Anomaly

Noun

- deviation from common, odd

- quantity measured in degrees defining position of orbting body

Syn: abnormality, exception, peculiarity

Equivocal

Adj

- Possibility of differnt meanings, esp with intent to deceive

The politician offered equivocal answers during the debate.

Syn: Ambiguous, debatable, dubious, shaky

Lucid

Adj

- easily understood, clear

To truly understand a subject is to describe it with lucid language that all can comprehend.

Syn: clear, limpid, understandable, reasonable

Precipitate

Verb

to hurl, bring about abruptly

The release of nuclear energy precipitated the destruction

Syn: hurl, pour, storm

Noun (Adj)

substance from solution, product/outcome from an action

That white mass is the precipitate from the solution.

Syn: aftermath, consequence, corollary, outcome

Assuage

Verb

lessen intensity; put an end to by satisfying

My girlfriend assuaged my stress with her smile

Syn: allay, alleviate, ease, mitigate

Erudite

Adj

having knowledge that's gained by studying

The Anatomy TA gave and erudite explanation of male erections.

Syn: educated, knowledgable, learned

Opaque

Adj:  impenetrable to light

Noun: Something that is opaque

Verb: cause to become opaque

Syn: dark, dull, stupid, obscure, murky, cloudy

Prodigal

Adj

Profuse or wastful expenditure; abundant yield

The trustee helped save the family from a prodigal or madman.

The townsfolk were happy about the prodigal harvest.

Syn: extravagant, profligate, wasteful

Enigma

Noun

Obscure speech/writing; difficult to explain

Vegans are an enigma

mystery, conundrum, riddle

Fervid

Adj

very hot, burning

Ned gave a fervid speech about his desire for sausage.

Syn: Ardent, blazing, emotional, fiery, torrid

Placate

Verb

soothe or mollify (soften, smooth out), esp by concessions

The angry pimp was not placated by the hooker's blowjob.

Syn: appease, assuage, concilate, mollify, pacify

Zeal

Noun

eager and ardent interest in something

The young and wealth have zeal for extravagant parties.

Syn: fervor, eager, excited

Abstain

Verb

to refrain deliberately

AA helps its members absatin from drinking.

Syn: abjure, refrain, forgo, eschew

Audacious

Adj

intrepidly daring, adventurous

She made an audacious decision to withdrawal from school.

Syn: bold, brash, insolent, sassy

Adulterate

Verb, Adj

to corrupt or make impure by the addition of a foreign substance.

Don't adulterate that scotch by adding ice.

Syn: impure, contaminate, dilure, weaken

Apathy

Noun

lack of feeling, emotion, or concern

The dead of winter tends to make people express more apathy.

Syn: emotionless, impassioness, phlegm (1.4 humors in early physio, 'cold, sluggish')

Capricious

(Caprice)

Adj (Noun)

sudden notion or action, usually unpredictable

Men are subjects to womens' capricious nature during their mestrual periods.

Syn: impulsive, whim, maggot, megrim, vagary, mercurial, quixotic

Corroborate

Verb

to support with evidence or authority

The corroborated evidence was enough to inculpate the defendant. 

Syn: attest, authenticate, certify, substantiate

Dessicate

Verb

to dry up; drain of emotional or intellectual vitality

I feel dessicated after eating those crackers in the boring lecture.

Syn: preserve, castrate, dessicate, dampen, dehydrate, geld, petrify

Engender

Verb

procreate, to cause to exist or develop

The many years of excess taxes and little food engendered rioting within the populace.

Syn: beget, bring about, catalyze, cause, effectuate

Ephermeral

Adj, Noun

lasting very shortly

Autumn is always gorgeous, all the more beautiful because it's so ephemeral.

Syn: breif, deciduous, evanescent, fugacious, temporary

Gullible

Adj

easily duped or cheated

Gullible is not written in the dictionary.

Syn: dewy-eyed, exploitable, trusting

Laconic

Adj

utilizing minimum words, to the point of seeming rude

The Spartans were known for their laconic dialogues.

Syn: terse, aphoristic, apothegmatic, brief, pithy, succint

Laudable

Adj

worthy of praise

You're effort in the matter is laudable and appreciated

Syn: applaudable, commendable, meritorious

Loquacious

Adj

excessive talk

Some get loquacious when nervous, others just bite their tongues.

Syn: wordy, garrulous, blabby, chatty

Mitigate

Verb

to cause to become less harsh; make less severe/painful

Sand bags were utilized to mitigate the flooding

Syn: allay, assuage, mollify, palliate, relieve

Pedant

Noun

one who makes an excessive show of knowledge; rigid adherence to book knowledge w/o common sense

Sci-fi can provoke the pedant in ardent scientists.

Syn: baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, thesis

Pragmatic

Adj

Relating to matter of practical affairs, often excluding intellectual or artistic matters

His pragmatic view towards education comes from years in public, urban school systems.

Syn: earthy, practical, realistic

Propriety

Noun

Quality of being proper/suitable, comform to what's acceptable

The edgy and risky winemaker made a yearly propriety blend to gaurantee a steady income.

Syn: decorum, decency, form, conventional

Vacillate

Adj

to sway through lack of equilibrium, to waiver

She vacillated about her decision to join that the group left without her.

Syn: dither, falter, scruple, stagger, hesisitate

Volatile

Adj

readily vaporable; flying, power to fly; lighthearted; unable to hold fixed attention, difficult to hold/capture

She is a volatile woman, dating her may prove difficult.

Syn: lighthearted, fickle, capricious, flickery, mercurial, mutable