able to get and retain ideas or information; concerned with acquiring wealth or property

s: greedy, grasping, avaricious, retentive

to claim or take without right

s: expropriate, usurp, commandeer

hackneyed, trite, commonplace

s: stale, insipid

to work on excessively; to thrash soundly

s: overwork

tending to find fault, especially in a petty, nasty, or hairsplitting way; petty, negging criticism

s: nit-picking, caviling

holding or sticking together, making a logical whole;

comprehensible, meaningful

s: connected, unified, consistent, cohesive

to change from liquid to solid, thicken; to make inflexible or rigid

s: harden, jell, coagulate, solidify

to imitate with the intent of equalling or surpassing the model

s: copy, mimic, rival, match, measure up to

a formal expression of praise, a lavish tribute

s: panegyric, eulogy, commendation

relevant, appropriate, apropos, fitting

s: pertinent

so great or demanding as not to be satisfied

s: unquenchable, ravenous, voracious

refusing to compromise, irreconcilable

s: uncompromising, unyielding, obdurate

offensive, hateful; tending to cause bitterness and resentment

s: malicious, spiteful, prejudicial, pejorative

generosity in giving; lavish or bountiful contributions

s: liberality, munificence, bounty

a survey made for military purposes; any kind of preliminary inspection or examination

s: scouting expedition

to establish by evidence, prove; to give concrete or substantial form to

s: verify, confirm, validate, authenticate

habitually silent or quiet; inclined to talk very little

s: tight-lipped, uncommunicative, laconic

to stall or act evasively in order to gain time, avoid confrontation, or postpone a decision; to compromise

s: hedge, dillydally, procrastinate

capable or being held or defended

s: defensible, justifiable, maintainable

to approach and speak to first, to confront in a challenging or aggressive way

s: buttonhole, approach, confront

a comment indication strong criticism or disapproval

s: rebuke, reproof

desirous of something to the point of greed; intensely eager

s: keen, enthusiastic, grasping

having a salty taste and unpleasant to drink

s: briny, saline

swiftness, rapidity of motion or action

s: promptness, alacrity, speed

straying or wandering from a straight or direct course; done or acting in a shifty or underhanded way

s: roundabout, indirect, tricky, sly, artful

in chess, an opening move that requires risk or sacrifice of a minor piece in order to gain a later advantage; any opening move of this type

s: ploy, stratagem, ruse, maneuver

a legendary bird identified with the kingfisher; calm, peaceful, happy, golden; prosperous, affluent

s: tranquil, serene, placid, palmy

pertaining to actors and their techniques; theatrical, artificial; melodramatic

s: affected, stagy

deliberately setting or causing fires; designed to start fires; tending to stir up strife or rebellion; one who deliberately starts fires, arsonist; one who causes strife

s: inflammatory, provocative, firebrand

a whirlpool or great size or violence; a situation resembling a whirlpool in violence and destruction

s: vortex, chaos, turbulence, tumult

nearsighted, lacking a broad, realistic view of a situation; lacking foresight or discernment

s: shortsighted

open, not hidden, expressed or revealed in a way that is easily recognized

s: clear, obvious, manifest, patent

tending to make worse; expressing disapproval or disparagement; derogatory, deprecatory, belittling

s: complimentary, ameliorative

the state or being proper, appropriateness; standards of what is proper or socally acceptable

s: fitness, correctness, decorum

improper or disrespectful treatment of something held sacred

s: desecration, profanation, defilement

without delay or formality; briefly, concisely

s: promptly, peremptorily, abruptly

to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

s: ripple, fluctuate, rise and fall

to pronounce distinctly, to express well in words; to connect by a joint or joints; expressed clearly and forcefully; able to employ clearly and forcefully; jointed

s: pronounce, elucidate, eloquent

to romp or prance around exuberantly; to make merry

s: gambol

belief, mental acceptance

s: credit, trust, confidence

to condemn, express strong disapproval; to officially depreciate

s: denounce, censure, devalue

to disguise or conceal, deliberately give a false impression

s: dissimulate, mask, feign

very much agitated or upset as a result of emotion or mental conflict

s: frantic, distracted

a formal statement of commendation; high praise

s: panegyric, encomium, tribute, testimonial

to display clearly, make evident, provoke

s: exhibit, manifest, occasion

to remove from a grave; to bring to light

s: disinter, unearth, uncover

lacking in spirit and strength; ineffective, weak; irresponsible, unreliable

s: feeble, helpless, incompetent, ineffectual

dark and gloomy, obscure; lacking in clarity and precision

s: dim, cloudy, unclear

wicked, depraved, devoid of moral standards

s: iniquitous, reprehensible

stimulating to the taste or mind, spicy, pungent; appealing, provocative

s: tangy, zestful

developed or created at the very beginning; going back to the most ancient times or earliest stage; fundamental, basic

s: original, primeval, primal

nearness in place or time; kinship

s: proximity, similarity

not usual or expected; not in character

s: unusual, uncommon, unexpected, atypical

founded upon or involving a visionary view of an ideal world; impractical

s: idealistic

language that is too wordy or inflated in proportion to the sense or content, wordiness; a manner of expression

s: verbosity, prolixity, diction jargon

green in tint or color; immature in experience or judgement

s: artless, naive

having gelatinous or gluey quality, lacking in easy movement or fluidity

s: gummy, sticky, thick