become less in amount or intensity

Something that abates becomes fewer or less intense. Your enthusiasm for skiing mightabate after falling off a ski lift and getting a mouthful of snow.

the use of tricks to deceive someone (usually to extract money from them)

Have you ever gotten the sense that politicians or corporate leaders will say anything to turn public opinion their way? This tricky kind of deceit and manipulation is called chicanery.

cause to become widely known

Disseminate means to spread information, knowledge, opinions widely. Semin- derives from the Latin word for seed; the idea withdisseminate is that information travels like seeds sown by a farmer.

deny or contradict (a fact or statement).

Gainsay, a verb, means "contradict" or "speak out against." When you challenge authority, you gainsay, as in teachers don't like it when unruly students gainsay them.

potentially existing but not presently evident or realized

Latent is an adjective that you use to describe something that is capable of becoming active or at hand, though it is not currently so.

markedly different from an accepted norm

Use the adjective aberrant to describe unusual conduct. Sitting in a bathtub and singing show tunes all day long might be considered aberrant behavior.

change from a liquid to a thickened or solid state

When liquid starts to thicken and become solid, it coagulates. When you get a cut, the blood flowing from the wound will coagulate: it will start to clot and form a solid scab so you will stop bleeding.

separation into component parts

The dissolution of a relationship means that it's broken up or ended. The dissolution of your band means you better get started on your solo album.

full of trivial conversation

A garrulous person just won’t stop talking (and talking, and talking, and talking...).

praise, glorify, or honor

To laud someone doesn't mean to give them knighthood, but to praise them extravagantly — usually in a very public manner. Beinglauded, of course, can have the same tonic effect as having been made a lord.

temporary cessation or suspension

An abeyance is a temporary halt to something, with the emphasis on "temporary." It is usually used with the word "in" or "into"; "inabeyance" suggests a state of waiting or holding.

the closing section of a musical composition

A coda is a concluding segment of a piece of music, a dance, or a statement. It's usually short and adds a final embellishment beyond a natural ending point. Like this.

disagreeable sounds

Disagreeable sounds can be calleddissonance. You know it's dissonance if you have the strong desire to cover your ears with your hands.

stab or urge on as if with a pointed stick

A goad is a pointy stick or other instrument used to prod something along. To goad is to poke something with that pointy stick. Either way, the pointiness is really essential for making things leap into action.

deficient in alertness or activity

When you feel lethargic, you're sluggish or lacking energy. Being sleepy or hungry can make anyone lethargic.

run away; usually includes taking something or somebody along

Abscond is to escape, often taking something along. As a kid, you may have abscondedfrom your lemonade stand — with the coffee can of cash in hand, and your bewildered sister still filling cups for your customers.

powerfully persuasive

When you make a cogent argument, it means your argument is clear and persuasive. In these days of 24-hour entertainment news and sound-bite sized explanations of complex government policy, it’s hard to find a cogentargument amidst all the emotional outbursts.

cause to expand as it by internal pressure

A soda and pizza binge might make your stomach distend, meaning your stomach will swell as a result of pressure from the inside.

an impression in a surface (as made by a blow)

Gouge means stealing by overcharging. If your local gas station puts the price of gas way up because a storm is coming, you may say that the station owner gouges prices — and that's illegal.

a pier that provides a landing place on a river

A levee is an embankment, like a dam, constructed to prevent the overflow of a body of water. It can also mean a formal reception. How do these two words relate? Read on...

marked by temperance in indulgence

Reserve abstemious for someone who exercises restraint, especially with regard to alcohol. A rock musician may sing about enjoying wine and women, but in his private life he may be abstemious.

corresponding in size or degree or extent

The word commensurate has to do with things that are similar in size and therefore appropriate. Many people think the death penalty is a commensurate punishment for murder. In other words, the penalty fits the crime.

undergo condensation; change from a gaseous to a liquid state and fall in drops

When you distill something, you are boiling it down to its essence — its most important part. Whether it's alcohol or ideas, thedistilled part is the most powerful.

lofty in style

Grandiloquent is a fancy term for, well, beingfancy or pretentious. In fact, you might saygrandiloquent is itself a pretty grandiloquentword.

a manner lacking seriousness

Joking that your dead grandmother "never looked better" could inject some levity, or frivolity, into her funeral, but your relatives might find your joke inappropriate to the occasion.

take to task

To admonish is to scold. If you want to show someone you're not happy with his behavior,admonish him. It sounds better than "scolding," and it's less painful than spanking.

a publication containing a variety of works

When you search an online encyclopedia, you are searching a compendium of information on just about everything. A compendium is a comprehensive collection of something.

move or draw apart

When two roads diverge, they split and go in different directions. If your opinion divergesfrom mine, we do not agree. To divergemeans to move apart or be separate.

instinctively or temperamentally seeking and enjoying the company of others

If you know someone who's outgoing, sociable, and fond of the company of others, you might want to call her gregarious.

a segment of the trunk of a tree when stripped of branches

A log is the trunk of a tree minus the branches: logging is cutting down trees. A logis also a written record of something, andlogging is keeping such a record.

corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones

If you adulterate something, you mess it up. You may not want to adulterate the beauty of freshly fallen snow by shoveling it, but how else are you going to get to work?

showing a cheerful willingness to do favors for others

If only the world were populated entirely withcomplaisant people! Complaisant means willing to do something to please others, andcomplaisant people or animals are wonderful to be around.

take away possessions from someone

It could be your wine portfolio, your stake in a mining company, or even the extra coats that are taking up space in your closet. Whatever it is, when you divest something, you get rid of it.

free of deceit

If you are guileless, you are not a liar; you are innocent, and you might be a touch on the gullible side.

full of trivial conversation

A loquacious person talks a lot, often about stuff that only they think is interesting. You can also call them chatty or gabby, but either way, they're loquacious.

concerning or characterized by an appreciation of beauty or good taste

The adjective aesthetic comes in handy when the subject at hand is beauty or the arts. A velvet painting of dogs playing poker might have minimal aesthetic appeal.

disposed or willing to comply

If you are willing to submit to someone's request, then you are compliant. Parents like it when their teenagers are compliant and follow the rules. Teenagers, on the other hand, are probably not as compliant as parents would like to think!

anything serving as a representation of a person's thinking by means of symbolic marks

A document is a piece of paper that contains official information. Don't you wish you had adocument saying that the bank owed you $5 million?

naive and easily deceived or tricked

If you are gullible, the joke is on you because you are easily fooled.

(of language) transparently clear; easily understandable

Something that's lucid is clear and understandable. Lucid writing is important in journalism, so that readers easily get the point of the article they're reading.

a sum total of many heterogenous things taken together

To aggregate is to collect many units into one. If you're writing a novel, you might create a character who is an aggregate of five or six real people.

making or willing to make concessions

If you're in a fight with a friend and you want to end it, you should make a conciliatorygesture, such as inviting her to a party you're having. Conciliatory describe things that make other people less angry.

of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative

Someone who is dogmatic has arrogant attitudes based on unproved theories. If youdogmatically assert that the moon is made of green cheese, you'll just get laughed at.

a loud bombastic declamation expressed with strong emotion

A harangue is more than a speech, louder than a discussion, and nastier than a lecture. It is a verbal attack that doesn't let up, delivered as a verb or received as a noun. Either way, it's pretty unpleasant.

softly bright or radiant

Luminous means full of or giving off light. During the winter holidays, with all their emphasis on light, you can see luminousdisplays of candles everywhere.

liveliness and eagerness

Someone with alacrity shows cheerful willingness and eager behavior, like a kid whose mother has told him he can buy anything in a candy store.

excuse, overlook, or make allowances for; be lenient with

If you condone something, you allow it, approve of it, or at least can live with it. Some teachers condone chewing gum, and some don't.

inactive but capable of becoming active

That old dog was dormant for so long he was confused for a furry doormat, but a doormat is likely to stay dormant, or inactive, because it is lifeless: that old dog has some life in him yet.

all of the same or similar kind or nature

If a group of things are homogeneous, they're all the same or similar, like a room full of identically dressed Elvis impersonators.

liberality in bestowing gifts; extremely liberal and generous of spirit

Magnanimous behavior is noble, generous, or unselfish, and to exhibit magnanimity is to be this way. He showed great magnanimity in not pressing charges when I drove his car into the pond. "Accidents happen my friend," he said, and patted me on the back.

provide physical relief, as from pain

Do all these words make your head ache? If so, take an aspirin to alleviate, or relieve, your pain.

be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly

If you have an identical twin, you've probably tried dressing alike so that people confoundyou with, or mistake you for, one another. You've also probably learned that, unfortunately, this trick doesn’t work on your mom.

fool or hoax

A dupe is a furry, ceremonial hat occasionally worn during ancient pagan rituals... or not.Dupe actually means “trick or deceive.” We’re sorry we tried to dupe you into believing the wrong definition.

extravagant exaggeration

Praising your favorite sports team is one thing, but if you call the team the most incredible group of humans ever to walk the earth, then you're going overboard and indulging in hyperbole.

someone shirking their duty by feigning illness or incapacity

Have you ever pretended to be sick or hurt to get out of taking a test or doing a chore? Then you, my dear, are a malingerer, and should be ashamed of yourself. Shape up!

to bring or combine together or with something else

To amalgamate is to combine different things to create something new. Institutions — such as banks, schools, or hospitals — often join forces and amalgamate with one other. But other things — like musical genres — getamalgamated as well.

an expert able to appreciate a field; especially in the fine arts

A connoisseur is a person who, through study and interest, has a fine appreciation for something, like the connoisseur who can identify the clarinet player on a jazz recording by the sound of his inhalations alone.

joyously unrestrained

More than chipper, more than happy, more than delighted is ebullient — meaning bubbling over with joy and delight.

characterized by attack on established beliefs or institutions

The word iconoclastic is an adjective referring to a breaking of established rules or destruction of accepted beliefs. It might refer to an artist with an unorthodox style, or aniconoclastic attack, either physical or verbal, on a religious doctrine or image.

capable of being shaped or bent or drawn out

A malleable personality is capable of being changed or trained, and a malleable metal is able to be pounded or pressed into various shapes. It's easier to learn when you're young and malleable.

having more than one possible meaning

Look to the adjective ambiguous when you need to describe something that's open to more than one interpretation, like the headline "Squad helps dog bite victim."

the act of competing as for profit or a prize

There is nothing "content," or satisfying, about being in contention, and that's probably because the word contention means being in a competition that ends with one side, usually the winning one, being content.

selecting what seems best of various styles or ideas

She listens to hip-hop, Gregorian chant, and folk music from the '60s. He's been seen wearing a handmade tuxedo jacket over a thrift-store flannel shirt. They both haveeclectic tastes.

the worship of idols; the worship of images that are not God

Idolatry means the worship of images as if they were gods. Many religions prohibitidolatry, some even to the extent of forbidding any representational objects in houses of worship.

Someone who exhibits great independence in thought and action

A maverick is a rebel, someone who shows a lot of independence. A maverick on a motorcycle might blaze his own trail, or show a maverick touch in a rough sport by wearing a helmet with the word "Mom" inside a heart.

mixed feelings or emotions

Someone who shows ambivalence about a person or thing has conflicting feelings. If you love your mom but find her totally embarrassing you might feel ambivalent about having her give a presentation at your school.

inclined or showing an inclination to dispute or disagree, even to engage in law suits

A contentious issue is one that people are likely to argue about, and a contentiousperson is someone who likes to argue or fight.

capacity or power to produce a desired effect

The degree to which a method or medicine brings about a specific result is its efficacy.You might not like to eat it, but you can't question the efficacy of broccoli as a health benefit.

not subject or susceptible to change or variation in form or quality or nature

If you can't change it, it's immutable. There are many things in life that are immutable; these unchangeable things include death, taxes, and the laws of physics.

given to lying

A mendacious person is one who tells lies habitually and intentionally. Don't get stuck at the water cooler or bus stop next to someone you consider mendacious!

to make better

To ameliorate is to step in and make a bad situation better. You could try introducing a second lollipop to ameliorate a battle between two four-year-olds over a single lollipop.

feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses

We are sorry to inform you that the adjectivecontrite means to feel regret, remorse, or even guilt.

audacious (even arrogant) behavior that you have no right to

If you rudely behave as if you have a right to something that you have no right to, you're committing effrontery. When a couple stroll into a crowded restaurant, demand the best table, and threaten the staff unless they're seated right away, that's effrontery.

make worse or less effective

If you make bad decisions in the morning after drinking coffee, you might conclude that caffeine tends to impair your judgment. When you impair something, you damage it or make it work poorly.

a striking change in appearance or character or circumstances

In Kafka's novel entitled Metamorphosis, a man wakes up to find he has turned into a cockroach. That kind of complete and startling change pretty much sums up the word.

something located at a time when it could not have existed or occurred

An anachronism is something that doesn't fit its time period, like if you say you'll "dial" your smartphone.

a difficult problem

The tricky word conundrum is used to describe a riddle or puzzle, sometimes including a play on words or pun.

a mournful poem; a lament for the dead

An elegy is a sad poem, usually written to praise and express sorrow for someone who is dead. Although a speech at a funeral is a eulogy, you might later compose an elegy to someone you have loved and lost to the grave.

having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily aroused or excited

Someone who doesn't seem to react — who is always "taking a pass" in the conversation of life can be described as impassive.

marked by precise accordance with details

People who are meticulous can be pretty annoying, what with their extreme attention to detail. But if that person is, say, your surgeon or your accountant, you'll want them to bemeticulous.

similar or equivalent in some respects though otherwise dissimilar

Use the adjective analogous to describe something that is similar to something else and can be compared to another.

be adjacent or come together

Use the verb converge to describe something that comes together at a common point: “Thousands of Elvis fans plan to converge on the small Arkansas town where unconfirmed sightings of the deceased superstar eating at a local barbeque restaurant had been widely reported.”

call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)

When you elicit, you're bringing out a response of some sort. A good comedianelicits a lot of laughs.

be a hindrance or obstacle to

To impede something is to delay or block its progress or movement. Carrying six heavy bags will impede your progress if you're trying to walk across town.

someone who dislikes people in general

A misanthrope is a person who hates or mistrusts other people. Your great aunt Edna who lashes out at anyone who approaches, convinced they'll steal the jewelry she keeps in her handbag on her lap? A misanthropeindeed.

a state of lawlessness and disorder (usually resulting from a failure of government)

Use the noun anarchy to describe a complete lack of government — or the chaotic state of affairs created by such an absence. A substitute teacher might worry that an unruly classroom will descend into anarchy.

rolled longitudinally upon itself

If something is convoluted, it's intricate and hard to understand. You'll need to read over your brother's convoluted investment scheme a few times before deciding whether or not to go in on it.

make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.

The word "bell" shows up in the middle ofembellish, and bells are something that decorate, or embellish something, making it more attractive. If you embellish speech, though, it can get ugly if you add a lot of details that aren't true.

preventing especially liquids to pass or diffuse through

If you have a waterproof raincoat, you could say that your coat is impermeable to the rain. Something that is impermeable does not allow water or liquid to pass through it.

lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of

Choose the verb, mitigate, when something lessens the unpleasantness of a situation. You can mitigate your parents' anger by telling them you were late to dinner because you were helping your elderly neighbor.

deviating from the general or common order or type

Something that deviates from the norm isanomalous. Something anomalous can be good, such as an exciting new direction in music or art. But that anomalously low score on your math test? Not so good.

lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful

A craven man is no Superman or Spiderman, nor is he a firefighter or a soldier. A cravenman is the opposite of those guys: he has not an ounce of courage.

derived from experiment and observation rather than theory

If knowledge is empirical, it's based on observation rather than theory. To do anempirical study of donut shops, you'll need to visit every one you can find.

not easily perturbed or excited or upset; marked by extreme calm and composure

If you're imperturbable you are not easily upset. If your goal is to be imperturbable, then you can't let things bother you or get you stressed, confused, or angry.

cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of

To mollify is to calm someone down, talk them off the ledge, make amends, maybe even apologize.

a feeling of intense dislike

An antipathy is a deep-seated dislike of something or someone. Usually it's a condition that is long-term, innate, and pretty unlikely to change — like your antipathy for the Red Sox.

cause to lose courage

The Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Ozappeared at first to be easily daunted, but, in fact, he showed unusual courage. Still, his efforts to daunt Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man were less than successful.

strive to equal or match, especially by imitating

When you emulate someone, you imitate them, especially with the idea of matching their success.

not admitting of passage or capable of being affected

An impervious surface is one that can't be penetrated. The word is often followed by "to," as in "His steely personality made himimpervious to jokes about his awful haircut."

showing a brooding ill humor

A morose person is sullen, gloomy, sad, glum, and depressed — not a happy camper.

an absence of emotion or enthusiasm

Use the noun apathy when someone is not interested in the important things that are happening. You might feel apathy for the political process after watching candidates bicker tediously with one another.

propriety in manners and conduct

Decorum is proper and polite behavior. If you let out a big belch at a fancy dinner party, you're not showing much decorum.

native to or confined to a certain region

If you want to underscore just how commonly found and present something is within a particular place, try the word endemic. Tight pants are endemic in my lunch room!

incapable of being placated

An implacable person just can’t be appeased. If you really offended your best friend and tried every kind of apology but she refused to speak to you again, you could describe her asimplacable.

found in the ordinary course of events

An ordinary, unexciting thing can be calledmundane: "Superman hid his heroic feats by posing as his mundane alter ego, Clark Kent."

make peace with

Appease means to make or preserve peace with a nation, group, or person by giving in to their demands, or to relieve a problem, as in "the cold drink appeased his thirst."

an option that is selected automatically unless an alternative is specified

As a setting, a default is automatic. You weren't sure why your new TV kept returning to the factory defaults until you realized you were sitting on the remote.

weaken mentally or morally

To enervate is to weaken, wear down, or even bum out. A three-hour lecture on the history of socks might thrill someone, it wouldenervate most people. So would a too-long soak in a hot tub. With your parents.

implied though not directly expressed; inherent in the nature of something

Use the adjective implicit when you mean that something is understood but not clearly stated. You might think you and your boyfriend might have an implicitunderstanding that you are going to get married, but it's probably better to talk it through.

make ineffective by counterbalancing the effect of

If something neutralizes the effect of something else, then you can say the effect isnegated. Hanging a disco ball from your living room ceiling negates the sleek modern effect created by the contemporary furniture.

inform (somebody) of something

To apprise someone about something is to fill them in, to give them the scoop. If someone in your immediate family wins the mega-bucks lottery, you want to be the first one to beapprised of that event!

courteous regard for people's feelings

Sure you wear ripped jeans to school every day, but you don't wear them to your grandmother's house out of deference to her. When you show deference to someone, you make a gesture of respect.

make children

Engender is a fancy way of saying "to make happen," like when you engender the spirit of teamwork and cooperation by encouraging others and doing your share of the group's work.

burst inward

When something implodes, it explodes inward — instead of outward. With extremely large buildings, it helps to implode them rather than explode them, because by falling inward they take up less space.

any new participant in some activity

"Look at the little freshies," said the football team captain to his friends. "Little neophytescome to learn how the big boys play....Let's get 'em!"

official approval

Approbation is an official, important-sounding, and somewhat old-fashioned word for approval or praise. A princess, for example, might only consider marrying a prince that is met with her father's, the King's, approbation.

represented accurately or precisely

Though you pronounce it duh-LIN-ee-ate, there is a "line" in the middle of delineate. This might help you remember that to delineate is to outline and define something in detail or with an actual marking of lines and boundaries.

increase

Many people use the expression "enhance your chance" to point out ways to increase your chances of winning or earning a contest or prize. When you enhance something, you heighten it or make it better.

without knowledge or intention

Inadvertently is an adverb that means "without knowledge or intent," like when youinadvertently take someone else's coat from the coatroom because it looks just like yours.

stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing

Obdurate is a formal word meaning stubborn. If you want to major in English, but your parents are obdurate that you should go premed, they might go so far as to threaten not to pay your tuition.

suitable for a particular person or place or condition etc

Something appropriate is correct and fits the situation. A sweater-vest with reindeer on it isappropriate holiday apparel, even if it's totally embarrassing.

charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

To denigrate is to say bad things — true or false — about a person or thing. Your reputation as a math whiz might be hurt if your jealous classmate manages to denigrateyou, even though the accusations are unfounded.

anything short-lived, as an insect that lives only for a day in its winged form

Something that is fleeting or short-lived isephemeral, like a fly that lives for one day or text messages flitting from cellphone to cellphone.

only partly in existence; imperfectly formed

Inchoate means just beginning to form. You can have an inchoate idea, like the earliest flickers of images for your masterpiece, or it can be a feeling, like the inchoate sense of anger toward your new neighbor’s talking parrot.

attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery

If you disapprove of the overly submissive way someone is acting — like the teacher's pet or a celebrity's assistant — call them by the formal adjective obsequious.

characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort

Use the adjective, arduous, to describe an activity that takes a lot of effort. Writing all those college essays and filling out the applications is an arduous process!

treat or speak of with contempt

The verb deride means to show a low opinion of someone or something. The jerk would deride the other kids on the bus by calling them names or pulling their hair until the driver decided to de-ride him by kicking him off the bus.

steadiness of mind under stress

If you take the news of your brother's death with equanimity, it means you take it calmly without breaking down. Equanimity refers to emotional calmness and balance in times of stress.

the quality of disagreeing; being unsuitable and inappropriate

Incongruity means out of place — something that doesn't fit in its location or situation. The art show patrons couldn't help but chuckle at the incongruity of a toilet sitting in the middle of an exhibition of Renaissance paintings.

do away with

To obviate means to eliminate the need for something or to prevent something from happening. If you want to obviate the possibility of a roach infestation, clean your kitchen regularly.

simple and natural; without cunning or deceit

Yes, artless could mean lacking in art, but more often it means lacking in superficiality or deceit. An artless person could never make a living as a con artist.

a compound obtained from, or regarded as derived from, another compound

Alert: shifting parts of speech! As a noun, aderivative is kind of financial agreement or deal. As an adjective, though, derivativedescribes something that borrows heavily from something else that came before it.

be deliberately ambiguous or unclear in order to mislead or withhold information

When you are unwilling to make a decision and almost intentionally go back and forth between two choices, you are equivocating. When politicians equivocate, they are often afraid of upsetting, and thus alienating, voters with their decisions.

lacking worth or importance

If something is considered of little worth or importance, it is inconsequential. If astronomers forecast a tremendous meteor shower, it might turn out to be no more than space junk, too inconsequential to record.

block passage through

Occlude means to obstruct, as with an opening. You hear this a lot in a medical context. Heart surgeons are looking forocclusions in blood vessels––things thatocclude the flow of blood.

someone who practices self denial as a spiritual discipline

Want to live an ascetic lifestyle? Then you better ditch the flat panel TV and fuzzy slippers. To be ascetic, you learn to live without; it's all about self-denial.

lacking vitality or spirit; lifeless

The verb desiccate means to dry out, dry up and dehydrate. It's helpful to desiccate weeds but certainly not crops.

having or showing profound knowledge

If you call someone erudite, that means they show great learning. After you've earned your second Ph.D., you will be truly erudite.

make into a whole or make part of a whole

To incorporate is to include or integrate a part into the whole. Incorporate is a more active version of the word "include"; if youincorporate, you are adding something to the mix.

intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner

Though officious sounds like official, it means being annoyingly eager to do more than is required. "The officious lunch lady made everyone's food choices her business, and made nasty comments when students chose cookies over carrots."

marked by care and persistent effort

If you call someone assiduous, it's a compliment. It means they're careful, methodical and very persistent. Good detectives are classically assiduous types.

marked by lack of definite plan or regularity or purpose; jumping from one thing to another

If you lack a definite plan or purpose and flit from one thing to another, your actions aredesultory. Some people call such desultorywanderings spontaneous. Others call it "being lost."

confined to and understandable by only an enlightened inner circle

Pssst... do you know the secret handshake? If you haven't been brought into the inner circle of those with special knowledge, esotericthings will remain a mystery to you.

not precisely determined or established; not fixed or known in advance

Indeterminate means not known or decided. When someone contracts a rare stomach parasite but has not been traveling internationally, you might say it hadindeterminate origins.

not easily borne; wearing

If one teacher gives you three hours of homework a night, that's rough. But if all of your teachers do it, that makes the task of completing your homework an onerous one, to say the least. If something is onerous, it is very difficult to deal with or do.

provide physical relief, as from pain

If you assuage an unpleasant feeling, you make it go away. Assuaging your hunger by eating a bag of marshmallows may cause you other unpleasant feelings.

something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress

A deterrent makes you not want to do something. Let's say there's a giant pile of cookies being guarded by an angry dog — the dog is a deterrent.

a formal expression of praise for someone who has died recently

At every funeral, there comes a moment when someone who knew the dead person speaks about their life. They are delivering what is known as a eulogy. A eulogy is a formal speech that praises a person who has died.

a state of extreme poverty or destitution

Indigence is a synonym for extreme poverty. If you experience indigence, you have a critical need for food, money, and other resources.

a state of extreme dishonor

If you go against or oppose what's good, you might earn opprobrium — the opposite of getting attention for something good. Bad behavior leads to opprobrium. If you throw a soft drink off the theater balcony, theopprobrium might keep you from getting dates to the movies.

become weaker, in strength, value, or magnitude

Attenuate is a verb that means to make or become weaker. The effects of aging may beattenuated by exercise. (Or by drinking from the fountain of youth.)

thunderous verbal attack

It's totally overwhelming when you ask someone a seemingly innocuous question, like "Do you like hot dogs?" and they unleash a diatribe about the evils of eating meat. Adiatribe is an angry speech that strongly criticizes a person or thing.

an inoffensive or indirect expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive or too harsh

Pardon me, but when a polite term is substituted for a blunt, offensive one, you should call it a euphemism.

disinclined to work or exertion

Indolent is an adjective meaning slow or lazy. It can take an indolent teenager hours to get out of bed on a weekend morning. Often it's noon before he finally comes shuffling down to breakfast in his pajamas.

move or swing from side to side regularly

On a hot day, you’ll be happy to have a fan that can oscillate, meaning it moves back and forth in a steady motion.

disposed to venture or take risks

This adjective is very bold — if you areaudacious, you are daring and unconventional!

being twofold; a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses

A dichotomy is an idea or classification split in two. When you point out a dichotomy, you draw a clear distinction between two things.

make worse

For a formal-sounding verb that means to make worse, try exacerbate. If you're in trouble, complaining about it will onlyexacerbate the problem.

unable to move or resist motion

Something that's unable to move or moving without much energy can be described asinert. Wind up in a body cast and you’ll find yourself not only itchy, but totally inert.

intended to attract notice and impress others

Reach for the adjective ostentatious when you want a flashy way to say — well, "flashy" or "showy."

of a stern or strict bearing or demeanor; forbidding in aspect

The adjective austere is used to describe something or someone stern or without any decoration. You wouldn't want someone to describe you or your home as austere.

lack of self-confidence

The noun diffidence refers to a lack of self-confidence. Your diffidence might be the reason why you never say "hi" to the cute guy or gal in the elevator or why you never ask for a raise.

pronounce not guilty of criminal charges

To exculpate means to find someone not guilty of criminal charges. If you've been wrongly convicted of robbery, you better hope a judge will exculpate you, unless you want to go to jail because you've heard prison food is amazing.

liver or meat or fowl finely minced or ground and variously seasoned

lacking in sophistication or worldliness

Someone who is ingenuous shows a childlike innocence, trust, and openness. One of the things kindergarten teachers value is the chance to work with kids while they're still relatively ingenuous––their open, trusting natures are a joy.

an ideal instance; a perfect embodiment of a concept

Paragon applies to someone who is a model of perfection in some quality or trait. We linkparagon with other words that follow it, such as "paragon of virtue" or "paragon of patience."

existing as an independent entity

Autonomous describes things that function separately or independently. Once you move out of your parents' house, and get your own job, you will be an autonomous member of the family.

spread out; not concentrated in one place

Diffuse mean spread out, or the action of spreading out. If lots of people in school believe invisible angels are everywhere, you could say that opinion is diffuse. You might even think angels are diffuse as well.

a pressing or urgent situation

Think of a mix of excitement and emergency, and you have exigency, a sudden, urgent crisis. The very word conjures up danger and intrigue that demand a cool head and an immediate effort at a solution.

existing as an essential constituent or characteristic

Use the adjective inherent for qualities that are considered permanent or cannot be separated from an essential character.

a fervent and even militant proponent of something

If something is prejudicial towards a particular point of view, you can call it partisan. You'll often hear of the partisan politics in the US — since politicians seem to be so devoted to either the Republican or Democratic parties.

to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true

To aver is to declare something is true or to state. This verb has a serious tone, so you might aver something on a witness stand or you might aver that you won't back down to a challenge.

a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern)

When your essay about French cooking starts describing a childhood trip to Disneyland, it's taken a digression — it's strayed from the main topic.

an inference about the future (or about some hypothetical situation) based on known facts and observations

An extrapolation is kind of like an educated guess or a hypothesis. When you make anextrapolation, you take facts and observations about a present or known situation and use them to make a prediction about what might eventually happen.

not injurious to physical or mental health

Something that's innocuous isn't harmful or likely to cause injury. Public figures like mayors and governors have to expect they'll get critical or even hurtful emails and phone calls, as well as more innocuous feedback.

of or relating to the practice of pathology

If something is caused by a physical or mental disease, it is pathological, like someone whose need to wash the floor every evening is part of a pathological compulsion for cleanliness, or a growth on someone's elbow that turned out to be a pathological.

repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

If something is boring and unoriginal, it'sbanal. Banal things are dull as dishwater.

a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person

A dirge is a song of mourning, performed as a memorial to someone who’s died. As you might imagine, a dirge is usually quite sad. Another word with a similar meaning that you might know is “requiem.”

cleverly amusing in tone

Someone who is facetious is only joking: "I was being facetious when I told my mother I want Brussels sprouts with every meal, but she took me seriously!"

barely able to be perceived

The adjective insensible is used to describe someone who is unconscious. If you keep your bowling ball on the top shelf of the closet and it rolls out and conks you on the head, you will be probably rendered insensible.

an insufficient quantity or number

The word paucity means not enough of something. If you've got a paucity of good cheer, for example, you'd better cheer up!

be in contradiction with

To belie means to contradict. If you are 93 but look like you are 53, then your young looksbelie your age.

free somebody (from an erroneous belief)

Disabuse means to free someone of a belief that is not true. Many teachers of health find that when they teach, they spend as much energy disabusing kids of false beliefs as they do giving them the facts.

make easier

To facilitate means to make something easier. If your best friend is very shy, you couldfacilitate her efforts to meet new people.

suggest or hint (something bad) in an indirect and unpleasant way.

Insinuate means you imply or suggest something that may or may not be true. If you say things seemed to go wrong about the time your brother took over, you insinuatethat he had something to do with the decline.

marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning especially its trivial aspects

There's nothing wrong with focusing on the details, but someone who is pedantic makes a big display of knowing obscure facts and details.

doing or producing good

Beneficent is the type of act that helps others. If you're a beneficent person, you probably spend a lot of your time volunteering at soup kitchens or homeless shelters, helping people who are less fortunate than you are.

having or revealing keen insight and good judgment

Discerning people pick up on subtle traits and are good judges of quality — they're the ones that can tell if your cupcakes are homemade from the finest ingredients or totally from a box mix.

containing or based on a fallacy

Something fallacious is a mistake that comes from too little information or unsound sources. Predictions that the whole state of California will snap off from the rest of North America and float away have proven to befallacious — for now, anyway.

lacking interest or significance or impact

Something insipid is lacking in flavor or interest. You'll probably find the generic poems inside of greeting cards insipid.

a strong liking

A penchant is a strong preference or tendency. If you have a penchant for pizza, you either eat it daily, or wish you did.

support and strengthen

When you cheer up a friend who's feeling down, you bolster them. To bolster is to offer support or strengthen.

not in agreement or harmony

If you believe that movies should entertain, but your friend insists that movies should inspire, then the two of you hold discordantviews on the purpose of movies. That means your opinions are in conflict.

devoid of intelligence

Fatuous means lacking intelligence. When your mother outlaws calling your brother stupid, use fatuous instead.

the state of being isolated or detached

The noun insularity refers to the quality of being isolated or detached. In fact, the word is based on the Latin word insula, for "island." The phrase "no man is an island" means that no one can be completely separate from others.

a state of extreme poverty or destitution

Penury means extreme poverty to the point of homelessness and begging in the streets. Economic downturns, job loss, shopping sprees, and weekends at the high rollers' table in Vegas can lead to penury.

ostentatiously lofty in style

To be bombastic is to be full of hot air — like a politician who makes grand promises and doesn't deliver.

the state of being held in low esteem

Discredit means to cause mistrust or cast the accuracy of something into doubt. If you say that schooling is important to you, but you never study, your actions discredit you and your words.

attempting to win favor by flattery

Use fawning to describe someone who's over the top in the flattery department. Like afawning admirer who just won't stop complimenting your looks, showering you with gifts and otherwise kissing the ground you walk on.

not tractable; difficult to manage or mold

Can't manage your stubborn little brother who won't do what anyone says? You could call him intractable, or you could call your mother. Problems are intractable when they can't be solved.

lasting three seasons or more

Perennial typically describes things that are permanent, constant, or repeated. If you fight with your parents every year over whether they really must invite your annoying cousins for Thanksgiving, you could call that aperennial conflict.

ill-mannered and coarse and contemptible in behavior or appearance

If your cousin tells revolting jokes, belches, and smells like he spent the winter in a cave, he could be described as boorish — an adjective used for people with bad manners and a sloppy appearance.

a difference between conflicting facts or claims or opinions

A discrepancy is a lack of agreement or balance. If there is a discrepancy between the money you earned and the number on your paycheck, you should complain to your boss.

well chosen or suited to the circumstances.

Felicitous describes something that's really pleasant. If someone behaves in a felicitousmanner, she's being agreeable and appropriate. You know, the way you should behave when your great aunt offers you those stale candies.

the trait of being intransigent; stubbornly refusing to compromise

If you refuse to compromise with your sister about whose turn it is to do the dishes, your mother might accuse you both ofintransigence. Intransigence is a stubborn refusal to change your views.

tending to betray; especially having a treacherous character as attributed to the Carthaginians by the Romans

If someone accuses you of being perfidious, you should probably be offended — it means underhanded, treacherous, deceitful — even evil.

grow and flourish

Use the verb burgeon to describe something that is growing, expanding, and flourishing. If you have a green thumb, in the spring your flower gardens will burgeon in a cacophony of color. If you don't have a green thumb, your collection of plastic plants will burgeon.

constituting a separate entity or part

Discrete means separate or divided. Adiscrete unit is a separate part of something larger. A room is a discrete space within a house, just as the transmission is a discretepart of a car engine.

feelings of great warmth and intensity

Use fervor to describe an intensity of emotion or expression. Fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers show so much fervor that they "bleed Dodger blue."

fill or cover completely, usually with water

To inundate means to quickly fill up or overwhelm, just like a flood. Your bathroom could be inundated with water if the pipes burst, and hopefully your inbox is inundatedwith nice emails on your birthday.

hasty and without attention to detail; not thorough

Perfunctory means done as part of a routine or duty. If you give someone a gift and they look at it like it's roadkill and say nothing about it but a perfunctory "thank you," you might not be giving them another one anytime soon.

polish and make shiny

That seductive gleam on that Porsche behind the dealer's window? It's called a burnish, a gloss only achieved by loads of polishing. Likewise, you can burnish resume, by polishing it until it's perfect.

not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness

Use the adjective disingenuous to describe behavior that's not totally honest or sincere. It's disingenuous when people pretend to know less about something than they really do.

emblem usually consisting of a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design

Stopping for a snack may help when your energy or attention begin to flag, meaning you are getting tired or losing your focus.

made tough by habitual exposure

If you have gotten so many mosquito bites in your life that they no longer bother you, you have become inured to them. This means you have become accustomed to tolerating them.

allowing fluids or gases to pass or diffuse through

Something that is permeable can be passed through, especially by liquids or gases. "I wish I hadn't worn my permeable sweater to the picnic when the weatherman called for thunderstorms. The rain seeped right through the fabric, soaking me to the skin."

a support usually of stone or brick; supports the wall of a building

You can buttress an argument with solid facts or your financial portfolio with safe investments. You may find that giving compliments to everyone you meetbuttresses your popularity. To buttress is to sustain or reinforce.

unaffected by self-interest

If you can't decide whether to purchase the shirt with orange polka dots or the purple paisley-patterned one, you might seek input from a disinterested, or unbiased, party (who will probably tell you not to buy either one).

young bird that has just fledged or become capable of flying

A fledgling is a fuzzy baby bird just learning to fly, or someone (like a baby bird) who's brand new at doing something. Awww.

abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure or bitter deep-seated ill will

Invective is harsh, abusive language, like, "you dirty rotten scoundrel." I'm sure you can think of harsher and more obscene examples, but we won't get into them here.

spreading or spread throughout

When something is pervasive, it's everywhere. Common things are pervasive — like greed and cheap perfume.

having an unpleasant sound

The adjective cacophonous describes loud, harsh sounds, like the cacophonous racket your brother and his band mates make while trying to learn how to play their instruments.

taken apart at the joints

Disjointed isn’t when you can bend your thumb all the way backwards — that’sdouble-jointed. Disjointed means "unorganized" or "disconnected."

treat with contemptuous disregard

To flout is to scorn or show contempt for. "Iflout the law and the concept of civilian safety by making a concerted effort to jaywalk every time I cross a street."

quickly aroused to anger

If you're irascible, you get angry easily — perhaps blowing up in rage when someone brushes into you.

showing little emotion

Yes, phlegmatic has roots in that colorless, mucous stuff called phlegm, but people who are phlegmatic aren't called that because they have lots of mucous. They are just a little dull in expressing feelings or showing emotion.

determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason

Capricious is an adjective to describe a person or thing that's impulsive and unpredictable, like a bride who suddenly leaves her groom standing at the wedding altar.

stop associating with

At the end of a lesson period, your teacher says, "class dismissed." This means that you and the rest of the students are free to go.

try to stir up public opinion

Stand outside the school cafeteria passing out flyers with nutritional details on school food, and you may foment a revolution––foment means stirring up something undesirable, such as trouble.

uncertain how to act or proceed

Irresolute describes someone who feels stuck. A decision must be made, a plan acted on, but the irresolute person just doesn't know what to do.

righteousness by virtue of being pious

Piety is devotion to God or to religious practices. Nuns who pray all day long are famous for their piety. If you have filial piety it means you're devoted to your parents.

verbal punishment

If your coach yells at your team for sloppy play, his post-game speech might be called acastigation. A castigation is a harsh verbal reprimand.

express a negative opinion of

If you haven't got anything nice to say, then it's time to disparage someone. It means to belittle or degrade a person or idea.

keep from happening or arising; make impossible

It takes a bit of planning to forestallsomething, meaning stop it from happening. To forestall the effects of aging, exercise and take care of your health all your life.

an established line of travel or access

An itinerary is your travel plan — where you will go and when you will be there.

cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of

When a husband shows up with flowers after he's fought with his wife, he's trying toplacate her. If you placate someone, you stop them from being angry by giving them something or doing something that pleases them.

 a substance that initiates or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected

A catalyst is an event or person causing a change. Getting kicked out of your parents' house might be a catalyst for becoming more independent.

fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind

The trunk of some people's cars may contain items as disparate as old clothes, rotting food, and possibly a missing relative. Disparatethings are very different from each other.

prudence in avoiding waste

If you try to avoid waste by reusing and repurposing items that most people would throw away, your frugality will save you money.

brief and to the point; effectively cut short

Laconic is an adjective that describes a style of speaking or writing that uses only a few words, often to express complex thoughts and ideas. A more laconic way to write that last sentence might be this: laconic means brief.

the property of being physically malleable; the property of something that can be worked or hammered or shaped without breaking

Plasticity means "changeability" or "moldability" — clay has a lot of plasticity, but a rock has almost none.

of a substance, especially a strong acid; capable of destroying or eating away by chemical action

Use the adjective caustic to describe any chemical that is able to burn living tissue or other substances, or, figuratively, a statement that has a similarly burning effect. Caustic in this sense means harshly critical.

behave unnaturally or affectedly

To dissemble is to hide under a false appearance, to deceive. "When confronted about their human rights record, the Chinese government typically dissembles."

producing no result or effect

When something fails to deliver a useful result, you can call it futile. Hopefully all the time you're spending studying vocabulary won't turn out to be futile!

a feeling of lack of interest or energy

If you are feeling lassitude, you're weary and just can't be bothered. Couch potatoes makelassitude into an art form.

a trite or obvious remark

If an executive gives a speech that begins, "This business is all about survival of the fittest. You need to burn the midnight oil and take one for the team," his employees might get sick of listening to these meaningless clichés and tell him to cut the platitudes.

extreme excess

Plethora means an abundance or excess of something. If you have 15 different people who want to take you on a date, you have aplethora of romantic possibilities.

make peace with

If you forgot flowers on your Mom's birthday, you can still propitiate her by sending a bouquet the next day. Propitiate means to appease someone or make them happy by doing a particular thing. Handy strategy for lovers, too.

cancel officially

If get a call saying a company has decided torescind your job offer, it's back to the classifieds for you. Rescind is an official reversal.

recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances

Sporadic is an adjective that you can use to refer to something that happens or appears often, but not constantly or regularly. The mailman comes every day but the plumber visits are sporadic––he comes as needed.

easily managed (controlled or taught or molded)

If your little brother quietly obeys your instructions and waits for you at the food court while you and your friends wander around the mall, he's probably a tractablechild, meaning he's obedient, flexible, and responds well to directions.

drop sharply

The verb plummet means "to drop sharply," like eagles that plummet toward earth, seeking prey, or school attendance thatplummets when there is a flu outbreak.

correct or appropriate behavior

Propriety is following what is socially acceptable in speech and behavior. If you are someone who cares about always doing the right and proper thing, your friends might accuse you of being obsessed with proprietyand beg you to loosen up.

finding a solution to a problem

The noun resolution has a few related meanings having to do with being firmly determined about something. If you lack determination, you'll never fulfill your New Year's resolutions.

a symbol of disgrace or infamy

If something has a negative association attached to it, call this a stigma. Bed-wetting can lead to a social stigma for a six year old, while chewing tobacco might have the same effect for a sixty year old.

the act of transgressing; the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle

A transgression is something that is against a command or law. Whether you are cheating on a test, or cheating on a spouse, you are committing transgressions that are not easily forgiven.

full of pores or vessels or holes

If something is full of tiny holes or openings, you can describe it as porous. A sponge isporous, and if the border between countries is open for anyone to cross easily, it too can be called porous.

command against

To proscribe something is to forbid or prohibit it, as a school principal might proscribe the use of cell phones in class.