77 words starting with C

• cabal noun

  a small secret group that plots to gain power or influence

  In the novel, a cabal of greedy merchants plots to control all the salt trade in the city.

  Like conspiracy, faction, ring

• cachet noun

  prestige or special status that makes something admired

  Owning a bicycle from that famous brand carries a certain cachet among the boys.

  Like prestige, distinction, status

• cacophonous adjective

  having a loud, harsh mixture of sounds

  The cacophonous traffic in Kathmandu made it hard to hear the guide.

  Like discordant, noisy, jarring

• cacophony noun

  a loud, harsh, unpleasant mixture of sounds

  A cacophony of honking buses and barking dogs woke us before sunrise.

  Like din, racket, discord

• cadaverous adjective

  extremely thin and pale, like a dead body

  After weeks of illness, he looked cadaverous, so his mother cooked his favorite meals every day.

  Like gaunt, haggard, skeletal

• cadge verb

  to get something small, such as food or money, by asking for it without paying

  My cousin always cadges snacks from my lunch box.

  Like scrounge, beg, sponge

• cajole verb

  to persuade someone gently by flattery or coaxing

  She cajoled her father into taking the family to the zoo on Saturday.

  Like coax, wheedle, persuade

• callow adjective

  young and lacking experience of life

  The callow trainee guide did not know that the trail closes in the monsoon.

  Like inexperienced, immature, green

• calumniate verb

  to make false statements to damage someone’s good name

  The rival team tried to calumniate the coach by spreading false stories about cheating.

  Like slander, defame, malign

• calumny noun

  a false statement made to damage someone’s reputation

  The singer said the story about her missing the concert on purpose was pure calumny.

  Like slander, defamation, libel

• canard noun

  a false rumor or story spread on purpose

  The story that the school would close for a month was a canard.

  Like hoax, falsehood, fabrication

• cant noun

  insincere moral talk; the special language of a group

  The students were tired of the cant about hard work from adults who never worked hard.

  Like hypocrisy, jargon, humbug

• cantankerous adjective

  bad-tempered and always ready to argue

  The cantankerous old goat refused to move off the narrow path.

  Like irritable, grumpy, quarrelsome

• captious adjective

  eager to find small faults and raise petty objections

  The captious judge criticized every tiny wobble in the dancers’ steps.

  Like faultfinding, nitpicking, carping

• carp verb

  to complain constantly about small, unimportant things

  My uncle carps about the weather no matter how sunny it is.

  Like grumble, nag, cavil

• castigate verb

  to criticize or scold someone severely

  The coach castigated the players for skipping their warm-up exercises.

  Like reprimand, chastise, rebuke

• cathartic adjective

  releasing strong emotions and leaving you feeling relieved

  Talking with a friend after the hard exam was cathartic for Sita.

  Like cleansing, purifying, releasing

• catholic adjective

  including a wide variety of things; broad in tastes

  My grandfather has catholic tastes in music, from folk songs to jazz.

  Like broad, wide-ranging, eclectic

• cavil verb

  to make small, unnecessary objections

  Instead of caviling about the color of the poster, let’s finish the project.

  Like quibble, nitpick, carp

• celerity noun

  swiftness of movement or action

  The firefighters responded with remarkable celerity after the alarm rang.

  Like speed, swiftness, rapidity

• censorious adjective

  severely critical of others

  The censorious neighbor complained about every child who played in the lane.

  Like critical, disapproving, judgmental

• chafe verb

  to rub and make sore; to become annoyed by limits or rules

  The new boots chafed my heels on the long walk to Chandragiri.

  Like rub, abrade, irritate

• chary adjective

  cautious and unwilling to take risks

  The farmer was chary of planting a new kind of seed he had never tried.

  Like wary, cautious, leery

• chauvinistic adjective

  unreasonably believing that your own group, country or sex is better than others

  My uncle is chauvinistic about his village’s football team and never admits others play well.

  Like biased, partisan, jingoistic

• chicanery noun

  the use of clever tricks to deceive people

  The magician admitted that his “mind reading” was pure chicanery.

  Like trickery, deception, duplicity

• chimera noun

  an impossible dream or idea; a mythical monster made of different animals

  A perpetual motion machine is a chimera that inventors have chased for centuries.

  Like illusion, fantasy, delusion

• chimerical adjective

  imaginary and impossible to achieve

  The plan to build a bridge across the whole valley in a week was chimerical.

  Like fanciful, illusory, unrealistic

• choleric adjective

  easily angered and bad-tempered

  The choleric shopkeeper shouted whenever children leaned on his window.

  Like irascible, irritable, hot-tempered

• churl noun

  a rude, mean-spirited person

  Only a churl would refuse to say thank you after such a generous gift.

  Like boor, lout, oaf

• churlish adjective

  rude and unfriendly in a mean way

  It would be churlish to refuse your host’s offer of tea.

  Like rude, ungracious, surly

• circumlocution noun

  the use of many words when a few would do, often to avoid saying something directly

  After much circumlocution, the student finally admitted he had lost the library book.

  Like wordiness, verbosity, evasion

• circumscribe verb

  to limit or restrict something within boundaries

  The museum’s small budget circumscribed what new exhibits it could build.

  Like restrict, limit, confine

• claque noun

  a group hired to clap for a performer; a group of eager flatterers

  The singer’s manager placed a claque in the audience to cheer after every song.

  Like cheering section

• cleave verb

  to split something apart with force; to stick closely to something

  With one stroke of the axe, he cleaved the log in two.

  Like split, sever, hew

• cloying adjective

  so sweet or sentimental that it becomes unpleasant

  The cake was so cloying that nobody could finish a second slice.

  Like sickly, saccharine, syrupy

• coalesce verb

  to come together to form one mass or group

  Tiny water droplets coalesce to form the raindrops that fall from clouds.

  Like merge, unite, fuse

• coda noun

  a final section that ends a piece of music, a story or an event

  The concert ended with a gentle coda played by a single flute.

  Like ending, conclusion, epilogue

• coeval adjective

  of the same age or from the same period of time

  The two temples in Bhaktapur are coeval, both built in the seventeenth century.

  Like contemporary, contemporaneous

• cogent adjective

  clear, logical and convincing

  She made a cogent argument for planting more trees around the school.

  Like convincing, compelling, persuasive

• cogitate verb

  to think deeply and carefully about something

  He sat by the window cogitating over the hardest math problem.

  Like ponder, contemplate, deliberate

• commiserate verb

  to express sympathy for someone’s trouble

  My friends commiserated with me after our team lost the final by one goal.

  Like sympathize, console, condole

• commodious adjective

  having plenty of space; roomy

  The new science lab is commodious enough for forty students at once.

  Like spacious, roomy, capacious

• compendium noun

  a book or collection that gathers the main facts about a subject in brief form

  The library has a compendium of Himalayan plants with pictures and notes.

  Like collection, compilation, digest

• complaisant adjective

  eager to please and go along with others’ wishes

  The complaisant host agreed to every change his guests suggested.

  Like obliging, accommodating, compliant

• comport verb

  to behave or conduct yourself in a certain way

  The students comported themselves well during the visit to the museum.

  Like behave, conduct, act

• compunction noun

  a feeling of guilt that stops or follows doing something wrong

  He felt no compunction about eating the last momo, since he had paid for it.

  Like guilt, remorse, qualm

• concatenate verb

  to link things together in a chain or series

  The program concatenates the first and last names into one line.

  Like link, chain, join

• concomitant adjective

  happening together with something else, as part of it

  Moving to a big city brought concomitant changes in the family’s daily routine.

  Like accompanying, attendant, associated

• condign adjective

  well deserved and fitting, especially of a punishment

  Being disqualified for cheating was a condign punishment for the team.

  Like deserved, merited, fitting

• confute verb

  to prove a person or argument wrong

  The student confuted his friend’s claim by showing him the actual data.

  Like refute, disprove, rebut

• congeal verb

  to become thick or solid, especially as it cools

  The leftover soup congealed into a jelly in the fridge overnight.

  Like thicken, solidify, coagulate

• connive verb

  to secretly allow or plan something wrong

  The players connived with the timekeeper to end the game early while they were winning.

  Like conspire, collude, scheme

• consanguinity noun

  relationship by blood, coming from the same ancestor

  Old village records showed the consanguinity of the two families.

  Like kinship, blood relationship

• consecrate verb

  to officially make something holy or set it apart for a special purpose

  The priests consecrated the new temple with prayers and offerings.

  Like sanctify, bless, hallow

• contemn verb

  to treat someone or something with contempt

  The proud artist contemned anyone who did not admire his paintings.

  Like scorn, disdain, despise

• contiguous adjective

  sharing a border or touching

  Nepal has only two contiguous neighbors, India to the south and China to the north.

  Like adjacent, adjoining, bordering

• contravene verb

  to break a law or rule, or go against it

  Parking in front of the fire station contravenes city rules.

  Like violate, breach, infringe

• contrite adjective

  feeling sorry and guilty for having done wrong

  The contrite boy apologized to his neighbor for breaking the window with his ball.

  Like remorseful, repentant, penitent

• contrivance noun

  a clever device or plan; something that seems artificial

  Her contrivance of string and pulleys lifted the bucket to the roof.

  Like device, gadget, scheme

• contumacious adjective

  stubbornly refusing to obey authority

  The contumacious student ignored every warning from the principal and kept skipping class.

  Like defiant, insubordinate, rebellious

• contumely noun

  rude, insulting language or treatment

  The young inventor met the contumely of his critics with calm patience.

  Like insolence, scorn, abuse

• convalesce verb

  to recover health and strength after an illness

  After the flu, my brother convalesced at home for a week.

  Like recover, recuperate, heal

• convivial adjective

  friendly, lively and enjoyable, especially of a gathering

  The convivial evening was full of music, food and laughter.

  Like sociable, festive, jovial

• coruscate verb

  to sparkle or flash brightly

  Sunlight coruscated on the snow-covered peaks above Namche Bazaar.

  Like sparkle, glitter, shimmer

• cosset verb

  to pamper and protect someone too much

  The grandparents cosset their only grandchild with sweets and gifts.

  Like pamper, coddle, indulge

• coterie noun

  a small, close group of people with shared interests

  A coterie of stargazers meets on the rooftop every clear night.

  Like clique, circle, set

• countenance verb

  to allow, accept or approve of something

  The principal would not countenance running in the corridors.

  Like tolerate, permit, condone

• countermand verb

  to cancel an order that was given before

  The captain countermanded his earlier order and told the team to stay inside.

  Like cancel, revoke, rescind

• countervail verb

  to balance or act against something with equal force

  The cool breeze countervailed the heat of the afternoon sun.

  Like offset, counteract, neutralize

• crabbed adjective

  bad-tempered; (of writing) cramped and hard to read

  Nobody could read the doctor’s crabbed handwriting on the note.

  Like cramped, illegible, cranky

• craven adjective

  lacking courage in a shameful way

  The craven knight hid in the castle while others defended the village.

  Like cowardly, spineless, timid

• credulous adjective

  too ready to believe things, easily fooled

  The credulous tourist believed the shopkeeper’s story that the stone came from the moon.

  Like gullible, naive, trusting

• crotchety adjective

  bad-tempered and easily annoyed, especially from age

  The crotchety old man shooed the pigeons away from his balcony.

  Like grumpy, cranky, irritable

• cupidity noun

  strong greed for money or possessions

  His cupidity led him to charge tourists three times the normal price.

  Like greed, avarice, covetousness

• curmudgeon noun

  a grumpy, bad-tempered person, often old

  Even the town curmudgeon smiled when the children sang at the festival.

  Like grouch, crank, grump

• cursory adjective

  done quickly and without much attention to detail

  A cursory look at the essay showed it had no title.

  Like hasty, superficial, perfunctory

• cynosure noun

  a person or thing that attracts everyone’s attention or admiration

  The giant telescope was the cynosure of the science fair.

  Like focus, centerpiece, highlight