Encroach

(v.) to trespass or intrude

1. It is unlawful to encroach on another's private property.

Encumber

(v.) to hold back; to hinder; to burden, load down

1. The review of the ethic's committee encumbered the deal from being finalized.
2. A brace will encumber the girl's movement.

Endemic

(adj.) native to a particular area; constantly present in a particular country or locality

1. The endemic fauna was of great interest to the anthropologist.
2. A fast-paced style is endemic to those who live in New York City.

Endorse

(v.) support; to approve of; recommend

1. The entire community endorsed the politician who promised lower taxes and a better school system.

Enervate

(v.) to weaken; to deprive of nerve or strength

1. The sickness enervates its victims until they can no longer get out of bed.

Enfeeble

(v.) to make weak

1. The illness will enfeeble anyone who catches it.

Enfranchised

(v.) to free from obligation; to admit to citizenship

1. The player was enfranchised when the deal was called off.
2. The recent immigrants were enfranchised when they took their oath to their new country.

Engender

(v.) to bring about; beget; to bring forth

1. The group attempted to engender changes to the law.

Enhance

(v.) to improve; compliment; make more attractive

1. The new fuel enhanced the performance of the rocket's engines.

Enigma

(n.) mystery; secret; perplexity

1. To all of the searchers, the missing child's location remained a great enigma.

Enigmatic

(adj.) baffling

1. The enigmatic murder plagued the detective.

Ennui

(n.) boredom; apathy

1. Ennui set in when the children realized they had already played with all the toys.

Eon

(n.) an indefinitely long period of time

1. The star may have existed for eons.

Ephemeral

(adj.) very short-lived; lasting only a short time

1. Living alone gave him an ephemeral happiness, soon to be replaced with utter loneliness.

Epicure

(n.) a person who has good taste in food and drink

1. As an epicure, Lance is choosy about the restaurants he visits.

Epigram

(n.) a witty or satirical poem or statement

1. The poet wrote an epigram about the upcoming election.

Epilogue

(n.) closing section of a play or novel providing further comment.

1. The epilogue told us the destiny of the characters.

Epiphany

(n.) an appearance of a supernatural being

1. The man bowed to the epiphany.

Epitaph

(n.) an inscription on a monument; in honor or memory of a dead person

1. The epitaph described the actions of a brave man.

Epitome

(n.) model; typification; representation

1. The woman chosen to lead the dancers was the epitome of true grace.

Equanimity

(n.) the quality of remaining calm and undisturbed

1. Equanimity can be reached when stress is removed from life.

Equinox

(n.) precise time when day and night is of equal length

1. On the equinox we had twelve hours of night and day.

Equivocal

(adj.) doubtful; uncertain

1. Scientific evidence was needed before the equivocal hypothesis was accepted by the doubting researchers.

Equivocations

(n.) a purposely misleading statement

1. The equivocations by the man sent the search team looking in the wrong direction.

Eradication

(n.) the act of annihilating, destroying, or erasing

1. Some have theorized that the eradication of the dinosaurs was due to a radical change in climate.

Errant

(adj.) roving in search of adventure

1. The young man set out across country on an errant expedition.

Erratic

(adj.) unpredictable; irregular

1. His erratic behavior was attributed to the shocking news he had received.
2. The kitten's erratic behavior was attributed to the owner's cruel method of disciplining his pet.

Erroneous

(adj.) untrue; inaccurate; not correct

1. The reporter's erroneous story was corrected by a new article that stated the truth.

Erudite

(adj.) having a wide knowledge acquired through reading

1. The woman was so erudite, she could recite points on most any subject.

Eschew

(v.) to shun; to avoid

1. Eschew the traffic and you may arrive on time.

Esoteric

(adj.) understood by only a chosen few; confidential

1. The esoteric language was only known by the select group.
2. We have had a number of esoteric conversations.

Estimable

(adj.) deserving respect

1. The estimable hero was given a parade.

Ethereal

(adj.) very light; airy; heavenly; not earthly

1. The ethereal quality of the music had a hypnotic effect.
2. The dancer wore an ethereal outfit which made her look like an angel.

Ethnic

(adj.) pertaining to races or peoples and their origin classification, or characteristics

1. Ethnic foods from five continents were set up on the table.

Eulogy

(n.) words of praise, especially for the dead

1. The eulogy was a remembrance of the good things the man accomplished in his lifetime.

Euphemism

(n.) the use of a word or phrase in place of one that is distasteful

1. The announcer used a euphemism when he wanted to complain.

Euphony

(n.) pleasant combination of sounds

1. The gently singing birds created a beautiful euphony.
2. The euphony created by the orchestra was due to years of practice.

Evanescent

(adj.) vanishing quickly; dissipating like a vapor

1. The evanescent mirage could only be seen at a certain angle.

Evasion

(n.) the avoiding of a duty

1. The company was charged with tax evasion, as they did not pay all that they owed.

Evoke

(v.) to call forth; provoke

1. Seeing her only daughter get married evoked tears of happiness from the mother.
2. Announcement of the results evoked a cheer from the crowd.

Exculpate

(v.) to free from guilt

1. The therapy session will exculpate the man from his guilty feelings.

Execute

(v.) to put to death; kill; to carry out; fulfill

1. The evil, murderous man was executed for killing several innocent children.
2. I expected him to execute my orders immediately.

Exemplary

(adj.) serving as an example; outstanding

1. The honor student's exemplary behavior made him a role model to the younger children.
2. Employees of the month are chosen for their exemplary service to the firm.

Exhaustive

(adj.) thorough; complete

1. It took an exhaustive effort, using many construction workers, to complete the new home by the deadline.

Exhume

(v.) to unearth; to reveal

1. The scientists exhumed the body from the grave to test the body's DNA.
2. The next episode will exhume the real betrayer.

Exigent

(adj.) a situation calling for immediate attention; needing more than is reasonable

1. The exigent request for more assistance was answered quickly.
2. The bank seemed to feel that another extension on their loan payment was too exigent a request to honor.

Exonerate

(v.) to declare or prove blameless

1. Hopefully, the judge will exonerate you of any wrongdoing.

Exorbitant

(adj.) going beyond what is reasonable; excessive

1. Paying hundreds of dollars for the dress is an exorbitant amount.

Exotic

(adj.) unusual; striking; foreign

1. Many people asked the name of her exotic perfume.
2. The menu of authentic Turkish cuisine seemed exotic to them, considering they were only accustomed to American food.

Expedient

(adj.) convenient in obtaining a result; guided by self-interest

1. The mayor chose the more expedient path rather than the more correct one.
2. There is no expedient method a teenager will not resort to in order to get the keys to a car of their own.