Term
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Definition
lacking courage
"The pusillanimous lion was not much help to the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Dorothy." |
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Term
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Definition
disorder or disease of the body
"The singer's malady caused her to give up her recording career." |
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Term
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Definition
making of amends for a wrongdoing
"Some people believe reparations should be made to the ancestors of slaves." |
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Term
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Definition
to challenge in a sarcastic or insulting way
"A bully will often taunt another student to get the victim to attack first." |
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Term
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Definition
annoy; bother
"The fly exasperated the diners by flying around their food." |
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Term
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Definition
architectural support arch
"The Cathedral at Notre Dame has many flying buttresses." |
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Term
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Definition
bitterness; harshness
"The couple's acrimonious relationship ended in divorce." |
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Term
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Definition
to gently warn
"The teacher admonished the texters to pay attention to the lesson." |
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Term
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Definition
hard-working; attentive to detail
"Assiduous planning made for an exceptionally impressive project." |
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Term
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Definition
the state of being happy
"The winner's felicity was obvious by the smile on her face." |
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Term
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Definition
tearfully emotional
"The mother became maudlin upon hearing of her child's deadly disease." |
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Term
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Definition
emerging
"The singer's nascent talent was evident in her first album." |
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Term
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Definition
shameful
"Her ignominious actions embarrassed the whole country." |
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Term
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Definition
trickery
"Winning a war sometimes takes clever guile and surprise attacks." |
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Term
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Definition
soothe
"We will try to placate your fear of the unknown." |
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Term
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Definition
unselfish giving
"The altruism of the Red Cross is well-known." |
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Term
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Definition
nickname
"What is the sobriquet you call your best friend?" |
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Term
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Definition
defame
"Political ads often denigrate the opponent's record." |
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Term
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Definition
blunt, often rudely to the point
"Arnold gave a brusque reply to my request for him to stop smoking." |
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Term
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Definition
traveling
"The itinerant salesman put hundreds of miles on his car every day." |
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Term
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Definition
praising
"The teacher wrote laudatory comments on all of the papers that exceeded the standards." |
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Term
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Definition
stubborn
"The obdurate animal was hard to work with on the set." |
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Term
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Definition
very harmful
"The pernicious disease almost wiped out the entire population of France." |
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Term
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Definition
enclosed aquatic building
"The Olympic-size pool was the centerpiece of the natatorium." |
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Term
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Definition
vicious
"The mother began a truculent attack on the intruders, killing three of the hyenas." |
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Term
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Definition
face to face
"We sat vis-à-vis during the competition." |
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Term
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Definition
quiet
"In hospital zones, drivers are asked to be as reticent as possible." |
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Term
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Definition
dry
"The Sahara Desert is one of the most arid regions on Earth." |
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Term
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Definition
handle
"Derrick attached the helve to the shaft." |
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Term
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Definition
excessive gas
"Flatulence in the classroom is often met with abhorrence." |
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Term
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Definition
efficient
"The expeditious handling of the delivery allowed us extra time to plan the meeting." |
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Term
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Definition
concise
"The laconic speaker took only a few minutes of our time." |
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Term
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Definition
concise
"The laconic speaker took only a few minutes of our time." |
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Term
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Definition
accidental fortune
"By serendipity, she located the treasure with no map or compass." |
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Term
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Definition
reach the highest point
"The long round of talks culminated with an agreement not to strike." |
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Term
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Definition
organizational structure
"It is sometimes hard to rise up in the hierarchy of an established corporation." |
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Term
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Definition
tiny details
"Please, just cover the main points and avoid the minutiae." |
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Term
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Definition
persuasive use of
"At first we thought he meant what he said, but it turns out it was only rhetoric." |
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Term
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Definition
indisputable
"The video was incontrovertible proof that the police used brutality during the arrest." |
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Term
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Definition
laziness
"The hot and humid weather brought torpor to the crowd." |
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Term
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Definition
difference
"The disparity in their ages caused people to wonder why they loved each other." |
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Term
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Definition
enthusiasm
"The crowd’s ebullience intensified with every goal scored." |
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Term
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Definition
conspicuously
"Not sterilizing surgical equipment would be an egregious error before an operation." |
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Term
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Definition
calm
"A kind word will often mollify an upset child." |
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Term
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Definition
false
"Claiming the team was undefeated, when actually they had lost the first game of the season, was a spurious remark." |
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Term
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Definition
secretive
"Clandestine maneuvers can be spoiled by an information leak." |
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Term
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Definition
not straightforward
"It was hard to trust Michelle because most of her answers were disingenuous." |
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Term
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Definition
secretly
"Matt drank the cough syrup surreptitiously; he did not want anyone to know he was sick." |
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Term
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Definition
clever
"The wily coyote devised all sorts of elaborate traps to catch the roadrunner." |
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Term
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Definition
able to pay the bills
"After years of losing money, the restaurant finally solved its financial problems and became solvent." |
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Term
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Definition
highly respected
"Once venerated, Jefferson’s reputation was tarnished by recent revelations." |
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Term
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Definition
plentiful
"She had taken copious notes during class, using up five large notebooks." |
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Term
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Definition
widespread fire
"It took three hours and a million gallons of water to extinguish the conflagration." |
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Term
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Definition
widespread
"In this part of town, graffiti is pervasive – it’s everywhere!" |
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Term
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Definition
enormous
"The shattered vase required a prodigious amount of glue to repair." |
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Term
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Definition
filled
"After two hours of trick-or-treating, Dee’s bag was replete with Halloween candy." |
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Term
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Definition
sincerity
"It is refreshing to hear Candice’s candor." |
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Term
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Definition
subdue, control
"They tried to subjugate the belligerent child, but she broke free and bit the principal." |
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Term
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Definition
twisting, winding
"The Audi roadster handled the tortuous road as if it were nothing." |
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Term
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Definition
not open to doubt
"By finding his cheat sheet, we now have unassailable proof that he did not pass the test on his own." |
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Term
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Definition
hesitant
"She began the climb diffidently, but by the time she reached the first plateau she grew comfortable and quickened her pace." |
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Term
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Definition
sorrowful
"We do not feel contrite about ridding our attic of squirrels and messy birds." |
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Term
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Definition
grew quickly
"The population of large cities in the South burgeoned when hurricane refugees moved in." |
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Term
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Definition
decrease in size and strength
"When you don’t exercise, your muscles atrophy." |
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Term
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Definition
strict, and not open to be relaxed
"They say teachers shouldn’t smile until Christmas, meaning that they should start off with stringent rules and relax them later." |
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Term
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Definition
displeasing and harsh
"What is sweet euphony to us is often cacophony to our parents." |
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Term
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Definition
humor
"Sometimes a bad situation can be mitigated with a little levity to lighten things up." |
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Term
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Definition
firmly determined
"Dexter was resolute in his actions." |
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Term
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Definition
opinionated
"In a trial, your spouse is not required to testify because subjective responses are expected." |
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Term
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Definition
bitterness
"Margaret had a feeling of rancor when she found out her lover had been lying to her." |
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Term
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Definition
showy, but cheap
"The star’s look was tawdry." |
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Term
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Definition
excited
"Film previews/trailers are meant to whet your feelings to see the whole movie." |
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Term
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Definition
fleeting
"The flash from a camera is evanescent, although the effects on your eyes may linger." |
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Term
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Definition
a state of temporary
"Although the disease was in abeyance, we feared it would soon devastate his weak body." |
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Term
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Definition
rules
"It was the church’s canons that no minister could marry." |
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Term
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Definition
replace
"Someone will sooner or later supplant our president." |
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Term
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Definition
exclude from favor
"In socially primitive cultures, people are often ostracized for their race, creed, or beliefs." |
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Term
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Definition
pertaining to the night
"The nocturnal actions of the owl necessitate extremely keen vision." |
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Term
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Definition
truthful
"Veracious people are likely to be more trusted than those who deceive." |
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Term
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Definition
greedy
"The voracious king wanted everything he touched to turn to gold." |
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Term
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Definition
extremely poor person
"The paupers of Europe had no money, no influence, and no hope." |
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Term
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Definition
chemically or verbally burning
"Her vitriolic comments made the children cry." |
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Term
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Definition
cheerful
"The blithe clown made everyone happy at the party." |
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Term
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Definition
high point
"The zenith of Michael Jackson's career was the period following the album Thriller." |
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Term
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Definition
physically wear out
"After the grueling test, the majority of the students were enervated and needed a break." |
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Term
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Definition
fictitious
"The Last Samurai is a great apocryphal film, yet it also involved realistic principles of the samurai." |
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Term
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Definition
instructive
"Because the game was didactic, it helped us to learn the lesson." |
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Term
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Definition
changeable
"One sex is always accusing the other of being fickle." |
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Term
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Definition
extremely idealistic
"Pretending you’re a knight is one thing, but attacking windmills that you call dragons is a bit quixotic." |
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Term
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Definition
uninteresting
"Once a recording artist puts out an insipid album, it’s hard to get his or her audience back." |
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Term
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Definition
praise
"Titus chose to laud his newborn baby boy by bragging about him to his friends." |
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Term
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Definition
uncertain
"His brother is ambivalent about going to college." |
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Term
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Definition
all-powerful
"Many Greek Gods are omnipotent." |
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Term
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Definition
reckless behavior
"When driving a car, one should avoid temerity." |
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Term
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Definition
regret
"People usually rue the day they drop out of school." |
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Term
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Definition
privilege
"The prerogative of the citizens is to chose their leaders." |
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Term
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Definition
incorrect ideas
"His website introduced too many fallacies." |
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Term
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Definition
favorable
"Our team got off to an auspicious start by scoring seven runs in the first inning." |
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Term
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Definition
easily fooled
"The gullible man bought a used nail for ten dollars." |
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Term
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Definition
narrow
"The four year old had a parochial grasp on how the world works." |
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Term
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Definition
yield
"It is probably wise to defer to the principal if it obvious she is not going to change her mind." |
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Term
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Definition
spread
"I hope my idea disseminates to everyone at Central High." |
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