment, foresight, formative, formidable, fracas, fragrance, froward, frugal, fulminate, furtive, futile
gaffe, gainsay, gall, gambit, gamete, garrulous, gauche, gerrymander, glazier, glib, gluttony, goad, gossamer, gothic, grandiloquent, gregarious, grueling, guerrilla, guru, gusto, gyre
habitation, halcyon, hapless, harangue, hasten, haughty, hegemony, hierarchy, holistic, homogeneous, hubris, hyperbole, hypocrisy
iconoclastic, idolatry, idyll, ignite, immune, immutable, impede, imperious, impermeable, impertinent, imperturbable, impervious, implacable, implicit, implode, impugn, in media res, inchoate, incise, incognito, incongruity, inconsequential, incontrovertible, inculcate, indigence, indolent, inert, infamy, infernal, ingenuous, inherent, iniquity, innate, innocuous, insidious, insinuate, insipid, insularity, interpolate, interregnum, intractable, intransigence, introspection, inundate, inured, invective, irascible
jabber, jargon, jasper, jaunty, jejune, jostle, jovial, jut, juxtaposition
Kafkaesque, katzenjammer, kin, kindle, kinetic, knell, knoll, kowtow
labyrinth, laconic, laissez faire, lambaste, lascivious, lassitude, latent, laud, laurels, leaven, lein, lethargic, leviathan, lexicon, libertine, limpid, list, lithe, loll, loquacious, lucid, lugubrious, lumber, luminous
macabre, Machiavellian, maculated, magnanimity, malevolent, malign, malleable, maneuver, materialize, maudlin, maverick, maxim, meander, mendacious, meretricious, meticulous, minatory, misanthrope, misgivings, mitigate, mnemonic, moiety, mollify, monochrome, monotonous, morose, mosaic, motif, mundane, muster, mutation, myopic, myriad
nadir, narrate, nebula, negate, nemesis, neophyte, nihilism, nocturnal, noisome, nomenclature, nonsectarian, nostrum, notarize, novice, nuance, nugatory, nuisance
obdurate, obfuscate, obsequious, obstinate, obviate, occlude, ode, offal, oligarchy, ominous, omnipotent, omnivorous, onerous, opaque, opprobrious, opprobrium, orthodox, oscillate, ossify, ostentatious, outlandish, outrageous, oxidize
pallid, panacea, parabola, paradigm, paragon, parti pris, partisan, pastiche, pastoral, pathological, patron, paucity, pecuniary, pedagogy, pedantic, penchant, penury, penumbra, perennial, perfidious, perfunctory, permeable, persistent, pertinent, pervasive, phlegmatic, pied, piety, pine, piquant, pithy, placate, plasticity, plateau, platitude, plethora, poignant, polemic, porous, posthumously, pragmatic, preamble, precarious, precipice, precipitous, precursor, predilection, presumptuous, prevaricate, primeval, pristine, problematic, probity, prodigal, progeny, prohibitive, proliferate, propensity, propitiate, proscriptive, pseudonym, pugnacious, puissance, pulverize, punctilious, pundit, pungent, pyre
quaint, qualified, quandary, quarantine, quell, quibble, quiescent, quintessence, quisling, quixotic, quota, quotidian
raison d’etre, rancor, raucous, recalcitrant, recant, recapitulate, recede, reciprocal, recluse, recondite, recumbent, recuperate, refract, refulgent, refute, regal, relegate, renaissance, renegade, reparation, repine, replenish, repose, reprobate, reproof, repudiate, repugnant, rescind, resolve, respiration, restitution, reticent, reverent, rife
sabotage, sage, salubrious, sanguine, sardonic, satiate, satirical, saturate, scarcity, schadenfreude, schism, secrete, sedentary, sedulous, seminal, serendipity, serene, shirk, sibyl, sinecure, Sisyphean, skeptic, slake, solicitous, soliloquy, solipsistic, solstice, somber, soporific, specious, spectrum, sporadic, squalor, stamina, stereotype, stigma, stint, stipple, stipulate, strategy, striate, stringent, Stygian, subjugate, suborn, subpoena, subside, substantiate, subterfuge, suffrage, sully, supercilious, superfluous, supersede, supine, surfeit, swagger, sycophant,
tacit, tactic, tamp, tangential, tare, tariff, tautology, taxonomy, tectonic, tempest, tempo, tenuous, terse, tirade, titian, tome, torpor, torrid, tortuous, totalitarian, tout, tractable, tranquility, transgression, translucent, truculence, tumult, tumescence
ubiquitous, ultraviolet, umbrage, unanimous, uncanny, unctuous, undulate, unsightly, urbane, usurp
vaccine, vacillate, vacuous, vehement, venal, venerate, veracity, verbose, verdant, verisimilitude, vermillion, vernacular, versatile, vertebrate, vex, viable, vicissitude, vigilant, virtuoso, viscous, vitiate, vituperative, vocational, volatile, voracious, vortex, vulnerable
waffle, waft, wanton, wary, waver, welter, whimsical, winnow, wretched, wrought, wry
xenophobe
zeal, zealot, zeitgeist, zenith, zephyr
baleful, ballyhoo, bamboozle, banish, barricade, beget, belie, bellicose, bellwether, bemused, bizarre, bluff, boisterous, bolster, bombastic, bonanza, boondocks, boondoggle, boorish, bowdlerize, boycott, brackish, brandish, brazen, burgeon, burnish
cacophonous, cadaver, cajole, calumny, camaraderie, camouflage, candor, cant, cantankerous, capricious, cardinal, carrion, castigation, catalyst, caustic, caveat, chauvinist, chicanery, chide, chronology, churlish, chutzpah, cinematography, circumlocution, clandestine, coagulate, coda, cogent, cloister, colloquial, commemorate, commensurate, commotion, compendium, complaisant, compliant, conciliatory, concoction, condone, confound, congruent, connoisseur, conspicuous, contention, contortion, contrite, contrived, conundrum, converge, convoluted, copacetic, coquettish, coterie, counter, cower, craven, criterion, cunning, cupidity
dally, damask, daunt, debris, decadent, deciduous, decorum, deduction, deference, defiance, deft, deign, deleterious, delineate, deluge, demagogue, demure, denigrate, deride, derivative, desiccate, despondent, despot, desultory, diaphanous, diatribe, dichotomy, Dickensian, didactic, diffident, diffuse, dirge, disabuse, discerning, discordant, discrepancy, discrete, disdain, disingenuous, dismal, disparage, disparate, dissemble, disseminate, dissonance, distend, diverge, divest, divisive, divulge, doff, dogmatic, dormant, dote, dupe
eavesdrop, ebony, ebullient, eclectic, eddy, efficacy, effigy, effrontery, egregious, elegy, elicit, ellipse, elucidate, embargo, ember, embezzle, emerge, empirical, emulate, encomium, endemic, enervate, enfranchise, engender, engross, enigma, enmity, enormity, ephemeral, epiphany, epithet, epitome, equanimity, equinox, equivocate, errant, erudite, eschew, esoteric, euphoria, euphonious, evanescent, exacerbate, exculpate, exhilarate, exigency, expurgate, extirpation, extol, extrapolation, exult
facetious, fallacious, fallow, falter, fascist, fatuous, feckless, feint, feral, ferrous, fervid, fiduciary, filibuster, filigree, flourish, foible, foment, foresight, formative, formidable, fracas, fragrance, froward, frugal, fulminate, furtive, futile
gaffe, gainsay, gall, gambit, gamete, garrulous, gauche, gerrymander, glazier, glib, gluttony, goad, gossamer, gothic, grandiloquent, gregarious, grueling, guerrilla, guru, gusto, gyre
habitation, halcyon, hapless, harangue, hasten, haughty, hegemony, hierarchy, holistic, homogeneous, hubris, hyperbole, hypocrisy
iconoclastic, idolatry, idyll, ignite, immune, immutable, impede, imperious, impermeable, impertinent, imperturbable, impervious, implacable, implicit, implode, impugn, in media res, inchoate, incise, incognito, incongruity, inconsequential, incontrovertible, inculcate, indigence, indolent, inert, infamy, infernal, ingenuous, inherent, iniquity, innate, innocuous, insidious, insinuate, insipid, insularity, interpolate, interregnum, intractable, intransigence, introspection, inundate, inured, invective, irascible
jabber, jargon, jasper, jaunty, jejune, jostle, jovial, jut, juxtaposition
Kafkaesque, katzenjammer, kin, kindle, kinetic, knell, knoll, kowtow
labyrinth, laconic, laissez faire, lambaste, lascivious, lassitude, latent, laud, laurels, leaven, lein, lethargic, leviathan, lexicon, libertine, limpid, list, lithe, loll, loquacious, lucid, lugubrious, lumber, luminous
macabre, Machiavellian, maculated, magnanimity, malevolent, malign, malleable, maneuver, materialize, maudlin, maverick, maxim, meander, mendacious, meretricious, meticulous, minatory, misanthrope, misgivings, mitigate, mnemonic, moiety, mollify, monochrome, monotonous, morose, mosaic, motif, mundane, muster, mutation, myopic, myriad
nadir, narrate, nebula, negate, nemesis, neophyte, nihilism, nocturnal, noisome, nomenclature, nonsectarian, nostrum, notarize, novice, nuance, nugatory, nuisance
obdurate, obfuscate, obsequious, obstinate, obviate, occlude, ode, offal, oligarchy, ominous, omnipotent, omnivorous, onerous, opaque, opprobrious, opprobrium, orthodox, oscillate, ossify, ostentatious, outlandish, outrageous, oxidize
pallid, panacea, parabola, paradigm, paragon, parti pris, partisan, pastiche, pastoral, pathological, patron, paucity, pecuniary, pedagogy, pedantic, penchant, penury, penumbra, perennial, perfidious, perfunctory, permeable, persistent, pertinent, pervasive, phlegmatic, pied, piety, pine, piquant, pithy, placate, plasticity, plateau, platitude, plethora, poignant, polemic, porous, posthumously, pragmatic, preamble, precarious, precipice, precipitous, precursor, predilection, presumptuous, prevaricate, primeval, pristine, problematic, probity, prodigal, progeny, prohibitive, proliferate, propensity, propitiate, proscriptive, pseudonym, pugnacious, puissance, pulverize, punctilious, pundit, pungent, pyre
quaint, qualified, quandary, quarantine, quell, quibble, quiescent, quintessence, quisling, quixotic, quota, quotidian
raison d’etre, rancor, raucous, recalcitrant, recant, recapitulate, recede, reciprocal, recluse, recondite, recumbent, recuperate, refract, refulgent, refute, regal, relegate, renaissance, renegade, reparation, repine, replenish, repose, reprobate, reproof, repudiate, repugnant, rescind, resolve, respiration, restitution, reticent, reverent, rife
sabotage, sage, salubrious, sanguine, sardonic, satiate, satirical, saturate, scarcity, schadenfreude, schism, secrete, sedentary, sedulous, seminal, serendipity, serene, shirk, sibyl, sinecure, Sisyphean, skeptic, slake, solicitous, soliloquy, solipsistic, solstice, somber, soporific, specious, spectrum, sporadic, squalor, stamina, stereotype, stigma, stint, stipple, stipulate, strategy, striate, stringent, Stygian, subjugate, suborn, subpoena, subside, substantiate, subterfuge, suffrage, sully, supercilious, superfluous, supersede, supine, surfeit, swagger, sycophant,
tacit, tactic, tamp, tangential, tare, tariff, tautology, taxonomy, tectonic, tempest, tempo, tenuous, terse, tirade, titian, tome, torpor, torrid, tortuous, totalitarian, tout, tractable, tranquility, transgression, translucent, truculence, tumult, tumescence
ubiquitous, ultraviolet, umbrage, unanimous, uncanny, unctuous, undulate, unsightly, urbane, usurp
vaccine, vacillate, vacuous, vehement, venal, venerate, veracity, verbose, verdant, verisimilitude, vermillion, vernacular, versatile, vertebrate, vex, viable, vicissitude, vigilant, virtuoso, viscous, vitiate, vituperative, vocational, volatile, voracious, vortex, vulnerable
waffle, waft, wanton, wary, waver, welter, whimsical, winnow, wretched, wrought, wry
xenophobe
zeal, zealot, zeitgeist, zenith, zephyr