Everyone Is Entitled to Their Own Opinion!: English Vocabulary List

to strongly and harshly criticize someone or something

"The teacher castigated the lazy student."

"The boss publicly castigated the employee for making such a careless mistake that cost the company a very important and large client."

to interpret a certain meaning from something

"How do you construe his silence?"

"The judge construed the defendant's silence as an admission of guilt which influenced the final verdict significantly."

to reveal the exaggeration or falseness of a belief, claim, idea, etc.

"The scientist debunked the popular myth."

"The scientist wrote a book to debunk popular myths about nutrition and weight loss with evidence based research and facts."

to intentionally make harmful statements to damage a person or thing's worth or reputation

"Do not denigrate your opponent's character."

"It is not professional to denigrate your coworkers behind their backs because that creates a toxic and unpleasant work environment for everyone involved."

to steer away from the main subject and focus on a different topic in speech or writing

"Do not digress from topic"

"The professor often digresses from the main topic to tell interesting stories about his youth in the countryside."

to publicly criticize or mock someone

"They will pillory him"

"The internet community decided to pillory the celebrity for his insensitive and offensive remarks made online."

to either feel or display dissatisfaction

"Why repine over things?"

"Instead of repining about his bad luck he decided to work harder and change his situation for the better."

to be undecided and not know what opinion, idea, or course of action to stick to

"Do not vacillate between choices."

"The indecisive politician continued to vacillate between different policy options and could not commit to a clear course of action."

the quality of being very challenging to explain or understand

"The disappearance remains enigma"

"The mysterious disappearance remained a complete enigma for many years."

the ability to think sensibly and reasonably and decide what should be done

"She had gumption"

"It took considerable gumption for the young intern to challenge the senior executive's flawed proposal during the meeting."

the indirect conveying of what one thinks or wants to say

"An intimation of danger"

"Her hesitant tone and averted gaze were a clear intimation that she was not entirely comfortable with the situation."

a lengthy speech that uses harsh and angry language and intends to condemn or criticize

"A long tirade followed"

"The customer launched into a furious tirade at the service desk, demanding to speak to the manager immediately."

used when introducing additional information to a statement that has just been made

"He is kind likewise his brother."

"He is kind likewise his brother is also very generous and always willing to help people in need."

(of cases, statements, etc.) capable of making others believe that something is true with the use of logic and reasoning

"He made cogent argument"

"He made a cogent argument that convinced everyone on the jury to find the defendant not guilty."

expressed very clearly, leaving no doubt or confusion

"The movie has explicit scenes."

"The movie contained explicit violence and strong language so parents were advised not to bring young children to see it."

having the quality of being closely connected to the subject at hand in a way that is appropriate

"This is germane to our discussion."

"That is not germane to the topic so please stick to the subject we are discussing."

giving a highly exaggerated and flattering representation of a person as if they are perfect

"The biography was hagiographic."

"The documentary presented a hagiographic portrayal of the leader, omitting any mention of controversial decisions or negative impacts."

suggesting something without directly stating it

"There was implicit agreement."

"The implicit trust between the two friends meant that they never doubted each other's loyalty or honesty."

having a quality that is criticizing and harsh, yet humorous

"Her humor was mordant."

"His wit is mordant and his jokes often sting because they are sharp and critical."

behaving in such a manner that displays one's lack of maturity and common sense

"His behavior was puerile."

"The adult's puerile attempt at humor fell flat, revealing a distinct lack of maturity and understanding of the audience."

keeping one's speech short but extremely meaningful

"Her words were sententious."

"The wise elder offered a few sententious remarks that resonated deeply with everyone present at the gathering."

expressing one's ideas and opinions so clearly that it leaves no room for doubt

"Her answer was unequivocal."

"The president's unequivocal support for the policy reassured voters who had been uncertain about his position."

a mythological creature in Greek mythology, typically depicted as a fire-breathing creature with the body and head of a lion, the head of a goat protruding from its back, and a serpent for a tail

"Mythical chimera creature."

"The chimera was a terrifying mythical creature with parts of different animals."

characterized by bitter, harsh, and caustic criticism or comments

"A vitriolic attack."

"The online comments section was filled with vitriolic remarks, making it unpleasant to read any constructive feedback."

to devotedly follow or support something, such as a rule, belief, plan, etc.

"Adhere to the safety guidelines strictly."

"You must adhere to the safety rules if you want to work in this laboratory with dangerous chemicals."

to avoid settling or dealing with a problem to avoid responsibility

"Don't beg the question."

"To truly solve the problem, we must avoid begging the question and instead address the underlying causes directly."

to help a student come to a conclusion themselves instead of providing them with an answer directly

"Elicit the student's answer."

"The teacher used a series of probing questions to elicit the students' understanding of the scientific principle without explicitly stating the answer."

to restate something one has already said in order to limit the meaning it conveys

"I qualify my statement."

"He decided to qualify his earlier, rather harsh, assessment of the project's feasibility."

an amount or number that is considered to be large

"Spate of accidents."

"There was a spate of car accidents on the icy road during the cold winter weather last month."

used when introducing additional information to a statement that has just been made

"He is kind likewise his brother."

"He is very kind and generous likewise his brother is also very helpful and always willing to assist others."

logically or factually flawed

"His argument was fallacious."

"The reasoning is fallacious and contains a logical error that makes the conclusion invalid."