-ent

Usage

• pungent

  Something pungent, such as a spice, aroma, or speech, is sharp and penetrating.

• dissident

  A dissident is someone who disagrees publicly with a government, especially in a country where this is not allowed.

• cogent

  A cogent reason or argument is strong and convincing.

• munificent

  A munificent person is extremely generous, especially with money.

• despondent

  If you are despondent, you are extremely unhappy because you are in an unpleasant situation that you do not think will improve.

• intransigent

  An intransigent person is stubborn; thus, they refuse to change their ideas or behavior, often in a way that seems unreasonable.

• plangent

  Plangent sounds are loud and tend to suggest sadness.

• strident

  A strident person makes their feelings or opinions known in a forceful and strong way that often offends some people; not surprisingly, a strident voice is loud, harsh, and shrill.

• grandiloquent

  Grandiloquent speech is highly formal, exaggerated, and often seems both silly and hollow because it is expressly used to appear impressive and important.

• ambivalent

  If you are ambivalent about something, you are uncertain whether you like it or what you should do about it.

• sentient

  A sentient being is able to experience the world through its senses; it may have emotional feelings as well.

• latent

  Something that is latent, such as an undiscovered talent or undiagnosed disease, exists but is not active or has not developed at the moment—it may develop or become active in the future.

• subservient

  If you are subservient, you are too eager and willing to do what other people want and often put your own wishes aside.

• resplendent

  People or things that are resplendent are beautiful, bright, and impressive in appearance.

• astringent

  When you are astringent towards someone, you speak to or write about them in a critical and hurtful manner.

• pertinent

  Something that is pertinent is directly related or relevant to the subject under consideration.

• omniscient

  Someone who is omniscient seems to know absolutely everything.

• salient

  The salient qualities of an issue or feature are those that are most important and noticeable.

• quintessential

  Something is quintessential when it is a perfect example of its type.

• emollient

  An emollient substance soothes your skin and provides moisture.

• ebullient

  Someone who is ebullient is filled with enthusiasm, very happy, and extremely excited about something.

• incumbent

  If it is incumbent upon you to do something, it is your duty or responsibility to do it.

• exponent

  An exponent of a particular idea or cause is someone who supports or defends it.

• belligerent

  A belligerent person or country is hostile, aggressive, very unfriendly, and prone to fight.

• patent

  A patent situation is one that is wide open and unconcealed; it is both evident and obvious.

• transcendent

  Something that is transcendent not only surpasses all others in quality, achievement, or significance, but exceeds normal limits or boundaries.

• incipient

  An incipient situation or quality is just beginning to appear or develop.

• maleficent

  Something or someone that is maleficent deliberately tries to cause harm or evil.

• tendentious

  Someone who is tendentious is biased in their perceptions and opinions.

• providential

  A providential event is a very lucky one because it happens at exactly the right time and often when it is needed most.

• indolent

  An indolent person is lazy.

• unguent

  An unguent is a soothing salve.

• impertinent

  If someone behaves in an impertinent way, they behave rudely and disrespectfully.

• indigent

  An indigent person is very poor.

• complacent

  Complacent persons are too confident and relaxed because they think that they can deal with a situation easily; however, in many circumstances, this is not the case.

• redolent

  If something is redolent of something else, it has features that make you think of it.

• malevolent

  A malevolent person or thing is evil due to deliberate attempts to cause harm.

• effulgent

  Something that is effulgent is very bright and radiates light.

• reticent

  People who are reticent are unwilling to share information, especially about themselves, their thoughts, or their feelings.

• decadent

  A decadent person has low moral standards and is more interested in pleasure than serious matters.

• contingent

  If something is contingent upon something else, the first thing depends on the second in order to happen or exist.

• nascent

  Something that is nascent is just starting to develop and is expected to become stronger and bigger in time.

• immanent

  An immanent quality is present within something and is so much a part of it that the object cannot be imagined without that quality.

• ambient

  Ambient sound, light, and temperature are those parts of the environment that surround you.

• exigent

  An exigent situation is urgent and demands a lot of attention, often in ways that are expensive in time, cost, and effort.

• sedentary

  Someone who has a sedentary habit, job, or lifestyle spends a lot of time sitting down without moving or exercising often.

• recumbent

  A recumbent figure or person is lying down.

• prescient

  Someone who is prescient knows or is able to predict what will happen in the future.

• adherent

  An adherent is a supporter or follower of a leader or a cause.

• antecedent

  An antecedent of something, such as an event or organization, has happened or existed before it and can be similar to it.

• diffident

  Someone who is diffident is shy, does not want to draw notice to themselves, and is lacking in self-confidence.

• imminent

  An imminent event, especially an event that is unpleasant, is almost certain to happen within the very near future.

• benevolent

  Someone who is benevolent wishes others well, often by being kind, filled with goodwill, and charitable towards them.

• conscientious

  When someone is conscientious in performing a task, they do it in a thorough and careful fashion to make sure that it is completely done.

• convergent

  Two things that are convergent are meeting or coming together at a given point in time or space.

• deterrent

  A deterrent keeps someone from doing something against you.

• eloquent

  When you speak in an eloquent fashion, you speak beautifully in an expressive and persuasive way.

• expedient

  A thing or action that is expedient is useful, advantageous, or appropriate for getting something accomplished.

• gradient

  A gradient is an upward or downward slanting slope, the steepness of that slope, or the rate of change of a measured quantity over a given distance.

• imprudent

  When you act in an imprudent fashion, you do something that is unwise, is lacking in good judgment, or has no forethought.

• inadvertent

  Something that is done inadvertently is not done intentionally; rather, it is an accident that happens because someone is not being attentive to their surroundings.

• incoherent

  Someone who is speaking in an incoherent fashion cannot be understood or is very hard to understand.

• inconsequential

  Inconsequential matters are unimportant or are of little to no significance.

• indifferent

  If you are indifferent about something, you are uninterested or neutral about it, not caring either in a positive or negative way.

• inherent

  An inherent characteristic is one that exists in a person at birth or in a thing naturally.

• intelligentsia

  The intelligentsia of a society are those individuals who are the most highly educated.

• intermittent

  Something that happens on an intermittent basis happens in irregular intervals, stopping and starting at unpredictable times.

• proponent

  A proponent is a supporter or backer of something, such as a cause or other endeavor.

• refulgent

  Something refulgent is glowing, shining brightly, or brilliant.

• reminiscent

  Something that is reminiscent of something else reminds you of it in some way.

• reverent

  When you are reverent, you show a great deal of respect, admiration, or even awe for someone or something.

• sapient

  If you are sapient, you are wise or very learned.

• tangential

  A tangential point in an argument merely touches upon something that is not really relevant to the conversation at hand; rather, it is a minor or unimportant point.

• torrential

  A torrential downpour is heavy and sometimes severe or intense in its power.

• translucent

  A translucent object allows some light to pass through it.

• unprecedented

  Something that is unprecedented has never occurred before, which makes it extraordinary, original, or new.

• stringent

  Stringent measures or rules are strict, severe, and controlled in a very tight fashion.

• concurrent

  Concurrent events happen at the same time.

• orient

  When you orient yourself to your current surroundings, you familiarize yourself with them or adjust to them.

• adjacent

  When something is adjacent to something else, it lies close to or neighbors it.

• prominent

  Something or someone that is prominent stands out or is noticeable in some way.

• diligent

  When you are diligent in completing a task, you work hard or tirelessly at it until it is complete.

• negligent

  A negligent person does not complete what they say they will do—they are careless or inattentive to their work.

• eminent

  An eminent person is famous, of high standing, or superior in some way.

• constituent

  A constituent part of something makes up part of the whole thing.

• incidental

  Something that is incidental is a minor occurrence related to something more important or something that happens by chance.

• subsequent

  Something that is subsequent to something else is later than or after it in time.

• competent

  If someone is competent in a job, they are able and skilled enough to do it well.

• cognoscenti

  The cognoscenti of a society are those people who are experts or have a superior range of knowledge in a subject, primarily the fine arts.

• improvidence

  Someone who is improvident does not think about providing for future events and needs, lacks foresight, and is not cautious or sensible.

• incident

  An incident is something that occurs or happens at a given time and is usually something unpleasant.

• independent

  Someone who is independent takes care of themselves and does not rely on anyone else or on any thing.

• essential

  Something essential to something else is absolutely necessary to or needed by it.

• ancient

  Something which is ancient is very old or belongs to the distant past.

• ingredient

  An ingredient is one thing that is put into something that makes it up, such as chocolate into a cake.

• resident

  A resident of a place, such as a town, apartment building, or area, is living there on a long-term basis.

• intelligent

  If someone is intelligent, they are smart or capable of understanding difficult ideas.

• agent

  An agent is someone who does something for you, especially doing business on your behalf.

• sufficient

  If you have a sufficient amount of something, you have enough of it or as much as needed.

• magnificent

  Something that is magnificent is grand, impressive, amazing, or really great.

• confident

  If you are confident about something, you are not worried or concerned about it at all because you believe that what you expect to happen will.

• transparent

  If an object is transparent, such as a window or a lens, you can see through it.

• currently

  Something that is currently happening is occurring right now.

• opponent

  An opponent is someone who plays against you in a match or game of some kind.