Historical Power Words Accede 1. Accede. Verb. To express approval; agree with. Use: Instead of agree accede Historical Example: “It was the intention

Historical Power Words

1. AccedeAccede. Verb. To express approval; agree with.

Use: Instead of agree Historical Example: “It was the intention of

Council of Trent to get Catholics to once again accedeaccede to the dictates of Rome as a reaction against the Protestant Reformation.”


2. BelaborBelabor. Verb. To insist repeatedly; to harp on something

Use: Instead of repeat; insist Historical Example: “There is a fine line

between emphasizing a matter of national policy and belaboringbelaboring the issue.”


3. CircumventCircumvent. Verb. To go around; to avoid; to find an alternate way

Use: Instead of avoid; go around Historical Example: “The most effective way

for a monarch to circumventcircumvent the power of a legislative body is to use military power.”


4. DeleteriousDeleterious. Adjective. Harmful; destructive.

Use: Instead of harmful Historical Example: “The deleteriousdeleterious effects

of the meltdown of the Chernobyl Nuclear reactor in 1986 are felt in many areas of Russia today.”


5. Egregious.Adjective. Extremely bad; the most severe and harmful example

Use: Instead of Extremely bad (example) Historical Example: “The wholesale

elimination of the indigenous peoples of Tasmania by the British is one of the most egregious examples of the evils of imperialism.”


6. FlauntFlaunt. Verb. To show off Use: Instead of show off Historical Example: “Aristocrats would

never imagine that their lavish clothing was flauntedflaunted in the face of the poor.”


7. GradationGradation. Noun. The measurement of regular degrees or stages of, a way to quantify differences in power

Use: Instead of measuring power Historical Example: “Peter the Great

attempted to solidify the gradationsgradations of the powers of the nobility with his Table of Ranks.”


8. HeathenHeathen. Noun. A pagan; a non-believer; uncivilized; irreligious

Use: Instead of pagan; uncivilized Historical Example: “To label the denizens

of Africa and Asia as heathensheathens because they worshipped differently than the established Christian faiths is actually irreligious in and of itself.”


9. IllusoryIllusory. Adjective. Unreal; deceptive Use: Instead of unreal Historical Example: “Once the power of a

monarch is discovered to be illusoryillusory, it becomes easier to challenge them.”


10. JuxtaposeJuxtapose. Verb. To place side by side as a means of comparison.

Use: Instead of to place side by side. Historical Example: “On of the most

effective ways of answering a DBQ is to juxtaposejuxtapose documents and analyze their similarities or differences.”


11. LampoonLampoon. Verb. To attack with satire; to mock harshly

Use: Instead of satirize; make fun of Historical Example: “A Modest Proposal by

Jonathan Swift brutally lampoonslampoons societies indifference to the proliferation of the working poor in England.”


12. MagnanimousMagnanimous. Adjective. Generous; noble in spirit

Use: Instead of generous Historical Example: “An Enlightened

Monarch is, ideally, a magnanimousmagnanimous individual who truly has the welfare of his or her people at heart.”


13. NihilismNihilism. Noun. A belief that all traditional values are meaningless

Use: Instead of …nothing! Historical Example: “In Ivan Turgenev's

novel Fathers and Sons (1862) he used "nihilismnihilism" to describe the crude scientism espoused by his character Bazarov who preaches a creed of total negation.”


14. OfficiousOfficious. Adjective. Too helpful; meddlesome

Use: Instead of meddlesome Historical Example: “A error made

commonly by leaders is to mistake an officiousofficious subordinate for a concerned one.”


15. PallPall. Noun. A darkness that envelopes a place or person; to obscure

Use: Instead of darkness or sadness Historical Example: “After WWI there

appeared to be a pallpall that fell over Europe, and made many artists truly question the nature of existence itself.”


16. QuellQuell. Verb.To crush or subdue. Use: Instead of crush or subdue Historical Example: “The Fronde (1653) was

finally quelledquelled by forces loyal to Louis XIV.”


17. RazeRaze. Verb. To tear down; demolish Use: Instead of tear down Historical Example: “It is a verbal irony that

to razeraze a city could sound the same as to raise a city.”


18. ScrupulousScrupulous. Adjective. Conscientious and exact; painstaking

Use: Instead of conscientious. Historical Example: “Finding a leader who

is truly scrupulousscrupulous is one of the rare events or instances in historical study.”


19. TangibleTangible. Adjective. Possible to be treated as fact; real or concrete

Use: Instead of real; discernable Historical Example: “Many still dismiss

Darwin’s theory of evolution because of the lack of tangibletangible evidence of the so-called missing link.”


20. UnequivocalUnequivocal. Adjective. Admitting of no doubt or misunderstanding; clear and unambiguous; no question

Use: Instead of clear or absolute Historical Example: “There is an abundance of

primary source material that unequivocallyunequivocally points to the United States role in training freedom fighters in Afghanistan who would later become Al-Queda.”


21. VauntedVaunted. Adjective. Boasted about; bragged about

Use: Instead of bragged about; the best Historical Example: “Due to the militarism

of Bismarck, the Prussian Army became the most vauntedvaunted in all of Europe in the late 19th century.”


22. WizenedWizened. Adjective. Withered; shriveled; wrinkled.

Use: Instead of worn out; aged Historical Example: “The Ottoman Empire

was known as the ‘Sick Man’ of Europe by the early 1900’s; it was a wizenedwizened shell of its former self.”


23. AbnegateAbnegate. Verb. To renounce; to deny Use: Instead of deny Historical Example: “The intention of the

Spanish Inquisition was to punish non-believers (Jews and Muslims) and get those who were “willing” to abnegateabnegate their heretical beliefs.”


24. BenignBenign. Adjective. Kindly; gentle; harmless

Use: Instead of harmless Historical Example: “Inaction in the face of

aggression may seem benignbenign to those who ascribe to it, but it almost always has dire consequences.”


25. CastigateCastigate. Verb. To punish; chastise; criticize severely.

Use: Instead of punish verbally; criticize Historical Example: “At the Diet of Worms

(1521) Martin Luther was castigatedcastigated by the tribunal for failing to renounce his criticisms of the Catholic Church. He held fast.”


1. Use: Instead of Historical Example: “

Documents

Historical Power Words Accede 1. Accede. Verb. To express approval; agree with. Use: Instead of agree accede Historical Example: “It was the intention