Verbal Ability 2

• predictable,cliche,borgin
• His conversations consisted of banal phrases liek 'Have a nice day'.

• Similar: bland,bromidic,hackneyed,shopworn,platitudinous

• support, prop up
• The presence of giant footprints bolstered the arguement that bigfoot was in the area.

Similar: sustain,unerprinting,crutch, support,uphole

• pompous in speech and manner
• Mussolini's speechs were mostly bombastic; his boasting and outrageous claims had no basis in fact.

Similar: bloated, declamatory, grandiose, fustian

• to grow and flourish
• Faulkner neither confirmed nor denied stories about himself, allowing rumor to burgeon where it would.

Similar: bloom,flourish,thrive,prosper

• tp polish
• He burnished the silver coffee pot until it shone brightly.

Similar: buff, polish, luster,scour

• harsh, jarring noise
• The junior high orchestra created an almost unbearable cacophony as ther tried to tune their instruments.

Similar: discord,chaos,noise,clamor

• impartial and honest in speech
• The observations of a child can be charming since they are candid and unpretentious.

Similar: direct, open, honest, straighforward, sincere

• changing one's mind quickly and often
• Queen's Elizabeth I was quite capricious; her courtiers could never be sure which one would catch her fancy.

Similar: arbitrary, chance, fickle,changeable,inconstant

• to punish or criticize harshly
• Americans are amazed at how harshly the authorities in Singapore castigate perpetrators of what would be only minor crimes in the United States.

Similar: admonish, scold, reproach, tax, reproach

• something that brings about a change in something else
• The imposition of harsh taxes was the catalyst that finally brought on the revolution.

• biting in wit
• Dorothy Parker gained her caustic reputation from her cutting, yet witty, insults.

Similar: acerbic,trenchant,mordant

• great disorder or confused situation
• In the most religious traditions, God created an ordered univiers from a chaotic void.

Similar: clutter, disorder,jumble,disorderness,disarrangement, mess,snarl,turmoil

• someone prejudiced in favor of a group that he or she belongs
• The attitude that men mus be obeyed since they are inherently superior to women is commone amount male chauvinists.

Similar: biased, partial,prepossessed,partisan,one-sided

• deception by means of raft or guile
• Dishonest used-car salesmen often use chicanery to sell their beat-up old cars.

Similar: artiface,deception,conniving,craftiness,misrepresentation,sneakiness,underhandedness

• cautious, aware of potential consequences
• She was very circumspect in her language and behavior when first introduced to her fiancee's parents.

Similar: alert, cautious,heedful,solicitous,wary,prudent

• to grow together to form a single whole
• The sun and planets eventually coalesced out of vast cloud of gas and dust.

Similar: blend, amalgamate, consolidate, fuse, unite

• convincing and well-reasoned
• Swayed by the cogent argument of the defense the jury had no choice but to acquit the defendant.

Similar: convincing, persuasive,solid,valid,tellin

• to overlook, pardone or disregard
• The prisoner was condoned due to newly discovered evidence.

Similar: exculpate,excuse,pardon,remit

• a person with expert knowledge or discriminaing tastes
• I am a connoisseur of beer; only loving miller lite.

• intricated and complicated
• My AP class was convoluted by my teacher.

Similar: perplexing,complex,elaborate,tangled,knotty

• supporting evidence
• Fingerprints provided corroboration for the witness's testimony that he saw the defendant in the victim's apartment.

Similar: buttress,confirm,verify,substantiate, bear out, authenticate

• too trusting; gullible
• Although some 4 year-olds believe in the Easter Bunny, only the most credulous 9 year olds also believe in him.

Similar: naive,susceptable,trusting

• Stedily incresing in volume or force
• The crescendo of tension built in the movie as the killer was sneaking into the house.