SSAT Upper Level Vocabulary

lurid

(adj.) ; shocking, sensational; glowing through haze; surprisingly horrible The tabloid specialized in lurid stories about celebrities' indiscretions. A lurid sun shone upon them as they watched the sun set on the beach.

shady

(adj.) a character of questionable honesty A shady person would not be trusted with a sensitive secret.

suppliant

(adj.) a person making a humble plea to someone in power or authority; pleading Her suppliant request of wanting to know the name of the man was met with a laugh.

inveterate

(adj.) a practice settled on over a long period of time The inveterate induction ceremony bespoke one of the school's great traditions.

exigent

(adj.) a situation calling for immediate attention; needing more than is reasonable; demanding The exigent request for more assistance was answered quickly. The bank seemed to feel that another extension on their loan payment was too exigent a request to honor.

aberrant

(adj.) abnormal; straying from the normal or usual path The aberrant flight pattern of the airplane alarmed the air traffic controllers. His aberrant behavior led his friends to worry the divorce had taken its toll.

brusque

(adj.) abrupt in manner or speech His brusque answer was neither acceptable nor polite.

copious

(adj.) abundant; in great quantities Her copious notes touched on every subject presented in the lecture.

opprobrious

(adj.) abusive Nobody liked working for him because he was so opprobrious.

inured

(adj.) accustomed to pain Beekeepers eventually become inured to bee stings.

arrogant

(adj.) acting superior to others; conceited After purchasing his new, expensive sports car, the arrogant doctor refused to allow anyone to ride with him to the country club.

comprehensive

(adj.) all-inclusive; complete; thorough It's the only health facility around to offer comprehensive care.

ostensible

(adj.) apparent The ostensible reason for choosing the girl was for her beauty.

approbatory

(adj.) approving or sanctioning The judge showed his acceptance in his approbatory remark.

inclined

(adj.) apt to; likely; angled The man's ear for music indicated he was inclined toward learning an instrument. The hillside was inclined just enough to make for a fairly serious climb.

disputatious

(adj.) argumentative; inclined to disputes His disputatious streak eventually wore down his fellow parliament members. The child was so disputatious he needed to be removed from the room.

bumptious

(adj.) arrogant, conceited, pompous He was bumptious in manner as he approached the podium to accept his anticipated award.

bombastic

(adj.) arrogant, wordy, turgid The bombastic woman talks a lot about herself.

imperious

(adj.) arrogant; urgent Her imperious manner cost her her two best friends. It was imperious that the message reach the police chief.

dormant

(adj.) as if asleep The animals lay dormant until the spring thaw.

hypothetical

(adj.) assumed; uncertain; conjectural; guesswork A hypothetical situation was set up so we could practice our responses. The professor was good at using hypothetical situations to illustrate complicated theories.

aghast

(adj.) astonished; amazed; horrified; terrified; appalled Stockholders were aghast at the company's revelation. The landlord was aghast at his water bill.

cognizant

(adj.) aware of; perceptive She became alarmed when she was cognizant of the man following her. It was critical to establish whether the defendant was cognizant of his rights.

enigmatic

(adj.) baffling, puzzling The enigmatic murder plagued the detective.

fundamental

(adj.) basic; necessary Shelter is one of the fundamental needs of human existence.

substantive

(adj.) being a totally independent entity; meaningful; a large quantity The only company not acquired in the merger retained its substantive existence. A substantive amount of money will be needed to fund the project.

problematic

(adj.) being hard to deal with; unsolved situation The constant squeak of the door was problematic. The tense political struggle remains problematic.

plaintive

(adj.) being mournful or sad His wife's death made Sam plaintive.

auspicious

(adj.) being of a good omen; successful It was auspicious that the sun shone on the first day of the trip. The campaign had an auspicious start, foreshadowing the future.

ostentatious

(adj.) being showy Sure he'd won the lottery, but coming to work in a stretch limo seemed a bit ostentatious .

unique

(adj.) being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else; distinctive The jeweler assured him that the dubloon was unique, as it was part of the long lost treasure of the Atocha.

circumlocutory

(adj.) being too long, as in a description or expression; a roundabout, indirect, or ungainly way of expressing something It was a circumlocutory documentary that could have been cut to half its running time to say twice as much.

flamboyant

(adj.) being too showy or ornate The flamboyant nature of the couple was evident in their loud clothing.

nefariousness

(adj.) being villainous or wicked The nefariousness of the ruler was apparent when he hoarded all of the food.

callow

(adj.) being young or immature With the callow remark the young man demonstrated his age. Although the girl could be considered an adult, the action was very callow.

derogatory

(adj.) belittling; uncomplimentary He was upset because his annual review was full of derogatory comments.

subliminal

(adj.) below the level of consciousness, hidden, concealed Critics of advertising say that it's loaded with subliminal messages.

pinioned

(adj.) bound fast; tied tightly together The two rafts were pinioned by steel wire.

doughty

(adj.) brave and strong The doughty fireman saved the woman's life.

lustrous

(adj.) bright; radiant; shining Surrounded by rubies, the lustrous diamond looked magnificent.

ulterior

(adj.) buried; concealed; undisclosed She was usually very selfish, so when she came bearing gifts he suspected that she had ulterior motives. My ulterior concerns are more important than my immediate ones. The man's ulterior motive was to spy on the lab, though he said he wanted a job.

imperturbable

(adj.) calm; not easily excited The imperturbable West Point graduate made a fine negotiator.

extricable

(adj.) capable of being disentangled The knots were complicated, but extricable.

assiduous

(adj.) carefully attentive; industrious It is necessary to be assiduous if a person wishes to make the most of his time at work. He enjoys having assiduous employees because he can explain a procedure once and have it performed correctly every time.

lax

(adj.) careless; irresponsible She was lax in everything she did and therefore could not be trusted with important tasks.

traumatic

(adj.) causing a violent injury, emotionally disturbing or distressing It was a traumatic accident, leaving the driver with a broken vertebra, a smashed wrist, and a concussion.

blighted

(adj.) causing frustration or destruction The blighted tornado left only one building standing in its wake.

soporific

(adj.) causing sleep The soporific medication should not be taken when you need to drive.

chary

(adj.) cautious; being sparing in giving Be chary when driving at night. The chary man had few friends.

fickle

(adj.) changeable; unpredictable He is quite fickle; just because he wants something today does not mean he will want it tomorrow. Because the man was fickle he could not be trusted to make a competent decision.

sedentary

(adj.) characterized by sitting; remaining in one locality The sedentary child had not moved after two hours. The old woman who never left her home town has led a sedentary life.

winsome

(adj.) charming; sweetly attractive His winsome words moved the crowd to love him even more.

jovial

(adj.) cheery; jolly; playful She was a jovial person, always pleasant and fun to be with.

succinct

(adj.) clearly stated; characterized by conciseness The speech was succinct yet emotional. Usually, the most succinct definition is the right one. Articles in USA Today are so succinct that some observers nicknamed the newspaper "McPaper."

ingenious

(adj.) clever, resourceful His ingenious idea made it possible to double production at no extra cost.

ungainly

(adj.) clumsy and unattractive The ungainly man knocked over the plant stand.

pied

(adj.) colored, blotched together The extreme heat caused the colors to become pied.

prefatory

(adj.) coming before The prefatory comments informed the audience of what was to come.

generic

(adj.) common; general; universal While generic drugs are often a better value, it always a good idea to consult your doctor before purchasing them.

workaday

(adj.) commonplace The workaday meal was not exciting to the world class chef.

trite

(adj.) commonplace; overused The committee was looking for something new, not the same trite ideas. Eating tomato salads became trite after their excessive popularity.

hackneyed

(adj.) commonplace; trite Just when you thought neckties were becoming a hackneyed gift item, along comes the Grateful Dead collection. Have a nice day has become something of a hackneyed expression.

compliant

(adj.) complying; obeying; yielding Compliant actions should be reinforced. The slave was compliant with every order to avoid being whipped.

wily

(adj.) concealing; sly; shrewd The wily explanation was meant to confuse the investigator.

universal

(adj.) concerning everyone; existing everywhere Pollution does not affect just one country or state- it's a universal problem.

pithy

(adj.) concise or terse, but full of meaning Columnist William Safire, a former presidential speech writer, has a way with words that often yields pithy comments.

terse

(adj.) concise; abrupt She believed in getting to the point, so she always gave terse answers. The terse speech contained only the essential comments.

beneficent

(adj.) conferring benefits; kind; doing good He is a beneficent person, always taking in stray animals and talking to people who need someone to listen. A beneficent donation helped the organization meet its goal.

circumspect

(adj.) considering all circumstances A circumspect decision must be made when so many people are involved.

incessant

(adj.) constant and unending The mother gave in to the child after her incessant crying. Incessant rain caused the river to flood over its banks.

connotative

(adj.) containing associated meanings in addition to the primary one Along with the primary meaning of the word, there were two connotative meanings. The connotative meaning of their music was spelled out in the video.

ignominious

(adj.) contemptible; disgraced; degrading, shameful The behavior was so ignominious he was ashamed to be associated with it. She left him because of his ignominious treatment of her.

complacent

(adj.) content; self-satisfied; smug The CEO worries regularly that his firm's winning ways will make it complacent. The candidate was so complacent with his poll numbers that he virtually stopped campaigning

ironic

(adj.) contradictory, inconsistent; sarcastic Is it not ironic that Americans will toss out leftover French fries while people around the globe continue to starve?

genial

(adj.) contributing to life; amiable Key West's genial climate is among its many attractive aspects. Her genial personality made her a favorite party guest.

expedient

(adj.) convenient in obtaining a result; guided by self- interest The mayor chose the more expedient path rather than the more correct one. There is no expedient method a teenager will not resort to in order to get the keys to a car of their own.

apocryphal

(adj.) counterfeit; of doubtful authorship or authenticity The man who said he was a doctor was truly apocryphal.

choleric

(adj.) cranky; cantankerous; easily moved to feeling displeasure The choleric man was continually upset by his neighbors. Rolly becomes choleric when his views are challenged.

urbane

(adj.) cultured; suave The gala concert and dinner dance was attended by the most urbane individuals. The English businessman was described by his peers as witty and urbane.

astute

(adj.) cunning; sly; crafty The astute lawyer's questioning convinced the jury of the defendant's guilt.

trenchant

(adj.) cutting; keen or incisive words Without a trenchant tool, they would have to break the branches rather than cut them. The trenchant words hurt the man deeply.

mordant

(adj.) cutting; sarcastic Her mordant remark made me feel unqualified and useless.

dank

(adj.) damp and chilly The cellar became very dank during the winter time.

pernicious

(adj.) dangerous; harmful Standing oil combined with a fresh rain on the asphalt can have a pernicious impact on a driver's control of the road. The pernicious fire engulfed four blocks of homes.

somber

(adj.) dark and depressing; gloomy The sad story had put everyone in a somber mood.

resplendent

(adj.) dazzling and shining Her new diamond was resplendent in the sunshine.

baneful

(adj.) deadly or causing distress, death, demise Not wearing a seat belt could be baneful.

illusive

(adj.) deceiving, misleading It was as illusive as a mirage when he responded to the question.

meretricious

(adj.) deceptive beauty - alluring by attractive appearance A cubic zirconia is a meretricious way of impressing others.

profound

(adj.) deep; knowledgeable; thorough It was with profound regret and sorrow that the family had to leave their homeland for a more prosperous country.

precarious

(adj.) depending upon another; risky, uncertain The precarious plans fell through when the second couple changed their plans. My position in the negotiations was precarious at best.

culpable

(adj.) deserving blame; guilty The convicted criminal still denies that he is culpable for the robbery.

estimable

(adj.) deserving respect The estimable hero was given a parade.

genre

(adj.) designating a type of film or book The genre of the book is historical fiction.

stoic

(adj.) detached; unruffled; calm; a person who can endure pain or hardship without showing their feelings or complaining The soldier had been in week after week of fierce battle; nonetheless, he remained stoic. With stoic obedience the child sat quietly on the chair.

precocious

(adj.) developed or matured earlier than usual The precocious eight year-old wanted to read the romance novel.

diverse

(adj.) different; varied The course offerings were so diverse I had a tough time choosing.

fastidious

(adj.) difficult to please; dainty The fastidious girl would not accept any offers as suitable. The woman was extremely fastidious, as evident in her occasional fainting spells

raucous

(adj.) disagreeable to the sense of hearing; harsh; hoarse The raucous protesters stayed on the street corner all night, shouting their disdain for the whale killers.

incompatible

(adj.) disagreeing; disharmonious not compatible Being incompatible with each other, children were assigned to sit on opposite sides of the room.

livid

(adj.) discolored, as if bruised; extremely angry; furious After the fall, her arm was livid. She became livid when she heard the news. When she found out she had been robbed, the woman was livid. The coach was livid with the languid team.

disheartened

(adj.) discouraged; depressed After failing the exam, the student became disheartened and wondered if he would ever graduate.

fulsome

(adj.) disgusting due to excess The man became obese when he indulged in fulsome eating.

recusant

(adj.) disobedient of authority Recusant inmates in a prison may be denied privileges. redundant (adj.) wordy; repetitive; unnecessary to the meaning The redundant lecture of the professor repeated the lesson in the text. Her comments were both redundant and sarcastic. With millions of transactions at stake, the bank built a redundant processing center on a separate power grid. refurbish (v.) to make new; renovate The Newsomes are refurbishing their old colonial home with the help of an interior designer.

insubordinate

(adj.) disobedient to authority The boy's insubordinate behavior was a constant source of tension between the school and his parents. insular

haphazard

(adj.) disorganized; random He constantly misplaced important documents because of his haphazard way of running his office.

captious

(adj.) disposed to find fault A captious attitude often causes difficulties in a relationship.

impudent

(adj.) disrespectful and shameless Impudent actions caused him to be unpopular.

determinate

(adj.) distinct limits The new laws were very determinate as far as what was allowed and what was not allowed.

discerning

(adj.) distinguishing one thing from another; having good judgment He has a discerning eye for knowing the original from the copy. Being discerning about a customer's character is a key qualification for a loan officer.

prescriptive

(adj.) done by custom; unbending, inflexible The rules regarding immigrating to Japan are very prescriptive. At the heart of the Australian aborigines' prescriptive coming-of-age rite for men is a walkabout.

surreptitious

(adj.) done secretly The surreptitious maneuvers gave the advancing army an advantage.

equivocal

(adj.) doubtful; uncertain Scientific evidence was needed before the equivocal hypothesis was accepted by the doubting researchers.

dubious

(adj.) doubtful; uncertain; skeptical; suspicious Many people are dubious about the possibility of intelligent life on other planets. The new information was dubious enough to re-open the case.

opaque

(adj.) dull; cloudy; non-transparent Not having been washed for years, the once beautiful windows of the Victorian home became opaque. They chose an opaque shade of green for their bathroom walls.

obtuse

(adj.) dull; greater than 90± but less than 180±; slow to understand or perceive The man was so obtuse, he even made the dog yawn. The textbook problem asks the reader to solve for the obtuse angle. He's obtuse when it comes to abstract art.

inquisitive

(adj.) eager to ask questions in order to learn An inquisitive youngster is likely to become a wise adult.

lithe

(adj.) easily bent; pliable; supple It is best to use a lithe material when constructing a curved object. A gymnast needs to be lithe in order to do a split.

susceptible

(adj.) easily imposed; inclined She gets an annual flu shot since she is susceptible to becoming ill.

tractable

(adj.) easy to control or influence. (opposite: intractable) The boat was so lightweight it was tractable by one person. Having a tractable staff made her job a lot easier.

conspicuous

(adj.) easy to see; noticeable The diligent and hardworking editor thought the obvious mistake was conspicuous.

malleable

(adj.) easy to shape or bend; pliable The malleable material was formed into a U shape. The sculptor uses malleable substances to create complex masterpieces.

suave

(adj.) effortlessly gracious; elegant She was a suave negotiator, always getting what she wanted without anyone feeling they'd lost anything. The elegant woman entered the room with a suave walk.

narcissistic

(adj.) egotistical; self-centered; self-love, excessive interest in ones appearance, comfort, abilities, etc. The narcissistic actor was difficult to get along with.

rudimentary

(adj.) elementary, basic Adding two plus two is a rudimentary activity.

luminous

(adj.) emitting light; shining; also enlightened or intelligent The luminous quality of the precious stone made it look like a fallen star. They found their way through the darkness by heading toward the luminous object in the distance.

pedantic

(adj.) emphasizing minutiae or tiny details in scholarship or teaching; displaying knowledge by reciting minute trivia instead of providing a broad picture of a topic There's nothing wrong with focusing on the details, but someone who is pedantic makes a big display of knowing obscure facts and details. Professor Jones's lectures were so pedantic that his students sometimes had a tough time understanding the big picture.

meticulous

(adj.) exacting; precise The lab technicians must be meticulous in their measurements to obtain exact results.

doting

(adj.) excessively fond of With great joy, the doting father held the toddler.

immune

(adj.) exempt from or protected against something Doesn't everybody wish to be immune from the common cold?

extant

(adj.) existing; refers especially to books or documents Some of my ancestor's letters remain extant

qualified

(adj.) experienced, indefinite She was well qualified for the job after working the field for ten years.

adroit

(adj.) expert or skillful The repair was not difficult for the adroit craftsman. The driver's adroit driving avoided a serious accident.

indignant

(adj.) expressing anger to an injustice He was indignant over the way he was treated.

incidental

(adj.) extraneous; unexpected The defense lawyer argued that the whereabouts of the defendant's sneakers were only incidental to the commission ofthe crime.

baroque

(adj.) extravagant; ornate; embellished The baroque artwork was made up of intricate details which kept the museum-goers enthralled. The baroque furnishings did not fit in the plain, modest home.

repugnant

(adj.) extremely distasteful; unacceptable The repugnant actions of the man made others lose trust in him. Despite their efforts to convince her, she remained repugnant.

arid

(adj.) extremely dry, parched; barren, unimaginative The terrain was so arid that not one species of plant could survive Their thirst became worse due to the arid condition of the desert.

minute

(adj.) extremely small, tiny Being on a sodium-restricted diet, he uses only a minute amount of salt in his dishes.

garrulous

(adj.) extremely talkative or wordy No one wanted to speak with the garrulous man for fear of being stuck in a long, one-sided conversation.

perfidious

(adj.) faithless; treacherous The trust between the business associates was broken after the perfidious actions by one of the partners.

whimsical

(adj.) fanciful; amusing; unusual in a playful or amusing way; not serious Strolling down Disney World's Main Street is bound to put child and grown-up alike in a whimsical mood.

apprehensive

(adj.) fearful; aware; conscious The nervous child was apprehensive about beginning a new school year.

intrepid

(adj.) fearless, bold The intrepid photographer flew on some of the fiercest bombing raids of the war. Her intrepid actions deserved a medal. inundate (v.) to flood; to overwhelm with a large amount of The broken water main inundated the business district with water. Surfing the Internet can inundate you with information: That's why a web browser comes in handy.

audacious

(adj.) fearless; bold The audacious soldier went into battle without a shield.

dauntless

(adj.) fearless; not discouraged The dauntless ranger scaled the mountain to complete the rescue.

penitent

(adj.) feeling sorry for what one has done The burglar expressed his penitent feelings during his confession.

truculent

(adj.) fierce, savage, cruel Truculent fighting broke out in the war-torn country. The truculent beast approached the crowd with wild eyes and sharpened claws.

enamored

(adj.) filled with love and desire The young couple are enamored with each other.

sordid

(adj.) filthy; base; vile The sordid gutters needed to be cleaned after the long, rainy autumn. The criminal's thought patterns were so sordid that he was not granted parole.

squalid

(adj.) filthy; wretched (from squalor) The lack of sanitation piping caused squalid conditions. He makes good money, but I would never want to work in those squalid crawl spaces.

resilient

(adj.) flexible; capable of withstanding stress The elderly man attributed his resilient health to a good diet and frequent exercise.

limber

(adj.) flexible; pliant The dancers must be limber to do their ballet steps.

consequential

(adj.) following as an effect; important His long illness and consequential absence set him behind in his homework. The decision to move the company will be consequential to its success.

Gregarious

(adj.) fond of the company of others Gregarious people may find those jobs with human contact more enjoyable than jobs that isolate them from the public.

maudlin

(adj.) foolishly and tearfully sentimental; over exaggeration The drink made her maudlin.

quixotic

(adj.) foolishly idealistic; romantically idealistic; extravagantly chivalrous He was popular with the ladies due to his quixotic charm. She had a quixotic view of the world, believing that humans need never suffer.

frenetic

(adj.) frenzied A frenetic call was made from the crime scene.

amiable

(adj.) friendly The newcomer picked the most amiable person to sit next to during the meeting.

affable

(adj.) friendly; amiable; good-natured Her affable puppy loved to play with children.

thrifty

(adj.) frugal, careful with money Being thrifty, the woman would not purchase the item without a coupon. The thrifty couple saved money by taking the bus to work.

prolific

(adj.) fruitful, very productive Dickens was a prolific writer. The merger resulted in a prolific business which became an asset to the community.

sinuous

(adj.) full of curves; twisting and turning Sinuous mountain roads at night present extra danger at night when it's harder to see the road's edge.

perceptive

(adj.) full of insight; aware The perceptive detective discovered that the murder weapon was hidden in a safe under the floor.

gnarled

(adj.) full of knots; twisted The raven perched in the gnarled branches of the ancient tree.

lugubrious

(adj.) full of sorrow; mournful The man's lugubrious heart kept him from enjoying the special occasion.

tortuous

(adj.) full of twists and turns; not straight forward; possibly deceitful The suspect confessed after becoming confused by the tortuous questioning of the captain.

plenary

(adj.) full; entire; complete A plenary class of students staged the protest.

garish

(adj.) gaudy, showy The gold fixtures seemed garish.

prevalent

(adj.) generally occurring; common Rain is usually more prevalent than snow during April.

unfeigned

(adj.) genuine; real; sincere Her unfeigned reaction of surprise meant she had not expected the party.

aseptic

(adj.) germ free It is necessary for an operating room to be aseptic.

incisive

(adj.) getting to the heart of things; to the point His incisive questioning helped settle the matter quickly.

frivolity

(adj.) giddiness; lack of seriousness The hard-working students deserved weekend gatherings filled with frivolity.

munificent

(adj.) giving generously The civic group made a munificent donation to the homeless shelter.

flagrant

(adj.) glaringly wrong The flagrant foul was apparent to everyone.

saturnine

(adj.) gloomy, sluggish The never-ending rain put everyone in a saturnine mood.

exorbitant

(adj.) going beyond what is reasonable; excessive Paying hundreds of dollars for the dress is an exorbitant amount.

covetous

(adj.) greedy; very desirous Lonnie, covetous of education, went to almost every lecture at the university. Covetous of her neighbor's pool, she did everything she could to make things unpleasant..

rampant

(adj.) growing unchecked; widespread Social unrest was rampant because of the lack of food available to the people.

fortuitous

(adj.) happening accidentally Finding the money under the bush was fortuitous.

abrupt

(adj.) happening or ending unexpectedly The abrupt end to their marriage was a shock to everyone.

jocund

(adj.) happy, cheerful, genial, gay The puppy kept a smile on the jocund boy's face. The jocund atmosphere was due to the team's victory in the playoffs.

blithe

(adj.) happy; cheery; merry; a cheerful disposition The wedding was a blithe celebration. The blithe child was a pleasant surprise.

elusive

(adj.) hard to catch Even the experienced, old fisherman admitted that the trout in the river were quite elusive.

recondite

(adj.) hard to understand; concealed; abstruse The students were dumbfounded by the recondite topic. Many scientific theories are recondite, and therefore not known at all by the general public.

abstruse

(adj.) hard to understand; deep; recondite The topic was so abstruse the student was forced to stop reading. The concept was too abstruse for the average student to grasp.

noisome

(adj.) harmful to health; having a foul odor The noisome food was the cause of their illness. The family was forced from the home by a noisome odor.

noxious

(adj.) harmful to one's health The noxious fumes caused the person to become ill.

baleful

(adj.) harmful, malign, detrimental After she was fired, she realized it was a baleful move to point the blame at her superior. The strange liquid could be baleful if ingested.

deleterious

(adj.) harmful; hurtful; noxious Deleterious fumes escaped from the overturned truck.

innocuous

(adj.) harmless; dull; innocent The remark was rude but innocuous. He couldn't bear to sit through another innocuous lecture. The teens engaged in an innocuous game of touch football.

cursory

(adj.) hasty; slight The detective's cursory examination of the crime scene caused him to overlook the lesser clues.

odious

(adj.) hateful; disgusting Having to chaperone her brother was an odious chore for the girl.

rancid

(adj.) having a bad odor Left out too long, the meat turned rancid.

infamous

(adj.) having a bad reputation; notorious After producing machines that developed many problems, the production company became infamous for poor manufacturing. The infamous gang was known for robbery.

sapid

(adj.) having a pleasant taste Yellow and blue icing covered the sapid pastry.

sardonic

(adj.) having a sarcastic quality H.L. Mencken was known for his sardonic writings on political figures.

serrated

(adj.) having a saw-toothed edge While camping, the family used a serrated band saw to cut firewood.

fetid

(adj.) having a smell of decay The fetid smell led us to believe something was decaying in the basement.

aromatic

(adj.) having a smell which is sweet or spicy The aromatic smell coming from the oven made the man's mouth water.

austere

(adj.) having a stern look; having strict self-discipline The old woman always has an austere look about her. The austere teacher assigned five pages of homework each day.

mellifluous

(adj.) having a sweet sound The flute had a beautifully mellifluous sound.

erudite

(adj.) having a wide knowledge acquired through reading The woman was so erudite, she could recite points on most any subject.

debonair

(adj.) having an affable manner; carefree; genial Opening the door for another is a debonair action.

potent

(adj.) having great power or physical strength He took very potent medication and felt better immediately

omniscient

(adj.) having knowledge of all things The future can be told by the omniscient woman.

striated

(adj.) having lines or grooves The striated road was ready for traffic.

harmonious

(adj.) having proportionate and orderly parts The challenge for the new conductor was to mold his musicians' talents into a harmonious orchestra

effeminate

(adj.) having qualities attributed to a woman; delicate A high-pitched laugh made the man seem effeminate

distant

(adj.) having separations or being reserved Rolonda's friends have become more distant in recent years.

insular

(adj.) having the characteristics of an island; narrow-minded, provincial After walking along the entire perimeter and seeing that the spit of land was actually insular, we realized it was time to build a boat. His insular approach to education makes him a pariah among liberals.

ligneous

(adj.) having the composition of wood The ligneous material appeared to be pure maple.

igneous

(adj.) having the nature of fire; volcanic When the sun shone upon it, the material took on an igneous quality.

redolent

(adj.) having the odor of a particular thing The redolent stench of sewage made everyone feel sick. The redolent aroma of the pie tempted everyone. The restaurant was redolent with the smell of spices.

bestial

(adj.) having the qualities of a beast; brutal The bestial employer made his employees work in an unheated room.

colloquial

(adj.) having to do with conversation; informal speech The colloquial reference indicated the free spirit of the group. When you listen to the difference between spoken colloquial conversation and written work, you realize how good an ear a novelist must have to write authentic dialogue.

bucolic

(adj.) having to do with shepherds or the country; rural The bucolic setting inspired the artist.

rhetorical

(adj.) having to do with verbal communication; artificial eloquence In posing a rhetorical question, he hoped to get people thinking. The perception that Gary Hart was spouting rhetorical flourishes enabled fellow Democrat Walter Mondale to score debate points by asking, "Where's the beef?"

hefty

(adj.) heavy or powerful The unabridged dictionary makes for a hefty book.

occult

(adj.) hidden; beyond human understanding; mystical; mysterious The occult meaning of the message was one of dislike for the authorities. Some spend years pursuing the occult, only to find themselves no closer to the answer. Relating to the occult world means entering a new realm.

candid

(adj.) honest; truthful; sincere People trust her because she's so candid.

scrupulous

(adj.) honorable; exact After finding a purse with valuable items inside, the scrupulous Mr. Prendergast returned everything to its owner. A scrupulous cleaning was conducted before the family moved.

inimical

(adj.) hostile, unfriendly The chess player directed an inimical stare at his opponent to knock him off his game.

platonic

(adj.) idealistic or impractical; not amorous or sensual The platonic advice of the doctor was to stay away from all odors. Our relationship is platonic now, but I hope it will someday be otherwise.

indecipherable

(adj.) illegible The scribbling on the paper is indecipherable.

incoherent

(adj.) illogical; rambling; disjointed Following the accident, the woman went into shock and became incoherent as medics struggled to understand her.

neutral

(adj.) impartial; unbiased The mother remained neutral regarding the argument between her two children.

impervious

(adj.) impenetrable; not allowing anything to pass through; unaffected The vest that the policeman wears is impervious to bullets. The child was impervious to the actions of the adult.

untoward

(adj.) improper; unfortunate; unexpected and inappropriate or inconvenient Asking guests to bring their own food would be an untoward request. All of their friends expressed sympathy about their untoward separation.

lecherous

(adj.) impure in thought and act The lecherous Humbert Humbert is Nabokov's protagonist in Lolita, a novel that sparked great controversy because of Humbert's romantic attachment to a young girl. The lecherous man lurked on the corner.

compatible

(adj.) in agreement with; harmonious When repairing an automobile, it is necessary to use parts compatible with that make and model.

concise

(adj.) in few words; brief; condensed The concise instructions were printed on two pages rather than the customary five.

quiescent

(adj.) inactive, at rest Everyone deserves a day off and should remain quiescent on Sundays. The Bible says that the Lord created the Earth in six days and on the seventh He was quiescent.

static

(adj.) inactive; changeless The view while riding in the train across the endless, flat landscape remained static for days. The static water of the lake reflected the image of the trees.

scanty

(adj.) inadequate; sparse The malnutrition was caused by the scanty amount of healthy food eaten each day.

intangible

(adj.) incapable of being touched; immaterial Intangible though it may be, sometimes just knowing that the work you do helps others is reward enough.

inept

(adj.) incompetent; clumsy She would rather update the budget book herself, since her assistant is so inept.

incommodious

(adj.) inconvenient The incommodious illness caused her to miss an important interview.

lascivious

(adj.) indecent; immoral; involves lust He said it was a harmless pin-up poster, but his mother called it lascivious. Known as a skirt-chaser, his lascivious ways seemed to all but preclude a stable marriage.

notorious

(adj.) infamous; renowned; having an unfavorable connotation Discovering that her new neighbor was notorious for thievery, she decided to purchase an alarm system for her home. The criminal had a notorious reputation

didactic

(adj.) instructive; dogmatic; preachy Our teacher's didactic technique boosted our scores. The didactic activist was not one to be swayed.

fervid

(adj.) intensely hot; fervent; impassioned Her fervid skin alerted the doctor to her fever. The fervid sermon of the preacher swayed his congregation.

opalescent

(adj.) iridescent Her new nail polish was opalescent making her finger tips look like pearls.

extraneous

(adj.) irrelevant; not related; not essential During the long, boring lecture, most people agreed that much of the information was extraneous.

blasphemous

(adj.) irreligious; away from acceptable standards; speaking ill of using profane language The upper-class parents thought that it was blasphemous for their son to marry a waitress. His blasphemous outburst was heard throughout the room.

facetious

(adj.) joking in an awkward or improper manner His facetious sarcasm was inappropriate during his first staff meeting.

benevolent

(adj.) kind; generous The professor proved a tough questioner, but a benevolent grader. The benevolent gentleman volunteered his services.

arduous

(adj.) laborious, difficult; strenuous Completing the plans for the new building proved to be an arduous affair. Building a house is arduous work, but the result is well worth the labor

dispassionate

(adj.) lack of feeling; impartial She was a very emotional person and could not work with such a dispassionate employer.

wan

(adj.) lacking color; sickly pale Her face became wan at the sight of blood.

flaccid

(adj.) lacking firmness The old dog's flaccid tail refused to wag.

fatuous

(adj.) lacking in seriousness; vain and silly The fatuous prank was meant to add comedy to the situation. His fatuous personality demands that he stop in front of every mirror.

languid

(adj.) lacking vitality; indifferent; relaxed; weak The languid student was always late to class. I have studied so much that I have grown languid to the subject. During her illness she was so languid she could not leave her bed. The coach was livid with the languid team.

tepid

(adj.) lacking warmth, interest, enthusiasm; lukewarm The tepid bath water was perfect for relaxing after a long day.

devoid

(adj.) lacking; empty The interplanetary probe indicated that the planet was devoid of any atmosphere.

palatial

(adj.) large and ornate, like a palace The new palatial home contained two pools and an indoor track for jogging.

slothful

(adj.) lazy The slothful actions of the player led to his benching.

indolent

(adj.) lazy; inactive If we find him goofing off one more time, we won't be able to escape the fact that he's indolent. An indolent student slept all day.

lethargic

(adj.) lazy; passive Feeling very lethargic, he watched television or slept the whole day.

unequivocal

(adj.) leaving no doubt; clear, unambiguous The 50-0 vote against the bill was an unequivocal statement against the measure. His response was unequivocal, which seemed unusual for a politician.

indulgent

(adj.) lenient; patient; permissive He has indulgent tendencies to eat chocolate when he is happy.

subsidiary

(adj.) less important than but related or supplementary to The function of the subsidiary was to oversee the bank's commercial loans. He acknowledged the importance of the issue, but called it subsidiary to a host of other concerns.

fallible

(adj.) liable to be mistaken or erroneous By not differentiating themselves from the popular band, the group was especially fallible.

imminent

(adj.) likely to happen without delay The storm clouds warned of the imminent downpour.

hedonistic

(adj.) living for pleasure The group was known for its hedonistic rituals. Hot tubs, good food, and a plethora of leisure time were the hallmarks of this hedonistic society.

contemporary

(adj.) living or happening at the same time; modern Contemporary furniture will clash with your traditional sectional.

fraught

(adj.) loaded; charged The comment was fraught with sarcasm.

nostalgic

(adj.) longing for the past; filled with bittersweet memories She loved her new life, but became nostalgic when she met with her old friends.

strident

(adj.) loud and harsh; grating Her strident voice hampered her chances of getting the announcer position.

steadfast

(adj.) loyal The secret service agents are steadfast to their oath to protect the president.

lewd

(adj.) lustful; wicked The comment was so lewd it could not be repeated in front of children.

grandiose

(adj.) magnificent; flamboyant His grandiose idea was to rent a plane to fly to Las Vegas for the night.

arbitrary

(adj.) making a judgement based on one's preference instead of a rule Rick admitted his decision had been arbitrary, as he claimed no expertise on the matter.

pejorative

(adj.) making things worse; negative The pejorative comment deepened the dislike between the two families.

docile

(adj.) manageable; obedient; gentle We needed to choose a docile pet because we hadn't the patience for a lot of training

obligatory

(adj.) mandatory; necessary; legally or morally binding In order to provide a reliable source of revenue for the government, it is obligatory for each citizen to pay taxes

peripheral

(adj.) marginal; outer Those are peripheral problems; let's look at the central challenge. The peripheral shrubs were used to create a fence-like blockade. He thought he was my best friend, when in fact, he was a peripheral acquaintance.

splenetic

(adj.) marked by hostility The splenetic warriors advanced with no thought of what they were destroying.

pragmatic

(adj.) matter-of-fact; practical Since they were saving money to buy a new home, the pragmatic married couple decided not to go on an expensive vacation. A pragmatic solution to the car's continual repairs would be to purchase a new car.

finite

(adj.) measurable; limited; not everlasting It was discovered decades ago that the universe is not finite; it has unknown limits which cannot be measured. The finite amount of stored food will soon run out.

pedestrian

(adj.) mediocre; ordinary We expected the meal to be exceptional, but it was just pedestrian.

molten

(adj.) melted Steel becomes molten after heating it to thousands of degrees.

torpid

(adj.) mentally or physically inactive; lethargic When we came upon the hibernating bear, it was in a torpid state. A torpid animal does not act with energy. The old, torpid dog spent most of his time sleeping.

benign

(adj.) mild; harmless A lamb is a benign animal, especially when compared with a lion. The boy had a benign tumor in his leg

wretched

(adj.) miserable or unhappy; causing distress; in a very unhappy or unfortunate state Brought up in an orphanage, Annie led a wretched existence. The continual rain made for a wretched vacation.

fallacious

(adj.) misleading A used car salesman provided fallacious information that caused the naive man to purchase the old, broken car.

garbled

(adj.) mixed up; distorted or confused The interference on the phone line caused the data to become garbled on the computer screen.

brindled

(adj.) mixed with a darker color In order to get matching paint we made a brindled mixture.

wry

(adj.) mocking; cynical He has a wry sense of humor which sometimes hurts people's feelings.

coy

(adj.) modest; bashful; pretending shyness to attract Her coy manners attracted the man. He's not really that shy, he's just being coy.

morose

(adj.) moody, despondent; acting depressed He was very morose over the death of his pet. After the team lost the fans were morose.

nefarious

(adj.) morally bad; wicked The nefarious criminal was the scourge of the local police force.

licentious

(adj.) morally lacking in restraint The people of Sodom and Gomorra were known for their licentious lifestyle.

stagnant

(adj.) motionless, uncirculating The stagnant water in the puddle became infested with mosquitoes.

desultory

(adj.) moving in a random, directionless manner The thefts were occurring in a desultory manner making them difficult to track.

impetuous

(adj.) moving with great force; done with little thought The impetuous movement took the art community by storm. The impetuous teenager spent her money without considering what she needed the new purchase for. Dagmar came to regret his impetuous actions, once he realized what he'd done. The pirate's men boarded the ship with impetuous matter-of-factness.

reciprocal

(adj.) mutual; having the same relationship to each other Hernando's membership in the Picture of Health Fitness Center gives him reciprocal privileges at 245 health clubs around the U.S. Although his first child was adopted, she had a reciprocal relationship with her father.

anonymous

(adj.) nameless; unidentified Not wishing to be identified by the police, he remained anonymous by returning the money he had stolen by sending it through the mail.

endemic

(adj.) native to a particular area; constantly present in a particular country or locality The endemic fauna was of great interest to the anthropologist. A fast-paced style is endemic to those who live in New York City.

indigenous

(adj.) native to a region; inborn or innate These plants are indigenous to all of the western states. Piranha are indigenous to the tropics.

innate

(adj.) natural; inborn Her talent is wondrous: it hardly matters whether it's innate or acquired. A lion's hunting skills are innate.

adverse

(adj.) negative; hostile; antagonistic; inimical Contrary to the ski resort's expectations, the warm weather generated adverse conditions for a profitable weekend.

disinterested

(adj.) neutral; unbiased (alternate meaning; uninterested) A disinterested person was needed to serve as arbitrator of the argument. He never takes sides; he's always disinterested.

perpetual

(adj.) never ceasing; continuous Please stop your perpetual complaining. Perpetual pain keeps the woman from walking.

uniform

(adj.) never changing, always with the same standard The marching band moved in uniform across the field. Patrons of fast-food chains say they like the idea of a uniform menu wherever they go.

novel

(adj.) new It was a novel idea for the rock group to play classical music.

defunct

(adj.) no longer living or existing The man lost a large sum of money when the company went defunct.

ingenuous

(adj.) noble; honorable; candid; also naive, simple, artless, without guile The ingenuous doctor had a great bedside manner, especially when it came to laying out the full implications of an illness.

inaudible

(adj.) not able to be heard The signals were inaudible when the fans began to cheer.

incorrigible

(adj.) not capable of correction or improvement The mischievous boy was an incorrigible practical joker.

tentative

(adj.) not certain or fixed; provisional Not knowing if he'd be able to get the days off, Al went ahead anyway and made tentative vacation plans with his pal.

ambiguous

(adj.) not clear; uncertain; vague The ambiguous law did not make a clear distinction between the new and old land boundary.

incorporeal

(adj.) not consisting of matter The apparition appeared to be incorporeal.

indomitable

(adj.) not easily discouraged or defeated The underdog candidate had an indomitable spirit.

obscure

(adj.) not easily understood; dark The orchestra enjoys performing obscure American works, hoping to bring them to a wider audience.

inconclusive

(adj.) not final or of a definite result The results being inconclusive, the doctors continued to look for a cause of the illness.

disingenuous

(adj.) not frank or candid; deceivingly simple (opposite: ingenious) The director used a disingenuous remark to make his point to the student. He always gives a quick, disingenuous response; you never get a straight answer.

spurious

(adj.) not genuine, false; bogus Spurious claims by the importer hid the fact that prison labor had been used in the garments' fabrication. The newspaper was notorious for spurious information.

dissonant

(adj.) not in harmony; in disagreement Despite several intense rehearsals, the voices of the choir members continued to be dissonant. The dissonant nature of the man's temperament made the woman fearful to approach him with the new idea.

irrational

(adj.) not logical It would be irrational to climb Mt. Everest without some very warm clothing.

inadvertent

(adj.) not on purpose; unintentional It was an inadvertent error, to be sure, but nonetheless a mistake that required correction.

inert

(adj.) not reacting chemically; inactive Inert gases like krypton and argon can enhance window insulation.

synthetic

(adj.) not real, rather artificial The synthetic skin was made of a thin rubber.

improvident

(adj.) not saving or planing for the future An improvident person may end up destitute in latter life.

unruly

(adj.) not submitting to discipline; disobedient The unruly boys had to be removed from the concert hall.

mendacious

(adj.) not truthful; lying The couple was swindled out of their life's savings by the mendacious con men.

economical

(adj.) not wasteful; thrifty With her economical sense she was able to save the company thousands of dollars.

forward

(adj.) not willing to yield or comply with what is reasonable The executive had to deal with a forward peer who was becoming increasingly difficult.

inchoate

(adj.) not yet fully formed; rudimentary The inchoate building appeared as if it would be a fast-food restaurant. The outline of the thesis was the inchoate form of a very complex theory.

adamant

(adj.) not yielding, firm After taking an adamant stand to sell the house, the man called the real estate agency. The girl's parents were adamant about not allowing her to go on a dangerous backpacking trip.

salient

(adj.) noticeable; prominent, relevant What's salient about the report is its documentation of utter despair in the heartland of the richest nation on Earth. His most salient feature is his nose. His salient bruise will alert his mother to the altercation.

arcane

(adj.) obscure; secret; mysterious; esoteric With an arcane expression, the young boy left the family wondering what sort of mischief he had committed. The wizard's description of his magic was purposefully arcane so that others would be unable to copy it.

blatant

(adj.) obvious; unmistakable; crude; vulgar The blatant foul was reason for ejection. The defendant was blatant in his testimony.

eccentric

(adj.) odd; peculiar; strange People like to talk with the eccentric artist since he has such different views on everyday subjects. Wearing polka dot pants and a necklace made of recycled bottle tops is considered eccentric.

uncanny

(adj.) of a strange nature; weird That two people could be so alike was uncanny.

aesthetic

(adj.) of beauty; pertaining to taste in art and beauty She found that her aesthetic sense and that of the artist were at odds. His review made one wonder what kind of aesthetic taste the critic had.

relevant

(adj.) of concern; significant Asking applicants about their general health is relevant since much of the job requires physical strength.

shoddy

(adj.) of inferior quality; cheap The state's attorney said many homes, as they were built with shoddy materials, were bound to just blow apart even in winds of 60 or 70 miles per hour. The shoddy homes were blown over in the storm.

salutatory

(adj.) of or containing greetings Two messengers were sent to the new neighbors with a salutatory letter.

superlative

(adj.) of the highest kind or degree The Golden Gate Bridge is a superlative example of civil engineering.

agrarian

(adj.) of the land, farming Many agrarian people are poor.

nautical

(adj.) of the sea; having to do with sailors, ships, or navigation The coastal New England town had a charming nautical influence.

abject

(adj.) of the worst or lowest degree The Haldemans lived in abject poverty, with barely a roof over their heads.

quaint

(adj.) old-fashioned; unusual; odd One of the best qualities of the bed-and-breakfast was its quaint setting in the charming English village.

ubiquitous

(adj.) omnipresent; present everywhere A ubiquitous spirit followed the man wherever he went. Water may seem ubiquitous, until a drought comes along.

superficial

(adj.) on the surface, narrow minded; lacking depth The novel was a very superficial story of love. The victim had two stab wounds, but luckily were only superficial.

sanguine

(adj.) optimistic; cheerful; red Even when victory seemed impossible, the general remained sanguine. The dress was sanguine with a bright green border stripe. With a sanguine nod the interviewee entered the office.

mundane

(adj.) ordinary; commonplace The small town was very mundane. Going food shopping soon became mundane, losing all of its excitement.

ignoble

(adj.) ordinary; dishonorable; shameful The king was adamant about keeping his son from wedding an ignoble serf. Consciously lying to someone is ignoble. It was ignoble to disgrace the family in front of all of the townspeople.

obsolete

(adj.) out of date; pass' Computers have made many formerly manual tasks obsolete.

unobtrusive

(adj.) out of the way; remaining quietly in the background; not conspicuous or attracting attention The shy man found an unobtrusive seat in the far corner of the room. It was easy to miss the unobtrusive plaque above the fireplace.

beholden

(adj.) owe something to someone, in debt to someone The children were beholden to their parents for the car loan. The young man worked three jobs because he did not want to be beholden to anyone to pay his school tuition.

pallid

(adj.) pale in color The visitor left the hospital room with a pallid face.

inherent

(adj.) part of the essential character; intrinsic A constant smile is inherent in pageant competitors. The inherent desire to do well is present throughout the family.

fervent

(adj.) passionate; intense They have a fervent relationship that keeps them together every minute of every day.

petulant

(adj.) peevish; cranky; rude The long illness put the boy in a petulant mood. The tone of his voice and the things that he says become quite petulant when he has not gotten enough sleep.

immaculate

(adj.) perfectly clean; correct; pure An immaculate house is free of dust or clutter.

intermittent

(adj.) periodic; occasional Luckily, the snow was only intermittent, so the accumulation was slight. The intermittent blinking light was distracting.

ecclesiastic

(adj.) pertaining or relating to a church Ecclesiastic obligations include attending mass.

apocalyptic

(adj.) pertaining to a discovery or new revelation Science-fiction movies seem to relish apocalyptic visions.

forensic

(adj.) pertaining to legal or public argument The forensic squad dealt with the legal investigation.

pecuniary

(adj.) pertaining to money The retiring employee was delighted when he received a pecuniary gift.

bilateral

(adj.) pertaining to or affecting both sides or two sides; having two sides A bilateral decision was made so that both partners reaped equal benefits from the same amount of work. The brain is a bilateral organ, consisting of a left and right hemisphere.

ethnic

(adj.) pertaining to races or peoples and their origin classification, or characteristics Ethnic foods from five continents were set up on the table.

terrestrial

(adj.) pertaining to the earth Deer are terrestrial animals; fish are aquatic.

germane

(adj.) pertinent; related; to the point Her essay contained germane information, relevant to the new Constitutional amendment

eclectic

(adj.) picking from various possibilities; made up of material from various sources You have eclectic taste. The eclectic collection of furniture did not match.

rustic

(adj.) plain and unsophisticated; homely; of or living in the country The president enjoyed spending weekends at Camp David, a rustic retreat in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland.

specious

(adj.) plausible, but deceptive; apparently, but not actually, true The jury forewoman said the jury saw through the defense lawyer's specious argument and convicted his client on the weight of the evidence. I was unsure of the meaning of the specious statement.

melodious

(adj.) pleasing to hear The melodious sounds of the band attracted many onlookers.

toxic

(adj.) poisonous It's best to store cleansing solutions out of children's reach because of their toxic contents.

pagan

(adj.) polytheistic; believing in more than one god Moses, distraught over some of his people's continuing pagan ways, smashed the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments

impecunious

(adj.) poor; having no money The Great Depression made family after family impecunious.

destitute

(adj.) poor; poverty-stricken One Bangladeshi bank makes loans to destitute citizens so that they may overcome their poverty. Many of the city's sections are destitute.

permeable

(adj.) porous; allowing to pass through Because the material was permeable, the water was able to drain.

cognitive

(adj.) possessing the power to think or meditate; meditative; capable of perception Cognitive thought makes humans adaptable to a quickly changing environment. Once the toddler was able to solve puzzles, it was obvious that her cognitive abilities were developing.

effusive

(adj.) pouring out or forth; overflowing The effusive currents rush through the broken dam

biased

(adj.) prejudiced; influenced; not neutral The vegetarian had a biased opinion regarding what should be ordered for dinner. The biased old man hated black people.

pristine

(adj.) primitive, pure, uncorrupted The pristine lake had not been marred by pollution. She had such a pristine look about her, you would have thought she was an angel.

plausible

(adj.) probable; feasible After weeks of trying to determine what or who was raiding the chicken coop, the farmer came up with a plausible explanation. After scrimping and saving for a decade, it was now plausible to send his daughter to college.

fecund

(adj.) productive The construction crew had a fecund day and were able to leave early.

lucrative

(adj.) profitable; gainful She entered the pharmaceutical industry in the belief that it would be lucrative.

salubrious

(adj.) promoting good health Salubrious food helps maintain an ideal weight. Exercising frequently and eating healthy foods are salubrious habits.

irascible

(adj.) prone to anger The irascible teenager was known to cause fights when upset. Knowing that the king was irascible, the servants decided not to tell him about the broken crystal.

haughty

(adj.) proud of oneself and scornful of others. The haughty ways she displayed her work turned off her peers. The haughty girl displayed her work as if she were the most prized artist.

provident

(adj.) prudent; economical It was provident, in his opinion, to wait and buy the new car when he was financially secure.

unalloyed

(adj.) pure, of high quality An unalloyed chain is of greater value than a piece of costume jewelry.

contentious

(adj.) quarrelsome; bellicose The contentious student was asked to leave the classroom. They hate his contentious behavior because every suggestion they give ends in a fight.

bellicose

(adj.) quarrelsome; warlike The bellicose guest would not be invited back again.

mercurial

(adj.) quick, changeable, fickle The mercurial youth changed outfits six times before deciding what to wear.

unwonted

(adj.) rare The unwonted raise would be the only one received for a few years. The changed migratory habits of the Canada geese, though unwonted, is unwanted because of the mess they make.

sporadic

(adj.) rarely occurring or appearing; intermittent In the desert there is usually only sporadic rainfall.

authentic

(adj.) real; genuine; trustworthy An authentic diamond will cut glass. The computer had an Apple logo on it, but the boy questioned whether it was authentic.

feasible

(adj.) reasonable; practical Increased exercise is a feasible means of weight loss.

fractious

(adj.) rebellious; apt to quarrel Fractious siblings aggravate their parents.

pensive

(adj.) reflective; contemplative She was in a pensive mood, just wanting to be alone to think. My hours alone are often more pensive than the time I spend with friends. The pensive mood was broken by a witty joke.

provincial

(adj.) regional; unsophisticated After living in the city for five years, he found that his family back home on the farm was too provincial for his cultured ways.

contrite

(adj.) regretful; sorrowful; having repentance Regretting his decision not to attend college, the contrite man did not lead a very happy life. A contrite heart has fixed its wrongs

pertinent

(adj.) relevant; related to the matter at hand During a trial everyone should concentrate on the same subject, stating only pertinent information.

pious

(adj.) religious; devout; dedicated The religious couple believed that their pious method of worship would bring them eternal life. The statues of the saints have pious symbolism. Many people think of this land as pious territory.

parochial

(adj.) religious; narrow-minded Devout Christians, the Chesterfields enrolled their children in a parochial school. Governor Kean urged Republicans to rise above parochial interests and be the party of inclusion.

taciturn

(adj.) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little The man was so taciturn it was forgotten that he was there.

contumacious

(adj.) resisting authority The man was put in jail for contumacious actions. (n.) a bruise; an injury where the skin is not broken The man was fortunate to receive only contusions from the crash.

resonant

(adj.) resounding; re-echoing Beautiful resonant music escaped from the cathedral's windows.

reverent

(adj.) respectful; feeling or showing deep love, respect, or awe The congregation was very reverent of its spiritual leader.

recumbent

(adj.) resting The recumbent puppy stirred.

resurgent

(adj.) rising or tending to rise again A resurgent wave of enthusiasm erupted from the once quiet crowd

roseate

(adj.) rose-colored The roseate sunset faded into the sky.

addled

(adj.) rotten The egg will become addled if it is left unrefrigerated.

errant

(adj.) roving in search of adventure; wandering The young man set out across country on an errant expedition.

regal

(adj.) royal; grand The regal home was lavishly decorated and furnished with European antiques. The well-bred woman behaves in a regal manner.

clandestine

(adj.) secret The clandestine plan must be kept between the two of us!

furtive

(adj.) secretive; sly The detective had much difficulty finding the furtive criminal.

staid

(adj.) sedate, marked by self-control The horse was staid as it entered the stable.

egocentric

(adj.) self-centered, viewing everything in relation to oneself The egocentric professor could not accept the students' opinions as valid.

discrete

(adj.) separate; individually distinct; composed of distinct parts There were four discrete aspects to the architecture of the home. The citizens committee maintained that road widening and drainage were hardly discrete issues.

detached

(adj.) separated; not interested; standing alone Detached from modern conveniences, the islanders live a simple, unhurried life.

obsequious

(adj.) servilely attentive; fawning The man's attraction to the woman would be obvious if his obsequious behavior could be noted. The princess only seemed to encourage the obsequious behavior of her court to enhance her own feeling of superiority.

exemplary

(adj.) serving as an example; outstanding The honor student's exemplary behavior made him a role model to the younger children. Employees of the month are chosen for their exemplary service to the firm.

dowdy

(adj.) shabby in appearance The dowdy girl had no buttons on her coat and the threads were falling apart.

communal

(adj.) shared or common ownership The communal nature of the project made everyone pitch in to help.

privy

(adj.) sharing in the knowledge of something private or confidential He was one of a handful of people privy to the news of the pending merger. Only the woman's best friend was privy to her secret.

acrid

(adj.) sharp; bitter; foul smelling Although the soup is a healthy food choice, it is so acrid not many people choose to eat it. The fire at the plastics factory caused an acrid odor to be emitted throughout the surrounding neighborhood.

deciduous

(adj.) shedding; temporary When the leaves began to fall from the tree we learned that it was deciduous.

lucent

(adj.) shining; translucent The flowing garment gave the woman a lucent quality when standing in the spotlight.

lucid

(adj.) shiny; clear minded He chose a shimmering, lucid fabric for his curtains. When lucid, the man spoke of vivid memories.

decorous

(adj.) showing decorum; propriety, good taste This movie provides decorous refuge from the violence and mayhem that permeates the latest crop of Hollywood films. The decorous suit was made of fine material.

derisive

(adj.) showing disrespect or scorn for The derisive comment was aimed at the man's life long enemy.

discreet

(adj.) showing good judgment in conduct; prudent We confided our secret in Mary because we knew she'd be discreet

stolid

(adj.) showing little emotion With a stolid expression, the man walked away from the confrontation.

impassive

(adj.) showing no emotion Even when his father died he gave an impassive response and walked out tearless. Her expected announcement was met by an impassive facial expression.

timorous

(adj.) showing or suffering from nervousness, fear, or a lack of confidence The timorous child hid behind his parents. Hillary came to accept him as a timorous soul who needed succor.

tawdry

(adj.) showy but cheap and of poor quality The shop was full of tawdry jewelry.

wizened

(adj.) shriveled; withered The wizened face of the old man was covered by his hat.

reticent

(adj.) silent; reserved; shy The reticent girl played with her building blocks while the other children played tag. It was difficult to get the reticent boy to join the conversation.

unpretentious

(adj.) simple; plain; modest He was an unpretentious farmer: An old John Deere and a beat-up Ford pick-up were all he needed to get the job done.

incredulous

(adj.) skeptical The incredulous look on his face led me to believe he was not convinced of its importance. The reporter was incredulous on hearing the computer executive's UFO account.

adept

(adj.) skilled; practiced The skilled craftsman was quite adept at creating beautiful vases and candleholders.

dexterous

(adj.) skillful, quick mentally or physically The dexterous gymnast was the epitome of grace on the balance beam.

servile

(adj.) slavish; groveling; having or showing an excessive willingness to serve or please others He knew they both possessed equal abilities, and yet he was always treated as a servile underling. His servile leadership forced her to take over. The servile nurse did everything the doctor told her to do.

glib

(adj.) smoothand slippery; speaking or spoken in a smooth manner The salesman was so glib that the customers failed to notice the defects in the stereo.

emollient

(adj.) softening or soothing to the skin; having power to soften or relax living tissues When hands become dry, it may be necessary to soothe them with an emollient lotion. emulate

sodden

(adj.) soggy; dull in action as if from alcohol The flowers were sodden after the rain. The sodden reaction of the man caused the accident.

perfunctory

(adj.) something done in a routine, mechanical way, without interest Change in career is a good cure for someone who has become bored with their occupation and is currently performing their duties in a perfunctory fashion. The girl will not improve unless she changes her perfunctory attitude.

ineluctable

(adj.) something inevitable They were prepared for the ineluctable disaster.

atypical

(adj.) something that is abnormal The atypical behavior of the wild animal alarmed the hunters.

formidable

(adj.) something which causes dread or fear The formidable team caused weak knees in the opponents.

cacophonous

(adj.) sounding jarring The cacophonous sound from the bending metal sent shivers up our spines.

commodious

(adj.) spacious and convenient; roomy The new home was so commodious that many new pieces of furniture needed to be purchased.

abstemious

(adj.) sparing in use of food or drinks If we become stranded in the snow storm, we will have to be abstemious with our food supply. In many abstemious cultures the people are so thin due to the belief that too much taken into the body leads to contamination of the soul.

laconic

(adj.) sparing of words, using very few words; terse, pithy; concise After a laconic introduction the program began. The people enjoyed the public addresses of the laconic queen.

explicit

(adj.) specific; definite, precise The explicit recipe gave directions for making a very complicated dessert.

inarticulate

(adj.) speechless; unable to speak clearly He was so inarticulate that he had trouble making himself understood.

malicious

(adj.) spiteful; vindictive; cruel The malicious employee slashed her tires for revenge.

sumptuous

(adj.) splendid and expensive-looking; lavish A sumptuous spread of meats, vegetables, soups and breads was prepared for the guests.

diffuse

(adj.) spread out; verbose (wordy); not focused The toys were discovered in a diffuse manner after the birthday party. His monologue was so diffuse that all his points were lost

pervasive

(adj.) spreading throughout The home was filled with the pervasive aroma of baking bread.

nascent

(adj.) starting to grow or develop The nascent rage of in-line skating began on the West Coast.

coherent

(adj.) sticking together; connected; logical; consistent The course was a success due to its coherent information. If he couldn't make a coherent speech, how could he run for office?

penurious

(adj.) stingy, miserly The penurious man had millions of dollars, but lived in a cottage to save money. Charles Dickens' Scrooge is the most penurious character in any of his tales.

taut

(adj.) stretched or pulled tight; not slack They knew a fish was biting, because the line suddenly became taut.

burly

(adj.) strong; bulky; stocky The lumberjack was a burly man.

obstinate

(adj.) stubborn Her father would not allow her to stay out past midnight; she thought he was obstinate because he would not change his mind.

obdurate

(adj.) stubborn The obdurate child refused to go to school. The obdurate youngster refused to eat the Brussels sprouts.

intractable

(adj.) stubborn, obstinate; not easily taught or disciplined Every teacher in the school became frustrated with the intractable student and sent him to the principal's office. An intractable pet can be very frustrating.

dogmatic

(adj.) stubborn; biased; opinionated Their dogmatic declaration clarified their position. The dogmatic statement had not yet been proven by science. The student's dogmatic presentation annoyed his classmates as well as his instructor.

recalcitrant

(adj.) stubbornly rebellious The boy became recalcitrant when the curfew was enforced. The recalcitrant youth dyed her hair purple, dropped out of school, and generally worked hard at doing whatever others did not want her to do.

crass

(adj.) stupid or dull; insensitive; materialistic To make light of someone's weakness is crass. They made their money the old-fashioned way, but still they were accused of being crass. My respect for the man was lowered when he made the crass remark

moot

(adj.) subject to or open for discussion or debate The discussion of extending the girl's curfew was a moot point.

passive

(adj.) submissive; unassertive He is so passive that others walk all over him.

arable

(adj.) suitable (as land) for plowing When the land was deemed arable, the farmer decided to plow.

apposite

(adj.) suitable; apt; relevant Discussion of poverty was apposite to the curriculum, so the professor allowed it. Without reenacting the entire scenario, the situation can be understood if apposite information is given.

sovereign

(adj.) superior The power was given to the sovereign warrior.

inevitable

(adj.) sure to happen; unavoidable A confrontation between the disagreeing neighbors seemed inevitable.

tumid

(adj.) swollen; pompous, arrogant The tumid river washed away the homes built on the shore. After he earned his high-school diploma, he became insufferably tumid. The tumid balloon floated, but the empty one did not.

flippant

(adj.) talkative; disrespectful The youngsters were flippant in the restaurant. The teacher became upset with the flippant answer from the student.

acerbic

(adj.) tasting sour; harsh in language or temper Too muchBay Leaf will make the eggplant acerbic. The baby's mouth puckered when she was given the acerbic medicine. The columnist's acerbic comments about the First Lady drew a strong denunciation from the President.

provocative

(adj.) tempting; irritating; interesting In the movie Roger Rabbit, the animated Jessica Rabbit demurs when she's told she's provocative, saying that she's only drawn that way. The U.S. considered the invasion of Kuwait a provocative action.

tenacious

(adj.) tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely, holding; persistent With a tenacious grip, the man was finally able to pull the nail from the wall. After his tenacious pleas, she finally conceded. His hold on his dreams is as tenacious as anyone I know.

irreparable

(adj.) that which cannot be repaired or regained The damage to the house after the flood was irreparable. The head-on collision left the car irreparable

indelible

(adj.) that which cannot be blotted out or erased The photograph of Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon made an indelible impression on all who saw it.

azure

(adj.) the clear blue color of the sky The azure sky made the picnic day perfect.

turbid

(adj.) thick and dense; cloudy The turbid green waters of the lake prevented them from seeing the bottom.

tenuous

(adj.) thin, slim, delicate; weak The hurricane force winds ripped the tenuous branches from the tree. The spectators panicked as they watched the cement block dangle from one tenuous piece of twine.

painstaking

(adj.) thorough, careful, precise Helga's painstaking research paid off with a top grade on her essay.

exhaustive

(adj.) thorough; complete; comprehensive It took an exhaustive effort, using many construction workers, to complete the new home by the deadline

ominous

(adj.) threatening Seeing ominous clouds on the horizon, the street fair organizers decided to fold up their tent and go home.

minatory

(adj.) threatening The minatory stance of the dog warned the thief of an attack.

diffident

(adj.) timid; lacking self-confidence The director is looking for a self-assured actor, not a diffident one. Her diffident sister couldn't work up the courage to ask for the sale.

prosaic

(adj.) tiresome; ordinary; dull He wanted to do something new; he was tired of the prosaic activities his parents suggested each day. The only entertainment would be a prosaic game of cards.

inanimate

(adj.) to be dull or spiritless; not animated, not endowed with life The boy nagged his father for a real puppy, not some inanimate stuffed animal.

wooden

(adj.) to be expressionless or dull The wooden expression of the man made him look like a statue.

august

(adj.) to be imposing or magnificent The palace was august in gold and crystal. The people bowed before the august king.

desolate

(adj.) to be left alone or made lonely Driving down the desolate road had Kelvin worried that he wouldn't reach a gas station in time.

sectarian

(adj.) to be narrow minded or limited The man's sectarian views divided the community. A sectarian precluded him from listening to the other side.

knotty

(adj.) to be puzzling or hard to explain The mystery was knotty.

luxuriant

(adj.) to grow with energy and in great abundance The luxuriant flowers grew in every available space.

judicious

(adj.) to have or show sound judgment Because the elder was judicious, the tough decisions were left to him. Putting money away for a rainy day is a judicious decision.

preponderate

(adj.) to outweigh; to be superior in amount, weight, etc. The robber was convicted by a preponderate of evidence against him. His positive qualities are the preponderate ones over his occasional rudeness.

conciliatory

(adj.) to reconcile; to make peace The diplomat sought to take a conciliatory approach to keep the talks going.

cogent

(adj.) to the point; clear; convincing in its clarity and presentation The lawyer makes compelling and cogent presentations, which evidently help him win 96 percent of his cases. He made a short, cogent speech which his audience easily understood.

tedious

(adj.) too long, slow, or dull: tiresome or monotonous; boring Cleaning the house is a tedious chore for some people. With so many new safety precautions instituted, flying has become a tedious affair.

cloying

(adj.) too sugary; too sentimental or flattering After years of marriage the husband still gave cloying gifts to his wife. Complimenting her on her weight loss, clothing and hairstyle was a cloying way to begin asking for a raise.

palpable

(adj.) touchable; clear, obvious The palpable decision was to discontinue the use of drugs. On a flight that had included a sudden 5,000-foot drop, the passengers' relief upon landing was palpable .

contiguous

(adj.) touching; or adjoining and close, but not touching There are many contiguous buildings in the city because there is no excess land to allow space between them.

orthodox

(adj.) traditional; accepted The gifted child's parents concluded that orthodox methods of education would not do their son any good, so they decided to teach him at home.

conventional

(adj.) traditional; common; routine The bride wanted a conventional wedding ceremony, complete with white dresses, many flowers, and a grand reception party. Conventional telephones are giving way to videophones.

halcyon

(adj.) tranquil; happy The old man fondly remembered his halcyon days growing up on the farm.

pellucid

(adj.) transparent The pellucid material was not an adequate shield from the sun.

lambent

(adj.) traveling gently over surface; flickering, radiant The lambent flame lit the dark room as the breeze wafted in.

nugatory

(adj.) trifling; futile; insignificant; useless; minor Because the problem was nugatory it was not addressed immediately.

banal

(adj.) trite; without freshness or originality It was a banal suggestion to have the annual picnic in the park, since that was where it had been for the past five years.

hypocritical

(adj.) two-faced; deceptive His constituents believed that the governor was hypocritical for calling for a moratorium on "negative" campaigning while continuing to air some of the most vicious ads ever produced against his opponent. Most of his constituents believedthe governor was hypocritical for calling his opponent a "mud-slinging hack" when his own campaign had slung more than its share of dirt.

insolvent

(adj.) unable to pay debts The insolvent state of his bank account kept him from writing any checks.

impartial

(adj.) unbiased; fair Exasperated by charges to the contrary, the judge reiterated that he had bent over backwards to be impartial in a case that crackled with emotion.

immutable

(adj.) unchangeable; permanent The ties that bind alumni to their university are immutable. The man's immutable schedule soon became boring.

nebulous

(adj.) unclear or vague The ten page directions were a collection of nebulous words and figures.

intransigent

(adj.) uncompromising; inflexible With intransigent values, no amount of arguing could change her mind. The baseball owners and players remained intransigent, so a deal was never struck.

indifferent

(adj.) unconcerned There he lay, indifferent to all the excitement around him.

uncouth

(adj.) uncultured; crude The social club would not accept an uncouth individual.

ambivalent

(adj.) undecided The ambivalent jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.

implicit

(adj.) understood but not plainly stated; without doubt The child's anger was implicit. Implicit trust must be earned.

esoteric

(adj.) understood by only a chosen few; confidential; abstruse by most people The esoteric language was only known by the select group. We have had a number of esoteric conversations.

tacit

(adj.) understood or implied without being stated The National Security Agency aide argued, in effect, that he had received the president's tacit approval for the arms- for-hostages deal.

placid

(adj.) undisturbed and calm The placid lake's water was completely motionless.

disparate

(adj.) unequal; dissimilar; different They came from disparate backgrounds, one a real estate magnate, the other a custodian. The disparate numbers of players made the game a sure blowout.

unprecedented

(adj.) unheard of; exceptional; never done or known before Weeks of intense heat created unprecedented power demands, which the utilities were hard pressed to meet.

incognito

(adj.) unidentified; disguised; concealed The federal Witness Protection Program makes its charges permanently incognito.

petty

(adj.) unimportant; of subordinate or lesser standing With all of the crime in the world, stealing bubble gum is considered petty theft.

trivial

(adj.) unimportant; small; worthless Although her mother felt otherwise, she considered her dish washing chore trivial.

insipid

(adj.) uninteresting, boring flat, dull Many people left the insipid movie before it was finished. Declaring the offerings insipid, the critic grudgingly awarded the restaurant one star.

hapless

(adj.) unlucky; unfortunate The hapless team could not win a game.

wanton

(adj.) unmanageable; unjustifiably malicious; deliberate and unprovoked My wanton hunger must be satiated. With wanton aggression, the army attacked the defenseless village. It is hard to lose weight when one has a wanton desire for sweets.

superfluous

(adj.) unnecessary; extra Although the designer considered the piece superfluous, the woman wanted the extra chair in her bedroom. Only the first sentence is necessary; all of these details are superfluous. After they finished their seven-course meal, a large dessert seemed superfluous.

erratic

(adj.) unpredictable; irregular His erratic behavior was attributed to the shocking news he had received. The kitten's erratic behavior was attributed to the owner's cruel method of disciplining his pet.

indubitably

(adj.) unquestionably; surely The officer was best indubitably the candidate for captain.

illusory

(adj.) unreal; false; deceptive He was proven guilty when his alibi was found to be illusory.

earthy

(adj.) unrefined The earthy-looking table was bare.

altruistic

(adj.) unselfish The altruistic volunteer donated much time and energy in an effort to raise funds for the children's hospital

haggard

(adj.) untamed; having a worn look The lawn in front of the abandoned house added to its haggard look. He looked as haggard as you would expect a new father of quadruplets to look. Just by looking at her haggard features, you can tell she has not slept for many hours.

erroneous

(adj.) untrue; inaccurate; not correct The reporter's erroneous story was corrected by a new article that stated the truth.

exotic

(adj.) unusual; striking; foreign Many people asked the name of her exotic perfume. The menu of authentic Turkish cuisine seemed exotic to them, considering they were only accustomed to American food.

ponderous

(adj.) unwieldy from weight; dull or labored The ponderous piano posed a serious challenge to having it pulled up to the 16th floor. As if being grainy wasn't bad enough, the film's ponderous story made it tough to get through.

implacable

(adj.) unwilling to be pacified or appeased The baby was so implacable a warm bottle would not settle her. The two year old was an implacable child; he cried no matter what his parents did to comfort him.

impolitic

(adj.) unwise; imprudent If you are planning to invest your money, impolitic decisions may be costly.

rapacious

(adj.) using force to take Rapacious actions were needed to take the gun from the intruder.

evanescent

(adj.) vanishing quickly; dissipating like a vapor The evanescent mirage could only be seen at a certain angle.

sundry

(adj.) various; miscellaneous; separate; distinct This store sells many sundry novelty items. Sundry items may be purchased as a single item.

abysmal

(adj.) very deep The abysmal waters contained little plant life.

ceremonious

(adj.) very formal or proper The black-tie dinner was highly ceremonious.

parsimonious

(adj.) very frugal; unwilling to spend The owner was so parsimonious he refused to purchase new curtains when the old ones fell off the window. The parsimonious individual argued that twenty-five cents was much too expensive for a pack of gum.

ethereal

(adj.) very light; airy; heavenly; not earthly The ethereal quality of the music had a hypnotic effect. The dancer wore an ethereal outfit which made her look like an angel.

ephemeral

(adj.) very short-lived; lasting only a short time Living alone gave him an ephemeral happiness, soon to be replaced with utter loneliness.

loquacious

(adj.) very talkative; garrulous She was having difficulty ending the conversation with her loquacious neighbor. The staff knew the meeting would be long because the administrator was in a loquacious mood.

chaste

(adj.) virtuous; free of obscenity Because the woman believed in being chaste, she would not let her date into the house.

ribald

(adj.) vulgar joking or mocking Some people find the comedian's ribald act offensive. The ribald story proved an embarrassment to its audience.

scurrilous

(adj.) vulgarity, slanderous The scurrilous language made the mother twinge.

prodiga

(adj.) wasteful; lavish The actor's prodigal lifestyle ultimately led to his undoing. Spending his rent money on your birthday present was more than generous, it was prodigal. The prodigal gift by the poor woman was truly a thoughtful gesture.

replete

(adj.) well supplied The kitchen came replete with food and utensils.

proverbial

(adj.) well-known because it is commonly referred to King Solomon's proverbial wisdom has been admired through the ages.

hoary

(adj.) whitened by age The paint had a hoary appearance, as if it were applied decades ago.

iniquitous

(adj.) wicked; unjust The verbal abuse towards the man was truly iniquitous

sagacious

(adj.) wise Many of her friends came to her with their problems because she gave sagacious advice. The old man gave sagacious advice.

malevolent

(adj.) wishing evil (opposite: benevolent) The man threatened his opponent with threats and malevolent words. She had malevolent feelings toward her sister.

amorphous

(adj.) with no shape; unorganized; having no determinate form The amorphous gel seeped through the cracks. The amorphous group quickly got lost. The scientist could not determine the sex of the amorphous organism.

ardent

(adj.) with passionate or intense feelings The fans' ardent love of the game kept them returning to watch the terrible team.

irreproachable

(adj.) without blame or faults; faultless The honesty of the priest made him irreproachable.

phlegmatic

(adj.) without emotion or interest; sluggish and dull The playwright had hoped his story would take theatergoers on an emotional roller coaster, but on opening night they just sat there, stonefaced and phlegmatic. The phlegmatic child rarely went outside to play.

impromptu

(adj.) without preparation Her impromptu speech was well-received, giving her new confidence in her ability to speak off the cuff.

impenitent

(adj.) without regret, shame, or remorse It was obvious after his impenitent remark to the press that the defendant felt no remorse for his crime.

prodigious

(adj.) wonderful; enormous The prodigious festivities lasted until the wee hours of the morning. The Empire State Building required a prodigious amount of steel to erect.

redundant

(adj.) wordy; repetitive; unnecessary to the meaning The redundant lecture of the professor repeated the lesson in the text. Her comments were both redundant and sarcastic. With millions of transactions at stake, the bank built a redundant processing center on a separate power grid.

sedulous

(adj.) working diligently; persistent The sedulous habits of the team will surely conclude in victory. Only the most sedulous salespeople will succeed.

jaded

(adj.) worn-out A person may become jaded if forced to work too many hours.

futile

(adj.) worthless; unprofitable It was a futile decision to invest in that company since they never made any money.

deferential

(adj.) yielding to the opinion of another; go along with what others say (especially a higher power) The man was very deferential to the views of his boss. After debating students living in the Sixth Ward for months, the mayor's deferential statements indicated that he had come to some understanding with them.

polemic

(adj., n) controversial; a piece of writing or a speech that stirs up controversy by having a negative opinion, usually aimed at a particular group. The polemic decision caused a stir in the community. What follows is a polemic that provides Mr. McAvoy's perspective on how far the United States has wandered from its ideals.

amiss

(adj.; adv.) wrong; awry; wrongly; in a defective manner Seeing that his anorak was gone, he knew something was amiss . Its new muffler aside, the car was behaving amiss.

potable

(adj.; n.) drinkable; a beverage that is drinkable The liquid was not potable, but rather poisonous. Sea water isn't potable.

miscreant

(adj.; n.) evil; an evil person; villain Her miscreant actions shocked and surprised her family. The miscreant thought nothing of taking others' money and belongings.

rabid

(adj.; n.) furious; with extreme anger; extremely passionate; a disease affecting animals The insult made him rabid. Discovering that the dog was rabid, the mail carrier knew he'd have to get a shot. He's been a rabid sports fan for as long as I have known him.

biennial

(adj.; n.) happening every two years; a plant which blooms every two years The biennial journal's influence seemed only magnified by its infrequent publication. She has lived here for four years and has seen the biennials bloom twice.

cognate

(adj.; n.) having the same family; a person related through ancestry English and German are cognate languages. The woman was a cognate to the royal family.

objective

(adj.; n.) open-minded; impartial; goal It's hard to set aside your biases and be objective. The law student decided that her primary objective after graduation was to pass the Bar examination.

diminutive

(adj.; n.) smaller than average; a small person; a word, expressing smallness, formed when a suffix is added They lived in a diminutive house. The diminutive woman could not see over the counter.

recluse

(adj.; n.) solitary; a person who lives secluded His recluse life seems to make him happy. Howard Hughes, among the most famous and enigmatic figures of the 20th century, ultimately retreated to a life as a recluse.

mercenary

(adj.; n.) working or done for payment only; hired (soldier) Lila was suspicious that Joe had jumped at the chance only for mercenary reasons. A mercenary was hired for a hundred dollars a month, good money in those days even if you had to fight a war to get it.

plumb

(adj.; v.) perfectly straight down; to solve The two walls met plumb at the corner. I was able to plumb the riddle in a few seconds.

maculate

(adj.; v.) spotted, blotched; hence defiled, impure (opposite: immaculate); to stain, spot, defile The maculate rug could not be cleaned. Grape juice maculated the carpet

awry

(adj; adv.) crooked(ly); uneven(ly); wrong; askew Hearing the explosion in the laboratory, the scientist realized the experiment had gone awry.

askance

(adv.) a sideways glance of disapproval The look askance proved the guard suspected some wrongdoing. He looked askance at the offer

abaft

(adv.) on or toward the rear of a ship The passengers moved abaft of the ship so as to escape the fire in the front of the ship.

slovenly

(adv.) sloppy His mother-in-law did not approve of his slovenly manner.

disarray

(n.) (state of) disorder The thief left the house in disarray.

proviso

(n.) A clause stating a condition or stipulation The proviso in the peace treaty was that all of the warring factions had to accept the authority of the central government.

syllogism

(n.) A syllogism is a type of logical reasoning where the conclusion is gotten from two linked premises. Here's an example: An apple is a fruit. All fruit is good. Therefore apples are good. Used properly, syllogism can be a good way of reasoning, but it's very easy to make sloppy syllogisms by messing up the middle term that links the premises together, as in: "President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was an Aquarius. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was great. Therefore all Aquariuses are great."

infamy

(n.) a bad reputation The town had only 98 residents, so all it took was one bad apple to bring infamy on the whole place.

covenant

(n.) a binding and solemn agreement With the exchange of vows, the covenant was complete.

diatribe

(n.) a bitter or abusive speech During the divorce hearings she delivered a diatribe full of the emotion pushing her away from her husband The diatribe was directed towards a disrespectful supervisor.

gaffe

(n.) a blunder Calling the woman by the wrong name was a huge gaffe.

rebuff

(n.) a blunt refusal to offered help The rebuff of her aid plan came as a shock.

contusion

(n.) a bruise; an injury where the skin is not broken The man was fortunate to receive only contusions from the crash.

fetter

(n.) a chain to bind the feet A fetter kept the dog chained to the fence.

transmutation

(n.) a changed form Somewhere in the network's entertainment division, the show underwent a transmutation from a half-hour sitcom into an hour-long drama.

coffer

(n.) a chest where money or valuables are kept The coffer that contained the jewels was stolen.

fissure

(n.) a cleft or crack The earthquake caused a fissure which split the cliff face.

coterie

(n.) a clique; a group who meet frequently, usually socially A special aspect of campus life is joining a coterie. Every day after school she joins her coterie on the playground and they go out for a soda.

bungler

(n.) a clumsy person The one who broke the crystal vase was a true bungler.

oaf

(n.) a clumsy, dumb person The waiter has been called an oaf ever since he dropped the tray.

dogma

(n.) a collection of beliefs The dogma of the village was based on superstition.

conglomeration

(n.) a collection or mixture of various things The conglomeration is made up of four different interest groups. The soup was a conglomeration of meats and vegetables.

gamut

(n.) a complete range; any complete musical scale The woman's wardrobe runs the gamut from jeans to suits. His first composition covered the entire gamut of the major scale.

welter

(n.) a confused mass; turmoil; a large number of items in no order When the emergency alarm sounded, a welter of shivering office workers formed in the street as people evacuated the site. The welter moved from street to street to escape the fire.

nexus

(n.) a connection The nexus between the shuttle and the space station was successful.

affinity

(n.) a connection; similarity of structure There is a strong emotional affinity between the two siblings. It turns out that the elements bear a strong affinity to each other.

termagant

(n.) a constantly quarrelsome woman Agreement with the termagant was an impossibility.

tribunal

(n.) a court of justice The tribunal heard the case of the burglary.

decadence

(n.) a decline in morals or art Some believe the decadence of Nero's rule led to the fall of the empire.

abnegation

(n.) a denial The woman's abnegation of her loss was apparent when she began to laugh.

knavery

(n.) a dishonest act An act of knavery is cause for loss of trust. The teacher refused to have knavery in his classroom.

schism

(n.) a division in an organized group When the group could not decide on a plan of action, a schism occurred.

dichotomy

(n.) a division into two parts or kinds The dichotomy within the party threatens to split it. The dichotomy between church and state renders school prayer unconstitutional.

delusion

(n.) a false belief or opinion The historian suffered from the delusion that he was Napoleon.

canard

(n.) a false statement or rumor The canard was reported in a scandalous tabloid.

chagrin

(n.) a feeling of embarrassment due to failure or disappointment To the chagrin of the inventor, the machine did not work. She turned red-faced with chagrin when she learned that her son had been caught shoplifting.

animosity

(n.) a feeling of hatred or ill will Animosity grew between the two feuding families.

stipend

(n.) a fixed regular sum paid as a salary or allowance She receives a monthly stipend for her help with the project. The bank will pay the woman a stipend of a hundred dollars a week.

flux

(n.) a flow; a continual change With the flux of new students into the school, space was limited.

conviviality

(n.) a fondness for festiveness or joviality His conviviality makes him a welcome guest at any social gathering.

dictum

(n.) a formal statement ofeither fact or opinion Computer programmers have a dictum: garbage in, garbage out.

bastion

(n.) a fortified place or strong defense The strength of the bastion saved the soldiers inside of it. The Cambridge Friends School is a bastion of progressive ideas

citadel

(n.) a fortress set up high to defend a city A citadel sat on the hill to protect the city below.

obeisance

(n.) a gesture of respect or reverence As an obeisance, the man took off his hat as the funeral procession drove past him.

cabal

(n.) a group of persons joined by a secret The very idea that there could be a cabal cast suspicion on the whole operation.

cohort

(n.) a group; band The cohort of teens gathered at the athletic field.

cacophony

(n.) a harsh, inharmonious collection of sounds; dissonance The beautiful harmony of the symphony was well enjoyed after the cacophony coming from the stage as the orchestra warmed up. The amateur band created more cacophony than beautiful sound.

odium

(n.) a hate; the disgrace from a hateful action Odium could be felt for the man who destroyed the school.

diffidence

(n.) a hesitation in asserting oneself A shy person may have great diffidence when faced with a problem.

dirge

(n.) a hymn for a funeral; a song or poem expressing lament The mourners sang a traditional Irish dirge .

levee

(n.) a landing on the edge of a river or field The swimmer came ashore on the levee.

edifice

(n.) a large building The edifice rose 20 stories and spanned two blocks.

shoal

(n.) a large group or crowd Shoals of grain were stored in the barn.

myriad

(n.) a large number Buying an old house often necessitates fixing a myriad of problems. Gazing up on the clear, dark midnight sky, the astronomer saw a myriad of stars.

pavilion

(n.) a large tent or covered area, usually used for entertainment The wedding pavilion was not only beautifully decorated, but also served as welcome protection from a sudden downpour.

saga

(n.) a legend; any long story of adventure or heroic deed The saga of King Arthur and his court has been told for generations.

eminence

(n.) a lofty place; superiority After toiling in the shadows for years, at last she achieved eminence. The eminence of the institution can be seen in the impact of its research.

stigma

(n.) a mark of disgrace The "F" on his transcript is a stigma on his record.

amalgam

(n.) a mixture or combination (often of metals) The art display was an amalgam of modern and traditional pieces. That ring is made from an amalgam of minerals; if it were pure gold it would never hold its shape.

propensity

(n.) a natural tendency towards; bias I have a propensity to talk too fast. She has a propensity to hire men over women.

renascence

(n.) a new life; rebirth The renascence of the band resulted in a new recording contract.

din

(n.) a noise which is loud and continuous The din of the jackhammers reverberated throughout the concrete canyon.

tumult

(n.) a noisy commotion; disturbance The tumult was caused by two boys wanting the same toy. After the tumult, I found it difficult to resume my studies.

satire

(n.) a novel or play that uses humor or irony to expose folly The new play was a satire that exposed the President's inability to lead the country.

faction

(n.) a number of people in an organization working for a common cause against the main body A faction of the student body supported the president's vie .

cloture

(n.) a parliamentary procedure to end debate and begin to vote Cloture was declared as the parliamentarians readied to register their votes

latency

(n.) a period of inactivity Its latency was small solace for the girl who feared that the cancer would re-emerge fiercer than ever.

jester

(n.) a person employed to amuse The jester tried all of his tricks to get the girl to laugh. jettison

raconteur

(n.) a person skilled at telling stories Our entertainment was a raconteur who told a story of talking animals.

polemicist

(n.) a person skilled in argument The polemicist could debate any case skillfully.

renegade

(n.) a person who abandons something, as a religion, cause or movement; a traitor Benedict Arnold remains one of the most notorious renegades in American history.

sycophant

(n.) a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage Rodolfo honed his skills as a sycophant, hoping it would get him into Sylvia's good graces. The sycophant is known for attending many parties.

misanthrope

(n.) a person who distrusts everything; a hater of mankind After the man swindled all of the woman's savings, she became a misanthrope. The misanthrope lived alone in the forest.

maverick

(n.) a person who does not conform to the norm The maverick drove a large truck as others were purchasing compact cars.

aspirant

(n.) a person who goes after high goals The aspirant would not settle for assistant director—only the top job was good enough.

epicure

(n.) a person who has good taste in food and drink As an epicure, Lance is choosy about the restaurants he visits.

nemesis

(n.) a person who inflicts just punishment; retribution; a rival The criminal was killed by his nemesis, the brother of the man he murdered. The football team plays its nemesis on Saturday.

charlatan

(n.) a person who pretends to have knowledge; an impostor; fake The charlatan deceived the townspeople. It was finally discovered that the charlatan sitting on the throne was not the real king.

alchemist

(n.) a person who studies chemistry and tries to change the substance or nature of elements The alchemist's laboratory was full of bottles and tubes of strange-looking liquids

temperament

(n.) a person's nature, especially as it permanently affects their behavior The girl's temperament is usually very calm.

promontory

(n.) a piece of land jutting into a body of water The boat hit the rocky promontory, splitting the bow.

parody

(n.) a piece of work imitating another in a satirical manner; a poor imitation The play was a parody of the Prince and Princess's marital difficulties. Ugh! This is a parody of a fashionable dress!

menagerie

(n.) a place to keep or a collection of wild or strange animals Little Ryan couldn't wait to visit the zoo to see the menagerie of wild boars.

depredation

(n.) a plundering or laying waste; stealing and ruining everything The pharaoh's once rich tomb was empty after centuries of depredation from grave robbers

elegy

(n.) a poem of lament and praise for the dead Upon conclusion of the elegy, the casket was closed.

amendment

(n.) a positive change The amendment in his ways showed there was still reason for hope.

tenet

(n.) a principle or belief, especially one of the main principles of a religion or philosophy The tenets of socialism were explained in the book.

gauntlet

(n.) a protective glove The gauntlet saved the man's hand from being burned in the fire.

catharsis

(n.) a purging or relieving/healing of the body or soul He experienced a total catharsis after the priest absolved his sins. Admitting his guilt served as a catharsis for the man.

equivocation

(n.) a purposely misleading statement The equivocations by the man sent the search team looking in the wrong direction.

conundrum

(n.) a puzzle or riddle; enigma I spent two hours trying to figure out the conundrum. The legend says that to enter the secret passageway, one must answer the ancient conundrum

nostrum

(n.) a questionable remedy for difficulties The doctor's prescription was so unusual that it could be seen as a nostrum. The nostrum of pine leaves and water did not seem to cure the illness. .

reproof

(n.) a rebuke, scolding, criticism; reproach For all his hard work, all he got was a reproof of his efforts.

deposition

(n.) a removal from office or power; a testimony Failing to act lawfully could result in his deposition. She met with her lawyer this morning to review her deposition.

curb

(n.) a restraint or framework A curb was put up along the street to help drainage.

retroaction

(n.) a reverse action The retroaction of the car sent those standing behind it fleeing. The bill's retroaction stood to save taxpayers an average of $500 a head.

sedition

(n.) a revolt; treasonous rebellion The sedition by the guards ended with their being executed for treason.

circumlocution

(n.) a roundabout or indirect way of speaking; not to the point The man's speech contained so much circumlocution that I was unsure of the point he was trying to make. The child made a long speech using circumlocution to avoid stating that it was she who had knocked over the lamp.

boor

(n.) a rude person The boor was not invited to the party, but he came anyway.

precept

(n.) a rule or direction of moral conduct The organization believed their members should abide by certain precepts.

anecdote

(n.) a short account of happenings The speaker told an anecdote about how he lost his shoes when he was young.

bauble

(n.) a showy yet useless thing The woman had many baubles on her bookshelf.

impasse

(n.) a situation that has no solution or escape. The workers and administration were at an impasse in their negotiations.

thrall

(n.) a slave The worker was treated like a thrall, having to work many hours of overtime.

peccadillo

(n.) a slight fault or offense The child was embarrassed when he was caught committing the peccadillo of eating chocolate before dinner.

pittance

(n.) a small amount The reward money was only a pittance compared to the money lost. The little girl received a pittance every week for keeping her room clean.

zephyr

(n.) a soft gentle breeze It was a beautiful day, with a zephyr blowing in from the sea. The zephyr blew the boat slowly across the lake.

paean

(n.) a song of praise or triumph A paean was written in honor of the victorious warrior.

lassitude

(n.) a state of being tired or listless Lassitude was evident in the nurses who had been working for 24 hours straight. Ten days of continual work caused a feeling of lassitude for the worker.

abeyance

(n.) a state of temporary suspension or inactivity Since the power failure, the town has been in abeyance.

antipathy

(n.) a strong dislike or repugnance Her antipathy for large crowds convinced her to decline the invitation to the city. The vegetarian had an antipathy toward meat.

stupor

(n.) a stunned or bewildered condition He was in a stupor after being hit on the head.

caprice

(n.) a sudden, unpredictable or whimsical change The caprice with which the couple approached the change of plans was evidence to their young age. The king ruled by caprice as much as law.

plethora

(n.) a superabundance; a huge amount of something There was a plethora of food at the royal feast.

allegory

(n.) a symbolic description The book contained many allegories on Russian history.

hierarchy

(n.) a system of persons or things arranged according to rank I was put at the bottom of the hierarchy while Jane was put at the top.

table

(n.) a systematic list of details The train schedule was set up as a table.

soliloquy

(n.) a talk one has with oneself (esp. on stage) Imagine T.S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land performed on stage as a kind of soliloquy! The soliloquy by the man standing alone on the cliff sent a message of regret.

pedagogue

(n.) a teacher Seeing the way she worked with children there was no doubt she was a true pedagogue.

paradox

(n.) a tenet or belief seemingly contradictory or false, but actually true The paradox seemed so unlikely though it was true. At first blush, the company's results were a paradox: Sales were down, yet profits were up.

iota

(n.) a very small piece There wasn't one iota of evidence to suggest a conspiracy.

mite

(n.) a very small sum of money; very small creature The mite they pay me is hardly worth the aggravation. The baseball team was made up of such small children they were nicknamed the "Mites".

parapet

(n.) a wall for protection; a low wall or railing The parapet protected the kingdom from the raging army. The parapet kept the child from falling into the river.

egress

(n.) a way out; exit The doorway provided an egress from the chamber.

epigram

(n.) a witty or satirical poem or statement The poet wrote an epigram about the upcoming election. "I can resist everything but temptation." - Oscar Wilde

palindrome

(n.) a word or phrase which reads the same backwards and forwards Bob, "Dad," and "Madam" are examples of palindromes.

idyll

(n.) a written piece of work describing a peaceful rural scene Reading the idyll made me think of the family farm.

deference

(n.) a yielding of opinion; courteous respect for To avoid a confrontation, the man showed deference to his friend. The deference shown to the elderly woman' s opinion was heartwarming.

fluency

(n.) ability to write easily and expressively The child's fluency in Spanish and English was remarkable. The immigrant acquired a fluency in English after studying for only two months.

tyranny

(n.) absolute power; autocracy The people were upset because they had no voice in the government that the king ran as a tyranny.

succor

(n.) aid; assistance Succor was given to the fire victim in the form of clothes and temporary shelter.

autocrat

(n.) an absolute ruler The autocrat in charge of the government was a man of power and prestige. The autocrat made every decision and divided the tasks among his subordinates.

decisiveness

(n.) an act of being firm or determined Decisiveness is one of the key qualities of a successful executive.

dilettante

(n.) an admirer of the fine arts; a dabbler Though she played the piano occasionally, she was more of a dilettante.

anaphylaxis

(n.) an allergic reaction The boy's severe anaphylaxis to a series of medications made writing prescriptions a tricky proposition.

epiphany

(n.) an appearance of a god or supernatural being; a sudden and profound understanding of something. Moses bowed to the epiphany. An example of epiphany is when someone has been looking for their lost keys and suddenly has an idea of where they are.

realm

(n.) an area; sphere of activity In the realm of health care, the issue of who pays and how is never far from the surface. The bounding islands were added to the realm of the kingdom.

conciliation

(n.) an attempt to make friendly or placate The efforts at conciliation between the two countries was not successful.

adversary

(n.) an enemy; foe The peace treaty united two countries that were historically great adversaries.

incursion

(n.) an entry into, especially when not desired The incursion by enemy forces left the country shocked.

malefactor

(n.) an evil person The malefactor ordered everyone to work over the holidays. The prison contains malefactors of all ages.

conceit

(n.) an exaggerated personal opinion The man's belief that he was the best player on the team was pure conceit.

hyperbole

(n.) an exaggeration, not to be taken seriously The full moon was almost blinding in its brightness, he said with a measure of hyperbole.

cataclysm

(n.) an extreme natural force The earthquake has been the first cataclysm in five years.

chimera

(n.) an impossible fancy or dream Perhaps he saw a flying saucer, but perhaps it was only a chimera.

eons

(n.) an indefinitely long period of time The star may have existed for eons.

allusion

(n.) an indirect reference (often literary); a hint The mention of the pet snake was an allusion to the man's sneaky ways. In modern plays allusions are often made to ancient drama.

innuendo

(n.) an indirect remark; insinuation The student made an innuendo referring to the professor. The office was rife with innuendo that a takeover was in the works.

epitaph

(n.) an inscription on a monument; in honor or memory of a dead person The epitaph described the actions of a brave man.

anomaly

(n.) an oddity, inconsistency; a deviation from the norm An anomaly existed when the report listed one statistic, and the spokeswoman reported another. In a parking lot full of Buicks, Chevys, and Plymouths, the Jaguar was an anomaly.

adage

(n.) an old saying now accepted as being truthful The adage "do unto others as you wish them to do unto you" is still widely practiced.

presage

(n.) an omen; a foreshadowing characteristic They considered the rainbow at their wedding a presage for a happy life. Bright sun in the morning was a good presage that it was going to be a good day.

protocol

(n.) an original draft or record of a document; a standard procedure The protocol was given to the president once it was completed.

pariah

(n.) an outcast The pariah of the group sat by himself under the tree.

effluvium

(n.) an outflow of vapor of invisible particles; a noxious odor The effluvium from the exhaust had a bad smell. It was difficult to determine from where the effluvium issued.

ebullience

(n.) an overflowing of high spirits; effervescence She emanated ebullience as she skipped and sang down the hallway after learning of her promotion.

ingenue

(n.) an unworldly young woman As an ingenue, Corky had no experience outside of her small town.

alchemy

(n.) any mysterious change of substance or nature The magician used alchemy to change the powder into a liquid

idiosyncrasy

(n.) any personal peculiarity, mannerism; weird habit Her tendency to bite her lip is an idiosyncrasy

conclave

(n.) any private meeting or closed assembly The conclave was to meet in the executive suite

hybrid

(n.) anything of mixed origin The flower was a hybrid of three different flowers

catalyst

(n.) anything that causes change The low pressure system was the catalyst for the nor'easter Sean's illness was a catalyst for him to study math.

fertility

(n.) anything to which one gives excessive devotion The clay figure of a fertility goddess was a fetish from an ancient civilization.

charisma

(n.) appeal; magnetism; presence She has such charisma that everyone likes her the first time they meet her.

guise

(n.) appearance The undercover detective, under the guise of friendship, offered to help the drug runner make a connection

mien

(n.) appearance, being or manner Her mien was typically one of distress, especially after the mishap.

trepidation

(n.) apprehension; uneasiness Her long absence caused more than a little trepidation. With great trepidation, the boy entered the water for the first time.

accolade

(n.) approving or praising mention; a sign of approval or respect. Rich accolades were bestowed on the returning hero. Accolades flowed into her dressing room following the opening-night triumph.

hubris

(n.) arrogance Some think it was hubris that brought the president to the point of impeachment.

effrontery

(n.) arrogance The effrontery of the young man was offensive.

chaffing

(n.) banter; teasing The king was used to his jesters good-natured chaffing.

comeliness

(n.) beauty; attractiveness in appearance or behavior The comeliness of the woman attracted everyone's attention.

neophyte

(n.) beginner; newcomer Critics applauded the neophyte's success and speculated how much better he would get with age and experience. The neophyte dancer was overcome by the fast tempo and exotic rhythms.

jollity

(n.) being fun or jolly The jollity of the crowd was seen in the cheering and laughing.

divestiture

(n.) being stripped When it was found the team cheated, there was a divestiture of their crown.

troth

(n.) belief; faith; fidelity The couple pledged troth to each other through their vows.

zealot

(n.) believer; enthusiast; fan; fanatic; a person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals. The zealot followed whatever rules the cult leader set.

liberalism

(n.) believing in personal freedom (favoring reform or progress) If you believe in liberalism, the First Amendment is sacrosanct.

guffaw

(n.) boisterous laughter A comedian's success is assured when the audience gives forth a guffaw following his jokes.

ennui

(n.) boredom; apathy Ennui set in when the children realized they had already played with all the toys.

brevity

(n.) briefness; shortness On Top 40 AM radio, brevity was the coin of the realm.

negligence

(n.) carelessness Negligence contributed to the accident: She was traveling too fast for the icy conditions.

demise

(n.) ceasing to exist as in death The demise of the company followed years of decline. Th news of the man's demise shook the country.

metamorphosis

(n.) change of form A metamorphosis caused the caterpillar to become a beautiful butterfly.

philanthropy

(n.) charity; unselfishness After years of donating time and money to the children's hospital, Mrs. Elderwood was commended for her philanthropy.

progeny

(n.) children; offspring It is through his progeny that his name shall live on. The princes were the progeny of royalty.

propinquity

(n.) closeness in time or place; closeness of relationship The propinquity of the disasters put the community in chaos. The propinquity of the two stories was the basis of the teacher's lesson.

epilogue

(n.) closing section of a play or novel providing further comment. The epilogue told us the destiny of the characters.

accomplice

(n.) co-conspirator; partner; partner-in-crime The bank robber's accomplice drove the get-away car.

turbulence

(n.) condition of being physically agitated; disturbance Everyone on the plane had to fasten their seat belts as the plane entered an area of turbulence.

liaison

(n.) connection; link The student council served as a liaison between the faculty and the student body.

altercation

(n.) controversy; dispute A serious altercation caused the marriage to end in a bitter divorce

replica

(n.) copy; representation; reproduction The equine sculpture was a replica of a Remington.

facsimile

(n.) copy; reproduction; replica The facsimile of the elaborate painting was indistinguishable from the original.

symmetry

(n.) correspondence of parts; harmony The roman columns give the building a symmetry.

juncture

(n.) critical point; meeting When the gas changed into a liquid, they sensed that they'd come to a critical juncture in their experimentation.

churlishness

(n.) crude or surly behavior; behavior of a peasant; crass The fraternity's churlishness ran afoul of the dean' s office. The churlishness of the teenager caused his employer to lose faith in him.

jeopardy

(n.) danger; peril The campers realized they were in potential jeopardy when the bears surrounded their camp.

duplicity

(n.) deception She forgave his duplicity but divorced him anyway.

melancholy

(n.) depression; gloom The funeral parlor was filled with the melancholy of mourning.

disparity

(n.) difference in form, character, or degree There is a great disparity between a light snack and a great feast.

quandary

(n.) dilemma Joe and Elizabeth were caught in a quandary: Should they spend Thanksgiving with his parents or hers? Unable to make a firm decision, I've been in this quandary for weeks. When the car broke down the commuter was left in a quandary.

discord

(n.) disagreement; lack of harmony There was discord amidst the jury, and therefore a decision could not be made.

disapprobation

(n.) disapproval Her disapprobation of her daughter's fiance' divided the family.

calamity

(n.) disaster The fire in the apartment building was a great calamity.

debacle

(n.) disaster; collapse; a rout The Securities and Exchange Commission and the stock exchanges implemented numerous safeguards to head off another debacle on Wall Street.

sloth

(n.) disinclination to action or labor; laziness Employers want to guard against hiring sloths as new employees.

skeptic

(n.) doubter Even after seeing evidence that his competitor's new engine worked, the engineer remained a skeptic that it was marketable.

alacrity

(n.) eager readiness or speed The manager was so impressed by the worker's alacrity; he suggested a promotion. On the first day of her new job, the recent college graduate was able to leave early after completing all of her tasks with alacrity.

stamina

(n.) endurance Anybody who can finish the New York Marathon has lots of stamina.

fanatic

(n.) enthusiast; extremist The terrorist group was comprised of fanatics who wanted to destroy those who disagreed with them.

paraphernalia

(n.) equipment; accessories She looked guilty since the drug paraphernalia was found in her apartment.

phenomenon

(n.) exceptional person; unusual occurrence Messi is a football phenomenon. Not for nothing do they call Yankee Stadium "The House that Ruth Built"-the Babe was a phenomenon. The northern lights are a rare phenomenon for those not living near the Arctic Circle.

temerity

(n.) excessive confidence or boldness; audacity Temerity can result in tragedy if the activity is dangerous.

connoisseur

(n.) expert; authority (usually refers to a wine or food expert) They allowed her to choose the wine for dinner since she was the connoisseur.

tribute

(n.) expression of admiration Her performance was a tribute to her retiring teacher.

perquisite

(n.) extra payment; a tip After working overtime, I had enough money to make a perquisite on my loan.

incompetence

(n.) failing to meet necessary requirements The alleged incompetence of the construction crew would later become the subject of a class-action suit.

fidelity

(n.) faithfulness; honesty His fidelity was proven when he turned in the lost money.

kinship

(n.) family relationship; affinity Living in close proximity increased the kinship of the family.

xenophobia

(n.) fear of foreigners Xenophobia kept the townspeople from encouraging any immigrants to move into the neighborhood.

fortitude

(n.) firm courage; strength It is necessary to have fortitude to complete the hike.

repast

(n.) food that is eaten The repast consisted of cheese, wine, and bread

oligarchy

(n.) form of government in which the supreme power is placed in the hands of a small, exclusive group. The oligarchy took control after the king was overthrown.

encomium

(n.) formal expression of high praise The sitcom actress gave her co-stars a long encomium as she accepted her Emmy.

amity

(n.) friendly relations The amity between the two bordering nations put the populations at ease.

neologism

(n.) giving a new meaning to an old word Bad is a neologism for good.

profusion

(n.) great wastefulness; a large abundance of something The profusion of the food-fight was unforgivable considering the worldwide hunger problem. The profusion of uneaten food was sent to the shelter. The wet winter brought about a profusion of mosquitoes.

avarice

(n.) greed; an inordinate desire for gaining and possessing wealth The man's avarice for money kept him at work through the evenings and weekends. The avarice of the president led to his downfall.

stanza

(n.) group of lines in a poem having a definite pattern The poet uses an odd simile in the second stanza of the poem.

accretion

(n.) growth by addition; a growing together by parts With the accretion of the new members, the club doubled its original size. The addition of the new departments accounts for the accretion of the company.

remorse

(n.) guilt; sorrow The prosecutor argued that the defendant had shown no remorse for his actions.

recidivism

(n.) habitual or chronic relapse of criminal or antisocial offenses Even after intense therapy the parolee experienced several episodes of recidivism, and was eventually sent back to prison.

diligence

(n.) hard work Anything can be accomplished with diligence and commitment

yoke

(n.) harness; collar; bond The jockey led her horse by the yoke around its neck and face.

asperity

(n.) harshness The man used asperity to frighten the girl out of going. The asperity of the winter had most everybody yearning for spring.

insularity

(n.) having the characteristics of an island The insularity of the country made it a great place to build a resort.

panegyric

(n.) high praise Upon his retirement, he received a great panegyric from many of his associates. His panegyric to his opponent stood in sharp contrast to the harsh tenor of the campaign.

probity

(n.) honesty The young man's probity was reassuring to the fearful parent.

homage

(n.) honor; respect The police officers paid homage to their fallen colleague with a ceremony that celebrated her life.

solace

(n.) hope; comfort during a time of grief When her father passed away, she found solace amongst her friends and family.

antagonism

(n.) hostility; opposition The antagonism was created by a misunderstanding. The rebellious clan captured a hostage to display antagonism to the new peace treaty.

utopia

(n.) imaginary land with perfect social and political systems Voltaire wrote of a utopia where the streets were paved with gold.

mimicry

(n.) imitation The comedian's mimicry of the president's gestures had the audience rolling in the aisles.

duress

(n.) imprisonment; the use of threats His duress was supposed to last 10-15 years. The policewoman put the man under duress in order to get a confession. The Labor Department inspector needed to establish whether the plant workers had been held under duress.

coda

(n.) in music, a concluding passage By the end of the coda, I was ready to burst with excitement over the thrilling performance. The audience knew that the concerto was about to end when they heard the orchestra begin playing the coda.

jargon

(n.) incoherent speech; specialized vocabulary in certain fields The conversation was nothing but jargon, but then the speakers were nothing but cartoon characters who specialize in an oddly bracing form of gibberish. The engineers' jargon is indecipherable to a layperson.

debauchery

(n.) indulgence in one's appetites The preacher decried debauchery and urged charity.

distention

(n.) inflation or extension The bulge in the carpet was caused by the distention of the wood underneath.

hiatus

(n.) interval; break; period of rest Summer vacation provided a much-needed hiatus for the students. Between graduation and the first day of his new job, Tim took a three month hiatus in the Caribbean.

sarcasm

(n.) ironic; bitter humor designed to wound The teacher did not appreciate the student's sarcasm and gave him detention.

impiety

(n.) irreverence toward God; lack of respect The bishop condemned the impiety of the celebrity's assertions. Impiety is evident in the way many people commit rude actions.

quarantine

(n.) isolation of a person or persons to prevent the spread of disease To be sure they didn't bring any contagions back to Earth, the astronauts were put under quarantine when they returned.

prescience

(n.) knowing about something before it happens The morning of the big game I had a prescience that we would win

apathy

(n.) lack of emotion or interest He showed apathy when his relative was injured. The disheartened peasants expressed apathy toward the new law which promised new hope and prosperity for all.

pallor

(n.) lack of facial color The more vivid the testimony grew, the more the witness seemed to take on a ghostly pallor.

levity

(n.) lack of seriousness; instability The levity with which he faced the destruction hampered the rescue effort. Levity characterized the first months of his administration. Levity is a necessary trait for a comedian.

effervescence

(n.) liveliness; spirit; enthusiasm; bubbliness Her effervescence was contagious; she made everyone around her happy. The effervescence of champagne is what makes it different from wine.

bombast

(n.) long, arrogant, over the top speech After he delivered his bombast at the podium, he arrogantly left the meeting. The presenter ended his bombast with a prediction of his future success.

acclaim

(n.) loud approval; applause Edward Albee's brilliantly written Broadway revival of A Delicate Balance received wide acclaim.

fealty

(n.) loyalty The baron was given land in exchange for his fealty to the king.

homeostasis

(n.) maintenance of stability Knowing the seriousness of the operation, the surgeons were concerned about restoring the patient to homeostasis.

quagmire

(n.) marshy land; a situation that is difficult to get out of The war in Vietnam quickly became a quagmire for the President. The vehicle became stuck in the quagmire.

labyrinth

(n.) maze Be careful not to get lost in the labyrinth of vegetation.

clemency

(n.) mercy toward an offender; mildness; mercy The governor granted the prisoner clemency. The weather's clemency made for a perfect picnic.

paradigm

(n.) model, prototype; pattern The machine could no longer be produced after the paradigm was destroyed. The Massachusetts gubernatorial race was considered a paradigm of campaign civility.

epitome

(n.) model; typification; representation; personification The woman chosen to lead the dancers was the epitome of true grace.

humility

(n.) modesty Full of humility, she accepted the award but gave all the credit to her mentor.

depravity

(n.) moral corruption; badness Drugs and money caused depravity throughout the once decorous community. The depravity of the old man was bound to land him in jail one day

phobia

(n.) morbid fear Fear of heights is a not uncommon phobia.

dissonance

(n.) musical discord; a mingling of inharmonious sounds; nonmusical; disagreement; lack of harmony Much twentieth-century music is not liked by classical music lovers because of the dissonance it holds and the harmonies it lacks. The dissonance of his composition makes for some rough listening.

enigma

(n.) mystery; secret; perplexity To all of the searchers, the missing child's location remained a great enigma.

corpulence

(n.) obesity The corpulence of the man kept him from fitting into the seat.

yore

(n.) of long ago or former times When he sees his childhood friends, they speak about the days of yore.

umbrage

(n.) offense, resentment, annoyance The candidate took umbrage at the remark of his opponent.

anarchist

(n.) one who believes that a formal government is unnecessary The yell from the crowd came from the anarchist protesting the government. The anarchist attempted to overthrow the established democratic government of the new nation and reinstate chaos and disarray.

cynic

(n.) one who believes that others are motivated entirely by selfishness. The cynic felt that the hero saved the man to become famous.

gourmand

(n.) one who eats eagerly A gourmand may eat several servings of an entree.

predecessor

(n.) one who has occupied an office before another Although her predecessor did not accomplish any goals that would help the poor, the new mayor was confident that she could finally help those in need.

benefactor

(n.) one who helps others; a donor An anonymous benefactor donated $10,000 to the children's hospital.

heretic

(n.) one who holds opinion contrary to that which is generally accepted Because he believed the world was round, many people considered Columbus to be a heretic.

libertine

(n.) one who indulges his desires without restraint For the libertine, missing his child's birthday was not as significant as missing a football game.

arbiter

(n.) one who is authorized to judge or decide The decision of who would represent the people was made by the arbiter.

savant

(n.) one who is intelligent The savant accepted his award of excellence.

iconoclast

(n.) one who smashes revered images; an attacker of cherished beliefs Nietzche's attacks on government, religion, and custom made him an iconoclast of grand dimension. The iconoclast spoke against the traditions of the holiday.

spelunker

(n.) one who studies caves The spelunker made a startling discovery in the old mine.

heresy

(n.) opinion contrary to popular belief In this town it is considered heresy to want parking spaces to have meters.

mandate

(n.) order; charge The new manager wrote a mandate declaring that smoking was now prohibited in the office.

archetype

(n.) original pattern or model; prototype This man was the archetype for scores of fictional characters. The scientist was careful with the archetype of her invention so that once manufacturing began, it would be easy to reproduce it.

glutton

(n.) overeater The glutton ate 12 hot dogs

travail

(n.) painful or laborious effort The farmer was tired after the travail of plowing the fields. The analgesic finally ended her travail.

fervor

(n.) passion; intensity of feeling The crowd was full of fervor as the candidate entered the hall.

forbearance

(n.) patience; self-restraint He exhibited remarkable forbearance when confronted with the mischievous children.

tranquility

(n.) peace; stillness; harmony The tranquility of the tropical island was reflected in its calm blue waters and warm sunny climate.

quirk

(n.) peculiar behavior; startling twist Nobody's perfect-we all have our quirks. Our vacation went smoothly save for one quirk-a hurricane that came barreling into the coastline as we were preparing to head home. The plot of that movie had so many quirks that it became very hard to follow. Always needing to put the left shoe on first is a peculiar quirk

miser

(n.) penny pincher, stingy person The miser made no donations and loved counting his money every night.

optimist

(n.) person who hopes for the best; sees the good side He's ever the optimist, always seeing the glass as half full.

euphony

(n.) pleasant combination of sounds The gently singing birds created a beautiful euphony. The euphony created by the orchestra was due to years of practice.

marauder

(n.) plunderer or raider The marauder had been traveling for two months searching for the large stash.

zenith

(n.) point directly overhead in the sky; highest point, the highest point reached by a celestial or other object The astronomer pointed her telescope straight up toward the zenith. The Broncos seemed to be at the zenith of their power just as their rivals on the turf were flagging. The sun will reach its zenith at noon. The zenith of her career occurred during her time as chairperson.

fustian

(n.) pompous talk or writing The fustian by the professor made him appear arrogant.

adulation

(n.) praise in excess The adulation was in response to the heroic feat. The adulation given to the movie star was sickening.

equinox

(n.) precise time when day and night is of equal length On the equinox we had twelve hours of night and day.

resolution

(n.) proposal; solution Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell journeyed to Ireland to help bring about a peaceful resolution to years of strife.

malediction

(n.) putting a curse on someone; talking negatively about another With the threat of a malediction, the man left the fortuneteller's house. Never having a nice word to say about anyone, her conversations are full of malediction.

caliber

(n.) quality The caliber of talent at the show was excellent.

resignation

(n.) quitting; submission He submitted his resignation because he found a new job. You could see the resignation on his face: Things just weren't working out as he'd expected.

respite

(n.) recess; rest period The workers talked and drank coffee during the respite. The team was given a respite from the long practice schedule.

rebuttal

(n.) refutation, argument in opposition to statements The lawyer's rebuttal to the judge's sentencing was to present more evidence to the case.

kith

(n.) relatives and acquaintances Our kith will meet at the family reunion.

perdition

(n.) ruination The perdition of the building was caused by the strong quake.

paucity

(n.) scarcity The described feast was actually a buffet with a paucity of food.

dearth

(n.) scarcity; shortage A series of coincidental resignations left the firm with a dearth of talent. The dearth of the coverage forced him to look for a new insurance agent.

contempt

(n.) scorn; disrespect The greedy, selfish banker was often discussed with great contempt.

collusion

(n.) secret agreement for an illegal purpose The authority discovered a collusion between the director and treasurer.

connivance

(n.) secret cooperation in wrongdoing With the guard's connivance, the convict was able to make his escape.

pessimism

(n.) seeing only the gloomy side; hopelessness After endless years of drought, pessimism grew in the hearts of even the most dedicated farmer.

gravity

(n.) seriousness The gravity of the incident was sufficient to involve the police and the FBI.

exposition

(n.) setting forth or explaining facts The exposition by the witness substantiated the story given by the prisoner.

rigor

(n.) severity She criticized the planning board's vote with rigor.

acrimony

(n.) sharpness or bitterness in language or manner. The acrimony of her response was shocking.

analogy

(n.) similarity; correlation; parallelism The teacher used an analogy to describe the similarities between the two books. Comparing the newly discovered virus with one found long ago, the scientist made an analogy between the two organisms.

artifice

(n.) skill in a craft The artifice of glass-making takes many years of practice.

calumny

(n.) slander I felt it necessary to speak against the calumny of the man's good reputation.

aspersion

(n.) slanderous statement; a damaging or derogatory criticism The aspersion damaged the credibility of the organization. He blamed the loss of his job on an aspersion stated by his co-worker to his superior.

guile

(n.) slyness; deceit By using his guile, the gambler almost always won at the card table.

subtlety

(n.) so slight as to be barely noticeable There was no subtlety in the protest; each person carried a sign and yelled for civil rights. With great subtlety we slipped away from the boring party.

homily

(n.) solemn moral talk; sermon The preacher gave a moving homily to the gathered crowd.

figment

(n.) something made up in the mind The unicorn on the hill was a figment of his imagination

anachronism

(n.) something out of place in time (e.g., an airplane in 1492) The editor recognized an anachronism in the manuscript where the character from the 1500s boarded an airplane. He realized that the film about cavemen contained an anachronism when he saw a jet cut across the horizon during a hunting scene.

anchorage

(n.) something that can be relied on Knowing the neighbors were right next door was an anchorage for the elderly woman.

consternation

(n.) something that causes confusion The look of consternation on the child's face caused her father to panic.

stridency

(n.) sounding harsh and unpleasant The stridency of the whistle hurt the dog's ears.

throe

(n.) spasm or pang; agony; a hard or painful struggle A particularly violent throe knocked her off her feet. The wounded soldier squirmed in throes of agony.

ideology

(n.) speculation; representative way of thinking; beliefs His ideology proved to be faulty. The ideology of business can be found in the new book. He joined the religious group because he agreed with their ideology.

mettle

(n.) spirit, courage, ardor He proved he had the mettle to make it through basic training.

motility

(n.) spontaneous motion The motility of the car caused the driver to lunge for the brake.

quiescence

(n.) state of being at rest or without motion After a tough day on the shipping dock, one needs quiescence. A period of quiescence is useful to calm the nerves.

parity

(n.) state of being the same in power, value, or rank The salary cap in the football league established greater parity between the teams. When the younger brother was promoted to co-president with the elder son, it established parity between the two.

dint

(n.) strength The dint of the bridge could hold trucks weighing many tons.

percussion

(n.) striking one object against another Drums are a percussion instrument. The loud percussion of the hunter's gunshot startled the birds.

rancor

(n.) strong ill will; enmity Her rancor for the man was evident in her hateful expression. Sure they had their disagreements, but there was no rancor between them.

qualm

(n.) sudden feeling of uneasiness or doubt I have no qualms about going to speak with my boss about a pay rise. His qualms about flying disappeared once the plane landed softly.

implication

(n.) suggestion; inference An implication was made that there might be trickery involved.

mentor

(n.) teacher; wise and faithful advisor Alan consulted his mentor when he needed critical advice.

solubility

(n.) that can be solved; that can be dissolved The solubility of sugar causes it to disappear when put in water.

finesse

(n.) the ability to handle situations with skill and diplomacy The executor with the most finesse was chosen to meet with the diplomats.

eloquence

(n.) the ability to speak well The speaker's eloquence was attributed to his articulate manner of speaking.

cohesion

(n.) the act of holding together The cohesion of the group increased as friendships were formed. The cohesion of different molecules forms different substances.

derision

(n.) the act of mocking; ridicule, mockery A day of derision from the boss left the employee feeling depressed. Constant derision from classmates made him quit school.

exultation

(n.) the act of rejoicing Exultation was evident by the partying and revelry.

abstinence

(n.) the act or process of voluntarily refraining from any action or practice; self- control; chastity In preparation for the Olympic games, the athletes practiced abstinence from red meat and junk food, adhering instead to a menu of pasta and produce.

ramification

(n.) the arrangement of branches; consequence One of the ramifications of driving fast is getting a speeding ticket.

evasion

(n.) the avoiding of a duty The company was charged with tax evasion, as they did not pay all that they owed.

premise

(n.) the basis for an argument The prosecutor claimed that the defense lawyer's premise was shaky, and thus his whole argument was suspect.

materialism

(n.) the belief that everything in the universe is explained in terms of matter; the belief that worldly possessions are the be-all and end-all in life Spiritualists will tell you that materialism is only half the story. Some said that the prince's profligacy gave materialism a bad name.

consummation

(n.) the completion; finish Following the consummation of final exams, most of the students graduated.

indigence

(n.) the condition of being poor The family's indigence was evident by the run-down house they lived in.

reverie

(n.) the condition of being unaware of one's surroundings, trance; dreamy thinking or imagining, especially of agreeable things As their anniversary neared, Lisa fell into a reverie as she recalled all the good times she and Roscoe had had. After spending the morning in reverie, I decided to work in the afternoon.

tutelage

(n.) the condition of being under a guardian or a tutor Being under the tutelage of a master musician is a great honor.

breadth

(n.) the distance from one side to another The table cloth was too small to cover the breadth of the table.

upshot

(n.) the final act or result The upshot of the debate was that the bill would be released to the floor.

effigy

(n.) the image or likeness of a person Demonstrators carried effigies of the dictator they wanted overthrown.

usury

(n.) the lending of money with an excessively high interest rate An interest rate 30 points above the prime rate would be considered usury in the United States. Loan sharks frequently practice usury, but their debtors usually have little choice but to keep quiet and pay up.

serendipity

(n.) the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way Serendipity seemed to follow the lucky winner where ever he went.

program

(n.) the parts of entertainment; a plan for dealing with a matter; coded instructions The free-form music program on Sunday nights is virtually unique in commercial radio. The program for better health is to eat more vegetables and fruits. The store's computer program allows sale information to prompt at the register for certain items at certain hours.

perjury

(n.) the practice of lying The already sensational trial of a star athlete turned all the more so when it turned out that a police detective had committed perjury. Lying while on the witness stand is perjury.

quintessence

(n.) the pure essence of anything This story is the quintessence of American fiction.

complaisance

(n.) the quality of being agreeable or eager to please The complaisance of the new assistant made it easy for the managers to give him a lot of work without worrying that he may complain.

equanimity

(n.) the quality of remaining calm and undisturbed Equanimity can be reached when stress is removed from life.

timbre

(n.) the quality of sound which distinguishes one from another The timbre of guitar music is different from that of piano music.

tether

(n.) the range or limit of one's abilities; rope or chain used to keep a boat from drifting or an animal from wandering My tether of playing basketball is shooting air balls. The bulldog was tethered to his doghouse.

solemnity

(n.) the state or quality of being serious or dignified The church service was full of solemnity. The solemnity of the funeral procession stood in stark contrast to the young children splashing with delight in a nearby pool.

euphemism

(n.) the use of a word or phrase in place of one that is distasteful The words "waste products" are a euphemism for poop. The words "pass away" are a euphemism for dying or death. The announcer used a euphemism when he wanted to complain.

larceny

(n.) theft; stealing After robbing the liquor store, she was found guilty of larceny.

motif

(n.) theme Although the college students lived in Alaska, they decided on a tropical motif for their dorm room. The decorations include a rose motif.

frugality

(n.) thrift; economical use or expenditure His frugality limited him to purchasing the item for which he had a coupon. Preparing to save money to send their daughter to college, the parents practiced extreme frugality for several years.

parsimony

(n.) to be unreasonably careful when spending The parsimony of the wealthy woman was uncalled for.

imputation

(n.) to charge, to attribute a fault or misconduct to another The imputation of guilt was made by the judge.

assay

(n.) to determine the quality of a substance Have the soil assayed.

defamation

(n.) to harm a name or reputation; to slander The carpenter felt that untrue rumors regarding the collapse of the houses that he had built t brought defamation to his construction business.

usurpation

(n.) to take and keep (something, such as power) in a forceful or violent way and especially without the right to do so During the war, the usurpation of the country forced an entirely new culture on the natives.

ruffian

(n.) tough person or a hoodlum Contrary to popular opinion, ruffians are nothing new in the city.

itinerary

(n.) travel plan; schedule; course Their trip's itinerary was disrupted by an unexpected snow storm.

chicanery

(n.) trickery or deception The swindler was trained in chicanery. A news broadcast is no place for chicanery.

despotism

(n.) tyranny; absolute power or influence The ruler's despotism went uncontested for 30 years.

ingratitude

(n.) ungratefulness When she failed to send a thank-you card, her friend took it as a sign of ingratitude.

carte blanche

(n.) unlimited authority The designer was given carte blanche to create a new line for the fall.

turmoil

(n.) unrest; agitation Before the country recovered after the war, they experienced a time of great turmoil.

altruism

(n.) unselfish devotion to the welfare of others After the organization aided the catastrophe victims, it was given an award for altruism. She displayed such altruism by giving up all of her belongings and joining a peace corps in Africa.

doggerel

(n.) verse characterized by forced rhyme and meter Contrary to its appearance, doggerel can contain some weighty messages.

turpitude

(n.) vileness, wickedness The turpitude of the action caused a rage among the people.

wrath

(n.) violent or unrestrained anger; fury Do not trespass on his property or you will have to deal with his wrath.

opulence

(n.) wealth; fortune A 40-room mansion on 65 wooded acres is only the most visible sign of her opulence.

tycoon

(n.) wealthy leader The business tycoon prepared to buy his fifteenth company.

obloquy

(n.) widespread condemnation or abuse; disgrace or infamy resulting from this; strong public criticism or verbal abuse. The child suffered quite an obloquy at the hands of his classmates. Lawyers must face frequent obloquy with their reputation as "ambulance chasers."

recession

(n.) withdrawal; economic downturn Oscar's gum recession left him with sensitive teeth. Soaring unemployment in the nation's industrial belt triggered recession.

eulogy

(n.) words of praise, especially for the dead The eulogy was a remembrance of the good things the man accomplished in his lifetime.

cessation

(n.)ceasing; a stopping The cessation of a bad habit is often difficult to sustain.

laggard

(n.; adj.) a person who makes slow progress and falls behind others The laggard child was lost in the crowd. The train was laggard. Anything can happen in a swim meet: Last year's leader can become this year's laggard.

magnanimity

(n.; adj.) a quality of nobleness of mind, disdain of meanness or revenge; forgiving; unselfish Being full of magnanimity he asked the thief only for an apology and set him free. The magnanimous store owner did not press charges once an apology was given. The magnanimity of the professor overcame the rage of the student.

astringent

(n.; adj.) a substance that contracts bodily tissues; causing contraction; tightening; stern, austere After the operation an astringent was used on his skin so that the stretched area would return to normal. The downturn in sales caused the CEO to impose astringent measures. Her astringent remarks at the podium would not soon be forgotten.

authoritarian

(n.; adj.) acting as a dictator; demanding obedience The authoritarian made all of the rules but did none of the work. Fidel Castro is reluctant to give up his authoritarian rule.

craven

(n.; adj.) coward; abject person; cowardly While many fought for their rights, the craven sat shaking, off in a corner somewhere. Craven men will not stand up for what they believe in.

fledgling

(n.; adj.) inexperienced person; beginner The fledgling mountain climber needed assistance from the more experienced mountaineers. The course was not recommended for fledgling skiers.

ascetic

(n.; adj.) one who leads a simple life of self-denial; rigorously abstinent The monastery is filled with ascetics who have devoted their lives to religion. The nuns lead an ascetic life devoted to the Lord.

partisan

(n.; adj.) supporter; follower; biased; one-sided The union president is a partisan of minimum-wage legislation. A partisan for the incumbent mayor will not support the challenger.

consort

(n.; v.) a companion, spouse; to associate An elderly woman was seeking a consort. They waited until dark to consort under the moonlight.

rampart

(n.; v.) a defense; to defend The ramparts where beginning to crumble.

censure

(n.; v.) a disapproval; an expression of disapproval; to criticize or disapprove of His remarks drew the censure of his employers. A censure of the new show upset the directors. Her parents censured her idea of dropping out of school.

goad

(n.; v.) a driving impulse; to push into action His goad urged him to pursue the object of his affection. Thinking about money will goad him into getting a job.

rout

(n.; v.) a noisy or disorderly crowd; a retreat or terrible defeat; to dig up The rout kept the police busy all morning with crowd control. The Scarlet Knights beat the Fighting Irish in a rout, 56-14. I need to rout the backyard in order to put in the pipes.

harbor

(n.; v.) a place of safety or shelter; to give shelter or to protect. We stood at the dock as the ship sailed into the harbor. The peasants were executed for harboring known rebels. The rabbits used the shed as a harbor from the raging storm. Her decision to harbor a known criminal was an unwise on

prattle

(n.; v.) childish babble; to babble while speaking I've listened to his prattle for far too long. The toddler does more prattling than talking.

disdain

(n.; v.) intense dislike; look down upon; scorn She showed great disdain toward anyone who did not agree with her. She disdains the very ground you walk upon.

document

(n.; v.) official paper containing information; to support; substantiate; verify They needed a written document to prove that the transaction occurred. Facing an audit, she had to document all her client contacts.

pique

(n.; v.) resentment at being slighted; to provoke Being passed over for the promotion aroused his pique. The more he piqued her, the redder she grew.

hone

(n.; v.) something used to sharpen; to sharpen; to long or yearn for He ran the knife over the hone for hours to get a razor-sharp edge. The apprenticeship will give her the opportunity to hone her skills. The traveler hones for his homeland.

surmise

(n; v) suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it; guess Was my surmise correct? I surmise that we will not He surmised how the play would end before the second act began.

harangue

(n; v.) a lengthy, heartfelt speech; to talk or write excitedly We sat patiently and listened to her harangue. When he finally stopped his haranguing, I responded calmly.

cascade

(n; v.) waterfall; pour; rush; fall The hikers stopped along the path to take in the beauty of the rushing cascade. The water cascaded down the rocks into the pool. He took a photograph of the lovely cascade. The drapes formed a cascade down the window.

convoke

(v.) a call to assemble The teacher convoked her students in the auditorium to help prepare them for the play.

accrue

(v.) a natural growth; a periodic increase Over the course of her college career, she managed to accrue a great deal of knowledge. The savings were able to accrue a sizable amount of interest each year. During his many years of collecting stamps, he was able to accrue a large collection of valuable items.

mitigate

(v.) alleviate; lessen; soothe She tried to mitigate the loss of his pet by buying him a kitten. The lawyer will attempt to mitigate the sentence probation.

nettle

(v.) annoy; irritate The younger brother nettled his older sister until she slapped him. The boy will nettle the father into agreeing.

invoke

(v.) ask for; call upon The parishioners invoked divine help for their troubles.

solicit

(v.) ask; seek The jobless man solicited employment from many factories before he was able to find work.

relegate

(v.) banish; put to a lower position The Rovers were relegated to a lower league. With Internal Affairs launching an investigation into charges that Officer Wicker had harassed a suspect, he was relegated to desk duty.

seethe

(v.) be filled with intense but unexpressed anger By the time I arrived, she was seething with anger. He seethed at the prospect of losing the business to his conniving uncle.

gloat

(v.) brag; glory over She gloated over the fact that she received the highest score on the exam, annoying her classmates to no end.

sunder

(v.) break; split in two The Civil War threatened to sunder the United States. Management seeks to sunder the workers' connections to the union.

subjugate

(v.) bring under domination or control, especially by conquest; conquer The bully will attempt to subjugate the remainder of the class. The royal family subjugated the peasants, making them perform hard labor.

broach

(v.) bring up what you intend to talk about in a conversation Broaching the touchy subject was difficult.

nullify

(v.) cancel; invalidate Drinking alcohol excessively will nullify the positive benefits of eating well and exercising daily.

wreak

(v.) cause a large amount of damage or harm; to inflict The dragon will wreak havoc upon the countryside.

refute

(v.) challenge; disprove He refuted the proposal, deeming it unfair

indict

(v.) charge with a crime The grand jury indicted her and her husband for embezzlement and six other lesser counts.

deign

(v.) condescend; stoop He said he wouldn't deign to dignify her statement with a response. Fired from his job as a programmer analyst, Joe vowed he would never deign to mop floors-even if he were down to his last penny.

rectify

(v.) correct; fix The service manager rectified the shipping mistake by refunding the customer's money.

undermine

(v.) damage or weaken (someone or something) gradually The attempts to undermine the merger were unsuccessful. The supervisor undermined the director's power and began controlling the staff.

mar

(v.) damage; ruined The statue was marred by the ravages of time.

slander

(v.) defame; maliciously misrepresent; make false and damaging statements about Orville said he'd been slandered, and he asked the court who would-or could- give him his name back.

render

(v.) deliver; provide The Yorkville First Aid Squad was first on the scene to render assistance.

obliterate

(v.) destroy completely Poaching nearly obliterated the world's whale population.

discriminate

(v.) distinguish; demonstrate bias Being a chef, he discriminated carefully among ingredients. Reeling from the fact that senior managers had been caught on tape making offensive remarks, the CEO said he would not tolerate any of his firm's employees discriminating against anyone for any reason.

quaff

(v.) drinking deeply A dog will quaff if he becomes overheated. Let's meet at the pub and quaff some beers.

ousted

(v.) drive out; eject The president was ousted from office after the scandal. The dictator was ousted in a coup detat.

foster

(v.) encourage; nurture; support A good practice routine fosters success. After the severe storm the gardener fostered many of his plants back to health.

scrutinize

(v.) examine closely; study After allowing his son to borrow the family car, the father scrutinized every section for dents.

comport

(v.) fitting in It was easy to comport to the new group of employees.

wrest

(v.) forcibly pull something from a person's grasp I wrested the knife out of the man's hand. The warriors wrested the power from the king.

suppress

(v.) forcibly put an end to; restrain The illegal aliens were suppressed by the border patrol.

infer

(v.) form an opinion; conclude From the broad outline he supplied it was easy to infer that the applicant knew a great deal about trains.

succumb

(v.) give in; yield; collapse When dieting, it is difficult not to succumb to temptation.

surpass

(v.) go beyond; out do; exceed After recovering from a serious illness, the boy surpassed the doctor's expectations by leaving the hospital two days early.

suffuse

(v.) gradually spread through or over The rain will suffuse the spilled sand around the patio.

mesmerize

(v.) hypnotize The swaying motion of the swing mesmerized the baby into a deep sleep.

kindle

(v.) ignite; arouse Being around children kindled her interest in educational psychology.

preclude

(v.) inhibit; make impossible; prevent A healthy diet and lifestyle will not preclude you from getting ill, although it improves your immune system. Exercise may help to preclude heart disease.

hamper

(v.) interfere with; hinder The roadblock hampered their progress, but they knew a shortcut.

innovate

(v.) introduce a change; depart from the old She innovated a new product for the home construction market.

warrant

(v.) justify; authorize The police official warranted the arrest of the suspect once enough proof had been found.

descant

(v.) lengthy talking or writing The man will descant on the subject if you give him too much speaking time.

facilitate

(v.) make easier; simplify The new ramp by the door's entrance facilitated access to the building for those in wheelchairs.

illuminate

(v.) make understandable I asked a classmate to illuminate the professor's far-ranging lecture for me.

knead

(v.) mix; massage After mixing the ingredients, they kneaded the dough and set it aside to rise.

waft

(v.) move gently by wind or breeze The smoke wafted out of the chimney.

heed

(v.) obey; yield to If the peasant heeds the king's commands, she will be able to keep her land.

transpire

(v.) occur, happen With all that's transpired today, I'm exhausted.

impale

(v.) pierce through with, or stick on; something pointed The knight was impaled by the sharp lance.

juxtapose

(v.) place side-by-side The author decided to juxtapose the two sentences since they each strengthened the meaning of the other.

laud

(v.) praise He lauded his daughter for winning the trophy.

feign

(v.) pretend It is not uncommon for a child to feign illness in order to stay home from school.

thwart

(v.) prevent (someone) from accomplishing something Their attempt to take over the country was thwarted by the palace guard.

supplant

(v.) replace Can you supplant my position if I cannot play? Personal computers supplanted the typewriter.

salvage

(v.) rescue from loss The family tried to salvage their belongings after their home was destroyed by a tornado.

berate

(v.) scold; reprove; reproach; criticize The child was berated by her parents for breaking the china.

rummage

(v.) search thoroughly Determined to find his college yearbook, he rummaged through every box in the garage.

diverge

(v.) separate, split The path diverges at the old barn, one fork leading to the house, and the other leading to the pond. The wide, long river diverged into two distinct separate rivers, never again to join.

allocate

(v.) set aside; designate; assign There have been front row seats allocated to the performer's family. The farmer allocated three acres of his fields to corn.

saturate

(v.) soak thoroughly; drench She saturated the sponge with soapy water before she began washing the car.

adjure

(v.) solemnly ordered; request or urge The jurors were adjured by the judge to make a fair decision.

traduce

(v.) speak badly of or tell lies about (someone) so as to damage their reputation; to defame or slander His actions traduced his reputation.

instigate

(v.) start; provoke It was uncertain to the police as to which party instigated the riot.

tarry

(v.) stay longer than intended; delay leaving a place; linger She tarried too long, and therefore missed her train.

digress

(v.) stray from the subject; wander from topic It is important to not digress from the plan of action.

endorse

(v.) support; to approve of; recommend The entire community endorsed the politician who promised lower taxes and a better school system.

prate

(v.) talking foolishly; chatter It is not uncommon for people to prate when they become nervous about speaking to a superior.

concede

(v.) to acknowledge; admit; to surrender; to abandon one's position After much wrangling, the conceded that the minister had a point. Satisfied with the recount, the mayor conceded graciously.

contravene

(v.) to act contrary to; to oppose or contradict The story of the accused contravened the story of the witness. The United Nations held that the Eastern European nation had contravened the treaty.

aver

(v.) to affirm as true The witness was able to aver the identity of the defendant.

acquiesce

(v.) to agree without protest The group acquiesced to the new regulations even though they were opposed to them. After a hard-fought battle, the retailers finally acquiesced to the draft regulations.

palliate

(v.) to alleviate or ease pain but not cure; to make appear less serious The medication will help palliate the pain. The lawyer attempted to palliate the offense to the jury.

chafe

(v.) to annoy, to irritate; to wear away or make sore by rubbing His constant teasing chafed her. He doesn't wear pure wool sweaters because they usually chafe his skin.

placate

(v.) to appease or pacify The entire family attempted to placate the stubborn child. With a soothing voice and the promise of a juicy steak, the trainer placated the escaped lion so that he wouldn't hurt anyone.

beseech

(v.) to ask earnestly The soldiers beseeched the civilians for help.

impugn

(v.) to attack with words; to question the truthfulness or integrity The defense lawyer impugned the witness's testimony, which set back the prosecution's case. If I believe the man is a fraud I will impugn his comments.

contest

(v.) to attempt to disprove or invalidate I will attempt to contest the criminal charges against me.

parry

(v.) to avoid; to ward off I dislike talking to the woman so I will attempt to parry her by ducking around the corner.

revile

(v.) to be abusive in speech It is not appropriate for a teacher to revile a student.

behoove

(v.) to be an advantage for you to do something; should do something It will behoove the students to buy their textbooks early.

portends

(v.) to be an omen of; signify; to be a sign of something that will occur in the future The distant roll of thunder portends of an oncoming storm.

teem

(v.) to be stocked to overflowing; be full of or swarming with; to pour out; to empty The new plant seemed to be teeming with insects. It is healthier to teem the grease from the broth before serving it.

coagulate

(v.) to become a semisolid, soft mass; to clot The liquid will coagulate and close the tube if left standing.

fester

(v.) to become more and more virulent and fixed His anger festered until no one could change his mind.

flagged

(v.) to become weak; to send a message The smaller animal flagged before the larger one.

disparage

(v.) to belittle; undervalue; to discredit After she fired him she realized that she had disparaged the value of his assistance. The lawyer will attempt to disparage the testimony of the witness.

cavil

(v.) to bicker; to argue about something miniscule The children are constantly caviling.

reproach

(v.) to blame and thus make feel ashamed; to rebuke; reproof The major reproached his troops for not following orders.

fulminate

(v.) to blame, denunciate It is impolite to fulminate someone for your mistakes. Senator Shay fulminated against her opponent's double-standard on campaign finance reform.

expunge

(v.) to blot out; to delete Bleach may be used to expunge the stain.

engender

(v.) to bring about, produce, cause; beget The group attempted to engender changes to the law.

correlate

(v.) to bring into mutual relation The service man was asked to correlate the two computer demonstration pamphlets.

ingratiate

(v.) to bring into one's good graces The man was hoping to ingratiate himself with his wife by buying a bouquet of flowers and candy.

edify

(v.) to build or establish; to instruct and improve the mind According to their schedule, the construction company will edify the foundation of the building in one week. The teachers worked to edify their students through lessons and discussion.

evoke

(v.) to call forth; provoke; caused to do something Seeing her only daughter get married evoked tears of happiness from the mother. Announcement of the results evoked a cheer from the crowd.

conjure

(v.) to call upon or appeal to; to cause to be, appear, come The smell of the dinner conjured images of childhood. The magician conjured a rabbit out of a hat.

abrogate

(v.) to cancel by authority The judge would not abrogate the law.

confound

(v.) to cause confusion The problem confounded our ability to solve it. Confound you, you scoundrel!

mire

(v.) to cause to get stuck in wet, soggy ground The car became mired in the mud.

stigmatize

(v.) to characterize or make as disgraceful The gross error will stigmatize the worker as careless.

disseminate

(v.) to circulate; scatter He was hired to disseminate newspapers to everyone in the town. The preacher traveled across the country to disseminate his message.

arrogate

(v.) to claim or demand unduly The teenager arrogated that he should be able to use his parent's car whenever he desired.

amassed

(v.) to collect together; accumulate Over the years the sailor has amassed many replicas of boats. The women amassed a huge collection of priceless diamonds and pearls.

conjoin

(v.) to combine The classes will conjoin to do the play.

condescend

(v.) to come down from one's position or dignity The arrogant, rich man was usually condescending towards his servants.

accede

(v.) to comply with; to consent to With defeat imminent, the rebel army acceded to hash out a peace treaty.

reprobate

(v.) to condemn; to reject The teacher will reprobate the actions of the delinquent student. His assertions were reprobated as inappropriate.

corroborate

(v.) to confirm the validity The witness must corroborate the prisoner's story if she is to be set free

affiliate

(v.) to connect or associate with; to accept as a member (n.) a person who is affiliated The hiking club affiliated with the bird-watching club.

ruminate

(v.) to consider carefully; ponder The doctor will ruminate on his diagnosis. Facing a tough decision, he decided to ruminate before making his thoughts known.

discourse

(v.) to converse; to communicate in an orderly fashion The interviewee discoursed so fluently, she was hired on the spot. The scientists discoursed on a conference call for just five minutes but were able to solve three major problems.

proselytize

(v.) to convert from one belief or religion to another The preacher often attempts to proselytize wayward travelers.

adulterate

(v.) to corrupt, debase, or make impure The dumping of chemicals will adulterate the pureness of the lake.

anointed

(v.) to crown; ordain; A member of the monarchy was anointed by the king.

obfuscate

(v.) to darken, confuse, bewilder The lunar eclipse will obfuscate the light of the sun.

exonerate

(v.) to declare or prove blameless; absolve; forgive Hopefully, the judge will exonerate you of any wrongdoing.

consecrate

(v.) to declare sacred; to dedicate We will consecrate the pact during the ceremony. The park was consecrated to the memory of the missing soldier.

denigrate

(v.) to defame, to blacken or sully; to belittle After finding out her evil secret, he announced it to the council and denigrated her in public. Her attempt to denigrate the man's name was not successful.

abase

(v.) to degrade; humiliate; disgrace The mother's public reprimand abased the girl. The insecure father, after failing to achieve his own life-long goals, abased his children whenever they failed.

decry

(v.) to denounce or condemn openly The pastor decried all forms of discrimination against any minority group.

disavow

(v.) to deny; to refuse to acknowledge The actor has disavowed the rumor.

besmirch

(v.) to dirty or discolor The soot from the chimney will besmirch clean curtains. The scandal will besmirch the reputation of the president.

dissent

(v.) to disagree; differ in opinion They agreed that something had to be done, but dissented on how to do it.

repudiate

(v.) to disown; to deny support for; reject; cancel The man will repudiate all claims that he was involved in the deal. Although his party supported the bill, this senator repudiated it. The offer was repudiated because of its cost.

deliquesce

(v.) to dissolve The snow deliquesced when the temperature rose.

retract

(v.) to draw or take back Once you say something, it's hard to retract.

educe

(v.) to draw out; to infer from information Because she is so dour, I was forced to educe a response. I educe from the report that the experiment was a success.

emanate

(v.) to emit Happiness emanates from the loving home.

debilitate

(v.) to enfeeble; to wear out The phlebitis debilitated him to the point where he was unable even to walk. The illness will debilitate the muscles in his legs.

embarkation

(v.) to engage or invest in The embarkation into self-employment was a new start for the woman.

efface

(v.) to erase; to make inconspicuous Hiding in the woods, the soldier was effaced by his camouflage uniform.

assess

(v.) to estimate the value of She assessed the possible rewards to see if the project was worth her time and effort.

censor

(v.) to examine and delete objectionable material The children were allowed to watch the adult movie only after it had been censored.

ferment

(v.) to excite or agitate The rally cry was meant to ferment and confuse the opponent.

ostracize

(v.) to exclude The students tend to ostracize the children they dislike from their games.

deprecate

(v.) to express disapproval of; to protest against The environmentalists deprecated the paper companies for cutting down ancient forests. The organization will deprecate the opening of the sewage plant.

objurgate

(v.) to express public or formal disapproval of The girls disliked those boys who objurgated the group.

foist

(v.) to falsely identify as real The smuggler tried to foist the cut glass as a priceless gem.

stoke

(v.) to feed fuel to; especially a fire With the last embers dying, he stoked the fire one more time.

cherish

(v.) to feel love for The bride vowed to cherish the groom for life.

inundate

(v.) to flood; to overwhelm with a large amount of The broken water maininundated the business district with water. Surfing the Internet can inundate you with information: That's why a web browser comes in handy.

obtrude

(v.) to force oneself or one's ideas upon another; to thrust forward; to eject ; intrusive The inquisitive coworker obtrudes into the conversation often.

constrain

(v.) to force, compel; to restrain It may be necessary to constrain the wild animal if it approaches the town. The student was constrained to remain in her seat until the teacher gave her permission to leave.

bode

(v.) to foretell something The storm bode that we would not reach our destination.

absolve

(v.) to forgive; to acquit The judge will absolve the person of all charges. After feuding for many years, the brothers absolved each other for the many arguments they had.

disentangle

(v.) to free from confusion We need to disentangle ourselves from the dizzying variety of choices.

exculpate

(v.) to free from guilt The therapy session will exculpate the man from his guilty feelings.

discomfit

(v.) to frustrate the expectations of The close game discomfited the number one player.

gerrymander

(v.) to gain advantage by manipulating unfairly To gerrymander during negotiations is considered unfair.

garner

(v.) to gather up and store; to collect The squirrels garnered nuts for the winter.

extol

(v.) to give great praise The father will extol the success of his son to everyone he meets.

waive

(v.) to give up; to put off until later; refrain from insisting on or using (a right or claim) I will waive my rights to have a lawyer present because I don't think I need one. As hard as he tried, he could only waive his responsibility for so long.

abscond

(v.) to go away hastily or secretly; to hide The newly wed couple will abscond from the reception to leave on the honeymoon.

wane

(v.) to gradually become less; decrease in vigor, power, or extent; become weaker After time, interest in the show will wane and it will no longer be as popular. The full moon waned until it was nothing but a sliver in the sky.

burgeon

(v.) to grow or develop quickly The tumor appeared to burgeon more quickly than normal. After the first punch was thrown, the dispute burgeoned into a brawl.

coalesce

(v.) to grow together The bride and groom coalesced their funds to increase their collateral. At the end of the conference the five groups coalesced in one room.

expedite

(v.) to hasten the action of; speed up something We can expedite the bank transaction if we tell them it is an emergency.

abhor

(v.) to hate By the way her jaw tensed when he walked in, it is easy to see that she abhors him. The dog abhorred cats, chasing and growling at them whenever he had the opportunity.

stymie

(v.) to hinder, obstruct or prevent the progress of Large amounts of snowfall will stymie the rescue effort.

encumber

(v.) to hold back; to hinder; to burden, load down; impede The review of the ethic's committee encumbered the deal from being finalized. A brace will encumber the girl's movement.

cower

(v.) to huddle and tremble The lost dog cowered near the tree. The tellers cowered in the corner as the bandit ransacked the bank.

inculcate

(v.) to impress upon the mind, as by insistent urging I will inculcate the directions if people are unsure of them.

embellish

(v.) to improve by adding details Adding beads to a garment will embellish it.

ameliorate

(v.) to improve or make better A consistent routine of exercise has shown to ameliorate health. We can ameliorate the flooding problem by changing the grading.

enhance

(v.) to improve; compliment; make more attractive The new fuel enhanced the performance of the rocket's engines.

extemporize

(v.) to improvise; to make it up as you go along It was necessary for the musician to extemporize when his music fell off the stand.

subsume

(v.) to include within a larger group The AFL was subsumed by the NFL in the 1960s.

augment

(v.) to increase or add to; to make larger They needed more soup so they augmented the recipe. They were able to augment their savings over a period of time.

wheedle

(v.) to influence or persuade The crook may attempt to wheedle the money from the bank. He tried hard to wheedle his father into buying him a car.

indemnify

(v.) to insure against or pay for loss or damage It is important to indemnify your valuables with a reliable insurance company.

litigate

(v.) to involve a lawsuit, sue A number of the state attorneys-general are litigating against the tobacco companies.

deride

(v.) to laugh at with contempt; to mock No matter what he said, he was derided. It is impolite to deride someone even if you dislike him.

alleviate

(v.) to lessen or make easier The airport's monorail alleviates vehicular traffic.

relinquish

(v.) to let go; abandon House Speaker Jim Wright had to relinquish his position after an ethics investigation undermined his authority.

abominate

(v.) to loathe; to hate Randall abominated all the traffic he encountered on every morning commute. Please do not abominate the guilty person until you hear the complete explanation.

dally

(v.) to loiter; to waste time Please do not dally or we will miss our appointment.

trek

(v.) to make a journey They had to trek through the dense forest to reach the nearest village.

elucidate

(v.) to make clear; to explain In the paper's conclusion, its purpose was elucidated in one sentence.

aggrandize

(v.) to make more powerful The king wanted to aggrandize himself and his kingdom.

fret

(v.) to make rough or disturb The pet will fret the floor if he continues to scratch.

obviate

(v.) to make unnecessary The invention of cars has obviated the use of horse and carriage. A cure for the common cold would obviate the need for shelf after shelf of cold remedies.

ratify

(v.) to make valid; confirm The Senate ratified the new law that would prohibit companies from discriminating according to race in their hiring practices. Hunters were called in to ratify the deer population.

enfeeble

(v.) to make weak; enervate The illness will enfeeble anyone who catches it.

temper

(v.) to moderate, serve as a neutralizing or counterbalancing force to (something), to bring to the proper condition by treatment She drew a hot bath, but then realized she'd have to temper it with a little cool water or end up scalded. The craftsman tempered the steel before being able to twist it to form a table leg.

oscillate

(v.) to move back and forth; to have a wavering opinion The oscillating sprinkler system covered the entire lawn. The couple often oscillates between going out and staying home.

skulk

(v.) to move secretly, implies sinister, keep out of sight The thief skulked around the neighborhood hoping to find his next target. They found the boy skulking in the bushes. The woman attempted to skulk away from cleaning the house by hiring a cleaning service.

lunge

(v.) to move suddenly The owl will lunge at its prey in order to take it off guard.

converge

(v.) to move toward one point (opposite: diverge) It was obvious that an accident was going to occur as the onlookers watched the two cars converge. The two roads converge at the corner.

pervade

(v.) to occupy the whole of The smell of garbage pervaded the abandoned home. Her perfume was so strong that it pervaded the whole room.

rationalize

(v.) to offer reasons for; account for on rational grounds His daughter attempted to rationalize why she had dropped out of college, but she could not give any good reasons.

codify

(v.) to organize laws or rules into a systematic collection The laws were codified by those whom they affected. The intern codified all the city's laws into a computerized filing system.

delineated

(v.) to outline; to describe She delineated her plan so that everyone would have a basic understanding of it.

condone

(v.) to overlook; to forgive; to permit The loving and forgiving mother condoned her son's life of crime I will condone your actions of negligence.

intercede

(v.) to plead on behalf of another; mediate The superpowers were called on to intercede in the talks between the two warring nations.

burnish

(v.) to polish by rubbing The vase needed to be burnished to restore its beauty.

depicts

(v.) to portray; describe The mural depicts the life of a typical urban dweller.

imprecate

(v.) to pray for evil; to invoke a curse A witch may imprecate an enemy with a curse of bad luck.

bemuse

(v.) to preoccupy in thought The girl was bemused by her troubles. He did not eat because he was bemused by his preparations for the math test

malinger

(v.) to pretend to be ill in order to escape work He willmalinger on Friday so he can go to the movies. The soldier will malinger to avoid fighting.

dissemble

(v.) to pretend; to feign; to conceal by pretense The man dissembled his assets shamelessly to avoid paying alimony. Agent 007 has a marvelous ability to dissemble his real intentions.

deter

(v.) to prevent; to discourage; hinder He deterred the rabbits by putting down garlic around the garden.

beget

(v.) to produce a child, engender; cause or produce The king wished to beget a new heir. According to Christians, Jesus is God's only begotten son.

desecrate

(v.) to profane; violate the sanctity of; damage and degrade The teenagers' attempt to desecrate the church disturbed the community.

betroth

(v.) to promise or pledge in marriage The man betrothed his daughter to the prince.

remonstrate

(v.) to protest or object to The population will remonstrate against the new taxes.

castigate

(v.) to punish through public criticism The mayor castigated the police chief for the rash of robberies.

chastise

(v.) to punish; discipline; admonish; castigate The dean chastised the first-year student for cheating on the exam.

amortize

(v.) to put money into a fund at fixed intervals The couple was able to amortize their mortgage sooner than they thought

execute

(v.) to put to death; kill; to carry out; fulfill The evil, murderous man was executed for killing several innocent children. I expected him to execute my orders immediately.

foray

(v.) to raid for spoils, plunder The soldiers were told not to foray the town.

gibber

(v.) to rapidly speak unintelligibly They did not want him to represent their position in front of the committee since he was prone to gibbering when speaking in front of an audience.

peruse

(v.) to read carefully; to study I want to peruse the agreement before signing it. A vast majority of time was spent perusing the possible solution to the dilemma.

savor

(v.) to receive pleasure from; to enjoy with appreciation; dwell on with delight After several months without a day off, she savored every minute of her week-long vacation.

deplete

(v.) to reduce; to empty, exhaust Having to pay the entire bill will deplete the family's savings.

allude

(v.) to refer indirectly to something The story alludes to part of the author's life. Without stating that the defendant was an ex-convict, the prosecutor alluded to the fact by mentioning his length of unemployment.

modulate

(v.) to regulate or adjust; to vary the pitch He modulated the color knob on the television set until the picture was perfect. A trained singer knows how to modulate her voice to the desired pitches.

abdicate

(v.) to reject, renounce, or abandon Due to his poor payment record, it may be necessary to abdicate our relationship with the client.

assuage

(v.) to relieve; ease; make less severe Medication should assuage the pain. The medication helped assuage the pain of the wound.

reiterate

(v.) to repeat again Rose found that she had to reiterate almost everything, leading her to fear her husband was going deaf. If you did not hear me the first time, I will reiterate the directions for you.

reprehend

(v.) to reprimand; to find fault with Finding the need to reprehend the student's actions, she gave her detention.

propagate

(v.) to reproduce or multiply Rabbits and gerbils are said to propagate quickly.

proliferate

(v.) to reproduce quickly Gerbils are known to proliferate quickly.

rend

(v.) to rip or pull from; to split with violence; to disturb with a sharp noise The kidnapper rent the newborn baby from the arms of its mother as she was leaving the hospital. A freakish water spout rent the fishing boat in half. Every morning, the 5:47 local out of New Brunswick rends the dawn's silence with its air horn.

appease

(v.) to satisfy; to calm A milk bottle usually appeases a crying baby.

disperse

(v.) to scatter; separate The pilots dispersed the food drops over a wide area of devastation. Tear gas was used to disperse the crowd.

lambaste

(v.) to scold or beat harshly, criticize harshly If the boy broke the lamp his father will surely lambaste him.

raze

(v.) to scrape or shave off; to obliterate or tear down completely The plow will raze the ice from the road surface. It must be time to give the cat a manicure; she razed my skin last night. They will raze the old Las Vegas hotel to make room for a $2.5 billion gambling palace.

rivet

(v.) to secure; to hold firmly, as in eyes We can rivet the boat to the dock. She could not look away from the morbid scene; she was riveted to it.

sequester

(v.) to separate or segregate The jury was sequestered at the local inn.

compromise

(v.) to settle by mutual adjustment Labor leaders and the automakers compromised by agreeing to a starting wage of $16 an hour in exchange for concessions on health-care premiums

whet

(v.) to sharpen by rubbing; to stimulate Before carving the turkey, you must whet the blade. The smell of cooking food has whet my appetite. The smell of dinner cooking whetted her appetite.

truncate

(v.) to shorten by cutting With the football game running over, the show scheduled to follow it had to be truncated.

abbreviate

(v.) to shorten; compress; diminish His vacation to Japan was abbreviated when he acquired an illness treatable only in the United States.

abridge

(v.) to shorten; to limit The editor abridged the story to make the book easier to digest.

commiserate

(v.) to show sympathy for The hurricane victims commiserated about the loss of their homes.

eschew

(v.) to shun; to avoid Eschew the traffic and you may arrive on time.

imbue

(v.) to soak or stain; permeate, to give The wound will imbue the shirt in blood. The new day imbued him with a sense of optimism.

macerate

(v.) to soften by steeping in liquid It was necessary to macerate the food before the elderly man could eat it. They placed her foot in the solvent to macerate the cement she had stepped in.

mollify

(v.) to soften; to make less intense We used our hands to mollify the sound of our giggling.

gainsay

(v.) to speak against; to contradict; to deny With Senator Bowker the only one to gainsay it, the bill passed overwhelmingly.

prevaricate

(v.) to speak equivocally or evasively, i.e., to lie The mayor's desperate attempt to prevaricate about the scandal was transparent to the voters. His mother knew no one else could have done it, but the child foolishly prevaricated about the stain on the rug.

rant

(v.) to speak in a loud, pompous manner; rave He disputed the bill with the shipper, ranting that he was dealing with thieves.

rhapsodize

(v.) to speak or write in a very enthusiastic manner Hearing the general rhapsodize about his time as a plebe sent a wave of recognition through the academy grads.

denounce

(v.) to speak out against; condemn A student rally was called to denounce the use of drugs on campus.

parley

(v.) to speak with another; to discourse I will parley the information to the appropriate person.

loiter

(v.) to spend time aimlessly Many teenagers loiter around the mall when there is nothing else to do.

sojourn

(v.) to stay temporarily The family will sojourn at their summer home. The guest remained only for a sojourn; she was going to leave in the afternoon.

galvanize

(v.) to stimulate as if by electric shock; startle; excite The pep rally will galvanize the team

provoke

(v.) to stir action or feeling; arouse By calling him names, he was provoking a fight.

desist

(v.) to stop or cease The judge ordered the man to desist from calling his ex-wife in the middle of the night.

stanch

(v.) to stop or restrict a flow of blood from a wound, staunch It is necessary to stanch the bleeding from the wound as soon as possible.

impede

(v.) to stop the progress of; obstruct The rain impeded the work on the building.

despoiled

(v.) to take everything; plunder The Huns despoiled village after village.

lacerate

(v.) to tear or mangle; to wound or hurt; cut Sharp knives may lacerate the skin of an unsuspecting user. Her rejection will lacerate my self-esteem.

tantalize

(v.) to tease; to torment; to tempt The desserts were tantalizing, but he was on a diet.

attenuate

(v.) to thin out; to weaken antonym: coagulate Water is commonly used to attenuate strong chemicals. The chemist attenuated the solution by adding water.

cogitate

(v.) to think hard; ponder; meditate It is necessary to cogitate on decisions which affect life goals. The room was quiet while every student cogitated during the calculus exam.

muse

(v.) to think or speak meditatively; ponder I expect I'll have to muse on that question for a while.

jettison

(v.) to throw overboard goods to lighten a vehicle; to discard To raise the balloon above the storm clouds, they had to jettison the sandbags used to weigh it down.

transmute

(v.) to transform Decorators transmute ordinary homes into interesting showcases.

coddle

(v.) to treat with tenderness A baby needs to be coddled.

encroach

(v.) to trespass or intrude It is unlawful to encroach on another's private property.

emulate

(v.) to try to equal or excel The neophyte teacher was hoping to emulate her mentor.

ossify

(v.) to turn to bone; to harden Over time, the plant matter has ossified. The tablet will ossify when left in the sun.

exhume

(v.) to unearth; to reveal The scientists exhumed the body from the grave to test the body's DNA. The next episode will exhume the real betrayer.

saunter

(v.) to walk at a leisurely pace; stroll The loving couple sauntered down the wooded path.

enervate

(v.) to weaken; to deprive of nerve or strength; enfeeble The sickness enervates its victims until they can no longer get out of bed.

scourge

(v.) to whip severely The trainer will scourge the animal if it attacks someone.

propitiate

(v.) to win the goodwill of If I try my best I will hopefully propitiate my new supervisor.

insinuate

(v.) to work into gradually and indirectly, suggest, hint He will insinuate his need for a vacation by saying how tired he has been lately.

collaborate

(v.) to work together; cooperate The two builders collaborated to get the house finished.

swathe

(v.) to wrap around something; envelop Soft blankets swathe the new born baby.

wither

(v.) wilt; shrivel; humiliate; cut down The plant withered slowly since it received little light and little water.

flinch

(v.) wince; drawback; retreat The older brother made his younger sister flinch when he jokingly tried to punch her arm.

chortle

(v., n.) to make a gleeful, chuckling sound The chortles emanating from the audience indicated it wouldn't be as tough a crowd as the stand-up comic had expected

bereft

(v.; adj.) to be deprived of; to be in a sad manner; hurt by someone's death The loss of his job will leave the man bereft of many luxuries. The widower was bereft for many years after his wife's death.

precipitate

(v.; adj.) to cause to happen; happening quickly A rude comment may precipitate an argument. The precipitating flood caught the village off- guard.

deliberate

(v.; adj.) to consider carefully; weigh in the mind; intentional The jury deliberated for three days before reaching a verdict. The brother's deliberate attempt to get his sibling blamed for his mistake was obvious to all.

manifest

(v.; adj.) to show clearly; to appear; obvious, clear The image should manifest itself as the building when the fog lifts. When the missing document suddenly manifested, the search for the person that buried it began. America's manifest destiny was to acquire all of the land between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

malign

(v.; adj.) to speak evil of; having an evil disposition toward others (opposite: benign) In her statement to the judge she maligned her soon-to-be ex-husband. She had such a malign personality that no one even tried to approach her, mostly out of fear.

articulate

(v.; adj.) to utter clearly and distinctly; clear, distinct; expressed with clarity; skillful with words It's even more important to articulate your words when you're on the phone. You didn't have to vote for him to agree that Adlai Stevenson was articulate. A salesperson must be articulate when speaking to a customer.

meander

(v.; adj.) wind, wander; winding, wandering aimlessly The stream meanders through the valley. Because we took a long, meandering walk, we arrived home well after dark. They meandered through the woods for the afternoon.

abandon

(v.; n) to leave behind; to give something up; freedom; enthusiasm; impetuosity After failing for several years, he abandoned his dream of starting a grocery business. Lucy embarked on her new adventure with abandon.

sanction

(v.; n.) a threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule, a blockade The government has sanctioned the meetings as a worthy cause. He did more than tolerate her actions, he sanctioned them. Before committing troops to war, the president wanted to give the sanctions a chance to work.

surfeit

(v.; n.) an excessive amount of something; plethora The teenagers were warned not to surfeit at the party. The result of her surfeit was a week of regret.

initiate

(v.; n.) begin; admit into a group; a person who is in the process of being admitted into a group He initiated the dinner discussion by asking his father to borrow the car. As an initiate to the Explorers, George was expected to have a taste for the outdoor life.

dither

(v.; n.) to act indecisively; a confused condition She dithered every time she had to make a decision. Having to take two tests in one day left the student in a dither.

allure

(v.; n.) to attract; entice; attraction; temptation; glamour The romantic young man allured the beautiful woman by preparing a wonderful dinner. Singapore's allure is its bustling economy.

implement

(v.; n.) to carry into effect; something used in a given activity In case of emergency implement the evacuation plan immediately. The rack is an implement of torture.

ferret

(v.; n.) to force out of hiding; to search for; a small, weasel-like mammal The police will ferret the fugitive out of his hiding place. I spent the morning ferreting for my keys I have a pet ferret.

burlesque

(v.; n.) to imitate in a non-serious manner; a comical imitation His stump speeches were so hackneyed, he seemed to be burlesquing of his role as a congressman. George Burns was considered one of the great practitioners of burlesque.

lament

(v.; n.) to mourn or grieve; expression of grief or sorrow The boy is lamenting the loss of his pet. Pedro's only lament was that his wife didn't outlive him.

demur

(v.; n.) to object; objection; misgiving She hated animals, so when the subject of buying a cat came up, she demurred. She said yes, but he detected a demur in her voice. She was nominated to sit on the committee, but she demurred. The council president called for a vote, and hearing no demur, asked for a count by the clerk.

advocate

(v.; n.) to plead in favor of; supporter; defender Amnesty International advocates the cause for human rights. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a great advocate of civil rights.

feint

(v.; n.) to pretend to throw a punch, as in boxing; a fake show intended to deceive The fighter feinted a left hook just before he went for the knockout.

spurn

(v.; n.) to push away; a strong rejection The woman spurned the advances of her suitor, saying she wasn't ready for a commitment. Unlucky enough to be the ninth telemarketer to call Jane that evening, he caught her spurn.

ken

(v.; n.) to recognize; one's knowledge or understanding It was difficult to ken exactly what she had in mind. My ken of the situation proved to be incorrect.

atrophy

(v.; n.) to waste away, as from lack of use; to wither; failure to grow A few months after he lost his ability to walk, his legs began to atrophy. The atrophy of the muscles was due to the injury.

gauche

adj.) awkward; lacking social grace Unfortunately, the girl was too gauche to fit into high society.

capricious

adj.) changeable; fickle The capricious bride-to-be has a different church in mind for her wedding every few days.

aloof

adj.) distant in interest; reserved; cool Even though the new coworker was aloof, we attempted to be friendly. The calm defendant remained aloof when he was wrongly accused of fabricating his story.

gullible

adj.) easily fooled Gullible people are vulnerable to practical jokes.

caustic

adj.) eating away at; sarcastic words The caustic chemicals are dangerous. The girl harmed her mother with her caustic remarks. His caustic sense of humor doesn't go over so well when people don't know what they're in for.

abjure

formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure The losing team may abjure to the team that is winning.

dais

n.) a raised platform at one end of a room The dais was lowered to make the speaker look taller.

elaboration

n.) act of clarifying; adding details The mayor called for an elaboration on the ordinance's first draft.

autocracy

n.) an absolute monarchy; government where one person holds power The autocracy was headed by a demanding man. She was extremely power-hungry and therefore wanted her government to be an autocracy.

curmudgeon

n.) an ill-tempered person The curmudgeon asked the children not to play near the house.

cant

n.) insincere or hypocritical statements of high ideals; the jargon of a particular group or occupations The theater majors had difficulty understanding the cant of the computer scientists. The remarks by the doctor were cant and meant only for his associates

ellipsis

n.) omission (leave out) of words that would make the meaning clear The accidental ellipsis confused all those who heard the speech.

peremptory

peremptory (adj.) barring future action; early action taken to prevent a situation from getting worse. The peremptory means of defense was satisfactory to keep out the intruders. The wildcat strike was a peremptory move on the part of the workers.

pommel

pommel (n.) the rounded, upward-projecting front of a saddle The woman was so nervous about being on the horse she would not let go of the pommel.

cache

stockpile; store; heap; hiding place for goods The town kept a cache of salt on hand to melt winter's snow off the roads. Extra food is kept in the cache under the pantry. The cache for his jewelry was hidden under the bed.

eradication

the act of annihilating, destroying, or erasing Some have theorized that the eradication of the dinosaurs was due to a radical change in climate.

cajole

v.) to coax with insincere talk To cajole the disgruntled employee, the manager coaxed him with lies and sweet talk. The salesman will cajole the couple into buying the stereo.

enfranchise

v.) to free from obligation; to admit to citizenship The player was enfranchised when the deal was called off. The recent immigrants were enfranchised when they took their oath to their new country.

batten

v.) to gain The team could only batten by drafting the top player.

debase

v.) to make lower in quality The French are concerned that "Franglais," a blending of English and French, will debase their language.

belittle

v.) to make small; to think lightly of The unsympathetic friend belittled her friend's problems and spoke of her own as the most important.

amalgamate

v.) to mix, merge, combine If the economy does not grow, the business may need to amalgamate with a rival company. The three presidents decided to amalgamate their businesses to build one strong company.

fathom

v.; n.) to understand; a nautical unit of depth It was difficult to fathom the reason for closing the institution. The submarine cruised at 17 fathoms below the surface.