SAT Vocabulary I

exorcised [The owners of the old castle have exorcised the demons supposed to have been haunting it.]

Freed from evil spirits by chanted words or other rites

prevaricator [Truth means nothing to the prevaricator as long as he gets what he wants]

One who evades the truth; a liar

trajectory [Artillery is directed by determining the trajectory of each shell fired.]

The arc which marks the path of an object that is hurled or fired but not otherwise propelled or guided

subterfuge [He wouldn't admit he was unprepared and used a subterfuge to get out of the competition.]

a baffling or devious method for avoiding difficulty or unpleasantness

pulsation [The pulsation of the artery was very apparent.]

a beat or throb; rhythmic vibration

conflagration [No one knows who set the blaze but the conflagration destroyed the building.]

a raging fire

deviation [Any deviation from the original plans will involve great expense.]

a turning away or departure from; a divergence

coalition [No one party could gain majority, so a coalition government was formed from two parties.]

a union or joining together; a temporary alliance

pittance [The admission price to the entertainment was a mere pittance.]

a very small amount; a barely sufficient portion or allowance

ablution [He had to perform his daily ablution in cold water this morning.]

a washing or cleansing

nonplussed [We were nonplussed by his actions because we had never seen him behave that way before.]

baffled; confused; puzzled

lithe [The lithe body of the acrobat swung from ring to ring.]

bending easily and gracefully; supple; flexible limber

sinuous [The weary travelers followed the sinuous path of the river although they feared that they were lost.]

bending in and out; undulating; winding

placid [The placid scene had a calming effect upon his jangled nerves.]

calm; serene; peaceful

feasible [I am inclined to accept your record of experience as feasible. With those talents you can do the job, but it's not feasible for me.]

capable of being accomplished; practicable; workable; likely; probable

circumspect [He was always circumspect before making a decision.]

cautiously attentive to everything; watchful against error or impropriety; wary; (literally: looking around)

metamorphosis [The caterpillar undergoes a metamorphosis to become a butterfly.]

change in structure or form; transformation of characteristics, circumstances, etc.

enunciation [Enunciation is a very important quality in public speaking. She gave an enunciation of her political position.]

clear pronunciation; articulation; a declaration

limpid [We could easily see the bottom through the limpid water.]

clear; transparent

orthodox [He questions most orthodox opinions until he finds personal reasons to accept them.]

conforming with usual and generally accepted beliefs or doctrines; conventional; proper

castigated [All of the students were castigated by the headmaster for their improper behavior.]

criticized severely; punished verbally; chastised or rebuked strongly

truncated [When you truncated the paragraph you left out important details.]

cut off; shortened

aridity [The aridity of the soil prevented the development of the crops.]

dryness; barrenness; the state of being dull, without interest

torpor [A hot summer day and a dull speech can equally produce torpor in me.]

dullness; sluggishness; apathy; stupor

respectively [The landscape, the seascape, and the portrait were labeled one, two, and three respectively.]

each in order as named; as relating to each other

corroded [The acid was so strong that it corroded any metal it touched.]

eaten into; destroyed gradually - as by a chemical process; impaired in strength, character, etc.

primeval [One wonders what the earth was like in the primeval period.]

from the first age; primitive; prehistoric

herbivorous [Cows are herbivorous animals.]

grass eating; living on plants

equivocal [He gave an equivocal reply to the question to avoid answering directly.]

having a double meaning; ambiguous; uncertain

astute [She could see through our excuses and was too astute to be deceived by them.]

having keen insight and good judgment in practical matters; shrewdly competent; perspicacious

chaotic [The chaotic condition of his room shows how careless he is.]

in a state of chaos; extremely mixed up; very confused or disorderly

cadaverous [After the ordeal he had a cadaverous look, but he was still alive.]

like a corpse; ghastly

bovine [His bulk and his slowness made him seem bovine.]

like a cow or ox; stolid; slow; patient; dull

barrister [If you're going to sue somebody, you need to hire a barrister.]

loosely - an attorney or lawyer (in England, a lawyer who pleads cases in courts .....a solicitor advises and prepares cases.0

amnesia [Amnesia victim suddenly remembered her name.]

loss of memory

impalpable [As she glided through the room she seemed as impalpable as a dream.]

not able to be felt; not able to be perceived easily

inimitable [Many writers have tried to copy him, but his style is inimitable.]

not able to be imitated; unequaled; unparalleled; unique

emolument [The work was difficult, but the emolument was small.]

payment; salary; remuneration

germane [Omit what is not germane to the discussion.]

pertinent or fitting to the issue; relevant

petulant [She is so petulant about losing that no one wants to play with her.]

pettily or childishly peevish; irritable; fretful; obstinate; impatient

prolific [My bookshelves are full of the works of this prolific writer.]

producing a great deal; reproducing rapidly

sacrilege [Burning the church was vandalism but using it first for a dance hall was sacrilege.]

profanatory or irreverent treatment of holy things; desecration

volatile [He has such a volatile personality that one never knows what kind of mood he will be in.]

quickly evaporating; unstable; quickly changeable; influenced easily; fickle

iridescent [The northern lights put on a display of iridescent beauty.]

showing a play of colors like that of a rainbow

solicitous [In trying to answer the questions the boy was annoyed by the solicitous prompting of his mother.]

showing concern, careful attention or protectiveness; eagerly desirous, willing

extemporary [After receiving the unexpected award he gave a short, extemporary speech.]

spoken or performed without prior practice or memorization; "off the top of one's head"; extemporaneous

pendent [Our suggestions are still pendent; it seems that they will never be acted upon.]

suspended from above; hanging; in suspense; undecided

transcend [The pleasure of accomplishment transcends that of the work to achieve it.]

the go beyond or rise above in degree or excellence; to favorably exceed a limitation

intelligentsia [He had so little education that he felt uncomfortable among the intelligentsia.]

the highly educated and cultured

jargon [A lawyer probably would not understand all the jargon of doctors.]

the language or vocabulary of a particular group, profession, trade, etc.

estuary [The boat race was not on the open sea nor upriver, but in the estuary.]

the wide mouth of a river where it merges with an ocean or sea

teem [The pages of the book seemed to teem with new ideas.]

to be overflowing; to abound with; to be full of

deign She is so arrogant now that she will not deign to speak to her former friends.]

to consider fitting to oneself; to lower oneself to another's level; to condescend

impinge [I will not permit him to impinge upon my rights.]

to infringe or encroach upon

entail [Success will usually entail a great amount of work.]

to involve necessarily; to require as a part of

relegate [The poor relations were relegated to a back seat during the wedding ceremony.]

to put back or consign to an inferior condition; to banish; to pass for decision

emit [The geysers emit boiling water several times a day.]

to put out or give off light, heat, sound, etc.; to utter sounds, expression, etc.

pervade [The sweet odor of the roses seemed to pervade the whole house.]

to spread throughout; to permeate

incredulity [We listened to his story with incredulity, but he finally convinced us that it was true.]

unwillingness to believe; disbelief; skepticism

probity [Because of his probity the man was entrusted with a responsible position.]

uprightness; reliability; integrity; strict honesty

acquiesced [After much arguing he finally acquiesced to his parent's demands.]

yielded; gave in; assented

deferential [When your ideas are not like mine, I can be deferential for the sake of harmony.]

yielding or deferring to the wishes, ideas, etc. of another; respectful; courteous

gyration [The gyrationof the ballerina made me dizzy]

A revolving action around an axis; a whirling or spinning motion

dromedary [The dromedary can travel swiftly across the desert.]

Arabian or one-humped camel

subservient [His wife criticized him for acting in such a subservient manner toward his employer.]

In inferior capacity; acting as a servant to; submissive; servile

pariah [He does not seem to have any friends; in fact, he seems to be a pariah among his fellow students.]

One who is rejected or shunned by nearly everybody; an outcast from society

absolution [Good friends make us feel absolution for our human faults.]

The forgiving of sin; a freeing from guilt and penalty; forgiveness

onomatopoeia [The words pop, buzz, and tinkle are all examples of onomatopoeia.

The formation and use of words that imitate the sounds associated with meaning; such a word

etymology [A course in etymology will help you to increase your vocabulary]

The study of word origins, development and changes in accepted meaning; such a history of a word

subversive [The FBI devotes particular attention to groups that seem subversive.]

Undermining and destructive or corruptive; a person who so acts

tyro [She is an experienced, professional actress but her understudy is a tyro.]

a beginner or learner; a novice; an amateur

advent [The advent of nuclear power occurred at the end of World War II.]

a beginning or coming into being; a first appearance or arrival of significance

ligature [A loose ligature won't stop bleeding and fancy ligature may impede your reading.]

a binding or a bond; the sign for letters or musical notes to be tied together; a grouping of such notes or letters; to fasten with a ligature

colander [The cook used a colander to strain the vegetables.]

a bowl-shaped sieve with handles; a strainer

eruption [With two such hotheads holding opposite views, an eruption was inevitable.]

a bursting forth or out, as of lava from a volcano; a sudden outburse, as of emotion or social discontent; a breaking out in a rash; a rash

harbinger [The robin is a traditional harbinger of spring.]

a carrier or indicator of the future; a forerunner; a presager

affront [His brazen, slurring remarks were an affront to the president's dignity.]

a challenging insult; an insolent confrontation; to offend by such

aberration [His misconduct is certainly an aberration; he is usually well behaved.]

a change or departure from the usual, normal, prescribed, etc.; a disorder of the mind

category [We have two kinds of questions here that should be grouped in separate categories.]

a class; a classification; a division

anthology [He has an anthology of Frost's poems.]

a collection of literary works

welter [The escaping prisoner was caught in a welter of violence, and then was made to welter in the sweat of close confinement.]

a commotion of confused action; a tumultuous tumbling; to surge and tumble; to wallow in; to be uncomfortably immersed in

coercion [The employers were charged with coercion in attempting to get the workers to accept their terms.]

a compelling or forcing; forced restraint or constraint; control or government by force

imbroglio [An imbroglio developed among the representatives of the nations because of an error in translation.]

a complicated disagreement; a misunderstanding with serious consequences

compendium [He published a compendium of all of Shakespeare's plays

a comprehensive and concise summary

impasse [The discussion reached an impasse when the question of dividing the property came up.]

a condition or situation that stops progress, accomplishment or escape; a blockage, stalemate or deadlock

fissure [A large fissure appeared in the hillside after the earthquake.]

a crack, crevice or narrow opening

shibboleth [Showing special respect to elders is an Oriental shibboleth. If you don't know the new shibboleth, you can't get past our guard.]

a custom or phrase distinctive of a particular group, class, etc.; a password or watchword

rebate [She had expected the usual discount but this generous rebate astonished her.]

a deduction or discount; a return of part of the amount paid; to allow such

aspersion [The witness cast aspersion on the good name of the defendant.]

a discrediting, disrespectful or injurious remark or report; a slandering; calumny; defamation

blight [A blight destroyed the farmer's corn crop. Her uncooperativeness will blight our plans for success.]

a disease which destroys plants; anything destructive of growth, hopes, character, etc.; to cause such effects

aura [Saints and hardened criminals each have their distinctive auras of good or evil.]

a distinctive and characterizing quality or atmosphere surrounding something or someone

lineament [The graceful lineaments of her face attracted the artist.]

a distinctive facial contour or feature; a marked or distinguishing characteristic

schism [Once we had a solid organization, but now a schism has occurred.]

a division or separation of a group into opposing or differing groups; a rift

motif [The hero's riding off into the sunset is a familiar motif in western movies.]

a dominant, recurrent, and characterizing theme, pattern, or feature

declivity [If my brakes fail on this declivity, we will roll down into the lake.]

a downward slope

pewter [The pewter dish didn't shine like the silver tray on which it sat.]

a dull silver-colored metal used for making dishes, pans, etc.

calumny [If we believed your opponent's calumny we would not trust you as we do.]

a false and injurious accusation or statement; slander; defamation

vantage [From my place of vantage, I could observe and understand all that was going on.]

a favorable or advantageous position; a condition permitting clear understanding, advantage or superiority

antipathy [His antipathy for our cause was demonstrated by his working against us. Because she opposed our principles so rudely, she was the antipathy of our group.]

a feeling of aversion or strong dislike; the opposite of sympathy; the object of such feeling

metaphor [In a famous metaphor, Shakespeare compares "all the world" to a stage.]

a figure of speech calling one thing something else to imply likeness (without using "like," "as," etc., which creates a simile)

simile [In Burns's famous simile, he describes his love as "like a red, red rose.']

a figure of speech likening one thing to another using "as," "like," etc.

confluence [There was a confluence of ideas at our conference. The water is rough at the confluence of rivers.].

a flowing together; a merging; the place or instance of merging

torque [An amazing amount of torque was required to drive in those screws.]

a force that rotates and twists or wrenches

crustacean [Lobsters and shrimps are crustacean.]

a form of marine life having a crust-like shell

panacea [The committee's suggestion was only a panacea: it did nothing to solve the real problem.]

a glib or facetious remedy for anything and everything; a supposed universal cure; a cure-all

regression [Fortunately, the disease is in regression, and the patient should recover completely.]

a going back; a withdrawing or returning; (opposite of progression)

arabesque [The table covering contained an attractive arabesque design.]

a gracefully elaborate design with interwoven lines; such a form in ballet or music

ruddy [His ruddy complexion suggested that he had been exercising recently.]

a healthy reddish color

parody [Everybody except the headmaster laughed at the student's parody of his lecture.]

a humorous and ridiculing imitation; a farce; a poor imitation; to act in such a manner

paean [On Easter morning the stirring paean could be heard even outside the cathedral.]

a hymn or song of joy, triumph or praise

amazon [She has the physique of an amazon but the voice of a small child.]

a large and athletic or strong woman; a woman with masculine characteristics; a woman warrior

treatise [He wrote a learned treatise on the science of government.]

a long and formal written work on a non-fictional subject

virago [Rip Van Winkle's wife was a virago from whom any man would try to escape.]

a loud-mouthed, bad-tempered, overbearing woman

winch [It took two men to crank the winch and lift the stone from the quarry.]

a machine with a cylinder which, when revolved, winds rope or cable about it to hoist attached objects; to hoist with such

mausoleum [The coffin was placed in the mausoleum after the ceremony.]

a magnificent tomb

tenet [Every religion has its tenets which members are supposed to believe and support.]

a major belief or idea; a recognized principle; a dogma

felony [He was found guilty of a felony and sent to the penitentiary.]

a major crime

morass [This sticky problem is as much a morass as Farmer Jones' swamp.]

a marsh or bog; a difficult place or situation to get out of

virtuoso [His complete command of the piano proved him to be a virtuoso.]

a master of a particular art, skill or technique; an expert

megalomania [The senator is so obsessed with power that he must suffer from megalomania.]

a mental disorder causing delusions of grandeur or power; a tendency to grossly exaggerate

potpourri [Her book is a potpourri of poems, essays and witticisms on at least fifty different subjects.]

a mixture of various things or subjects

bimetallism [The worth of goods and services in that country is based on bimetallism.]

a monetary standard based on fixed, related values of two metals, usually gold and silver

impetus [He lacked the impetus to start the project.]

a moving or stimulating force; a stimulus to action; motivation

propensity [She has a propensity for quiet study and reading, but she must force herself to exercise.]

a natural tendency, disposition or inclination

obituary [He reads the obituary column every day to see if anyone he knows has died.]

a newspaper account of a death, usually including biographical information

sinecure [The vice president has no sinecure, for she does a lot of important work.]

a paid position that requires little or no work or responsibility

component [We cannot construct the model until we have received all its components. This component gear helps make the machine operate.]

a part or element of a whole; serving as such a part

millennium [In the days of prosperity mankind thinks the millennium has arrived.]

a period of 1,000 years; any long period of wellbeing; the thousand-year period after the second coming of Christ

tenure [During the past headmaster's tenure many changes were effected.]

a period of time during which something is held or kept; the right or the act of possessing

epoch [The atomic bomb is an epoch-making discovery.]

a period or point in time marked by noteworthy developments, events or circumstances

anathema [Because of his opposition to the Archbishop's edict, the King was declared anathema.]

a person or thing greatly detested, cursed or damned; a person excommunicated; a curse

anesthetist [Toward the end of the operation the anesthetist substituted ether for gas.]

a person trained to administer anesthetics 麻醉師

idiosyncracy [His idiosyncracy in dress made him stand out in any group with ordinary tastes.]

a personal peculiarity, habit or mannerism; an eccentricity

peccadillo [This is the first time you have been late for work, so this time I will ignore the peccadillo.]

a petty fault; a minor offense

dermatologist [If you get very badly sunburned, see a dermatologist.]

a physician who specializes in skin diseases

labyrinth [It was fun to watch him try to find his way out of the labyrinth.]

a place full of intricate passageways; a complex and confusing situation or idea

machination [The machinations of unprincipled office seekers have cast an unfavorable light on upright politicians.]

a plot or scheme to do harm; such thinking or doing

bard [Shakespeare is called the immortal bard.]

a poet

predilection [She has a predilectionfor outdoor sports and is not interested in the debating team.]

a preference; a liking for; a leaning towards; a favorable bias

bias [He showed a definite bias toward one party.]

a prejudice; a preference; a tendency; a diagonal line stitched or cut in cloth

warder [The warder of the jail was most exact in the performance of his duty.]

a prison official; a keeper or guard

exigency [Your problem is not urgent; it can wait until I attend to these exigencies.]

a problem or situation requiring immediate attention; a state of urgency

decadence [In a period of decadence, high ideals are scoffed at.}

a process, condition or time of cultural or moral decline; deterioration; decay

ruction [A simple disagreement soon degenerated into a ruction.]

a quarrel; a disturbance; an uproar; a riot

travesty [There was so much evidence of guilt that the verdict seemed a travesty of justice.]

a ridiculous, absurd or grotesque imitation

tether [The cowboy tethered his horse to the rail and went into the saloon for a drink.]

a rope, chain, etc., used to restrict movement; to tie up or confine with such an object

monograph [The professor published a monograph on the working habits of bees.]

a scholarly or formal writing on a single subject

shrew [She is such a shrew that her husband simply let her.]

a scolding, brawling woman

archipelago [Can you locate the Greek archipelago on the map?]

a sea with many islands; such a group of islands

condiment [Without condiments, some foods are not very savory.]

a seasoning or relish for food, such as pepper, mustard, sauces, etc.

cloister [Many students at boarding schools feel that they live in a cloister.]

a secluded or isolated place; a monastery or convent; a roofed walkway within a courtyard; to shut off from the world; to seclude or sequester

inhibition [She will never do it because her inhibition outweighs her desire.]

a self imposed inner restraint; that which blocks or restrains; a restraining or inhibiting

trilogy [She has published two books about her hometown, and is working on the final one in her trilogy.]

a series of three literary or dramatic works related by a common subject or theme

dogma [Although he is not an atheist, he cannot accept the dogma of any particular religious group.]

a set of specific ideas or beliefs; a doctrine

repercussion [The repercussion of your doing that will be very serious indeed; you may even go to jail.]

a severe indirect or delayed reaction; aftereffect; reverberation; echo

epigram [He characterized the tone of the whole story with one amusing and appropriate epigram.]

a short, pithy, witty expression

buffet [Suddenly the wind buffeted the little ship and scattered the buffet dinner.]

a sideboard; a meal set out on a sideboard rather than on a table; to knock about, push or force roughly

modicum [Everyone expects at least a modicum of praise for his accomplishment.]

a small quantity or portion

postern [The front doors are blocked, so you'll have to use a postern entrance.]

a small rear gate or door; at the rear

hamlet [He was born in a hamlet, many miles from the nearest city.]

a small village

scalpel [A surgeon must be expert with the scalpel.]

a small, light, straight knife with a very sharp blade, used in surgery and in anatomical dissections

emollient [Cold cream is an emollient for chapped hands.]

a softener; a soothing cream; relaxing; soothing; softening

hiatus [His historical composition was marred by a hiatus between two important dates.]

a space or gap where something is missing; an interruption in activity or progress

dispersion [A teacher's function is more than just the dispersion of information.]

a spreading or scattering or separating

criterion [Respect is an obvious criterion for leadership.]

a standard for judging; a recognized requirement; a model or essential measure

reverie [In her reverie, she appeared not to see me and did not respond to my question.]

a state of daydreaming, being lost in thought or musing; a daydream

stupor [He was suddenly aroused from his stupor and continued his conversation exactly where he had left off.]

a state of unawareness; intellectual or moral dullness or lack of feeling; a daze

platitude [The speaker's platitudes about the meaning of life soon bored us.]

a statement that is commonplace, dull, insipid or trite; a common and self evident truth

allegory [The conflict between good and evil is frequently treated in allegory.]

a story or play in which characters and events portray moral principles and abstract truths.

apparition [He swears that he saw an apparition near the cemetary last night.]

a strange or startling visual phenomenon; a ghost or phantom

swath [The attackers cut a swath through our army like a mower in a wheat field.]

a strip or path cleanly cut or mowed

virus [A virus is harder to identify than a living germ - and either one can make you sick.]

a submicroscopic agent or substance which causes and transmits disease; any bad or corrupting influence

minion [Until Lancelot betrayed Arthur, he was the king's minion.]

a submissive dependent or favorite; an official subordinate to another

debacle [What would have been a mere defeat turned into a debacle.]

a sudden and utter breakdown; an overwhelming and ruinous turn of events; a rout; a calamity

paroxysm [As he began to speak he was afflicted with a paroxysm of coughing.]

a sudden and violent physical or emotional outburst; a spasm; a convulsion; a fit

buttress [The walls of the cathedral were reinforced by buttresses.]

a support or prop for a wall, etc.; to prop up or bolster

aureole [On misty nights the moon is surrounded by an aureole.]

a surrounding radiance or fringe of light; a halo

oscillation [Her oscillation between the two choices was like the oscillation of a pendulum.]

a swinging back and forth; indecision or wavering

mnemonics [The rhyme about days in the month ("Thirty days hath September...") and naming music notes ("Every good boy does fine.") ar forms of mnemonics.]

a system for memory improvement; devices fro aiding memory

galaxy [A galaxy of movie stars appeared in one picture.]

a system of celestial bodies; a group of notable people

pedagogue [We can learn much from pedagogue if we ignore his fussiness about trivial things.]

a teacher; a pedantic scholar

aphorism [A minister may often use an aphorism to summarize the essence of his sermon.]

a terse saying embodying truth; an adage; a maxim.

filament [Several filaments from the cloth were found on the floor.]

a thin, threadlike object

conduit [The law requires all electric wires be placed in a conduit.]

a tube, pipe, channel, etc. through which something passes

capillary [Although there was some bleeding, only a capillary had been damaged and not an artery or vein.]

a very small and slender tube; a tiny blood vessel

shuffle [We could detect the sound of his peculiar shuffle all the way down the hall.]

a walk characterized by scraping or sliding of the feet; to walk in such manner

undulation [The old roof was full of undulations, sagging and bulging like a tin ocean.]

a wave-like rising and falling or bending; a wave

alabaster [The precious ointment was placed in an alabaster jar.]

a whitish, translucent, workable mineral (gypsum or calcite).

euphemism ["Passed away" is a euphemism for "died"]

a word or expression used to avoid the bluntness or offensiveness of one that is more accurate; the use of such words or expressions

corrigible [In spite of his bad reputation, he proved to be a very corrigible boy.]

able to be corrected; willing to improve

tenable [We have enough facts to make our theory tenable.]

able to be maintained or held; defendable

conversant [He knows very little about mathematics but he is conversant in many other fields of study.]

able to discuss meaningfully; well acquainted; knowledgeable; familiar; informed

imminent [When he realized that defeat was imminent, he surrendered.]

about to happen; threatening to occur; impending

plenitude [He received the plenitude of power with his new appointment.]

abundance; fullness; plentiness; completeness

copious [They studied together, using his few scribblings and her copious class notes.]

abundant; profuse

diatribe [The senator's diatribe against his opponent was unfair and also untrue.]

abusive speech; harsh denunciation

propitious [On this propitious occasion, we honor our successful athletes, confident that they will keep on winning.]

accompanied by favorable circumstances and implications; auspicious

emancipation [Lincoln proclaimed the emancipation of all slaves.]

act of setting fee; a state of freedom; liberation

ascribed [Several plays ascribed to Shakespeare may not actually have been written by him.]

alleged to come from or belong to; attributed to; assigned to

translucent [Through the translucent glass we could distinguish only the outlines of people in the next room.]

allowing light to pass through but obscuring clear vision

diaphanous [She selected diaphanous material for the curtains.]

allowing light to show through; transparent or transluscent

paltry [The congregation was not generous and the Sunday offering was paltry.]

almost worthless; trifling; petty; insignificant

interstellar [The astronomer is interested in interstellar space.]

among the stars; between the stars

precedent [The proposal was voted down because it would have set an undesirable precedent.]

an action that may justify or serve as a standard for future ones; a guiding principle; preceding; former

hallmark [Our school's hallmark is the high grade average of all students, year after year.]

an actual mark on objects or a characteristic indicating high quality, excellence or genuineness

mummery [The student play was a mummery of school traditions and in very bad taste.]

an affected, pretentious or hypocritical performance; a performance using action and gestures but no dialogue; a pantomime

altercation [An altercation broke out in the parking lot over an insult.]

an angry dispute; a heated argument - often leading to a fistfight

invocation [The chaplain pronounced the invocation at the beginning of the program.]

an appeal or calling upon for help or inspiration; an opening prayer for a ceremonious occasion

stipple [The light and shadow effect in the drawing was produced entirely by stippling.]

an arrangement of dots or speckles; to use or produce an area or pattern of such

defamation [He was an upstanding citizen, but defamation by his opponent ruined his chances of election.]

an attack on good reputation; malicious and harmful talk; aspersion; calumny; slander

edict [When the mayor issues an edict, all citizens should respect it and comply with it.]

an authoritative order issued publicly; a decree

ordinance [A city ordinance forbids parking on this street.]

an authoritative rule or regulation; a statute or law of a town or city

canon [Every large organization has its canons which describe its reasons for existence.]

an established rule, law, principle or criterion; a religious law or laws; a list or catalog of rules or books; a choral work featuring many overlapping voices

soiree [The soiree at the fraternity house was the outstanding social function of the year.]

an evening party or celebration

malediction [She didn't realize how much he hated her until she heard his shocking malediction.]

an evil and damaging statement; a curse; calumny; slander; such speaking or writing; (opposite of benediction).

prerogative [The professor, and not the student, has the prerogative of deciding when the test will be given.]

an exclusive right or privilege, particularly of some specific group, class, position or rank

connoisseur [He was a connoisseur of wine.]

an expert in distinguishing and judging values, especially in fine arts, fine foods, wines, etc.

effigy [An effigy of the president was hanged in the town square.]

an image or statue; a figure made to represent someone who is disliked

increment [If I do not receive an increment to my salary, I shall have to find another job.]

an increase or addition; the amount of income

concordance [Use a concordance to locate and learn about ancient cities in the Bible.]

an index of the significant words and the phrases containing them in a book; agreement; concord

sycophant [The king was followed by his usual retinue of sycophants, each hoping to be shown some favoritism.]

an insincere flatterer; someone who attempts to curry favor; a parasite

avocation [The doctor's avocation was collecting stamps.]

an interest or casual occupation in addition to one's vocation; a hobby; a diversion

adage [Adages often sound simple but have deep meaning when you think about them.]

an old saying of instructive value; a proverb

facade [She actually hates to see us and the happiness she shows is only a facade.]

an outwardly favorable appearance concealing the truth or something inferior; a false front; the face of a building

cliché [I suppose it is a cliché to say that I felt exactly as you do when I was your age.]

an overused expression; a trite or hackneyed saying; anything overused or overly familiar

animadversion [He was less concerned over the animadversions of his colleagues than over the jokes they made about his plan.]

an unfavorable remark; adverse criticism; blame

allegation [The governor denied the allegation that he had accepted bribes.]

an unproven accusation, assertion or charge of guilt

seraphic [The seraphic countenances of the little children caused him great joy.]

angelic; heavenly

abrogated [The rule was abrogated by the committee after it was clear that it would not be effective.]

annulled; repealed; abolished; cancelled

nectar [He called the wine the nectar of the gods.]

any very pleasant-tasting drink; the drink of the gods in mythology; plant secretion used by bees to make honey.

incubus [Her grades have been poorer lately and her incubus is fear of failure.]

anything greatly oppressive or discouraging; a mental burden; a nightmare; a mythological, night-visiting evil spirit

cincture [The monk used a simple piece of rope as a cincture for his robe.]

anything that encircles; a belt or sash; to encircle with such an object

vesture [The bishop could be clearly distinguished by his vesture.]

apparel; clothes; (an archaic word not often in current use).

specious [We really wanted to believe him but his reasoning was found to be specious.]

apparently but not actually just, sound, correct, etc.; suspect; deceiving

propitiated [The ancients propitiated the gods with human sacrifice.]

appeased; satisfied; gained favor; favorably disposed

polemical [A polemical discussion is not likely to change anybody's mind.]

argumentative; controversial; disputatious; formally debatable; an argument or controversy; (polemic is used interchangeably)

invidious [His invidious proposal set one faction against the other and made everybody detest him.]

arousing dislike or ill will; offensive because of discrimination

lascivious [Modest people in love avoid lascivious displays in public.]

arousing sensual desires; lustful; lewd

erotic [Some authors just infer sexual activity, while others use erotic descriptions.]

arousing sexual feelings; related to sexual arousal

panoramic [You can get a panoramic view of the whole campus from this tower. Your panoramic book leaves out no detail of your subject.]

as seen or viewable from all directions; comprehensive as in review or coverage

postulated [His conclusions may be sound but they ar postulated upon unproven theories.]

assumed or claimed as true or self-evident; taken for granted

comely [Not only is she a particularly comely girl, but she also has a delightful personality.]

attractive or pleasing in person; pretty; handsome; fair

mandatory [It is mandatory that we go to this meeting, so we should better do it.]

authoritatively required; obligatory

ostracized [He was ostracized by polite society because of his scandalous behavior]

banished; excluded; shut out

empirical [We need empirical evidence to judge this matter, not assumptions.]

based on observation or direct experience only and not on theory, speculation, hearsay, etc.

hypothetical [She has a long time yet to study, so her prediction of failure is merely hypothetical.]

based only on theory or supposition; assumed but not proved

obsolescent [Let's replace the obsolescent word processor before it becomes completely outdated and useless.]

becoming obsolete; growing useless, becoming unused, going out of fashion

mendicants [The mendicants lined the path of the king, hoping for handouts.]

beggars

Incipience [The riot was stopped in its incipience by the quick action of the police.]

beginning; first stage; inception

credible [Sometimes we doubt his wild stories, but this one contains facts to make it credible.]

believable; trustworthy; reliable

truculent [Don't offend that truculent person or you may get physically hurt. Her truculent remarks made everybody feel insulted.]

belligerent; fierce; hostile; ferocious; cruel; harsh; scathing

salubrious [The salubrious climate helped him to regain his strength.]

beneficial; healthful

exorbitant [That is an exorbitant price to ask for that object.]

beyond reasonable limits; excessive

irreparable [Her accusations caused irreparable damage to his reputation.]

beyond repair or correction; not capable of being remedied or made whole

sardonic [He never praises anything we do but is always sardonic about our efforts.]

bitterly scornful; mocking; cynical; derisive

consanguinity [Not even the ties of friendship are as strong as those of consanguinity.]

blood relationship

ramifications [He had not considered the many ramifications of his simple refusal to abide by the rules.]

branches; offshoots; subdivisions; results or consequences

respite [We worked in the fields for hours without respite.]

brief and temporary relief; rest; postponement

roseate [His remarks on present conditions were indicative of a roseate future.]

bright; optimistic; promising; rose-colored; rosy

adduced [The jury had to decide whether the claims he adduced were true or false.]

brought out or offered for consideration or proof; alleged

corpulent [I have become rather corpulent because I do not exercise as much as I used to.]

bulky; fat

onerous [The research assignment was not merely difficult, but onerous to the young students.]

burdensome; oppressive

venal [The gangsters counted on the venal politician to vote as he was paid to.]

capable of being bought or bribed; mercenary; corrupt

ductile [Wire is made from ductile metal.]

capable of being drawn thin or worked with without breaking

perceptible [His pulse is barely perceptible, but I think he will survive.]

capable of being perceived; noticeable; discernable

compatible [I hope you will get a compatible roommate.]

capable of existing together; easy to get along with; agreeable; congenial

advisement [The manager took the various opinions of the entire staff under advisement.]

careful consideration

descried [The sentry descried enemy troops moving over the top of the hill.]

caught sight of; discerned; spied

dilatory [The reporter was so dilatory in completing his assignment that he missed the deadline.]

causing or characterized by delay; tardy; slow

soporific [The lullaby had a soporific effect upon the baby.]

causing sleepiness; drowsy; sleepy

vitriolic [As he became more angry, his insulting remarks became more vitriolic.]

caustic; bitter; cutting

estranged [They were once an affectionate family, but she and her parents have now been estranged for many years.]

changed from a close and friendly relationship to a distant and hostile one; alienated; separated

garbled [His account of the game was so garbled that we did not know who won.]

changed in such a way as to mislead; mixed up; confused; distorted

commuted [The death sentence was commuted to life in prison.]

changed to something less severe; substituted; travelled frequently between two points

sagacious [He is recognized as the most sagacious of the professors. Let's ask him.]

characteristic of a sage; having good judgment; wise; knowing

capricious [One cannot trust his judgment: he is too capricious.]

characterized by impulsive or whimsical change; unpredictable; erratic

sedentary [He walks to work for exercise because his job is so sedentary.]

characterized by sitting or lack of activity; inactive

tawdry [The tawdry decorations were an embarrassment.]

cheap looking; shoddy; vulgar

sanguine [He has such a sanguine temperament that he always makes me feel better. The cold wind had given him a sanguine complexion.]

cheerful; hopeful; optimistic; of the color of blood; ruddy

puerile [His puerile behavior when he was thwarted was surprising in one who seemed so mature.]

childish; immature; juvenile

articulation [You need to concentrate on articulation when you give your speech before an audience.]

clear and precise pronunciation; enunciation; a joining together of parts

lucid [We never mistake her lucid instructions. He was struck hard on the head but remained lucid.]

clear; shining; distinct; easily understood; mentally alert; rational

habiliments [The faculty appeared at Commencement in full academic habiliments.]

clothing; garb; attire

turbid [After the incident his thoughts were so turbid that he could not decide what to do.]

cloudy; dense; stirred up; in a confused state

nebulous [His explanation was too nebulous for the students to follow.]

cloudy; vague; not clear

cumbersome [The box was not heavy, but it was too cumbersome for one person to carry.]

clumsy or difficult to manage; unwieldy

collated [She collated the pages before she stapled them.]

collected and arranged in order; compared critically

extraneous [Leave extraneous details out of your report and tell me only truly related facts.]

coming from the outside; foreign; not pertinent; irrelevant

innate [An innate sense of duty prompted him to obey the law.]

coming naturally from within; inborn; natural

abortive [The revolution proved to be abortive because the government troops had been alerted.]

coming to nothing; unsuccessful; fruitless

imperious [We will cooperate to meet the imperious requirement without your being so lordly and imperious about it.]

commanding; domineering; arrogant; imperative; urgent

hackneyed [He uses many hackneyed expressions in his writings.]

commonplace; trite; overused

fiasco [The meeting turned out to be a fiasco; no one could agree on anything.]

complete or ridiculous failure

eradicated [The mistake was easily eradicated on the word processor.]

completely erased; wiped out

impervious [He was impervious to all the criticism levied against him.]

completely resistant to penetration; unaffected; unreceptive; immune

myriad [On a clear night we can see myriad stars in the heavens.]

composed of a countless number; innumerable; a vast, countless number

imperative [It is imperative to have work in on time to get a good grade.]

compulsory; absolutely necessary; of greatest importance; a command

pathological [The reseach scientist spent much time in the pathological laboratory seeking a cure for cancer.]

concerned with the study of disease; disease related

succinct [His phone message, although succinct, gave the hospital all significant details.]

concise; brief but meaningful; terse

terse [She wasted no words in her terse answer and we knew exactly what she meant.]

concise; to the point; brief

ethical [Cheating in a competition is not ethical.]

conforming to accepted or prescribed standards of conduct

decorum [The raucous behavior of a few students can upset the decorum of a whole classroom.]

conformity to accepted and appropriate standards and customs; propriety; seemliness

baffled [We became baffled in our progress by unexpected problems. It is less noisy in here since they baffled the air condition.

confused; perplexed; foiled; frustrated; impeded; fixed to control the flow of air, sound, etc.

amenities [Our hosts provided us with many amenities, as well as room and board.]

considerate and courteous acts or expressions; pleasing features or conveniences; civilities

chronic [He found no relief for his chronic ailment.]

continuing for a long time; recurrent

perennial [Good planning must be perennial and not just occasional.]

continuing or existing through the year or for years; unceasing; a plant that lives and blooms for several years.

incessant [That incessant noise will drive me mad.]

continuing with no interruption; never ceasing; continuous

preposterous [Your wild story is so preposterous that it is insulting to expect me to believe it.]

contrary to common sense; absurd; ridiculous

cogent [He presented a cogent reason for not following the crowd.]

convincing to the mind; compelling

connived [No one knew what they were up to while they connived to rob the bank.]

cooperated secretly; plotted; schemed

congruent [It is easy to recognize the congruent themes in the two plays.]

corresponding; matching; coinciding

caustic [His caustic reply made her cry.]

corrosive; destructive; sarcastic; biting

craven [The captain's craven actions on the battlefield were despised by his men.]

cowardly

pusillanimous [A pusillanimous person fears to undertake any action of importance.]

cowardly; weak spirited; timid

choreography [The music for the ballet was superb but the dancers stumbled through the choreography.]

dancing, esp. ballet dancing; the art of devising or the specificatios for ballet dances

jeopardy [You are in jeopardy of losing your scholarship if you do not bring your grades up.]

danger; risk; exposure to harm

duplicity [Honesty and duplicity are impossible companions.]

deception; deceitfulness; double-dealing

depreciation [The depreciation on his car was so great that it was not worth reselling.]

decrease in value as a result of being used, aging, etc.; belittling; disparagement

contrite [Because he was not contrite, the judge gave him the maximum sentence.]

deeply sorry for wrong doing; repentant; penitent

contumacy [Everyone else obeys company rules and if you do not, you can be fired by contumacy.]

defiance of authority; rebelliousness; insubordination

disparaging [We were surprised by her disparaging remarks about her roommate; they seemed to get along so well.]

degrading; depreciating; "cutting down"; belittling

filigree [The filigree border added greatly to the beauty of the cover.]

delicate ornamental work of intertwined wire; anything delicately fanciful and ornamental; to produce such works

delectable [You should be proud of your cooking for every dish you serve is delectable.]

delightful; enjoyable; good-tasting

contingent [Your grade will be contingent upon the rest of your work this semester. A contingent of teachers and students presented their views to the principal.]

dependent upon but uncertain; a group or delegation

nemesis [His failure to notice his opponent's strength proved to be his nemesis.]

deserved punishment or its source; anything or anyone that always seems certain to defeat or frustrate

culpable [Those who encouraged the vandals were considered equally culpable.]

deserving blame or censure; blameworthy

despicable [He was such a despicable character that I refused to work with him.]

deserving to be despised; contemptible; detestable

contemned [Before the Revolution, the French aristocracy contemned the peasants.]

despised; scorned; treated with contempt

adjudicated [Until the case has been adjudicated, the defendant is presumed innocent.]

determined in court; judged

adamant [I pleaded with my father to let me take the car, but he was adamant in his refusal.]

determined; unyielding; uncompromising; immovable

execrable [Such an execrable performance will bring disgrace to the class.]

detestable; revolting; abominable; deserving to be cursed

henchmen [The king had his henchmen do his "dirty work" in order to keep his own name clear.]

devoted and trusted followers, often considered unscrupulous

ponderous [This is such a ponderous book that I shall never finish it.]

difficult to deal with because of size, weight, scope or complexity; heavy; unwieldy; dull and labored

cryptic [None of us knew the meaning of the cryptic message.]

difficult to understand; puzzling; mystifying; secret

squalid [The squalid conditions in the tenement were reported to the city commission.]

dirty; foul; wretched; low class

opprobrium [Even though he was found innocent, he was subjected to bitter opprobrium.]

disagree; shame; reproach

raucous [A raucous voice is anything but pleasing.]

disagreeably harsh and loud; strident

askance [After his improper remark, his father looked at him askance.]

disapprovingly; disdainfully; distrustfully; with a side glance

disheveled [He was so disheveled that he looked as though he had slept in his clothes.]

disarranged; untidy; tousled; rumpled

deprecatory [One should be deprecatory of unethical practices.]

disparaging; belittling; disapproving

derogatory [The teacher's derogatory remarks were resented by the students.]

disparaging; defaming; belittling

explicit [How could she possibly misunderstand such explicit directions?]

distinctly stated; specific; exact

eminent [He may be the most eminent lawyer in town, but he is not the most competent.]

distinguished; renowned; outstanding; prominent; projecting; lofty

grotesque [He appeared at the ball in a grotesque costume.]

distorted; strangely ugly; outlandish; bizarre

reciprocal [The two countries have made a reciprocal trade agreement. Either this part or that will fit just as well: they are reciprocals.]

done or given responsively or in return; affecting both parties; mutual; a counterpart

skeptical {He no longer was skeptical when he saw what they were talking about.]

doubtful; unbelieving

wizened [The wizened old woman frightened the children, who thought she was a witch.]

dried up; shriveled; withered

alacrity [He didn't complain or hesitate, but obeyed with alacrity.]

eager and cheerful willingness or readiness

aborigines [The aborigines were driven from their original habitat by the colonists.]

earliest known inhabitants of a country

supple [Acrobats have supple bodies. He's so supple that he never refuses our requests. She is supple enough to appreciate our viewpoint.]

easily bent; lithe; limber; easily manipulated; pliant; of adaptable mind; compliant

reverberations [The reverberations of the shot were loud and sharp.]

echoes; reboundings; vibrations

rhetoric [Sometimes his speeches made sense but sometimes his rhetoric just sounded convincing.]

effective and convincing use of words, speech that sounds impressive but is rather meaningless

efficacious [He tried very hard, but his efforts were not very efficacious.]

effective; producing results

urbane [Her husband is rather coarse in manner but, in contrast, she is urbane.]

elegant in manner; well bred; refined; polite

vested [By the authority vested in him by law he could grant requests.]

endowed with power or authority; fixed; settled; certain

indued [He had no rights to settle the matter alone, until the committee indued him with them.]

endowed; invested; provided; equipped; (also spelled: endued)

convivial [Our convivial mood was ruined by the bad news.]

enjoying company; sociable; festive

prodigious [The construction of the Panama Canal was a prodigious undertaking which many thought could never be completed.]

enormous; amazing; extraordinary

berserk [He went berserk when he heard the news and had to be restrained by several men,]

enraged to action; frenzied and destructive; violent and out of control

inveigled [He wouldn't respond to an invitation, so we inveigled him into coming to the party.]

enticed or induced by cunning or flattery; coaxed with insincerity; cajoled

gamut [He ran the gamut of crime before he was caught.]

entire range or extent of

commensurate [The salary for his position will be commensurate with the applicant's experience.]

equal in measure; properly proportionate

tantamount [His assisting the enemy is tantamount to treason.]

equivalent in value; meaning or effect; the same as

extirpated [Our school is peaceful now that the troublemakers have been extirpated.]

eradicated; exterminated; erased; uprooted

protocol [The distinguished guests were seated by rank according to protocol, and the president read to them a new protocol on international trade.]

established ceremonial form and etiquette, especially in government; a draft of a treaty or other governmental agreement

circumlocution [The teacher resorted to circumlocution because he did not really understand the subject.]

evasion of the main point by indirect or roundabout speaking or writing; any such expression 托詞

equanimity [She preserved her equanimity despite the slurring remarks made about her.]

evenness of mind; calmness of temper; composure

punctilious [In his punctilious housekeeping, everything must be in its proper place.]

exact in detail; precise; fastidious; scrupulous

antithetical [We don't expect the two groups, ever to agree because their goals are antithetical.]

exactly opposite; directly opposed; in strong contrast

scrutinized [He scrutinized the face of the man but could not recognize him.]

examined in detail; closely studied

supernumerary [Although he was but a supernumerary he prided himself on being in the play.]

exceeding the number needed; a person or thing available but not essential; an "extra"

verbiage [Your verbiage takes too long to read and it hides your main ideas.]

excess of words; verbosity

palaver [Irked by the freshman's palaver, the teacher finally yelled, "Silence!"]

excessive and idle talk; chatter; to talk in such manner

avarice [Avarice made his bank account grow larger and his personality grow meaner.]

excessive desire to get and keep riches; greed; covetousness

bathos [His book lost its seriousness by the recurrence of bathos.]

excessive or trivial sentimentality; that which arouses insincere sorrow or pity; an unimportant anticlimax

melancholic [Let's see if we can get here to cheer up, be happy and stop being so melancholic.]

excessively and unreasonably brooding; chronically depressed; despondent; causing or suggesting such feelings; (melancholy is used interchangeably0.

lugubrious [The lugubrious expression on his face aroused our sympathy.]

excessively dismal; mournful

fulsome [Everyone appreciates a compliment but fulsome praise is disgusting.]

excessively flattering; distastefully insincere

munificent [The king gave munificent gifts to his knights.]

excessively generous; very liberal; lavish

obsequious [The obsequious waiter got on his nerves after a short time.]

excessively servile; overly obedient or attentive; fawning

venial [His employer ignored John's many venial offenses, and then fired him when he broke a major rule.]

excusable; forgivable; pardonable

impunity [I warn you: if you break the rule it will not be with impunity.]

exemption or freedom from punishment or harm

latent [He did not discover his latent musical talent until he was in his thirties.]

existing but not energized; capable of later full development; dormant

elucidation [That statement is so vague that it calls for elucidation.]

explanation; clarification

sententious [His short, sententious essays say more than do many whole books.]

expressing or expressive of much meaning in few words; pithy; axiomatic; pompously and often tritely moralizing

laudatory [The senior class had worked hard to earn the headmaster's laudatory remarks.]

expressing praise; commendatory

hyperbole [It is the largest house in town, but to call it a castle is a hyperbole.]

extreme exaggeration is expression; overstatement

cupidity [His action was motivated by cupidity, not generosity.]

extreme selfishness; avarice; greed

heinous [How could any human being have committed such a heinous crime?]

extremely bad; atrocious; despicable

garish [Garish cloths in church are inappropriate.]

extremely bright; overly ornate; tastelessly overdone; showy; gaudy

parsimonious [The miser was parsimonious in dealing out gifts to the poor.]

extremely frugal; stingy

lavish [She lavished money on her only niece and also gave her a lavish party.]

extremely generous; extravagant; to give or bestow without restraint

virulent [His insulting remarks were as virulent as any poison.]

extremely harmful, malignant or noxious; malicious; rancorous; acrimonious

ravenous [He has ravenous appetite for science fiction novels.]

extremely hungry; eagerly and intensely desirous; voracious

stentorian [The sergeant's stentorian command was readily heard by all.]

extremely loud

excruciating [He suffered excruciating pain as a result of the accident.]

extremely painful; agonizing

fallacious [Although his conclusion was sound, his reasoning was fallacious.]

false; misleading

infamous [The F.B.I. finally captured one of the most infamous criminals on its ten-most-wanted list.]

famous for bad qualities; notorious; vile

utopian [Your idea of a world in which everyone is kind, thoughtful and completely happy is utopian.]

fancifully or theoretically perfect; idealistic; one who pursues unachievable ideals; a visionary; an idealist

rococo [She doesn't like rococo decorations; she prefers simple designs.]

fancy style of ornamentation with curves and shell work

enthralled [The beauty of the scene enthralled him.]

fascinated; enchanted; captivated

querulous [Please give ocnstructive comments and don't be querulous in front of the class.]

fault finding; complaining; argumentative; peevish

captious [He could give us helpful advice but, instead, he's just being captious.]

fault finding; disposed to criticize; argumentative

auspicious [His beginning in the business was auspicious, but he turned out a dismal failure.]

favorable; fortunate; of good omen; propitious

nepotism [We could hardly accuse him of nepotism: his nephew really is the best qualified candidate for the job.]

favoritism shown to relatives, especially in job appointments.

intimidation [They threatened to cause trouble, but we were not influenced by their intimidation.]

fear, restraint or discouragement caused by threat; the act of causing such

trepidation [He expected to be punished and approached the principal's office with trepidation.]

fearfulness; alarm; agitation; trembling from such cause

intrepid [The intrepid hero was given a great ovation when he came home.]

fearless; dauntless

cascaded [The vast crowd cascaded toward the exists.]

fell as from a waterfall; poured over; rushed down or out

vicarious [She experienced a vicarious joy in her son's success.]

felt as one's own experience by imagining that of another; done or experienced in substitution

stereotyped [Those stereotyped characters in the book were boring]

following a pattern; unoriginal; conventional; trite; formalized

quixotic [His idea was noble in its intention, but it was too quixotic to be of practical use.]

foolishly idealistic or romantic; well meaning but impractical; (literally: like Don Quixote唐奇歌德）

officious [A good administrator is available but not officious]

forcing one's service or attention upon another; overly meddlesome or attentive

ominous [The ominous clouds on the horizon almost made them cancel the trip.]

foreboding; threatening; menacing

oracular [The fortune teller's oracular utterances all came true.]

forecasting the future; prophetic

encomium [Because of their blameless life they are deserving of high encomium.]

formal expression of praise.

erstwhile [Since I have graduated, my erstwhile professor has become my good friend.]

former; formerly

impeccable [Although he was very loud and vulgar, he was dressed with impeccable taste.]

free from fault, blemish or error; flawless; unerring

amity [It is difficult for people in close contact to live in perfect amity.]

friendship; good will

vivacious [She is so vivacious that it is impossible to imagine her depressed.]

full of life; high spirited; lively; animated

redolent [The air was redolent with the aromas of fall.]

full of pleasant odor; smelling of; suggestive of

satiety [For the first time in several days he ate to the point of satiety.]

fullness beyond normal; the state of being glutted or filled to excess

obsequies [The obsequies included a service in the church as well as one at the graveside.]

funeral rites

animated [He seemed especially animated by the good news.]

given life, motion or inspiration; full of life; spirited; active; inspired

presages [The high team spirit today presages a victory tomorrow.]

gives an indication of something in the future; portends; foreshadows; (presage, n: an omen or portent0.

luminous [The white limbs of the birch tree were luminous among its darker leaves. Your luminous example clarifies the problem.]

giving forth light; bright; shining; easily understood

personification [Trees speak and think in the personification by that writer. She is a fine person, the personification of kindness.]

giving human qualities to an inanimate object or idea; any example of such; an embodiment or personal showing of some quality

morose [She is usually cheerful but her recent problems have made her morose.]

gloomy; dejected; sullen; ill-humored

retrograde [We must either advance or retrograde; we can't stand still.]

going backwards; worsening; declining; to recede; to grow worse; to degenerate

antecedent [To understand the plot of this story, we must know about certain antecedent actions.]

going before; that which goes before

itinerant [In the fall itinerant workers travel from farm to farm looking for work.]

going from place to place; homeless; such a person

felicitations [They sent felicitations to those who were celebrating their birthdays.]

good wishes; congratulations

oligarchy [In contrast with an oligarcy, a democracy is a form of government in which all the citizens participate.]

government by the few; the limited group of ruling persons; a country so governed

rapacious [He was never satisfied with modest savings, but was rapacious in becoming rich.]

grasping; seizing; ravenous; plundering; predatory

affluence [Affluence makes some people misers and others generous.]

great material abundance; wealth; opulence

verdant [A verdant landscape attracts the poet as well as the botanist.]

green with vegetation

macabre [Edgar Allan Poe was well known for his macabre stories.]

gruesome; ghastly; horrible

simulated [With this training device, you can experience simulated flying. He is not attentive; his interest is merely simulated.

had the appearance but not the actuality of; imitated; pretended; feigned

hirsute [The customer was so hirsute that the barber charged him extra.]

hairy

fortuitous [He didn't plan on getting rich; it was a fortuitous occurrence.]

happening by chance; accidental

ebullient [Her ebullient spirits told us that she had won.]

happily excited; exuberant; bubbling or boiling up

rancor [What she felt for her opponent was not mere dislike, but rancor.]

hard feelings; ill will; spitefulness; bitter hatred; malice

noisome [The decaying flowers give off a noisome odor.]

harmful; offensive to smell; disgusting

innocuous [Although the spider's bite was painful, it was innocuous.]

harmless; without harmful effect or qualities

strident [Her voice is so strident that it actually hurts my ears.]

harsh sounding; grating; shrill

scathing [His scathing remarks about the organization showed how much he hated it.]

harshly critical; extremely severe; caustic

acrimony [Although he was angry, the teacher refrained from acrimony when he addressed the class.]

harshness or bitterness of speech or manner; expression of great dislike or deep resentment

hauteur [The hauteur of the supercilious waiter cost him many tips.]

haughtiness; arrogance; scornful pride

supercilious [His supercilious attitude toward his subordinates discouraged them.]

haughty; contemptuous; arrogant; disdainful

cognizant [He is cognizant of all the factors that enter the contract.]

having knowledge; perceptive; aware; comprehending

multifarious [His multifarious activities included banking, horse racing, painting and politics]

having many parts or elements; of great variety; diverse

impecunious [I am rather impecunious right now; could you lend me a thousand dollars?]

having no money

tangible [He expects to receive some tangible reward for his work, not just our thanks.]

having physical existence; able to be perceived physically

sentient [Sometimes trees seem almost sentient to the nature lover.]

having sensation and feeling; aware; conscious

nauseous [He helped the accident victims, but seeing their injuries made him nauseous.]

having the urge to vomit; queasy; causing nausea; disgusting; sickening

martial [The country's martial attitude will probably lead to a declaration of war.]

having to do with the military; war-like

therapeutic [The treatment has had no therapeutic value as far as I can see; I am still in pain.]

health inducing; healing; curing

viscosity [The engineers tested the viscosity of the oil.]

heavy, gluey quality

chary [She was chary in accepting the gift from a stranger. He was chary in handing out praise.]

hesitant; cautious; wary; particular; fastidious; frugal; sparing

eulogy [The eulogy spoken at the senator's funeral was a fitting tribute to his greatness.]

high praise in speech or writing, great commendation - often for a deceased person

zenith [He reached the zenith of his career when he was elected president.]

highest point; summit; peak

aperture [He is careful that the aperture in the camera is properly set.]

hole; opening

bellicose [The bellicose attitudes of the two countries will probably result in war.]

hostile; warlike; aggressive

choleric [He is so choleric that he reacts violently to the most innocent joking.]

hot-tempered; easily angered

scurried [The students scurried to their seats when the teacher entered the room.]

hurried briskly; scampered

infirm [The old and infirm must be evacuated first.]

ill; feebly irresolute

vitiated [His supposedly generous acts were vitiated by selfishness.]

impaired in worth; invalidated; spoiled; contaminated; corrupted

gnome [Long ago, people considered capturing a gnome to be a "get rich quick" scheme.]

in folklore, an old, gnarled cave-dwelling dwarf who guards the earth's treasures.

nominal [He is only a nominal president; he does not have any real powers. Her fee is so nominal that she will never get rich from it.]

in name only, not in fact; relatively trifling or quite small in value

titular [She has real duties to perform, not just a titular position.]

in name only; having a title but no responsibilities

incontrovertible [The evidence against the accused was not just hearsay; it was incontrovertible.]

incapable of being disputed; not debatable; undeniable

inscrutable [The inscrutable countenance of a good poker player helps him win the game.]

incapable of being searched into and understood

imperturbable [In spite of the mob's threats, the sheriff remains imperturbable.]

incapable of being upset or disturbed; calm; serene

irrevocable [The judge's decision was irrevocable; he would not even consider changing it.]

incapable of being withdrawn, revoked, repealed, called back, undone, etc.

trenchant [The student's trenchant comments about the novel showed that he truly understood the subject.]

incisive; perceptive; to the point; keen; vigorous; forceful

vacillating [It is difficult to know what she really wants because she is so vacillating.]

indecisive; wavering; fluctuating

lethargy [He was so overcome by lethargy that he could not accomplish anything.]

indifference; apathy; inactivity; dullness

apathetic [It is difficult to arouse the interest of an apathetic student.]

indifferent; unconcerned; unemotional

natatorium [The swimming match was held in the school natatorium.]

indoor swimming pool

callow [It is not wise to trust a callow youth with such an important responsibility.]

inexperienced; immature

mercenary [The consultant's motives were purely mercenary; he did not care about the success of the plan.]

influenced by desire for money; acting only for pay; greedy; one who is hired, esp.: a soldier hired by a foreign government

intrinsic [Some things are priced by supply and demand, and some, like education, have a greater, intrinsic value.]

inherent; part of the basic nature of; fundamental

edification [He did that for our edification, not our amusement.]

instruction for improvement; enlightenment; clarification

didactic [His didactic story illustrated the responsibilities of good citizenship.]

instructive; teaching a moral lesson

miscegenation [Husbands and wives of different races think about family affairs and not the technicality of "miscegenation".

intermixing of races by marriage or sexual relations

ingenious [When all the rest of us were completely baffled, he was ingenious enough to solve the problem.]

inventive; resourceful; clever; made or done in such manner

sporadic [Because his studying was sporadic, there are many gaps in his knowledge.]

isolated in occurrence; occasional; intermittent

blithe [Shelly referred to the skylark as a "blithe spirit" because his song sounded so happy.]

joyous; joyful; cheerful; mirthful

succulent [succulent fruits were served as dessert.]

juicy; full of juice

salient [A salient feature of his character is the ease with which he meets people.]

jutting out; extending forward; most significant; prominent; conspicuous; a fortified angle or extension

perspicacity [He is noted for his perspicacity in analyzing a problem.]

keen judgment; ability to see into and understand; penetrating discernment

insouciance [He assumed an attitude of insouciance, although he really was very much concerned.]

lack of concern; the state of being light-hearted or carefree

candor [She didn't try to mask her problems, but talked about them with remarkable candor.]

lack of deceit; honesty; openness; frankness

dissonance [Dissonance among friends and dissonance in music are both disturbing.]

lack of harmony; lack of agreement; discord; incongruity

levity [Levity is not permitted in a solemn courtroom.]

lack of seriousness; inappropriate lightheartedness; frivolity

lassitude [An overwhelming feeling of lassitude prevented his completing the assignment.]

lack of vigor or spirit; weariness; languor

diffident [He was so diffident in his request for a raise that he was denied it.]

lacking confidence; timid; shy

flaccid [It took some days before the flaccid muscles became strong.]

lacking firmness or force; not stiff; limp

banal [His conversation is so banal that he lulls one to sleep.]

lacking freshness or vigor; commonplace; trite

Superficial [His answers are so superficial that it is clear he did not read the assignment.]

lacking true significance or importance; on the surface; shallow

ephemeral [Flowers soon fade and dry up, and their fragrance is ephemeral.]

lasting only a short time; short lived; transitory

clement [Her attitude toward the rowdy class was as clement as the warm, sunny day.]

lenient; compassionate; merciful; mild

largesse [Her father is wealthy and can well afford his largesse to her school.]

liberal giving; a generous gift; (also spelled: largess)

ethereal [The classical piano concerto was ethereal compared with the cacophony of some modern music.]

light and airy; celestial; heavenly

feline [Kitty is aptly named because of her feline grace.]

like a cat; of the cat family; a cat

enigmatic [It is difficult to understand his enigmatic statements.]

like a riddle; puzzling; obscure

inimical [Our plans were thwarted by inimical forces.]

like an enemy; hostile; unfriendly; opposing

fallible [Whenever you're tempted to criticize, remember that everyone is fallible.]

likely to fail or be in error; capable of making mistakes or being deceived

temporal [This is a temporal problem that we can laugh about next month. Let's let the courts settle this temporal question and not involve the church.]

limited by time; transitory; secular or civil rather than religious or spiritual

concatenated [In her novel, the major events were concatenated with each other to support the conclusion.]

linked together; united in chain or series.

lackadaisical [He is so lackadaisical about getting things done that we decided not to depend on him.]

listless; not interested; not animated

diminutive [Her husband is tall but she is diminutive. ] ["Billy" is a diminutive for William.]

little; small; diminished or diminishing; a word expressing smallness, familiarity, etc.

mercurial [His personality is so mercurial that one never knows what kind of response to expect.]

lively; quick; changeable; volatile; fickle; pertaining to or having the qualities of mercury

gregarious [Sheep are, in general, gregarious animals]

living in groups; sociable

nostalgic [When you are far from home and friends, it's easy to become nostalgic.]

longing for something past or far away; homesick; pensive; causing such feelings

sumptuous [A sumptuous banquet was served on the occasion of the royal visit.]

luxurious; lavish; magnificent

perjury [He was found guilty of perjury on the witness stand.]

lying or willful withholding of facts in court; violation of an oath to be truthful

mendacious [She is known to be so mendacious that I doubt anyone will believe her.]

lying; dishonest; deceitful; false; untrue

precluded [His failure to register precluded his attending classes.]

made impossible or ineffective; kept from happening; prevented

invalidated [The government has invalidated his passport until he pays his back taxes.]

made no longer valid; nullified; cancelled; deprived of legal importance

brazen [That was a brazen lie he told to get that job.]

made of or resembling brass; impudent; bold; shameless; defiantly reckless; to act in such a manner

hermetically [Hermetically sealed jars will preserve food for a long time.]

made or treated so as to become airtight

piqued [I was just a bit piqued by her being late again, but she had an excuse that piqued my curiosity.]

made resentful; irritated; vexed; provoked; stimulated or arroused

synchronized [The pilots all synchronized their watches at 0830 hours.]

made to happen at the same time or to agree in time; made to occur in unison; made to coincide

heterogeneous [A heterogeneous group would probably be more interesting at a party than a group with similar interests and lifestyles.]

made up of unlike parts; differing in kind or quality; dissimilar

improvised [He sat at the piano and improvised some pleasing melodies.]

made up without preparation; provided offhand; performed extemporaneously

gist [I do not have time to listen to the entire speech. Can you give me just the gist of it?]

main point; basic idea; the substance or essence of

pedantic [He is not pompous or boring, never pedantic when he lectures.]

making a show of learning; being formal or precise about minor matters in scholarship

dastardly [His character was dastardly, quite the opposite of noble and brave.]

mean; base; cowardly

inane [Her inane suggestions simply wasted our time.]

meaningless; pointless; asinine

esoteric [Those classical references in the poem are too esoteric for most college students to understand.]

meant for or understood by a select few; beyond normal comprehension; secret

dulcet [The dulcet tones of the organ were most pleasing.]

melodious; pleasing to the ear; soothing; pleasant

distraught [The mother was distraught by the absence of her daughter.]

mentally agitated; emotionally upset; worried and bewildered

clemency [The judge showed clemency because the culprit was so young.]

mercy; leniency

raillery [She has had enough of your raillery over her innocent mistake, so let's get back to serious business.]

mild ridicule; good natured teasing

knavish [The king hired several knavish types to do his "dirty work'.]

mischievous; untrustworthy; deceitful

malfeasance [The tax collector could not explain the missing funds and was finally proven guilty of malfeasance.]

misconduct or wrongful action, especially while in a position of trust

turpitude [Although he committed no actual crime, he was certainly guilty of moral turpitude.]

moral corruption; baseness; vileness; depravity

depraved [He has such a depraved sense of humor that he enjoys hurting small animals.]

morally corrupt; base; wicked

superfluous [Use commas as needed in your theme but eliminate those that are superfluous.]

more than is necessary; excessive; redundant

altruistic [He works at the hospital without pay, for altruistic reasons only.]

motivated by or showing concern for others; unselfish; benevolent

receded [The lake had receded several feet since I had seen it last.]

moved back or downward; became more distant; faded away; withdrew

transient [It was difficult to determine a census count because of the transient population in the city.]

moving from place to place; not permanent; brief; one or something that stays temporarily

interstices [They were careful to fill all the interstices.]

narrow spaces between things; small gaps

vicissitude [He was ultimately destroyed by the vicissitudes of fortune, even though he had tried to adjust.]

natural but unanticipated change; variation of fortune; element of chance in daily life

habitat [The habitat of the polar bear is the Arctic region.]

natural place of living

prone [He was prone to laziness because he never had to work.]

naturally inclined or disposed; having a tendency; predisposed; lying face down

indigenous [Palm trees are indigenous to the soil of the tropics.]

naturally occurring or existing in a specific place; native; natural

moribund [Let's record the moribund mountain songs before they disappear entirely.]

near death or termination; dying

propinquity [Their marriage was not approved because of their close propinquity.]

nearness or closeness; kinship; affinity; proximity

derelict [Society may be considered derelict when many derelicts are found sleeping in derelict cars.]

neglectful or remiss in duty; deserted or abandoned; property abandoned by the owner; a homeless and penniless person; a vagrant

remiss [Because he had so many problems on his mind, he was remiss in performing his duties.]

negligent; careless

skittish [The skittish animal approached the stranger with caution.]

nervous; easily frightened; "high strung."

magnanimous [He showed no anger at their insults but, instead, remained magnanimous.]

noble in spirit; without resentment or envy; generous in forgiving

insulation [Insulation in the attic saves on fuel bills. His insulation of the attic is wise. Insulation from distractions helps her think better.}

nonconducting material which prevents passage of electricity, heat, etc; the act of insulating; the state of being separated or isolated from

extrinsic [The mobility of my hand is an intrinsic part of it; my ring is extrinsic to the use of my hand.]

not a natural or inherent part of; extraneous; nonessential; (opposite of intrinsic)

indefatigable [He was an indefatigable worker for any charitable cause.]

not able to be fatigued; never tiring; unflagging

impregnable [The fortress was supposed to be impregnable, but its walls were easily battered down.]

not able to be penetrated by force; unyielding; unconquerable

quiescent [Animals that are hibernating are in a quiescent state.]

not agitated or anxious; at rest; inactive; quiet

devoid [He is devoid of a sense of humor.]

not containing or possessing; empty; without

niggardly [He was niggardly in his contribution to the campaign for funds.]

not generous; stingy

spurious [Several plays attributed to Shakespeare seem to be spurious.]

not genuine; counterfeit

taciturn [He is so taciturn that one wonders if he understands the language.]

not given to conversation; silent; reserved

discordant [Several discordant notes spoiled the concert. They have discordant opinions even about the time of day.]

not harmonious; jarring to the ear; harsh; not in agreement; conflicting

unbridled [He kept his temper for a long time, and then exploded in unbridled wrath.]

not held in check; unrestrained; uncontrolled

synthetic [Synthetic rubber is frequently used instead of the natural product.]

not natural; man-made; artificial

stark [The stark reality of the situation did not occur to him until later.]

not ornamented; bleak; plain; absolute; downright

reticent [Although he talks constantly at home, he is extremely reticent in class.]

not outspoken; uncommunicative; taciturn

improvident [He was so improvident in his youth that he has nothing left for his retirement.]

not providing for the future; not thrifty

opaque [He made the window opaque by painting it black. Your explanation is unclear and the subject is still opaque to me.]

not reflecting or admitting light; not transparent or transluscent; difficult to understand; obscure

facetious [Your facetious remarks were not appropriate on such a solemn occasion.]

not serious; flippantly humorous

moot [Some standards cannot be changed, but the ones you present are still moot.]

not settled and open to discussion; debatable arguable; hypothetical

unremitting [Their unremitting dedication to the cause helped bring about its success.]

not stopping or relaxing or submitting; not changing in attitude; inxssant; persistent

inalienable [Inalienable rights are guaranteed by the Constitution.]

not subject to being taken away; not transferable; fixed

cursory [There is more here than can be read in a cursory glance.]

not thorough; superficial; hasty

peremptory [Her answers were so peremptory that we gave up trying to get her to listen to reason.]

not to be debated or denied; decisive; final; commanding; imperious; dogmatic

egregious [You lost several points because of egregious errors in spelling.]

noticeably bad; flagrant

arrant [His actions prove that he is more than a little foolish; he is an arrant fool.]

notorious; unmitigated; downright; thorough; out-and-out

obnoxious [He is such an obnoxious person that everyone shuns him.]

objectionable; offensive

perverse [She has no good reason to argue with us; she is simply being perverse.]

obstinately contrary; deviating from convention; willfully nonconforming

blatant [A little mistake may go unnoticed but a blatant error demands attention.]

obvious; conspicuous; offensively loud

biennial [In two years our new chairman can run for another biennial term of office.]

occurring every two years; lasting two years

vernal [The vernal flowering of plants shows that winter is over.]

occurring in or pertaining to spring; springlike; fresh; young

vagaries [She can be objective and forthright but she is also known for her amusing vagaries.]

odd or eccentric ideas; impulsive or capricious actions

archaic [The head of a modern school should not have archaic ideas.]

of an earlier or primitive time; ancient; no longer in popular use; outdated

benign [That he is a good person is evidenced by his benign appearance. The growth proved to be benign and not cancerous.]

of gentle disposition; kindly; not harmful; not malignant

titanic [Titanic machines were needed to build the huge structure.]

of gigantic proportions or strength; enormous; huge; powerful

momentous [In crossing the Rubicon, Julius Caesar made a momentous decision.]

of great importance or consequence

shoddy [They have been selling us these shoddy products long enough; from now on we go elsewhere.]

of inferior material; lacking the quality claimed; sham

motley [The different languages, clothing and education of the workers made them a motley crew, indeed.[

of many different colors or varied characteristics; heterogeneous

diurnal [The sun moves from east to west in its diurnal course]

of the daytime; during the course of a day; daily

terrestrial [As a geologist he was more concerned with terrestrial problems than celestial ones.]

of the land or the earth (as opposed to celestial: of the skies or stars)

homogeneous [Some groups consist of different things and some groupings are homogeneous.]

of the same kind, quality or degree

dual [Vehicles intended for operator instruction are usually equipped with dual controls.]

of two; having or composed of two parts; double; twofold

apocryphal [I think his story is apocryphal because I've never heard or read any proof concerning it.]

of uncertain authenticity; suspect; spurious

umbrage [Do not take umbrage at my criticism; it is intended to be helpful.]

offense; resentment

fetid [The wrong combination of these chemicals will produce a fetid odor.]

offensive to sense of smell; stinking

candelabrum [Several candlesticks overcrowded the table, so we used a candelabrum instead.]

one large candleholder with branches supporting several candles; (singular form of candelabra)

precursor [The Scriptures call St. John the Baptist the precursor of Christ.]

one or that which goes or occurs in advance and foretells the future; a forerunner; a predecessor

artisan [Engravers are artisans known for the precision and quality of their work.]

one trained in a particular art or trade; a skilled craftsman

prodigy [The experts called her a prodigy after she played a Mozart concerto at the age of seven

one who accomplishes extraordinary things at an early age; something extremely admirable or awe inspiring

intercessor [The misunderstanding between a student and a teacher was resolved by a friendly intercessor.]

one who acts between two parties, a mediator

gourmet [She is a gourmet who never buys cheap wine and never hurries through a good dinner.]

one who appreciates and is a good judge of fine food and drinks

iconoclast [Our new principal is an iconoclast whose new rulers are wiping out old school customs.]

one who attacks and defies established traditions, ideas or institutions; (literally: a breakder of images.)

cynic [He is such a cynic that we could never persuade him to trust us.]

one who believes that all humans are insincere and selfish; a sneering and sarcastic person

raconteur [He was an amusing raconteur, with a story for almost every occasion.]

one who can tell stories well

procrastinator [She is such a procrastinator that she will never finish her paper on time.]

one who delays or puts off

renegade [That renegade is giving away our secrets!]

one who deserts a party, side, idea, etc. and joins the opposition; a traitor; traitorous

dissenter [When everyone else agreed on the proposal, Mr. Brown was the lone dissenter.]

one who dissents, disagrees, differs in principle; one who refuses to assent to established doctrine

misanthrope [His bitter satires on human nature show him to be a misanthrope.]

one who hates or constantly distrusts mankind

dilettante [Although he spends a great deal of money on paintings, he is only a dilettante.]

one who is superficially interested; a dabbler; a lover of fine art without deep knowledge of it

hypochondriac [If he ever has a real and serious illness, perhaps he will stop being a hypochondriac.]

one who is unduly anxious over personal health; one who imagines illnesses

recluse [The old man was such a recluse that no one knew when he had died.]

one who lives shut off from others; a hermit

charlatan [The doctor who claimed that he could cure your cold was obviously a charlatan.]

one who pretends to have knowledge that he does not have; an imposter; a quack

caterer [The party will be disaster unless the caterer arrives soon.]

one who provides food and services for parties, receptions, etc

demagogue [A political demagogue avoids real issued and caters to current passions.]

one who stirs the emotions of others for self interest; an unprincipled politician; a rabble rouser

ghoul [He is so mean and repulsive that some people call him a ghoul.]

one who takes pleasure in terrible things; one who is repugnant in character or appearance; a grave robber; a legendary creature that feeds on corpses

somnambulist [When a somnambulist awakens, he often does not know where he is.]

one who walks and performs other actions during sleep

reprobate [The rest of the family disowned the reprobate because of his evil conduct.]

one whose conduct is reproachful, a scoundrel; unprincipled; depraved

averse [He is averse to war even though he is an excellent soldier.]

opposed or unwilling to; not favorable toward

prosaic [We heard nothing new or exciting in the governor's prosaic speech, and soon lost interest in it.]

ordinary; dull; insipid

demeanor [Some people in the crowd became rowdy, but her demeanor remained calm and proper.]

outward behavior; personal bearing; deportment; conduct

fastidious [He is fastidious in his housekeeping, overlooking nothing that can be cleaned or dusted.]

overly concerned about detail; attentive to minor points; fussy

hypercritical [Nothing seems to satisfy that hypercritical person.]

overly critical; faultfinding; carping

maudlin [Instead of being a serious drama, the play was completely maudlin.]

overly sentimental; emotionally silly

inundated [Since we placed the advertisement in the paper, we have been inundated by applications for the job.]

overwhelmed by excess; flooded

ecstatic [She was ecstatic at the idea of being accepted to Princeton.]

overwhelmingly happy; intensely delighted; rapturious

analgesic [A generous portion of analgesic balm was applied to the bruise.]

pain relieving; soothing

scrupulous [She is so scrupulous in her work that you can trust it to be complete and correct in every detail.]

painstakingly thorough and exact; carefully precise; reliable to do what is right; conscientious

inherent [The ability to inspire is an inherent quality of any good leader.]

part of the essential character of; established within; inborn

discursive [The old man's conversation was so discursive that we could not follow it.]

passing from one subject to another

pinnacle [After many years of hard work he reached the pinnacle of success.]

peak; summit; zenith; highest point of achievement

assiduous [Others may "watch the clock," but you can depend on her to be assiduous about her work.]

persisting; unremitting; diligent; devotely attentive

cajolery [Sometimes cajolery is more successful than force.]

persuasion by flattery, coaxing or artfulness

pragmatic [His plan is too idealistic; hers is more pragmatic.]

pertaining or attentive to all related causes and effects; practical or workable based on full study

magisterial [A magisterial teacher demands obedience, while a good teacher earns respect.]

pertaining to a master; pompously assured and commanding; authoritative; dictatorial

aesthetic [Their aesthetic taste was evident in the fine design and exquisite furnishings of their home.]

pertaining to beauty; sensitive to or appreciative of beauty in the arts, nature, etc.; (also spelled esthetic).

chromatic [Art students practice making soft or vivid chromatic effects; and piano students practice similar chromatic scales.]

pertaining to colors; pertaining to certain specific and colorful combinations of musical notes

equestrian [Polo, fox hunting, and steeplechasing are popular equestrian sports.]

pertaining to horses or horsemanship; on horseback; one who rides or performs on horseback

conjugal [Their long conjugal association is a model for many younger married couples.]

pertaining to marriage relationships; connubial

fiscal [We must balance our company books and compute profit and loss at the end of our fiscal year.]

pertaining to money matters; financial

alimentary [We have been hungry long enough, and now it's time to attend to alimentary needs.]

pertaining to nourishment or food; nourishing

parochialism [The parochialism of the civic club made it distasteful to many citizens.]

pertaining to only one group; narrowness of interest

communal [To have a clean city demands a communal effort.]

pertaining to or belonging to a community or group; public

sacerdotal [The young pastor always put sacerdotal duties ahead of his continued interest in sports.]

pertaining to priests or priesthood

metaphysical [Philosophers and students of religion are concerned with metaphysical matters.]

pertaining to speculation about ultimate reality; beyond the physical world and traditional sciences; extremely abstract or subtle

plebeian [He is far too plebeian to be considered for membership in such an elite club.]

pertaining to the common people; crude or low class; one of the common people

rustic [As he became older he began to prefer the rustic life of the backwoods to the life of the city.]

pertaining to the country; rural; not refined; simple; one who lives in the country; a simple or unrefined person

lapidary [Before the diamond can be set in a ring, the lapidary must do his work.]

pertaining to the cutting, engraving, polishing of gem stones; one who does such work

filial [His parents will never be destitute because of his filial devotion.]

pertaining to the relationship between children and their parents

maritime [Maritime law regulates all the activities of navigation.]

pertaining to the sea

littoral [swimmers have littered the whole littoral area with debris from their beach parties.]

pertaining to the seashore or coastal region; a shore and the are nearby

addicted [It did not take long before he became addicted to smoking.]

physiologically or psychologically dependent upon; completely self subjected to some habit, practice, etc.

ensconced [Ensconced in an easy chair, he enjoyed his pipe and book.]

placed or settled snugly or securely

badinage [One person misunderstood the badinage and it turned into bitter accusations and insults.]

playful talk or joking back and forth; good natured arguing and jesting; raillery; teasing

debonair [John is rough and uncouth while, in contrast, Charles is debonair.]

pleasant and gracious; refined; suave; urbane

savory [They served many savory dishes at the banquet. If you associate with good people you reputation will become more savory.]

pleasing to the taste or smell; appetizing; respectable; reputable

venomous [His insults can be as venomous as the bite of a rattlesnake.]

poisonous; deadly; spiteful; malicious

grandiloquent [Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was simple and powerful, and anything but grandioquent.]

pompous in speech; bombastic; flamboyant

calligraphy [The lettering on the diploma was in calligraphy.]

precise and decorative handwriting or hand-printing; handwriting in general; (also spelled: caligraphy)

precocious [Most of the class found the precocious student annoying.]

prematurely developed; matured earlier than is normal; mentally advanced beyond one's years

omnipresent [Only God can truly be omnipresent.]

present everywhere at once; (ubiquitous is sometimes used as a synonym)

ostensible [His ostensible motives concealed his real ones.]

presented as real or genuine; avowed; seeming

unctuous [The king's councilor gave him only unctuous flattery, and no useful advice at all.]

pretending earnestness; overly suave; smooth-talking; oily; greasy

cardinal [Love of one's fellow man is considered a cardinal virtue.]

principal; most important; chief; an ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church; a red bird; scarlet

attrition [Without firing anyone, we will have fewer employees next year because of attrition.]

process of rubbing or wearing down; gradual loss from normal causes or natural circumstances

insidious [He was so insidious that it took us a long time to find out he was an enemy.]

progressing harmfully but hardly noticed; deceitful in a subtle way; wily; treacherous.

tutelary [A student's advisor should function in a tutelary capacity, checking on the student's academic and social progress from time to time.]

protecting; having guardianship; watching over; instructively caring

obtrusive [His obtrusive manner of involving himself in other people's business is his greatest fault.]

pushing forward or outward; intruding or forcing in an unwarranted manner

promulgated [The results of the deliberation were promulgated throughout the nation.]

put into effect officially and publicly; openly declared; proclaimed

feint [The boxed made a feint with his left and landed a solid right.]a false or deceptive movement; a pretended attach meant to distract from a real one elsewhere; to act in such a manner.]

puzzlingly detailed; complicated, involved; complex

contentious [They are so contentious that we simply can't reason with them.]

quarrelsome; argumentative; uncooperative

effulgence [The effulgence of the sun on Easter morning was especially symbolic.]

radiance; splendor; brightness; shining

concurred [The members of the jury concurred with the foreman's opinion.]

reached the same conclusion; agreed; occurred at the same time

winced [The nurse said it wouldn't hurt, but the patient winced as the needle touched his arm.]

reacted quickly with facial contortion as if in pain; flinched

profligate [His profligate spending of money soon made him a poor man.]

recklessly extravagant or wasteful; not virtuous or decent; such a person

wanton [The cruelty of the invaders was wanton, as they ignored all decency and human rights.]

recklessly ignoring what is right; unprovoked and excessive; immoral; dissolute; such a person

commendatory [His willingness to sacrifice himself was commendatory.]

reflecting praise or recommendation; worthy of praise

sanctuary [A bird sanctuary has been added to the zoo.]

refuge; safety; a place of refuge or safety

intransigent [The intransigent senator adhered to his original stand on the question.]

refusing to come to terms; uncompromising; unyielding; one who acts in such a manner

revered [The old priest was revered by everyone in his parish because of his saintly life.]

regarded with reverence or deep respect

histrionic [There is subtle meaning in the story but her histrionic presentation ruined it.]

related to acting or actors; theatrical; overly dramatic

pertinent [We are talking about a party, so your remarks about a vacation are not pertinent.]

related to the matter at hand; relevant

arterial [The new arterial highway will connect several major cities.]

related to the tubes carrying blood from the heart; serving as a major carrier, channel or thoroughfare

pastoral [The pastoral scene was painted by a noted landscape artist. The priest's pastoral duties kept him busy caring for his flock.]

relating to rural life and the countryside, simple and peaceful; relating to shepherds; relating to pastors, the clergy

relevant [The information she gave was useful but not relevant to the discussion topic.]

relating to the matter at hand; pertinent; applicable

tactile [The tactile quality of this fabric is so rough that I doubt anyone would wear it.]

relating to the sense of touch; able to be touched

abjured [He abjured his U.S. citizenship when he defected to Russia.]

relinquished completely; renounced; disavowed; retracted; recanted

reminiscent [That song is particularly reminiscent of my college days.]

reminding or suggestive of the past; remembering; dwelling on the past

expunged [He requested that his remarks be expunged from the records.]

removed completely; wiped out; erased; deleted

alliteration ["Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers: is a nearly perfect alliteration.]

repetition of beginning sounds in several words in a phrase or line

incumbent [It is incumbent upon each of us to do his best. The incumbent is doing a better job than our last principal.]

required as one's duty or obligation; one holding an office or position

prerequisite [Freshman English is a prerequisite to all advanced English courses.]

required beforehand in conjunction with something to follow; anything so required

stringent [If the stringent dress code is adopted, the students can no longer wear anything they choose.]

requiring very close compliance; strict; rigid; severe

assonance [The rhyme may not be perfect but the assonance makes the poem sound appealing.]

resemblance of vowel sounds resulting in partial rhyme (lake--mate); rough likeness; approximation

demure [How could such a demure girl have such aggressive, obnoxious parents?}

reserved; unassuming; modest; unaffected

recalcitrant [He is so recalcitrant that none of the teachers will accept him in class.]

resistant to control; stubborn; defiant, rebellious; such a person

amenable [We won't agree with anything that's illegal, but we are amenable to any other suggestion you may have.]

responsible and responsive to what is right; willing to comply with; persuadable; submissive

ludicrous [His comment was so ludicrous that we did not think he was serious.]

ridiculously humorous; absurd

gnarled [One of the Rembrandt's paintings features the gnarled hands of an old man.]

rough and weather worn; knotted; twisted

circuitous [You can go directly from here to there, or you can take a circuitous route.]

roundabout; indirect

rotund [his rotund face resembles a full moon. His rotund voice filled the auditorium.]

rounded; full; plump; deep and rich in sound

doleful [That doleful look on his face aroused my sympathy.]

sad; sorrowful; mournful

reiterated [He reiterated his suggestion to make sure we understood.]

said or done again; repeated

brackish [When they drank the brackish water it made them rather ill and more thirsty than ever.]

salty; distasteful

mordant [Her feelings were deeply hurt by his well-intended, but mordant, observations.]

sarcastic; caustic; biting

exiguous [The exiguous growth on the hillside was hardly enough to feed a herd of sheep.]

scanty; small; insufficient

dearth [We planned a complex project and now our dearth of some talents keeps us from completing it.]

scarcity; lack

disseminated [The information was disseminated over the radio.]

scattered; spread widely; broadcast

savants [This sort of decision should be made by savants, not by uneducated people.]

scholars; learned persons

berated [The judge berated the criminal for his evil deeds.]

scolded severely; rebuked harshly

cauterized [The physician cauterized the tissue around the wound.]

seared with a hot iron or acid

collusion [Their months-long collusion resulted in their defrauding an associate.]

secret cooperation for a wrongful purpose

covert [The covert activities of the CIA were revealed to the public through the press.]

secret; hidden; undercover

clandestine [The conspirators held a clandestine meeting to plot their actions.]

secret; hidden; undercover; surreptitious; furtive

surreptitious [Their planning was so surreptitious that everyone was taken by surprise.]

secret; stealthy; clandestine

ubiquitous [The radio has made that popular tune ubiquitous.]

seeming to be everywhere at once; (omniprsent is sometimes used as a synonym)

plausible [He had no proof but his explanation was plausible; so we accepted it.]

seeming to be probable or likely; apparently trustworthy or believable

aplomb [If the speaker was nervous she didn't show it, facing the audience with aplomb.]

self assurance; self confidence; self possession; poise

ascetic [Monks should be men of ascetic tastes.]

self denying; lacking all pleasure or comfort; austere; one who lives in such manner

autonomous [Some countries once governed by others have now become autonomous.]

self governing; independent

exemplary [Her conduct is exemplary; I wish all my students were so well behaved.]

setting an example; admirable; commendable

austere [He led the austere life of a monk, denying himself any of the pleasures of the world. He looks austere but he's really very kind.]

severe; stern; grave; lacking luxury; very simple and without adornment

amorphous [The potter begins his work with a piece of amorphous clay.]

shapeless; with no special form

pungent [A pungent odor of burning leaves reminds us that autumn is here.]

sharp or striking to the sense of smell; acrid; piquant

poignant [Pictures in a photo album can be poignant reminders of happy times long gone.]

sharply painful or saddening to the feelings; emotionally affective; piercing; sharp; cutting in effect

deciduous [The evergreens don't shed, but the deciduous trees in my yard keep me busy in the fall.]

shedding or falling off seasonally

sheen [The sheen of the satin costumes added beauty to the pageant.]

shine; luster; brightness

refulgent [The frost on the ground was refulgent in the moonlight.]

shining; radiant; glowing

abridged [His huge novel has been abridged in a short article. It tells us to beware of abridged rights of citizenship.]

shortened by using fewer words but keeping essential meaning; made concise; lessened; curtailed.

flamboyant [I like plain and simple styles, but she prefers flamboyant clothes that attract attention.]

showy; fancy; resplendent; colorful; ornate; florid; flamelike

ostentatious [His speech was nothing but an ostentatious display of knowledge.]

showy; pretentious

cowers [No matter how brave he claims to be, he cowers every time he hears the sound of guns.]

shrinks aways from in fear; cringes

artifice [Instead of just asking for the assignment to be postponed, they used artifice to avoid it.]

skill; cleverness; ingenuity; craftiness; an artful trick or stratagem

deft [With one deft movement, the surgeon made the incision.]

skillful; dexterous; adroit

indolent [He is too indolent even to try for a passing grade.]

slothful; laze; idle

paucity [The paucity of his vocabulary shows in his repetitious expressions.]

smallness in quantity; insufficiency; fewness; scarcity

inextricably [He became inextricably involved in the plot, never to be cleared of blame for it.]

so involved or entangled as not to be removed or extricated

Emissary [He was the emissary chosen to represent his firm abroad.]

someone who is sent as a representative

figment [The story he submitted was a figment of his imagination.]

something invented in the mind; a whimsical or fanciful idea

desideratum [To visit every corner of the world was his driving desideratum.]

something needed and wanted; something much desired

innovation [At one time the automobile was an innovation.]

something new; a recent invention; the act or process of creating or introducing new things or ideas

anachronism [Shakespeare's reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is an anachronism: of course, there were no clocks in Caesar's time.]

something out of place in time; such a representation

commodious [He bought a commodious home for his large family.]

spacious; roomy

laconic [Her laconic speeches tell you important things in a very few words.]

sparing of words; terse or concise

abstemious [A good athlete is abstemious in his habits.]

sparing or moderate in eating and drinking; temperate

polyglot [I hope I can find someone who speaks English in this polyglot neighborhood.]

speaking or writing in several languages; multilingual; a mixture or languages

vociferous [She annoyed us by becoming vociferous when quiet talk would have served as well.]

speaking out noisily; clamorous

vapid [His speech was so vapid that much of the audience fell asleep.]

spiritless; insipid; dull

platonic [Although they had been very close for many years, their love was purely platonic.]

spiritual and not sexual or sensual. Platonic: idealistic; academic; theoretical

immaculate [Even though he has been criticized by his opponents, his public record is immaculate.]

spotlessly clean; without stain or blemish

rampant [After the victory the crowd rushed rampant through the streets shouting, "We're number one!"

spreading unchecked; widespread and uncontrolled; wild or violent

philatelist [His interest in stamps began early and he became an avid philatelist.]

stamp collector

destitution [The Social Security system attempts to prevent destitution among the aged.]

state of being without means of subsistence; great poverty

desuetude [The good old customs soon fell into desuetude with the new generation.]

state of disuse; uselessness

sedulous [he obtains good grades not because he is brilliant, but because he is a sedulous worker.]

steadily busy or attentive; diligent; assiduous

furtive [She caught him making furtive glances at her, but he would never look in the eye.]

stealthy; secretive; sly; evasive

sidled [The bashful child at last sidled up to her new aunt.]

stepped or moved sideways in a shy or stealthy manner

stilted [His speaking style is too stilted to appeal to a general audience.]

stiffly formal; pompous

piquant [He is a master of the piquant mystery story. She is dull and lethargic but she has a piquant young friend.]

stimulating to the mind; interesting; provocative; charmingly lively; spicy; tart

sarcophagus [On his first visit to the cathedral the boy was frightened by the row of huge, grim sarcophagi.]

stone coffin or tomb; especially one exposed to view

exotic [Several exotic oriental dishes were served at the international banquet.]

strangely enticing or fascinating; not native; foreign

mettle [He was a man of fine mettle during the entire war.]

strength of spirit; stamina; dependability; ardor

obdurate [He remained obdurate in spite of our encouraging him to join us.]

stubborn; unyielding; obstinate; unmanageable

pertinacious [He was pertinacious in maintaining his position.]

stubbornly persistent; tenacious of goals or purpose; not easily gotten rid of

subsidiary [The main office has opened several subsidiary offices all over town.]

subsidized by or dependent upon; supplemental; subordinate; auxiliary; one or that in such a status

cataclysmic [The destruction caused by the storm reached cataclysmic proportions.]

sudden and violent on a large scale; disastrous or violently changing in effect

schizophrenic [Because she appears to live in a world of her own, she may be schizophrenic.]

suffering from a mental disorder characterized by withdrawal from reality, often incorrectly defined as having a split personality; one with such a condition

expedient [We must win by the most expedient means and worry about the consequences later.]

suitable or advisable at the moment; opportune or useful but not necessarily right; such an action or means

perponderance [Some women and a few children attended but there was a preponderance of men in the audience.]

superiority in quantity or influence; the greater part of

turgid [As a turgid stream overflows its banks, his turgid speech flooded us with almost meaningless words.]

swollen; distended; inflated or bombastic in expression

deleted [Your name was inadvertently deleted from the list, but I have just added it.]

taken out; cut out; removed

omnivorous [He is an omnivorous reader, enjoying any book and every subject available to him. Most dogs are omnivorous.

taking in or consuming everything; eating almost anything, esp. both vegetables and meat

garrulous [She works very rapidly, but her garrulous tongue distracts us from our studies.]

talkative; chattering; loquacious

loquacious [They are quite different: one is loquacious, while the other rarely says a word.]

talkative; given to continual talking

sullies [The student who cheats sullies his honor.]

tarnishes; defiles or stains; tarnishments; defilements.

fraught [Although the mission was fraught with danger he was willing to carry it out.]

teeming with; laden; full of

spasmodic [He cannot be relied upon because he is too spasmodic in doing his work.]

temporarily impulsive or violent; intermittent and intense; convulsive

abeyance [The committee held his question in abeyance until more important matters had been settled.]

temporary inaction; suspension; deferral; (adjective form: abeyant)

mutability [The mutability of all living things is symbolized by the changing seasons.]

tendency to change; alterability; inconsistency

erosive [The erosive power of the river changed the shape of his property.]

tending or causing to wear away or disintegrate slowly

evanescent [The carefee spirit of youth is evanescent and seldom persists into adulthood.]

tending to fade like vapor; vaporous; ephemeral

salutary [The salutary result of their argument ultimately may be cooperation.]

tending to promote good; beneficial; healthful

sinister [He dedicated his life to combating the sinister forces in society.]

tending toward disaster; threatening; foreboding; evil; wicked; (literally: left or left-hand).

frustration [He felt great frustration when he did not receive the answer he had hoped for.]

that which baffles or thwarts accomplishment; the state of being so affected

protuberance [The archeologists were puzzled by a protuberance just below the surface of the earth.]

that which bulges, sticks out or protrudes; a protrusion

demarcation [Slavery caused a demarcation of attitudes in northern and southern states before the Civil War.]

that which clearly distinguishes or marks a difference; a differencing or distinguishing; a boundary or separation; the fixing of such

anomaly [Everything in the whole test was related, except for one anomaly.]

that which differs from what is commonly expected; a deviation from the rule; an irregularity or abnormality

complement [Your study of calculus will complement the requirements for a degree in mathematics.]

that which fills up or adds to for completion; that which must be so added; to add to in such a manner

sequel [The sequel to the story will appear in the next issue of the magazine.]

that which follows; a continuation

aggrandizement [His only interest in being elected was personal aggrandizement.]

that which makes richer or greater; the state or result of such

paradox [To be both rational and passionate would seem to be a paradox.]

that which may be true but which seems to be contradictory, false or absurd; a self contradictory statement

finesse [What she lacked in understanding of business details, she made up for by her finesse in dealing with customers.]

the ability to perform with delicate skill and style; tactfulness and subtlety; artfulness

degradation [How can any thoughtful person submit to the degradation that drugs induce?]

the act of degrading; reduction in quality, status, morals, etc.

acquisition [Let's hire her because her ability will be a valuable acquisition for our company.]

the act of gaining or acquiring; anything gained or acquired

focalization [Today, our focalization will be on chapter three.]

the act or action of focusing or concentration; the location of concentrated attention

perturbation [The overthrowing of the king caused great perturbation of the country's social structure.]

the act or cause of disturbance in a usual condition; such as disturbance; agitation

mayhem [It is a wonder he was not killed by the mayhem that did make him an invalid for life.]

the act or offense of causing severe bodily injury; maiming; mutilation; crippling; violent confusion and destruction

extortion [The student tried extortion to gain a better grade, but the teacher would not be intimidated]

the act or result of forcing payment by intimidation or violence; blackmail; the act or result of imposing a grossly unfair high price

amelioration [The dress code had been too restrictive and its amelioration was welcomed by the students.]

the act or state of changing for the better; improvement

hedonism [Since hedonism was his philosophy, he cared only about the immediate gratification of this desires.]

the belief that pleasure is the principle goal in life; self indulgence in pleasure seeking

resilience [In spite of many misfortunes, her resilience has kept her a happy person.]

the capability of recovering shape after being bent or stretched; elasticity; the personal capability of recovering undamaged from stress or pressure

spectrum [He was very familiar with Faulkner, having read the entire spectrum of the novelist's work.]

the entire range of something; the colored bands of refracted light

visage [His visage was normally placid but his mouth twisted and his eyes bulged when he was angry.]

the face, particularly with regard to expression

cognomen [His legal cognomen is Smith, and his familiar cognomen is "Smitty']

the family name; surname; a name by which one is known: a nickname

orthopedics [A specialist in orthopedics was called in to treat her broken leg.]

the field of medicine dealing with skeletal system injuries or abnormalities

paragon [Hamlet said that his father was the paragon of kings, whose place could never be taken.]

the finest example; a model of excellence

prototype [The prototype of this car was first suggested five years ago.]

the first of its kind; the original model to which others must conform

necromancy [The magician claimed that he used necromancy when he told our fortunes.]

the foretelling of the future by supposed communication with the dead or with spirits; black magic; sorcery

protagonist [As the protagonist in uncovering city corruption, he stood out like the protagonist in a mystery novel.]

the leading or central character in a play or story; a person most concerned and active in resolving a situation

bourgeois [In America there are rich people, poor people - and many of us are of the bourgeois.]

the middle class; a member of the middle class; pertaining to the middle class; commonplace or ordinary

essence [Faith, hope and love constitute the essence of Christianity.]

the most essential and characterizing aspect; the deep and true character; a concentrated and stable substance; a perfume

filibuster [The senator's filibuster lasted for an amazing fourteen hours.]

the obstruction of passage of a legislative bill by the making of long speeches; to speak for such purpose

permeate [The odor of the flowers will permeate the entire house]

the pass into and penetrate throughout; to spread or diffuse into; to pervade

agglomeration [The entire east end of the city was formed by the gradual agglomeration of tenement houses.]

the process of massing or clustering together; a jumbled mass or cluster

euphony [Choose another word for the sake of euphony.]

the quality of pleasantness in sound; pleasant sound

beneficence [His beneficence as a citizen stood out in contrast to the meanness of others.]

the quality or display of goodness and kindness; a good deed or kindness; such actions collectively

verisimilitude [Some science fiction has the verisimilitude to make it almost believable.]

the resemblance or appearance of truth or reality

hallucination [Macbeth's hallucination of the ghost of Banquo is the result of his guilty conscience.]

the seeing, feeling, experiencing of something mentally that seems real but is not; an imaginary perception

propriety [Although he was very crude at home, he always acted with propriety when in public.]

the sense or quality of being appropriate or proper; conduct that matches generally accepted standards

ideology [The ideology of communism cannot be accepted in a democracy.]

the set of beliefs or doctrines that distinguish a person or group

protrusion [The protrusion of your personal affairs is a distraction from our work. She cut her foot on a sharp protrusion in the carpet.]

the state of act of thrusting forward or sticking out; that which sticks out or juts out

sobriety [Absolute sobriety is necessary when one is driving. He seldom laughs but maintains sobriety.]

the state of being sober, serious or temperate; abstinence from intoxicating substance

celibacy [Celibacy is obligatory for Roman Catholic priests.]

the state of refraining from marriage and sexual relations.

anthropology [Anthropology helps us to understand differences and similarities among human races.]

the study of mankind, including origins, development, characteristics, customs, etc.

topography [The aerial camera revealed the topography of the river valley with amazing detail.]

the surface features of land; the art and science of representing such on a map.

plagiarism [Instead of being an original composition, his writing was nothing but plagiarism.]

the taking of expressions and ideas of another perosn and using them as if they were one's own; copying without credit to the author

denouement [We didn't recognize the real villain in the drama until the denouement occurred.]

the unraveling or revealing of meaning of a play, novel, etc.; the point where this occurs; a final outcome

appurtenances [He made sure that all of the appurtenances came with the boat.]

things added to a more important thing; supplementary equipment; accessories

votaries [The High Priest's votaries would follow him anywhere and do all his bidding.]

those bound by a vow; those devoted to a particular cause or belief; dedicated followers or students

pensive [Cheer up - stop thinking - get active - you have been pensive long enough!]

thoughtful, reflective - usually with a feeling of soberness or sadness

malignant [The operation showed that the cancer was malignant.]

threatening to produce death; harmful

taut [His nerves were so taut he thought they would snap.]

tightly drawn; tense

interim [We had two business meetings but in the interim we went sightseeing.]

time between; meantime

assimilate [If you tell me carefully, I can assimilate all the data. Many different cultures have been assimilated into American culture.]

to absorb and make a part of; to take in and relate; to digest; to be or become like or absorbed

escort [As he escorted her into the ballroom, his mother thought of her own cotillion days.]

to accompany in order to protect or show honor or courtesy to; one who so acts.

augment [Students often augment their allowance with the income from a job.]

to add to; to increase; to supplement

badger [If you don't stop badgering me about your grade I shall lower it.]

to annoy persistently; to bother or tease; a small burrowing animal

foment [The police are afraid that the demonstration will foment violence.]

to arouse; to cause; to incite

impute [We should not impute false motives to those who are kind.]

to ascribe; to attribute; to credit or blame

allocate [We must work out a budget and allocate funds for each project.]

to assign as a portion or share; to set apart for; to distribute by allotment

subside [After the flood, the water finally subsided.]

to become less active; to decrease from violence or agitation to calmness;; to sink or settle

blanch [She blanched when she heard the bad news.]

to become or turn pale; to make white; to bleach; to scald edibles

prosecute [He has threatened to prosecute anyone who hunts on his property. We are dedicated to the task and will prosecute it to completion.]

to begin and conduct legal action against; to sue; to go on with or pursue; to carry on a business or trade

encumber [The equipment did not encumber our efforts as much as we had feared.]

to burden; to load down; to hinder

mollify [Not even her apology could mollify the angry teacher.]

to calm or appease; to soothe; to make less severe

terminate [When the company terminates its manufacture of this product, my services with them will terminate as well.]

to cause or bring to an end; to conclude; to end

modulate [no other actor could express so many moods by merely modulating his voice.]

to change, adjust or regulate; to vary the pitch or tone of sound or the frequency of radio waves

glean [I had to glean the information I needed by long searching through many books.]

to collect facts, patiently and gradually, etc.; literally: to gather grain left by reapers

coalesce [Under a good leader, their various ideas may coalesce into one common purpose.]

to combine or come together in one body, purpose, etc.; to unite; to fuse; to blend

conscript [A conscript army is usually not as dependable as a volunteer one.]

to compel or force into service; drafted or compelled to serve; one so compelled.

temporize [The professor refused to temporize in his literary tastes just for the sake of current fashion.]

to comply with the time and occasion; to yield to current opinion; to stall for time; to compromise

dissemble [He claimed that he was not afraid, but we knew that he was dissembling.]

to conceal or disguise; to show falsely; to dissimulate

infer [You have implied your interest in this kind of work, and so I infer that you want the job.]

to conclude or derive from something assumed, known or implied; (imply: to suggest vaguely)

comport [They comport themselves with admirable grace.]

to conduct or behave oneself; to be compatible or in agreement with

confound [He tried to confound us by telling different versions of his plan.]

to confuse, bewilder or amaze

clamber [He was so drunk that he had to clamber up the steps.]

to crawl or climb in a clumsy manner

excoriate [The general delivered a speech excoriating the deserters.]

to criticize harshly; to censure; (literally: to tear off a strip of skin)

flout [He was punished for flouting the authority of his teachers.]

to defy contemptiously; to scorn or scoff; such an act

decry [We should decry the bad behavior of those who upset the classroom.]

to denounce or condemn openly; to censure

gainsay [No matter how much I dislike him, I cannot gainsay his success.]

to deny; to contradict

enervate [The thinness of the air seemed to enervate the mountain climber.]

to deprive of strength; to devitalize; to weaken

decimate [The community had been decimated by a fearful epidemic and the mill had to close down.]

to destroy or kill a large number; literally: to kill one out of every ten

flaunt [The winner continued to flaunt the money in their faces.]

to display proudly or defiantly; to wave or flourish arrogantly

implement [She has the experience to implement our plans, putting ideas to work. These regulations will be implements for quality control.]

to do or provide what is needed for completion or activation; to effect; to accomplish; something used for a specific purpose; a tool or instrument

retract [He was willing to retract the statement he made yesterday.]

to draw back; to withdraw; to take back

elicit [His long and heavy discourse elicited yawns and stifled groans from the audience.]

to draw forth or call forth; to evoke; to educe

protract [The workers were inclined to protract the job because they were being paid by the hour.]

to draw out; to prolong; to extend

alleviate [As an excellent nurse, she was able to alleviate anxiety as well as pain.]

to ease, relieve or lighten; to mitigate

mince [She did not mince words in her forthright accusation.] [Minced ham makes good sandwiches.]

to express with primness or with little force; to cut into little pieces

purport [He purports to be a doctor, but his methods suggest that he is a charlatan.]

to give an impression of; to claim as true, to profess; meaning; intention

endorse [Once before he had made the mistake of endorsing a candidate he did not know well enough.]

to give support or approval to; to sanction; to transfer or guarantee by signing

manipulate [To fly an airplane, you must manipulate the controls. He doesn't hesitate to manipulate people to achieve his own goals.]

to handle skillfully; to manage, change or alter shrewdly

incarcerate [He committed a felony and was incarcerated for punishment.]

to imprison; to confine

denote [The huge black clouds denote a storm.]

to indicate; to mark; to designate or signify

amalgamate [Two business firms may amalgamate for the best interest of both.]

to join or mix together; to unite; to combine

rationalize [He attempted to rationalize his behavior by claiming that the ends would justify his means.]

to justify one's actions or motives plausibly but not necessarily truthfully; to make reasonable or rational

abscond [We have told the police that he left quickly yesterday to abscond with our funds.]

to leave secretly and in haste, usually to escape the law

allay [The teacher tried to allay the student's fears about the test by assuring him that he would pass.]

to lessen in intensity; to remove or reduce fear or doubt; to calm; to pacify

assuage [Not even her kind words could assuage her friend's grief.]

to lessen in severity or harshness; to mitigate; to alleviate; to calm or satisfy; to appease

console [No one could console her after the tragedy in her family. The organist adjusted the stops on the console and then began the concert.]

to lessen sadness or disappointment; to comfort or cheer in distreee; to solace; the keyboard of an organ, computer, etc.; a cabinet

stint [Now that the food shortage is over, there is no need to stint on means. This stint of hard work will be over in one day.]

to limit; to be frugal or sparing; a limited or assigned task or period

languish [Since freedom was denied him, he was left to languish in prison.]

to lose strength, force, or animation; to experience physical and mental discomfort

essay [you must not give up, but must essay to complete an interesting essay.]

to make an effort; to try; to attempt; a trial; an attempt; a short written composition

enhance [The improvements enhance the value of the property.]

to make better; to heighten or increase in value, quality, etc.

fructify [The farmer must work hard to fructify his fields.]

to make fruitful; to make productive

divulge [You must promise not to divulge that secret.]

to make known; to reveal; to tell

embellish [These oriental rugs certainly embellish the appearance of the room.]

to make more beautiful or valuable; to add to; to enhance

mitigate [His good intentions do not mitigate his bad actions.]

to make or become milder, less painful, less severe, less blameworthy

writhe [As I pressed the stick against the snake's neck, it writhed awhile and then lay still.]

to make twisting or turning movements; to squirm; to contort the body as in agony

swirl [The strong wind caused the dead leaves to swirl.]

to move in a circular, whirling or writhing manner; a twist, curl, whirl or eddy

dilate [Medicines are used to dilate the pupil of the eye.]

to open wide; to enlarge

remunerate [They did not fail to remunerate him generously for his work.]

to pay or to pay for; to compensate

dissuade [It was hard to dissuade him from doing what he planned.]

to persuade not to do something

proselytize [Christian denominations welcome voluntary members but few of them will actually proselytize.]

to persuade to change from one belief, party, religion, etc. to another; to seek to convert

prognosticate [To prognosticate weather conditions is not a simple matter.]

to predict; to foretell

portend [Dark clouds portend a storm.]

to present an omen; to warn of; to foretell; to presage

emboss [The head of Caesar was embossed on Roman coins.]

to push up or raise upon a surface; to produce a design in relief; to adorn

subsume [Many forms and transitions of life are subsumed in the science of paleontology.]

to put into or include within a larger class or category

couch [He knew exactly what he wanted to say, but he could not couch his letter in the right words.]

to put into words; to express appropriately; to phrase; a piece of furniture - a sofa

inculcate [He tried to inculcate a sense of loyalty among his classmates.]

to reach or impress by frequent repetition; to instill

renaissance [In a renaissance of concern, the voters approved a new school levy ten years after the last one.]

to rebirth; a revival; Renaissance: the time of greatly renewed learning in Europe after the Dark Ages, 14th-16th centuries

retrench [As his bank account began to dwindle he knew he had to retrench on expenditures.]

to reduce; to curtail; to economize

palliate [The doctor gave him some medicine to palliate his suffering.]

to relieve or ease without curing; to alleviate; to lessen seriousness; to extenuate; to excuse

recant [To be reinstated he was obliged to recant his statement.]

to renounce formally; to disavow; to "take back" or withdraw

epitomize [Sir Galahad epitomizes knighthood, and his legend is too long for me to epitomize.]

to represent or typify a whole;to summarize concisely

importune [I can't change your grade so it's useless to importune me.]

to request urgently; to implore; to beg; to urge

resuscitate [The lifeguard could not resuscitate the drowned woman.]

to restore from apparent death; to bring back to consciousness; to revive

blazon [An artist was chosen to blazon the hero's shield.]

to richly adorn; to depict symbolically; such a depiction or its description

gouge [They'll have to gouge those big rocks out of the ground with a bulldozer.]

to scoop, dig or force out; to overcharge; a woodworking tool for cutting holes or grooves; such a hole or groove

excerpt [He read an excerpt from Lewis's book.]

to select or take out from; to extract; a passage taken out of a book, article, etc.

sequester [We will sequester the students taking the test so the others won't distract them.]

to set apart; to isolate; to segregate; to seclude

propound [He may propound many ideas, but he can't apply them unless the committee adopted them.]

to set forth for consideration; to suggest subject to approval

brandish [The child would brandish his stick when a dog approached.]

to shake, wave or flourish threateningly, defiantly or triumphantly

scintillate [They are the ideal guests at a party - well-dressed, refined, and scintillating.]

to sparkle; to glitter; to be vibrantly personable; to be brilliant and witty in conversation

malign [He maligned his opponents, hoping voters would believe the worst about them.]

to speak badly of; to defame; to slander

loll [Despite the arrival of visitors, the man continued to loll in his chair.]

to sprawl or repose listlessly to lazily; to lounge or droop

propagate [Be careful about saying anything that might propagate rumors.]

to spread information, etc. from one person to another; to disseminate; to reproduce or multiply; to cause such

legibility [He praised the young man for the legibility of his hand writing.]

to state or quality of being easy to read

filch [When the grocer was not looking, the hungry boy was tempted to filch an apple.]

to steal slyly, usually something of little value

emulate [If you emulate your parent's success and satisfaction, your own can certainly be no less.]

to strive to equal or surpass; to successfully rival

connote [The word "country" connotes different things to different people.]

to suggest; to imply

capitulate [Because defeat was sure, the general was willing to capitulate.]

to surrender on certain terms; to give in; to acquiesce

commiserate [You commiserate with a friend who has suffered some loss.]

to sympathize or condole with; to feel or show pity or sorrow for

coagulate [A new substance has been found which helps the blood to coagulate.]

to thicken; to clot; to gather together in a mass

ruminate [It is well to ruminate over a subject before beginning to write about it.]

to think about carefully; to ponder over; to meditate

jettison [To lighten the plane, the crew was forced to jettison the cargo.]

to throw overboard; to discard

encroach [She owns the copyright on that book and if you copy it, she can sue you for encroaching.]

to trespass; to intrude upon another's property or rights

esophagus [Food passes down the esophagus into the stomach.]

to tube passing from the pharynx to the stomach; the gullet

construe [If you can't construe my directions, you may end up following the wrong route.]

to understand or explain the meaning of; to interpret or deduce

exploit [He unfairly exploited the work of another man to gain his own ends. She will wisely exploit the help of others in an exploit that will make them all famous.]

to use selfishly or to take advantage of; to put to full and practical use; a great and bold or daring deed

deplete [Senseless waste will in time deplete our national resources.]

to use up; to empty; to reduce; to exhaust

substantiate [The rumors were substantiated by the report.]

to verify; to attest as true; to give substance to

dally [If you dally here much longer, you'll miss your appointment. Don't dally with Dolly - she's too serious for flirtation.]

to waste time; to loiter; to play or trifle with; to playfully show affection

inured [By constant exposure he soon became inured to the hardships of cold weather.]

tolerant of because of prior exposure; accustomed to; hardened to unaffected by

ineffable [His ineffable delight was caused by the unexpected arrival of his friend.]

too overpowering to be expressed in words; unutterable; indescribable

contiguous [The property of my next door neighbor is contiguous with my property.]

touching; adjoining

perfidious [a perfidious man will not keep your secrets and may turn against you.]

treacherous; violating of faith or trust

condoned [His intentions were good but their bad results could not be condoned.]

treated, overlooked or forgiven as though not committed or of no consequence.

opulent [The opulent sheik spent money recklessly and served his guests an opulent dinner.]

tremendously wealthy; very rich or affluent; most abundant; luxuriously plentiful

panegyric [He requested the honor of speaking the panegyric at his friend's funeral.

tribute; a speech of praise

chicanery [He is so adept at political chicanery that no one can pin the dirty tricks on him.]

trickery; deception

veracity [His lying in the past causes me to doubt his veracity now.]

truthfulness; honesty

tortuous [His story-telling and the crooked road to his mountain home were equally tortuous.]

twisting; winding; turning; not direct or straightforward

indomitable [It was his indomitable spirit to win that carried him on to success.]

unable to be overcome, subdued or dominated; stubbornly resistant; persevering

illiterate [Since he has had no formal education, he is virtually illiterate.]

unable to read or write

immutable [The physical laws of the universe are immutable, but its features are constantly changing.]

unchangeable; fixed

inexorable [A fatalist believes that man's destiny is inexorable.]

unchanging; relentless; unalterable

empathy [Sympathy is empty unless empathy allows me to really share your concern.]

understanding and identification with the mental state and emotions of another person

tacit [He did not actually say "yes" but he gave tacit permission for us to go.]

understood without being openly stated; implied

compunction [She had absolutely no compunction about lying to her mother. My compunction moves me to apologize for inconveniencing you.]

uneasiness because of guilt; a slight sense of pity or regret

recreant [The recreant soldier was captured and court-martialed for desertion.]

unfaithful; disloyal; cowardly; one who exhibits these qualities

disparity [Disparity in rank did not prevent the soldiers and the officers from enjoying the party.]

unlikeness; inequality; difference

redundant [The phrase "small in size" is redundant.]

unnecessary to meaning; already stated; repetitive; excessive

spontaneous [Wordsworth defined poetry as the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling.']

unplanned; acting from a natural impulse; self-generated

cacophony [The cacophony of a band not in tune hurts my ears.]

unpleasant, harsh, or discordant sound

chauvinistic [He knows good people everywhere but he's rather chauvinistic about fellow Virginians.]

unreasonably devoted or loyal to one's own group, race, sex or status; implying unreasoned superiority to such

crass [His crass behavior was partially due to lack of education.]

unrefined; common; vulgar

atypical [His clumsiness on the fairway was atypical of a professoinal golfer.]

unrepresentative; not typical

refractory [A refractory boy is hard to handle.]

unresponsive to discipline; resistant; stubborn; unmanageable

fallow [The fields were left fallow for several years.]

unused; uncultivated

rectitude [Her rectitude is such that no one can criticize her relatinships with others.]

unwavering honesty and right behavior; moral soundness; integrity

utilitarian [Our plan was simple and utilitarian, without any expensive frills.]

useful and without ornamentation or non-necessities; functional and nothing more; one who prizes utility

verbose [A speaker should be concise, not verbose.]

using too many words.

ennui [Many poets and philosophers have stated that physical suffering is preferable to ennui.]

vague discontent; listless dissatisfaction; weariness of life; oppressive boredom

ribald [His ribald stories are not appropriate in polite company.]

verbally vulgar, coarse or offensive

avid [He is such an avid fan that he has not missed a home game in twenty years.]

very desirous of; eager; enthusiastic

staid [We were ecstatic about the news but, as usual, she remained staid.

very reserved; sedate; sober; grave

infinitesimal [An infinitesimal germ can cause serious illness.]

very small; incalculably minute

tenuous [Her argument was too tenuous for us to take seriously.]

very thin or fine; flimsy; insubstantial

invective [We thought that they were friends until we heard their invectives about each other.]

violent denunciation or accusation; vituperation; abuse; abusive; condemning

scurrilous [He deserved to be criticized but not in such scurrilous language.]

vulgarly abusive; coarse; indecent

nomadic [It took a long time before the nomadic tribes settled down.]

wandering from place to place; having no fixed location

balmy [There are many balmy days in spring.]

warm; refreshing; mild

emaciated [The emaciated bodies of the prisoners of war were pitiful.]

wasted away from lack of nourishment; extremely thin

haggard [The smooth features of his youth had turned into the haggard face of a worn-out old man.]

wasted or gaunt in appearance

prodigal [He was so prodigal in his youth that he has nothing left for his old age.]

wasteful; recklessly extravagant

decrepitude [Even at the age of ninety he showed no signs of decrepitude.]

weakness because of advanced age or infirmity; feebleness; a state of being worn out or nearly useless

debility [No specific disease could be diagnosed, yet he suffered from general debility.]

weakness; loss of strength; infirmity

erudite [Although he has never attended college, he is a very erudite person.]

well-read; learned; scholarly

flagellation [he was sentenced to flagellation in the public square.]

whipping; flogging

nefarious [He was given a long prison term for his nefarious crime]

wicked; vicious

pandemonium [The earthquake wrecked many homes and sent hordes of people into pandemonium.]

wild tumult; disorder on grand scale

abnegation [She assigned her rights in the legacy to charity, and is poor but happy in her abnegation.]

willing self-sacrifice; self denial; renunciation

credulous [The teacher was so credulous that he actually believed the student's vague excuses.]

willing to believe too readily; trusting of scant evidence; gullible

expurgated [Perhaps an expurgated edition of the novel would be more appropriate for the less sophisticated students.]

with the objectionable parts taken out; removed as objectionable; censored; howdlerized

seceded [Southern states seceded from the Union during the Civil War.]

withdrew or broke away from; withdrawn; broken away

futile [No matter how hard he tried, his efforts were futile.]

without effect; ineffectual; useless

perfunctory [He turned in all his assignments, but his work is so perfunctory that he failed the course.]

without genuine concern or interest; without true meaning; superficial; routine

indigent [An indigent farmer was given help by his neighbors.]

without means for subsistence; destitute; needy; poor; such a person

licentious [He has gone from bad to worse, from rude to licentious behavior.]

without moral restraint; defiant of normal rules; lewd; dissolute

impious [He always scoffs at religion and seems to be totally impious.]

without piety; irreverent; blasphemous

verbatim [Repeat the instructions verbatim to assure me you know what to do.]

word for word; in the exact words

prolix [His speech was so prolix that his audience grew restless waiting for it to end.]

wordy; long-winded; verbose

sophisticated [She is so sophisticated that she disdains football games and country picnics.]

worldly-wise; not simple; refined; cultivated

mundane [Now that my vacation is over, routine work seems mundane.]

worldly; ordinary; uninspired or uninspiring

jaded [We were so jaded by school work that vacation was a welcome relief.]

worn out; exhausted; "burned out", satiated

venerable [His many years of loving understanding made the priest venerable to all of his parishoners.]

worthy of respect or reverance because of advanced age, wisdom, dedication, etc; revered