TOEFL Vocabulary #18

loud, unpleasant, and rough:
People are put off by his strident voice.
expressing or expressed in forceful language that does not try to avoid upsetting other people:
a strident newspaper article

strident: /ˈstraɪ.dənt/ (adj)
stridency (n) - stridently (adv)

understood without being expressed directly:
tacit agreement/approval/support
He gave tacit approval to the plan.

using few words, sometimes in a way that seems rude or unfriendly:
"Are you feeling any better?" "No!" was the terse reply.
He was shouting terse orders for vehicles to pull over.

terse: /tɝːs/ (adj)
tersely (adv) - terseness (n)

repeatedly and loudly expressing your opinions and complaints, or (of demands, complaints, etc.) expressed in this way:
a vociferous critic of foreign policy
vociferous objections

vociferous: /vəˈsɪf.ɚ.əs/ (adj)
vociferously (adv)

speaking a lot, with confidence and enthusiasm:
She was a voluble, smart, funny interviewee.
involving a lot of words spoken confidently and forcefully:
Two people walked by having a voluble argument.

voluble: /ˈvɑːl.jə.bəl/ (adj)
volubly (adv)

showing hard work, care, and attention to detail:
assiduous research/efforts
an assiduous student
The Federal Reserve has been assiduous in the fight against inflation.

assiduous: /əˈsɪdʒ.u.əs/ (adj)
assiduously (adv) - assiduousness (n) - assiduity (n)

a person who says they have powers to see the future or see things that other people cannot see:
She went to see a clairvoyant who said he could communicate with her dead husband.
One of her aunts is clairvoyant.

clairvoyant: /ˌklerˈvɔɪ.ənt/ (n/adj)
clairvoyance (n)

a stupid person:
From a dolt he had become a hero. 
He was a dolt who confused genuine passion with the milder preferences of callow youth.

relating to the enjoyment or study of beauty:
The new building has little aesthetic value/appeal.
Something that shows great beauty:
furniture that is both aesthetic and functional.

aesthetic:  /esˈθet̬.ɪk/ (adj)
aesthetically (adv)

a person who does silly things, usually to make other people laugh:
Doesn't he get tired of playing the buffoon in class?
He was not the buffoon that people said he was.
Her performance was sheer buffoonery.