NLN Vocabulary JAE

analogy

A comparison of two things for purposes of explanation. He did not understand the professor's _______ between the current administration and a sloth.

amity

A friendly relationship. The event cultivated a sense of ______ among attendees from different tribes.

altercation

A heated quarrel, argument (esp. in public). The police interrupted the ______ involving some teenage girls at the mall.

arbiter

A judge or one who makes decisions. On the subject of language, a poet is the ultimate _______, the judge, the jury and the courtroom cat.

apathy

A lack of feeling, emotion, or interest. The mother said that her daughter's _______ was a major source of her disappointment.

acerbic

Acid, sour, severe OR sharp and forthright. Janet was surprised to hear her colleague's _______ comments about their supervisor.

avouch

Affirm or assert. How many young women in Boston can ________ for the truth of this statement?

amenable

Agreeable, pleasant, willing to give in to the wishes of others. The engineer was ________ to the architect's suggestions to improve the design of the home.

aeon

An indefinitely long period of time or an age. It had seem like an _______ since he had seen or visited his father.

augury

An omen or sign for what will happen in the future. And by the way, Ganesha is an icon of good _________ in almost all Asian countries.

accost

Approach or address someone boldly or aggressively. The man began to ______ the flight attendant for asking him to take his seat on the plane.

apposite

Appropriate and fitting. What could be more ________, more relevant to our predicament as a nation, today?

aver

Assert with confidence; to state as true. She had a tendency to _____ things that had previously been shown to be false.

ascribe

Attribute to a specific cause or origin. Many people in the department ________ his odd behaviour to drunkenness and encroaching senility.

admonition

Authoritative counsel or warning. The boy began to cry after he received his first ________ from the principal of the school.

acrimonious

Biting, sharp, nasty or spiteful. The negative effects of an _________ divorce between their parents were apparent.

benison

Blessing. The monetary gift he received from his parents was a _________ and relieved some of his financial hardship.

alacrity

Brisk and cheerful readiness. The minister had an _______ of spirit that helped minimize the weight he carries.

avid

Characterized by great eagerness. When he was a young man he was an ______ bird watcher.

beguile

Cheat; charm. She tried to ______ the merchant with her flirtatious manner.

banal

Commonplace, not original. In his first staged play, we see the _______ existence of a boarding-house lodger ripped apart by psychological torture.

aesthetic

Concerned with beauty or appreciation of beauty. The young man appears to be more interested in the ________ rather than health benefits of exercise.

auspicious

Conducive to success or favorable. Having grown up with parents who were medical doctors was ________ for the young man, giving him a leg up on his peers in school.

arbitrary

Decided by judgement rather than law, biased. His position on the issue came across as _______ rather than informed by experience or science.

bellicose

Demonstrating aggression and willingness to fight. With every additional day of the government shutdown, the President has become increasingly _______.

aberration

Departure from the norm. She is normally calm and level headed, so this outburst is an _______.

baneful

Destructive, harmful. Her new boyfriend has some kind of ______ influence over her. (syn. to malign)

blatant

Done openly and unashamedly. His ______ attempt to offend her was duly noted.

abet

Encourage. Did he aid and _______ the commission of the crime?

adulation

Excessive admiration or praise. The actress' desire for public _______ and attention was apparent.

bizarre

Extremely farfetched; unconventional. The sculpture was ______ and received a mixed reaction from the crowd.

abject

Extremely sad, hopeless, or defeated. At the end he professed ______ repentance for his impiety and disloyalty.

apt

Fitting, appropriate or having a tendency to do something. If doors are left unlocked in the school, the children are _____ to get into rooms where they don't belong.

aggregate

Form or group into a class or culture. He began to _______ similar comments into one column. A whole formed of different elements. The council was an ________ of members of three different sub-committees.

arboreal

Pertaining to trees. Raccoons prefer ________ habitats but will often venture into other areas for food.

banter

Playful conversation, good natured, teasing. The conversation over dinner took on a serious tone rather than the usual _______.

bigoted

Prejudiced. If they were less _______, they might actually be pleasant company.

abstruse

Profound, obscure, or hard to understand. The physicist was not only a brilliant researcher, he was adept at teaching even the most _______ theories.

averse

Reluctant; disinclined, having a feeling of opposition. Being risk ______, the investor shied away from volatile stocks and steered toward mutual funds.

august

Respected and impressive. However often I saw it, I never ceased to be awed by its ________ power, majesty and beauty.

asperity

Roughness or harshness, severity in temper. Writing in French purified his style, and his translations into English of his work retain a penitential rigour and _______.

accolade

Salutation, award or honor. She received the ______ "Purple Heart" for her heroism during the war in Afghanistan.

aroma

Scent or smell. The flowers gave off a peaceful and calming _______.

autonomous

Self-governing; free and independent. The young woman's ________ approach to the assignment surprised the other members of her team.

austere

Severely or strict in manner or appearance, ascetic. But what tempts these youngsters to leave the security of home and lucrative jobs for an _______ lifestyle of development work in India?

astute

Shrewd, clever, keen. Discerning, _________, uncompromising, his leadership inspired one to venture against all odds.

argot

Slang. On social media one can observe how young people use language and _______ to express how they feel to their peers.

anathema

Something or someone greatly disliked or disapproved of. Her conservative banter and cheap perfume are the ________ of the office.

balmy

Something that soothes, heals or comforts, refreshing. Compared to the bitter cold in Minnesota, the winter weather in Seattle feels _______.

blandish

Speak with flattery, sweet-talk. (syn. to cajole, inveigle) It seemed as if his partner was being disingenuous and attempting to ______ him.

antipathy

Strong dislike or aversion. She expressed utter _______ for her neighbor's guests who kept parking in her driveway.

adamant

Stubborn, inflexible or insistent. She was _______ that her boyfriend was in cahoots with her mother on the practical joke.

acumen

The ability to make sound judgements or quick decisions (in a particular domain.) He possessed the right business _______ for the job.

antithesis

The direct opposite or contrasting alternative. Her stubbornness is the ________ of the temperament that we need from members on this committee.

baleful

Threatening harm, menacing. But clearly they were seeking protection from something they perceived to be potentially ________ or harmful.

abrogate

To cancel or abolish. The judge proposed to ______ DOMA and allow for marriage equality.

beget

To give birth to; create. With this belief comes the expectation that a booming economy will ______ social progress.

acquiesce

To give in or go along with something without protest. Although it might make him upset, he will likely ________ because he knows it makes her happy.

abate

To lessen. Taking pain medicine can cause headaches to ________. (syn. wane)

ameliorate

To make better. Improvements in policy are needed to ________ the homeless problem in Seattle.

adumbrate

To report or represent in outline. The President will _______ a plan for ending the government shutdown. To foreshadow or symbolize. What does the golden chariot ______ in this stanza of the poem?

assuage

To soothe; to make less severe. (syns. alleviate, wane, abate) The doctor's smile and calm demeanor helped to _______ her fears about the surgery.

balk

To stop short and refuse to proceed. They might _______ at that sort of money and refuse to pick up the tab, which was a scary thought.

avert

To turn aside or away; to prevent; to avoid. He chose to ______ his gaze to avoid being noticed.

altruistic

Unselfish, devoted to helping others. The man's motives were clearly something other than _______.

atrophy

Waste away. The flesh of the baby whale had already begun to ______ after two weeks of being dead.

affluent

Wealthy, rich, prosperous. She comes from an ________ family that enjoys hosting large balls and concerts in their home.

axiomatic

Widely held belief; self evident; unquestionable. It is _______ that every generation thinks the music of its youth was a benchmark of pop greatness.

askance

With an attitude or look of suspicion or disapproval. If people with suspiciously orange tans are to be looked at _________, so, too, are suspiciously orange fish.

agnostic

A person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God. His objective commentary on the role of religion made me wonder if he was ________.

ascetic

A person who practices abstention from all forms of indulgence esp. for religious reasons. She approached her vegan diet like a true _________.

bauble

A small, showy trinket or decoration. Each night after going to bed I can hear the cats downstairs dismantling the Christmas tree _______ by _______.

anomalous

Abnormal, irregular. The violent incident at school was _______ because they have not had an incident like it in years.

accrue

Accumulate or receive (as in payment or benefit). The employee will begin to _______ health benefits and vacation at the first of the month.

adventitious

Formed accidentally or in an unusual anatomical position (as in biology) The genetic mutation led to the propagation of sour cherries from _______ shoots. Not expected or planned or happening by chance. My career pursuits for most of my life have been _______ but that is about to change.

affable

Friendly, good-natured, easy to talk to. I remember my grandfather as a wise man with ________ character.

authentic

Genuine, real, original. The archaeologist had a difficult time determining whether the artifacts were _______ or fake.

avarice

Greed; extreme desire for wealth. Few people in the office appreciated his ________ and heartlessness.

attrition

Grinding down; wearing down; gradual reduction. After these meetings, our employee _______ rate dropped from 13 percent to 11 percent.

assiduous

Hardworking, attentive, diligent. The manager has the right to expect that his workers will be careful and _______.

benign

Harmless, mild, kindly. Thankfully the results of the biopsy showed that the tumor was _______.

bibliophobe

Hater of books. He spends so much time on the Internet and reading books online that he is now a bit of a _______.

artless

Having no skill or art, crude, frank. The belief that baking is an ______ vocation is misguided.

acme

Highest point. The Roman civilization was approaching the _____ of its power 2000 years ago.

augment

Increase or become greater. To ________ their farm income, many Amish families cook meals for tourists but are not registered with state health agencies.

blasphemy

Insult to anyone sacred; profanity. Her comments about the Governor's husband were utter _______.

alleviate

Lighten, to make less severe. (syn. ameliorate, abate, wane) The sunglasses did little to _______ his headache.

bibliophile

Lover of books. With the advent of new technology, she became less of a _______ and preferred instead reading online.

aggravate

Make worse or more serious. (syn. exacerbate) The cold weather was sure to _______ the stiffness in his joints.

bland

Mild, dull, lacking flavor or zest. (syn. banal, vapid) She doesn't like his ______ character and prefers someone who is more outgoing.

abstemious

Moderate (adj.) especially in the use of food and drink. ______ in his habits, the athlete possessed great physical endurance.

askew

Not straight or in level position. The picture frame hung ______ on the wall after the earthquake tremors.

acolyte

Novice or young assistant. During the Catholic mass, the ______ held the tray of wafers for the priest during communion.

apocryphal

Of questionable authority or authenticity, fictitious. The story that she told about her trip to climb Mount Everest was _______.

awry

Off course, not straight, turned to one side. Of course, when things go _______ we always single out and punish somebody, usually the coach.

arrogance

Offensive, overbearing, feeling superior to others. President Trump's ______ is unbearable for many of the people who work with him.

ambiguous

Open to more than one interpretation or double meaning. The results of years of research unfortunately has led to ________ conclusions that are not worth publishing.

apostate

People who had renounced their faith because they feared death, torture, or imprisonment. His views contradicted the status quo and he was accused of being an _______.

alluvial

Pertaining to mud, sand or silt left by running water. The ______ soil was rich in nutrients for the coastal vegetation.

astral

Pertaining to the stars. Some of the firecrackers exploded in colorful, spherical shapes and others took on more of an _______ appearance as they fell from the sky.