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23
English
Undergraduate 1
07/08/2009

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Term
aberration
Definition
(n.) something that differs from the norm (In 1974, Poland won the World Cup, but the success turned out to be an aberration, and Poland have not won a World Cup since).
Term
abhor
Definition
(v.) to hate, detest (Because he always wound up getting hit in the head when he tried to play cricket, Marcin began to abhor the sport).
Term
acquiesce
Definition
(v.) to agree without protesting (Though Mr. Pospieszny wanted to stay outside and work in his garage, when his wife told him that he had better come in to dinner, he acquiesced to her demands.)
Term
alacrity
Definition
(n.) eagerness, speed (For some reason, Simon loved to help his girlfriend whenever he could, so when his girlfriend asked him to set the table he did so with alacrity.)
Term
amiable
Definition
(adj.) friendly (An amiable fellow, Neil got along with just about everyone.)
Term
appease
Definition
(v.) to calm, satisfy (When Jerry cries, his mother gives him chocolate to appease him.)
Term
arcane
Definition
(adj.) obscure, secret, known only by a few (The professor is an expert in arcane Kashubian literature.)
Term
avarice
Definition
(n.) excessive greed (The banker’s avarice led him to amass an enormous personal fortune.)
Term
brazen
Definition
(adj.) excessively bold, brash, clear and obvious (Critics condemned the writer’s brazen attempt to plagiarise Frankow-Czerwonko’s work.)
Term
brusque
Definition
(adj.) short, abrupt, dismissive (Simon’s brusque manner sometimes offends his colleagues.)
Term
cajole
Definition
(v.) to urge, coax (Magda's friends cajoled her into drinking too much.)
Term
callous
Definition
(adj.) harsh, cold, unfeeling (The murderer’s callous lack of remorse shocked the jury.)
Term
circumspect
Definition
(adj.) cautious (Though I promised Marta’s father I would bring her home promptly by midnight, it would have been more circumspect not to have specified a time.)
Term
candor
Definition
(n.) honesty, frankness (We were surprised by the candor of the politician’s speech because she is usually rather evasive.)
Term
clandestine
Definition
(adj.) secret (Announcing to her boyfriend that she was going to the library, Maria actually went to meet George for a clandestine liaison.)
Term
coerce
Definition
(v.) to make somebody do something by force or threat (The court decided that David Beckham did not have to honor the contract because he had been coerced into signing it.)
Term
coherent
Definition
(adj.) logically consistent, intelligible (William could not figure out what Harold had seen because he was too distraught to deliver a coherent statement.)
Term
connive
Definition
(v.) to plot, scheme (She connived to get me to give up my plans to start up a new business.)
Term
debase
Definition
(v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave himself debased his motives for running the charity.)
Term
decry
Definition
(v.) to criticize openly (Andrzej Lepper, the leader of the Polish Self Defence party decried the appaling state of Polish roads.)
Term
deferential
Definition
(adj.) showing respect for another’s authority (Donata is always excessively deferential to any kind of authority figure.)
Term
deride
Definition
(v.) to laugh at mockingly, scorn (The native speaker often derided the other teacher’s accent.)
Term
despot
Definition
(n.) one who has total power and rules brutally (The despot issued a death sentence for anyone who disobeyed his laws.)
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