Heejung's GRE words with sentence 2

credo

creed (Eg: I believe we may best describe his credo by saying that it approximates the Goldren Rule. )

fissure

crevice (Eg: The mountain climbers secured footholds in tiny fissures in the rock. )

malefactor

criminal (Eg: We must try to bring these malefactors to justice. )

juncture

crisis;joining point (Eg: At this critical juncture, let us think carefully before determining the course we shall follow. )

censorious

critical (Eg: censorious people delight in casting blame. )

animadversion

critical remark (Eg: He resented the animadversions of his critics, particularly because he realized they were true. )

pan

criticize harshly (Eg: Hoping for a rave review of his new show, the playwright was miserable when the critics panned it )

askew

crookedly; slanted; at an angle (Eg: When he placed his hat askew upon his head, his observers laughed. )

horde

crowd (Eg: Just before Christmas the stores are filled with hordes of shoppers. )

diadem

crown (Eg: The king's diadem was on display at the museum. )

crux

crucial point (Eg: This is the crux of the entire problem. )

fell

cruel; deadly (Eg: The newspapers told of the tragic spread of the fell disease )

pulverize

crush or grind into very small particles (Eg: Before sprinkling the dried herbs into the stew, Michael first pulverized them into a fine powder. )

panacea

cure-all; remedy for all diseases (Eg: There is no easy panacea that will solve our complicated international situation. )

profilgate

dissipated; wasteful; licentious (Eg: In this profilgate company, she lost all sense of decency. )

disband

dissolve; disperse (Eg: The chess club disbanded after its disastrous initial season. )

elixir

cure-all; something invigorating (Eg: The news of her chance to go abroad acted on her like an elixir. )

imprecation

curse (Eg: Roused from the bed at what he considered an ungodly hour, Roy muttered imprecations under his breath. )

anathematize

curse (Eg: The high priest anathematized the heretic. )

malediction

curse (Eg: The witch uttered maledictions against her captors. )

execrate

curse; express abhorrence for (Eg: The world execrates the memory of Hitler and hopes that genocide will never again be the policy of any )

aquiline

curved, hooked (Eg: He can be recognized by his aquiline nose, curved like the beak of the eagle. )

convex

curving outward (Eg: He polished the convex lens of his telescope. )

perdition

damnation; complete ruin (Eg: Praying for salvation, young Daedalus feared he was damned to eternal perdition. )

humid

damp (Eg: She could not stand the humid climate and moved to a drier area. )

dank

damp (Eg: The walls of the dungeon were dank and slimy. )

hazardous

dangerous (Eg: Your occupation is too hazardous for insurance companies to consider your application. )

audacious

daring; bold (Eg: Audiences cheered as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia made their audacious, death-defying leap to )

opaque

dark; not transparent (Eg: The opaque window kept the sunlight out of the room. )

obscure

dark; vague; unclear (Eg: Even after I read the poem a fourth time, its meaning was still obscure. )

eclipse

darken; extinguish; surpass (Eg: The new stock market high eclipsed the previous record set in 1985. )

obscure

darken; make unclear (Eg: At times he seemed purposely to obscure his meaning, preferring mystery to clarity. )

murkiness

darkness; gloom (Eg: The murkiness and fog of the waterfront that evening depressed me. )

reverie

daydream; musing (Eg: He was awakened from his reverie by the teacher's question. )

defunct

dead; no longer in use or existence (Eg: The lawyers sought to examine the books of the defunct corporation. )

girth

distance around something; circunference (Eg: It took an extra-large cummerbund to fit around Andrew Carnegie's considerable girth. )

cloying

distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental (Eg: Disliking the cloying sweetness of standard wedding cakes, Jody and Tom chose a homemade carrot cake )

lethal

deadly (Eg: It is unwise to leave lethal weapons where children may find them. )

demise

death (Eg: Upon the demise of the dictator, a bitter dispute about succession to power developed. )

libertine

debauched person, roue (Eg: )

decomposition

decay (Eg: Despite the body's advanced state of decomposition, the police were able to identify the murdered man. )

decadence

decay (Eg: The moral decadence of the people was reflected in the lewd literature of the period. )

guile

deceit; duplicity (Eg: She achieved her high position by guile and treachery. )

delude

deceive (Eg: Do not delude yourself into believing that he will relent. )

hoodwink

deceive; delude (Eg: Having been hoodwinked once by the fast-talking salesman, he was extremely cautious when he went to )

illusive

deceiving (Eg: This is only a mirage; let us not be fooled by its illusive effect. )

artifice

deception; trickery (Eg: The Trojan War proved to the Greeks that cunning and artifice were often more effective than military )

illusory

deceptive; not real (Eg: Unfortunately, the costs of running the lemonade stand were so high that Tom's profits proved illusory. )

delusive

deceptive; raising vain hopes (Eg: Do not raise your hopes on the basis of his delusive promises. )

pious

devout (Eg: The pious parents gave their children a religious upbringing. )

resolve

decide; settle; solve (Eg: Homes resolved to travel to Bohemia to resolve the dispute between Irene Adler and the King. )

discernible

distinguishable; perceivable (Eg: The ships in the harbor were not discernible in the fog. )

awry

distorted; crooked (Eg: )

perturb

disturb greatly (Eg: I am afraid this news will perturb him and cause him grief. )

conclusive

decisive; ending all debate (Eg: When the stolen books turned up in John's locker, we finally had conclusive evidence of the identity of the )

hatch

deck opening; lid covering a deck opening (Eg: The latch on the hatch failed to catch, so the hatch remained unlatched. )

manifesto

declaration; statement of policy (Eg: The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels proclaimed the principles of modern communism. )

avow

declare openly (Eg: I must avow that I am innocent. )

decipher

decode (Eg: I could not decipher the doctor's handwriting. )

garnish

decorate (Eg: Parsley was used to garnish the boiled potato. )

ordinance

decree (Eg: Passing a red light is a violation of a city ordinance. )

consecrate

dedicate; sanctify (Eg: We shall consecrate our lives to this noble purpose. )

infer

deduce; conclude (Eg: We must be particularly cautious when we infer that a person is guilty on the basis of circumstantial )

exploit

deed or action, particularly a brave deed (Eg: Raoul Wallenberg was noted for his exploits in rescuing Jews from Hitler's forces. )

inveterate

deep-rooted; habitual (Eg: She is an inveterate smoker and cannot break the habit. )

profound

deep; not superficial; complete (Eg: Freud's remarkable insights into human behavior caused his fellow scientists to honor him as a profound )

ingrained

deeply established; firmly rooted (Eg: Try as they would, the missionaries were unable to uproot the ingrained superstitions of the natives. )

libelous

defamatory; injurious to the good name of a person (Eg: He sued the newspaper because of its libelous story. )

discredit

defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve (Eg: )

foil

defeat; frustrate (Eg: In the end, Skywalker is able to foil Vader's diabolical schemes. )

rampart

defensive mound on earth (Eg: "From the ramparts we watched" as the fighting continued. )

mulct

defraud a person of something (Eg: The lawyer was accused of trying to mulct the boy of his legacy. )

demean

degrade; humiliate (Eg: He felt that he would demean himself if he replied to the scurrilous letter. )

apotheosis

deification; glorification (Eg: The Roman empress Livia envied the late emperor his apotheosis; she hoped that on her death she, too, )

crestfallen

dejected; dispirited (Eg: We were surprised at his reaction to the failure of his project; instead of being crestfallen, he was busily )

respite

delay in punishment; interval of relief; rest (Eg: The judge granted the condemned man a respite to enable his attorneys to file an appeal. )

demur

delay; object (Eg: To demur at this time will only worsen the already serious situation; now is the time for action. )

piety

devoutness; reverence for God (Eg: Living her life in prayer and good works, Mother Teresa exemplifies the true sprit of piety. )

malicious

dictated by hatred or spite (Eg: The malicious neighbor spread the gossip. )

lexicon

dictionary (Eg: I cannot find this word in any lexicon in the library. )

belated

delayed (Eg: He apologized for his belated note of condolence to the widow of his friend and explained that he had just )

dilatory

delaying (Eg: Your dilatory tactics may compel me to cancel the contract. )

finesse

delicate skill (Eg: The finesse and adroitness of the surgeon impressed the observers in the operating room. )

disparity

difference; condition of inequality (Eg: The disparity in their ages made no difference at all. )

diverse

differing in some characteristics; various (Eg: There are diverse ways of approaching this problem. )

filigree

delicate, lacelike metalwork (Eg: The pendant with gold filigree that she wore round her neck trembled with each breath she took. )

consign

deliver officially; entrust; set apart (Eg: The court consigned the child to her paternal grandmother's care. )

render

deliver; provide; represent (Eg: He rendered aid to the needy and indigent. )

acquittal

deliverance from a charge (Eg: His acquittal by the jury surprised those who had thought him guilty. )

cataclysm

deluge; upheaval (Eg: A cataclysm such as the French Revolution affects all countries. )

hallucination

delusion (Eg: I think you were frightened by a hallucination that you created in you own mind. )

peremptory

demanding and leaving no choice (Eg: From Jack's peremptory knock on the door, Jill could tell he would not give up until she let him in. )

laborious

demanding much work or care; tedious (Eg: In putting together his dictionary of the English language, Doctor Johnson undertook a laborious task. )

negation

denial (Eg: I must accept his argument since you have been unable to present any negation of his evidence. )

nihilism

denial of traditional values; total skepticism (Eg: nihilism holds that existence has no meaning. )

disavowal

denial; disclaiming (Eg: His disavowal of his part in the conspiracy was not believed by the jury. )

centigrade

denoting a widely used temperature scale (basically same as Celsius) (Eg: )

divergent

differing; deviating (Eg: The two witnesses presented the jury with remarkably divergent accounts of the same epipode. )

ramify

divide into branches or subdivisions (Eg: When the plant begins to ramify, it is advisable to nip off most of the new branches. )

bifurcated

divided into two branches; forked (Eg: With a bifurcated branch and a piece of elastic rubber, he made a crude but effective slingshot. )

charisma

divine gift; great popular charm or appeal (Eg: Political commentators have deplored the importance of a candidate's charisma in these days of television )

canto

division of a long poem (Eg: Dante's poetic masterpiece The Divine Comedy is divided into cantos. )

schism

division; split (Eg: Let us not widen the schism by further bickering. )

quay

dock; landing place (Eg: Because of the captain's carelessness, the ship crashed into the quay. )

podiatrist

doctor who treats ailments of the feet (Eg: He consulted a podiatrist about his fallen arches. )

asceticism

doctrine of self-denial (Eg: We find asceticism practiced in many monastries. )

homespun

domestic; made at home (Eg: homespun wit, like homespun cloth, was often coarse and plain. )

hegemony

dominance, especially of one nation over others (Eg: As one Eastern European nation after another declared its independence, commentators marveled at the )

nocturnal

done at night (Eg: Mr. Jones obtained a watchdog to prevent the nocturnal raids on his chicken coops. )

panoramic

denoting an unobstructed and comprehensive view (Eg: On a clear day, from the top of the World Trade Center you can get a panoramic view of New York City )

inveigh

denounce; utter censure or invective (Eg: )

gainsay

deny (Eg: She was too honest to gainsay the truth of the report. )

renege

deny; go back on (Eg: He reneged on paying off his debt. )

atheistic

denying the existence of God (Eg: His atheistic remarks shocked the religious worshippers. )

abscond

depart secretly and hide (Eg: The teller absconded with the bonds and was not found. )

exodus

departure (Eg: The exodus from the hot and stuffy city was particularly noticeable on Friday evenings. )

despondent

depressed; gloomy (Eg: )

disenfranchise

deprive of a civil right (Eg: The imposition if the poll tax effectively disenfranchised poor Southern blacks, who lost their right to vote. )

bereft

deprived of; lacking (Eg: The foolish gambler soon found himself bereft of funds. )

devolve

deputize; pass to others (Eg: It devolved upon us, the survivors, to arrange peace terms with the enemy. )

deducible

derived byreasoning (Eg: If we accept your premise, your conclusions are easily deducible. )

posterity

descendants; future generations (Eg: We hope to leave a better world to posterity. )

lineage

descent; ancestry (Eg: He traced his lineage back to Mayflower days. )

sacrilegious

desecrating; profane (Eg: His stealing of the altar cloth was a very sacrilegious act. )

forsake

desert; abandon; renounce (Eg: No one expected Foster to forsake his wife and children and run off with another woman. )

renegade

deserter; traitor (Eg: Because he had abandoned his post and joined forces with the Indians, his fellow officers considered the )

defection

desertion (Eg: The children, who had made him an idol, were hurt most by his defection from our cause. )

culpable

deserving blame (Eg: Corrupt politicians who condone the activities of the gamblers are equally culpable. )

reprehensible

deserving blame (Eg: Your vicious conduct in this situation is reprehensible. )

invidious

designed to create ill will or envy (Eg: We disregarded her invidious remarks because we realized how jealous she was. )

scurvy

despicable; contemptible (Eg: Peter Pan sneered at Captain Hook and his scurvy crew. )

annihilate

destroy (Eg: The enemy in its revenge tried to annihilate the entire population. )

raze

destroy completely (Eg: The owners intend to raze the hotel and erect an office building on the site. )

obliterate

destroy completely (Eg: The tidal wave obliterated several island villages. )

defoliate

destroy leaves (Eg: In Vietnam the army made extensive use of chemical agents to defoliate the woodlands. )

demolition

destruction (Eg: One of the major aims of the air force was the complete demolition of all means of transportation by the )

holocaust

destruction by fire (Eg: Citizens of San Francisco remember that the destruction of the city was caused not by the earthquake but )

carnage

destruction of life (Eg: The carnage that can be caused by atomic warfare adds to the responsibilities of our statesmen. )

resolution

determination (Eg: Nothing could shake his resolution to succeed despite all difficulties. )

resolve

determination (Eg: Nothing could shake his resolve that his children would get the best education that money could buy. )

canvass

determine or seek opinions, votes, etc. (Eg: After canvassing the sentiments of his constituents, the congressman was confident that he represented the )

bent

determined; natural talent or inclination (Eg: bent on advancing in the business world, the secretary heroine of Working Girl had a true bent for high )

dogged

determined;stubborn (Eg: Les Miserables tells of Inspector Javert's long, dogged pursuit of the criminal Jean Valjean. )

loathe

detest (Eg: We loathed the wicked villain. )

depose

dethrone; remove form office (Eg: The army attempted to depose the king and set up a military government. )

die

device for stamping or impressing; mold (Eg: In coining pennies, workers at the old mint squeezed sheets of softened copper between two dies. )

diabolical

devilish (Eg: This scheme is so diabolical that I must reject it. )

anguish

acute pain; extreme suffering (Eg: Visiting the site of explosion, Premier Gorbachev wept to see the anguish of the victims and their families. )

elaboration

addition of details; intricacy (Eg: Tell what happened simply, without any elaboration. )

addendum

addition; appendix to book (Eg: Jane's editor approved her new comparative literature text but thought it would be even better with an )

condign

adequate; deservedly severe (Eg: The public approved the condign punishment for the crime. )

formality

adherence to established rules or procedures (Eg: Signing this petition is a mere formality; it does not obligate you in any way. )

contiguous

adjacent to; touching upon (Eg: The two countries are contiguous for a few miles; then they are separated by the gulf. )

acclimate

adjust to climate or environment (Eg: One of the difficulties of our present air age is the need of travellers to acclimate themselves to their new )

compromise

adjust; endanger the interests or reputation of (Eg: Your presence at the scene of the dispute compromises our claim to neutrality in this matter. )

fastidious

difficult to please; squeamish (Eg: The waitresses disliked serving him dinner because of his very fastidious taste. )

quarry

dig into (Eg: They quarried blocks of marble out of the hillside. )

exhume

dig out of the ground; remove from a grave (Eg: Because of the rumor that he had been poisoned, his body was exhumed in order that an autopsy might be )

disinter

dig up; unearth (Eg: They disinterred the body and held an autopsy. )

delve

dig; investigate (Eg: delving into old books and manuscripts is part of a researcher's job. )

discursive

digressing; rambling (Eg: They were annoyed and bored by her discursive remarks. )

quandary

dilemma (Eg: When the two colleges to which he had applied accepted him, he was in a quandary as to which one he )

assiduous

diligent (Eg: It took Rembrandt weeks of assiduous labor before he was satisfied with his portrait of his son. )

application

diligent attention; (secondary meaning) apply (Eg: Pleased with how well Tom had whitewashed the fence, Aunt Polly praised him for his application. )

sap

diminish; undermine (Eg: The element kryptonite had an unhealthy effect on Superman: it sapped his strength. )

refectory

dining hall (Eg: In this huge refectory, we can feed the entire student body at one sitting. )

protocol

diplomatic etiquette (Eg: We must run this state dinner according to protocol if we are to avoid offending any of our guests. )

incapacitate

disable (Eg: During the winter, many people were incapacitated by respiratory ailments. )

dissent

disagree (Eg: In a landmark Supreme Court decision, Justice Marshall dissented from the majority opinion. )

disapprobation

disapproval; condemnation (Eg: The conservative father viewed his daughter's radical boyfriend with disapprobation. )

calamity

disaster; misery (Eg: As news of the calamity spread, offers of relief poured in to the stricken community. )

dire

disastrous (Eg: People ignored her dire predictions of an approaching depression. )

exude

discharge; give forth (Eg: The maple syrup is obtained from the sap that the trees exude in early spring. )

enfranchise

admit to the rights of citizenship (especially the right to vote) (Eg: Although blacks were enfranchised shortly after the Civil War, women did not receive the right to vote )

concede

admit; hield (Eg: Despite all the evidence Monica had assembled, Mark refused to concede that she was right. )

espouse

adopt; support (Eg: She was always ready to espouse a worthy cause. )

embellish

adorn (Eg: )

enhance

advance; improve (Eg: Your chances for promotion in this department will be enhanced if you take some more courses in evening )

precocious

advanced in development (Eg: By her rather adult manner of discussing serious topics, the child demonstrated that she was precocious. )

chasten

discipline; punish in order to correct (Eg: Whom God loves, God chastens. )

faze

disconcert; dismay (Eg: No crisis could faze the resourceful hotel manager. )

disjointed

disconnected (Eg: His remarks were so disjointed that we could not follow his reasoning. )

desultory

aimless; haphazard; digressing at random (Eg: In prison Malcolm X set himself the task of reading straight through the dictionary; to him reading was )

omniscient

all-knowing (Eg: I do not pretend to be omniscient, but I am positive about this fact. )

omnipotent

all-powerful (Eg: The monarch regarded himself as omnipotent and responsible to no one for his acts. )

rider

amendment or clause added to a legislative bill (Eg: Senator Foghorn said he would support Senator Filibuster's tax reform bill only if Filibuster agreed to add )

reparation

amends; compensation (Eg: At the peace conference, the defeated country promised to pay reparations to the victors. )

dissonance

discord (Eg: Some contemporary musicians deliberately use dissonance to achieve certain effects. )

rebate

discount (Eg: We offer a rebate of ten percent to those who pay cash. )

dishearten

discourage (Eg: His failure to pass the bar exam disheartened him. )

bandy

discuss lightly; exchange blows or words (Eg: The president refused to bandy words with reporters at the press conference. )

disport

amuse (Eg: The popularity of Florida as a winter resort is constantly increasing; each year, thousands more disport )

beguile

amuse; delude; cheat (Eg: I beguiled himself during the long hours by playing solitaire. )

concession

an act of yielding (Eg: Before they could reach an agreement, both sides had to make certain concessions. )

progenitor

ancestor (Eg: The Roth family, whose progenitors emigrated from Germany early in the nineteenth century, settled in )

forebears

ancestors (Eg: Reverence for one's forebears (sometimes referred to as ancestor worship) plays an important part in many )

cherubic

angelic; innocent-looking (Eg: With her cheerful smile and rosy cheeks, she was a particularly cherubic child. )

indignation

anger ar an injustice (Eg: He felt indignation at the ill-treatment of the helpless animals. )

irate

angry (Eg: When John's mother found out that he had overthrown his checking account for the third month in a row, )

parasite

animal or plant living on another; toady; sycophant (Eg: )

gadfly

animal-biting fly; an irritating person (Eg: Like a gadfly, he irritated all the guests at the hotel; within forty eight hours, everyone regarded him as an )

fauna

animals of a period or region (Eg: The scientist could visualize the fauna of the period by examining the skeletal remains and the fossils. )

harass

annoy by repeated attacks (Eg: When he could not pay his bills as quickly as he had promised, he was harrassed by his creditors. )

gall

annoy; chafe (Eg: Their taunts galled him. )

nettle

annoy; vex (Eg: Do not let him nettle you with his sarcastic remarks. )

irksome

annoying; tedious (Eg: He found working on the assembly line irksome because of the monotony of the operation he had to )

apposite

appropriate; fitting (Eg: He was always able to find the apposite phrase, the correct expression for every occasion. )

approbation

approval (Eg: Wanting her parents' regard, she looked for some sign of their approbation. )

ratify

approve formally; verify (Eg: Before the treaty could go into effect, it had to be ratified by the president. )

sanction

approve; ratify (Eg: Nothing will convince me to sanction the engagement of my daughter to such a worthless young man. )

endorse

approve; support (Eg: Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for the city council the mayor would endorse. )

countenance

approve; tolerate (Eg: He refused to countenance such rude behavior on their part. )

plauditory

approving; applauding (Eg: The theatrical company reprinted the plauditory comments of the critics in its advertisement. )

felicitous

apt; suitably expressed; well chosen (Eg: He was famous for his felicitous remarks and was called upon to serve as master-of-ceremonies at many )

conduit

aqueduct; passageway for fluids (Eg: Water was brought to the army in the desert by an improvised conduit from the adjoining mountain. )

fervid

ardent (Eg: Her fervid enthusiasm inspired all of us to undertake the dangerous mission. )

fervent

ardent; hot (Eg: She felt that the fervent praise was excessive and somewhat undeserved. )

haggle

argue about prices (Eg: I prefer to shop in a store that has a one-price policy because, whenever I haggle with a shopkeeper, I am )

disputatious

argumentative; fond of argument (Eg: People avoided discussing contemporary problems with him because of his disputatious manner. )

cohorts

armed band (Eg: Caesar and his Roman cohorts conquered almost all of the known world. )

incite

arouse to action (Eg: The demogogue incited the mob to take action into its own hands. )

graduated

arraged by degree (of height, difficulty, etc.) (Eg: Margaret loved her graduated set of Russian hollow wooden dolls; she spent hours happily putting the )

codify

arrange (laws, rules) as a code; classify (Eg: )

apprehend

arrest ( a criminal); dread; perceive (Eg: The police will apprehend the culprit and convict him before long. )

advent

arrival (Eg: Most Americans were unaware of the advent of the Nuclear Age until the news of Hiroshima reached )

hubris

arrogance; excessive self-conceit (Eg: Filled with hubris, Lear refused to heed his friends' warnings. )

presumptous

arrogant; taking liberties (Eg: It seems presumptous for one so relatively new to the field to challenge the conclusions of its leading )

incendiary

arsonist (Eg: The fire spread in such an unusual manner that the fire department chiefs were certain that it had been set )

choreography

art of dancing (Eg: Martha Graham introduced a form of choreography that seemed awkward and alien to those who had )

dialectic

art of debate (Eg: I am not skilled in dialectic and therefore, cannot answer your arguments as forcefully as I wish. )

rhetoric

art of effective communication; insincere or grandiloquent language (Eg: All writers, by necessity, must be skilled in rhetoric. )

dictum

arthoritative and weighty statement (Eg: She repeated the statement as though it were the dictum of the most expert worker in the group. )

culvert

artificial channel for water (Eg: If we build a culvert under the road at this point, we will reduce the possibility of the road at this point, we )

affected

artificial; pretended (Eg: His affected mannerisms irritated may of us who had known him before his promotion. )

factitous

artificial; sham (Eg: Hollywood actresses often create factitious tears by using glycerine. )

attribute

ascribe; explain (Eg: I attribute her success in science to the encouragement she received from her parents. )

ashen

ash-colored; deadly pale (Eg: Her face was ashen with fear. )

assail

assault (Eg: He was assailed with questions after his lecture. )

convene

assemble (Eg: Because much is needed legislation had to be enacted, the governor ordered the legislature to convene in )

acquiesce

assent; agree passively (Eg: Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about )

abet

assist, usually in doing something wrong (Eg: She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned. )

consort

associate with (Eg: We frequently judge people by the company with whom they consort. )

posture

assume an affected pose; act artificially (Eg: No matter how much Arnold boasted or postured, I could not believe he was as important as he pretended )

imposture

assuming a false identity; masquerade (Eg: She was imprisoned for her imposture of a doctor. )

premise

assumption; postulate (Eg: Because Jack had based his argument upon a faulty premise, his opponent cheerfully pointed out the holes )

quiescent

at rest; dormant (Eg: After this geyser erupts, it will remain quiescent for twenty-four hours. )

moribund

at the point of death (Eg: The doctors called the family to the bedside of the moribund patient. )

heinous

atrocious; hatefully bad (Eg: Hitler's heinous crimes will never be forgotten. )

append

attach (Eg: I shall append this chart to my report. )

affix

attach or add on; fasten (Eg: First the registrar had to affix his signature to the license; then he had to affix his official seal. )

iconoclastic

attacking cherished traditions (Eg: George Bernard Shaw's iconoclastic plays often startled more conventional people. )

culmination

attainment of highest point (Eg: His inauguration as President of the United States marked the culmination of his political career. )

prattle

babble (Eg: The children prattle endlessly about their new toys. )

hinterlands

back country (Eg: They seldom had visitors, living as they did way out in the hinderlands. )

equilibrium

balance (Eg: After the divorce, he needed some time to regain his equilibrium. )

equipoise

balance; balancing force; equilibrium (Eg: The high-wire acrobat used his pole as an equipose to overcome the swaying caused by the wind. )

embargo

ban on commerce or other activity (Eg: As a result of the embargo, trade with colonies was at a standstill. )

rusticate

banish to the country; dwell in the country (Eg: I like city life so much that I can never understand how people can rusticate in the suburbs. )

relegate

banish; consign to inferior position (Eg: If we relegate these experts to minor posts because of their political persuasions, we shall lose their )

insolvent

bankrupt; lacking money to pay (Eg: When rumors that he was insolvent reached his creditors, they began to press him for payment of the )

quizzical

bantering; comical; humorously serious (Eg: Will Rogers' quizzical remarks endeared him to his audiences. )

chaffing

bantering; joking (Eg: Sometimes his flippant and chaffing remarks annoy us. )

barrage

barrier laid down by artillery fire; overwhelming profusion (Eg: The company was forced to retreat through the barrage of heavy canyons. )

hypothetical

based on assumptions or hypotheses (Eg: Why do we have to consider hypothetical cases when we have actual case histories that we may examine? )

empirical

based on experience (Eg: He distrusted hunches and intuitive flashes; he placed his reliance entirely on empirical data. )

practical

based on experience; useful (Eg: He was a practical man, opposed to theory )

fundamental

basic; primary; essential (Eg: )

disparate

basically different; unrelated (Eg: It is difficult, if not impossible, to organize these disparate elements into a coherent whole. )

dote

be excessively fond of; show signs of mental decline (Eg: Not only grandmothers bore you with stories about their brilliant grandchildren; grandfathers dote on the )

pulchritude

beauty; comeliness (Eg: I do not envy the judges who have to select this year's Miss America from this collection of female )

betroth

become engaged to marry (Eg: The announcement that they had become betrothed surprised their friends who had not suspected any )

ingratiate

become popular with (Eg: He tried to ingratiate himself into her parents' good graces. )

degenerate

become worse; deteriorate (Eg: As the fight dragged on, the champion's style degenerated until he could barely keep on his feet. )

sardonic

disdainful; sarcastic; cynical (Eg: The sardonic humor of nightclub comedians who satirize or ridicule patrons in the audience strikes some )

ignominious

disgraceful (Eg: The country smarted under the ignominious defeat and dreamed of the day when it would be victorious. )

genuflect

bend the knee as in worship (Eg: A proud denocrat, he refused to genuflect to any man. )

refraction

bending of a ray of light (Eg: When you look at a stick inserted in water, it looks bent because of the refraction of the light by the water. )

beleaguer

besiege (Eg: As soon as the city was beleaguered, the life became more subdued as the citizens began their long wait for )

condescend

bestow courtesies with a superior air (Eg: The king condescended to grant an audience to the friends of the condemned man. )

indubitably

beyond a doubt (Eg: Because her argument was indubitably valid, the judge accepted it. )

preternatural

beyond that which is normal in nature (Eg: John's mother's total ability to tell when he was lying struck him as almost preternatural. )

beatitude

blessedness; state of bliss (Eg: Growing closer to God each day, the mystic achieved a state of indescribable beatitude. )

benison

blessing (Eg: Let us pray that the benison of peace once more shall prevail among the nations of the world. )

boon

blessing; benefit (Eg: The recent rains that filled our empty reservoirs were a boon to the whole community. )

chauvinist

blindly devoted patriot (Eg: A chauvinist cannot recognize any faults in his country, no matter how flagrant they may be. )

filibuster

block legislation by making long speeches (Eg: Even though we disapproved of Senator Foghorn's political goals, we were impressed by his ability to )

hindrance

block; obstacle (Eg: Stalled cars along the highway are a hindrance to traffic that tow trucks should remove without delay. )

gory

bloody (Eg: The audience shuddered as they listened to the details of the gory massacre. )

sanguinary

bloody (Eg: The battle of lwo Jina was unexpectedly sanguinary with many casualties. )

doldrums

blues; listlessness; slack period (Eg: Once the excitement of meeting her deadline was over, she found herself in the doldrums. )

brusque

blunt; abrupt (Eg: She was offended by his brusque reply. )

obtuse

blunt; stupid (Eg: Because he was so obtuse, he could not follow the teacher's reasoning and asked foolish questions. )

braggart

boaster (Eg: Modest by nature, she was no braggart, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for themselves. )

magniloquent

boastful, pompous (Eg: In their stories of the trial, the reporters ridiculed the magniloquent speeches of the defense attorney. )

braggadocio

boasting (Eg: He was disliked because his manner was always full of braggadocio. )

regatta

boat or yacht race (Eg: Many boating enthusiasts followed the regatta in their own yachts. )

corporeal

bodily; material (Eg: He was not a churchgoer; he was interested only in corporeal matters. )

hierarchy

body divided into ranks (Eg: It was difficult to step out of one's place in this hierarchy. )

clientele

body of customers (Eg: The rock club attracted a young, stylish clientele. )

guffaw

boisterous laughter (Eg: The loud guffaws that came from the closed room indicated that the members of the committe had not yet )

revelry

boisterous merrymaking (Eg: New Year's Eve is a night of revelry. )

hilarity

boisterous mirth (Eg: The hilarity is improper on this solemn day of mourning. )

obstreperous

boisterous; noisy (Eg: The crowd became obstreperous and shouted their disapproval of the proposals made by the speaker. )

dauntless

bold (Eg: Despite the dangerous nature of the undertaking, the dauntless soldier volunteered for the assignment. )

catechism

book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer (Eg: He taught by engaging his pupils in a catechism until they gave him the correct answer. )

churlish

boorish; rude (Eg: Dismayed by his churlish manners at the party, the girls vowed never to invite him again. )

abut

border upon; adjoin (Eg: Where our estates abut, we must build a fence. )

maritime

bordering on the sea; nautical (Eg: The maritime Provinces depend on the sea for their wealth. )

blase

bored with pleasure or dissipation (Eg: Your blase attitude gives your students an erroneous impression of the joys of scholarship. )

ennui

boredom (Eg: The monotonous routine of hopital life induced a feeling of ennui which made him moody and irritable. )

overbearing

bossy; arrogant; decisively important (Eg: )

abysmal

bottomless (Eg: His arrogance is exceeded only by his abysmal ignorance. )

obeisance

bow (Eg: She made an obeisance as the king and queen entered the room. )

pugilist

boxer (Eg: The famous pugilist Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammed Ali. )

dichotomy

branching into two parts (Eg: The dichotomy of our legislative system provides us with many safeguards. )

ramification

branching out; subdivision (Eg: We must examine all the ramifications of this problem. )

fortitude

bravery; courage (Eg: He was awarded the medal for his fortitude in the battle. )

fray

brawl (Eg: The three musketeers were in the thick of fray. )

fracas

brawl; melee (Eg: The military police stopped the fracas in the bar and arrested the belligerents. )

harrow

break up ground after plowing; torture (Eg: I don't want to harrow you at this time by asking you to recall the details of your unpleasant experience. )

breach

breaking of contract or duty; fissure; gap (Eg: They found a breach in the enemy's fortifications and penetrated their lines. )

debacle

breaking up; downfall (Eg: )

respiration

breathing; exhalation (Eg: The doctor found that the patient's years of smoking had adversely affected both his lung capacity and his )

fancier

breeder or dealer of animals (Eg: The dog fancier exhibited her prize collie at the annual Kennel Club show. )

concise

brief and compact (Eg: When you define a new word, be concise; the shorter the definition, the easier it is to remember. )

laconic

brief and to the point (Eg: Many of the characters portrayed by Clint Eastwood are laconic types: strong men of few words. )

glossary

brief explanation of words used in the text (Eg: I have found the glossary in this book very useful; it has eliminated many trips to the dictionary. )

compendium

brief, comprehensive summary (Eg: This text can serve as a compendium of the tremendous amount of new material being developed in this )

illuminate

brighten; clear up or make understandable; enlighten (Eg: Just as a lamp can illuminate a dark room, a perceptive comment can illuminate a knotty problem. )

resplendent

brilliant; lustrous (Eg: The toreador wore a resplendent costume called a suit of lights. )

nonplus

bring to a halt by confusion; perplex (Eg: Jack's uncharacteristic rudeness nonplussed Jill, leaving her uncertain how to react. )

incur

bring upon oneself (Eg: His parents refused to pay any future debts he might incur. )

rationalization

bringing into conformity with reason (Eg: All attempts at rationalization at this time are doomed to failure; tempers and emotions run too high for )

farce

broad comedy; mockery (Eg: Nothing went right; the entire interview degenerated into a farce. )

contusion

bruise (Eg: )

atrocity

brutal deed (Eg: In time of war, many atrocities are committed by invading armies. )

fabricate

build; lie (Eg: Because of the child's tendency to fabricate, we had trouble believing her. )

browbeat

bully; intimidate (Eg: Billy resisted Ted's attempts to browbeat him into handing over his lunch money. )

ruffian

bully; scoundrel (Eg: The ruffians threw stones at the police. )

encumber

burden (Eg: Some people encumber themselves with too much luggage, when they take short trips. )

incubus

burden; mental care; nightmare (Eg: The incubus of financial worry helped bring on her nervous breakdown. )

onus

burden; responsibility (Eg: The emperor was spared the onus of signing the surrender papers; instead, he relegated the assignment to )

onerous

burdensome (Eg: He asked for an assistant because his work load was too onerous. )

cauterize

burn with hot iron or caustic (Eg: In order to prevent infection, the doctor cauterized the wound. )

caustic

burning; sarcastically biting (Eg: The critic's caustic remarks angered the hapless actors who were the subjects of his sarcasm. )

inter

bury (Eg: They are going to inter the body tomorrow ar Broadlawn Cemetry. )

entrepreneur

businessperson; contractor (Eg: Opponents of our present tax program argue that it discourages entrepreneurs from trying new fields of )

actuarial

calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics (Eg: According to recent actuarial tables, life expectancy is greater today than it was a century ago. )

fanfare

call by bugles or trumpets; showy display (Eg: The exposition was opened with fanfare of trumpets and the firing of cannon. )

evoke

call forth (Eg: He evoked much criticism by his hostile manner. )

convoke

call together (Eg: Congress was convoked at the outbreak of the emergency. )

invoke

call upon; ask for (Eg: She invoked her advisor's aid in filling out her financial aid forms. )

dispassionate

calm; impartial (Eg: In a dispassionate analysis of the problem, he carefully examined the causes of the conflict and proceeded )

phlegmatic

calm; not easily disturbed (Eg: The nurse was a cheerful but phlegmatic person, unexcited in the face of sudden emergencies. )

allay

calm; pacify (Eg: The crew tried to allay the fears of the passengers by announcing that the fire had been controlled. )

halcyon

calm; peaceful (Eg: In those halcyon days, people were not worried about sneak attacks and bombings. )

imperturbable

calm; placid (Eg: Wellington remained imperturbable and in full command of the situation in spite of the hyteria and panic )

equanimity

calmness of temperament (Eg: In his later years, he could look upon the foolishness of the world with equanimity and humor. )

rescind

cancel (Eg: Because of public resentment, the king had to rescind his order. )

expunge

cancel; remove (Eg: If you behave, I will expunge this notation from your record. )

revoke

cancel; retract (Eg: Repeat offenders who continue to drive under the influence of alcohol face having their driver's licenses )

countermand

cancel; revoke (Eg: The general countermand the orders issued in his absence. )

reparable

capable of being repaired (Eg: Fortunately, the damages we suffered in the accident were reparable and our car looks brand new. )

malleable

capable of being shaped by pounding (Eg: Gold is a malleable metal. )

prehensile

capable of grasping or holding (Eg: Monkeys use not only their arms and legs but also their prehensile tails in traveling through the trees. )

ambidextrous

capable of using either hand with equal ease (Eg: A switch-hitter in baseball should be naturally ambidextrous. )

enthrall

capture; enslave (Eg: From the moment he saw her picture, he was enthralled by her beauty. )

lax

careless (Eg: We dislike restaurants where the service is lax and inattentive. )

inadvertently

carelessly; unintentionally; by oversight (Eg: She inadvertently omitted two questions on the examination and mismarked her answer sheet. )

negligence

carelessness (Eg: negligence can prove costly near complicated machinery. )

scabbard

case for a sword blade; sheath (Eg: The drill master told the recruit to wipe the blood from his sword before slipping it back into the scabbard. )

quiver

case for arrows (Eg: )

cavalier

casual and offhand; arrogant (Eg: Sensitive about having her ideas taken lightly, Marcia felt insulted by Mark's cavalier dismissal of her )

offhand

casual; done without prior thought (Eg: Expecting to be treated with due propriety by her costs, Great-Aunt Maud was offended by their offhand )

cursory

casual; hastily done (Eg: A cursory examination of the ruins indicates the possibility of arson; a more extensive study should be )

descry

catch sight of (Eg: In the distance, we could barely descry the enemy vessels. )

pander

cater to the low desires of others (Eg: The reviewer accused the makers of Lethal Weapon of pandering to the masses' taste of violence. )

grievance

cause of complaint (Eg: When her supervisor ignored her complaint, she took her grievance to the union. )

bane

cause of ruin (Eg: Lack of public transportation is the bane of urban life. )

nauseate

cause to become sick; fill with disgust (Eg: The foul smells began to nauseate him. )

leaven

cause to rise or grow lighter; enliven (Eg: As bread dough is leavened, it puffs up, expanding in volume. )

dissemble

disguise; pretend (Eg: Even though John tried to dissemble his motive for taking modern dance, we all knew there not to dance )

fulsome

disgustingly excessive (Eg: His fulsome praise of the dictator annoyed his listeners. )

germinate

cause to sprout; sprout (Eg: After the seeds germinate and develop their permanent leaves, the plants may be removed from the cold )

engender

cause; produce (Eg: To receive praise for real accomplishments engenders self-confidence in a child. )

prompt

cause; provoke; provide a cue for an actor (Eg: Whatever prompted you to ask for such a big piece of cake when you're on a diet? )

carcinogenic

causing cancer (Eg: Many supposedly harmless substances have been revealed to be carcinogenic. )

downcast

disheartened; sad (Eg: Cheerful and optimistic by nature, Beth was never downcast despite the difficulties she faced. )

dissolution

disintegration; looseness in morals (Eg: The profligacy and dissolution of life in Caligula's Rome appall some historians. )

disaffected

disloyal (Eg: Once the most loyal of Gorbachev's supporters, Shverdnaze found himself becoming increasingly )

analgesic

causing insensitivity to pain (Eg: The analgesic qualities of his lotion will provide temporary relief. )

pestilential

causing plague; baneful (Eg: People were afraid to explore the pestilential swap. )

pathetic

causing sadness, compassion, pity; touching (Eg: Everyone in the auditorium was weeping by the time he finished his pathetic tale about the orphaned boy. )

prudent

cautious; careful (Eg: A miser hoards money not because he is prudent but because he is greedy. )

chary

cautious; sparing or restrained about giving (Eg: A prudent, thrifty New Englander, DeWitt was as chary of investing money in junk bonds as he was chary )

luminary

celebrity; dignitary (Eg: A leading light of the American stage, Ethel Barrymore was a theatrical luminary whose name lives on. )

reprove

censure; rebuke (Eg: The principal reproved the students when they became unruly in the auditorium. )

pivotal

central; critical (Eg: De Klerk's decision to set Nelson Mandela free was pivotal; without Mandela's release, there was no )

appal

dismay; shock (Eg: We were appalled by the horrifying conditions in the city's jails. )

insubordinate

disobedient (Eg: The insubordinate private was confined to the barracks. )

contumacious

disobedient; resisting authority (Eg: The contumacious mob shouted defiantly at the police. )

repudiate

disown; disavow (Eg: He announced that he would repudiate all debts incurred by his wife. )

disclaim

disown; renounce claim to (Eg: If I grant you this previlege, will you disclaim all other rights? )

belittle

disparage; depreciate (Eg: Parents should not belittle their children's early attempts at drawing, but should encourage their efforts. )

flaunt

display ostentatiously (Eg: She is not the one of those actresses who flaunt their physical charms; she can act. )

provident

displaying foresight; thrifty; preparing for emergencies (Eg: In his usual provident manner, he had insured himself against this type of loss. )

mace

ceremonial staff; clublike medieval weapon (Eg: The Grand Marshal of the parade raised his mace to signal that it was time for the procession to begin. )

ordination

ceremony conferring holy orders (Eg: The candidate for ordination had to meet with the bishop and the diocean officers before being judged )

hap

chance; luck (Eg: In his poem hap, Thomas Hardy objects to the part chance plays in our lives. )

gerrymander

change in voting district lines in order to favor a political party (Eg: The illogical pattern of the map of this congressional district is proof that the state legislature )

metamorphosis

change of form (Eg: The metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly is typical of many such changes in animal life. )

ossify

change or harden into bone (Eg: When he called his opponent a "bonehead," he implied that his adversary's brain had ossified and that he )

innovation

change; introduction of something new (Eg: She loved innovatins just because they were new. )

fickle

changeable; faithless (Eg: He discovered his supposedly faithful girlfriend was fickle )

mutable

changing in form; fickle (Eg: His opinion were mutable and easily influenced by anyone who had any powers of persuasion. )

migrant

changing its habitat; wandering (Eg: These migrant birds return every spring. )

amulet

charm; talisman (Eg: Around her neck she wore the amulet that the witch doctor had given her. )

idyllic

charmingly carefree; simple (Eg: Far from the city, she led an idyllic existence in her rural retreat. )

cozen

cheat; hoodwink; swindle (Eg: He was the kind of individual who would cozen his friends in a cheap card game but remain eminently )

fraudulent

cheating; deceitful (Eg: The government seeks to prevent fraudulent and misleading advertising. )

alacrity

cheerful promptness (Eg: He demonstrated his eagerness to serve by his alacrity in executing the orders of his master. )

sanguine

cheerful; hopeful (Eg: Let us not be too sanguine about the outcome; something could go wrong. )

geniality

cheerfulness; kindliness; sympathy (Eg: This restaurant is famous and popular because of the geniality of the proprietor, who tries to make )

masticate

chew (Eg: We must masticate our food carefully and slowly in order to avoid digestive disorders. )

ruminate

chew the cud; ponder (Eg: We cannot afford to wait while you ruminate upon these plans. )

cardinal

chief (Eg: If you want to increase your word power, the cardinal rule of vocabulary-building is to read. )

puerile

childish (Eg: His puerile pranks sometimes offended his more mature friends. )

infantile

childish; infantlike (Eg: When will he outgrow such infantile behavior? )

progeny

children; offspring (Eg: He was proud of his progeny but regarded George as the most promising of all his children. )

indiscriminate

choosing at random; confused (Eg: She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing and decided to restrict him to educational )

prelate

church dignitary (Eg: The archbishop of Moscow and other high-ranking prelates visited the Russian Orthodox seminary. )

curmudgeon

churlish, miserly individual (Eg: Although he was regarded by many as a curmudgeon, a few of us were aware of the many kindnesses and )

rotunda

circular building or hall covered with a dome (Eg: His body lay in state in the rotunda of the Capitol. )

obsidian

clak volcanic rock (Eg: The deposits of obsidian on the mountain slopes were an indiacation that volcano had erupted in ancient )

friction

clash in opinion; rubbing against (Eg: At this time when harmony is essential, we cannot afford to have any friction in our group. )

purge

clean by removing impurities; clear of changes (Eg: If you are to be purged of the charge of contempt of Congress, you must be willing to answer the )

expurgate

clean; remove offensive parts of a book (Eg: The editors felt that certain passages in the book had to be expurgated before it could be used in the )

limpid

clear (Eg: A limpid stream ran through his property. )

bouillon

clear beef soup (Eg: The cup of bouillon served by the stewards was welcomed by those who had been chilled by the cold )

exculpate

clear from blame (Eg: He was exculpated of the crime when the real criminal confessed. )

sanctimonious

displaying ostentatious or hypocritical devoutness (Eg: You do not have to be so sanctimonious to prove that you are devout. )

clemency

disposition ot be lenient; mildness, as of the weather (Eg: The lawyer was pleased when the case was sent to Judge Smith's chambers because Smith was noted for )

perspicuity

clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity (Eg: One of the outstanding features of this book is the perspicuity of its author; her meaning is always clear. )

ingenious

clever (Eg: He came up with a use for Styrofoam packing balls that was so ingenious that his business school )

repartee

clever reply (Eg: He was famous for his witty repartee and his sarcasm. )

precipice

cliff; dangerous position (Eg: Suddenly Indiana Jones found himself dangling from the edge of a precipice. )

clamber

climb by crawling (Eg: She clambered over the wall. )

scale

climb up; ascend (Eg: To locate a book on the top shelf of the stacks, Lee had to scale an exceptionally rickety ladder. )

compress

close; squeeze; contract (Eg: She compressed the package under her arm. )

array

clothe; adorn (Eg: She liked to watch her motherarray herself in her finest clothes before going out for the evening. )

raiment

clothing (Eg: "How can I go to the ball?" asked Cinderella. "I have no raiment fit to wear." )

refute

disprove (Eg: The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to refute the false testimony of the )

contest

dispute (Eg: The defeated candidate attempted to contest the election results. )

discount

disregard (Eg: Be prepared to discount what he has to say about his ex-wife. )

buffoonery

clowning (Eg: John Candy's buffoonery in Uncle Buck was hilarious. )

saccharine

cloyingly sweet (Eg: She tried to ingratiate herself, speaking sweetly and smiling a saccharine smile. )

bludgeon

club; heavy-headed weapon (Eg: His walking stick served him as a bludgeon on many occasions. )

lout

clumsy person (Eg: The delivery boy is an awkward lout. )

gauche

clumsy; boorish (Eg: Such remarks are gauche and out of place; you should apologize for making them. )

maladroit

clumsy; bungling (Eg: In his usual maladroit way, he managed to upset the cart and spill the food. )

fodder

coarse food for cattle, horses etc. (Eg: One of Nancy's chores ar the ranch was to put fresh supplies of fodder in the horses' stalls. )

cajole

coax; wheedle (Eg: I will not be cajoled into granting your wish. )

convoluted

coiled around; involved; intricate (Eg: His argument was so convoluted that few of us could follow a it intelligently. )

bleak

cold; cheerless (Eg: The Aleutian Islands are bleak military outposts. )

clavicle

collarbone (Eg: Even though he wore shoulder pads, the football player broke his clavicle during a practice scrimmage. )

amass

collect (Eg: The miser's aim is to amass and hoard as much gold as possible. )

agglomeration

collection; heap (Eg: It took weeks to assort the agglomeration of miscellaneous items she had collected on her trip. )

hue

color; aspect (Eg: The aviary contained birds of every possible hue. )

pigment

coloring matter (Eg: Van Gogh mixed various pigments with linseed oil to create his paints. )

pugnacious

combative; disposed to fight (Eg: As a child he was pugnacious and fought with everyone. )

compound

combine; constitute; pay interest; increase (Eg: The makers of the popular cold remedy compounded a nasal decongestant with an antihistamine. )

coalesce

combine; fuse (Eg: The brooks coalesce into one large river. )

amalgamate

combine; unite in one body (Eg: The unions will attempt to amalgamate their groups into one national body. )

accrue

come about by addition (Eg: You must pay the interest that has accrued on your debt as well as the principal sum. )

intervene

come between (Eg: She intervened in the argument between her two sons. )

converge

come together (Eg: Marchers converged on Washington for the great Save Our Cities-Save Our Children March. )

malapropism

comic misuse of a word (Eg: When Mrs. Malaprop criticizes Lydia for being "as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile," she )

lateral

coming from the side (Eg: In order to get good plant growth, the gardener must pinch off all lateral shoots. )

fiat

command (Eg: I cannot accept government by fiat; I feel that I must be consulted. )

ordain

command; arrange; consecrate (Eg: The king ordained that no foreigner should be allowed to enter the city. )

enjoin

command; order; forbid (Eg: The owners of the company asked the court to enjoin the union from picketing the plant. )

memorialize

commemorate (Eg: Let us memorialize his great contribution by dedicating this library in his honor. )

embark

commence; go on board a boat; begin a journey (Eg: In devoting herself to the study of gorillas, Dian Fossey embarked on a course of action that was to cost )

annotate

comment; make explanatory notes (Eg: In the appendix to the novel, the critic sought to annotate many of the more esoteric references. )

perpetrate

commit an offense (Eg: Only an insane person could perpetrate such a horrible crime. )

plebeian

common; pertaining to the common people (Eg: His speeches were aimed at the plebeian minds and emotions; they disgusted the more refined. )

hackneyed

commonplace; trite (Eg: The English teacher criticized her story because of its hackneyed and unoriginal plot. )

analogous

comparable (Eg: She called our attention to the things that had been done in an analogous situation and recommended that )

remunerative

compensating; rewarding (Eg: I find my new work so renumerative that I may not return to my previous employment. )

mercantile

concerning trade (Eg: I am more interested in the opportunites available in the mercantile field than I am in those in the legal )

pithy

concise; meaty (Eg: I enjoy reading his essays because they are always compact and pithy. )

brevity

conciseness (Eg: brevity is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every word. )

coda

concluding section of a musical or literary composition (Eg: The piece concluded with a distinctive coda that strikingly brought together various motifs. )

finale

conclusion (Eg: It is not until we reach the finale of this play that we can understand the author's message. )

peroration

conclusion of an oration (Eg: The peroration was largely hortatory and brought the audience to its feet clamoring for action at its close. )

denounce

condemn; critcize (Eg: The reform candidate denounced the corrupt city officers for having betrayed the public's trust. )

deign

condescend (Eg: He felt that he would debase himself if he deigned to answer his critics. )

anemia

condition in which blood lacks red corpuscles (Eg: The doctor ascribes her tiredness to anemia. )

contingent

conditional (Eg: The continuation of this contract is contingent on the quality of your first output. )

bestow

confer (Eg: He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero. )

parley

conference (Eg: The peace parley has not produced the anticipated truce. )

corroborate

confirm (Eg: Unless we find a witness to corroborate your evidence, it will not stand up in court. )

compliance

conformity in fulfilling requirements; readiness to yield (Eg: The design for the new school had to be in compliance with the local building code. )

fluster

confuse (Eg: The teacher's sudden question flustered him and he stammered his reply. )

befuddle

confuse thoroughly (Eg: His attempts to clarify the situation succeeded only on befuddling her further. )

muddle

confuse; mix up (Eg: His thoughts were muddled and chaotic. )

confound

confuse; puzzle (Eg: No mystery could confound Sherlock Holmes for long. )

disconcert

confuse; upset; embarrass (Eg: The lawyer was disconcerted by the evidence produced by her adversary. )

hubbub

confused uproar (Eg: )

discombobulated

confused; discomposed (Eg: The novice square dancer became so discombobulated that he wandered into wrong set. )

bemused

confused; lost in thought; preoccupied (Eg: Jill studied the garbled instructions with a bemused look on her face. )

nexus

connection (Eg: I fail to see the nexus that binds these two widely separated events. )

gourmet

connoisseur of food and drink (Eg: The gourmet stated that this was the best onion soup she had ever tasted. )

epicure

connoisseur of food and drink (Eg: epicures frequent this restaurant because it features exotic wines and dishes. )

scrupulous

conscientious; extremely thorough (Eg: I can recommend him for a position of responsibility for I have found him a very scrupulous young man. )

anoint

consecrate (Eg: The prophet Samuel anointed David with oil, crowning him king of Israel. )

corollary

consequence; accompaniment (Eg: Brotherly love is a complex emotion, with a sibling rivalry its natural corollary. )

deliberate

consider; ponder; unhurried (Eg: Offered the new job, she asked for time to deliberate before she made her decision. )

prominent

conspicuous; notable; protruding (Eg: Have you ever noticed that Prince Charles's prominent ears make him resemble the big-eared character in )

flagrant

conspicuously wicked (Eg: We cannot condone such flagrant violations of the rules. )

collusion

conspiring in a fraudulent scheme (Eg: The swindlers were found guilty of collusion. )

despicable

contemptible (Eg: Your despicable remarks call for no reply. )

din

continued loud noise (Eg: The din of the jackhammers outside the classroom window drowned out the lecturer's voice. )

disabuse

correct a false impression; undeceive (Eg: I will attempt to diabuse you of your impression of my client's guilt; I know he is innocent. )

dissident

dissenting; rebellious (Eg: In the purge that followed the student demonstrations at Tianamen Square, the government hunted down )

heterogeneous

dissimilar (Eg: In a heterogeneous group, we have an unassorted assemblage, while in a homogeneous group we have )

reconcile

correct inconsistencies; become friendly after a quarrel (Eg: Every time we try to reconcile our checkbook with the bank statement, we quarrel. However, despite these )

orthography

correct spelling (Eg: Many of us find English orthography difficult to master because so many of our words are written )

emend

correct, usually a text (Eg: The critic emended the book by retranslating several passages. )

amend

correct; change, generally for the better (Eg: Hoping to amend his condition, he left Vietnam for the United States. )

emendation

correction of errors; improvement (Eg: Please initial all the emendations you have made in this contract. )

congruence

correspondence of parts; harmonious relationship (Eg: The student demonstrated the congruence of the two triangles by using the hypotenuse-arm theorem. )

debauch

corrupt; make intemperate (Eg: A vicious newspaper can debauch public ideals. )

perversion

corruption; turning from right to wrong (Eg: Inasmuch as he had no motive for his crimes, we could not understand his perversion. )

depravity

corruption; wickedness (Eg: The depravity of the tyrant's behavior shocked us all. )

barrister

counselor-at-law (Eg: Galsworthy started as a barrister, but when he found the practice of law boring, turned to writing. )

recrimination

countercharges (Eg: Loud and angry recriminations were her answer to his accusations. )

machiavellian

crafty; double-dealing (Eg: I do not think he will be a good embassador because he is not accustomed to the machiavellian )

hurtle

crash; rush (Eg: The runaway train hurtled toward disaster. )

grovel

crawl or creep on ground; remain prostrate (Eg: Even though we have been defeated, we do not have to grovel before our conquerors. )

jollity

gaiety; cheerfulness (Eg: The festive Christmas dinner was a merry one, and old and young alike joined in the general jollity. )

lope

gallop slowly (Eg: As the horses loped along, we had an opportunity to admire the ever-changing scenery. )

hiatus

gap; pause (Eg: Except for a brief two-year hiatus, during which she enrolled in the Peace Corps, Ms. Clements has )

glean

gather leavings (Eg: After the crops had been harvested by the machines, the peasants were permitted to glean the wheat left in )

muster

gather; assemble (Eg: Washington mustered his forces at Trenton. )

garner

gather; store up (Eg: She hoped to garner the world's literature in one library. )

garish

gaudy (Eg: She wore a garish rhinestone necklace. )

blithe

gay; joyous; careless (Eg: Shelley called the skylark a "blithe spirit" because of its happy song. )

consensus

general agreement (Eg: The consensus indicates that we are opposed to entering into this pact. )

fester

generate pus (Eg: When her finger began to fester, the doctor lanced it and removed the splinter that had caused the pus to )

magnanimity

generosity (Eg: Noted for his magnanimity, philanthropist Eugene Lang donated millions to charity. )

largess

generous gift (Eg: Lady Bountiful distributed largess to the poor. )

benevolent

generous; charitable (Eg: His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him. )

bountiful

generous; showing bounty (Eg: She distributed gifts in a bountiful and gracious manner. )

orient

get one's bearings; adjust (Eg: Philip spent his first day in Denver orienting himself to the city. )

grisly

ghastly (Eg: She shuddered at the grisly sight. )

apparition

ghost; phantom (Eg: Hamlet was uncertain about the identity of the apparition that had appeared and spoken to him. )

benefactor

gift giver; patron (Eg: Scrooge later became Tiny Tim's benefactor and gave him a benediction. )

mammoth

gigantic (Eg: The mammoth corporations of the twentieth century are a mixed blessing )

colossus

gigantic statue (Eg: The legendary Colossus of Rhodes, bronze statue of the sun god that dominated the harbor of the Greek )

burlesque

give an imitation that ridicules (Eg: In his caricature, he burlesqued the mannerisms of his adversary. )

foreshadow

give an indication beforehand; portend; prefigure (Eg: In retrospect, political analysts realized that Yeltsin's defiance of the attempted coup foreshadowed his )

relent

give in (Eg: When her stern father would not relent and allow her to marry Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett eloped )

forgo

give up; do without (Eg: Determined to lose weight for the summer, Ida decided to forgo dessert until she could fit into a size eight )

gratuitous

given freely; unwarranted; uncalled for (Eg: Quit making gratuitous comments about my driving; no one asked you for your opinion. )

jocose

given to joking (Eg: The salesman was so jocose that many of his customers suggested that he become a stand-up comic. )

morbid

given to unwholesome thought; gloomy (Eg: These morbid speculations are dangerous; we must lighten our spirits by emphasizing more pleasant )

beatific

giving bliss; blissful (Eg: The beatific smile on the child's face made us very happy. )

odoriferous

giving off an odor (Eg: )

ogle

glance coquettishly at; make eyes at (Eg: Sitting for hours at the sidewalk cafe, the old gentleman would oggle the young girls and recall his youthful )

carafe

glass water bottle (Eg: With each dinner, the patron receives a carafe of red or white wine. )

saturnine

gloomy (Eg: Do not be misled by his saturnine countenance; he is not as gloomy as he looks. )

fervor

glowing ardor (Eg: Their kiss was full of the fervor of first love. )

disembark

go ashore; unload cargo from a ship (Eg: Before the passengers could disembark, they had to pick up their passports from the ship's purser. )

retrograde

go backwards; degenerate (Eg: Instead of advancing, our civilization seems to have retrograded in ethics and culture. )

chalice

goblet; consecrated cup (Eg: In a small room adjoining the cathedral, many ornately decorated chalices made by the most famous )

devious

going astray; erratic (Eg: Your devious behavior in this matter puzzles me since you are usually direct and straightforward. )

prosperity

good fortune; financial success; physical well-being (Eg: Promising to stay together "for richer, for poorer," the newlyweds vowed to be true to one another in )

jovial

good natured; merry (Eg: A frown seemed out of place on his invariably jovial face. )

camaraderie

good-fellowship (Eg: What he loved best about his job was the sense of camaraderie he and his co-workers shared. )

bantering

good-naturedly ridiculing (Eg: They resented his bantering remarks because they misinterpreted his teasing as sarcasm. )

oligarchy

government by a few (Eg: The feudal oligarchy was supplanted by an autocracy. )

bureaucracy

government by bureaus (Eg: Many people fear that the constant introduction of federal agencies will create a government by )

gerontocracy

government ruled by old people (Eg: Gulliver visited a gerontocracy in which the young people acted as servants to their elders, all the while )

monarchy

government under a single hereditary ruler with varying degrees of power (Eg: England today remains a monarchy. )

cordial

gracious; heartfelt (Eg: Our hosts greeted us at the airport with a cordial welcome and a hearty hug. )

encroachment

gradual intrusion (Eg: The encroachment of the factories upon the neighborhood lowered the value of the real estate. )

attrition

gradual wearing down (Eg: They decided to wage a war of attrition rather than to rely on all-out attack. )

herbivorous

grain-eating (Eg: Some herbivorous animals have two stomachs for digesting their food. )

raspy

grating; harsh (Eg: The sergeant's raspy voice grated on the recruits' ears. )

demure

grave; serius; coy (Eg: )

proliferate

grow rapidly; spread; multiply (Eg: Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage countless get-rich-quick schemes to proliferate )

pall

grow tiresome (Eg: The study of word lists can eventually pall and put one to sleep. )

flourish

grow well; prosper; make sweeping gestures (Eg: The orange trees flourished in the sun. )

cumulative

growing by addition (Eg: Vocabulary building is a cumulative process: as you go through your flash cards, you will add new words to )

accretion

growth; increase (Eg: The accretion of wealth marked the family's rise in power. )

macabre

gruesome; grisly (Eg: The city morgue is a macabre spot for the uninitiated. )

remorse

guilt; self-reproach (Eg: The murderer felt no remorse for his crime. )

arroyo

gully (Eg: Until the heavy rains of the past spring, this arroyo had been a dry bed. )

inebriety

habitual intoxication (Eg: Because of his inebriety, he was discharged from his position as family chauffeur. )

recidivism

habitual return to crime (Eg: Prison reformers in the United States are disturbed by the high rate of recidivism; the number of persons )

banal

hackneyed; commonplace; trite (Eg: His frequent use of cliches made his essay seem banal. )

crone

hag (Eg: The toothless crone frightened us when she smiled. )

hackles

hairs on back and neck, especially of a dog (Eg: The dog's hackles rose and he began to growl as the sound of footsteps grew louder. )

clairvoyant

having foresight; fortuneteller (Eg: Cassandra's clairvoyant warning was not heeded by the Trojans. )

coiffure

hairstyle (Eg: You can make a statement with your choice of coiffure: in the 60's many African-Americans affirmed their )

hirsute

hairy (Eg: He was a hitsute individual with a heavy black beard. )

satyr

half-human, half-bestial being in the court of Dionysus, portrayed as wanton and cunning (Eg: He was like a satyr in his lustful conduct. )

maul

handle roughly (Eg: The rock star was mauled by his overexcited fans. )

anthropomorphic

having human form or characteristics (Eg: Primitive religions often have deities with anthropomorphic characteristics. )

perspicacious

having insight; penetrating; astute (Eg: The brillant lawyer was known for his perspicacious deductions. )

factotum

handyman; person who does all kinds of work (Eg: Although we had hired him as a messenger, we soon began to use him as a general factotum around the )

hover

hang about; wait nearby (Eg: The police helicopter hovered above the accident. )

loiter

hang around; linger (Eg: The policeman told him not to loiter in the alley. )

pendulous

hanging; suspended (Eg: The pendulous chandeliers swayed in the breeze as if they were about to fall from the ceiling. )

concurrent

happening at the same time (Eg: In America, the colonists were resisting the demands of the mother contry; at the concurrent moment in )

detrimental

harmful; damaging (Eg: Your acceptance of her support will ultimately prove detrimental rather than helpful to your cause. )

defamation

harming a person's reputation (Eg: Such defamation of character may result in a slander suit. )

innocuous

harmless (Eg: Let him drink it; it is innocuous and will have no ill effect. )

placebo

harmless substance prescribed as a dummy pill (Eg: In a controlled experiment, fifty volunteers were given erythromycin tablets; the control group received )

compatible

harmonious; in harmony with (Eg: They were compatible neighbors, never quarreling over unimportant matters. )

concord

harmony (Eg: Watching Tweediedum and Tweedledee battle, Alice wondered why the two brothers could not manage to )

consonance

harmony; agreement (Eg: Her agitation seemed out of consonance with her usual calm. )

conformity

harmony; agreement (Eg: In conformity with our rules and regulations, I am calling a meeting of our organization. )

raucous

harsh and shrill (Eg: His raucous laughter irritated me and grated on my ears. )

expedite

hasten (Eg: We hope you will be able to expedite delivery because of our tight schedule. )

headlong

hasty; rash (Eg: The slave seized the unexpected chance to make a headlong dash across the border to freedom. )

incubate

hatch; scheme (Eg: Inasmuch as our supply of electricity is cut off, we shall have to rely on the hens to incubate these eggs. )

odious

hateful (Eg: I find the task of punishing you most odious. )

misogynist

hater of women (Eg: She accused him of being a misogynist because he had been a bachelor all his life. )

misogamy

hatred of marriage (Eg: He remained a bachelor not because of misogamy but because of ill fate: his fiancee died before the )

concentric

having a common center (Eg: The target was made of concentric circles. )

determinate

having a fixed order of procedure; invariable (Eg: At the royal wedding, the procession of the nobles followed a determinate order of precedence. )

decollete

having a low-cut neckline (Eg: )

plausible

having a show of truth but open to doubt; specious (Eg: Even though your argument is plausible, I still would like to have more proof. )

capillary

having a very fine bore (Eg: The changes in surface tension of liquids in capillary vessels is of special interest to physicists. )

malignant

having an evil influence; virulent (Eg: This is a malignant disease; we must have to use drastic measures to stop its spread. )

odorous

having an odor (Eg: This variety of hybrid tea rose is more odorous than the one you have in your garden. )

multiform

having many forms (Eg: Snowflakes are multiform but always hexagonal. )

multilingual

having many languages (Eg: Because they are bordered by so many countries, the Swiss people are multilingual. )

ciliated

having minute hairs (Eg: The paramecium is a ciliated, one-celled animal. )

monochromatic

having only one color (Eg: Most people who are color blind actually can distinguish several colors; some, however, have a truly )

halting

hesitant; faltering (Eg: Novice extemporaneous speakers often talk in a halting fashion as they grope for the right words. )

falter

hesitate (Eg: When told to dive off the high board, she did not falter, but proceeded at once. )

flinch

hesitate; shrink (Eg: He did not flinch in the face of danger but fought back bravely. )

potpourri

heterogeneous mixture; medley (Eg: He offered a potpourri of folk songs from many lands. )

irony

hidden sarcasm or satire; use of words that convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning (Eg: Gradually his listeners began to realize that the excessive praise he was lavishing was merely irony; he was )

secrete

hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism. (Eg: The pack rat secretes odds and ends in its nest; the pancreas secretes insulin in the islets of Langerhans. )

cache

hiding place (Eg: The detectives followed the suspects until he led them to the cache where he had stored his loot. )

encomium

high praise; eulogy (Eg: Uneasy with the encomiums expressed by his supporters, Tolkien felt unworthy of such high praise. )

eminent

high; lofty (Eg: After his appointment to this emiment position, he seldom had time for his former friends. )

intellect

higher mental powers (Eg: He thought college would develop his intellect. )

apogee

highest point (Eg: When the moon in its orbit is furthest away from the earth, it is at its apogee. )

glaring

highly conspicuous; harshly bright (Eg: glaring spelling or grammatical errors in your resume will unfavorably impress potential employers. )

agog

highly excited; intensely curious (Eg: We were all agog at the news that the celebrated movie star was giving up his career in order to enter a )

prodigy

highly gifted child; marvel (Eg: Menuhin was a prodigy, performing wonders on his violin when he was barely eight years old. )

baroque

highly ornate (Eg: Accustomed to the severe, angular lines of modern skyscrapers, they found the flamboyance of baroque )

coup

highly successful action or sudden attack (Eg: As the news of his coup spread throughout Wall Street, his fellow brokers dropped by to congratulate him. )

impede

hinder; block (Eg: The special prosecutor determined that the Attorney General, though inept, had not intentionally set out to )

impediment

hindrance; stumbling-block (Eg: She had a speech impediment that prevented her from speaking clearly. )

intimate

hint (Eg: She intimated rather than stated her preferences. )

inkling

hint (Eg: This came as a complete surprise to me as I did not have the slightest inkling of your plans. )

insinuate

hint; imply (Eg: What are you trying to insinuate by that remark? )

innuendo

hint; insinuation (Eg: I can defend myself against direct accusations; innuendos and oblique attacks on my character are what )

retentive

holding; having a good memory (Eg: The pupil did not need to spend much time in study as he had a retentive mind. )

concave

hollow (Eg: The back-packers found partial shelter from the storm by huddling against the concave wall of the cliff. )

domicile

home (Eg: Althoughhis legal domicile was in New York City, his work kept him away from his residence for many )

hermitage

home of a hermit (Eg: Even in his remote hermitage he could not escape completely from the world. )

nostalgia

homesickness; longing for the past (Eg: The first settlers found so much work to do that they had little time for nostalgia. )

fete

honor at a festival (Eg: The returning hero was feted at a community supper and dance. )

kudos

honor; glory; praise (Eg: The singer complacently received kudos on his performance from his entourage. )

homage

honor; tribute (Eg: In her speech she tried to pay homage to a great man. )

cornucopia

horn overflowing wiht fruit and grain; symbol of abundance (Eg: The encyclopedia salesman claimed the new edition was a veritable cornucopia of information, an )

ghastly

horrible (Eg: The murdered man was a ghastly sight. )

aghast

horrified (Eg: He was aghast at the nerve of the speaker who had insulted his host. )

animus

hostile feeling or intent (Eg: The animus of the speaker became obvious to all when he began to indulge in sarcastic and insulting )

antagonistic

hostile; opposed (Eg: Despite his lawyers' best efforts to stop him, the angry prisoner continued to make antagonistic remarks to )

choleric

hot-tempered (Eg: His flushed, angry face indicated a choleric nature. )

firebrand

hothead; troublemaker (Eg: The police triedto keep track of all the local firebrands when the President came to town. )

colossal

huge (Eg: Radio City Music Hall has a colossal stage. )

behemoth

huge creature; something of monstrous size or power (Eg: Sportcasters nicknamed the linebacker "The Behemoth." )

gargantuan

huge; enormous (Eg: The gargantuan wrestler was terrified of mice. )

enormity

hugeness (in a bad sense) (Eg: He did not realize the enormity of his crime until he saw what suffering he had caused. )

humility

humbleness of spirit (Eg: He spoke with a humility and lack of pride that impressed his listeners. )

mortify

humiliate; punish the flesh (Eg: She was so mortified by her blunder that she ran to her room in tears. )

indulgent

humoring; yielding; lenient (Eg: indulgent parents spoil their children by giving in to their every whim. )

facetious

humorous; jocular (Eg: Your facetious remarks are not appropriate at this serious moment. )

scavenge

hunt through discarded materials for usable items; search, especially for food (Eg: If you need car parts that the dealers no longer stock, try scavenging for odd bits and pieces at the auto )

consort

husband or wife (Eg: The search for a consort for the young Queen Victoria ended happily. )

burly

husky; muscular (Eg: The burly mover lifted the packing crate with ease. )

mesmerize

hypnotize (Eg: The incessant drone seemed to mesmerize him and place him in a trance. )

quixotic

idealistic but impractical (Eg: His head is in the clouds; he is constantly presenting these quixotic schemes. )

ideology

ideas of a group of people (Eg: That ideology is dangerous to this country because it embraces undemocratic philosophies. )

drone

idle person; male bee (Eg: Content to let his wife support him, the would-be writer was in reality nothing but a drone. )

evenhanded

impartial; fair (Eg: Do men and women receive evenhanded treatment from their teachers, or, as recent studies suggest, do )

inscrutable

impenetrable; not readily understood; mysterious (Eg: Experienced poker players try to keep their expressions inscrutable, hiding their reactions to the cards )

impalpable

imperceptible; intangible (Eg: The ash is so fine that it is impalpable to the touch but it can be seen as a fine layer covering the window )

pert

impertinent; forward (Eg: I think your pert and impudent remarks call for an apology. )

impermeable

impervious; not permitting passage through its substance (Eg: This new material is impermeable to liquids. )

causal

implying a cause-and-effect relationship (Eg: The psychologist maintained there was a causal relationship between the nature of one's early childhood )

gamely

in a spirited manner; with courage (Eg: Because he had fought gamely against a much superior boxer, the crowd gave him a standing ovation when )

amok

in a state of rage (Eg: )

latent

dormant; hidden (Eg: Her latent talent was discovered by accident. )

potion

dose (of liquid) (Eg: Tristan and Lsolde drink a love potion in the first act of the opera. )

deplicity

double-dealing; hypocrisy (Eg: People were shocked and dismayed when they learned of his duplicity in this affair, as he had always )

impugn

doubt; challenge; gainsay (Eg: I cannot impugn your honesty without evidence. )

dubious

doubtful (Eg: He has the dubious distinction of being the lowest man in his class. )

equivocal

doubtful; ambiguous (Eg: Macbeth was misled by the equivocal statements of the witches. )

misgivings

doubts (Eg: Hamlet described his misgivings to Horatio but decided to fence with Laertes despite his foreboding of )

declivity

downward slope (Eg: The children loved to ski down the declivity. )

conscript

draftee; person forced into military service (Eg: Did Rambo volunteer to fight in Vietnam, or was he a conscript, drafted against his will? )

oratorio

dramatic poem set to music (Eg: The Glee Club decided to present an oratorio during their recital. )

elicit

draw out by discussion (Eg: The detectives tried to elicit where he had hidden his loot. )

limn

draw; outline; describe (Eg: Parodoxically, the more realistic the details this artist chooses, the better able to limn her fantastic, other- )

liability

drawback; debts (Eg: Her lack of an extensive vocabulary was a liability that she was able to overcome. )

pensive

dreamily thoughtful; thoughtful with a hint of sadness (Eg: The pensive youth gazed at the painting for a long time and then sighed. )

primp

dress or groom oneself with care (Eg: She primps for hours before a dance. )

bedizen

dress with vulgar finery (Eg: The witch doctors were bedizened in their gaudiest costumes. )

flotsam

drifting wreckage (Eg: Beachcombers eke out a living by salvaging the flotsam and jetsam of the sea. )

imbibe

drink in (Eg: The dry soil imbibed the rain quickly. )

quaff

drink with relish (Eg: As we quaffed our ale, we listened to the gay songs of the students in the tavern. )

ferret

drive or hunt out of hiding (Eg: She was ferreted out their secret. )

exorcise

drive our evil spirits (Eg: By incantation and prayer, the medicine man sought to exorcise the evil spirits that had taken possession of )

repellent

driving away; unattractive (Eg: Mosquitoes find the odor so repellent that they leave any spot where this liquid has been sprayed. )

propulsive

driving forward (Eg: The jet plane has a greater propulsive power than the engine-driven plane. )

flag

droop; grow feeble (Eg: When the opposing hockey team scored its third goal only minutes into the first period, the home team's )

lethargic

drowsy; dull (Eg: The stuffy room made her lethargic; she felt as if she was about to nod off. )

anodyne

drug that relieves pain; opiate (Eg: His pain was so great that no anodyne could relieve it. )

apothecary

druggist (Eg: In Holland, apothecaries still sell spices as well as ointments and pills. )

bacchanalian

drunken (Eg: Emperor Nero attended the bacchanalian orgy. )

carousal

drunken revel (Eg: The party degenerated into an ugly carousal. )

provender

dry food; fodder (Eg: I am afraid of a severe winter because I have stored a large quantity of provender for the cattle. )

desiccate

dry up (Eg: A tour of this smokehouse will give you an idea of how the pioneers used to desiccate food in order to )

arid

dry; barren (Eg: The cactus had adapted to survive in an arid environment. )

combustible

easily burned (Eg: After the recent outbreak of fires in private homes, the fire commissioner ordered that all combustible )

gullible

easily deceived (Eg: He preyed upon gullible people, who believed his stories of easy wealth. )

queasy

easily nauseated; squeamish (Eg: As the ship left the harbor, he became queasy and thought that he was going to suffer from seasickness. )

lucid

easily understood; clear; intelligible (Eg: Her explanation was lucid enought for a child to grasp. )

facile

easy; expert (Eg: Because he was a facile speaker, he never refused a request to address an organization. )

erode

eat away (Eg: The limestone was eroded by the dripping water )

corrosive

eating away by chemicals or disease (Eg: Stainless steel is able to withstand the effects of corrosive chemicals. )

omnivorous

eating both plant and animal food; devouring everything (Eg: Some animals, including humans, are omnivorous and eat both meat and vegetables; others are either )

crotchety

eccentric; whimsical (Eg: Although he was reputed to be a crochety old gentleman, I found his ideas substantially sound and )

reverberate

echo; resound (Eg: The entire valley reverberated with the sound of the church bells. )

resonant

echoing; resounding; deep and full in sound (Eg: The deep, resonant voice of the actor James Earl Jones makes him particulary effective when he appears )

periphery

edge, especially of a round surface (Eg: He sensed that there was something just beyond the periphery of his vision. )

articulate

effective; distinct (Eg: Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers. )

economy

efficiency or conciseness in using something (Eg: Reading the epigrams of Pope, I admire the economy of his verse: in few words he conveys worlds of )

effectual

efficient (Eg: If we are to succeed, we must seek effectual means of securing our goals. )

exertion

effort; expenditure of much physical work (Eg: The exertion involved in unscrewing the rusty bolt left her exhausted. )

maudlin

effusively sentimental (Eg: I do not like such maudlin pictures. I call them tearjerkers. )

ovoid

egg-shaped (Eg: At Easter she had to cut out hundreds of brightly colored ovoid shapes. )

resilient

elastic; having the power of springing back (Eg: Highly resilient, steel makes excellent bedsprings. )

component

element; ingredient (Eg: I wish all the components of my stereo system were working at the same time. )

dismiss

eliminate from consideration; reject (Eg: Believing in John's love for her, she dismissed the notion that he might be unfaithful. )

manumit

emancipate; free from bondage (Eg: Enlightened slave owners were willing to manumit their slaves and thus put an end to the evil slavery in the )

abash

embarrass (Eg: He was not at all abashed by her open admiration. )

reek

emit (odor) (Eg: The room reeked with stale tobacco smoke. )

rapport

emotional closeness; harmony (Eg: In team teaching, it is important that all teachers in the group have good rapport with one another. )

libido

emotional urges behind human activity (Eg: The psychiatrist maintained that suppression of the libido often resulted in maladjustment and neuroses. )

detached

emotionally removed; calm and objective; indifferent (Eg: A psychoanalyst must maintain a detached point of view and stay uninvolved with her patients' perssonal )

embed

enclose; place in something (Eg: Tales of actual historical figures like King Alfred have become embedded in legends. )

environ

enclose; surround (Eg: Paris was environed by a wall )

aviary

enclosure for birds (Eg: The aviary at the zoo held nearly 300 birds. )

hortatory

encouraging; exhortive (Eg: The crowd listened to his hortatory statements with ever-growing excitement; finally they rushed from the )

interminable

endless (Eg: Although his speech lasted for only twenty minutes, it seemed interminable to his bored audience. )

incarnate

endowed with flesh; personified (Eg: Your attitude is so fiendish that you must be a devil incarnate. )

savor

enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality (Eg: Relishing his triumph, Costner especially savored the chagrin of the critics who had predicted his failure. )

gusto

enjoyment; enthusiasm (Eg: He accepted the assignment with such gusto that I feel he would have been satisfied with a smaller salary. )

amplify

enlarge (Eg: Her attempts to amplify her remarks were drowned out by the jeers of the audience. )

prodigious

enormous; marvelous (Eg: He marveled at her prodigious appetite when he saw all the food she ate. )

astronomical

enormously large or extensive (Eg: The government seemed willing to spend astronomical sums on weapons development. )

incense

enrage; infuriate (Eg: Unkindness to children incensed her. )

mire

entangle; stick in swampy ground (Eg: Their rear wheels became mired in mud. )

regale

entertain (Eg: John regaled us with tales of his adventures in Africa. )

ovation

enthusiastic applause (Eg: When Placido Domingo came on stage in the first act of La Boheme, he was greeted by a tremendous )

devotee

enthusiastic follower (Eg: A devotee of the opera, he bought season tickets every year. )

allure

entice; attract (Eg: allured by the song of the sirens, the helmsman steered the ship toward the reef. )

gamut

entire range (Eg: In this performance, the leading lady was able to demonstrate the complete gamut of her acting ability. )

entree

entrance; a way in (Eg: Because of his wealth and social position, he had entree into the most exclusive circles. )

ambience

environment; atmosphere (Eg: She went to the restaurant not for the food but for the ambience. )

milieu

environment; means of expression (Eg: His milieu is watercolors, although he has produced excellent oil paintings and lithographs. )

gourmand

epicure; person who takes excessive pleasure in food and drink (Eg: goumands lack self-restraint; if they enjoy a particular cuisine, they eat far too much of it. )

commensurate

equal in extent (Eg: Your reward will be commensurate with your effort. )

parity

equality; close resemblance (Eg: I find your analogy inaccurate because I do not see the parity between the two illustrations. )

accoutre

equip (Eg: The fisherman was accoutred with the best that the sporting goods store could supply )

paraphernalia

equipment; odds and ends (Eg: His desk was cluttered with paper, pen, ink, dictionary and other paraphernalia of the writing craft. )

quibble

equivocate; play on words (Eg: Do not quibble; I want a straightforward and definite answer. )

delete

erase; strike out (Eg: If you delete this paragraph, the composition will have more appeal. )

blunder

error (Eg: The criminal's fatal blunder led to his capture. )

misapprehension

error; misunderstanding (Eg: To avoid msapprehension, I am going to ask all of you to repeat the instructions I have given. )

gist

essence (Eg: she was asked to give the gist of the essay in two sentence. )

attribute

essential quality (Eg: His outstanding attribute was his kindness. )

intrinsically

essentially; inherently; naturally (Eg: Although my grandmother's china has intrinsically little value, I shall always cherish it for the memories it )

appraise

estimate the value of (Eg: It is difficult to appraise old paintings; it is easier to call them priceless. )

assessment

estimation; appraisal (Eg: I would like to have your assessment of the situation in South Africa. )

elusive

evasive; baffling; hard to grasp (Eg: His elusive dreams of wealth were costly to those of his friends who supported him financially. )

perpetual

everlasting (Eg: Ponce de Leon hoped to find perpetual youth. )

biennial

every two years (Eg: The group held biennial meetings instead of annual ones. )

gestate

evolve, as in prenatal growth (Eg: While this scheme was being gestated by the conspirators, they maintained complete silence about their )

precise

exact (Eg: If you don't give me precise directions and a map, I'll never find your place. )

inflated

exaggerated; pompous; enlarged (with air or gas) (Eg: His claims about the new product were inflated; it did not work as well as he had promised. )

hyperbole

exaggeration; overstatement (Eg: This salesman is guilty of hyperbole in describing his product; it is wise to discount his claims. )

audit

examination of accounts (Eg: When the bank examiners arrived to hold their annual audit, they discovered the embezzlements of the )

scrutinize

examine closely and critically (Eg: Searching for flaws, the sergeant scrutinized every detail of the private's uniform. )

collate

examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order (Eg: They collated the newly found manuscripts to determine their age. )

ejaculation

exclamation (Eg: He could not repress an ejaculation of surprise when he heard the news. )

ostracize

exclude from public favor; ban (Eg: As soon as the newspapers carried the story of his connection with the criminals, his friends began to )

pretext

excuse (Eg: He looked for a good pretext to get out of paying a visit to his aunt. )

grueling

exhausting (Eg: The marathon is a grueling race. )

iridescent

exhibiting rainbowlike colors (Eg: She admired the iridescent hues of the oil that floated on the surface of the water. )

expatriate

exile; someone who has withdrawn from his native land (Eg: Henry James was an American expatriate who settled in England. )

expository

explanatory; serving to explain (Eg: The mannual that came with my VCR was no masterpiece of expository prose: its explanations were so )

probe

explore with tools (Eg: The surgeon probed the wound for foreign matter before suturing it. )

detonation

explosion (Eg: The detonation of the bomb could be heard miles away. )

debunk

expose as false, exaggerated, worthless, etc.; ridicule (Eg: Pointing out that he conhsistently had voted afainst strenghtening antipollution legislation, reporters )

jeopardy

exposure to death or danger (Eg: Legally, one cannot be placed in double jeopardy. )

deprecate

express disapproval of; protest against; belittle (Eg: A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Post deprecated the modern tendency to address new )

gloat

express evil satisfaction; view malevolently (Eg: As you gloat over your ill-gotten wealth, do you think of the many victims you have defrauded? )

decry

express strong disapproval of ; disparage (Eg: The founder of the Children's Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, strongly decries the lack of )

condole

express sympathetic sorrow (Eg: His friends gathered to condole with him over his loss. )

derogatory

expressing a low opinion (Eg: I resent your derogatory remarks. )

potential

expressing possibility; latent (Eg: The juvenile delinquent is a potential murderer. )

laudatory

expressing praise (Eg: The critics' laudatory comments helped to make her a star. )

eloquence

expressiveness; persuasive speech (Eg: The crowds were stirred by Martin Luther King's eloquence. )

bowdlerize

expurgate (Eg: After the film editors had bowdlerized the language in the script, the motion picture's rating was changed )

prolong

extend; draw out; lengthen (Eg: In their determination to discover ways to prolong human life, doctors fail to take into account that longer )

cordon

extended line of men or fortifications to prevent access or egress (Eg: The police cordon was so tight that the criminals could not leave the area. )

extrinsic

external; not inherent; foreign (Eg: Do not be fooled by extrinsic causes. We must look for the intrinsic reason. )

pterodactyl

extinct flying reptile (Eg: The remains of pterodactyls indicate that these flying reptiles had a wingspan of as much as twenty feet. )

minute

extremely small (Eg: The twins resembled one another closely; only minute differences set them apart. )

lilliputian

extremely small (Eg: Tiny and delicate, the model was built on a lilliputian scale. )

minuscule

extremely small (Eg: Why should I involve myself with a project with so minuscule a chance for success? )

astigmatism

eye defect that prevents proper focus (Eg: As soon as his parents discovered that the boy suffered from astigmatism, they took him to the )

physiognomy

face (Eg: He prided himself on his ability to analyze a person's character by studying his physiognomy. )

countenance

face (Eg: Whe Jose saw his newborn daughter, a proud smile spread across his countenance. )

laxative

facilitating evacuation of the bowels (Eg: The effect of the constipation medicine is laxative; it empties the bowels. )

founder

fail completely; sink (Eg: After hitting the submerged iceberg, the Titanic started taking in water rapidly and soon foundered. )

default

failure to do (Eg: As a result of her husband's failure to appear in court, she was granted a divorce by default. )

equitable

fair; impartial (Eg: I am seeking an equitable solution to this dispute, one which will be fair and acceptable to both sides. )

equity

fairness; justice (Eg: Our courts guarantee equity to all. )

philanderer

faithless lover; flirt (Eg: Swearing he had never so much as looked at another woman, Jack assured Jill he was no philanderer. )

ravel

fall apart into tangles; unravel or untwist; entangle (Eg: A sigle thread pulled loose, and the entire scarf started to ravel. )

relapse

fall back or sink again (Eg: The economy relapsed into a depression from the peak. )

plummet

fall sharply (Eg: )

deciduous

falling off, as of leaves (Eg: The oak is a deciduous tree. )

delusion

false belief; hallucination (Eg: This scheme is a snare and a delusion. )

perjury

false testimony while under oath (Eg: When several witnesses appeared to challenge his story, he was indicted for perjury. )

renown

fame (Eg: For many years an unheralded researcher, Barbara McClintock gained international renown when she won )

conversant

familiar with (Eg: The lawyer is conversant with all the evidence. )

grotesque

fantastic; comically hideous (Eg: On Halloween people enjoy wearing groteque costumes. )

chimerical

fantastic; highly imaginative (Eg: Poe's chimerical stories are sometimes too morbid for reading in bed. )

bizarre

fantastic; violently contrasting (Eg: The plot of the novel was too bizarre to be believed. )

modish

fashionable (Eg: She always discarded all garments that were no longer modish. )

kismet

fate (Eg: kismet is the Arabic word for "fate." )

patriarch

father and ruler of a family or tribe (Eg: In many primitive tribes, the leader and lawmaker was the patriarch. )

beget

father; produce; give rise to (Eg: One good turn may deserve another; it does not necessarily beget another. )

jaded

fatigued; surfeited (Eg: He looked for exotic foods to stimulate his jaded appetite. )

captious

faultfinding (Eg: His criticisms were always captious and frivolous, never offering constructive suggestions. )

impeccable

faultless (Eg: He was proud of his impeccable manners. )

propitious

favorable; kindly (Eg: I think it is advisable that we wait for a more propitious occasion to announce our plans; this is not a good )

authoritarian

favoring or exercising total control; non-democratic (Eg: The people had no control over their destiny; they were forced to obey the dictates of the authoritarian )

auspicious

favoring success (Eg: With favorable weather conditions, it was an auspicious moment to set sail. )

nepotism

favoritism (to a relative) (Eg: John left his position with the company because he felt that advancement was based on nepotism rather )

intimidation

fear (Eg: A ruler who maintains his power by intimidation is bound to develop clandestine resistance. )

claustrophobia

fear of being locked in (Eg: His fellow classmates laughed at his claustrophobia and often threatened to lock him in his room. )

hydrophobia

fear of water; rabies (Eg: A dog that bites a human being must be observed for symptoms of hydrophobia. )

apprehensive

fearful; discerning (Eg: His apprehensive glances at the people who were walking in the street revealed his nervousness. )

intrepid

fearless (Eg: For his intrepid conduct in battle, he was promoted. )

practicable

feasible (Eg: The board of directors decided that the plan was practicable and agreed to undertake the project. )

lineaments

features, especially of the face (Eg: She quickly sketched the lineaments of his face. )

feckless

feeble, ineffective; unthinking, irresponsible (Eg: Einstein was noted for his extraordinary inspirations; on the other hand, he was noted for being feckless in )

commiserate

feel or express pity or sympathy for (Eg: Her friends commiserated with the widow. )

euphoria

feeling of exaggerated (or unfounded) well-being (Eg: "Jill's been on cloud nine ever since Jacj asked her out," said Betty, dismissing her friend's euphoria. )

ewe

female sheep (Eg: The flock of sheep was made up of dozens of ewes, together with only a handful of rams. )

amazon

female warrior (Eg: Ever since the days of Greek mythology we refer to strong and aggressive women as amazons. )

frond

fern leaf; palm or banana leaf (Eg: After the storm the beach was littered with the fronds of palm trees. )

luxuriant

fertile; abundant; ornate (Eg: Farming was easy in this luxuriant soil. )

fecundity

fertility; fruitfulness (Eg: The fecundity of his mind is illustrated by the many vivid images in his poems. )

convivial

festive; gay; characterized by joviality (Eg: The convivial celebrators of the victory sang their college songs. )

febrile

feverish (Eg: In his febrile condition, he was subject to nightmares and hallucinations. )

capricious

fickle; incalculable (Eg: The storm was capricious and changed course constantly. )

demoniac

fiendish (Eg: The Spanish Inquisition devised many demoniac means of torture. )

melee

fight (Eg: The captain tried to ascertain the cause of the melee that had broken out among the crew members. )

dossier

file of documents on a subject (Eg: Ordered by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate the senator, the FBI compiled a complete dossier. )

replenish

fill up again (Eg: )

fraught

filled (Eg: Since this enterprise is fraught with danger, I will ask for volunteers who are willing to assume the risks. )

replete

filled to capacity; abundantly supplied (Eg: The book is replete with humorous situations. )

purchase

firm grasp or footing (Eg: The mountaineer struggled to get a proper purchase on the slippery rock. )

blandishment

flattery (Eg: Despite the salesperson's blandishments, the customer did not buy the outfit. )

adulation

flattery; admiration (Eg: The rock star thrived on the adulation of his groupies and yes-men. )

excoriate

flay; abrade (Eg: These shoes are so ill-fitting that they will excoriate the feet and create blisters. )

armada

fleet of warships (Eg: Queen Elizabeth's navy was able to defeat the mighty armada that threatened the English coast. )

fugitive

fleeting or transitory; roving (Eg: The film brought a few fugitive images to her mind, but on the whole it made no lasting impression upon )

evanescent

fleeting; vanishing (Eg: For a brief moment, the entire skyline was bathed in an orange-red hue in the evanescent rays of the )

carnal

fleshly (Eg: The public was more interested in carnal pleasures than in spiritual matters. )

limber

flexible (Eg: Hours of ballet classes kept him limber. )

pliant

flexible; easily influenced (Eg: Catherine's disposition was pliant; she was like putty in her suitor's hands. )

lithe

flexible; supple (Eg: Her figure was lithe and willowy. )

pliable

flexible; yielding; adaptable (Eg: In remodeling the bathroom, we replaced all the old, rigid lead pipes with new, pliable copper tubing. )

coquette

flirt (Eg: Because she refused to give him an answer to his proposal of marriage, he called her a coquette. )

levitate

float in the air (especially by magical means) (Eg: As the magician passed his hands over the recumbent body of his assistant, she appeared to rise and )

deluge

flood; rush (Eg: When we advertised the position, we received a deluge of applications. )

parquet

floor made of wood strips inlaid in a mosic-like pattern. (Eg: In laying the floor, the carpenters combined redwood and oak in an elegant parquet. )

florid

flowery; ruddy (Eg: His complexion was even more florid than usual because of his anger. )

influx

flowing into (Eg: The influx of refugees into the country has taxed the relief agencies severely. )

mellifluous

flowing smoothly; smooth (Eg: Italian is a mellifluous language. )

confluence

flowing together; crowd (Eg: They built the city at the confluence of two rivers. )

cursive

flowing, running (Eg: In normal writing we run our letters together in cursive form; in printing, we separate the letters. )

flux

flowing; series of changes (Eg: While conditions are in such a state of flux, I do not wish to commit myself too deeply in this affair. )

glib

fluent (Eg: He is a glib and articulate speaker. )

flit

fly; dart lightly; pass swiftly by (Eg: Like a bee flitting from flower to flower, Rose flitted from one boyfriend to the next. )

balk

foil (Eg: When the warden learned that several inmates were planning to escape, he took steps to balk their attempt. )

ensue

follow (Eg: The evils that ensued were the direct result of the miscalculations of the leaders. )

retinue

following; attendants (Eg: The queen's retinue followed her down the aisle. )

endearment

fond word or act (Eg: Your gifts and endearments cannot make me forget your earlier insolence. )

ambrosia

food of the gods (Eg: ambrosia was supposed to give immortality to any human who ate it. )

fatuous

foolish; inane (Eg: He is far too intelligent to utter such fatuous remarks. )

extrude

force or push out (Eg: Much pressure is required to extrude these plastics. )

contrived

forced; artificial; not spontaneous (Eg: Feeling ill at ease with his new in-laws; James made a few contrived attempts at conversation and then )

duress

forcible restraint, especially unlawfully (Eg: The hostages were held under duress until the prisoners' demands were met. )

prognosis

forecasted course of a disease; prediction (Eg: If the doctor's prognosis is correct, the patient will be in a coma for at least twenty-four hours. )

paramount

foremost in importance; supreme (Eg: Proper nutrition and hygiene are of paramount importance in adolescent development and growth. )

harbinger

forerunner (Eg: The crocus is an early harbinger of spring. )

precursor

forerunner (Eg: Though Gray and Burns share many traits with the Romantic poets who followed them, most critics )

bode

foreshadow; portend (Eg: The gloomy skies and the sulfurious odors from the mineral springs seemed to bode evil to those who )

presage

foretell (Eg: The vultures flying overhead presaged the discovery of the corpse in the desert. )

portend

foretell; presage (Eg: The king did not know what these omens might portend and asked his soothsayers to interpret them. )

oracular

foretelling; mysterious (Eg: Oedipus could not understand the oracular warning he received. )

premonition

forewarning (Eg: We ignored these premonitions of disaster because they appeared to be based on childish fears. )

oblivion

forgetfulness (Eg: Her work had fallen into a state of oblivion; no one bothered to read them. )

granulate

form into grains (Eg: Sugar that has been granulated dissolves more readily than lump sugar. )

polity

form of government of nation or state (Eg: Our polity should be devoted to the concept that the government should strive for the good of all citizens. )

satire

form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack vice and folly (Eg: Gulliver's Travels, which is regarded by many as a tale for children, is actually a bitter satire attacking )

discourse

formal disscussion; conversation (Eg: The young Plato was drawn to the Agora to hear the philosophical discourse of Socrates and his followers. )

dissertation

formal essay (Eg: In order to earn a graduate degree from many of our universities, a candidate is frequently required to )

panegyric

formal praise (Eg: The modest hero blushed to hear the speakers delivering panegyrics about his valorous act. )

predecessor

former occupant of a post (Eg: I hope I can live up to the fine example set by my late predecessor in this office. )

redoubtable

formidable; causing fear (Eg: During the Cold War period, neighboring countries tried not to offend the Russians because they could be )

citadel

fortress (Eg: The citadel overlooked the city like a protecting angel. )

noisome

foul smelling; unwholesome (Eg: I never could stand the noisome atmosphere surrounding the slaughter houses. )

malodorous

foul-smelling (Eg: The component heap was most malodorous in summer. )

putrid

foul; rotten; decayed (Eg: The gangrenous condition of the wound was indicated by the putrid smell when the bandages were )

quadruped

four-footed animal (Eg: Most mammals are quadrupeds. )

rubble

fragments (Eg: Ten years after World War II, some of the rubble left by enemy bombings could still be seen. )

redolent

fragrant; odorous; suggestive of an odor (Eg: Even though it is February, the air is redolent of spring. )

chassis

framework and working parts of an automobile (Eg: Examining the car after the accident, the owner discovered that the body had been ruined but that the )

candor

frankness (Eg: The candor and simplicity of his speech impressed all, it was all clear he held nothing back. )

gratis

free (Eg: The company offered to give one package gratis to every purchaser of one of their products. )

extricate

free; disentangle (Eg: He found that he could not extricate himself from the trap. )

latitude

freedom from narrow limitations (Eg: I think you have permitted your son too much latitude in this matter. )

impunity

freedom from punishment (Eg: The bully mistreated everyone in the class with impunity for he felt that no one would dare retaliate. )

congeal

freeze; coagulate (Eg: His blood congealed in his veins as he saw the dread monster rush toward him. )

berserk

frenzied (Eg: )

frenetic

frenzied; frantic (Eg: His frenetic activities convinced us that he had no organized plan of operation. )

furor

frenzy; great excitement (Eg: The story of her embezzlement of the funds created a furor on the stock exchange. )

scruple

fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons (Eg: Fearing that her husband had become involved in an affair, she did not scruple to read his diary. )

repine

fret; complain (Eg: There is no sense repining over the work you have left undone. )

querulous

fretful; whining (Eg: His classmates were repelled by his querulous and complaining statements. )

amicable

friendly (Eg: The dispute was settled in an amicable manner with no harsh words. )

debonair

friendly; aiming to please (Eg: The debonair youth was liked by all who met him, because of his cheerful and obliging manner. )

amity

friendship (Eg: Student exchange programs such as the Experiment in International Living were established to promote )

outskirts

fringes; outer borders (Eg: Living outskirts of Boston, Sarah sometimes felt as if she were cut off from the cultural heart of the city. )

facade

front of the building (Eg: The facade of the church had often been photographed by tourists because it was more interesting than )

husbandry

frugality; thrift; agriculture (Eg: He accumulated his small fortune by diligence and husbandry. )

baffle

frustrate; perplex (Eg: The new code baffled the enemy agents. )

porous

full of pores; like a sieve (Eg: )

buxom

full-bosomed; plump; jolly (Eg: High fashion models usually are slender rather than buxom. )

obsequy

funeral ceremony (Eg: Hundreads paid their last respects at his obsequies. )

purveyor

furnisher of foodstuffs; caterer (Eg: As purveyor of rare wines and viands, he traveled through France and Italy every year in search of new )

hindmost

furthest behind (Eg: The coward could always be found in the hindmost lines whenever a battle was being waged. )

nugatory

futile; worthless (Eg: This agreement is nugatory for no court will enforce it. )

millinery

person who makes or sells women's hats (Eg: The millinery displayed fashionable hats in the street where many women passed by. )

interregnum

period between two reigns (Eg: Henry VIII desperately sought a male heir because he feared the civil strife that might occur if any )

equinox

period of equal days and nights; the beginning of spring and autumn (Eg: The vernal equinox is usually marked by heavy rainstorms. )

epoch

period of time (Eg: The glacial epoch lasted for thousands of years. )

intermittent

periodic; on and off (Eg: Our picnic was marred by intermittent rains. )

indissoluble

permanent (Eg: The indissoluble bonds of marriage are all too often being dissolved. )

problematic

perplexing; unsettled: questionable (Eg: Given the many areas of conflict still awaiting resolution, the outcome of the peace talks remains )

masochist

person who enjoys his own pain (Eg: The masochist begs, "Hit me." The sadist smiles and says, "I won't." )

founder

person who establishes (an organization, business) (Eg: Among those drowned when the Titanic sank was the founder of the Abraham & Straus chain. )

kleptomaniac

person who has a compulsive desire to steal (Eg: They discovered that the wealthy customer was a kleptomaniac when they caught her stealing some cheap )

heretic

person who maintains opinions contrary to the doctrines of the church (Eg: She was punished by the Spanish Inquisition because she was a heretic. )

poseur

person who pretends to be sophisticated, elegant, etc., to impress others (Eg: Some thought Dali was a brillant painter; others dismissed him as a poseur. )

proponent

person who supports or proposes (an idea) (Eg: After the bill had been amended and re-amended in committee, even its original proponents didn't want to )

heckler

person who verbally harasses others (Eg: )

pyromaniac

person with an insane desire to set things on fire (Eg: The detectives searched the area for the pyromaniac who had set these costly fires. )

arbiter

person with power to decide a matter in a dispute; judge (Eg: As an arbiter in labor disputes, she has won the confidence of the workers and the employers. )

induce

persuade; bring about (Eg: After the quarrel, Tina said nothing could induce her to talk to Tony again. )

pharisaical

pertaining to Pharisees, who paid scrupulous attention to tradition; self-righteous; (Eg: hypocritical )

pontifical

pertaining to a bishop or pope; pompous or pretentious (Eg: From the very beginning of his ministry it was clear from his pontifical pronouncements that John was )

germinal

pertaining to a germ; creative (Eg: Such an idea is germinal; I am certain that it will influence thinkers and philosophers for many generations. )

provincial

pertaining to a province; limited in outlook; unsophisticated (Eg: As provincial governor, Sir Henry administered the Queen's law in his remote corner of Canada. )

filial

pertaining to a son or daughter (Eg: Many children forget their filial obligations and disregard the wishes of their parents. )

colloquial

pertaining to conversational or common speech (Eg: Your use of colloquial expressions in a formal essay such as the one you have presented spoils the effect )

rustic

pertaining to country people; uncouth (Eg: The backwoodsman looked out place in his rustic attire. )

horticultural

pertaining to cultivation of gardens (Eg: When he bought his house, he beganto look for flowers and decorative shrubs, and began to read books )

pathological

pertaining to disease (Eg: As we study the pathological aspects of this disease, we must not overlook the psychological elements. )

existential

pertaining to existence; pertaining to the philosophy of existentialism (Eg: To the existential philosopher, human reason is inadequate to explain an irrational, meaningless universe. )

piscatorial

pertaining to fishing (Eg: He spent many happy hours at the lake in his piscatorial activities. )

infernal

pertaining to hell; devilish (Eg: They could think of no way to hinder his infernal scheme. )

inductive

pertaining to induction or preceeding from the specific to the general (Eg: The discovery of the planet Pluto is an excellent example of the results that can be obtained from inductive )

agrarian

pertaining to land or its cultivation (Eg: As a result of its recent industrialization, the country is gradually losing its agrarian traditions. )

connubial

pertaining to maffige or the matrimonial state (Eg: In his telegram, he wished the newlyweds a lifetime of connubial bliss. )

marital

pertaining to marriage (Eg: After the publication of his book on marital affairs, he was often consulted by married people on the verge )

conjugal

pertaining to marriage (Eg: Their dreams of conjugal bliss were shattered as soon as their temperaments clashed. )

mnemonic

pertaining to memory (Eg: He used mnemonic tricks to master new words. )

psychopathic

pertaining to mental derangement (Eg: The psychopathic patient suffers more frequently from a disorder of the nervous system than from a )

impenitent

not repentant (Eg: We could see by his brazen attitude that he was impenitent. )

pecuniary

pertaining to money (Eg: I never expected a pecuniary reward for my work in this activity. )

monetary

pertaining to money (Eg: Jane held the family purse strings: she made all monetary decisions affecting the household. )

erotic

pertaining to passionate love (Eg: The erotic passages in this novel should be removed as they are merely pornographic. )

nautical

pertaining to ships or navigation (Eg: The Maritime Museum contains many models of clipper ships, logbooks, anchors and many other items of )

alluvial

pertaining to soil deposits left by running water (Eg: The farmers found the alluvial deposits at the mouth of the river very fertile. )

metaphysical

pertaining to speculative philosophy (Eg: The modern poets have gone back to the fanciful poems of the metaphysical poets of the seventeenth )

sartorial

pertaining to tailors (Eg: He was as famous for the sartorial splendor of his attire as he was for his acting. )

graphic

pertaining to the art of delineating; vividly described (Eg: I was particularly impressed by the graphic presentation of the storm. )

incommodious

not spacious; inconvenient (Eg: In their incommodious quarters, they had to improvise for closet space. )

inalienable

not to be taken away; nontransferable (Eg: The Declaration of Independence mentions the inalienable rights that all of us possess. )

beholden

obligated; indebted (Eg: Since I do not wish to be beholden to anyone, I cannot accept this favor. )

mandatory

obligatory (Eg: These instructions are mandatory; any violation will be severely punished. )

scurrilous

obscene; indecent (Eg: Your scurrilous remarks are especially offensive because they are untrue. )

hermetic

obscure and mysterious; occult (Eg: It is strange to consider that modern chemistry originated in the hermetic teachings of the ancient )

enigmatic

obscure; puzzling (Eg: Many have sought to fathom the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa. )

phenomena

observable facts; subjects of scientific investigation (Eg: We kept careful records of the phenomena we noted in the course of these experiments. )

antiquated

obsolete; outdated (Eg: Accustomed to editing his papers on word processors, Philip thought typewriters were too antiquated for )

recalcitrant

obstinately stubborn (Eg: Donkeys are reputed to be the most recalcitrant of animals. )

hamper

obstruct (Eg: The minority party agreed not to hamper the efforts of the leaders to secure a lasting peace. )

procurement

obtaining (Eg: The personnel department handles the procurement of new employees. )

engross

occupy fully (Eg: John was so engrossed in his studies that he did not hear his mother call. )

metallurgical

pertaining to the art of removing metals from ores (Eg: During the course of his metallurgical research, the scientist developed a steel alloy of tremendous )

incumbent

officeholder (Eg: The newly elected public official received valuable advice from the present incumbent. )

liaison

officer who acts as go-between for two armies; intermediary (Eg: As the liason, he had to avoid offending the leaders of the two armies. )

functionary

official (Eg: As his case was transferred from one functionary to another, he began to despair of ever reaching a )

gazette

official publication (Eg: He read the gazettes regularly for announcement of his promotion. )

reaper

one who harvests grain (Eg: Death, the Grim Reaper, cuts down men and women, just as a farmer cuts down the ripened grain. )

auroral

pertaining to the aurora borealis (Eg: The auroral display was particularly spectacular that evening. )

convert

one who has adopted a different religion or opinion (Eg: On his trip to Japan, though the President spoke at length about the merits of American automobiles, he )

polygamist

one who has more than one spouse at a time (Eg: He was arrested as a polygamist when his two wives filed complaints about him. )

misanthrope

one who hates mankind (Eg: We thought the hermit was a miantrope because he shunned our society. )

introvert

one who is introspective; inclined to think more about oneself (Eg: In his poetry, he reveals that he is an introvert by his intense interest in his own problems. )

agnostic

one who is skeptical of the existence of knowability of a god or any ultimate reality (Eg: The agnostic demanded proof before she would accept the statement of the minister. )

hireling

one who serves for hire (usually used contemptuously) (Eg: In a matter of such importance, I do not wish to deal with hirelings; I must meet with the chief. )

cerebral

pertaining to the brain or intellect (Eg: The content of philosophical works is cerebral in nature and requires much thought. )

ecclesiastic

pertaining to the church (Eg: The minister donned his ecclesiastic garb and walked to the pulpit. )

eugenic

pertaining to the improvement of race (Eg: It is easier to apply eugenic principles to the raising of racehorses or prize cattle than t the development of )

pulmonary

pertaining to the lungs (Eg: In his researches on pulmonary diseases, he discovered many facts about the lungs of animals and human )

lunar

pertaining to the moon (Eg: lunar craters can be plainly seen with the aid of a small telescope. )

herpetologist

one who studies reptiles (Eg: As a boy, Indiana Jones had a traumatic experience involving snakes; sensibly enough, he studies to be )

dermatologist

one who studies the skin and its diseases (Eg: I advise you to consult a dermatologist about your acne. )

patent

open for the public to read; obvious (Eg: It was patent to everyone that the witness spoke the truth. )

overt

open to view (Eg: According to the United States Constitution, a person must commit an overt act before he may be tried for )

broach

open up (Eg: He did not even try to broach the subject of poetry. )

gape

open widely (Eg: The huge pit gaped before him; if he stumbled, he would fall in. )

gambit

opening in chess in which a piece is sacrificed (Eg: The player was afraid to accept his opponent's gambit because he feared a trap which as yet he could not )

rift

opening; break (Eg: The plane was lost in the stormy sky until the pilot saw the city through a rift in the clouds. )

aperture

opening; hole (Eg: She discovered a small aperture in the wall, through which the insects had entered the room. )

agape

openmouthed (Eg: She stared, agape, at the many strange animals in the zoo. )

manipulate

operate with the hands; control or change by artful means (Eg: How do you manipulate these puppets? )

diva

operatic singer; prima donna (Eg: Although world famous as a diva, she did not indulge in fits of temerament. )

heresy

opinion contrary to popular belief or to accepted religion (Eg: He was threatened with excommunication because his remarks were considered to be pure heresy. )

adversary

opponent; enemy (Eg: Batman struggled to save Gotham City from the machinations of his wicked adversary, the Joker. )

controvert

oppose with arguments; contradict (Eg: To controvert your theory will require much time but it is essential that we disprove it. )

converse

opposite (Eg: The inevitable converse of peace is not war but annihilation. )

inverse

opposite (Eg: There is an inverse ratio between the strength of light and its distance. )

mandate

order; charge (Eg: In his inaugural address, the President stated that he had a mandate from the people to seek an end to )

conventional

ordinary; typical (Eg: His conventional upbringing left him wholly unprepared for his wife's eccentric family. )

chaotic

in utter disorder (Eg: He tried to bring order into the chaotic state of affairs. )

innate

inborn (Eg: His innate talent for music was soon recognized by his parents. )

implacable

incapable of being pacified (Eg: Madame Defarge was the implacable enemy of the Evremonde family. )

invulnerable

incapable of injury (Eg: Achilles was invulnerable except in his heel. )

nascent

incipient; coming into being (Eg: If we could identify these revolutionary movements in their nascent state, we would be able to eliminate )

proclivity

inclination; natural tendency (Eg: )

sadistic

inclined to cruelty (Eg: If we are to improve conditions in this prison, we must first get rid of the sadistic warden. )

factious

inclined to form factions; causing dissension. (Eg: Your statement is factious and will upset the harmony that now exists. )

prone

inclined to; prostrate (Eg: She was prone to sudden fits of anger. )

comprise

include; consist of (Eg: If the District of Columbia were to be granted a statehood, the United States of America would comprise )

irreconsilable

incompatible; not able to be resolved (Eg: Because the separated couple were irreconcilable, the marriage counselor recommended a divorce. )

augment

increase (Eg: How can we hope to augment our forces when our allies are deserting us? )

increment

increase (Eg: The new contract calls for a 10 percent increment in salary for each employee for the next two years. )

crescendo

increase in the volume or intensity, as in a musical passage; climax (Eg: The overture suddenly changed from a quiet pastoral theme to a crescendo featuring blaring trumpets and )

provenance

origin or source of something (Eg: I am not interested in its provenance; I am more concerned with its usefulness than with its source. )

prototype

original work used as a model by others (Eg: The crude typewriter on display in this museum is the prototype of the elaborate machines in use today. )

chase

ornament a metal surface by indenting (Eg: With his hammer, he carefully chased an intricate design onto the surface of the chalice. )

epaulet

ornament worn on the shoulder (of a uniform, etc.) (Eg: The shoulder loops on Sam Spade's trench coat are the nonmilitary counterparts of the fringed epaulets on )

frieze

ornamental band on a wall (Eg: The frieze of the church was adorned with sculpture. )

brooch

ornamental clasp (Eg: She treasured the brooch because it was an heirloom. )

flamboyant

ornate (Eg: Modern architecture has discarded the flamboyant trimming on buildings and emphasizes simplicity of line. )

rococo

ornate; highly decorated (Eg: The rococo style in furniture and architecture, marked by scrollwork and excessive decoration, flourished )

aggrandize

increase or intensify; raise in power, wealth, rank or honor (Eg: The history of the past quarter century illustrates how a President may aggrandize his power to act )

irremediable

incurable; uncorrectable (Eg: The error she made was irremediable; she could see no way to repair it. )

bawdy

indecent; obscene (Eg: She took offense at his bawdy remarks. )

nonchalance

indifference; lack of interest (Eg: Few people could understand how he could listen to the news of the tragedy with such nonchalance; the )

apathetic

indifferent (Eg: He felt apathetic about the conditions he had observed and did not care to fight against them. )

insouciant

indifferent; without concern or care (Eg: Your insouciant attitude at such a critical moment indicates that you do not understand the gravity of the )

circumlocution

indirect or roundabout expression (Eg: He was afraid to call spade a spade and resorted to circumlocutions to avoid direct reference to his subject. )

allusion

indirect reference (Eg: the allusions to mythological characters in Milton's poems bewilder the reader who has not studied Latin. )

pretentious

ostentatious; ambitious (Eg: I do not feel that your limited resources will permit you to carry out such a pretentious program. )

mealymouthed

indirect speech; hypocritical; evasive (Eg: Rather than tell Jill directly what he disliked, Jack made a few mealymouthed comments and tried to change )

incontrovertible

indisputable (Eg: We must yield to the incontrovertible evidence that you have presented and free your client. )

proselytize

induce someone to convert to religion or belief (Eg: In these interfaith meetings, there must be no attempt to proselytize; we must respect all points of view. )

prevail

induce; triumph over (Eg: He tried to prevail on her to type his essays for him. )

futile

ineffective; fruitless (Eg: Why waste your time on futile pursuits? )

fledgling

inexperienced (Eg: While it is necessary to provide these fledgling poets with an opportunity to present their work, it is not )

inerrancy

infallibility (Eg: Jane refused to believe in the pope's inerrancy, reasoning: "All human beings are capable of error. The )

opprobrium

infamy; vilification (Eg: He refused to defend himself against the slander and opprobrium hurled against him by the newspapers; he )

contagion

infection (Eg: Fearing contagion, they took drastic steps to prevent the spread of the disease. )

illimitable

infinite (Eg: Human beings, having explored the far corners of the earth, are now reaching out into illimitable space. )

apprise

inform (Eg: When he was apprised of the dangerous weather conditions, he decided to postpone his trip. )

colloquy

informal discussion (Eg: I enjoy our colloquies but I sometimes wish that they could be made more formal and more searching. )

impinge

infringe; touch; collide with (Eg: How could they be married without impinging on one another's freedom? )

denizen

inhabitant of (Eg: Ghosts are denizens of the land of the dead who return to earth. )

incompatible

inharmonious (Eg: The married couple argued incessantly and finally decided to separate because they were incompatible. )

discordant

inharmonious; conflicting (Eg: She tried to unite the discordant factions. )

mayhem

injury to the body (Eg: The riot was marked not only by mayhem, with its attendant loss of life and limb, but also by arson and )

effervescence

inner excitement; exuberance (Eg: Nothing depressed her for long; her natural effervescence soon reasserted itself. )

deranged

insane (Eg: He had to be institutionalized because he was deranged. )

demented

insane (Eg: She became increasingly demented and had to be hospitalized. )

epitaph

inscription in memory of a dead person (Eg: In his will, he dictated the epitaph he wanted placed on his tombstone. )

interpolate

insert between (Eg: She talked so much that I could not interpolate a single remark. )

foist

insert improperly; palm off (Eg: I will not permit you to foist such ridiculous ideas upon the membership of this group. )

proscribe

ostracize; banish; outlaw (Eg: Antony, Octavius and Lepidus proscribed all those who had conspired against Julius Caesar. )

paltry

insignificant; petty (Eg: This is a paltry sum to pay for such a masterpiece. )

puny

insignificant; tiny; weak (Eg: Our puny efforts to stop the flood were futile. )

inconsequential

insignificant; unimportant (Eg: Brushing off Ali's apologies for having broken the wine glass, Tamara said, "Don't worry about it; it's )

brazen

insolent (Eg: Her brazen contempt for authority angered the officials. )

impertinent

insolent (Eg: I regard your remarks as impertinent and I resent them. )

knotty

intricate; difficult; tangled (Eg: What to Watson had been a knotty problem to Sherlock Holmes was simplicity itself. )

incorporate

introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite (Eg: Breaking with precedent, President Truman ordered the military to incorporate blacks into every branch of )

prelude

introduction; forerunner (Eg: I am afraid that this border raid is the prelude to more serious attacks. )

prefactory

introductory (Eg: The chairman made a few prefactory remarks before he called on the first speaker. )

preamble

introductory statement (Eg: In the preamble to the Constitution, the purpose of the document is set forth. )

interloper

intruder (Eg: The merchant thought of his competitors as interlopers who were stealing away his trade. )

figment

invention; imaginary thing (Eg: That incident never took place; it is a figment of your imagination. )

energize

invigorate; make forceful and active (Eg: Rather than exhausting Maggie, dancing energized her. )

impregnable

invulnerable (Eg: Until the development of the airplane as a military weapon, the fort was considered impregnable. )

opalescent

iridescent (Eg: The Ancient Mariner admired the opalescent sheen on the water. )

anvil

iron block used in hammering out metals (Eg: After heating the iron horseshoe in the forge, the blacksmith picked it up with his tongs and set it on the )

anomaly

irregularity (Eg: A bird that cannot fly is an anomaly. )

ineluctable

irresistable; not to be escaped (Eg: He felt that his fate was ineluctible and refused to make any attempt to improve his lot. )

juggernaut

irresistible crushin force (Eg: Nothing could survive in the path of the juggernaut. )

impiety

irreverence; wickedness (Eg: We must regard your blasphemy as an act of impiety. )

impious

irreverent (Eg: The congregation was offended by her impious remarks. )

irascible

irritable; easily angered (Eg: Her irascible temper frightened me. )

demotic

pertaining to the people (Eg: He lamented the passing of aristocratic society and maintained that a demotic society would lower the )

physiological

pertaining to the science of the function of living organisms (Eg: To understand this disease fully, we must examine not only its physiological aspects but also its )

cosmic

pertaining to the universe; vast (Eg: cosmic rays derive their name from the fact that they bombard the earth's atmosphere from outer space. )

germane

pertinent; bearing upon the case at hand (Eg: The lawyer objected that the testimony being offered was not germane to the case at hand. )

relevant

pertinent; referring to the case in hand (Eg: )

badger

pester; annoy (Eg: She was forced to change her telephone number because she was badgered by obscene phone calls. )

denouement

outcome; final development of the plot of a play or other literary work (Eg: The play was childishly written; the denouement was obvious to sophisticated theatergoers as early as the )

hue

outcry (Eg: When her purse was snatched, she raised such a hue and cry that the thief was captured. )

perimeter

outer boundary (Eg: To find the perimeter of any quadrilateral, we add the lengths of the four sides. )

obsolete

outmoded (Eg: "Hip" is an obsolete expression; it went out with love beads and tie-dye shirts. )

outwit

outsmart; trick (Eg: By disguising himself as an old woman, Holmes was able to outwit his pursuers and escape capture. )

preeminent

outstanding; superior (Eg: The king traveled to Boston because he wanted the preeminent surgeon in the field to perform the )

manifestation

outward demonstration; indication (Eg: Mozart's early attraction to the harsichord was the first manifestation of his pronounced musical bent. )

carping

petty criticism; fault-finding (Eg: Welcoming constructive criticism, Lexy appreciated her editor's comments, finding them free of carping. )

minutiae

petty details (Eg: She would have liked to ignore the minutiae of daily living. )

epistemologist

philosopher who studies the nature of knowledge (Eg: "What is more important, a knowledge of nature of the nature of knowledge?" the epistemologist asked the )

cliche

phrase culled in meaning by repetition (Eg: High school compositions are often marred by such cliches as "strong as an ox." )

rankle

irritate; fester (Eg: The memory of having been jilted rankled him for years. )

pique

irritation; resentment (Eg: She showed her pique by her refusal to appear with the other contestants at the end of the contest. )

circumvent

outwit; baffle (Eg: In order to circumvent the enemy, we will make two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting )

ignite

kindle; light (Eg: When Desi crooned, "Baby, light my fire," literal-minded Lucy looked around for some paper to ignite. )

amphitheater

oval building with tiers of seats (Eg: The spectators in the amphitheater cheered the gladiators. )

beneficent

kindly; doing good (Eg: The overgenerous philanthropist had to curb his beneficent impulses before he gave away all his money )

benign

kindly; favorable; not malignant (Eg: The old man was well liked because of his benign attitude toward friend and stranger alike. )

realm

kingdom; sphere (Eg: The realm of possibilities for the new invention was endless. )

affinity

kinship (Eg: She felt an affinity with all who suffered; their pains were her pains. )

consanguinity

kinship (Eg: The lawsuit developed into a test of the consanguinity of the claimant to the estate. )

cognizance

knowledge (Eg: During the election campaign, the two candidates were kept in full cognizance of the international )

imbalance

lack of balance or symmetry; disproportion (Eg: Because of the great imbalance between the number of men and women invited, the dance was )

apathy

lack of caring; indifference (Eg: A firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never )

discrepancy

lack of consistency; difference (Eg: The police noticed some discrepancies in his description of the crime and did not believe him. )

incongruity

lack of harmony; absurdity (Eg: The incongruity of his wearing sneakers with formal attire amused the observers. )

levity

lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity (Eg: Stop giggling abd wriggling around in the pew; such levity is improper in church. )

devoid

lacking (Eg: He was devoid of any personal desire for gain in his endeavor to secure improvement in the community. )

imprudent

lacking caution; injudicious (Eg: It is imprudent to exercise vigorously and become overheated when you are unwell. )

insipid

lacking in flavor; dull (Eg: Flat prose and flat ginger ale are equally insipid: both lack sparkle. )

frivolous

lacking in seriousness; self-indulgently carefree; relatively unimportant (Eg: Though Nancy enjoyed Bill's frivolous, lighthearted companionship, she sometimes wondered whether he )

dispirited

lacking in spirit (Eg: The coach used all the tricks at his command to buoy up the enthusiasm of his team, which I had become )

listless

lacking in spirit or energy (Eg: We had expected him to be full of enthusiasm and were surprised by his listless attitude. )

elliptical

oval; ambiguous, either purposely or because key words have been left out (Eg: An elliptical billiad ball wobbles because it is not perfectly round; an elliptical remark baffles because it is )

gloss

over explain away (Eg: No matter how hard he tried to talk around the issue, President Bush could not gloss over the fact that he )

obstetrician

physician specializing in delivery of babies (Eg: Unlike midwives, who care for women giving birth at home, obstetricians generally work in a hospital )

oculist

physician who specialized in treatment of the eyes (Eg: In many states, an oculist is the only one who may apply medicinal drops to the eyes for the purpose of )

cull

pick out; reject (Eg: Every month the farmer culls the nonplaying hens from his flock and sells them to the local butcher. )

irreverent

lacking proper respect (Eg: The worshippers resented her irreverent remarks about their faith. )

incontinent

lacking self-restraint (Eg: His incontinent behavior off stage shocked many people and they refused to attend the plays and movies )

inept

lacking skill; inadequate; inappropriate (Eg: inept as a carpenter, Ira was all thumbs. )

insubstantial

lacking substance; insignificant; frail (Eg: His hopes for a career in acting proved insubstantial; no one would cast him, even in an insubstantial role. )

dirge

lament with music (Eg: The funeral dirge stirred us to tears. )

peon

landless agricultural worker; bond servant (Eg: The land reformers sought to liberate the peons and establish them as independent farmers. )

jargon

language used by special group; gibberish (Eg: We tried to understand the jargon of the peddlers in the market place but could not find any basis for )

parlance

language; idiom (Eg: All this legal parlance confuses me; I need an interpreter. )

pine

languish, decline; long for, yearn (Eg: Though she tried to be happy living with Clara in the city, Heidi pined for the mountains and for her gruff )

lassitude

languor; weariness (Eg: The hot, tropical weather created a feeling of lassitude and encouraged drowsiness. )

metropolis

large city (Eg: Every evening this terminal is filled with the thousands of commuters who are going from this metropolis )

bevy

large group (Eg: The movie actor was surrounded by a bevy of startlets. )

mosaic

picture made of smell, colorful inlaid tiles (Eg: The mayor compared the ciry to a beautiful mosaic made up of people of every race and religion on earth. )

hieroglyphic

picture writing (Eg: The discovery of the Rosetta Stone enabled scholars to read the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. )

impale

pierce (Eg: He was impaled by the spear hurled by his adversary. )

perforate

pierce; put a hole through (Eg: Before you can open the aspirin bottle, you must first perforate the plastic safety seal that covers the cap. )

conifer

pine tree; cone-bearing tree (Eg: According to geologists, the conifers were the first plants to bear flowers. )

devout

pious (Eg: The devout man prayed daily. )

galleon

large sailing ship (Eg: The Spaniards pinned their hopes on the galleon, the large warship; the British, on the smaller and faster )

salacious

lascivious; lustful (Eg: Chaucer's monk is not pious but salacious, a teller of lewd tales and ribald jests. )

scourge

lash; whip; severe punishment (Eg: )

languor

lassitude; depression (Eg: His friends tried to overcome the languor into which he had fallen by taking him to parties and to the )

enduring

lasting; surviving (Eg: Keats believed in the enduring power of great art, which outlast its creator's brief lives. )

ludicrous

laughable; trifling (Eg: Let us be serious; this is not a ludicrous issue. )

profusion

lavish expenditure; overabundant condition (Eg: Seldom have I seen food and drink served in such profusion as at the wedding feast. )

punctilious

laying stress on niceties of conduct or form; precise (Eg: We must be punctilious in our planning of this affair, for any error may be regarded as a personal affront. )

gait

manner of walking or running; speed (Eg: The lame man walked with an uneven gait. )

cartographer

map-maker (Eg: Though not a professional cartographer, Tolkien was able to construct a map of the fictional world. )

disfigure

mar the appearance of; spoil (Eg: An ugly frown disfigured his normally pleasant face. )

deface

mar; disfigure (Eg: If you deface a library book, you will have to pay a hefty fine. )

checkered

marked by changes in fortune (Eg: During his checkered career he had lived in palatial mansions and in dreary boardinghouses. )

cant

pious phraseology; jargon of criminals (Eg: Angry that the president had slashed the education budget, we dismissed his speech on the importance of )

holster

pistol case (Eg: Even when he was not in uniform, he carried a holster and pistol under his arm. )

aphorism

pithy maxim (Eg: An aphorism differs from an adage in that it is more philosophical or scientific. )

ceremonious

marked by formality (Eg: Ordinary dress would be in appropriate at so ceremonious an affair. )

apothegm

pithy, compact saying (Eg: Proverbs are apothegms that have become familiar sayings. )

ruthless

pitiless (Eg: The escaped convict was a dangerous and ruthless murderer. )

asylum

place of refuge or shelter; protection (Eg: The refugees sought asylum from religious persecution in a new land. )

purgatory

place of spiritual expiation (Eg: In this purgatory, he could expect no help from his comrades. )

juxtapose

place side by side (Eg: Comparison will be easier if you juxtapose the two objects. )

ford

place where a river can be crossed on foot (Eg: Rather than risk using the shaky rope bridge, David walked a half-mile downstream until he came to the )

arboretum

place where different varieties of trees and shrubs are studied and exhibited (Eg: Walking along the treelined paths of the arboretum, Rita noted poplars, firs, and some particularly fine )

perspicuous

plainly expressed (Eg: Her perspicuous comments eliminated all posibility of misinterpretation. )

premeditate

plan in advance (Eg: )

itinerary

plan of a trip (Eg: Before leaving for his first visit to France and England, he discussed his itinerary with people who had )

flora

plants of a region or era (Eg: Because she was a botanist, she spent most of her time studying the flora of the desert. )

rostrum

platform for speech-making; pulpit (Eg: The crowd murmured angrily and indicated that they did not care to listen to the speaker who was )

entreat

plead; ask earnestly (Eg: She entreated her father to let her stay out till midnight. )

congenial

pleasant; friendly (Eg: )

piquant

pleasantly tart-tasting; stimulating (Eg: The piquant sauce added to our enjoyment of the meal. )

gratify

please (Eg: Her parents were gratified by her success. )

enrapture

please intensely (Eg: The audience was enraptured by the freshness of the voices and the excellent orchestration. )

luscious

pleasing to taste or smell (Eg: The ripe peach was luscious. )

copious

plentiful (Eg: She had copious reasons for rejecting the proposal. )

scenario

plot outline; screenplay; opera libretto (Eg: Scaramouche startled the other actors in the commedia troupe when he suddenly departed from their )

fallow

plowed but sowed; uncultivated (Eg: )

pillage

plunder (Eg: )

despoil

plunder (Eg: If you do not yield, I am afraid the enemy will despoil the countryside. )

ravage

plunder; despoil (Eg: The marauding army ravaged the countryside. )

depredation

plundering (Eg: After the depredations of the invaders, the people were penniless. )

predatory

plundering (Eg: The hawk is a predatory bird. )

douse

plunge into water; drench; extinguish (Eg: They doused each other with hoses and balloons. )

elegy

poem or song expressing lamentation (Eg: )

bard

poet (Eg: The ancient bard Homer sang of the fall of Troy. )

perigee

point of moon's orbit when it is nearest the earth (Eg: The rocket which was designed to take photographs of the moon was launched as the moon approached )

martrix

point of origin; array of numbers or algebraic symbols; mold or die (Eg: Some historians claim the Nile Valley was the matrix of the Western civilization. )

doggerel

poorverse (Eg: Although we find occasional snatches of genuine poetry in her work, most of her writing is mere doggerel. )

permeable

porous; allowing passage through (Eg: Glass is permeable to light. )

delineate

portray (Eg: He is weakest when he attempts to delineate character. )

depict

portray (Eg: In this book, the author depicts the slave owners as kind and benevolent masters. )

affirmation

positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath (Eg: Despite Tom's affirmation of innocence, Aunt Polly still suspected he had eaten the pie. )

dogmatic

positive; arbitrary (Eg: Do not be so dogmatic about that statement; it can be easily refuted. )

dint

means; effort (Eg: By dint of much hard work, the volunteers were able to control the raging forest fire. )

interim

meantime (Eg: The company will not consider our proposal until next week; in the interim, let us proceed as we have in )

mete

measure; distribute (Eg: He tried to be impartial in his efforts to mete out justice. )

carnivorous

meat-eating (Eg: The lion is a carnivorous animal. )

automaton

mechanism that imitates actions of humans (Eg: Long before science fiction readers became aware of robots, writers were creating stories of automation )

officious

meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one's services (Eg: After her long flight, Jill just wanted to nap, but the officious bellboy was intent on showing her all the )

alchemy

medieval chemistry (Eg: The changing of baser metals into gold was the goal of the students of alchemy. )

euthanasia

mercy killing (Eg: Many people support euthanasia for terminally ill patients who wish to die. )

mirth

merriment; laughter (Eg: Sober Malvolio found Sir Toby's mirth improper. )

jocund

merry (Eg: Santa Claus is always vivacious and jocund. )

courier

messenger (Eg: The publisher sent a special courier to pick up the manuscript. )

lode

metal-bearing vein (Eg: If this lode that we have discovered extends for any distance, we have found a fortune. )

regime

method or system of government (Eg: When a Frenchman mentions the Old Regime, he refers to the government existing before the revolution. )

bourgeois

middle class (Eg: The French Revolution was inspired by the bourgeois, who resented the aristocracy. )

euphemism

mild expression in place of an unpleasant one (Eg: The expression "he passed away" is a euphemism for "he died." )

balmy

mild; fragrant (Eg: A balmy breeze refreshed us after the sultry blast. )

leniency

mildness; permissiveness (Eg: Considering the gravity of the offense, we were surprised by the leniency of the sentence. )

misdemeanor

minor crime (Eg: The culprit pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor rather than face trial for a felony. )

misadventure

mischance; ill luck (Eg: The young explorer met death by misadventure. )

qualms

misgivings (Eg: His qualms of conscience had become so great that he decided to abandon his plans. )

fallacious

misleading (Eg: Your reasoning must be fallacious because it leads to a ridiculous answer. )

illusion

misleading vision (Eg: It is easy to create an optical illusion in which lines of equal length appear different. )

projectile

missile (Eg: Man has always hurled projectiles at his enemy whether in the form of stones or of highly explosive shells. )

erroneous

mistaken; wrong (Eg: I thought my answer was correct, but it was erroneous. )

knead

mix; work dough (Eg: Her hands grew strong from kneading bread. )

promiscuous

mixed indiscriminately; haphazard; irregular, particularly sexually (Eg: In the opera La Boheme, we get a picture of the promiscuous life led by the young artists of Paris. )

garbled

mixed up; jumbled; distorted (Eg: A favorite party game involves passing a whispered message from one person to another; by the time it )

alloy

mixture as of metals (Eg: alloy of gold are used more frequently than the pure metal. )

miscellany

mixture of writings on various subjects (Eg: This is an interesting miscellany of nineteenth-century prose and poetry. )

gibe

mock (Eg: As you gibe at their superstitious beliefs, do you realize that you, too, are guilty of similarly foolish )

scoff

mock; ridicule (Eg: He scoffed at dentists until he had his first toothache. )

satirical

mocking (Eg: The humor of cartoonists Gary Trudeau often is satirical; though the comments of the Doonesbury )

mausoleum

monumental tomb (Eg: His body was placed in the family mausolem. )

low

moo (Eg: From the hilltop, they could see the herd like ants in the distance; they could barely hear the cattle low. )

phobia

morbid fear (Eg: Her fear of flying was more than mere nervousness; it was a real phobia. )

deploy

move troops so that the battle line is extended at the expense of depth (Eg: The general ordered the battalion to deploy in order to meet the offensive of the enemy. )

amorous

moved by sexual love; loving (Eg: Don Juan was known for his amorous adventures. )

amble

moving at an easy pace (Eg: When she first mounted the horse, she was afraid to urge the animal to go faster than a gentle amble. )

impetus

moving force; incentive; stimulus (Eg: A new federal highway program would create jobs and five added impetus to our economic recovery. )

depreciate

lessen in value (Eg: If you neglect this properly, it will depreciate. )

console

lessen sadness or disappointment; give comfort (Eg: When her father died, Marius did his best to console Cosette. )

diminution

lessening; reduction in size (Eg: The blockaders hoped to achieve victory as soon as the diminution of the enemy's supplies became serious. )

bate

let down; restrain (Eg: Until it was time to open the presents, the children had to bate their curiosity. )

anticlimax

letdown in thought or emotion (Eg: After the fine performance in the first act, the rest of the play was an anticlimax. )

missive

letter (Eg: The ambassador received a missive from the Secretary of State. )

fallible

liable to err (Eg: I know I am fallible, but I feel confident that I am right this time. )

lavish

liberal; wasteful (Eg: The actor's lavish gifts pleased her. )

prevaricate

lie (Eg: Some people believe that to prevaricate in a good cause is justifiable and regard the statement as a "white )

equivocate

lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth (Eg: The audience saw through his attempts to equivocate on the subject under discussion and ridiculed his )

inanimate

lifeless (Eg: she was asked to identify the still and inanimate body. )

flick

light stroke as with a whip (Eg: The horse needed no encouragement; only one flick of the whip was all the jockey had to apply to get the )

giddy

light-hearted; dizzy (Eg: He felt his giddy youth was past. )

ethereal

light; heavenly; fine (Eg: Visitors were impressed by her ethereal beauty, her delicate charm. )

jaunty

lighthearted; animated; easy and carefree (Eg: In Singing in the Rain, Gene Kelly sang and danced his way throughtthe lighthearted title number in a )

cadaverous

like a corpse; pale (Eg: From his cadaverous appearance, we could see how the disease had ravaged him. )

rabid

like a fanatic; furious (Eg: He was a rabid follower of the Dodgers and watched them play whenever he could go to the ball park. )

glacial

like a glacier; extremely cold (Eg: Never a warm person, when offended hugo could seem positively glacial. )

leonine

like a lion (Eg: He was leonine in his rage. )

imperial

like an emperor; related to an empire (Eg: When hotel owner Leona Helmsley appeared in ads as Queen Leona standing guard over the Palace Hotel, )

avuncular

like an uncle (Eg: Avuncular pride did not prevent him from noticing his nephew's shortcomings. )

ligneous

like wood (Eg: Petrified wood may be ligneous in appearance, but it is stonelike in composition. )

diorama

like-size, three-dimensional scene from nature or history (Eg: Because they dramatically pose actual stuffed animals against realistic painted landscapes, the dioramas at )

labile

likely to change; unstable (Eg: Because the hormonal changes they undergo affect their spirits, adolescents may become emotionally labile )

circumscribe

limit; confine (Eg: )

parameter

limit; independent variable (Eg: We need to define the parameters of the problem. )

finite

limited (Eg: It is difficult for humanity with its finite existence to grasp the infinite. )

modicum

limited quantity (Eg: Although his story is based on a modicum of truth, most of the events he describes are fictitious. )

qualified

limited; restricted (Eg: Unable to give the candidate full support, the mayor gave him only a qualified endorsement. )

queue

line (Eg: They stood patiently in the queue outside the movie theatre. )

concatenate

link as in a chain (Eg: )

roster

list (Eg: They print the roster of players in the season's program. )

repertoire

list of works of music, drama, etc., a performer is prepared to present (Eg: The opera company decided to include Madame Butterfly in its repertoire for the following season. )

enumerate

list; mention one by one (Eg: Huck hung his head in shame as Miss Watson enumerated his many flaws. )

compilation

listing of statistical information in tabular or book form (Eg: The compilation of available scholarships serves a very valuable purpose. )

knoll

little, round hill (Eg: Robert Louis Stevenson's grave is on a knoll in Samoa; to reach the grave site, you must climb uphill and )

rousing

lively; stirring (Eg: "And now, let's have a rousing welcome for TV's own Roseanne Arnold, who'll lead us in a rousing )

coeval

living at the same time as; contemporary (Eg: coeval with the dinosaur, the pterodactyl flourished during the Mesozoic era. )

chameleon

lizard that changes color in different situations (Eg: Like the chameleon, he assumed the political coloration of every group he met. )

abominate

loathe; hate (Eg: Moses scolded the idol worshippers in the tribe because he abominated the custom. )

repugnance

loathing (Eg: She looked at the snake with repugnance. )

patois

local or provincial dialect (Eg: His years of study of the language at the university did not enable him to understand the patois of the )

dawdle

loiter; waste time (Eg: Inasmuch as we must meet a deadline, do not dawdle over this work. )

lank

long and thin (Eg: lank, gaunt, Abraham Lincoln was a striking figure. )

chronic

long established, as a disease (Eg: The doctors were finally able to attribute his chronic headaches and nausea to traces of formaldehyde gas )

epic

long heroic poem, novel, or similar work of art (Eg: Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai is an epic portraying the struggle of seven warriors to destroy a band of )

longevity

long life (Eg: When he reached ninety, the old man was proud of his longevity. )

eon

long period of time; an age (Eg: It has taken eons for our civilization to develop. )

harangue

long, passionate, and vehement speech (Eg: In her lengthy harangue, the principal berated the offenders. )

retrospective

looking back on the past (Eg: It is only when we become retrospective that we can appreciate the tremendous advances made during this )

introspective

looking within oneself (Eg: We all have our introspective moments during which we examine our souls. )

episodic

loosely connected (Eg: Though he tried to follow the plot of Gravity's Rainbow, John found the novel too episodic. )

imperiousness

lordliness; domineering manner; arrogance (Eg: His imperiousness indicated that he had long been accustomed to assuming command. )

languish

lose animation; lose strength (Eg: In stories, lovelorn damsels used to languish and pine away. )

amnesia

loss of memory (Eg: Because she was suffering from amnesia, the police could not get the young girl to identify herself. )

aphasia

loss of speech due to injury or illness (Eg: After the automobile accident, the victim had periods of aphasia when he could not speak at all or could )

clangor

loud, resounding noise (Eg: The blacksmith was accustomed to the clangor of hammers on steel. )

loll

lounge about (Eg: They lolled around in their chairs watching television. )

philanthropist

lover of mankind; doer of good (Eg: As he grew older, he became famous as a philanthropist and benefactor of the needy. )

nether

lower (Eg: Tradition locates hell in the nether regions. )

abase

lower; degrade; humiliate (Eg: Anna expected to have to curtsy to the King of Siam; when told to cast herself down on the ground before )

degraded

lowered in rank; debased (Eg: The degraded wretch spoke only of his past glories and honors. )

nadir

lowest point (Eg: Although few people realized it, the Dow-Jones averages had reached their nadir and would soon begin an )

fidelity

loyalty (Eg: A dog's fidelity to its owner is one of the reasons why that animal is a favorite household pet. )

preen

make oneself tidy in appearance; feel self-satisfaction (Eg: As Kitty preened before the mirror, carefully smoothing her shining hair, she couldn't help preening herself )

indemnify

make secure against loss; compensate for loss (Eg: The city will indemnify all home owners whose property is spoiled by this project. )

burnish

make shiny by rubbing; polish (Eg: The maid burnished the brass fixtures until they reflected the lamplight. )

addle

muddle; drive crazy (Eg: This idiotic plan is confusing enough to addle anyone. )

propagate

multiply; spread (Eg: Since bacteria propagate more quickly in unsanitary environments, it is important to keep hospital rooms )

regicide

murder of a king or queen (Eg: The beheading of Mary Queen of Scots was an act of regicide. )

mutter

murmur or grumble (Eg: The child muttered at the doll. )

brawn

muscular strength; sturdiness (Eg: It takes brawn to become a champion weight-lifter. )

maim

mutilate; injure (Eg: The hospital could not take care of all who had been mangled or maimed in the railroad accident. )

correlation

mutual relationship (Eg: He sought to determine the correlation that existed between ability in algebra and ability to interpret )

reciprocal

mutual; exchangeable; interacting (Eg: The two nations signed a reciprocal trade agreement. )

concerted

mutually agreed on; done together (Eg: The girl scouts in the troop made a concerted effort to raise funds for their annual outing, and emitted a )

internecine

mutually destructive (Eg: The rising death toll on both sides indicates the internecine natire of his conflict. )

cryptic

mysterious; hidden; secret (Eg: His cryptic remarks could not be interpreted. )

occult

mysterious; secret; supernatural (Eg: The occult rites of the organization were revealed only to members. )

runic

mysterious; set down in an ancient alphabet (Eg: Tolkien's use of Old English words and inscriptions in the runic alphabet give The Lord of the Rings its )

centaur

mythical figure, half man and half horse (Eg: I was particularly impressed by the statue of the centaur in the Roman Hall of the museum. )

ingenuous

naive; young and unsophisticated (Eg: Although she was over forty, the movie star still insisted that she be cast as an ingenuous sweet young )

appellation

name; title (Eg: He was amazed when the witches hailed him with his correct appellation. )

recount

narrate or tell; count over again (Eg: About to recount the latest adventure of Sherlock Holmes, Watson lost track of exactly how many cases )

gorge

narrow canyon; steep, rocky cleft (Eg: Terrified of heights, George could not bring himself to peer down into the gorge to see the rapids below. )

parochial

narrow in outlook; provincial; related to parishes (Eg: Although Jane Austen writes novels set in small rural communities, her concerns are universal, not )

isthmus

narrow neck of land connecting two larger bodies of land (Eg: In a magnificent feat of engineering, Goethals and his men cut through the isthmus of Panama in )

ravine

narrow valley with steep sides (Eg: Steeper than a gully, less precipitous than a canyon, a ravine is, like them, the product of years of erosion. )

philistine

narrow-minded person, uncultured and exculsively interested in material gain (Eg: We need more men of culture and enlightenment; we have too many philistines among us. )

sectarian

narrow-minded; limited in scope (Eg: As university chaplain, she sought to address universal religious issues and not limit herself to mere )

insularity

narrow-mindedness; isolation (Eg: The insularity of the islanders manifested itself in their suspicion of anyuthing foreign. )

indigenous

native (Eg: Tobacco is one of the indigenous plants that the early explorers found in this country. )

propensity

natural inclination (Eg: Convinced of his own talent, Sol has an unfortunate propensity to belittle the talents of others. )

imminent

near at hand; impending (Eg: Rosa was such a last-minute worker that she could never start writing a paper till the deadline was )

impending

nearing; approaching (Eg: The entire country was saddened by the news of his impending death. )

proximity

nearness (Eg: The deer sensed the hunter's proximity and bounded away. )

propinquity

nearness; kinship (Eg: Their relationship could not be explained as being based on mere propinquity: they were more than )

myopic

nearsighted (Eg: In thinking only of your present needs and ignoring the future, you are being rather myopic. )

dapper

neat and trim (Eg: In "The Odd Couple," Tony Randall played Felix Unger, an excessively dapper soul who could not stand )

deft

neat; skillful (Eg: The deft waiter uncorked the champagne without spilling a drop. )

natty

neatly or smartly dresssed (Eg: Priding himself on being a natty dresser, the gangster Bugsy Siegel collected a wardrobe of imported suits )

requisite

necessary requirement (Eg: Many colleges state that a student must offer three years of a language as a requisite for admission. )

pejorative

negative in connotation; having a belittling effect. (Eg: Instead of criticizing Clinton's policies, the Republicans made pejorative remarks about his character. )

derelict

neglectful of duty; abandoned (Eg: The corporal who fell asleep while on watch was thrown into the guardhouse for being derelic in his duty. )

remiss

negligent (Eg: He was accused of being remiss in his duty when the prisoner escaped. )

noncommittal

neutral; unpledged; undecided (Eg: We were annoyed by his noncommittal reply for we had been led to expect definite assurances of his )

neologism

new or newly coined word or phrase (Eg: As we invent new techniques and professions, we must also invent neologisms such as "microcomputer" )

agility

nimbleness (Eg: The agility of the acrobat amazed and thrilled the audience. )

outmoded

no longer stylish; old-fahioned (Eg: Unconcerned about keeping in style, Lenore was perfectly happy to wear outmoded clothes as long as they )

aspiration

noble ambition (Eg: )

patrician

noble; aristocratic (Eg: We greatly admired her well-bred, patrician elegance )

clamor

noise (Eg: The clamor of the children at play outside made it impossible for her to take a nap. )

altercation

noisy quarrel (Eg: Throughout the altercation, not one sensible word was uttered. )

inundate

overflow; flood (Eg: The tremendous waves inundated the town. )

irrelevant

not applicable; unrelated (Eg: This statement is irrelevant and should be disregarded by the jury. )

elated

overjoyed; in high spirits (Eg: Grinning from ear to ear, Bonnie Blair was clearly elated by her Olympic victory. )

condone

overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse (Eg: Unlike Widow Douglass, who condoned Huck's minor offenses, Miss Watson did nothing but scold. )

compelling

overpowering; irresistible in effect (Eg: The prosecutor presented a well-reasoned case, but the defense attorney's compelling arguments for )

censor

overseer of morals; person who eliminates inappropriate matter (Eg: Soldiers dislike having their mail read by a censor but understand the need for this precaution. )

glut

overstock; fill to excess (Eg: The many manufacturers glutted the market and could not find purchasers for the many articles they had )

rave

overwhelmingly favorable review (Eg: Though critic John Simon seldom has a good word to say about contemporary plays, his review of All in )

placate

pacify; conciliate (Eg: The teacher tried to placate the angry mother. )

appease

pacify; soothe (Eg: We have discovered that, when we try to appease our enemies, we encourage them to make additional )

fresco

painting in plaste (usually fresh) (Eg: The cathedral is visited by many tourists who wish to admire the frescoes by Glotto. )

mauve

pale purple (Eg: The mauve tint in the lilac bush was another indication that spring had finally arrived. )

pallid

pale; wan (Eg: Because his occupation required that he work at night and sleep during the day, he had an exceptionally )

mollycoddle

pamper; indulge excessively (Eg: Don't mollycoddle the boy, Maud! You'll spoil him. )

larder

pantry; place where food is kept (Eg: The first thing Bill did on returning home from school was to check what snacks his mother had in the )

rudimentary

not developed; elementary (Eg: His dancing was limited to a few rudimentary steps. )

insatiable

not easily satisfied; greedy (Eg: Welty's thirst for knowledge was insatiable; she was in the library day and night. )

ineffectual

not effective; weak (Eg: )

extraneous

not essential; external (Eg: Do not pad your paper with extraneous matters; stick to essential items only. )

incidental

not essential; minor (Eg: The scholarship covered his major expenses at college and some of his incidental expenses as well. )

exotic

not native; strange (Eg: Because of his exotic headdress, he was followed in the streets by small children who laughed at his strange )

heedless

not noticing; disregarding (Eg: He drove on, heedless of the warnings that the road was dangerous. )

impervious

not penetrable; not permitting passage through (Eg: You cannot change their habits for their minds are impervious to reasoning. )

extemporaneous

not planned; impromtu (Eg: Because his extemporaneous remarks were misinterpreted, he decided to write all his speeches in advance. )

palimpsest

parchment used for second time after original writing has been erased (Eg: Using chemical reagents, scientists have been able to restore the original writings on many palimpsests. )

amnesty

pardon (Eg: When his first child was born, the king granted amnesty to all in prison. )

absolve

pardon (an offense) (Eg: The father confessor absolved him of his sins. )

proscenium

part of stage in front of curtain (Eg: In the theater-in-the-round there can be no proscenium or proscenium arch. )

motley

parti-colored; mixed (Eg: The captain had gathered a motley crew to sail the vessel. )

penumbra

partial shadow (in an eclipse) (Eg: During an eclipse, we can see an area of total darkness and a lighter area, which is the penumbra. )

predilection

partiality; preference (Eg: Although the artist used various media from time to time, she had a predilection for watercolors. )

complicity

participation; involvement (Eg: You cannot keep your complicity in this affair secret very long; you would be wise to admit your )

genre

particular variety of art or literature (Eg: Both a short story writer and a poet, Langston Hughes proved himself equally skilled in either genre. )

faction

party; clique; dissension (Eg: The quarrels and bickering of the two small factions within the club disturbed the majority of the )

infiltrate

pass into or through; penetrate (an organization) sneakily (Eg: In order to infiltrate enemy lines at night without being seen, the scouts darkened their faces and wore )

madrigal

pastoral song (Eg: His program of folk songs included several madrigals which he sang to the accompaniment of a lute. )

forberance

patience (Eg: We must use forbearance in dealing with him because he is still weak from his illness. )

resignation

patient submissiveness; statement that one is quitting a job (Eg: If Bob Cratchit had not accepted Scrooge's bullying with timid resignation, he might have gotten up the )

apocalyptic

prophetic; pertaining to revelations; especially of disaster (Eg: His apocalyptic remarks were dismissed by his audience as wild surmises. )

decorum

propriety; seemliness (Eg: Shocked by the unruly behavior, the teacher criticized the class for its lack of decorum. )

remonstrance

protest; objection (Eg: The authorities were deaf to the pastor's remonstrances about the lack of police protection in the area. )

expostulation

protest; remonstrance (Eg: Despite the teacher's scoldings and expostulations, the class remained unruly. )

archetype

prototype; primitive pattern (Eg: The Brooklyn Bridge was the archetype of the many spans that now connect Manhattan with Long Island )

protuberance

protrusion; bulge (Eg: A ganglionic cyst is a fluid-filled tumor (generally benign) that develops near a joint membrane or tendon )

authenticate

prove genuine (Eg: An expert was needed to authenticate the original Van Gogh painting, distinguishing it from its imitation. )

maxim

proverb; a truth pithily stated (Eg: Aesop's fables illustrate moral maxims. )

harbor

provide a refuge for; hide (Eg: The church harbored illegal aliens who were political refugees. )

defray

provide ofr the payment of (Eg: Her employer offered to defray the costs of her postgraduate education. )

endue

provide with some quality; endow (Eg: He was endued with a lion's courage. )

document

provide written evidence (Eg: She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to document her expenses for the firm. )

discretion

prudence; ability to adjust actions to circumstances (Eg: Use your discretion in this matter and do not discuss it with anyone. )

circumspect

prudent; cautious (Eg: Investigating before acting, she tried always to be circumspect. )

archives

public records; place where public records are kept (Eg: These documents should be part of the archives so that historians may be able to evaluate them in the )

obtrusive

pushing forward (Eg: I found her a very obstrusive person, constantly seeking the center of the stage. )

quell

put down; quiet (Eg: The police used fire hoses and teat gas to quell the rioters. )

propound

put forth for analysis (Eg: In you discussion, you have propounded several questions; let us consider each one separately. )

marshal

put in order (Eg: At a debate tournament, extemporaneous speakers have only a minute or two to marshal their thoughts )

execute

put into effect; carry out (Eg: The choreographer wanted to see how well she could execute a pirouette. )

implement

put into effect; supply with tools (Eg: The mayor was unwilling to implement the plan until she was sure it had the governor's backing. )

don

put on (Eg: When Clark Kent had to don his Superman outfit, he changed clothes in a convenient phone booth. )

discomfit

put to rout; defeat; disconcert (Eg: This ruse will discomfit the enemy. )

entrance

put under a spell; carry away with emotion (Eg: Shafts of sunlight on a wall could entrance her and leave her spellbound. )

enigma

puzzle (Eg: Depite all attempts to decipher the code, it remained an enigma. )

rebus

puzzle in which pictures stand for words (Eg: A coven of witches beside a tree is a possible rebus for the town Coventry. )

charlatan

quack; pretender to knowledge (Eg: When they realized that the Wizard didn't know how to get them back to Kansas, Dorothy and her friends )

poignancy

quality of being deeply moving; keenness of emotion (Eg: Watching the tearful reunion of the long-separated mother and child, the social worker was touched by the )

naivete

quality of being unsophisticated (Eg: I cannot believe that such naivete is unassumed in a person of her age and experience. )

momentum

quantity of motion of a moving body; impetus (Eg: The car lost momentum as it tried to ascend the steep hill. )

bicker

quarrel (Eg: The children bickered morning, noon, and night, exasperating their parents. )

contentious

quarrelsome (Eg: We heard loud and contentious noises in the next room. )

belligerent

quarrelsome (Eg: Whenever he had too much to drink, he became belligerent and tried to pick fights with strangers. )

droll

queer and amusing (Eg: He was a popular guest because his droll anecdotes were always entertaining. )

interrogate

question closely; cross-examine (Eg: Knowing that the Nazis would interrogate him about his background, the secret agent invented a cover )

grill

question severely (Eg: In violation of the Miranda law, the police grilled the suspect for several hours before reading him his )

nostrum

questionable medicine (Eg: No quack selling nostrums is going to cheat me. )

inquisitor

questioner (specially harsh); investigator (Eg: Fearing being grilled ruthlessly by the secret police, Marsha faced her inquisitors with trepidation. )

receptive

quick or willing to receive ideas, suggestions, etc. (Eg: Adventure-loving Huck Finn proved a receptive audience for Tom's tales of buried treasure and piracy. )

retort

quick, sharp reply (Eg: Even when it was advisable for her to keep her mouth shut, she was always ready with a retort. )

cite

quote; commend (Eg: She could cite passages in the Bible from memory. )

centrifugal

radiating; departing from the center (Eg: Many automatic drying machines remove excess moisture from clothing by centrifugal force. )

foray

raid (Eg: The company staged a midnight foray against the enemy outpost. )

exalt

raise in rank or dignity; praise (Eg: The actor Alec Guinness was exalted to the rank of knighthood by the Queen; he now is known as Sir Alec )

dais

raised platform for guests of honor (Eg: When he approached the dais, he was greeted by cheers from the people who had come to honor him. )

haphazard

random; by chance (Eg: His haphazard reading left him unaquainted with the authors of the books. )

ken

range of knowledge (Eg: I cannot answer your question since this matter is beyond my ken. )

fester

rankle, produce irritation or resentment (Eg: Joe's insult festered in Anne's mind for days, and made her too angry to speak to him. )

rummage

ransack; thoroughly search (Eg: When we rummaged through the trunks in the attic, we found many souvenirs of our childhood days. )

ecstasy

rapture, joy; any overpowering emotion (Eg: The announcement that the war had ended brought on an ecstasy that resulted in many uncontrolled )

knavery

rascality (Eg: We cannot condone such knavery in public officials. )

foolhardy

rash (Eg: Don't be foolhardy. Get the advice of experienced people before undertaking this venture. )

incidence

rate of occurrence; particular occurrence (Eg: Health professionals expressed great concern over the high incidence of infant mortality in major urban )

rant

rave; speak bombastically (Eg: As we heard him rant on the platform, we could not understand his strange popularity with many people. )

maniacal

raving mad (Eg: His maniacal laughter frightened us. )

amenable

readily managed; willing to be led (Eg: He was amenable to any suggestions that came from those he looked up to; he resented advice from his )

perusal

reading (Eg: I am certain that you have missed important details in your rapid perusal of this document. )

lectern

reading desk (Eg: The chaplain delivered his sermon from a hastily improvised lectern. )

entity

real being (Eg: As soon as the charter was adopted, the United Nations became an entity and had to be considered as a )

foster

rear; encourage (Eg: According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were fostered by a she-wolf that raised the abandoned )

rampant

rearing up on hind legs; unrestrained (Eg: The rampant weeds in the garden killed all the flowers that had been planted in the spring. )

rationalize

reason; justify an improper act (Eg: Do not try to rationalize your behavior by blaming your companions. )

ratiocination

reasoning; act of drawing conclusions from premises (Eg: While Watson was a man of average intelligence, Holmes was a genius, whose gift for ratiocination made )

maverick

rebel; nonconformist (Eg: To the masculine literary establishment, George Sand with her insistence on wearing trousers and smoking )

insurrection

rebellion; uprising (Eg: Given the current state of affairs in South Africa, an insurrection seems unavoidable. )

insurgent

rebellious (Eg: We will not discuss reforms until the insurgent troops have returned to their homes. )

repercussion

rebound; reverberation; reaction (Eg: I am afraid that this event will have serious repercussions. )

comeuppance

rebuke; deserts (Eg: After his earlier rudeness, we were delighted to see him get his comeuppance. )

ebb

recede; lessen (Eg: His fortunes began to ebb during the recession. )

recipient

receiver (Eg: Although he had been the recipient of many favors, he was not grateful to his benefactor. )

anneal

reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling (Eg: After the glass is annealed, it will be less subject to chipping and cracking. )

debase

reduce to lower state (Eg: Do not debase youself by becoming maudlin. )

deplete

reduce; exhaust (Eg: We must wait until we deplete our present inventory before we order replacements. )

allude

refer indirectly (Eg: Try not to allude to this matter in his presence because the topic annoys him. )

advert

refer to (Eg: Since you advert to this matter so frequently, you must regard it as important. )

ascribe

refer; attribute; assign (Eg: I can ascribe no motive for her acts. )

abstain

refrain; withhold from participation (Eg: After considering the effect of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from drinking )

rebuttal

refutation; response with contrary evidence (Eg: The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case, sure that she could answer his )

limbo

region near heaven or hell where certain souls are kept (Eg: Among the divisions of Hell are Purgatory and limbo. )

clime

region; climate (Eg: His doctors advised him to move to a milder clime. )

deplore

regret (Eg: Although I deplore the vulgarity of your language, I defend your right to express yourself freely. )

rueful

regretful; sorrowful; dejected (Eg: The artist has captured the sadness of childhood in his portrait of the boy with the rueful countenance. )

culinary

relating to cooking (Eg: Many chefs attribute their culinary skill to the wise use of spices. )

redress

remedy; compensation (Eg: Do you mean to tell me that I can get no redress for my injuries? )

commemorative

remembering; honoring (Eg: The new commemorative stamp honors the late Martin Luther King, Jr. )

compunction

remorse (Eg: The judge was especially severe in this sentencing because he felt that the criminal had shown no )

dislodge

remove (forcible) (Eg: Thrusting her fist up under the choking man's lower ribs, Margaret used the Heimlich maneuver to )

esteem

repect; value; judge (Eg: I esteem Ezra Pound both for his exciting poetry and for his acute comments on literature. )

penitent

repentant (Eg: When he realized the enormity of his crime, he became remorseful and penitent. )

rote

repetition (Eg: He recited the passage by rote and gave no indication he understood what he was saying. )

alliteration

repetition of beginning sound in poetry (Eg: "The furrow followed free" is an example of alliteration. )

chronicle

report; record (in chronological order) (Eg: The gossip columnist was paid to chronicle the latest escapades of the socially prominent celebrities. )

replicate

reproduce; duplicate (Eg: To the chagrin of the scientists, they were unable to replicate the results of their controversial experiment. )

reprimand

reprove severely (Eg: I am afraid that my parents will reprimand me when I show them my report card. )

recant

repudiate; withdraw previous statement (Eg: Unless you recant your confession, you will be punished severely. )

odium

repugnance; dislike (Eg: I cannot express the odium I feel at your heinous actions. )

salvage

rescue from loss (Eg: All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed. )

atavism

resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; reversion to an earlier type; (Eg: throwback )

equine

resembling a horse (Eg: His long, bony face had an equine look to it. )

begrudge

resent (Eg: I begrudge every minute I have to spend attending meetings. )

distant

reserved or aloof; cold in manner (Eg: )

reticent

reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence (Eg: )

defeatist

resigned to defeat; accepting defeat as a natural outcome (Eg: If you maintain your defeatist attitude, you will never succeed. )

recourse

resorting to help when in trouble (Eg: The boy's only recourse was to appeal to his father for aid. )

reputable

respectable (Eg: If you want to buy antiques, look for a reputable dealer; far too many dealers today pass off fakes as )

reverent

respectful (Eg: His reverent attitude was appropriate in a house of worship. )

dutiful

respectful; obedient (Eg: The dutiful child grew up to be a conscientious adult aware of his civic obligations. )

restive

restlessly impatient; obstinately resisting control (Eg: Waiting impatiently in the line to see Santa Claus, even the best-behaved children grow restive and start to )

renovate

restore to good condition; renew (Eg: They claim that they can renovate worn shoes so that they look like new ones. )

rehabilitate

restore to proper condition (Eg: We must rehabilitate those whom we send to prison. )

pinion

restrain (Eg: They pinioned his arms against his body but left his legs free so that he could move about. )

repress

restrain; crush; oppress (Eg: Anne's parents tried to curb her impetuosity without repressing her boundless high spirits. )

manacle

restrain; handcuff (Eg: The police immediately manacled the prisoner so he could not escape. )

rejoinder

retort; comeback; reply (Eg: When someone has been rude to me, I find it particularly satisfying to come up with a quick rejoinder. )

procrastinate

postpone; delay (Eg: It is wise not to procrastinate; otherwise, we find ourselves bogged down in a mass of work that should )

decant

pour off gently (Eg: Be sure to decant this wine before serving it. )

effusion

pouring forth (Eg: The critics objected to her literary effusion because it was too flowery. )

effusive

pouring forth; gushing (Eg: Her effusive manner of greeting her friends finally began to irritate them. )

indigence

poverty (Eg: Neither the economists nor the political scientists have found a way to wipe out the inequities of wealth )

adversity

poverty, misfortune (Eg: We must learn to meet adversity gracefully. )

intuition

power of knowing without reasoning (Eg: She claimed to know the truth by intuition. )

efficacy

power to produce desired effect (Eg: The efficacy of this drug depends on the regularity of the dosage. )

mogul

powerful person (Eg: The oil moguls made great profits when the price of gasoline rose. )

potent

powerful; persuasive; greatly influential (Eg: The jury was swayed by the highly potent testimony of the crime's sole eyewitness. )

puissant

powerful; strong; potent (Eg: We must keep his friendship for he will make a puissant ally. )

impuissance

powerlessness; feebleness (Eg: The lame duck President was frustrated by his shift from enormous power to relative impuissance. )

feasible

practical (Eg: )

pragmatic

practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of (Eg: something )

pragmatist

practical person (Eg: No pragmatist enjoys becoming involved in a game that he can never win )

precept

practical rule guiding conduct (Eg: "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is a worthwhile precept. )

ascetic

practicing self-denial; austere (Eg: The wealthy young man could not understand the ascetic life led by the monks. )

eulogy

praise (Eg: All the eulogies of his friends could not remove the sting of the calumny heaped upon him by his enemies. )

extol

praise; glorify (Eg: The astronauts were extolled as the pioneers of the Space Age. )

laudable

praiseworthy; commendable (Eg: His laudable deeds will be remarked by all whom he aided. )

eulogistic

praising (Eg: To everyone's surprise, the speech was eulogistic rather than critical in tone. )

encomiastic

praising; eulogistic (Eg: Some critics believe that his encomiastic statements about Napoleon were inspired by his desire for )

escapade

prank; flighty conduct (Eg: The headmaster could not regard this latest escapade as a boyish joke and expelled the young man. )

frolicsome

prankish; gay (Eg: The frolicsome puppy tried to lick the face of its master. )

antecede

precede (Eg: The invention of the radiotelegraph anteceded the development of television by a quarter of a century. )

antecedents

preceding events or circumstances that influence what comes later; early life; ancestors (Eg: Before giving permission for Drummie to marry Estella, Miss Havisham had a few questions about the )

precedent

preceding in time, rank, etc. (Eg: Our discussions, precedent to this event, certainly did not give you any reason to believe that we would )

nicety

precision; minute distinction (Eg: I cannot distinguish between such niceties of reasoning. )

impasse

predicament from which there is no escape (Eg: In this impasse, all turned to prayer as their last hope. )

prognosticate

predict (Eg: I prognosticate disaster unless we change our wasteful ways. )

foreboding

premonition of evil (Eg: Caeser ridiculed his wife's foreboding about the Ides of March. )

presentiment

premonition; foreboding (Eg: Hamlet felt a presentiment about his meeting with Laertes. )

materialism

preoccupation with physical comforts and things (Eg: By its nature, materialism is opposed to idealism, for where the materialist emphasizes the needs of the )

concoct

prepare by combining; make up in concert (Eg: How did the inventive chef ever concoct such strange dish? )

regimen

prescribed diet and habits (Eg: I doubt whether the results warrant our living under such a strict regimen. )

overweening

presumptuous; arrogant (Eg: His overweening pride in his accomplishments was not justified. )

feign

pretend (Eg: Lady Macbeth feigned illness in the courtyard although she was actually healthy. )

dissimulate

pretend; conceal by feigning (Eg: She tried to dissimulate her grief by her exuberant attitude. )

hypocritical

pretending to be virtuous; deceiving (Eg: I resent his hypocritical posing as a friend for I know he is interested only in his own advancement. )

bluff

pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff (Eg: Claire thought Lord Byron's boast that he would swim the Hellespont was just a bluff, she was astounded )

connivance

pretense of ignorance of something wrong; assistance; permission to offend (Eg: With the connivance of his friends, he plotted to embarrass the teacher. )

mode

prevailing style (Eg: She was not used to their lavish mode of living. )

endemic

prevailinig among a specific group of people or in a specific are or country (Eg: This disease is endemic in this part of the world; more than 80 percent of the population are at one time or )

forestall

prevent by taking action in advance (Eg: By setting up a prenuptial agreement, the prospective bride and groom hoped to forestall any potential )

avert

prevent; turn away (Eg: She averted her eyes from the dead cat on the highway. )

asceptic

preventing infection; having a cleansing effect (Eg: Hospitals succeeded in lowering the mortality rate as soon as they introduced asceptic conditions. )

haughtiness

pride; arrogance (Eg: I resent his haughtiness because he is no better than we are. )

conclave

private meeting (Eg: He was present at all their conclaves as an unofficial observer. )

caucus

private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy (Eg: At the opening of Congress the members of the Democratic Party held a caucus to elect the majority )

idiosyncratic

private; peculiar to an individual (Eg: Such behavior is idiosyncratic, it is as easily identifiable as a signature. )

prerogative

privilege; unquestionable right (Eg: The President cannot levy taxes; that is the prerogative of the legislative branch of government. )

dilemma

problem; choice of two unsatisfactory alternatives (Eg: In this dilemma, he knew no one to whom he could turn for advice. )

cavalcade

procession; parade (Eg: As described by Chaucer, the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was motley group. )

igneous

produced by fire; volcanic (Eg: Lava, pumice, and other igneous rocks are found in great abundance around Mount Vesuvius near Naples. )

kinetic

producing motion (Eg: Designers of the electric automobile find that their greatest obstacle lies in the development of light and )

lachrymose

producing tears (Eg: His voice has a lachrymose quality that is more appropriate at a funeral than a class reunion. )

cabal

small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests (Eg: The cabal was defeated when its scheme was discovered. )

hummock

small hill (Eg: The ascent of the hummock is not difficult and the view from the hilltop is ample reward tor the effort. )

ostentatious

showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention (Eg: Trump's latest casino in Atlantic City is the most ostentatious gambling place in the East: it easily )

scintilla

shred; least bit (Eg: You have not produced a scintilla of evidence to support your argument. )

canny

shrewd; thrifty (Eg: The canny Scotsman was more than a match for the swindlers. )

clarion

shrill, trumpetlike sound (Eg: We woke to the clarion to muffle its striking. )

cringe

shrink back, as if in fear (Eg: The dog cringed, expecting a blow. )

cower

shrink quivering, as from fear (Eg: The frightened child cowered in the corner of the room. )

dwindle

shrink; reduce (Eg: They spent so much money that their funds dwindled to nothing. )

occlude

shut; close (Eg: A blood clot occluded an artery to the heart. )

coy

shy; modest; coquettish (Eg: She was coy in her answers to his offer. )

diffidence

shyness (Eg: You must overcome your diffidence if you intend to become a salesperson. )

mawkish

sickening; insipid (Eg: Your mawkish sighs fill me with disgust. )

portent

sign; omen; forewarning (Eg: He regarded the black cloud as a portent of evil. )

import

significance (Eg: I feel that you have not grasped the full import of the message sent tous by the enemy. )

muted

silent; muffled; toned down (Eg: In the funeral parlor, the mourners' voices had a muted quality. )

inane

silly; senseless (Eg: Such comments are inane because they do not help us solve our program. )

analogy

similarity; parallelism (Eg: Your analogy is not a good one because the two situations are not similar. )

fusilade

simultaneous firing or outburs (of missiles, questions, etc.) (Eg: Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture concludes with a thunderous fusilade of cannon fire. )

incantation

singing or chanting of magical formula (Eg: Uttering incantations to make the brew more potent, the witch doctor stirred the liquid in the caldron. )

scuttle

sink (Eg: The sailors decided to scuttle their vessel rather than surrender it to the enemy. )

cynical

skeptical or distrustful of human motives (Eg: cynical at all times, he was suspicious of all altruistic actions of others. )

dexterous

skillful (Eg: The magician was so dexterous that we could not follow his movements as he performed his tricks. )

gambol

skip; leap playfully (Eg: Watching children gamboling in the park is a pleasant experience )

azure

sky blue (Eg: azure skies are indicative of good weather. )

obloquy

slander; disgrace; infamy (Eg: I resent the obloquy that you are casting upon my reputation. )

revile

slander; vilify (Eg: )

detraction

slandering; aspersion (Eg: He is offended by your frequent detractions of his ability as a leader. )

aspersion

slanderous remark (Eg: Do not cast aspersions on her character. )

argot

slang (Eg: In the argot of the underworld, she "was taken for a ride." )

oblique

slanting; deviating from the perpendicular or from a straight line (Eg: The sergeant ordered the men to march "oblique right." )

obsequious

slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic (Eg: Helen valued people who behaved as if they respected themselves; nothing irritated her more than an )

opiate

sleep producer; deadener of pain (Eg: By such opiates, she made the people forget their difficulties and accept their unpleasant circumstances. )

hibernate

sleep throughout the winter (Eg: Bears are one of the many species of animals that hibernate. )

dormant

sleeping; lethargic; torpid (Eg: Sometimes dormant talents in our friends surprise those of us who never realize how gifted our )

legerdemain

sleight of hand (Eg: The magician demonstrated his renowned legerdemain. )

peccadillo

slight offense (Eg: If we examine these escapades carefully, we will realize that they are mere peccadilloes rather than major )

hazy

slightly obscure (Eg: In hazy weather, you cannot see the top of this mountain. )

acidulous

slightly sour; sharp; caustic (Eg: James was unpopular because of his sarcastic and acidulous remarks. )

catapult

slingshot; hurling machine (Eg: Airplanes are sometimes launched from battleships by catapults. )

ramp

slope; inclined plane (Eg: The house was built with ramps instead of stairs in order to enable the man in the wheelchair to move )

incline

slope; slant (Eg: The architect recommended that the nursing home's ramp be rebuilt because its incline was too steep for )

dowdy

slovenly; untidy (Eg: She tried to change her dowdy image by buying a fashionable new wardrobe. )

decelerate

slow down (Eg: Seeing the emergency blinkers in the road ahead, he decelerated quickly. )

canter

slow gallop (Eg: Because the racehorse had outdistanced its competition so easily, the reporter wrote that the race was won )

laggard

slow; sluggish (Eg: The sailor had been taught not to be laggard in carrying out orders. )

dinghy

small boat (often ship's boat) (Eg: In the film Lifeboat, an ill-assorted group of passengers from a sunken ocean liner are marooned at sea in a )

satellite

small body revolving around a larger one (Eg: During the first few years of the Space Age, hundreds of satellites were launched by Russia and the United )

grotto

small cavern (Eg: The Blue Grotto in Capri can be entered only by small boats rowed by natives through a natural opening in )

cubicle

small chamberused for sleeping (Eg: After his many hours of intensive study in the library he retired to his cubicle. )

figurine

small ornamental statuette (Eg: In the Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade was hired to trace the missing figurine of a black bird. )

facet

small plane surface (of a gem); a side (Eg: The stonecutter decided to improve the rough diamond by providing it with several facets. )

asteroid

small planet (Eg: asteroids have become commonplace to the readers of interstellar travel stories in science fiction )

circlet

small ring; band (Eg: This tiny circlet is very costly because it is set with precious stones. )

mote

small speck (Eg: The tiniest mote in the eye is very painful. )

rivulet

small stream (Eg: As the rains continued, the trickle of water running down the hillside grew into a rivulet that threatened to )

cascade

small waterfall (Eg: )

microcosm

small world (Eg: In the microcosm of our rural village, we find illustrations of all the evils that beset the universe. )

clique

small, exclusive group (Eg: She charged that a clique had assumed control of school affairs. )

pallet

small, poor bed (Eg: The weary traveler went to sleep on his straw pallet. )

exiguous

small; minute (Eg: Grass grew there, an exiguous outcropping among the rocks. )

daub

smear (as with paint) (Eg: From the way he daubed his paint on the canvas, I could tell he knew nothing of oils. )

glossy

smooth and shining (Eg: I want this photograph printed on glossy paper, not matte. )

fluency

smoothness of speech (Eg: He spoke French with fluency and ease. )

rebuff

snub; beat back (Eg: She rebuffed his invitation so smoothly that he did not realize he had been snubbed. )

negligible

so small, trifling, or unimportant as to be easily disregarded (Eg: Because the damage to his car had been negligible, Michael decided he wouldn't bother to report the )

saturate

soak (Eg: Their clothes were saturated by the rain. )

gregarious

sociable (Eg: Typically, party-throwers are gregarious; hermits are not. )

gaffe

social blunder (Eg: According to Miss Manners, to call your husband by your lover's name is worse than a mere gaffe; it is a )

scapegoat

someone who bears the blame for others (Eg: After the Challenger disaster, NASA searched for scapegoats on whom they could cast the blame. )

glutton

someone who eats too much (Eg: When Mother saw that Bobby had eaten all the cookies, she called him a little glutton. )

malign

speak evil of; defame (Eg: Because of her hatred of the family, she maligns all who are friendly to them. )

prate

speak foolishly; boast idly (Eg: Let us not prate about our qualities; rather, let our virtues speak for themselves. )

polyglot

speaking several languages (Eg: New York City is a polyglot community because of the thousands of immigrants who settle there. )

expertise

specialized knowledge; expert skill (Eg: Although she was knowledgeable in a number of fields, she was hired for her particular expertise in )

inarticulate

speechless; producing indistinct speech (Eg: He became inarticulate with rage and uttered sounds without meaning. )

celerity

speed; rapidity (Eg: Hamlet resented his mother's celerity in remarrying within a month after his father's death. )

dispatch

speediness; prompt execution; message sent with all due speed (Eg: Young Napoleon defeated the enemy with all possible dispatch; he then sent a dispatch to headquarters, )

niggle

spend too much time on minor points; carp (Eg: Let's not niggle over details. )

regeneration

spiritual rebirth (Eg: Modern penologists strive for the regeneration of the prisoners. )

cleft

split (Eg: Erosion caused a cleft in the huge boulder. )

cleave

split asunder (Eg: The lightening cleaves the tree in two. )

polarize

split into opposite extremes or camps (Eg: The abortion issue has polarized the country into pro-choice and anti-abortion camps. )

rend

split; tear apart (Eg: In his grief, he tried to rend his garments. )

bungle

spoil by clumsy behavior (Eg: I was afraid you would bungle his assignment but I had no one else to send. )

adjutant

staff officer assisting the commander; assistant (Eg: Though Wellington delegated many tasks to his chief adjutant, Lord Fitzroy Somerset, Somerset was in no )

musty

stale; spoiled by age (Eg: The attic was dark and musty. )

scotch

stamp out; thwart; hinder (Eg: Heather tried to scotch the rumor that she had stolen her best friend's fiance. )

philatelist

stamp-collector (Eg: When she heard the value of the Penny Black stamp, Phyllis was inspired to become a philatelist. )

rout

stampede; drive out (Eg: The reinforcements were able to rout the enemy )

criteria

standards used in judging (Eg: What criteria did you use when you selected this essay as the prize winner? )

deadlock

standstill; stalemate (Eg: The negotiations had reached a deadlock. )

gawk

stare foolishly; look in open-mouthed awe (Eg: The country boy gawked at the skyscrapers and neon lights of the big city. )

kindle

start a fire; inspire (Eg: Her teacher's praise kindled a spark a hope inside her. )

inception

start; beginning (Eg: She was involved with the project from its inception. )

quirk

startling twise; caprice (Eg: By a quirk of fate, he found himself working for the man whom he had discharged years before. )

aver

state confidently (Eg: I wish to aver that I am certain of success. )

bereavement

state of being deprived of something valuable or beloved (Eg: His friends gathered to console him upon his sudden bereavement. )

immobility

state of being immovable (Eg: Modern armies cannot afford the luxury of immobility, as they are vulnerable to attack while standing still. )

impropriety

state of being inappropriate (Eg: Because of the impropriety of his costume, he was denied entrance into the dining room. )

inertia

state of being inert or indisposed to move (Eg: Our inertia in this matter may prove disastrous; we must move to aid our allies immediately. )

multiplicity

state of being numerous (Eg: He was appalled by the multuplicity of details he had to complete before setting out on his mission. )

pathos

tender to sorrow; pity; quality in art or literature that produces these feelings. (Eg: The quiet tone of pathos that ran through the novel never degenerated into the maudlin or the overly )

inclined

tending or leaning toward; bent (Eg: Though I am inclined to be skeptical, the witness's manner inclines me to believe his story. )

salutary

tending to improve; beneficial; wholesome (Eg: The punishment had a salutary effect on the boy, as he became a model student. )

inclusive

tending to include all (Eg: The comedian turned down the invitation to join the Player's Club, saying any club that would let him in )

inconsistency

state of being self-contradictory; lack of uniformity or steadiness (Eg: How are lawyers different from agricultural inspectors? Where lawyers check inconsistencies in witnesses' )

decrepitude

state of collagse caused by illness or old age (Eg: I was unprepared for the state of decrepitude in which I had found my old friend; he seemed to have aged )

responsiveness

state of reacting readily to appeals, order, etc. (Eg: The audience cheered and applauded, delighting the performers by its responsiveness. )

intransigence

state of stubborn unwillingness to compromise (Eg: The intransigence of both parties in the dispute makes an early settlement almost impossible to obtain. )

rigid

stiff and unyielding; strict; hard and unbending (Eg: By living with a man to whom she was not married, George Eliot broke Victorian society's most rigid rule )

incandescent

stikingly bright; shining with intense heat (Eg: If you leave on an incandescent light bulb, it quickly grows too hot to touch. )

extant

still in existence (Eg: Although the authorities suppressed the book, many copies are extant and may be purchased at exorbitant )

galvanize

stimulate by shock; stir up (Eg: The entire nation was galvanized into strong military activity by the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. )

centripetal

tending toward the center (Eg: Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth's surface? )

provisional

tentative (Eg: The appointment is provisional; only on the approval of the board of directors will it be made permanent. )

nomenclature

terminology; system of names (Eg: She struggled to master scientific nomenclature. )

enclave

territory enclosed within an alien land (Eg: The Vatican is an independent enclave in Italy. )

cow

terrorize; intimidate (Eg: The little boy was so cowed by the hulking bully that he gave up his lunch money without a word of )

attest

testify; bear witness (Eg: Having served as a member of a grand jury, I can attest that our system of indicting individuals is in need )

deposition

testimony under oath (Eg: He made his deposition in the judge's chamber. )

libretto

text of an opera (Eg: The composer of an opera's music is remembered more frequently than the author of its libretto. )

acrimonious

stinging, caustic (Eg: His tendency to utter acrimonious remarks alienated his audience. )

miserly

stingy; mean (Eg: The miserly old man hoarded his coins not out of prudence but out of greed. )

penurious

stingy; parsimonious (Eg: He was a penurious man, averse to spending money even for the necessities of life. )

proviso

stipulation (Eg: I am ready to accept your proposal with the two proviso that you meet your obligations within the next )

provoke

stir up anger; cause retaliation (Eg: In order to prevent a sudden outbreak of hostilities, we must not provoke our foe. )

agitate

stir up; disturb (Eg: Her fiery remarks agitated the already angry mob. )

foment

stir up; instigate (Eg: This report will foment disssension in the club. )

hoard

stockpile; accumulate for future use (Eg: Whenever there are rumors of a food shortage, people are tempted to hoard food. )

balk

stoop short, as if faced with an obstacle, and refuse to continue (Eg: The chief of police balked at sending his officers into the riot-torn area. )

check

stop motion; curb or restrain (Eg: Thrusting out her arm, Grandma checked Bobby's lunge at his sister. "Young man," she said, "you'd better )

cessation

stopping (Eg: The workers threatened a cessation of all activities if their demands were not met. )

repository

storehouse (Eg: Libraries are repositories of the world's best thoughts. )

granary

storehouse for grain (Eg: We have reason to be thankful, for our crops were good and our granaries are full. )

inclement

stormy; unkind (Eg: I like to read a good book in inclement weather. )

allegory

story in which characters are used as symbols; fable (Eg: Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory of the temptations and victories of the human soul. )

cantata

story set to music, to be sung by a chorus (Eg: The choral society sang the new cantata composed by its leader. )

raconteur

story-teller (Eg: My father was a gifted raconteur with an unlimited supply of anecdotes. )

portly

stout; corpulent (Eg: The salesclerk tactfully referred to the overweight customer as portly rather than fat. )

forthright

straightforward; direct; frank (Eg: I prefer Jill's forthright approach to Jack's tendency to beat around the bush. )

forte

strong point or special talent (Eg: I am not eager to play this rather seious role, for my forte is comedy. )

bastion

stronghold; something seen as a source of protection (Eg: The villagers fortified the town hall, hoping this improvised bastion could protect them from the guerrila )

conviction

strongly held belief (Eg: Nothing could shake his conviction that she was innocent. )

scuffle

struggle confusedly; move off in a confused hurry. (Eg: The twins briefly scuffled, wrestling to see which of them would get the toy. When their big brother yelled, )

contend

struggle; compete; assert earnestly (Eg: In Revolt of the Black Athlete, sociologist Harry Edwards contends that young black athletes have been )

obstinate

stubborn (Eg: We tried to persuade him to give up smoking, but he was obstinate and refused to change. )

bigotry

stubborn intolerance (Eg: Brought up in a democratic atmosphere, student was shocked by the bigotry and narrowness expressed by )

pertinacious

stubborn; persistent (Eg: He is bound to succeed because his pertinacious nature will not permit him to quit. )

refractory

stubborn; unmanageable (Eg: The refractory horse was eliminated from the race when he refused to obey the jockey. )

headstrong

stubborn; willful; unyielding (Eg: Because she refused to marry the man her parents had chosen for her, everyone scolded Minna and called )

perverse

stubbornly wrongheaded; wicked and unacceptable (Eg: When Hannibal Lecter was in a perverse mood, he ate the flesh of his victims. )

anthropologist

student of the history and science of humankind (Eg: Anthropologists have discovered several relics of prehistoric humans in this area. )

pore

study industriously; ponder; scrutinize (Eg: Determined to become a physician, Beth spends hours poring over her anatomy text. )

archaeology

study of artifacts and relics of early mankind (Eg: The professor of archaeology headed an expedition to the Gobi Desert in search of ancient ruins. )

ichthyology

study of fish (Eg: Jacques Cousteau's rpograms about sea life have advanced the cause of ichthyology. )

entomology

study of insects (Eg: I found entomology the least interesting part of my course in biology; studying insects bored me. )

philology

study of language (Eg: The professor of philology advocated the use of Esperanto as an international language. )

ethnology

study of mankind (Eg: Sociology is one aspect of the science of ethnology. )

paleontology

study of prehistoric life (Eg: )

etymology

study of word parts (Eg: A knowledge of etymology can help you on many English tests. )

gorge

stuff oneself (Eg: The gluttonous guest gorged himself with food as though he had not eaten for days. )

asinine

stupid (Eg: Your asinine remarks prove that you have not given this problem any serious consideration. )

dolt

stupid person (Eg: I thought I was talking to a mature audience; instead, I find myself addressing a pack of dolts. )

oaf

stupid, awkward person (Eg: He called the unfortunate waiter a clumsy oaf. )

hardy

sturdy; robust; able to stand inclement weather (Eg: We asked the gardening expert to recommend particularly hardy plants that could withstand our harsh )

cuisine

style of cooking (Eg: French cuisine is noted for its use of sauces and wines. )

rakish

stylish; sporty (Eg: He wore his hat at a rakish and jaunty angle. )

quash

subdue; crush; squash (Eg: The authorities acted quickly to quash the student rebellion, sending in tanks to cow the demonstrators. )

meek

submissive; patient and long-suffering (Eg: Mr. Barrett never expected his meek daughter would dare to defy him by eloping with her suitor. )

appurtenances

subordinate possessions (Eg: He bought the estate and all its appurtenances. )

abate

subside or moderate (Eg: Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate. )

emetic

substance causing vomiting (Eg: The use of an emetic like mustard is useful in cases of poisoning. )

humus

substance formed by decaying vegetable matter (Eg: In order to improve his garden, he spread humus over his lawn and flower beds. )

antiseptic

substance that prevents infection (Eg: It is advisable to apply an antiseptic to any wound, no matter how slight or insignificant. )

propellant

substance that propels or drives forward (Eg: The development of our missile program has forced our scientists to seek more powerful propellants. )

anesthetic

substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness (Eg: His monotonous voice acted like an anesthetic; his audience was soon asleep. )

revulsion

sudden violent change of feeling; negative reaction (Eg: Many people in this country who admired dictatorships underwent a revulsion when they realized what )

blighted

suffering from a disease; destroyed (Eg: The extent of the blighted areas could be seen only when viewed from the air. )

dyspeptic

suffering from indigestion (Eg: All the talk about rich food made him feel dyspeptic. )

bilious

suffering from indigestion; irritable (Eg: His bilious temperament was apparent to all who heard him rant about his difficulties. )

imply

suggest a meaning not expressed (Eg: Even though your statement does not declare that you are at war with that country, your actions imply that )

connotation

suggested or implied meaning of an expression (Eg: Foreigners frequently are unaware of the connotations of the words they use. )

indicative

suggestive; implying (Eg: A lack of appetite may be indicative of a major mental or physical disorder. )

potable

suitable for drinking (Eg: The recent drought in the Middle Atlantic States has emphasized the need for extensive research in ways of )

menial

suitable for sevants; low (Eg: I cannot understand why a person of your ability and talent should engage in such menial activities. )

forensic

suitable to debate or courts of law (Eg: In her best forensic manner, the lawyer addressed the jury. )

expedient

suitable; practical; politic (Eg: A pragmatic politician, he was guided by what was expedient rather than by what was ethical. )

pertinent

suitable; to the point (Eg: The lawyer wanted to know all the pertinent details. )

dour

sullen; stubborn (Eg: The man was dour abd taciturn. )

aggregate

sum; total (Eg: The aggregate wealth of this country is staggering to the imagination. )

recapitulate

summarize (Eg: Let us recapitulate what has been said thus far before going ahead. )

conjure

summon a devil; proactive magic; imagine; invent (Eg: He conjured up an image of a reformed city and had the voters completely under his spell. )

aureole

sun's corona; halo (Eg: Many medieval paintings depict saintly characters with aureols around their heads. )

perfunctory

superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm (Eg: The auditor's perfunctory inspection of the books overlooked many errors. )

redundant

superfluous; excessively wordy; repetitious (Eg: Your composition is redundant; you can easily reduce its length. )

curator

superintendent; manager (Eg: The members of the board of trustees of the museum expected the new curator to plan events and )

preponderance

superiority of power, quantity, etc. (Eg: The rebels sought to overcome the preponderance of strength of the government forces by engaging in )

codicil

supplement to the body of a will (Eg: This codicil was drawn up five years after the writing of the original will. )

litany

supplicatory prayer (Eg: On this solemn day, the congregation responded to the prayers of the priest during the litany with fervor )

satiate

surfeit; satisfy fully (Eg: The guests, having eaten until they were satiated, now listened inattentively to the speakers. )

conjecture

surmise; guess (Eg: I will end all your conjectures; I admit I am guilty as charged. )

outrtip

surpass; outdo (Eg: Jesse Owens easily outstripped his competitors to win the gold metal at the Olympic Games. )

capitulate

surrender (Eg: The enemy was warned to capitulate or face annihilation. )

extradition

surrender of prisoner by one state to another (Eg: The lawyers opposed the extradition of their client on the grounds that for more than five years he had )

disgorge

surrender something; efect; vomit (Eg: Unwilling to disgorge the cash he had stolen from the pension fund, the embezzler tried to run away. )

encompass

surround (Eg: Although we were encompassed by enemy forces, we were cheerful for we were well stocked and could )

reconnaissance

survey of enemy by soldiers; reconnoitering (Eg: If you encounter any enemy soldiers during your reconnaissance, capture them for questioning. )

relic

surviving remnant; memento (Eg: Egypt's Department of Antiquities prohibits tourists from taking mummies and other ancient relics out of )

abeyance

suspended action (Eg: The deal was held in abeyance until her arrival. )

leery

suspicious; cautious (Eg: Don't eat sushi at this restaurant; I'm a bit leery about how fresh it is. )

bravado

swagger; assumed air of defiance (Eg: )

miasma

swamp gas; heavy, vaporous atmosphere, often emanating from decaying matter; pervasive (Eg: corrupting influence )

euphony

sweet sound (Eg: Noted for its euphony even when it is spoken, the Italian language is particularly pleasing to the ear when )

dulcet

sweet sounding (Eg: The dulcet sounds of the birds at dawn were soon drowned out by the roar of traffic passing our motel. )

meteoric

swift; momentarily brilliant (Eg: We all wondered at his meteoric rise to fame. )

natation

swimming (Eg: The Red Cross emphasizes the need for courses in natation. )

bilk

swindle; cheat (Eg: The con man specialized in bilking insurance companies. )

eddy

swirling current of water, air, etc. (Eg: The water in the tide pool was still, except for an occasional eddy. )

bloated

swollen or puffed as with water or air (Eg: Her bloated stomach came from drinking so much water. )

creed

system of religious or ethical belief (Eg: In any loyal American's creed, love of democracy must be emphasized. )

dismantle

take apart (Eg: When the show closed, they dismantled the scenery before restoring it. )

doff

take off (Eg: A gentleman used to doff his hat to a lady. )

retroactive

taking effect before its enactment (as a law) or imposition (as a tax) (Eg: Because the new pension law was retroactive to the first of the year, even though Martha had retired in )

resumption

taking up again; recommencement (Eg: During the summer break, Don had not realized how much he missed university life: at the resumption of )

flair

talent (Eg: She has an uncanny flair for discovering new artists before the public has become aware of their existence. )

expatiate

talk at length (Eg: At this time, please give us a brief resume of your work; we shall permit you to expatiate later. )

drone

talk dully; buzz or murmur like a bee (Eg: On a gorgeous day, who wants to be stuck in a classroom listening to the teacher drone? )

loquacious

talkative (Eg: She is very loquacious and can speak on the telephone for hours. )

blowhard

talkative boaster (Eg: After all Sol's talk about his big show business connections led nowhere, Sally decided he was just another )

garrulity

talkativeness (Eg: The man who married a dumb wife asked the doctor to make him deaf because of his wife's garrulity after )

obelisk

tall column tapering and ending in a pyramid (Eg: Cleopatra's Needle is an obelisk in New York City's Central Park. )

palpable

tangible; easily perceptible (Eg: I cannot understand how you could overlook such a palpable blunder. )

prey

target of a hunt; victim (Eg: In Stalking the Wild Asparagus, Euell Gibbons has as his prey not wild beasts but wild plants. )

savory

tasty; pleasing, attractive, or agreeable (Eg: Julia Child's recipes enable amateur chefs to create savory delicacies for their guests. )

quip

taunt (Eg: You are unpopular because you are too free with your quips and sarcastic comments. )

brindled

tawny or grayish with streaks or spots (Eg: He was disappointed in the litter because the puppies were brindled; he had hoped for animals of uniform )

pedagogue

teacher (Eg: He could never be a stuffy pedagogue; his classes were always lively and filled with humor. )

pedagogy

teaching; art of education (Eg: Though Maria Montessori gained fame for her innovations in pedagogy, it took years before her teaching )

didactic

teaching; instructional; preaching or moralizing (Eg: The didactic qualities of his poetry overshadow its literary qualities; the lesson he teaches is more )

jettison

throw overboard (Eg: In order to enable the ship to ride safely through the storm, the captain had to jettison much of his cargo. )

fulminate

thunder; explode (Eg: The people against whom she fulminated were innocent of any wrongdoing. )

compact

tightly packed; firm; brief (Eg: His short, compact body was better suited to wrestling than to basketball. )

list

tilt; lean over (Eg: That flagpole should be absolutely vertical; instead, it lists to one side. )

heyday

time of greatest success; prime (Eg: In their heyday, the San Francisco Forty-Niners won the Super Bowl two years running. )

opportune

timely; well chosen (Eg: You have come at an opportune moment for I need a new secretary. )

gratuity

tip (Eg: Many service employees rely more on gratuities than on salaries for their livelihood. )

apex

tip; summit; climax (Eg: He was at the apex of his career. )

indefatigable

tireless (Eg: He was indefatigable in his constant efforts to raise funds for the Red Cross. )

harping

tiresome dwelling on a subject (Eg: After he had reminded me several times about what he had done for me I told him to stop his harping on )

rubric

title or heading (in red print); directions for religious ceremony; protocol (Eg: In ordaining the new priests, the bishop carefully observed all the rubrics for the ordination service. )

caption

title; chapter heading; text under illustration (Eg: I find the captions that accompany these cartoons very clever and humorous. )

commandeer

to draft for military purposes; to take for public use (Eg: The policeman commandeered the first car that approached and ordered the driver to go to the nearest )

quietude

tranquillity (Eg: He was impressed by the air of quietude and peace that pervaded the valley. )

cede

transfer; yield title to (Eg: I intend to cede this property to the city. )

rendition

translation; artistic interpretation of a song, etc. (Eg: The audience cheered enthusiastically as she completed her rendition of the aria. )

pellucid

transparent; limpid; easy to understand (Eg: After reading these stodgy philosophers, I find his pellucid style very enjoyable. )

conspiracy

treacherous plot (Eg: Brutus and Cassius joined in the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar. )

perifidious

treacherous; disloyal (Eg: When Caesar realized that Brutus had betrayed him, he reproached his perfidious friend. )

insidious

treacherous; stealthy; sly (Eg: The fifth column is insidious because it works secretly within our territory for our defeat. )

exchequer

treasury (Eg: He had been Chancellor of the exchequer before his promotion to the office he now holds. )

lionize

treat as a celebrity (Eg: )

coddle

treat gently; pamper (Eg: Don't coddle the children to much; they need a taste of discipline. )

disdain

treat with scorn or contempt (Eg: You make enemies of all you disdain. )

confidant

trusted friend (Eg: He had no confidants with whom he could discuss his problems at home. )

complaisant

trying to please; obliging (Eg: The courtier obeyed the king's orders in a complaisant manner. )

kaleidoscope

tube in which patterns made by the reflection in mirrors of colored pieces of glass, etc., (Eg: produce interesting symmetrical effects )

deflect

turn aside (Eg: His life was saved when his cigarette case deflected the bullet. )

deviate

turn away from (Eg: Do not deviate from the truth; you must face the facts. )

deify

turn into a god; idolize (Eg: Admire the rock star all you want; just don't deify him. )

petrify

turn to stone (Eg: His sudden and unexpected appearance seemed to petrify her. )

invert

turn upside down or inside out (Eg: When he inverted his body in a hand stand, he felt the blood rush to his head. )

gnarled

twisted (Eg: The gnarled oak tree had been a landmark for years and was mentioned in several deeds. )

rent

tear or rip; split (Eg: The conflict over abortion threatens to split our nation, creating a rent in the social fabric that will be )

gouge

tear out (Eg: In that fight, all the rules were forgotten; the adversaries bit, kicked, and tried to gouge each other's eyes )

badinage

teasing conversation (Eg: Her friends at work greeted the news of her engagement with cheerful badinage. )

bivouac

temporary encampment (Eg: While in bivouac, we spent the night in our sleeping bags under the stars. )

incursion

temporary invasion (Eg: The nightly incursions and hit-and-run raids of our neighbors across the border tried the patience of the )

remission

temporary moderation of disease symptoms; cancellation of a debt; forgiveness or pardon (Eg: Though Senator Tsongas had been treated for cancer, his symptoms were in remission, and he was )

scaffold

temporary platform for workers; bracing framework; platform for execution (Eg: Before painting the house, the workers put up a scaffold to allow them to work on the second story. )

reprieve

temporary stay (Eg: During the twenty-four-hour reprieve, the lawyers sought to make the stay of execution permanent. )

homeostasis

tendency of a system to maintain relative stability (Eg: A breakdown of the body's immune system severely undermines the body's ability to maintain )

cohesion

tendency to keep together (Eg: A firm believer in the maxim "Divide and conquer," the emperor, by lies and trickery, sought to disrupt the )

distortion

twisting out of shape (Eg: It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of this event because of the distortions and exaggerations )

contortions

twistings; distortions (Eg: As the effects of the opiate wore away, the contortions of the patient became more violent and )

bicameral

two-chambered, as a legislative body (Eg: The United States Congress is a bicameral body. )

ethos

underlying character of a culture, group, etc. (Eg: Seeing how tenderly Spaniards treated her small daughter made author Barbara Kingsolver aware of how )

conundrum

riddle; difficult problem (Eg: During the long car ride, she invented conundrums to entertain the children. )

equestrian

rider on horseback (Eg: These paths in the park are reserved for equestrians and their steeds. )

derision

ridicule (Eg: They greeted his proposal with derision and refused to consider it seriously. )

lampoon

ridicule (Eg: This article lampoons the pretensions of some movie moguls. )

confiscate

seize; commandeer (Eg: The army confiscated all available supplies of uranium. )

immutable

unchangeable (Eg: Scientists are constantly seeking to discover the immutable laws of nature. )

excerpt

selected passage (written or musical) (Eg: The cinematic equivalent of an excerpt from a novel is a clip from a film. )

eclectic

selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources (Eg: His style of interior decoration was eclectic: bits and pieces of furnishings from widely divergent periods, )

ambiguous

unclear or doubtful in meaning (Eg: His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take. )

invincible

unconquerable (Eg: Superman is invincible. )

indomitable

unconquerable (Eg: The founders of our country had indomitable willpower. )

insensible

unconscious; unresponsive (Eg: Sherry and I are very different; at times when I would be covered with embarrassment, she seems )

incorrigible

uncorrectable (Eg: Though Widow Douglass hoped to reform Huck, Miss Watson pronounced him incorrigible and said he )

disengage

uncouple; separate; disconnect (Eg: A standard movie routine involves the hero's desperate attempt to disengage a railroad car from a moving )

franchise

right granted by authority (Eg: The city issued a franchise to the company to operate surface transit lines on the streets for ninety-nine )

resurgent

rising again after defeat, etc. (Eg: The resurgent nation surprised everyone by its quick recovery after total defeat. )

bristling

rising like bristles; showing irritation (Eg: The dog stood there, bristling with anger. )

exposure

risk, particularly of being exposed to disease or to the elements; unmasking; act of laying (Eg: something open )

emulate

rival; imitate (Eg: As long as our political leaders emulate the virtues of the great leaders of this country, we shall flourish. )

desolate

rob of joy; lay waste to; forsake (Eg: The bandits desolated the countryside, burning farms and carrying off the harvest. )

fleece

rob; plunder (Eg: The tricksters fleeced him of his inheritance. )

leeway

room to move; margin (Eg: When you set a deadline, allow a little leeway. )

extirpate

root up (Eg: The Salem witch trials were a misguided attempt to extirpate superstition and heresy. )

roseate

rosy; optimistic (Eg: I am afraid you will have to alter your roseate views in the light of the distressing news that has just arrived. )

carrion

rotting flesh of a dead body (Eg: Buzzards are nature's scavengers; they eat the carrion left behind by other predators. )

gruff

rough-mannered (Eg: Although he was blunt and gruff with most people, he was always gentle with children. )

circuitous

roundabout (Eg: Because of the traffic congestion on the main highways, she took a circuitous route. )

rotundity

roundness; sonorousness of speech (Eg: Washington Irving emphasized the rotundity of the governor by describing his height and circumference. )

regal

royal (Eg: Prince Albert had a regal manner. )

efface

rub out (Eg: The coin had been handled so many times that its data had been effaced. )

abrasive

rubbing away; tending to grind down (Eg: Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear away a listener's )

debris

rubble (Eg: A full year after the earthquake in Mexico City, workers were still carting away the debris. )

boorish

rude; insensitive (Eg: Though Mr. Potts constantly interrupted his wife, she ignored his boorish behavior, for she had lost hope )

dilapidated

ruined because of neglect (Eg: We felt that the dilapidated building needed several coats of paint. )

domineer

rule over tyrannically (Eg: Students prefer teachers who guide, not ones who domineer. )

pastoral

rural (Eg: In these stories of pastoral life, we find an understanding of the daily tasks of country folk. )

bucolic

rustic; pastoral (Eg: )

disconcolate

sad (Eg: The death of his wife left him disconsolate. )

funereal

sad; solemn (Eg: I fail to understand why there is such a funereal atmosphere; we have lost a battle, not a war. )

jocular

said or done in jest (Eg: Do not take my jocular remarks seriously. )

emolument

salary; compensation (Eg: In addition to the emolument this position offers, you must consider the social prestige it carries with it. )

dearth

scarcity (Eg: The dearth of skilled labor compelled the employers to open trade schools. )

paucity

scarcity (Eg: They closed the restaurant because the paucity of customers made it uneconomical to operate. )

intersperse

scatter (Eg: The molecules will intersperse throughout the space according to the second law of thermodynamics. )

disperse

scatter (Eg: The police fired tear gas into crowd to disperse the protesters. )

disseminate

scatter (like seeds) (Eg: The invention of the radio helped propagandists to disseminate their favorite doctrines very easily. )

dispel

scatter; drive away; cause to vanish (Eg: The bright sunlight eventually dispelled the morning mist. )

machinations

schemes (Eg: I can see through your wily machinations. )

savant

scholar (Eg: Our faculty includes many worldfamous savants. )

pedant

scholar who overemphasizes book learning or technicalities (Eg: Her insistence that the book be memorized marked the teacher as a pedant rather than a scholar. )

conservatory

school of the fine arts (especiallymusic or drama) (Eg: A gifted violinist, Marya was selected to study at the conservatory. )

jurisprudence

science of law (Eg: He was more a student of jurisprudence than a practitioner of the law. )

reserve

self-control; formal but distant manner (Eg: Although some girls were attracted by Mark's reserve, Judy was put off by it, for she felt his aloofness )

postulate

self-evident truth (Eg: We must accept these statements as postulates before pursuing our discussions any further. )

axiom

self-evident truth requiring no proof (Eg: Before a student can begin to think along the lines of Euclidean geometry, he must accept certain )

autonomous

self-governing (Eg: This island is a colony; however, in most matters, it is autonomous and receives no orders from the mother )

gastronomy

science of preparing and serving good food (Eg: One of the by-products of his trip to Europe was his interest in gastronomy; he enjoyed preparing and )

ornithologist

scientific student of birds (Eg: Auduborn's drawings of American bird life have been of interest not only to the ornithologists but also to )

deride

scoff at (Eg: The people derided his grandiose schemes. )

chide

scold (Eg: Grandma began to chide Steven for his lying. )

berate

scold strongly (Eg: He feared she would berate him for his forgetfulness. )

rail

scold; rant (Eg: You may rail at him all you want; you will never change him. )

despise

scorn (Eg: I despise your attempts at a reconciliation at this time and refuse to meet you. )

contempt

scorn; disdain (Eg: )

sarcasm

scornful remarks, stinging rebuke (Eg: His feelings were hurt by the sarcasm of his supposed friends. )

glower

scowl (Eg: The angry boy glowered at his father. )

conscientious

scrupulous; careful (Eg: A conscientious editor checked every definition for its accuracy. )

hermetic

sealed by fusion so as to be airtight (Eg: After these bandages are sterilized, they are placed in hermetic containers. )

condiments

seasonings; spices (Eg: Spanish food is full of condiments. )

avocation

secondary or minor occupation (Eg: His hobby proved to be so fascinating and profitable that gradually he abandoned his regular occupation )

clandestine

secret (Eg: After avoiding their chaperon, the lovers had a clandestine meeting. )

cipher

secret code (Eg: Lacking his code book, the spy was unable to decode the message sent to him in cipher. )

crypt

secret recess or vault usually used for burial (Eg: Until recently only bodies of rulers and leading statesmen were interred in this crypt. )

covert

secret; hidden; implied (Eg: She could understand the covert threat in the letter. )

privy

secret; hidden; not public (Eg: We do not care for privy chamber of government. )

arcane

secret; mysterious (Eg: What was arcane to us was clear to the psychologist. )

anchor

secure or fasten firmly; be fixed in place (Eg: We set the post in concrete to anchor it in place. )

inviolability

security from being destroyed, corrupted or profaned (Eg: They respected the inviolability of her faith and did not try to change her manner of living. )

collateral

security given for loan (Eg: The sum you wish to borrow is so large that it must be secured by collateral. )

dregs

sediment; worthless residue (Eg: David poured the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the dregs. )

aspirant

seeker after position or status (Eg: Although I am as aspirant for public office, I am not willing to accept the dictates of the party bosses. )

pomposity

self-important behavior; acting like a stuffed shirt (Eg: Although the commencement speaker had some good things to say, we had to laugh at his pomposity and )

penance

self-imposed punishment for sin (Eg: The Ancient Mariner said, "I have penance done and penance more will do," to atone for the sin of killing )

continence

self-restraint; sexual chastity (Eg: She vowed to lead a life of continence. )

complacent

self-satisfied (Eg: There was a complacent look on his face as he examined his paintings. )

emancipate

set free (Eg: At first, the attempts of the Abolitioninst to emancipate the slaves were unpopular in New England as well )

carillon

set of bells capable of being played (Eg: The carillon in the bell tower of the Coca-Cola pavilion at the New York World's Fair provided musical )

mediate

settle a dispute through the services of an outsider (Eg: Let us mediate out differences rather than engage in a costly strike. )

liquidate

settle accounts; clear up (Eg: He was able to liquidate all his debts in short period of time. )

ensconce