-
frugality
- d: thrifty, not wasteful
- p: froo-gal-i-tee
- s: the student had to learn habits of frugality to survive with enough money throughout the year
-
probity
- d: integrity, honesty
- p: proh-bi-tee
-
intransigent
- d: refusing to agree or compromise, inflexible
- p: in-trans-si-juh nt
- s: the republican was intransigent in the abortion legislature
-
exculpate
- d: free from blame, vindicate
- p: ek-skuhl-peyt
- s: the father was exculpated from the murder when his alibi checked out
-
rectify
- d: to make right, correct
- p: fek-tuh-fahy
-
tractable
d: docile, easily managed
-
perjury
- d: willful giving of false testimony under oath
- p: per-juh-ree
s: the court ruled that since the man lied, he would be subjected to the punishment of perjury
-
recalcitrant
- d: resisting authority, not compliant, hard to deal with
- p: ri-kal-si-truh nt
s: the dog was recalcitrant when brought in for a bath
-
blithe
- d: joyous, cheerful, carefree
- p: blayth
- s: the joker acted blithe to increase his tips
-
burnish
- d: to polish, to make smooth
- p: bur-nish
- s: the squire burnished all of the pots until the cook was happy
-
-
euphemism
d: the substitution of a vulgar expression for one more polite, or mild expression
-
rarefy
- d: to make rare, to make more refined/spiritual
- p: rair-uh-fahy
-
tortuous
- d: full of twists and turns, intricate, indirect
- p: tawr-choo-uh s
- s: a labyrinth is inherently tortuous both physically and intellectually
-
beneficent
- d: doing good
- p: buh-nef-uh-suh nt
- s: The beneficent priest worked to keep his children happy
-
diatribe
- d: sharply abusive criticism, harangue
- p: dahy-uh-trahyb
-
discomfit
- d: to confuse and deject; to thwart or foil
- p: dis-kuhm-fit
-
elegy
- d: a mournful, sad poem usually for the dead/funerals
- p: el-i-jee
-
disingenuous
- d: insincere
- p: dis-in-jen-yoo-uh s
-
enumerate
- d: to mention separately as if in counting
- p: ih-noo-huh-reyt
- s: let me enumerate the many flaws in your hypothesis
-
disinterested
- d: unbiased by personal interest, indifferent
- p: dis-in-tuh-res-tid
- s: a disinterested decision by the referee
-
fatuous
- d: foolish or inane, silly, unreal
- p: fach-oo-uh s
s: the fatuous questions that the audience members asked after the lecture suggested to the oceanographer that they had understood little
-
fidelity
- d: strict observance of promises; loyality; degree to which an electronic device reproduces its effect
- p: fi-del-i-tee
s: they have never wavered in their fidelity to the cause of freedom
-
solicitous
- d: anxious or concerned, eager
- p: suh-lis-i-tuh s
s: I appreciated his solicitous inquiry about by health
-
equivocate
- d: to use ambiguous or unclear expressions
- p: ih-kwiv-uh-keyt
s: The applicant seemed to be equivocating when we asked him about his last job.
-
dissemble
- d: to give a false/misleading appearance to, to conceal the real nature of
- p: dih-sem-buh l
s: he dissembled happiness at the news that his old girlfriend was getting married—to someone else
-
exacerbate
- d: to increase the severity of, aggravate
- p: ig-zas-er-beyt
s: The proposed factory shutdown would only exacerbate our unemployment problems.
-
propagate
- d: to reproduce itself, to spread
- p: prop-uh-geyt
s: He propagated the apple tree by grafting.
-
surfeit
- d: excess, uncomfortably full
- p: sur-fit
s: <ended up with a surfeit of volunteers who simply got in each other's way>
-
mollify
- d: to soften in feeling or temper, to reduce
- p: mol-uh-fahy
s: He tried to mollify his critics with an apology.
-
furtive
- d: taken, done, used by stealth; sly, shifty
- p: fur-tiv
s: We exchanged furtive smiles across the table.
-
garrulous
- d: excessively talkative, wordy
- p: gar-uh-luh s
s: He became more garrulous after drinking a couple of beers.
-
diffident
- d: lacking confidence in one's own ability, shy
- p: diff-i-duh nt
s: She was diffident about stating her opinion.
-
denigrate
- d: to speak damagingly of, criticize, defame
- p: den-i-greyt
s: Her story denigrates him as a person and as a teacher.
-
pedantic
- d: overly concerned with minute details
- p: puh-dan-tik
s: a pedantic attention to details.
-
placate
- d: to appease or pacify
- p: pley-keyt
s: The angry customer was not placated by the clerk's apology.
-
derision
- d: ridicule, mockery
- p: dih-rizh-uh n
s: One of the students laughed in derision at my error.
-
disabuse
- d: to free (a person) from deception or error, to set right
- p: dis-uh-byooz
s: <let me disabuse you of your foolish notions about married life>
-
erudite
- d: characterized by great knowledge;
- p: er-yoo-dahyt
s: <the most erudite people in medical research attended the conference>
-
prodigious
- d: extraordinary in size, degree, etc.; wonderful or marvelous
- p: pruh-dij-uh s
s: <stage magicians performing prodigious feats for rapt audiences>
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