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Definition
hard; strenuous
Her arduous efforts had sapped her energy |
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operatic solo
At her Metropolitan Opera audition, Marian Anderson sang an aria from Norma |
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dry; barren
The cactus adapted to survive in an arid environment |
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fragrant
Medieval sailing vessels brought aromatic herbs from China and Europe. |
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awakening; provocation (of a response)
On arousal, Papa was always grumpy as a bear. |
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charge in court; indict
After his indictment by the Grand Jury, the accused man was arraigned in the County Criminal Court. |
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marshal; draw up in order
His actions were bound to array public sentiment against him. |
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clothe; adorn
She liked to watch her mother array herself in her finest clothes before going out for the evening. |
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stop or slow down; catch someone's attention
The car accident arrested the pedestrian's attention. |
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pride; haughtiness
Convinced that Emma thought she was better than anyone else in the class, Ed rebuked her for her arrogance. |
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storage place for military equipment.
People are forbidden to smoke in the arsenal because the lightest spark might trigger the munitions stored. |
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effective; distinct
Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers. |
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deception, trickery
The Trojan War proved to the Greeks that cunning and artifice were often more effective than military might. |
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manually skilled worker; craftsman, as opposed to artist.
A noted artisan, Arturo was known for the fine craftsmanship of his inlaid cabinets. |
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without guile; open and honest
Sophisticated and cynical, Jack could not believe Jill was as artless and naive as she appeared to be. |
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controlling influence; domination
Leaders of religious cults maintain ascendancy over their followers by methods that can verge on brainwashing. |
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find out for certain
Please ascertain her present address. |
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practicing self-denial; austere
The wealthy self-indulgent man felt oddly drawn to the strictly ascetic life led by members of some monastic orders. |
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refer; attribute; assign
I can ascribe no motive for her acts. |
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preventing infection; having a cleansing effect
Hospitals succeeded in lowering the mortality rate as soon as they introduced aseptic conditions. |
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ash-colored.
Her face was ashen with fear. |
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stupid
"What an asinine comment!" said Bob contemptuously. "I've never heard of such a stupid remark." |
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with a sideways or indirect look
Looking askance at her questioner, she displayed her scorn. |
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crookedly; slanted; at an angle
Judy constantly straightened the doilies on her furniture; she couldn't stand seeing them askew. |
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sharpness (of temper)
These remarks, spoken with asperity, stung the boys to whom they had been directed. |
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slander; slur; derogatory remark.
Unscrupulous politicians practice character assassination as a political tool, casting aspersions on their rivals. |
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seeker after position or status
Although I am an aspirant for public office, I am not willing to accept the dictates of the party bosses. |
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seek to attain; long for
Because he aspired to a career in professional sports, Phillip enrolled in a graduate program in sports management. |
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assault
He was assailed with questions after his lecture. |
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analyze; evaluate
When they assayed the ore they found that they had discovered a very rich vein. |
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agree; accept
It gives me a great pleasure to assent to your request. |
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declare or state with confidence; pit oneself forward boldly
Malcom asserted that if Reese quit acting like a wimp and asserted himself a bit more, he'd improve his chances of getting a date. |
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evaluation; judgement
Your high school record plays an important part in the admission committees assessment of you as an applicant. |
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diligent
He was assiduous, working at this task for weeks before he felt satisfied with his results. |
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ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger)
Jilted by Jane, Bill tried to assuage his heartache. |
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Definition
book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer
He taught by engaging his pupils in a catechism until they gave him the correct answer. |
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Definition
without exceptions; unqualified; absolute.
Though the captain claimed he was never, never sick at sea, he finally had to quality his categorical denial. |
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supply something desired (whether good or bad).
The chef was happy to cater to the tastes of his highly sophisticated clientele. |
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Definition
purging or cleansing of any passage of the body.
Aristotle maintained that tragedy created a catharsis by purging the soul of base concepts. |
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Definition
private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy
At the opening of Congress, the members of the Democratic Party held a caucus to elect the Majority Leader of the House and the Party Whip. |
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make watertight by filling in cracks
Jack had to caulk the tiles in the shower stall to stop the leak into the basement below. |
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burning; sarcastically biting
The critic's caustic comments angered the actors, who resented his cutting remarks. |
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procession; parade
As described by Chaucer, the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was a motley group. |
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offhand or casual; haughty
The disguised prince resented the cavalier way in which the palace guards treated him. |
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make frivolous objections
It's fine when you make sensible crticisms, but it really bugs me when you cavil about unimportant details. |
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yield (title, territory) to; surrender formally.
Eventually the descendants of England's Henry II were forced to cede their French territories to the King of France. |
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famous; well-known
Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire are two of America's most celebrated baseball players. |
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speed; rapidity
Hamlet resented his mother's celerity in remarrying within a month after his father's death. |
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heavenly; relating to the sky
Pointing his primitive telescope at the heavens, Galileo explored the celestial mysteries. |
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unmarried; abstaining from sexual intercourse.
Though Havelock Ellis wrote extensively sexual practices, recent studies maintain he was throughout his life. |
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overseer of morals; person who reads to eliminate inappropriate remarks.
Soldiers dislike having their mail read by a censor but understand the need for this precaution. |
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critical
Censorious people delight in casting blame. |
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Definition
radiating; departing from the center
Many automatic drying machines remove excess moisture from clothing by centrifugal force. |
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tending toward the center
Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth's surface? |
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pertaining to the brain or intellect.
The heroes of Dumb and Dumber were poorly equipped for cerebral pursuit. |
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thought
Mathematics problems sometimes require much cerebration. |
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certainty
Through there was no certitude of his getting the job. |
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stoppage
The airline's employees threatened a cessation of all work if management failed to meet their demands. |
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Definition
Yielding to another, ceding
The cession of Alaska to the U.S. is discussed in this chapter. |
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warm by rubbing; make sore (by rubbing)
Chilled, he chafed his hands before the fire. |
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Definition
worthless products of an endeavor
When you separate the wheat from the chaff, be sure you throw out the chaff. |
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bantering; joking
Sometimes Chad's flippant, chaffing remarks annoyed us. |
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vexation (caused by humiliation or injured pride); disappointment
Someone filled with chagrin doesn't grin: Doug was too mortified. |
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one
Monarchy- government
Monotheism- belief in one god |
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many
Multifarious- having many parts
Multitudinous- numerous |
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new
Neologism- newly coined word
Neophyte- beginner; novice |
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not
Noncommittal- undecided
Nonentity- person of no importance |
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against
Obloquy- infamy; disgrace
Obtrude- push into prominence
Occlude close; block out
Offend- insult
Opponent- someone who struggles against; foe |
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few
Oligarchy- government by a few |
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all, every
Panacea- cure-all
Panorama- unobstructed view in all directions |
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beyond, related
Parallel- similar
Paraphrase- restate; translate |
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through, completely
Permeable-allowing passage through
Pervade- Spread throughout |
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around, near
Perimeter- outer boundary
Periphery- edge
Periphrastic- stated in a roundabout way |
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many
Polygamist- person with several spouses
Polyglot- speaking several languages |
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after
Postpone- delay
Posterity- generations that follow
Posthumous- after death |
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before
Preamble- introductory statement
Prefix- word part placed before a root/stem
Premonition- forewarning |
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first
Primordial- existing at the dawn of time
Primogeniture- state of being the first born |
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forward, in favor of
Propulsive- driving forward
Proponent- supporter |
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first
Prototype- first of its kind |
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lower; humiliate
Defeated, Queen Zenobia was forced to abase herself before the conquering Romans. |
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embarrass
He was not at all abashed by her open administration. |
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subside; decrease, lessen.
Rather than leaving immediately, they waited for the storm to abate. |
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renounce; give up.
When Edward VIII abdicated the British throne to marry the woman he loved, he surprised the entire world. |
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Definition
abnormal or deviant.
Given the aberrant nature of the data, we doubted the validity of the entire experiment. |
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Definition
aid, usually doing something wrong; encourage.
She was unwilling to abet him in the swindle he had planned. |
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detest; hate.
She abhorred all forms of bigotry. |
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wretched; lacking pride.
On the streets of NY the homeless live in abject poverty. |
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Definition
renounce upon oath.
He abjured his allegiance to the king. |
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Definition
repudiation; self- sacrifice.
Though Rudolph and Flavia loved each other, their love was doomed for she had to marry the king; their act of abnegation was necessary to preserve the kingdom. |
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Definition
detestable; extremely unpleasant; very bad.
John was called an abominable young man for his abominable taste in women. |
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being the first of its kind in a region; primitive; native.
Her studies of the primitive art forms of the aboriginal Indians were widely reported in the scientific journals. |
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Definition
unsuccessful; fruitless.
Attacked by armed troops the Chinese students had to abandon their abortive attempt to democratize Beijing peacefully. |
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Definition
wear away by friction; scrape; erode.
Because the sharp rocks had abraded the skin on her legs, she dabbed iodine on the scrapes and abrasions. |
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Definition
rubbing away; tending to grind down.
Just as abrasive cleaning powders can wear away a shiny finish, abrasive remarks can wear away a listener's patience. |
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Definition
condense or shorten.
Because the publishers felt the public wanted a shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel. |
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Definition
depart secretly and hide.
The teller who absconded with the bond went uncaptured until someone recognized him from his photograph. |
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Definition
pardon (an offense).
The father confessor absolved him of his sins. |
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Definition
refrain; hold oneself back voluntarily from an action or practice.
He decided to abstain from drinking while he trained for the race. |
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Definition
sparing in eating and drinking; temperate.
She was concerned of her vegetarian son's abstemious diet because he was not provided with enough protein. |
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Definition
theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational.
To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal. |
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obscure; profound; difficult to understand.
Baffled by the abstruse philosophical texts assigned in class, Dave asked Lexy to explain Kant's Critique of Pure Reason |
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plentiful; possessing riches or resources.
At his immigration interview, Ivan listed his abundant of reasons for coming in America. |
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