Descriptionary

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.