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
Go back to the Main Page of Useful Phrases... or ... Go to the Next Page: Useful Phrases, Page 4 (D).
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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