Heejung's GRE words with sentence 2
credo
creed (Eg: I believe we may best describe his credo by saying that it approximates the Goldren Rule. )
fissure
crevice (Eg: The mountain climbers secured footholds in tiny fissures in the rock. )
malefactor
criminal (Eg: We must try to bring these malefactors to justice. )
juncture
crisis;joining point (Eg: At this critical juncture, let us think carefully before determining the course we shall follow. )
censorious
critical (Eg: censorious people delight in casting blame. )
animadversion
critical remark (Eg: He resented the animadversions of his critics, particularly because he realized they were true. )
pan
criticize harshly (Eg: Hoping for a rave review of his new show, the playwright was miserable when the critics panned it )
askew
crookedly; slanted; at an angle (Eg: When he placed his hat askew upon his head, his observers laughed. )
horde
crowd (Eg: Just before Christmas the stores are filled with hordes of shoppers. )
diadem
crown (Eg: The king's diadem was on display at the museum. )
crux
crucial point (Eg: This is the crux of the entire problem. )
fell
cruel; deadly (Eg: The newspapers told of the tragic spread of the fell disease )
pulverize
crush or grind into very small particles (Eg: Before sprinkling the dried herbs into the stew, Michael first pulverized them into a fine powder. )
panacea
cure-all; remedy for all diseases (Eg: There is no easy panacea that will solve our complicated international situation. )
profilgate
dissipated; wasteful; licentious (Eg: In this profilgate company, she lost all sense of decency. )
disband
dissolve; disperse (Eg: The chess club disbanded after its disastrous initial season. )
elixir
cure-all; something invigorating (Eg: The news of her chance to go abroad acted on her like an elixir. )
imprecation
curse (Eg: Roused from the bed at what he considered an ungodly hour, Roy muttered imprecations under his breath. )
anathematize
curse (Eg: The high priest anathematized the heretic. )
malediction
curse (Eg: The witch uttered maledictions against her captors. )
execrate
curse; express abhorrence for (Eg: The world execrates the memory of Hitler and hopes that genocide will never again be the policy of any )
aquiline
curved, hooked (Eg: He can be recognized by his aquiline nose, curved like the beak of the eagle. )
convex
curving outward (Eg: He polished the convex lens of his telescope. )
perdition
damnation; complete ruin (Eg: Praying for salvation, young Daedalus feared he was damned to eternal perdition. )
humid
damp (Eg: She could not stand the humid climate and moved to a drier area. )
dank
damp (Eg: The walls of the dungeon were dank and slimy. )
hazardous
dangerous (Eg: Your occupation is too hazardous for insurance companies to consider your application. )
audacious
daring; bold (Eg: Audiences cheered as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia made their audacious, death-defying leap to )
opaque
dark; not transparent (Eg: The opaque window kept the sunlight out of the room. )
obscure
dark; vague; unclear (Eg: Even after I read the poem a fourth time, its meaning was still obscure. )
eclipse
darken; extinguish; surpass (Eg: The new stock market high eclipsed the previous record set in 1985. )
obscure
darken; make unclear (Eg: At times he seemed purposely to obscure his meaning, preferring mystery to clarity. )
murkiness
darkness; gloom (Eg: The murkiness and fog of the waterfront that evening depressed me. )
reverie
daydream; musing (Eg: He was awakened from his reverie by the teacher's question. )
defunct
dead; no longer in use or existence (Eg: The lawyers sought to examine the books of the defunct corporation. )
girth
distance around something; circunference (Eg: It took an extra-large cummerbund to fit around Andrew Carnegie's considerable girth. )
cloying
distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental (Eg: Disliking the cloying sweetness of standard wedding cakes, Jody and Tom chose a homemade carrot cake )
lethal
deadly (Eg: It is unwise to leave lethal weapons where children may find them. )
demise
death (Eg: Upon the demise of the dictator, a bitter dispute about succession to power developed. )
libertine
debauched person, roue (Eg: )
decomposition
decay (Eg: Despite the body's advanced state of decomposition, the police were able to identify the murdered man. )
decadence
decay (Eg: The moral decadence of the people was reflected in the lewd literature of the period. )
guile
deceit; duplicity (Eg: She achieved her high position by guile and treachery. )
delude
deceive (Eg: Do not delude yourself into believing that he will relent. )
hoodwink
deceive; delude (Eg: Having been hoodwinked once by the fast-talking salesman, he was extremely cautious when he went to )
illusive
deceiving (Eg: This is only a mirage; let us not be fooled by its illusive effect. )
artifice
deception; trickery (Eg: The Trojan War proved to the Greeks that cunning and artifice were often more effective than military )
illusory
deceptive; not real (Eg: Unfortunately, the costs of running the lemonade stand were so high that Tom's profits proved illusory. )
delusive
deceptive; raising vain hopes (Eg: Do not raise your hopes on the basis of his delusive promises. )
pious
devout (Eg: The pious parents gave their children a religious upbringing. )
resolve
decide; settle; solve (Eg: Homes resolved to travel to Bohemia to resolve the dispute between Irene Adler and the King. )
discernible
distinguishable; perceivable (Eg: The ships in the harbor were not discernible in the fog. )
awry
distorted; crooked (Eg: )
perturb
disturb greatly (Eg: I am afraid this news will perturb him and cause him grief. )
conclusive
decisive; ending all debate (Eg: When the stolen books turned up in John's locker, we finally had conclusive evidence of the identity of the )
hatch
deck opening; lid covering a deck opening (Eg: The latch on the hatch failed to catch, so the hatch remained unlatched. )
manifesto
declaration; statement of policy (Eg: The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels proclaimed the principles of modern communism. )
avow
declare openly (Eg: I must avow that I am innocent. )
decipher
decode (Eg: I could not decipher the doctor's handwriting. )
garnish
decorate (Eg: Parsley was used to garnish the boiled potato. )
ordinance
decree (Eg: Passing a red light is a violation of a city ordinance. )
consecrate
dedicate; sanctify (Eg: We shall consecrate our lives to this noble purpose. )
infer
deduce; conclude (Eg: We must be particularly cautious when we infer that a person is guilty on the basis of circumstantial )
exploit
deed or action, particularly a brave deed (Eg: Raoul Wallenberg was noted for his exploits in rescuing Jews from Hitler's forces. )
inveterate
deep-rooted; habitual (Eg: She is an inveterate smoker and cannot break the habit. )
profound
deep; not superficial; complete (Eg: Freud's remarkable insights into human behavior caused his fellow scientists to honor him as a profound )
ingrained
deeply established; firmly rooted (Eg: Try as they would, the missionaries were unable to uproot the ingrained superstitions of the natives. )
libelous
defamatory; injurious to the good name of a person (Eg: He sued the newspaper because of its libelous story. )
discredit
defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve (Eg: )
foil
defeat; frustrate (Eg: In the end, Skywalker is able to foil Vader's diabolical schemes. )
rampart
defensive mound on earth (Eg: "From the ramparts we watched" as the fighting continued. )
mulct
defraud a person of something (Eg: The lawyer was accused of trying to mulct the boy of his legacy. )
demean
degrade; humiliate (Eg: He felt that he would demean himself if he replied to the scurrilous letter. )
apotheosis
deification; glorification (Eg: The Roman empress Livia envied the late emperor his apotheosis; she hoped that on her death she, too, )
crestfallen
dejected; dispirited (Eg: We were surprised at his reaction to the failure of his project; instead of being crestfallen, he was busily )
respite
delay in punishment; interval of relief; rest (Eg: The judge granted the condemned man a respite to enable his attorneys to file an appeal. )
demur
delay; object (Eg: To demur at this time will only worsen the already serious situation; now is the time for action. )
piety
devoutness; reverence for God (Eg: Living her life in prayer and good works, Mother Teresa exemplifies the true sprit of piety. )
malicious
dictated by hatred or spite (Eg: The malicious neighbor spread the gossip. )
lexicon
dictionary (Eg: I cannot find this word in any lexicon in the library. )
belated
delayed (Eg: He apologized for his belated note of condolence to the widow of his friend and explained that he had just )
dilatory
delaying (Eg: Your dilatory tactics may compel me to cancel the contract. )
finesse
delicate skill (Eg: The finesse and adroitness of the surgeon impressed the observers in the operating room. )
disparity
difference; condition of inequality (Eg: The disparity in their ages made no difference at all. )
diverse
differing in some characteristics; various (Eg: There are diverse ways of approaching this problem. )
filigree
delicate, lacelike metalwork (Eg: The pendant with gold filigree that she wore round her neck trembled with each breath she took. )
consign
deliver officially; entrust; set apart (Eg: The court consigned the child to her paternal grandmother's care. )
render
deliver; provide; represent (Eg: He rendered aid to the needy and indigent. )
acquittal
deliverance from a charge (Eg: His acquittal by the jury surprised those who had thought him guilty. )
cataclysm
deluge; upheaval (Eg: A cataclysm such as the French Revolution affects all countries. )
hallucination
delusion (Eg: I think you were frightened by a hallucination that you created in you own mind. )
peremptory
demanding and leaving no choice (Eg: From Jack's peremptory knock on the door, Jill could tell he would not give up until she let him in. )
laborious
demanding much work or care; tedious (Eg: In putting together his dictionary of the English language, Doctor Johnson undertook a laborious task. )
negation
denial (Eg: I must accept his argument since you have been unable to present any negation of his evidence. )
nihilism
denial of traditional values; total skepticism (Eg: nihilism holds that existence has no meaning. )
disavowal
denial; disclaiming (Eg: His disavowal of his part in the conspiracy was not believed by the jury. )
centigrade
denoting a widely used temperature scale (basically same as Celsius) (Eg: )
divergent
differing; deviating (Eg: The two witnesses presented the jury with remarkably divergent accounts of the same epipode. )
ramify
divide into branches or subdivisions (Eg: When the plant begins to ramify, it is advisable to nip off most of the new branches. )
bifurcated
divided into two branches; forked (Eg: With a bifurcated branch and a piece of elastic rubber, he made a crude but effective slingshot. )
charisma
divine gift; great popular charm or appeal (Eg: Political commentators have deplored the importance of a candidate's charisma in these days of television )
canto
division of a long poem (Eg: Dante's poetic masterpiece The Divine Comedy is divided into cantos. )
schism
division; split (Eg: Let us not widen the schism by further bickering. )
quay
dock; landing place (Eg: Because of the captain's carelessness, the ship crashed into the quay. )
podiatrist
doctor who treats ailments of the feet (Eg: He consulted a podiatrist about his fallen arches. )
asceticism
doctrine of self-denial (Eg: We find asceticism practiced in many monastries. )
homespun
domestic; made at home (Eg: homespun wit, like homespun cloth, was often coarse and plain. )
hegemony
dominance, especially of one nation over others (Eg: As one Eastern European nation after another declared its independence, commentators marveled at the )
nocturnal
done at night (Eg: Mr. Jones obtained a watchdog to prevent the nocturnal raids on his chicken coops. )
panoramic
denoting an unobstructed and comprehensive view (Eg: On a clear day, from the top of the World Trade Center you can get a panoramic view of New York City )
inveigh
denounce; utter censure or invective (Eg: )
gainsay
deny (Eg: She was too honest to gainsay the truth of the report. )
renege
deny; go back on (Eg: He reneged on paying off his debt. )
atheistic
denying the existence of God (Eg: His atheistic remarks shocked the religious worshippers. )
abscond
depart secretly and hide (Eg: The teller absconded with the bonds and was not found. )
exodus
departure (Eg: The exodus from the hot and stuffy city was particularly noticeable on Friday evenings. )
despondent
depressed; gloomy (Eg: )
disenfranchise
deprive of a civil right (Eg: The imposition if the poll tax effectively disenfranchised poor Southern blacks, who lost their right to vote. )
bereft
deprived of; lacking (Eg: The foolish gambler soon found himself bereft of funds. )
devolve
deputize; pass to others (Eg: It devolved upon us, the survivors, to arrange peace terms with the enemy. )
deducible
derived byreasoning (Eg: If we accept your premise, your conclusions are easily deducible. )
posterity
descendants; future generations (Eg: We hope to leave a better world to posterity. )
lineage
descent; ancestry (Eg: He traced his lineage back to Mayflower days. )
sacrilegious
desecrating; profane (Eg: His stealing of the altar cloth was a very sacrilegious act. )
forsake
desert; abandon; renounce (Eg: No one expected Foster to forsake his wife and children and run off with another woman. )
renegade
deserter; traitor (Eg: Because he had abandoned his post and joined forces with the Indians, his fellow officers considered the )
defection
desertion (Eg: The children, who had made him an idol, were hurt most by his defection from our cause. )
culpable
deserving blame (Eg: Corrupt politicians who condone the activities of the gamblers are equally culpable. )
reprehensible
deserving blame (Eg: Your vicious conduct in this situation is reprehensible. )
invidious
designed to create ill will or envy (Eg: We disregarded her invidious remarks because we realized how jealous she was. )
scurvy
despicable; contemptible (Eg: Peter Pan sneered at Captain Hook and his scurvy crew. )
annihilate
destroy (Eg: The enemy in its revenge tried to annihilate the entire population. )
raze
destroy completely (Eg: The owners intend to raze the hotel and erect an office building on the site. )
obliterate
destroy completely (Eg: The tidal wave obliterated several island villages. )
defoliate
destroy leaves (Eg: In Vietnam the army made extensive use of chemical agents to defoliate the woodlands. )
demolition
destruction (Eg: One of the major aims of the air force was the complete demolition of all means of transportation by the )
holocaust
destruction by fire (Eg: Citizens of San Francisco remember that the destruction of the city was caused not by the earthquake but )
carnage
destruction of life (Eg: The carnage that can be caused by atomic warfare adds to the responsibilities of our statesmen. )
resolution
determination (Eg: Nothing could shake his resolution to succeed despite all difficulties. )
resolve
determination (Eg: Nothing could shake his resolve that his children would get the best education that money could buy. )
canvass
determine or seek opinions, votes, etc. (Eg: After canvassing the sentiments of his constituents, the congressman was confident that he represented the )
bent
determined; natural talent or inclination (Eg: bent on advancing in the business world, the secretary heroine of Working Girl had a true bent for high )
dogged
determined;stubborn (Eg: Les Miserables tells of Inspector Javert's long, dogged pursuit of the criminal Jean Valjean. )
loathe
detest (Eg: We loathed the wicked villain. )
depose
dethrone; remove form office (Eg: The army attempted to depose the king and set up a military government. )
die
device for stamping or impressing; mold (Eg: In coining pennies, workers at the old mint squeezed sheets of softened copper between two dies. )
diabolical
devilish (Eg: This scheme is so diabolical that I must reject it. )
anguish
acute pain; extreme suffering (Eg: Visiting the site of explosion, Premier Gorbachev wept to see the anguish of the victims and their families. )
elaboration
addition of details; intricacy (Eg: Tell what happened simply, without any elaboration. )
addendum
addition; appendix to book (Eg: Jane's editor approved her new comparative literature text but thought it would be even better with an )
condign
adequate; deservedly severe (Eg: The public approved the condign punishment for the crime. )
formality
adherence to established rules or procedures (Eg: Signing this petition is a mere formality; it does not obligate you in any way. )
contiguous
adjacent to; touching upon (Eg: The two countries are contiguous for a few miles; then they are separated by the gulf. )
acclimate
adjust to climate or environment (Eg: One of the difficulties of our present air age is the need of travellers to acclimate themselves to their new )
compromise
adjust; endanger the interests or reputation of (Eg: Your presence at the scene of the dispute compromises our claim to neutrality in this matter. )
fastidious
difficult to please; squeamish (Eg: The waitresses disliked serving him dinner because of his very fastidious taste. )
quarry
dig into (Eg: They quarried blocks of marble out of the hillside. )
exhume
dig out of the ground; remove from a grave (Eg: Because of the rumor that he had been poisoned, his body was exhumed in order that an autopsy might be )
disinter
dig up; unearth (Eg: They disinterred the body and held an autopsy. )
delve
dig; investigate (Eg: delving into old books and manuscripts is part of a researcher's job. )
discursive
digressing; rambling (Eg: They were annoyed and bored by her discursive remarks. )
quandary
dilemma (Eg: When the two colleges to which he had applied accepted him, he was in a quandary as to which one he )
assiduous
diligent (Eg: It took Rembrandt weeks of assiduous labor before he was satisfied with his portrait of his son. )
application
diligent attention; (secondary meaning) apply (Eg: Pleased with how well Tom had whitewashed the fence, Aunt Polly praised him for his application. )
sap
diminish; undermine (Eg: The element kryptonite had an unhealthy effect on Superman: it sapped his strength. )
refectory
dining hall (Eg: In this huge refectory, we can feed the entire student body at one sitting. )
protocol
diplomatic etiquette (Eg: We must run this state dinner according to protocol if we are to avoid offending any of our guests. )
incapacitate
disable (Eg: During the winter, many people were incapacitated by respiratory ailments. )
dissent
disagree (Eg: In a landmark Supreme Court decision, Justice Marshall dissented from the majority opinion. )
disapprobation
disapproval; condemnation (Eg: The conservative father viewed his daughter's radical boyfriend with disapprobation. )
calamity
disaster; misery (Eg: As news of the calamity spread, offers of relief poured in to the stricken community. )
dire
disastrous (Eg: People ignored her dire predictions of an approaching depression. )
exude
discharge; give forth (Eg: The maple syrup is obtained from the sap that the trees exude in early spring. )
enfranchise
admit to the rights of citizenship (especially the right to vote) (Eg: Although blacks were enfranchised shortly after the Civil War, women did not receive the right to vote )
concede
admit; hield (Eg: Despite all the evidence Monica had assembled, Mark refused to concede that she was right. )
espouse
adopt; support (Eg: She was always ready to espouse a worthy cause. )
embellish
adorn (Eg: )
enhance
advance; improve (Eg: Your chances for promotion in this department will be enhanced if you take some more courses in evening )
precocious
advanced in development (Eg: By her rather adult manner of discussing serious topics, the child demonstrated that she was precocious. )
chasten
discipline; punish in order to correct (Eg: Whom God loves, God chastens. )
faze
disconcert; dismay (Eg: No crisis could faze the resourceful hotel manager. )
disjointed
disconnected (Eg: His remarks were so disjointed that we could not follow his reasoning. )
desultory
aimless; haphazard; digressing at random (Eg: In prison Malcolm X set himself the task of reading straight through the dictionary; to him reading was )
omniscient
all-knowing (Eg: I do not pretend to be omniscient, but I am positive about this fact. )
omnipotent
all-powerful (Eg: The monarch regarded himself as omnipotent and responsible to no one for his acts. )
rider
amendment or clause added to a legislative bill (Eg: Senator Foghorn said he would support Senator Filibuster's tax reform bill only if Filibuster agreed to add )
reparation
amends; compensation (Eg: At the peace conference, the defeated country promised to pay reparations to the victors. )
dissonance
discord (Eg: Some contemporary musicians deliberately use dissonance to achieve certain effects. )
rebate
discount (Eg: We offer a rebate of ten percent to those who pay cash. )
dishearten
discourage (Eg: His failure to pass the bar exam disheartened him. )
bandy
discuss lightly; exchange blows or words (Eg: The president refused to bandy words with reporters at the press conference. )
disport
amuse (Eg: The popularity of Florida as a winter resort is constantly increasing; each year, thousands more disport )
beguile
amuse; delude; cheat (Eg: I beguiled himself during the long hours by playing solitaire. )
concession
an act of yielding (Eg: Before they could reach an agreement, both sides had to make certain concessions. )
progenitor
ancestor (Eg: The Roth family, whose progenitors emigrated from Germany early in the nineteenth century, settled in )
forebears
ancestors (Eg: Reverence for one's forebears (sometimes referred to as ancestor worship) plays an important part in many )
cherubic
angelic; innocent-looking (Eg: With her cheerful smile and rosy cheeks, she was a particularly cherubic child. )
indignation
anger ar an injustice (Eg: He felt indignation at the ill-treatment of the helpless animals. )
irate
angry (Eg: When John's mother found out that he had overthrown his checking account for the third month in a row, )
parasite
animal or plant living on another; toady; sycophant (Eg: )
gadfly
animal-biting fly; an irritating person (Eg: Like a gadfly, he irritated all the guests at the hotel; within forty eight hours, everyone regarded him as an )
fauna
animals of a period or region (Eg: The scientist could visualize the fauna of the period by examining the skeletal remains and the fossils. )
harass
annoy by repeated attacks (Eg: When he could not pay his bills as quickly as he had promised, he was harrassed by his creditors. )
gall
annoy; chafe (Eg: Their taunts galled him. )
nettle
annoy; vex (Eg: Do not let him nettle you with his sarcastic remarks. )
irksome
annoying; tedious (Eg: He found working on the assembly line irksome because of the monotony of the operation he had to )
apposite
appropriate; fitting (Eg: He was always able to find the apposite phrase, the correct expression for every occasion. )
approbation
approval (Eg: Wanting her parents' regard, she looked for some sign of their approbation. )
ratify
approve formally; verify (Eg: Before the treaty could go into effect, it had to be ratified by the president. )
sanction
approve; ratify (Eg: Nothing will convince me to sanction the engagement of my daughter to such a worthless young man. )
endorse
approve; support (Eg: Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for the city council the mayor would endorse. )
countenance
approve; tolerate (Eg: He refused to countenance such rude behavior on their part. )
plauditory
approving; applauding (Eg: The theatrical company reprinted the plauditory comments of the critics in its advertisement. )
felicitous
apt; suitably expressed; well chosen (Eg: He was famous for his felicitous remarks and was called upon to serve as master-of-ceremonies at many )
conduit
aqueduct; passageway for fluids (Eg: Water was brought to the army in the desert by an improvised conduit from the adjoining mountain. )
fervid
ardent (Eg: Her fervid enthusiasm inspired all of us to undertake the dangerous mission. )
fervent
ardent; hot (Eg: She felt that the fervent praise was excessive and somewhat undeserved. )
haggle
argue about prices (Eg: I prefer to shop in a store that has a one-price policy because, whenever I haggle with a shopkeeper, I am )
disputatious
argumentative; fond of argument (Eg: People avoided discussing contemporary problems with him because of his disputatious manner. )
cohorts
armed band (Eg: Caesar and his Roman cohorts conquered almost all of the known world. )
incite
arouse to action (Eg: The demogogue incited the mob to take action into its own hands. )
graduated
arraged by degree (of height, difficulty, etc.) (Eg: Margaret loved her graduated set of Russian hollow wooden dolls; she spent hours happily putting the )
codify
arrange (laws, rules) as a code; classify (Eg: )
apprehend
arrest ( a criminal); dread; perceive (Eg: The police will apprehend the culprit and convict him before long. )
advent
arrival (Eg: Most Americans were unaware of the advent of the Nuclear Age until the news of Hiroshima reached )
hubris
arrogance; excessive self-conceit (Eg: Filled with hubris, Lear refused to heed his friends' warnings. )
presumptous
arrogant; taking liberties (Eg: It seems presumptous for one so relatively new to the field to challenge the conclusions of its leading )
incendiary
arsonist (Eg: The fire spread in such an unusual manner that the fire department chiefs were certain that it had been set )
choreography
art of dancing (Eg: Martha Graham introduced a form of choreography that seemed awkward and alien to those who had )
dialectic
art of debate (Eg: I am not skilled in dialectic and therefore, cannot answer your arguments as forcefully as I wish. )
rhetoric
art of effective communication; insincere or grandiloquent language (Eg: All writers, by necessity, must be skilled in rhetoric. )
dictum
arthoritative and weighty statement (Eg: She repeated the statement as though it were the dictum of the most expert worker in the group. )
culvert
artificial channel for water (Eg: If we build a culvert under the road at this point, we will reduce the possibility of the road at this point, we )
affected
artificial; pretended (Eg: His affected mannerisms irritated may of us who had known him before his promotion. )
factitous
artificial; sham (Eg: Hollywood actresses often create factitious tears by using glycerine. )
attribute
ascribe; explain (Eg: I attribute her success in science to the encouragement she received from her parents. )
ashen
ash-colored; deadly pale (Eg: Her face was ashen with fear. )
assail
assault (Eg: He was assailed with questions after his lecture. )
convene
assemble (Eg: Because much is needed legislation had to be enacted, the governor ordered the legislature to convene in )
acquiesce
assent; agree passively (Eg: Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about )
abet
assist, usually in doing something wrong (Eg: She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned. )
consort
associate with (Eg: We frequently judge people by the company with whom they consort. )
posture
assume an affected pose; act artificially (Eg: No matter how much Arnold boasted or postured, I could not believe he was as important as he pretended )
imposture
assuming a false identity; masquerade (Eg: She was imprisoned for her imposture of a doctor. )
premise
assumption; postulate (Eg: Because Jack had based his argument upon a faulty premise, his opponent cheerfully pointed out the holes )
quiescent
at rest; dormant (Eg: After this geyser erupts, it will remain quiescent for twenty-four hours. )
moribund
at the point of death (Eg: The doctors called the family to the bedside of the moribund patient. )
heinous
atrocious; hatefully bad (Eg: Hitler's heinous crimes will never be forgotten. )
append
attach (Eg: I shall append this chart to my report. )
affix
attach or add on; fasten (Eg: First the registrar had to affix his signature to the license; then he had to affix his official seal. )
iconoclastic
attacking cherished traditions (Eg: George Bernard Shaw's iconoclastic plays often startled more conventional people. )
culmination
attainment of highest point (Eg: His inauguration as President of the United States marked the culmination of his political career. )
prattle
babble (Eg: The children prattle endlessly about their new toys. )
hinterlands
back country (Eg: They seldom had visitors, living as they did way out in the hinderlands. )
equilibrium
balance (Eg: After the divorce, he needed some time to regain his equilibrium. )
equipoise
balance; balancing force; equilibrium (Eg: The high-wire acrobat used his pole as an equipose to overcome the swaying caused by the wind. )
embargo
ban on commerce or other activity (Eg: As a result of the embargo, trade with colonies was at a standstill. )
rusticate
banish to the country; dwell in the country (Eg: I like city life so much that I can never understand how people can rusticate in the suburbs. )
relegate
banish; consign to inferior position (Eg: If we relegate these experts to minor posts because of their political persuasions, we shall lose their )
insolvent
bankrupt; lacking money to pay (Eg: When rumors that he was insolvent reached his creditors, they began to press him for payment of the )
quizzical
bantering; comical; humorously serious (Eg: Will Rogers' quizzical remarks endeared him to his audiences. )
chaffing
bantering; joking (Eg: Sometimes his flippant and chaffing remarks annoy us. )
barrage
barrier laid down by artillery fire; overwhelming profusion (Eg: The company was forced to retreat through the barrage of heavy canyons. )
hypothetical
based on assumptions or hypotheses (Eg: Why do we have to consider hypothetical cases when we have actual case histories that we may examine? )
empirical
based on experience (Eg: He distrusted hunches and intuitive flashes; he placed his reliance entirely on empirical data. )
practical
based on experience; useful (Eg: He was a practical man, opposed to theory )
fundamental
basic; primary; essential (Eg: )
disparate
basically different; unrelated (Eg: It is difficult, if not impossible, to organize these disparate elements into a coherent whole. )
dote
be excessively fond of; show signs of mental decline (Eg: Not only grandmothers bore you with stories about their brilliant grandchildren; grandfathers dote on the )
pulchritude
beauty; comeliness (Eg: I do not envy the judges who have to select this year's Miss America from this collection of female )
betroth
become engaged to marry (Eg: The announcement that they had become betrothed surprised their friends who had not suspected any )
ingratiate
become popular with (Eg: He tried to ingratiate himself into her parents' good graces. )
degenerate
become worse; deteriorate (Eg: As the fight dragged on, the champion's style degenerated until he could barely keep on his feet. )
sardonic
disdainful; sarcastic; cynical (Eg: The sardonic humor of nightclub comedians who satirize or ridicule patrons in the audience strikes some )
ignominious
disgraceful (Eg: The country smarted under the ignominious defeat and dreamed of the day when it would be victorious. )
genuflect
bend the knee as in worship (Eg: A proud denocrat, he refused to genuflect to any man. )
refraction
bending of a ray of light (Eg: When you look at a stick inserted in water, it looks bent because of the refraction of the light by the water. )
beleaguer
besiege (Eg: As soon as the city was beleaguered, the life became more subdued as the citizens began their long wait for )
condescend
bestow courtesies with a superior air (Eg: The king condescended to grant an audience to the friends of the condemned man. )
indubitably
beyond a doubt (Eg: Because her argument was indubitably valid, the judge accepted it. )
preternatural
beyond that which is normal in nature (Eg: John's mother's total ability to tell when he was lying struck him as almost preternatural. )
beatitude
blessedness; state of bliss (Eg: Growing closer to God each day, the mystic achieved a state of indescribable beatitude. )
benison
blessing (Eg: Let us pray that the benison of peace once more shall prevail among the nations of the world. )
boon
blessing; benefit (Eg: The recent rains that filled our empty reservoirs were a boon to the whole community. )
chauvinist
blindly devoted patriot (Eg: A chauvinist cannot recognize any faults in his country, no matter how flagrant they may be. )
filibuster
block legislation by making long speeches (Eg: Even though we disapproved of Senator Foghorn's political goals, we were impressed by his ability to )
hindrance
block; obstacle (Eg: Stalled cars along the highway are a hindrance to traffic that tow trucks should remove without delay. )
gory
bloody (Eg: The audience shuddered as they listened to the details of the gory massacre. )
sanguinary
bloody (Eg: The battle of lwo Jina was unexpectedly sanguinary with many casualties. )
doldrums
blues; listlessness; slack period (Eg: Once the excitement of meeting her deadline was over, she found herself in the doldrums. )
brusque
blunt; abrupt (Eg: She was offended by his brusque reply. )
obtuse
blunt; stupid (Eg: Because he was so obtuse, he could not follow the teacher's reasoning and asked foolish questions. )
braggart
boaster (Eg: Modest by nature, she was no braggart, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for themselves. )
magniloquent
boastful, pompous (Eg: In their stories of the trial, the reporters ridiculed the magniloquent speeches of the defense attorney. )
braggadocio
boasting (Eg: He was disliked because his manner was always full of braggadocio. )
regatta
boat or yacht race (Eg: Many boating enthusiasts followed the regatta in their own yachts. )
corporeal
bodily; material (Eg: He was not a churchgoer; he was interested only in corporeal matters. )
hierarchy
body divided into ranks (Eg: It was difficult to step out of one's place in this hierarchy. )
clientele
body of customers (Eg: The rock club attracted a young, stylish clientele. )
guffaw
boisterous laughter (Eg: The loud guffaws that came from the closed room indicated that the members of the committe had not yet )
revelry
boisterous merrymaking (Eg: New Year's Eve is a night of revelry. )
hilarity
boisterous mirth (Eg: The hilarity is improper on this solemn day of mourning. )
obstreperous
boisterous; noisy (Eg: The crowd became obstreperous and shouted their disapproval of the proposals made by the speaker. )
dauntless
bold (Eg: Despite the dangerous nature of the undertaking, the dauntless soldier volunteered for the assignment. )
catechism
book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer (Eg: He taught by engaging his pupils in a catechism until they gave him the correct answer. )
churlish
boorish; rude (Eg: Dismayed by his churlish manners at the party, the girls vowed never to invite him again. )
abut
border upon; adjoin (Eg: Where our estates abut, we must build a fence. )
maritime
bordering on the sea; nautical (Eg: The maritime Provinces depend on the sea for their wealth. )
blase
bored with pleasure or dissipation (Eg: Your blase attitude gives your students an erroneous impression of the joys of scholarship. )
ennui
boredom (Eg: The monotonous routine of hopital life induced a feeling of ennui which made him moody and irritable. )
overbearing
bossy; arrogant; decisively important (Eg: )
abysmal
bottomless (Eg: His arrogance is exceeded only by his abysmal ignorance. )
obeisance
bow (Eg: She made an obeisance as the king and queen entered the room. )
pugilist
boxer (Eg: The famous pugilist Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammed Ali. )
dichotomy
branching into two parts (Eg: The dichotomy of our legislative system provides us with many safeguards. )
ramification
branching out; subdivision (Eg: We must examine all the ramifications of this problem. )
fortitude
bravery; courage (Eg: He was awarded the medal for his fortitude in the battle. )
fray
brawl (Eg: The three musketeers were in the thick of fray. )
fracas
brawl; melee (Eg: The military police stopped the fracas in the bar and arrested the belligerents. )
harrow
break up ground after plowing; torture (Eg: I don't want to harrow you at this time by asking you to recall the details of your unpleasant experience. )
breach
breaking of contract or duty; fissure; gap (Eg: They found a breach in the enemy's fortifications and penetrated their lines. )
debacle
breaking up; downfall (Eg: )
respiration
breathing; exhalation (Eg: The doctor found that the patient's years of smoking had adversely affected both his lung capacity and his )
fancier
breeder or dealer of animals (Eg: The dog fancier exhibited her prize collie at the annual Kennel Club show. )
concise
brief and compact (Eg: When you define a new word, be concise; the shorter the definition, the easier it is to remember. )
laconic
brief and to the point (Eg: Many of the characters portrayed by Clint Eastwood are laconic types: strong men of few words. )
glossary
brief explanation of words used in the text (Eg: I have found the glossary in this book very useful; it has eliminated many trips to the dictionary. )
compendium
brief, comprehensive summary (Eg: This text can serve as a compendium of the tremendous amount of new material being developed in this )
illuminate
brighten; clear up or make understandable; enlighten (Eg: Just as a lamp can illuminate a dark room, a perceptive comment can illuminate a knotty problem. )
resplendent
brilliant; lustrous (Eg: The toreador wore a resplendent costume called a suit of lights. )
nonplus
bring to a halt by confusion; perplex (Eg: Jack's uncharacteristic rudeness nonplussed Jill, leaving her uncertain how to react. )
incur
bring upon oneself (Eg: His parents refused to pay any future debts he might incur. )
rationalization
bringing into conformity with reason (Eg: All attempts at rationalization at this time are doomed to failure; tempers and emotions run too high for )
farce
broad comedy; mockery (Eg: Nothing went right; the entire interview degenerated into a farce. )
contusion
bruise (Eg: )
atrocity
brutal deed (Eg: In time of war, many atrocities are committed by invading armies. )
fabricate
build; lie (Eg: Because of the child's tendency to fabricate, we had trouble believing her. )
browbeat
bully; intimidate (Eg: Billy resisted Ted's attempts to browbeat him into handing over his lunch money. )
ruffian
bully; scoundrel (Eg: The ruffians threw stones at the police. )
encumber
burden (Eg: Some people encumber themselves with too much luggage, when they take short trips. )
incubus
burden; mental care; nightmare (Eg: The incubus of financial worry helped bring on her nervous breakdown. )
onus
burden; responsibility (Eg: The emperor was spared the onus of signing the surrender papers; instead, he relegated the assignment to )
onerous
burdensome (Eg: He asked for an assistant because his work load was too onerous. )
cauterize
burn with hot iron or caustic (Eg: In order to prevent infection, the doctor cauterized the wound. )
caustic
burning; sarcastically biting (Eg: The critic's caustic remarks angered the hapless actors who were the subjects of his sarcasm. )
inter
bury (Eg: They are going to inter the body tomorrow ar Broadlawn Cemetry. )
entrepreneur
businessperson; contractor (Eg: Opponents of our present tax program argue that it discourages entrepreneurs from trying new fields of )
actuarial
calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics (Eg: According to recent actuarial tables, life expectancy is greater today than it was a century ago. )
fanfare
call by bugles or trumpets; showy display (Eg: The exposition was opened with fanfare of trumpets and the firing of cannon. )
evoke
call forth (Eg: He evoked much criticism by his hostile manner. )
convoke
call together (Eg: Congress was convoked at the outbreak of the emergency. )
invoke
call upon; ask for (Eg: She invoked her advisor's aid in filling out her financial aid forms. )
dispassionate
calm; impartial (Eg: In a dispassionate analysis of the problem, he carefully examined the causes of the conflict and proceeded )
phlegmatic
calm; not easily disturbed (Eg: The nurse was a cheerful but phlegmatic person, unexcited in the face of sudden emergencies. )
allay
calm; pacify (Eg: The crew tried to allay the fears of the passengers by announcing that the fire had been controlled. )
halcyon
calm; peaceful (Eg: In those halcyon days, people were not worried about sneak attacks and bombings. )
imperturbable
calm; placid (Eg: Wellington remained imperturbable and in full command of the situation in spite of the hyteria and panic )
equanimity
calmness of temperament (Eg: In his later years, he could look upon the foolishness of the world with equanimity and humor. )
rescind
cancel (Eg: Because of public resentment, the king had to rescind his order. )
expunge
cancel; remove (Eg: If you behave, I will expunge this notation from your record. )
revoke
cancel; retract (Eg: Repeat offenders who continue to drive under the influence of alcohol face having their driver's licenses )
countermand
cancel; revoke (Eg: The general countermand the orders issued in his absence. )
reparable
capable of being repaired (Eg: Fortunately, the damages we suffered in the accident were reparable and our car looks brand new. )
malleable
capable of being shaped by pounding (Eg: Gold is a malleable metal. )
prehensile
capable of grasping or holding (Eg: Monkeys use not only their arms and legs but also their prehensile tails in traveling through the trees. )
ambidextrous
capable of using either hand with equal ease (Eg: A switch-hitter in baseball should be naturally ambidextrous. )
enthrall
capture; enslave (Eg: From the moment he saw her picture, he was enthralled by her beauty. )
lax
careless (Eg: We dislike restaurants where the service is lax and inattentive. )
inadvertently
carelessly; unintentionally; by oversight (Eg: She inadvertently omitted two questions on the examination and mismarked her answer sheet. )
negligence
carelessness (Eg: negligence can prove costly near complicated machinery. )
scabbard
case for a sword blade; sheath (Eg: The drill master told the recruit to wipe the blood from his sword before slipping it back into the scabbard. )
quiver
case for arrows (Eg: )
cavalier
casual and offhand; arrogant (Eg: Sensitive about having her ideas taken lightly, Marcia felt insulted by Mark's cavalier dismissal of her )
offhand
casual; done without prior thought (Eg: Expecting to be treated with due propriety by her costs, Great-Aunt Maud was offended by their offhand )
cursory
casual; hastily done (Eg: A cursory examination of the ruins indicates the possibility of arson; a more extensive study should be )
descry
catch sight of (Eg: In the distance, we could barely descry the enemy vessels. )
pander
cater to the low desires of others (Eg: The reviewer accused the makers of Lethal Weapon of pandering to the masses' taste of violence. )
grievance
cause of complaint (Eg: When her supervisor ignored her complaint, she took her grievance to the union. )
bane
cause of ruin (Eg: Lack of public transportation is the bane of urban life. )
nauseate
cause to become sick; fill with disgust (Eg: The foul smells began to nauseate him. )
leaven
cause to rise or grow lighter; enliven (Eg: As bread dough is leavened, it puffs up, expanding in volume. )
dissemble
disguise; pretend (Eg: Even though John tried to dissemble his motive for taking modern dance, we all knew there not to dance )
fulsome
disgustingly excessive (Eg: His fulsome praise of the dictator annoyed his listeners. )
germinate
cause to sprout; sprout (Eg: After the seeds germinate and develop their permanent leaves, the plants may be removed from the cold )
engender
cause; produce (Eg: To receive praise for real accomplishments engenders self-confidence in a child. )
prompt
cause; provoke; provide a cue for an actor (Eg: Whatever prompted you to ask for such a big piece of cake when you're on a diet? )
carcinogenic
causing cancer (Eg: Many supposedly harmless substances have been revealed to be carcinogenic. )
downcast
disheartened; sad (Eg: Cheerful and optimistic by nature, Beth was never downcast despite the difficulties she faced. )
dissolution
disintegration; looseness in morals (Eg: The profligacy and dissolution of life in Caligula's Rome appall some historians. )
disaffected
disloyal (Eg: Once the most loyal of Gorbachev's supporters, Shverdnaze found himself becoming increasingly )
analgesic
causing insensitivity to pain (Eg: The analgesic qualities of his lotion will provide temporary relief. )
pestilential
causing plague; baneful (Eg: People were afraid to explore the pestilential swap. )
pathetic
causing sadness, compassion, pity; touching (Eg: Everyone in the auditorium was weeping by the time he finished his pathetic tale about the orphaned boy. )
prudent
cautious; careful (Eg: A miser hoards money not because he is prudent but because he is greedy. )
chary
cautious; sparing or restrained about giving (Eg: A prudent, thrifty New Englander, DeWitt was as chary of investing money in junk bonds as he was chary )
luminary
celebrity; dignitary (Eg: A leading light of the American stage, Ethel Barrymore was a theatrical luminary whose name lives on. )
reprove
censure; rebuke (Eg: The principal reproved the students when they became unruly in the auditorium. )
pivotal
central; critical (Eg: De Klerk's decision to set Nelson Mandela free was pivotal; without Mandela's release, there was no )
appal
dismay; shock (Eg: We were appalled by the horrifying conditions in the city's jails. )
insubordinate
disobedient (Eg: The insubordinate private was confined to the barracks. )
contumacious
disobedient; resisting authority (Eg: The contumacious mob shouted defiantly at the police. )
repudiate
disown; disavow (Eg: He announced that he would repudiate all debts incurred by his wife. )
disclaim
disown; renounce claim to (Eg: If I grant you this previlege, will you disclaim all other rights? )
belittle
disparage; depreciate (Eg: Parents should not belittle their children's early attempts at drawing, but should encourage their efforts. )
flaunt
display ostentatiously (Eg: She is not the one of those actresses who flaunt their physical charms; she can act. )
provident
displaying foresight; thrifty; preparing for emergencies (Eg: In his usual provident manner, he had insured himself against this type of loss. )
mace
ceremonial staff; clublike medieval weapon (Eg: The Grand Marshal of the parade raised his mace to signal that it was time for the procession to begin. )
ordination
ceremony conferring holy orders (Eg: The candidate for ordination had to meet with the bishop and the diocean officers before being judged )
hap
chance; luck (Eg: In his poem hap, Thomas Hardy objects to the part chance plays in our lives. )
gerrymander
change in voting district lines in order to favor a political party (Eg: The illogical pattern of the map of this congressional district is proof that the state legislature )
metamorphosis
change of form (Eg: The metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly is typical of many such changes in animal life. )
ossify
change or harden into bone (Eg: When he called his opponent a "bonehead," he implied that his adversary's brain had ossified and that he )
innovation
change; introduction of something new (Eg: She loved innovatins just because they were new. )
fickle
changeable; faithless (Eg: He discovered his supposedly faithful girlfriend was fickle )
mutable
changing in form; fickle (Eg: His opinion were mutable and easily influenced by anyone who had any powers of persuasion. )
migrant
changing its habitat; wandering (Eg: These migrant birds return every spring. )
amulet
charm; talisman (Eg: Around her neck she wore the amulet that the witch doctor had given her. )
idyllic
charmingly carefree; simple (Eg: Far from the city, she led an idyllic existence in her rural retreat. )
cozen
cheat; hoodwink; swindle (Eg: He was the kind of individual who would cozen his friends in a cheap card game but remain eminently )
fraudulent
cheating; deceitful (Eg: The government seeks to prevent fraudulent and misleading advertising. )
alacrity
cheerful promptness (Eg: He demonstrated his eagerness to serve by his alacrity in executing the orders of his master. )
sanguine
cheerful; hopeful (Eg: Let us not be too sanguine about the outcome; something could go wrong. )
geniality
cheerfulness; kindliness; sympathy (Eg: This restaurant is famous and popular because of the geniality of the proprietor, who tries to make )
masticate
chew (Eg: We must masticate our food carefully and slowly in order to avoid digestive disorders. )
ruminate
chew the cud; ponder (Eg: We cannot afford to wait while you ruminate upon these plans. )
cardinal
chief (Eg: If you want to increase your word power, the cardinal rule of vocabulary-building is to read. )
puerile
childish (Eg: His puerile pranks sometimes offended his more mature friends. )
infantile
childish; infantlike (Eg: When will he outgrow such infantile behavior? )
progeny
children; offspring (Eg: He was proud of his progeny but regarded George as the most promising of all his children. )
indiscriminate
choosing at random; confused (Eg: She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing and decided to restrict him to educational )
prelate
church dignitary (Eg: The archbishop of Moscow and other high-ranking prelates visited the Russian Orthodox seminary. )
curmudgeon
churlish, miserly individual (Eg: Although he was regarded by many as a curmudgeon, a few of us were aware of the many kindnesses and )
rotunda
circular building or hall covered with a dome (Eg: His body lay in state in the rotunda of the Capitol. )
obsidian
clak volcanic rock (Eg: The deposits of obsidian on the mountain slopes were an indiacation that volcano had erupted in ancient )
friction
clash in opinion; rubbing against (Eg: At this time when harmony is essential, we cannot afford to have any friction in our group. )
purge
clean by removing impurities; clear of changes (Eg: If you are to be purged of the charge of contempt of Congress, you must be willing to answer the )
expurgate
clean; remove offensive parts of a book (Eg: The editors felt that certain passages in the book had to be expurgated before it could be used in the )
limpid
clear (Eg: A limpid stream ran through his property. )
bouillon
clear beef soup (Eg: The cup of bouillon served by the stewards was welcomed by those who had been chilled by the cold )
exculpate
clear from blame (Eg: He was exculpated of the crime when the real criminal confessed. )
sanctimonious
displaying ostentatious or hypocritical devoutness (Eg: You do not have to be so sanctimonious to prove that you are devout. )
clemency
disposition ot be lenient; mildness, as of the weather (Eg: The lawyer was pleased when the case was sent to Judge Smith's chambers because Smith was noted for )
perspicuity
clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity (Eg: One of the outstanding features of this book is the perspicuity of its author; her meaning is always clear. )
ingenious
clever (Eg: He came up with a use for Styrofoam packing balls that was so ingenious that his business school )
repartee
clever reply (Eg: He was famous for his witty repartee and his sarcasm. )
precipice
cliff; dangerous position (Eg: Suddenly Indiana Jones found himself dangling from the edge of a precipice. )
clamber
climb by crawling (Eg: She clambered over the wall. )
scale
climb up; ascend (Eg: To locate a book on the top shelf of the stacks, Lee had to scale an exceptionally rickety ladder. )
compress
close; squeeze; contract (Eg: She compressed the package under her arm. )
array
clothe; adorn (Eg: She liked to watch her motherarray herself in her finest clothes before going out for the evening. )
raiment
clothing (Eg: "How can I go to the ball?" asked Cinderella. "I have no raiment fit to wear." )
refute
disprove (Eg: The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to refute the false testimony of the )
contest
dispute (Eg: The defeated candidate attempted to contest the election results. )
discount
disregard (Eg: Be prepared to discount what he has to say about his ex-wife. )
buffoonery
clowning (Eg: John Candy's buffoonery in Uncle Buck was hilarious. )
saccharine
cloyingly sweet (Eg: She tried to ingratiate herself, speaking sweetly and smiling a saccharine smile. )
bludgeon
club; heavy-headed weapon (Eg: His walking stick served him as a bludgeon on many occasions. )
lout
clumsy person (Eg: The delivery boy is an awkward lout. )
gauche
clumsy; boorish (Eg: Such remarks are gauche and out of place; you should apologize for making them. )
maladroit
clumsy; bungling (Eg: In his usual maladroit way, he managed to upset the cart and spill the food. )
fodder
coarse food for cattle, horses etc. (Eg: One of Nancy's chores ar the ranch was to put fresh supplies of fodder in the horses' stalls. )
cajole
coax; wheedle (Eg: I will not be cajoled into granting your wish. )
convoluted
coiled around; involved; intricate (Eg: His argument was so convoluted that few of us could follow a it intelligently. )
bleak
cold; cheerless (Eg: The Aleutian Islands are bleak military outposts. )
clavicle
collarbone (Eg: Even though he wore shoulder pads, the football player broke his clavicle during a practice scrimmage. )
amass
collect (Eg: The miser's aim is to amass and hoard as much gold as possible. )
agglomeration
collection; heap (Eg: It took weeks to assort the agglomeration of miscellaneous items she had collected on her trip. )
hue
color; aspect (Eg: The aviary contained birds of every possible hue. )
pigment
coloring matter (Eg: Van Gogh mixed various pigments with linseed oil to create his paints. )
pugnacious
combative; disposed to fight (Eg: As a child he was pugnacious and fought with everyone. )
compound
combine; constitute; pay interest; increase (Eg: The makers of the popular cold remedy compounded a nasal decongestant with an antihistamine. )
coalesce
combine; fuse (Eg: The brooks coalesce into one large river. )
amalgamate
combine; unite in one body (Eg: The unions will attempt to amalgamate their groups into one national body. )
accrue
come about by addition (Eg: You must pay the interest that has accrued on your debt as well as the principal sum. )
intervene
come between (Eg: She intervened in the argument between her two sons. )
converge
come together (Eg: Marchers converged on Washington for the great Save Our Cities-Save Our Children March. )
malapropism
comic misuse of a word (Eg: When Mrs. Malaprop criticizes Lydia for being "as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile," she )
lateral
coming from the side (Eg: In order to get good plant growth, the gardener must pinch off all lateral shoots. )
fiat
command (Eg: I cannot accept government by fiat; I feel that I must be consulted. )
ordain
command; arrange; consecrate (Eg: The king ordained that no foreigner should be allowed to enter the city. )
enjoin
command; order; forbid (Eg: The owners of the company asked the court to enjoin the union from picketing the plant. )
memorialize
commemorate (Eg: Let us memorialize his great contribution by dedicating this library in his honor. )
embark
commence; go on board a boat; begin a journey (Eg: In devoting herself to the study of gorillas, Dian Fossey embarked on a course of action that was to cost )
annotate
comment; make explanatory notes (Eg: In the appendix to the novel, the critic sought to annotate many of the more esoteric references. )
perpetrate
commit an offense (Eg: Only an insane person could perpetrate such a horrible crime. )
plebeian
common; pertaining to the common people (Eg: His speeches were aimed at the plebeian minds and emotions; they disgusted the more refined. )
hackneyed
commonplace; trite (Eg: The English teacher criticized her story because of its hackneyed and unoriginal plot. )
analogous
comparable (Eg: She called our attention to the things that had been done in an analogous situation and recommended that )
remunerative
compensating; rewarding (Eg: I find my new work so renumerative that I may not return to my previous employment. )
mercantile
concerning trade (Eg: I am more interested in the opportunites available in the mercantile field than I am in those in the legal )
pithy
concise; meaty (Eg: I enjoy reading his essays because they are always compact and pithy. )
brevity
conciseness (Eg: brevity is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every word. )
coda
concluding section of a musical or literary composition (Eg: The piece concluded with a distinctive coda that strikingly brought together various motifs. )
finale
conclusion (Eg: It is not until we reach the finale of this play that we can understand the author's message. )
peroration
conclusion of an oration (Eg: The peroration was largely hortatory and brought the audience to its feet clamoring for action at its close. )
denounce
condemn; critcize (Eg: The reform candidate denounced the corrupt city officers for having betrayed the public's trust. )
deign
condescend (Eg: He felt that he would debase himself if he deigned to answer his critics. )
anemia
condition in which blood lacks red corpuscles (Eg: The doctor ascribes her tiredness to anemia. )
contingent
conditional (Eg: The continuation of this contract is contingent on the quality of your first output. )
bestow
confer (Eg: He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero. )
parley
conference (Eg: The peace parley has not produced the anticipated truce. )
corroborate
confirm (Eg: Unless we find a witness to corroborate your evidence, it will not stand up in court. )
compliance
conformity in fulfilling requirements; readiness to yield (Eg: The design for the new school had to be in compliance with the local building code. )
fluster
confuse (Eg: The teacher's sudden question flustered him and he stammered his reply. )
befuddle
confuse thoroughly (Eg: His attempts to clarify the situation succeeded only on befuddling her further. )
muddle
confuse; mix up (Eg: His thoughts were muddled and chaotic. )
confound
confuse; puzzle (Eg: No mystery could confound Sherlock Holmes for long. )
disconcert
confuse; upset; embarrass (Eg: The lawyer was disconcerted by the evidence produced by her adversary. )
hubbub
confused uproar (Eg: )
discombobulated
confused; discomposed (Eg: The novice square dancer became so discombobulated that he wandered into wrong set. )
bemused
confused; lost in thought; preoccupied (Eg: Jill studied the garbled instructions with a bemused look on her face. )
nexus
connection (Eg: I fail to see the nexus that binds these two widely separated events. )
gourmet
connoisseur of food and drink (Eg: The gourmet stated that this was the best onion soup she had ever tasted. )
epicure
connoisseur of food and drink (Eg: epicures frequent this restaurant because it features exotic wines and dishes. )
scrupulous
conscientious; extremely thorough (Eg: I can recommend him for a position of responsibility for I have found him a very scrupulous young man. )
anoint
consecrate (Eg: The prophet Samuel anointed David with oil, crowning him king of Israel. )
corollary
consequence; accompaniment (Eg: Brotherly love is a complex emotion, with a sibling rivalry its natural corollary. )
deliberate
consider; ponder; unhurried (Eg: Offered the new job, she asked for time to deliberate before she made her decision. )
prominent
conspicuous; notable; protruding (Eg: Have you ever noticed that Prince Charles's prominent ears make him resemble the big-eared character in )
flagrant
conspicuously wicked (Eg: We cannot condone such flagrant violations of the rules. )
collusion
conspiring in a fraudulent scheme (Eg: The swindlers were found guilty of collusion. )
despicable
contemptible (Eg: Your despicable remarks call for no reply. )
din
continued loud noise (Eg: The din of the jackhammers outside the classroom window drowned out the lecturer's voice. )
disabuse
correct a false impression; undeceive (Eg: I will attempt to diabuse you of your impression of my client's guilt; I know he is innocent. )
dissident
dissenting; rebellious (Eg: In the purge that followed the student demonstrations at Tianamen Square, the government hunted down )
heterogeneous
dissimilar (Eg: In a heterogeneous group, we have an unassorted assemblage, while in a homogeneous group we have )
reconcile
correct inconsistencies; become friendly after a quarrel (Eg: Every time we try to reconcile our checkbook with the bank statement, we quarrel. However, despite these )
orthography
correct spelling (Eg: Many of us find English orthography difficult to master because so many of our words are written )
emend
correct, usually a text (Eg: The critic emended the book by retranslating several passages. )
amend
correct; change, generally for the better (Eg: Hoping to amend his condition, he left Vietnam for the United States. )
emendation
correction of errors; improvement (Eg: Please initial all the emendations you have made in this contract. )
congruence
correspondence of parts; harmonious relationship (Eg: The student demonstrated the congruence of the two triangles by using the hypotenuse-arm theorem. )
debauch
corrupt; make intemperate (Eg: A vicious newspaper can debauch public ideals. )
perversion
corruption; turning from right to wrong (Eg: Inasmuch as he had no motive for his crimes, we could not understand his perversion. )
depravity
corruption; wickedness (Eg: The depravity of the tyrant's behavior shocked us all. )
barrister
counselor-at-law (Eg: Galsworthy started as a barrister, but when he found the practice of law boring, turned to writing. )
recrimination
countercharges (Eg: Loud and angry recriminations were her answer to his accusations. )
machiavellian
crafty; double-dealing (Eg: I do not think he will be a good embassador because he is not accustomed to the machiavellian )
hurtle
crash; rush (Eg: The runaway train hurtled toward disaster. )
grovel
crawl or creep on ground; remain prostrate (Eg: Even though we have been defeated, we do not have to grovel before our conquerors. )
jollity
gaiety; cheerfulness (Eg: The festive Christmas dinner was a merry one, and old and young alike joined in the general jollity. )
lope
gallop slowly (Eg: As the horses loped along, we had an opportunity to admire the ever-changing scenery. )
hiatus
gap; pause (Eg: Except for a brief two-year hiatus, during which she enrolled in the Peace Corps, Ms. Clements has )
glean
gather leavings (Eg: After the crops had been harvested by the machines, the peasants were permitted to glean the wheat left in )
muster
gather; assemble (Eg: Washington mustered his forces at Trenton. )
garner
gather; store up (Eg: She hoped to garner the world's literature in one library. )
garish
gaudy (Eg: She wore a garish rhinestone necklace. )
blithe
gay; joyous; careless (Eg: Shelley called the skylark a "blithe spirit" because of its happy song. )
consensus
general agreement (Eg: The consensus indicates that we are opposed to entering into this pact. )
fester
generate pus (Eg: When her finger began to fester, the doctor lanced it and removed the splinter that had caused the pus to )
magnanimity
generosity (Eg: Noted for his magnanimity, philanthropist Eugene Lang donated millions to charity. )
largess
generous gift (Eg: Lady Bountiful distributed largess to the poor. )
benevolent
generous; charitable (Eg: His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him. )
bountiful
generous; showing bounty (Eg: She distributed gifts in a bountiful and gracious manner. )
orient
get one's bearings; adjust (Eg: Philip spent his first day in Denver orienting himself to the city. )
grisly
ghastly (Eg: She shuddered at the grisly sight. )
apparition
ghost; phantom (Eg: Hamlet was uncertain about the identity of the apparition that had appeared and spoken to him. )
benefactor
gift giver; patron (Eg: Scrooge later became Tiny Tim's benefactor and gave him a benediction. )
mammoth
gigantic (Eg: The mammoth corporations of the twentieth century are a mixed blessing )
colossus
gigantic statue (Eg: The legendary Colossus of Rhodes, bronze statue of the sun god that dominated the harbor of the Greek )
burlesque
give an imitation that ridicules (Eg: In his caricature, he burlesqued the mannerisms of his adversary. )
foreshadow
give an indication beforehand; portend; prefigure (Eg: In retrospect, political analysts realized that Yeltsin's defiance of the attempted coup foreshadowed his )
relent
give in (Eg: When her stern father would not relent and allow her to marry Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett eloped )
forgo
give up; do without (Eg: Determined to lose weight for the summer, Ida decided to forgo dessert until she could fit into a size eight )
gratuitous
given freely; unwarranted; uncalled for (Eg: Quit making gratuitous comments about my driving; no one asked you for your opinion. )
jocose
given to joking (Eg: The salesman was so jocose that many of his customers suggested that he become a stand-up comic. )
morbid
given to unwholesome thought; gloomy (Eg: These morbid speculations are dangerous; we must lighten our spirits by emphasizing more pleasant )
beatific
giving bliss; blissful (Eg: The beatific smile on the child's face made us very happy. )
odoriferous
giving off an odor (Eg: )
ogle
glance coquettishly at; make eyes at (Eg: Sitting for hours at the sidewalk cafe, the old gentleman would oggle the young girls and recall his youthful )
carafe
glass water bottle (Eg: With each dinner, the patron receives a carafe of red or white wine. )
saturnine
gloomy (Eg: Do not be misled by his saturnine countenance; he is not as gloomy as he looks. )
fervor
glowing ardor (Eg: Their kiss was full of the fervor of first love. )
disembark
go ashore; unload cargo from a ship (Eg: Before the passengers could disembark, they had to pick up their passports from the ship's purser. )
retrograde
go backwards; degenerate (Eg: Instead of advancing, our civilization seems to have retrograded in ethics and culture. )
chalice
goblet; consecrated cup (Eg: In a small room adjoining the cathedral, many ornately decorated chalices made by the most famous )
devious
going astray; erratic (Eg: Your devious behavior in this matter puzzles me since you are usually direct and straightforward. )
prosperity
good fortune; financial success; physical well-being (Eg: Promising to stay together "for richer, for poorer," the newlyweds vowed to be true to one another in )
jovial
good natured; merry (Eg: A frown seemed out of place on his invariably jovial face. )
camaraderie
good-fellowship (Eg: What he loved best about his job was the sense of camaraderie he and his co-workers shared. )
bantering
good-naturedly ridiculing (Eg: They resented his bantering remarks because they misinterpreted his teasing as sarcasm. )
oligarchy
government by a few (Eg: The feudal oligarchy was supplanted by an autocracy. )
bureaucracy
government by bureaus (Eg: Many people fear that the constant introduction of federal agencies will create a government by )
gerontocracy
government ruled by old people (Eg: Gulliver visited a gerontocracy in which the young people acted as servants to their elders, all the while )
monarchy
government under a single hereditary ruler with varying degrees of power (Eg: England today remains a monarchy. )
cordial
gracious; heartfelt (Eg: Our hosts greeted us at the airport with a cordial welcome and a hearty hug. )
encroachment
gradual intrusion (Eg: The encroachment of the factories upon the neighborhood lowered the value of the real estate. )
attrition
gradual wearing down (Eg: They decided to wage a war of attrition rather than to rely on all-out attack. )
herbivorous
grain-eating (Eg: Some herbivorous animals have two stomachs for digesting their food. )
raspy
grating; harsh (Eg: The sergeant's raspy voice grated on the recruits' ears. )
demure
grave; serius; coy (Eg: )
proliferate
grow rapidly; spread; multiply (Eg: Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage countless get-rich-quick schemes to proliferate )
pall
grow tiresome (Eg: The study of word lists can eventually pall and put one to sleep. )
flourish
grow well; prosper; make sweeping gestures (Eg: The orange trees flourished in the sun. )
cumulative
growing by addition (Eg: Vocabulary building is a cumulative process: as you go through your flash cards, you will add new words to )
accretion
growth; increase (Eg: The accretion of wealth marked the family's rise in power. )
macabre
gruesome; grisly (Eg: The city morgue is a macabre spot for the uninitiated. )
remorse
guilt; self-reproach (Eg: The murderer felt no remorse for his crime. )
arroyo
gully (Eg: Until the heavy rains of the past spring, this arroyo had been a dry bed. )
inebriety
habitual intoxication (Eg: Because of his inebriety, he was discharged from his position as family chauffeur. )
recidivism
habitual return to crime (Eg: Prison reformers in the United States are disturbed by the high rate of recidivism; the number of persons )
banal
hackneyed; commonplace; trite (Eg: His frequent use of cliches made his essay seem banal. )
crone
hag (Eg: The toothless crone frightened us when she smiled. )
hackles
hairs on back and neck, especially of a dog (Eg: The dog's hackles rose and he began to growl as the sound of footsteps grew louder. )
clairvoyant
having foresight; fortuneteller (Eg: Cassandra's clairvoyant warning was not heeded by the Trojans. )
coiffure
hairstyle (Eg: You can make a statement with your choice of coiffure: in the 60's many African-Americans affirmed their )
hirsute
hairy (Eg: He was a hitsute individual with a heavy black beard. )
satyr
half-human, half-bestial being in the court of Dionysus, portrayed as wanton and cunning (Eg: He was like a satyr in his lustful conduct. )
maul
handle roughly (Eg: The rock star was mauled by his overexcited fans. )
anthropomorphic
having human form or characteristics (Eg: Primitive religions often have deities with anthropomorphic characteristics. )
perspicacious
having insight; penetrating; astute (Eg: The brillant lawyer was known for his perspicacious deductions. )
factotum
handyman; person who does all kinds of work (Eg: Although we had hired him as a messenger, we soon began to use him as a general factotum around the )
hover
hang about; wait nearby (Eg: The police helicopter hovered above the accident. )
loiter
hang around; linger (Eg: The policeman told him not to loiter in the alley. )
pendulous
hanging; suspended (Eg: The pendulous chandeliers swayed in the breeze as if they were about to fall from the ceiling. )
concurrent
happening at the same time (Eg: In America, the colonists were resisting the demands of the mother contry; at the concurrent moment in )
detrimental
harmful; damaging (Eg: Your acceptance of her support will ultimately prove detrimental rather than helpful to your cause. )
defamation
harming a person's reputation (Eg: Such defamation of character may result in a slander suit. )
innocuous
harmless (Eg: Let him drink it; it is innocuous and will have no ill effect. )
placebo
harmless substance prescribed as a dummy pill (Eg: In a controlled experiment, fifty volunteers were given erythromycin tablets; the control group received )
compatible
harmonious; in harmony with (Eg: They were compatible neighbors, never quarreling over unimportant matters. )
concord
harmony (Eg: Watching Tweediedum and Tweedledee battle, Alice wondered why the two brothers could not manage to )
consonance
harmony; agreement (Eg: Her agitation seemed out of consonance with her usual calm. )
conformity
harmony; agreement (Eg: In conformity with our rules and regulations, I am calling a meeting of our organization. )
raucous
harsh and shrill (Eg: His raucous laughter irritated me and grated on my ears. )
expedite
hasten (Eg: We hope you will be able to expedite delivery because of our tight schedule. )
headlong
hasty; rash (Eg: The slave seized the unexpected chance to make a headlong dash across the border to freedom. )
incubate
hatch; scheme (Eg: Inasmuch as our supply of electricity is cut off, we shall have to rely on the hens to incubate these eggs. )
odious
hateful (Eg: I find the task of punishing you most odious. )
misogynist
hater of women (Eg: She accused him of being a misogynist because he had been a bachelor all his life. )
misogamy
hatred of marriage (Eg: He remained a bachelor not because of misogamy but because of ill fate: his fiancee died before the )
concentric
having a common center (Eg: The target was made of concentric circles. )
determinate
having a fixed order of procedure; invariable (Eg: At the royal wedding, the procession of the nobles followed a determinate order of precedence. )
decollete
having a low-cut neckline (Eg: )
plausible
having a show of truth but open to doubt; specious (Eg: Even though your argument is plausible, I still would like to have more proof. )
capillary
having a very fine bore (Eg: The changes in surface tension of liquids in capillary vessels is of special interest to physicists. )
malignant
having an evil influence; virulent (Eg: This is a malignant disease; we must have to use drastic measures to stop its spread. )
odorous
having an odor (Eg: This variety of hybrid tea rose is more odorous than the one you have in your garden. )
multiform
having many forms (Eg: Snowflakes are multiform but always hexagonal. )
multilingual
having many languages (Eg: Because they are bordered by so many countries, the Swiss people are multilingual. )
ciliated
having minute hairs (Eg: The paramecium is a ciliated, one-celled animal. )
monochromatic
having only one color (Eg: Most people who are color blind actually can distinguish several colors; some, however, have a truly )
halting
hesitant; faltering (Eg: Novice extemporaneous speakers often talk in a halting fashion as they grope for the right words. )
falter
hesitate (Eg: When told to dive off the high board, she did not falter, but proceeded at once. )
flinch
hesitate; shrink (Eg: He did not flinch in the face of danger but fought back bravely. )
potpourri
heterogeneous mixture; medley (Eg: He offered a potpourri of folk songs from many lands. )
irony
hidden sarcasm or satire; use of words that convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning (Eg: Gradually his listeners began to realize that the excessive praise he was lavishing was merely irony; he was )
secrete
hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism. (Eg: The pack rat secretes odds and ends in its nest; the pancreas secretes insulin in the islets of Langerhans. )
cache
hiding place (Eg: The detectives followed the suspects until he led them to the cache where he had stored his loot. )
encomium
high praise; eulogy (Eg: Uneasy with the encomiums expressed by his supporters, Tolkien felt unworthy of such high praise. )
eminent
high; lofty (Eg: After his appointment to this emiment position, he seldom had time for his former friends. )
intellect
higher mental powers (Eg: He thought college would develop his intellect. )
apogee
highest point (Eg: When the moon in its orbit is furthest away from the earth, it is at its apogee. )
glaring
highly conspicuous; harshly bright (Eg: glaring spelling or grammatical errors in your resume will unfavorably impress potential employers. )
agog
highly excited; intensely curious (Eg: We were all agog at the news that the celebrated movie star was giving up his career in order to enter a )
prodigy
highly gifted child; marvel (Eg: Menuhin was a prodigy, performing wonders on his violin when he was barely eight years old. )
baroque
highly ornate (Eg: Accustomed to the severe, angular lines of modern skyscrapers, they found the flamboyance of baroque )
coup
highly successful action or sudden attack (Eg: As the news of his coup spread throughout Wall Street, his fellow brokers dropped by to congratulate him. )
impede
hinder; block (Eg: The special prosecutor determined that the Attorney General, though inept, had not intentionally set out to )
impediment
hindrance; stumbling-block (Eg: She had a speech impediment that prevented her from speaking clearly. )
intimate
hint (Eg: She intimated rather than stated her preferences. )
inkling
hint (Eg: This came as a complete surprise to me as I did not have the slightest inkling of your plans. )
insinuate
hint; imply (Eg: What are you trying to insinuate by that remark? )
innuendo
hint; insinuation (Eg: I can defend myself against direct accusations; innuendos and oblique attacks on my character are what )
retentive
holding; having a good memory (Eg: The pupil did not need to spend much time in study as he had a retentive mind. )
concave
hollow (Eg: The back-packers found partial shelter from the storm by huddling against the concave wall of the cliff. )
domicile
home (Eg: Althoughhis legal domicile was in New York City, his work kept him away from his residence for many )
hermitage
home of a hermit (Eg: Even in his remote hermitage he could not escape completely from the world. )
nostalgia
homesickness; longing for the past (Eg: The first settlers found so much work to do that they had little time for nostalgia. )
fete
honor at a festival (Eg: The returning hero was feted at a community supper and dance. )
kudos
honor; glory; praise (Eg: The singer complacently received kudos on his performance from his entourage. )
homage
honor; tribute (Eg: In her speech she tried to pay homage to a great man. )
cornucopia
horn overflowing wiht fruit and grain; symbol of abundance (Eg: The encyclopedia salesman claimed the new edition was a veritable cornucopia of information, an )
ghastly
horrible (Eg: The murdered man was a ghastly sight. )
aghast
horrified (Eg: He was aghast at the nerve of the speaker who had insulted his host. )
animus
hostile feeling or intent (Eg: The animus of the speaker became obvious to all when he began to indulge in sarcastic and insulting )
antagonistic
hostile; opposed (Eg: Despite his lawyers' best efforts to stop him, the angry prisoner continued to make antagonistic remarks to )
choleric
hot-tempered (Eg: His flushed, angry face indicated a choleric nature. )
firebrand
hothead; troublemaker (Eg: The police triedto keep track of all the local firebrands when the President came to town. )
colossal
huge (Eg: Radio City Music Hall has a colossal stage. )
behemoth
huge creature; something of monstrous size or power (Eg: Sportcasters nicknamed the linebacker "The Behemoth." )
gargantuan
huge; enormous (Eg: The gargantuan wrestler was terrified of mice. )
enormity
hugeness (in a bad sense) (Eg: He did not realize the enormity of his crime until he saw what suffering he had caused. )
humility
humbleness of spirit (Eg: He spoke with a humility and lack of pride that impressed his listeners. )
mortify
humiliate; punish the flesh (Eg: She was so mortified by her blunder that she ran to her room in tears. )
indulgent
humoring; yielding; lenient (Eg: indulgent parents spoil their children by giving in to their every whim. )
facetious
humorous; jocular (Eg: Your facetious remarks are not appropriate at this serious moment. )
scavenge
hunt through discarded materials for usable items; search, especially for food (Eg: If you need car parts that the dealers no longer stock, try scavenging for odd bits and pieces at the auto )
consort
husband or wife (Eg: The search for a consort for the young Queen Victoria ended happily. )
burly
husky; muscular (Eg: The burly mover lifted the packing crate with ease. )
mesmerize
hypnotize (Eg: The incessant drone seemed to mesmerize him and place him in a trance. )
quixotic
idealistic but impractical (Eg: His head is in the clouds; he is constantly presenting these quixotic schemes. )
ideology
ideas of a group of people (Eg: That ideology is dangerous to this country because it embraces undemocratic philosophies. )
drone
idle person; male bee (Eg: Content to let his wife support him, the would-be writer was in reality nothing but a drone. )
evenhanded
impartial; fair (Eg: Do men and women receive evenhanded treatment from their teachers, or, as recent studies suggest, do )
inscrutable
impenetrable; not readily understood; mysterious (Eg: Experienced poker players try to keep their expressions inscrutable, hiding their reactions to the cards )
impalpable
imperceptible; intangible (Eg: The ash is so fine that it is impalpable to the touch but it can be seen as a fine layer covering the window )
pert
impertinent; forward (Eg: I think your pert and impudent remarks call for an apology. )
impermeable
impervious; not permitting passage through its substance (Eg: This new material is impermeable to liquids. )
causal
implying a cause-and-effect relationship (Eg: The psychologist maintained there was a causal relationship between the nature of one's early childhood )
gamely
in a spirited manner; with courage (Eg: Because he had fought gamely against a much superior boxer, the crowd gave him a standing ovation when )
amok
in a state of rage (Eg: )
latent
dormant; hidden (Eg: Her latent talent was discovered by accident. )
potion
dose (of liquid) (Eg: Tristan and Lsolde drink a love potion in the first act of the opera. )
deplicity
double-dealing; hypocrisy (Eg: People were shocked and dismayed when they learned of his duplicity in this affair, as he had always )
impugn
doubt; challenge; gainsay (Eg: I cannot impugn your honesty without evidence. )
dubious
doubtful (Eg: He has the dubious distinction of being the lowest man in his class. )
equivocal
doubtful; ambiguous (Eg: Macbeth was misled by the equivocal statements of the witches. )
misgivings
doubts (Eg: Hamlet described his misgivings to Horatio but decided to fence with Laertes despite his foreboding of )
declivity
downward slope (Eg: The children loved to ski down the declivity. )
conscript
draftee; person forced into military service (Eg: Did Rambo volunteer to fight in Vietnam, or was he a conscript, drafted against his will? )
oratorio
dramatic poem set to music (Eg: The Glee Club decided to present an oratorio during their recital. )
elicit
draw out by discussion (Eg: The detectives tried to elicit where he had hidden his loot. )
limn
draw; outline; describe (Eg: Parodoxically, the more realistic the details this artist chooses, the better able to limn her fantastic, other- )
liability
drawback; debts (Eg: Her lack of an extensive vocabulary was a liability that she was able to overcome. )
pensive
dreamily thoughtful; thoughtful with a hint of sadness (Eg: The pensive youth gazed at the painting for a long time and then sighed. )
primp
dress or groom oneself with care (Eg: She primps for hours before a dance. )
bedizen
dress with vulgar finery (Eg: The witch doctors were bedizened in their gaudiest costumes. )
flotsam
drifting wreckage (Eg: Beachcombers eke out a living by salvaging the flotsam and jetsam of the sea. )
imbibe
drink in (Eg: The dry soil imbibed the rain quickly. )
quaff
drink with relish (Eg: As we quaffed our ale, we listened to the gay songs of the students in the tavern. )
ferret
drive or hunt out of hiding (Eg: She was ferreted out their secret. )
exorcise
drive our evil spirits (Eg: By incantation and prayer, the medicine man sought to exorcise the evil spirits that had taken possession of )
repellent
driving away; unattractive (Eg: Mosquitoes find the odor so repellent that they leave any spot where this liquid has been sprayed. )
propulsive
driving forward (Eg: The jet plane has a greater propulsive power than the engine-driven plane. )
flag
droop; grow feeble (Eg: When the opposing hockey team scored its third goal only minutes into the first period, the home team's )
lethargic
drowsy; dull (Eg: The stuffy room made her lethargic; she felt as if she was about to nod off. )
anodyne
drug that relieves pain; opiate (Eg: His pain was so great that no anodyne could relieve it. )
apothecary
druggist (Eg: In Holland, apothecaries still sell spices as well as ointments and pills. )
bacchanalian
drunken (Eg: Emperor Nero attended the bacchanalian orgy. )
carousal
drunken revel (Eg: The party degenerated into an ugly carousal. )
provender
dry food; fodder (Eg: I am afraid of a severe winter because I have stored a large quantity of provender for the cattle. )
desiccate
dry up (Eg: A tour of this smokehouse will give you an idea of how the pioneers used to desiccate food in order to )
arid
dry; barren (Eg: The cactus had adapted to survive in an arid environment. )
combustible
easily burned (Eg: After the recent outbreak of fires in private homes, the fire commissioner ordered that all combustible )
gullible
easily deceived (Eg: He preyed upon gullible people, who believed his stories of easy wealth. )
queasy
easily nauseated; squeamish (Eg: As the ship left the harbor, he became queasy and thought that he was going to suffer from seasickness. )
lucid
easily understood; clear; intelligible (Eg: Her explanation was lucid enought for a child to grasp. )
facile
easy; expert (Eg: Because he was a facile speaker, he never refused a request to address an organization. )
erode
eat away (Eg: The limestone was eroded by the dripping water )
corrosive
eating away by chemicals or disease (Eg: Stainless steel is able to withstand the effects of corrosive chemicals. )
omnivorous
eating both plant and animal food; devouring everything (Eg: Some animals, including humans, are omnivorous and eat both meat and vegetables; others are either )
crotchety
eccentric; whimsical (Eg: Although he was reputed to be a crochety old gentleman, I found his ideas substantially sound and )
reverberate
echo; resound (Eg: The entire valley reverberated with the sound of the church bells. )
resonant
echoing; resounding; deep and full in sound (Eg: The deep, resonant voice of the actor James Earl Jones makes him particulary effective when he appears )
periphery
edge, especially of a round surface (Eg: He sensed that there was something just beyond the periphery of his vision. )
articulate
effective; distinct (Eg: Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers. )
economy
efficiency or conciseness in using something (Eg: Reading the epigrams of Pope, I admire the economy of his verse: in few words he conveys worlds of )
effectual
efficient (Eg: If we are to succeed, we must seek effectual means of securing our goals. )
exertion
effort; expenditure of much physical work (Eg: The exertion involved in unscrewing the rusty bolt left her exhausted. )
maudlin
effusively sentimental (Eg: I do not like such maudlin pictures. I call them tearjerkers. )
ovoid
egg-shaped (Eg: At Easter she had to cut out hundreds of brightly colored ovoid shapes. )
resilient
elastic; having the power of springing back (Eg: Highly resilient, steel makes excellent bedsprings. )
component
element; ingredient (Eg: I wish all the components of my stereo system were working at the same time. )
dismiss
eliminate from consideration; reject (Eg: Believing in John's love for her, she dismissed the notion that he might be unfaithful. )
manumit
emancipate; free from bondage (Eg: Enlightened slave owners were willing to manumit their slaves and thus put an end to the evil slavery in the )
abash
embarrass (Eg: He was not at all abashed by her open admiration. )
reek
emit (odor) (Eg: The room reeked with stale tobacco smoke. )
rapport
emotional closeness; harmony (Eg: In team teaching, it is important that all teachers in the group have good rapport with one another. )
libido
emotional urges behind human activity (Eg: The psychiatrist maintained that suppression of the libido often resulted in maladjustment and neuroses. )
detached
emotionally removed; calm and objective; indifferent (Eg: A psychoanalyst must maintain a detached point of view and stay uninvolved with her patients' perssonal )
embed
enclose; place in something (Eg: Tales of actual historical figures like King Alfred have become embedded in legends. )
environ
enclose; surround (Eg: Paris was environed by a wall )
aviary
enclosure for birds (Eg: The aviary at the zoo held nearly 300 birds. )
hortatory
encouraging; exhortive (Eg: The crowd listened to his hortatory statements with ever-growing excitement; finally they rushed from the )
interminable
endless (Eg: Although his speech lasted for only twenty minutes, it seemed interminable to his bored audience. )
incarnate
endowed with flesh; personified (Eg: Your attitude is so fiendish that you must be a devil incarnate. )
savor
enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality (Eg: Relishing his triumph, Costner especially savored the chagrin of the critics who had predicted his failure. )
gusto
enjoyment; enthusiasm (Eg: He accepted the assignment with such gusto that I feel he would have been satisfied with a smaller salary. )
amplify
enlarge (Eg: Her attempts to amplify her remarks were drowned out by the jeers of the audience. )
prodigious
enormous; marvelous (Eg: He marveled at her prodigious appetite when he saw all the food she ate. )
astronomical
enormously large or extensive (Eg: The government seemed willing to spend astronomical sums on weapons development. )
incense
enrage; infuriate (Eg: Unkindness to children incensed her. )
mire
entangle; stick in swampy ground (Eg: Their rear wheels became mired in mud. )
regale
entertain (Eg: John regaled us with tales of his adventures in Africa. )
ovation
enthusiastic applause (Eg: When Placido Domingo came on stage in the first act of La Boheme, he was greeted by a tremendous )
devotee
enthusiastic follower (Eg: A devotee of the opera, he bought season tickets every year. )
allure
entice; attract (Eg: allured by the song of the sirens, the helmsman steered the ship toward the reef. )
gamut
entire range (Eg: In this performance, the leading lady was able to demonstrate the complete gamut of her acting ability. )
entree
entrance; a way in (Eg: Because of his wealth and social position, he had entree into the most exclusive circles. )
ambience
environment; atmosphere (Eg: She went to the restaurant not for the food but for the ambience. )
milieu
environment; means of expression (Eg: His milieu is watercolors, although he has produced excellent oil paintings and lithographs. )
gourmand
epicure; person who takes excessive pleasure in food and drink (Eg: goumands lack self-restraint; if they enjoy a particular cuisine, they eat far too much of it. )
commensurate
equal in extent (Eg: Your reward will be commensurate with your effort. )
parity
equality; close resemblance (Eg: I find your analogy inaccurate because I do not see the parity between the two illustrations. )
accoutre
equip (Eg: The fisherman was accoutred with the best that the sporting goods store could supply )
paraphernalia
equipment; odds and ends (Eg: His desk was cluttered with paper, pen, ink, dictionary and other paraphernalia of the writing craft. )
quibble
equivocate; play on words (Eg: Do not quibble; I want a straightforward and definite answer. )
delete
erase; strike out (Eg: If you delete this paragraph, the composition will have more appeal. )
blunder
error (Eg: The criminal's fatal blunder led to his capture. )
misapprehension
error; misunderstanding (Eg: To avoid msapprehension, I am going to ask all of you to repeat the instructions I have given. )
gist
essence (Eg: she was asked to give the gist of the essay in two sentence. )
attribute
essential quality (Eg: His outstanding attribute was his kindness. )
intrinsically
essentially; inherently; naturally (Eg: Although my grandmother's china has intrinsically little value, I shall always cherish it for the memories it )
appraise
estimate the value of (Eg: It is difficult to appraise old paintings; it is easier to call them priceless. )
assessment
estimation; appraisal (Eg: I would like to have your assessment of the situation in South Africa. )
elusive
evasive; baffling; hard to grasp (Eg: His elusive dreams of wealth were costly to those of his friends who supported him financially. )
perpetual
everlasting (Eg: Ponce de Leon hoped to find perpetual youth. )
biennial
every two years (Eg: The group held biennial meetings instead of annual ones. )
gestate
evolve, as in prenatal growth (Eg: While this scheme was being gestated by the conspirators, they maintained complete silence about their )
precise
exact (Eg: If you don't give me precise directions and a map, I'll never find your place. )
inflated
exaggerated; pompous; enlarged (with air or gas) (Eg: His claims about the new product were inflated; it did not work as well as he had promised. )
hyperbole
exaggeration; overstatement (Eg: This salesman is guilty of hyperbole in describing his product; it is wise to discount his claims. )
audit
examination of accounts (Eg: When the bank examiners arrived to hold their annual audit, they discovered the embezzlements of the )
scrutinize
examine closely and critically (Eg: Searching for flaws, the sergeant scrutinized every detail of the private's uniform. )
collate
examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order (Eg: They collated the newly found manuscripts to determine their age. )
ejaculation
exclamation (Eg: He could not repress an ejaculation of surprise when he heard the news. )
ostracize
exclude from public favor; ban (Eg: As soon as the newspapers carried the story of his connection with the criminals, his friends began to )
pretext
excuse (Eg: He looked for a good pretext to get out of paying a visit to his aunt. )
grueling
exhausting (Eg: The marathon is a grueling race. )
iridescent
exhibiting rainbowlike colors (Eg: She admired the iridescent hues of the oil that floated on the surface of the water. )
expatriate
exile; someone who has withdrawn from his native land (Eg: Henry James was an American expatriate who settled in England. )
expository
explanatory; serving to explain (Eg: The mannual that came with my VCR was no masterpiece of expository prose: its explanations were so )
probe
explore with tools (Eg: The surgeon probed the wound for foreign matter before suturing it. )
detonation
explosion (Eg: The detonation of the bomb could be heard miles away. )
debunk
expose as false, exaggerated, worthless, etc.; ridicule (Eg: Pointing out that he conhsistently had voted afainst strenghtening antipollution legislation, reporters )
jeopardy
exposure to death or danger (Eg: Legally, one cannot be placed in double jeopardy. )
deprecate
express disapproval of; protest against; belittle (Eg: A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Post deprecated the modern tendency to address new )
gloat
express evil satisfaction; view malevolently (Eg: As you gloat over your ill-gotten wealth, do you think of the many victims you have defrauded? )
decry
express strong disapproval of ; disparage (Eg: The founder of the Children's Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, strongly decries the lack of )
condole
express sympathetic sorrow (Eg: His friends gathered to condole with him over his loss. )
derogatory
expressing a low opinion (Eg: I resent your derogatory remarks. )
potential
expressing possibility; latent (Eg: The juvenile delinquent is a potential murderer. )
laudatory
expressing praise (Eg: The critics' laudatory comments helped to make her a star. )
eloquence
expressiveness; persuasive speech (Eg: The crowds were stirred by Martin Luther King's eloquence. )
bowdlerize
expurgate (Eg: After the film editors had bowdlerized the language in the script, the motion picture's rating was changed )
prolong
extend; draw out; lengthen (Eg: In their determination to discover ways to prolong human life, doctors fail to take into account that longer )
cordon
extended line of men or fortifications to prevent access or egress (Eg: The police cordon was so tight that the criminals could not leave the area. )
extrinsic
external; not inherent; foreign (Eg: Do not be fooled by extrinsic causes. We must look for the intrinsic reason. )
pterodactyl
extinct flying reptile (Eg: The remains of pterodactyls indicate that these flying reptiles had a wingspan of as much as twenty feet. )
minute
extremely small (Eg: The twins resembled one another closely; only minute differences set them apart. )
lilliputian
extremely small (Eg: Tiny and delicate, the model was built on a lilliputian scale. )
minuscule
extremely small (Eg: Why should I involve myself with a project with so minuscule a chance for success? )
astigmatism
eye defect that prevents proper focus (Eg: As soon as his parents discovered that the boy suffered from astigmatism, they took him to the )
physiognomy
face (Eg: He prided himself on his ability to analyze a person's character by studying his physiognomy. )
countenance
face (Eg: Whe Jose saw his newborn daughter, a proud smile spread across his countenance. )
laxative
facilitating evacuation of the bowels (Eg: The effect of the constipation medicine is laxative; it empties the bowels. )
founder
fail completely; sink (Eg: After hitting the submerged iceberg, the Titanic started taking in water rapidly and soon foundered. )
default
failure to do (Eg: As a result of her husband's failure to appear in court, she was granted a divorce by default. )
equitable
fair; impartial (Eg: I am seeking an equitable solution to this dispute, one which will be fair and acceptable to both sides. )
equity
fairness; justice (Eg: Our courts guarantee equity to all. )
philanderer
faithless lover; flirt (Eg: Swearing he had never so much as looked at another woman, Jack assured Jill he was no philanderer. )
ravel
fall apart into tangles; unravel or untwist; entangle (Eg: A sigle thread pulled loose, and the entire scarf started to ravel. )
relapse
fall back or sink again (Eg: The economy relapsed into a depression from the peak. )
plummet
fall sharply (Eg: )
deciduous
falling off, as of leaves (Eg: The oak is a deciduous tree. )
delusion
false belief; hallucination (Eg: This scheme is a snare and a delusion. )
perjury
false testimony while under oath (Eg: When several witnesses appeared to challenge his story, he was indicted for perjury. )
renown
fame (Eg: For many years an unheralded researcher, Barbara McClintock gained international renown when she won )
conversant
familiar with (Eg: The lawyer is conversant with all the evidence. )
grotesque
fantastic; comically hideous (Eg: On Halloween people enjoy wearing groteque costumes. )
chimerical
fantastic; highly imaginative (Eg: Poe's chimerical stories are sometimes too morbid for reading in bed. )
bizarre
fantastic; violently contrasting (Eg: The plot of the novel was too bizarre to be believed. )
modish
fashionable (Eg: She always discarded all garments that were no longer modish. )
kismet
fate (Eg: kismet is the Arabic word for "fate." )
patriarch
father and ruler of a family or tribe (Eg: In many primitive tribes, the leader and lawmaker was the patriarch. )
beget
father; produce; give rise to (Eg: One good turn may deserve another; it does not necessarily beget another. )
jaded
fatigued; surfeited (Eg: He looked for exotic foods to stimulate his jaded appetite. )
captious
faultfinding (Eg: His criticisms were always captious and frivolous, never offering constructive suggestions. )
impeccable
faultless (Eg: He was proud of his impeccable manners. )
propitious
favorable; kindly (Eg: I think it is advisable that we wait for a more propitious occasion to announce our plans; this is not a good )
authoritarian
favoring or exercising total control; non-democratic (Eg: The people had no control over their destiny; they were forced to obey the dictates of the authoritarian )
auspicious
favoring success (Eg: With favorable weather conditions, it was an auspicious moment to set sail. )
nepotism
favoritism (to a relative) (Eg: John left his position with the company because he felt that advancement was based on nepotism rather )
intimidation
fear (Eg: A ruler who maintains his power by intimidation is bound to develop clandestine resistance. )
claustrophobia
fear of being locked in (Eg: His fellow classmates laughed at his claustrophobia and often threatened to lock him in his room. )
hydrophobia
fear of water; rabies (Eg: A dog that bites a human being must be observed for symptoms of hydrophobia. )
apprehensive
fearful; discerning (Eg: His apprehensive glances at the people who were walking in the street revealed his nervousness. )
intrepid
fearless (Eg: For his intrepid conduct in battle, he was promoted. )
practicable
feasible (Eg: The board of directors decided that the plan was practicable and agreed to undertake the project. )
lineaments
features, especially of the face (Eg: She quickly sketched the lineaments of his face. )
feckless
feeble, ineffective; unthinking, irresponsible (Eg: Einstein was noted for his extraordinary inspirations; on the other hand, he was noted for being feckless in )
commiserate
feel or express pity or sympathy for (Eg: Her friends commiserated with the widow. )
euphoria
feeling of exaggerated (or unfounded) well-being (Eg: "Jill's been on cloud nine ever since Jacj asked her out," said Betty, dismissing her friend's euphoria. )
ewe
female sheep (Eg: The flock of sheep was made up of dozens of ewes, together with only a handful of rams. )
amazon
female warrior (Eg: Ever since the days of Greek mythology we refer to strong and aggressive women as amazons. )
frond
fern leaf; palm or banana leaf (Eg: After the storm the beach was littered with the fronds of palm trees. )
luxuriant
fertile; abundant; ornate (Eg: Farming was easy in this luxuriant soil. )
fecundity
fertility; fruitfulness (Eg: The fecundity of his mind is illustrated by the many vivid images in his poems. )
convivial
festive; gay; characterized by joviality (Eg: The convivial celebrators of the victory sang their college songs. )
febrile
feverish (Eg: In his febrile condition, he was subject to nightmares and hallucinations. )
capricious
fickle; incalculable (Eg: The storm was capricious and changed course constantly. )
demoniac
fiendish (Eg: The Spanish Inquisition devised many demoniac means of torture. )
melee
fight (Eg: The captain tried to ascertain the cause of the melee that had broken out among the crew members. )
dossier
file of documents on a subject (Eg: Ordered by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate the senator, the FBI compiled a complete dossier. )
replenish
fill up again (Eg: )
fraught
filled (Eg: Since this enterprise is fraught with danger, I will ask for volunteers who are willing to assume the risks. )
replete
filled to capacity; abundantly supplied (Eg: The book is replete with humorous situations. )
purchase
firm grasp or footing (Eg: The mountaineer struggled to get a proper purchase on the slippery rock. )
blandishment
flattery (Eg: Despite the salesperson's blandishments, the customer did not buy the outfit. )
adulation
flattery; admiration (Eg: The rock star thrived on the adulation of his groupies and yes-men. )
excoriate
flay; abrade (Eg: These shoes are so ill-fitting that they will excoriate the feet and create blisters. )
armada
fleet of warships (Eg: Queen Elizabeth's navy was able to defeat the mighty armada that threatened the English coast. )
fugitive
fleeting or transitory; roving (Eg: The film brought a few fugitive images to her mind, but on the whole it made no lasting impression upon )
evanescent
fleeting; vanishing (Eg: For a brief moment, the entire skyline was bathed in an orange-red hue in the evanescent rays of the )
carnal
fleshly (Eg: The public was more interested in carnal pleasures than in spiritual matters. )
limber
flexible (Eg: Hours of ballet classes kept him limber. )
pliant
flexible; easily influenced (Eg: Catherine's disposition was pliant; she was like putty in her suitor's hands. )
lithe
flexible; supple (Eg: Her figure was lithe and willowy. )
pliable
flexible; yielding; adaptable (Eg: In remodeling the bathroom, we replaced all the old, rigid lead pipes with new, pliable copper tubing. )
coquette
flirt (Eg: Because she refused to give him an answer to his proposal of marriage, he called her a coquette. )
levitate
float in the air (especially by magical means) (Eg: As the magician passed his hands over the recumbent body of his assistant, she appeared to rise and )
deluge
flood; rush (Eg: When we advertised the position, we received a deluge of applications. )
parquet
floor made of wood strips inlaid in a mosic-like pattern. (Eg: In laying the floor, the carpenters combined redwood and oak in an elegant parquet. )
florid
flowery; ruddy (Eg: His complexion was even more florid than usual because of his anger. )
influx
flowing into (Eg: The influx of refugees into the country has taxed the relief agencies severely. )
mellifluous
flowing smoothly; smooth (Eg: Italian is a mellifluous language. )
confluence
flowing together; crowd (Eg: They built the city at the confluence of two rivers. )
cursive
flowing, running (Eg: In normal writing we run our letters together in cursive form; in printing, we separate the letters. )
flux
flowing; series of changes (Eg: While conditions are in such a state of flux, I do not wish to commit myself too deeply in this affair. )
glib
fluent (Eg: He is a glib and articulate speaker. )
flit
fly; dart lightly; pass swiftly by (Eg: Like a bee flitting from flower to flower, Rose flitted from one boyfriend to the next. )
balk
foil (Eg: When the warden learned that several inmates were planning to escape, he took steps to balk their attempt. )
ensue
follow (Eg: The evils that ensued were the direct result of the miscalculations of the leaders. )
retinue
following; attendants (Eg: The queen's retinue followed her down the aisle. )
endearment
fond word or act (Eg: Your gifts and endearments cannot make me forget your earlier insolence. )
ambrosia
food of the gods (Eg: ambrosia was supposed to give immortality to any human who ate it. )
fatuous
foolish; inane (Eg: He is far too intelligent to utter such fatuous remarks. )
extrude
force or push out (Eg: Much pressure is required to extrude these plastics. )
contrived
forced; artificial; not spontaneous (Eg: Feeling ill at ease with his new in-laws; James made a few contrived attempts at conversation and then )
duress
forcible restraint, especially unlawfully (Eg: The hostages were held under duress until the prisoners' demands were met. )
prognosis
forecasted course of a disease; prediction (Eg: If the doctor's prognosis is correct, the patient will be in a coma for at least twenty-four hours. )
paramount
foremost in importance; supreme (Eg: Proper nutrition and hygiene are of paramount importance in adolescent development and growth. )
harbinger
forerunner (Eg: The crocus is an early harbinger of spring. )
precursor
forerunner (Eg: Though Gray and Burns share many traits with the Romantic poets who followed them, most critics )
bode
foreshadow; portend (Eg: The gloomy skies and the sulfurious odors from the mineral springs seemed to bode evil to those who )
presage
foretell (Eg: The vultures flying overhead presaged the discovery of the corpse in the desert. )
portend
foretell; presage (Eg: The king did not know what these omens might portend and asked his soothsayers to interpret them. )
oracular
foretelling; mysterious (Eg: Oedipus could not understand the oracular warning he received. )
premonition
forewarning (Eg: We ignored these premonitions of disaster because they appeared to be based on childish fears. )
oblivion
forgetfulness (Eg: Her work had fallen into a state of oblivion; no one bothered to read them. )
granulate
form into grains (Eg: Sugar that has been granulated dissolves more readily than lump sugar. )
polity
form of government of nation or state (Eg: Our polity should be devoted to the concept that the government should strive for the good of all citizens. )
satire
form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack vice and folly (Eg: Gulliver's Travels, which is regarded by many as a tale for children, is actually a bitter satire attacking )
discourse
formal disscussion; conversation (Eg: The young Plato was drawn to the Agora to hear the philosophical discourse of Socrates and his followers. )
dissertation
formal essay (Eg: In order to earn a graduate degree from many of our universities, a candidate is frequently required to )
panegyric
formal praise (Eg: The modest hero blushed to hear the speakers delivering panegyrics about his valorous act. )
predecessor
former occupant of a post (Eg: I hope I can live up to the fine example set by my late predecessor in this office. )
redoubtable
formidable; causing fear (Eg: During the Cold War period, neighboring countries tried not to offend the Russians because they could be )
citadel
fortress (Eg: The citadel overlooked the city like a protecting angel. )
noisome
foul smelling; unwholesome (Eg: I never could stand the noisome atmosphere surrounding the slaughter houses. )
malodorous
foul-smelling (Eg: The component heap was most malodorous in summer. )
putrid
foul; rotten; decayed (Eg: The gangrenous condition of the wound was indicated by the putrid smell when the bandages were )
quadruped
four-footed animal (Eg: Most mammals are quadrupeds. )
rubble
fragments (Eg: Ten years after World War II, some of the rubble left by enemy bombings could still be seen. )
redolent
fragrant; odorous; suggestive of an odor (Eg: Even though it is February, the air is redolent of spring. )
chassis
framework and working parts of an automobile (Eg: Examining the car after the accident, the owner discovered that the body had been ruined but that the )
candor
frankness (Eg: The candor and simplicity of his speech impressed all, it was all clear he held nothing back. )
gratis
free (Eg: The company offered to give one package gratis to every purchaser of one of their products. )
extricate
free; disentangle (Eg: He found that he could not extricate himself from the trap. )
latitude
freedom from narrow limitations (Eg: I think you have permitted your son too much latitude in this matter. )
impunity
freedom from punishment (Eg: The bully mistreated everyone in the class with impunity for he felt that no one would dare retaliate. )
congeal
freeze; coagulate (Eg: His blood congealed in his veins as he saw the dread monster rush toward him. )
berserk
frenzied (Eg: )
frenetic
frenzied; frantic (Eg: His frenetic activities convinced us that he had no organized plan of operation. )
furor
frenzy; great excitement (Eg: The story of her embezzlement of the funds created a furor on the stock exchange. )
scruple
fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons (Eg: Fearing that her husband had become involved in an affair, she did not scruple to read his diary. )
repine
fret; complain (Eg: There is no sense repining over the work you have left undone. )
querulous
fretful; whining (Eg: His classmates were repelled by his querulous and complaining statements. )
amicable
friendly (Eg: The dispute was settled in an amicable manner with no harsh words. )
debonair
friendly; aiming to please (Eg: The debonair youth was liked by all who met him, because of his cheerful and obliging manner. )
amity
friendship (Eg: Student exchange programs such as the Experiment in International Living were established to promote )
outskirts
fringes; outer borders (Eg: Living outskirts of Boston, Sarah sometimes felt as if she were cut off from the cultural heart of the city. )
facade
front of the building (Eg: The facade of the church had often been photographed by tourists because it was more interesting than )
husbandry
frugality; thrift; agriculture (Eg: He accumulated his small fortune by diligence and husbandry. )
baffle
frustrate; perplex (Eg: The new code baffled the enemy agents. )
porous
full of pores; like a sieve (Eg: )
buxom
full-bosomed; plump; jolly (Eg: High fashion models usually are slender rather than buxom. )
obsequy
funeral ceremony (Eg: Hundreads paid their last respects at his obsequies. )
purveyor
furnisher of foodstuffs; caterer (Eg: As purveyor of rare wines and viands, he traveled through France and Italy every year in search of new )
hindmost
furthest behind (Eg: The coward could always be found in the hindmost lines whenever a battle was being waged. )
nugatory
futile; worthless (Eg: This agreement is nugatory for no court will enforce it. )
millinery
person who makes or sells women's hats (Eg: The millinery displayed fashionable hats in the street where many women passed by. )
interregnum
period between two reigns (Eg: Henry VIII desperately sought a male heir because he feared the civil strife that might occur if any )
equinox
period of equal days and nights; the beginning of spring and autumn (Eg: The vernal equinox is usually marked by heavy rainstorms. )
epoch
period of time (Eg: The glacial epoch lasted for thousands of years. )
intermittent
periodic; on and off (Eg: Our picnic was marred by intermittent rains. )
indissoluble
permanent (Eg: The indissoluble bonds of marriage are all too often being dissolved. )
problematic
perplexing; unsettled: questionable (Eg: Given the many areas of conflict still awaiting resolution, the outcome of the peace talks remains )
masochist
person who enjoys his own pain (Eg: The masochist begs, "Hit me." The sadist smiles and says, "I won't." )
founder
person who establishes (an organization, business) (Eg: Among those drowned when the Titanic sank was the founder of the Abraham & Straus chain. )
kleptomaniac
person who has a compulsive desire to steal (Eg: They discovered that the wealthy customer was a kleptomaniac when they caught her stealing some cheap )
heretic
person who maintains opinions contrary to the doctrines of the church (Eg: She was punished by the Spanish Inquisition because she was a heretic. )
poseur
person who pretends to be sophisticated, elegant, etc., to impress others (Eg: Some thought Dali was a brillant painter; others dismissed him as a poseur. )
proponent
person who supports or proposes (an idea) (Eg: After the bill had been amended and re-amended in committee, even its original proponents didn't want to )
heckler
person who verbally harasses others (Eg: )
pyromaniac
person with an insane desire to set things on fire (Eg: The detectives searched the area for the pyromaniac who had set these costly fires. )
arbiter
person with power to decide a matter in a dispute; judge (Eg: As an arbiter in labor disputes, she has won the confidence of the workers and the employers. )
induce
persuade; bring about (Eg: After the quarrel, Tina said nothing could induce her to talk to Tony again. )
pharisaical
pertaining to Pharisees, who paid scrupulous attention to tradition; self-righteous; (Eg: hypocritical )
pontifical
pertaining to a bishop or pope; pompous or pretentious (Eg: From the very beginning of his ministry it was clear from his pontifical pronouncements that John was )
germinal
pertaining to a germ; creative (Eg: Such an idea is germinal; I am certain that it will influence thinkers and philosophers for many generations. )
provincial
pertaining to a province; limited in outlook; unsophisticated (Eg: As provincial governor, Sir Henry administered the Queen's law in his remote corner of Canada. )
filial
pertaining to a son or daughter (Eg: Many children forget their filial obligations and disregard the wishes of their parents. )
colloquial
pertaining to conversational or common speech (Eg: Your use of colloquial expressions in a formal essay such as the one you have presented spoils the effect )
rustic
pertaining to country people; uncouth (Eg: The backwoodsman looked out place in his rustic attire. )
horticultural
pertaining to cultivation of gardens (Eg: When he bought his house, he beganto look for flowers and decorative shrubs, and began to read books )
pathological
pertaining to disease (Eg: As we study the pathological aspects of this disease, we must not overlook the psychological elements. )
existential
pertaining to existence; pertaining to the philosophy of existentialism (Eg: To the existential philosopher, human reason is inadequate to explain an irrational, meaningless universe. )
piscatorial
pertaining to fishing (Eg: He spent many happy hours at the lake in his piscatorial activities. )
infernal
pertaining to hell; devilish (Eg: They could think of no way to hinder his infernal scheme. )
inductive
pertaining to induction or preceeding from the specific to the general (Eg: The discovery of the planet Pluto is an excellent example of the results that can be obtained from inductive )
agrarian
pertaining to land or its cultivation (Eg: As a result of its recent industrialization, the country is gradually losing its agrarian traditions. )
connubial
pertaining to maffige or the matrimonial state (Eg: In his telegram, he wished the newlyweds a lifetime of connubial bliss. )
marital
pertaining to marriage (Eg: After the publication of his book on marital affairs, he was often consulted by married people on the verge )
conjugal
pertaining to marriage (Eg: Their dreams of conjugal bliss were shattered as soon as their temperaments clashed. )
mnemonic
pertaining to memory (Eg: He used mnemonic tricks to master new words. )
psychopathic
pertaining to mental derangement (Eg: The psychopathic patient suffers more frequently from a disorder of the nervous system than from a )
impenitent
not repentant (Eg: We could see by his brazen attitude that he was impenitent. )
pecuniary
pertaining to money (Eg: I never expected a pecuniary reward for my work in this activity. )
monetary
pertaining to money (Eg: Jane held the family purse strings: she made all monetary decisions affecting the household. )
erotic
pertaining to passionate love (Eg: The erotic passages in this novel should be removed as they are merely pornographic. )
nautical
pertaining to ships or navigation (Eg: The Maritime Museum contains many models of clipper ships, logbooks, anchors and many other items of )
alluvial
pertaining to soil deposits left by running water (Eg: The farmers found the alluvial deposits at the mouth of the river very fertile. )
metaphysical
pertaining to speculative philosophy (Eg: The modern poets have gone back to the fanciful poems of the metaphysical poets of the seventeenth )
sartorial
pertaining to tailors (Eg: He was as famous for the sartorial splendor of his attire as he was for his acting. )
graphic
pertaining to the art of delineating; vividly described (Eg: I was particularly impressed by the graphic presentation of the storm. )
incommodious
not spacious; inconvenient (Eg: In their incommodious quarters, they had to improvise for closet space. )
inalienable
not to be taken away; nontransferable (Eg: The Declaration of Independence mentions the inalienable rights that all of us possess. )
beholden
obligated; indebted (Eg: Since I do not wish to be beholden to anyone, I cannot accept this favor. )
mandatory
obligatory (Eg: These instructions are mandatory; any violation will be severely punished. )
scurrilous
obscene; indecent (Eg: Your scurrilous remarks are especially offensive because they are untrue. )
hermetic
obscure and mysterious; occult (Eg: It is strange to consider that modern chemistry originated in the hermetic teachings of the ancient )
enigmatic
obscure; puzzling (Eg: Many have sought to fathom the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa. )
phenomena
observable facts; subjects of scientific investigation (Eg: We kept careful records of the phenomena we noted in the course of these experiments. )
antiquated
obsolete; outdated (Eg: Accustomed to editing his papers on word processors, Philip thought typewriters were too antiquated for )
recalcitrant
obstinately stubborn (Eg: Donkeys are reputed to be the most recalcitrant of animals. )
hamper
obstruct (Eg: The minority party agreed not to hamper the efforts of the leaders to secure a lasting peace. )
procurement
obtaining (Eg: The personnel department handles the procurement of new employees. )
engross
occupy fully (Eg: John was so engrossed in his studies that he did not hear his mother call. )
metallurgical
pertaining to the art of removing metals from ores (Eg: During the course of his metallurgical research, the scientist developed a steel alloy of tremendous )
incumbent
officeholder (Eg: The newly elected public official received valuable advice from the present incumbent. )
liaison
officer who acts as go-between for two armies; intermediary (Eg: As the liason, he had to avoid offending the leaders of the two armies. )
functionary
official (Eg: As his case was transferred from one functionary to another, he began to despair of ever reaching a )
gazette
official publication (Eg: He read the gazettes regularly for announcement of his promotion. )
reaper
one who harvests grain (Eg: Death, the Grim Reaper, cuts down men and women, just as a farmer cuts down the ripened grain. )
auroral
pertaining to the aurora borealis (Eg: The auroral display was particularly spectacular that evening. )
convert
one who has adopted a different religion or opinion (Eg: On his trip to Japan, though the President spoke at length about the merits of American automobiles, he )
polygamist
one who has more than one spouse at a time (Eg: He was arrested as a polygamist when his two wives filed complaints about him. )
misanthrope
one who hates mankind (Eg: We thought the hermit was a miantrope because he shunned our society. )
introvert
one who is introspective; inclined to think more about oneself (Eg: In his poetry, he reveals that he is an introvert by his intense interest in his own problems. )
agnostic
one who is skeptical of the existence of knowability of a god or any ultimate reality (Eg: The agnostic demanded proof before she would accept the statement of the minister. )
hireling
one who serves for hire (usually used contemptuously) (Eg: In a matter of such importance, I do not wish to deal with hirelings; I must meet with the chief. )
cerebral
pertaining to the brain or intellect (Eg: The content of philosophical works is cerebral in nature and requires much thought. )
ecclesiastic
pertaining to the church (Eg: The minister donned his ecclesiastic garb and walked to the pulpit. )
eugenic
pertaining to the improvement of race (Eg: It is easier to apply eugenic principles to the raising of racehorses or prize cattle than t the development of )
pulmonary
pertaining to the lungs (Eg: In his researches on pulmonary diseases, he discovered many facts about the lungs of animals and human )
lunar
pertaining to the moon (Eg: lunar craters can be plainly seen with the aid of a small telescope. )
herpetologist
one who studies reptiles (Eg: As a boy, Indiana Jones had a traumatic experience involving snakes; sensibly enough, he studies to be )
dermatologist
one who studies the skin and its diseases (Eg: I advise you to consult a dermatologist about your acne. )
patent
open for the public to read; obvious (Eg: It was patent to everyone that the witness spoke the truth. )
overt
open to view (Eg: According to the United States Constitution, a person must commit an overt act before he may be tried for )
broach
open up (Eg: He did not even try to broach the subject of poetry. )
gape
open widely (Eg: The huge pit gaped before him; if he stumbled, he would fall in. )
gambit
opening in chess in which a piece is sacrificed (Eg: The player was afraid to accept his opponent's gambit because he feared a trap which as yet he could not )
rift
opening; break (Eg: The plane was lost in the stormy sky until the pilot saw the city through a rift in the clouds. )
aperture
opening; hole (Eg: She discovered a small aperture in the wall, through which the insects had entered the room. )
agape
openmouthed (Eg: She stared, agape, at the many strange animals in the zoo. )
manipulate
operate with the hands; control or change by artful means (Eg: How do you manipulate these puppets? )
diva
operatic singer; prima donna (Eg: Although world famous as a diva, she did not indulge in fits of temerament. )
heresy
opinion contrary to popular belief or to accepted religion (Eg: He was threatened with excommunication because his remarks were considered to be pure heresy. )
adversary
opponent; enemy (Eg: Batman struggled to save Gotham City from the machinations of his wicked adversary, the Joker. )
controvert
oppose with arguments; contradict (Eg: To controvert your theory will require much time but it is essential that we disprove it. )
converse
opposite (Eg: The inevitable converse of peace is not war but annihilation. )
inverse
opposite (Eg: There is an inverse ratio between the strength of light and its distance. )
mandate
order; charge (Eg: In his inaugural address, the President stated that he had a mandate from the people to seek an end to )
conventional
ordinary; typical (Eg: His conventional upbringing left him wholly unprepared for his wife's eccentric family. )
chaotic
in utter disorder (Eg: He tried to bring order into the chaotic state of affairs. )
innate
inborn (Eg: His innate talent for music was soon recognized by his parents. )
implacable
incapable of being pacified (Eg: Madame Defarge was the implacable enemy of the Evremonde family. )
invulnerable
incapable of injury (Eg: Achilles was invulnerable except in his heel. )
nascent
incipient; coming into being (Eg: If we could identify these revolutionary movements in their nascent state, we would be able to eliminate )
proclivity
inclination; natural tendency (Eg: )
sadistic
inclined to cruelty (Eg: If we are to improve conditions in this prison, we must first get rid of the sadistic warden. )
factious
inclined to form factions; causing dissension. (Eg: Your statement is factious and will upset the harmony that now exists. )
prone
inclined to; prostrate (Eg: She was prone to sudden fits of anger. )
comprise
include; consist of (Eg: If the District of Columbia were to be granted a statehood, the United States of America would comprise )
irreconsilable
incompatible; not able to be resolved (Eg: Because the separated couple were irreconcilable, the marriage counselor recommended a divorce. )
augment
increase (Eg: How can we hope to augment our forces when our allies are deserting us? )
increment
increase (Eg: The new contract calls for a 10 percent increment in salary for each employee for the next two years. )
crescendo
increase in the volume or intensity, as in a musical passage; climax (Eg: The overture suddenly changed from a quiet pastoral theme to a crescendo featuring blaring trumpets and )
provenance
origin or source of something (Eg: I am not interested in its provenance; I am more concerned with its usefulness than with its source. )
prototype
original work used as a model by others (Eg: The crude typewriter on display in this museum is the prototype of the elaborate machines in use today. )
chase
ornament a metal surface by indenting (Eg: With his hammer, he carefully chased an intricate design onto the surface of the chalice. )
epaulet
ornament worn on the shoulder (of a uniform, etc.) (Eg: The shoulder loops on Sam Spade's trench coat are the nonmilitary counterparts of the fringed epaulets on )
frieze
ornamental band on a wall (Eg: The frieze of the church was adorned with sculpture. )
brooch
ornamental clasp (Eg: She treasured the brooch because it was an heirloom. )
flamboyant
ornate (Eg: Modern architecture has discarded the flamboyant trimming on buildings and emphasizes simplicity of line. )
rococo
ornate; highly decorated (Eg: The rococo style in furniture and architecture, marked by scrollwork and excessive decoration, flourished )
aggrandize
increase or intensify; raise in power, wealth, rank or honor (Eg: The history of the past quarter century illustrates how a President may aggrandize his power to act )
irremediable
incurable; uncorrectable (Eg: The error she made was irremediable; she could see no way to repair it. )
bawdy
indecent; obscene (Eg: She took offense at his bawdy remarks. )
nonchalance
indifference; lack of interest (Eg: Few people could understand how he could listen to the news of the tragedy with such nonchalance; the )
apathetic
indifferent (Eg: He felt apathetic about the conditions he had observed and did not care to fight against them. )
insouciant
indifferent; without concern or care (Eg: Your insouciant attitude at such a critical moment indicates that you do not understand the gravity of the )
circumlocution
indirect or roundabout expression (Eg: He was afraid to call spade a spade and resorted to circumlocutions to avoid direct reference to his subject. )
allusion
indirect reference (Eg: the allusions to mythological characters in Milton's poems bewilder the reader who has not studied Latin. )
pretentious
ostentatious; ambitious (Eg: I do not feel that your limited resources will permit you to carry out such a pretentious program. )
mealymouthed
indirect speech; hypocritical; evasive (Eg: Rather than tell Jill directly what he disliked, Jack made a few mealymouthed comments and tried to change )
incontrovertible
indisputable (Eg: We must yield to the incontrovertible evidence that you have presented and free your client. )
proselytize
induce someone to convert to religion or belief (Eg: In these interfaith meetings, there must be no attempt to proselytize; we must respect all points of view. )
prevail
induce; triumph over (Eg: He tried to prevail on her to type his essays for him. )
futile
ineffective; fruitless (Eg: Why waste your time on futile pursuits? )
fledgling
inexperienced (Eg: While it is necessary to provide these fledgling poets with an opportunity to present their work, it is not )
inerrancy
infallibility (Eg: Jane refused to believe in the pope's inerrancy, reasoning: "All human beings are capable of error. The )
opprobrium
infamy; vilification (Eg: He refused to defend himself against the slander and opprobrium hurled against him by the newspapers; he )
contagion
infection (Eg: Fearing contagion, they took drastic steps to prevent the spread of the disease. )
illimitable
infinite (Eg: Human beings, having explored the far corners of the earth, are now reaching out into illimitable space. )
apprise
inform (Eg: When he was apprised of the dangerous weather conditions, he decided to postpone his trip. )
colloquy
informal discussion (Eg: I enjoy our colloquies but I sometimes wish that they could be made more formal and more searching. )
impinge
infringe; touch; collide with (Eg: How could they be married without impinging on one another's freedom? )
denizen
inhabitant of (Eg: Ghosts are denizens of the land of the dead who return to earth. )
incompatible
inharmonious (Eg: The married couple argued incessantly and finally decided to separate because they were incompatible. )
discordant
inharmonious; conflicting (Eg: She tried to unite the discordant factions. )
mayhem
injury to the body (Eg: The riot was marked not only by mayhem, with its attendant loss of life and limb, but also by arson and )
effervescence
inner excitement; exuberance (Eg: Nothing depressed her for long; her natural effervescence soon reasserted itself. )
deranged
insane (Eg: He had to be institutionalized because he was deranged. )
demented
insane (Eg: She became increasingly demented and had to be hospitalized. )
epitaph
inscription in memory of a dead person (Eg: In his will, he dictated the epitaph he wanted placed on his tombstone. )
interpolate
insert between (Eg: She talked so much that I could not interpolate a single remark. )
foist
insert improperly; palm off (Eg: I will not permit you to foist such ridiculous ideas upon the membership of this group. )
proscribe
ostracize; banish; outlaw (Eg: Antony, Octavius and Lepidus proscribed all those who had conspired against Julius Caesar. )
paltry
insignificant; petty (Eg: This is a paltry sum to pay for such a masterpiece. )
puny
insignificant; tiny; weak (Eg: Our puny efforts to stop the flood were futile. )
inconsequential
insignificant; unimportant (Eg: Brushing off Ali's apologies for having broken the wine glass, Tamara said, "Don't worry about it; it's )
brazen
insolent (Eg: Her brazen contempt for authority angered the officials. )
impertinent
insolent (Eg: I regard your remarks as impertinent and I resent them. )
knotty
intricate; difficult; tangled (Eg: What to Watson had been a knotty problem to Sherlock Holmes was simplicity itself. )
incorporate
introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite (Eg: Breaking with precedent, President Truman ordered the military to incorporate blacks into every branch of )
prelude
introduction; forerunner (Eg: I am afraid that this border raid is the prelude to more serious attacks. )
prefactory
introductory (Eg: The chairman made a few prefactory remarks before he called on the first speaker. )
preamble
introductory statement (Eg: In the preamble to the Constitution, the purpose of the document is set forth. )
interloper
intruder (Eg: The merchant thought of his competitors as interlopers who were stealing away his trade. )
figment
invention; imaginary thing (Eg: That incident never took place; it is a figment of your imagination. )
energize
invigorate; make forceful and active (Eg: Rather than exhausting Maggie, dancing energized her. )
impregnable
invulnerable (Eg: Until the development of the airplane as a military weapon, the fort was considered impregnable. )
opalescent
iridescent (Eg: The Ancient Mariner admired the opalescent sheen on the water. )
anvil
iron block used in hammering out metals (Eg: After heating the iron horseshoe in the forge, the blacksmith picked it up with his tongs and set it on the )
anomaly
irregularity (Eg: A bird that cannot fly is an anomaly. )
ineluctable
irresistable; not to be escaped (Eg: He felt that his fate was ineluctible and refused to make any attempt to improve his lot. )
juggernaut
irresistible crushin force (Eg: Nothing could survive in the path of the juggernaut. )
impiety
irreverence; wickedness (Eg: We must regard your blasphemy as an act of impiety. )
impious
irreverent (Eg: The congregation was offended by her impious remarks. )
irascible
irritable; easily angered (Eg: Her irascible temper frightened me. )
demotic
pertaining to the people (Eg: He lamented the passing of aristocratic society and maintained that a demotic society would lower the )
physiological
pertaining to the science of the function of living organisms (Eg: To understand this disease fully, we must examine not only its physiological aspects but also its )
cosmic
pertaining to the universe; vast (Eg: cosmic rays derive their name from the fact that they bombard the earth's atmosphere from outer space. )
germane
pertinent; bearing upon the case at hand (Eg: The lawyer objected that the testimony being offered was not germane to the case at hand. )
relevant
pertinent; referring to the case in hand (Eg: )
badger
pester; annoy (Eg: She was forced to change her telephone number because she was badgered by obscene phone calls. )
denouement
outcome; final development of the plot of a play or other literary work (Eg: The play was childishly written; the denouement was obvious to sophisticated theatergoers as early as the )
hue
outcry (Eg: When her purse was snatched, she raised such a hue and cry that the thief was captured. )
perimeter
outer boundary (Eg: To find the perimeter of any quadrilateral, we add the lengths of the four sides. )
obsolete
outmoded (Eg: "Hip" is an obsolete expression; it went out with love beads and tie-dye shirts. )
outwit
outsmart; trick (Eg: By disguising himself as an old woman, Holmes was able to outwit his pursuers and escape capture. )
preeminent
outstanding; superior (Eg: The king traveled to Boston because he wanted the preeminent surgeon in the field to perform the )
manifestation
outward demonstration; indication (Eg: Mozart's early attraction to the harsichord was the first manifestation of his pronounced musical bent. )
carping
petty criticism; fault-finding (Eg: Welcoming constructive criticism, Lexy appreciated her editor's comments, finding them free of carping. )
minutiae
petty details (Eg: She would have liked to ignore the minutiae of daily living. )
epistemologist
philosopher who studies the nature of knowledge (Eg: "What is more important, a knowledge of nature of the nature of knowledge?" the epistemologist asked the )
cliche
phrase culled in meaning by repetition (Eg: High school compositions are often marred by such cliches as "strong as an ox." )
rankle
irritate; fester (Eg: The memory of having been jilted rankled him for years. )
pique
irritation; resentment (Eg: She showed her pique by her refusal to appear with the other contestants at the end of the contest. )
circumvent
outwit; baffle (Eg: In order to circumvent the enemy, we will make two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting )
ignite
kindle; light (Eg: When Desi crooned, "Baby, light my fire," literal-minded Lucy looked around for some paper to ignite. )
amphitheater
oval building with tiers of seats (Eg: The spectators in the amphitheater cheered the gladiators. )
beneficent
kindly; doing good (Eg: The overgenerous philanthropist had to curb his beneficent impulses before he gave away all his money )
benign
kindly; favorable; not malignant (Eg: The old man was well liked because of his benign attitude toward friend and stranger alike. )
realm
kingdom; sphere (Eg: The realm of possibilities for the new invention was endless. )
affinity
kinship (Eg: She felt an affinity with all who suffered; their pains were her pains. )
consanguinity
kinship (Eg: The lawsuit developed into a test of the consanguinity of the claimant to the estate. )
cognizance
knowledge (Eg: During the election campaign, the two candidates were kept in full cognizance of the international )
imbalance
lack of balance or symmetry; disproportion (Eg: Because of the great imbalance between the number of men and women invited, the dance was )
apathy
lack of caring; indifference (Eg: A firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never )
discrepancy
lack of consistency; difference (Eg: The police noticed some discrepancies in his description of the crime and did not believe him. )
incongruity
lack of harmony; absurdity (Eg: The incongruity of his wearing sneakers with formal attire amused the observers. )
levity
lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity (Eg: Stop giggling abd wriggling around in the pew; such levity is improper in church. )
devoid
lacking (Eg: He was devoid of any personal desire for gain in his endeavor to secure improvement in the community. )
imprudent
lacking caution; injudicious (Eg: It is imprudent to exercise vigorously and become overheated when you are unwell. )
insipid
lacking in flavor; dull (Eg: Flat prose and flat ginger ale are equally insipid: both lack sparkle. )
frivolous
lacking in seriousness; self-indulgently carefree; relatively unimportant (Eg: Though Nancy enjoyed Bill's frivolous, lighthearted companionship, she sometimes wondered whether he )
dispirited
lacking in spirit (Eg: The coach used all the tricks at his command to buoy up the enthusiasm of his team, which I had become )
listless
lacking in spirit or energy (Eg: We had expected him to be full of enthusiasm and were surprised by his listless attitude. )
elliptical
oval; ambiguous, either purposely or because key words have been left out (Eg: An elliptical billiad ball wobbles because it is not perfectly round; an elliptical remark baffles because it is )
gloss
over explain away (Eg: No matter how hard he tried to talk around the issue, President Bush could not gloss over the fact that he )
obstetrician
physician specializing in delivery of babies (Eg: Unlike midwives, who care for women giving birth at home, obstetricians generally work in a hospital )
oculist
physician who specialized in treatment of the eyes (Eg: In many states, an oculist is the only one who may apply medicinal drops to the eyes for the purpose of )
cull
pick out; reject (Eg: Every month the farmer culls the nonplaying hens from his flock and sells them to the local butcher. )
irreverent
lacking proper respect (Eg: The worshippers resented her irreverent remarks about their faith. )
incontinent
lacking self-restraint (Eg: His incontinent behavior off stage shocked many people and they refused to attend the plays and movies )
inept
lacking skill; inadequate; inappropriate (Eg: inept as a carpenter, Ira was all thumbs. )
insubstantial
lacking substance; insignificant; frail (Eg: His hopes for a career in acting proved insubstantial; no one would cast him, even in an insubstantial role. )
dirge
lament with music (Eg: The funeral dirge stirred us to tears. )
peon
landless agricultural worker; bond servant (Eg: The land reformers sought to liberate the peons and establish them as independent farmers. )
jargon
language used by special group; gibberish (Eg: We tried to understand the jargon of the peddlers in the market place but could not find any basis for )
parlance
language; idiom (Eg: All this legal parlance confuses me; I need an interpreter. )
pine
languish, decline; long for, yearn (Eg: Though she tried to be happy living with Clara in the city, Heidi pined for the mountains and for her gruff )
lassitude
languor; weariness (Eg: The hot, tropical weather created a feeling of lassitude and encouraged drowsiness. )
metropolis
large city (Eg: Every evening this terminal is filled with the thousands of commuters who are going from this metropolis )
bevy
large group (Eg: The movie actor was surrounded by a bevy of startlets. )
mosaic
picture made of smell, colorful inlaid tiles (Eg: The mayor compared the ciry to a beautiful mosaic made up of people of every race and religion on earth. )
hieroglyphic
picture writing (Eg: The discovery of the Rosetta Stone enabled scholars to read the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. )
impale
pierce (Eg: He was impaled by the spear hurled by his adversary. )
perforate
pierce; put a hole through (Eg: Before you can open the aspirin bottle, you must first perforate the plastic safety seal that covers the cap. )
conifer
pine tree; cone-bearing tree (Eg: According to geologists, the conifers were the first plants to bear flowers. )
devout
pious (Eg: The devout man prayed daily. )
galleon
large sailing ship (Eg: The Spaniards pinned their hopes on the galleon, the large warship; the British, on the smaller and faster )
salacious
lascivious; lustful (Eg: Chaucer's monk is not pious but salacious, a teller of lewd tales and ribald jests. )
scourge
lash; whip; severe punishment (Eg: )
languor
lassitude; depression (Eg: His friends tried to overcome the languor into which he had fallen by taking him to parties and to the )
enduring
lasting; surviving (Eg: Keats believed in the enduring power of great art, which outlast its creator's brief lives. )
ludicrous
laughable; trifling (Eg: Let us be serious; this is not a ludicrous issue. )
profusion
lavish expenditure; overabundant condition (Eg: Seldom have I seen food and drink served in such profusion as at the wedding feast. )
punctilious
laying stress on niceties of conduct or form; precise (Eg: We must be punctilious in our planning of this affair, for any error may be regarded as a personal affront. )
gait
manner of walking or running; speed (Eg: The lame man walked with an uneven gait. )
cartographer
map-maker (Eg: Though not a professional cartographer, Tolkien was able to construct a map of the fictional world. )
disfigure
mar the appearance of; spoil (Eg: An ugly frown disfigured his normally pleasant face. )
deface
mar; disfigure (Eg: If you deface a library book, you will have to pay a hefty fine. )
checkered
marked by changes in fortune (Eg: During his checkered career he had lived in palatial mansions and in dreary boardinghouses. )
cant
pious phraseology; jargon of criminals (Eg: Angry that the president had slashed the education budget, we dismissed his speech on the importance of )
holster
pistol case (Eg: Even when he was not in uniform, he carried a holster and pistol under his arm. )
aphorism
pithy maxim (Eg: An aphorism differs from an adage in that it is more philosophical or scientific. )
ceremonious
marked by formality (Eg: Ordinary dress would be in appropriate at so ceremonious an affair. )
apothegm
pithy, compact saying (Eg: Proverbs are apothegms that have become familiar sayings. )
ruthless
pitiless (Eg: The escaped convict was a dangerous and ruthless murderer. )
asylum
place of refuge or shelter; protection (Eg: The refugees sought asylum from religious persecution in a new land. )
purgatory
place of spiritual expiation (Eg: In this purgatory, he could expect no help from his comrades. )
juxtapose
place side by side (Eg: Comparison will be easier if you juxtapose the two objects. )
ford
place where a river can be crossed on foot (Eg: Rather than risk using the shaky rope bridge, David walked a half-mile downstream until he came to the )
arboretum
place where different varieties of trees and shrubs are studied and exhibited (Eg: Walking along the treelined paths of the arboretum, Rita noted poplars, firs, and some particularly fine )
perspicuous
plainly expressed (Eg: Her perspicuous comments eliminated all posibility of misinterpretation. )
premeditate
plan in advance (Eg: )
itinerary
plan of a trip (Eg: Before leaving for his first visit to France and England, he discussed his itinerary with people who had )
flora
plants of a region or era (Eg: Because she was a botanist, she spent most of her time studying the flora of the desert. )
rostrum
platform for speech-making; pulpit (Eg: The crowd murmured angrily and indicated that they did not care to listen to the speaker who was )
entreat
plead; ask earnestly (Eg: She entreated her father to let her stay out till midnight. )
congenial
pleasant; friendly (Eg: )
piquant
pleasantly tart-tasting; stimulating (Eg: The piquant sauce added to our enjoyment of the meal. )
gratify
please (Eg: Her parents were gratified by her success. )
enrapture
please intensely (Eg: The audience was enraptured by the freshness of the voices and the excellent orchestration. )
luscious
pleasing to taste or smell (Eg: The ripe peach was luscious. )
copious
plentiful (Eg: She had copious reasons for rejecting the proposal. )
scenario
plot outline; screenplay; opera libretto (Eg: Scaramouche startled the other actors in the commedia troupe when he suddenly departed from their )
fallow
plowed but sowed; uncultivated (Eg: )
pillage
plunder (Eg: )
despoil
plunder (Eg: If you do not yield, I am afraid the enemy will despoil the countryside. )
ravage
plunder; despoil (Eg: The marauding army ravaged the countryside. )
depredation
plundering (Eg: After the depredations of the invaders, the people were penniless. )
predatory
plundering (Eg: The hawk is a predatory bird. )
douse
plunge into water; drench; extinguish (Eg: They doused each other with hoses and balloons. )
elegy
poem or song expressing lamentation (Eg: )
bard
poet (Eg: The ancient bard Homer sang of the fall of Troy. )
perigee
point of moon's orbit when it is nearest the earth (Eg: The rocket which was designed to take photographs of the moon was launched as the moon approached )
martrix
point of origin; array of numbers or algebraic symbols; mold or die (Eg: Some historians claim the Nile Valley was the matrix of the Western civilization. )
doggerel
poorverse (Eg: Although we find occasional snatches of genuine poetry in her work, most of her writing is mere doggerel. )
permeable
porous; allowing passage through (Eg: Glass is permeable to light. )
delineate
portray (Eg: He is weakest when he attempts to delineate character. )
depict
portray (Eg: In this book, the author depicts the slave owners as kind and benevolent masters. )
affirmation
positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath (Eg: Despite Tom's affirmation of innocence, Aunt Polly still suspected he had eaten the pie. )
dogmatic
positive; arbitrary (Eg: Do not be so dogmatic about that statement; it can be easily refuted. )
dint
means; effort (Eg: By dint of much hard work, the volunteers were able to control the raging forest fire. )
interim
meantime (Eg: The company will not consider our proposal until next week; in the interim, let us proceed as we have in )
mete
measure; distribute (Eg: He tried to be impartial in his efforts to mete out justice. )
carnivorous
meat-eating (Eg: The lion is a carnivorous animal. )
automaton
mechanism that imitates actions of humans (Eg: Long before science fiction readers became aware of robots, writers were creating stories of automation )
officious
meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one's services (Eg: After her long flight, Jill just wanted to nap, but the officious bellboy was intent on showing her all the )
alchemy
medieval chemistry (Eg: The changing of baser metals into gold was the goal of the students of alchemy. )
euthanasia
mercy killing (Eg: Many people support euthanasia for terminally ill patients who wish to die. )
mirth
merriment; laughter (Eg: Sober Malvolio found Sir Toby's mirth improper. )
jocund
merry (Eg: Santa Claus is always vivacious and jocund. )
courier
messenger (Eg: The publisher sent a special courier to pick up the manuscript. )
lode
metal-bearing vein (Eg: If this lode that we have discovered extends for any distance, we have found a fortune. )
regime
method or system of government (Eg: When a Frenchman mentions the Old Regime, he refers to the government existing before the revolution. )
bourgeois
middle class (Eg: The French Revolution was inspired by the bourgeois, who resented the aristocracy. )
euphemism
mild expression in place of an unpleasant one (Eg: The expression "he passed away" is a euphemism for "he died." )
balmy
mild; fragrant (Eg: A balmy breeze refreshed us after the sultry blast. )
leniency
mildness; permissiveness (Eg: Considering the gravity of the offense, we were surprised by the leniency of the sentence. )
misdemeanor
minor crime (Eg: The culprit pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor rather than face trial for a felony. )
misadventure
mischance; ill luck (Eg: The young explorer met death by misadventure. )
qualms
misgivings (Eg: His qualms of conscience had become so great that he decided to abandon his plans. )
fallacious
misleading (Eg: Your reasoning must be fallacious because it leads to a ridiculous answer. )
illusion
misleading vision (Eg: It is easy to create an optical illusion in which lines of equal length appear different. )
projectile
missile (Eg: Man has always hurled projectiles at his enemy whether in the form of stones or of highly explosive shells. )
erroneous
mistaken; wrong (Eg: I thought my answer was correct, but it was erroneous. )
knead
mix; work dough (Eg: Her hands grew strong from kneading bread. )
promiscuous
mixed indiscriminately; haphazard; irregular, particularly sexually (Eg: In the opera La Boheme, we get a picture of the promiscuous life led by the young artists of Paris. )
garbled
mixed up; jumbled; distorted (Eg: A favorite party game involves passing a whispered message from one person to another; by the time it )
alloy
mixture as of metals (Eg: alloy of gold are used more frequently than the pure metal. )
miscellany
mixture of writings on various subjects (Eg: This is an interesting miscellany of nineteenth-century prose and poetry. )
gibe
mock (Eg: As you gibe at their superstitious beliefs, do you realize that you, too, are guilty of similarly foolish )
scoff
mock; ridicule (Eg: He scoffed at dentists until he had his first toothache. )
satirical
mocking (Eg: The humor of cartoonists Gary Trudeau often is satirical; though the comments of the Doonesbury )
mausoleum
monumental tomb (Eg: His body was placed in the family mausolem. )
low
moo (Eg: From the hilltop, they could see the herd like ants in the distance; they could barely hear the cattle low. )
phobia
morbid fear (Eg: Her fear of flying was more than mere nervousness; it was a real phobia. )
deploy
move troops so that the battle line is extended at the expense of depth (Eg: The general ordered the battalion to deploy in order to meet the offensive of the enemy. )
amorous
moved by sexual love; loving (Eg: Don Juan was known for his amorous adventures. )
amble
moving at an easy pace (Eg: When she first mounted the horse, she was afraid to urge the animal to go faster than a gentle amble. )
impetus
moving force; incentive; stimulus (Eg: A new federal highway program would create jobs and five added impetus to our economic recovery. )
depreciate
lessen in value (Eg: If you neglect this properly, it will depreciate. )
console
lessen sadness or disappointment; give comfort (Eg: When her father died, Marius did his best to console Cosette. )
diminution
lessening; reduction in size (Eg: The blockaders hoped to achieve victory as soon as the diminution of the enemy's supplies became serious. )
bate
let down; restrain (Eg: Until it was time to open the presents, the children had to bate their curiosity. )
anticlimax
letdown in thought or emotion (Eg: After the fine performance in the first act, the rest of the play was an anticlimax. )
missive
letter (Eg: The ambassador received a missive from the Secretary of State. )
fallible
liable to err (Eg: I know I am fallible, but I feel confident that I am right this time. )
lavish
liberal; wasteful (Eg: The actor's lavish gifts pleased her. )
prevaricate
lie (Eg: Some people believe that to prevaricate in a good cause is justifiable and regard the statement as a "white )
equivocate
lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth (Eg: The audience saw through his attempts to equivocate on the subject under discussion and ridiculed his )
inanimate
lifeless (Eg: she was asked to identify the still and inanimate body. )
flick
light stroke as with a whip (Eg: The horse needed no encouragement; only one flick of the whip was all the jockey had to apply to get the )
giddy
light-hearted; dizzy (Eg: He felt his giddy youth was past. )
ethereal
light; heavenly; fine (Eg: Visitors were impressed by her ethereal beauty, her delicate charm. )
jaunty
lighthearted; animated; easy and carefree (Eg: In Singing in the Rain, Gene Kelly sang and danced his way throughtthe lighthearted title number in a )
cadaverous
like a corpse; pale (Eg: From his cadaverous appearance, we could see how the disease had ravaged him. )
rabid
like a fanatic; furious (Eg: He was a rabid follower of the Dodgers and watched them play whenever he could go to the ball park. )
glacial
like a glacier; extremely cold (Eg: Never a warm person, when offended hugo could seem positively glacial. )
leonine
like a lion (Eg: He was leonine in his rage. )
imperial
like an emperor; related to an empire (Eg: When hotel owner Leona Helmsley appeared in ads as Queen Leona standing guard over the Palace Hotel, )
avuncular
like an uncle (Eg: Avuncular pride did not prevent him from noticing his nephew's shortcomings. )
ligneous
like wood (Eg: Petrified wood may be ligneous in appearance, but it is stonelike in composition. )
diorama
like-size, three-dimensional scene from nature or history (Eg: Because they dramatically pose actual stuffed animals against realistic painted landscapes, the dioramas at )
labile
likely to change; unstable (Eg: Because the hormonal changes they undergo affect their spirits, adolescents may become emotionally labile )
circumscribe
limit; confine (Eg: )
parameter
limit; independent variable (Eg: We need to define the parameters of the problem. )
finite
limited (Eg: It is difficult for humanity with its finite existence to grasp the infinite. )
modicum
limited quantity (Eg: Although his story is based on a modicum of truth, most of the events he describes are fictitious. )
qualified
limited; restricted (Eg: Unable to give the candidate full support, the mayor gave him only a qualified endorsement. )
queue
line (Eg: They stood patiently in the queue outside the movie theatre. )
concatenate
link as in a chain (Eg: )
roster
list (Eg: They print the roster of players in the season's program. )
repertoire
list of works of music, drama, etc., a performer is prepared to present (Eg: The opera company decided to include Madame Butterfly in its repertoire for the following season. )
enumerate
list; mention one by one (Eg: Huck hung his head in shame as Miss Watson enumerated his many flaws. )
compilation
listing of statistical information in tabular or book form (Eg: The compilation of available scholarships serves a very valuable purpose. )
knoll
little, round hill (Eg: Robert Louis Stevenson's grave is on a knoll in Samoa; to reach the grave site, you must climb uphill and )
rousing
lively; stirring (Eg: "And now, let's have a rousing welcome for TV's own Roseanne Arnold, who'll lead us in a rousing )
coeval
living at the same time as; contemporary (Eg: coeval with the dinosaur, the pterodactyl flourished during the Mesozoic era. )
chameleon
lizard that changes color in different situations (Eg: Like the chameleon, he assumed the political coloration of every group he met. )
abominate
loathe; hate (Eg: Moses scolded the idol worshippers in the tribe because he abominated the custom. )
repugnance
loathing (Eg: She looked at the snake with repugnance. )
patois
local or provincial dialect (Eg: His years of study of the language at the university did not enable him to understand the patois of the )
dawdle
loiter; waste time (Eg: Inasmuch as we must meet a deadline, do not dawdle over this work. )
lank
long and thin (Eg: lank, gaunt, Abraham Lincoln was a striking figure. )
chronic
long established, as a disease (Eg: The doctors were finally able to attribute his chronic headaches and nausea to traces of formaldehyde gas )
epic
long heroic poem, novel, or similar work of art (Eg: Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai is an epic portraying the struggle of seven warriors to destroy a band of )
longevity
long life (Eg: When he reached ninety, the old man was proud of his longevity. )
eon
long period of time; an age (Eg: It has taken eons for our civilization to develop. )
harangue
long, passionate, and vehement speech (Eg: In her lengthy harangue, the principal berated the offenders. )
retrospective
looking back on the past (Eg: It is only when we become retrospective that we can appreciate the tremendous advances made during this )
introspective
looking within oneself (Eg: We all have our introspective moments during which we examine our souls. )
episodic
loosely connected (Eg: Though he tried to follow the plot of Gravity's Rainbow, John found the novel too episodic. )
imperiousness
lordliness; domineering manner; arrogance (Eg: His imperiousness indicated that he had long been accustomed to assuming command. )
languish
lose animation; lose strength (Eg: In stories, lovelorn damsels used to languish and pine away. )
amnesia
loss of memory (Eg: Because she was suffering from amnesia, the police could not get the young girl to identify herself. )
aphasia
loss of speech due to injury or illness (Eg: After the automobile accident, the victim had periods of aphasia when he could not speak at all or could )
clangor
loud, resounding noise (Eg: The blacksmith was accustomed to the clangor of hammers on steel. )
loll
lounge about (Eg: They lolled around in their chairs watching television. )
philanthropist
lover of mankind; doer of good (Eg: As he grew older, he became famous as a philanthropist and benefactor of the needy. )
nether
lower (Eg: Tradition locates hell in the nether regions. )
abase
lower; degrade; humiliate (Eg: Anna expected to have to curtsy to the King of Siam; when told to cast herself down on the ground before )
degraded
lowered in rank; debased (Eg: The degraded wretch spoke only of his past glories and honors. )
nadir
lowest point (Eg: Although few people realized it, the Dow-Jones averages had reached their nadir and would soon begin an )
fidelity
loyalty (Eg: A dog's fidelity to its owner is one of the reasons why that animal is a favorite household pet. )
preen
make oneself tidy in appearance; feel self-satisfaction (Eg: As Kitty preened before the mirror, carefully smoothing her shining hair, she couldn't help preening herself )
indemnify
make secure against loss; compensate for loss (Eg: The city will indemnify all home owners whose property is spoiled by this project. )
burnish
make shiny by rubbing; polish (Eg: The maid burnished the brass fixtures until they reflected the lamplight. )
addle
muddle; drive crazy (Eg: This idiotic plan is confusing enough to addle anyone. )
propagate
multiply; spread (Eg: Since bacteria propagate more quickly in unsanitary environments, it is important to keep hospital rooms )
regicide
murder of a king or queen (Eg: The beheading of Mary Queen of Scots was an act of regicide. )
mutter
murmur or grumble (Eg: The child muttered at the doll. )
brawn
muscular strength; sturdiness (Eg: It takes brawn to become a champion weight-lifter. )
maim
mutilate; injure (Eg: The hospital could not take care of all who had been mangled or maimed in the railroad accident. )
correlation
mutual relationship (Eg: He sought to determine the correlation that existed between ability in algebra and ability to interpret )
reciprocal
mutual; exchangeable; interacting (Eg: The two nations signed a reciprocal trade agreement. )
concerted
mutually agreed on; done together (Eg: The girl scouts in the troop made a concerted effort to raise funds for their annual outing, and emitted a )
internecine
mutually destructive (Eg: The rising death toll on both sides indicates the internecine natire of his conflict. )
cryptic
mysterious; hidden; secret (Eg: His cryptic remarks could not be interpreted. )
occult
mysterious; secret; supernatural (Eg: The occult rites of the organization were revealed only to members. )
runic
mysterious; set down in an ancient alphabet (Eg: Tolkien's use of Old English words and inscriptions in the runic alphabet give The Lord of the Rings its )
centaur
mythical figure, half man and half horse (Eg: I was particularly impressed by the statue of the centaur in the Roman Hall of the museum. )
ingenuous
naive; young and unsophisticated (Eg: Although she was over forty, the movie star still insisted that she be cast as an ingenuous sweet young )
appellation
name; title (Eg: He was amazed when the witches hailed him with his correct appellation. )
recount
narrate or tell; count over again (Eg: About to recount the latest adventure of Sherlock Holmes, Watson lost track of exactly how many cases )
gorge
narrow canyon; steep, rocky cleft (Eg: Terrified of heights, George could not bring himself to peer down into the gorge to see the rapids below. )
parochial
narrow in outlook; provincial; related to parishes (Eg: Although Jane Austen writes novels set in small rural communities, her concerns are universal, not )
isthmus
narrow neck of land connecting two larger bodies of land (Eg: In a magnificent feat of engineering, Goethals and his men cut through the isthmus of Panama in )
ravine
narrow valley with steep sides (Eg: Steeper than a gully, less precipitous than a canyon, a ravine is, like them, the product of years of erosion. )
philistine
narrow-minded person, uncultured and exculsively interested in material gain (Eg: We need more men of culture and enlightenment; we have too many philistines among us. )
sectarian
narrow-minded; limited in scope (Eg: As university chaplain, she sought to address universal religious issues and not limit herself to mere )
insularity
narrow-mindedness; isolation (Eg: The insularity of the islanders manifested itself in their suspicion of anyuthing foreign. )
indigenous
native (Eg: Tobacco is one of the indigenous plants that the early explorers found in this country. )
propensity
natural inclination (Eg: Convinced of his own talent, Sol has an unfortunate propensity to belittle the talents of others. )
imminent
near at hand; impending (Eg: Rosa was such a last-minute worker that she could never start writing a paper till the deadline was )
impending
nearing; approaching (Eg: The entire country was saddened by the news of his impending death. )
proximity
nearness (Eg: The deer sensed the hunter's proximity and bounded away. )
propinquity
nearness; kinship (Eg: Their relationship could not be explained as being based on mere propinquity: they were more than )
myopic
nearsighted (Eg: In thinking only of your present needs and ignoring the future, you are being rather myopic. )
dapper
neat and trim (Eg: In "The Odd Couple," Tony Randall played Felix Unger, an excessively dapper soul who could not stand )
deft
neat; skillful (Eg: The deft waiter uncorked the champagne without spilling a drop. )
natty
neatly or smartly dresssed (Eg: Priding himself on being a natty dresser, the gangster Bugsy Siegel collected a wardrobe of imported suits )
requisite
necessary requirement (Eg: Many colleges state that a student must offer three years of a language as a requisite for admission. )
pejorative
negative in connotation; having a belittling effect. (Eg: Instead of criticizing Clinton's policies, the Republicans made pejorative remarks about his character. )
derelict
neglectful of duty; abandoned (Eg: The corporal who fell asleep while on watch was thrown into the guardhouse for being derelic in his duty. )
remiss
negligent (Eg: He was accused of being remiss in his duty when the prisoner escaped. )
noncommittal
neutral; unpledged; undecided (Eg: We were annoyed by his noncommittal reply for we had been led to expect definite assurances of his )
neologism
new or newly coined word or phrase (Eg: As we invent new techniques and professions, we must also invent neologisms such as "microcomputer" )
agility
nimbleness (Eg: The agility of the acrobat amazed and thrilled the audience. )
outmoded
no longer stylish; old-fahioned (Eg: Unconcerned about keeping in style, Lenore was perfectly happy to wear outmoded clothes as long as they )
aspiration
noble ambition (Eg: )
patrician
noble; aristocratic (Eg: We greatly admired her well-bred, patrician elegance )
clamor
noise (Eg: The clamor of the children at play outside made it impossible for her to take a nap. )
altercation
noisy quarrel (Eg: Throughout the altercation, not one sensible word was uttered. )
inundate
overflow; flood (Eg: The tremendous waves inundated the town. )
irrelevant
not applicable; unrelated (Eg: This statement is irrelevant and should be disregarded by the jury. )
elated
overjoyed; in high spirits (Eg: Grinning from ear to ear, Bonnie Blair was clearly elated by her Olympic victory. )
condone
overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse (Eg: Unlike Widow Douglass, who condoned Huck's minor offenses, Miss Watson did nothing but scold. )
compelling
overpowering; irresistible in effect (Eg: The prosecutor presented a well-reasoned case, but the defense attorney's compelling arguments for )
censor
overseer of morals; person who eliminates inappropriate matter (Eg: Soldiers dislike having their mail read by a censor but understand the need for this precaution. )
glut
overstock; fill to excess (Eg: The many manufacturers glutted the market and could not find purchasers for the many articles they had )
rave
overwhelmingly favorable review (Eg: Though critic John Simon seldom has a good word to say about contemporary plays, his review of All in )
placate
pacify; conciliate (Eg: The teacher tried to placate the angry mother. )
appease
pacify; soothe (Eg: We have discovered that, when we try to appease our enemies, we encourage them to make additional )
fresco
painting in plaste (usually fresh) (Eg: The cathedral is visited by many tourists who wish to admire the frescoes by Glotto. )
mauve
pale purple (Eg: The mauve tint in the lilac bush was another indication that spring had finally arrived. )
pallid
pale; wan (Eg: Because his occupation required that he work at night and sleep during the day, he had an exceptionally )
mollycoddle
pamper; indulge excessively (Eg: Don't mollycoddle the boy, Maud! You'll spoil him. )
larder
pantry; place where food is kept (Eg: The first thing Bill did on returning home from school was to check what snacks his mother had in the )
rudimentary
not developed; elementary (Eg: His dancing was limited to a few rudimentary steps. )
insatiable
not easily satisfied; greedy (Eg: Welty's thirst for knowledge was insatiable; she was in the library day and night. )
ineffectual
not effective; weak (Eg: )
extraneous
not essential; external (Eg: Do not pad your paper with extraneous matters; stick to essential items only. )
incidental
not essential; minor (Eg: The scholarship covered his major expenses at college and some of his incidental expenses as well. )
exotic
not native; strange (Eg: Because of his exotic headdress, he was followed in the streets by small children who laughed at his strange )
heedless
not noticing; disregarding (Eg: He drove on, heedless of the warnings that the road was dangerous. )
impervious
not penetrable; not permitting passage through (Eg: You cannot change their habits for their minds are impervious to reasoning. )
extemporaneous
not planned; impromtu (Eg: Because his extemporaneous remarks were misinterpreted, he decided to write all his speeches in advance. )
palimpsest
parchment used for second time after original writing has been erased (Eg: Using chemical reagents, scientists have been able to restore the original writings on many palimpsests. )
amnesty
pardon (Eg: When his first child was born, the king granted amnesty to all in prison. )
absolve
pardon (an offense) (Eg: The father confessor absolved him of his sins. )
proscenium
part of stage in front of curtain (Eg: In the theater-in-the-round there can be no proscenium or proscenium arch. )
motley
parti-colored; mixed (Eg: The captain had gathered a motley crew to sail the vessel. )
penumbra
partial shadow (in an eclipse) (Eg: During an eclipse, we can see an area of total darkness and a lighter area, which is the penumbra. )
predilection
partiality; preference (Eg: Although the artist used various media from time to time, she had a predilection for watercolors. )
complicity
participation; involvement (Eg: You cannot keep your complicity in this affair secret very long; you would be wise to admit your )
genre
particular variety of art or literature (Eg: Both a short story writer and a poet, Langston Hughes proved himself equally skilled in either genre. )
faction
party; clique; dissension (Eg: The quarrels and bickering of the two small factions within the club disturbed the majority of the )
infiltrate
pass into or through; penetrate (an organization) sneakily (Eg: In order to infiltrate enemy lines at night without being seen, the scouts darkened their faces and wore )
madrigal
pastoral song (Eg: His program of folk songs included several madrigals which he sang to the accompaniment of a lute. )
forberance
patience (Eg: We must use forbearance in dealing with him because he is still weak from his illness. )
resignation
patient submissiveness; statement that one is quitting a job (Eg: If Bob Cratchit had not accepted Scrooge's bullying with timid resignation, he might have gotten up the )
apocalyptic
prophetic; pertaining to revelations; especially of disaster (Eg: His apocalyptic remarks were dismissed by his audience as wild surmises. )
decorum
propriety; seemliness (Eg: Shocked by the unruly behavior, the teacher criticized the class for its lack of decorum. )
remonstrance
protest; objection (Eg: The authorities were deaf to the pastor's remonstrances about the lack of police protection in the area. )
expostulation
protest; remonstrance (Eg: Despite the teacher's scoldings and expostulations, the class remained unruly. )
archetype
prototype; primitive pattern (Eg: The Brooklyn Bridge was the archetype of the many spans that now connect Manhattan with Long Island )
protuberance
protrusion; bulge (Eg: A ganglionic cyst is a fluid-filled tumor (generally benign) that develops near a joint membrane or tendon )
authenticate
prove genuine (Eg: An expert was needed to authenticate the original Van Gogh painting, distinguishing it from its imitation. )
maxim
proverb; a truth pithily stated (Eg: Aesop's fables illustrate moral maxims. )
harbor
provide a refuge for; hide (Eg: The church harbored illegal aliens who were political refugees. )
defray
provide ofr the payment of (Eg: Her employer offered to defray the costs of her postgraduate education. )
endue
provide with some quality; endow (Eg: He was endued with a lion's courage. )
document
provide written evidence (Eg: She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to document her expenses for the firm. )
discretion
prudence; ability to adjust actions to circumstances (Eg: Use your discretion in this matter and do not discuss it with anyone. )
circumspect
prudent; cautious (Eg: Investigating before acting, she tried always to be circumspect. )
archives
public records; place where public records are kept (Eg: These documents should be part of the archives so that historians may be able to evaluate them in the )
obtrusive
pushing forward (Eg: I found her a very obstrusive person, constantly seeking the center of the stage. )
quell
put down; quiet (Eg: The police used fire hoses and teat gas to quell the rioters. )
propound
put forth for analysis (Eg: In you discussion, you have propounded several questions; let us consider each one separately. )
marshal
put in order (Eg: At a debate tournament, extemporaneous speakers have only a minute or two to marshal their thoughts )
execute
put into effect; carry out (Eg: The choreographer wanted to see how well she could execute a pirouette. )
implement
put into effect; supply with tools (Eg: The mayor was unwilling to implement the plan until she was sure it had the governor's backing. )
don
put on (Eg: When Clark Kent had to don his Superman outfit, he changed clothes in a convenient phone booth. )
discomfit
put to rout; defeat; disconcert (Eg: This ruse will discomfit the enemy. )
entrance
put under a spell; carry away with emotion (Eg: Shafts of sunlight on a wall could entrance her and leave her spellbound. )
enigma
puzzle (Eg: Depite all attempts to decipher the code, it remained an enigma. )
rebus
puzzle in which pictures stand for words (Eg: A coven of witches beside a tree is a possible rebus for the town Coventry. )
charlatan
quack; pretender to knowledge (Eg: When they realized that the Wizard didn't know how to get them back to Kansas, Dorothy and her friends )
poignancy
quality of being deeply moving; keenness of emotion (Eg: Watching the tearful reunion of the long-separated mother and child, the social worker was touched by the )
naivete
quality of being unsophisticated (Eg: I cannot believe that such naivete is unassumed in a person of her age and experience. )
momentum
quantity of motion of a moving body; impetus (Eg: The car lost momentum as it tried to ascend the steep hill. )
bicker
quarrel (Eg: The children bickered morning, noon, and night, exasperating their parents. )
contentious
quarrelsome (Eg: We heard loud and contentious noises in the next room. )
belligerent
quarrelsome (Eg: Whenever he had too much to drink, he became belligerent and tried to pick fights with strangers. )
droll
queer and amusing (Eg: He was a popular guest because his droll anecdotes were always entertaining. )
interrogate
question closely; cross-examine (Eg: Knowing that the Nazis would interrogate him about his background, the secret agent invented a cover )
grill
question severely (Eg: In violation of the Miranda law, the police grilled the suspect for several hours before reading him his )
nostrum
questionable medicine (Eg: No quack selling nostrums is going to cheat me. )
inquisitor
questioner (specially harsh); investigator (Eg: Fearing being grilled ruthlessly by the secret police, Marsha faced her inquisitors with trepidation. )
receptive
quick or willing to receive ideas, suggestions, etc. (Eg: Adventure-loving Huck Finn proved a receptive audience for Tom's tales of buried treasure and piracy. )
retort
quick, sharp reply (Eg: Even when it was advisable for her to keep her mouth shut, she was always ready with a retort. )
cite
quote; commend (Eg: She could cite passages in the Bible from memory. )
centrifugal
radiating; departing from the center (Eg: Many automatic drying machines remove excess moisture from clothing by centrifugal force. )
foray
raid (Eg: The company staged a midnight foray against the enemy outpost. )
exalt
raise in rank or dignity; praise (Eg: The actor Alec Guinness was exalted to the rank of knighthood by the Queen; he now is known as Sir Alec )
dais
raised platform for guests of honor (Eg: When he approached the dais, he was greeted by cheers from the people who had come to honor him. )
haphazard
random; by chance (Eg: His haphazard reading left him unaquainted with the authors of the books. )
ken
range of knowledge (Eg: I cannot answer your question since this matter is beyond my ken. )
fester
rankle, produce irritation or resentment (Eg: Joe's insult festered in Anne's mind for days, and made her too angry to speak to him. )
rummage
ransack; thoroughly search (Eg: When we rummaged through the trunks in the attic, we found many souvenirs of our childhood days. )
ecstasy
rapture, joy; any overpowering emotion (Eg: The announcement that the war had ended brought on an ecstasy that resulted in many uncontrolled )
knavery
rascality (Eg: We cannot condone such knavery in public officials. )
foolhardy
rash (Eg: Don't be foolhardy. Get the advice of experienced people before undertaking this venture. )
incidence
rate of occurrence; particular occurrence (Eg: Health professionals expressed great concern over the high incidence of infant mortality in major urban )
rant
rave; speak bombastically (Eg: As we heard him rant on the platform, we could not understand his strange popularity with many people. )
maniacal
raving mad (Eg: His maniacal laughter frightened us. )
amenable
readily managed; willing to be led (Eg: He was amenable to any suggestions that came from those he looked up to; he resented advice from his )
perusal
reading (Eg: I am certain that you have missed important details in your rapid perusal of this document. )
lectern
reading desk (Eg: The chaplain delivered his sermon from a hastily improvised lectern. )
entity
real being (Eg: As soon as the charter was adopted, the United Nations became an entity and had to be considered as a )
foster
rear; encourage (Eg: According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were fostered by a she-wolf that raised the abandoned )
rampant
rearing up on hind legs; unrestrained (Eg: The rampant weeds in the garden killed all the flowers that had been planted in the spring. )
rationalize
reason; justify an improper act (Eg: Do not try to rationalize your behavior by blaming your companions. )
ratiocination
reasoning; act of drawing conclusions from premises (Eg: While Watson was a man of average intelligence, Holmes was a genius, whose gift for ratiocination made )
maverick
rebel; nonconformist (Eg: To the masculine literary establishment, George Sand with her insistence on wearing trousers and smoking )
insurrection
rebellion; uprising (Eg: Given the current state of affairs in South Africa, an insurrection seems unavoidable. )
insurgent
rebellious (Eg: We will not discuss reforms until the insurgent troops have returned to their homes. )
repercussion
rebound; reverberation; reaction (Eg: I am afraid that this event will have serious repercussions. )
comeuppance
rebuke; deserts (Eg: After his earlier rudeness, we were delighted to see him get his comeuppance. )
ebb
recede; lessen (Eg: His fortunes began to ebb during the recession. )
recipient
receiver (Eg: Although he had been the recipient of many favors, he was not grateful to his benefactor. )
anneal
reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling (Eg: After the glass is annealed, it will be less subject to chipping and cracking. )
debase
reduce to lower state (Eg: Do not debase youself by becoming maudlin. )
deplete
reduce; exhaust (Eg: We must wait until we deplete our present inventory before we order replacements. )
allude
refer indirectly (Eg: Try not to allude to this matter in his presence because the topic annoys him. )
advert
refer to (Eg: Since you advert to this matter so frequently, you must regard it as important. )
ascribe
refer; attribute; assign (Eg: I can ascribe no motive for her acts. )
abstain
refrain; withhold from participation (Eg: After considering the effect of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from drinking )
rebuttal
refutation; response with contrary evidence (Eg: The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case, sure that she could answer his )
limbo
region near heaven or hell where certain souls are kept (Eg: Among the divisions of Hell are Purgatory and limbo. )
clime
region; climate (Eg: His doctors advised him to move to a milder clime. )
deplore
regret (Eg: Although I deplore the vulgarity of your language, I defend your right to express yourself freely. )
rueful
regretful; sorrowful; dejected (Eg: The artist has captured the sadness of childhood in his portrait of the boy with the rueful countenance. )
culinary
relating to cooking (Eg: Many chefs attribute their culinary skill to the wise use of spices. )
redress
remedy; compensation (Eg: Do you mean to tell me that I can get no redress for my injuries? )
commemorative
remembering; honoring (Eg: The new commemorative stamp honors the late Martin Luther King, Jr. )
compunction
remorse (Eg: The judge was especially severe in this sentencing because he felt that the criminal had shown no )
dislodge
remove (forcible) (Eg: Thrusting her fist up under the choking man's lower ribs, Margaret used the Heimlich maneuver to )
esteem
repect; value; judge (Eg: I esteem Ezra Pound both for his exciting poetry and for his acute comments on literature. )
penitent
repentant (Eg: When he realized the enormity of his crime, he became remorseful and penitent. )
rote
repetition (Eg: He recited the passage by rote and gave no indication he understood what he was saying. )
alliteration
repetition of beginning sound in poetry (Eg: "The furrow followed free" is an example of alliteration. )
chronicle
report; record (in chronological order) (Eg: The gossip columnist was paid to chronicle the latest escapades of the socially prominent celebrities. )
replicate
reproduce; duplicate (Eg: To the chagrin of the scientists, they were unable to replicate the results of their controversial experiment. )
reprimand
reprove severely (Eg: I am afraid that my parents will reprimand me when I show them my report card. )
recant
repudiate; withdraw previous statement (Eg: Unless you recant your confession, you will be punished severely. )
odium
repugnance; dislike (Eg: I cannot express the odium I feel at your heinous actions. )
salvage
rescue from loss (Eg: All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed. )
atavism
resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; reversion to an earlier type; (Eg: throwback )
equine
resembling a horse (Eg: His long, bony face had an equine look to it. )
begrudge
resent (Eg: I begrudge every minute I have to spend attending meetings. )
distant
reserved or aloof; cold in manner (Eg: )
reticent
reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence (Eg: )
defeatist
resigned to defeat; accepting defeat as a natural outcome (Eg: If you maintain your defeatist attitude, you will never succeed. )
recourse
resorting to help when in trouble (Eg: The boy's only recourse was to appeal to his father for aid. )
reputable
respectable (Eg: If you want to buy antiques, look for a reputable dealer; far too many dealers today pass off fakes as )
reverent
respectful (Eg: His reverent attitude was appropriate in a house of worship. )
dutiful
respectful; obedient (Eg: The dutiful child grew up to be a conscientious adult aware of his civic obligations. )
restive
restlessly impatient; obstinately resisting control (Eg: Waiting impatiently in the line to see Santa Claus, even the best-behaved children grow restive and start to )
renovate
restore to good condition; renew (Eg: They claim that they can renovate worn shoes so that they look like new ones. )
rehabilitate
restore to proper condition (Eg: We must rehabilitate those whom we send to prison. )
pinion
restrain (Eg: They pinioned his arms against his body but left his legs free so that he could move about. )
repress
restrain; crush; oppress (Eg: Anne's parents tried to curb her impetuosity without repressing her boundless high spirits. )
manacle
restrain; handcuff (Eg: The police immediately manacled the prisoner so he could not escape. )
rejoinder
retort; comeback; reply (Eg: When someone has been rude to me, I find it particularly satisfying to come up with a quick rejoinder. )
procrastinate
postpone; delay (Eg: It is wise not to procrastinate; otherwise, we find ourselves bogged down in a mass of work that should )
decant
pour off gently (Eg: Be sure to decant this wine before serving it. )
effusion
pouring forth (Eg: The critics objected to her literary effusion because it was too flowery. )
effusive
pouring forth; gushing (Eg: Her effusive manner of greeting her friends finally began to irritate them. )
indigence
poverty (Eg: Neither the economists nor the political scientists have found a way to wipe out the inequities of wealth )
adversity
poverty, misfortune (Eg: We must learn to meet adversity gracefully. )
intuition
power of knowing without reasoning (Eg: She claimed to know the truth by intuition. )
efficacy
power to produce desired effect (Eg: The efficacy of this drug depends on the regularity of the dosage. )
mogul
powerful person (Eg: The oil moguls made great profits when the price of gasoline rose. )
potent
powerful; persuasive; greatly influential (Eg: The jury was swayed by the highly potent testimony of the crime's sole eyewitness. )
puissant
powerful; strong; potent (Eg: We must keep his friendship for he will make a puissant ally. )
impuissance
powerlessness; feebleness (Eg: The lame duck President was frustrated by his shift from enormous power to relative impuissance. )
feasible
practical (Eg: )
pragmatic
practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of (Eg: something )
pragmatist
practical person (Eg: No pragmatist enjoys becoming involved in a game that he can never win )
precept
practical rule guiding conduct (Eg: "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is a worthwhile precept. )
ascetic
practicing self-denial; austere (Eg: The wealthy young man could not understand the ascetic life led by the monks. )
eulogy
praise (Eg: All the eulogies of his friends could not remove the sting of the calumny heaped upon him by his enemies. )
extol
praise; glorify (Eg: The astronauts were extolled as the pioneers of the Space Age. )
laudable
praiseworthy; commendable (Eg: His laudable deeds will be remarked by all whom he aided. )
eulogistic
praising (Eg: To everyone's surprise, the speech was eulogistic rather than critical in tone. )
encomiastic
praising; eulogistic (Eg: Some critics believe that his encomiastic statements about Napoleon were inspired by his desire for )
escapade
prank; flighty conduct (Eg: The headmaster could not regard this latest escapade as a boyish joke and expelled the young man. )
frolicsome
prankish; gay (Eg: The frolicsome puppy tried to lick the face of its master. )
antecede
precede (Eg: The invention of the radiotelegraph anteceded the development of television by a quarter of a century. )
antecedents
preceding events or circumstances that influence what comes later; early life; ancestors (Eg: Before giving permission for Drummie to marry Estella, Miss Havisham had a few questions about the )
precedent
preceding in time, rank, etc. (Eg: Our discussions, precedent to this event, certainly did not give you any reason to believe that we would )
nicety
precision; minute distinction (Eg: I cannot distinguish between such niceties of reasoning. )
impasse
predicament from which there is no escape (Eg: In this impasse, all turned to prayer as their last hope. )
prognosticate
predict (Eg: I prognosticate disaster unless we change our wasteful ways. )
foreboding
premonition of evil (Eg: Caeser ridiculed his wife's foreboding about the Ides of March. )
presentiment
premonition; foreboding (Eg: Hamlet felt a presentiment about his meeting with Laertes. )
materialism
preoccupation with physical comforts and things (Eg: By its nature, materialism is opposed to idealism, for where the materialist emphasizes the needs of the )
concoct
prepare by combining; make up in concert (Eg: How did the inventive chef ever concoct such strange dish? )
regimen
prescribed diet and habits (Eg: I doubt whether the results warrant our living under such a strict regimen. )
overweening
presumptuous; arrogant (Eg: His overweening pride in his accomplishments was not justified. )
feign
pretend (Eg: Lady Macbeth feigned illness in the courtyard although she was actually healthy. )
dissimulate
pretend; conceal by feigning (Eg: She tried to dissimulate her grief by her exuberant attitude. )
hypocritical
pretending to be virtuous; deceiving (Eg: I resent his hypocritical posing as a friend for I know he is interested only in his own advancement. )
bluff
pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff (Eg: Claire thought Lord Byron's boast that he would swim the Hellespont was just a bluff, she was astounded )
connivance
pretense of ignorance of something wrong; assistance; permission to offend (Eg: With the connivance of his friends, he plotted to embarrass the teacher. )
mode
prevailing style (Eg: She was not used to their lavish mode of living. )
endemic
prevailinig among a specific group of people or in a specific are or country (Eg: This disease is endemic in this part of the world; more than 80 percent of the population are at one time or )
forestall
prevent by taking action in advance (Eg: By setting up a prenuptial agreement, the prospective bride and groom hoped to forestall any potential )
avert
prevent; turn away (Eg: She averted her eyes from the dead cat on the highway. )
asceptic
preventing infection; having a cleansing effect (Eg: Hospitals succeeded in lowering the mortality rate as soon as they introduced asceptic conditions. )
haughtiness
pride; arrogance (Eg: I resent his haughtiness because he is no better than we are. )
conclave
private meeting (Eg: He was present at all their conclaves as an unofficial observer. )
caucus
private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy (Eg: At the opening of Congress the members of the Democratic Party held a caucus to elect the majority )
idiosyncratic
private; peculiar to an individual (Eg: Such behavior is idiosyncratic, it is as easily identifiable as a signature. )
prerogative
privilege; unquestionable right (Eg: The President cannot levy taxes; that is the prerogative of the legislative branch of government. )
dilemma
problem; choice of two unsatisfactory alternatives (Eg: In this dilemma, he knew no one to whom he could turn for advice. )
cavalcade
procession; parade (Eg: As described by Chaucer, the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was motley group. )
igneous
produced by fire; volcanic (Eg: Lava, pumice, and other igneous rocks are found in great abundance around Mount Vesuvius near Naples. )
kinetic
producing motion (Eg: Designers of the electric automobile find that their greatest obstacle lies in the development of light and )
lachrymose
producing tears (Eg: His voice has a lachrymose quality that is more appropriate at a funeral than a class reunion. )
cabal
small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests (Eg: The cabal was defeated when its scheme was discovered. )
hummock
small hill (Eg: The ascent of the hummock is not difficult and the view from the hilltop is ample reward tor the effort. )
ostentatious
showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention (Eg: Trump's latest casino in Atlantic City is the most ostentatious gambling place in the East: it easily )
scintilla
shred; least bit (Eg: You have not produced a scintilla of evidence to support your argument. )
canny
shrewd; thrifty (Eg: The canny Scotsman was more than a match for the swindlers. )
clarion
shrill, trumpetlike sound (Eg: We woke to the clarion to muffle its striking. )
cringe
shrink back, as if in fear (Eg: The dog cringed, expecting a blow. )
cower
shrink quivering, as from fear (Eg: The frightened child cowered in the corner of the room. )
dwindle
shrink; reduce (Eg: They spent so much money that their funds dwindled to nothing. )
occlude
shut; close (Eg: A blood clot occluded an artery to the heart. )
coy
shy; modest; coquettish (Eg: She was coy in her answers to his offer. )
diffidence
shyness (Eg: You must overcome your diffidence if you intend to become a salesperson. )
mawkish
sickening; insipid (Eg: Your mawkish sighs fill me with disgust. )
portent
sign; omen; forewarning (Eg: He regarded the black cloud as a portent of evil. )
import
significance (Eg: I feel that you have not grasped the full import of the message sent tous by the enemy. )
muted
silent; muffled; toned down (Eg: In the funeral parlor, the mourners' voices had a muted quality. )
inane
silly; senseless (Eg: Such comments are inane because they do not help us solve our program. )
analogy
similarity; parallelism (Eg: Your analogy is not a good one because the two situations are not similar. )
fusilade
simultaneous firing or outburs (of missiles, questions, etc.) (Eg: Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture concludes with a thunderous fusilade of cannon fire. )
incantation
singing or chanting of magical formula (Eg: Uttering incantations to make the brew more potent, the witch doctor stirred the liquid in the caldron. )
scuttle
sink (Eg: The sailors decided to scuttle their vessel rather than surrender it to the enemy. )
cynical
skeptical or distrustful of human motives (Eg: cynical at all times, he was suspicious of all altruistic actions of others. )
dexterous
skillful (Eg: The magician was so dexterous that we could not follow his movements as he performed his tricks. )
gambol
skip; leap playfully (Eg: Watching children gamboling in the park is a pleasant experience )
azure
sky blue (Eg: azure skies are indicative of good weather. )
obloquy
slander; disgrace; infamy (Eg: I resent the obloquy that you are casting upon my reputation. )
revile
slander; vilify (Eg: )
detraction
slandering; aspersion (Eg: He is offended by your frequent detractions of his ability as a leader. )
aspersion
slanderous remark (Eg: Do not cast aspersions on her character. )
argot
slang (Eg: In the argot of the underworld, she "was taken for a ride." )
oblique
slanting; deviating from the perpendicular or from a straight line (Eg: The sergeant ordered the men to march "oblique right." )
obsequious
slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic (Eg: Helen valued people who behaved as if they respected themselves; nothing irritated her more than an )
opiate
sleep producer; deadener of pain (Eg: By such opiates, she made the people forget their difficulties and accept their unpleasant circumstances. )
hibernate
sleep throughout the winter (Eg: Bears are one of the many species of animals that hibernate. )
dormant
sleeping; lethargic; torpid (Eg: Sometimes dormant talents in our friends surprise those of us who never realize how gifted our )
legerdemain
sleight of hand (Eg: The magician demonstrated his renowned legerdemain. )
peccadillo
slight offense (Eg: If we examine these escapades carefully, we will realize that they are mere peccadilloes rather than major )
hazy
slightly obscure (Eg: In hazy weather, you cannot see the top of this mountain. )
acidulous
slightly sour; sharp; caustic (Eg: James was unpopular because of his sarcastic and acidulous remarks. )
catapult
slingshot; hurling machine (Eg: Airplanes are sometimes launched from battleships by catapults. )
ramp
slope; inclined plane (Eg: The house was built with ramps instead of stairs in order to enable the man in the wheelchair to move )
incline
slope; slant (Eg: The architect recommended that the nursing home's ramp be rebuilt because its incline was too steep for )
dowdy
slovenly; untidy (Eg: She tried to change her dowdy image by buying a fashionable new wardrobe. )
decelerate
slow down (Eg: Seeing the emergency blinkers in the road ahead, he decelerated quickly. )
canter
slow gallop (Eg: Because the racehorse had outdistanced its competition so easily, the reporter wrote that the race was won )
laggard
slow; sluggish (Eg: The sailor had been taught not to be laggard in carrying out orders. )
dinghy
small boat (often ship's boat) (Eg: In the film Lifeboat, an ill-assorted group of passengers from a sunken ocean liner are marooned at sea in a )
satellite
small body revolving around a larger one (Eg: During the first few years of the Space Age, hundreds of satellites were launched by Russia and the United )
grotto
small cavern (Eg: The Blue Grotto in Capri can be entered only by small boats rowed by natives through a natural opening in )
cubicle
small chamberused for sleeping (Eg: After his many hours of intensive study in the library he retired to his cubicle. )
figurine
small ornamental statuette (Eg: In the Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade was hired to trace the missing figurine of a black bird. )
facet
small plane surface (of a gem); a side (Eg: The stonecutter decided to improve the rough diamond by providing it with several facets. )
asteroid
small planet (Eg: asteroids have become commonplace to the readers of interstellar travel stories in science fiction )
circlet
small ring; band (Eg: This tiny circlet is very costly because it is set with precious stones. )
mote
small speck (Eg: The tiniest mote in the eye is very painful. )
rivulet
small stream (Eg: As the rains continued, the trickle of water running down the hillside grew into a rivulet that threatened to )
cascade
small waterfall (Eg: )
microcosm
small world (Eg: In the microcosm of our rural village, we find illustrations of all the evils that beset the universe. )
clique
small, exclusive group (Eg: She charged that a clique had assumed control of school affairs. )
pallet
small, poor bed (Eg: The weary traveler went to sleep on his straw pallet. )
exiguous
small; minute (Eg: Grass grew there, an exiguous outcropping among the rocks. )
daub
smear (as with paint) (Eg: From the way he daubed his paint on the canvas, I could tell he knew nothing of oils. )
glossy
smooth and shining (Eg: I want this photograph printed on glossy paper, not matte. )
fluency
smoothness of speech (Eg: He spoke French with fluency and ease. )
rebuff
snub; beat back (Eg: She rebuffed his invitation so smoothly that he did not realize he had been snubbed. )
negligible
so small, trifling, or unimportant as to be easily disregarded (Eg: Because the damage to his car had been negligible, Michael decided he wouldn't bother to report the )
saturate
soak (Eg: Their clothes were saturated by the rain. )
gregarious
sociable (Eg: Typically, party-throwers are gregarious; hermits are not. )
gaffe
social blunder (Eg: According to Miss Manners, to call your husband by your lover's name is worse than a mere gaffe; it is a )
scapegoat
someone who bears the blame for others (Eg: After the Challenger disaster, NASA searched for scapegoats on whom they could cast the blame. )
glutton
someone who eats too much (Eg: When Mother saw that Bobby had eaten all the cookies, she called him a little glutton. )
malign
speak evil of; defame (Eg: Because of her hatred of the family, she maligns all who are friendly to them. )
prate
speak foolishly; boast idly (Eg: Let us not prate about our qualities; rather, let our virtues speak for themselves. )
polyglot
speaking several languages (Eg: New York City is a polyglot community because of the thousands of immigrants who settle there. )
expertise
specialized knowledge; expert skill (Eg: Although she was knowledgeable in a number of fields, she was hired for her particular expertise in )
inarticulate
speechless; producing indistinct speech (Eg: He became inarticulate with rage and uttered sounds without meaning. )
celerity
speed; rapidity (Eg: Hamlet resented his mother's celerity in remarrying within a month after his father's death. )
dispatch
speediness; prompt execution; message sent with all due speed (Eg: Young Napoleon defeated the enemy with all possible dispatch; he then sent a dispatch to headquarters, )
niggle
spend too much time on minor points; carp (Eg: Let's not niggle over details. )
regeneration
spiritual rebirth (Eg: Modern penologists strive for the regeneration of the prisoners. )
cleft
split (Eg: Erosion caused a cleft in the huge boulder. )
cleave
split asunder (Eg: The lightening cleaves the tree in two. )
polarize
split into opposite extremes or camps (Eg: The abortion issue has polarized the country into pro-choice and anti-abortion camps. )
rend
split; tear apart (Eg: In his grief, he tried to rend his garments. )
bungle
spoil by clumsy behavior (Eg: I was afraid you would bungle his assignment but I had no one else to send. )
adjutant
staff officer assisting the commander; assistant (Eg: Though Wellington delegated many tasks to his chief adjutant, Lord Fitzroy Somerset, Somerset was in no )
musty
stale; spoiled by age (Eg: The attic was dark and musty. )
scotch
stamp out; thwart; hinder (Eg: Heather tried to scotch the rumor that she had stolen her best friend's fiance. )
philatelist
stamp-collector (Eg: When she heard the value of the Penny Black stamp, Phyllis was inspired to become a philatelist. )
rout
stampede; drive out (Eg: The reinforcements were able to rout the enemy )
criteria
standards used in judging (Eg: What criteria did you use when you selected this essay as the prize winner? )
deadlock
standstill; stalemate (Eg: The negotiations had reached a deadlock. )
gawk
stare foolishly; look in open-mouthed awe (Eg: The country boy gawked at the skyscrapers and neon lights of the big city. )
kindle
start a fire; inspire (Eg: Her teacher's praise kindled a spark a hope inside her. )
inception
start; beginning (Eg: She was involved with the project from its inception. )
quirk
startling twise; caprice (Eg: By a quirk of fate, he found himself working for the man whom he had discharged years before. )
aver
state confidently (Eg: I wish to aver that I am certain of success. )
bereavement
state of being deprived of something valuable or beloved (Eg: His friends gathered to console him upon his sudden bereavement. )
immobility
state of being immovable (Eg: Modern armies cannot afford the luxury of immobility, as they are vulnerable to attack while standing still. )
impropriety
state of being inappropriate (Eg: Because of the impropriety of his costume, he was denied entrance into the dining room. )
inertia
state of being inert or indisposed to move (Eg: Our inertia in this matter may prove disastrous; we must move to aid our allies immediately. )
multiplicity
state of being numerous (Eg: He was appalled by the multuplicity of details he had to complete before setting out on his mission. )
pathos
tender to sorrow; pity; quality in art or literature that produces these feelings. (Eg: The quiet tone of pathos that ran through the novel never degenerated into the maudlin or the overly )
inclined
tending or leaning toward; bent (Eg: Though I am inclined to be skeptical, the witness's manner inclines me to believe his story. )
salutary
tending to improve; beneficial; wholesome (Eg: The punishment had a salutary effect on the boy, as he became a model student. )
inclusive
tending to include all (Eg: The comedian turned down the invitation to join the Player's Club, saying any club that would let him in )
inconsistency
state of being self-contradictory; lack of uniformity or steadiness (Eg: How are lawyers different from agricultural inspectors? Where lawyers check inconsistencies in witnesses' )
decrepitude
state of collagse caused by illness or old age (Eg: I was unprepared for the state of decrepitude in which I had found my old friend; he seemed to have aged )
responsiveness
state of reacting readily to appeals, order, etc. (Eg: The audience cheered and applauded, delighting the performers by its responsiveness. )
intransigence
state of stubborn unwillingness to compromise (Eg: The intransigence of both parties in the dispute makes an early settlement almost impossible to obtain. )
rigid
stiff and unyielding; strict; hard and unbending (Eg: By living with a man to whom she was not married, George Eliot broke Victorian society's most rigid rule )
incandescent
stikingly bright; shining with intense heat (Eg: If you leave on an incandescent light bulb, it quickly grows too hot to touch. )
extant
still in existence (Eg: Although the authorities suppressed the book, many copies are extant and may be purchased at exorbitant )
galvanize
stimulate by shock; stir up (Eg: The entire nation was galvanized into strong military activity by the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. )
centripetal
tending toward the center (Eg: Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth's surface? )
provisional
tentative (Eg: The appointment is provisional; only on the approval of the board of directors will it be made permanent. )
nomenclature
terminology; system of names (Eg: She struggled to master scientific nomenclature. )
enclave
territory enclosed within an alien land (Eg: The Vatican is an independent enclave in Italy. )
cow
terrorize; intimidate (Eg: The little boy was so cowed by the hulking bully that he gave up his lunch money without a word of )
attest
testify; bear witness (Eg: Having served as a member of a grand jury, I can attest that our system of indicting individuals is in need )
deposition
testimony under oath (Eg: He made his deposition in the judge's chamber. )
libretto
text of an opera (Eg: The composer of an opera's music is remembered more frequently than the author of its libretto. )
acrimonious
stinging, caustic (Eg: His tendency to utter acrimonious remarks alienated his audience. )
miserly
stingy; mean (Eg: The miserly old man hoarded his coins not out of prudence but out of greed. )
penurious
stingy; parsimonious (Eg: He was a penurious man, averse to spending money even for the necessities of life. )
proviso
stipulation (Eg: I am ready to accept your proposal with the two proviso that you meet your obligations within the next )
provoke
stir up anger; cause retaliation (Eg: In order to prevent a sudden outbreak of hostilities, we must not provoke our foe. )
agitate
stir up; disturb (Eg: Her fiery remarks agitated the already angry mob. )
foment
stir up; instigate (Eg: This report will foment disssension in the club. )
hoard
stockpile; accumulate for future use (Eg: Whenever there are rumors of a food shortage, people are tempted to hoard food. )
balk
stoop short, as if faced with an obstacle, and refuse to continue (Eg: The chief of police balked at sending his officers into the riot-torn area. )
check
stop motion; curb or restrain (Eg: Thrusting out her arm, Grandma checked Bobby's lunge at his sister. "Young man," she said, "you'd better )
cessation
stopping (Eg: The workers threatened a cessation of all activities if their demands were not met. )
repository
storehouse (Eg: Libraries are repositories of the world's best thoughts. )
granary
storehouse for grain (Eg: We have reason to be thankful, for our crops were good and our granaries are full. )
inclement
stormy; unkind (Eg: I like to read a good book in inclement weather. )
allegory
story in which characters are used as symbols; fable (Eg: Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory of the temptations and victories of the human soul. )
cantata
story set to music, to be sung by a chorus (Eg: The choral society sang the new cantata composed by its leader. )
raconteur
story-teller (Eg: My father was a gifted raconteur with an unlimited supply of anecdotes. )
portly
stout; corpulent (Eg: The salesclerk tactfully referred to the overweight customer as portly rather than fat. )
forthright
straightforward; direct; frank (Eg: I prefer Jill's forthright approach to Jack's tendency to beat around the bush. )
forte
strong point or special talent (Eg: I am not eager to play this rather seious role, for my forte is comedy. )
bastion
stronghold; something seen as a source of protection (Eg: The villagers fortified the town hall, hoping this improvised bastion could protect them from the guerrila )
conviction
strongly held belief (Eg: Nothing could shake his conviction that she was innocent. )
scuffle
struggle confusedly; move off in a confused hurry. (Eg: The twins briefly scuffled, wrestling to see which of them would get the toy. When their big brother yelled, )
contend
struggle; compete; assert earnestly (Eg: In Revolt of the Black Athlete, sociologist Harry Edwards contends that young black athletes have been )
obstinate
stubborn (Eg: We tried to persuade him to give up smoking, but he was obstinate and refused to change. )
bigotry
stubborn intolerance (Eg: Brought up in a democratic atmosphere, student was shocked by the bigotry and narrowness expressed by )
pertinacious
stubborn; persistent (Eg: He is bound to succeed because his pertinacious nature will not permit him to quit. )
refractory
stubborn; unmanageable (Eg: The refractory horse was eliminated from the race when he refused to obey the jockey. )
headstrong
stubborn; willful; unyielding (Eg: Because she refused to marry the man her parents had chosen for her, everyone scolded Minna and called )
perverse
stubbornly wrongheaded; wicked and unacceptable (Eg: When Hannibal Lecter was in a perverse mood, he ate the flesh of his victims. )
anthropologist
student of the history and science of humankind (Eg: Anthropologists have discovered several relics of prehistoric humans in this area. )
pore
study industriously; ponder; scrutinize (Eg: Determined to become a physician, Beth spends hours poring over her anatomy text. )
archaeology
study of artifacts and relics of early mankind (Eg: The professor of archaeology headed an expedition to the Gobi Desert in search of ancient ruins. )
ichthyology
study of fish (Eg: Jacques Cousteau's rpograms about sea life have advanced the cause of ichthyology. )
entomology
study of insects (Eg: I found entomology the least interesting part of my course in biology; studying insects bored me. )
philology
study of language (Eg: The professor of philology advocated the use of Esperanto as an international language. )
ethnology
study of mankind (Eg: Sociology is one aspect of the science of ethnology. )
paleontology
study of prehistoric life (Eg: )
etymology
study of word parts (Eg: A knowledge of etymology can help you on many English tests. )
gorge
stuff oneself (Eg: The gluttonous guest gorged himself with food as though he had not eaten for days. )
asinine
stupid (Eg: Your asinine remarks prove that you have not given this problem any serious consideration. )
dolt
stupid person (Eg: I thought I was talking to a mature audience; instead, I find myself addressing a pack of dolts. )
oaf
stupid, awkward person (Eg: He called the unfortunate waiter a clumsy oaf. )
hardy
sturdy; robust; able to stand inclement weather (Eg: We asked the gardening expert to recommend particularly hardy plants that could withstand our harsh )
cuisine
style of cooking (Eg: French cuisine is noted for its use of sauces and wines. )
rakish
stylish; sporty (Eg: He wore his hat at a rakish and jaunty angle. )
quash
subdue; crush; squash (Eg: The authorities acted quickly to quash the student rebellion, sending in tanks to cow the demonstrators. )
meek
submissive; patient and long-suffering (Eg: Mr. Barrett never expected his meek daughter would dare to defy him by eloping with her suitor. )
appurtenances
subordinate possessions (Eg: He bought the estate and all its appurtenances. )
abate
subside or moderate (Eg: Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate. )
emetic
substance causing vomiting (Eg: The use of an emetic like mustard is useful in cases of poisoning. )
humus
substance formed by decaying vegetable matter (Eg: In order to improve his garden, he spread humus over his lawn and flower beds. )
antiseptic
substance that prevents infection (Eg: It is advisable to apply an antiseptic to any wound, no matter how slight or insignificant. )
propellant
substance that propels or drives forward (Eg: The development of our missile program has forced our scientists to seek more powerful propellants. )
anesthetic
substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness (Eg: His monotonous voice acted like an anesthetic; his audience was soon asleep. )
revulsion
sudden violent change of feeling; negative reaction (Eg: Many people in this country who admired dictatorships underwent a revulsion when they realized what )
blighted
suffering from a disease; destroyed (Eg: The extent of the blighted areas could be seen only when viewed from the air. )
dyspeptic
suffering from indigestion (Eg: All the talk about rich food made him feel dyspeptic. )
bilious
suffering from indigestion; irritable (Eg: His bilious temperament was apparent to all who heard him rant about his difficulties. )
imply
suggest a meaning not expressed (Eg: Even though your statement does not declare that you are at war with that country, your actions imply that )
connotation
suggested or implied meaning of an expression (Eg: Foreigners frequently are unaware of the connotations of the words they use. )
indicative
suggestive; implying (Eg: A lack of appetite may be indicative of a major mental or physical disorder. )
potable
suitable for drinking (Eg: The recent drought in the Middle Atlantic States has emphasized the need for extensive research in ways of )
menial
suitable for sevants; low (Eg: I cannot understand why a person of your ability and talent should engage in such menial activities. )
forensic
suitable to debate or courts of law (Eg: In her best forensic manner, the lawyer addressed the jury. )
expedient
suitable; practical; politic (Eg: A pragmatic politician, he was guided by what was expedient rather than by what was ethical. )
pertinent
suitable; to the point (Eg: The lawyer wanted to know all the pertinent details. )
dour
sullen; stubborn (Eg: The man was dour abd taciturn. )
aggregate
sum; total (Eg: The aggregate wealth of this country is staggering to the imagination. )
recapitulate
summarize (Eg: Let us recapitulate what has been said thus far before going ahead. )
conjure
summon a devil; proactive magic; imagine; invent (Eg: He conjured up an image of a reformed city and had the voters completely under his spell. )
aureole
sun's corona; halo (Eg: Many medieval paintings depict saintly characters with aureols around their heads. )
perfunctory
superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm (Eg: The auditor's perfunctory inspection of the books overlooked many errors. )
redundant
superfluous; excessively wordy; repetitious (Eg: Your composition is redundant; you can easily reduce its length. )
curator
superintendent; manager (Eg: The members of the board of trustees of the museum expected the new curator to plan events and )
preponderance
superiority of power, quantity, etc. (Eg: The rebels sought to overcome the preponderance of strength of the government forces by engaging in )
codicil
supplement to the body of a will (Eg: This codicil was drawn up five years after the writing of the original will. )
litany
supplicatory prayer (Eg: On this solemn day, the congregation responded to the prayers of the priest during the litany with fervor )
satiate
surfeit; satisfy fully (Eg: The guests, having eaten until they were satiated, now listened inattentively to the speakers. )
conjecture
surmise; guess (Eg: I will end all your conjectures; I admit I am guilty as charged. )
outrtip
surpass; outdo (Eg: Jesse Owens easily outstripped his competitors to win the gold metal at the Olympic Games. )
capitulate
surrender (Eg: The enemy was warned to capitulate or face annihilation. )
extradition
surrender of prisoner by one state to another (Eg: The lawyers opposed the extradition of their client on the grounds that for more than five years he had )
disgorge
surrender something; efect; vomit (Eg: Unwilling to disgorge the cash he had stolen from the pension fund, the embezzler tried to run away. )
encompass
surround (Eg: Although we were encompassed by enemy forces, we were cheerful for we were well stocked and could )
reconnaissance
survey of enemy by soldiers; reconnoitering (Eg: If you encounter any enemy soldiers during your reconnaissance, capture them for questioning. )
relic
surviving remnant; memento (Eg: Egypt's Department of Antiquities prohibits tourists from taking mummies and other ancient relics out of )
abeyance
suspended action (Eg: The deal was held in abeyance until her arrival. )
leery
suspicious; cautious (Eg: Don't eat sushi at this restaurant; I'm a bit leery about how fresh it is. )
bravado
swagger; assumed air of defiance (Eg: )
miasma
swamp gas; heavy, vaporous atmosphere, often emanating from decaying matter; pervasive (Eg: corrupting influence )
euphony
sweet sound (Eg: Noted for its euphony even when it is spoken, the Italian language is particularly pleasing to the ear when )
dulcet
sweet sounding (Eg: The dulcet sounds of the birds at dawn were soon drowned out by the roar of traffic passing our motel. )
meteoric
swift; momentarily brilliant (Eg: We all wondered at his meteoric rise to fame. )
natation
swimming (Eg: The Red Cross emphasizes the need for courses in natation. )
bilk
swindle; cheat (Eg: The con man specialized in bilking insurance companies. )
eddy
swirling current of water, air, etc. (Eg: The water in the tide pool was still, except for an occasional eddy. )
bloated
swollen or puffed as with water or air (Eg: Her bloated stomach came from drinking so much water. )
creed
system of religious or ethical belief (Eg: In any loyal American's creed, love of democracy must be emphasized. )
dismantle
take apart (Eg: When the show closed, they dismantled the scenery before restoring it. )
doff
take off (Eg: A gentleman used to doff his hat to a lady. )
retroactive
taking effect before its enactment (as a law) or imposition (as a tax) (Eg: Because the new pension law was retroactive to the first of the year, even though Martha had retired in )
resumption
taking up again; recommencement (Eg: During the summer break, Don had not realized how much he missed university life: at the resumption of )
flair
talent (Eg: She has an uncanny flair for discovering new artists before the public has become aware of their existence. )
expatiate
talk at length (Eg: At this time, please give us a brief resume of your work; we shall permit you to expatiate later. )
drone
talk dully; buzz or murmur like a bee (Eg: On a gorgeous day, who wants to be stuck in a classroom listening to the teacher drone? )
loquacious
talkative (Eg: She is very loquacious and can speak on the telephone for hours. )
blowhard
talkative boaster (Eg: After all Sol's talk about his big show business connections led nowhere, Sally decided he was just another )
garrulity
talkativeness (Eg: The man who married a dumb wife asked the doctor to make him deaf because of his wife's garrulity after )
obelisk
tall column tapering and ending in a pyramid (Eg: Cleopatra's Needle is an obelisk in New York City's Central Park. )
palpable
tangible; easily perceptible (Eg: I cannot understand how you could overlook such a palpable blunder. )
prey
target of a hunt; victim (Eg: In Stalking the Wild Asparagus, Euell Gibbons has as his prey not wild beasts but wild plants. )
savory
tasty; pleasing, attractive, or agreeable (Eg: Julia Child's recipes enable amateur chefs to create savory delicacies for their guests. )
quip
taunt (Eg: You are unpopular because you are too free with your quips and sarcastic comments. )
brindled
tawny or grayish with streaks or spots (Eg: He was disappointed in the litter because the puppies were brindled; he had hoped for animals of uniform )
pedagogue
teacher (Eg: He could never be a stuffy pedagogue; his classes were always lively and filled with humor. )
pedagogy
teaching; art of education (Eg: Though Maria Montessori gained fame for her innovations in pedagogy, it took years before her teaching )
didactic
teaching; instructional; preaching or moralizing (Eg: The didactic qualities of his poetry overshadow its literary qualities; the lesson he teaches is more )
jettison
throw overboard (Eg: In order to enable the ship to ride safely through the storm, the captain had to jettison much of his cargo. )
fulminate
thunder; explode (Eg: The people against whom she fulminated were innocent of any wrongdoing. )
compact
tightly packed; firm; brief (Eg: His short, compact body was better suited to wrestling than to basketball. )
list
tilt; lean over (Eg: That flagpole should be absolutely vertical; instead, it lists to one side. )
heyday
time of greatest success; prime (Eg: In their heyday, the San Francisco Forty-Niners won the Super Bowl two years running. )
opportune
timely; well chosen (Eg: You have come at an opportune moment for I need a new secretary. )
gratuity
tip (Eg: Many service employees rely more on gratuities than on salaries for their livelihood. )
apex
tip; summit; climax (Eg: He was at the apex of his career. )
indefatigable
tireless (Eg: He was indefatigable in his constant efforts to raise funds for the Red Cross. )
harping
tiresome dwelling on a subject (Eg: After he had reminded me several times about what he had done for me I told him to stop his harping on )
rubric
title or heading (in red print); directions for religious ceremony; protocol (Eg: In ordaining the new priests, the bishop carefully observed all the rubrics for the ordination service. )
caption
title; chapter heading; text under illustration (Eg: I find the captions that accompany these cartoons very clever and humorous. )
commandeer
to draft for military purposes; to take for public use (Eg: The policeman commandeered the first car that approached and ordered the driver to go to the nearest )
quietude
tranquillity (Eg: He was impressed by the air of quietude and peace that pervaded the valley. )
cede
transfer; yield title to (Eg: I intend to cede this property to the city. )
rendition
translation; artistic interpretation of a song, etc. (Eg: The audience cheered enthusiastically as she completed her rendition of the aria. )
pellucid
transparent; limpid; easy to understand (Eg: After reading these stodgy philosophers, I find his pellucid style very enjoyable. )
conspiracy
treacherous plot (Eg: Brutus and Cassius joined in the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar. )
perifidious
treacherous; disloyal (Eg: When Caesar realized that Brutus had betrayed him, he reproached his perfidious friend. )
insidious
treacherous; stealthy; sly (Eg: The fifth column is insidious because it works secretly within our territory for our defeat. )
exchequer
treasury (Eg: He had been Chancellor of the exchequer before his promotion to the office he now holds. )
lionize
treat as a celebrity (Eg: )
coddle
treat gently; pamper (Eg: Don't coddle the children to much; they need a taste of discipline. )
disdain
treat with scorn or contempt (Eg: You make enemies of all you disdain. )
confidant
trusted friend (Eg: He had no confidants with whom he could discuss his problems at home. )
complaisant
trying to please; obliging (Eg: The courtier obeyed the king's orders in a complaisant manner. )
kaleidoscope
tube in which patterns made by the reflection in mirrors of colored pieces of glass, etc., (Eg: produce interesting symmetrical effects )
deflect
turn aside (Eg: His life was saved when his cigarette case deflected the bullet. )
deviate
turn away from (Eg: Do not deviate from the truth; you must face the facts. )
deify
turn into a god; idolize (Eg: Admire the rock star all you want; just don't deify him. )
petrify
turn to stone (Eg: His sudden and unexpected appearance seemed to petrify her. )
invert
turn upside down or inside out (Eg: When he inverted his body in a hand stand, he felt the blood rush to his head. )
gnarled
twisted (Eg: The gnarled oak tree had been a landmark for years and was mentioned in several deeds. )
rent
tear or rip; split (Eg: The conflict over abortion threatens to split our nation, creating a rent in the social fabric that will be )
gouge
tear out (Eg: In that fight, all the rules were forgotten; the adversaries bit, kicked, and tried to gouge each other's eyes )
badinage
teasing conversation (Eg: Her friends at work greeted the news of her engagement with cheerful badinage. )
bivouac
temporary encampment (Eg: While in bivouac, we spent the night in our sleeping bags under the stars. )
incursion
temporary invasion (Eg: The nightly incursions and hit-and-run raids of our neighbors across the border tried the patience of the )
remission
temporary moderation of disease symptoms; cancellation of a debt; forgiveness or pardon (Eg: Though Senator Tsongas had been treated for cancer, his symptoms were in remission, and he was )
scaffold
temporary platform for workers; bracing framework; platform for execution (Eg: Before painting the house, the workers put up a scaffold to allow them to work on the second story. )
reprieve
temporary stay (Eg: During the twenty-four-hour reprieve, the lawyers sought to make the stay of execution permanent. )
homeostasis
tendency of a system to maintain relative stability (Eg: A breakdown of the body's immune system severely undermines the body's ability to maintain )
cohesion
tendency to keep together (Eg: A firm believer in the maxim "Divide and conquer," the emperor, by lies and trickery, sought to disrupt the )
distortion
twisting out of shape (Eg: It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of this event because of the distortions and exaggerations )
contortions
twistings; distortions (Eg: As the effects of the opiate wore away, the contortions of the patient became more violent and )
bicameral
two-chambered, as a legislative body (Eg: The United States Congress is a bicameral body. )
ethos
underlying character of a culture, group, etc. (Eg: Seeing how tenderly Spaniards treated her small daughter made author Barbara Kingsolver aware of how )
conundrum
riddle; difficult problem (Eg: During the long car ride, she invented conundrums to entertain the children. )
equestrian
rider on horseback (Eg: These paths in the park are reserved for equestrians and their steeds. )
derision
ridicule (Eg: They greeted his proposal with derision and refused to consider it seriously. )
lampoon
ridicule (Eg: This article lampoons the pretensions of some movie moguls. )
confiscate
seize; commandeer (Eg: The army confiscated all available supplies of uranium. )
immutable
unchangeable (Eg: Scientists are constantly seeking to discover the immutable laws of nature. )
excerpt
selected passage (written or musical) (Eg: The cinematic equivalent of an excerpt from a novel is a clip from a film. )
eclectic
selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources (Eg: His style of interior decoration was eclectic: bits and pieces of furnishings from widely divergent periods, )
ambiguous
unclear or doubtful in meaning (Eg: His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take. )
invincible
unconquerable (Eg: Superman is invincible. )
indomitable
unconquerable (Eg: The founders of our country had indomitable willpower. )
insensible
unconscious; unresponsive (Eg: Sherry and I are very different; at times when I would be covered with embarrassment, she seems )
incorrigible
uncorrectable (Eg: Though Widow Douglass hoped to reform Huck, Miss Watson pronounced him incorrigible and said he )
disengage
uncouple; separate; disconnect (Eg: A standard movie routine involves the hero's desperate attempt to disengage a railroad car from a moving )
franchise
right granted by authority (Eg: The city issued a franchise to the company to operate surface transit lines on the streets for ninety-nine )
resurgent
rising again after defeat, etc. (Eg: The resurgent nation surprised everyone by its quick recovery after total defeat. )
bristling
rising like bristles; showing irritation (Eg: The dog stood there, bristling with anger. )
exposure
risk, particularly of being exposed to disease or to the elements; unmasking; act of laying (Eg: something open )
emulate
rival; imitate (Eg: As long as our political leaders emulate the virtues of the great leaders of this country, we shall flourish. )
desolate
rob of joy; lay waste to; forsake (Eg: The bandits desolated the countryside, burning farms and carrying off the harvest. )
fleece
rob; plunder (Eg: The tricksters fleeced him of his inheritance. )
leeway
room to move; margin (Eg: When you set a deadline, allow a little leeway. )
extirpate
root up (Eg: The Salem witch trials were a misguided attempt to extirpate superstition and heresy. )
roseate
rosy; optimistic (Eg: I am afraid you will have to alter your roseate views in the light of the distressing news that has just arrived. )
carrion
rotting flesh of a dead body (Eg: Buzzards are nature's scavengers; they eat the carrion left behind by other predators. )
gruff
rough-mannered (Eg: Although he was blunt and gruff with most people, he was always gentle with children. )
circuitous
roundabout (Eg: Because of the traffic congestion on the main highways, she took a circuitous route. )
rotundity
roundness; sonorousness of speech (Eg: Washington Irving emphasized the rotundity of the governor by describing his height and circumference. )
regal
royal (Eg: Prince Albert had a regal manner. )
efface
rub out (Eg: The coin had been handled so many times that its data had been effaced. )
abrasive
rubbing away; tending to grind down (Eg: Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear away a listener's )
debris
rubble (Eg: A full year after the earthquake in Mexico City, workers were still carting away the debris. )
boorish
rude; insensitive (Eg: Though Mr. Potts constantly interrupted his wife, she ignored his boorish behavior, for she had lost hope )
dilapidated
ruined because of neglect (Eg: We felt that the dilapidated building needed several coats of paint. )
domineer
rule over tyrannically (Eg: Students prefer teachers who guide, not ones who domineer. )
pastoral
rural (Eg: In these stories of pastoral life, we find an understanding of the daily tasks of country folk. )
bucolic
rustic; pastoral (Eg: )
disconcolate
sad (Eg: The death of his wife left him disconsolate. )
funereal
sad; solemn (Eg: I fail to understand why there is such a funereal atmosphere; we have lost a battle, not a war. )
jocular
said or done in jest (Eg: Do not take my jocular remarks seriously. )
emolument
salary; compensation (Eg: In addition to the emolument this position offers, you must consider the social prestige it carries with it. )
dearth
scarcity (Eg: The dearth of skilled labor compelled the employers to open trade schools. )
paucity
scarcity (Eg: They closed the restaurant because the paucity of customers made it uneconomical to operate. )
intersperse
scatter (Eg: The molecules will intersperse throughout the space according to the second law of thermodynamics. )
disperse
scatter (Eg: The police fired tear gas into crowd to disperse the protesters. )
disseminate
scatter (like seeds) (Eg: The invention of the radio helped propagandists to disseminate their favorite doctrines very easily. )
dispel
scatter; drive away; cause to vanish (Eg: The bright sunlight eventually dispelled the morning mist. )
machinations
schemes (Eg: I can see through your wily machinations. )
savant
scholar (Eg: Our faculty includes many worldfamous savants. )
pedant
scholar who overemphasizes book learning or technicalities (Eg: Her insistence that the book be memorized marked the teacher as a pedant rather than a scholar. )
conservatory
school of the fine arts (especiallymusic or drama) (Eg: A gifted violinist, Marya was selected to study at the conservatory. )
jurisprudence
science of law (Eg: He was more a student of jurisprudence than a practitioner of the law. )
reserve
self-control; formal but distant manner (Eg: Although some girls were attracted by Mark's reserve, Judy was put off by it, for she felt his aloofness )
postulate
self-evident truth (Eg: We must accept these statements as postulates before pursuing our discussions any further. )
axiom
self-evident truth requiring no proof (Eg: Before a student can begin to think along the lines of Euclidean geometry, he must accept certain )
autonomous
self-governing (Eg: This island is a colony; however, in most matters, it is autonomous and receives no orders from the mother )
gastronomy
science of preparing and serving good food (Eg: One of the by-products of his trip to Europe was his interest in gastronomy; he enjoyed preparing and )
ornithologist
scientific student of birds (Eg: Auduborn's drawings of American bird life have been of interest not only to the ornithologists but also to )
deride
scoff at (Eg: The people derided his grandiose schemes. )
chide
scold (Eg: Grandma began to chide Steven for his lying. )
berate
scold strongly (Eg: He feared she would berate him for his forgetfulness. )
rail
scold; rant (Eg: You may rail at him all you want; you will never change him. )
despise
scorn (Eg: I despise your attempts at a reconciliation at this time and refuse to meet you. )
contempt
scorn; disdain (Eg: )
sarcasm
scornful remarks, stinging rebuke (Eg: His feelings were hurt by the sarcasm of his supposed friends. )
glower
scowl (Eg: The angry boy glowered at his father. )
conscientious
scrupulous; careful (Eg: A conscientious editor checked every definition for its accuracy. )
hermetic
sealed by fusion so as to be airtight (Eg: After these bandages are sterilized, they are placed in hermetic containers. )
condiments
seasonings; spices (Eg: Spanish food is full of condiments. )
avocation
secondary or minor occupation (Eg: His hobby proved to be so fascinating and profitable that gradually he abandoned his regular occupation )
clandestine
secret (Eg: After avoiding their chaperon, the lovers had a clandestine meeting. )
cipher
secret code (Eg: Lacking his code book, the spy was unable to decode the message sent to him in cipher. )
crypt
secret recess or vault usually used for burial (Eg: Until recently only bodies of rulers and leading statesmen were interred in this crypt. )
covert
secret; hidden; implied (Eg: She could understand the covert threat in the letter. )
privy
secret; hidden; not public (Eg: We do not care for privy chamber of government. )
arcane
secret; mysterious (Eg: What was arcane to us was clear to the psychologist. )
anchor
secure or fasten firmly; be fixed in place (Eg: We set the post in concrete to anchor it in place. )
inviolability
security from being destroyed, corrupted or profaned (Eg: They respected the inviolability of her faith and did not try to change her manner of living. )
collateral
security given for loan (Eg: The sum you wish to borrow is so large that it must be secured by collateral. )
dregs
sediment; worthless residue (Eg: David poured the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the dregs. )
aspirant
seeker after position or status (Eg: Although I am as aspirant for public office, I am not willing to accept the dictates of the party bosses. )
pomposity
self-important behavior; acting like a stuffed shirt (Eg: Although the commencement speaker had some good things to say, we had to laugh at his pomposity and )
penance
self-imposed punishment for sin (Eg: The Ancient Mariner said, "I have penance done and penance more will do," to atone for the sin of killing )
continence
self-restraint; sexual chastity (Eg: She vowed to lead a life of continence. )
complacent
self-satisfied (Eg: There was a complacent look on his face as he examined his paintings. )
emancipate
set free (Eg: At first, the attempts of the Abolitioninst to emancipate the slaves were unpopular in New England as well )
carillon
set of bells capable of being played (Eg: The carillon in the bell tower of the Coca-Cola pavilion at the New York World's Fair provided musical )
mediate
settle a dispute through the services of an outsider (Eg: Let us mediate out differences rather than engage in a costly strike. )
liquidate
settle accounts; clear up (Eg: He was able to liquidate all his debts in short period of time. )
ensconce
settle comfortably (Eg: The parents thought that their children were ensconced safely in the private school and decided to leave )
reprobation
severe disapproval (Eg: The students showed their reprobation of his act by refusing to talk with him. )
ordeal
severe trial or affliction (Eg: Terry Anderson spoke movingly of his long ordeal as a hostage in Lebanon. )
rigor
severity (Eg: Many settlers could not stand the rigors of the New England winters. )
mangy
shabby; wretched (Eg: We finally thew out the mangy rug that the dog had destroyed. )
hovel
shack; small, wretched house (Eg: He wondered how poor people could stand living in such a hovel. )
fetter
shackle (Eg: The prisoner was fettered to the wall. )
doddering
shaky; infirm from old age (Eg: Although he is not as yet a doddering and senile old man, his ideas and opinions no longer can merit the )
lagoon
shallow body of water near a sea; lake (Eg: They enjoyed their swim in the calm lagoon. )
effrontery
shameless boldness (Eg: She had the effrontery to insult the guest. )
barefaced
shameless; bold; unconcealed (Eg: Shocked by Huck Finn's barefaced lies, Miss Watson prayed the good Lord would give him a sense of his )
amorphous
shapeless; vague; indeterminate (Eg: John was subject to panic attacks that left him prey to vague, amorphous fears: he knew he was terrified, )
barb
sharp projection form fishhook, etc.; pointed comment (Eg: The barb from the fishhook caught in his finger as he grabbed the fish. )
acclivity
sharp upslope of a hill (Eg: The car could not go up the acclivity in high gear. )
angular
sharp-cornered; stiff in manner (Eg: His features, though angular, were curiously attractive. )
acrid
sharp; bitterly pungent (Eg: )
hone
sharpen (Eg: To make shaving easier, he honed his razor with great care. )
acuity
sharpness (Eg: In time his youthful acuity of vision failed him, and he needed glasses. )
asperity
sharpness (of temper) (Eg: These remarks, spoken with asperity, stung the boys to whom they had been directed. )
pungency
sharpness; stinging quality (Eg: The pungency of the cigarette smoke made me cough. )
molt
shed or cast off hair or feathers (Eg: The male robin molted in the spring. )
gossamer
sheer; like cobwebs (Eg: Nylon can be woven into gossaner or thick fabrics. )
diaphanous
sheer; transparent (Eg: They saw the burglar clearly through the diaphanous curtain. )
carapace
shell covering the back (of a turtle, crab, etc) (Eg: At the children's zoo, Richard perched on top of the giant turtle's hard carapace as it slowly made its way )
cameo
shell or jewel carved in relief (Eg: Tourists are advised not to purchase cameos from the street peddlers of Rome who sell poor specimens of )
aegis
shield; defense (Eg: Under the aegis of the Bill of Rights, we enjoy our most treasured freedoms. )
glimmer
shine erratically; twinkle (Eg: In the darkness of the cavern, the glowworms hanging from the cavern roof glimmered like distant stars. )
luster
shine; gloss (Eg: The soft luster of the silk in the dim light was pleasing. )
lustrous
shining (Eg: Her large and lustrous eyes gave a touch of beauty to an otherwise drab face. )
luminous
shining; issuing light (Eg: The sun is a luminous body. )
manifest
understandable; clear (Eg: His evil intentions were manifest and yet we could not stop him. )
inimical
unfriendly; hostile (Eg: She felt that they were inimical and were hoping for her downfall. )
ingrate
ungrateful person (Eg: That ingrate Bob sneered at the tie I gave him. )
incoherent
unintelligible; muddled; illogical (Eg: The bereaved father sobbed and stammered, his words becoming almost incoherent in his grief. )
incessant
uninterrupted (Eg: The crickets kept up an incessant chirping that disturbed our attempts to fall asleep. )
fusion
union; coalition (Eg: The opponents of the political party in power organized a fusion of disgruntled groups and became an )
heterodox
unorthodox; unconventional (Eg: To those who upheld the belief that the earth did not move, Galileo's theory that the earth circled the sun )
disinterested
unprejudiced (Eg: The only disinterested person in the room was the judge. )
mirage
unreal reflection; optical illusion (Eg: The lost prospector was fooled by a mirage in the desert. )
fantastic
unreal; grotesque; whimsical (Eg: Your fears are fantastic because no such animal as you have described exists. )
arbitrary
unreasonable or capricious; tyrannical (Eg: The coach claimed the team lost because the umpire made some arbitrary calls. )
earthy
unrefined; coarse (Eg: His earthy remarks often embarrassed the women in the audience. )
inordinate
unrestrained; excessive (Eg: She had an inordinate fondness for candy. )
fractious
unruly (Eg: The fractious horse unseated its rider. )
mutinous
unruly; rebellious (Eg: The captain had to use force to quiet his mutinous crew. )
intractable
unruly; refractory (Eg: The horse was intractable and refused to enter the starting gate. )
altruistic
unselfishly generous; concerned for others (Eg: In providing tutorial assistance and college scholarships to hundreds of economically disadvantaged )
abortive
unsuccessful; fruitless (Eg: We had to abandon our abortive attempts. )
disheveled
untidy (Eg: Your disheveled appearance will hurt your chances in this interview. )
inopportune
untimely; poorly chosen (Eg: A rock concert is an inopportune setting for a quiet conversation. )
apocryphal
untrue; made up (Eg: To impress his friends, Tom invented apocryphal tales of his adventures in the big city. )
ineffable
unutterable; cannot be expressed in speech (Eg: Such ineffable joy must be experienced; it cannot be described. )
insalubrious
unwholesome; not healthful (Eg: The mosquito-ridden swamp was an insalubrious place, a breeding ground for malarial contagion. )
disinclination
unwilingness (Eg: Some mornings I feel a great disinclination to get out of bed. )
grudging
unwilling; reluctant; stingy (Eg: We received only grudging support from the mayor despite his earlier promises of aid. )
rectitude
uprightness (Eg: He was renowned for his rectitude and integrity. )
probity
uprightness; incorruptibility (Eg: Everyone took his probity for granted; his defalcations, therefore, shocked us all. )
integrity
uprightness; wholeness (Eg: Lincoln, whose personal integrity has inspired millions, fought a civil war to maintain the integrity of the )
distraught
upset; distracted by anxiety (Eg: The distraught parents frantically searched the ravine for their lost child. )
aloft
upward (Eg: The sailor climbed aloft into the rigging. )
exhort
urge (Eg: The evangelist will exhort all sinners in his audience to reform. )
goad
urge on (Eg: He was goaded by his friends until he yielded to their wishes. )
advocate
urge; plead for (Eg: The abolitionists advocated freedom for the slaves. )
instigate
urge; start; provoke (Eg: I am afraid that this statement will instigate a revolt. )
exigency
urgent situation (Eg: In this exigency, we must look for aid from our allies. )
importunate
urging; demanding (Eg: He tried to hide from his importunate creditors until his allowance arrived. )
coercion
use of force (Eg: They forced him to obey, but only by great coercion. )
foppish
vain about dress and appearance (Eg: He tried to imitate the foppish manner of the young men of the court. )
multifarious
varied; greatly diversified (Eg: A career woman and mother, she was constantly busy with the multifarious activities of her daily life. )
pied
variegated; multicolored (Eg: The pied piper of Hamelin got his name from the multicolored clothing he wore. )
diversity
variety; dissimilitude (Eg: The diversity of colleges in this country indicates that many levels of ability are being served. )
diverge
vary; go in different directionsfrom the same point (Eg: The spokes of the wheel diverge from the hub. )
isotope
varying form of an element (Eg: The study of the isotopes of uranium led to the development of the nuclear bomb. )
conveyance
vehicle; transfer (Eg: During the transit strike, commuters used various kinds of conveyances. )
retribution
vengeance; compensation; punishment for offenses (Eg: The evangelist maintained that an angry deity would exact retribution from the sinners. )
prolix
verbose; drawn out (Eg: Her prolix arguments irritated and bored the jury. )
protean
versatile; able to take on many forms (Eg: A remarkably protean actor, Alec Guinness could take on any role. )
mammal
vertebrate animal whose female suckles its young (Eg: Many people regard the whale as a fish and do not realize that it is a mammal. )
plumb
vertical (Eg: Before hanging wallpaper it is advisable to drop a plumb line from the ceiling as a guide. )
execrable
very bad (Eg: The anecdote was in execrable taste and shocked the audience. )
gingerly
very carefully (Eg: )
pernicious
very destructive, harmful (Eg: He argued that these books had a pernicious effect on young and susceptible minds. )
corpulent
very fat (Eg: The corpulent man resolved to reduce. )
munificent
very generous (Eg: The munificent gift was presented to the bride by her rich uncle. )
lofty
very high (Eg: They used to tease him about his lofty ambitions. )
momentous
very important (Eg: On this momentous occasion, we must be very solemn. )
myriad
very large number (Eg: myriads of mosquitoes from the swamps invaded our village every twilight. )
infringe
violate; encroach (Eg: I think your machine infringes on my patent and intend to sue. )
infraction
violation (Eg: Because of his many infractions of school regulations, he was suspended by the dean. )
impetuous
violent; hasty; rash (Eg: We tried to curb his impetuous behavior because we felt that in his haste he might offend some people. )
boisterous
violent; rough; noisy (Eg: The unruly crowd became even more boisterous when he tried to quiet them. )
insomnia
wakefulness; inability to sleep (Eg: He refused to join us in a midnight cup of coffee because he claimed it gave him insomnia. )
peripatetic
walking about; moving (Eg: The peripatetic school of philosophy derives its name from the fact that Aristotle walked with his pupils )
ramble
wander aimlessly (physically or mentally) (Eg: Listening to the teacher ramble, Judy wondered whether he'd ever get to his point. )
errant
wandering (Eg: Many a charming tale has been written about the knights-errant who helped the weak and punished the )
migratory
wandering (Eg: The return of the migratory birds to the northern sections of this country is a harbinger of spring. )
digression
wandering away from the subject (Eg: Nobody minded when Professor Renoir's lectures wandered away from their offical theme; his digressions )
itinerant
wandering; traveling (Eg: He was an itinerant peddler and traveled through Pennsylvania and Virginia selling his wares. )
licentious
wanton; lewd; dissolute (Eg: The licentious monarch helped bring about his country's downfall. )
ribald
wanton; profane (Eg: He sang a ribald song that offended many of the more prudish listeners. )
parry
ward off a blow (Eg: He was content to wage a defensive battle and tried to parry his opponent's thrusts. )
bellicose
warlike (Eg: His bellicose disposition alienated his friends. )
chafe
warm by rubbing (Eg: The collar chafed his neck. )
admonish
warn; reprove (Eg: He admonished his listeners to change their wicked ways. )
ablution
washing (Eg: His daily ablutions were accompanied by loud noises that he humorously labeled "Opera in the Bath." )
fritter
waste (Eg: He could not apply himself to any task and frittered away his time in idle conversation. )
dross
waste matter; worhtless impurities (Eg: Many methods have been devised to separate the valuable metal from the dross. )
haggard
wasted away; gaunt (Eg: After his long illness, he was pale and haggard. )
prodigal
wasteful; reckless with money (Eg: The prodigal son squandered his inheritance. )
atrophy
wasting away (Eg: Polio victims need physiotherapy to prevent the atrophy of affected limbs. )
gargolye
waterspout carved in groteque figures on a building (Eg: The gargoyles adorning the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris are amusing in their grotesqueness. )
fluctuation
wavering (Eg: Meteorologists watch the fluctuations of the barometer in order to predict the weather. )
impotent
weak; ineffective (Eg: Although he wished to break the nicotine habit, he found himself impotent in resisisting the craving for a )
enervate
weaken (Eg: She was slow to recover from her illness; even a short walk to the window evervated her. )
invalidate
weaken; destroy (Eg: The relatives who received little or nothing sought to invalidate the will by claiming that the deceased had )
debilitate
weaken; enfeeble (Eg: Overindulgence debilitates character as well as physical stamina. )
extenuate
weaken; mitigate (Eg: It is easier for us to extenuate our own shortcomings than those of others. )
infirmity
weakness (Eg: Her greatest infirmity was lack of willpower. )
frailty
weakness (Eg: The doctor prescribed vitamin and mineral supplements for the sick old woman because of her frailty. )
imbecility
weakness of mind (Eg: I am amazed at the imbecility of the readers of these trashy magazines. )
foible
weakness; slight fault (Eg: We can overlook the foibles of our friends; no one is perfect. )
languid
weary; sluggish; listless (Eg: Her siege of illness left her languid and pallid. )
imponderable
weightless (Eg: I can evaluate the data gathered in this study; the imponderable items are not so easily analyzed. )
ponderous
weighty; unwieldy (Eg: His humor lacked the light touch; his jokes were always ponderous. )
eerie
weird (Eg: In that eerie setting, it was easy to believe in ghosts and other supernatural beings. )
genteel
well-bred; elegant (Eg: We are looking for a man with a genteel apperance who can inspire confidence by his cultivated manner. )
bedraggle
wet thoroughly (Eg: We were so bedraggled by the severe storm that we had to change into dry clothing. )
caprice
whim (Eg: She was an unpredictable creature, acting on caprice, never taking thought of the consequences. )
conceit
whimsical idea; extravagant metaphor (Eg: He was an entertaining companion, always expressing himself in amusing conceits and witty turns of )
fanciful
whimsical; visionary (Eg: This is a fanciful scheme because it does not consider the facts. )
maelstrom
whirlpool (Eg: The canoe was tossed about in the maelstrom. )
hoary
white with age (Eg: The man was hoary and wrinkled when he was 70. )
pandemic
widespread; affecting the majority of people (Eg: They feared the AIDS epidemic would soon reach pandemic proportions. )
prevalent
widespread; generally accepted (Eg: A radical committed to social change, Reed had no patience with the conservative views prevalent in the )
breadth
width; extent (Eg: We were impressed by the breadth of her knowledge. )
frantic
wild (Eg: At the time of the collision, many people became frantic with fear. )
pandemonium
wild tumult (Eg: When the ships collided in the harbor, pandemonium broke out among the passengers. )
lurid
wild; sensational (Eg: The lurid stories he told shocked his listeners. )
dormer
window projecting from roof (Eg: In remodeling the attic into a bedroom, we decided that we needed to put in dormers to provide sufficient )
gusty
windy (Eg: The gusty weather made sailing precarious. )
hibernal
wintry (Eg: Bears prepare for their long hibernal sleep by overeating. )
adage
wise saying; proverb (Eg: There is much truth in the old adage about fools and their money. )
astute
wise; shrewd (Eg: That was a very astute observation. )
malevolent
wishing evil (Eg: We must thwart his malevolent schemes. )
askance
with a sideways or indirect look (Eg: Looking askance at her questioner, she displayed her scorn. )
incognito
with identity concealed; using an assumed name (Eg: The monarch enjoyed traveling throughthe town incognito and mingling with the populace. )
apropos
with reference to; regarding (Eg: I find your remarks apropos of the present situation timely and pertinent. )
retraction
withdrawal (Eg: He dropped his libel suit after the newspaper published a retraction of its statement. )
secession
withdrawal (Eg: The secession of the Southern states provided Lincoln with his first major problem after his inauguration. )
recession
withdrawal; retreat; time of low economic activity (Eg: The slow recession of the flood waters created problems for the crews working to restore power to the )
incredulous
withholding belief; skeptical (Eg: )
guileless
without deceit (Eg: He is naive, simple, and guileless; he cannot be guilty of fraud. )
random
without definite purpose, plan, or aim; haphazard (Eg: Although the sponsor of the raffle claimed all winners were chosen at random, people had their suspicions )
categorical
without exceptions; unqualified; absolute (Eg: Though the captain claimed he was never, never sick at sea, he finally qualified his categorical denial; he )
insensate
without feeling (Eg: She lay there as insensate as a log. )
impassive
without feeling; not affected by pain (Eg: The Native American has been incorrectly depicted as an impassive individual, undemonstrative and )
artless
without guile; open and honest (Eg: Red Riding Hood's artless comment, "Grandma, what big eyes you have!" indicates the child's innocent )
impecunious
without money (Eg: Now that he was wealthy, he gladly contributed to funds to assist impecunious and disbled persons. )
impromptu
without previous preparation (Eg: Her listeners were amazed that such a thorough presentation could be made in an impromptu speech. )
epigram
witty thought or saying, usually short (Eg: Poor Richard's epigrams made Benjamin Franklin famous. )
matriarch
woman who rules a family or larger social group (Eg: The matriarch ruled her gypsy tribe with a firm hand. )
deadpan
wooden; impassive (Eg: We wanted to see how long he could maintain his deadpan expression. )
fleece
wool coat of a sheep (Eg: They shear sheep of their fleece, which they then comb into separate strands of wool. )
epithet
word or phrase characteristically used to describe a person or thing (Eg: So many kings of France were named Charles that modern students need epithets to tell them apart: )
diffusion
wordiness; spreading in all directions like a gas (Eg: Your composition suffers from a diffusion of ideas; try to be more compact. )
onomatopoeia
words formed in imitation of natural sounds (Eg: Words like "rustle" and "gargle" are illustrations of onomatopoeia. )
opus
work (Eg: )
militate
work against (Eg: Your record of lateness and absence will militate against your chances of promotion. )
collage
work of art put together from fragments (Eg: Scraps of cloth, paper doilies, and old photographs all went into her collage. )
collaborate
work together (Eg: Two writers collaborated in preparing this book. )
mundane
worldly as opposed to spiritual (Eg: He was concerned only with mundane matters, especially the daily stock market quotations. )
secular
worldly; not pertaining to church matters; temporal (Eg: The church leaders decided not interfere in secular matters. )
effete
worn out; exhausted; barren (Eg: The literature of the age reflected the effete condition of the writers; no new ideas were forthcoming. )
impair
worsen; diminish in value (Eg: This arrest will impair her reputation in the community. )
exacerbate
worsen; embitter (Eg: This latest arrest will exacerbate the already existing discontent of the people and enrage them. )
idolatry
worship of idols; excessive admiration (Eg: Such idolatry of singers of country music is typical of the excessive enthusiasm of youth. )
chaff
worthless products of an endeavor (Eg: When you separate the wheat from the chaff, be sure you throw out the chaff. )
grapple
wrestle; come to grips with (Eg: He grappled with the burglar and overpowered him. )
miscreant
wretch; villain (Eg: His kindness to the miscreant amazed all of us who had expected to hear severe punishment pronounced. )
abject
wretched; lacking pride (Eg: On the streets of New York the homeless live in abject poverty, huddling in doorways to find shelter from )
extort
wring from; get money by threats, etc. (Eg: The blackmailer extorted money from his victim. )
corrugated
wrinkled; ridged (Eg: She wished she could smooth away the wrinkles from his corrugated brow. )
indite
write; compose (Eg: Cyrano indited many letters for Christian. )
context
writings preceding and following the passage quoted (Eg: Because these lines are taken out of context, they do not convey the message the author intended. )
affidavit
written statement made under oath (Eg: The court refused to accept his statement unless he presented it in the form of an affidavit. )
misnomer
wrong name; incorrect designation (Eg: His tyrannical conduct proved to all that his nickname, King Eric the Just, was a misnomer. )
amiss
wrong; faulty (Eg: Seeing her frown, he wondered if anything were amiss. )
malfeasance
wrongdoing (Eg: The authorities did not discover the campaign manager's malfeasance until after he had spent most of the )
annuity
yearly allowance (Eg: The annuity he set up with the insurance company supplements his social security benefits so that he can )
jaundiced
yellowed; prejudiced; envious (Eg: She gazed at the painting with jaundiced eyes; she knew it was better than hers. )
sallow
yellowish; sickly in color (Eg: We were disturbed by his sallow complexion, which was due to jaundice. )
compliant
yielding (Eg: He was compliant and ready to go along with his friends' desires. )
cession
yielding to another; ceding (Eg: The cession of Alaska to the United States is discussed in this chapter. )
debutante
yound woman making formal entrance into society (Eg: As a debutante, she was often mentioned in the society columns of the newspapers. )
callow
youthful; immature (Eg: In that youthful movement, the leaders were only a little less callow than their immature followers. )
daunt
intimidate (Eg: Your threats cannot daunt me. )
rectify
correct (Eg: I want to rectify my error before it is too late. )
asunder
into parts; apart (Eg: Their points of view are poles asunder. )
reiterate
repeat (Eg: He reiterated the warning to make sure everyone understood it. )
adventitious
accidental; casual (Eg: He found this adventitious meeting with his friend extremely fortunate. )
compact
agreement; contract (Eg: The signers of the Mayflower Compact were establishing a form of government. )
. - apparatus used to maintain balance, ascertain direction, etc.
(Eg: )
dilettante
aimless follower of the arts; amateur; dabbler (Eg: He was not serious in his painting; he was rather a dilettante. )
casual
accidental; not regular or permanent; careless; informal (Eg: It can be argued that physical laws can be casual as well as inveterate, since it is based on an induction. )
pantomime
acting without dialogue (Eg: Because he worked in pantomime, the clown could be understood wherever he appeared. )
assay
analyze; evaluate (Eg: When they assayed the ore, they found that they had discovered a very rich vein. )
animosity
active enmity (Eg: He incurred the animosity of the ruling class because he advocated limitations of their power. )
nirvana
Buddihist teachings, the ideal state in which the individual loses himself in the attainment of an (Eg: impersonal beatitude )
dynamic
active; efficient (Eg: A dynamic government is necessary to meet the demands of a changing society. )
incredulity
a tendency to disbelief (Eg: Your incredulity in the face of all the evidence is hard to understand. )
counterpart
a thing that completes another; things very much alike (Eg: Night and day are counterparts. )
accolade
award of merit (Eg: In Hollywood, an "Oscar" is the highest accolade. )
burgeon
In the spring, the plants that burgeon are a promise of the beauty that is to come. )
quack
charlatan; impostor (Eg: Do not be misled by the exorbitant claims of this quack; he cannot cure you. )
affluence
abundance; wealth (Eg: Foreigners are amazed by the affluence and luxury of the American way of life. )
ample
abundant (Eg: He had ample opportunity to dispose of his loot before his police caught up with him. )
rife
abundant; current (Eg: In the face of the many rumors of scandal, which are rife at the moment, it is best to remain silent. )
centurion
Roman army officer (Eg: Because he was in command of a company of one hundred soldiers, he was called a centurion. )
saga
Scandinavian myth; any legend (Eg: This is a saga of the sea and the men who risk their lives on it. )
exuberant
abundant; effusive; lavish (Eg: His speeches were famous for his exuberant language and vivid imagery. )
prolific
abundantly fruitful (Eg: She was a prolific writer who produced as many as three books a year. )
olfactory
concerning the sense of smell (Eg: The olfactory organ is the nose. )
invective
abuse (Eg: He had expected criticism but not the invective that greeted his proposal. )
chasm
abyss (Eg: They could not see the bottom of the chasm. )
mishap
accident (Eg: With a little care you could have avoided this mishap. )
arcade
a covered passageway, usually lined with shops (Eg: The arcade was popular with shoppers because it gave them protection from the summer sun and the )
disarray
a disorderly or untidy state (Eg: After the New Year's party, the once orderly house was in total disarray. )
psychiatrist
a doctor who treats mental diseases (Eg: A psychiatrist often needs long conferences with his patient before a diagnosis can be made. )
grimace
a facial distortion to show feeling such as pain, disgust, etc. (Eg: Even though he remained silent, his grimace indicated his displeasure. )
disquisition
a formal systematic inquiry; an explanation of the results of a formal inquiry (Eg: In his disquisition, he outlined the steps he had taken in reaching his conclusions. )
legacy
a gift made by a will (Eg: Part of my legacy from my parents is an album of family photographs. )
scad
a great quantity (Eg: Refusing Dave's offer to lend him a shirt, Phil replied, "No, thanks: I've got scads of clothes." )
collation
a light meal (Eg: Tea sandwiches and cookies were offered at the collation. )
artisan
a manually skilled worker (Eg: Artists and artisans alike are necessary to the development of a culture. )
fortuitous
accidental; by chance (Eg: )
apiary
a place where bees are kept (Eg: Although he spent many hours daily in the apiary, he was very seldom stung by a bee. )
cadaver
corpse (Eg: In some states, it is illegal to dissect cadavers. )
minion
a servile dependent (Eg: He was always accompanied by several of his minions because he enjoyed their subservience and flattery. )
pittance
a small allowance or wage (Eg: He could not live on the pittance he received as a pension and had to look for an additional source of )
relinquish
abandon (Eg: I will relinquish my claims to this property if you promise to retain my employees. )
renounce
abandon; disown; repudiate (Eg: Even though she knew she would be burned at the stake as a witch, Joan of Arc refused to renounce her )
plasticity
ability to be molded (Eg: When clay dries out, it loses its plasticity and becomes less malleable. )
foresight
ability to foresee future happenings; prudence (Eg: A wise investor, she had the foresight to buy land just before the current real estate boom. )
prescience
ability to foretell the future (Eg: Given the current wave of Japan-bashing, it does not take prescience for me to foresee problems in our )
empathy
ability to identify with another's feelings, ideas, etc (Eg: What made Ann such a fine counselor was her empathy, her ability to put herself in her client's place and )
motility
ability to move spontaneously (Eg: Certain organisms exhibit remarkable motility; motile spores, for example, may travel for miles before )
discrimination
ability to see differences; prejudice (Eg: They feared he lacked sufficient discrimination to judge complex works of modern art. )
caliber
ability; capacity (Eg: A man of such caliber should not be assigned such menial tasks. )
amphibian
able to live both on land and in water (Eg: Frogs are classified as amphibian. )
ambulatory
able to walk (Eg: He was described as an ambulatory patient because he was not confined to his bed. )
aberrant
abnormal or deviant (Eg: Given the aberrant nature of the data, we came to doubt the validity of the entire experiment. )
anomalous
abnormal; irregular (Eg: He was placed in the anomalous position of seeming to approve procedures that he despised. )
abrogate
abolish (Eg: He intended to abrogate the decree issued by his predecessor. )
consistency
absence of contradictions; dependability; uniformity; degree of thickness (Eg: Holmes judged puddings and explanations on their consistency; he liked his puddings without lumps and )
anarchy
absence of governing body; state of disorder (Eg: The assassination of the leaders led to a period of anarchy. )
distrait
absentminded (Eg: Because of his concentration on the problem, the professor often appeared distrait and unconcerned about )
assimilate
absorb; cause to become homogenous (Eg: The manner in which the United States was able to assimilate the hordes of immigrants during the )
riveting
absorbing; engrossing (Eg: The reviewer described Byatt's novel Possession as a riveting tale: absorbed in the story, he had finished it )
celibate
abstaining from sexual intercourse; unmarried (Eg: Though the late Havelock Ellis wrote extensively about sexual customs and was considered an expert in )
recondite
abstruse; profound; secret (Eg: He read many recondite books in order to obtain the material for the scholarly thesis. )
preposterous
absurd; ridiculous (Eg: When the candidate tried to downplay his youthful experiments with marijuana by saying he hadn't inhaled, )
plenitude
abundance; completeness (Eg: Looking in the pantry, we admired the plenitude of fruits and pickles we had preserved during the summer. )
incriminate
accuse; serve as evidence against (Eg: The witness's testimony against the racketeers incriminates some high public officials as well. )
inured
accustomed; hardened (Eg: She became inured to the Alaskan cold. )
appropriate
acquire; take possession of for one's own use (Eg: The ranch owners appropriated the lands that had originally been set aside for the Indians' use. )
exonerate
acquit; exculpate (Eg: I am sure this letter naming the actual culprit will exonerate you. )
arbitrate
act as judge (Eg: She was called upon to arbitrate the dispute between the union and the management. )
incarnation
act of assuming a human body and human nature (Eg: The incarnation of Jesus Christ is a basic tenet of Christian theology. )
repulsion
act of driving back; distaste (Eg: The repulsion of the enemy forces was not accomplished bloodlessly; many of the defenders were )
diversion
act of turning aside; pastime (Eg: After studying for several hours, he needed a diversion from work. )
dissuade
advise against (Eg: He could not dissuade his friend from joining the conspirators. )
mannered
affected; not natural (Eg: Attempting to copy the style of his wealthy neighbors, Gatsby adopted a mannered, artificial way of )
mincing
affectedly dainty (Eg: Yum-Yum walked across the stage with mincing steps. )
lackadaisical
affectedly languid (Eg: He was lackadaisical and indifferent about his part in the affair. )
gustatory
affecting the sense of taste (Eg: The Thai restaurant offered an unusual gustatory experience for those used in a bland cuisine. )
posthumous
after death (as of child born after father's death or book published after author's death) (Eg: The critics ignored his works during his lifetime; it was only after the posthumous publication of his last )
emissary
agent; messenger (Eg: The secretary of State was sent as the President's special emissary to the conference on disarmament. )
ferment
agitation; commotion (Eg: With the breakup of the Soviet Union, much of Eastern Europe was in a state of ferment. )
concur
agree (Eg: )
accede
agree (Eg: If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afraid that I will be the victim of future demands. )
assent
agree; accept (Eg: It gives me great pleasure to assent to your request. )
amiable
agreeable; lovable (Eg: His amiable disposition pleased all who had dealings with him. )
palatable
agreeable; pleasing to the taste (Eg: Neither Jack's underbaked opinions nor his overcooked casseroles were palatable to me. )
accord
agreement (Eg: She was in complete accord with the verdict. )
covenant
agreement (Eg: We must comply with the terms of the covenant. )
alias
an assumed name (Eg: John Smith's alias was Bob Jones. )
dissection
analysis; cutting apart in order to examine (Eg: The dissection of frogs on the laboratory is particularly unpleasant to some students. )
archaic
antiquated (Eg: "Methinks," "thee," and "thou" are archaic words that are no longer part of our normal vocabulary. )
antediluvian
antiquated; ancient (Eg: The antediluvian customs had apparently not changed for thousands of years. )
consternation
anxiety, dismay (Eg: Lincoln is famous for saying that the consternations during the civil war had left him decrepit. )
perquisite
any gain above stipulated salary (Eg: The perquisites attached to this job make it even more attractive than the salary indicates. )
canker
any ulcerous sore; any evil (Eg: Poverty is a canker in the body politic; it must be cured. )
aloof
apart; reserved (Eg: Shy by nature, she remained aloof while all the rest conversed. )
gyroscope
apparatus used to maintain balance, ascertain direction, etc. (Eg: By using a rotating gyroscope, they were able to stabilize the vessel, counteracting the rolling movements )
ostensible
apparent; professed; pretended (Eg: Although the ostensible purpose of this expedition is to discover new lands, we are really interested in )
guise
appearance; costume (Eg: In the guise of a plumber, the detective investigated the murder case. )
mitigate
appease (Eg: Nothing he did could mitigate her wrath; she was unforgiving. )
propitiate
appease (Eg: The natives offered sacrifices to propitiate the gods. )
accost
approach and speak first to a person (Eg: When the two young men accosted me, I was frightened because I thought they were going to attack me. )
engage
attract; hire; pledge oneself; confront (Eg: "Your case has engaged my interest, my lord," said Holmes, "You many engage my services." )
personable
attractive (Eg: The man I am seeking to fill this position must be personable since he will be representing us before the )
comely
attractive; agreeable (Eg: I would rather have a poor and comely wife than a rich and homely one. )
impute
attribute; ascribe (Eg: If I wished to impute blame to the officers in charge of this program, I would state my feelings definitely )
magisterial
authoritative; imperious (Eg: The learned doctor laid down the law to his patient in a magisterial tone of voice. )
proxy
authorized agent (Eg: Please act as my proxy and vote for this slate of candidates in my absence. )
covetous
avaricious; eagerly desirous of (Eg: The child was covetous by nature and wanted to take the toys belonging to his classmates. )
loath
averse; reluctant (Eg: They were both loath for him to go. )
antipathy
aversion; dislike (Eg: His extreme antipathy to dispute caused him to avoid argumentative discussions with his friends. )
eschew
avoid (Eg: He tried to eschew all display of temper. )
behoove
be suited to; be incumbent upon (Eg: In this time of crisis, it behooves all of us to remain calm and await the instructions of our superiors. )
nib
beak; pen point (Eg: The nibs of fountain pens often become clotted and corroded. )
fructify
bear fruit (Eg: This peach tree should fructify in three years. )
comport
bear one's self; behave (Eg: He comported himself with great dignity. )
fruition
bearing of fruit; fulfillment; realization (Eg: This building marks the fruition of all our aspirations and years of hard work. )
bestial
beastlike; brutal; inhuman (Eg: The Red Cross sought to put an end to the bestial treatment of prisoners of war. )
pummel
beat (Eg: The severity with which he was pummeled was indicated by the bruises he displayed on his head and face. )
lambaste
beat; thrash verbally or physically (Eg: It was painful to watch the champion lambaste his opponent, tearing into him mercilessly. )
implore
beg (Eg: He implored her to give him a second chance. )
importune
beg persistently (Eg: Democratic and Republican phone solicitors importuned her for contributions so frequently that she )
mendicant
beggar (Eg: From the moment we left the ship, we were surrounded by mendicants and peddlers. )
inaugurate
begin formally; install in office (Eg: The candidate promised that he would inaugurate a new nationwide health care plan as soon as he was )
initiate
begin; originate; receive into a group (Eg: The college is about to initiate a program for reducing math anxiety among students. )
conception
beginning; forming of a idea (Eg: At the first conception of the work, he was consulted. )
incipient
beginning; in an early stage (Eg: I will go to sleep early for I want to break an incipient cold. )
genesis
beginning; origin (Eg: Tracing the genesis of a family is the theme of "Roots." )
demeanor
behavior; bearing (Eg: His sober demeanor quieted the noisy revelers. )
decapitate
behead (Eg: They did not hang Lady Jane Grey; they decapitated her. )
arrears
being in debt (Eg: He was in arrears with his payments on the car. )
credence
belief (Eg: Do not place any credence in his promises. )
monotheism
belief in one God (Eg: Abraham was the first to proclaim his belief in monotheism. )
credulity
belief on slight evidence (Eg: The witch doctor took advantage of the credulity of the superstitious natives. )
fatalism
belief that events are determined by forces beyond one's control (Eg: With fatalism, he accepted the hardships that beset him. )
hedonism
belief that pleasure is the sole aim in life (Eg: hedonism and asceticism are opposing philosophies of human behavior. )
disparage
belittle (Eg: Do not disparage anyone's contribution; these little gifts add up to large sums. )
indenture
bind as servant or apprentice to master (Eg: Many immigrants could come to America only after they had indentured themselves for several years. )
astringent
binding; causing contraction; harsh or severe (Eg: The astringent quality of unsweetened lemon juice made swallowing difficult. )
obligatory
binding; required (Eg: It is obligatory that books borrowed from the library be returned within two weeks. )
mordant
biting; sarcastic; stinging (Eg: Actors feared the critic's mordant pen. )
diatribe
bitter scolding; invective (Eg: During the lengthy diatribe delivered by his opponent he remained calm and self-controlled. )
rancor
bitterness; hatred (Eg: Let us forget out rancor and cooperate in this new endeavor. )
gall
bitterness; nerve (Eg: The knowledge of his failure filled him with gall. )
outlandish
bizzare; peculiar; unconventional (Eg: The eccentric professor who engages in markedly outlandish behavior is a stock figure in novels with an )
necromancy
black magic; dealings with the dead (Eg: Because he was able to perform feats of necromancy, the natives thought he was in league with the devil. )
denigrate
blacken (Eg: All attempts to denigrate the character of our late President have failed; the people still love him and )
reproach
blame; censure (Eg: I want my work to be above reproach and without error )
censure
blame; criticize (Eg: He was censured for his inappropriate behavior. )
blanch
bleach; whiten (Eg: Although age had blanched his hair, he was still vigorous and energetic. )
hallowed
blessed; consecrated (Eg: She was laid to rest in hallowed ground. )
sear
char or burn; brand (Eg: Accidentally brushing against the hot grill, she seared her hand badly. )
generic
characteristic of an entire class or species (Eg: Sue knew so many computer programmers who spent their spare time playing fantasy games that she )
pristine
characteristic of earlier times; primitive, unspoiled (Eg: This area has been preserved in all its pristine wildness. )
indict
charge (Eg: If the grand jury indicts the suspect, he will go to trial. )
arraign
charge in court; indict (Eg: After his indictment by the Grand Jury, the accused man was arraigned in the County Criminal Court. )
impeach
charge with crime in office; indict (Eg: The angry congressman wanted to impeach the President for his misdeeds. )
mountebank
charlatan; boastful pretender (Eg: The patent medicine man was a mountebank. )
lexicographer
compiler of a dictionary (Eg: The new dictionary is the work of many lexicographers who spent years compiling and editing the work. )
grouse
complain; fuss (Eg: Students traditionally grouse about the abysmal quality of "mystery meat" and similar dornitory food. )
consummate
complete (Eg: I have never seem anyone who makes as many stupid errors as you do; you must be a consummate idiot. )
complement
complete; consummate; make perfect (Eg: The waiter recommended a glass of port to complement the cheese. )
plenary
complete; full (Eg: The union leader was given plenary power to negotiate a new contract with the employers. )
integral
complete; necessary for completeness (Eg: Physical education is an integral part of our curriculum; a sound mind and a sound body are )
imbroglio
complicated situation; perplexity; entanglement (Eg: He was called in to settle the imbroglio but failed to bring harmony into the situation. )
improvise
compose on the spur of the moment (Eg: She would sit at the piano and improvise for hours on themes from Bach and Handel. )
fathom
comprehend; investigate (Eg: I find his motives impossible to fathom. )
constraint
compulsion; repression of feelings (Eg: There was a feeling of constraint in the room because no one dared to criticize the speaker. )
egotism
conceit; vanity (Eg: She thought so much of herself that we found her egotism unwarranted and irritating. )
narcissist
conceited person (Eg: A narcissist is his own best friend. )
knit
contract into wrinkles (Eg: Whenever David worries, his brow knits in a frown. )
belie
contradict; give a false impression (Eg: His coarse, hard-bitten exterior belied his innate sensitivity. )
contravene
contradict; oppose: infringe on or transgress (Eg: Mr. Barrett did not expect his frail daughter Elizabeth to contravene his will by eloping with Robert )
foil
contrast (Eg: In "Star Wars," dark, evil Darth Vader is a perfect foil for fair-haired, naive Luke Skywalker. )
antithesis
contrast; direct opposite of or to (Eg: This tyranny was the antithesis of all that he had hoped for, and he fought it with all his strength. )
restraint
controlling force (Eg: She dreamt of living an independent life, free of all restraints. )
ascendancy
controlling influence (Eg: President Marcos failed to maintain his ascendency over Philippines. )
polemic
controversy; argument in support of point of view (Eg: Her essays were, for the main part, polemics for the party's policy. )
amenities
convenient features; courtesies (Eg: )
cogent
convincing (Eg: She presented cogent arguments to the jury. )
replica
copy (Eg: Are you going to hang this replica of the Declaration of Independence in the classroom or in the )
facsimilie
copy (Eg: Many museums sell facsimilies of the works of art on display. )
pluck
courage (Eg: Even the adversaries of young Indiana Jones were impressed by the boy's pluck in trying to rescue the )
mettle
courage; spirit (Eg: When challenged by the other horses in the race, the thoroughbred proved its mettle by its determination )
affable
courteous (Eg: Although he held a position of responsibility, he was an affable individual and could be reached by anyone )
deference
courteous regard for another's wish (Eg: In deference to his desires, the employers granted him a holiday. )
chivalrous
courteous; faithful; brave (Eg: chivalrous behavior involves noble words and good deeds. )
comity
courtesy; civility (Eg: A spirit of comity should exist among nations. )
fawning
courting favor by cringing and flattering (Eg: She was constantly surrounded by a group of fawning admirers who had hoped to win some favor. )
glaze
cover with a thin and shiny surface (Eg: The freezing rain glazed the streets and made driving hazardous. )
craven
cowardly (Eg: When he saw the enemy troops advancing, he had a craven impulse to run for his life. )
pusillanimous
cowardly; fainthearted (Eg: You should be ashamed of your pusillanimous conduct during this dispute. )
quail
cower; lose heart (Eg: He was afraid that he would quail in the face of danger. )
bovine
cowlike; placid and dull (Eg: Nothing excites Esther; even when she won the state lottery, she still preserved her air of bovine calm. )
crevice
crack; fissure (Eg: The mountain climbers found footholds in the tiny crevices in the mountainside. )
mores
customs (Eg: The mores of Mexico are those of Spain with some modifications. )
excise
cut away; cut out (Eg: When you excise the dead and dying limbs of a tree, you not only improve its appearance but also enhance )
prune
cut away; trim (Eg: With the help of her editor, she was able to prune her manuscript into publishable form. )
retrench
cut down; economize (Eg: If they were to be able to send their children to college, they would have to retrench. )
dismember
cut into small parts (Eg: When the Austrian Empire was dismembered, several new countries were established. )
amputate
cut off part of body; prune (Eg: When the doctors had to amputate Ted Kennedy's leg to prevent the spread of cancer, he did not let the )
hew
cut to pieces with ax or sword (Eg: The cavalry rushed into melee and hewed the enemy with their swords. )
incisive
cutting; sharp (Eg: His incisive remarks made us see the fallacy in our plans. )
diurnal
daily (Eg: A farmer cannot neglect his diurnal tasks at any time; cows, for example, must be milked regularly. )
quotidian
daily; commonplace; customary (Eg: To Philip, each new day of his internship was filled with excitement; he could not dismiss his rounds as )
marred
damaged; disfigured (Eg: She had to refinish the marred surface of the table. )
lackluster
dull (Eg: We were disappointed by the lackluster performance. )
prosaic
dull and unimaginative; matter-of-fact; factual (Eg: Though the ad writers had come up with a highly creative campaign to publicize the company's newest )
drab
dull; lacking color; cheerless (Eg: The Dutch woman's drab winter coat contrasted with the distinctive, colorful native costume she wore )
humdrum
dull; monotonous (Eg: After years of adventure, he could not settle down to a humdrum existence. )
dingy
dull; not fresh; cheerless (Eg: Refusing to be depressed by her dingy studio apartment, Bea spent the weekend polishing the floors and )
effigy
dummy (Eg: The mob showed its irritation by hanging the judge in effigy. )
gnome
dwarf; underground spirit (Eg: In medieval mythology, gnomes were the special guardians and inhabitants of subterranean mines. )
levee
earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding (Eg: As the river rose and threatened to overflow the levee, emergency workers rushed to reinforce the walls )
bulwark
earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends (Eg: The navy is our principal bulwark against invasion. )
palliate
ease pain; make less severe or offensive (Eg: If we cannot cure this disease at present, we can, at least try to palliate the symptoms. )
assuage
ease; lessen(pain) (Eg: Your messages of cheer should assuage her suffering. )
brittle
easily broken; difficult (Eg: My employer's brittle personality made it difficult for me to get along with her. )
plethora
excess; overabundance (Eg: She offered a plethora of excuses for her shortcomings. )
exorbitant
excessive (Eg: The people grumbled at his exorbitant prices but paid them because he had a monopoly. )
egoism
excessive interest in one's self; belief that one should be interested in one's self rather than in (Eg: others )
fanaticism
excessive zeal (Eg: The leader of the group was held responsible even though he could not control the fanaticism of his )
meticulous
excessively careful (Eg: He was meticulous in checking his accounts and never made mistakes. )
hypercritical
excessively exacting (Eg: You are hypercritical in your demands for perfection; we all make mistakes. )
obese
excessively fat (Eg: It is advisable that obese people try to lose weight. )
rapacious
excessively grasping; plundering (Eg: Hawks and other rapacious birds prey on variety of small animals. )
prude
excessively modest or proper person (Eg: The X-rated film was definitely not for prudes. )
garrulous
excessively talkative, especially about unimportant subjects; loquacious; wordy (Eg: Many club members avoided the company of the garrulous junior executive because his contant chatter )
congenital
existing at birth (Eg: His congenital deformity disturbed his parents. )
primordial
existing at the beginning (of time); rudimentary (Eg: The Neanderthal Man is one of our primordial ancestors. )
egress
exit (Eg: Barnum's sign "To the Egress" fooled many people who thought they were going to see an animal and )
dilate
expand (Eg: In the dark, the pupils of your eyes dilate. )
distend
expand;swell out (Eg: I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead. )
politic
expedient; prudent; well devised (Eg: Even though he was disappointed, he did not think it politic to refuse the offer. )
oust
expel; drive out (Eg: The world wondered if Aquino would be able to oust Marcos from office. )
seasoned
experienced (Eg: Though pleased with her new batch of rookies, the basketball coach wished she had a few more seasoned )
belabor
explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree; assail verbally (Eg: The debate coach warned her student not to bore the audience by belaboring his point. )
elucidate
explain; enlighten (Eg: He was called upon to elucidate the disputed points in his article. )
construe
explain; interpret (Eg: If I construe your remarks correctly, you disagree with the theory already advanced. )
explicate
explain; interpret; clarify (Eg: Harry Levin explicated James Joyce's novels with such clarity that even Finnegan's Wake seemed )
exegesis
explanation, especially of biblical passages (Eg: I can follow your exegesis of this passage to a limited degree; some of your reasoning eludes me. )
legend
explanatory list of symbols on a map (Eg: The legend at the bottom of the map made it clear which symbols stood for rest areas along the highway )
penury
extreme poverty (Eg: When his pension fund failed, George feared he would end his days in penury. )
opulence
extreme wealth; luxuriousness; abundance (Eg: The glitter and opulence of the ballroom took Cinderella's breath away. )
jingoism
extremely aggressive and militant patriotism (Eg: We must be careful to prevent a spirit of jingoism from spreading at this time. )
overwrought
extremely agitated; hysterical (Eg: When Kate heard the news of the sudden tragedy, she became too overwrought to work and had to leave )
exacting
extremely demanding (Eg: The colonies rebelled against the exacting financial claims of the mother country. )
parched
extremely dry; very thirsty (Eg: The parched desert landscape seemed hostile to life. )
prohibitive
extremely high (of prices etc.) (Eg: The super computer's price was prohibitive. )
ravenous
extremely hungry (Eg: The revenous dog upset several garbage pails in its search for food. )
blatant
extremely obvious; loudly offensive (Eg: Caught in a blatant lie, the scoundrel had only one regret: he wished that he had lied more subtly. )
destitute
extremely poor (Eg: The costs of the father's illness left the family destitute. )
inherent
firmly established by nature or habit (Eg: His inherent love of justice compelled him to come to their aid. )
arable
fit for plowing (Eg: The land was no longer arable; erosion had removed the valuable topsoil. )
paroxysm
fit or attack of pain, laughter, rage (Eg: When he heared of his son's misdeeds, he was seized by a paroxysm of rage. )
propriety
fitness; correct conduct (Eg: I want you to behave at this dinner with propriety; don't embarass me. )
aptitude
fitness; talent (Eg: The counselor evaluated his aptitudes before advising him about the career he should follow. )
moodiness
fits of depression or gloom (Eg: We could not discover the cause of her recurrent moodiness. )
rig
fix or manipulate (Eg: The ward boss was able to rig the election by bribing people to stuff the ballot boxes with ballots marked )
obsession
fixed idea; continued brooding (Eg: This obsession with the supernatural has made him unpopular with his neighbors. )
flaccid
flabby (Eg: His sedentary life had left him with flaccid muscles. )
panache
flair; flamboyance (Eg: Many performers imitate Noel Coward, but few have his panache and sense of style. )
gaudy
flashy; showy (Eg: Her gaudy taste in clothes apalled us. )
meretricious
flashy; tawdry; falsely attractive (Eg: Her jewels were inexpensive but not meretricious. )
delta
flat plain of mud or sand between branches of a river (Eg: His dissertation discussed the effect of intermittent flooding on the fertility of the Nile delta. )
conflagration
great fire (Eg: In the conflagration that followed the 1906 earthquake, much of San Francisco was destroyed. )
clout
great influence (especially political or social) (Eg: Gatsby wondered whether he had enough clout to be admitted to the exclusive club. )
cataract
great waterfall; eye abnormality (Eg: She gazed with awe at the mighty cataract known as Niagara Falls. )
magnitude
greatness; extent (Eg: It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of his crime. )
cupidity
greed (Eg: The defeated people could not satisfy the cupidity of the conquerors, who demanded excessive tribute. )
avarice
greed for wealth (Eg: King Midas's avarice has been famous for centuries. )
avid
greedy; eager for (Eg: He was avid for learning and read everything he could get. )
patina
green crust on old bronze works; tone slowly taken by varnished painting (Eg: Judging by the patina on this bronze statue, we can conclude that this is the work of a medieval artist. )
lament
grieve; express sorrow (Eg: Even advocates of the war lamented the loss of so many lives in combat. )
gruesome
grisly (Eg: People screamed when her gruesome appearance was flashed on the screen. )
lechery
gross lewdness; lustfulness (Eg: In his youth he led a life of lechery and debauchery; he did not mend his ways until middle age. )
killjoy
grouch; spoilsport (Eg: At breakfast we had all been enjoying our bacon and eggs until that killjoy John started talking about how )
archipelago
group of closely located islands (Eg: When he looked at the map and saw the archipelagoes in the South Seas, he longed to visit them. )
junta
group of persons joined in political intrigue; cabal (Eg: As soon as he learned of its existence, the dictator ordered the execution of all of the members of the )
coterie
group that meets socially; select circle (Eg: After his book had been published, he was invited to join the literary coteri that lunched daily at the hotel. )
felicity
happines; appropriateness (of a remark, choice, etc.) (Eg: She wrote a note to the newlyweds wishing them great felicity in their wedded life. )
harry
harass, annoy, torment; raid (Eg: The guerrilla band harried the enemy nightly. )
bait
harass; tease (Eg: The soldiers baited the prisoners, terrorizing them. )
beset
harass; trouble (Eg: Many problems beset the American public school system. )
esoteric
hard to understand; known only to the chosen few (Eg: New Yorker short stories often include esoteric allusions to obscure people and events: the implication is if )
arduous
hard; strenuous (Eg: Her arduous efforts had sapped her energy. )
callous
hardened; unfeeling (Eg: He had worked in the hospital for so many years that he was callous to the suffering in the wards. )
privation
hardship; want (Eg: In his youth, he knew hunger and privation. )
injurious
harmful (Eg: Smoking cigarettes can be injurious to your health. )
noxious
harmful (Eg: We must trace the source of these noxious gases before they asphyxiate us. )
deleterious
harmful (Eg: Workers in nuclear research must avoid the deleterious effects of radioactive substances. )
musky
having the odor of musk (Eg: She left a trace of musky perfume behind her. )
rancid
having the odor of stale fat (Eg: A rancid odor filled the ship's galley and nauseated the crew. )
authoritative
having the weight of authority; dictatorial (Eg: We accepted her analysis of the situation as authoritative. )
cognitive
having to do with knowing or perceiving related to the mental precesses (Eg: Though Jack was emotionally immature, his cognitive development was admirable; he was very advanced )
prophetic
having to do with predicting the future (Eg: )
fluted
having vertical parallel grooves (as in a pillar) (Eg: All that remained of the ancient building were the fluted columns. )
effeminate
having womanly traits (Eg: His voice was high-pitched and effeminate. )
conducive
helpful; contributive (Eg: Rest and proper diet are conducive to good health. )
preempt
head off; forestall by acting first; appropriate for oneself; supplant (Eg: Hoping to preempt any attempts by the opposition to make educational reform a hot political issue, the )
promontory
headland (Eg: They erected a lighthouse on the promontory to warn approaching ships of their nearness to the shore. )
precipitate
headlong; rash (Eg: Do not be precipitate in this matter; investigate further. )
salubrious
healthful (Eg: Many people with hay fever move to more salubrious sections of the country during the months of August )
hale
healthy (Eg: After a brief illness, he was soon hale. )
pyre
heap of combustible material, esp. for burning a corpse. (Eg: The mortician put pyre on the corpse before burning a corpse. )
calorific
heat-producing (Eg: Coal is much more calorific than green wood. )
ardor
heat; passion; zeal (Eg: Katya's ardor was contagious; soon all her fellow demonstrators were busily making posters and handing )
celestial
heavenly (Eg: She spoke of the celestial joys that awaited virtuous souls in the hereafter. )
ballast
heavy substance used to add stability or weight (Eg: The ship was listing badly to one side; it was necessary to shift the ballast in the hold to get her back on an )
cumbersome
heavy; hard to manage (Eg: He was burdened down with cumbersome parcels. )
communal
held in common; of a group of people (Eg: When they were divorced, they had trouble dividing their communal property. )
recluse
hermit (Eg: The recluse lived in a hut in the forest. )
mischance
ill luck (Eg: By mischance, he lost his week's salary. )
enmity
ill will; hatred (Eg: At Camp David President Carter labored to bring an end to the enmity that prevented Egypt and Israel )
cantankerous
ill-humored; irritable (Eg: Constantly complaining about his treatment and refusing to cooperate with the hospital staff, he was a )
morose
ill-humored; sullen (Eg: When we first meet Hamlet, we find him morose and depressed. )
illicit
illegal (Eg: The defense attorney claimed that the police had entrapped his client; that is, they had elicited the illicit )
contraband
illegal trade; smuggling; smuggled goods (Eg: The coast guard tries to prevent contraband in U.S. waters. )
paramour
illicit lover (Eg: She sought a divorce on the grounds that her husband had a paramour in another town. )
fictitious
imaginary (Eg: Although this book purports to be a biography of George Washington, many of the incidents are fictitious. )
fancied
imagined; unreal (Eg: You are resenting fancied insults. No one has ever said such things about you. )
ape
imitate or mimic (Eg: He was suspended for a week because he had aped the principal in front of the whole school. )
mimicry
imitation (Eg: Her gift for mimicry was so great that her friends said that she should be in the theater. )
pastiche
imitation of another's style in musical composition or in writing (Eg: We cannot even say that her music is a pastiche of this or that composer; it is rather, reminiscent of many )
incorporeal
immaterial; without a material body (Eg: We must devote time to the needs of our incorporeal mind as well as our corporeal body. )
levy
impose (a fine); collect (a payment) (Eg: Crying "No taxation withouth representation," the colonists demonstrated against England's power to levy )
grandiose
imposing; impressive (Eg: His grandiose manner impressed those who met him for the first time. )
prestige
impression produced by achievements or reputation (Eg: The wealthy man sought to obtain social prestige by contributing to popular charities. )
august
impressive; majestic (Eg: Visiting the palace at Versailes, she was impressed by the august surroundings in which she found herself. )
grandeur
impressiveness; stateliness; majesty (Eg: No matter how often he hiked through the mountains, David never failed to be struck by the grandeur of )
incarcerate
imprison (Eg: The warden will incarcerate the felon after conviction. )
immure
imprison; shut up in confinement (Eg: )
ameliorate
improve (Eg: Many social workers have attempted to ameliorate the conditions of people living in the slums. )
insolence
imprudent disrespect; haughtiness (Eg: How dare you treat me so rudely! The manager will hear of you insolence. )
comatose
in a coma; extremely sleepy (Eg: The long-winded orator soon had his audience in a comatose state. )
nominal
in name only; trifling (Eg: He offered to drive her to the airport for only a nominal fee. )
pellmell
in confusion; disorderly (Eg: The excited students dashed pellmell into the stadium to celebrate the victory. )
enamored
in love (Eg: Narcissus became enamored of his own beauty. )
edify
instruct; correct morally (Eg: Although his purpose was to edify and not to entertain his audience, many of his listeners were amused )
affront
insult; offend (Eg: Accustomed to being treated with respect, Miss Challoner was affronted by Vidal's offensive behavior. )
insuperable
insurmountable; invincible (Eg: In the face of insuperable difficulties they maintained their courage and will to resist. )
intelligentsia
intellectuals; members of the educated elite (Eg: She preferred discussions about sports and politics to the literary conversations of the intelligentsia. )
frigid
intensely cold (Eg: Alaska is in the frigid zone. )
purport
intention; meaning (Eg: If the purport of your speech was to arouse the rabble, you succeeded admirably. )
meddlesome
interfering (Eg: He felt his marriage was suffering because of his meddlesome mother-in-law. )
expletive
interjection; profane oath (Eg: The sergeant's remarks were filled with expletives that offended the new recruits. )
misconstrue
interpret incorrectly; misjudge (Eg: She took the passage seriously rather than humourously because she misconstrued the author's ironic tone. )
quarantine
isolation of a person, place, or ship to prevent spread of infection (Eg: )
seclusion
isolation; solitude (Eg: One moment she loved crowds; the next, she sought seclusion. )
emanate
issue forth (Eg: A strong odor of sulfur emanated from the spring. )
agenda
items of business at a meeting (Eg: We had so much difficulty agreeing upon an agenda that there was very little time for the meeting. )
couple
join; unite (Eg: The Flying Karamazovs couple expert juggling and amateur joking in their nightclub act. )
affiliation
joining; associating with (Eg: His affiliation with the political party was of short duration for he soon disagreed with his colleagues. )
peregrination
journey (Eg: Auntie Mame was a world traveler whose peregrinations took her from Tiajuana to Timbuctoo. )
festive
joyous; celebratory (Eg: Their wedding in the park was a festive occasion. )
sagacious
keen; shrewd; having insight (Eg: He is much too sagacious to be fooled by a trick like that. )
retain
keep; employ (Eg: Fighting to retain his seat in Congress, Senator Foghorn retained a new manager to head his reelection )
decimate
kill, usually one out of ten (Eg: We do more to decimate our population in automobile accidents than we do in war. )
humane
kind (Eg: His humane and considerate treatment of the unfortunate endeared him to all. )
laity
laypersons; persons not connected with the clergy (Eg: The laity does not always understand the clergy's problems. )
indolence
laziness (Eg: He outgrew his youthful indolence to become a model of industry and alertness on the job. )
inveigle
lead astray; wheedle (Eg: She was inveigled into joining the club after an initial reluctance. )
livid
lead-coloredl; black and blue; ashen; enraged (Eg: His face was so livid with rage that we were afraid that he might have an attack of apoplexy. )
gaunt
lean and angular; barren (Eg: His once-round face looked surprisingly gaunt after he had lost weight. )
pundit
learned Hindu; any learned person; authority on a subject (Eg: Even though he discourses on the matter like a pundit, he is actually rather ignorant about this topic. )
erudite
learned; scholarly (Eg: His erudite writing was difficult to read because of the many allusions which were unfamiliar to most )
bequeath
leave to someone by means of a will; hand down (Eg: In his will, Father bequeathed his watch to Phillip; the bequest meant a great deal to the boy. )
lien
legal claim on a property (Eg: There was a delay before Ralph could take possession of his late uncle's home; apparently, another )
moratorium
legal delay of payment (Eg: If we declare a moratorium and delay collection of debts for six months, I am sure the farmers will be able )
careen
lurch; sway from side to side (Eg: The taxicab careened wildly as it rounded the corner. )
decoy
lure or bait (Eg: The wild ducks were not fooled by the decoy. )
entice
lure; attract; tempt (Eg: She always tried to entice her baby brother into mischief. )
lascivious
lustful (Eg: Because they might arouse lascivious impulses in their readers, the lewd books were banned by the clergy. )
lewd
lustful (Eg: They found his lewd stories objectionable. )
libidinous
lustful (Eg: They objected to his libidinous behavior. )
bask
luxuriate; take pleasure in warmth (Eg: basking on the beach, she relaxed so completely that she fell asleep. )
mendacious
lying; false (Eg: He was pathological liar, and his friends learned to discount his mendacious stories. )
centrifuge
machine that separates substances by whirling them (Eg: At the dairy, we employ a centrifuge to separate cream from milk. )
rarefied
made less dense [of a gas] (Eg: The mountain climbers had difficulty breathing in the rarefied atmosphere. )
osseus
made of bone; bony (Eg: The hollow "soft spot" found at the top of the infant's skull gradually closes as new osseus tissue fills in the )
frenzied
madly excited (Eg: As soon as they smelled smoke, the frenzied animals milled about in their cages. )
palatial
magnificent (Eg: He proudly showed us through his palatial home. )
mutilate
maim (Eg: The torturer threatened to mutilate his victim. )
grate
make a harsh noise; have an unpleasant effect; shred (Eg: The screams of the quarreling children grated on her nerves. )
expiate
make amends for (a sin) (Eg: He tried to expiate his crimes by a full confession to the authorities. )
atone
make amends for; pay for (Eg: He knew no way in which he could atone for his brutal crime. )
disgruntle
make discontented (Eg: The passengers were disgruntled by the numerous delays. )
cavil
make frivolous objections (Eg: I respect your sensible criticisms, but I dislike the way you cavil about unimportant details. )
alienate
make hostile; separate (Eg: Her attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith in each other. )
preclude
make impossible; eliminate (Eg: This contract does not preclude my being employed by others at the same time that I am working for you. )
promulgate
make known by official proclamation or publication (Eg: As soon as the Civil Service Commission promulgates the names of the successful candidates, we shall )
dilute
make less concentrated; reduce in strength (Eg: She preferred her coffee diluted with milk. )
facilitate
make less difficult (Eg: He tried to facilitate repayment of the loan by getting a part-time job. )
anthropoid
manlike (Eg: The gorilla is the strongest of the anthropoid animals. )
attenuate
make thin; weaken (Eg: By withdrawing their forces, the generals hoped to attenuate the enemy lines. )
obviate
make unnecessary; get rid of (Eg: I hope this contribution will obviate any need for further collections of funds. )
exploit
make use of, sometimes unjustly (Eg: Caesar Chavez fought attempts to exploit migrant farmworkers in California. )
annul
make void (Eg: The parents of the eloped couple tried to annul the marriage. )
integrate
make whole; combine; make into one unit (Eg: She tried to integrate all their activities into one program. )
rejuvenate
make young again (Eg: The charlatan claimed that his elixir would rejuvenate the aged and weary. )
optician
maker and seller of eyeglasses (Eg: The patient took the prescription given him by his oculist to the optician. )
compensatory
making up for; repaying (Eg: Can a compensatory education program make up for the inadequate schooling he received in earlier years? )
calumny
malicious misrepresentation (Eg: He could endure his financial failure, but he could not bear the calumny that his foes heaped upon him. )
ductility
malleability; flexibility; ability to be drawn out (Eg: Copper wire has many industrial uses because of its extreme ductility. )
fetid
malodorous (Eg: The neglected wound became fetid. )
lacerate
mangle; tear (Eg: Her body was lacerated in the automobile crash. )
megalomania
mania for doing grandiose things (Eg: Developers who spend millions trying to build the world's tallest skyscraper suffer from megalomania. )
nubile
marrigeable (Eg: Mrs. Bennet, in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, was worried about finding suitable husbands for her )
array
marshal; draw up in order (Eg: His actions were bound to array public sentiment against him. )
requiem
mass for the dead; dirge (Eg: They played Mozart's Requiem at the funeral. )
floe
mass of floating ice (Eg: The ship made slow progress as it battered its way through the ice floes. )
conglomeration
mass of material sticking together (Eg: In such a conglomeration of miscellaneous statistics, it was impossible to find a single area of analysis. )
foliage
masses of leaves (Eg: Every autumn before the leaves fell he promised himself he would drive though the New England to )
monumental
massive (Eg: Writing a dictionary is a monumental task. )
inimitable
matchless; not able to be imitated (Eg: We admire Auden for his inimitable use of language; he is one of a kind. )
labyrinth
maze (Eg: Tom and Becky were lost in the labyrinth of secret caves. )
scanty
meager; insufficient (Eg: Thinking his helping of food was scanty, Oliver Twist asked for more. )
denotation
meaning; distinguishing by name (Eg: A dictionary will always give us the denotation of a word; frequently, it will always give us its connotation. )
niggardly
meanly stingy; parsimonious (Eg: The niggardly pittance the widow receives from the government cannot keep her from poverty. )
rendezvous
meeting place (Eg: The two fleets met at the rendezvous at the appointed time. )
molten
melted (Eg: The city of Pompeii was destroyed by volcanic ash rather than by molten lava flowing from Mount )
proletarian
member of the working class (Eg: The aristocrats feared mob rule and gave the right to vote only to the wealthy, thus depending the )
baleful
menacing; deadly (Eg: Casting a baleful eye at his successful rival, the rejected suitor stole off, vowing to have his revenge. )
minatory
menacing; threatening (Eg: Jabbing a minatory forefinger at Dorothy, the Wicked Witch cried, "I'll get you, and your little dog, too!" )
formidable
menacing; threatening (Eg: We must not treat the battle lightly for we are facing a formidable foe. )
drudgery
menial work (Eg: Cinderella's fairy godmother rescued her from a life of drudgery. )
composure
mental calmness (Eg: Even the latest work crisis failed to shake her composure. )
psychosis
mental disorder (Eg: We must endeavor to find an outlet for the patient's repressed desires if we hope to combat this psychosis. )
delirium
mental disorder marked by confusion (Eg: The drunkard in his delirium saw strange animals. )
acumen
mental keenness (Eg: His business acumen helped him to succeed where others had failed. )
faculty
mental or bodily powers; teaching staff (Eg: As he grew old, he feared he might lose his faculties and become useless to his employer. )
discerning
mentally quick and observant; having insight (Eg: Because he was considered the most discerning member of the firm, he was assigned the most difficult )
paragon
model of perfection (Eg: The class disliked him because the teacher was always pointing him out as a paragon of virtue. )
paradigm
model; example; pattern (Eg: Pavlov's experiment in which he trains a dog to salivate on hearing a bell is a paradigm of the conditioned- )
retiring
modest; shy (Eg: Given Susan't retiring personality, no one expected her to take up public speaking; surprisingly enough, she )
lull
moment of calm (Eg: Not wanting to get wet, they waited under the awning for a lull in the rain. )
autocrat
monarch with supreme power (Eg: He ran his office like an autocrat, giving no one else any authority. )
potentate
monarch; sovereign (Eg: The potentate spent more time at Monte Carlo than he did at home on his throne. )
cloister
monastery or convent (Eg: The nuns lived in the cloister. )
lucre
money (Eg: Preferring lucre to undying fame, he wrote stories of popular appeal. )
hybrid
mongrel; mixed breed (Eg: Mendel's formula explains the appearance of hybrids and pure species in breeding. )
optimum
most favorable (Eg: If you wait for the optimum moment to act, you may never begin your project . )
definitive
most reliable or complee (Eg: Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln may be regarded as the definitive work on the life of the Great )
sacrosanct
most sacred; inviolable (Eg: The brash insurance salesman invaded the sacrosanct privacy of the office of the president of the )
maternal
motherly (Eg: )
gesticulation
motion; gesture (Eg: Operatic performers are trained to make exaggerated gesticulations because of the large auditoriums in )
actuate
motivate (Eg: I fail to understand what actuated you to reply to this letter so nastily. )
mercenary
motivated solely by money or gain (Eg: "I'm not in this war because I get my kicks waving flags," said the mercenary soldier. "I'm in it for the )
plaintive
mournful (Eg: The dove has a plaintive and melancholy call )
lugubrious
mournful (Eg: The lugabrious howling of the dogs added to our sadness. )
orifice
mouthlike opening; small opening (Eg: The Howe Caverns were discovered when someone observed that a cold wind was issuing from an orifice )
mobile
movable; not fixed (Eg: The mobile blood bank operated by the Red Cross visited our neighborhood today. )
scurry
move briskly (Eg: The White Rabbit had to scurry to get to his appointment on time. )
accelerate
move faster (Eg: In our science class, we learn how falling bodies accelerate. )
lumber
move heavily of clumsily (Eg: Still somewhat torpid after its long hibernation, the bear lumbered through the woods. )
amoral
non-moral (Eg: The amoral individual lacks a code of ethics; he should not be classified as immoral. )
cipher
nonentity; worthless person or thing (Eg: She claimed her ex-husband was a total cipher and wondered why she had ever married him. )
gibberish
nonsense; babbling (Eg: Did you hear that foolish boy spouting gibberish about monsters from outer space? )
alcove
nook; recess (Eg: Though their apartment lacked a full-scale dining room, an alcove adjacent to the living room made an )
irreparable
not able to be corrected or repaired (Eg: Your apology cannot atone for the irreparable damage you have done to her reputation. )
intangible
not able to be perceived by touch; vague (Eg: Though the financial benefits of his Oxford post were meager, Lewis was drawn to it by its intangible )
impenetrable
not able to be pierced or entered (Eg: How could the murderer have gotten into the locked room? To Watson, the mystery, like the room, was )
evasive
not frank; eluding (Eg: Your evasive answers convinced the judge that you were witholding important evidence. )
asymmetric
not identical on both sides of a dividing central line (Eg: Because one eyebrow was set markedly higher than the other, William's face had a particularly asymmetric )
figurative
not literal, but metaphorical; using a figure of speech (Eg: "To lose one's marbles" is a figurative expression; if you're told Jack has lost his marbles, no one expects )
disingenuous
not naive; sophisticated (Eg: )
impolitic
not wise (Eg: I think it is impolitic to raise this issue at the present time because the public is too angry. )
marked
noticeable; targeted for vengeance (Eg: He walked with a marked limp, a souvenir of an old IRA attack. As British ambassador, he knew he was a )
egregious
notorious; conspicuously bad; shocking (Eg: She was an egregious liar; we all knew better than to believe a word she said. )
infamous
notoriously bad (Eg: Jesse James was an infamous outlaw. )
nutrient
nourishing substance (Eg: As a budding nutritionist, Kim has learned to design diets that contain foods rich in important basic )
effluvium
noxious smell (Eg: Air pollution has become a serious problem in our major cities; the effluvium and the poisons in the air are )
quorum
number of members necessary to conduct a meeting (Eg: The senator asked for a roll call to determine whether a quorum was present. )
manifold
numerous; varied (Eg: I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your manifold kindnesses. )
docile
obedient; easily managed (Eg: As docile as he seems today, that old lion was once a ferocious, snarling beast. )
cynosure
object of general attention (Eg: As soon as the movie star entered the room, she became the cynosure of all eyes. )
missile
object to be thrown or projected (Eg: Scientists are experimenting with guided missiles. )
recurrent
occurring again and again (Eg: These recurrent attacks disturbed us and we consulted a physician. )
coincident
occurring at the same time (Eg: Some people find the coincident events in Hardy's novels annoyingly improbable. )
ironic
occurring in an unexpected and contrary manner (Eg: It is ironic that his success came when he least wanted it. )
quaint
odd; old-fashioned; picturesque (Eg: Her quaint clothes and old-fashioned language marked her as an eccentric. )
erratic
odd; unpredictable (Eg: Investors become anxious when the stock market appears erratic. )
eccentric
odd; whimsical; irregular (Eg: The comet passed close by the earth in its eccentric orbit. )
eccentricity
oddity; idiosyncrasy (Eg: Some of his friends tried to account for his rudeness to strangers as the eccentricity of genius. )
piebald
of different colors; motled; spotted (Eg: You should be able to identify Polka Dot in this race; he is the only piebald horse running. )
ignoble
of lowly origin; unworthy (Eg: This plan is inspired by ignoble motives and I must, therefore, oppose it. )
homogeneous
of the same kind (Eg: Many educators try to put pupils of similar abilities in the same class because they believe that his )
obnoxious
offensive (Eg: I find your behavior obnoxious; please mend your ways. )
indignity
offensive or insulting treatment (Eg: Although he seemed to accept cheerfully the indignities heaped upon him, he was inwardly very angry. )
immolate
offer as a sacrifice (Eg: The tribal kind offered to immolate his daughter to quiet the angry gods. )
auxiliary
offering or providing help; additional or sub-sidiary (Eg: To prepare for the emergency, they built an auxiliary power station. )
passe
old-fashioned; past the prime (Eg: Her style is passe and reminiscent of the Victorian era. )
augury
omen; prophecy (Eg: He interpreted the departures of the birds as an augury of evil. )
ellipsis
omission of words from a text (Eg: Sometimes an ellipsis can lead to a dangling modifier, as in the sentence "Once dressed, you should )
marsupial
one of a family of mammals that nurse their offspring in a pouch (Eg: The most common marsupial in North America is the opposum. )
caste
one of the hereditary classes in Hindu society, social stratification; prestige (Eg: The differences created by caste in India must be wiped out if true democracy is to prevail in that country. )
pacifist
one opposed to force; antimilitarist (Eg: The pacifists urged that we reduce our military budget and recall our troops stationed overseas. )
apostate
one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs (Eg: Because he switched from one party to another, his former friends shunned him as an apostate. )
saboteur
one who commits sabotage; destroyer of property (Eg: Members of the Resistance acted as saboteurs, blowing up train lines to prevent supplies from reaching the )
malingerer
one who feigns illness to escape duty (Eg: The captain ordered the sergeant to punish all malingerers and force them to work. )
optometrist
one who fits glasses to remedy visual defects (Eg: Although an optometrist is qualified to treat many eye disorders, she may not use medicinesor surgery in )
disburse
pay out (Eg: When you disburse money on the company's behalf, be sure to get a receipt. )
alimony
payments make to an ex-spouse after divorce (Eg: Because Tony had supported Tina through medical school, on their divorce he asked the court to award )
placid
peaceful; calm (Eg: After his vacation in this placid section, he felt soothed and rested. )
pinnacle
peak (Eg: We could see the morning sunlight illuminate the pinnacle while the rest of the mountain lay in shadow. )
idiosyncrasy
peculiarity; eccentricity (Eg: One of his personal idiosyncrasies was his habit of rinsing all cutlery given him in a restaurant. )
podium
pedestal; raised platform (Eg: The audience applauded as the conductor made his way to the podium. )
pseudonym
pen name (Eg: Samuel Clemens' pseudonym was Mark Twain. )
contrite
penitent (Eg: Her contrite tears did not influence the judge when he imposed sentence. )
gentry
people of standing; class of people just below nobility (Eg: The local gentry did not welcome the visits of the summer tourists and tried to ignore their presence in the )
divine
perceive intuitively; foresee the future (Eg: Nothing infuriated Tom more than Aunt Polly's ability to divine when he was not telling the truth. )
epitome
perfect example or embodiment (Eg: Singing "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" in The Pirates of Penzance, Major-General )
sage
person celebrated for wisdom (Eg: Hearing tales of a mysterious Master of All Knowledge who lived in the hills of Tibet, Sandy was possessed )
connoisseur
person competent to act as judge of art, ect.; a lover of an art (Eg: She had developed into a connoisseur of fine china. )
ecologist
person concerned with the interrelationship between living organisms and their environment (Eg: The ecologist was concerned that the new dam would upset the natural balance of the creatures living in )
felon
person convicted of a grave crime (Eg: A convicted felon loses the right to vote )
malcontent
person dissatisfied with existing state of affairs (Eg: He was one of the few malcontents in the Congress; he constantly voiced his objections to the Presidential )
reprobate
person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency (Eg: I cannot understand why he has so many admirers if he is the reprobate you say he is. )
extrovert
person interested mostly in external objects and actions (Eg: A good salesperson in usually an extrovert, who likes to mingle with people. )
nonentity
person of no importance; nonexistence (Eg: Don't dismiss John as a nonentity; in his quiet way, he's very important to the firm. )
magnate
person of prominence or influence (Eg: The steel magnate decided to devote more time to city politics. )
hypochondriac
person unduly worried about his health; worrier without cause about illness (Eg: The doctor prescribed chocolate pills for his patient who was a hypocondriac. )
ragamuffin
person wearing tattered clothes (Eg: He felt sorry for the ragamuffin who was begging for food and gave him money to buy a meal. )
demagogue
person who appeals to people's prejudice; false leader (Eg: He was accused of being a demogogue because he made promises that aroused futile hopes in his listeners. )
numismatist
person who collects coins (Eg: The numismatist had a splendid collection of antique coins. )
awl
pointed tool used for piercing (Eg: She used an awl to punch additional holes in the leather belt she had bought. )
aplomb
poise; composure (Eg: Wellington's nonchalance and aplomb in the heat of battle always heartened his followers. )
prod
poke; stir up; urge (Eg: If you prod him hard enough, he'll eventually clean his room. )
contaminate
pollute (Eg: The sewage system of the city so contaminated the water that swimming was forbidden. )
defile
pollute; profane (Eg: The hoodlums defiled the church with their scurrilous writing. )
grandiloquent
pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding language (Eg: The politician could bever speak simply; she was always grandiloquent. )
consequential
pompous; self-important (Eg: Convinced of his own importance, the actor strutted about the dressing room with a consequential air. )
muse
ponder (Eg: For a moment he mused about the beauty of the scene, but his thought soon changed as he recalled his )
artifacts
products of primitive culture (Eg: Archaeologists debated the significance of the artifacts discovered in the ruins of Asia Minor and came to )
blasphemous
profane; impious (Eg: The people in the room were shocked by his his blasphemous language. )
desecrate
profane; violate the sanctity of (Eg: The soldiers desecrated the temple. )
lucrative
profitable (Eg: He turned his hobby into a lucrative profession. )
docket
program asfor trial; book where such entries are made (Eg: The case of Smith v. Jones was entered in the docket for July 15. )
interdict
prohibit; forbid (Eg: Civilized nations must interdict the use of nuclear weapons if we expect out society to live. )
inhibit
prohibit; restrain (Eg: The child was not inhibited in her responses. )
cornice
projecting molding on building (usually above columns) (Eg: Because the stones forming the cornice had been loosened by the storms, the police closed the building )
extrapolation
projection; conjecture (Eg: Based on their extrapolation from the results of the primaries on Super Tuesday, the networks predicted )
protract
prolong (Eg: Seeking to delay the union members' vote, the management team tried to protract the negotiations )
salient
prominent (Eg: One of the salient features of that newspaper is its excellent editorial page. )
chastise
punish (Eg: I must chastise you for this offense. )
pillory
punish by placing in a wooden frame; subject to criticism and ridicule (Eg: Even though he was mocked and pilloried, he maintained that he was correct in his beliefs. )
punitive
punishing (Eg: He asked for punitive measures against the offender. )
castigation
punishment; severe criticism (Eg: Sensitive even to mild criticism, Woolf could not bear castigation that she found in certain reviews. )
chaste
pure (Eg: Her chaste and decorous garb was appropriately selected for the solemnity of the occasion. )
immaculate
pure; spotless (Eg: The West Point cadets were immaculate as they lined up for inspection. )
platonic
purely spiritual; theoretical; without sensual desire (Eg: Accused of impropriety in his dealings with female students, the professor maintained he had only a )
quintessence
purest and highest embodiment (Eg: Noel Coward displayed the quintessence of wit. )
cathartic
purgative (Eg: Some drugs act as laxatives when taken in small doses but act as cathartics when taken in much larger )
catharsis
purging or cleansing of any passage of the body (Eg: Aristotle maintained that tragedy created a catharsis by purging the soul of base concepts. )
distill
purify; refine; concentrate (Eg: A moonshiner distills mash into whiskey; an epigrammatist distills thoughts into quips. )
neophyte
recent convert; beginner (Eg: This monuntain slope contains slides that will challenge esperts as well as neophytes. )
inchoate
recently begun; rudimentary; elementary (Eg: Before the Creation, the world was an inchoate mass. )
desperado
reckless outlaw (Eg: Butch Cassidy was a bold desperado with a price on his head. )
compute
reckon; calculate (Eg: He failed to compute the interest, so his bank balance was not accurate. )
recumbent
reclining; lying down completely or in part (Eg: The command "AT EASE" does not permit you to take a recumbent position. )
reactionary
recoiling from progress; retrograde (Eg: His program was reactionary since it sought to abolish many of the social reforms instituted by the )
reminiscence
recollection (Eg: Her reminiscences of her experiences are so fascinating that she ought to write a book. )
conciliatory
reconciling; soothing (Eg: She was still angry despite his conciliatory words. )
genealogy
record of descent; lineage (Eg: He was proud of his genealogy and constantly referred to the achievements of his ancestors. )
annals
records; history (Eg: In the annals of this period, we find no mention of democratic movements. )
recuperate
recover (Eg: The doctors were worried because the patient did not recuperate as rapidly as they had expected. )
retrieve
recover; find and bring in (Eg: The dog was intelligent and quickly learned to retrieve the game killed by the hunter. )
reprise
recurrent action; musical repetition; repeat performance (Eg: At Waterloo, it was not the effect of any one skirmish that exhausted Colonel Audly; rather it was the )
ruddy
reddish; healthy-looking (Eg: His ruddy features indicated that he had spent much time in the open. )
flout
reject; mock (Eg: The headstrong youth flouted all authority; he refused to be curbed. )
exult
rejoice (Eg: We exulted when our team won the victory. )
jubilation
rejoicing (Eg: There was great jubilitation when the armistice was announced. )
cognate
related linguistically; allied by blood; similar or akin in nature (Eg: The English word "mother" cognate to the Latin word "mater," whose influence is visible in the words )
canine
related to dogs; doglike (Eg: Some days the canine population of Berkeley seems almost to outnumber the human population. )
monastic
related to monks (Eg: Wanting to live a religious life, he took his monastic vows. )
demographic
related to population balance (Eg: In conducting a survey, one should take into account demographic trends in the region. )
kindred
related; similar in nature or character (Eg: Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were two kindred spirits. )
schematic
relating to an outline or diagram; using a system of symbols (Eg: In working out the solution to an analytical logic question, you may find it helpful to construct a simple )
elysian
relating to paradise; blissful (Eg: An afternoon sail on the bay was for her an elysian journey. )
ethnic
relating to races (Eg: Intolerance between ethnic groups is deplorable and usually is based on lack of information. )
dorsal
relating to the back of an animal (Eg: A shark may be identified by its dorsal fin, which projects above the surface of the ocean. )
climactic
relating to the highest point (Eg: When he reached the climactic portions of the book, he could not stop reading. )
astral
relating to the stars (Eg: She was amazed at the number of astral bodies the new telescope revealed. )
inexorable
relentless; unyielding; implacable (Eg: After listening to the pleas for clemency, the judge was inexorable and gave the convicted man the )
alleviate
relieve (Eg: This should alleviate the pain; if it does not, we shall have to use stronger drugs. )
icon
religious image; idol (Eg: The icons on the walls of the church were painted in the 13th century. )
averse
reluctant (Eg: He was averse to revealing the sources of his information. )
remnant
remainder (Eg: I suggest that you wait until the store places the remnants of these goods on sale. )
residue
remainder; balance (Eg: In his will, he requested that after payment of debts, taxes, and funeral expenses, the residue be given to his )
dehydrate
remove water from; dry out (Eg: Vigorous dancing quickly dehydrates the body; between dances, be sure to drink more water than normal. )
abjure
renounce upon oath (Eg: He abjured his allegiance to the king. )
forswear
renounce; abandon (Eg: The captured knight could escape death only if he agreed to forswear Christianity and embrace Islam as the )
abdicate
renounce; give up (Eg: When Edward VII abdicated the British throne, he surprised the entire world. )
refurbish
renovate; make bright by polishing (Eg: The flood left a deposit of mud on everything; it was necessary to refurbish our belongings. )
abnegation
renunciation; self-sacrifice (Eg: Though Rudolph and Duchess Flavia loved one another, their love was doomed, for she had to wed the )
remediable
reparable (Eg: Let us be grateful that the damage is remediable. )
restitution
reparation; indemnification (Eg: He offered to make restitution for the window broken by his son. )
reimburse
repay (Eg: Let me know what you have spent and I will reimburse you. )
reciprocate
repay in kind (Eg: If they attack us, we shall be compelled to reciprocate and bomb their territory. )
retaliate
repay in kind (usually for bad treatment) (Eg: Fear that we will retaliate immediately deters our foe from attacking us. )
requite
repay; revenge (Eg: The wretch requited his benefactors by betraying them. )
reprisal
retaliation (Eg: I am confident that we are ready for any reprisals the enemy may undertake. )
disclose
reveal (Eg: Although competitors offered him bribes, he refused to disclose any information about his company's )
divulge
reveal (Eg: I will not tell you this news because I am sure you will divulge it prematurely. )
nemesis
revenging agent (Eg: Captain Bligh vowed to be Christian's nemesis. )
resuscitate
revive (Eg: The lifeguard tried to resuscitate the drowned child by applying artificial respiration. )
repeal
revoke; annul (Eg: What would the effect on our society be if we decriminalized drug use by repealing the laws against the )
cadence
rhythmic rise and fall (of words or sounds); beat (Eg: Marching down the road, the troops sang out, following the cadence set by the sergeant. )
brocade
rich, figured fabric (Eg: The sofa was covered with expensive brocade. )
ramshackle
rickety; falling apart (Eg: The boys propped up the ramshackle clubhouse with a couple of boards. )
saline
salty (Eg: The slightly saline taste of this mineral water is pleasant. )
monotony
sameness leading to boredom (Eg: He took a clerical job, but soon grew to hate the monotony of his daily routine. )
sate
satisfy to the full; cloy (Eg: Its hunger sated, the lion dozed. )
imbue
saturate, fill (Eg: His visits to the famous Gothic cathedrals imbued him with feelings of awe and reverence. )
relish
savor; enjoy (Eg: I relish a good joke as much as anyone else. )
meager
scanty; inadequate (Eg: His salary was far too meager for him to afford to buy a new car. )
dotage
senility (Eg: In his dotage, the old man bored us with long tales of events in his childhood. )
primogeniture
seniority by birth (Eg: By virtue of primogeniture, in some cultures the first-born child has many privileges denied his brothers )
discrete
separate; unconnected (Eg: The universe is composed of discrete bodies. )
estranged
separated; alienated (Eg: The estranged wife sought a divorce. )
casualty
serious or fatal accident (Eg: The number of automotive casualties on this holiday weekend was high. )
gravity
seriousness (Eg: We could tell we were in serious trouble from the gravity of her expression. )
homily
sermon; serious warning (Eg: His speeches were always homilies, advising his listeners to repent and reform. )
exemplary
serving as a model; outstanding (Eg: Her exemplary behavior was praised at commencement. )
ancillary
serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary (Eg: In an ancillary capacity Doctor Watson was helpful; however, Holmes could not trust the good doctor to )
premonitory
serving to warn (Eg: You should have visited a doctor as soon as you felt these premonitory chest pains. )
anecdote
short account of an amusing or interesting event (Eg: Rather than make concrete proposals for welfare reform, President Raegan told anecdotes about poor )
epilogue
short speech at conclusion of dramatic work (Eg: The audience was so disappointed in the play that many did not remain to hear the epilogue. )
parable
short, simple story teaching a moral (Eg: Let us apply to our own conduct the lesson that this parable teaches. )
ephemeral
short-lived; fleeting (Eg: The mayfly is an ephemeral creature. )
curtail
shorten; reduce (Eg: During the coal shortage, we must curtail our use of this vital commodity. )
jostle
shove; bump (Eg: In the subway he was jostled by the crowds. )
exemplify
show by example; furnish an example (Eg: Three-time winner of the Super Bowl, Joe Montana exemplifies the ideal quarterback. )
evince
show clearly (Eg: When he tried to answer the questions, he evinced his ignorance of the subject matter. )
ebullient
showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm (Eg: )
pedantic
showing off learning; bookish (Eg: Leaving his decisions with humorous, down-to-earth anecdotes, Judge Walker was not at all pedantic legal )
convention
social or moral custom; established practice (Eg: Flying in the face of convention, George Sand (Amandine Dudevant) shocked her contemporaries by )
pariah
social outcast (Eg: I am not a pariah to be shunned and ostracized. )
plutocracy
society ruled by the wealthy (Eg: From the way the government caters to the rich, you might think our society is a plutocracy rather than a )
quagmire
soft, wet, boggy land; complex or dangerous situation from which it is difficult to free oneself (Eg: Up to her knees in mud, Myra wondered how on earth she was going to extricate herself from this )
macerate
soften by soaking in liquid; waste away (Eg: The strawberries had been soaking in the champagn for so long that they had begun to macerate: they )
besmirch
soil, defile (Eg: The scandalous remarks in the newspaper besmirch the reputations of every member of the society. )
anathema
solemn curse; someone or something that is despised (Eg: He heaped anathema upon his foe. )
adjuration
solemn urging (Eg: Her adjuration to tell the truth did not change the witnesses' testimony. )
awe
solemn wonder (Eg: The tourists gazed with awe at the tremendous expanse of the Grand Canyon. )
monolithic
solidly uniform; unyielding (Eg: Knowing the importance of appearing resolute, the patriots sought to present a monolithic front. )
dupe
someone easily fooled (Eg: While the gullible Watson often was made a dupe by unscrupulous parties, Sherlock Holmes was far more )
adjunct
something attached to but holding an inferior position (Eg: I will entertain this concept as an adjunct to the main proposal. )
comestible
something fit to be eaten (Eg: The roast turkey and other comestibles, the wines, and the excellent service made this Thanksgiving dinner )
perennial
something long-lasting (Eg: Tese plants are hardy perennials and will bloom for many years. )
novelty
something new; newness
anachronism
something or someone misplaced in time (Eg: Shakespeare's reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is an anachronism; no clocks existed in Caesar's time. )
precedent
something preceding in time that may be used as an authority or guide for future action (Eg: This decision sets a precedent for future cases of a similar nature. )
deterrent
something that discourages; hindrance (Eg: Does the threat of capital punishment serve as a deterrent to potential killers? )
brackish
somewhat saline (Eg: He found the only wells in the area were brackish; drinking the water made him nauseous. )
paean
song of praise or joy (Eg: paeans celebrating the victory filled the air. )
mollify
soothe (Eg: We tried to mollify the hysterical child by promising her many gifts. )
pacify
soothe; make calm or quiet; subdue (Eg: Dentists criticize the practice of giving fussy children sweets to pacify them. )
poultice
soothing application applied to sore and inflamed portions of the body (Eg: He was advised to apply a flaxseed poultice to the inflammation. )
emollient
soothing or softening remedy (Eg: He applied an emollient to the inflamed area. )
bland
soothing; mild (Eg: She used a bland ointment for her sunburn. )
seamy
sordid; unwholesome (Eg: In the Godfather, Michael Corleone is unwilling to expose his wife and children to the seamy side of his )
dolorous
sorrowfrl (Eg: He found the dolorous lamentations of the bereaved family emotionally disturbing and he left as quickly as )
judicious
sound in judgment; wise (Eg: At a key moment in his life, he made a judicious investment that was the foundation of his later wealth. )
crabbed
sour; peevish (Eg: The children avoided the crabbed old man because he scolded them when they made noise. )
capacious
spacious (Eg: In the capacious areas of the railroad terminal, thousands of travelers lingered while waiting for their train. )
commodious
spacious and comfortable (Eg: After sleeping in a small roadside cabins, they found their hotel suite commodious. )
scintillate
sparkle; flash (Eg: I enjoy her dinner parties because the food is excellent and the conversation scintillates. )
fitful
spasmodic; intermittent (Eg: After several fitful attempts, he decided to postpone the start of the project until he felt more energetic. )
idiom
spcial usage in language (Eg: I could not understand their idioms because literal translation made no sense. )
enunciate
speak distinctly (Eg: How will people understand you if you do not enunciate? )
fleck
spot (Eg: Her cheeks flecked with tears, were testimony to the hours of weeping. )
dappled
spotted (Eg: The sunlight filtering though the screens created a dappled effect on the wall. )
mottled
spotted (Eg: When he blushed, his face took on a mottled hue. )
maculated
spotted; stained (Eg: Instead of writing that Gorbachev had a birthmark on his forehead, the pompous young poet sang of the )
pervasive
spread throughout (Eg: Despite airing them for several hours, she could not rid her clothes of the pervasive odor of mothbals that )
incentive
spur; motive (Eg: Students who dislike school must be given an incentive to learn. )
espionage
spying (Eg: In order to maintain its power, the government developed a system of espionage that penetrated every )
dissipate
squander (Eg: The young man quickly dissipated his inheritance and was soon broke. )
assert
state strongly or positively; insist on or demand recognition of (rights, claims, etc). (Eg: When Jill asserted that nobody else in the junior class had such an early curfew, her parents Asserted )
allege
state without proof (Eg: It is alleged that she had worked for the enemy. )
diligence
steadiness of effort; persisten hard work (Eg: Her employers were greatly impressed by her diligence and offered her a partnership in the firm. )
filch
steal (Eg: The boys filched apples from the fruit stand. )
plagiarize
steal another's ideas and pass them off as one's own (Eg: )
embezzlement
stealing (Eg: The bank teller confessed his embezzlement of the funds. )
lurk
stealthily lie in waiting; slink; exist unperceived (Eg: "Who knows what evils lurk in the hearts of men? The shadow knows." )
furtive
stealthy; sneaky (Eg: The boy gave a furtive look at his classmate's test paper. )
precipitous
steep; overhasty (Eg: This hill is difficult to climb because it is so precipitous; one slip, and our descent will be precipitous as )
austerity
sternness; severity; lack of luxuries (Eg: The austerity and dignity of the court were maintained by the new justices, who were a strict and solemn )
protrude
stick out (Eg: His fingers protruded from the holes in his gloves. )
cohere
stick together (Eg: Solids have a greater tendency to cohere than liquids. )
glutinous
sticky; viscous (Eg: Molasses is a glutinous substance. )
prostrate
stretch out full on ground (Eg: He prostrated himself before the idol. )
martinet
strict disciplinarian (Eg: The commanding officer was a martinet who observed each regulation to the ltter. )
austere
strict, stern (Eg: His austere demeanor prevented us from engaging in our usual frivolous activities. )
clapper
striker (tongue) of a bell (Eg: Wishing to be undisturbed by the bell, Dale wound his scarf around the clapper to muffle its striking. )
flay
strip off skin; plunder (Eg: The criminal was condemned to be flayed alive. )
divest
strip; deprive (Eg: He was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern. )
apoplexy
stroke; loss of consciousness followed by paralysis (Eg: He was crippled by an attack of apoplexy. )
saunter
stroll slowly (Eg: As we sauntered through the park, we stopped frequently to admire the spring flowers. )
penchant
strong inclination; liking (Eg: He had a strong penchant for sculpture and owned many statues. )
alimentary
supplying nourishment (Eg: The alimentary canal in our bodies is so named because digestion of foods occurs there. )
champion
support militantly (Eg: )
fulcrum
support on which a lever rests (Eg: If we use this stone as a fulcrum and the crowbar as a lever, we may be able to move this boulder. )
buttress
support; prop up (Eg: Just as architects buttress the walls of cathedrals with flying buttresses, debates buttress their arguments )
constituent
supporter (Eg: The congressman received hundreds of letters from angry constituents after the Equal Rights Amendment )
adherent
supporter; follower (Eg: In the wake of the scandal, the senator's one-time adherent quietly deserted him. )
reputed
supposed (Eg: He is the reputed father of the child. )
putative
supposed; reputed (Eg: Although there are some doubts, the putative author of this work is Massinger. )
concomitant
that which accompanies (Eg: Culture is not always a concomitant of wealth. )
implication
that which is hinted at or suggested (Eg: If I understand the implications of your remark, you do not trust our captain. )
galaxy
the Milky Way; any collection of brilliant personalities (Eg: The deaths of such famous actors as Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, and Marlene Dietrich )
occident
the West (Eg: It will take occident to understand the ways and customs of the orient. )
embroil
throw into confusion (Eg: He became embroiled in the heated discussion when he tried to arbitrate the dispute. )
prosody
the art of versification (Eg: This book on prosody contains a rhyming dictionary as well as samples of the various verse forms. )
molecule
the smallest particle (one or more atoms) of a substance that has all the properties of that (Eg: substance )
histrionic
theatrical (Eg: He was proud of his histrionic ability and wanted to paly the role of Hamlet. )
larceny
theft (Eg: Because of the prisoner's record, the district attorney refused to reduce the charge from grand larceny to )
motif
theme (Eg: This simple motif runs throughout the score. )
pachyderm
thick-skinned animal (Eg: The elephant is probably the best-known pachyderm. )
coagulate
thicken; congeal; clot (Eg: Even after you remove the pudding from the burner, it will continue to coagulate as it stands. )
emaciated
thin and wasted (Eg: His long period of starvation had left him emaciated. )
gruel
thin, liquid porridge (Eg: Our daily allotment of gruel made the meal not only monotonous but also unpalatable. )
cogitate
think over (Eg: cogitate on this problem; the solution will come. )
comprehensive
thorough; inclusive (Eg: This book provides a comprehensive review of verbal and math skills for the SAT. )
overhaul
thoroughly examine the condition of and repair if necessary (Eg: It is necessary for the engineers of NASA to overhaul the rocket everyday; otherwise, an incident similar to )
gentility
those of gentle birth; refinement (Eg: )
cerebration
thought (Eg: Mathematics problems sometimes require much cerebration. )
ominous
threatening (Eg: Those clouds are ominous; they suggest that a severe storm is on the way. )
flail
thresh grain by hand; strike or slap; toss about (Eg: In medieval times, warriors flailed their foe with a metal ball attached to a handle. )
frugality
thrift; economy (Eg: In these economically difficult days businesses must practice frugality or risk bankruptcy. )
improvident
thriftless (Eg: He was constantly being warned to mend his improvident ways and begin to "save for a rainy day." )
pulsate
throb (Eg: We could see the blood vessels in his temple pulsate as he became more angry. )
palpitate
throb; flutter (Eg: As he became excited, his heart began to palpitate more and more erratically. )
precipitate
throw headlong; hasten (Eg: The removal of American political support appeared to have precipitated the downfall of the Marcos )
fret
to be annonyed or vexed (Eg: To fret over your poor grades is foolish; instead, decide to work harder in the future. )
roil
to make liquids murky by stirring up sediment; to disturb (Eg: Be careful when you pour not to roil the wine; if you stir up the sediment you'll destroy the flavor. )
caulk
to make watertight (by plugging seams) (Eg: )
knell
tolling of a bell, especially to indicate a funeral, disaster, etc.; sound of the funeral bell (Eg: "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day." )
rhapsodize
to speak or write in an exaggeratedly enthusiastic manner (Eg: She greatly enjoyed her Hawaiian vacation and rhapsodized about it for weeks. )
defrock
to strip a priest or minister of church authority (Eg: We knew the minister had violated church regulations, but we had not realized his offense was serious )
modulation
toning down; changing from one key to another (Eg: When we she spoke, it was with quiet modulation of voice. )
equable
tranquil; steady; uniform (Eg: After the hot summers and cold winters of New England, he found the climate of the West Indies equable )
meander
to wind or turn in its course (Eg: It is difficult to sail up this stream because of the way it meanders through the countryside. )
memento
token; reminder (Eg: Take this book as a memento of your visit. )
brook
tolerate; endure (Eg: The dean would brook no interference with his disciplinary actions. )
indisputable
too certain to be disputed (Eg: In the face of these indisputable statements, I withdraw my complaint. )
finicky
too particular; fussy (Eg: The old lady was finicky about her food and ate very little. )
pestle
tool for mashing or grinding substances in a hard bowl (Eg: From the way in which the elderly pharmacist pounded the drug with his pestle, young George could tell )
cog
tooth projecting from a wheel (Eg: A bicycle chain moves through a series of cogs in order to propel the bike. )
fiasco
total failure (Eg: Our ambitious venture ended in a fiasco and we were forced to flee. )
explicit
totally clear; definite; outspoken (Eg: Don't just hint around that you're dissatisfied: be explicit about what's bugging you. )
petulant
touchy; peevish (Eg: The feverish patient was petulant and restless. )
barterer
trader (Eg: The barterer exchanged trinkets for the natives' furs. )
quisling
traitor who aids invaders (Eg: In his conquest of Europe, Hitler was aided by the quislings who betrayed their own people and served in )
intrude
trespass; enter as an uninvited person (Eg: She hesitated to intrude on their conversation. )
hoax
trick; practical joke (Eg: Embarrassed by the hoax, he reddened and left the room. )
feint
trick; shift; sham blow (Eg: The boxer was fooled by his opponent's feint and dropped his guard. )
ruse
trick; stratagem (Eg: You will not be able to fool your friends with such an obvious ruse. )
chicanery
trickery (Eg: Your deceitful tactics in this case are indications of chicanery. )
dally
trifle with; procrastinate (Eg: Laertes told Ophelia that Hamlet could only dally with her affections. )
flippancy
trifling gaiety (Eg: Your flippancy at this serious moment is offensive. )
bauble
trinket; trifle (Eg: The child was delighted with the bauble she had won in the grab bag. )
junket
trip, especially one taken for pleasure by an official at public expense (Eg: Though she maintained she had gone abroad to collect firsthand data on the Common Market, the )
jaunt
trip; short journey (Eg: He took a quick jaunt to Atlantic City. )
platitude
trite remark; commonplace statement (Eg: The platitudes in his speech were applauded by the vast majority in his audience; only a few people )
pest
troublesome or annoying person (Eg: He was a pest; always bothering people. )
despotism
tyranny (Eg: The people rebelled against the despotism of the king. )
irrepressible
unable to be restrained or held back (Eg: Her high spirits were irrepressible. )
doctrinaire
unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding (Eg: Weng had hoped that the student-led democracy movement might bring about change in China, but the )
irrevocable
unalterable (Eg: Let us not brood over past mistakes since they are irrevocable. )
inevitable
unavoidable (Eg: Death and taxes are both inevitable. )
infidel
unbeliever (Eg: The Saracens made war against tne infidels. )
irresolute
uncertain how to act; weak (Eg: She had no respect for him because he seemed weak-willed and irresolute. )
indeterminate
uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite (Eg: That interest rates shall rise appears certain; when they will do so, however, remains indeterminate. )
precarious
uncertain; risky (Eg: I think this stock is a precarious investment and advise against its purchase. )
litotes
understatement for emphasis (Eg: To say, "He little realizes," when we mean that he does not realize at all, is an example of the kind of )
implicit
understood but not stated (Eg: Jack never told Jill he adored her; he believed his love was implicit in his deeds. )
mortician
undertaker (Eg: The mortician prepared the corpse for burial. )
embryonic
undeveloped; rudimentary (Eg: The evil of class and race hatred must be eliminated while it is still in an embryonic state; otherwise, it may )
nondescript
undistinctive; ordinary (Eg: The private detective was a short, nondescript fellow with no ourstanding features, the sort of person one )
inquisitive
unduly curious; prying; seeking knowledge (Eg: We need more inquisitive students in this school; lectures are dull. )
malaise
uneasiness; distress (Eg: She felt a sudden vague malaise when she heard sounds at the door. )
infallible
unerring (Eg: We must remember that none of us is infallible; we all make mistakes. )
inequity
unfairness (Eg: In demanding equal pay for equal work, women protest the basic inequity of a system that allots greater )
adverse
unfavorable; hostile (Eg: adverse circumstances compelled him to close his business. )
hapless
unfortunate (Eg: This hapless creature had never known a moment's pleasure. )
canard
unfounded rumor (Eg: It is almost impossible to protect oneself from such a base canard. )
lumen
unit of light energy (one candle's worth) (Eg: In buying light bulbs, she checked not only their power, as measured in watts, but their brightness, as )
carat
unit of weight for precious stones; measure of fineness of gold (Eg: He gave her a diamond that weighed three carats and was mounted in an eighteen-carat gold band. )
catholic
universal; wide-ranging liberal (Eg: He was extremely catholic in his taste and read everything he could find in the library. )
omnipresent
universally present; ubiquitous (Eg: On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus is omnipotent. )
iniquitous
unjust; wicked (Eg: )
fluke
unlikely occurrence; stroke of fortune (Eg: )
implausible
unlikely; unbelievable (Eg: Though her alibi seened implausible, it in fact turned out to be true. )
indifferent
unmoved; lacking concern (Eg: Because she felt no desire to marry, she was indifferent to his constant proposals. )
derivative
unoriginal; obtained from another source (Eg: Although her early poetry was clearly derivative in nature, the critics thought she had promise and )
prophylactic
used to prevent disease (Eg: Despite all prophylactic measures introduced by the authorities, the epidemic raged until cool weather set )
colander
utensil with perforated bottom used for straining (Eg: Before serving the spaghetti, place it in a colander to drain it. )
blurt
utter impulsively (Eg: Before she could stop him, he blurted out the news. )
refrain
v. abstain from; resist n. chorus (Eg: Whenever he heard a song with a lively chorus, Sol could never refrain from joining in on the refrain. )
generality
vague statement (Eg: This report is filled with generalities; you must be more specific in you statements. )
nebulous
vague; hazy; cloudy (Eg: She had only a nebulous memory of her grandmother's face. )
profane
violate; desecrate (Eg: Tourists are urged not to profane the sanctity of holy places by wearing improper garb. )
pauper
very poor person (Eg: Though Widow Brown was living on a reduced income, she was by no means a pauper. )
prim
very precise and formal; exceedingly proper (Eg: Many people commented on the contrast between the prim attire of the young lady and the inappropriate )
infinitesimal
very small (Eg: In the twentieth century, physicists have made their greatest discoveries about the characteristics of )
mite
very small object or creature; small coin (Eg: Gnats are annoying mites that sing. )
iota
very small quantity (Eg: She hadn't an iota of common sense. )
crass
very unrefined; grossly insensible (Eg: The philosophers deplored the crass commercialism. )
nefarious
very wicked (Eg: He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds. )
exasperate
vex (Eg: Johnny often exasperates his mother with his pranks. )
rile
vex; irritate; muddy (Eg: Red had a hair-trigger temper: he was an easy man to rile. )
chagrin
vexation; disappointment (Eg: Her refusal to go with us filled us with chagrin. )
onslaught
vicious assault (Eg: We suffered many casualties during unexpected onslaght of the enemy troops. )
quarry
victim; object of a hunt (Eg: The police closed in on their quarry. )
robust
vigorous; strong (Eg: The candidate for the football team had a robust physique. )