Term
affluent
"Under duress from the tax officer, the beggar admitted that he was truly affluent." |
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Definition
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Term
feasible
"It's feasible to build an electric auto, but wouldn't you need a terribly long extension cord?" |
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Definition
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Term
discern
"When we could discern the city lights, we knew we were safe at last." |
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Definition
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Term
sally
"Some prisoners planned a disturbance while others would sally toward the gate." |
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Definition
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Term
consternation
"To the consternation of the sergeant, there was a paucity of volunteers for the dangerous mission." |
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Definition
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Term
precocious
"The children in Shakespeare's plays are so precocious that they all sound like grandparents." |
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Definition
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Term
perfunctory
"Edith gave only perfunctory attention to the new millennium, skipping our New Year's Eve party." |
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Definition
| done without care, superficial |
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Term
chagrin
"To the chagrin of many taxpayers, some citizens seem to cheat the government with impunity." |
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Definition
| feeling of disappointment, humiliation |
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Term
perverse
"When I correct my kid brother's math errors, he is perverse enough to insist that he is right." |
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Definition
| contrary, persisting in error |
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Term
deride
"The Wright brothers didn't become distraught when a skeptic would deride their work." |
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Definition
| to ridicule, scoff at, to make fun of |
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Term
disparage
"The affluent store-owner disparaged the efforts of his small competitor, saying that he could always tolerate that kind of rivalry." |
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Definition
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Term
laudable
"The paradox is that Javert's inexorable pursuit of Jean Valjean was both laudable and despicable." |
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Definition
| praiseworthy, commendable |
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Term
fiasco
"In an acrimonious letter, her father described the project as a complete fiasco." |
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Definition
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Term
masticate
"To aid in digestion, you must masticate each piece of meat one dozen times." |
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Definition
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Term
eschew
"Once he sought the limelight, but now he eschewed all interviews." |
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Definition
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Term
quell
"In order to quell the riot, the police sallied forth with tear gas." |
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Definition
| put an end to, crush, stop |
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Term
voluble
"I could not doze in the chair because of the voluble barber." |
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Definition
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Term
confidant(e)
"A teenage boy's father should be his true confidante." |
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Definition
| one to whom you confide your secrets |
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Term
obsolescence
"The obsolescence built into many products could be regarded as a flagrant insult toward the duped consumer." |
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Definition
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Term
dubious
"When the duplicity was revealed, the jury became dubious about Ed's innocence." |
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Definition
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Term
implacable
"The detective was implacable in his search for the murder weapon." |
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Definition
| cannot be pacified, inexorable, relentless, unappeasable |
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Term
paroxysm
"In a paroxysm of rage, the tenant stormed out of the landlord's office." |
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Definition
| a fit, sudden outburst, violent outburst |
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Term
reprehensible
"The brash student was forced to apologize for her reprehensible conduct." |
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Definition
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Term
jurisdiction
"Saying that it was beyond his jurisdiction, Judge Klein refused to rule on the case." |
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Definition
| power, range of authority |
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Term
skirmish
"The precocious boy enjoyed an intellectual skirmish with his elders." |
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Definition
| small fight, brief encounter |
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Term
harass
"If anonymous telephone callers harass you, the phone company will give you an unlisted number." |
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Definition
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Term
monolithic
"George Orwell's 1984 depicts a frightening, monolithic |
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Definition
| massively solid, having a massive structure |
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Term
arbitrary
"To my mind the decision was unreasonable and arbitrary." |
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Definition
| based on whim, dictatorial |
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Term
indigent
"The indigent client was surprised when she was accosted by her social worker in the elegant restaurant." |
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Definition
| poor, needy, poverty-stricken |
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Term
fray
"After the fray, the feuding families agreed to patch up their differences." |
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Definition
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Term
stymie
"Cause of cancer continues to stymie doctors." |
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Definition
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Term
effigy
"Coach of losing team hanged in effigy." |
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Definition
| a likeness (usually of a hated person) |
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Term
cognizant
"F.B.I. cognizant of clandestine gangland meeting." |
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Definition
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Term
turbulent
"Turbulent atmosphere in angry senate chamber." |
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Definition
| unruly, agitated, riotous |
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Term
terminate
"It seemed incongruous to terminate his employment just when he was so successful." |
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Definition
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Term
forthwith
"Upon seeing the show, he called the TV studio forthwith to protest." |
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Definition
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Term
exacerbate
"The arrest of the spy did much to exacerbate relations between the two countries." |
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Definition
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Term
revert
"After taking the drug, she began to revert to the days of her childhood." |
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Definition
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Term
oust
"The ushers moved with alacrity to oust the disorderly patrons." |
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Definition
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Term
emaciated
"The emaciated residents of the Warsaw Ghetto managed to win several skirmishes from the Nazis." |
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Definition
| abnormally thin, wasted away |
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Term
surge
"Chicago put its heaviest players up front, but they were helpless as the Giants' line surged toward them." |
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Definition
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Term
tranquil
"A firecracker terminated the tranquil climate of the neighborhood." |
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Definition
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Term
sanctuary
"When Richard III violated the sanctuary of the church to seize the princes, he exceeded his jurisdiction." |
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Definition
| shelter, place of protection |
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Term
ascend
"Inexorably the determined climber began to ascend the Himalayan peak." |
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Definition
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Term
malnutrition
"The emaciated prisoners were obviously suffering from advanced malnutrition." |
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Definition
| faulty or inadequate diet |
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Term
afflict
"Citizens of several Kentucky mountain communities are afflicted by the worst poverty in the nation." |
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Definition
| to trouble greatly, to distress |
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Term
besiege
"By running up a white flag, the beseiged troops indicated their desire to withdraw from the fray." |
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Definition
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Term
privation
"Albert Schweitzer endured consiberable privation as a jungle doctor." |
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Definition
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Term
sinister
"The stool pigeon, the detective's confidant, told him about the sinister plot." |
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Definition
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Term
ubiquitous
"Sprinting all over the court, the ubiquitous referee called one foul after another." |
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Definition
| being everywhere at the same time |
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Term
remote
"Ben's reprehensible table manners led his fraternity brothers to seat him in a remote corner of the dining room." |
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Definition
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Term
thwart
"In an attempt to thwart the voracious ants, he surrounded his house with a moat of burning oil." |
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Definition
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Term
harbinger
"The excellent soup was a harbinger of the delicious meal to follow." |
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Definition
| a forerunner, advance notice |
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Term
malignant
"The surgeon finally located the malignant tumor that had afflicted his patient for many months." |
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Definition
| likely to cause death, becoming progressively worse |
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Term
excruciating
"With excruciating slowness, the minute hand inched its way around the clock." |
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Definition
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Term
respite
"The voluble insurance salesman gave my father no respite." |
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Definition
| an interval of relief, delay, postponement |
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Term
reverberating
"The rescue team heard the miner's voice reverberating through the caves." |
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Definition
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Term
| fretful "Around income tax time fretful faces are ubiquitous." |
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Definition
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Term
succumb
"Besieged by debts, the corporation finally had to succumb to bankruptcy." |
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Definition
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Term
flout
"Many motorists flout traffic laws, study reveals." |
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Definition
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