C Flashcards
Words that start with the letter C
Cabal
n. A number of persons secretly united for effecting by intrigue some private purpose
Cabinet
n. The body of men constituting the official advisors of the executive head of a nation
Cabalism
n. Superstitious devotion to one’s religion
Cacophony
n. A disagreeable, harsh, or discordant sound or combination of sounds or tones
Cadaverous
adj. Resembling a corpse
Cadence
n. Rhythmical or measured flow or movement, as in poetry or the time and pace of marching troops
Cadenza
n. An embellishment or flourish, prepared or improvised, for a solo voice or instrument
Caitiff
adj. Cowardly
Cajole
v. To impose on or dupe by flattering speech
Cajolery
n. Delusive speech
Calculable
adj. That may by estimated by reckoning
Calculus
n. A concretion formed in various parts of the body resembling a pebble in hardness
Callosity
n. The state of being hard and insensible
Callow
adj. Without experience of the world
Calorie
n. Amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water 1 degree centigrade
Calumny
n. Slander
Calvary
n. The place where Christ was crucified
Calvinism
n. The system of doctrine taught by John Calvin
Calvinize
n. To teach or imbue with the doctrines of Calvinism
Came
n. A leaden sash-bar or grooved strip for fastening panes in stained-glass windows
Cameo
n. Any small engraved or carved work in relief
Campaign
n. A complete series of connected military operations
Canaanite
n. A member of one of the three tribes that dwelt in the land of Canaan, or western Palestine
Canary
adj. Of a bright but delicate yellow
Candid
adj. Straightforward
Candor
n. The quality of frankness or outspokenness
Canine
adj. Characteristic of a dog
Canon
n. Any rule or law
Cant
v. To talk in a singsong, preaching tone with affected solemnity
Cantata
n. A choral composition
Canto
n. One of the divisions of an extended poem
Cantonment
n. The part of the town or district in which the troops are quartered
Capacious
adj. Roomy
Capillary
n. A minute vessel having walls composed of a single layer of cells
Capitulate
v. To surrender or stipulate terms
Caprice
n. A whim
Caption
n. A heading, as of a chapter, section, document, etc…
Captious
adj. Hypercritical
Captivate
v. To fascinate, as by excellence, eloquence, or beauty
Carcass
n. The dead body of an animal
Cardiac
adj. Pertaining to the heart
Cardinal
adj. Of prime or special importance
Caret
n. A sign (^) placed below a line, indicating where omitted words, etc., should be inserted
Caricature
n. A picture or description in which natural characteristics are exaggerated or distorted
Carnage
n. Massacre
Carnal
adj. Sensual
Carnivorous
adj. Eating or living on flesh
Carouse
v. To drink deeply and in boisterous or jovial manner
Carrion
n. Dead and putrefying flesh
Cartilage
n. An elastic animal tissue of firm consistence
Cartridge
n. A charge for a firearm, or for blasting
Caste
n. The division of society on artificial grounds
Castigate
v. To punish
Casual
adj. Accidental, by chance
Casualty
n. A fatal or serious accident or disaster
Cataclysm
n. Any overwhelming flood of water
Cataract
n. Opacity of the lens of the eye resulting in complete or partial blindness
Catastrophe
n. Any great and sudden misfortune or calamity
Cathode
n. The negative pole or electrode of a galvanic battery
Catholicism
n. The system, doctrine, and practice of the Roman Catholic Church
Catholicity
n. Universal prevalence or acceptance
Cat-o-nine-tails
n. An instrument consisting of nine pieces of cord, formerly used for flogging in the army and navy
Caucus
n. A private meeting of members of a political party to select candidates
Causal
adj. Indicating or expressing a cause
Caustic
adj. Sarcastic and severe
Cauterize
v. To burn or sear as with a heated iron
Cede
v. To pass title to
Censor
n. An official examiner of manuscripts empowered to prohibit their publication
Censorious
adj. Judging severely or harshly
Census
n. An official numbering of the people of a country or district
Centenary
adj. Pertaining to a hundred years or a period of a hundred years
Centiliter
n. A hundredth of a liter
Centimeter
A length of one hundredth of a meter
Centurion
n. A captain of a company of one hundred infantry in the ancient Roman army
Cereal
adj. Pertaining to the edible grain or farinaceous seeds
Ceremonial
adj. Characterized by outward form or ceremony
Ceremonious
adj. Observant of ritual
Cessation
n. Discontinuance, as of action or motion
Cession
n. Surrender, as of possessions or rights
Chagrin
n. Keen vexation, annoyance, or mortification, as at one’s failures or errors
Chameleon
adj. Changeable in appearance
Chancery
n. A court of equity, as distinguished from a common-law court
Chaos
n. Any condition of which the elements or parts are in utter disorder and confusion
Characteristic
n. A distinctive feature
Characterize
v. To describe by distinctive marks or peculiarities
Charlatan
n. A quack
Chasm
n. A yawning hollow, as in the earth’s surface
Chasten
v. To purify by affliction
Chastise
v. To subject to punitive measures
Chastity
n. Sexual or moral purity
Chateau
n. A castle or manor-house
Chattel
n. Any article of personal property
Check
v. To hold back
Chiffon
n. A very thin gauze used for trimmings, evening dress, etc…
Chivalry
n. The knightly system of feudal times with its code, usages and practices
Cholera
n. An acute epidemic disease
Choleric
adj. Easily provoked to anger
Choral
adj. Pertaining to, intended for, or performed by a chorus or choir
Christ
n. A title of Jesus
Christen
v. To name in baptism
Christendom
n. That part of the world where Christianity is generally professed
Chromatic
adj. Belonging, relating to, or abounding in color
Chronology
n. The science that treats of computation of time or of investigation and arrangement of events
Chronometer
n. A portable timekeeper of the highest attainable precision
Cipher
v. To calculate arithmetically (also a noun meaning zero or nothing)
Circulate
v. To disseminate
Circumference
n. The boundary-line of a circle
Circumlocution
n. Indirect or roundabout expression
Circumnavigate
v. To sail quite around
Circumscribe
v. To confine within bounds
Circumspect
adj. Showing watchfulness, caution, or careful consideration
Citadel
n. Any strong fortress
Cite
v. To refer to specifically
Claimant
n. One who makes a claim or demand, as of right
Clairvoyance
n. Intuitive sagacity or perception
Clamorous
adj. Urgent in complaint or demand
Clan
n. A tribe
Clandestine
adj. Surreptitious
Clangor
n. Clanking or a ringing, as of arms, chains, or bells; clamor
Clarify
v. To render intelligible
Clarion
n. A small shrill trumpet or bugle
Classify
v. To arrange in a class or classes on the basis of observed resemblance; and differences
Clearance
n. A certificate from the proper authorities that a vessel has complied with the law and may sail
Clemency
n. Mercy
Clement
adj. Compassionate
Close-Hauled
adj. Having the sails set for sailing as close to the wind as possible
Clothier
n. One who makes or sells cloth or clothing
Clumsy
adj. Awkward of movement
Coagulate
v. To change into a clot or a jelly, as by heat, by chemical action, or by a ferment
Coagulant
adj. Production coagulation
Coalescence
n. The act or process of coming together so as to form one body, combination, or product
Coalition
n. Combination in a body or mass
Coddle
v. To treat as a baby or an invalid
Codicil
n. A supplement adding to, revoking, or explaining in the body of a will
Coerce
v. To force
Coercion
n. Forcible constraint or restraint, moral or physical
Coercive
adj. Serving or tending to force
Cogent
adj. Appealing strongly to the reason or conscience
Cognate
adj. Akin
Cognizant
adj. Taking notice
Cohere
v. To stick together
Cohesion
n. Consistency
Cohesive
adj. Having the property of consistency
Coincide
v. To correspond
Coincidence
n. A circumstance so agreeing with another: often implying accident
Coincident
adj. Taking place at the same time
Collaborate
v. To labor or cooperate with another or others, especially in literary or scientific pursuits
Collapse
v. To cause to shrink, fall in, or fail
Collapsible
adj. That may or can collapse
Colleague
n. An associate in professional employment
Collective
adj. Consisting of a number of persons or objects considered as gathered into mass, or sum
Collector
n. One who makes a collection, as of objects of art, books, or the like
Collegian
n. A college student
Collide
v. To meet and strike violently
Collier
n. One who works in a coal-mine
Collision
n. Violent contact
Colloquial
adj. Pertaining or peculiar to common speech as distinguished from literary
Colloquialism
n. Form of speech used only or chiefly in conversation
Colloquy
n. Conversation
Collusion
n. A secret agreement for a wrongful purpose
Colossus
n. Any strikingly great person or object
Comely
adj. Handsome
Comestible
adj. Fit to be eaten
Comical
adj. Funny
Commemorate
v. To serve as a remembrance of
Commentary
n. A series of illustrative or explanatory notes on any important work
Commingle
v. To blend
Commissariat
n. The department of an army changed with the provision of its food and water and daily needs
Commission
v. To empower
Commitment
n. The act or process of entrusting or consigning for safe-keeping
Committal
n. The act, fact, or result of committing, or the state of being
Commodity
n. Something that is bought and sold
Commotion
n. A disturbance or violent agitation
Commute
v. To put something, especially something less severe, in place of
Comparable
adj. Fit to be compared
Comparative
adj. Relative
Comparison
n. Examination of two or more objects with reference to their likeness or unlikeness
Compensate
v. To remunerate
Competence
n. Adequate qualification or capacity
Competent
adj. Qualified
Competitive
adj. Characterized by rivalry
Competitor
n. A rival
Complacence
n. Satisfaction with one’s acts or surroundings
Complacent
adj. Pleased or satisfied with oneself
Complaisance
n. Politeness
Complaisant
adj. Agreeable
Complement
v. To make complete
Complex
adj. Complicated
Compliant
adj. Yielding
Complicate
v. To make complex, difficult, or hard to deal with
Complication
n. An intermingling or combination of things or parts, especially in a perplexing manner
Complicity
n. Participation or partnership, as in wrong-doing or with a wrong-doer
Compliment
v. To address or gratify with expressions of delicate praise
Component
n. A constituent element or part
Comport
v. To conduct or behave (oneself)
Composure
n. Calmness
Comprehensible
adj. Intelligible
Comprehension
n. Ability to know
Comprehensive
adj. Large in scope or content
Compress
v. To press together or into smaller space
Compressible
adj. Capable of being pressed into smaller compass
Compression
n. Constraint, as by force or authority
Comprise
v. To consist of
Compulsion
n. Coercion
Compulsory
adj. Forced
Compunction
n. Remorseful feeling
Compute
v. To ascertain by mathematical calculation
Concede
v. To surrender
Conceit
n. Self-flattering opinion
Conceive
v. To form an idea, mental image or thought of
Concerto
n. A musical composition
Concession
n. Anything granted or yielded, or admitted in response to a demand, petition, or claim
Conciliate
v. To obtain the friendship ofC
Conciliatory
adj. Sufficient to convince or decide
Concord
n. Harmony
Concordance
n. Harmony
Concur
v. To agree
Concurrence
n. Agreement
Concurrent
adj. Occurring or acting together
Concussion
n. A violent shock to some organ by a fall or a sudden blow
Condensation
n. The act or process of making dense or denser
Condense
v. To abridge
Condescend
v. To come down voluntarily to equal terms with inferiors
Condolence
n. Expression of sympathy with a person in pain, sorrow, or misfortune
Conduce
v. To bring about
Conducive
adj. Contributing to an end
Conductible
adj. Capable of being conducted or transmitted
Conduit
n. A means for conduction something, particularly a tube, pipe, or passageway for a fluid
Confectionery
n. The candy collectively that a confectioner makes or sells, as candy
Confederacy
n. A number of states or persons in compact or league with each other, as for mutual aid
Confederate
n. One who is united with others in a league, compact, or agreement
Confer
v. To bestow
Conferee
n. A person with whom another confers
Confessor
n. A spiritual advisor
Confidant
n. One to whom secrets are entrusted
Confide
v. To reveal in trust or confidence
Confidence
n. The state or feeling of trust in or reliance upon another
Confident
adj. Assured
Confinement
n. Restriction within limits or boundaries
Confiscate
v. To appropriate (private property) as forfeited to the public use or treasury
Conflagration
n. A great fire, as of many buildings, a forest, or the like
Confluence
n. The place where streams meet
Confluent
n. A stream that unites with another
Conformance
n. The act or state or conforming
Conformable
adj. Harmonious
Conformation
n. General structure, form or outline
Conformity
n. Correspondence in form, manner, or use
Confront
v. To encounter, as difficulties or obstacles
Congeal
v. To coagulate
Congenial
adj. Having kindred character or tastes
Congest
v. To collect into a mass
Congregate
v. To bring together into a crowd
Coniferous
adj. Cone-bearing trees
Conjecture
n. A guess
Conjoin
v. To unite
Conjugal
adj. Pertaining to marriage, marital rights, or married persons
Conjugate
adj. Joined together in pairs
Conjugation
n. The state or condition of being joined together
Conjunction
n. The state of being joined together, or the things so joined
Cnonnive
v. To be in collusion
Connoisseur
n. A critical judge of art, especially one with thorough knowledge and sound judgment of art
Connote
v. To mean; signify
Connubial
adj. Pertaining to marriage or matrimony
Conquer
v. To overcome by force
Consanguineous
adj. Descended from the same parent or ancestor
Conscience
n. The faculty in man by which he distinguishes between right and wrong in character and conduct
Conscientious
adj. Governed by moral standard
Conscious
adj. Aware that one lives, feels, and thinks
Conscript
v. To force into military service
Consecrate
v. To set apart as sacred
Consecutive
adj. Following in uninterrupted succession
Consensus
n. A collective unanimous opinion of a number of persons
Conservatism
n. Tendency to adhere to the existing order of things
Conservative
adj. Adhering to the existing order of things
Conservatory
n. An institution for instruction and training in music and declamation
Consign
v. To entrust
Consignee
n. A person to whom goods or other property has been entrusted
Consignor
n. One who entrusts
Consistency
n. A state of permanence
Console
v. To comfort
Consolidate
v. To combine into one body or system
Consonance
n. The state or quality of being in accord with
Consonant
adj. Being in agreement or harmony with
Consort
n. A companion or associate
Conspicuous
adj. Clearly visible
Conspirator
n. One who agrees with others to cooperate in accomplishing some unlawful purpose
Conspire
v. To plot
Constable
n. An officer whose duty is to maintain the peace
Constellation
n. An arbitrary assemblage or group of stars
Consternation
n. Panic
Constituency
n. The inhabitants or votes in a district represented in a legislative body
Constituent
n. One who has the right to vote at an election
Constrict
v. To bind
Consul
n. An officer appointed to reside in a foreign city, chiefly to represent his country
Consulate
n. The place in which a consul transacts official business
Consummate
v. To bring to completion
Consumption
n. Gradual destruction, as by burning, eating, etc., or by using up, wearing out, etc…
Consumptive
adj. Designed for gradual destruction
Contagion
n. The communication of disease from person to person
Contagious
adj. Transmitting disease
Contaminate
v. To pollute
Contemplate
v. To consider thoughtfully
Contemporaneous
adj. Living, occurring, or existing at the same time
Contemporary
adj. Living or existing at the same time
Contemptible
adj. Worth of scorn or disdain
Contemptuous
adj. Disdainful
Contender
n. One who exerts oneself in opposition or rivalry
Contiguity
n. Proximity
Contiguous
adj. Touching or joining at the edge or boundary
Continence
n. Self-restraint with respect to desires, appetites, and passion
Contingency
n. Possibility of happening
Contingent
adj. Not predictable
Continuance
n. Permanence
Continuation
n. Prolongation
Continuity
n. Uninterrupted connection in space, time, operation, or development
Continuous
adj. Connected, extended, or prolonged without separation or interruption of sequence
Contort
v. To twist into a misshapen form
Contraband
n. Trade forbidden by law or treaty
Contradiction
n. The assertion of the opposite of that which has been said
Contradictory
adj. Inconsistent with itself
Contraposition
n. A placing opposite
Contravene
v. To prevent or obstruct the operation of
Contribution
n. The act of giving for a common purpose
Contributor
n. One who gives or furnishes, in common with others, for a common purpose
Contrite
adj. Broken in spirit because of sense of sin
Contrivance
n. The act of planning, devising, inventing or adapting something to or for a special purpose
Contrive
v. To manage or carry through by some device or scheme
Control
v. To exercise a directing, restraining, or governing influence over
Controller
n. One who or that which regulates or directs
Contumacious
adj. Rebellious
Contumacy
n. Contemptuous disregard of the requirements of rightfully authority
Contuse
v. To bruise by a blow, either with or without the breaking of the skin
Contusion
n. A bruise
Convalescent
adj. Recovering health after sickness
Convene
v. To summor or cause to assemble
Convenience
n. Fitness, as of time or place
Converge
v. To cause to incline and approach nearer together
Convergent
adj. Tending to one point
Conversant
adj. Thoroughly informed
Conversion
n. Change from one state or position to another, or from one form to another
Convertible
adj. Interchangeable
Convex
adj. Curving like the segment of the globe or of the surface of a circle
Conveyance
n. That by which anything is transported
Convival
adj. Devoted to feasting, or to good-fellowship in eating or drinking
Convolution
n. A winding motion
Convolve
v. To move with a circling or winding motion
Convoy
n. A protecting force accompanying property in course of transportation
Convulse
v. To cause spasms in
Convulsion
n. A violent and abnormal muscular contraction of the body
Copious
adj. Plenteous
Coquette
n. A flirt
Cornice
n. An ornamental molding running round the walls of a room close to the ceiling
Cornucopia
n. The horn of plenty, symbolizing peace and prosperity
Corollary
n. A proposition following so obviously from another that it requires little demonstration
Coronation
n. The act or ceremony of crowning a monarch
Coronet
n. Inferior crown denoting, according to its form, various degrees of noble rank less than sovereign
Corporal
adj. Belonging or relating to the body as opposed to the mind
Corporate
adj. Belonging to a corporation
Corporeal
adj. Of a material nature; physical
Corps
n. A number or body of persons in some way associated or acting together
Corpse
n. A dead body
Corpulent
adj. Obese
Corpuscle
n. A minute particle of matter
Correlate
v. To put in some relation of connection or correspondence
Correlative
adj. Mutually involving or implying one another
Corrigible
adj. Capable of reformation
Corroborate
v. To strengthen, as proof or conviction
Corroboration
n. Confirmation
Corrode
v. To ruin or destroy little by little
Corrosion
n. Gradual decay by crumbling or surface disintegration
Corrosive
n. That which causes gradual decay by crumbling or surface disintegration
Corruptible
adj. Open to bribery
Corruption
n. Loss of purity or integrity
Cosmetic
adj. Pertaining to the art of beautifying, especially the complexion
Cosmic
adj. Pertaining to the universe
Cosmogony
n. A doctrine of creation or of the origin of the universe
Cosmography
n. The science that describes the universe, including astronomy, geography, and geology
Cosmology
n. The general science of the universe
Cosmopolitan
adj. Common to all the world
Cosmopolitanism
n. A cosmopolitan character
Cosmos
n. The world or universe considered as a system, perfect in order and arrangement
Counter-claim
n. A cross-demand alleged by a defendant in his favor against the plaintiff
Counteract
v. To act in opposition to
Counterbalance
v. To oppose with an equal force
Countercharge
v. To accuse in return
Counterfeit
adj. Made to resemble something else
Counterpart
n. Something taken with another for the completion of either
Countervail
v. To offset
Counting-house
n. A house or office used for transacting business, bookkeeping, correspondence, etc…
Countryman
n. A rustic
Courageous
adj. Brave
Course
n. Line of motion or direction
Courser
n. A fleet and spirited horse
Courtesy
n. Politeness originating in kindness and exercised habitually
Covenant
n. An agreement entered into by two or more persons or parties
Covert
adj. Concealed, especially for an evil purpose
Covey
n. A flock of quails or partridges
Cower
v. To crouch down tremblingly, as through fear or shame
Coxswain
n. One who steers a rowboat, or one who has charge of a ship’s boat and its crew under an officer
Crag
n. A rugged, rocky projection on a cliff or ledge
Cranium
n. The skull of an animal, especially that part enclosing the brain
Crass
adj. Coarse or thick in nature or structure, as opposed to thin or fine
Craving
n. A vehement desire
Creak
n. A sharp, harsh, squeaking sound
Creamery
n. A butter-making establishment
Creamy
adj. Resembling or containing cream
Credence
n. Belief
Credible
adj. Believable
Credulous
adj. Easily deceived
Creed
n. A formal summary of fundamental points of religious belief
Crematory
adj. A place for cremating dead bodies
Crevasse
n. A deep crack or fissure in the ice of a glacier
Crevice
n. A small fissure, as between two contiguous surfaces
Criterion
n. A standard by which to determine the correctness of a judgment or conclusion
Critique
n. A criticism or critical review
Crockery
n. Earthenware made from baked clay
Crucible
n. A trying and purifying test or agency
Crusade
n. Any concerted movement, vigorously prosecuted, in behalf of an idea or principle
Crustacean
adj. Pertaining to a division of arthropods, containing lobsters, crabs, crawfish, etc…
Crustaceous
adj. Having a crust-like shell
Crypogram
n. Anything written in characters that are secret or so arranged as to have hidden meaning
Crystallize
v. To bring together or give fixed shape to
Cudgel
n. A short thick stick used as a club
Culinary
adj. Of or pertaining to cooking or the kitchen
Cull
v. To pick or sort out from the rest
Culpable
adj. Guilty
Culprit
n. A guilty person
Culvert
n. Any artificial covered channel for the passage of water through a bank or under a road, canal
Cupidity
n. Avarice
Curable
adj. Capable of being remedied or corrected
Curator
n. A person having charge as of a library or museum
Curio
n. A piece of bric-a-brac
Cursive
adj. Writing in which the letters are joined together
Cursory
adj. Rapid and superficial
Curt
adj. Concise, compressed, and abrupt in act or expression
Curtail
v. To cut off or cut short
Curtsy
n. A downward movement of the body by bending the knees
Cycloid
adj. Like a circle
Cygnet
n. A young swan
Cynical
adj. Exhibiting moral skepticism
Cynicism
n. Contempt for the opinions of others and of what others value
Cynosure
n. That to which general interest or attention is directed