Alloy (verb)
To commingle; to debase by mixing with something inferior; unalloyed means pure
Ex. Don't alloy the coffee by putting in sugar
Appropriate (verb)
to take for one's own use; to confiscate
Ex. The bully appropriated the second grader's lunch money
Arrest(verb), arresting(adj.)
to suspend (arrested adolescence); to engage; holding one's attention (an arresting portrait)
August (adj.)
majestic, venerable
Ex. We were impressed by Agust D's august music video.
Bent (noun)
leaning, inclination, proclivity, tendency
Ex. She had a bent for being reticent and staying inside rather than going out with friends.
Broach (verb)
to bring up; to announce; to begin to talk about
Brook (verb)
to tolerate; to endure; to countenance (admit as acceptable/possible)
Ex. The cat brooked the dog sniffing her.
Cardinal (adj.)
major, as in cardinal sin
Chauvinist (noun)
a blindly devoted patriot
Color (verb)
to change as if by dyeing, i.e., to distort, gloss, or affect/influence (usually the first)
Ex. The witness presented a highly colored version the facts
Consequently (adj.)
pompous, self-important (primary definitions are: logically following; important)
Ex. He had a consequently view of himself.
Damp (verb)
to diminish the intensity or check the vibration of a sound
Ex. We tried to dampen the noise by placing a towel at the bottom of the door.
Die (noun)
a tool used for shaping, as in a tool and die shop
Essay (verb)
to test or try; to attempt; to experiment
Ex. I decided to essay the new exercise program
Exact (verb)
to demand; to call for; to require; to take
Ex. The church exacted a collection at the beginning and end of every service
Think: verb of exacting (demanding)
Fell (verb)
to cause to fall by striking
Ex. The boy felled his brother when his mother wasn't looking
Fell (adj.)
inhumanely cruel
Ex. The country's fell methods of torture received censure from the U.N.
Flag (verb)
to sag or droop; to become spiritless; to decline
Ex. She flagged after the long day at work.
Think: flag=sag
Flip (adj.)
sarcastic, impertinent, as in flippant: a flip remark
Ex. My mother castigated me after my flip behavior at the grocery store.
Ford (verb)
to wade across the shallow part of a river or stream
Ex. The family forded through the flooded streets after the hurricane.
Think: ford=forge ahead
grouse (verb)
to complain or grumble
Ex. He groused about his food from the restaurant
Guy (noun)
a rope, cord, or cable attached to something as a brace or guide; to steady or reinforce using a guy (think guide)
Ex. The rock climber tested the guy before scaling the mountain
intimate (verb)
to imply, suggest, or insinuate
Ex. What are you intimating?
Think: intimate=insinuate
List (verb)
to tilt or lean to one side
Ex. The painting appeared to by listing after I hung it on the wall
Lumber (verb)
to move heavily and clumsily
Meet (adj.)
fitting, proper
Ex. I think I found a meet dress for the dinner party
Think: the meet dress meets the dress code
Milk (verb)
to exploit; to squeeze every last ounce of
Mince (verb)
to pronounce or speak affectedly (artificial); to euphemism, to speak to carefully. Also, to take tiny step; to tiptoe
Ex. Don't mince your words, let me know how you really feel.
Nice (adj.)
exacting, fastidious (concerned accuracy/cleanliness), extremely precise
My nice sister refused to leave any wrinkles in her bedspread when she fixed her bed
Occult (adj)
hidden, concealed, beyond comprehension
Ex. The occult meaning of the riddle had me stumped
Pedestrian (adj)
commonplace, trite, unremarkable, quotidian
Pied (adj)
multicolored, usually in blotches
Ex. I had a pied face after going on a run on the hot day
Pine (verb)
to lose vigor (as through grief); to yearn
plastic (adj.)
moldable, pliable, not rigid
Pluck (noun)
courage, spunk, fortitude
Ex. I admired her pluck after she jumped off the high diving board.
Think: pluck=spunk
Prize (verb)
to pry, to press force with a lever; something taken by force, spoils
Ex. We tried to prize the old chest open to see if anything valuable was inside.
Rail (verb)
to complain about bitterly
Ex. The boss railed about the poor sales for the month.
Rent (verb)
torn (past tense of rend); an opening or tear caused by such
Ex. I accidentally rent the dollar bill when I took it out of my wallet.
Quail (verb)
to lose courage; to turn frightened
Ex. My friends and I quailed before enter the movie theater to see the horror movie
Qualify (verb)
to limit
Sap (verb)
to enervate or weaken the vitality of
Ex. The commute from work sapped my energy
Sap (noun)
a fool or nitwit
Ex. She accused her brother a sap when he received a bad report card.
Think: you're a sap for being sappy at this corny movie
Scurvy (adj)
contemptible, despicable
Ex. They were disgusted by the scurvy behavior of the sailors
singular (adj.)
exceptional, unusual, odd
Ex. The baseball team's win was a singular event
Stand (noun)
a group of trees
Steep (verb)
to saturate or completely soak, as in to let a tea bag steep
strut (noun)
the supporting structural cross-part of a wing
Table (verb)
to remove (as in parliamentary motion) from consideration
Tender (verb)
to proffer or offer
Ex. My brother mad the tender gesture of tendering the crayons to me
Waffle (verb)
to equivocate; to change one's position
Ex. Don't waffle after you already made a decision.
Think: Waffle=waver
Wag (noun)
wit, joker