Words

imminent

about to happen

impending

about to happen

egregious

above what is usually found as right or proper; outrageous

terse

abrupt

eschewing

abstain from, refrain from

eschew

abstain from, refrain from, give up, forgo

recondite

abstruse, arcane, esoteric, recherché, profound, difficult, complex

profusion

abundance

copious

abundant in supply or quantity

palatable

acceptable to the mind or senses

mundane

(adj.) concerned with the world rather than with heaven, commonplace (He is more concerned with the mundane issues of day-to-day life than with spiritual topics.)

pithy

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

eclectic

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

orthodox

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

wily

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

poignant

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

recalcitrant

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

meager

(adj.) deficient in size or quality (My meager portion of food did nothing to satisfy my appetite.)

lenient

(adj.) demonstrating tolerance or gentleness (Because Professor Oglethorpe allowed his students to choose their final grades, the other teachers believed that he was excessively lenient.)

desolate

(adj.) deserted, dreary, lifeless (She found the desolate landscape quite a contrast to the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded city.)

venerable

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

intractable

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

haughty

(adj.) disdainfully proud (The superstar's haughty dismissal of her costars will backfire on her someday.)

licentious

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

insipid

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

banal

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

irascible

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

tractable

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

pellucid

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

docile

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

submissive

(adj.) easily yielding to authority (In some cultures, wives are supposed to be submissive and support their husbands in all matters.)

ambivalent

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

puerile

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

vacuous

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

apathetic

(adj.) lacking concern, emotion (Uninterested in politics, Bruno was apathetic about whether he lived under a capitalist or communist regime.)

oblivious

(adj.) lacking consciousness or awareness of something (Oblivious to the burning smell emanating from the kitchen, my father did not notice that the rolls in the oven were burned until much too late.)

circumscribed

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

penurious

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

enigmatic

(adj.) mystifying, cryptic (That man wearing the dark suit and dark glasses is so enigmatic that no one even knows his name.)

vapid

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

obtuse

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

indolent

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

erudite

(adj.) learned (My Latin teacher is such an erudite scholar that he has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse ancient poetry.)

profane

(adj.) lewd, indecent (Jacob's profane act of dumping frogs in the holy water in the chapel at his boarding school resulted in his dismissal.)

flaccid

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

animated

(adj.) lively (When he begins to talk about drama, which is his true passion, he becomes very animated.)

coherent

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

forlorn

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

boisterous

(adj.) loud and full of energy (The candidate won the vote after giving several boisterous speeches on television.)

remiss

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

discordant

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

speculative

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

ingenuous

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

viscous

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

stingy

(adj.) not generous, not inclined to spend or give (Scrooge's stingy habits did not fit with the generous, giving spirit of Christmas.)

taciturn

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

congenial

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

profuse

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

impecunious

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

copious

(adj.) profuse, abundant (Copious amounts of Snapple were imbibed in the cafeteria.)

agile

(adj.) quick, nimble (The dogs were too slow to catch the agile rabbit.)

truculent

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

cerebral

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

epistolary

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

nocturnal

(adj.) relating to or occurring during the night (Jackie was a nocturnal person; she would study until dawn and sleep until the evening.)

terrestrial

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

aquatic

(adj.) relating to water (The marine biologist studies starfish and other aquatic creatures.)

penitent

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

aloof

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

restive

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

hardy

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

commodious

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

putrid

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

circuitous

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

covert

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

disparate

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

fickle

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

resplendent

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

diligent

(adj.) showing care in doing one's work (The diligent researcher made sure to check her measurements multiple times.)

perfunctory

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

amorous

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

deferential

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

canny

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

perspicacity

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

saccharine

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

inane

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

analogous

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

deft

(adj.) skillful, capable (Having worked in a bakery for many years, Marcus was a deft bread maker.)

adroit

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

cunning

(adj.) sly, clever at being deceitful (The general devised a cunning plan to surprise the enemy.)

paucity

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

cosmopolitan

(adj.) sophisticated, worldly (Lloyd's education and upbringing were cosmopolitan, so he felt right at home among the powerful and learned.)

scintillating

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

dour

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

impassive

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

inveterate

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

pertinacious

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

capricious

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

servile

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

puissance

(n) power; might; glory

profligacy

(n) reckless extravagance; shameless dissoluteness

asperity

(n) severity; harshness; irritability

aspersion

(n) slander; false rumor

anamnesis

(n) the ability to recall past occurrences; (n) the case history of a medical patient; (n) a memory

omphalos

(n) the central point; the navel

paregmenon

(n) the juxtaposition of words that have a common derivation, as in "sense and sensibility"

outrance

(n) the utmost extremity

malediction

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

anathema

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

fallacy

(n.) a deceptive, misleading, or false notion or belief (That AIDS could be transmitted through the air was a widely believed fallacy in the 1908s.)

maelstrom

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

pathology

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

partisan

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

confluence

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

zephyr

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

boon

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

colossus

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

salutation

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

dearth

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

tome

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

demagogue

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

tirade

(n.) a long speech marked by harsh or biting language (Every time Jessica was late, her boyfriend went into a long tirade about punctuality.)

forum

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

caucus

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

dirge

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

commendation

(n.) a notice of approval or recognition (Jared received a commendation from Linda, his supervisor, for his stellar performance.)

confidant

(n.) a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met, she became my chief confidant.)

refugee

(n.) a person who flees for refuge or safety, esp. to a foreign country, as in time of political upheaval, war, etc. (The refugees, driven from their homes by violence, made their way across the desert.)

cobbler

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

conduit

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

bard

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

artifact

(n.) a remaining piece from an extinct culture or place (The scientists spent all day searching the cave for artifacts from the ancient Mayan civilization.)

panacea

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

cadence

(n.) a rhythm, progression of sound (The pianist used the foot pedal to emphasize the cadence of the sonata.)

parody

(n.) a satirical imitation (A hush fell over the classroom when the teacher returned to find Deborah acting out a parody of his teaching style.)

anthology

(n.) a selected collection of writings, songs, etc. (The new anthology of Bob Dylan songs contains all his greatest hits and a few songs that you might never have heard before.)

oration

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

affinity

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

disrepute

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

crescendo

(n.) a steady increase in intensity or volume (The crescendo of the brass instruments gave the piece a patriotic feel.)

proclivity

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

hierarchy

(n.) a system with ranked groups, usually according to social, economic, or professional class (Women found it very difficult to break into the upper ranks of the department's hierarchy.)

reprieve

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

excursion

(n.) a trip or outing (After taking an excursion to the Bronx Zoo, I dreamed about pandas and monkeys.)

dialect

(n.) a variation of a language (In the country's remote, mountainous regions, the inhabitants spoke a dialect that the country's other inhabitants had difficulty understanding.)

semaphore

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

morass

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

plethora

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

paradox

(n.) an apparently contradictory statement that is perhaps true (The diplomat refused to acknowledge the paradox that negotiating a peace treaty would demand more resources than waging war.)

pretense

(n.) an appearance or action intended to deceive (Though he actually wanted to use his parents' car to go on a date, Nick borrowed his parents' car under the pretense of attending a group study session.)

increment

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

calamity

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

condolence

(n.) an expression of sympathy in sorrow (Brian lamely offered his condolences on the loss of his sister's roommate's cat.)

utopia

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

blemish

(n.) an imperfection, flaw (The dealer agreed to lower the price because of the many blemishes on the surface of the wooden furniture.)

infusion

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

innuendo

(n.) an insinuation (During the debate, the politician made several innuendos about the sexual activities of his opponent.)

affront

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

portent

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

presage

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

injunction

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

edict

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

platitude

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

temerity

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

acrimony

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

ennui

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

camaraderie

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

contusion

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

prudence

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

equanimity

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

duplicity

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

rancor

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

irreverence

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

hegemony

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

alacrity

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

vicissitude

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

ostracism

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

agriculture

(n.) farming (It was a huge step in the progress of civilization when tribes left hunting and gathering and began to develop more sustainable methods of obtaining food, such as agriculture.)

trepidation

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

absolution

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

acclaim

(n.) high praise (Greg's excellent poem won the acclaim of his friends.)

renown

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

effrontery

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

privation

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

grandiloquence

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

anesthesia

(n.) loss of sensation (When the nerves in his spine were damaged, Mr. Hollins suffered anesthesia in his legs.)

serendipity

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

vocation

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

veracity

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

wrath

(n.) vengeful anger, punishment (Did you really want to incur her wrath when she is known for inflicting the worst punishments legally possible?)

ensconce

(v) to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place

calumniate

(v) to slander; to accuse falsely and maliciously

depone

(v) to testify under oath; despose

truss

(v) to tie, bind, or fasten; (v) to make fast with skewers, thread

bilk

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

abrogate

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

immerse

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

concede

(v.) to accept as valid (Andrew had to concede that what his mother said about Diana made sense.)

augment

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

abet

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

compress

(v.) to apply pressure, squeeze together (Lynn compressed her lips into a frown.)

appraise

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

ascribe

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

nurture

(v.) to assist the development of (Although Serena had never watered the plant, which was about to die, Javier was able to nurture it back to life.)

dither

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

stagnate

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

beseech

(v.) to beg, plead, implore (The servant beseeched the king for food to feed his starving family.)

deprecate

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

denigrate

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

vituperate

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

induce

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

elicit

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

amalgamate

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

subjugate

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

convene

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

inure

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

admonish

(v.) to caution, criticize, reprove (Joe's mother admonished him not to ruin his appetite by eating cookies before dinner.)

transmute

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

enthrall

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

elucidate

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

consummate

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

complement

(v.) to complete, make perfect (Ann's scarf complements her blouse beautifully, making her seem fully dressed even though she isn't wearing a coat.)

accost

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

vex

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

vanquish

(v.) to conquer or subdue by superior force (The army vanquished the opposition with cunning, strength, and ingenuity.)

ruminate

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

contravene

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

quell

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

decry

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

chastise

(v.) to criticize severely (After being chastised by her peers for mimicking Britney Spears, Miranda dyed her hair black and affected a Gothic style.)

consecrate

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

raze

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

disavow

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

excavate

(v.) to dig out of the ground and remove (The pharaoh's treasures were excavated by archeologists in Egypt.)

deter

(v.) to discourage, prevent from doing (Bob's description of scary snakes couldn't deter Marcia from traveling in the rainforests.)

dispel

(v.) to drive away, scatter (She entered the office as usual on Monday, dispelling the rumor that she had been fired.)

placate

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

assuage

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

relish

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

revel

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

assess

(v.) to evaluate (A crew arrived to assess the damage after the crash.)

debunk

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

emote

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

deplore

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

enamor

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

constrain

(v.) to forcibly restrict (His belief in nonviolence constrained him from taking revenge on his attackers.)

exonerate

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

confound

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

circumvent

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

reciprocate

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

consign

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

abort

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

exalt

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

enfranchise

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

delegate

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

surmise

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

interject

(v.) to insert between other things (During our conversation, the cab driver occasionally interjected his opinion.)

abduct

(v.) to kidnap, take by force (The evildoers abducted the fairy princess from her happy home.)

deride

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

prescribe

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

cavort

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

curtail

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

aspire

(v.) to long for, aim toward (The young poet aspires to publish a book of verse someday.)

vilify

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

debase

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

demean

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

compensate

(v.) to make an appropriate payment for something (Reginald bought Sharona a new dress to compensate her for the one he'd spilled his ice cream on.)

annul

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

undulate

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

propagate

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

cultivate

(v.) to nurture, improve, refine (At the library, she cultivated her interest in spy novels.)

expunge

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

carouse

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

modulate

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

ascertain

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

dissuade

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

palliate

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

abate

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

repudiate

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

abjure

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

exult

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

alleviate

(v.) to relieve, make more bearable (This drug will alleviate the symptoms of the terrible disease, but only for a while.)

eradicate

(v.) to remove or destroy utterly; extirpate (The bleach eradicated the germs festering in the collar of the dirty shirt.)

obfuscate

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

supersede

(v.) to replace in power, authority, effectiveness, acceptance, use, etc., as by another person or thing (The general's desire to launch an attack was superseded by the President's desire to try diplomacy to resolve the issue,)

repose

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

refurbish

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

disclose

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

wallow

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

satiate

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

berate

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

rail

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

avenge

(v.) to seek revenge (The victims will take justice into their own hands and strive to avenge themselves against the men who robbed them.)

usurp

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

pillage

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

evince

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

adumbrate

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

allay

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

disseminate

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

embezzle

(v.) to steal money by falsifying records (The accountant was fired for embezzling $10,000 of the company's funds.)

balk

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

accentuate

(v.) to stress, highlight (Psychologists agree that those people who are happiest accentuate the positive in life.)

corroborate

(v.) to support with evidence (Luke's seemingly outrageous claim was corroborated by witnesses.)

revoke

(v.) to take back (After missing the curfew set by the court for eight nights in a row, Marcel's freedom of movement was revoked.)

rescind

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

coagulate

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

foil

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

fathom

(v.) to understand, comprehend (I cannot fathom why you like that crabby and mean-spirited neighbor of ours.)

instigate

(v.) to urge, goad (The demagogue instigated the crowd into a fury by telling them that they had been cheated by the federal government.)

exhort

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

goad

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

desecrate

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

transgress

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

chide

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

encumber

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

atrophy

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

Effusive

Enthusiastic

ember

a glowing piece of burning wood or coal

avocation

a hobby or minor occupation

nonpartisans

a lack of affiliation with a political party

discrepancy

a lack of compatibility or similarity between two or more facts: there's a discrepancy between your account and his.

lethargy

a lack of energy and enthusiasm

stockpiling

a large accumulated stock of goods or materials, esp. one held in reserve for use at a time of shortage or other emergency

swarm

a large number of insects or other small creatures, especially when in motion

emporium

a large retail store selling a wide variety of goods a business establishment that specializes in products or services on a large scale (often used for humorously formal effect)

Demagogue

a leader who tries to stir up people by appeals to emotion, prejudice, etc., in order to achieve power

hypothesis

a message expressing an opinion based on incomplete evidence

camouflage

a method of concealing or hiding military troops

Euphemism

a mild or vague word or phrase replacing one considered harsh or offensively direct

Scintilla

a minute amount; an iota or trace

amalgam

a mixture or blend: a curious amalgam of the traditional and the modern

Proclivity

a natural inclination; predisposition

clauses

a new clause in the treaty: section, paragraph, article, subsection; stipulation, condition, proviso, rider.

bias

a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation

virtuoso

a person highly skilled in music or another artistic pursuit

Patrician

a person of refined upbringing, manners and taste

precursor

a person or thing that comes before another of the same kind; a forerunner

milieu

a person's social environment: he grew up in a military milieu.

habitation

a place in which to live; a residence

toxin

a poisonous substance

demagogue

a political leader who appeals to the passions and prejudices of his audience

predilection

a preference or special liking for something; a bias in favor of something

antibody

a protein in blood or tissues that protect you against certain germs

momentum

a quantity used to measure the motion of a body, equal to the product of its mass and velocity. Any change in the speed or direction of a body changes its momentum

Symbiotic

a relationship of mutual benefit or depencence

interloper

a person who becomes involved in a place or situation where they are not wanted or are considered not to belong

orator

a person who delivers a speech or oration

zealot

a person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals

recluse

a person who lives alone or has little to do with other people

solicitor

a person who tries to obtain business orders

Egalitarian

favoring social equality

immutable

fixed, set, rigid, inflexible, permanent, established

panache

flamboyant confidence of style or manner

pliant

flexible, easily influenced

jocular

fond of or characterized by joking; humorous or playful

jocularity

fond of or characterized by joking; humorous or playful: she sounded in a jocular mood | his voice was jocular

contrived

forced, strained, studied, artificial, affected

vehement

forceful, ardent, impassioned, heated, spirited

reconciliation

getting two things to correspond

temporize

he temporized for weeks, hoping the problem would go away: equivocate, procrastinate, play for time

reviling

he was reviled as a traitor: criticize, censure, condemn, attack, inveigh against, rail against, castigate, lambaste, denounce; slander, libel

bane

headache, nightmare, trial

infighting

hidden conflict or competitiveness within an organization boxing closer to an opponent than at arm's length.

Zenith

highest point

propensity

his propensity for giving long speeches: tendency, inclination, predisposition, proneness, proclivity

heretical

holding an opinion at odds with what is generally accepted

Probity

honesty, uprightness

gargantuan

huge

bawdy

humorously vulgar

i.e.

id est (that is)

paragon

ideal model

boorish

ill-mannered and coarse and contemptible in behavior or appearance

loutish

ill-mannered and coarse and contemptible in behavior or appearance

conditional

imposing or depending on or containing a condition

irrefutable

impossible to deny or disprove

indomitable

impossible to subdue or defeat: a woman of indomitable spirit

inscrutable

impossible to understand or interpret: Guy looked blankly inscrutable.

despondent

in low spirits from loss of hope or courage

anachronistic

in the wrong time period

denizen

inhabitant or occupant of a particular place

guileless

innocent and without deception, naive

quizzical

inquiring, questioning, curious

precarious

insecure, unpredictable, risky

callous

insensitive

callousness

insensitive & cruel regard toward others

effrontery

insolent or impertinent behavior, imprudence

effrontery

insolent or impertinent behavior: one juror had the effrontery to challenge the coroner's decision.

imbued

inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality: the entire performance was imbued with sparkle and elan.

formidable

inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable: a formidable opponent

inculcating

instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction

edify

instruct or improve (someone) morally or intellectually

didactic

instructive (especially excessively)

didactic

instructive, learning

cerebral

intellectual

pretentious

intended to attract notice and impress others

placatory

intended to make someone less angry or hostile; conciliatory

benevolent

intending or showing kindness

intermittent

intermittent bursts of gunfire: sporadic, irregular, fitful, spasmodic, broken, fragmentary

interceded

intervene on behalf of another

mediation

intervention in a dispute in order to resolve it; arbitration: the parties have sought mediation and it has failed. • intervention in a process or relationship; intercession: they are offering sacrifice and mediation between God and man.

embroiled

involve (someone) deeply in an argument, conflict, or difficult situation: she became embroiled in a dispute between two women she hardly knew | the movie's about a journalist who becomes embroiled with a nightclub owner. • bring into a state of confusion or disorder

Superficial

involving a surface only

intrepid

invulnerable to fear or intimidation

extraneous

irrelevant or unrelated to subject

integrates

combine

synergy

combined effort

banal

commonplace; boring

Banal

commonplace; trivial

analogy

comparing 2 things that are not alike

querulous

complaining in a petulant or whining manner

consummate

complete

consummate

complete something or highly skilled

concession

compromise, acceptance, surrender

litigiousness

concerned with lawsuits or litigation

pragmatic

concerned with practical matters

Aesthetic

concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste

laconic

concise, terse, succinct, short

quandary

condition of uncertainty or doubt; confusion

provisionary

conditional, temporary

corroborating

confirm or give support to (a statement, theory, or finding)

corroborated

confirmed

accosted

confront, call to, shout to, hail, address

corollary

consequence, result, end result, upshot, effect, repercussion, product, by-product, offshoot.

fallacious

containing or based on a fallacy

expedience

convenient and practical, appropriate

dialogue

conversation

Didactic

conveying instruction; teaching some moral lesson

commensurate

corresponding in size or degree; in proportion: salary will be commensurate with experience

Visceral

course, base, instinctive

Pernicious

deadly

duplicitous

deceitful

assertion

declaration, statement

profundity

deep insight; great depth of knowledge or thought

overwrought

deeply agitated especially from emotion

truculent

defiantly aggressive

wanton

deliberate, willful, malicious, spiteful, wicked, cruel

decried

denounce, condemn, criticize, censure, attack, rail against, run down

sedulous

diligent, careful, meticulous, thorough, assiduous

scrupulous

diligent, extremely attentive to detail

Impugned

dispute the truth, validity, or honesty of (a statement or motive); call into question"the father does not impugn her capacity as a good mother"

impugned

dispute truth of something, challenge

subversive

disruptive troublemaker

clandestine

kept secret or done secretively, esp. because illicit

clandestine

kept secret or done secretively, esp. because illicit: she deserved better than these clandestine meetings.

incandescent

emitting light as a result of being heated

impassioned

emotional, heartfelt

obfuscation

ender obscure, unclear, or unintelligible

stoicism

endurance, fortitude

transient

enduring a very short time

perennial

enduring, lasting, everlasting

Verve

energy and enthusiasm in the expression of ideas

momentum

energy, force, power

hedonistic

engaged in the pursuit of pleasure; sensually self-indulgent: a hedonistic existence of drink, drugs, and parties.

sociable

enjoying the company of others; friendly

ardent

enthusiastic or passionate

Milieu

environment; setting

effacement

erase (a mark) from a surface make oneself appear insignificant or inconspicuous.

Substantiate

establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts

extrapolated

estimate or conclude (something) by extrapolating

concord

agreement, harmony, accord, consensus

mitigated

alleviate, reduce, diminish, lessen, weaken

mitigated

alleviate, reduce, diminish, lessen, weaken, lighten

translucent

allowing light to pass through, but blurring it so that images cannot be seen clearly

Avarice

an excessive desire of gain; greediness

pundit

an expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called on to give opinions about it to the public

conflagration

an extensive fire that destroys a great deal of land or property

tundra

an extremely cold, dry biome

Sine qua non

an indispensable thing

scarcity

an insufficient amount or supply; a shortage

conjecture

an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information

adversary

an opponent or enemy

vector

an organism, such as an insect, that transmits pollen

vagary

an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone's behavior: the vagaries of the weather.

maverick

an unorthodox or independent-minded person

explications

analyze and develop (an idea or principle) in detail

progenitor

ancestor

at once

and

between

and

both

and

acrimonious

angry, rancorous, caustic

irate

angry; enraged

Indolent

avoiding labor and exertion; lazy

frugal

avoiding waste

perverse

awkward & Illogical

ungainly

awkward, clumsy

perverse

awkward, illogical

rudimentary

basic, elementary, primary, fundamental, essential

supercilious

arrogant, superiority complex

imperious

arrogant; overbearing

not so much

as

ascetic

austere, self-denying, abstinent, abstemious, self-disciplined, self-abnegating; simple

magisterial

authoritative, masterful, assured, lordly, commanding, assertive

credence

belief in or acceptance of something as true

mundane

belonging to this earth or world

patron

benefactor

valor

bravery

terse

brief and to the point; concise

Succinct

brief, concise

succinctly

briefly & clearly expressed

succinct

briefly giving the gist of something

alacrity

brisk and cheerful readiness

alacrity

brisk and cheerful readiness: she accepted the invitation with alacrity.

onerous (adj)

burdensome

not

but

neither

but also

not only

but also

aback

by surprise

vicarious

experienced in the imagination through the feelings or actions of another person

empirical

experimental

deride

express contempt for; ridicule

pontificate

express opinions pompously

slipshod

careless, lackadaisical, slapdash, disorganized, haphazard, hit-or-miss, untidy

perfunctory

carried out w/ minimum effort, mechanical

flippant

casual, disrespectful

entangled

cause to become twisted together with or caught in: fish attempt to swim through the mesh and become entangled. • involve (someone) in difficulties or complicated circumstances from which it is difficult to escape: the case of murder in which she had found herself so painfully entangled.

enervating

causing debilitation

repugnant

causing disgust; offensive or repulsive

direful

causing fear or dread or terror

dismal

causing gloom or depression; dreary

deleterious

causing harm or damage

contentious

causing or likely to cause an argument; controversial

leery

cautious or wary due to realistic suspicions: a city leery of gang violence

stealthy

cautiously, secretively

lionized

celebrate, fête, glorify, honor, exalt

disparaging

expressing the opinion that something is of little worth; derogatory

disparaging

expressing the opinion that something is of little worth; derogatory: disparaging remarks about public housing

Hyperbole

extravagant exaggeration

hilarity

extreme amusement

jingoism

extreme patriotism, chauvinism, extreme nationalism, xenophobia, flag-waving; hawkishness, militarism, belligerence, bellicosity

heady

extremely exciting as if by alcohol or a narcotic

Exiguous

extremely scanty (bare)

ebullient

exuberant, buoyant, cheerful, joyful, cheery, merry, jolly, sunny, jaunty, lighthearted

elated

exultantly proud and joyful

abortive

failing to accomplish an intended result

equitable

fair and impartial

equitable

fair and impartial: an equitable balance of power

fidelity

faithfulness, loyalty, constancy; trueheartedness, trustworthiness, dependability

fallacious

fake

auspicious

favorable, oppertune

auspicious

favorable, propitious, promising, rosy, good, encouraging

avant-garde

new forms, innovative

Disingenuous

not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating

fallacy

not true. false. lie.

NB

nota bene (Latin meaning note well); used to direct attention to something particularly important

Salient

noticeable; also, projecting; also, leaping

fortuitous

occurring by happy chance

Apocryphal

of doubtful authority or authenticity

tactile

of or connected with the sense of touch: vocal and visual signals become less important as tactile signals intensify. • perceptible by touch or apparently so; tangible: she had a distinct, almost tactile memory. • designed to be perceived by touch: tactile exhibitions help blind people enjoy the magic of sculpture.

draconian

of or relating to Draco or his harsh code of laws

centennial

of or relating to a hundredth anniversary

bucolic

of or relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life

despotic

of or typical of a despot; tyrannical: a despotic regime

egalitarian

of, relating to, or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities

abhorrent

offensive to the mind

revisionists

often derogatory a policy of revision or modification, esp. of Marxism on evolutionary socialist (rather than revolutionary) or pluralist principles. • the theory or practice of revising one's attitude to a previously accepted situation or point of view.

unctuous

oily; flattering

Iconoclast

one who attacks and seeks to overthrow traditional or popular ideas of institutions

defiance

open resistance to an opposing force or authority.

dogmatic

opinionated, peremptory, assertive, insistent, emphatic, adamant, doctrinaire

NOT opposition "against"

opposition "to"

sanguine

optimistic

sanguine

optimistic, bullish, hopeful

recourse

option, possibility, alternative, resort, way out, hope, remedy, choice, expedient.

either

or

whether

or

chronology

order of events. sequence of events.

prosaic

ordinary

prosaic

ordinary, everyday

omnivore

organism that eats plants and animals

parasite

organism that gets it nourishment from another

renegade

outlaw

silhouette

outline of body

maudlin

over sentimental, emotional

treacly

overly sentimental

violate

overstep, disobey

subverting

overthrow, undermine

hackneyed

overused, overdone, overworked

pallid

pale

Inchoate

partially but not fully in existence or operation

extenuating

partially excusing or justifying

bequeath

pass (something) on or leave (something) to someone else

waft

pass or cause to pass easily or gently through or as if through the air

zealous

passionate, fervent

Forbearance

patience; good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence

forbearance

patient self-control; restraint and tolerance

repose

peace, relax, calmness

tranquility

peaceful, quiet, rest

Halcyon

peaceful, undisturbed, and happy

mediated

peacemaker

mediated

peacemaker, resolve

Flotsam

people or things that have been rejected and are regarded as worthless"the room was cleared of boxes and other flotsam"

Ken

perception; understanding; knowledge

doggedness

persistance

tenacity

persistence, determination, perseverance, doggedness, strength of purpose, tirelessness, indefatigability

lobbyist

person who seeks to influence political events

cajoling

persuade, coax

permeated

pervade, spread through

futility

pointlessness or uselessness: the horror and futility of war

ozone

poisonous gas layer

genteel

polite, refined, or respectable, often in an affected or ostentatious way

demagogue

political leader who follows popular ideals; mob leader; unofficial leader of the people

bombastic

pompous, blustering, turgid, verbose, orotund, high-flown, high-sounding, overwrought, pretentious, ostentatious, grandiloquent

positive slope

positive infinity

feasible

possible

procrastinate

postpone doing what one should be doing

destitution

poverty so extreme that one lacks the means to provide for oneself: the family faced eviction and destitution

vitality

power of endurance

plaudits

praise

lauds

praise, extol, hail, applaud, acclaim, commend, sing the praises of, speak highly of

ubiquity

present, appearing, or found everywhere

ubiquitous

present, appearing, or found everywhere: his ubiquitous influence was felt by all the family | cowboy hats are ubiquitous among the male singers.

brash

presumptuously daring

pervasive

prevalent

stymied

prevent or hinder the progress of: the changes must not be allowed to stymie new medical treatments.

forestall

prevent or obstruct (an anticipated event or action) by taking action ahead of time

adverse to

preventing success or development; harmful; unfavorable

hitherto

previously, formerly, earlier, before, beforehand; so far, thus far, to date, as yet, until now

propulsion

putting something foreward

Preeminence

quality of having superior rank or importance

deft

quick and skillful

Acumen

quickness of perception or discernment (understanding)

introspection

quiet. thinks deeply to themselves.

diligent

quietly and steadily persevering especially in detail or exactness

repudiate

renounce, abandon

eclectic

random. all over the place (like having all different types of music on an ipod)

perused

read, study, examine

insurgent

rebellious

profligacy

recklessly extravagant or wasteful in the use of resources

curtails

reduce

curtail

reduce in extent or quantity; impose a restriction on

persistent

refusing to give up or stop

disparaged

regard or represent as being of little worth

disparage

regard or represent as being of little worth: he never missed an opportunity to disparage his competitors.

dichotomize

regard or represent as divided or opposed

nihilistic

rejecting all religious and moral principles in the belief that life is meaningless: an embittered, nihilistic teenage

repudiation

rejection of a proposal or idea

Consanguineous

related by blood, descended from the same ancestor

pertinent

related to the same topic; relevant

funerary

relating to a funeral or the commemoration of the dead: funerary ceremonies

Pecuniary

relating to money

antiquarian

relating to or dealing in antiques or rare books

cataclysmic

relating to or denoting a violent natural event

pertinent

relevant or applicable to a particular matter; apposite

pertinent

relevant or applicable to a particular matter; apposite: she asked me a lot of very pertinent questions

germane

relevant; appropriate

pristine

remaining in a pure or unspoiled state; completely free from dirt or contamination

prodigious

remarkable in extent, unnatural

prodigious

remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree

corrective

remedial

aloof

remote in manner

hackneyed

repeated too often

alliteration

repetiton of the same sounds

supersedes

replace

monochromic

representation or reproduction in black and white or in varying tones of only one color

reproach

reprimand

castigated

reprimand (someone) severely

castigation

reprimand (someone) severely

reticent

reserved

taciturn

reserved, reticent

steadfast

resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering: steadfast loyalty

deferential

respectful

Reciprocate

respond to (a gesture or action) by making a corresponding one"the favor was reciprocated"

reticence

restraint, inhibition, diffidence, shyness

circumscribed

restricted or limited

corollary

result, consequence

resuscitate

revive (someone)

rescind

revoke, cancel, or repeal (a law, order, or agreement): the government eventually rescinded the directive.

opulent

rich and superior in quality

sanctimonious

righteous, making a show of being morally superior to other people

extirpation

root out and destroy completely

impertinent

rude

scuttled

run hurriedly or furtively with short quick steps: a mouse scuttled across the floor

Spontaneous

said or done without having been planned or written in advance

ostensibly

seemingly on surface

Carpe diem

seize the moment

aplomb

self-confidence or assurance

aplomb

self-confidence, especially in a difficult situation; poise, assurance

autonomy

self-gov

autonomous

self-governing, self-ruling

autonomy

self-rule

autonomy

self-rule, home rule, self-determination, independence, sovereignty, freedom

altruistic

selfless

purveyor

seller, vendor, retailer, supplier, trader, peddler, hawker

judicious

sensible

mawkishness

sentimental in a feeble or sickly way

scintillating

shine brightly

galvanized

shock or excite (someone), typically into taking action: the urgency of his voice galvanized them into action

macabre

shockingly repellent

succinct

short (and sweet), brief, compact, condensed

laconic

short answers

Ephemeral

short lived

ephemeral

short-lived

myopic

short-sighted

vaccine

shot that protects you from not getting something, a substance that stimulates the body to produce chemicals that destroy viruses or bacteria

blitheness

showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper: a blithe disregard for the rules of the road. • happy or joyous: a blithe seaside comedy.

plucky

showing courage in the face of danger

deferential

showing deference, respectful

punctilious

showing great attention to detail

meticulous

showing great concern for details; extremely careful or precise

enthusiastic

showing great excitment or interest

ostentacious

showing off

irresolute

showing or feeling hesitancy; uncertain: she stood irresolute outside his door

Emphatic

showing or giving emphasis; expressing something forcibly and clearly"the children were emphatic that they would like to repeat the experience"

callously

showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others

callous

showing or having an insensitive and cruel disregard for others: his callous comments about the murder made me shiver.

wistful

showing pensive sadness; full of longing or unfulfilled desire

canny

showing self-interest and shrewdness in dealing with others

astute

shrewd, sharp, acute, adroit, quick, clever

harbinger

sign, indication, signal, messenger

watershed

significant moment in history, turning point

inane

silly; stupid

analogous (adj)

similar

synchrony

simultaneous action, development, or occurrence.

cunning

sly, crafty, or clever

modicum

small amount

mosaic

small pieces put to together to make a picture

shroud

something that cloaks or covers

anomilies

something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected

concoction

something that has been prepared by putting several things together; a mixture of ingredients

specimen

something that is studied by scientists as an example of an entire act, such as an entire species of living things

evanescence

soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing

triage

sorting, determining assignment

vilified

speak or write about in an abusively disparaging manner: he has been vilified in the press.

rhapsodize

speak or write about someone or something with great enthusiasm and delight: he began to rhapsodize about Gaby's beauty and charm.

prevaricator

speaking/ acting evasively

polyglot

speaks many languages

economizing

spend less; reduce one's expenses

vitiated

spoil, waste away, impair quality of

intuitive

spontaneously derived from or prompted by a natural tendency

disseminate

spread or disperse

pervasive

spreading widely

stock

standard, conventional

despoiled

steal or violently remove valuable or attractive possessions from; plunder: the church was despoiled of its marble wall covering.

precipitous

steep or sudden

stagnation

still

piquant

stimulating to the taste or mind; spicy, pungent; appealingly provocative

miserly

stingy, cheap

lofty

tall, of imposing height

palpable

tangible, capable of being touched

contemptuous

the contemptuous look on your face says it all: scornful, disdainful, disrespectful, insulting, insolent, derisive, mocking, sneering

Syntax

the study of the rules whereby words or other elements of sentence structure are combined to form grammatical sentences

dogmatism

the tendency to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true, without consideration of evidence or the opinions of others: a culture of dogmatism and fanaticism.

Res Ipsa Loquitur

the thing speaks for itself

sophistry

the use of fallacious arguments, esp. with the intention of deceiving. • a fallacious argument.

chicanery

the use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose

Chicanery

the use of trickery to deceive

xylem

the vascular tissue through which water and nutrients move in some plants

*smaller the slope...

thicker the graph

ornamentation

things added to something to provide decoration: a baroque chandelier with plasterwork ornamentation.

metaphor

things compaired without like or as

*bigger the slope...

thinner the graph

precarious

those steps look a bit precarious: uncertain, insecure, unpredictable, risky, parlous, hazardous, dangerous, unsafe

The triangle inequality states that...

three lengths can be the lengths of the sides of a triangle if and only if each length is shorter than the sum of the other two lengths.

belie (v)

to contradict

cower

to crouch back in fear

abate

to decrease; to recede

Prevaricate

to depart from or evade the truth

decimate

to destroy or kill a significant portion

Bifurcate

to divide into two parts or branches

counter

to do or say something the opposite of something else

flourish

to do well. to grow and develop

recede

to draw back from

Structinize

to examine closely

jut

to extend sharply outward or upward

waft

to float easily and gently on the air; drift

meander

to follow a winding or turning course

banish

to force to leave a country or place; exile

Renege

to go back on a promise or commitment

bluffsomeone

to have a false display of confidence, especially in order to deceive

aspire

to have a great ambition

commemorate

to honor memory of

extrapolation

to infer

apprise

to inform

eavesdrop

to listen secretly to the private conversation of others

debase

to lower in quality or value

Vitiate

to make faulty or imperfect

diminish

to make or become smaller or less; reduce or decrease

Ameliorate

to make or grow better

Vilify

to make vicious and defamatory statements about

undulate

to move in waves or with a wavelike motion; to have a wavelike appearance or form

hasten

to move or act swiftly; to hurry

waver

to move unsteadily back and forth

scurry

to move with light running steps; scamper

pulverize

to pound, crush, or grind

hamper

to prevent

Obviate

to prevent by interception

falter

to proceed or continue in an unsteady or weakening manner

illuminate

to provide with light or cast light upon someone or something

replenish

to refill something; make something full again

boycott

to refuse to use or buy from

exult

to rejoice.

recuperate

to return to normal health or strength; recover

divulge

to reveal private information; to spread something (like a secret)

Adumbrate

to sketch, outline in a shadowy way

bolster

to strengthen

floundered

to stumble or break down, struggle

deduction

to subtract.

vacillate

to swing indecisively from one idea or course of action to another; to waver weakly in mind or will

engross

to take all of the attention from someone.

jabber

to talk rapidly or in a senseless manner; chatter

narrate

to tell a story or describe a series of events

insofar

to the extent that: he decided that philosophy spoke of personal problems only insofar as they illustrated general ones.

bamboozle

to trick

Chortle

to utter, or express with, a snorting, exultant laugh or chuckle

desecration

to violate the sanctity of, disrespect

swagger

to walk in a way that makes you look as if you think you are important or very confident; strut

brandish

to wave or exhibit something in a dramatic or threatening way

weather

to wear away or change, as in color or surface texture, by exposure to the wind, rain, and other conditions of the atmosphere.

heritage

tradition. something passed down.

orthodox

traditional

pathos

tragedy

transitory

transient, temporary, brief, short, ephemeral

transient

transitory, temporary, short-lived, short-term, ephemeral, impermanent, brief, short, momentary

trivialize

treat as unimportant

facetious

treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor; flippant

bromide

trite and unoriginal idea or remark, typically intended to soothe or placate: feel-good bromides create the illusion of problem solving.

veer

turn, swerve, curve, swing, sheer, career, weave, wheel; change direction, change course, go off course, deviate.

solstice

twice-yearly point at which the Sun reaches its greatest distance north or south of the equator

pluralistic

two coexist

inhibited

unable to act in a relaxed and natural way because of self-consciousness or mental restraint

unassailable

unable to be attacked, questioned, or defeated: an unassailable lead.

imperturbable

unable to be upset or excited; calm

impervious

unaffected by , not allowing to pass through

abiding

unceasing

nonchalant

unconcerned

restrained

under restraint

beleaguered

under siege, blockaded, surrounded, hindered

empathy

understanding and entering into another's feelings

Arcane

understood by only a few

tacit

understood without being openly expressed; implied

indeterminate

undetermined, uncertain, unknown

panacea

universal cure

protean

variable, changeable, mutable, kaleidoscopic, inconstant

sundry

various, miscellaneous

Capricious

whimsical; changeable

Nefarious

wicked in the extreme

nefarious

wicked or criminal

propitiatory

win or regain the favor of (a god, spirit, or person) by doing something that pleases them: the pagans thought it was important to propitiate the gods with sacrifices

Sagacity

wisdom

Prudent

wise, careful, cautious

prudent

wise, sensible

recessive

withdrawn, or detached, and tending to recede

scathing

witheringly scornful; severely critical

Inane

without contents, empty; void of sense or intelligence; purposeless; pointless; useless

inadvertently

without intention; accidentally: his name had been inadvertently omitted from the list.

waggish

witty or joking

collaborate

work together on a common enterprise of project

Subtle

working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way

insidious

working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way

exemplary

worthy of imitation

venerable

worthy of respect

inversely proportional

xk= y

proportional

y=kx

dapper

marked by smartness in dress and manners

aberrant

markedly different from an accepted norm

exponent

math matic symbol for multipling a number by itself as many times the little number says (example: 3⁴ , 2⁵, 6⁷)

labyrinth

maze

y is directly proportional to x^2

means "y=kx^2"

histrionic

melodramatic

baleful

menacing, threatening, unfriendly, hostile, antagonistic, evil, evil-intentioned

equanimity

mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, esp. in a difficult situation: she accepted both the good and the bad with equanimity.

variegated

multicolored, multicolor, many-colored, many-hued, polychromatic, varicolored, colorful, prismatic, rainbow, kaleidoscopic

symbiosis

mutual helpfulness, specifically the relation between two different species of organisms that are interdependent

arcane

mysterious

enigmatic

mysterious

uncanny

mysterious and impossible to explain; out of the ordinary

imprimatur

(n) formal and explicit approval

spondulics

(n) money

imperious

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

engender

(v) to produce, cause, or bring about

abjure

(v) to reject; abandon formally

Facetious

"tongue-in-cheek-advice" characterized by wit and pleasantry

Limited liability companies

(LLC) combine the liability protection of a coorporation with the tax benefits and simplicity of a partnership

Dumbsize

Reduce Workforce To Size Company Can't Work

sudorific

(adj) Causing sweat

sibilant

(adj) Characterized by a hissing sound

plausible

(adj.) believable, reasonable (He studied all the data and then came up with a plausible theory that took all factors into account.)

impetuous

(adj) characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation

fetial

(adj) concerned with declarations of war and treaties of peace

PUSILLANIMOUS

(adj) cowardly; without courage; craven

inveterate

(adj) firmly established, long-standing; habitual

aphotic

(adj) lacking light; dark

liturgical

(adj) relating to public worship

intransigent

(adj) uncompromising; refusing to be reconciled

solipsistic

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

intrinsic

(adj.) belonging to a thing by its very nature (Jeff thoughtfulness and compassion were intrinsic characteristics; he just always seemed to make the right decisions.)

tenable

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

mutable

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

protean

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

resilient

(adj.) able to recover from misfortune; able to withstand adversity (The resilient ballplayer quickly recovered from his wrist injury.)

concomitant

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

dynamic

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

precocious

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

expedient

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

palatable

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

insidious

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

ostensible

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

aesthetic

(adj.) artistic, related to the appreciation of beauty (We hired Susan as our interior decorator because she has such a fine aesthetic sense.)

complicit

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

anachronistic

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

anonymous

(adj.) being unknown, unrecognized (Mary received a love poem from an anonymous admirer.)

raiment

(n) especially fine or decorative clothing

acerbic

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

intrepid

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

concise

(adj.) brief and direct in expression (Gordon did not like to waste time, and his instructions to Brenda were nothing if not concise.)

cursory

(adj.) brief to the point of being superficial (Late for the meeting, she cast a cursory glance at the agenda.)

luminous

(adj.) brightly shining (The light of the luminous moon graced the shoulders of the beautiful maiden.)

effervescent

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

onerous

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

malleable

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

impudent

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

divisive

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

colloquial

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

convivial

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

mawkish

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

philanthropic

(adj.) charitable, giving (Many people felt that the billionaire's decision to donate her fortune to house the homeless was the ultimate philanthropic act.)

quaint

(adj.) charmingly old-fashioned (Hilda was delighted by the quaint bonnets she saw in Amish country.)

incisive

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

ribald

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

euphoric

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

tantamount

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

reprobate

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

superfluous

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

audacious

(adj.) excessively bold (The security guard was shocked by the fan's audacious attempt to offer him a bribe.)

brazen

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

obsequious

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

arid

(adj.) excessively dry (Little other than palm trees and cacti grow successfully in arid environments.)

contemporaneous

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

ubiquitous

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

extant

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

stolid

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

egregious

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

meticulous

(adj.) extremely careful with details (The ornate needlework in the bride's gown was a product of meticulous handiwork.)

pernicious

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

jubilant

(adj.) extremely joyful, happy (The crowd was jubilant when the firefighter carried the woman from the flaming building.)

adept

(adj.) extremely skilled (Tarzan was adept at jumping from tree to tree like a monkey.)

propitious

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

benign

(adj.) favorable, not threatening, mild (We were all relieved to hear that the medical tests determined her tumor to be benign.)

tremulous

(adj.) fearful (I always feel a trifle tremulous when walking through a graveyard.)

disheartened

(adj.) feeling a loss of spirit or morale (The team was disheartened after losing in the finals of the tournament.)

zealous

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

florid

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

squalid

(adj.) foul and repulsive, as from lack of care or cleanliness; neglected and filthy. (With dirt and filth in every corner of the fraternity house, the boys' squalid dwelling drew the attention of the university president.)

frenetic

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

amiable

(adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow, Harry got along with just about everyone.)

genial

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

fecund

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

wistful

(adj.) full of yearning; musingly sad (Since her pet rabbit died, Edda missed it terribly and sat around wistful all day long.)

garish

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

sanctimonious

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

torrid

(adj.) giving off intense heat, passionate (I didn't want to witness the neighbor's torrid affair through the window.)

morose

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

paramount

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

verdant

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

negligent

(adj.) habitually careless, neglectful (Jessie's grandfather called me a negligent fool after I left the door to his apartment unlocked even though there had been a recent string of robberies.)

abstruse

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

defamatory

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

noxious

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

innocuous

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

callous

(adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer's callous lack of remorse shocked the jury.)

strident

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

rash

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

fetid

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

haggard

(adj.) having a gaunt, wasted, or exhausted appearance; wild looking (The haggard old man stumbled out of the alley in his tattered coat and worn-out shoes.)

nonchalant

(adj.) having a lack of concern, indifference (Although deep down she was very angry, Marsha acted in a nonchalant manner when she found out that her best friend had used her clothing without asking.)

mendacious

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

pungent

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

gasconade

(n) extravagant boasting; boastful talk; (v) to boast extravagantly; bluster

pervasive

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

ethereal

(adj.) heavenly, exceptionally delicate or refined (In her flowing silk gown and lace veil, the bride looked ethereal.)

accommodating

(adj.) helpful, obliging, polite (Though the apartment was not big enough for three people, Arnold, Mark, and Zebulon were all friends and were accommodating to each other.)

latent

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

inextricable

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

inimical

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

ignominious

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

quixotic

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

sophomoric

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

impervious

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

consonant

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

indefatigable

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

fallacious

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

incontrovertible

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

grievous

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

appalling

(adj.) inspiring shock, horror, disgust (The judge found the murderer's crimes and lack of remorse appalling.)

cogent

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

deliberate

(adj.) intentional, reflecting careful consideration (Though Mary was quite upset, her actions to resolve the dispute were deliberate.)

sensual

(adj.) involving sensory gratification, usually related to sex (With a coy smile, the guest on the blind-date show announced that he considered himself a very sensual person.)

extraneous

(adj.) irrelevant, extra, not necessary (Personal political ambitions should always remain extraneous to legislative policy, but, unfortunately, they rarely are.)

inept

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

obstinate

(adj.) not yielding easily, stubborn (The obstinate child refused to leave the store until his mother bought him a candy bar.)

arcane

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

reputable

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

uncanny

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

officious

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

antiquated

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

elated

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

idiosyncratic

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

repentant

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

prosaic

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

preponderance

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

hypothetical

(adj.) supposed or assumed true, but unproven (Even though it has been celebrated by seven major newspapers, that the drug will be a success when tested in humans is still hypothetical.)

turgid

(adj.) swollen, excessively embellished in style or language (The haughty writer did not realize how we all really felt about his turgid prose.)

figurative

(adj.) symbolic (Using figurative language, Jane likened the storm to an angry bull.)

laconic

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

archetypal

(adj.) the most representative or typical example of something (Some believe George Washington, with his flowing white hair and commanding stature, was the archetypal politician.)

frugal

(adj.) thrifty, economical (Richard is so frugal that his diet consists almost exclusively of catfish and chicken liver—the two most inexpensive foods in the store.)

fractious

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

gratuitous

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

implicit

(adj.) understood but not outwardly obvious, implied (I know Professor Smith didn't actually say not to write from personal experience, but I think such a message was implicit in her instruction to use scholarly sources.)

esoteric

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

wanton

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

incessant

(adj.) unending (We wanted to go outside and play, but the incessant rain kept us indoors for two days.)

hapless

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

hackneyed

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

nebulous

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

heterogeneous

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

vindictive

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

austere

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

indigent

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

capacious

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

emaciated

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

scurrilous

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

nomadic

(adj.) wandering from place to place (In the first six months after college, Jose led a nomadic life, living in New York, California, and Idaho.)

maudlin

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

notorious

(adj.) widely and unfavorably known (Jacob was notorious for always arriving late at parties.)

feral

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

amenable

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

interminable

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

meritorious

(adj.) worthy of esteem or reward x (Though he was widely respected for his mathematical proofs, the mercurial genius was impossible to live with.)

vehemently

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

consternation

(n) fear resulting from the awareness of danger; amazement or fear that makes one feel confused

sensationalism

(esp. in journalism) the use of exciting or shocking stories or language at the expense of accuracy, in order to provoke public interest or excitement

ramshackle

(esp. of a house or vehicle) in a state of severe disrepair: a ramshackle cottage

vivacious

(esp. of a woman) attractively lively and animated

callow

(esp. of a young person) inexperienced and immature

diaphanous

(esp. of fabric) light, delicate, and translucent

picayune

(informal terms) small and of little importance

novation

(n) (law) the replacement of one obligation by another by mutual agreement of both parties

mensch

(n) A decent, upright, mature, and responsible person

pother

(n) A heated discussion, debate, or argument; fuss; to-do

numen

(n) Divine power, especially one who inhabits a particular object

cicatrix

(n) New tissue that forms over a wound

solecism

(n) a breach of good manners or etiquette; a nonstandard or ungrammatical usage

ruck

(n) a large number or quantity; mass

aioli

(n) a sauce made of oil and eggs, usually flavored with garlic, from the Provence region of France; olive oil, egg yolk, garlic and saffron

depredation

(n) an act of plundering and pillaging and marauding

xenophilia

(n) an attraction to foreign peoples, cultures, or customs

pabulum

(n) any substance that can be used as food; (n) insipid intellectual nourishment

buncombe

(n) empty, showy talk

clergy

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

larceny

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

surrogate

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

arbiter

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

sycophant

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

potentate

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

despot

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

inquisitor

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

insurgent

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

forbearance

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

pulchritude

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

approbation

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

kudos

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

sobriety

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

sagacity

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

litigant

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

behemoth

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

antecedent

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

linchpin

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

fortitude

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

antithesis

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

coronation

(n.) the act of crowning (The new king's coronation occurred the day after his father's death.)

juxtaposition

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

ideology

(n.) the body of doctrine, myth, belief, etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group. (The communist ideology was used by many leaders to gain favor with the working masses.)

culmination

(n.) the climax toward which something progresses (The culmination of the couple's argument was the decision to divorce.)

precipice

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

nadir

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

arbitration

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

congruity

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

discretion

(n.) the quality of being reserved in speech or action; good judgment (Not wanting her patient to get overly anxious, the doctor used discretion in deciding how much to tell the patient about his condition.)

precocious

(of a child) having developed certain abilities or proclivities at an earlier age than usual

sedulous

(of a person or action) showing dedication and diligence: he watched himself with the most sedulous care.

placid

(of a person or animal) not easily upset or excited: this horse has a placid nature. • (esp. of a place or stretch of water) calm and peaceful, with little movement or activity: the placid waters of a small lake.

forthrightness

(of a person or their manner or speech) direct and outspoken; straightforward and honest

petulant

(of a person or their manner) childishly sulky or bad-tempered: he was moody and petulant | a petulant shake of the head

Phlegmatic

(of a person) having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition

amenable

(of a person) open and responsive to suggestion; easily persuaded or controlled: parents who have had easy babies and amenable children

amenable

(of a person) open and responsive to suggestion; easily persuaded or controlled: parents who have had easy babies and amenable children. • [ predic. ] (amenable to) (of a thing) capable of being acted upon in a particular way; susceptible to: the patients had cardiac failure not amenable to medical treatment.

circuitous

(of a route or journey) longer than the most direct way: the canal followed a circuitous route | figurative : a circuitous line of reasoning.

resilient

(of a substance or object) able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed. • (of a person or animal) able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions: the fish are resilient to most infections.

nonporous

(of a substance) not allowing liquid or air to pass through it; not porous

shopworn

(of an article) made dirty or imperfect by being displayed or handled in a store

convival

(of an atmosphere or event) friendly, lively, and enjoyable (of a person) cheerful and friendly; jovial

convivial

(of an atmosphere or event) friendly, lively, and enjoyable (of a person) cheerful and friendly; jovial

barbarous

(of persons or their actions) able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering

converge

(of several people or things) come together from different directions so as eventually to meet

apprise

(v) to inform

stagnation

(of water or air) cease to flow or move; become stagnant. • cease developing; become inactive or dull: teaching can easily stagnate into a set of routines | (as adj. stagnating) : stagnating consumer confidence.

comely

(typically of a woman) pleasant to look at; attractive

efficacious

(typically of something inanimate or abstract) successful in producing a desired or intended result; effective: the vaccine has proved both efficacious and safe.

intromit

(v) to introduce; to send, put, or let in

besot

(v) To infatuate; obsess

obtest

(v) To invoke as witness; to protest

prorogue

(v) adjourn, as in a legislative session

adulate

(v) flatter in an obsequious manner

comport

(v) to conduct or bear oneself, behave

flummox

(v) to confuse or perplex

mulct

(v) to deprive (someone) of something, as by fraud, extortion, etc.; swindle.

imbue

(v) to fill completely with a feeling or idea; to inspire; (v) to infuse, dye, wet, or moisten

in quadratic function: g(x)= ax^2 + bx + c ...a affects & c affects

+a: graph open up, -a: graph open down +c: positive y- int, -c: negative y- int

redoubtable

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

Recumbentibus

A Knock Out Punch Or Word

Camisado

A Miltary Attack At Night

Peterman

A Name For A Safe Cracker

Bibliopole

A Person Who Buys And Sells Rare Books

Afreet

A Powerful Demon From Muslim Mythology

Amphisbaena

A Snake Like Creature With Heads Either End

Alcazar

A Spanish Palace

Chiliad

A Thousand Years

tariff

a tax or duty imposed by the government

Sojourn

a temporary stay; a brief period of residence

Ineffable

Indescribable

elliptical

1 (of speech or writing) using or involving ellipsis, esp. so as to be difficult to understand: an elliptical lyrical style.

indictment

1 Law a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime: an indictment for conspiracy. • the action of indicting or being indicted: the indictment of twelve people who had imported cocaine. 2 a thing that serves to illustrate that a system or situation is bad and deserves to be condemned: these rapidly escalating crime figures are an indictment of our society.

soliciting

1 Phil tried to solicit his help: ask for, request, seek, apply for, put in for, call for, press for, beg, plead for. 2 they are solicited for their opinions: ask, petition, importune, implore, plead with, entreat, appeal to, lobby, beg, supplicate, call on, press; literary beseech.

backlash

1 [ in sing. ] a strong and adverse reaction by a large number of people, esp. to a social or political development: a public backlash against racism. 2 recoil arising between parts of a mechanism. • degree of play between parts of a mechanism.

incumbent

1 [ predic. ] (incumbent on/upon) necessary for (someone) as a duty or responsibility: it is incumbent on all decent people to concentrate on destroying this evil. 2 [ attrib. ] (of an official or regime) currently holding office: the incumbent president had been defeated.

manifest

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

conceded

1 [ reporting verb ] admit that something is true or valid after first denying or resisting it: [ with clause ] : I had to concede that I'd overreacted | [ with obj. ] : that principle now seems to have been conceded. • [ with obj. ] admit (defeat) in a contest: he conceded defeat. • [ with obj. ] admit defeat in (a contest): ready to concede the gold medal. 2 [ with obj. ] surrender or yield (something that one possesses): to concede all the territory he'd won. • grant (a right, privilege, or demand): their rights to redress of grievances were conceded once more. • (in sports) fail to prevent the scoring of (a goal or point) by an opponent: the coach conceded three safeties rather than kick into the wind. • allow (a lead or advantage) to slip: he took an early lead that he never conceded.

cumbersome

1 a cumbersome diving suit: unwieldy, unmanageable, awkward, clumsy, inconvenient, incommodious; bulky, large, heavy, hefty, weighty, burdensome; informal hulking, clunky. 2 cumbersome procedures: complicated, complex, involved, inefficient, unwieldy, slow.

florid

1 a florid complexion: ruddy, red, red-faced, rosy, rosy-cheeked, pink; flushed, blushing, high-colored; archaic sanguine. ANTONYMS pale. 2 florid plasterwork: ornate, fancy, elaborate, embellished, curlicued, extravagant, flamboyant, baroque, rococo, fussy, busy. ANTONYMS plain. 3 florid prose: flowery, flamboyant, high-flown, high-sounding, grandiloquent, ornate, fancy, bombastic, elaborate, turgid, pleonastic; informal highfalutin; rare fustian. ANTONYMS plain.

malleable

1 a malleable substance: pliable, ductile, plastic, pliant, soft, workable. ANTONYMS hard. 2 a malleable young woman: easily influenced, suggestible, susceptible, impressionable, pliable, amenable, compliant, tractable; biddable, complaisant, manipulable, persuadable, like putty in someone's hands.

countenance

1 a person's face or facial expression: his impenetrable eyes and inscrutable countenance give little away. 2 support: she was giving her specific countenance to the occasion. verb [ with obj. ] admit as acceptable or possible: he was reluctant to countenance the use of force.

inundation

1 an overwhelming abundance of people or things: we see an inundation of campaign posters. 2 flooding: the annual inundation of the Nile | areas at risk of inundation.

patronage

1 art patronage: sponsorship, backing, funding, financing, promotion, assistance, support. 2 political patronage: power of appointment, favoritism, nepotism, preferential treatment, cronyism, pork-barreling. 3 thank you for your patronage: custom, trade, business.

attenuated

1 attenuated fingers: thin, slender, narrow, slim, skinny, spindly, bony; rare attenuate 2 the patient's muscle activity was much attenuated: weakened, reduced, lessened, decreased, diminished, impaired

constituents

1 being a part of a whole: the constituent minerals of the rock. 2 being a voting member of a community or organization and having the power to appoint or elect: the constituent body has a right of veto

reckoning

1 by my reckoning, this comes to $2 million: calculation, estimation, count, computation, working out, summation, addition. 2 by her reckoning, the train was late: opinion, view, judgment, evaluation, estimate, estimation. 3 the terrible reckoning that he deserved: retribution, fate, doom, nemesis, punishment. PHRASES day of reckoning I promise you, the enemy w

fulsome

1 complimentary or flattering to an excessive degree: they are almost embarrassingly fulsome in their appreciation. 2 of large size or quantity; generous or abundant: a fulsome harvest.

discursive

1 dull, discursive prose: rambling, digressive, meandering, wandering, maundering, diffuse, long, lengthy, wordy, verbose, long-winded, prolix; circuitous, roundabout, circumlocutory; informal waffly. 2 an elegant discursive style: fluent, flowing, fluid, eloquent, expansive.

florid

1 having a red or flushed complexion: a stout man with a florid face. 2 elaborately or excessively intricate or complicated: florid operatic-style music was out. • (of language) using unusual words or complicated rhetorical constructions: the florid prose of the nineteenth century.

finesse

1 intricate and refined delicacy: orchestral playing of great finesse. • artful subtlety, typically that needed for tactful handling of a difficulty: clients want advice and action that calls for considerable finesse. 2 (in bridge and whist) an attempt to win a trick with a card that is not a certain winner.

finesse

1 intricate and refined delicacy: orchestral playing of great finesse. • artful subtlety, typically that needed for tactful handling of a difficulty: clients want advice and action that calls for considerable finesse. 2 (in bridge and whist) an attempt to win a trick with a card that is not a certain winner. verb [ with

susceptible

1 likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing: patients with liver disease may be susceptible to infection. • (of a person) easily influenced by feelings or emotions; sensitive: they only do it to tease him—he's too susceptible.

incarnate

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

lofty

1 of imposing height: the elegant square was shaded by lofty palms. • of a noble or exalted nature: an extraordinary mixture of harsh reality and lofty ideals. • proud, aloof, or self-important: lofty intellectual disdain. 2 (of wool and other textiles) thick and resilient

avuncular

1 of or relating to an uncle. • kind and friendly toward a younger or less experienced person: an avuncular manner. 2 Anthropology of or relating to the relationship between men and their siblings' children.

orthodox

1 orthodox views: conventional, mainstream, conformist, established, well-established, traditional, traditionalist, prevalent, popular, conservative, unoriginal. 2 an orthodox Hindu: conservative, traditional, observant, devout, strict.

licentiousness

1 promiscuous and unprincipled in sexual matters. 2 archaic disregarding accepted rules or conventions, esp. in grammar or literary style.

soporific

1 soporific drugs: sleep-inducing, sedative, somnolent, calmative, tranquilizing, narcotic, opiate; drowsy, sleepy, somniferous; Medicine hypnotic. ANTONYMS invigorating. 2 a soporific TV drama: boring, tedious, tired, dreary, turgid, dry

tout

1 street merchants were touting their wares: peddle, sell, hawk, offer for sale, promote. 2 cab drivers were touting for business: solicit, seek, drum up; ask for, petition for, appeal for. 3 she's being touted as the next party leader: recommend, speak of, extol, advocate, talk of; predict.

husbandry

1 the care, cultivation, and breeding of crops and animals: crop husbandry. 2 management and conservation of resources.

coinciding

1 the events coincided: occur simultaneously, happen together, be concurrent, concur, coexist. 2 their interests do not always coincide: correspond, tally, agree, accord, concur, match, fit, be consistent, equate, harmonize, be compatible

recede

1 the floodwaters receded: retreat, go back, go down, move back, move away, withdraw, ebb, subside, abate. ANTONYMS advance, approach. 2 the lights receded into the distance: disappear from view, fade, be lost to view, pass from sight. 3 fears of violence have receded: diminish, lessen, decrease, dwindle, fade, abate, subside, ebb, wane. ANTONYMS intensify, grow.

thresholds

1 the threshold of the church: doorstep, doorway, entrance, entry, door, gate, gateway, portal, doorsill. 2 the threshold of a new era: start, beginning, commencement, brink, verge, cusp, dawn, inception, day one, opening, debut; informal kickoff. 3 the human threshold of pain: lower limit, minimum.

provincialism

1 the way of life or mode of thought characteristic of the regions outside the capital city of a country, esp. when regarded as unsophisticated or narrow-minded. • narrow-mindedness, insularity, or lack of sophistication: the myopic provincialism of women's studies. 2 concern for one's own area or region at the expense of national or supranational unity.

quelled

1 troops quelled the unrest: put an end to, put a stop to, end, crush, put down, check, crack down on, curb, nip in the bud, squash, quash, subdue, suppress, overcome; informal squelch. 2 he quelled his misgivings: calm, soothe, pacify, settle, quiet, silence, allay, assuage, mitigate, moderate; literary stay.

empirical

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

eminent

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

lavish

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

didactic

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

moderate

1. (adj.) not extreme 2. (n.) one who expresses moderate opinions (1. Luckily, the restaurant we chose had moderate prices; none of us have any money.) (2. Because he found both the liberal and conservative proposals too excessive, Mr. Park sided with the moderates.)

sultry

1. (adj.) oppressively hot; sweltering 2. rousing passion (1. The workers dripped with sweat on the sultry summer day.) (2. The girl's sultry glance made the boy blush.)

acute

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

coup

1. (n.) a brilliant, unexpected act 2. (n.) the overthrow of a government and assumption of authority (1. Alexander pulled off an amazing coup when he got a date with Cynthia by purposely getting hit by her car.) (2. In their coup attempt, the army officers stormed the Parliament and took all the

battery

1. (n.) a device that supplies power 2. (n.) assault, beating (1. Most cars run on a combination of power from a battery and gasoline.) (2. Her husband was accused of assault and battery after he attacked a man on the sidewalk.)

asylum

1. (n.) a place of refuge, protection, a sanctuary 2. (n.) an institution in which the insane are kept (1. For Thoreau, the forest served as an asylum from the pressures of urban life.) (2. Once diagnosed by a certified psychiatrist, the man was put in an asylum.)

solvent

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

aggregate

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

chronicle

1. (n.) a written history 2. (v.) to write a history (1. The library featured the newly updated chronicle of World War II.) (2. Albert's diary chronicled the day-to-day growth of his obsession with Cynthia.)

implement

1. (n.) an instrument, utensil, tool 2. (v.) to put into effect, to institute (1. Do you have a knife or some other sort of implement that I could use to pry the lid off of this jar?) (2. After the first town curfew failed to stop the graffiti problem, the mayor implemented a new policy to use security cameras to catch perpetrators in the act.)

clamor

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

liability

1. (n.) something for which one is legally responsible, usually involving a disadvantage or risk 2. (n.) a handicap, burden (1. The bungee-jumping tower was a great liability for the owners of the carnival.) (2. Because she often lost her concentration and didn't play defense, Marcy was a liability to the team.)

façade

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

advocate

1. (v.) to argue in favor of something 2. (n.) a person who argues in favor of something (Arnold advocated turning left at the stop sign, even though everyone else thought we should turn right.)

compound

1. (v.) to combine parts 2. (n.) a combination of different parts 3. (n.) a walled area containing a group of buildings (1. The problem was compounded by the crowds.) (2. Donna is a compound of intellect and physical beauty.) (3. Joe rushed into the compound when the fighting began.)

attribute

1. (v.) to credit, assign (He attributes all of his success to his mother's undying encouragement.) 2. (n.) a facet or trait (Among the beetle's most peculiar attributes is its thorny protruding eyes.)

dissipate

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

cleave

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

resolve

1. (v.) to find a solution 2. (v.) to firmly decide (1. Sarah and Emma resolved their differences and shook hands.) (2. Lady Macbeth resolved to whip her husband into shape.)

impinge

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

catalog

1. (v.) to list, enter into a list 2. (n.) a list or collection (1. The judge cataloged the victim's injuries before calculating how much money he would award.) (2. We received a catalog from J. Crew that displayed all of their new items.)

abide

1. (v.) to put up with 2. (v.) to remain (1 - Though he did not agree with the decision, Chuck decided to abide by it.) (2 - Despite the beating they've taken from the weather throughout the millennia, the mountains abide.)

reconcile

1. (v.) to return to harmony 2. (v.) to make consistent with existing ideas (1. The feuding neighbors finally reconciled when one brought the other a delicious tuna noodle casserole.) (2. Alou had to reconcile his skepticism about the existence of aliens with the fact that he was looking at a flying saucer.)

diffuse

1. (v.) to scatter, thin out, break up 2. (adj.) not concentrated, scattered, disorganized (1. He diffused the tension in the room by making in a joke.) (2. In her writings, she tried unsuccessfully to make others understand her diffuse thoughts.)

disdain

1. (v.) to scorn, hold in low esteem 2. (n.) scorn, low esteem (1. Insecure about their jobs, the older employees disdained the recently hired ones, who were young and capable.) (2. After learning of his immoral actions, Justine held Lawrence in disdain.)

buffet

1. (v.) to strike with force 2. (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table (1. The strong winds buffeted the ships, threatening to capsize them.) (2. Rather than sitting around a table, the guests took food from our buffet and ate standing up.)

buttress

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

regurgitate

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

libertine

1. a person, esp. a man, who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility, esp. in sexual matters. 2 a person who rejects accepted opinions in matters of religion; a freethinker

parochial

1. church parish, 2. narrow-minded

languor

1. fatigue, weariness, sleepiness, drowsiness; 2. stillness, tranquility

levy

1. impose (a tax, fee, or fine), 2. enlisting troops

austere

1. severe, 2. simple

austerity

1. strictness, seriousness, solemnity, gravity; 2. frugality

liberality

1. the quality of giving or spending freely. 2. the quality of being open to new ideas and free from prejudice. "liberality toward bisexuality"

inhibition

1.shyness, reticence, self-consciousness 2. hinderance, obstruction

kilometer

1000 meters

synergistic

2 things combined > alone

triumvirate

3 rulers

quadrilaterals

360 degrees

hologram

3d image.

Barmecide

A Bad Imagination Thought Thats Disappointing

Ogdoad

A Group Of Eight

Boffola

A Jokes The Causes High Laugh

participle

A verb used as a noun: Working women

Spurious

Adj. not genuine, not true, not valid

Logomachy

Agrument About Words

Clime

Another Term For Weather

Erubescent

Another Word For Blushing

Welter

Another Word For Confused

Meacock

Another Word For Coward

Otalgia

Another Word For Earache

Noctambulist

Another Word For Sleepwalker

Ecdysiast

Another Word For Stripper

Deglutition

Another Word Meaning Swallowing

credulity

a tendency to be too ready to believe that something is real or true

Plew

Beaver Skin

Neither "donna" nor "Mahenoor"

Believe, singular bc separated by "nor"

Incunabula

Book Printed Before 1501

Cybersquatting

Buying Names Relating To Known Companies

Aphorism

a tensely phrased statement of a truth or opinion; an adage

Bawbee

Coin Of Low Value

Fuscous

Dark Within Colour

Entomophagy

Eating Of Insects By People

fraught

Filled with or attended with

Disenthral

Freeing Someone From Bondage

Bruxism

Habit Of Grinding Teeth

Eucatastrophe

Happy Ending To A Story

remiss

I would be remiss if I did not thank my sister: negligent, neglectful, irresponsible, careless, thoughtless, heedless, lax, slack, slipshod, lackadaisical

Noyade

Killing Someone by Drowing

Absquatulate

Leaving Somewhere Quickly

Pavonine

Looks Like A Peacock

Zugzwang

Meaning Any Choice Is A Bad One

Deasil

Moving Clockwise

Hallux

Name Of Biggest Toe

Extramundane

Not Of The Real World

Disingenuous

Not candid or sincere

Ellipsis

Omission or suppression of parts of words or sentences with a mark or series of marks (... or *** for example)

ellipse

Oval shaped.

forbeareance

Patience; restraint; liberation

Cryptozoology

People Who Research Animals Not Proven As Real

Emmetropia

Perfect Eye Sight

Panurgic

Ready For Anything

Noegenesis

Production Of Knowledge

Autotomy

Removing A Limb Off A Reptile

Borborygmus

Rumbling Noise From Intestines

Scrippage

Someone Bag

Moonraker

Someone From Wiltshire

Emacity

Someone Who Enjoys Buying Things

Comminatory

Someone Who Is Threating

Wittol

Someone Who Know Wife Cheating But Stays With Her

Cereology

Someone Who Researches Crop Circles

Opsimath

Someone Who Studies In Later Life

Blatherskite

Someone Who Talks Loads But Makes No Sense

Anguilliform

Something That Looks Similar To A Eel

Sternutator

Something That Makes You Sneese

Infandous

Something Unspeakable

Incorrigible

Stubborn

Dry humor

Subtle or understated humor

disdain

a feeling that something is bad, worthless, or low

can split polygons (ex: pentagons) into...

TRIANGLES

Laconic

Talk using few words

Abomasum

The Fourth Stomach Of A Cow

hypocrisy

The act of claiming to have a belief that one does not really have, like a hypocrite

light-year

The astronomical measurement of the distance light travels in a year

renaissance

The time period from the 14th or 16th century where there was a revival of the arts

Tenuous

Thin or shaky

Cantillate

To Chant And Repeat A Line Of Bible Text

Deterge

To Cleaning Something Extremely

Degust

To Eat Or Drink Slowly To Admire It More

Constellate

To Gather In A Group

Obnubilate

To Hide Something

Previse

To Predict An Event

Divaricate

To Split Something Apart

Coprolalia

To Use Rude Words

Montivagant

To Wonder Over Mountains

embargo

To refuse trade with a country

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them

polygon

a flat close shape with 3 or more sides

fundamentalism

a form of a religion, especially Islam or Protestant Christianity, that upholds belief in the strict, literal interpretation of scripture. • strict adherence to the basic principles of any subject or discipline: free-market fundamentalism.

bellicose

aggressive

Cerulean

When The Sky Is Deep Blue

contingency

a future event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty

Indecisive

With doubt

Decisive

Without doubt

stereotype

a generalized belief about a group of people

spectrum

a band of colors(rainbow), broad range of related values or qualities or ideas or activities. Also a band of colors

tandem

a bicycle with seats and pedals for two riders, one behind the other. • a carriage driven by two animals harnessed one in front of the other. • a group of two people or machines working together.

arboretum

a botanical garden devoted to trees

dalliance

a casual romantic or sexual relationship. • brief or casual involvement with something: Berkeley was my last dalliance with the education system.

Concatenation

a chain; a succession

menagerie

a collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition

cataloged

a complete list of items, typically one in alphabetical or other systematic order, in particular

Cadre

a core or nucleus of trained or otherwise qualified personnel around which an organization is formed

compassion

a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering

filial

a display of filial affection: dutiful, devoted, compliant, respectful, affectionate, loving

dichotomies

a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different

jubilation

a feeling of extreme joy

contortion

a sharp twist or bend in something

Asylum

a shelter from danger or hardship

fanfare

a short ceremonial tune

knoll

a small, rounded hill

quota

a specified amount of something

eulogy

a speech or piece of writing that praises someone or something highly, typically someone who has just died

imprecation

a spoken curse

exasperation

a state of anger, impatience, or great irritation

Adversity

a state of misfortune or affliction

Aberration

a state or condition markedly different from the norm

gargoyle

a statue some people use to "scare bad sprits away"

Lexicon

a stock of terms used in a particular profession, subject or style; a vocabulary

barricade

a structure to block the passage of an enemy or opponent

intransigence

a stubborn refusal to change your views

fragrance

a sweet or pleasant odor;a scent

anachronistic

a thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists, esp. a thing that is conspicuously old-fashioned: everything was as it would have appeared in centuries past apart from one anachronism, a bright yellow construction crane. • an act of attributing a custom, event, or object to a period to which it does not belong. DERIVATIVES

deterrent

a thing that discourages or is intended to discourage someone from doing something

infelicity

a thing that is inappropriate, esp. a remark or expression: she winced at their infelicities and at the clumsy way they talked.

sanctioned

a threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule

totalitarian

a totalitarian regime: autocratic, undemocratic, one-party, dictatorial, tyrannical, despotic, fascist, oppressive, repressive, illiberal

treatise

a treatise on the principles of democracy: disquisition, essay, paper, work, exposition, discourse, dissertation, thesis, monograph, opus, oeuvre, study, critique; tract, pamphlet, account.

conspicuous

a tropical vine with conspicuous blossoms: easily seen, clear, visible, noticeable, discernible, perceptible, detectable; obvious, manifest, evident, apparent, marked

digression

a turning aside of your course or attention or concern

sabotage

a usually secret act, done or purpose that causes damage or hinders an activity

multitude

a very large number

precipice

a very steep or overhanging piece of rock, such as the face of a cliff

insurrectionists

a violent uprising against an authority or government: the insurrection was savagely put down | opposition to the new regime led to armed insurrection.

Caveat

a warning or caution

dowager

a widow with a title or property derived from her late husband dignified elderly woman

consort

a wife, husband, or companion, in particular the spouse of a reigning monarch.

Simile

a word or phrase by which anything is likened to something else; it's often introduced by "like" or "as"

statute

a written law passed by a legislative body

misnomer

a wrong or inaccurate name or designation

defected

abandon one's country or cause in favor of an opposing one

receptivity

able or willing to receive something, esp. signals or stimuli.

Tenable

able to be maintained or defended against attack or objection"such a simplistic approach is no longer tenable" (of an office, position, scholarship, etc.) able to be held or used"the post is tenable for three years"

caustic (adj)

able to burn/ corrosive, sarcastic in a bitter way

impetuousness

acting or done quickly and without thought or care: her friend was headstrong and impetuous

impetuosity

acting or done quickly and without thought or care: her friend was headstrong and impetuous. moving forcefully or rapidly: an impetuous but controlled flow of water

impetuous

acting or done quickly and without thought or care: her friend was headstrong and impetuous. • moving forcefully or rapidly: an impetuous but controlled flow of water.

annotate

add notes to (a text or diagram) giving explanation or comment

reproach

address (someone) in such a way as to express disapproval or disappointment

Logomachy

argument over the definition of words

insolvent

bankrupt, ruined

resolute

admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering

precociously

advanced

proponents

advocate, champion, supporter, backer, promoter, protagonist, campaigner, booster, cheerleader.

vacillate

alternate or waver between different opinions or actions; be indecisive

vacillated

alternate or waver between different opinions or actions; be indecisive

dilettante

amateur, nonprofessional, nonspecialist, layman, layperson

invectives

an abusive expression or speech

compromise

an accommodation in which both sides make concessions

Fait accompli

an accomplished and presumably irreversible deed or fact

appraisals

an act of assessing something or someone: treatment begins with a thorough appraisal of the patient's condition | the report has been subject to appraisal. • an expert estimate of the value of something: the final figure is just a little more than triple the appraisal.

tactic

an action that is planned to achieve a goal

Codicil

an amendment to an existing will

vertebrate

an animal that has a backbone

acquisition

an asset or object bought or obtained, typically by a library or museum

aspersion

an attack on the reputation or integrity of someone or something: I don't think anyone is casting aspersions on you

autonomous

an autonomous republic: self-governing, self-ruling, self-determining, independent, sovereign, free, unmonitored.

eclectic

an eclectic mix of party music: wide-ranging, broad-based, extensive, comprehensive, encyclopedic; varied, diverse, catholic, all-embracing, multifaceted, multifarious, heterogeneous, miscellaneous, assorted.

plateau

an elevated piece of land

nuisance

annoying

apprehensive

anxious or fearful; uneasy

Specious

apparently right; superficiallly fair, just, or correct, but not so in reality; appearing well at first view; plausible

ardor

approaching the project with ardor: passion, fervor, zeal, vehemence, intensity, verve, fire, emotion; enthusiasm, eagerness, avidity, gusto, keenness, dedication.

ratification

approval

assailed

assault

officious

assertive of authority in an annoyingly domineering way, esp. with regard to petty or trivial matters

acolytes

assistant or follower

insipid

asteless, flavorless, bland, weak, wishy-washy; unappetizing, unpalatable. ANTONYMS tasty. 2 insipid pictures: unimaginative, uninspired, uninspiring, characterless, flat, uninteresting, lackluster, dull, drab, boring, dry, humdrum, ho-hum, monochrome, tedious, uneventful, run-of

acumen

astuteness, shrewdness, acuity, sharpness, sharp-wittedness, cleverness, smartness, brains; judgment, understanding, awareness, sense, common sense, canniness

irreconcilable

at odds, at variance, conflicting, clashing, antagonistic, mutually exclusive

abaft

at or near or toward the stern of a ship or tail of an airplane

obsequious

attentive in an ingratiating or servile manner

impute

attribute or credit to

brusque

marked by rude or peremptory shortness

surly

bad-tempered and unfriendly: he left with a surly expression

cantankerous

bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative: a crusty, cantankerous old man

cantankerous

bad-tempered, argumentative, and uncooperative: a crusty, cantankerous old man.

constitute

be (a part) of a whole: single parents constitute a great proportion of the poor. • (of people or things) combine to form (a whole): there were enough members present to constitute a quorum. • be or be equivalent to (something): his failure to act constituted a breach of duty.

bereavement

be deprived of a loved one through a profound absence, esp. due to the loved one's death

equivocated

be evasive, be noncommittal, be vague, be ambiguous, dodge the question, beat around the bush

teem

be full of or swarming with

engender

be the cause of

tempo

beat of music

ossified

become inflexible, become rigid, fossilize, calcify, rigidify, stagnate

Abate

become less in amount or intensity

burgeoned

begin to grow or increase rapidly; flourish

ominous

being a sign of trouble, danger, or disaster

Ubiquitous

being everywhere

ubiquitous

being present everywhere at once

Acrimony

bitter, harsh, or biting sharpness

rancorously

bitterly

rancorous

bitterly hated

Sardonic

bitterly sarcastic

rancor

bitterness, spite

yacht

boat, an expensive vessel propelled by sail or power and used for cruising or racing

convocation

calling pple for a formal ceremony, meeting

sedate

calm

sedate

calm, dignified, and unhurried

quash

cancel, put an end to

vulnerable

capable of being harmed, damaged, or injured

malleable

capable of being shaped or formed by pressing, hammering, or another forceful action

mutation

change in gene or chromosome

condescending

characteristic of those who treat others with condescension

Pedantic

characterized by a narrow, often ostentatious concern for book learning and formal rules

Erudite

characterized by extensive reading or knowledge; well instructed; learned

Amicable

characterized by friendship and good will

cagey

characterized by great cautious and wariness

ethereal

characterized by lightness and insubstantiality

Ethereal

characterized by lightness and insubstantiality; intangible

morbidity

characterized by or appealing to an abnormal and unhealthy interest in disturbing and unpleasant subjects, esp. death and disease

precocious

characterized by or characteristic of exceptionally early development or maturity

Binary

characterized by or consisting of two parts or components

Collegial

characterized by or having authority vested equally among colleagues

wretched

characterized by physical misery

decorous

characterized by propriety and dignity and good taste in manners and conduct

recursive

characterized by recurrence or repetition

impetuous

characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation

ostentatious

characterized by vulgar or pretentious display; designed to impress or attract notice

tawdry

cheap and shoddy

charlatan

cheat

joviality

cheerful and friendly: she was in a jovial mood

ebullient

cheerful, joyful, bubbly

Abstain

choose no to consume

Anachronistic

chronologically misplaced

vindication

clear (someone) of blame or suspicion

vindicate

clear (someone) of blame or suspicion: hospital staff were vindicated by the inquest verdict. • show or prove to be right, reasonable, or justified: more sober views were vindicated by events.

vindicate

clear (someone) of blame or suspicion: hospital staff were vindicated by the inquest verdict; exonerate

Unequivocal

clear and without a doubt

adroit

clever or skillful in using the hands or mind: he was adroit at tax avoidance.

adroitness

cleverness or skill: he lacks political adroitness.

Raiment

clothing"ladies clothed in raiment bedecked with jewels"

nebula

cloud of gas or dust in space

happenstance

coincidence

miscreants

criminal

detractor

critic

polemical

critical, hostile, bitter, polemic, virulent, vitriolic, venomous, caustic, trenchant

elliptical

cryptic, abstruse, ambiguous, obscure, oblique

Retrenchment

cutting back on expenses

despondent

depression

bereft of

deprived of

naturalistic

derived from real life or nature, or imitating it very closely

coveted

desire, yearn for, crave

resolute

determined

capricious

determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason

anomalous

deviating from what is standard, normal, or expected

vacuous

devoid of significance or point; complacently or inanely foolish

euphemisms

different way of saying something, indirect, circumlocution

formidable

difficult to defeat

recondite

difficult to penetrate

obscure

difficult to understand

abstruse (adj)

difficult to understand, complicated

assiduousness (n)

diligently working

antipodes

direct opposites

dissension

disagreement

calamitous

disastrous

divulge

disclose, make known

fraudulent

dishonest, corrupt

infidelity

disloyalty

ruffled

disorder or disarrange (someone's hair), typically by running one's hands through it

vilified

disparage, denigrate, defame, run down, revile, abuse

Pejorative

disparaging, belittling

Puerile

displaying a lack of maturity

tangential

diverging from a previous course or line; erratic: tangential thoughts hardly touching a matter; peripheral

divergent

diverging from another or from a standard

multifarious

diverse, many, numerous, various, varied, diversified, multiple, multitudinous

polarized

divide or cause to divide into two sharply contrasting groups or sets of opinions or beliefs

doctrinaire

dogmatic, rigid, inflexible, uncompromising; authoritarian, intolerant, fanatical, zealous, extreme

indiscriminate

done at random or without careful judgment

adhoc

done for a specific purpose, without regard for larger or future issues

furtive

done or acting in a way that is intended not to be noticed

quiescent (adj)

dormant, quiet, inactive, motionless

parched

dried up

impelled

drive, force, or urge (someone) to do something: financial difficulties impelled him to desperate measures

monotonous

dull because of always being the same

perfidy

duplicity, deceit, deceitfulness, disloyalty, infidelity, faithlessness, unfaithfulness, betrayal

ebb

dying out

contemporaneous

existing or occurring in the same period of time: Pythagoras was contemporaneous with Buddha

vertex

each angular point of a polygon, polyhedron, or other figure

pugnacious

eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight

conspicuous

easily seen; obvious

sinecure

easy job

streamlined

efficient, smooth-running, well run, slick; time-saving, labor-saving

florid

elaborately or excessively ornamented

circumlocution (n)

evasive speech, speaking around a subject

conscientious

even Douglas, the most conscientious worker in our department, was laid off: diligent, industrious, punctilious, painstaking, sedulous, assiduous, dedicated

placid

even-tempered, calm, tranquil, equable, unexcitable

rain forest

evergreen trees with regular rainfall

perennial

everlasting, perpetual

unanimous

everybody agrees

axiomatic

evident without proof or argument

redolent

evocative, suggestive, reminiscent

poignant

evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret: a poignant reminder of the passing of time

outrageous

exceeding all bounds of what is right

quixotic

exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic

hubris

excessive pride or self-confidence

garrulous

excessive talking, verbose, loquacious

superfluous

excessive, unnecessary

voracious

excessively greedy and grasping

acquisitive

excessively interested in acquiring money or material things

garrulous

excessively talkative in a rambling, roundabout manner, especially about trivial matters

parsimonious

excessively unwilling to spend

E.g.

exempli gratia (for example)

impunity

exemption from punishment or freedom from the injurious consequences of an action: the impunity enjoyed by military officers implicated in civilian killings | protesters burned flags on the streets with impunity

abounding

existing in abundance

sycophantic

fawning, flattering

trepidation

fear

trepidation

fear, apprehension, dread, fearfulness, fright, agitation, anxiety, worry, nervousness

penitent

feeling guilty

compunction

feeling of guilt after doing something bad

abashed

feeling or caused to feel uneasy and self-conscious

chauvinistic

feeling or displaying aggressive or exaggerated patriotism. • displaying excessive or prejudiced support for one's own cause, group, or sex.

penitent

feeling or expressing remorse for misdeeds

penitent

feeling or showing sorrow and regret for having done wrong; repentant: a penitent expression

misgivings

feelings of doubt or concern

fecund

fertile, fruitful, productive

vitriolic

filled with bitter criticism or malice: vitriolic attacks on the politicians | vitriolic outbursts.

exonerate

find innocent

ascertain

find out, discover, get to know, work out, make out

fitful

fitful night's sleep: intermittent, sporadic, spasmodic, broken, disturbed, disrupted, patchy, irregular, uneven, unsettled; informal herky-jerky.

stratified

form or arrange into strata: socially stratified cities | [ no obj. ] : the residues have begun to stratify.

concordance

formal agreement

affability (n)

friendliness; the quality of being affable; geniality

genially

friendly and cheerful

genial

friendly, affable

Levity

frivolity (not serious or sensible)

Plenary

full; entire; complete

lichen

fungi

munificent

generous, philanthropic

debonair

gentle, courteous

benign

gentle, kind, warm

invigorate

give strength or energy to: the shower had invigorated her

relinquish

give up

Abdicate

give up, such as power, as of monarchs and emperors, or duties and obligations

attentive

giving attention to something; paying careful attention to the comfort or concerns of others

luminous

giving off light; shining

propitious

giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorable

gusto

great enjoyment

zeal

great enthusiasm for or devotion to cause, ideal, or goal

reverential

great respect

opulence

great wealth or luxuriousness

avaricious

greed

avaricious

greedy

verdant

green with vegetation; covered with growing plants or grass

squalid

gross, dirty

proliferated

grow, spread

querulous

habitually complaining

fortuitous

happening by accident or chance rather than design unanticipated, random

Fortuitous

happening by chance

halcyon (adj)

happy, perfect, idyllic, prosperous, carefree

esoteric (adj)

hard to understand

ultraviolet

harmful rays from sun, one kind of electromagnetic radiation produced by the Sun.

deleterious

harmful to living things

acrid

harsh or corrosive in tone

cursory

hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed

cursory

hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed: a cursory glance at the figures.

predisposed

have hunches, prepared, ready, of a mind, inclined

adjoining

having a common boundary or edge

pernicious

having a harmful effect, esp. in a gradual or subtle way

voracious

having a huge appetite, greedy, ravenous; excessively eager

Finite

having bounds

tenuous

having little substance or significance

sinuously

having many curves & turns

ambivalent

having mixed feelings

ambivalent

having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone: some loved her, some hated her, few were ambivalent about her | an ambivalent attitude to technology

ambiguous

having more than one possible meaning

Unilateral

having only one side

odoriferous

having or giving off a smell, esp. an unpleasant or distinctive one: spicily concocted with odoriferous herbs

intemperate

having or showing a lack of self-control; immoderate

tactful

having or showing a sense of what is fitting and considerate in dealing with others

irascibility

having or showing a tendency to be easily angered

haughty

having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of those one views as unworthy

prescient

having or showing knowledge of events before they take place: a prescient warning.

feverish

having or showing the symptoms of a fever: he suffered from feverish colds. • displaying a frenetic excitement or energy: the next couple of weeks were spent in a whirl of feverish activity.

Bi-polar

having two opposite or contradictory ideas

versatile

having varied uses or functions

reclusive

seeking or preferring seclusion or isolation

vacuous

inane, unintelligent, insipid, foolish, stupid, fatuous, idiotic, brainless, witless, vapid, vacant

inevitable

incapable of being avoided or prevented

seditious

inciting or causing people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch: the letter was declared seditious.

Submissive

inclined or willing to submit to orders or wishes of others or showing such inclination

Reticent

inclined to keep quiet

dogmatic

inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true: he gives his opinion without trying to be dogmatic.

Dilatory

inclined to put off what ought to be done at once

aggrandize

increase the power, status, or wealth of: an action intended to aggrandize the Frankish dynasty. • enhance the reputation of (someone) beyond what is justified by the facts: he hoped to aggrandize himself by dying a hero's death.

irresolute

indecisive, uncertain

ineffable

indescribable

incontrovertible

indisputable, undeniable

idiosyncratic

individual

avenger

inflict harm on behalf of (oneself or someone else previously wronged or harmed): we must avenge our dead

quadratic function

is a parabola

quarantine

isolation for a amount of time for an animal or person

jovial

jolly

exultant

joyful and proud especially because of triumph or success

dislodge

knock or force out of position: the hoofs of their horses dislodged loose stones. • remove from a position of power or authority: government opponents failed to dislodge the prime minister

saliently

obvious or prominent

Myopic

lack of discernment or long-range perspective in thinking or planning

dissonance

lack of harmony among musical notes

disdain

lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike

nebulous

lacking definition or definite content

nondescript

lacking distinct or individual characteristics

jaded

lacking enthusiasm

craven

lacking even the rudiments of courage

Pusillanimous

lacking in courage and resolution

languid

lacking spirit or liveliness

Arid

lacking vitality or spirit

prosaic

lacking wit or imagination

inconsequential

lacking worth or importance

capacious

large in capacity

ephemeral

last year's ephemeral fashions: transitory, transient, fleeting, passing, short-lived, momentary, brief, short; temporary, impermanent, short-term; fly-by-night

protracted

lasting for a long time or longer than expected or usual: a protracted and bitter dispute.

unequivocal

leaving no doubt; unambiguous: an unequivocal answer

lassitude

lethargy, listlessness, weariness, languor, sluggishness, tiredness, fatigue

epistles

letter

erratic

liable to sudden unpredictable change

levity

lightheartedness, high spirits, vivacity, liveliness, cheerfulness, cheeriness, humor, gaiety, fun, jocularity, hilarity, frivolity

revelry

lively and noisy festivities, esp. when these involve drinking a large amount of alcohol

Supercilious

lofty with pride

Syllogism

logic: a form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion

longevity

long life, long duration, length of life

resigned

long-suffering, uncomplaining, forbearing

lugubrious

looking or sounding sad and dismal

retroactive

looking to the past

tumultuous

loud

strident

loud and harsh

staunchly

loyal and committed in attitude: a staunch supporter of the antinuclear lobby

Eclectic

made up of or combining elements from varying sources

protagonist

main character in play

exacerbated

make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse

politicized

make (someone) politically aware, esp. by persuading them of the truth of views considered radical

elucidates

make (something) clear; explain

remonstrate

make a forcefully reproachful protest

bureaucratization

make a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by state officials rather than by elected representatives

ameliorate

make better, better, make improvements to

exploit

make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource)

whet

make keen or more acute

profiteer

make or seek to make an excessive or unfair profit, esp. illegally or in a black market: (as noun profiteering) : the profiteering of tabloid journalists.

inference

making a guess. hypothesis.

Vociferous

making a loud outcry

sophistry

making false arguments

raucous

making or constituting a disturbingly harsh and loud noise: raucous youths.

tractable

malleable, manageable, amenable, pliable, governable, yielding, complaisant, compliant, game, persuadable, accommodating, docile

marsupial

mammal with a pouch

Rancorous

marked by bitter, deep-seated ill-will

Surreptitious

marked by quiet and caution and secrecy

furtive

marked by quiet and caution and secrecy

slovenly

messy or dirty

technique

method, way of doing something

guerrilla

military force that is not a part of a regular army and operates in small bands

Reconnaissance

military observation of a region to locate an enemy or ascertain strategic features"an excellent aircraft for low-level reconnaissance" preliminary surveying or research"conducting client reconnaissance"

satirical

mocking, ironic, ironical, satiric, sarcastic, sardonic

paradigms

model, pattern, example

tempered

moderated

diffident

modest or shy because of a lack of self-confidence

mercenary

money-oriented, grasping, greedy, acquisitive, avaricious, covetous, bribable, venal, materialistic

preachy

moralistic

rectitude

morally correct behavior or thinking; righteousness: Maddie is a model of rectitude.

squalid

morally degraded

sordid

morally ignoble or base; vile

dissolute

morally loose, licentious

Superfluous

more than is needed, desired, or required

Superfluous

more than is wanted or is sufficient

abject

most unfortunate or miserable

becalmed

motionless

maneuver

move around

bent

natural talent

vertiginous

nauseating, lightheadedness

Requisite

necessary; indispensable

Tautological

needless repetition of the same sense in different words; redundancy

negative slope

negative infinity

defunct

no longer existing, discontinued

random

no pattern

commotion

noisy activity or confusion

obstreperous

noisy and difficult to control

tumult

noisy loud, opposite of tranquility

cacophonous

noisy, loud, ear-splitting, raucous, discordant, dissonant, jarring, grating, inharmonious

boisterous

noisy, violent

neither

nor

wistful

nostalgic, pensive

opaque

not able to be seen through; not transparent: the windows were opaque with steam. • (esp. of language) hard or impossible to understand; unfathomable: technical jargon that was opaque to her.

inconspicuous

not clearly visible or attracting attention; not conspicuous: an inconspicuous red-brick building.

onerous

not easily borne

innate

not established by conditioning or learning

spurious

not genuine, authentic, or true

innocuous

not harmful or offensive: it was an innocuous question

unencumbered (adj)

not having burden or impediment

unmarred

not impaired

incongruity

not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something

incongruous

not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something

apolitical

not interested or involved in politics: a former apolitical housewife.

unsightly

not pleasant to look at; unattractive

reticent

not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily

reticent

not revealing one's thoughts or feelings readily: she was extremely reticent about her personal affairs.

quixotic

not sensible about practical matters

obsequious

obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree

ambiguous

obscure, unclear

adulation

obsequious flattery; excessive admiration or praise: he found it difficult to cope with the adulation of the fans.

compulsive

obsessive

grueling

physically or mentally exhausting

hieroglyphic

picture writing.

interposed

place or insert between one thing and another

strategy

plan

phloem

plant tissue that conducts food

placid

pleasantly calm or peaceful

prolific

plentiful

prolific

plentiful, abundant

ruse

ploy, cunning scheme

cavalcade

procession

salutary

producing good effects, beneficial

efficacious

producing or capable of producing an intended result or having a striking effect

reverence

profound respect

headway

progress toward a destination or goal

dictum

pronouncement, proclamation, direction, injunction, dictate, command, commandment, order, decree

decorum

proper behavior or conduct

decorous

proper, seemly, decent, becoming, befitting, tasteful; correct, appropriate, suitable, fitting; tactful

immune

protected from getting a disease.

refutation

prove (a statement or theory) to be wrong or false; disprove

substantiated

provide evidence to support or prove the truth of

foster

providing or receiving nurture or parental care though not related by blood or legal ties

cloistered

providing privacy or seclusion

cathartic

providing psychological relief through the open expression of strong emotions

auxiliaries

providing supplementary or additional help and support

clairvoyant

psychic

denunciation

public condemnation of someone or something

manifesto

public declaration of goals

ignominy

public shame or disgrace

decried

publicly denounce

figurehead

puppet w/ authority

consecrated

sanctify, bless, make holy, make sacred; dedicate to God

sardonic

satirical, sarcastic, ironical, ironic; cynical, scornful, contemptuous

aphorisms

saying, proverb

licentious

scandalous

pedantic

scrupulous, precise, exact, perfectionist, punctilious, meticulous, fussy, fastidious

ossified

set in a rigidly conventional pattern of behavior, habits, or beliefs, changed into bone

starkness

severe or bare in appearance or outline

austerity

severity, strictness, seriousness, solemnity, gravity; frugality, thrift, economy, asceticism; self-discipline, abstinence, sobriety, restraint, chastity; starkness.

abash (n)

shame

Acerbic

sharp, biting, or acid in temper, expression, or tone

abrasive

sharply disagreeable

doctrinaire

she is by no means a doctrinaire conservative: dogmatic, rigid, inflexible, uncompromising; authoritarian, intolerant, fanatical, zealous, extreme.

racked

she was racked with guilt: torment, afflict, torture, agonize, harrow; plague, bedevil, persecute, wrack, trouble, worry

byzantine

situation) excessively complicated, typically involving a great deal of administrative detail: Byzantine insurance regulations. • characterized by deviousness or underhanded procedure: Byzantine intrigues | he has the most Byzantine mind in politics.

deftly

skillful

virtuosity

skillful

nocturnal

sleep in day, play at night

somnolent

sleepy; drowsy. • causing or suggestive of drowsiness: a somnolent summer day. • Medicine abnormally drowsy.

marginal

slight, small, tiny, minute, insignificant

brackish

slightly salty

dilatory

slow

torpid

slow and apathetic

astute

smart

complacent

smug

complacent

smug, self-satisfied

just as

so (to)

inimitably

so good or unusual as to be impossible to copy; unique

hedonist

someone motivated by desires for sensual pleasures

conformist

someone who conforms to established standards of conduct (especially in religious matters)

clairvoyant

someone who has the power of clairvoyance

impasse

stoppage, blockage

outlandish

strange

fortitude

strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage

bolstered

strengthen, reinforce

stringent

strict, firm

denuded

strip (something) of its covering, possessions, or assets; make bare: almost overnight the Arctic was denuded of animals.

emulate

strive to equal or match, especially by imitating

exhort

strongly encourage or urge

obstinate

stubborn

tenacious

stubborn

obdurate

stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action

tenacious

stubbornly unyielding

obstinacy

stubbornness, inflexibility

jaunty

stylish.

recapitulate

summarize

supplanted

supersede and replace

buttress

support

subsidize

support (an organization or activity) financially: it was beyond the power of a state to subsidize a business.

capitulate

surrender

capitulate

surrender under agreed conditions

capitulated

surrender, give in/ up

mellifluous

sweet-sounding, dulcet, honeyed, mellow, soft, liquid, silvery, soothing

distension

swell or cause to swell by pressure from inside

commiseration

sympathy, pity, compassion

abstracted

taken out of or separated from

voluble

talkative, loquacious, garrulous

ephemeral

temporary, transitory

perfidious

tending to betray

auspicious

tending to favor or bring good luck

soporific

tending to induce drowsiness or sleep: the motion of the train had a somewhat soporific effect. • sleepy or drowsy: some medicine made her soporific. • tediously boring or monotonous: a libel trial is in large parts intensely soporific.

divergent

tending to move apart in different directions

evanescent

tending to vanish like vapor

quandary

terrible situation

more

than

no sooner

than

NOT the "most" number

the "largest" number

aptitude

the ability of learn or understand something quickly

potential

the ability to grow, develop, or improve

foresight

the ability to imagine what is likely to happen in the future.

absolutist

the acceptance of or belief in absolute principles in political, philosophical, ethical, or theological matters

occlusion

the act of blocking something or a specific blockage

convergence

the act of coming closer

restitution

the act of doing something or paying money to make up for some damage, loss, or injury that you have caused

sacrifice

the act of giving up something valued

renovation

the act of improving by renewing and restoring

dissemination

the act of spreading something, esp. information, widely; circulation

altruism

the belief in or practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others

fatalistic

the belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable

circumference

the boundary of an area, an object, or a geometric figure, especially a circle

zoology

the branch of biology that studies animals

metropolis

the capital or chief city of a country or region

Diction

the choice and use of words in speech or writing

prosperity

the condition of prospering

abridge

to condense, to shorten

bifurcations

the division of something into two branches or parts

estrangement

the estrangement between Vita and her family: alienation, antagonism, antipathy, disaffection, hostility, unfriendliness

juxtaposition

the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect

impetus

the force or energy with which a body moves

deriding

the kid I used to deride in junior high is now my boss: ridicule, mock, scoff at, jibe at, make fun of, poke fun at, laugh at

"whereby"

the meaning of which ("by which")

pedagogy

the method and practice of teaching, esp. as an academic subject or theoretical concept

serendipity

the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way; chance, luck

destination

the place to which a person or thing is going or sent

stamina

the power to resist getting tired or sick while working hard

camaraderie

the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability

serenity

the quality of being calm, peaceful, or untroubled

novelty

the quality of being new, original, or unusual; originality

acquiescence

the reluctant acceptance of something without protest

Allegory

the representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form

galvanized

the reverend's words galvanized our group into action: jolt, shock, startle, impel, stir, spur, prod, urge, motivate, stimulate

suffrage

the right to vote

debris

the scattered remains of something broken, destroyed, or discarded

jargon

the specialized language of a trade, profession, or group of people

discredit

the state of being held in low esteem

transience

the state or fact of lasting only for a short time; transitory nature: the transience of life and happiness

degeneration

the state or process of being or becoming degenerate; decline or deterioration: overgrazing has caused serious degeneration of grassland.

prefer

to

from

to (until)

abet

to aid; to act as an accomplice

materialize

to appear out of nowhere

Equivocate

to be deliberately ambiguous or unclear

vacillation

to be indecisive

deign

to be willing to do something that one considers beneath one's dignity

subside

to become less active or intense

emerge

to become visible or known

muster

to bring forth a group of soldiers together; to bring forth a feeling or ability from within oneself

accentuate

to bring out the best in

kindle

to build and start a fire; to arouse or excite a feeling

jostle

to bump roughly against another person or thing

quell

to calm or settle

Abrogate

to cancel, destroy, revoke, or void

exhilarate

to cause someone to feel very happy

ignite

to cause something to start burning; to begin to burn

dispel

to cause to disappear; drive away

brazen

unrestrained by convention or propriety

mendacity

untruthfulness

officious

unwanted help, self-important, bumptious, self-assertive, overbearing, overzealous, domineering, opinionated, interfering, intrusive, meddlesome

intransigence

unwilling or refusing to change one's views or to agree about something.

imprudent

unwise, injudicious, incautious, indiscreet, misguided

feckless (adj)

useless, lacking skill, incompetent, futile, indifferent, lazy

emphatic

vehement, firm, wholehearted, forceful

vociferous

vehement, passionate

vindicat

vengeful

punctilious

very careful w/ small details

havoc

very great destruction or disorder

archaic

very old or old-fashioned

somber

very serious or sad

bizarre

very strange or odd

guru

very talented at one thing.

Loquacious

very talkative

tenuous

very weak or slight

tenuous(ly)

very weak or slight

vivacious

vigorous and active

sacrilege

violation or misuse of what is regarded as sacred

cataclysmic

violent natural event

boisterous

violently agitated and turbulent

conspicuous

visible

immaterial

w/out relevance

itinerant

wanderer, traveler

voracious

wanting or devouring great quantities of food

wary

watchful, alert

vigilant

watching out for danger or something that might go wrong

debilitate

weaken

debilitated

weakened

yen

yearning, desire

hackneyed

your hackneyed arguments fail to persuade anyone: overused, overdone, overworked, worn out, timeworn, platitudinous, vapid, stale

fissure

• a state of incompatibility or disagreement: the fissure between private sector business and the newly expanding public sector. verb [ with obj. ] (usu. as adj. fissured) split or crack (something) to form a long narrow opening: the skin becomes dry, fissured, and cracked.