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abolish
vt. to put an end to; to eliminate
Slavery in America was officially abolished in 1863.
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acrimonious
adj. bitter, resentful
The acrimonious controversy destroyed some friendships.
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affront
- vt. to offend
- n. an open isult or indignity
- The guest's jokes about the food affronted his hosts.
- His jokes about the food were an affront to his hosts.
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ameliorate
vt. to relieve, as from hardship
Reduced taxes ameliorated economic conditions.
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apocryphal
adj. of doubtful authenticity; fake
Biographers must distinguish true stories from apocryphal ones.
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arsenal
n. collection, esp. of military arms
The US agreed to reduce its nuclear arsenal.
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auspicious
adj. promising success
Fine weather in the spring in auspicious for farmers.
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brevity
n. shortness, conciseness
A poem of such brevity is a bad choice for a speech contest.
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burgeon
vi. to sprout, bloom, flourish
Wild flowers burgeoned as spring turned to summer.
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catastrophic
adj. disastrous.
- Allowing Hitler to gain power was a catastrophic error.
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circumlocution
n. wordy, roundabout language
The circumlocution in the report confused me.
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cogent
adj. convincing, logical
The attorney made a cogent case for her client.
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conspirator
n. one who cooperates in an unlawful purpose
Conspirators plotted a revolution.
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convoluted
adj. twisted or coiled
His confusing logic is as convoluted as a pretzel.
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debunk
vt. to expose as false
Doctors debunked the claims of the company promoting a pam diet.
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denounce
vt. to criticize publicly
The angry player denounced the firing of his coach.
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despondency
n. dejection, hopelessness
Disappointment in love caused his despondency.
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din
n. continued noise, esp of many sounds
Racing fans love the din of the drag strip.
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distraught
- adj. 1. deeply distressed
- 2. insane
He tried to comfort the distraught widow.
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drivel
- n. nonsense
- vi. to talk nonsense
A book review called his poems childish drivel.
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egregious
adj. conspicuously bad
Amputating the wrong leg is an egregious error.
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embezzle
vt. to take preperty in one's care falsely for oneself
The treasurer embezzled company funds.
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enigma
n. mystery; something hard to understand
The origin of language is an enigma.
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espouse
- vt. to support as a cause
- vt. to marry
The farmer espoused the case of conservation.
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exculpate
vt. to free from guilt
He made excuses to exculpate himself for missing curfew.
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exploit
- n. famous or heroic deed
- vt. 1. to use productively
- 2. to take unfair advantage of
- Hercules performed great exploits.
- Hawaii businesses exploit our favorable location. Cheap magazines exploited the movie star's image to sell copies.
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fanatical
adj. blindly enthusiastic
The fanatical patriots think their country can do no wrong.
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flout
vt. to treat with open disrespect
Unafraid of his weak parents, he flouted their rules.
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germane
adj. relevant
The Chaplain found a Biblical verse germane to his sermon's theme.
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heir
n. one who inherits
The son of the CEO is the heir to his fortune.
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hyperbole
n. intentional overstatement
"I'm starving" is a hyperbole.
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imperious
adj. commanding, arrogant
The spoiled child was imperious toward playmates.
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incarcerate
vt. to imprison
Police incarcerated the suspects.
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incumbent
- adj. lying in place, esp holding an office
- n. one holding an office
- The incumbent mayor was reelected.
- Voters reelected the incumbent.
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infringe
- vi. to encroach or trespass upon.
- vt. to encroach on.
- Computer hackers can infringe upon your privacy.
- The court ruled that the company had infringed the inventor's patent.
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intercede
vi. to mediate between disagreeing parties
Counselors do not intercede in petty quarrels.
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irrational
adj. not governed by or according to reason
Love makes wise people do irrational things.
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laudable
adj. deserving praise
The Headmaster said our canned food drive was laudable.
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malady
n. illness
Doctors could not diagnose the mysterious malady.
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mentor
- n. a wise teacher or guide
- vt. to teach or guide
A veteran was the beginner's mentor.
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navigable
adj. deep and wide enough for passage
Dredging made the canal navigable.
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opaque
adj. blocking light; hard to see through or understand
My shower door is opaque.
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pariah
n. an outcast
The snobs made people without BMW's feel like pariahs.
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peccadillo
n. minor offense
She notices her date's peccadilloes, like ordering his meal first.
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peruse
vt. to read or study
He spent hours perusing books in the aisles of Borders.
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poacher
n. one who hunts or fishes illegally; respasser
Poachers put traps in the duke's wood.
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premature
adj. occuring before something is ready
With no diagnosis, a prescription is premature.
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prevarication
n. lying, falsehood
My prevarication did not fool my parents.
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prostrate
- adj. lying flat, a in adoration or submission
- vt. to put (oneself) in a prostrate position.
The prostrate captives begged for mercy.
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raucous
adj. harshly loud and disorderly
Hearing raucous shouts, the police raided the party.
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recollect
vt. to remember
I cannot recollect what I ate for dinner on Tuesday.
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relegate
vt. to banish or assign to an inferior position
The coach relegated a starter to the second string.
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repast
n. meal
- After a repast to restore their energy, they continues their journey.
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rhetoric
- n. 1. the art of speaking or writing persuasively
- 2. impressive but insincere language
- Voice, style and tone are concepts in rhetoric.
- The political speech was nothing but rhetoric.
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salubrious
adj. promoting health
Daily swimming is a salubrious habit.
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serrated
adj. notched or toothed like a saw
A serrated knife is good for cutting bread.
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soporific
- adj. 1. causing sleep
- 2. relating to sleep
- n. a soporific agent
Gentle songs have a soporific effect on babies
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sterile
- adj. 1. unable to produce life
- 2. not stimulating
- 3. free from microorganisms
- Radiation made the lab rats sterile. Blank walls make a room seem sterile.
- Nurses use sterile needles.
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superficiality
n. shallowness; concern with surfaces
Having only skimmed the reading, I tried to dazzle my teacher with big words, but his questions exposed the superficiality of my understanding.
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tawdry
adj. gaudy, cheap
The cheap hotel had tawdry furnishings.
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tirade
n. long, angry, critical speech
- When the phone bill arrived, my dad went into a tirade.
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trite
adj. dull and unoriginal
The movie was full of trite jokes that made no one laugh.
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unflappable
adj. calm, self-controlled
With unflappable poise, he delivered a flawless speech.
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vacillation
n. wavering, hesitation
Tired of his vacillation, she married someone else.
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wrest
vt. to pull or gain by force
I could not wrest the Frisbee from the dog's jaws.
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