ad infinitum
ADV: endlessly
S: forever, unceasingly, incessantly, ceaselessly
A: succinctly, concisely, tersely, briefly
Children who hear a favorite story read over and over _____________________ are learning about language
apportion
V: to divide and give out in shares
S: distribute, allot, parcel out, allocate
The aging king decided to ______________ the lands of his vast kingdom among his three daighters
bona fide
ADJ: genuine; sincere
S: authentic, indisputable, legitimate, certified
A: false, fake, bogus, spurious, counterfeit
The appraiser studied the old book and declared it to be a _________________ first edition of Moby-Dick
buoyant
ADJ: able to float easily; able to hold things up; cheerful, hopeful
S: jaunty, lighthearted, animated
A: downcast, gloomy, morose
We were weary and anxious to get home, but our friends ________________ spirits kept us going
clique
N: a small, exclusive group of people
S: inner circle
The queen was surrounded by a _______________ of powerful nobles who actually ran the country
concede
V: to admit as true; to yield, submit
S: acknowledge, grant, allow, assent
A: contest, dispute, gainsay, challenge
Even though the votes were all in and counted, the losing candidate refused to ______________ the election
congenial
ADJ: getting on well with others; agreeable, pleasant
S: sociable, amiable, compatible
A: disagreeable, cold, standoffish
I was relieved when my bunkmate at summer camp turned out to be considerate and ______________
lofty
ADJ: very high; noble
S: elevated, exalted, grand
A: base, petty, low, sordid, despicable
My mentor maintains _____________ standards and works hard to adhere to them
migration
N: a movement from one country or region to another
S: population shift, mass movement
_______________ from north to south has contributed to the political clout of the Sun Belt
perceive
V: to be aware of through the senses, observe; to grasp mentally
S: notice, discern, understand
A: miss, overlook, be blind to
I thought I _______________ a flicker of guilt on my brother's face when I asked him who ate my slice of pie
perverse
ADJ: inclined to go against what is expected; stubborn; turned away from what is good and proper
S: obstinate, contrary, mulish
A: tractable, docile, amendable, yielding
Some teenagers get _____________ pleasure from blasting music that their parents don'
prelude
N: an introduction; that which comes before or leads off
S: preface, overture, prologue, "curtain-raiser"
A: epilogue, postlude, aftermath
The orchestral ___________ to the new opera seemed more interesting to me than the opera itself
rancid
ADJ: stale, spoiled
S: foul, rank, fetid, sour, rotten, putrid
A: wholesome, fresh
When he opened the door, there poured forth the unmistakably ______________ odor of some ancient leftovers
rustic
ADJ: country-like; simple, plain; awkward
S: rough, unsophisticated, countrified
A: urban, sophisticated
We rented a __________ cabin, with no electricity or running water, twenty miles from the town
N: one who lives in the country
On the trail we met an
sever
V: to separate, divide into parts
S: cut off, amputate, dissolve
A: unite, weld together
It was extreme of her to ______________ ties with her former best friend, but that is what she did
sordid
ADJ: wretchedly poor; run down; mean or selfish
S: filthy, squalid, base, vile, seedy, sleazy
A: pure, noble, opulent, lavish
19th-century reformers made people aware of just how ________________ conditions were in city slums
untenable
ADJ: not capable of being held or defended; impossible to maintain
S: indefensible, insupportable
A: irrefutable, impregnable, incontestable
Minutes into the debate she had a sinking feeling that her position was completely ____________
versatile
ADJ: able to do many things well; capable of many uses
S: adaptable, all-around, many-sided
A: limited, specialized, restricted
By moving from comedy to drama to musicals, he has shown himself to be a truly _____________ actor
vindicate
V: to clear from hint or charge of wrongdoing; to defend successfully against opposition; to justify
S: acquit, absolve, exonerate, advocate
A: implicate, incriminate, condemn, convict
Though the accused was _______________ in the end, his career was all
wane
V: to lose size, strength, or power
S: diminish, subside, decline
A: grow, wax, amplify, balloon, increase
As the moon __________, the nights grew darker; we could hardly see our was along the forest trails.