Magoosh Common Words List 6/6

ignominious

adjective: (used of conduct or character) deserving or bringing disgrace or shame Synonyms : black , disgraceful , inglorious , opprobrious , shameful Since the politician preached ethics and morality, his texting of revealing photographs was ignominious, bringing shame on both himself and his party.

economical

adjective: avoiding waste, efficient Synonyms : frugal , scotch , sparing , stinting Journalists favor an economical style of writing, in which no unnecessary words are used and every sentence is as short as possible.

specious

adjective: based on pretense; deceptively pleasing Synonyms : gilded , meretricious Almost every image on TV is specious and not to be trusted. adjective: plausible but false Synonyms : spurious He made a career out of specious arguments and fictional lab results, but lost his job and reputation when his lies were exposed by an article in The New York Times.

maladroit

adjective: clumsy As a child she was quite maladroit, but as an adult, she has become an adept dancer. This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

esoteric

adjective: confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle Map collecting is an esoteric hobby to most, but to geography geeks it is a highly enjoyable pasttime.

arduous

adjective: demanding considerable mental effort and skill; testing powers of endurance Synonyms : straining , strenuous In order to deal with the arduous cross-country journey, truck drivers often survive on a string of caffeinated drinks, staying awake for up to 30 hours at a time.

stringent

adjective: demanding strict attention to rules and procedures Synonyms : rigorous , tight Most of the students disliked the teacher because of his stringent homework policy, but many students would later thank him for demanding so much from them.

capricious

adjective: determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason Synonyms : impulsive , whimsical Nearly every month our capricious CEO had a new plan to turn the company around, and none of them worked because we never gave them the time they needed to succeed.

edifying

adjective: enlightening or uplifting so as to encourage intellectual or moral improvement Synonyms : enlightening I recently read an article in the Times about whether good literature is edifying or not; specifically, does reading more make a person more moral.

pejorative

adjective: expressing disapproval (usu. refers to a term) Synonyms : dislogistic , dyslogistic Most psychologists object to the pejorative term "shrink", believing that they expand the human mind, not limit it. This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

impartial

adjective: free from undue bias or preconceived opinions Synonyms : unprejudiced The judge was not impartial since he had been bribed by the witness's family.

jovial

adjective: full of or showing high-spirited merriment Synonyms : gay , jocund , jolly , merry , mirthful The political candidate and his supporters were jovial once it was clear that she had won.

deleterious

adjective: harmful to living things Synonyms : hurtful , injurious The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was deleterious to the fishing industry in the southern states.

erudite

adjective: having or showing profound knowledge Synonyms : learned Before the Internet, the library was typically were you would find erudite readers.

transient

adjective: lasting a very short time Synonyms : ephemeral , fugacious , passing , short-lived , transitory The unpredictable and transient nature of deja vu makes it a very difficult phenomenon to study properly.

furtive

adjective: marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed Synonyms : sneak , sneaky , stealthy , surreptitious While at work, George and his boss Regina felt the need to be as furtive as possible about their romantic relationship.

indecorous

adjective: not in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in polite society Synonyms : indecent , unbecoming , uncomely , unseemly , untoward Eating with elbows on the table is considered indecorous in refined circles.

imprudent

adjective: not wise Hitler, like Napoleon, made the imprudent move of invading Russia in winter, suffering even more casualties than Napoleon had.

fastidious

adjective: overly concerned with details; fussy Synonyms : exacting Whitney is fastidious about her shoes, arranging them on a shelf in a specific order, each pair evenly spaced.

craven

adjective: pathetically cowardly Synonyms : recreant Though the man could have at least alerted the police, he crouched cravenly in the corner as the old woman was mugged.

efficacious

adjective: producing the intended result Synonyms : effective , effectual Since Maggie's cough syrup, which had expired five years back, was no longer efficacious, she coughed through the night.

mundane

adjective: repetitive and boring; not spiritual Nancy found doing dishes a thorougly mundane task, although Peter found a kind of Zen pleasure in the chore. adjective: relating to the ordinary world Synonyms : terrene Though we think of the pope as someone always dealing in holy matters, he is also concerned with mundane events, such as deciding when to set his alarm each morning.

sullen

adjective: showing a brooding ill humor Synonyms : dark , dour , glowering , glum , moody , morose , saturnine , sour Herbert took board games too seriously, often appearing sullen after losing.

timorous

adjective: timid by nature or revealing fear and nervousness Synonyms : fearful , trepid Since this was her first time debating on stage and before an audience, Di's voice was timorous and quiet for the first 10 minutes.

harried

adjective: troubled persistently especially with petty annoyances Synonyms : annoyed , harassed , pestered , vexed With a team of new hires to train, Martha was constantly harried with little questions and could not focus on her projects.

dispassionate

adjective: unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice Synonyms : cold-eyed A good scientist should be dispassionate, focusing purely on what the evidence says, without personal attachment.

dilatory

adjective: wasting time Synonyms : laggard , pokey , poky Lawyers use dilatory tactics so that it takes years before the case is actually decided.

askance

adverb: with a look of suspicion or disapproval The old couple looked askance on the teenagers seated next to them, whispering to each other, "They've got rings through their noses and purple hair!"

flux

noun: a state of uncertainty about what should be done (usually following some important event) Ever since Elvira resigned as the head of marketing, everything about our sales strategy has been in a state of flux. This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

polemic

noun: a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something. The professor launched into a polemic, claiming that Freudian theory was a pack of lies that absolutely destroyed European literary theory. This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

nuance

noun: a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude Synonyms : nicety , refinement , shade , subtlety Because of the nuances involved in this case, I hired an outside consultant to advice us and help.

banality

noun: a trite or obvious remark Synonyms : bromide , cliche , commonplace , platitude Herbert regarded the minister's remark as a mere banality until Sharon pointed out profound implications to the seemingly obvious words.

antipathy

noun: an intense feeling of dislike or aversion Synonyms : aversion , distaste Maria had an antipathy for tour groups, often bolting to the other side of the museum as soon as she saw a chaperone leading a group of wide-eyed tourists.

duress

noun: compulsory force or threat The witness said he signed the contract under duress and argued that the court should cancel the agreement.

maverick

noun: someone who exhibits great independence in thought and action Synonyms : rebel Officer Kelly was a maverick, rarely following police protocols or adopting the conventions for speech common among his fellow officers.

anomaly

noun: something that is not normal, standard, or expected After finding an anomaly in the data, she knew that she would have to conduct her experiment again.

contrition

noun: the feeling of remorse or guilt that comes from doing something bad Synonyms : attrition , contriteness Those who show contrition during their prison terms--especially when under review by a parole board--often get shortened sentences.

mendacity

noun: the tendency to be untruthful I can forgive her for her mendacity but only because she is a child and is seeing what she can get away with.

opulence

noun: wealth as evidenced by sumptuous living Synonyms : luxuriousness , luxury , sumptuousness Russian oligarchs are famous for their opulence, living in fancy homes and dining on expensive cavier.

posit

verb: assume as fact Synonyms : postulate Initially, Einstein posited a repulsive force to balance Gravity, but then rejected that idea as a blunder.

elicit

verb: call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses) Synonyms : arouse , enkindle , evoke , fire , kindle , provoke , raise Just smiling-even if you are depressed--can elicit feelings of pleasure and happiness.

placate

verb: cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of Synonyms : appease , assuage , conciliate , gentle , gruntle , lenify , mollify , pacify I was able to placate the angry mob of students by promising to bring cookies on Monday.

disseminate

verb: cause to become widely known Synonyms : broadcast , circularise , circularize , circulate , diffuse , disperse , distribute , pass around , propagate , spread Before the effects of anaethesia were disseminated, patients had to experience the full pain of a surgery.

rebuke

verb: criticize severely or angrily; censure Synonyms : bawl out , berate , call down , call on the carpet , chew out , chew up , chide , dress down , have words , jaw , lambast , lambaste , lecture , rag , remonstrate , reprimand , reproof , scold , take to task , trounce The police chief rebuked the two officers whose irresponsible decisions almost led to the deaths of seven innocent by-standers.

misconstrue

verb: interpret in the wrong way Synonyms : be amiss , misapprehend , misconceive , misinterpret , misunderstand The politician never trusted journalists because he though that they misconstrue his words and misrepresent his positions.

appease

verb: pacify by acceding to the demands of Synonyms : assuage , conciliate , gentle , gruntle , lenify , mollify , pacify , placate Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister during WWII, tried to appease Hitler and in doing so sent a clear message: you can walk all over us.

truncate

verb: reduce the length of something The soccer game was truncated when the monsoon rain began to fall.

bolster

verb: support and strengthen The case for the suspect's innocence was bolstered considerably by the fact that neither fingerprints nor DNA were found at the scene. Synonyms : bolster up This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

reproach

verb: to express criticism towards Synonyms : upbraid At first, Sarah was going to yell at the boy, but she didn't want to reproach him for telling the truth about the situation.

nonplussed

verb: unsure how to act or respond Shirley was totally nonplussed when the angry motorist cut her off and then stuck his finger out the window.