Barron w/ Usage Set 2
wary
very cautious. The spies grew wary as they approached the sentry.
oscillate
vibrate pendulumlike; waver It is interesting to note how public opinion oscillates between the extremes of optimism and pessimism.
onslaught
vicious assault We suffered many casualties during unexpected onslaght of the enemy troops.
profane
violate; desecrate Tourists are urged not to profane the sanctity of holy places by wearing improper garb.
peripatetic
walking about; moving The peripatetic school of philosophy derives its name from the fact that Aristotle walked with his pupils while discussing philosophy with them.
welter
wallow. At the height of the battle, the casualties were so numerous that the victims weltered in their blood while waiting for medical attention.
ramble
wander aimlessly (physically or mentally) Listening to the teacher ramble, Judy wondered whether he'd ever get to his point.
vagabond
wanderer; tramp In summer, college students wander the roads of Europe like carefree vagabonds.
migratory
wandering The return of the migratory birds to the northern sections of this country is a harbinger of spring.
parry
ward off a blow He was content to wage a defensive battle and tried to parry his opponent's thrusts.
vigilance
watchfulness Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.
vacillate
waver; fluctuate Uncertain which suitor she ought to marry, the princess vacillated, saying now one, now the other.
ponderous
weighty; unwieldy His humor lacked the light touch; his jokes were always ponderous.
sinecure
well-paid position with little responsibility My job is no sinecure; I work long hours and have much responsibility.
vintner
winemaker; seller of wine The poet wondered what the vintners could buy that would be half as precious as the wine they sold.
verbose
wordy This article is too verbose; we must edit it.
opus
work Although many critics hailed his Fifth Symphony, he did not regard it as his major opus.
militate
work against Your record of lateness and absence will militate against your chances of promotion.
mundane
worldly as opposed to spiritual He was concerned only with mundane matters, especially the daily stock market quotations.
sallow
yellowish; sickly in color We were disturbed by his sallow complexion, which was due to jaundice.
succumb
yield; give in; die I succumb to temptation whenever it comes my way.
submissive
yielding; timid Crushed by his authoritarian father, Will had no defiance left in him; he was totally submissive in the face of authority.
motility
ability to move spontaneously Certain organisms exhibit remarkable motility; motile spores, for example, may travel for miles before coming to rest.
tangible
able to be touched; real; palpable Although Tom did not own a house, he had several tangible assets--a car, a television, a PC--that he could sell if he needed cash.
solvent
able to pay all debts By dint of very frugal living, he was finally able to become solvent and avoid bankruptcy proceedings.
quiescent
at rest; dormant After this geyser erupts, it will remain quiescent for twenty-four hours.
relegate
banish; consign to inferior position If we relegate these experts to minor posts because of their political persuasions, we shall lose their valuable services.
stint
be thrifty; set limits "Spare no expense," the bride's father said, refusing to stint on the wedding arrangements.
novice
beginner Even a novice can do good work if he follows these simple directions.
partial
biased; having a liking for something I am extremely partial to chocolate eclairs.
vendetta
blood feud The rival mobs engaged in a bitter vendetta.
tranquillity
calmness; peace After the commotion and excitement of the city, I appreciate the tranquillity of these fields and forests.
serenity
calmness; placidity The serenity of the sleepy town was shattered by a tremendous explosion.
rescind
cancel Because of public resentment, the king had to rescind his order.
revoke
cancel; retract Repeat offenders who continue to drive under the influence of alcohol face having their driver's licenses permanently revoked.
outspoken
candid; blunt The candidate was too outspoken to be a successful politician; he had not yet learned to weigh his words carefully.
taper
candle He lit the taper on the windowsill.
prehensile
capable of grasping or holding Monkeys use not only their arms and legs but also their prehensile tails in traveling through the trees.
viable
capable of maintaining life; practicable; workable The infant, though prematurely born, is viable and has a good chance to survive.
vagary
caprice; whim She followed every vagary of fashion.
plenary
complete; full The union leader was given plenary power to negotiate a new contract with the employers.
narcissist
conceited person A narcissist is his own best friend.
smirk
conceited smile Wipe that smirk off your face!
olfactory
concerning the sense of smell The olfactory organ is the nose.
muddle
confuse; mix up His thoughts were muddled and chaotic.
obfuscate
confuse; muddle Do not obfuscate the issues by dragging in irrelevant arguments.
profound
deep; not superficial; complete Freud's remarkable insights into human behavior caused his fellow scientists to honor him as a profound thinker.
sacrilegious
desecrating; profane His stealing of the altar cloth was a very sacrilegious act.
resolution
determination Nothing could shake his resolution to succeed despite all difficulties.
resolve
determination Nothing could shake his resolve that his children would get the best education that money could buy.
subsidy
direct financial aid by government, etc. Without this subsidy, American ship operators would not be able to compete in world markets.
squalid
dirty; neglected; poor It is easy to see how crime can breed in such a squalid neighborhood.
refute
disprove The defense called several respectable witnesses who were able to refute the false testimony of the prosecution's only witness.
skeptic
doubter; person who suspends judgment until he has examined the evidence supporting a point of view. In this matter, I am a skeptic; I want proof.
rapport
emotional closeness; harmony In team teaching, it is important that all teachers in the group have good rapport with one another.
plethora
excess; overabundance She offered a plethora of excuses for her shortcomings.
superfluous
excessive; overabundant, unnecessary Please try not to include so many superfluous details in your report; just give me the bare facts.
potential
expressing possibility; latent The juvenile delinquent is a potential murderer.
voluble
fluent; glib She was a voluble speaker, always ready to talk.
noisome
foul smelling; unwholesome I never could stand the noisome atmosphere surrounding the slaughter houses.
malodorous
foul-smelling The component heap was most malodorous in summer.
putrid
foul; rotten; decayed The gangrenous condition of the wound was indicated by the putrid smell when the bandages were removed.
quadruped
four-footed animal Most mammals are quadrupeds.
scruple
fret about; hesitate, for ethical reasons Fearing that her husband had become involved in an affair, she did not scruple to read his diary.
outskirts
fringes; outer borders Living outskirts of Boston, Sarah sometimes felt as if she were cut off from the cultural heart of the city.
porous
full of pores; like a sieve Dancers like to wear porous clothing because it allows the ready passage of water and air.
obsequy
funeral ceremony Hundreads paid their last respects at his obsequies.
serendipity
gift for finding valuable or desirable things by accident; accidental good fortune or luck Many scientific discoveries are a matter of serendipity: Newton was not sitting there thinking about gravity when the apple dropped on his head.
mammoth
gigantic The mammoth corporations of the twentieth century are a mixed blessing
vouchsafe
grant condescendingly; guarantee I can safely vouchsafe you fair return on your investment.
pall
grow tiresome The study of word lists can eventually pall and put one to sleep.
pendulous
hanging; suspended The pendulous chandeliers swayed in the breeze as if they were about to fall from the ceiling.
slapdash
haphazard; careless; sloppy From the number of typos and misspellings I've found on it, it's clear that Mario proofread the report in a remarkably slapdash fashion.
privation
hardship; want In his youth, he knew hunger and privation.
perspicacious
having insight; penetrating; astute The brillant lawyer was known for his perspicacious deductions.
musky
having the odor of musk She left a trace of musky perfume behind her.
nascent
incipient; coming into being If we could identify these revolutionary movements in their nascent state, we would be able to eliminate serious trouble in later years.
partiality
inclination; bias As a judge, not only must I be unbiased, but I must also avoid any evidence of partiality when I award the prize.
prevail
induce; triumph over He tried to prevail on her to type his essays for him.
missive
letter The ambassador received a missive from the Secretary of State.
unfettered
liberated; freed from chains Chained to the wall for months on end, the hostage despaired that he would ever be unfettered.
prevaricate
lie Some people believe that to prevaricate in a good cause is justifiable and regard the statement as a "white lie."
vernacular
living language; natural style Cut out those old-fashioned "thee's" and "thou's" and write in the vernacular.
repugnance
loathing She looked at the snake with repugnance.
yen
longing; urge. She had a yen to get away and live on her own for a while.
retrospective
looking back on the past It is only when we become retrospective that we can appreciate the tremendous advances made during this century.
nadir
lowest point Although few people realized it, the Dow-Jones averages had reached their nadir and would soon begin an upward surge.
steadfast
loyal; unswerving Penelope was steadfast in her affections, faithfully waiting for Ulysses to return from his wanderings.
tepid
lukewarm During the summer, I like to take a tepid bath, not a hot one.
monumental
massive Writing a dictionary is a monumental task.
scanty
meager; insufficient Thinking his helping of food was scanty, Oliver Twist asked for more.
niggardly
meanly stingy; parsimonious The niggardly pittance the widow receives from the government cannot keep her from poverty.
sustenance
means of support, food, nourishment In the tropics, the natives find sustenance easy to obtain because of all the fruit trees.
rendezvous
meeting place The two fleets met at the rendezvous at the appointed time.
mausoleum
monumental tomb His body was placed in the family mausolem.
optimum
most favorable If you wait for the optimum moment to act, you may never begin your project .
sacrosanct
most sacred; inviolable The brash insurance salesman invaded the sacrosanct privacy of the office of the president of the company.
mobile
movable; not fixed The mobile blood bank operated by the Red Cross visited our neighborhood today.
scurry
move briskly The White Rabbit had to scurry to get to his appointment on time.
skulk
move furtively and secretly He skulked through the less fashionable sections of the city in order to avoid meeting any of his former friends.
lumber
move heavily of clumsily Still somewhat torpid after its long hibernation, the bear lumbered through the woods.
undulate
move with a wavelike motion The flag undulated in the breeze.
whinny
neigh like a horse. When he laughed through his nose, it sounded as if he whinnied.
patrician
noble; aristocratic We greatly admired her well-bred, patrician elegance
passive
not active; acted upon Mahatma Gandhi urged his followers to pursue a program of passive resistance as he felt that it was more effective than violence and acts of terrorism.
nurture
nourish; educate; foster The head Start program attempts to nurture prekindergarten children so that they will do well when they enter public school.
nutrient
nourishing substance As a budding nutritionist, Kim has learned to design diets that contain foods rich in important basic nutrients.
phenomena
observable facts; subjects of scientific investigation We kept careful records of the phenomena we noted in the course of these experiments.
tender
offer; extend Although no formal changes had been made against him, in the wake of the recent scandal the mayor felt he should tender his resignation.
unctous
oily; bland; insincerely suave Uriah Heep disguised his nefarious actions by unctuous protestations of his "'umility."
unguent
ointment Apply this unguent to the sore muscles before retiring.
senility
old age; feeble mindedness of old age Most of the decisions are being made by the junior members of the company because of the senility of the president.
passe
old-fashioned; past the prime Her style is passe and reminiscent of the Victorian era.
pacifist
one opposed to force; antimilitarist The pacifists urged that we reduce our military budget and recall our troops stationed overseas.
saboteur
one who commits sabotage; destroyer of property Members of the Resistance acted as saboteurs, blowing up train lines to prevent supplies from reaching the Nazi army.
malingerer
one who feigns illness to escape duty The captain ordered the sergeant to punish all malingerers and force them to work.
optometrist
one who fits glasses to remedy visual defects Although an optometrist is qualified to treat many eye disorders, she may not use medicinesor surgery in her examinations.
misanthrope
one who hates mankind We thought the hermit was a miantrope because he shunned our society.
unilateral
one-sided This legislation is unilateral since it binds only one party in the controversy.
partisan
one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party On certain issues of conscience, she refused to take a partisan stand.
seep
ooze; trickle During the rainstorm, water seeped through the crack in the basement wall and damaged the floor boards.
patent
open for the public to read; obvious It was patent to everyone that the witness spoke the truth.
overt
open to view According to the United States Constitution, a person must commit an overt act before he may be tried for treason.
mediocre
ordinary; commonplace We were disappointed because he gave a rather mediocre performance in this role.
pedestrian
ordinary; unimaginative Unintentionally boring, he wrote page after page of pedestrian prose.
provenance
origin or source of something I am not interested in its provenance; I am more concerned with its usefulness than with its source.
prototype
original work used as a model by others The crude typewriter on display in this museum is the prototype of the elaborate machines in use today.
proscribe
ostracize; banish; outlaw Antony, Octavius and Lepidus proscribed all those who had conspired against Julius Caesar.
upshot
outcome The upshot of the rematch was that the former champion proved that he still possessed all the skills of his youth.
travail
painful labor How long do you think a man can endure such travail and degradation without rebelling?
tract
pamphlet; a region of indefinite size The King granted William Penn a tract of land in the New World.
whittle
pare; cut off bits. As a present for Aunt Polly, Tom whittled some clothespins out of a chunk of wood.
penumbra
partial shadow (in an eclipse) During an eclipse, we can see an area of total darkness and a lighter area, which is the penumbra.
translucent
partly transparent We could not recognize the people in the next room because of the translucent curtains that separated us.
trajectory
path taken by a projectile The police tried to locate the spot from which the assassin had fired the fatal shot by tracing the trajectory of the bullet.
resignation
patient submissiveness; statement that one is quitting a job If Bob Cratchit had not accepted Scrooge's bullying with timid resignation, he might have gotten up the nerve to hand in his resignation.
stipend
pay for services There is a nominal stipend for this position.
placid
peaceful; calm After his vacation in this placid section, he felt soothed and rested.
pinnacle
peak We could see the morning sunlight illuminate the pinnacle while the rest of the mountain lay in shadow.
stickler
perfectionist; person who insists things be exactly right The Internal Revenue Service agent was a stickler for accuracy; no approximations or rough estimates would satisfy him.
tangential
peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing Despite Clark's attempts to distract her with tangential remarks, Lois kept on coming back to her main question: why couldn't he come out to dinner with Superman and her?
transparent
permitting to light to pass through freely; easily detected Your scheme is so transparent that it will fool no one.
problematic
perplexing; unsettled: questionable Given the many areas of conflict still awaiting resolution, the outcome of the peace talks remains problematic.
poseur
person who pretends to be sophisticated, elegant, etc., to impress others Some thought Dali was a brillant painter; others dismissed him as a poseur.
thermal
pertaining to heat The natives discovered that the host springs gave excellent thermal baths and began to develop their community as a health resort.
mnemonic
pertaining to memory He used mnemonic tricks to master new words.
monetary
pertaining to money Jane held the family purse strings: she made all monetary decisions affecting the household.
vernal
pertaining to spring We may expect vernal showers all during the month of April.
sartorial
pertaining to tailors He was as famous for the sartorial splendor of his attire as he was for his acting.
metallurgical
pertaining to the art of removing metals from ores During the course of his metallurgical research, the scientist developed a steel alloy of tremendous strength.
sylvan
pertaining to the woods; rustic His paintings of nymphs in sylvan backgrounds were criticized as oversentimental.
relevant
pertinent; referring to the case in hand Teri was impressed by how relevant Virginia Woolf's remarks were to her as a woman writer; it was as if Woolf had been writing with Teri's situation in mind.
minutiae
petty details She would have liked to ignore the minutiae of daily living.
topography
physical features of a region Before the generals gave the order to attack, they ordered a complete study of the topography of the region.
pediatrician
physician specializing in children's diseases. The family doctor advised the parents to consult a pediatrician about their child's ailment.
oculist
physician who specialized in treatment of the eyes In many states, an oculist is the only one who may apply medicinal drops to the eyes for the purpose of examining them.
troth
pledge of good faith especially in betrothal He gave her his troth and vowed to cherish her always.
pillage
plunder The enemy pillaged the quiet village and left it in ruins.
muse
ponder For a moment he mused about the beauty of the scene, but his thought soon changed as he recalled his own personal problems.
tentative
provisional; experimental Your tentative plans sound plausible; let me know when the final details are worked out.
narrative
related to telling a story A born teller of tales, Olsen used her impressive narrative skills to advantage in her story "I Stand Here Ironing."
thematic
relating to a unifying motif or idea Those who think of Moby Dick as a simple adventure story about whaling miss is underlying thematic import.
schematic
relating to an outline or diagram; using a system of symbols In working out the solution to an analytical logic question, you may find it helpful to construct a simple schematic diagram illustrating the relationships between the items of information given in the question.
spatial
relating to space It is difficult to visualize the spatial extent of our universe.
penitent
repentant When he realized the enormity of his crime, he became remorseful and penitent.
rote
repetition He recited the passage by rote and gave no indication he understood what he was saying.
supplant
replace; usurp Corazon Aquino supplanted Ferdinand Marcos as president of the Philippines.
odium
repugnance; dislike I cannot express the odium I feel at your heinous actions.
solicit
request earnestly; seek Knowing she needed to have a solid majority for the budget to pass, the mayor telephoned all the members of the city council to solicit their votes.
restive
restlessly impatient; obstinately resisting control Waiting impatiently in the line to see Santa Claus, even the best-behaved children grow restive and start to fidget.
vindictive
revengeful She was very vindictive and never forgave an injury.
nemesis
revenging agent Captain Bligh vowed to be Christian's nemesis.
venerate
revere In China, the people venerate their ancestors.
resurgent
rising again after defeat, etc. The resurgent nation surprised everyone by its quick recovery after total defeat.
paucity
scarcity They closed the restaurant because the paucity of customers made it uneconomical to operate.
seminary
school for training future ministers; secondary school, especially for young women Sure of his priestly vocation, Terrence planned to pursue his theological training at the local Roman Catholic seminary.
primogeniture
seniority by birth By virtue of primogeniture, in some cultures the first-born child has many privileges denied his brothers and sisters.
touchy
sensitive; irascible Do not discuss this phase of the problem as he is very touchy about it.
sentinel
sentry; lookout Though camped in enemy territory, Bledsoe ignored the elementary precaution of posting sentinels around the encampment.
sunder
separate; part Northern and southern Ireland are politically and religiously sundered.
toady
servile flatterer; yes man Never tell the boss anything he doesn't wish to hear: he doesn't want an independent adviser, he just wants a toady.
premonitory
serving to warn You should have visited a doctor as soon as you felt these premonitory chest pains.
trigger
set off John is touchy today; say one word wrong and you'll trigger an explosion.
ordeal
severe trial or affliction Terry Anderson spoke movingly of his long ordeal as a hostage in Lebanon.
rigor
severity Many settlers could not stand the rigors of the New England winters.
mangy
shabby; wretched We finally thew out the mangy rug that the dog had destroyed.
nuance
shade of difference in meaning or color The unskilled eye of the layperson has difficulty in dicerning the nuances of color in the paintings.
pedantic
showing off learning; bookish Leaving his decisions with humorous, down-to-earth anecdotes, Judge Walker was not at all pedantic legal scholar.
ostentatious
showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention Trump's latest casino in Atlantic City is the most ostentatious gambling place in the East: it easily outglitters its competitors.
scintilla
shred; least bit You have not produced a scintilla of evidence to support your argument.
spangle
small metallic piece sewn to clothing for ornamentation The thousands of spangles on her dress sparkled in the glare of the stage lights.
vent
small opening; outlet The wine did not flow because the air vent in the barrel was clogged.
supererogatory
superfluous; more than needed or demanded We have more than enough witnesses to corroborate your statement; to present any more would be supererogatory.
preponderance
superiority of power, quantity, etc. The rebels sought to overcome the preponderance of strength of the government forces by engaging in guerrilla tactics.
overhaul
thoroughly examine the condition of and repair if necessary It is necessary for the engineers of NASA to overhaul the rocket everyday; otherwise, an incident similar to that of Challenger accident might happen.
trident
three-pronged spear Neptune is usually depicted as rising from the sea, carrying his trident on his shoulder.
pulsate
throb We could see the blood vessels in his temple pulsate as he became more angry.
palpitate
throb; flutter As he became excited, his heart began to palpitate more and more erratically.
precipitate
throw headlong; hasten The removal of American political support appeared to have precipitated the downfall of the Marcos regime.
titillate
tickle I am here not to titillate my audience but to enlighten it.
stigma
token of disgrace; brand I do not attach any stigma to the fact that you were accused of this crime; the fact that you were acquitted clears you completely.
quisling
traitor who aids invaders In his conquest of Europe, Hitler was aided by the quislings who betrayed their own people and served in the puppet governments established by the Nazis.
quietude
tranquillity He was impressed by the air of quietude and peace that pervaded the valley.
pellucid
transparent; limpid; easy to understand After reading these stodgy philosophers, I find his pellucid style very enjoyable.
trek
travel; journey The tribe made their trek further north that summer in search of game.
perifidious
treacherous; disloyal When Caesar realized that Brutus had betrayed him, he reproached his perfidious friend.
tremor
trembling; slight quiver She had a nervous tremor in her right hand.
tremulous
trembling; wavering She was tremulous more from excitement than from fear.
ruse
trick; stratagem You will not be able to fool your friends with such an obvious ruse.
superficial
trivial; shallow Since your report gave only a superficial analysis of the problem, I cannot give you more than a passing grade.
petty
trivial; unimportant; very small She had no major complaints to make about his work, only a few petty quibbles that were almost too minor to state.
pest
troublesome or annoying person He was a pest; always bothering people.
veracity
truthfulness Trying to prove Hill a liar, Senator Spector repeatedly questioned her veracity.
precarious
uncertain; risky I think this stock is a precarious investment and advise against its purchase.
untoward
unfortunate; annoying Untoward circumstances prevent me from being with you on this festive occasion.
singular
unique; extraordinary; odd Though the young man tried to understand Father William's singular behavior, he still found it odd that the old man incessantly stood on his head.
lumen
unit of light energy (one candle's worth) In buying light bulbs, she checked not only their power, as measured in watts, but their brightness, as measured in lumens.
unison
unity of pitch; complete accord The choir sang in unison.
omnipresent
universally present; ubiquitous On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus is omnipotent.
unwarranted
unjustified; groundless; undeserved We could not understand Martin's unwarranted rudeness to his mother's guests.
mirage
unreal reflection; optical illusion The lost prospector was fooled by a mirage in the desert.
studied
unspontaneous; deliberate; thoughtful Given Jill's previous slights, Jack felt that the omission of his name from the guest list was a studied insult.
untenable
unsupportable I find your theory untenable and must reject it.
unsullied
untarnished I am happy that my reputation is unsullied.
probity
uprightness; incorruptibility Everyone took his probity for granted; his defalcations, therefore, shocked us all.
suavity
urbanity; polish He is particulary good in roles that require suavity and sophistication.
prophylactic
used to prevent disease Despite all prophylactic measures introduced by the authorities, the epidemic raged until cool weather set in.
refrain
v. abstain from; resist n. chorus Whenever he heard a song with a lively chorus, Sol could never refrain from joining in on the refrain.
nebulous
vague; hazy; cloudy She had only a nebulous memory of her grandmother's face.
wistful
vaguely longing; sadly pensive. With a last wistful glance at the happy couples dancing in the hall, Sue headed back to her room to study for her exam.
multifarious
varied; greatly diversified A career woman and mother, she was constantly busy with the multifarious activities of her daily life.
pied
variegated; multicolored The pied piper of Hamelin got his name from the multicolored clothing he wore.
sundry
various; several My suspicions were aroused when I read sundry items in the newspapers about your behavior.
tarantula
venomous spider We need an antitoxin to counteract the bite of the tarantula.
voyeur
Peeping Jill called Jack a voyeur when she caught him aiming his binoculars at a bedroom window of the house next door.
toga
Roman outer robe Marc Antony pointed to the slashes in Caesar's toga.
saga
Scandinavian myth; any legend This is a saga of the sea and the men who risk their lives on it.
psychiatrist
a doctor who treats mental diseases A psychiatrist often needs long conferences with his patient before a diagnosis can be made.
scad
a great quantity Refusing Dave's offer to lend him a shirt, Phil replied, "No, thanks: I've got scads of clothes."
minion
a servile dependent He was always accompanied by several of his minions because he enjoyed their subservience and flattery.
pittance
a small allowance or wage He could not live on the pittance he received as a pension and had to look for an additional source of revenue.
relinquish
abandon I will relinquish my claims to this property if you promise to retain my employees.
renounce
abandon; disown; repudiate Even though she knew she would be burned at the stake as a witch, Joan of Arc refused to renounce her belief that her voices came from God.
ventral
abdominal We shall now examine the ventral plates of this serpent, not the dorsal side.
plasticity
ability to be molded When clay dries out, it loses its plasticity and becomes less malleable.
prescience
ability to foretell the future Given the current wave of Japan-bashing, it does not take prescience for me to foresee problems in our future trade relations with Japan.
riveting
absorbing; engrossing The reviewer described Byatt's novel Possession as a riveting tale: absorbed in the story, he had finished it in a single evening.
recondite
abstruse; profound; secret He read many recondite books in order to obtain the material for the scholarly thesis.
preposterous
absurd; ridiculous When the candidate tried to downplay his youthful experiments with marijuana by saying he hadn't inhaled, we all thought, "What a preposterous excuse!"
plenitude
abundance; completeness Looking in the pantry, we admired the plenitude of fruits and pickles we had preserved during the summer.
rife
abundant; current In the face of the many rumors of scandal, which are rife at the moment, it is best to remain silent.
prolific
abundantly fruitful She was a prolific writer who produced as many as three books a year.
vituperative
abusive; scolding He became more vituperative as he realized that we were not going to grant him his wish.
mishap
accident With a little care you could have avoided this mishap.
spoonerism
accidental transposition of sounds in sucessive words When the radio announcer introduced the President as Hoobert Herver, he was guilty of spoonerism.
wean
accustom a baby not to nurse; give up a cherished activity. He decided he would wean himself away from eating junk food and stick to fruits and vegetables.
vivisection
act of dissecting living animals The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals opposed vivisection and deplored the practice of using animals in scientific experiments.
repulsion
act of driving back; distaste The repulsion of the enemy forces was not accomplished bloodlessly; many of the defenders were wounded in driving the enemy back.
orientation
act of finding oneself in society Freshman orientation provides the incoming students with an opportunity to learn about their new environment and their place in it.
summation
act of finding the total, summary In his summation, the lawyer emphasized the testimony given by the two witnesses.
volition
act of making a conscious choice She selected this dress of her own volition.
vicarious
acting as a substitute; done by a deputy Many people get a vicarious thrill at the movies by imagining they are the characters on the screen.
pantomime
acting without dialogue Because he worked in pantomime, the clown could be understood wherever he appeared.
vigor
active strength Although he was over seventy years old, Jack had the vigor of a man in his prime.
viscid
adhesive; gluey The trunk of the maple tree was viscid with sap.
precocious
advanced in development By her rather adult manner of discussing serious topics, the child demonstrated that she was precocious.
suffragist
advocate of voting rights (for women) In recognition of her efforts to win the vote for women, Congress authorized coining a silver dollar honoring the suffragist Susan B. Anthony.
mannered
affected; not natural Attempting to copy the style of his wealthy neighbors, Gatsby adopted a mannered, artificial way of speech.
mincing
affectedly dainty Yum-Yum walked across the stage with mincing steps.
posthumous
after death (as of child born after father's death or book published after author's death) The critics ignored his works during his lifetime; it was only after the posthumous publication of his last novel that they recognized his great talent.
winsome
agreeable; gracious; engaging. By her winsome manner, she made herself liked by everyone who met her.
palatable
agreeable; pleasing to the taste Neither Jack's underbaked opinions nor his overcooked casseroles were palatable to me.
truculence
agressiveness; ferocity Tynan's reviews were noted for their caustic attacks and general tone of truculence.
succor
aid; assistance; relief We shall be ever grateful for the succor our country gave us when we were in need.
omniscient
all-knowing I do not pretend to be omniscient, but I am positive about this fact.
omnipotent
all-powerful The monarch regarded himself as omnipotent and responsible to no one for his acts.
waylay
ambush; lie in wait. They agreed to waylay their victim as he passed through the dark alley going home.
rider
amendment or clause added to a legislative bill Senator Foghorn said he would support Senator Filibuster's tax reform bill only if Filibuster agreed to add an antipollution rider to the bill.
reparation
amends; compensation At the peace conference, the defeated country promised to pay reparations to the victors.
yield
amount produced; crop; income on investment. An experienced farmer can estimate the annual yield of his acres with surprising accuracy.
progenitor
ancestor The Roth family, whose progenitors emigrated from Germany early in the nineteenth century, settled in Peru, Illinois.
papyrus
ancient paper made from stem of papyrus plant The ancient Egyptians were among the first to write on papyrus.
wrath
anger; fury. She turned to him, full of wrath, and said, "What makes you think I'll accept lower pay for this job than you get?"
parasite
animal or plant living on another; toady; sycophant The tapeworm is an example of the kind of parasite that may infest the human body.
vex
annoy; distress Please try not to vex your mother; she is doing the best she can.
nettle
annoy; vex Do not let him nettle you with his sarcastic remarks.
perquisite
any gain above stipulated salary The perquisites attached to this job make it even more attractive than the salary indicates.
ostensible
apparent; professed; pretended Although the ostensible purpose of this expedition is to discover new lands, we are really interested in finding new markets for our products.
verisimilitude
appearance of truth; likelihood Critics praised her for the verisimilitude of her performance as Lady Macbeth. She was completely believable.
mitigate
appease Nothing he did could mitigate her wrath; she was unforgiving.
propitiate
appease The natives offered sacrifices to propitiate the gods.
ratify
approve formally; verify Before the treaty could go into effect, it had to be ratified by the president.
sanction
approve; ratify Nothing will convince me to sanction the engagement of my daughter to such a worthless young man.
plauditory
approving; applauding The theatrical company reprinted the plauditory comments of the critics in its advertisement.
stemfrom
arise from Milton's problems in school stemmed from his poor study habits.
symmetry
arrangement of parts so that balance is obtained; congruity The addition of a second tower will give this edifice the symmetry that it now lacks.
presumptous
arrogant; taking liberties It seems presumptous for one so relatively new to the field to challenge the conclusions of its leading experts.
rhetoric
art of effective communication; insincere or grandiloquent language All writers, by necessity, must be skilled in rhetoric.
treatise
article treating a subject systematically and thoroughly He is preparing a treatise on the Elizabethan playwrights for his graduate degree.
sluice
artificial channel for directing or controlling the flow of water In times of drought, this sluice enables farmers to obtain water for irrigation.
synthetic
artificial; resulting from synthesis During the twentieth century, many synthetic products have replaced the natural products.
sophistication
artificiality; unnaturalness; act of employing sophistry in reasoning Sophistication is an acquired characteristic, found more frequently among city dwellers than among residents of rural areas.
posture
assume an affected pose; act artificially No matter how much Arnold boasted or postured, I could not believe he was as important as he pretended to be.
supposititious
assumed; counterfeit; hypothetical I find no similarity between your supposititious illustration and the problem we are facing.
premise
assumption; postulate Because Jack had based his argument upon a faulty premise, his opponent cheerfully pointed out the holes in his logic.
moribund
at the point of death The doctors called the family to the bedside of the moribund patient.
offensive
attacking; insulting; distasteful Getting into street brawls is no minor offense for professional boxers, who are required by law to restrict their offensive impulses to the ring.
personable
attractive The man I am seeking to fill this position must be personable since he will be representing us before the public.
magisterial
authoritative; imperious The learned doctor laid down the law to his patient in a magisterial tone of voice.
proxy
authorized agent Please act as my proxy and vote for this slate of candidates in my absence.
loath
averse; reluctant They were both loath for him to go.
shirk
avoid (responsibility, work, etc.); malinger Brian has a strong sense of duty; he would never shirk any responsibility.
temporize
avoid committing oneself; gain time I cannot permit you to temporize any longer; I must have a definite answer today.
ungainly
awkward He is an ungainly young man; he trips over everything.
unwieldy
awkward; cumbersome; unmanageable The large carton was so unwieldy that the movers had trouble getting it up the stairs.
prattle
babble The children prattle endlessly about their new toys.
thwart
baffle; frustrate He felt that everyone was trying to thwart his plans and prevent his success.
rusticate
banish to the country; dwell in the country I like city life so much that I can never understand how people can rusticate in the suburbs.
quizzical
bantering; comical; humorously serious Will Rogers' quizzical remarks endeared him to his audiences.
practical
based on experience; useful He was a practical man, opposed to theory
seethe
be disturbed; boil The nation was seething with discontent as the nobleman continued their arrogant ways.
swelter
be oppressed by heat I am going to buy an air conditioning unit for my apartment as I do not intend to swelter through another hot and humid summer.
transpire
be revealed; happen When Austen writes the sentence "It had just transpired that he had left gaming debts behind him," her meaning is not that the debts had just been incurred, but the the shocking news had just leaked out.
nib
beak; pen point The nibs of fountain pens often become clotted and corroded.
ursine
bearlike; pertaining to a bear Because of its ursine appearance, the great panda has been identified with the bears; actually, it is closely related to the raccoon.
pummel
beat The severity with which he was pummeled was indicated by the bruises he displayed on his head and face.
pulchritude
beauty; comeliness I do not envy the judges who have to select this year's Miss America from this collection of female pulchritude.
mendicant
beggar From the moment we left the ship, we were surrounded by mendicants and peddlers.
tyro
beginner; novice For a mere tyro, you have produced some marvelous results.
subservient
behaving like a slave; servile; obsequious He was proud and dignified; he refused to be subservient to anyone.
ubiquitous
being everywhere; omnipresent That Christmas "The Little Drummer Boy" seemed ubiquitous: Justin heard the tune everywhere he went.
monotheism
belief in one God Abraham was the first to proclaim his belief in monotheism.
pessimism
belief that life is basically bad or evil; gloominess The good news we have been receiving lately indicates that there is little reason for your pessimism.
subliminal
below the threshold We may not be aware of the subliminal influences that affect our thinking.
refraction
bending of a ray of light When you look at a stick inserted in water, it looks bent because of the refraction of the light by the water.
preternatural
beyond that which is normal in nature John's mother's total ability to tell when he was lying struck him as almost preternatural.
obligatory
binding; required It is obligatory that books borrowed from the library be returned within two weeks.
stringent
binding; rigid I think these regulations are too stringent.
mordant
biting; sarcastic; stinging Actors feared the critic's mordant pen.
rancor
bitterness; hatred Let us forget out rancor and cooperate in this new endeavor.
outlandish
bizzare; peculiar; unconventional The eccentric professor who engages in markedly outlandish behavior is a stock figure in novels with an academic setting.
necromancy
black magic; dealings with the dead Because he was able to perform feats of necromancy, the natives thought he was in league with the devil.
reproach
blame; censure I want my work to be above reproach and without error
unimpeachable
blameless and exemplary Her conduct in office was unimpeachable and her record is spotless.
sanguinary
bloody The battle of lwo Jina was unexpectedly sanguinary with many casualties.
obtuse
blunt; stupid Because he was so obtuse, he could not follow the teacher's reasoning and asked foolish questions.
palette
board on which a painter mixes pigments At the present time, art supply stores are selling a paper palette that may be discarded after use.
vaunted
boasted; bragged; highly publicized This much vaunted project proved a disappointment when it collapsed.
magniloquent
boastful, pompous In their stories of the trial, the reporters ridiculed the magniloquent speeches of the defense attorney.
vainglorious
boastful; excessively conceited She was a vainglorious and arrogant individual.
regatta
boat or yacht race Many boating enthusiasts followed the regatta in their own yachts.
revelry
boisterous merrymaking New Year's Eve is a night of revelry.
obstreperous
boisterous; noisy The crowd became obstreperous and shouted their disapproval of the proposals made by the speaker.
venturesome
bold A group of venturesome women were the first to scale Mt.Annapurna.
temerity
boldness; rashness Do you have the temerity to argue with me?
stilted
bombastic; stiffly pompous His stilted rhetoric did not impress the college audience; they were immune to bombastic utterances.
verge
border; edge Madame Curie knew she was on the verge of discovering the secrets of radioactive elements.
maritime
bordering on the sea; nautical The maritime Provinces depend on the sea for their wealth.
tedium
boredom; weariness We hope this radio will help overcome the tedium of your stay in the hospital.
overbearing
bossy; arrogant; decisively important Certain of her own importance and of the unimportance of everyone else, Lady Bracknell was intolerably overbearing in manner. "In choosing a husband," she said, "good birth is of overbearing importance; compared to that, neither wealth nor talent signifie
obeisance
bow She made an obeisance as the king and queen entered the room.
pugilist
boxer The famous pugilist Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammed Ali.
ramification
branching out; subdivision We must examine all the ramifications of this problem.
valor
bravery He received the Medal of Honor for his valor in battle.
respiration
breathing; exhalation The doctor found that the patient's years of smoking had adversely affected both his lung capacity and his rate of respiration.
succinct
brief; terse; compact His remarks are always succinct and pointed.
resplendent
brilliant; lustrous The toreador wore a resplendent costume called a suit of lights.
nonplus
bring to a halt by confusion; perplex Jack's uncharacteristic rudeness nonplussed Jill, leaving her uncertain how to react.
rationalization
bringing into conformity with reason All attempts at rationalization at this time are doomed to failure; tempers and emotions run too high for intelligent thought to prevail.
spatula
broad-bladed instrument used for spreading or mixing The manufacturers of this frying pan recommended the use of a rubber spatula to avoid scratching the specially treated surface.
sibling
brother or sister We may not enjoy being siblings, but we cannot forget that we still belong to the same family.
voluminous
bulky; large Despite her family burdens, she kept up a voluminous correspondence with her friends.
ruffian
bully; scoundrel The ruffians threw stones at the police.
sheaf
bundle of stalks of grain; any bundle of things tied together The lawyer picked up a sheaf of papers as he rose to question the witness.
onus
burden; responsibility The emperor was spared the onus of signing the surrender papers; instead, he relegated the assignment to his generals.
onerous
burdensome He asked for an assistant because his work load was too onerous.
smolder
burn without flame; be liable to break out at any moment The rags smoldered for hours before they burst into flame.
wheedle
cajole; coax; deceive by flattery. She knows she can wheedle almost anything she wants from her father.
phlegmatic
calm; not easily disturbed The nurse was a cheerful but phlegmatic person, unexcited in the face of sudden emergencies.
sedative
calming drug or influence It is dangerous to drive after taking the sedative; it brings drowsiness.
venal
capable of being bribed The venal policeman accepted the bribe offered him by the speeding motorist whom he had stopped.
reparable
capable of being repaired Fortunately, the damages we suffered in the accident were reparable and our car looks brand new.
malleable
capable of being shaped by pounding Gold is a malleable metal.
tensile
capable of being stretched Mountain climbers must know the tensile strength of their ropes.
whimsical
capricious; fanciful. He dismissed his generous gift to his college as a sentimental fancy, an old man's whimsical gesture.
thrifty
careful about money; economical A thrifty shopper compares prices before making major purchases.
negligence
carelessness negligence can prove costly near complicated machinery.
scabbard
case for a sword blade; sheath The drill master told the recruit to wipe the blood from his sword before slipping it back into the scabbard.
quiver
case for arrows Robin Hood reached back and plucked one last arrow from his quiver.
slough
cast off Each spring, the snake sloughs off its skin.
offhand
casual; done without prior thought Expecting to be treated with due propriety by her costs, Great-Aunt Maud was offended by their offhand manner.
pander
cater to the low desires of others The reviewer accused the makers of Lethal Weapon of pandering to the masses' taste of violence.
stultify
cause to appear or become stupid or inconsistent; frustrate or hinder His long hours in the blacking factory left young Dickens numb and incurious, as if the menial labor had stultified his mind.
supersede
cause to be set aside; replace This regulation will supersede all previous rules.
nauseate
cause to become sick; fill with disgust The foul smells began to nauseate him.
prompt
cause; provoke; provide a cue for an actor Whatever prompted you to ask for such a big piece of cake when you're on a diet?
pestilential
causing plague; baneful People were afraid to explore the pestilential swap.
pathetic
causing sadness, compassion, pity; touching Everyone in the auditorium was weeping by the time he finished his pathetic tale about the orphaned boy.
prudent
cautious; careful A miser hoards money not because he is prudent but because he is greedy.
luminary
celebrity; dignitary A leading light of the American stage, Ethel Barrymore was a theatrical luminary whose name lives on.
reprove
censure; rebuke The principal reproved the students when they became unruly in the auditorium.
pivotal
central; critical De Klerk's decision to set Nelson Mandela free was pivotal; without Mandela's release, there was no possibility that the African National Cogress would entertain talks with the South African government.
mace
ceremonial staff; clublike medieval weapon The Grand Marshal of the parade raised his mace to signal that it was time for the procession to begin.
ordination
ceremony conferring holy orders The candidate for ordination had to meet with the bishop and the diocean officers before being judged ready to be ordained a deacon.
shackle
chain; fetter The criminal's ankles were shackled to prevent his escape.
veer
change in direction After what seemed an eternity, the wind veered to the east and the storm abated.
metamorphosis
change of form The metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly is typical of many such changes in animal life.
vicissitude
change of fortune Humbled by life's vicissitudes, the last emperor of China worked as a lowly gardener in the palace over which he had once ruled.
ossify
change or harden into bone When he called his opponent a "bonehead," he implied that his adversary's brain had ossified and that he was not capable of clear thinking.
transmute
change; convert to something different He was unable to transmute his dreams into actualities.
volatile
changeable; explosive; evaporating rapidly The political climate today is extremely volatile: no one can predict what the electorate will do next.
mutable
changing in form; fickle His opinion were mutable and easily influenced by anyone who had any powers of persuasion.
migrant
changing its habitat; wandering These migrant birds return every spring.
sear
char or burn; brand Accidentally brushing against the hot grill, she seared her hand badly.
temperament
characteristic frame of mind; disposition; emotional excess Although the twins look alike, they differ markedly in temperament: Tod is calm, but Rod is excitable.
pristine
characteristic of earlier times; primitive, unspoiled This area has been preserved in all its pristine wildness.
universal
characterizing or affecting all; present everywhere At first, no one shared Christopher's opinions; his theory that the world was round was met with universal disdain.
mountebank
charlatan; boastful pretender The patent medicine man was a mountebank.
quack
charlatan; impostor Do not be misled by the exorbitant claims of this quack; he cannot cure you.
talisman
charm She wore the talisman to ward off evil.
tawdry
cheap and gaudy He won a few tawdry trinkets in Coney Island.
swindler
cheat She was gullible and trusting, an easy victim for the first swindler who came along.
stanch
check flow of blood It is imperative that we stanch the gushing wound before we attend to the other injuries.
stem
check the flow The paramedic used a tourniquet to stem the bleeding from the slashed artery.
sanguine
cheerful; hopeful Let us not be too sanguine about the outcome; something could go wrong.
masticate
chew We must masticate our food carefully and slowly in order to avoid digestive disorders.
ruminate
chew the cud; ponder We cannot afford to wait while you ruminate upon these plans.
puerile
childish His puerile pranks sometimes offended his more mature friends.
progeny
children; offspring He was proud of his progeny but regarded George as the most promising of all his children.
prelate
church dignitary The archbishop of Moscow and other high-ranking prelates visited the Russian Orthodox seminary.
rotunda
circular building or hall covered with a dome His body lay in state in the rotunda of the Capitol.
obsidian
clak volcanic rock The deposits of obsidian on the mountain slopes were an indiacation that volcano had erupted in ancient times.
vociferous
clamorous; noisy The crowd grew vociferous in its anger and threatened to take the law into its own hands.
talon
claw of bird The falconer wore a leather gauntlet to avoid being clawed by the hawk's talons.
purge
clean by removing impurities; clear of changes If you are to be purged of the charge of contempt of Congress, you must be willing to answer the questions previously asked.
vindicate
clear of charges I hope to vindicate my client and return him to society as a free man.
perspicuity
clearness of expression; freedom from ambiguity One of the outstanding features of this book is the perspicuity of its author; her meaning is always clear.
repartee
clever reply He was famous for his witty repartee and his sarcasm.
shrewd
clever; astute A shrewd investor, he took clever advantage of the fluctuations of the stock market.
precipice
cliff; dangerous position Suddenly Indiana Jones found himself dangling from the edge of a precipice.
scale
climb up; ascend To locate a book on the top shelf of the stacks, Lee had to scale an exceptionally rickety ladder.
raiment
clothing "How can I go to the ball?" asked Cinderella. "I have no raiment fit to wear."
saccharine
cloyingly sweet She tried to ingratiate herself, speaking sweetly and smiling a saccharine smile.
lout
clumsy person The delivery boy is an awkward lout.
maladroit
clumsy; bungling In his usual maladroit way, he managed to upset the cart and spill the food.
spectrum
colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism The visible portion of the spectrum includes red at one end and violet at the other.
pigment
coloring matter Van Gogh mixed various pigments with linseed oil to create his paints.
militant
combative; bellicose Althoughat this time he was advocating a policy of neutrality, one could usually find him adopting a more militant attitude.
pugnacious
combative; disposed to fight As a child he was pugnacious and fought with everyone.
merger
combination (of two business corporations) When the firm's president married the director of financial planning, the office joke was that it wasn't a marriage, it was a merger.
synthesis
combining parts into a whole Now that we have succeeded in isolating this drug, our next problem is to plan its synthesis in the laboratory.
solace
comfort in trouble I hope you will find solace in the thought that all of us share your loss.
malapropism
comic misuse of a word When Mrs. Malaprop criticizes Lydia for being "as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile," she confuses "allegory" and "allegator" in a typical malapropism.
travesty
comical parody; treatment aimed at making something appear ridiculous The ridiculous decision the jury has arrived at is a travesty of justice.
ordain
command; arrange; consecrate The king ordained that no foreigner should be allowed to enter the city.
memorialize
commemorate Let us memorialize his great contribution by dedicating this library in his honor.
perpetrate
commit an offense Only an insane person could perpetrate such a horrible crime.
plebeian
common; pertaining to the common people His speeches were aimed at the plebeian minds and emotions; they disgusted the more refined.
tumult
commotion; riot; noise She could not make herself heard over the tumult of the mob.
simile
comparison of one thing with another, using the word like or as "My love is like a red, red rose" is a simile.
remunerative
compensating; rewarding I find my new work so renumerative that I may not return to my previous employment.
unanimity
complete agreement We were surprised by the unanimity with which our proposals were accepted by the different groups.
sedate
composed; grave The parents were worried because they felt their son was too quiet and sedate.
mercantile
concerning trade I am more interested in the opportunites available in the mercantile field than I am in those in the legal profession.
terse
concise; abrupt; pithy I admire his terse style of writing; he comes directly to the point.
pithy
concise; meaty I enjoy reading his essays because they are always compact and pithy.
peroration
conclusion of an oration The peroration was largely hortatory and brought the audience to its feet clamoring for action at its close.
parley
conference The peace parley has not produced the anticipated truce.
validate
confirm; ratify I will not publish my findings until I validate my results.
turmoil
confusion; strife Conscious he had sinned, he was in a state of spiritual turmoil.
nexus
connection I fail to see the nexus that binds these two widely separated events.
subjugate
conquer; bring under control It is not our aim to subjugate our foe; we are interested only in establishing peaceful relations.
scrupulous
conscientious; extremely thorough I can recommend him for a position of responsibility for I have found him a very scrupulous young man.
prominent
conspicuous; notable; protruding Have you ever noticed that Prince Charles's prominent ears make him resemble the big-eared character in Mad comics?
solecism
construction that is flagrantly incorrect grammatically I must give this paper a failing mark because it contains many solecisms.
trough
container for feeding farm animals; lowest point (of a wave, business cycle, etc.) The hungry pigs struggled to get at the fresh swill in the trough. The surfer rode her board, coasting along in the trough between two waves.
tainted
contaminated; corrupt Health authorities are always trying to prevent the sale and use of tainted food.
supercilious
contemptuous; haughty I prefer Jill's modesty to Jack's supercilious and arrogant attitude.
vie
contend; compete Politicians vie with one another, competing for donations and votes.
restraint
controlling force She dreamt of living an independent life, free of all restraints.
polemic
controversy; argument in support of point of view Her essays were, for the main part, polemics for the party's policy.
replica
copy Are you going to hang this replica of the Declaration of Independence in the classroom or in the auditorium?
transcribe
copy When you transcribe your notes, please send a copy to Mr.Smith and keep the original for our files.
rectify
correct I want to rectify my error before it is too late.
reconcile
correct inconsistencies; become friendly after a quarrel Every time we try to reconcile our checkbook with the bank statement, we quarrel. However, despite these monthly lovers' quarrels, we always manage to reconcile.
orthography
correct spelling Many of us find English orthography difficult to master because so many of our words are written phonetically.
vitriolic
corrosive; sarcastic Such vitriolic criticism is uncalled for.
perversion
corruption; turning from right to wrong Inasmuch as he had no motive for his crimes, we could not understand his perversion.
mentor
counselor; teacher During this very trying period, she could not have had a better mentor, for the teacher was sympathetic and understanding.
recrimination
countercharges Loud and angry recriminations were her answer to his accusations.
yokel
country bumpkin. At school, his classmates regarded him as a yokel and laughed at his rustic mannerisms.
pluck
courage Even the adversaries of young Indiana Jones were impressed by the boy's pluck in trying to rescue the archeological treasure they had stolen.
mettle
courage; spirit When challenged by the other horses in the race, the thoroughbred proved its mettle by its determination to hold the lead.
tribunal
court of justice The decision of the tribunal was final and the prisoner was sentenced to death.
pusillanimous
cowardly; fainthearted You should be ashamed of your pusillanimous conduct during this dispute.
quail
cower; lose heart He was afraid that he would quail in the face of danger.
machiavellian
crafty; double-dealing I do not think he will be a good embassador because he is not accustomed to the machiavellian maneuverings of foreign diplomats.
zany
crazy; comic. I can watch the Marx brothers' zany antics for hours.
statutory
created by statute or legislative action The judicial courts review and try statutory crimes.
malefactor
criminal We must try to bring these malefactors to justice.
stricture
critical comments; severe and adverse criticism His strictures on the author's style are prejudiced and unwarranted.
pan
criticize harshly Hoping for a rave review of his new show, the playwright was miserable when the critics panned it unanimously.
throng
crowd Throngs of shoppers jammed the aisles.
pulverize
crush or grind into very small particles Before sprinkling the dried herbs into the stew, Michael first pulverized them into a fine powder.
wily
cunning; artful. She is as wily as a fox in avoiding trouble.
therapeutic
curative Now better known for its racetrack, Saratoga Springs first gained attention for the therapeutic qualities of its famous "healing waters."
panacea
cure-all; remedy for all diseases There is no easy panacea that will solve our complicated international situation.
malediction
curse The witch uttered maledictions against her captors.
wont
custom; habitual procedure. As was his wont, he jogged two miles every morning before going to work.
mores
customs The mores of Mexico are those of Spain with some modifications.
prune
cut away; trim With the help of her editor, she was able to prune her manuscript into publishable form.
retrench
cut down; economize If they were to be able to send their children to college, they would have to retrench.
truncate
cut the top off The top of the cone that has been truncated in a plane parallel to its base is a circle.
trenchant
cutting; keen I am afraid of his trenchant wit for it is so often sarcastic.
quotidian
daily; commonplace; customary To Philip, each new day of his internship was filled with excitement; he could not dismiss his rounds as merely quotidian routine.
marred
damaged; disfigured She had to refinish the marred surface of the table.
perdition
damnation; complete ruin Praying for salvation, young Daedalus feared he was damned to eternal perdition.
swarthy
dark; dusky Despite the stereotype, not all Italians are swarthy; many are fair and blond.
opaque
dark; not transparent The opaque window kept the sunlight out of the room.
obscure
dark; vague; unclear Even after I read the poem a fourth time, its meaning was still obscure.
obscure
darken; make unclear At times he seemed purposely to obscure his meaning, preferring mystery to clarity.
murkiness
darkness; gloom The murkiness and fog of the waterfront that evening depressed me.
reverie
daydream; musing He was awakened from his reverie by the teacher's question.
stalemate
deadlock Negotiations between the union and the employers have reached a stalemate; neither side is willing to budge from previously stated positions.
obituary
dealth notice I first learned of her death when I read the obituary in the newspaper.
resolve
decide; settle; solve Homes resolved to travel to Bohemia to resolve the dispute between Irene Adler and the King.
manifesto
declaration; statement of policy The Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels proclaimed the principles of modern communism.
ordinance
decree Passing a red light is a violation of a city ordinance.
tureen
deep dish for serving soup The waiters brought the soup to the tables in silver tureens.
slander
defamation; utterance of false and malicious statements Unless you can prove your allegations, your remarks constitute slander.
rampart
defensive mound on earth "From the ramparts we watched" as the fighting continued.
mulct
defraud a person of something The lawyer was accused of trying to mulct the boy of his legacy.
respite
delay in punishment; interval of relief; rest The judge granted the condemned man a respite to enable his attorneys to file an appeal.
tarry
delay; dawdle We can't tarry if we want to get to the airport on time.
render
deliver; provide; represent He rendered aid to the needy and indigent.
peremptory
demanding and leaving no choice From Jack's peremptory knock on the door, Jill could tell he would not give up until she let him in.
negation
denial I must accept his argument since you have been unable to present any negation of his evidence.
nihilism
denial of traditional values; total skepticism nihilism holds that existence has no meaning.
panoramic
denoting an unobstructed and comprehensive view On a clear day, from the top of the World Trade Center you can get a panoramic view of New York City and neighboring stretches of New Jersey and Long Island.
renege
deny; go back on He reneged on paying off his debt.
turpitude
depravity A visitor may be denied admittance to this country if she has been guilty of moral turpitude.
posterity
descendants; future generations We hope to leave a better world to posterity.
renegade
deserter; traitor Because he had abandoned his post and joined forces with the Indians, his fellow officers considered the hero of Dances with Wolves a renegade.
reprehensible
deserving blame Your vicious conduct in this situation is reprehensible.
venerable
deserving high respect We do not mean to be disrespectful when we refuse to follow the advice of our venerable leader.
scurvy
despicable; contemptible Peter Pan sneered at Captain Hook and his scurvy crew.
raze
destroy completely The owners intend to raze the hotel and erect an office building on the site.
obliterate
destroy completely The tidal wave obliterated several island villages.
swerve
deviate; turn aside sharply The car swerved wildly as the driver struggled to regain control of the wheel.
sensual
devoted to the pleasures of the senses; carnal; voluptous I cannot understand what caused him to drop his sensual way of life and become so ascetic.
pious
devout The pious parents gave their children a religious upbringing.
piety
devoutness; reverence for God Living her life in prayer and good works, Mother Teresa exemplifies the true sprit of piety.
sleight
dexterity The magician amazed the audience with his sleight of hand.
malicious
dictated by hatred or spite The malicious neighbor spread the gossip.
quarry
dig into They quarried blocks of marble out of the hillside.
unearth
dig up When they unearthed the city, the archeologists found many relics of an ancient civilization.
quandary
dilemma When the two colleges to which he had applied accepted him, he was in a quandary as to which one he should attend.
sedulous
diligent The young woman was so sedulous that she received a commendation for her hard work.
sap
diminish; undermine The element kryptonite had an unhealthy effect on Superman: it sapped his strength.
refectory
dining hall In this huge refectory, we can feed the entire student body at one sitting.
protocol
diplomatic etiquette We must run this state dinner according to protocol if we are to avoid offending any of our guests.
rebate
discount We offer a rebate of ten percent to those who pay cash.
sardonic
disdainful; sarcastic; cynical The sardonic humor of nightclub comedians who satirize or ridicule patrons in the audience strikes some people as amusing and others as rude.
virus
disease communicator The doctors are looking for a specific medicine to control this virus.
unravel
disentangle; solve With equal ease Miss Marple unraveled tangled balls of yarn and baffling murder mysteries.
unkempt
disheveled; with uncared-for appearance The beggar was dirty and unkempt.
skulduggery
dishonest behavior The investigation into municipal corruption turned up new instances of skulduggery daily.
unruly
disobedient; lawless The only way to curb this unruly mob is to use tear gas.
repudiate
disown; disavow He announced that he would repudiate all debts incurred by his wife.
provident
displaying foresight; thrifty; preparing for emergencies In his usual provident manner, he had insured himself against this type of loss.
sanctimonious
displaying ostentatious or hypocritical devoutness You do not have to be so sanctimonious to prove that you are devout.
notoriety
disrepute; ill fame To the starlet, any publicity was good publicity: if she couldn't have a good reputation, she'd settle for notoriety.
profilgate
dissipated; wasteful; licentious In this profilgate company, she lost all sense of decency.
unsavory
distasteful; morally offensive People with unsavory reputations should not be allowed to work with young children.
tribulation
distress; suffering After all the trials and tribulations we have gone through, we need this rest.
perturb
disturb greatly I am afraid this news will perturb him and cause him grief.
ramify
divide into branches or subdivisions When the plant begins to ramify, it is advisable to nip off most of the new branches.
stratified
divided into classes; arranged into strata As the economic gap between the rich and the poor increased, Roman society grew increasingly stratified.
stanza
division of a poem Do you know the last stanza of "The Star-Spangled Banner"?
severance
division; partition; separation The severance of church and state is a basic principle of our government.
schism
division; split Let us not widen the schism by further bickering.
vertigo
dizziness We test potential plane pilots for susceptibility to spells of vertigo.
tractable
docile You will find the children in this school very tractable and willing to learn.
quay
dock; landing place Because of the captain's carelessness, the ship crashed into the quay.
podiatrist
doctor who treats ailments of the feet He consulted a podiatrist about his fallen arches.
tenet
doctrine; dogma The agnostic did not accept the tenets of their faith.
nocturnal
done at night Mr. Jones obtained a watchdog to prevent the nocturnal raids on his chicken coops.
potion
dose (of liquid) Tristan and Lsolde drink a love potion in the first act of the opera.
misgivings
doubts Hamlet described his misgivings to Horatio but decided to fence with Laertes despite his foreboding of evil.
oratorio
dramatic poem set to music The Glee Club decided to present an oratorio during their recital.
pensive
dreamily thoughtful; thoughtful with a hint of sadness The pensive youth gazed at the painting for a long time and then sighed.
primp
dress or groom oneself with care She primps for hours before a dance.
tipple
drink (alcoholic beverages) frequently He found that his most enjoyable evenings occurred when he tippled with his friends at the local pub.
swill
drink greedily Singing, "Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum," Long John Silver and his fellow pirates swilled their grog.
quaff
drink with relish As we quaffed our ale, we listened to the gay songs of the students in the tavern.
repellent
driving away; unattractive Mosquitoes find the odor so repellent that they leave any spot where this liquid has been sprayed.
propulsive
driving forward The jet plane has a greater propulsive power than the engine-driven plane.
provender
dry food; fodder I am afraid of a severe winter because I have stored a large quantity of provender for the cattle.
prosaic
dull and unimaginative; matter-of-fact; factual Though the ad writers had come up with a highly creative campaign to publicize the company's newest product, the head office rejected it for a more prosaic, down-to-earth approach.
stolidity
dullness; impassivenss The earthquake shattered his usual stolidity; trembling, he crouched on the no longer stable ground.
zeal
eager enthusiasm. Wang's zeal was contagious; soon all his fellow students were busily making posters, inspired by his ardent enthusiasm for the cause.
palliate
ease pain; make less severe or offensive If we cannot cure this disease at present, we can, at least try to palliate the symptoms.
timid
easily frightened; apprehensive He was timid and cowardish; always backing up at daunting situations.
queasy
easily nauseated; squeamish As the ship left the harbor, he became queasy and thought that he was going to suffer from seasickness.
lucid
easily understood; clear; intelligible Her explanation was lucid enought for a child to grasp.
omnivorous
eating both plant and animal food; devouring everything Some animals, including humans, are omnivorous and eat both meat and vegetables; others are either carnivorous or herbivorous.
reverberate
echo; resound The entire valley reverberated with the sound of the church bells.
resonant
echoing; resounding; deep and full in sound The deep, resonant voice of the actor James Earl Jones makes him particulary effective when he appears on stage.
periphery
edge, especially of a round surface He sensed that there was something just beyond the periphery of his vision.
maudlin
effusively sentimental I do not like such maudlin pictures. I call them tearjerkers.
ovoid
egg-shaped At Easter she had to cut out hundreds of brightly colored ovoid shapes.
resilient
elastic; having the power of springing back Highly resilient, steel makes excellent bedsprings.
manumit
emancipate; free from bondage Enlightened slave owners were willing to manumit their slaves and thus put an end to the evil slavery in the country.
reek
emit (odor) The room reeked with stale tobacco smoke.
underscore
emphasize Adressing the jogging class, Kim underscored the importance to runners of good nutrition.
vacuous
empty; lacking in ideas; stupid The candidate's vacuous remarks annoyed the audience, who had hoped to hear more than empty platitudes
weather
endure the effects of weather or other forces. He weathered the changes in his personal life with difficulty, as he had no one in whom to confide.
worldly
engrossed in matters of this earth; not spiritual. You must leave your worldly goods behind you when you go to meet your Maker.
savor
enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality Relishing his triumph, Costner especially savored the chagrin of the critics who had predicted his failure.
prodigious
enormous; marvelous He marveled at her prodigious appetite when he saw all the food she ate.
mire
entangle; stick in swampy ground Their rear wheels became mired in mud.
regale
entertain John regaled us with tales of his adventures in Africa.
verve
enthusiasm; liveliness She approached her studies with such verve that it was impossible for her to do poorly.
ovation
enthusiastic applause When Placido Domingo came on stage in the first act of La Boheme, he was greeted by a tremendous ovation.
suppliant
entreating; beseeching He could not resist the dog's suppliant whimpering, and he gave it some food.
milieu
environment; means of expression His milieu is watercolors, although he has produced excellent oil paintings and lithographs.
tantamount
equal Your ignoring their pathetic condition is tantamount to the murder.
parity
equality; close resemblance I find your analogy inaccurate because I do not see the parity between the two illustrations.
paraphernalia
equipment; odds and ends His desk was cluttered with paper, pen, ink, dictionary and other paraphernalia of the writing craft.
quibble
equivocate; play on words Do not quibble; I want a straightforward and definite answer.
misapprehension
error; misunderstanding To avoid msapprehension, I am going to ask all of you to repeat the instructions I have given.
substantive
essential; pertaining to the substance Although the delegates were aware of the importance of the problem, they could not agree on the substantive issues.
perpetual
everlasting Ponce de Leon hoped to find perpetual youth.
sinister
evil We must defeat the sinister forces that seek our downfall.
precise
exact If you don't give me precise directions and a map, I'll never find your place.
sublime
exalted; noble; uplifting Mother Teresa has been honored for her sublime deeds.
scrutinize
examine closely and critically Searching for flaws, the sergeant scrutinized every detail of the private's uniform.
surpass
exceed Her SAT scores surpassed out expectations.
transcend
exceed; surpass This accomplishment transcends all our previous efforts.
meticulous
excessively careful He was meticulous in checking his accounts and never made mistakes.
uxorious
excessively devoted to one's wife His friends laughed at him because he was so uxorious and submissive to his wife's desires.
obese
excessively fat It is advisable that obese people try to lose weight.
tightwad
excessively frugal person; miser Jill called Jack a tightwad because he never picked up the check.
rapacious
excessively grasping; plundering Hawks and other rapacious birds prey on variety of small animals.
prude
excessively modest or proper person The X-rated film was definitely not for prudes.
ornate
excessively or elaborately decorated Furniture of the Baroque period can be recognized by its ornate carvings.
ostracize
exclude from public favor; ban As soon as the newspapers carried the story of his connection with the criminals, his friends began to ostracize him.
pretext
excuse He looked for a good pretext to get out of paying a visit to his aunt.
subsistence
existence; means of support; livelihood In those days of inflated prices, my salary provided mere subsistence.
primordial
existing at the beginning (of time); rudimentary The Neanderthal Man is one of our primordial ancestors.
politic
expedient; prudent; well devised Even though he was disappointed, he did not think it politic to refuse the offer.
oust
expel; drive out The world wondered if Aquino would be able to oust Marcos from office.
sustain
experience; support; nourish He sustained such a severe injury that the doctors feared he would be unable to work to sustain his growing family.
seasoned
experienced Though pleased with her new batch of rookies, the basketball coach wished she had a few more seasoned players on the team.
probe
explore with tools The surgeon probed the wound for foreign matter before suturing it.
traduce
expose to slander His opponents tried to traduce the candidate's reputation by spreading rumors about his past.
vent
express; utter He vented his wrath on his class.
prolong
extend; draw out; lengthen In their determination to discover ways to prolong human life, doctors fail to take into account that longer lives are not always happier ones.
tirade
extended scolding; denunciation Long before he had finished his tirade, we were sufficiently aware of the seriousness of our misconduct.
pterodactyl
extinct flying reptile The remains of pterodactyls indicate that these flying reptiles had a wingspan of as much as twenty feet.
penury
extreme poverty When his pension fund failed, George feared he would end his days in penury.
opulence
extreme wealth; luxuriousness; abundance The glitter and opulence of the ballroom took Cinderella's breath away.
overwrought
extremely agitated; hysterical When Kate heard the news of the sudden tragedy, she became too overwrought to work and had to leave the office early.
parched
extremely dry; very thirsty The parched desert landscape seemed hostile to life.
prohibitive
extremely high (of prices etc.) The super computer's price was prohibitive.
ravenous
extremely hungry The revenous dog upset several garbage pails in its search for food.
stentorian
extremely loud The town crier had stentorian voice.
virulent
extremely poisonous The virus is highly virulent and has made many of us ill for days.
minute
extremely small The twins resembled one another closely; only minute differences set them apart.
minuscule
extremely small Why should I involve myself with a project with so minuscule a chance for success?
physiognomy
face He prided himself on his ability to analyze a person's character by studying his physiognomy.
visage
face; appearance The stern visage of the judge indicated that she had decided to impose a severe penalty.
philanderer
faithless lover; flirt Swearing he had never so much as looked at another woman, Jack assured Jill he was no philanderer.
ravel
fall apart into tangles; unravel or untwist; entangle A sigle thread pulled loose, and the entire scarf started to ravel.
relapse
fall back or sink again The economy relapsed into a depression from the peak.
plummet
fall sharply Stock prices plummeted as Wall Street reacted to the rise in interest rates.
windfall
fallen fruit; unexpected lucky event. This huge tax refund is quite a windfall.
perjury
false testimony while under oath When several witnesses appeared to challenge his story, he was indicted for perjury.
spurious
false; counterfeit; forged; illogical The hero of Jonathan Gash's mystery novels is an antique dealer who gives the reader advice on how to tell spurious antiques from the real things.
renown
fame For many years an unheralded researcher, Barbara McClintock gained international renown when she won the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
zealot
fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal. It is good to have a few zealots in our group for their enthusiasm is contagious.
modish
fashionable She always discarded all garments that were no longer modish.
splice
fasten together; unite Before you splice two strips of tape together, be sure to line them up evenly.
patriarch
father and ruler of a family or tribe In many primitive tribes, the leader and lawmaker was the patriarch.
propitious
favorable; kindly I think it is advisable that we wait for a more propitious occasion to announce our plans; this is not a good time.
nepotism
favoritism (to a relative) John left his position with the company because he felt that advancement was based on nepotism rather than ability.
xenophobia
fear or hatred of foreigners. When the refugee arrived in America, he was unprepared for the xenophobia he found there.
trepidation
fear; trembling agitation We must face the enemy without trepidation if we are to win this battle.
timorous
fearful; demonstrating fear His timorous manner betrayed the fear he felt at the moment.
practicable
feasible The board of directors decided that the plan was practicable and agreed to undertake the project.
simulate
feign He simulated insanity in order to avoid punishment for his crime.
visceral
felt in one's inner organs She disliked the visceral sensations she had whenever she rode the roller coaster.
vixen
female fox; ill-tempered woman Aware that she was right once again, he lost his temper and called her a shrew and a vixen.
luxuriant
fertile; abundant; ornate Farming was easy in this luxuriant soil.
mercurial
fickle; changing He was of a mercurial temperament and therefore unpredictable.
melee
fight The captain tried to ascertain the cause of the melee that had broken out among the crew members.
replenish
fill up again Before she could take another backpacking trip, Carla had to replenish her stock of freeze-dried foods.
replete
filled to capacity; abundantly supplied The book is replete with humorous situations.
sordid
filthy; base; vile The social worker was angered by the sordid housing provided for the homeless.
ultimate
final; not susceptible to further analysis Scientists are searching for the ultimate truths.
purchase
firm grasp or footing The mountaineer struggled to get a proper purchase on the slippery rock.
tenacity
firmness; persistency; adhesiveness It is extremely difficult to overcome the tenacity of a habit such as smoking.
tantrum
fit of petulance; caprice The child learned that he could have almost anything if he went into tantrums.
paroxysm
fit or attack of pain, laughter, rage When he heared of his son's misdeeds, he was seized by a paroxysm of rage.
spasmodic
fitful; periodic The spasmodic coughing in the auditorium annoyed the performers.
propriety
fitness; correct conduct I want you to behave at this dinner with propriety; don't embarass me.
moodiness
fits of depression or gloom We could not discover the cause of her recurrent moodiness.
rig
fix or manipulate The ward boss was able to rig the election by bribing people to stuff the ballot boxes with ballots marked in his candidate's favor.
obsession
fixed idea; continued brooding This obsession with the supernatural has made him unpopular with his neighbors.
panache
flair; flamboyance Many performers imitate Noel Coward, but few have his panache and sense of style.
meretricious
flashy; tawdry; falsely attractive Her jewels were inexpensive but not meretricious.
sherbet
flavored dessert ice I prefer raspberry sherbet to ice cream since it is less fattening.
pliant
flexible; easily influenced Catherine's disposition was pliant; she was like putty in her suitor's hands.
supple
flexible; pliant The angler found a supple limb and used it as a fishing rod.
pliable
flexible; yielding; adaptable In remodeling the bathroom, we replaced all the old, rigid lead pipes with new, pliable copper tubing.
sleazy
flimsy; unsubstantial This is a sleazy fabric; it will not wear well.
parquet
floor made of wood strips inlaid in a mosic-like pattern. In laying the floor, the carpenters combined redwood and oak in an elegant parquet.
mellifluous
flowing smoothly; smooth Italian is a mellifluous language.
retinue
following; attendants The queen's retinue followed her down the aisle.
subsequent
following; later In subsequent lessons, we shall take up more difficult problems.
victuals
food I am very happy to be able to provide you with these victuals; I know you are hungry.
viand
food There was a variety of viands at the feast.
witless
foolish; idiotic. Such witless and fatuous statements will create the impression that you are an ignorant individual.
prognosis
forecasted course of a disease; prediction If the doctor's prognosis is correct, the patient will be in a coma for at least twenty-four hours.
paramount
foremost in importance; supreme Proper nutrition and hygiene are of paramount importance in adolescent development and growth.
precursor
forerunner Though Gray and Burns share many traits with the Romantic poets who followed them, most critics consider them precursors of the Romantic Movement, not true Romantics.
vanguard
forerunners; advance forces We are the vanguard of a tremendous army that is following us.
presage
foretell The vultures flying overhead presaged the discovery of the corpse in the desert.
portend
foretell; presage The king did not know what these omens might portend and asked his soothsayers to interpret them.
oracular
foretelling; mysterious Oedipus could not understand the oracular warning he received.
premonition
forewarning We ignored these premonitions of disaster because they appeared to be based on childish fears.
oblivion
forgetfulness Her work had fallen into a state of oblivion; no one bothered to read them.
venial
forgivable; trivial We may regard a hugry man's stealing as a venial crime.
polity
form of government of nation or state Our polity should be devoted to the concept that the government should strive for the good of all citizens.
satire
form of literature in which irony, sarcasm, and ridicule are employed to attack vice and folly Gulliver's Travels, which is regarded by many as a tale for children, is actually a bitter satire attacking human folly.
panegyric
formal praise The modest hero blushed to hear the speakers delivering panegyrics about his valorous act.
predecessor
former occupant of a post I hope I can live up to the fine example set by my late predecessor in this office.
redoubtable
formidable; causing fear During the Cold War period, neighboring countries tried not to offend the Russians because they could be redoubtable foes.
shard
fragment, generally of pottery The archaeologist assigned several students the task of reassembling earthenware vessels from the shards he had brought back from the expedition.
rubble
fragments Ten years after World War II, some of the rubble left by enemy bombings could still be seen.
redolent
fragrant; odorous; suggestive of an odor Even though it is February, the air is redolent of spring.
repine
fret; complain There is no sense repining over the work you have left undone.
querulous
fretful; whining His classmates were repelled by his querulous and complaining statements.
purveyor
furnisher of foodstuffs; caterer As purveyor of rare wines and viands, he traveled through France and Italy every year in search of new products to sell.
nugatory
futile; worthless This agreement is nugatory for no court will enforce it.
lope
gallop slowly As the horses loped along, we had an opportunity to admire the ever-changing scenery.
muster
gather; assemble Washington mustered his forces at Trenton.
magnanimity
generosity Noted for his magnanimity, philanthropist Eugene Lang donated millions to charity.
zephyr
gentle breeze; west wind. When these zephyrs blow, it is good to be in an open boat under a full sail.
unfeigned
genuine; real She turned so pale that I am sure her surprise was unfeigned.
seminal
germinal; influencing future developments; related to seed or semen Although Freud has generally been regarded as a seminal thinker who shaped the course of psychology, his psychoanalytic methods have come under attack recently.
orient
get one's bearings; adjust Philip spent his first day in Denver orienting himself to the city.
spectral
ghostly We were frightened by the spectral glow that filled the room.
vampire
ghostly being that sucks the blood of the living Children were afraid to go to sleep at night because of the many legends of vampires.
titanic
gigantic titanic waves beat aginst the shore during the hurricane.
relent
give in When her stern father would not relent and allow her to marry Robert Browning, Elizabeth Barrett eloped with her suitor.
yield
give in; surrender. The wounded knight refused to yield to his foe.
waive
give up temporarily; yield. I will waive my rights in this matter in order to expedite our reaching a proper decision.
morbid
given to unwholesome thought; gloomy These morbid speculations are dangerous; we must lighten our spirits by emphasizing more pleasant matters.
odoriferous
giving off an odor The odoriferous spices stimulated her jaded appetite.
ogle
glance coquettishly at; make eyes at Sitting for hours at the sidewalk cafe, the old gentleman would oggle the young girls and recall his youthful romances.
shimmer
glimmer intermittently The moonlight shimmered on the water as the moon broke through the clouds for a moment.
saturnine
gloomy Do not be misled by his saturnine countenance; he is not as gloomy as he looks.
somber
gloomy; depressing From the doctor's grim expression, I could tell he had somber news.
retrograde
go backwards; degenerate Instead of advancing, our civilization seems to have retrograded in ethics and culture.
traverse
go through or across When you traverse this field, be careful of the bull.
objective
goal; aim A degree in medicine was her ultimate objective.
transition
going from one state of action to another During the period of transition from oil heat to gas heat, the furnace will have to be shut off.
prosperity
good fortune; financial success; physical well-being Promising to stay together "for richer, for poorer," the newlyweds vowed to be true to one another in prosperity and hardship alike.
virtue
goodness; moral excellence; good quality A virtue carried to extremes can turn into something resembling vice; humility, for example, can degenerate into servility and spinelessness.
oligarchy
government by a few The feudal oligarchy was supplanted by an autocracy.
theocracy
government of a community by religious leaders Some Pilgrims favored the establishment of a theocracy in New England.
monarchy
government under a single hereditary ruler with varying degrees of power England today remains a monarchy.
voluptuous
gratifying the senses The nobility during the Renaissance led voluptuous lives.
raspy
grating; harsh The sergeant's raspy voice grated on the recruits' ears.
magnitude
greatness; extent It is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of his crime.
verdigris
green coating on copper which has been exposed to the weather Despite all attempts to protect the statue from the elements, it became coated with verdigris.
patina
green crust on old bronze works; tone slowly taken by varnished painting Judging by the patina on this bronze statue, we can conclude that this is the work of a medieval artist.
verdant
green; lush in vegetation Monet's paintings of the verdant meadows were symphonies in green.
trilogy
group of three works Romain Rolland's novel Jean Christophe was first published as a trilogy.
wane
grow gradually smaller. From now until December 21, the winter solstice, the hours of daylight will wane.
proliferate
grow rapidly; spread; multiply Times of economic hardship inevitably encourage countless get-rich-quick schemes to proliferate
macabre
gruesome; grisly The city morgue is a macabre spot for the uninitiated.
warranty
guarantee; assurance by seller. The purchaser of this automobile is protected by the manufacturer's warranty that he will replace any defective part for five years or 50,000 miles.
tutelage
guardianship; training Under the tutelage of such masters of the instrument, she made rapid progress as a virtuoso.
surmise
guess I surmise that he will be late for this meeting.
remorse
guilt; self-reproach The murderer felt no remorse for his crime.
recidivism
habitual return to crime Prison reformers in the United States are disturbed by the high rate of recidivism; the number of persons serving second and third terms indicates the failure of the prisons to rehabilitate the inmates.
taciturn
habitually silent; talking a little New Englanders are reputedly taciturn people.
trite
hackneyed; commonplace Thr trite and predictable situations in many television programs alienate many viewers.
somnolent
half asleep The heavy meal and the overheated room made us all somnolent and indifferent to the speaker.
satyr
half-human, half-bestial being in the court of Dionysus, portrayed as wanton and cunning He was like a satyr in his lustful conduct.
snicker
half-stifled laugh The boy could not suppress a snicker when the teacher sat on the tack.
maul
handle roughly The rock star was mauled by his overexcited fans.
tilter
handle used to move the boat's rudder (to steer) Fearing the wind might shift suddenly and capsize the skiff, Tom kept one hand on the tilter at all times.
loiter
hang around; linger The policeman told him not to loiter in the alley.
pendant
hanging down from something Her pendant earrings glistened in the light.
noxious
harmful We must trace the source of these noxious gases before they asphyxiate us.
placebo
harmless substance prescribed as a dummy pill In a controlled experiment, fifty volunteers were given erythromycin tablets; the control group received only placebos.
raucous
harsh and shrill His raucous laughter irritated me and grated on my ears.
severity
harshness; plainness The newspapers disapproved of the severity of the sentence.
odious
hateful I find the task of punishing you most odious.
misogynist
hater of women She accused him of being a misogynist because he had been a bachelor all his life.
misogamy
hatred of marriage He remained a bachelor not because of misogamy but because of ill fate: his fiancee died before the wedding.
wan
having a pale or sickly color; pallid. Suckling asked, "Why so pale and wan, fond lover?"
serrated
having a sawtoothed edge The beech tree is one of many plants that have serrated leaves.
plausible
having a show of truth but open to doubt; specious Even though your argument is plausible, I still would like to have more proof.
tendentious
having an aim; biased; designed to further a cause The editorials in this periodical are tendentious rather than truth-seeking.
malignant
having an evil influence; virulent This is a malignant disease; we must have to use drastic measures to stop its spread.
odorous
having an odor This variety of hybrid tea rose is more odorous than the one you have in your garden.
multiform
having many forms Snowflakes are multiform but always hexagonal.
multilingual
having many languages Because they are bordered by so many countries, the Swiss people are multilingual.
versatile
having many talents; capable of working in many fields He was a versatile athlete; at college he had earned varsity letters in baseball, football, and track.
monochromatic
having only one color Most people who are color blind actually can distinguish several colors; some, however, have a truly monochromatic view of a world all in shades of gray.
rancid
having the odor of stale fat A rancid odor filled the ship's galley and nauseated the crew.
titular
having the title of an office without the obligations Although he was the titular head of the company, the real decisions were made by his general manager.
prophetic
having to do with predicting the future In interpreting Pharaoh's prophetic dream, Joseph said that the seven fat cows eaten by the seven lean cows represented seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
preempt
head off; forestall by acting first; appropriate for oneself; supplant Hoping to preempt any attempts by the opposition to make educational reform a hot political issue, the candidate set out her own plan to revitalize the public schools.
promontory
headland They erected a lighthouse on the promontory to warn approaching ships of their nearness to the shore.
precipitate
headlong; rash Do not be precipitate in this matter; investigate further.
salubrious
healthful Many people with hay fever move to more salubrious sections of the country during the months of August and September.
pyre
heap of combustible material, esp. for burning a corpse. The mortician put pyre on the corpse before burning a corpse.
recluse
hermit The recluse lived in a hut in the forest.
potpourri
heterogeneous mixture; medley He offered a potpourri of folk songs from many lands.
secrete
hide away or cache; produce and release a substance into an organism. The pack rat secretes odds and ends in its nest; the pancreas secretes insulin in the islets of Langerhans.
prodigy
highly gifted child; marvel Menuhin was a prodigy, performing wonders on his violin when he was barely eight years old.
virtuoso
highly skilled artist The child prodigy Yehudi Menuhin grew into a virtuoso whose virtuosity on the violin thrilled millions.
tenacious
holding fast I had to struggle to break his tenacious hold on my arm.
tenure
holding of an office; time during which such an office is held He was permanent tenure in this position and cannot be fired.
retentive
holding; having a good memory The pupil did not need to spend much time in study as he had a retentive mind.
waif
homeless child or animal. Although he already had eight cats, he could not resist adopting yet another feline waif.
vagrant
homeless wanderer Because he was a stranger in town with no visible means of support, Martin feared he would be jailed as a vagrant.
nostalgia
homesickness; longing for the past The first settlers found so much work to do that they had little time for nostalgia.
mortify
humiliate; punish the flesh She was so mortified by her blunder that she ran to her room in tears.
parody
humorous imitation; travesty We enjoyed the clever parodies of popular songs that the chorus sang.
scavenge
hunt through discarded materials for usable items; search, especially for food If you need car parts that the dealers no longer stock, try scavenging for odd bits and pieces at the auto wreckers' yards.
mesmerize
hypnotize The incessant drone seemed to mesmerize him and place him in a trance.
supposition
hypothesis; surmise I based my decision to confide in him on the supposition that he would be discreet.
quixotic
idealistic but impractical His head is in the clouds; he is constantly presenting these quixotic schemes.
mischance
ill luck By mischance, he lost his week's salary.
morose
ill-humored; sullen When we first meet Hamlet, we find him morose and depressed.
paramour
illicit lover She sought a divorce on the grounds that her husband had a paramour in another town.
utopia
imaginary land with perfect social and political system Shangri-la was the name of James Hilton's Tibetan utopia.
mimicry
imitation Her gift for mimicry was so great that her friends said that she should be in the theater.
pastiche
imitation of another's style in musical composition or in writing We cannot even say that her music is a pastiche of this or that composer; it is rather, reminiscent of many musicians.
unfledged
immature It is hard for an unfledged writer to find a sympathetic publisher.
sophomoric
immature; shallow Your sophomoric remarks are a sign of your youth and indicate that you have not given much thought to the problem.
transitoriness
impermanence Conscious that all things pass, the psalmist relates the transitoriness of happiness and fame.
pert
impertinent; forward I think your pert and impudent remarks call for an apology.
vehement
impetuous; with marked vigor He spoke with vehement eloquence in defense of his client.
metaphor
implied comparison "He soared like an eagle" is an example of a simile; "He is an eagle in flight," is a metaphor.
prestige
impression produced by achievements or reputation The wealthy man sought to obtain social prestige by contributing to popular charities.
susceptible
impressionable; easily influenced; having little resistance, as to a disease He was a very susceptible young man, and so his parents worried that he might fall into bad company.
spontaneity
impulsiveness; absence of premeditation What I liked best about Dale's parties was their spontaneity: a couple of friends would drop by, someone would pull out a fiddle or guitar, and before you knew it the party would be in full swing.
pellmell
in confusion; disorderly The excited students dashed pellmell into the stadium to celebrate the victory.
virtual
in essence; for practical purposes She is a virtual financial wizard when it comes to money matters.
vassal
in feudalism, one who held land of a superior lord The lord demanded that his vassals contribute more to his military campaign.
nominal
in name only; trifling He offered to drive her to the airport for only a nominal fee.
proclivity
inclination; natural tendency The cross old lady has a proclivity to grumble.
sadistic
inclined to cruelty If we are to improve conditions in this prison, we must first get rid of the sadistic warden.
prone
inclined to; prostrate She was prone to sudden fits of anger.
subsume
include; encompass Does the general theory of relativity contradict Newtonian physics, or is Newton's law of gravity subsumed into Einstein's larger scheme?
partial
incomplete In this issue we have published only a partial list of contributors because we lack space to acknowledge everyone.
unobtrusive
inconspicuous; not blatant The secret service agents in charge of protecting the President tried to be as unobtrusive as possible.
wax
increase; grow. With proper handling, his fortunes waxed and he became rich.
nonchalance
indifference; lack of interest Few people could understand how he could listen to the news of the tragedy with such nonchalance; the mahority regarded him as callous and unsympathetic.
mealymouthed
indirect speech; hypocritical; evasive Rather than tell Jill directly what he disliked, Jack made a few mealymouthed comments and tried to change the subject.
opportunist
individual who sacrifices principles for expediency by taking advantage of circumstances Forget about ethics! He's such an opportunist that he'll vote in favor of any deal that will give him a break.
proselytize
induce someone to convert to religion or belief In these interfaith meetings, there must be no attempt to proselytize; we must respect all points of view.
unerringly
infallibly My teacher unerringly pounced on the one typographical error in my essay.
opprobrium
infamy; vilification He refused to defend himself against the slander and opprobrium hurled against him by the newspapers; he preferred to rely on his record.
wreak
inflict. I am afraid he will wreak his vengeance on the innocent as well as the guilty.
mayhem
injury to the body The riot was marked not only by mayhem, with its attendant loss of life and limb, but also by arson and pillage.
tesselated
inlaid; mosaic I recall seeing a table with a tesselated top of bits of stone and glass in a very interesting pattern.
perceptive
insightful; aware; wise Although Maud was a generally perceptive critic, she had her blind sports: she could never see flaws in the work of her friends.
paltry
insignificant; petty This is a paltry sum to pay for such a masterpiece.
puny
insignificant; tiny; weak Our puny efforts to stop the flood were futile.
vapid
insipid; inane She delivered an uninspired and vapid address.
slur
insult to one's character or reputation; slander Polls revealed that the front-runner's standing had been damaged by the slurs and innuendoes circulated by his opponent's staff.
slight
insult to one's dignity; snub Hypersensitive and ready to take offense at any discourtesy, Bertha was always on the lookout for real or imaginary slights.
purport
intention; meaning If the purport of your speech was to arouse the rabble, you succeeded admirably.
willful
intentional; headstrong. Donald had planned to kill his wife for months; clearly, her death was a case of deliberate, willful murder, not a crime of passion committed by a hasty, willful youth unable to foresee the consequences of his deeds.
symbiosis
interdependent relationship (between groups, species), often mutually beneficial Both the crocodile bird and the crocodile derive benefit from their symbiosis; pecking away at food particles embedded in the crocodile's teeth, the bird derives nourishment; the crocodile, meanwhile, derives proper dental hygiene.
meddlesome
interfering He felt his marriage was suffering because of his meddlesome mother-in-law.
misconstrue
interpret incorrectly; misjudge She took the passage seriously rather than humourously because she misconstrued the author's ironic tone.
prelude
introduction; forerunner I am afraid that this border raid is the prelude to more serious attacks.
prefactory
introductory The chairman made a few prefactory remarks before he called on the first speaker.
preamble
introductory statement In the preamble to the Constitution, the purpose of the document is set forth.
withdrawn
introverted; remote. Rebuffed by his colleagues, the initially outgoing young researcher became increasingly withdrawn.
tonic
invigorating medicine The tonic water invigorated her, contrary to the enervating effect of the alcohol.
opalescent
iridescent The Ancient Mariner admired the opalescent sheen on the water.
testy
irritable; short-tempered My advice is to avoid discussing this problem with him today as he is rather testy and may shout at you.
rankle
irritate; fester The memory of having been jilted rankled him for years.
pique
irritation; resentment She showed her pique by her refusal to appear with the other contestants at the end of the contest.
quarantine
isolation of a person, place, or ship to prevent spread of infection We will have to place this house under quarantine until we determine the nature of the disease.
seclusion
isolation; solitude One moment she loved crowds; the next, she sought seclusion.
yoke
join together, unite. I don't wish to be yoked to him in marriage, as if we were cattle pulling a plow.
peregrination
journey Auntie Mame was a world traveler whose peregrinations took her from Tiajuana to Timbuctoo.
succulent
juicy; full of richness To some people, Florida citrus fruits are more succulent than those from California.
warrant
justify; authorize. Before the judge issues the injunction, you must convince her this action is warranted.
sagacious
keen; shrewd; having insight He is much too sagacious to be fooled by a trick like that.
shun
keep away from Cherishing his solitude, the recluse shunned the company of other human beings.
retain
keep; employ Fighting to retain his seat in Congress, Senator Foghorn retained a new manager to head his reelection campaign.
realm
kingdom; sphere The realm of possibilities for the new invention was endless.
trinket
knickknack; bauble Whenever she traveled abroad, Ethel would pick up costume jewelry and other trinkets as souvenirs.
timidity
lack of self-confidence or courage If you are to succeed as a salesperson, you must first lose your timidity and fear of failure.
spartan
lacking luxury and comfort; sternly disciplined Looking over the bare, unheated room with its hard cot, he wondered what he was doing in such spartan quarters. Only his spartan sense of duty kept him at his post.
peon
landless agricultural worker; bond servant The land reformers sought to liberate the peons and establish them as independent farmers.
parlance
language; idiom All this legal parlance confuses me; I need an interpreter.
pine
languish, decline; long for, yearn Though she tried to be happy living with Clara in the city, Heidi pined for the mountains and for her gruff but loving grandfather.
metropolis
large city Every evening this terminal is filled with the thousands of commuters who are going from this metropolis to their homes in the suburbs.
tome
large volume He spent much time in the libraries poring over ancient tomes.
salacious
lascivious; lustful Chaucer's monk is not pious but salacious, a teller of lewd tales and ribald jests.
scourge
lash; whip; severe punishment They feared the plague and regarded it as a deadly scourge.
ultimatum
last demand; warning Since they have ignored our ultimatum, our only recourse is to declare war.
terminus
last stop of railroad After we reached the railroad terminus, we continued our journey into the wilderness on saddle horses.
ludicrous
laughable; trifling Let us be serious; this is not a ludicrous issue.
profusion
lavish expenditure; overabundant condition Seldom have I seen food and drink served in such profusion as at the wedding feast.
sumptuous
lavish; rich I cannot recall when I have had such a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast.
statute
law We have many statutes in our law books which should be repealed.
shyster
lawyer using questionable methods. On L.A. Law, respectable attorney Brackman was horrified to learn that his newly discovered half brother was a cheap shyster.
spawn
lay eggs Fish ladders had to be built in the dams to assist the salmon returning to spawn in their native streams.
stratum
layer of earth's surface; layer of society Unless we alleviate conditions in the lowest stratum of our society, we may expect grumbling and revolt.
punctilious
laying stress on niceties of conduct or form; precise We must be punctilious in our planning of this affair, for any error may be regarded as a personal affront.
sloth
laziness Such sloth in a young person is deplorable; go to work!
sluggard
lazy person "You are a sluggard, a drone, a parasite," the angry father shouted at his lazy son.
pundit
learned Hindu; any learned person; authority on a subject Even though he discourses on the matter like a pundit, he is actually rather ignorant about this topic.
moratorium
legal delay of payment If we declare a moratorium and delay collection of debts for six months, I am sure the farmers will be able to meet their bills.
usury
lending money at illegal rates of interest The loan shark was found guilty of usury.
torpor
lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy Nothing seemed to arouse him from his torpor; he had wholly surrendered himself to lethargy.
rabid
like a fanatic; furious He was a rabid follower of the Dodgers and watched them play whenever he could go to the ball park.
vulpine
like a fox; crafty She disliked his sly ways, but granted him a certain vulpine intelligence.
parameter
limit; independent variable We need to define the parameters of the problem.
modicum
limited quantity Although his story is based on a modicum of truth, most of the events he describes are fictitious.
qualified
limited; restricted Unable to give the candidate full support, the mayor gave him only a qualified endorsement.
queue
line They stood patiently in the queue outside the movie theatre.
roster
list They print the roster of players in the season's program.
repertoire
list of works of music, drama, etc., a performer is prepared to present The opera company decided to include Madame Butterfly in its repertoire for the following season.
stygian
literary dark The stygian room reminded him of an empty space.
vegetate
live in a monotonous way I do not understand how you can vegetate in this quiet village after the adventurous life you have led.
vivacious
lively or animated; sprightly She had always been vivacious and sparkling.
skittish
lively; frisky She is as skittish as a kitten playing with a piece of string.
rousing
lively; stirring "And now, let's have a rousing welcome for TV's own Roseanne Arnold, who'll lead us in a rousing rendition of 'The Star-Spangled Banner.'"
patois
local or provincial dialect His years of study of the language at the university did not enable him to understand the patois of the natives.
venue
location The attorney asked for a change of venue; he thought his client would do better if the trial were held in a less conservative county.
syllogism
logical formula consisting of a major premise, a minor premise and a conclusion; deceptive or specious argument There must be a fallacy in this syllogism; I cannot accept its conclusion.
valid
logically convincing; sound; legally acceptable You're going to have to come up with a better argument if you want to convince me that your reasoning is valid.
longevity
long life When he reached ninety, the old man was proud of his longevity.
odyssey
long, evenful journey The refugee's journey from Cambodia was a terrifying odyssey.
strident
loud and harsh She scolded him in a strident voice
loll
lounge about They lolled around in their chairs watching television.
sybarite
lover of luxury Rich people are not always sybarites; some of them have little taste for a life of luxury.
philanthropist
lover of mankind; doer of good As he grew older, he became famous as a philanthropist and benefactor of the needy.
nether
lower Tradition locates hell in the nether regions.
supine
lying on back The defeated pugilist lay supine on the canvas.
mendacious
lying; false He was pathological liar, and his friends learned to discount his mendacious stories.
rarefied
made less dense [of a gas] The mountain climbers had difficulty breathing in the rarefied atmosphere.
osseus
made of bone; bony The hollow "soft spot" found at the top of the infant's skull gradually closes as new osseus tissue fills in the gap.
palatial
magnificent He proudly showed us through his palatial home.
mutilate
maim The torturer threatened to mutilate his victim.
stipulate
make express conditions, specify Before agreeing to reduce American military forces in Europe, the president stipulated that NATO teams be allowed to inspect Soviet bases.
preclude
make impossible; eliminate This contract does not preclude my being employed by others at the same time that I am working for you.
promulgate
make known by official proclamation or publication As soon as the Civil Service Commission promulgates the names of the successful candidates, we shall begin to hire members of our staff.
stupefy
make numb; stun; amaze Disapproving of drugs in general, Laura refused to take sleeping pills or any other medicine that might stupefy her.
preen
make oneself tidy in appearance; feel self-satisfaction As Kitty preened before the mirror, carefully smoothing her shining hair, she couldn't help preening herself on her good looks.
obviate
make unnecessary; get rid of I hope this contribution will obviate any need for further collections of funds.
rejuvenate
make young again The charlatan claimed that his elixir would rejuvenate the aged and weary.
optician
maker and seller of eyeglasses The patient took the prescription given him by his oculist to the optician.
testator
maker of a will The attorney called in his secretary and his partner to witness the signature of the testator.
yeoman
man owing small estate; middle-class farmer. It was not the aristocrat but the yeoman who determined the nation's policies.
megalomania
mania for doing grandiose things Developers who spend millions trying to build the world's tallest skyscraper suffer from megalomania.
virile
manly I do not accept the premise that a man is virile only when he is belligerent.
variegated
many-colored Without her glasses, Gretchen saw the fields of tulips as a variegated blur.
peripheral
marginal; outer We lived, not in central London, but in one of those peripheral suburbs that spring up on the outskirts of the great city.
welt
mark from beating or whipping. The evidence of child abuse was very clear; Jennifer's small body was covered with welts and bruises.
uproarious
marked by commotion; extremely funny; very noisy The uproarious comedy hit Home Alone featured Macaulay Culkin, whose mugging and comic antics provoked gales of uproarious laughter from audiences coast to coast.
striated
marked with parallel bands; grooved The glacier left many striated rocks.
nubile
marrigeable Mrs. Bennet, in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, was worried about finding suitable husbands for her five nubile daughters.
requiem
mass for the dead; dirge They played Mozart's Requiem at the funeral.
mete
measure; distribute He tried to be impartial in his efforts to mete out justice.
officious
meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one's services After her long flight, Jill just wanted to nap, but the officious bellboy was intent on showing her all the special features of the deluxe suite.
tryst
meeting The lovers kept their tryst even though they realized their danger.
molten
melted The city of Pompeii was destroyed by volcanic ash rather than by molten lava flowing from Mount Vesuvius.
proletarian
member of the working class The aristocrats feared mob rule and gave the right to vote only to the wealthy, thus depending the proletarians of a voice in government.
minatory
menacing; threatening Jabbing a minatory forefinger at Dorothy, the Wicked Witch cried, "I'll get you, and your little dog, too!"
psychosis
mental disorder We must endeavor to find an outlet for the patient's repressed desires if we hope to combat this psychosis.
mirth
merriment; laughter Sober Malvolio found Sir Toby's mirth improper.
lode
metal-bearing vein If this lode that we have discovered extends for any distance, we have found a fortune.
regime
method or system of government When a Frenchman mentions the Old Regime, he refers to the government existing before the revolution.
misdemeanor
minor crime The culprit pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor rather than face trial for a felony.
skirmish
minor fight Custer's troops expected they might run into a skirmish or two on maneuvers; they did not expect to face a major battle.
squabble
minor quarrel; bickering Children invariably get involved in petty squabbles; wise parents know when to interfere and when to let the children work things out on their own.
misadventure
mischance; ill luck The young explorer met death by misadventure.
urchin
mischievous child (usually a boy) Get out! This store is no place for grubby urchins!
waggish
mischievous; humorous; tricky. He was a prankster who, unfortunately, often overlooked the damage he could cause with his waggish tricks.
skinflint
miser The old skinflint refused to give her a raise.
qualms
misgivings His qualms of conscience had become so great that he decided to abandon his plans.
projectile
missile Man has always hurled projectiles at his enemy whether in the form of stones or of highly explosive shells.
promiscuous
mixed indiscriminately; haphazard; irregular, particularly sexually In the opera La Boheme, we get a picture of the promiscuous life led by the young artists of Paris.
medley
mixture The band played a medley of Gershwin tunes.
miscellany
mixture of writings on various subjects This is an interesting miscellany of nineteenth-century prose and poetry.
scoff
mock; ridicule He scoffed at dentists until he had his first toothache.
satirical
mocking The humor of cartoonists Gary Trudeau often is satirical; though the comments of the Doonesbury characters, Trudeau ridicules political corruption and folly.
paragon
model of perfection The class disliked him because the teacher was always pointing him out as a paragon of virtue.
paradigm
model; example; pattern Pavlov's experiment in which he trains a dog to salivate on hearing a bell is a paradigm of the conditioned- response experiment in behavioal psychology.
temper
moderate; tone down or restrain; toughen (steel) Not even her supervisor's grumpiness could temper Nancy's enthusiasm for her new job.
sobriety
moderation (especially regarding indulgence in alcohol); seriousness Neither drunkards nor comics are noted for sobriety.
unassuming
modest He is so unassuming that some people fail to realize how great a man he really is.
retiring
modest; shy Given Susan't retiring personality, no one expected her to take up public speaking; surprisingly enough, she became a star of the school debate team.
lull
moment of calm Not wanting to get wet, they waited under the awning for a lull in the rain.
transient
momentary; temporary; staying for a short time Lexy's joy at finding the perfect Christmas gift for Phil was transient; she still had to find presents for the cousins and Uncle Bob. Located near the airport, this hotel caters to the largely transient trade.
potentate
monarch; sovereign The potentate spent more time at Monte Carlo than he did at home on his throne.
lucre
money Preferring lucre to undying fame, he wrote stories of popular appeal.
simian
monkeylike Lemurs are nocturnal mammals and have many simian characteristics, although they are less intelligent than monkeys.
low
moo From the hilltop, they could see the herd like ants in the distance; they could barely hear the cattle low.
phobia
morbid fear Her fear of flying was more than mere nervousness; it was a real phobia.
maternal
motherly Many animals display maternal instincts only while their offspring are young and helpless.
stagnant
motionless; stale; dull The stagnant water was a breeding ground for disease
mercenary
motivated solely by money or gain "I'm not in this war because I get my kicks waving flags," said the mercenary soldier. "I'm in it for the dough."
plaintive
mournful The dove has a plaintive and melancholy call
lugubrious
mournful The lugabrious howling of the dogs added to our sadness.
orifice
mouthlike opening; small opening The Howe Caverns were discovered when someone observed that a cold wind was issuing from an orifice in the hillside.
waft
moved gently by wind or waves. Daydreaming, he gazed at the leaves that wafted past his window.
turbid
muddy; having the sediment disturbed The water was turbid after the children had waded through it.
propagate
multiply; spread Since bacteria propagate more quickly in unsanitary environments, it is important to keep hospital rooms clean.
regicide
murder of a king or queen The beheading of Mary Queen of Scots was an act of regicide.
mutter
murmur or grumble The child muttered at the doll.
maim
mutilate; injure The hospital could not take care of all who had been mangled or maimed in the railroad accident.
reciprocal
mutual; exchangeable; interacting The two nations signed a reciprocal trade agreement.
occult
mysterious; secret; supernatural The occult rites of the organization were revealed only to members.
runic
mysterious; set down in an ancient alphabet Tolkien's use of Old English words and inscriptions in the runic alphabet give The Lord of the Rings its atmosphere of antiquity.
recount
narrate or tell; count over again About to recount the latest adventure of Sherlock Holmes, Watson lost track of exactly how many cases Holmes had solved and refused to begin his tale until he'd recounted them one by one.
parochial
narrow in outlook; provincial; related to parishes Although Jane Austen writes novels set in small rural communities, her concerns are universal, not parochial.
ravine
narrow valley with steep sides Steeper than a gully, less precipitous than a canyon, a ravine is, like them, the product of years of erosion.
philistine
narrow-minded person, uncultured and exculsively interested in material gain We need more men of culture and enlightenment; we have too many philistines among us.
sectarian
narrow-minded; limited in scope As university chaplain, she sought to address universal religious issues and not limit herself to mere sectarian concerns.
propensity
natural inclination Convinced of his own talent, Sol has an unfortunate propensity to belittle the talents of others.
sextant
navigation tool used to determine a ship's latitude and longitude Given a clear night, with the aid of his sextant and compass, he could keep the ship safely on course.
proximity
nearness The deer sensed the hunter's proximity and bounded away.
propinquity
nearness; kinship Their relationship could not be explained as being based on mere propinquity: they were more than relatives; they were true friends.
myopic
nearsighted In thinking only of your present needs and ignoring the future, you are being rather myopic.
spruce
neat and trim Every button buttoned, tie firmly in place, young Alex Keaton looked spruce and tidy for his job interview at the bank.
natty
neatly or smartly dresssed Priding himself on being a natty dresser, the gangster Bugsy Siegel collected a wardrobe of imported suits and ties.
requisite
necessary requirement Many colleges state that a student must offer three years of a language as a requisite for admission.
tautological
needlessly repetitious In the sentence "It was visible to the eye," the phrase "to the eye" is tautological.
pejorative
negative in connotation; having a belittling effect. Instead of criticizing Clinton's policies, the Republicans made pejorative remarks about his character.
remiss
negligent He was accused of being remiss in his duty when the prisoner escaped.
titter
nervous laugh Her aunt's constant titter nearly drove her mad.
seine
net for catching fish When the shad run during the spring, you may see fishermen with seines along the banks of our coastal rivers.
noncommittal
neutral; unpledged; undecided We were annoyed by his noncommittal reply for we had been led to expect definite assurances of his approval.
neologism
new or newly coined word or phrase As we invent new techniques and professions, we must also invent neologisms such as "microcomputer" and "astronaut" to describe them.
subtlety
nicety; cunning; guile; delicacy The subtlety of his remarks was unnoticed by most of his audience.
outmoded
no longer stylish; old-fahioned Unconcerned about keeping in style, Lenore was perfectly happy to wear outmoded clothes as long as they were clean and unfrayed.
optional
not compulsory; left to one's choice I was impressed by the range of optional accessories for my microcomputer that were available.
rudimentary
not developed; elementary His dancing was limited to a few rudimentary steps.
unearthly
not earthly; weird There is an unearthly atmosphere in her work that amazes the casual observer.
objective
not influenced by emotions; fair Even though he was her son, she tried to be objective about his behavior.
temporal
not lasting forever; limited by time; secular At one time in our history, temporal rulers assumed that they had been given their thrones by divine right.
theoretical
not practical or applied; hypothetical Bob was better at applied engineering and computer programming than he was at theoretical physics and math. While I can still think of some theoretical objections to your plan, you've convinced me of its basic soundness.
unrequited
not reciprocated Suffering the pangs of unrequited love, Olivia rebukes Cesario for his hard-heartedness.
marked
noticeable; targeted for vengeance He walked with a marked limp, a souvenir of an old IRA attack. As British ambassador, he knew he was a marked man.
unprecedented
novel; unparalleled Margaret Mitchell's book Gone with the Wind was an unprecedented success.
quorum
number of members necessary to conduct a meeting The senator asked for a roll call to determine whether a quorum was present.
manifold
numerous; varied I cannot begin to tell you how much I appreciate your manifold kindnesses.
missile
object to be thrown or projected Scientists are experimenting with guided missiles.
mandatory
obligatory These instructions are mandatory; any violation will be severely punished.
scurrilous
obscene; indecent Your scurrilous remarks are especially offensive because they are untrue.
recalcitrant
obstinately stubborn Donkeys are reputed to be the most recalcitrant of animals.
procurement
obtaining The personnel department handles the procurement of new employees.
recurrent
occurring again and again These recurrent attacks disturbed us and we consulted a physician.
sporadic
occurring irregularly Although there are still sporadic outbursts of shooting in the streets, the rebellion is essentially over.
subjective
occurring or taking place within the mind; unreal Your analysis is highly subjective; you have permitted your emotions and your opinions to color your thinking.
quaint
odd; old-fashioned; picturesque Her quaint clothes and old-fashioned language marked her as an eccentric.
piebald
of different colors; motled; spotted You should be able to identify Polka Dot in this race; he is the only piebald horse running.
obnoxious
offensive I find your behavior obnoxious; please mend your ways.
terrestrial
on or relating to the earth We have been able to explore the terrestrial regions much more thoroughly than the aquatic or celestial regions.
marsupial
one of a family of mammals that nurse their offspring in a pouch The most common marsupial in North America is the opposum.
reaper
one who harvests grain Death, the Grim Reaper, cuts down men and women, just as a farmer cuts down the ripened grain.
polygamist
one who has more than one spouse at a time He was arrested as a polygamist when his two wives filed complaints about him.
rift
opening; break The plane was lost in the stormy sky until the pilot saw the city through a rift in the clouds.
manipulate
operate with the hands; control or change by artful means How do you manipulate these puppets?
tyranny
oppression; cruel government Frederick Douglass fought against the tyranny of slavery throughout his entire life.
mandate
order; charge In his inaugural address, the President stated that he had a mandate from the people to seek an end to social evils such as poverty and poor housing.
pendant
ornament (hanging from a necklace, etc.) The grateful team presented the coach with a silver chain and pendant engraved with the school's motto.
rococo
ornate; highly decorated The rococo style in furniture and architecture, marked by scrollwork and excessive decoration, flourished during the middle of the eighteenth century.
pretentious
ostentatious; ambitious I do not feel that your limited resources will permit you to carry out such a pretentious program.
perimeter
outer boundary To find the perimeter of any quadrilateral, we add the lengths of the four sides.
uncouth
outlandish; clumsy; boorish Most biographers portray Lincoln as an uncouth and ungainly young man.
obsolete
outmoded "Hip" is an obsolete expression; it went out with love beads and tie-dye shirts.
outwit
outsmart; trick By disguising himself as an old woman, Holmes was able to outwit his pursuers and escape capture.
preeminent
outstanding; superior The king traveled to Boston because he wanted the preeminent surgeon in the field to perform the operation.
semblance
outward appearance; guise Although this book has a semblance of wisdom and scholarship, a careful examination will reveal many errors and omissions.
trappings
outward decorations; ornaments He loved the trappings of success: the limousines, the stock options, the company jet.
manifestation
outward demonstration; indication Mozart's early attraction to the harsichord was the first manifestation of his pronounced musical bent.
surmount
overcome He had to surmount many obstacles in order to succeed.
simplistic
oversimplified Though Jack's solution dealt adequately with one aspect of the problem, it was simplistic in failing to consider various complicating factors that might arise.
streotyped
oversimplified; lacking individuality; seen as a type My chief objection to the book is that the characters are stereotyped; they come across as ethnic caricatures, not as real people with individual quirks, fears, and dreams.
rave
overwhelmingly favorable review Though critic John Simon seldom has a good word to say about contemporary plays, his review of All in the Timing was a total rave.
placate
pacify; conciliate The teacher tried to placate the angry mother.
stipple
paint or draw with dots Seurat carefully stippled dabs of pure color on the canvas, juxtaposing dots of blue and yellow that the viewer's eye would interpret as green.
mauve
pale purple The mauve tint in the lilac bush was another indication that spring had finally arrived.
pallid
pale; wan Because his occupation required that he work at night and sleep during the day, he had an exceptionally pallid complexion.
mollycoddle
pamper; indulge excessively Don't mollycoddle the boy, Maud! You'll spoil him.
sere
parched; dry After the unseasonably dry winter the Berkeley hills looked dusty and sere.
palimpsest
parchment used for second time after original writing has been erased Using chemical reagents, scientists have been able to restore the original writings on many palimpsests.
proscenium
part of stage in front of curtain In the theater-in-the-round there can be no proscenium or proscenium arch.
motley
parti-colored; mixed The captain had gathered a motley crew to sail the vessel.
predilection
partiality; preference Although the artist used various media from time to time, she had a predilection for watercolors.
madrigal
pastoral song His program of folk songs included several madrigals which he sang to the accompaniment of a lute.
podium
pedestal; raised platform The audience applauded as the conductor made his way to the podium.
pseudonym
pen name Samuel Clemens' pseudonym was Mark Twain.
sage
person celebrated for wisdom Hearing tales of a mysterious Master of All Knowledge who lived in the hills of Tibet, Sandy was possessed with a burning desire to consult the legendary sage.
malcontent
person dissatisfied with existing state of affairs He was one of the few malcontents in the Congress; he constantly voiced his objections to the Presidential program.
reprobate
person hardened in sin, devoid of a sense of decency I cannot understand why he has so many admirers if he is the reprobate you say he is.
nonentity
person of no importance; nonexistence Don't dismiss John as a nonentity; in his quiet way, he's very important to the firm.
magnate
person of prominence or influence The steel magnate decided to devote more time to city politics.
supernumerary
person or thing in excess of what is necessary; extra His first appearance on the stage was as a supernumerary in a Shakespearean tragedy.
ragamuffin
person wearing tattered clothes He felt sorry for the ragamuffin who was begging for food and gave him money to buy a meal.
numismatist
person who collects coins The numismatist had a splendid collection of antique coins.
masochist
person who enjoys his own pain The masochist begs, "Hit me." The sadist smiles and says, "I won't."
stoic
person who is indifferent to pleasure or pain The doctor called her patient a stoic because he had borne the pain of the examination without whimpering.
optimist
person who looks on the bright side The pessimist says the glass is half-empty; the optimist says it is half-full.
millinery
person who makes or sells women's hats The millinery displayed fashionable hats in the street where many women passed by.
proponent
person who supports or proposes (an idea) After the bill had been amended and re-amended in committee, even its original proponents didn't want to vote in its favor.
tanner
person who turns animal hides into leather Using a solution of tanbark, the tanner treated the cowhide, transforming it into supple leather.
pyromaniac
person with an insane desire to set things on fire The detectives searched the area for the pyromaniac who had set these costly fires.
suborn
persuade to act unlawfully (especially to commit perjury) In the Godfather, the mobsters used bribery and threats to suborn the witnesses against Don Michael Corleone.
pharisaical
pertaining to Pharisees, who paid scrupulous attention to tradition; self-righteous; hypocritical Walter Lippmann has pointed out that moralists who do not attempt to explain the moral code they advocate are often regarded as pharisaical and ignored.
pontifical
pertaining to a bishop or pope; pompous or pretentious From the very beginning of his ministry it was clear from his pontifical pronouncements that John was destined for a high pontifical office.
provincial
pertaining to a province; limited in outlook; unsophisticated As provincial governor, Sir Henry administered the Queen's law in his remote corner of Canada.
traumatic
pertaining to an injury caused by violence In his nightmares, he kept on recalling the traumatic experience of being wounded in battle.
rustic
pertaining to country people; uncouth The backwoodsman looked out place in his rustic attire.
pathological
pertaining to disease As we study the pathological aspects of this disease, we must not overlook the psychological elements.
thespian
pertaining to drama Her success in the school play convinced her she was destined for a thespian career.
seismic
pertaining to earthquakes The Richter scale is a measurement of seismic disturbances.
valedictory
pertaining to farewell I found the valedictory address too long; leave-taking should be brief.
piscatorial
pertaining to fishing He spent many happy hours at the lake in his piscatorial activities.
marital
pertaining to marriage After the publication of his book on marital affairs, he was often consulted by married people on the verge of divorce.
psychopathic
pertaining to mental derangement The psychopathic patient suffers more frequently from a disorder of the nervous system than from a diseased brain.
pecuniary
pertaining to money I never expected a pecuniary reward for my work in this activity.
vitreous
pertaining to or resembling glass Although this plastic has many vitreous qualties such as transparency, it is unbreakable.
nautical
pertaining to ships or navigation The Maritime Museum contains many models of clipper ships, logbooks, anchors and many other items of a nautical nature.
metaphysical
pertaining to speculative philosophy The modern poets have gone back to the fanciful poems of the metaphysical poets of the seventeenth century for many of their images.
somatic
pertaining to the body; physical Why do you ignore the spiritual aspects and emphasize only the corporeal and the somatic ones?
pulmonary
pertaining to the lungs In his researches on pulmonary diseases, he discovered many facts about the lungs of animals and human beings.
lunar
pertaining to the moon lunar craters can be plainly seen with the aid of a small telescope.
tactile
pertaining to the organs or sense of touch His callused hands had lost their tactile sensitivity.
sensuous
pertaining to the physical senses; operating through the senses He was stimulated by the sights, sounds and smells about him; he was enjoying his sensuous experience.
physiological
pertaining to the science of the function of living organisms To understand this disease fully, we must examine not only its physiological aspects but also its psychological elements.
stellar
pertaining to the stars He was the stellar attraction of the entire performance.
supplicate
petition humbly; pray to grant a favor We supplicate Your Majesty to grant him amnesty.
obstetrician
physician specializing in delivery of babies Unlike midwives, who care for women giving birth at home, obstetricians generally work in a hospital setting.
mosaic
picture made of smell, colorful inlaid tiles The mayor compared the ciry to a beautiful mosaic made up of people of every race and religion on earth.
vignette
picture; short literary sketch The New Yorker published her latest vignette.
perforate
pierce; put a hole through Before you can open the aspirin bottle, you must first perforate the plastic safety seal that covers the cap.
ruthless
pitiless The escaped convict was a dangerous and ruthless murderer.
sheathe
place into a case As soon as he recognized the approaching men, he sheathed his dagger and hailed them as friends.
purgatory
place of spiritual expiation In this purgatory, he could expect no help from his comrades.
superimpose
place over something else Your attempt to superimpose another agency in this field will merely increase the bureaucratic nature of our government.
unequivocal
plain; obvious My answer to your proposal is an unequivocal and absolute "No."
perspicuous
plainly expressed Her perspicuous comments eliminated all posibility of misinterpretation.
premeditate
plan in advance She had premeditated the murder for months, reading about common poisons and buying weed killer that contained arsenic.
rostrum
platform for speech-making; pulpit The crowd murmured angrily and indicated that they did not care to listen to the speaker who was approaching the rostrum.
staccato
played in an abrupt manner; marked by abrupt, sharp sound His staccato speech reminded one of the sound of a machine gun.
sportive
playful Such a sportive attitude is surprising in a person as serious as you usually are.
piquant
pleasantly tart-tasting; stimulating The piquant sauce added to our enjoyment of the meal.
luscious
pleasing to taste or smell The ripe peach was luscious.
scenario
plot outline; screenplay; opera libretto Scaramouche startled the other actors in the commedia troupe when he suddenly departed from their customary scenario and began to improvise.
ravage
plunder; despoil The marauding army ravaged the countryside.
predatory
plundering The hawk is a predatory bird.
solstice
point at which the sun is farthest from the equator The winter solstice usually occurs on December 21.
zenith
point directly overhead in the sky; summit. When the sun was at its zenith, the glare was not as strong as at sunrise and sunset.
perigee
point of moon's orbit when it is nearest the earth The rocket which was designed to take photographs of the moon was launched as the moon approached its perigee.
martrix
point of origin; array of numbers or algebraic symbols; mold or die Some historians claim the Nile Valley was the matrix of the Western civilization.
toxic
poisonous We must seek an antidote for whatever toxic substance he has eaten.
viper
poisonous snake The habitat of the horned viper, a particularly venomous snake, is in sandy regions like the Sahara or the Sinai peninsula.
prod
poke; stir up; urge If you prod him hard enough, he'll eventually clean his room.
verbiage
pompous array of words After we had waded through all the verbiage, we discovered that the writer had said very little.
strut
pompous walk His strut as he marched about the parade ground revealed him for what he was: a pompous buffoon.
vogue
popular fashion Jeans became the vogue on many college campuses.
permeable
porous; allowing passage through Glass is permeable to light.
vantage
position giving an advantage They fired upon the enemy from behind trees, walls and any other point of vantage they could find.
procrastinate
postpone; delay It is wise not to procrastinate; otherwise, we find ourselves bogged down in a mass of work that should have been finished long ago.
mogul
powerful person The oil moguls made great profits when the price of gasoline rose.
potent
powerful; persuasive; greatly influential The jury was swayed by the highly potent testimony of the crime's sole eyewitness.
puissant
powerful; strong; potent We must keep his friendship for he will make a puissant ally.
pragmatic
practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something This coming trip to France should provide me with a pragmatic test of the value of my conversational French class.
pragmatist
practical person No pragmatist enjoys becoming involved in a game that he can never win
precept
practical rule guiding conduct "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is a worthwhile precept.
precedent
preceding in time, rank, etc. Our discussions, precedent to this event, certainly did not give you any reason to believe that we would adopt your proposal.
nicety
precision; minute distinction I cannot distinguish between such niceties of reasoning.
prognosticate
predict I prognosticate disaster unless we change our wasteful ways.
presentiment
premonition; foreboding Hamlet felt a presentiment about his meeting with Laertes.
materialism
preoccupation with physical comforts and things By its nature, materialism is opposed to idealism, for where the materialist emphasizes the needs of the body, the idealist emphasizes the needs of the soul.
regimen
prescribed diet and habits I doubt whether the results warrant our living under such a strict regimen.
stymie
present an obstacle; stump The detective was stymied by the contradictory evidence in the robbery investigation.
overweening
presumptuous; arrogant His overweening pride in his accomplishments was not justified.
sham
pretend He shammed sickness to get out of going to school.
subterfuge
pretense; evasion As soon as we realized that you had won our support by a subterfuge we withdrew our endorsement of your candidacy.
mode
prevailing style She was not used to their lavish mode of living.
prerogative
privilege; unquestionable right The President cannot levy taxes; that is the prerogative of the legislative branch of government.
visionary
produced by imagination; fanciful; mystical She was given to visionary schemes that never materialized.
lucrative
profitable He turned his hobby into a lucrative profession.
wastrel
profligate. He was denounced as a wastrel who had dissipated his inheritance.
protract
prolong Seeking to delay the union members' vote, the management team tried to protract the negotiations endlessly, but the union representatives saw through their strategy.
salient
prominent One of the salient features of that newspaper is its excellent editorial page.
seemly
proper; appropriate Lady Bracknell did not think it was seemly for Ernest to lack a proper family; no baby abandoned on a doorstep could grow up to marry her daughter.
sibylline
prophetic; oracular Until their destruction by fire in 83 B.C., the sibylline books were often consulted by the Romans.
thrive
prosper; flourish Despite the impact of recession on the restaurant trade, Philip's cafe thrived.
tutelary
protective; pertaining to a guardianship I am acting in my tutelary capacity when I refuse to grant you permission to leave the campus.
remonstrance
protest; objection The authorities were deaf to the pastor's remonstrances about the lack of police protection in the area.
protuberance
protrusion; bulge A ganglionic cyst is a fluid-filled tumor (generally benign) that develops near a joint membrane or tendon sheath, and that bulges beneath the skin, forming a protuberance.
maxim
proverb; a truth pithily stated Aesop's fables illustrate moral maxims.
skimp
provide scantily; live very economically They were forced to skimp on necessities in order to make their limited supplies last the winter.
synoptic
providing a general overview; summary The professor turned to the latest issue of Dissertation Abstracts for a synoptic account of what was new in the field.
paranoia
psychosis marked by delusions of grandeur or persecution Suffering from paranois, he claimed everyone was out to get him; ironically, his claim was accurate; even paranoids have enemies.
tout
publicize; praise excessively I lost confidence in my broker after he touted some junk bonds that turned out to be a bad investment.
whiff
puff or gust (of air, scent, etc.); hint. The slightest whiff of Old Spice cologne brought memories of George to her mind.
wrest
pull away; take by violence. With only ten seconds left to play, our team wrested victory from their grasp.
wrench
pull; strain; twist. She wrenched free of her attacker and landed a powerful kick to his kneecap.
pillory
punish by placing in a wooden frame; subject to criticism and ridicule Even though he was mocked and pilloried, he maintained that he was correct in his beliefs.
punitive
punishing He asked for punitive measures against the offender.
platonic
purely spiritual; theoretical; without sensual desire Accused of impropriety in his dealings with female students, the professor maintained he had only a platonic interest in the women involved.
quintessence
purest and highest embodiment Noel Coward displayed the quintessence of wit.
obtrusive
pushing forward I found her a very obstrusive person, constantly seeking the center of the stage.
quell
put down; quiet The police used fire hoses and teat gas to quell the rioters.
propound
put forth for analysis In you discussion, you have propounded several questions; let us consider each one separately.
marshal
put in order At a debate tournament, extemporaneous speakers have only a minute or two to marshal their thoughts before addressing their audience.
verbalize
put into words I know you don't like to talk about these things, but please try to verbalize your feelings.
septic
putrid; producing putrefaction The hospital was in such a filthy state that we were afraid that many of the patients would suffer from septic poisoning.
rebus
puzzle in which pictures stand for words A coven of witches beside a tree is a possible rebus for the town Coventry.
timbre
quality of a musical tone produced by a musical instrument We identify the instrument producing a musical sound by its timbre.
poignancy
quality of being deeply moving; keenness of emotion Watching the tearful reunion of the long-separated mother and child, the social worker was touched by the poignancy of the scene.
naivete
quality of being unsophisticated I cannot believe that such naivete is unassumed in a person of her age and experience.
momentum
quantity of motion of a moving body; impetus The car lost momentum as it tried to ascend the steep hill.
wrangle
quarrel; obtain through arguing; herd cattle. They wrangled over their inheritance.
slake
quench; sate When we reached the oasis, we were able to slake our thirst.
nostrum
questionable medicine No quack selling nostrums is going to cheat me.
receptive
quick or willing to receive ideas, suggestions, etc. Adventure-loving Huck Finn proved a receptive audience for Tom's tales of buried treasure and piracy.
retort
quick, sharp reply Even when it was advisable for her to keep her mouth shut, she was always ready with a retort.
rummage
ransack; thoroughly search When we rummaged through the trunks in the attic, we found many souvenirs of our childhood days.
rant
rave; speak bombastically As we heard him rant on the platform, we could not understand his strange popularity with many people.
voracious
ravenous The wolf is a voracious animal, its hunger never satisfied.
maniacal
raving mad His maniacal laughter frightened us.
perusal
reading I am certain that you have missed important details in your rapid perusal of this document.
rampant
rearing up on hind legs; unrestrained The rampant weeds in the garden killed all the flowers that had been planted in the spring.
rationalize
reason; justify an improper act Do not try to rationalize your behavior by blaming your companions.
ratiocination
reasoning; act of drawing conclusions from premises While Watson was a man of average intelligence, Holmes was a genius, whose gift for ratiocination made him a superb detective.
maverick
rebel; nonconformist To the masculine literary establishment, George Sand with her insistence on wearing trousers and smoking cigars was clearly a maverick who fought her proper womanly role.
repercussion
rebound; reverberation; reaction I am afraid that this event will have serious repercussions.
recipient
receiver Although he had been the recipient of many favors, he was not grateful to his benefactor.
neophyte
recent convert; beginner This monuntain slope contains slides that will challenge esperts as well as neophytes.
recumbent
reclining; lying down completely or in part The command "AT EASE" does not permit you to take a recumbent position.
reactionary
recoiling from progress; retrograde His program was reactionary since it sought to abolish many of the social reforms instituted by the previous administration.
reminiscence
recollection Her reminiscences of her experiences are so fascinating that she ought to write a book.
recuperate
recover The doctors were worried because the patient did not recuperate as rapidly as they had expected.
retrieve
recover; find and bring in The dog was intelligent and quickly learned to retrieve the game killed by the hunter.
reprise
recurrent action; musical repetition; repeat performance At Waterloo, it was not the effect of any one skirmish that exhausted Colonel Audly; rather it was the cumulative effect of the constant reprises that left him spent.
ruddy
reddish; healthy-looking His ruddy features indicated that he had spent much time in the open.
sublimate
refine; purify We must strive to sublimate these desires and emotions into worthwhile activities.
meditation
reflection; thought She reached her decision only after much meditation.
rebuttal
refutation; response with contrary evidence The defense lawyer confidently listened to the prosecutor sum up his case, sure that she could answer his arguments in her rebuttal.
rueful
regretful; sorrowful; dejected The artist has captured the sadness of childhood in his portrait of the boy with the rueful countenance.
spurn
reject; scorn The heroine spurned the villain's advances.
nuptial
related to marriage Their nuptial ceremony was performed in Golden Gate Park.
monastic
related to monks Wanting to live a religious life, he took his monastic vows.
sidereal
relating to the stars Although hampered by optical and mechanical flaws, the orbiting Hubble space telescope has relayed extraordinary images of distant sidereal bodies.
remnant
remainder I suggest that you wait until the store places the remnants of these goods on sale.
residue
remainder; balance In his will, he requested that after payment of debts, taxes, and funeral expenses, the residue be given to his wife.
redress
remedy; compensation Do you mean to tell me that I can get no redress for my injuries?
refurbish
renovate; make bright by polishing The flood left a deposit of mud on everything; it was necessary to refurbish our belongings.
solder
repair or make whole by using a metal alloy The plumber fixed the leak in the pipes by soldering a couple of joints from which water had been oozing.
remediable
reparable Let us be grateful that the damage is remediable.
restitution
reparation; indemnification He offered to make restitution for the window broken by his son.
reimburse
repay Let me know what you have spent and I will reimburse you.
reciprocate
repay in kind If they attack us, we shall be compelled to reciprocate and bomb their territory.
retaliate
repay in kind (usually for bad treatment) Fear that we will retaliate immediately deters our foe from attacking us.
requite
repay; revenge The wretch requited his benefactors by betraying them.
reiterate
repeat He reiterated the warning to make sure everyone understood it.
replicate
reproduce; duplicate To the chagrin of the scientists, they were unable to replicate the results of their controversial experiment.
reprimand
reprove severely I am afraid that my parents will reprimand me when I show them my report card.
recant
repudiate; withdraw previous statement Unless you recant your confession, you will be punished severely.
sedentary
requiring sitting Because he had a sedentary occupation, he decided to visit a gymnasium weekly.
salvage
rescue from loss All attempts to salvage the wrecked ship failed.
umbrage
resentment; anger; sense of injury or insult She took umbrage at his remarks and stormed away in a huff.
reticent
reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence Hughes preferred reticent employees to loquacious ones, noting that the formers' dislike of idle chatter might ensure their discretion about his affairs.
slag
residue from smelting metal; dross; waste matter The blast furnace had a special opening at the bottom to allow the workers to remove the worthless slag.
sedition
resistance to authority; insubordination His words, though not treasonous in themselves, were calculated to arouse thoughts of sedition.
sonorous
resonant His sonorous voice resounded through the hall.
recourse
resorting to help when in trouble The boy's only recourse was to appeal to his father for aid.
reputable
respectable If you want to buy antiques, look for a reputable dealer; far too many dealers today pass off fakes as genuine antiques.
reverent
respectful His reverent attitude was appropriate in a house of worship.
paraphrase
restate a passage in one's own words while retaining thought of author In 250 words or less, paraphrase this article.
renovate
restore to good condition; renew They claim that they can renovate worn shoes so that they look like new ones.
rehabilitate
restore to proper condition We must rehabilitate those whom we send to prison.
pinion
restrain They pinioned his arms against his body but left his legs free so that he could move about.
repress
restrain; crush; oppress Anne's parents tried to curb her impetuosity without repressing her boundless high spirits.
manacle
restrain; handcuff The police immediately manacled the prisoner so he could not escape.
temperate
restrained; self-controlled Noted for his temperate appetite, he seldom gained weight.
reprisal
retaliation I am confident that we are ready for any reprisals the enemy may undertake.
sequester
retire from public life; segregate; seclude Although he had hoped for a long time to sequester himself in a small community, he never was able to drop his busy round of activities in the city.
superannuated
retired or disqualified because of age The superannuated man was indignant because he felt that he could still perform a good day's work.
rejoinder
retort; comeback; reply When someone has been rude to me, I find it particularly satisfying to come up with a quick rejoinder.
resuscitate
revive The lifeguard tried to resuscitate the drowned child by applying artificial respiration.
repeal
revoke; annul What would the effect on our society be if we decriminalized drug use by repealing the laws against the possession and sale of narcotics?
ramshackle
rickety; falling apart The boys propped up the ramshackle clubhouse with a couple of boards.
title
right or claim to possession; mark of rank; name (of a book, film, etc.) Though the penniless Duke of Ragwort no longer held title to the family estate, he still retained his title as head of one of England's oldest families.
whorl
ring of leaves around stem; ring. Identification by fingerprints is based on the difference in shape and number of whorls on the fingers.
wallow
roll in; indulge in; become helpless. The hippopotamus loves to wallow in the mud.
tundra
rolling, treeless plain in Siberia and arctic North America Despite the cold, many geologists are trying to discover valuable mineral deposits in the tundra.
roseate
rosy; optimistic I am afraid you will have to alter your roseate views in the light of the distressing news that has just arrived.
rotundity
roundness; sonorousness of speech Washington Irving emphasized the rotundity of the governor by describing his height and circumference.
regal
royal Prince Albert had a regal manner.
surly
rude; cross Because of his surly attitude, many people avoided his company.
snivel
run at the nose; snuffle; whine Don't you come sniveling to me complaining about your big brother.
seedy
run-down; decrepit; disreputable I would rather stay in dormitory lodgings in a decent youth hostel than have a room of my own in a seedy downtown hotel.
pastoral
rural In these stories of pastoral life, we find an understanding of the daily tasks of country folk.
torrent
rushing stream; flood Day after day of heavy rain saturated the hillside until the water ran downhill in torrents.
saline
salty The slightly saline taste of this mineral water is pleasant.
monotony
sameness leading to boredom He took a clerical job, but soon grew to hate the monotony of his daily routine.
uniformity
sameness; consistency; monotony After a while, the uniformity of TV situation comedies becomes boring.
surfeit
satiate; stuff; indulge to excess in anything Every Thanksgiving we are surfeited with an overabundance of holiday treats.
sate
satisfy to the full; cloy Its hunger sated, the lion dozed.
relish
savor; enjoy I relish a good joke as much as anyone else.
meager
scanty; inadequate His salary was far too meager for him to afford to buy a new car.
machinations
schemes I can see through your wily machinations.
savant
scholar Our faculty includes many worldfamous savants.
pedant
scholar who overemphasizes book learning or technicalities Her insistence that the book be memorized marked the teacher as a pedant rather than a scholar.
ornithologist
scientific student of birds Auduborn's drawings of American bird life have been of interest not only to the ornithologists but also to the general public.
rail
scold; rant You may rail at him all you want; you will never change him.
upbraid
scold; reproach I must upbraid him for his unruly behavior.
shrew
scolding woman No one wanted to marry Shakespeare's Kate because she was a shrew.
sarcasm
scornful remarks, stinging rebuke His feelings were hurt by the sarcasm of his supposed friends.
surreptitious
secret News of their surreptitious meeting gradually leaked out.
privy
secret; hidden; not public We do not care for privy chamber of government.
silt
sediment deposited by running water The harbor channel must be dredged annually to remove the silt.
sophistry
seemingly plausible but fallacious reasoning Instead of advancing valid arguments, he tried to overwhelm his audience with a flood of sophistries.
specious
seemingly reasonable but incorrect Let us not be misled by such specious arguments.
usurp
seize power; supplant The revolution ended when the victorious rebel leader usurped the throne.
reserve
self-control; formal but distant manner Although some girls were attracted by Mark's reserve, Judy was put off by it, for she felt his aloofness indicated a lack of openness.
truism
self-evident truth Many a truism is well expressed in a proverb.
postulate
self-evident truth We must accept these statements as postulates before pursuing our discussions any further.
pomposity
self-important behavior; acting like a stuffed shirt Although the commencement speaker had some good things to say, we had to laugh at his pomposity and general air of parading his own dignity.
penance
self-imposed punishment for sin The Ancient Mariner said, "I have penance done and penance more will do," to atone for the sin of killing the albatross.
vendor
seller The fruit vendor sold her wares from a stall on the sidewalk.
solemnity
seriousness; gravity The minister was concerned that nothing should disturb the solemnity of the marriage service.
sycophant
servile flatterer The king enjoyed the servile compliments and attentions of the sycophants in his retinue.
mediate
settle a dispute through the services of an outsider Let us mediate out differences rather than engage in a costly strike.
subside
settle down; descend; grow quiet The doctor assured us that the fever would eventually subside.
reprobation
severe disapproval The students showed their reprobation of his act by refusing to talk with him.
shoddy
sham; not genuine; inferior You will never get the public to buy such shoddy material.
whet
sharpen; stimulate. The odors from the kitchen are whetting my appetite; I will be ravenous by the time the meal is served.
pungency
sharpness; stinging quality The pungency of the cigarette smoke made me cough.
tonsure
shaving of the head, especially by person entering religious orders His tonsure, even more than his monastic garb, indicated that he was a member of the religious order.
molt
shed or cast off hair or feathers The male robin molted in the spring.
luster
shine; gloss The soft luster of the silk in the dim light was pleasing.
lustrous
shining Her large and lustrous eyes gave a touch of beauty to an otherwise drab face.
luminous
shining; issuing light The sun is a luminous body.
parable
short, simple story teaching a moral Let us apply to our own conduct the lesson that this parable teaches.
painstaking
showing hard work; taking great care The new high-frequency word list is the result of painstaking efforts on the part of our research staff.
wince
shrink back; flinch. The screech of the chalk on the blackboard made her wince.
wither
shrivel; decay. Cut flowers are beautiful for a day, but all too soon they wither.
occlude
shut; close A blood clot occluded an artery to the heart.
mawkish
sickening; insipid Your mawkish sighs fill me with disgust.
winnow
sift; separate good parts from bad. This test will winnow out the students who study from those who don't bother.
portent
sign; omen; forewarning He regarded the black cloud as a portent of evil.
muted
silent; muffled; toned down In the funeral parlor, the mourners' voices had a muted quality.
synchronous
similary timed; simultaneous with We have many examples of scientists in different parts of the world who have made synchronous discoveries.
warble
sing; babble. Every morning the birds warbled outside her window.
scuttle
sink The sailors decided to scuttle their vessel rather than surrender it to the enemy.
ulterior
situated beyond; unstated and often questionable You must have an ulterior motive for your behavior, since there is no obvious reason for it.
vilify
slander She is a liar and is always trying to vilify my reputation.
obloquy
slander; disgrace; infamy I resent the obloquy that you are casting upon my reputation.
revile
slander; vilify He was avoided by all who feared that he would revile and abuse them if they displeased him.
oblique
slanting; deviating from the perpendicular or from a straight line The sergeant ordered the men to march "oblique right."
shambles
slaughterhouse; scene of carnage By the time the police arrived, the room was a shambles.
thrall
slave; bondage The captured soldier was held in thrall by the conquering army.
servitude
slavery; compulsory labor Born a slave, Douglass resented his wife of servitude and plotted to escape to the North.
servile
slavish; cringing Constantly fawning on his employer, humble Uriah Heap was a servile creature.
obsequious
slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic Helen valued people who behaved as if they respected themselves; nothing irritated her more than an excessively obsequious waiter or a fawning salesclerk.
opiate
sleep producer; deadener of pain By such opiates, she made the people forget their difficulties and accept their unpleasant circumstances.
soporific
sleep producing I do not need a sedative when I listen to one of his soporific speeches.
somnambulist
sleepwalker The most famous somnambulist in literature is Lady Macbeth; her monologue in the sleepwalking scene is one of the highlights of Shakespeare's play.
smattering
slight knowledge I don't know whether it is better to be ignorant of a subject or to have a mere smattering of information about it.
peccadillo
slight offense If we examine these escapades carefully, we will realize that they are mere peccadilloes rather than major crimes.
slither
slip or slide During the recent ice storm, many people slithered down this hill as they walked to the station.
ramp
slope; inclined plane The house was built with ramps instead of stairs in order to enable the man in the wheelchair to move easily from room to room and floor to floor.
slacken
slow up; loosen As they passed the finish line, the runners slackened their pace.
sloth
slow-moving tree-dwelling mammal Note how well the somewhat greenish coat of the sloth enables it to blend in with its arboreal surroundings.
sluggish
slow; lazy; lethargic After two nights without sleep, she felt sluggish and incapable of exertion.
stealth
slyness; sneakiness; secretiveness Fearing detection by the sentries on duty, the scout inched his way toward the enemy camp with great stealth.
satellite
small body revolving around a larger one During the first few years of the Space Age, hundreds of satellites were launched by Russia and the United States.
mote
small speck The tiniest mote in the eye is very painful.
rivulet
small stream As the rains continued, the trickle of water running down the hillside grew into a rivulet that threatened to wash away a portion of the slope.
microcosm
small world In the microcosm of our rural village, we find illustrations of all the evils that beset the universe.
skiff
small, light sailboat or rowboat Tom dreamed of owning an ocean-going yacht but had to settle for a skiff he could sail in the bay.
pallet
small, poor bed The weary traveler went to sleep on his straw pallet.
whit
smallest speck. There is not a whit of intelligence or understanding in your observations.
simper
smirk; smile affectedly Complimented on her appearance, Stella self-consciously simpered.
rebuff
snub; beat back She rebuffed his invitation so smoothly that he did not realize he had been snubbed.
negligible
so small, trifling, or unimportant as to be easily disregarded Because the damage to his car had been negligible, Michael decided he wouldn't bother to report the matter to his insurance company.
saturate
soak Their clothes were saturated by the rain.
steep
soak; saturate Be sure to steep the fabric in the dye bath for the full time prescribed.
sodden
soaked; dull, as if from drink He set his sodden overcoat near the radiator to dry.
staid
sober; sedate Her conduct during the funeral ceremony was staid and solemn.
pariah
social outcast I am not a pariah to be shunned and ostracized.
plutocracy
society ruled by the wealthy From the way the government caters to the rich, you might think our society is a plutocracy rather than a democracy.
quagmire
soft, wet, boggy land; complex or dangerous situation from which it is difficult to free oneself Up to her knees in mud, Myra wondered how on earth she was going to extricate herself from this quagmire.
macerate
soften by soaking in liquid; waste away The strawberries had been soaking in the champagn for so long that they had begun to macerate: they literally fell apart at the touch of a spoon.
monolithic
solidly uniform; unyielding Knowing the importance of appearing resolute, the patriots sought to present a monolithic front.
scapegoat
someone who bears the blame for others After the Challenger disaster, NASA searched for scapegoats on whom they could cast the blame.
ventriloquist
someone who can make his or her voice seem to come from another person or thing This ventriloquist does an act in which she has a conversation with a wooden dummy.
spendthrift
someone who wastes money Easy access to credit encourages people to turn into spendthrifts who shop till they drop. 193. sphinx-like enigmatic; mysterious The Mona Lisa's sphinx-like expression has puzzled art lovers for centuries.
perennial
something long-lasting Tese plants are hardy perennials and will bloom for many years.
novelty
something new; newness The computer is no longer a novelty around the office.
sleeper
something originally of little value or importance that in time becomes very valuable Unnoticed by the critics at its publication, the eventual Pulitzer Prize winner was a classic sleeper.
precedent
something preceding in time that may be used as an authority or guide for future action This decision sets a precedent for future cases of a similar nature.
paean
song of praise or joy paeans celebrating the victory filled the air.
mollify
soothe We tried to mollify the hysterical child by promising her many gifts.
pacify
soothe; make calm or quiet; subdue Dentists criticize the practice of giving fussy children sweets to pacify them.
poultice
soothing application applied to sore and inflamed portions of the body He was advised to apply a flaxseed poultice to the inflammation.
wizardry
sorcery; magic. Merlin amazed the knights with his wizardry.
seamy
sordid; unwholesome In the Godfather, Michael Corleone is unwilling to expose his wife and children to the seamy side of his life as the son of a Mafia don.
scintillate
sparkle; flash I enjoy her dinner parties because the food is excellent and the conversation scintillates.
waffle
speak equivocally about an issue. When asked directly about the governor's involvement in the savings and loan scandal, the press secretary waffled, talking all around the issue.
malign
speak evil of; defame Because of her hatred of the family, she maligns all who are friendly to them.
prate
speak foolishly; boast idly Let us not prate about our qualities; rather, let our virtues speak for themselves.
polyglot
speaking several languages New York City is a polyglot community because of the thousands of immigrants who settle there.
taxonomist
specialist in classifying (animals, etc.) Dental patterns often enable the taxonomist to distinguish members of one rodent species from those of another.
velocity
speed The train went by at considerable velocity.
tempo
speed of music I find the conductor's tempo too slow for such a brilliant piece of music.
niggle
spend too much time on minor points; carp Let's not niggle over details.
regeneration
spiritual rebirth Modern penologists strive for the regeneration of the prisoners.
polarize
split into opposite extremes or camps The abortion issue has polarized the country into pro-choice and anti-abortion camps.
rend
split; tear apart In his grief, he tried to rend his garments.
vitiate
spoil the effect of; make inoperative Fraud will vitiate the contract.
mottled
spotted When he blushed, his face took on a mottled hue.
maculated
spotted; stained Instead of writing that Gorbachev had a birthmark on his forehead, the pompous young poet sang of the former premier's maculated brow.
suffuse
spread over A blush suffused her cheeks when we teased her about her love affair.
strew
spread randomly; sprinkle; scatter Preceding the bride to the altar, the flower girl will strew rose petals along the aisle.
pervasive
spread throughout Despite airing them for several hours, she could not rid her clothes of the pervasive odor of mothbals that clung to them.
spat
squabble; minor dispute What had started out as a mere spat escalated into a full-blown argument.
writhe
squirm, twist. He was writhing in pain, desperate for the drug his body required.
musty
stale; spoiled by age The attic was dark and musty.
scotch
stamp out; thwart; hinder Heather tried to scotch the rumor that she had stolen her best friend's fiance.
philatelist
stamp-collector When she heard the value of the Penny Black stamp, Phyllis was inspired to become a philatelist.
rout
stampede; drive out The reinforcements were able to rout the enemy
quirk
startling twise; caprice By a quirk of fate, he found himself working for the man whom he had discharged years before.
stupor
state of apathy; daze; lack of awareness In his stupor, the addict was unaware of the events taking place around him.
multiplicity
state of being numerous He was appalled by the multuplicity of details he had to complete before setting out on his mission.
parallelism
state of being parallel; similarity There is a striking parallelism between the twins.
responsiveness
state of reacting readily to appeals, order, etc. The audience cheered and applauded, delighting the performers by its responsiveness.
turbulence
state of violent agitation We were frightened by the turbulence of the ocean during the storm.
paradox
statement that looks false but is actually correct; a contradictory statement Wordworth's "The child is father to the man" is an example of paradox.
unfaltering
steadfast She approached the guillotine with unfaltering steps.
plagiarize
steal another's ideas and pass them off as one's own The editor could tell that the writer had plagiarized parts of the article; he could recognize whole paragraphs from the original source.
lurk
stealthily lie in waiting; slink; exist unperceived "Who knows what evils lurk in the hearts of men? The shadow knows."
precipitous
steep; overhasty This hill is difficult to climb because it is so precipitous; one slip, and our descent will be precipitous as well.
protrude
stick out His fingers protruded from the holes in his gloves.
viscous
sticky, gluey Melted tar is a viscous substance.
rigid
stiff and unyielding; strict; hard and unbending By living with a man to whom she was not married, George Eliot broke Victorian society's most rigid rule of respectable behavior.
parsimonious
stingy; excessively frugal His parsimonious nature did not permit him to enjoy any luxuries.
miserly
stingy; mean The miserly old man hoarded his coins not out of prudence but out of greed.
penurious
stingy; parsimonious He was a penurious man, averse to spending money even for the necessities of life.
proviso
stipulation I am ready to accept your proposal with the two proviso that you meet your obligations within the next two weeks.
stoke
stir up a fire; feed plentifully As a Scout, Marisa learned how to light a fire, how to stoke it if it started to die down, and how to extinguish it completely.
provoke
stir up anger; cause retaliation In order to prevent a sudden outbreak of hostilities, we must not provoke our foe.
suture
stitches sewn to hold the cut edges of a wound or incision; material used in sewing We will remove the sutures as soon as the wound heals.
squat
stocky; short and thick Tolkien's hobbits are somewhat squat, sturdy little creatures, fond of good ale, good music, and good food.
touchstone
stone used to test the fineness of gold alloys; criterion What touchstone can be used to measure the character of a person?
repository
storehouse Libraries are repositories of the world's best thoughts.
raconteur
story-teller My father was a gifted raconteur with an unlimited supply of anecdotes.
portly
stout; corpulent The salesclerk tactfully referred to the overweight customer as portly rather than fat.
uncanny
strange; mysterious You have the uncanny knack of reading my innermost thoughts.
throttle
strangle The criminal tried to throttle the old man with his bare hands.
vagrant
stray; random He tried to study, but could not collect his vagrant thoughts.
stamina
strength; staying power I doubt that she has the stamina to run the full distance of the marathon race.
undergird
strengthen the base of Whereas relativity theory undermined the Newtonian mechanics, cosmology was undergirded by it.
prostrate
stretch out full on ground He prostrated himself before the idol.
martinet
strict disciplinarian The commanding officer was a martinet who observed each regulation to the ltter.
percussion
striking one object against another sharply The drum is a percussion instrument.
saunter
stroll slowly As we sauntered through the park, we stopped frequently to admire the spring flowers.
transport
strong emotion Margo was a creature of extremes, at one moment in transports of joy over a vivid sunset, at another moment in transports of grief over a dying bird.
penchant
strong inclination; liking He had a strong penchant for sculpture and owned many statues.
stalwart
strong, brawny; steadfast His consistent support of the party has proved that he is a stalwart and loyal member.
scuffle
struggle confusedly; move off in a confused hurry. The twins briefly scuffled, wrestling to see which of them would get the toy. When their big brother yelled, "Let go of my Gameboy!" they scuffled off down the hall.
obdurate
stubborn He was obdurate in his refusal to listen to our complaints.
obstinate
stubborn We tried to persuade him to give up smoking, but he was obstinate and refused to change.
pertinacious
stubborn; persistent He is bound to succeed because his pertinacious nature will not permit him to quit.
refractory
stubborn; unmanageable The refractory horse was eliminated from the race when he refused to obey the jockey.
perverse
stubbornly wrongheaded; wicked and unacceptable When Hannibal Lecter was in a perverse mood, he ate the flesh of his victims.
pore
study industriously; ponder; scrutinize Determined to become a physician, Beth spends hours poring over her anatomy text.
philology
study of language The professor of philology advocated the use of Esperanto as an international language.
paleontology
study of prehistoric life The professor of paleontology had a superb collection of fossils.
stodgy
stuffy; boringly conservative For a young person, Winston seems remarkably stodgy: you'd expect someone of his age to have a little more life.
oaf
stupid, awkward person He called the unfortunate waiter a clumsy oaf.
rakish
stylish; sporty He wore his hat at a rakish and jaunty angle.
urbane
suave; refined; elegant The courtier was urbane and sophisticated
quash
subdue; crush; squash The authorities acted quickly to quash the student rebellion, sending in tanks to cow the demonstrators.
meek
submissive; patient and long-suffering Mr. Barrett never expected his meek daughter would dare to defy him by eloping with her suitor.
subaltern
subordinate The captain treated his subalterns as though they were children rather than commissioned officers.
subsidiary
subordinate; secondary This information may be used as subsidiary evidence but is not sufficient by itself to prove your argument.
propellant
substance that propels or drives forward The development of our missile program has forced our scientists to seek more powerful propellants.
surrogate
substitute For a fatherless child, a male teacher may become a father surrogate.
spate
sudden flood I am worried about the possibility of a spate if the rains do not diminish soon.
revulsion
sudden violent change of feeling; negative reaction Many people in this country who admired dictatorships underwent a revulsion when they realized what Hitler and Mussolini were trying to do.
potable
suitable for drinking The recent drought in the Middle Atlantic States has emphasized the need for extensive research in ways of making sea water potable.
menial
suitable for sevants; low I cannot understand why a person of your ability and talent should engage in such menial activities.
pertinent
suitable; to the point The lawyer wanted to know all the pertinent details.
recapitulate
summarize Let us recapitulate what has been said thus far before going ahead.
vertex
summit Let us drop a perpendicular line from the vertex of the triangle to the base.
perfunctory
superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm The auditor's perfunctory inspection of the books overlooked many errors.
redundant
superfluous; excessively wordy; repetitious Your composition is redundant; you can easily reduce its length.
stint
supply; allotted amount; assigned portion of work He performed his daily stint cheerfully and willingly.
patronize
support; act superior toward Experts in a field sometimes appear to patronize people who are less knowledgeable of the subject.
strut
supporting bar The engineer calculated that the strut supporting the rafter needed to be reinforced.
reputed
supposed He is the reputed father of the child.
putative
supposed; reputed Although there are some doubts, the putative author of this work is Massinger.
stifle
suppress; extinguish; inhibit Halfway through the boring lecture, Laura gave up trying to stifle her yawns.
satiate
surfeit; satisfy fully The guests, having eaten until they were satiated, now listened inattentively to the speakers.
outrtip
surpass; outdo Jesse Owens easily outstripped his competitors to win the gold metal at the Olympic Games.
reconnaissance
survey of enemy by soldiers; reconnoitering If you encounter any enemy soldiers during your reconnaissance, capture them for questioning.
relic
surviving remnant; memento Egypt's Department of Antiquities prohibits tourists from taking mummies and other ancient relics out of the country.
vulnerable
susceptible to wounds Achilles was vulnerable only in his heel.
miasma
swamp gas; heavy, vaporous atmosphere, often emanating from decaying matter; pervasive corrupting influence The smog hung over Victorian London like a dark cloud; noisome, reeking of decay, it was a visible miasma.
sultry
sweltering He could not adjust himself to the sultry climate of the tropics.
meteoric
swift; momentarily brilliant We all wondered at his meteoric rise to fame.
natation
swimming The Red Cross emphasizes the need for courses in natation.
turgid
swollen; distended The turgid river threatened to overflow the levees and flood the contryside.
tumid
swollen; pompous; bombastic I especially dislike his tumid style; I prefer writing which is less swollen and bombastic.
methodical
systematic An accountant must be methodical and maintain order among his financial records.
retroactive
taking effect before its enactment (as a law) or imposition (as a tax) Because the new pension law was retroactive to the first of the year, even though Martha had retired in February she was eligible for the pension.
resumption
taking up again; recommencement During the summer break, Don had not realized how much he missed university life: at the resumption of classes, however, he felt marked excitement and pleasure.
loquacious
talkative She is very loquacious and can speak on the telephone for hours.
soliloquy
talking to oneself The soliloquy is a device used by the dramatist to reveal a character's innermost thoughts and emotions.
obelisk
tall column tapering and ending in a pyramid Cleopatra's Needle is an obelisk in New York City's Central Park.
palpable
tangible; easily perceptible I cannot understand how you could overlook such a palpable blunder.
prey
target of a hunt; victim In Stalking the Wild Asparagus, Euell Gibbons has as his prey not wild beasts but wild plants.
sully
tarnish; soil He felt that it was beneath his dignity to sully his hands in such menial labor.
savory
tasty; pleasing, attractive, or agreeable Julia Child's recipes enable amateur chefs to create savory delicacies for their guests.
quip
taunt You are unpopular because you are too free with your quips and sarcastic comments.
tribute
tax levied by a ruler; mark of respect The colonists refused to pay tribute to a foreign despot.
tithe
tax of one-tenth Because he was an agnostic, he refused to pay his tithes to the clergy.
pedagogue
teacher He could never be a stuffy pedagogue; his classes were always lively and filled with humor.
sophist
teacher of philosophy; quibbler; employer of fallacious reasoning You are using all the devices of a sophist in trying to prove your case; your argument is specious.
pedagogy
teaching; art of education Though Maria Montessori gained fame for her innovations in pedagogy, it took years before her teaching techniques became common practice in American schools.
rent
tear or rip; split The conflict over abortion threatens to split our nation, creating a rent in the social fabric that will be difficult to mend.
tantalize
tease; torture with disappointment Tom loved to tantalize his younger brother with candy; he knew the boy was forbidden to have it.
remission
temporary moderation of disease symptoms; cancellation of a debt; forgiveness or pardon Though Senator Tsongas had been treated for cancer, his symptoms were in remission, and he was considered fit to handle the strains of a Presidential race.
scaffold
temporary platform for workers; bracing framework; platform for execution Before painting the house, the workers put up a scaffold to allow them to work on the second story.
sojourn
temporary stay After his sojourn in Florida, he began to long for the colder climate of his native New England home.
reprieve
temporary stay During the twenty-four-hour reprieve, the lawyers sought to make the stay of execution permanent.
pathos
tender to sorrow; pity; quality in art or literature that produces these feelings. The quiet tone of pathos that ran through the novel never degenerated into the maudlin or the overly sentimental.
salutary
tending to improve; beneficial; wholesome The punishment had a salutary effect on the boy, as he became a model student.
subversive
tending to overthrow; destructive At first glance, the notion that Styrofoam cups may actually be more ecologically sound than paper cups strikes most environmentalists as subversive.
provisional
tentative The appointment is provisional; only on the approval of the board of directors will it be made permanent.
nomenclature
terminology; system of names She struggled to master scientific nomenclature.
terminology
terms used in a science or art The special terminology developed by some authorities in the field has done more to confuse laypersons than to enlighten them.
sententious
terse; concise; aphoristic After reading so many redundant speeches, I find his sententious style particulary pleasing.
occident
the West It will take occident to understand the ways and customs of the orient.
unction
the act of anointing with oil The anointing with oil of a person near death is called extreme unction.
prosody
the art of versification This book on prosody contains a rhyming dictionary as well as samples of the various verse forms.
venison
the meat of a deer The hunters dined on venison.
molecule
the smallest particle (one or more atoms) of a substance that has all the properties of that substance In chemistry, we study how atoms and molcules react to form new substances.
motif
theme This simple motif runs throughout the score.
pachyderm
thick-skinned animal The elephant is probably the best-known pachyderm.
veneer
thin layer; cover Casual acquaintances were deceived by his veneer of sophistication and failed to recognize his fundamental shallowness.
tenuous
thin; rare; slim The allegiance of our allies is held by rather tenuous ties; let us hope they will remain loyal.
wispy
thin; slight; barely discernible. Worried about preserving his few wispy tufts of hair, Walter carefully massaged his scalp and applied hair restorer every night.
tertiary
third He is so thorough that he analyzes tertiary causes where other writers are content with primary and secondary reasons.
millenium
thousand-year period; period of happiness and prosperity I do not expect the milennium to come during my lifetime.
ominous
threatening Those clouds are ominous; they suggest that a severe storm is on the way.
tether
tie with a rope Before we went to sleep, we tethered the horses to prevent their wandering off during the night.
taut
tight; ready The captain maintained that he ran a taut ship.
yore
time past. He dreamed of the elegant homes of yore, but gave no thought to their inelegant plumbing.
opportune
timely; well chosen You have come at an opportune moment for I need a new secretary.
rubric
title or heading (in red print); directions for religious ceremony; protocol In ordaining the new priests, the bishop carefully observed all the rubrics for the ordination service.
terminate
to bring to an end When his contract was terminated unexpectedly, he desperately needed a new job.
nullify
to make invalid Once the contract was nullified, it no longer had any legal force.
roil
to make liquids murky by stirring up sediment; to disturb Be careful when you pour not to roil the wine; if you stir up the sediment you'll destroy the flavor.
rhapsodize
to speak or write in an exaggeratedly enthusiastic manner She greatly enjoyed her Hawaiian vacation and rhapsodized about it for weeks.
unfrock
to strip a priest or minister of church authority To disbar a lawyer, to unfrock a priest, to suspend a doctor's license to practice--these are extreme steps that the authorities should take only after careful consideration.
meander
to wind or turn in its course It is difficult to sail up this stream because of the way it meanders through the countryside.
memento
token; reminder Take this book as a memento of your visit.
sepulcher
tomb Annabel Lee was buried in a sepulcher by the sea.
modulation
toning down; changing from one key to another When we she spoke, it was with quiet modulation of voice.
vise
tool for holding work in place Before filling its edges, the keysmith took the blank key and fixed it firmly between the jaws of a vise.
pestle
tool for mashing or grinding substances in a hard bowl From the way in which the elderly pharmacist pounded the drug with his pestle, young George could tell that his employer was agitated about something.
petulant
touchy; peevish The feverish patient was petulant and restless.
sinewy
tough; strong and firm The steak was too sinewy to chew
vestige
trace; remains We discovered vestiges of early Indian life in the cave.
orthodox
traditional; conservative in belief Faced with a problem, he preferred to take an orthodox approach rather than shock anyone.
turncoat
traitor The British considered Benedict Arnold a loyalist; the Americans considered him a turncoat.
rendition
translation; artistic interpretation of a song, etc. The audience cheered enthusiastically as she completed her rendition of the aria.
trivia
trifles; unimportant matters Too many magazines ignore newsworthy subjects and feature trivia.
platitude
trite remark; commonplace statement The platitudes in his speech were applauded by the vast majority in his audience; only a few people perceived how trite his remarks were.
torso
trunk of statue with head and limbs missing; human trunk This torso, found in the ruins of Pompeii, is now on exhibition in the museum in Naples.
verity
truth; reality The four verities were revealed to Buddha during his long meditation.
veracious
truthful I can recommend him for this position because I have always found him veracious and reliable.
warren
tunnels in which rabbits live; crowded conditions in which people live. The tenement was a veritable warren, packed with people too poor to live elsewhere.
welter
turmoil; bewildering jumble. The existing welter of overlapping federal and state proclaims cries out for immediate reform.
shunt
turn aside; divert; sidetrack If the switchman failed to shunt the Silver Streak onto a side track, the train would plow right into Union Station.
petrify
turn to stone His sudden and unexpected appearance seemed to petrify her.
wry
twisted; with a humorous twist. We enjoy Dorothy Parker's verse for its wry wit.
torque
twisting force; force producing rotation With her wrench she applied sufficient torque to the nut the loosen it.
unsightly
ugly Although James was an experienced emergency room nurse, he occasionally became queasy when faced with a particularly unsightly injury.
unwonted
unaccustomed He hesitated to assume the unwonted role of master of ceremonies at the dinner.
unprepossessing
unattractive During adolescence many attractive young people somehow acquire the false notion that their appearance is unprepossessing.
unseemly
unbecoming; indecent Your levity is unseemly at this time of mourning.
static
unchanging; lacking development Nothing had changed at home; things were static there
manifest
understandable; clear His evil intentions were manifest and yet we could not stop him.
tacit
understood; not put into words We have a tacit agreement based on only a handshake.
mortician
undertaker The mortician prepared the corpse for burial.
nondescript
undistinctive; ordinary The private detective was a short, nondescript fellow with no ourstanding features, the sort of person one would never notice in a crowd.
malaise
uneasiness; distress She felt a sudden vague malaise when she heard sounds at the door.
unintimidating
unfrightening Though Phil had expected to feel overawed when he met Joe Montana, he found the experience unintimidating and relaxing.
unscathed
unharmed They prayed he would come back from the war unscathed.
unwitting
unintentional; not knowing She was the unwitting tool of the swindlers
uninhibited
unrepressed The congregation was shocked by her uninhibited laughter during the sermon.
wanton
unrestrained; willfully malicious; unchaste. Pointing to the stack of bills, Sheldon criticized Sarah for her wanton expenditures. In response, Sara accused Sheldon of making an unfounded, wanton attack.
mutinous
unruly; rebellious The captain had to use force to quiet his mutinous crew.
unassuaged
unsatisfied; not soothed Her anger is unassuaged by your apology.
unconscionable
unscrupulous; excessive She found the load shark's demands unconscionable and impossible to meet.
slovenly
untidy; slipshod Such slovenly work habits will never produce good products.
rectitude
uprightness He was renowned for his rectitude and integrity.
retribution
vengeance; compensation; punishment for offenses The evangelist maintained that an angry deity would exact retribution from the sinners.
prolix
verbose; drawn out Her prolix arguments irritated and bored the jury.
substantiate
verify; support I intend to substantiate my statement by producing witnesses.
protean
versatile; able to take on many forms A remarkably protean actor, Alec Guinness could take on any role.
mammal
vertebrate animal whose female suckles its young Many people regard the whale as a fish and do not realize that it is a mammal.
plumb
vertical Before hanging wallpaper it is advisable to drop a plumb line from the ceiling as a guide.
pernicious
very destructive, harmful He argued that these books had a pernicious effect on young and susceptible minds.
munificent
very generous The munificent gift was presented to the bride by her rich uncle.
lofty
very high They used to tease him about his lofty ambitions.
momentous
very important On this momentous occasion, we must be very solemn.
myriad
very large number myriads of mosquitoes from the swamps invaded our village every twilight.
pauper
very poor person Though Widow Brown was living on a reduced income, she was by no means a pauper.
prim
very precise and formal; exceedingly proper Many people commented on the contrast between the prim attire of the young lady and the inappropriate clothing worn by her escort.
mite
very small object or creature; small coin Gnats are annoying mites that sing.
nefarious
very wicked He was universally feared because of his many nefarious deeds.
rile
vex; irritate; muddy Red had a hair-trigger temper: he was an easy man to rile.
vital
vibrant and lively; critical; living, breathing The vital, highly energetic first aid instructor stressed that it was vital in examining accident victims to note their vital signs.
quarry
victim; object of a hunt The police closed in on their quarry.
robust
vigorous; strong The candidate for the football team had a robust physique.
spry
vigorously active; nimble She was eighty years old, yet still spry and alert.
transgression
violation of a law; sin Forgive us our transgressions; we know not what we do.
unbridled
violent She had a sudden fit of unbridled rage.
throes
violent anguish The throes of despair can be as devastating as the spasms accompanying physical pain.
nomadic
wandering Several nomadic tribes of Indians would hunt in this area each year.
ribald
wanton; profane He sang a ribald song that offended many of the more prudish listeners.
martial
warlike The sound of marital music was always inspiring to the young poet.
muggy
warm and damp August in New York City is often muggy.
squander
waste The prodigal son squandered the family estate.
prodigal
wasteful; reckless with money The prodigal son squandered his inheritance.
surveillance
watching; guarding The FBI kept the house under constant surveillance in the hope of capturing all the criminals at one time.
undermine
weaken; sap The recent corruption scandals have undermined many people's faith in the city government.
tycoon
wealthy leader John D. Rockefeller was a prominent tycoon.
maelstrom
whirlpool The canoe was tossed about in the maelstrom.
vortex
whirlwind; whirlpool; center of turbulence; predicament into which one is inexorably plunged Sucked into the vortex of the tornado, Dorothy and Toto were carried from Kansas to Oz.
pandemic
widespread; affecting the majority of people They feared the AIDS epidemic would soon reach pandemic proportions.
prevalent
widespread; generally accepted A radical committed to social change, Reed had no patience with the conservative views prevalent in the America of his day.
wangle
wiggle out; fake. She tried to wangle an invitation to the party.
pandemonium
wild tumult When the ships collided in the harbor, pandemonium broke out among the passengers.
lurid
wild; sensational The lurid stories he told shocked his listeners.
sinuous
winding; bending in and out; not morally honest The snake moved in a sinuous manner.
tortuous
winding; full of curves Because this road is so tortuous, it is unwise to go faster than twenty miles an hour on it.
serpentine
winding; twisting The car swerved at every curve in the serpentine road.
malevolent
wishing evil We must thwart his malevolent schemes.
retraction
withdrawal He dropped his libel suit after the newspaper published a retraction of its statement.
secession
withdrawal The secession of the Southern states provided Lincoln with his first major problem after his inauguration.
recession
withdrawal; retreat; time of low economic activity The slow recession of the flood waters created problems for the crews working to restore power to the area.
wizened
withered; shriveled. The wizened old man in the home for the aged was still active and energetic.
unique
without an equal; single in kind You have the unique distinction of being the first student whom I have had to fail in this course.
random
without definite purpose, plan, or aim; haphazard Although the sponsor of the raffle claimed all winners were chosen at random, people had their suspicions when the grand prize went to the sponsor's brother-in-law.
witticism
witty saying; facetious remark. What you regard as witticisms are often offensive to sensitive people.
matriarch
woman who rules a family or larger social group The matriarch ruled her gypsy tribe with a firm hand.
verbatim
word for word He repeated the message verbatim.
onomatopoeia
words formed in imitation of natural sounds Words like "rustle" and "gargle" are illustrations of onomatopoeia.
toil
work laboriously; make slow painful progress You must toil through 3500 words list in order to achieve a high score on GRE.
secular
worldly; not pertaining to church matters; temporal The church leaders decided not interfere in secular matters.
solicitous
worried, concerned The employer was very solicitous about the health of her employees as replacements were difficult to get.
swathe
wrap around; bandage When I visited him in the hospital, I found him swathed in bandages.
miscreant
wretch; villain His kindness to the miscreant amazed all of us who had expected to hear severe punishment pronounced.
subpoena
writ summoning a witness to appear The prosecutor's office was ready to serve a subpoena on the reluctant witness.
writ
written command issued by a court. The hero of Leonard's novel is a process server who invents unorthodox ways of serving writs on reluctant parties.
misnomer
wrong name; incorrect designation His tyrannical conduct proved to all that his nickname, King Eric the Just, was a misnomer.
malfeasance
wrongdoing The authorities did not discover the campaign manager's malfeasance until after he had spent most of the money he had embezzled.
whelp
young wolf, dog, tiger, etc. This collie whelp won't do for breeding, but he'd make a fine pet.
nirvana
Buddihist teachings, the ideal state in which the individual loses himself in the attainment of an impersonal beatitude Despite his desire to achieve nirvana, the young Buddhist found that even the buzzing of a fly could distract him from his meditation.