A Angela absolution by giving a verdict of not

guilty.)
 abase (v.) to humiliate, degrade (After being
 abstain (v.) to freely choose not to commit an
overthrown and abased, the deposed leader offered
action (Everyone demanded that Angus put on the
to bow down to his conqueror.)
kilt, but he did not want to do it and abstained.)
 abate (v.) to reduce, lessen (The rain poured down
 abstruse (adj.) hard to comprehend (Everyone else
for a while, then abated.)
in the class understood geometry easily, but John
 abdicate (v.) to give up a position, usually one of found the subject abstruse.)
leadership (When he realized that the
 accede (v.) to agree (When the class asked the
revolutionaries would surely win, the king
teacher whether they could play baseball instead of
abdicated his throne.)
learn grammar they expected him to refuse, but
 abduct (v.) to kidnap, take by force (The evildoers instead he acceded to their request.)
abducted the fairy princess from her happy home.)
 accentuate (v.) to stress, highlight (Psychologists
 aberration (n.) something that differs from the agree that those people who are happiest
norm (In 1918, the Boston Red Sox won the World accentuate the positive in life.)
Series, but the success turned out to be an
 accessible (adj.) obtainable, reachable (After
aberration, and the Red Sox have not won a World
studying with SparkNotes and getting a great score
Series since.)
on the SAT, Marlena happily realized that her goal
 abet (v.) to aid, help, encourage (The spy of getting into an Ivy-League college was
succeeded only because he had a friend on the accessible.)
inside to abet him.)
 acclaim (n.) high praise (Greg’s excellent poem
 abhor (v.) to hate, detest (Because he always won the acclaim of his friends.) accolade (n.) high
wound up kicking himself in the head when he praise, special distinction (Everyone offered
tried to play soccer, Oswald began to abhor the accolades to Sam after he won the Noble Prize.)
sport.)
 accommodating (adj.) helpful, obliging, polite
 abide 1. (v.) to put up with (Though he did not (Though the apartment was not big enough for
agree with the decision, Chuck decided to abide by three people, Arnold, Mark, and Zebulon were all
it.) 2. (v.) to remain (Despite the beating they’ve friends and were accommodating to each other.)
taken from the weather throughout the millennia,
 accord (n.) an agreement (After much negotiating,
the mountains abide.)
England and Iceland finally came to a mutually
 abject (adj.) wretched, pitiful (After losing all her beneficial accord about fishing rights off the cost of
money, falling into a puddle, and breaking her Greenland.)
ankle, Eloise was abject.)
 accost (v.) to confront verbally (Though
 abjure (v.) to reject, renounce (To prove his Antoinette was normally quite calm, when the
honesty, the President abjured the evil policies of waiter spilled soup on her for the fourth time in 15
his wicked predecessor.) minutes she stood up and accosted the man.)
 abnegation (n.) denial of comfort to oneself (The  accretion (n.) slow growth in size or amount
holy man slept on the floor, took only cold (Stalactites are formed by the accretion of minerals
showers, and generally followed other practices of from the roofs of caves.)
abnegation.)
 acerbic (adj.) biting, bitter in tone or taste (Jill
 abort (v.) to give up on a half-finished project or became extremely acerbic and began to cruelly
effort (After they ran out of food, the men, make fun of all her friends.)
attempting to jump rope around the world, had to
 acquiesce (v.) to agree without protesting (Though
abort and go home.)
Mr. Correlli wanted to stay outside and work in his
 abridge 1. (v.) to cut down, shorten (The publisher garage, when his wife told him that he had better
thought the dictionary was too long and abridged come in to dinner, he acquiesced to her demands.)
it.) 2. (adj.) shortened (Moby-Dick is such a long
 acrimony (n.) bitterness, discord (Though they
book that even the abridged version is longer than
vowed that no girl would ever come between them,
most normal books.)
Biff and Trevor could not keep acrimony from
 abrogate (v.) to abolish, usually by authority (The overwhelming their friendship after they both fell
Bill of Rights assures that the government cannot in love with the lovely Teresa.)
abrogate our right to a free press.)
 acumen (n.) keen insight (Because of his
 abscond (v.) to sneak away and hide (In the mathematical acumen, Larry was able to figure out
confusion, the super-spy absconded into the night in minutes problems that took other students
with the secret plans.) hours.)
 absolution (n.) freedom from blame, guilt, sin
(Once all the facts were known, the jury gave
 acute 1. (adj.) sharp, severe (Arnold could not  affront (n.) an insult (Bernardo was very touchy,
walk because the pain in his foot was so acute.) 2. and took any slight as an affront to his honor.)
(adj.) having keen insight (Because she was so  aggrandize (v.) to increase or make greater
acute, Libby instantly figured out how the (Joseph always dropped the names of the famous
magician pulled off his “magic.”) people his father knew as a way to aggrandize his
 adamant (adj.) impervious, immovable, personal stature.)
unyielding (Though public pressure was intense,  aggregate 1. (n.) a whole or total (The three
the President remained adamant about his branches of the U.S. Government form an
proposal.) aggregate much more powerful than its individual
 adept (adj.) extremely skilled (Tarzan was adept at parts.) 2. (v.) to gather into a mass (The dictator
jumping from tree to tree like a monkey.) tried to aggregate as many people into his army as
 adhere 1. (n.) to stick to something (We adhered he possibly could.)
the poster to the wall with tape.) 2. (n.) to follow  aggrieved (adj.) distressed, wronged, injured (The
devoutly (He adhered to the dictates of his religion foreman mercilessly overworked his aggrieved
without question.) employees.)
 admonish (v.) to caution, criticize, reprove (Joe’s  agile (adj.) quick, nimble (The dogs were too slow
mother admonished him not to ruin his appetite by to catch the agile rabbit.) agnostic (adj.) believing
eating cookies before dinner.) that the existence of God cannot be proven or
 adorn (v.) to decorate (We adorned the tree with disproven
ornaments.) (Joey’s parents are very religious, but he is
 adroit (adj.) skillful, dexterous (The adroit thief agnostic.)
could pick someone’s pocket without attracting  agriculture (n.) farming (It was a huge step in the
notice.) progress of civilization when tribes left hunting
 adulation (n.) extreme praise (Though the book and gathering and began to develop more
was pretty good, Marcy did not believe it deserved sustainable methods of obtaining food, such as
the adulation it received.) agriculture.)
 adumbrate (v.) to sketch out in a vague way (The  aisle (n.) a passageway between rows of seats
coach adumbrated a game plan, but none of the (Once we got inside the stadium we walked down
players knew precisely what to do.) the aisle to our seats.)
 adverse (adj.) antagonistic, unfavorable,  alacrity (n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason,
dangerous (Because of adverse conditions, the Chuck loved to help his mother whenever he
hikers decided to give up trying to climb the could, so when his mother asked him to set the
mountain.) table he did so with alacrity.)
 advocate 1. (v.) to argue in favor of something  alias (n.) a false name or identity (He snuck past
(Arnold advocated turning left at the stop sign, the guards by using an alias and fake ID.)
even though everyone else thought we should turn  allay (v.) to soothe, ease (The chairman of the
right.) 2. (n.) a person who argues in favor of Federal Reserve gave a speech to try to allay
something (In addition to wanting to turn left at investors’ fears about an economic downturn.)
every stop sign, Arnold was also a great advocate  allege (v.) to assert, usually without proof (The
of increasing national defense spending.) policeman had alleged that Marshall committed the
 aerial (adj.) somehow related to the air (We crime, but after the investigation turned up no
watched as the fighter planes conducted aerial evidence, Marshall was set free.)
maneuvers.)  alleviate (v.) to relieve, make more bearable (This
 aesthetic (adj.) artistic, related to the appreciation drug will alleviate the symptoms of the terrible
of beauty (We hired Susan as our interior decorator disease, but only for a while.)
because she has such a fine aesthetic sense.)  allocate (v.) to distribute, set aside (The Mayor
 affable (adj.) friendly, amiable (People like to be allocated 30 percent of the funds for improving the
around George because he is so affable and good- town’s schools.)
natured.)  aloof (adj.) reserved, distant (The scientist could
 affinity (n.)a spontaneous feeling of closeness sometimes seem aloof, as if he didn’t care about
(Jerry didn’t know why, but he felt an incredible his friends or family, but really he was just
affinity for Kramer the first time they met.) thinking about quantum mechanics.)
 affluent (adj.) rich, wealthy (Mrs. Grebelski was  altercation (n.) a dispute, fight (Jason and Lionel
affluent, owning a huge house, three cars, and an blamed one another for the car accident, leading to
island near Maine.) an altercation.)
 amalgamate (v.) to bring together, unite (Because  anguish (n.) extreme sadness, torment (Angelos
of his great charisma, the presidential candidate suffered terrible anguish when he learned that
was able to amalgamate all democrats and Buffy had died while combating a strange mystical
republicans under his banner.) force of evil.)
 ambiguous (adj.) uncertain, variably interpretable  animated (adj.) lively (When he begins to talk
(Some people think Caesar married Cleopatra for about drama, which is his true passion, he becomes
her power, others believe he was charmed by her very animated.)
beauty. His actual reasons are ambiguous.)  annex 1. (v.) to incorporate territory or space
 ambivalent (adj.) having opposing feelings (My (After defeating them in battle, the Russians
feelings about Calvin are ambivalent because on annexed Poland.) 2. (n.) a room attached to a larger
one hand he is a loyal friend, but on the other, he is room or space (He likes to do his studying in a
a cruel and vicious thief.) little annex attached to the main reading room in
 ameliorate (v.) to improve (The tense situation the library.)
was ameliorated when Sam proposed a solution  annul (v.) to make void or invalid (After seeing its
everyone could agree upon.) unforeseen and catastrophic effects, Congress
 amenable (adj.) willing, compliant (Our father was sought to annul the law.)
amenable when we asked him to drive us to the  anomaly (n.) something that does not fit into the
farm so we could go apple picking.) normal order (“That rip in the space- time
 amenity (n.) an item that increases comfort (Bill continuum is certainly a spatial anomaly,” said
Gates’s house is stocked with so many amenities, Spock to Captain Kirk.)
he never has to do anything for himself.)  anonymous (adj.) being unknown, unrecognized
 amiable (adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow, Harry (Mary received a love poem from an anonymous
got along with just about everyone.) amicable admirer.)
(adj.) friendly (Claudia and Jimmy got divorced,  antagonism (n.) hostility (Superman and Bizarro
but amicably and without hard feelings.) Superman shared a mutual antagonism, and often
 amorous (adj.) showing love, particularly sexual fought.)
(Whenever Albert saw Mariah wear her slinky red  antecedent (n.) something that came before (The
dress, he began to feel quite amorous.) great tradition of Western culture had its
 amorphous (adj.) without definite shape or type antecedent in the culture of Ancient Greece.)
(The effort was doomed from the start, because the  antediluvian (adj.) ancient (The antediluvian man
reasons behind it were so amorphous and hard to still believed that Eisenhower was president of the
pin down.) United States and that hot dogs cost a nickel.)
 anachronistic (adj.) being out of correct  anthology (n.) a selected collection of writings,
chronological order (In this book you’re writing, songs, etc. (The new anthology of Bob Dylan
you say that the Pyramids were built after the songs contains all his greatest hits and a few songs
Titanic sank, which is anachronistic.) that you might never have heard before.)
 analgesic (n.) something that reduces pain (Put this  antipathy (n.) a strong dislike, repugnance (I
analgesic on the wound so that the poor man at know you love me, but because you are a liar and a
least feels a little better.) thief, I feel nothing but antipathy for you.)
 analogous (adj.) similar to, so that an analogy can  antiquated (adj.) old, out of date (That antiquated
be drawn (Though they are unrelated genetically, car has none of the features, like power windows
the bone structure of whales and fish is quite and steering, that make modern cars so great.)
analogous.)  antiseptic (adj.) clean, sterile (The antiseptic
 anarchist (n.) one who wants to eliminate all hospital was very bare, but its cleanliness helped to
government (An anarchist, Carmine wanted to keep patients healthy.)
dissolve every government everywhere.)  antithesis (n.) the absolute opposite (Your values,
 anathema (n.) a cursed, detested person (I never which hold war and violence in the highest esteem,
want to see that murderer. He is an anathema to are the antithesis of my pacifist beliefs.)
me.)  anxiety (n.) intense uneasiness (When he heard
 anecdote (n.) a short, humorous account (After about the car crash, he felt anxiety because he
dinner, Marlon told an anecdote about the time he knew that his girlfriend had been driving on the
got his nose stuck in a toaster.) road where the accident occurred.)
 anesthesia (n.) loss of sensation (When the nerves  apathetic (adj.) lacking concern, emotion
in his spine were damaged, Mr. Hollins suffered (Uninterested in politics, Bruno was apathetic
anesthesia in his legs.) about whether he lived under a capitalist or
communist regime.)
 apocryphal (adj.) fictitious, false, wrong (Because  arrogate (v.) to take without justification (The
I am standing before you, it seems obvious that the king arrogated the right to order executions to
stories circulating about my demise were himself exclusively.)
apocryphal.)  artifact (n.) a remaining piece from an extinct
 appalling (adj.) inspiring shock, horror, disgust culture or place (The scientists spent all day
(The judge found the murderer’s crimes and lack searching the cave for artifacts from the ancient
of remorse appalling.) Mayan civilization.)
 appease (v.) to calm, satisfy (When the child cries,  artisan (n.) a craftsman (The artisan uses wood to
the mother gives him candy to appease him.) make walking sticks.)
 appraise (v.) to assess the worth or value of (A  ascertain (v.) to perceive, learn (With a bit of
realtor will come over tonight to appraise our research, the student ascertained that some plants
house.) can live for weeks without water.)
 apprehend 1. (v.) to seize, arrest (The criminal  ascetic (adj.) practicing restraint as a means of
was apprehended at the scene.) 2. (v.) to perceive, self-discipline, usually religious (The priest lives
understand, grasp (The student has trouble an ascetic life devoid of television, savory foods,
apprehending concepts in math and science.) and other pleasures.)
 approbation (n.) praise (The crowd welcomed the  ascribe (v.) to assign, credit, attribute to (Some
heroes with approbation.) appropriate (v.) to take, ascribe the invention of fireworks and dynamite to
make use of (The government appropriated the the Chinese.)
farmer’s land without justification.)  aspersion (n.) a curse, expression of ill-will (The
 aquatic (adj.) relating to water (The marine rival politicians repeatedly cast aspersions on each
biologist studies starfish and other aquatic others’ integrity.)
creatures.)  aspire (v.) to long for, aim toward (The young
 arable (adj.) suitable for growing crops (The poet aspires to publish a book of verse someday.)
farmer purchased a plot of arable land on which he  assail (v.) to attack (At dawn, the war planes
will grow corn and sprouts.) assailed the boats in the harbor.)
 arbiter (n.) one who can resolve a dispute, make a  assess (v.) to evaluate (A crew arrived to assess the
decision (The divorce court judge will serve as the damage after the crash.)
arbiter between the estranged husband and wife.)  assiduous (adj.) hard-working, diligent (The
 arbitrary (adj.) based on factors that appear construction workers erected the skyscraper during
random (The boy’s decision to choose one college two years of assiduous labor.)
over another seems arbitrary.)  assuage (v.) to ease, pacify (The mother held the
 arbitration (n.) the process or act of resolving a baby to assuage its fears.)
dispute (The employee sought official arbitration  astute (adj.) very clever, crafty (Much of Roger’s
when he could not resolve a disagreement with his success in politics results from his ability to
supervisor.) provide astute answers to reporters’ questions.)
 arboreal (adj.) of or relating to trees (Leaves,  asylum 1. (n.) a place of refuge, protection, a
roots, and bark are a few arboreal traits.) sanctuary (For Thoreau, the forest served as an
 arcane (adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few asylum from the pressures of urban life.) 2. (n.) an
(The professor is an expert in arcane Lithuanian institution in which the insane are kept (Once
literature.) diagnosed by a certified psychiatrist, the man was
 archaic (adj.) of or relating to an earlier period in put in an asylum.)
time, outdated (In a few select regions of Western  atone (v.) to repent, make amends (The man
Mongolian, an archaic Chinese dialect is still atoned for forgetting his wife’s birthday by buying
spoken.) her five dozen roses.)
 archetypal (adj.) the most representative or typical  atrophy (v.) to wither away, decay (If muscles do
example of something (Some believe George not receive enough blood, they will soon atrophy
Washington, with his flowing white hair and and die.)
commanding stature, was the archetypal  attain (v.) to achieve, arrive at (The athletes
politician.) strived to attain their best times in competition.)
 ardor (n.) extreme vigor, energy, enthusiasm (The  attribute 1. (v.) to credit, assign (He attributes all
soldiers conveyed their ardor with impassioned of his success to his mother’s undying
battle cries.) encouragement.) 2. (n.) a facet or trait (Among the
 arid (adj.) excessively dry (Little other than palm beetle’s most peculiar attributes is its thorny
trees and cacti grow successfully in arid protruding eyes.)
environments.)
 atypical (adj.) not typical, unusual (Screaming and  benevolent (adj.) marked by goodness or doing
crying is atypical adult behavior.) audacious (adj.) good (Police officers should be commended for
excessively bold (The security guard was shocked their benevolent service to the community.)
by the fan’s audacious attempt to offer him a  benign (adj.) favorable, not threatening, mild (We
bribe.) were all relieved to hear that the medical tests
 audible (adj.) able to be heard (The missing determined her tumor to be benign.)
person’s shouts were unfortunately not audible.)  bequeath (v.) to pass on, give (Jon’s father
 augment (v.) to add to, expand (The eager student bequeathed his entire estate to his mother.) berate
seeks to augment his knowledge of French (v.) to scold vehemently (The angry boss berated
vocabulary by reading French literature.) his employees for failing to meet their deadline.)
 auspicious (adj.) favorable, indicative of good  bereft (adj.) devoid of, without (His family was
things (The tennis player considered the sunny bereft of food and shelter following the tornado.)
forecast an auspicious sign that she would win her  beseech (v.) to beg, plead, implore (The servant
match.) beseeched the king for food to feed his starving
 austere (adj.) very bare, bleak (The austere family.)
furniture inside the abandoned house made the  bias (n.) a tendency, inclination, prejudice (The
place feel haunted.) judge’s hidden bias against smokers led him to
 avarice (n.) excessive greed (The banker’s avarice make an unfair decision.)
led him to amass a tremendous personal fortune.)  bilk (v.) cheat, defraud (The lawyer discovered
 avenge (v.) to seek revenge (The victims will take that this firm had bilked several clients out of
justice into their own hands and strive to avenge thousands of dollars.)
themselves against the men who robbed them.)  blandish (v.) to coax by using flattery (Rachel’s
 aversion (n.) a particular dislike for something assistant tried to blandish her into accepting the
(Because he’s from Hawaii, Ben has an aversion to deal.)
autumn, winter, and cold climates in general.)  blemish (n.) an imperfection, flaw (The dealer
agreed to lower the price because of the many
B
blemishes on the surface of the wooden furniture.)
 balk (v.) to stop, block abruptly (Edna’s boss  blight 1. (n.) a plague, disease (The potato blight
balked at her request for another raise.) ballad (n.) destroyed the harvest and bankrupted many
a love song (Greta’s boyfriend played her a ballad families.) 2. (n.) something that destroys hope (His
on the guitar during their walk through the dark bad morale is a blight upon this entire operation.)
woods.)  boisterous (adj.) loud and full of energy (The
 banal (adj.) dull, commonplace (The client candidate won the vote after giving several
rejected our proposal because they found our boisterous speeches on television.)
presentation banal and unimpressive.)  bombastic (adj.) excessively confident, pompous
 bane (n.) a burden (Advanced physics is the bane (The singer’s bombastic performance disgusted the
of many students’ academic lives.) bard (n.) a poet, crowd.)
often a singer as well (Shakespeare is often  boon (n.) a gift or blessing (The good weather has
considered the greatest bard in the history of the been a boon for many businesses located near the
English language.) beach.)
 bashful (adj.) shy, excessively timid (Frankie’s  bourgeois (n.) a middle-class person, capitalist
mother told him not to be bashful when he refused (Many businessmen receive criticism for their
to attend the birthday party.) bourgeois approach to life.)
 battery 1.(n.) a device that supplies power (Most  brazen (adj.) excessively bold, brash (Critics
cars run on a combination of power from a battery condemned the novelist’s brazen attempt to
and gasoline.) 2. (n.)assault, beating (Her husband plagiarize Hemingway’s story.)
was accused of assault and battery after he attacked  brusque (adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (The
a man on the sidewalk.) captain’s brusque manner offended the
 beguile (v.) to trick, deceive (The thief beguiled passengers.)
his partners into surrendering all of their money to  buffet 1. (v.) to strike with force (The strong winds
him.) buffeted the ships, threatening to capsize them.) 2.
 behemoth (n.) something of tremendous power or (n.) an arrangement of food set out on a table
size (The new aircraft carrier is among several (Rather than sitting around a table, the guests took
behemoths that the Air Force has added to its food from our buffet and ate standing up.)
fleet.)
 burnish (v.) to polish, shine (His mother asked  carp (v.) to annoy, pester (The husband divorced
him to burnish the silverware before setting the his wife after listening to her carping voice for
table.) decades.)
 buttress 1. (v.) to support, hold up (The column  catalog 1. (v.) to list, enter into a list (The judge
buttresses the roof above the statue.) 2. (n.) cataloged the victim’s injuries before calculating
something that offers support (The buttress how much money he would award.) 2. (n.) a list or
supports the roof above the statues.) collection (We received a catalog from J. Crew
that displayed all of their new items.)
C
 catalyze (v.) to charge, inspire (The president’s
 cacophony (n.) tremendous noise, disharmonious speech catalyzed the nation and resuscitated the
sound (The elementary school orchestra created a economy.)
cacophony at the recital.)  caucus (n.) a meeting usually held by people
 cadence (n.) a rhythm, progression of sound (The working toward the same goal (The ironworkers
pianist used the foot pedal to emphasize the held a caucus to determine how much of a pay
cadence of the sonata.) increase they would request.)
 cajole (v.) to urge, coax (Fred’s buddies cajoled  caustic (adj.) bitter, biting, acidic (The politicians
him into attending the bachelor party.) calamity exchanged caustic insults for over an hour during
(n.) an event with disastrous consequences (The the debate.)
earthquake in San Francisco was a calamity worse  cavort (v.) to leap about, behave boisterously (The
than any other natural disaster in history.) adults ate their dinners on the patio, while the
 calibrate (v.) to set, standardize (The mechanic children cavorted around the pool.)
calibrated the car’s transmission to make the motor  censure 1. (n.) harsh criticism (The frustrated
run most efficiently.) teenager could not put up with anymore of her
 callous (adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The critical mother’s censure.) 2. (v.) to rebuke
murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the formally (The principal censured the head of the
jury.) English Department for forcing students to learn
 calumny (n.) an attempt to spoil someone else’s esoteric vocabulary.)
reputation by spreading lies (The local official’s  cerebral (adj.) related to the intellect (The books
calumny ended up ruining his opponent’s prospect we read in this class are too cerebral— they don’t
of winning the election.) engage my emotions at all.)
 camaraderie (n.) brotherhood, jovial unity  chaos (n.) absolute disorder (Mr. Thornton’s
(Camaraderie among employees usually leads to sudden departure for the lavatory plunged his
success in business.) classroom into chaos.)
 candor (n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised  chastise (v.) to criticize severely (After being
by the candor of the mayor’s speech because he is chastised by her peers for mimicking Britney
usually rather evasive.) Spears, Miranda dyed her hair black and affected a
 canny (adj.) shrewd, careful (The canny runner Gothic style.)
hung at the back of the pack through much of the  cherish (v.) to feel or show affection toward
race to watch the other runners, and then sprinted something (She continued to cherish her red plaid
past them at the end.) trousers, even though they had gone out of style
 canvas 1. (n.) a piece of cloth on which an artist and no longer fit her.)
paints (Picasso liked to work on canvas rather than  chide (v.) to voice disapproval (Lucy chided
on bare cement.) 2. (v.) to cover, inspect (We Russell for his vulgar habits and sloppy
canvassed the neighborhood looking for clues.) appearance.)
 capacious (adj.) very spacious (The workers  choreography (n.) the arrangement of dances (The
delighted in their new capacious office space.) plot of the musical was banal, but the
 capitulate (v.) to surrender (The army finally choreography was stunning.)
capitulated after fighting a long costly battle.)  chronicle 1. (n.) a written history (The library
 capricious (adj.) subject to whim, fickle (The featured the newly updated chronicle of World
young girl’s capricious tendencies made it difficult War II.) 2. (v.) to write a history (Albert’s diary
for her to focus on achieving her goals.) chronicled the day-to-day growth of his obsession
 captivate (v.) to get the attention of, hold (The with Cynthia.)
fireworks captivated the young boy, who had never  chronological (adj.) arranged in order of time
seen such things before.) (Lionel carefully arranged the snapshots of his
 carouse (v.) to party, celebrate (We caroused all former girlfriends in chronological order, and then
night after getting married.) set fire to them.)
 circuitous (adj.) roundabout (The bus’s circuitous  coerce (v.) to make somebody do something by
route took us through numerous outlying suburbs.) force or threat (The court decided that Vanilla Ice
 circumlocution (n.) indirect and wordy language did not have to honor the contract because he had
(The professor’s habit of speaking in been coerced into signing it.)
circumlocutions made it difficult to follow his  cogent (adj.) intellectually convincing (Irene’s
lectures.) arguments in favor of abstinence were so cogent
 circumscribed (adj.) marked off, bounded (The that I could not resist them.)
children were permitted to play tag only within a  cognizant (adj.) aware, mindful (Jake avoided
carefully circumscribed area of the lawn.) speaking to women in bars because he was
 circumspect (adj.) cautious (Though I promised cognizant of the fact that drinking impairs his
Rachel’s father I would bring her home promptly judgment.)
by midnight, it would have been more circumspect  coherent (adj.) logically consistent, intelligible
not to have specified a time.) (Renee could not figure out what Monroe had seen
 circumvent (v.) to get around (The school’s dress because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent
code forbidding navel-baring jeans was statement.)
circumvented by the determined students, who  collateral 1. (adj.) secondary (Divorcing my wife
were careful to cover up with long coats when had the collateral effect of making me poor, as she
administrators were nearby.) was the only one of us with a job or money.) 2. (n.)
 clairvoyant (adj.) able to perceive things that security for a debt (Jacob left his watch as
normal people cannot (Zelda’s uncanny ability to collateral for the $500 loan.)
detect my lies was nothing short of clairvoyant.)  colloquial (adj.) characteristic of informal
 clamor 1. (n.) loud noise (Each morning the birds conversation (Adam’s essay on sexual response in
outside my window make such a clamor that they primates was marked down because it contained
wake me up.) 2. (v.)to loudly insist (Neville’s fans too many colloquial expressions.)
clamored for him to appear on stage, but he had  collusion (n.) secret agreement, conspiracy (The
passed out on the floor of his dressing room.) three law students worked in collusion to steal the
 clandestine (adj.) secret (Announcing to her final exam.)
boyfriend that she was going to the gym, Sophie  colossus (n.) a gigantic statue or thing (For 56
actually went to meet Joseph for a clandestine years, the ancient city of Rhodes featured a
liaison.) colossus standing astride its harbor.)
 cleave 1. (v.) to divide into parts (Following the  combustion (n.) the act or process of burning (The
scandalous disgrace of their leader, the entire unexpected combustion of the prosecution’s
political party cleaved into warring factions.) 2. evidence forced the judge to dismiss the case
(v.) to stick together firmly (After resolving their against Ramirez.)
marital problems, Junior and Rosa cleaved to one  commendation (n.) a notice of approval or
another all the more tightly.) recognition (Jared received a commendation from
 clemency (n.) mercy (After he forgot their Linda, his supervisor, for his stellar performance.)
anniversary, Martin could only beg Maria for  commensurate (adj.) corresponding in size or
clemency.) amount (Ahab selected a very long roll and
 clergy (n.) members of Christian holy orders proceeded to prepare a tuna salad sandwich
(Though the villagers viewed the church rectory as commensurate with his enormous appetite.)
quaint and charming, the clergy who lived there  commodious (adj.) roomy (Holden invited the
regarded it as a mildewy and dusty place that three women to join him in the back seat of the
aggravated their allergies.) taxicab, assuring them that the car was quite
 cloying (adj.) sickeningly sweet (Though Ronald commodious.)
was physically attractive, Maud found his constant  compelling (adj.) forceful, demanding attention
compliments and solicitous remarks cloying.) (Eliot’s speech was so compelling that Lenore
 coagulate (v.) to thicken, clot (The top layer of the accepted his proposal on the spot.)
pudding had coagulated into a thick skin.)  compensate (v.) to make an appropriate payment
 coalesce (v.) to fuse into a whole (Gordon’s for something (Reginald bought Sharona a new
ensemble of thrift-shop garments coalesced into a dress to compensate her for the one he’d spilled his
surprisingly handsome outfit.) ice cream on.)
 cobbler (n.) a person who makes or repairs shoes  complacency (n.) self-satisfied ignorance of
(I had my neighborhood cobbler replace my worn- danger (Colin tried to shock his friends out of their
out leather soles with new ones.) complacency by painting a frightening picture of
what might happen to them.)
 complement (v.) to complete, make perfect (Ann’s  conduit (n.) a pipe or channel through which
scarf complements her blouse beautifully, making something passes (The water flowed through the
her seem fully dressed even though she isn’t conduit into the container.)
wearing a coat.)  confection (n.) a sweet, fancy food (We went to
 compliant (adj.) ready to adapt oneself to the mall food court and purchased a delicious
another’s wishes (Sue had very strong opinions confection.)
about what to do on a first date, and Ted was  confidant (n.) a person entrusted with secrets
absolutely compliant.) (Shortly after we met, she became my chief
 complicit (adj.) being an accomplice in a wrongful confidant.)
act (By keeping her daughter’s affair a secret,  conflagration (n.) great fire (The conflagration
Maddie became complicit in it.) consumed the entire building.)
 compliment (n.) an expression of esteem or  confluence (n.) a gathering together (A confluence
approval (I blushed crimson when Emma gave me of different factors made tonight the perfect night.)
a compliment on my new haircut.)  conformist (n.) one who behaves the same as
 compound 1. (v.) to combine parts (The difficulty others (Julian was such a conformist that he had to
of finding a fire escape amid the smoke was wait and see if his friends would do something
compounded with the dangers posed by the before he would commit.)
panicking crowds.) 2. (n.) a combination of  confound (v.) to frustrate, confuse (MacGuyver
different parts (My attraction to Donna was a confounded the policemen pursuing him by
compound of curiosity about the unknown, covering his tracks.)
physical desire, and intellectual admiration.) 3. (n.)  congeal (v.) to thicken into a solid (The sauce had
a walled area containing a group of buildings co ngealed into a thick paste.) congenial (adj.)
(When the fighting started, Joseph rushed into the pleasantly agreeable (His congenial manner made
family compound because it was safe and well him popular wherever he went.)
defended.)  congregation (n.) a gathering of people, especially
 comprehensive (adj.) including everything (She for religious services (The priest told the
sent me a comprehensive list of the ingredients congregation that he would be retiring.)
needed to cook rabbit soufflé.)  congruity (n.) the quality of being in agreement
 compress (v.) to apply pressure, squeeze together (Bill and Veronica achieved a perfect congruity of
(Lynn compressed her lips into a frown.) opinion.)
 compunction (n.) distress caused by feeling guilty  connive (v.) to plot, scheme (She connived to get
(He felt compunction for the shabby way he’d me to give up my vacation plans.) consecrate (v.)
treated her.) to dedicate something to a holy purpose (Arvin
 concede (v.) to accept as valid (Andrew had to consecrated his spare bedroom as a shrine to
concede that what his mother said about Diana Christina.)
made sense.)  consensus (n.) an agreement of opinion (The jury
 conciliatory (adj.) friendly, agreeable (I took was able to reach a consensus only after days of
Amanda’s invitation to dinner as a very deliberation.)
conciliatory gesture.)  consign (v.) to give something over to another’s
 concise (adj.) brief and direct in expression care (Unwillingly, he consigned his mother to a
(Gordon did not like to waste time, and his nursing home.)
instructions to Brenda were nothing if not concise.)  consolation (n.) an act of comforting (Darren
 concoct (v.) to fabricate, make up (She concocted found Alexandra’s presence to be a consolation for
the most ridiculous story to explain her absence.) his suffering.)
 concomitant (adj.) accompanying in a subordinate  consonant (adj.) in harmony (The singers’
fashion (His dislike of hard work carried with it a consonant voices were beautiful.) constituent (n.)
concomitant lack of funds.) an essential part (The most important constituent
 concord (n.) harmonious agreement (Julie and of her perfume is something called ambergris.)
Harold began the evening with a disagreement, but  constrain (v.)to forcibly restrict (His belief in
ended it in a state of perfect concord.) nonviolence constrained him from taking revenge
 condolence (n.) an expression of sympathy in on his attackers.)
sorrow (Brian lamely offered his condolences on  construe (v.) to interpret (He construed her
the loss of his sister’s roommate’s cat.) throwing his clothes out the window as a signal
 condone (v.) to pardon, deliberately overlook (He that she wanted him to leave.)
refused to condone his brother’s crime.)  consummate (v.) to complete a deal; to complete a
marriage ceremony through sexual intercourse
 (Erica and Donald consummated their agreement  counteract (v.) to neutralize, make ineffective
in the executive boardroom.) (The antidote counteracted the effect of the
 consumption (n.) the act of consuming poison.)
(Consumption of intoxicating beverages is not  coup 1. (n.) a brilliant, unexpected act (Alexander
permitted on these premises.) pulled off an amazing coup when he got a date
 contemporaneous (adj.) existing during the same with Cynthia by purposely getting hit by her car.)
time (Though her novels do not feature the themes 2. (n.) the overthrow of a government and
of Romanticism, Jane Austen’s work was assumption of authority (In their coup attempt, the
contemporaneous with that of Wordsworth and army officers stormed the Parliament and took all
Byron.) the legislators hostage.)
 contentious (adj.) having a tendency to quarrel or  covet (v.) to desire enviously (I coveted Moses’s
dispute (George’s contentious personality made house, wife, and car.)
him unpopular with his classmates.)  covert (adj.) secretly engaged in (Nerwin waged a
 contravene (v.) to contradict, oppose, violate covert campaign against his enemies, while
(Edwidge contravened his landlady’s rule against outwardly appearing to remain friendly.)
overnight guests.)  credulity (n.) readiness to believe (His credulity
 contrite (adj.) penitent, eager to be forgiven made him an easy target for con men.) crescendo
(Blake’s contrite behavior made it impossible to (n.) a steady increase in intensity or volume (The
stay angry at him.) crescendo of the brass instruments gave the piece a
 contusion (n.) bruise, injury (The contusions on patriotic feel.)
his face suggested he’d been in a fight.)  criteria (n.) standards by which something is
 conundrum (n.) puzzle, problem (Interpreting judged (Among Mrs. Fields’s criteria for good
Jane’s behavior was a constant conundrum.) cookies are that they be moist and chewy.)
 convene (v.) to call together (Jason convened his  culmination (n.) the climax toward which
entire extended family for a discussion.) something progresses (The culmination of the
 convention 1. (n.) an assembly of people (The couple’s argument was the decision to divorce.)
hotel was full because of the cattle- ranchers’  culpable (adj.) deserving blame (He was culpable
convention.) 2. (n.) a rule, custom (The cattle- of the crime, and was sentenced to perform
ranchers have a convention that you take off your community service for 75 years.)
boots before entering their houses.)  cultivate (v.) to nurture, improve, refine (At the
 convivial (adj.) characterized by feasting, drinking, library, she cultivated her interest in spy novels.)
merriment (The restaurant’s convivial atmosphere  cumulative (adj.) increasing, building upon itself
put me immediately at ease.) (The cumulative effect of hours spent in the sun
 convoluted (adj.) intricate, complicated (Grace’s was a deep tan.)
story was so convoluted that I couldn’t follow it.)  cunning (adj.) sly, clever at being deceitful (The
 copious (adj.) profuse, abundant (Copious amounts general devised a cunning plan to surprise the
of Snapple were imbibed in the cafeteria.) enemy.)
 cordial (adj.) warm, affectionate (His cordial  cupidity (n.) greed, strong desire (His cupidity
greeting melted my anger at once.) coronation (n.) made him enter the abandoned gold mine despite
the act of crowning (The new king’s coronation the obvious dangers.)
occurred the day after his father’s death.)  cursory (adj.) brief to the point of being superficial
 corpulence (adj.)extreme fatness (Henry’s (Late for the meeting, she cast a cursory glance at
corpulence did not make him any less attractive to the agenda.)
his charming, svelte wife.)  curt (adj.) abruptly and rudely short (Her curt
 corroborate (v.) to support with evidence (Luke’s reply to my question made me realize that she was
seemingly outrageous claim was corroborated by upset at me.)
witnesses.)  curtail (v.) to lessen, reduce (Since losing his job,
 corrosive (adj.) having the tendency to erode or he had to curtail his spending.)
eat away (The effect of the chemical was highly
D
corrosive.)
 cosmopolitan (adj.) sophisticated, worldly  daunting (adj.) intimidating, causing one to lose
(Lloyd’s education and upbringing were courage (He kept delaying the daunting act of
cosmopolitan, so he felt right at home among the asking for a promotion.)
powerful and learned.)  dearth (n.) a lack, scarcity (An eager reader, she
was dismayed by the dearth of classic books at the
library.)
 debacle (n.) a disastrous failure, disruption (The  demagogue (n.) a leader who appeals to a people’s
elaborately designed fireworks show turned into a prejudices (The demagogue strengthened his hold
debacle when the fireworks started firing in over his people by blaming immigrants for the lack
random directions.) of jobs.) demarcation (n.) the marking of
 debase (v.) to lower the quality or esteem of boundaries or categories (Different cultures have
something (The large raise that he gave himself different demarcations of good and evil.)
debased his motives for running the charity.)  demean (v.) to lower the status or stature of
 debauch (v.) to corrupt by means of sensual something (She refused to demean her secretary by
pleasures (An endless amount of good wine and making him order her lunch.)
cheese debauched the traveler.)  demure (adj.) quiet, modest, reserved (Though
 debunk (v.) to expose the falseness of something everyone else at the party was dancing and going
(He debunked her claim to be the world’s greatest crazy, she remained demure.)
chess player by defeating her in 18 consecutive  denigrate (v.) to belittle, diminish the opinion of
matches.) (The company decided that its advertisements
 decorous (adj.) socially proper, appropriate (The would no longer denigrate the company’s
appreciative guest displayed decorous behavior competitors.)
toward his host.)  denounce (v.) to criticize publicly (The senator
 decry (v.) to criticize openly (The kind video denounced her opponent as a greedy politician.)
rental clerk decried the policy of charging  deplore (v.) to feel or express sorrow, disapproval
customers late fees.) (We all deplored the miserable working conditions
 deface (v.) to ruin or injure something’s in the factory.)
appearance (The brothers used eggs and shaving  depravity (n.) wickedness (Rumors of the ogre’s
cream to deface their neighbor’s mailbox.) depravity made the children afraid to enter the
 defamatory (adj.) harmful toward another’s forest.)
reputation (The defamatory gossip spreading about  deprecate (v.) to belittle, depreciate (Always over-
the actor made the public less willing to see the modest, he deprecated his contribution to the local
actor’s new movie.) charity.)
 defer (v.) to postpone something; to yield to  derelict (adj.) abandoned, run-down (Even though
another’s wisdom (Ron deferred to Diane, the it was dangerous, the children enjoyed going to the
expert on musical instruments, when he was asked deserted lot and playing in the derelict house.)
about buying a piano.)  deride (v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The
 deferential (adj.) showing respect for another’s bullies derided the foreign student’s accent.)
authority (His deferential attitude toward her made  derivative (adj.) taken directly from a source,
her more confident in her ability to run the unoriginal (She was bored by his music because
company.) she felt that it was derivative and that she had
 defile (v.) to make unclean, impure (She defiled the heard it before.)
calm of the religious building by playing her  desecrate (v.) to violate the sacredness of a thing
banjo.) or place (They feared that the construction of a
 deft (adj.) skillful, capable (Having worked in a golf course would desecrate the preserved
bakery for many years, Marcus was a deft bread wilderness.)
maker.)  desiccated (adj.) dried up, dehydrated (The skin of
 defunct (adj.) no longer used or existing (They the desiccated mummy looked like old paper.)
planned to turn the defunct schoolhouse into a  desolate (adj.) deserted, dreary, lifeless (She found
community center.) the desolate landscape quite a contrast to the hustle
 delegate (v.) to hand over responsibility for and bustle of the overcrowded city.)
something (The dean delegated the task of finding  despondent (adj.) feeling depressed, discouraged,
a new professor to a special hiring committee.) hopeless (Having failed the first math test, the
 deleterious (adj.) harmful (She experienced the despondent child saw no use in studying for the
deleterious effects of running a marathon without next and failed that one too.)
stretching her muscles enough beforehand.)  despot (n.) one who has total power and rules
 deliberate (adj.) intentional, reflecting careful brutally (The despot issued a death sentence for
consideration (Though Mary was quite upset, her anyone who disobeyed his laws.)
actions to resolve the dispute were deliberate.)  destitute (adj.) impoverished, utterly lacking (The
 delineate (v.) to describe, outline, shed light on hurricane destroyed many homes and left many
(She neatly delineated her reasons for canceling families destitute.)
the project’s funding.)
 deter (v.) to discourage, prevent from doing  discomfit (v.) to thwart, baffle (The normally
(Bob’s description of scary snakes couldn’t deter cheery and playful children’s sudden misery
Marcia from traveling in the rainforests.) discomfited the teacher.)
 devious (adj.) not straightforward, deceitful (Not  discordant (adj.) not agreeing, not in harmony
wanting to be punished, the devious girl blamed with (The girls’ sobs were a discordant sound amid
the broken vase on the cat.) the general laughter that filled the restaurant.)
 dialect (n.) a variation of a language (In the  discrepancy (n.) difference, failure of things to
country’s remote, mountainous regions, the correspond (He was troubled by the discrepancy
inhabitants spoke a dialect that the country’s other between what he remembered paying for the
inhabitants had difficulty understanding.) appliance and what his receipt showed he paid for
 diaphanous (adj.) light, airy, transparent (Sunlight it.)
poured in through the diaphanous curtains,  discretion (n.) the quality of being reserved in
brightening the room.) speech or action; good judgment (Not wanting her
 didactic 1. (adj.) intended to instruct (She wrote up patient to get overly anxious, the doctor used
a didactic document showing new employees how discretion in deciding how much to tell the patient
to handle the company’s customers.) 2. (adj.) about his condition.)
overly moralistic (His didactic style of teaching  discursive (adj.) rambling, lacking order (The
made it seem like he wanted to persuade his professor’s discursive lectures seemed to be about
students not to understand history fully, but to every subject except the one initially described.)
understand it from only one point of view.)  disdain 1. (v.) to scorn, hold in low esteem
 diffident (adj.) shy, quiet, modest (While eating (Insecure about their jobs, the older employees
dinner with the adults, the diffident youth did not disdained the recently hired ones, who were young
speak for fear of seeming presumptuous.) and capable.) 2. (n.) scorn, low esteem (After
 diffuse 1. (v.) to scatter, thin out, break up (He learning of his immoral actions, Justine held
diffused the tension in the room by making in a Lawrence in disdain.)
joke.) 2. (adj.) not concentrated, scattered,  disgruntled (adj.) upset, not content (The child
disorganized (In her writings, she tried believed that his parents had unjustly grounded
unsuccessfully to make others understand her him, and remained disgruntled for a week.)
diffuse thoughts.)  disheartened (adj.) feeling a loss of spirit or
 dilatory (adj.) tending to delay, causing delay (The morale (The team was disheartened after losing in
general’s dilatory strategy enabled the enemy to the finals of the tournament.)
regroup.)  disparage (v.) to criticize or speak ill of (The
 diligent (adj.) showing care in doing one’s work saleswoman disparaged the competitor’s products
(The diligent researcher made sure to check her to persuade her customers to buy what she was
measurements multiple times.) selling.)
 diminutive (adj.) small or miniature (The bullies,  disparate (adj.) sharply differing, containing
tall and strong, picked on the diminutive child.) sharply contrasting elements (Having widely
 dirge (n.) a mournful song, especially for a funeral varying interests, the students had disparate
(The bagpipers played a dirge as the casket was responses toward the novel.)
carried to the cemetery.)  dispatch (v.) to send off to accomplish a duty (The
 disaffected (adj.) rebellious, resentful of authority carpenter dispatched his assistant to fetch wood.)
(Dismayed by Bobby’s poor behavior, the parents  dispel (v.) to drive away, scatter (She entered the
sent their disaffected son to a military academy to office as usual on Monday, dispelling the rumor
be disciplined.) that she had been fired.)
 disavow (v.) to deny knowledge of or  disperse (v.) to scatter, cause to scatter (When the
responsibility for (Not wanting others to criticize rain began to pour, the crowd at the baseball game
her, she disavowed any involvement in the quickly dispersed.)
company’s hiring scandal.)  disrepute (n.) a state of being held in low regard
 discern (v.) to perceive, detect (Though he hid his (The officer fell into disrepute after it was learned
emotions, she discerned from his body language that he had disobeyed the orders he had given to
that he was angry.) his own soldiers.)
 disclose (v.) to reveal, make public (The CEO  dissemble (v.) to conceal, fake (Not wanting to
disclosed to the press that the company would have appear heartlessly greedy, she dissembled and hid
to fire several employees.) her intention to sell her ailing father’s stamp
collection.)
 disseminate (v.) to spread widely (The politician  duplicity (n.) crafty dishonesty (His duplicity
disseminated his ideas across the town before the involved convincing his employees to let him
election.) lower their salaries and increase their stock
 dissent 1. (v.) to disagree (The principal argued options, and then to steal the money he saved and
that the child should repeat the fourth grade, but run the company into the ground.)
the unhappy parents dissented.) 2. (n.) the act of  duress (n.) hardship, threat (It was only under
disagreeing (Unconvinced that the defendant was intense duress that he, who was normally against
guilty, the last juror voiced his dissent with the rest killing, fired his gun.)
of the jury.)  dynamic (adj.) actively changing (The parents
 dissipate 1. (v.) to disappear, cause to disappear found it hard to keep up with the dynamic music
(The sun finally came out and dissipated the haze.) scene with which their children had become very
2. (v.) to waste (She dissipated her fortune on a familiar.)
series of bad investments.)
E
 dissonance (n.) lack of harmony or consistency
(Though the president of the company often spoke  ebullient (adj.) extremely lively, enthusiastic (She
of the company as reliant solely upon its workers, became ebullient upon receiving an acceptance
her decision to increase her own salary rather than letter from her first-choice college.)
reward her employees revealed a striking  eclectic (adj.) consisting of a diverse variety of
dissonance between her alleged beliefs and her elements (That bar attracts an eclectic crowd:
actions.) lawyers, artists, circus clowns, and investment
 dissuade (v.) to persuade someone not to do bankers.)
something (Worried that he would catch a cold,  ecstatic (adj.) intensely and overpoweringly happy
she tried to dissuade him from going out on winter (The couple was ecstatic when they learned that
nights.) they had won the lottery.)
 distend (v.) to swell out (Years of drinking beer  edict (n.) an order, decree (The ruler issued an
caused his stomach to distend.) dither (v.) to be edict requiring all of his subjects to bow down
indecisive (Not wanting to offend either friend, he before him.)
dithered about which of the two birthday parties he  efface (v.) to wipe out, obliterate, rub away (The
should attend.) husband was so angry at his wife for leaving him
 divine (adj.) godly, exceedingly wonderful that he effaced all evidence of her presence; he
(Terribly fond of desserts, she found the rich threw out pictures of her and gave away all her
chocolate cake to be divine.) belongings.)
 divisive (adj.) causing dissent, discord (Her  effervescent (adj.) bubbly, lively (My friend is so
divisive tactics turned her two friends against each effervescent that she makes everyone smile.)
other.)  efficacious (adj.) effective (My doctor promised
 divulge (v.) to reveal something secret (Pressured me that the cold medicine was efficacious, but I’m
by the press, the government finally divulged the still sniffling.)
previously unknown information.)  effrontery (n.) impudence, nerve, insolence (When
 docile (adj.) easily taught or trained (She I told my aunt that she was boring, my mother
successfully taught the docile puppy several scolded me for my effrontery.)
tricks.)  effulgent (adj.) radiant, splendorous (The golden
 dogmatic (adj.) aggressively and arrogantly certain palace was effulgent.)
about unproved principles (His dogmatic claim that  egregious (adj.) extremely bad (The student who
men were better than women at fixing appliances threw sloppy joes across the cafeteria was
angered everyone.) punished for his egregious behavior.)
 dormant (adj.) sleeping, temporarily inactive  elaborate (adj.) complex, detailed, intricate (Dan
(Though she pretended everything was fine, her always beats me at chess because he develops such
anger lay dormant throughout the dinner party and an elaborate game plan that I can never predict his
exploded in screams of rage after everyone had next move.)
left.)  elated (adj.) overjoyed, thrilled (When she found
 dour (adj.)stern, joyless (The children feared their out she had won the lottery, the writer was elated.)
dour neighbor because the old man would take  elegy (n.) a speech given in honor of a dead person
their toys if he believed they were being too loud.) (At the funeral, the widow gave a moving elegy
 dubious (adj.) doubtful, of uncertain quality describing her love for her husband.)
(Suspicious that he was only trying to get a raise,
she found his praise dubious.)
 elicit (v.) to bring forth, draw out, evoke (Although  encore (n.) the audience’s demand for a repeat
I asked several times where the exit was, I elicited performance; also the artist’s performance in
no response from the stone-faced policeman.) response to that demand (At the end of the concert,
 eloquent (adj.) expressive, articulate, moving (The all the fans yelled, “Encore! Encore!” but the band
priest gave such an eloquent sermon that most did not come out to play again.)
churchgoers were crying.)  encumber (v.) to weigh down, burden (At the
 elucidate (v.) to clarify, explain (I didn’t airport, my friend was encumbered by her luggage,
understand why my friend was so angry with me, so I offered to carry two of her bags.)
so I asked Janine to elucidate her feelings.)  enervate (v.) to weaken, exhaust (Writing these
 elude (v.) to evade, escape (Despite an intense sentences enervates me so much that I will have to
search, the robber continues to elude the police.) take a nap after I finish.)
 emaciated (adj.) very thin, enfeebled looking (My  enfranchise (v.) to grant the vote to (The
sister eats a lot of pastries and chocolate but still Nineteenth Amendment enfranchised women.)
looks emaciated.)  engender (v.) to bring about, create, generate
 embellish 1. (v.) to decorate, adorn (My mom (During the Olympics, the victories of U.S. athletes
embellished the living room by adding lace engender a patriotic spirit among Americans.)
curtains.) 2. (v.)to add details to, enhance (When  enigmatic (adj.) mystifying, cryptic (That man
Harry told me that he had “done stuff” on his wearing the dark suit and dark glasses is so
vacation, I asked him to embellish upon his enigmatic that no one even knows his name.)
account.)  enmity (n.) ill will, hatred, hostility (Mark and
 embezzle (v.) to steal money by falsifying records Andy have clearly not forgiven each other, because
(The accountant was fired for embezzling $10,000 the enmity between them is obvious to anyone in
of the company’s funds.) their presence.)
 emend (v.) to correct or revise a written text (If my  ennui (n.) boredom, weariness (I feel such ennui
sentence is incorrect, the editor will emend what I that I don’t look forward to anything, not even my
have written.) birthday party.)
 eminent 1. (adj.) distinguished, prominent, famous  entail (v.) to include as a necessary step (Building
(Mr. Phillips is such an eminent scholar that every a new fence entails tearing down the old one.)
professor on campus has come to hear him  enthrall (v.) to charm, hold spellbound (The
lecture.) 2. (adj.) conspicuous (There is an eminent sailor’s stories of fighting off sharks and finding
stain on that shirt.) ancient treasures enthralled his young son.)
 emollient (adj.) soothing (This emollient cream  ephemeral (adj.) short-lived, fleeting (She
makes my skin very smooth.) promised she’d love me forever, but her “forever”
 emote (v.) to express emotion (The director told was only ephemeral: she left me after one week.)
the actor he had to emote, or else the audience  epistolary (adj.) relating to or contained in letters
would have no idea what his character was going (Some people call me “Auntie’s boy,” because my
through.) aunt and I have such a close epistolary relationship
 empathy (n.) sensitivity to another’s feelings as if that we write each other every day.)
they were one’s own (I feel such empathy for my  epitome (n.) a perfect example, embodiment (My
sister when she’s in pain that I cry too.) mother, the epitome of good taste, always dresses
 empirical 1. (adj.) based on observation or more elegantly than I do.)
experience (The scientist gathered empirical data  equanimity (n.) composure (Even though he had
on the growth rate of dandelions by studying the just been fired, Mr. Simms showed great
dandelions behind his house.) 2. (adj.) capable of equanimity by neatly packing up his desk and
being proved or disproved by experiment (That all wishing everyone in the office well.)
cats hate getting wet is an empirical statement: I  equivocal (adj.) ambiguous, uncertain, undecided
can test it by bathing my cat, Trinket.) (His intentions were so equivocal that I didn’t
 emulate (v.) to imitate (I idolize Britney Spears so know whether he was being chivalrous or sleazy.)
much that I emulate everything she does: I wear  erudite (adj.) learned (My Latin teacher is such an
her outfits, sing along to her songs, and date a boy erudite scholar that he has translated some of the
named Justin.) most difficult and abstruse ancient poetry.)
 enamor (v.) to fill with love, fascinate, usually  eschew (v.) to shun, avoid (George hates the color
used in passive form followed by “of” or “with” (I green so much that he eschews all green food.)
grew enamored of that boy when he quoted my  esoteric (adj.) understood by only a select few
favorite love poem.) (Even the most advanced students cannot
understand the physicist’s esoteric theories.)
 espouse (v.) to take up as a cause, support (I love  expunge (v.) to obliterate, eradicate (Fearful of an
animals so much that I espouse animal rights.) IRS investigation, Paul tried to expunge all
 ethereal (adj.) heavenly, exceptionally delicate or incriminating evidence from his tax files.)
refined (In her flowing silk gown and lace veil, the  expurgate (v.) to remove offensive or incorrect
bride looked ethereal.) parts, usually of a book (The history editors
 etymology (n.) the history of words, their origin expurgated from the text all disparaging and
and development (From the study of etymology, I inflammatory comments about the Republican
know that the word “quixotic” derives from Don Party.)
Quixote and the word “gaudy” refers to the  extant (adj.) existing, not destroyed or lost (My
Spanish architect Gaudí.) mother’s extant love letters to my father are in the
 euphoric (adj.) elated, uplifted (I was euphoric attic trunk.)
when I found out that my sister had given birth to  extol (v.) to praise, revere (Violet extolled the
twins.) virtues of a vegetarian diet to her meat- loving
 evanescent (adj.) fleeting, momentary (My joy at brother.)
getting promoted was evanescent because I  extraneous (adj.) irrelevant, extra, not necessary
discovered that I would have to work much longer (Personal political ambitions should always remain
hours in a less friendly office.) extraneous to legislative policy, but, unfortunately,
 evince (v.) to show, reveal (Christopher’s hand- they rarely are.)
wringing and nail-biting evince how nervous he is  extricate (v.) to disentangle (Instead of trying to
about the upcoming English test.) mediate between my brother and sister, I extricated
 exacerbate (v.) to make more violent, intense (The myself from the family tension entirely and left the
gruesome and scary movie I saw last night house for the day.)
exacerbated my fears of the dark.)  exult (v.) to rejoice (When she found out she won
 exalt (v.) to glorify, praise (Michael Jordan is the the literature prize, Mary exulted by dancing and
figure in basketball we exalt the most.) exasperate singing through the school’s halls.)
(v.) to irritate, irk (George’s endless complaints
F
exasperated his roomate.) excavate (v.) to dig out
of the ground and remove (The pharaoh’s treasures  fabricate (v.) to make up, invent (When I arrived
were excavated by archeologists in Egypt.) an hour late to class, I fabricated some excuse
 exculpate (v.) to free from guilt or blame, about my car breaking down on the way to school.)
exonerate (My discovery of the ring behind the  façade 1. (n.) the wall of a building (Meet me in
dresser exculpated me from the charge of having front of the museum’s main façade.) 2. (n.) a
stolen it.) deceptive appearance or attitude (Despite my
 excursion (n.) a trip or outing (After taking an smiling façade, I am feeling melancholy.)
excursion to the Bronx Zoo, I dreamed about  facile 1. (adj.) easy, requiring little effort (This
pandas and monkeys.) game is so facile that even a four-year- old can
 execrable (adj.) loathsome, detestable (Her master it.) 2. (adj.) superficial, achieved with
pudding is so execrable that it makes me sick.) minimal thought or care, insincere (The business
 exhort (v.) to urge, prod, spur (Henry exhorted his was in such shambles that any solution seemed
colleagues to join him in protesting against the facile at best; nothing could really helpit in the
university’s hiring policies.) long-run.)
 exigent (adj.) urgent, critical (The patient has an  fallacious (adj.) incorrect, misleading (Emily
exigent need for medication, or else he will lose his offered me cigarettes on the fallacious assumption
sight.) that I smoked.)
 exonerate (v.) to free from guilt or blame,  fastidious (adj.) meticulous, demanding, having
exculpate (The true thief’s confession exonerated high and often unattainable standards (Mark is so
the man who had been held in custody for the fastidious that he is never able to finish a project
crime.) because it always seems imperfect to him.)
 exorbitant (adj.) excessive (Her exorbitant praise  fathom (v.) to understand, comprehend (I cannot
made me blush and squirm in my seat.) fathom why you like that crabby and mean-spirited
 expedient (adj.) advisable, advantageous, serving neighbor of ours.)
one’s self-interest (In his bid for reelection, the  fatuous (adj.) silly, foolish (He considers himself a
governor made an expedient move by tabling all serious poet, but in truth, he only writes fatuous
controversial legislation.) limericks.)
 expiate (v.) to make amends for, atone (To expiate  fecund (adj.) fruitful, fertile (The fecund tree bore
my selfishness, I gave all my profits to charity.) enough apples to last us through the entire season.)
 felicitous 1. (adj.) well suited, apt (While his  forsake (v.) to give up, renounce (My New Year’s
comments were idiotic and rambling, mine were resolution is to forsake smoking and drinking.)
felicitous and helpful.) 2. (adj.) delightful, pleasing  fortitude (n.) strength, guts (Achilles’ fortitude in
(I spent a felicitous afternoon visiting old friends.) battle is legendary.)
 feral (adj.) wild, savage (That beast looks so feral  fortuitous (adj.) happening by chance, often lucky
that I would fear being alone with it.) fervent (adj.) or fortunate (After looking for Manuel and not
ardent, passionate (The fervent protestors chained finding him at home, Harriet had a fortuitous
themselves to the building and shouted all night encounter with him at the post office.)
long.)  forum (n.) a medium for lecture or discussion
 fetid (adj.) having a foul odor (I can tell from the (Some radio talk-shows provide a good forum for
fetid smell in your refrigerator that your milk has political debate.)
spoiled.)  foster (v.) to stimulate, promote, encourage (To
 fetter (v.) to chain, restrain (The dog was fettered foster good health in the city, the mayor started a
to the parking meter.) “Get out and exercise!” campaign.)
 fickle (adj.) shifting in character, inconstant (In  fractious (adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although
Greek dramas, the fickle gods help Achilles one the child insisted he wasn’t tired, his fractious
day, and then harm him the next.) behavior—especially his decision to crush his
 fidelity (n.) loyalty, devotion (Guard dogs are cheese and crackers all over the floor—convinced
known for the great fidelity they show toward their everyone present that it was time to put him to
masters.) bed.)
 figurative (adj.) symbolic (Using figurative  fraught (adj.) (usually used with “with”) filled or
language, Jane likened the storm to an angry bull.) accompanied with (Her glances in his direction
 flabbergasted (adj.) astounded (Whenever I read were fraught with meaning, though precisely what
an Agatha Christie mystery novel, I am always meaning remained unclear.)
flabbergasted when I learn the identity of the  frenetic (adj.) frenzied, hectic, frantic (In the hours
murderer.) between night and morning, the frenetic pace of
 flaccid (adj.) limp, not firm or strong (If a plant is city life slows to a lull.)
not watered enough, its leaves become droopy and  frivolous (adj.) of little importance, trifling
flaccid.) (Someday, all that anxiety about whether your zit
 flagrant (adj.) offensive, egregious (The judge’s will disappear before the prom will seem totally
decision to set the man free simply because that frivolous.)
man was his brother was a flagrant abuse of  frugal (adj.) thrifty, economical (Richard is so
power.) frugal that his diet consists almost exclusively of
 florid (adj.) flowery, ornate (The writer’s florid catfish and chicken liver—the two most
prose belongs on a sentimental Hallmark card.) inexpensive foods in the store.)
 flout (v.) to disregard or disobey openly (I flouted  furtive (adj.) secretive, sly (Jane’s placement of
the school’s dress code by wearing a tie-dyed tank her drugs in her sock drawer was not as furtive as
top and a pair of cut-off jeans.) she thought, as the sock drawer is the first place
 foil (v.) to thwart, frustrate, defeat (Inspector most parents look.)
Wilkens foiled the thieves by locking them in the
G
bank along with their stolen money.)
 forage (v.) to graze, rummage for food (When we  garish (adj.) gaudy, in bad taste (Mrs. Watson has
got lost on our hiking trip, we foraged for berries poor taste and covers every object in her house
and nuts in order to survive.) with a garish gold lamé.)
 forbearance (n.) patience, restraint, toleration  garrulous (adj.) talkative, wordy (Some talk show
(The doctor showed great forbearance in calming hosts are so garrulous that their guests can’t get a
down the angry patient who shouted insults at word in edgewise.)
him.)  genial (adj.) friendly, affable (Although he’s been
 forestall (v.) to prevent, thwart, delay (I forestalled known to behave like a real jerk, I would say that
the cold I was getting by taking plenty of vitamin my brother is an overall genial guy.)
C pills and wearing a scarf.)  gluttony (n.) overindulgence in food or drink
 forlorn (adj.) lonely, abandoned, hopeless (Even (Ada’s fried chicken tastes so divine, I don’t know
though I had the flu, my family decided to go how anyone can call gluttony a sin.)
skiing for the weekend and leave me home alone,  goad (v.) to urge, spur, incite to action (Jim may
feeling feverish and forlorn.) think he’s not going to fight Billy, but Billy will
goad Jim on with insults until he throws a punch.)
 gourmand (n.) someone fond of eating and  hedonist (n.) one who believes pleasure should be
drinking (My parents, who used to eat little more the primary pursuit of humans (Because he’s such
than crackers and salad, have become real a hedonist, I knew Murray would appreciate the 11
gourmands in their old age.) cases of wine I bought him for his birthday.)
 grandiloquence (n.) lofty, pompous language (The  hegemony (n.) domination over others (Britain’s
student thought her grandiloquence would make hegemony over its colonies was threatened once
her sound smart, but neither the class nor the nationalist sentiment began to spread around the
teacher bought it.) world.)
 grandiose (adj.) on a magnificent or exaggerated  heinous (adj.) shockingly wicked, repugnant (The
scale (Margaret planned a grandiose party, replete killings were made all the more heinous by the fact
with elephants, trapeze artists, and clowns.) that the murderer first tortured his victims for three
 gratuitous (adj.) uncalled for, unwarranted (Every days.)
morning the guy at the donut shop gives me a  heterogeneous (adj.) varied, diverse in character (I
gratuitous helping of ketchup packets.) hate having only one flavor so I always buy the
 gregarious (adj.) drawn to the company of others, swirled, or should I say heterogeneous, type of ice
sociable (Well, if you’re not gregarious, I don’t cream.)
know why you would want to go to a singles  hiatus (n.) a break or gap in duration or continuity
party!) (The hiatus in service should last
 grievous (adj.) injurious, hurtful; serious or grave two or three months—until the cable lines are
in nature (Electrocuting the inmate without being repaired .)
sure of his guilt would be a truly grievous  hierarchy (n.) a system with ranked groups,
mistake.) usually according to social, economic, or
 guile (n.) deceitful, cunning, sly behavior (Because professional class (Women found it very difficult
of his great guile, the politician was able to survive to break into the upper ranks of the department’s
scandal after scandal.) hierarchy.)
 hypocrisy (n.) pretending to believe what one does
not (Once the politician began passing legislation
H that contradicted his campaign promises, his
hypocrisy became apparent.)
 hackneyed (adj.) unoriginal, trite (A girl can only  hypothetical (adj.) supposed or assumed true, but
hear “I love you” so many times before it begins to unproven (Even though it has been celebrated by
sound hackneyed and meaningless.) seven major newspapers, that the drug will be a
 hallowed (adj.) revered, consecrated (In the success when tested in humans is still
hallowed corridors of the cathedral, the disturbed hypothetical.)
professor felt himself to be at peace.)
 hapless (adj.) unlucky (My poor, hapless family I
never seems to pick a sunny week to go on  iconoclast (n.) one who attacks common beliefs or
vacation.) institutions (Jane goes to one protest after another,
 harangue 1. (n.) a ranting speech (Everyone had but she seems to be an iconoclast rather than an
heard the teacher’s harangue about gum chewing activist with a progressive agenda.)
in class before.) 2. (v.) to give such a speech (But  idiosyncratic (adj.) peculiar to one person; highly
this time the teacher harangued the class about the individualized (I know you had trouble with the
importance of brushing your teeth after chewing last test, but because your mistakes were highly
gum.) idiosyncratic, I’m going to deny your request that
 hardy (adj.) robust, capable of surviving through the class be given a new test.)
adverse conditions (I too would have expected the  idolatrous (adj.) excessively worshipping one
plants to be dead by mid-November, but apparently object or person (Xena’s idolatrous fawning over
they’re very hardy.) the band—following them on tour, starting their
 harrowing (adj.) greatly distressing, vexing (The fan club, filming their documentary—is really
car crash was a harrowing experience, but I have a beginning to get on my nerves.)
feeling that the increase in my insurance premiums  ignominious (adj.) humiliating, disgracing (It was
will be even more upsetting.) really ignominious to be kicked out of the dorm for
 haughty (adj.) disdainfully proud (The superstar’s having an illegal gas stove in my room.)
haughty dismissal of her costars will backfire on  illicit (adj.) forbidden, not permitted (The fourth-
her someday.) grader learned many illicit words from a pamphlet
that was being passed around school.)
 immerse (v.) to absorb, deeply involve, engross but I think such a message was implicit in her
(After breaking up with her boyfriend, Nancy instruction to use scholarly sources.)
decided to immerse herself in her work in order to  impregnable (adj.) resistant to capture or
avoid crying.) penetration (Though the invaders used battering
 immutable (adj.) not changeable (The laws of rams, catapults, and rain dances, the fortress
physics are immutable and constant.) impassive proved impregnable and resisted all attacks.)
(adj.) stoic, not susceptible to suffering (Stop being  impudent (adj.) casually rude, insolent,
so impassive; it’s healthy to cry every now and impertinent (The impudent young man looked the
then.) princess up and down and told her she was hot
 impeccable (adj.) exemplary, flawless (If your even though she hadn’t asked him.)
grades were as impeccable as your sister’s, then  impute (v.) to ascribe, blame (The CEO imputed
you too would receive a car for a graduation the many typos in the letter to his lazy secretary.)
present.)  inane (adj.) silly and meaningless (Some films are
 impecunious (adj.) poor (“I fear he’s too so inane that the psychology of the characters
impecunious to take me out tonight,” the bratty girl makes absolutely no sense.)
whined.)  inarticulate (adj.) incapable of expressing oneself
 imperative 1. (adj.) necessary, pressing (It is clearly through speech (Though he spoke for over
imperative that you have these folders organized an hour, the lecturer was completely inarticulate
by midday.) 2. (n.) a rule, command, or order (Her and the students had no idea what he was talking
imperative to have the folders organized by about.)
midday was perceived as ridiculous by the others.)  incarnate 1. (adj.) existing in the flesh, embodied
 imperious (adj.) commanding, domineering (The (In the church pageant, I play the role of greed
imperious nature of your manner led me to dislike incarnate.) 2. (v.) to give human form to (The alien
you at once.) evaded detection by incarnating himself in a
 impertinent (adj.) rude, insolent (Most of your human form.)
comments are so impertinent that I don’t wish to  incendiary 1. (n.) a person who agitates (If we
dignify them with an answer.) catch the incendiary who screamed “bomb” in the
 impervious (adj.) impenetrable, incapable of being middle of the soccer match, we’re going to put him
affected (Because of their thick layer of fur, many in jail.) 2. (adj.) inflammatory, causing combustion
seals are almost impervious to the cold.) (Gas and lighter fluid are incendiary materials that
 impetuous (adj.) rash; hastily done (Hilda’s hasty should be kept out of hot storage areas.)
slaying of the king was an impetuous, thoughtless  incessant (adj.) unending (We wanted to go
action.) outside and play, but the incessant rain kept us
 impinge 1. (v.) to impact, affect, make an indoors for two days.)
impression (The hail impinged the roof, leaving  inchoate (adj.) unformed or formless, in a
large dents.) 2. (v.) to encroach, infringe (I beginning stage (The country’s government is still
apologize for impinging upon you like this, but I inchoate and, because it has no great tradition,
really need to use your bathroom. Now.) quite unstable.)
 implacable (adj.) incapable of being appeased or  incisive (adj.) clear, sharp, direct (The discussion
mitigated (Watch out: once you shun Grandma’s wasn’t going anywhere until her incisive comment
cooking, she is totally implacable.) allowed everyone to see what the true issues were.)
 implement 1. (n.) an instrument, utensil, tool (Do  inclination (n.) a tendency, propensity (Sarah has
you have a knife or some other sort of implement an inclination to see every foreign film she hears
that I could use to pry the lid off of this jar?) 2. (v.) about, even when she’s sure that she won’t like it.)
to put into effect, to institute (After the first town  incontrovertible (adj.) indisputable (Only
curfew failed to stop the graffiti problem, the stubborn Tina would attempt to disprove the
mayor implemented a new policy to use security incontrovertible laws of physics.)
cameras to catch perpetrators in the act.)  incorrigible (adj.) incapable of correction,
 implicate (v.) to involve in an incriminating way, delinquent (You can buy Grandma nicotine gum
incriminate (Even though Tom wasn’t present at all you want, but I think that after sixty-five years
the time of the shooting, he was implicated by the of smoking she’s incorrigible.)
evidence suggesting that he had supplied the  increment (n.) an enlargement; the process of
shooters with guns.) increasing(The workmen made the wall longer,
 implicit (adj.) understood but not outwardly increment by increment.)
obvious, implied (I know Professor Smith didn’t  incumbent 1. (n.) one who holds an office (The
actually say not to write from personal experience, incumbent senator is already serving his fifth
 term.) 2. (adj.) obligatory (It is incumbent upon ingenuous it’s hard to believe he’s not speaking
this organization to offer aid to all who seek it.) from his own heart.)
 indefatigable (adj.) incapable of defeat, failure,  inhibit (v.) to prevent, restrain, stop (When I told
decay (Even after traveling 62 miles, the you I needed the car last night, I certainly never
indefatigable runner kept on moving.) meant to inhibit you from going out.)
 indigenous (adj.) originating in a region (Some  inimical (adj.) hostile, enemylike (I don’t see how
fear that these plants, which are not indigenous to I could ever work for a company that was so cold
the region, may choke out the vegetation that is and inimical to me during my interviews.)
native to the area.)  iniquity (n.) wickedness or sin (“Your iniquity,”
 indigent (adj.) very poor, impoverished (I would said the priest to the practical jokester, “will be
rather donate money to help the indigent forgiven.”)
population than to the park sculpture fund.)  injunction (n.) an order of official warning (After
 indignation (n.) anger sparked by something his house was toilet-papered for the fifth time, the
unjust or unfair (I resigned from the sorority mayor issued an injunction against anyone younger
because of my indignation at its hazing of new than 21 buying toilet paper.)
members.)  innate (adj.) inborn, native, inherent (His
 indolent (adj.) lazy (Why should my indolent incredible athletic talent is innate, he never trains,
children, who can’t even pick themselves up off lifts weights, or practices.)
the couch to pour their own juice, be rewarded  innocuous (adj.) harmless, inoffensive (In spite of
with a trip to the mall?) their innocuous appearance, these mushrooms are
 indomitable (adj.) not capable of being conquered actually quite poisonous.)
(To be honest, Jim, my indomitable nature means I  innovate (v.) to do something in an unprecedented
could never take orders from anyone, and way (Because of the stiff competition, the
especially not from a jerk like you.) company knew it needed to pour a lot of energy
 induce (v.) to bring about, stimulate (Who knew into innovating new and better products.)
that our decision to boycott school lunch would  innuendo (n.) an insinuation (During the debate,
induce a huge riot?) the politician made several innuendos about the
 ineffable (adj.) unspeakable, incapable of being sexual activities of his opponent.)
expressed through words (It is said that the  inoculate (v.) to introduce a microorganism,
experience of playing with a dolphin is ineffable serum, or vaccine into an organism in order to
and can only be understood through direct increase immunity to illness; to vaccinate (I’ve
encounter.) feared needles ever since I was inoculated against
 inept (adj.) not suitable or capable, unqualified 37 diseases at age one; but I have also never been
(She proved how inept she was when she forgot sick.)
three orders and spilled a beer in a customer’s lap.)  inquisitor (n.) one who inquires, especially in a
 inexorable (adj.) incapable of being persuaded or hostile manner (The inquisitor was instructed to
placated (Although I begged for hours, Mom was knock on every door in town in order to find the
inexorable and refused to let me stay out all night fugitive.)
after the prom.)  insatiable (adj.) incapable of being satisfied (My
 inextricable (adj.) hopelessly tangled or entangled insatiable appetite for melons can be a real
(Unless I look at the solution manual, I have no problem in the winter.)
way of solving this inextricable problem.)  insidious (adj.) appealing but imperceptibly
 infamy (n.) notoriety, extreme ill repute (The harmful, seductive (Lisa’s insidious chocolate cake
infamy of his crime will not lessen as the decades tastes so good but makes you feel so sick later on!)
pass.)  insinuate (v.) to suggest indirectly or subtly (I
 infusion (n.) an injection of one substance into wish Luke and Spencer would stop insinuating that
another; the permeation of one substance by my perfect report card is the result of anything
another (The infusion of Eastern religion into other than my superior intelligence and good work
Western philosophy created interesting new habits.)
schools of thought.)  insipid (adj.) dull, boring (The play was so insipid,
 ingenious (adj.) clever, resourceful (Her ingenious I fell asleep halfway through.) insolent (adj.) rude,
use of walnuts instead of the peanuts called for by arrogant, overbearing (That celebrity is so insolent,
the recipe was lauded by the other garden club making fun of his fans right to their faces.)
members who found her cake delicious.)  instigate (v.) to urge, goad (The demagogue
 ingenuous (adj.) not devious; innocent and candid instigated the crowd into a fury by telling them that
(He must have writers, but his speeches seem so they had been cheated by the federal government.)
 insular (adj.) separated and narrow-minded; tight-  irascible (adj.) easily angered (At the smallest
knit, closed off (Because of the sensitive nature of provocation, my irascible cat will begin scratching
their jobs, those who work for the CIA must and clawing.)
remain insular and generally only spend time with  iridescent (adj.) showing rainbow colors (The
each other.) bride’s large diamond ring was iridescent in the
 insurgent (n.) one who rebels (The insurgent afternoon sun.)
snuck into and defaced a different classroom each  irreverence (n.) disrespect (The irreverence
night until the administration agreed to meet his displayed by the band that marched through the
demands.) chapel disturbed many churchgoers.)
 integral (adj.) necessary for completeness  irrevocable (adj.) incapable of being taken back
(Without the integral ingredient of flour, you (The Bill of Rights is an irrevocable part of
wouldn’t be able to make bread.) American law.)
 interject (v.) to insert between other things
J
(During our conversation, the cab driver
occasionally interjected his opinion.)  jubilant (adj.) extremely joyful, happy (The crowd
 interlocutor (n.) someone who participates in a was jubilant when the firefighter carried the
dialogue or conversation (When the officials could woman from the flaming building.)
not come to an agreement over the correct cover of  judicious (adj.) having or exercising sound
the flags, the prime minister acted as an judgment (When the judicious king decided to
interlocutor.) compromise rather than send his army to its certain
 interminable (adj.) without possibility of end (The death, he was applauded.)
fact that biology lectures came just before lunch  juxtaposition (n.) the act of placing two things
made them seem interminable.) next to each other for implicit comparison (The
 intimation (n.) an indirect suggestion (Mr. interior designer admired my juxtaposition of the
Brinford’s intimation that he would soon pass yellow couch and green table.)
away occurred when he began to discuss how to
distribute his belongings among his children.) K
 intractable (adj.) difficult to manipulate,  knell (n.) the solemn sound of a bell, often
unmanageable (There was no end in sight to the indicating a death (Echoing throughout our village,
intractable conflict between the warring countries.) the funeral knell made the stormy day even more
 intransigent (adj.) refusing to compromise, often grim.)
on an extreme opinion (The intransigent child said  kudos (n.) praise for an achievement (After the
he would have 12 scoops of ice cream, or he would performance, the reviewers gave the opera singer
bang his head against the wall until his mother kudos for a job well done.)
fainted from fear.)
 intrepid (adj.) brave in the face of danger (After L
scaling a live volcano prior to its eruption, the
 laceration (n.) a cut, tear (Because he fell off his
explorer was praised for his intrepid attitude.)
bike into a rosebush, the paperboy’s skin was
 inundate (v.) to flood with abundance (Because I
covered with lacerations.)
am the star of a new sitcom, my fans are sure to
 laconic (adj.) terse in speech or writing (The
inundate me with fan mail and praise.)
author’s laconic style has won him many followers
 inure (v.) to cause someone or something to
who dislike wordiness.)
become accustomed to a situation (Twenty years in
 languid (adj.) sluggish from fatigue or weakness
the salt mines inured the man to the discomforts of
(In the summer months, the great heat makes
dirt and grime.)
people languid and lazy.)
 invective (n.) an angry verbal attack (My mother’s
 larceny (n.) obtaining another’s property by theft
irrational invective against the way I dress only
or trickery (When my car was not where I had left
made me decide to dye my hair green.)
it, I realized that I was a victim of larceny.)
 inveterate (adj.) stubbornly established by habit
 largess (n.) the generous giving of lavish gifts (My
(I’m the first to admit that I’m an inveterate coffee
boss demonstrated great largess by giving me a
drinker—I drink four cups a day.)
new car.)
 inviolable (adj.) secure from assault (Nobody was
 latent (adj.) hidden, but capable of being exposed
ever able to break into Batman’s inviolable
(Sigmund’s dream represented his latent paranoid
Batcave.)
obsession with other people’s shoes.)
 laudatory (adj.) expressing admiration or praise
(Such laudatory comments are unusual from
 someone who is usually so reserved in his dolls, was judged too lurid to be printed in the
opinions.) school’s literary magazine.)
 lavish 1. (adj.) given without limits (Because they
M
had worked very hard, the performers appreciated
the critic’s lavish praise.) 2. (v.) to give without  maelstrom (n.) a destructive whirlpool which
limits (Because the performers had worked hard, rapidly sucks in objects (Little did the explorers
they deserved the praise that the critic lavished on know that as they turned the next bend of the calm
them.) river a vicious maelstrom would catch their boat.)
 legerdemain (n.) deception, slight-of-hand  magnanimous (adj.) noble, generous (Although I
(Smuggling the French plants through customs by had already broken most of her dishes, Jacqueline
claiming that they were fake was a remarkable bit was magnanimous enough to continue letting me
of legerdemain.) use them.)
 lenient (adj.) demonstrating tolerance or  malediction (n.) a curse (When I was arrested for
gentleness (Because Professor Oglethorpe allowed speeding, I screamed maledictions against the
his students to choose their final grades, the other policeman and the entire police department.)
teachers believed that he was excessively lenient.)  malevolent (adj.) wanting harm to befall others
 lethargic (adj.) in a state of sluggishness or apathy (The malevolent old man sat in the park all day,
(When Jean Claude explained to his boss that he tripping unsuspecting passersby with his cane.)
was lethargic and didn’t feel like working that day,  malleable (adj.) capable of being shaped or
the boss fired him.) transformed (Maximillian’s political opinions were
 liability 1. (n.) something for which one is legally so malleable that anyone he talked to was able to
responsible, usually involving a disadvantage or change his mind instantly.)
risk (The bungee-jumping tower was a great  mandate (n.) an authoritative command (In the
liability for the owners of the carnival.) 2. (n.) a Old Testament, God mandates that no one should
handicap, burden (Because she often lost her steal.)
concentration and didn’t play defense, Marcy was  manifest 1. (adj.) easily understandable, obvious
a liability to the team.) (When I wrote the wrong sum on the chalkboard,
 libertarian (adj.) advocating principles of liberty my mistake was so manifest that the entire class
and free will (The dissatisfied subjects overthrew burst into laughter.) 2. (v.) to show plainly (His
the monarch and replaced him with a libertarian illness first manifested itself with particularly
ruler who respected their democratic principles.) violent hiccups.)
 licentious (adj.) displaying a lack of moral or legal  manifold (adj.) diverse, varied (The popularity of
restraints (Marilee has always been fascinated by Dante’s Inferno is partly due to the fact that the
the licentious private lives of politicians.) work allows for manifold interpretations.)
 limpid (adj.) clear, transparent (Mr. Johnson’s  maudlin (adj.) weakly sentimental (Although
limpid writing style greatly pleased readers who many people enjoy romantic comedies, I usually
disliked complicated novels.) find them maudlin and shallow.)
 linchpin (n.) something that holds separate parts  maverick (n.) an independent, nonconformist
together (The linchpin in the prosecution’s case person (Andreas is a real maverick and always
was the hair from the defendant’s head, which was does things his own way.)
found at the scene of the crime.)  mawkish (adj.) characterized by sick
 lithe (adj.) graceful, flexible, supple (Although the sentimentality (Although some nineteenth- century
dancers were all outstanding, Jae Sun’s control of critics viewed Dickens’s writing as mawkish,
her lithe body was particularly impressive.) contemporary readers have found great emotional
 litigant (n.) someone engaged in a lawsuit (When depth in his works.)
the litigants began screaming at each other, Judge  maxim (n.) a common saying expressing a
Koch ordered them to be silent.) principle of conduct (Miss Manners’s etiquette
 lucid (adj.) clear, easily understandable (Because maxims are both entertaining and instructional.)
Guenevere’s essay was so lucid, I only had to read  meager (adj.) deficient in size or quality (My
it once to understand her reasoning.) meager portion of food did nothing to satisfy my
 luminous (adj.) brightly shining (The light of the appetite.)
luminous moon graced the shoulders of the  medley (n.) a mixture of differing things
beautiful maiden.) (Susannah’s wardrobe contained an astonishing
 lurid (adj.) ghastly, sensational (Gideon’s story, in medley of colors, from olive green to fluorescent
which he described a character torturing his sister’s pink.)
 mendacious (adj.) having a lying, false character  munificence (n.) generosity in giving (The royal
(The mendacious content of the tabloid magazines family’s munificence made everyone else in their
is at least entertaining.) country rich.)
 mercurial (adj.) characterized by rapid change or  mutable (adj.) able to change (Because fashion is
temperamentality (Though he was widely so mutable, what is trendy today will look outdated
respected for his mathematical proofs, the in five years.)
mercurial genius was impossible to live with.)  myriad (adj.) consisting of a very great number (It
 meritorious (adj.) worthy of esteem or reward was difficult to decide what to do Friday night
(Manfred was given the congressional medal of because the city presented us with myriad
honor for his meritorious actions.) possibilities for fun.)
 metamorphosis (n.) the change of form, shape,
N
substance (Winnifred went to the gym every day
for a year and underwent a metamorphosis from a  nadir (n.) the lowest point of something (My day
waiflike girl to an athletic woman.) was boring, but the nadir came when I accidentally
 meticulous (adj.) extremely careful with details spilled a bowl of spaghetti on my head.)
(The ornate needlework in the bride’s gown was a  nascent (adj.) in the process of being born or
product of meticulous handiwork.) coming into existence (Unfortunately, my brilliant
 mitigate (v.) to make less violent, alleviate (When paper was only in its nascent form on the morning
I had an awful sore throat, only warm tea would that it was due.)
mitigate the pain.)  nebulous (adj.) vaguely defined, cloudy (The
 moderate 1. (adj.) not extreme (Luckily, the transition between governments meant that who
restaurant we chose had moderate prices; none of was actually in charge was a nebulous matter.)
us have any money.) 2. (n.) one who expresses  nefarious (adj.) heinously villainous (Although
moderate opinions (Because he found both the Dr. Meanman’s nefarious plot to melt the polar
liberal and conservative proposals too excessive, icecaps was terrifying, it was so impractical that
Mr. Park sided with the moderates.) nobody really worried about it.)
 modicum (n.) a small amount of something  negligent (adj.) habitually careless, neglectful
(Refusing to display even a modicum of (Jessie’s grandfather called me a negligent fool
sensitivity, Henrietta announced her boss’s affair after I left the door to his apartment unlocked even
in front of the entire office.) though there had been a recent string of robberies.)
 modulate (v.) to pass from one state to another,  neophyte (n.) someone who is young or
especially in music (The composer wrote a piece inexperienced (As a neophyte in the literary world,
that modulated between minor and major keys.) Malik had trouble finding a publisher for his first
 mollify (v.) to soften in temper (The police officer novel.)
mollified the angry woman by giving her a warning  nocturnal (adj.) relating to or occurring during the
instead of a ticket.) night (Jackie was a nocturnal person; she would
 morass (n.) a wet swampy bog; figuratively, study until dawn and sleep until the evening.)
something that traps and confuses (When Theresa  noisome (adj.) unpleasant, offensive, especially to
lost her job, she could not get out of her financial the sense of smell (Nobody would enter the stalls
morass.) until the horse’s noisome leavings were taken
 mores (n.) the moral attitudes and fixed customs of away.)
a group of people. (Mores change over time; many  nomadic (adj.) wandering from place to place (In
things that were tolerated in 1975 are no longer the first six months after college, Jose led a
seen as being socially acceptable.) nomadic life, living in New York, California, and
 morose (adj.) gloomy or sullen (Jason’s morose Idaho.)
nature made him very unpleasant to talk to.)  nominal (adj.) trifling, insignificant (Because he
 multifarious (adj.) having great diversity or was moving the following week and needed to get
variety (This Swiss Army knife has multifarious rid of his furniture more than he needed money,
functions and capabilities. Among other things, it Jordan sold everything for a nominal fee.)
can act as a knife, a saw, a toothpick, and a  nonchalant (adj.) having a lack of concern,
slingshot.) indifference (Although deep down she was very
 mundane (adj.) concerned with the world rather angry, Marsha acted in a nonchalant manner when
than with heaven, commonplace (He is more she found out that her best friend had used her
concerned with the mundane issues of day-to-day clothing without asking.)
life than with spiritual topics.)
 nondescript (adj.) lacking a distinctive character (I  obtuse (adj.) lacking quickness of sensibility or
was surprised when I saw the movie star in person intellect (Political opponents warned that the prime
because she looked nondescript.) minister’s obtuse approach to foreign policy would
 notorious (adj.) widely and unfavorably known embroil the nation in mindless war.)
(Jacob was notorious for always arriving late at  odious (adj.) instilling hatred or intense
parties.) displeasure (Mark was assigned the odious task of
 novice (n.) a beginner, someone without training cleaning the cat’s litter box.)
or experience (Because we were all novices at  officious (adj.) offering one’s services when they
yoga, our instructor decided to begin with the are neither wanted nor needed (Brenda resented
basics.) Allan’s officious behavior when he selected colors
 noxious (adj.) harmful, unwholesome that might best improve her artwork.)
(Environmentalists showed that the noxious weeds  ominous (adj.) foreboding or foreshadowing evil
were destroying the insects’ natural habitats.) (The fortuneteller’s ominous words flashed
 nuance (n.) a slight variation in meaning, tone, through my mind as the hooded figure approached
expression (The nuances of the poem were not me in the alley.)
obvious to the casual reader, but the professor was  onerous (adj.) burdensome (My parents lamented
able to point them out.) that the pleasures of living in a beautiful country
 nurture (v.) to assist the development of estate no longer outweighed the onerous mortgage
(Although Serena had never watered the plant, payments.)
which was about to die, Javier was able to nurture  opulent (adj.) characterized by rich abundance
it back to life.) verging on ostentation (The opulent furnishings of
the dictator’s private compound contrasted harshly
O
with the meager accommodations of her subjects.)
 obdurate (adj.) unyielding to persuasion or moral  oration (n.) a speech delivered in a formal or
influences (The obdurate old man refused to take ceremonious manner (The prime minister was
pity on the kittens.) visibly shaken when the unruly parliament
 obfuscate (v.) to render incomprehensible (The interrupted his oration about failed domestic
detective did want to answer the newspaperman’s policies.)
questions, so he obfuscated the truth.)  ornate (adj.) highly elaborate, excessively
 oblique (adj.) diverging from a straight line or decorated (The ornate styling of the new model of
course, not straightforward (Martin’s oblique luxury car could not compensate for the poor
language confused those who listened to him.) quality of its motor.)
 oblivious (adj.) lacking consciousness or  orthodox (adj.) conventional, conforming to
awareness of something (Oblivious to the burning established protocol (The company’s profits
smell emanating from the kitchen, my father did dwindled because the management pursued
not notice that the rolls in the oven were burned orthodox business policies that were incompatible
until much too late.) with new industrial trends.)
 oblivion (n.) The state of being disregarded or  oscillate (v.) to sway from one side to the other
forgotten (My uncle oscillated between buying a station
 obscure (adj.) unclear, partially hidden (Because wagon to transport his family and buying a sports
he was standing in the shadows, his features were car to satisfy his boyhood fantasies.)
obscure.)  ostensible (adj.) appearing as such, seemingly
 obsequious (adj.) excessively compliant or (Jack’s ostensible reason for driving was that
submissive (Mark acted like Janet’s servant, airfare was too expensive, but in reality, he was
obeying her every request in an obsequious afraid of flying.)
manner.)  ostentatious (adj.) excessively showy, glitzy (On
 obsolete (adj.) no longer used, out of date (With the palace tour, the guide focused on the
the inventions of tape decks and CDs, which both ostentatious decorations and spoke little of the
have better sound and are easier to use, eight-track royal family’s history.)
players are now entirely obsolete.)  ostracism (n.) exclusion from a group (Beth risked
 obstinate (adj.) not yielding easily, stubborn (The ostracism if her roommates discovered her
obstinate child refused to leave the store until his flatulence.)
mother bought him a candy bar.) P
 obstreperous (adj.) noisy, unruly (Billy’s
obstreperous behavior prompted the librarian to
ask him to leave the reading room.)
 pacific (adj.) soothing (The chemistry professor’s  paucity (adj.) small in quantity (Gilbert lamented
pacific demeanor helped the class remain calm the paucity of twentieth century literature courses
after the experiment exploded.) available at the college.)
 palatable (adj.) agreeable to the taste or  pejorative (adj.) derogatory, uncomplimentary
sensibilities (Despite the unpleasant smell, the (The evening’s headline news covered an
exotic cheese was quite palatable.) international scandal caused by a pejorative
 palette (adj.) a range of colors or qualities (The statement the famous senator had made in
palette of colors utilized in the painting was reference to a foreign leader.)
equaled only by the range of intense emotions the  pellucid (adj.) easily intelligible, clear (Wishing
piece evoked.) his book to be pellucid to the common man, Albert
 palliate (v.) to reduce the severity of (The doctor Camus avoided using complicated grammar when
trusted that the new medication would palliate her composing The Stranger.)
patient’s discomfort.)  penchant (n.) a tendency, partiality, preference
 pallid (adj.) lacking color (Dr. Van Helsing feared (Jill’s dinner parties quickly became monotonous
that Lucy’s pallid complexion was due to an on account of her penchant for Mexican dishes.)
unexplained loss of blood.)  penitent (adj.) remorseful, regretful (The jury’s
 panacea (n.) a remedy for all ills or difficulties verdict may have been more lenient if the criminal
(Doctors wish there was a single panacea for every had appeared penitent for his gruesome crimes.)
disease, but sadly there is not.)  penultimate (adj.) next to last (Having smoked the
 paradigm (n.) an example that is a perfect pattern penultimate cigarette remaining in the pack, Cybil
or model (Because the new SUV was so popular, it discarded the last cigarette and resolved to quit
became the paradigm upon which all others were smoking.)
modeled.)  penurious (adj.) miserly, stingy (Stella
 paradox (n.) an apparently contradictory statement complained that her husband’s penurious ways
that is perhaps true (The diplomat refused to made it impossible to live the lifestyle she felt she
acknowledge the paradox that negotiating a peace deserved.)
treaty would demand more resources than waging  perfidious (adj.) disloyal, unfaithful (After the
war.) official was caught selling government secrets to
 paragon (n.) a model of excellence or perfection enemy agents, he was executed for his perfidious
(The mythical Helen of Troy was considered a ways.)
paragon of female beauty.)  perfunctory (adj.) showing little interest or
 paramount (adj.) greatest in importance, rank, enthusiasm (The radio broadcaster announced the
character (It was paramount that the bomb squad news of the massacre in a surprisingly perfunctory
disconnect the blue wire before removing the fuse.) manner.)
 pariah (n.) an outcast (Following the discovery of  permeate (v.) to spread throughout, saturate (Mrs.
his plagiarism, Professor Hurley was made a pariah Huxtable was annoyed that the wet dog’s odor had
in all academic circles.) permeated the furniture’s upholstery.)
 parody (n.) a satirical imitation (A hush fell over  pernicious (adj.) extremely destructive or harmful
the classroom when the teacher returned to find (The new government feared that the Communist
Deborah acting out a parody of his teaching style.) sympathizers would have a pernicious influence on
 parsimony (n.) frugality, stinginess (Many the nation’s stability.)
relatives believed that my aunt’s wealth resulted  perplex (v.) to confuse (Brad was perplexed by his
from her parsimony.) girlfriend’s suddenly distant manner.)
 partisan (n.) a follower, adherent (The king did  perspicacity (adj.) shrewdness, perceptiveness
not believe that his rival could round up enough (The detective was too humble to acknowledge
partisans to overthrow the monarchy.) that his perspicacity was the reason for his
 patent (adj.) readily seen or understood, clear (The professional success.)
reason for Jim’s abdominal pain was made patent  pert (adj.) flippant, bold (My parents forgave
after the doctor performed a sonogram.) Sandra’s pert humor at the dinner table because it
 pathology (n.) a deviation from the normal (Dr. had been so long since they had last seen her.)
Hastings had difficulty identifying the precise  pertinacious (adj.) stubbornly persistent (Harry’s
nature of Brian’s pathology.) parents were frustrated with his pertinacious
 pathos (n.) an emotion of sympathy (Martha filled insistence that a monster lived in his closet. Then
with pathos upon discovering the scrawny, they opened the closet door and were eaten.)
shivering kitten at her door.)
 perusal (n.) a careful examination, review (The  poignant (adj.) deeply affecting, moving (My
actor agreed to accept the role after a two-month teacher actually cried after reading to us the
perusal of the movie script.) poignant final chapter of the novel.)
 pervasive (adj.) having the tendency to spread  polemic (n.) an aggressive argument against a
throughout (Stepping off the plane in Havana, I specific opinion (My brother launched into a
recognized the pervasive odor of sugar cane fields polemic against my arguments that capitalism was
on fire.) an unjust economic system.)
 petulance (n.) rudeness, irritability (The Nanny  portent (n.) an omen (When a black cat crossed
resigned after she could no longer tolerate the my sister’s path while she was walking to school,
child’s petulance.) she took it as a portent that she would do badly on
 philanthropic (adj.) charitable, giving (Many her spelling test.)
people felt that the billionaire’s decision to donate  potable (adj.) suitable for drinking (During sea
her fortune to house the homeless was the ultimate voyages it is essential that ships carry a supply of
philanthropic act.) potable water because salty ocean water makes
 phlegmatic (adj.) uninterested, unresponsive anyone who drinks it sick.)
(Monique feared her dog was ill after the animal’s  potentate (n.) one who has great power, a ruler
phlegmatic response to his favorite chew toy.) (All the villagers stood along the town’s main road
 pillage (v.) to seize or plunder, especially in war to observe as the potentate’s procession headed
(Invading enemy soldiers pillaged the homes towards the capital.)
scattered along the country’s border.)  pragmatic (adj.) practical (The politician argued
 pinnacle (n.) the highest point (Book reviewers that while increased security measures might not fit
declared that the author’s new novel was with the lofty ideals of the nation, they were a
extraordinary and probably the pinnacle of pragmatic necessity to ensure everyone’s safety.)
Western literature.)  precipice (n.) the face of a cliff, a steep or
 pithy (adj.) concisely meaningful (My father’s overhanging place (The mountain climber hung
long-winded explanation was a stark contrast to his from a precipice before finding a handhold and
usually pithy statements.) pulling himself up.)
 pittance (n.) a very small amount, especially  preclude (v.) to prevent (My grandfather’s large
relating to money (Josh complained that he was and vicious guard dog precluded anyone from
paid a pittance for the great amount of work he did entering the yard.)
at the firm.)  precocious (adj.) advanced, developing ahead of
 placate (v.) to ease the anger of, soothe (The man time (Derek was so academically precocious that
purchased a lollipop to placate his irritable son.) by the time he was 10 years old, he was already in
 placid (adj.) calm, peaceful (The placid lake the ninth grade.)
surface was as smooth as glass.) platitude (n.) an  predilection (n.) a preference or inclination for
uninspired remark, cliché (After reading over her something (Francois has a predilection for eating
paper, Helene concluded that what she thought scrambled eggs with ketchup, though I prefer to eat
were profound insights were actually just eggs without any condiments.)
platitudes.)  preponderance (adj.) superiority in importance or
 plaudits (n.) enthusiastic approval, applause (The quantity (Britain’s preponderance of naval might
controversial new film received plaudits from even secured the nation’s role as a military power.)
the harshest critics.)  prepossessing (adj.) occupying the mind to the
 plausible (adj.) believable, reasonable (He studied exclusion of other thoughts or feelings (His
all the data and then came up with a plausible prepossessing appearance made it impossible for
theory that took all factors into account.) me to think of anything else.)
 plenitude (n.) an abundance (My grandmother was  presage (n.) an omen (When my uncle’s old war
overwhelmed by the plenitude of tomatoes her injury ached, he interpreted it as a presage of bad
garden yielded this season.) weather approaching.)
 plethora (n.) an abundance, excess (The wedding  prescient (adj.) to have foreknowledge of events
banquet included a plethora of oysters piled almost (Questioning the fortune cookie’s prediction, Ray
three feet high.) went in search of the old hermit who was rumored
 pliable (adj.) flexible (Aircraft wings are designed to be prescient.)
to be somewhat pliable so they do not break in  prescribe (v.) to lay down a rule (The duke
heavy turbulence.) prescribed that from this point further all of the
peasants living on his lands would have to pay
higher taxes.)
 presumptuous (adj.) disrespectfully bold (The  proscribe (v.) to condemn, outlaw (The town
princess grew angry after the presumptuous noble council voted to proscribe the sale of alcohol on
tried to kiss her, even though he was far below her weekends.)
in social status.)  protean (adj.)able to change shape; displaying
 pretense (n.) an appearance or action intended to great variety (Among Nigel’s protean talents was
deceive (Though he actually wanted to use his his ability to touch the tip of his nose with his
parents’ car to go on a date, Nick borrowed his tongue.)
parents’ car under the pretense of attending a group  prowess (n.) extraordinary ability (The musician
study session.) had never taken a guitar lesson in his life, making
 primeval (adj.) original, ancient (The first primates his prowess with the instrument even more
to walk on two legs, called Australopithecus, were incredible.)
the primeval descendants of modern man.)  prudence (n.) cautious, circumspect (After losing
 privation (n.) lacking basic necessities (After a fortune in a stock market crash, my father vowed
decades of rule by an oppressive government that to practice greater prudence in future investments.)
saw nothing wrong with stealing from its citizens,  prurient (adj.) eliciting or possessing an
the recent drought only increased the people’s extraordinary interest in sex (David’s mother was
privation.) shocked by the discovery of prurient reading
 probity (n.) virtue, integrity (Because he was material hidden beneath her son’s mattress.)
never viewed as a man of great probity, no one was  puerile (adj.) juvenile, immature (The judge
surprised by Mr. Samson’s immoral behavior.) demanded order after the lawyer’s puerile attempt
 proclivity (n.) a strong inclination toward to object by stomping his feet on the courtroom
something (In a sick twist of fate, Harold’s floor.)
childhood proclivity for torturing small animals  pugnacious (adj.) quarrelsome, combative
grew into a desire to become a surgeon.) (Aaron’s pugnacious nature led him to start several
 procure (v.) to obtain, acquire (The FBI was barroom brawls each month.)
unable to procure sufficient evidence to charge the  pulchritude (n.) physical beauty (Several of
gangster with racketeering.) Shakespeare’s sonnets explore the pulchritude of a
 profane (adj.) lewd, indecent (Jacob’s profane act lovely young man.)
of dumping frogs in the holy water in the chapel at  punctilious (adj.) eager to follow rules or
his boarding school resulted in his dismissal.) conventions (Punctilious Bobby, hall monitor
 profligate (adj.) dissolute, extravagant (The extraordinaire, insisted that his peers follow the
profligate gambler loved to drink, spend money, rules.)
steal, cheat, and hang out with prostitutes.)  pungent (adj.) having a pointed, sharp quality—
 profuse (adj.) plentiful, abundant (The fans were often used to describe smells (The pungent odor in
profuse in their cheers for the star basketball the classroom made Joseph lose his concentration
player.) during the test.)
 promulgate (v.) to proclaim, make known (The  punitive (adj.) involving punishment (If caught
film professor promulgated that both in terms of smoking in the boys’ room, the punitive result is
sex appeal and political intrigue, Sean Connery’s immediate expulsion from school.)
James Bond was superior to Roger Moore’s.)  putrid (adj.) rotten, foul (Those rotten eggs smell
 propagate (v.) to multiply, spread out (Rumors of putrid.)
Paul McCartney’s demise propagated like wildfire
Q
throughout the world.)
 propensity (n.) an inclination, preference (Dermit  quagmire (n.) a difficult situation (We’d all like to
has a propensity for dangerous activities such as avoid the kind of military quagmire characterized
bungee jumping.) by the Vietnam War.)
 propitious (adj.) favorable (The dark storm clouds  quaint (adj.) charmingly old-fashioned (Hilda was
visible on the horizon suggested that the weather delighted by the quaint bonnets she saw in Amish
would not be propitious for sailing.) country.)
 propriety (n.) the quality or state of being proper,  quandary (n.) a perplexed, unresolvable state
decent (Erma’s old-fashioned parents believed that (Carlos found himself in a quandary: should he
her mini-skirt lacked the propriety expected of a choose mint chocolate chip or cookie dough?)
“nice” girl.)  quell (v.) to control or diffuse a potentially
 prosaic (adj.) plain, lacking liveliness (Heather’s explosive situation (The skilled leader deftly
prosaic recital of the poem bored the audience.) quelled the rebellion.)
 querulous (adj.) whiny, complaining (If deprived  rectitude (n.) uprightness, extreme morality (The
of his pacifier, young Brendan becomes priest’s rectitude gave him the moral authority to
querulous.) counsel his parishioners.)
 quixotic (adj.) idealistic, impractical (Edward  redoubtable 1. (adj.) formidable (The fortress
entertained a quixotic desire to fall in love at first looked redoubtable set against a stormy sky.) 2.
sight in a laundromat.) (adj.) commanding respect (The audience greeted
 quotidian (adj.) daily (Ambika’s quotidian the redoubtable speaker with a standing ovation.)
routines include drinking two cups of coffee in the  refract (v.) to distort, change (The light was
morning.) refracted as it passed through the prism.) refurbish
(v.) to restore, clean up (The dingy old chair, after
R
being refurbished, commanded the handsome price
 rail (v.) to scold, protest (The professor railed of $200.)
against the injustice of the college’s tenure policy.)  refute (v.) to prove wrong (Maria refuted the
 rancid (adj.) having a terrible taste or smell (Rob president’s argument as she yelled and gesticulated
was double-dog-dared to eat the rancid egg salad at the TV.)
sandwich.)  regurgitate 1. (v.) to vomit (Feeling sick, Chuck
 rancor (n.) deep, bitter resentment (When Eileen regurgitated his dinner.) 2. (v.) to throw back
challenged me to a fight, I could see the rancor in exactly (Margaret rushed through the test,
her eyes.) regurgitating all of the facts she’d memorized an
 rapport (n.) mutual understanding and harmony hour earlier.)
(When Margaret met her paramour, they felt an  relegate 1. (v.) to assign to the proper place (At the
instant rapport.) astrology conference, Simon was relegated to the
 rash (adj.) hasty, incautious (It’s best to think Scorpio room.) 2. (v.) to assign to an inferior place
things over calmly and thoroughly, rather than (After spilling a drink on a customer’s shirt, the
make rash decisions.) waiter found himself relegated to the least lucrative
 raucous (adj.) loud, boisterous (Sarah’s neighbors shift.)
called the cops when her house party got too  relish (v.) to enjoy (Pete always relished his
raucous.) bedtime snack.)
 raze (v.) to demolish, level (The old tenement  remedial (adj.) intended to repair gaps in students’
house was razed to make room for the large chain basic knowledge (After his teacher discovered he
store.) couldn’t read, Alex was forced to enroll in
 rebuke (v.) to scold, criticize (When the cops remedial English.)
showed up at Sarah’s party, they rebuked her for  remiss (adj.) negligent, failing to take care (The
disturbing the peace.) burglar gained entrance because the security guard,
 recalcitrant (adj.) defiant, unapologetic (Even remiss in his duties, forgot to lock the door.)
when scolded, the recalcitrant young girl simply  renovate 1. (v.) restore, return to original state
stomped her foot and refused to finish her lima (The renovated antique candelabra looked as good
beans.) as new.) 2. (v.) to enlarge and make prettier,
 recapitulate (v.) to sum up, repeat (Before the especially a house (After getting renovated, the
final exam, the teacher recapitulated the semester’s house was twice as big and much more attractive.)
material.)  renown (n.) honor, acclaim (The young writer
 reciprocate (v.) to give in return (When Steve earned international renown by winning the
gave Samantha a sweater for Christmas, she Pulitzer Prize.)
reciprocated by giving him a kiss.)  renunciation (n.) to reject (Fiona’s renunciation of
 reclusive (adj.) solitary, shunning society red meat resulted in weight loss, but confused
(Reclusive authors such as J.D. Salinger do not those people who thought she’d been a vegetarian
relish media attention and sometimes even enjoy for years.)
holing up in remote cabins in the woods.)  repentant (adj.) penitent, sorry (The repentant
 reconcile 1. (v.) to return to harmony (The feuding Dennis apologized profusely for breaking his
neighbors finally reconciled when one brought the mother’s vase.)
other a delicious tuna noodle casserole.) 2. (v.) to  replete (adj.) full, abundant (The unedited version
make consistent with existing ideas (Alou had to was replete with naughty words.) repose (v.) to
reconcile his skepticism about the existence of rest, lie down (The cat, after eating an entire can of
aliens with the fact that he was looking at a flying tuna fish, reposed in the sun and took a long nap.)
saucer.)  reprehensible (adj.) deserving rebuke (Jean’s
cruel and reprehensible attempt to dump her
 boyfriend on his birthday led to tears and  restitution (n.) restoration to the rightful owner
recriminations.) (Many people feel that descendants of slaves
 reprieve (n.) a temporary delay of punishment should receive restitution for the sufferings of their
(Because the governor woke up in a particularly ancestors.)
good mood, he granted hundreds of reprieves to  restive (adj.) resistant, stubborn, impatient (The
prisoners.) restive audience pelted the band with mud and
 reproach (v.) to scold, disapprove (Brian yelled nasty comments.)
reproached the customer for failing to rewind the  retract (v.) withdraw (As the media worked itself
video he had rented.) into a frenzy, the publicist hurriedly retracted his
 reprobate (adj.) evil, unprincipled (The reprobate client’s sexist statement.)
criminal sat sneering in the cell.) reprove (v.) to  revel (v.) to enjoy intensely (Theodore reveled in
scold, rebuke (Lara reproved her son for sticking his new status as Big Man on Campus.)
each and every one of his fingers into the  revere (v.) to esteem, show deference, venerate
strawberry pie.) (The doctor saved countless lives with his
 repudiate (v.) to reject, refuse to accept (Kwame combination of expertise and kindness and became
made a strong case for an extension of his curfew, universally revered.)
but his mother repudiated it with a few biting  revoke (v.) to take back (After missing the curfew
words.) set by the court for eight nights in a row, Marcel’s
 repulse 1. (v.) to disgust (Antisocial Annie tried to freedom of movement was revoked.)
repulse people by neglecting to brush her teeth.) 2.  rhapsodize (v.) to engage in excessive enthusiasm
(v.) to push back (With a deft movement of her (The critic rhapsodized about the movie, calling it
wrist and a punch to the stomach, Lacy repulsed an instant classic.)
Jack’s attempt to kiss her.)  ribald (adj.) coarsely, crudely humorous (While
 reputable (adj.) of good reputation (After the most some giggled at the ribald joke involving a
reputable critic in the industry gave the novel a parson’s daughter, most sighed and rolled their
glowing review, sales took off.) eyes.)
 requisition (n.) a demand for goods, usually made  rife (adj.) abundant (Surprisingly, the famous
by an authority (During the war, the government novelist’s writing was rife with spelling errors.)
made a requisition of supplies.)  ruminate (v.) to contemplate, reflect (Terry liked
 rescind (v.) to take back, repeal (The company to ruminate while sitting on the banks of the river,
rescinded its offer of employment after discovering staring pensively into the water.)
that Jane’s resume was full of lies.)  ruse (n.) a trick (Oliver concocted an elaborate
 reservoir 1. (n.) reserves, large supply (Igor the ruse for sneaking out of the house to meet his
Indomitable had quite a reservoir of strengh and girlfriend while simultaneously giving his mother
could lift ten tons, even after running 700 miles, the impression that he was asleep in bed.)
jumping over three mountains, and swimming
across an ocean.) 2. (n.) a body of water used for
storing water (After graduation, the more
rebellious members of the senior class jumped into
the town reservoir used for drinking water.)
 resilient (adj.) able to recover from misfortune;
S
able to withstand adversity (The resilient ballplayer
quickly recovered from his wrist injury.)  saccharine (adj.) sickeningly sweet (Tom’s
 resolute (adj.) firm, determined (With a resolute saccharine manner, although intended to make him
glint in her eye, Catherine announced that she was popular, actually repelled his classmates.)
set on going to college in New York City even  sacrosanct (adj.) holy, something that should not
though she was a little frightened of tall buildings.) be criticized (In the United States, the Constitution
 resolve 1. (v.) to find a solution (Sarah and Emma is often thought of as a sacrosanct document.)
resolved their differences and shook hands.) 2. (v.)  sagacity (n.) shrewdness, soundness of perspective
to firmly decide (Lady Macbeth resolved to whip (With remarkable sagacity, the wise old man
her husband into shape.) predicted and thwarted his children’s plan to ship
 respite (n.) a break, rest (Justin left the pub to gain him off to a nursing home.)
a brief respite from the smoke and noise.)  salient (adj.) significant, conspicuous (One of the
 resplendent (adj.) shiny, glowing (The partygoers salient differences between Alison and Nancy is
were resplendent in diamonds and fancy dress.) that Alison is a foot taller.)
 salutation (n.) a greeting (Andrew regularly began  servile (adj.) subservient (The servile porter crept
letters with the bizarre salutation “Ahoy ahoy.”) around the hotel lobby, bowing and quaking before
 salve (n.) a soothing balm (After Tony applied a the guests.)
salve to his brilliant red sunburn, he soon felt a  sinuous (adj.) lithe, serpentine (With the sinuous
little better.) movements of her arms, the dancer mimicked the
 sanctimonious (adj.) giving a hypocritical motion of a snake.)
appearance of piety (The sanctimonious Bertrand  sobriety (n.) sedate, calm (Jason believed that
delivered stern lectures on the Ten Commandments maintaining his sobriety in times of crisis was the
to anyone who would listen, but thought nothing of key to success in life.)
stealing cars to make some cash on the side.)  solicitous (adj.) concerned, attentive (Jim, laid up
 sanguine (adj.) optimistic, cheery (Polly reacted to in bed with a nasty virus, enjoyed the solicitous
any bad news with a sanguine smile and the chirpy attentions of his mother, who brought him soup
cry, “When life hands you lemons, make and extra blankets.)
lemonade!”)  solipsistic (adj.) believing that oneself is all that
 satiate (v.) to satisfy excessively (Satiated after exists (Colette’s solipsistic attitude completely
eating far too much turkey and stuffing, Liza lay on ignored the plight of the homeless people on the
the couch watching football and suffering from street.)
stomach pains.)  soluble (adj.) able to dissolve (The plot of the spy
 scathing (adj.) sharp, critical, hurtful (Two hours film revolved around an untraceable and water-
after breaking up with Russell, Suzanne thought of soluble poison.)
the perfect scathing retort to his accusations.)  solvent 1. (n.) a substance that can dissolve other
 scintillating (adj.) sparkling (The ice skater’s substances (Water is sometimes called the
scintillating rhinestone costume nearly blinded the universal solvent because almost all other
judges.) substances can dissolve into it.) 2. (adj.) able to
 scrupulous (adj.) painstaking, careful (With pay debts (Upon receiving an unexpected check
scrupulous care, Sam cut a snowflake out of white from her aunt, Annabelle found herself suddenly
paper.) solvent.)
 scurrilous (adj.) vulgar, coarse (When Bruno  somnolent (adj.) sleepy, drowsy (The somnolent
heard the scurrilous accusation being made about student kept falling asleep and waking up with a
him, he could not believe it because he always jerk.)
tried to be nice to everyone.)  sophomoric (adj.) immature, uninformed (The
 sedentary (adj.) sitting, settled (The sedentary cat mature senior rolled her eyes at the sophomoric
did little but loll in the sun.) semaphore (n.) a gross-out humor of the underclassman.)
visual signal (Anne and Diana communicated with  sovereign (adj.) having absolute authority in a
a semaphore involving candles and window certain realm (The sovereign queen, with steely
shades.) resolve, ordered that the traitorous nobleman be
 seminal (adj.) original, important, creating a field killed.)
(Stephen Greenblatt’s essays on Shakespeare  speculative (adj.) not based in fact (Sadly, Tessa
proved to be seminal, because they initiated the was convicted on merely speculative evidence.)
critical school of New Historicism.)  spurious (adj.) false but designed to seem
 sensual (adj.) involving sensory gratification, plausible (Using a spurious argument, John
usually related to sex (With a coy smile, the guest convinced the others that he had won the board
on the blind-date show announced that he game on a technicality.)
considered himself a very sensual person.)  stagnate (v.) to become or remain inactive, not
 sensuous (adj.) involving sensory gratification develop, not flow (With no room for advancement,
(Paul found drinking Coke, with all the little the waiter’s career stagnated.)
bubbles bursting on his tongue, a very sensuous  staid (adj.) sedate, serious, self-restrained (The
experience.) staid butler never changed his expression no matter
 serendipity (n.) luck, finding good things without what happened.)
looking for them (In an amazing bit of serendipity,  stingy (adj.) not generous, not inclined to spend or
penniless Paula found a $20 bill in the subway give (Scrooge’s stingy habits did not fit with the
station.) generous, giving spirit of Christmas.)
 serene (adj.) calm, untroubled (Louise stood in  stoic (adj.) unaffected by passion or feeling
front of the Mona Lisa, puzzling over the famous (Penelope’s faithfulness to Odysseus required that
woman’s serene smile.) she be stoic and put off her many suitors.)
 stolid (adj.) expressing little sensibility,  taciturn (adj.) not inclined to talk (Though Jane
unemotional (Charles’s stolid reaction to his wife’s never seems to stop talking, her brother is quite
funeral differed from the passion he showed at the taciturn.)
time of her death.)  tangential (adj.) incidental, peripheral, divergent (I
 strenuous (adj.) requiring tremendous energy or tried to discuss my salary, but the boss kept
stamina (Running a marathon is quite a strenuous veering off into tangential topics.)
task. So is watching an entire Star Trek marathon.)  tantamount (adj.) equivalent in value or
 strident (adj.) harsh, loud (A strident man, Captain significance (When it comes to sports, fearing your
Von Trapp yelled at his daughter and made her opponent is tantamount to losing.)
cry.)  tedious (adj.) dull, boring (As time passed and the
 stupefy (v.) to astonish, make insensible history professor continued to drone on and on, the
(Veronica’s audacity and ungratefulness stupefied lecture became increasingly tedious.)
her best friend, Heather.)  temerity (n.) audacity, recklessness (Tom and
 subjugate (v.) to bring under control, subdue (The Huck entered the scary cave armed with nothing
invading force captured and subjugated the natives but their own temerity.)
of that place.)  temperance (n.) moderation in action or thought
 sublime (adj.) lofty, grand, exalted (The homeless (Maintaining temperance will ensure that you are
man sadly pondered his former wealth and once able to think rationally and objectively.)
sublime existence.)  tenable (adj.) able to be defended or maintained
 submissive (adj.) easily yielding to authority (In (The department heads tore down the arguments in
some cultures, wives are supposed to be other people’s theses, but Johari’s work proved to
submissive and support their husbands in all be quite tenable.)
matters.)  tenuous (adj.) having little substance or strength
 succinct (adj.) marked by compact precision (The (Your argument is very tenuous, since it relies so
governor’s succinct speech energized the crowd much on speculation and hearsay.)
while the mayor’s rambled on and on.)  terrestrial (adj.) relating to the land (Elephants are
 superfluous (adj.) exceeding what is necessary terrestrial animals.)
(Tracy had already won the campaign so her  timorous (adj.) timid, fearful (When dealing with
constant flattery of others was superfluous.) the unknown, timorous Tallulah almost always
 surfeit (n.) an overabundant supply or indulgence broke into tears.)
(After partaking of the surfeit of tacos and tamales  tirade (n.) a long speech marked by harsh or biting
at the All-You-Can-Eat Taco Tamale Lunch language (Every time Jessica was late, her
Special, Beth felt rather sick.) boyfriend went into a long tirade about
 surmise (v.) to infer with little evidence (After punctuality.)
speaking to only one of the students, the teacher  toady (n.) one who flatters in the hope of gaining
was able to surmise what had caused the fight.) favors (The other kids referred to the teacher’s pet
 surreptitious (adj.) stealthy (The surreptitious CIA as the Tenth Grade Toady.)
agents were able to get in and out of the house  tome (n.) a large book (In college, I used to carry
without anyone noticing.) around an anatomy book that was the heaviest
 surrogate (n.) one acting in place of another (The tome in my bag.)
surrogate carried the child to term for its biological  torpid (adj.) lethargic, dormant, lacking motion
parents.) (The torpid whale floated, wallowing in the water
 swarthy (adj.) of dark color or complexion (When for hours.)
he got drunk, Robinson’s white skin became rather  torrid (adj.) giving off intense heat, passionate (I
swarthy.) didn’t want to witness the neighbor’s torrid affair
 sycophant (n.) one who flatters for self-gain through the window.)
(Some see the people in the cabinet as the  tortuous (adj.) winding (The scary thing about
president’s closest advisors, but others see them as driving in mountains are the narrow, tortuous
sycophants.) roads.)
 tractable (adj.) easily controlled (The horse was so
T
tractable, Myra didn’t even need a bridle.)
 tacit (adj.) expressed without words (I interpreted  tranquil (adj.) calm (There is a time of night when
my parents’ refusal to talk as a tacit acceptance of nothing moves and everything is tranquil.)
my request.)  transgress (v.) to violate, go over a limit (The
criminal’s actions transgressed morality and
human decency.)
 transient (adj.) passing through briefly; passing  undulate (v.) to move in waves (As the storm
into and out of existence (Because virtually began to brew, the placid ocean began to undulate
everyone in Palm Beach is a tourist, the population to an increasing degree.)
of the town is quite transient.)  upbraid (v.) to criticize or scold severely (The last
 transmute (v.) to change or alter in form (Ancient thing Lindsay wanted was for Lisa to upbraid her
alchemists believed that it was possible to again about missing the rent payment.)
transmute lead into gold.)  usurp (v.) to seize by force, take possession of
 travesty (n.) a grossly inferior imitation without right (The rogue army general tried to
(According to the school newspaper’s merciless usurp control of the government, but he failed
theater critic, Pacific Coast High’s rendition of the because most of the army backed the legally
musical Oklahoma was a travesty of the original.) elected president.)
 tremulous (adj.) fearful (I always feel a trifle  utilitarian (adj.) relating to or aiming at usefulness
tremulous when walking through a graveyard.) (The beautiful, fragile vase couldn’t hold flowers
 trenchant (adj.) effective, articulate, clear-cut or serve any other utilitarian purpose.)
(The directions that accompanied my new cell  utopia (n.) an imaginary and remote place of
phone were trenchant and easy to follow.) perfection (Everyone in the world wants to live in
 trepidation (n.) fear, apprehension (Feeling great a utopia, but no one can agree how to go about
trepidation, Anya refused to jump into the pool building one.)
because she thought she saw a shark in it.)
V
 trite (adj.) not original, overused (Keith thought of
himself as being very learned, but everyone else  vacillate (v.) to fluctuate, hesitate (I prefer a
thought he was trite because his observations about definite answer, but my boss kept vacillating
the world were always the same as David between the distinct options available to us.)
Letterman’s.)  vacuous (adj.) lack of content or ideas, stupid
 truculent (adj.) ready to fight, cruel (This club (Beyonce realized that the lyrics she had just
doesn’t really attract the dangerous types, so why penned were completely vacuous and tried to add
was that bouncer being so truculent?) more substance.)
 truncate (v.) to shorten by cutting off (After  validate (v.) to confirm, support, corroborate
winning the derby, the jockey truncated the long (Yoko’s chemistry lab partner was asleep during
speech he had planned and thanked only his mom the experiment and could not validate the accuracy
and his horse.) of her methods.)
 turgid (adj.) swollen, excessively embellished in  vapid (adj.) lacking liveliness, dull (The
style or language (The haughty writer did not professor’s comments about the poem were
realize how we all really felt about his turgid surprisingly vapid and dull.)
prose.)  variegated (adj.) diversified, distinctly marked
 turpitude (n.) depravity, moral corruption (Sir (Each wire in the engineering exam was variegated
Marcus’s chivalry often contrasted with the by color so that the students could figure out which
turpitude he exhibited with the ladies at the one was which.)
tavern.)  vehemently (adv.) marked by intense force or
emotion (The candidate vehemently opposed
U
cutting back on Social Security funding.)
 ubiquitous (adj.) existing everywhere, widespread  veneer (n.) a superficial or deceptively attractive
(It seems that everyone in the United States has a appearance, façade (Thanks to her Chanel makeup,
television. The technology is ubiquitous here.) Shannen was able to maintain a veneer of
 umbrage (n.) resentment, offense (He called me a perfection that hid the flaws underneath.)
lily-livered coward, and I took umbrage at the  venerable (adj.) deserving of respect because of
insult.) age or achievement (The venerable Supreme Court
 uncanny (adj.) of supernatural character or origin justice had made several key rulings in landmark
(Luka had an uncanny ability to know exactly what cases throughout the years.)
other people were thinking. She also had an  venerate (v.) to regard with respect or to honor
uncanny ability to shoot fireballs from her hands.) (The tribute to John Lennon sought to venerate his
 unctuous (adj.) smooth or greasy in texture, music, his words, and his legend.)
appearance, manner (The unctuous receptionist  veracity (n.) truthfulness, accuracy (With several
seemed untrustworthy, as if she was only being agencies regulating the reports, it was difficult for
helpful because she thought we might give her a Latifah to argue against its veracity.)
big tip.)
 verbose (adj.) wordy, impaired by wordiness (It W
took the verbose teacher two hours to explain the
 wallow (v.) to roll oneself indolently; to become or
topic, while it should have taken only fifteen
remain helpless (My roommate can’t get over her
minutes.)
breakup with her boyfriend and now just wallows
 verdant (adj.) green in tint or color (The verdant
in self-pity.)
leaves on the trees made the world look emerald.)
 wane (v.) to decrease in size, dwindle (Don’t be so
 vestige (n.) a mark or trace of something lost or
afraid of his wrath because his influence with the
vanished (Do you know if the Mexican tortilla is a
president is already beginning to wane.)
vestige of some form of Aztec corn-based flat
 wanton (adj.) undisciplined, lewd, lustful (Vicky’s
bread?)
wanton demeanor often made the frat guys next
 vex (v.) to confuse or annoy (My little brother
door very excited.)
vexes me by poking me in the ribs for hours on
 whimsical (adj.) fanciful, full of whims (The
end.)
whimsical little girl liked to pretend that she was
 vicarious (adj.) experiencing through another (All
an elvin princess.)
of my lame friends learned to be social through
 wily (adj.) crafty, sly (Though they were not the
vicarious involvement in my amazing
strongest of the Thundercats, wily Kit and Kat
experiences.)
were definitely the most clever and full of tricks.)
 vicissitude (n.) event that occurs by chance (The
 winsome (adj.) charming, pleasing (After such a
vicissitudes of daily life prevent me from
long, frustrating day, I was grateful for Chris’s
predicting what might happen from one day to the
winsome attitude and childish naivete.)
next.)
 wistful (adj.) full of yearning; musingly sad (Since
 vigilant (adj.) watchful, alert (The guards
her pet rabbit died, Edda missed it terribly and sat
remained vigilant throughout the night, but the
around wistful all day long.)
enemy never launched the expected attack.)
 wizened (adj.) dry, shrunken, wrinkled (Agatha’s
 vilify (v.) to lower in importance, defame (After
grandmother, Stephanie, had the most wizened
the Watergate scandal, almost any story written
countenance, full of leathery wrinkles.)
about President Nixon sought to vilify him and
criticize his behavior.)  wrath (n.) vengeful anger, punishment (Did you
really want to incur her wrath when she is known
 vindicate (v.) to avenge; to free from allegation; to
for inflicting the worst punishments legally
set free (The attorney had no chance of vindicating
possible?)
the defendant with all of the strong evidence
presented by the state.) Y
 vindictive (adj.) vengeful (The vindictive madman
seeks to exact vengeance for any insult that he  yoke (v.) to join, link (We yoked together the logs
perceives is directed at him, no matter how small.) by tying a string around them.)
 virtuoso (n.) one who excels in an art; a highly Z
skilled musical performer (Even though Lydia has
studied piano for many years, she’s only average at  zealous (adj.) fervent, filled with eagerness in
it. She’s no virtuoso, that’s for sure.) pursuit of something (If he were any more zealous
 viscous (adj.) not free flowing, syrupy (The about getting his promotion, he’d practically live at
viscous syrup took three minutes to pour out of the the office.)
bottle.)  zenith (n.) the highest point, culminating point (I
 vitriolic (adj.) having a caustic quality (When was too nice to tell Nelly that she had reached the
angry, the woman would spew vitriolic insults.) absolute zenith of her career with that one hit of
 vituperate (v.) to berate (Jack ran away as soon as hers.)
his father found out, knowing he would be  zephyr (n.) a gentle breeze (If not for the zephyrs
vituperated for his unseemly behavior.) that were blowing and cooling us, our room
 vivacious (adj.) lively, sprightly (The vivacious would’ve been unbearably hot.)
clown makes all of the children laugh and giggle
with his friendly antics.)
 vocation (n.) the work in which someone is
employed, profession (After growing tired of the
superficial world of high-fashion, Edwina decided
to devote herself to a new vocation: social work.)
 vociferous (adj.) loud, boisterous (I’m tired of his
vociferous whining so I’m breaking up with him.)