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/lower; humiliate. Defeated, Queen Zenobia was forced to abase herself before the
conquering Romans, who made her march in chains before the emperor in the
procession celebrating his triumph. Abasement
abate V\/subside; decrease, lessen. Rather than leaving immediately, they waited
for the storm to abate. abatement, N.
abbreviate - /shorten. Because we were running out of time, the lecturer had to
abbreviate her speech.
abdicate - renounce; give up. When E
aberrant N. - abnormal or deviant. Given the aberrant nature of the data, we
doubted the validity of the entire experiment. also N.
abeyance N. /suspended action. The deal was held in abeyance until her arrival.
abjure V. / /renounce upon oath. He abjured his allegiance to the king. abjuration, N.
ablution N. / /washing. His daily ablutions were accompanied by loud noises that
he humorously labeled "Opera in the Bath."
abnegation - Self-denial, repudiation; self-sacrifice. denying oneself some rights,
conveniences, e
No act of abnegation was more pronounced than his refusal of any rewards for his
discovery.
abrade - wear away by friction; scrape; erode. The sharp rocks abraded the skin on
her legs, so she put iodine on her abrasions.
abridge V. / condense or shorten. Because the publishers felt the public wanted a
shorter version of War and Peace, they proceeded to abridge the novel. abrogate
ADJ. //abolish. He intended to abrogate the decree issued by his predecessor
absolve V. //pardon (an offense). The father confessor absolved him of his sins.
absolution, N.
abstruse ADJ. //obscure; profound; difficult to understand. She
carries around abstruse works of philosophy, not because she understands them but
because she wants her friends to think she does.
abut V. //border upon; adjoin. Where our estates abut, we must build a fence
accede V. //agree. If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afraid that I will
be the victim of future demands
acclivity N. //sharp upslope of a hill. The car would not go up the acclivity
in high gear.
accost V. / /approach and speak first to a person. When the two young
men accosted me, I was frightened because I thought they were going to attack me
accoutre V. //equip. The fisherman was accoutred with the best that the sporting
goods store could supply. accoutrements, N
acidulous ADJ. //slightly sour; sharp, caustic. James was unpopular
because of his sarcastic and acidulous remarks
acquiesce V. / /assent; agree without protesting. Although she appeared to
acquiesce to her employer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about the
changes he wanted made. acquiescence, N.; acquiescent,ADJ. acquire V. /
/obtain; get. Frederick Douglass was d
acrid ADJ. //sharp; bitterly pungent. The acrid odor of burnt gunpowder
filled the room after the pistol
actuate V. //motivate. I fail to understand what actuated you to reply to
this letter so nastily.
acuity N. //sharpness. In time his youthful acuity of vision failed him, and he
needed glasses.
Addle V. //to confuse, muddle; drive crazy; become rotten. This idiotic
plan is confusing enough to addle anyone. addled,AD
adventitious ADJ. //accidental; casual. He found this adventitious meeting with
his friend extremely fortunate.
agglomeration N. / /collection; heap. It took weeks to assort the
agglomeration of miscellaneous items she had collected on her trip
alcove N. / /nook; small, recessed section of a room. Though their
apartment lacked a full-scale dining room, an alcove adjacent to the living room
made an adequate breakfast nook for the young couple.
alimentary ADJ. //supplying nourishment. The alimentary canal in our bodies is
so named because digestion of foods occurs there. When asked for the name of the
digestive tract, Sherlock Holmes replied, "Alimentary, my dear Watson."
apogee N. //highest point. When the moon in its orbit is farthest away from the
earth, it is at its apogee.
arraign V. //charge in court; indict. After his indictment by the Grand Jury,
the accused man was arraigned in the County Criminal Court.
arroyo N. //gully. Until the heavy rains of the past spring, this arroyo had
been a dry bed.
ascribe V. //refer; attribute; assign. I can ascribe no motive for her acts.
askew ADJ. //crookedly; slanted; at an angle. When he placed his hat askew
upon his head, his observers laughed.
asunder ADV. / /into parts; apart. A fierce quarrel split the partnership
asunder: the two partners finally sundered their connections because their points of
view were poles asunder.
B
bacchanalian ADJ. //drunken. Emperor Nero attended the bacchanalian
orgy
badinage N. / /teasing conversation. Her friends at work greeted the
news of her engagement with cheerful badinage
bait V. //harass; tease. The school bully baited the smaller children,
terrorizing them.
balmy ADJ. //mild; fragrant. A balmy breeze refreshed us after the
sultry blast.
bawdy ADJ. //indecent; obscene. Jack took offense at Jill's
bawdy remarks. What kind of young man did she think he was?
beatific ADJ. //giving bliss; blissful. The beatific smile on the child's face
made us very happy.
bedizen V. //dress with vulgar finery. The witch doctors were bedizened in
all their gaudiest costumes.
bedraggle V. //wet thoroughly; stain with mud. We were so bedraggled
by the severe storm that we had
befuddle V. //confuse thoroughly. His attempts to clarify the situation succeeded
only in befuddling her further.
cleave V. //split or sever; cling to; remain faithful to. With her heavy
cleaver, Julia Child can cleave a whole roast duck in two. Soaked through, the
soldier tugged at the uniform that cleaved annoyingly to his body. He would cleave
to his post, come rain or shine.
cloying ADJ. //distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or
sentimental. Disliking the cloying sweetness of standard wedding cakes, Jody and
Tom chose to have homemade carrot cake at the reception. cloy,V.
cogitate V. / /think over. Cogitate on this problem; the solution will come.
comely ADJ. //attractive; agreeable. I would rather have
a poor and comely wife than a rich and homely one.
comeuppance N. / /rebuke; deserts. After his earlier rudeness, we were
delighted to see him get his comeuppance.
corpulent ADJ. //very fat. The corpulent man resolved to reduce. corpulence, N
corrugated ADJ. //wrinkled; ridged. She wished she could smooth away the
wrinkles from his corrugated brow.
countermand V. //cancel; revoke. The general countermanded the orders
issued in his absence.
D
daub V. //smear (as with paint). From the way he daubed his paint on the
canvas, I could tell he knew nothing of oils. also N.
dappled ADJ. //spotted. The sunlight filtering through the screens created a
dappled effect on the wall.
dawdle V. //loiter; waste time. We have to meet a deadline so don't
dawdle; just get down to
deadpan ADJ. / /wooden; impersonal. We wanted to see how
long he could maintain his
debase V. //reduce in quality or value; lower in esteem; degrade. I
declivity N. //downward slope. The children loved to ski down the declivity.
defoliate V. //destroy leaves. In Vietnam the army made extensive use of
chemical agents to defoliate the woodlands.
defray V. / /pay the costs of. Her employer offered to defray the costs of her
postgraduate education.
demur V. //object (because of doubts, scruples); hesitate. When offered a
post on the board of directors, David demurred:
denizen N. //inhabitant or resident; regular visitor. In The Untouchables,
Eliot Ness fights AI Capone and the other denizens of Chicago's underworld
deprecate V. //express disapproval of; protest against; belittle. A firm
believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Post deprecated the modern tendency to
address new acquaintances by their first names. deprecatory,ADJ.
descant V. //discuss fully. He was willing to descant upon any topic
of conversation, even when he knew very little about the subject under discussion.
also N
desecrate V. //profane; violate the sanctity of. Shattering the altar and trampling
the holy objects underfoot, the invaders desecrated the sanctuary.
desultory ADJ. //aimless; haphazard; digressing at random. In
prison Malcolm X set himself the task of reading straight through the dictionary; to
him, reading was purposeful, not desultory
disgorge V. //surrender something; eject; vomit. Unwilling to
disgorge the cash he had stolen from the pension fund, the embezzler tried to run
away
disinter V. //dig up; unearth. They disinterred the body and held an
autopsy.
disparage V. //belittle. A doting mother, Emma was more likely to praise
her son's crude attempts at art
dispirited ADJ. //lacking in spirit. The coach used all the tricks at his
command to buoy up the enthusiasm of his team, which had become dispirited at
the loss of the star player. disputatiousADJ. //argumentative; fond of arguing.
Convinced he knew more than his lawyers, Alan was a disputatious client, ready to
argue about the best way to conduct the case.
disputant, N.
disquiet V. //make uneasy or anxious. Holmes's absence for a day,
slightly disquieted Watson; after a week with no word, however, Watson's
uneasiness about his missing friend had grown into a deep fear for his safety.
disquietude, N.
dissemble V. / /disguise; pretend. Even though John tried to
dissemble his motive for taking modern dance, we all knew he was there not to
dance but to meet girls.
dissimulate V. //pretend; conceal by feigning. She tried to
dissimulate her grief by her exuberant attitude.
distraught ADJ. //upset; distracted by anxiety. The distraught parents
frantically searched the ravine for their lost child.
diurnal ADJ. //daily. A farmer cannot neglect his diurnal tasks at any time;
cows, for example, must be milked regularly
doctrinaire ADJ. //unable to compromise about points of doctrine;
dogmatic; unyielding.
exhume V. //dig out of the ground; remove from the grave. Could evidence
that might identify the
exigency N. //urgent situation. In this exigency, we must look for aid from
our allies.
fatalism N. //belief that events are determined by forces beyond one's control.
With fatalism, he accepted the hardships that beset him. fatalistic,ADJ.
fatuous ADJ. //foolish; inane. He is far too intelligent to
utter such fatuous remarks.
felicitous ADJ. //apt; suitably expressed; well chosen. He was
famous for his felicitous remarks and was called upon to serve as master-ofceremonies at many a banquet. felicity, N
felicity N. / - happiness; appropriateness (of a remark, choice, etc.). She wrote a
note to the newlyweds wishing them great felicity in their wedded life.
fervid ADJ. //ardent. Her fervid enthusiasm inspired all of us to undertake the
dangerous mission.
fester V. //rankle; produce irritation or resentment. Joe's insult festered
in Anne's mind for days, and made her too angry to speak to him.
filch V. //steal. The boys filched apples from the fruit stand.
flippant ADJ. //lacking proper seriousness. When Mark
told Mona he loved her, she
fluster V. //confuse. The teacher's sudden question flustered him and
he stammered his reply.
foible N. //weakness; slight fault. We can overlook the foibles of our
friends; no one is perfect.
forbearance N. / /patience. We must use forbearance in dealing with him
because he is still weak from his
forestall V. //prevent by taking action in advance. By setting up a prenuptial
agreement, the prospective bride and groom hoped to forestall any potential
arguments about money in the event of a divorc
fraught ADJ. //filled. Since this enterprise is fraught with danger, I will ask for
volunteers who are willing to
fret V. //to be annoyed or vexed. To fret over your poor grades is foolish;
instead, decide to work harder in the future.