aberration

n.

a straying from typical behavior We knew that there must have been a medical reason for him to react that way; his behavior was an aberration from his usual gentle personality.

abhor
detest, hate

v.

I abhor the violence in movies today.

abridge abstruse acclaim accost

v.

v.

shorten, condense, reduce You must abridge this newspaper article so it will fit on the front page.

adj.

difficult to understand, obscure The professor's writings and teachings were so abstruse that many students avoided taking his classes.

v.

approve, praise The movie has won many awards and has been acclaimed by many critics.

confront, approach boldly Dan accosted his friend Kelly because he heard she was saying nasty things about him and he wanted to find out first-hand if she was truly saying those things.

accoutrements
equipment, provisions

n.

All the accoutrements are in place for the children's party, from the pinata to all the delicious food I know they are going to enjoy.

adept
skilled at

adj.

He was adept at borrowing money from his parents.

adroit

adj.

skillful, adept He was adroit at building the shelter out of logs.

adulation adversity aesthetic

n.

praise, respect, worship She was received with such adulation that they gave her a standing ovation.

n.

misfortune, hardship Some people respond very well when faced with adversity.

adj.

artistic, beautiful, elegant The building was aesthetically pleasing and quickly became a popular city landmark.

affable

adj.

friendly, kind His affable personality made it easy for him to make friends.

altruism

n.

generous unselfishness The altruism shown during this time of difficulty makes me proud to be a part of the community.

amalgam

n.

combination, mixture The model UN club at the school represented an amalgam of students, reflecting the real United Nations.

ambiguous ambivalent ameliorate amiable

adj.

adj.

unclear, confusing His directions were so ambiguous that we got lost going to the stadium.

adj.

undecided, unsure She was ambivalent as to whether or not she should take the job.

v.

improve, make positive strides The generous donation will help ameliorate some of the problems at the university.

friendly, agreeable He had such an amiable personality that it made it hard to dislike him.

amicable

adj.

friendly For the sake of the children, their parents tried to have an amicable divorce settlement.

anachronistic analogous
similar, alike

adj.

misdated, having an error in time When you write about someone's life, you have to be careful to avoid anachronistic events in that person's life.

adj.

Young monkeys chasing each other up a tree for play is analogous to how they will escape from predators as adults.

anecdote

n.

personal story, biographical account Because she had just gone through a similar situation, Darlene was greatly amused by her friend's anecdote about the terrible things that happened while stuck in the plane on a runway for four hours.

antagonistic
hostile, opposed

adj.

They were antagonistic to every suggestion I made about rules of the dorm.

anxious

adj.

uneasy, worried Even though she studied hard, the student was still anxious as to how she would do on the test.

apathy ardor
n.

n.

not caring He showed apathy towards the people who helped him get elected as mayor.

passion, dedication He showed such ardor for the part, that he was given the acting role immediately.

arrogant

adj.

insulting, overconfident His arrogant behavior in court made the judge give him a warning.

articulate assiduous astute attest

adj.

adj.

well-spoken, ability to speak well Because of her articulate speech, everyone voted for her.

adj.

hard-working, tireless The two assiduous students got A's on their papers.

mentally sharp, skilled She was very astute when it came to understanding the importance of saving for retirement.

v.

certify, give proof, declare to be true The physical trainer had many satisfied people that could attest to his ability to get overweight customers to lose weight and keep it off.

audacious auditory

adj.

bold, daring, unafraid Because of his audacious nature, he wanted to experience extreme skiing in the Alps.

adj.

having to do with hearing Leon was an auditory learner, preferring to hear a lecture to remember the important facts than writing down notes from the smart board.

augment
add to, increase

v.

I hope to augment my allowance by getting a job after school.

authority

n.

person in command, person with specific knowledge The student made an appointment with the mayor as she was an authority on how the local govenment, and could help with his research paper.

autonomous

adj.

self-governing, self-determined The autonomous country celebrated the tenth anniversary of the date when they first became free.

avant-garde

n.

something different or unexpected in the arts, experimental Frank Zappa's use of a Southern California teenager speaking slang throughout the song "Valley Girl" perfectly showed his ability to create songs that were avant-garde.

aversion

n.

hatred, dislike She has an aversion towards eating any kind of green vegetables.

belligerent
hostile, harsh

adj.

The belligerent group had to be restrained from breaking into the president's office.

benefactor benevolent benign berate bereft blithe

adj.

n.

one who makes a gift (when someone gives money to a charity, for example) The charity was deeply grateful to the benefactor who donated a million dollars.

adj.

kind , generous The benevolent teacher gave much of her time and money to help us with our school play.

harmless, mild He was happy when the lump on his neck turned out to be benign.

v.

yell at, scold His mom did not want to berate him in front of his friends, so she called him into the house.

adj.

without, deprived of After witnessing the accident the woman was bereft of all emotion.

adj.

carefree, joyous Her blithe manner made it easier for the children to adapt to their new school.

bolster brevity

v.

to support or enhance His argument was bolstered when new evidence was presented that confirmed his side of the story.

n.

conciseness, shortness We were thrilled with the brevity of all of the speeches, which gave us more time to enjoy all of the day's festivities.

burgeoning
growing city.

adj.

prospering, thriving, expanding The mayor was concerned that their would not be enough resources for the burgeoning population of the rapidly

buttress
brace, support

v.

The Olympic runner was buttressed by his family's appearance at his race.

cacophony cajole
v.

n.

noise, discord, loud sounds The cacophony in the lobby made it difficult to hear the keynote speaker.

coax, promise, persuade with flattery Sally cajoled her boyfriend to see the lastest romantic comedy with her by promising to see the next movie of his choice when it was released.

candor

n.

honesty, truthfulness The candor of her speech will definitely get her more votes on election day.

cantankerous
grouchy, disagreeable

adj.

The baseball fans became quite cantakerous after their team lost the World Series.

capricious caress
v.

adj.

indecisive, fickle Her capricious nature made it hard for her to move up the corporate ladder.

soothe, cuddle The little girl caressed her new puppy as she gently stroked its fur.

carping

adj.

finding fault in something His carping personality made it very hard for him to fit in with the team.

castigate caustic

v.

criticize, chastise, condemn They knew the president was going to castigate his financial advisor for his manipulative and controlling actions.

adj.

harsh, bitter, severe Her caustic article in the newspaper upset all the actors in the play.

censure cerebral

v.

criticize, reprimand, blame They will have to censure him for his terrible behavior during the committee meeting.

adj.

very smart, intellectual, brainy Though the chemist often used a methodical and cerebral approach in his experiments, he would occassionally proceed merely on a hunch would could be rewarding.

charismatic

adj.

energetic, vital The motivational speaker was charismatic in his approach to get the audience to look at things more optimistically.

charlatan

n.

phony, fraud, imposter We knew the man was a charlatan when he could not correctly answer any of the questions asked by the police.

chauvinistic

adj.

intolerant, bigoted, biased Though no one else seemed to mind, my grandfather was being chauvinistic by not allowing my wife join the men in my family for the annual camping trip.

circumscribed
limited or confined

adj.

On the graduate school test, the students are allowed to use calculators only on a small set of circumscribed problems.

circumspect cogent
adj.

adj.

careful, cautious He was very circumspect when he addressed the diverse congregation in church.

logical, rational, convincing She gave such a cogent argument that we all changed our minds and backed her up.

coherent

adj.

clear, easy to understand There was such coherent evidence against him that jury quickly found him guilty as charged.

complacent compliant

adj.

satisfied, contented, smug The student was complacent after she scored above her expectations on the test.

adj.

agreeable, yielding, submissive They were compliant when we told them about the new rules.

comprehend
understand, figure out

v.

After working hard to work out the problem, the student was able to comprehend the algebra question.

conciliatory concise
adj.

adj.

always giving in, making peace They became more conciliatory because they really wanted to sell the house.

brief, to the point The story about his vacation was concise so no one fell asleep.

concord

n.

agreement, treaty Even though they were normally distrustful one another, the two neighbors formed a concord to fight off the wolved attacking and eating their sheep.

condemn

v.

to criticize; to indicate a strong disapproval of The student was condemned for cheating on the test he needed to pass to graduate.

conflagration
conflict, fight

n.

The pricipal tried to calm the conflagration between the two students.

conform
adapt, adjust to

v.

The standards were tough enough during college, but the student had to conform to even tougher requirements to succeed in law school.

confounded congenial
adj.

v.

confused He didn't know why she began to cry. It really confounded him.

pleasant The congenial atmosphere made us feel very relaxed on vacation.

conscientious

adj.

careful He was a very conscientious writer and always double checked his facts before printing them in the college newspaper.

contempt

n.

hatred, lack of respect He showed contempt towards the judge even though the judge was trying to help him.

contradiction conundrum convoluted copious cordial

adj. n.

n.

an opposite, reflecting difference The oxymoron "jumbo shrimp" is a contradiction in terms.

riddle, problem It was a conundrum as to why the television wouldn't work.

adj.

intricate, involved His argument was so convoluted that the jury was having a difficult time following his explanation.

abundant, plentiful During his thirty year career, the hardworking artist produced a copious amount of high quality paintings.

adj.

gracious, kind Her cordial greeting at the party made us immediately feel comfortable in her house

corollary

n.

conclucion, logical inferene

It may be said that absence makes the heart grow fonder but a corollary of that statement is that one who is out of sight is also out of mind.

corrective

n.

means of fixing a mistake The contact lens was used as a corrective to fix his bad eyesight.

correspond

v.

be in agreement, go with something else Since the notes Stan wrote down from the lecture corresponded perfectly with what the professor had displayed, he was well prepared for the exam.

cosmopolitan

adj.

worldly, having knowledge of many different things After their son returned from his summer trip overseas, the parents noticed that he was far more cosmopolitan by being exposed to so many different people, places, and events.

covert cower crass

adj.

hidden, secret The intercepted letter was immediately sent to the crime lab to see if there was any covert message in the text.

v.

recoil, shrink from We knew the small child would cower in the corner of the room if the owners let their large dog into the house.

adj.

crude, unrefined, having bad manners His crass behavior made everyone leave the party early.

crucial

adj.

essential, important, necessary Hard training and practice is crucial for the team in order to win the championship.

cultivate curative

v.

to improve the growth of The teacher tried to cultivate a love of reading in her students.

adj.

healing, medicinal, therapeutic Anna enjoyed green tea both for the taste as well as for its curative abilities in ridding the body of antioxidants which can be harmful to be the body.

curtail

v.

shorten, reduce She had to curtail any physical activity after the operation.

daunting

adj.

difficult, seemingly impossible The daredevil did not seem upset at the daunting task of driving his motorcyle over 45 tractor-trailers.

dearth

n.

scarcity, shortage The dearth of science teachers lead to the increased number of students in each class.

debacle

n.

catastrophe, incredible defeat, downfall The debacle that occurred on the field showed how much better prepared the other team was for this championship game.

debilitate
to make weak

v.

The football player suffered a debilitating injury that caused him to retire.

decorous decry deft

v.

adj.

proper, polite, well-mannered His decorous behavior made it easy for us to enjoy his company.

degrade, humiliate Do not decry the efforts of your teammates in front of the student body.

adj.

handy, skilled, clever handling of something The surgeon came highly recommended not just for his knowledge and credentials, but also because he was known for his deft handling of the surgical tools.

defunct

adj.

no longer functioning or existing That old school building is now defunct; it is not being used anymore.

demagogue

n.

firebrand, speaker who brings out strong emotions Though what the speaker said sounded good on the surface, the attendant at the lecture was put off by some of the harsh language of the demagogue.

demonstrative denigrate denounce

v.

adj.

characterized by the open expression of emotion The couple was very demonstrative, holding hands and kissing all the time.

to put down verbally, criticize They tried to denigrate the image of the rock star but no one believed them.

v.

condemn, critcize, censure The astronomers denounced the predictions of the TV astrologist for predicting the end of the world based on the location of Mars in relation to Venus.

deprive

v.

withhold, remove from possession The wrestler deprived himself of fattening foods so he could stay within his weight class for the upcoming competition.

deride

v.

mock, scoff at, heap scorn upon The horror fan derided the critics' opinions of the movie since she felt they never thought they felt any horror movie was ever any good.

destitute

adj.

extremely poor He and his family became destitute after losing all his money in the stock market.

detractor

n.

one who does not support something The journalist was a detractor of the current administration; he regularly wrote negative articles about the president and his staff.

devious digress

adj.

sneaky, tricky Your devious behavior will probably get you thrown out of the club.

v.

to stray away from a main topic in writing or speaking The longer his story went on, the more he began to digress from his original topic.

dilemma

n.

difficulty, difficult situation He was in a dilemma as to how he was gong to pay for his new car.

dilettante

n.

one who takes up something for amusement, dabbler Carly considered herself a dilettante when writing her stories; they were merely for her own amusement and had no intention of getting them published or sold.

diligent

adj.

hard-working The diligent student wrote a wonderful paper for his English class.

diminutive
small, tiny

adj.

The diminutive dog beat out all of the larger breeds and won top prize at the dog show.

disavow discern

v.

to deny knowledge or responsibility of The man disavowed any knowledge of what happened the day the money was stolen.

v.

distinguish, detect It is so difficult to discern any different features on the identical twins that the only ones who can tell them apart are their parents.

discerning

adj.

observant, having an awareness of His discerning business skills made it easy for him to choose the next manager.

discretion disdain
v.

n.

cautious, having good judgment Please use discretion when you choose the new president of the company.

scorn, treat with contempt, despise The long-time actress disdained the tendency of many younger actresses to agree to go nude just to get movie roles.

dishearten
depress, discourage

v.

Even though the olympic gymnast was disheartened by the result in his individual event, he was encouraged that the team as a whole would receive a medal.

disparage

v.

belittle, show disrespect for, say unkind things about It is not nice to disparage the work he did in art class, he tried his best.

disreputable disseminate divisive dogged

adj.

adj.

shameful, disgraceful Because of his disreputable behavior, he was not allowed to play in the basketball playoff game.

v.

disperse, broadcast, announce The candidate for Congress disseminated his policy proposals in the local papers as well as on television.

creating division or separation The new law was very divisive among the citizens; some strongly supported it and some were against it.

adj.

stubborn, persistent He was dogged about trying to find out who had played a practical joke on him.

dogmatic dubious

adj.

stubborn, absolutely sure He was so dogmatic about his answer that the other members on the panel became uncomfortable.

adj.

doubtful, skeptical, questionable It was dubious as to why the man gave such a large donation to the school.

dumbfounded
confused, surprised

v.

She was dumbfounded by his decision to drop out of school.

dupe

v.

to deceive a person The jeweler duped the man into believing the diamond was real.

eccentric ecstatic edifice

adj.

odd, strange The old man was so eccentric that they were told not to "trick or treat" at his house.

adj.

very happy She was ecstatic when she was chosen as head of the company.

n.

large and imposing building or structure On their first trip to Washington, D.C., the family from Iowa was so impressed and overwhelemed by the Washington Momument as they had never seen an edifice nearly that large before.

efficient
vacation.

adj.

effective, useful Because she was efficent with her money, the student was able to make her allowance last through the entire

elated

adj.

overjoyed, very happy He was elated when he won the scholarship to the prestigious university.

eloquent elusive

adj.

well-spoken His presentation was so eloquent that they hired him immediately.

adj.

hard to express or define, difficult to catch The detective found both the murder suspect as well as the best way to arrest him elusive.

embellish eminent
well-known

v.

to make beautiful by decorating; to add fictitious details to a story The student embellished his essay by adding details that weren?t quite true.

adj.

She was an eminent politician; her face was recognized all over the world.

emphatic

adj.

expressed clearly and with emphasis The man stated his strong opposition to the policy emphatically, leaving no doubt where he stood in the minds of his peers.

emulate

v.

try to be like, imitate She respected her biology professor so much that she wanted to emulate him when she graduated from college.

encumbrance

n.

difficulty, hindrance, burden It was difficult enough for the summer traveler to tour the city with his own backpack without the added encumbrance of having to carry his friend's belongings who sprained his ankle.

enervating enhance enigma

v.

adj.

exhausting My enthusiastic kindergarten class was enervating me by the end of the day.

improve The new video camera really did enhance the picture.

n.

puzzle It was an enigma as to why he decided to shorten his vacation.

enigmatic
odd, puzzling

adj.

People had trouble getting used to his strange and enigmatic behavior.

enmity

n.

hatred, dislike She showed great enmity towards the people who had committed this horrible crime.

entourage entrusted

n.

associates, companions The movie star rarely left home without her entourage of friends and bodyguards.

v.

trusted; gave responsibility to He entrusted her with his life and he knew that she would not let him down.

enunciation

n.

articulation, pronunciation When you read for a part in the play, it is extremely important that your enunciation be crisp and clear so that those sitting in the back rows can hear and understand you.

ephemeral equivocal eradicate erratic

adj.

adj.

existing for a short time, fleeting The popularity of many rock groups is ephemeral, especially those with one hit wonders.

adj.

uncertain, open to interpretation Due to inconsistent evidence, the results of the investigation were equivocal.

v.

erase, remove The money will be used to develop a vaccine that will hopefully eradicate this awful disease.

odd, inconsistent They decided to call the police because of his erratic behavior.

erroneous

adj.

mistaken, derived from error The student's sloppy calculations caused her to arrive at an erroneous answer.

esoteric

adj.

hard to understand, known only to a chosen few Much of the language that neuroscientists use is so esoteric that most people will not be able to understand the conversation.

espouse

v.

support, stand behind, defend The football coach espoused the theory that doing well in school was a good idea for his players as that would translate well do doing well on the field as well.

euphoric

adj.

happy, overjoyed They were in a euphoric state after having won the lottery.

evanescent exacerbate

adj.

fleeting, passing, short-lived The evanescent rainbow was beautiful after the sun shower.

v.

make something worse, anger, incite His comments are beginning to exacerbate the already upset crowd.

expropriate
to take possession of

v.

The police officer had to expropriate his car to chase after the criminal; taking the man's car was the only chance the officer had to catch the bad guy.

extol

v.

to praise highly The student's project was extolled at the science fair for its in-depth work and unique findings.

extravagant extroverted

adj.

excessive, extreme His extravagant spending made it impossible for him to pay his credit card bills.

adj.

outgoing, sociable Because he was extroverted, he was immediately promoted to head salesman.

falsify

v.

fake, deceive Because the hiring manager found out the job applicant had falsified her qualifications, she wasn't hired.

fastidious fervent
adj.

adj.

meticulous, fussy His roommate in college was so fastidious that it was hard to live with him.

passionate, intense The fervent actor received rave reviews in the newspaper column.

fickle

adj.

changing frequently with regards to one's loyalty and interests She was so fickle it took her a long time to decide where to go on vacation.

finagle

v.

maneuver, manipulate The corrupt accountant finagled the income report to make it seem like the company was doing better financially than it really was.

florid

adj.

showy, ornate The florid wallpaper made me feel like I was in an arboretum.

flourish

v.

thrive, bloom, grow These bushes will flourish in this sunny environment.

foreboding

adj.

warning of something bad The foreboding music during the horror film indicated that something bad was about to happen to the teenager in the film.

fortuitous frank
adj.

adj.

lucky, happening by chance in a positive way It is fortuitous that you stopped into the art gallery at this time since we just received some beautiful paintings.

matter-of-fact, completely honest Mr. Carter felt that his son would benefit from a serious and frank discussion about the dangers of drugs and alcohol instead of just blandly stating that they were bad.

frivolous frugal
adj.

adj.

unimportant Because of the frivolous nature of the meeting, very few people attended.

thrifty, cheap, not spending much She was so frugal that no one liked to go out to dinner with her because she always argued about the check.

galvanize

v. stimulate, energize, stir up We knew that the destruction caused by the hurricane would galvanize the people of that area to rebuild their seacoast town.

gender

n. classification by sex, male or female The family members said they preferred a female when the pet shelter asked them what gender they preferred for their new dog.

genial

adj. kind, pleasant

His genial manner helped us feel comfortable at the meeting.

gregarious guile

adj. outgoing, sociable She had a lot of friends because she had such a gregarious personality. n .cunning, deception, deceit The policewoman was slightly misleading in her questions as she used guile to lead the man to voluntarily confess to the crime.

hackneyed hamper
v.

adj.

boring, stale, dull The critics knew the play would not last because of the hackneyed musical score.

hinder, deter, obstruct They are not going to hamper the building of the megastore, even though they do not want the store in their part of the city.

harbinger

n.

a sign of, forerunner When I see crocuses in my garden it brings a smile to my face because it is a harbinger of spring and warmer weather is right around the corner.

haughty hedonist heinous hubris

his rival.

adj.

arrogant, overbearing Her haughty personality made it difficult to like her.

n.

one who is devoted to seeking pleasure The hedonistic man loved to dine at 5-star restaurants.

adj.

horrible, disgusting The heinous crimes in the park made us all very nervous.

n.

arrogance, excessive pride The voter was put off by the hubris by one of the candidates thinking he automatically had her vote so she voted for

humble

adj.

simple, modest The humble furnishings in his house made him embarrassed to invite his friends over to visit.

immerse

v.

submerge, get involved deeply Prior to the AP test, Sam immersed himself in his studies only stopping to eat and sleep.

imminent

adj.

upcoming, about to happen soon Knowing the eclipse was imminent, Joe got his solar viewers ready so he wouldn't miss a moment of this rare and spectacular event.

impetuous implement

adj.

hasty His impetuous behavior often got him in trouble in class.

v.

fulfill, put into effect, carry out Once in office, the governor found it much harder to implement his campaign promises than he thought it would be due to the stubborn ways of the legislators.

incongruous
nightmares.

adj.

inconsistent, disharmonious His decision to go to the scary movie was seemingly incongruous with his nature of one who often had bad

incredulous

adj.

hard to believe, skeptical The parent found it incredulous that her son said that the reason he stayed out until midnight was that he was doing homework at a friend's house.

industrious
hard-working

adj.

The industrious student finished the 10 page essay in one week.

innocuous insinuate
v.

adj.

harmless, having no adverse effects Fortunately, that type of snake is not poisonous and so the bite was innocuous.

to hint at or to suggest slyly The man insinuated that we needed to buy the car he was selling if we wanted to really enjoy ourselves this summer.

insipid

adj.

dull, uninteresting, boring She did not have many friends because of her insipid personality.

insolent

adj.

rude, disrespectful, snobby The insolent behavior of the young boy made it hard for his parents to get a babysitter.

interminable intransigent

adj.

endless We knew it would be an interminable speech when we saw the quantity of notes he brought to the podium.

adj.

stubborn Only one of the students was intransigent when told to leave the library for being too loud.

intrepid intrinsic

adj.

brave, fearless The captain's intrepid attitude made it a little easier to follow him into battle.

adj.

inborn, basic, something naturally within Frank was upset about the gold ring he lost not just for the intrinsic value, which was considerable, but because the ring was his late grandfather's and it had sentimental value as well.

introverted intuition
n.

v.

shy, keeping to yourself It was hard for her to make friends because she was extremely introverted.

perception, insight without direct knowledge Based on her intution alone, even before he admitted it, somehow the wife knew her husband was cheating on her.

invigorated invoke
Constitution.

v.

energized 0ur team was invigorated when we scored the tying run.

v.

call upon, appeal to, petition The defendant invoked his right to remain silent as part of his rights under the Fifth Amendment in the United States

irreproachable irresolute irreverent

disrespectful, rude

adj.

unable to blame, innocent His irreproachable smile made me believe that he had nothing to do with the practical joke.

adj.

undecided, uncertain Because she was irresolute when she took the multiple choice test, her time ran out.

adj.

Because she was especially irreverent toward the teacher when she was caught cutting class, the student received and extra two days detention.

jaded

adj.

wearied, worn out, dulled, desensitized Knowing the jaded attitudes of current film-goers, the movie director tried to put as many shocks as surprises in his latest release while still trying to keep it believable.

juxtapose

v.

place side by side to compare, contrast By juxtaposing the two term papers, the teacher was able to see that one was an obvious copy of the other with only a few minor differences.

kindle knotty

v.

excite, ignite This persuasive speaker is going to kindle an enthusiasm that will jump start our new advertising campaign.

adj.

troublesome, difficult We noticed a knotty problem between the two ambassadors, but we hope this will not interfere with them reaching a peaceful agreement.

labyrinth lampoon

n.

maze They went into the labyrinth at the amusement park and couldn't find their way out.

v.

ridicule, mock At her retirement party, they are going to lampoon her career, but because of her terrific personality they knew she would find the speeches funny.

languid

adj.

sluggish, weary, listless The languid behavior of the animals during the summer months made it difficult for the people to truly enjoy the jungle environment at the zoo.

laudatory

adj.

worthy of praise, complimentary The award winner was laudatory toward his parents for providing the comfort and support he needed to be as successful as he was.

lavish lionize

adj.

extravagant, overly generous His lavish gifts embarrassed her at Christmas.

v.

glorify, celebrate, worship The grateful family lionized the firefighters who rescued them from their car that had slid off the bridge into the river.

loathing lobbyist lucid

adj.

n.

hatred, disgust We had a loathing for the people who committed this terrible act.

n.

one who argues on behalf of The lobbyist worked in Washnigton D.C. and it was her job to build support for the automobile industry.

clear, logical, thought through All of his answers were lucid and to the point.

lucrative

adj.

profitable, worthwhile The college student wanted to go into law not only because being a lawyer was potentially lucrative but also because

she wanted to help people who might not normally get a good defense.

lugubrious

adj.

extremely sad or sorrowful When I heard the lugubrious musical score coming from the theater, I knew I was in for a depressing theatrical event.

machinations magnanimous
generous

n.

schemes, plots Luckily we overheard the machinations of the splinter group to overthrow the leader of the country.

adj.

His magnanimous donation will make it much easier for the city to fund the new children's science museum.

mandate maudlin

n.

order It is a state mandate that students take four years of a foreign language.

adj.

tearfully emotional, overly sentimental The family reunion was mostly a fun time, but it became maudlin for a bit as the cousins fondly remembered their grandmother who had recently passed away.

maxim meager

n.

a general truth or principle; adage or saying The maxim that gravity exists can be proven by throwing a ball in the air and watching it descend.

adj.

poor, insufficient Her salary was so meager that she wasn't able to pay the rent.

mediate

v.

settle a dispute, make peace, reconcile Debbie seemed to always have to mediate any dispute, no matter how minor, between her two brothers in order to keep peace in the house.

mentor

n.

guide, tutor, coach The resident assistant of the dorm didn't just explain the rules of the residence hall, he acted as a mentor to all of the incoming freshmen as to how to properly behave and treat fellow residents.

mercurial

adj.

changing suddenly and unpredictably The man was a mercurial character, one minute happy and the next minute outraged.

meticulous

adj.

very careful, paying attention to details My father is very meticulous when it comes to balancing his checkbook.

misanthrope

n.

anti-social person The misanthrope never came to the village celebration.

mishap

n.

blunder, accident Inspector Clouseau was known for committing many mishaps even though he somehow managed to solve the crime by the end of the movie.

mitigate mollify morose motley

v.

v.

ease, soothe, soften Nothing he said could mitigate his parents' anger over his terrible report card.

soothe, pacify The girl was trying to mollify her parents after they yelled at her for coming home past curfew.

adj.

gloomy, sad His morose attitude has made it difficult to include him in on all the festivities.

adj.

different, diverse The motley crew had difficulty agreeing on plans for the evening.

munificent

adj.

generous The munificent gift helped us put a new roof on the church.

naive

adj.

simple-minded, trusting She was so naive that everyone liked to play practical jokes on her.

nefarious

adj.

vicious, extremely wicked, evil The people of the town were fearful of their new leader because of his nefarious behavior in other parts of the country.

nonchalant

adj.

casual, unconcerned, indifferent Sarah couldn't understand how her husband could be so nonchalant in his attitude about whether to allow their son to play football since he had broken his leg when he was a running back when for his high school team.

nostalgic

adj.

reminiscent, remembering fondly of a previous time Even though she didn't miss changing diapers or waking up at 3 am, Sandy still felt nostalgic for when her collegebound son was a young baby.

notorious

adj.

well-known, usually for a bad quality or reason The notorious criminal was finally caught with the help of very alert bank employees.

noxious

adj.

harmful, foul We had to evacuate the hotel when we noticed noxious fumes coming from an area near the kitchen.

obdurate obscure

adj.

stubborn She was obdurate in her insistence to treat everyone to an expensive dinner.

adj.

clouded, vague His obscure answer had to be marked wrong on the test.

obstinate obtuse offset

taxes.

adj.

stubborn The little boy was obstinate about eating pizza; nothing could be said to convince him to eat anything else.

adj.

simple-minded, stupid The environmentalist called the dumping of waste into the ocean obtuse and organized a demonstration against it.

v.

counteract, compensate for The marketing executive planned to offset the expense of the business lunch with his client with a reduction in his

ominous onerous opulent ornate

adj.

threatening The sky was so ominous looking that we headed the boat to a safe harbor.

adj.

difficult, burdensome We appreciated all the help we could get when faced with the onerous task of cleaning up after the outdoor concert.

adj.

wealthy, rich, luxurious Her opulent lifestyle made it impossible for her high school friends to keep up with her.

adj.

very fancy, decorated The ornate building was erected in the 1800's.

orthodox

adj.

conventional, normal, customary Considering her family usually sat in front of the TV, Marian was struck by her friend's family's more orthodox way of sitting down promptly at the dining room table at 6:30 for dinner.

ostensible

adj.

alleged, supposed, outwardly appearing The ostensible reason Jane went to visit the woman who just moved in down the street was to introduce her to the neighborhood, but she really wanted to check out the interior of the house.

ostentatious

adj.

showy, flaunting The decorations and carpeting in his house were so ostentatious that he asked us to remove our shoes before entering.

overt

adj.

obvious, out in the open Because his subtle hints went unnoticed, Brian had to state in an overt manner that his brother should change the channel to the hockey game.

pacific pallid

adj.

peaceful, calm The pacific group tried to show the boys that fighting was not the answer.

adj.

lacking color, pale Her face was pallid after she saw the mouse.

palpable paragon

adj.

very evident, obvious The tension in the air was palpable as the championship game came down to the final play.

n.

model of excellence, shining example When you read the achievements of this great scientist, you just know he is an intellectual paragon.

paramount parsimony
stingy frugal

adj.

foremost, predominant It is of paramount importance that we score on this next possession; if we don't, we could lose the championship.

n.

His parsimony was evident because he never made repairs on his house.

partisan pedantic

adj.

one-sided, prejudice It is time to stop this partisan behavior and start to think about what is good for all of the people in the community.

adj.

precise, bookish, overly concerned with details Even though it was technically correct, Paul was always irritated by his friend's pedantic insistence on responding "I am well" when asked how he was doing.

penchant penitent

n.

a strong taste for something She had a penchant for going on difficult hikes and was always amazing her friends with the places she had been.

adj.

being sorry for what you did, contrite He was penitent when he realized he had put his friends in grave danger with his practical jokes.

penurious perceptive peripheral perplexed

adj.

stingy, cheap He was such a penurious man that the children never went to his house on Halloween.

adj.

aware of He was very perspective to the growing anger of the crowd around him.

adj.

not central, not very important He had such peripheral information in his paper that he received a poor grade on it.

v.

confused He was so perplexed by the directions that he got lost getting to the airport.

persevered

v.

held on, endured, kept at it She persevered through all the paper work because, in the end, she knew she would be rewarded.

perspicacious

adj.

mentally insightful, wise, shrewd The perspicacious woman was able to grasp all of the complexities of this problem and was also able to anticipate future difficulties.

pertinent

adj.

relevent, applicable The judge ignored unimportant matters like the fact that his cat was feeling sad and only considered the pertinent details like the fact that the defendant was driving 90 mph on the interstate when he gave the man a fine for speeding.

philanthropist pilfer
steal

n.

generous person The philanthropist donated millions of dollars to the hospital.

v.

The boys were caught as they tried to pilfer a basket of cookies from the cafeteria.

pious

adj.

religious, dedicated The hockey fan was so fanatically devoted, almost pious, to his team that he was depressed for days after they lost the championship game.

placid

adj.

peaceful, calm His placid manner helped to calm everyone down in the hospital emergency room.

plaudit

n.

approval, great praise, endorsement The final plaudit given by his teacher will guarantee that he will receive this prestigious award.

plausible

adj.

probable, believable Even though your excuse does sound plausible, we still need an eyewitness to back up your story.

plethora plummet

n.

abundance, excess He gave a plethora of reasons as to why he should get the job over the other applicants.

v.

fall suddenly, plunge We knew the temperature was going to plummet in the next few days so we took out all of our winter clothes from the attic.

poignant pompous

adj.

profoundly moving or touching The girl gave a poignant speech about the heroism of her grandfather.

adj.

arrogant His pompous personality always got him in trouble with his classmates.

potpourri preclude
prevent, stop

n.

mixture, medley It was an unusual concert because they played a potpourri of country, jazz and rock music.

v.

The security guard precluded the girls from entering the sold-out concert without tickets.

precursor

n.

predecessor, something that comes before The strong winds and dark clouds were a precursor to the thunderstorm that struck during the baseball game.

presumptuous
bold, forward, impertinent

adj.

The professor thought it was presumptuous of the student to think that he could skip so many classes and still think he could get an "A" on the final exam.

pretentious prodigal
adj.

adj.

showy, conceited She did not have many friends because of her pretentious behavior.

wasteful (as with money), reckless The prodigal son disappointed his parents when he spent all of the money they had given him for graduation in one weekend.

prodigious

adj.

extremely large in size or amount He wrote a prodigious number of books in the last three years of his life; critics were amazed by the sheer volume of pages he wrote.

prodigy

n.

one with exceptional talents or powers

The boy, who at age 10 was solving complicated calculus equations, was considered to be a math prodigy.

profound

adj.

great, intense Her speech was so profound that I couldn't stop thinking about it for the next week.

prohibitive

adj.

restrictive, forbidding, beyond one's means The senior knew her dream college would be expensive, but hoped that it wouldn't be prohibitive so she wouldn't be able to attend.

prosaic

adj.

commonplace, dull This professor?s class is so prosaic that I have a hard time staying awake.

proximity

n.

to be close to in time or place The two train stations were in close proximity to one another, which helped people who slept through the first stop and could easily walk back from the second stop.

prudent

adj.

careful, wise He made very prudent decisions when it came to investing his money.

pugnacious punctilious

adj.

hostile, harsh, wanting to fight When she was little, she was so pugnacious that she had no friends.

adj.

exact, strict, formal He greeted his guests at the meeting in a very punctilious way.

quandary

n. a state of perplexity or uncertainty; a predicament The traveler was in a quandary after he lost his map and wallet.

querulous

adj. inclined to complain The querulous child complained when his mom wouldn't buy him ice cream.

raconteur

n.

storyteller, narrator Our grandfather was such a fascinating raconteur, always keeping us mesmerized with his wonderful stories of his childhood.

radiant

adj.

beaming, shining, beautiful She looked radiant as she walked down the aisle to begin her new life.

ravenous rebuke
n.

adj.

hungry, starving The ravenous bears totally destroyed the campsite looking for food.

reprimand, sign of sharp disapproval Due to their corrupt ways, the town council suffered a sharp rebuke when they were replaced by their challengers at the most recent election.

recluse

n.

loner, hermit The recluse built a cabin in the woods and only came to town to buy food.

reconcile

v.

resolve, make peace, get an agreement Through determination and patience, Sandra was able to reconcile her mother with her aunt after a minor disagreement got blown out of proportion.

refined refrain

adj.

polite, well-bred All the teachers enjoyed having such refined students in their classes.

v.

avoid, hold back from doing something Knowing that she had to say something so he was aware how it looked, Amanda could not refrain from telling her brother what she thought of his new haircut.

reiterate

v.

repeat, say again Even though the father has stated at the beginning of the lecture, he reiterated that he wanted his son home at 10pm on the school night to make sure he heard it.

reluctant

adj.

not wanting to do something, unwilling Even though she knew her daughter passed the road test with flying colors, the mother was still reluctant to her drive by herself.

remnant

n.

small amount remaining, scrap Native Americans were well-known for using every last remnant of a buffalo for something useful so nothing went to waste.

replete

adj.

filled, teeming The marine science center was replete with many different species of turtles that were being nursed back to health after being injured during the hurricane.

reprehensible

adj.

terrible, awful, deserving blame His reprehensible actions made it easy for the judge to give him a long sentence in jail.

reproach repudiate reputable rescind resolute

v.

v.

blame, scold He reproached us for being late for his class again.

v.

reject, disown, deny, refuse The mayoral candidate had to repudiate the comments by one of his supporters that were considered too rude.

adj.

respectable, honorable His reputable behavior made him the best choice for class president.

retract, cancel I am going to rescind my offer to take you to the circus because your behavior this week has been terrible.

adj.

determined She was resolute in her decision to take her case to the Supreme Court.

resolution resolve
n.

n.

a course of action decided upon The man made a resolution to stop smoking after seeing his doctor.

determination, perseverance With your resolve, we know you will finally take this company in a positive direction, much to the delight of the employees.

revelry revere

n.

partying, merry-making Last year's graduation party was full of revelry.

v.

respect a great deal, to honor In many countries, people revere their elders and their teachers.

reverence rigorous

n.

respect You should show reverence when the king and queen come into the room.

adj.

tough, hard, strenuous The private was in good shape so she hoped she could withstand the rigorous training at boot camp.

sagacious salvage
v.

adj.

wise, shrewd His sagacious abilities made us listen when it came time to invest our money in the stock market.

save, rescue Nick found it hard to salvage his reputation in the eyes of his teachers after he was caught plagiarizing a term paper.

sanguine scope
n.

adj.

optimistic, cheerful Her sanguine attitude made us all feel better about the work ahead of us.

range, breadth, extent of view The professor was impressed by the scope of the research the student had gathered to write her doctoral thesis.

scrupulous scrutinize
v.

adj.

conscientious, careful, rigorous The boy was very scrupulous when it came to adding the small details to his model airplane.

analyze, inspect, examine carefully Her high school English teacher scrutinzed Jennifer's first draft of her essay to help make it as good as possible in order to ensure that she got accepted to her first choice for college.

sedulous

adj.

persistent, diligent, persevering Using a sedulous approach that took more time than he would have liked, the student was able to figure out how to solve the algebra problem.

serene

adj.

peaceful, calm The serene and quiet atmosphere of the vacation helped put the entire family I a very good mood.

skeptical skirt
v.

adj.

doubtful, questionable The skeptical boy told his mother that aliens were not real.

avoid, go around You cannot skirt the issues when it comes to the amount of problems associated with this one hundred year old home.

smug

adj.

arrogant, snobby She always had a smug attitude because she was much wealthier than we were.

somber

adj.

gloomy, sad It was a somber moment when the raised the flag for all our fallen heroes.

specious

adj.

deceptive, seemingly good but really not The judge was entertained by the defendant's excuse for parking illegal, but since he could see the argument was specious at best he still gave him a fine.

spontaneous

adj.

unplanned, unexpected

The day started sunny and bright, so everyone was surprised by the spontaneous thunderstorm.

sporadic spurious

adj.

infrequent, scattered The sporadic yelling that came from the audience made it difficult for most of us to enjoy the concert.

adj.

false, bogus, fake He tried to get into the airline terminal with a spurious I.D. card.

squander
waste, misuse

v.

The hockey team squandered its opportunity to score the go-ahead goal during the power play when they had an extra man on the ice.

squelch

v.

silence, suppress, quiet The attorney hoped to squelch the outburst of his client before the newspaper reporters arrived.

stagnant

adj.

motionless, foul from lack of movement James was upset with his neighbor because he left the stagnant water from the recent rains sitting on his boat cover as it could be a breeding ground for mosquitos.

staunch

adj.

devoted to, in favor of They are staunch supporters of this new program because it will improve the study skills of the students.

steadfast stingy stoic

adj.

adj.

loyal, faithful A well trained dog will remain steadfast in its love for its owner.

cheap, not generous She was so stingy when it came to sharing her toys that no one wanted to play with her.

adj.

unemotional, indifferent The children were stoic during the funeral but, when they got home they cried.

strident

adj.

having a harsh sound, shrill, screeching Sue's strident defense of her opinion of her favorite film failed to convince anyone that is was more than a silly and stupid romantic comedy.

subtle

adj.

understated, faint, hard to notice John thought the steak was delicious and cooked perfectly but it was the tasty sauce with its subtle notes of different flavors that he couldn't quite identify that really set it apart.

succinct

adj.

concise, brief, to the point The attorney gave a succinct yet moving closing argument as to why his client was not guilty of this crime.

succumb sullen
adj.

v.

to give in or to give up, yield The wrestler succumbed to his much stronger opponent.

gloomy, sad, down in the dumps He had become very sullen since the death of the family pet.

summon

v.

call upon, beckon, invoke George summoned all his available strength and energy to finally complete his first marathon.

superfluous

adj.

excessive, more than is required The amount of money they borrowed to start the business was superfluous; their families gave them advice to give some back since they wouldn't need it all.

supplant surfeit
n.

v.

to substitute for another, displace The need for horses as transportation has been supplanted by the automobile.

excess, extra There was such a surfeit of commercials on T.V. that we became frustrated and decided to go outside instead.

surmount
prevail, overcome

v.

The climber surmounted seemingly impossible odds to get to the top of Mount Everest.

surplus

n.

extra amount, oversupply There was a surplus of notebooks so we reduced the price to get rid of them.

surreptitious synergy
n.

adj.

secret, sneaky They had a surreptitious meeting before the rest of the department heads came to work.

cooperation, collaboration, in-line The quarterback and the receiver were in near complete synergy with one another during most of the game racking up seven touchdowns between them during the game.

tactful tactile

adj.

diplomatic, courteous His tactful manner made it hard to argue with him.

adj.

having to do with touching, tangible Both the teachers and the students loved the science museum as it provided tactile learning where they could actually touch and participate in the exhibits and not just look at them.

tedium

n.

boredom I made a list of games we could play in the car so that the tedium of a long car trip would not get to us.

temperate tenacious tenacity tenet

n. n.

adj.

moderate, mild gentle His temperate reaction during this tragedy helped to keep the others calm and focused.

adj.

stubborn, determined, persistent His tenacious personality helped keep the team focused on winning the game.

determination, drive Although the boxer was physically much smaller than his opponent, his tenacity helped him win the match.

principle, doctrine, dogma Based on the tenet that increased demand leads to an increase in price, the entrepreneur spent a long time trying to ensure that his business was operating at the highest possible efficiency.

terse

adj.

short, brief His terse answer made me wonder whether or not he had really finished his assignment.

theatrical timid
adj.

adj.

emotional , dramatic His theatrical response made him perfect for the starring role.

shy, bashful It was very hard for the timid girl to speak in front of the class.

tranquil

adj.

peaceful, calm The tranquil setting at the lake house helped me to forget about my problems at work.

transcend

v.

rise above, surpass, excel The politician was successful because he was able to speak convincingly to many different people transcending traditional cultural boundaries.

transient

adj.

temporary, staying for a short time The Sioux Indians were a transient people because they followed the buffalo herds.

transitory tribute
n.

adj.

brief, short-lived, temporary Though high school may seem like a long time, it is really only transitory compared to life long-lived.

gift, testimonial, compliment The students' high scores on the Regents exam were a tribute to the biology teacher's skills.

trivial

adj.

unimportant The trivial issues of the lecture made the class very boring.

tyrannical
way.

adj.

unfairly harsh or cruel The tyrannical ruler was hated by the population who felt they had no rights and were treated in an unfairly severe

undermine underscore

v.

weaken We did not want the other team to undermine our team spirit.

v.

emphasize, stress, highlight I cannot underscore enough how important it is for you to study for this final exam.

unequivocal
be cut.

adj.

decided, without doubt The committee's vote was unequivocal and final; there was no doubt that the funding for the project would have to

unorthodox

adj.

unconventional or abnormal in behavior or belief She had an unorthodox tennis serve that was hard for her opponents to return; these opponents had never seen a serve quite like it.

unscrupulous unstinting
adj.

adj.

dishonest She was fired from her job because of her unscrupulous behavior at work.

not holding back; giving generously She worked on the project for 3 weeks straight; her unstinting effort was rewarded when she finished the project a week early.

unswerving

adj.

steadfast, constant, consistent Despite disagreeing with some of her decisions on the court, Barbara was an unswerving supporter for the coach of her daughter's basketball team.

untenable usurp
v.

adj.

undefendable The soldiers were in an untenable position on the edge of the cave.

to seize power by force without having the legal right The leader tried to usurp control of the senate but the people revolted against this obvious abuse of power.

utopian

adj.

ideal, perfect We chose our new condo because it was located in a utopian area of Florida.

vacillating vacuity
n.

adj.

showing indecision While vacillating over which movie to see, we missed them both.

emptiness, lack of substance As she continued to talk, Carl showed the vacuity of his arguments and failed to convince his parents that he should be allowed to stay the night in the city unchaperoned.

validity
truth, logic

n.

The judge accepted the validity of the defendant's explanation.

vanquish

v.

conquer, defeat completely Julius Caesar is possibly most famous for vanquishing many people, cultures, and regions around the Mediterranean Sea.

vapid

adj.

flat, lifeless, dull Carly broke up with her boyfriend because though he sounded smart his comments were really vapid and lacked any real thought.

venerated vex
v.

v.

respected, admired The Indian tribe venerated their ancestors.

to annoy or irritate John's coach was vexed when the player repeatedly showed up to practice late.

vignette vilify
v.

n.

a short writing, usually very descriptive The couple inscribed a vignette by Shakespeare in their wedding album.

degrade, slander Do not vilify him in front of his friends because he will be embarrassed.

vindicate

v.

justify, absolve, exonerate, find blameless Though his new car wasn't as stylish as his brother's, Juan's decision to buy a more fuel-efficient car was vindicated as the price of gas continued to increase.

vindictive
revengeful

adj.

We were shocked at her vindictive behavior just because we arrived late for the party.

virtuoso virulent vitriolic vocation

job, occupation

n.

an expert He was a virtuoso when it came to playing the piano.

adj.

extremely infectious or poisonous The doctors discovered a virulent form of the virus.

adj.

overly critical, scathing His vitriolic criticism of my article hurt my feelings.

n.

The student felt strongly about helping others so she decided on a vocation of social work while in college.

voracious

adj.

having a large appetite for something John has a voracious appetite for reading; he reads at least a book per week and starts a new one as soon as he finishes his current book.

wane

v.

decrease, subside The pain began to wane after he took his medication.

wavered wax
adj.

v.

fluctuated, shifted The man wavered between buying a boat or a jet ski.

increase, grow She was able to wax her bank account because she saved a lot of money.

winnow

v.

narrow down, select from many The selection committee had a hard time winnowing down to the final ten contestants from the thousands of applicants who would get to compete on the reality show.

witty

adj.

clever, funny, amusing Though he often criticized their opinions, the football fan still was amused by the witty exchanges of the television broadcasters.

zeal

n. passion, enthusiasm She showed such zeal for her work that she promoted in only six months.

zealous

adj. eager, enthusiastic She was so zealous in her desire to please that she often worked right through her lunch break.