| Word | Meaning | Synonyms |
| Nonplussed | to render utterly perplexed; puzzle completely; disconcerted, taken aback; brought to a mental standstill | Perplexed, bewildered, baffled, at a loss, stumped, flummoxed, stupefied |
| Eulogized | to praise highly; spoken in praise of the life and character of someone | Extol, laud, hail, commend |
| Exorcised | Cast out as something evil expelled by prayer; to free (a person, place, etc.) of evil spirits or malignant influences. | Expel, cast out , purge |
| Engrossed | Consume all of one’s attention or time; absorbed | Absorbed, immersed, soaked up, engulfed, enwrapped, wrapped, rapt, hooked |
| Maundering | 1. Wander aimlessly 2. Talk indistinctly; usually in a low voice; grumbling, muttering incoherently 3. Speak (about unimportant matters) rapidly and incessantly (muttering) | Mutter, ramble, blather (To talk foolishly) |
| Spawned | 1. To produce 2. To give birth to; give rise to: His sudden disappearance spawned many rumors. | Create, reproduce, bring forth |
| Actuated | 1. To incite or move to action; impel; motivate: actuated by selfish motives. 2. To put into action; start a process; turn on: to actuate a machine. | Spur, work up, rouse, move, prompted, propelled, incited, set off, sparked off |
| Pillories | 1. To expose to public derision, ridicule, or abuse: The candidate mercilessly pilloried his opponent. 2. Punish by putting in a pillory (A wooden instrument of punishment on a post with holes for the wrists and neck; offenders were locked in and so exposed to public scorn) 3. savage, blast, pillory, crucify criticize harshly or violently; “The press savaged the new President”; “The critics crucified the author for plagiarizing a famous passage”) | expose, exhibit, display, gibbet punish, penalize, penalize, knock, criticize, criticise, pick apart |
| Subjugate | 1. To bring under complete control or subjection; conquer; master. 2. To make submissive or subservient; enslave. | Repress, kick around, dominate, master, repress, quash, keep down, subdue, reduce oppress, suppress, crush |
| Asseverate | State categorically | Assert, insist, take a firm stand |
| Deign | 1. To think fit or in accordance with one’s dignity; condescend: He would not deign to discuss the matter with us. 2. To condescend to give or grant: He deigned no reply. | condescend, descend |
| Countermand | Cancel officially | Rescind, revoke, repeal, revoke, annul, lift, countermand, overturn, rescind, vacate |
| Expropriate | 1. To take possession of, esp. for public use by the right of eminent domain, thus divesting the title of the private owner: The government expropriated the land for a recreation area. 2. To dispossess (a person) of ownership: The revolutionary government expropriated the landowners from their estates. | Preempt, confiscate, appropriate, Take over, commandeer, requisition, deprive, strip, divest |
| Disparage | 1. To speak of or treat slightingly; depreciate; belittle: Do not disparage good manners. 2. To bring reproach or discredit upon; lower the estimation of: Your behavior will disparage the whole family. | Degrade, denigrate, scorch, underrate, belittle, pick at knock, criticize, criticise, pick apart |
| Berate | To scold; rebuke: He berated them in public. | call on the carpet, take to task, rebuke, rag, trounce, reproof, lecture, reprimand, jaw, dress down, call down, scold, chide, bawl out, remonstrate, chew out, chew up, have words, lambaste, lambast knock, criticize, criticise, pick apart |
| Incite | to stir, encourage, or urge on; stimulate or prompt to action: to incite a crowd to riot. | Urge, spur, motivate, actuate, propel, prompt |
