Magoosh Basic Word List 6/7

evenhanded

adjective: without partiality Teachers often have trouble being evenhanded to all of their varied students.

melancholy

noun: a deep, long-lasting sadness Hamlet is a figure of tremendous melancholy: he doesn't have a truly cheerful scene throughout the entire play.

redress

noun: an act of making something right Synonyms : remediation , remedy Barry forgot his wife's birthday two years in a row, and was only able to redress his oversight by surprising his wife with a trip to Tahiti.

forthright

adjective: characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion Synonyms : blunt , candid , frank , free-spoken , outspoken , plainspoken , point-blank , straight-from-the-shoulder I did not expect the insurance agent to give us any straight answers, but I was pleasantly surprised by how forthright he was.

industrious

adjective: characterized by hard work and perseverance Synonyms : hardworking , tireless , untiring Pete was an industrious student, completing every assignment thoroughly and on time.

humdrum

adjective: dull and lacking excitement Synonyms : commonplace , prosaic , unglamorous , unglamourous,monotonous Having grown up in a humdrum suburb, Jacob relished life in New York City after moving.

insipid

adjective: dull and uninteresting Synonyms : bland , flat , flavorless , flavourless , savorless , savourless , vapid The movie director was known for hiring beautiful actors in order to deflect attention away from the insipid scripts he would typically use.

docile

adjective: easily handled or managed; willing to be taught or led or supervised or directed Synonyms : gentle Barnyard animals are considerably more docile than the wild animals.

presumptuous

adjective: excessively forward Synonyms : assuming , assumptive Many felt that Barney was presumptuous in moving into the large office before the management even made any official announcement of his promotion

precarious

adjective: fraught with danger Synonyms : parlous , perilous , touch-and-go People smoke to relax and forget their cares, but ironically, in terms of health risks, smoking is far more precarious than either mountain-climbing or skydiving.

cavalier

adjective: given to haughty disregard of others Synonyms : high-handed Percy dismissed the issue with a cavalier wave of his hand.

piquant

adjective: having an agreeably pungent taste Synonyms : savory , savoury , spicy , zesty The chef, with a mere flick of the salt shaker, turned the bland tomato soup into a piquant meal.

eccentric

adjective: highly unconventional or unusual (usually describes a person) Synonyms : eccentric person , flake , geek , oddball Mozart was well-known for his eccentricities, often speaking words backward to confuse those around him.

cerebral

adjective: involving intelligence rather than emotions or instinct Synonyms : intellectual A cerebral analysis of most pop music finds it to be simple and childish, but that ignores the point--the music's effect on the listener. This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

lethargic

adjective: lacking energy Synonyms : unenrgetic Nothing can make a person more lethargic than a big turkey dinner.

rakish

adjective: marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness Synonyms : devil-may-care , raffish As soon as he arrived in the city, the rakish young man bought some drugs and headed straight for the seedy parts of town.

foolhardy

adjective: marked by defiant disregard for danger or consequences Synonyms : heady , rash , reckless The police regularly face dangerous situations, so for a police officer not to wear his bullet-proof vest is foolhardy.

incumbent

adjective: necessary (for someone) as a duty or responsibility Middle managers at times make important decisions, but real responsibility for the financial well-being of the corporation is ultimately incumbent on the CEO.

irascible

adjective: quickly aroused to anger Synonyms : choleric , hot-tempered , hotheaded , quick-tempered , short-tempered If Arthur's dog is not fed adequately, he becames highly irascible, even growling at his own shadow.

analogous

adjective: similar in some respects but otherwise different Synonyms : correspondent In many ways, the Internet's transformative effect on society has been analogous to that of the printing press.

intermittent

adjective: stopping and starting at irregular intervals The intermittent thunder continued and the night was punctuated by cracks of lightning - a surreal sleepless night.

uncanny

adjective: suggesting the operation of supernatural influences; surpassing the ordinary or normal Synonyms : eldritch , unearthly , weird,preternatural Reggie has an uncanny ability to connect with animals: feral cats will readily approach him, and sometimes even wild birds will land on his finger.

cohesive

adjective: well integrated, forming a united whole A well-written, cohesive essay will keep on topic at all times, never losing sight of the main argument.

wanton

adjective: without check or limitation; showing no moral restraints to one's anger, desire, or appetites Synonyms : easy , light , loose , promiscuous , sluttish Due to wanton behavior and crude language, the drunk man was thrown out of the bar and asked to never return.

conundrum

noun: a difficult problem Synonyms : brain-teaser , enigma , riddle Computers have helped solve some of the mathematical conundrums which have puzzled man for many centuries.

veneer

noun: covering consisting of a thin superficial layer that hides the underlying substance Mark Twain referred to the Victorian Period in America as the "Gilded Age", implying the ample moral corruption that lay beneath a mere veneer of respectability

clemency

noun: leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a person or agency charged with administering justice Synonyms : mercifulness , mercy In the final moments of the trial, during his closing speech, Phillips was nearly begging the judge for clemency.

tribulation

noun: something, especially an event, that causes difficulty and suffering Synonyms : trial , visitation As of 2013, nearly 1.5 million Syrians have fled their country hoping to escape the tribulations of a civil war tearing their country to pieces.

profusion

noun: the property of being extremely abundant Synonyms : cornucopia , profuseness , richness When Maria reported that she had been visited by Jesus Christ and had proof, a profusion of reporters and journalists descended on the town.

finagle

verb: achieve something by means of trickery or devious methods Synonyms : manage , wangle Steven was able to finagle one of the last seats on the train by convincing the conductor that his torn stub was actually a valid ticket.

ascribe

verb: attribute or credit to Synonyms : assign , attribute , impute History ascribes The Odyssey and The Iliad to Homer, but scholars now debate whether he was a historical figure or a fictitious name.

prevail

verb: be widespread in a particular area at a particular time; be current: During the labor negotiations, an air of hostility prevailed in the office. verb: prove superior Before the cricket match, Australia was heavily favored, but India prevailed

rile

verb: cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations Synonyms : annoy , bother , chafe , devil , get at , get to , gravel , irritate , nark , nettle , rag , vex Dan is usually calm and balanced, but it takes only one intense glare from Sabrina to rile him.

glean

verb: collect information bit by bit Synonyms : harvest , reap Herb has given us no formal statement about his background, but from various hints, I have gleaned that he grew up in difficult circumstances

implicate

verb: convey a meaning; imply Synonyms : entail By saying that some of the guests were uncomfortable, the manager implicated to the hotel staff that it needed to be more dilligent. verb: to indicate in wrongdoing, usually a crime The crime boss was implicated for a long list of crimes, ranging from murder to disturbing the peace.

besmirch

verb: damage the good name and reputation of someone Synonyms : asperse , calumniate , defame , denigrate , slander , smear , smirch , sully The prince's distasteful choice of words besmirched not only his own name, but the reputation of the entire royal family.

coalesce

verb: fuse or cause to grow together Synonyms : blend , combine , commingle , conflate , flux , fuse , immix , meld , merge , mix Over time, the various tribes coalesced into a single common culture with one universal language.

delegate

verb: give an assignment to (a person) Synonyms : assign , depute , designate Since the senior manager had to go on many international business trips, she was forced to delegate many of her responsibilities to two lower-level managers. This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

belittle

verb: lessen the importance, dignity, or reputation of Synonyms : diminish,denigrate , derogate , minimize A good teacher will never belittle his students, but will instead empower them.

incense

verb: make furious Synonyms : exasperate , infuriate When Herb bought football tickets for a game on the day of their wedding anniversary, Jill was incensed. This word has other definitions but this is the most important one to study

buttress

verb: make stronger or defensible China's economy has been buttressed by a global demand for the electronic parts the country manufactures.

antedate

verb: precede in time Synonyms : antecede , forego , forgo , precede , predate, foredate Harry was so unknowledgable that he was unaware the Egyptian pharaohs antedated the American Revolution.

emulate

verb: strive to equal or match, especially by imitating; compete with successfully To really become fluent in a new language, emulate the speech patterns and intonation of people who speak the language.

preempt

verb: take the place of or have precedence over Synonyms : displace A governmental warning about an imminent terrorist attack would preempt ordinary network programming on television.

behooves

verb: to be one's duty or obligation The teacher looked down at the student and said, "It would behoove you to be in class on time and complete your homework, so that you don't repeat freshman English for a third straight year."

begrudge

verb: to envy someone for possessing or enjoying something Synonyms : resent Sitting all alone in his room, Harvey begrudged the happiness of the other children playing outside his window. verb: to give reluctantly We never begrudge money spent on ourselves.

consecrate

verb: to make holy or set apart for a high purpose Synonyms : bless , hallow , sanctify At the church of Notre Dame in France, the new High Altar was consecrated in 1182.

deride

verb: treat or speak of with contempt The nun derided the students for trying to sneak insects and worms into the classroom.

fawn

verb: try to gain favor by extreme flattery Synonyms : bootlick , kotow , kowtow , suck up , toady , truckle The media fawned over the handsome new CEO, praising his impeccable sense of style instead of asking more pointed questions.

avert

verb: turn away Afraid to see the aftermath of the car crash, I averted my eyes as we drove by. verb: ward off or prevent Synonyms : avoid , debar , deflect , fend off , forefend , forfend , head off , obviate , stave off , ward off The struggling videogame company put all of its finances into one final, desperate project to avert bankruptcy.