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S
sadistic

(suh-DISS-tik)

ADJECTIVE:
Finding pleasure in inflicting violence or cruelty upon others; brutal.

sanguinary

(SANG-gwuh-nayr-ee)

ADJECTIVE:
Pertaining to death or involving bloodshed.

sardonic

(sar-DON-ik)

ADJECTIVE:
Extremely sarcastic or mocking; scornful.

That response to my emotional and heartfelt confession was SARDONIC and will not be taken seriously.

saturnine

(SAT-ur-neen)

ADJECTIVE:
Sluggish or morose.

savagery

(SAV-ij-ree)

NOUN:
A state of being barbarous or uncivil; brutality.

scathing

(SKAY-thing)

ADJECTIVE:
Extremely critical or contemptuous; derisive.

schadenfreude

(SHAH-dun-froy-duh)

NOUN:
Finding pleasure in the misery or misfortune of others.

He seemed to derive such SCHADENFREUDE from cashing his generous paycheck in front of those begging for food.

scourge

(skuhrj)

NOUN:
A source of affliction or devastation; the word also refers to a whip used for punishment.

scurrilous

(SKUR-ih-luss)

ADJECTIVE:
Verbally abusive or insulting; slanderous.

seethe

(seeth)

VERB:
To remain in a state of unexpressed anger; fume.

shrew

(shroo)

NOUN:
A violent or tempestuous woman.

shun

(shun)

VERB:
To intentionally avoid or spurn a person, thing, or idea.

sinister

(SIN-uh-ster)

ADJECTIVE:
Describes something that is menacing and has the potential for violence; evil.

skullduggery

(skull-DUG-uh-ree)

NOUN:
Trickery or deceit; cheating.

I would be wary of playing cards with them; they’re known for SKULLDUGGERY, and there are plenty of honest games to be found elsewhere.

slander

(SLAN-dur)

VERB:
To make a knowingly untrue statement or accusation against someone in an attempt to damage his or her reputation.

Life being what it is,
one dreams of revenge.

—P
AUL
G
AUGUIN

snit

(snit)

NOUN:
An irritable state or bad mood.

solipsism

(SOL-ip-siz-um)

NOUN:
The belief that the only thing that exists—or can be proven to exist—is oneself; self-absorption.

somber

(SOM-ber)

ADJECTIVE:
Grave or depressing.

The SOMBER atmosphere of the funeral soon gave way to anger as many vowed to avenge his death.

sophism

(SOF-iz-uhm)

NOUN:
A flawed argument that is intentionally misleading or deceiving; fallacy.

sororicide

(suh-RAHWR-uh-syd)

NOUN:
The act of killing one’s sister.

spite

(spyt)

NOUN:
Ill will toward a person or thing; malice.

spurn

(spurn)

VERB:
To scornfully snub a person, thing, or idea; rebuff.

squabble

(SKWOB-uhl)

NOUN:
A petty argument or quarrel; as a verb, it refers to the act of having such an argument.

squall

(skwawl)

NOUN:
A brief commotion.

stigmatize

(STIG-muh-tyz)

VERB:
To label a person, thing, or idea as evil or undesirable.

sully

(SUL-ee)

VERB:
To pollute or spoil something, particularly one’s reputation; vilify.

It would soon SULLY her reputation when people discovered how she sought such violent revenge on her ex-husband.

surly

(SUR-lee)

ADJECTIVE:
Ill-humored and gruff; rude.

T
tantrum

(TAN-truhm)

NOUN:
A sudden or violent outburst of frustration or bad behavior.

tarnish

(TAHR-nish)

VERB:
To destroy the purity of; to stain; to sully.

temerarious

(tem-uh-RAIR-ee-uhs)

ADJECTIVE:
Reckless or impetuous.

temerity

(tuh-MAYR-uh-tee)

NOUN:
Behavior that could be considered bold or rash; audacity.

temper

(TEM-per)

NOUN:
Heat of mind or passion, often displayed in outbursts of anger or resentment.

tempest

(TEM-pist)

NOUN OR VERB:
As a noun, a violent windstorm; a violent commotion; a disturbance; a tumult. As a verb, to disturb violently.

tempestuous

(tem-PESS-choo-uss)

ADJECTIVE:
Prone to violence or extreme emotion; turbulent.

tenebrous

(TEN-uh-bruhss)

ADJECTIVE:
Dark; ominous.

Genevieve watched over the hills as TENEBROUS clouds began forming; there would be a storm tonight.

termagant

(TER-muh-guhnt)

NOUN:
A violent, brawling woman; a shrew.

thrash

(thrash)

VERB:
To beat soundly in punishment; to defeat thoroughly; to force.

tiff

(tihf)

NOUN:
An argument or petty quarrel; a fit of annoyance; a bad mood; a spat, scrap, misunderstanding, or difference in opinions.

tirade

(TIE-raid)

NOUN:
A verbal attack against a person, thing, or idea; outburst.

In her uninterrupted and very public TIRADE, she ranted about the government, her neighbors, and her marriage.

torture

(TAWR-cher)

NOUN OR VERB:
As a noun, the act of inflicting excruciating pain. As a verb, to subject to
torture
; to afflict with severe pain of body or mind; to force or extort; to punish.

traduce

(truh-DOOSS)

VERB:
To knowingly make false accusations against a person; disparage.

trauma

(TROU-muh)

NOUN:
A body wound caused by sudden injury whether intentionally violent or accidental in nature.

traumatize

(TRAW-muh-tyz)

VERB:
To inflict psychological damage on someone; devastate.

troglodyte

(TROG-luh-dyt)

NOUN:
A person who behaves in an uncivilized, beastly manner.

truculent

(TRUK-yuh-lunt)

ADJECTIVE:
Prone toward hostility or defiance; argumentative.

tyrant

(TAY-runt)

NOUN:
A ruler who uses abuses power; any person in a position of power who exercises power oppressively; a tyrannical influence.

In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; but in passing it over, he is superior.

—S
IR
F
RANCIS
B
ACON

U
umbrage

(UM-brihj)

NOUN:
Resentment or offense.

unconscionable

(un-KONSH-un-uh-bul)

ADJECTIVE:
Without conscience; immoral or unscrupulous.

underhanded

(UN-dur-hand-id)

ADJECTIVE:
Sneaky or deceitful in nature; devious.

undermine

(UN-dur-myn)

VERB:
To weaken something over time by chipping away at it, including a person’s sense of self or importance.

Georgia found that it wasn’t difficult to UNDERMINE her boss; with his soft-spoken voice, she was easily able to talk over him and change the plans he’d made.

unsavory

(un-SAY-vuh-ree)

ADJECTIVE:
Unpleasant or unappetizing; immoral.

He that studieth revenge keepeth his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well.

—J
OHN
M
ILTON

unseemly

(un-SEEM-lee)

VERB:
Unbecoming or inappropriate; uncouth.

uxoricide

(uk-SOR-ih-syd)

NOUN:
The act of murdering one’s wife.

V
vanquish

(VAN-kwish)

VERB:
To defeat an opponent; annihilate.

vengeance

(VEN-juhns)

NOUN:
Inflicted punishment in retribution for a past wrongdoing; revenge.

vent one’s spleen

(vent wuhnz spleen)

PHRASE:
Annoyance or a bad temper.

vilify

(VIL-ih-fie)

VERB:
To make false accusations or statements against someone in order to make him or her seem villainous; malign.

Part of her attempt at defense was to VILIFY her husband; by making him seem like a horrible person she thought she would be able to justify his murder and escape punishment.

vindictive

(vin-DIK-tiv)

ADJECTIVE:
Motivated by revenge; vengeful.

virago

(vi-RAH-go)

NOUN:
A tempestuous, loud, or domineering woman.

virulent

(VEER-yuh-lent)

ADJECTIVE:
A person or thing that is extremely hostile or poisonous; bitter.

vitriolic

(vit-ree-OL-ik)

ADJECTIVE:
Characterized by hate or spite; acerbic.

vituperative

(vie-TOO-per-uh-tiv)

ADJECTIVE:
Behavior or speech that is insulting and abusive; slanderous.

volatile

(VOL-uh-tull)

ADJECTIVE:
Prone to sudden changes or outbursts; unpredictable.

The situation with their government is VOLATILE; it’s unwise to travel there until we know exactly what is going to happen.

W
wangle

(WANG-gul)

VERB:
To manipulate a situation through deceit or trickery; finagle.

She was easily able to WANGLE her way out of being charged with theft by crafting a story interesting enough to distract the investigator.

wary

(WAYR-ee)

ADJECTIVE:
Suspicious or leery.

waspish

(WAH-spish)

ADJECTIVE:
Easily irritated or bothered; spiteful.

wrathful

(RATH-full)

ADJECTIVE:
Full of anger or spite; enraged.

wrest

(rest)

VERB:
To take something away from someone using force.

wroth

(roth)

ADJECTIVE:
Wrathful or spiteful.

Anger is one of the sinews of the soul; he that wants it hath a maimed mind.

—T
HOMAS
F
ULLER

X, Y, and Z
Xanthippe

(zan-TIP-ee)

NOUN:
A reference to Socrates’ wife, a
Xanthippe
is a shrewish, ill-tempered woman.

yahoo

(YAH-hoo)

NOUN:
A crude, coarse, or brutish person. In Swift’s
Gulliver’s Travels
, one of a race of brutes having the form and all vices of humans.

yell

(yel)

VERB:
To cry out of scream with anger, fright, or pain.

yob

(yob)

NOUN:
A thug or hooligan.

You may run to the store around the corner, but watch out for the YOB hanging by the door; he’s likely to knock you down and take your money.

yuck

(yuhk)

INTERJECTION/
slang: An expression of strong dislike or disgust.

zap

(zap)

VERB:
To kill; to shoot; to attack or destroy with sudden speed and force.

zounds

(zoundz)

INTERJECTION:
Used to express anger or indignation.

BOOK: Wrath: A Dictionary for the Enraged
9.78Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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