Manhattan Prep GRE - Advanced Words

hermetic

(ad) impervious, sealed, tight, waterproof, impermeable Airtight, sealed, isolated; reclusive; pertaining to alchemy, occult The still head and still body must have a hermetic seal.

syntax

(adj) The rules governing grammar and how words join to make sentences (or how words and symbols join in writing computer code), the study of these rules, or any system or orderly arrangement Since the candidate did not get his speech reviewed, he missed many syntax errors and confused the audience with his puzzling statements.

hapless

(adj) Unlucky, unfortunate, or inauspicious having no luck; unfortunate if you're one of the many hapless car buyers who've been shafted

metaphysical

(adj) abstract, esoteric, mystical, philosophical Concerned with abstract thought, related to metaphysics (branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the nature of being and of the world); very subtle or abstruse Mediation between Christianity and Greek philosophy must substitute a metaphysical Plato for an aporetic (skeptical) inquiring Socrates.

providential

(adj) accidental, lucky, fortuitous occurring at a favorable time; opportune; Lucky, fortunate, or relating to divine care (the idea that a deity has helped or cared for a person) It was providential that we missed the train that derailed.

acidulous

(adj) acerbic, piquant, pungent Slightly acid or sour; sharp or caustic Jim apologized because he didn't realize his comment was [-----] and hurtful to Rachel.

pungent

(adj) acrid, aromatic, bitter, sour, spicy, piquant Having a sharp taste or smell; biting, stimulating, sharp When the pungent smell of rotten eggs filled the house, I held my nose.

propitious

(adj) advantageous, opportune, beneficial, benign Favorable, giving good signs for the future, likely to work out; kind or forgiving The beautiful Hawaiian weather made it propitious for sun bathing yesterday.

mannered

(adj) affected, ceremonious, high-toned Having a particular manner, esp. an artificial one There was neither method nor nearly enough madness in the mannered performances.

hotly

(adj) agitatedly, breathlessly, eagerly In an intense, fiery, or heated way The issue of how evolution should be taught in schools was hotly disputed by members of the school board, religious leaders, and parent groups.

beneficent

(adj) altruistic, benevolent, benign, compassionate, philanthropic doing good or causing good to be done; conferring benefits; kindly in action or purpose. Because Hank is a [-----] man who never refuses a friend, nearly a hundred people visited him while he was in the hospital.

hoary

(adj) ancient, antiquated, timeworn, gray Very old, gray or white as from old age that hoary American notion that bigger is better

seraphic

(adj) angelic, heavenly, pure, sublime Like an angel; serene, spiritually carried off or transported As soon as I heard the seraphic voices of the kids' choir, I started to sob.

grating

(adj) annoying, irritating, exasperating Irritating; harsh or discordant (of a noise); scraping After a few seconds, a harsh grating voice came out of the speakers above the door.

inimical

(adj) antagonistic, contrary, adverse, hostile Hostile, adverse, harmful The important question is what can be done to counter political attacks which are inimical to the effective operation of the judicial system?

felicitous

(adj) appropriate, suitable, apt, expedient, applicable, apposite Admirably appropriate, very well-suited for the occasion; pleasant, fortunate, marked by happiness By adding the festive decorations, you have turned this dull room into a felicitous area.

fervid

(adj) ardent, fervent, passionate, spunky, fiery Very hot; heated in passion or enthusiasm Imagine stopping right in the middle of your fervid workday and taking a three-hour break.

ersatz

(adj) artificial, counterfeit, fake, imitation, substitute, synthetic Artificial, synthetic; being an inferior substitute Most books with names like this one are inferior works filled with an ersatz cynicism that pales beside the real article.

monastic

(adj) ascetic, austere, secluded, solitary Relating to or resembling a monastery (where monks or nuns live), esp. by being quiet, secluded, contemplative, strict, and/or lacking luxuries For the new monks who had recently joined the monastery, the monastic lifestyle was quite shocking.

perfunctory

(adj) automatic, unthinking, sketchy, superficial done routinely and with little interest or care When we went out to dinner last night, the bored hostess gave us a perfunctory hello.

noisome

(adj) bad, nasty, foul, Offensive, disgusting; harmful The bar was noisome and smelly, the stench of unwashed bodies and foul beer mingling with the rotten fish smell of the port.

fledgling

(adj) beginner in activity, callow, punk, greenhorn, learner A young bird that has just recently gotten its feathers, an inexperienced person (noun); new or inexperienced (adj) Since James and I have only a fledgling relationship, I am not going to buy a wedding dress yet.

truculent

(adj) belligerent, hateful, abusive, aggressive Fierce, cruel, savage; belligerent My truculent boyfriend is in a bad mood because I did not respond to his text message last night. If your dream is to be a police officer, then you must work on your quick-temper and stop being so truculent.

tendentious

(adj) biased, prejudicial, partial Marked by a strong point of view, biased The president was tendentious on his plan for the company and would not listen to other options. Because my father is tendentious on the subject of interracial relationships, he will not acknowledge my black boyfriend.

stentorian

(adj) blaring, sonorous, orotund incredibly loud and powerful (generally of a human voice) The stentorian music was so loud it made my head hurt. During boot camp, we were often awakened by the stentorian voice of our drill sergeant.

plucky

(adj) brave, courageous, intrepid, heroic brave and spirited; courageous The plucky preschooler stood up to the bully who was taking his friend's lunch.

terse

(adj) brief, short, brusque, concise Concise, brief and to the point (sometimes to the point of rudeness) When Jessie is angry, she only gives terse responses.

discordant

(adj) cacophonous, clashing, dissonant Harsh or inharmonious in sound; disagreeing, incongruous Although Janice has been taking singing lessons for over a year, she still sounds [-----] every time she performs.

imperturbable

(adj) calm, self-controlled, serene, placid, equanimous, stolid Calm, not able to be upset or agitated But the square looks in on itself, exuding an air of imperturbable gentility.

fractious

(adj) capricious, whimsical, cranky Unruly, troublemaking; irritable The inexperienced teacher found the fractious students difficult to control.

circumspect

(adj) careful, cautious, prudent, wary, discreet, deliberate, guarded Cautious, prudent; careful to consider the circumstances and consequences Jack found himself [-----] of dating a woman he hardly knew.

fastidious

(adj) careful, meticulous, discriminating, exacting Excessively particular, difficult to please; painstaking, meticulous, requiring excessive attention to detail Denis chooses his words with fastidious care

wanton

(adj) careless, capricious, extravagant Reckless, vicious, without regard for what is right; unjustifiable, deliberately done for no reason at all; sexually unrestrained or excessively luxurious The wanton destruction of the historic church drew outrage from all over the country. Although Frank is usually a caring person, he exhibits a wanton personality and overlooks the feelings of others when he drinks too much beer.

acerbic

(adj) caustic, acrid, sharp, harsh, acidic our; harsh or severe After John heard his teacher's [-----] comments, he was not motivated to complete his project.

infallible

(adj) certain, dependable, authoritative, flawless unbeatable incapable of making mistakes or being wrong You need to bear in mind that your judgment is not always infallible .

winsome

(adj) charming, appealing, captivating, delightful, engaging Charming, engaging, esp. in a sweet and innocent way winsomely adverb a winsomely written story — winsomeness noun [noncount] He had a winsome, boyish smile.

tawdry

(adj) cheap, tasteless, vulgar Gaudy, cheap or cheap-looking; indecent Although Aunt Eloise had lots of money, she always wore such tawdry jewerly.

blithe

(adj) cheerful, merry, resilient, sanguine Joyous, merry; excessively carefree (so as to ignore more important concerns) For such a [-----] spirit, he certainly has a keen sense of the tragic.

puerile

(adj) childish, crude, immature Juvenile, immature If you behave in a puerile manner during a job interview, the interviewer will think you are very childish.

pellucid

(adj) clear, understandable, obvious, comprehensible, intelligible, transparent Transparent, translucent; clear, easy to understand When the president broadcast his budget plan for the country, he revealed a pellucid plan that was clearly outlined.

repertorial

(adj) collection Pertaining to a repertory or repertoire, a stock of available things or a number of theatrical performances presented regularly or in sequence is of or relating to all the plays, songs, operas, or other works collectively that a company, actor, singer, dancer, etc, has prepared and is competent to perform. This is perhaps the most repertorial collection of music about sports ever put on disc.

plebian

(adj) colloquial, indigenous, common not worthy of the upper classes; ordinary, common people of ancient Rome The millionaire called the hotel a plebeian accommodation because it did not offer room service.

wan

(adj) colorless, weak, pale Unnaturally pale, or showing some other indication of sickness, unhappiness, etc.; weak, lacking forcefulness Although the toddler was quite ill, he still managed to give his mother a wan smile. Bill's parents thought he was abusing drugs because of his wan complexion.

laudable

(adj) commendable, praiseworthy, meritorious Worthy of praise and honor Senior officers in the transport department agree that Minister's intention may be laudable .

nontrivial

(adj) compelling, important, momentous Important or big enough to matter The chief of staff told the assembled doctors, "We all make mistakes. But this mistake was nontrivial, and there is going to be an investigation."

irascible

(adj) crabby, cantankerous, cranky, grouchy, surly, testy irritable; easily angered Her irascible temper frightened me.

dyspeptic

(adj) crabby, mean, grouchy, irritable, ornery Grumpy, pessimistic, irritable; suffering from dyspepsia (indigestion), irritable and bad-tempered His [-----] attitude was in full force as he snapped at his employees for minor errors.

inexorable

(adj) cruel, pitiless, implacable, merciless Relentless, unyielding; not moved by pleading There is no inexorable logic dictating that the media must undermine the independence of the spheres of art and culture.

furtive

(adj) cunning, sly, tricky, artful, crafty Done secretly; stealthy, sly, shifty Though he was furtive with his tears, I could still visibly see them.

diurnal

(adj) daily, regular, routine, day-to-day, cyclic Occurring every day; happening in the daytime (rather than at night) energetic during the daylight hours In the desert, there are few [-----] animals because of the high daytime temperatures.

florid

(adj) decorative, flamboyant, ornate, sonorous Reddish or rosy; flowery, showy, or excessively fancy Her face is florid because she just returned from a two week vacation in Miami.

mired

(adj) delay, stick, tangle Stuck, entangled (in something, like a swamp or muddy area), soiled As the election neared, the candidate found himself is mired in scandal that decreased his poll numbers.

disparate

(adj) different, contrasting, discordant dissimilar very different from each other When a husband and wife have such [-----] incomes, there can often be some degree of resentment in the marriage.

assiduous

(adj) diligent, persevering, meticulous, thorough, sedulous showing hard work and care that is brought about by attention to detail If you want to become a great piano player, you must be [-----] and practice often.

politic

(adj) discerning, penetrating, shrewd, astute Shrewd, pragmatic; tactful or diplomatic And very smart and very politic , she was clad in white as sailors who were lining the deck - they were holding California flags and symbolizing their new home.

lugubrious

(adj) dismal, bleak, dreary, gloomy, mournful Mournful, gloomy (sometimes in an exaggerated way) I think it's better to be a little bit humorous, not just lugubrious if you can help it.

licentious

(adj) dissolute, libertine, immoral Sexually unrestrained; immoral; ignoring the rules Take the measure of any season - none of them turns up more coconut oil, string bikinis and licentious behavior than summer.

discrete

(adj) distinct, detached, separate Separate, distinct, detached, existing as individual parts Brown and white rice are two [-----] varieties.

multifarious

(adj) diverse, various, sundry Diverse, having a lot of variety You handle multifarious activity with wisdom and good judgment.

variegated

(adj) diversified; varicolored, assorted Varied in color, having multicolored patches or spots; diverse Some horses have variegated coats that feature spots of brown, white, or black all over their body.

doctrinaire

(adj) dogmatic, opinionated, biased, obstinate, inflexible Person who applies _______ in an impractical or rigid and close-minded way (noun); merely theoretical, impractical, or fanatical about other people accepting one's ideas (adj) [-----] and pushy, the fanatic was always pushing his conspiracy theories on those around him.

wizened

(adj) dried, shriveled up, wrinkled Withered, shriveled; dry and wrinkled usually because of old age the old man's wizened face

terrestrial

(adj) earthly, global, mundane Relating to the Earth or to land; worldly Because of the cool climate, many terrestrial insects live in the soil.

lissome

(adj) elastic, prompt, quick, rapid, swift Flexible, supple, agile The actress exercised and stretched every day, but was ultimately told by the casting director that she wasn't lissome enough to play a ballet dancer. The actress had to agree—"I walk like an ogre," she said.

perennial

(adj) enduring, perpetual, chronic, lasting, permanent lasting or remaining active throughout the year, or all the time; Lasting through the years or indefinitely, enduring; recurring Because she is a perennial optimist, it's unusual for anything to bring her down.

kinetic

(adj) energetic, animated, lively, peppy, vigorous pertaining to motion; characterized by movement In classical physics, there are two types of energy: kinetic and potential.

livid

(adj) enraged, furious, mad, outraged Furiously angry, enraged He looks livid , however, and I'm dreading the angry shouting that I'll probably get to look forward to later tonight.

ebullient

(adj) enthusiastic, brash, effusive, exuberant Very enthusiastic, lively, excited; bubbling as though being boiled Because my Uncle Jake has an [-----] personality, he is a great circus clown.

ostensible

(adj) evident, obvious, apparent, demonstrable Professed, evident, or pretended; outwardly appearing in a certain way The ostensible cause of the conflict was a trivial argument between a public transportation driver and a passenger of different faiths.

rarefied

(adj) exclusive, esoteric, exalted, lofty Lofty, very high up or elevated (in a metaphorical way); exclusive, select; thin, pure, or less dense (as air at the top of a mountain) The rarefied book was written in an ancient language that could only be read by a few linguists and historians.

overwrought

(adj) exhausted and excited, frantic, affected in a state of excessive nervousness, excitement, or anger; Overly nervous, agitated, or excited; too ornate, elaborate, or fussy; overdone The bride was overwrought when the florist delivered the wrong flower order.

manifest

(adj) explicit, obvious, apparent (v) show, indicate, display, reveal, exhibit Obvious, apparent, perceptible to the eye (adj); to show, make clear, or prove (verb) I cannot understand why they have to manifest their feelings in this way.

modish

(adj) fashionable, chic, contemporary, exclusive Stylish, contemporary, fashionable So cute, so modish, and impeccably French, Tartine et Chocolat defines Parisian fashion that will look uber-chic when worn by your infant.

pusillanimous

(adj) fearful, afraid, chicken, cowardly, tame, timid lacking bravery or courage During the fight at the basketball game, the pusillanimous man tried to run from his opponent.

verisimilar

(adj) feasible, likely, possible, prone seemingly truthful or likely The scientist made several statements that seemed verisimilar but still needed to be backed up with statistics and facts. Nicholas Sparks books are so successful because they tell verisimilar stories of average people who face everyday tragedies that readers can identify with.

diaphanous

(adj) fine, see-through, gossamer, light, transparent very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent The high-powered microscope made the tiny cell appear [-----].

ostentatious

(adj) flashy, conspicuous, extravagant, gaudy Intended to attract notice and impress others in an extreme and unnecessary way; Pretentious, boastful showiness Even though Larry has a gigantic art collection, he does not present it in an ostentatious manner to everyone who enters his home.

prescient

(adj) foresighted, predictive, visionary Having foreknowledge or foresight, seeing the future Since Nana has prescience, she knows my baby is going to be a boy.

erstwhile

(adj) former, old, prior, last, once (adv) formerly, hitherto, heretofore Former, previous (adj); in the past, formerly (adv) Oil money has corrupted the media and a considerable segment of erstwhile critical intellectuals.

droll

(adj) funny, ridiculous, ludicrous, comical oddly humorous; funny I love this anthology because all the stories are [-----] and entertaining, rather than making me think too hard.

meretricious

(adj) gaudy, flashy, specious, showy Attractive in a vulgar or flashy way, tawdry; deceptive Its walls were festooned with the products of meretriciousness , pseudo-intellectuality and fraud.

rococo

(adj) gaudy, ornate, flamboyant, arty, extravagant Very elaborate and ornate (in decorating or metaphorically, as in speech and writing); relating to a highly ornate style of art and architecture in 18th-century France The entrance rooms of the French castle were decorated in fancy rococo style.

unsparing

(adj) generous, lavish, abundant, profuse Generous, lavish (as in not sparing any help or gifts to others); unmerciful, harsh (as in not sparing any criticism) The author's style is elaborately descriptive and unsparing in its use of superlatives.

magnanimous

(adj) giving and kind, altruistic, charitable, considerate, unselfish, generous High-minded, noble, lofty; generous in forgiving others, free of resentment It sounds like a very magnanimous thing for Google to do - to build a virtual library of Alexandria, but there is a solid business reason as well.

morose

(adj) gloomy, grim, dark, bleak, dismal, blue, sullen feeling sad, in a bad mood, and not wanting to talk to anyone, Gloomy, sullen, depressive, pessimistic When her dog died, the little girl was morose for months.

refulgent

(adj) glowing, luminous, radiant, resplendent, shining Shining, radiant When the beauty queen accepted her crown, she had a refulgent smile on her face. The sunlight appeared refulgent on the church's window.

palatial

(adj) grand, opulent, deluxe, imposing, luxurious, magnificent, plush, spacious, stately, sumptuous Suitable for or resembling a palace, magnificent A palatial house in the country is much cheaper than a similar mansion in the city.

verdant

(adj) green, grassy, leafy, vernal Green, such as with vegetation, plants, grass, etc.; young and inexperienced When she meditates, Pauline goes to a place in her mind where she is surrounded by verdant pines, blue skies, and cool breezes.

attuned

(adj) harmonious, balanced, tuneful, consonant, In harmony; in sympathetic relationship Even at eight years old, Tyler Hilinski was sweetly [-----] to the emotions of others.

treacherous

(adj) hazardous, ominous, perilous Unsafe; Betraying trust, not faithful or trustworthy; not dependable; dangerous or deceptive At night, the winding roads can make driving up the mountain a treacherous journey. Police officers should be paid more because working in law enforcement is a treacherous occupation.

irresolute

(adj) hesitant, faltering, hesitating, oscillating, wavering, vacillating Wavering, not sure how to proceed, not firm in one's decision-making As long as I'm in this irresolute mood the let us make something fun)

diffident

(adj) hesitant, unconfident, bashful, timid, shy unsure Lacking confidence, shy While Portia was [-----] about her dancing skills, she never let her anxiety keep her off the dance floor.

latent

(adj) hidden, covert, occult, implicit Potential; existing but not visible or actived Mentors represent a vital component of this latent potential for educational renewal and reform.

pernicious

(adj) hurtful, damaging, dangerous, deadly, destructive Very harmful or destructive, deadly Because the chemicals you are using in the lab are pernicious, you should be very careful during your experiment.

glacial

(adj) ice, icy, freezing, frosty, algid Pertaining to glaciers; cold, icy, slow, unsympathetic As the car slowly rolled past him, he raised his bowl to the window, not speaking, and stared at me for a moment with celestial, incomprehensible, glacial blue eyes.

quixotic

(adj) idealistic, dreamy, foolish, impractical Extremely impractical but very romantic, chivalrous, or idealistic; impulsive Although Jack's plan for killing the giant was quixotic, it was the village's only hope.

inordinate

(adj) immoderate, messy, unconscionable Excessive, not within proper limits, unrestrained My friends seem to spend an inordinate amount of time inside wind tunnels, aboard locomotives, and underwater.

unconscionable

(adj) immoral, conscienceless, unethical Not guided by conscience; morally wrong, unjust, unreasonable It is unconscionable that my school bus ride takes over an hour every morning, considering I live only 3 miles from school.

impervious

(adj) immune, refractory, insensitive, unresponsive Impenetrable, not able to be harmed or emotionally disturbed He was not entirely impervious to new evidence, however.

impermeable

(adj) impenetrable, inscrutable, tight, proof Impassable, not allowing passage through (such as by a liquid) But even watertight concrete is not impermeable to the passage of moisture.

imperious

(adj) imperative, authoritative, jussive, dictatorial Commanding, domineering; acting like a high-ranking person; urgent It's notoriously easy to hit the wrong tone and come off sharp, imperious or brusque in e-mail when you don't intend to.

intransigent

(adj) implacable, inflexible, inexorable Refusing to compromise, inflexible, having extreme attitudes If the politicians do not change their intransigent attitudes, they will not pass any bills during this session.

cardinal

(adj) important, key, overriding, basic, central fundamental; of the greatest importance In a town in Italy, having litter-free land is a [-----] law due to the number of environmentalists who live there.

extemporaneous

(adj) improvised, impromptu, made-up, automatic Done without preparation (esp. of a speech), or with some preparation but no notes; improvised, done on the spur of the moment Instead of giving his prepared speech, the minister delivered an extemporaneous statement about the recent terrorist attacks.

impetuous

(adj) impulsive, ardent, fervent, passionate Passionately impulsive, marked by sudden, hasty emotion; forceful, violent As you make decisions, think about the difference between being spontaneous and being impetuous .

abreast

(adj) in a row, side by side, alongside, level Side-by-side. The more common "abreast of" means keeping up with, staying aware of, or remaining equal in progress with. The path was wide enough for two people to walk [-----].

quiescent

(adj) inactive, asleep, inert Quiet, still Now that school has started back, my neighborhood is pretty quiescent during the day.

fallow

(adj) inactive, idle, slack, virgin Left unplanted (of land); not in use At the end of summer, the once crowded beaches become fallow as the young people return to school.

inert

(adj) inactive, passive, sluggish Inactive; having little or no power to move Mars's atmosphere is completely inert , no chemical reactions could go on there.

insensible

(adj) indifferent, cold, insensate, unconscious, unfeeling Incapable of feeling; unconscious, unaware These forces are quite insensible between two portions of matter separated by any distance which we can directly measure.

oblique

(adj) indirect, collateral, inclining Slanting or sloping; indirect, misleading, or evasive The painting suggests deeply considered feeling, transparent and mysterious, direct and oblique .

impassive

(adj) inscrutable, stony, unmoved, serene, stolid Not having or not showing physical feeling or emotion Green looked impassive when the judge handed down his guilty verdict.

untempered

(adj) irrational, unconscionable, extreme Not toned down; not moderated, controlled, or counterbalanced He is intensely irritating, with a cockiness untempered by charisma and exacerbated by a grating accent he brought from England when his family emigrated.

impious

(adj) irreligious, heretical, agnostic, unbelieving lacking reverence or respect, especially towards a god; Not religious, lacking reverence, ungodly Just because you are an atheist does not mean you have to be impious.

insular

(adj) isolated, secluded, circumscribed not interested in meeting anyone outside your own group or country, or not interested in learning new ideas or ways of doing things; Pertaining to an island; detached, standing alone; narrow-minded, provincial Because the insular man had lived on a deserted island for several years, he was not very good at making conversation.

peripatetic

(adj) itinerant, nomadic, roving, migrant constantly traveling, Journeying from place to place; traveling on foot Rather than limit myself to one destination, I like to take a more peripatetic vacation where I move around from place to place.

skittish

(adj) jumpy, restive, fickle scared by even the smallest of things; Shy, fickle, uncertain, or prone to act suddenly due to nervousness; lively in a restless or excessive way My skittish little brother ran to my parents' room when he heard the fireworks.

mauldlin

(adj) lachrymose, mawkish, sentimental, emotional Excessively sentimental, showing sadness or some other emotion in a foolish or silly way It could have been maudlin and self-pitying, and none of that was there.

querulous

(adj) lamenting, discontented, crying, petulant Given to complaining, grumbling, full of complaints; complaining Whenever my father had too many drinks, he would become querulous and complain about everything.

lethargic

(adj) lazy, drowsy, sluggish Lazy, drowsy, or sluggish I felt tired and a little lethargic.

indolent

(adj) lazy, slothful, idle, sluggish Lazy, slothful There, he says, he was basically indolent , though he did immerse himself in a new 'hobby' - making music by computer.

munificent

(adj) magnanimous, charitable, philanthropic Generous, giving liberally That position includes not only a munificent salary, but travel opportunities.

august

(adj) majestic, magnificent, stately, grand, sublime, distinguished, respected Venerable, majestic; inspiring admiration The [-----] chef has been invited to cook dinner for the queen.

lachrymose

(adj) maudlin, sad, weepy, tearful, mourful Tearful, mournful It has nothing to do with my state of mind at the time or any tendency to lachrymosity .

tortuous

(adj) meandering, serpentine, twisting, convoluted Twisting, winding, complex; devious, not straightforward With the sign showing a tortuous road up ahead, we realized that we were traveling down the bends of the mountain.

pathogenic

(adj) morbific, malignant, virus, viral a tiny organism that brings about a disease Capable of producing disease Scientists are working nonstop to create a drug that will kill the pathogenic infection.

semantic

(adj) morphological, phonological, syntactic the message or meaning behind a term, phrase, or sentence or relating to the different meanings of words or other symbols Mrs. Jones said she lowered my grade because the misuse of semantics made it hard for her to understand my story's theme.

squalid

(adj) muddy, sordid, fetid, poor, dirty Disgusting, filthy, foul, extremely neglected When the health inspector saw the squalid conditions of the restaurant, he insisted the owners close the establishment immediately.

recondite

(adj) mysterious, obscure, abstruse, little-known, scholarly, esoteric Not easily understood, hidden, dealing with an obscure topic; not understood or known by many people Since I do not have a law degree, I find it hard to understand the recondite terms of the contract.

endemic

(adj) native, local, regional Native, local; natural, specific to, or confined to a particular place Jared's flawed family, alcoholism appears to be endemic as most of the older children have drinking problems.

pejorative

(adj) negative, belittling, debasing, abusive Disparaging, derogatory, belittling (adj); a name or word that is disparaging (noun) A pejorative remark usually brings about an angry response from the listener.

salient

(adj) noticeable, important, weighty Obvious, standing out; projecting, protruding, jutting out What do you believe is the author's salient message he wants to convey in his latest novel? When I look at the house for sale, salient defects such as the broken windows stare back at me.

complaisant

(adj) obliging, accommodating, pleasing, prompt, courteous Eager to please; cheerfully complying The [-----] little boy gave away all his cookies to his friends.

perspicacious

(adj) observant, perceptive, acute, astute, srewd able to judge quickly and correctly what people and situations are really like; Having penetrating insight or good discernment Even though the judge was normally a perspicacious woman, she found it hard to not be affected by the guilty man's plea (begging request)

vociferous

(adj) oud, insistent, boisterous, clamorous, noisy Noisily crying out, as in protest My uncle is a vociferous man who loudly expresses his opinion on everything.

scurvy

(adj) outrageous, mean, ignominious Contemptible, mean Once the doctor looked at the patient's bleeding gums and missing teeth, he knew the patient had scurvy. Eating citrus fruits is a good way to prevent scurvy.

invidious

(adj) outrageous, offensive, shocking unpleasant and likely to cause bad feelings in other people; Hateful, offensive, injurious The dictator's invidious acts caused the people to rise up against him.

frenetic

(adj) outrageous, violent, frantic, boisterous Wildly excited or active Our most enduring achievements have resulted not from frenetic activity, but rather from quiet meditation.

cloying

(adj) overly sweet, saccharine, syrupy, treacly Disgustingly or distastefully sweet As a comedy, the film had too many [-----] scenes that made it seem like a poorly written drama.

grievous

(adj) painful, excruciating, agonizing His betrayal was a grievous offense that could never be fully forgiven. Causing grief or suffering; very serious, grave; flagrant, outrageous

pallid

(adj) pale, anemic, feeble, lackluster, sickly Abnormally pale (as skin); lacking color or vitality Because her face was so pallid, I had no reason to believe that she was pretending to be sick to get out of cleaning up the kitchen.

virulent

(adj) poisonous, lethal, deadly, destructive, fatal, malignant, pernicious Extremely infectious, poisonous, etc.; hateful, bitterly hostile Because the research team cannot identify the virus, they have sealed it off and are treating it as the most virulent substance on the planet. Janet has a virulent flu strain and is being kept in isolation at the hospital.

orotund

(adj) pompous, bombastic, clear, loud, sonorous Full, rich, and clear (of the voice or speaking); pompous, bombastic Kipling uses the orotund , elaborate language of Hindi courtesy to provide the ritual punctuation for the longer stories.

bombastic

(adj) pompous, stilted, grandiloquent, sonorous, magniloquent (Of speech or writing) far too showy or dramatic than is appropriate; pretentious Henry's bombastic remarks about terrorism got him kicked off the airplane.

impecunious

(adj) poor, indigent, penurious Poor, without money Although Tom and Janice are an impecunious couple who earn very little, they always manage to take a short vacation during the summer.

prophetic

(adj) prescient, oracular, predictive, Relating to prophesy, predicting, ominous If I had prophetic abilities, I would be picking up my lottery winnings right now.

dilatory

(adj) procrastinating, laggard, remiss, slack Slow to act, late; intending to cause delay, procrastinating or stalling for time My daughter used [-----] tactics to stay up past her bedtime.

fecund

(adj) productive, breeding, fruitful, generating, proliferant, prolific, teeming Fruitful, fertile; capable of abundantly producing offspring, vegetation, or creative or intellectual work The school librarian is a fecund woman who can tell you the location of every book without looking at a computer screen.

halcyon

(adj) quiet, calm, serene, placid Calm and peaceful, carefree; prosperous, successful, happy the halcyon days of the mid-1980s, when profits were soaring

luminous

(adj) radiant, shining, enlighting Shining, radiant, well-lit; brilliant or enlightening In the hands of the hero, the magic sword glowed in a luminous manner.

desultory

(adj) random, aimless, chaotic, erratic, haphazard, sporadic not having a plan or purpose Lacking consistency or order, disconnected, sporadic; going off topic The students were confused by the teacher's [-----] lecture which seemed to have no real focus.

fortuitous

(adj) random, casual, accidental, chance, occasional, felicitous, happy Happening by chance; lucky Although I normally hate eating at my mother-in-law's house, last night I enjoyed a felicitous meal there.

resurgent

(adj) reborn, newborn, recrudescent increasing or reviving after a period of little activity, popularity, or occurrence; rising or surging again The publisher believed that vampire novels would be a resurgent trend this year.

contrite

(adj) regretful, sorry, apologetic Remorseful; feeling sorry for one's offenses or sins Because he wasn't [-----], the judge sentenced the unremorseful man to the maximum number of years.

normative

(adj) regulating, standardizing Implying or attempting to establish a norm; expressing value judgments or telling people what to do (rather than merely describing that which is happening) He is backing a proposal whose purpose is to destroy normative values of behaviour.

apposite

(adj) relevant, apt, germane, suitable, appropriate, suited apt in the circumstances or in relation to something You will look stunning tonight because the red dress is [-----] for your complexion.

aloof

(adj) reserved, distant, remote, indifferent Distant physically or emotionally; reserved; indifferent He stayed [-----] from the bickering.

recrudescent

(adj) resurgent, reborn, newborn Revival, breaking out into renewed activity The recrudescence of his psoriasis came at the worst possible time. "Oh, great," he said, "Now I'm going to be shedding skin flakes all over my new coworkers on the first day of work."

antithetical

(adj) reverse, contradictory, opposed, polarized Directly opposed, opposite; involving antithesis (the rhetorical act of placing two phrases opposite one another for contrast, as in love me or hate me) While I am social and outgoing, my husband's personality is completely [-----] to my nature and leads him to be reserved.

itinerant

(adj) roaming, nomadic, wandering Traveling from place to place, esp. as part of a job Many doctors were itinerant wanderers - Hippocrates among them.

bucolic

(adj) rural, rustic, agrarian, pastoral relating to country My husband and I chose a peaceful [-----] town in the country for our summer retreat.

sardonic

(adj) sarcastic, acerbic, biting, caustic, satirical Scornfully or ironically mocking, cynically derisive Jim's sardonic laugh made his parents angry enough to stop paying his cellphone bill. After Rick was fired from the restaurant, he wrote a sardonic review of the eatery.

trenchant

(adj) sarcastic, scathing, acerbic, biting, caustic, sardonic forceful or vigorous, effective, keen; caustic, sharp Because the reporter made a trenchant comment on the president's policies, he was banned from all presidential events.

anodyne

(adj) sedative, analgetic, calming, soothing, sedative Medicine that relieves pain soothing, relieving pain That memoir has now become an even more [-----] film, to be released in Britain next week.

penitent

(adj) shamed, sorrowful, repentant Regretful, feeling remorse for one's sins or misdeeds (adj); a person who feels this way (noun) The penitent husband spends days at his wife's grave because he regrets not spending more time with her.

synoptic

(adj) short, to the point, pithy, succinct Relating to a synopsis or summary; giving a general view Here he continued his important reviews, notably in the Revue d'histoire et de litterature religieuses, and published Morceaux d'exegese (1906), six further sections of his synoptic commentary.

myopic

(adj) short-sighted, near-sighted, purblind, mope-eyed Near-sighted; lacking long-term thinking, short-sighted Approximately 62 million people in the United States are myopic (ie, nearsighted) and require eyeglasses or contact lenses for vision correction.

listless

(adj) sluggish, slack, apathetic, languid Spiritless, lacking interest or energy I was listless , too sick and weak to say much of anything to defend myself.

fetid

(adj) smelly, stinking, malodorous Stinking; having an offensive smell The fetid sour smell of garlic, garum and stale wine on his breath overwhelmed Yohanna and she gasped for air.

surly

(adj) somber, morose, grim, gloomy Bad-tempered, hostile, unfriendly, or rude Most people tend to act surly in the morning if they aren't used to waking up early.

vernal

(adj) springlike, fresh, spring, verdant Relating to the spring; fresh, youthful Alma's favorite part of gardening was the vernal reawakening that followed a frozen winter.

aseptic

(adj) sterile, barren, clean, lifeless Free from germs Nurses stored the unused sterile syringes in [-----] containers for future use.

grandiloquent

(adj) stilted, bombastic, sonorous, pompous, orotund Relating to lofty speech, esp. to the point of being pompous, overblown, bombastic His writing, however, has been criticized by some for grandiloquence and obscurantism.

tumultuous

(adj) stormy, turbulent, raucous, riotous Riotous, violently agitated, marked by disturbance or uproar; noisy, chaotic When the party became too tumultuous, the police were called.

obdurate

(adj) stubborn, obstinate, opinionated, headstrong, dogged, obdurate Stubborn, hardhearted, hardened in wrongdoing Two minutes into second half the visitors' obdurate defence finally cracked, for the first time in 280 minutes.

contumacious

(adj) stubborn, obstinate, rebellious, recalcitrant, insubordinate Rebellious; stubbornly disobedient The [-----] football player was kicked off the team for not following the coach's orders.

recalcitrant

(adj) stubborn, obstinate, rebellious, resistant Not obedient, resisting authority, hard to manage Despite being offered treats by his parents, the little boy was still recalcitrant about doing his homework.

refractory

(adj) stubborn, obstinate, recalcitrant Stubbornly disobedient, hard to manage Most teenagers go through a refractory phase where they don't want to listen to authority figures. How long do you think it will take the trainer to tame the refractory dog?

fatuous

(adj) stupid, foolish, idiotic, silly Foolish, silly, esp. in a smug or complacent manner Buying a car without negotiating down the price is a fatuous move.

sublime

(adj) superb, magnificent, glorious Lofty or elevated, inspiring reverence or awe; excellent, majestic; complete, utter Following a sublime evening of romance, Greg was haunted by the lingering scent of Sarah's intoxicating perfume.

leery

(adj) suspicious, wary, cunning, sly, tricky, artful Suspicious or wary Dogs that have been mistreated often remain very wary of strangers.

turgid

(adj) swollen, bloated, distended Swollen, inflated; or, metaphorically "inflated," such as in overblown, pompous speech The river is a brown, turgid worm as broad as a peaty salmon-spawn stream.

voluble

(adj) talkative, chatty, loquacious Easily fluent in regards to speech After my grandfather drinks a few beers, he becomes voluble and will not stop talking. The voluble politician was never at a loss for words.

lurid

(adj) terrible, horrible, vivid, gruesome, shoking Gruesome or excessively vivid; sensational, shocking, unrestrained

indefatigable

(adj) tireless, inexhaustible, unwearied Untiring, not able to become fatigued He was an indefatigable defender of human rights.

nominal

(adj) titular, formal, symbolic Trivial, so small as to be unimportant; in name only, so-called Even the introduction of the mildest sanction - a nominal , barely enforced fine - seems to persuade citizens to turn out.

limpid

(adj) transparent, clear, crystal Clear, transparent; completely calm Her eyes were large and limpid , but definitely not innocent.

banal

(adj) trite, trivial, hackneyed Lacking freshness and originality; cliché I was bored to death because of his [-----] conversation.

immutable

(adj) unaltered, constant, unchangeable, invariable, permanent Unchangeable However, I doubt there can be real intellectual debate between people with such immutable positions.

phlegmatic

(adj) unemotional, apathetic, dispassionate, lethargic, sluggish, unresponsive not easily upset, excited, or angered; Apathetic, sluggish, not easily excited or made emotional The minister of my church is a phlegmatic man who never seems to get upset about anything.

implacable

(adj) unforgiving, inexorable, uncompromising, merciless, Not able to be appeased, calmed, or satisfied But his hostility to the devil is implacable , utter, and steely.

preternatural

(adj) unusual, abnormal, extraordinary so unusual that it does not seem natural or normal Seeing a penguin in the desert seemed very preternatural to the amazed onlookers.

exigent

(adj) urgent, pressing, acute, critical Requiring immediate attention, action, or aid; excessively demanding Once they alerted to the car, the cops had reasonable suspicion plus exigent circumstances (the danger), so they had extra good justification to search.

ignoble

(adj) vile, sneaky, despicable, mean, scurvy not deserving respect; not honorable, Not noble; having mean, base, low motives; low quality Because Frank has a habit of not showing up on time, he has an ignoble reputation as someone who is not very responsible.

viscid

(adj) viscous, adhesive, clammy, gelatinous, gluey, glutinous Thick, adhesive, or covered in something sticky Ugh, what did you spill on this floor? It's too viscous to be absorbed by these paper towels. Is this hair conditioner? Teaching a troop of Cub Scouts to make maple syrup means cleaning the viscid substance off uniforms, boys, and every other object those boys touch.

ribald

(adj) vulgar, obscene, bawdy, coarse Using or relating to obscene or vulgar humor Because the team owner made ribald comments, he was banned from involvement in the sports league.

lax

(adj) weak, low, feeble, faint, sluggish Not strict; careless, loose, slack There is a lax security arrangements at the airport.

prolix

(adj) wordy, redundant, verbose Excessively long and wordy (of a person, piece of writing, etc.) The prolix professor had a habit of using complex words that most people could not comprehend.

catholic

(adj) world, worldwide, global, universal, ecumenical, mondial Universal, broad-minded Although specialist invertebrate feeders when small, larger rudd have a more [-----] diet.

expedient

(adj) worthwhile, appropriate, advantageous, practical, pragmatic, prudent Suitable, proper; effective, often at the expense of ethics or other considerations While I could have taken the train to New York City, I found it more expedient to fly there.

insipid

(adj)dull, uninteresting, banal, mundane, tedious Dull, stale, lacking taste or interest When you present, please do not be an insipid speaker who makes everyone fall asleep!

ardent

(adj, n) avid, fervent, keen, zealous Very passionate, devoted, or enthusiastic As an [-----] lover of nature, Philip plans at least two or three hiking vacations every year.

distaff

(adj, n) feminine, female, female-like, ladylike, maternal Female, esp. relating to the maternal side of the family; women or women's work; a staff that holds wool or flax for spinning Marriage is still the passport to [-----] power.

idyllic

(adj, n) perfect; extremely pleasant, picturesque bucolic, rural, rustic Presenting a positive, peaceful view of rural life (as poetry or prose); pleasant in a natural, simple way She and her family move to a bizarre Utopia - the idyllic suburban town of Stepford.

incarnadine

(adj, n) scarlet, red, damask, rose Blood red or flesh-colored He had not been much to look at before the Changement ceremony, which had incarnadined his eyes and turned his brown hair silver.

per se

(adv) alone, as such, by and of itself Intrinsically; by itself; in itself If homework does not get done on a regular basis per se, you will most likely make a bad grade," the teacher warned.

searchingly

(adv) attentively, closely, keenly In a searching or penetrating manner; while examining closely or probing for answers Pierre looked silently and searchingly into Prince Andrew's face, which had grown much older.

albeit

(conj) although even if even though notwithstanding

panache

(n) Flair, style, swagger a showy self-assured manner or style, Flair, style, swagger; a flamboyant or grand way of acting Because the band played with such panache, everyone in the audience had a great time.

plutocracy

(n) Rule by the wealthy; a political system governed by the wealthy Because it is not operated by the wealthiest people, our political system is not a plutocracy.

compendium

(n) abstract, summary, synopsis, outline, conspectus Concise but complete summary; a list or collection During the event, a football player will auction a [-----] of his personal items including a signed jersey and football.

aspersions

(n) abuse, calumny, libel, obloquy, vituperation Damaging remarks, defamation, slander Even though I am angry at you, I will not cast [-----] upon your character.

invective

(n) abuse, scolding, vituperation insulting, abusive, or highly critical language; Violent denunciation There's a long road ahead of us, and invective at this stage doesn't help us in any way.

acumen

(n) acuity, awareness, ingenuity, shrewdness, wisdom Keen, quick, accurate insight or judgment The [-----] displayed by our principal is the reason our school is one of the best in the nation.

coda

(n) afterword, postscript, summation, conclusion, ending, finale Final part of a musical composition; an ending, esp. one that sums up what has come before His new novel is a kind of [-----] to his previous books.

proxy

(n) agent, ambassador, negotiator, attorney Agent, substitute, person authorized to act on behalf of another When my husband and I are out of the country, my sister is the proxy who signs legal documents for our children.

demagogue

(n) agitator, firebrand, fomenter a political leader who tries to influence people by making emotional speeches The arrogant [-----] made a crazy speech which did not appeal to the educated elite.

solidarity

(n) agreement, consensus, harmony Fellowship in interests, feelings, responsibilities, etc., such as among a group of people or among classes, nations, etc. Since John is an African American, he joined the Black Student Union in college to show solidarity for his race.

symbiosis

(n) amalgamation, unity, combination Mutually dependent relationship between two organisms, people, groups, etc. The unique voice of each choir member came together in symbiosis to make what sounded like a perfect note to the audience.

dilettante

(n) amateur, dilettante, dabbler a person whose interest in an art or in an area of knowledge is not very serious When it comes to learning how to play the guitar, my daughter is a [-----] who will practice one day but not the next day.

bonhomie

(n) amenity, friendliness, warmth, cordiality, courteousness Friendliness, open and simple good heartedness By the end of the summer, the campers were overflowing with [-----], vowing to remain Facebook friends forever.

analgesia

(n) anesthetizing, insensibility Pain relief; inability to feel pain She was able to take [-----] orally.

rejoinder

(n) answer, reply, rebuttal, return, response Response or reply, esp. a witty comeback Although I wanted to respond to my supervisor's comment with a biting rejoinder, I bit my tongue. The man received a cutting rejoinder when he tried to flirt with the married woman.

approbation

(n) approval, acceptance, favor, authorization Praise or approval, especially formal approval With my mother [-----] I could watch TV after 10 pm.

arbiter

(n) arbitrator, mediator, referee, judge Judge, umpire, person empowered to decide matters at hand The teacher acted as an [-----] when she tried to mediate a disagreement between two students.

magnate

(n) aristocrat, capitalist, financier, merchant Very important or influential person, esp. in business The magnate 's style creates interesting theatre, but is out of place in a modern boardroom.

stint

(n) assignment, duty, job Period of time spent doing something, or a specific, limited amount of work (noun); to be frugal, to get by on little (verb) Patricia's stint as a waitress gave her the patience she needed to work in shoe sales. When the astronaut returned home after a long stint in space, he had to reconnect with his family.

scintilla

(n) atom, particle, iota a small amount of something I only have a scintilla of respect for her after she lied about her background. My parents took a scintilla of their meager paychecks each month and put it into a college fund for me.

accretion

(n) augmentation, increment, raise Gradual increase; an added part or addition The [-----] of traffic accidents and drunk driving was attributed to the opening of the new downtown mall.

stasis

(n) balance, antithesis, correspondence Equilibrium, a state of balance or inactivity, esp. caused by equal but opposing forces During stasis, the bear will sleep while its body feeds off stored resources. The settlement meeting reached a stasis when the divorcing husband and wife stopped talking to each other.

malediction

(n) bane, curse, anathema A curse I know that my father was severely provoked many times, but even when angry, no malediction ever crossed his lips.

philistine

(n) barbarian, gross, vulgarian Person deficient in or hostile to culture; one who focuses on materialistic pursuits and has no appreciation of culture and art When the philistine was questioned about his opinion of the school's art program, he stated it was a waste of taxpayers' dollars.

turpitude

(n) baseness, meanness, infamy, depravity Depravity, baseness of character, corrupt or depraved acts Jason did not get the job because he lied when he denied a past arrest regarding his participation in turpitude.

pulchritude

(n) beauty, adorableness, allure, prettiness, shapeliness physical beauty Not only is Angelina Jolie a woman of great pulchritude, her humanitarian efforts have demonstrated that she is equally as beautiful on the inside as on the outside.

mendicant

(n) beggar, vagabond, vargrant Beggar, or religious follower who lives by begging However, being a poor mendicant , I couldn't afford to buy any and so I just sat there, overpowered by the smell of delicious pakoras, eating my bag of rice.

tyro

(n) beginner, amateur, greenhorn, neophyte Beginner Because I am a tyro at English, I often mispronounce words native speakers of English have no problem with.

neophyte

(n) beginner, novice, newcomer, rookie Beginner, novice; person newly converted to a religion Furthermore, experienced inspectors knew what, when, and how to pursue a subject that is unlikely to occur to a neophyte .

modicum

(n) bit, iota, ounce, shred A little bit or limited quantity When Jane wore the short dress to the funeral, she proved she did not have a modicum of decency.

vitriol

(n) bitterness, nastiness, sarcasm, venom Something highly caustic, such as criticism (literally, one of a number of chemicals including sulfuric acid) Even though she apologized for her harsh comments, the woman's sister could not forgive her for the vitriol she spewed in anger.

faction

(n) bloc, clan, gang, minority Group or clique within a larger organization; party strife and dissension At my high school, the cheerleaders and the football players made up the most popular faction of students.

solecism

(n) blunder, error, mistake Nonstandard use of grammar or words; mistake, esp. in etiquette; something that isn't seen as normal or appropriate; a deviation from the norm When the quarterback committed a large solecism, he cost his team the game.

yoke

(n) bondage, bond, burden, chain A burden or something that oppresses; a frame for attaching animals (such as oxen) to each other and to a plow or other equipment to be pulled, or a bar across a person's shoulders to help carry buckets of water, etc. (noun); to unite together or to burden (verb); an attachment for two animals side by side with a bar across the top of their necks and each loop around their heads After the yoke was fixed around the heads of the animals, they were led away from the rest of the pack.

coffer

(n) box, kit, case, chest a strong chest or box that is used to store money or valuables We placed coins in the [-----] so that we would have gold stored away for a rainy day.

rift

(n) break, crack, breach, gap A gap or fissure (such as in rock), a break in friendly relations The rift over slavery divided the country and forced brother to fight against brother.

interregnum

(n) break, interruption, interval A time in between two reigns or regimes during which there is no ruler; a period during which government does not function; any period of freedom from authority or break or interruption in a series During the interregnum, the people worried that the incoming ruler would treat them differently than the previous king.

travesty

(n) burlesque, exaggeration, farce a false or distorted representation of something, usually of something serious; exaggerated, debased, or grotesque imitation Allowing students to cheat on tests is a travesty of education.

inter

(n) bury, inter, tomb, inearth Bury (a dead body) or place in a tomb My daughter wants to inter her dog with his favorite blanket so he will not be cold in the ground.

fluke

(n) chance, occurrence, quirk, accident, contingency, fortuity a coincidence or accident that something happened; Stroke of luck, something accidentally successful Since I didn't study or attend class on a regular basis, it was simply a fluke that I passed the exam.

vicissitude

(n) change, fluctuation, permutation a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant. One vicissitude of owning a cat is that they shed hair everywhere. Her vicissitudes in life made it a challenge to finish high school.

hallmark

(n) character, trade mark, brandname, earmark, kind A mark indicating quality, purity, genuineness, etc.; any distinguishing characteristic This is to be an appeal against the proposal by Italy for the abandonment of hallmarks on gold and silver throughout the EU.

abyss

(n) chasm, crevasse, depth A deep and vast space or cavity; anything profound or infinite When Bud tossed a rock into the [-----], we never heard the stone hit the ground.

knell

(n) chime, passing-bell, ring The sound made by a bell for a funeral, or any sad sound or signal of a failure, death, ending, etc. (noun); to make such a sound (verb) As the knell died away, a black flag slowly rose up the mast and stopped half-way.

euphemism

(n) circumlocution, delicacy, purism a word or expression used to talk about something unpleasant, blunt or offensive without mentioning the thing itself Referring to stolen merchandise as "having fallen off a truck" is a common euphemism used by people in urban areas.

echelon

(n) class, level, degree, grade, line, place, position, rank, row, string A level, rank or grade; the people at that level Only members of society's highest [-----] can afford to own airplanes.

coterie

(n) clique, set, circle, band, community, gang Close or exclusive group, clique He has numerous houses in several countries and embraces a [-----] of celebrity friends.

welter

(n) commotion, jumble, confusion Confused mass or pile, jumble; confusion or turmoil (noun); roll around, wallow, toss about, writhe (verb) The classroom was in a welter when the teacher did not show up for class. The frenzied football fans were in the throes of a welter during the final few moments of the game.

encomium

(n) compliment, accolade, commendation, eulogy, panegyric, praise, salutation, tribute, laudation speech or piece of writing that warmly praises someone or something; tribute Paula finds painting so therapeutic that she has written an encomium celebrating the art form.

equanimity

(n) composure, balance, poise, temper, control Composure, evenness of mind; mental or emotional stability, esp. under stress People engage in meditation to strengthen their ability to preserve their equanimity in times of stress.

imprecation

(n) curse, bane, damnation a spoken curse. she hurled her imprecations at anyone who might be listening

misanthrope

(n) cynic, egoist, hater, loner, skeptic Hater of humankind I'd always thought I was a misanthrope , but maybe I'm just an introvert instead.

impasse

(n) deadlock, dead end, stalemate, puffin Position or road from which there is no escape; deadlock This dilemma perfectly sums up the impasse in all republican-loyalist negotiations.

duplicity

(n) deception, artifice, chicanery, dishonesty Deceit, double-dealing, acting in two different ways for the purpose of deception, dishonest behavior that is intended to trick someone Because Amanda is such a good liar, it is always hard to recognize her [-----].

legerdemain

(n) deception, trick, hype, hoax Slight-of-hand (magic as performed by a magician); trickery or deception Much to the satisfaction of legitimate entertainers, the book also expresses respect for the art of legerdemain , which it discusses using that very term.

chicanery

(n) deception, trickery, dishonesty, trick Trickery, deception by knowingly false arguments Unfortunately, confusion about the Earned Income Tax Credit has created opportunities for [-----].

surrogate

(n) deputy, alternate, vice (adj) equivalent, ersatz, replacement Substitute, person who acts for another (noun); acting as a replacement (adj) A surrogate caregiver was available when our usual babysitter was not.

homage

(n) devotion, admiration, allegiance, deference, loyalty, reverence, tribute, veneration, esteem, honor, respect Honor or respect demonstrated publicly This is a film that pays homage to Bond's history without taking itself too seriously.

polemic

(n) diatribe, invective, rant, tirade a strong verbal or written attack on someone or something; Controversial argument, esp. one attacking a specific idea By way of an introduction thought I'd post a polemic piece that I've been knocking about for a while.

dichotomy

(n) difference of opinion, disagreement, separation, split a difference between two opposite things or ideas His [-----] of heaven and hell became an excellent essay on the contrast between paradise and eternal suffering.

penumbra

(n) dimness, shadow, blackness Outer part of a shadow from an eclipse; any surrounding region, fringe, periphery; any area where something "sort of" exists; something that conceals, encloses, or cloaks something else After the newspaper published a story about the senator's extramarital affair, a penumbra of indignity enclosed the politician's career.

elegy

(n) dirge, lament, requiem, funeral song Song or poem of sorrow, esp. for a deceased person The teenager wrote an elegy describing the end of her longest relationship.

apostle

(n) disciple, protagonist, devotee Pioneer of a reform movement (originally, an early follower of Jesus) each of the twelve chief disciples of Jesus Christ. He was an saintly [-----] of peace, love and unity and a great poet.

martinet

(n) disciplinarian, authoritarian, despot Person who adheres to rules extremely closely; strict disciplinarian It is run by an ex-army martinet absurdly out of touch and absent-mindedly rooting about in irrelevances.

hegemony

(n) domination, rule, dominance, supremacy Domination, authority; influence by one country over others socially, culturally, economically, etc. While I cannot tell my husband what to do, I do have some hegemony over his actions.

platitude

(n) dull, banality, monotony, triviality, cliche something that has been said so often that it is not interesting anymore; A shallow, overused statement; cliche After hearing the salesman's unoriginal platitude, I decided to go to another car dealer.

sinecure

(n) easy target, pushover, babe in the woods a position that requires no work but still gives a payment; a cushy job Since John's father owns the company, John has been named a sinecure in the business although he knows nothing about the firm.

milieu

(n) environment, surroundings, ambience, Environment, atmosphere; the environmental setting in which something happens or develops Joyce used his own life and the social milieu of Dublin through which he took an imaginary walk every day of his exiled life.

sybarite

(n) epicurean, hedonist, sensualist a person devoted to pleasure and luxury A confirmed sybarite, the nobleman fainted at the thought of having to leave his palace and live in a small cottage.

plethora

(n) excess, overabundance, plenty, profusion Excess; excessive amount He eagerly accepted the job because it came with a plethora of opportunities.

abscission

(n) excision, amputation, deprivation Cutting off; sudden termination; the separation of leaves, petals, or other parts from a plant or animal [-----] of leaves occurs during autumn, before winter sets in.

panoply

(n) exhibition, display, array, act an impressive collection or exhibition; Splendid, wide-ranging, impressive display or array Because the Orient is a luxury hotel, its panoply of premium services and amenities is unrivalled in the hotel industry.

jingoism

(n) fanaticism, nationalism, zealotry, bellicism extreme devotion to a belief or nation; Excessive, loud patriotism and aggressive, warlike foreign policy The film functions best in its role as a critique of militarism, jingoism and fundamentalism.

vanguard

(n) forefront, front, lead Leading units at the front of an army; leaders in a trend or movement, people on the "cutting edge"; the forefront of a trend or movement The software president worked eighty hours a week to make sure his company remained the vanguard of the industry.

pedant

(n) formalist, doctrinarian, precisian Person who pays excessive attention to book learning and rules, or who uses his or her learning to show off After answering every question the teacher asked, the pedant drew attention to himself in front of the other students.

shard

(n) fragment, particle, bit a sharp piece of a broken material such as ceramic, glass, or metal Not wanting his mother to know that he had broken another dish, the clumsy boy hurried to sweep each shard from the kitchen floor.

mirth

(n) fun, joy, cheer, joyfulness Jollity, merriment; amusement or laughter Laughter, joy and mirth should be considered some of our most primary objectives.

largesse

(n) generosity, donation, endowment, philanthropy Generosity, the giving of money or gifts (esp. with the implication that the giver is a bit superior to the recipient) Presumably public money is not dispensed with such largesse to anyone else

epicure

(n) gourmet, connoisseur, gastronome Person with cultivated, refined tastes, esp. in food and wine Even though Marie claims to be an epicure, she is not one because she will eat anything served to her.

cupidity

(n) greed, avarice, avidity Greed, great or excessive desire He does not hide his [-----] , but colleagues resent more the way he flaunts his brainpower.

avarice

(n) greed, avidity, cupidity Insatiable greed; a miserly desire to hoard wealth If you let [-----] take over, you will be left with a life focused only on material things.

gouge

(n) groove, hole, channel (v) cut, scoop, burrow, extort, squeeze Scooping or digging tool, like a chisel, or a hole made with such a tool (noun); cut or scoop out; force out a person's eye with one's thumb; swindle, extort money from (verb) The surface may be soft, so be careful not to gouge it with the scraper.

curmudgeon

(n) grouch, miser, hunks, cheapskate, skinflint, mean Bad-tempered, difficult person; grouch, a bad-tempered or surly person. Only the worst [-----] could dislike this site.

grouse

(n) grumble, complaint, grievance (v) grumble, growl, nag, mutter, grunt Complain or grumble (verb); a reason for complaint (noun) However, the main grouse of these publishers is that they do not get much by way of advertisement support from corporates, which prefer the English publications.

supposition

(n) guess, belief, conjecture, speculation, assumption Assumption, hypothesis, something that has been supposed Without any evidence, the teacher's supposition Amy had cheated on the exam could not be proven.

euphony

(n) harmony, accord, melody Pleasing or sweet sound, especially as formed by a harmonious use of words With their voices in harmony, the choir produced a euphony that uplifted the entire congregation.

asperity

(n) harshness, acrimony, bitterness, sharpness harsh manner or tone of voice The police officer's dislike of me was obvious from the [-----] with which he demanded my driver's license.

redress

(n) help, compensation, retribution (v) change, rectify, amend, correct, improve Setting something right after a misdeed, compensation or relief for injury or wrongdoing (noun); correct, set right, remedy (verb) The company hopes to redress the victim's injury by paying out a million dollar settlement. When I hired the attorney, I hoped he could help me get redress from the rental company that had evicted me without valid cause.

paragon

(n) ideal, outstanding example, apotheosis, epitome, exemplar a model of excellence or perfection The editors of the magazine described the supermodel as a paragon of beauty.

reactant

(n) impetus, motivation, stimulant Something that reacts; a substance that undergoes a change in a chemical reaction When the reactant was mixed with the other reactant, an explosion occurred.

investiture

(n) inauguration, beginning, enrollment Investing; formally giving someone a right or title The castle earned itself a place in modern history on 1 July 1969 when it was the setting for the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales.

propensity

(n) inclination, bias, predilection, proclivity Natural inclination or tendency My mother has a propensity to drink when she gets anxious.

proclivity

(n) inclination, tendency, predilection a natural inclination or tendency to act a certain way esp. towards something bad His proclivity for cooking made him a big hit in the homeowner's association.

token

(n) indication, remembrance, badge, expression Sign, symbol, mark, badge; souvenir, memento; coin-like disk used as currency for subways, arcade games, etc.; sample, or person, thing, idea taken to represent an entire group (noun); of very little or merely symbolic value (adj) At a casino, the coins you win in slot machines serve as a token that you can exchange for prizes or money.

iniquity

(n) injustice, wrong, lawlessness Injustice, wickedness, sin The iniquity of the result lay in the fact that the losers were the better, more constructive team.

interplay

(n) interaction, cooperation, teamwork Interaction, reciprocal relationship or influence The work stands out for the strong interplay of shades, colours and forms.

polyglot

(n) interpreter, linguist, adapter Speaking or composed of many languages (of a person, book, etc.); a person who knows several languages Not to worry, though, this 61-year-old polyglot can talk to all species with the dexterity of a Doolittle.

inquest

(n) investigation, examination, inquiry, probe the process in which a court of law or a coroner investigates the circumstances of a person's death An inquest took place, and during the process of examining the scene, the investigator discovered the murder weapon.

panegyric

(n) laudatory, acclamatory, complimentary, praising a speech or written composition used to pay tribute to a person, place, or thing; Formal or lofty expression of praise After the princess died a popular singer wrote a panegyric to honor her life.

stratum

(n) layer, level, gradation One of many layers (such as in a rock formation or in the classes of a society) When they dug the hole for the swimming pool, they discovered stratum that contained beautiful layers of rock.

phalanx

(n) legion, devision, flock Formation of soldiers carrying shields close together for defense; any very close group of people; a body of troops or police officers, standing or moving in close formation William was among the phalanx of police officers who stood in close formation, ready to invade the compound.

missive

(n) letter, written message, official letter, memorandum, note Letter, written message While Don was overseas fighting in World War II, he lived for the missives from the wife he had left behind.

vim

(n) life, activity, dash, drive, energy Pep, enthusiasm, vitality, lively spirit "I'm old, not dead!" said Grandpa Albert, full of vim and ready for his first bungee jump.

nadir

(n) lowest point, rock bottom, base, bottom, floor the lowest point in the fortunes of a person or organization they had reached the nadir of their sufferings

tome

(n) magnum opus, novel, opus Large or scholarly book; one of the volumes in a set of several books An academic intellectual authored the tome hundreds of years ago that is still used today by many philosophy students.

machination

(n) maneuver, trick, conspiracy, intrigue, ploy Crafty schemes or plots, that is usually created for bad reasons After being caught running a machination against his political rival, the ruthless candidate lost the election.

repast

(n) meal, refreshment, snack (v) dine, treat, feast, banquet A meal (noun); to eat or feast (verb) Hoping to enjoy a romantic repast with her husband, Jill prepared his favorite dishes and lit candles. I woke up early to eat the hotel's free repast that was rumored to be exceptional.

pastiche

(n) mixture, mix, blend, compound, composition, collage, compilation a mix of unique items; Mix of incongruous parts; artistic work imitating the work of other artists, often satirically The mix of country, pop, and soul music made the album a fascinating pastiche of sounds.

parley

(n) negotiation, discussion, consult, debate (v) negotiate, consult, debate conversation between enemies or rivals; Discussion, negotiation, esp. between enemies (noun); to have such a discussion (verb) The end result of the parley between the two world leaders was a productive trade agreement.

aerie

(n) nest, brood, penthouse, offspring Dwelling or fortress built on a high place; the nest of a bird of prey, such as an eagle or hawk, built on a mountain or cliff At the [-----] , under a rock ledge high above, two big gray chicks were still hunched on the nest.

neologism

(n) new word, coinage, slang New word or phrase (or a new meaning applied to an existing word or phrase) Their attempts to get around these logical points generally result in an orgy of neologism and grammatical originality that gives me eye-ache

sobriquet

(n) nickname, appellation, moniker, pseudonym A nickname; a commonly used name for an individual that is usually shorter than the person's real name Because Laura was so small, her father referred to her by the sobriquet of Half-pint.

contrary

(n) opposite, contrast, opposition, contradiction, inverse Things that are opposing; either of two opposite things a belief that each person reflects the [-----] nature of God, and that progression in life is impossible without contraries.

umbrage

(n) personal displeasure, anger, annoyance Offense or annoyance (usually as take umbrage, meaning become offended or annoyed) You are racist for taking umbrage against people of color! The coach gave umbrage to his team for not winning a single game.

somatic

(n) personal, physical, sensual, substantial it means relating to the human body You may be tired of hearing your grandmother's somatic complaints, but keep in mind her body has been functioning for 90 years.

ethos

(n) philosophy, ideology, mentality, mindset, spirit The character, personality, or moral values specific to a person, group, time period, etc. I was aware that the school had a culture of discipline and an ethos of personal improvement.

effigy

(n) picture, image, icon, representation, depiction, Representation or image of a person, esp. a crude facsimile used to mock a hated person The woman torched an effigy of her cheating husband.

itinerary

(n) plan of travel, guidebook, journey Travel schedule; detailed plan for a journey Choosing the right cruise line and cruise itinerary can be somewhat of a challenge.

bane

(n) poison, venom, toxic, toxin, virus Something that ruins or spoils Since loneliness can be the [-----] of old age, it's important to maintain friendships and family connections as we grow older.

indigence

(n) poverty, misery, penury, necessity, destitution Extreme poverty He did valuable work toward the relief of indigence.

penury

(n) poverty, scarcity, indigence Extreme poverty or scarcity Jason foolishly went from a lifestyle of wealth and privilege to one of penury and starvation

puissance

(n) power, strength, potency, might Power, might After having an undefeated record for months, the wrestler's puissance over her competitors was quickly displayed in every fight.

augury

(n) prediction, forecast, soothsaying, omen Telling the future, such as through supernatural means There is little demand for astrologers, because their [-----]s have no practical value.

gestation

(n) pregnancy, gestation, childbearing maturation Pregnancy; the period from conception until birth of an animal or (metaphorically) of an idea or plan The reproductive cycle in the adult female consists of all processes leading to conception, gestation , and birth of offspring.

xenophobia

(n) prejudice, bias, rasism, sexism Fear or hatred of foreigners or that which is foreign; a dread or dislike of anything or anyone foreign, especially people from other cultures and races As a foreign aid volunteer, you should not have a case of xenophobia that hinders you from socializing with people.

axiom

(n) principle, dictum, theorem, fundamental, law Self-evident truth requiring no proof; universally or generally accepted principle I decline to accept as an [-----] that our fate is involved in that of France.

maxim

(n) principle, tenet, rule, fundamental A general truth or fundamental principle, esp. expressed as a proverb or saying The maxim that actions speak louder than words

pugilism

(n) punching competition, battle, sparring, the ring boxing, fighting with the fists A verbal argument became an incident of pugilism when fists began to fly through the air.

strut

(n) rack, stand, counter, bar A structural support or brace Mazda also added a strut tower bar to help stiffen up the chassis.

iconoclast

(n) rebel, insurgent, recusant Attacker of cherished beliefs or institutions More and more, African-American iconoclasts reject victimology and embrace American possibility.

sedition

(n) rebellion, insurrection, agitation Inciting rebellion against a government, esp. speech or writing that does this The newspaper editor was accused of sedition when he encouraged his fans to rise up against police officers. When the man made an anti-government speech that inspired people to destroy federal buildings, he was arrested for sedition.

insurrection

(n) rebellion, revolt, insurgency, riot Rebellion or revolt against a government or similarly established authority Fortunately a government agency discovered the group's plan for insurrection before the highest politicians in the nation were murdered.

repose

(n) restfulness; calm, inactivity, stillness The act or state of resting; peacefulness, tranquility; lying dead in a grave When you begin to meditate, you need to sit in repose and try to empty your mind of all thoughts. Everyone's life should have a balance: work and play, activity and repose.

dirge

(n) sad song, elegy, hymn, coronach A funeral or mourning song or poem For a class project, my psychology professor asked all of us to write a poetic [-----] about a deceased love one.

dictum

(n) saying; proverb, aphorism, axiom a statement or well-known remark that expresses an important idea or rule, Formal or authoritative pronouncement; saying or proverb Every doctor knows the [-----], "first do no harm".

savant

(n) scholar, academic, philosopher Learned person, scholar, someone admitted to membership in a scholarly field; a person with amazing mental abilities despite having a cognitive difference or disability Although Jason is mildly retarded, he is also a chess savant who is considered to be one of the best players in the world. The seven-year-old savant is a gifted pianist.

fracas

(n) scrap, scrimmage, bicker, melee Noisy disturbance or fight; brawl The husband and wife were fined by the judge for starting a fracas in court.

dissolution

(n) separation, rupture, disintegration, decay detachment Dissolving, the state of having been dissolved; breaking bonds or breaking up of a group of people; death, disintegration; sinking into extreme hedonism, vice, and degradation Every beautiful description, every deep thought glides insensibly into the same mournful chant of the brevity of life, of the slow decay and [-----] of all earthly things.

opprobrium

(n) shame, disgrace, dishonor, infamy Disgrace and disapproval that result from outrageously shameful actions Only my friends appreciate how utterly uncharacteristic this is, but I've long ceased worrying about public opprobrium .

stigma

(n) shame, dishonor, odium Mark of disgrace, a figurative stain or mark on someone's reputation Numerous smokers feel as though the stigma that goes along with smoking has turned them into second-class citizens.

effrontery

(n) shameless boldness, arrogance, presumptuousness shameless boldness While Matt may have enjoyed dancing on top of the table, the bar owner was not pleased with his effrontery and banned him from the bar.

vestige

(n) sign, indication, relic, remnant Trace or sign of something that once existed When the sun appeared once more, the vestige of the snow melted and revealed the green grass underneath.

dupe

(n) simp, goof, ninny (v) deceive, cheat, fool Person who is easily fooled or used (noun); to fool or exploit (verb) My brother is a schemer who is always trying to [-----] people out of their money.

declivity

(n) skew, slope, bias, deviation, ramp Downward slope Hours later, I found the pass at over 18,000 feet, a sharp [-----] between two minor summits.

calumny

(n) slander, defamation, smear, denigration a false statement made to damage someone's reputation Although Charles does not personally like Henry, he is not the type of person to spread a [-----] about his enemy.

reprobate

(n) sneak, libertine, villain (adj) immoral, licentious, shameless Disreputable, unprincipled, or damned person (noun); shameless, depraved (adj) Although the old man pretended to be a reprobate in public, in private he did a lot of good deeds for the homeless.

anachronism

(n) something that doesn't fit its time period, like if you say you'll "dial" your smartphone It is always fun to go to my grandmother's house and watch her [-----], her large black and white television.

raconteur

(n) storyteller, anecdotist, narrator Witty storyteller Throughout his years on the radio, Talking Ed was a famous raconteur who kept his fans entertained with stories about his wacky wife.

precis

(n) summary, outline, conspectus Concise summary, abstract C. Hazlitt, The Livery Companies of the City of London (1892), contains a precis of the Royal Commission.

primacy

(n) supremacy, domination, authority The state of being first or most important The primacy of our mealtimes is that everyone eats together as a family.

abeyance

(n) suspension, dormancy, inactivity Temporary suspension, inactivity Expansion plans for the middle school are in [-----].

bevy

(n) swarm, bunch, covey, crew Group of birds or other animals that stay close together; any large group Because my mother wrote a [-----] of items on her grocery list, I was in the store for nearly two hours.

toady

(n) sycophant, flatterer, bootlicker, lackey Someone who flatters or acts in a servile manner for self-serving reasons Being the toady she is, Elaine fawns over the company president every time she sees him.

bent

(n) tendency, inclination, addiction Personal inclination or tendency My baby brother is a sugar [-----], unable to go even two hours without consuming some sort of sweet to sate his obsession.

predilection

(n) tendency, propensity, inclination Preference, tendency or favorability towards Her predilection for chocolate-covered roaches is so weird!

hand-wringing

(n) the clasping together and squeezing of one's hands, especially when distressed or worried Grasping, squeezing, etc. of the hands as an expression of nervousness, guilt, etc.; extend debate over what to do about an issue If you accuse someone of hand-wringing, you mean that they are expressing sorrow about a bad situation but are saying that they are unable to change it.

larceny

(n) theft, stealing, robbery Theft A concurrent effect to this drop in violent crime occurs in the form of an increase in some levels of property crimes, including larceny and auto theft.

stratagem

(n) trick, gimmick, scheme Military maneuver to deceive or surprise; crafty scheme Her business stratagem allowed her to quickly rise to the top as a great success. With years of tactical experience, the lieutenant used a stratagem to minimize risk of casualties.

canard

(n) trick, lie, rumor, lie Rumor, a false or baseless story To get back at her ex-boyfriend, Jane made up a [-----] about him selling drugs.

usury

(n) usury, gombeen Charging interest on a loan, esp. charging illegally high or excessive interest The dishonest lender's usury caused hundreds of people to lose their homes when they failed to meet the high interest payments.

inconstancy

(n) variability, volatility, instability Fickleness, unreliability; the state of changing without good reason Known for his inconstancy, the married man had children with women all over town.

transgression

(n) violation, misbehavior, crime Violation of a law, moral rule, order, etc.; sin The judge will decide the penalty for my transgression. When the banker stole funds from the vault, he made a huge transgression.

ford

(n) wade, passing, hard (v) to cross a ford Place where a river or similar body of water is shallow enough to walk or ride a vehicle across (noun); to cross at such a place (verb) Our next step was to find a ford and to cross the river.

maelstrom

(n) whirlpool, swirl, vortex Violent whirlpool; any chaotic, turbulent situation the train station was a maelstrom of crowds

idolatry

(n) worship, adoration, cult Idol worship; excessive or unthinking devotion or adoration According to the scripture, God punished the greedy man for his idolatry to precious metals.

apostate

(n, adj) deserter, traitor, backslider, turncoat, recreant Person who deserts a party, cause, religion, etc. "after 50 years as an [-----], he returned to the faith"

ingrate

(n, adj) ungrateful, thankless, unthankful, churlish ungrateful person That ingrate Bob sneered at the tie I gave him.

egress

(n, v) output, exit, out, outlet, escape An exit or the action of exiting Each egress of our house is connected to the security system so we can know each time a person enters and leaves the residence.

harangue

(n,v) diatribe, oration, screed, tirade Long, intense verbal attack, esp. when delivered publicly The candidate's speech was nothing but a harangue against his opponent.

via

(prep) through as by Through, by means of, by way of (by a route that goes through or touches) Many years ago, my Irish grandparents came to America via a ship named the Conqueror. The couple earned their initial fortune via the stock market, but continue to grow their wealth through investments.

assail

(v) : attack, assault, rush, storm to attack violently; to assault; to attack with arguments, words, or questions "the army moved in to [-----] the enemy"

confound

(v) Confuse, frustrate, perplex As the robber ran from the police, he jumped into a trash dumpster in an attempt to [-----] his pursuers.

annul

(v) abolish, abrogate, cancel, nullify, revoke Make void or null, cancel, abolish (usually of laws or other established rules) Because Mary felt her husband tricked her into marriage, she hired a lawyer to [-----] the bond.

inure

(v) accustom, familiarize, habituate, get used to Toughen up; accustom or habituate to pain, hardship, etc. The frightening risks taken by clandestine immigrants are so common we are inured to them.

recant

(v) annul, retract, revoke, take back Withdraw, retract, or disavow something one has previously said, esp. formally Because we knew the man was the killer, we were shocked when he decided to recant his confession.

parry

(v) anticipate, avoid, block, bypass, deflect A shielding or defensive maneuver used for protection; Deflect or avoid (esp. a blow or attack); skillfully evade (a question) She put on her sunglasses to parry his probing eyes.

engender

(v) arouse, foment, precipitate, provoke, stimulate, stir Produce, give rise to, cause to exist; procreate Some people believe violent video games engender feelings of hostility in young people.

impute

(v) attribute, ascribe, assign, credit Credit, attribute; lay blame or responsibility for (sometimes falsely) In suffering for a crime that is imputed to him, he both recalls and anticipates the many African Americans who lost their lives because of the groundless accusations made by whites.

ascribe

(v) attribute, assign, credit, set down Assign or credit to a certain cause or source "he [-----]ed Jane's short temper to her upset stomach"

amalgamate

(v) blend, merge, mix or unite combine or unite to form one organization or structure Since Janice and I are best friends who share the same birthday, we have decided to [-----] our parties this year.

balloon

(v) bloat, swell, distend Swell or puff out; increase rapidly During the dot-com bubble, the university's investments [-----]ed to three times their former value.

fulminate

(v) blow up, burst, detonate, implode Explode, detonate; attack verbally in a vehement, thunderous way The disgruntled customer continued to fulminate over a price difference.

propagate

(v) breed, reproduce, multiply, proliferate Reproduce, spread, increase How dare the newspaper propagate a fake story about the president!

appropriate

(v) budget, allocate, allot, earmark Set aside or authorize (such as money) for a particular purpose; take for one's own use there cannot be problems in [-----]ing funds for legal expenses

precipitate

(v) cause, hurry, speed Cause to happen suddenly or prematurely; fling, plunge, or hurl down The rising level of unemployment is going to precipitate a huge crowd at the welfare office.

equivocate

(v) cavil, dodge, elude, escape, eschew, evade, waffle to use unclear language especially to deceive or mislead someone Whenever the politician responded to questions, he would avoid eye contact and equivocate his answers.

expurgate

(v) censor, cut, bleep, edit, cleanse Censor; remove objectionable or offensive parts, to edit out rude, incorrect, offensive, useless, or otherwise undesirable information; to purge The producer agreed to expurgate some of the R-rated scenes so that the movie could be shown on network television.

prattle

(v) chat, talk, dangle talking for a long period of time about insignificant things; Talk in an idle, simple-minded, meaningless, or foolish way; chatter, babble At every party, there is always one lady who has to prattle on about her cute kids.

posit

(v) claim, affirm, assert Presume, suggest, put forward (an idea) Therefore, the only way to represent it is to posit different points of view and encourage the mind to move between these different perspectives.

clamber

(v) climb, scramble, shin up, shin Climb awkwardly or with difficulty, scramble Wearing high heels, Kate could only [-----] up the hill.

occlude

(v) close up, cover up, shut, shut down Stop up, close, shut in or shut off The police officers have blocked off the road to occlude the bomb from the public.

convoke

(v) collect, gather, assemble, congregate Call together, as to a meeting The dean has [-----]ed this gathering to discuss the Honor Code.

juxtapose

(v) compare, match, collate, contrast Place side by side (either physically or in a metaphorical way, such as to make a comparison) Hence, the film juxtaposes real-life footage of deep sea dives with imagined special effects of what life might look like on other planets in the solar system.

accede

(v) concur, accept, admit Agree, give consent; assume power (usually as "accede to") The company president made a wise decision to [-----] to consumer pressure and lower the prices of his goods.

arrogate

(v) confiscate, demand, expropriate, seize, usurp accroach Claim or take presumptuously or without the right to do so The government can [-----] your property when it's necessary to protect or develop national interests.

collude

(v) conspire, connive, intrigue Conspire; cooperate for illegal or fraudulent purposes Insurance companies should not be allowed to [-----] to raise rates on customers.

adulterate

(v) contaminate, alloy, pollute, degrade Make impure by adding inappropriate or inferior ingredients The restaurant was fined for trying to [-----] the ground beef with cheap meats.

husband

(v) control, manage, run, drive, operate Manage prudently, sparingly, or economically; conserve The Army's leaders so prized this book, out of print copies were husbanded by career officers.

whitewash

(v) cover up the truth, camouflage, vindicate, exonerate, extenuate to prevent people from learning the truth about (something bad, such as a dishonest, immoral, or illegal act or situation)l; A substance used to whiten walls, wood, etc. (noun); A book that tries to whitewash the country's past.

disparage

(v) criticize; detract from, degrade, denigrate, ridicule, scorn, slander Belittle, put down; bring shame upon, discredit It is never right to [-----] people based on ethnicity.

rue

(v) cry over, regret, lament, mourn Regret, remorse (noun); to feel regret or remorse (verb) My husband will rue the day he ever cheated on me! Since I have lost a good portion of my savings on a bad investment, I rue the day I ever met my broker.

mar

(v) damage, spoil, ruin, hurt Damage, spoil, ruin A bitter expression crossed his features, causing angry wrinkles to mar his face.

bilk

(v) deceive, cheat, kid, fool, spoof Cheat or defraud government waste has [-----]ed the taxpayer of billions of dollars

hoodwink

(v) deceive, dupe, mislead, hoax, trick Trick, deceive What they are really saying is that they will try to hoodwink the public.

slake

(v) decrease, appease, assuage, quench slake means to quench or satisfy one's thirst; Satisfy (esp. thirst), cool, or refresh; make less active To slake dehydration, the athletes drank sports drink before, during, and after the triathlon.

emaciate

(v) decrease, diminish, refine, weaken Make abnormally thin, cause to physically waste away Because some sick animals refuse to eat, many of them become emaciated.

discomfit

(v) defeating, frustrating, confusing Disconcerting, confusing, frustrating He hates telemarketers so much that he likes to [-----] them by asking them personal questions and suggesting he call them at their homes instead.

flout

(v) defy, disregard, mock, repudiate, scorn Treat with disdain, contempt, or scorn (usually of rules) Constance decided to flout her family's tradition of following a medical profession and became a best-selling romance writer instead.

grovel

(v) degrade, stoop, demean, debase, condescend Creep or crawl with one's face to the ground, prostrate oneself as a token of subservience, degrade or abase oneself she was groveling on the floor in fear

stipulate

(v) designate, set, dictate, impose Specify; make an open demand, esp. as a condition of agreement The owners may stipulate a huge deposit as a condition of the purchase agreement. Before I agree to close the deal, I must stipulate a few requirements that must be met before I sign on the dotted line.

demur

(v) disagree, refuse, resist, protest, contradict, deny Show reluctance or object, especially for moral reasons Citizens have the right to [-----] and protest any law they feel is unconstitutional.

jettison

(v) discard, refuse, throw out, emit Discard, cast off; throw items overboard in order to lighten a ship in an emergency six aircraft jettisoned their loads in the sea

dissemble

(v) disguise, pretend, conceal, camouflage to hide, to disguise or conceal behind a false appearance, hide the truth, put on a false appearance of Her plan was to [-----] her intentions from her husband so she could successfully plan him a surprise party.

supplant

(v) displace, replace, overthrow Take the place of, displace, especially through sneaky tactics A text message cannot supplant an actual phone call because it is incapable of expressing emotion.

impugn

(v) dispute, challenge, contest, contend, debate to attack as false or questionable Even though I hate my ex-husband's girlfriend, I never try to impugn her character in front of my children.

vex

(v) distress, bother, annoy, irritate, torment annoy or bother; puzzle or distress Please accept my apology because I did not mean to vex you with my words.

ridden

(v) dominate, oppress, afflict, annoy Dominated or burdened by The neighborhood was ridden with crime. / In this corruption-ridden nation, you simply have to pay bribes if you want anything to get done.

secrete

(v) emit, excrete, produce Produce and release a substance from a cell or gland of the body for a functional purpose An octopus can secrete ink to ward off prey. The pancreas is an organ that can secrete insulin which is needed to regulate blood sugar. Because a skunk lived under our deck, a horrible smell would secrete into our vents.

brook

(v) endure, tolerate, suffer Suffer or tolerate Jenny would [-----] no criticism of Matthew

prevaricate

(v) equivocate, beat around the bush, misspeak Stray from the truth, mislead, lie When you prevaricate, you only make a complicated situation worse than it already is.

exonerate

(v) exculpate, acquit, discharge, justify Clear from blame or accusation; free from a responsibility The job of the defense attorney is to exonerate his clients and keep them out of jail.

molt

(v) fade, moult, run, lose color Shed or cast off, esp. to regularly shed skin, feathers, etc. (as a snake) the adult birds were already molting into their winter shades of gray

malinger

(v) fake, pretend to be sick, dodge Pretend to be sick, esp. to get out of work, duties, etc. Role-playing is not the same as faking or malingering .

fawn

(v) flatter, adulate, toady how affection or try to please in the manner of a dog; try to win favor through flattery and submissive behavior Because Rick wants to be valedictorian of our class, he is the one most likely to fawn over a teacher.

ingratiate

(v) flatter, attract, blandish, captivate, charm Make an effort to gain favor with Counsel will do anything to ingratiate themselves with the Court, Mr Jackson.

inundate

(v) flood, deluge, saturate overflow, drown Flood, cover with water, overwhelm We've been inundated with great feedbacks from happy customers!

brandish

(v) flourish, wave, shake; swing to gesture while holding a weapon or other item as a threat When the crazed man decided to [-----] a gun in the airport, he was immediately shot by a security guard.

garner

(v) gather, collect, accumulate, store up, reserve Gather and store; amass, collect The church members are trying to garner enough funds to purchase the pastor a new house.

lionize

(v) glorify, celebrate, laud, fame Treat like a celebrity, give a lot of public attention and approval to (someone) People will lionize you as the Voice of a Generation.

hew

(v) hack, cut, chop Strike, chop, or hack (as with an axe, sword. etc.); make or shape something (such as a statue) with a cutting tool some artists took photographs that hewed to more traditional ideas of art

peddle

(v) hawk, solicit, trade to sell products by traveling to other places; Travel around while selling; sell illegally; give out or disseminate After the salesman would peddle his products around town, he would go to the local hotel for a good night sleep.

dither

(v) hesitate, fluctuate, sway, oscillate, vacillate (n) consternation, stupor, catalepsy, stupefaction, to hesitate or be indecisive (verb) a state of fear or trembling excitement (noun) When trying to determine where to shop for clothes, I usually [-----] between a few options.

insinuate

(v) hint, allude, suggest, intimate Hint, suggest slyly; introduce (an idea) into someone's mind in a subtle, artful way It would not surprise me if my mother tried to insinuate her preferences into my brother's wedding plans.

forage

(v) hunt, search, look, rummage to look widely for nourishment or other provisions; Wander in search of; rummage, hunt, make a raid The squirrels will forage to find nuts before the winter.

ameliorate

(v) improve, enhance, alleviate, mitigate, amend, relieve, upgrade Improve; make better or more bearable Raising money for Africa can [-----] the hunger crises.

cosset

(v) indulge, pamper, pet, coddle Treat as a pet, pamper All her life she'd been [-----]ed by her family.

apprise

(v) inform, tell, notify, advise Inform, give notice to I thought it right to [-----] Chris of what had happened

graft

(v) inoculate, engraft, ingraft, (n) transplant, hard work, 2) corruption, bribery Insert part of a plant into another plant, where it continues to grow; join living tissue (such as skin) to part of the body where it will continue to live and grow; attach as if by grafting (verb); the part so grafted (as in a graft of skin); the act of acquiring money or other benefits through illegal means, esp. by abusing one's power (noun) For years these same people ran political life through graft and corruption.

imbue

(v) inspire, infuse, strike to cause to be strongly influenced by a quality or emotion Inspire or permeate with a feeling or quality, or saturate, as dye in a fabric; influence throughout The purpose of singing the school song is to imbue school spirit among the students and faculty.

inculcate

(v) inspire, instill, suggest, impress, command Teach persistently, implant (an idea) in a person the failures of the churches to inculcate a sense of moral responsibility

edify

(v) instruct, enlighten, uplift, educate, improve Uplift, enlighten, instruct or improve in a spiritual or moral way Because Sarah and Sam never failed to [-----] each other, they were happily married for over sixty years.

harrow

(v) irritate, unnerve, spook, fidget (n) a farming device with sharp metal blades that is dragged across land to smooth or break up the soil Farming tool that breaks up soil (noun); painfully disturb or distress (verb) Purchasing a harrow will allow any farmer to prepare their soil more quickly for production. 🔊

peregrinate

(v) journey, roam, ramble Travel from place to place, esp. on foot After college, he took a year off to peregrinate across the country, visiting friends and seeing the forty-odd states he had never before had the chance to see.

gambol

(v) jump, leap, hop, skip, spring Frolic; skip or leap playfully When the toddler is in a happy mood, he will gambol through the house.

steeped

(v) let soak, bathe, drench, imbue Immersed (in), saturated (with) A person steeped in classic literature probably thinks about almost everything in terms of old, famous books. The Met's new campaign seeks to answer affirmatively the question of whether music lovers steeped in hip-hop and pop can learn to love opera.

circumscribe

(v) limit, restrict, confine, constrain, restrain Strictly limit a role, range of activity, or area; in math, to be constructed around so as to touch as many points as possible From the earliest days of the new state there were efforts to [-----] local authority powers.

dovetail

(v) link, fit together, coincide, conform Join or fit together He would not speculate on whether a March end to his radio contract would conveniently [-----] with the start of a national election campaign.

amortize

(v) liquidate, cancel, satisfy to the amount of a debt or loan by paying small payments over time After putting down five thousand dollars on the car, the buyer decided to [-----] the rest through small payments over two years.

abase

(v) lower, degrade, decrease Degrade or humble; to lower in rank, status, or esteem Dunlap had a reputation for openly [---sing] his employees

whet

(v) make sharp, hone, sharpen Stimulate, make keen or eager (esp. of an appetite) The mobile phone company uses celebrity endorsements to make consumers whet their phones. As I walked up my grandmother's steps, I realized the smell of her food was enough to whet my appetite.

recapitulate

(v) paraphrase, recount, restate, summarize, rehearse Summarize, repeat in a concise way To ensure my students understand the instructions, I recapitulate them more than once.

pare

(v) peel, trim, shave Peel or cut off the outer layer (such as peeling fruit with a knife), reduce or trim as if cutting off the outer parts; clip, tidy up or peel something to make it look better In order to make my small apartment more comfortable, I had to pare down my possessions to only a few small pieces of furniture.

lumber

(v) plod, shuffle, slog Walk in a heavy or clumsy way, sometimes due to being weighed down He lumbered up the hill, stopping frequently to get his breath back. The elephants lumbered slowly along the path.

opine

(v) point out, voice, declare to express an opinion At the "Let's Chat Talk Show," the audience member opined that the guest was in the wrong.

burnish

(v) polish, brighten, smooth, shine, glance Polish, make smooth and lustrous The presidential candidate used his time at the podium to [-----] his image in the eyes of the nation.

ruminate

(v) ponder, consider, contemplate, cogitate, brainstorm Turn over in the mind, reflect on; chew cud (as a cow) Because most young people are only interested in having fun, they usually do not ruminate on their decisions. The judges will ruminate over the evidence before deciding upon a verdict.

antedate

(v) precede, predate, backdate to occur before something else In general, sex will normally [-----] a pregnancy.

militate

(v) prevent, hinder, impede, inhibit, struggle Have a great effect, weigh heavily (often as militate against), discourage these fundamental differences will militate against the two communities coming together

forestall

(v) prevent, stop, forbid, foreclose, postpone, delay, hinder Delay, hinder, prevent by taking action beforehand Vitamins may forestall many diseases of aging.

nettle

(v) provoke, irritate, displease, annoy, exasperate Irritate, sting, or annoy But it's clear that some of the more caustic comments about them continue to nettle Mik Pyro.

declaim

(v) recite, rant, say Speak in an impassioned, pompous, or oratorical manner; give a formal speech At first I couldn't make out the words, just the preternaturally LOUD sound of a boy's voice flatly [-----]ing some sort of Important Announcement.

doff

(v) remove, take off, take down Take off (such as clothes), put aside; remove one's hat as a gesture The lady gave a courtesy as the gentleman moved to [-----] his hat as they bid each other adieu.

redound

(v) result in, lead to, effect, conduce to To have a good or bad effect, esp. as a result of a person's efforts or actions (usually used with to, on, or upon) May his sin redound upon his head.

abscond

(v) run away, escape, bolt, flee Depart suddenly and secretively She [-----]ed with the remaining thousand dollars

propitiate

(v) satisfy, appease, assuage, mollify, placate Attempt to reconcile with, satisfy, or reduce the animosity of (a person who is angry, offended, etc.) After Bill forgot his wife's birthday, he tried to propitiate the situation by purchasing her the pearl necklace she always wanted.

upbraid

(v) scold, admonish, castigate, berate Find fault with, criticize or scold severely As soon as the doctor arrives, he is going to upbraid the nurse for not taking proper care of the patient.

glower

(v) scowl, glare, look daggers, frown Stare in an angry, sullen way She had what could only be described as a glower on her face.

inveigle

(v) seduce, lure, entice, allure Entice, lure; get something by flattery, cleverness, or offering incentives We cannot inveigle him into putting pen to paper.

delimit

(v) set the bounds, define, determine, measure, specify Fix, mark, or define the boundaries of The property appraiser walked from one side of the property to the other in order to [-----] and estimate the total square feet.

winnow

(v) sift, separate, bolt Sift, analyze critically, separate the useful part from the worthless part; to remove (people or things that are less important, desirable, etc.) from a larger group or list The list of candidates has been winnowed [=narrowed down, whittled down] to five. — often + down He needs to winnow down his options.

adumbrate

(v) sketch, outline, suggest, foreshadow Give a rough outline of; foreshadow; reveal only partially; obscure With assistance from the victim, the sketch artist will [-----] a picture of the robbery suspect.

palliate

(v) soothe, mitigate, mollify, alleviate, lessen Make less serious or severe; relieve symptoms of an illness After a long night of drinking, Bill takes a pill to palliate the symptoms of the hangover he expects to have the next day.

diffuse

(v) spread, scatter, dissipate, dispel, disperse, disseminate Spread widely, disseminate (verb); dispersed, widely spread out, or wordy and going off-topic Instead it comes from several [-----] sources spread over a large geographical area.

sully

(v) stain, spoil, besmirch Make dirty, stain, tarnish, defile If the chemical plant is built near the resort, it will probably sully the clean air in the area.

ossify

(v) stiffen Become bone or become hard like bone; become inflexible in attitudes, opinions, etc. I have a less ossified view of culture, one that sees it as not fixed in a person's or nation's history, but as a fluid, ongoing process.

dilate

(v) stretch, widen, expound To become wider or make wider, cause to expand; to speak or write at length, elaborate upon When Kim is shocked, her eyes [-----] and become quite large.

connote

(v) suggest, indicate, signify, mean Suggest or imply in addition to the precise, literal meaning The term "modern science" usually [-----]s a complete openness to empirical testing

subpoena

(v) summon, convene, cite (n) mandate, summons, warrant Will they arrest my sister if she ignores the court's subpoena and does not take the witness stand? A court order requiring a person to appear in court and give testimony

besiege

(v) surround, attack, assault, blockade Attack, overwhelm, crowd in on or surround The homeless people will often [-----] tourists with their pleas for money.

distend

(v) swell, expand, stretch, bloat, dilate to become larger from internal pressure Because she was pregnant, her stomach began to [-----] as the baby grew.

rend

(v) tear, split, break, divide, rip Tear violently, esp. to tear one's clothing or hair out of grief; pull apart, split, or tear away When my boyfriend broke up with me, I felt as though he was trying to rend my heart into tiny pieces. The bloodiest scene in the film occurs when the villain uses his sword to rend the man's head off his body.

coagulate

(v) thicken, condense, clot, deepen Cause a liquid to become solid or semisolid

squelch

(v) thwart, suppress, restrain Crush, squash; suppress or silence; walk through ooze or in wet shoes, making a smacking or sucking sound The Roman general would not tolerate the uprising, and he sent his legions to squelch it with force.

grandstand

(v) tribune, rostrum, platform Perform showily in an attempt to impress onlookers The grandstand 's terracing now provides more space for spectators to view the racing.

goad

(v) urge, incite, motivate, induce, impel Urge on (as cattle) with a pointed or electrically charged stick; spur on, stimulate, encourage Still, I haven't found a mobile phone tiny enough to goad me into switching.

attenuate

(v) weakened, reduced, lessened Weaken or thin out Leaders from countries all over the world meet at the United Nations to [-----] hostility between nations.

revamp

(v), (n) renovate, refurbish, restore, update, repair Renovate, redo, revise (verb); a restructuring, upgrade, etc. (noun) The city decided to revamp their town monument, since it was looking a little old and beaten after forty years of only basic care.

hedge

(v)let, prevent, hinder, impede, inhibit (n) hedgerow, green fence, quickset (v) Avoid commitment by leaving provisions for withdrawal or changing one's mind; protect a bet by also betting on the other side (n) bushes or shrubs that form a boundary as they grow closely together in a row Forming a hedge around the moat, the prickly shrubs provided even more protection for the king's castle.

kindle

(v)light, light up, ignite, burn up, spark Ignite, cause to begin burning; incite, arouse, inflame Last night I built the first fire I've kindled in years and it came back to me, that instinctual pull of watching the flames catch, of stirring the embers, and poking the logs until they burn brightly.

bifurcate

(v, adj) split, furcate, diverge To fork into two branches or divide into two halves The British Columbia province is distinctively [-----]ed into the lush green forests and the dry and arid region.

blight

(v, n) poison, bane, intoxicate, envenom, infection Disease that kills plants rapidly, or any cause of decay or destruction (noun); ruin or cause to wither (verb)

baying

howling, flagrant, crying Howling in a deep way, like a dog or wolf The lonely dog [-----]ed all night.