Vocab

Wrought

made or done in a careful or decorative way The new album contains some carefully wrought new songs and a number of familiar hits. Her poems are well-wrought and intensely personal.

Languid

moving or speaking slowly with little energy They appear languid and bored by the accusations. a languid manner/voice

Inordinate

much more than usual or expected; excessive Margot has always spent an inordinate amount of time on her appearance.

Integral

necessary and important as a part of a whole

Indelible

not able to be forgotten or removed

Ineffectual

not able to produce good results The teachers were ineffectual at maintaining discipline. Both the 1925 and 1927 resolutions were largely ineffectual, however.

Dormant

not active or growing now, but having the ability to become active in the future

Fanciful

not realistic He has some fanciful notion about converting one room of his apartment into a gallery. Fanciful ideas/notions.

Downtrodden

oppressed/treated badly by people in power

Seminal

original, ground-breaking He played a seminal role in the formation of the association.

Inundated

overwhelm (someone) with things/people to be dealt with We have been inundated with requests for help. After appearing on TV they were inundated with telephone calls for a week.

Veiled

partially conceal, disguise, or obscure He took the comment as a veiled threat. a veiled reference/warning

Disabuse

persuade (someone) that an idea or belief is mistaken He thought that all women liked children, but she soon disabuse him of that (idea/notion).

Amiable

pleasant and friendly He seemed an ________ young man.

Curt

rudely brief He sent a curt, one-sentence letter of resignation to the mayor.

Caustic

scathing sarcasm The players were making caustic comments about the refereeing. a caustic remark

Intersperse

scatter among or between other things; place here and there Framed pictures of her children were interspersed among the books in the bookcase.

Nestle

settle or lie comfortably within or against something

Audacious

showing a willingness to take bold risks The car maker's audacious goal is to compete with the luxury cars of other manufacturers.

Irresolute

showing or feeling hesitancy She stood irresolute outside his door.

Deft

skillful, clever, or quick He's very deft at handling awkward situations. She answered the journalist's questions with a deft touch.

Palpable

so obvious that it can easily be seen or known Her joy was palpable. The tension in the room was palpable during the exam.

Blight

something that spoils or destroys or causes damage

Alacrity

speed and eagerness she accepted the invitation with alacrity She accepted the money with alacrity. He invited us all to visit, and we agreed with alacrity.

Propagate

spread and promote (an idea, theory, etc.) widely

Apposite

suitable and right for the occasion An apposite quotation/phrase/remark. The film starts in a graveyard, an apposite image for the decaying society which is the theme of the film.

Nonplussed

surprised, confused, and not certain how to react I was completely nonplussed by his reply. The aggressive questioning at the job interview left her nonplussed.

Brinkmanship

the activity, especially in politics, of trying to get what you want by saying that if you do not get it, you will do something dangerous The talks have collapsed and both sides have resorted to _________________.

The Crux

the most important or serious part of something The crux of the matter is that most people just don't vote. The crux of the country's economic problems is its foreign debt.

Candor

the quality of being open and honest in expression; frankness While I appreciate your ____________, I don't think we need to be friends anymore

Adjudicate

to act as judge in a competition or argument, or to make a formal decision about something He has _______ed many labor disputes.

Ostentatious

to attract attention or admiration, often by showing money or power They criticized the ostentatious lifestyle of their leaders. Although extremely wealthy, Simon and his family were never ostentatious. That first house was horribly ostentatious. She waved her hand about, ostentatiously displaying her large diamond ring.

Shirk

to avoid work or a duty

Bode

to be a sign of (a future event or situation) This does not bode well for the future of the peace process. Turnout shifts in Alabama bode well for Democrats.

Teem (with something)

to be full, overflowing; full of people a river teeming with trout Belmont Avenue teems with activity on a typical weekday.

Abate

to become less strong Our desire for consumer goods has not abated. The storm/wind/rain has started to abate. The fighting in the area shows no sign of abating.

Coalesce

to combine into a single group or thing The puddles had coalesced into shallow streams

Castigate

to criticize someone or something severely Health inspectors ___________ed the kitchen staff for not keeping the place clean.

Spearhead

to lead something such as an attack or a course of action Joe will spearhead our new marketing campaign.

Abridge

to make a written text shorter by removing information that is not important The book was abridged for children.

Disconcert

to make someone feel suddenly uncertain and worried

Mitigate

to make something less harmful, unpleasant, or bad Getting a lot of sleep and drinking plenty of fluids can ___________ the effects of the flu.

Assuage

to make unpleasant feelings less strong The government has tried to assuage the public's fears.

Laud

to praise The German leadership lauded the Russian initiative. Recycling is a laudable activity. Patients speak of Dr. Goertzen in laudatory terms.

Extol

to praise highly They are extolled as public benefactors and national heroes. His book extolling the benefits of vegetarianism sold thousands of copies.

Venture

to risk going somewhere or doing something that might be dangerous or unpleasant He wanted to _______ into the mountainous wilderness of the countryside.

Retract

to say that something you said or wrote is wrong He retracted his allegations

Strew

to scatter things over a surface The park was _______n with litter after the concert. a small room with newspapers _____n all over the floor

Discern

to see, recognize, or understand something that is not clear It is difficult to discern any pattern in these figures. He could discern the note of urgency in their voices. Because of this, I must exercise great discernment.

Stave off

to stop something bad from happening, or to keep an unwanted situation or person away, usually temporarily A diet rich in protein, fat and fiber will help stave off hunger. The airline is pushing ahead with its own restructuring plan in an attempt to stave off bankruptcy.

Tide Someone Over

to supply someone for a short time with something that is lacking

Exploit

to use something, often unfairly, for your own advantage Laws exist to stop companies exploiting their employees.

Brandish

to wave something in the air in a threatening or excited way

Adroit

very skillful and quick in the way you think or move She became adroit at dealing with difficult questions/people. She adroitly avoided the question. He lacks social adroitness, or any kind of personal magnetism. an adroit reaction/answer

Tempestuous

violently emotional They finally stopped seeing each other, ending their tempestuous relationship.

Dawdle

waste time; be slow

Irrevocable

​impossible to ​change The court's ruling is irrevocable.

Lull

calm or send to sleep The motion of the car almost lulled her to sleep.

Unflappable

calmness in a crisis I prided myself on being unflappable even in the most chaotic circumstances.

Render

cause to be or become; make

Perpetual

continuing forever, or happening all the time They lived in perpetual fear of being discovered. She is perpetually late. Wildlife areas have to be maintained in perpetuity.

Counterintuitive

contrary to intuition or to common-sense expectation (but often nevertheless true). It may sound counterintuitive, but researchers said it is more efficient if nobody walks on the escalator.

Gravitas

dignity You might try to speak with gravitas, but no one will take you seriously if you're wearing clown makeup and giant floppy shoes.

Unrest

disagreements or fighting between groups of people

Mendacious

dishonest Some of these statements are mendacious.

Deign

do something that one considers to be beneath one's dignity Nobody has deigned to make even a suggestion. At last, Harper deigned to speak. Mr. Clinton did not deign to reply.

Dutiful

doing everything that you should do a dutiful son/husband The inspector dutifully recorded the date in a large red book.

Overt

done or shown obviously or publicly; not hidden or secret There are no overt signs of damage. He never overtly expressed his feelings about the issue. overt racism

Ensconced

establish or settle (someone) in a comfortable, safe, or secret place He was ensconced in a large armchair in his warm living room. Agnes ensconced herself in their bedroom. After dinner, I ensconced myself in an armchair with a book.

Adulate

excessive admiration or praise The boxer was convicted of rape, and yet is still adulated by many. The Mother Teresa article is adulatory. (adj.) He couldn't deal with the adulation of his fans. (n.)

Vociferous

expressing feelings or opinions in a very loud or forceful way A vociferous opponent of gay rights, he is well-known for his right-wing views. He protested vociferously, but to no avail.

Parched

extremely dry; very thirsty

Revolting

extremely unpleasant There was a revolting smell that lingered in the air.

Fraught (with)

full of unpleasant things such as problems or dangers The negotiations have been fraught with difficulties/problems right from the start.

Covert

hidden or secret The government was accused of covert military operations against the regime.

Unquantifiable

impossible to express/measure in terms of quantity The reasons for these changes are unqantifiable.

Callous

insensitive and cruel disregard for others As callous as it may sound, trying to help some students is a waste of time.

Sedentary

involving little exercise or physical activity

Irreverent

lacking the expected respect for official, important, or holy things

Palatial

large and highly decorated; like a palace They lived in a palatial apartment.

Resolute

(adj.) admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering

Nebulous

(esp. of ideas) unclear and lacking form; vague She has a few nebulous ideas about what she might want to do in the future, but nothing definite.

Dowdy

(especially of clothes or the person wearing them) not attractive or fashionable a dowdy skirt She looked dowdy and plain.

Adherent

(n.) Someone who strongly supports something She has been an adherent of home schooling for years. This idea is gaining adherents.

Ponderous

1) slow and awkward because of being very heavy or large 2) too slow, long, or serious He had a slow and ponderous manner.

Watershed

an event or period that is important because it represents a big change in how people do or think about something

Delineate

To describe accurately The law should delineate and prohibit behavior which is socially abhorrent. The constitution carefully delineates the duties of the treasurer's office.

Transcend

To go beyond or rise above a limit, or be greater than something ordinary. The best films are those which transcend national or cultural barriers. He describes seeing Pelé play football as one of the transcendent moments of his life.

Ostensible

appearing or claiming to be one thing when it is really something else The delay may have a deeper cause than the ostensible reason. Their ostensible goal was to clean up government corruption, but their real aim was to unseat the government. He shut down the office, ostensibly out of concern for his staff's safety. Kerry had been ostensibly phoning to offer advice, but he blurted out what was really on his mind.

Temerity

audacity She had the temerity to call me a liar. "Difficult" patients have the temerity to challenge their doctors' decisions.

Sullen

bad-tempered and sulky His daughters stared back at him with an expression of sullen resentment

Err

be mistaken or incorrect It's preferable to err on the side of caution (= to be too careful) rather than risk disaster. the judge had erred in ruling that the evidence was inadmissible

Embark

begin (a course of action, especially one that is important or demanding)

Peerless

better than all others ___________ beauty/cartoonist As an athlete he is _______. The show's enduring success was a testimony to the __________ talents of its ensemble cast

Malaise

a general feeling of bad health or lack of energy Many think there's a growing moral ______ in society. We were discussing the roots of the current economic ___________.

Deluge (of)

a lot of something The newspaper received a deluge of complaints about the article.

Respite

a pause/rest from something difficult/unpleasant We worked for hours without ___________ the refugee encampments will provide some respite from the suffering

Paragon

a person/thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality

Foible

a small fault or foolish habit

Axiom

a statement or principle that is generally accepted to be true