charisma n. (kuh RIZ muh) an aura of great power and charm. Great political leaders and movie stars usually share a common trait: charisma.
charlatan n. (SHAR luh tun) one who professes to have great knowledge or credentials but does not; a quack; an imposter. The charlatan tried to pass himself off as a physician, but we knew his university degrees were fraudulent.
chaste adj. (CHAYST) pure, upright, moral. Also, virginal. Nuns living in the convent were expected to be chaste.
chastise vb. (CHAS tiyz) to punish one either physically or with harsh criticism. The young boy was chastized for swearing in church.
chauvinism n. (SHO vin izum) blind devotion to one's own kind and contempt for those of a different sex, race, religion, etc. After seven years of excluding men from her company, she was accused of chauvinism.
chicanery n. (shi KAY nuh ree) deception; trickery. After my wallet disappeared, I began to suspect some form of chicanery.
chimera n. (kye MIR uh) a mythological or imaginary monster made up of unmatching parts, as a goat, lion, and serpent. By merging the three companies, they created something of a chimera.
chronic adj. (KRON ik) long-term or recurrent. I've had a chronic cough for nearly six months.
chutzpah n. (HOOTS puh) nerve; guts; boldness. You need great chutzpah to publicly challenge the president.
circuitous adj. (sur KYOO i tus) roundabout; indirect. We took a circuitous and therefore much longer path to the pond.
circumspect adj. (SUR kum SPEKT) cautious; prudent. It's always a good idea to remain circumspect around porcupines.
circumstantial adj. (sur kum STAN shul) incidental or insignificant. To convict most criminals, you must gather more than circumstantial evidence.
circumvent vb. (SUR kum vent) to get around, avoid, skirt; to bypass. We penciled in a route that would circumvent the alligator-filled swamp.
clairvoyant adj. (klair VOY unt) having a sixth sense or psychic powers. The woman claimed to be clairvoyant; that is, she could read our minds and would prove it if we paid her ten dollars.
clandestine adj. (klan DES tin) in secret of undercover, as an illicit enterprise or act of espionage. The unlucky children accidentally stumbled upon a clandestine assembly of witches.
claptrap n. (KLAP TRAP) pretentious or grandstanding speech or writing intended to get applause or attention. The politician played to the crowd by spewing his vacuous claptrap.
clemency n. (KLEM un see) an act or gesture of mercy for forgiveness. In a show of clemency, the pope embraced the thief and then sat him down for a long talk.
clique n. (KLIK) a group of like-minded individuals who exclude those who are different. High school society is composed of numerous cliques, from jocks to intellectuals to nerds.
cloistered adj. (KLOYS turd) secluded or sequestered from others. Monks live a cloistered lifestyle.
coalesce vb. (koh uh LESS) to fuse, commingle, or merge to form one body. Shake the constituent ingredients of a salad dressing and they will quickly coalesce.
coalition n. (KOH uh ISH un) an alliance; a union. The environmentalists formed a coalition to fight industrial pollution.
coerce vb. (koh URS) to force by intimidation, threats, etc. The older boys tried to coerce the young ones into breaking windows.
cogent adj. (KOH junt) convincing He gave a very cogent argument.
coherent adj. (ko HEER unt) clear, intelligible; lucid. The drunk was barely coherent.
collusion n. (kuh LOO zhun) a conspiracy. The criminals worked in collusion to rob the midtown bank.
comme ci, comme 5a (KUM SEE KUM SAH) French term for "so-so," or "not one way or the other." When I asked my wife how she felt about the president following the scandal, she said, "Eh, comme ci, comme qa."
commiserate vb. (kuh MIZ uh RAYT) to feel sorry for or sympathize with another. During funerals, the bereaved commiserate together.
compel vb. (kum PEL) to force; to move one to action. The threat of a speeding ticket compels most people to follow the speed limit.
complacent adj. (kum PLAY sunt) smug and self- satisfied; unworried. Teams who enter into the championship with a complacent attitude will likely lose.
complicity adj. (kum PLIS i tee) participation in a wrongful act. The accomplice was sentenced for his complicity in the robbery and will spend five years in jail.
compulsion n. (kum PUL shun) a strong force or drive. The kleptomaniac suffers from a compulsion to shoplift.
compulsory adj. (kum PUL suh ree) mandatory; required. Taking an algebra course is compulsory.
compunction n. (kum PUNK shun) the mental discomfort caused by conscience. The sociopath kicked his cat but felt little compunction for it.
conceit n. (kun SEET) overblown and unjustified self-esteem; egotism; arrogance. He was so full of conceit, he automatically assumed he was the most intelligent man in the room.
conciliatory adj. (kin SIL ee uh tor ee) friendly and placatory; willing to make amends or give in to achieve peace. When paced with possible criminal charges, the brawlers quickly turned conciliatory.
concise adj. (kun SISE) brief and to the point. When writing a letter of complaint, it pays to be concise.
concur vb. (kun KUR) to agree or arrive at an agreement. The tax cuts proposed by the Republicans made so much sense that the Democrats were forced to concur.
condescend vb. (KON di SEND) to talk down to someone or speak with someone judged as an "inferior" in a superior manner. I respect my professor, but sometimes when I disagree with her, she condescends, and I can't stand that.
condone vb. (kun DOHN) to forgive or overlook a wrongdoing. We must never condone the taking of hostages, no matter what the rationale may be.