Hamilton Education Extra Vocab

deign

(v) to stoop to a level that one considers beneath himself or herself; to lower yourself in some way The haughty aristocrat would never deign to eat with the common rabble.

thwart

(v) to stop or block; to prevent from happening Framboise hoped that both grounding her teenage son and hiding the car keys would thwart his efforts to sneak out of the house.

extol

(v) to praise In an obvious attempt to get people to buy it, Jenny extolled the cleaning power of her new cleanser.

dally

(v) to waste time; to loiter or delay Your sister is about to give birth, so don't dally; rush her to the hospital!

bolster

(v) to support addition of 200 troops will surely bolster the fort's defenses.

atrophy

(n) the wasting away of muscle due to inactivity (also a verb, to waste away from inactivity Stuck in a full-body cast for months, Aaron's muscles completely atrophied.

dregs

(n) the worst part; the sediment left over in a bottle of wine Curious about the leaves used to make it, Mindy drained her tea to inspect the dregs at the bottom.

refuse

(n) trash or garbage After the party was finished, Timmy disposed of the refuse in a dumpster in the alley.

chicanery

(n) trickery Deceiver, I will not be duped by your chicanery a second time!

hogwash

(n) worthless or misleading speech; false ideas or claims (also an exclamation that expresses one's deep mistrust of something The politician's speech was disingenuous, inflated, and full of hogwash; few were convinced that he sincerely believed what he was saying.

predicate

(v) 1. To found or imply 2. The founding principle or reason for something (used with the complement upon The democratic system as we know it is predicated upon the notion that all people should have an equal say in the workings of their own government.

garnish

(v) 1. to decorate or adorn; to make fancy 2. to reduce or tax, as in one's wages or salary In order to add some variety to a plate otherwise devoid of greenery, Miriam garnished her steak with sprigs of mint and parsley.

defer

(v) 1. to delay or put off 2. to consult or consider another person's judgment or opinion I was able to defer my car payment until next month.

precipitate

(v) 1. to fall out of solution or suspension 2. to cause or incite (also a noun, a substance that falls out of solution One small rock thrown into the crowd was enough to precipitate a full-scale riot.

compromise

(v) 1. to negotiate or meet in the middle 2 A glancing blow from a passing meteorite compromised the integrity of the space station's hull.

procure

(v) to acquire; to seek out and find The royal minister was able to procure a bottle of fine wine for the party when nobody else could.

augment

(v) to add to; to increase By dividing the work evenly between more people, we can augment overall productivity and efficiency.

abound

(v) to be filled with; to exist in large amounts Beautiful daisies abounded on the hillside after the rains fell.

grudge

(v) to be reluctant to acknowledge something; also (n. It is rude to grudge paying your fair share of the bill when you split the tab at a restaurant with your friends.

forbear

(v) to be very patient; to hold off from doing something; to restrain yourself Shelley forbeared selling her car until its value rose.

equivocate

(v) to be wishy-washy; to speak equally on both sides of an issue "Now don't equivocate, ma'am," said the officer, "Tell me exactly what you saw the night of the crime."

acclimate

(v) to become accustomed to; to adapt to After moving to Russia from Tunisia, I was eventually able to acclimate to the cold weather.

inure

(v) to become used to something, especially something unpleasant; to become desensitized Years of living in violent conditions had inured Teresa to the trauma of witnessing physical violence.

implore

(v) to beg or plead The convicted criminal implored the emperor for mercy, but received none.

rescind

(v) to cancel or call back When Trevor was caught shoplifting only a week before the beginning of freshman year, the university rescinded his athletic scholarship, leaving him with little means to fund his education.

pore

(v) to carefully examine or read; to study in great detail We will pore over this encyclopedia page my page until we find all the information we need.

rack

(v) to cause to suffer torture or pain The painful treatment, which racked her with agony, was considered worse than the disease itself.

bowdlerize

(v) to censor or edit severely Mrs. Jasek bowdlerized the play Grease, removing anything she saw as morally unacceptable, until the audience didn't even recognize it anymore.

beguile

(v) to charm; to deceive by charm The used car salesman flattered and beguiled his customers into purchasing his vehicles.

allege

(v) to claim; to accuse; to assert to be true Having seen him leave the bathroom moments after the incident, principal Rajaratnam alleged that Flanders had planted the pipe bomb in the toilet.

vie

(v) to compete with No matter how fiercely Ginger and Jasmine vied for attention and influence, the masses had spoken, and Pearl had clearly emerged victorious as fan favorite.

complement

(v) to complete or make whole; to go together well I must say that the addition of a math program to our curriculum will complement the class schedule well.

flummox

(v) to confuse or perplex Lacking even a single clue, the police department was completely flummoxed by the arson case.

subdue

(v) to conquer or make a prisoner After subduing the native population of the island through violence and coercion, Jean Claude and Yvette declared themselves the King and Queen of the island.

husband

(v) to conserve; to be cautious of one's resources The desert nation carefully husbanded the water resources it distributed to its citizens.

muse

(v) to consider thoughtfully; to ponder; to meditate or imagine The police detective mused aloud about the identity of the dead man before him, wondering who he was and how he died.

savor

(v) to enjoy with pleasure, especially of food and drink Because Roger knew that this was the last California burrito he would eat before moving to Ithaca, NY to start college, he savored it tenderly as though it were the last meal he would ever eat.

expunge

(v) to erase or eliminate, especially a record of something We can't find anything in these old documents; the records we need must have been expunged.

peruse

(v) to examine carefully; to read carefully (note: this word DOES NOT mean to read superficially although it is gradually taking on that meaning We have perused your manuscript with great interest, and after careful consideration, we have decided to publish your book!

disenchant

(v) to free from false belief; to disappoint I hate to disenchant you, but there is no Santa Claus, no Easter Bunny, and no free rides; you're going to have to work hard to get what you want here, Henry.

exonerate

(v) to free from guilt or blame After a lengthy court battle, both brothers were exonerated for the crime of stealing the diamonds, and they were free to go.

explicate

(v) to give a detailed, usually scholarly, analysis, often of a text As part of our unit on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, our teacher is requiring us to choose our favorite passage to explicate to the class in short presentations on Monday.

stifle

(v) to hold back; to smother or suffocate The murderer stifled his victim with a pillow in his sleep.

appall

(v) to horrify He was appalled to learn that what he thought was breakfast cereal was actually cat food that his prankster roommates had filled up his cereal box with.

gesticulate

(v) to make gestures Without training in sign language, Verna saw the communication as meaningless gesticulating.

premeditate

(v) to plan out beforehand Due to the planning and commitment which goes into them, premeditated crimes are punished harshly.

feign

(v) to pretend or fake Sharon feigned stomach illness to avoid going to school on Monday.

ferret

(v) to search or seek out (also a noun, a small animal The detective will not rest until she ferrets out the truth.

kindle

(v) to start a fire; to ignite The small fire kindled by one lone match on the ground floor soon grew and engulfed the entire skyscraper in flames.

poach

(v) to steal or take something, especially game or animals in a preserve or on private property Several laws make poaching endangered species illegal, but many big game hunters break these laws anyway because they're complete jerks.

intervene

(v) to step in and deal with something; to mediate or act as a go-between The mother intervened in her two fighting children's quarrel before they could hurt each other.

converse

(v) to talk or speak ; to engage in an exchange of ideas April and Keilani had been best friends since the 3rd grade and could converse with each other on any topic, serious or trivial, for hours on end; in fact, their near-constant chatter had gotten them into trouble at school on more than one occasion.

heckle

(v) to taunt or tease or mock, especially as a member of an audience The unskilled comic was heckled off stage by the audience once his third joke fell flat.

indoctrinate

(v) to teach a person or group to accept a set of beliefs or values, often uncritically Once captured, the spy was brainwashed and indoctrinated to believe that he was actually an agent for the other side.

rankle

(v) to upset or annoy; to irritate) to upset or annoy; to irritate "Be careful not to rankle the bears," warned the park ranger, "They will attack if provoked."

grapple

(v) to wrestle with or grab as if wrestling; to struggle and think about something in a sustained way McKinley had been grappling with the difficult task of deciding what the best course of action would be for some time; he sat awake at night struggling with what seemed like an impossible decision.

inscribe

(v) to write or carve words into the surface of something The wedding rings were inscribed with the couple's initials.

effect 1

() an outcome or result 2. (v. The effects of your actions ripple outward, so think before you act.

affect 1

() to influence 2. (n. Sia knew that her performance on the test was negatively affected by her fever, so she didn't feel bad about doing poorly.

decisive

(adj) 1. conclusive; unmistakable 2. able to make firm decisions Deciding that conflict resolution was not possible, the board had no choice but to take decisive action and fire the employee.

discursive

(adj) 1. jumping from topic to topic in a disorganized fashion 2. relating to discourse Taken as a whole, her new volume poetry is fairly discursive, covering such varied topics as death and dentistry with nary a transition or segue to tie it all together.

transparent

(adj) able to see through; undisguised; clear and honest; obvious Compared to the filthy windows upstairs, the kitchen window was totally transparent, letting in plenty of light.

emaciated

(adj) abnormally thin; especially from poor diet or starvation The emaciated forms of the malnourished children were huddled by the fire for warmth.

ersatz

(adj) artificial; an inferior substitute or counterfeit The ersatz candy bars were a poor substitute for the real thing, having none of the original flavor.

discerning

(adj) being able to make careful distinctions; having good judgment The expert goat herder appraised his new flock with a carefully discerning gaze.

dauntless

(adj) brave; fearless The dauntless woman ran across three lanes of freeway traffic to retrieve the money she had dropped.

effervescent

(adj) bubbly; giving off gas bubbles; very excited The effervescent acid bubbled and gave of so much gas that we had to wear masks to protect ourselves.

onerous

(adj) burdensome; unpleasant A study schedule of ten hours a day with no breaks is far too onerous to adhere to.

immutable

(adj) cannot be changed; timeless Our position in the solar system is one immutable fact of nature we cannot alter.

insatiable

(adj) cannot be satisfied No amount of soda could slake Prim's insatiable thirst for col

conventional

(adj) following traditional expectations; ordinary The threat of an alien invasion could not be met with any conventional military response; some new strategy would have to be devised.

malicious

(adj) full of ill intent; spiteful The pitcher hit the batter hard on the head with the baseball, but swore that it had been an accident and that he had no malicious intent.

inconsequential

(adj) having little importance The loss of one outpost is inconsequential, as we have hundreds more to spare.

flaccid

(adj) lacking firmness; limp When inspecting stalks of asparagus for ripeness and quality, you want grassy green stalks that are flexible, yet firm-when asparagus is pale, droopy, and flaccid, it's on the verge of spoiling and should generally be avoided.

coherent

(adj) logically consistent; holds together as an argument Brendan's essay was both coherent and convincing, and he earned an A+ on the assignment because his teacher was genuinely impressed by his argument.

vociferous

(adj) loud and forceful; vehement The audience had never seen such an amazing performance and offered vociferous cheering in appreciation.

lucrative

(adj) money-making; profitable Robbing banks is a very lucrative, and very dangerous, profession.

impassive

(adj) not showing or displaying emotions The judge's expression was blank and impassive as she rendered the guilty verdict.

myopic

(adj) short-sighted; focusing on the immediate present rather than the future Neil knew that it was myopic of himself to eat all of his rations at once, but he was hungry and impulsive; he regretted this shortsightedness later, when he was even hungrier.

reprehensible

(adj) something that is terrible and should be condemned; morally outrageous Having considered the defendant's complete lack of regret or empathy for his victims, the judge sentenced the inside trader to life in prison for his reprehensible crimes.

fitful

(adj) starting and stopping; happening in spurts He awoke in the morning from a fitful sleep, still groggy and yawning, and he wished that the mocking bird outside his window had not repeatedly woken him up through the night.

obdurate

(adj) stubborn; refusing to change one's opinion; not inclined to feel pity or empathy Unmoved by the farmer's tale of crushing poverty, the obdurate king continued to raise taxes on grain.

macabre

(adj) suggesting horror or terror; fascinated with death or horror Josephine had a macabre and altogether morbid fascination with the corpses of dead animals, and she photographed dead insects, birds, and rodents, and put together an entire photo album of what she referred to as her "visits from death."

conclusive

(adj) supporting a final conclusion; authoritative; settling a matter finally The evidence of his guilt was fairly conclusive and allowed the jury to reach a decision easily.

protean

(adj) taking on many forms; able to change shapes; versatile This protean amoeba is rather fascinating, as it takes on any form needed to capture its prey.

presumptuous

(adj) tending to assume or presume too much Due to Sally's presumptuous nature, she always assumed that people would like her no matter what..

litigious

(adj) tending to engage in legal disputes; quick to sue or threaten with lawsuits Chris spent most of 2014 pursuing his lawsuits against Walmart, which his family attributed to his highly litigious nature.

skeptical

(adj) tending toward doubt or disbelief; questioning At first, Katara was completely skeptical that her brother, Sokka, would ever become an accomplished swordsman; he was so clumsy and awkward that she didn't believe such a transformation was even possible.

tortuous

(adj) twisting and turning; sinuous On a particularly tortuous path of the mountain road, the lanes merge into one while the path snakes around a particularly steep and unforgiving cliff.

characteristic

(adj) typical (also a noun, a typical quality or feature of something Large shoulder pads and hoop earring are characteristic of 80s fashion.

extraneous

(adj) unimportant; not a vital part Matilda was sure to keep extraneous details out of her testimony, as the judge and jury only wanted the essential information from the night of the crime.

precarious

(adj) unstable; in a dangerous or unstable position The cookie jar teetered in its precarious position on the top of the refrigerator.

spontaneous

(adj) without planning or premeditation; impromptu With Gertrude, everything is planned out in advance and she never does anything spontaneous.

decrepit

(adj) worn-out; lacking vitality because of age At a 92-years-old, Mr. Macaulay looked understandably haggard and decrepit, but this tired appearance was in stark contrast to his energetic and lively personality.

laudable

(adj) worthy of praise Finding a cure for AIDS is certainly a laudable achievement.

commendable

(adj) worthy of respect; worthy of praise or commendation Finding Amy's work to be truly commendable, her teacher selected it as an example for the rest of the class to emulate, much to Amy's great pride and satisfaction.

register

(multiple forms) 1) 1. (n. The register catalogued all the equipment available for checkout and was updated daily to track checkouts and due dates.

phenomenon

(n) 1. Something that exists or happens in the natural world 2. Something amazing or spectacular The Aurora Borealis is a natural phenomenon of awesome beauty.

franchise

(n) 1. The right to vote 2 People were confused when the civil rights activist did not extend the franchise to those closest to him.

tract

(n) 1. a brief written documents elucidating basic principles; a monograph on a subject 2. a swath or area of land The wealthy farmer owned the most fertile tracts of land on the whole continent.

juncture

(n) 1. a point in time 2. a concurrence of events As the novel reached its climax, the plot was at a crucial juncture.

chivalry

(n) Being gracious and gentle in manner, especially toward females

iconoclast

(n) a cultural rebel; a person who breaks conventions or traditions With her strong sense of individual style and counter-culture music, Joanie was a famous iconoclast.

abyss

(n) a deep chasm or pit; an immeasurable gulf Thaddeus tossed an apple core off the cliff into the yawning abyss below.

sabotage

(n) a deliberate act of destruction, usually for military or political gain The engineer casually tossed a wrench into the gears of the ship's engine in a clear act of sabotage.

calumny

(n) a false, malicious statement The calumny that my mother had defected as a spy for the enemy was quickly disproven when she returned home later that week.

contempt

(n) a feeling of disgust and disdain, including an element of moral judgment Robert is a con artist and a liar, and even his former friends feel nothing but contempt for him.

matriarch

(n) a female leader or ruler; a highly respected woman who leads a family As the revered matriarch and village elder, it was Aira's responsibility to act as moral compass and guide her family and neighbors through conflicts and obstacles as well as through harsh winters and blissful summers.

stipend

(n) a financial payment or award, usually paid on a regular basis For each news article I write, I receive a stipend of $150.

vendetta

(n) a longstanding feud; a fight between two families The Bustamontes family carried down their vendetta against the Cruz family for generations.

stigma

(n) a negative association; a mark of shame Kyle was afraid to try out for the position of cheer captain because of the stigma associated with male cheerleaders.

exile

(n) a person who has been forced to leave his or her own country; the condition of being stateless or without a permanent country In order to avoid political persecution at home, the human rights activist had to become an exile and reside abroad.

interlocutor

(n) a person who takes part in a conversation or dialogue As an interlocutor in the debate, Yasmine's job was to interpret the proceedings into sign language for the hearing impaired.

idiosyncrasy

(n) a quirk or individualistic trait One of Marcus's most peculiar idiosyncrasies was his compulsive need to count the number of stairs in a stairwell before ascending or descending them.

milestone

(n) a significant marker or event; a notable accomplishment or event Only halfway through June, 2015 had already shaped up to be a banner year of milestone "firsts" for Eugene: he was given his first car; he had gotten his first speeding ticket, he had wrecked his first car, and he had gotten his first job to pay for the repairs.

trace

(n) a small or slight amount (also an adjective, small or slight and a verb, to outline or draw There was only a trace amount of gunpowder on his clothes, but it was enough to prove that he had fired a gun recently.

havoc

(n) a state of chaos or confusion; destruction The invading Huns left the empire in a state of utter havoc, as the government collapsed and panic and disorder swept through the land.

consternation

(n) a state of confusion, worry, or anxiety Korra's reckless actions and blatant disregard for safety caused Tenzin no shortage of consternation, so worried was he about his apprentice's future and wellbeing.

rejoinder

(n) a verbal response; a witty answer to a challenge or question Sam's clever rejoinder to the difficult question drew applause from his audience.

assent

(n) agreement or approval; acknowledgment or permission Before getting married, the young couple desired the assent of both sets of parents.

spat

(n) an argument or dispute, especially a minor one Harold and Maude aren't actually mad at one another; they simply had a lover's spat.

onslaught

(n) an attack With the enemy forces clamoring outside the city walls, the citizens prepared for the onslaught and hoped their defenses would hold steady.

entreaty

(n) an earnest or humble request; a plea The peoples' entreaty to the gods for the storm to pass went unanswered, and the rain continued.

commodity

(n) an economic good; an item that is traded in commerce With the California drought reaching record proportions, fresh water is becoming an increasingly expensive and rare commodity, as more and more of it must be pumped in from out of state.

pretext

(n) an excuse or strategy that conceals one's true motives When Debbie said that she had a stomachache and had to go home early, Carla knew it was just a pretext for Debbie to avoid an otherwise boring social outing.

innuendo

(n) an oblique or indirect suggestion of something negative or unflattering; an indirect suggestion of something inappropriate or sexual Quincy commented on the cake's beauty, but his innuendo was clear: he wanted a slice.

schema

(n) an outline or model; a drawing that is like a blueprint The nurse unrolled a schema of the hospital to show everyone where the emergency exits were located.

naivete

(n) being innocent and unfamiliar with the world; unsophisticated and gullible In his youth and naïveté, he failed to realize that he was being manipulated by the television producer in order to boost the program's ratings, and as such he was quite taken advantage of and was underpaid for his hard work.

parsimonious

(n) being stingy; being tightfisted Our boss's rampant parsimony means that he charges us if we use a tissue from work.

shambles

(n) complete disorder; chaos After the earthquake, everything in the house was in complete shambles, and it took the better part of a day to clean it all up again.

disarray

(n) confusion and disorder Refusing to clean ever her room, Angelica had become accustomed to its cluttered disarray.

proximity

(n) nearness or closeness We were standing in close enough proximity to the stadium that we could hear the both the announcer and the cheering crowd, and it was almost as though we were close enough to experience the game.

perseverance

(n) not giving up; sticking to something and not quitting It took a lot of perseverance, but after days and weeks that turned into months, we finally completed the engineering project in time to exhibit our product and the design conference.

progeny

(n) offspring or descendants Though the architect died before the completion of the tower, he had many children and it will be those progeny who will finish it.

facet

(n) one of many sides or aspects The brilliant diamond seemed to have millions of facets cut into its face when it caught the light and sent it dancing all over the room.

demeanor

(n) one's attitude or outward bearing or behavior Projecting a happy demeanor at work encourages other to behave happily as well.

pedigree

(n) one's family tree or background; a list of ancestors (often suggesting one's importance or quality The princess has descended purely from royalty, giving her an impeccable pedigree.

lineage

(n) one's heritage; one's ancestors Monsieur Belaraque refused to allow his son to marry anyone without proof of that person's noble lineage.

de facto

(adj) in actual fact; the actual state of things as opposed to the circumstances dictated by law (versus de jure which means in law or as the law should dictate With the principal sick at home for weeks, the vice-principal became the de facto head of the school.

nominal

(adj) in name only; a very small amount For the nominal fee of $29.99, you too can own your very own Magic Bullet Blender, which is a great deal considering the lifetime of blending you've got before you.

formidable

(adj) inspiring fear or dread; representing a threat; scary With senior prom a mere 6 months away, Aileen still faced the formidable task of trying to find the perfect dress—a seemingly trivial problem that managed to keep her awake at night on more than one occasion.

listless

(adj) lacking energy; languid; spiritless She sat listless on the couch, unwilling to do anything in the scorching heat of summer.

commodious

(adj) large and spacious; roomy The commodious honeymoon suite was vaster and more spacious than any hotel room the young couple had ever seen.

erudite

(adj) learned; very educated or scholarly Years of study had made Gianna an erudite and well qualified expert in her field.

convivial

(adj) lively and full of life The boisterous emcee, loud music, and enthusiastic hosts all contributed to the party's convivial atmosphere.

tepid

(adj) lukewarm; lacking enthusiasm By the time Diego finally got into his bath, the water had cooled to a tepid lukewarm temperature.

mendacious

(adj) lying; untruthful The boy's mendacious claims that the sky was falling were not believed by anyone.

taciturn

(adj) not talkative; gruff and disinclined toward speech The taciturn lumberjack never answered in words, responding only with grunts and an occasional nod.

foolhardy

(adj) not using good judgment; reckless It was a foolhardy plan to walk into finals week hoping to just get by without studying; a true lapse in judgment that Crabbe had ample time to think about as he repeated the eleventh grade.

passé

(adj) out of date; not currently in fashion That coat is so passé even my grandmother wouldn't wear it.

auditory

(adj) related to the sense of hearing The loud blast temporarily nullified our auditory senses.

redundant

(adj) repetitive Wearing both a belt and suspenders to secure one's pants is rather redundant.

somnolent

(adj) sleepy Whenever Harold couldn't sleep, he would heat up a cup of milk to drink, as the enzymes in warm milk were sure to make him feel more somnolent.

unkempt

(adj) sloppy or messy; poorly groomed Sylvia handed her daughter a brush and suggested that she fix her unkempt hair.

byzantine

(adj) very complex; highly complicated The entire class worked together to try and solve the byzantine calculus problem.

adamant

(adj) very firm; impervious; unyielding The principal was stubbornly adamant in his opinion that more homework would yield better grades.

stately

(adj) very impressive in size or proportion; dignified (often of buildings or of important people and their bearing or demeanor The heads of state danced a very proper and stately waltz at the international peace convention.

astute

(adj) very observant and aware; very perceptive; clever The most astute students in the class were the only ones to both understand the lesson and pass the exam.

antediluvian

(adj) very old; ancient (literally, before the great flood The antediluvian desert ruins dated all the way back to prehistoric times.

superannuated

(adj) very old; ineffective because of age The superannuated canons were covered in rust and would no longer function.

excruciating

(adj) very painful; torturous Holly found the entire process of going to the dentist to have her teeth cleaned excruciating and tortuous; nothing was quite so painful and awkward.

halcyon

(adj) very peaceful and calm Christopher always enjoyed visiting his grandparents' home in the country, and he spent many a halcyon summer in the quiet of that pastoral refuge.

painstaking

(adj) very precise; very thorough and careful Not wanting to miss a single brushstroke, the monk spent his entire life copying the illuminated manuscript in painstaking detail.

sacrosanct

(adj) very sacred; holy The fabled Stone of Gehenna was declared as sacrosanct by the church and too holy even to touch.

ostentatious

(adj) very showy; pretentious; overly fancy The ostentatious display of 500 peacocks on stage made the Vegas show seem less fancy and more tacky.

adroit

(adj) very skilled With years of car stealing experience under her belt, Susan was incredibly adroit at breaking into vehicles.

eloquent

(adj) very skilled in speech A gifted poet and talented orator, Michelle was clear, graceful, and eloquent in her presentations; she won her Speech and Debate team several competitions on her talents alone.

adept

(adj) very skilled; filled with natural talent or skill Julian had always had a knack for music, and from a very young age he was adept at both sight-reading challenging pieces and composing his own sophisticated symphonies and concertos.

infinitesimal

(adj) very small; minute Perseus's strength was infinitesimal compared to the godly power of Hades and Poseidon.

minuscule

(adj) very small; tiny Rosemary has a very strong flavor, so add only a minuscule amount to the main course.

harrowing

(adj) very terrifying; causing distress or concern We made the harrowing journey from our house through the snow, with a flat tire and without headlights.

errant

(adj) wandering or straying outside proper limits The errant knight wandered the countryside on horseback for weeks at a time, unsure of where to settle with no sworn allegiances or clear directives to guide him.

contentious

(adj) wanting to argue; inspiring arguments or disagreements As the negotiations began, the diplomat had no hope of bringing the two highly contentious sides together in peace.

pugnacious

(adj) wanting to fight; aggressive Boscha had a reputation for being remarkably pugnacious, and this rough-and-tumble demeanor made her a good candidate for captain of the women's rugby team.

viable

(adj) workable; able to be accomplished; able to live With all other candidates withdrawn from the race, Yula was the only viable option left for treasurer.

wizened

(adj) wrinkled and worn from age (usually describing a person Having just celebrated her 105th birthday, my great grandmother was quite wizened, deep wrinkles plain on her face.

debacle

(n) a disaster; a great failure Rain and spoiled food ensured that the Goldsteins's garden party was a debacle.

spate

(n) a large number or great amount of something (especially in a short period of time After watching a documentary on the benefits of eating red meat, Joy went on a spate of eating steak at every meal.

affinity

(n) a liking or tendency for something; a natural attraction Adriana has a natural affinity for music and has learned to play several instruments.

mélange

(n) a mixture The mélange of bright and dark colors on the canvas produced a lovely combination of hues.

medley

(n) a mixture or combination of things The salad contained an odd medley of vegetables not usually seen in conventional meals.

neologism

(n) a newly-minted word; a new word or phrase This year, the Oxford English Dictionary added three neologisms to its accepted word bank: "selfie," "bae," and "hashtag."

conviction

(n) a strong belief or assumption; a firm opinion Even when presented with facts that proved him wrong, Edwin refused to abandon his convictions.

hypothesis

(n) a theory based on evidence; a tentative explanation One of the central tenets of the scientific method is that, even when an educated guess or hypothesis is supported by evidence and becomes a theory, that theory is never fully "proven," and may in fact be disproven by future testing.

postulate

(n) an idea that is assumed to be true; a first principle that is the first step in a chain of reasoning Even Einstein's theory of relativity was based on two already established postulates or accepted theories, and for the most part, this pattern of building upon prior knowledge is how science works.

malady

(n) an illness or disease Despite weeks of study and dozens of tests, no doctor could determine the nature of her malady.

ignominy

(n) humiliation; shame and dishonor After peeing her pants at school, Krystal suffered weeks of ignominy as rumors of the incident spread.

rectitude

(n) morally upstanding behavior The leader of the order of monks encouraged moral behavior in his followers by displaying great rectitude.

monarchy

(n) rule by a king or emperor; rule by a single leader The country's tradition of monarchy ended when the king abdicated and a senate was voted into power.

prohibitions

(n) rules that prohibit or disallow something The prohibitions against being out after dark prompted everyone to hurry home before sunset.

prodigy

(n) someone with exceptional talents and abilities The politician prevaricated shamelessly, twisting the facts and bending the truth to fit whatever narrative he wanted the public to believe about himself.

apogee

(n) the highest point At an elevation of over 14,000 feet above sea level, the apogee of Pike's Peak in Colorado is so high that the thinness of the oxygen makes it difficult for some to breathe.

apex

(n) the highest point It will be two more days before we reach the apex of the mountain and can begin our descent.

façade

(n) the outward appearance; the face of a building In honor of the Cesar Chavez holiday, the city commissioned the artist to paint a commemorative mural on the façade of the community center.

archive 1

() a cache or storage area; a collection 2. (v. Elizabeth spent the summer browsing through the archives at the Library of Congress after a summer internship funded her legal research project.

complimentary

(adj) 1. gratis; offered for free 2. marked by kindness or praise Please, take a complimentary calendar; there's no need to pay.

posthumous

(adj) after death; happening after death At her funeral, my aunt's posthumous letter to my family was read out loud.

colloquial

(adj) expressed in everyday, common speech; informal Kazu had learned formal English and was confused by the slang and colloquial terms he heard in Britain.

redoubtable

(adj) fearsome; intimidating; formidable With ninety tanks, fifty anti-air canons and 20,000 troops, the army made a redoubtable show of force.

penitent

(adj) feeling remorse; feeling sorry for what one has done Feeling especially penitent for forgetting her birthday, Jason bought his little sister ice cream and promised to do her chores for the next week at least.

fatuous

(adj) foolish; complacently stupid Jasper was sick to death of Mr. McGillicuddy's fatuous approach to business, knowing that the shop owner's silly and old-fashioned ideas would only lead the store to ruin.

infatuated

(adj) foolishly in love; unreasonably attracted (colloq: totally crushing on someone The two teenagers felt nothing more than intense infatuation for one another, rather than legitimate love.

erstwhile

(adj) former; relating to an earlier period in one's life The retired soccer player never forgot the good advice of his erstwhile coach.

gratis

(adj) free of charge Please, have this steak dinner gratis; it's on the house.

genial

(adj) friendly Carmen's open and genial nature helped her to make many friends.

vehement

(adj) full of strong feelings and conviction; forceful Marshall had always been a vehement supporter of Canadian rights, as the mistreatment and general mockery of Canadians always filled him with passionate feelings of injustice and nationalism.

replete

(adj) full of; abundant The stream was replete with fish, ensuring a steady supply of food for the nearby village.

generic

(adj) general; without a trademark; relating to a general category The designer jeans Luis wanted were out of his price range, so he decided to purchase the cheaper, generic brand.

openhanded

(adj) generous The openhanded schoolmarm constantly volunteered her time to help with scholastic events.

munificent

(adj) generous; open-handed The patron's munificent donation was so great that it could singlehandedly fund the museum for the next 5 years.

morose

(adj) gloomy After days and days of rain, Stan began to tire of the morose weather.

beneficent

(adj) good; producing a good result; kind and full of goodness The beneficent judge showed mercy on the defendant by sentencing him only to community service.

gluttonous

(adj) greedy, especially regarding food Goats and sharks are among the most ravenous and gluttonous of beasts, as they will consume all manner of both food and non-food items.

curmudgeonly

(adj) grumpy and complaining in nature; very critical and grumpy My grandmother has a curmudgeonly nature and is never happy with anything.

hirsute

(adj) hairy The leatherworker needed to completely shave the hirsute pelt before he could turn it into clothing.

sporadic

(adj) happening off-and-on; occasional Even sporadic rainfall was welcome during the massive drought.

intermittent

(adj) happening unpredictably and randomly The damaged cell phone tower was able only to carry an intermittent signal, dropping call after call.

implausible

(adj) hard to believe; not likely I find your tale of saving a child from the rim of a volcano while riding in helicopter to be highly implausible.

elusive

(adj) hard to capture; hard to express or comprehend The hunters were unable to find their elusive quarry and eventually gave up and went home.

abstruse

(adj) hard to understand; difficult to comprehend The abstruse topic of linear algebra became clearer to Jed only after working with a tutor for months.

ossified

(adj) hardened; inflexible; turned to bone Following the crime spree, the police chief ossified the city's laws to be harsher and more punitive.

malignant

(adj) harmful; evil; cancerous In bitter rage, the sorcerer put a malignant curse on the land to ensure that none there would prosper ever again.

inimical

(adj) harmful; hostile The inimical naval forces attacked immediately without any attempt at a peaceful resolution.

benign

(adj) harmless; kindly The old woman who sells flowers at the mall is completely benign and wouldn't harm a fly.

callous

(adj) harsh and unfeeling; unsympathetic Since she had lost her job and her house, Moira was shocked by her mother's callous response of, "That's not my problem."

supercilious

(adj) haughty; superior Nancy, with her supercilious attitude of superiority, looked down on everyone she met.

benevolent

(adj) having a good will; kind and generous The benevolent dictator decreed that everyone in the country would have free education, health care and housing.

valedictory

(adj) having the qualities of a good-bye; a farewell speech Though it was supposed to rouse the soldiers to action, the captain's speech was full of goodbyes, giving it a valedictory quality.

covert

(adj) hidden; secret; concealed The special agents were sent on a mission so covert, even the president was unaware of it.

cantankerous

(adj) grumpy and argumentative; gruff and quarrelsome Nothing made Truc more cantankerous than having to wake up early in the morning, as doing so made him even crankier than he usually was.

credulous

(adj) gullible; believing too easily Courtney's little brother was so credulous, he believed her when she told him that she was secretly a werewolf, and he went so far as to avoid her on full moons for fear that she might eat him

inconspicuous

(adj) hard to notice; not standing out When April traveled to her parents' hometown in Korea, she thought she would appear inconspicuous, finally surrounded by other Koreans, but her American gestures and way of holding herself made her stand out much more there than she ever had in the US.

recondite

(adj) hard to understand; very learned and advanced in knowledge There was no question the recondite librarian could not answer, though it was difficult to understand her explanations.

sedulous

(adj) hard-working; diligent Due to a sedulous streak that ran in the family, all the Ochoas worked hard at their jobs.

industrious

(adj) hardworking; not lazy The Chen family's industrious nature contributed to the success of each of its children.

provincial

(adj) narrow and regional in perspective; unsophisticated; insular "There must be more than this provincial life!" Belle sang, lamenting her boring life in the small and narrow-minded village.

indigenous

(adj) native; a natural part of some territory or area The indigenous people resented the colonists claiming territory as their own.

ingenuous

(adj) naïve or innocent Mary's ingenuous belief in the good nature of all people was quickly erased when she offered a stranger a ride and her car was stolen.

acrid

(adj) sharp or biting; harsh and bitter Some people can't get past the acrid and unpalatable flavor of grapefruit, but the stinging citrus is actually packed with vitamins and nutrients.

keen

(adj) sharp; very eager or quick; perceptive The cutlass's keen edge sliced just as easily through rope and vines as it did flesh and bone.

incandescent

(adj) shining; glowing from within The bioluminescent fish generated an incandescent glow from within its body.

terse

(adj) short and brief in manner, implying rudeness or unfriendliness Victor's terse reply made me feel as though our friendship had been damaged.

blasé

(adj) showing an indifferent or bored attitude; unimpressed because something is too familiar Before she worked at the ice cream parlor, Amanda was a huge fan of ice cream, but after an entire summer spent scooping gallons of it everyday, she developed a more blasé and generally uninterested relationship to it.

flamboyant

(adj) showy The Cirque du Soleil acrobats dressed in a characteristically flamboyant manner, and their loud and outlandish dress added to the novelty of the show.

meretricious

(adj) showy; attracting attention in a vulgar way Samuel's meretricious street performance drew the attention of everyone around.

diffident

(adj) shy; skittish The diffident student had a hard time standing in front of others and giving class presentations.

earnest

(adj) sincere; honest (also a noun, a sign or symbol of one's seriousness or sincerity Earnest to a fault, Tammy answered all the judge's questions honestly.

ensconced

(adj) situated comfortably; tucked away snugly The master of the house is firmly ensconced in his study upstairs and does not wish to be disturbed.

versatile

(adj) skilled in many things; capable of adapting to many circumstances A versatile weapon, the newly crafted spear could be wielded effectively from either end, as well as from the center of the pole

deft

(adj) skilled; quick and agile Nimble as a prancing gazelle, Spencer was deft as he hopped the fence surrounding the prison.

slipshod

(adj) sloppy and careless The plumber's slipshod repair work left broken pipes and leaks all throughout the bathroom.

slovenly

(adj) sloppy and unkempt; careless about one's appearance The slovenly boy rolled out of bed, pulled on some old baggy jeans, covered his greasy hair with a ball cap and walked to school.

obtuse

(adj) slow in understanding; dull I couldn't tell if Charlie was being willfully ignorant or actually obtuse when he failed to understand what I was saying; I was being perfectly clear, and the law of diminishing returns wasn't a particularly challenging concept.

redolent

(adj) smelling of a particular scent or aroma The attic had not been disturbed in years and was redolent of mildew and mouse droppings.

supple

(adj) smooth The thread that silkworms produce naturally can be spun into silk fabric or rope that is as smooth, supple, and pleasing to the touch as it is remarkably strong and durable.

debonair

(adj) smooth and polished socially; carefree in manner Derek was on his best behavior at the black tie event, where everyone maintained a debonair attitude.

urbane

(adj) sophisticated; worldly Having grown up in a small town, the president requested the presence of someone more urban to negotiate with heads of state from around the world.

robust

(adj) strong and healthy Because he ate healthily and exercised regularly, he was robust and lively well into middle age.

obstinate

(adj) stubborn Chaz was so obstinate and pigheaded about his opinion that all his friends had long since given up on ever trying to change his mind about anything.

prohibitive

(adj) tending to prevent or discourage, usually because the price or charge is excessive The prohibitive price of twenty dollars per pound discouraged anyone from buying apples.

provocative

(adj) tending to provoke; exciting; stimulating Having written a provocative editorial for the school newspaper that criticized the administration for prizing athletics over academic enrichment, Gina was the talk of the student body all week.

optimistic

(adj) tending to see the best in everything; having a positive outlook Julia's optimistic outlook on life wasn't dampened, even when her car broke down and she lost her wallet.

pessimistic

(adj) tending to see the worst in everything; having a negative outlook My doctor warned against having a negative view of life in general, citing the fact that a pessimistic attitude promoted illness.

deferential

(adj) tending to show deference and respect Joanne was sure to take on a deferential manner and posture when addressing her great grandmother, as she revered the matriarch very highly.

unconscionable

(adj) terrible; difficult to think about because it is so wrong; not constrained by one's conscience or something that offends one's conscience Not informing his patients that he never sterilized his surgical equipment was an unconscionable act, and led to the doctor's firing.

avant-garde

(adj) the first wave in an artistic or cultural movement; intellectually adventurous or strange because it is new and shocking Seen as avant-garde when it first screened, the director's first film was hailed as the first of its kind thirty years later.

peripheral

(adj) the outside edge of something; dealing with things at the edges I only saw the car through my peripheral vision and didn't get a good enough look to identify it.

definitive

(adj) the ultimate example; complete; the final or ultimate version; authoritative The 25th anniversary, special edition, director's cut release of the classic film was intended to be the definitive release and an essential addition to every film lover's collection.

viscous

(adj) thick or sticky; having high viscosity or specific gravity The child turned his glue bottle upside-down to watch the viscous liquid ooze slowly out of the container.

diaphanous

(adj) thin and see-through; delicate and elegant, especially describing a fabric or membrane We could see right through the dragonfly's diaphanous wings.

reflective

(adj) thoughtful The beach at sunset always put Oscar into a reflective mood; as the golden rays bounced off of the blue and purple waves, he took stock of his day and tallied up its various failures and successes, shaking off the former and smiling at the latter.

ominous

(adj) threatening and scary; foreboding evil The dark castle, looming large on the horizon, filled the hero with an ominous foreboding.

forbidding

(adj) threatening or intimidating; tending to discourage or intimidate Seeing a front of dark and forbidding clouds on the horizon, the port master closed all shipping lanes for safety reasons.

baleful

(adj) threatening; scaring; suggesting harm or danger The dark clouds and strong winds were a baleful omen to anyone wishing to set sail that night.

punctual

(adj) timely; being careful to be on time It's important to be punctual at job interviews because showing up even a few minutes late is a sure suggestion of irresponsibility and incompetence.

wary

(adj) to be cautious of; to be careful Be wary of deer on the road at night; they come out of nowhere.

pedantic

(adj) too scholarly; taking pleasure in pointing out trivial academic matters My pedantic professor cared more about a misplaced comma than the actual theme of my essay.

abject

(adj) total; complete; of the lowest condition Without a single penny to his name, Donald was stuck in abject poverty.

aggregate

(adj) total; comprising many parts; also used as (v. The sum of your Critical Reading, Math, and Writing score is sometimes called your "aggregate SAT score."

gross

(adj) total; glaringly obvious or flagrant Neeraj showed a gross and altogether commendable disregard for his own safety and well-being when he ran into the burning building to save the puppy trapped on the third floor.

contiguous

(adj) touching; adjoining, especially of countries or regions on a map There are 48 contiguous states on the U.S. mainland, and two more states not physically connected to the others: Alaska and Hawaii.

exhaustive

(adj) very thorough After an exhaustive and incredibly labor-intensive search, they did, in fact, find the needle in the haystack. They had to sift through every single bale, but they did it.

devious

(adj) very trick and sneaky; manipulative The devious child put dirt in his sister's bed to make it seem she had been the one disobeying their parents and playing in the mud.

disparate

(adj) very unlike; totally unrelated The rise of popularity in SUV purchases in America is a totally disparate topic from that of the average rainfall in the Amazon basin.

juvenile

(adj) very young; immature Although he is already forty-two years old, Tom's juvenile behavior is worse than that of some teenagers.

belligerent

(adj) wanting to fight; aggressive; warlike Amassing thousands of troops on its border marked an era of a more belligerent military stance for the nation.

cordial

(adj) warm and friendly; hearty Even though Penelope hated Josephine, she smiled and acted cordial around her to avoid any awkwardness.

leery

(adj) wary or cautious; suspicious Tanya gave a leery look to the vendor who claimed he would sell her a pearl necklace for five dollars if she didn't tell anyone.

improvident

(adj) wasteful; careless regarding one's future Having lived an improvident life of waste, recklessness, and excess, William found himself poor, lonely, and in poor shape by the age of 30.

liability

(n) a debt; a disadvantage or responsibility The spy's severed ties with all her friends and family, since they were liabilities she couldn't afford when undercover in the field.

discrepancy

(n) a difference; a lack of agreement When the jury noted that there were glaring discrepancies between the witness's testimony from one day to the next, they knew that he was either guilty of lying under oath or a victim of faulty memory; in either case, his stories didn't match up.

plight

(n) a difficult situation; a sad situation The desperate plight of the warzone's refugees moved us all to lend them our aid.

calamity

(n) a disaster In order to prepare themselves for the calamity of another major earthquake, residents in fault line cities such as San Francisco and Tokyo have developed technologies to allow their buildings to withstand such disastrous seismic activity.

fiasco

(n) a disaster; a debacle Rain poured down on the outside dj booth, destroying equipment and turning the dance into a total fiasco.

cataclysm

(n) a disaster; a world-changing event that brings about destruction An asteroid striking the earth brought forth a cataclysm that threatened to destroy all life on the tiny planet.

rout

(n) a disorderly defeat; a complete and utter defeat (also a verb-to defeat an enemy completely Superior numbers and technology allowed the army to completely rout the enemy.

schism

(n) a division or split, especially in religion or politics Disagreement over interpretation of the sacred texts caused a deep schism in the church.

placebo

(n) a fake medicine; a sugar pill Though it was not in any way a cure for his illness, the placebo pill Jared took still had a strong psychological effect on his symptoms.

epiphany

(n) a sudden insight or realization Looking up at the clouds in the sky prompted Julia to have an epiphany about the last question on her meteorology final.

abeyance

(n) a suspension of activity; a pause or hiatus (often with the idiomatic complement in Jury deliberation was held in abeyance until the judge could decide if the brand new evidence would be considered valid or not.

regime

(n) a system of government or rule; the party who actually rules or governs When the revolutionaries overthrew the corrupt government, they also had to seize power from members of the merchant class that supported the old regime.

levy

(n) a tax or fee (also a verb, to issue such a tax or fee The city levied heavy taxes on anyone bringing weapons through its gates.

dalliance

(n) a temporary distraction; something done for amusement and not taken seriously A short dalliance will be a welcome distraction after three hours of studying.

propensity

(n) a tendency or likelihood; an inclination for something Althea excelled in sports, owing to her propensity for outdoor activities.

proclivity

(n) a tendency or natural habit toward something One of Daniel's more annoying proclivities involved loudly chewing gum, and though his parents tried to break him of the habit, he persisted.

animosity

(n) bad feelings; hatred; longstanding tension and conflict Over the years, the feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys nurtured great animosity among the family members.

integrity

(n) being consistent and true to oneself; the state of remaining intact and undamaged Increased water pressure put additional strain on the hull's structural integrity as the submarine descended.

credulity

(n) believing too easily; gullibility Crenshaw was a man of such hapless credulity that he was often fooled, swindled, and generally taken advantage of.

acrimony

(n) bitterness and resentment After fighting over the location of the property line, the two neighbors felt nothing but acrimony for each other.

effrontery

(n) boldness, but usually involving rudeness and insults Mrs. Prescott was unaccustomed to such blatant effrontery, and she took the student's rudeness to heart.

temerity

(n) boldness; willing to shock people, especially by what one says or does It took great temerity for the inexperienced politician to stand before the crowd and announce her candidacy for mayor.

windfall

(n) good fortune that is unexpected His aunt's death brought Maximilian the windfall of an inheritance of over $50,000.

thrift

(n) great care in managing money; cheapness My grandfather was possessed of such thrift that he refused to spend more than fifteen cents on anything.

tribulation

(n) great disaster or misfortune; great difficulty The damage from the earthquake was nothing compared to the tribulation caused by the tsunami that followed.

compunction

(n) guilt or uneasiness caused by guilty feelings; regret Unsusceptible to feelings of hesitation or compunction, Jet lied, cheated, and stole without ever entertaining second thoughts; he fancied himself a revolutionary above the law and beyond guilt.

lineaments

(n) the facial features; any outlines or features of the body; the lines of someone's face or body Toby saw the lineaments of his friend silhouetted against the bright window.

ambiance

(n) the feeling or mood characterizing a place; the environment After a stressful week, Riya lit candles and put on classical music to create a more calming ambiance in her house.

epitome

(n) the finest example of something; an archetype Mother Teresa is often hailed as the epitome of compassion and charity.

impetus

(n) the force or energy that makes something start or move; the motivating force Flood after flood provided the impetus for the town's citizens to work together to build a dam.

preponderance

(n) the greater portion; a majority Because there was a preponderance of votes in favor of the new bill, it was passed by congress, and the new law will go into effect at the beginning of next year.

insinuate

(v) 1. to suggest or hint 2. to place oneself into a situation; to insert oneself into a position or conversation When the conversation turned to the weather, Todd insinuated himself into it by noting how cold it had been recently.

mortify

(v) 1. to make someone deeply embarrassed or humiliated 2. to attack the flesh to repress desires or passions Shelby was mortified when she accidentally farted loudly during her presentation.

sanction

(v) 1. to officially approve 2. to officially punish or place restrictions upon After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the senate fully sanctioned the U.S.'s involvement in World War II.

invalidate

(v) to cancel or nullify; to make not valid After receiving a second DUI, Topher's driver's license was invalidated for the safety of other drivers.

reprieve

(v) to cancel or postpone punishment (also a noun-any such cancellation or delay in punishment The convicted donut thief sentenced to a lifetime ban from his neighborhood donut bakery was granted a reprieve when the merciful baker took pity on and forgave him his crime; this cancellation of punishment was as appreciated as it was undeserved.

scour

(v) to clean by washing or scrubbing vigorously It took a lot of scouring, but eventually Paul got the pots and pans to be clean and shiny again.

congeal

(v) to coagulate; to go from a liquid to a solid or a gel If left out to cool, animal fat will congeal from liquid grease into a solid.

implode

(v) to collapse inward; to explode inward Crushed by the tremendous water pressure at that profound depth, the submarine imploded.

consolidate

(v) to combine; to bring together; to amalgamate The dictator gave himself authority over the military and the courts in an attempt to consolidate his power.

adjudicate

(v) to come to a formal decision; to judge or decide The panel of three judges adjudicated the fate of every defendant in the courtroom.

juxtapose

(v) to compare one thing with another; to place alongside for a comparison In her historical comparative essay, Paloma juxtaposed the governments of ancient Rome and ancient Egypt.

eradicate

(v) to completely eliminate; to tear up by the roots In order to effectively eradicate a wasp infestation, you must remove and dispose of the entire nest, otherwise the wasps will simply repair any damage and recolonize your home.

tout

(v) 1. to promote something; to talk about something as being very good 2. to try to sell something Doctors everywhere touted the new medication as a monumental breakthrough in medical science.

accommodate

(v) 1. to provide a service or favor; to oblige 2. to fit The small auditorium could not accommodate the crowd of 10,000 people.

commute

(v) 1. to reduce the severity of a judicial sentence 2. to travel to work on a daily basis Trudy spent an hour in traffic every morning during her commute to work.

abide

(v) 1. to remain or continue; to dwell or live 2. to tolerate or allow This is a peaceful community and I will not abide anyone disrupting the tranquility we have here.

cleave

(v) 1. to separate or chop apart 2. to cling to or stick to A once popular video game called "Fruit Ninja" involved swiping your finger along a touch screen in order to cleave watermelons, apples, and other fruits in half with invisible swords.

ascertain

(v) to determine or discover by investigation I tried ascertaining what she was thinking by looking at her face, but she was impossible to read, so I had to just ask her.

delve

(v) to dig into; to search or investigate The spelunkers delved to the very bottom of the cave during their exploration.

contradict

(v) to disagree; to assert the opposite of a statement When accused of thievery, we contradicted the accusation by providing an airtight alibi.

evince

(v) to display openly; to show or give evidence of; to demonstrate To let everyone know he did not care for dogs, Andrew evinced his displeasure clearly on his face upon arriving at the animal shelter.

ascribe

(v) to give credit of authorship to; to attribute to a specific source We ascribe your ability to speak several languages to you having traveled the world as a child.

bequeath

(v) to give in a will or last testament; to pass down Julio was bequeathed his father's favorite ring, but he would've traded it in a second to have his father back.

relent

(v) to give in or become less severe After several hours of what seemed like an endless downpour, the wind and rain finally began to relent, and the sun shone through parting clouds in silvery-white shafts of light.

concomitant

(adj) accompanying; happening alongside or in associate with Concomitant with the early morning conference panel, the association will also be sponsoring a free breakfast for all participants and attendees.

ample

(adj) abundant; plentiful With a bit of organization and a good deal of planning ahead, you should have ample time to complete all of your summer reading projects before the school year starts.

profane

(adj) abusive toward religion; unholy Galileo's discoveries about the solar system were labeled as profane by the church, since they went against its doctrine.

inadvertent

(adj) accidental or unintentional The mushrooms growing in the front lawn are an inadvertent side effect of me watering the grass.

partisan

(adj) biased or prejudiced; favoring one side over another; favoring a particular party or viewpoint The partisan talk show host's favor for one side of the debate bordered on the ridiculous.

tendentious

(adj) biased, usually in print or the media It was clear that the tendentious reporting in the local news heavily favored the conservative candidate.

hefty

(adj) big or heavy Always filled to bursting with textbooks and notepads, Ayako's backpack was quite the hefty burden, and she dreaded carrying it to and from home.

sarcastic

(adj) bitingly ironic; derisive "Of course I'll do your math homework; nothing would make me happier," Caitlin retorted sarcastically when Flynn asked her to "help him out"i with his assignment.

expeditious

(adj) doing something quickly Elaine knew that she would have to be expeditious if she was going to finish her term paper before the due date.

voluntary

(adj) doing something willingly; not forced; of your own free will The residents of the flood plains ignored the call to voluntarily evacuate since they felt they were in no danger.

predominant

(adj) dominant; superior in strength; the most common The predominant species of plant is grass, which covers most of the globe.

cede

(v) to give over; to surrender; to give up; to acknowledge Realizing that he'd been bested, Henry ceded that Alana's plan was probably better than his; grudgingly, he agreed to follow her directions.

openhanded

(adj) generous; not stingy My mother has always been more openhanded than my father, and I always approach her first when I need help.

bona fide

(adj) genuine; authentic We will need the approval of the Vatican before we can declare this item a bona fide relic.

flippant

(adj) glib; not taking a serious attitude; very casual in manner I am greatly concerned with your flippant disregard for our safety regulations.

dismal

(adj) gloomy; depressing Having not made the basketball team, Morgan was in a dismal mood the rest of the day, and he continued to sulk through the rest of the week.

rapacious

(adj) greedy; predatory The shark is known for having a rapacious appetite, as it spends almost every hour of its life hunting and eating.

verdant

(adj) green; lush and exuberant in growth The verdant woods seemed to glow bright green under the warm rays of the sun.

morbid

(adj) gruesome; relating to death or associated with death At the lawyer's office, the couple had an honest but morbid conversation about who would inherit the house when one of them passed away.

harbor

(v) to give shelter to, or to entertain or keep in your mind or heart a certain thought or feeling I used to harbor dreams of living out my days as an adventurer, but then I took an arrow to the knee.

reciprocate

(v) to give something in return When given a gift unexpectedly, it is often considered polite to reciprocate with a kind deed of one's own.

belabor

(v) to give too much attention to something; to spend too much time or effort on a single thing or single point Considering that Emily had already made her argument several times over, Adam thought she was truly belaboring the point when she tried to bring it up in conversation again.

relinquish

(v) to give up; to hand over something When the princess reached the age to rule, her father relinquished the throne to her.

abjure

(v) to give up; to renounce; to formally disavow by virtue of an oath A steadfast patriot, Emilio refused to abjure his loyalty to the president, even under threat of violence.

sequester

(v) to isolate; to set apart or quarantine When the school nurse found out that Deanna had chicken pox, she sequestered Deanna in the nurse's office until her parents could come pick her up.

warrant

(v) to justify or deserve (also a noun, a justification or written document showing authority No excuse can warrant the extreme measure of imprisoning all quarantined to keep them safe from chicken pox.

jostle

(v) to knock or toss about; to bump Though the train jostled her bags around a bit, she was relieved to find that the glass figurine she had packed for her mother was still in tact.

seduce

(v) to lead astray; to attract or lure; to make a romantic conquest Timothy lit candles, cooked dinner and played romantic music all in an effort to seduce his prudish date.

evacuate

(v) to leave or withdraw; to empty the contents of something By now, everyone knows to evacuate the building in an orderly fashion in the event of a fire drill; on the off-chance that there is an actual fire, you'll want to be as far from the building as possible.

abate

(v) to lessen in intensity; to calm down After three days of wind and rain, the storm finally began to abate, and the barest trace of silvery sunlight could be seen starting to peek between the clouds.

depreciate

(v) to lessen in value Taewan refused to buy a new car, realizing that as soon as he drove it off the lot, it would start depreciating immediately and lose most of its value.

pale

(v) to lessen or decrease in importance or significance When I lost my wallet, I thought that I was having a bad day, but my troubles paled in comparison to those of my best friend who not only had her car stolen, but her purse and laptop computer along with it.

assuage

(v) to lessen pain or discomfort; to make better Melanie assuaged Carter's guilt at having missed her birthday party by explaining that she would be celebrating all week long anyway and saying that he need not feel bad about missing one event when several more opportunities to celebrate would follow.

extenuate

(v) to lessen the seriousness of something, especially by providing an excuse or explanation Harold tried to extenuate his tardiness by explaining that he had had unexpected car trouble, but Mr. Brown wasn't convinced.

illuminate

(v) to light up; to make clear; to serve as an example One small candle was not nearly enough light to illuminate the entire auditorium.

vindicate

(v) to prove correct; to disprove accusations; to achieve justice and fairness With Jasmine's innocence finally proven, her father's faith in her was at last vindicated.

incubate

(v) to provide an environment that nourishes and supports The premature newborn was incubated in a special chamber to allow it to complete its development.

endow

(v) to provide with a resource, talent, or skill; to give as if a gift Mozart was endowed with great musical talent from a very young age.

purse

(v) to pucker; to contract into wrinkles or a kissy-face Jonathan pursed his lips in eager anticipation of his first kiss from Edith.

chastise

(v) to punish or scold harshly, including possible physical punishment Furious that George had been caught cheating on yet another assignment, Mrs. Mitchell chastised him with as much fury and volume as she could muster, knowing that this final reprimand had to sink in if he was ever going to change his ways.

obtrude

(v) to push forward or impose; to get in the way It's important to take care not to obtrude on the privacy of others; butting in or imposing is generally considered rude and socially awkward.

perplex

(v) to puzzle or confuse The hedge maze completely perplexed everyone inside it, and none ever escaped.

vex

(v) to puzzle or confuse; to present as a difficult problem The mysterious physics behind the phenomena of dark matter and black holes have vexed astrophysicists for years, as scientists are still unable to fully account for what seems to defy so many accepted laws and theories.

cite

(v) to quote; to refer to Cassidy got a D on his AP English Lit paper when his teacher noted that he had neglected to cite any evidence or sources in support of his argument; without proper citation, she explained, his argument was little more than opinion.

exude

(v) to radiate or emit; to give off a certain sense or quality Not wanting to let his nervousness show, Timothy did his best to exude confidence and ease at the meeting; to his relief, the investors were convinced by his outward display.

reprimand

(v) to rebuke or scold severely; also (n. Moira's mother reprimanded her for stealing from the church, and Moira swore never to steal again.

incur

(v) to receive something undesirable, like a fine, penalty, or some type of damage or harm By not picking up after his dog as promised, James incurred the wrath of his parents.

prescribe

(v) to recommend or set down as a rule that must be followed The pharmacist prescribed two pills a night until the symptoms cleared up.

convalesce

(v) to recuperate; to recover from illness The illness had run its course, but now Oliver needed to convalesce and his recovery would be quite lengthy.

dwarf 1

() a very short person; a mythological person who is very short 2. (v. The little tugboat was dwarfed in size by the massive cruise liner floating beside it, but it was still powerful enough to tow the ship into the harbor.

trite

(adj) cliché; used too often; unoriginal The music from that show was so trite; I'm sure I've heard it several times before.

inalienable

(adj) incapable of being taken away Certain rights are considered inalienable and beyond the law; among these are the rights to life, liberty, and free WI-FI.

conducive

(adj) leading toward an outcome; tending to bring about Cold winds from the northern Arctic current create a situation very conducive to snow storms.

translucent

(adj) letting light pass through, but not entirely transparent While the translucent glass let in plenty of light, its frosted finish prevented anyone from seeing through it.

compulsive

(adj) marked by a compulsion; acting in a way that is not entirely within one's control; feeling as if one is compelled to do something Jonathan spent every night at the casino, giving in to his compulsive gambling habit.

treacly

(adj) overly sentimental; saccharine; disgustingly sweet Critics, who called the writing overly sweet and trite, tore the poet's treacly prose to shreds.

baroque

(adj) overly-decorated; gaudy Theresa found the flashiness and color of Las Vegas to be much too Baroque for her tastes, preferring a much more minimalist approach to architecture and adornment.

ludicrous

(adj) ridiculous It was ludicrous to expect to ace her finals without studying, but Melinda always was susceptible to irrational and altogether ridiculous flights of fancy.

putrid

(adj) rotten; in a foul state; decaying After Sheila left the milk out overnight, she was disgusted to find that, by the morning, it had already spoiled and gone putrid, smelling sour and starting to chunk.

churlish

(adj) rude and unsophisticated; boorish The members of the water polo team had a reputation for being generally inclined towards churlish humor, but the childish prank they played on the opposing school team got them disqualified from the tournament.

petty

(adj) small and selfish; ungenerous and ungracious Roberta was so petty she kept track of every cent that her friends borrowed from her in order to charge them interest.

timid

(adj) to be shy or overly cautious; lacking self-confidence Pearl was always a timid girl, shying away from crowds or parties and generally uncomfortable in social settings.

prognosis

(n) a prediction of what will happen in the future, especially in a medical context The doctor's original prognosis of a speedy recovery fortunately turned out to be accurate.

synopsis

(n) a summary Your synopsis of this story is too short, so please include more details from the plot to make it complete.

hierarchy

(n) a system of ranking according to status or important; pecking order Like any governing system based on rigid hierarchies or ranks, ours was a system particularly prone to creating varying levels of privilege, power, and economic inequality.

quisling

(n) a traitor; a person who sells out his or her own people The quisling was captured and put on trial for selling nuclear secrets to the enemy.

oligopoly

(n) an economic system with only a few major players or economic leaders The new nation's oligopoly worked from the shadows to ensure that no leader would be elected who might disrupt their flow of profits.

excise

(v) to cut away; to remove surgically Even though the lump on his arm turned out to only be a benign, and as such, harmless, tumor, the doctor still thought it best to excise the mass on the off chance that it later became harmful.

truncate

(v) to cut short In this experiment, it is allowable to truncate your measurements and leave off the last few digits beyond the decimal point.

mar

(v) to damage the appearance of something; to harm A falling branch marred the new paint on the roof of my car.

temporize

(v) to delay or stall to gain time Knowing that his accomplice needed more time to escape, Christian tried to temporize by feigning ignorance when questioned by the police.

disinter

(v) to dig up, especially a grave or a fossil; to exhume The murder victim's body had to be disinterred a month after its burial to be inspected for clues.

dole

(v) to distribute or hand out (as in to dole out Every time uncle comes back from business trips overseas, he comes back bearing gifts and doles them out to each of us cheerfully.

induct

(v) to draw into or make a part of; to officially introduce as a member of a club or organization After a long and complex initiation, Consuela was finally inducted into the secret society.

imbibe

(v) to drink; to take in as if drinking; to absorb Cold medicine can soothe one's symptoms, but imbibing too much will cause stomach problems.

plummet

(v) to drop steeply; to fall very quickly Having sustained a sharp blow to the head, Harry plummeted from the sky in an unconscious free-fall, and it was a wonder that his teammate was able to catch him before he hit the ground.

dessicate

(v) to dry out; to remove all moisture Sitting in a hot wind for hours, the bell pepper had been completely desiccated, leaving behind only a dry husk.

corrode

(v) to eat away at; to destroy gradually (especially by a chemical process Years of rust had corroded the lock on the gate, allowing the looters to enter the premises freely.

abash

(v) to embarrass; to make self-conscious or ashamed Gill was abashed by his weakness at foreign languages, and he worked hard to try to improve.

underscore

(v) to emphasize or make more emphatic The speaker repeated her central argument several times to underscore how strongly she felt about the issue at hand.

exhort

(v) to encourage or urge strongly The head nurse exhorted his patient to take her medication for her own good.

impunity

(n) freedom from punishment or consequences With their parents on vacation for a month, the children could throw parties and misbehave with impunity.

posterity

(n) future generations Make note of my dying wish, that it may be recorded for posterity.

largess

(n) generosity and munificence; giving lots of gifts The monk's largess was clearly demonstrated when he decided to donate the rest of his worldly possessions to a local charity.

nepotism

(n) giving special favors or promotion to one's relatives Jackson promoted his 17-year-old nephew to a management position over two more qualified candidates in a clear display of nepotism.

prestige

(n) having cultural authority; cachet Belgica knew better than to choose a college based on prestige alone; though having a great reputation and being well-known did connote a good school, the specifics of programs and areas of study offered mattered more in the long run.

intuition

(n) knowing something innately or without reflection; having a sense or insight about something Mansfield relied as much on sea charts as his nautical intuition, borne from years of experience, to navigate his ship home.

sloth

(n) laziness Possessed of great sloth, Harry could rarely be motivated to do anything at all.

languor

(n) lethargy; having no energy; weakness of body After working all day in the sun, a languor set into Kiet's body and he did not move for the rest for the night.

oligarchy

(n) rule by a few powerful people The president was a simple figurehead for the true rulers, a small oligarchy consisting of business and military leaders.

machination

(n) secret plotting or scheming The villain's evil machinations were foiled when the police stopped his plan before it could be set into motion.

firebrand

(n) someone who stirs up trouble or incites a riot or protest; a troublemaker The firebrand fundamentalist preacher whipped his congregation into a frenzy and led them to firebomb an abortion clinic.

precursor

(n) something that precedes something else; something that suggests what is about to happen The initial invasion was only a precursor to all-out war.

jargon

(n) specialized terminology; language that is hard to understand because it is very specialized; language that sounds intelligent but is ultimately meaningless I was lost when the mechanics began to discuss the parts and functions of my car using their special jargon.

fortitude

(n) strength of character or mind; grit The daunting task of writing definitions for over 10,000 words was an assignment which challenged my mental fortitude.

brawn

(n) strength; muscles and might When the key to the gate didn't work, we resorted to using our brawn to force it open.

rigor

(n) strictness; severity or rigidness The strict mother superior ran the convent with a rigor unseen by any other order of nuns.

obstinacy

(n) stubbornness Janiece found her sister's obstinacy to be truly frustrating, and she could scarcely believe that a grown woman could act in such a childishly headstrong and foolishly stubborn.

finesse

(n) subtle or delicate skill The brute force of dynamite having failed, the thief next tried an approach with more finesse to open the vault.

reproof

(n) the act of censuring or rebuking; also (v. A stern reproof from Alma was all it took to keep Matteo behaved and polite.

periphery

(n) the edges; something at the very boundary or edge of something Though Helena stood at the periphery of the room, almost outside my field of vision, the barest glimpse of her red hair from the corner of my eye alerted me to her arrival.

provenance

(n) the history of ownership of an object; the origins of something By what provenance did you come to own this land? I want to know how and when you acquired it, and what claim you supposedly lay to it.

mainstay

(n) the main support; the chief supporter or champion of something When we first opened up the restaurant, the lunch rush was our mainstay as we were near enough to several corporate offices to get a lot of business even before we were a popular dinner venue.

bourgeoisie

(n) the middle class, often with suggestions of conformity and narrow, moralistic values The bourgeoisie of the neighboring country were typical of their kind, concerned only with their own comfort and view of morality.

canon

(n) the officially recognized (and taught The religion's traditional canon was altered to include more secular sects.

aegis

(n) the protection or backing of an organization; sponsorship; a shield Hiding behind the aegis of the church, the missionary hid her theft and corruption from public critique.

repertoire

(n) the range of pieces or songs in an artist's performance Jewel's musical repertoire consisted mostly of guitar-driven folk songs.

scope

(n) the range of something; the extent of something The scope of the sheriff's authority extended beyond county lines to the entire state.

catharsis

(n) the release of tension, anxiety or emotion, usually by participating in or observing something Crying for two days after his divorce proved to be a healthy catharsis for Jake.

consequence

(n) the result or outcome One of the more unexpected consequences to surviving his first year as a freshman in college was Henry's newfound genius at figuring out how to make $20 cover an entire week's worth of meals.

minutiae

(n) the small details I am not concerned with the minutiae of the car's construction, only the end product.

bridle

(v) 1. to restrain 2. to show one's resentment by throwing one's head back and lowering one's chin, like a horse in a bridle (also a noun, the leather headgear that restrains a horse Anthony required that his horse be fitted with a saddle and bridle before he felt it was safe to ride.

haunt

(v) 1. to visit often 2. to inhabit as a ghost (also a noun, a favorite place to abide or dwell; a place frequently visited The penny arcade, where he could be found any day of the week, was one of Arthur's favorite haunts.

maraud

(v) to attack and raid; to invade for plunder The mercenaries marauded through town, stealing and burning as they went.

maul

(v) to attack or physically harm; to injure, especially by an animal Bradley was lucky to be alive after being ferociously mauled by the grizzly bear, and the vicious attack made national news because of how rare and tragic an occurrence it was.

besiege

(v) to attack with great energy, especially a fortress or city; to overwhelm The army of over 10,000 soldiers besieged the city of less than 2,000 and conquered it overnight.

entice

(v) to attract; to seduce or lure Can I entice you to give me a ride if I pay for your gas?

shirk

(v) to avoid a duty or obligation By pretending to be sick, Giles was able to shirk his fair share of the work for most of the trip; that is, until Henrietta found out he was faking and forced him to get back to his duties.

evade

(v) to avoid capture; to elude The jackrabbit narrowly evaded the hawk's talons, fleeing into his burrow at the last possible second.

offset

(v) to balance; to act as a counter-weight or compensation The disaster of the well drying up was offset by heavy rainfall all winter.

credit

(v) to believe Seeing him in a room full of cats, dogs and rabbits, it was difficult to credit Tom's claim that he was allergic to pets.

parry

(v) to block or deflect a blow The castle guard parried the thrust with his buckler, then riposted with his rapier.

effect

(v) to bring about; to cause to happen; also (n. A major life event, such as the birth of a child, can have profound effects on any relationship.

arraign

(v) to bring formally before a court; to answer formal charges in court Suspected on charges of breaking and entering and attempted robbery, Mitchell was arraigned before the ninth circuit court of Californi

reckon

(v) to calculate or estimate I'm not exactly sure, but I reckon the train should be arriving around 9:15 at night.

quell

(v) to calm or placate; to put down an uprising; to stifle or repress a feeling or emotion Not even the dictator's military forces could quell the riot raging outside his palace.

annul

(v) to cancel or make void After years of bitter fighting, the couple finally decided to annul their marriage.

chasten

(v) to correct by punishment or criticism A quick exhalation and rolled eyes from his piano teacher were enough to chasten Victor into playing more attentively and precisely, as he was sensitive to even the suggestion of criticism

renege

(v) to go back on a promise; to violate an agreement I am a man of my word and would never renege on a promise.

flag

(v) to gradually lose energy or vitality; to slow down Carlos had initially planned to pull an all-nighter in order to cram for all of his midterms, but only fifteen minutes after midnight, his efforts and concentration began to flag; his vision blurred, and his thoughts became sluggish as his yawns grew more frequent.

hail

(v) to greet with enthusiasm; to call out or summon The queen was hailed by all her subjects when she returned from battle victorious.

buffet

(v) to knock about; to push or force The ship pitched, rolled, and swayed perilously on the open seas, buffeted by ten-foot tall waves and merciless storm winds.

concise

(adj) expressed in very few words; short; efficient The general's message was clear and concise: "we attack at dawn."

obstreperous

(adj) marked by unruly noisiness The obstreperous behavior of the students in the lunchroom prompted the teacher to shout through a megaphone to quell the riotous children.

modicum

(n) a very small amount The flimsy umbrella provided a modicum of defense against the heavy rains.

revel

(v) to celebrate; to delight or take pleasure in The volleyball players reveled in their victory over a superior team.

defray

(v) to provide for the payment of something To help defray the cost of the trip to Germany, the symphonic wind ensemble held a bake sale to raise funds for airfare and lodging, which allowed all members to go, even on the high school's limited budget.

rouse

(v) to provoke or stir up; to wake When shaking and shouting failed, Victor's friends resorted to pouring cold water on his face to rouse him.

extract

(v) to remove, especially with effort (also, something removed Before it can be refined into usable material, iron must be extracted from the earth.

counter

(v) to respond or reply, as in an argument Having withstood her little sister's opening attack, Eugenia swung her pillow wildly, countering with a barrage of blows that put a definitive end to the pillow fight.

curb

(v) to restrain or check; to hold back Even though Calvin was thrilled to receive the job offer, he worked to curb his enthusiasm as to sound professional and grounded over the phone.

dampen

(v) to restrain or repress Mrs. Miller hid her daughter's car keys in an attempt to dampen her highly active social life.

check

(v) to restrain; to block; to hold back When Mary Ellen tried to walk out the door, her mother checked her in the doorway and reminded her that it would be cold later, so she ought to bring a jacket.

inhibit

(v) to restrict or limit; to hold back During the footrace, Yolanda was inhibited by her sprained knee.

deploy

(v) to set into action or motion; to send into service or activity Just six months after joining the Navy, Michelle was deployed to the U.S. Naval Base in Yokosuka, Japan for a two-year tour of duty.

dote

(v) to show great fondness or love, often excessive or indulgent His only living relative, the man doted on and spoiled his granddaughter.

flaunt

(v) to show off; to display openly and without hesitation Never one to shy from the spotlight, Peter flaunted his victory shamelessly—an excessively prideful display that actually had the effect of losing him fans in spite of his otherwise fantastic performance.

exert

(v) to show or demonstrate force; to put forth From his furrowed brow to the beads of sweat that dotted his forehead, it was clear that Tyler was exerting considerable effort to push the car out of the ditch; despite his best efforts, however, the car was stuck.

advocate

(v) to speak in support of something; to recommend something (also, a person who supports or speaks in support My defense attorney advocated on my behalf out keep me out of prison.

suffuse

(v) to spread throughout, especially light or color Derek opened the curtains and the entire room was suffused with soft glow of sunlight.

dismantle

(v) to take apart Thomas was excited to finally purchase a modular bicycle which was even more portable than other bikes because it could be dismantled easily for easy packing in car trunks or overhead compartments.

preempt

(v) to take the place of; to forestall or prevent; to take possession of or act before someone else can do the same thing In order to preempt any questions that her boss might have had about her progress, Amy was sure to cover everything in detail in her presentation.

tantalize

(v) to tempt or tease; to torment with something that is just out of reach The clown tantalized the young children with promises of ice cream for lunch.

ponder

(v) to think about; to consider with great care Please take time to ponder your next decision, as it will influence the rest of your life.

flourish

(v) to thrive; to grow vigorously (n. With sufficient water and plentiful sunshine, Marty hoped the azaleas would flourish and blossom beautifully.

countenance

(v) to tolerate or overlook something (also a noun, the features or expressions of one's face Because of your service to this school, I will countenance you having broken the rules, but only once.

jettison

(v) to toss overboard; to throw away The meat in the ship's hold is rotten; jettison it before it attracts anymore flies.

barter

(v) to trade directly for goods or services; to swap With no money to exchange for good or services, the small nation operated on a barter economy.

anxious 1

() absorbed in thought or mental stress Lawrence was always anxious at his track meets, and he would nervously pace up and down the bleachers until his race was called.

impotent

(adj) 1. without power; ineffective 2. unable to reproduce or engage in sexual intercourse The ten-year-old boy struggled impotently against the teenage bullies.

centrifugal

(adj) a force that moves things away from the center As the roulette table spun round and round, the centrifugal force caused by the spinning pulled the marble to the outer edges of the table.

monomaniacal

(adj) a psychological condition in which a person focuses on one thing obsessively or exclusively In his monomaniacal pursuit of fame and fortune, Clyde neglected his family, friends, and even health; he was so blinded by his single-minded focus that he couldn't see any of the harm his actions caused.

servile

(adj) acting like a servant; too obedient Madame DelaCroix was truly pleased to see that her butler had adopted an appropriately servile attitude.

tyrannical

(adj) acting like a tyrant The merciless and tyrannical despot ruled with an iron fist.

succinct

(adj) brief; expressed using few words; concise Knowing that she had mere minutes to deliver the message before it was too late, Larissa explained the situation as succinctly as she could, leaving out the extraneous details and covering only the most essential elements.

placid

(adj) calm and peaceful With not a single ripple on its surface, the lake was perfectly placid.

serene

(adj) calm and peaceful; tranquil With no disturbances but the sounds of birds and the wind, the forest glade was truly serene.

implacable

(adj) cannot be placated or appeased; relentless No amount of negotiation or concessions would motivate the implacable enemies to make peace.

sententious

(adj) characterized by pompous moralizing The pompous principal made everyone sit through two hours of his sententious speech at commencement.

stingy

(adj) cheap; not inclined to spend money My stingy uncle wouldn't even buy me a cast for my broken arm unless he could find a discount somewhere.

manifest

(adj) clear or apparent; obvious (also a verb, to show or display, especially behaviors or symptoms and a noun, 1. a document that makes clear the contents of a ship's hold or cargo and 2. a document that lists who is a passenger on a ship or airplane Despite being infected with pneumonia, Damien strangely manifested no symptoms.

lucid

(adj) clear; coherent : Once the sedative wore off, Chen was lucid and could speak clearly once more.

pithy

(adj) clever; saying a lot in a little space; terse and forceful in expression Monica's pithy response of "Not you," to Niraj's marriage proposal told him everything he needed to know about her feelings and activities.

hackneyed

(adj) cliché; overdone and unoriginal; derivative The amateur play was full of hackneyed phrases and themes stolen from dozens of different works of literature.

peremptory

(adj) commanding; bossy Due to her peremptory nature, Selena always assumed that she would be in charge in every situation.

banal

(adj) common; everyday; boring and cliché The art museum was unimpressive, filled with banal landscapes and cheap reprints.

quotidian

(adj) common; everyday; customary Every day, the janitorial staff dealt with the quotidian tasks of emptying the trash, cleaning the bathrooms and vacuuming the carpets.

flagrant

(adj) conspicuously bad Denise's orange and blue hair was a flagrant violation of the company's dress code policy.

venal

(adj) corrupt; open to bribery Stacy couldn't buy a gun legally, but she knew that in the city's venal underworld she could find anything.

craven

(adj) cowardly Refusing to take the blame for eating the last donut was truly a craven and dishonorable act.

captious

(adj) critical and faultfinding; complaining Cheryl was so captious that she brought those around her down because her constant negativity and complaining made them feel unhappy with themselves as well.

cosmetic

(adj) dealing with the surface only; superficial The new elevator door was only a cosmetic fix and did nothing to address the problem of a faulty counterweight.

resonant

(adj) deep and resonating in tone; having qualities of a lingering echo The 128-member chamber choir sang in unison as one resonant voice, humming and swelling through the expansive auditorium.

dilatory

(adj) delaying; tardy If you continue to work at such a dilatory pace, the project will never be done in time!

cursory

(adj) done with little thought or effort; done casually or superficially With only a cursory glance at the students yawning and fidgeting with their backpacks, the teacher knew without even thinking that it was nearly 3:00; absentmindedly, he began to go through the motions of wrapping up and assigning homework.

unwitting

(adj) done without realizing or intending it; done unconsciously or without being aware Not realizing he had wandered onto the film set on accident, Darrell became an unwitting extra in the big budget film, and later, he loved pointing himself out to friends and acquaintances whenever he showed them the movie.

eclectic

(adj) drawn from many sources; characterized by a mixture or combination of things Eric prided himself on having eclectic group of friends from all different walks of life, as he felt lucky to have such a diverse group of individuals all getting along and enjoying each other's company.

nefarious

(adj) evil; conniving The nefarious villain plotted the destruction of the entire city.

inordinate

(adj) excessive; out of proper bounds or limits The restaurant was highly ranked, but Kaylynn found the pricing to be inordinately expensive, and she decided that she would be unlikely to ever return to it.

congenial

(adj) friendly and affable Polite and hospitable, Enrique welcomed his houseguests in a characteristically congenial fashion, offering them food and drink and a place to stay for as long as they wanted.

amiable

(adj) friendly and open; congenial Despite his clumsiness, the young boy's amiable nature enabled him to be hired as the restaurant's host.

gregarious

(adj) friendly and outgoing Ashley was shy at first in her new school, but all the people she met were so gregarious that she soon found a group of friends.

rife

(adj) full of; abundant; prevalent The forest was rife with songbirds, which filled the air with their beautiful voices.

mercenary

(adj) having motives that are impure; motivated only by money or gain (also, a soldier who fights for money rather than for country or a cause With the war over and no job prospects, the soldiers sold their skills as mercenaries to make money.

insolent

(adj) highly disrespectful; rude and aggressive The student's insolent behavior of spitting at faculty and staff ensured his expulsion.

tenacious

(adj) holding firm; not giving up Maxine had always been a tenacious believer in the notion of basic human goodness, and no apparent contradictions to her belief would ever convince her otherwise.

futile

(adj) hopeless; having no effect or purpose When trapped in a whirlpool, any attempt to swim out would be futile.

ghastly

(adj) horrible; morbid and terrifying The detective exhumed the body months after its burial in order to search the ghastly, half-decomposed corpse for clues.

ornery

(adj) ill-tempered, grumpy In its old age, the basset hound grew less friendly and more ornery, always in a bad mood and ready to bark at anything.

autonomous

(adj) independent Having finally ousted the colonial invaders and dismantled the puppet government, the island nation was an autonomous country once more, and the citizens rejoiced in their newfound independence.

tangential

(adj) like a tangent; barely touching; oblique; not directly relevant The tangential ray touched the sphere at only one point.

avuncular

(adj) like an uncle; friendly and kind Warm, lighthearted, and encouraging, Coach Gibson prided himself on being more avuncular than disciplinarian, and many players looked up to him as a parental figure.

finite

(adj) limited in scope; having a definite endpoint Energy from the wind and sea is limitless, but that gained from burning coal is finite.

indiscriminate

(adj) not making careful distinctions; reckless Barry was fairly indiscriminate about dance music; essentially, if a song had a beat he would dance to it, for better or for worse.

unmitigated

(adj) not moderated; not lessened Because he wasn't wearing a helmet, the unmitigated force of the fall hurt him much more than it would have, and he suffered a major concussion.

stagnant

(adj) not moving, especially of water The small, stagnant puddle of water was the perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.

stationary

(adj) not moving; immobile Shooting a stationary target is far easier than hitting a moving one.

subtle

(adj) not obvious; hard to understand; nuanced The strong flavor of garlic overpowered the more subtle hints of seasoning in the steak.

patent

(adj) obvious; also (n. That he was lying was a patent fact; from his nervous stutter to his averted gaze, it was clear he was trying to hide something.

overt

(adj) obvious; not hidden or subtle When Phillip yawned loudly and theatrically in the middle of Alex's story, it was an overt gesture meant to signal that Phillip was bored with the story and not the least bit concerned with hiding his lack of interest.

quaint

(adj) odd or peculiar, especially in an old-fashioned way The hills were dotted with quaint cottages that were built over eighty years ago.

paramount

(adj) of chief importance; supreme; ranking higher than others To Ebenezer Scrooge, the pursuit of money was the paramount concern in his life; he worked tirelessly to amass and secure economic wealth, often at the expense of his relationships and emotional wellbeing.

obnoxious

(adj) offensive and annoying, especially because of attention-seeking behavior The obnoxious toddler cried loudly until someone finally picked it up.

rank

(adj) offensive in smell or odor (also a noun-one's status or place in a hierarchy A rank odor wafted up from the dumpster, burning Andy's nostrils.

heterodox

(adj) opposed to accepted or conventional belief, especially in matters of religion or politics The senator's heterodox methods shocked the old political establishment, who preferred a traditional candidate.

averse

(adj) opposed to or reluctant to do something Having always been particularly averse to any kind of risk, Kennedy found the idea of vacationing and gambling in Las Vegas to be completely unappealing.

sanguine

(adj) optimistic; cheerful Despite all of the bad luck that befell him, Jeremiah attempted to maintain a sunny disposition and sanguine outlook.

proprietary

(adj) pertaining to property or ownership Proctor and Gamble had a proprietary legal battle over who owned the rights to the line of cleaning products.

stark

(adj) plain; austere The nearly-barren room reflected her stark aesthetic.

frolicsome

(adj) playful; inclined to gambol and leap about Seeing his frolicsome kittens play in the sunshine always warmed Sahil's heart.

innate

(adj) present from birth; a natural part of something Ella was born with an innate knack for music and performance; her mother joked that Ella began to sing before she could talk and dance before she could walk.

cachet

(adj) prestige; a distinguishing mark or seal that confers authority or prestige Making a three point shot on the basketball court earned Augustine cachet with his son's friends.

disingenuous

(adj) pretending to be naïve to deceive or mislead; crafty; sly The disingenuous soccer coach duped his players into running two extra laps around the track.

disarming

(adj) preventing criticism through charm Tony's disarming smile dissuaded his boss from giving him any criticism.

legitimate

(adj) proper and legally-recognized (also a verb, to render proper and legally-recognized The con artist took all her stolen money and opened a legitimate business to gain a legal cash flow.

bumptious

(adj) pushy; bossy; crudely aggressive In her characteristically bumptious manner, Peggy elbowed her way to the front of the line, rudely demanded to be seated immediately, and then proceeded to tell the restaurant owner how to better run the establishment.

downtrodden

(adj) put upon; oppressed; treated badly and unfairly The new king called upon the downtrodden peasants to increase their own food production and thus better their lives.

irascible

(adj) quick-tempered; argumentative and easily roused to anger In her old age, my aunt has become fussy and irascible, losing her temper over every little inconvenience.

haphazard

(adj) random; done in a disorganized fashion; by chance Dorothea's haphazard organizational system confused all who tried to use it.

filial

(adj) relating to a son or daughter; acting like a son or daughter Now that his mother was in her 70s, Stanley had a filial duty to care for her.

salacious

(adj) relating to an improper interest in sexual matters; lustful; lecherous Convicted of salacious and inappropriate conduct, the offender was fired from his job for sexual harassment and sentenced to a year of house arrest for indecent exposure.

diurnal

(adj) relating to daytime; daily The plentiful, diurnal wildlife on the island could be seen frolicking in the daylight.

forensic

(adj) relating to law or debate The school's forensics club earned recognition when they defeated a rival debate team in a national contest.

municipal

(adj) relating to local government When the state's credit ran out, we opted to invest in municipal bonds from our hometown.

amorous

(adj) relating to love; involving strong feelings of a romantic or sexual nature He declared his amorous feelings when he proposed to his future spouse.

conjugal

(adj) relating to marriage, especially sexual intimacy After being on good behavior for what seemed like an eternity, the convicted prisoner was finally granted the right to have conjugal visits with his wife who would visit the prison twice a month.

mnemonic

(adj) relating to memory Zinda's doctors fashioned her a mnemonic recovery device to help her regain her memories.

pecuniary

(adj) relating to money As a matter of good manners, it is generally considered impolite to discuss pecuniary matters such as salary, investments, or financial debts at the dinner table.

punitive

(adj) relating to punishment Anytime one of their subjects disobeyed an order, Jean Claude and Yvette took punitive action that was as severe as it was swift.

pastoral

(adj) relating to the countryside or pastures; relating to shepherds Much of the Little House on the Prairie series involves a fictionalized account of pastoral life in the American frontier, chronicling one family's experience farming, raising cattle, and surviving in the wilderness.

rustic

(adj) relating to the countryside; unsophisticated The rustic inn featured oil lamps, hay beds and water from a pump.

domestic

(adj) relating to the home or family; relating to one's own family Wild dogs can rarely be domesticated enough to become house pets.

maritime

(adj) relating to the ocean or sea; relating to ships and boats Vikram used his extensive maritime knowledge to sail the lost ship back to shore.

olfactory

(adj) relating to the sense of smell Vultures have some of the keenest olfactory senses on earth, allowing them to detect smells from miles away.

tactile

(adj) relating to the sense of touch Amanda specialized in tactile art, inviting her patrons to touch her creations as much as look at them.

therapeutic

(adj) relating to therapy; something that heals or soothes After his blistering testing season was complete, Maurice indulged in a therapeutic afternoon spent relaxing by the pool.

arboreal

(adj) relating to trees Sugar gliders, sloths, and lemurs are all arboreal creatures, making their homes in treetops and forest canopies in order to avoid land-based predators.

tandem

(adj) relating to two things or people working together If we work in tandem, we can get much more done than we would be able to working alone.

pertinent

(adj) relevant Please repeat your story for the judge, and include only pertinent details; we don't have time for the whole tale.

germane

(adj) relevant; appropriate Knowing that you're a Star Trek fan, it might be germane to your interests to know that NASA is in the process of developing a real life warp engine.

loath

(adj) reluctant; hesitant After feeling as though Zuko had betrayed her, Katara was loath to ever put her faith in him again, but eventually this hesitation faded away as Zuko slowly earned back her trust.

egregious

(adj) remarkably bad; obviously or flagrantly bad Though they acquitted him of the lesser count of larceny, the jury could not excuse the more egregious crime of murder.

rancid

(adj) rotten; spoiled (especially of oils or fats The fat melted off the steak, pooled at the bottom of the grill and turned rancid after a week of sitting in the sun.

circuitous

(adj) roundabout; indirect; twisting and turning needlessly The poor driving conditions and needlessly circuitous and confusing roads delayed us.

sardonic

(adj) sarcastic; critical and sneering Chelsea's sardonic smile matched her sarcastic tone as she answered the question.

timorous

(adj) scared; fearful; timid and unaggressive The timorous mice would only come out to explore the kitchen at night, when they were sure that nobody else was present.

cryptic

(adj) secretive; hard to understand or decipher; mysterious The oracle's cryptic reply to their question left her followers guessing at its meaning for years.

reclusive

(adj) seeking isolation; avoiding people or society Emily Dickinson was notoriously reclusive, preferring to stay at home and away from any public attention, and allowing very few houseguests to pay a visit.

vindictive

(adj) seeking revenge or punishment; seeking harsh, retributive justice April's car had been keyed, but she was not vindictive enough to seek revenge.

specious

(adj) seeming to be true but actually false, especially as of reasoning His specious claims seemed accurate until we checked the facts and found each of his them to be false.

declarative

(adj) serving to declare or make known; acting like a declaration The congresswoman made a clear and declarative statement to the press that she would run for president in the coming election cycle.

fluent

(adj) smooth and skilled; flowing gracefully After studying abroad in Salamanca and Madrid for six months, Eugenia returned to California with a fluent command of the Spanish language that greatly surpassed all that she had learned from years of stateside language study.

sinuous

(adj) snake-like; twisting and turning; curving Walking the sinuous road through the jungle took us much longer than if we had taken a straight path.

suave

(adj) socially skilled; very smooth and effortless in social situations Unlike his clumsy and socially awkward brother, Gary had a reputation for being surprisingly suave and charismatic for someone so young; he was likable and charming without even trying, and he could convince those around him of almost anything.

headstrong

(adj) stubborn and determined Cocky and self-assured, Jericho approached obstacles in his characteristically headstrong manner, never entertaning a shred of self-doubt.

recalcitrant

(adj) stubborn; unwilling to follow advice or guidance; defiant The recalcitrant teenagers disregarded their elders' advice and stayed out past curfew, which caused them to be escorted home by the police.

putative

(adj) supposed; accepted as true with inadequate grounds

conciliatory

(adj) tending to smooth or soften; causing a lessening of tensions After having been rude to her, James was confused by the secretary's kind and conciliatory demeanor.

incognito

(adj) unable to be recognized or indentified; disguised Safely incognito, the agents infiltrated the enemy ranks.

incompetent

(adj) unqualified and unskilled; not meeting basic standards for skills A brilliant mathematician who was nevertheless incompetent at staying organized and keeping track of his own schedule, Harvey had to be let go from the university when he forgot to teach his own class a 4th time this year.

uncouth

(adj) unsophisticated and coarse; crude and uncultured Amelia thought it rather uncouth of Jensen to belch loudly at the dinner table, and she made a mental note not to invite him to any more formal dinners.

laconic

(adj) using very few words; not very talkative or forthcoming in speech In general, Lieutenant Jacobs was a fairly laconic commanding officer, only speaking when absolutely necessary and being exceedingly concise and direct when doing so.

obese

(adj) very overweight; fat At 190 pounds, the golden retriever was truly obese.

profligate

(adj) wasteful; immorally extravagant and wasteful The man gave in to his profligate tendencies—wasting every dime he had buying all manner of unnecessary junk.

articulate

(adj) well-spoken; also (v. Years of speech and debate had trained Jina to be an especially competent and articulate speaker.

emphatic

(adj) with great emphasis or force Juanita was so emphatic in her assertions that she was not to blame, that everyone believed her.

cosmopolitan

(adj) worldly and sophisticated The city-dwelling socialite's cosmopolitan experiences were completely different from the simple sensibilities of her small town sister.

manifesto

(n) 1. a document outlining the central principles of a philosophy or political theory The third party candidate published his manifesto online, so that anyone could read it and understand his political philosophies.

inquisition

(n) 1. a formal inquiry; an investigation 2. a harsh and severe court of inquiry To discover the extent of the company's fraud, a board of inquisition was appointed to investigate.

jaundice

(n) 1. a medical condition affecting the liver and causing yellow skin and eyes 2. bias or prejudice The man was not well; jaundice had turned his skin and the whites of his eyes a sickly shade of yellow.

fabrication

(n) 1. an obvious falsehood 2. something made or created Watching him skip to the nurse's office, Felix's teacher knew his claims of illness to be pure fabrication.

fanfare

(n) 1. an ostentatious display; a public display 2. a flourish of trumpets and loud, brassy music As the parade came around the corner, it was led by a fanfare of trumpets, tubas, and dancers in bright clothes.

anathema

(n) 1. something detested and loathed 2. Cursing The plate of steak and eggs was anathema to Stacy, who had just become a vegetarian.

margin

(n) 1. the border or edge of something, especially of a page of text 2. a degree of difference or a small amount Riku enlarged the margins of his book report to make it seem that he had written much more than he actually had.

latitude

(n) 1. the north-south orientation on a globe 2. freedom of movement or independence of action The parliament placed no restrictions on the powers of the special investigators and gave them a wide latitude to discover the truth.

flank

(n) 1. the side or sides of an animal 2. the right or left formation of a military unit (also a verb, to go around or surprise by appearing at the sides The horses ran side by side, so close that their flanks were touching.

apotheosis

(n) 1. turning a man into a god 2. an ideal or perfect example Creatively minded individuals often see the city as the apotheosis of art and culture, as the architecture and civic function of urban spaces perfectly blends the aesthetic and the functional.

vice

(n) a bad or immoral habit or practice Stephanie had many vices, including gambling, profanity and speeding on the freeway.

staple

(n) a basic element; a common element; a basic type of food or sustenance Maize was a staple of the natives' diet and was eaten at nearly every meal.

mendicant

(n) a beggar Seeing a wealthy nobleman enter town, the group of mendicants swarmed his carriage to beg for succor.

quagmire

(n) a bog or swamp; a difficult situation from which it is hard to extract oneself The gator hunters slowly navigated the quagmire, careful not to snag the bottom of their boat.

morass

(n) a bog or swamp; an extremely difficult or sticky situation Terrance saw from his small boat that mangrove trees grew in clusters throughout the humid morass.

pugilist

(n) a boxer; a fighter The pugilist preferred a traditional approach to fighting, with no weapons or implements.

hiatus

(n) a break; an interruption in activity Please take a hiatus from work to recover from your illness.

maxim

(n) a brief saying that acts as a rule or guideline Eleanor had always lived by the maxim: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all," and as a result, she was known for being an especially quiet and unsociable person.

vignette

(n) a brief sketch or scene, either in the visual, dramatic, or literary arts The long play was actually composed of several short vignettes.

edifice

(n) a building or structure The new civic center was an imposing edifice that reflected the advances of modern-day architecture and the proud history of the city itself.

onus

(n) a burden or obligation; an unpleasant task or responsibility Being the oldest of three siblings meant that Sophie had to bear the onus of waking up earliest to cook breakfast and get her little sisters ready for school, a responsibility she simultaneously took pride in and dreaded each morning.

composure

(n) a calm state of mind; being in control of oneself and one's emotions Despite the insults that were being hurled at her, Naomi maintained her perfect composure.

tenet

(n) a central principle of a philosophy or belief\ The tenets of the new religion were recorded on vellum paper and taught to all believers.

permutation

(n) a change in form; changes within a given set or group of things (especially with numbers When the first set failed, Natalie tried different permutations of the same numbers to open the safe.

trove

(n) a collection of valuables or goods The pirates' trove of plundered treasure was well hidden in the coral reef.

imbroglio

(n) a confused misunderstanding; a dispute or disturbance Mistaking her for someone he knew from his childhood, he ran up and hugged her, causing quite the imbroglio between himself and her husband.

scion

(n) a descendant or heir, especially of a powerful family As eldest son and most accomplished scion of Aang's legacy, it was Tenzin's responsibility to carry on the family traditions and honor his father's memory.

sleuth

(n) a detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps one of the most well-known sleuths in literature, and many detective characters in pop culture in some way derive from or pay homage to this classic mystery solver.

autocrat

(n) a dictator or tyrant Though he demanded to be address as president, the ruler's use of secret police and political intimidation made it clear to everyone that he was no more than a common autocrat.

quandary

(n) a difficult situation; uncertainly about a course of action With the map gone and no road signs in sight, we were left in a quandary as to where to go next.

cacophony

(n) a discordant collection of loud, disturbing noises; a loud, confusing sound; anything that is noisy and confusing When the kindergarten teacher left the classroom, the children erupted into a cacophony of yelling, crying, and other noisiness, making her regret doing so when she returned to the chaotic scene.

platitude

(n) a dull, trite, or cliché remark, especially when uttered as if it is fresh Diagnosed with a serious illness, Margo was angered by her family's platitudes of phrases such as "Don't worry; it'll all be fine."

office

(n) a duty or function assigned to a person As the club treasurer, it was Cynthia's office to manage the financial records and bookkeeping for the French Club.

lair

(n) a dwelling or cave for a wild animal Hunters followed the bear back to where it slept, deep in the cave that was its lair.

impostor

(n) a fake; a person using a false identity When Nate first came to our school, he introduced himself as a foreign exchange student from France, but we knew that he was an impostor when he wasn't able to answer Josephine's questions in French.

charlatan

(n) a fake; a person who cheats others by pretending to be something he or she is not The revivalist preacher turned out to be a charlatan, swindling innocent people out of their money.

alias

(n) a false or assumed name One of the best known American writers, Samuel Clemens wrote under the alias "Mark Twain," a pen-name he came up with based on Mississippi river boat terminology.

nuance

(n) a fine shade of difference; a slight variation of meaning With ten different warring factions and a century of history among them, the situation was full of nuances known only to those directly involved in it.

deluge

(n) a flood The storm broke the dam, releasing a deluge of icy water into the valley below.

colloquy

(n) a formal conversation Seeing Madison approach, her two friends quickly ended their colloquy about her embarrassing pimple.

apology

(n) a formal defense; an argument defending something No amount of apologies would change Herman's mind that he had been deeply wronged by his father's insult.

axiom

(n) a fundamental principle or assumption; a founding theorum or assumption The Law of Gravity is an axiom of modern astrophysics.

eulogy

(n) a funeral oration; praise of someone who has died The eulogy Alejandra delivered praising her brother at his funeral brought tears to everyone present.

obeisance

(n) a gesture or movement (such as bowing The visitor's show of proper obeisance pleased the king and his court.

mausoleum

(n) a giant tomb The sultan ordered a grand mausoleum built to house the corpse of his favorite wife.

maelstrom

(n) a giant whirlpool; a state of confusion Tabatha braved a maelstrom of screaming children, pushy parents and other aggressive shoppers to get her Black Friday deals.

attrition

(n) a gradual reduction or slow wearing away or wearing down Entering into the international conflict, we knew that it would not be a decisive battle, but rather a long and grinding war of attrition.

sentinel

(n) a guard or watchman The statue loomed over the entryway, a silent sentinel standing watch at the front of the manor.

expanse

(n) a large amount or large area of something, especially when spread out; a swath expanse of forest covered the entire mountainside from peak to base.

cistern

(n) a large container for storing water, usually underground When the rains failed to come one year, farmers were forced to draw stored water from the town's large cistern.

throng

(n) a large group of people; a crowd On Sunday afternoons, Sahil loved to people watch at Balboa Park, observing the throng of locals and tourists milling about the emerald lawns and botanical garden.

stratum

(n) a layer The earth's mantle is only one stratum in the composition of our planet.

allegory

(n) a literary work in which the characters represent abstract ideas or symbolize other things Many science fiction novels are actually allegories in which the fantasy-like aspects of the plot are used as devices to subtly critique contemporary social issues without addressing them directly.

venue

(n) a location where something takes place The venue for the concert will be the park, where there is plenty of room for both the band and the fans.

epic

(n) a long narrative poem, especially one about a hero (also, an adjective grand in scope, like an epic poem I just finished translating the epic of Gilgamesh into both French and Greek.

goad

(n) a long stick used to prod animals; also (v. Instead of using the customary walking stick that most shepherds used as a goad to urge their sheep from ranch to pasture, Charlene relied on her trusty cattle dog, Zoe, to keep her flock in line.

hallmark

(n) a mark or symbol of high quality; a sign of authenticity Increased work productivity is the hallmark of a happy employee, and so it's good business practice to make sure your workers are happy.

envoy

(n) a messenger; a special diplomatic representative Running 26.2 miles straight, from the city of Marathon to Athens, the fleet-footed Greek envoy delivered his message before promptly expiring from exhaustion, and the modern day marathon commemorates this historic messenger's sacrifice.

scruple

(n) a moral principle that guides one's actions; restraints due to one's conscience Guilt was not a part of Michael's life, and he had no scruples about stealing from his family.

corollary

(n) a natural consequence or effect; a related idea or inference

utopia

(n) a perfect state or ideal place After forcing the invaders out of their land, the native population strove to create a utopia, their perfect society.

libertine

(n) a person free of moral and sexual restraint; Knowing that Dustin was a huge libertine and generally a character of ill-repute, the sorority girls were certain to ban him from attending any of their parties.

patrician

(n) a person of refined manners and behavior; an aristocrat (also an adjective, meaning aristocratic In order to blend in at the formal dinner party for the queen, a few guests adopted a patrician air.

gadfly

(n) a person who annoys or criticizes others An incorrigible gadly, Ruben was the 1920s version of what is today referred to in slang parlance as a "troll," and no one could stand him for long.

ascetic

(n) a person who avoids worldly pleasures The monks led a truly ascetic life, abandoning the pleasures of the flesh for those of the spirit.

arbiter

(n) a person who decides something, like a judge or arbitrator Unable to come to a decision about who would next lead the empire, the senate appointed an arbiter of succession to determine the next emperor.

zealot

(n) a person who demonstrates extreme zeal; an extremist It is important to remember that a religious zealot is not representative of the entire religion but merely one extremist member of it.

glutton

(n) a person who eats excessively or greedily The birthday boy finished his entire cake without anyone else getting even one slice, proving himself a glutton.

connoisseur

(n) a person who has significant knowledge about a particular subject; a person able to make informed judgments about something (has a snobbish connotation The hint of cinnamon in the gourmet cookies was discernible only to the refined palate of Madame Couchon, a seasoned dessert connoisseur.

misanthrope

(n) a person who hates humanity or who takes a dim view of people in general The mad scientist was a true misanthrope, working for years to devise a way to eradicate all humans.

novice

(n) a person who is a beginner A class of novice metal workers looked on as their more experienced instructor demonstrated several techniques.

reprobate

(n) a person who is immoral or very bad The gang of criminals had no redeeming qualities, each one of them a reprobate worse than the next.

extrovert

(n) a person who is outgoing and very sociable An extrovert at heart, Brian had an easy time meeting new people and starting conversations with strangers.

niche

(n) a place in a wall to hold a statue or similar object; a special place in an organization or system for a person; a person's special talent or purpose There are many departments in this company, and we hope that a person of your specific skill set will be able to find a niche here.

refuge

(n) a place of safety or sanctuary; shelter Stranded on the streets of a strange city, Alan was forced to find refuge from the storm in a dumpster.

zephyr

(n) a pleasant breeze; the west wind The welcome zephyr brought a cool breeze into the house on the hottest day of the year.

mogul

(n) a powerful individual; a very rich person The media mogul was so influential in the newspaper business that when she suggested an idea, everyone rushed to be the first to implement it.

charade

(n) a pretense or deception; something obviously false Every year, the new parents put on the charade of Santa's visit for the benefit of their young children.

prerogative

(n) a privilege or special right It is the king's prerogative to decide who will inherit the throne.

barrage

(n) a prolonged attack Eugenia's scientific arguments were so logical and well researched that they withstood a barrage of questions from her superiors.

adage

(n) a proverb or saying The old adage, "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" is meant to warn people about criticizing others when you share the same flaws.

salvo

(n) a simultaneous discharge of weapons The naval fleet unleashed a salvo of mortar shells against their targets.

dilemma

(n) a situation in which one must choose between two unpleasant alternatives Hugo soon learned that getting into college wasn't the last of his senior year struggles; the real dilemma was choosing one over another knowing that electing one potential future would completely eliminate the possibility of another.

fissure

(n) a split or opening; a cleft The earthquake opened a deep fissure in the bedrock which extended one mile below the surface.

delirium

(n) a state of feverish excitement and confusion After eating an entire box of mini-donuts, the intense sugar-high Amelia experienced put her into a state of utter delirium.

rapture

(n) a state of great bliss or pleasure; ecstasy The rapture that Joy experienced upon successfully completing her second audition and being offered a spot in the internationally renowned dance company was like nothing else; she felt graceful, invincible, and couldn't help but laugh with excitement.

turmoil

(n) a state of great confusion and disarray; an uproar Having been gone for over an hour, the teacher returned to find his classroom of 2nd graders in total turmoil.

want

(n) a state of lacking or poverty All the city's citizens were well fed and housed, leaving very few with want for anything.

insight

(n) a strong sense of understanding or comprehension Having lived with the Tibetan Sherpa family for the last seven years for research, Dr. Tran had gained particular insight into the ins and outs of their daily lives and culture.

clout

(n) authority or power A beloved public figure and a force to be reckoned with, Avery had the clout to get the city council to change their mind about the unfair housing ordinance.

valor

(n) bravery or courage After single-handedly saving the lives of two dozen civilians in the middle of a firefight, the corporal was awarded a medal for her outstanding valor.

brevity

(n) briefness; concision; using very few words; lasting only a short time Aiming for brevity in his writing, Leon avoided using unnecessary adjectives whenever possible.

ingenuity

(n) cleverness or creativity; insightfulness Hiro knew that it would take original acts of ingenuity to solve the problems that the team faced, and he encouraged his teammates to approach the obstacles from new angles.

solace

(n) comfort, usually emotional or mental Having arrived home too late for dinner, Jacob took solace in the fact that he hated corned beef and hash anyway, and he opted instead to microwave some leftover pizz

mania

(n) craziness; an obsession or fascination When they hit the U.S., pogs created an intense but short-lived mania among middle and high school students.

invective

(n) cursing; language that abuses or denounces Furious that the other team scored the winning goal with only seconds left in the game, Harold unleashed a heated invective full of foul language and off-color idioms.

jeopardy

(n) danger; risk of loss Bertram knew that if he neglected to keep his grades up, he would be in real jeopardy of losing his scholarship, so he was sure to manage his time wisely and study between parties

adulation

(n) deep respect; idolizing someone else; extreme reverence The village elder had done so much for the community that those touched by her efforts could not help but feel a sense of abiding adulation towards her.

mayhem

(n) deliberate destruction or injury Complete mayhem erupted at the local superstore on the day after Thanksgiving, when "Black Friday" sales drove shoppers into a crazed frenzy of consumerism and greed.

heresy

(n) deviation from official belief, especially in the context of religion When Galileo proposed the heliocentric model of the universe, the Catholic church accused him of heresy because the notion of a sun-centered universe went against their accepted beliefs.

dissension

(n) disagreement, especially among people in a group The oppressive government punished dissension with the death penalty to ensure everyone would follow its lead.

opprobrium

(n) disgrace; a bad reputation gained by bad actions The famous liar's opprobrium was well-earned.

disdain

(n) disgust or contempt The members of the Holy Inquisition had nothing but disdain for the members of the pagan cult.

relief

(n) distinction or notice due to contrast; a contrast or separation between two things The setting sun threw the mountain range into sharp relief, outlining the jutting peaks in a halo of white and gold that made them stand out even more against the darkening sky.

hegemony

(n) dominance, especially of one culture or nation over another For a lengthy period of time, the British held hegemony over India until the colony finally gained independence after a well-fought struggle.

hubris

(n) extreme, dangerous pride It was not lack of skill, but rather hubris that cost him the match; his excessive pride and overconfidence in his own abilities allowed him to let his guard down at the worst possible moment.

fidelity

(n) faithfulness; being true to someone or something Not even giving the time of day to another woman, Marco maintained complete fidelity to his wife.

renown

(n) fame or celebrity, especially for something important Having been the first band on the moon, the Cardigans gained widespread renown for their lunar adventure.

xenophobia

(n) fear of strangers; fear of foreigners or things that are different The country's strict policy of admitting not a single immigrant into its territory bordered on xenophobi

trepidation

(n) fear or dread Seeing the giant Goliath tower over him filled David with trepidation.

indignation

(n) feeling insulted or that one's dignity has been called into question Her indignation at not being invited to her friend's party was so great that she didn't go even when someone else asked her to go as his date.

ambivalence

(n) feeling two ways about something; feeling conflicted Mark felt such intense ambivalence between going and staying that he found himself completely unable to make a conscious decision, and he sat there torn between the two choices until long after the sun had gone down.

alacrity

(n) great eagerness; energy and zeal Having waited for the college to call all day, she answered the phone with alacrity.

zeal

(n) great energy or enthusiasm Wholly devoted to soccer, Julio's zeal for the sport could not be matched by any other player on his team.

avarice

(n) greed The banker's avarice led him to charge increased interest on loans to those he suspected could pay it in order to line his own pockets.

cupidity

(n) greed; a lust for money or possessions Ebeneezer Scrooge is perhaps the best known embodiment of miserliness and cupidity in Western literature—so much so, that the term "scrooge" has become synonymous with greed and stinginess.

manacles

(n) handcuffs or restraints; shackles The tight iron manacles chaffed against the prisoners hands and feet as he struggled to free himself.

probity

(n) honesty; moral righteousness and proper behavior Taneesha showed her probity by returning the wallet with $800 in it to the lost and found.

candor

(n) honesty; openness; frankness She answered all the questions in the interview with great candor, hiding nothing.

afflictions

(n) illnesses or diseases; unfortunate conditions Irene loved her job as a registered nurse, as she was able to aid thousands of patients a year through their various ailments and afflictions; it was a challenging job to work with the sick everyday, but also consistently rewarding.

peevishness

(n) inclined to be annoyed or exasperated easily; argumentative Mrs. Brynhildr was known for her peevishness, as she was generally the crankiest, least agreeable person on the block.

levity

(n) lightness of mood; happiness and laughter; a lack of seriousness, often when it is improper Mrs. Peterson always managed to effortlessly inject a tone of levity and humor into her lectures on even the driest topics; this cheerful approach to AP European history made her a popular favorite amongst the students at Jefferson High School.

camaraderie

(n) loyalty; close friendship and support among members of a group The members of the swim team shared a camaraderie that bordered on family tie, as they spent so much time together that they may as well have lived together.

opulence

(n) luxury The wealthy nation boasted a castle of such opulence that the floors were rumored to be made of gold.

fluke

(n) mere chance; an accidental stroke of luck Further tests were conducted to determine if the lab results were merely a fluke or reliable and could be reproduced.

melee

(n) noisy, confused conflict; a fight When a fight broke out in the bar, the bouncer waded into the melee to try and restore order.

accolade

(n) praise or honor; a special award or sign of praise Over the course of her career as a medical researcher, Danielle won countless accolades, but the best honor of all was the thanks she got from dozens of families after she was instrumental in devising a successful new cancer treatment.

propriety

(n) properness in behavior; proper protocol A model of propriety, Korosh had impeccable manners and a strong moral character.

patrimony

(n) property inherited from an ancestor; one's inheritance : Charlie's patrimony from his deceased aunt included family heirlooms and a house in Arkansas.

self-abnegation

(n) putting aside one's interests or benefit for the sake of others; self-sacrifice In an act of stunning self-abnegation and bravery, Jenny jumped onto the grenade to save her comrades.

insurrection

(n) rebellion; engaging in the overthrow of the government As a final act of insurrection, the revolutionaries toppled the dictator's statue and burned the old regime's flag in protest.

recrimination

(n) replying to accusations with your own accusations Suzy replied to accusations of cheating on the test with recriminations that the test was not fair.

stamina

(n) resistance to fatigue; strength; able to last a long time It takes incredible stamina to finish a full marathon race.

stealth

(n) secrecy and discretion The stealth mission was a success, and the spies were able to gather intelligence without being found out.

poise

(n) self-assurance; confidence in bearing or demeanor Her incredible poise helped Tabatha make a good impression in every interview she had.

autonomy

(n) self-governance; independence Victorious in its war of independence, the country would enjoy autonomy for years to come.

diffidence

(n) shyness; caution; wariness The shy boy was filled with diffidence about performing on stage for his peers.

aplomb

(n) skill; style and grace The highly skilled dancer finished his performance with great aplomb, impressing his critics.

peer

(n) someone or something of the same rank; an equal Following instructions to speak with her peers for the school paper, first-year student, Rebecca Schulz interviewed the entire freshman class.

harbinger

(n) something that acts as a sign or omen of what is to come Vivian noticed a single locust chewing on her crops, a harbinger of the millions that were to come.

corrective

(n) something that addresses or corrects a misconception As a corrective to the stereotype that Asian females are quiet and modest, Asian American comedian, Margaret Cho, parodies these stereotypes even while flaunting her individual sense of pride in herself.

sacrilege

(n) something that desecrates or insults something holy; something that violates deep religious principles The murder of the bishop was not only a crime but sacrilege against the church.

disruption

(n) something that disturbs or disrupts The few hours of sunlight were a welcome disruption to the otherwise stormy weather that weekend.

electorate

(n) the people who vote in an election; the body of qualified voters A shrinking electorate means that politicians must work even harder to secure the dwindling number of votes.

perpetuity

(n) the state of going on forever; everlasting Made of reinforced titanium and other concrete, the structure was designed to withstand anything and last into perpetuity.

demographics

(n) the study of populations; information about populations Beatrice became interested in demographics and decided to help out with the 2014 census.

rehearse

(v) 1. To practice or perform as a preview 2. To formally list or review The theater company rehearsed for three months before performing for the public.

wince

(v) an involuntary shrinking back in fear or pain Knowing that pain is soon to follow, I wince at the sight of needles at the doctor's office.

irk

(v) to annoy or irritate Nothing irks me more than people who take up two parking spaces when they park their cars.

solicit

(v) to ask for; to seek or search out, especially an opinion or donation During the annual public broadcasting fundraiser, regularly scheduled programming is interrupted so that network spokespeople can solicit public donations which help to fund the network and keep it able to produce new content.

appraise

(v) to assess the value of something In order to better appraise this watch for resale, it might help to know the exact date and location for the watch's production, as well as who designed it and what materials were used.

attribute

(v) to assign as a cause or source (also a noun, a quality or feature of something The psychologist attributed Maria's fear of water to her being attacked by a shark at a young age.

impute

(v) to assign blame or responsibility; to assign credit People often impute the principal's impatience to his cranky nature, and not to the truth: that he simply doesn't like children.

relegate

(v) to assign to a lower level; to send away After Geoffrey proved that he couldn't handle manning the cash register, he was relegated to cleanup duties.

arrogate

(v) to assume or grab authority or power for oneself; to claim for oneself unjustly Senator Underwood's plan to arrogate the presidency had to include a way to dispose of the current president.

assail

(v) to attack On the first snowstorm of the school year, it was customary for the upperclassmen to assail the members of the freshmen class with a barrage of snowballs.

elude

(v) to avoid or escape In order to elude the falcon's talons, the rabbit scurried into its burrow in the nick of time.

languish

(v) to be in a state of neglect; to lose strength or vitality The neglected garden languished until all the plants withered and died.

importune

(v) to beg or plead The traitor's family importuned the emperor to show mercy on him.

supplicate

(v) to beg; to request with great humbleness; to pray The ancient Minoans supplicated their deity for plentiful hunting and fertile crops.

germinate

(v) to begin to grow; to sprout With a little water and plenty of sun, the seeds soon germinated.

veer

(v) to change direction quickly or suddenly Caught off guard by the deer that wandered haplessly onto the highway, Eliza had to quickly veer into the exit lane to avoid a collision, getting terribly lost as a result.

amend

(v) to change or correct; to fix by updating or changing You have recently moved and will need to amend the loan application to include your new address.

bewitch

(v) to charm or seduce by guile; to put a spell on Using a clever mix of flattery and showmanship, the used car salesman bewitched his gullible victims into buying the beat up old truck for twice what it should have cost.

bilk

(v) to cheat or swindle The used car salesman used hidden fees to bilk his customers for as much money as possible.

purport

(v) to claim, usually falsely The abominable snow man is purported to live in the forests of northern Canada, but this has never been proven.

concoct

(v) to create or make-up; to invent Caught red-handed leaving work early, Clarissa had to concoct an elaborate story on the spot in order to convince her boss that she had good reason to go; she made up a story about her apartment building being on fire not knowing he lived in the same building.

contrive

(v) to create; to build; to make artificially Kevin explained that he hadn't completed his homework because a pipe burst in his house and flooded his basement bedroom, but his teacher found his story to be seem too contrived and fanciful to be believable.

debunk

(v) to criticize or show to be false; to demonstrate that something is not true Carol debunked theories of a Martian civilization with a clear video showing no sign of life on the planet.

curtail

(v) to cut short; to abbreviate To deny anyone the right to refuse enlisting in the military would savagely curtail their civil rights.

defile

(v) to desecrate or corrupt; to make impure The looters defiled the antique rug by pouring tar all over it.

subside

(v) to diminish or weaken in force; to grow less severe With proper medication and plenty of rest, the young girl's cold symptoms slowly subsided.

demur

(v) to disagree strongly; to object When asked what her age was, the insecure woman politely demurred.

lament

(v) to display sorrow or regret Mourners lamented loudly as they followed the beloved friend's coffin out of the chapel.

perturb

(v) to disturb or trouble Dr. Kang was perturbed when the results of the experiment failed to line up with her hypotheses.

forgo

(v) to do without; to abstain from Considering the fiery fiasco from the previous prom, the planners this year decided to forgo indoor torches.

recede

(v) to draw back; to move backward As the moon waned gradually, so too did the tide recede, as the moon and ocean were linked by gravitational force.

quaff

(v) to drink quickly or with enthusiasm With only one water fountain easily accessible during the 5-minute break during track practice, Kenneth had to quaff as much water as he possibly could without holding up the line and preventing his teammates from doing the same.

resonate

(v) to echo The opera singer's powerful voice resonated from the front of the auditorium to the back, filling the entire space.

binge

(v) to engage in excessive consumption or appetite; to overindulge After an especially long week of school, Joy looked forward to nothing more than to binge on marathon streaming of her favorite televisions shows online; she watched episode after episode for hours on end until her eyes were red and itchy.

aggrandize

(v) to enlarge; to increase in power or rank We aggrandized the outside dance floor to accommodate the fifty extra guests who did not RSVP.

regale

(v) to entertain or delight, especially through a narrative The photo journalist entertained her dinner guests by regaling them with tales of her many travels.

scrutinize

(v) to examine very carefully The IRS carefully scrutinized the company's financial records for any sign of fraud.

exact

(v) to extract a fee or toll; to demand or obtain by force (also an adjective, meaning precise Tony never forgave any slight and vowed to exact revenge on all who wronged him.

lapse

(v) to falter or decline from a previous standard; to come to an end (also a noun, meaning a failure or drop in the usual standards After ten years of sobriety, Hanna lapsed back into alcoholism when her son died unexpectedly.

graze

(v) to feed on grass; to nibble leisurely, usually as an herbivore Manatees or Dugongs are sometimes also referred to as "sea cows," and for good reason—the manatee spends half of the day submerged and asleep, and the rest of the day grazing on underwater plants in shallow shoals.

decipher

(v) to figure out; to decrypt; to make sense of something otherwise puzzling or mysterious His handwriting was so bad that it would take a team of field-trained anthropologists to decipher his scrawling script.

raze

(v) to flatten or demolish, especially concerning a structure or building After the terrible earthquake, the building's foundations were so damaged that the entire structure had to be razed to the ground, as it would have been unsafe to try to salvage and renovate it.

assimilate

(v) to fold into a group; to absorb the customs or manners of a culture The spies did their best to assimilate and seem just like everyone else.

ensue

(v) to follow or happen subsequently If you unleash a rodent in a fancy restaurant, chaos is sure to ensue as the diners panic and complain furiously to management.

hoodwink

(v) to fool or trick; to mislead The con artist hoped to hoodwink his victims out of their money.

congregate

(v) to gather together; to assemble flock of sheep congregated under the awning to seek shelter from the rain.

accrue

(v) to gather value or interest slowly; to gather experience; to increase Over the years, his knowledge of the game developed in leaps and bounds; once a casual hobbyist, he had accrued an expert's understanding of the finer points of the game such that he had become all but unbeatable.

aquiesce

(v) to give in; to give in tacitly (without speaking With a nod and a smile, the driver in the car next to me acquiesced to my blinking request to switch lanes. Bless you, sir.

capitulate

(v) to give in; to surrender Once the girl saw that she would be grounded if she refused, she capitulated to her father's demands to clan her room.

succumb

(v) to give into; to submit; to yield Stranded and suffering on the mountainside with no way to send for help, James decided to give up and succumb to the bitter cold.

reek

(v) to give off a strong, unpleasant odor Wash those socks; they reek so badly of sweat and dirt that I can smell them from here!

digress

(v) to go off topic; to wander from one's main point or main subject Mr. Havisham was certainly an entertaining teacher, but his tendency to digress from his lectures to talk about personal stories and experiences sometimes detracted from his ability to cover all of the material.

wax

(v) to grow larger; to increase The moon waxed all week until it reached its full size on the 20th.

mesmerize

(v) to hypnotize or place in a trance The snake was completely mesmerized by the hypnotic motions of the flute.

embolden

(v) to make bolder and more confident The hard-won victory over the invading armies emboldened the nation's forces.

delineate

(v) to make careful distinctions; to draw lines that separate; to draw the outline of something or describe in words Emeril's plastic surgeon used a bright red marker to delineate the places on his skin where incisions would be made.

gambol

(v) to play and leap about; to cavort; to frolic Jumping and prancing, the herd of playful gazelle gamboled across the savannah.

forestall

(v) to prevent or delay; to stop something from happening People tried to forestall the breaking of the dam by reinforcing it with beams and sandbags.

hinder

(v) to prevent or inhibit Hildegarde tried to get home quickly, but the heavy bags of groceries that weighed down both her arms hindered her movements and slowed her progress.

stem

(v) to prevent or stop; to restrain What's one way to stem the swelling of growing debt? Stop spending money you don't have.

preclude

(v) to prevent; to eliminate as a possibility Sadly, Jiro learned that his nearsightedness and colorblindness precluded him from ever becoming an air force pilot, but refusing to be beaten, he became an aeronautical engineer instead.

indemnify

(v) to protect against financial harm or damage; to insure By having all patrons sign a series of release forms and waivers before entering the park, the theme park owners indemnified themselves against potential lawsuits that might result from injuries sustained on park grounds.

combustible

(adj) able to catch fire Full of combustible material, the library was a virtual firetrap.

droll

(adj) amusing, especially in a dry or odd sense; quirky in a funny way Amy's droll sense of humor was a welcome bright point during the otherwise dull dinner party.

intrinsic

(adj) an essential or innate component of something Flour is an intrinsic ingredient in any cake.

moribund

(adj) approaching death; nearly obsolete By now, the DVD or even Blu-ray disc are all but moribund, as streaming video and even gaming content are now readily available online.

extravagant

(adj) excessive; exorbitant; very luxurious For the birthday party, Truman purchased an extravagant ice sculpture that was twelve feet high and laced with gold and diamonds.

exorbitant

(adj) excessive; out of its proper sphere Finding their plane ticket prices to be exorbitant and wildly unaffordable, Kyle decided to book through a discount airfare website instead of directly through the airline.

incredulous

(adj) not inclined to believe; doubtful; skeptical

pensive

(adj) thoughtful and reflective Gerald sat in a corner, lost in thought, a pensive look on his face.

encore

(n) a second performance; a call for a second performance from the audience After leaving the stage to enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation, the band thrilled the crowd by returning on stage to play a 3-song encore.

caravan

(n) a series of vehicles traveling in a line or group The supply caravan of thirty wagons took five weeks to cross the open plains.

travail

(n) difficulty; painful experiences; hardship Only after much sacrifice and travail did Ness learn what it meant to truly be a hero.

commence

(v) to begin After the starting bell, the race will commence.

burgeon

(v) to grow rapidly; to sprout Within one week, the freshly-seeded ground was burgeoning with new plant growth.

reign

(v) to rule over someone or something (also a noun, the period of someone's rule The queen's reign came to a swift end when she was overthrown by treasonous rioters.

sate

(v) to satisfy All the food in the world seemed inadequate to sate his ravenous appetite.

appease

(v) to satisfy by giving in on certain things; to make concessions In order to appease their new rulers, the islanders offered gifts of delicious food, beautiful jewelry, and other carefully crafted products.

dissipate

(v) to scatter or spread throughout; to waste needlessly As the morning sun slowly warmed the air, the fog surrounding the bridge eventually dissipated.

segregate

(v) to separate by categories or into groups At the annual cheerleading summit and competition, teams are segregated by region and division before eventually coming back together as a unified group for the awards banquet.

spirit

(v) to take away or hide away; to take away secretly or mysteriously) to take away or hide away; to take away secretly or mysteriously ( as in spirited away Genevieve couldn't wait till summer vacation, when she would be spirited away to a summer study abroad program, far away from all the humdrum routine of small town life.

usurp

(v) to take something that is by rights someone else's; to take by force or by treachery without a legal right After destroying his reputation and popularity, Marissa usurped the king's position and took control of the country.

deliberate

(v) to think about carefully; to weigh a decision (adj. Andrew deliberated whether or not to buy a new car to try and improve his credit.

abrade

(v) to wear away; to rub Years of foot traffic abraded the inscription on the museum floor.

spare 1

() sparse, plain, undecorated 2. (n. Teresa preferred a spare decorating style and hung no art or pictures on her walls.

dichotomy

(n) a division into two parts Our political system is based on the dichotomy of liberal versus conservative.

multifarious

(adj) abundant; having many forms The ant is one of the most multifarious organisms on the planet, with well over twenty different species.

fancy 1

() imagination 2. (v. Theodore dreamed of running away from home to live on a farm in the French countryside, but he knew this was more a flight of fancy than an actual possibility.

mime 1

() to imitate or copy, especially a gesture or behavior 2. (n. The hip hop dance choreographer enjoyed putting together routines that involved miming the lyrics to songs: if a singer sang about telephones, the dancers held imaginary receivers; if the singer sang about falling, the dancers would drop to the floor.

prompt 1

() to inspire or induce; to put into action; to remind 2. (adj. When the neighbors started to give him sideways stares whenever they saw him out in public, Frank was finally prompted to trim his overgrown and almost wizardly beard.

apt

(adj) 1. appropriate or fitting 2. likely to happen The nickname, "Sodapop" was an apt one, for Trevor was seldom seen without a carbonated beverage of some sort in his hand.

brazen

(adj) 1. bold and fearless; rude and brash 2. covered in bronze or made of brass In a brazen display of courage, Felix attempted to hold his three attackers at bay with a butter knife.

sentimental

(adj) 1. excessively emotional, sad, or nostalgic 2. anything, especially in literature or the arts, dealing with emotion, sadness, or nostalgia Jasper's history report, which focused solely on the feelings and emotions of people throughout history, was too sentimental to be taken seriously.

fulsome

(adj) 1. excessively flattering or praising, often implying that it is insincere 2. abundant (this is an older, less common use of the word Delia saw her secretary's fulsome praise for what it was, a cheap ploy to get a raise.

penurious

(adj) 1. extremely poor 2. extremely cheap and stingy Penniless and homeless, Fantine led a penurious and difficult life n the streets of France.

remote

(adj) 1. far away; isolated geographically 2. Emotionally distanced or removed; alienated 3. Unlikely; highly improbable On a remote island far, far away, a happy monkey is certainly not thinking about the SAT.

florid

(adj) 1. flowery and overdecorated 2. wordy and verbose in literary style 3. red and flushed, as of someone's skin or complexion Jean-Claude's simple taste in music meant that he did not enjoy the floridly intricate opera score one bit.

incumbent

(adj) 1. necessary for someone as responsibility or obligation 2. currently holding office; also (n. Though her chances of winning the election against the incumbent representative were somewhat slim, she ran for office anyway, on the off chance that the people realized the city needed a change of leadership.

lukewarm

(adj) 1. neither hot nor cold; tepid 2. Unenthusiastic Ten minutes after it had been removed from the fire, the pot of boiling water reached a lukewarm temperature.

unctuous

(adj) 1. oily (literally Valerie knew that wearing sunscreen would help prevent sunburns, but she hated the unctuous shine that most sunscreens would leave on her face.

trenchant

(adj) 1. penetrating or incisive; cutting, especially of speech or writing 2. literally sharp; having a keen edge (an older sense of the word The trenchant critique of the college's biased enrollment standards shamed its board into implementing an affirmative action policy.

quizzical

(adj) 1. puzzling; confused or confusing 2. odd or curious The mother watched her three grown children running in circles with a quizzical expression.

desultory

(adj) 1. rambling or unmethodical; lacking a plan or purpose; random 2. unenthusiastic Having never really conversed outside of the odd and desultory bout of small talk, we knew next to nothing about each other.

sensational

(adj) 1. tending toward exaggeration 2. amazing Uncle Wilbur always tended towards the sensational in his stories, and we knew better than to take them at face value by now.

livid

(adj) 1. very pale 2. very angry When she came home to see that I had burned all the furniture and flooded the house, my mother was beyond livid.

symbiotic

(adj) a biological relationship of mutual dependence Colorful clownfish and sea anemone have a symbiotic relationship: the clownfish feeds on parasites that might harm the anemone, and the anemone protects the clownfish from predators with its stinging cells.

dilettante

(adj) a dabbler; an amateur; a person who is not a professional and who pursues a hobby or passion strictly for personal fulfillment Without a degree or formal training, Captain Picard was a dilettante in the field of archaeology.

derelict

(adj) abandoned and uncared for; negligent in one's duties The derelict building had stood untouched and unused for years.

expendable

(adj) able to be dispensed with; something that can be gotten rid of Because paper is recyclable and seemingly so abundant, many people treat it as though it is entirely expendable, but the slow rate of tree growth actually makes paper much less disposable than it may first appear.

edible

(adj) able to be eaten Lost for days in the jungle, Adriana struggled to find edible plants that would satisfy her hunger.

arable

(adj) able to be farmed; fertile (usually referring to land The nation's total lack of arable land meant that it had to import all of its crops.

palpable

(adj) able to be felt by touch; able to be literally (or sometimes figurally Though her studies produced no immediate palpable results, the doctor was now armed with knowledge of hundreds of different diseases.

tenable

(adj) able to be maintained; workable or doable Enough was enough; the fight over dirty dishes was the last straw, and Van decided that it was no longer tenable to live with such an inconsiderate roommate.

tangible

(adj) able to be physically touched; real or actual Thoughtful opinions and honest sentiment can sometimes help your argument, but they will never be as convincing as real, tangible, quantifiable evidence to support your assertions.

plastic

(adj) able to change or adapt easily If our organization is to survive, it must take on a less rigid and more plastic approach to new members.

impending

(adj) about to happen or take place; imminent The doomsday prophet warned that impending disaster was going to happen any day now.

disconsolate

(adj) beyond consoling; very unhappy and sad When her balloon popped, the toddler was disconsolate and cried all the way home.

sanctimonious

(adj) acting holier than thou; hypocritically devout Dolores Umbridge liked to play the part of the conservative paragon of virtue, but Harry knew it was little more than a sanctimonious act to conceal her twisted personality.

sophomoric

(adj) acting immaturely; acting like a wise fool (a sophomore Billie couldn't stand going on road trips with her family, because her 13-year-old twin brothers' sophomoric humor alternately offended her or made her eyes roll.

hospitable

(adj) acting like a good host; friendly; receptive Tammy's naturally hospitable nature put all of her party guests in a comfortable and festive mood.

predatory

(adj) acting like a predator; characterized by robbing or harming others Steven was investigated by the government for his bank's predatory lending practices, which purposefully targeted people who could not repay their loans.

rash

(adj) acting quickly and without proper judgment One should avoid making rash decisions about social media posting: one ill-conceived selfie snapped carelessly and imprudently could easily haunt you for years to come.

impetuous

(adj) acting rashly or without thinking; passionate and impulsive Buying a brand new Tesla the same day your old car broke down was a very impetuous decision.

haughty

(adj) acting superior or snobby The haughty school bully acted as if everyone were beneath her.

aloof

(adj) acting superior; isolating oneself because of presumed superiority; separate; reserved The counselor's client proved to be cool and aloof, sharing none of his feelings.

concerted

(adj) acting together or in concert; perfectly coordinated or planned It took a concerted effort from fire marshals, coastguard officers, and volunteer firefighters to put the blazing wildfire out, much to the relief of the nearby homeowners.

extant

(adj) actually existing; still in existence Among the California condor, dodo bird, and Tyrannosaurus Rex, only the condor is still extant.

truculent

(adj) aggressive; wanting to fight The pit bull had previously been forced into dogfights and was far too truculent now to be a child's pet and companion.

uniform

(adj) all the same; homogenous The garden featured uniform rows of flowers, with not a single petal out of place.

comprehensive

(adj) all-encompassing; containing everything; complete The medical text was truly comprehensive, missing not one single detail of human anatomy and health.

omniscient

(adj) all-knowing Seemingly omniscient, the oracle had yet to be asked a question she couldn't answer.

omnipotent

(adj) all-powerful Rene wondered if there really was an omnipotent figure that existed in the universe, an all-seeing, all-knowing deity who guided the planets and stars.

collateral

(adj) alongside; happening in parallel or to the side of something (also a noun, meaning property or valuables that act as security for a loan The bank asked me to put up my car as collateral, in case I couldn't repay the loan.

prodigious

(adj) amazing; very large The new skyscraper was designed to be a prodigious and imposing structure that would stand as both a testament to modern technological advancement and symbol of the city's growing prosperity.

commensurate

(adj) appropriate in size, amount, or proportion; having the same amount, size, or duration (often used idiomatically as in commensurate with We will need a shipping crate commensurate with the tractor's large size in order to send it overseas.

querulous

(adj) argumentative; tending to complain; whiny Xiao thought that her querulous nature would make her a perfect fit for the debate team.

presumptive

(adj) assumed; likely; taken for granted There's a presumptive association between the words "new" and "improved," but newer does not always mean better.

subordinate

(adj) at a lower level; not dominant As commander of the entire fleet, Seth was not only free to make whatever orders he wanted, but also responsible for the safety and wellbeing of every single one of his subordinate officers.

pretentious

(adj) attempting to impress by pretending to be more important or significant; showy Trudy tried to impress the Japanese ambassador by bragging about how skillfully she could use chopsticks, but he saw it for the pretentious nonsense it was.

empirical

(adj) based on experience and evidence The science council would accept only empirical evidence to support the astronomer's hypothesis.

spellbound

(adj) beguiled or mesmerized; as if under a spell Each of us stood, staring spellbound at the beautiful sunset.

culpable

(adj) being guilty or to blame for a crime or wrongdoing Henry claimed that he shouldn't be blamed for the actions of his younger brother, but by virtue of not even trying to stop little Billy from breaking the rules, Henry was still culpable in the eyes of his parents.

vulnerable

(adj) being open to injury or damage; being unprotected By focusing so much of its forces on expansion and conquest, the empire unwittingly left itself vulnerable to civil war and invasion.

credible

(adj) believeable When confronted with the fantastic tale of an alien invasion, the reporter sought several credible sources before printing the story.

rarefied

(adj) belonging to a select group; uncommon and elevated in status As a diehard Star Wars fan, Jimmy was of a rarefied breed of elite nerd that had actually met George Lucas at Comic Con, and he bragged about it shamelessly.

bemused

(adj) bewildered or confused; lost in thought and unaware By the bemused look on her face, I could tell that I hadn't explained myself clearly.

blithe

(adj) blissfully happy, sometimes implying a lack of awareness of reality Henry didn't think that Grace's blithe and altogether too-optimistic approach to school was responsible, and he urged her to buckle down and study harder.

sanguinary

(adj) bloody; violent Robespierre's reign of terror was truly a sanguinary period of French history, full of bloodshed and chaos.

tedious

(adj) boring and repetitive; monotonous Hillary insisted on organizing her books alphabetically, but also by subject and era, making the whole process truly tedious and time-consuming.

pedestrian

(adj) boring, common, everyday; banal With the rapid rate of technological innovation that characterizes the mobile telephone industry, a "revolutionary" or state-of-the-art new phone model is perceived as uninspired and pedestrian only months later when a new and improved model rolls out.

mundane

(adj) boring; everyday; characterized by the daily concerns of the world In order to calm himself, Sergio focused on the mundane tasks of vacuuming and washing dishes.

insipid

(adj) boring; flavorless; dull Ellen's insipid brother had not one original idea in his head, nor a single interesting thing to say.

omnivorous

(adj) both carnivorous and herbivorous; eating many different foods Dogs survive well in the wild due to their omnivorous nature, allowing them to eat almost anything.

valiant

(adj) brave and fearless The valiant firefighter had no second thoughts about running back into the burning building to save the family dog, and they couldn't thank her enough for her selfless act of bravery and heroism.

intrepid

(adj) brave; fearless; without trepidation The intrepid hero braved savage werewolves, bestial vampires and terrifying zombies to save his children.

sedate

(adj) calm and quiet; very relaxed Generally a sedate and passive animal, the tree sloth is famous for its slow pace of life and seemingly relaxed outlook.

insouciant

(adj) calm and relaxed; acting as if one has no cares or troubles; indifferent; chill The small children led insouciant, care-free lives.

inexorable

(adj) can't be stopped; unyielding; unalterable The boulder began its inexorable roll down the mountain, eventually crashing into pieces at the bottom.

indefatigable

(adj) can't be tired out; untiring; unceasing Much to the new puppy owner's frustration, the young border collie was entirely indefatigable, and no amount of walking or playing would tire the pup out enough to calm it down.

inevitable

(adj) cannot be avoided; destined to happen He couldn't avoid her forever; he knew that in a town so small it was inevitable that he would run into her sooner or later, and so he steeled himself for their eventual meeting.

impervious

(adj) cannot be damaged or penetrated With walls of solid steel at least three feet thick in some places, the bomb shelter was designed to be impervious in the event of all out invasion; so strong were the foundations of the structure that it could withstand the force of any explosive.

inextricable

(adj) cannot be extricated or removed; incapable of being solved or untangled Larry's tumor was deep inside his leg and inextricably entangled with his muscle tissue, making surgery impossible.

inaudible

(adj) cannot be heard Behind her teacher's back, Sarah's inaudible whisper that she would never listen to him went unnoticed.

insuperable

(adj) cannot be overcome or gotten over The mountain was an insuperable obstacle in the pilgrims' path, forcing them to journey around it to reach their destination.

incontrovertible

(adj) cannot be questioned or overturned; impossible to dispute After reviewing incontrovertible evidence that proved beyond a reasonable doubt that David could not have been at the scene of the crime when it was committed, the jury found him not guilty of the charges, much to his relief.

incorrigible

(adj) cannot be reformed or corrected; behavior that is perpetually bad After she caught Jacob biting his nails for the eleventh time that week, she decided that this was just one of his incorrigible bad habits and gave up on trying to get him to stop.

irrepressible

(adj) cannot be repressed or stymied; cannot be limited or stopped Despite being hassled for his long hair, Antonio's irrepressible and jolly nature meant that he was always in a good mood.

irreproachable

(adj) cannot be reproached or criticized; beyond all criticism No matter what level of success or mastery one attains, one can never become completely irreproachable, as even the best benefit from constructive criticism and continuous self-improvement.

impregnable

(adj) cannot be successfully attacked or penetrated; invincible Solid steel walls and triple-redundant locks on every door made the fort nearly impregnable.

insufferable

(adj) cannot be tolerated; impossible to overlook or abide After three hours of non-stop noise, the sound of construction outside of Alfredo's window was becoming insufferable.

insolvent

(adj) cannot pay one's bills because there is no money (usually of a corporation or business When a combination of harsh winters and devastating blight ruined the farm's crops for three years in a row, it eventually became insolvent and was seized by the government, much to the farmer's dismay.

fertile

(adj) capable of reproducing abundantly; prolific and productive Once the river has overflowed and deposited minerals into the soil, we will plant our crops on its fertile banks.

prudent

(adj) careful and cautious; conservative Despite the route's short length, the fact that it ran through a minefield convinced us to make the more prudent choice of going the long way.

vibrant

(adj) full of life; bright and colorful She painted the rainbow with vibrant colors that seems to shine, even in dim lighting.

circumspect

(adj) careful; looking around before making a decision; cautious Her friends knew Ellen to be a circumspect and conservative person: she looked both ways before crossing; she seldom took risks; and she always thought before she spoke.

gingerly

(adj) carefully and delicately done; cautiously Kyle gingerly cut through the jeans around his broken leg.

feckless

(adj) careless; irresponsible and unambitious You will never rise to serious prominence on this company with such a feckless attitude.

cavalier

(adj) casual; disdainful; offhand Christina thought it pretty cavalier of Severo to walk into class 45 minutes late without so much as offering a reason or excuse, and she wasn't surprised when Mrs. Whittier asked to see him after class.

perfunctory

(adj) casual; done without care or great concern Gabriel took a perfunctory, half-hearted swing at the baseball and hit it only ten feet.

factious

(adj) causing dissent; causing to break into disagreement and factions The senator's speech was so extremist and factious that it threatened to divide and dissolve the entire political party, as enthusiastic supporters clashed with equally passionate dissenters.

soporific

(adj) causing or inducing sleep After tossing and turning for an hour, Link played some soporific music on his phone and passed out instantly.

lurid

(adj) causing shock; unpleasantly or tastelessly vivid or detailed The painter's lurid and violent depiction of the Battle of the Bulge was hidden away so as not to disturb museum patrons.

eerie

(adj) causing uneasiness or superstitious fear; weird Working in the lab late in the evening always gave Brian an eerie feeling, as he hated being alone in the echoing room full of animal skeletons and specimen samples.

fetid

(adj) characterized by a bad odor; really stinky A fetid stench of rotten cheese wafted from the refrigerator.

internecine

(adj) characterized by conflict within a group; mutually destructive The internecine struggle among the highest-ranking cardinals as to who would be elected the new pope tore the papacy apart.

polemical

(adj) characterized by divisive arguments; tending to divide people into stark opposites; argumentative The polemical atmosphere last election season was responsible for such deep divisions between candidates.

dubious

(adj) characterized by doubt; doubtful; unlikely Sharon cast a dubious glance at the suspicious looking figure standing outside the bank.

fraudulent

(adj) characterized by fraud or dishonesty When Amelia found out that Gerald had made fraudulent claims about the car he was selling her, she called the deal off immediately and warned all her friends about his dishonorable business practices.

rote

(adj) characterized by mindless memorization or repetition without full understanding Albert hoped to learn vocabulary by rote memorization, and memorized the definitions word for word without comprehending their meanings

shoddy

(adj) characterized by poor quality or a lack of serious effort; crappy; cheap or inferior The new table was uneven and nails stuck out in several places; the carpenter had don shoddy work.

staccato

(adj) characterized by short, disconnected sounds or noises The sweeping, flowing melodies of the first movement contrasted sharply with the second movement's pointed, staccato rhythms and short phrases.

speculative

(adj) characterized by speculation or conjecture Without any hard figures to go by, the risk management team had to make speculative assessments about the perceived risk of opening a new theme park.

polarized

(adj) characterized by two opposites; tending to split into two competing camps or points of view; characterized by intense arguments When the president came out in favor of stem cell research, it polarized the nation into his passionate supporters and furious detractors.

wistful

(adj) characterized, by longing or yearning, especially of the past The unhappy group of divorced husbands pined in a wistful manner for the time when they were still married.

winsome

(adj) charming, especially in a childlike or innocent way Youthful and endearing, the AP Government teacher won her students over by combining her winsome personality with a strong command of the subject.

prepossessing

(adj) charming; good-looking; giving a favorable initial impression The prepossessing con artist used his good looks to help him charm his victims.

engaging

(adj) charming; tending to attract interest; charismatic The audience found the actor's performance in the play to be truly engaging, and they gave him enthusiastic applause and a standing ovation after the show ended.

tightfisted

(adj) cheap; stingy; very frugal The tightfisted woman refused to spend more than one dollar on any item at the store.

explicit

(adj) clear and obvious Before she left town for the weekend, Clarissa left the dog walker explicit directions about exactly where the dog-food was kept and the various times for the dogs' meals and walks.

limpid

(adj) clear and transparent While the stained glass was beautiful, the more limpid windows on the second floor let in far more light.

wily

(adj) clever; full of cunning The wily army corporal tricked her foes into surrendering without firing a single shot.

turbid

(adj) cloudy; muddy and all stirred up, especially of water The catfish swam quickly away, kicking up mud and turning the previously clear water turbid and murky.

ponderous

(adj) clumsy and awkward; heavy and difficult The movers were finally able to fit the house's ponderous frame onto the bed of the moving truck.

cumbersome

(adj) clumsy or difficult to manage; awkward to handle They said that a mobile phone with a screen diameter that large would be entirely too cumbersome to manage, but lo and behold, the youth adapted to it without a second thought.

imperious

(adj) commanding; bossy; haughty Directing an imperious look down his nose at me, by boss tossed out a gruff command for me to clean the bathroom.

prosaic

(adj) commonplace; banal; boring Going from city to city, Bernie eventually found the tourist shops to be less novel and more prosaic.

sodden

(adj) completely wet; soaked or drenched When the sudden rainstorm left Naoko's half-completed landscape painting a sodden, dripping mess, Jiro worried that she would be frustrated, but Naoko explained that the running colors and ruined canvas would always remind her of the beautiful storm itself.

motley

(adj) composed of many different elements or color; various Using every color available to him, Greg ended up with a painting with a motley combination of hues.

altruistic

(adj) concerned for the wellbeing of others; self-sacrificing Antoine always chose to put others' needs before his own, making him a truly altruistic and generous individual.

groggy

(adj) confused and sluggish, especially from lack of sleep or too much alcohol The groggy child got out of bed after a night of almost no sleep.

Machiavellian

(adj) conniving; practicing deceit or betrayal; cunning Carter had only gotten to the top by exercising the most underhanded, shrewd, and altogether Machiavellian business practices, and although he was feared, he was never admired or respected

manipulative

(adj) conniving; tending to use people for one's own purposes Calvin had a sickening knack for being manipulative, knowing when to play the victim and when to play up his feelings in order to get what he wanted from people.

diminutive

(adj) connoting a small or tiny version of something; the quality of being small Kerri loved the novelty of mini-golf courses, as she found the diminutive versions of landscapes and buildings incredibly cute.

profound

(adj) deep and insightful; very meaningful The counselor's profound insights into Terrance's childhood experiences held great meaning for him.

delectable

(adj) delicious or tasty; delightful The key lime pie—a tart, sweet, smooth, cool, and fluffy dessert made from ripe key limes—is a delectable addition to any meal, and favored especially in the summer when it serves as a cool and refreshing treat after a long, hot day.

contingent

(adj) depending upon other factors; depending upon chance or arbitrary forces (also a noun-a group or faction The experiment's success was contingent on a period of low solar activity, something which could not be controlled.

despondent

(adj) depressed or dejected After the loss of his first pet and best friend, Pickles, Timmy was despondent for weeks.

dogged

(adj) determined; persevering; refusing to give up The determined detective pursued the case in a dogged, following even the weakest leads.

precocious

(adj) developing early or ahead of schedule Farida was a precocious child, able to speak at a much younger than usual age, and wise beyond her years even as a young girl.

awry

(adj) deviant; away from the proper course; in error When the power outage shut off all the stoplights in the city, the traffic patterns went horribly awry, and the delays getting to and from the city were extreme to say the least.

egotistical

(adj) devoted to the self; self-involved; selfish Mark was so egotistical that he was oblivious to anyone's desires but his own.

inscrutable

(adj) difficult to read or understand; having mysterious or cryptic elements; hard to guess the motives or reasons Though many tried for years to divine the spy's intentions, her motives remained as inscrutable as ever.

adverse

(adj) difficult; opposed; acting as an enemy or opponent The muddy track had an adverse effect on Hillary's ability to finish the footrace.

assiduous

(adj) diligent; characterized by hard work and focus Edith worked assiduously to complete her homework, and her parents were impressed with her sincere determination and effort.

sordid

(adj) dirty; morally corrupt The former assassin-turned-priest wished to hide the details of his sordid past from his parishioners.

catastrophic

(adj) disastrous The 9.8 earthquake had a catastrophic effect on the city's building and roads.

ramshackle

(adj) disorganized and about to fall apart, especially of buildings or structures Forced to sleep in a condemned, ramshackle old factory, Donald feared the whole place would collapse at any moment.

inquisitive

(adj) displaying curiosity; tending to ask questions Jacob was an inquisitive student and never hesitated to raise his hand to ask questions whenever he wanted to know more.

disgruntled

(adj) displeased; unhappy The group of disgruntled employees all quit without notice on the same day to protest their wage cuts.

fractious

(adj) disruptive; irritable and prone to causing trouble The most fractious students in the school were in detention so often, they spent more time there than in class.

cynical

(adj) distrusting the motives of others; assuming that all people are essentially selfish Having been cheated on by all her boyfriends, Bharati now had a very cynical attitude toward dating.

disquieting

(adj) disturbing; troubling The coroner often heard strange and disquieting noises in the morgue late at night.

tractable

(adj) docile; easily managed or governed Sheep are some of the most tractable animals in nature, making them ideal for herding.

furtive

(adj) done in a secretive or sneaky way; surreptitious Wanting to avoid the teacher's attention, Calvin tried to type out a text in a furtive manner, but he wasn't sly enough to succeed, and she reprimanded him loudly and embarrassingly.

idiosyncratic

(adj) done in an individualistic or quirky fashion; unique Because his personality was otherwise so pleasant, many people overlooked his strangely idiosyncratic tendencies.

capricious

(adj) done on a whim; erratic : Charlie liked to plan out every aspect of his well life in advance to avoid making capricious decisions.

expeditious

(adj) done quickly, implying that it was not done completely or properly The panicked travelers had left their campsite in such an expeditious manner that they had no time to pack up the majority of their belongings, and much was left for the angry bears to claim.

surreptitious

(adj) done secretly or discreetly, usually regarding something that is improper or questionable The surreptitious shoplifter slid all sorts of items into his pocket to sneak out of the store.

headlong

(adj) done without any consideration or planning; spontaneous and rash; with uncontrolled speed Without thinking about the consequences, Malia rushed headlong into the burning building to save her sister.

offhand

(adj) done without premeditation; done with little preparation or forethought Charlotte regretted the offhand remarks she'd made about Emily's manuscript draft, as these thoughtless comments had come across as unintentionally critical and dismissive; she cursed herself for not pausing to compose her thoughts before speaking.

wry

(adj) dryly humorous and slightly ironic "Floral prints for springtime? How novel," she said sarcastically, a wry smile forming at the corners of her mouth.

vapid

(adj) dull and boring The captain of the football team was tall and handsome but totally vapid, as he had nothing of any interest to say.

humdrum

(adj) dull; common; boring Though most of his peers found the commencement speech to be encouraging, upbeat, and self-affirming, Calvin, a perpetual grump, deemed it unoriginal, humdrum, and altogether sleep-inducing.

torpid

(adj) dull; inactive; a state of low energy As a cold-blooded animal, the rattlesnake conserves its energy during colder weather, remaining torpid and still until the outside temperature rises again.

impressionable

(adj) easily influenced or easily manipulated Paul was careful about the language he used around impressionable young minds, as he knew that children had a remarkable tendency of repeating what they have heard.

conspicuous

(adj) easily noticeable; obvious When everyone in school had identical new sneakers, Eddie's old tennis shoes made him a conspicuous target for bullying.

facile

(adj) easy; simplistic; ignoring important complexities or nuances Despite revealing his facile nature during the televised debate when he couldn't answer complex questions, the governor was elected "president" one month later.

efficacious

(adj) effective; having a meaningful effect Hopefully, the new water use restrictions will be efficacious in combating the long and severe drought.

luminescent

(adj) emitting light, especially from a chemical reaction rather than heat Many deep-sea creatures have evolved chemical processes to make them luminescent, using hormones and electric currents in their own bodies to create light even at the furthest depths of the ocean.

vacuous

(adj) empty, especially empty-headed or ignorant The vacuous group of baseball players were aware of nothing beyond their sport.

frenetic

(adj) energetic; wildly excited and filled with movement The child's frenetic activities came to a swift halt when she crashed from her sugar high.

preoccupied

(adj) engrossed; distracted because one is already thinking about something else Samantha was too preoccupied with her near-empty gad tank to notice the police car behind her.

tantamount

(adj) equal to; equivalent Selling government secrets to the enemy is tantamount to treason.

ubiquitous

(adj) everywhere; ever-present Once thought of as prohibitively expensive, the "smartphone" is now so ubiquitous that it seems almost impossible to walk down any street in America without spotting some youngster with her eyes fixed on a gleaming screen.

narcissistic

(adj) excessive interest in one's own self or appearance With the contemporary phenomenon of the "selfie," or self-portrait photography, continuing to spark debate and concern among older generations, some characterize this trend as an manifestation of self-obsessed vanity and narcissism while others read it as the logical product of social media-driven culture.

histrionic

(adj) excessively dramatic or theatrical; showing excessive emotion; overacting Robert's histrionic pretense of insanity drew disbelief and concern from his psychiatrist and defense attorney, respectively.

quixotic

(adj) excessively idealistic; foolishly romantic and chivalrous; unrealistic The quixotic attitudes of Disney princes would be strange and out of place in our modern world.

grueling

(adj) exhausting and difficult Breaking rocks in the hot sun with a short-handled sledge hammer is grueling work.

primordial

(adj) existing at the very beginning; very ancient The very first life forms that existed on earth were aquatic organisms that swam about in the primordial ocean from which all earthly life issued forth.

pervasive

(adj) existing or spreading throughout every part of something The pervasive malware corrupted every program on my computer.

venomous

(adj) full of poison; malicious and spiteful The bitter son wrote his mother a venomous letter detailing everything he resented from his childhood.

vicarious

(adj) experienced through another; experienced indirectly through the imagination Unable to put the page-turning book down, Diana realized that she was living vicariously through the protagonist: she wept bitterly when tragedy befell the character, and cheered emphatically when the crisis was resolved.

drastic

(adj) extreme or excessive After years of failing to win a tournament, the soccer team resorted to the drastic measure of poisoning the opposing players.

radical

(adj) extreme or severe When Galileo proposed the notion of a heliocentric universe, the idea was not actually as radical a departure from scientific thinking as many textbooks have suggested, but still controversial enough to get him into trouble with the church.

draconian

(adj) extremely harsh or disciplined; severe The mayor's draconian policy of sentencing all lawbreakers to death was a harsh but effective tactic to reduce crime in the city.

colossal

(adj) extremely large A colossal asteroid crashed into the Earth, nearly ending all life on the tiny planet.

gargantuan

(adj) extremely large; gigantic Naga, a fictional creature conceived as half polar bear and half sled dog was a gargantuan beast, as tall, broad, and menacing as he was loyal, trustworthy, and affectionate.

equitable

(adj) fair and equal The two sides negotiated for days until an equitable way to split up the territory was reached.

steadfast

(adj) faithful; loyal and devoted My husband stood steadfast beside me through all the difficult times of my life.

spurious

(adj) false; not authentic Amy's spurious claims having been born on Mars were not believed by anyone.

infamous

(adj) famous for something bad; notorious Hitler's infamy is known throughout the western world.

corpulent

(adj) fat Living on a diet of high carb cat food and various table scraps, it wasn't long before Twiggy the cat grew from merely full-figured to truly corpulent, and the vet warned the family that this excess weight could cause health issues for the tabby in the near future.

lethal

(adj) fatal; deadly Jaqueline tried to murder Robert by pouring a lethal dose of arsenic in his drink.

smug

(adj) feeling self-satisfied and superior; showing arrogance His team having won the tournament against all odds, the soccer coach wore a smug, arrogant smile of satisfaction.

ambivalent

(adj) feeling two ways about something Amber liked Leshawn and Dave equally and was ambivalent about whom to see Friday night.

empathetic

(adj) feeling what others feel; able to experience the suffering or feelings of others Kind and empathetic, Michiko was an excellent psychologist and counselor, and her clients often felt as though she understood them better than they understood themselves.

fecund

(adj) fertile To ensure a good yield, the farmer planted wheat in the most fecund part of the field.

fervent

(adj) filled with energy; passionate; eager I have always been a fervent supporter of social justice initiatives, as I strongly believe that we must constantly strive for a more fair and just society.

rambunctious

(adj) filled with energy; rowdy and disruptive The rambunctious children ran through the halls, shrieking and stomping, leaving only a trail of muddy footprints and smudged wallpaper in their wake.

fraught

(adj) filled with; full of a particular quality; weighted down with I can't concentrate on the wedding arrangements while I'm fraught with such stress about my work.

teeming

(adj) filled with; pouring out of; overflowing The lake was so teeming with bass that one could literally reach into the water and grab one.

stalwart

(adj) firm; loyal; sturdy and robust; brave The castle's stalwart defenses could withstand any assault.

limber

(adj) flexible; supple and bending easily Hyo started each morning by spending a full hour stretching and warming up; as a classically trained ballet dancer, she knew that staying limber and flexible would help to prevent any dance-related injuries.

obsessive

(adj) focusing excessively on one thing Julia had a fascination with insects that bordered on the obsessive, which made her the logical candidate to become president of the entomology club.

stringent

(adj) following careful standards; strict The college had very stringent entry requirements to ensure that only the best were enrolled.

conscientious

(adj) following one's conscience very carefully; very thoughtful and concerned Conscientious aid workers in the refugee camp saw to every single need of each person there.

orthodox

(adj) following standard beliefs or principles (literally straight or correct belief Preferring to remain conservative in all things, Cody kept to a strict and orthodox set of rules and beliefs, and his motto was, "do things by the book or don't do them at all."

asinine

(adj) foolish and unintelligent; like an ass The student's asinine claims that the sun actually revolved around the earth were met with derisive laughter.

affable

(adj) friendly; congenial We liked going to Katie's house the best because her parents were far more warm and affable than the rest of ours, and they welcomed us no matter how late we stayed or how much food we ate.

boisterous

(adj) full of energy and activity; unruly Though the young girls of the tiny village in the South Pole found Aang's youthful and boisterous character to be both exciting and charming, Katara found his lightheartedness and horseplay to be inappropriate and irresponsible.

exuberant

(adj) full of energy and passion; lively Tamil's exuberant disposition caused everyone in the room to join him in his joyful celebrations.

noxious

(adj) harmful; dangerous to the health Carbon monoxide is a noxious gas that can prove deadly if inhaled in large enough quantities, and so carbon monoxide detectors are an important safety feature of any home.

invidious

(adj) harmful; tending to arouse resentment An invidious program was installed onto Michelle's computer, erasing all her homework and social media posts.

innocuous

(adj) harmless The innocuous insect landed on my forehead, walked around a bit, and then flew away harmlessly.

brusque

(adj) harsh; abrupt and curt Charlie's brusque manner did not make him many friends at school or anywhere else.

caustic

(adj) harsh; burning; capable of corroding; sarcastic and bitter The caustic liquid ate completely through the metal pipes.

astringent

(adj) harsh; strong or severe (also, something that cleans aggressively Many acne skincare products can contain harsh and astringent chemicals in them that, while effective at cleaning, can also tend to dry your skin out excessively.

palliative

(adj) having a calming or soothing effect (also a noun-something that calms or soothes Wishing only to soothe the itching of her chicken pox, Samantha welcomed the palliative effect of the calamine lotion.

sonorous

(adj) having a full, deep sound Cho had always loved the sonorous quality of the marching band, finding deep satisfaction in the wave upon wave of bellowing brass, echoing woodwind, and thunderous drum cadence

deleterious

(adj) having a harmful effect Were it not for its deleterious effects, he would have drunk wine at every meal.

pejorative

(adj) having a negative connotation; demeaning Controversy continues to surround the naming of professional sports teams after terms associated with Native Americans, and the public is divided as to whether these names are celebratory of Native American heritage or pejorative and disrespectful.

phlegmatic

(adj) having a sluggish or calm temperament; lethargic Being in the sun and heat all day had made Heather utterly phlegmatic, and she took a nap as soon as she got home.

ungainly

(adj) having an awkward appearance; not smooth or dexterous With a hunched posture, long arms and short, stubby legs, the animal seemed far to ungainly to swing through the trees.

perspicacious

(adj) having keen mental understanding; perceptive A perspicacious scholar, Yvette always finished the year at the top of her class.

savvy

(adj) having know-how or knowledge; clever and insightful Able to turn small investments into large profits, my aunt is a savvy business person.

mystical

(adj) having mysterious or spiritual elements The "miracle" was eventually explained by local scientists, who assured the townsfolk that nothing mystical or supernatural had occurred.

impecunious

(adj) having no money; poor The vendors knew that the impecunious peasants could never afford their wares, and so avoided that area of town altogether.

substantive

(adj) having significance; real or actual In order to prove that your claim is substantive and worthy of serious consideration, you must back your argument up with clear and specific evidence.

dire

(adj) having terrible consequences; very serious Realizing the situation was far more dire than she originally perceived, Sun had no choice but to call her parents for help.

surreal

(adj) having the qualities of a dream or fantasy Elmer described the experience of being captured by aliens and spending two years in one of their zoos as totally surreal.

analogical

(adj) having the qualities of an analogy; having a relationship that compares one thing to another The two inseparable yet larcenous friends had a relationship analogical to that of Bonnie and Clyde.

salutary

(adj) healthful; beneficial A trip to the hot springs once a month to purge toxins from one's body is a truly salutary practice.

portly

(adj) heavy or fat, especially someone who is important or wealthy Refusing to diet or exercise, Percy had become quite portly in his old age, and his doctors worried about his health.

ulterior

(adj) hidden, especially of motives or plans When Tommy started being excessively nice to me after never having spoken much to me before, I knew that his ulterior motives were to convince me to share my chocolate chip cookies with him.

latent

(adj) hidden; dormant; present but not fully developed His trip to the art museum awakened Trung's latent artistic ability.

dispassionate

(adj) impartial; not clouded or affected by emotion A judge's decision is supposed to be dispassionate and free from emotional consideration.

opaque

(adj) impenetrable; light cannot pass through; very difficult to understand or comprehend The fisherman tried in vain to spot the crayfish through the dark and opaque waters of the bayou.

implicit

(adj) implied but not clearly stated When Albert made a slightly exaggerated yawn gesture, I knew that he was giving me an implicit sign that my story was boring him.

preeminent

(adj) important; outstanding; above all others in rank; superior As the preeminent epidemiologist in her field, Dr. Ramakrishnan was instrumental in helping to create vaccines for several highly-contagious diseases, winning her the respect and appreciation of all of her peers and collaborators.

grandiose

(adj) impressive; overly grand; showy The plaza was dominated by a grandiose marble sculpture, which reached a height of 200 feet.

temperamental

(adj) moody and unpredictable; volatile; unreliable Abernathy was a temperamental character, prone to outbursts of anger or grief quickly followed by periods of good humor or indifference.

illicit

(adj) improper; immoral Madame Robichaux's academy for gifted young women was a strict private school that had a zero tolerance policy for illicit or otherwise shameful and unsavory behavior; the students were sure to conduct themselves with manners and dignity at all times.

benighted

(adj) in a state of darkness, either literal or figural; ignorance The Middle Ages were a benighted period of history in which no learning or scientific progress of any kind took place.

erroneous

(adj) in error; mistaken Erroneous judgment cost us the game when we failed to consider that our star player was already fatigued in the first half and needed to be benched.

incipient

(adj) in the earliest phase; just beginning; only recently appearing This incipient fetus has just begun to develop.

quiescent

(adj) inactive; temporarily quiet Unsure of what to say at that exact moment, Akane opted to remain quiescent until the situation became less tense and uncertain.

unseemly

(adj) inappropriate or improper It was unseemly for her parents to demand to come with her to her job interview, and this social mistake is undoubtedly the reason that she did not get the job.

self-deprecating

(adj) inclined to be self-critical or make fun of oneself; very modest The comedian's self-deprecating humor about her awful hairstyle made the audience less uncomfortable with themselves..

opportunistic

(adj) inclined to take unfair advantage Owing to his opportunistic nature, Isaac stole the hit-and-run victim's wallet before the police arrived.

propitious

(adj) indicating a favorable outcome The clear weather forecast is truly propitious, indicating that we have a good chance at a large crop yield this season.

telltale

(adj) indicating or revealing; suggestive of certain indication Dark bruises all over her body were telltale signs of Harriet's hard work during combat training.

allusive

(adj) indirectly referring to something; having the qualities of an allusion By casually placing her hand on the open door, Silvia made an allusive reference to the fact that it was time for her gusts to leave.

callow

(adj) inexperienced; youthful I only trust doctor Patel to treat my injuries, not these callow interns.

paltry

(adj) insignificant; a very small amount Vincent ate a paltry dinner of half a sandwich and a glass of water, and as a result he was hungry again before bedtime.

trivial

(adj) insignificant; unimportant Aunt Theresa always had a great way at brushing away all the trivial details of an issue so that she could focus on the big picture; this ability to only consider the most essential elements of an issue made her a natural problem solver.

visceral

(adj) instinctive; relating to the guts or internal organs

officious

(adj) interfering; offering unwanted advice or meddling; enforcing authority or rules in a pedantic way or in trivial matters Nelly was officious and downright nosy, always meddling in the affairs of others and acting like everyone's business was her business.

imposing

(adj) intimidating; impressive because of size or power The Titanic was a hulking mass of a vessel, seemingly invincible, making it all the more tragic and surprising when it sank.

daunting

(adj) intimidating; inspiring fear As he approached the stage to perform, Stanley found the task of singing in front of the entire school to be more daunting than he had first thought.

chimerical

(adj) invented or imagined Mermaids, dragons, and werewolves are all chimerical creatures, and their respective origins can be traced to various mythologies and folklore.

peevish

(adj) irritable; easily annoyed Anoushka was particularly peevish in the mornings upon waking, and even the slightest inconvenience was enough to trigger her notorious crankiness.

insular

(adj) isolated; cut off from others The insular nation's mountainous topography ensured that both news and people from the outside rarely crossed its borders.

succulent

(adj) juicy; filled with liquid One bite into the succulent orange sent juice pouring down his hand.

humane

(adj) kind and compassionate Ava worked hard to fight against cruelty and mistreatment of animals and people alike; in all her outreach work she worked tirelessly to cultivate a more humane and caring society.

notorious

(adj) known for something bad; infamous Samantha's parties were notorious for revealing her bad taste in both music and food.

esoteric

(adj) known only by a few people; not commonly familiar Information on the esoteric topic of the mating practices of the lesser Mongolian vole is quite hard to find.

arcane

(adj) known only to a few people; esoteric The arcane topic of the leaf morphology of the Venezuelan singing vine is known only to a very few people.

nondescript

(adj) lacking descriptive or outstanding features; not noticeable The man donned a nondescript grey jacket to better blend in with the crowd.

lax

(adj) lacking firmness; not stringent The lax enforcement of rules at my school encouraged all manner of bad behavior from the students.

sweeping

(adj) large in scope; taking in a large swath or range; very general The new president made sweeping changes to the government that were felt in every department, on every level.

transitory

(adj) lasting only a brief time; passing Their relationship ended up being as transitory as the seasons themselves; they were together a short, if blissful, time before parting ways as suddenly as they had come together.

ephemeral

(adj) lasting only a brief time; short-lived Naoko watched the pink blossoms fall to the ground and reflected on their ephemeral beauty: each bloom was as short-lived as it was beautiful.

belated

(adj) late; delayed or detained I received my belated birthday present one month after my actual birthday.

indolent

(adj) lazy The indolent dogs laid on the patio, unwilling to move in the summer heat.

lackadaisical

(adj) lazy; showing a lack of interest or energy Henry regretted staying up late before the big game as he felt sluggish and lackadaisical before the first half was even over, much to the disappointment of his coaches and teammates.

liable

(adj) legally obligated; likely or tending to happen (but always with a reference to something unfavorable or undesirable If you keep dancing in the freezing rain, you're liable to develop pneumonia!

dwindling

(adj) lessening in amount or force As the hours grew late and the light dim, Enzio felt his strength dwindling and his attention wandering; feeling sleep approaching, he decided to redouble his efforts tomorrow when his strength returned.

modest

(adj) limited in extent; humble The cabin in the woods was modest by design—small, sparsely furnished, and only offering the barest comforts of home—but charming in its simplicity.

bohemian

(adj) living outside the traditional bounds of middle-class life, especially suggesting artistic or creative independence and social nonconformity With no regular employment, an eclectic group of friends and art shows every two weeks, Julia lived a bohemian life.

holistic

(adj) looking at something in its entirety; considering all aspects and angles; comprehensive Having failed to cure my illness by focusing only on certain parts of my body, the doctors decided to switch to a more holistic approach.

fortuitous

(adj) lucky; characterized by good fortune It is most fortuitous that you brought your phone charger since my phone is almost out of battery life.

sumptuous

(adj) luxurious; lavish The sumptuous surroundings of the palace were a stark contrast to those of his impoverished upbringing.

recumbent

(adj) lying down in a position of comfort Harrison squinted through his sunglasses to look up at her from his recumbent position by the pool. "Yes, Mother," he hissed, "I do intend to lay here all day."

prone

(adj) lying face down (also an adjective-inclined or tending toward an action Having failed her AP Calculus final, Ellen lay prone on the floor of her bedroom for upwards of three hours; when she finally got up off the floor after her sister convinced her that it wasn't the end of the world, she had carpet indentations in her forehead.

consecrated

(adj) made sacred or holy Once the prayers and sacrifice were complete, the temple was consecrated in the name of Apollo.

variegated

(adj) made up of many different colors; diverse The new painter's self portrait was so variegated and vivid most onlookers first mistook it for a painting of a rainbow.

heterogenous

(adj) made up of many different components or elements; mixed Unlike say, a mixed fruit sherbet that is composed of separate parts that become a unified whole, a fruit salad retains its heterogenous nature, as the fruits mix without actually combining.

tumultuous

(adj) making a loud, confused noise; uproarious 2. marked by confusion and disarray; disorder With no water or trash service, an ongoing war, and no official government, the turn of the century was a tumultuous time for the country.

scurrilous

(adj) making scandalous claims that are damaging to one's reputation; engaging in bad language and scandalous stories The congressional candidate's opponents spread scurrilous rumors of her treasonous activity to try and remove her from the race.

trying

(adj) marked by great difficulty; very annoying Eleanor knew that attempting to complete all of her summer reading books in one week would be an incredibly trying task, but because she had put it off until the last week of summer, she had no choice but to throw herself into the painstaking endeavor.

monolithic

(adj) massive and solid (literally one stone With three main divisions, one smaller branch and hundreds of special operations, the military is anything but monolithic.

token

(adj) merely symbolic; not genuine or sincere Henry invited Melissa to his birthday party as a token of politeness and civility, when in reality, he couldn't stand her and genuinely hoped that she would not attend.

mediocre

(adj) middling; average; not standing out in any positive way; inferior Without honing your diving skills to a professional level, you'll always receive a mediocre score from the judges.

unassuming

(adj) modest and humble; not showing off Geoffrey, a humble and modest servant, was selected for the position of butler due to his unassuming nature.

demure

(adj) modest and reserved; coy, especially of women In a hit pop song, the members of a well-known British boy band sing to an unnamed but demure subject, who, they claim, doesn't "know" she is beautiful; it is this sense of modesty or lack of confidence that the singers cite as the key element of her perceived attractiveness.

self-effacing

(adj) modest; tending to understate one's own qualities or contributions; humble Never wanting to appear cocky or pompous, Billy had the tendency to make self-effacing jokes about himself that would help others to feel less intimidated and more comfortable around him.

regressive

(adj) tending to move backwards, either socially or in behavior The nation's new set of regressive and controlling laws erased decades of social progress.

mandatory

(adj) necessary or commanded; not optional You may not finalize your certification without completing the mandatory three-day safety training, which is listed as a requirement in the employee manual.

requisite

(adj) necessary; required Spanish I is a requisite course to enroll in Spanish II.

remiss

(adj) neglectful; careless about completing a task Never remiss in her duties, Sister Mary Ada tended the convent's garden diligently every day.

innovative

(adj) new or original; groundbreaking When Hiro learned that he had been accepted to the university of his dreams, Tadashi assured him that this success was due to the genuinely innovative nature of his research project; surprising, revolutionary work like that was always welcome at the university.

nascent

(adj) newly-formed; only recently come into existence; in an early and not fully developed stage Following the collapse of the old government, the nation's nascent parliament struggled to draft a constitution.

adjacent

(adj) next to; adjoining When the terrible grease fire burned the gourmet cupcake bakery down, it also damaged the adjacent used bookstore next door—a tragedy that truly added insult to injury.

raucous

(adj) noisy and boisterous; loud The rugby players caused such a raucous noise disturbance at their post-game party that campus security was called in to break up the gathering so that the rest of the residence hall could get some sleep.

secular

(adj) non-religious; relating to worldly rather than spiritual things Knowing many non-believers would attend the morning mass, Bishop Brahm prepared a more secular sermon.

indomitable

(adj) not able to be conquered or dominated A figure of unflinching courage and indomitable will, Fran was never one to give up; as of yet, no one had even come close to besting her in a conflict or a fight.

immune

(adj) not affected by; incapable of being harmed; highly resistant, especially to a disease Having been born immune to all disease, the doctor felt no fear about being close to her sick patients.

oblivious

(adj) not aware; completely unaware Umberto was able to stay confident and cheerful most of the time, in part because he was blithely oblivious to any criticism that jealous naysayers made of him; if haters hated, he didn't seem to notice.

unscrupulous

(adj) not caring about right and wrong; ruthless and unconcerned for others The unscrupulous executive did not care how many lives he ruined by stealing the company's profits.

noncommittal

(adj) not choosing one side or another; indifferent; not committed Choosing to adopt a noncommittal attitude, Eleanor was sure to stay out of her friends' argument.

inconstant

(adj) not constant; irregular; unfaithful When Ivy found out that her boyfriend had been inconstant and had been seeing other people, she decided to break up with him—not that he really noticed.

fallow

(adj) not currently being used; inactive, especially of land that is plowed but not planted (often used figurally, describing skills or talents The fallow field stood plowed and ready to be planted, but the farming family did not have enough seed.

unswerving

(adj) not deviating from a certain path; certain; loyal; staunch Griffith was an unswerving supporter and a loyal friend; to the very end, he stood by her side, even when countless others turned on her out of spite or envy.

insensible

(adj) not feeling or responding to something; not perceiving something Before beginning to operate, the doctor double checked to be sure that the anesthesia had rendered the patient completely insensible.

dissonant

(adj) not in harmony; harsh or unpleasant sounding The dissonant chord in the middle of such harmonious music stood out like a sore thumb during the recital.

stoic

(adj) not inclined to show (or even feel The poker player's stoic expression made it impossible to determine the strength of her hand.

reticent

(adj) not inclined to speak; unwilling or cautious about speaking The reticent child hesitated to tell his parents that he had been misbehaving.

incoherent

(adj) not making sense; not holding together logically While waking up from the sedation of her oral surgery, Camille muttered incoherent phrases for a few minutes, not making any sense.

intemperate

(adj) not moderate; excessive Tending to be intemperate in all things, it was not uncommon for Carly to be laughing uproariously one minute and bursting into tears the next; she never merely "liked" anything, opting instead to "love" or "hate" it.

agnostic

(adj) not possessing clear or certain knowledge, especially regarding the existence of god Though as a species we are as of yet agnostic about the existence of extraterrestrial life, many prominent scientists have expressed confidence that the existence of life beyond earth is far more likely than it is unlikely.

indecent

(adj) not proper; scandalous Henrietta knew that it was indecent to literally steal candy from babies, but she couldn't help it; she had a sweet tooth that no sense of propriety or decorum would deter.

exempt

(adj) not required to do something that most others are required to do Sanjay's good grades exempted him from taking the final exam.

frivolous

(adj) not serious; wasteful; insignificant Yanina knew better than to waste her time on frivolous concerns, and she focused instead on ambitious plans and steady goals.

immaterial

(adj) not significant or relevant; not pertinent or related to the matter at hand For what seemed like the hundredth time, Yoda patiently informed his student that, in matters of heroism, good intentions were quite often immaterial to ultimate outcome.

unremitting

(adj) not stopping; constant The unremitting rains eventually caused flash floods all across the mountain range.

unorthodox

(adj) not typical; not following established doctrines The new sergeant's unorthodox methods surprised many who were accustomed to traditional techniques, but none could refute the results they produced.

defunct

(adj) not working or operating; not living Members of the now-defunct rock band that had broken up in the early 2000s are rumored to be reuniting with one another to put together a new comeback album.

salient

(adj) noticeable; important; something that sticks out Jeremy's most salient feature was his peculiar manner of walking; even from across campus, we could recognize his particular stride.

blatant

(adj) obvious, especially something bad or unpleasant A disdainful look may be subtle, but a slap in the face is an obvious and blatant insult.

seminal

(adj) original and important; something that influences others; having the qualities of a seed The seminal holy texts, from which the religion drew all its teachings, were on display in the heart of the shrine.

outmoded

(adj) out of date; not current; obsolescent Video stores gradually went out of business when streaming video online made physical tapes and DVDs little more than outmoded artifacts of a bygone er

obsolete

(adj) out of date; not technologically current This Nokia flip cell phone model from 1995 is obsolete

prominent

(adj) outstanding; highly regarded or recognized It makes sense that the league's most prominent player would receive the largest salary.

effete

(adj) over-refined; lacking vitality; no longer manly or effective, especially in terms of a family or lineage that has gone soft and is no longer able to rule or dominate. Years of excess and over-indulgence had made effete aristocrats of the once proud and powerful clan, and the rebel forces had no trouble overthrowing the kingdom.

indulgent

(adj) overly generous or lenient; giving in to pleasures rather than resisting them Tom Haverford knew that it was indulgent to buy new shoes, get a massage, and eat $300 meal for lunch all on the same day, but that was the point: he wanted to treat himself!

prim

(adj) overly proper; prudish The friends knew that inviting someone as prim as Gary to the party would dampen everyone's fun.

pallid

(adj) pale Having learned of her husband's death, Cleo's blood drained from her face, giving her a very pallid complexion.

wan

(adj) pale; sickly Since needing a blood transfusion, the malaria patient saw his skin had taken on a wan complexion.

meager

(adj) paltry and insignificant; scanty The hundreds refugees were forced to survive on the meager rations meant for only a dozen people.

submissive

(adj) passive and servile; showing deference; willing to obey Josefina grew tired of the submissive nature of her servants and wished they would show at least some assertiveness.

consummate

(adj) perfect; highly skilled and needing no further practice or development A competitor at the top of her game, Leah was a consummate tennis player.

indelible

(adj) permanent; cannot be erased The new comforter was ruined forever when Thomas spilled wine on it, leaving an indelible mark.

idyllic

(adj) pleasing and peaceful; like a paradise Eventually, the islanders overthrew the colonial invaders and enjoyed their idyllic island paradise once more.

toxic

(adj) poisonous After being over-exposed to toxic waste, Herbert was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for chemical poisoning.

indigent

(adj) poor; in a state of poverty The Cruz family was poor, but their neighbors the Smiths, who had no money even for food, were truly indigent.

pragmatic

(adj) practical; utilitarian The tool shed was stocked in a pragmatic manner, as it contained nothing which did not serve a purpose.

laudatory

(adj) praising The crowd let out a laudatory cheer when its favorite team scored the winning point.

congenital

(adj) present from birth What many assumed to be a congenital birthmark that ran the length of his arm was actually the remainder of a scar from when he had tripped and fallen on a space heater as a young child.

arrogant

(adj) prideful and self-important; unpleasantly and unjustifiably confident Some find the self-promoting nature of various Hip Hop song lyrics to be arrogant and off-putting, but this sense of "epic boasting" finds its early literary equivalent in such old English poetic works as Beowulf.

fraternal

(adj) related to brothers or acting like brothers Though they were not related by blood, the three boys' fraternal bonds went beyond family.

didactic

(adj) related to teaching; tending to impart a lesson The drill sergeant's didactic training regimen instilled the lessons of self-reliance and survival into the recruits.

primeval

(adj) related to the beginning or first era of the world In the primeval age at the dawn of the world, all life forms on earth were aquatic or at least amphibious, swimming about in unpolluted seas and vast oceans.

terrestrial

(adj) related to the earth; earthbound

kindred

(adj) related; having a family relationship Though not related by blood, the two girls had so much in common they regarded each other as kindred spirits.

civic

(adj) relating to a city or metropolis; relating to a citizen It was the mayor's strong sense of civic duty that lead him to devote his life to bettering the city.

gaunt

(adj) very thin After a month of almost nothing to eat, the refugees were gaunt and weak.

figurative

(adj) relating to a figure of speech, especially a metaphor; non-literal When he advised his pupils to "float like butterflies and sting like bees," he was using figurative speech to encourage them toward grace and agility.

antiquarian

(adj) relating to antiques or collectibles; also (n. Some called my uncle a hopeless hoarder because he never threw anything away, but I knew he was just an antiquarian with an eye for the kinds of items that would one day be valuable collectibles.

vernacular

(adj) relating to everyday speech or informal language In the common vernacular, many of the formal grammar rules of writing don't necessarily apply; take for example "they" vs. "he" or "she."

culinary

(adj) relating to food or cooking From the Food Network to bestselling cookbooks to the newest gastro-pubs in town, Josephine and Carl were obsessed with all things culinary, and they loved sharing recipes and trying new restaurants with one another.

gustatory

(adj) relating to taste or the palate A gustatory delight, the five-course meal set out by Chef Kanto was truly delicious, from the mouthwatering steak to the decadent chocolate cake.

cerebral

(adj) relating to the brain or mind; intellectual Having spent all day playing checkers with her children, Mila looked forward to a more cerebral game of chess with her friend.

urban

(adj) relating to the city Having grown up in a rural county, Sam longed for a more urban environment.

plebeian

(adj) relating to the common people; unsophisticated I wanted to watch Lawrence of Arabia, but my friends opted for the much more plebian Transformers 6: The Search for More Ad Revenue.

obligatory

(adj) required All students attending the catholic college needed twenty units of an obligatory religious history class before graduating.

sullen

(adj) resentful; showing silent anger; refusing to be happy A spoiled and generally disagreeable girl, Veruca was sullen when her parents refused to buy her a second car; even the plane tickets to Paris that they bought her failed to cheer her up.

disaffected

(adj) resentful; unhappy The disaffected old man held a grudge for years against the company that had fired him for no good reason.

atavistic

(adj) reverting to a past trait; savage; recalling a much earlier (and more savage The cult's rites included atavistic behaviors not seen since the savagery of the 15th century.

inane

(adj) ridiculous; incredibly stupid Tommy's inane idea of pushing the stalled semi truck up the hill was immediately dismissed.

preposterous

(adj) ridiculous; straining belief; outrageous and absurd Mrs. Waiola did not believe Jude's preposterous tale that a CIA agent with twelve fingers and a third eye had stolen his homework.

leeway

(adj) room to move about; freedom of movement; autonomy She gave us all very specific instruction, leaving no leeway for interpretation.

rotund

(adj) round; plump or fat Living a lazy life of napping in the sun and eating as much as he pleased, Mr. Whiskers had become an undeniably rotund cat; in fact, the neighbors remarked that he was quite possibly the fattest cat that they had ever seen.

impertinent

(adj) rude Anne had no tolerance for impertinent children who shoved her aside to get a better place on the subway.

crass

(adj) rude and unsophisticated; unrefined His crass behavior at the family reunion embarrassed both his parents and siblings.

somber

(adj) sad and serous; gloomy A cloudy sky, mournful attendees, and weeping family members all contributed to the funeral's somber atmosphere.

plaintive

(adj) sad; sorrowful The plaintive strains of Billie Holiday's rendition of "Gloomy Sunday" always made Esther feel both solemn and reflective, and its sad verses and soul-weary melody moved her to tears on more than one occasion.

egalitarian

(adj) seeking or characterized by equality; fair; seeking equal rights The civil rights movement was this country's first major step toward a truly egalitarian society.

complacent

(adj) self-satisfied After winning a landslide victory that got the team into the playoffs, the players became so cocky and complacent that they neglected to attend practice, resulting in an embarrassing loss the next game.

discrete

(adj) separate The P.E. class was separated into two discrete groups: juniors in one and seniors in the other.

obsequious

(adj) servile; too willing to obey or serve Paolo found the butler's obsequious and excessively giving nature to actually be somewhat unsettling, and he asked the butler to conduct himself less like a servant and more like a coworker.

cautionary

(adj) serving as a negative example; showing the dangers or bad consequences of something The story of the boy who cried wolf serves as a cautionary tale to those who would unnecessary make pleas for help.

exemplary

(adj) serving as an ideal example; worthy to serve as a model Azula had always prided herself on her status as an exemplary fighter and all-around overachiever, so she was understandably shocked when her little brother, Zuko, stepped out of her shadow and surpassed her.

inclement

(adj) severe; harsh, usually describing the weather It's too stormy today; let's postpone our trip to the beach for a day with less inclement weather.

dowdy

(adj) shabby; not fancy She had designed a dress according to her own taste, but rather than simply being not fancy it came out rather dowdy.

incisive

(adj) sharp and penetrating; able to explain ideas clearly and confidently One incisive cut was all the skilled surgeon needed to get down to the patient's bone.

hidebound

(adj) stubborn and close-minded As more and more states pass laws supporting marriage equality, equal rights activists continue to press on in their efforts at combatting hidebound thinking and attitudes in more conservative and change-resistant states.

pertinacious

(adj) stubborn and persistent Ivan was a stalwart and utterly pertinacious scout, and he never gave up when he set his mind to something.

intransigent

(adj) stubborn; not inclined to be moved or influenced; refusing to compromise The principal held an intransigent position on the issue of running during recess, and none could persuade him to change.

dogmatic

(adj) stubbornly insisting on a belief; inflexible in one's beliefs The pastor's strict and dogmatic understanding of scripture left no room for interpretation.

uncanny

(adj) supernatural; strangely unsettling Kainoa had an uncanny ability to always know almost exactly what others were thinking or feeling; we thought he might be psychic, but he's just really good at reading facial expressions.

adjunct

(adj) supplemental; also (n. The adjunct professor knew that he was not essential to the department and, as such, feared for his job security.

ostensible

(adj) supposed; assumed; outwardly appearing as such Though Veronica exuded an ostensible air of cheerfulness and vivacity, we could tell even through her muffled yawns that she was still jetlagged and sleepy from her trip.

reputedly

(adj) supposedly; without rock-solid proof The new employee was reputedly a design whiz, but so far none of the projects he'd completed were very inspiring.

turgid

(adj) swollen; ornate and overly complex My sprained ankle was so turgid with fluid that is seemed as though it would burst.

diplomatic

(adj) tactful and careful in how one communicates; sensitive to other's feelings and point of view When handling a disagreement with someone you don't know very well, it is important to remain calm, diplomatic, and thoughtful, in order to resolve the conflict without offending a potential new friend.

garrulous

(adj) talkative The garrulous students had difficulty staying quiet for the entire hour-long study period.

gangly

(adj) tall and awkward Though he was over six feet tall, his arms hung down to his knees, giving the awkward boy a gangly build.

docile

(adj) tame and easily controlled In general, sheep are remarkably docile and easily herded by even a trained cattle dog with relative ease.

palatable

(adj) tasty; pleasing to the taste Pouring generous amounts of soy sauce onto the stale rice made it somewhat palatable.

facetious

(adj) teasingly ironic; playfully joking Shirley didn't mean what she said about her best friend being too short; she was only being facetious.

provisional

(adj) temporary; arranged in an ad hoc manner The students put together a provisional government at school until elections could be held for more permanent positions.

solicitous

(adj) tending to ask questions that show concern for someone's wellbeing; showing anxious concern for someone else Gustavo's solicitous nature made him an ideal candidate for the role of trauma counselor.

evasive

(adj) tending to avoid; intentionally misleading Ellen's evasive answers to the captain's questions gave him no useful information.

choleric

(adj) tending to be easily angered; angry; bad-tempered Mr. Park was a notoriously choleric old man, and the neighborhood kids avoided him because he was prone to lash out in bad-tempered outbursts.

lenient

(adj) tending to be more loose in discipline; forgiving; not harsh Jericho's father knew that the car accident wasn't completely Jericho's fault, so he decided to be lenient when he lectured his son about safer driving habits.

resilient

(adj) tending to bounce back from setbacks; flexible and adaptable This new strain of bacterial disease is resilient to all known drugs, so we will have to find new ways of treating it.

alarmist

(adj) tending to cause excessive worry or alarm; sensationalistic The nightly news was known for being both sensationalist and alarmist, adopting a kind of "infotainment" approach to journalism that focused on only the most depressing, shocking, or disquiet-inducing current events while downplaying any positive developments.

petulant

(adj) tending to complain and whine like a child; pouting With a petulant look on her face, the toddler complained and cried until she got some ice cream.

defiant

(adj) tending to defy or disobey With a defiant tone in her voice, she sarcastically thanked the police officer for giving her a speeding ticket before rolling her eyes and driving away.

divisive

(adj) tending to divide or cause conflict The governor's divisive approach to politics meant that his followers were always separated into two opposing camps.

demonstrative

(adj) tending to express emotions forcefully; inclined to verbal or physical displays of emotion; the opposite of reserved Despite the fact that she had been advised to maintain a reserved attitude, Shawna was blunt with her opinions and demonstrative with her emotions.

debilitating

(adj) tending to harm or injure; causing injury After a debilitating car accident that damaged the nerves in his right hand, Jonah was forced to learn to write with his left; it was challenging to lose the use of his right hand, but he adapted quicker than he thought he would.

soporific

(adj) tending to induce or cause sleepiness Some medications have a powerful soporific effect, and it's important to follow the warning labels on these medications to avoid falling asleep on the job or behind the wheel.

evanescent

(adj) transient; fading from sight Fireflies are a fairly evanescent summer phenomena, as they live and thrive only at the beginning of summer before eventually dying off and/or hibernating before the mid-season.

seditious

(adj) treasonous; engaging in the undermining of the government Convicted of seditious acts by a jury of his peers, the traitorous rebel was banished from the country and exiled to a remote prison island a few hundred miles off the coast.

venial

(adj) trivial; insignificant; easily forgiven Heather felt that lying about little things was only a venial misdeed, and so she didn't feel that guilty about doing so.

veritable

(adj) true or authentic; genuine After years of study both academically and in the field, Prim had become a veritable doctor, and she beamed with pride when the college conferred her degree and new title upon her.

intractable

(adj) unable to be controlled; disobedient; unruly Of all the horses at the ranch, only one was intractable enough to never have carried any riders.

nebulous

(adj) unclear; cloudy; not completely solid or completely formed; vague Having never given much thought to what he wanted to major in much less do after college, Zachary's admissions essay was necessarily nebulous and disorganized, and the generally unconvincing.

ambiguous

(adj) unclear; having more than one interpretation When giving driving directions, it is important to avoid giving ambiguous orders; the clearer and more decisive the directions, the less chance there is of confusion and wrong turns.

tacit

(adj) understood without actually speaking or saying; unspoken Greaves and Burnett were sworn enemies, but over the years they had come to a tacit agreement to simply stay out of each other's way as to avoid any conflict altogether.

unscathed

(adj) unharmed; undamaged Aria emerged from the burning building miraculously unscathed.

homogeneous

(adj) uniform; all the same or of the same kind Having lived in North County for the entirety of her 18 years, Minzy was tired of the homogeneous neighbors and acquaintances that populated her surroundings; she was looking forward to meeting a more diverse and eclectic group of people when she moved away for college.

gruff

(adj) unpleasant and rough; surly; low and hoarse (as in a voice My uncle's gruff manner ensured that he never had any friends.

volatile

(adj) unpredictable; moody and unstable; inclined to evaporate or become a gas; explosive The warehouse workers took great care with the drums of volatile chemicals, lest they drop one and it exploded.

mercurial

(adj) unpredictable; unstable; erratic or volatile in mood Eliza had a reputation for being remarkably mercurial, in good spirits one minute and cranky and bad-tempered the next.

inept

(adj) unskilled; incompetent Mehreen was an undeniably inept driver, a fact which became readily apparent when she drove her brand new car through the garage wall and straight into the kitchen.

tenuous

(adj) unstable; weak or thin; barely holding on The bitter enemies found themselves in a tenuous alliance when a greater threat presented itself.

disheveled

(adj) untidy; rumpled; unkempt Having woken up late with no time to shower or comb her hair, Maria showed up to class looking totally disheveled.

eccentric

(adj) unusual or odd; unconventional Some thought that old man Patterson was a "crazy old man," but Emma knew that he was simply a touch eccentric, and perfectly sane.

becoming

(adj) very appropriate and attractive; very fitting; very flattering When he walked into the room, she couldn't help but notice that his tailored grey suit was quite becoming on him, and she blushed slightly.

meticulous

(adj) very attentive to small details; very precise Alberto was meticulous about checking his grammar, missing not even one single comm

ingenious

(adj) very clever and creative; clever

canny

(adj) very clever; cleverly cautious When April went to buy a used car, she brought her sister, Irene, with her, because Irene was too canny to ever be taken in by a salesperson's misleading pitch or crafty gimmick.

shrewd

(adj) very clever; cunning The shrewd army general outwitted his foes by hiding his army's true strength in order to execute a surprise attack.

intricate

(adj) very complicated and involved; complex The pattern woven into the blanket was so intricate that Sam had to stand right next to it to in order to see its full complexity.

punctilious

(adj) very concerned with small details; meticulous It takes a punctilious eye to construct miniature ships-in-bottles, but a surprising amount of dedicated hobbyists still practice this painstaking art form.

pivotal

(adj) very crucial; important High school years are a pivotal period in adolescent development, as it is in this key phase that students transition from childhood into adulthood in a relatively short span of time.

ornate

(adj) very decorated; fancy Betty's ornate wedding dress boasted ruffles, pearls, rubies and even exotic bird feathers.

ineffable

(adj) very difficult to express in ordinary words; highly emotional; beyond the reach of language There is an ineffable quality to memory that cannot be explained or described.

arid

(adj) very dry, like a desert; boring and unengaging With very little rainfall all year, southern California is a very arid region of the world.

lavish

(adj) very fancy and expensive; excessive (v. For her 21st birthday, Kathy invited her guests to a lavish dinner party where no expense had been spared; attendees were alternately wowed by the classy affair or quietly critical of its over-the-top showiness.

gaudy

(adj) very fancy; overly decorated and tasteless Too many ruffles and gems sewn into the dress took it past ornate into being gaudy.

uproarious

(adj) very funny; hilarious The uproarious comedy had everyone in the theater holding their sides in pain from laughing so much.

elated

(adj) very happy Toby was elated to receive exactly what he wanted for his birthday.

ebullient

(adj) very happy; boiling over Erika was truly ebullient at having been voted Miss Universe after years of competing.

scathing

(adj) very harsh and severe Coach Carter's criticism was so bitter and scathing that two members of the team decided to quit the team right then and there.

lofty

(adj) very high; noble; very ambitious California set the lofty goal of using 100% renewable energy by the year 2020.

forthright

(adj) very honest; very open and willing to volunteer the whole truth Graciela prided herself on being forthright, preferring to speak frankly and bluntly rather than being dishonest to spare someone's feelings.

torrid

(adj) very hot and dry; very passionate The torrid atmosphere of the jungle rarely saw temperatures go below 85 degrees Celsius.

sweltering

(adj) very hot and humid The weather yesterday reached a sweltering 101 degrees Fahrenheit, with an average humidity of 90%.

voracious

(adj) very hungry; ravenous No amount of cake, ice cream or pie could satisfy his voracious appetite for dessert.

squalid

(adj) very impoverished and dirty in appearance In some squalid slums of the world, many people have to live in such tragic and unsanitary poverty that they can scarcely be expected to survive into old age; the non-profit outreach organization works with local government to rehabilitate these slums into livable neighborhoods.

virulent

(adj) very infectious or harmful; very resentful Fortunately, the disease was rather difficult to spread and thus not very virulent, which made curing it easier.

titanic

(adj) very large; gigantic The giant mech-warrior robot was truly titanic in proportions, towering at over 16 feet tall and 3 tons heavy.

voluminous

(adj) very large; taking up a large volume or space The voluminous television covered an entire wall of the living room.

strident

(adj) very loud; harsh and grating Your strident supporters have been loud and enthusiastic during your entire campaign.

telling

(adj) very meaningful or revealing; very significant or suggestive The attack which reduced his forces by half was a very telling blow against the general's armies.

fastidious

(adj) very meticulous and precise; obsessed with cleanliness A fastidious man, Jason woke up every morning, to clean the entire house, missing not one spot.

overwrought

(adj) very nervous; anxious and agitated; overly excited Phillip always tended to get overwrought right before a debate—wringing his hands, talking too fast, and sweating profusely—but he always managed to calm down and perform gracefully when the debate started.

spartan

(adj) very plain; not luxurious or lavish; extremely harsh and disciplined Ashraya knew that if she was going to successfully prepare for her marathon, she would have to maintain a spartan diet and exercise regimen.

exacting

(adj) very precise; very demanding (also a verb, to demand or extract, as in a fee or toll Darius' exacting schedule included four hours of physical training, three hours of hard labor, and six hours of meditation.

sophisticated

(adj) very refined or cultivated; worldly A semester abroad had given Billy a more sophisticated and mature sense about him, and when he returned he insisted on going by "William" rather than his childhood nickname.

august

(adj) very respected; inspiring awe For the keynote address at the Model United Nations summit, the school had invited Professor Chopra, an august and world renowned author on international relations and peace studies.

lugubrious

(adj) very sad or mournful (suggesting an excessive or even comically excessive sadness The lugubrious musical choices lent an appropriately somber mood to the funeral.

melancholy

(adj) very sad; depressed When Jill's dog, Sadie, ran away from home, Jill was melancholy, and nothing anyone said or did could cheer her up.

forlorn

(adj) very sad; lacking hope; despondent When Melanie's favorite television show got canceled, she was forlorn and crestfallen, staying in her room and bingeing on ice cream until we finally convinced her that it wasn't the end of the world.

proficient

(adj) very skilled; experienced through training or practice A proficient oral surgeon, and not a novice, is needed to extract these difficult molars.

negligible

(adj) very small; an insignificant amount of something; so small as to not matter The negligible amount of erosion, which occurred during the rainstorm, left the face of the hillside virtually unchanged.

tactful

(adj) very smooth in social situations; careful and sensitive about other people's feelings; diplomatic A natural-born diplomat, Shelley had handled disputes gracefully and tactfully from a young age, and this care and sensitivity made her a great candidate for the position of conflict mediator and human resources manager.

abstemious

(adj) very sparing in one's habits; moderate in eating or drinking After being criticized for partying too hard and generally overdoing it, Joseph tried to live a more abstemious lifestyle, staying in more and avoiding excess.

reserved

(adj) withdrawn or restrained in manner; holding back; shy and quiet in behavior Bradley had always been much more reserved and standoffish than his two younger brothers, preferring to quietly keep to himself even when the twins ran wild through the house and called for him to join in their reckless merriment.

peerless

(adj) without equal; unrivalled A peerless figure skater, Yuka was by far the best of her generation, and she ruled the competitive circuit with an iron fist, winning medal after medal several years in a row.

impeccable

(adj) without fault or flaw Faris's hair was arranged impeccably, without a single strand out of place.

anonymous

(adj) without revealing an identity; nameless; name unknown The option to post comments and feedback as an anonymous user has allowed for freer, less self-conscious dialogue online; as an unfortunate side effect, however, this freedom to withhold one's identity has also opened the door to cyber-bullying and abuse.

amorphous

(adj) without shape or form The amorphous magnetic field was impossible to describe in physical terms.

verbatim

(adj) word for word; exactly as written To be as accurate as possible, the historian copied down the minister's speech verbatim.

feasible

(adj) workable; able to be accomplished; capable of being done You have said that we have only two hours to build this entire house, and that goal is not feasible.

threadbare

(adj) worn out, especially of clothes, suggesting poverty This threadbare coat is thirty years old and about to fall apart.

jaded

(adj) worn out; inured or dulled by excess or overexposure Being married and divorced no less than seven times left Alicia with a jaded attitude toward romance.

haggard

(adj) worn-out and appearing tired and unkempt After the ten-mile uphill race, Priyanka looked truly haggard as she dragged her feet across the finish line.

apprehensive

(adj) worried; anxious; concern She was feeling slightly apprehensive about going to the dentist, and her worries were confirmed when she ended up having four cavities that needed to be drilled and filled.

palette

(n) 1. a painter's board for mixing colors 2. the range of colors typically used by a painter The artist daubed more light blue paint onto his palette in order to brighten the sky in his landscape painting.

reverie

(n) a day dream Howie was roused from his reverie when his teacher shook him awake in his seat.

albeit

(adv) although There will be an opportunity to cross the river, albeit not until the construction of the bridge is complete.

halting

(adv) characterized by starting and stopping; uncertain and lacking confidence Underprepared for her speech presentation, Hilda spoke in a halting manner, stuttering, repeating herself, and pausing for awkward stretches of time.

gauntlet

(n) 1. A medieval glove, made of leather or plate 2. Any glove 3. Idiomatic: to throw down the gauntlet is to issue a challenge; to take up the gauntlet is to accept a challenge The knight was fully armored for battle, including a sallet to protect his head and gauntlets to protect his hands.

scourge

(n) 1. a cause of widespread suffering 2. a whip (also a verb, 1. to cause widespread suffering or 2 Jason's punishment for insubordination was twenty lashes with a metal scourge.

torrent

(n) a sudden flood or uncontrolled outpouring When the dam broke, it released a torrent of water and flooded the town below.

cavalcade

(n) 1. a procession of people on horseback; a parade 2. any procession of people or events The Macy's Thanksgiving Parade was Irene's favorite public spectacle, as she loved watching the cavalcade of colorful floats and costumed performers.

barb

(n) 1. a sharp, cutting remark 2. a sharp point with a slight hook that can dig into the flesh The fishing hook had a wicked barb on the end, on which we placed a worm.

concordance

(n) 1. a state of agreement or harmony 2. an alphabetical list of words and their context that appear in an author's works The PTA and the teachers' union reached a concordance, both agreeing to pay for school lunches.

watershed

(n) 1. a vital turning point 2. a region or area relating to the drainage or source of a particular body of water The discovery of gravity was a watershed moment for the field of physics.

wake

(n) 1. a wave or turbulence that a ship leaves behind 2. a funeral gathering that is lively and celebratory of someone's life (also a verb-to rouse from sleep Our small canoe was tipped over when it met the wake of the much larger cruise ship.

shibboleth

(n) 1. a word or form of speech that distinguishes a particular group or culture 2. a custom or practice that distinguishes a group Bernard's use of the shibboleth "mitzvah" identified him as a part of the Jewish culture.

cherub

(n) 1. an angel, usually portrayed as a child 2. a person who resembles such an angel; a person with an innocent, child-like face Obsessed with cherubs, Heather included the winged babies in every painting she made.

flotsam

(n) 1. anything floating in the sea, especially from wreckage of a ship 2. one of the eels in Disney's Little Mermaid They found the shipwrecked sailor clinging to a plank of wood near other flotsam, cold and tired, but otherwise in good shape.

jetsam

(n) 1. anything floating in the sea, especially something jettisoned or thrown overboard from a ship 2. one of the eels in Disney's Little Mermaid A miles-wide mass of floating debris sometimes called "Garbage Island," floats in the Pacific Ocean and is made up of jetsam, factory waste, and other man-made detritus.

stature

(n) 1. one's physical height 2. one's level of social power or achievement; one's place in an hierarchy Someone of the mayor's stature surely has the influence to get your parking tickets excused.

tenure

(n) 1. permanent, guaranteed employment 2. the term or length of someone's employment or time in a certain position After more than a decade of service to the school, Professor Rosenberg was finally granted tenure, which allowed her full freedom to teach what she wanted along with permanent job security.

morbidity

(n) 1. relating to unpleasant subjects, such as death 2. unhealthy 3. the incidence of death related to a disease or health condition Preoccupied with morbidity, June studied the carcasses of dead birds and rodents that the cat would sometimes drag onto the porch; though this fascination with death worried her parents, they were relieved when she later pursued a career in medicine.

inception

(n) 1. the beginning or creation of something; origin 2. A Christopher Nolan-directed movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio June 5th was designated as the holiday to celebrate the nation's inception over 600 years ago.

neophyte

(n) a beginner or novice In the convent, neophytes had to receive Holy Orders before they were fully admitted as nuns of the order.

boon

(n) a benefit; a very good thing The donation of $20,000 was an enormous boon to the small charity.

corpus

(n) a body of work; a large collection of writings The entire corpus of the prolific writer took up more than a whole floor of the library.

quip

(n) a clever response or rejoinder The president's quip in response to a difficult question drew applause from the town hall audience.

lummox

(n) a clumsy, awkward person Always having been something of a lummox, Varun was just as likely to fall down the stairs as he was to trip on his own shoelaces.

montage

(n) a collection of images that tell a story; lots of pictures grouped together Hansel chose to create a montage for his art project and pasted dozens of pictures cut from magazines onto a paper.

cache

(n) a collection of items hidden or stored away (also a verb, to store or hide items When armed thugs attacked the police station, the sheriff opened his safe, revealing a cache of weapons.

hue

(n) a color or particular shade of color I find the purple hue in the sky during sunset to be most pleasing.

mandate

(n) a command or order When the emperor mandated that all subjects change their manner of dress and speech to suit his tastes, the commoners knew that to disobey this order would result in grave and decisive consequences.

megalomania

(n) a condition in which someone has delusions of grandeur and seeks fame, power, and glory above all other things In his all-consuming megalomania, Ferdinand pushed aside even his loved ones in his blind and ultimately tragic pursuit of power.

ramification

(n) a consequence or development resulting from an action; spreading branches of a passageway Before acting, it is always important to consider the ramifications of your choices; nowhere is this more important than in the game of chess, where one move can set off a cascade of consequences that cannot be undone.

pestilence

(n) a contagious or infectious disease or epidemic; something harmful and poisonous The pestilence of tuberculosis swept across the land, leaving only death in its wake.

facsimile

(n) a copy Martha failed to hit her target because her rifle was a facsimile.

exploit

(n) a daring act of courage; also used as (v. After trekking through the Himalayas, Komal couldn't wait to tell all her friends about her fearless exploits and unforgettable adventures.

slander

(n) a false oral statement that harms someone's reputation; also (v. It is unlawful to spread false rumors or other such slander about a competitor in order advance your own business goals, and doing so just damages your own credibility.

malaise

(n) a feeling of discomfort or unease A feeling of malaise began to set in to the rookie cop when his partner failed to make a crucial rendezvous.

ultimatum

(n) a final offer; a last offer Jeremy gave his kids an ultimatum: either they cleaned their rooms, or he would ground them for a whole month.

adherent

(n) a follower or convert; glue An adherent of the orthodox church for years, Samuel knew every verse of scripture by heart.

nostalgia

(n) a fond longing for the past Driving by the old amusement park on Belmont Beach filled Sean with a sudden sense of nostalgia; having spent countless summers wandering that park as a child, he couldn't help but reminisce longingly for more carefree times.

indictment

(n) a formal accusation, especially in a court of law Having collected enough evidence to reasonably suspect that the subject was involved in the crime, the prosecutor made a formal indictment, charging the defendant with grand theft auto and attempted arson.

clan

(n) a group of families and relatives; a tight-knit group that acts likes family The two feuding families of the Lornac and Chorlesta clans were bitter enemies for decades.

entourage

(n) a group of followers or attendants, especially of a celebrity Jessica never went out in public without her entourage of followers, including her agent and publicist.

federation

(n) a group of states or interested members that are united or cooperating The several small colonies joined together in a federation for protection from more powerful nations.

panoply

(n) a group or collection that is impressive because it contains a large number; a splendid array The Getty Villa Museum in Los Angeles is renowned more for its creative architecture than it is for the panoply of art that it houses in its full-sized replica of a Roman vill

surmise

(n) a guess or conjecture (also a verb, to make a guess Given our current evidence, it seems reasonable to surmise that the death was truly accidental.

conjecture

(n) a guess; a conclusion based on inference and incomplete facts In the absence of conclusive data, the lead scientist was forced to make a conjecture about the new organism's origins.

precept

(n) a guideline; a rule of action The precepts for admittance into the cult are very strict: no bathing, hats or red meat of any kind.

yokel

(n) a hillbilly; a person from the country who is unsophisticated Once a derogatory term for uneducated people of lower class who lived in rural areas, the term "yokel" is now often used to describe uneducated people of lower class who live in rural areas. Hmm.

avocation

(n) a hobby Of all his avocations, underwater basket-weaving was undoubtedly Marshal's favorite pastime, and he spent hours in the tub, practicing his craft.

cornucopia

(n) a horn of plenty; a vast selection or abundance Jackie found a virtual cornucopia of vegetable choices at the large salad bar.

blight

(n) a illness; a plant sickness; a blemish The widespread blight on potatoes caused what later came to be known as the potato famine, and countless farmers lost their entire livelihoods in that unfortunate season.

trek

(n) a journey or adventure (also a verb, to travel or migrate over a great distance When the winds died down, the sea captain feared that his trek across the ocean had come to an end.

dearth

(n) a lack of something Citing a complete dearth of security at the rock concert, Amanda's mother forbade her from attending.

paucity

(n) a lack; a dearth All of the plants and animals native to Joshua Tree national park have evolved various means to deal with the paucity of water in the desert, making them fascinating specimens of adaptation and survival.

plethora

(n) a large amount Jennifer sometimes thought that there were almost too many good restaurants in town; with such a plethora of options to choose from, she often found it difficult to decide on where to go to dinner.

compendium

(n) a large collection of things, often gathered in a book Xavier saw that his rare disease was explained in detail in the large medical compendium and was relieved to find that it also included a cure.

conflagration

(n) a large fire Onlookers threw sand onto the bonfire, afraid that the conflagration was growing out of control.

horde

(n) a large group of people An enormous horde of thousands of rats poured forth from the city's sewers.

marquee

(n) a large sign over a theater or public building (also, an adjective that means very important or significant The marquee above the theater clearly displayed the times of each performance for all to see.

vestige

(n) a last trace or element of something that has otherwise disappeared Stumbling upon an archaeological goldmine, Yuna unwittingly uncovered the last remaining vestiges of the mysterious Inca people—a series of artifacts that helped researchers to gain insight into this lost civilization.

demagogue

(n) a leader who rouses the worst feelings or instincts in a population; a rabble-rouser The selfish demagogue scared and intimidated his people into spending all their wages on his useless health supplements.

missive

(n) a letter; a printed message Not trusting email or texts, my teacher handed me a missive to deliver to her daughter immediately.

echelon

(n) a level or strata within a group or organization After years of trying and failing, Lawrence finally reached the highest echelon of the organization and was at last in charge.

penchant

(n) a liking or tendency for something; a predilection Jerry had a penchant for chewing on the ends of his pens and pencils, making him the absolute worst person to borrow a writing utensil from on that off day when you've somehow forgotten to bring one of your own.

stricture

(n) a limit or rule As punishment for not finishing his chores, Adam's parents placed strictures on his after-school activities.

satire

(n) a literary work that uses wit, humor, irony, etc. to point out human folly or weakness; an attack or critique of society or people via a work of literature

jeremiad

(n) a long, scolding speech; a long tale of sadness and woe; a warning about one's conduct or behavior After being at fault in a considerable, but thankfully not fatal, texting-while-driving accident, Michael participated in several driver safety workshops, sharing his jeremiad of irresponsibility and loss as a cautionary tale to urge other young drivers to act wisely.

interloper

(n) a meddler; one who interferes in the affairs of others Dan thought he was solving a dispute between the two warring factions, but the villagers saw him as little more than a bothersome interloper.

diagnosis

(n) a medical opinion about the nature of a disease or symptom; a critical analysis of something Before prescribing any medicine, Dr. Aquino was sure to complete a full evaluation of her patients in order to first form an accurate diagnosis.

qualm

(n) a misgiving; a sense of doubt or hesitancy Knowing that it would hurt her mother's feelings, Lily had many qualms about announcing her move across the country.

misapprehension

(n) a misunderstanding Fiona and Paulette had an awkward misapprehension when Paulette mistook Fiona's bag as her own and tried to remove it from the baggage claim are

hodgepodge

(n) a mixture; an eclectic combination The study was filled a hodgepodge of books on random topics, with no common theme among them.

paradigm

(n) a model or framework for thinking about something; a particular way of conceiving or imagining something; an example After the discovery of electric current, humans needed a new paradigm for how they would form societies.

cur

(n) a mongrel dog; an unfriendly or worthless dog; a cowardly person You may bring your own dog into the house, but that stray cur must remain outside.

parvenu

(n) a newly rich person, implying that one is not fully accepted or completely familiar with proper manners The oil tycoon spent his newly-amassed fortune on gaudy decorations, marking him as a parvenu among his wealthy new peers.

euphemism

(n) a nice way of saying something that isn't nice : If you're going to insult me, I'd prefer that you say exactly what is on your mind and not use euphemisms.

squabble

(n) a noisy argument, especially over something trivial; also (n. The two young siblings squabbled constantly over who would get to sit in the front seat of the car.

fracas

(n) a noisy disagreement or fight The couple argued so loudly that their fracas could be heard on the other side of the block.

timbre

(n) a particular musical sound or quality; the color of a musical note or sound The music student analyzed Bach's composition for the elements of sound: pitch, volume and timbre.

mannerism

(n) a particular way of behaving; an idiosyncratic trait or quirk He was a man of many peculiar mannerisms: he counted the steps of any stairwell before climbing them, blinked excessively when he was excited, and hummed absentmindedly whenever he was thinking through a tricky math problem.

fete

(n) a party or festival (also a verb, to celebrate or acknowledge by throwing a party A royal fete was organized to celebrate the Prince Kimura's 20th birthday.

figurehead

(n) a person in a position of power but who has no real authority or actual power The public had long since known that the queen was merely a figurehead with no real political power, but they respected her as a symbol of national history rather than as an actual ruler.

recluse

(n) a person who hides from the world; a hermit or very shy person The poet, Emily Dickinson, was a well-known recluse, preferring complete solitude to the company of others whenever possible.

chauvinist

(n) a person who is biased in favor of his own group or culture The dictator was a chauvinist who favored only those from his own religious sect.

philistine

(n) a person who is indifferent about art or culture; a crass, materialistic person (also an adjective, having not interest in art or culture Seeing that the buyer was a philistine interested only in reselling the painting, the artist could not part with his work.

bigot

(n) a person who is prejudiced and intolerant; a person who favors his own group Felicia's father was a bigot and refused to allow her to even talk to anyone who was not of her own race.

boor

(n) a person who is very crude and coarse; a rude and obnoxious person; an uncultured person "Take those muddy boots of the table; don't be a boor!" he scolded.

laggard

(n) a person who loiters or delays; a slacker Fritz was ever the laggard during P.E., always finishing well behind all other students in the one-mile run.

sybarite

(n) a person who loves luxury It took millions of dollars to build a house luxurious enough to satisfy the expensive taste of my mother, a sybarite since birth.

gourmet

(n) a person who relishes food and drink; a connoisseur My sister, Angela, had the makings of a gourmet chef from a very young age; now the owner of her own fine pastry, wine, and cheese shop, she has transformed her culinary abilities into an expert's knack for finding and showcasing the best local food artisans.

polyglot

(n) a person who speaks multiple languages After completing a study abroad in Belgium, Kimberly considered herself a full-fledged polyglot, having gained proficiency in speaking French and Dutch, along with her native English.

spendthrift

(n) a person who spends money recklessly Brian was a hopeless spendthrift, always living beyond his means, spending paychecks as soon as he got them, and never even thinking about saving.

nomad

(n) a person who travels from place to place; a wanderer with no permanent home Edgar was a modern day nomad, never staying in one place for too long and generally preferring exploring new territory to settling down.

constituent

(n) a person who votes for or supports a politician; one of the group of people a politician must please to be re-elected. The next presidential candidate will have to convince his or her constituents to vote that person into office.

vagrant

(n) a person who wanders from place to place, especially a homeless person who lives on the streets (also an adjective-tending to wander, especially of a notion or set of thoughts When his empire crumbled, Donald Trump was forced to live on the streets as a vagrant.

epicure

(n) a person with refined tastes in food and wine; a gourmet Emily fancied herself a genuine epicure and inspired chef, but all things equal, we were pretty underwhelmed by her sweet potato casserole.

vantage

(n) a perspective that gives a wide or commanding view The top of the mountain offered an excellent vantage point from which to view the valley.

epithet

(n) a phrase or group of words often associated with something; a nickname; a descriptive phrase or term The controversial group's members were arrested, still shouting racial epithets at the group of civil rights workers.

itinerary

(n) a plan of one's travels or proposed journey The itinerary for the wind ensemble's summer trip to China was packed with shows and stopping points, as they were scheduled to play in different cities across China two to three times a week for six weeks straight.

paean

(n) a poem of praise; a song of joy or triumph The grateful citizens raised their voices in a beautiful paean to praise the returning hero.

encomium

(n) a poem of praise; high praise The war memorial included a plaque, on which was engraved an encomium detailing in verse the brave deeds of the fallen soldiers.

pauper

(n) a poor person; one living on public support During the Great Depression, when the economy collapsed, countless citizens lost their jobs and because paupers in a short span of time.

conundrum

(n) a puzzle or mystery "There is no sign of forced entry and all the doors and windows are locked," said the detective, "making the method of entry of his murder quite the conundrum."

levee

(n) a raised dam or earthwork that holds back water or a river Surrounded by swamp, the levees of the town needed to be reinforced before the next big rainstorm broke them and flooded the town.

insurgent

(n) a rebel or individual who fights against a government President Coin's insurgent forces sought to topple the totalitarian government.

maverick

(n) a rebel; a nonconformist Despite the president's order to surrender, a few maverick generals mustered their forces and attacked.

chronicle

(n) a record of events in time (also a verb, to record events in time The ancient city's chronicle included everything from its founding to its destruction centuries later.

motif

(n) a recurring theme, idea, image, or note in a work of art As there were at least three in every room, oil lamps were a strong motif of the grand mansion.

shoal

(n) a reef or underwater object; a shallow area of water On a sunny day, while ocean kayaking from Lanikai beach to the Mokulua islets off Oahu, the emerald shoals provide a clear view of native sea turtles grazing on sea grasses and sunning themselves on the rocks and reefs.

regimen

(n) a regulated or prescribed course of action or behavior A healthy regimen of consistent diet and exercise is the best way to stay fit and fend off disease.

remnant

(n) a remaining portion; a small amount left over Unable to finish his meal, the boy scraped the remnants of his dinner of his plate into the dog's bowl.

respite

(n) a rest; temporary relief The coach called for a time out, which provided the players a welcome respite from the long, grueling game.

monarch

(n) a ruler, usually a king who rules for life by hereditary right The monarch of Saudi Arabia inherited his title from his father, the former king.

haven

(n) a safe place; a sanctuary The Mokulua Islets off the coast of Lanikai Beach on Oahu are a protected bird sanctuary; on this island haven, it is unlawful to hunt, feed, or otherwise disturb the tropical birds that nest there.

dictum

(n) a saying or maxim You would do well to remember the axiom "pride goeth before the fall."

monograph

(n) a scholarly book; an essay on a narrow topic Focusing solely on the obscure topic of weather patterns in ancient Egypt, the text is a total monograph.

shrew

(n) a scolding, angry woman; a nag Your mother is quite the nag, but calling her a shrew is a step too far.

paradox

(n) a seeming contradiction that ultimately makes a certain kind of sense "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?" is an age-old paradox intended to encourage enlightenment.

foreboding

(n) a sense of impending evil; a feeling that something bad will happen The teacher smirked as he passed out the final exam, filling his students with a feeling of foreboding.

endeavor

(n) a serious effort or attempt; also (v. When Mai Lan left her job to pursue a graduate degree, her boss was happy for her and wished her all the best on her future academic endeavors, knowing they would be challenging, but that Mai Lan was ready.

doctrine

(n) a set of principles, beliefs, or laws When Galileo proposed the heliocentric model of the universe, it was in direct opposition to established church doctrine, and this got him into a lot of trouble.

beacon

(n) a shining light; a source of guidance or inspiration The tall, shining lighthouse was a welcome beacon to the travel-weary sailors who had been lost for weeks.

oxymoron

(n) a short phrase or pair of words that contains a contradiction or paradoxical juxtaposition (example: freezing fire or jumbo shrimp Oxymoronic phrases such as "jumbo shrimp" seem to contradict themselves.

epigram

(n) a short, clever statement, especially in writing Trudy's epigram on the back of her postcard was clever enough to make me laugh out loud.

homage

(n) a sign of respect; a work of art that gives tribute to someone or something We created an homage to Judd Apatow movies, our film mirroring ever element found in his works.

omen

(n) a sign of the future; a portent The signing of the treaty by two bitter foes was an omen of peaceful times to come.

nemesis

(n) a significant enemy; a force that seeks revenge or retribution Stunned sailors looked on in awe as they witnessed a struggle to the death between a grey whale and a giant squid, two age-old nemeses.

odyssey

(n) a significant journey or adventure Charlie embarked on an odyssey across the continent in order to find his birth parents.

anecdote

(n) a simple narrative or short tale; a personal story Every year, when my grandfather came to visit, he would entertain my siblings and I by recounting colorful anecdotes from his childhood on Kauai; we loved his stories so much, we felt as though we knew the island well, though we had never been there.

foible

(n) a slight fault; a minor weakness, especially in one's character She was such a kind person that her friends overlooked her minor foibles, such as her social clumsiness.

trowel

(n) a small flat-bladed tool used for masonry With his trusty trowel in hand, the mason was ready to break stones down in order to fashion them into bricks for the cottage he was building.

faction

(n) a small group within a larger group (especially one that expresses discontent or disagreement A faction of the navy stole five of two hundred warships and defected to the enemy's side.

scintilla

(n) a spark; a tiny amount The trick candles sent one bright scintilla after another flying up from the birthday cake.

perquisite

(n) a special privilege or benefit; a perk As an extra special perquisite of working at the café, employees are allowed to drink as much coffee as they want, which, just so happens to also boost productivity.

knack

(n) a special talent or aptitude Tony had a special knack with dogs and could bond with them instantly.

panegyric

(n) a speech, poem, or text in praise of something In commemoration of her 25 years of service and dedication, the museum commissioned the poet laureate to write a panegyric honoring her on her retirement.

incantation

(n) a spell or charm; something spoken aloud that invokes or includes supernatural powers Reciting an incantation of her own design, Ursula the sea witch was able to take Ariel's voice in exchange for transforming the mermaid into a human.

criterion

(n) a standard for judging or evaluating There is only one criterion for joining our fraternity: you must be extremely rich.

flux

(n) a state of change and instability; flow Without any long-term positions, the staff of the restaurant was in a constant state of flux.

pandemonium

(n) a state of chaos and confusion A week without electricity sent the city into a state of lawless pandemonium.

discord

(n) a state of disagreement or disharmony Partisan politics, special interests and stubborn lawmakers all contributed to the atmosphere of discord in the senate.

repose

(n) a state of relaxation; rest Laying out by the pool in silent meditation, Jay's luxurious repose was interrupted only by the sound of a woodpecker hammering away at a nearby tree.

bedlam

(n) a state of total confusion and chaos When the local team successfully beat the international favorite in the World Cup championship, the entire town erupted into bedlam as overjoyed fans clashed with sore losers; it was hard to tell from the outside if the scene was a party or an all-out riot.

disclaimer

(n) a statement that denies or limits something; a type of warning or condition that attaches to a claim The disclaimer on the box of hair dye warned that prolonged exposure to the product could cause scalp burns, and Joel learned the hard way that these warnings were serious.

precipice

(n) a steep cliff; the edge of a cliff Tanitia backed away from the edge of the precipice, afraid she would fall to her death.

hoard

(n) a stockpile; a great amount of something (also a verb, to collect or create such a stockpile The dragon fiercely guarded the hoard of gold and jewels it kept deep inside its cave.

gale

(n) a strong wind or storm With the oncoming tropical storm threatening to bring record high wind speeds, the residents of the otherwise sleepy island town worked quickly to prepare their homes to weather the powerful gales.

surrogate

(n) a substitute Having found the abandoned baby tiger in the forest clearing, Shina decided to raise it as its surrogate mother.

veneer

(n) a thin layer; an outward show; a misleading surface hiding something less attractive underneath There were many scratches in the oak table, which would need to be coated with a veneer to smooth out the surface.

ruffian

(n) a thug; a tough person who intimidates others A gang of ruffians assaulted the guards and stole every last gold coin.

deadlock

(n) a tie; a standstill As the buzzer rang, the two teams found themselves in a 1-to-1 deadlock, and the game went into overtime to give them a chance to break the tie.

tourniquet

(n) a tight bandage or other device that restricts the circulation, often to prevent excess bleeding A well-qualified and quick thinking field nurse, Jacob could make a tourniquet to dress a soldier's wounds with little more than a few feet of fabric or even scraps torn from a uniform.

heyday

(n) a time of great success or popularity; a cultural high point In the heyday of beaver pelt hats, they were so popular that the beaver population in New England came dangerously close to extinction, causing laws against beaver poaching to be put into effect despite the success of the fur industry.

pittance

(n) a tiny amount, especially of money Lillian enjoyed working at the frozen yogurt shop because she was free to sample as much yogurt as she wanted, but the pittance that she made from weekly wages was so meager that she knew she would have to find a new job before long.

harangue

(n) a tirade; a long, complaining speech; also (v. After Coach Carter delivered an especially harsh and extended harangue about the team's uninspiring performance at the tournament, he softened the blow by announcing that he would still buy them all pizz

segue

(n) a transition from one subject to another; an effortless changing of topics The weekly sketch comedy employed seamless segues to move from skit to skit on topics ranging from rush hour traffic to online dating.

furrow

(n) a trench or ditch; a wrinkle (also a verb-to form a wrinkle, especially in one's forehead from worry or concern Erich Maria Remarque's novel, All Quiet On The Western Front, attempts to capture the atrocity of "trench warfare" during World War I, in which soldiers hunkered down in ditches or furrows in futile attempts to gain ground against the opposing side.

ruse

(n) a trick; something meant to deceive The bloody glove was a ruse to throw the detectives off the path of the real crime.

conduit

(n) a tunnel or pathway The abandoned subway tunnel served as a conduit between the city's underground camps.

charisma

(n) a type of personal charm that makes others want to follow or obey someone The dictator's popularity was due as much to his personal charisma as his oratory skill.

asset

(n) a valuable thing or possession; a positive quality or trait I sold all my assets to raise enough money to send my daughter to college.

retort

(n) a verbal reply, especially a quick and witty one (also a verb-to make such a reply The sophomore's sassy retort to his tennis coach earned him a week's detention.

luminary

(n) a very important person; a celebrity Known across the globe for his compassion, Jimmy Carter is a luminary in the humanitarian community.

myriad

(n) a very large number; a lot of something When told that he could live in any country he wished, Anton realized he had a myriad of places to choose from.

eon

(n) a very long period of time Astronomers predict that sun will engulf the earth many long eons from now.

linchpin

(n) a vital piece; a central element that holds things together Voted most valuable player, Nora was the linchpin that pulled her rugby team together.

bulwark

(n) a wall or defensive element; anything that defends or protects When Saruman's army of orcish soldiers attacked the walled city of Gondor, the civilians hoped that the bulwarks would withstand the onslaught; sadly, the walls came down, and the invaders poured into the city.

caveat

(n) a warning I can give you advice, but with the caveat that I am not an expert, so please take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

cascade

(n) a waterfall or series of small waterfalls Iguazu Falls in Argentina is the site of one of the most breathtaking cascades of interconnected waterfalls in the world, and people travel from all over the globe to witness the Iguazu River tumbling into from upwards of 190 to 260 feet high.

fledgling

(n) a young bird whose feathers are just developing; an inexperienced person (also an adjective: inexperienced The fledgling hawk stayed in the nest until it was strong enough to fly.

colt

(n) a young male horse In the novel Black Beauty, the narrator tells the story of a young, black stallion's life from birth to adulthood, and several readers have interpreted the figure of the colt as a symbol of youth, freedom, and vitality.

mores

(n) accepted customs or social rules of behavior Tabatha violated the strict mores of Victorian society when she allowed a strange man to walk her home.

endearment

(n) an act expressing fondness or affection As a term of endearment, we called her Jujube; sure it was a weird nickname for a girl, but it was her favorite candy, and it reminded us of her.

proponent

(n) an advocate or supporter of something Michael became a strong proponent of stem cell research after he was diagnosed with a degenerative muscle disease.

pact

(n) an agreement; a formal arrangement Adea forged a pact with demons to gain her dark powers.

forebear

(n) an ancestor I inherited this old single-action pistol from my forebears in the Civil War.

diatribe

(n) an angry speech or written document, usually denouncing something or someone The principal's speech was little more than an hour-long diatribe, complaining about late homework.

convocation

(n) an assembly of people; a group of people called together for a purpose At the company's annual convocation meeting, delegates from each branch reported on the year's business and brainstormed ways of increasing productivity over the following year.

prototype

(n) an early or experimental version of something; a model In an early prototype of the telephone, called the rotary phone, there were no buttons to dial, but rather a spinning mechanism that took much longer to operate and often broke down.

monopoly

(n) an economic system with only one major player or actor After driving all other stores out of business, Walmart had a retail monopoly in the small town.

aviary

(n) an enclosure or habitat for birds At some points in the summer, the botanical garden at Balboa Park quite resembled an aviary, as swallows, hummingbirds, and robins darted in and out of its birdcage-like structure

blandishment

(n) an enticement; a flattering or pleasing statement used to gain someone's cooperation or favor As a blandishment to con Taylor into helping him with his homework, Alex told her that she was the smartest person he knew, and that there was no one more qualified to tutor him with his math homework.

pandemic

(n) an epidemic that spreads far and wide (also an adjective-widespread and ubiquitous Doctors feared that, left unchecked, the new disease could cause a worldwide pandemic, infecting every person on the planet.

vagary

(n) an erratic notion; chance or contingencies; randomness (not vagueness The vagaries of the weather patterns here make it nearly impossible to predict when it will be pleasant enough to have a picnic.

quid pro quo

(n) an even and equal trade (Latin for this for that An even exchange for services, sometimes termed a "quid pro quo" agreement in business and legal terminology, involves an agreement that one party will complete a service for another in exchange for a service or good of approximately equal value.

enormity

(n) an evil act; a terrible action The incredible enormity of the kidnapping and subsequent murder of the ambassador shocked the entire nation.

surfeit

(n) an excess After the weeklong rainstorm, a surfeit of water threatened to overwhelm the damn, and the town was evacuated in case of flash flooding.

clique

(n) an exclusive group The phenomenon of the "clique," or exclusive inner circle of friends, has been around forever, and throughout the last decade has been referred to in various terms, including but not limited to: "posse," "gang," "crew," and, most currently, "squad."

exodus

(n) an exit or retreat of a large number of people; a massive departure The fire alarms sounded inside Walmart, triggering a mass exodus of people.

pundit

(n) an expert, especially one who gives an opinion A pundit was interviewed to fully explain the threat posed by the new disease.

conceit

(n) an extended metaphor, especially in a poem; a fanciful notion or idea (also, arrogance or excessive self-regard) "Even against such overwhelming odds, we may still yet prevail!" the captain told his regiment, an obvious conceit

martinet

(n) an extreme disciplinarian Knowing that the drill sergeant had reputation for being a merciless martinet, Private Jimenez did all she could to stay on his good side and avoid any reprimand.

blemish

(n) an imperfection or scar; a flaw Save for the faint scar that ran from right below his hairline to just above his right eye, his face was otherwise free of blemishes and actually more distinguished and handsome because of the subtle imperfection.

magnate

(n) an important or powerful figure, especially in business The wealthy business tycoon was a magnate in the canning industry.

foray

(n) an initial attempt; a small adventure into unknown territory The expedition's initial foray into the jungle resulted in the discovery of ancient ruins.

gauge

(n) an instrument for measuring something; also (v. The chief engineer kept a close eye on the pressure gauge in order to see if the engine was working safely.

artifact

(n) an object made by humans, especially in an archaeological or anthropological context The museum's curator carefully arranged artifacts from three different historical eras on the shelf.

affiliation

(n) an official connection or association The two companies signed a trade deal, cementing their business affiliation.

scenario

(n) an outline of events in a novel or play or work of fiction; an imagined or anticipated sequence of events. Before auditioning for the role, he read through the play to better understand the scenario in which his character appeared.

mishap

(n) an unfortunate circumstance On the way to the grocery store, we had the unfortunate mishap of getting a flat tire.

juggernaut

(n) an unstoppable force The tidal wave tore through the city like a juggernaut, knocking down buildings, telephone poles, and anything else that stood in its way.

ire

(n) anger; rage Julie's ire at having her laptop stolen was so intense that we almost hoped that she didn't find the culprit, knowing that her rage would provoke an extreme reaction from her.

chagrin

(n) annoyance or embarrassment Emily's homemade entry in the boxcar race finished last, much to her chagrin.

approbation

(n) approval Max won the community's approbation when his service project successfully resulted in the removal of much of the city's graffiti.

kitsch

(n) art that is cheesy or in bad taste; art that is purposefully in bad taste Having no sense of design or taste, Ken filled his home with gaudy kitsch from swap meets and yard sales.

antipathy

(n) bad feelings; hatred or revulsion After a bitter divorce, the former spouses felt no more love for each other, only antipathy.

serendipity

(n) characterized by good chance or happy accident; fortuitous; unexpected good fortune It was a happy moment of serendipity when Angela happened to walk into the coffee shop the same day that talent scout was there looking for new actors to cast in the upcoming television series.

prattle

(n) childish talk; babbling Brent found his two-year-old sister's incessant prattle to be annoying and nonsensical, even though his parents thought the incoherent rambling was adorable.

girth

(n) circumference; the distance around something; the measurement of someone's waist Jacob gained 150lbs in three months, which meant that increase in girth would prevent him from wearing any of his old clothes.

repartee

(n) clever conversational back and forth; a quick, witty reply Alex found the only other smart person at the party and immediately enjoyed the witty repartee they shared.

status quo

(n) conditions as they presently are; the current situation Unsatisfied with the status quo, Samuel was constantly striving to better himself and his situation; this refusal to accept the logic that "this is just the way things are" would serve him well throughout his career.

dismay

(n) consternation or shock, especially from something unexpected; also (v. Much to her dismay, he had neglected to separate the white clothes from the multi-colored ones, and now her favorite white dress was a sickly shade of green.

continuity

(n) continuation; keeping things the same or consistent Hiring a substitute with the same last name as their former teacher provided the 1st graders with a sense of familiarity and continuity.

décor

(n) decoration or adornment, especially of a room In preparation for the party, Sheila had hung streamers, banners, and other birthday-themed décor all over the house, making it festive and inviting for the guest of honor.

demise

(n) downfall or destruction; death The invention of the telephone marked the demise of the telegram.

vigor

(n) energy or enthusiasm Upbeat and engaged, Patrick approached every task with a sense of vigor that inspired those around him to also stay positive.

parity

(n) equality; fairness; sameness Though there is still a long way to go, the struggle for parity between women's and men's wages is very gradually making progress and more and more women assertively call for wage equality.

equanimity

(n) evenness of temper; being very balanced in one's mood; composed It takes a certain sense of equanimity to approach disappointment with grace and victory with modesty; rejecting the passions of grief or pride allowed one to be peaceful, mindful, and even stoic.

prose

(n) everyday speech or language; non-poetic language A favorite among essayists and copy editors alike, Raymond Carver's prose is concise, direct, and free of superfluous adornment, making it as quietly powerful as it is accessible.

hearsay

(n) evidence that is merely rumor or gossip Hearsay and secondary testimony doesn't hold up as evidence in a court of law, because it rumors and gossip are often exaggerated if not downright untrue.

ferment

(n) excitement; agitation (also a verb, to turn sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide via yeast The decade from 1960 to 1970 was a time of ferment, uncertainty, and change in America, as overlapping activist movements and groups protested and demonstrated for social reform and cultural growth.

guise

(n) external appearance, especially a false appearance The spy was able to enter the city in the guise of a police officer.

gall

(n) extreme boldness and rudeness; impudence Attempting to hold off the attackers with a non-functioning firearm was an act of pure gall.

tribulations

(n) extreme difficulties or challenges; trials After many trials and tribulations over what felt like hundreds of years, Victor finally completed his graduate program and earned the title, "Ph.D.", almost making the sleepless nights, thousands of pages of reading, and hundreds of pages of writing worth it.

iniquity

(n) extreme injustice; wickedness and immoral behavior Never satisfied with its own iniquity, the demon tempted generations of mortals to commit acts of great evil.

sophistry

(n) false or misleading logic; using logic to produce false conclusions The politician's sophistry crumbled under the light of cold, hard fact.

libel

(n) false written statements that attack someone's character When Candace wrote an editorial falsely accusing her opponent of corruption and deceit, her efforts to smear his reputation backfired when a jury of her peers found her guilty of libel.

empathy

(n) feeling what others feel; feeling as if you feel the suffering or concerns of others Toph had a hard time cultivating empathy for those around her; she'd been so independent and self-motivating that she sometimes had trouble even understanding, much less feeling, the concerns or emotions of others.

sentiment

(n) feelings or beliefs; an opinion, especially one based on feelings As a Supreme Court Justice, Judge Manalansan was always sure to keep her judgments and sentences free of sentiment, as she had a responsibility to maintain objectivity and keep her own emotions out of her legal decisions.

resolution

(n) firmness; a determination; the quality of being clear and focused Tired of being, well, tired all the time—Jonah made a resolution to sleep earlier and exercise more.

zest

(n) flavor; interest; excitement has a true enthusiasm and zest for sculpting, which she does every day.

clemency

(n) forgiveness; mercy; leniency When he received the death penalty, Tucker begged the judge for clemency but received none.

renunciation

(n) giving something up; abjuring or swearing to relinquish something The king's renunciation of his throne marked the start of his golden years, and he went into the provinces to live out his days in peace.

rapport

(n) harmony; a trusting, good relationship Beloved by parents and students alike, Sheila had no trouble establishing an easy rapport with those around her, and she quickly became a favorite teacher at Parkside High.

misogyny

(n) hatred or condemnation of women The boys' coach displayed his misogyny when he told the girls' team they ought to try playing "real sports."

enmity

(n) hatred; ill feelings or bitterness After having his wife stolen away from him by the older sibling, George felt only enmity for his brother.

tautology

(n) needless repetition of a word or phrase A phrase that starts with "the reason is because," is a tautology insofar as "reason" and "because" refer essentially to the same thing.

apathy

(n) not caring or feeling; indifference Overcoming voter apathy is the largest hurdle in getting people to the polls.

hedonist

(n) one who seeks pleasure

progenitor

(n) one's ancestor or parent; a predecessor or precursor Several ancient hominids have been identified as progenitors of modern humans.

vocation

(n) one's job or profession; a calling Having always loved teaching and helping others to achieve their full potential, Tyson knew that teaching was his life's vocation.

station

(n) one's social position or place in society In feudal societies, a low-ranking peasant could never marry someone of high station, such as a member of royalty or the nobility.

mettle

(n) one's true worth, especially implying courage or bravery; one's character The soldier's mettle was proven on the field of battle, where she showed not a moment of fear in the face of death.

sediment

(n) particles that collect or settle at the bottom of a liquid; residue After drinking most of the wine, Lila could see the sediment resting at the bottom of her glass.

banter

(n) playful teasing; good-humored verbal sparring Those not familiar with the siblings' relationship might interpret their friendly banter for actual insults.

penury

(n) poverty Having lost his job at the height of the Great Depression had thrust Frank into utter penury, and he counted his pennies miserably, hoping to scrape enough together to buy a single loaf of bread.

quarry

(n) prey; a hunted animal The hunters chased their quarry for miles before it finally eluded them.

decorum

(n) proper behavior; behavior that is socially appropriate and polite At the inaugural ball, we must maintain an attitude of proper behavior and decorum.

nativity

(n) relating to birth, especially the place or time of one's birth Ashamed of where they were born, the twins' mother never revealed the place of their nativity.

esteem

(n) respect and admiration As the foremost neurosurgeon in her field, Karina was held in high esteem by all of her colleagues, a respect she had earned from more than a decade of painstaking work and dedication.

expertise

(n) skill or competency; knowledge Because she had studied astrophysics for longer than anyone, we relied on her expertise to help us to understand the complicated new data set.

acumen

(n) skill or experience; accuracy of judgment The ranger relied on the acumen gained from years of experience outdoors to guide her back to the station.

etiquette

(n) social conventions; proper and polite behavior Felipe's years of training in proper social etiquette prepared him well to dine with the queen.

toady

(n) someone who engages in excessive flattery; a suck-up At first pleasing to Heidi, her toady's incessant and transparent flattery eventually wore on her nerves.

accomplice

(n) someone who helps or participates in something, especially a crime The thieves' accomplice took no part in the actual theft, put did drive the getaway car.

concession

(n) something given up or acknowledged; something offered to placate One of the negotiators offered more money as a concession in order to keep the peace talks going.

anomaly

(n) something hard to explain or that doesn't fit the expected pattern For years, the phenomenon of black holes presented an anomaly that astrophysicists could scarcely begin to account for, and even now, our understanding of them remains basic and incomplete.

byproduct

(n) something left over; the remains or remnants of a manufacturing process Plants use photosynthesis to create their food and have no use for the oxygen created as a byproduct, so it is discarded.

anachronism

(n) something out of its proper time; something not belonging to a certain time period The latest episode of a British period drama set in the 19th century generated a lot of buzz this weekend when viewers noticed a cell phone accidentally left on set, an anachronism that didn't ruin the episode but still made it unintentionally humorous.

trifle

(n) something small and of little value also (v. Elle insisted that the necklace was a mere trifle and ultimately unimportant to her, but Alex knew that it would always secretly hold sentimental value to her.

desideratum

(n) something strongly desired; something needed Looking back, Jeff realized that love was a desideratum missing from his first marriage.

sequel

(n) something that follows; a second version or follow-up The sequel to the hit musical film will feature many of the same characters, but all new music.

impediment

(n) something that impedes or gets in the way; a blockage or stumbling block Let me offer no impediment to the investigation, since I want to know the truth about what happened.

toddle

(v) to walk in an unsteady fashion, like a child Without the help of his cane, the old man toddled down the hallway.

figment

(n) something that is merely imagined; a small thing that is thought of only in the mind For a split second as Dennis gazed at the ceiling lost in a daydream, he thought for sure that he had heard the last bell signaling the end of class, but it was only a figment of his imagination—and wishful thinking at that.

aberration

(n) something that is unexpected; a departure from what is expected or what is right or proper; an abomination The genetic splicing of a goat, spider and blue whale resulted in an aberration of nature.

catalyst

(n) something that speeds up (or lowers the reaction threshold of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement.

humbug

(n) something that tricks or deceives; a sham Carla's leg injury was merely a humbug to conceal the fact that she had no desire to compete in the race.

eyesore

(n) something ugly or unpleasant to look at; something derelict or rundown The construction site in the middle of the city was a complete eyesore—a jumble of steel buttresses and dust that marred an otherwise gleaming skyline—but in time, the unsightly chaos would give way to a towering new skyscraper, regal and imposing.

infelicity

(n) something unfortunate or exemplifying bad luck; something unpleasant After Harold's car had broken down, the rain which began to fall only contributed further to the infelicity of the situation.

decoy

(n) something used to lure or trap After having suffered the theft of her prize-winning melons right before the county fair for the second year in a row, Sheila positioned a fake plastic melon and hidden camera in her garden as a decoy to catch the shameless fruit thief.

behemoth

(n) something very large; an enormous animal or person Weighing in at 400 pounds and reaching a height of over eleven feet, the bear was a behemoth of a creature.

interstices

(n) spaces or intervals between things The interstices between houses are interesting spaces that often become "homes" for weeds, small rodents, and other unsavory elements usually kept away from manicured lawns.

grandiloquence

(n) speech that is lofty in tone, often implying a pompous quality The keynote speaker's grandiloquence during the commencement speech put off audience members who were expecting a more sincere, down-to-earth tone.

coup

(n) sudden act or maneuver; a sudden, clever act; a sudden change in government or leadership When the rebels stormed the palace in a military coup that overthrew the government, the civilians wondered who would emerge to lead the country into a brand new future.

condolence

(n) sympathy for another person's sorrow or loss (literally, with sadness Please accept this gift with my condolences on the loss of your father.

pedagogy

(n) teaching; a particular method of teaching Meryl took a hands on approach to her pedagogy, inviting students to participate rather than simply lecturing all the time.

bravura

(n) technical skill or brilliance; a display of great daring or showmanship The violinist ended her performance with a remarkable bravura, impressing even the musical masters present.

sedition

(n) the act of committing treason or rebellion against your government To the British, the American rebellion was a collective act of high sedition, but to the Americans, their insurrection was an act of revolution; it is ever the victors who author history.

diminution

(n) the act of diminishing or decreasing in significance or amount Of all high-cost investments, buying a car is the least likely to provide a return on investment as the value of the car goes into diminution the moment you drive off the lot.

complicity

(n) the act of helping to commit a crime or wrongdoing; being guilty by association The getaway driver, while not having participated in the actual theft, still shared full complicity in the crime.

omission

(n) the act of omitting or leaving something out Henry's omission of all in-text citations in his term paper forced his teacher to give him a failing grade for the assignment, as a lack of citations amounted to academic plagiarism.

presumption

(n) the act of presuming too much; assuming something in a way that indicates arrogance or over-confidence It was a gross act of presumption to assume that Jane would be his girlfriend after having only gone on one date together.

genesis

(n) the beginning or creation of something When asked about where she got the inspiration to write the bestselling trilogy, the author explained that the genesis for the plot and characters actually came from a dream she had about her daughter.

advent

(n) the beginning or first moments of something, especially something important The end of two decades of war marked the welcome advent of a new era of peace for the whole world.

denouement

(n) the conclusion or resolution of a story or plot (French for the unknotting During the denouement, or resolution of a play, the climax has passed and the characters work through their conflicts in one way or another.

curriculum

(n) the courses of study at a school or materials used in a course of study The college's curriculum included courses in anthropology, mathematics and chemistry, to name only a few.

profundity

(n) the depth or profoundness of something; deep insight The chasm proved to be so deep that no instrument was adequate to measure its tremendous profundity.

gamut

(n) the entire range of something When Chiyoko got the new job that she had applied for in London, her emotions ran the gamut from excitement to start a new life in a new place to sadness at the thought of leaving all her friends and family behind.

gist

(n) the essence or main point of something Even though Beth had fallen asleep halfway through the movie, she knew the gist of it having read the book and seen the trailer.

laity

(n) the group of people who are not members of a profession, especially those who are not members of the clergy Because doctors use so much specialized terminology when discussing their patients, it is often difficult for the laity to understand them, and this occasionally provokes anxiety and fear in already disquieted patients.

constituency

(n) the group that elects an official; the electorate; the group that constitutes your supporters The candidate for president had to pretend to be more conservative than he really was in order to convince his constituency to elect him to office.

zenith

(n) the highest point; the maximum At the zenith of her career, Josephine Baker was a household name, and her fame lives on today in countless tributes, documentaries, and assorted memorabilia

vanguard

(n) the leading position in an army or artistic movement The admiral assigned his most experienced captain to command the flagship, leading the vanguard of his fleet.

nadir

(n) the lowest point It was hailed as a victory of science when humans first reached the nadir of the ocean floor.

synergy

(n) the notion of mutual benefit; when two things combine to the advantage of each The two molecules had good synergy, with one emitting a charge when hidden from light, and the other charging when lit.

antithesis

(n) the opposite of something Crudely chewing with your mouth open and elbows on the table is the antithesis of proper table manners.

archetype

(n) the original model or type of something This eight-cylinder engine is the archetype upon which all other models are based.

upshot

(n) the outcome or conclusion; the consequence or final result The upshot of postponing your trip is that there will be time to visit your family before you leave.

gestation

(n) the period of development in the womb; the period of development for an organism or an idea The poet Rainer Maria Rilke famously said that "everything is gestation," suggesting that we are always growing, evolving, and "in progress," such that the process of growing is as important as the result.

rhetoric

(n) the persuasive use of language; language that is insincere and used only to persuade or convince Sheila was too canny to be taken in by the politician's rhetoric, but his smooth talking convinced everyone else.

quintessence

(n) the purest expression of something; the essence or essential element of something Surrounded by scandals of all kinds and denying everything despite mounting evidence, senator Rubio embodied the quintessence of a corrupt politician.

allure

(n) the quality of being attractive or appealing The allure of procrastination is that it allows the present to seem more enjoyable, but this is always at the expense of an overburdened and stressful future.

spontaneity

(n) the quality of being unplanned and natural; being done without premeditation or significant conscious thought Aman's spontaneity ensured that his friends were always kept guessing as to what activity he would suggest next.

suffrage

(n) the right to vote Before 1920 when women's suffrage finally passed into law, women in this country had no political voice.

etymology

(n) the roots and origins of words Knowing the etymology of English words—such as their Latin, Greek, or German roots—can help to cultivate not only a robust vocabulary but also a more informed appreciation of the English language.

sustenance

(n) the support of life , especially by food and drink Even stale bread and muddy water were welcomed as life-giving sustenance by the starving children.

topography

(n) the surface features of a landscape or territory; the measuring or mapping of the surface of something The area's topography featured plains, forests and swamps.

matrix

(n) the surrounding substance or environment that makes something possible, or gives rise to something Many historians credit the Greco-Roman context as the matrix from which Western civilization and thought developed, but contemporary values and culture are actually the product of a more global exchange that goes beyond the Greek and Roman empires.

transgression

(n) the violation of a boundary or limit; exceeding a limit or restraint The rule is one bowl of soup per person; taking more is a transgression which will not be tolerated.

remonstration

(n) to protest; to object; to plead an objection The class' remonstration over losing their recess time did not persuade the teacher to allow them outside.

circumlocution

(n) to speak in circles; to talk indirectly or in euphemisms He hated her circumlocutions and earnestly wished she would just speak directly and say exactly what was on her mind.

guile

(n) trickery; slyness; deceitfulness Outmanned, out equipped and outgunned, the infantry leader could rely only on her guile to achieve victory.

ado

(n) trouble or fuss; time-wasting trouble or distraction There was much ado made over the blackout, which lasted only twenty minutes.

consensus

(n) universal agreement; common opinion With a few lawmakers refusing to make any change in their opinion, the senate was unable to reach a consensus on the issue.

affluence

(n) wealth; economic prosperity Having grown up surrounded by affluence and excess, Mackenzie was shocked to see what life was like for the rest of the world in middle to low income neighborhoods.

verbiage

(n) wordiness; using more words than is necessary The literature teacher loved words, and all the students were familiar with his needlessly excessive verbiage.

apprehension

(n) worry or concern Seeing a detention slip on his teacher's desk filled Gregory with apprehension.

malfeasance

(n) wrongdoing, especially by a public official or important person When Professor Snape was accused of committing malfeasance, it was a highly serious matter as the punishment for that kind of transgression was permanent banishment from the school.

furnish

(v) 1. To decorate 2. To supply I furnished my new dining room with dark wooden tables and chairs to match the décor.

articulation

(v) 1. how one speaks or expresses oneself 2. how something physically moves or rotates The student's total lack of skillful verbal articulation meant that he would never be a part of the debate team.

realize

(v) 1. to accomplish or achieve 2. to acknowledge or come to a recognition of some fact or insight With the donation of five more full grocery bags, we were able to realize our goal of feeding 300 people during the food drive.

convey

(v) 1. to carry or transport 2. to communicate The cautious general preferred to use runners, rather than phone lines, to convey messages to his troops.

consign

(v) 1. to commit into the hands of another, often to be sold 2. to commit to a certain path or fate, often irrevocably Now that we have crossed the bridge, we are consigned to this path and cannot turn back.

redeem

(v) 1. to hand over and then receive something in exchange 2. to make up for or make amends for I'm eager to redeem this coupon for one free ice cream cone.

appropriate

(v) 1. to take or seize possession of 2. to set aside for a particular use or purpose (also an adjective, meaning fitting or apt The colonists appropriated the natives' culture, changed a few elements and then claimed it as their own.

patronize

(v) 1. to treat in a condescending manner 2. to support with money or by being a customer of a business Even though he was well qualified and professional, the board members still patronized the student representative, considering him too young to take seriously.

avert

(v) 1. to turn away, especially a look or gaze 2. to prevent (especially a tragedy or misfortune When the actors began to vividly portray a violent period in history, parents averted the gaze of their children.

scuttle

(v) 1. to walk or move in a quick, crab-like motion 2. to purposefully sink a ship, usually to prevent an enemy from obtaining it An accomplished goalie, Ginny scuttled to the right just in time to stop the ball from reaching the goal.

plagued

(v) beset with; visited with difficulties or challenges From locusts to drought to disease, the farm was plagued with problems.

trawling

(v) fishing by dragging a lure or a net behind a boat The tug boat could be seen trawling the river bottom for evidence of the sunken car.

pliant

(v) flexible; able to be persuaded The very pliant branch could be bent nearly in half without snapping.

dissemination

(v) spreading or distributing The group of rebels was accused of dissemination of seditious information to the entire nation.

recount

(v) tell in detail, as in a story The sea captain entertained the dinner guests by recounting tales of his more exotic adventures.

detest

(v) to abhor; to feel contempt for something Aberforth detested cockroaches and never hesitated to crush them on sight.

concede

(v) to acknowledge; to admit that something is true or that someone else is right Although I disagreed with most of Erin's argument, I did concede that she had done an admirable job researching the topic and gathering evidence

foreshadow

(v) to act as a sign of the future; to act like an omen; to hint at what is to come The dark clouds in the sky foreshadowed the storm to come, and Elena knew to pull the sheets off the clothesline to avoid having them blown away.

modulate

(v) to adjust or regulate the intensity of something Finicky about the temperature, Holden was constantly modulating the thermostat to suit his changing moods and comfort levels.

espouse

(v) to advocate or adopt an idea or principle; to be married to a person or a notion; to be loyal to Mahatma Gandhi espoused a principle called "ahimsa" which translates into "nonviolence," and it was in large part through nonviolent protest that the Indian citizens were able to gain their independence from Britain.

accede

(v) to agree to something Held at gunpoint, the man had no choice but to accede to the assailant's demands.

concur

(v) to agree with Having the utmost respect and faith in her, I generally concurred with her logic as we were almost always on the same page.

cavil

(v) to argue in a petty fashion; to make trifling objections The lawyer's constant caviling caused the simple trial to take five months to finish.

dispute

(v) to argue or debate; to disagree The dispute between the siblings over who got the bigger room was ended when they were forced to share the same one.

quibble

(v) to argue over insignificant things; to criticize over small details It's silly to quibble over trivial details when the big picture issues are clearly more pressing: why argue over what color to paint the house if the roof is missing?

defame

(v) to attack a person's reputation; to slander or verbally attack In order to gain a political advantage, several members of the senate went on television to defame their opponents.

eschew

(v) to avoid or shun Super conscious about his health, Varun tried to eschew over processed foods with a lot of chemical additives whenever he could, knowing that avoiding these foods would lead to more physical wellbeing in the long run.

prevaricate

(v) to avoid telling the truth; to lie The politician prevaricated shamelessly, twisting the facts and bending the truth to fit whatever narrative he wanted the public to believe about himself.

abhor

(v) to be disgusted by something; to hate or despise something There was nothing Taylor abhorred more than slugs as she found their wet, slimy bodies to be both unsightly and disgusting to the touch.

fume

(v) to be in a state of great frustration or anger After Makoto learned that her sister had eaten the custard pudding that she had been saving as a special treat for herself, Makoto was positively fuming with rage, and no amount of apologizing from her little sister would extinguish her ire.

bedazzle

(v) to beguile with charm; to mesmerize or enchant We were all bedazzled by the incredibly lengthy and exciting fireworks display.

impede

(v) to block or stop the progress of something; to obstruct something The accident on the side of the road impeded rush hour traffic and caused hours of delay on Thursday afternoon, mostly because other drivers slowed down to observe the wreckage as they drove by.

flower

(v) to blossom or grow; to produce flowers; to mature into a fully-grown state The peach trees flowered in spring and bore fruit in the summer.

nettle

(v) to bother; to annoy; also (n. The common habit of chewing gum had always nettled Professor Mulcahy, as he found the entire act both annoying and undignified.

wheedle

(v) to cajole or get by persuasion or flattery I wanted a new car for my birthday, and I wheedled my father into buying one for me.

denounce

(v) to condemn or accuse; to speak out against Unable to silently stand by while injustice was committed, Sun denounced her father's company as a corrupt and opportunistic establishment, and demanded that it reform its business practices to more fairly compensate its employees.

fulminate

(v) to condemn or vigorously criticize; to denounce The American revolutionaries fulminated taxation without representation by throwing crate after crate of imported English tea overboard in what came to be known as the "Boston Tea Party."

corroborate

(v) to confirm as true; to provide further evidence The jury found the defendant to be innocent when multiple witnesses were able to corroborate his story, proving that he could not have been at the scene of the crime at the time it was committed.

befuddle

(v) to confuse mystery completely befuddled all who attempted to solve it.

nonplus

(v) to confuse; to be at a loss as to what to do or think I was nonplussed as to what to do next when the spare tire in my car didn't fit my wheel.

connive

(v) to conspire or plan something wrong in secret; to engage in Machiavellian behavior Feeling as though their moment had finally arrived, the schemers connived to frame Mr. Howlitzer and gain control of the business.

gainsay

(v) to contradict or challenge verbally; to deny Ever one to play devil's advocate, Maxwell gainsaid everything that Molly said until she had come up with rebuttals to each of his counterarguments.

belie

(v) to contradict; to show to be false; to reveal the true nature of something that contradicts the surface claims His cheery expression belied the anger he felt beneath.

negotiate

(v) to cope with; to succeed in going over or around; accomplishing The skillful diplomat was able to negotiate an uneasy truce between the warring factions.

disabuse

(v) to correct a false belief; to free from error Shelley was clearly crestfallen when she was finally disabused of her belief in Santa Claus.

substantiate

(v) to corroborate or prove something; to confirm with evidence In order to substantiate your claims on the SAT essay, you must discuss clear and specific evidence and examples, rather than generalizations and hypothetical situations.

refute

(v) to counter or disprove; to show to be untrue Working diligently to gather evidence, Hamida was able to completely refute the false accusations, ultimately clearing her father's name and restoring the family reputation.

shroud

(v) to cover or block; also (n. A thick shroud was placed over the corpse as a sign of respect.

gild

(v) to cover with gold They melted down gold coins and used them to gild the copper statue, adding to its value.

excoriate

(v) to criticize harshly; to tear or remove the flesh After Mileena admitted that she hadn't practiced in over a week, her cello teacher excoriated her so severely that she wasn't sure if she even wanted to continue playing the cello at all

rebuke

(v) to criticize or disapprove sharply (also a noun, a sharp criticism Mildred rebuked her husband for his embarrassing behavior at the dinner party.

disparage

(v) to criticize or harshly condemn After an entire season being disparaged by her opponents, the politician lost all credibility in the eyes of the electorate.

crop

(v) to cut away or edit, particularly a photograph (n. When Olivia joined the military, his shoulder-length hair was cropped short.

bifurcate

(v) to cut into two sections Using a plastic butter knife, she deftly bifurcated the grilled cheese into two, and gave me half.

mutilate

(v) to damage extremely; to disfigure When Irving accidentally dropped her sculpture down the stairs, it was tragically mutilated beyond repair, and she knew she would have to start all over again.

dissemble

(v) to deceive or conceal; to pretend or simulate to gain an advantage; to lie "I didn't eat the cookies," the boy dissembled, the cookie crumbs still fresh on his hands.

profess

(v) to declare or claim, especially an oath or pledge When he professed his undying love for her on the second date, Jenny knew the relationship was doomed.

malign

(v) to deeply criticize or speak badly of someone Coach Johnson lost all credibility with the student body when members of the football team publicly maligned him for being routinely late for practice, entirely disorganized, and excessively rude and unprofessional.

vanquish

(v) to defeat; to conquer utterly Maleficent conjured a giant fireball and hurled it into the ranks of soldiers, hoping to vanquish her enemies.

scoff

(v) to deride or laugh at in a derisive way; to belittle with laughter The bully added insult to injury when he scoffed at the boy he had just knocked down.

covet

(v) to desire or want something He hated himself for coveting his sister's seemingly limitless string of success stories, and he knew that instead of feeling jealous, he ought to work as hard as she did.

yearn

(v) to desire strongly; to long for something, especially something that is unlikely to be attained Gabriela yearned for a snow day to close the schools and give her a break from her studies, but she knew that March was pretty late in the year for full-scale snowstorms.

decimate

(v) to destroy or kill a large part of something (originally 1/10 of something After Harold crept downstairs for a "midnight snack," Eileen awoke to find the trays of cupcakes she'd planned to bring to school effectively decimated, and she seethed at the loss of so much sugary capital.

divine

(v) to determine or discover (also an adjective, holy or related to a god We will use this tracking device to divine the location of the minerals we seek.

dispense

(v) to distribute or administer; also to do without when used in the phrase dispense with. Upon returning to his old high school, Travis was shocked to find that the soda machine which used to dispense beverages for only $0.75 was now charging $2.00 for the same products.

subjugate

(v) to dominate or place under one's rule The police subjugated the protestors with tear gas and rubber bullets, forcing them to line up for arrest.

elicit

(v) to draw out (as a response or emotion The inspired acrobatic performance elicited riotous applause from the audience, and a fair share of nervous gasps and laughter as well.

efface

(v) to erase or remove, especially from a surface Years of erosion from wind and rain had effaced the words from the ancient tablet.

commemorate

(v) to establish as a memorial; to honor the memory of something In order to commemorate their graduation year, the class of 2015 organized a fundraiser to pay for a new bell tower that would serve as a lasting reminder of their class's legacy.

assess

(v) to estimate the value or quality of something; to thoroughly catalog the various features or qualities In order to assess whether or not you are the ideal candidate for the job, we require that you undergo a comprehensive interview and psychological screening process.

browse

(v) to examine briefly; to superficially look at something Agnes enjoyed wandering through thrift stores, because she enjoyed browsing through vintage clothing and old vinyl records.

waft

(v) to float or drift, especially through the air The sweet scent of apple pie wafted on the breeze from the shelf where it cooled.

inundate

(v) to flood The valley was inundated with rainwater from the slopes of the surrounding mountains.

soar

(v) to fly or glide like a bird Launching the tomato like a grenade and watching it soar through the air, Malcolm smiled as it landed with a satisfying pop, splattering all over the whitewashed barn wall.

coerce

(v) to force or bully someone or something; to intimidate Only by coercing Eileen to exert more effort by threatening to disallow her from attending the ski trip were her parents able to get her to study harder and improve her overall academic performance.

dislodge

(v) to force out of a hidden or concealed position; to pry loose The dentists dislodged a piece of food which had been stuck in the boy's gums for weeks.

adduce

(v) to formally present as evidence; to show as an example The teacher adduced copied notes as the final evidence of his student's cheating.

secede

(v) to formally separate; to withdraw from an alliance or union When a group of slave states seceded from the U.S., it marked the formal beginning of the Civil War.

recant

(v) to formally take back a statement or testimony The monk was tortured until he recanted his blasphemous claims.

manumit

(v) to free from bondage or slavery; to emancipate The king's declaration tomorrow will manumit every slave in the kingdom, granting them the freedom enjoyed by all other citizens.

absolve

(v) to free from guilt; to clear of blame Once he bathed in the holy water, Mario believed that he was absolved of all his sins.

exasperate

(v) to frustrate or annoy Watching the server pass his table and ignore him for the fifth time, Dave became truly exasperated.

baffle

(v) to frustrate or confuse The police were baffled by the sober man's refusal to get into his car and drive home.

aggravate

(v) to frustrate; to worsen; to annoy Though she loved him dearly, Olivia was aggravated daily by her son's crying.

envelop

(v) to fully contain or wrap around; to surround When the cold front descended after a weeklong heat wave, the streets were enveloped in a thick blanket of fog that made it difficult to see more than five feet ahead.

attain

(v) to gain or gather; to accomplish After years of research and experimentation, Dr. Adler finally attained the recognition she deserved by successfully creating a vaccine for the troublesome virus.

proselytize

(v) to gather followers of a religion or idea; to convert others to your faith Every Sunday, the Jehovah's witnesses come to my neighborhood to proselytize.

glean

(v) to gather or collect The Hubble space telescope orbits around the earth, taking pictures of distant stars and planets and helping astronomers to glean insights about the vast universe around us.

marshal

(v) to gather troops or military forces together; to gather or arrange anything, especially evidence or proof In order to overcome what seemed like unbeatable obstacles Hiro had to marshal all his friends together; only with the combined strength of all his allies could he hope to stand a chance.

inveigle

(v) to get by flattery or insincere charm Only by the slickest, most over-the-top flattery did Kendall inveigle his way into the summer internship program, and his peers resented him for being a teacher's pet.

finagle

(v) to get by persuasion, flattery, or trickery; to deceive to gain an advantage James spun a tale about a crying child in the car to finagle a free ice cream bar out of the vendor.

ingratiate

(v) to get into someone's good graces by doing them a favor or performing a kindness for them In order to ingratiate herself with her new boss, Monica brought her doughnuts on the very first day of work.

eulogize

(v) to give a speech that praises, often at a funeral When the coffin had been interred, the mourners retreated back to the chapel to eulogize the life of the deceased.

circumvent

(v) to go around; to bypass In order to circumvent the horrible rush hour traffic, Blake took a series of side streets and local bypasses, managing to avoid the delays and get to the airport on time.

vacillate

(v) to go back and forth regarding one's opinions or beliefs; to waver and be uncertain Given a choice between apples and oranges, Tim vacillated for hours before finally deciding on oranges.

regress

(v) to go backward; to return to a previous state In spite of having made great strides in the peace talks, on the third day of the summit the representatives regressed into bickering and arguing over minor disagreements.

rehash

(v) to go over one more time; to recapitulate or summarize On the night before the surprise birthday party, Sue was sure to rehash all the key details of the plan, that way everyone knew where to be when the guest of honor arrived.

fluctuate

(v) to go up and down unpredictably The stock market is prone to fluctuating rapidly, an unpredictability that makes working with stocks both risky and exciting for some stockbrokers.

cultivate

(v) to grow or nurture, as in a crop; to encourage or nurture, as in a personal quality or talent Vincent worked to cultivate a sense of pride and stewardship in all that he did, and he ever completed a task carelessly or thoughtlessly.

wane

(v) to grow smaller; to shrink or diminish Afterward, the moon waned until it disappeared from the sky several days later.

wield

(v) to handle (as in a tool or weapon You must be able to lift 200 pounds easily before you are ready to wield a weapon as heavy as the gisarme.

hector

(v) to harass or tease; to bait and bully When Brian found out that his little sister had started to date her first boyfriend, he hectored her endlessly, making her blush with embarrassment and laugh at the same time.

loathe

(v) to hate or despise Korra absolutely loathed the idea of patiently waiting; preferring decisive action and direct engagement, she couldn't stand the feeling of sitting around and passively observing.

deem

(v) to have as an opinion; to consider in a certain light or point of view Only by first proving herself worthy in the eyes of her teacher was Korra deemed prepared to venture out into the world on her own.

abet

(v) to help or aid, especially in some kind of wrongdoing Jack abetted Jill's arson by purchasing jugs of gasoline for her.

hamper

(v) to hinder or restrain (also a noun, a basket To hamper the criminal's escape efforts, the police chief placed roadblocks at each of the town's exits.

repress

(v) to hold back or limit; to contain or put down by force The police chief used intimidation to deter crime and repress illegal activity.

embrace

(v) to hold close; to hold as a belief or notion; to include in something larger; to hug or hold close After not seeing him for two years, she drew her brother in and embraced him closely for three solid minutes.

belittle

(v) to humiliate or make fun of By commenting that the junior varsity division was a colossal joke, Harry belittled Joseph for feeling prideful about their win.

emulate

(v) to imitate Wanting to be just like his big brother, Oscar tried to emulate everything about Rodrigo's personality and mannerisms, even down to the way Rodrigo walked and talked.

mimic

(v) to imitate or copy When Professor Johnson walked in to find one of her students mimicking her voice and manner to the class's amusement, she was most displeased.

foment

(v) to incite; to stir up negative feelings or start civil disobedience Frustrated by the injustice of taxation without representation, the young revolutionaries organized the Boston Tea Party as a means to foment revolution, and in this regard, they were successful.

comprise

(v) to include or contain; to be made up of The book was comprised of six short chapters.

maim

(v) to injure or disable; to cripple The bear maimed the campers so badly that they were unable to walk for weeks.

inculcate

(v) to instill; to impress upon by teaching or instructing After fully inculcating the young scout into the traditions and values of the order, the scout leaders were happy to pronounce him a full-fledged Eagle Scout.

berate

(v) to insult or criticize Harry berated her so much for her tardiness that you'd think that being tardy was a capital offense; after a certain point she told him firmly but politely that she'd heard enough criticism from him.

demean

(v) to insult or deride; to belittle or ridicule Although it wasn't Jordan's intention to demean Penelope or her cooking by declining when she offered to share her meal with him, she nonetheless took it to heart feeling insulted and offended that he would reject her generosity.

impugn

(v) to insult or question the integrity of something To even suggest that I would tell a lie impugns my honor.

meddle

(v) to interfere The con artist went to great lengths to ensure none would meddle with her carefully laid plans.

tamper

(v) to interfere or meddle Without training in its operation, we were prohibited to tamper with the ship's engine.

construe

(v) to interpret Sheldon construed his dog's incessant barking as a sign that someone was trying to break in.

encroach

(v) to intrude or infringe upon; to trespass As urban spaces begin to encroach more and more upon natural habitats, many animals have little choice but adapt to surviving in cityscapes or die out completely for lack of space and resources.

interrogate

(v) to investigate or examine carefully; to question severely The police interrogated the murder suspect about the crime for three hours, but could not get a single answer out of him.

circumscribe

(v) to limit or restrain; to define the limits Nathan lived a life circumscribed by rules, guidelines, and routines—never forget to make the bed, always sleep by 10, remember to floss, never ever speed—which made his life easy and predictable, but also lacking in excitement and adventure.

qualify

(v) to limit or restrict, especially to limit one's approval or agreement "Well, I guess I could qualify that statement some," he said, "I guess I don't know if she's the best tennis player on the planet, but she's certainly the best tennis player in the country."

yoke

(v) to link or join together Hiro realized that by yoking together his uncanny knack for robotics with his all-consuming desire for justice, he'd be able to engineer a plan both novel and ethical, effectively exposing the criminal mastermind without compromising his values.

catalog

(v) to list or keep track of thoroughly Before computer systems were introduced, librarians had to carefully catalog each book on paper.

enumerate

(v) to list or number; to count An average high school student's week-to-week life is choc-full of so many activities, directives, and responsibilities that these demands on their time often seem impossible to enumerate.

seek

(v) to look for; to search for (often used with complement out as in to seek out When she was seeking new employment, she treated the search like a full-time job—waking up early and sending out applications from morning through the afternoon.

confound

(v) to lump together; to confuse The intricate puzzle truly confounded all who tried to solve it.

sustain

(v) to maintain or keep; to support As part of wilderness survival training, the scouts were dropped off in the forest with meager rations, and they had to forage and hunt in the woods in order to find food to sustain themselves.

fawn

(v) to make a fuss over in a servile manner; to flatter excessively The boys fawned over Priscilla in hopes of getting on her good side.

extrapolate

(v) to make a guess or prediction from limited data; to draw a conclusion based on limited information With only limited data available, the astronomer had to extrapolate a theory about the new star's location.

clamor

(v) to make a loud, consistent noise (also a noun, any such noise At the presidential press conference, the reporters clamored loudly for the president's attention, and he had to call on them one by one to address their questions.

drone

(v) to make a low, continuous buzzing or humming sound (also a noun, 1. such a sound 2. a male bee who does no work besides fertilizing the queen 3. an unmanned aerial device The buzzing drone of the bee swarm could be heard halfway down the street.

sneer

(v) to make a mocking facial expression; to show contempt Disgusted with her bad behavior, the principle could not keep the sneer of his face whenever he looked at the student.

allude

(v) to make an indirect reference to something, especially in literature By mentioning that the temperature had dropped, Larry alluded to the fact that he wanted to start a campfire.

apprise

(v) to make aware of; to notify When the general walked into the command center, the officer on duty worked to apprise her of the situation as fast as possible, briefing the general on the most recent developments of the tense situation.

ameliorate

(v) to make better; to try to fix; to ease the suffering or reduce the harmfulness of something In order to ameliorate the effects of the oil spill, the fuel company's scientists developed a bio-engineered form of bacteria to break down the oil at the bottom of the ocean.

clarify

(v) to make clear In order to clarify the written rules of any sport or game, a demonstration is often helpful.

elucidate

(v) to make clear; to explain After drawing several examples on the board and reviewing the specific parts of the theorem several times, the teacher was finally able to elucidate the difficult concept.

jeer

(v) to make fun or mock They jeered him when he got braces, but he mocked them in return years later when they had crooked teeth and he didn't.

incriminate

(v) to make guilty or appear to be guilty of a crime The bits of frosting that caked his shirt collar and sleeves incriminated him beyond alibi; we knew he ate the last donut, and we were certain that we'd make him pay.

estrange

(v) to make hostile; to create distance or alienation, usually between people The estranged brothers had not spoken to each other in fifteen years.

obfuscate

(v) to make less clear; to obscure, especially with confusing language Ginny tried to obfuscate the severity of her rule breaking by using big words, but her teacher saw right through it.

desecrate

(v) to make less sacred; to violate the sanctity or holiness of something With graffiti covering its walls and tar stains on its doorway, the church had a desecrated look.

fluster

(v) to make nervous or anxious Seeing Billy, the love of her life, walk into the room, Clarice became flustered and too nervous to talk.

abbreviate

(v) to make shorter or more brief Some people claim that taking large amounts of Zinc supplements can help to abbreviate the duration of the common cold, but ingesting excessive amounts of the mineral can also permanently alter or destroy your senses of taste and smell.

obviate

(v) to make unnecessary; to prevent from happening or to prevent from being required to happen Heavy rains obviated the need to wash my car. Yes!!

incense

(v) to make very angry Coming home to find that her pet dog had trashed the apartment instantly incensed Celi

nullify

(v) to make void or negative; to make inactive; to cancel The higher-ranking admiral nullified the captain's orders aboard his own ship.

disconcert

(v) to make worried or concerned; to unsettle Although many native San Diegans often complain about being disconcerted by the rain, however rarely it falls, climate specialists know that the severity of California's drought make any rainfall a precious natural resource.

exacerbate

(v) to make worse; to make more severe or more unpleasant Having failed to correctly spell "quantum," in the spelling bee, Joey's humiliation was exacerbated when he tripped and fell off the stage.

skirt

(v) to maneuver around; to avoid Stop trying to skirt the issue of your bad grades; we need to discuss it.

coalesce

(v) to merge together The process of creating a metal alloy involves melting two or more metals down together until they coalesce into one substance, before allowing this combination to cool and harden into an even stronger metal.

lambaste

(v) to mock or scold sharply The fire marshal lambasted the town's mayor for not installing smoke detectors in any public buildings.

oscillate

(v) to move back and forth very rapidly The wave of energy oscillated visibly when seen through an infrared camer

lumber

(v) to move clumsily or awkwardly The sloth, a slow and sedentary animal, lumbers about in a comical yet endearing manner.

lurch

(v) to move in a sudden or halting manner; to stagger Daniel released the clutch in his car, causing it to lurch forward before it stalled once more.

scurry

(v) to move with quick, light steps; to move like a small animal At the sudden noise, the cats scurried under the couch and remained there for the better half of the afternoon.

mediate

(v) to negotiate or resolve difficulties between two parties As the eldest of three, it was Sophie's responsibility to mediate arguments between her two younger sisters, and she did so with the wisdom and fairness afforded her by past experience and compassion.

nurture

(v) to nourish and take care of; to encourage A very caring person, Erica would nurture every wounded bird she found back to health.

foster

(v) to nurture or nourish; to take care of; to harbor Jacqueline fostered a strong sense of familial duty in her children, and they never missed a family event.

derive

(v) to obtain from a specific source The doctor derived a cure to her patient's terminal disease from an obscure medical encyclopedi

coincide

(v) to occur at the same time Mark's birthday coincided with the Valentine's day holiday, a coincidence that never failed to create social calendar scheduling conflicts from one year to the next.

censure

(v) to officially criticize or rebuke; to punish The student was censured with five hours of detention for publicly cursing out his friends at school.

surmount

(v) to overcome With hard work and trust in one another, we can surmount any obstacle life throws at us.

condone

(v) to overlook; to approve of; to fail to condemn or criticize something In general, Minzy was a relaxed parent, but she would not condone any act she perceived as intentional disrespect, and reprimanded her children for such offenses immediately.

eclipse

(v) to overshadow; to outdo someone or something in a way that obscures that thing My race time of three minutes was totally eclipsed by the other competitor's time of fifty-two seconds.

subvert

(v) to overturn or attempt to overturn; to corrupt or overthrow The rival gang faction attempted to subvert the authority of the current leader.

heed

(v) to pay attention to (also a noun, careful attention Advised to heed the oracle's warning, Pila stayed far away from the edge of the cliff, lest she fall as the oracle had predicted.

discern

(v) to perceive or understand; to make vital distinctions Recently, online controversy erupted when a strange visual phenomenon made it difficult for some to discern what color a dress was in a digital photo; some saw the dress as white with gold trim, while others were sure that it was blue with black trim.

dissuade

(v) to persuade against; to discourage I tried to dissuade her from moving to Kansas, but she was dead-set on going, so my efforts were in vain.

cajole

(v) to persuade through flattery or insincerity Having failed to convince his mother to drive him to the prom, Alex resorted to trying to cajole her through insincerely complimenting her hair and outfit.

embed

(v) to place within a surrounding mass; to fix something in a surrounding material Aiming to give the street sign a sturdy support, the construction crew embedded its post in a slab of solid concrete.

frolic

(v) to play and have fun Is there anything quite as satisfying or time consuming as watching online videos of kittens and puppies happily frolicking with one another for hours on end?

burnish

(v) to polish From the way that the burnished steel gleamed in the moonlight, Oren knew that the polished sword was one of Hanzo Hattori's.

sermonize

(v) to preach or give advice as if giving a sermon The principal was so enthusiastic about the fundraiser that she practically sermonized about it as though it were a miracle benefitting the school.

till

(v) to prepare the soil for planting, especially with a plow or hoe Only weeks after the harvest season was over, the Mulligans began to till their soil all over again in an effort to plant their crops at the most opportune moment.

bestow

(v) to present or give (often with the idiomatic complement on Because he was a longtime patron of the school and an accomplished social justice advocate, the university bestowed upon him an honorary degree in praise for a lifetime of service.

rebut

(v) to refute, especially by offering arguments or evidence In an impressive display of debate skill and experience, Maryam calmly and comprehensively rebut each one of her opponent's claims, dismantling her opponent's argument on a point-by-point basis.

rue

(v) to regret or feel sorrow about something Having failed the final exam, Simon rued his decision not to study for it.

repudiate

(v) to reject or counter a charge or insult; to formally deny; to reject as untrue The councilman repudiated all charges of corruption on national television.

jilt

(v) to reject; to cast off, especially after leading on Feeling as though Edward had jilted her after he met someone knew, Victoria vowed never to speak to him again.

rebuff

(v) to reject; to refuse an offer Gina found Preston too thoughtless and mean, so she rebuffed his romantic advances without a second thought.

alleviate

(v) to relieve suffering or pain; to make less severe "Take these pills," said the nurse, "they should alleviate most of the pain."

renovate

(v) to renew or make new After the fire, the house needed to be renovated before people could inhabit it again.

reiterate

(v) to repeat In order to be perfectly clear, the speaker reiterated his points multiple times, hoping this repetition would help the audience to remember his argument.

reprise

(v) to repeat, especially a phrase or verse of music Alan was pleased when the musical cast reprised his favorite song at the end of the show.

supplant

(v) to replace; to take the place of; to render obsolete Computers have nearly supplanted television as the main form of entertainment in this country.

portray

(v) to represent or describe in pictures or words Although the filmmaker sought to capture the historical context of WWII-era Japan as accurately as possible, his depiction of Jiro Horikoshi portrays the famous aeronautical engineer with creative flair, taking liberties with his appearance and personality.

depict

(v) to represent or show, particularly in visual form; to portray Hayao Miyazaki's latest film, The Wind Rises depicts a fictionalized portrayal of the life of Jiro Hirokoshi, a Japanese engineer who designed two fighter jets during World War II.

replicate

(v) to reproduce or make a copy or facsimile An accomplished painter, Charlotte surprised her mother by replicating an old childhood photo with oils on canvas—a gift that thrilled Mrs. Kang to no end.

propagate

(v) to reproduce or multiply

plunder

(v) to rob or take wrongfully, especially in the context of Vikings, pirates, or Wall Street executives The barbarian horde swept across the land, plundering each village until there was nothing left to steal.

wallow

(v) to roll around in something, especially water or mud; to cavort oneself in a lazy and unproductive fashion; to revel in something; to engage in self-indulgent behavior Stop wallowing here in self-pity; get up and do something about your situation.

fester

(v) to rot or decay; to putrefy After falling from the tree, the peach festered for days in the sunlight until nothing but a viscous paste remained.

incite

(v) to rouse up; to encourage (especially a riot or uprising Standing at the head of the crowd and shouting for further violence through a megaphone, Umer came close to inciting a riot.

chafe

(v) to rub against, causing irritation; to annoy These new sandals are very stylish, but they chafe my ankles and are too painful.

despoil

(v) to ruin or destroy The decadent six-layer wedding cake was utterly despoiled when Charlene's dog jumped up onto the table and pounced on it gleefully.

chide

(v) to scold or upbraid Pecola chided Harriet for her impatience and childishness; as Harriet's older sister, it was Pecola's responsibility to scold and check her when she acted out, even though Pecola could scarcely maintain a stern face for long when her little sister cried.

gouge

(v) to scratch or dig into; to scoop out, as if with a chisel or sharp instrument The bear's claws gouged deep grooves in the wooden door as it tried to break into the cabin.

forage

(v) to search for food or sustenance Finding themselves stranded on the deserted island, Jean Claude and Yvette had no choice but to forage for nuts, fruits, and fresh water in the forest in order to survive until the rescue party could find them.

rummage

(v) to search through a large collection of things Tina rummaged through boxes in the attic until she found her old high school yearbooks.

purvey

(v) to sell or offer for sale; to supply At the fishing town's open market, one could easily find vendors purveying bits of tackle, bait and replacement fishing line.

emanate

(v) to send forth; to exude Even though Jessica put her phone on "silent," the loud buzz of the vibrating notification still emanated from her bag, disrupting the class.

scintillate

(v) to send out sparks; to be brilliant or animated Sunlight struck the large diamond and scintillated in the air, casting dazzling and brilliant light throughout the room.

quarantine

(v) to separate because of illness or contagion (also a verb-to isolate because of illness or contagion The Ebola patients had to be quarantined for the safety of the hospital staff.

presage

(v) to serve as a sign of the future; to foretell or foreshadow Cold winds and dark clouds presaged the tempest that would strike later that evening.

allocate

(v) to set aside for a specific purpose; to designate One of Priyanka's responsibilities as club treasurer was to collect all the club's funds and then decide how to allocate them effectively to prioritize important projects over passing concerns.

beset

(v) to set upon; to attack from all sides With finals coming up, a piano recital next week, and the big track meet this weekend, Kyoko felt beset by obligations on all sides, and she couldn't wait for summer vacation when all she would have to worry about was SAT practice.

quiver

(v) to shake or tremble, usually from fear or excitement (also a noun, a collection of arrows or a container that holds many arrows The archer drew a fresh arrow from his quiver and took aim at the stag.

confide

(v) to share a secret or confidence; to tell someone a secret Daria confided in her mother, the only person she could trust, about her pregnancy.

whet

(v) to sharpen, especially a blade or an appetite Snacking on those crackers has only whet my appetite for the main course.

kowtow

(v) to show great deference; to touch one's head to the ground in a show of respect When the Dalai Lama visited the university, Amy was sure to kowtow accordingly so as not to appear disrespectful or uncultured.

emote

(v) to show or display emotion or feeling Because she almost never emoted, I could never tell what she was thinking or feeling.

venerate

(v) to show respect Michiko honored her ancestors by faithfully observing every important holiday set aside for their veneration.

exculpate

(v) to show to not be guilty; to exonerate The final piece of evidence at last exculpated the defendant and proved her innocence once and for all.

ostracize

(v) to shun or avoid socially As punishment for his crime, the young prince was ostracized from the kingdom, forbidden ever to return.

redouble

(v) to significantly increase, usually one's efforts Vowing to redouble their efforts to find the missing hiker, search parties worked through the night to comb the mountainside; their efforts paid off when they finally found the wayward adventurer, shaken up but otherwise healthy.

founder

(v) to sink beneath the water (as of a boat As its hull filled with ice-cold water, the Titanic foundered and eventually sank into the frigid depths.

slumber

(v) to sleep (also a noun, sleep Tired from a long day off training, the recruits easily drifted into a deep slumber.

drench

(v) to soak Even though Franklin had an umbrella on the walk home, the winds and rains were so severe that his clothes were completely drenched by the time he got home anyway.

temper

(v) to soften or moderate; to make less severe; to balance When critiquing a peer's work, it's both constructive and polite to temper your criticism with a bit of encouragement or praise in order not to come across as overly harsh or negative.

sully

(v) to soil or make dirty; to tarnish; to disgrace My professional reputation was sullied when rumors began that I had cheated on my entrance exam to med school.

lull

(v) to soothe or calm; to deceive into a state of unreadiness Lulled into an absent-minded daze by the endless scroll through Tumblr posts on his phone, Jack allowed his eyes to glaze over as he slowly drifted off to sleep.

mollify

(v) to soothe or comfort Placing the pacifier in the baby's mouth mollified it enough to make it stop crying.

palliate

(v) to soothe or soften; to make calmer or less painful When Kangsan came down with a fever and headache, Calvin gave him an aspirin to try to palliate both symptoms, knowing that aspirin could soothe aches and cool a fever.

pontificate

(v) to speak in a long-winded and pompous style Feeling as though he wasn't a trained expert on the topic at hand, Theo made the wise decision to refrain from pontificating on the subject; instead, he offered a brief, frank account of his personal experience, winning him points for both modesty and honesty.

decry

(v) to speak out against; to criticize The president decried the loss of life during the war on national television.

expedite

(v) to speed up; to accomplish very quickly In order to ensure that your package arrives at the destination on time, you'll have to pay extra to put in an order to expedite your delivery.

lavish

(v) to spend freely; to bestow generously; to heap upon excessively) to spend freely; to bestow generously; to heap upon excessively (adj. To win her favor, countless suitors lavished Contessa Codicia with numerous expensive gifts, from gloves made of diamonds to entire dinner sets of gold.

vitiate

(v) to spoil or impair the effectiveness of something The school's promise to reduce class sizes was vitiated by an influx of 200 new students.

proliferate

(v) to spread or reproduce Enjoying a swell in popularity, the new philosophy proliferated across the continent.

disseminate

(v) to spread; to spread like a seed, especially concerning ideas or information Now that technological phenomena such as the "smart phone" and free "WI-FI" in public places are so widespread, it has never been easier to disseminate information quickly and effectively.

pilfer

(v) to steal something that is of little value Al saw no harm in pilfering the occasional loaf of bread or piece of fruit from the local vendors, as he felt that the wealthy merchants would hardly be affected by such petty theft.

desist

(v) to stop; to cease By order of the court, you are required to immediately cease and desist all attempts to prosecute your case.

falter

(v) to stumble; to hesitate or fail in some way American gymnast, Kerri Strugg, made Olympic history when she completed a routine without faltering and stuck her final landing, despite having sustained a significant ankle injury early on in the performance.

stymie

(v) to stump; to present an obstruction or difficulty A retinal scan lock stymied the efforts of the thieves to steal the priceless diamonds.

connote

(v) to suggest or allude; to bring to mind by association, usually in terms of vocabulary or language Certain symbolic associations are so engrained in our culture that we rarely think about where they came from; we connote light with good, darkness with evil, perhaps because our ancestors feared nocturnal predators and worked through the daylight hours.

recapitulate

(v) to summarize or repeat the central points of something; to paraphrase On the day before the final, Professor McGonagall gave a review presentation recapitulating all of the major points of the last month's lectures—a clear and helpful summary for which the students were notably grateful.

subsist

(v) to support life Stranded in the desert, we were forced to subsist only on cactus roots and snakes.

endorse

(v) to support or advocate; to officially acknowledge I believe strongly in her philosophies of governance, so I fully endorsed Anita's bid for mayor.

buttress

(v) to support or bolster; to prop up (also a noun, any such support Additional reinforcements were necessary to buttress the crumbling structure.

champion

(v) to support or defend a cause An outspoken ecologist, Eunice championed the causes of recycling and conservation of water, volunteering to teach workshops on sustainability and writing letters to congress urging them to pass more conservation laws.

supersede

(v) to surpass or go beyond; to replace The president warned the senator not to supersede her authority by trying to alter presidential orders.

transcend

(v) to surpass; to go beyond the limits Flora's ordeal of dying, visiting the other side and then being resurrected a day later transcended the human experience.

encompass

(v) to surround or include The moat encompassed the entire castle to discourage invaders.

transpose

(v) to switch places; to change the relative order or position Because the song was originally written in an octave too low for Jeremy to sing, he had to transpose the notes up a position to make the composition more easy to perform.

detract

(v) to take away from; to diminish Not wanting to detract attention from the performance, he waited for the intermission before getting up to go to the restroom.

gibe

(v) to tease or ridicule When Marian first got braces, his classmates gibed him for the unsightly metal grill that seemed to overtake his entire mouth, but after the braces came off senior year, Marian was voted "best smile" in the yearbook, making it all worth it somehow.

ruminate

(v) to think about extensively (also, to chew-especially of a cow or other ruminant Go to your room and ruminate about what you've done wrong until I come to get you for dinner.

contemplate

(v) to think about or consider deeply On summer nights, Helen liked to lay down on her roof to look up at the stars just thinking; something about the twinkling lights against the blue black darkness helped her to contemplate the finer points of her memories, experiences, and hopes.

muse

(v) to think about something; to meditate or contemplate 2. (n. Long since enamored with astronomy and astrophysics, Su-chin spent many a cloudless evening looking through her telescope and musing on the mysteries of the cosmos.

reminisce

(v) to think back fondly about the past We all took time at his funeral to reminisce about the good times we had with Joseph.

traverse

(v) to travel over or across Even the most experienced sailors refused to traverse the treacherous waters off the coast.

trivialize

(v) to treat as if it were unimportant; to belittle or treat in a condescending manner Xander was even more upset when, after knocking over and breaking his MVP-of-the-year soccer trophy, Jessica trivialized his feelings by saying, "It's not like it was a varsity trophy."

coddle

(v) to treat very gently; to spoil Henrietta coddled her sons for years, and they grew up to be spoiled brats.

ruffle

(v) to unsettle or make less smooth, especially with feathers The rollercoaster was certainly a fun experience, but Calvin was secretly annoyed that riding it had ruffled his carefully constructed hairstyle.

navigate

(v) to use a compass, maps, directions, or the environment to find one's way The lost soldier used the stars to find her way back to base through the desert.

deplete

(v) to use up; to gradually consume the resources If we don't start to seriously work towards conserving water, we will have depleted all of California's reserves by as early as 2016. Oops.

vouch

(v) to verify; to swear for or on behalf of something or someone I need your parents to trust me, so please vouch for my honesty.

frequent

(v) to visit often Rosa's liked to frequent the café on the way to school every morning for coffee and a bagel; she visited so often, the cashier occasionally gave her coffee free of charge.

waddle

(v) to walk awkwardly, rocking side to side like a duck or penguin They called him "Ducky," as a term of endearment: much loved though he was, there was no denying that he walked with a peculiar, duck-like rocking motion that could only be described as waddling.

swagger

(v) to walk in a confident or arrogant manner Puffed up by their homecoming game win against their biggest rivals, the football team walked into the dance swaggering as though they were war heroes.

amble

(v) to walk in a leisurely way We got off our bikes and ambled leisurely through the park.

saunter

(v) to walk in a relaxed, casual way Gretel casually sauntered down the street, taking her time walking home.

trudge

(v) to walk in a slow, plodding way We trudged slowly through the knee-high mud.

squander

(v) to waste; to spend irresponsibly Predictably irresponsible, Lucas squandered all of the money he received in his inheritance on partying, clothing, and new cars, and as a result, he had completely run out of funds before his 21st birthday.

monitor

(v) to watch or observe closely We had to monitor the progress of the experiment closely to avoid making any careless errors.

enervate

(v) to weaken A full day of yard work in the July heat had completely enervated him, and he slumped into a chair more exhausted than he'd been in some time.

undermine

(v) to weaken Elena undermined her teacher's authority by whispering insults behind his back that only her friends could hear.

erode

(v) to wear away over time The statue's face had been eroded by wind and rain to the point of being completely removed.

encumber

(v) to weigh down or limit significantly; to hinder the progress; to burden Having completed the mountain hike quickly and easily in his youth, Daniel found that bringing his small children along really encumbered his progress.

abdicate

(v) to willingly give up one's rule, especially a king or queen; to give up any position of power willingly The president abdicated his position to save face before he could be forcibly removed from office.

taut

(v) very tight; tense; stretched to the point of being very tight The rope was pulled taut as the two teams struggled to win the game of tug-o-war.

musing 1

(v.) absorbed in thought 2. Lost in a daydream of white sand beaches and emerald waters, her idle musing was interrupted by the sound of the telephone.