Term
| abjure (To prove his honesty, the president abjured the evil policies of his wicked predecessor.) |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| abrogate (The Bill of Rights assures that the government cannot abrogate our right to a free press.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to abolish, usually by authority |
|
|
Term
| acerbic (Jill became extremely acerbic and began to cruelly make fun of all her friends.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) biting, bitter in tone or taste |
|
|
Term
| acrimony (Though they vowed that no girl would ever come between them, Biff and Trevor cold not keep acrimony from overwhelming their friendship after they both fell in love with the lovely Teresa.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| acumen (Because of his mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure out in minutes problems that took other students hours.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| adumbrate (The coach adumbrated a game plan, but none of the players knew precisely what to do.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to sketch out in a vague way |
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|
Term
| alacrity (For some reason, Chuck loved to help his mother whenever he could, so when his mother asked hinm to set the table, he did so with alacrity.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| anathema (I never want to see that murderer. He is an anathema to me.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) a cursed, detested person |
|
|
Term
| antipathy (I know you love me, but because you are a liar and a thief, I feel nothing but antipathy for you.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) a strong dislike, repugnance |
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|
Term
| approbation (The crowd welcomed the heroes with approbation.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| arrogate (The king arrogated the right to order executions to himself exclusively.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to take without justification |
|
|
Term
| ascetic (The priest lives and ascetic life devoid of television, savory foods, and other pleasures.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) practicing restraint as a means of self-discipline, usually religious |
|
|
Term
| aspersion (The rival politicians repeatedly cast aspersions on each others' integrity.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) a curse, expression of ill-will |
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|
Term
| assiduous (The construction workers erected the skyscraper during two years of assiduous labor.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) hard-working, diligent |
|
|
Term
| blandish (Rachel's assistant tried to blandish her into accepting the deal.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to coax by using flattery |
|
|
Term
| boon (The good weather has been a boon for many businesses located near the beach.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| brusque (The captain's brusque manner offended the passengers.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive |
|
|
Term
| buffet (Rather than sitting around a table, the guests took food from our buffet and ate standing up.) |
|
Definition
| 1. (v.) to strike with force (The strong winds buffeted the ships, threatening to capsize them.) 2. (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table |
|
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Term
| burnish (His mother asked him to burnish the silverware before setting the table.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| buttress (The buttress supports the roof above the statues.) |
|
Definition
| 1. (v.) to support, hold up (The column buttresses the roof above the statue.) 2. (n.) something that offers support |
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|
Term
| cacophony (The elementary school orchestra created a cacophony at the recital.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious sound |
|
|
Term
| cajole (Fred's buddies cajoled him into attending the bachelor party.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| calumny (The local official's calumny ended up ruining his opponent's prospect of winning the election.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) an attempt to spoil someone else's reputation by spreading lies |
|
|
Term
| capricious (The young girl's capricious tendencies made it difficult for her to focus on achieving her goals.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) subject to whim, fickle |
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|
Term
| clemency (After he forgot their anniversary, Martin could only beg Maria for clemency.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| cogent (Irene's arguments in favor of abstinence were so cogent that I could not resist them.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) intellectually convincing |
|
|
Term
| concomitant (His dislike of hard work carried with it a concomitant lack of funds.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) accompanying in a subordinate fashion |
|
|
Term
| conflagration (The conflagration consumed the entire building.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| contrite (Blake's contrite behavior made it impossible to stay angry at him.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) penitent, eager to be forgiven |
|
|
Term
| conundrum (Interpreting Jane's behavior was a constant conundrum.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| credulity (His credulity made him an easy target for con men.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) readiness to believe |
|
|
Term
| cupidity (His cupidity made him enter the abandoned gold mine despite the obvious dangers.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) greed, strong desire |
|
|
Term
| cursory (Late for the meeting, she cast a cursory glance at the agenda.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) brief to the point of being superficial |
|
|
Term
| decry (The kind video rental clerk decried the policy of charging customers late fees.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| defile (She defiled the calm of the religious building by playing her banjo.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to make unclean, impure |
|
|
Term
| deleterious (She experienced the deleterious effects of running a marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| demure (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going crazy, she remained demure.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) quiet, modest, reserved |
|
|
Term
| deprecate (Always over-modest, he deprecated his contribution to the local charity.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to belittle, depreciate |
|
|
Term
| deride (The bullies derided the foreign student's accent.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn |
|
|
Term
| desecrate (They feared that the construction of a golf course would desecrate the preserved wilderness.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to violate the sacredness of a thing or place |
|
|
Term
| desiccated (The skin of the desiccated mummy looked like old paper.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) dried up, dehydrated |
|
|
Term
| diaphanous (Sunlight poured in through the diaphanous curtains, brightening the room.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) light, airy, transparent |
|
|
Term
| diffident (While eating dinner with the adults, the diffident youth did not speak for fear of seeming presumptuous.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) shy, quiet, modest |
|
|
Term
| discursive (The professor's discursive lectures seemed to be about every subject except the one initially described.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) rambling, lacking order |
|
|
Term
| dissemble (Not wanting to appear heartlessly greedy, she dissembled and hid her intention to sell her ailing father's stamp collection.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| dither (Not wanting to offend either friend, he dithered about which of the two birthday parties he should attend.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| ebullient (She became ebullient upon receiving an acceptance letter from her first-choice college.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) extremely lively, enthusiastic |
|
|
Term
| effrontery (When I told my aunt that she was boring, my mother scolded me for my effrontery.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) impudence, nerve, insolence |
|
|
Term
| effulgent (The golden palace was effulgent.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) radiant, splendorous |
|
|
Term
| egregious (The student who threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria was punished for his egregious behavior.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| enervate (Writing these sentences enervates me so much that I will have to take a nap after I finish.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| ephemeral (She promised she'd love me forever, but her "forever" was only ephemeral: she left me after one week.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) short-lived, fleeting |
|
|
Term
| eschew (George hates the color green so much that he eschews all green food.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| evanescent (My joy at getting promoted was evanescent because I discovered that I would have to work much longer hours in a less friendly office.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) fleeting, momentary |
|
|
Term
| evince (Christopher's hand-wringing and nail-biting evince how nervous he is about the upcoming English test.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| exculpate (My discovery of the ring behind the dresser exculpated me from the charge of having stolen it.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to free from guilt or blame, exonerate |
|
|
Term
| execrable (Her pudding is so execrable that it makes me sick.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) loathsome, detestable |
|
|
Term
| exigent (The patient has an exigent need for medication, or else he will lose his sight.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| expiate (To expiate my selfishness, I gave all my profits to charity.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to make amends for, atone |
|
|
Term
| expunge (Fearful of an IRS investigation, Paul tried to expunge all incriminating evidence from his tax files.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to obliterate, eradicate |
|
|
Term
| extant (My mother's extant love letters to my father are in the attic trunk.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) existing, not destroyed or lost |
|
|
Term
| extol (Violet extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat-loving brother.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| fallacious (Emily offered me cigarettes on the fallacious assumption that I smoked.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) incorrect, misleading |
|
|
Term
| fastidious (Mark is so fastidious that he is never able to finish a project because it always seems imperfect to him.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) meticulous, demanding, having high and often unattainable standards |
|
|
Term
| fatuous (He considers himself a serious poet, but in truth, he only writes fatuous limericks.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| fecund (The fecund tree bore enough apples to last us through the entire season.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| feral (That beast looks so feral that I would fear being alone with it.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| fetid (I can tell from the fetid smell in your refrigerator that your milk has spoiled.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) having a foul odor |
|
|
Term
| florid (The writer's florid prose belongs on a sentimental Hallmark card.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| fractious (Although the child insisted he wasn't tired, his fractious behavior especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over the floor-convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) troublesome or irritable |
|
|
Term
| garrulous (Some talk-show hosts are so garrulous that their guests can't get a word in edgewise.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| grandiloquence (The student thought her grandiloquence would make her sound smart, but neither the class nor the teacher bought it.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) lofty, pompous language |
|
|
Term
| gregarious (Well, if you're not gregarious, I don't know why you would want to go to a singles party!) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) drawn to the company of others, sociable |
|
|
Term
| hackneyed (A girl can only hear "I love you" so many times before it begins to sound hackneyed and meaningless.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| hapless (My poor, hapless family never seems to pick a sunny week to go on vacation.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| harangue (Everyone had heard the teacher's harangue about gum chewing in class before.) (But this time the teacher harangued the class about the importance of brushing your teeth after chewing gum.) |
|
Definition
| 1. (n.) a ranting speech 2. (v.) to give such a speech |
|
|
Term
| hegemony (Britain's hegemony over its colonies was threatened once nationalist sentiment began to spread around the world.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) domination over others |
|
|
Term
| iconoclast (Jane goes to one protest after another, but she seems to be an iconoclast rather than an activist with a progressive agenda.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) one who attacks common beliefs or institutions |
|
|
Term
| ignominious (It was really ignominious to be kicked out of the dorm for having an illegal gas stove in my room.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) humiliating, disgracing |
|
|
Term
| impassive (Stop being so impassive; it's healthy to cry every now and then.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) stoic, not susceptible to suffering |
|
|
Term
| imperious (The imperious nature of your manner led me to dislike you at once.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) commanding, domineering |
|
|
Term
| impertinent (Most of your comments are so impertinent that I don't wish to dignity them with an answer.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| impervious (Because of their thick layer of fur, many seals are almost impervious to the cold.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) impenetrable, incapable of being affected |
|
|
Term
| impetuous (Hilda's hasty slaying of the king was an impetuous, thoughtless action.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) rash; hastily done |
|
|
Term
| impinge (The hail impinged the roof, leaving large dents.) (I apologize for impinging upon you like this, but I really need to use your bathroom. Now.) |
|
Definition
| 1. (v.) to impact, affect, make an impression2. (v.) to encroach, infringe |
|
|
Term
| implacable (Watch out: Once you shun Grandma's cooking, she is totally implacable.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) incapable of being appeased or mitigated |
|
|
Term
| impudent (The impudent young man looked the princess up and down and told her she was hot even though she hadn't asked him.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) casually rude, insolent, impertinent |
|
|
Term
| inchoate (The country's government is still inchoate and, because it has no great tradition, quite unstable .) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) unformed or formless, in a beginning stage |
|
|
Term
| incontrovertible (Only stubborn Tina would attempt to disprove the incontrovertible laws of physics .) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| indefatigable (Even after traveling 62 miles, the indefatigable mnner kept on moving.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) incapable of defeat, failure, decay |
|
|
Term
| ineffable (It is said that the experience of playing with a dolphin is ineffable and can only be understood through direct encounter.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) unspeakable, incapable of being expressed through words |
|
|
Term
| inexorable (Although Ibegged for hours, Mom was inexorable and refused to let me stay out all night after the prom.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) incapable of being persuaded or placated |
|
|
Term
| ingenuous (He must have writers, but his speeches seem so ingenuous it's hard to believe he's not speaking from his own heart.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) not devious; innocent and candid |
|
|
Term
| inimical (I don't see how I could ever work for a company that was so cold and inimical to me during my interviews.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| iniquity ("Your iniquity." said the priest to the practical jokester , "will be forgiven.") |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| insidious (Lisa's insidious chocolate cake tastes so good but makes you feel so sick later on!) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) appealing but imperceptibly harmful, seductive |
|
|
Term
| intransigent (The intransigent child said he would have 12 scoops of ice cream or he would bang his head against the wall until his mother fainted from fear.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) refusing to compromise, often on an extreme opinion |
|
|
Term
| inure (Twenty years in the salt mines inured the man to the discomforts of dirt and grime.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to cause someone or something to become accustomed to a situation |
|
|
Term
| invective (My mother's irrational invective against the way Idress only made me decide to dye my hair green.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) an angry verbal attack |
|
|
Term
| inveterate (I'm the first to admit that I'm an inveterate coffee drinker-I drink four cups a day.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) stubbornly established by habit |
|
|
Term
| jubilant (The crowd was jubilant when the firefighter carried the woman from the flaming building.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) extremely joyful, happy |
|
|
Term
| juxtaposition (The interior designer admired my juxtaposition of the yellow couch and green table.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) the act of placing two things next to each other for implicit comparison |
|
|
Term
| laconic (The author's laconic style has won him many followers who dislike wordiness.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) terse in speech or writing |
|
|
Term
| languid (In the summer months, the great heat makes people languid and lazy.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) sluggish from fatigue or weakness |
|
|
Term
| largess (My boss demonstrated great largess by giving me a new car.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) the generous giving of lavish gifts |
|
|
Term
| latent (Sigmund's dream represented his latent paranoid obsession with other people's shoes.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) hidden, but capable of being exposed |
|
|
Term
| legerdemain (Smuggling the French plants through customs by claiming that they were fake was a remarkable bit of legerdemain.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) deception, slight-of-hand |
|
|
Term
| licentious (Marilee has always been fascinated by the licentious private lives of politicians.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) displaying a lack of moral or legal restraints |
|
|
Term
| limpid (Mr. Johnson's limpid writing style greatly pleased readers who disliked complicated novels.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) clear, transparent |
|
|
Term
| maelstrom (Little did the explorers know that as they turned the next bend of the calm river a vicious maelstrom would catch their boat.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) a destructive whirlpool which rapidly sucks in objects |
|
|
Term
| magnanimous (Although I had already broken most of her dishes, Jacqueline was magnanimous enough to continue letting me use them.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| malediction (When I was arrested for speeding, I screamed maledictions against the policeman and the entire police department.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| malevolent (The malevolent old man sat in the park all day, tripping unsuspecting passersby with his cane.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) wanting harm to befall others (The malevolent old man sat in the park all day, tripping unsuspecting passersby with his cane.) |
|
|
Term
| manifold (The popularity of Dante's Inferno is partly due to the fact that the work allows for manifold interpretations.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| maudlin (Although many people enjoy romantic comedies, I usually find them maudlin and shallow.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) weakly sentimental |
|
|
Term
| mawkish (Although some nineteenth- century critics viewed Dickens's writing as mawkish, contemporary readers have found great emotional depth in his works.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) characterized by sick sentimentality |
|
|
Term
| mendacious (The mendacious content of the tabloid magazines is at least entertaining.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) having a lying, false character |
|
|
Term
| mercurial (Though he was widely respected for his mathematical proofs, the mercurial genius was impossible to live with.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) characterized by rapid change or temperamentality |
|
|
Term
| modicum (Refusing to display even a modicum of sensitivity, Henrietta announced her boss's affair in front of the entire office.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) a small amount of something |
|
|
Term
| morass (When Theresa lost her job, she could not get out of her financial morass.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) a wet swampy bog; figuratively, something that traps and confuses |
|
|
Term
| multifarious (This Swiss Army knife has multifarious functions and capabilities. Among other things, it can act as a knife, a saw, a toothpick, and a slingshot.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) having great diversity or variety |
|
|
Term
| munificence (The royal family's munificence made everyone else in their country rich.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) generosity in giving |
|
|
Term
| myriad (It was difficult to decide what to do Friday night because the city presented us with myriad possibilities for fun.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) consisting of a very great number |
|
|
Term
| nadir (My day was boring, but the nadir came when I accidentally spilled a bowl of spaghetti on my head.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) the lowest point of something |
|
|
Term
| nascent (Unfortunately, my brilliant paper was only in its nascent form on the morning that it was due.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) in the process of being born or coming into existence |
|
|
Term
| nefarious (Although Dr. Mean man's nefarious plot to melt the polar icecaps was terrifying, it was so impractical that nobody really worried about it.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) heinously villainous |
|
|
Term
| neophyte (As a neophyte in the literary world, Malik had trouble finding a publisher for his first novel.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) someone who is young or inexperienced |
|
|
Term
| obdurate (The obdurate old man refused to take pity on the kittens.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) unyielding to persuasion or moral influences |
|
|
Term
| obfuscate (The detective did not want to answer the newspaperman's questions, so he obfuscated the truth.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to render incomprehensible |
|
|
Term
| oblique (Martin's oblique language confused those who listened to him.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) diverging from a straight line or course, not straightforward |
|
|
Term
| obsequious (Mark acted like Janet's servant, obeying her every request in an obsequious manner.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) excessively compliant or submissive |
|
|
Term
| obstreperous (Billy's obstreperous behavior prompted the librarian to ask him to leave the reading room.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| obtuse (Political opponents warned that the prime minister's obtuse approach to foreign policy would embroil the nation in mindless war.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) lacking quickness of sensibility or intellect |
|
|
Term
| odious (Mark was assigned the odious task of cleaning the cat's litter box.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) instilling hatred or intense displeasure |
|
|
Term
| officious (Brenda resented Allan's officious behavior when he selected colors that might best improve her artwork.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) offering one's services when they are neither wanted nor needed |
|
|
Term
| opulent (The opulent furnishings of the dictator's p1ivate compound contrasted harshly with the meager accommodations of her subjects.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) characterized by rich abundance verging on ostentation |
|
|
Term
| ostensible (Jack's ostensible reason for driving was that airfare was too expensive, but in reality, he was afraid of flying.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) appearing as such, seemingly |
|
|
Term
| palliate (The doctor trusted that the new medication would palliate her patient's discomfort.) |
|
Definition
| (v.) to reduce the severity of |
|
|
Term
| pallid (Dr. Van Helsing feared that Lucy's pallid complexion was due to an unexplained loss of blood.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| panacea (Doctors wish there was a single panacea for every disease, but sadly there is not.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) a remedy for all ills or difficulties |
|
|
Term
| paragon (The mythical Helen of Troy was considered a paragon of female beauty.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) a model of excellence or perfection |
|
|
Term
| pariah (Following the discovery of his plagiarism, Professor Hurley was made a pariah in all academic circles.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| parsimony (Many relatives believed that my aunt's wealth resulted from her parsimony.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) frugality, stinginess |
|
|
Term
| pathos (Martha filled with pathos upon discovering the scrawny, shivering kitten at her door.) |
|
Definition
| (n.) an emotion of sympathy |
|
|
Term
| paucity (Gilbert lamented the paucity of twentieth-century literature courses available at the college.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| pejorative (The evening's headline news covered an international scandal caused by a pejorative statement the famous senator had made in reference to a foreign leader.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) derogatory, uncomplimentary |
|
|
Term
| pellucid (Wishing his book to be pellucid to the common man, Albert Camus avoided using complicated grammar when composing The Stranger.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) easily intelligible, clear |
|
|
Term
| penurious (Stella complained that her husband's penurious ways made it impossible to live the lifestyle she felt she deserved.) |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| perfidious (After the official was caught selling government secrets to enemy agents, he was executed for his perfidious ways.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) disloyal, unfaithful |
|
|
Term
| perfunctory (The radio broadcaster announced the news of the massacre in a surprisingly perfunctorv manner.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) showing little interest or enthusiasm |
|
|
Term
| pernicious (The new government feared that the Communist sympathizers would have a pernicious influence on the nation's stability.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) extremely destructive or harmful |
|
|
Term
| perspicacity (The detective was too humble to acknowledge that his perspicacity was the reason for his professional success.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) shrewdness, perceptiveness |
|
|
Term
| pertinacious (Harry's parents were frustrated with his pertinacious insistence that a monster lived in his closet. Then they opened the closet door and were eaten.) |
|
Definition
| (adj.) stubbornly persistent |
|
|
Term
| petulance (The nanny resigned after she could no longer tolerate the child's petulance.) |
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Definition
| (n.) rudeness, irritability |
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Term
| pithy (My father's long-winded explanation was a stark contrast to his usually pithy statements.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) concisely meaningful |
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Term
| platitude (After reading over her paper, Helene concluded that what she thought were profound insights were actually just platitudes.) |
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Definition
| (n.) an uninspired remark, cliché |
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Term
| plethora (The wedding banquet included a plethora of oysters piled almost three feet high.) |
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Definition
| (n.) an abundance, excess |
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Term
| polemic (My brother launched into a polemic against my arguments that capitalism was an unjust economic system.) |
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Definition
| (n.) an aggressive argument against a specific opinion |
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Term
| portent (When a black cat crossed my sister's path while she was walking to school, she took it as a portent that she would do badly on her spelling test.) |
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Definition
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Term
| precocious (Derek was so academically precocious that by the time he was 10 years old, he was already in the ninth grade.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) advanced, developing ahead of time |
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Term
| prescient (Questioning the fortune cookie's prediction, Ray went in search of the old hermit who was rumored to be prescient.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) to have foreknowledge of events |
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Term
| primeval (The first primates to walk on two legs, called Australopithecus, were the primeval descendants of modern man.) |
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Definition
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Term
| probity (Because he was never viewed as a man of great probity, no one was surprised by Mr. Samson's immoral behavior.) |
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Definition
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Term
| proclivity (In a sick twist of fate, Harold's childhood proclivity for torturing small animals grew into a desire to become a surgeon.) |
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Definition
| (n.) a strong inclination toward something |
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Term
| promulgate (The film professor promulgated that both in terms of sex appeal and political intrigue, Sean Connery's James Bond was superior to Roger Moore's.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to proclaim, make known |
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Term
| propensity (Dermit has a propensity for dangerous activities such as bungee jumping.) |
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Definition
| (n.) an inclination, preference |
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Term
| propitious (The dark storm clouds visible on the horizon suggested that the weather would not be propitious for sailing.) |
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Definition
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Term
| prosaic (Heather's prosaic recital of the poem bored the audience.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) plain, lacking liveliness |
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Term
| proscribe (The town council voted to proscribe the sale of alcohol on weekends.) |
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Definition
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Term
| protean (Among Nigel's protean talents was his ability to touch the tip of his nose with his tongue.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) able to change shape; displaying great variety |
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Term
| prurient (David's mother was shocked by the discovery of prurient reading material hidden beneath her son's mattress.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) eliciting or possessing an extraordinary interest in sex |
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Term
| puerile (The judge demanded order after the lawyer's puerile attempt to object by stomping his feet on the courtroom floor.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) juvenile, immature |
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Term
| pugnacious (Aaron's pugnacious nature led him to start several barroom brawls each month.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) quarrelsome, combative |
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Term
| pulchritude (Several of Shakespeare's sonnets explore the pulchritude of a lovely young man.) |
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Definition
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Term
| punctilious (Punctilious Bobby, hall monitor extraordinaire, insisted that his peers follow the rules.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) eager to follow rules or conventions |
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Term
| quagmire (We'd all like to avoid the kind of military quagmire characterized by the Vietnam War.) |
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Definition
| (n.) a difficult situation |
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Term
| querulous (If deprived of his pacifier, young Brendan becomes querulous.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) whiny, complaining |
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Term
| quixotic (Edward entertained a quixotic desire to fall in love at first sight in a laundromat.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) idealistic, impractical |
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Term
| rancor (When Eileen challenged me to a fight, I could see the rancor in her eyes.) |
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Definition
| (n.) deep, bitter resentment |
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Term
| rebuke (When the cops showed up at Sarah's party, they rebuked her for disturbing the peace.) |
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Definition
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Term
| recalcitrant (Even when scolded, the recalcitrant young girl simply stomped her foot and refused to finish her lima beans.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) defiant, unapologetic |
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Term
| rectitude (The priest's rectitude gave him the moral authority to counsel his parishioners.) |
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Definition
| (n.) uprightness, extreme morality |
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Term
| replete (The unedited version was replete with naughty words.) |
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Definition
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Term
| reprobate (The reprobate criminal sat sneering in the cell.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) evi1, unprincipled |
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Term
| reprove (Lara reproved her son for sticking each and every one of his fingers into the strawberry pie.) |
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Definition
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Term
| repudiate (Kwame made a strong case for an extension of his curfew, but his mother repudiated it with a few biting words.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to reject, refuse to accept |
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Term
| rescind (The company rescinded its offer of employment after discovering that Jane's resume was full oflies.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to take back, repeal |
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Term
| restive (The restive audience pelted the band with mud and yelled nasty comments.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) resistant, stubborn, impatient |
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Term
| ribald (While some giggled at the ribald joke involving a parson's daughter, most sighed and rolled their eyes.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) coarsely, crudely humorous |
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Term
| rife (Surprisingly, the famous novelist's writing was rife with spelling errors.) |
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Definition
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Term
| ruse (Oliver concocted an elaborate ruse for sneaking out of the house to meet his girlfriend while simultaneously giving his mother the impression that he was asleep in bed.) |
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Definition
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Term
| sacrosanct (In the United States, the Constitution is often thought of as a sacrosanct document.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) holy, something that should not be criticized |
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Term
| sagacity (With remarkable sagacity, the wise old man predicted and thwarted his children's plan to ship him off to a nursing home.) |
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Definition
| (n.) shrewdness, soundness of perspective |
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Term
| salient (One of the salient differences between Alison and Nancy is that Alison is a foot taller.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) significant, conspicuous |
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Term
| sanctimonious (The sanctimonious Bertrand delivered stern lectures on the Ten Commandments to anyone who would listen, but thought nothing of stealing cars to make some cash on the side.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) giving a hypocritical appearance of piety |
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Term
| sanguine (Polly reacted to any bad news with a sanguine smile and the chirpy cry, "When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!") |
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Definition
| (adj.) optimistic, cheery |
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Term
| scurrilous (When Bruno heard the scurrilous accusation being made about him, he could not believe it because he always tried to be nice to everyone.) |
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Definition
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Term
| serendipity (In an amazing bit of serendipity, penniless Paula found a $20 bill in the subway station.) |
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Definition
| (n.) luck, finding good things without looking for them |
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Term
| servile (The servile porter crept around the hotel lobby, bowing and quaking before the guests.) |
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Definition
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Term
| solicitous (Jim, laid up in bed with a nasty virus, enjoyed the solicitous attentions of his mother, who brought him soup and extra blankets.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) concerned, attentive |
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Term
| solipsistic (Colette's solipsistic attitude completely ignored the plight of the homeless people on the street.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) believing that oneself is all that exists |
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Term
| somnolent (The somnolent student kept falling asleep and waking up with a jerk.) |
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Definition
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Term
| spurious (Using a spurious argument, John convinced the others that he had won the board game on a technicality.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) false but designed to seem plausible |
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Term
| staid (The staid butler never changed his expression no matter what happened.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) sedate, serious, self-restrained |
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Term
| stolid (Charles's stolid reaction to his wife's funeral differed from the passion he showed at the time of her death.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) expressing little sensibility, unemotional |
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Term
| stupefy (Veronica's audacity and ungratefulness stupefied her best friend, Heather.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to astonish, make insensible |
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Term
| surfeit (After partaking of the surfeit of tacos and tamales at the All-You-Can-Eat Taco Tamale Lunch Special, Beth felt rather sick.) |
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Definition
| (n.) an overabundant supply or indulgence |
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Term
| surmise (After speaking to only one of the students, the teacher was able to surmise what had caused the fight.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to infer with little evidence |
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Term
| surreptitious (The surreptitious CIA agents were able to get in and out of the house without anyone noticing.) |
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Definition
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Term
| sycophant (Some see the people in the cabinet as the president's closest ad, sors, but others see them as sycophants.) |
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Definition
| (n.) one who flatters for self-gain |
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Term
| tacit (I interpreted my parents' refusal to talk as a tacit acceptance of my request.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) expressed without words |
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Term
| taciturn (Though Jane never seems to stop talking, her brother is quite taciturn.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) not inclined to talk |
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Term
| tantamount (When it comes to sports, fearing your opponent is tantamount to losing.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) equivalent in value or significance |
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Term
| temerity (Tom and Huck entered the scary cave armed with nothing but their own temerity.) |
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Definition
| (n.) audacity, recklessness |
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Term
| tenuous (Your argument is very tenuous, since it relies so much on speculation and hearsay.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) having little substance or strength |
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Term
| timorous (When dealing with the unknown, timorous Tallulah almost always broke into tears.) |
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Definition
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Term
| torpid (The torpid whale floated, wallowing in the water for hours.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) lethargic, dormant, lacking motion |
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Term
| tractable (The horse was so tractable, Myra didn't even need a bridle.) |
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Definition
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Term
| transient (Because virtually everyone in Palm Beach is a tourist, the population of the town is quite transient.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) passing through briefly; passing into and out of existence |
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Term
| transmute (Ancient alchemists believed that it was possible to transmute lead into gold.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to change or alter in form |
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Term
| trenchant (The directions that accompanied my new cell phone were trenchant and easy to follow.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) effective, articulate, clear-cut |
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Term
| truculent (This club doesn't really attract the dangerous types, so why was that bouncer being so truculent?) |
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Definition
| (adj.) ready to fight, cruel |
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Term
| turgid (The haughty writer did not realize how we all really felt about his turgid prose.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) swollen, excessively embellished in style or language |
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Term
| turpitude (Sir Marcus's chivalry often contrasted with the turpitude he exhibited with the ladies at the tavern.) |
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Definition
| (n.) depravity, moral comsumption |
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Term
| ubiquitous (It seems that everyone in the United States has a television. The technology is ubiquitous here.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) existing everywhere, v.despread |
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Term
| umbrage (He called me a lily-livered coward, and I took umbrage at the insult.) |
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Definition
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Term
| unctuous (The unctuous receptionist seemed untrustworthy, as if she was only being helpful because she thought we might give her a big tip.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) smooth or greasy in texture, appearance, manner |
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Term
| undulate (As the storm began to brew, the placid ocean began to undulate to an increasing degree.) |
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Definition
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Term
| upbraid (The last thing Lindsay wanted was for Lisa to upbraid her again about missing the rent payment.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to criticize or scold severely |
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Term
| usurp (The rogue army general tried to usurp control of the government, but he failed because most of the army backed the legally elected president.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to seize by force, take possession of without right |
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Term
| vacillate (I prefer a definite answer, but my boss kept vacillating between the distinct options available to us.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to fluctuate, hesitate |
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Term
| vacuous (Beyonce realized that the lyrics she had just penned were completely vacuous and tried to add more substance.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) lack of content or ideas, stupid |
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Term
| vapid (The professor's comments about the poem were surprisingly vapid and dull.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) lacking liveliness, dull |
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Term
| variegated (Each wire in the engineering exam was variegated by color so that the students could figure out which one was which.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) diversified, distinctly marked |
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Term
| venerate (The tribute to John Lennon sought to venerate his music, his words, and his legend.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to regard with respect or to honor |
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Term
| veracity (With several agencies regulating the reports, it was difficult for Latifah to argue against its veracity.) |
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Definition
| (n.) truthfulness, accuracy |
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Term
| verdant (The verdant leaves on the trees made the world look emerald.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) green in tint or color |
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Term
| vex (My little brother vexes me by poking me in the ribs for hours on end.) |
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Definition
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Term
| vicarious (All of my lame friends learned to be social through vicarious involvement in my amazing experiences.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) experiencing through another |
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Term
| vicissitude (The vicissitudes of daily life prevent me from predicting what might happen from one day to the next.) |
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Definition
| (n.) event that occurs by chance |
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Term
| vilify (After the Watergate scandal, almost any story written about President Nixon sought to vilify him and criticize his behavior.) |
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Definition
| (v.) to lower in importance, defame |
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Term
| viscous (The viscous syrup took three minutes to pour out of the bottle.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) not free flowing, syrupy |
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Term
| vitriolic (When angry, the woman would spew vitriolic insults.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) having a caustic quality |
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Term
| vituperate (Jack ran away as soon as his father found out, knowing he would be vituperated for his unseemly behavior.) |
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Definition
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Term
| wanton (Vicky's wanton demeanor often made the frat guys next door very excited.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) undisciplined, lewd, lustful |
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Term
| winsome (After such a long, frustrating day, I was grateful for Chris's winsome attitude and childish naivete.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) charming, pleasing |
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Term
| wistful (Since her pet rabbit died, Edda missed it terribly and was wistful all day long.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) full of yearning; musingly sad |
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Term
| wizened (Agatha's grandmother, Stephanie, had the most wizened countenance, full of leathery wrinkles.) |
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Definition
| (adj.) dry, shrunken, wrinkled |
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Term
| zenith (I was too nice to tell Nelly that she had reached the absolute zenith of her career with that one hit of hers.) |
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Definition
| (n.) the highest point, culminating point |
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Term
| zephyr (If not for the zephyrs that were blowing and cooling us, our room would've been unbearably hot.) |
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Definition
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