Barron's GRE with sentences - Complete Wordlist

abase

lower; degrade; humiliate
Anna expected to have to curtsy to the King of Siam; when told to cast herself down on the ground before
him, however she refused to abase herself.

abash

embarrass
He was not at all abashed by her open admiration.

abate

subside or moderate
Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate.

abbreviate

shorten
Because we were running out of time, the lecturer had to abbreviate her speech.

abdicate

renounce; give up
When Edward VII abdicated the British throne, he surprised the entire world.

aberrant

abnormal or deviant
Given the aberrant nature of the data, we came to doubt the validity of the entire experiment.

abet

assist, usually in doing something wrong
She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned.

abeyance

suspended action
The deal was held in abeyance until her arrival.

abject

wretched; lacking pride
On the streets of New York the homeless live in abject poverty, huddling in doorways to find shelter from
the wind.

abjure

renounce upon oath
He abjured his allegiance to the king.

ablution

washing
His daily ablutions were accompanied by loud noises that he humorously labeled "Opera in the Bath.

abnegation

renunciation; self-sacrifice
Though Rudolph and Duchess Flavia loved one another, their love was doomed, for she had to wed the
king; their act of abnegation was necessary to preserve the kingdom.

abominate

loathe; hate
Moses scolded the idol worshippers in the tribe because he abominated the custom.

abortive

unsuccessful; fruitless
We had to abandon our abortive attempts.

abrasive

rubbing away; tending to grind down
Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear away a listener's
patience.

abrogate

abolish
He intended to abrogate the decree issued by his predecessor.

abscond

depart secretly and hide
The teller absconded with the bonds and was not found.

absolute

complete; totally unlimited; certain
Although the King of Siam was an absolute monarch, he did not want to behead his unfaithful wife
without absolute evidence of her infidelity.

absolve

pardon (an offense)
The father confessor absolved him of his sins.

abstain

refrain; withhold from participation
After considering the effect of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from drinking
while he trained for the race.

abstract

theoretical; not concrete; non-representational
To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.

abusive

coarsely insulting; physically harmful
An abusive parent damages a child both mentally and physically.

abut

border upon; adjoin
Where our estates abut, we must build a fence.

abysmal

bottomless
His arrogance is exceeded only by his abysmal ignorance.

accede

agree
If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afraid that I will be the victim of future demands.

accelerate

move faster
In our science class, we learn how falling bodies accelerate.

accessible

easy to approach; obtainable
We asked our guide whether the ruins were accessible on foot.

accessory

additional object; useful but not essential thing
She bought an attractive handbag as an accessory for her dress.

acclimate

adjust to climate or environment
One of the difficulties of our present air age is the need of travellers to acclimate themselves to their new
and often strange environments.

acclivity

sharp upslope of a hill
The car could not go up the acclivity in high gear.

accolade

award of merit
In Hollywood, an "Oscar" is the highest accolade.

accord

agreement
She was in complete accord with the verdict.

accost

approach and speak first to a person
When the two young men accosted me, I was frightened because I thought they were going to attack me.

accoutre

equip
The fisherman was accoutred with the best that the sporting goods store could supply

accretion

growth; increase
The accretion of wealth marked the family's rise in power.

accrue

come about by addition
You must pay the interest that has accrued on your debt as well as the principal sum.

acidulous

slightly sour; sharp; caustic
James was unpopular because of his sarcastic and acidulous remarks.

acme

peak; pinnacle; highest point
Welles's success in Citizen Kane marked the acme of his career as an actor; never again did he achieve such
popular acclaim.

acquiesce

assent; agree passively
Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about
the changes he wanted made.

acquittal

deliverance from a charge
His acquittal by the jury surprised those who had thought him guilty.

acrid

sharp; bitterly pungent The acrid odor of burnt gunpowder filled the room after the pistol had been fired.

acrimonious

stinging, caustic
His tendency to utter acrimonious remarks alienated his audience.

actuarial

calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics
According to recent actuarial tables, life expectancy is greater today than it was a century ago.

actuate

motivate
I fail to understand what actuated you to reply to this letter so nastily.

acuity

sharpness
In time his youthful acuity of vision failed him, and he needed glasses.

acumen

mental keenness
His business acumen helped him to succeed where others had failed.

adage

wise saying; proverb
There is much truth in the old adage about fools and their money.

adamant

hard, inflexible
He was adamant in his determination to punish the wrongdoer.

addendum

addition; appendix to book
Jane's editor approved her new comparative literature text but thought it would be even better with an
addendum on recent developments in literary criticism.

addle

muddle; drive crazy
This idiotic plan is confusing enough to addle anyone.

adherent

supporter; follower
In the wake of the scandal, the senator's one-time adherent quietly deserted him.

adjunct

something attached to but holding an inferior position
I will entertain this concept as an adjunct to the main proposal.

adjuration

solemn urging
Her adjuration to tell the truth did not change the witnesses' testimony.

adjutant

staff officer assisting the commander; assistant
Though Wellington delegated many tasks to his chief adjutant, Lord Fitzroy Somerset, Somerset was in no
doubt as to who made all major decisions.

admonish

warn; reprove
He admonished his listeners to change their wicked ways.

adorn

decorate
Wall paintings and carved statues adorned the temple.

adroit

skillful
His adroit handling of the delicate situation pleased his employers.

adulation

flattery; admiration
The rock star thrived on the adulation of his groupies and yes-men.

adulterate

make impure by mixing with baser substances It is a crime to adulterate foods without informing the buyer.

adventitious

accidental; casual
He found this adventitious meeting with his friend extremely fortunate.

advent

arrival
Most Americans were unaware of the advent of the Nuclear Age until the news of Hiroshima reached
them.

adversary

opponent; enemy
Batman struggled to save Gotham City from the machinations of his wicked adversary, the Joker.

adverse

unfavorable; hostile
adverse circumstances compelled him to close his business.

adversity

poverty, misfortune
We must learn to meet adversity gracefully.

advert

refer to
Since you advert to this matter so frequently, you must regard it as important.

advocate

urge; plead for
The abolitionists advocated freedom for the slaves.

aegis

shield; defense
Under the aegis of the Bill of Rights, we enjoy our most treasured freedoms.

affable

courteous
Although he held a position of responsibility, he was an affable individual and could be reached by anyone
with a complaint.

affected

artificial; pretended
His affected mannerisms irritated may of us who had known him before his promotion.

affidavit

written statement made under oath
The court refused to accept his statement unless he presented it in the form of an affidavit.

affiliation

joining; associating with
His affiliation with the political party was of short duration for he soon disagreed with his colleagues.

affinity

kinship
She felt an affinity with all who suffered; their pains were her pains.

affirmation

positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath
Despite Tom's affirmation of innocence, Aunt Polly still suspected he had eaten the pie.

affix

attach or add on; fasten
First the registrar had to affix his signature to the license; then he had to affix his official seal.

affluence

abundance; wealth
Foreigners are amazed by the affluence and luxury of the American way of life.

affront

insult; offend
Accustomed to being treated with respect, Miss Challoner was affronted by Vidal's offensive behavior.

agape

openmouthed
She stared, agape, at the many strange animals in the zoo.

agenda

items of business at a meeting
We had so much difficulty agreeing upon an agenda that there was very little time for the meeting.

agglomeration

collection; heap
It took weeks to assort the agglomeration of miscellaneous items she had collected on her trip.

aggrandize

increase or intensify; raise in power, wealth, rank or honor
The history of the past quarter century illustrates how a President may aggrandize his power to act
aggressively in international affairs without considering the wishes of Congress.

aggregate

sum; total
The aggregate wealth of this country is staggering to the imagination.

aghast

horrified
He was aghast at the nerve of the speaker who had insulted his host.

agility

nimbleness
The agility of the acrobat amazed and thrilled the audience.

agitate

stir up; disturb
Her fiery remarks agitated the already angry mob.

agnostic

one who is skeptical of the existence of knowability of a god or any ultimate reality
The agnostic demanded proof before she would accept the statement of the minister.

agog

highly excited; intensely curious
We were all agog at the news that the celebrated movie star was giving up his career in order to enter a
monastery.

agrarian

pertaining to land or its cultivation
As a result of its recent industrialization, the country is gradually losing its agrarian traditions.

alacrity

cheerful promptness
He demonstrated his eagerness to serve by his alacrity in executing the orders of his master.

alchemy

medieval chemistry
The changing of baser metals into gold was the goal of the students of alchemy.

alcove

nook; recess
Though their apartment lacked a full-scale dining room, an alcove adjacent to the living room made an
adequate breakfast nook for the young couple.

alias

an assumed name
John Smith's alias was Bob Jones.

alienate

make hostile; separate
Her attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith in each other.

alimentary

supplying nourishment
The alimentary canal in our bodies is so named because digestion of foods occurs there.

alimony

payments make to an ex-spouse after divorce
Because Tony had supported Tina through medical school, on their divorce he asked the court to award
him a month in alimony.

allay

calm; pacify
The crew tried to allay the fears of the passengers by announcing that the fire had been controlled.

allege

state without proof
It is alleged that she had worked for the enemy.

allegory

story in which characters are used as symbols; fable
Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory of the temptations and victories of the human soul.

alleviate

relieve
This should alleviate the pain; if it does not, we shall have to use stronger drugs.

alliteration

repetition of beginning sound in poetry
"The furrow followed free" is an example of alliteration.

alloy

mixture as of metals
alloy of gold are used more frequently than the pure metal.

allude

refer indirectly
Try not to allude to this matter in his presence because the topic annoys him.

allure

entice; attract
allured by the song of the sirens, the helmsman steered the ship toward the reef.

allusion

indirect reference
the allusions to mythological characters in Milton's poems bewilder the reader who has not studied Latin.

alluvial

pertaining to soil deposits left by running water
The farmers found the alluvial deposits at the mouth of the river very fertile.

aloft

upward
The sailor climbed aloft into the rigging.

aloof

apart; reserved
Shy by nature, she remained aloof while all the rest conversed.

altercation

noisy quarrel
Throughout the altercation, not one sensible word was uttered.

altruistic

unselfishly generous; concerned for others
In providing tutorial assistance and college scholarships to hundreds of economically disadvantaged
youths, Eugene Lang performed a truly altruistic deed.

amalgamate

combine; unite in one body
The unions will attempt to amalgamate their groups into one national body.

amass

collect
The miser's aim is to amass and hoard as much gold as possible.

amazon

female warrior
Ever since the days of Greek mythology we refer to strong and aggressive women as amazons.

ambidextrous

capable of using either hand with equal ease
A switch-hitter in baseball should be naturally ambidextrous.

ambience

environment; atmosphere
She went to the restaurant not for the food but for the ambience.

ambiguous

unclear or doubtful in meaning
His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take.

ambivalence

the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes
Torn between loving her parents one minute and hating them the next, she was confused by the
ambivalence of her feelings.

amble

moving at an easy pace
When she first mounted the horse, she was afraid to urge the animal to go faster than a gentle amble.

ambrosia

food of the gods
ambrosia was supposed to give immortality to any human who ate it.

ambulatory

able to walk
He was described as an ambulatory patient because he was not confined to his bed.

ameliorate

improve
Many social workers have attempted to ameliorate the conditions of people living in the slums.

amenable

readily managed; willing to be led
He was amenable to any suggestions that came from those he looked up to; he resented advice from his
inferiors.

amend

correct; change, generally for the better
Hoping to amend his condition, he left Vietnam for the United States.

amenities

convenient features; courtesies In addition to the customary amenities for the business traveler -- fax machines, modems, a health club --
the hotel offers the services of a butler versed in social amenities.

amiable

agreeable; lovable
His amiable disposition pleased all who had dealings with him.

amicable

friendly
The dispute was settled in an amicable manner with no harsh words.

amiss

wrong; faulty
Seeing her frown, he wondered if anything were amiss.

amity

friendship
Student exchange programs such as the Experiment in International Living were established to promote
international amity.

amnesia

loss of memory
Because she was suffering from amnesia, the police could not get the young girl to identify herself.

amnesty

pardon
When his first child was born, the king granted amnesty to all in prison.

amok

in a state of rage The police had to be called in to restrain him after he ran amok in the department store.

amoral

non-moral
The amoral individual lacks a code of ethics; he should not be classified as immoral.

amorous

moved by sexual love; loving
Don Juan was known for his amorous adventures.

amorphous

shapeless; vague; indeterminate
John was subject to panic attacks that left him prey to vague, amorphous fears: he knew he was terrified,
but could neither define nor explain the cause of his terror.

amphibian

able to live both on land and in water
Frogs are classified as amphibian.

amphitheater

oval building with tiers of seats
The spectators in the amphitheater cheered the gladiators.

ample

abundant
He had ample opportunity to dispose of his loot before his police caught up with him.

amplify

enlarge
Her attempts to amplify her remarks were drowned out by the jeers of the audience.

amputate

cut off part of body; prune
When the doctors had to amputate Ted Kennedy's leg to prevent the spread of cancer, he did not let the
loss of his leg keep him from participating in sports.

amulet

charm; talisman
Around her neck she wore the amulet that the witch doctor had given her.

anachronism

something or someone misplaced in time
Shakespeare's reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is an anachronism; no clocks existed in Caesar's time.

analgesic

causing insensitivity to pain
The analgesic qualities of his lotion will provide temporary relief.

analogous

comparable
She called our attention to the things that had been done in an analogous situation and recommended that
we do the same.

analogy

similarity; parallelism
Your analogy is not a good one because the two situations are not similar.

anarchist

person who rebels against the established order
Only the total overthrow of all governmental regulations would satisfy the anarchist.

anarchy

absence of governing body; state of disorder
The assassination of the leaders led to a period of anarchy.

anathematize

curse
The high priest anathematized the heretic.

anathema

solemn curse; someone or something that is despised
He heaped anathema upon his foe.

anchor

secure or fasten firmly; be fixed in place
We set the post in concrete to anchor it in place.

ancillary

serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary
In an ancillary capacity Doctor Watson was helpful; however, Holmes could not trust the good doctor to
solve a perplexing case on his own.

anecdote

short account of an amusing or interesting event
Rather than make concrete proposals for welfare reform, President Raegan told anecdotes about poor
people who became wealthy despite their impoverished backgrounds.

anemia

condition in which blood lacks red corpuscles
The doctor ascribes her tiredness to anemia.

anesthetic

substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness
His monotonous voice acted like an anesthetic; his audience was soon asleep.

anguish

acute pain; extreme suffering
Visiting the site of explosion, Premier Gorbachev wept to see the anguish of the victims and their families.

angular

sharp-cornered; stiff in manner
His features, though angular, were curiously attractive.

animadversion

critical remark
He resented the animadversions of his critics, particularly because he realized they were true.

animated

lively
Her animated expression indicated a keenness of intellect.

animosity

active enmity
He incurred the animosity of the ruling class because he advocated limitations of their power.

animus

hostile feeling or intent
The animus of the speaker became obvious to all when he began to indulge in sarcastic and insulting
remarks.

annals

records; history
In the annals of this period, we find no mention of democratic movements.

anneal

reduce brittleness and improve toughness by heating and cooling
After the glass is annealed, it will be less subject to chipping and cracking.

annihilate

destroy
The enemy in its revenge tried to annihilate the entire population.

annotate

comment; make explanatory notes
In the appendix to the novel, the critic sought to annotate many of the more esoteric references.

annuity

yearly allowance
The annuity he set up with the insurance company supplements his social security benefits so that he can
live very comfortably without working.

annul

make void
The parents of the eloped couple tried to annul the marriage.

anodyne

drug that relieves pain; opiate
His pain was so great that no anodyne could relieve it.

anoint

consecrate
The prophet Samuel anointed David with oil, crowning him king of Israel.

anomalous

abnormal; irregular
He was placed in the anomalous position of seeming to approve procedures that he despised.

anomaly

irregularity
A bird that cannot fly is an anomaly.

anonymity

state of being nameless; anonymousness The donor of the gift asked the college not to mention him by name; the dean readily agreed to respect his
anonymity.

antagonistic

hostile; opposed
Despite his lawyers' best efforts to stop him, the angry prisoner continued to make antagonistic remarks to
the judge.

antecedents

preceding events or circumstances that influence what comes later; early life; ancestors
Before giving permission for Drummie to marry Estella, Miss Havisham had a few questions about the
young man's birth and antecedents.

antecede

precede
The invention of the radiotelegraph anteceded the development of television by a quarter of a century.

antediluvian

antiquated; ancient
The antediluvian customs had apparently not changed for thousands of years.

anthropoid

manlike
The gorilla is the strongest of the anthropoid animals.

anthropologist

student of the history and science of humankind
Anthropologists have discovered several relics of prehistoric humans in this area.

anthropomorphic

having human form or characteristics
Primitive religions often have deities with anthropomorphic characteristics.

anticlimax

letdown in thought or emotion
After the fine performance in the first act, the rest of the play was an anticlimax.

antipathy

aversion; dislike
His extreme antipathy to dispute caused him to avoid argumentative discussions with his friends.

antiquated

obsolete; outdated
Accustomed to editing his papers on word processors, Philip thought typewriters were too antiquated for
him to use.

antiseptic

substance that prevents infection
It is advisable to apply an antiseptic to any wound, no matter how slight or insignificant.

antithesis

contrast; direct opposite of or to
This tyranny was the antithesis of all that he had hoped for, and he fought it with all his strength.

anvil

iron block used in hammering out metals
After heating the iron horseshoe in the forge, the blacksmith picked it up with his tongs and set it on the
anvil.

apathetic

indifferent
He felt apathetic about the conditions he had observed and did not care to fight against them.

apathy

lack of caring; indifference
A firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never
bothered to vote.

aperture

opening; hole
She discovered a small aperture in the wall, through which the insects had entered the room.

apex

tip; summit; climax
He was at the apex of his career.

ape

imitate or mimic
He was suspended for a week because he had aped the principal in front of the whole school.

aphasia

loss of speech due to injury or illness
After the automobile accident, the victim had periods of aphasia when he could not speak at all or could
only mumble incoherently.

aphorism

pithy maxim
An aphorism differs from an adage in that it is more philosophical or scientific.

apiary

a place where bees are kept
Although he spent many hours daily in the apiary, he was very seldom stung by a bee.

aplomb

poise; composure
Wellington's nonchalance and aplomb in the heat of battle always heartened his followers.

apocalyptic

prophetic; pertaining to revelations; especially of disaster
His apocalyptic remarks were dismissed by his audience as wild surmises.

apocryphal

untrue; made up
To impress his friends, Tom invented apocryphal tales of his adventures in the big city.

apogee

highest point
When the moon in its orbit is furthest away from the earth, it is at its apogee.

apoplexy

stroke; loss of consciousness followed by paralysis
He was crippled by an attack of apoplexy.

apostate

one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs
Because he switched from one party to another, his former friends shunned him as an apostate.

apothecary

druggist
In Holland, apothecaries still sell spices as well as ointments and pills.

apothegm

pithy, compact saying
Proverbs are apothegms that have become familiar sayings.

apotheosis

deification; glorification
The Roman empress Livia envied the late emperor his apotheosis; she hoped that on her death she, too, would be exalted to the rank of a god.

appal

dismay; shock
We were appalled by the horrifying conditions in the city's jails.

apparition

ghost; phantom
Hamlet was uncertain about the identity of the apparition that had appeared and spoken to him.

appease

pacify; soothe
We have discovered that, when we try to appease our enemies, we encourage them to make additional
demands.

appellation

name; title
He was amazed when the witches hailed him with his correct appellation.

append

attach
I shall append this chart to my report.

application

diligent attention; (secondary meaning) apply
Pleased with how well Tom had whitewashed the fence, Aunt Polly praised him for his application.

apposite

appropriate; fitting
He was always able to find the apposite phrase, the correct expression for every occasion.

appraise

estimate the value of
It is difficult to appraise old paintings; it is easier to call them priceless.

appreciate

be thankful for; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious of
Little Orphan Annie truly appreciated the stocks Daddy Warbucks ave her, whose value appreciated
considerably over the years.

apprehend

arrest ( a criminal); dread; perceive
The police will apprehend the culprit and convict him before long.

apprehensive

fearful; discerning
His apprehensive glances at the people who were walking in the street revealed his nervousness.

apprise

inform
When he was apprised of the dangerous weather conditions, he decided to postpone his trip.

approbation

approval
Wanting her parents' regard, she looked for some sign of their approbation.

appropriate

acquire; take possession of for one's own use
The ranch owners appropriated the lands that had originally been set aside for the Indians' use.

appurtenances

subordinate possessions
He bought the estate and all its appurtenances.

apropos

with reference to; regarding
I find your remarks apropos of the present situation timely and pertinent.

aptitude

fitness; talent
The counselor evaluated his aptitudes before advising him about the career he should follow.

aquiline

curved, hooked
He can be recognized by his aquiline nose, curved like the beak of the eagle.

arable

fit for plowing
The land was no longer arable; erosion had removed the valuable topsoil.

arbiter

person with power to decide a matter in a dispute; judge
As an arbiter in labor disputes, she has won the confidence of the workers and the employers.

arbitrary

unreasonable or capricious; tyrannical
The coach claimed the team lost because the umpire made some arbitrary calls.

arbitrate

act as judge
She was called upon to arbitrate the dispute between the union and the management.

arboretum

place where different varieties of trees and shrubs are studied and exhibited
Walking along the treelined paths of the arboretum, Rita noted poplars, firs, and some particularly fine
sycamores.

arcade

a covered passageway, usually lined with shops
The arcade was popular with shoppers because it gave them protection from the summer sun and the
winter rain.

arcane

secret; mysterious
What was arcane to us was clear to the psychologist.

archaeology

study of artifacts and relics of early mankind
The professor of archaeology headed an expedition to the Gobi Desert in search of ancient ruins.

archaic

antiquated
"Methinks," "thee," and "thou" are archaic words that are no longer part of our normal vocabulary.

archetype

prototype; primitive pattern
The Brooklyn Bridge was the archetype of the many spans that now connect Manhattan with Long Island
and New Jersey.

archipelago

group of closely located islands
When he looked at the map and saw the archipelagoes in the South Seas, he longed to visit them.

archives

public records; place where public records are kept
These documents should be part of the archives so that historians may be able to evaluate them in the
future.

ardor

heat; passion; zeal
Katya's ardor was contagious; soon all her fellow demonstrators were busily making posters and handing
out flyers, inspired by her ardent enthusiasm for the cause.

arduous

hard; strenuous
Her arduous efforts had sapped her energy.

argot

slang
In the argot of the underworld, she "was taken for a ride.

aria

operatic solo
At her Metropolitan Opera audition, Marian Anderson sang an aria from Norma.

arid

dry; barren
The cactus had adapted to survive in an arid environment.

aristocracy

hereditary nobility; privileged class
Americans have mixed feelings about hereditary aristocracy:

armada

fleet of warships
Queen Elizabeth's navy was able to defeat the mighty armada that threatened the English coast.

aromatic

fragrant
Medieval sailing vessels brought aromatic herbs from China to Europe.

arraign

charge in court; indict
After his indictment by the Grand Jury, the accused man was arraigned in the County Criminal Court.

array

clothe; adorn
She liked to watch her motherarray herself in her finest clothes before going out for the evening.

array

marshal; draw up in order
His actions were bound to array public sentiment against him.

arrears

being in debt
He was in arrears with his payments on the car.

arrogance

pride, haughtiness
The arrogance of the nobility was resented by the middle class.

arroyo

gully
Until the heavy rains of the past spring, this arroyo had been a dry bed.

articulate

effective; distinct
Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers.

artifacts

products of primitive culture
Archaeologists debated the significance of the artifacts discovered in the ruins of Asia Minor and came to
no conclusion.

artifice

deception; trickery
The Trojan War proved to the Greeks that cunning and artifice were often more effective than military
might.

artisan

a manually skilled worker
Artists and artisans alike are necessary to the development of a culture.

artless

without guile; open and honest
Red Riding Hood's artless comment, "Grandma, what big eyes you have!" indicates the child's innocent
surprises at her "grandmother's" changed appearance.

ascendancy

controlling influence
President Marcos failed to maintain his ascendency over Philippines.

asceptic

preventing infection; having a cleansing effect
Hospitals succeeded in lowering the mortality rate as soon as they introduced asceptic conditions.

asceticism

doctrine of self-denial
We find asceticism practiced in many monastries.

ascetic

practicing self-denial; austere
The wealthy young man could not understand the ascetic life led by the monks.

ascribe

refer; attribute; assign
I can ascribe no motive for her acts.

ashen

ash-colored; deadly pale
Her face was ashen with fear.

asinine

stupid
Your asinine remarks prove that you have not given this problem any serious consideration.

askance

with a sideways or indirect look
Looking askance at her questioner, she displayed her scorn.

askew

crookedly; slanted; at an angle
When he placed his hat askew upon his head, his observers laughed.

asperity

sharpness (of temper)
These remarks, spoken with asperity, stung the boys to whom they had been directed.

aspersion

slanderous remark
Do not cast aspersions on her character.

aspirant

seeker after position or status
Although I am as aspirant for public office, I am not willing to accept the dictates of the party bosses.

aspiration

noble ambition Youth's aspirations should be as lofty as the stars.

assail

assault
He was assailed with questions after his lecture.

assay

analyze; evaluate
When they assayed the ore, they found that they had discovered a very rich vein.

assent

agree; accept
It gives me great pleasure to assent to your request.

assert

state strongly or positively; insist on or demand recognition of (rights, claims, etc).
When Jill asserted that nobody else in the junior class had such an early curfew, her parents Asserted
themselves, telling her that if she didn't get home by nine o'cl

assessment

estimation; appraisal
I would like to have your assessment of the situation in South Africa.

assiduous

diligent
It took Rembrandt weeks of assiduous labor before he was satisfied with his portrait of his son.

assimilate

absorb; cause to become homogenous
The manner in which the United States was able to assimilate the hordes of immigrants during the
nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries will always be a source of pride.

assuage

ease; lessen(pain)
Your messages of cheer should assuage her suffering.

assumption

something taken for granted; the taking over or taking possession of
The young princess made the foolish assumption that the regent would not object to her Assumption of
power.

assurance

promise or pledge; certainty; self-confidence
When Gutherie gave Guiness his assurance that rehearsals were going well, he spoke with such assurance
that Guiness was convinced.

asteroid

small planet
asteroids have become commonplace to the readers of interstellar travel stories in science fiction
magazines.

astigmatism

eye defect that prevents proper focus
As soon as his parents discovered that the boy suffered from astigmatism, they took him to the
optometrist for corrective glasses.

astral

relating to the stars
She was amazed at the number of astral bodies the new telescope revealed.

astringent

binding; causing contraction; harsh or severe
The astringent quality of unsweetened lemon juice made swallowing difficult.

astronomical

enormously large or extensive
The government seemed willing to spend astronomical sums on weapons development.

astute

wise; shrewd
That was a very astute observation.

asunder

into parts; apart
Their points of view are poles asunder.

asylum

place of refuge or shelter; protection
The refugees sought asylum from religious persecution in a new land.

asymmetric

not identical on both sides of a dividing central line
Because one eyebrow was set markedly higher than the other, William's face had a particularly asymmetric
appearance.

atavism

resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; reversion to an earlier type;
throwback
Martin seemed an atavism to his Tuscan ancestors who lavished great care on their small plots of soil.

atheistic

denying the existence of God
His atheistic remarks shocked the religious worshippers.

atone

make amends for; pay for
He knew no way in which he could atone for his brutal crime.

atrocity

brutal deed
In time of war, many atrocities are committed by invading armies.

atrophy

wasting away
Polio victims need physiotherapy to prevent the atrophy of affected limbs.

attenuate

make thin; weaken
By withdrawing their forces, the generals hoped to attenuate the enemy lines.

attest

testify; bear witness
Having served as a member of a grand jury, I can attest that our system of indicting individuals is in need
of improvement.

attribute

ascribe; explain
I attribute her success in science to the encouragement she received from her parents.

attribute

essential quality
His outstanding attribute was his kindness.

attrition

gradual wearing down
They decided to wage a war of attrition rather than to rely on all-out attack.

audacious

daring; bold
Audiences cheered as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia made their audacious, death-defying leap to
freedom and escaped Darth Vader's troops.

audit

examination of accounts
When the bank examiners arrived to hold their annual audit, they discovered the embezzlements of the
chief cashier.

augment

increase
How can we hope to augment our forces when our allies are deserting us?

augury

omen; prophecy
He interpreted the departures of the birds as an augury of evil.

august

impressive; majestic
Visiting the palace at Versailes, she was impressed by the august surroundings in which she found herself.

aureole

sun's corona; halo
Many medieval paintings depict saintly characters with aureols around their heads.

auroral

pertaining to the aurora borealis
The auroral display was particularly spectacular that evening.

auspicious

favoring success
With favorable weather conditions, it was an auspicious moment to set sail.

austere

strict, stern
His austere demeanor prevented us from engaging in our usual frivolous activities.

austerity

sternness; severity; lack of luxuries
The austerity and dignity of the court were maintained by the new justices, who were a strict and solemn
group.

authenticate

prove genuine
An expert was needed to authenticate the original Van Gogh painting, distinguishing it from its imitation.

authoritarian

favoring or exercising total control; non-democratic
The people had no control over their destiny; they were forced to obey the dictates of the authoritarian
regime.

authoritative

having the weight of authority; dictatorial
We accepted her analysis of the situation as authoritative.

autocrat

monarch with supreme power
He ran his office like an autocrat, giving no one else any authority.

automaton

mechanism that imitates actions of humans
Long before science fiction readers became aware of robots, writers were creating stories of automation
who could outperform humans.

autonomous

self-governing
This island is a colony; however, in most matters, it is autonomous and receives no orders from the mother
country.

autopsy

examination of a dead body; postmortem
The medical examiner ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

auxiliary

offering or providing help; additional or sub-sidiary
To prepare for the emergency, they built an auxiliary power station.

avarice

greed for wealth
King Midas's avarice has been famous for centuries.

averse

reluctant
He was averse to revealing the sources of his information.

aversion

firm dislike
Their mutual aversion was so great that they refused to speak to one another.

avert

prevent; turn away
She averted her eyes from the dead cat on the highway.

aver

state confidently
I wish to aver that I am certain of success.

aviary

enclosure for birds
The aviary at the zoo held nearly 300 birds.

avid

greedy; eager for
He was avid for learning and read everything he could get.

avocation

secondary or minor occupation
His hobby proved to be so fascinating and profitable that gradually he abandoned his regular occupation
and concentrated on his avocation.

avow

declare openly
I must avow that I am innocent.

avuncular

like an uncle
Avuncular pride did not prevent him from noticing his nephew's shortcomings.

awe

solemn wonder
The tourists gazed with awe at the tremendous expanse of the Grand Canyon.

awl

pointed tool used for piercing
She used an awl to punch additional holes in the leather belt she had bought.

awry

distorted; crooked He held his head awry, giving the impression that he had caught cold in his neck during the night.

axiom

self-evident truth requiring no proof
Before a student can begin to think along the lines of Euclidean geometry, he must accept certain
principles or axioms.

azure

sky blue
azure skies are indicative of good weather.

babble

chatter idly
The little girl babbled about her doll.

bacchanalian

drunken
Emperor Nero attended the bacchanalian orgy.

badger

pester; annoy
She was forced to change her telephone number because she was badgered by obscene phone calls.

badinage

teasing conversation
Her friends at work greeted the news of her engagement with cheerful badinage.

baffle

frustrate; perplex
The new code baffled the enemy agents.

bait

harass; tease
The soldiers baited the prisoners, terrorizing them.

baleful

menacing; deadly
Casting a baleful eye at his successful rival, the rejected suitor stole off, vowing to have his revenge.

balk

foil
When the warden learned that several inmates were planning to escape, he took steps to balk their attempt.

balk

stoop short, as if faced with an obstacle, and refuse to continue
The chief of police balked at sending his officers into the riot-torn area.

ballast

heavy substance used to add stability or weight
The ship was listing badly to one side; it was necessary to shift the ballast in the hold to get her back on an
even keel.

balmy

mild; fragrant
A balmy breeze refreshed us after the sultry blast.

balm

something that relieves pain
Friendship is the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.

banal

hackneyed; commonplace; trite
His frequent use of cliches made his essay seem banal.

bandy

discuss lightly; exchange blows or words
The president refused to bandy words with reporters at the press conference.

bane

cause of ruin
Lack of public transportation is the bane of urban life.

bantering

good-naturedly ridiculing
They resented his bantering remarks because they misinterpreted his teasing as sarcasm.

barb

sharp projection form fishhook, etc.; pointed comment
The barb from the fishhook caught in his finger as he grabbed the fish.

bard

poet
The ancient bard Homer sang of the fall of Troy.

barefaced

shameless; bold; unconcealed
Shocked by Huck Finn's barefaced lies, Miss Watson prayed the good Lord would give him a sense of his
unregenerate wickedness.

baroque

highly ornate
Accustomed to the severe, angular lines of modern skyscrapers, they found the flamboyance of baroque
architecture amusing.

barrage

barrier laid down by artillery fire; overwhelming profusion
The company was forced to retreat through the barrage of heavy canyons.

barrister

counselor-at-law
Galsworthy started as a barrister, but when he found the practice of law boring, turned to writing.

barterer

trader
The barterer exchanged trinkets for the natives' furs.

bask

luxuriate; take pleasure in warmth
basking on the beach, she relaxed so completely that she fell asleep.

bastion

stronghold; something seen as a source of protection
The villagers fortified the town hall, hoping this improvised bastion could protect them from the guerrila
raids.

bate

let down; restrain
Until it was time to open the presents, the children had to bate their curiosity.

bauble

trinket; trifle
The child was delighted with the bauble she had won in the grab bag.

bawdy

indecent; obscene
She took offense at his bawdy remarks.

beatific

giving bliss; blissful
The beatific smile on the child's face made us very happy.

beatitude

blessedness; state of bliss
Growing closer to God each day, the mystic achieved a state of indescribable beatitude.

bedizen

dress with vulgar finery
The witch doctors were bedizened in their gaudiest costumes.

bedraggle

wet thoroughly
We were so bedraggled by the severe storm that we had to change into dry clothing.

befuddle

confuse thoroughly
His attempts to clarify the situation succeeded only on befuddling her further.

beget

father; produce; give rise to
One good turn may deserve another; it does not necessarily beget another.

begrudge

resent
I begrudge every minute I have to spend attending meetings.

beguile

amuse; delude; cheat
I beguiled himself during the long hours by playing solitaire.

behemoth

huge creature; something of monstrous size or power
Sportcasters nicknamed the linebacker "The Behemoth.

beholden

obligated; indebted
Since I do not wish to be beholden to anyone, I cannot accept this favor.

behoove

be suited to; be incumbent upon
In this time of crisis, it behooves all of us to remain calm and await the instructions of our superiors.

belabor

explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree; assail verbally
The debate coach warned her student not to bore the audience by belaboring his point.

belated

delayed
He apologized for his belated note of condolence to the widow of his friend and explained that he had just
learned of her husband's untimely death.

beleaguer

besiege
As soon as the city was beleaguered, the life became more subdued as the citizens began their long wait for
outside assitance.

belie

contradict; give a false impression
His coarse, hard-bitten exterior belied his innate sensitivity.

belittle

disparage; depreciate
Parents should not belittle their children's early attempts at drawing, but should encourage their efforts.

bellicose

warlike
His bellicose disposition alienated his friends.

belligerent

quarrelsome
Whenever he had too much to drink, he became belligerent and tried to pick fights with strangers.

bemused

confused; lost in thought; preoccupied
Jill studied the garbled instructions with a bemused look on her face.

benediction

blessing
The appearance of the sun after the many rainy days was like a benediction.

benefactor

gift giver; patron
Scrooge later became Tiny Tim's benefactor and gave him a benediction.

beneficent

kindly; doing good
The overgenerous philanthropist had to curb his beneficent impulses before he gave away all his money
and left himself with nothing.

beneficiary

person entitled to benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy
You may change your beneficiary as often as you wish.

benevolent

generous; charitable
His benevolent nature prevented him from refusing any beggar who accosted him.

benign

kindly; favorable; not malignant
The old man was well liked because of his benign attitude toward friend and stranger alike.

benison

blessing
Let us pray that the benison of peace once more shall prevail among the nations of the world.

bent

determined; natural talent or inclination
bent on advancing in the business world, the secretary heroine of Working Girl had a true bent for high
finance.

bequeath

leave to someone by means of a will; hand down
In his will, Father bequeathed his watch to Phillip; the bequest meant a great deal to the boy.

berate

scold strongly
He feared she would berate him for his forgetfulness.

bereavement

state of being deprived of something valuable or beloved
His friends gathered to console him upon his sudden bereavement.

bereft

deprived of; lacking
The foolish gambler soon found himself bereft of funds.

berserk

frenzied Angered, he went berserk and began to wreck the room.

beset

harass; trouble
Many problems beset the American public school system.

besmirch

soil, defile
The scandalous remarks in the newspaper besmirch the reputations of every member of the society.

bestial

beastlike; brutal; inhuman
The Red Cross sought to put an end to the bestial treatment of prisoners of war.

bestow

confer
He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.

betroth

become engaged to marry
The announcement that they had become betrothed surprised their friends who had not suspected any
romance.

bevy

large group
The movie actor was surrounded by a bevy of startlets.

bicameral

two-chambered, as a legislative body
The United States Congress is a bicameral body.

bicker

quarrel
The children bickered morning, noon, and night, exasperating their parents.

biennial

every two years
The group held biennial meetings instead of annual ones.

bifurcated

divided into two branches; forked
With a bifurcated branch and a piece of elastic rubber, he made a crude but effective slingshot.

bigotry

stubborn intolerance
Brought up in a democratic atmosphere, student was shocked by the bigotry and narrowness expressed by
several of his classmates.

bilious

suffering from indigestion; irritable
His bilious temperament was apparent to all who heard him rant about his difficulties.

bilk

swindle; cheat
The con man specialized in bilking insurance companies.

bivouac

temporary encampment
While in bivouac, we spent the night in our sleeping bags under the stars.

bizarre

fantastic; violently contrasting
The plot of the novel was too bizarre to be believed.

blanch

bleach; whiten
Although age had blanched his hair, he was still vigorous and energetic.

blandishment

flattery
Despite the salesperson's blandishments, the customer did not buy the outfit.

bland

soothing; mild
She used a bland ointment for her sunburn.

blase

bored with pleasure or dissipation
Your blase attitude gives your students an erroneous impression of the joys of scholarship.

blasphemous

profane; impious
The people in the room were shocked by his his blasphemous language.

blatant

extremely obvious; loudly offensive
Caught in a blatant lie, the scoundrel had only one regret: he wished that he had lied more subtly.

bleak

cold; cheerless
The Aleutian Islands are bleak military outposts.

blighted

suffering from a disease; destroyed
The extent of the blighted areas could be seen only when viewed from the air.

blithe

gay; joyous; careless
Shelley called the skylark a "blithe spirit" because of its happy song.

bloated

swollen or puffed as with water or air
Her bloated stomach came from drinking so much water.

blowhard

talkative boaster
After all Sol's talk about his big show business connections led nowhere, Sally decided he was just another
blowhard.

bludgeon

club; heavy-headed weapon
His walking stick served him as a bludgeon on many occasions.

bluff

pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff
Claire thought Lord Byron's boast that he would swim the Hellespont was just a bluff, she was astounded
when he dove from the high bluff into the waters below.

blunder

error
The criminal's fatal blunder led to his capture.

blurt

utter impulsively
Before she could stop him, he blurted out the news.

bode

foreshadow; portend
The gloomy skies and the sulfurious odors from the mineral springs seemed to bode evil to those who settled in the area.

bogus

counterfeit; not authentic
The police quickly found the distributors of the bogus twenty-dollar bills.

boisterous

violent; rough; noisy
The unruly crowd became even more boisterous when he tried to quiet them.

bolster

support; reinforce
The debaters amassed file boxes full of evidence to bolster their arguments.

bombast

pompous, inflated language
Filled with bombast, the orator's speech left the audience more impressed with his pomposity than with his
logic.

boon

blessing; benefit
The recent rains that filled our empty reservoirs were a boon to the whole community.

boorish

rude; insensitive
Though Mr. Potts constantly interrupted his wife, she ignored his boorish behavior, for she had lost hope
of teaching him courtesy.

bouillon

clear beef soup
The cup of bouillon served by the stewards was welcomed by those who had been chilled by the cold
ocean breezes.

bountiful

generous; showing bounty
She distributed gifts in a bountiful and gracious manner.

bourgeois

middle class
The French Revolution was inspired by the bourgeois, who resented the aristocracy.

bovine

cowlike; placid and dull
Nothing excites Esther; even when she won the state lottery, she still preserved her air of bovine calm.

bowdlerize

expurgate
After the film editors had bowdlerized the language in the script, the motion picture's rating was changed
from "R" to "PG.

brackish

somewhat saline
He found the only wells in the area were brackish; drinking the water made him nauseous.

braggadocio

boasting
He was disliked because his manner was always full of braggadocio.

braggart

boaster
Modest by nature, she was no braggart, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for themselves.

bravado

swagger; assumed air of defiance The bravado of the young criminal disappeared when he was confronted by the victims of his brutal attack.

brawn

muscular strength; sturdiness
It takes brawn to become a champion weight-lifter.

brazen

insolent
Her brazen contempt for authority angered the officials.

breach

breaking of contract or duty; fissure; gap
They found a breach in the enemy's fortifications and penetrated their lines.

breadth

width; extent
We were impressed by the breadth of her knowledge.

brevity

conciseness
brevity is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every word.

brindled

tawny or grayish with streaks or spots
He was disappointed in the litter because the puppies were brindled; he had hoped for animals of uniform
color.

bristling

rising like bristles; showing irritation
The dog stood there, bristling with anger.

brittle

easily broken; difficult
My employer's brittle personality made it difficult for me to get along with her.

broach

open up
He did not even try to broach the subject of poetry.

brocade

rich, figured fabric
The sofa was covered with expensive brocade.

brochure

pamphlet
This brochure on farming was issued by the Department of Agriculture.

brooch

ornamental clasp
She treasured the brooch because it was an heirloom.

brook

tolerate; endure
The dean would brook no interference with his disciplinary actions.

browbeat

bully; intimidate
Billy resisted Ted's attempts to browbeat him into handing over his lunch money.

brusque

blunt; abrupt
She was offended by his brusque reply.

bucolic

rustic; pastoral The meadow was the scene of bucolic gaiety.

buffoonery

clowning
John Candy's buffoonery in Uncle Buck was hilarious.

bugaboo

bugbear; object of baseless terror
If we become frightened by such bugaboos, we are no wiser than the birds who fear scarecrows.

bullion

gold and silver in the form of bars
Much bullion is stored in the vaults at Fort Knox.

bulwark

earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends
The navy is our principal bulwark against invasion.

bungle

spoil by clumsy behavior
I was afraid you would bungle his assignment but I had no one else to send.

bureaucracy

government by bureaus
Many people fear that the constant introduction of federal agencies will create a government by
bureaucracy.

burgeon

grow forth; send out buds
In the spring, the plants that burgeon are a promise of the beauty that is to come.

burlesque

give an imitation that ridicules
In his caricature, he burlesqued the mannerisms of his adversary.

burly

husky; muscular
The burly mover lifted the packing crate with ease.

burnish

make shiny by rubbing; polish
The maid burnished the brass fixtures until they reflected the lamplight.

buttress

support; prop up
Just as architects buttress the walls of cathedrals with flying buttresses, debates buttress their arguments
with facts.

buxom

full-bosomed; plump; jolly
High fashion models usually are slender rather than buxom.

cabal

small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests
The cabal was defeated when its scheme was discovered.

cache

hiding place
The detectives followed the suspects until he led them to the cache where he had stored his loot.

cacophony

discord
Some people seem to enjoy the cacophony of an orchestra that is tuning up.

cadaverous

like a corpse; pale
From his cadaverous appearance, we could see how the disease had ravaged him.

cadaver

corpse
In some states, it is illegal to dissect cadavers.

cadence

rhythmic rise and fall (of words or sounds); beat
Marching down the road, the troops sang out, following the cadence set by the sergeant.

cajole

coax; wheedle
I will not be cajoled into granting your wish.

calamity

disaster; misery
As news of the calamity spread, offers of relief poured in to the stricken community.

caliber

ability; capacity
A man of such caliber should not be assigned such menial tasks.

calligraphy

beautiful writing; excellent penmanship
As we examine ancient manuscripts, we became impressed with the calligraphy of the scribes.

callous

hardened; unfeeling
He had worked in the hospital for so many years that he was callous to the suffering in the wards.

callow

youthful; immature
In that youthful movement, the leaders were only a little less callow than their immature followers.

calorific

heat-producing
Coal is much more calorific than green wood.

calumny

malicious misrepresentation
He could endure his financial failure, but he could not bear the calumny that his foes heaped upon him.

camaraderie

good-fellowship
What he loved best about his job was the sense of camaraderie he and his co-workers shared.

cameo

shell or jewel carved in relief
Tourists are advised not to purchase cameos from the street peddlers of Rome who sell poor specimens of
the carver's art.

canard

unfounded rumor
It is almost impossible to protect oneself from such a base canard.

candor

frankness
The candor and simplicity of his speech impressed all, it was all clear he held nothing back.

canine

related to dogs; doglike
Some days the canine population of Berkeley seems almost to outnumber the human population.

canker

any ulcerous sore; any evil
Poverty is a canker in the body politic; it must be cured.

canny

shrewd; thrifty
The canny Scotsman was more than a match for the swindlers.

cantankerous

ill-humored; irritable
Constantly complaining about his treatment and refusing to cooperate with the hospital staff, he was a
cantankerous patient.

cantata

story set to music, to be sung by a chorus
The choral society sang the new cantata composed by its leader.

canter

slow gallop
Because the racehorse had outdistanced its competition so easily, the reporter wrote that the race was won
in a canter.

canto

division of a long poem
Dante's poetic masterpiece The Divine Comedy is divided into cantos.

cant

pious phraseology; jargon of criminals
Angry that the president had slashed the education budget, we dismissed his speech on the importance of
education as mere cant.

canvass

determine or seek opinions, votes, etc.
After canvassing the sentiments of his constituents, the congressman was confident that he represented the
majority opinion of his district.

capacious

spacious
In the capacious areas of the railroad terminal, thousands of travelers lingered while waiting for their train.

capillary

having a very fine bore
The changes in surface tension of liquids in capillary vessels is of special interest to physicists.

capitulate

surrender
The enemy was warned to capitulate or face annihilation.

caprice

whim
She was an unpredictable creature, acting on caprice, never taking thought of the consequences.

capricious

fickle; incalculable
The storm was capricious and changed course constantly.

caption

title; chapter heading; text under illustration
I find the captions that accompany these cartoons very clever and humorous.

captious

faultfinding
His criticisms were always captious and frivolous, never offering constructive suggestions.

carafe

glass water bottle
With each dinner, the patron receives a carafe of red or white wine.

carapace

shell covering the back (of a turtle, crab, etc)
At the children's zoo, Richard perched on top of the giant turtle's hard carapace as it slowly made its way
around the enclosure.

carat

unit of weight for precious stones; measure of fineness of gold
He gave her a diamond that weighed three carats and was mounted in an eighteen-carat gold band.

carcinogenic

causing cancer
Many supposedly harmless substances have been revealed to be carcinogenic.

cardinal

chief
If you want to increase your word power, the cardinal rule of vocabulary-building is to read.

careen

lurch; sway from side to side
The taxicab careened wildly as it rounded the corner.

caricature

distortion; burlesque
The caricatures he drew always emphasized personal weaknesses of the people he burlesqued.

carillon

set of bells capable of being played
The carillon in the bell tower of the Coca-Cola pavilion at the New York World's Fair provided musical
entertainment every hour.

carnage

destruction of life
The carnage that can be caused by atomic warfare adds to the responsibilities of our statesmen.

carnal

fleshly
The public was more interested in carnal pleasures than in spiritual matters.

carnivorous

meat-eating
The lion is a carnivorous animal.

carousal

drunken revel
The party degenerated into an ugly carousal.

carping

petty criticism; fault-finding
Welcoming constructive criticism, Lexy appreciated her editor's comments, finding them free of carping.

carrion

rotting flesh of a dead body
Buzzards are nature's scavengers; they eat the carrion left behind by other predators.

cartographer

map-maker
Though not a professional cartographer, Tolkien was able to construct a map of the fictional world.

cascade

small waterfall We could not appreciate the beauty of the many cascades as we made detours around each of them to
avoid getting wet.

caste

one of the hereditary classes in Hindu society, social stratification; prestige
The differences created by caste in India must be wiped out if true democracy is to prevail in that country.

castigation

punishment; severe criticism
Sensitive even to mild criticism, Woolf could not bear castigation that she found in certain reviews.

casualty

serious or fatal accident
The number of automotive casualties on this holiday weekend was high.

cataclysm

deluge; upheaval
A cataclysm such as the French Revolution affects all countries.

catalyst

agent that brings about a chemical change while it remains unaffected and unchanged
Many chemical reactions cannot take place without the presence of a catalyst.

catapult

slingshot; hurling machine
Airplanes are sometimes launched from battleships by catapults.

cataract

great waterfall; eye abnormality
She gazed with awe at the mighty cataract known as Niagara Falls.

catastrophe

calamity
The Johnstown flood was a catastrophe.

catechism

book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer
He taught by engaging his pupils in a catechism until they gave him the correct answer.

categorical

without exceptions; unqualified; absolute
Though the captain claimed he was never, never sick at sea, he finally qualified his categorical denial; he
was hardly ever sick at sea.

catharsis

purging or cleansing of any passage of the body
Aristotle maintained that tragedy created a catharsis by purging the soul of base concepts.

cathartic

purgative
Some drugs act as laxatives when taken in small doses but act as cathartics when taken in much larger
doses.

catholic

universal; wide-ranging liberal
He was extremely catholic in his taste and read everything he could find in the library.

caucus

private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy
At the opening of Congress the members of the Democratic Party held a caucus to elect the majority
leader of the House and the party whip.

caulk

to make watertight (by plugging seams) When water from the shower leaked into the basement, we knew it was time to caulk the tiles at the edges
of the shower stall.

causal

implying a cause-and-effect relationship
The psychologist maintained there was a causal relationship between the nature of one's early childhood
experiences and one's adult personality.

caustic

burning; sarcastically biting
The critic's caustic remarks angered the hapless actors who were the subjects of his sarcasm.

cauterize

burn with hot iron or caustic
In order to prevent infection, the doctor cauterized the wound.

cavalcade

procession; parade
As described by Chaucer, the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was motley group.

cavalier

casual and offhand; arrogant
Sensitive about having her ideas taken lightly, Marcia felt insulted by Mark's cavalier dismissal of her
suggestion.

cavil

make frivolous objections
I respect your sensible criticisms, but I dislike the way you cavil about unimportant details.

cede

transfer; yield title to
I intend to cede this property to the city.

celerity

speed; rapidity
Hamlet resented his mother's celerity in remarrying within a month after his father's death.

celestial

heavenly
She spoke of the celestial joys that awaited virtuous souls in the hereafter.

celibate

abstaining from sexual intercourse; unmarried
Though the late Havelock Ellis wrote extensively about sexual customs and was considered an expert in
such matters, recent studies maintain he was celibate throughout his life.

censorious

critical
censorious people delight in casting blame.

censor

overseer of morals; person who eliminates inappropriate matter
Soldiers dislike having their mail read by a censor but understand the need for this precaution.

censure

blame; criticize
He was censured for his inappropriate behavior.

centaur

mythical figure, half man and half horse
I was particularly impressed by the statue of the centaur in the Roman Hall of the museum.

centigrade

denoting a widely used temperature scale (basically same as Celsius) On the centigrade thermometer, the freezing point of water is zero degrees.

centrifugal

radiating; departing from the center
Many automatic drying machines remove excess moisture from clothing by centrifugal force.

centrifuge

machine that separates substances by whirling them
At the dairy, we employ a centrifuge to separate cream from milk.

centripetal

tending toward the center
Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth's surface?

centurion

Roman army officer
Because he was in command of a company of one hundred soldiers, he was called a centurion.

cerebral

pertaining to the brain or intellect
The content of philosophical works is cerebral in nature and requires much thought.

cerebration

thought
Mathematics problems sometimes require much cerebration.

ceremonious

marked by formality
Ordinary dress would be in appropriate at so ceremonious an affair.

cessation

stopping
The workers threatened a cessation of all activities if their demands were not met.

cession

yielding to another; ceding
The cession of Alaska to the United States is discussed in this chapter.

chafe

warm by rubbing
The collar chafed his neck.

chaffing

bantering; joking
Sometimes his flippant and chaffing remarks annoy us.

chaff

worthless products of an endeavor
When you separate the wheat from the chaff, be sure you throw out the chaff.

chagrin

vexation; disappointment
Her refusal to go with us filled us with chagrin.

chalice

goblet; consecrated cup
In a small room adjoining the cathedral, many ornately decorated chalices made by the most famous
European goldsmiths were on display.

chameleon

lizard that changes color in different situations
Like the chameleon, he assumed the political coloration of every group he met.

champion

support militantly Martin Luther King, Jr., won the Nobel Peace Prize because he championed the oppressed in their struggle
for equality.

chaotic

in utter disorder
He tried to bring order into the chaotic state of affairs.

charisma

divine gift; great popular charm or appeal
Political commentators have deplored the importance of a candidate's charisma in these days of television
campaigning.

charlatan

quack; pretender to knowledge
When they realized that the Wizard didn't know how to get them back to Kansas, Dorothy and her friends
were sure they'd been duped by a charlatan.

chary

cautious; sparing or restrained about giving
A prudent, thrifty New Englander, DeWitt was as chary of investing money in junk bonds as he was chary
of paying people unnecessary compliments.

chase

ornament a metal surface by indenting
With his hammer, he carefully chased an intricate design onto the surface of the chalice.

chasm

abyss
They could not see the bottom of the chasm.

chassis

framework and working parts of an automobile
Examining the car after the accident, the owner discovered that the body had been ruined but that the
chassis was unharmed.

chasten

discipline; punish in order to correct
Whom God loves, God chastens.

chaste

pure
Her chaste and decorous garb was appropriately selected for the solemnity of the occasion.

chastise

punish
I must chastise you for this offense.

chauvinist

blindly devoted patriot
A chauvinist cannot recognize any faults in his country, no matter how flagrant they may be.

checkered

marked by changes in fortune
During his checkered career he had lived in palatial mansions and in dreary boardinghouses.

check

stop motion; curb or restrain
Thrusting out her arm, Grandma checked Bobby's lunge at his sister. "Young man," she said, "you'd better
check your temper.

cherubic

angelic; innocent-looking
With her cheerful smile and rosy cheeks, she was a particularly cherubic child.

chicanery

trickery
Your deceitful tactics in this case are indications of chicanery.

chide

scold
Grandma began to chide Steven for his lying.

chimerical

fantastic; highly imaginative
Poe's chimerical stories are sometimes too morbid for reading in bed.

chivalrous

courteous; faithful; brave
chivalrous behavior involves noble words and good deeds.

choleric

hot-tempered
His flushed, angry face indicated a choleric nature.

choreography

art of dancing
Martha Graham introduced a form of choreography that seemed awkward and alien to those who had
been brought up on classic ballet.

chronicle

report; record (in chronological order)
The gossip columnist was paid to chronicle the latest escapades of the socially prominent celebrities.

chronic

long established, as a disease
The doctors were finally able to attribute his chronic headaches and nausea to traces of formaldehyde gas
in his apartment.

churlish

boorish; rude
Dismayed by his churlish manners at the party, the girls vowed never to invite him again.

ciliated

having minute hairs
The paramecium is a ciliated, one-celled animal.

cipher

nonentity; worthless person or thing
She claimed her ex-husband was a total cipher and wondered why she had ever married him.

cipher

secret code
Lacking his code book, the spy was unable to decode the message sent to him in cipher.

circlet

small ring; band
This tiny circlet is very costly because it is set with precious stones.

circuitous

roundabout
Because of the traffic congestion on the main highways, she took a circuitous route.

circumlocution

indirect or roundabout expression
He was afraid to call spade a spade and resorted to circumlocutions to avoid direct reference to his subject.

circumscribe

limit; confine Although I do not wish to circumscribe your activities, I must insist that you complete this assignment
before you start anything else.

circumspect

prudent; cautious
Investigating before acting, she tried always to be circumspect.

circumvent

outwit; baffle
In order to circumvent the enemy, we will make two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting
our major campaign.

citadel

fortress
The citadel overlooked the city like a protecting angel.

cite

quote; commend
She could cite passages in the Bible from memory.

civil

having to do with citizens or the state; courteous and polite
Although internal Revenue Service agents are civil servants, they are not always civil to suspected tax
evaders.

clairvoyant

having foresight; fortuneteller
Cassandra's clairvoyant warning was not heeded by the Trojans.

clamber

climb by crawling
She clambered over the wall.

clamor

noise
The clamor of the children at play outside made it impossible for her to take a nap.

clandestine

secret
After avoiding their chaperon, the lovers had a clandestine meeting.

clangor

loud, resounding noise
The blacksmith was accustomed to the clangor of hammers on steel.

clapper

striker (tongue) of a bell
Wishing to be undisturbed by the bell, Dale wound his scarf around the clapper to muffle its striking.

clarion

shrill, trumpetlike sound
We woke to the clarion to muffle its striking.

claustrophobia

fear of being locked in
His fellow classmates laughed at his claustrophobia and often threatened to lock him in his room.

clavicle

collarbone
Even though he wore shoulder pads, the football player broke his clavicle during a practice scrimmage.

cleave

split asunder
The lightening cleaves the tree in two.

cleft

split
Erosion caused a cleft in the huge boulder.

clemency

disposition ot be lenient; mildness, as of the weather
The lawyer was pleased when the case was sent to Judge Smith's chambers because Smith was noted for
her clemency toward first offenders.

cliche

phrase culled in meaning by repetition
High school compositions are often marred by such cliches as "strong as an ox.

clientele

body of customers
The rock club attracted a young, stylish clientele.

climactic

relating to the highest point
When he reached the climactic portions of the book, he could not stop reading.

clime

region; climate
His doctors advised him to move to a milder clime.

clique

small, exclusive group
She charged that a clique had assumed control of school affairs.

cloister

monastery or convent
The nuns lived in the cloister.

clout

great influence (especially political or social)
Gatsby wondered whether he had enough clout to be admitted to the exclusive club.

cloying

distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental
Disliking the cloying sweetness of standard wedding cakes, Jody and Tom chose a homemade carrot cake
for their reception.

coagulate

thicken; congeal; clot
Even after you remove the pudding from the burner, it will continue to coagulate as it stands.

coalesce

combine; fuse
The brooks coalesce into one large river.

coda

concluding section of a musical or literary composition
The piece concluded with a distinctive coda that strikingly brought together various motifs.

coddle

treat gently; pamper
Don't coddle the children to much; they need a taste of discipline.

codicil

supplement to the body of a will
This codicil was drawn up five years after the writing of the original will.

codify

arrange (laws, rules) as a code; classify We need to take the varying rules and regulations of the different health agencies and codify them into a
national health code.

coercion

use of force
They forced him to obey, but only by great coercion.

coeval

living at the same time as; contemporary
coeval with the dinosaur, the pterodactyl flourished during the Mesozoic era.

cogent

convincing
She presented cogent arguments to the jury.

cogitate

think over
cogitate on this problem; the solution will come.

cognate

related linguistically; allied by blood; similar or akin in nature
The English word "mother" cognate to the Latin word "mater," whose influence is visible in the words
"maternal" and "maternity.

cognitive

having to do with knowing or perceiving related to the mental precesses
Though Jack was emotionally immature, his cognitive development was admirable; he was very advanced
intellectually.

cognizance

knowledge
During the election campaign, the two candidates were kept in full cognizance of the international
situation.

cog

tooth projecting from a wheel
A bicycle chain moves through a series of cogs in order to propel the bike.

cohere

stick together
Solids have a greater tendency to cohere than liquids.

cohesion

tendency to keep together
A firm believer in the maxim "Divide and conquer," the emperor, by lies and trickery, sought to disrupt the
cohesion ofthe free nations.

cohorts

armed band
Caesar and his Roman cohorts conquered almost all of the known world.

coiffure

hairstyle
You can make a statement with your choice of coiffure: in the 60's many African-Americans affirmed their
racial heritage by wearing their hair in Afros.

coincident

occurring at the same time
Some people find the coincident events in Hardy's novels annoyingly improbable.

colander

utensil with perforated bottom used for straining
Before serving the spaghetti, place it in a colander to drain it.

collaborate

work together
Two writers collaborated in preparing this book.

collage

work of art put together from fragments
Scraps of cloth, paper doilies, and old photographs all went into her collage.

collateral

security given for loan
The sum you wish to borrow is so large that it must be secured by collateral.

collate

examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order
They collated the newly found manuscripts to determine their age.

collation

a light meal
Tea sandwiches and cookies were offered at the collation.

colloquial

pertaining to conversational or common speech
Your use of colloquial expressions in a formal essay such as the one you have presented spoils the effect
you hope to achieve.

colloquy

informal discussion
I enjoy our colloquies but I sometimes wish that they could be made more formal and more searching.

collusion

conspiring in a fraudulent scheme
The swindlers were found guilty of collusion.

colossal

huge
Radio City Music Hall has a colossal stage.

colossus

gigantic statue
The legendary Colossus of Rhodes, bronze statue of the sun god that dominated the harbor of the Greek
seaport, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

comatose

in a coma; extremely sleepy
The long-winded orator soon had his audience in a comatose state.

combustible

easily burned
After the recent outbreak of fires in private homes, the fire commissioner ordered that all combustible
materials be kept in safe containers.

comely

attractive; agreeable
I would rather have a poor and comely wife than a rich and homely one.

comestible

something fit to be eaten
The roast turkey and other comestibles, the wines, and the excellent service made this Thanksgiving dinner
particularly memorable.

comeuppance

rebuke; deserts
After his earlier rudeness, we were delighted to see him get his comeuppance.

comity

courtesy; civility
A spirit of comity should exist among nations.

commandeer

to draft for military purposes; to take for public use
The policeman commandeered the first car that approached and ordered the driver to go to the nearest
hospital.

commemorative

remembering; honoring
The new commemorative stamp honors the late Martin Luther King, Jr.

commensurate

equal in extent
Your reward will be commensurate with your effort.

commiserate

feel or express pity or sympathy for
Her friends commiserated with the widow.

commodious

spacious and comfortable
After sleeping in a small roadside cabins, they found their hotel suite commodious.

communal

held in common; of a group of people
When they were divorced, they had trouble dividing their communal property.

compact

agreement; contract
The signers of the Mayflower Compact were establishing a form of government.

compact

tightly packed; firm; brief
His short, compact body was better suited to wrestling than to basketball.

compatible

harmonious; in harmony with
They were compatible neighbors, never quarreling over unimportant matters.

compelling

overpowering; irresistible in effect
The prosecutor presented a well-reasoned case, but the defense attorney's compelling arguments for
leniency won over the jury.

compendium

brief, comprehensive summary
This text can serve as a compendium of the tremendous amount of new material being developed in this
field.

compensatory

making up for; repaying
Can a compensatory education program make up for the inadequate schooling he received in earlier years?

compilation

listing of statistical information in tabular or book form
The compilation of available scholarships serves a very valuable purpose.

complacent

self-satisfied
There was a complacent look on his face as he examined his paintings.

complaisant

trying to please; obliging
The courtier obeyed the king's orders in a complaisant manner.

complement

complete; consummate; make perfect
The waiter recommended a glass of port to complement the cheese.

compliance

conformity in fulfilling requirements; readiness to yield
The design for the new school had to be in compliance with the local building code.

compliant

yielding
He was compliant and ready to go along with his friends' desires.

complicity

participation; involvement
You cannot keep your complicity in this affair secret very long; you would be wise to admit your
involvement immediately.

component

element; ingredient
I wish all the components of my stereo system were working at the same time.

comport

bear one's self; behave
He comported himself with great dignity.

composure

mental calmness
Even the latest work crisis failed to shake her composure.

compound

combine; constitute; pay interest; increase
The makers of the popular cold remedy compounded a nasal decongestant with an antihistamine.

comprehensive

thorough; inclusive
This book provides a comprehensive review of verbal and math skills for the SAT.

compress

close; squeeze; contract
She compressed the package under her arm.

comprise

include; consist of
If the District of Columbia were to be granted a statehood, the United States of America would comprise
fifty-onestates, not just fifty.

compromise

adjust; endanger the interests or reputation of
Your presence at the scene of the dispute compromises our claim to neutrality in this matter.

compunction

remorse
The judge was especially severe in this sentencing because he felt that the criminal had shown no
compunction for his heinous crime.

compute

reckon; calculate
He failed to compute the interest, so his bank balance was not accurate.

concatenate

link as in a chain It is difficult to understand how these events could concatenate as they did without outside assistance.

concave

hollow
The back-packers found partial shelter from the storm by huddling against the concave wall of the cliff.

concede

admit; hield
Despite all the evidence Monica had assembled, Mark refused to concede that she was right.

conceit

whimsical idea; extravagant metaphor
He was an entertaining companion, always expressing himself in amusing conceits and witty turns of
phrase.

concentric

having a common center
The target was made of concentric circles.

conception

beginning; forming of a idea
At the first conception of the work, he was consulted.

concerted

mutually agreed on; done together
The girl scouts in the troop made a concerted effort to raise funds for their annual outing, and emitted a
concerted sigh when their leader announced that they had reached their goal.

concession

an act of yielding
Before they could reach an agreement, both sides had to make certain concessions.

conciliatory

reconciling; soothing
She was still angry despite his conciliatory words.

concise

brief and compact
When you define a new word, be concise; the shorter the definition, the easier it is to remember.

conclave

private meeting
He was present at all their conclaves as an unofficial observer.

conclusive

decisive; ending all debate
When the stolen books turned up in John's locker, we finally had conclusive evidence of the identity of the
mysterious thief.

concoct

prepare by combining; make up in concert
How did the inventive chef ever concoct such strange dish?

concomitant

that which accompanies
Culture is not always a concomitant of wealth.

concord

harmony
Watching Tweediedum and Tweedledee battle, Alice wondered why the two brothers could not manage to
life in concord.

concurrent

happening at the same time
In America, the colonists were resisting the demands of the mother contry; at the concurrent moment in
France, the middle class was sowing the seeds of rebellion.

concur

agree Did you concur with the decision of the court or did you find it unfair?

condescend

bestow courtesies with a superior air
The king condescended to grant an audience to the friends of the condemned man.

condign

adequate; deservedly severe
The public approved the condign punishment for the crime.

condiments

seasonings; spices
Spanish food is full of condiments.

condole

express sympathetic sorrow
His friends gathered to condole with him over his loss.

condone

overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse
Unlike Widow Douglass, who condoned Huck's minor offenses, Miss Watson did nothing but scold.

conducive

helpful; contributive
Rest and proper diet are conducive to good health.

conduit

aqueduct; passageway for fluids
Water was brought to the army in the desert by an improvised conduit from the adjoining mountain.

confidant

trusted friend
He had no confidants with whom he could discuss his problems at home.

confiscate

seize; commandeer
The army confiscated all available supplies of uranium.

conflagration

great fire
In the conflagration that followed the 1906 earthquake, much of San Francisco was destroyed.

confluence

flowing together; crowd
They built the city at the confluence of two rivers.

conformity

harmony; agreement
In conformity with our rules and regulations, I am calling a meeting of our organization.

confound

confuse; puzzle
No mystery could confound Sherlock Holmes for long.

congeal

freeze; coagulate
His blood congealed in his veins as he saw the dread monster rush toward him.

congenial

pleasant; friendly My father loved to go out for a meal with congenial companions.

congenital

existing at birth
His congenital deformity disturbed his parents.

conglomeration

mass of material sticking together
In such a conglomeration of miscellaneous statistics, it was impossible to find a single area of analysis.

congruence

correspondence of parts; harmonious relationship
The student demonstrated the congruence of the two triangles by using the hypotenuse-arm theorem.

conifer

pine tree; cone-bearing tree
According to geologists, the conifers were the first plants to bear flowers.

conjecture

surmise; guess
I will end all your conjectures; I admit I am guilty as charged.

conjugal

pertaining to marriage
Their dreams of conjugal bliss were shattered as soon as their temperaments clashed.

conjure

summon a devil; proactive magic; imagine; invent
He conjured up an image of a reformed city and had the voters completely under his spell.

connivance

pretense of ignorance of something wrong; assistance; permission to offend
With the connivance of his friends, he plotted to embarrass the teacher.

connoisseur

person competent to act as judge of art, ect.; a lover of an art
She had developed into a connoisseur of fine china.

connotation

suggested or implied meaning of an expression
Foreigners frequently are unaware of the connotations of the words they use.

connubial

pertaining to maffige or the matrimonial state
In his telegram, he wished the newlyweds a lifetime of connubial bliss.

consanguinity

kinship
The lawsuit developed into a test of the consanguinity of the claimant to the estate.

conscientious

scrupulous; careful
A conscientious editor checked every definition for its accuracy.

conscript

draftee; person forced into military service
Did Rambo volunteer to fight in Vietnam, or was he a conscript, drafted against his will?

consecrate

dedicate; sanctify
We shall consecrate our lives to this noble purpose.

consensus

general agreement
The consensus indicates that we are opposed to entering into this pact.

consequential

pompous; self-important
Convinced of his own importance, the actor strutted about the dressing room with a consequential air.

conservatory

school of the fine arts (especiallymusic or drama)
A gifted violinist, Marya was selected to study at the conservatory.

consign

deliver officially; entrust; set apart
The court consigned the child to her paternal grandmother's care.

consistency

absence of contradictions; dependability; uniformity; degree of thickness
Holmes judged puddings and explanations on their consistency; he liked his puddings without lumps and
his explanations without improbabilities.

console

lessen sadness or disappointment; give comfort
When her father died, Marius did his best to console Cosette.

consonance

harmony; agreement
Her agitation seemed out of consonance with her usual calm.

consort

associate with
We frequently judge people by the company with whom they consort.

consort

husband or wife
The search for a consort for the young Queen Victoria ended happily.

conspiracy

treacherous plot
Brutus and Cassius joined in the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar.

constituent

supporter
The congressman received hundreds of letters from angry constituents after the Equal Rights Amendment
failed to pass.

constraint

compulsion; repression of feelings
There was a feeling of constraint in the room because no one dared to criticize the speaker.

construe

explain; interpret
If I construe your remarks correctly, you disagree with the theory already advanced.

consummate

complete
I have never seem anyone who makes as many stupid errors as you do; you must be a consummate idiot.

contagion

infection
Fearing contagion, they took drastic steps to prevent the spread of the disease.

contaminate

pollute
The sewage system of the city so contaminated the water that swimming was forbidden.

contempt

scorn; disdain Even if you feel superior to others, it is unwise to show your contempt for them.

contend

struggle; compete; assert earnestly
In Revolt of the Black Athlete, sociologist Harry Edwards contends that young black athletes have been
exploited by some college recruiters.

contentious

quarrelsome
We heard loud and contentious noises in the next room.

contest

dispute
The defeated candidate attempted to contest the election results.

context

writings preceding and following the passage quoted
Because these lines are taken out of context, they do not convey the message the author intended.

contiguous

adjacent to; touching upon
The two countries are contiguous for a few miles; then they are separated by the gulf.

continence

self-restraint; sexual chastity
She vowed to lead a life of continence.

contingent

conditional
The continuation of this contract is contingent on the quality of your first output.

contortions

twistings; distortions
As the effects of the opiate wore away, the contortions of the patient became more violent and
demonstrated how much pain she was enduring.

contraband

illegal trade; smuggling; smuggled goods
The coast guard tries to prevent contraband in U.S. waters.

contravene

contradict; oppose: infringe on or transgress
Mr. Barrett did not expect his frail daughter Elizabeth to contravene his will by eloping with Robert
Browning.

contrite

penitent
Her contrite tears did not influence the judge when he imposed sentence.

contrived

forced; artificial; not spontaneous
Feeling ill at ease with his new in-laws; James made a few contrived attempts at conversation and then
retreated into silence.

controvert

oppose with arguments; contradict
To controvert your theory will require much time but it is essential that we disprove it.

contumacious

disobedient; resisting authority
The contumacious mob shouted defiantly at the police.

contusion

bruise She was treated for contusions and abrasions.

conundrum

riddle; difficult problem
During the long car ride, she invented conundrums to entertain the children.

convene

assemble
Because much is needed legislation had to be enacted, the governor ordered the legislature to convene in
special session by January 15.

conventional

ordinary; typical
His conventional upbringing left him wholly unprepared for his wife's eccentric family.

convention

social or moral custom; established practice
Flying in the face of convention, George Sand (Amandine Dudevant) shocked her contemporaries by
taking lovers and wearing men's clothes.

converge

come together
Marchers converged on Washington for the great Save Our Cities-Save Our Children March.

conversant

familiar with
The lawyer is conversant with all the evidence.

converse

opposite
The inevitable converse of peace is not war but annihilation.

convert

one who has adopted a different religion or opinion
On his trip to Japan, though the President spoke at length about the merits of American automobiles, he
made few converts to his beliefs.

convex

curving outward
He polished the convex lens of his telescope.

conveyance

vehicle; transfer
During the transit strike, commuters used various kinds of conveyances.

conviction

strongly held belief
Nothing could shake his conviction that she was innocent.

dais

raised platform for guests of honor
When he approached the dais, he was greeted by cheers from the people who had come to honor him.

dally

trifle with; procrastinate
Laertes told Ophelia that Hamlet could only dally with her affections.

dank

damp
The walls of the dungeon were dank and slimy.

dapper

neat and trim
In "The Odd Couple," Tony Randall played Felix Unger, an excessively dapper soul who could not stand
to have a hair out of place.

dappled

spotted
The sunlight filtering though the screens created a dappled effect on the wall.

daub

smear (as with paint)
From the way he daubed his paint on the canvas, I could tell he knew nothing of oils.

dauntless

bold
Despite the dangerous nature of the undertaking, the dauntless soldier volunteered for the assignment.

daunt

intimidate
Your threats cannot daunt me.

dawdle

loiter; waste time
Inasmuch as we must meet a deadline, do not dawdle over this work.

deadlock

standstill; stalemate
The negotiations had reached a deadlock.

deadpan

wooden; impassive
We wanted to see how long he could maintain his deadpan expression.

dearth

scarcity
The dearth of skilled labor compelled the employers to open trade schools.

debacle

breaking up; downfall This debacle in the government can only result in anarchy.

debase

reduce to lower state
Do not debase youself by becoming maudlin.

debauch

corrupt; make intemperate
A vicious newspaper can debauch public ideals.

debilitate

weaken; enfeeble
Overindulgence debilitates character as well as physical stamina.

debonair

friendly; aiming to please
The debonair youth was liked by all who met him, because of his cheerful and obliging manner.

debris

rubble
A full year after the earthquake in Mexico City, workers were still carting away the debris.

debunk

expose as false, exaggerated, worthless, etc.; ridicule
Pointing out that he conhsistently had voted afainst strenghtening antipollution legislation, reporters
debunked the candidate's claim that he was a fervent environmentalist.

debutante

yound woman making formal entrance into society
As a debutante, she was often mentioned in the society columns of the newspapers.

decadence

decay
The moral decadence of the people was reflected in the lewd literature of the period.

decant

pour off gently
Be sure to decant this wine before serving it.

decapitate

behead
They did not hang Lady Jane Grey; they decapitated her.

decelerate

slow down
Seeing the emergency blinkers in the road ahead, he decelerated quickly.

deciduous

falling off, as of leaves
The oak is a deciduous tree.

decimate

kill, usually one out of ten
We do more to decimate our population in automobile accidents than we do in war.

decipher

decode
I could not decipher the doctor's handwriting.

declivity

downward slope
The children loved to ski down the declivity.

decollete

having a low-cut neckline Fashion decrees that evening gowns be decollete this season; bare shoulders are again the vogue.

decomposition

decay
Despite the body's advanced state of decomposition, the police were able to identify the murdered man.

decorum

propriety; seemliness
Shocked by the unruly behavior, the teacher criticized the class for its lack of decorum.

decoy

lure or bait
The wild ducks were not fooled by the decoy.

decrepitude

state of collagse caused by illness or old age
I was unprepared for the state of decrepitude in which I had found my old friend; he seemed to have aged
twenty years in six months.

decry

express strong disapproval of ; disparage
The founder of the Children's Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, strongly decries the lack of
financial and moral support for children in America today.

deducible

derived byreasoning
If we accept your premise, your conclusions are easily deducible.

deface

mar; disfigure
If you deface a library book, you will have to pay a hefty fine.

defamation

harming a person's reputation
Such defamation of character may result in a slander suit.

default

failure to do
As a result of her husband's failure to appear in court, she was granted a divorce by default.

defeatist

resigned to defeat; accepting defeat as a natural outcome
If you maintain your defeatist attitude, you will never succeed.

defection

desertion
The children, who had made him an idol, were hurt most by his defection from our cause.

deference

courteous regard for another's wish
In deference to his desires, the employers granted him a holiday.

defile

pollute; profane
The hoodlums defiled the church with their scurrilous writing.

definitive

most reliable or complee
Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln may be regarded as the definitive work on the life of the Great
Emancipator.

deflect

turn aside
His life was saved when his cigarette case deflected the bullet.

defoliate

destroy leaves
In Vietnam the army made extensive use of chemical agents to defoliate the woodlands.

defray

provide ofr the payment of
Her employer offered to defray the costs of her postgraduate education.

defrock

to strip a priest or minister of church authority
We knew the minister had violated church regulations, but we had not realized his offense was serious
enough to cause him to be defrocked.

deft

neat; skillful
The deft waiter uncorked the champagne without spilling a drop.

defunct

dead; no longer in use or existence
The lawyers sought to examine the books of the defunct corporation.

degenerate

become worse; deteriorate
As the fight dragged on, the champion's style degenerated until he could barely keep on his feet.

degraded

lowered in rank; debased
The degraded wretch spoke only of his past glories and honors.

dehydrate

remove water from; dry out
Vigorous dancing quickly dehydrates the body; between dances, be sure to drink more water than normal.

deify

turn into a god; idolize
Admire the rock star all you want; just don't deify him.

deign

condescend
He felt that he would debase himself if he deigned to answer his critics.

deleterious

harmful
Workers in nuclear research must avoid the deleterious effects of radioactive substances.

delete

erase; strike out
If you delete this paragraph, the composition will have more appeal.

deliberate

consider; ponder; unhurried
Offered the new job, she asked for time to deliberate before she made her decision.

delineate

portray
He is weakest when he attempts to delineate character.

delirium

mental disorder marked by confusion
The drunkard in his delirium saw strange animals.

delta

flat plain of mud or sand between branches of a river
His dissertation discussed the effect of intermittent flooding on the fertility of the Nile delta.

delude

deceive
Do not delude yourself into believing that he will relent.

deluge

flood; rush
When we advertised the position, we received a deluge of applications.

delusion

false belief; hallucination
This scheme is a snare and a delusion.

delusive

deceptive; raising vain hopes
Do not raise your hopes on the basis of his delusive promises.

delve

dig; investigate
delving into old books and manuscripts is part of a researcher's job.

demagogue

person who appeals to people's prejudice; false leader
He was accused of being a demogogue because he made promises that aroused futile hopes in his listeners.

demeanor

behavior; bearing
His sober demeanor quieted the noisy revelers.

demean

degrade; humiliate
He felt that he would demean himself if he replied to the scurrilous letter.

demented

insane
She became increasingly demented and had to be hospitalized.

demise

death
Upon the demise of the dictator, a bitter dispute about succession to power developed.

demographic

related to population balance
In conducting a survey, one should take into account demographic trends in the region.

demolition

destruction
One of the major aims of the air force was the complete demolition of all means of transportation by the
bombing of rail lines and the terminals.

demoniac

fiendish
The Spanish Inquisition devised many demoniac means of torture.

demotic

pertaining to the people
He lamented the passing of aristocratic society and maintained that a demotic society would lower the
nation's standards.

demure

grave; serius; coy She was demure and reserved.

demur

delay; object
To demur at this time will only worsen the already serious situation; now is the time for action.

denigrate

blacken
All attempts to denigrate the character of our late President have failed; the people still love him and
cherish his memory.

denizen

inhabitant of
Ghosts are denizens of the land of the dead who return to earth.

denotation

meaning; distinguishing by name
A dictionary will always give us the denotation of a word; frequently, it will always give us its connotation.

denouement

outcome; final development of the plot of a play or other literary work
The play was childishly written; the denouement was obvious to sophisticated theatergoers as early as the
middle of the first act.

denounce

condemn; critcize
The reform candidate denounced the corrupt city officers for having betrayed the public's trust.

depict

portray
In this book, the author depicts the slave owners as kind and benevolent masters.

deplete

reduce; exhaust
We must wait until we deplete our present inventory before we order replacements.

deplicity

double-dealing; hypocrisy
People were shocked and dismayed when they learned of his duplicity in this affair, as he had always
seemed honest and straightforward.

deplore

regret
Although I deplore the vulgarity of your language, I defend your right to express yourself freely.

deploy

move troops so that the battle line is extended at the expense of depth
The general ordered the battalion to deploy in order to meet the offensive of the enemy.

depose

dethrone; remove form office
The army attempted to depose the king and set up a military government.

deposition

testimony under oath
He made his deposition in the judge's chamber.

depravity

corruption; wickedness
The depravity of the tyrant's behavior shocked us all.

deprecate

express disapproval of; protest against; belittle
A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Post deprecated the modern tendency to address new
acquaintances by their first names.

depreciate

lessen in value
If you neglect this properly, it will depreciate.

depredation

plundering
After the depredations of the invaders, the people were penniless.

deranged

insane
He had to be institutionalized because he was deranged.

derelict

neglectful of duty; abandoned
The corporal who fell asleep while on watch was thrown into the guardhouse for being derelic in his duty.

deride

scoff at
The people derided his grandiose schemes.

derision

ridicule
They greeted his proposal with derision and refused to consider it seriously.

derivative

unoriginal; obtained from another source
Although her early poetry was clearly derivative in nature, the critics thought she had promise and
eventually would find her own voice.

dermatologist

one who studies the skin and its diseases
I advise you to consult a dermatologist about your acne.

derogatory

expressing a low opinion
I resent your derogatory remarks.

descry

catch sight of
In the distance, we could barely descry the enemy vessels.

desecrate

profane; violate the sanctity of
The soldiers desecrated the temple.

desiccate

dry up
A tour of this smokehouse will give you an idea of how the pioneers used to desiccate food in order to
preserve it.

desolate

rob of joy; lay waste to; forsake
The bandits desolated the countryside, burning farms and carrying off the harvest.

desperado

reckless outlaw
Butch Cassidy was a bold desperado with a price on his head.

despicable

contemptible
Your despicable remarks call for no reply.

despise

scorn
I despise your attempts at a reconciliation at this time and refuse to meet you.

despoil

plunder
If you do not yield, I am afraid the enemy will despoil the countryside.

despondent

depressed; gloomy To the dismay of his parents, he became more and more depondent every day.

despotism

tyranny
The people rebelled against the despotism of the king.

destitute

extremely poor
The costs of the father's illness left the family destitute.

desultory

aimless; haphazard; digressing at random
In prison Malcolm X set himself the task of reading straight through the dictionary; to him reading was
purposeful, not desultory.

detached

emotionally removed; calm and objective; indifferent
A psychoanalyst must maintain a detached point of view and stay uninvolved with her patients' perssonal
lives.

determinate

having a fixed order of procedure; invariable
At the royal wedding, the procession of the nobles followed a determinate order of precedence.

deterrent

something that discourages; hindrance
Does the threat of capital punishment serve as a deterrent to potential killers?

detonation

explosion
The detonation of the bomb could be heard miles away.

detraction

slandering; aspersion
He is offended by your frequent detractions of his ability as a leader.

detrimental

harmful; damaging
Your acceptance of her support will ultimately prove detrimental rather than helpful to your cause.

deviate

turn away from
Do not deviate from the truth; you must face the facts.

devious

going astray; erratic
Your devious behavior in this matter puzzles me since you are usually direct and straightforward.

devoid

lacking
He was devoid of any personal desire for gain in his endeavor to secure improvement in the community.

devolve

deputize; pass to others
It devolved upon us, the survivors, to arrange peace terms with the enemy.

devotee

enthusiastic follower
A devotee of the opera, he bought season tickets every year.

devout

pious
The devout man prayed daily.

dexterous

skillful
The magician was so dexterous that we could not follow his movements as he performed his tricks.

diabolical

devilish
This scheme is so diabolical that I must reject it.

diadem

crown
The king's diadem was on display at the museum.

dialectic

art of debate
I am not skilled in dialectic and therefore, cannot answer your arguments as forcefully as I wish.

diaphanous

sheer; transparent
They saw the burglar clearly through the diaphanous curtain.

diatribe

bitter scolding; invective
During the lengthy diatribe delivered by his opponent he remained calm and self-controlled.

dichotomy

branching into two parts
The dichotomy of our legislative system provides us with many safeguards.

dictum

arthoritative and weighty statement
She repeated the statement as though it were the dictum of the most expert worker in the group.

didactic

teaching; instructional; preaching or moralizing
The didactic qualities of his poetry overshadow its literary qualities; the lesson he teaches is more
memorable than the lines.

die

device for stamping or impressing; mold
In coining pennies, workers at the old mint squeezed sheets of softened copper between two dies.

diffidence

shyness
You must overcome your diffidence if you intend to become a salesperson.

diffusion

wordiness; spreading in all directions like a gas
Your composition suffers from a diffusion of ideas; try to be more compact.

digression

wandering away from the subject
Nobody minded when Professor Renoir's lectures wandered away from their offical theme; his digressions
were always more fascinating than the topic of the day.

dilapidated

ruined because of neglect
We felt that the dilapidated building needed several coats of paint.

dilate

expand
In the dark, the pupils of your eyes dilate.

dilatory

delaying
Your dilatory tactics may compel me to cancel the contract.

dilemma

problem; choice of two unsatisfactory alternatives
In this dilemma, he knew no one to whom he could turn for advice.

dilettante

aimless follower of the arts; amateur; dabbler
He was not serious in his painting; he was rather a dilettante.

diligence

steadiness of effort; persisten hard work
Her employers were greatly impressed by her diligence and offered her a partnership in the firm.

dilute

make less concentrated; reduce in strength
She preferred her coffee diluted with milk.

diminution

lessening; reduction in size
The blockaders hoped to achieve victory as soon as the diminution of the enemy's supplies became serious.

dinghy

small boat (often ship's boat)
In the film Lifeboat, an ill-assorted group of passengers from a sunken ocean liner are marooned at sea in a
dinghy.

dingy

dull; not fresh; cheerless
Refusing to be depressed by her dingy studio apartment, Bea spent the weekend polishing the floors and
windows and hanging bright posters on the walls.

dint

means; effort
By dint of much hard work, the volunteers were able to control the raging forest fire.

din

continued loud noise
The din of the jackhammers outside the classroom window drowned out the lecturer's voice.

diorama

like-size, three-dimensional scene from nature or history
Because they dramatically pose actual stuffed animals against realistic painted landscapes, the dioramas at
the Museum of Natural History particularly impress high school biology students.

dire

disastrous
People ignored her dire predictions of an approaching depression.

dirge

lament with music
The funeral dirge stirred us to tears.

disabuse

correct a false impression; undeceive
I will attempt to diabuse you of your impression of my client's guilt; I know he is innocent.

disaffected

disloyal
Once the most loyal of Gorbachev's supporters, Shverdnaze found himself becoming increasingly
disaffected.

disapprobation

disapproval; condemnation
The conservative father viewed his daughter's radical boyfriend with disapprobation.

disarray

a disorderly or untidy state
After the New Year's party, the once orderly house was in total disarray.

disavowal

denial; disclaiming
His disavowal of his part in the conspiracy was not believed by the jury.

disband

dissolve; disperse
The chess club disbanded after its disastrous initial season.

disburse

pay out
When you disburse money on the company's behalf, be sure to get a receipt.

discernible

distinguishable; perceivable
The ships in the harbor were not discernible in the fog.

discerning

mentally quick and observant; having insight
Because he was considered the most discerning member of the firm, he was assigned the most difficult
cases.

disclaim

disown; renounce claim to
If I grant you this previlege, will you disclaim all other rights?

disclose

reveal
Although competitors offered him bribes, he refused to disclose any information about his company's
forthcoming product.

discombobulated

confused; discomposed
The novice square dancer became so discombobulated that he wandered into wrong set.

discomfit

put to rout; defeat; disconcert
This ruse will discomfit the enemy.

disconcert

confuse; upset; embarrass
The lawyer was disconcerted by the evidence produced by her adversary.

disconcolate

sad
The death of his wife left him disconsolate.

discordant

inharmonious; conflicting
She tried to unite the discordant factions.

discount

disregard
Be prepared to discount what he has to say about his ex-wife.

discourse

formal disscussion; conversation
The young Plato was drawn to the Agora to hear the philosophical discourse of Socrates and his followers.

discredit

defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve The campaign was highly negative in tone; each candidate tried to discredit the other.

discrepancy

lack of consistency; difference
The police noticed some discrepancies in his description of the crime and did not believe him.

discrete

separate; unconnected
The universe is composed of discrete bodies.

discretion

prudence; ability to adjust actions to circumstances
Use your discretion in this matter and do not discuss it with anyone.

discrimination

ability to see differences; prejudice
They feared he lacked sufficient discrimination to judge complex works of modern art.

discursive

digressing; rambling
They were annoyed and bored by her discursive remarks.

disdain

treat with scorn or contempt
You make enemies of all you disdain.

disembark

go ashore; unload cargo from a ship
Before the passengers could disembark, they had to pick up their passports from the ship's purser.

disenfranchise

deprive of a civil right
The imposition if the poll tax effectively disenfranchised poor Southern blacks, who lost their right to vote.

disengage

uncouple; separate; disconnect
A standard movie routine involves the hero's desperate attempt to disengage a railroad car from a moving
train.

disfigure

mar the appearance of; spoil
An ugly frown disfigured his normally pleasant face.

disgorge

surrender something; efect; vomit
Unwilling to disgorge the cash he had stolen from the pension fund, the embezzler tried to run away.

disgruntle

make discontented
The passengers were disgruntled by the numerous delays.

dishearten

discourage
His failure to pass the bar exam disheartened him.

disheveled

untidy
Your disheveled appearance will hurt your chances in this interview.

disinclination

unwilingness
Some mornings I feel a great disinclination to get out of bed.

disingenuous

not naive; sophisticated Although he was young, his remarks indicated that he was disingenous.

disinterested

unprejudiced
The only disinterested person in the room was the judge.

disinter

dig up; unearth
They disinterred the body and held an autopsy.

disjointed

disconnected
His remarks were so disjointed that we could not follow his reasoning.

dislodge

remove (forcible)
Thrusting her fist up under the choking man's lower ribs, Margaret used the Heimlich maneuver to
dislodge the food caught in this throat.

dismantle

take apart
When the show closed, they dismantled the scenery before restoring it.

dismember

cut into small parts
When the Austrian Empire was dismembered, several new countries were established.

dismiss

eliminate from consideration; reject
Believing in John's love for her, she dismissed the notion that he might be unfaithful.

disparage

belittle
Do not disparage anyone's contribution; these little gifts add up to large sums.

disparate

basically different; unrelated
It is difficult, if not impossible, to organize these disparate elements into a coherent whole.

disparity

difference; condition of inequality
The disparity in their ages made no difference at all.

dispassionate

calm; impartial
In a dispassionate analysis of the problem, he carefully examined the causes of the conflict and proceeded
to suggest suitable remedies.

dispatch

speediness; prompt execution; message sent with all due speed
Young Napoleon defeated the enemy with all possible dispatch; he then sent a dispatch to headquarters,
informing his commander of the great victory.

dispel

scatter; drive away; cause to vanish
The bright sunlight eventually dispelled the morning mist.

disperse

scatter
The police fired tear gas into crowd to disperse the protesters.

dispirited

lacking in spirit
The coach used all the tricks at his command to buoy up the enthusiasm of his team, which I had become dispirited at the loss of the star player.

disport

amuse
The popularity of Florida as a winter resort is constantly increasing; each year, thousands more disport
themselves at Miami and Palm Beach.

disputatious

argumentative; fond of argument
People avoided discussing contemporary problems with him because of his disputatious manner.

disquisition

a formal systematic inquiry; an explanation of the results of a formal inquiry
In his disquisition, he outlined the steps he had taken in reaching his conclusions.

dissection

analysis; cutting apart in order to examine
The dissection of frogs on the laboratory is particularly unpleasant to some students.

dissemble

disguise; pretend
Even though John tried to dissemble his motive for taking modern dance, we all knew there not to dance
but to meet girls.

disseminate

scatter (like seeds)
The invention of the radio helped propagandists to disseminate their favorite doctrines very easily.

dissent

disagree
In a landmark Supreme Court decision, Justice Marshall dissented from the majority opinion.

dissertation

formal essay
In order to earn a graduate degree from many of our universities, a candidate is frequently required to
prepare a dissertation on some scholarly subject.

dissident

dissenting; rebellious
In the purge that followed the student demonstrations at Tianamen Square, the government hunted down
the dissident students and their supporters.

dissimulate

pretend; conceal by feigning
She tried to dissimulate her grief by her exuberant attitude.

dissipate

squander
The young man quickly dissipated his inheritance and was soon broke.

dissolution

disintegration; looseness in morals
The profligacy and dissolution of life in Caligula's Rome appall some historians.

dissonance

discord
Some contemporary musicians deliberately use dissonance to achieve certain effects.

dissuade

advise against
He could not dissuade his friend from joining the conspirators.

distant

reserved or aloof; cold in manner His distant greeting made me feel unwelcome from the start.

distend

expand;swell out
I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead.

distill

purify; refine; concentrate
A moonshiner distills mash into whiskey; an epigrammatist distills thoughts into quips.

distortion

twisting out of shape
It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of this event because of the distortions and exaggerations
of the reporters.

distrait

absentminded
Because of his concentration on the problem, the professor often appeared distrait and unconcerned about
routine.

distraught

upset; distracted by anxiety
The distraught parents frantically searched the ravine for their lost child.

diurnal

daily
A farmer cannot neglect his diurnal tasks at any time; cows, for example, must be milked regularly.

diva

operatic singer; prima donna
Although world famous as a diva, she did not indulge in fits of temerament.

divergent

differing; deviating
The two witnesses presented the jury with remarkably divergent accounts of the same epipode.

diverge

vary; go in different directionsfrom the same point
The spokes of the wheel diverge from the hub.

diverse

differing in some characteristics; various
There are diverse ways of approaching this problem.

diversion

act of turning aside; pastime
After studying for several hours, he needed a diversion from work.

diversity

variety; dissimilitude
The diversity of colleges in this country indicates that many levels of ability are being served.

divest

strip; deprive
He was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern.

divine

perceive intuitively; foresee the future
Nothing infuriated Tom more than Aunt Polly's ability to divine when he was not telling the truth.

divulge

reveal
I will not tell you this news because I am sure you will divulge it prematurely.

docile

obedient; easily managed
As docile as he seems today, that old lion was once a ferocious, snarling beast.

docket

program asfor trial; book where such entries are made
The case of Smith v. Jones was entered in the docket for July 15.

doctrinaire

unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding
Weng had hoped that the student-led democracy movement might bring about change in China, but the
repressive response of the doctrinaire hard-liners crushed his dreams of democracy.

document

provide written evidence
She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to document her expenses for the firm.

doddering

shaky; infirm from old age
Although he is not as yet a doddering and senile old man, his ideas and opinions no longer can merit the
respect we gave them years ago.

doff

take off
A gentleman used to doff his hat to a lady.

dogged

determined;stubborn
Les Miserables tells of Inspector Javert's long, dogged pursuit of the criminal Jean Valjean.

doggerel

poorverse
Although we find occasional snatches of genuine poetry in her work, most of her writing is mere doggerel.

dogmatic

positive; arbitrary
Do not be so dogmatic about that statement; it can be easily refuted.

doldrums

blues; listlessness; slack period
Once the excitement of meeting her deadline was over, she found herself in the doldrums.

dolorous

sorrowfrl
He found the dolorous lamentations of the bereaved family emotionally disturbing and he left as quickly as
he could.

dolt

stupid person
I thought I was talking to a mature audience; instead, I find myself addressing a pack of dolts.

domicile

home
Althoughhis legal domicile was in New York City, his work kept him away from his residence for many
years.

domineer

rule over tyrannically
Students prefer teachers who guide, not ones who domineer.

don

put on
When Clark Kent had to don his Superman outfit, he changed clothes in a convenient phone booth.

dormant

sleeping; lethargic; torpid
Sometimes dormant talents in our friends surprise those of us who never realize how gifted our
acquaintances really are.

dormer

window projecting from roof
In remodeling the attic into a bedroom, we decided that we needed to put in dormers to provide sufficient
ventilation for the new room.

dorsal

relating to the back of an animal
A shark may be identified by its dorsal fin, which projects above the surface of the ocean.

dossier

file of documents on a subject
Ordered by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate the senator, the FBI compiled a complete dossier.

dotage

senility
In his dotage, the old man bored us with long tales of events in his childhood.

dote

be excessively fond of; show signs of mental decline
Not only grandmothers bore you with stories about their brilliant grandchildren; grandfathers dote on the
littel rascals, too.

dour

sullen; stubborn
The man was dour abd taciturn.

douse

plunge into water; drench; extinguish
They doused each other with hoses and balloons.

dowdy

slovenly; untidy
She tried to change her dowdy image by buying a fashionable new wardrobe.

downcast

disheartened; sad
Cheerful and optimistic by nature, Beth was never downcast despite the difficulties she faced.

drab

dull; lacking color; cheerless
The Dutch woman's drab winter coat contrasted with the distinctive, colorful native costume she wore
beneath it.

dregs

sediment; worthless residue
David poured the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the dregs.

droll

queer and amusing
He was a popular guest because his droll anecdotes were always entertaining.

drone

idle person; male bee
Content to let his wife support him, the would-be writer was in reality nothing but a drone.

drone

talk dully; buzz or murmur like a bee
On a gorgeous day, who wants to be stuck in a classroom listening to the teacher drone?

dross

waste matter; worhtless impurities
Many methods have been devised to separate the valuable metal from the dross.

drudgery

menial work
Cinderella's fairy godmother rescued her from a life of drudgery.

dubious

doubtful
He has the dubious distinction of being the lowest man in his class.

ductility

malleability; flexibility; ability to be drawn out
Copper wire has many industrial uses because of its extreme ductility.

dulcet

sweet sounding
The dulcet sounds of the birds at dawn were soon drowned out by the roar of traffic passing our motel.

dupe

someone easily fooled
While the gullible Watson often was made a dupe by unscrupulous parties, Sherlock Holmes was far more
difficult to fool.

duress

forcible restraint, especially unlawfully
The hostages were held under duress until the prisoners' demands were met.

dutiful

respectful; obedient
The dutiful child grew up to be a conscientious adult aware of his civic obligations.

dwindle

shrink; reduce
They spent so much money that their funds dwindled to nothing.

dynamic

active; efficient
A dynamic government is necessary to meet the demands of a changing society.

dyspeptic

suffering from indigestion
All the talk about rich food made him feel dyspeptic.

earthy

unrefined; coarse
His earthy remarks often embarrassed the women in the audience.

ebb

recede; lessen
His fortunes began to ebb during the recession.

ebullient

showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm His ebullient nature could not be repressed.

eccentricity

oddity; idiosyncrasy
Some of his friends tried to account for his rudeness to strangers as the eccentricity of genius.

eccentric

odd; whimsical; irregular
The comet passed close by the earth in its eccentric orbit.

ecclesiastic

pertaining to the church
The minister donned his ecclesiastic garb and walked to the pulpit.

eclectic

selective; composed of elements drawn from disparate sources
His style of interior decoration was eclectic: bits and pieces of furnishings from widely divergent periods,
strikingly juxtaposed to create a unique color.

eclipse

darken; extinguish; surpass
The new stock market high eclipsed the previous record set in 1985.

ecologist

person concerned with the interrelationship between living organisms and their environment
The ecologist was concerned that the new dam would upset the natural balance of the creatures living in
Glen Canyon.

economy

efficiency or conciseness in using something
Reading the epigrams of Pope, I admire the economy of his verse: in few words he conveys worlds of
meaning.

ecstasy

rapture, joy; any overpowering emotion
The announcement that the war had ended brought on an ecstasy that resulted in many uncontrolled
celebrations.

eddy

swirling current of water, air, etc.
The water in the tide pool was still, except for an occasional eddy.

edify

instruct; correct morally
Although his purpose was to edify and not to entertain his audience, many of his listeners were amused
and not enlightened.

eerie

weird
In that eerie setting, it was easy to believe in ghosts and other supernatural beings.

efface

rub out
The coin had been handled so many times that its data had been effaced.

effectual

efficient
If we are to succeed, we must seek effectual means of securing our goals.

effeminate

having womanly traits
His voice was high-pitched and effeminate.

effervescence

inner excitement; exuberance
Nothing depressed her for long; her natural effervescence soon reasserted itself.

effete

worn out; exhausted; barren
The literature of the age reflected the effete condition of the writers; no new ideas were forthcoming.

efficacy

power to produce desired effect
The efficacy of this drug depends on the regularity of the dosage.

effigy

dummy
The mob showed its irritation by hanging the judge in effigy.

effluvium

noxious smell
Air pollution has become a serious problem in our major cities; the effluvium and the poisons in the air are
hazards to life.

effrontery

shameless boldness
She had the effrontery to insult the guest.

effusion

pouring forth
The critics objected to her literary effusion because it was too flowery.

effusive

pouring forth; gushing
Her effusive manner of greeting her friends finally began to irritate them.

egoism

excessive interest in one's self; belief that one should be interested in one's self rather than in
others
His egoism prevented him from seeing the needs of his colleagues.

egotism

conceit; vanity
She thought so much of herself that we found her egotism unwarranted and irritating.

egregious

notorious; conspicuously bad; shocking
She was an egregious liar; we all knew better than to believe a word she said.

egress

exit
Barnum's sign "To the Egress" fooled many people who thought they were going to see an animal and
instead found themselves in the street.

ejaculation

exclamation
He could not repress an ejaculation of surprise when he heard the news.

elaboration

addition of details; intricacy
Tell what happened simply, without any elaboration.

elated

overjoyed; in high spirits
Grinning from ear to ear, Bonnie Blair was clearly elated by her Olympic victory.

elegy

poem or song expressing lamentation On the death of Edward King, Milton composed the elegy "Lycidas.

elicit

draw out by discussion
The detectives tried to elicit where he had hidden his loot.

elixir

cure-all; something invigorating
The news of her chance to go abroad acted on her like an elixir.

ellipsis

omission of words from a text
Sometimes an ellipsis can lead to a dangling modifier, as in the sentence "Once dressed, you should
refrigerate the potato salad.

elliptical

oval; ambiguous, either purposely or because key words have been left out
An elliptical billiad ball wobbles because it is not perfectly round; an elliptical remark baffles because it is
not perfectly clear.

eloquence

expressiveness; persuasive speech
The crowds were stirred by Martin Luther King's eloquence.

elucidate

explain; enlighten
He was called upon to elucidate the disputed points in his article.

elusive

evasive; baffling; hard to grasp
His elusive dreams of wealth were costly to those of his friends who supported him financially.

elysian

relating to paradise; blissful
An afternoon sail on the bay was for her an elysian journey.

emaciated

thin and wasted
His long period of starvation had left him emaciated.

emanate

issue forth
A strong odor of sulfur emanated from the spring.

emancipate

set free
At first, the attempts of the Abolitioninst to emancipate the slaves were unpopular in New England as well
as in the South.

embargo

ban on commerce or other activity
As a result of the embargo, trade with colonies was at a standstill.

embark

commence; go on board a boat; begin a journey
In devoting herself to the study of gorillas, Dian Fossey embarked on a course of action that was to cost
her her life.

embed

enclose; place in something
Tales of actual historical figures like King Alfred have become embedded in legends.

embellish

adorn My mother-in-law's stories about her journey from Russia made us laugh because she embellished the bare
facts of her travels with humourous acecdotes.

embezzlement

stealing
The bank teller confessed his embezzlement of the funds.

embroil

throw into confusion
He became embroiled in the heated discussion when he tried to arbitrate the dispute.

embryonic

undeveloped; rudimentary
The evil of class and race hatred must be eliminated while it is still in an embryonic state; otherwise, it may
grow to dangerous proportions.

emendation

correction of errors; improvement
Please initial all the emendations you have made in this contract.

emend

correct, usually a text
The critic emended the book by retranslating several passages.

emetic

substance causing vomiting
The use of an emetic like mustard is useful in cases of poisoning.

eminent

high; lofty
After his appointment to this emiment position, he seldom had time for his former friends.

emissary

agent; messenger
The secretary of State was sent as the President's special emissary to the conference on disarmament.

emollient

soothing or softening remedy
He applied an emollient to the inflamed area.

emolument

salary; compensation
In addition to the emolument this position offers, you must consider the social prestige it carries with it.

empathy

ability to identify with another's feelings, ideas, etc
What made Ann such a fine counselor was her empathy, her ability to put herself in her client's place and
feel his emotions as if they were her own.

empirical

based on experience
He distrusted hunches and intuitive flashes; he placed his reliance entirely on empirical data.

emulate

rival; imitate
As long as our political leaders emulate the virtues of the great leaders of this country, we shall flourish.

enamored

in love
Narcissus became enamored of his own beauty.

enclave

territory enclosed within an alien land
The Vatican is an independent enclave in Italy.

encomiastic

praising; eulogistic
Some critics believe that his encomiastic statements about Napoleon were inspired by his desire for
material advancement rather than by an honest belief in the Emperor's genius.

encomium

high praise; eulogy
Uneasy with the encomiums expressed by his supporters, Tolkien felt unworthy of such high praise.

encompass

surround
Although we were encompassed by enemy forces, we were cheerful for we were well stocked and could
withstand a siege until our allies joined us.

encroachment

gradual intrusion
The encroachment of the factories upon the neighborhood lowered the value of the real estate.

encumber

burden
Some people encumber themselves with too much luggage, when they take short trips.

endearment

fond word or act
Your gifts and endearments cannot make me forget your earlier insolence.

endemic

prevailinig among a specific group of people or in a specific are or country
This disease is endemic in this part of the world; more than 80 percent of the population are at one time or
another affected by it.

endorse

approve; support
Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for the city council the mayor would endorse.

endue

provide with some quality; endow
He was endued with a lion's courage.

enduring

lasting; surviving
Keats believed in the enduring power of great art, which outlast its creator's brief lives.

energize

invigorate; make forceful and active
Rather than exhausting Maggie, dancing energized her.

enervate

weaken
She was slow to recover from her illness; even a short walk to the window evervated her.

enfranchise

admit to the rights of citizenship (especially the right to vote)
Although blacks were enfranchised shortly after the Civil War, women did not receive the right to vote
until 1920.

engage

attract; hire; pledge oneself; confront
"Your case has engaged my interest, my lord," said Holmes, "You many engage my services.

engender

cause; produce
To receive praise for real accomplishments engenders self-confidence in a child.

engross

occupy fully
John was so engrossed in his studies that he did not hear his mother call.

enhance

advance; improve
Your chances for promotion in this department will be enhanced if you take some more courses in evening
school.

enigmatic

obscure; puzzling
Many have sought to fathom the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa.

enigma

puzzle
Depite all attempts to decipher the code, it remained an enigma.

enjoin

command; order; forbid
The owners of the company asked the court to enjoin the union from picketing the plant.

enmity

ill will; hatred
At Camp David President Carter labored to bring an end to the enmity that prevented Egypt and Israel
from living in peace.

ennui

boredom
The monotonous routine of hopital life induced a feeling of ennui which made him moody and irritable.

enormity

hugeness (in a bad sense)
He did not realize the enormity of his crime until he saw what suffering he had caused.

enrapture

please intensely
The audience was enraptured by the freshness of the voices and the excellent orchestration.

ensconce

settle comfortably
The parents thought that their children were ensconced safely in the private school and decided to leave
for Europe.

ensue

follow
The evils that ensued were the direct result of the miscalculations of the leaders.

enthrall

capture; enslave
From the moment he saw her picture, he was enthralled by her beauty.

entice

lure; attract; tempt
She always tried to entice her baby brother into mischief.

entity

real being
As soon as the charter was adopted, the United Nations became an entity and had to be considered as a
factor in world diplomacy.

entomology

study of insects
I found entomology the least interesting part of my course in biology; studying insects bored me.

entrance

put under a spell; carry away with emotion
Shafts of sunlight on a wall could entrance her and leave her spellbound.

entreat

plead; ask earnestly
She entreated her father to let her stay out till midnight.

entree

entrance; a way in
Because of his wealth and social position, he had entree into the most exclusive circles.

entrepreneur

businessperson; contractor
Opponents of our present tax program argue that it discourages entrepreneurs from trying new fields of
business activity.

enumerate

list; mention one by one
Huck hung his head in shame as Miss Watson enumerated his many flaws.

enunciate

speak distinctly
How will people understand you if you do not enunciate?

environ

enclose; surround
Paris was environed by a wall

eon

long period of time; an age
It has taken eons for our civilization to develop.

epaulet

ornament worn on the shoulder (of a uniform, etc.)
The shoulder loops on Sam Spade's trench coat are the nonmilitary counterparts of the fringed epaulets on
George Washington's uniform.

ephemeral

short-lived; fleeting
The mayfly is an ephemeral creature.

epicure

connoisseur of food and drink
epicures frequent this restaurant because it features exotic wines and dishes.

epic

long heroic poem, novel, or similar work of art
Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai is an epic portraying the struggle of seven warriors to destroy a band of
robbers.

epigram

witty thought or saying, usually short
Poor Richard's epigrams made Benjamin Franklin famous.

epilogue

short speech at conclusion of dramatic work
The audience was so disappointed in the play that many did not remain to hear the epilogue.

episodic

loosely connected
Though he tried to follow the plot of Gravity's Rainbow, John found the novel too episodic.

epistemologist

philosopher who studies the nature of knowledge
"What is more important, a knowledge of nature of the nature of knowledge?" the epistemologist asked the
naturalist.

epitaph

inscription in memory of a dead person
In his will, he dictated the epitaph he wanted placed on his tombstone.

epithet

word or phrase characteristically used to describe a person or thing
So many kings of France were named Charles that modern students need epithets to tell them apart:
Charles the Wise, for example, was someone far different from Charles the Fat.

epitome

perfect example or embodiment
Singing "I am the very model of a modern Major-General" in The Pirates of Penzance, Major-General
Stanley proclaimed himself the epitome of an officer and a gentleman.

epoch

period of time
The glacial epoch lasted for thousands of years.

equable

tranquil; steady; uniform
After the hot summers and cold winters of New England, he found the climate of the West Indies equable
and pleasant.

equanimity

calmness of temperament
In his later years, he could look upon the foolishness of the world with equanimity and humor.

equestrian

rider on horseback
These paths in the park are reserved for equestrians and their steeds.

equilibrium

balance
After the divorce, he needed some time to regain his equilibrium.

equine

resembling a horse
His long, bony face had an equine look to it.

equinox

period of equal days and nights; the beginning of spring and autumn
The vernal equinox is usually marked by heavy rainstorms.

equipoise

balance; balancing force; equilibrium
The high-wire acrobat used his pole as an equipose to overcome the swaying caused by the wind.

equitable

fair; impartial
I am seeking an equitable solution to this dispute, one which will be fair and acceptable to both sides.

equity

fairness; justice
Our courts guarantee equity to all.

equivocal

doubtful; ambiguous
Macbeth was misled by the equivocal statements of the witches.

equivocate

lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth
The audience saw through his attempts to equivocate on the subject under discussion and ridiculed his
remarks.

erode

eat away
The limestone was eroded by the dripping water

erotic

pertaining to passionate love
The erotic passages in this novel should be removed as they are merely pornographic.

errant

wandering
Many a charming tale has been written about the knights-errant who helped the weak and punished the
guilty during the Age of Chivalry.

erratic

odd; unpredictable
Investors become anxious when the stock market appears erratic.

erroneous

mistaken; wrong
I thought my answer was correct, but it was erroneous.

erudite

learned; scholarly
His erudite writing was difficult to read because of the many allusions which were unfamiliar to most
readers.

escapade

prank; flighty conduct
The headmaster could not regard this latest escapade as a boyish joke and expelled the young man.

eschew

avoid
He tried to eschew all display of temper.

esoteric

hard to understand; known only to the chosen few
New Yorker short stories often include esoteric allusions to obscure people and events: the implication is if
you are in the in-crowd, you'll get the reference; if you come from Cleveland, you won't.

espionage

spying
In order to maintain its power, the government developed a system of espionage that penetrated every
hosehold.

espouse

adopt; support
She was always ready to espouse a worthy cause.

esteem

repect; value; judge
I esteem Ezra Pound both for his exciting poetry and for his acute comments on literature.

estranged

separated; alienated
The estranged wife sought a divorce.

ethereal

light; heavenly; fine
Visitors were impressed by her ethereal beauty, her delicate charm.

ethnic

relating to races
Intolerance between ethnic groups is deplorable and usually is based on lack of information.

ethnology

study of mankind
Sociology is one aspect of the science of ethnology.

ethos

underlying character of a culture, group, etc.
Seeing how tenderly Spaniards treated her small daughter made author Barbara Kingsolver aware of how
greatly children were valued in the Spanish ethos.

etymology

study of word parts
A knowledge of etymology can help you on many English tests.

eugenic

pertaining to the improvement of race
It is easier to apply eugenic principles to the raising of racehorses or prize cattle than t the development of
human beings.

eulogistic

praising
To everyone's surprise, the speech was eulogistic rather than critical in tone.

eulogy

praise
All the eulogies of his friends could not remove the sting of the calumny heaped upon him by his enemies.

euphemism

mild expression in place of an unpleasant one
The expression "he passed away" is a euphemism for "he died.

euphony

sweet sound
Noted for its euphony even when it is spoken, the Italian language is particularly pleasing to the ear when
sung.

euphoria

feeling of exaggerated (or unfounded) well-being
"Jill's been on cloud nine ever since Jacj asked her out," said Betty, dismissing her friend's euphoria.

euthanasia

mercy killing
Many people support euthanasia for terminally ill patients who wish to die.

evanescent

fleeting; vanishing
For a brief moment, the entire skyline was bathed in an orange-red hue in the evanescent rays of the
sunset.

evasive

not frank; eluding
Your evasive answers convinced the judge that you were witholding important evidence.

evenhanded

impartial; fair
Do men and women receive evenhanded treatment from their teachers, or, as recent studies suggest, do teachers pay more attention to male students than to females?

evince

show clearly
When he tried to answer the questions, he evinced his ignorance of the subject matter.

evoke

call forth
He evoked much criticism by his hostile manner.

ewe

female sheep
The flock of sheep was made up of dozens of ewes, together with only a handful of rams.

exacerbate

worsen; embitter
This latest arrest will exacerbate the already existing discontent of the people and enrage them.

exacting

extremely demanding
The colonies rebelled against the exacting financial claims of the mother country.

exalt

raise in rank or dignity; praise
The actor Alec Guinness was exalted to the rank of knighthood by the Queen; he now is known as Sir Alec
Guinness.

exasperate

vex
Johnny often exasperates his mother with his pranks.

excerpt

selected passage (written or musical)
The cinematic equivalent of an excerpt from a novel is a clip from a film.

exchequer

treasury
He had been Chancellor of the exchequer before his promotion to the office he now holds.

excise

cut away; cut out
When you excise the dead and dying limbs of a tree, you not only improve its appearance but also enhance
its chances of bearing fruit.

excoriate

flay; abrade
These shoes are so ill-fitting that they will excoriate the feet and create blisters.

exculpate

clear from blame
He was exculpated of the crime when the real criminal confessed.

execrable

very bad
The anecdote was in execrable taste and shocked the audience.

execrate

curse; express abhorrence for
The world execrates the memory of Hitler and hopes that genocide will never again be the policy of any
nation.

execute

put into effect; carry out
The choreographer wanted to see how well she could execute a pirouette.

exegesis

explanation, especially of biblical passages
I can follow your exegesis of this passage to a limited degree; some of your reasoning eludes me.

exemplary

serving as a model; outstanding
Her exemplary behavior was praised at commencement.

exemplify

show by example; furnish an example
Three-time winner of the Super Bowl, Joe Montana exemplifies the ideal quarterback.

exertion

effort; expenditure of much physical work
The exertion involved in unscrewing the rusty bolt left her exhausted.

exhort

urge
The evangelist will exhort all sinners in his audience to reform.

exhume

dig out of the ground; remove from a grave
Because of the rumor that he had been poisoned, his body was exhumed in order that an autopsy might be
performed.

exigency

urgent situation
In this exigency, we must look for aid from our allies.

exiguous

small; minute
Grass grew there, an exiguous outcropping among the rocks.

existential

pertaining to existence; pertaining to the philosophy of existentialism
To the existential philosopher, human reason is inadequate to explain an irrational, meaningless universe.

exodus

departure
The exodus from the hot and stuffy city was particularly noticeable on Friday evenings.

exonerate

acquit; exculpate
I am sure this letter naming the actual culprit will exonerate you.

exorbitant

excessive
The people grumbled at his exorbitant prices but paid them because he had a monopoly.

exorcise

drive our evil spirits
By incantation and prayer, the medicine man sought to exorcise the evil spirits that had taken possession of
the young warrior.

exotic

not native; strange
Because of his exotic headdress, he was followed in the streets by small children who laughed at his strange
appearance.

expatiate

talk at length
At this time, please give us a brief resume of your work; we shall permit you to expatiate later.

expatriate

exile; someone who has withdrawn from his native land
Henry James was an American expatriate who settled in England.

expedient

suitable; practical; politic
A pragmatic politician, he was guided by what was expedient rather than by what was ethical.

expedite

hasten
We hope you will be able to expedite delivery because of our tight schedule.

expertise

specialized knowledge; expert skill
Although she was knowledgeable in a number of fields, she was hired for her particular expertise in
computer programming.

expiate

make amends for (a sin)
He tried to expiate his crimes by a full confession to the authorities.

expletive

interjection; profane oath
The sergeant's remarks were filled with expletives that offended the new recruits.

explicate

explain; interpret; clarify
Harry Levin explicated James Joyce's novels with such clarity that even Finnegan's Wake seemed
comprehensible to his students.

explicit

totally clear; definite; outspoken
Don't just hint around that you're dissatisfied: be explicit about what's bugging you.

exploit

deed or action, particularly a brave deed
Raoul Wallenberg was noted for his exploits in rescuing Jews from Hitler's forces.

exploit

make use of, sometimes unjustly
Caesar Chavez fought attempts to exploit migrant farmworkers in California.

expository

explanatory; serving to explain
The mannual that came with my VCR was no masterpiece of expository prose: its explanations were so
garbled that I couldn't even figure out how to rewind a tape.

expostulation

protest; remonstrance
Despite the teacher's scoldings and expostulations, the class remained unruly.

exposure

risk, particularly of being exposed to disease or to the elements; unmasking; act of laying
something open
Exposure to sun and wind had dried out her hair and weathered her face.

expunge

cancel; remove
If you behave, I will expunge this notation from your record.

expurgate

clean; remove offensive parts of a book
The editors felt that certain passages in the book had to be expurgated before it could be used in the
classroom.

extant

still in existence
Although the authorities suppressed the book, many copies are extant and may be purchased at exorbitant prices.

extemporaneous

not planned; impromtu
Because his extemporaneous remarks were misinterpreted, he decided to write all his speeches in advance.

extenuate

weaken; mitigate
It is easier for us to extenuate our own shortcomings than those of others.

extirpate

root up
The Salem witch trials were a misguided attempt to extirpate superstition and heresy.

extol

praise; glorify
The astronauts were extolled as the pioneers of the Space Age.

extort

wring from; get money by threats, etc.
The blackmailer extorted money from his victim.

extradition

surrender of prisoner by one state to another
The lawyers opposed the extradition of their client on the grounds that for more than five years he had
been a model citizen.

extraneous

not essential; external
Do not pad your paper with extraneous matters; stick to essential items only.

extrapolation

projection; conjecture
Based on their extrapolation from the results of the primaries on Super Tuesday, the networks predicted
that George Bush would be the Republican candidate for the presidency.

extricate

free; disentangle
He found that he could not extricate himself from the trap.

extrinsic

external; not inherent; foreign
Do not be fooled by extrinsic causes. We must look for the intrinsic reason.

extrovert

person interested mostly in external objects and actions
A good salesperson in usually an extrovert, who likes to mingle with people.

extrude

force or push out
Much pressure is required to extrude these plastics.

exuberant

abundant; effusive; lavish
His speeches were famous for his exuberant language and vivid imagery.

exude

discharge; give forth
The maple syrup is obtained from the sap that the trees exude in early spring.

exult

rejoice
We exulted when our team won the victory.

fabricate

build; lie
Because of the child's tendency to fabricate, we had trouble believing her.

facade

front of the building
The facade of the church had often been photographed by tourists because it was more interesting than
the rear.

facetious

humorous; jocular
Your facetious remarks are not appropriate at this serious moment.

facet

small plane surface (of a gem); a side
The stonecutter decided to improve the rough diamond by providing it with several facets.

facile

easy; expert
Because he was a facile speaker, he never refused a request to address an organization.

facilitate

make less difficult
He tried to facilitate repayment of the loan by getting a part-time job.

facsimilie

copy
Many museums sell facsimilies of the works of art on display.

faction

party; clique; dissension
The quarrels and bickering of the two small factions within the club disturbed the majority of the
members.

factious

inclined to form factions; causing dissension.
Your statement is factious and will upset the harmony that now exists.

factitous

artificial; sham
Hollywood actresses often create factitious tears by using glycerine.

factotum

handyman; person who does all kinds of work
Although we had hired him as a messenger, we soon began to use him as a general factotum around the
office.

faculty

mental or bodily powers; teaching staff
As he grew old, he feared he might lose his faculties and become useless to his employer.

fallacious

misleading
Your reasoning must be fallacious because it leads to a ridiculous answer.

fallible

liable to err
I know I am fallible, but I feel confident that I am right this time.

fallow

plowed but sowed; uncultivated Farmers have learned that it is advisable to permit land to le fallow every few years.

falter

hesitate
When told to dive off the high board, she did not falter, but proceeded at once.

fanaticism

excessive zeal
The leader of the group was held responsible even though he could not control the fanaticism of his
followers.

fancied

imagined; unreal
You are resenting fancied insults. No one has ever said such things about you.

fancier

breeder or dealer of animals
The dog fancier exhibited her prize collie at the annual Kennel Club show.

fanciful

whimsical; visionary
This is a fanciful scheme because it does not consider the facts.

fanfare

call by bugles or trumpets; showy display
The exposition was opened with fanfare of trumpets and the firing of cannon.

fantastic

unreal; grotesque; whimsical
Your fears are fantastic because no such animal as you have described exists.

farce

broad comedy; mockery
Nothing went right; the entire interview degenerated into a farce.

fastidious

difficult to please; squeamish
The waitresses disliked serving him dinner because of his very fastidious taste.

fatalism

belief that events are determined by forces beyond one's control
With fatalism, he accepted the hardships that beset him.

fathom

comprehend; investigate
I find his motives impossible to fathom.

fatuous

foolish; inane
He is far too intelligent to utter such fatuous remarks.

fauna

animals of a period or region
The scientist could visualize the fauna of the period by examining the skeletal remains and the fossils.

fawning

courting favor by cringing and flattering
She was constantly surrounded by a group of fawning admirers who had hoped to win some favor.

faze

disconcert; dismay
No crisis could faze the resourceful hotel manager.

feasible

practical This is an entirely feasible proposal. I suggest we adopt it.

febrile

feverish
In his febrile condition, he was subject to nightmares and hallucinations.

feckless

feeble, ineffective; unthinking, irresponsible
Einstein was noted for his extraordinary inspirations; on the other hand, he was noted for being feckless in
his daily chores.

fecundity

fertility; fruitfulness
The fecundity of his mind is illustrated by the many vivid images in his poems.

feign

pretend
Lady Macbeth feigned illness in the courtyard although she was actually healthy.

feint

trick; shift; sham blow
The boxer was fooled by his opponent's feint and dropped his guard.

felicitous

apt; suitably expressed; well chosen
He was famous for his felicitous remarks and was called upon to serve as master-of-ceremonies at many
banquet.

felicity

happines; appropriateness (of a remark, choice, etc.)
She wrote a note to the newlyweds wishing them great felicity in their wedded life.

fell

cruel; deadly
The newspapers told of the tragic spread of the fell disease

felon

person convicted of a grave crime
A convicted felon loses the right to vote

ferment

agitation; commotion
With the breakup of the Soviet Union, much of Eastern Europe was in a state of ferment.

ferret

drive or hunt out of hiding
She was ferreted out their secret.

fervent

ardent; hot
She felt that the fervent praise was excessive and somewhat undeserved.

fervid

ardent
Her fervid enthusiasm inspired all of us to undertake the dangerous mission.

fervor

glowing ardor
Their kiss was full of the fervor of first love.

fester

generate pus
When her finger began to fester, the doctor lanced it and removed the splinter that had caused the pus to
form.

fester

rankle, produce irritation or resentment
Joe's insult festered in Anne's mind for days, and made her too angry to speak to him.

festive

joyous; celebratory
Their wedding in the park was a festive occasion.

fete

honor at a festival
The returning hero was feted at a community supper and dance.

fetid

malodorous
The neglected wound became fetid.

fetter

shackle
The prisoner was fettered to the wall.

fiasco

total failure
Our ambitious venture ended in a fiasco and we were forced to flee.

fiat

command
I cannot accept government by fiat; I feel that I must be consulted.

fickle

changeable; faithless
He discovered his supposedly faithful girlfriend was fickle

fictitious

imaginary
Although this book purports to be a biography of George Washington, many of the incidents are fictitious.

fidelity

loyalty
A dog's fidelity to its owner is one of the reasons why that animal is a favorite household pet.

figment

invention; imaginary thing
That incident never took place; it is a figment of your imagination.

figurative

not literal, but metaphorical; using a figure of speech
"To lose one's marbles" is a figurative expression; if you're told Jack has lost his marbles, no one expects
you to rush out to buy him a replacement set.

figurine

small ornamental statuette
In the Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade was hired to trace the missing figurine of a black bird.

filch

steal
The boys filched apples from the fruit stand.

filial

pertaining to a son or daughter
Many children forget their filial obligations and disregard the wishes of their parents.

filibuster

block legislation by making long speeches
Even though we disapproved of Senator Foghorn's political goals, we were impressed by his ability to
filibuster endlessly to keep an issue from coming to a vote.

filigree

delicate, lacelike metalwork
The pendant with gold filigree that she wore round her neck trembled with each breath she took.

finale

conclusion
It is not until we reach the finale of this play that we can understand the author's message.

finesse

delicate skill
The finesse and adroitness of the surgeon impressed the observers in the operating room.

finicky

too particular; fussy
The old lady was finicky about her food and ate very little.

finite

limited
It is difficult for humanity with its finite existence to grasp the infinite.

firebrand

hothead; troublemaker
The police triedto keep track of all the local firebrands when the President came to town.

fissure

crevice
The mountain climbers secured footholds in tiny fissures in the rock.

fitful

spasmodic; intermittent
After several fitful attempts, he decided to postpone the start of the project until he felt more energetic.

flaccid

flabby
His sedentary life had left him with flaccid muscles.

flagrant

conspicuously wicked
We cannot condone such flagrant violations of the rules.

flag

droop; grow feeble
When the opposing hockey team scored its third goal only minutes into the first period, the home team's
spirits flagged.

flail

thresh grain by hand; strike or slap; toss about
In medieval times, warriors flailed their foe with a metal ball attached to a handle.

flair

talent
She has an uncanny flair for discovering new artists before the public has become aware of their existence.

flamboyant

ornate
Modern architecture has discarded the flamboyant trimming on buildings and emphasizes simplicity of line.

flaunt

display ostentatiously
She is not the one of those actresses who flaunt their physical charms; she can act.

flay

strip off skin; plunder
The criminal was condemned to be flayed alive.

fleck

spot
Her cheeks flecked with tears, were testimony to the hours of weeping.

fledgling

inexperienced
While it is necessary to provide these fledgling poets with an opportunity to present their work, it is not
essential that we admire everything they write.

fleece

rob; plunder
The tricksters fleeced him of his inheritance.

fleece

wool coat of a sheep
They shear sheep of their fleece, which they then comb into separate strands of wool.

flick

light stroke as with a whip
The horse needed no encouragement; only one flick of the whip was all the jockey had to apply to get the
animal to run at top speed.

flinch

hesitate; shrink
He did not flinch in the face of danger but fought back bravely.

flippancy

trifling gaiety
Your flippancy at this serious moment is offensive.

flit

fly; dart lightly; pass swiftly by
Like a bee flitting from flower to flower, Rose flitted from one boyfriend to the next.

floe

mass of floating ice
The ship made slow progress as it battered its way through the ice floes.

flora

plants of a region or era
Because she was a botanist, she spent most of her time studying the flora of the desert.

florid

flowery; ruddy
His complexion was even more florid than usual because of his anger.

flotsam

drifting wreckage
Beachcombers eke out a living by salvaging the flotsam and jetsam of the sea.

flourish

grow well; prosper; make sweeping gestures
The orange trees flourished in the sun.

flout

reject; mock
The headstrong youth flouted all authority; he refused to be curbed.

fluctuation

wavering
Meteorologists watch the fluctuations of the barometer in order to predict the weather.

fluency

smoothness of speech
He spoke French with fluency and ease.

fluke

unlikely occurrence; stroke of fortune When Douglass defeated Tyson for the heavyweight championship, some sportscasters dismissed his
victory as a fluke.

fluster

confuse
The teacher's sudden question flustered him and he stammered his reply.

fluted

having vertical parallel grooves (as in a pillar)
All that remained of the ancient building were the fluted columns.

flux

flowing; series of changes
While conditions are in such a state of flux, I do not wish to commit myself too deeply in this affair.

fodder

coarse food for cattle, horses etc.
One of Nancy's chores ar the ranch was to put fresh supplies of fodder in the horses' stalls.

foible

weakness; slight fault
We can overlook the foibles of our friends; no one is perfect.

foil

contrast
In "Star Wars," dark, evil Darth Vader is a perfect foil for fair-haired, naive Luke Skywalker.

foil

defeat; frustrate
In the end, Skywalker is able to foil Vader's diabolical schemes.

foist

insert improperly; palm off
I will not permit you to foist such ridiculous ideas upon the membership of this group.

foliage

masses of leaves
Every autumn before the leaves fell he promised himself he would drive though the New England to
admire the colorful fall foliage.

foment

stir up; instigate
This report will foment disssension in the club.

foolhardy

rash
Don't be foolhardy. Get the advice of experienced people before undertaking this venture.

foppish

vain about dress and appearance
He tried to imitate the foppish manner of the young men of the court.

foray

raid
The company staged a midnight foray against the enemy outpost.

forberance

patience
We must use forbearance in dealing with him because he is still weak from his illness.

ford

place where a river can be crossed on foot
Rather than risk using the shaky rope bridge, David walked a half-mile downstream until he came to the
neartest ford.

forebears

ancestors
Reverence for one's forebears (sometimes referred to as ancestor worship) plays an important part in many
Oriental cultures.

foreboding

premonition of evil
Caeser ridiculed his wife's foreboding about the Ides of March.

forensic

suitable to debate or courts of law
In her best forensic manner, the lawyer addressed the jury.

foreshadow

give an indication beforehand; portend; prefigure
In retrospect, political analysts realized that Yeltsin's defiance of the attempted coup foreshadowed his
emergence as the dominant figure of the new Russian republic.

foresight

ability to foresee future happenings; prudence
A wise investor, she had the foresight to buy land just before the current real estate boom.

forestall

prevent by taking action in advance
By setting up a prenuptial agreement, the prospective bride and groom hoped to forestall any potential
arguments about money in the event of a divorce.

forgo

give up; do without
Determined to lose weight for the summer, Ida decided to forgo dessert until she could fit into a size eight
again.

formality

adherence to established rules or procedures
Signing this petition is a mere formality; it does not obligate you in any way.

formidable

menacing; threatening
We must not treat the battle lightly for we are facing a formidable foe.

forsake

desert; abandon; renounce
No one expected Foster to forsake his wife and children and run off with another woman.

forswear

renounce; abandon
The captured knight could escape death only if he agreed to forswear Christianity and embrace Islam as the
one true faith.

forte

strong point or special talent
I am not eager to play this rather seious role, for my forte is comedy.

forthright

straightforward; direct; frank
I prefer Jill's forthright approach to Jack's tendency to beat around the bush.

fortitude

bravery; courage
He was awarded the medal for his fortitude in the battle.

fortuitous

accidental; by chance There is no connection between these two events; their timing is entirely fortuitous.

foster

rear; encourage
According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were fostered by a she-wolf that raised the abandoned
infants as her own.

founder

fail completely; sink
After hitting the submerged iceberg, the Titanic started taking in water rapidly and soon foundered.

founder

person who establishes (an organization, business)
Among those drowned when the Titanic sank was the founder of the Abraham & Straus chain.

fracas

brawl; melee
The military police stopped the fracas in the bar and arrested the belligerents.

fractious

unruly
The fractious horse unseated its rider.

frailty

weakness
The doctor prescribed vitamin and mineral supplements for the sick old woman because of her frailty.

franchise

right granted by authority
The city issued a franchise to the company to operate surface transit lines on the streets for ninety-nine
years.

frantic

wild
At the time of the collision, many people became frantic with fear.

fraudulent

cheating; deceitful
The government seeks to prevent fraudulent and misleading advertising.

fraught

filled
Since this enterprise is fraught with danger, I will ask for volunteers who are willing to assume the risks.

fray

brawl
The three musketeers were in the thick of fray.

frenetic

frenzied; frantic
His frenetic activities convinced us that he had no organized plan of operation.

frenzied

madly excited
As soon as they smelled smoke, the frenzied animals milled about in their cages.

fresco

painting in plaste (usually fresh)
The cathedral is visited by many tourists who wish to admire the frescoes by Glotto.

fret

to be annonyed or vexed
To fret over your poor grades is foolish; instead, decide to work harder in the future.

friction

clash in opinion; rubbing against
At this time when harmony is essential, we cannot afford to have any friction in our group.

frieze

ornamental band on a wall
The frieze of the church was adorned with sculpture.

frigid

intensely cold
Alaska is in the frigid zone.

fritter

waste
He could not apply himself to any task and frittered away his time in idle conversation.

frivolous

lacking in seriousness; self-indulgently carefree; relatively unimportant
Though Nancy enjoyed Bill's frivolous, lighthearted companionship, she sometimes wondered whether he
could ever be serious.

frolicsome

prankish; gay
The frolicsome puppy tried to lick the face of its master.

frond

fern leaf; palm or banana leaf
After the storm the beach was littered with the fronds of palm trees.

fructify

bear fruit
This peach tree should fructify in three years.

frugality

thrift; economy
In these economically difficult days businesses must practice frugality or risk bankruptcy.

fruition

bearing of fruit; fulfillment; realization
This building marks the fruition of all our aspirations and years of hard work.

fugitive

fleeting or transitory; roving
The film brought a few fugitive images to her mind, but on the whole it made no lasting impression upon
her.

fulcrum

support on which a lever rests
If we use this stone as a fulcrum and the crowbar as a lever, we may be able to move this boulder.

fulminate

thunder; explode
The people against whom she fulminated were innocent of any wrongdoing.

fulsome

disgustingly excessive
His fulsome praise of the dictator annoyed his listeners.

functionary

official
As his case was transferred from one functionary to another, he began to despair of ever reaching a
settlement.

fundamental

basic; primary; essential The committee discussed all sorts of side issues without ever getting down to addressing the fundamental
problem.

funereal

sad; solemn
I fail to understand why there is such a funereal atmosphere; we have lost a battle, not a war.

furor

frenzy; great excitement
The story of her embezzlement of the funds created a furor on the stock exchange.

furtive

stealthy; sneaky
The boy gave a furtive look at his classmate's test paper.

fusilade

simultaneous firing or outburs (of missiles, questions, etc.)
Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture concludes with a thunderous fusilade of cannon fire.

fusion

union; coalition
The opponents of the political party in power organized a fusion of disgruntled groups and became an
important element in the election.

futile

ineffective; fruitless
Why waste your time on futile pursuits?

gadfly

animal-biting fly; an irritating person
Like a gadfly, he irritated all the guests at the hotel; within forty eight hours, everyone regarded him as an
annoying busybody.

gaffe

social blunder
According to Miss Manners, to call your husband by your lover's name is worse than a mere gaffe; it is a
tactical mistake.

gainsay

deny
She was too honest to gainsay the truth of the report.

gait

manner of walking or running; speed
The lame man walked with an uneven gait.

galaxy

the Milky Way; any collection of brilliant personalities
The deaths of such famous actors as Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, and Marlene Dietrich
demonstrate that the galaxy of Hollywood superstars is rapidly disppearing.

galleon

large sailing ship
The Spaniards pinned their hopes on the galleon, the large warship; the British, on the smaller and faster
pinnace.

gall

annoy; chafe
Their taunts galled him.

gall

bitterness; nerve
The knowledge of his failure filled him with gall.

galvanize

stimulate by shock; stir up
The entire nation was galvanized into strong military activity by the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor.

gambit

opening in chess in which a piece is sacrificed
The player was afraid to accept his opponent's gambit because he feared a trap which as yet he could not
see.

gambol

skip; leap playfully
Watching children gamboling in the park is a pleasant experience

gamely

in a spirited manner; with courage
Because he had fought gamely against a much superior boxer, the crowd gave him a standing ovation when
he left the arena.

gamut

entire range
In this performance, the leading lady was able to demonstrate the complete gamut of her acting ability.

gape

open widely
The huge pit gaped before him; if he stumbled, he would fall in.

garbled

mixed up; jumbled; distorted
A favorite party game involves passing a whispered message from one person to another; by the time it
reaches the last player, the message has become totally garbled.

gargantuan

huge; enormous
The gargantuan wrestler was terrified of mice.

gargolye

waterspout carved in groteque figures on a building
The gargoyles adorning the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris are amusing in their grotesqueness.

garish

gaudy
She wore a garish rhinestone necklace.

garner

gather; store up
She hoped to garner the world's literature in one library.

garnish

decorate
Parsley was used to garnish the boiled potato.

garrulity

talkativeness
The man who married a dumb wife asked the doctor to make him deaf because of his wife's garrulity after her cure.

garrulous

excessively talkative, especially about unimportant subjects; loquacious; wordy
Many club members avoided the company of the garrulous junior executive because his contant chatter
bored them to tears.

gastronomy

science of preparing and serving good food
One of the by-products of his trip to Europe was his interest in gastronomy; he enjoyed preparing and
serving foreign dishes to his friends.

gauche

clumsy; boorish
Such remarks are gauche and out of place; you should apologize for making them.

gaudy

flashy; showy
Her gaudy taste in clothes apalled us.

gaunt

lean and angular; barren
His once-round face looked surprisingly gaunt after he had lost weight.

gawk

stare foolishly; look in open-mouthed awe
The country boy gawked at the skyscrapers and neon lights of the big city.

gazette

official publication
He read the gazettes regularly for announcement of his promotion.

genealogy

record of descent; lineage
He was proud of his genealogy and constantly referred to the achievements of his ancestors.

generality

vague statement
This report is filled with generalities; you must be more specific in you statements.

generic

characteristic of an entire class or species
Sue knew so many computer programmers who spent their spare time playing fantasy games that she
began to think that playing Dungeon & Dragons was a generic trait.

genesis

beginning; origin
Tracing the genesis of a family is the theme of "Roots.

geniality

cheerfulness; kindliness; sympathy
This restaurant is famous and popular because of the geniality of the proprietor, who tries to make
everyone happy.

genre

particular variety of art or literature
Both a short story writer and a poet, Langston Hughes proved himself equally skilled in either genre.

genteel

well-bred; elegant
We are looking for a man with a genteel apperance who can inspire confidence by his cultivated manner.

gentility

those of gentle birth; refinement Her family was proud of its gentility and elegance.

gentry

people of standing; class of people just below nobility
The local gentry did not welcome the visits of the summer tourists and tried to ignore their presence in the
community.

genuflect

bend the knee as in worship
A proud denocrat, he refused to genuflect to any man.

germane

pertinent; bearing upon the case at hand
The lawyer objected that the testimony being offered was not germane to the case at hand.

germinal

pertaining to a germ; creative
Such an idea is germinal; I am certain that it will influence thinkers and philosophers for many generations.

germinate

cause to sprout; sprout
After the seeds germinate and develop their permanent leaves, the plants may be removed from the cold
frames and transplanted to the garden.

gerontocracy

government ruled by old people
Gulliver visited a gerontocracy in which the young people acted as servants to their elders, all the while
dreaming of the day they would be old enough to have servants of their own.

gerrymander

change in voting district lines in order to favor a political party
The illogical pattern of the map of this congressional district is proof that the state legislature
gerrymandered this area in order to favor the majority party.

gestate

evolve, as in prenatal growth
While this scheme was being gestated by the conspirators, they maintained complete silence about their
intentions.

gesticulation

motion; gesture
Operatic performers are trained to make exaggerated gesticulations because of the large auditoriums in
whic they appear.

ghastly

horrible
The murdered man was a ghastly sight.

gibberish

nonsense; babbling
Did you hear that foolish boy spouting gibberish about monsters from outer space?

gibe

mock
As you gibe at their superstitious beliefs, do you realize that you, too, are guilty of similarly foolish
thoughts?

giddy

light-hearted; dizzy
He felt his giddy youth was past.

gingerly

very carefully To separate egg whites, first crack the egg gingerly.

girth

distance around something; circunference
It took an extra-large cummerbund to fit around Andrew Carnegie's considerable girth.

gist

essence
she was asked to give the gist of the essay in two sentence.

glacial

like a glacier; extremely cold
Never a warm person, when offended hugo could seem positively glacial.

glaring

highly conspicuous; harshly bright
glaring spelling or grammatical errors in your resume will unfavorably impress potential employers.

glaze

cover with a thin and shiny surface
The freezing rain glazed the streets and made driving hazardous.

glean

gather leavings
After the crops had been harvested by the machines, the peasants were permitted to glean the wheat left in
the fields.

glib

fluent
He is a glib and articulate speaker.

glimmer

shine erratically; twinkle
In the darkness of the cavern, the glowworms hanging from the cavern roof glimmered like distant stars.

gloat

express evil satisfaction; view malevolently
As you gloat over your ill-gotten wealth, do you think of the many victims you have defrauded?

glossary

brief explanation of words used in the text
I have found the glossary in this book very useful; it has eliminated many trips to the dictionary.

glossy

smooth and shining
I want this photograph printed on glossy paper, not matte.

gloss

over explain away
No matter how hard he tried to talk around the issue, President Bush could not gloss over the fact that he
had raised the taxes after all.

glower

scowl
The angry boy glowered at his father.

glutinous

sticky; viscous
Molasses is a glutinous substance.

glutton

someone who eats too much
When Mother saw that Bobby had eaten all the cookies, she called him a little glutton.

glut

overstock; fill to excess
The many manufacturers glutted the market and could not find purchasers for the many articles they had
produced.

gnarled

twisted
The gnarled oak tree had been a landmark for years and was mentioned in several deeds.

gnome

dwarf; underground spirit
In medieval mythology, gnomes were the special guardians and inhabitants of subterranean mines.

goad

urge on
He was goaded by his friends until he yielded to their wishes.

gorge

narrow canyon; steep, rocky cleft
Terrified of heights, George could not bring himself to peer down into the gorge to see the rapids below.

gorge

stuff oneself
The gluttonous guest gorged himself with food as though he had not eaten for days.

gory

bloody
The audience shuddered as they listened to the details of the gory massacre.

gossamer

sheer; like cobwebs
Nylon can be woven into gossaner or thick fabrics.

gouge

tear out
In that fight, all the rules were forgotten; the adversaries bit, kicked, and tried to gouge each other's eyes
out.

gourmand

epicure; person who takes excessive pleasure in food and drink
goumands lack self-restraint; if they enjoy a particular cuisine, they eat far too much of it.

gourmet

connoisseur of food and drink
The gourmet stated that this was the best onion soup she had ever tasted.

graduated

arraged by degree (of height, difficulty, etc.)
Margaret loved her graduated set of Russian hollow wooden dolls; she spent hours happily putting the
smaller dolls into their larger counterparts.

granary

storehouse for grain
We have reason to be thankful, for our crops were good and our granaries are full.

grandeur

impressiveness; stateliness; majesty
No matter how often he hiked through the mountains, David never failed to be struck by the grandeur of
the Sierra Nevada range.

grandiloquent

pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding language
The politician could bever speak simply; she was always grandiloquent.

grandiose

imposing; impressive
His grandiose manner impressed those who met him for the first time.

granulate

form into grains
Sugar that has been granulated dissolves more readily than lump sugar.

graphic

pertaining to the art of delineating; vividly described
I was particularly impressed by the graphic presentation of the storm.

grapple

wrestle; come to grips with
He grappled with the burglar and overpowered him.

grate

make a harsh noise; have an unpleasant effect; shred
The screams of the quarreling children grated on her nerves.

gratify

please
Her parents were gratified by her success.

gratis

free
The company offered to give one package gratis to every purchaser of one of their products.

gratuitous

given freely; unwarranted; uncalled for
Quit making gratuitous comments about my driving; no one asked you for your opinion.

gratuity

tip
Many service employees rely more on gratuities than on salaries for their livelihood.

gravity

seriousness
We could tell we were in serious trouble from the gravity of her expression.

gregarious

sociable
Typically, party-throwers are gregarious; hermits are not.

grievance

cause of complaint
When her supervisor ignored her complaint, she took her grievance to the union.

grill

question severely
In violation of the Miranda law, the police grilled the suspect for several hours before reading him his
rights.

grimace

a facial distortion to show feeling such as pain, disgust, etc.
Even though he remained silent, his grimace indicated his displeasure.

grisly

ghastly
She shuddered at the grisly sight.

grotesque

fantastic; comically hideous
On Halloween people enjoy wearing groteque costumes.

grotto

small cavern
The Blue Grotto in Capri can be entered only by small boats rowed by natives through a natural opening in
the rocks.

grouse

complain; fuss
Students traditionally grouse about the abysmal quality of "mystery meat" and similar dornitory food.

grovel

crawl or creep on ground; remain prostrate
Even though we have been defeated, we do not have to grovel before our conquerors.

grudging

unwilling; reluctant; stingy
We received only grudging support from the mayor despite his earlier promises of aid.

grueling

exhausting
The marathon is a grueling race.

gruel

thin, liquid porridge
Our daily allotment of gruel made the meal not only monotonous but also unpalatable.

gruesome

grisly
People screamed when her gruesome appearance was flashed on the screen.

gruff

rough-mannered
Although he was blunt and gruff with most people, he was always gentle with children.

guffaw

boisterous laughter
The loud guffaws that came from the closed room indicated that the members of the committe had not yet
settled down to a serious business.

guileless

without deceit
He is naive, simple, and guileless; he cannot be guilty of fraud.

guile

deceit; duplicity
She achieved her high position by guile and treachery.

guise

appearance; costume
In the guise of a plumber, the detective investigated the murder case.

gullible

easily deceived
He preyed upon gullible people, who believed his stories of easy wealth.

gustatory

affecting the sense of taste
The Thai restaurant offered an unusual gustatory experience for those used in a bland cuisine.

gusto

enjoyment; enthusiasm
He accepted the assignment with such gusto that I feel he would have been satisfied with a smaller salary.

gusty

windy
The gusty weather made sailing precarious.

gyroscope

apparatus used to maintain balance, ascertain direction, etc.
By using a rotating gyroscope, they were able to stabilize the vessel, counteracting the rolling movements
of the sea.
114. - apparatus used to maintain balance, ascertain direction, etc.

hackles

hairs on back and neck, especially of a dog
The dog's hackles rose and he began to growl as the sound of footsteps grew louder.

hackneyed

commonplace; trite
The English teacher criticized her story because of its hackneyed and unoriginal plot.

haggard

wasted away; gaunt
After his long illness, he was pale and haggard.

haggle

argue about prices
I prefer to shop in a store that has a one-price policy because, whenever I haggle with a shopkeeper, I am
never certain that I paid a fair price for the articles I purchased.

halcyon

calm; peaceful
In those halcyon days, people were not worried about sneak attacks and bombings.

hale

healthy
After a brief illness, he was soon hale.

hallowed

blessed; consecrated
She was laid to rest in hallowed ground.

hallucination

delusion
I think you were frightened by a hallucination that you created in you own mind.

halting

hesitant; faltering
Novice extemporaneous speakers often talk in a halting fashion as they grope for the right words.

hamper

obstruct
The minority party agreed not to hamper the efforts of the leaders to secure a lasting peace.

haphazard

random; by chance
His haphazard reading left him unaquainted with the authors of the books.

hapless

unfortunate
This hapless creature had never known a moment's pleasure.

hap

chance; luck
In his poem hap, Thomas Hardy objects to the part chance plays in our lives.

harangue

long, passionate, and vehement speech
In her lengthy harangue, the principal berated the offenders.

harass

annoy by repeated attacks
When he could not pay his bills as quickly as he had promised, he was harrassed by his creditors.

harbinger

forerunner
The crocus is an early harbinger of spring.

harbor

provide a refuge for; hide
The church harbored illegal aliens who were political refugees.

hardy

sturdy; robust; able to stand inclement weather
We asked the gardening expert to recommend particularly hardy plants that could withstand our harsh
New England winters.

harping

tiresome dwelling on a subject
After he had reminded me several times about what he had done for me I told him to stop his harping on
my indebtedness to him.

harrow

break up ground after plowing; torture
I don't want to harrow you at this time by asking you to recall the details of your unpleasant experience.

harry

harass, annoy, torment; raid
The guerrilla band harried the enemy nightly.

hatch

deck opening; lid covering a deck opening
The latch on the hatch failed to catch, so the hatch remained unlatched.

haughtiness

pride; arrogance
I resent his haughtiness because he is no better than we are.

hazardous

dangerous
Your occupation is too hazardous for insurance companies to consider your application.

hazy

slightly obscure
In hazy weather, you cannot see the top of this mountain.

headlong

hasty; rash
The slave seized the unexpected chance to make a headlong dash across the border to freedom.

headstrong

stubborn; willful; unyielding
Because she refused to marry the man her parents had chosen for her, everyone scolded Minna and called
her a foolish, headstrong girl.

heckler

person who verbally harasses others The heckler kept interrupting the speaker with rude remarks.

hedonism

belief that pleasure is the sole aim in life
hedonism and asceticism are opposing philosophies of human behavior.

heedless

not noticing; disregarding
He drove on, heedless of the warnings that the road was dangerous.

hegemony

dominance, especially of one nation over others
As one Eastern European nation after another declared its independence, commentators marveled at the
sudden breakdown of the once monolithic Soviet hegemony.

heinous

atrocious; hatefully bad
Hitler's heinous crimes will never be forgotten.

herbivorous

grain-eating
Some herbivorous animals have two stomachs for digesting their food.

heresy

opinion contrary to popular belief or to accepted religion
He was threatened with excommunication because his remarks were considered to be pure heresy.

heretic

person who maintains opinions contrary to the doctrines of the church
She was punished by the Spanish Inquisition because she was a heretic.

hermetic

obscure and mysterious; occult
It is strange to consider that modern chemistry originated in the hermetic teachings of the ancient
alchemists.

hermetic

sealed by fusion so as to be airtight
After these bandages are sterilized, they are placed in hermetic containers.

hermitage

home of a hermit
Even in his remote hermitage he could not escape completely from the world.

herpetologist

one who studies reptiles
As a boy, Indiana Jones had a traumatic experience involving snakes; sensibly enough, he studies to be
archaeologist, not a herpetologist.

heterodox

unorthodox; unconventional
To those who upheld the belief that the earth did not move, Galileo's theory that the earth circled the sun
was disturbingly heterodox.

heterogeneous

dissimilar
In a heterogeneous group, we have an unassorted assemblage, while in a homogeneous group we have
people or things that have common traits.

hew

cut to pieces with ax or sword
The cavalry rushed into melee and hewed the enemy with their swords.

heyday

time of greatest success; prime
In their heyday, the San Francisco Forty-Niners won the Super Bowl two years running.

hiatus

gap; pause
Except for a brief two-year hiatus, during which she enrolled in the Peace Corps, Ms. Clements has
devoted herself to her medical career.

hibernal

wintry
Bears prepare for their long hibernal sleep by overeating.

hibernate

sleep throughout the winter
Bears are one of the many species of animals that hibernate.

hierarchy

body divided into ranks
It was difficult to step out of one's place in this hierarchy.

hieroglyphic

picture writing
The discovery of the Rosetta Stone enabled scholars to read the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

hilarity

boisterous mirth
The hilarity is improper on this solemn day of mourning.

hindmost

furthest behind
The coward could always be found in the hindmost lines whenever a battle was being waged.

hindrance

block; obstacle
Stalled cars along the highway are a hindrance to traffic that tow trucks should remove without delay.

hinterlands

back country
They seldom had visitors, living as they did way out in the hinderlands.

hireling

one who serves for hire (usually used contemptuously)
In a matter of such importance, I do not wish to deal with hirelings; I must meet with the chief.

hirsute

hairy
He was a hitsute individual with a heavy black beard.

histrionic

theatrical
He was proud of his histrionic ability and wanted to paly the role of Hamlet.

hoard

stockpile; accumulate for future use
Whenever there are rumors of a food shortage, people are tempted to hoard food.

hoary

white with age
The man was hoary and wrinkled when he was 70.

hoax

trick; practical joke
Embarrassed by the hoax, he reddened and left the room.

holocaust

destruction by fire
Citizens of San Francisco remember that the destruction of the city was caused not by the earthquake but
by the holocaust that followed.

holster

pistol case
Even when he was not in uniform, he carried a holster and pistol under his arm.

homage

honor; tribute
In her speech she tried to pay homage to a great man.

homeostasis

tendency of a system to maintain relative stability
A breakdown of the body's immune system severely undermines the body's ability to maintain
homeostasis.

homespun

domestic; made at home
homespun wit, like homespun cloth, was often coarse and plain.

homily

sermon; serious warning
His speeches were always homilies, advising his listeners to repent and reform.

homogeneous

of the same kind
Many educators try to put pupils of similar abilities in the same class because they believe that his
homogeneous grouping is advisable.

hone

sharpen
To make shaving easier, he honed his razor with great care.

hoodwink

deceive; delude
Having been hoodwinked once by the fast-talking salesman, he was extremely cautious when he went to
purchase a used car.

horde

crowd
Just before Christmas the stores are filled with hordes of shoppers.

hortatory

encouraging; exhortive
The crowd listened to his hortatory statements with ever-growing excitement; finally they rushed from the
hall to carry to his suggestions.

horticultural

pertaining to cultivation of gardens
When he bought his house, he beganto look for flowers and decorative shrubs, and began to read books
dealing with horticultural matters.

hovel

shack; small, wretched house
He wondered how poor people could stand living in such a hovel.

hover

hang about; wait nearby
The police helicopter hovered above the accident.

hubbub

confused uproar The marketplace was a scene of hubbub and excitement.

hubris

arrogance; excessive self-conceit
Filled with hubris, Lear refused to heed his friends' warnings.

hue

color; aspect
The aviary contained birds of every possible hue.

hue

outcry
When her purse was snatched, she raised such a hue and cry that the thief was captured.

humane

kind
His humane and considerate treatment of the unfortunate endeared him to all.

humdrum

dull; monotonous
After years of adventure, he could not settle down to a humdrum existence.

humid

damp
She could not stand the humid climate and moved to a drier area.

humility

humbleness of spirit
He spoke with a humility and lack of pride that impressed his listeners.

hummock

small hill
The ascent of the hummock is not difficult and the view from the hilltop is ample reward tor the effort.

humus

substance formed by decaying vegetable matter
In order to improve his garden, he spread humus over his lawn and flower beds.

hurtle

crash; rush
The runaway train hurtled toward disaster.

husbandry

frugality; thrift; agriculture
He accumulated his small fortune by diligence and husbandry.

hybrid

mongrel; mixed breed
Mendel's formula explains the appearance of hybrids and pure species in breeding.

hydrophobia

fear of water; rabies
A dog that bites a human being must be observed for symptoms of hydrophobia.

hyperbole

exaggeration; overstatement
This salesman is guilty of hyperbole in describing his product; it is wise to discount his claims.

hypercritical

excessively exacting
You are hypercritical in your demands for perfection; we all make mistakes.

hypochondriac

person unduly worried about his health; worrier without cause about illness
The doctor prescribed chocolate pills for his patient who was a hypocondriac.

hypocritical

pretending to be virtuous; deceiving
I resent his hypocritical posing as a friend for I know he is interested only in his own advancement.

hypothetical

based on assumptions or hypotheses
Why do we have to consider hypothetical cases when we have actual case histories that we may examine?

ichthyology

study of fish
Jacques Cousteau's rpograms about sea life have advanced the cause of ichthyology.

iconoclastic

attacking cherished traditions
George Bernard Shaw's iconoclastic plays often startled more conventional people.

icon

religious image; idol
The icons on the walls of the church were painted in the 13th century.

ideology

ideas of a group of people
That ideology is dangerous to this country because it embraces undemocratic philosophies.

idiom

spcial usage in language
I could not understand their idioms because literal translation made no sense.

idiosyncrasy

peculiarity; eccentricity
One of his personal idiosyncrasies was his habit of rinsing all cutlery given him in a restaurant.

idiosyncratic

private; peculiar to an individual
Such behavior is idiosyncratic, it is as easily identifiable as a signature.

idolatry

worship of idols; excessive admiration
Such idolatry of singers of country music is typical of the excessive enthusiasm of youth.

idyllic

charmingly carefree; simple
Far from the city, she led an idyllic existence in her rural retreat.

igneous

produced by fire; volcanic
Lava, pumice, and other igneous rocks are found in great abundance around Mount Vesuvius near Naples.

ignite

kindle; light
When Desi crooned, "Baby, light my fire," literal-minded Lucy looked around for some paper to ignite.

ignoble

of lowly origin; unworthy
This plan is inspired by ignoble motives and I must, therefore, oppose it.

ignominious

disgraceful
The country smarted under the ignominious defeat and dreamed of the day when it would be victorious.

illicit

illegal
The defense attorney claimed that the police had entrapped his client; that is, they had elicited the illicit
action of which they now accuse of him.

illimitable

infinite
Human beings, having explored the far corners of the earth, are now reaching out into illimitable space.

illuminate

brighten; clear up or make understandable; enlighten
Just as a lamp can illuminate a dark room, a perceptive comment can illuminate a knotty problem.

illusion

misleading vision
It is easy to create an optical illusion in which lines of equal length appear different.

illusive

deceiving
This is only a mirage; let us not be fooled by its illusive effect.

illusory

deceptive; not real
Unfortunately, the costs of running the lemonade stand were so high that Tom's profits proved illusory.

imbalance

lack of balance or symmetry; disproportion
Because of the great imbalance between the number of men and women invited, the dance was
unsuccessful.

imbecility

weakness of mind
I am amazed at the imbecility of the readers of these trashy magazines.

imbibe

drink in
The dry soil imbibed the rain quickly.

imbroglio

complicated situation; perplexity; entanglement
He was called in to settle the imbroglio but failed to bring harmony into the situation.

imbue

saturate, fill
His visits to the famous Gothic cathedrals imbued him with feelings of awe and reverence.

immaculate

pure; spotless
The West Point cadets were immaculate as they lined up for inspection.

imminent

near at hand; impending
Rosa was such a last-minute worker that she could never start writing a paper till the deadline was
imminent.

immobility

state of being immovable
Modern armies cannot afford the luxury of immobility, as they are vulnerable to attack while standing still.

immolate

offer as a sacrifice
The tribal kind offered to immolate his daughter to quiet the angry gods.

immure

imprison; shut up in confinement For the two weeks before the examination, the student immureed himself in his room and concentrated
upon his studies.

immutable

unchangeable
Scientists are constantly seeking to discover the immutable laws of nature.

impair

worsen; diminish in value
This arrest will impair her reputation in the community.

impale

pierce
He was impaled by the spear hurled by his adversary.

impalpable

imperceptible; intangible
The ash is so fine that it is impalpable to the touch but it can be seen as a fine layer covering the window
ledge.

impasse

predicament from which there is no escape
In this impasse, all turned to prayer as their last hope.

impassive

without feeling; not affected by pain
The Native American has been incorrectly depicted as an impassive individual, undemonstrative and
stoical.

impeach

charge with crime in office; indict
The angry congressman wanted to impeach the President for his misdeeds.

impeccable

faultless
He was proud of his impeccable manners.

impecunious

without money
Now that he was wealthy, he gladly contributed to funds to assist impecunious and disbled persons.

impede

hinder; block
The special prosecutor determined that the Attorney General, though inept, had not intentionally set out to
impede the progress of the investigation.

impediment

hindrance; stumbling-block
She had a speech impediment that prevented her from speaking clearly.

impending

nearing; approaching
The entire country was saddened by the news of his impending death.

impenetrable

not able to be pierced or entered
How could the murderer have gotten into the locked room? To Watson, the mystery, like the room, was
impenetrable.

impenitent

not repentant
We could see by his brazen attitude that he was impenitent.

imperial

like an emperor; related to an empire
When hotel owner Leona Helmsley appeared in ads as Queen Leona standing guard over the Palace Hotel,
her critics mocked her imperial fancies.

imperiousness

lordliness; domineering manner; arrogance
His imperiousness indicated that he had long been accustomed to assuming command.

impermeable

impervious; not permitting passage through its substance
This new material is impermeable to liquids.

impertinent

insolent
I regard your remarks as impertinent and I resent them.

imperturbable

calm; placid
Wellington remained imperturbable and in full command of the situation in spite of the hyteria and panic
all around him.

impervious

not penetrable; not permitting passage through
You cannot change their habits for their minds are impervious to reasoning.

impetuous

violent; hasty; rash
We tried to curb his impetuous behavior because we felt that in his haste he might offend some people.

impetus

moving force; incentive; stimulus
A new federal highway program would create jobs and five added impetus to our economic recovery.

impiety

irreverence; wickedness
We must regard your blasphemy as an act of impiety.

impinge

infringe; touch; collide with
How could they be married without impinging on one another's freedom?

impious

irreverent
The congregation was offended by her impious remarks.

implacable

incapable of being pacified
Madame Defarge was the implacable enemy of the Evremonde family.

implausible

unlikely; unbelievable
Though her alibi seened implausible, it in fact turned out to be true.

implement

put into effect; supply with tools
The mayor was unwilling to implement the plan until she was sure it had the governor's backing.

implication

that which is hinted at or suggested
If I understand the implications of your remark, you do not trust our captain.

implicit

understood but not stated
Jack never told Jill he adored her; he believed his love was implicit in his deeds.

implore

beg
He implored her to give him a second chance.

imply

suggest a meaning not expressed
Even though your statement does not declare that you are at war with that country, your actions imply that
that is the actual situation.

impolitic

not wise
I think it is impolitic to raise this issue at the present time because the public is too angry.

imponderable

weightless
I can evaluate the data gathered in this study; the imponderable items are not so easily analyzed.

importunate

urging; demanding
He tried to hide from his importunate creditors until his allowance arrived.

importune

beg persistently
Democratic and Republican phone solicitors importuned her for contributions so frequently that she
decided to give nothing to either party.

import

significance
I feel that you have not grasped the full import of the message sent tous by the enemy.

imposture

assuming a false identity; masquerade
She was imprisoned for her imposture of a doctor.

impotent

weak; ineffective
Although he wished to break the nicotine habit, he found himself impotent in resisisting the craving for a
cigarette.

imprecation

curse
Roused from the bed at what he considered an ungodly hour, Roy muttered imprecations under his breath.

impregnable

invulnerable
Until the development of the airplane as a military weapon, the fort was considered impregnable.

impromptu

without previous preparation
Her listeners were amazed that such a thorough presentation could be made in an impromptu speech.

impropriety

state of being inappropriate
Because of the impropriety of his costume, he was denied entrance into the dining room.

improvident

thriftless
He was constantly being warned to mend his improvident ways and begin to "save for a rainy day.

improvise

compose on the spur of the moment
She would sit at the piano and improvise for hours on themes from Bach and Handel.

imprudent

lacking caution; injudicious
It is imprudent to exercise vigorously and become overheated when you are unwell.

impugn

doubt; challenge; gainsay
I cannot impugn your honesty without evidence.

impuissance

powerlessness; feebleness
The lame duck President was frustrated by his shift from enormous power to relative impuissance.

impunity

freedom from punishment
The bully mistreated everyone in the class with impunity for he felt that no one would dare retaliate.

impute

attribute; ascribe
If I wished to impute blame to the officers in charge of this program, I would state my feelings definitely
and immediately.

inadvertently

carelessly; unintentionally; by oversight
She inadvertently omitted two questions on the examination and mismarked her answer sheet.

inalienable

not to be taken away; nontransferable
The Declaration of Independence mentions the inalienable rights that all of us possess.

inane

silly; senseless
Such comments are inane because they do not help us solve our program.

inanimate

lifeless
she was asked to identify the still and inanimate body.

inarticulate

speechless; producing indistinct speech
He became inarticulate with rage and uttered sounds without meaning.

inaugurate

begin formally; install in office
The candidate promised that he would inaugurate a new nationwide health care plan as soon as he was
inaugurated as president.

incandescent

stikingly bright; shining with intense heat
If you leave on an incandescent light bulb, it quickly grows too hot to touch.

incantation

singing or chanting of magical formula
Uttering incantations to make the brew more potent, the witch doctor stirred the liquid in the caldron.

incapacitate

disable
During the winter, many people were incapacitated by respiratory ailments.

incarcerate

imprison
The warden will incarcerate the felon after conviction.

incarnate

endowed with flesh; personified
Your attitude is so fiendish that you must be a devil incarnate.

incarnation

act of assuming a human body and human nature
The incarnation of Jesus Christ is a basic tenet of Christian theology.

incendiary

arsonist
The fire spread in such an unusual manner that the fire department chiefs were certain that it had been set
by an incendiary.

incense

enrage; infuriate
Unkindness to children incensed her.

incentive

spur; motive
Students who dislike school must be given an incentive to learn.

inception

start; beginning
She was involved with the project from its inception.

incessant

uninterrupted
The crickets kept up an incessant chirping that disturbed our attempts to fall asleep.

inchoate

recently begun; rudimentary; elementary
Before the Creation, the world was an inchoate mass.

incidence

rate of occurrence; particular occurrence
Health professionals expressed great concern over the high incidence of infant mortality in major urban
areas.

incidental

not essential; minor
The scholarship covered his major expenses at college and some of his incidental expenses as well.

incipient

beginning; in an early stage
I will go to sleep early for I want to break an incipient cold.

incisive

cutting; sharp
His incisive remarks made us see the fallacy in our plans.

incite

arouse to action
The demogogue incited the mob to take action into its own hands.

inclement

stormy; unkind
I like to read a good book in inclement weather.

inclined

tending or leaning toward; bent
Though I am inclined to be skeptical, the witness's manner inclines me to believe his story.

incline

slope; slant
The architect recommended that the nursing home's ramp be rebuilt because its incline was too steep for
wheelchairs.

inclusive

tending to include all
The comedian turned down the invitation to join the Player's Club, saying any club that would let him in
was too inclusive for him.

incognito

with identity concealed; using an assumed name
The monarch enjoyed traveling throughthe town incognito and mingling with the populace.

incoherent

unintelligible; muddled; illogical
The bereaved father sobbed and stammered, his words becoming almost incoherent in his grief.

incommodious

not spacious; inconvenient
In their incommodious quarters, they had to improvise for closet space.

incompatible

inharmonious
The married couple argued incessantly and finally decided to separate because they were incompatible.

incongruity

lack of harmony; absurdity
The incongruity of his wearing sneakers with formal attire amused the observers.

inconsequential

insignificant; unimportant
Brushing off Ali's apologies for having broken the wine glass, Tamara said, "Don't worry about it; it's
inconsequential.

inconsistency

state of being self-contradictory; lack of uniformity or steadiness
How are lawyers different from agricultural inspectors? Where lawyers check inconsistencies in witnesses'
statements, agricultural inspectors check inconsistencies in Grade A eggs.

incontinent

lacking self-restraint
His incontinent behavior off stage shocked many people and they refused to attend the plays and movies
in which he appeared.

incontrovertible

indisputable
We must yield to the incontrovertible evidence that you have presented and free your client.

incorporate

introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite
Breaking with precedent, President Truman ordered the military to incorporate blacks into every branch of
the armed services.

incorporeal

immaterial; without a material body
We must devote time to the needs of our incorporeal mind as well as our corporeal body.

incorrigible

uncorrectable
Though Widow Douglass hoped to reform Huck, Miss Watson pronounced him incorrigible and said he
would come to no good end.

incredulity

a tendency to disbelief
Your incredulity in the face of all the evidence is hard to understand.

incredulous

withholding belief; skeptical When Jack claimed he hadn't eaten the jelly doughnut, Jill took an incredulous look at his smeared face and
laughed.

increment

increase
The new contract calls for a 10 percent increment in salary for each employee for the next two years.

incriminate

accuse; serve as evidence against
The witness's testimony against the racketeers incriminates some high public officials as well.

incubate

hatch; scheme
Inasmuch as our supply of electricity is cut off, we shall have to rely on the hens to incubate these eggs.

incubus

burden; mental care; nightmare
The incubus of financial worry helped bring on her nervous breakdown.

incumbent

officeholder
The newly elected public official received valuable advice from the present incumbent.

incursion

temporary invasion
The nightly incursions and hit-and-run raids of our neighbors across the border tried the patience of the
country to the point where we decided to retaliate in force.

incur

bring upon oneself
His parents refused to pay any future debts he might incur.

indefatigable

tireless
He was indefatigable in his constant efforts to raise funds for the Red Cross.

indemnify

make secure against loss; compensate for loss
The city will indemnify all home owners whose property is spoiled by this project.

indenture

bind as servant or apprentice to master
Many immigrants could come to America only after they had indentured themselves for several years.

indeterminate

uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite
That interest rates shall rise appears certain; when they will do so, however, remains indeterminate.

indicative

suggestive; implying
A lack of appetite may be indicative of a major mental or physical disorder.

indict

charge
If the grand jury indicts the suspect, he will go to trial.

indifferent

unmoved; lacking concern
Because she felt no desire to marry, she was indifferent to his constant proposals.

indigence

poverty
Neither the economists nor the political scientists have found a way to wipe out the inequities of wealth
and eliminate indigence from our society.

indigenous

native
Tobacco is one of the indigenous plants that the early explorers found in this country.

indignation

anger ar an injustice
He felt indignation at the ill-treatment of the helpless animals.

indignity

offensive or insulting treatment
Although he seemed to accept cheerfully the indignities heaped upon him, he was inwardly very angry.

indiscriminate

choosing at random; confused
She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing and decided to restrict him to educational
programs.

indisputable

too certain to be disputed
In the face of these indisputable statements, I withdraw my complaint.

indissoluble

permanent
The indissoluble bonds of marriage are all too often being dissolved.

indite

write; compose
Cyrano indited many letters for Christian.

indolence

laziness
He outgrew his youthful indolence to become a model of industry and alertness on the job.

indomitable

unconquerable
The founders of our country had indomitable willpower.

indubitably

beyond a doubt
Because her argument was indubitably valid, the judge accepted it.

induce

persuade; bring about
After the quarrel, Tina said nothing could induce her to talk to Tony again.

inductive

pertaining to induction or preceeding from the specific to the general
The discovery of the planet Pluto is an excellent example of the results that can be obtained from inductive
reasoning.

indulgent

humoring; yielding; lenient
indulgent parents spoil their children by giving in to their every whim.

inebriety

habitual intoxication
Because of his inebriety, he was discharged from his position as family chauffeur.

ineffable

unutterable; cannot be expressed in speech
Such ineffable joy must be experienced; it cannot be described.

ineffectual

not effective; weak Because the candidate failed to get across his message to the public, his campaign was ineffectual.

ineluctable

irresistable; not to be escaped
He felt that his fate was ineluctible and refused to make any attempt to improve his lot.

inept

lacking skill; inadequate; inappropriate
inept as a carpenter, Ira was all thumbs.

inequity

unfairness
In demanding equal pay for equal work, women protest the basic inequity of a system that allots greater
financial rewards to men.

inerrancy

infallibility
Jane refused to believe in the pope's inerrancy, reasoning: "All human beings are capable of error. The
pope is a human being. Therefore, he pope is capable of error.

inertia

state of being inert or indisposed to move
Our inertia in this matter may prove disastrous; we must move to aid our allies immediately.

inevitable

unavoidable
Death and taxes are both inevitable.

inexorable

relentless; unyielding; implacable
After listening to the pleas for clemency, the judge was inexorable and gave the convicted man the
maximum punishment allowed by law.

infallible

unerring
We must remember that none of us is infallible; we all make mistakes.

infamous

notoriously bad
Jesse James was an infamous outlaw.

infantile

childish; infantlike
When will he outgrow such infantile behavior?

infernal

pertaining to hell; devilish
They could think of no way to hinder his infernal scheme.

infer

deduce; conclude
We must be particularly cautious when we infer that a person is guilty on the basis of circumstantial
evidence.

infidel

unbeliever
The Saracens made war against tne infidels.

infiltrate

pass into or through; penetrate (an organization) sneakily
In order to infiltrate enemy lines at night without being seen, the scouts darkened their faces and wore
black coveralls.

infinitesimal

very small
In the twentieth century, physicists have made their greatest discoveries about the characteristics of
infinitesimal objects like the atom and its parts.

infirmity

weakness
Her greatest infirmity was lack of willpower.

inflated

exaggerated; pompous; enlarged (with air or gas)
His claims about the new product were inflated; it did not work as well as he had promised.

influx

flowing into
The influx of refugees into the country has taxed the relief agencies severely.

infraction

violation
Because of his many infractions of school regulations, he was suspended by the dean.

infringe

violate; encroach
I think your machine infringes on my patent and intend to sue.

ingenious

clever
He came up with a use for Styrofoam packing balls that was so ingenious that his business school
professors declared it was marketable.

ingenuous

naive; young and unsophisticated
Although she was over forty, the movie star still insisted that she be cast as an ingenuous sweet young
thing.

ingrained

deeply established; firmly rooted
Try as they would, the missionaries were unable to uproot the ingrained superstitions of the natives.

ingrate

ungrateful person
That ingrate Bob sneered at the tie I gave him.

ingratiate

become popular with
He tried to ingratiate himself into her parents' good graces.

inherent

firmly established by nature or habit
His inherent love of justice compelled him to come to their aid.

inhibit

prohibit; restrain
The child was not inhibited in her responses.

inimical

unfriendly; hostile
She felt that they were inimical and were hoping for her downfall.

inimitable

matchless; not able to be imitated
We admire Auden for his inimitable use of language; he is one of a kind.

iniquitous

unjust; wicked I cannot approve of the iniquitous methods you used to gain your present position.

initiate

begin; originate; receive into a group
The college is about to initiate a program for reducing math anxiety among students.

injurious

harmful
Smoking cigarettes can be injurious to your health.

inkling

hint
This came as a complete surprise to me as I did not have the slightest inkling of your plans.

innate

inborn
His innate talent for music was soon recognized by his parents.

innocuous

harmless
Let him drink it; it is innocuous and will have no ill effect.

innovation

change; introduction of something new
She loved innovatins just because they were new.

innuendo

hint; insinuation
I can defend myself against direct accusations; innuendos and oblique attacks on my character are what
trouble me.

inopportune

untimely; poorly chosen
A rock concert is an inopportune setting for a quiet conversation.

inordinate

unrestrained; excessive
She had an inordinate fondness for candy.

inquisitive

unduly curious; prying; seeking knowledge
We need more inquisitive students in this school; lectures are dull.

inquisitor

questioner (specially harsh); investigator
Fearing being grilled ruthlessly by the secret police, Marsha faced her inquisitors with trepidation.

insalubrious

unwholesome; not healthful
The mosquito-ridden swamp was an insalubrious place, a breeding ground for malarial contagion.

insatiable

not easily satisfied; greedy
Welty's thirst for knowledge was insatiable; she was in the library day and night.

inscrutable

impenetrable; not readily understood; mysterious
Experienced poker players try to keep their expressions inscrutable, hiding their reactions to the cards
behind a so-called poker face.

insensate

without feeling
She lay there as insensate as a log.

insensible

unconscious; unresponsive
Sherry and I are very different; at times when I would be covered with embarrassment, she seems
insensible to shame.

insidious

treacherous; stealthy; sly
The fifth column is insidious because it works secretly within our territory for our defeat.

insinuate

hint; imply
What are you trying to insinuate by that remark?

insipid

lacking in flavor; dull
Flat prose and flat ginger ale are equally insipid: both lack sparkle.

insolence

imprudent disrespect; haughtiness
How dare you treat me so rudely! The manager will hear of you insolence.

insolvent

bankrupt; lacking money to pay
When rumors that he was insolvent reached his creditors, they began to press him for payment of the
money due them.

insomnia

wakefulness; inability to sleep
He refused to join us in a midnight cup of coffee because he claimed it gave him insomnia.

insouciant

indifferent; without concern or care
Your insouciant attitude at such a critical moment indicates that you do not understand the gravity of the
situation.

instigate

urge; start; provoke
I am afraid that this statement will instigate a revolt.

insubordinate

disobedient
The insubordinate private was confined to the barracks.

insubstantial

lacking substance; insignificant; frail
His hopes for a career in acting proved insubstantial; no one would cast him, even in an insubstantial role.

insularity

narrow-mindedness; isolation
The insularity of the islanders manifested itself in their suspicion of anyuthing foreign.

insuperable

insurmountable; invincible
In the face of insuperable difficulties they maintained their courage and will to resist.

insurgent

rebellious
We will not discuss reforms until the insurgent troops have returned to their homes.

insurrection

rebellion; uprising
Given the current state of affairs in South Africa, an insurrection seems unavoidable.

intangible

not able to be perceived by touch; vague
Though the financial benefits of his Oxford post were meager, Lewis was drawn to it by its intangible
rewards: prestige, intellectual freedom, the fellowship of his peers.

integral

complete; necessary for completeness
Physical education is an integral part of our curriculum; a sound mind and a sound body are
complementary.

integrate

make whole; combine; make into one unit
She tried to integrate all their activities into one program.

integrity

uprightness; wholeness
Lincoln, whose personal integrity has inspired millions, fought a civil war to maintain the integrity of the
republic, that these United States might remain undivided for all time.

intellect

higher mental powers
He thought college would develop his intellect.

intelligentsia

intellectuals; members of the educated elite
She preferred discussions about sports and politics to the literary conversations of the intelligentsia.

interdict

prohibit; forbid
Civilized nations must interdict the use of nuclear weapons if we expect out society to live.

interim

meantime
The company will not consider our proposal until next week; in the interim, let us proceed as we have in
the past.

interloper

intruder
The merchant thought of his competitors as interlopers who were stealing away his trade.

interminable

endless
Although his speech lasted for only twenty minutes, it seemed interminable to his bored audience.

intermittent

periodic; on and off
Our picnic was marred by intermittent rains.

internecine

mutually destructive
The rising death toll on both sides indicates the internecine natire of his conflict.

interpolate

insert between
She talked so much that I could not interpolate a single remark.

interregnum

period between two reigns
Henry VIII desperately sought a male heir because he feared the civil strife that might occur if any
prolonged interregum succeeded his death.

interrogate

question closely; cross-examine
Knowing that the Nazis would interrogate him about his background, the secret agent invented a cover
story that would help him meet their quesions.

intersperse

scatter
The molecules will intersperse throughout the space according to the second law of thermodynamics.

intervene

come between
She intervened in the argument between her two sons.

inter

bury
They are going to inter the body tomorrow ar Broadlawn Cemetry.

intimate

hint
She intimated rather than stated her preferences.

intimidation

fear
A ruler who maintains his power by intimidation is bound to develop clandestine resistance.

intractable

unruly; refractory
The horse was intractable and refused to enter the starting gate.

intransigence

state of stubborn unwillingness to compromise
The intransigence of both parties in the dispute makes an early settlement almost impossible to obtain.

intrepid

fearless
For his intrepid conduct in battle, he was promoted.

intrinsically

essentially; inherently; naturally
Although my grandmother's china has intrinsically little value, I shall always cherish it for the memories it
evokes.

introspective

looking within oneself
We all have our introspective moments during which we examine our souls.

introvert

one who is introspective; inclined to think more about oneself
In his poetry, he reveals that he is an introvert by his intense interest in his own problems.

intrude

trespass; enter as an uninvited person
She hesitated to intrude on their conversation.

intuition

power of knowing without reasoning
She claimed to know the truth by intuition.

inundate

overflow; flood
The tremendous waves inundated the town.

inured

accustomed; hardened
She became inured to the Alaskan cold.

invalidate

weaken; destroy
The relatives who received little or nothing sought to invalidate the will by claiming that the deceased had
not been in his right mind when he signed the document.

invective

abuse
He had expected criticism but not the invective that greeted his proposal.

inveigh

denounce; utter censure or invective He inveighed against the demagoguery of the previous speaker and urged that the audience reject his
philosophy as dangerous.

inveigle

lead astray; wheedle
She was inveigled into joining the club after an initial reluctance.

inverse

opposite
There is an inverse ratio between the strength of light and its distance.

invert

turn upside down or inside out
When he inverted his body in a hand stand, he felt the blood rush to his head.

inveterate

deep-rooted; habitual
She is an inveterate smoker and cannot break the habit.

invidious

designed to create ill will or envy
We disregarded her invidious remarks because we realized how jealous she was.

invincible

unconquerable
Superman is invincible.

inviolability

security from being destroyed, corrupted or profaned
They respected the inviolability of her faith and did not try to change her manner of living.

invoke

call upon; ask for
She invoked her advisor's aid in filling out her financial aid forms.

invulnerable

incapable of injury
Achilles was invulnerable except in his heel.

iota

very small quantity
She hadn't an iota of common sense.

irascible

irritable; easily angered
Her irascible temper frightened me.

irate

angry
When John's mother found out that he had overthrown his checking account for the third month in a row,
she was so irate that she could scarcely speak to him.

iridescent

exhibiting rainbowlike colors
She admired the iridescent hues of the oil that floated on the surface of the water.

irksome

annoying; tedious
He found working on the assembly line irksome because of the monotony of the operation he had to
perform.

ironic

occurring in an unexpected and contrary manner
It is ironic that his success came when he least wanted it.

irony

hidden sarcasm or satire; use of words that convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning
Gradually his listeners began to realize that the excessive praise he was lavishing was merely irony; he was
actually denouncing his opponent.

irreconsilable

incompatible; not able to be resolved
Because the separated couple were irreconcilable, the marriage counselor recommended a divorce.

irrelevant

not applicable; unrelated
This statement is irrelevant and should be disregarded by the jury.

irremediable

incurable; uncorrectable
The error she made was irremediable; she could see no way to repair it.

irreparable

not able to be corrected or repaired
Your apology cannot atone for the irreparable damage you have done to her reputation.

irrepressible

unable to be restrained or held back
Her high spirits were irrepressible.

irresolute

uncertain how to act; weak
She had no respect for him because he seemed weak-willed and irresolute.

irreverent

lacking proper respect
The worshippers resented her irreverent remarks about their faith.

irrevocable

unalterable
Let us not brood over past mistakes since they are irrevocable.

isotope

varying form of an element
The study of the isotopes of uranium led to the development of the nuclear bomb.

isthmus

narrow neck of land connecting two larger bodies of land
In a magnificent feat of engineering, Goethals and his men cut through the isthmus of Panama in
constructing the Panama Canal.

itinerant

wandering; traveling
He was an itinerant peddler and traveled through Pennsylvania and Virginia selling his wares.

itinerary

plan of a trip
Before leaving for his first visit to France and England, he discussed his itinerary with people who had
been there and with his travel agent.

jaded

fatigued; surfeited
He looked for exotic foods to stimulate his jaded appetite.

jargon

language used by special group; gibberish
We tried to understand the jargon of the peddlers in the market place but could not find any basis for
comprehension.

jaundiced

yellowed; prejudiced; envious
She gazed at the painting with jaundiced eyes; she knew it was better than hers.

jaunty

lighthearted; animated; easy and carefree
In Singing in the Rain, Gene Kelly sang and danced his way throughtthe lighthearted title number in a
properly jaunty style.

jaunt

trip; short journey
He took a quick jaunt to Atlantic City.

jeopardy

exposure to death or danger
Legally, one cannot be placed in double jeopardy.

jettison

throw overboard
In order to enable the ship to ride safely through the storm, the captain had to jettison much of his cargo.

jingoism

extremely aggressive and militant patriotism
We must be careful to prevent a spirit of jingoism from spreading at this time.

jocose

given to joking
The salesman was so jocose that many of his customers suggested that he become a stand-up comic.

jocular

said or done in jest
Do not take my jocular remarks seriously.

jocund

merry
Santa Claus is always vivacious and jocund.

jollity

gaiety; cheerfulness
The festive Christmas dinner was a merry one, and old and young alike joined in the general jollity.

jostle

shove; bump
In the subway he was jostled by the crowds.

jovial

good natured; merry
A frown seemed out of place on his invariably jovial face.

jubilation

rejoicing
There was great jubilitation when the armistice was announced.

judicious

sound in judgment; wise
At a key moment in his life, he made a judicious investment that was the foundation of his later wealth.

juggernaut

irresistible crushin force
Nothing could survive in the path of the juggernaut.

juncture

crisis;joining point
At this critical juncture, let us think carefully before determining the course we shall follow.

junket

trip, especially one taken for pleasure by an official at public expense
Though she maintained she had gone abroad to collect firsthand data on the Common Market, the
opposition claimed that her trip was merely a political junket.

junta

group of persons joined in political intrigue; cabal
As soon as he learned of its existence, the dictator ordered the execution of all of the members of the
junta.

jurisprudence

science of law
He was more a student of jurisprudence than a practitioner of the law.

juxtapose

place side by side
Comparison will be easier if you juxtapose the two objects.

kaleidoscope

tube in which patterns made by the reflection in mirrors of colored pieces of glass, etc.,
produce interesting symmetrical effects
People found a new source of entertainment while peering through the kaleidoscope; they found the ever-
changing patterns fa

ken

range of knowledge
I cannot answer your question since this matter is beyond my ken.

killjoy

grouch; spoilsport
At breakfast we had all been enjoying our bacon and eggs until that killjoy John started talking about how
bad animal fats and cholesterol were for our health.

kindle

start a fire; inspire
Her teacher's praise kindled a spark a hope inside her.

kindred

related; similar in nature or character
Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were two kindred spirits.

kinetic

producing motion
Designers of the electric automobile find that their greatest obstacle lies in the development of light and
efficient storage batteries, the source of the kinetic energy needed to propel the vehicle.

kismet

fate
kismet is the Arabic word for "fate.

kleptomaniac

person who has a compulsive desire to steal
They discovered that the wealthy customer was a kleptomaniac when they caught her stealing some cheap
trinkets.

knavery

rascality
We cannot condone such knavery in public officials.

knead

mix; work dough
Her hands grew strong from kneading bread.

knell

tolling of a bell, especially to indicate a funeral, disaster, etc.; sound of the funeral bell
"The curfew tolls the knell of parting day.

knit

contract into wrinkles
Whenever David worries, his brow knits in a frown.

knoll

little, round hill
Robert Louis Stevenson's grave is on a knoll in Samoa; to reach the grave site, you must climb uphill and
walk a short distance along a marked path.

knotty

intricate; difficult; tangled
What to Watson had been a knotty problem to Sherlock Holmes was simplicity itself.

kudos

honor; glory; praise
The singer complacently received kudos on his performance from his entourage.

labile

likely to change; unstable
Because the hormonal changes they undergo affect their spirits, adolescents may become emotionally labile
and experience sudden shifts of mood.

laborious

demanding much work or care; tedious
In putting together his dictionary of the English language, Doctor Johnson undertook a laborious task.

labyrinth

maze
Tom and Becky were lost in the labyrinth of secret caves.

lacerate

mangle; tear
Her body was lacerated in the automobile crash.

lachrymose

producing tears
His voice has a lachrymose quality that is more appropriate at a funeral than a class reunion.

lackadaisical

affectedly languid
He was lackadaisical and indifferent about his part in the affair.

lackluster

dull
We were disappointed by the lackluster performance.

laconic

brief and to the point
Many of the characters portrayed by Clint Eastwood are laconic types: strong men of few words.

laggard

slow; sluggish
The sailor had been taught not to be laggard in carrying out orders.

lagoon

shallow body of water near a sea; lake
They enjoyed their swim in the calm lagoon.

laity

laypersons; persons not connected with the clergy
The laity does not always understand the clergy's problems.

lambaste

beat; thrash verbally or physically
It was painful to watch the champion lambaste his opponent, tearing into him mercilessly.

lament

grieve; express sorrow
Even advocates of the war lamented the loss of so many lives in combat.

lampoon

ridicule
This article lampoons the pretensions of some movie moguls.

languid

weary; sluggish; listless
Her siege of illness left her languid and pallid.

languish

lose animation; lose strength
In stories, lovelorn damsels used to languish and pine away.

languor

lassitude; depression
His friends tried to overcome the languor into which he had fallen by taking him to parties and to the
theater.

lank

long and thin
lank, gaunt, Abraham Lincoln was a striking figure.

larceny

theft
Because of the prisoner's record, the district attorney refused to reduce the charge from grand larceny to
petit larceny.

larder

pantry; place where food is kept
The first thing Bill did on returning home from school was to check what snacks his mother had in the
larder.

largess

generous gift
Lady Bountiful distributed largess to the poor.

lascivious

lustful
Because they might arouse lascivious impulses in their readers, the lewd books were banned by the clergy.

lassitude

languor; weariness
The hot, tropical weather created a feeling of lassitude and encouraged drowsiness.

latent

dormant; hidden
Her latent talent was discovered by accident.

lateral

coming from the side
In order to get good plant growth, the gardener must pinch off all lateral shoots.

latitude

freedom from narrow limitations
I think you have permitted your son too much latitude in this matter.

laudable

praiseworthy; commendable
His laudable deeds will be remarked by all whom he aided.

laudatory

expressing praise
The critics' laudatory comments helped to make her a star.

lavish

liberal; wasteful
The actor's lavish gifts pleased her.

laxative

facilitating evacuation of the bowels
The effect of the constipation medicine is laxative; it empties the bowels.

lax

careless
We dislike restaurants where the service is lax and inattentive.

leaven

cause to rise or grow lighter; enliven
As bread dough is leavened, it puffs up, expanding in volume.

lechery

gross lewdness; lustfulness
In his youth he led a life of lechery and debauchery; he did not mend his ways until middle age.

lectern

reading desk
The chaplain delivered his sermon from a hastily improvised lectern.

leery

suspicious; cautious
Don't eat sushi at this restaurant; I'm a bit leery about how fresh it is.

leeway

room to move; margin
When you set a deadline, allow a little leeway.

legacy

a gift made by a will
Part of my legacy from my parents is an album of family photographs.

legend

explanatory list of symbols on a map
The legend at the bottom of the map made it clear which symbols stood for rest areas along the highway
and which stood for public camp sites.

legerdemain

sleight of hand
The magician demonstrated his renowned legerdemain.

leniency

mildness; permissiveness
Considering the gravity of the offense, we were surprised by the leniency of the sentence.

leonine

like a lion
He was leonine in his rage.

lethal

deadly
It is unwise to leave lethal weapons where children may find them.

lethargic

drowsy; dull
The stuffy room made her lethargic; she felt as if she was about to nod off.

levee

earthen or stone embankment to prevent flooding
As the river rose and threatened to overflow the levee, emergency workers rushed to reinforce the walls
with sandbags.

levitate

float in the air (especially by magical means)
As the magician passed his hands over the recumbent body of his assistant, she appeared to rise and
levitate about three feet above the table.

levity

lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity
Stop giggling abd wriggling around in the pew; such levity is improper in church.

levy

impose (a fine); collect (a payment)
Crying "No taxation withouth representation," the colonists demonstrated against England's power to levy
taxes.

lewd

lustful
They found his lewd stories objectionable.

lexicographer

compiler of a dictionary
The new dictionary is the work of many lexicographers who spent years compiling and editing the work.

lexicon

dictionary
I cannot find this word in any lexicon in the library.

liability

drawback; debts
Her lack of an extensive vocabulary was a liability that she was able to overcome.

liaison

officer who acts as go-between for two armies; intermediary
As the liason, he had to avoid offending the leaders of the two armies.

libelous

defamatory; injurious to the good name of a person
He sued the newspaper because of its libelous story.

libertine

debauched person, roue Although she was aware of his reputation as a libertine, she felt she could reform him and help him break
his dissolute way of life.

libidinous

lustful
They objected to his libidinous behavior.

libido

emotional urges behind human activity
The psychiatrist maintained that suppression of the libido often resulted in maladjustment and neuroses.

libretto

text of an opera
The composer of an opera's music is remembered more frequently than the author of its libretto.

licentious

wanton; lewd; dissolute
The licentious monarch helped bring about his country's downfall.

lien

legal claim on a property
There was a delay before Ralph could take possession of his late uncle's home; apparently, another
claimant had a lien upon the estate.

ligneous

like wood
Petrified wood may be ligneous in appearance, but it is stonelike in composition.

lilliputian

extremely small
Tiny and delicate, the model was built on a lilliputian scale.

limber

flexible
Hours of ballet classes kept him limber.

limbo

region near heaven or hell where certain souls are kept
Among the divisions of Hell are Purgatory and limbo.

limn

draw; outline; describe
Parodoxically, the more realistic the details this artist chooses, the better able to limn her fantastic, other-
worldly landscapes.

limpid

clear
A limpid stream ran through his property.

lineage

descent; ancestry
He traced his lineage back to Mayflower days.

lineaments

features, especially of the face
She quickly sketched the lineaments of his face.

linguistic

pertaining to language
The modern tourist will encounter very little linguistic difficulty as English has become an almost universal
language.

lionize

treat as a celebrity She enjoyed being lionized and adored by the public.

liquidate

settle accounts; clear up
He was able to liquidate all his debts in short period of time.

listless

lacking in spirit or energy
We had expected him to be full of enthusiasm and were surprised by his listless attitude.

list

tilt; lean over
That flagpole should be absolutely vertical; instead, it lists to one side.

litany

supplicatory prayer
On this solemn day, the congregation responded to the prayers of the priest during the litany with fervor
and intensity.

lithe

flexible; supple
Her figure was lithe and willowy.

litigation

lawsuit
Try to settle this amicably; I do not want to start litigation.

litotes

understatement for emphasis
To say, "He little realizes," when we mean that he does not realize at all, is an example of the kind of
understatement we call litotes.

livid

lead-coloredl; black and blue; ashen; enraged
His face was so livid with rage that we were afraid that he might have an attack of apoplexy.

loathe

detest
We loathed the wicked villain.