COMMUNICATION assertion (uh SUR shun) n: a declaration or statement We could not believe John's assertion that he had never seen Star Wars.
clarity (KLAR uh tee) n: clearness in thought or expression Carol spoke with such clarity that her two-year-old son understood exactly what she wanted him to do.
cogent (Ko jent) adj: convincing; reasonable Chrisitna's argument was so cogent that even her opponents had to agree with her.
coherent (ko HEER ent) adj: logically connected The old prospector's story was not coherent; he rambled on about different things that had nothing to do with each other.
cohesive (ko HEE siv) adj: condition of sticking together Erik's essay was cohesive because each point flowed nicely into the next point.
didactic (dy DAK tik) adj: intended to instruct The tapes were entertaining and didactic because both amused and instructed children.
discourse (DIS kors) n: verbal expression or exchange; conversation Their discourse varied widely; they discussed everything from Chaucer to ice fishing.
eloquence (Eh lo kwens) n: the ability to speak vividly or persuasively Cicero's eloquence is legendary; his speeches were well-crafted and convincing.
emphasize (EM fuh size) v: to give special attention to something, to stress During English class, our instructor emphasized the importance of learning vocabulary.
fluid (FLOO id) adj: easily flowing The two old friends' conversation was fluid; each of them was able to respond quickly and easily to what the other had to say.
implication (im pli KAy shun) n: the act of suggesting or hinting When your mother says, "Where were you raised, in a pigsty?" the implication is that you should clean your room.
lucid (LOO sid) adj: easily understood; clear Our teacher does a good job because he provides lucid explanations of difficult concepts.
pundit (PUN dit) n: an authority who expresses his/her opinions The political pundit has made many predictions, but few of them have come true.
rhetoric (RET uh rik) n: the art of using language effectively and persuasively Since they are expected to make speeches, most politicians and lawyers are well versed in the art of rhetoric.
DECISIONS arbiter (AHR bih ter) n: judge who decides a disputed issue An arbiter was hired to settle the Major League Baseball strike because the owners and players could not come to an agreement.
biased (BYE ist) v: prejudiced A judge should not be biased, but should weigh the evidence fairly before making up her mind.
exculpate (EKS kul payt) v: to free from guilt or blame When the gold coins discovered in his closet were found to be fake, Dr. Robbins was exculpated and the search for the real thief continued.
impartial (im PAR shul) adj: not in favor of one side or the other The umpire had a hard time remaining impartial; his son was pitching for the home team, and this made it difficult to call the game fairly. incontrovertible (in kon truh VERT uh bul) adj: indisputable; not open to question The videotape of the robbery provided incontrovertible evidence against the suspect - he was obviously guilty. integrity (in TEG rit ee) n: trustworthiness; completeness The integrity
of the witness was called into question when her dislike for the
defendant was revealed - some jurors suspected that she was not being
entirely truthful. jurisprudence (jer is PROO duns) n: the philosophy or science of law Judges and lawyers are longtime students of jurisprudence. objectivity (ahb jek TIV ih tee) adv: treating facts without influence from personal feelings or prejudices. It is important that a judge hear all cases with objectivity, so that her personal feelings do not affect her decision. penitent (PEN ih tunt) adj: expressing remorse for one's misdeeds His desire to make amends to the people he had wronged indicated that he was truly penitent, so the parole board let him out of the penitentiary. plausible (PLAWZ ih bul) adj: seemingly valid or acceptable; credible Keith's excuse that he missed school yesterday because he was captured by space aliens was not very plausible.
substantiated (sub STAN shee ay tid) v: supported with proof or evidence; verified The fingerprint evidence substantiated the detective's claim that the suspect had been at the scene of the crime. vindicated (VIn duh kayt id) v: free from blame Mrs. Layton was finally vindicated after her husband admitted to the crime. PRIDE condescending (kon de SEND ing) v: treating people as weak or inferior Robert always looked down on his sister and treated her in a condescending manner. contemptuous (kun TEMP choo us) adj: feeling hatred; scornful She was so contemptuous of people who wore fur that she sprayed red paint on their coats. despotic (des PAHT ik) adj: exercising absolute power; tyrannical He was a despotic ruler whose every law was enforced with threats of violence or death.
dictatorial (dik tuh TOR ee ul) adj: domineering; oppressively overbearing The coach had a dictatorial manner and expected people to do whatever he demanded. disdain (dis DAYN) n: contempt, scorn v: to regard or treat with contempt; to look down on I felt nothing but disdain for the person who stole my lunch--what a jerk!
haughty (HAW tee) adj: arrogant; vainly proud His haughty manner made it clear that he thought he was better than everyone else.
imperious (im PEER ee us) adj: arrogantly domineering or overbearing She had a very imperious way about her; she was bossy and treated others as if they were beneath her. patronizing (PAY truh ny zing) v: treating in a condescending manner Patrick had such a patronizing attutide that he treated everyone around him like a bunch of little kids. DIFFICULT SITUATIONS convoluted (kon vuh LOO tid) adj: intricate; complex The directions were so convoluted that we drove all around the city and got lost. cryptic (KRIP tik) adj: difficult to comprehend The writing on the walls of the crypt was cryptic; none of the scientists understood it. futile (FEW tul) adj: having no useful purpose pointless It is futile to try to explain the difference between right and wrong to your pet.
impede (im PEED) v: to slow the progress of The retreating army constructed barbed-wire fences and destroyed bridges to impede the advance of the enemy.
obscure (ub SKYUR) adj: relatively unknown v: to conceal or make indistinct Scott constantly makes references to obscure cult films, and no one ever gets his jokes. The man in front of me was so tall that his head obscured my view of the movie.
quandry (KWAHN dree) n: a states of uncertainty ot perplexity Morgan was in a quandry because he had no soap with which to do his laundry. NEGATIVE CHARACTERISTICS dilatory (DIL uh tor ee) adj: habitually late Always waiting until the last moment to do his work, Stephen was a dilatory student. indolent (IN duh lunt) adj: lazy Mr. Lan said his students were indolent because none of them had done their homework. insipid (in SIP id) adj: uninteresting; unchallenging That insipid movie was so boring and predictable that I walked out. listless (LIST luss) adj: lacking energy Since she is accustomed to an active lifestyle, Mary feels listless when she has nothing to do.
torpor (TOR per) n: laziness; inactivity; dullness The hot and humid day filled everyone with an activity-halting torpor.
RELATIONSHIPS alienated (Ay lee en ay tid) v: removed or disassociated from (friends, family, or homeland) Rudolph felt alienated from the other reindeer because they never let him join in their reindeer games.
alliance (uh LY uhns) n: a union of two or more groups The two countries formed an alliance to stand against their common enemy.
disparity (dis PAR uh tee) adj: inequality in age, rank, or degree; difference There is great disparity between the rich and poor in many nations.
servile (SER vil) adj: submissive; like a servant Cameron's servile behavior finally ended when he decided to stand up to his older brother.
suppressed (suh PREST) v: subdued; kept from being circulated The author's book was suppressed because the dictator thought it was too critical of his regime.
BEAUTY embellish (em BELL ish) v; to make beautiful by ornamenting; to decorate We embellished the account of our vacation by including descriptions of the many colorful people and places we visited.
florid (FLOR id) adj: describing flowery or elaborate speech The candidate's speech was so florid that although no one could understand what he was talking about, they all agreed that he sounded good saying it.
opulent (AHP yuh lunt) adj: exhibiting a display of great wealth Dances at the king's palace are always very opulent affairs because no expense is spared.
ornate (or NAYT) adj: elaborately decorated The carved wood was so ornate that you could examine it several times and still notice things you had not seen before.
ostentatious (ah sten TAY shus) adj: describing a showy or pretentious display Whenever the millionaire gave a party, the elaborate decorations and enormous amounts of food were always part of her ostentatious display of wealth.
poignant (POYN yunt) adj: profoundly moving; touching The most poignant part of the movie was when the father finally made peace with his son.
ABUNDANCE ebullience (ih BOOL yuns) n: intense enthusiasm A sense of ebullience swept over the crowd when the matador defeated the bull.
effusive (eh FYOO siv) adj: emotionally unrestrained; gushy Gwyneth was effusive in her thanks after winning the Oscar; she even burst into tears.
egregious (uh GREE jus) adj: conspicuously bad or offensive Forgetting to sterilize surgial tools before an operation would be an egregious error.
flagrant (FLAY grunt) adj; extremely or deliberately shocking ot noticeable Burning the flag shows flagrant disrespect for the country.
frenetic (freh NEH tik) adj: widly excited or active The pace at teh busy office was frenetic; Megan never had a moment to catch her breath.
gratuitous (gruh TOO ih tus) adj: given freely; unearned; unwarranted The film was full of gratuitous sex and violence that was not essential to the story.
superfluous (soo PER floo us) adj: extra; unnecessary If there is sugar in your tea, adding honey would be superfluous.
FULL ON ample (AM pul) adj: describing a large amount of something Because no one else wanted to try the new soda, Mike was able to have an ample sample. comprehensive (kahm pre HEn siv) adj: large in scope or content The final exam was comprehensive, covering everything that we had learned that year. copious (Ko pee us) adj: plentiful; having a large quantity She had taken copious notes during class, using up five large notebooks. permeated ( PER mee ay tid) v: spread or flowing throughout After I had my hair professionally curled, the scent of chemicals permeated the air. pervasive (per VAY siv) adj: dispersed throughout The pervasive smell of baking bread filled the house and wafted onto the back porch. prodigious (pruh DIJ us) adj: enormous The shattered vase required a prodigious amount of glue to repair. replete (ruh PLEET) adj: abundantly supplied; filled to capacity After a successful night of trick-or-treating, Dee's bag was replete with Halloween candy. POSITIVE SITUATIONS alleviate (uh LEEV ee ayt) v: to ease a pain or a burden John took aspirin to alleviate the pain from the headache he got after taking the SAT. asylum (uh SY lum) n: a place of retreat or security The soldiers sought asylum from the bombs in the underground shelter. auspicious (aw SPISH us) adj: favorable; promising Our trip to the beach had an ausipcious start; the rain had stopped just as we started the car.
benevolent (buh NEV uh lunt) adj: well-meaning; generous She was a kind and benevolent queen who was concerned about her subjects' well-being.
benign (buh NINE) adj: kind and gentle Uncle Ben is a benign and friendly man who is always willing to help.
emollient (eh MOHL yunt) adj: softening and soothing n: something that softens or soothes His kind words were an emollient to the pain she had suffered.
mollify (MAHL uh fy) v: to calm or soothe Ann's apology for scaring her brother did not mollify him; he was mad at her all day.
reclamation (rek luh MAY shun) n: the act of making something useful again Thanks to the reclamation project, the once unusable land became a productive farm.
sanction (SANK shun) v: to give official authorization or approval The students were happy when the principal agreed to sanction the use of calculators in math classes.
LIES dubious (DOO bee us) adj: doubtful; of unlikely authenticity Jerry's claim that he could fly like Superman seemed dubious- we didn't believe it. fabricated (FAB ruh kay tid) v: made; concocted in order to deceive Fabio fabricated the story that he used to play drums for Metallica; he had never actually held a drumstick in his life. hypocrisy (hih POK ruh see) n: the practice of pretending to be something one is not; insincerity People who claim to be vegetarian but eat chicken and fish are guilty of hypocrisy.
slander (SLAN der) n: false charges and malicious oral statements about someone After the radio host stated that Monica was a space alien, she sued him for slander. spurious (SPUR ee us) adj: not genuine; flase, counterfeit The sportscaster made a spurious claim when he said that the San Antonio Spurs were undefeated.
CUNNING astute (uh STOOT) adj: shrewd; clever Kelly is financially astute; she never falls for the tricks that credit card companies play.
camouflage (KAM uh flahzh) v: to hide by blending in with surroundings The smugglers did not want the trail to their hideout discovered, so they camouflaged the entrance with branches and vines.
clandestine (klan DES tin) adj: secretive The spies planned a clandestine maneuver that depend on its secrecy to work.
coup ( KOO) n: a brilliantly executed plan It was a coup when I talked the salesperson into selling me this valuable cuckoo clock for five dollars.
disingenuous (dis in JEN yoo us) adj: not starighforward; crafty Mr. Gelman was rather disingenuous; although he seemed simply to be asking about your health, he was really trying to figure out why you'd been absent.
ruse (ROOZ) n: a crafty trick The offer of a free cruise was merely a ruse to get people to listen to their sales pitch.
stratagem (STRAT uh jem) n: a clever trick used to deceive or outwit Planting microphones in the gangster's home was a clever, but illegal, stratagem.
surreptitously (sur ep TISH us lee) adj: done by secretive means Matt drank the cough syrup surreptitously because he didn't want anyone to know that he was sick.
wary (WAIR ee) adj: on guard; watchful My father becomes wary
whenever a salesman calls him on the phone; he knows that many crooks
use the phone so that they can't be charged with mail fraud. wily (Wy lee) adj: cunning The wily coyote devised all sorts of clever traps to catch the roadrunner. UNCERTAINTY ambiguous (am BIG yoo us) adj: open to more than one interpretation His eyes were an ambiguous color. Some people thought they were brown and some thought they were green.
ambivalent (am BIV uh lunt) adj: simultaneously having opposing feelings; uncertain She had ambivalent feelings
about her dance class: On one hand, she enjoyed the exercise, but on
the other hand, she thought the choice of dances could be more
interesting.
apathetic (ap uh THET ik) adj: feeling or showing little emotion When the defendant was found guilty on all charges, her face remained expressionless and she appeared to be entirely apathetic.
arbitrary (AR bih trayr ee) adj: determined by impulse rather than reason The principal made the arbitrary decision that students could not wear hats in school without offering any logical reason for the rule.
capricious (kuh PREE shus) adj: impulsive and unpredictable The referee's capricious
behavior angered the players because he was inconsistent in his calls;
he would call a foul for minor contact, but ignore elbowing and kicking.
equivocate (eh KWIV uh kayt) v: to avoid making a definite statement On critical reading questions, I choose answers that equivocate; they use words such as could or may that make them hard to disprove.
indifferent (in DIF rent) adj: not caring one way or the other The old fisherman was completely indifferent to the pain and hunger he felt; his only concern was catching the enormous marlin he had hooked.
spontaneous (spon TAY nee us) adj: unplanned; naturally occuring Delia is such a good musician that she can create a song spontaneously, without having to stop and think about it.
whimsical (WIm zuh kul) adj: subject to erratic behavior; unpredictable Egbert rarely behaved as expected; indeed, he was a whimsical soul whose every decision was anybody's guess.
SMALLNESS inconsequential (in kahn suh KWEN shul) adj: unimportant The cost of the meal was inconsequential to Quentin because he wasn't paying for it.
superficial (soo per FISH ul) adj: concerned only with what is on the surface or obvious; shallow The wound on his leg was only superficial, even though it looked like a deep cut.
tenuous (TEN yoo us) adj: having little substance or strength; shaky; unsure, weak Her grasp on reality is tenuous at best; she's not even sure what year it is.
trivial (TRIH vee ul) adj: of little importance or significance Alex says he doesn't like trivia games because the knowledge they test is trivial; he prefers to spend his time learning more important things.
POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS assiduous (uh SID yoo us) adj: hard-working Spending hours in the hot sun digging out every tiny weed, Sidney tended her garden with assiduous attention.
compelling (kum PEL ing) v: forceful; urgently demanding attention By ignoring the problems in the city, the mayor gave people a very compelling reason to vote him out of office.
diligent (DIL uh jent) adj: marked by painstaking effort; hard-working With a lot of diligent effort, they were able to finish the model airplane in record time.
dogged (DOG id) adj: stubbornly perserving Her first few attempts resulted in failure, but her dogged efforts ultimately ended in success.
endure (en DUR) v: to put up with; to survive a hardship It was difficult to endure the incredibly boring lecture given in class the other day.
intrepid (in TREH pid) adj: courageous; fearless The intrepid young soldier scaled the wall and attacked the enemy forces despite being outnumbered fifty to one.
maverick (MAV uh rik) n: one who is independent and resists adherence to a group In Top Gun, Tom Cruise was a maverick; he often broke the rules and did things his own way.
obdurate (AHB dur ut) adj: stubborn; inflexible Leanna was so obdurate that she was unwilling to changer her way of thinking on even the most minor issues.
obstinate (AHB stin ut) adj: stubbornly adhering to an opinion or a course of action Even though he begged them constantly, Jeremy's parents were obstinate in their refusal to buy him a motorcycle.
proliferate (pro LIF er ayt) v: to grow or increase rapidly Because the number of fax machines, pagers, and cell phones has proliferated in recent years, many new area codes have been created to handle the demnad for phone numbers.
tenacity (ten ASS uh tee) n: persistence With his overwhelming tenacity, Clark was finally able to get an interview with Brad Pitt for the school newspaper.
vitality (vy TA lih tee) n: energy; power to survive After a few days of rest, the exhausted mountain climber regained her usual vitality.
DIRECTION assimilation (uh sim il AY shun) n: to absorb; to make similar The unique blend of Mexican culture was formed by the assimilation of the cultures of the Native Americans and the Spanish.
consensus (kun SEN sus) n: general agreement After much debate, the committee came to a consensus; although they differed on minor points, the members all agreed on the major issues.
context (KAHN tekst) n: circumstances of a situation; environment The senator complained that his statements had been taken out of context
and were therefore misleading; he said that if the newspaper had
printed the rest of his speech, it would have explained the statements
in question.
derived (de RYVD) v: copied or adapted from a source Many SAT questions are derived from older questions - the details may have been changed, but the same basic concept is being tested.
incumbent (in KUM bunt) adj: imposed as a duty; obligatory Since you are the host, it is incumbent upon you to see that everyone is having fun.
inevitable (in EV ih tuh bul) adj: certain to happen, unavoidable Gaining a little extra weight during the wintertime is inevitable, especially after the holidays.
malleable (mAL ee uh bul) adj: easily shaped or formed; easily influenced Gold is malleable; it is easy to work with and can be hammered into very thin sheets.
subdue (sub DOO) v: to restrain; to hold back It took four officers to subdue the fugitive because he fought like a madman.
KNOWLEDGE acquired (uh KWY erd) adj: developed or learned; not naturally occurring A love of opera is an acquired taste; almost nobody likes it the first time he or she hears it.
conception (kun SEP shun) n: the ability to form or understand an idea Most people have no conception of the enormous amount of genetic information present in a single living cell.
conviction (kun VIK shun) n: a fixed or strong belief Although he privately held on to his convictions, threats by the church caused Galileo to publicly denounce his theory that the earth orbited the sun.
dogmatic (dog MAT ik) adj: stubbornly adhering to insufficiently proved beliefs Doug was dogmatic in his belief that exercising frequently boosts one's immune system.
enlightening (en LYT uh ning) adj: informative; contributing to one's awareness The Rosetta Stone was enlightening because it allowed linguists to begin to translate Egyptian hieroglyphs, whose meanings had previously been a mystery. impression (im PREH shun) n: a feeling or understanding resulting from an experience It was my impression that I was supposed to throw a curve ball, but I must have been wrong because the catcher didn't expect it. intuition (in too ISH un) n: the power of knowing things without thinking; sharp insight It is said that some people have intuition about future events that allows them to predict disasters.
misconception (mis kun SEP shun) n: an incorrect understanding or interpretation His belief that storks bring babies was just one of his many misconceptions. perception (per SEP shun) n: awareness; insight The detective's perception of people's hidden feelings makes it wasy for her to catch liars. perspective (per SPEK tiv) n: point of view People from the North and South viewed the Civil War from different perspectives - each side's circumstances made it difficult for them to understand the other side. profound (pro FOWND) adj: having great depth or seriousness There was a profound silence during the ceremony in honor of those who died during World War II. TRAITS inherent (in HER ent) adj: inborn; built-in One of the inherent weaknesses of the SAT is that a multiple-choice test, by definition, cannot allow students to be creative in their answers. innate (in AYT) adj: possessed at birth; inborn Cats have an innate ability to see well in the dark; they are born with this skill, and do not need to develop it. inveterate (in VET uh rit) adj: long established; deep-rooted; habitual Stan has always had trouble telling the truth; in fact, he's an inveterate liar.
omnipotent (om NIP uh tent) adj: all-powerful He liked to think that he was an omnipotent manager, but he really had very little control over anything.
proximity (prahk SIM ih tee) n: closeness I try to sit far away from Roxy-I don't like sitting in proximity to her because she wears too much perfume.
MOVEMENT elusive (il OO siv) adj: difficult to capture, as in something actually fleeting The girl's expression was elusive; the painter had a hard time recreating it on canvas.
emigrate (EM ih grayt) v: to leave one country or region and settle in another Many Jews left Russia and emigrated to Isreal after it was founded in 1948.
transient (TRAN zhunt) adj: passing away with time; passing from one place to another Jack Dawson enjoyed his transient lifestyle; with nothing but the clothes on his back and the air in his lungs, he was free to travel wherever he wanted. transitory (TRAN zih tor ee) adj: short-lived or temporary The sadness she felt was only transitory; the next day her mood improved.
FRIENDLINESS affable (AF uh bul) adj: easy-going; friendly We enjoyed spending time with Mr. Lee because he was such a pleasant, affable man. amenable (uh MEEN uh bul) adj: responsive; agreeable Since we had been working hard all day, the group seemed amenable to my suggestion that we all go home early. camaraderie (kahm RAH duh ree) n: goodwill between friends There was great camaraderie among the members of the team; they were friends both on the off the field. cordial (KOR jul) adj: friendly; sincere Upon my arrival at camp, I received a warm and cordial greeting from the counselors.
facetious (fuh SEE shus) adj: playfully humorous Although the teacher pretended to be insulting her favorite students, she was just being facetious.
NEGATIVE FEELINGS impinge (im PINJ) v: hinder; interfere with By not allowing the students to publish a newspaper, the school was impinging upon their right to free speech.
lament (luh MENT) v: express grief for; mourn After Beowulf had been killed by the dragon, the Geats wept and lamented his fate.
melancholy (MEL un kah lee) n: sadness; depression Joy fell into a state of melancholy when her Smashing PUmpkins CD got scratched.
sanction (SANK shun) n: an economic or military measure put in place to punish another country In 1962, The United States imposed economic sanctions on Cuba to protest Castro's dictatorship; travel and trade between the countries are severely restricted to this day.
truncated (TRUN kay tid) adj: shortened; cut off The file Chris downloaded from the Internet was truncated; the end of it was missing.
ART aesthetic (es THET ik) adj: having to do with the appreciation of beauty The arrangement of paintings in the museum was due to aesthetic considerations; as long as paintings looked good together, it didn't matter who painted them or when they were painted.
anthology (an THAH luh jee) n: a collection of literary pieces This anthology contains all of Shakespeare's sonnets, but none of his plays.
contemporary (kun TEM po rare ee) adj: current, modern; from the same time Contemporary music is very different from the music of the 1920s. Pocahontas and Shakespeare were contemporaries; they lived during the same time, though not in the same place.
dilettante (dih luh TAHNT) n: one with an amateurish or superficial understanding of a field of knowledge You can't trust Betsy's opinion because she's just a dilettante who doesn't understand the subtleties of the painting.
eclectic (uh KLEK tik) adj: made up of a variety of sources or styles. Lou's taste in music is eclectic because he listens to everything from rap to polka.
excerpt (EK serpt) n: a selected part of a passage or scene We read an excerpt from Romeo and Juliet in which Juliet says, "Romeo, Romeo, whereore art thou Romeo?"
genre (ZHAHN ruh) n: describing a category of artistic endeavor Gene enjoyed science fiction movies; in fact, he never went to see anything that was not in that genre.
medley (MED lee) n: an assortment or a mixture, especially of musical pieces At the concert, the band played a medley of songs from its first album, cutting an hour's worth of music down to five minutes.
mural (MYUR ul) n: a large painting applied directly to a wall or ceiling surface The mural on the wall of the library showed the signing of the Declaration of Independe
narrative (NAR uh tiv) adj: characterized by the telling of a story n: a story Tina gave us a running narrative of the games, since she was the only one who could see over the fence.
parody (PAR uh dee) n: an artistic work that imitates the style of another work for comic effect Mad magazine is famous for its parodies of popular movies, such as Star Bores and The Umpire Strikes Out.
realism (REE uh liz um) n: artistic representation that aims for visual accuracy Her photographs have a stark realism that conveys the true horror of the war.
virtuoso (ver choo OH so) n: a tremendously skilled artist Some people say that Eddie Van Halen is a guitar virtuoso because of his amazing ability - others say that his music is just noise.
TEMPERAMENT decorous (DEK er us) adj: proper; marked by good taste The class was well-behaved and the substitute was grateful for their decorous conduct.
equanimity (ek wuh NIM uh tee) n: the quality of being calm and even-tempered; composure She showed great equanimity; she did not panic even in the face of catastrophe.
modest (MAH dist) adj: quiet or humble in manner or appearance Although Mr. Philips is well off financially, he lives in a modest, simple home.
propriety (pruh PRY uh tee) n: appropriateness of behavior Anyone who blows his nose on the tablecloth has no sense of propriety.
prudent (PROO dunt) adj: exercising good judgment or common sense It wouldn't be prudent to act until you've considered every possible outcome.
serene (suh REEN) adj: calm The quiet seaside resort provided much-needed vacation in a serene locale.
staid (STAYD) adj: unemotional; serious Mr. Carver had such a staid demeanor that he stayed calm while everyone else celebrated the team's amazing victory.
stoic (STOW ik) adj: indifferent to pleasure or pain; impassive Not one to complain, Jenny was stoic in accepting her punishment.
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS condemn (kun DEM) v: to express strong disapproval of; denounce Homer condemned Mayor Quimby for allowing the schoolchildren to drink spoiled milk; he was outraged and let the mayor know it.
discredit (dis CRED it) v: to cause to be doubted The claim that pi is exactl y3 can be discredited simply by careful measruement.
disparage (dis PAR uj) v: to speak of in a slighting way or negatively; to belittle Glen disparaged Wanda's work as being careless and unoriginal.
pejorative (puh JOR uh tiv) adj: describing words or phrases that belittle or speak negatively of someone Teachers should refrain from using such pejorative terms as "numb-skull" when dealing with students who need encouragement.
plagiarism (PLAY juh riz um) n: the act of passing off the ideas or writing of another as one's own The author was accused of plagiarism when an older manuscript was discovered that contained passages that she had used, word for word, in her own book.
vilify (VIL uh fye) v: to make vicious statements about Chad issued a series of pamphlets that did nothing but vilify his opponent, but his cruel accusations were not enough to win him the election.
MORE NEGATIVE CHARACTERISTICS brittle (BRIT ul) adj: easily broken when subjected to pressure That antique vase is so brittle that it might break at any moment.
brusque (BRUSK) adj: rudely abrupt Mr. Weir was a brusque teacher who didn't take time to talk or listen to his students.
caustic (KAW stik) adj: bitingly sarcastic or witty She had a very caustic wit and she seldom told a joke without offending someone.
feral (FEAR ul) adj: savage; untamed Although Murphy was unusually timid, he joined the feral cats who lived in the woods after his owner deserted him.
fractious (FRAK shus) adj: quarrelsome; unruly Leonard was a fractious child who disagreed with everything and refused to listen.
incorrigible (in KOR ij uh bul) adj: unable to be reformed Sasha is absolutely incorrigible; no matter how many times you punish her, she goes right ahead and misbehaves.
ingrate (IN grayt) n: an ungrateful person It is a true ingrate who can accept favor after favor and never offer any thanks.
insolent (IN suh lunt) adj: insulting in manner or speech It was extremely insolent of him to stick his tongue out at the principal.
notorious (no TOR ee us) adj: known widely and usually unfavorably; infamous Al Capone was a notorious gangster in the 1930s; he was feared throughout America.
pugnacious (pug NAY shus) adj: combative; belligerent Lorenzo was a pugnacious child who settled his differences by fighting with people.
reprehensible (rep ree HEN si bul) adj: worthy of blame It was reprehensible of the girls to spit their gum in their teacher's water bottle; they had detention for week.
EVIL deleterious (del uh TEER ee us) adj: having a harmful effect; injurous Although it may seem unlikely, taking too many vitamins can actually have a deleterious effect on your health.
enmity (EN muh tee) n: mutual hatred or ill will There was great enmity between the opposing generals, and each one wanted to destroy the other.
heinous (HAY nus) adj: hatefully evil, abominable To murder someone in cold blood is a heinous crime.
malfeasance (mal FEEZ uns) n: misconduct or wrongdoing, especially by a public official The mayor was accused of malfeasance because of his questionable use of public funds.
malice (MAL is) n: extreme ill will or spite It was clear that he was acting with malice when he disconnected the brakes in his business partner's car.
putrid (PYOO trid) adj: rotten He threw his lunch in the bottom of his locker every day and had a putrid mess by the end of the year - rotten bananas, moldy sandwiches, and curdled milk were some of the more disgusting ingredients.
rancorous (RANK er us) adj: hateful; marked by deep-seated ill will They had such a rancorous relationship that no one could believe that they had ever gotten along.
toxic (TAHK sik) adj: poisonous Since many chemicals are toxic, drinking from random flasks in the chemistry lab could be hazardous too your health.
AGE archaic (ar KAY ik) adj: characteristic of an earlier period; old fashioned "How dost thou?" is an archaic way of saying "How are you?"
hackneyed (HACk need) adj: worn-out through overuse; trite All my mom could offer in the way of advice were hackneyed old phrases that I'd heard a hundred times before.
medieval (med EE vul) adj: referring to the Middle Ages, old fashioned His ideas about fashion were positively medieval; he thought that a man should always wear a coat and tie, and a woman should always wear a dress.
obsolete (ahb suh LEET) adj: no longer in use; old fashioned Eight-track tape players are obsolete because albums aren't released in that format anymore.
DULLNESS austere (aw STEER) adj: without decoration; strict The gray walls and bare floors provided a very austere setting.
mediocrity (mee dee AH krit ee) n: the state or quality of being average; of moderate to low quality Salieri said that he was the patron saint of mediocrity because his work could never measure up to Mozart's.
mundane (mun DAYN) adj: commonplace; ordinary We hated going to class every day because it was so mundane; we never did anything interesting.
ponderous (PAHN duh rus) adj: extemely dull That 700-page book on the anatomy of the flea was so ponderous that I could not read more than one paragraph.
prosaic (pro ZAY ik) adj: unimaginative; dull Rebecca made a prosaic mosaic - it consisted of only one tile.
sedentary (SEH dun tair ee) adj: not migratory; settled Gloria led a sedentary existence; she never even left her home unless she had to.
ANXIETY apprehension (ap reh HEN shun) n: anxiety or fear about the future
My grandmother felt apprehension about nuclear war in the 1960s, so my
grandfather built a bomb shelter in the backyard to calm her fears.
harbinger (HAR bin jer) n: something that indicates what is to come; a forerunner
When it is going to rain, insects fly lower, so cows lie down to get
away from the insects; therefore, thew sight of cows lying down is a harbinger of rain.
ominous (AH min us) adj: menacing; threatening The rattling under the hood sounded ominous, because we were miles from the nearest town and would have been stranded if the car had broken down.
premonition (prem uh NISH un) n: a feeling about the future Luckily, my premonition that I would break my neck skiing was unfounded; unluckily, I broke my leg instead.
timorous (TIM uh rus) adj: timid; fearful about the future Tiny Tim was timorous; he was afraid that one day he would be crushed by a giant.
trepidation (trep uh DAY shun) n: uncertainty; apprehension We approached Mrs. Fielding with trepidation because we didn't know how she would react to our request for a field trip.
NEW THINGS innovative (IN no vay tiv) adj: introducing something new The shop on the corner has become known for its innovative use of fruit on its pizza.
naive (nah YEEV) adj: lacking sophistication It was naive of him to think that he could write a novel in one afternoon.
nascent (NAY sunt) adj: coming into existence; emerging If you study Nirvana's first album, you can see their nascent abilities that were brought to maturity on their second recording.
novel (NAH vul) adj: strikingly new or unusual Mei's novel approach to the problem stunned the scientific community; no one had ever thought to apply game theory to genetics.
novice (NAH vis) n: a beginner Having only played chess a couple of times, Jamal was a novice compared to the contestants who had been playing all their lives.
OPENNESS candor (KAN der) n: sincerity; openness It's refreshing to hear Candice's honesty and candor--when asked about her English teacher, she says, "I can't stand her!"
frank (FRANK) adj: open and sincere in expression; straightforward When Frank lost my calculator, he was frank with me; he admitted losing it without trying to make up some excuse.
NATUREL PHENOMENA arid (AR id) adj: describing a dry, rainless climate Since they receive little rain, deserts are known for their arid climates.
conflagration (kahn fluh GRAY shun) noun: a widespread fire The protestors burned flags, accidentally starting a fire that developed into a conflagration that raged out of control.
nocturnal (nok TER nul) adj: of or occurring in the night Owls are nocturnal animals because they sleep during the day and hunt at night.
sonorous (SAH nuh rus) adj: producing a deep or full sound My father's sonorous snoring keeps me up all night unless I close my door and wear earplugs.
RESPECT catalog (KAT uh log) v: to make an itemized list of He decided to catalog his expenses for the week, hoping that this list would show him where he could cut back his spending.
exemplary (eg ZEM pluh ree) adj: commendable; worthy of imitation Jay's behavior was exemplary; his parents wished that his brother Al were more like him.
facile (FAS ul) adj: done or achieved with little effort; easy Last night's math homework was such a facile task that I was done in ten minutes.
fastidious (fas TID ee us) adj: possessing careful attenetion to detail; difficult to please Since Kiera was so fastidious, she volunteered to proofread our group's report.
hierarchy (HY er ar kee) n: a group organized by rank With each promotion raising him higher, Archie moved up in his company's hierarchy.
idealize (eye DEE uh lyze) v. to consider perfect The fans had idealized the new star pitcher; they had such unrealistically high expectations that they were bound to be disappointed.
laudatory (LAW duh tor ee) adj: giving prise The principal's speech was laudatory when he congratulated the students on their SAT scores.
paramount (PAR uh mount) adj: of chief concern or importance The workers had many minor complaints, but the paramount reason for their unhappiness was the low pay.
venerated (VEN er ay tid) v : highly respected Princess Diana was venerated for her dedication to banning land mines around the world; people today still sing her praises.
meticulous (muh TIK yuh lus) adj: extremely careful and precise The plastic surgeon was meticulous; he didn't want to leave any scars.
pragmatic (prag MAT ik) adj: practical Never one for wild and unrealistic schemes, Amy took a pragmatic approach to research.
solvent (SAHL vunt) adj: able to pay one's debts After five years of losing money, the business has finally solved its financial problems and become solvent.
IDEAS abstract (ab STRAKT) adj: not applied to actual objects "Justice" is an abstract concept, because it is merely an idea.
apparatus (ap uh RAT us) n: equipment; a group of machines The physics lab housed a cumbersome apparatus that has since been replaced by a much smaller and more accurate piece of equipment.
paradigm (PAR a dym) n: an example or model The current educational paradigm
has students engaged in discovery-based learning, whereaas the older
model had teachers lecturing and students merely taking notes.
phenomenon (feh NAH meh nahn) n: an unusual, observable event The phenomenon of lightning remained unexplained until scientists discovered electricity.
rational (RASH un ul) adj: logical, motivated by reason rather than feeling While Joe is more impulsive, Ari is more rational because he thinks things through rather than acting on his feelings.
theoretical (thee oh RET ih kul) adj: lacking application or practical application Theoretical physics is concerned with ideas, whereas applied physics is concerned with using those ideas.
WORK cartographer (kar TAH gruh fer) n: one who designs or makes maps Until the nineteenth century, European cartographers knew very little about the interior of Africa and had to leave it blank on their maps.
vocation (vo KAY shun) n: an occupation or profession Tristan has always been interested in maps, so he chose a vocation as a cartographer in the army.
