Vocabulary Builders: Useful Phrases, Page 3 (C)

This section of EnhanceMyVocabulary.com focuses on ways to enliven your writing and speech. You'll find a collection of colorful phrases to add extra flavor and help develop your vocabulary


If you are looking for ways to enliven your writing and speech, this classic collection from Grenville Kleiser provides an abundance of colorful phrases.

You can review these lists when you seek a little extra punch in written works, and you can also use them to develop your vocabulary by identifying, looking up, and learning words you don't know.

This set of useful phrases consists of nouns (occasionally verbs or adjectives) modified by adjectives or adverbs.


C

cabalistic phrase

cadaverous appearance

calamitous course

calculating admiration

callous indifference

calm resignation

calumnious suspicions

cantankerous enemy

canting hypocrite

capacious mind

capricious allurements

captivating speech

cardinal merit

careless parrying

caressing grasp

carping critic

castellated towers

casual violation

cataclysmic elements

causelessly frightened

caustic remark

cautious skepticism

cavernous gloom

ceaseless vigilance

celebrated instance

celestial joy

censorious critic

centralized wealth

ceremonious courtesy

cerulean blue

challenge admiration

chance reflections

changing exigencies

chaotic plans

characteristic audacity

charitable allowance

charming radiance

chary instincts

chastened hope

chatty familiarity

cheap resentment

cheery response

checkered career

cherished objects

childlike ingenuousness

chilled cynicism

chirpy familiarities

chivalrous spirit

choicest refinements

choleric temperament

choral chant

chronic frailties

churlish temper

circling eddyings

circuitous information

circumscribed purpose

civic consciousness

civilizing influence

clammy death

clamorous vibration

clangorous industry

clarion tone

class demarcations

classical objurgation

clattering accents

clear insight

climactic revelation

clinching proof

cloaked nature

cloistered virtue

close condensation

cloudy magnificence

clownishly insensible

cloying sweetness

clumsy talk

clustering trees

coarse necessity

coaxing eloquence

coercive enactment

cogent statement

coherent thinking

coined metaphor

cold formalities

collateral duties

collective wisdom

colloquial display

colonial character

colossal failure

comatose state

combative tone

comforting reassurance

comic infelicity

commanding attitude

commendable purpose

commercial opulence

commingled emotion

commodiously arranged

common substratum

commonplace allusions

compact fitness

comparative scantiness

compassionate love

compelling force

compendious abstract

compensatory character

competent authority

competitive enterprise

complacent platitudes

complaining sea

complaisant observation

complete aloofness

complex notions

complicated maze

complimentary glance

component aspects

composed zeal

composite growth

compound idea

comprehensive design

compressed view

compromising rashness

compulsory repetition

compunctious visits

concatenated pedantries

concealed advantage

conceivable comparison

concentrated vigor

concerted action

conciliating air

concomitant events

concrete realities

concurrent testimony

condemnable rashness

condescending badinage

conditional approval

confessed ardor

confidently anticipated

confirmed misanthrope

conflicting influences

confused mingling

conjectural estimate

conjugal felicity

connected series

connotative damage

connubial love

conquering intelligence

conscientious objection

conscious repugnance

consecrated endeavor

consequent retribution

conservative distrust

considerate hint

consistent friendliness

consoling consciousness

conspicuous ascendency

constant reiteration

constitutional reserve

constrained politeness

constructive idealists

consuming zeal

consummate mastery

contagious wit

contaminating influence

contemplative nature

contemporary fame

contemptuous disrespect

contented indolence

contingent reasons

continuous endeavor

contorted expression

contracted view

contradictory theories

contrary tendencies

contrasted types

controversial disputant

contumelious epithet

convenient footing

conventional verbiage

conversational decorum

convincing forcefulness

convivial habits

convulsive agony

cool confidence

copious materials

coquettish advances

cordial approval

corporate selfishness

corporeal constituent

correct forecast

corresponding variation

corroborated truth

corrosive effect

corrupting tendency

cosmical changes

cosmopolitan position

costly advantages

counterbalancing power

countless barriers

courageous eagerness

courteous solicitude

courtly bearing

covert curiosity

coveted honors

cowardly concession

cowering agitation

coy reluctance

crackling laughter

crafty deception

craggy eminence

cramped energies

crass stolidity

craven determination

creative faculty

credibly informed

creditable performance

credulous superstition

creeping progress

criminal negligence

cringing smile

crisp dialogue

critical judgment

crouching culprit

crowning indiscretion

crucial instance

crucifying irony

crude affectation

cruel handicap

crumbling precipice

crunching jangle

crushing sorrow

cryptic saying

crystalline sky

crystallized conclusions

culinary myrmidons

culminating fascination

culpable behavior

cultivated ferocity

cultured idleness

cumbrous fragments

cumulative tendency

cunningly contrived

curbed profligacy

curious coincidence

current gossip

curry favor

cursed inactivity

cursory acquaintance

curt formality

curtained embrasure

cutting directness

cycloramic sweep

cynical disregard


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Editor's note: This section of EnhanceMyVocabulary.com is excerpted and adapted from Project Gutenberg's Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases, by Greenville Kleiser.


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