Manhattan Essentials and Advanced Words Magoosh Vocabulary

plastic

-plastic Share: -plastic suff. Forming; growing; changing; developing: metaplastic. Noun. plasticity. 1. Any of various organic compounds produced by polymerization, capable of being molded, extruded, cast into various shapes and films, or drawn into filaments used as textile fibers. 2. Informal A credit card or credit cards: would accept cash or plastic in payment. Adjective. 1. Capable of being shaped or formed: plastic material such as clay. See Synonyms at malleable. 2. Relating to or dealing with shaping or modeling: the plastic art of sculpture. 3. Having the qualities of sculpture; well-formed: "the astonishing plastic beauty of the chorus girls" (Frank Harris). 4. Giving form or shape to a substance: the plastic forces that create and wear down a mountain range. 5. Easily influenced; impressionable: "The plastic mind of the bank clerk had been ... distorted by what he had read" (Rudyard Kipling). 6. Made of a plastic or plastics: a plastic garden hose. 7. Physics Capable of undergoing continuous deformation without rupture or relaxation. 8. Biology a. Capable of building tissue; formative. b. Able to change and adapt, especially by acquiring alternative pathways for sensory perception or motor skills. Used of the central nervous system. 9. Marked by artificiality or superficiality: a plastic world of fad, hype, and sensation. 10. Informal Of or obtained by means of credit cards: plastic money. Adverb. plastically. A young child's mind is quite plastic, and exposure to violent movies and video games can have a much greater effect on children than they typically do on adults. This word is much older than the substance we call plastic "plastic". Plastic surgery is so called because it reshapes parts of the body, not because the substance plastic is involved.

Dogma

A System of Principals laid down by an authority; established belief It is part of dogma of modern education that there are multiple intelligences that are equally valuable; try to suggest that some people just aren't that smart, and you'll find yourself a pariah. Dogmatic people will never change their minds, even in the face of evidence. It is always in a negative way. However, dogma can be meant in a neutral or positive way as well; when people refer to their church's dogma, they generally mean that they believe those tenets on the church's authority. Plural Noun. dogmas or dogmata 1. A doctrine or a corpus of doctrines relating to matters such as morality and faith, set forth in an authoritative manner by a religion. 2. A principle or statement of ideas, or a group of such principles or statements, especially when considered to be authoritative or accepted uncritically: "Much education consists in the instilling of unfounded dogmas in place of a spirit of inquiry" (Bertrand Russell).

Styptic

Adjective 1. Contracting the tissues or blood vessels; astringent. 2. Tending to check bleeding by contracting the tissues or blood vessels; hemostatic. Noun. A styptic drug or substance.

Luminous

Adjective Shinning, radiant, well-lit; brilliant or enlightening Use our new light-reflecting shimmer blush for a luminous complexion! We are conferring this honorary degree on the author in appreciation for his luminous intellect with the world. This comes from the root "luc" for "light" which also occurs in translucent, lucubrate, elucidate and lucid and pellucid

Intractable

Adjective. 1. a. Difficult to manage, deal with, or change to an acceptable condition: an intractable conflict; an intractable dilemma. b. Difficult to alleviate, remedy, or cure: intractable pain; intractable depression. 2. Difficult to persuade or keep under control, as in behavior: "Bullheaded enough when he was cold sober, he was intractable after a few drinks" (John Grisham). See Synonyms at obstinate. 3. Difficult to mold or manipulate: intractable materials. Noun. intractability, intractableness. Adverb. intractably.

Esoteric

Adjective. 1. a. Intended for or understood by only a small group, especially one with specialized knowledge or interests: an esoteric philosophical doctrine. See Synonyms at mysterious. b. Relating to or being a small group with specialized knowledge or interests: an esoteric circle. "Pertaining to difficult or obscure knowledge; known to only a few". 2. Not known by or suitable for the public; private: Few understood the celebrity's esoteric side. Noun. 1. One that is esoteric. 2. esoterics Esoteric matters; esoterica: "The course ... is anything but an exercise in ivory tower esoterics" (Sharon Waxman). Adverb. esoterically.

Languid

Adjective. 1. a. Lacking energy or disinclined to exert effort; listless: feeling languid from a fever. b. Slow-moving or weak in force: languid breezes. Drooping from exhaustion, sluggish, slow; lacking in spirit. 2. Showing little or no vitality or animation: languid prose. 3. Characterized by or conducive to indolence or inactivity: a languid afternoon. Adverb. languidly. Noun. languidness.

fiduciary

Adjective. 1. a. Of or relating to a duty of acting in good faith with regard to the interests of another: a company's fiduciary responsibility to investors. b. Of or being a trustee or trusteeship. c. Held in trust. 2. Of or consisting of fiat money. 3. Of, relating to, or being a system of marking in the field of view of an optical instrument that is used as a reference point or measuring scale. Plural Noun. fiduciaries One, such as an agent of a principal or a company director, who has a duty of acting in good faith with regard to the interests of another.

Byzantine

Adjective. 1. a. Of or relating to the ancient city of Byzantium. b. Of or relating to the Byzantine Empire. 2. Of or belonging to the style of architecture developed from the fifth century AD in the Byzantine Empire, characterized especially by a central dome resting on a cube formed by four round arches and their pendentives and by the extensive use of surface decoration, especially veined marble panels, low relief carving, and colored glass mosaics. 3. Of the painting and decorative style developed in the Byzantine Empire, characterized by formality of design, frontal stylized presentation of figures, rich use of color, especially gold, and generally religious subject matter. 4. a. Of the Eastern Orthodox Church or the rites performed in it. b. Of an Eastern Catholic church that maintains the worship of the Eastern Orthodox Church or the rites performed in it. 5. often byzantine a. Of, relating to, or characterized by intrigue; scheming or devious: "a fine hand for Byzantine deals and cozy arrangements" (New York). b. Highly complicated; intricate and involved: a bill to simplify the byzantine tax structure. n. A native or inhabitant of Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire.

Solicitous

Adjective. 1. a. Showing great attention or concern to another: a solicitous parent; solicitous for your welfare; solicitous of his young sister. A solicitous host, Derek, not only asked each person how he or she was doing, but asked by name about everyone's spouses and kids. b. Expressing care or concern for another: made solicitous inquiries about our family. See Synonyms at thoughtful. c. Showing great care; careful or meticulous: solicitous in the care of critically ill patients. d. Worried; anxious: solicitous about his son's behavior. 2. Archaic Full of desire; eager: "an opinion which he had seemed solicitous to give" (Jane Austen). Solicitous of fame, she would do anything to get near celebrities. Don't confuse solicitous with soliciting, which means selling, asking or entreating, or acting as a prostitute. Signs on homes and Businesses that say "No soliciting" are telling salespeople to stay away.

Torpid

Adjective. 1. a. Sluggish, lethargic, or inactive: "It is a man's own fault, it is from want of use, if his mind grows torpid in old age" (Samuel Johnson). b. Showing little interest; apathetic: a torpid audience. 2. Conducive to sluggishness or inactivity, especially in being warm and humid: a torpid summer evening. 3. Dormant; hibernating. Adverb. torpidity. Adverb. torpidly.

Ambidextrous

Adjective. 1. Able to use both hands with equal facility. 2. Unusually skillful; adroit. 3. Deceptive or hypocritical. Adverb. ambidextrously.

Pellucid

Adjective. 1. Admitting the passage of light; transparent or translucent. See Synonyms at clear. 2. Transparently clear in style or meaning: pellucid prose. clear. Noun. pellucidity, pellucidness. Adverb. pellucidly.

Chronological

Adjective. 1. Arranged in order of time of occurrence. 2. Relating to or in accordance with chronology. Adverb. chronologically. Joey, I'm afraid you've done the assignment wrong- the point of making a timeline is to put the information in chronological order. You've made an alphabetical-order -line instead! The root "Cron" for "time". also occurs in chronicle (a historical account in time order), chronic (ongoing, usually of an illness) and anachronism (thing out of its own time period). Chronometer is just a fancy word for clock.

Caustic

Adjective. 1. Capable of burning, corroding, dissolving, or eating away by chemical action. 2. Sarcastic or cutting; biting: "The caustic jokes ... deal with such diverse matters as political assassination, talk-show hosts, medical ethics" (Frank Rich). 3. Given to making caustic remarks: a caustic TV commentator. Noun. 1. A caustic material or substance. 2. A hydroxide of a light metal. 3. The enveloping surface formed by light rays reflecting or refracting from a curved surface, especially one with spherical aberration.

Heterogeneous

Adjective. 1. Consisting of dissimilar elements or parts; not homogeneous. See Synonyms at miscellaneous. 2. Xenogeneic. 3. Different in Type 4. Incongruous 5. Composed of different type of elements Rather than build the wall with plain brick, we used a heterogeneous mixture of stones-they are not different colors, but a variety of sizes as well.

Unconscionable

Adjective. 1. Deserving of moral condemnation: committed an unconscionable act. 2. Beyond reason; excessive: an unconscionable price. It is unconscionable that you would deny your sister a bone marrow transplant knowing that you're the only person in the family who's a match. Not guided by conscience; morally wrong, unjust, unreasonable

Taciturn

Adjective. 1. Habitually untalkative. See Synonyms at laconic. 2. Characterized by reserve or a lack of expression: "Beneath his taciturn exterior was an optimist" (Buzz Bissinger). Shy people and do not have the sense of "getting the point across efficiently" that laconic does.

Convoluted

Adjective. 1. Having numerous overlapping coils or folds: a convoluted seashell. 2. Intricate; complicated: convoluted legal language; convoluted reasoning. Your argument is so convoluted that I'm not even able to understand it enough to start critiquing it. To get from the hotel room to the pool requires following a convoluted path up two staircases and down two others-to get to someplace on teh same floor we started on!

Arrogant

Adjective. 1. Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance. 2. Marked by or arising from a feeling or assumption of one's superiority toward others: an arrogant contempt for the weak. Adverb. arrogantly.

Tortuous

Adjective. 1. Having or marked by repeated turns or bends; winding or twisting: a tortuous road through the mountains. 2. Not straightforward; circuitous; devious: a tortuous plot; tortuous reasoning. 3. Highly involved; complex: tortuous legal procedures. Adverb. tortuously. Noun. tortuousness.

Sentient

Adjective. 1. Having sense perception; conscious: Conscious; experiencing sensation or perceiving with the senses. "The living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's stage" (T.E. Lawrence). 2. Experiencing sensation or feeling. Adverb. sentiently. Tia became a vegan because she refused to eat any sentient creature. Look at the mold in your fridge! Let it grow any more, it might become sentient!

Reticent

Adjective. 1. Inclined to keep one's thoughts, feelings, and personal affairs to oneself. See Synonyms at laconic. 2. Restrained or reserved: "The laughter was steady, if reticent" (Bernard Lown). 3. Usage Problem Reluctant; unwilling. Shy people and do not have the sense of "getting the point across efficiently" that laconic does.

Ingenuous

Adjective. 1. Lacking in cunning, guile, or worldliness; innocent or naive: I'm not so ingenuous as to believe everything he says. See Synonyms at naive. 2. Straightforward or frank; candid: "I must be so ingenuous as to own that the accounts are not so certain as to the exact time and place of his birth"(Memoir of Martinus Scriblerus).

Incongruous

Adjective. 1. Lacking in harmony; incompatible: a joke that was incongruous with polite conversation. Out of place 2. Not in agreement, as with principles; inconsistent: a plan incongruous with reason. 3. Not in keeping with what is correct, proper, or logical; inappropriate: incongruous behavior. 4. Not harmonious. Among the student artwork posted in the halls, Angelina's submission was incongruous, a dark, gruesome, and even worldly work amidst the happy family portraits and other childish drawings. Incongruous is related to congruent, as in "congruent triangles" (those that are identical)

Astringent

Adjective. 1. Medicine Tending to draw together or constrict tissues; styptic. 2. Sharp and penetrating; pungent or severe: astringent remarks. Noun. A substance or preparation, such as alum, that draws together or constricts body tissues and is effective in stopping the flow of blood or other secretions.

Recondite

Adjective. 1. Not easily understood; abstruse or obscure: "Pertaining to difficult or obscure knowledge; known to only a few". "To gain a reputation for wisdom a man must seem to have a store of recondite knowledge" (Bertrand Russell). 2. Concealed; hidden. Adverb. reconditely.

Ignoble

Adjective. 1. Not noble in quality, character, or purpose; base or dishonorable. 2. Not of high social status; common.

Perceptive

Adjective. 1. Of or relating to perception: perceptive faculties. 2. a. Having the ability to perceive; keen in discernment. b. Marked by discernment and understanding; sensitive.

Cerebral

Adjective. 1. Of or relating to the brain or cerebrum. 2. Appealing to or requiring the use of the intellect; intellectual rather than emotional: "His approach is cerebral, analytical, cautious" (Helen Dewar). Cerebral can mean "intellectual, esp. as opposed to instinctual or emotional". Adverb. cerebrally.

Apocryphal

Adjective. 1. Of questionable authorship or authenticity. Fake, Counterfeit. 2. Erroneous; fictitious: "Wildly apocryphal rumors about starvation in Petrograd ... raced through Russia's trenches" (W. Bruce Lincoln). 3. Apocryphal Bible Of or having to do with the Apocrypha. Adverb. apocryphally.

Effulgent

Adjective. 1. Shining brilliantly; resplendent. See Synonyms at bright. 2. a. Showing or expressing vitality, love, or joy: "the thrilling promise he held out in his effulgent emerald eyes" (Arundhati Roy). b. Splendid; wonderful: effulgent beauty.

Acerbic

Adjective. 1. Sour or bitter tasting; acid. See Synonyms at bitter, sour. 2. Sharp or biting, as in character or expression: "At times, the playwright allows an acerbic tone to pierce through otherwise arid or flowery prose" (Alvin Klein).

Tedious

Adjective. 1. Tiresome by reason of length, slowness, or dullness; boring. See Synonyms at boring. 2. Obsolete Moving or progressing very slowly.

Unsparing

Adjective. 1. Unmerciful; severe: an unsparing superior officer; unsparing criticism. 2. Generous or unstinting: unsparing in his efforts to find a solution. lavish The mother was unsparring in praising her son, so he was in for quite a shock when his new teacher told him his work was substandard.

Acrid

Adjective. 1. Unpleasantly sharp, pungent, or bitter to the taste or smell. See Synonyms at bitter. 2. Caustic in language or tone: an acrid political campaign.

Cogent

Adjective. Appealing to the intellect or powers of reasoning; Very convincing, logical, convincing: a cogent argument. See Synonyms at valid. Noun. cogency. Adverb. cogently. Studying logic is an excellent way to improve at formulating cogent arguments. Nurses who work in the Alzheimer's ward must develop skills for communicating with people who are often not cogent. Cogent comes from two roots meaning "together" and "drive"- a cogent argument allows you to "drive" your listener to your conclusion.

Faux

Adjective. Artificial; fake: faux pearls. Fake, Counterfeit.

Ubiquitous

Adjective. Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time; omnipresent. Adverb. ubiquitously. Noun. ubiquitousness. Thirty years ago, women would lie about their hair, considering the admission embarrassing, Today, blatantly fake hair color- not to mention fake tans and unnaturally white teeth- are ubiquitous, not only on starlets, but even on the checkers at teh local grocery store. Maggie learned in Sunday school that God was ubiquitous, leading to the question nearly all children ask when they hear this: "Does that mean God sees me in the bathroom?"

Craven

Adjective. Characterized by abject fear; very cowardly. lacking courage Noun. A coward The nervous soldier feared that he would turn craven in his first firefight, but he actually acted quite bravely.

Dastardly

Adjective. Cowardly and malicious; base. Cowardly in a treacherous, sneaky way

Slothful

Adjective. Disinclined to work or exertion; lazy. See Synonyms at lazy. Adverb. slothfully. Noun. slothfulness.

Banal

Adjective. Drearily commonplace and often predictable; trite: "Blunt language cannot hide a banal conception" (James Wolcott). Verb. banalize. Adverb. banally. Usage Note: The pronunciation of banal is not settled among educated speakers of American English, and several variants compete with each other. The pronunciation, rhyming with canal, was preferred by 58 percent of the Usage Panel in our 2001 survey, while 28 percent favored, and 13 percent said they used, a pronunciation that is more common in British English. A number of Panelists admitted to being so vexed by the word that they tended to avoid it in conversation. Nonetheless, all three pronunciations should be considered acceptable.

Tantamount

Adjective. Equivalent in effect or value: a request tantamount to a demand.

Discerning

Adjective. Exhibiting keen insight and good judgment; perceptive; Keen; perspicacious In an age in which we are bombed with advertisement, it is important to be discerning customer. For instance, the term "all natural" is not federally regulated by and doesn't have to mean anything at all, so a smart shopper still reads ingredients.

Ambivalent

Adjective. Exhibiting or feeling ambivalence. Adverb. ambivalently. Uncertain; unable to decide, or wanting to do two contradictory things at once. I've been accepted to two amazing graduate programs, one inexpensive and close to home, and one in big, exciting city. I'm ambivalent-I don't know how I'm going to decide. When i asked you if you thought we'd get married some day, your ambivalence hurt my feelings. The prefix ambi- means "both" or "all" and also occurs in ambiance and ambidextrous. Don't confuse ambivalent with ambiguous, which means "Vague, open to multiple meanings"

Prenatal

Adjective. Existing or occurring before birth: prenatal medical care. Adverb. prenatally.

Stentorian

Adjective. Extremely loud: a stentorian voice.

Supercilious

Adjective. Feeling or showing haughty disdain. See Synonyms at arrogant. Adverb. superciliously. superciliousness. Word History: The English word supercilious ultimately derives from the Latin word supercilium, "eyebrow." Supercilium came to mean "the eyebrow as used in frowning and expressing sternness, gravity, or haughtiness." From there it developed the senses "stern looks, severity, haughty demeanor, pride." The derived Latin adjective superciliōsus meant "full of stern or disapproving looks, censorious, haughty, disdainful," as it has since it entered English as supercilious in the 1500s. The super- in the Latin word supercilium means "above," and cilium was the Latin word for "eyelid." In many of the Romance languages, this word developed into the word for "eyelash." This development is probably reflected in the scientific use in English of the word cilium, whose plural is cilia. Cilia are the minute hairlike appendages of cells or unicellular organisms that move in unison in order to bring about the movement of the cell or of the surrounding medium.

Guileless

Adjective. Free of guile; artless. See Synonyms at naive.

Guileful

Adjective. Full of guile; deceitfully or treacherously cunning. guilefully.

Judicious

Adjective. Having or exhibiting sound judgment; prudent. Using good judgement; wise, sensible. Adverb. judiciously. In his will, the old titan of industry left little to his hard-partying younger son, and left the bulk of his estate to the more judicious older son, with instructions that the older son see that the rest of the family was taken care of. The related Judicial means "relating to the judges, courtrooms, justice, etc." While a judicious person is wise, a judicial attitude would probably be cold, impartial, detached.

Sagacious

Adjective. Having or showing keen discernment, sound judgment, and farsightedness. See Synonyms at shrewd.

Unscrupulous

Adjective. Having or showing no regard for what is right or honorable; devoid of scruples. Not guided by Moral Rules

Perspicacious

Adjective. Having or showing penetrating mental discernment; clear-sighted. See Synonyms at shrewd.

Astute

Adjective. Having or showing shrewdness and discernment, especially with respect to one's own concerns.

Pervasive

Adjective. Having the quality or tendency to pervade or permeate: the pervasive odor of garlic. Tending to spread throughout.

Pusillanimous

Adjective. Lacking courage; cowardly. Adverb. pusillanimously.

Diffident

Adjective. Lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid: He was too diffident to express his opinion. Adverb. diffidently

Unprincipled

Adjective. Lacking principles or moral scruples; unscrupulous: unprincipled behavior. Not guided by Moral Rules

Vociferous

Adjective. Making, given to, or marked by noisy and vehement outcry. Noisily crying out, as in protest. He has always been a vociferous opponent of the estate tax, appearing on numerous news programs to rail against "double taxation".

Contrived

Adjective. Obviously planned or calculated; not spontaneous or natural; labored: a novel with a contrived ending. Adverb. contrivedly.

hackneyed

Adjective. Overfamiliar through overuse; trite. So common place as to be stale; not fresh or original This screenplay is so hackneyed- the leading lady has a quirky, artsy job in the city and has minor problem early in the movie from which the male lead rescues her, and they get together but then break up due to a misunderstanding, and then they end up together anyway, all while the female lead's "sassy" friend gives advice. Ugh. I'll bet they're auditioning Jennifer Aniston right now. Hackney in London was once out in the countryside and was a place from which you could rent a horse, leading to the sense of an overworked, broken-down horse, and consequently to someone, such as a writer, who workds for hire and has few fresh ideas left.

Adroit

Adjective. Quick and skillful in body or mind; deft. See Synonyms at dexterous. Adverb. adroitly. Noun. adroitness.

Doctrinaire

Adjective. Relating to, adhering to, or insisting upon a doctrine or theory without regard to practical considerations or problems. Noun. A doctrinaire person. Person who applies doctrine in a impractical or close-minded way.

Refulgent

Adjective. Shining radiantly; resplendent. Noun. refulgence, refulgency. Adverb. refulgently.

translucent

Adjective. Transmitting light but causing sufficient diffusion to prevent perception of distinct images. Noun. translucence, translucency. Adverb. translucently.

Unequivocal

Adjective. Unambiguous, clear, absolute, having only one possible meaning. Admitting of no doubt or misunderstanding; clear and unambiguous: an unequivocal success. Although Chuck denied he had a problem, his family was unequivocal in demanding that he check into rehab. Chuck know there was no getting around it this time. Mark equivocated, going back and forth on the issue, but his brother Ben was unequivocal- he knew what he wanted and went and got it. The base word equivocal contains the roots for "equal" and "voice" giving equal voice to all of the options would make it really hard to decide.

Laconic

Adjective. Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise. Using few words, concise The boss was famously laconic; after allowing his employees to present their new plan for an entire hour, he finally responded, "Confirmed". Laconic comes from the greek place named Laconia, the region in which Sparta (which of course gives us spartan) was located. A famous story has an invading general threatening, "If I enter Laconia, I will raze Sparta to the ground." The Spartans laconically replied, "If."

Decorous

Adjective. behaving with propriety and good taste; polite. Characterized by or exhibiting decorum; proper: decorous behavior.

Haughty

Adjective. haughtier, haughtiest. Scornfully and condescendingly proud. See Synonyms at arrogant. Adverb. haughtily. Noun. haughtiness.

Languor

Adjective. languorous. Adverb. languorously. Noun. languorousness. 1. Lack of physical or mental energy; listlessness: "the languor of the men, induced by the heat" (Herman Melville). See Synonyms at lethargy. 2. A dreamy, lazy, or sensual quality, as of expression: "the clarity of her complexion, the length and languor of her eyelashes" (Jhumpa Lahiri). 3. Oppressive stillness, especially of the air: the languor of a hot July afternoon.

Slight

Adjective. slighter, slightest. 1. Small in size, degree, or amount: a slight tilt; a slight surplus. 2. Lacking strength, substance, or solidity; frail: a slight foundation; slight evidence. 3. Of small importance or consideration; trifling: slight matters. She was very sensitive, always holding a grudge against her coworkers for a variety of slights, both real and imagined. 4. Small and slender in build or construction; delicate. Natalie Portman has always been slight, but she became even thinner to portray a ballerina in Black Swan. Transitive Verb. slighted, slighting, slights. 1. To treat (someone) with discourteous reserve or inattention: "the occasional feeling of being slighted at others' underestimating my charms and talents" (Joseph Epstein). 2. To treat as of small importance; treat as though not very important; sung, ignore, make light of: "If I have ... slighted the contributions of my many predecessors, let me offer a blanket apology" (Joseph J. Ellis). I felt slighted when my husband told you about his promotion before he told me. 3. To do negligently or thoughtlessly; scant: "It is a proper question to ask of an assignment whether some of its parts might be omitted or slighted" (Stanley Fish). 4. To raze or level the walls of (a castle or other fortification). Noun. slightness. A deliberate discourtesy; a snub: "She got into the car, thinking how sensitive men are to slights from women and how insensitive to slights to women" (Marge Piercy).

Pithy

Adjective. pithier, pithiest 1. Precisely meaningful; forceful and brief: a pithy comment. 2. Consisting of or resembling pith. Takes the idea even further - it means getting the point across in just a few cleverly-chosen words.

raw

Adjective. rawer, rawest 1. a. Uncooked: raw meat. b. Being in a natural condition; not processed or refined: raw wool. c. Not finished, covered, or coated: raw wood. d. Not having been subjected to adjustment, treatment, or analysis: raw data; the raw cost of production. e. Undeveloped or unused: raw land. f. Recently finished; fresh: raw plaster. 2. Inexperienced or untrained: a raw youth; raw recruits. 3. a. Having subcutaneous tissue exposed: a raw wound. b. Inflamed; sore: a raw throat. 4. Unpleasantly damp and chilly: raw weather. 5. a. Powerfully impressive; stark: raw beauty; raw talent. b. Direct in description and explicit in realistic detail: the film's raw depiction of urban poverty. c. Crude, vulgar, or coarse: raw language. 6. Nude; naked: was standing there raw. 7. a. Engaged in without the protection of a condom. b. Done in a rough or unrestrained manner. Used of sex. Adverb. Slang Without a condom; unprotected. Idioms: in the raw 1. In a crude or unrefined state: nature in the raw. 2. Nude; naked. raw deal An instance of unfair treatment: got a raw deal from our insurance company.

Shrewd

Adjective. shrewder, shrewdest 1. Having or showing a clever awareness or resourcefulness, especially in practical matters. 2. Disposed to or marked by artful and cunning practices; tricky. 3. Archaic Sharp; penetrating: a shrewd wind.

Apathetic

Adverb. apathetically. Adjective. 1. Feeling or showing a lack of interest or concern; indifferent. 2. Feeling or showing little or no emotion; unresponsive.

Bewilder

Adverb. bewilderedly. bewilderingly. Transitive Verb. bewildered, bewildering, bewilders. 1. To confuse or befuddle, especially by being complicated or varied. See Synonyms at perplex. 2. To cause to lose one's bearings; disorient: "The whirling snow bewildered him" (May Kellogg Sullivan).

Inane

Adverb. inanely. Adjective. inaner, inanest. Lacking sense or substance: interrupting with inane comments; angry with my inane roommate.

Indifferent

Adverb. indifferently. Adjective. 1. a. Having no particular interest or concern; apathetic: a person who is indifferent to the sufferings of others. b. Having no marked feeling for or against: She remained indifferent toward their proposal. 2. Not mattering one way or the other; unimportant; immaterial: It's indifferent which outfit you choose. 3. Characterized by a lack of partiality; unbiased: an indifferent judge. 4. a. Being neither too much nor too little; moderate: "Specialist rectifiers ... raised brandies of indifferent strength to the desired strength by further distillations" (L.M. Cullen). b. Being neither good nor bad; mediocre: an indifferent performance. See Synonyms at average. 5. Not active or involved; neutral: an indifferent chemical in a reaction. 6. Biology Undifferentiated, as cells or tissue. Do whatever you want-I'm indifferent. I won't even notice.

Unnerve

Adverb. unnervingly. Transitive Verb. unnerved, unnerving, unnerves. To cause to lose courage or firmness of purpose: "It unnerved him to think that she would be at the supper-table, looking up at him while he spoke with her critical quizzing eyes" (James Joyce).

Counterintuitive

Against what one would intuitively expect. Although it seems counterintuitive, for some extreme dieters, eating more can actually help them to lose weight, since the body is reassured that it is not facing a period of prolonged starvation.

Equivocal

Allowing for several different meanings; undecided or having mixed feelings. Noun. equivocality, equivocalness. Adverb. equivocally. Adjective. 1. Open to two or more interpretations and often intended to conceal the truth. See Synonyms at ambiguous. 2. Characterized by a mixture of opposing elements and therefore questionable or uncertain: Evidence of the drug's effectiveness has been equivocal.

Archaic

Archaical Noun. A member of an archaic population of Homo. Adjective. 1. also Archaic Relating to, being, or characteristic of a much earlier, often more primitive period, especially one that develops into a classical stage of civilization: an archaic bronze statuette; Archaic Greece. 2. No longer current or applicable; antiquated: archaic laws. See Synonyms at old. 3. Relating to, being, or characteristic of words and language that were once in regular use but are now relatively rare and suggestive of an earlier style or period. 4. a. Relating to or being an early or premodern evolutionary form of an organism or group of organisms: archaic vertebrates. b. Relating to or being an early form of Homo sapiens or a closely related species, such as Neanderthal, that is anatomically distinct from modern humans. 5. Archaic Relating to a Native American culture prevalent throughout much of North America from about 8000 BC to about 1000 BC, characterized especially by the development of Mesolithic tools and by the increased reliance on smaller game animals as the large Pleistocene mammals became extinct.

Credibility

Believability, trustworthiness 1. The quality, capability, or power to elicit belief: "The scandals posed a crisis of credibility for collegiate athletics" (Taylor Branch). 2. A capacity for belief: a story that strained our credibility. Many famous experts with "Dr." before their names are not medical doctors at all. Any television "doctor " who turns out to have a Ph.D in botany, for instance ought to suffer a serious drop in credibility. The root "Cred" means "believe" also give us credit, creed, credo, incredulous, discredit, and accreditation. Don't confuse Credible with credulous, meaning gullible. Finally, while we often use incredible to mean "great" , it really means "not believable"

Amalgamate

Blend, merge or unite Noun. amalgamator. Adjective. amalgamative. Verb. amalgamated, amalgamating, amalgamates. Transitive Verb. 1. To combine into a unified or integrated whole; unite. See Synonyms at mix. 2. To mix or alloy (a metal) with mercury. Intransitive Verb. 1. To become combined; unite. 2. To unite or blend with another metal. Used of mercury. The amalgamated Transit Union is so called because it contains many local unions of bus operators, subway operators, baggage handlers, etc. When turning her life story into a memoir, she amalgamated two important relatives into a single character, even amalgamating their names (Mary and Rose) into character "Aunt Mary Rose".

Hiatus

Break or gap in an activity Plural Noun. hiatuses or hiatus. 1. A gap or interruption in space, time, or continuity; a break: "We are likely to be disconcerted by ... hiatuses of thought" (Edmund Wilson). 2. Linguistics A slight pause that occurs when two immediately adjacent vowels in consecutive syllables are pronounced, as in reality and naive. 3. Anatomy A separation, aperture, fissure, or short passage in an organ or body part. Adjective. hiatal.

Pith

Central point, Essence. Noun. 1. The soft, spongy tissue in the center of the stems of most vascular plants, consisting mainly of parenchyma. 2. a. The soft inner substance of a feather or hair. b. The spinal cord. 3. The essential or central part; the heart or essence: The pith of your argument is controversial. 4. Strength; vigor; mettle. 5. Significance; importance: matters of great pith. Transitive Verb. pithed, pithing, piths. 1. To remove the pith from (a plant stem). 2. To sever or destroy the spinal cord of, usually by inserting a needle into the vertebral canal. 3. To kill (cattle) by cutting the spinal cord. If you read enough to get the pith of something, you really deeply understand it to the core.

Arrogate

Claim or take presumptuously or without right. Transitive Verb. arrogated, arrogating, arrogates. 1. To take or claim for oneself without right; appropriate: "That's how my cousin came to don the hand-tailored suits and to arrogate to himself the glamorous responsibility for ushering to their tables big-name customers" (Philip Roth). See Synonyms at appropriate. 2. To ascribe on behalf of another in an unwarranted manner: "The Platt Amendment of 1901 arrogated to the United States the right to intervene in Cuba in case of threats to its independence or American lives or property" (Walter McDougall). Noun. arrogation. Adjective. arrogative. Noun. Arrogator.

Guile

Clever deceit, cunning, craftiness The game of poker is all about guile, manipulating your own body language and patter to lead other players to erroneous conclusions about the cards you're holding

Propriety

Conforming to good manners or appropriate behavior; justness. Plural Noun. proprieties 1. a. Conformity to conventional standards of behavior or morality. b. proprieties Socially correct usages or behaviors. 2. The quality of being proper; appropriateness. The parent questioned the propriety of the punishment meted out to her son sitting in a corner all day seemed a little harsh for using the pencil sharpener at the wrong time. Saying the accounting firm was complicit in "financial impropriety" was a rather polite way to refer to the fraud it committed against its investors. There is an easy way to remember-It is not coincidence that propriety looks like proper.

Council, counsel, consul

Council, counsel, and consul are never interchangeable, though their meanings are related. Council and councilor refer principally to a deliberative assembly (such as a city council or student council), its work, and its membership. Counsel and counselor pertain chiefly to advice and guidance in general and to a person (such as a lawyer or camp counselor) who provides it. Consul denotes an officer in the foreign service of a country.

Mores

Customs, manners, or morals of a particular group Plural Noun. 1. The accepted traditional customs and usages of a particular social group. 2. Moral attitudes. 3. Manners; ways. An american in Saudi Arabia should study the culture beforehand so as to avoid violating deeply conservative cultural norms.

Counterproductive

Defeating the purpose preventing the intended goal. The candidate's attempt to win swing votes in Ohio was actually counterproductive-following his speech in Toledo, his poll numbers actually went down 5%.

Divest

Deprive or strip of a rank, title, etc, or clothing or gear; to sell off holdings (opposite of invest). When she found out that the most profitable stock in her portfolio was that of a company that tested products on animal, she immediately divested by telling her brother to sell the stock. Once his deception was exposed, he was divested of his position on the board.

Tentative

Done in order to test; uncertain. Adjective. 1. Not fully worked out, concluded, or agreed on; provisional: tentative plans. 2. Indicating a lack of confidence or certainty; hesitant: tentative steps toward the podium. Adverb. tentatively. Noun. Tentativeness.

Jingoism

Extreme Chauvinism plus warlike foreign policy. Noun. jingoist. Adjective. jingoistic. Adverb. jingoistically. Extreme nationalism characterized especially by a belligerent foreign policy; chauvinistic patriotism.

Default

Failure to act, neglect, fail to fulfill an obligation, especially a financial one You must elect a new health plan by December 31st or by default you will be re-enrolled in the plan you selected last year. Noun. 1. Failure to perform a task or fulfill an obligation, especially failure to meet a financial obligation: in default on a loan. The government is cracking down on for-profit college where a large percentage of the graduates cannot use their degrees top gain employment and end up defaulting on their student loans. 2. Law Failure of a party in a case to make a required court appearance. In the law "Judgement by default" is when someone loses the case for failing to show up in the court. 3. The failure of one or more competitors or teams to participate in a contest: won the championship by default. 4. a. Computers A particular setting or value for a variable that is assigned automatically by an operating system and remains in effect unless canceled or overridden by the operator: changed the default for the page margins. b. A situation or condition that obtains in the absence of active intervention. Verb. defaulted, defaulting, defaults Intransitive Verb. 1. a. To fail to do what is required. b. To fail to pay money when it is due. 2. Computers To revert to a default. 3. Law a. To fail to appear in court as a party to a case when summoned. b. To lose a case by not appearing. 4. To fail to take part in or complete a scheduled contest. Transitive Verb. 1. To fail to perform or pay. 2. Law To lose (a case) by failing to appear in court. 3. To fail to take part in or complete (a contest, for example). Idiom: in default of Through the failure, absence, or lack of.

Affectation

Fake Behavior (such as in speech or dress) adopted to give a certain impression. Noun. 1. A mannerism or habit that is assumed rather than natural, especially to impress others. 2. Behavior characterized by such mannerisms or habits; artificiality: a simpering manner that was mere affectation. I'm annoyed whenever Americans move to England and suddenly start speaking with an affected British accent; such affectations, when practiced by celebrities, are only likely to alienate their fans. In slang, some people

Resolute

Firmly determined Adjective. Firm or determined; unwavering. Adverb. resolutely. Noun. resoluteness.

Artless

Free of deceit or craftiness, natural, genuine, lacking skill or knowledge, crude, uncultured Adjective. 1. Having or displaying no guile or deceit; honest or sincere: an artless child. See Synonyms at naive. 2. Free of artificiality; natural: artless charm. 3. Lacking art, knowledge, or skill; uncultured and ignorant. 4. Poorly made or done; crude. Children can be so artless that when you try to explain war to them, they say things like, "But isn't that mean?" His artless attempt at negotiating a raise began with "I need more money, please" and ended with "Okay, sorry i asked." Don't think of artless as a lack of art- think of it as a lack of artifice, artificiality. Artless can be either positive (free of deceit) or negative (lacking skill).

Rife

Happening frequently, abundant, Adjective. rifer, rifest. 1. In widespread existence, practice, or use; increasingly prevalent. 2. Abundant or numerous. Reports of financial corruption are rife.

Benign

Harmless, favorable, kindly, gentle, beneficial, not cancerous. He was relieved when the biopsy result came back, informing him that the growth was benign. He's a benign fellow. I am sure having him assigned him to your team at work will be perfectly pleasant. without affecting the way you do things. Adverb. benignly. Adjective. 1. a. Having little or no detrimental effect; harmless: a benign chemical; benign indifference. b. Of no danger to health; not malignant or disease-causing: a benign tumor. 2. Tending to exert a beneficial influence; favorable: a policy with benign consequences for the economy. 3. a. Gentle or kind: "a world regarded as the creative product of a benign God" (Nicholas Rescher). b. Showing gentleness or kindness: a benign smile. See Synonyms at kind.

Zenith

High point, culmination Noun. 1. The point on the celestial sphere that is directly above the observer. 2. The upper region of the sky. 3. The highest point above the observer's horizon attained by a celestial body. 4. The point of culmination; the peak: the zenith of her career. See Synonyms at summit. At the Zenith of her career, the actress could command $5 million per film. Now, she is mostly seen in made-for-TV movies. Metaphorical use: the zenith of one's success.

Probity

Honesty, Integrity. Noun. Complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness: "He was a gentlemanly Georgian, a person of early American probity" (Mary McGrory).

Implicit

Implied, not stated directly; involved in the very essence of something, unquestionable.

Foreshadow

Indicate or suggest beforehand, presage. Noun. foreshadower. Transitive Verb. foreshadowed, foreshadowing, foreshadows. To present an indication or a suggestion of beforehand; presage: hostilities that foreshadowed all-out war. You didn't know know this was a horror movie? I thought it was pretty clear that the children's ghost story around the campfire was meant to foreshadow the horrible things that would happen to them years later as teenagers at a motel in the middle of the woods.

Insalutary

Insalutary a. 1. Not salutary or wholesome; unfavorable to health. 2. Not tending to safety; productive of evil.

lucubrate

Intransitive Verb. lucubrated, lucubrating, lucubrates. Archaic To study or write in a scholarly fashion. work or study, originally by candlelight.

Snivel

Intransitive Verb. sniveled, sniveling, snivels or snivelled or snivelling 1. To sniffle. 2. To complain or whine tearfully. Noun. Sniveler. 1. The act of sniffling or sniveling. 2. Nasal mucus.

Burgeon

Intransitive Verb. burgeoned, burgeoning, burgeons also bourgeoned or bourgeoning or bourgeons 1. a. To put forth new buds, leaves, or greenery; sprout. b. To begin to grow or blossom. 2. To grow or develop rapidly; expand or proliferate. 3. Grow or Flourish rapidly 4. Put forth buds or shoots (of a plant) The dictator was concerned about the people's burgeoning discontent and redoubled his personal security. Spending an hour a day on vocabulary studies will soon cause your lexicon to burgeon. Mushroom is used in a similar metaphorical way, meaning"to spread out in all directions," as a mushroom grows.

Low or Lower

Intransitive Verb. lowered, lowering, lowers also loured or louring or lours 1. To look angry, sullen, or threatening. See Synonyms at frown. 2. To appear dark or stormy, as the sky. Noun. 1. A threatening, sullen, or angry look. 2. A dark or stormy appearance: the lower of thunderheads. Adverb. loweringly. Adjective. lower, lowest 1. a. Having little relative height; not high or tall: a low wall. b. Rising only slightly above surrounding surfaces: a low hill. c. Near to the ground or the horizon: The low clouds threaten rain. The sun is low. d. Situated or placed below normal height: a low lighting fixture. e. Situated below the surrounding surfaces: water standing in low spots. f. Of less than usual or average depth; shallow: The river is low. g. Cut to show the wearer's neck and chest; décolleté: a low neckline. h. Close or closer to a reference point: was low in the offensive zone, near the goal. i. Linguistics Produced with part or all of the tongue depressed, as a, pronounced (ä), in father. Used of vowels. 2. a. Below average in degree, intensity, or amount: a low temperature. b. Below an average or a standard: low wages; a low level of communication. c. Ranked near the beginning of an ascending series or scale: a low number; a low grade of oil. d. Relating to or being latitudes nearest to the equator. e. Relatively small. Used of a cost, price, or other value: a low fee; a low income. 3. a. Not loud; soft: a low murmur. b. Having a pitch corresponding to a relatively small number of sound-wave cycles per second. 4. Below others in status or rank; lowly: of low birth. 5. a. Violating standards of morality or decency; base: a low stunt to pull. See Synonyms at base2. b. Unrefined; coarse: low humor. 6. a. Being near depletion: My savings account is low. b. Not adequately provided or equipped; short: low on supplies. 7. a. Lacking strength or vigor; weak: a patient whose condition is low. b. Lacking liveliness or good spirits; discouraged or dejected: feeling low after losing the game. 8. Depreciatory; disparaging: a low opinion of him. 9. Of, relating to, or being the gear configuration or setting, as in an automotive transmission, that produces the least vehicular speed with respect to engine speed. Adverb. lower, lowest. 1. a. In or to a low position, level, or space: aimed low; bent low. b. In or to a low condition or rank; humbly: thought low of himself. 2. In or to a reduced, humbled, or degraded condition: brought low by failure. 3. Softly; quietly: speak low. 4. With a deep pitch: sang low. 5. At a small price: bought low and sold high. Noun. 1. A low level, position, or degree: Rain collects in the lows. The stock market fell to a new low. 2. Meteorology A region of atmospheric pressure that is below normal. 3. The low gear configuration of a transmission. Noun. lowness. Adjective. 1. Below another in rank, position, or authority. 2. Physically situated below a similar or comparable thing: a lower shelf. 3. Lower Geology & Archaeology Relating to or being an earlier or older division of the period named. 4. Biology Less complex in organization or having traits similar to those of organisms that evolved earlier in the history of life on Earth. 5. Denoting the larger and usually more representative house of a bicameral legislature. Verb. lowered, lowering, lowers. Transitive Verb. 1. To let, bring, or move down to a lower level. 2. To reduce in value, degree, or quality. 3. To weaken; undermine: lower one's energy. 4. To reduce in standing or respect. Intransitive Verb. 1. To move down: Her hand lowered. 2. To become less; diminish: The temperature has lowered gradually this month.

Subside

Intransitive Verb. subsided, subsiding, subsides 1. a. To become less intense, active, or severe; abate. b. To become smaller or less prominent, as swelling. See Synonyms at decrease. 2. To move or sink to a lower or normal level: The earth subsided as the aquifer drained away. 3. To sink to the bottom, as a sediment. 4. To sit down slowly; settle down: "She looked swiftly around, and once she saw her husband, subsided primly onto the edge of a chair" (Jane Stevenson).

gist

Main Idea, essence. Noun. 1. The central idea; the essence. See Synonyms at substance. 2. Law The grounds for action in a suit. I didn't read the whole book, but i read enough to get the gist. If you read enough to get the gist, you probably just skimmed, and might need to go back later to get more detail.

Assuage

Make milder, relieve, soothe,pacify or calm Transitive verb. assuaged, assuaging, assuages 1. To make (something burdensome or painful) less intense or severe: assuage her grief. See Synonyms at relieve. 2. To satisfy or appease (hunger or thirst, for example). 3. To appease or calm: assuaged his critics. After loosing a million dollar account, he tried to assuage his furious boss by pointing out that he was close to winning a new account worth at least as much

Annul

Make void or Null, cancel, abolish (Usually of laws or other established rules) Transitive verb. annulled, annulling, annuls. 1. To make or declare void or invalid, as a marriage or a law; nullify. 2. To bring to an end the effect or existence of; cancel out: " That task would be easier to perform now that his personal stake in it was annulled" (Edith Wharton). Can we appreciate the art of a murderer? For many, the value of these paintings is annulled by the artist's crimes. Most people associate marriage with "annul" with marriage- to get an annulment rather then a divorce, most states require that marriage have been based on fraud, or that at least one person was not mentally competent to form a contract.

Qualified

Modified, Limited, conditional on something else. The scientist gave her qualified endorsement to the book, pointing out that, while it posed a credible theory, more research was still needed before the theory could be applied. Of course, everyone knows qualified in the sense of qualified for the job. Use context to determine which meaning is intended. A qualified person is suitable or well-prepared for the job; a qualified statement or feeling is held back or limited.

Inducement

Motive for action, incentive. Noun. 1. Something that helps bring about an action or a desired result; an incentive: tax breaks intended as an inducement to greater reinvestment. 2. The act or process of inducing: the inducement of sleep. 3. Law Misrepresentation that leads a person to enter into a contract or transaction with a false understanding of the risks and obligations: fraud in the inducement.

Assay

Noun 1. a. Qualitative or quantitative analysis of a metal or ore to determine its components. b. A substance to be so analyzed. c. The result of such an analysis. 2. A bioassay. 3. An analysis or examination. 4. Archaic An attempt; an essay. v. assayed, assaying, assays Transitive Verb. 1. a. To subject (a metal, for example) to chemical analysis so as to determine the strength or quality of its components. b. To bioassay. 2. To examine by trial or experiment; put to a test: assay one's ability to speak Chinese. 3. To evaluate; assess: assayed the situation before taking action. 4. To attempt; try: "Singers of every race and nationality have by now assayed the role" (Barry Singer). Intransitive Verb. To be shown by analysis to contain a certain proportion of usually precious metal.

Shelta

Noun A secret jargon used by traditionally itinerant people in Great Britain and Ireland, based on systematic inversion or alteration of the initial consonants of Gaelic words. Also called Cant, Gammon.

whiff

Noun. 1. a. A brief, passing odor carried in the air: a whiff of perfume. b. A very small trace: a whiff of self-pity in her remarks. 2. An inhalation, as of air or smoke: Take a whiff of this pipe. 3. A slight, gentle gust of air; a waft: A whiff of cool air blew into the room. 4. Baseball A strikeout. verb. whiffed, whiffing, whiffs Intransitive verb.. 1. To be carried in brief gusts; waft: puffs of smoke whiffing from the chimney. 2. Sports To swing at and miss a ball or puck. 3. Baseball To strike out. Used of a batter. Transitive verb. 1. To inhale through the nose; sniff: a dog whiffing the air. 2. Baseball To strike out (a batter). whiff'er n.

Pose

Noun. 1. a. A bodily attitude or position, such as one assumed for an artist or a photographer. See Synonyms at posture. b. In yoga, an asana. 2. A studied or artificial manner or attitude, often assumed in an attempt to impress or deceive others. See Synonyms at affectation. Verb. posed, posing, poses. Transitive Verb. 1. To set forth in words for consideration; propound: pose a question. See Synonyms at propose. 2. To present or constitute: a crisis that posed a threat to the country's stability. 3. To place (a model, for example) in a specific position. Intransitive Verb. 1. To assume or hold a particular position or posture, as in sitting for a portrait. 2. To represent oneself falsely; pretend to be other than what one is: conmen posing as police officers.

Air

Noun. 1. a. A colorless, odorless, tasteless, gaseous mixture, mainly nitrogen (approximately 78 percent) and oxygen (approximately 21 percent) with lesser amounts of argon, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, neon, helium, and other gases. b. This mixture with varying amounts of moisture and particulate matter, enveloping the earth; the atmosphere. 2. a. The sky; the firmament. b. A giant void; nothingness: The money vanished into thin air. 3. An atmospheric movement; a breeze or wind. 4. Sports A height achieved by a jump or as part of an airborne maneuver, as in skateboarding or snowboarding: getting big air off the halfpipe; had big airs on every run down the course. 5. Aircraft: send troops to Europe by air. 6. a. Public utterance; vent: gave air to their grievances. b. The medium of broadcast radio or television: "often ridiculed ... extremist groups on air" (Christian Science Monitor). 7. a. A manner of behaving that conveys an impression: a leader with an air of conviction. b. A distinctive quality or appearance; an aura: The messy room had an air of desperation to it. c. The general environment or condition, as in attitudes and ideas: growing impatience in the air. d. airs Affected behavior; affectation: put on airs. See Synonyms at affectation. 8. Music a. A melody or tune, especially in the soprano or tenor range. b. A solo with or without accompaniment. 9. Air conditioning. 10. Archaic Breath. Verb. aired, airing, airs Transitive Verb. 1. To expose to the air in order to dry, cool, or freshen; ventilate. 2. To make known to others; express publicly: aired my complaints. See Synonyms at voice. 3. To broadcast on television or radio: "The ad was submitted to CBS ... which accepted and aired it" (New York). Intransitive Verb. To be broadcast on television or radio: "tidbits that will air on tonight's 6 o'clock news" (Terry Ann Knopf). Adjective. 1. Of or relating to the air or the movement of air: an air tube. 2. Existing or living in the air; aerial. 3. Powered by compressed air: an air horn. 4. Containing or inflated by air. 5. Of or relating to aircraft or aeronautics. 6. Of or relating to the broadcast or transmission of radio or television signals. 7. Imaginary or unreal: "The guy had just hit it big ... after ten years of eating air sandwiches" (Jonathan Kellerman). Idioms: air one out Football To throw a long pass. in the air Abroad; prevalent: Excitement was in the air. up in the air Not yet decided; uncertain.

Yarn

Noun. 1. a. A continuous strand of twisted threads of natural or synthetic fibers, such as wool or nylon, used in weaving or knitting. b. A similar strand of other materials such as glass or plastic. 2. Informal A long, often elaborate narrative of real or fictitious adventures; an entertaining tale. Intransitive Verb. yarned, yarning, yarns. Informal To tell an entertaining tale or series of tales.

Satire

Noun. 1. a. A literary work in which human foolishness or vice is attacked through irony, derision, or wit. b. The branch of literature constituting such works. 2. Irony, sarcasm, or caustic wit used to attack or expose human foolishness or vice. Satirize. Transitive Verb. Satirized, Satirizing, Satirizes. To ridicule or attack by means of satire. To Satirize is to use ridicule, sarcasm, etc as a form of criticism. Parody is similar but often not as harsh- the key difference is that a parody is actually a copy (the scary Movie series parodies the horror genre)

feint

Noun. 1. a. A military attack or maneuver that is meant to divert attention away from a planned point of attack. b. A body movement that is intended to divert another's attention, often by being deliberately left uncompleted: "The mongoose begins with a feint, which provokes the snake to strike" (Norbert Wiener). 2. A deceptive action calculated to divert attention from one's real purpose. See Synonyms at wile. Verb. feinted, feinting, feints. Transitive Verb. 1. To deceive with a feint: He feinted his opponent with a left hook. 2. To do or perform as a feint: feinted a punch. Intransitive Verb. To make a feint: "He feinted with his left hand, trying to distract the turtle and then grab its tail" (Howard Frank Mosher).

Maneuver

Noun. 1. a. A movement or combination of movements involving skill and dexterity: a gymnastics maneuver. b. A controlled change in movement or direction of a moving vehicle or vessel, as in the flight path of an aircraft. 2. a. A strategic or tactical military or naval movement. b. often maneuvers A large-scale tactical exercise carried out under simulated conditions of war. 3. a. A skillful or cunning action undertaken to gain an end: "the canny maneuvers of a man after money and ease" (Cynthia Ozick). See Synonyms at wile. b. The undertaking of such actions: "a skilled diplomat's eye for maneuver" (Garry Wills). Verb. maneuvered, maneuvering, maneuvers. Transitive Verb. 1. To move or direct through a series of movements or changes in course: maneuvered the drill into position; maneuvered the car through traffic. 2. To alter the tactical placement of (troops or warships). 3. To manipulate into a desired position or toward a predetermined goal: maneuvered him into signing the contract. Intransitive Verb. 1. To make a controlled series of changes in movement or direction toward an objective: maneuvered to get closer to the stage. 2. To carry out a military or naval maneuver. 3. To act with skill or cunning in gaining an end: The opposition maneuvered to force a vote.

Trick

Noun. 1. a. An act or procedure intended to achieve an end by deceptive or fraudulent means. See Synonyms at wile. b. A mischievous action; a prank: likes to play tricks on the other students in the dorm. c. A stupid, disgraceful, or childish act: Don't let the kids pull any tricks while we're gone. 2. a. A peculiar trait or characteristic; a mannerism: "Mimicry is the trick by which a moth or other defenseless insect comes to look like a wasp" (Marston Bates). b. A peculiar event with unexpected, often deceptive results: "One of history's cruelest tricks is to take words that sounded good at the time and make them sound pretty stupid" (David Owen). c. A deceptive or illusive appearance; an illusion: This painting plays tricks on the eyes. 3. a. A special skill; a knack: Is there a trick to getting this window to stay up? b. A convention or specialized skill peculiar to a particular field of activity: learned the tricks of the winemaking trade. 4. a. A feat of magic or legerdemain. b. A difficult, dexterous, or clever act designed to amuse: Does your dog do any tricks? 5. Games a. All the cards played in a single round, one from each player. b. One such round. 6. a. A period or turn of duty, as at the helm of a ship. b. Slang A prison term. 7. Slang a. An act of prostitution. b. A prostitute's customer. c. A session carried out by a prostitute with a client. 8. Slang A robbery or theft. Transitive Verb & Intransitive Verb. tricked, tricking, tricks To cheat or deceive or to practice trickery or deception. Adjective. 1. Of, relating to, or involving tricks. 2. Capable of performing tricks: a trick dog. 3. Designed or made for doing a trick or tricks: trick cards; trick dice. 4. Weak, defective, or liable to fail: a trick knee. Phrasal Verb: trick out (or up) Informal To ornament or adorn, often garishly: was all tricked out in beads and fringe. Idioms: do/turn the trick To bring about the desired result. how's tricks Informal Used to make a friendly inquiry about a person or that person's affairs. not miss a trick To be extremely alert: The teacher was known for not missing a trick.

Council

Noun. 1. a. An assembly of persons called together for consultation, deliberation, or discussion. b. A body of people elected or appointed to serve as administrators, legislators, or advisers. c. An assembly of church officials and theologians convened for regulating matters of doctrine and discipline. 2. The discussion or deliberation that takes place in such an assembly or body.

Void

Noun. 1. a. An empty space. b. A vacuum. 2. An open space or a break in continuity; a gap. 3. A feeling or state of emptiness, loneliness, or loss. 4. Games Absence of cards of a particular suit in a dealt hand: a void in hearts. Adjective. 1. Containing no matter; empty. 2. Not occupied; unfilled. 3. Completely lacking; devoid: void of understanding. See Synonyms at empty. 4. Ineffective; useless. 5. Having no legal force or validity; null: a contract rendered void. 6. Games Lacking cards of a particular suit in a dealt hand. verb. voided, voiding, voids Transitive verb. 1. To take out (the contents of something); empty. 2. To excrete (body wastes). 3. To leave; vacate. 4. To make void or of no validity; invalidate: issued a new passport and voided the old one. Intransitive verb. To excrete body wastes.

Labyrinth

Noun. 1. a. An intricate structure of interconnecting passages through which it is difficult to find one's way; a maze. b. Labyrinth Greek Mythology The maze in which the Minotaur was confined. 2. Something highly intricate or convoluted in character, composition, or construction: a labyrinth of rules and regulations. 3. Anatomy a. A group of complex interconnecting anatomical cavities. b. See inner ear. Labyrinthine or Labyrinthian Adjective. Relating to, resembling, or constituting a labyrinth: "the labyrinthine corridors ... of bureaucratic red tape" (William H. Hallahan).

Apogee

Noun. 1. a. Astronomy The point in an orbit around the planet Earth where the orbiting body is farthest from the planet. b. The analogous point in an orbit around a celestial body other than Earth. Not in technical use. 2. The farthest or highest point; the apex: "The golden age of American sail, which began with the fast clipper ships in 1848, reached its apogee in the Gold Rush years"(Los Angeles Times).

Discord

Noun. 1. a. Lack of agreement among persons, groups, or things. See Synonyms at conflict. b. Tension or strife resulting from a lack of agreement; dissension. 2. A confused or harsh sound or mingling of sounds. 3. Music An inharmonious combination of simultaneously sounded tones; a dissonance. Intransitive Verb. discorded, discording, discords. To fail to agree or harmonize; clash.

Salvation

Noun. 1. a. Preservation or deliverance from destruction, difficulty, or evil. b. A source, means, or cause of such preservation or deliverance. 2. Theology a. Deliverance from the power or penalty of sin; redemption. b. In religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism, deliverance from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. c. The agent or means that brings about such deliverance.

Sham

Noun. 1. a. Something false or empty that is purported to be genuine: "Because she had been so readily unfaithful, her marriage was a sham" (Alice Munro). b. Deceitfulness or pretense: "She saw herself as a person surrounded by, living by, sham" (Alice Munro). c. One who claims to be what he or she is not; an impostor or fraud: "He a man! Hell! He was a hollow sham!" (Joseph Conrad). 2. A decorative cover made to simulate an article of household linen and used over or in place of it: a pillow sham. Adjective. Not genuine; fake: sham diamonds; sham modesty. Verb. shammed, shamming, shams Transitive Verb. To put on the false appearance of; feign: "shamming insanity to get his tormentors to leave him alone" (John Wain). Intransitive Verb. To assume a false appearance or character; dissemble. Noun. shammer.

Juncture

Noun. 1. a. The act of joining or the condition of being joined. b. A place where two things are joined; a junction or joint. 2. A point in time such as a crisis, especially one requiring a decision to be made, critical point in time: "Is this the appropriate juncture to speak the truth in that frank and candid way?" 3. The transition or mode of transition from one sound to another in speech.

Tread

Noun. 1. a. The act, manner, or sound of treading. b. An instance of treading; a step. c. A mark made by treading, as in snow. 2. The upper horizontal part of a step in a staircase. 3. a. The part of a wheel or tire that makes contact with the road or rails. b. The grooved face of a tire. 4. The part of a shoe sole that touches the ground. 5. Either of the continuous ridged belts with which bulldozers, tanks, and certain other vehicles move over the ground. Verb. trod or treaded, trodden or trod or treaded, treading, treads. Transitive Verb. 1. To walk on, over, or along: tread the pavement. 2. To press beneath the feet; trample: dirt that was trodden into the rug. 3. To treat unjustly or harshly; oppress: people who were trodden down by tyrants. 4. To form by walking or trampling: tread a path. 5. To execute by walking or dancing: tread a measure. 6. To copulate with. Used of a male bird. Intransitive Verb. 1. a. To go on foot; walk. b. To set down the foot; step. 2. a. To trample something. Used with on or upon: Don't tread on the new grass. b. To treat someone or something unjustly or harshly. Used with on or upon: a regime treading upon the rights of the citizens. 3. To copulate. Used of birds. Idioms: tread the boards To act on the stage: "We who tread the boards are not the only players of parts in this world" (John Fowles). tread water 1. To keep the head above water while in an upright position by pumping the legs. 2. To expend effort but make little or no progress to achievement of a goal or an end. Adjective. treadless.

Egoism

Noun. 1. a. The doctrine that human behavior is motivated by self-interest. b. The belief that self-interest provides the proper basis for moral behavior. 2. Egotism; conceit. See Synonyms at conceit.

Libel

Noun. 1. a. The legally indefensible publication or broadcast of words or images that are degrading to a person or injurious to his or her reputation. b. An incidence of such publication or broadcast. 2. The written claims initiating a suit in an admiralty court. Transitive Verb. libeled, libeling, libels or libelled or libelling. To publish or broadcast a libel about (a person). See Synonyms at malign. libeler, libelist.

Sap

Noun. 1. a. The watery fluid that circulates through a plant, carrying food and other substances to the various tissues. b. See cell sap. 2. Health and energy; vitality: The constant bickering drained his sap away. 3. Slang A foolish or gullible person. Noun. A covered trench or tunnel dug to a point near or within an enemy position. Noun. A leather-covered bludgeon with a short, flexible shaft or strap, used as a hand weapon. Transitive Verb. sapped, sapping, saps. 1. To drain (a tree, for example) of sap. 2. To deplete or weaken gradually: The noisy children sapped all my energy. The flu sapped him of his strength. See Synonyms at deplete. Verb. sapped, sapping, saps. Transitive Verb. To undermine the foundations of (a fortification). Intransitive Verb. To dig a sap. Transitive Verb. sapped, sapping, saps. To hit or knock out with a sap.

Conceit

Noun. 1. a. Unduly favorable estimation of one's own abilities or worth; overly positive self-regard. b. Archaic Estimation or opinion of something, especially when favorable. 2. a. A witty expression or fanciful idea: "opinionated and very funny in his conceits" b. A fanciful poetic image, especially an elaborate or exaggerated comparison. c. Obsolete The result of intellectual activity; a thought or an opinion. 3. a. A decorative article; a knickknack. b. An extravagant, fanciful, and elaborate construction or structure: "a bulky stone conceit with its paws clenched" Transitive Verb. conceited, conceiting, conceits 1. Chiefly British To take a fancy to. 2. Obsolete To understand; conceive.

Fink

Noun. 1. A contemptible person. 2. An informer. 3. A hired strikebreaker. Intransitive Verb. finked, finking, finks. 1. To inform against another person. 2. To withhold promised support or participation: They said they'd help us, but then finked out.

Polemic

Noun. 1. A controversial argument, especially one refuting or attacking a specific opinion or doctrine. 2. A person engaged in or inclined to controversy, argument, or refutation. Adjective. also polemical Of or relating to a controversy, argument, or refutation. Adverb. Polemically

Aberration

Noun. 1. A deviation from what is considered proper or normal. See Synonyms at deviation. 2. A departure from what is typical: an election that was an aberration from usual state politics. 3. Psychology A disorder or abnormal alteration in one's mental state. mental irregularity or deviation in morality. 4. a. A defect of focus, such as blurring in an image. b. An imperfect image caused by a physical defect in an optical element, as in a lens. 5. The apparent displacement of the position of a celestial body in the direction of motion of an observer on Earth, caused by the motion of Earth and the finite velocity of light. 6. Genetics A deviation in the normal structure or number of chromosomes in an organism.

Winnow

Noun. 1. A device for winnowing grain. 2. An act of winnowing. Verb. winnowed, winnowing, winnows Transitive Verb. 1. To separate the chaff from (grain) by means of a current of air. 2. To blow (chaff) off or away. 3. To examine closely in order to separate the good from the bad; sift: The judges winnowed a thousand essays down to six finalists. 4. a. To separate or get rid of (an undesirable part); eliminate: winnowing out the errors in logic. b. To sort or select (a desirable part); extract: The investigators winnowed the facts from the testimony. 5. To blow on; fan: a breeze winnowing the tall grass. Intransitive Verb. 1. To separate grain from chaff. 2. To separate the good from the bad.

Dovetail

Noun. 1. A fan-shaped tenon that forms a tight interlocking joint when fitted into a corresponding mortise. 2. A joint formed by interlocking one or more such tenons and mortises. v. dovetailed, dovetailing, dovetails Transitive Verb. 1. To cut into or join by means of dovetails. 2. To connect or combine precisely or harmoniously. Intransitive Verb. 1. To be joined together by means of dovetails. 2. To combine or interlock into a unified whole: The nurses' schedules dovetailed, so that one was always on duty.

Metaphor

Noun. 1. A figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, thus making an implicit comparison, as in "a sea of troubles" or "All the world's a stage" (Shakespeare). 2. One thing conceived as representing another; a symbol: "Hollywood has always been an irresistible, prefabricated metaphor for the crass, the materialistic, the shallow, and the craven" (Neal Gabler).

Balk

Noun. 1. A hindrance, check, or defeat. 2. Sports An incomplete or misleading motion, especially an illegal move made by a baseball pitcher. 3. Games One of the spaces between the cushion and the balk line on a billiard table. 4. a. An unplowed strip of land. b. A ridge between furrows. 5. A wooden beam or rafter. Verb. balked, balking, balks Transitive verb. 1. To check or thwart by or as if by an obstacle. 2. Archaic To let go by; miss. Intransitive verb. 1. To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump. 2. To refuse obstinately or abruptly to do something: She balked at the very idea of compromise. 3. a. Sports To make an incomplete or misleading motion. b. Baseball To make an illegal motion before pitching, allowing one or more base runners to advance one base. At the company retreat, He reluctantly agreed to participate in the ropes course, but balked at walking over hot coals as a trust exercise. Balk comes from a word for a beam or ridge- when a horse or mule balks, it stops short and refuses to proceed. Occasionally, balk is used as a noun for an impediment, much like a beam or ridge, or a defeat.

Harangue

Noun. 1. A long pompous speech, especially one delivered before a gathering. 2. A speech or piece of writing characterized by strong feeling or expression; a tirade. v. harangued, haranguing, harangues Transitive verb. To deliver a harangue to. Intransitive verb. To deliver a harangue.

Clamor

Noun. 1. A loud noise or outcry; a hubbub. See Synonyms at noise. 2. A vehement expression of discontent or protest: a clamor in the press for pollution control. Verb. clamored, clamoring, clamors. Intransitive Verb. 1. To make a loud sustained noise or outcry. 2. To make insistent demands or complaints: clamored for tax reforms. Transitive Verb. 1. To exclaim insistently and noisily: The representatives clamored their disapproval. 2. To influence or force by clamoring: clamored the mayor into resigning. Noun. clamorer.

Herald

Noun. 1. A person who carries or proclaims important news; a messenger. indicating something in the past. 2. One that gives a sign or indication of something to come; a harbinger: The crocus is a herald of spring. 3. An official whose specialty is heraldry. 4. a. An official formerly charged with making royal proclamations and bearing messages of state between sovereigns. b. An official who formerly made proclamations and conveyed challenges at a tournament. Transitive Verb. heralded, heralding, heralds. 1. To proclaim, especially with enthusiasm; announce or acclaim: cheers that heralded the team's arrival. 2. To be a sign of; foreshadow: The discovery heralds a new era in drug treatment.

Hermit

Noun. 1. A person who has withdrawn from society and lives a solitary existence; a recluse. 2. A cookie made with molasses, raisins, and nuts.

Declamation

Noun. 1. A recitation delivered as an exercise in rhetoric or elocution. 2. a. Vehement oratory. b. A speech marked by strong feeling; a tirade.

Stratagem

Noun. 1. A scheme or maneuver designed to achieve an objective, as in surprising an enemy or deceiving someone. See Synonyms at wile. 2. The devising or execution of such schemes or maneuvers: "This devious, insinuating creature, whose every word and movement seemed part of the spinning of some invisible net of stratagem" (Richard Adams).

hardhead

Noun. 1. A shrewd, tough person. 2. A stubborn, unmovable person. 3. Plural. hardhead or hardheads Any of several fishes having a bony head, especially the Atlantic croaker.

Torpor

Noun. 1. A state of mental or physical inactivity or insensibility. 2. Lethargy; apathy. See Synonyms at lethargy. 3. The dormant, inactive state of a hibernating or estivating animal.

Wile

Noun. 1. A stratagem or trick intended to deceive or ensnare. 2. A disarming or seductive manner, device, or procedure: the wiles of a skilled negotiator. tr.v. wiled, wil·ing, wiles 1. To influence or lead by means of wiles; entice: "Could the Erl-king's Daughter have revealed herself to me ... she might have wiled me by the hand into the dimmest forests upon earth" (Thomas De Quincey). 2. To pass (time) agreeably: wile away a Sunday afternoon.

Buttress

Noun. 1. A structure, usually brick or stone, built against a wall for support or reinforcement. 2. Something resembling a buttress, as: a. The flared base of certain tree trunks. b. A horny growth on the heel of a horse's hoof. 3. Something that serves to support, prop, or reinforce: "The law is by its very nature a buttress of the status quo" Transitive verb. buttressed, buttressing, buttresses 1. To support or reinforce with a buttress. 2. To sustain, prop, or bolster: "The author buttresses her analysis with lengthy dissections of several of Moore's poems" A self defense class really helped to Buttress Alena's confidence. David used his Ph.D as a buttress against criticism. "I have a doctorate," he would say. "I just don't think you can understand".

Spate

Noun. 1. A sudden flood, rush, or outpouring, A sudden outpouring or rush; flood: "It issues a spate of words from the loudspeakers and the politicians". After a brief spate of post-exam partying, Lola is ready for classes to begin again. He was so furious that a spate of expletives just flew out of his mouth. 2. Chiefly British a. A flash flood. b. A freshet resulting from a downpour of rain or melting of snow. c. A sudden heavy fall of rain.

fiat

Noun. 1. An arbitrary order or decree. 2. Authorization or sanction: government fiat.

Protent

Noun. 1. An indication of something important or calamitous about to occur; an omen. giving bad sign about future. 2. Prophetic or threatening significance: signs full of portent. 3. Archaic Something amazing or marvelous; a prodigy. Portentous Noun. portentousness. Adjective. 1. Of the nature of or constituting a portent; foreboding: "The present aspect of society is portentous of great change" (Edward Bellamy). 2. Full of unspecifiable significance; exciting wonder and awe: "Such a portentous and mysterious monster roused all my curiosity" (Herman Melville). 3. Marked by pompousness; pretentiously weighty. Adverb. portentously.

Presage

Noun. 1. An indication or warning of a future occurrence; an omen. 2. A feeling or intuition of what is going to occur; a presentiment. 3. Prophetic significance or meaning. 4. Archaic A prediction. verb. presaged, presaging, presages. Transitive Verb. 1. To indicate or warn of in advance; portend. 2. To have a presentiment of. 3. To foretell or predict. Intransitive Verb. To make or utter a prediction. Adjective. presageful.

Quake

Noun. 1. An instance of quaking. 2. An earthquake. Adjective. quaky. Intransitive Verb. quaked, quaking, quakes. 1. To shake or tremble, as from instability or shock. 2. To shiver or shudder, as with cold or from strong emotion. See Synonyms at shake. Idioms: be quaking in your boots: to be very frightened or anxious My first teacher had one of those deep, booming voices that had you quaking in your boots.

Cant

Noun. 1. Angular deviation from a vertical or horizontal plane or surface; an inclination or slope. 2. A slanted or oblique surface. 3. a. A thrust or motion that tilts something. b. The tilt caused by such a thrust or motion. 4. An outer corner, as of a building. 5. Tedious or hackneyed language, especially when used sanctimoniously: "a merciless onslaught upon the cant of the age, the cant about progress, equality, and universal education" 6. a. The special vocabulary peculiar to the members of an underworld group; argot. b. The special vocabulary of a profession, discipline, or social group; jargon. 7. Whining or singsong speech, such as that used by beggars. Verb. cant·ed, cant·ing, cants Transitive verb. 1. To set at an oblique angle; tilt. 2. To give a slanting edge to; bevel. 3. To change the direction of suddenly. v.intr. 1. To lean to one side; slant. 2. To take an oblique direction or course; swing around, as a ship. Intransitive verb. cant·ed, cant·ing, cants 1. To speak tediously or sanctimoniously. 2. To speak in argot or jargon. 3. To speak in a whining or singsong voice. [Anglo-Norman cant, song, singing, from canter, to sing, from Latin cantāre; see kan- in Indo-European roots.] cant'ing·ly adv. Cant. abbr. Bible Canticle of Canticles

Pinnacle

Noun. 1. Architecture A small turret or spire on a roof or buttress. 2. A tall pointed formation, such as a mountain peak. 3. The highest point; the culmination. See Synonyms at summit. Transitive Verb. pinnacled, pinnacling, pinnacles 1. To furnish with a pinnacle. 2. To place on or as if on a pinnacle.

Nadir

Noun. 1. Astronomy A point on the celestial sphere directly below the observer, diametrically opposite the zenith. 2. The lowest point: the nadir of their fortunes. Metaphorical use: Nadir of one's struggles

Sanction

Noun. 1. Authoritative permission or approval that makes a course of action valid. See Synonyms at permission. Professional Boxers may only fight in sanctioned matches- fighting outside the ring is prohibited. 2. Support or encouragement, as from public opinion or established custom. 3. A consideration, influence, or principle that dictates an ethical choice. 4. a. The penalty for noncompliance with a law or legal order. b. A penalty, specified or in the form of moral pressure, that acts to ensure compliance with a social standard or norm. c. A coercive measure adopted usually by several nations acting together against a nation violating international law. America's sanctions on Cuba means that it is illegal for Americans to do business with Cuban companies. Permission or approval, something that gives support or authority to something else (Noun); to allow, confirm, ratify, OR a a legal action by one or more countries against another country to get it to comply (Noun); to place sanctions or penalties on. 1. To give official authorization or approval to: voting rights that are sanctioned by law. 2. To encourage or tolerate by indicating approval: His colleagues sanctioned his new research. 3. To penalize, as for violating a moral principle or international law: "Half of the public defenders of accused murderers were sanctioned by the Texas bar for legal misbehavior or incompetence" (Garry Wills). The word can be very confusing-its two definitions seem to be opposites. Allow and penalize? We have to use context to figure out the meaning-since the bad meaning (generally "Sanctions" plural) applies to international actions, most usage of sanction (regarding any other topic) mean "allow".

Rhyme

Noun. 1. Correspondence of terminal sounds of words or of lines of verse. 2. a. A poem or verse having a regular correspondence of sounds, especially at the ends of lines. b. Poetry or verse of this kind. 3. A word that corresponds with another in terminal sound, as behold and cold. verb. rhymed, rhyming, rhymes also rimed or riming or rimes. Transitive Verb. 1. To put into rhyme or compose with rhymes. 2. To use (a word or words) as a rhyme. Intransitive Verb. 1. To form a rhyme. 2. To compose rhymes or verse. 3. To make use of rhymes in composing verse.

Don

Noun. 1. Don (also dōn) Used as a courtesy title before the name of a man in a Spanish-speaking area. 2. Chiefly British a. A head, tutor, or fellow at a college of Oxford or Cambridge. b. A college or university professor. 3. The leader of an organized-crime family. 4. Archaic An important personage. Transitive Verb. donned, donning, dons 1. To put on (clothing). 2. To assume or take on: donned the air of the injured party.

Narcissism

Noun. 1. Excessive preoccupation with or admiration of oneself. See Synonyms at conceit. 2. A personality disorder characterized by self-preoccupation, need for admiration, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem. 3. Erotic pleasure derived from contemplation or admiration of one's own body or self, especially as a fixation on or a regression to an infantile stage of development.

Fodder

Noun. 1. Feed for livestock, especially coarsely chopped hay or straw. 2. Raw material, as for artistic creation. 3. A consumable, often inferior item or resource that is in demand and usually abundant supply: romantic novels intended as fodder for the pulp fiction market. Transitive Verb. foddered, foddering, fodders To feed with fodder.

Antagonism

Noun. 1. Hostility that results in active resistance, opposition, or contentiousness. See Synonyms at enmity. 2. The condition of being an opposing principle, force, or factor: the inherent antagonism of capitalism and socialism. 3. Biochemistry Interference in the physiological action of a chemical substance by another having a similar structure.

Apathy

Noun. 1. Lack of interest or concern, especially regarding matters of general importance or appeal; indifference. 2. Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.

Slander

Noun. 1. Law Oral communication of false and malicious statements that damage the reputation of another. 2. A false and malicious statement or report about someone. Verb. slandered, slandering, slanders. Transitive Verb. To utter a slander about. See Synonyms at malign. Intransitive Verb. To utter or spread slander. slanderer. Adjective. slanderous. Adverb. Slanderously.

Tome

Noun. 1. One of the books in a work of several volumes. 2. A book, especially a large or scholarly one. -tome 1. Part; area; segment: dermatome. 2. Cutting instrument: microtome.

Bleacher

Noun. 1. One that bleaches or is used in bleaching. 2. often bleachers An often unroofed outdoor grandstand for seating spectators.

Exponent

Noun. 1. One that expounds or interprets. 2. One that speaks for, represents, or advocates: Our senator is an exponent of free trade. 3. Abbr. exp Mathematics A number or symbol, as 3 in (x + y)3, placed to the right of and above another number, symbol, or expression, denoting the power to which that number, symbol, or expression is to be raised. Also called power. Adjective. Expository; explanatory.

Advice

Noun. 1. Opinion about what could or should be done about a situation or problem; counsel. 2. often advices Information communicated; news: advices from an ambassador.

Gall

Noun. 1. Outrageous insolence; effrontery: After borrowing my car, he had the gall to complain about its seats. 2. a. Bitterness of feeling; rancor. b. Something bitter to endure: the gall of defeat. 3. See bile. Noun. 1. A skin sore caused by friction and abrasion: a saddle gall. 2. a. Exasperation; vexation. b. The cause of such vexation. Verb. galled, galling, galls. Transitive Verb. 1. To irk or exasperate; vex: It galled me to have to wait outside. 2. To wear away or make sore by abrasion; chafe: Intransitive Verb. To become worn or sore by abrasion. Noun. An abnormal growth of plant tissue caused by an organism, such as an insect, mite, or bacterium, or by a wound. galls on the underside of an oak leaf, caused by a gall wasp

Dexterity

Noun. 1. Skill and grace in physical movement, especially in the use of the hands; adroitness. 2. Mental skill or adroitness; cleverness.

Constancy

Noun. 1. Steadfastness, as in purpose or affection; faithfulness. 2. The condition or quality of being constant; changelessness.

Empathy

Noun. 1. The ability to identify with or understand another's situation or feelings: Empathy is a distinctly human capability. See Synonyms at pity. 2. The attribution of one's own feelings to an object: They have empathy for the evacuees who were displaced by the flood.

Deliverance

Noun. 1. The act of delivering or the condition of being delivered. 2. Rescue from bondage or danger. 3. A publicly expressed opinion or judgment, such as the verdict of a jury.

Demur

Noun. 1. The act of demurring. 2. An objection. Intransitive Verb. demurred, demurring, demurs. 1. To voice opposition; object: demurred at the suggestion. See Synonyms at object. Show reluctance or object, especially for moral reasons, as in, "His colleagues wanted him to tell the client that their sales would double, but he demurred." 2. Law To enter a demurrer. 3. Archaic To delay. Adjective. demurrable.

Counsel

Noun. 1. The act of exchanging opinions and ideas; consultation: joined in counsel with colleagues before deciding the issue. 2. Advice or guidance, especially as solicited from a knowledgeable person. See Synonyms at advice. 3. Private, guarded thoughts or opinions: keep one's own counsel. 4. A lawyer or group of lawyers giving legal advice and especially conducting a case in court. Verb. counseled, counseling, counsels or counselled or counselling. Transitive Verb. 1. To give counsel to; advise: counseled us to be prudent. 2. To recommend: counseled care in the forthcoming negotiations. Intransitive Verb. To give or take advice. See Usage Note at council.

Recommendation

Noun. 1. The act of recommending. 2. Something that recommends, especially a favorable statement concerning character or qualifications. 3. Something, such as a course of action, that is recommended. See Synonyms at advice. Adjective. recommendatory.

Denunciation

Noun. 1. The act or an instance of denouncing, especially a public condemnation or censure. 2. The reporting of a person to the authorities for possible criminal prosecution.

Deceit

Noun. 1. The act or practice of deceiving; deception. 2. A stratagem; a trick. 3. The quality of being deceitful; falseness.

Sniffle

Noun. 1. The act or sound of sniffling. 2. sniffles A condition, such as a head cold, accompanied by congestion of the nose. Used with the. Noun. sniffler. Adjective. sniffly. Intransitive Verb. sniffled, sniffling, sniffles. 1. To inhale or exhale audibly through a runny or congested nose. 2. To weep or whimper lightly.

Ambivalence

Noun. 1. The coexistence of opposing attitudes or feelings, such as love and hate, toward a person, object, or idea. 2. Uncertainty or indecisiveness as to which course to follow.

Summit

Noun. 1. The highest point or part; the top. 2. The highest level or degree that can be attained. 3. a. The highest level, as of government officials. b. A conference or meeting of high-level leaders, usually called to shape a program of action. Verb. summited, summiting, summits. Transitive Verb. To climb to the summit of (a mountain). Intransitive Verb. To climb to the summit.

Verisimilitude

Noun. 1. The quality of appearing to be true or real: "The painting owes its verisimilitude to a number of groundbreaking innovations. Its life-size figures are rendered with a new kind of sculptural modeling, which makes them seem to occupy real space" (Jack Flam). See Synonyms at truth. 2. Something that has the appearance of being true or real. Adjective. verisimilitudinous.

Jargon

Noun. 1. The specialized language of a trade, profession, or similar group, especially when viewed as difficult to understand by outsiders: a vocabulary specific to a group or occupation; convoluted or unintelligible language; a crime novel that uses a lot of police jargon. 2. Nonsensical or incoherent language: "Your description will be considered as mere jargon by every man of sense" (Alexander Hamilton). 3. A hybrid language or dialect; a pidgin. Not in technical use. Intransitive verb. jargoned, jargoning, jargons To speak in or use jargon.

Discordance

Noun. 1. The state or an instance of disagreement; discord. 2. Genetics The presence of a given trait in only one member of a pair of identical twins.

Diatribe

Noun. A bitter, abusive denunciation.

Ruse

Noun. A crafty stratagem; a subterfuge. See Synonyms at wile. Ruse. A city of northeast Bulgaria on the Danube River south of Bucharest, Romania. Founded as a Roman fortress, it is today a major port and industrial center.

Analgesia

Noun. A deadening or absence of the sense of pain without loss of consciousness. Pain relief; inability to feel pain While natural birth advocates decline analgesia in childbirth, many women are very eager to take advantage of modern anesthesia. A disease of the spinal cord can cause analgesia, which can be dangerous because the patient doesn't know when he has injured himself.

Penchant

Noun. A definite liking; a strong inclination. See Synonyms at predilection.

Tirade

Noun. A long angry speech, usually of a censorious or denunciatory nature; bitter and abusive criticism; a diatribe. I hate that television show where that commentator goes on angry tirades about all the liberal conspiracies taking over America. Even my conservative friends find his ranting embarrassing.

Bolster

Noun. A long narrow pillow or cushion. Transitive verb. 1. To support or prop up with or as if with a long narrow pillow or cushion. 2. To buoy up or hearten: Visitors bolstered the patient's morale.

Scowl

Noun. A look of anger or frowning disapproval. Noun. scowler. Adverb. scowlingly. verb. scowled, scowling, scowls. Intransitive Verb. To wrinkle or contract the brow as an expression of anger or disapproval. See Synonyms at frown. Transitive Verb. To express (displeasure, for example) with a frowning facial expression.

Luminary

Noun. A luminary is person who inspires others (or "lights up" the world) He is truly a luminary.

Neonate

Noun. A newborn infant, especially one less than four weeks old.

Anchorite

Noun. A person who has retired into seclusion for religious reasons.

Recluse

Noun. A person who withdraws from the world to live in seclusion and often in solitude. Adjective. recluse. Withdrawn from the world; reclusive. That show about "hoarders" featured a recluse who hadn't left her house in six years. Recluse is generally more negative than hermit- it often refers to a person thought by others as a bit crazy. Recluse shares a root with secluded and exclusive.

Reprimand

Noun. A severe, formal, or official rebuke or censure. Transitive Verb. reprimanded, reprimanding, reprimands. To reprove (someone) severely, especially in a formal or official way. See Synonyms at admonish.

Sibilant

Noun. A sibilant speech sound, such as English (s), (sh), (z), or (zh). Noun. Sibilance, Sibilancy Adverb. Sibilantly. Adjective. Of, characterized by, or producing a hissing sound like that of (s) or (sh): the sibilant consonants; a sibilant bird call.

Pidgin

Noun. A simplified form of speech that is usually a mixture of two or more languages, has a rudimentary grammar and vocabulary, is used for communication between groups speaking different languages, and is not spoken as a first or native language. Also called contact language.

Predilection

Noun. A special liking for something; a preference.

Argot

Noun. A specialized vocabulary or set of idioms used by a particular group: thieves' argot.

Lassitude

Noun. A state or feeling of weariness, diminished energy, or listlessness. See Synonyms at lethargy. Tiredness, weariness; lazy indfference It's so difficult to get anything done in the dead heat of August! I can't seem to shake my lassitude enough to get out of this hammock, much less study for the GRE.

Admonish

Noun. Admonisher. Noun. admonishment. Adverb. admonishingly. Transitive Verb. admonished, admonishing, admonishes. 1. a. To counsel (another) against something to be avoided or warn (that something is dangerous): "[Another competitor in the race] admonished him on the dangers of going out too fast" (Neal Bascomb). "Magazine articles ... admonished that women's financial independence was driving a wedge between husband and wife" (Lillian Faderman). b. To urge or exhort (someone to do something), Mildly scold, caution, advise: "Writers like Emerson and Thoreau ... admonished us to develop ourselves according to nature" (E.D. Hirsch). c. To remind (someone) of something forgotten or disregarded, as an obligation or a responsibility. 2. To reprove gently but earnestly: "Lincoln pursued his interests in defiance of established norms. Far from being praised, he was consistently admonished" (Joshua Wolf Shenk).

Glower

Noun. An angry or sullen look or stare. Adverb. gloweringly. Intransitive Verb. glowered, glowering, glowers. To look or stare angrily or sullenly: glowered at the rude patron. See Synonyms at frown.

Rebuke

Noun. An expression of strong disapproval. Transitive Verb. rebuked, rebuking, rebukes. 1. To criticize (someone) sharply; reprimand. See Synonyms at admonish. 2. To express sharp criticism regarding (an act, for example): "a series of sweeping decisions that rebuked the investigators' presumptions" (Donald A. Ritchie). 3. Obsolete To check or repress.

Leaning

Noun. An inclination, tendency, or preference. See Synonyms at predilection.

Egotism

Noun. An inflated sense of one's own importance; conceit. See Synonyms at conceit.

indignation

Noun. Anger aroused by something perceived as unjust, mean, or unworthy. See Synonyms at anger.

Baffle

Noun. Bafflement. Baffler. 1. A usually static device that regulates the flow of a fluid or light. 2. A partition that prevents interference between sound waves in a loudspeaker. Transitive Verb. baffled, baffling, baffles. 1. To confuse or perplex, especially so as to frustrate or prevent from taking action: a patient whose condition baffled the physicians. 2. To impede the force or movement of (a fluid).

Cupidity

Noun. Excessive desire, especially for wealth; covetousness or avarice.

Indolence

Noun. Habitual laziness; sloth. Such as a person who choose never to work.

Avarice

Noun. Immoderate desire for wealth; cupidity.

Ingenious

Noun. Ingeniousness. Adverb. ingeniously. Adjective. 1. Having great inventive skill and imagination: an ingenious negotiator. 2. Marked by or exhibiting originality or inventiveness: an ingenious solution to the problem. 3. Obsolete Having genius; brilliant.

Malign

Noun. Maligner. Adverb. malignly. Transitive Verb. maligned, maligning, maligns. To make evil, harmful, and often untrue statements about (someone). Adjective. 1. Evil or harmful in nature or effect: "He felt that the malign influence of the house had governed his own disintegration". 2. Intending or threatening harm or ill will; malevolent: "a snarling, bickering husky ... heavy-chested, with a malign eye".

Obsolete

Noun. Obsoleteness. Obsoletism. Adverb. Obsoletely. Adjective. 1. No longer in use: an obsolete word. Out of Date She kept her old laptop so long that it was obsolete-she couldn't sell it on Craigslist, and the local elementary school didn't even want it as a donation. 2. Outmoded in design, style, or construction: an obsolete locomotive. 3. Biology Vestigial or rudimentary, especially in comparison with related or ancestral species, as the tailbone of an ape. Used of an organ or other part of an organism. Transitive Verb. obsoleted, obsoleting, obsoletes. To cause to become obsolete. The "Planned Obsolescence" is a business strategy of making products with a deliberately limited life so you'll have to buy new ones.

Harbinger

Noun. One (person or thing) that indicates or foreshadows what is to come; a forerunner. Transitive Verb. harbingered, harbingering, harbingers. To signal the approach of; presage.

coward

Noun. One who shows ignoble fear in the face of danger or pain.

Playwright

Noun. One who writes plays; a dramatist.

Perceive

Noun. Perceiver. Adjective. Perceivable. Adverb. Perceivably. Transitive Verb. perceived, perceiving, perceives. 1. a. To become aware of (something) directly through any of the senses, especially sight or hearing: We could perceive three figures in the fog. b. To cause or allow the mind to become aware of (a stimulus): The ear perceives sounds. 2. To achieve understanding of; apprehend: Einstein perceived that energy and matter are equivalent. See Synonyms at see1. 3. To regard or consider; deem: an old technology that is still perceived as useful; a politician who is perceived to be a dissembler.

Quiz

Noun. Plural Noun. quizzes. 1. A questioning or inquiry. 2. A short oral or written test. 3. Archaic A practical joke.quizzer. Transitive Verb. quizzed, quizzing, quizzes. 1. To question (someone), especially closely or repeatedly: "His searching questions as he quizzed me on my work made me tongue-tied at first" (Susan Sellers). 2. To test the knowledge of by posing questions: quizzed the class on state capitals. See Synonyms at ask. 3. Archaic To poke fun at; mock.

Pompous

Noun. Pomposity, pompousness. Adverb. pompously. Adjective. 1. Characterized by excessive self-esteem or exaggerated dignity; pretentious: pompous officials who enjoy giving orders. 2. Full of high-sounding phrases; bombastic: a pompous proclamation. 3. Archaic Characterized by pomp or stately display: a pompous occasion.

Incentive

Noun. Something that encourages greater action or effort, such as a reward. Something, such as the fear of punishment or the expectation of reward, that induces action or motivates effort. Adjective. Serving to induce or motivate: an incentive bonus for high productivity. A controversial program in a failing school system uses cash payments as an incentive for students to stay in school

Stride

Noun. Strider. Verb. Strode, Stridden, Striding, strides. Intransitive Verb. 1. To walk with long steps, especially in a hasty or vigorous way. 2. To take a single long step, as in passing over an obstruction. 3. To stand or sit astride; straddle. Transitive Verb. 1. To walk with long steps on, along, or over: striding the stage. 2. To step over or across: stride a brook. 3. To be astride of; straddle. n. 1. The act of striding. 2. a. A single long step. b. The distance traveled in such a step. 3. a. A single coordinated movement of the four legs of a horse or other animal, completed when the legs return to their initial relative position. b. The distance traveled in such a movement. 4. often strides A step of progress; an advance: making great strides in their studies. Idioms: hit (one's) stride 1. To achieve a steady, effective pace. 2. To attain a maximum level of competence. take in stride To cope with calmly, without interrupting one's normal routine: taking their newfound wealth in stride.

Suave

Noun. Suaveness, Suavity. Adjective. Suaver, Suavest. Courteous and elegant; gracious and sophisticated. Adverb. Suavely.

Acme

Noun. The highest point, as of achievement or development: reached the acme of her career. See Synonyms at summit.

Humility

Noun. The quality or condition of being humble.

Ambiance or Ambience

Noun. The special atmosphere or mood created by a particular environment: a restaurant known for its romantic ambiance.

Veracity or Veracious

Noun. Truthfulness, accuracy; habitual adherence to the truth. Plural Noun. Veracities 1. Adherence to the truth; truthfulness. See Synonyms at truth. 2. Conformity to fact or truth; accuracy: a report of doubtful veracity. 3. A true statement: "the stern veracities of science" (H.G. Wells). I question the veracity of your story- I just don't think you've been to outer space. She was known for her veracity only because she had no choice-she was terrible liar.

Vilify

Noun. Vilification. Vilifier. Transitive Verb. vilified, vilifying, vilifies. To attack the reputation of (a person or thing) with strong or abusive criticism. See Synonyms at malign.

Abjure

Noun. abjuration. abjurer. Transitive Verb. abjured, abjuring, abjures. 1. To recant solemnly; renounce or repudiate: "For nearly 21 years after his resignation as Prime Minister in 1963, he abjured all titles, preferring to remain just plain 'Mr.'" (Time). 2. To renounce under oath; forswear. give up renounce; repudiate, recant, or shun, especially formally or under oath.

Abstruse

Noun. abstruseness. Adjective. "Pertaining to difficult or obscure knowledge; known to only a few". Difficult to understand; recondite: The students avoided the professor's abstruse lectures. Adverb. abstrusely.

Advocate

Noun. advocator. advocation. 1. One that argues for a cause; a supporter or defender: an advocate of civil rights. 2. One that pleads in another's behalf; an intercessor: advocates for abused children and spouses. 3. A lawyer. A person who pleads for a cause or on behalf of another person. Verb. Speak or argue in favor of. Verb. advocated, advocating, advocates. Transitive Verb. To speak, plead, or argue in favor of: advocate a vegan diet. See Synonyms at support. Intransitive Verb. To act as an advocate: advocated for more stringent crime laws. Adjective. advocative, advocatory. I cannot possible vote for a candidate who advocates oil drilling in federally protected nature preserves. Children often have advocates appointed to represent them in the court. Advocate contains the root "voc", meaning "to call". This root also appears in vocal, invoke, etc

Agglomerate

Noun. agglomerator. Transitive and Intransitive Verb. agglomerated, agglomerating, agglomerates. To form or collect into a rounded mass. Adjective. agglomerative. Gathered into a rounded mass. Noun. 1. A confused or jumbled mass; a heap. 2. A volcanic rock consisting of rounded and angular fragments fused together.

Aggrandize

Noun. aggrandizement. aggrandizer. Transitive Verb. aggrandized, aggrandizing, aggrandizes. 1. a. To increase the scope of; extend: aggrandized the authority of his position. b. To make greater in power, influence, stature, or reputation: "The executive branch had aggrandized itself during the war at the expense of the legislative branch" (David Herbert Donald). 2. To consider to be or cause to appear greater than is really the case; exaggerate: aggrandized his contributions to the project.

Aggregate

Noun. aggregation. Adjective. aggregative. 1. Constituting or amounting to a whole; total: aggregate sales in that market. 2. Botany Crowded or massed into a dense cluster. 3. Composed of a mixture of minerals separable by mechanical means. Noun. 1. A total considered with reference to its constituent parts; a gross amount: "An empire is the aggregate of many states under one common head" (Edmund Burke). 2. The mineral materials, such as sand or stone, used in making concrete. Verb. aggregated, aggregating, aggregates. Transitive Verb. 1. To gather into a mass, sum, or whole: aggregated the donations into one bank account. 2. To amount to; total: Revenues will aggregate more than one million dollars. 3. To collect (content from different sources on the Internet) into one webpage or newsreader. Intransitive Verb. To come together or collect in a mass or whole: "Some [bacteria]aggregate so closely as to mimic a multicellular organism" (Gina Kolata). "The first stars began to form when hydrogen and helium gas left over from the Big Bang aggregated into dense clouds" (Paul Davies). Idiom: in the aggregate Taken into account as a whole: Unit sales for December amounted in the aggregate to 100,000. Adverb. aggregately.

Antediluvian

Noun. antediluvian. Adjective. 1. Bible Occurring or belonging to the era before the Flood. 2. Extremely old or old-fashioned. See Synonyms at old.

Appease

Noun. appeaser Adjective appeasable Adverb. appeasably Transitive verb. appeased, appeasing, appeases 1. a. To placate or attempt to placate (a threatening nation, for example) by granting concessions, often at the expense of principle. b. To calm, soothe, or quiet (someone): appeased the baby with a pacifier. See Synonyms at pacify. 2. To satisfy, relieve, or assuage: appease one's thirst. My mother is so angry she wasn't the first person we called when the baby was born. I am hoping to appease her by spending christmas at her house this year.

Austere

Noun. austereness. Adjective. austerer, austerest. 1. Severe or stern in disposition or appearance; somber and grave: the austere figure of a Puritan minister. Severe in manner or appearance; very self-disciplined. 2. Strict or severe in discipline; ascetic: a desert nomad's austere life. See Synonyms at severe. 3. Having no adornment or ornamentation; bare: an austere style. Adverb. austerely.

Beseech

Noun. beseecher. Transitive Verb. besought or beseeched, beseeching, beseeches 1. To address an earnest or urgent request to; implore: beseech them for help. See Synonyms at beg. 2. To request earnestly; beg for: "She unnerved him by receiving him in bed, bursting into tears, and beseeching his pardon" (Leo Damrosch).

Calamitous

Noun. calamitousness. Adjective. Causing or involving calamity; disastrous. Adverb. calamitously.

Castigate

Noun. castigation. castigator. Criticize severely; punish in order to correct. Transitive Verb. castigated, castigating, castigates. To punish or rebuke severely. See Synonyms at punish. At the grocery store, the mother attracted stares when she castigated- rather than merely admonished- her child for throwing a box of instant oatmeal. Castigate shares root (meaning pure) with both "Castrate" and "Caste System". That should make it easy to remember that castigations is harsh indeed!

Censure

Noun. censurer. 1. An expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. 2. An official rebuke, as by a legislature of one of its members. Strong disapproval or official reprimand. Transitive Verb. censured, censuring, censures. To express strong disapproval of or criticize severely, especially in an official capacity: "whether the Senate will censure one of its members for conflict of interest" (Washington Post). See Synonyms at criticize. Adjective. censurable. Adverb. censurably.

Chauvinism

Noun. chauvinist. 1. Militant devotion to and glorification of one's country; fanatical patriotism. 2. Prejudiced belief in the superiority of one's own gender, group, or kind: "the chauvinism ... of making extraterrestrial life in our own image" (Henry S.F. Cooper, Jr.) Fanatical patriotism or blind enthusiasm for military glory; undue or biased devotion to any group, cause, etc. He is such a chauvinist that he denies that any other nation could be better than ours at anything-he insists our wine is better than France's, our ski slopes are better than Norway's and even that we grow more rice than China! Absurd. Adverb. chauvinistically. Adjective. Chauvinistic. Don't confuse Chauvinism with Sexism- a "Male Chauvinist" is just one kind. The original chauvinist was Nicholas Chauvin, a possibly fictitious soldier wounded 17 times while serving in Napoleon's army (he really loved Napoleon)

Circumspect

Noun. circumspection. Adverb. circumspectly. Adjective. Heedful of circumstances and potential consequences; prudent. Cautious, careful to consider the circumstances and consequences.

Confound

Noun. confounder. Adverb. confoundingly. Transitive Verb. confounded, confounding, confounds. 1. To cause to become confused or perplexed. See Synonyms at perplex. 2. To fail to distinguish; mix up: Don't confound fiction and fact. 3. To make (something bad) worse: Do not confound the problem by losing your temper. 4. To cause to be ashamed; abash: An invention that confounded the skeptics. 5. Used in mild curses: Confound you! 6. a. To frustrate or thwart: trivial demands that confounded the peace talks. b. Archaic To defeat or overthrow (an enemy).

Consolidate

Noun. consolidator. Verb. consolidated, consolidating, consolidates. Transitive Verb. 1. To unite into one system or whole; combine: consolidated five separate agencies into a single department. 2. To make strong or secure; strengthen: She consolidated her power during her first year in office. 3. To make firm or coherent; form into a compact mass. Intransitive Verb. 1. To become solidified or united. 2. To join in a merger or union: The two firms consolidated under a new name.

Consul

Noun. consulship. 1. An official appointed by a government to reside in a foreign country and represent his or her government's commercial interests and assist its citizens there. See Usage Note at council. 2. Either of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, elected for a term of one year. 3. Any of the three chief magistrates of the French Republic from 1799 to 1804. Adjective. consular.

Covetous

Noun. covetousness. Adverb. covetously. Adjective. Feeling, expressing, or characterized by a strong or immoderate desire for the possessions of another: "At least three European empires had extended covetous gazes toward the Pacific Northwest" (David A. Bell).

Crafty

Noun. craftiness. Adjective. craftier, craftiest. 1. Skilled in or marked by underhandedness, deviousness, or deception. Cunning, skillful in deception or underhanded schemes. 2. Chiefly British Skillful; dexterous. Adverb. craftily. A crafty play in basketball is the "head-fake"-moving the head in one direction slightly prior to running in the other direction , to try to get a tiny head start on a disoriented pursuer. Crafty is connected to "arts and crafts" in the sense of being skilled. Of course, if you somehow used yarn to trick people, you'd be doubly crafty.

Defame

Noun. defamer. Transitive Verb. defamed, defaming, defames. 1. To damage the reputation, character, or good name of (someone) by slander or libel. See Synonyms at malign. 2. Archaic To disgrace.

Deft

Noun. deftness. Adjective. defter, deftest. Quick and skillful; adroit. See Synonyms at dexterous. Adverb. deftly.

Deleterious

Noun. deleteriousness. Adverb. deleteriously. Adjective. Having a harmful effect; injurious: the deleterious effects of smoking. Unhealthful The resident Assistant told the first-year students, "I think you will find not only that drugs are illegal and will result in expulsion, but also that drug abuse will have a deleterious effect on anyone's grades."Deleterious shares a root ("destroy") with delete.

Disdainful

Noun. disdainfulness. Adjective. Expressive of disdain; scornful and contemptuous. See Synonyms at arrogant. Adverb. disdainfully.

Dormant

Noun. dormancy. Adjective. 1. Not awake; asleep: "[He] lay dormant on the scruffy couch, his mouth open, reading glasses slumped on his swollen nostrils" (Steven Heighton). 2. Present but not active or manifest though capable of becoming so: "a harrowing experience which ... lay dormant but still menacing" (Charles Jackson). See Synonyms at inactive. 3. Temporarily inactive: a dormant volcano. 4. Being in a condition of biological rest or inactivity characterized by cessation of growth or development and the suspension of many metabolic processes: a dormant bud; a dormant bacterium.

Ductile

Noun. ductility, ductilibility. Adjective. 1. Easily drawn into wire or hammered thin: ductile metals. 2. Easily molded or shaped. See Synonyms at malleable. 3. Capable of being readily persuaded or influenced; tractable: a ductile young mind.

Elocution

Noun. elocutionist. Noun. 1. The art of public speaking in which gesture, vocal production, and delivery are emphasized. 2. A style or manner of speaking, especially in public. Adjective. elocutionary.

Embellish

Noun. embellisher. Transitive Verb. embellished, embellishing, embellishes. 1. To make beautiful, as by ornamentation; decorate. 2. To add ornamental or fictitious details to: a fanciful account that embellishes the true story.

Enfeeble

Noun. enfeeblement. enfeebler. Transitive Verb. enfeebled, enfeebling, enfeebles. To deprive of strength; make feeble. weaken, make feeble.

Entreat

Noun. entreatment. Verb. entreated, entreating, entreats. Transitive Verb. 1. To make an earnest request of (someone). See Synonyms at beg. 2. To ask for earnestly; petition for: "She made a hasty gesture with her hand, as if to entreat my patience and my silence" (Charles Dickens). 3. Archaic To deal with; treat. Intransitive Verb. To make an earnest request or petition. Adverb. entreatingly.

Eschew

Noun. eschewal. Verb. Shun, avoid, abstain from. Transitive Verb. eschewed, eschewing, eschews. 1. To avoid using, accepting, participating in, or partaking of: "Italian tends to eschew the sort of polite euphemisms in which English glories" (David Leavitt). See Synonyms at evade. 2. To refrain from (doing something). As a vegan, he eschewed not only meat and dairy but also anything made of leather.

Exacting

Noun. exactingness. Adjective. 1. Making severe demands; rigorous: an exacting instructor. Very severe in making demands; requiring precise attention. The boxing coach was exacting, analyzing Joey's footwork down to the millimeter and forcing him to repeat movements hundreds of times until they were correct. 2. Requiring great care, effort, or attention: an exacting task. Adverb. exactingly. Exact is a word used for Extortion, or demanding money under threat. To Exact as a verb can mean to extort money, or simply to demand, as in "To exact obedience from the soldiers"

Excoriate

Noun. excoriation. excoriator. Transitive Verb. excoriated, excoriating, excoriates. 1. a. To censure strongly; denounce: "preparing to excoriate him for his insufficient preparations" (Neil Bascomb). b. To criticize (something) harshly: "After excoriating the vapid culture of movie-star worship ... he's ended up at that trough" (Maureen Dowd). 2. To tear, scrape, or wear off (the skin). To rub the skin off of; to criticize very harshly. Usage Note: Traditionally, one excoriates people, not things, but in recent years the verb has been given a wider variety of objects, and the Usage Panel does not object. In our 2002 survey, 83 percent of the Panel accepted the sentence The party's national convention and its platform were excoriated by a contemptuous press, where the verb acts upon products of human effort.

Fastidious

Noun. fastidiousness. Adverb. fastidiously. Adjective. 1. Showing or acting with careful attention to detail: a fastidious scholar; fastidious research. 2. Difficult to please; exacting: "The club is also becoming far more fastidious about what constitutes a breed standard". 3. Excessively scrupulous or sensitive, as in taste, propriety, or neatness: "He was a fastidious man who hated to dirty his hands, in particular with food" (Michael Chabon). See Synonyms at meticulous. 4. Microbiology Having complex nutritional requirements.

Fussy

Noun. fussiness. Adverb. fussily. Adjective. fussier, fussiest 1. Easily upset; given to bouts of ill temper: a fussy baby. 2. Paying great or excessive attention to personal tastes and appearance; fastidious: He was always fussy about clothes. 3. Calling for or requiring great attention to sometimes trivial details: a fussy actuarial problem. 4. Full of superfluous details: "It can indeed be fussy, filling with ornament what should be empty space"

Gawky

Noun. gawkiness. Adjective. gawkier, gawkiest. Awkward; ungainly. Adverb. gawkily. Physically awkward (esp. of a tall, skinny person, often used to describe teenagers) As a teenager, she thought of herself as gawky and often slouched so as not to seem so much taller than her peers; of course, now that she's a supermodel, no one thinks of her as gawky at all.

grandstand

Noun. grandstander. Noun. 1. A roofed stand for spectators at a stadium or racetrack. 2. The spectators or audience at an event. Intransitive Verb. grandstanded, grandstanding, grandstands. To perform ostentatiously so as to impress an audience. I am really passionate about the candidate when he spoke at our school, but now that i think about it, he was just grandstanding. I mean, who could disagree that young people are the future? And doing a cheer for the environment doesn't actually signify a commitment to change any public policies about it.

Implore

Noun. imploration. implorer. Adverb. imploringly. Verb. implored, imploring, implores. Transitive Verb. 1. To appeal to in supplication; beseech: implored the tribunal to have mercy. See Synonyms at beg. 2. To beg for urgently: implored their advice in the matter. Intransitive Verb. To make an earnest appeal.

Inconsequential

Noun. inconsequentiality, inconsequentialness. Noun. A triviality. Adverb. inconsequentially. Adjective. 1. Lacking importance. insignificant, unimportant. 2. Not following from premises or evidence; illogical. You wrote bestselling book and got a stellar review in the New York Times-whatever your cousin has to say about it is simply inconsequential. Given that your entire essay is about Hamlet's relationship with his mother, your thesis that Hamlet's relationship with Laertes drives the plot is inconsequential-that is, it does not follow as a consequence of the evidence you've provided.

Inert

Noun. inertness. Adverb. inertly. Adjective. 1. a. Incapable of moving or acting: "[Some patients] lingered, unable to breathe on their own, inert and unresponsive even to the most noxious stimulus" (Gary Greenberg). b. Sluggish in action or motion; lethargic. See Synonyms at inactive. 2. Chemistry Not readily reactive with other elements; forming few or no chemical compounds. 3. Having no pharmacologic, metabolic, or other physiological effect.

Inexplicable

Noun. inexplicability, inexplicableness. Adjective. Difficult or impossible to explain or account for. Adverb. inexplicably.

Insalubrious

Noun. insalubrity. Adverb. insalubriously. Adjective. Not promoting health; unwholesome: an insalubrious environment.

Insipid

Noun. insipidity, insipidness. Adverb. insipidly. Adjective. 1. Lacking flavor or zest; not tasty: insipid soup. 2. Lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; dull.

Intrepid

Noun. intrepidity, intrepidness. Adverb. intrepidly. Adjective. Resolutely courageous; fearless. See Synonyms at brave.

Invective

Noun. invectiveness. Noun. 1. Denunciatory or abusive language; vituperation: an orator known for his abundant use of invective. 2. A denunciatory or abusive expression or discourse: shouted invectives at the umpire. Adjective. invective. Adverb. invectively.

Lampoon

Noun. lampooner, lampoonist. lampoonery. A harsh satire. A written attack ridiculing a person, group, or institution. Verb. Ridicule, Satirize. Transitive Verb. lampooned, lampooning, lampoons To ridicule or satirize in a lampoon. "As a democrat," said Bob, "I can't say I appreciated watching that comedian in the Obama mask lampoon the State of the Union address"

Levy

Noun. levier. act of collecting tax or amount owed, or the drafting of troops into military service Verb. levied, levying, levies. Collect tax from, wage war on, or enlist for military service; Transitive Verb. 1. a. To impose (a tax or fine, for example) on someone. b. To impose a tax, fine, or other punishment on (a person or business). 2. To enlist or conscript into military service: levy recruits. 3. To declare and wage (a war). Intransitive Verb. To confiscate property, especially in accordance with a legal judgment. Plural Noun. levies. 1. The act or process of levying. 2. Money, property, or troops levied. When England levied yet another tax on the colonies, colonies were pushed one further step towards lavying war. Soon, the worried British began to levy troops. Levy has many definitions that seem unrelated, however; the root means "raise" or "lightness" (as in lever, elevate), so you can think of raising money through Taxes, raising an army by drafting soldiers, or using that army to wage war. Don't confuse levy with levee ( a slope or wall along a water way designed to stop flooding.)

Lucid

Noun. lucidity, lucidness. Adjective. 1. Clearly expressed; easily understood: a lucid analysis of the problem. Clear, easy to understand; rational, sane. 2. Thinking or expressing oneself clearly, especially between periods of confusion; clearheaded: The feverish patient was lucid now and then. 3. Brightly lit; luminous: "A lucid yellow moon was rising when Luke wheeled his truck to the curb and got out" (Willie Morris). 4. Clear; transparent: a lucid stream. Adverb. lucidly. After surgery, it'll take at least an hour until she's lucid-it's nothing to worry about, but patients sometimes talk complete nonsense until the anesthesia wears off and their speech becomes lucid. Lucid can mean literally clear, but often means metaphorically clear or clearheaded- a lucid argument, a lucid person. The similar pellucid usually means literally transparent. The root "luc" for "light" also occurs in translucent, luminous, luminary, lucubrate (work or study, originally by candlelight) and elucidate (make clear or explain).

Lustrous

Noun. lustrousness. Adjective. 1. Having a sheen or glow; gleaming: lustrous pearls. See Synonyms at bright. 2. Well-known or distinguished; illustrious: lustrous achievements. Adverb. lustrously.

Malleable

Noun. malleability, malleableness. Adverb. malleably. Adjective. 1. Capable of being shaped or formed, as by hammering or pressure: a malleable metal. 2. Easily controlled or influenced: "The British [rulers] ... had favoured the brother who struck them as altogether more amiable, a more malleable, more temperate man" (Paul Scott). 3. a. Able to adjust to changing circumstances; adaptable: a malleable leader unafraid to compromise. b. Capable of being changed or adjusted to meet particular or varied needs: the malleable rhythms of jazz. The more malleable the material, the easier it is to bend into jewelry- and the easier it is to damage that jewelry. My mother is a little to malleable- she said she liked all the things her first husband liked, and now she says she likes all the things her second husband likes.

Mannerism

Noun. mannerist. 1. A distinctive behavioral trait, especially one that calls attention to itself; an idiosyncrasy. See Synonyms at affectation. 2. Exaggerated or affected style in an art: films characterized by excessive artifice and mannerism. 3. Mannerism An artistic style of the late 1500s characterized by distortion of elements such as scale and perspective. Adjective. manneristic.

Meticulous

Noun. meticulosity, meticulousness. Adverb. meticulously. Adjective. 1. Showing or acting with extreme care and concern for details. 2. Archaic Excessively careful and precise.

Mollify

Noun. mollification Noun. mollifier Transitive verb. mollified, mollifying, mollifies 1. To calm the anger of; soothe or appease. See Synonyms at pacify. 2. To lessen, as in intensity; assuage: a meeting to mollify concerns about traffic near the new school. 3. Archaic To reduce the rigidity of; soften. Adjective. mollifiable

Mystify

Noun. mystifier. Adverb. mystifyingly. Transitive Verb. mystified, mystifying, mystifies. 1. To confuse or bewilder. See Synonyms at perplex. 2. To make obscure or mysterious: "What had been for ages mundane would soon become mystified in the minds of most Americans" (Ann Vileisis).

Nascent

Noun. nascency. Adjective. Coming into existence, still developing. The violin teacher was always very encouraging with children. All children sound terrible the first couple of years, so She offered plenty of praise to encourage nascent talents. Adjective. Coming into existence; emerging: "the moral shock of our nascent imperialism" (Richard Hofstadter).

Negligible

Noun. negligibility, negligibleness. Adjective. Not significant or important enough to be worth considering; trifling. Adverb. negligibly. Negligible, Null and Nil means "Nothing or too insignificant to matter."

Ominous

Noun. ominousness. Adjective. 1. Menacing; threatening: ominous black clouds; ominous rumblings of discontent. giving bad sign about future 2. Of or being an omen, especially an evil one. Adverb. ominously.

Paradox

Noun. paradoxicalness. 1. A statement that seems to contradict itself but may nonetheless be true: the paradox that standing is more tiring than walking. Contradiction, or seeming contradiction that is actually true. 2. A person, thing, or situation that exhibits inexplicable or contradictory aspects. Contradictory or seemingly contradictory but actually true: "The silence of midnight, to speak truly, though apparently a paradox, rung in my ears" (Mary Shelley). 3. A statement that is self-contradictory or logically untenable, though based on a valid deduction from acceptable premises. Adjective. paradoxical. Adverb. paradoxically. Kayla was always bothering the youth minister with her paradoxes, like "If God is all-powerful, can He make a burrito so big he can't eat it?". Conundrum (a riddle, the answer to which involves a play on words; any mystery). The root "doct/dox" means "opinion" or "teach, know" and occurs in doctrine, doctor and doctrinaire (person who applies doctrine in an impractical or rigid and close-minded way)

Parody

Noun. parodist. Plural Noun. parodies 1. a. A literary or artistic work that uses imitation, as of the characteristic style of an author or a work, for comic effect or ridicule. b. A genre, as in literature, comprising such works. 2. Something so bad as to be equivalent to intentional mockery; a travesty: The trial was a parody of justice. 3. Music The practice of reworking an already established composition, especially the incorporation into the Mass of material borrowed from other works, such as motets or madrigals. Transitive Verb. parodied, parodying, parodies. To make a parody of. See Synonyms at imitate. Adjective. parodic, parodical. Adjective. parodistic.

Ascetic

Noun. pertaining to a simple life with no luxuries, such as that of a monk. A person who renounces material comforts and leads a life of austere self-discipline, especially as an act of religious devotion. Adjective. Relating to, characteristic of, or leading a life of self-discipline and self-denial, especially for spiritual improvement. See Synonyms at severe. Adverb. ascetically.

Perverse

Noun. perverseness. Adverb. perversely. Adjective. 1. Contrary to what is right or good; wicked or depraved: a perverse world of sinners. 2. a. Characterized by or resulting from willful opposition or resistance to what is right, expected, or reasonable: "Geneticists have the perverse habit of naming genes by what goes wrong when they mutate" (Richard Dawkins). b. Willfully opposing or resisting what is right, expected, or reasonable: an understanding of the text that only a perverse reader could reach. 3. Having an effect opposite to what is intended or expected: "Regulation [of child care] to increase quality may have the perverse effect of driving some children into unregulated care" (Kathryn M. Neckerman).

Phony

Noun. phoniness. Adjective. phonier, phoniest. Fake, counterfeit; insincere, not genuine. 1. Not genuine or real; sham or counterfeit: a phony credit card; a phony beard. 2. Spurious, deceptive, or false: a phony excuse. 3. Fraudulent, deceitful, or dishonest: a phony expert in investing. Plural Noun. phonies also phoneys. 1. A fraudulent or dishonest person. 2. Something that is not genuine; a fake. Adverb. phonily. Phony Louis Vuitton bags are easily purchased in Chinatown, but they are illegal-selling them can land a vendor in jail, and the counterfeit bags are often made with child labor. She's such a phony person, pretending to befriend people and then talking about them behind their backs. A Phony person may possess various affectations (fake behavior, such as in speech or dress, adopted to give certain impression)

Palacate

Noun. placater Noun. placation Adjective placatory, placative Transitive verb. placated, placating, placates To allay the anger of, especially by making concessions; appease. See Synonyms at pacify.

Placid

Noun. placidity, placidness. Adjective. 1. a. Undisturbed by tumult or disorder; calm or quiet: led a placid life. Peaceful, calm, tranquil. b. Not agitated physically; not disturbed: a placid stream. 2. Not easily upset or excited; mild or complacent: a placid demeanor. See Synonyms at calm. Adverb. placidly. Famed Spanish tenor Placido Domingo has an unusual name-literally,"Peaceful Sunday." It's certainly not a coincidence that Placido looks so much like placid. The movie Lake Placid is about a lake containing a man-eating crocodile, which is really NOT placid. Lake Placid is a real place in New York, though, and seems to have been named with much the same thought on mind as the Pacific Ocean (Pacific also means peaceful)

Pliable

Noun. pliability, pliableness. Adverb. pliably. Adjective. 1. Easily bent or shaped. See Synonyms at malleable. 2. Capable of being changed or adjusted to meet particular or varied needs: a pliable policy. 3. Easily influenced, persuaded, or controlled: replaced the complainer with a more pliable subordinate.

Pliant

Noun. pliancy, pliantness. Adverb. pliantly. Adjective. 1. Easily bent or flexed; pliable. See Synonyms at malleable. 2. Easily altered or modified to fit conditions; adaptable: a pliant poetic form. 3. Yielding readily to influence or domination; compliant: a pliant colonial regime.

Prefigure

Noun. prefigurement. Adjective. prefigurative. Adverb. prefiguratively. Transitive Verb. prefigured, prefiguring, prefigures. 1. To suggest, indicate, or represent by an antecedent form or model; presage or foreshadow: The paintings of Paul Cézanne prefigured the rise of cubism in the early 1900s. 2. Archaic To imagine in advance.

Proscribe

Noun. proscriber. Transitive Verb. proscribed, proscribing, proscribes. 1. To prohibit; forbid: foods that are proscribed by religious dietary laws. See Synonyms at forbid. 2. To denounce or condemn: "The small sins of natural pleasure that we see ... mildly proscribed in the confession manuals of the late Middle Ages" (James Turner). 3. a. To banish or outlaw (a person): "Emperors took it on themselves to proscribe heretics" (Garry Wills). b. To publish the name of (a person) as outlawed. Prohibit, outlaw; denounce; exile or banish. Plagiarism is proscribed by every college's code of conduct. The "Scribe" in proscribe means "write" (as in script, scribble, scripture, etc.) The sense is that to proscribe is to publish a record of someone's punishment - to condemn or sentence that person publicly. Don't confuse proscribe with prescribe, which means "order, set down as a rule" (like a doctor's prescription)-the two words are opposites!

Prudent

Noun. prudence. Adverb. prudently. Adjective 1. Wise, Careful or wise in handling practical matters; exercising good judgment or common sense: a prudent manager of money. 2. Characterized by or resulting from care or wisdom in practical matters or in planning for the future: a prudent investment. careful in providing for the future.

Puzzle

Noun. puzzler. 1. Something, such as a game, toy, or problem, that requires ingenuity and often persistence in solving or assembling. 2. Something that baffles or confuses; an enigma: the puzzle of the author's true identity. 3. The condition of being perplexed; bewilderment: I'm really in a puzzle over how this happened. Verb. puzzled, puzzling, puzzles. Transitive Verb. 1. To baffle or confuse mentally by presenting or being a difficult problem or matter. See Synonyms at perplex. 2. To clarify or solve (something confusing) by reasoning or study: He puzzled out the significance of the statement. Intransitive Verb. 1. To be perplexed. 2. To ponder over a problem in an effort to solve or understand it.

Quiescent

Noun. quiescence. Adjective. 1. Quiet, still, or inactive. See Synonyms at inactive. 2. Characterized by an absence of upheaval or discord: "We tend to think of the decades following the final overthrow of Napoleon as remarkably quiescent" (Walter McDougall). 3. Astronomy Having little or no sunspot activity. 4. Medicine Asymptomatic: a quiescent infection. Adverb. quiescently.

Recant

Noun. recantation. Noun. recanter. Verb. recanted, recanting, recants. Transitive Verb. Withdraw retract or disavow something one has previously said, esp. formally. To make a formal retraction or disavowal of (a statement or belief to which one has previously committed oneself). Intransitive Verb. To make a formal retraction or disavowal of a previously held statement or belief.

Redress

Noun. redresser, redressor. 1. Satisfaction for wrong or injury; reparation. 2. The act of redressing; rectification or reformation. Transitive Verb. redressed, redressing, redresses. 1. To set right (an undesirable situation, for example); remedy or rectify. See Synonyms at correct. 2. To make amends to: felt he should be redressed for the loss.

Replete

Noun. repleteness. A specialized worker in a honey ant colony that stores food in its distensible abdomen for later use by other members of the colony. Adjective. 1. Abundantly supplied; abounding: a stream replete with trout; an apartment replete with Empire furniture. 2. Filled to satiation; gorged. 3. Usage Problem Complete: a computer system replete with color monitor, printer, and software.

Reproach

Noun. reproacher. reproachableness. 1. a. An expression of blame or disapproval; a rebuke: a column that elicited many reproaches from readers. b. Blame or disapproval: frowned in mild reproach of what was said. 2. One that stands as a rebuke or blame: "His brow commenced to sweat—a reproach to all sluggards and idlers" (Henry David Thoreau). Adjective. reproachable. Transitive Verb. reproached, reproaching, reproaches. To express disapproval of, criticism of, or disappointment in (someone). See Synonyms at admonish. Adverb. reproachably. Idiom: above/beyond reproach So good as to preclude any possibility of criticism.

Reprobate

Noun. reprobation. Adjective. reprobative. Noun. 1. A morally unprincipled person. 2. One who is predestined to damnation. Adjective. 1. Morally unprincipled; shameless. 2. Rejected by God and without hope of salvation. Transitive Verb. reprobated, reprobating, reprobates 1. To disapprove of; condemn. 2. To abandon to eternal damnation. Used of God.

Reprove

Noun. reproval. reprover. Adjective. reprovable. Transitive Verb. reproved, reproving, reproves. 1. To express disapproval to (someone); criticize: reproved the children for making too much noise. See Synonyms at admonish. 2. To express disapproval about (something): "Some bigger boys laughed. But Augustine angrily reproved their frivolity" (Richard Hughes). Adverb. reprovingly.

Repudiate

Noun. repudiator. Transitive Verb. repudiated, repudiating, repudiates. 1. To reject the validity or authority of: Reject, cast off, deny that something has authority; "Chaucer ... not only came to doubt the worth of his extraordinary body of work, but repudiated it" (Joyce Carol Oates). 2. To reject emphatically as unfounded, untrue, or unjust: repudiated the accusation. 3. To refuse to recognize or pay: repudiate a debt. 4. a. To disown (a child, for example). b. To refuse to have any dealings with. Adjective. repudiative. If you receive an erroneous notice from a collections agency, you have 30 days to repudiate the debt by mail. As part of becoming an American citizen, Mr. Lee repudiated his former citizenship.

Resourceful

Noun. resourcefulness. Adjective. Able to act effectively or imaginatively, especially in difficult situations. Adverb. resourcefully.

Sacrosanct

Noun. sacrosanctity. Adjective. Regarded as sacred and inviolable. Not to be trespassed on or violated; above any criticism. In our house family dinners were sacrosanct- if being on school play meant you would miss dinner, then you just couldn't be in the school play.

Scorn

Noun. scornfulness. Noun. scorner. Noun. 1. a. Contempt or disdain felt toward a person or object considered despicable or unworthy: viewed his rivals with scorn. b. The expression of such an attitude in behavior or speech; derision: heaped scorn upon his rivals. c. The state of being despised or dishonored: held in scorn by his rivals. 2. Archaic One spoken of or treated with contempt. Transitive Verb. scorned, scorning, scorns. 1. To consider or treat as contemptible or unworthy: an artist who was scorned by conservative critics. 2. To reject or refuse with derision: scorned their offer of help. See Synonyms at despise. 3. To consider or reject (doing something) as beneath one's dignity: "She disapproved so heartily of Flora's plan that she would have scorned to assist in the concoction of a single oily sentence" (Stella Gibbons). Adjective. scornful. Adverb. scornfully.

Scrupulous

Noun. scrupulosity, scrupulousness. Adverb. scrupulously. Adjective. 1. Conscientious and exact; painstaking. See Synonyms at meticulous. 2. Having scruples; principled.

Spurious

Noun. spuriousness. Adjective. 1. Lacking authenticity or validity in essence or origin; Fake, Counterfeit. not genuine: spurious poems attributed to Shakespeare. 2. Not trustworthy; dubious or fallacious: spurious reasoning; a spurious justification. 3. Archaic Born to unwed parents. Adverb. spuriously.

Stern

Noun. sternness. Noun. 1. Nautical The rear part of a ship or boat. 2. A rear part or section. Adjective. sterner, sternest. 1. Hard, harsh, or severe in manner or character: a stern disciplinarian. See Synonyms at severe. 2. Showing or expressing displeasure or disapproval; forbidding or harsh: a stern face; a stern voice. 3. Firm or unyielding; uncompromising: stern resistance. 4. Difficult to endure; oppressive: stern necessity. Adverb. sternly.

Supplicate

Noun. supplication. Adjective. supplicatory. Verb. Pray Humbly; ask, beg, or seek in a humble way. Verb. supplicated, supplicating, supplicates. Transitive Verb. 1. To ask for humbly or earnestly, as by praying. 2. To make a humble entreaty to; beseech. Intransitive Verb. To make a humble, earnest petition; beg. She has been estranged from her wealthy father for years, but when she needed money for her daughter's medical care, she supplicated the old man for assistance. Supplicated is related to supple (pliant, flexible). To supplicate is to attempt to "soften" another person or get that person to "bend" to your request.

thwart

Noun. thwarter. Noun. A seat across a boat on which a rower may sit. Adverb. Thwartly. Transitive Verb. thwarted, thwarting, thwarts. 1. To prevent the occurrence, realization, or attainment of: They thwarted her plans. 2. To oppose and defeat the efforts, plans, or ambitions of (someone). Adjective. 1. Extending, lying, or passing across; transverse. 2. Eager to oppose, especially wrongly; perverse. Adverb. & Preposition. Archaic Athwart; across.

Timely

Noun. timeliness. Adjective. timelier, timeliest. Occurring at a suitable or opportune time; well-timed. Adverb. In time; opportunely. Well-timed, happening at a suitable time. Your arrival is quite timely- we were just mulling over a question we're sure you can answer! His timely departure prevented him from having to do any work. Although timely end with "ly" but its not adverb. You therefore cannot "do something timely"- you must instead "do it in a timely manner".

Timid

Noun. timidity, timidness Adverb. timidly Adjective. timider, timidest 1. Lacking self-confidence; shy. 2. Fearful and hesitant: problems that call for bold, not timid, responses.

Timorous

Noun. timorousness. Adverb. timorously. Adjective. Full of apprehensiveness; timid, fearful person. An expression describing a timorous person is "quaking in his boots" that is, a sacred person would shake or shiver from fear.

Tractable

Noun. tractability, tractableness. Adverb. tractably. Adjective. 1. Easily managed or controlled; governable. 2. Easily handled or worked; malleable.

Traduce

Noun. traducement. traducer. Adverb. traducingly. Transitive Verb. traduced, traducing, traduces. 1. To make false or malicious statements about (someone) in order to cause humiliation or disgrace. See Synonyms at malign. 2. To fail to uphold; disregard or violate: "The appearance of things is ... that we have traduced our policy and violated our principles" (Patrick J. Buchanan).

Transverse

Noun. transverseness. Adverb. transversely. Adjective. Situated or lying across; crosswise. Noun. Something, such as a part or beam, that is transverse.

trite

Noun. triteness. Adjective. triter, tritest Not evoking interest because of overuse or repetition; hackneyed. Adverb. tritely.

Ungainly

Noun. ungainliness. Adjective. ungainlier, ungainliest. 1. Lacking grace or ease of movement or form; clumsy. Awkward 2. Difficult to move or use; unwieldy.

Vacillate

Noun. vacillation. vacillator. Intransitive Verb. vacillated, vacillating, vacillates. 1. To be unable to choose between different courses of action or opinions; waver: Waver in decision or opinion, be indecisive. She vacillated about whether to leave. 2. To change between one state and another; fluctuate: The weather vacillated between sunny and rainy. 3. Archaic To sway from one side to the other. Adverb. vacillatingly.

Vapid

Noun. vapidity, vapidness. Adverb. vapidly. Adjective. 1. Lacking liveliness, animation, or interest; dull: vapid conversation. 2. Lacking taste, zest, or flavor; flat: vapid beer.

Vex

Noun. vexer. Adverb. vexingly. vexedly. Transitive Verb. vexed, vexing, vexes. 1. To irritate, bother, or frustrate: was vexed at the slow pace of reform. See Synonyms at annoy. 2. To cause perplexity in; baffle: "the mathematical, biological, and meteorological problems that vexed and intrigued him all the days of his life" (Robin Marantz Henig). 3. To cause difficulty or trouble to: "He was determined to lay to rest the problem that had most vexed his presidency" (James Carroll). 4. To cause pain or physical distress to; afflict: "O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed" (King James Bible).

Virtual

Noun. virtuality. Adjective. 1. Existing or resulting in essence or effect though not in actual fact, form, or name: the virtual extinction of the buffalo. existing in results or in essence but not officially or in name. 2. Existing in the mind, especially as a product of the imagination. Used in literary criticism of a text. 3. Computers a. Existing as or by means of digital media: a virtual classroom. Existing only in the mind or by means of a computer network; b. Relating to or existing in virtual reality: a virtual encounter in a chatroom. c. Emulating the function of another system or device. The Tamagotchi is a handheld virtual pet made in Japan-you have to "care" for it by performing various actions with the device, but in the end, your "pet" still looks very much like a keychain. Nominal can mean "in name only" but not in fact. In this way, It is something of an opposite to virtual, which can mean not in name, but existing in reality (The abused maid was nominally a free person, but kept as a virtual slave). De-facto means "in fact, actually" (but not in name, as in some allege that Edith Wilson was the de facto- or virtual-President after her husband Woodrow was incapacitated by a stroke)

Whine

Noun. whiner. Noun. 1. The act of whining: the dog's whine for food. 2. A whining sound: the whine of the dentist's drill. 3. A complaint uttered in a sustained, high-pitched tone: decided to ignore the children's whines. Adverb. whiningly. Adjective. whiny, whiney. Verb. whined, whining, whines. Transitive Verb. To utter with a whine. Intransitive Verb. 1. To produce a sustained, high-pitched, plaintive sound, as in pain, fear, or complaint. 2. To complain or protest in a childish or annoying fashion: fans who are always whining about the poor officiating. 3. To produce a sustained noise of high pitch: jet engines whining.

Wily

Noun. wiliness. Adjective. wilier, wiliest. Full of wiles; cunning. wilily.

Xenophobia

Noun. xenophobia. Adjective. xenophobic. Fear of foreigners. A person who is fearful or contemptuous of that which is foreign, especially of strangers or of people from different countries or cultures.

Coop

Noun.. 1. A small enclosure or cage, as for poultry or small animals. 2. A cramped or uncomfortably confined space. 3. Slang A jail or prison. tr.v. cooped, coop·ing, coops 1. To confine or keep (poultry, for example) in a coop. 2. To confine in a small or cramped space. Often used with up: was cooped up in the cabin during the storm. Idiom: fly/blow the coop To make a getaway; escape.

Bigot

Obstinately prejudiced person. Noun. One who is strongly partial to one's own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.

Anodyne

Pain relieving medicine or anything that relieves pain. Noun. 1. A medicine, such as aspirin, that relieves pain. 2. A source of soothing comfort. Adjective. 1. Capable of soothing or eliminating pain. 2. Relaxing: anodyne novels about country life.

goosebumps

Plural Noun. Momentary roughness of the skin caused by erection of the papillae in response to cold or to a strong emotion, such as fear or awe. Also called goose flesh, goose pimples.

Incongruity

Plural Noun. incongruities. 1. Lack of congruence. 2. The state or quality of being incongruous. 3. Something incongruous.

Oligarchy

Plural Noun. Oligarchies. 1. a. Government by a few, especially by a small faction of persons or families. b. Those making up such a government. 2. A state governed by a few persons. ol′i·garchic, ol′i·garchi·cal adj.

Anomaly

Plural Noun. anomalies 1. Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule. Deviation from what is common; inconsistency 2. One that is peculiar, irregular, abnormal, or difficult to classify: "Both men are anomalies: they have ... likable personalities but each has made his reputation as a heavy" (David Pauly). 3. Astronomy The angular deviation, as observed from the sun, of a planet from its perihelion. Adjective. anomalistic. Adverb. anomalistically. While the cosmetics division of this company has many female executives, it is an anomaly- in the rest of this company, sadly only 4% of Management positions are filled by women. The word "Anomaly" sometimes pops up in discussions of the supernatural. The show X-Files was about the investigation of anomalies.

Apex

Plural Noun. apexes or apices. 1. The highest point; the vertex: the apex of a triangle; the apex of a hill. 2. The highest level or degree that is attained. See Synonyms at summit. 3. The usually pointed end of an object; the tip: the apex of a leaf.

Discrepancy

Plural Noun. discrepancies. 1. Divergence or disagreement, as between facts or claims; difference. Difference or inconsistency. 2. An instance of divergence or disagreement. See Synonyms at difference. When there is a discrepancy between a store's receipts and the amount of money in the register, the cashier's behavior is generally called into question. Unlike a mere incongruity, which could be as innocent as one guy with a mohawk at an otherwise straight-laced gathering, a discrepancy usually indicates that someone has done something wrong. A discrepancy in your medical records means someone has made a mistake; a discrepancy in your story means you're lying.

Impunity

Plural Noun. impunities. Exemption from punishment, penalty, or harm.

Larceny

Plural Noun. larcenies. The unlawful taking and removing of another's personal property with the intent of permanently depriving the owner; theft.

Lethargy

Plural Noun. lethargies. 1. a. A lack of energy or vigor; sluggishness. b. A lack of interest or enthusiasm; apathy: held a pep rally to shake the students out of their lethargy. 2. Medicine An abnormal state of drowsiness, as caused by disease or drugs.

Peccadillo

Plural Noun. peccadilloes or peccadillos. A small sin or fault. I am going to propose to Melinda tomorrow-sure, she has her peccadillos, like anyone, but she's the perfect woman for me. "Pecado" is spanish for "Sin" Adding "-illo" to a spanish word indicate small.

Perfidy

Plural Noun. perfidies. 1. Deliberate breach of faith; calculated violation of trust; treachery: "the fink, whose perfidy was equaled only by his gall" (Gilbert Millstein). 2. The act or an instance of treachery.

Plutocracy

Plural Noun. plutocracies. 1. Government by the wealthy. 2. A wealthy class that controls a government. 3. A government or state in which the wealthy rule. 4. Rule by the wealthy. Noun. plutocrat. Adjective. plutocratic, plutocratical. Adverb. plutocratically. There have always been rich and poor people, of course, but some argue that the U.S. is becoming a plutocracy, with the richest 10% controlling two-thirds of the nation's wealth and nearly half of our Congressional representatives being millionaires. Plutocracy might also be Oligarchy. In greek Mythology "Pluto" (also known as Hades) was the God of Underworld and "Plutus" was God of Wealth. Things got a bit confused over the years, as people used "Plutus" to mean "Pluto" as a way to make things sound a little more positive.

Antipathy

Plural Noun. antipathies 1. Extreme dislike; aversion or repugnance. See Synonyms at enmity. 2. A feeling of aversion: longstanding antipathies between two nations. 3. Inherent incompatibility or inability to mix: The antipathy between faith and reason; The antipathy of hydrocarbons and water.

Fidelity

Plural Noun. fidelities 1. a. Faithfulness to obligations, loyalty, duties, or observances. b. The condition or behavior of engaging in sex only with one's spouse or only with one's partner in a sexual relationship. Wedding vows include the a promise of fidelity such as "forsaking al others as long as i may live" 2. Exact correspondence with fact or with a given quality, condition, or event; accuracy: the fidelity of the movie to the book. 3. The degree to which an electronic system accurately reproduces the sound or image of its input signal.

ingenuity

Plural Noun. ingenuities 1. Inventive skill or imagination; cleverness. 2. An ingenious or imaginative contrivance. 3. Obsolete Ingenuousness.

Partiality

Plural Noun. partialities 1. Prejudice or bias in favor of something. 2. A special fondness; a predilection: had a partiality for cats. See Synonyms at predilection.

Vanity

Plural Noun. vanities 1. a. Excessive pride in one's appearance or accomplishments; conceit. See Synonyms at conceit. b. Something about which one is vain or conceited: "One thing ... rather quenched her vanities: she had to wear her cousin's clothes" 2. a. Worthlessness, pointlessness, or futility: the vanity of regretting missed opportunities. b. Something that is vain, futile, or worthless. 3. a. See vanity case. b. See dressing table. c. A bathroom cabinet that encloses a basin and its water lines and drain, usually furnished with shelves and drawers underneath for storage of toiletries.

Whimsy also Whimsey

Plural Noun. whimsies also whimseys 1. An unusual, unexpected, or fanciful idea; a whim. 2. Quaint, fanciful, or playful humor: stories full of whimsy.

Hoof

Plural Noun: hooves or hoofs 1. a. The horny sheath covering the toes or lower part of the foot of a mammal of the orders Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla, such as a horse, ox, or deer. b. The foot of such an animal, especially a horse. 2. Slang The human foot. Verb. hoofed, hoof·ing, hoofs Transitive verb. To trample with the hooves. . Intransitive verb. Slang 1. To dance, especially as a professional. 2. To go on foot; walk. Idioms: hoof it Slang 1. To walk. 2. To dance. on the hoof Not yet butchered; alive. Used especially of cattle.

Latent

Potential; existing but not visible or active Certain experts believe that some people have a genetic propensity for addiction; however, if such a person never comes into contact with drugs, the propensity for addiction can remain

Secrete

Produce and release a substance from a cell or gland of the body for a functional purpose Transitive Verb. secreted, secreting, secretes. To generate and release (a substance) from a cell or a gland: secrete hormones. 1. To conceal in a hiding place; cache: "He secreted valuables away in cupboards and beneath the mattress" (Michael Crummey). See Synonyms at hide. 2. To steal secretly; filch. When threatened, skunks secrete an odor that humans consider horrible. The late night infomercial offered a pheromone perfume that promised to mimic the "attraction" hormones that humans secrete naturally. Emit means send, give forth, or issue- it could be used in either sentence above or in any of a wide variety of situations (a person emits a scream, a tower emits radio waves, etc). Secrete is related to "secret," from a root meaning "to set apart." To secrete a substance, of course, is to "set it apart" or release it from the body.

Enigma

Puzzle, mystery, riddle, mysterious or contradictory person. Plural Noun. enigmas also enigmata. 1. One that is puzzling, ambiguous, or inexplicable. 2. A perplexing speech or text; a riddle.

Enhance

Raise to a higher value, desirability, etc. Noun. enhancement. enhancer. Adjective. enhancive. Transitive Verb. enhanced, enhancing, enhances. To improve or augment, especially in effectiveness, value, or attractiveness: exercises that enhance cardiovascular health; spices that enhance the flavor of a sauce; renovations that enhance the neighborhood. The cosmetics industry stays in business because so many people want to enhance their appearances.

Abate

Reduce, Diminish verb. abated, abating, abates Transitive verb. 1. To reduce in amount, degree, or intensity; lessen: a program to abate air pollution. 2. Law a. To put an end to: The court ordered that the nuisance of the wrecked vehicle in the front yard be abated. b. To make void: The judge abated the lawsuit. c. To reduce for some period of time: The town abated the taxes on buildings of historical importance for three years. Tax abatement is used in the same way as tax "relief"- that is, a partial discount. Subside is another word for lessening Intransitive verb. 1. To fall off in degree or intensity; subside: waiting for the rain to abate. See Synonyms at decrease. 2. Law a. To become void. b. To become reduced for a period of time. He stress over spending so much money on a house abated when the real estate broker told her about the property's 15 year tax abatement. Abate comes from the French word for "Beat, cast down" that also gives us batter (beat severely) and abattoir (slaughterhouse)

Abrasive

Rough, suitable for grinding or polishing (such as sandpaper); causing irritation or annoyance. Noun. abrasiveness. Noun. A substance that abrades. Adverb. abrasively. Adjective. 1. Causing abrasion: scratched the stovetop with an abrasive cleanser. 2. Harsh and rough in manner: an unpleasant, abrasive personality. Could the inside of the mascot costume be any more abrasive? It's rubbing my skin raw! I have some seriously abrasive remarks for whoever designed this thing. Like caustic and Excoriate, Abrasive could also be used metaphorically. You scrub a dirty pan with something abrasive, such as steel wool. Harsh criticism is abrasive, like being scrubbed with steel wool.

Sanctuary

Sacred place, refuge. Plural Noun. sanctuaries. 1. a. A sacred place, such as a church, temple, or mosque. b. The holiest part of a sacred place, as the part of a Christian church around the altar. 2. a. A sacred place, such as a church, in which fugitives formerly were immune to arrest. b. Immunity to arrest afforded by a sanctuary: sought sanctuary in the church. c. The condition of being protected or comforted: "Women such as herself tended to ... seek sanctuary in religion" (Paul Scott). See Synonyms at shelter. 3. a. A place of refuge or asylum. b. A reserved area in which birds and other animals, especially wild animals, are protected from hunting or disturbance.

Erudite

Scholarly, Knowledgeable; possessing deep, often systematic, knowledge. Some have said that Americans dislike erudite leaders, while German leaders frequently have Ph.D's; even speaking a foreign language is considered pretentious by many American voters. Learned is a synonym. Adjective. Having or showing great knowledge or learning. See Synonyms at learned. Adverb. eruditely.

Relegate

Send or commit to an inferior place, rank, conditions, etc; exile,banish; assign (a task) to someone. Transitive Verb. relegated, relegating, relegates. 1. To consign to an inferior or obscure place, rank, category, or condition: an artist's work that is now relegated to storerooms; a group that has been relegated to the status of second-class citizens. After the legal associate offended one of the partners, he was relegated to working on minor-even unwinable- cases. This protest is occurring because we refused to be relegated to the fringes of the society-we demand full inclusion! 2. To refer or assign (a matter or task, for example) for decision or action: relegate the teaching of writing to graduate students; relegate the matter to a committee. Shares a root ("send") with legate a deputy or emissary.

Deterrent

Some argue that the death penalty is deterrent to crime-that is , the point is not just to punish the guilty, but to frighten other prospective criminals. Noun. 1. Something that deters: a deterrent to theft. 2. A retaliatory means of discouraging enemy attack: a nuclear deterrent. As military policy, deterrence is building military strength or ability to retaliate (especially stockpiling the nuclear weapons, as in Cold War) sufficient to deter enemies from attacking. Adjective. Tending to deter: deterrent weapons.

Declaim

Speak in an impassioned, pompous, or oratorical manner; give a formal speech) Noun. declaimer. Verb. declaimed, declaiming, declaims. Intransitive Verb. 1. To deliver a formal recitation, especially as an exercise in rhetoric or elocution. 2. To speak loudly and vehemently; inveigh. Transitive Verb. To utter or recite with rhetorical effect.

Conspicuous

Standing out

Abort

Stop part way through, remain in an undeveloped state Noun. The act of aborting an undertaking or procedure. verb. aborted, aborting, aborts. Transitive Verb. 1. a. To terminate (a pregnancy) by abortion. b. To cause the expulsion of (an embryo or fetus) by abortion. c. To undergo the abortion of (an embryo or fetus). d. To miscarry (an embryo or fetus). 2. To terminate (an undertaking or procedure) before implementation or completion: abort the launch of a rocket; abort a computer program. 3. To stop the progress of (a disease, for example). Intransitive Verb. 1. To miscarry. 2. To cease growth before full development or maturation. 3. To terminate an undertaking or procedure before implementation or completion.

Obstinate

Stubborn or hard to control. It's difficult to get an obstinate child to eat food he doesn't want to eat. When Toby realized that his son would rather sit and starve than eat mahi-mahi, he gave in and made him a peanut and jelly sandwich. Obstinate people certainly do stand their ground.

Obdurate

Stubborn, hardhearted, Hardened in wrongdoing. Adjective. 1. Not changing in response to argument or other influence; obstinate or intractable: "Everyone in the region has been obdurate in water negotiations with everyone else" (Marq de Villiers). 2. a. Hardened in wrongdoing or wickedness; stubbornly impenitent: "obdurate conscience of the old sinner" (Sir Walter Scott). b. Hardened against feeling; hardhearted: an obdurate miser. Adverb. obdurately. Noun. obduracy, obdurateness.

Precis

Summary of the essentials of a text. Plural Noun. précis. A concise summary of a book, article, or other text; an abstract. Transitive Verb. précised, précising, précises. To make a précis of.

Appropriate, Arrogate, Commandeer, Confiscate

Synonyms: Appropriate, Arrogate, Commandeer, Confiscate These verbs mean to seize for oneself or as one's right: appropriated the family car; arrogated the chair at the head of the table; commandeered a plane for the escape; confiscating stolen property. See Also Synonyms at allocate.

malign, defame, traduce, vilify, slander, calumniate, libel

Synonyms: malign, defame, traduce, vilify, slander, calumniate, libel These verbs mean to make evil, harmful, often untrue statements about another. Malign stresses malicious intent: "Have I not taken your part when you were maligned?". Defame suggests damage to reputation through misrepresentation: The plaintiff had been defamed and had legitimate grounds for a lawsuit. Traduce connotes the humiliation or disgrace resulting from such damage: "My character was traduced by Captain Hawkins ... even the ship's company cried out shame". Vilify pertains to open, deliberate, vicious defamation: "As long as there have been personal fouls and holding penalties, sports fans have vilified referees for making bad calls". Slander and calumniate apply to oral expression: He slandered his political opponent. She calumniated and ridiculed her former employer. Libel involves the communication of written or pictorial material: The celebrity sued the tabloid that libeled her.

shrewd, sagacious, astute, perspicacious

Synonyms: shrewd, sagacious, astute, perspicacious These adjectives mean having or showing keen awareness, sound judgment, and often resourcefulness, especially in practical matters. Shrewd suggests a sharp intelligence, hardheadedness, and often an intuitive grasp of practical considerations: "He was too shrewd to go along with them upon a road which could lead only to their overthrow" Sagacious connotes prudence, discernment, and farsightedness: "He was observant and thoughtful, and given to asking sagacious questions" Astute suggests shrewdness, especially with regard to one's own interests: An astute tenant always reads the small print in a lease. Perspicacious implies penetration and clear-sightedness: She is much too perspicacious to be taken in by such a spurious argument.

Ethos

The character, the personality or moral values specific to a person, group, time, period, etc. Noun. The disposition, character, or fundamental values peculiar to a specific person, people, culture, or movement: "They cultivated a subversive alternative ethos" (Anthony Burgess).

Resolution

The quality of being firmly determined; resolving to do something; a formal judgement, esp. decided by a vote Noun. 1. The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination: faced the situation with resolution. 2. a. A firm decision to do something: made a resolution to get more exercise. b. A course of action determined or decided on: His resolution is to get up early. 3. a. The act of solving or explaining a problem or puzzle. b. The resolving or concluding of a dispute or disagreement. c. The part of a literary work in which the complications of the plot are resolved or simplified. 4. A formal statement of a decision or expression of opinion put before or adopted by an assembly such as the US Congress. 5. Physics & Chemistry The act or process of separating or reducing something into its constituent parts: the prismatic resolution of sunlight into its spectral colors. 6. The clarity or fineness of detail that can be distinguished in an image, often measured as the number or the density of the discrete units, such as pixels or dots, that compose it. 7. Medicine The subsiding or termination of an abnormal condition, such as a fever or inflammation. 8. Music a. The progression of a dissonant tone or chord to a consonant tone or chord. b. The tone or chord to which such a progression is made. 9. The substitution of one metrical unit for another, especially the substitution of two short syllables for one long syllable in quantitative verse.

Commensurate

The same in size, extent, etc, equivalent; proportional Noun. commensuration. Adverb. commensurately. Adjective. 1. Of the same size, extent, or duration as another. 2. Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate: a salary commensurate with my performance. 3. Measurable by a common standard; commensurable. According to the course catalog, you may take advanced Japanese following Japanese III or commensurate experience with the language.

malleable, ductile, plastic, pliable, pliant

These adjectives mean capable of being shaped, bent, or drawn out: malleable metals such as gold and silver; ductile copper; a plastic substance such as wax; soaked the leather to make it pliable; pliant molten glass.

arrogant, haughty, disdainful, supercilious

These adjectives mean characterized by an inflated ego and disdain for what one considers inferior. One who is arrogant is overbearingly proud and demands excessive power or consideration: an arrogant and pompous professor, unpopular with students and colleagues alike. Haughty suggests superiority, as by reason of high status: "Her laugh was satirical, and so was the habitual expression of her arched and haughty lip" (Charlotte Brontë). Disdainful emphasizes scorn or contempt: "Nor [let] grandeur hear with a disdainful smile, / The short and simple annals of the poor" (Thomas Gray). Supercilious implies haughty disdain and aloofness: "Failure would confirm the critics who called him supercilious for following his own methods and not theirs" (Neal Bascomb).

Predilection, Leaning, Partiality, Penchant

These nouns denote a predisposition to favor someone or something particular: a predilection for classical composers; conservative leanings; a partiality for liberal-minded friends; a penchant for exotic foods.

advice, counsel, recommendation

These nouns denote an opinion as to a decision or course of action: sound advice for the unemployed; accepted my attorney's counsel; will follow your recommendation.

Conceit, Egoism, Egotism, Narcissism, Vanity

These nouns denote excessively high regard for oneself: boasting that reveals conceit; the blatant egoism of his self-flattering memoir; arrogance and egotism that were obvious from her actions; narcissism that shut out everyone else; wounded his vanity by looking in the mirror.

wile, artifice, trick, ruse, feint, stratagem, maneuver, dodge

These nouns denote means for achieving an end by indirection or deviousness. Wile suggests deceiving and entrapping a victim by playing on his or her weak points: "Eve yielded to the wiles of the arch tempter" (James Joyce). Artifice refers to something especially contrived to create a desired effect: "Should the public forgive artifices used to avoid military service?" (Godfrey Sperling). Trick implies willful deception: "The ... boys ... had all sorts of tricks to prevent us from winning" (W.H. Hudson). Ruse stresses the creation of a false impression: "It is perfidy to use a flag of truce as a ruse to acquire military information or to play for time to retreat" (Thaddeus Holt). Feint denotes a deceptive act calculated to distract attention from one's real purpose: "Rob ... sat staring at him, and affecting to snivel with sympathy, and making a feint of being virtuous, and treasuring up every word he said (like a young spy as he was) with very promising deceit" (Charles Dickens). Stratagem implies carefully planned deception used to achieve an objective: "He was ... daring in the administrative stratagems he employed to bring himself to the attention of his superiors" (Joseph Heller). Maneuver and dodge stress shifty and ingenious deception: "[He] was being accused of shady banking maneuvers and abusing his influence for his own financial gain" (Porter Shreve). "At my age one has had a considerable experience of the ins and outs, the dodges that accompany self-interest" (Saul Bellow).

affectation, pose, air, mannerism

These nouns refer to personal behavior assumed for effect. An affectation is an artificial manner or behavior adopted to impress others or call attention to oneself: "Post-Renaissance scholars often adopted the affectation of recasting their names in classical form" (Steven Jay Gould). A pose is a false manner or attitude usually intended to win favor or cover up a shortcoming: His humility is only a pose. Air, meaning a distinctive but intangible quality, does not always imply sham: The director had an air of authority. In the plural, however, it suggests affectation and self-importance: The movie star was putting on airs. Mannerism denotes an idiosyncratic trait or quirk that others may find attractive but is often perceived as needlessly distracting: "I can picture ... her shaking her hands in that odd mannerism, like someone wanting to strangle a chicken" (Jill Dawson).

teem, abound, overflow, swarm

These verbs mean to be abundantly filled or richly supplied: The street teemed with pedestrians. The garden abounds with flowers. The house overflowed with guests. The parade route swarmed with spectators.

perplex, mystify, bewilder, confound, puzzle

These verbs mean to cause bafflement or confusion. Perplex stresses uncertainty or anxiety, as over reaching an understanding or finding a solution: "No subject at the Philadelphia convention had perplexed the delegates more than the mode of choosing the president" (Susan Dunn). Mystify implies something inexplicable by conventional understanding: "Galileo was mystified by the disappearance of the two smaller bodies accompanying Saturn along its orbit" (Eric Burgess). Bewilder emphasizes extreme mental confusion: " We human beings are ... bewildered when trying to imagine a world with more than three dimensions" (Paul Davies). To confound is to confuse and astonish: God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise (I Corinthians 1:27). Puzzle suggests difficulty in solving or interpreting something: "The poor creature puzzled me once ... by a question merely natural and innocent" (Daniel Defoe).

frown, glower, lower, scowl

These verbs mean to contract the brows in displeasure: frowns when he is annoyed; glowered when she was interrupted; lowered at the noisy child; scowled at my suggestion.

admonish, reprove, rebuke, reprimand, reproach

These verbs mean to correct or caution critically. Admonish implies the giving of advice or a warning in order to rectify or avoid something: "A gallows erected on an eminence admonished the offenders of the fate that awaited them" (William Hickling Prescott). Reprove usually suggests a measured disapproval ranging from mild to emphatic: With a stern look, the teacher reproved the child for whispering in class. Rebuke and reprimand both refer to sharp, often angry criticism from a higher authority: "Some of the most heated criticism ... has come from the Justice Department, which rarely rebukes other agencies in public" (Howard Kurtz). "A [university] committee ... asked its president to reprimand a scientist who tested gene-altered bacteria on trees" (New York Times). Reproach refers to criticism, sometimes from oneself, arising from a sense of personal disappointment or moral disapproval: "He bitterly regretted his foolishness, and reproached himself for weakness of will" (J.R.R. Tolkien). "She never reproached him for his bullying manners at parties" (Louis Auchincloss).

pacify, mollify, conciliate, appease, placate

These verbs refer to allaying another's anger, discontent, or agitation. To pacify is to ease the concerns of or restore calm to: "The explanation ... was merely an invention framed to pacify his guests" (Charlotte Brontë). Mollify stresses the soothing of hostile feelings: The therapist mollified the angry teenager by speaking gently. Conciliate implies winning over, often by reasoning and with mutual concessions: "He recognized the need to conciliate his political opponents" (Robert W. Johannsen). Appease and placate suggest satisfying claims or demands or tempering antagonism, often by granting concessions: I appeased my friend's anger with a compliment. A sincere apology placated the indignant customer.

Desiccate

Thoroughly dried up, dehydrated. Noun. desiccation. desiccator. Verb. desiccated, desiccating, desiccates. Transitive Verb. 1. To dry out thoroughly. 2. To preserve (foods) by removing the moisture. See Synonyms at dry. 3. To make dry, dull, or lifeless: "Stalinism desiccated the grassroots of urban government" (Timothy J. Colton). Intransitive Verb. To become dry; dry out. Adjective. Lacking spirit or animation; arid: "There was only the sun-bruised and desiccate feeling in his mind" (J.R. Salamanca). Adjective. desiccative. The key to maintaining odor-free shoes is to desicate the insole by placing a drying agent, such as a small pouch of baking soda, inside the shoes between wears. Beef jerky is a desiccated meat product. Arid means ver dry like a desert. Also from the Latin "siccare" (dry), a siccative is a drying agent. The same root appears in the spanish word for dry "seco" and in the name of the Italian dry sparkling wine prosecco

Calumniate

Transitive Verb. calumniated, calumniating, calumniates. To make maliciously or knowingly false statements about. See Synonyms at malign.

Circumscribe

Transitive Verb. circumscribed, circumscribing, circumscribes. 1. To draw a line around; encircle. encircle or confine, set limits. 2. a. To form or mark the limits of; delineate: The hedge circumscribes the property. b. To limit narrowly; restrict: Their plans were circumscribed by a lack of money. See Synonyms at limit. 3. a. To enclose (a polygon or polyhedron) within a configuration of lines, curves, or surfaces so that every vertex of the enclosed object is incident on the enclosing configuration. b. To erect (such a configuration) around a polygon or polyhedron: circumscribe a circle around a square. Adjective. circumscribable.

Commandeer

Transitive Verb. commandeered, commandeering, commandeers. 1. To seize for military or police use; confiscate. 2. To take arbitrarily or by force: "He was at Columbia when students commandeered buildings and the police sprayed the protesters with tear gas" (Gary Rivlin). See Synonyms at appropriate. 3. To force into military service.

Confiscate

Transitive Verb. confiscated, confiscating, confiscates. 1. To seize (private property) for the public treasury, especially as a penalty for wrongdoing. 2. To seize by authority: The teacher confiscated all the comic books we had in class. See Synonyms at appropriate. Adjective. 1. Seized by a government; appropriated. 2. Having lost property through confiscation. Noun. confiscation. confiscator.

Forerun

Transitive Verb. foreran, forerun, forerunning, foreruns 1. To run before. 2. To precede as an indication of what is to follow; foreshadow. 3. To prevent from arriving or occurring; forestall.

Perplex

Transitive Verb. perplexed, perplexing, perplexes. 1. To confuse or trouble with uncertainty or doubt. 2. To make confusedly intricate; complicate: poorly informed opinions that only perplex the subject. Perplexity. Plural Noun. Perplexities. 1. The state of being perplexed or puzzled. 2. The state of being intricate or complicated: "The perplexity of life in twentieth-century America" (Daniel J. Boorstin). 3. Something that perplexes: the perplexities of English pronunciation.

Astonish

Transitive Verb. astonished, astonishing, astonishes. To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. Adverb. astonishingly.

Disconcert

Transitive Verb. disconcerted, disconcerting, disconcerts. 1. To cause to lose composure; embarrass or confuse: He was disconcerted by the teacher's angry tone. See Synonyms at embarrass. 2. To frustrate (plans, for example) by throwing into disorder; disarrange.

Exasperate

Transitive Verb. exasperated, exasperating, exasperates. 1. To make very angry or impatient; annoy greatly. 2. To increase the gravity or intensity of: "a scene ... that exasperates his rose fever and makes him sneeze" (Samuel Beckett). Noun. Exasperation. 1. The act or an instance of exasperating. 2. The state of being exasperated; frustrated annoyance.

ascribe

Transitive Verb. ascribed, ascribing, ascribes. 1. To regard as arising from a specified cause or source: "Other people ascribe his exclusion from the canon to an unsubtle form of racism" (Daniel Pinchbeck). See Synonyms at attribute. 2. To regard as belonging to or produced by a specified agent, place, or time: ascribed the poem to Shakespeare. Adjective. ascribable.

Impel

Transitive Verb. impelled, impelling, impels 1. To urge to action through moral pressure; drive: I was impelled by events to take a stand. 2. To drive forward; propel.

Fortify

Transitive verb. To make strong, as: a. To strengthen and secure (a position) with fortifications. b. To reinforce by adding material. c. To impart physical strength or endurance to; invigorate. d. To give emotional, moral, or mental strength to; encourage: Prayer fortified us during our crisis. e. To strengthen or enrich (food, for example), as by adding vitamins. Intransitive verb. To build fortifications.

Allay

Transitive verb. allayed, allaying, allays 1. To calm or pacify (an emotion); set to rest: allayed the fears of the worried citizens. 2. To reduce the intensity of; lessen or relieve: allay the threat of social unrest; allay skin irritation. See Synonyms at relieve. Noun. allayer

Descry

Transitive verb. descried, descrying, descries 1. To catch sight of (something difficult to discern). 2. To discover by careful observation or scrutiny; detect: descried a message of hope in her words.

Invigorate

Transitive verb. invigorated, invigorating, invigorates To impart vigor, strength, or vitality to; animate: "A few whiffs of the raw, strong scent of phlox invigorated her"

Inundate

Transitive verb. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. To overwhelm as if with a flood; swamp: The theater was inundated with requests for tickets.

Nullify

Transitive verb. nullified, nullifying, nullifies. 1. To make null; invalidate. 2. To counteract the force or effectiveness of.

Pacifiy

Transitive verb. pacified, pacifying, pacifies 1. a. To ease the anger or agitation of (a person or the mind, for example). b. To calm or soothe (a feeling, such as anger). 2. a. To end war, fighting, or violence in (a region or country), especially by military force. b. To subdue or quell (an insurrection or conflict, for example). c. To cause (a group) to end a rebellion or other violent action.

Sated

Transitive verb. sated, sating, sates 1. To satisfy (an appetite) fully. 2. To provide (someone) with more than enough; glut.

Satiate

Transitive verb. satiated, satiating, satiates. 1. To satisfy (an appetite, for example) fully. 2. To provide (someone) with more than enough; glut. Adjective. Archaic Filled to satisfaction.

Saturate

Transitive verb. saturated, saturating, saturates. 1. To soak or fill so that no more liquid may be absorbed; Soak or imbue thoroughly: The cloth was saturated with water. 2. To supply with the maximum that can be held or contained; cause a substance to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance ;fill thoroughly: Pleasant smells saturated the bakery. The species had saturated its habitat. Happy memories saturated his mind. See Synonyms at imbue. 3. Chemistry To cause (a substance) to unite with the greatest possible amount of another substance. I simply cannot dissolve any more sugar into this iced tea-it's saturated! 4. Economics To supply (a market) with a good or service in an amount that consumers are able and willing to purchase. Adjective. Saturated. We got married on a rainy beach and my dress was saturated. Although the pictures were a bit dark, the photographer was able to increase the saturation in Photoshop, making our wedding photos ultimately look quiet vivid! Saturate comes from the root "Satus," (meaning "enough"), which also gives us satisfy, satiate, sated.

Artifice

Trickery, especially as part of a strategy. Noun. 1. a. Deception or trickery: The purchaser believed that the product was new only by artifice of the seller. b. Something contrived or made up to achieve an end, especially by deceiving; a stratagem or ruse: "From the beginning, 'compassionate conservatism' was an artifice designed to mask Bush's conservatism from an electorate that did not want a sharp rightward turn" (Jonathan Chait). See Synonyms at wile. 2. a. Cleverness or ingenuity in making or doing something; art or skill: "Literary artifice is the only means that a writer has at his disposal. How else can he convey his impression of life?" (Harry Levin). b. An artistic device or convention: artifices such as conceits and puns.

Veracity

Truthfulness, accuracy, habitual adherence to the truth I question the veracity of your story- I just don't think you've been to outer space. / She was known for her veracity only because she had no choice-she was a terrible liar. Don't confuse veracious (true) with voracious (Hungry, ravenous)

Tacit

Understood without being said; implied, not stated directly; silent. Her parents never told her she could smoke, but they gave their tacit consent when they didn't say anything about the obvious smell coming from her bedroom.

Inimical

Unfavorable, harmful, as in "Drinking unclean water is inimical to health"

Bootless

Unsuccessful

Tortuous and Torturous

Usage Note: Although tortuous and torturous both come from the Latin word torquēre, "to twist," their primary meanings are distinct. Tortuous means "twisting" (a tortuous road) or by extension "complex" or "devious." Torturous refers primarily to torture and the pain associated with it. However, torturous also can be used in the sense of "twisted, strained, belabored" and tortured is an even stronger synonym: a tortured analogy.

resolve

Verb. Find a solution to; firmly decide to do something; decide by for, Noun. firmness of purpose. She was resolved to find a marrow donor for her son and led a stunningly successful drive to get people to sign up for a national donor registration. Even when no match was found for her son in the first year, her resolve was undampened. To lose your resolve means to become unsure or to lose your nerve

Forefeit

Verb. Surrender or lose as a result of an error, crime, or failure to fulfill an obligation. The rules are clear, " said the umpire. "This is a co-ed league, and if your team doesn't have at least three women", you forfeit. Sorry , everybody, no game today!" If you are found guilty of defrauding this casino, the forfeiture of your winnings will be only the first of the consequences coming your way. Forfeit comes from the middle english "forfet" for "crime" (people often have to give up, or forfeit, rights or property as punishment for a crime. Noun. The property or right etc that was forfeited.

Conciliate

Verb. conciliated, conciliating, conciliates Transitive verb. 1. To overcome the distrust or animosity of; appease. See Synonyms at pacify. 2. To regain or try to regain (friendship or goodwill) by pleasant behavior. 3. To make or attempt to make compatible; reconcile: tried to conciliate the conflicting theories. Intransitive verb. To gain or try to gain someone's friendship or goodwill.

Distill

Verb. distilled, distilling, distills also distilled or distilling or distils. Transitive Verb. 1. To subject (a substance) to distillation. 2. To separate (a distillate) by distillation. 3. To increase the concentration of, separate, or purify by or as if by distillation. 4. To separate or extract the essential elements of: distill the crucial points of the book. 5. To exude or give off (matter) in drops or small quantities. Intransitive Verb. 1. To undergo or be produced by distillation. 2. To fall or exude in drops or small quantities. While traveling in certain countries, it is important to only drink distilled water so you don't get sick. Bob, its not necessary to read your entire powerpoint presentation to us-can you just distill it down to the main point? Gist and Pith can both be used to mean "essence, main idea," as in, "This summary really distills the idea down to its pith, allowing me to get the gist without reading the whole book." Water is distilled through a process of vaporization and then condensation (when water evaporates, impurities are left behind).

Forswear or foreswear

Verb. forswore, forsworn, forswearing, forswears. Transitive Verb. 1. a. To decide or declare that one will not or will no longer engage in (an activity or habit, for example): a political group that has forsworn violence. b. To decide or declare that one will not or will no longer use or be associated with (something): "He had cast in his lot with the lions and forsworn the lambs" (Robert Louis Stevenson). c. To disavow under oath: Reject or renounce under oath; swear falsely in court. "He was forced to take an oath forswearing heretical views" (Garry Wills). 2. To make (oneself) guilty of perjury. Intransitive Verb. To swear falsely; commit perjury Idiom: be forsworn To commit perjury.

Frown

Verb. frowned, frowning, frowns. Intransitive Verb. 1. To wrinkle the brow, as in thought or displeasure. 2. To regard something with disapproval or distaste: frowned on the use of so much salt in the food. Transitive Verb. To express (disapproval, for example) by wrinkling the brow. Noun. A wrinkling of the brow in thought or displeasure; a scowl. Noun. frowner. Adverb. frowningly.

Temper

Verb. tempered, tempering, tempers. Transitive Verb. 1. To modify by the addition of a moderating element; moderate: "temper its doctrinaire logic with a little practical wisdom" (Robert H. Jackson). See Synonyms at moderate. 2. To bring to a desired consistency, texture, hardness, or other physical condition by blending, admixing, or kneading: temper clay; paints that had been tempered with oil. 3. To harden or strengthen (metal or glass) by application of heat or by heating and cooling. 4. To strengthen through experience or hardship; toughen: soldiers who had been tempered by combat. 5. Music To adjust (the pitch of an instrument) to a temperament. Intransitive Verb. To be or become tempered. Noun. 1. A state of mind or emotion; disposition: an even temper. 2. Calmness of mind or emotions; composure: lose one's temper. 3. a. A tendency to become easily angry or irritable: a quick temper. b. Anger; rage: a fit of temper. 4. A characteristic general quality; tone: heroes who exemplified the medieval temper; the politicized temper of the 1930s. 5. a. The condition of being tempered. b. The degree of hardness and elasticity of a metal, chiefly steel, achieved by tempering. 6. A modifying substance or agent added to something else. 7. Archaic A middle course between extremes; a mean. Noun. temperability. Adjective. temperable. Noun. temperer.

Guzzle

Verb. Guzzled, Guzzling, Guzzles Transitive Verb. 1. To drink greedily or habitually: guzzle beer. 2. To consume to excess: a car that guzzles gas. Intransitive Verb. To drink, especially alcoholic beverages, greedily or habitually.

Vituperate

Verb. Vituperated, Vituperating, Vituperates Transitive Verb. To rebuke or criticize harshly or angrily; berate. See Synonyms at scold. Intransitive Verb. To use harshly critical or irate language; rail. Noun. vituperator.

Advise

Verb. advised, advising, advises. v.tr. 1. To offer advice to; counsel: advised him to study abroad; advised that we should reconsider the idea. 2. To recommend; suggest: advised patience. 3. To inform; notify: advised us that the meeting had been postponed. v.intr. 1. To offer advice: How would you advise? 2. To take counsel; consult: She advised with her associates.

Conglomerate

Verb. conglomerated, conglomerating, conglomerates. Intransitive Verb. 1. To form or gather into a mass or whole. 2. To form into or merge with a corporate conglomerate. Transitive Verb. To cause to form into a mass or whole. Noun. 1. A corporation made up of a number of different companies that operate in diversified fields. 2. A collected heterogeneous mass; a cluster: a conglomerate of color, passion, and artistry. anything made up of different kinds of materials 3. Geology A coarse-grained sedimentary rock consisting of rounded to subangular rock fragments cemented together by hardened silt, clay, calcium carbonate, or similar material. Adjective. conglomeratic, conglomeritic. Adjective. 1. Gathered into a mass; clustered. 2. Geology Made up of loosely cemented heterogeneous material. Noun. conglomerator.

Dodge

Verb. dodged, dodging, dodges Transitive Verb. 1. To avoid (a blow, for example) by moving or shifting quickly aside. 2. To evade (an obligation, for example) by cunning, trickery, or deceit: kept dodging the reporter's questions. 3. To blunt or reduce the intensity of (a section of a photograph) by shading during the printing process. Intransitive Verb. 1. To move aside or in a given direction by shifting or twisting suddenly: The child dodged through the crowd. 2. To evade something by cunning, trickery, or deceit. Noun. 1. The act of dodging: made a dodge to the left. 2. A cunning or deceitful act intended to evade something or trick someone: a tax dodge. See Synonyms at wile. Dodge, Mary Elizabeth Mapes 1831-1905. American editor and writer best known for her children's classic Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates (1865).

Teeming

Verb. teemed, teeming, teems. Intransitive Verb. 1. To be full of things; abound or swarm: A drop of water teems with microorganisms. 2. Obsolete To be or become pregnant; bear young. Transitive Verb. Archaic To give birth to. Noun. teemer. Adverb. teemingly. Another Context: Verb. teemed, teeming, teems. Intransitive Verb. To rain hard or heavily; pour. Transitive Verb. To pour out or empty: teemed the molten ore into a huge mold.

Commix

Verb. commixed, commixing, commixes. Intransitive Verb. To be or become mixed. Transitive Verb. To cause to mix.

Pernicious

Very Harmful, fatal. Noun. perniciousness. Adverb. perniciously. Adjective. 1. Tending to cause death or serious injury; deadly: a pernicious virus. 2. Causing great harm; destructive: pernicious rumors.

Spartan

Very disciplined and stern; Frugal, living simply, austere; suggestive of the ancient spartans. A young soldier in the spartan environment of boot camp can really long for a home-cooked meal or even just a comfortable couch to sit on. Her apartment was so spartan that she couldn't even serve us both soup- she only had one bowl and one spoon. Instead, we sat in hard-backed chairs and drank water. The Spartans (Ancient greeks from Sparta) were portrayed in the 2006 movie 300, starring Gerard Butler. The movie isn't very historically accurate, but the Spartans certainly were fierce warriors known for their harsh training methods.

Affable

Warm and friendly, pleasant, approachable. adj. 1. Easy and pleasant to speak to; approachable. 2. Gentle and gracious: an affable smile. Noun. affability. Adverb. affably. The professional wrestler played at belligerence in the ring, but in real life, he was quite an affable fellow-sociable, easy-going, and always ready to lend a hand.

Enervate

Weaken, Tire Noun. enervation. Noun. enervator. Adjective. Deprived of strength; debilitated. Adjective. enervative. Transitive Verb. enervated, enervating, enervates. 1. To weaken or destroy the strength or vitality of: "the luxury which enervates and destroys nations" (Henry David Thoreau). 2. Medicine To remove a nerve or part of a nerve. After taking SAT in the morning and playing in a soccer game in the afternoon, Trina was truly enervated before the prom ever began. "You dance like a grandmother with osteoporosis" said her date. Usage Note: Sometimes people mistakenly use enervate to mean "to invigorate" or "to excite" by assuming that this word is a close cousin of the verb energize. In fact enervate does not come from the same source as energize (Greek energos, "active"). It comes from Latin nervus, "sinew." Thus enervate means "to cause to become 'out of muscle' ," that is, "to weaken or deplete of strength."

Genteel

aristocratic, elegant Adjective. 1. Refined or polite, often in an affected way: "Who better to domesticate him than the most genteel woman in the world? What better to housebreak him than ... a delicate actress with beautiful diction for his wife?" (Philip Roth). See Synonyms at polite. 2. Typical or characteristic of the upper class: "His family background was somewhat less genteel than his Brahmin name and Harvard pedigree might suggest" (Scot French). 3. Elegantly stylish or fashionable: genteel manners and appearance.

Appropriate

as a verb, to set aside or authorize for a particular purpose; take for one's own use. Adjective. Suitable for a particular person, condition, occasion, or place; fitting. Transitive Verb. appropriated, appropriating, appropriates. 1. To set apart for a specific use: appropriating funds for education. 2. To take possession of or make use of exclusively for oneself, often without permission: My coworker appropriated my unread newspaper. Adverb. appropriately. Noun. appropriateness. Adjective. appropriative. Noun. appropriator.

Deluge

deluge Noun. 1. a. A great flood. b. A heavy downpour. 2. Something that overwhelms as if by a great flood: a deluge of fan mail. 3. Deluge In the Bible, the great flood that occurred in the time of Noah. Transitive verb. del·uged, del·ug·ing, del·ug·es 1. To overrun with water; inundate. 2. To overwhelm with a large number or amount; swamp: The press secretary was deluged with requests for information.

Explicit

direct, clear, fully revealed Adjective. 1. a. Fully and clearly expressed; leaving nothing implied: explicit approval. b. Fully developed or formulated: has an explicit idea of what to say in the paper. 2. Forthright and unreserved in expression: They were explicit in their criticism. 3. a. Readily observable: an explicit sign of trouble. b. Describing or portraying nudity or sexual activity in graphic detail.

Opportune

favorable, appropriate Adjective. 1. Suited or right for a particular purpose: an opportune place to make camp. 2. Occurring at a fitting or advantageous time: an opportune arrival.

Feckless

ineffectual

Incipent

just beginning, not yet completed. Noun. incipiency, incipience. Adverb. incipiently. Adjective. Beginning to exist or appear: detecting incipient tumors; an incipient personnel problem.

Inchoate

just beginning, not yet completed. can also have the sense of chaotic or disordered. Noun. Inchoateness. Adverb. Inchoately. Adjective. 1. Being in a beginning or early stage; incipient: "The country was developing an incipient national art, an inchoate national literature" (Jay Winik). 2. Imperfectly formed or developed; disordered or incoherent: "A prophet must be a good public speaker, someone who can transform inchoate rage into eloquent diatribe" (David Leavitt).

Lethargy, Lassitude, Torpor, Languor

lethargy, lassitude, torpor, languor These nouns refer to a deficiency in mental and physical alertness and activity. Lethargy is a state of sluggishness, drowsy dullness, or apathy: "Your lethargy is such that you will not fight even to protect the freedom which your mothers won for you" (Virginia Woolf). Lassitude implies weariness or diminished energy such as might result from physical or mental strain: "His anger had evaporated; he felt nothing but utter lassitude" (John Galsworthy). Torpor suggests the suspension of activity characteristic of an animal in hibernation: "Confinement induced torpor, and from torpor he could easily slip to passivity, resignation, death" (Larry McMurtry). Languor is the indolence typical of one who is satiated by a life of luxury or pleasure: "with that slow, catlike way about him, cool, aloof, almost contemptuous in the languor and ease of his movements" (Tobias Wolff).

Elucidate

make clear, explain. Noun. elucidator. Noun. elucidation. Verb. elucidated, elucidating, elucidates. Transitive Verb. To make clear or plain, especially by explanation; clarify. See Synonyms at explain. Intransitive Verb. To explain or clarify something: She gave a one-word answer and refused to elucidate any further. Adjective. elucidative.

Sanctify

make holy. Noun. sanctification. sanctifier. Transitive Verb. sanctified, sanctifying, sanctifies. 1. To set apart for sacred use; consecrate: The preacher sanctified the ground as a cemetery. 2. To make holy; purify: They felt the spirit had descended and sanctified their hearts. They sanctified the body with holy oil. 3. To give religious sanction to, as with an oath or vow: The wedding ceremony sanctifies the marriage. 4. To give social or moral sanction to: "The only books I wanted to read as a teenager were those sanctified by my elders and betters" (David Eggers).

Patent

obvious, apparent, plain to see Noun. 1. a. A grant made by a government that confers upon the creator of an invention the sole right to make, use, and sell that invention for a set period of time. b. Letters patent. c. An invention protected by such a grant. 2. a. A grant of publicly owned land, particularly to a homesteader. b. The official document of such a grant. c. The land so granted. 3. An exclusive right or title. Adjective. 1. a. Protected or conferred by a patent or letters patent: a patent right. b. Of, relating to, or dealing in patents: patent law. 2. Obvious; plain: a patent injustice. See Synonyms at apparent. 3. Biology a. Not blocked; open: a patent duct. b. Spreading open; expanded: patent sepals. 4. Relating to or being a nonprescription drug or other medical preparation that is protected by a trademark. 5. Of high quality. Used of flour. Transitive Verb. patented, patenting, patents 1. To obtain a patent on or for (an invention, for example). 2. To invent, originate, or be the proprietor of (an idea, for example). 3. To grant a patent to or for.

Coltish

playful, wild, resembling a young horse, esp. having disproportionately long legs. Adjective. 1. Relating to or suggestive of a colt. 2. Lively and playful; frisky. Adverb. coltishly. Noun. coltishness.

Seemly

proper, attractive Adjective. seemlier, seemliest 1. Conforming to standards of conduct and good taste; suitable: seemly behavior. 2. Of pleasing appearance; handsome. proper, attractive adv. In a seemly manner; suitably.

Fulmination

v. fulminated, fulminating, fulminates Intransitive verb. 1. To issue a thunderous verbal attack or denunciation: fulminated against political chicanery. 2. To explode or detonate. Transitive verb. 1. To issue (a denunciation, for example) thunderously. 2. To cause to explode. Noun. An explosive salt of fulminic acid, especially fulminate of mercury.

Batter

verb. battered, battering, batters Transitive verb. 1. a. To hit heavily and repeatedly with violent blows. See Synonyms at beat. b. To subject to repeated beatings or physical abuse. 2. To damage, as by heavy wear: a shed battered by high winds. 3. a. To attack verbally, as with criticism. b. To harass or distress, as with repeated questions. See Synonyms at assault. Intransitive verb. To deliver repeated heavy blows; pound: battered on the door with both fists. Noun. Printing A damaged area on the face of type or on a plate.

deem

verb. deemed, deeming, deems Transitive verb. 1. To regard as; consider: deemed the results unsatisfactory. See Synonyms consider. 2. To suppose or believe: "making little improvements which she deemed that he would value when she was gone" (Thomas Hardy). "You can take the black belt exam when i deem you ready and not a moment before" said the karate instructor. Intransitive Verb. To have an opinion; think.

Rant

verb. ranted, ranting, rants Intransitive verb. 1. To speak or write in an angry or emotionally charged manner; rave. 2. To express at length a complaint or negative opinion: "He could rant on the subject of physician-assisted illness" Transitive verb. To utter or express by ranting: "Adams's fellow Federalists ranted that he was mentally unfit to be president" Noun. 1. Angry, emotionally charged, or tediously negative speech or writing: a speech that was more rant than reason. 2. An example of such speech or writing: a rant against the university's policies. 3. Chiefly British Wild or uproarious merriment.

See

verb. saw, seen, seeing, sees Transitive verb. 1. a. To perceive with the eye: Do you see the hawk in the tree? b. To detect by means analogous to use of the eye: The surveillance camera saw the intruders. c. To attend or view as a spectator: saw a play. d. To refer to or look at: Persons interested in the book's history should see page one of the preface. 2. a. To become aware of or apprehend: She saw from his expression that he did not want to go. b. To find out or ascertain, often by moving: Please see who's knocking. 3. a. To take note of; recognize: She sees only the good aspects of the organization. b. To consider to be; regard: Many see her as an inspiring figure. 4. a. To have a mental image of; visualize: They could still see their hometown as it once was. b. To foresee or imagine: I see great things for that child. 5. a. To know through firsthand experience; undergo or experience: He saw service in the navy. She has seen many changes in her lifetime. b. To be characterized by; be the time for: "The 1930s saw the development of sulfa drugs and penicillin" (Gregg Easterbrook). c. To be subjected to; undergo: This word sees a lot of use in sports. 6. a. To visit, meet, or be in the company of: I saw all my aunts and uncles at the reunion. b. To share the companionship of as a romantic partner: He's been seeing the same woman for eight years. c. To visit for consultation: You ought to see your doctor more frequently. d. To admit or receive, as for consultation or a social visit: The doctor will see you now. 7. a. To escort; attend: I'm seeing Amy home. b. To make sure; take care: See that it gets done right away. 8. Games a. To meet (a bet) in card games. b. To meet the bet of (another player). Intransitive verb. 1. a. To have the power to perceive with the eyes: Once I got glasses I could see much better. b. To have the ability to detect or record visual information: This telescope sees far into space. 2. a. To understand; comprehend: As you can see, life in medieval Europe was difficult. b. To consider: Let's see, which suitcase should we take? 3. a. To go and look: She had to see for herself and went into the garage. b. To ascertain; find out: We probably can do it, but we'll have to see. 4. To have foresight: "No man can see to the end of time" (John F. Kennedy) Phrasal Verbs: see about 1. To attend to: We'll see about changing your dorm room later. 2. To inquire into; investigate: Could you see about hotels in the area? see after To take care of: Please see after the children while I'm gone. see off To take leave of (someone): saw the guests off at the door; went to the airport to see us off. see out 1. To escort (a guest) to the door: Will you please see Ms. Smith out? 2. To work on (a project) until completion: Despite poor funding, we saw the project out. see through 1. To understand the true character or nature of: We saw through his superficial charm. 2. To provide support or cooperation to (a person) throughout a period of time: We'll see you through until you finish college. 3. To work on (a project) until completion. see to To attend to: See to the chores, will you? Idioms: see red Informal To be extremely angry. see the light 1. To understand or realize something after a period of ignorance or misunderstanding. 2. To undergo a religious awakening or conversion. see you later Informal Used to express goodbye.

Trample

verb. trampled, trampling, tramples Transitive verb. 1. To beat down with the feet so as to crush, bruise, or destroy; tramp on. 2. To treat harshly or ruthlessly: would trample anyone who got in their way. Intransitive verb. 1. To tread heavily or destructively: trampling on the flowers. 2. To inflict injury as if by treading heavily: "trampling on the feelings of those about you" (Thornton Wilder). Noun. The action or sound of trampling.

Ambiguous

"Vague, open to multiple meanings". Noun. ambiguousness. Adverb. ambiguously. Adjective. 1. Open to more than one interpretation: an ambiguous reply. 2. Doubtful or uncertain: "The theatrical status of her frequently derided but constantly revived plays remained ambiguous" (Frank Rich).