JUNE 11

profundity

n: quality or state of being profound

adversary

n: someone who offers opposition

diffuse

n: to spread or pour out

addles, confident, reveal

*addle:* v-to make confused Psychologists have found that while caffeine facilitates women's brainpower when they are stressed, it addles men, who become less confident and take longer to complete tasks after a cup of coffee. Thus the study of coffee's effects of men and women may reveal underlying differences in how the gender's react to stress.

flippant, esteem, insolence

*flippant*: adj- disrespectful *esteem*: n- respect, admiration, approval ~*aplomb*: n-self confidence, assurance *insolence*: rude The college student's *flippant* remarks to her professor, made in a brazen and misguided attempt to garner *esteem* from her peers, met with unintended consequences when she was banished from the classroom for her *insolence.*

incorrigible, expelling, indelible

*indelible:* v: making marks that cannot be erased or removed, cannot be forgotten *florid:* adj: rosy, excessively ornate, showy *revile:* v-to assault with contempuous language, to speak abusively The principal ultimately decided that the oft-admonished student was *incorrigible*; therefore, she punished his most recent infraction by *expelling* him. This removal clearly left an *indelible* impression on all of the rest of the students at the high school, as no one attempted any similar acts of misbehavior again.

noxious, fetid

*noxious:* n- harmful or injurious to death, well being *fetid:* n-having an offensive odor, stinking *fervid:* n-heated in enthusiasm or spirit, burning *inert:* adj- having no ability to react Notwithstanding the _____ fumes coming from the basement, the old, stately Victorian seemed to be the most promising on the block. Answers: *noxious,* *fetid*

sinecure

*sinecure:*- n: office or position requiring little or no work, esp one yielding profitable returns His new job proved to be a *sinecure*; he was not required to do any actual work.

fickle, volatile

*volatile:* adj- explosive, changeable, mercurial *verbose:* adj-wordy Steven had a _______ sense of fashion. One day he would show up to work in a dapper three-piece suit, while the next day he would appear in black jeans, a shabby T-shirt, and red suspenders. Answers: *fickle,* *volatile*

poignant, felicitous

As she stepped down from the podium, the candidate was lauded by an enthusiastic audience of supporters who were gratified not only by the fervency of her delivery but also by the _____ words of her speech writer. *fervency*: having or showing great warmth or intensity, spirit, ardent Answers: poignant, felicitous *stentorian*: loud or powerful in sound *felicitous*: appropriate

sclerotic

At one time versatile, responding to the community's needs in very little time, the environmental management bureau has long since become *sclerotic, ossified* and largely unresponsive to even its own internal needs. sclerotic: hardened (sclerosis) pillory: wooden instrument of punishment, punish or citicize violently

respite

For Nancy, teatime was no mere *respite*: she was so persnickety that each step of the process—heating, steeping, and stirring—was executed with the solemnity and exactitude of a surgeon. duress: compulsory force or threat gambit: move in chess, opening remark intended to secure advantage for speaker

politic, prudent

Journalists writing under oppressive regimes face a challenging dilemma: uncovering incriminating facts is rarely *politic, prudent* from the standpoint of self-preservation, but ignoring the dictates of conscience compromises the ideals of objective reporting. prudent: careful and sensible politic: smoothly agreeable with degree of sophistication

chimera

The incumbent was so roundly trounced in the latest polls that any notion he had at winning the election was illusory, nothing more than a *chimera.* chimera: grotesque product of the imagination folly: quality of being foolish or rash, silly mistake trounce: defeat heavily

cavalier, blasé

Whether bottled water is healthier than non-bottled water is moot from an ecological standpoint - the hazard discarded plastic bottles pose to the environment clearly suggests we should be less *cavalier, blasé* about our unbridled consumption. blasé: nonchalantly unconcerned cavalier: given to haughty disregard of others vigilant: carefully observant or attentive, on the lookout for possible danger

agog, tempered with

With numerous exciting public works projects in the offing, residents are understandably *agog* ; yet because such prodigious undertakings are inevitably plagued with numerous setbacks, much of the fervor is likely to be (ii) *tempered with* a heavy dose of reality. agog: highly excited vexed: troubled persistently esp with petty annoyances tempered with: make resilient, adjusted by adding counterbalancing element

authoritarian

adj: exercising almost complete control (or complete) over the will of another

resolute

adj: firmly resolved or determined, set in purpose or opinion, characterized by firmness

ebullient

adj: joyously unrestrained

protracted

adj: long in duration

astute

adj: marked by practical hard headed intelligence

illiberal

adj: narrow-minded, bigot, not generous in giving

immutable

adj: not mutable or changeable

trifling

adj: not worth considering n: deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working In his critique of the student's *probing* essay, the writing instructor mostly focused on*trifling* details, leading many in the class to believe he was either oblivious to the subtleties of the piece or simply envious of the student.

residual

adj: remaining after quantity is gone quantity remaining after other things have been taken into account

tendentiousness

adj: showing or having definite tendency or bias

deft

adj: skill and cleverness quick in one's movements

acquistive

adj: tending to seek or acquire

fulsome,

adj: unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech The critics were so *fulsome* in their praise that Scheinhauer, a librettist known to become squeamish after a light smattering of applause, retreated from public view.

circumspect

adj: watchful, cautious, discreet, well considered

maladroitness, beguile

beguile: v- charm, enchant sometimes pleasantly Because we assume the *maladroitness* of natural design, nature can often *beguile* us: as the Wright brothers noted, the birds initially misled them in almost every particular, but their Flyer eventually succeeded by being the least avian of the early flying machines.

sanctioned, ebb

ebb: v-fall back, gradual decline, outward flow Unless the current practice of deforestation is *sanctioned* by no less than a global committee, the world's biodiversity will continue to*ebb*, robbing posterity of potential pharmacological breakthroughs.

anachronism

n: someone/thing not in correct historical or chronological time, belonging to an earlier period, not in correct place

syntactical, syntax

n: study of rules for formation of sentences

philistine

n: a person who is uninterested in intellectual pursuits adj: smug and ignorant and indifferent or hostile to artistic and cultural values Thumbing his nose with equal derision at Mozart as he did at Monet, Thomas was an avowed *philistine*, treating all arts with contempt.

pellucidity

n: clear, allowing maximum passage of light

disapprobation

n: disapproval, condemnation

dispatch

n: dispose of rapidly and without delay and efficiently, kill quickly Gearing up for the 2008 Olympics, the city of Beijing worked with impressive *dispatch*: the National Stadium, colloquially referred to as the Bird's Nest, a work of such grandiosity that most municipalities would have labored five years to complete, was finished in less than half that time. repute: v-look on as or consider, n-state of being held in high esteem and honor

schism

n: division

solicitude

n: feeling of excessive concern

probity

n: integrity, honesty

misnomer

n: misapplied or inappropriate name or designation

modicum

n: moderate or small ant

foreground

n: prominent position, forefront, grounds situated in the front or portion nearest the viewer

unseemly, sordid

sordid: adj-unethical, dishonest, repulsive, meanly avaricious and mercenary The marriage between the duke and the duchess was a(n) *sordid, unseemly* affair, one that quickly devolved into public altercations operatic in scope.

shirk

shirk: v-avoid or neglect Alkan steadfastly refused to *shirk* her responsibilies as an author: for her an author had to be fearless and committed, and she always was both.

shrewd, acumen

shrewd: adj-having good judgment, astute ~cold weather acumen: ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, esp in particular domain

hew

v: adhere to Vascoux, in not exclusively *hewing* the tenets of modern jazz, imbues his trumpet playing with a pathos reminiscent of the Romantic composers.

politicize

v: make someone politically aware, esp by showing them the truth of views considered radical

obviate

v: remove, avoid, prevent

hyperbolize

v: representing something as better, worse, or larger than it is

brandish

v: to shake or wave as a weapon, flourish

flout

v: to treat with contempt or scorn