| Word |
Sentence |
Definition |
| Abnegation |
His giving up of the throne was an act of ABNEGATION. |
renouncing, giving up his rights |
| Abstruse |
Modern physics is too ABSTRUSE for untrained people to understand. |
difficult, deep, recondite |
| Acrid |
We were all afraid of his ACRID wit. |
biting, sharp, caustic |
| Affront |
He deliberately AFFRONTED his opponent. |
insulted, offended, was offensive when face to face with |
| Anachronism |
There may be a few piston-driven planes in use twenty years from now, but they will be ANACHRONISMS in the jet age. |
an outmoded thing, an anomaly |
| August |
The king's AUGUST presence repressed all levity. |
impressive, awe inspiring, dignified |
| Cacophony |
Modern jazz to him sounded like mere CACOPHONY. |
noise, discord, disharmony |
| Chagrin |
When I dropped the tea cup, I blushed with CHAGRIN. |
embarrassment, mortification, discomfiture |
| Clandestine |
The conspirators held a CLANDESTINE meeting. |
secret, furtive, surreptitious |
| Contumely |
Instead of listening to my explanation, he brushed me aside with CONTUMELY. |
scorn, contempt, insolence |
| Deprecate |
I approve of John's actions, even though you DEPRECATE them. |
oppose, plead earnestly against, disapprobate |
| Desultory |
It will take more than DESULTORY efforts to reach our goal. |
occasional, random, haphazard |
| Eclectic |
His ideas are ECLECTIC but unified. |
gathered from many sources |
| Egregious |
He made EGREGIOUS errors in his work, so they fired him. |
bad, obvious, flagrant |
| Enamored |
John was deeply ENAMORED of his new bride, infatuated with her shallow prettiness. |
fond, loving |
| Eschew |
If you want to get ahead, stick to your work and ESCHEW late hours and parties. |
stay away from, shun, abstain from |
| Facile |
John's mind is so FACILE he always agrees with the most recent speaker. |
easily influenced, complaisant |
| Fickle |
Four broken engagements in three years showed her to be as FICKLE as she was attractive. |
changing, unstable, inconstant |
| Generic |
Keen eyesight in the cat family is not unusual; in fact it seems to be GENERIC. |
common, widespread, general |
| Harbinger |
The first robin is the HARBINGER of spring. |
sign, foreteller |
| Hypochondriac |
My uncle is such a HYPOCHONDRIAC that he buys a new medicine every week. |
worried about his health, taken with imaginary illness |
| Impute |
Why does she IMPUTE such thoughts to me? They aren't my ideas. |
charge, attribute, ascribe |
| Ineptitude |
Because of his INEPTITUDE he was taken off the job. |
clumsiness, unfitness, inefficiency |
| Intrepid |
The sailors wanted to turn back, but the INTREPID captain ordered them to sail on. |
brave, fearless, dauntless |
| Juxtapose |
If the paintings are JUXTAPOSED, their similarity becomes obvious. |
set together, put in proximity |
| Labyrinth |
To discourage through traffic, the streets were laid out in a LABYRINTH of curves and dead ends. |
confusing pattern, entanglement, maze |
| Maciavellian |
These MACHIAVELLIAN policies kept the old man in power but made him feared and mistrusted. |
sly, wily, astute. |
| Mellifluous |
From somewhere nearby came the MELLIFLUOUS tones of a fine violin. |
sweetly flowing, smooth, honied |
| Nomad |
John is a regular NOMAD; he hates to settle down and just likes to roam. |
wanderer, gypsy, itinerant |
| Ostentatious |
John does not write Ph. D. after his name because he thinks that would be OSTENTATIOUS. |
showing off, pretentious |
| Paradox |
He is so wise in some ways and so foolish in others that he is a living PARADOX. |
inconsistency, apparent contradiction |
| Pathos |
The PATHOS of the child's death on Christmas Eve filled us all with sadness. |
pitifulness, sympathy-evoking nature |
| Pensive |
John sat there so PENSIVE, so lost in his own thoughts, that he did not hear us call. |
meditative, absorbed |
| Philistine |
Some people are such PHILISTINES that they see modern art merely as an excuse for jokes. |
so uncultured, unrefined, ignorant |
| Poignant |
At my daughter's graduation, I suddenly had a POIGNANT realization that my child had grown up. |
sharp, painful, keen |
| Prate |
We let the little girl PRATE on without listening to her. |
chatter, babble |
| Propinquity |
The only trouble with this apartment is its PROPINQUITY to a lower class tavern. |
nearness, closeness, proximity |
| Redress |
For years he has tried to get REDRESS for the damage done to his property. |
repayment, remedy, reparation |
| Reticent |
Don't be so RETICENT; tell us what happened. |
reluctant to speak, reversed |
| Satiated |
He played so many records that we became SATIATED with music. |
fed up, wearied, surfeited |
mr. charles11
