SAT Vocabulary

apocryphal

(adj.) fictitious, false, wrong (Because I am standing before you, it seems obvious that the stories circulating about my demise were __________.)

evanescent

(adj.) fleeting, momentary (My joy at getting promoted was __________ because I discovered that I would have to work much longer hours in a less friendly office.)

pliable

(adj.) flexible (Aircraft wings are designed to be somewhat ____________ so they do not break in heavy turbulence.)

pert

(adj.) flippant, bold (My parents forgave Sandra's ____ humor at the dinner table because it had been so long since they had last seen her.)

florid

(adj.) flowery, ornate (The writer's ______ prose belongs on a sentimental Hallmark card.)

illicit

(adj.) forbidden, not permitted (The fourth-grader learned many ________ words from a pamphlet that was being passed around school.)

frenetic

(adj.) frenzied, hectic, frantic (In the hours between night and morning, the _________ pace of city life slows to a lull.)

genial

(adj.) friendly, affable (Although he's been known to behave like a real jerk, I would say that my brother is an overall ______ guy.)

conciliatory

(adj.) friendly, agreeable (I took Amanda's invitation to dinner as a very _____________ gesture.)

fecund

(adj.) fruitful, fertile (The ______- tree bore enough apples to last us through the entire season.)

replete

(adj.) full, abundant (The unedited version was _________ with naughty words.)

garish

(adj.) gaudy, in bad taste (Mrs. Watson has poor taste and covers every object in her house with a ______ gold lamé.)

lurid

(adj.) ghastly, sensational (Gideon's story, in which he described a character torturing his sister's dolls, was judged too _____ to be printed in the school's literary magazine.)

sanctimonious

(adj.) giving a hypocritical appearance of piety (The __________ Bertrand delivered stern lectures on the Ten Commandments to anyone who would listen, but thought nothing of stealing cars to make some cash on the side.)

morose

(adj.) gloomy or sullen (Jason's _______ nature made him very unpleasant to talk to.)

lithe

(adj.) graceful, flexible, supple (Although the dancers were all outstanding, Jae Sun's control of her _____ body was particularly impressive.)

paramount

(adj.) greatest in importance, rank, character (It was ___________ that the bomb squad disconnect the blue wire before removing the fuse.)

harrowing

(adj.) greatly distressing, vexing (The car crash was a __________ experience, but I have a feeling that the increase in my insurance premiums will be even more upsetting.)

verdant

(adj.) green in tint or color (The _________ leaves on the trees made the world look emerald.)

fortuitous

(adj.) happening by chance, often lucky or fortunate (After looking for Manuel and not finding him at home, Harriet had a ____________ encounter with him at the post office.)

abstruse

(adj.) hard to comprehend (Everyone else in the class understood geometry easily, but John found the subject ________.)

assiduous

(adj.) hard-working, diligent (The construction workers erected the skyscraper during two years of _________ labor.)

deleterious

(adj.) harmful (She experienced the _____________ effects of running a marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand.)

defamatory

(adj.) harmful toward another's reputation (The __________ gossip spreading about the actor made the public less willing to see the actor's new movie.)

noxious

(adj.) harmful, unwholesome (Environmentalists showed that the _______ weeds were destroying the insects' natural habitats.)

innocuous

(adj.) harmless, inoffensive (In spite of their _____________ appearance, these mushrooms are actually quite poisonous.)

strident

(adj.) harsh, loud (A ________ man, Captain Von Trapp yelled at his daughter and made her cry.)

rash

(adj.) hasty, incautious (It's best to think things over calmly and thoroughly, rather than make _____ decisions.)

vitriolic

(adj.) having a caustic quality (When angry, the woman would spew _________ insults.)

fetid

(adj.) having a foul odor (I can tell from the _____ smell in your refrigerator that your milk has spoiled.)

mendacious

(adj.) having a lying, false character (The ____________ content of the tabloid magazines is at least entertaining.)

pungent

(adj.) having a pointed, sharp quality—often used to describe smells (The ________ odor in the classroom made Joseph lose his concentration during the test.)

contentious

(adj.) having a tendency to quarrel or dispute (George's ____________ personality made him unpopular with his classmates.)

rancid

(adj.) having a terrible taste or smell (Rob was double-dog-dared to eat the ______ egg salad sandwich.)

sovereign

(adj.) having absolute authority in a certain realm (The _________ queen, with steely resolve, ordered that the traitorous nobleman be killed.)

multifarious

(adj.) having great diversity or variety (This Swiss Army knife has ___________ functions and capabilities. Among other things, it can act as a knife, a saw, a toothpick, and a slingshot.)

tenuous

(adj.) having little substance or strength (Your argument is very __________, since it relies so much on speculation and hearsay.)

ambivalent

(adj.) having opposing feelings (My feelings about Calvin are __________ because on one hand he is a loyal friend, but on the other, he is a cruel and vicious thief.)

judicious

(adj.) having or exercising sound judgment (When the _____________ king decided to compromise rather than send his army to its certain death, he was applauded.)

corrosive

(adj.) having the tendency to erode or eat away (The effect of the chemical was highly _________.)

pervasive

(adj.) having the tendency to spread throughout (Stepping off the plane in Havana, I recognized the ________ odor of sugar cane fields on fire.)

nefarious

(adj.) heinously villainous (Although Dr. Meanman's ___________ plot to melt the polar icecaps was terrifying, it was so impractical that nobody really worried about it.)

latent

(adj.) hidden, but capable of being exposed (Sigmund's dream represented his ______ paranoid obsession with other people's shoes.)

sacrosanct

(adj.) holy, something that should not be criticized (In the United States, the Constitution is often thought of as a sacrosanct document.)

inextricable

(adj.) hopelessly tangled or entangled (Unless I look at the solution manual, I have no way of solving this ___________ problem.)

inimical

(adj.) hostile, enemylike (I don't see how I could ever work for a company that was so cold and ___________ to me during my interviews.)

ignominious

(adj.) humiliating, disgracing (It was really ______________ to be kicked out of the dorm for having an illegal gas stove in my room.)

quixotic

(adj.) idealistic, impractical (Edward entertained a ___________ desire to fall in love at first sight in a laundromat.)

sophomoric

(adj.) immature, uninformed (The mature senior rolled her eyes at the ________ gross-out humor of the underclassman.)

impervious

(adj.) impenetrable, incapable of being affected (Because of their thick layer of fur, many seals are almost _____________ to the cold.)

lethargic

(adj.) in a state of sluggishness or apathy (When Jean Claude explained to his boss that he was __________ and didn't feel like working that day, the boss fired him.)

consonant

(adj.) in harmony (The singers' _________ voices were beautiful.)

nascent

(adj.) in the process of being born or coming into existence (Unfortunately, my brilliant paper was only in its _______ form on the morning that it was due.)

implacable

(adj.) incapable of being appeased or mitigated (Watch out: once you shun Grandma's cooking, she is totally ____________.)

inexorable

(adj.) incapable of being persuaded or placated (Although I begged for hours, Mom was ______________ and refused to let me stay out all night after the prom.)

insatiable

(adj.) incapable of being satisfied (My ______________ appetite for melons can be a real problem in the winter.)

irrevocable

(adj.) incapable of being taken back (The Bill of Rights is an ___________ part of American law.)

incorrigible

(adj.) incapable of correction, delinquent (You can buy Grandma nicotine gum all you want, but I think that after sixty-five years of smoking she's _________.)

indefatigable

(adj.) incapable of defeat, failure, decay (Even after traveling 62 miles, the ______________ runner kept on moving.)

inarticulate

(adj.) incapable of expressing oneself clearly through speech (Though he spoke for over an hour, the lecturer was completely _____________ and the students had no idea what he was talking about.)

tangential

(adj.) incidental, peripheral, divergent (I tried to discuss my salary, but the boss kept veering off into ___________topics.)

comprehensive

(adj.) including everything (She sent me a ____________ list of the ingredients needed to cook rabbit soufflé.)

fallacious

(adj.) incorrect, misleading (Emily offered me cigarettes on the ___________ assumption that I smoked.)

incontrovertible

(adj.) indisputable (Only stubborn Tina would attempt to disprove the _____________ laws of physics.)

grievous

(adj.) injurious, hurtful; serious or grave in nature (Electrocuting the inmate without being sure of his guilt would be a truly ________ mistake.)

odious

(adj.) instilling hatred or intense displeasure (Mark was assigned the _______ task of cleaning the cat's litter box.)

cogent

(adj.) intellectually convincing (Irene's arguments in favor of abstinence were so ______ that I could not resist them.)

remedial

(adj.) intended to repair gaps in students' basic knowledge (After his teacher discovered he couldn't read, Alex was forced to enroll in ________ English.)

convoluted

(adj.) intricate, complicated (Grace's story was so __________ that I couldn't follow it.)

punitive

(adj.) involving punishment (If caught smoking in the boys' room, the ________ result is immediate expulsion from school.)

sensuous

(adj.) involving sensory gratification (Paul found drinking Coke, with all the little bubbles bursting on his tongue, a very _________ experience.)

puerile

(adj.) juvenile, immature (The judge demanded order after the lawyer's _________ attempt to object by stomping his feet on the courtroom floor.)

vacuous

(adj.) lack of content or ideas, stupid (Beyonce realized that the lyrics she had just penned were completely __________ and tried to add more substance.)

nondescript

(adj.) lacking a distinctive character (I was surprised when I saw the movie star in person because she looked _____________.)

pallid

(adj.) lacking color (Dr. Van Helsing feared that Lucy's ______ complexion was due to an unexplained loss of blood.)

vapid

(adj.) lacking liveliness, dull (The professor's comments about the poem were surprisingly _______ and dull.)

obtuse

(adj.) lacking quickness of sensibility or intellect (Political opponents warned that the prime minister's ________ approach to foreign policy would embroil the nation in mindless war.)

indolent

(adj.) lazy (Why should my ___________ children, who can't even pick themselves up off the couch to pour their own juice, be rewarded with a trip to the mall?)

torpid

(adj.) lethargic, dormant, lacking motion (The ______ whale floated, wallowing in the water for hours.)

diaphanous

(adj.) light, airy, transparent (Sunlight poured in through the _____________ curtains, brightening the room.)

flaccid

(adj.) limp, not firm or strong (If a plant is not watered enough, its leaves become droopy and _______.)

sinuous

(adj.) lithe, serpentine (With the ________ movements of her arms, the dancer mimicked the motion of a snake.)

vivacious

(adj.) lively, sprightly (The ____________ clown makes all of the children laugh and giggle with his friendly antics.)

execrable

(adj.) loathsome, detestable (Her pudding is so __________ that it makes me sick.)

sublime

(adj.) lofty, grand, exalted (The homeless man sadly pondered his former wealth and once _________ existence.)

coherent

(adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (Renee could not figure out what Monroe had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a ________ statement.)

forlorn

(adj.) lonely, abandoned, hopeless (Even though I had the flu, my family decided to go skiing for the weekend and leave me home alone, feeling feverish and _______.)

vociferous

(adj.) loud, boisterous (I'm tired of his _____________ whining so I'm breaking up with him.)

raucous

(adj.) loud, boisterous (Sarah's neighbors called the cops when her house party got too __________.)

succinct

(adj.) marked by compact precision (The governor's _______ speech energized the crowd while the mayor's rambled on and on.)

circumscribed

(adj.) marked off, bounded (The children were permitted to play tag only within a carefully _____________ area of the lawn.)

fastidious

(adj.) meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards (Mark is so _________ that he is never able to finish a project because it always seems imperfect to him.)

penurious

(adj.) miserly, stingy (Stella complained that her husband's ____________ ways made it impossible to live the lifestyle she felt she deserved.)

integral

(adj.) necessary for completeness (Without the _________ ingredient of flour, you wouldn't be able to make bread.)

remiss

(adj.) negligent, failing to take care (The burglar gained entrance because the security guard, ______ in his duties, forgot to lock the door.)

penultimate

(adj.) next to last (Having smoked the ___________ cigarette remaining in the pack, Cybil discarded the last cigarette and resolved to quit smoking.)

defunct

(adj.) no longer used or existing (They planned to turn the _______ schoolhouse into a community center.)

obsolete

(adj.) no longer used, out of date (With the inventions of tape decks and CDs, which both have better sound and are easier to use, eight-track players are now entirely _____________.)

magnanimous

(adj.) noble, generous (Although I had already broken most of her dishes, Jacqueline was ____________ enough to continue letting me use them.)

obstreperous

(adj.) noisy, unruly (Billy's ______________ behavior prompted the librarian to ask him to leave the reading room.)

discordant

(adj.) not agreeing, not in harmony with (The girls' sobs were a __________ sound amid the general laughter that filled the restaurant.)

speculative

(adj.) not based in fact (Sadly, Tessa was convicted on merely ________ evidence.)

indomitable

(adj.) not capable of being conquered (To be honest, Jim, my ______________ nature means I could never take orders from anyone, and especially not from a jerk like you.)

immutable

(adj.) not changeable (The laws of physics are ____________ and constant.)

ingenuous

(adj.) not devious; innocent and candid (He must have writers, but his speeches seem so _________ it's hard to believe he's not speaking from his own heart.)

viscous

(adj.) not free flowing, syrupy (The __________ syrup took three minutes to pour out of the bottle.)

taciturn

(adj.) not inclined to talk (Though Jane never seems to stop talking, her brother is quite ____________.)

trite

(adj.) not original, overused (Keith thought of himself as being very learned, but everyone else thought he was ________ because his observations about the world were always the same as David Letterman's.)

inept

(adj.) not suitable or capable, unqualified (She proved how ________ she was when she forgot three orders and spilled a beer in a customer's lap.)

arcane

(adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an expert in ______ Lithuanian literature.)

prepossessing

(adj.) occupying the mind to the exclusion of other thoughts or feelings (His __________________ appearance made it impossible for me to think of anything else.)

swarthy

(adj.) of dark color or complexion (When he got drunk, Robinson's white skin became rather ______.)

reputable

(adj.) of good reputation (After the most _________ critic in the industry gave the novel a glowing review, sales took off.)

frivolous

(adj.) of little importance, trifling (Someday, all that anxiety about whether your zit will disappear before the prom will seem totally _________.)

archaic

(adj.) of or relating to an earlier period in time, outdated (In a few select regions of Western Mongolian, an _______ Chinese dialect is still spoken.)

arboreal

(adj.) of or relating to trees (Leaves, roots, and bark are a few ________ traits.)

uncanny

(adj.) of supernatural character or origin (Luka had an uncanny ability to know exactly what other people were thinking. She also had an __________ ability to shoot fireballs from her hands.)

flagrant

(adj.) offensive, egregious (The judge's decision to set the man free simply because that man was his brother was a _________ abuse of power.)

officious

(adj.) offering one's services when they are neither wanted nor needed (Brenda resented Allan's __________ behavior when he selected colors that might best improve her artwork.)

antiquated

(adj.) old, out of date (That __________ car has none of the features, like power windows and steering, that make modern cars so great.)

grandiose

(adj.) on a magnificent or exaggerated scale (Margaret planned a ___________ party, replete with elephants, trapeze artists, and clowns.)

sanguine

(adj.) optimistic, cheery (Polly reacted to any bad news with a _________ smile and the chirpy cry, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!")

primeval

(adj.) original, ancient (The first primates to walk on two legs, called Australopithecus, were the ________ descendants of modern man.)

seminal

(adj.) original, important, creating a field (Stephen Greenblatt's essays on Shakespeare proved to be ________, because they initiated the critical school of New Historicism.)

elated

(adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When she found out she had won the lottery, the writer was ______.)

scrupulous

(adj.) painstaking, careful (With ___________ care, Sam cut a snowflake out of white paper.)

transient

(adj.) passing through briefly; passing into and out of existence (Because virtually everyone in Palm Beach is a tourist, the population of the town is quite __________.)

clairvoyant

(adj.) able to perceive things that normal people cannot (Zelda's uncanny ability to detect my lies was nothing short of ___________.)

rife

(adj.) abundant (Surprisingly, the famous novelist's writing was ____ with spelling errors.)

concomitant

(adj.) accompanying in a subordinate fashion (His dislike of hard work carried with it a ____________ lack of funds.)

dynamic

(adj.) actively changing (The parents found it hard to keep up with the _______ music scene with which their children had become very familiar.)

precocious

(adj.) advanced, developing ahead of time (Derek was so academically ___________ that by the time he was 10 years old, he was already in the ninth grade.)

expedient

(adj.) advisable, advantageous, serving one's self-interest (In his bid for reelection, the governor made an _________ move by tabling all controversial legislation.)

libertarian

(adj.) advocating principles of liberty and free will (The dissatisfied subjects overthrew the monarch and replaced him with a ____________ ruler who respected their democratic principles.)

dogmatic

(adj.) aggressively and arrogantly certain about unproved principles (His ________ claim that men were better than women at fixing appliances angered everyone.)

palatable

(adj.) agreeable to the taste or sensibilities (Despite the unpleasant smell, the exotic cheese was quite ____________.)

equivocal

(adj.) ambiguous, uncertain, undecided (His intentions were so _________ that I didn't know whether he was being chivalrous or sleazy.)

antediluvian

(adj.) ancient (The ____________ man still believed that Eisenhower was president of the United States and that hot dogs cost a nickel.)

adverse

(adj.) antagonistic, unfavorable, dangerous (Because of _______ conditions, the hikers decided to give up trying to climb the mountain.)

insidious

(adj.) appealing but imperceptibly harmful, seductive (Lisa's __________ chocolate cake tastes so good but makes you feel so sick later on!)

ostensible

(adj.) appearing as such, seemingly (Jack's ____________ reason for driving was that airfare was too expensive, but in reality, he was afraid of flying.)

cognizant

(adj.) aware, mindful (Jake avoided speaking to women in bars because he was _________ of the fact that drinking impairs his judgment.)

complicit

(adj.) being an accomplice in a wrongful act (By keeping her daughter's affair a secret, Maddie became _________ in it.)

anachronistic

(adj.) being out of correct chronological order (In this book you're writing, you say that the Pyramids were built after the Titanic sank, which is _____________.)

solipsistic

(adj.) believing that oneself is all that exists (Colette's _________ attitude completely ignored the plight of the homeless people on the street.)

acerbic

(adj.) biting, bitter in tone or taste (Jill became extremely _______ and began to cruelly make fun of all her friends.)

caustic

(adj.) bitter, biting, acidic (The politicians exchanged _______ insults for over an hour during the debate.)

intrepid

(adj.) brave in the face of danger (After scaling a live volcano prior to its eruption, the explorer was praised for his _________ attitude.)

effervescent

(adj.) bubbly, lively (My friend is so ____________ that she makes everyone smile.)

onerous

(adj.) burdensome (My parents lamented that the pleasures of living in a beautiful country estate no longer outweighed the _______ mortgage payments.)

placid

(adj.) calm, peaceful (The ________ lake surface was as smooth as glass.)

malleable

(adj.) capable of being shaped or transformed (Maximillian's political opinions were so __________ that anyone he talked to was able to change his mind instantly.)

impudent

(adj.) casually rude, insolent, impertinent (The __________ young man looked the princess up and down and told her she was hot even though she hadn't asked him.)

divisive

(adj.) causing dissent, discord (Her ________ tactics turned her two friends against each other.)

circumspect

(adj.) cautious (Though I promised Rachel's father I would bring her home promptly by midnight, it would have been more ___________ not to have specified a time.)

colloquial

(adj.) characteristic of informal conversation (Adam's essay on sexual response in primates was marked down because it contained too many __________ expressions.)

convivial

(adj.) characterized by feasting, drinking, merriment (The restaurant's _________ atmosphere put me immediately at ease.)

mercurial

(adj.) characterized by rapid change or temperamentality (Though he was widely respected for his mathematical proofs, the __________ genius was impossible to live with.)

opulent

(adj.) characterized by rich abundance verging on ostentation (The ____________ furnishings of the dictator's private compound contrasted harshly with the meager accommodations of her subjects.)

mawkish

(adj.) characterized by sick sentimentality (Although some nineteenth- century critics viewed Dickens's writing as __________, contemporary readers have found great emotional depth in his works.)

winsome

(adj.) charming, pleasing (After such a long, frustrating day, I was grateful for Chris's ________ attitude and childish naivete.)

lucid

(adj.) clear, easily understandable (Because Guenevere's essay was so _____, I only had to read it once to understand her reasoning.)

incisive

(adj.) clear, sharp, direct (The discussion wasn't going anywhere until her __________ comment allowed everyone to see what the true issues were.)

limpid

(adj.) clear, transparent (Mr. Johnson's ________ writing style greatly pleased readers who disliked complicated novels.)

ribald

(adj.) coarsely, crudely humorous (While some giggled at the ______ joke involving a parson's daughter, most sighed and rolled their eyes.)

imperious

(adj.) commanding, domineering (The __________ nature of your manner led me to dislike you at once.)

solicitous

(adj.) concerned, attentive (Jim, laid up in bed with a nasty virus, enjoyed the ____________ attentions of his mother, who brought him soup and extra blankets.)

pithy

(adj.) concisely meaningful (My father's long-winded explanation was a stark contrast to his usually _________ statements.)

eclectic

(adj.) consisting of a diverse variety of elements (That bar attracts an e_________ crowd: lawyers, artists, circus clowns, and investment bankers.)

myriad

(adj.) consisting of a very great number (It was difficult to decide what to do Friday night because the city presented us with _______ possibilities for fun.)

orthodox

(adj.) conventional, conforming to established protocol (The company's profits dwindled because the management pursued __________ business policies that were incompatible with new industrial trends.)

commensurate

(adj.) corresponding in size or amount (Ahab selected a very long roll and proceeded to prepare a tuna salad sandwich ____________ with his enormous appetite.)

wily

(adj.) crafty, sly (Though they were not the strongest of the Thundercats, ____ Kit and Kat were definitely the most clever and full of tricks.)

quotidian

(adj.) daily (Ambika's __________ routines include drinking two cups of coffee in the morning.)

poignant

(adj.) deeply affecting, moving (My teacher actually cried after reading to us the ____________ final chapter of the novel.)

recalcitrant

(adj.) defiant, unapologetic (Even when scolded, the ___________ young girl simply stomped her foot and refused to finish her lima beans.)

pejorative

(adj.) derogatory, uncomplimentary (The evening's headline news covered an international scandal caused by a ___________ statement the famous senator had made in reference to a foreign leader.)

culpable

(adj.) deserving blame (He was ________ of the crime, and was sentenced to perform community service for 75 years.)

venerable

(adj.) deserving of respect because of age or achievement (The ____________ Supreme Court justice had made several key rulings in landmark cases throughout the years.)

reprehensible

(adj.) deserving rebuke (Jean's cruel and _____________ attempt to dump her boyfriend on his birthday led to tears and recriminations.)

bereft

(adj.) devoid of, without (His family was ______ of food and shelter following the tornado.)

intractable

(adj.) difficult to manipulate, unmanageable (There was no end in sight to the _____________ conflict between the warring countries.)

perfidious

(adj.) disloyal, unfaithful (After the official was caught selling government secrets to enemy agents, he was executed for his __________ ways.)

licentious

(adj.) displaying a lack of moral or legal restraints (Marilee has always been fascinated by the ____________ private lives of politicians.)

presumptuous

(adj.) disrespectfully bold (The princess grew angry after the ____________ noble tried to kiss her, even though he was far below her in social status.)

profligate

(adj.) dissolute, extravagant (The __________ gambler loved to drink, spend money, steal, cheat, and hang out with prostitutes.)

oblique

(adj.) diverging from a straight line or course, not straightforward (Martin's _______ language confused those who listened to him.)

manifold

(adj.) diverse, varied (The popularity of Dante's Inferno is partly due to the fact that the work allows for __________ interpretations.)

variegated

(adj.) diversified, distinctly marked (Each wire in the engineering exam was ___________ by color so that the students could figure out which one was which.)

gregarious

(adj.) drawn to the company of others, sociable (Well, if you're not _____________, I don't know why you would want to go to a singles party!)

desiccated

(adj.) dried up, dehydrated (The skin of the ____________ mummy looked like old paper.)

wizened

(adj.) dry, shrunken, wrinkled (Agatha's grandmother, Stephanie, had the most _______ countenance, full of leathery wrinkles.)

tedious

(adj.) dull, boring (As time passed and the history professor continued to drone on and on, the lecture became increasingly __________.)

insipid

(adj.) dull, boring (The play was so _________, I fell asleep halfway through.)

banal

(adj.) dull, commonplace (The client rejected our proposal because they found our presentation _____ and unimpressive.)

punctilious

(adj.) eager to follow rules or conventions (________ Bobby, hall monitor extraordinaire, insisted that his peers follow the rules.)

irascible

(adj.) easily angered (At the smallest provocation, my ___________ cat will begin scratching and clawing.)

tractable

(adj.) easily controlled (The horse was so _______, Myra didn't even need a bridle.)

pellucid

(adj.) easily intelligible, clear (Wishing his book to be ________ to the common man, Albert Camus avoided using complicated grammar when composing The Stranger.)

docile

(adj.) easily taught or trained (She successfully taught the ______ puppy several tricks.)

efficacious

(adj.) effective (My doctor promised me that the cold medicine was ___________, but I'm still sniffling.)

trenchant

(adj.) effective, articulate, clear-cut (The directions that accompanied my new cell phone were __________ and easy to follow.)

euphoric

(adj.) elated, uplifted (I was ________ when I found out that my sister had given birth to twins.)

prurient

(adj.) eliciting or possessing an extraordinary interest in sex (David's mother was shocked by the discovery of ___________ reading material hidden beneath her son's mattress.)

tantamount

(adj.) equivalent in value or significance (When it comes to sports, fearing your opponent is ____________ to losing.)

reprobate

(adj.) evil, unprincipled (The ___________ criminal sat sneering in the cell.)

superfluous

(adj.) exceeding what is necessary (Tracy had already won the campaign so her constant flattery of others was _____________.)

exorbitant

(adj.) excessive (Her __________ praise made me blush and squirm in my seat.)

brazen

(adj.) excessively bold, brash (Critics condemned the novelist's ______ attempt to plagiarize Hemingway's story.)

obsequious

(adj.) excessively compliant or submissive (Mark acted like Janet's servant, obeying her every request in an __________ manner.)

bombastic

(adj.) excessively confident, pompous (The singer's _________ performance disgusted the crowd.)

ostentatious

(adj.) excessively showy, glitzy (On the palace tour, the guide focused on the ____________ decorations and spoke little of the royal family's history.)

idolatrous

(adj.) excessively worshipping one object or person (Xena's ___________ fawning over the band—following them on tour, starting their fan club, filming their documentary—is really beginning to get on my nerves.)

contemporaneous

(adj.) existing during the same time (Though her novels do not feature the themes of Romanticism, Jane Austen's work was _______________ with that of Wordsworth and Byron.)

ubiquitous

(adj.) existing everywhere, widespread (It seems that everyone in the United States has a television. The technology is ________ here.)

extant

(adj.) existing, not destroyed or lost (My mother's ________ love letters to my father are in the attic trunk.)

vicarious

(adj.) experiencing through another (All of my lame friends learned to be social through ____________ involvement in my amazing experiences.)

tacit

(adj.) expressed without words (I interpreted my parents' refusal to talk as a _____ acceptance of my request.)

laudatory

(adj.) expressing admiration or praise (Such _________ comments are unusual from someone who is usually so reserved in his opinions.)

stolid

(adj.) expressing little sensibility, unemotional (Charles's _________ reaction to his wife's funeral differed from the passion he showed at the time of her death.)

egregious

(adj.) extremely bad (The student who threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria was punished for his __________ behavior.)

pernicious

(adj.) extremely destructive or harmful (The new government feared that the Communist sympathizers would have a _____________ influence on the nation's stability.)

ebullient

(adj.) extremely lively, enthusiastic (She became _________ upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first-choice college.)

spurious

(adj.) false but designed to seem plausible (Using a ________ argument, John convinced the others that he had won the board game on a technicality.)

whimsical

(adj.) fanciful, full of whims (The __________ little girl liked to pretend that she was an elvin princess.)

propitious

(adj.) favorable (The dark storm clouds visible on the horizon suggested that the weather would not be _______ for sailing.)

auspicious

(adj.) favorable, indicative of good things (The tennis player considered the sunny forecast an __________ sign that she would win her match.)

zealous

(adj.) fervent, filled with eagerness in pursuit of something (If he were any more ___________ about getting his promotion, he'd practically live at the office.)

obdurate

(adj.) unyielding to persuasion or moral influences (The ___________ old man refused to take pity on the kittens.)

exigent

(adj.) urgent, critical (The patient has an _______ need for medication, or else he will lose his sight.)

nebulous

(adj.) vaguely defined, cloudy (The transition between governments meant that who was actually in charge was a ___________ matter.)

heterogeneous

(adj.) varied, diverse in character (I hate having only one flavor so I always buy the swirled, or should I say ____________________, type of ice cream.)

vindictive

(adj.) vengeful (The ________ madman seeks to exact vengeance for any insult that he perceives is directed at him, no matter how small.)

austere

(adj.) very bare, bleak (The _______ furniture inside the abandoned house made the place feel haunted.)

astute

(adj.) very clever, crafty (Much of Roger's success in politics results from his ability to provide ______ answers to reporters' questions.)

indigent

(adj.) very poor, impoverished (I would rather donate money to help the _________ population than to the park sculpture fund.)

capacious

(adj.) very spacious (The workers delighted in their new _________ office space.)

emaciated

(adj.) very thin, enfeebled looking (My sister eats a lot of pastries and chocolate but still looks ___________.)

scurrilous

(adj.) vulgar, coarse (When Bruno heard the __________ accusation being made about him, he could not believe it because he always tried to be nice to everyone.)

vigilant

(adj.) watchful, alert (The guards remained _________ throughout the night, but the enemy never launched the expected attack.)

maudlin

(adj.) weakly sentimental (Although many people enjoy romantic comedies, I usually find them ________ and shallow.)

querulous

(adj.) whiny, complaining (If deprived of his pacifier, young Brendan becomes __________.)

feral

(adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so ______ that I would fear being alone with it.)

amenable

(adj.) willing, compliant (Our father was ________ when we asked him to drive us to the farm so we could go apple picking.)

tortuous

(adj.) winding (The scary thing about driving in mountains are the narrow, _______ roads.)

amorphous

(adj.) without definite shape or type (The effort was doomed from the start, because the reasons behind it were so _________ and hard to pin down.)

interminable

(adj.) without possibility of end (The fact that biology lectures came just before lunch made them seem _______________.)

verbose

(adj.) wordy, impaired by wordiness (It took the _________ teacher two hours to explain the topic, while it should have taken only fifteen minutes.)

meritorious

(adj.) worthy of esteem or reward (Manfred was given the congressional medal of honor for his ______________ actions.)

abject

(adj.) wretched, pitiful (After losing all her money, falling into a puddle, and breaking her ankle, Eloise was ______.)

protean

(adj.)able to change shape; displaying great variety (Among Nigel's __________ protean talents was his ability to touch the tip of his nose with his tongue.)

corpulence

(adj.)extreme fatness (Henry's __________ did not make him any less attractive to his charming, svelte wife.)

dour

(adj.)stern, joyless (The children feared their ____ neighbor because the old man would take their toys if he believed they were being too loud.)

vehemently

(adv.) marked by intense force or emotion (The candidate ____________ opposed cutting back on Social Security funding.)

pathology

(n.) a deviation from the normal (Dr. Hastings had difficulty identifying the precise nature of Brian's ____________.)

quagmire

(n.) a difficult situation (We'd all like to avoid the kind of military ________ characterized by the Vietnam War.)

debacle

(n.) a disastrous failure, disruption (The elaborately designed fireworks show turned into a _______ when the fireworks started firing in random directions.)

altercation

(n.) a dispute, fight (Jason and Lionel blamed one another for the car accident, leading to an ___________.)

partisan

(n.) a follower, adherent (The king did not believe that his rival could round up enough __________s to overthrow the monarchy.)

confluence

(n.) a gathering together (A __________ of different factors made tonight the perfect night.)

zephyr

(n.) a gentle breeze (If not for the _______s that were blowing and cooling us, our room would've been unbearably hot.)

boon

(n.) a gift or blessing (The good weather has been a ____ for many businesses located near the beach.)

colossus

(n.) a gigantic statue or thing (For 56 years, the ancient city of Rhodes featured a ________ standing astride its harbor.)

salutation

(n.) a greeting (Andrew regularly began letters with the bizarre ___________ "Ahoy ahoy.")

travesty

(n.) a grossly inferior imitation (According to the school newspaper's merciless theater critic, Pacific Coast High's rendition of the musical Oklahoma was a _________ of the original.)

dearth

(n.) a lack, scarcity (An eager reader, she was dismayed by the ______ of classic books at the library.)

tome

(n.) a large book (In college, I used to carry around an anatomy book that was the heaviest _____ in my bag.)

demagogue

(n.) a leader who appeals to a people's prejudices (The _________ strengthened his hold over his people by blaming immigrants for the lack of jobs.)

vestige

(n.) a mark or trace of something lost or vanished (Do you know if the Mexican tortilla is a _______ of some form of Aztec corn-based flat bread?)

forum

(n.) a medium for lecture or discussion (Some radio talk-shows provide a good ______ for political debate.)

caucus

(n.) a meeting usually held by people working toward the same goal (The ironworkers held a ______ to determine how much of a pay increase they would request.)

bourgeois

(n.) a middle-class person, capitalist (Many businessmen receive criticism for their _________ approach to life.)

paragon

(n.) a model of excellence or perfection (The mythical Helen of Troy was considered a ____________ of female beauty.)

dirge

(n.) a mournful song, especially for a funeral (The bagpipers played a _____ as the casket was carried to the cemetery.)

aversion

(n.) a particular dislike for something (Because he's from Hawaii, Ben has an ________ to autumn, winter, and cold climates in general.)

quandary

(n.) a perplexed, unresolvable state (Carlos found himself in a __________: should he choose mint chocolate chip or cookie dough?)

cobbler

(n.) a person who makes or repairs shoes (I had my neighborhood _______ replace my worn-out leather soles with new ones.)

conduit

(n.) a pipe or channel through which something passes (The water flowed through the _______ into the container.)

bard

(n.) a poet, often a singer as well (Shakespeare is often considered the greatest ____ in the history of the English language.)

idiosyncratic

(adj.) peculiar to one person; highly individualized (I know you had trouble with the last test, but because your mistakes were highly ___________, I'm going to deny your request that the class be given a new test.)

predilection

(n.) a preference or inclination for something (Francois has a _______________ for eating scrambled eggs with ketchup, though I prefer to eat eggs without any condiments.)

panacea

(n.) a remedy for all ills or difficulties (Doctors wish there was a single _________ for every disease, but sadly there is not.)

anecdote

(n.) a short, humorous account (After dinner, Marlon told an ________ about the time he got his nose stuck in a toaster.)

nuance

(n.) a slight variation in meaning, tone, expression (The ______s of the poem were not obvious to the casual reader, but the professor was able to point them out.)

modicum

(n.) a small amount of something (Refusing to display even a _______ of sensitivity, Henrietta announced her boss's affair in front of the entire office.)

salve

(n.) a soothing balm (After Tony applied a _____ to his brilliant red sunburn, he soon felt a little better.)

oration

(n.) a speech delivered in a formal or ceremonious manner (The prime minister was visibly shaken when the unruly parliament interrupted his ______ about failed domestic policies.)

elegy

(n.) a speech given in honor of a dead person (At the funeral, the widow gave a moving ______ describing her love for her husband.)

disrepute

(n.) a state of being held in low regard (The officer fell into _________ after it was learned that he had disobeyed the orders he had given to his own soldiers.)

antipathy

(n.) a strong dislike, repugnance (I know you love me, but because you are a liar and a thief, I feel nothing but _________ for you.)

proclivity

(n.) a strong inclination toward something (In a sick twist of fate, Harold's childhood __________ for torturing small animals grew into a desire to become a surgeon.)

contrite

(adj.) penitent, eager to be forgiven (Blake's ________ behavior made it impossible to stay angry at him.)

repentant

(adj.) penitent, sorry (The ____________ Dennis apologized profusely for breaking his mother's vase.)

prosaic

(adj.) plain, lacking liveliness (Heather's __________ recital of the poem bored the audience.)

congenial

(adj.) pleasantly agreeable (His _________ manner made him popular wherever he went.)

profuse

(adj.) plentiful, abundant (The fans were _______ in their cheers for the star basketball player.)

impecunious

(adj.) poor ("I fear he's too ______________ to take me out tonight," the bratty girl whined.)

pragmatic

(adj.) practical (The politician argued that while increased security measures might not fit with the lofty ideals of the nation, they were a ____________ necessity to ensure everyone's safety.)

pugnacious

(adj.) quarrelsome, combative (Aaron's ____________ nature led him to start several barroom brawls each month.)

effulgent

(adj.) radiant, splendorous (The golden palace was ___________.)

discursive

(adj.) rambling, lacking order (The professor's __________ lectures seemed to be about every subject except the one initially described.)

impetuous

(adj.) rash; hastily done (Hilda's hasty slaying of the king was an ____________, thoughtless action.)

patent

(adj.) readily seen or understood, clear (The reason for Jim's abdominal pain was made _______ after the doctor performed a sonogram.)

truculent

(adj.) ready to fight, cruel (This club doesn't really attract the dangerous types, so why was that bouncer being so _____________?)

disaffected

(adj.) rebellious, resentful of authority (Dismayed by Bobby's poor behavior, the parents sent their ___________ son to a military academy to be disciplined.)

intransigent

(adj.) refusing to compromise, often on an extreme opinion (The ______________ child said he would have 12 scoops of ice cream, or he would bang his head against the wall until his mother fainted from fear.)

cerebral

(adj.) related to the intellect (The books we read in this class are too ________— they don't engage my emotions at all.)

utilitarian

(adj.) relating to or aiming at usefulness (The beautiful, fragile vase couldn't hold flowers or serve any other _______ purpose.)

epistolary

(adj.) relating to or contained in letters (Some people call me "Auntie's boy," because my aunt and I have such a close __________ relationship that we write each other every day.)

terrestrial

(adj.) relating to the land (Elephants are ______________ animals.)

penitent

(adj.) remorseful, regretful (The jury's verdict may have been more lenient if the criminal had appeared __________ for his gruesome crimes.)

aloof

(adj.) reserved, distant (The scientist could sometimes seem _____, as if he didn't care about his friends or family, but really he was just thinking about quantum mechanics.)

impregnable

(adj.) resistant to capture or penetration (Though the invaders used battering rams, catapults, and rain dances, the fortress proved ______________ and resisted all attacks.)

restive

(adj.) resistant, stubborn, impatient (The ___________ audience pelted the band with mud and yelled nasty comments.)

hallowed

(adj.) revered, consecrated (In the _________ corridors of the cathedral, the disturbed professor felt himself to be at peace.)

hardy

(adj.) robust, capable of surviving through adverse conditions (I too would have expected the plants to be dead by mid-November, but apparently they're very _____.)

commodious

(adj.) roomy (Holden invited the three women to join him in the back seat of the taxicab, assuring them that the car was quite __________.)

putrid

(adj.) rotten, foul (Those rotten eggs smell ________.)

circuitous

(adj.) roundabout (The bus's __________ route took us through numerous outlying suburbs.)

insolent

(adj.) rude, arrogant, overbearing (That celebrity is so __________, making fun of his fans right to their faces.)

impertinent

(adj.) rude, insolent (Most of your comments are so ____________ that I don't wish to dignify them with an answer.)

covert

(adj.) secretly engaged in (Nerwin waged a ______ campaign against his enemies, while outwardly appearing to remain friendly.)

inviolable

(adj.) secure from assault (Nobody was ever able to break into Batman's _________ Batcave.)

staid

(adj.) sedate, serious, self-restrained (The ______ butler never changed his expression no matter what happened.)

veneer

(n.) a superficial or deceptively attractive appearance, façade (Thanks to her Chanel makeup, Shannen was able to maintain a ________ of perfection that hid the flaws underneath.)

confection

(n.) a sweet, fancy food (We went to the mall food court and purchased a delicious __________.)

insular

(adj.) separated and narrow-minded; tight-knit, closed off (Because of the sensitive nature of their jobs, those who work for the CIA must remain __________ and generally only spend time with each other.)

scathing

(adj.) sharp, critical, hurtful (Two hours after breaking up with Russell, Suzanne thought of the perfect ________ retort to his accusations.)

disparate

(adj.) sharply differing, containing sharply contrasting elements (Having widely varying interests, the students had __________ responses toward the novel.)

fickle

(adj.) shifting in character, inconstant (In Greek dramas, the _______ gods help Achilles one day, and then harm him the next.)

resplendent

(adj.) shiny, glowing (The partygoers were _________ in diamonds and fancy dress.)

ephemeral

(adj.) short-lived, fleeting (She promised she'd love me forever, but her "forever" was only __________: she left me after one week.)

audacious

(adj.) showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks, showing an impudent lack of respect

perfunctory

(adj.) showing little interest or enthusiasm (The radio broadcaster announced the news of the massacre in a surprisingly ____________ manner.)

amorous

(adj.) showing love, particularly sexual (Whenever Albert saw Mariah wear her slinky red dress, he began to feel quite _______.)

iridescent

(adj.) showing rainbow colors (The bride's large diamond ring was _____________ in the afternoon sun.)

deferential

(adj.) showing respect for another's authority (His ____________ attitude toward her made her more confident in her ability to run the company.)

canny

(adj.) shrewd, careful (The _____ runner hung at the back of the pack through much of the race to watch the other runners, and then sprinted past them at the end.)

perspicacity

(adj.) shrewdness, perceptiveness (The detective was too humble to acknowledge that his _____________ was the reason for his professional success.)

diffident

(adj.) shy, quiet, modest (While eating dinner with the adults, the _________ youth did not speak for fear of seeming presumptuous.)

cloying

(adj.) sickeningly sweet (Though Ronald was physically attractive, Maud found his constant compliments and solicitous remarks _______.)

saccharine

(adj.) sickeningly sweet (Tom's ___________ manner, although intended to make him popular, actually repelled his classmates.)

salient

(adj.) significant, conspicuous (One of the __________ differences between Alison and Nancy is that Alison is a foot taller.)

inane

(adj.) silly and meaningless (Some films are so _____that the psychology of the characters makes absolutely no sense.)

fatuous

(adj.) silly, foolish (He considers himself a serious poet, but in truth, he only writes _______ limericks.)

analogous

(adj.) similar to, so that an analogy can be drawn (Though they are unrelated genetically, the bone structure of whales and fish is quite _________.)

sedentary

(adj.) sitting, settled (The __________ cat did little but loll in the sun.)

adroit

(adj.) skillful, dexterous (The ______ thief could pick someone's pocket without attracting notice.)

somnolent

(adj.) sleepy, drowsy (The ___________ student kept falling asleep and waking up with a jerk.)

languid

(adj.) sluggish from fatigue or weakness (In the summer months, the great heat makes people _______ and lazy.)

paucity

(adj.) small in quantity (Gilbert lamented the ________ of twentieth century literature courses available at the college.)

diminutive

(adj.) small or miniature (The bullies, tall and strong, picked on the __________ child.)

unctuous

(adj.) smooth or greasy in texture, appearance, manner (The ________ receptionist seemed untrustworthy, as if she was only being helpful because she thought we might give her a big tip.)

decorous

(adj.) socially proper, appropriate (The appreciative guest displayed ________ behavior toward his host.)

reclusive

(adj.) solitary, shunning society (____________ authors such as J.D. Salinger do not relish media attention and sometimes even enjoy holing up in remote cabins in the woods.)

pacific

(adj.) soothing (The chemistry professor's _________ demeanor helped the class remain calm after the experiment exploded.)

emollient

(adj.) soothing (This _________ cream makes my skin very smooth.)

scintillating

(adj.) sparkling (The ice skater's ____________ rhinestone costume nearly blinded the judges.)

surreptitious

(adj.) stealthy (The ________ CIA agents were able to get in and out of the house without anyone noticing.)

impassive

(adj.) stoic, not susceptible to suffering (Stop being so ___________; it's healthy to cry every now and then.)

inveterate

(adj.) stubbornly established by habit (I'm the first to admit that I'm an _____________ coffee drinker—I drink four cups a day.)

pertinacious

(adj.) stubbornly persistent (Harry's parents were frustrated with his ______________ insistence that a monster lived in his closet. Then they opened the closet door and were eaten.)

capricious

(adj.) subject to whim, fickle (The young girl's __________ tendencies made it difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals.)

servile

(adj.) subservient (The _____ porter crept around the hotel lobby, bowing and quaking before the guests.)

potable

(adj.) suitable for drinking (During sea voyages it is essential that ships carry a supply of ___________ water because salty ocean water makes anyone who drinks it sick.)

arable

(adj.) suitable for growing crops (The farmer purchased a plot of ______ land on which he will grow corn and sprouts.)

preponderance

(adj.) superiority in importance or quantity (Britain's ___________ of naval might secured the nation's role as a military power.)

derivative

(adj.) taken directly from a source, unoriginal (She was bored by his music because she felt that it was __________ and that she had heard it before.)

garrulous

(adj.) talkative, wordy (Some talk show hosts are so __________ that their guests can't get a word in edgewise.)

dilatory

(adj.) tending to delay, causing delay (The general's ________ strategy enabled the enemy to regroup.)

laconic

(adj.) terse in speech or writing (The author's _______ style has won him many followers who dislike wordiness.)

timorous

(adj.) timid, fearful (When dealing with the unknown, _________ Tallulah almost always broke into tears.)

prescient

(adj.) to have foreknowledge of events (Questioning the fortune cookie's prediction, Ray went in search of the old hermit who was rumored to be ___________.)

nominal

(adj.) trifling, insignificant (Because he was moving the following week and needed to get rid of his furniture more than he needed money, Jordan sold everything for a ________ fee.)

ineffable

(adj.) unspeakable, incapable of being expressed through words (It is said that the experience of playing with a dolphin is __________ and can only be understood through direct encounter.)

acrimony

(n.) bitterness, discord (Though they vowed that no girl would ever come between them, Biff and Trevor could not keep ________ from overwhelming their friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.)

ennui

(n.) boredom, weariness (I feel such _____that I don't look forward to anything, not even my birthday party.)

camaraderie

(n.) brotherhood, jovial unity (____________ among employees usually leads to success in business.)

contusion

(n.) bruise, injury (The _________s on his face suggested he'd been in a fight.)

prudence

(n.) cautious, circumspect (After losing a fortune in a stock market crash, my father vowed to practice greater ____________ in future investments.)

equanimity

(n.) composure (Even though he had just been fired, Mr. Simms showed great ___________ by neatly packing up his desk and wishing everyone in the office well.)

duplicity

(n.) crafty dishonesty (His ___________ involved convincing his employees to let him lower their salaries and increase their stock options, and then to steal the money he saved and run the company into the ground.)

guile

(n.) deceitful, cunning, sly behavior (Because of his great _____, the politician was able to survive scandal after scandal.)

legerdemain

(n.) deception, slight-of-hand (Smuggling the French plants through customs by claiming that they were fake was a remarkable bit of _____________.)

rancor

(n.) deep, bitter resentment (When Eileen challenged me to a fight, I could see the ______ in her eyes.)

turpitude

(n.) depravity, moral corruption (Sir Marcus's chivalry often contrasted with the ___________ he exhibited with the ladies at the tavern.)

irreverence

(n.) disrespect (The _____________ displayed by the band that marched through the chapel disturbed many churchgoers.)

compunction

(n.) distress caused by feeling guilty (He felt ___________ for the shabby way he'd treated her.)

hegemony

(n.) domination over others (Britain's _____________ over its colonies was threatened once nationalist sentiment began to spread around the world.)

alacrity

(n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Chuck loved to help his mother whenever he could, so when his mother asked him to set the table he did so with ________.)

plaudits

(n.) enthusiastic approval, applause (The controversial new film received ____________ from even the harshest critics.)

vicissitude

(n.) event that occurs by chance (The __________s of daily life prevent me from predicting what might happen from one day to the next.)

avarice

(n.) excessive greed (The banker's _______ led him to amass a tremendous personal fortune.)

ostracism

(n.) exclusion from a group (Beth risked __________ if her roommates discovered her flatulence.)

prowess

(n.) extraordinary ability (The musician had never taken a guitar lesson in his life, making his _________ with the instrument even more incredible.)

adulation

(n.) extreme praise (Though the book was pretty good, Marcy did not believe it deserved the _________ it received.)

ardor

(n.) extreme vigor, energy, enthusiasm (The soldiers conveyed their _____ with impassioned battle cries.)

trepidation

(n.) fear, apprehension (Feeling great ___________, Anya refused to jump into the pool because she thought she saw a shark in it.)

absolution

(n.) freedom from blame, guilt, sin (Once all the facts were known, the jury gave Angela __________ by giving a verdict of not guilty.)

parsimony

(n.) frugality, stinginess (Many relatives believed that my aunt's wealth resulted from her _____________.)

munificence

(n.) generosity in giving (The royal family's ___________ made everyone else in their country rich.)

conflagration

(n.) great fire (The _____________ consumed the entire building.) (n.) a gathering together (A confluence of different factors made tonight the

cupidity

(n.) greed, strong desire (His ________ made him enter the abandoned gold mine despite the obvious dangers.)

duress

(n.) hardship, threat (It was only under intense _______that he, who was normally against killing, fired his gun.)

concord

(n.) harmonious agreement (Julie and Harold began the evening with a disagreement, but ended it in a state of perfect _______.)

renown

(n.) honor, acclaim (The young writer earned international _______ by winning the Pulitzer Prize.)

antagonism

(n.) hostility (Superman and Bizarro Superman shared a mutual __________, and often fought.)

enmity

(n.) ill will, hatred, hostility (Mark and Andy have clearly not forgiven each other, because the ______ between them is obvious to anyone in their presence.)

effrontery

(n.) impudence, nerve, insolence (When I told my aunt that she was boring, my mother scolded me for my ___________.)

circumlocution

(n.) indirect and wordy language (The professor's habit of speaking in ______________s made it difficult to follow his lectures.)

acumen

(n.) keen insight (Because of his mathematical ______, Larry was able to figure out in minutes problems that took other students hours.)

dissonance

(n.) lack of harmony or consistency (Though the president of the company often spoke of the company as reliant solely upon its workers, her decision to increase her own salary rather than reward her employees revealed a striking___________ between her alleged beliefs and her actions.)

privation

(n.) lacking basic necessities (After decades of rule by an oppressive government that saw nothing wrong with stealing from its citizens, the recent drought only increased the people's ____________.)

grandiloquence

(n.) lofty, pompous language (The student thought her __________________ would make her sound smart, but neither the class nor the teacher bought it.)

fidelity

(n.) loyalty, devotion (Guard dogs are known for the great ________ they show toward their masters.)

serendipity

(n.) luck, finding good things without looking for them (In an amazing bit of ___________, penniless Paula found a $20 bill in the subway station.)

clergy

(n.) members of Christian holy orders (Though the villagers viewed the church rectory as quaint and charming, the ______ who lived there regarded it as a mildewy and dusty place that aggravated their allergies.)

clemency

(n.) mercy (After he forgot their anniversary, Martin could only beg Maria for ________.)

temperance

(n.) moderation in action or thought (Maintaining _________ will ensure that you are able to think rationally and objectively.)

rapport

(n.) mutual understanding and harmony (When Margaret met her paramour, they felt an instant _____.)

larceny

(n.) obtaining another's property by theft or trickery (When my car was not where I had left it, I realized that I was a victim of ________.)

surrogate

(n.) one acting in place of another (The _________ carried the child to term for its biological parents.)

iconoclast

(n.) one who attacks common beliefs or institutions (Jane goes to one protest after another, but she seems to be an ______________ rather than an activist with a progressive agenda.)

conformist

(n.) one who behaves the same as others (Julian was such a __________ that he had to wait and see if his friends would do something before he would commit.)

hedonist

(n.) one who believes pleasure should be the primary pursuit of humans (Because he's such a _________, I knew Murray would appreciate the 11 cases of wine I bought him for his birthday.)

arbiter

(n.) one who can resolve a dispute, make a decision (The divorce court judge will serve as the _______ between the estranged husband and wife.)

virtuoso

(n.) one who excels in an art; a highly skilled musical performer (Even though Lydia has studied piano for many years, she's only average at it. She's no ___________, that's for sure.)

sycophant

(n.) one who flatters for self-gain (Some see the people in the cabinet as the president's closest advisors, but others see them as ___________s.)

toady

(n.) one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors (The other kids referred to the teacher's pet as the Tenth Grade ____________.)

potentate

(n.) one who has great power, a ruler (All the villagers stood along the town's main road to observe as the ____________'s procession headed towards the capital.)

despot

(n.) one who has total power and rules brutally (The ________ issued a death sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)

inquisitor

(n.) one who inquires, especially in a hostile manner (The ____________ was instructed to knock on every door in town in order to find the fugitive.)

insurgent

(n.) one who rebels (The ___________ snuck into and defaced a different classroom each night until the administration agreed to meet his demands.)

anarchist

(n.) one who wants to eliminate all government (An _________, Carmine wanted to dissolve every government everywhere.)

gluttony

(n.) overindulgence in food or drink (Ada's fried chicken tastes so divine, I don't know how anyone can call _______ a sin.)

forbearance

(n.) patience, restraint, toleration (The doctor showed great _____________ in calming down the angry patient who shouted insults at him.)

pulchritude

(n.) physical beauty (Several of Shakespeare's sonnets explore the _________ of a lovely young man.)

approbation

(n.) praise (The crowd welcomed the heroes with ___________.)

kudos

(n.) praise for an achievement (After the performance, the reviewers gave the opera singer _____ for a job well done.)

conundrum

(n.) puzzle, problem (Interpreting Jane's behavior was a constant _________.)

credulity

(n.) readiness to believe (His _________ made him an easy target for con men.)

umbrage

(n.) resentment, offense (He called me a lily-livered coward, and I took _________ at the insult.)

restitution

(n.) restoration to the rightful owner (Many people feel that descendants of slaves should receive ________ for the sufferings of their ancestors.)

petulance

(n.) rudeness, irritability (The Nanny resigned after she could no longer tolerate the child's _________.)

collusion

(n.) secret agreement, conspiracy (The three law students worked in _________ to steal the final exam.)

sobriety

(n.) sedate, calm (Jason believed that maintaining his __________ in times of crisis was the key to success in life.)

complacency

(n.) self-satisfied ignorance of danger (Colin tried to shock his friends out of their ___________ by painting a frightening picture of what might happen to them.)

sagacity

(n.) shrewdness, soundness of perspective (With remarkable __________, the wise old man predicted and thwarted his children's plan to ship him off to a nursing home.)

accretion

(n.) slow growth in size or amount (Stalactites are formed by the _________ of minerals from the roofs of caves.)

litigant

(n.) someone engaged in a lawsuit (When the ________s began screaming at each other, Judge Koch ordered them to be silent.)

gourmand

(n.) someone fond of eating and drinking (My parents, who used to eat little more than crackers and salad, have become real ___________ in their old age.)

neophyte

(n.) someone who is young or inexperienced (As a _________ in the literary world, Malik had trouble finding a publisher for his first novel.)

interlocutor

(n.) someone who participates in a dialogue or conversation (When the officials could not come to an agreement over the correct cover of the flags, the prime minister acted as an ________________.)

behemoth

(n.) something of tremendous power or size (The new aircraft carrier is among several ________s that the Air Force has added to its fleet.)

antecedent

(n.) something that came before (The great tradition of Western culture had its __________ in the culture of Ancient Greece.)

aberration

(n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, but the success turned out to be an __________, and the Red Sox have not won a World Series since.)

anomaly

(n.) something that does not fit into the normal order ("That rip in the space- time continuum is certainly a spatial _______," said Spock to Captain Kirk.)

linchpin

(n.) something that holds separate parts together (The _________ in the prosecution's case was the hair from the defendant's head, which was found at the scene of the crime.)

analgesic

(n.) something that reduces pain (Put this _________ on the wound so that the poor man at least feels a little better.)

fortitude

(n.) strength, guts (Achilles' _________ in battle is legendary.)

antithesis

(n.) the absolute opposite (Your values, which hold war and violence in the highest esteem, are the ___________ of my pacifist beliefs.)

juxtaposition

(n.) the act of placing two things next to each other for implicit comparison (The interior designer admired my _________________ of the yellow couch and green table.)

combustion

(n.) the act or process of burning (The unexpected ___________ of the prosecution's evidence forced the judge to dismiss the case against Ramirez.)

precipice

(n.) the face of a cliff, a steep or overhanging place (The mountain climber hung from a ___________ before finding a handhold and pulling himself up.)

largess

(n.) the generous giving of lavish gifts (My boss demonstrated great _______ by giving me a new car.)

pinnacle

(n.) the highest point (Book reviewers declared that the author's new novel was extraordinary and probably the ___________ of Western literature.)

etymology

(n.) the history of words, their origin and development (From the study of _________, I know that the word "quixotic" derives from Don Quixote and the word "gaudy" refers to the Spanish architect Gaudí.)

nadir

(n.) the lowest point of something (My day was boring, but the ______ came when I accidentally spilled a bowl of spaghetti on my head.)

demarcation

(n.) the marking of boundaries or categories (Different cultures have different ___________s of good and evil.)

mores

(n.) the moral attitudes and fixed customs of a group of people. (_____ change over time; many things that were tolerated in 1975 are no longer seen as being socially acceptable.)

arbitration

(n.) the process or act of resolving a dispute (The employee sought official ___________ when he could not resolve a disagreement with his supervisor.)

congruity

(n.) the quality of being in agreement (Bill and Veronica achieved a perfect __________ of opinion.)

propriety

(n.) the quality or state of being proper, decent (Erma's old-fashioned parents believed that her mini-skirt lacked the ___________ expected of a "nice" girl.)

knell

(n.) the solemn sound of a bell, often indicating a death (Echoing throughout our village, the funeral _______ made the stormy day even more grim.)

vocation

(n.) the work in which someone is employed, profession (After growing tired of the superficial world of high-fashion, Edwina decided to devote herself to a new _________: social work.)

renunciation

(n.) to reject (Fiona's ___________ of red meat resulted in weight loss, but confused those people who thought she'd been a vegetarian for years.)

cacophony

(n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound (The elementary school orchestra created a _________ at the recital.)

veracity

(n.) truthfulness, accuracy (With several agencies regulating the reports, it was difficult for Latifah to argue against its _________.)

rectitude

(n.) uprightness, extreme morality (The priest's ____________ gave him the moral authority to counsel his parishioners.)

probity

(n.) virtue, integrity (Because he was never viewed as a man of great _________, no one was surprised by Mr. Samson's immoral behavior.)

depravity

(n.) wickedness (Rumors of the ogre's _________ made the children afraid to enter the forest.)

iniquity

(n.) wickedness or sin ("Your ____________," said the priest to the practical jokester, "will be forgiven.")

affinity

(n.)a spontaneous feeling of closeness (Jerry didn't know why, but he felt an incredible ________ for Kramer the first time they met.)

bilk

(v.) cheat, defraud (The lawyer discovered that this firm had ____ed several clients out of thousands of dollars.)

abrogate

(v.) to abolish, usually by authority (The Bill of Rights assures that the government cannot ________ our right to a free press.)

immerse

(v.) to absorb, deeply involve, engross (After breaking up with her boyfriend, Nancy decided to ________ herself in her work in order to avoid crying.)

augment

(v.) to add to, expand (The eager student seeks to _______ his knowledge of French vocabulary by reading French literature.)

acquiesce

(v.) to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner, he _________d to her demands.)

abet

(v.) to aid, help, encourage (The spy succeeded only because he had a friend on the inside to ____ him.)

carp

(v.) to annoy, pester (The husband divorced his wife after listening to her ____ing voice for decades.)

impute

(v.) to ascribe, blame (The CEO ________d the many typos in the letter to his lazy secretary.)

allege

(v.) to assert, usually without proof (The policeman had ______d that Marshall committed the crime, but after the investigation turned up no evidence, Marshall was set free.)

appraise

(v.) to assess the worth or value of (A realtor will come over tonight to ________ our house.)

ascribe

(v.) to assign, credit, attribute to (Some _______ the invention of fireworks and dynamite to the Chinese.)

stupefy

(v.) to astonish, make insensible (Veronica's audacity and ungratefulness _______ed her best friend, Heather.)

vindicate

(v.) to avenge; to free from allegation; to set free (The attorney had no chance of __________ing the defendant with all of the strong evidence presented by the state.)

dither

(v.) to be indecisive (Not wanting to offend either friend, he _______ed about which of the two birthday parties he should attend.)

stagnate

(v.) to become or remain inactive, not develop, not flow (With no room for advancement, the waiter's career _________d.)

deprecate

(v.) to belittle, depreciate (Always over-modest, he _________d his contribution to the local charity.)

denigrate

(v.) to belittle, diminish the opinion of (The company decided that its advertisements would no longer _________ the company's competitors.)

vituperate

(v.) to berate (Jack ran away as soon as his father found out, knowing he would be _______________d for his unseemly behavior.)

engender

(v.) to bring about, create, generate (During the Olympics, the victories of U.S. athletes ________ a patriotic spirit among Americans.)

induce

(v.) to bring about, stimulate (Who knew that our decision to boycott school lunch would ________ a huge riot?)

elicit

(v.) to bring forth, draw out, evoke (Although I asked several times where the exit was, I ______ed no response from the stone-faced policeman.)

amalgamate

(v.) to bring together, unite (Because of his great charisma, the presidential candidate was able to __________ all democrats and republicans under his banner.)

subjugate

(v.) to bring under control, subdue (The invading force captured and _____________d the natives of that place.)

convene

(v.) to call together (Jason _______d his entire extended family for a discussion.)

inure

(v.) to cause someone or something to become accustomed to a situation (Twenty years in the salt mines ______d the man to the discomforts of dirt and grime.)

fetter

(v.) to chain, restrain (The dog was ______ed to the parking meter.)

transmute

(v.) to change or alter in form (Ancient alchemists believed that it was possible to __________ lead into gold.)

catalyze

(v.) to charge, inspire (The president's speech ________d the nation and resuscitated the economy.)

enthrall

(v.) to charm, hold spellbound (The sailor's stories of fighting off sharks and finding ancient treasures _________ed his young son.)

elucidate

(v.) to clarify, explain (I didn't understand why my friend was so angry with me, so I asked Janine to ___________ her feelings.)

blandish

(v.) to coax by using flattery (Rachel's assistant tried to ________ her into accepting the deal.)

consummate

(v.) to complete a deal; to complete a marriage ceremony through sexual intercourse (Erica and Donald __________d their agreement in the executive boardroom.)

dissemble

(v.) to conceal, fake (Not wanting to appear heartlessly greedy, she __________d and hid her intention to sell her ailing father's stamp collection.)

proscribe

(v.) to condemn, outlaw (The town council voted to __________ the sale of alcohol on weekends.)

accost

(v.) to confront verbally (Though Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15 minutes she stood up and ______ed the man.)

vex

(v.) to confuse or annoy (My little brother ___es me by poking me in the ribs for hours on end.)

ruminate

(v.) to contemplate, reflect (Terry liked to ___________ while sitting on the banks of the river, staring pensively into the water.)

contravene

(v.) to contradict, oppose, violate (Edwidge __________d his landlady's rule against overnight guests.)

quell

(v.) to control or diffuse a potentially explosive situation (The skilled leader deftly ________ed the rebellion.)

emend

(v.) to correct or revise a written text (If my sentence is incorrect, the editor will ______ what I have written.)

debauch

(v.) to corrupt by means of sensual pleasures (An endless amount of good wine and cheese _______ed the traveler.)

decry

(v.) to criticize openly (The kind video rental clerk _____ed the policy of charging customers late fees.)

upbraid

(v.) to criticize or scold severely (The last thing Lindsay wanted was for Lisa to ___________ her again about missing the rent payment.)

disparage

(v.) to criticize or speak ill of (The saleswoman _________d the competitor's products to persuade her customers to buy what she was selling.)

denounce

(v.) to criticize publicly (The senator ________d her opponent as a greedy politician.)

wane

(v.) to decrease in size, dwindle (Don't be so afraid of his wrath because his influence with the president is already beginning to ____.)

consecrate

(v.) to dedicate something to a holy purpose (Arvin __________d his spare bedroom as a shrine to Christina.)

raze

(v.) to demolish, level (The old tenement house was ____d to make room for the large chain store.)

disavow

(v.) to deny knowledge of or responsibility for (Not wanting others to criticize her, she _______ed any involvement in the company's hiring scandal.)

delineate

(v.) to describe, outline, shed light on (She neatly _________d her reasons for canceling the project's funding.)

flout

(v.) to disregard or disobey openly (I ______ed the school's dress code by wearing a tie-dyed tank top and a pair of cut-off jeans.)

refract

(v.) to distort, change (The light was _______ed as it passed through the prism.)

allocate

(v.) to distribute, set aside (The Mayor ________d 10% percent of the funds for improving the town's schools.)

placate

(v.) to ease the anger of, soothe (The man purchased a lollipop to _________ his irritable son.)

assuage

(v.) to ease, pacify (The mother held the baby to _______ its fears.)

rhapsodize

(v.) to engage in excessive enthusiasm (The critic ___________d about the movie, calling it an instant classic.)

relish

(v.) to enjoy (Pete always ______ed his bedtime snack.)

revel

(v.) to enjoy intensely (Theodore _____ed in his new status as Big Man on Campus.)

revere

(v.) to esteem, show deference, venerate (The doctor saved countless lives with his combination of expertise and kindness and became universally ______.)

elude

(v.) to evade, escape (Despite an intense search, the robber continues to ______ the police.)

debunk

(v.) to expose the falseness of something (He ______ed her claim to be the world's greatest chess player by defeating her in 18 consecutive matches.)

emote

(v.) to express emotion (The director told the actor he had to _____, or else the audience would have no idea what his character was going through.)

deplore

(v.) to feel or express sorrow, disapproval (We all _______d the miserable working conditions in the factory.)

enamor

(v.) to fill with love, fascinate, usually used in passive form followed by "of" or "with" (I grew ______ed of that boy when he quoted my favorite love poem.)

inundate

(v.) to flood with abundance (Because I am the star of a new sitcom, my fans are sure to _________ me with fan mail and praise.)

vacillate

(v.) to fluctuate, hesitate (I prefer a definite answer, but my boss kept _____________ing between the distinct options available to us.)

exonerate

(v.) to free from guilt or blame, exculpate (The true thief's confession __________d the man who had been held in custody for the crime.)

exculpate

(v.) to free from guilt or blame, exonerate (My discovery of the ring behind the dresser ___________ me from the charge of having stolen it.)

abstain

(v.) to freely choose not to commit an action (Everyone demanded that Angus put on the kilt, but he did not want to do it and _______ed.)

confound

(v.) to frustrate, confuse (MacGuyver _________ed the policemen pursuing him by covering his tracks.)

coalesce

(v.) to fuse into a whole (Gordon's ensemble of thrift-shop garments ________d into a surprisingly handsome outfit.)

circumvent

(v.) to get around (The school's dress code forbidding navel-baring jeans was __________ed by the determined students, who were careful to cover up with long coats when administrators were nearby.)

captivate

(v.) to get the attention of, hold (The fireworks _________d the young boy, who had never seen such things before.)

reciprocate

(v.) to give in return (When Steve gave Samantha a sweater for Christmas, she ____________d by giving him a kiss.)

consign

(v.) to give something over to another's care (Unwillingly, he _______ed his mother to a nursing home.)

abort

(v.) to give up on a half-finished project or effort (After they ran out of food, the men, attempting to jump rope around the world, had to _____ and go home.)

forsake

(v.) to give up, renounce (My New Year's resolution is to _________ smoking and drinking.)

exalt

(v.) to glorify, praise (Michael Jordan is the figure in basketball we _____ the most.)

enfranchise

(v.) to grant the vote to (The Nineteenth Amendment ___________d women.)

forage

(v.) to graze, rummage for food (When we got lost on our hiking trip, we ______d for berries and nuts in order to survive.)

delegate

(v.) to hand over responsibility for something (The dean ________d the task of finding a new professor to a special hiring committee.)

abase

(v.) to humiliate, degrade (After being overthrown and _____d, the deposed leader offered to bow down to his conqueror.)

emulate

(v.) to imitate (I idolize Britney Spears so much that I _______ everything she does: I wear her outfits, sing along to her songs, and date a boy named Justin.)

ameliorate

(v.) to improve (The tense situation was __________d when Sam proposed a solution everyone could agree upon.)

aggrandize

(v.) to increase or make greater (Joseph always dropped the names of the famous people his father knew as a way to __________ his personal stature.)

surmise

(v.) to infer with little evidence (After speaking to only one of the students, the teacher was able to _________ what had caused the fight.)

construe

(v.) to interpret (He ________d her throwing his clothes out the window as a signal that she wanted him to leave.)

inoculate

(v.) to introduce a microorganism, serum, or vaccine into an organism in order to increase immunity to illness; to vaccinate (I've feared needles ever since I was ___________d against 37 diseases at age one; but I have also never been sick.)

yoke

(v.) to join, link (We ____d together the logs by tying a string around them.)

deride

(v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The bullies ______d the foreign student's accent.)

prescribe

(v.) to lay down a rule (The duke _________d that from this point further all of the peasants living on his lands would have to pay higher taxes.)

cavort

(v.) to leap about, behave boisterously (The adults ate their dinners on the patio, while the children ______ed around the pool.)

curtail

(v.) to lessen, reduce (Since losing his job, he had to _______ his spending.)

vilify

(v.) to lower in importance, defame (After the Watergate scandal, almost any story written about President Nixon sought to ________ him and criticize his behavior.)

debase

(v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave himself ______d his motives for running the charity.)

demean

(v.) to lower the status or stature of something (She refused to ______ her secretary by making him order her lunch.)

expiate

(v.) to make amends for, atone (To _______ my selfishness, I gave all my profits to charity.)

mitigate

(v.) to make less violent, alleviate (When I had an awful sore throat, only warm tea would _________ the pain.)

exacerbate

(v.) to make more violent, intense (The gruesome and scary movie I saw last night __________d my fears of the dark.)

annul

(v.) to make void or invalid (After seeing its unforeseen and catastrophic effects, Congress sought to _____ the law.)

undulate

(v.) to move in waves (As the storm began to brew, the placid ocean began to ____________ to an increasing degree.)

propagate

(v.) to multiply, spread out (Rumors of Paul McCartney's demise ___________d like wildfire throughout the world.)

counteract

(v.) to neutralize, make ineffective (The antidote __________ed the effect of the poison.)

expunge

(v.) to obliterate, eradicate (Fearful of an IRS investigation, Paul tried to _________ all incriminating evidence from his tax files.)

procure

(v.) to obtain, acquire (The FBI was unable to ______________ sufficient evidence to charge the gangster with racketeering.)

condone

(v.) to pardon, deliberately overlook (He refused to _______ his brother's crime.)

carouse

(v.) to party, celebrate (We _______d all night after getting married.)

modulate

(v.) to pass from one state to another, especially in music (The composer wrote a piece that ________d between minor and major keys.)

discern

(v.) to perceive, detect (Though he hid his emotions, she ________ed from his body language that he was angry.)

ascertain

(v.) to perceive, learn (With a bit of research, the student _________ed that some plants can live for weeks without water.)

dissuade

(v.) to persuade someone not to do something (Worried that he would catch a cold, she tried to ________ him from going out on winter nights.)

connive

(v.) to plot, scheme (She _______d to get me to give up my vacation plans.)

burnish

(v.) to polish, shine (His mother asked him to _______ the silverware before setting the table.)

defer

(v.) to postpone something; to yield to another's wisdom (Ron ______ed to Diane, the expert on musical instruments, when he was asked about buying a piano.)

extol

(v.) to praise, revere (Violet ______ed the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat- loving brother.)

preclude

(v.) to prevent (My grandfather's large and vicious guard dog ___________d anyone from entering the yard.)

inhibit

(v.) to prevent, restrain, stop (When I told you I needed the car last night, I certainly never meant to __________ you from going out.)

forestall

(v.) to prevent, thwart, delay (I _________ed the cold I was getting by taking plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.)

promulgate

(v.) to proclaim, make known (The film professor _____________d that both in terms of sex appeal and political intrigue, Sean Connery's James Bond was superior to Roger Moore's.)

refute

(v.) to prove wrong (Maria ________d the president's argument as she yelled and gesticulated at the TV.)

palliate

(v.) to reduce the severity of (The doctor trusted that the new medication would __________ her patient's discomfort.)

abate

(v.) to reduce, lessen (The rain poured down for a while, then _____d.)

venerate

(v.) to regard with respect or to honor (The tribute to John Lennon sought to __________ his music, his words, and his legend.)

repudiate

(v.) to reject, refuse to accept (Kwame made a strong case for an extension of his curfew, but his mother _____________d it with a few biting words.)

abjure

(v.) to reject, renounce (To prove his honesty, the President ______d the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.)

exult

(v.) to rejoice (When she found out she won the literature prize, Mary ________ed by dancing and singing through the school's halls.)

expurgate

(v.) to remove offensive or incorrect parts, usually of a book (The history editors ___________d from the text all disparaging and inflammatory comments about the Republican Party.)

obfuscate

(v.) to render incomprehensible (The detective did want to answer the newspaperman's questions, so he ___________d the truth.)

atone

(v.) to repent, make amends (The man _____d for forgetting his wife's birthday by buying her five dozen roses.)

repose

(v.) to rest, lie down (The cat, after eating an entire can of tuna fish, _________d in the sun and took a long nap.)

refurbish

(v.) to restore, clean up (The dingy old chair, after being __________ed, commanded the handsome price of $200.)

divulge

(v.) to reveal something secret (Pressured by the press, the government finally ________d the previously unknown information.)

disclose

(v.) to reveal, make public (The CEO ________d to the press that the company would have to fire several employees.)

wallow

(v.) to roll oneself indolently; to become or remain helpless (My roommate can't get over her breakup with her boyfriend and now just ________s in self-pity.)

satiate

(v.) to satisfy excessively (_________d after eating far too much turkey and stuffing, Liza lay on the couch watching football and suffering from stomach pains.)

berate

(v.) to scold vehemently (The angry boss ______d his employees for failing to meet their deadline.)

rebuke

(v.) to scold, criticize (When the cops showed up at Sarah's party, they _________d her for disturbing the peace.)

reproach

(v.) to scold, disapprove (Brian _______ed the customer for failing to rewind the video he had rented.)

rail

(v.) to scold, protest (The professor ____ed against the injustice of the college's tenure policy.)

reprove

(v.) to scold, rebuke (Lara _______d her son for sticking each and every one of his fingers into the strawberry pie.)

usurp

(v.) to seize by force, take possession of without right (The rogue army general tried to _________ control of the government, but he failed because most of the army backed the legally elected president.)

pillage

(v.) to seize or plunder, especially in war (Invading enemy soldiers _________d the homes scattered along the country's border.)

calibrate

(v.) to set, standardize (The mechanic _________d the car's transmission to make the motor run most efficiently.)

truncate

(v.) to shorten by cutting off (After winning the derby, the jockey ___________d the long speech he had planned and thanked only his mom and his horse.)

evince

(v.) to show, reveal (Christopher's hand-wringing and nail-biting ______ how nervous he is about the upcoming English test.)

eschew

(v.) to shun, avoid (George hates the color green so much that he _______s all green food.)

adumbrate

(v.) to sketch out in a vague way (The coach _________d a game plan, but none of the players knew precisely what to do.)

abscond

(v.) to sneak away and hide (In the confusion, the super-spy _______ed into the night with the secret plans.)

mollify

(v.) to soften in temper (The police officer _______ed the angry woman by giving her a warning instead of a ticket.)

allay

(v.) to soothe, ease (The chairman of the Federal Reserve gave a speech to try to _____ investors' fears about an economic downturn.)

permeate

(v.) to spread throughout, saturate (Mrs. Huxtable was annoyed that the wet dog's odor had ____________d the furniture's upholstery.)

disseminate

(v.) to spread widely (The politician ____________d his ideas across the town before the election.)

foster

(v.) to stimulate, promote, encourage (To ______ good health in the city, the mayor started a "Get out and exercise!" campaign.)

balk

(v.) to stop, block abruptly (Edna's boss ____ed at her request for another raise.)

insinuate

(v.) to suggest indirectly or subtly (I wish Luke and Spencer would stop __________ing that my perfect report card is the result of anything other than my superior intelligence and good work habits.)

recapitulate

(v.) to sum up, repeat (Before the final exam, the teacher ___________d the semester's material.)

capitulate

(v.) to surrender (The army finally __________d after fighting a long costly battle.)

oscillate

(v.) to sway from one side to the other (My uncle _________d between buying a station wagon to transport his family and buying a sports car to satisfy his boyhood fantasies.)

distend

(v.) to swell out (Years of drinking beer caused his stomach to _______.)

rescind

(v.) to take back, repeal (The company _______ed its offer of employment after discovering that Jane's resume was full of lies.)

espouse

(v.) to take up as a cause, support (I love animals so much that I ________ animal rights.)

arrogate

(v.) to take without justification (The king ________d the right to order executions to himself exclusively.)

congeal

(v.) to thicken into a solid (The sauce had __-_---ed into a thick paste.)

coagulate

(v.) to thicken, clot (The top layer of the pudding had _________d into a thick skin.)

discomfit

(v.) to thwart, baffle (The normally cheery and playful children's sudden misery _________ed the teacher.)

foil

(v.) to thwart, frustrate, defeat (Inspector Wilkens ____ed the thieves by locking them in the bank along with their stolen money.)

beguile

(v.) to trick, deceive (The thief _______d his partners into surrendering all of their money to him.)

cajole

(v.) to urge, coax (Fred's buddies ______d him into attending the bachelor party.)

exhort

(v.) to urge, prod, spur (Henry ______ed his colleagues to join him in protesting against the university's hiring policies.)

goad

(v.) to urge, spur, incite to action (Jim may think he's not going to fight Billy, but Billy will _____ Jim on with insults until he throws a punch.)

desecrate

(v.) to violate the sacredness of a thing or place (They feared that the construction of a golf course would __________ the preserved wilderness.)

transgress

(v.) to violate, go over a limit (The criminal's actions _________ed morality and human decency.)

chide

(v.) to voice disapproval (Lucy _____d Russell for his vulgar habits and sloppy appearance.)

enervate

(v.) to weaken, exhaust (Writing these sentences _______s me so much that I will have to take a nap after I finish.)

encumber

(v.) to weigh down, burden (At the airport, my friend was ________ed by her luggage, so I offered to carry two of her bags.)

efface

(v.) to wipe out, obliterate, rub away (The husband was so angry at his wife for leaving him that he ______d all evidence of her presence; he threw out pictures of her and gave away all her belongings.)

atrophy

(v.) to wither away, decay (If muscles do not receive enough blood, they will soon _______ and die.)

retract

(v.) withdraw (As the media worked itself into a frenzy, the publicist hurriedly _________ed his client's sexist statement.)

lavish

1. (adj.) given without limits (Because they had worked very hard, the performers appreciated the critic's _______ praise.) 2. (v.) to give without limits (Because the performers had worked hard, they deserved the praise that the critic ______ed on them.)

redoubtable

1. (adj.) formidable (The fortress looked ______________ set against a stormy sky.) 2. (adj.) commanding respect (The audience greeted the ___________ speaker with a standing ovation.)

blight

1. (n.) a plague, disease (The potato ______ destroyed the harvest and bankrupted many families.) 2. (n.) something that destroys hope (His bad morale is a ______ upon this entire operation.)

harangue

1. (n.) a ranting speech (Everyone had heard the teacher's __________ about gum chewing in class before.) 2. (v.) to give such a speech (But this time the teacher __________d the class about the importance of brushing your teeth after chewing gum.)

solvent

1. (n.) a substance that can dissolve other substances (Water is sometimes called the universal ___________ because almost all other substances can dissolve into it.) 2. (adj.) able to pay debts (Upon receiving an unexpected check from her aunt, Annabelle found herself suddenly _________.)

aggregate

1. (n.) a whole or total (The three branches of the U.S. Government form an aggregate much more powerful than its individual parts.) 2. (v.) to gather into a mass (The dictator tried to _________ as many people into his army as he possibly could.)

convention

1. (n.) an assembly of people (The hotel was full because of the cattle- ranchers' __________.) 2. (n.) a rule, custom (The cattle-ranchers have a __________ that you take off your boots before entering their houses.)

impinge

1. (v.) to impact, affect, make an impression (The hail _________d the roof, leaving large dents.) 2. (v.) to encroach, infringe (I apologize for _________ing upon you like this, but I really need to use your bathroom. Now.)

reprieve

(n.) a temporary delay of punishment (Because the governor woke up in a particularly good mood, he granted hundreds of _____________ to prisoners.)

penchant

(n.) a tendency, partiality, preference (Jill's dinner parties quickly became monotonous on account of her _________ for Mexican dishes.)

pittance

(n.) a very small amount, especially relating to money (Josh complained that he was paid a _________ for the great amount of work he did at the firm.)

semaphore

(n.) a visual signal (Anne and Diana communicated with a ___________ involving candles and window shades.)

morass

(n.) a wet swampy bog; figuratively, something that traps and confuses (When Theresa lost her job, she could not get out of her financial ______.)

plenitude

(n.) an abundance (My grandmother was overwhelmed by the ____________ of tomatoes her garden yielded this season.)

plethora

(n.) an abundance, excess (The wedding banquet included a ____________ of oysters piled almost three feet high.)

polemic

(n.) an aggressive argument against a specific opinion (My brother launched into a ___________ against my arguments that capitalism was an unjust economic system.)

accord

(n.) an agreement (After much negotiating, England and Iceland finally came to a mutually beneficial ______ about fishing rights off the cost of Greenland.)

consensus

(n.) an agreement of opinion (The jury was able to reach a _________ only after days of deliberation.)

invective

(n.) an angry verbal attack (My mother's irrational __________ against the way I dress only made me decide to dye my hair green.)

calumny

(n.) an attempt to spoil someone else's reputation by spreading lies (The local official's _______ ended up ruining his opponent's prospect of winning the election.)

mandate

(n.) an authoritative command (In the Old Testament, God ________s that no one should steal.)

pathos

(n.) an emotion of sympathy (Martha filled with ______ upon discovering the scrawny, shivering kitten at her door.)

increment

(n.) an enlargement; the process of increasing(The workmen made the wall longer, ____________ by __________.)

constituent

(n.) an essential part (The most important ___________ of her perfume is something called ambergris.)

calamity

(n.) an event with disastrous consequences (The earthquake in San Francisco was a _________ worse than any other natural disaster in history.)

paradigm

(n.) an example that is a perfect pattern or model (Because the new SUV was so popular, it became the __________ upon which all others were modeled.)

utopia

(n.) an imaginary and remote place of perfection (Everyone in the world wants to live in a __________, but no one can agree how to go about building one.)

propensity

(n.) an inclination, preference (Dermit has a _______ for dangerous activities such as bungee jumping.)

maverick

(n.) an independent, nonconformist person (Andreas is a real __________ and always does things his own way.)

intimation

(n.) an indirect suggestion (Mr. Brinford's ____________ that he would soon pass away occurred when he began to discuss how to distribute his belongings among his children.)

infusion

(n.) an injection of one substance into another; the permeation of one substance by another (The _________ of Eastern religion into Western philosophy created interesting new schools of thought.)

affront

(n.) an insult (Bernardo was very touchy, and took any slight as an _______ to his honor.)

amenity

(n.) an item that increases comfort (Bill Gates's house is stocked with so many ________s, he never has to do anything for himself.)

portent

(n.) an omen (When a black cat crossed my sister's path while she was walking to school, she took it as a ________ that she would do badly on her spelling test.)

presage

(n.) an omen (When my uncle's old war injury ached, he interpreted it as a __________ of bad weather approaching.)

injunction

(n.) an order of official warning (After his house was toilet-papered for the fifth time, the mayor issued an __________ against anyone younger than 21 buying toilet paper.)

edict

(n.) an order, decree (The ruler issued an _____ requiring all of his subjects to bow down before him.)

pariah

(n.) an outcast (Following the discovery of his plagiarism, Professor Hurley was made a _______ in all academic circles.)

surfeit

(n.) an overabundant supply or indulgence (After partaking of the _______ of tacos and tamales at the All-You-Can-Eat Taco Tamale Lunch Special, Beth felt rather sick.)

platitude

(n.) an uninspired remark, cliché (After reading over her paper, Helene concluded that what she thought were profound insights were actually just __________s.)

indignation

(n.) anger sparked by something unjust or unfair (I resigned from the sorority because of my ______________ at its hazing of new members.)

temerity

(n.) audacity, recklessness (Tom and Huck entered the scary cave armed with nothing but their own ________.)

fraught

(adj.) (usually used with "with") filled or accompanied with (Her glances in his direction were ______ with meaning, though precisely what meaning remained unclear.)

palette

(adj.) a range of colors or qualities (The ______ of colors utilized in the painting was equaled only by the range of intense emotions the piece evoked.)

derelict

(adj.) abandoned, run-down (Even though it was dangerous, the children enjoyed going to the deserted lot and playing in the ________ house.)

tenable

(adj.) able to be defended or maintained (The department heads tore down the arguments in other people's theses, but Johari's work proved to be quite ______.)

mutable

(adj.) able to change (Because fashion is so _______, what is trendy today will look outdated in five years.)

soluble

(adj.) able to dissolve (The plot of the spy film revolved around an untraceable and water-________ poison.)

fractious

(adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn't tired, his __________ behavior—especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over the floor—convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)

stoic

(adj.) unaffected by passion or feeling (Penelope's faithfulness to Odysseus required that she be __--- and put off her many suitors.)

gratuitous

(adj.) uncalled for, unwarranted (Every morning the guy at the donut shop gives me a ____________ helping of ketchup packets.)

esoteric

(adj.) understood by only a select few (Even the most advanced students cannot understand the physicist's ________ theories.)

wanton

(adj.) undisciplined, lewd, lustful (Vicky's ______ demeanor often made the frat guys next door very excited.)

inchoate

(adj.) unformed or formless, in a beginning stage (The country's government is still __________ and, because it has no great tradition, quite unstable.)

phlegmatic

(adj.) uninterested, unresponsive (Monique feared her dog was ill after the animal's __________ response to his favorite chew toy.)

hapless

(adj.) unlucky (My poor, ________ family never seems to pick a sunny week to go on vacation.)

hackneyed

(adj.) unoriginal, trite (A girl can only hear "I love you" so many times before it begins to sound _________ and meaningless.)

noisome

(adj.) unpleasant, offensive, especially to the sense of smell (Nobody would enter the stalls until the horse's ________ leavings were taken away.)

hiatus

(n.) a break or gap in duration or continuity (The ______in service should last two or three months—until the cable lines are repaired .)

respite

(n.) a break, rest (Justin left the pub to gain a brief __________ from the smoke and noise.)

bane

(n.) a burden (Advanced physics is the ____ of many students' academic lives.)

perusal

(n.) a careful examination, review (The actor agreed to accept the role after a two-month _________ of the movie script.)

maxim

(n.) a common saying expressing a principle of conduct (Miss Manners's etiquette _____s are both entertaining and instructional.)

malediction

(n.) a curse (When I was arrested for speeding, I screamed ____________s against the policeman and the entire police department.)

aspersion

(n.) a curse, expression of ill-will (The rival politicians repeatedly cast _________s on each others' integrity.)

anathema

(n.) a cursed, detested person (I never want to see that murderer. He is an ________ to me.)

laceration

(n.) a cut, tear (Because he fell off his bike into a rosebush, the paperboy's skin was covered with ____________s.)

requisition

(n.) a demand for goods, usually made by an authority (During the war, the government made a ___________ of supplies.)

maelstrom

(n.) a destructive whirlpool which rapidly sucks in objects (Little did the explorers know that as they turned the next bend of the calm river a vicious __________ would catch their boat.)

empirical

1. (adj.) based on observation or experience (The scientist gathered __________ data on the growth rate of dandelions by studying the dandelions behind his house.) 2. (adj.) capable of being proved or disproved by experiment (That all cats hate getting wet is an __________ statement: I can test it by bathing my cat, Trinket.)

eminent

1. (adj.) distinguished, prominent, famous (Mr. Phillips is such an ________ scholar that every professor on campus has come to hear him lecture.) 2. (adj.) conspicuous (There is an ________ stain on that shirt.)

manifest

1. (adj.) easily understandable, obvious (When I wrote the wrong sum on the chalkboard, my mistake was so ___________ that the entire class burst into laughter.) 2. (v.) to show plainly (His illness first _________d itself with particularly violent hiccups.)

facile

1. (adj.) easy, requiring little effort (This game is so _____ that even a four-year- old can master it.) 2. (adj.) superficial, achieved with minimal thought or care, insincere (The business was in such shambles that any solution seemed _______ at best; nothing could really helpit in the long-run.)

incarnate

1. (adj.) existing in the flesh, embodied (In the church pageant, I play the role of greed __________.) 2. (v.) to give human form to (The alien evaded detection by _______ing himself in a human form.)

didactic

1. (adj.) intended to instruct (She wrote up a ________document showing new employees how to handle the company's customers.) 2. (adj.) overly moralistic (His _________ style of teaching made it seem like he wanted to persuade his students not to understand history fully, but to understand it from only one point of view.)

collateral

1. (adj.) secondary (Divorcing my wife had the __________ effect of making me poor, as she was the only one of us with a job or money.) 2. (n.) security for a debt (Jacob left his watch as __________ for the $500 loan.)

acute

1. (adj.) sharp, severe (Arnold could not walk because the pain in his foot was so _____.) 2. (adj.) having keen insight (Because she was so _____, Libby instantly figured out how the magician pulled off his "magic.")

felicitous

1. (adj.) well suited, apt (While his comments were idiotic and rambling, mine were __________ and helpful.) 2. (adj.) delightful, pleasing (I spent a _________ afternoon visiting old friends.)

incendiary

1. (n.) a person who agitates (If we catch the ___________ who screamed "bomb" in the middle of the soccer match, we're going to put him in jail.) 2. (adj.) inflammatory, causing combustion (Gas and lighter fluid are _________ materials that should be kept out of hot storage areas.)

canvas

1. (n.) a piece of cloth on which an artist paints (Picasso liked to work on ______ rather than on bare cement.) 2. (v.) to cover, inspect (We _______ed the neighborhood looking for clues.)

censure

1. (n.) harsh criticism (The frustrated teenager could not put up with anymore of her critical mother's _______.) 2. (v.) to rebuke formally (The principal _______d the head of the English Department for forcing students to learn esoteric vocabulary.)

clamor

1. (n.) loud noise (Each morning the birds outside my window make such a ______ that they wake me up.) 2. (v.)to loudly insist (Neville's fans ______ed for him to appear on stage, but he had passed out on the floor of his dressing room.)

incumbent

1. (n.) one who holds an office (The ________ senator is already serving his fifth term.) 2. (adj.) obligatory (It is _________ upon this organization to offer aid to all who seek it.)

façade

1. (n.) the wall of a building (Meet me in front of the museum's main ________.) 2. (n.) a deceptive appearance or attitude (Despite my smiling _______, I am feeling melancholy.)

adhere

1. (n.) to stick to something (We ______d the poster to the wall with tape.) 2. (n.) to follow devoutly (He ______d to the dictates of his religion without question.)

renovate

1. (v.) restore, return to original state (The ________d antique candelabra looked as good as new.) 2. (v.) to enlarge and make prettier, especially a house (After getting __________d, the house was twice as big and much more attractive.)

relegate

1. (v.) to assign to the proper place (At the astrology conference, Simon was _______d to the Scorpio room.) 2. (v.) to assign to an inferior place (After spilling a drink on a customer's shirt, the waiter found himself ______d to the least lucrative shift.)

dissent

1. (v.) to disagree (The principal argued that the child should repeat the fourth grade, but the unhappy parents _______ed.) 2. (n.) the act of disagreeing (Unconvinced that the defendant was guilty, the last juror voiced his _______ with the rest of the jury.)

dissipate

1. (v.) to disappear, cause to disappear (The sun finally came out and _________d the haze.) 2. (v.) to waste (She _________d her fortune on a series of bad investments.)

repulse

1. (v.) to disgust (Antisocial Annie tried to _______ people by neglecting to brush her teeth.) 2. (v.) to push back (With a deft movement of her wrist and a punch to the stomach, Lacy _______d Jack's attempt to kiss her.)

cleave

1. (v.) to divide into parts (Following the scandalous disgrace of their leader, the entire political party -_____d into warring factions.) 2. (v.) to stick together firmly (After resolving their marital problems, Junior and Rosa ______d to one another all the more tightly.)

annex

1. (v.) to incorporate territory or space (After defeating them in battle, the Russians_____ed Poland.) 2. (n.) a room attached to a larger room or space (He likes to do his studying in a little _____ attached to the main reading room in the library.)

apprehend

1. (v.) to seize, arrest (The criminal was _________ed at the scene.) 2. (v.) to perceive, understand, grasp (The student has trouble __________ing concepts in math and science.)

buffet

1. (v.) to strike with force (The strong winds ______ed the ships, threatening to capsize them.)

buttress

1. (v.) to support, hold up (The column _________es the roof above the statue.) 2. (n.) something that offers support (The ________ supports the roof above the statues.)

regurgitate

1. (v.) to vomit (Feeling sick, Chuck ___________d his dinner.) 2. (v.) to throw back exactly (Margaret rushed through the test, ___________ing all of the facts she'd memorized an hour earlier.)