S.

N Word Synonymous Meanings Examples

Set 1
1. protean versatile, adaptable, adj. readily assuming His protean talent allowed him to excel in both
dexterous, flexible, different forms or acting and directing.
multifaceted, characters, versatile Fans regarded the protean actress as capable of
changeable playing any role.
2. succor aid, comfort, refuge, n. relief during a time of The Red Cross provides succor to refugees in
support, assistance, help struggle emergency shelters.
The refugees sought succor in neighboring
countries after fleeing the conflict.
3. esoteric obscure, secret, cryptic, adj. intended for or The professor’s esoteric lecture was difficult for
arcane, hidden, understood only by a those unfamiliar with the subject.
specialized particular group The company’s esoteric plans for the merger were
adj. not publicly disclosed; only shared with top executives.
confidential The esoteric ideas of the cult failed to enlighten
many outsiders.
4. parley conference, mediation, n. discussion between The longtime enemies held a parley to work on
negotiation, dialogue, enemies, often to prepare peace negotiations.
discussion terms of surrender The generals held a parley to negotiate the terms
of the ceasefire.
5. phlegmatic apathetic, dispassionate, adj. hard to excite, calm, Pete’s phlegmatic response was difficult for his
lethargic, unemotional, sluggish friends to read.
placid, indifferent adj. unemotional, stoic The phlegmatic soldier remained composed even
in the face of danger.
His phlegmatic response to the exciting news
surprised everyone.
6. attenuate deflate, cripple, lessen, v. to weaken or reduce in The long drought attenuated the strength of the
diminish, reduce, dilute force or value river’s current.
v. to make small or fine The sound of the music attenuated as we moved
further away from the concert.
The medicine attenuated the fever’s effect.
7. factitious artificial, false, sham, adj. produced artificially; The factitious laughter of insincere talk show
manufactured, not natural hosts makes my skin crawl.
synthetic, spurious The diamonds in the necklace were factitious but
adj. fake still looked stunning.
His factitious enthusiasm at the event was
apparent to everyone.
8. Pied patches of color, uneven adj. containing patches of The jester’s pied coat was stitched together from
coloring, multicolored, two or more colors, usually scraps of blue and red fabric.
variegated, speckled in blotches The pied horse stood out with its distinct black
and white markings.
9. palliate gloss over, condone, v. to make something The doctor prescribed medication to palliate the
lessen, alleviate, relieve, appear less serious; to symptoms of the disease.
soothe mitigate; to alleviate The student tried to palliate the significance of his
plagiarism.
10. obstreperous boisterous, loud, adj. unruly, noisy, loudly The obstreperous two-year-old cried the entire
riotous, disorderly, stubborn train ride.
rowdy, disruptive The obstreperous crowd refused to leave, even
after the event was over.
11. ambit compass, extension, n. the extent, boundary or The discussion remained within the ambit of the
range, scope, reach, scope of something assigned topics for the meeting.
limits Though I find her actions reprehensible, she was
acting within the ambit of the law and so my
hands are tied.
12. imprecation spell, hex, malediction, n. a curse The angry witch muttered an imprecation under
anathema, curse her breath as she walked away.
The witch cast an imprecation on the villagers.
13. extenuate mitigate, lessen, lighten, v. to lessen the magnitude The lawyer tried to extenuate the defendant’s
alleviate, excuse, or seriousness of; to actions by highlighting his difficult upbringing.
diminish mitigate The prisoner’s illness may extenuate the
conditions of his captivity, but it shall not lead me
to order his early release.
14. ineluctable inescapable, destined, adj. certain, inevitable, The ineluctable passage of time affects everyone,
inevitable, unavoidable, unavoidable no matter their status.
certain A hectic lifestyle seems to be
the ineluctable product of modernity.
15. turpitude depravity, baseness, n. depravity, baseness Because of stealing, he was dismissed on grounds
wickedness, immorality, n. a vile act of moral turpitude.
corruption The turpitude of the criminal’s actions shocked
the entire community.
His turpitude was evident when he betrayed his
own family for money.
16. plaintive sad, wistful, forlorn, adj. mournful, sorrowful, The procession was led by the plaintive strains of
sorrowful, lamenting melancholy the bagpipe.
The plaintive melody of the violin expressed a
deep sense of loss.
17. traduce defame, slander, malign, v. to slander or speak As a “green energy” campaigner, I distrust
disparage, vilify maliciously of politicians who habitually traduce the motivations
of environmentalists.
He was quick to traduce his rivals, spreading false
rumors to damage their reputations.
18. apposite pertinent, timely, adj. relevant, suitable, or His apposite remarks during the meeting helped
appropriate, fitting, fitting to clarify the situation.
applicable, relevant adj. relevant, suitable, or fitting
19. discursive digressive, erratic; adj. rambling aimlessly His discursive lecture covered topics ranging from
inclusive, absolute, through a wide range of philosophy to pop culture.
wandering, rambling, subjects. The discursive analysis of the data led to several
aimless logical conclusions.
The poor speaker gave a
rambling, discursive speech
20. adumbrate bode, suggest, indicate, v. to foreshadow vaguely The first volume merely adumbrates the basics of
outline, foreshadow, the story to be developed in the next two books.
sketch v. to produce a faint The author adumbrated the tragic ending early in
outline or resemblance of the novel.
something The sketch adumbrated the final design of the
building.
21. allege assert, claim, contend, v. to state that something The neighbors alleged that it was the store owner
proclaim, argue is true without providing who started the fire, but it turned out that he had
proof been out of town after speaking with him.
He alleged that the company was involved in
illegal activities, but no evidence was presented.
22. allude bring up, imply, v. to refer to another She would occasionally allude to a summer house,
mention, hint at, concept indirectly though nobody knew exactly where it was.
suggest, insinuate The author alluded to a famous historical event in
the opening chapter of the novel.
23. altruism charity, kindness, n. selfless concern for Many charities were formed thanks to
selflessness, others Rajiv’s altruism and generosity.
benevolence, Her decision to volunteer at the shelter was an act
philanthropy of pure altruism.
24. ambivalence confusion, dilemma, n. confused or The bride’s ambivalence towards the color of the
hesitation, uncertainty, contradicting feelings roses meant the groom had to decide.
mixed feelings, conflict His ambivalence about moving to a new city made
the decision difficult.
25. amble saunter, drag, stroll, v. to walk slowly They amble along the park path, enjoying the
meander, roam sunny afternoon.
The old man ambled over to our table and started
up a conversation.
26. ameliorate amend, help, improve, v. to make better The new medicine ameliorated her condition
enhance, alleviate rather quickly.
The government launched several initiatives
to ameliorate living conditions in the city.
27. amenable willing, cooperative; adj. open to suggestion or A good manager is amenable to his employee’s
chargeable, liable, criticism new ideas.
receptive, compliant, She was amenable to feedback and worked hard
flexible adj. accountable to improve her skills.
As the team leader, he was amenable for any
issues that arose during the project.
28. analgesic painkiller, soother, n. pain reliever After the surgery, the doctor prescribed
anodyne, remedy, an analgesic for her patient’s leg.
analgesic agent The doctor prescribed an analgesic to help
manage the patient’s pain after surgery.
29. anecdote episode, account, n. a story of a specific He shared a humorous anecdote about his
chronicle, tale, incident, used as an childhood during the family gathering.
narrative, story example or for The actor’s acceptance speech included
entertainment an anecdote about his first audition.
30. didactic advisory, sermonic, adj. overly instructive, He may mean well, but Pat’s efforts to help came
bookish, pedagogical, educational across as fussy and didactic.
moralistic, instructive His didactic tone made it difficult for the students
to engage with the lesson.
31. diffident hesitant, unconfident, adj. lacking confidence; Her diffident manner made her seem shy during
shy, timid, self-doubting restrained or reserved the presentation, though her ideas were strong.
Since it was her first day, Lucy ventured
only diffident answers to her superiors’ requests
for input.
32. diffuse delocalized, verbose, v. to spread out Such a diffuse network of law enforcement will
prolix, dispersed, adj. widely spread, not be able to eliminate all instances of crime.
scattered, extended scattered The scent of flowers diffused through the air as we
adj. wordy and rambling entered the garden.
The organization’s goals were too diffuse, leading
to a lack of focus.
33. dilapidated ramshackle, wasted, adj. ruined, worn down The abandoned house was dilapidated from years
decayed, crumbling, of neglect.
deteriorated, neglected The dilapidated house on the corner had been
abandoned for years.
34. dilate stretch, amplify; hold v. to widen or enlarge The eye drops dilated his pupils so the eye doctor
forth, expand, broaden, v. to give a long speech on could better examine them.
enlarge a subject The doctor used eye drops to dilate his pupils for
the examination.
He began to dilate on the importance of education
during the town hall meeting.
35. dilettante green, unskilled; artist, n. a person with an The dance school accepted dilettantes as well as
connoisseur, amateur, interest in a topic without trained professionals.
enthusiast, hobbyist really committing As a dilettante, he dabbled in painting but never
n. a patron of the arts took it seriously.
The wealthy dilettante often attended art
exhibitions and supported local artists.
36. disabuse correct, debunk, v. to free from a Luke made it his goal to disabuse his students of
enlighten, clarify, set misconception or error in the notion that they didn’t need to work hard to
straight thought do well.
He worked hard to disabuse his friend of the
belief in a common conspiracy theory.
37. disaffect alienate, antagonize, v. to make someone lose The manager’s harsh treatment of employees
estrange, turn away, loyalty or affection began to disaffect many from the company.
alienate Her attention-seeking behavior disaffected many
of her classmates.
38. discern note, notice, focus, v. to recognize, to She was able to discern the hidden meaning
detect, perceive, recognize as different behind his words after careful reflection.
distinguish From a distance, it was difficult for Josh
to discern who was waving at him.
39. hallmark authentication, emblem, n. a unique, identifying Complete obedience is the hallmark of a good soldier
brand, signature, trait Attention to detail is the hallmark of a great
indicator, symbol n. a mark used to indicate designer.
the purity of certain metals The jeweler inspected the hallmark on the gold ring
to verify its authenticity.
40. harangue diatribe, tirade, speech, v. to speak with intense The lobbyists arrived at the senator’s office
lecture, oration, tirade emotions expecting to make a deal, but instead they received a
n. a rant 45-minute harangue from the angry politician.
The coach harangued his team after their lackluster
performance.
His harangue about politics lasted for nearly an hour.
41. hedonism seeking pleasure and n. dedication to pursuing Jake’s hedonism became apparent when he quit his
happiness, sensualism, pleasure job rather than cancel his trip to the Bahamas.
indulgence, self- His lifestyle of constant parties and indulgence was a
indulgence clear example of hedonism.
42. tan flog, beat, treat, v. to whip He spent days tanning the leather properly.
process, skin v. to make leather out of In old times, sailors were often tanned for
animal hide disobedience.
The workers tanned the hides to create durable
leather goods.
43. heretical unorthodox, adj. differing from official Galileo’s discoveries of the nature of Earth’s place in
disagreeing, dissenting, beliefs the universe were considered heretical at the time.
radical, nonconformist, His heretical views on religion caused him to be
unconventional ostracized by the community.
44. hackneyed tired, common, trite, adj. difficult to The movie’s plot was filled with hackneyed dialogue
stale, unoriginal understand, mysterious that felt tired and unoriginal.
The students could not read the
teacher’s hieroglyphic writing on the board.
45. homogenous same, of like parts, adj. composed of similar or The population of the small town was
uniform, identical, identical parts largely homogeneous, with little cultural diversity.
consistent, congruent The audience was mostly a homogenous group of
fashion design students, though one or two
engineering students also attended.
46. hone train, discipline; whet, v. to perfect The swimmers spent all day in the water trying
grind, refine, enhance, v. to sharpen to hone their skills before the meet.
improve She spent years honing her skills as a pianist to
reach a professional level.
He used a stone to hone the blade of his knife
47. noxious dangerous, corrupt, adj. harmful in a physical Unfortunately, the group did not notice
harmful, toxic, or moral way the noxious gas until it had claimed several victims.
deleterious The factory emitted noxious fumes that were
dangerous to both the environment and the workers.
48. aphorism axiom, precept; n. a tersely phrased truth The children had finally learned the meaning of
principle, truth, saying, or opinion; adage; epigram the aphorism “You can’t have your cake and eat it too”.
maxim, proverb n. a brief statement of His speech was filled with insightful aphorisms that
principle; or general truth resonated with the audience.
Actions speak louder than words” is a classic
example of an aphorism.
49. callous soulless, cruel, adj. insensitive; having no Her callous remarks about the disaster shocked
heartless, unfeeling, feeling everyone.
unsympathetic The callous remark upset the entire family.
50. purloin burglarize, cheat, v. to steal The thief managed to purloin several valuable
swindle, filch, pilfer, paintings from the gallery.
take The manipulative thief purloined the diamonds after
gaining the confidence of their location.
51. temerity arrogance, brashness, n. reckless confidence The temerity of the pirate crew cost them their ship.
foolhardiness, audacity, His temerity in challenging the seasoned lawyer
impudence surprised everyone in the courtroom.
52. genuflect kneel, beg, bow, v. to bend knee to ground The king’s subjects genuflected when he entered the
prostrate, submit (as in worship) room.
v. to grovel The faithful genuflect before the altar during the
ceremony.
He would rather leave the company than genuflect to
the unreasonable demands of his boss.
53. punctilious meticulous, careful, adj. precise, paying A secretary who punctiliously records every detail.
finicky, scrupulous, attention to trivialities of She was punctilious about every detail of the formal
exacting, detailed etiquette dinner, ensuring everything was perfect.
54. proscribe condemn, banish, v. to prohibit or forbid as Citizens pushed to proscribe swimming in the
forbid, outlaw, prohibit harmful or unlawful polluted lake.
The government decided to proscribe the use of
certain chemicals due to their harmful effects.
55. Proscribe condemn, banish, The government decided to proscribe the use of
forbid, outlaw, prohibit certain chemicals due to their harmful effects.
56. denouement finale, final n. an outcome or solution Though public interest slackened after the arsonist
achievement, resolution, to a complex series of was caught, the denouement of the case was just as
conclusion, outcome events interesting as the manhunt that had preceded it.
The denouement of the mystery novel tied together
all the loose ends.
57. wend go, journey, travel, to go, proceed, walk We wended our way through the market.
meander, proceed, After the meeting, she wended her way through the
venture crowded streets back home.
58. supercilious bossy, condescending, adj. arrogant, overbearing; Her supercilious attitude made her unpopular
haughty, patronizing, displaying condescending among her colleagues.
disdainful superiority over someone His supercilious behavior drove away many of his
else peers.
59. simper grin, leer, sneer, smirk, v. to say with a coy smile; Dave simpered a feeble attempt at an apology.
smirk, smile coyly to smirk She simpered at the compliment, clearly enjoying
the attention.
60. miscegenation interbreeding, mixing n. the interbreeding of Miscegenation, the intermarriage or mixing of different
races, crossbreeding, different races racial groups, was historically met with social and legal
hybridization n. any mixture or hybrid barriers in many societies. But today, miscegenation is
widely accepted in many societies, and interracial
relationships are common and often celebrated as a sign
of cultural diversity and tolerance.
The laws against miscegenation were finally repealed in
the 20th century.
Miscegenation, the intermarriage or mixing of different
racial groups, was historically met with social and legal
barriers in many societies. But today, miscegenation is
widely accepted in many societies, and interracial
relationships are common and often celebrated as a sign
of cultural diversity and tolerance
61. depredate despoil, ravish, defile, v. to plunder, pillage, The invaders depredated the village, leaving little
loot, pillage, maraud destroy behind.
v. to exploit They feared the corporation would depredate the
natural resources without concern for the
environment.
The Vikings depredated the whole valley.
62. androgynous cross-sexual, unisexual, adj. not distinguishable The creature in the myth was portrayed
trans-sexual, gender- between male and female as androgynous, embodying both male and female
neutral, ambiguous traits.
The androgynous fashion trend blurred traditional
gender lines in clothing.
The name Sam is androgynous because it could
stand for Samantha or Samuel.
63. covey a small group, a small n. a family of partridges We spotted a covey of partridges in the field during
flock of birds, cluster, n. a small group our hike.
bunch, assembly A covey of students gathered around the teacher to
ask questions after the lecture.
Outside the classroom was a covey of giggling
schoolgirls.
64. cozen hoodwink, swindle, v. to cheat, beguile, or The corrupt televangelist cozened money from
dupe, trick, defraud, deceive viewers by lying about charitable intentions.
mislead The con artist cozened people into giving him their
life savings.
65. limpid tranquil, peaceful; adj. calm, untroubled, The family flew a kite down by the limpid blue pond.
glassy, translucent, serene The limpid expression on her face showed she wasn’t
clear, unclouded, bright adj. transparent, clear (as worried at all.
of water, air, or crystal) The limpid water of the lake made it easy to see the
fish swimming below.
66. refulgent glowing, luminous, adj. shining radiantly; The refulgent palace seemed out of place amid the
gleaming, radiant, brilliant poverty of the villages surrounding it.
brilliant, incandescent The refulgent glow of the setting sun bathed the
landscape in golden light.
67. disingenuous dishonest, crooked, adj. lacking in sincerity or When the oil prospector’s promises were discovered
deceitful, duplicitous, candor to be disingenuous, he was run out of town.
insincere His disingenuous apology did little to mend the rift
between them.
68. epistle card, letter, memo, n. a written message, The epistle was hand-delivered by a confidant in
communication, note, usually a formal letter order to avoid interception.
missive The scholar wrote an epistle to his colleagues,
detailing his latest findings.
69. militate weigh, important, v. to have substantial The volatility of the situation militated against any
influential, affect, weight on preventing; to rash action.
contribute, determine argue against; discourage. The evidence presented in the trial
will militate heavily against the defendant.
70. stygian inky, sombre, gloomy, adj. dark, gloomy, dismal The forest at night had a Stygian atmosphere,
shadowy, murky adj. infernal, hellish making it feel eerie and foreboding.
The novel’s depiction of the underworld was
described as a Stygian realm of torment.
The stygian murk of the cave made it difficult to
navigate.
71. nostrum elixir, quick fix, aid, n. cure-all, questionable An ad on television depicted a nostrum that claims
remedy, potion, fix remedy, or a placebo to cure hangovers.
The herbalist claimed to have a nostrum for every
ailment, but none of them worked.
72. precocious advanced, developed, adj. unusually quick The child’s precocious understanding of calculus
quick, intelligent, development or stunned his teachers.
mature, ahead of one’s maturation, especially in The precocious child was reading at a college level by
years, gifted intelligence the age of 10.
73. forward antagonistic, conflicting, adj. intractable, stubbornly The froward mule sat down and refused to move all
obstinate, refractory, disobedient, difficult to afternoon.
unruly manage The froward child refused to listen to any
instructions from his teacher.
74. regale delight, amuse; treat, v. to entertain; to supply Steve regaled his guests with exciting tales.
entertain, captivate, lavishly He regaled the guests with stories of his adventures
charm abroad.
75. apostate traitor, defector, n. one who abandons a The apostate was shunned by his former comrades
unfaithful, renegade, belief, cause, party or after leaving the movement.
turncoat, dissenter religion The apostate is dealt with very harshly in many
religious traditions.
76. sophistry fallacy, inconsistency, n. fallacious reasoning; The politician’s argument was nothing more
misleading argument, faulty, although plausible, than sophistry, designed to mislead the public.
specious reasoning logic The students were quickly convinced by the
professor’s sophistry and did not inquire further.
77. perspicuity comprehensibility, n. clarity or perceptiveness The perspicuity of her speech made even the most
articulateness, clarity, in speech, thought, or complex ideas easy to understand.
lucidity, transparency writing The perspicuity of the writing made a complicated
topic easy for all to understand.
78. Enjoin order, command; v. to command or direct an The court enjoined the company to halt its illegal
disallow, outlaw, dictate, action with authority practices immediately.
direct, mandate v. to prohibit or forbid an The rules enjoin students from bringing their phones
action to class.
The captain enjoined his men to respect the local
laws while on shore leave.
79. fulsome overdone, copious, adj. offensively flattering His fulsome praise made everyone uncomfortable, as
distasteful, excessive, or insincere. it felt exaggerated and fake.
lavish, insincere adj. offensive to the taste The fulsome sweetness of the dessert made it
adj. generous or abundant difficult to finish.
I prefer Sara’s sincere criticism to all
the fulsome praise I receive from Deb.
80. vitiate cheapen, deteriorate; v. to reduce the quality of His repeated lies vitiated the credibility of his
blemish, debase, impair, v. to corrupt testimony.
spoil, undermine The scandal vitiated the integrity of the entire
organization.
The tear in the painting vitiated its overall appeal
and halved its appraisal cost.
81. pertinacious stubbornly unyielding, adj. holding tenaciously to Her pertinacious devotion to the debunked theory
tenacious, persistent, a belief led her to be marginalized in the scientific
dogged, resolute adj. stubbornly unyielding community.
The pertinacious activist refused to back down,
despite the opposition.
His pertinacious nature made it difficult to convince
him to change his mind.
82. recreant cowardly, disloyal, adj. unfaithful, disloyal to The recreant knight abandoned his comrades in
traitorous, unfaithful, belief or principle their hour of need.
craven adj. cowardly or craven The recreant fled the battlefield, leaving his fellow
n. one who is a coward, soldiers behind.
unfaithful, or disloyal The recreant knight ran from the battle.
83. adduce introduce, exhibit, cite, v. to offer as proof in an The lawyer adduced several pieces of evidence to
bring forward, present, argument support her client’s innocence.
mention Seth adduced several recent studies in support of his
hypothesis.
84. avocation hobby, recreation, n. an extracurricular My favorite avocation is playing baseball in the
pastime, interest, activity; a hobby summertime.
pursuit, diversion Her avocation of painting provided a creative outlet
outside of her day job.
85. alchemy sorcery, wizardry, n. the medieval study of Although it was never proven possible, alchemy is in
medieval science, transforming lead into many ways related to the chemistry we study today.
magical transformation, gold Medieval scientists pursued alchemy, hoping to turn
mysticism, theurgy base metals into gold.
86. annul void, abolish, cancel, v. to declare invalid The couple had their marriage annulled when it was
invalidate, nullify, revealed that the groom was still married to another
revoke woman.
The court decided to annul the contract due to a
breach of terms.
87. dirge death song, lament, n. a mournful song We heard a chorus singing a dirge as the funeral
funeral hymn, elegy, procession began.
requiem, lamentation The choir sang a somber dirge at the funeral.
88. discomfit v. to unsettle v. to unsettle The presence of the victim’s family at the
v. to upset or prevent v. to upset or prevent from trial discomfited the accused.
from succeeding succeeding The presence of the victim’s family at the
trial discomfited the accused.
89. hieroglyphic unclear, unreadable, adj. difficult to The professor’s notes were so hieroglyphic that no
cryptic, enigmatic, understand, mysterious one could make sense of them.
puzzling, obscure The students could not read the
teacher’s hieroglyphic writing on the board.
90. husband retain, preserve, v. to conserve They carefully husbanded their resources to ensure
manage, conserve, they would last through the winter.
safeguard The campers knew they would have to husband their
supplies on their trip.
91. nuance degree, subtlety, shade, n. a small difference The actor’s performance captured every nuance of
distinction, variation the character’s emotions.
A trained scientist is sensitive to
the nuances between these two seemingly identical
procedures.
92. obdurate insensitive, apathetic, adj. stubborn; inflexible Despite their pleas, the judge remained obdurate in
unyielding, stubborn, and unyielding his decision to impose the harshest penalty.
relentless adj. emotionally cold; not Even when the witness began to cry, the accused
compassionate remained obdurate and detached.
93. obsequious flattering, sycophantic, adj. very submissive and In industries where obsequious service is expected,
servile, fawning, flattering one generally leaves a tip.
subservient His obsequious behavior towards his boss made him
seem insincere and desperate for approval.
94. obstinate stubborn, determined, adj. stubborn, unyielding Despite all the evidence, he remained obstinate in
headstrong, unyielding, to change an opinion his opinion.
persistent The obstinate woman refused to move out of the
other customers’ way.
95. obviate anticipate, counteract; v. to anticipate and The new safety measures were put in place to
inhibit, stymie, prevent, prevent obviated potential accidents.
eliminate, preclude v. to make obsolete The introduction of digital cameras quickly obviated
the need for film.
The Internet has all but obviated the need for radio
stations.
96. occlude clog, prevent, choke, v. to close or block off The dentist noticed that the patient’s teeth were
congest, smother, block, v. to combine opposite occluding improperly, causing discomfort.
obstruct, seal surfaces The doctor had to occlude the blood vessels during
the surgery to prevent bleeding.
The only way out of the cabin was occluded by a
mound of fresh snow.
97. pelagic aquatic, oceanic, adj. relating to open seas The pelagic organism was only found in the deepest
marine, deep-sea, rather than waters part of the ocean.
oceanic adjacent to land The pelagic fish are adapted to life far from the
shores, swimming in the deep ocean.
98. apoplectic angry, wrathful, furious, adj. furious; enraged; When Jim found out he was fired, he apoplectically
incensed, irate overcome with anger stormed out of the office.
He became apoplectic when he discovered the
mistake in the report.
The doctor explained the symptoms of an
apoplectic attack and the urgency of seeking medical
attention.
99. gainsay deny, disaffirm, v. to declare false Evidence and witness testimony all gainsaid the
disprove, contradict, v. to deny defendant’s claims.
refute, challenge v. to contradict or claim No one could gainsay the facts presented in the
exception to report.
It was difficult to gainsay her argument given the
strong data backing it up.
100. nonplussed perplexed, baffled, adj. confused She was nonplussed when her mother scolded her
puzzled, bewildered, for no apparent reason.
astonished, He was nonplussed by the strange behavior of his
flabbergasted coworkers
101. supine lying down, flat; adj. inactive, lying on one’s He lay supine on the couch, unwilling to do anything
apathetic, lazy, back apathetically productive.
prostrate, recumbent adj. morally slack The government’s supine attitude towards
corruption allowed it to flourish.
The officials exhibited a supine acceptance of
corruption.
Set 2
1. opportune advantageous, favorable, adj. happening under The job offer came at an opportune moment, just as
timely, appropriate, fitting circumstances, or at she was considering a career change.
convenient an appropriate or The students waited for an opportune moment to
favorable time surprise their teacher with the bouquet of flowers
they had prepared.
2. supersede usurp, succeed, replace, v. to substitute; to take It had been my understanding that the new tax
take over, displace precedence over code supersedes the old one, but actually both are in
vigor simultaneously.
The new law will supersede the outdated regulations
next year.
3. odium shame, dishonor; n. repugnance, hatred The popular odium of attorneys is often unmerited.
disgust, detestation, n. strong dislike He faced odium from his peers after the project
contempt, aversion, failed due to his oversight.
revulsion The odium directed at the politician was palpable
after the controversial decision.
4. opaque blurred, darkened, adj. blocking all light The windows became so dirty they were
lusterless; baffling, adj. hard to understand almost opaque.
cryptic, clouded, The opaque curtains kept the room completely dark
unclear, ambiguous even during midday.
His explanation was so opaque that no one in the
class could follow his logic.
5. officious forward, meddlesome, adj. prone to giving Her officious nature made her unpopular at social
intrusive, impertinent, unwanted advice gatherings, as she constantly offered unsolicited tips.
pushy I make a habit of giving honest opinions, but I try to
avoid being officious with my friends.
6. supplicate ask, pray for, desire, v. to humbly ask The villagers supplicated for rain during the
beseech, implore, prolonged drought.
entreat The churchgoers then bowed their heads
. and supplicated God to answer their prayers
7. Surmount vanquish, transcend, v. to overcome She managed to surmount all obstacles and graduate
overcome, rise above, v. to rise above at the top of her class.
conquer The athlete’s determination allowed him
to surmount his previous records.
Through sheer determination, he was able
to surmount his disadvantages and win the contest
outright.
8. surreptitious sneaky, secret, covert, adj. secretive Their surreptitious meeting was held late at night to
furtive, stealthy, avoid detection.
clandestine Since they were not allowed to speak, the couple
exchanged surreptitious glances from across the
room.
9. symbiotic coactive, harmonious, adj. related to a The whale and the small fish that cling to its body
joining, interdependent, relationship between two have a symbiotic relationship.
collaborative, mutual or more organisms living The symbiotic relationship between the bees and
together flowers benefits both species.
10. synapse break, gap, divide, n. the small gap between The synapse is crucial for transmitting signals
junction, connection, the cells of nerves between neurons in the brain.
interface Neurotransmitters travel across the synapse between
brain cells.
11. synchronous concurrent, adj. operating at the same The dancers moved in synchronous harmony,
simultaneous, time or at the same rate perfectly in sync with the music.
coordinated, aligned, The film was notable for its synchronous premiere in
parallel 11 capital cities around the globe
12. tacit suggested, unsaid, adj. implied or unspoken There was a tacit agreement between the two
understood, implicit, companies that neither would expand into the
implied, unspoken other’s city
There was a tacit understanding between them, even
though no words were exchanged.
13. taciturn aloof, silent, mum, adj. tending to be silent; He remained taciturn throughout the meeting,
reserved, reticent, quiet quiet preferring to listen rather than speak.
Some of the students were quite taciturn and had to
be asked to participate more.
14. exacerbate intensify, worsen, v. to make worse His careless remarks only exacerbated the tense
aggravate, heighten, situation.
amplify The children’s screaming exacerbated their father’s
headache.
15. exact claim, take, demand, v. to forcibly obtain The detectives finally exacted the truth from the
require, impose witness.
The conqueror exacted heavy taxes from the subdued
population.
16. exculpate forgive, excuse, absolve, v. to free from blame The political prisoner was fully exculpated only when
clear, vindicate the dictatorship was overthrown and an independent
truth commission established.
New evidence helped to exculpate the accused of all
charges.
17. exhort warn, beseech, v. to urge by strong appeal Taking the loudspeaker in her hand, the policewomen
encourage, urge, implore exhorted the kidnapper to release his hostage.
The coach exhorted his team to give their best
performance during the final match.
18. exigent urgent, pressing, critical, adj. requiring immediate The exigent nature of the patient’s condition
imperative, demanding attention; pressing, required immediate medical intervention.
demanding The show’s run was cut short by an exigent lack of funds.
19. expedient worthwhile, adj. beneficial for one’s Choosing the most expedient option, he decided to
advantageous; means, goal postpone the meeting to meet his deadline.
convenient, practical, n. a hastily prepared Using a bucket to catch the leak was only an expedient
beneficial solution to a sudden until the plumber arrived.
problem The politician tended to bring up his humble origins
when it was politically expedient.
20. expiate amend, atone, redeem, v. to atone for After destroying his friend’s car, Jim hoped the fruit
compensate, rectify basket he sent would expiate his guilt.
He worked to expiate his guilt by volunteering at the
local shelter.
21. extemporaneous improvised, impromptu, adj. made up on the spot, To be a news anchor, she would have to improve
unprepared, ad-libbed her extemporaneous speaking skills.
spontaneous, ad-libbed Her extemporaneous speech impressed the
audience, despite being unplanned.
22. extol praise, celebrate, laud, v. to praise Melinda was often heard extolling her daughter’s
commend, glorify, many talents
acclaim The teacher extolled the student for her outstanding
performance in the competition.
23. extrapolate assume, hypothesize, v. to make a guess based Pete figured it was possible to extrapolate her
infer, deduce, project on facts personality from her Facebook profile.
Scientists used data from past experiments
to extrapolate the likely outcome of the new test
24. churl lout, oaf; miser, peasant, n. a rude person I had been waiting in line for hours when
boor, clod, misanthrope n. a cheap person some churl tried to cut in front of me.
The churl refused to hold the door open for the
elderly woman.
Known for his stinginess, the churl never tipped the
waiter, no matter how good the service.
25. cleave divide, split; devote, v. to cut off with force She vowed that even when tempted she would
join; bond, affix, sever, v. to be loyal to cleave to her principles.
separate, adhere v. to develop an emotional The lumberjack cleaved the log in two with a single
bond with swing of his axe.
He cleaved to his principles even in the face of
criticism.
26. cloister secluded, monastery, v. to isolate The boy’s parents tended to cloister him from the
convent, retreat n. a place for religious harsher realities of the world.
isolation She chose to cloister herself in her room to focus on
writing.
The monks lived in a quiet cloister, far removed from
the bustle of the city.
27. coagulate condense, concrete, v. to clot or solidify The blood began to coagulate shortly after the injury.
thicken, clot, congeal, The poorly-made syrup began to coagulate on the
solidify pancakes after a few minutes.
28. cogent apt, compelling, valid, adj. clear and convincing Her cogent argument persuaded everyone in the room.
persuasive, forceful, adj. relevant The lawyer’s points were cogent to the case at hand.
coherent We won the debate because the other team was
unable to mount a cogent counter argument.
29. cohere adhere, conform, stick, v. to be logically connected The ideas in the paper cohere well, making the
bond, unite to argument easy to follow.
v. to stick to each other After cooling, the molecules in the solution began to
cohere and form a solid.
These short stories are quite charming when taken
separately, but they will not cohere if published
together as a collection.
30. intrepid brave, heroic, fearless, adj. courageous The intrepid naturalist routinely braved storms and
dauntless, adventurous mudslides to document new species.
The intrepid explorer ventured into the uncharted
jungle without hesitation.
31. intrinsic basic, inborn, adj. related to an object’s The desire to learn is intrinsic to human nature.
fundamental, essential, essence Unfortunately, some degree of inefficiency
inherent, innate is intrinsic to all democracies.
32. jocular amusing, campy, jokey, adj. related to jokes The boy was popular with his classmates due to his
humorous, witty, playful cheerful, jocular nature.
His jocular personality always lightened the mood at
gatherings.
33. lackluster dull, colorless, muted, adj. not lively; not bright Tired from a long day, Susan gave a very lackluster
uninspired, bland, performance during the dress rehearsal.
mediocre The movie’s lackluster plot left the audience
disappointed.
34. remunerate compensate, reimburse, v. to compensate Although they finally had to throw the computer out,
pay, reward, recompense monetarily for trouble or Linda remunerated her friend for trying to fix it
work done anyway.
He was remunerated handsomely for the extra hours
he worked on the project.
35. retiring bashful, unassuming, adj. shy; quiet Despite his retiring demeanor, he was well-liked by
reserved, modest, his colleagues.
introverted During high school, Mary became so retiring that
people sometimes didn’t notice when they shared a
class with her.
36. platitude banality, cliché, n. a cliché, dull, or My father’s favorite platitude was, “Winners never
triteness, overused unenlightening saying quit, quitters never win”.
expression, Her speech was full of empty platitudes that added
commonplace nothing new to the discussion.
37. pliant amenable, compliant, adj. easy to change or The material was pliant, making it perfect for
pliable, flexible, bend sculpting.
adaptable, yielding adj. easy to convince He was so pliant that he often went along with
whatever his friends suggested.
The professor needed a particularly pliant mind for
his brainwashing experiments.
38. expedite accelerate, hasten, v. to speed up For an extra fee, the post office can expedite your
facilitate, quicken, speed package’s delivery.
up They hired more workers to expedite the
construction process and finish ahead of schedule.
39. refractory resistant, immune, adj. stubborn; difficult to The doctors did not know how to deal with such
unresponsive, obstinate, treat or handle a refractory infection.
headstrong, intractable The refractory patient refused to follow the doctor’s
advice.
40. extricate clear, disburden, v. to disentangle, to break It took hours to extricate the hiker from the thick
extract, free, release, free from underbrush.
liberate It was heartbreaking to watch the butterfly struggle
in vain to extricate itself from the spider web.
41. circumvent avoid, bypass, dodge, v. to get around an He found a clever way to circumvent the security
evade, elude obstacle system and access the restricted area.
She managed to circumvent security and approached
her favorite actor backstage.
42. invective berating, abuse, adj. verbally abusive What this debate needs is a little less invective and a
denunciation, vitriol, n. abusive or stern little more substance
reprimand, tirade language The coach’s invective remarks demoralized the
players.
The politician’s speech was filled with invective
against his opponents.
43. render cause, become, execute; v. to take forcibly, result His harsh words rendered her speechless.
carry out, accomplish, in, or cause to become The accident rendered him unable to continue his
provide, deliver, perform v. to do something for athletic career.
someone else She rendered assistance to the elderly man
struggling with his groceries.
44. kernel core, crux, essence, n. the central part of a The kernel of the matter was that she didn’t even
nucleus, heart situation or seed know where to begin looking for a new house.
At the kernel of the argument was a misunderstanding
about expectations
45. circuitous indirect, labyrinthine, Their journey took a circuitous route through the
roundabout, winding, adj. roundabout countryside, avoiding the main highway.
devious Because of the traffic accident, we had to take
a circuitous route to the bank.
46. Coalesce adhere, cling, merge, v. to come together to Our county’s many poverty initiatives are too
unite, combine form a single unit different to coalesce into an effective whole.
The small towns coalesced into a single city over
time.
47. circumspect discreet, guarded, adj. prudent; cautious He was circumspect in his dealings, always thinking
cautious, careful, wary through the consequences before making a move.
Though her mother’s boyfriend attempted to win
affection with toys and treats, Elise remained
circumspect around him.
48. bombastic grandiose, egotistical, adj. inflated, arrogant The bombastic way in which the author described
pompous, verbose, his new novel repulsed me.
pretentious His bombastic speech was filled with grandiose
claims that lacked substance.
49. supplant substitute, usurp, v. to replace As technology evolves, new devices
replace, displace, continually supplant older models in the market.
supplant The higher-ups tried to supplant rebellious teachers
with conformists.
50. cloying cheesy, overly adj. unpleasant due to Unfortunately, cloying romantic comedies are sure box-office
sentimental, sappy, excess; sickeningly sweet hits, and so Hollywood continues to churn them out.
sickly, sweet, excessive or sentimental The movie’s cloying romance scenes made it difficult
to take the story seriously.
51. postulate assert, premise, suppose, v. to assume a basic truth Economic theory postulates limits on essential
hypothesize, posit, claim resources as the basis of human behavior.
The philosopher postulated that human beings are
inherently good
52. reticent not talkative, reserved, adj. not wanting to talk; When asked about the stolen vase, the maid was
tight-lipped, taciturn, reluctant reticent even though she had seen the thief take it.
silent He was reticent to share his opinions during the meeting.
53. posit propose an explanation v. to assume as fact The scientist posited a theory based on the available
based upon assumptions, evidence.
postulate, assume, assert, Some physicists posit that the universe will expand
suggest, hypothesize forever.
54. gall nerve, brashness, n. audacity, impudence He had the gall to request a raise after it was discovered
boldness, temerity, that he was calling in sick in order to play golf.
impertinence It took a lot of gall for him to make such bold
demands after his recent mistakes.
55. exacting claim, command; adj. making severe The exacting professor wanted a 15-page paper due
difficult, formidable, demands or requirements the next day in class.
demanding, stringent, adj. requiring great care Her exacting standards made it difficult to meet her
rigorous expectations.
The exacting task of restoring the antique painting
required precision.
56. portend foreshadow, harbinger, v. to foretell The witch claimed that the stormy
signal, indicate, presage weather portended the ruler’s downfall.
Dark clouds portend an approaching storm.
57. toady doter, brownnoser, n. a flatterer, a yes man The president was surrounded by toadies rather
sycophant, flatterer, than people with honest criticisms.
fawning He surrounded himself with toadies who never
questioned his decisions.
58. repose rest, lack of work, n. peacefulness, rest After a long day of work, he sought repose in the
tranquility, calm, v. to be lying or stationary quiet of his garden.
relaxation In the summer, she would often lie under the willow
trees in complete repose.
59. circumscribe mark off, bound, confine, v. to draw or contain in a I believe our government’s actions are circumscribed
limit, restrict, delineate circle by financial interests as well as moral imperatives.
v. to limit or restrain The artist circumscribed the design with a fine,
precise border.
The new rules circumscribe the amount of time
employees can spend on personal tasks during work
hours.
60. repudiate reject, decline, disown, v. to renounce ownership The scientists who discovered the fossil were
renounce, deny, abandon or disown shocked when it was repudiated as a fake.
v. to refuse to recognize He repudiated his involvement in the scandal.
v. to reject as true The government repudiated the treaty after
discovering the violation.
She repudiated the claims made against her in court.
61. brood cluster, breed; grieve, n. a group of offspring The hen protected her new brood from the farmer’s
dwell upon, family, litter, v. to worry over inspection
offspring The mother hen carefully watched over her brood of
chicks.
He sat by the window, brooding over his recent failures.
62. siren seductress, charmer, n. a beautiful, seductive, The young men of the neighborhood are smitten
temptress, enchantress, or charming woman with the siren who moved in last week.
diva The actress played the role of a siren, luring men to
their doom with her beauty.
63. regiment military unit, command, n. a military unit of The regiment was deployed to the front lines during
designate, troop, troops the conflict.
battalion, organize v. to enforce a strict order The new manager regimented the office, ensuring
or conformity that everyone followed the rules to the letter
Four army regiments occupied the city last week.
64. superfluous extra, excessive, adj. more than necessary; The student’s essay was full of superfluous phrases
overdone, redundant, unnecessary that needed to be deleted.
unnecessary, surplus Her apology seemed superfluous, as the issue had
already been resolved.
65. candor honesty, directness, n. the quality of being Giorgio was known for his candor, so it surprised no one
openness, frankness, frank, sincere, or when he began to talk at length about his love life.
sincerity impartial in expression Her candor in addressing the issues at hand earned
her the respect of her colleagues.
66. pithy concise, cogent, precise, adj. concise and relevant His pithy remarks during the meeting were both
succinct, terse, to-the- insightful and brief.
point Satya’s pithy keynote speech was more enlightening
than the endless lectures that had preceded it.
67. sully stain, blot, smear, taint, v. to stain or tarnish the Joe’s reputation as an ethical CEO was sullied by his
defile, corrupt purity of selfish actions during his company’s merger.
The scandal sullied his once pristine reputation.
68. polar opposite, contrary, adj. related to opposite The two were so different their personalities could
counter, diametric, extremes or sides be considered polar opposites.
conflicting, opposing Their political views were polar, making
compromise difficult.
69. poignant agonizing, bitter; sharp, adj. so emotionally The movie’s poignant ending left many in the
keen, touching, moving, intense as to be painful audience in tears.
heartrending Watching her daughter wake up was
particularly poignant for her mother who had
worried by her bedside the whole night.
70. scourge torment, affliction, n. a plague or cause of The disease was a scourge on the population,
pestilence, curse, bane, affliction causing widespread suffering.
blight n. something that causes The scourge of drugs in American society will be its
suffering downfall.
71. ponderous burdensome, unwieldy, adj. difficult to handle The ponderous task was completed in no time,
heavy, cumbersome, due to heaviness thanks to the large number of volunteers
tedious adj. requiring a lot of The ponderous box required two people to move it.
work we had. The ponderous task of organizing the event took
several weeks.
72. moribund doomed, expiring, adj. dying, decaying, on The moribund customs of the indigenous culture are
passing, fading, the brink of extinction only practiced in a few outlying areas.
declining, terminal The once-thriving industry is now moribund, with
very few companies still operating.
73. obtuse dense, dumb, insensitive, adj. stupid, dull He was so obtuse that he didn’t realize he had
ignorant, thick-headed, adj. slow to perceive, feel, offended her with his comment.
slow-witted or respond The obtuse response lacked a great deal of
sophistication.
74. euphony melody, symphony, n. a pleasant, harmonious The euphony of the Italian language is unparalleled.
harmony, music, tune sound The euphony of the orchestra’s performance
captivated the audience.
75. pine dream, hanker, lust, v. to suffer from extreme The sailor’s wife pined for him all through the long,
long, yearn, ache desire or painful longing; harsh winter.
to yearn deeply He spent months pining for his lost love.
v. to waste away with She pined away after the death of her beloved pet.
grief
76. polemic refutation, dispute, adj. controversial The author’s polemic essay sparked a heated debate.
debate, controversy, n. a controversial He engaged in a polemic with the journalist over the
argument argument ethics of the new policy.
As soon as the graduate student obtained her
doctorate, she published a polemic refutation of her
mentor’s work.
77. defile befoul, besmirch, v. to dirty, spoil, or The holy site was unwittingly defiled when the
corrupt, desecrate, dishonor invaders, for whom it held no special meaning, used
degrade v. to violate the chastity of it as a stable.
The vandals defiled the historic monument with graffiti.
The ancient tale spoke of a king who sought
to defile the queen, only to be punished by the gods.
78. skulk tiptoe, sneak, slither, v. to lie in wait; to hide The fugitive was spotted skulking about the docks
creep, lurk, hide, prowl with evil intent just past midnight.
He skulked in the shadows, waiting for the right
moment to strike.
79. onerous arduous, cumbersome, adj. causing hardship; The onerous task of filing taxes each year often
vexatious, heavy, taxing, burdensome, troublesome leaves people feeling frustrated.
demanding The students relished making the teacher’s job
as onerous as possible.
80. irrevocable unchangeable, adj. unable to be revoked; The laws the king decreed were irrevocable even
unalterable, final, permanent after he left the throne.
binding, immutable The decision to sell the house was irrevocable once
the contract was signed.
81. dulcet melodious, pleasurable, adj. pleasant sounding or The dulcet tones of the violin soothed everyone in
sweet, harmonious, looking the room.
soothing The dulcet tone of the musical parody contrasted
sharply with its offensive lyrics.
82. cache secret storage place, n. a hidden place, a secret The bomb shelter had a cache of resources capable
hoard, stash, reserve storage of supporting the family.
n. a place for valuables They found a cache of old coins hidden in the attic.
83. remonstrate argue, challenge, v. to protest The workers remonstrated against the unfair
complain, dispute, treatment by organizing a strike.
object Many special-interest groups remonstrated against
the new legislation.
84. intransigent stubborn, unwilling, adj. unwilling to The government remained intransigent despite the
bullheaded, obstinate, compromise people’s protest.
inflexible, unyielding The negotiators grew frustrated with the company's
intransigent stance on the contract terms.
85. malefactor felon, outlaw, villain, n. evildoer, culprit, a The malefactor was finally caught after years of
criminal, wrongdoer, violator of the law evading the authorities.
perpetrator The Nuremberg trials brought the
Nazi malefactors to justice.
86. inure desensitize, familiarize, v. to become accustomed After years of working in harsh conditions, he
habituate, harden, to something negative or became inured to the long hours and difficult tasks
acclimate, condition unpleasant Nearby residents soon became inured to the noise
from the construction project.
87. revere adore, esteem, value, v. to admire greatly; to The community reveres its elders for their wisdom
venerate, respect, honor honor and experience.
The mayor was so revered by the village that every
single man, woman, and child attended his funeral.
88. travesty caricature, burlesque, n. a perverse or ludicrous The film was a travesty of the original story,
parody, satire, farce representation distorting its meaning entirely.
Thom’s checkered tux was a travesty of good taste.
89. philology the study of language; n. the study of linguistics The students of philology were hunched over their
linguistics, and literature, and literature Spanish literature texts.
linguistics, literary studies, Her passion for philology led her to study ancient
language analysis texts and their languages.
90. slovenly dirty, careless, messy, adj. untidy, disheveled; The other dinner guests held the slovenly drunkard
unkempt, disorganized unclean in appearance or in contempt.
habits His slovenly appearance made a poor impression
during the job interview.
91. rebuke berate, blame, v. to reprimand, to scold The teacher rebuked the student for not completing
condemn, scold, sharply his homework on time.
reprimand, admonish The child was rebuked for stealing candy.
92. exonerate absolve, acquit, v. to clear of blame, guilt, Though the defendant had clearly done something
vindicate, clear, or burden wrong, the court had no choice but to exonerate her
exculpate, discharge on the present charges.
The new evidence exonerated the defendant,
proving he had no involvement in the crime.
Set 3
1. calibrate align, balance, fix, v. to check or balance the The new thermometer needed to be calibrated
adjust, standardize, scale of a measuring device before it could be used.
regulate with a standard scale Before starting the experiment, the
scientist calibrated the instruments to ensure accuracy.
2. canny acute, cunning, astute, adj. careful; shrewd John was a canny negotiator; no matter how bad his
perceptive, shrewd bargaining position, he would always come out on top.
Her canny negotiation skills helped her secure a
great deal on the contract.
3. dogmatic arrogant, bullheaded, adj. rigidly fixed in The dogmatic theorist refused to listen to any other
authoritarian, opinion or expression in possibilities.
opinionated, inflexible, an arrogant manner Her dogmatic stance on the issue left no room for
doctrinaire discussion or compromise.
4. buttress prop, support; bolster, n. a supporting structure The parents decided to buttress the after-school
reinforce, shore up, v. to support or encourage programs that were in danger of ending by making
sustain donations.
The ancient cathedral was held up by massive
stone buttresses.
The evidence presented in court buttressed his
claims of innocence.
5. equivocate evade, sidestep, hedge, v. to make vague, unclear The mayor equivocated when confronted about his
prevaricate, obscure statements use of public funds.
When asked about his plans, he began to equivocate,
avoiding a direct answer.
6. indefatigable untiring, active, adj. incapable of The marathon runner was seemingly indefatigable,
persevering, unflagging, becoming exhausted; keeping up his brisk pace while competitors fell
relentless, unwearied tireless; dogged behind one after the other.
Her indefatigable energy amazed everyone.
7. endow provide, impart, bestow, v. to give (esp. an Christine’s mother endowed her with beautiful green
grant, furnish inheritance or genetic eyes.
trait) Her grandmother endowed her with a trust fund.
8. engender develop, generate, bring v. to cause, to lead to The poor ventilation in the factory engendered
about, produce, create, health problems amongst the workers.
instigate The policy engendered debate.
9. soluble dispersable, dissolvable; adj. capable of being Certain medicines are soluble in water so they can
solvable, liquid, mixable, dissolved in a liquid be taken with ease.
meltable adj. capable of being solved The sugar is soluble in water.
10. endemic local, regional, native, adj. originating in, native There are some deadly diseases that are endemic to
indigenous, specific to, particular to the tropics.
This species is endemic to the island.
11. aesthete artist, connoisseur, art n. one with artistic The aesthete was able to knowledgeably interpret
lover, creative, visionary sensibilities the painting.
As an aesthete, she appreciated fine art.
12. dour uninviting, severe, adj. harsh; gloomy, His dour demeanor intimidated the staff.
sullen, grim, austere forbidding The old headmaster never had anything but
adj. stern, humorless a dour expression to offer.
13. enfranchise empower, naturalize, v. to give rights of When women were finally enfranchised, spontaneous
liberate, grant rights, citizenship, esp. the right celebrations occurred throughout the country.
enfranchisement to vote Women were enfranchised in the early 20th century.
14. estimable admirable, honored, adj. formidable, worthy The team knew within the first few minutes that
commendable, worthy, they faced an estimable opponent.
respectable Her estimable work earned her many accolades.
15. evince declare, demonstrate, v. to clearly prove Her choice not to enter into an argument with
reveal, show, manifest something, to indicate him evinced her maturity.
He evinced great interest in the project.
16. mawkish emotional, mushy, adj. overly sentimental to The group of graduating seniors was a mawkish
sentimental, sappy, a sickening point sight, crying and taking hundreds of pictures.
overemotional The movie’s mawkish love scenes were so
exaggerated that they felt insincere.
17. beseech beg, appeal, plead, v. to request urgently The villagers beseeched the king for help in their
implore, urge, solicit time of need.
The dying man beseeched his family to visit him.
18. enumerate count, list to review, v. to list items individually Shocked by her decision, I asked her
itemize, catalog, specify to enumerate her reasons for firing him.
She enumerated the reasons for her decision.
19. seminal landmark, fundamental, adj. original and The seminal works of the artist developed into a new
fertile, groundbreaking, influential style of interpretation.
pioneering, innovative His seminal work in physics changed the way
scientists understood the universe.
20. enervate tire, exhaust, debilitate, v. to make weaker The heat enervated the athletes.
sap, weaken The heat enervated the soccer players’ strength with
each passing minute, and by halftime most were in
no condition to continue playing.
21. enamor fascinate, captivate, v. to make infatuated; to He was so enamored of her that he thought about
infatuate, allure, enchant cause to love her every day.
He was enamored with her charm.
22. filigree decoration, n. an ornamental work, The jewelry was adorned with gold filigree.
ornamentation; esp. delicate and lacelike She filigreed the edges of her project.
decorate, v. to adorn The wine glass was filigreed with a delicate pattern
embellishment, lacework of grape vines.
23. entreat beg, request, implore, v. to plead The rejected boy entreated the girl to give him a
beseech, appeal second chance.
She entreated him to stay for the evening.
24. ensemble band, collection, n. a whole group formed The ensemble performed flawlessly, each musician
organization, group, by separate parts contributing to the harmonious piece.
assembly, team The band was an ensemble of classical violinists,
guitarists, and a jazz pianist.
25. veracity certainty, truth, fact, n. truthfulness In order to have her article published, Susan needed
accuracy, honesty, to prove the veracity of her claims.
integrity His veracity was never in question.
26. variegated diverse, kaleidoscopic, adj. multicolored The variegated leaves were a sure sign that autumn
multicolored, assorted, adj. varied had arrived.
mixed The artist used a variegated palette for the mural.
27. perdition hell, damnation, n. a state of final spiritual Poor moral choices led Johnny down the road
corruption, underworld, ruin, loss of soul, to perdition.
eternal torment, abyss damnation The villain’s actions led him down a path
n. hell of perdition, doomed to eternal suffering.
28. serrate a toothed edge or blade, adj. having toothed edges Kate used the serrate edge of the knife to cut
notched, jagged, (“serrated” is an alternate through the tough meat.
indented form of the adj.) The serrate edge of the knife made it easier to cut
through tough materials.
29. internecine civil, fratricidal, deadly, adj. mutually destructive The internecine conflict devastated the entire
bloody, catastrophic, adj. characterized by region.
self-destructive, bloodshed and carnage That country’s internecine struggle was only put to
destructive adj. relating to intra- rest after many innocent people lost their lives.
group struggle
30. viscous slow-flowing, syrupy, adj. thick and syrup-like They slathered a viscous glue over the pieces to
thick, glutinous, sticky make sure they would stick
The viscous honey slowly dripped from the spoon.
31. extirpate destroy, annihilate; v. to destroy, annihilate Modern thinkers have proposed to extirpate religion
remove, uproot, eradicate, totally from all political discourse.
eliminate, abolish v. to cut out by the roots They worked to extirpate the invasive species.
32. vigilant attentive, aware, on the adj. watchful The security guard remained vigilant throughout the
lookout, alert, observant, night.
cautious Our new dog is very vigilant when it comes to
guarding the house.
33. apocryphal fictitious, doubtful, adj. of dubious origin; of I believe all stories of alien abduction
unverified, questionable, doubtful authenticity are apocryphal.
spurious The story of his victory seems apocryphal.
34. vigor power, intensity, n. energy, vitality After she broke her hip dancing, Kate realized that
strength, vitality, n. strength; forcefulness she had lost the youthful vigor she once had.
robustness She tackled the project with great vigor.
35. remit transfer; stop, v. to transmit payment The transaction was completed after the
postpone; alleviate, v. to refrain from exacting buyer remitted the money.
pardon, send, deliver, v. to pardon He remitted the funds to the company by wire
forgive dissipated v. to desist, postpone or transfer.
give up The court decided to remit her sentence.
36. soporific anesthetic, narcotic, adj. able to cause The lecture was soporific.
sedative, sleep-inducing, sleepiness The medication had a soporific effect.
tranquilizing, calming n. a substance that causes Bill’s new cold medication has soporific side effects
sleepiness that interfere with his ability to drive.
37. opprobrium dishonor, infamy, n. the disgrace felt by Oedipus Rex experienced great opprobrium after
humiliation, disgrace, someone who has acted in learning the true extent of his crimes.
shame, scorn an outrageously shameful The public opprobrium over his misconduct led to
manner his resignation.
38. verbiage wordiness, verbosity; n. an overabundance of The elderly speaker’s verbiage tended toward the
delivery, excessive words formal.
language, phrasing n. one’s manner of speaking The report was filled with unnecessary verbiage.
39. mollify disarm, smooth over, v. to decrease the strength His rage was mollified by his wife’s soothing words.
soften, calm, appease, of, pacify, placate She tried to mollify his anger with a sincere apology.
soothe v. to make softer, less The doctor mollified the patient’s concerns with
severe comforting words.
40. momentum drive, energy, n. strength built up by The project gained momentum after the initial
propulsion, force, continued movement or success.
impetus, power development The protest gained momentum as it passed through
the city and gained new supporters
41. insouciant carefree, unworried, adj. unconcerned, Michael’s insouciant attitude towards schoolwork
indifferent, casual, nonchalant, lighthearted led to poor test grades.
relaxed Her insouciant attitude was refreshing.
42. enthrall absorb, enrapture, v. to captivate The singer’s voice enthralled the judges, who
beckon, beguile, charm, v. to enslave immediately awarded her first place in the contest.
fascinate, grip The magician’s tricks enthralled the audience.
43. vestige remainder, hint, trace, n. a small remnant Only a vestige of the ancient building remained.
fragment, relic That abandoned well is a vestige of the manor that
once stood here.
44. cacophony noise, clamor, din, n. unpleasant, discordant The orchestra’s first attempt to play together was
racket, uproar sounds a cacophony of jarring notes.
The cacophony of traffic and construction made it
impossible to concentrate.
45. ephemeral momentary, passing, adj. lasting only a short The sunset’s beauty was ephemeral but
fleeting, transient, brief while unforgettable.
Our joy at being let out for the weekend was
only ephemeral, for we soon realized that we had a
lot of studying to do for Monday.
46. meticulous perfectionist, adj. paying great attention He was a meticulous sculptor, sometimes spending
painstaking, thorough, to detail hours perfecting a single fingernail on one of his figures.
precise, careful She was meticulous in her research, ensuring no
errors were made.
47. profligate corrupt, degenerate; adj. immoral His profligate behavior led to his downfall.
immoderate, lavish, adj. recklessly extravagant She lived a profligate lifestyle, spending money on
wasteful, extravagant, luxury items.
dissipated She criticized her spoiled son for
his profligate lifestyle.
48. invidious abominable, repugnant, adj. offensive, provoking The teacher’s invidious practice of playing favorites
resentful, hateful, resentment or ill-will led to several parent conferences.
envious Her invidious comments stirred up anger among
her colleagues.
49. vex distress, agitate; v. to annoy or bother It was when they were allowed to horse around the
confuse, irritate, bother, v. to confound house that the children vexed her the most.
perplex v. to talk about extensively His constant questions began to vex her.
50. venerate admire, esteem, revere, v. to respect deeply and The children venerated their grandfather and
honor, regard honor sought not to disappoint him.
They venerate their elders with great ceremony.
51. prodigious massive, colossal, adj. having great power or The building of the new dam is a prodigious project
monumental, size requiring thousands of men and millions of dollars.
extraordinary, adj. extreme The prodigious mountain loomed over the valley.
enormous, immense, Her prodigious talent earned her widespread
vast recognition.
52. profuse excessive, extravagant, adj. abundant Horrified by the consequences of her actions, Joyce
plentiful, copious, lavish, adj. freely giving or offered profuse apologies to her friends.
abundant spending She expressed profuse gratitude to everyone who helped.
The garden was profuse with blooming flowers.
53. minute very small, miniature; adj. tiny The chances of such a slow horse actually winning
exact, precise, adj. attentive to the the race are minute.
diminutive, tiny, smallest details The minute details in the painting were barely visible.
minuscule Her minute observations caught every flaw in the design.
54. virtuoso ace, artist, professional, n. a highly-skilled artist Even at a young age, it was clear that Beethoven was
maestro, genius, expert a virtuoso in the making.
The pianist was a virtuoso, admired worldwide.
55. excoriate berate, scathe, chastise, v. to condemn scathingly After the student’s repetitive acts of bullying, the
denounce, revile, attack principal _excoriated him.
The critics excoriated the movie for its poor script.
56. mimicry mime, imitation, n. a close imitation of Mimicry is common in the animal kingdom, such as
replication, something else when harmless species assume the aspect of
impersonation, echo poisonous ones to avoid being eaten.
The actor’s mimicry of famous politicians was spot on.
57. misanthrope cynic, curmudgeon, n. hater of humanity The old man was a notorious misanthrope who
recluse, hermit, introvert loathed even his own children.
The old misanthrope avoided social interactions at
all costs.
58. propriety correctness, accordance, n. proper behavior A model housewife, Mary valued propriety and
courtesy, decorum, manners over everything else.
etiquette, He always acted with propriety during formal
appropriateness meetings.
59. prudent canny, sagacious, wise, adj. practical; careful His assistant was particularly prudent when it came
judicious, sensible to keeping the company’s secrets.
It was a prudent decision to save money for
emergencies.
60. paragon n. a model of excellence n. a model of excellence The man was a paragon of virtue who had never
stolen so much as a loaf of bread in his life.
The man was a paragon of virtue who had never
stolen so much as a loaf of bread in his life.
61. misconstrue distort, mistake, v. to misunderstand Eva has a habit of misconstruing compliments, reading
misread, misinterpret, amorous designs into the most innocent remarks.
misconceive, confuse He misconstrued her friendly gesture as romantic
interest.
62. prosaic everyday, drab, dull, adj. common; Her speech was filled with prosaic statements,
mundane, ordinary, unimaginative lacking creativity.
uninspired Kate’s realistic paintings of household objects were
criticized as being too prosaic.
63. cantankerous crabby, cranky, adj. difficult to handle; ill- The worst part about working in customer service
aggressive, irritable, tempered was having to deal with irate, cantankerous callers
quarrelsome, testy The cantankerous old man yelled at anyone who
crossed his lawn.
64. expatiate elaborate, expound, v. to discuss or write Margie expatiated about her misfortunes until early
discuss, detail, elaborate about at great length in the morning.
upon She loved to expatiate on her travels through
Europe.
65. puissant strong, formidable, adj. powerful, mighty The king was a puissant ruler, feared by his enemies.
influential, potent, A puissant leader can secure the success of an entire
robust team.
66. propitiate assuage, satisfy, pacify, v. to appease The custom was to propitiate the angry gods with a
placate, mollify sacrifice.
He tried to propitiate the angry crowd with a public
apology.
67. truculent abusive, aggressive, adj. cruel, ferocious, The truculent dictator did not care about the well-
hostile, fierce, savage, brutal being of his people.
belligerent, combative His truculent attitude made him difficult to work with.
68. sever carve, disconnect, break v. to cut off Unfortunately, to prevent the infection from
off, cut, split, detach spreading, the doctors had to sever the infected
parts of the hand.
The company had to sever ties with the contractor
after the project went over budget.
69. semantic linguistic, verbal, adj. related to the The argument boiled down to a semantic difference
meaning-related, lexical, meaning of words in how they interpreted the contract.
interpretive Susan felt that the abortion debate had become too
focused on semantic arguments.
70. necromancy sorcery, occultism, n. the practice of Aunt Pam claimed that necromancy was a way you
wizardry, enchantment, communicating with the spirits could speak to your ancestors.
of the dead
divination n. black magic, black arts, or The villagers feared the old woman practiced
sorcery necromancy.
71. sinuous curved, circuitous, adj. twisting and winding The sinuous path through the mountains was
meandering, twisting, adj. not direct probably the most dangerous route to take.
serpentine, indirect The sinuous path through the mountains made for a
challenging hike.
72. sublimate refine, transfer, v. to change state of matter Dry ice sublimates directly into gas.
redirect, transform, between solid and gaseous He sublimated his anger into intense physical
channel, convert form without passing exercise
through a liquid stage Dry ice sublimates directly from its solid ice form to
v. to modify the expression
the gas you see rising off of it.
of an instinctual impulse in
a socially acceptable manner
73. enmity animosity, antagonism, n. strong mutual hatred Great enmity has existed between the two tribes for
hostility, hatred, centuries, leading to untold bloodshed.
bitterness There was clear enmity between the rivals.
74. prone face down, flat, adj. lying face or front Lucy was prone to cheat on tests, so the teachers
horizontal; likely, downward placed her in a separate room.
susceptible, vulnerable, adj. tending to behave or He lay prone on the grass, staring at the sky.
inclined act a certain way She is prone to anxiety in stressful situations.
75. solidarity alliance, sympathy, n. a feeling of camaraderie Several townspeople expressed solidarity with the
unity, togetherness, with others due to shared union members by protesting with them.
support goals The workers showed solidarity during the strike,
united in their demands for better conditions.
76. hapless luckless, jinxed, adj. unlucky, unfortunate, The hapless traveler missed his flight and lost his
unfortunate, ill-fated, luckless luggage.
doomed The hapless, accident-prone child managed to break
his leg for the third time.
77. cajole coax, persuade, v. to make someone do He managed to cajole his friend into lending him
wheedle, sweet-talk, something with flattery or the car for the weekend.
entice, manipulate promises Mother cajoled her into driving the other children to
school, promising to make her favorite dinner.
78. propitious good, beneficial, adj. favorable The rainy weather was not propitious for the picnic
they had planned.
auspicious, The clear skies were a propitious sign for the
advantageous, timely outdoor event.
79. burnish polish, brighten, shine, v. to polish or make shine The store owner’s son’s only job was to burnish the
buff, enhance n. a shiny appearance statues in the window every day.
He spent hours burnishing the silverware until it
gleamed.
The marble floors had a burnish that reflected the
sunlight beautifully.
80. effervescent airy, foaming; spirited, adj. emitting small bubbles Stacy’s effervescent mind captivated everyone she
bubbly, fizzy, vivacious, adj. lively, showing high met.
exuberant spirits, vivacious Her effervescent personality lit up the room.
81. mirth cheer, amusement, n. glee; joy The party was filled with mirth and laughter.
happiness, delight, The house was always full of happy laughter and
joyfulness other signs of mirth.
82. propound counsel, advise, set v. to propose or offer for To make her point about the dangers of sunburns,
forth, present, suggest, consideration Kate _propounded various theories about skin
introduce cancer and its links to ultraviolet radiation.
She propounded a new solution to the problem.
83. solvent financially stable, adj. able to meet financial To remain solvent, the business was forced to sell its
viable; dissolver, liquid, obligations overseas operations.
cleanser, agent n. a substance that can The company is solvent after restructuring.
dissolve other substances Water is a universal solvent.
84. proliferate expand, develop, v. to grow and spread Tensions in the area proliferated after the civilian
increase, multiply, quickly casualties.
escalate Rumors about the incident began
to proliferate online.
85. insipid dull, uninteresting, The film’s insipid plot, like that of hundreds of
vapid, flavorless, boring adj. bland, trite others, centered on American agents thwarting a
Russian spy ring.
The insipid conversation bored everyone at the table.
86. prognostic omen, foreboding, n. a prediction Climate scientists presented a chilling prognostic of
warning, prophecy, adj. indicating future what will happen to our planet in the near future.
forecast, prediction, events The dark clouds were a prognostic of the upcoming
portent storm.
The patient’s symptoms were prognostic of a more
serious condition.
87. vivacious lively, spirited, adj. energetic; full of life At ninety years old, Melinda was known for being
animated, exuberant, particularly vivacious for her age.
effervescent Her vivacious spirit made her the life of the party.
88. vituperate abuse, berate, yell at, v. to scold The old man vituperated the neighborhood boys
criticize, reprimand, who were trespassing on his lawn.
condemn The coach began to vituperate the team for their
poor performance.
89. precipitate expedite, advance, adj. acting with haste or The officer took precipitate action and wound up
hasten, provoke, trigger on impulse making the situation even worse.
v. to cause or hasten an His precipitate decision led to unforeseen
event consequences.
The sudden rain precipitated a halt to the outdoor
concert.
90. emulate copy, mimic, imitate, v. to try to imitate or Nancy wanted to emulate her older sister and so
rival, follow exceed another’s actions began to study more often.
She tries to emulate her mentor’s success.
91. revile scold, criticize, abuse, v. to criticize with harsh The critics reviled the film for its poor acting.
denounce, vilify, berate or abusive language Film critics reviled the studio for gutting the
director’s artistic vision and replacing it with
meaningless action sequences.
92. dissipated self-indulgent, spoiled, adj. indulging in excessive His dissipated lifestyle left him broke and alone.
debauched, luxurious, devotion to pleasure; His life quickly became dissipated and unstructured
extravagant, libertine debauched, dissolute; after he won the lottery.
wasted, squandered; to
cause to disappear, disperse
93. depravity immorality, criminality, n. moral corruption or The various depravities of modern society include an
wickedness, vice, degradation unhealthy obsession with the lives and deaths of
corruption celebrities.
The dictator’s depravity shocked the entire nation.
94. asperity harshness, bad temper, n. severity, rigor The asperity of a northern winter can lead to
bitterness, severity, n. acrimony, irritability depression.
sharpness The asperity of his tone made everyone uneasy.
His asperity during meetings was hard to tolerate.
95. minuet dance, waltz; music, n. a slow, stately, pattern They danced a graceful minuet at the formal ball.
piece, suite, melody, dance in 3/4 time The orchestra played a classical minuet to set the
rhythm n. the music to mood.
accompany the dance of A minuet is always danced with three beats per
the same name measure.
96. mitigate diminish, lighten, v. to make smaller or less The hurricane’s effect was mitigated by the quick
alleviate, reduce, lessen problematic response from the national guard.
The government tried to mitigate the impact of the
economic downturn.
97. solicitude consideration, n. caring about others’ Though she claims not to have any feelings for Julio,
watchfulness, care, well being she showed a great deal of solicitude when she
concern, attentiveness learned of his illness.
Her solicitude for her elderly neighbors was evident
in the way she checked on them daily.
98. apocryphal fictitious, doubtful, adj. of dubious origin; of I believe all stories of alien abduction
unverified, questionable, doubtful authenticity are apocryphal.
spurious The story of his victory seems apocryphal.
99. vigor power, intensity, n. energy, vitality After she broke her hip dancing, Kate realized that
strength, vitality, n. strength; forcefulness she had lost the youthful vigor she once had.
robustness She tackled the project with great vigor.
100. ineffable beyond words, adj. incapable of being After a long day you can find ineffable pleasure in a hot
indescribable, unutterable, described in words bath.
sublime, inexpressible The beauty of the sunset was ineffable.
101. boor goon, oaf, barbarian, a person whose behavior The boor at the party offended everyone with his
lout, clod, ruffian is offensive to others rude jokes and behavior.
The boor that made Milwaukee famous.
102. lionize Honor, admire, revere, v. to treat a person as a When the musical sensation returned to her
venerate exalt celebrity hometown, she was lionized by everyone she knew.
He has been further lionized in a post-Soviet Russia.
103. emendation editing, proofreading, n. a correction or revision The emendations made to the manuscript improved
revision, correction, in a text its clarity.
amendment Once the emendations have been made, the
pamphlet can be sent to the printer.
104. terse brief, short, concise, adj. succinct, curt His terse reply indicated he was not interested in
succinct, to-the-point continuing the conversation.
Your terse apology does not even begin to give an
adequate explanation for your behavior.
105. trite banal, common, stale, adj. uninteresting due to The movie’s trite dialogue made it predictable and
cliché, overused overuse; hackneyed boring.
Though some may find Valentine’s Day
chocolates trite, I look forward to every box I get.
106. ingratiate flatter, curry favor, v. to work oneself into the The intern ingratiated himself to his superiors
ingratiate oneself, win favor of someone starting on the first day.
over, charm She tried to ingratiate herself with the boss by
constantly praising his ideas.
107. advert observe, attend, point v. to call or direct As soon as Jim saw the unsafe guardrail,
to, refer, indicate, attention towards he adverted everyone to the problem.
highlight The article adverted to the growing environmental issues.
108. precipitous steep, arduous, high; adj. acting with haste or The hikers carefully navigated the precipitous cliffs.
impulsive, abrupt, on impulse His precipitous actions led to unfortunate
sudden, reckless v. to cause or hasten an consequences.
event The officer took precipitate action and wound up
making the situation even worse.
109. bolster assist, aid, help, v. to support The new evidence helped bolster his argument in court.
strengthen, reinforce, The candidate’s campaign was bolstered by
uphold endorsements by several former military leaders.
110. burgeon blossom, grow, expand, v. to grow The burgeoning mass of bees was heading straight
flourish, thrive, multiply for the picnic.
Her business began to burgeon after she introduced
a new product line.
Set 4
1. providential accidental, convenient, adj. to occur as if from His providential recovery, when it seemed that he
fortunate, serendipitous, divine intervention or would surely succumb, brought hope to many.
timely great time Their providential meeting led to a lifelong
friendship.
2. stanch halt, stop, quench, v. to cease the flow of a The nurse quickly stanched the bleeding.
check liquid (esp. blood) The doctor’s attempt to stanch the flow of blood
eventually succeeded, and the patient’s blood
pressure stabilized.
3. solder fasten, braze, fuse, bind v. to weld, fuse, or join He carefully soldered the broken circuit board back
(esp. metals) together.
Harry soldered the bits of scrap metal together to
make a pet door.
4. prolix lengthy, rambling, adj. wordy or prolonged; The prolix manuscript took days to read.
verbose, long-winded, tedious in length The professor’s prolix lecture caused several
tedious students to lose focus.
5. overweening brash, conceited, adj. presumptuously His overweening arrogance made him unpopular
pompous, hubristic, arrogant or conceited; among his colleagues.
egotistical overconfident, Ian made the overweening assumption that people
overbearing would rush to help him.
6. neologism synthetic word, new n. the creation of new “Technophile” is a neologism, just as “UFO” once was.
phrase, coinage, words, expressions, or The tech industry is full of neologisms that are hard
innovation usages for words to keep up with.
7. infelicitous improper, ill-suited, adj. unfortunate, His infelicitous comment ruined the otherwise
inopportune, unsuitable awkward, inappropriate pleasant dinner.
In Thailand, it is considered infelicitous to touch
someone’s head.
8. callow immature, foolish, adj. lacking maturity or A callow young man was tormenting the elderly in
green, inexperienced experience the park.
The callow youth made many naive mistakes.
9. impugn criticize, challenge, v. to challenge or attack The candidate went too far when he began
dispute, question one’s beliefs or motives as to impugn the character of his opponent’s husband.
false He impugned her integrity during the heated
debate.
10. preen beautify, groom, brush, v. to primp, to dress up The bird preened its feathers with its beak for a few
doll up, tidy, arrange v. to clean fur or feathers moments before taking flight.
of an animal She spent hours preening before the big event.
The bird preened its feathers in the sunlight.
11. foolhardy daredevil, venturous, adj. reckless, unwisely His foolhardy decision to drive through the storm
risky, audacious, bold; thoughtlessly rash led to disaster.
imprudent It was a foolhardy attempt to climb the Sears Tower
that went very wrong.
12. pedagogy education, n. the art or profession of Training in pedagogy can’t prepare you for manic
apprenticeship, training, teaching, or third graders.
discipline, instruction, instructing She excelled in pedagogy, making complex subjects
teaching accessible to students.
13. guy cable, wire, rope, n. rope or cord attached to I was nervous that the guy for the pulley would snap.
support, line something as a brace The tent was secured with a guy to withstand the wind.
14. rail berate, abuse, complain, v. to complain bitterly The citizens railed against the injustice of the
rant, criticize federal land grab in tersely-worded editorials and
letters to the editor.
She railed against the unfair treatment she received.
15. voluble articulate, chatty, adj. able to speak easily The voluble speaker talked late into the night.
conversational, talkative, and in quantity, glib, The voluble speaker entertained the crowd for
garrulous talkative hours.
16. lassitude lethargy, weariness, n. a state of listless The extreme heat led to a general lassitude that
fatigue, listlessness, exhaustion, weakness, or settled on the village from May to October.
apathy weariness of the mind or After the long hike, she was overcome
body with lassitude.
17. rend break, divide, rip, tear, v. to forcibly take He tried to rend the book from her hands.
split v. to tear apart The three-year-old decided she wants to play with
the teddy bear, so she rended it from her infant
sister’s hands.
18. jocose facetious, humorous, adj. characterized by a His jocose personality made him the life of the party.
funny, playful, joking or humorous The jocose innkeeper could always be counted on
lighthearted manner for a bit of levity.
19. insensible cold, numb, inanimate, adj. unconscious, He was insensible after being hit on the head.
unfeeling, unaware unresponsive The boxer lay insensible on the floor of the ring.
20. misogynist sexist, chauvinist, n. one who hates women The song contained several lyrics that were so
woman-hater, male offensive to women that the singer was immediately
chauvinist labeled a misogynist.
The misogynist was known for his discriminatory views.
21. peripatetic migrant, vagrant, adj. itinerant, nomadic A peripatetic existence can take its toll on your
wandering, traveling, relationships with the ones you love.
roving His peripatetic lifestyle took him all over the world.
22. raucous noisy, chaotic, loud, adj. rough sounding, harsh The raucous laughter filled the noisy bar.
clamorous, disorderly adj. boisterous, rowdy, The raucous crowd disrupted the concert.
disorderly The raucous laughter went on long into the night.
23. locution phrasing, expression, n. a particular word, The newcomers were fascinated by the Aussie's
lingo, vernacular, phrase, or style used by a locution.
terminology person or group His locution was filled with regional slang that made
n. style of speaking, him hard to understand.
phraseology The speaker’s locution was elegant and engaging.
24. macerate soak, dissolve, break v. to soften by steeping in Now, we will macerate the rest of the melon in hot
down, soften a liquid, or decompose water so we can use it to flavor the cream.
v. to emaciate; to starve The fruit was left to macerate in the wine overnight.
The harsh conditions caused the prisoners to macerate.
25. pillory ridicule, abuse, v. to punish; to hold up In medieval times, criminals were placed in
condemn, chastise for public scorning the pillory as punishment.
n. a wooden framework Dan was pilloried in class for his inability to spell
with holes for head and “potato”.
hands, in which criminal He was pilloried in the press for his controversial
offenders are held remarks.
26. inveterate chronic, habitual, adj. established, habitual, It was Tony’s inveterate preference to drink orange
ingrained, persistent, deep-rooted juice every morning.
entrenched He was an inveterate smoker despite numerous
attempts to quit.
27. picaresque roguish, satirical, adj. involving clever Huck Finn is a picaresque hero.
adventurous, playful, rogues in episodes of The novel’s picaresque hero was always getting into
whimsical comedy or adventure mischief.
28. countenance aspect, demeanor, n. appearance of a Many people thought she was friendly because of
expression; face, person’s face her kindly countenance.
approval v. to permit, to allow His serious countenance made him look older than
his years.
The manager countenanced the team’s request for a
day off.
29. wistful forlorn, reflective, adj. yearning, longing, or She gave a wistful glance at the old photographs,
pensive, melancholic melancholy remembering better times.
The child stared wistfully out the window for days,
waiting for her dog to return.
30. demure reserved, bashful, coy, adj. modest, shy Lindsay was demure and had a tough time opening
retiring, unassuming up to new people.
She gave a demure smile when complimented.
31. dilatory dallying, sluggish, tardy, adj. tending to delay, put Courtney employed dilatory tactics in the debate in
procrastinating, lagging off, or procrastinate order to collect her thoughts, but the judges noticed
adj. intended to slow and she was docked a point.
progress Her dilatory approach to her work caused deadlines
to be missed.
The dilatory tactics during the meeting frustrated
the team.
32. antipodal opposed, contrary, adj. diametrically opposed The couple had totally antipodal personalities, but
counter, opposite, to, polar opposite they enjoyed each other’s company.
divergent adj. on the opposite side Their views on politics were antipodal.
of the earth Australia and Argentina are antipodal regions.
33. scurvy abominable, low-down, adj. not admirable, The scurvy pirate secured his escape by throwing
despicable, contemptible despicable gun powder into the eyes of his pursuers.
His scurvy behavior left him with few friends.
34. execrate accurse, condemn; hate, v. to declare to be hateful The rival teams appeared on the news to execrate one
detest, revile or abhorrent; denounce another.
v. to loathe The dictator was execrated by the people for his
v. to curse brutal regime.
She execrated the idea of injustice.
35. impecunious destitute, impoverished, adj. poor; without any A graduate student generally leads an impecunious
broke, needy money existence.
He was impecunious after years of struggling to find
steady work.
36. corroborate affirm, validate, give v. to confirm or validate The mailman corroborated the alleged thief’s story,
further supporting confirming that he had merely been passing by when
evidence, verify, support the robbery occurred.
The witness’s testimony corroborated the alibi of the
defendant.
37. hirsute furry, woolly, fuzzy, adj. hairy, shaggy The hirsute dog left fur all over the furniture
hairy A hirsute sheepdog won the Dog Showing Contest.
38. covert cloaked, secret, sly, adj. hidden; secret The government’s covert operations were laid bare
concealed, hidden by the shocking article.
The agent’s covert operation was unknown to most of
his colleagues.
The fox darted into the covert to avoid the hunters.
39. decry denounce, deplore, v. to strongly disapprove The preacher decried society’s indifference towards
condemn, criticize, vilify of the poor.
The politician decried the corruption in the system.
40. plumb probe, gauge; assess, v. to measure the depth They used a rope to plumb the depths of the ocean.
study, explore v. to examine critically The professor plumbed the complexities of the
argument during the lecture.
I think she is the only architect working today who
has the courage to truly plumb the possibilities of
recycled construction materials.
41. epicurean gluttonous, libertine, adj. characterized by luxury The epicurean feast featured the finest wines and
luxurious, indulgent (esp. in terms of food and gourmet dishes.
drink) or by a propensity for The cruise was marketed as an epicurean adventure
indulging in luxury through the cuisines of four Caribbean nations.
42. credence credulity, confidence, n. belief that something is She gave credence to the rumors when she failed to
possibility, faith, trust true deny them.
Her story had n. plausibility The scientist’s findings lent credence to the new
enough credence to be theory.
considered seriously.
43. sallow pale, unhealthy-looking, adj. of a sickly yellowish Her sallow complexion was a sign of her illness.
jaundiced, sickly, wan hue or complexion There was a large number of sallow-looking patients
in the doctor’s office.
44. sempiternal ageless, constant, adj. eternal, infinite Nothing in life is sempiternal, alas.
everlasting, timeless The stars in the sky seem sempiternal, twinkling
throughout the ages.
45. credulous gullible, too trusting, adj. easily convinced that His lies were so ridiculous that only the
naive, unsuspecting something is true most credulous child would have believed them.
The credulous child believed every story his older
brother told him.
46. decadent decaying, hedonistic, adj. in a state of decline The once-vibrant city now appeared decadent, with
luxurious, indulgent adj. self-indulgent crumbling buildings and empty streets.
The decadent lifestyle of the wealthy left them
morally bankrupt.
Louis XIV was known for his decadent displays of
wealth and power.
47. innervate invigorate, evoke, v. to give nervous energy The team was innervated by the coach’s pep talk and
energize, stimulate to; to supply with nerves approached the second half with renewed energy.
The motivational speech innervated the team before
the big game.
48. plangent booming, loud, roaring, adj. pounding, The plangent honking of geese flying overhead jolted
mournful, melancholy thundering, resounding me awake.
The plangent roar of the waves echoed through the
cliffs.
49. unflappable calm, collected, adj. not easily upset or The unflappable hero maintained his level-headed
composed, steady, excited (e.g., in a crisis) mentality during the disaster
imperturbable Even in the face of disaster, he remained
unflappable and calm
50. grovel beg, serve, fawn, abase v. to behave in a servile The servants groveled at the king’s throne.
manner to receive He had to grovel for forgiveness after making a
forgiveness or a favor serious mistake.
v. to kneel with one’s head They groveled to win favor with the influential
down leader.
51. atrophy disintegration; to n. deterioration (esp. due Muscle atrophy can occur when a person is bedridden for
disintegrate, decline, to inactivity) an extended period.
degeneration, waste, If not exercised regularly, the muscles will begin
diminish to atrophy.
v. to deteriorate, to waste away (esp. due to inactivity)
The paralyzed patient began to show signs of atrophy in
his leg muscles.
52. parry block, dodge, v. to block, evade, or ward The politician parried the reporter’s questions with a
circumvent, deflect, off few of her own.
counter He skillfully parried his opponent’s attack.
53. anosmia without smell, smell n. loss of the sense of Melissa has been afflicted with anosmia since birth;
loss, olfactory loss smell she likes to say that sometimes it is a curse, and
sometimes a blessing.
She was diagnosed with anosmia after a severe illness.
54. culpable guilty, liable, adj. deserving of blame or He confessed that he was culpable for the crime and
responsible, accountable punishment faced the consequences.
He was found culpable for the accident and faced
legal consequences.
55. astute adroit, perspicacious, adj. having practical An astute teacher always checks for plagiarism.
sagacious, shrewd, intelligence and good Her astute observations helped the team solve the
insightful, perceptive, judgment problem quickly.
clever
56. rapacious marauding, ravenous, adj. voracious, greedy, The Vikings were rapacious warriors.
avaricious, greedy, plundering The rapacious invaders took everything of value from
insatiable the village.
57. ascetic abstinent, restrained, adj. relating to self-denial The ascetic monks rejected modern comforts such as
austere, self-disciplined, n. a person who practices electricity.
rigorous self-denial His ascetic lifestyle was characterized by minimal
possessions and strict routines.
The ascetic devoted his life to meditation and reflection,
seeking enlightenment through simplicity.
58. assiduous hardworking, attentive, adj. making careful and John was an assiduous student who always tried his
diligent, tireless, persistent effort best.
indefatigable, Her assiduous attention to detail ensured the project
meticulous was flawless.
59. couch formulate, phrase, v. to express in indirect She couched her criticism in more diplomatic
surround, present, terms; to frame in a language to avoid offense.
articulate certain way Her criticism was couched in flattering terms so that
her coworker wouldn’t take offense.
60. ambient environment, adj. relating to the The low ambient lighting made for a romantic dinner
atmosphere, immediate surroundings; setting.
surrounding, surrounding environment The ambient noise of the city made it hard to
environmental concentrate.
61. ascribe assign, appoint, accredit, v. to attribute or assign to Her success was ascribed to the hours she had spent
attribute, impute a cause studying.
He ascribed his success to hard work and
determination.
62. coterie clique, crowd, collective, n. a small or exclusive She belonged to an elite coterie of art collectors.
group, association group of people with The coterie of musicians began to meet on Tuesday nights
common interests and eventually established a weekly concert series.
63. inquest a judicial inquiry, an n. a judicial inquiry of some The police opened an inquest into the cause of death.
official review before a matter held before a jury The court held an inquest into the cause of the
panel, investigation, n. an investigation, inquiry accident.
examination
64. magnanimous big-hearted, forgiving, adj. noble in spirit, Susan’s magnanimous personality made her many
generous, altruistic generous in forgiving life-long friends.
others Her magnanimous gesture of forgiveness surprised
everyone.
65. debase degrade, cheapen, v. to corrupt or lower the The scandal debased the reputation of the company.
diminish, tarnish value of Many argue that modern society has been debased by
materialism.
66. aseptic barren, clean; adj. free of pathogens or Doctors are always careful to use aseptic surgical
withdrawn, introverted, germs equipment to prevent infection.
sterile, unemotional adj. with little or no The hospital room was kept aseptic to prevent
emotion infections.
His aseptic demeanor made it hard to read his
feelings.
67. apogee pinnacle, apex, summit, n. the highest point, The apogee of the roller coaster terrified even the
peak zenith most seasoned riders.
The astronaut reached the apogee of his career with
the moon landing.
68. ascendant ruling, superior, adj. rising The ascendant sun signaled the start of a new day.
dominant, rising, adj. most powerful The nation enjoyed a period of ascendant power on
prevailing n. a position of being the global stage.
dominant or in control In this game, newcomers are ascendant because of
their youth.
69. dormant inactive, sleeping, adj. inactive for a period The volcano has been dormant for centuries.
inoperative, latent, idle, of time The dormant volcano erupted unexpectedly, injuring
resting many.
70. noisome repulsive, dangerous, adj. offensive or harmful The noisome odor of the garbage nauseated Audrey.
foul, malodorous The noisome fumes made it difficult to breathe.
71. dupe chump, sucker, victim, n. a person who is easily He was such a dupe, falling for every scam.
fool, gull tricked The con artist duped him into giving away his money.
v. to deceive The lying politician made those who had voted for
him seem like dupes.
72. eugenics genetic enhancement, n. the study of heredity The controversial theory of eugenics has raised
genetic manipulation, improvements by genetic ethical concerns over the years.
biogenetics control Nazi Germany is known to have carried out
many eugenics experiments that provoked outrage
once they came to light.
73. decorous acceptable, befitting; adj. conforming to what is One must always behave in a decorous manner at
civil, courtly, seemly, acceptable to society formal events.
proper, respectable adj. marked by propriety Her decorous behavior at the formal event impressed
and etiquette the guests.
The decorous conversation at dinner was a refreshing
change from their usual banter.
74. ebullient bouncy, chipper, adj. very excited; joyously Linda was ebullient when she made it into the
effervescent, exuberant, enthusiastic semifinals.
lively The ebullient crowd cheered loudly for their team.
75. efficacious efficient, capable, adj. producing or able to The treatment was efficacious in curing the disease.
effective, potent produce a desired result The woman insisted that her herbal medicines would be
the most efficacious remedy for the young patient.
76. ecclesiastical clerical, parochial, adj. relating to the church Mary decided to take up her ecclesiastical concerns
religious, spiritual with the local priest.
The ecclesiastical leaders gathered for the annual
conference.
77. Providential accidental, convenient, adj. to occur as if from His providential recovery, when it seemed that he
fortunate, serendipitous, divine intervention or would surely succumb, brought hope to many.
timely great time Their providential meeting led to a lifelong
friendship.
78. wizen sag, crinkle, dry up, fade, adj. shriveled, wrinkled, or A wizened old man was walking through the park.
shrivel withered, as of with old age The once vibrant flowers began to wizen in the heat.
79. dote favor, cherish, adore, v. to show excessive Her parents were strict but her grandparents
pamper affection always doted on her and showered her with gifts.
She couldn’t help but dote on her new puppy.
80. avarice selfishness, ambition, n. insatiable greed The rich man’s avarice led him to buy up most of the
greed, covetousness, neighborhood.
insatiability, materialism His avarice led him to exploit his employees without
remorse
81. austere bare, stark, simple, adj. severe, strict, or very The austere decor of the room matched her
stern, harsh, unadorned plain minimalist lifestyle.
The austere room was anything but inviting.
82. ebb subside; regression, v. to decrease or recede As the excitement began to ebb, the crowd slowly
decline, diminution, n. a decline dispersed.
retreat n. the outward flow of the The ebb of support left the candidate discouraged
tide Her affection for him began to ebb a few days after
the hasty wedding.
83. eclectic heterogeneous, adj. composed of parts The girl’s fashion sense was an eclectic mix of
multifarious, varied, from many different conservative Victorian and colorful modern styles.
diverse sources Her music taste is quite eclectic, ranging from
classical to punk rock.
84. debauchery depravity, lechery, n. extreme sensual The party was known for its debauchery and excess.
lewdness, dissipation, indulgence The debauchery in the movie was enough to make me
excess blush.
85. frangible brittle, flimsy, delicate, adj. fragile; easily broken The frangible glass shattered upon impact.
breakable The frangible statue was accidently pushed over and
shattered.
86. edify enlighten, teach, uplift, v. to educate, instruct, or John attempted to edify the impolite young man.
inspire benefit, especially morally The speaker’s words were meant to edify the
or spiritually; uplift audience.
87. effrontery audacity, impudence, n. unjustified arrogance He had the effrontery to insult the host at the dinner
brashness, insolence or boldness party.
Although my sister had not invited me to her party,
she had the effrontery to ask me for help setting up.
88. assuage soothe, alleviate, ease, v. to relieve Her anger was assuaged by her friend’s soothing words.
calm, pacify He tried to assuage her guilt with comforting words.
89. puerile babyish, callow, adj. childish, immature The comedian had a puerile sense of humor, invoking
infantile, naive, juvenile the bathroom in practically every joke.
His puerile jokes irritated everyone at the meeting.
90. rue synonyms: feel remorse, v. to regret; to feel or He rued the day he made that fateful decision.
grieve for, lament, repent experience remorse I rued the day I ever let her go.
91. emasculate desexualize, neuter; v. to castrate or make Wearing the frilly pink shirt made him
devitalize, weaken, effeminate feel emasculated.
undermine, debilitate, v. to weaken The harsh criticism seemed to emasculate his
enfeeble confidence in the project.
Excessive regulations can emasculate the
effectiveness of a program.
92. effusive overdone, extravagant, adj. related to excessive or Susan’s effusive praise of Ramon’s new car made him
gushing, unrestrained unchecked emotion; think that perhaps she didn’t really like it.
expressing feelings of Her effusive praise made everyone in the room
gratitude uncomfortable.
93. mellifluous euphonic, harmonic, adj. sweetly flowing (esp. Lucy’s mellifluous voice was noted by her
mellow, pleasing, of words or sounds) interviewer.
smooth, soothing Her mellifluous voice captivated the audience.
94. tortuous ambiguous, convoluted, adj. winding, excessively The philosopher made a tortuous argument that not
indirect, circuitous, complicated many of his students followed.
twisted The legal contract was so tortuous that no one could
understand it.
95. aver affirm, assert, declare, v. to declare as true When interviewed, Susan’s friends all averred that
state she was a trustworthy person.
She averred her innocence during the trial.
96. craven weak, timid, fearful, adj. cowardly His craven refusal to stand up for his beliefs cost him
spineless, cowardly his reputation.
The craven man ran away at the first sign of danger.
97. countermand override, recall, revoke, v. to annul, cancel, make a The general countermanded his previous order to
rescind, retract contrary order retreat, telling the men to march straight into battle.
The general countermanded the earlier attack order.
98. artless genuine, pure; naive, adj. simple and natural She had an artless grace about her that endeared her
straightforward; adj. unable to mask true to strangers.
awkward, amateurish, feelings Her artless charm made her instantly likable.
unpretentious, adj. without artistic merit; His artless honesty was refreshing, as he spoke from
unrefined crudely made the heart.
99. suppliant begging; beggar, seeker, adj. asking humbly, The boy was peering into the pet store window with
humble, beseeching, beseeching the look of a suppliant on his face.
pleading, imploring n. a person who requests The suppliant tone of her voice revealed her deep
or begs desire for help.
As a suppliant, he approached the council for
assistance in his plight.
100. recumbent sprawling, reclining, adj. leaning, lying down He sat recumbent on the picnic blanket.
horizontal, prone He remained recumbent on the couch, watching TV.
101. autonomous self-determining, adj. independent The island nation remained autonomous despite
independent, self- political pressures.
governing, sovereign, The revolutionaries are fighting to make their
free, self-sufficient country autonomous.
Set- 5
1. lackey servant, butler, n. a male servant, servile He was treated like a lackey, always expected to run
subordinate, sycophant, follower, toady errands for his boss.
minion Lori’s boyfriend becomes a lackey during her
shopping trips.
2. pugilism battle, sparring, duel, n. the skill or practice of Mike Tyson is known throughout the world for
boxing, fisticuffs fighting with fists; boxing his pugilism.
His passion for pugilism led him to become a
champion boxer.
3. panoply display, arrangement; n. a splendid, striking A porcupine’s panoply of quills is quite a protective
armaments, array, array arsenal.
equipment, ensemble n. the complete armory of The museum featured a panoply of historical
a warrior artifacts from various cultures.
n. a shining protective The knight’s panoply included an impressive array of
array armor and weapons.
4. rarefied thin, refined, elevated, adj. thin, pure, refined The rarefied air of higher altitudes makes it very
esoteric difficult to climb Mt. Everest.
The rarefied air at high altitudes can be challenging
for climbers.
5. fetid corrupt, gross, rancid, adj. malodorous, stinky The fetid green substance had taken over the entire
foul-smelling fridge.
The fetid odor from the garbage made the area
unbearable.
6. encomium tribute, laudation, n. enthusiastic praise The author received an encomium from critics
praise, commendation, praising her latest novel.
accolade, honor That country’s national anthem is an encomium to
the heroes of a war long past.
7. vaunt flaunt, gloat, show off, v. to boast or brag about Chris, though usually very modest, will
proclaim readily vaunt his achievements in a job interview.
She loved to vaunt her accomplishments at every
opportunity.
8. flag droop, fade, wane, v. to become tired or weak The runner’s enthusiasm flagged when she realized
weaken, sink, decline v. to droop or limp she still had many miles ahead of her.
After hours of studying, he began to flag, struggling
to keep his eyes open.
The flowers started to flag in the heat without enough
water.
9. blandish charm, flatter, cajole, v. to coax or influence Steve blandished her into going out with him.
sweet-talk with flattery He tried to blandish his way into a better deal with
flattery.
10. arrant shameless; brazen, adj. impudent Though the professor is considered one of the greats
blatant, notorious adj. thorough, utter, of his discipline, lately his lectures have verged
complete on arrant nonsense.
His arrant disregard for the rules resulted in severe
consequences.
The arrant nonsense in his speech frustrated the
audience.
11. din buzz, clamor, n. loud sustained noise, During the concert, Jill couldn’t hear Rick over
commotion, racket, confusing or tumultuous the din of the loudspeakers.
uproar, cacophony sound The din of the crowd made it difficult to hear the speaker.
12. canonical orthodox, standard, adj. in agreement with The canonical texts of the religion are studied by
approved, recognized accepted principles scholars worldwide.
adj. authorized, accepted Her research follows canonical methods recognized
by the scientific community.
The canonical Mozart sonatas were consulted in
order to compare them to the newly-discovered
manuscript attributed to him.
13. fecundity abundance, productivity, n. fertility, fruitfulness The fecundity of the land resulted in a bountiful
richness, yield harvest.
An artist’s period of fecundity can come at any time
of her life.
14. furtive sneaky, stealthy, covert, adj. secretive, sly At the party, Julia cast furtive glances around the
surreptitious room to make sure her elder sister was not around to
send her back home.
She cast a furtive glance at the hidden documents on
the table.
15. sanguine happy, cheerful, adj. cheerfully optimistic; Samantha had a sanguine attitude towards life that
hopeful, buoyant a blood-red color enriched those around her.
Despite the challenges ahead, she
remained sanguine about the future.
16. forestall intercept, anticipate, v. to deal with ahead of They tried to forestall problems by addressing them
prevent, avert, preempt time; to prevent early.
The mayor called the police before the protest even
began in order to forestall rioting.
17. pantheon house of worship, n. a temple dedicated to the The ancient Greeks built a pantheon to honor their gods.
sanctuary, deities, divine gods The artist’s work has earned her a place in
assembly n. all the gods of a people the pantheon of contemporary greats.
n. a group of famous persons The Greek pantheon includes Zeus and his consort, Hera.
18. frenetic anxious, hysterical, adj. frenzied or frantic Frenetic screams filled the room as people tried to get
rattled, chaotic, wild out before the fire spread.
The frenetic pace of the city made it hard to relax.
19. peremptory opinionated, absolute, adj. admitting of no He ended the discussion with a peremptory wave of
assertive, dictatorial, contradiction; putting an his hand.
commanding end to further debate; Her peremptory tone left no room for discussion.
haughty; imperious
20. impregnable impenetrable, adj. able to withstand The fortress was surrounded by a moat so as to make
unassailable, attack it impregnable.
invulnerable, secure The fortress was built to be impregnable, with walls
that could withstand any assault.
21. fortuity accident; good fortune, n. an event that happens By sheer fortuity, Linda was assigned to the same
coincidence, serendipity by chance without a homeroom as her twin brother.
known cause The discovery of the rare artifact was a remarkable
n. luck fortuity during the excavation.
Winning the lottery was a stroke of fortuity that
changed his life.
22. quotidian ordinary, trivial, adj. everyday, Joe’s small, quotidian pleasures seemed more
mundane, routine commonplace, habitual substantial than Mattias’s high-profile jet-setting.
Her quotidian routine included a morning jog and a
cup of coffee.
23. visceral habitual, instinctive, adj. felt in one’s stomach Jeb’s visceral response to his mother’s racist
inherent; affective, gut- adj. emotional, rather ramblings was visible to all of us.
level, intuitive than intellectual His visceral reaction to the news was evident as he
clutched his stomach in shock.
She had a visceral response to the film that left her in
tears.
24. incense fire up, enrage, infuriate, v. to make angry The class’s behavior incensed the teacher to the point
provoke that she gave them all extra homework.
The rude comment served to incense her, making her
visibly upset.
25. mince soften, tone down, v. to speak carefully; to He chose to mince his words when discussing the
diminish, moderate euphemize sensitive topic.
Don’t mince words with me; just say what you need to say!
26. Refectory chamber, dining hall, n. a room or dining area The students milled about the entrance to
cafeteria, mess hall where meals are served the refectory, counting down the seconds until
supper would be served.
The students gathered in the refectory for their
lunchtime meal.
27. fidelity allegiance, faith, loyalty, n. devotion to obligations Kevin’s parents were proud of him for his fidelity to
constancy or loyalties the family business.
n. the accuracy of a Her fidelity to her friends was unwavering, always
reproduced sound or standing by them in tough times.
image The fidelity of the sound system ensured that every
note was reproduced accurately.
28. tyro beginner, rookie, n. a beginner or novice in The hapless tyro tripped over the ropes on his way
neophyte, fledgling any kind of skill into the boxing ring.
As a tyro in the field, he was eager to learn from his peers.
29. impromptu improvised, adj. spontaneously done During a lull in the live broadcast, the host began
unrehearsed, without preparation an impromptu dance number with some of the
spontaneous, contestants.
extemporaneous, off- The impromptu speech he gave was surprisingly
the-cuff well-received.
30. hallow bless, consecrate, v. to set apart as holy, to The site for the church was hallowed in a special
sanctify, venerate sanctify ceremony.
The community came together to hallow the new
memorial.
31. solemn quiet, serious, grave, adj. deeply earnest, grave The solemn ceremony honored those who had
somber, earnest, adj. of a very serious sacrificed their lives.
thoughtful nature; gloomy His solemn expression indicated he understood the
seriousness of the situation.
Carter’s solemn voice made his family suspect that a
tragedy had occurred.
32. quail recoil, cower, tremble, v. to shrink with fear She began to quail at the thought of public speaking.
flinch The puppy quailed at my angry tone.
33. infinitesimal little, synonyms: little, adj. immeasurably small The proportion of truly selfless people in this world
microscopic, minuscule, is surely infinitesimal.
tiny The scientist measured the infinitesimal particles
with great precision.
34. daft absurd, insane, silly, adj. mad, crazy His daft idea to swim in the icy lake in winter raised
nonsensical adj. foolish eyebrows.
Deciding to invest all his savings in a single stock was
a daft move.
The daft man was walking about the room conversing
with himself.
35. volition choice, option, n. a conscious decision or Though his friends had egged him on, it was
preference, the capability of choosing determined that Pat stole the sunglasses of his
determination, resolve n. willingness own volition.
He made the decision of his own volition, choosing to
pursue a different career path.
Her volition to help others was evident in her
volunteer work
36. fickle inconstant, adj. prone to changing His fickle nature made it hard to rely on his
unpredictable, often commitments.
capricious, changeable Suzanne was a fickle friend who could not be relied upon.
37. quaff guzzle, swig, imbibe, sip v. to drink deeply; to He quaffed the pint in a three hearty gulps.
intoxicate oneself with After a long day, he would quaff a cold beer on the
great enjoyment porch.
38. bedizen clothe, embellish, v. to adorn, usually in a Paula was bedizened with gaudy decorations.
garnish, dress up, poorly conceived or She chose to bedizen herself in bright colors and
decorate tasteless manner flashy accessories.
39. incisive intelligent, quick; clear- adj. quick to understand The boy’s incisive mind allowed him to excel in all of
cut, shrewd, sharp or perceptive his classes.
adj. clearly expressed; Her incisive comments during the discussion
decisive highlighted her deep understanding of the topic.
The CEO’s incisive speech laid out the company’s
vision with clarity.
40. panegyric synonyms: flattery, n. a formal and elaborate The mayor extended a panegyric to all of the citizens
compliment, credit, public compliment; who were fighting overseas.
tribute, eulogy praise, laudation The mayor delivered a panegyric in honor of the
retiring teacher.
41. pariah vagabond, persona non n. an outcast; a rejected or Alex left the party feeling like a pariah.
grata, leper, outlier despised person After the scandal, he became a pariah in his
community.
42. forthright honest, frank, direct, adj. straightforward One should be forthright and honest with the
candid authorities so as not to seem suspicious.
His forthright manner made him a trusted advisor.
43. inculcate communicate, drill, v. to teach by frequent Throughout the year, the faculty is expected
instill, impart, repetition to inculcate the essentials of fire safety in the students.
indoctrinate The teacher aimed to inculcate good study habits in
her students.
44. redolent aromatic, imbued with, adj. fragrant, suggestive, The fraternity house was redolent of stale beer and
scented, perfumed or evocative day-old pizza
The garden was redolent with the scent of blooming
flowers
45. provident cautious, prepared; adj. looking to the future The young couple’s provident financial planning was
thrifty, prudent, adj. frugal an asset to them later in life.
foresighted Her provident nature led her to save money for
emergencies.
The provident shopper always looked for the best deals.
46. essay experiment, endeavor, n. an attempt or trial My frequent essays at piano playing have only met
attempt, trial, v. to test, try, experiment,with failure.
examination, assessment investigate His first essay at painting was filled with bold colors
and energy.
She decided to essay a new approach to solving the
problem.
47. forbear avoid, constrain, forgo, v. to refrain from doing Although I know Adam likes to crack jokes, I would
withhold, abstain something have liked him to forbear silliness in such a serious
situation.
He decided to forbear from commenting on the
sensitive issue.
48. steel harden, toughen; brace, v. to make hard, strong or John realized that he would lose the chess match
embolden, fortify, obdurate and steeled himself for disappointment.
prepare v. to fill with He had to steel himself for the difficult conversation
determination ahead.
She steeled herself against doubt and pushed
forward with her goals.
49. incorrigible rebellious, disobedient, adj. unable to be corrected Incorrigible juvenile offenders are sent to a special
incurable, irredeemable, or reformed program within the prison.
hopeless His incorrigible behavior in school led to multiple
suspensions.
50. indelible enduring, lasting, adj. impossible to remove The memory of that day had become indelible in his mind.
unforgettable, or to forget The indelible memories of her childhood shaped who
permanent, ineradicable she became.
51. byzantine convoluted, elaborate, adj. complex, intricate, The byzantine rules of the card game confused everyone.
complicated, tortuous labyrinthine The byzantine regulations made it difficult for small
businesses to operate.
52. peccadillo faux pas, misdemeanor, n. slight infraction of His peccadillo of forgetting to RSVP was forgiven by
vice, infraction, error rules, a minor sin his friends.
As a society, we tend to take our politicians to task
over peccadilloes while overlooking the failings of
our political system as a whole.
53. luxuriant fertile, lush, prolific, adj. growing in extreme Anne’s luxuriant garden was considered the nicest in
opulent, extravagant abundance the neighborhood.
adj. luxurious and The luxuriant vegetation in the rainforest is home to
complexly detailed countless species.
The garden was a luxuriant display of flowers and
foliage, delighting every visitor.
54. philately study of stamps, stamp n. the study of postage Her passion for philately led her to collect rare
collecting, philatelic stamps stamps from around the world.
study His grandfather is obsessed with philately and has
even made several overseas pen pals in order to study
their countries’ postage.
55. pathology disease science, n. the study of disease An oncologist concerns herself with the pathology of
medicine, epidemiology n. a disease’s progression cancer.
or manifestation Pathology plays a crucial role in diagnosing medical
conditions.
The pathology of the disease can vary significantly
between patients.
56. paradigm archetype, template, n. a standard example He used the Civil War as a historical paradigm to
model, example n. a pattern or model support his point.
The new research provides a paradigm for
understanding climate change.
The shift in the company’s paradigm allowed for
greater flexibility.
57. indolent idle, lazy; insensitive, adj. habitually lazy The company’s owner decided to fire the
slothful, lethargic adj. causing little or no most indolent workers first.
pain His indolent attitude made it difficult for him to meet
deadlines.
The indolent tumor was discovered during a routine
check-up.
58. importune demand, appeal, plead, v. to beg persistently He would importune his friends for favors whenever
beseech he needed help.
Kate importuned her father every day to teach her
how to sail.
59. indigenous native, inborn, adj. originating in a The Aborigines are a people indigenous to Australia.
aboriginal, local, certain place The indigenous cultures of the region have rich
endemic traditions and histories.
60. calumny misrepresentations, n. a false statement; The desperate candidate abandoned reasoned arguments
slanderous, defamation, slander, aspersion and resorted to calumnies against the front-runner.
libel The politician’s career was ruined by a calumny that
spread quickly through the media.
61. sanctimony smug, hypocritical, n. self-righteousness, Her sanctimony was evident as she criticized others
preachy, pharisaical, pretended piety, insincere while ignoring her own faults.
moralizing holiness His sanctimony was laughable, since we all knew he
was one of the worst offenders.
62. alloy blend, combination; n. a mixture of superior Bronze is an alloy made from copper and tin.
debase, devalue, and inferior ingredients The decision to alloy the pure metal with cheaper
mixture, compound v. to debase by mixing materials diminished its quality.
with something inferior The heroism one sees nowadays is often alloyed with
some degree of self-interest.
63. vainglorious immodest, self- adj. boastful of one’s Dave’s vainglorious attitude unfortunately
absorbed, conceited, accomplishments or overshadowed his considerable accomplishments.
narcissistic accolades; vain His vainglorious speech about his achievements
bored the audience.
64. tamp fill, jam; ram, butt, v. to drive in or down by a They tamped down the soil around the base of the
drive, pack, compress series of blows new sapling.
She used a tool to tamp the soil around the newly
planted flowers.
He had to tamp the stakes firmly into the ground to
secure the tent.
65. paucity lack, scarcity, dearth, n. a small amount The paucity of resources meant the film had to be
insufficiency made with unpaid actors and few crew members.
There was a paucity of evidence to support his claims.
66. sinecure easy work, position of n. a comfortable job Carolyn’s position in the office is a sinecure; she does
ease, cushy job requiring little work nothing all day yet she draws the same salary as
everyone else.
After years of hard work, he finally landed
a sinecure that allowed him to relax.
67. luminous glowing, edifying, adj. emitting light; bright The luminous stars filled the night sky with their glow.
radiant, brilliant adj. enlightening The lecture was not only informative but
also luminous in its insights.
My friend raves about this “luminous” collection of
poems, though I didn’t think it was particularly
insightful.
68. impudent cocky, insolent, adj. improperly His impudent remarks during the meeting shocked
overbearing, brazen, disrespectful everyone.
audacious The girl was forced to apologize in front of the class
for her impudent attitude towards her teachers.
69. parsimonious penurious, miserly, adj. frugal; cheap Her aunt was too parsimonious to chip in for the
simple, stingy, thrifty family’s annual reunion.
Her parsimonious nature made her hesitant to spend
money on luxuries.
70. martinet authoritarian, enforcer, n. one who demands strict The teacher was a martinet, enforcing rules with an
disciplinarian, adherence to rules iron fist.
taskmaster The nanny was hired for the unruly children because
of her reputation as a martinet who would be sure to
keep them in line.
71. ostensible exhibited, likely, adj. apparent The oil spill was the ostensible result of lax safety
manifest, seeming, adj. pretended regulations
purported The ostensible reason for his visit was to check on
her, but he had another agenda.
72. indigent destitute, impoverished, adj. extremely poor The charity provides support for indigent families in
needy, penniless the community.
The organization’s mission was to provide educational
resources to indigent women in various countries.
73. inveigh remonstrate, lambaste, v. to attack verbally, toThe protesters were inveighing against government
berate, rail against deprecate policies.
He began to inveigh against the new policies during
the meeting.
74. mantle cloak, covering, shroud, n. a covering or Amid the spate of resignations at town hall, the
cape concealing object untested woman was forced to accept the mantle of
n. a symbol of power or leadership as the town’s youngest mayor ever.
duty The old mantle hung above the fireplace, filled with
memories.
He took on the mantle of leadership with great
responsibility.
75. epaulet military decoration, n. a shoulder ornament, The veteran’s uniform was adorned by a pair of
service stripe, shoulder esp. a strap on military impressive epaulets.
piece, insignia uniforms The soldier’s uniform was adorned with
gold epaulets indicating his rank.
76. matrix forge, source, origin, n. a place in which The matrix of the organization fosters innovation
framework, environment something originates or and creativity.
develops This computer program is the matrix for the movie’s
digital art.
77. aspersion abuse, belittlement, n. the act of defamation or The aspersions cast by his political opponent took
slander, disparagement maligning; a derogatory weeks to eradicate.
remark Her comments were not just criticism; they were
an aspersion on his character.
78. gossamer thin, delicate, light, adj. delicate, The gossamer fabric of her dress fluttered in the breeze.
fragile, airy, ethereal insubstantial, flimsy The gossamer kite broke in two at the first gust of wind.
79. mannered unnatural, stilted, adj. artificial or affected His mannered speech made him seem insincere and
affected, contrived pretentious.
The pretentious socialite had a mannered way of
speaking that did not impress many of her peers.
80. affectation pretend, artificiality, n. a show or pretense Her British accent was an affectation she adopted to
pretense, facade n. artificial behavior to appear more sophisticated.
impress others The writer’s affectation for using complicated words
made his work less accessible.
That American doctor’s affectation of a British accent
has drawn much criticism.
81. obfuscate baffle, muddle, v. to deliberately obscure, The lawyer tried to obfuscate the facts to confuse the jury.
confound, cloud, to make confusing, to The governor obfuscated the issue with big words
confuse, bewilder bewilder and numbers.
82. inchoate undeveloped, beginning, adj. not fully formed An inchoate sense of duty is no substitute for a sober
elementary, nascent, assessment of the hardships that lie ahead if you
rudimentary decide to follow your husband to his remote post.
The inchoate idea needed more development before
it could be presented.
83. inimical antagonistic, harmful, adj. hostile, unfriendly The inimical comments from the critics hurt the
adverse, detrimental artist deeply.
The Antarctic is inimical to life.
84. salacious erotic, lecherous, adj. causing sexual desire, Many parents were unhappy with the magazine's
raunchy, lascivious, bawdy salacious material.
risqué The novel was criticized for its salacious content that
appealed to base desires.
85. arrant shameless; brazen, adj. impudent Though the professor is considered one of the greats
blatant, notorious adj. thorough, utter, of his discipline, lately his lectures have verged
complete on arrant nonsense.
His arrant disregard for the rules resulted in severe
consequences.
The arrant nonsense in his speech frustrated the
audience.
86. baleful menacing, evil, adj. full of sinister The basilisk’s baleful glare is lethal.
malicious, threatening influence, pernicious, The baleful glare from the villain sent shivers down
ominous the hero’s spine.
87. mar hurt, blemish, ruin, v. to make imperfect The scratches on the surface will mar the beauty of
deface, spoil n. a mark that damages the table.
the appearance of The small mar on the painting was hardly noticeable
something but still bothered her.
Although entertaining and well-written, the
screenplay was marred by its dependence on
stereotypes instead of well-developed characters.
88. manifest ledger; conspicuous, n. a list of the people The captain checked the manifest to ensure all
unambiguous; aboard a ship or plane passengers were accounted for.
demonstrate, show, adj. clearly apparent Her kindness manifests in her willingness to help
display, reveal v. to exhibit a quality those in need.
Linda’s laziness was manifest in the messy state of
her apartment.
89. parch dehydrate, dry, v. to make dry The sun’s intense heat parched the ground and wilted
evaporate, desiccate, v. to make thirsty the leaves on the trees.
wither The hot sun will quickly parch the landscape.
The long hike through the desert began to parch his
throat.
90. untoward problematic, adj. troublesome, unruly, This is not the first time I have noted untoward
objectionable, adverse, or indecent similarities between those two students’ papers.
inappropriate, difficult His untoward behavior at the party caused
discomfort among the guests.
91. paramount principal, prominent, adj. most important Educational reform was a paramount issue for both
significant, supreme, mayoral candidates.
chief Safety is paramount in any construction project.
92. malevolent hateful, malicious, adj. wishing evil on others His malevolent glare sent chills down her spine.
malignant, spiteful, The malevolent old woman was always trying to
vindictive make her neighbors miserable.
93. lucid clearheaded, sensible, adj. easy to understand The artist was unable to express his abstract ideas in
unblurred, coherent, adj. transparent a lucid manner.
articulate (permitting light to pass His lucid explanation made the complex topic
through) accessible to everyone.
adj. having a clear mind After a good night’s sleep, she felt lucid and ready to
tackle the day.
94. whit atom, crumb, grain, iota, n. the smallest possible The bank robber did not have a whit of self-respect.
bit, fragment part or fraction There wasn’t a whit of evidence to support his claims.
95. unctuous fatty, slick; lying, adj. oily, greasy The king had the unctuous toady removed from his
untruthful, smooth, adj. characterized by palace.
ingratiating insincere earnestness The chef used unctuous olive oil to enhance the flavor
of the dish.
His unctuous compliments made her suspicious of
his true intentions.
96. paean hymn, melody, ode, n. a song or expression of After their country won the World Cup, the band wrote
anthem joy or praise a paean to the national team that became a Top 20 hit.
The choir sang a paean to celebrate the community’s
achievements.
97. redress help, compensate; v. to set right, to remedy The peaceful petitioning for redress of wrongs is a
justice, rectify, remedy n. compensation or right enshrined in our country’s founding document.
restitution for a wrong She sought to redress the imbalance by addressing
the unfair policies.
The company offered a redress to customers affected
by the faulty product.
98. palette paint board, spectrum, n. a board used by artists The poor artist managed to make an interesting piece
color range, mixing to mix paint colors with a palette of only black and white.
board n. a range of colors The artist’s palette was filled with vibrant hues.
The interior designer chose a palette of soft pastels
for the room.
99. florid pretty, fancy; adj. healthy-looking The patient had a florid complexion, indicating good
extravagant, adj. ornate or flowery health.
ornamental, flamboyant, The artist’s florid style was characterized by intricate
showy designs and vibrant colors.
The author’s florid prose did not impress the critics,
who found her work pretentious.
100. fission division, severance, n. the act of separating The controversial legislation led to the fission of the
parting, splitting, into parts administration.
fragmentation The fission of the atom released a significant amount
of energy.
101. pariah vagabond, persona non n. an outcast; a rejected or Alex left the party feeling like a pariah.
grata, leper, outlier despised person After the scandal, he became a pariah in his
community.
102. delectation delight, elation, n. enjoyment She read the novel with great delectation, savoring
pleasure, satisfaction each chapter.
They played wiffleball for the delectation of it, not for
the competition.
Set 6
1. tenacious adamant, persistent, adj. sticking strongly to The tenacious grip of the adhesive ensured that the
determined, resolute, something tiles stayed firmly in place.
unyielding adj. having greater than His tenacious attitude made it difficult for him to
average longevity accept any form of criticism.
adj. stubborn Despite the sudden thunderstorm,
the tenacious runners continued to move towards
the finish line
2. tirade abuse, outburst, n. a long, angry rant One student asked a simple question about the
berating, diatribe, rant, death penalty, causing the teacher to launch into
harangue a tirade about the topic.
His tirade against the new policy left everyone in the
room stunned.
3. penury squalor, deprivation, n. extreme poverty or The charity aims to alleviate the penury faced by
destitution, destitution many families in the community.
impoverishment, Having lived in penury their whole lives, the
hardship townspeople were very grateful for the donations
sent by the charitable organization.
4. antipathy disgust, abhorrence, n. aversion; loathing The couple tried to hide their antipathy toward the
hostility, animosity, new neighbors so as not to seem unwelcoming.
enmity His antipathy toward injustice drove him to become
an activist.
5. pedant sophist, doctrinaire, n. someone who shows off Dominic is a pedant who annoys everyone in the
know-it-all, stickler, knowledge class with his long-winded questions and
nitpicker, formalist n. someone who pays unnecessary quotes from the textbook.
undue attention to rules His friends often described him as a pedant,
constantly correcting their grammar.
The teacher was a pedant who enforced every rule
strictly, leaving little room for creativity.
6. appropriate steal, embezzle; allocate, v. to take by force The conquerors sought to appropriate the land for
assign, misappropriate, v. to assign for a certain their own use.
pilfer, confiscate purpose The funds were appropriated for educational
programs.
During the chaos following the president’s death,
his wife appropriated the role of head of the
organization.
7. trenchant sharp, observant, adj. forceful and effective His trenchant remarks during the debate swayed
incisive, keen, astute adj. extremely perceptive many opinions.
She had a trenchant understanding of the complex
issues at hand.
The experienced CEO offered trenchant criticisms of
the young company.
8. anomalous unusual, abnormal, adj. different from the The anomalous results of the experiment prompted
strange, atypical, norm; aberrant further investigation.
irregular, aberrant The new shampoo was a success, although there
were a few anomalous cases in which it actually
damaged consumers’ hair.
9. haughty egotistic, conceited, adj. arrogant, snobbish I prefer the company of one or two good friends to a
snobbish, disdainful, party full of haughty, self-absorbed socialites.
supercilious His haughty attitude alienated many of his
colleagues.
10. timorous fearful, nervous, rattled, adj. easy to frighten The timorous young man jumped at even the
slightest sound.
apprehensive, shy, trepidatious
Her timorous nature made her hesitant to speak in
public.
11. tractable manageable, compliant, adj. easy to handle or After some training, the dog
adjustable, docile, control became tractable enough to be sold as a pet.
obedient, pliable adj. easily shaped The dog was surprisingly tractable, following
commands without hesitation.
The tractable material allowed the artist to create
intricate designs.
12. turgid bloated, enlarged, adj. swollen or distended Marcy’s turgid leg was enough to concern her
grandiose, pompous, adj. excessively ornate; parents.
verbose, inflated grandiloquent The turgid river overflowed its banks after the heavy
rainfall.
His turgid prose made the otherwise simple story
difficult to read.
13. tedium monotony, boredom, n. dullness The tedium of the repetitive tasks made him dread going
routine, dullness, n. the feeling of being to work each day.
sameness, ennui bored She could hardly mask her tedium during the lengthy
lecture.
The tedium of a fixed routine made John reconsider
his plans to become a teacher.
14. phthisis infection, decay, n. a disease characterized Phthisis was once a common cause of death before
tuberculosis, wasting by body-part atrophy the advent of antibiotics.
disease (especially of the lungs) His phthisis was interfering with work more every day.
15. chauvinism jingoism, n. fanatical patriotism My father’s chauvinism was characterized by a
ethnocentricity, n. prejudiced support of rather dim view of other races.
nationalism, one’s own group, sex, or His chauvinism was evident in his dismissive
partisanship cause attitude toward other cultures.
16. chimera dream, fantasy, illusion, n. a creature possessing The mythological chimera was said to breathe fire
mirage, fabrication the body parts of different and have the body of a lion.
animals Her dream of becoming a famous artist was a
n. a fanciful mental chimera she held onto for years.
illusion The ability to make easy money is a chimera; it only
works until the next economic downturn.
17. capacious spacious, roomy, adj. having a lot of room The capacious living room often impressed their
expansive, ample, guests.
extensive, vast The capacious trunk of the car easily accommodated
all the luggage.
18. blithe animated, buoyant, adj. carefree and happy When he lost his job, John struggled to maintain
cheerful, lighthearted, his blithe and optimistic attitude toward life.
carefree, jovial Her blithe spirit brought joy to everyone around
her.
19. censure criticism; blame, chide, n. strong disapproval, esp. The professor was censured by the administration
incriminate, rebuke, official disapproval for his controversial and politically incorrect
reprimand v. to condemn lectures.
The senator faced censure for his inappropriate
comments.
The board decided to censure the employee for
violating company policies.
20. berate abuse, discipline, v. to scold or criticize Jane’s boss was so mean that he berated her for
rebuke, reprimand, angrily even the smallest mistakes.
chastise The coach berated the players for their lack of effort
during the game.
21. belabor dwell on, repeat; invade, v. to speak or worry about She was known to belabor the point when it came to
assail, harp on, reiterate, something at length environmentalism, so we tried not to bring it up.
bombard v. to attack He tends to belabor his point, making discussions
unnecessarily long.
The critic did not hesitate to belabor the flaws in the
new film.
22. technocracy scientific rule, n. rule by scientists In the movie, the future is a technocracy where
technological programmers rule the entire world.
governance, expert In a technocracy, decisions are made based on
management scientific data and expertise rather than politics.
23. tangent digression, departure, n. a different topic Halfway into her speech on global warming, she
diversion, aside, adj. touching went on a tangent about materialism in modern
deviation society.
During the meeting, he went off on a tangent about
his vacation plans, losing track of the main agenda.
24. caprice fancy, impulse, whim, n. a sudden desire His decision to travel was a caprice, inspired by a
inclination, whimsy spontaneous thought.
Her decision to come along on the trip was a
mere caprice; she had never expressed a desire to
come before then.
25. carp nag, bother, complain, v. to raise trivial She hated when her coworkers carped about the
criticize, quibble objections minimal work they had to do.
n. a type of fish She began to carp about the details of the plan,
which frustrated the team.
The carp swam gracefully in the pond.
26. benign amiable, friendly, gentle; adj. pleasant The doctor’s benign manner endeared him to
harmless, innocuous adj. not harmful, patients.
especially to health The benign atmosphere of the garden made it a
perfect spot for relaxation.
The doctor assured her that the tumor was benign.
27. salient noticeable, important, adj. prominent or The cover of the study guide listed its salient features,
pertinent, obtrusive, conspicuous such as diagnostic and practice exams.
striking, remarkable Her salient features made her stand out in the
crowd.
28. arbiter mediator, negotiator, n. a person chosen to The arbiter was respected for his fair judgment in
referee, judge, authority, solve a dispute complex cases.
adjudicator One of her duties as babysitter was to act
as arbiter when the children got into arguments.
29. inimitable unique, matchless, adj. incapable of being The Broadway debut was a spellbinding
peerless, singular, imitated or duplicated performance thanks mainly to
distinctive, the inimitable stamina of the female lead.
incomparable Her inimitable style made her a fashion icon.
30. desultory aimless, erratic, random, adj. having no plan or The desultory thoughts running through Mick’s
haphazard, disconnected purpose; random mind prevented him from concentrating on the
essay he had to write.
His desultory remarks during the meeting left
everyone confused about his position.
31. contention allegation, claim; n. a point or argument in The ceasefire is holding, but a few points
altercation, contest, a debate of contention must still be resolved before a final
dispute, rivalry n. a competition peace can be reached.
His contention that the policy would benefit the
economy was met with skepticism.
The two teams were in contention for the
championship title.
32. caustic abrasive, erosive; ironic, adj. capable of corroding The caustic chemical burned through the metal
bitter, scathing, sardonic adj. harsh or sarcastic in container.
tone His caustic remarks often left others feeling hurt
and offended.
The comedian was known for his caustic jokes about
political scandals.
33. castigate criticize, berate; punish, v. to give harsh criticism His parents castigated him for his bad grades by
batter, scold, reprimand, v. to punish harshly taking away his car keys.
chastise The teacher did not hesitate to castigate the student
for his poor behavior.
She felt it was unfair to castigate him for a mistake
everyone else had made.
34. convalesce grow strong, rest, v. to recover After the accident, Tom was told to convalesce for at
recharge physically, least two weeks.
recuperate, heal, regain After her surgery, she needed several weeks
strength to convalesce.
35. denigrate malign, slander, v. to attack the reputation The columnist denigrated the baseball coach for his
defame, disparage, of string of high-profile losses
belittle, vilify The article aimed to denigrate her achievements and
undermine her credibility
36. totalitarianism dictatorship, tyranny, n. absolute, dictatorial After years of civil war, one party emerged
authoritarianism, control by the government triumphant and dominated the country in a return
oppression, despotism, to totalitarianism.
regime In a totalitarianism, the state exerts complete
control over all aspects of public and private life.
37. contrite regretful, atoning, adj. full of remorse She felt contrite after realizing the hurt she had
remorseful, penitent, caused her friend.
apologetic, repentant The letter explained that he was truly contrite and
wanted to apologize in person.
38. accretion increase, build-up, n. growth; increase by The accretion of knowledge over the years has made
growth, accumulation, successive or gradual him an expert in his field.
expansion addition The accretion of dirt has changed the floor’s color.
39. belie falsify, garble, distort; v. to give a false She greeted us with a smile, but the redness of her
disprove, contradict, impression eyes belied her cheerful attitude.
refute v. to reveal as untrue Her smile seemed to belie her true feelings of sadness.
The evidence will belie the claims made during the trial.
40. tendentious biased, calculated, adj. exhibiting a trend; Wendy’s tendentious assessment of the war
partisan, slanted, having an ulterior motive mentions only its positive effects, skipping over the
prejudiced or bias negative points.
The article had a tendentious slant, clearly favoring
one political party.
His tendentious comments during the discussion
revealed his hidden agenda.
41. torpor dormancy, apathy, n. a state of low physical During the heat of summer, many people experience
stagnation, lethargy, or mental energy a sense of torpor.
indifference The doctors discovered that her torpor was a
symptom of a severe illness.
42. consummate fulfill, finish, achieve; v. to make complete or The team’s victory was consummated by a
flawless, complete, ideal, perfect spontaneous celebration on the field.
supreme adj. perfect in every The artist hoped to consummate his vision with this
aspect final piece.
Her performance was consummate, leaving the
audience in awe.
43. discrete detached, disconnected, adj. distinctly separate The data was divided into discrete categories for
separate, distinct, easier analysis.
individual, isolated The U.S. government has three discrete branches:
the judiciary, the legislature, and the executive.
44. capitulate bow, concede, succumb, v. to surrender; to give in After weeks of negotiations, the company decided
yield, relent, surrender to capitulate to the union’s demands.
The mother capitulated after hours of tantrums and
finally bought her son the toy.
45. sardonic derisive, scornful, adj. cynical, mocking The class clown’s sardonic remark landed him in
sarcastic, biting, detention.
contemptuous His sardonic humor often left others feeling
uncomfortable.
46. complacent self-assured, adj. satisfied and thus not His complacent attitude toward his grades
unconcerned, gratified, wanting to improve prevented him from striving for better.
content, smug, Kate became complacent after years of success as a
indifferent model and so was unprepared when younger
women challenged her position at the top.
47. harrow depredate, harass, v. to distress, torment Any talk of layoffs would always leave the entire
torment, afflict, trouble division harrowed and unable to focus on their work.
The memories of the event continued to harrow him
for years.
48. subterfuge cheating, dishonesty, n. a deliberate deception Policemen who stop drunk drivers can see right through
dissimulation, deceit, to avoid a consequence the subterfuge of hastily chewing a piece of gum.
trickery, evasion She used subterfuge to evade the question and shift
the conversation.
49. progeny offspring, children, n. one born or derived That family claims to be the progeny of the king of
lineage, result, from another; an France, but they refuse to submit to a DNA test to
descendant, heir, output offspring or descendent prove their bloodline.
n. a product of creative The progeny of the famous scientist continue to make
effort significant contributions to research.
His latest painting was the progeny of years of artistic
development.
50. dispassionate unbiased, fair, not adj. unbiased; objective As a dispassionate observer, he was able to provide
affected by emotion, fair feedback.
impartial, unemotional, A dispassionate judge will favor neither the
level-headed prosecution nor the defense.
51. arid dry, barren, desiccated, adj. extremely dry The arid climate of the desert is ideal for plants that
parched, lifeless adj. lacking spirit or do not require much water, such as cacti.
vitality The arid landscape made it difficult for plants to survive.
The presentation was so arid that many attendees
struggled to stay awake.
52. disparate contrary, unlike, various, adj. completely different The two had such disparate opinions on the topic that it
distinct, diverse, seemed impossible for them to work together effectively.
heterogeneous The two proposals were so disparate that it was hard
to compare them.
53. aria descant, hymn, song, n. a solo vocal piece in an During her aria, the opera singer expressed her
melody, solo, duet opera character’s sorrow to the audience with great skill.
The soprano’s aria captivated the audience with its
emotional depth.
54. controvert oppose, argue, deny, v. to deny the truth of Recent experiments seem to controvert the
dispute, refute, predictions of previous theories.
challenge, contradict Many experts tried to controvert the claim with
counter-evidence.
55. blanch discolor, fade, wash out, v. to whiten or turn pale She began to blanch at the thought of giving a
lighten, pale, whiten speech in front of the audience.
During the biology dissection,
Jennifer blanched and ran out of the room.
56. desiccate dehydrate, dry out, v. to cause to lose Mary had her wart removed at the doctor’s office
evaporate, parch, wither moisture by desiccating it.
The hot sun will desiccate the soil if it is not watered
regularly.
57. arabesque design, frill, adornment, n. a complex, ornate The kimono was trimmed with an arabesque of tiny
flourish, ornamentation, design yellow curlicues.
embellishment, motif The arabesque patterns on the wall added elegance
to the room.
58. torpid dormant, drained, adj. lacking physical or After the long meeting, he felt torpid and needed a break.
motionless, lethargic, mental energy The student was torpid and generally uninvolved in
sluggish, inert discussions, so the teacher had to speak with him
about his participation.
59. cascade chute, downpour, flood, n. a waterfall I knew the wire was badly damaged when
fall, rush, waterfall n. something that falls or a cascade of sparks fell the moment I touched it.
progresses like a waterfall The cascade of water tumbled down the rocky cliff,
creating a beautiful sight.
The project had a cascade of delays that pushed the
deadline further back.
60. axiom principle, fundamental, n. a generally accepted In math class, we learned about the different axioms
maxim, truth, postulate truth we could use to develop geometric proofs.
It is an axiom that hard work leads to success.
61. collusion pact, trick, connivance, n. a conspiracy or secret The two companies were accused of collusion to fix
conspiracy, plot prices in the market.
collaboration, secret Acting in collusion with several high officials, the
agreement rebels completed the government takeover
successfully.
62. stolid apathetic, indifferent, adj. stoic, emotionless His stolid demeanor made it hard for others to read
impassive, unemotional, his feelings.
phlegmatic People in old-time photographs tend to have stolid
expressions.
63. vintner winemaker, wine n. one who makes or sells The vintner proudly showcased his finest bottles at
merchant, brewer, wine the annual wine festival.
oenologist In Italy there are a great number of vintners.
64. arduous burdensome, adj. requiring mental or The beach was practically empty, as reaching it
exhausting, laborious, physical strain entailed an arduous journey through a bramble
strenuous, grueling adj. demanding thicket.
The hike was arduous, demanding both stamina and
determination.
She faced an arduous task in completing the report
by the deadline.
65. complaisant obliging, compliant, adj. eager to please The complaisant assistant went out of her way to
accommodating, ensure her boss’s satisfaction.
agreeable, helpful Although usually argumentative, Paul is surprisingly
complaisant with his girlfriend.
66. banality cliché, quotidian, n. triviality The film suffered from banality, offering nothing
sameness, monotony n. something overused new to the genre.
and trite The speech was filled with banality that failed to
inspire the audience.
The once-funny joke had become a banality in the camp.
67. precipice crag, bluff, cliff, ledge, n. a steep rock or cliff face The climbers stood at the edge of the precipice,
escarpment gazing down at the valley below.
The climber faced the largest precipice of his career.
68. deleterious destructive, injurious, adj. causing harm or It is now common knowledge that smoking is
hurtful, harmful, damage deleterious to one’s health.
detrimental, dangerous The chemicals in the product were found to
have deleterious effects on health.
69. reprise recurrence, repetition, n. a repetition of an action The reprise of the song had the audience dancing in
return, reiteration, v. to repeat or resume the aisles.
revival, comeback The reprise of the song brought back fond memories
for the audience.
The composer decided to include a reprise of the
main theme in the final act.
70. sundry assorted, different, adj. various, The sundry items at the garage sale ranged from
diverse, varied, miscellaneous, separate antique to almost brand new.
disparate The shop sells sundry items, from books to
kitchenware.
71. torrid arid, blazing, adj. extremely hot The president was accused of carrying on a secret
impassioned, scorching, adj. having intense and torrid love affair with his aide.
fervent, heated emotion or passion The torrid sun beat down on the desert, making it
unbearable to walk outside.
Her torrid love letters revealed the depth of her
feelings.
72. Consternation dismay, distress, panic, n. a state of confused A feeling of consternation filled the room as the
alarm, fear, anxiety terror or apprehension teacher began to hand back papers immediately
after the students had handed them in.
The sudden news of the layoffs caused
consternation among the employees.
73. rapturous delighted, happy, adj. expressing great The presidential decree was greeted with rapturous
ecstatic, euphoric, pleasure or enthusiasm applause.
exuberant The audience gave a rapturous applause at the end
of the performance.
74. archetype prototype, paradigm, n. a typical example of Dante’s Divine Comedy was the archetype upon
model, standard, something which many derivative works were based.
exemplar n. the original on which She is considered the archetype of a successful
something else is modeled entrepreneur.
The classic novel serves as an archetype for many
modern stories.
75. sodden soaked, soggy, wet, adj. thoroughly soaked, The sodden ground made it difficult to walk without
drenched, saturated saturated slipping.
My clothes were sodden from the rainstorm.
76. conjecture assumption, guess, n. inference based on The scientist’s paper was criticized by his peers for
presumption, inconclusive or being based purely on conjecture.
hypothesis, speculation, incomplete evidence His conjecture about the missing documents turned
inference out to be correct.
77. prattle chatter, gab, gush, v. to babble or speak The confused student prattled for a few minutes
babble, jabber, blather foolishly before sitting back down.
The children prattled on about their day, oblivious
to the time
78. penchant fondness, inclination, n. a strong preference for Kate had a penchant for interior decorating, so she
predilection, affinity, something took over the role of set designer for the play.
taste She has a penchant for classic literature, often
choosing to read novels from the 19th century.
79. denote assign, signify, v. to mark or indicate The red color on the map denotes areas of high risk.
represent, indicate, The red text on her report card denoted which
express classes she was failing.
80. cardinal important, key, crucial, adj. of paramount At the graduation speech, the valedictorian gave
vital, burgundy importance them cardinal rules to live by.
adj. dark red Safety is a cardinal rule when operating heavy
machinery.
The cardinal dress added a vibrant touch to the
festive decorations.
81. base vulgar, low; shoddy, adj. immoral His base actions shocked everyone who knew him as
cheap, inferior, adj. made of low quality a moral person.
contemptible materials The furniture was so base that it fell apart after just
a few months.
The young man was criticized by his parents for
his base, degrading lifestyle.
82. despond despair, dishearten, v. to become dejected His campaign team desponded when they heard the
surrender, dismay, lose official results of the election.
hope, falter After hearing the bad news, she began
to despond and lost her motivation.
83. hidebound fixed, immovable, strict, adj. rigid, dry, unmoving The hidebound rules of organized religion have
inflexible, unyielding, never appealed to me much.
conservative The hidebound policies of the organization stifled
innovation.
84. anthropomorphic humanlike, personified, adj. having human The anthropomorphic characters in the cartoon
anthropoidal characteristics made the story more relatable.
Many people believe that aliens will
be anthropomorphic, but there is no evidence to
support that.
85. potentate autocrat, chief, leader, n. one with absolute While the potentate sipped wine, the peasants toiled
sovereign, ruler, despot power to rule; a monarch in the field.
The potentate of the small kingdom wielded
immense influence over his subjects.
86. amalgamate integrate, combine, v. to combine several Our county will amalgamate with the neighboring
merge, fuse, consolidate elements into a whole; to county in order to cut administrative costs.
blend The two companies decided to amalgamate their
resources to improve efficiency.
87. ardor admiration, passion, n. feeling of great warmth His sense of justice manifests itself in the ardor with
fervor, zeal, enthusiasm or intensity which he throws himself into his legal work.
His ardor for the project inspired everyone on the team.
88. concise short, succinct, terse, to adj. brief; able to express The report was concise, highlighting only the most
the point, compact a lot in few words important information.
Before the show, the director gave
a concise introduction that explained his reasons for
getting involved in the production.
89. picayune diminutive, frivolous; a adj. of little value, paltry, His picayune complaints about the weather were
trifle, insignificant, petty tiresome.
trivial n. something of little She dismissed the picayune details, focusing instead
value on the bigger picture.
His craftsmanship wasn’t worth a picayune.
90. approbate affirm, accept, endorse, v. to approve The judge approbated her right to keep the house.
sanction, ratify The committee will approbate the new policy after
reviewing its implications.
91. demagogue agitator, rabble-rouser, n. a speaker who targets The politician was criticized as a demagogue for
firebrand, instigator, his or her audience’s exploiting public fears.
provocateur emotions or prejudices The candidate’s opponent accused him of being
a demagogue and relying upon the public’s fear of
change.
92. bent ability, gift; propensity, n. a natural talent Lisa had a true bent for working with animals, so
intent, talent, inclination n. an inclination or people often told her to consider a career as a
interest veterinarian.
She has a bent for music, playing multiple
instruments with ease.
His bent toward science led him to pursue a career
in biology.
93. pedant sophist, doctrinaire, n. someone who shows off Dominic is a pedant who annoys everyone in the
know-it-all, stickler, knowledge class with his long-winded questions and
nitpicker, formalist n. someone who pays unnecessary quotes from the textbook.
undue attention to rules His friends often described him as a pedant,
constantly correcting their grammar.
The teacher was a pedant who enforced every rule
strictly, leaving little room for creativity.
94. augury fortunetelling, n. divination The ancient practice of augury involved interpreting
forewarning, omen, n. an omen, portent the flight patterns of birds.
prophecy Seeing a black cat was considered an augury of bad luck.
Augury is often performed by observing a crystal ball.
95. ramify diverge, diversify, fork, v. to be divided, to branch The organization began to ramify into various
split, extend out departments to better serve its members.
The dispute ramified as more factions got involved.
96. simian ape-like, primate, adj. relating to apes The simian characteristics of the monkey were
anthropoid evident in its agile movements.
Humans have many simian characteristics
97. upbraid berate, criticize, v. to scold sharply, The manager did not hesitate to upbraid the team
reprimand, reproach, reprimand, or blame for missing the deadline.
chastise Mom upbraided me for not doing the dishes last night.
98. penchant fondness, inclination, n. a strong preference for She has a penchant for classic literature, often
predilection, affinity, something choosing to read novels from the 19th century.
taste Kate had a penchant for interior decorating, so she
took over the role of set designer for the play.
99. chary stingy, cautious; adj. very cautious; not Joe was chary of his praise for his daughters, but
abashed, modest, giving or spending freely when he did congratulate them, they beamed.
hesitant, wary adj. shy She was chary about lending money to friends after
a bad experience.
His chary demeanor made it difficult for him to join
in on group discussions.
100. diatribe criticism, tirade, n. a harsh rant or critical After hours of waiting with me in the lobby, my
harangue, invective, review mother began her usual diatribe on the various
polemic failings of airport management.
The critic’s diatribe against the film was scathing
and left no stone unturned.
101. disposed inclined, prone to, adj. having a tendency or He seemed disposed to agree with the majority opinion.
willing, apt, susceptible partiality to Kate was particularly stubborn when she was angry
and was not disposed to listen to reason.
Set 7
1. promulgate advertise, broadcast, v. to make openly known; The organization will promulgate the new policy at
declare, proclaim, to officially announce the upcoming meeting.
announce The governor promulgated the new building code by
special courier to each of the state’s municipalities.
2. venal dishonest, corruptible, adj. capable of being The politician’s venal actions raised concerns about
bribable, unethical, bought or bribed; his integrity.
greedy mercenary; corruptible Naturally, the case was declared a mistrial when
its venal judge was shown to have sought bribes
from both the prosecution and the defense.
3. felicitous apt, fitting, favorable, adj. appropriate, suitable His felicitous remarks during the ceremony made
timely, relevant (as of a comment); well- everyone feel welcomed.
chosen Though Zhang and Eric are nothing alike, their
complementary strengths made for
a felicitous pairing as lab partners.
4. impassive apathetic, unfeeling, adj. showing no emotion; Who could remain impassive after such a heart-
expressionless, stoic; unmoved wrenching story?
emotionless, cold Despite the chaos around him, he
remained impassive.
5. distill boil down, condense, v. to make pure The essence of the substance was distilled through a
extract, purify, refine v. to take out from complicated process.
The process to distill the alcohol took several hours
to ensure purity.
He tried to distill the essence of the argument into a
single sentence.
6. divest release, give up v. to deprive or dispossess The company decided to divest its non-core
possession, rid, v. to dispose of assets business units to focus on its main operations.
disencumber, unload She felt it was time to divest herself of unnecessary
possessions.
He was divested of his privileges and title after
breaking the club’s most important rule.
7. crucible vessel; calamity, trial, n. a metal container made He was cast into the crucible of depression by his
test, challenge, ordeal of heat resistant material daughter’s diagnosis.
n. a severe test The blacksmith used a crucible to melt the metal for
n. a place or time his new creation.
characterized by powerful The team’s performance in the championship was a
forces true crucible of their skills and determination.
8. distend bulge, swell, bloat, v. to swell or widen The balloon began to distend as more air was
expand, inflate pumped into it.
After the big meal, my stomach started to distend,
making me uncomfortable.
The children watched in fascination as the frog
distended its throat and croaked.
9. elegy death song, lament, a n. a mournful poem or At her father’s funeral, Linda chose to read an elegy
mournful composition, song by his favorite poet, Keats.
requiem, dirge The poet wrote an elegy to honor the fallen soldiers.
10. eradicate destroy, annihilate, v. to eliminate completely The poison succeeded in eradicating all of the
eliminate, exterminate insects that had invaded the house.
The organization aims to eradicate poverty in the
community.
11. dissonant discordant, clashing, adj. not in agreement; The dissonant chords in the song created an unsettling
jarring, cacophonous, discordant atmosphere.
conflicting adj. unpleasant or harsh Their opinions were so dissonant that it was difficult to
sounding reach a consensus.
The first song the group performed surprised the
audience with its dissonant chords and unusual length.
12. manse dwelling, house, n. a clergyman’s house The architect just finished the plans for the
residence, rectory, abode n. a mansion minister’s new manse.
The manse hosted the church’s community events.
The manse was adorned with elegant furnishings
and vast gardens.
13. extrinsic foreign, acquired, alien, adj. originating from the The parents’ cheers were useful
outward, external, outside for extrinsic motivation, but the coach told the team
outside, extraneous that the drive to win must come from inside
themselves.
The extrinsic factors influencing the market include
global events and trends.
14. facile effortless, simplistic, adj. done with ease Though facile references to cooperation may inspire
easy, superficial adj. shallow, some workers, others remain unconvinced until
uncomplicated their higher-ups go into specifics.
The athlete’s facile performance made it look effortless.
His facile analysis failed to address the deeper
issues at hand.
15. ingénue amateur, learner, novice, n. a naive, innocent young Do you take me for an ingénue who has never been
debutante woman to the city?
The film featured an ingénue who captured
everyone’s hearts with her innocence.
16. fracas disturbance, fight, n. a noisy fight or quarrel In the middle of the day, a fracas between two cab
brawl, uproar, drivers erupted in the street
altercation The fracas in the street drew the attention of nearby
residents.
17. ennui tedium, weariness, n. dissatisfaction and Go Fish could not cure our rainy-day ennui.
disinterest, boredom, restlessness due to The rainy day brought a sense of ennui that made
listlessness boredom or apathy everyone feel lethargic.
18. exult delight, jubilate, rejoice, v. to express joy or elation The winning candidate’s campaign team began
celebrate to exult the moment they heard the news.
The team began to exult after their hard-fought
victory in the championship game.
19. epitome ideal, model, paragon, n. a particularly worthy The salon’s customers praised his work as
embodiment example of a class or type the epitome of high-class hairstyling.
She is the epitome of professionalism in her field.
20. eminence importance, authority, n. a place of high rank His eminence in the field of science earned him
prestige, prominence, numerous awards.
distinction Late in her career, Aida was finally recognized for
achieving eminence in filmmaking.
21. hubris brass, conceitedness, n. arrogant presumption, The president’s hubris led to the desertion of many
nerve, arrogance, excessive pride of his erstwhile friends who missed the humble and
overconfidence prudent politician they once knew.
His hubris ultimately led to his downfall, as he
ignored the advice of seasoned experts.
22. doggerel awkward, droll, n. trivial, poorly His poem was more doggerel than art, lacking depth
simplistic, crude, trivial constructed verse and meaning.
adj. comic, burlesque; The doggerel found in some publications is often a
loose and irregular result of lazy editing.
23. fallow neglected, inactive, adj. undeveloped (often In the United States, some farmers are paid to leave
vacant, unused, barren despite the potential to be parts of their land fallow in order to limit
used) agricultural output.
The fallow land was finally cultivated after years of
neglect.
24. equivocal doubtful, questionable, adj. uncertain or open to The doctor’s conclusion was rather equivocal, so I
ambiguous, unclear interpretation asked for a second opinion.
The CEO’s equivocal response left many questions
unanswered.
25. gratuitous unneeded, wanton, adj. unwarranted or The movie disgusted her due to
excessive, redundant unnecessary its gratuitous violence, which served no plot
function so far as she could tell.
The film’s gratuitous violence overshadowed its
otherwise compelling storyline.
26. facetious ironic, not serious, adj. humorous with a His facetious remarks during the meeting lightened
flippant, glib sarcastic tone the mood but also annoyed some colleagues.
The student’s facetious comments were seen as
disrespectful by his professor.
27. fervent ardent, zealous, adj. filled with strong Her fervent desire to help others led her to start her
impassioned; emotion own charity organization with her inheritance.
passionate, intense Her fervent desire to help others led her to start her
own charity organization.
28. glib nonchalant, fluent, adj. spoken in a smooth, His glib remarks during the meeting failed to
thoughtless, superficial, unconcerned manner address the real issues at hand.
insincere The salesperson’s glib assurances about the
product’s quality raised suspicions among the
customers.
The politician annoyed many journalists with
his glib responses.
29. fetter tie up, bind; shackle, n. a restraint The judge imposed a fetter to ensure the defendant
constrain v. to restrict or restrain did not leave the country.
The rules were put in place to fetter any attempts at
cheating during the exam.
The designer felt his creativity was fettered by his
client’s demands
30. demur disagree, challenge, v. to take exception; to She decided to demur when asked to sign the
oppose, protest, resist object controversial petition.
n. an objection Though he was essentially in favor of freedom of
speech, he demurred at certain types of hate speech.
31. grandiloquent self-important, lofty, adj. extravagant and The grandiloquent speech did not have much substance,
verbose, pretentious pompous in speech leaving the audience confused about its purpose.
The politician’s grandiloquent speech was filled with
flowery language but lacked substance.
32. garrulous babbling, chatty, adj. overly talkative (esp. The woman’s garrulous nature annoyed most of her
verbose; loquacious, about unimportant topics) coworkers.
talkative The woman’s garrulous nature annoyed most of her
coworkers.
33. evanescent transient, disappearing, adj. tending to vanish The evanescent beauty of the sunset left everyone in awe.
vanishing, fleeting, The evanescent beauty of cherry blossoms may have
momentary inspired the respect for short-lived pleasures
evident in the Japanese psyche.
34. urbanity elegance, charming, n. refinement and It was difficult not to be captivated by the
sophistication, elegance of manner; palpable urbanity in everything she said.
refinement polished courtesy Her urbanity was evident in the way she addressed
every guest at the party
35. ferment disturb, agitate; v. to process sugar into The winemaker used natural fermentation
agitation, uprising, alcohol organically to ferment the grapes into wine.
excitement; turmoil, v. to work up As the project progressed, the team began
unrest to ferment new ideas and strategies.
n. a state of excitement or The political rally created a ferment of emotions
turbulence among the attendees.
The ferment into which Watson and Crick’s
discovery of DNA thrust the world of evolutionary
biology was slow to die down.
36. epigram quirk, joke, adage, n. a witty saying His witty epigram perfectly captured the absurdity
wisecrack of the situation.
The comedian became famous for his instantly
recognizable epigrams and one-liners.
37. gregarious affable, cordial, sociable, adj. outgoing and friendly This gregarious species of bird may be found in
extroverted, social, adj. tending to live in flocks of up to one hundred individuals.
communal communities Her gregarious nature made it easy for her to make
friends wherever she went.
The gregarious species of bird often congregates in
large flocks during migration.
38. iconoclast detractor, cynic, n. one who challenges As an iconoclast, he often questioned the status quo
dissenter, rebel, generally accepted beliefs and pushed for innovative ideas.
nonconformist and traditions The iconoclasts who upended Britain’s post-war
consensus took a much harder line against unions
than had been the norm.
39. germane appropriate, applicable, adj. relevant to the matter
The professor emphasized that only germane
befitting, pertinent, at hand questions would be addressed during the discussion.
related Kevin had a hard time finding materials that were
actually germane to his project and not just
tangentially related.
40. fathom measure; understand; v. to calculate the depth of I cannot even fathom the idea of giving up my child
gauge, discern v. to comprehend for adoption.
The diver used a special device to fathom the depth
of the ocean at that location.
It took her a moment to fathom the complexity of
the scientific theory presented in the lecture.
41. intractable unresponsive, refractory, adj. not easily managed or The horse was too intractable to be used in the race.
stubborn, difficult, governed The intractable patient refused to follow the
obstinate adj. not easily treatment plan, making it challenging for the
manipulated or molded doctors to help him.
adj. not easily treated The intractable problem continued to baffle the
researchers, who struggled to find a solution.
42. flout deride, mock, ridicule, v. to demonstrate contempt He chose to flout the dress code by wearing jeans to
scorn, disdain for; to mock with disdain the formal event.
v. to disregard, to disobey She flouted convention with her bizarre style of dress.
43. glutton gorger, hog, overeater, n. a person who eats to The glutton at the buffet piled his plate high,
devourer excess showing no signs of stopping.
Johnny got in trouble so often that his professors
began asking if he was a “glutton for punishment”.
44. inert lifeless, still, inactive, adj. not able to move The heavy boulder remained inert on the hillside,
dormant, motionless, adj. having no energy or refusing to budge.
sluggish, torpid interest After a long day at work, I felt completely inert and
adj. chemically inactive unable to do anything productive.
After hours at the gym, Luke could only lie about the
house, inert and exhausted.
45. impetus driving force, push, n. a force that encourages The grant provided the impetus for the researchers
incentive, momentum, or pushes forward a to expand their study.
stimulus certain activity The wind acted as an impetus, propelling the
n. a force that moves an sailboat swiftly across the water.
object The sudden publicity around the violence in India
gave impetus to the campaign to end the conflict
through international mediation.
46. idiosyncrasy oddity, quirk, n. a peculiar way of His obsession with removing his shoes the moment
peculiarity, eccentricity, behaving or thinking they got wet was one of his many idiosyncrasies.
trait His habit of wearing mismatched socks was just one
of his many idiosyncrasies.
47. insolence nerve, impudence, n. rudeness; a lack of When she could no longer stand the child's insolence,
rudeness, disrespect, respect the babysitter called his parents to complain.
audacity His insolence towards the teacher resulted in a detention.
48. gauche tactless, crude, adj. unsophisticated; Her gauche remarks at the dinner party made
awkward, unrefined lacking manners everyone feel uncomfortable.
Linda kept to herself at her boss’s cocktail party, lest
she say something gauche and embarrass herself.
49. innocuous harmless, drab, safe, adj. not likely to injure or The new policy was designed to be innocuous, ensuring
benign, insipid harm that it would not adversely affect any employees.
adj. not controversial Her comments were innocuous, sparking no debates
adj. uninspiring or or disagreements among the group.
uninteresting This insect looks dangerous and frightening but is
actually innocuous.
50. inoculate inject, immunize, v. to vaccinate; to In most states, children must be inoculated against
vaccinate, protect, introduce an idea/attitude common diseases before they enter public school.
safeguard into the mind of The doctor will inoculate you against the flu this season.
51. lattice mesh, filigree, net, grid, n. a pattern consisting of, The back of the antique mirror was made of
framework, trellis or resembling, an a lattice of rich, dark wood.
interwoven frame made The garden was adorned with a beautiful lattice
by crisscrossing strips covered in climbing roses.
52. nexus web, union; core, n. a connected series; a tie The detective pursued several corrupt police officials and
connection, focal point or link so uncovered the nexus of the city’s violent crime.
n. the center or focus The nexus between the two research teams led to
groundbreaking discoveries.
The conference served as the nexus for industry
leaders to discuss innovative strategies.
53. laconic concise, cogent, terse, adj. brief and direct, often Kevin’s laconic response was unfortunately
succinct to the point of seeming perceived as a rebuff and he was not invited to any
rude more gatherings.
His laconic replies made it hard to tell what he was
really thinking.
54. infallible absolute, certain, adj. incapable of error Many of the actor’s fans considered him infallible,
definite, foolproof, so it was shocking when his latest film was widely
flawless panned.
The scientist believed his method was infallible, but
unforeseen variables led to unexpected results.
55. hyperbole exaggeration, n. exaggeration The statement that “I’m so hungry, I could eat a
embellishment, cow,” is hyperbole and not meant to be taken
overstatement, literally.
magnification Her claim that she could run a mile in under four
minutes was pure hyperbole.
56. erudite educated, cultured, adj. having profound The erudite professor was extremely knowledgeable
savvy, knowledgeable knowledge or wisdom but difficult to understand in lectures.
The erudite professor was a favorite among students
for his deep insights.
57. vicissitude alteration, hardship, n. a sudden, unexpected John found inner strength and confronted
adversity, fluctuation, change, as in one’s life the vicissitudes of a troubled life admirably.
change The vicissitude of the economy left many families
struggling to make ends meet.
58. cadge hawk, mooch, scrounge, v. to beg or ask for; to The drunk was cadging cigarettes from strangers.
solicit impose on another’s The artist would often cadge a meal from friends
generosity during tough times.
59. insular narrow-minded, adj. limited in outlook His insular perspective made it difficult for him to
limited; exclusive, adj. physically or understand viewpoints different from his own.
unfriendly, secluded, emotionally removed The community was insular, rarely interacting with
detached from others the outside world or welcoming new ideas.
Having grown up in a small, insular town her whole
life, Linda longed to move to a big city.
60. nadir bottom, floor, lowest n. the lowest point Stevenson has said that the weather is generally the
point, depths, rock “very nadir” of interesting conversational topics.
bottom, base, abyss The company’s financial struggles reached
their nadir when it declared bankruptcy.
61. mean base, common, inferior; adj. low in status or Ali is a moderate, preferring to choose the mean
average, halfway, quality when faced with extreme leftist and rightist
median, moderate n. a point between two arguments.
extremes His mean attitude towards his coworkers made the
office environment quite uncomfortable.
The mean of the test scores indicated that the
students had a solid understanding of the material.
62. moratorium adjournment, break, n. suspension of activity Failing to secure the necessary signatures for a
delay, pause, referendum, the group tried to secure
interruption a moratorium on gay marriages while their
challenge was heard by the courts.
The government placed a moratorium on new
housing developments.
63. impetuous hasty, rash, unplanned, adj. hasty and lacking in His impetuous and eager nature led him to take on
impulsive, reckless thought more projects than he could realistically complete.
His impetuous decision to quit his job without a
backup plan left him in a difficult situation.
64. implacable ruthless, unappeasable, adj. impossible to calm or According to my mother, I was an implacable baby
unbending, relentless, satisfy who often kept her up through the night.
merciless Her implacable anger left no room for negotiation
after the betrayal.
65. immutable unchangeable, constant, adj. not susceptible to The laws of physics are considered immutable,
eternal, steadfast change remaining constant regardless of circumstances.
The actors knew that once the director made a
decision about a scene, it was immutable and not
open to debate.
66. laud acclaim, celebrate, v. to praise or glorify When he returned home, his relatives and
flatter, commend, friends lauded him for his bravery on the battlefield.
praise, extol The community gathered to laud the firefighters for
their bravery during the rescue.
67. imperious haughty, domineering, adj. proud and arrogant Her imperious demeanor made it clear that she
overbearing, arrogant. expected everyone to obey her commands without
question.
The actress replied to her manager’s concerns with
an imperious wave of her hand.
68. elate uplift, exalt, to make v. to fill with optimism or The news of her promotion will surely elate her family.
very proud or happy, excitement Activists were elated to hear about the passage of
inspire, thrill, elevate the civil rights legislation.
69. veritable bona fide, genuine, adj. authentic, real, true In such a moderate district, winning more than 60
legitimate, actual, percent of the vote is a veritable landslide.
undisputed The veritable evidence presented in court changed
the case’s outcome.
70. espouse marry, engage; support, v. to give or take in Although she claims to be nonconformist, Becky
defend, adopt, promote matrimony merely espouses the same beliefs she has read about
v. to take up or adopt in various books and websites.
(e.g., a cause) They decided to espouse their commitment to
environmental sustainability by starting a
community garden.
The organization chose to espouse the cause of
social justice and actively work towards equality.
71. dissociate separate, detach, disjoin, v. to consider as separate When news of the company’s fraud broke out,
disconnect, disengage v. to break away former affiliates tried to dissociate themselves from
the partnership.
It’s important to dissociate your personal feelings
from your professional decisions.
After the argument, she chose to dissociate herself
from the group.
72. idyll ballad, lyric, pastoral, n. a scene of simple and The garden was an idyll, with blooming flowers and
tranquil scene, haven tranquil nature gentle breezes that brought a sense of peace.
n. a short poem about The poet composed an idyll celebrating the beauty
such a scene of a quiet countryside at dawn.
Her favorite poems are idylls about the joys of life in
the country.
73. doctrinaire dogmatic, unrealistic, adj. following theory His doctrinaire approach to politics often led to
ideological, rigid, purist without regard for conflicts with more pragmatic colleagues.
practical reality The doctrinaire adherence to the rules stifled
creativity in the project.
The new president’s doctrinaire attitude towards
economics led him to go through with some harmful
policies.
74. emollient relaxing, relieving, adj. having the effect of The emollient cream helped soothe her dry skin.
soothing, calming, softening The cream was popular for its moisturizing
pacifying and emollient properties.
75. lethargic lazy, sluggish, inactive, adj. physically or mentally After staying up late, I felt lethargic and struggled to
weary slow concentrate on my work.
Although I have gotten over the worst of my illness, I am
still too lethargic to do anything but stay in bed.
76. mercurial flighty, fluctuating; adj. subject to sudden My mother’s mercurial temperament makes it
changes in mood impossible to predict how she will react to bad news.
buoyant, volatile, lively adj. lively and quick Her mercurial personality made it difficult for her
friends to know how she would react to any
situation.
The mercurial nature of the conversation kept
everyone engaged and entertained.
77. latent hidden, invisible, adj. present or existing The doctor explained that she had died of
dormant, concealed but not currently visible a latent heart condition that was not detected until
it was too late to treat.
The latent talent of the artist only emerged after
years of practice.
78. guile slyness, deceit, cunning, n. trickery or duplicity The con artist used guile to swindle unsuspecting
trickery, deception victims out of their savings.
His offer was free of guile and meant only to be
helpful.
79. ingenuous direct, genuine, naive, adj. unable to mask Kate was too ingenuous to realize that accepting a
straightforward, feelings ride from a stranger might be a bad idea.
innocent, candid adj. lacking worldliness; His ingenuous expression revealed his true
innocent and emotions, making it clear how he felt.
unsuspecting The ingenuous child believed every word in the fairy
tale, unaware of the harsh realities of life.
80. mores codes, ways, etiquette, n. the accepted customs of She went against the mores of her community when
ritual, customs, a particular group she decided to keep her maiden name.
practices, norms Breaking the mores of her community led to
widespread disapproval.
81. fatuous silly, frivolous, absurd, adj. inanely foolish Most of his peers and relations thought his dream of
witless becoming both a doctor and astronaut
was fatuous at best.
82. muse contemplate, ponder, v. to reflect deeply on a The students mused over the message of the
reflect, ruminate subject teacher’s final lecture well after the class had ended.
She would often muse over the meaning of life
during quiet walks.
83. leaven raise, lighten, stimulate, v. to have an enlivening or The few jokes he threw in did nothing to leaven his
inspire lightening influence grim sermon.
Her enthusiasm helped to leaven the atmosphere
during the otherwise dull meeting.
84. lampoon parody, satire, spoof, n. a sharp satire mocking Many modern comedies focus solely
ridicule a person or group through on lampooning typical films from a variety of
an artistic medium genres.
v. to satirize or attack in The political cartoon was a biting lampoon of the
such a style mayor’s controversial policies.
The comedian loved to lampoon celebrities, turning
their quirks into hilarious sketches.
85. levy demand, exact, impose; v. to impose and collect The city council decided to levy a fine on
tax, fee, charge, n. a charge imposed homeowners who did not comply with the new
assessment regulations.
The levy on sugary drinks was implemented to
encourage healthier choices among consumers.
The government decided that the best way to deal
with the problem was to levy a new tax on the
ownership of pets.
86. nebulous obscure, indistinct, hazy, adj. unclear or vague Their plans for the new student center were as yet
ambiguous too nebulous to take to the board of directors for
approval.
His plans for the future remained nebulous and
undefined.
87. nascent developing, beginning, adj. just coming into The nascent after-school program was already
emerging, fledgling existence attracting the interest of a lot of parents and
students.
The nascent technology showed great promise for
the future.
88. distend bulge, swell, bloat, v. to swell or widen The balloon began to distend as more air was
expand, inflate pumped into it.
After the big meal, my stomach started to distend,
making me uncomfortable.
The children watched in fascination as the
frog distended its throat and croaked.
89. estrange antagonize, disaffect; v. to arouse hostility in A particularly mean-spirited remark from her
separate, disconnect, v. to remove from a group stepmother finally estranged Maggie from her
alienate, isolate or relationship family, and she has not been home since.
His harsh comments served to estrange him from
his closest friends.
After the disagreement, she felt it was best
to estrange herself from the toxic relationship.
90. monotonous droning, unchanging, adj. tedious, repetitive My new job consists of putting letters into
repetitive, tedious adj. characterized by a envelopes, organizing files in alphabetical order,
tone of unvarying pitch and other monotonous tasks.
The monotonous task of sorting through endless
paperwork drained her energy.
His monotonous voice made it hard for the audience
to stay focused during the lecture.
91. elucidate clarify, simplify, expose, v. to make easier to The professor used diagrams to elucidate complex
explain, illuminate understand theories.
The company introduced simplified diagrams on its
packaging to elucidate its new environmentally-
friendly manufacturing process.
92. medley assortment, patchwork, n. a mixture of dissimilar The local singing group is renowned for
variety, mixture, things their medley of popular Beatles songs.
montage n. a musical composition The buffet featured a medley of international dishes,
of melodies from different showcasing flavors from around the world.
songs The choir performed a medley of classic hits that
had the audience singing along.
93. morphology study of form, study of n. the study of form or Her interest in drawing bushes and flowers logically
structure, anatomy, structure led her to read up on plant morphology.
configuration Her research focused on the morphology of plant
cells.
94. rectitude decency, integrity; n. moral righteousness His rectitude was evident in his unwavering
correctness, n. the quality of being commitment to justice.
righteousness, morality right The rectitude of her decision was recognized by
everyone in the community.
The priest praised him for his rectitude in the face of
temptation.
95. iniquitous immoral, evil, corrupt, adj. wicked or unjust The iniquitous practices of the corrupt regime
sinful, nefarious shocked the international community.
The villain’s iniquitous plan was fortunately foiled
again by the hero.
96. hermetic impervious, shut, adj. airtight, impervious The tomb’s hermetic seal had never been opened.
sealed, airtight, secure to outside influence; The hermetic seal ensured that no air entered the
isolated container.
97. equanimity composure, poise, n. steadiness of mind A good leader maintains her equanimity even
calmness, serenity during a crisis.
He handled the crisis with remarkable equanimity.
98. dross dregs, scum, waste, n. rubbish, waste, or The factory removed the dross from the metal to
refuse, residue foreign matter; impurity ensure its purity.
Fred dismissed the criticisms of his portfolio,
pointing out that the gold had far outweighed
the dross through his long career.
99. melancholy dejected, downcast, sad, n. a feeling of deep After her husband’s departure, she spent months
sorrowful, gloomy sadness wallowing in melancholy.
adj. sad, dejected After the breakup, she was overwhelmed by a
profound sense of melancholy that lingered for
weeks.
He wore a melancholy expression as he reminisced
about his childhood.
100. ingénue amateur, learner, novice, n. a naive, innocent young Do you take me for an ingénue who has never been
debutante woman to the city?
The film featured an ingénue who captured
everyone’s hearts with her innocence.
101. meander drift, ramble, traipse, v. to wander in a leisurely I have a tendency to meander about my large garden
stroll, roam manner when I’m bored.
She liked to meander through the park on sunny
afternoons.
102. hermetic impervious, shut, adj. airtight, impervious The hermetic seal ensured that no air entered the
sealed, airtight, secure to outside influence; container.
isolated The tomb’s hermetic seal had never been opened.
103. mercurial flighty, fluctuating; adj. subject to sudden My mother’s mercurial temperament makes it
buoyant, volatile, lively changes in mood impossible to predict how she will react to bad news.
adj. lively and quick Her mercurial personality made it difficult for her
friends to know how she would react to any situation.
The mercurial nature of the conversation kept everyone
engaged and entertained.
Set-8
1. overwrought frantic, wound up, adj. deeply agitated or She felt overwrought after hearing the unsettling news.
nervous, agitated, anxious Everyone in the family was overwrought with the
anxious thought that the children might be in danger.
2. pivotal critical, crucial, adj. of crucial importance His research proved to be pivotal in the
essential, key, significant development of new treatments.
The audience was enraged when the film reel broke
during a pivotal scene in the movie.
3. recalcitrant disobedient, resistant, adj. stubborn and defiant Instead of obeying the police’s instructions, the
rebellious, obstinate, of authority protesters became recalcitrant and refused to move.
uncooperative The recalcitrant student refused to follow the school
rules.
4. palatable delicious, agreeable, adj. acceptable to one’s Though clearly necessary to balance the budget,
acceptable, tasty, taste or mind unpopular tax increases are not palatable to any
enjoyable political party.
The dish was surprisingly palatable, even for the
picky eater.
5. pragmatic businesslike, efficient, adj. guided by practical Her pragmatic attitude often put her at odds with her
practical, realistic, experience and idealistic peers, whom she called unrealistic and naive.
sensible observation The committee took a pragmatic approach to
solving the issue.
6. quibble split hairs, trifle, detail, v. to evade the truth or Don’t quibble over small details; focus on the big
nitpick, cavil importance of an issue by picture.
raising trivial objections His quibble about the terms was unnecessary.
n. a trivial objection The argument grew even more aggravating when my
opponent began to quibble with me over semantics.
7. pugnacious hostile, belligerent, adj. combative in nature The pugnacious young man was eventually
combative, aggressive, suspended for constantly fighting with other
quarrelsome students.
The pugnacious dog barked at every passerby.
8. satiate satisfy, stuff, gratify, v. to fill to satisfaction Sasha knew that the small portions served in the
fulfill, quench cafeteria would not satiate him.
She hoped the meal would satiate her hunger.
9. redoubtable dreadful, admirable, adj. fearsome or awe- He was a redoubtable opponent on the chessboard.
worthy, formidable, inspiring I knew Mauricio would be a redoubtable opponent
fearsome after hearing my own coach sing his praises.
10. proclivity tendency, disposition, n. a natural inclination His proclivity for music was evident from a young age.
leaning, inclination, Her proclivity for laziness is going to be a problem
propensity when we begin the new project.
11. oscillate dangle, sway; change, v. to move or swing from Her feelings towards her cynical commanding
alternate, fluctuate, side to side officer oscillated between admiration and disgust.
vacillate v. to waver between The pendulum began to oscillate steadily after being
released.
conflicting positions She continued to oscillate between two job offers
without making a decision.
12. prodigal excessive, luxurious, adj. lavishly wasteful His prodigal spending habits led to financial trouble.
copious, wasteful, adj. being generous or The prodigal soon realized the importance of saving.
extravagant giving abundantly The woman ended up regretting
n. one who spends her prodigal lifestyle when she went bankrupt after
recklessly a few years.
13. quiescent inactive, motionless, adj. being quiet or still The quiescent village was a stark contrast to the
inert, dormant, still bustling city.
The outlying region, usually a quiescent outpost of
the empire, was the unlikely origin of the rebellion
that would unseat the emperor.
14. sporadic random, scattered, adj. occurring The sporadic rain made planning difficult.
seldom, intermittent, occasionally and without Our vacation plans were ruined by sporadic rain that
occasional pattern seemed to start every time we headed towards the beach.
15. predilection inclination, love, n. preference; a strong She has a predilection for classic literature over
fondness, preference, liking for modern novels.
tendency He had a predilection for expensive cars that was
hard on his wallet.
16. scruple conscience, qualm, n. an ethical or moral The man scrupled to tell a blatant lie, but eventually
hesitation, misgiving, concern realized that he had no choice.
doubt; to balk at v. to hesitate on moral He had a scruple about lying to his friend.
grounds She scrupled at the idea of cheating.
17. sordid nasty, vile, corrupt, adj. dirty or rundown During the divorce trial, the husband was asked to reveal
filthy, disreputable adj. immoral or unethical the sordid details of his affair.
The sordid details of the affair were shocking.
18. sediment debris, deposit, residue, n. matter deposited by some Kate refused to drink the water from the well when she
precipitate, dregs natural process noticed the sediment at the bottom of the bucket.
n. settled matter at the The sediment at the bottom of the lake was thick and
bottom of a liquid dark.
19. specious misleading, deceptive, adj. plausible but false After doing some research of my own, I realized that
apparent, fallacious, adj. deceptively pleasing his argument was specious at best.
specious Her specious argument failed to convince the jury.
20. untenable inexcusable, faulty, adj. impossible to Kate is argumentative enough to support even the
indefensible, maintain or defend, as of most untenable positions.
unsustainable, an opinion Their argument became untenable after the new
unmaintainable evidence emerged.
21. stria banding, groove, stripe, n. a linear mark, ridge, or We examined the striae on the rocks to see if they
line, marking groove, esp. one of a number were really from the same underground cave.
of similar parallel features The striae on the surface revealed the rock’s history.
22. salutary aiding, restorative, adj. beneficial, esp. Anti-pollution laws have salutary effects for humans
beneficial, relating to health and animals.
advantageous, helpful The salutary effects of exercise are well-
documented.
23. transient passing, fleeting, adj. not permanent The transient relied on the kindness of strangers
ephemeral, temporary, adj. moving from place to whenever he arrived in a new town.
short-lived place The transient nature of his job meant he frequently
n. one who moves from relocated.
place to place The city has many transient workers who stay for the
summer.
24. trepidation anxiety, worry, n. a feeling of fear or He approached the stage with trepidation before his
apprehension, fear, agitation performance.
unease Janice had to face her trepidation about flying in order to
make the trip to California.
25. perfunctory automatic, habitual, adj. done as a formality, She gave a perfunctory nod, barely listening to the
careless, routine, without attention to detail conversation.
mechanical Her apology was clearly only a perfunctory gesture and
not truly heartfelt.
26. stringent binding, strict, rigorous, adj. strictly controlled or Since accidents on roller coasters can often be fatal,
severe, exacting enforced amusement parks must undergo stringent testing
before being opened to the public.
The stringent regulations ensured safety at the event.
27. ubiquitous everywhere, adj. present everywhere Smartphones have become ubiquitous in modern society.
omnipresent, pervasive, In her neighborhood, Starbucks shops had
universal, all-over become ubiquitous; she couldn’t walk two blocks
without passing one.
28. vacillate fluctuate, hesitate, to be v. to waver between She began to vacillate between two job offers,
unsure, waver, dither conflicting positions unsure of which to choose.
Both sides made such convincing arguments that
the judge vacillated between them for days before
coming to a decision.
29. stratum layer, gradation, tier, n. a horizontal layer of Friction between two social strata can often lead to
level, section material political upheaval.
n. a level of society Archaeologists studied the stratum to understand
composed of people with past civilizations.
similar social, cultural, or
economic status
30. wheedle to influence through v. to coax or persuade Eventually the ice-cream truck driver
flattery, to entice, coax, was wheedled into giving the sullen child a free
persuade scoop.
He tried to wheedle his way into getting a free meal.
31. rancor antagonism, hatred, n. a feeling of deep and There was no rancor between the players after the
bitterness, resentment, bitter anger game.
spite Once the game ended there was no rancor between
the opponents, despite the intensity of their match.
32. unfeigned genuine, heartfelt, adj. sincerely felt or Although it seemed a ridiculous concern to us,
sincere, honest, true expressed Joyce’s preoccupation with her little sister’s
sprained ankle was unfeigned.
Her unfeigned gratitude was evident in her warm smile.
33. vociferous clamorous, noisy, adj. loud and insistent, The vociferous mob gathered outside the store and
distracting, boisterous, esp. to compel attention awakened its owner.
uproarious The vociferous crowd demanded answers from the
officials.
34. zenith acme, summit, pinnacle, n. the highest point or peak Climbing to the zenith of the mountain will be
peak, apex n. the point directly above difficult, but it has been a dream of mine since
one’s head childhood.
Reaching the zenith of her career, she was
celebrated worldwide.
35. squalor dirtiness, destitution, n. filth; poverty The town’s poorest inhabitants live in squalor due to
filth, misery, deprivation their inability to access clean water.
They lived in squalor, struggling to make ends meet.
36. quash defeat, destroy, squash, v. to forcibly suppress The court decided to quash the earlier ruling.
suppress, extinguish v. to extinguish The prosecution’s star witness quashed any chance
the defense had of winning the trial.
37. unimpeachable blameless, spotless, adj. beyond doubt or To win the case, the defense would need
immaculate, suspicion an unimpeachable witness to prove their client’s
irreproachable, virtuous character.
undeniable The witness’s unimpeachable testimony helped
secure the verdict.
38. aberrant atypical, bizarre, adj. abnormal, deviating The aberrant accounting numbers led officials to
deviant, abnormal, from the norm conclude that a crime had been committed.
irregular The aberrant behavior of the dog raised concerns
among its owners.
39. philistine coarse, crass, barbarian, adj. barbaric; lacking culture Why, the philistine even declared that he hated the
boor, unrefined n. an individual guided by theater!
commonplace, rather than His philistine attitude was evident when he
artistic or intellectual, values dismissed the importance of classical music.
Despite his wealth, he was considered
a philistine for his disregard of fine art and
literature.
40. inveigle manipulate, cajole, v. to obtain by deception He managed to inveigle the secret from his friend by
ensnare, entice, lure or flattery feigning interest.
He inveigled the information from the president’s
wife.
41. debonair refined, well-bred, adj. suave, urbane, The ladies were all drawn to
sophisticated, charming, affable, genial, charming, the debonair newcomer.
suave stylish The debonair host made everyone feel at ease at the
party.
42. volatile explosive, changeable, adj. likely to change The situation in the war-torn country soon became
inconsistent; suddenly too volatile for most reporters and travelers to stay
vaporizable, adj. liable to lead to there safely.
unpredictable, unstable violence The political climate became increasingly volatile as
adj. evaporating easily tensions rose between the opposing factions.
The volatile chemicals in the lab required careful
handling to prevent harmful fumes from escaping.
43. vacuous lacking, vacant, empty, adj. devoid of significance His vacuous remarks contributed nothing to the
insipid, purposeless or matter; empty discussion.
adj. lacking serious I told him pointedly to stop wasting my time with
purpose or occupation his vacuous comments.
44. stymie confound, impede, n. a situation that defies The guard dogs managed to stymie the thief as he
obstruct, hinder, block progress or resolution tried to break into the house.
v. to prevent or hinder the The ongoing conflict created a stymie for
progress of something negotiations.
They tried to stymie our efforts at reform.
45. contravene breach, break, defy, v. to violate, or to conflict Until recently, Americans could not visit that
violate, transgress with a rule or principle country without contravening federal law.
His actions contravene the company’s code of
conduct.
46. obloquy defamation, slander, n. abusive language; The president earned obloquy for his tax hikes.
disgrace, reproach, damage to one’s The politician faced obloquy after the scandal was
insult reputation; disgrace exposed.
47. sedentary desk-bound, motionless, adj. sitting or seated Ming wanted to quit his sedentary job at the library
stationary, inactive, adj. tending to stay in the and become a police officer.
immobile same place His sedentary lifestyle contributed to his weight gain
48. mettlesome plucky, spirited, valiant, adj. courageous, high- The mettlesome knight charged bravely into battle.
courageous, brave spirited The mettlesome police officer saved the hostage.
49. accolade acclaim, kudos, honor, n. recognition for an Cindy received accolades in the media for her
praise, recognition accomplishment breathtaking performance.
She received accolades for her outstanding
contributions to science.
50. sagacious smart, acute, sensible, adj. very insightful or My best friend is quite sagacious, so I know I can
insightful, shrewd shrewd always turn to her for wise advice.
Her sagacious advice always proved valuable.
51. affluent rich, prosperous, adj. wealthy Membership in the private club was only open
wealthy, opulent, well- to affluent members of society.
to-do The affluent family hosted a lavish charity gala.
52. wanderlust journey, wayfaring, n. the desire to travel A sudden feeling of wanderlust encouraged me to
excursion, travel desire, pack my bags and head to Mexico.
exploration Her wanderlust led her to explore new countries
every year.
53. abridge reduce, refine, v. to condense; to shorten The editor decided to abridge the lengthy
abbreviate, shorten, manuscript.
condense The author threw a fit when his editor suggested
that he abridge his novel in order to make it more
accessible.
54. succinct blunt, compact, brief, adj. brief Since there were only a few minutes left in the
concise, terse meeting, the final speaker had to keep his
comments succinct and to the point.
Her succinct explanation clarified the complex topic.
55. affable cordial, pleasant, adj. gentle, friendly, or of Stacy was an affable acquaintance to many but a
friendly, sociable, genial a kind nature real friend to few.
Her affable personality made her popular among
her peers.
56. abate lessen, moderate, v. to decrease in intensity The ferocity of the fighting has started to abate, though
diminish, decrease, the civilian population is still in great danger.
reduce The storm began to abate, allowing us to go outside.
57. alacrity liveliness, fervor, n. enthusiasm; speed Children approach their homework with more alacrity if
eagerness, readiness, they know that a reward awaits them when they finish.
enthusiasm She accepted the invitation with alacrity.
58. abstruse abstract, enigmatic, adj. difficult to The professor’s lecture on quantum physics was
incomprehensible, comprehend incredibly abstruse.
obscure, confusing That film has been praised as a visionary masterpiece,
but I found it more abstruse than enlightening.
59. acerbic acrid, caustic, sharp, adj. sour or bitter tasting, His acerbic comments often left others feeling hurt.
biting, sarcastic or of a bitter My friends’ acerbic reaction to bringing my
temperament boyfriend to the game led me to believe that they
didn’t care much for him.
60. preside administer, conduct, v. to be in a position of The judge will preside over the case next week.
direct, oversee, manage authority over a group The newly-elected president presided over the first
meeting of the council in September.
61. compunction regret, sorrow, qualm, n. hesitation or unease at A hardened criminal usually has no compunction about
guilt, remorse committing (or having hurting bystanders in order to evade the police.
committed) an act She felt a pang of compunction after lying to her friend
62. abrade rub, chafe, wear down, v. to erode or rub away The rough surface began to abrade the paint on the wall.
erode, scrape The statue’s hand was abraded from all of the
tourists rubbing it for luck.
63. condign appropriate, proper, fair, adj. deserved, adequate Though I believe I am compassionate, I will not hesitate
deserved, fitting to mete out a condign punishment to wrongdoers.
The judge handed down a condign sentence that
matched the severity of the crime.
64. abscond depart, escape, flee, run v. to run away secretly The thief managed to abscond with the jewelry
away, vanish and hide before anyone noticed.
The guilty man absconded during the night and was
never heard from again.
65. quandary dilemma, predicament, n. a state of uncertainty, a She found herself in a quandary about which job
uncertainty, confusion, dilemma offer to accept.
stalemate After receiving several great offers, I was in
a quandary as to which I should accept.
66. recess halt, breather, nook, v. to suspend proceedings The committee will recess for lunch before
break, pause n. a break from class or continuing the discussion.
business During the recess, the students chatted happily.
n. an indented or hollowed- The legislative body will recess next week.
out space
67. abjure forswear, abandon, v. to renounce or reject He chose to abjure his previous beliefs in favor of a
renounce, reject solemnly; to recant or new philosophy.
avoid The monks had to abjure all indulgences.
68. probity goodness, honor, n. honesty and decency Her probity in all dealings earned her the trust of
integrity, virtue, her colleagues.
morality The group chose Eduardo to represent them, not
only because he was the eldest, but because he had
shown the most probity during their discussions.
69. pacific soothing, peaceful, adj. of a peaceful nature The pacific tone of the speaker calmed the restless
conciliatory, calm, adj. promoting peace and crowd.
tranquil conflict resolution Her pacific approach to conflict resolution was
admirable.
The government decided to pursue a pacific policy
and call back its troops on the border.
70. placate soothe, pacify, appease, v. to ease another’s anger Lewis attempted to placate the angry woman whose
calm, assuage car had been hit, but she continued screaming and
pacing back and forth.
She tried to placate her friend after their heated
argument.
71. affront criticize, antagonize, n. an offensive act or His rude comment was seen as an affront to her dignity.
offend, insult, provoke statement To affront someone in public is considered
v. to insult openly disrespectful.
Lucia’s ingratitude was an affront to all of us who
had supported her.
72. turbid cloudy, muddled, adj. clouded due to I dropped my phone in the lake and couldn’t find it
sedimentary, opaque, sediment in the turbid water.
confused adj. confused The turbid waters made it difficult to see the
bottom.
73. abdicate abandon, leave, v. to willingly let go of; to The king chose to abdicate rather than face civil unrest.
relinquish, resign, vacate relinquish The king abdicated the throne rather than expose
his nation to a potentially crippling civil war.
74. adroit adept, apt, expert, adj. skillful, competent His adroit handling of the situation impressed
skillful, proficient everyone.
The boy scout was an adroit survivalist and so
managed to cling to life until a rescue team arrived.
75. nonchalant easygoing, careless, adj. casually unconcerned The student remained nonchalant despite the
indifferent, unconcerned looming exam.
Lauren was nonchalant about being chosen as
valedictorian; she simply didn’t think it was a big
deal.
76. stark absolute, utter, austere, adj. complete or extreme The stark contrast between rich and poor was
barren, severe adj. very simple evident.
adj. bare or blunt The expensive car that he parked outside stood
in stark contrast to the impoverished neighborhood
surrounding it.
77. pernicious damaging, devastating, adj. harmful; hurtful, The pernicious effects of money in politics are
harmful, malignant, especially in a slow or hardly unique to this country.
destructive subtle way The pernicious effects of the pollution were evident
in the dying trees.
78. perennial enduring, perpetual, adj. endless The garden was filled with perennial flowers that
ceaseless, everlasting, adj. recurring over and bloomed each spring.
constant over Her perennial optimism inspired those around her.
Not being able to pay rent on time was
a perennial problem for him.
79. strident grating, shrill, loud, adj. unpleasantly loud and Her strident voice made me dread our weekly phone
discordant, jarring harsh conversations.
Her strident voice carried over the crowd.
80. perturb unsettle, alarm, disturb, v. to disturb or cause Even her sleep was perturbed by her obsession over
agitate, trouble disorder, esp. in one’s her credit card debt.
mental state The unexpected news began to perturb her usual
calm demeanor.
81. placid composed, calm, adj. free from disturbance There currently reigns a placid atmosphere at City
tranquil, serene, Hall, but don’t expect it to last much longer.
peaceful The lake was placid, reflecting the clear blue sky.
82. admonish check, counsel, scold, v. to warn, to gently The pilot admonished the passengers to remain
notice, reprimand reprimand seated during take off.
The teacher admonished the student for being late.
83. gambol cavort, skip, rollick, v. to skip playfully, to The youngsters went gamboling through the fields.
frolic, play frolic The children began to gambol in the sunny meadow.
84. adulate fawn, acclaim, laud, v. to give excessive praise The critics adulated the film as a masterpiece.
flatter, idolize Rather than adulate his superiors, Moncef preferred
to show his regard by emulating them.
85. perfidy treachery, betrayal, n. a betrayal of trust His perfidy shattered the friendship they had built
corruption, disloyalty, over the years.
faithlessness The soldier was known for his loyalty, so his act
of perfidy was particularly shocking to his superior
officers.
Set 9
1. factious conflicting, warring, adj. inclined to make Many networks purposely select factious personalities
belligerent, disputatious, arguments, divisive, select to appear in their reality T.V. shows in the hopes
quarrelsome contentious that their bickering will attract viewers.
The factious members of the group constantly
disagreed on trivial matters.
2. consequential significant, adj. important I am not prepared to accept such consequential airs
considerable; egotistic, adj. pompous, self- from a journalist 20 years my junior.
weighty, substantial important The discovery was consequential for the advancement of
medical research.
His consequential air made him unpopular with his
peers.
3. welter commotion, tumble, v. to writhe, toss about; to The boat began to welter in the stormy seas, causing
sway, flounder, struggle be in turmoil panic among the passengers.
The lake weltered in the storm, tossing the boat all over.
4. ignoble corrupt, lewd, petty, adj. dishonorable, The ignoble act of profiteering at someone else’s
shameful, base disgraceful expense is not to be condoned.
His ignoble actions brought shame to his family.
5. conciliatory appeasing, pacifying, adj. agreeable; Karen’s conciliatory attitude helped her to move up
reconciling, placating overcoming distrust or in the business.
hostility His conciliatory tone helped resolve the conflict
between the two sides.
6. gull mislead, hoodwink, v. to fool or deceive They gulled Akiko so well that she walked right into
dupe, trick, con her own surprise party without suspecting a thing.
The scammer tried to gull people into giving away
their personal information.
7. mendicant panhandler, pauper, n. a beggar, a supplicant The mendicant sat by the church, asking for spare
vagrant, street person change.
There was a large number of mendicants stalking
the street.
8. epithet nickname, title, n. a characterizing phrase He earned the epithet “The Brave” after his
designation, label, n. a disparaging word or courageous deeds.
descriptor phrase The politician was hurt by the epithet hurled at him
by the crowd.
Ivan the Terrible’s name was one epithet I do not
envy.
9. effluence outpouring, discharge, n. the act of flowing out An effluence of people from the stadium crowded
gushing; emanation, flux n. something that flows the streets.
out The effluence of water from the dam was carefully
regulated.
The effluence from the factory was polluting the
nearby river.
10. maudlin overemotional, gushing, adj. overly sentimental The teacher insisted on taking a maudlin picture
mushy; emotional, with each one of her students every year.
effusive After a few drinks, he became maudlin and started
sharing old stories.
11. nefarious atrocious, malevolent, adj. vicious, evil The nefarious conspirators left nothing in the poor
wicked, sinful woman’s house.
The villain’s nefarious plot was foiled by the heroes.
12. stentorian blaring, booming; adj. extremely loud and Even without a microphone, the
thunderous, deafening powerful principal’s stentorian voice filled the auditorium
and commanded everyone’s attention.
The sergeant’s stentorian voice could be heard
across the training ground.
13. jibe agree, correspond; v. to be in accord; to His story jibed with mine.
conform, align agree; to suddenly shift His views didn’t jibe with the rest of the team’s opinion.
from one side to another The boat began to jibe, and the crew adjusted the
sails accordingly.
14. abrogate cancel, dissolve, negate; v. to abolish or annul by The court ruling abrogated his rights to any profits.
repeal, invalidate authority The government decided to abrogate the outdated law.
15. ambulatory roaming, afoot, vagrant; adj. of walking, adapted The ambulatory excursion drew few people because
mobile, peripatetic for walking of the poor weather.
After surgery, she was finally ambulatory and could
move around the ward.
16. distrait preoccupied, engrossed, adj. distracted as a result The distrait teacher kept pausing mid-sentence to
scatterbrained, absent- of anxiety look out the window.
minded, unfocused She was so distrait from worry that she forgot her
own appointment.
17. bemuse addle, bewilder, perplex; v. to puzzle or confuse The bemused expression on his face was priceless.
confuse, baffle The strange behavior of the character in the
film bemused the audience.
18. lachrymose tearful, weepy, adj. sad, tearful The opera’s lachrymose final scene has tested the
mournful; sorrowful, dramatic range of generations of sopranos.
melancholy The lachrymose movie left the entire audience in tears.
19. halcyon gentle, happy, adj. calm and peaceful, The halcyon days of summer are here again.
harmonious; tranquil, prosperous The halcyon days of summer were filled with
idyllic relaxation and joy.
20. eschew abandon, abstain; v. to shun or avoid Most vegetarians eschew fur coats as well as
evade, steer clear of consuming meats.
He made a conscious effort to eschew unhealthy
foods.
21. malfeasance impropriety, n. misconduct or Joel was studying malfeasance in the Panamanian
delinquency; wrongdoing (esp. by a government.
misconduct, wrongdoing public official) The mayor was accused of malfeasance in the
handling of public funds.
22. sentinel watchman, guard, n. one who keeps guard The sentinel at the city gates watched over the city.
lookout; sentry, patrol v. to watch over The sentinel stood watch at the entrance of the
castle.
Soldiers were sent to sentinel the border during the
night.
23. reconnoiter examine, inspect, scout; v. to engage in We sent him to reconnoiter the party before we
survey, explore reconnaissance, to make a arrived, in case it turned out to be a dud.
preliminary inspection of The scouts were sent ahead to reconnoiter the area
before the main force arrived.
24. diaspora dispersion, exodus, n. a dispersion of people The diaspora of refugees from the war-torn country
scattering, migration from their homeland (esp. was a tragic event.
Jews) The Jewish diaspora has a rich cultural history.
n. a community of The African diaspora throughout the world has
dispersed people settled into certain traditions, some of which are not
actually African in origin.
25. rigmarole red tape, tedium; hassle, n. an extremely tedious The rigmarole I am subjected to every time I visit
nonsense and complicated process the DMV would be funny were it not so depressing.
The rigmarole of applying for the visa was
exhausting and time-consuming.
26. winsome alluring, appealing, adj. charming, happy, Mei’s winsome smile won her many friends.
pleasing; delightful, engaging Her winsome smile instantly put everyone at ease.
captivating
27. forswear abandon, deny, reject; v. to renounce, disavow, The young nation forswore entangling alliances.
repudiate, disown repudiate He decided to forswear his bad habits and start fresh.
28. expurgate clean up, screen, v. to censor, esp. The expurgated version of the album had a more
whitewash; sanitize, obscenity family-friendly rating.
purge The editor had to expurgate several inappropriate
scenes from the book before publication.
29. camarilla conspiracy, cabal; n. a group of counselors to The dictator was obsessed with the possibility of
faction, clique a leader, esp. ones who foreign attack, but it was his own disgruntled
plot or connive camarilla of aides who did him in in the end.
The king’s camarilla controlled many of the
decisions behind the scenes.
30. anodyne curative, dull, toothless, adj. pain-relieving, The anodyne music helped calm her after a stressful day.
painkiller, balm soothing; bland Laughter served as an anodyne for the weary workers.
n. a distress-reliever She tried to keep the conversation as anodyne as
possible
31. rebus puzzle, enigma, visual n. a riddle in which words The puzzle enthusiast enjoyed solving the
puzzle, picture puzzle are represented by intricate rebus.
pictures Pictures of bees and eyes are commonly used in
a rebus to symbolize the words “be” and “I”.
32. ruminate think, ponder; chew, v. to meditate at length; to He liked to ruminate on life’s mysteries during his
gnaw; contemplate, muse evening walks.
reflect v. to chew cud The cows ruminate peacefully in the field after
grazing.
The monk ruminated over the moral dilemma.
33. tremulous quivering, cowardly, adj. trembling, timid, Her tremulous voice revealed her nervousness
nervous, shaky, fearful during the presentation.
apprehensive He signed the contract with a tremulous hand.
34. bellwether prognosticator, sign; n. an indicator, esp. one The Midwest is considered a bellwether for the
leader, trendsetter that predicts future political tide of the nation, since trends often
outcomes become apparent there sooner than in other states.
The rising prices in real estate are often seen as
a bellwether for economic trends.
35. interregnum hiatus, interruption; n. the interval of time The interregnum that followed the king’s deposition
gap, pause between the reign of a ended only when one of the warlords grew strong
ruler and that of his enough to control the entire nation.
successor; the time During the interregnum, the country faced
between two leaders’ uncertainty and political turmoil.
tenures
36. convoke assemble, gather, v. to convene or call He convoked a meeting of the nation’s top CEOs
summon; mobilize, together and Vice Presidents.
convene The board decided to convoke an emergency
meeting to address the issue.
37. tumid bloated, enlarged; adj. swollen The river banks were tumid from the spring rain.
distended, puffed His ankle was tumid after twisting it during the
hike.
38. fulminate berate, condemn; blast, v. to verbally attack The crotchety old fool fulminated about every sort
blow up, detonate, erupt v. to explode of modern improvement while we listened, too
stunned to interrupt him.
The critics began to fulminate against the new policy.
The faulty engine caused the car to fulminate on the
highway.
39. egress departure, escape, n. exit The fire alarm signaled the need for a
withdrawal, outflow, exit v. to exit quick egress from the building.
Once the meeting ended, everyone began
to egress from the room.
It was thought that the prisoner,
seeking egress from his cell before the spreading fire
consumed it, had managed to slip out between the
warping floorboards.
40. pedestrian everyday, dull, adj. commonplace, trite, Timothy’s dissertation was lengthy but pedestrian.
uninteresting, ordinary, unremarkable His pedestrian speech failed to inspire the audience.
mundane
41. mendacious deceptive, false, adj. dishonest The politician’s mendacious statements eroded
untruthful, misleading public trust.
Phyllis is mendacious yet entertaining; she is fun to talk
to at a party, but I wouldn’t believe a word she says.
42. preternatural anomalous, irregular, adj. beyond what is Her preternatural ability to predict the weather
bizarre, extraordinary, normal or natural amazed everyone.
supernatural Occasionally, people with mental illnesses also
exhibit preternatural abilities in mathematics or
memorization.
43. natty classy, clean; stylish, adj. trim, neat, or tidy He arrived at the event looking natty in a perfectly
dapper tailored suit.
She was a natty dresser, with never a seam out of
place.
44. jejune empty, banal, childlike, adj. uninteresting, dull His jejune explanation failed to capture the
sophomoric, insipid adj. immature students’ attention.
The jejune behavior of the children disrupted the event.
adj. lacking in nutrition The jejune diet left her feeling weak and tired.
It may be said that her verse is jejune, but I happen
to find a sage sensibility in her later poems.
45. malinger evade, play hooky; shirk, v. to pretend to be sick Souheila was known to malinger on test days, so her
dodge father insisted on taking her temperature before he
would let her stay home from school.
He tried to malinger to avoid going to work on
Monday.
46. filch take, pilfer; swipe, v. to steal, esp. something The girl was caught filching chalk from all the
snatch unimportant classrooms but would not say why she had done it.
He was caught trying to filch a candy bar from the
store.
47. gastronomy cooking, culinary She studied gastronomy in Paris to perfect her
science; cuisine, cooking, culinary science; culinary skills.
gastronomy cuisine, gastronomy Italian gastronomy is known for its emphasis on
fresh ingredients and simple flavors.
She studied gastronomy in Paris to perfect her
culinary skills.
Italian gastronomy is known for its emphasis on
fresh ingredients and simple flavors.
48. plenipotentiary authoritative, competent adj. representing a The ambassador is plenipotentiary; he does not
to represent; country or other body need to consult with his home country to sign
empowered, authorized with complete authority accords on its behalf.
to act as its proxy The plenipotentiary ambassador negotiated the
terms of the treaty.
49. fastness stronghold, bunker; n. a safe, fortified place The guerrillas retreated to their mountain fastness in
fortress, citadel order to regroup and consolidate their battered forces.
The rebels retreated to their mountain fastness after
the attack.
50. ostentatious showy, flashy, adj. intended to impress She loves to show off that ostentatious ring her rich
pretentious, flamboyant, adj. characterized by husband got for her.
extravagant pretension His ostentatious display of wealth drew unwanted
attention.
She wore an ostentatious gown that outshone
everyone at the party.
51. agrarian agricultural, country, adj. pertaining to farming The farmer switched from his
rural, farming, pastoral or land matters habitual agrarian routine to that of a high-powered
business CEO in just a few years.
The agrarian policies aim to support local farmers.
52. limn characterize, chart, v. to draw; to describe; to Here, the philosopher limns a basic theory of just
depict, illustrate, outline depict governance.
The artist limns the landscape with delicate strokes.
53. aggrandize enlarge, glorify, v. to exaggerate; to She tried to aggrandize her achievements during the
augment, amplify, increase the scope of or to interview.”
elevate make greater Luke had aggrandized his credentials so much that
he was fired on the spot when it was discovered that
he was just a novice
54. tautology equivalence, n. a statement that is It is no help to anybody when you
redundancy, repetition, trivially true; unnecessary spout tautologies like “Whatever will be will be”.
circular reasoning, repetition His explanation contained a tautology that added no
tautological statement new information.
55. vug cavity, depression, hole, n. a small cavity in a rock She hid her trinkets in the vug for safekeeping.
recess, hollow The geologist found a vug filled with sparkling
crystals.
56. salubrious beneficial, good, adj. healthy or health- The salubrious climate attracted many retirees.
hygienic, healthful, promoting My new exercise routine has had
wholesome a salubrious impact on my life.
57. petrous rugged, rocky, petrified, adj. rock-hard; stony The petrous surface of the mountain made climbing
stony, hard challenging.
The skull of the fetus has not yet become petrous; in
fact, it is still translucent to x-rays at this stage.
58. stoic apathetic, detached, adj. indifferent to The defendant remained stoic throughout the trial
impassive, indifferent, pleasure or pain despite the harshness of the prosecution’s
unemotional n. one who is indifferent questions.
to pleasure or pain The stoic soldier bore his injuries without
complaint.
The stoic remained calm during the chaos, showing
no signs of distress.
59. suffuse bathe, cover, saturate, v. to spread through or The sunset suffused the sky with brilliant shades of
permeate, infuse over something, as with orange and pink.
liquid, color, or light The sky was suffused with deep colors.
60. acumen acuteness, intelligence, n. insightfulness Kofi was known for his acumen in literary analysis.
insight, discernment, Her business acumen helped the company thrive in
sharpness a competitive market.
61. adhesion adherence, membership, n. the state of being The adhesion of the paint to the wall was
attachment, bonding, physically attached remarkable.
allegiance n. the state of belonging Adhesion to the regional economic union became a
to an organization popular cause among the elites of the recession-
weary nation.
62. prevaricate deceive, garble, v. to be deliberately When questioned, he tended to prevaricate rather
misrepresent, ambiguous in order to than give a straight answer.
equivocate, lie hide the truth; to lie The guest chose to prevaricate by answering the
host’s questions with unrelated anecdotes.
63. spurious deceitful, false, adj. intending to deceive The spurious claims were quickly debunked.
inaccurate, fraudulent, adj. not valid or genuine The tabloid writers made up spurious accusations
bogus against the young actor.
64. perspicacity insight, astuteness, n. sharp powers of Her perspicacity allowed her to see through the
discernment, perception, observation deception.
sharpness The writer’s perspicacity made it easy for her to
understand and write about human nature.