-
aberration
- (n.) something that
- differs from the norm (In 1974, Poland won the World Cup, but the
- success turned out to be an
- aberration, and Poland have not won a World Cup since).
-
abhor
- (v.) to hate, detest
- (Because he always wound up getting hit in the head when he tried
- to play cricket, Marcin began to abhor
- the sport).
-
acquiesce
- (v.) to agree without
- protesting (Though Mr. Pospieszny wanted to stay outside and work
- in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in
- to dinner, he acquiesced
- to her demands.)
-
alacrity
- (n.) eagerness, speed
- (For some reason, Simon loved to help his girlfriend whenever he
- could, so when his girlfriend asked him to set the table he did so
- with alacrity.)
-
amiable
- (adj.) friendly (An amiable
- fellow, Neil got along with just about everyone.)
-
appease
- (v.) to calm, satisfy
- (When Jerry cries, his mother gives him chocolate to appease
- him.)
-
arcane
- (adj.) obscure, secret,
- known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane
- Kashubian literature.)
-
avarice
- (n.) excessive greed
- (The banker’s avarice led him to amass an enormous
- personal fortune.)
-
brazen
- (adj.) excessively
- bold, brash, clear and obvious (Critics condemned the writer’s brazen
- attempt to plagiarise Frankow-Czerwonko’s work.)
-
brusque
- (adj.) short, abrupt,
- dismissive (Simon’s brusque manner sometimes
- offends his colleagues.)
-
cajole
- (v.) to urge, coax (Magda's
- friends cajoled her into drinking too much.)
-
callous
- (adj.) harsh, cold,
- unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse
- shocked the jury.)
-
candor
- (n.) honesty,
- frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the
- politician’s speech because she is usually rather evasive.)
-
chide
- (v.)
- to voice disapproval (Hania chided Gregory for his
- vulgar habits and sloppy appearance.)
-
circumspect
- (adj.)
- cautious (Though I promised Marta’s father I would bring her
- home promptly by midnight, it would have been more circumspect
- not to have specified a time.)
-
clandestine
- (adj.)
- secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the
- library, Maria actually went to meet George for a clandestine
- liaison.)
-
coerce
- (v.)
- to make somebody do something by force or threat (The court
- decided that David Beckham did not have to honor the contract
- because he had been coerced into signing it.)
-
coherent
- (adj.)
- logically consistent, intelligible (William could not figure out
- what Harold had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent
- statement.)
-
complacency
- (n.)
- self-satisfied ignorance of danger (Simon tried to shock his
- friends out of their complacency by painting a
- frightening picture of what might happen to them.)
-
confidant
- (n.)
- a person entrusted with secrets (Shortly after we met, he became
- my chief confidant.)
-
connive
- (v.)
- to plot, scheme (She connived to get me to give up
- my plans to start up a new business.)
-
cumulative
- (adj.) increasing,
- building upon itself (The cumulative effect of hours
- spent using the World English website was a vast improvement in
- his vocabulary and general level of English.)
-
debase
- (v.) to lower the
- quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave
- himself debased his motives for running the charity.)
-
decry
- (v.) to criticize
- openly (Andrzej Lepper, the leader of the Polish Self Defence
- party decried the appaling state of Polish roads.)
-
deferential
- (adj.) showing respect
- for another’s authority (Donata is always excessively deferential
- to any kind of authority figure.)
-
demure
- (adj.) quiet, modest,
- reserved (Though everyone else at the party was dancing and going
- crazy, she remained demure.)
-
deride
- (v.) to laugh at
- mockingly, scorn (The native speaker often derided
- the other teacher’s accent.)
-
despot
- (n.) one who has total
- power and rules brutally (The despot issued a death
- sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)
-
diligent
- (adj.) showing care in
- doing one’s work (The diligent researcher made
- sure to double check her measurements.)
-
elated
- (adj.) overjoyed,
- thrilled (When he found out he had won the lottery, the postman
- was elated.)
-
eloquent
- (adj.) expressive,
- articulate, moving (The best man gave such an eloquent
- speech that most guests were crying.)
-
embezzle
- (v.) to steal money by
- falsifying records (The accountant was fired for embezzling
- €10,000 of the company’s funds.)
-
empathy
- (n.) sensitivity to
- another’s feelings as if they were one’s own (I feel such empathy
- for my dog when she’s upset so am I!)
-
enmity
- (n.) ill will, hatred,
- hostility (John and Scott have clearly not forgiven each other,
- because the enmity between them is obvious to anyone
- in their presence.)
-
erudite
- (adj.) learned (My
- English teacher is such an erudite scholar that he
- has translated some of the most difficult and abstruse Old English
- poetry.)
-
extol
- (v.) to praise, revere
- (Kamila extolled the virtues of a vegetarian diet to
- her meat-loving boyfriend.)
-
fabricate
- (v.) to make up,
- invent (When I arrived an hour late to class, I fabricated
- some excuse about my car breaking down on the way to work.)
-
feral
- (adj.) wild, savage (That
- beast looks so feral that I would fear being alone
- with it.)
-
flabbergasted
- (adj.) astounded (Whenever
- I read an Agatha Christie mystery novel, I am always flabbergasted
- when I learn the identity of the murderer.)
-
forsake
- (v.) to give up,
- renounce (I won't forsake my conservative principles.)
-
fractious
- (adj.) troublesome or
- irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn’t tired, his fractious
- behaviour - especially his decision to crush his jam sandwiches
- all over the floor - convinced everyone present that it was time
- to put him to bed.)
-
furtive
- (adj.) secretive, sly
- (Claudia’s placement of her drugs in her sock drawer was not as furtive
- as she thought, as the sock drawer is the first place most parents
- look.)
-
gluttony
- (n.) overindulgence in
- food or drink (Helen’s fried chicken tastes so divine, I don’t
- know how anyone can call gluttony a sin.)
-
gratuitous
- (adj.) uncalled for,
- unwarranted (Every evening the guy at the fish and chip shop gives
- me a gratuitous helping of vinegar.)
-
haughty
- (adj.) disdainfully
- proud (The superstar’s haughty dismissal of her
- co-stars will backfire on her someday.)
-
hypocrisy
- (n.) pretending to
- believe what one does not (Once the politician began passing
- legislation that contradicted his campaign promises, his hypocrisy
- became apparent.)
-
impeccable
- (adj.) exemplary,
- flawless (If your grades were as impeccable as your
- brother’s, then you too would receive a car for a graduation
- present.)
-
impertinent
- (adj.) rude, insolent
- (Most of your comments are so impertinent that I
- don’t wish to dignify them with an answer.)
-
implacable
- (adj.) incapable of
- being appeased or mitigated (Watch out: once you shun
- Grandmother’s cooking, she is totally implacable.)
-
impudent
- (adj.) casually rude,
- insolent, impertinent (The impudent young woman
- looked her teacher up and down and told him he was hot.)
-
incisive
- (adj.) clear, sharp,
- direct (The discussion wasn’t going anywhere until her incisive
- comment allowed everyone to see what the true issues were.)
-
indolent
- (adj.) lazy (Why
- should my indolent children, who can’t even pick
- themselves up off the sofa to pour their own juice, be rewarded
- with a trip to Burger King?)
-
inept
- (adj.) not suitable or
- capable, unqualified (She proved how inept she was
- when she forgot two orders and spilled a pint of cider in a
- customer’s lap.)
-
infamy
- (n.) notoriety,
- extreme ill repute (The infamy of his crime will not
- lessen as time passes.)
-
inhibit
- (v.) to prevent,
- restrain, stop (When I told you I needed the car last night, I
- certainly never meant to inhibit you from going out.)
-
innate
- (adj.) inborn, native,
- inherent (His incredible athletic talent is innate,
- he never trains, lifts weights, or practices.)
-
insatiable
- (adj.) incapable of
- being satisfied (My insatiable appetite for blondes
- was a real problem on my recent holiday in Japan!)
-
insular
- (adj.) separated and
- narrow-minded; tight-knit, closed off (Because of the sensitive
- nature of their jobs, those who work for MI5 must remain insular
- and generally only spend time with each other.)
-
intrepid
- (adj.) brave in the
- face of danger (After scaling a live volcano prior to its eruption,
- the explorer was praised for his intrepid attitude.)
-
inveterate
- (adj.) stubbornly
- established by habit (I’m the first to admit that I’m an inveterate
- cider drinker—I drink four pints a day.)
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