1. erroneous 9.

snug

containing or characterized by error enjoying comforting warmth and shelter in a small space

2. undermine 10. soothe

weaken or impair, especially gradually cause to feel better

3. hegemony 11. assuage

the dominance or leadership of one social group over others provide physical relief, as from pain

4. makeshift 1. consider

done or made using whatever is available deem to be

5. incendiary 2. minute

arousing to action or rebellion infinitely or immeasurably small

6. confidant
The minute stain on the document was not visible to the naked eye.
someone to whom private matters are told
3. accord
7. taboo
concurrence of opinion
a ban resulting from social custom or emotional aversion
4. evident
8. broker
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
act as a businessman who buys or sells for another
5. practice
9. plaintive
a customary way of operation or behavior
expressing sorrow
6. intend
10. confection
have in mind as a purpose
a food rich in sugar
7. concern
1. ensconce
something that interests you because it is important
fix firmly
8. commit
2. nestled
perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
drawn or pressed close to someone or something for or as if for
affection or protection
9. issue

3. cuddle
some situation or event that is thought about

hold close, as for affection, comfort, or warmth

10. approach

4. huddle
move towards

crouch or curl up
11. establish

5. swathe
set up or found

wrap in swaddling clothes

12. utter

6. envelop
without qualification

enclose or enfold completely with or as if with a covering

13. conduct

7. bundle
direct the course of; manage or control

gather or cause to gather into a cluster

14. engage

8. cocoon
consume all of one's attention or time

wrap, as for protection

15. obtain
 come into possession of 34. constitute

16. scarce to compose or represent

deficient in quantity or number compared with the demand 35. level

17. policy a relative position or degree of value in a graded group

a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group 36. affect

18. straight have an influence upon

successive, without a break 37. institute

19. stock set up or lay the groundwork for

capital raised by a corporation through the issue of shares 38. render

20. apparent give an interpretation of

clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment 39. appeal

21. property be attractive to

a basic or essential attribute shared by members of a class 40. generate

22. fancy bring into existence

imagine; conceive of; see in one's mind 41. theory

23. concept a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the world

an abstract or general idea inferred from specific instances 42. range

24. court a variety of different things or activities

an assembly to conduct judicial business 43. campaign

25. appoint a race between candidates for elective office

assign a duty, responsibility or obligation to 44. league

26. passage an association of sports teams that organizes matches

a section of text, particularly a section of medium length 45. labor

27. vain any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted

unproductive of success 46. confer

28. instance have a meeting in order to talk something over

an occurrence of something 47. grant

29. coast allow to have

the shore of a sea or ocean 48. dwell

30. project think moodily or anxiously about something

a planned undertaking 49. entertain

31. commission provide amusement for

a special group delegated to consider some matter 50. contract

32. constant a binding agreement that is enforceable by law

a quantity that does not vary 51. earnest

33. circumstances characterized by a firm, humorless belief in one's opinions

one's overall condition in life 52. yield

 give or supply 71. undertake

53. wander enter upon an activity or enterprise

move or cause to move in a sinuous or circular course 72. majority

54. insist more than half of the votes in an election

be emphatic or resolute and refuse to budge 73. assert

55. knight declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true

a person of noble birth trained to arms and chivalry 74. crew

56. convince the men and women who man a vehicle

make realize the truth or validity of something 75. chamber

57. inspire a natural or artificial enclosed space

serve as the inciting cause of 76. humble

58. convention marked by meekness or modesty; not arrogant or prideful

a large formal assembly 77. scheme

59. skill an elaborate and systematic plan of action

an ability that has been acquired by training 78. keen

60. harry demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions

annoy continually or chronically 79. liberal

61. financial having political views favoring reform and progress

involving fiscal matters 80. despair

62. reflect a state in which all hope is lost or absent

show an image of 81. tide

63. novel the periodic rise and fall of the sea level

an extended fictional work in prose 82. attitude

64. furnish a complex mental state involving beliefs and feelings

provide with objects or articles that make a room usable 83. justify

65. compel show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for

force somebody to do something 84. flag

66. venture a rectangular piece of cloth of distinctive design

proceed somewhere despite the risk of possible dangers 85. merit

67. territory any admirable or beneficial attribute

the geographical area under the jurisdiction of a state 86. manifest

68. temper reveal its presence or make an appearance

a characteristic state of feeling 87. notion

69. bent a general inclusive concept

fixed in your purpose 88. scale

70. intimate relative magnitude

marked by close acquaintance, association, or familiarity 89. formal

 characteristic of or befitting a person in authority

90. resource
108. cardinal
a new or reserve supply that can be drawn upon when needed
one of a group of prominent bishops in the Sacred College
91. persist
109. boast
continue to exist
talk about oneself with excessive pride or self-regard
92. contempt
110. advocate
lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
a person who pleads for a person, cause, or idea
93. tour
111. bestow
a route all the way around a particular place or area
present
94. plead
112. allege
enter a defendant's answer
report or maintain
95. weigh
113. notwithstanding
be oppressive or burdensome
despite anything to the contrary
96. mode
114. lofty
how something is done or how it happens
of imposing height; especially standing out above others
97. distinction
115. multitude
a discrimination between things as different
a large indefinite number
98. inclined
116. steep
at an angle to the horizontal or vertical position
having a sharp inclination
99. attribute
117. heed
a quality belonging to or characteristic of an entity
pay close attention to
100. exert
118. modest
make a great effort at a mental or physical task
not large but sufficient in size or amount
101. oppress
119. partial
come down on or keep down by unjust use of one's authority
being or affecting only a segment
102. contend
120. apt
compete for something
naturally disposed toward
103. stake
121. esteem
a strong wooden or metal post driven into the ground
the condition of being honored
104. toil
122. credible
work hard
appearing to merit belief or acceptance
105. perish
123. provoke
pass from physical life
provide the needed stimulus for
106. disposition
124. tread
your usual mood
a step in walking or running
107. rail
125. ascertain
complain bitterly
 learn or discover with confidence 144. pious

126. fare having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity

proceed, get along, or succeed 145. vex

127. cede disturb, especially by minor irritations

relinquish possession or control over 146. gravity

128. perpetual the force of attraction between all masses in the universe

continuing forever or indefinitely 147. suspended

129. decree supported or kept from sinking or falling by buoyancy

a legally binding command or decision 148. conspicuous

130. contrive obvious to the eye or mind

make or work out a plan for; devise 149. retort

131. derived a quick reply to a question or remark

formed or developed from something else; not original 150. jet

132. elaborate an airplane powered by gas turbines

marked by complexity and richness of detail 151. bolt

133. substantial run away

real; having a material or factual existence 152. assent

134. frontier to agree or express agreement

a wilderness at the edge of a settled area of a country 153. purse

135. facile a sum spoken of as the contents of a money container

arrived at without due care or effort; lacking depth 154. plus

136. cite the arithmetic operation of summing

make reference to 155. sanction

137. warrant give authority or permission to

show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for 156. proceeding

138. sob a sequence of steps by which legal judgments are invoked

weep convulsively 157. exalt

139. rider praise, glorify, or honor

a traveler who actively sits and travels on an animal 158. siege

140. dense an action of an armed force that surrounds a fortified place

permitting little if any light to pass through 159. malice

141. afflict feeling a need to see others suffer

cause physical pain or suffering in 160. extravagant

142. flourish recklessly wasteful

grow vigorously 161. wax

143. ordain increase in phase

invest with ministerial or priestly authority 162. throng

 press tightly together or cram 181. cower

163. venerate crouch or curl up

regard with feelings of respect and reverence 182. wont

164. assail an established custom

attack someone physically or emotionally 183. tract

165. sublime a system of body parts that serve some particular purpose

of high moral or intellectual value 184. canon

166. exploit a collection of books accepted as holy scripture

draw from; make good use of 185. impel

167. exertion cause to move forward with force

use of physical or mental energy; hard work 186. latitude

168. kindle freedom from normal restraints in conduct

catch fire 187. vacate

169. endow leave behind empty; move out of

furnish with a capital fund 188. undertaking

170. imposed any piece of work that is attempted

set forth authoritatively as obligatory 189. slay

171. humiliate kill intentionally and with premeditation

cause to feel shame 190. predecessor

172. suffrage one who precedes you in time

a legal right to vote 191. delicacy

173. ensue the quality of being exquisitely fine in appearance

issue or terminate in a specified way 192. forsake

174. brook leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch

a natural stream of water smaller than a river 193. beseech

175. gale ask for or request earnestly

a strong wind moving 45-90 knots 194. philosophical

176. muse relating to the investigation of existence and knowledge

reflect deeply on a subject 195. grove

177. satire a small growth of trees without underbrush

witty language used to convey insults or scorn 196. frustrate

178. intrigue hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire

cause to be interested or curious 197. illustrious

179. indication widely known and esteemed

something that serves to suggest 198. device

180. dispatch an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose

send away towards a designated goal 199. pomp

 cheap or pretentious or vain display using language effectively to please or persuade

200. entreat 218. scrupulous

ask for or request earnestly having ethical or moral principles

201. impart 219. ratify

transmit, as knowledge or a skill approve and express assent, responsibility, or obligation

202. propriety 220. stump

correct behavior cause to be perplexed or confounded

203. consecrate 221. discreet

render holy by means of religious rites marked by prudence or modesty and wise self-restraint

204. proceeds 222. imposing

the income or profit arising from a transaction impressive in appearance

205. fathom 223. wistful

come to understand showing pensive sadness

206. objective 224. mortify

the goal intended to be attained cause to feel shame

207. clad 225. ripple

wearing or provided with clothing stir up so as to form small waves

208. partisan 226. premise

devoted to a cause or party a statement that is held to be true

209. faction 227. subside

a dissenting clique wear off or die down

210. contrived 228. adverse

artificially formal contrary to your interests or welfare

211. venerable 229. caprice

impressive by reason of age a sudden desire

212. restrained 230. muster

not showy or obtrusive gather or bring together

213. besiege 231. comprehensive

harass, as with questions or requests broad in scope

214. manifestation 232. accede

a clear appearance yield to another's wish or opinion

215. rebuke 233. fervent

an act or expression of criticism and censure characterized by intense emotion

216. insurgent 234. cohere

in opposition to a civil authority or government cause to form a united, orderly, and consistent whole

235. tribunal
217. rhetoric
an assembly to conduct judicial business
236. austere
254. usurp
severely simple
seize and take control without authority
237. recovering
255. sentinel
returning to health after illness or debility
a person employed to keep watch for some anticipated event
238. stratum
256. precision
people having the same social or economic status
the quality of being reproducible in amount or performance
239. conscientious
257. depose
characterized by extreme care and great effort
force to leave an office
240. arbitrary
258. wanton
based on or subject to individual discretion or preference
unprovoked or without motive or justification
241. exasperate
259. odium
irritate
state of disgrace resulting from detestable behavior
242. conjure
260. precept
summon into action or bring into existence
rule of personal conduct
243. ominous
261. deference
threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
a courteous expression of esteem or regard
244. edifice
262. fray
a structure that has a roof and walls
a noisy fight
245. elude
263. candid
escape, either physically or mentally
openly straightforward and direct without secretiveness
246. pervade
264. enduring
spread or diffuse through
unceasing
247. foster
265. impertinent
promote the growth of
improperly forward or bold
248. admonish
266. bland
scold or reprimand; take to task
lacking stimulating characteristics; uninteresting
249. repeal
267. insinuate
cancel officially
suggest in an indirect or covert way; give to understand
250. retiring
268. nominal
not arrogant or presuming
insignificantly small; a matter of form only
251. incidental
269. suppliant
not of prime or central importance
humbly entreating
252. acquiesce
270. languid
agree or express agreement
lacking spirit or liveliness
253. slew
271. rave
a large number or amount or extent
praise enthusiastically
272. monetary 290. aversion

relating to or involving money a feeling of intense dislike

273. headlong 291. conceit

in a hasty and foolhardy manner an artistic device or effect

292. loath
274. infallible
strongly opposed
incapable of failure or error
293. rampart
275. coax
an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes
influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering
294. extort
276. explicate
obtain by coercion or intimidation
elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses
295. tarry
277. gaunt
leave slowly and hesitantly
very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold
296. perpetrate
278. morbid
perform an act, usually with a negative connotation
suggesting the horror of death and decay
297. decorum
279. ranging
propriety in manners and conduct
wandering freely
298. luxuriant
280. pacify
produced or growing in extreme abundance
ease the anger, agitation, or strong emotion of
299. cant
281. pastoral
insincere talk about religion or morals
idyllically rustic
300. enjoin
282. dogged
give instructions to or direct somebody to do something
stubbornly unyielding
301. avarice
283. ebb
extreme greed for material wealth
fall away or decline
302. edict
284. aide
a formal or authoritative proclamation
someone who acts as an assistant
303. disconcert
285. appease
cause to lose one's composure
cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
304. symmetry
286. stipulate
balance among the parts of something
make an express demand or provision in an agreement
305. capitulate
287. recourse
surrender under agreed conditions
something or someone turned to for assistance or security
306. arbitrate
288. constrained
act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
lacking spontaneity; not natural
307. cleave
289. bate
separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
moderate or restrain; lessen the force of
Instead someone shouts "Go" and he is bearing down on me and But, he said, all coastal communities will have to grapplewith rising

almost cleaves my shield in two with his first blow. seas.New York Times (Mar 24, 2012)

308. append 316. gentry

add to the very end the most powerful members of a society

Some specimens will appear in the papers appended to this report.Various The mode of travel of the gentry was riding horses, but most people

309. visage traveled by walking.Reilly, S. A.

the human face 317. pall

a sudden numbing dread

An honest, quiet laugh often mantled his pale earnestvisage.Turnbull,

Robert Residents who fled in recent days spoke of the smell of death and piles of

310. horde garbage drifting like snowbanks, casting a pallover the city.New York

a moving crowd Times (Mar 7, 2012)

318. maxim
Hordes of puzzled tourists, many with rolling suitcases attached, poured
a saying that is widely accepted on its own merits
down the staircases.New York Times (Jan 1, 2012)

311. parable The maxim "All is fair in love and war" was applied literally.Thomson, Basil

a short moral story 319. projection

a prediction made by extrapolating from past observations

In most instances, I have closed my visits by reading some interesting story

or parable.Frothingham, Octavius Brooks Volume is down 25 percent from five years ago, andprojections show

312. chastise even further declines, said Postmaster General Patrick R.

censure severely Donahoe.New York Times (Mar 22, 2012)

320. prowess
She remembers an upsetting incident when a headmistresschastised her
a superior skill learned by study and practice
for working too much.

313. foil While our engineering prowess has advanced a great deal over the past

hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire sixty years, the principles of innovation largely have not.

321. dingy
On March 1st, a Turkish newspaper reported that the country's intelligence
thickly covered with ingrained dirt or soot
service had foiled an attempt by Syrian agents to kidnap the colonel.

314. veritable Though composed amid the unromantic surroundings of adingy, dusty, and

being truly so called; real or genuine neglected back room, the speech has become a memorable

document.Herndon, William H.
The heavy rain had reduced this low-lying ground to averitable quagmire,
322. semblance
making progress very difficult even for one as unburdened as he
an outward appearance that is deliberately misleading
was.Putnam Weale, B. L. (Bertram Lenox)

315. grapple He was perceptibly older, in the way in which people look older all at once

work hard to come to terms with or deal with something after having long kept the semblance of youth.King, Basil
323. tout
The people who make up this typical Gorky offering are drunkards,
advertise in strongly positive terms
thieves, depraved creatures of every kind.Kilmer, Joyce

Testing is being touted as the means of making the U.S. education system 331. bequeath

competitive, even world-class.Washington Post (Mar 23, 2012) leave or give, especially by will after one's death

324. fortitude
No matter how often she changed her will, she told me, that diamond pin
strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity
was always bequeathed to me.Wells, Carolyn

Leigh Hunt bore himself in his captivity with cheerfulfortitude, suffering 332. enigma

severely in health but flagging little in spirits or industry.Colvin, Sidney something that baffles understanding and cannot be explained

325. asunder
Tails are often an enigma; many creatures have them, but scientists know
into parts or pieces
little about their function, particularly for extinct species.

In 1854, as I have already remarked, Nicaragua was splitasunder by civil 333. assiduous

war.Powell, E. Alexander (Edward Alexander) marked by care and persistent effort

326. rout
He's an assiduous diary-keeper and regularly rereads ancient entries to
an overwhelming defeat
check up on himself.

It's how Seattle won Sunday's game in Chicago, scoring 31 consecutive 334. vassal

second-half points as an impressive comeback became an a person holding a fief

overwhelming rout.Seattle Times (Dec 19, 2011)

And what was of still greater importance, he could only obtain taxes and
327. staid
soldiers from among the vassals, by the consent of their feudal
characterized by dignity and propriety
lords.Freytag, Gustav

He was prim and staid and liked to do things in an orderly fashion.Doyle, 335. quail

A. Conan draw back, as with fear or pain

328. beguile
He quailed before me, and forgetting his new part in old habits, muttered
influence by slyness
an apology.Weyman, Stanley John

I can no longer remain silent in the presence of the schemers who seek 336. outskirts

to beguile you.Bolanden, Conrad von outlying areas, as of a city or town

329. purport
Ms. Waters talked about how she had spent the day at an organic farm on
have the often specious appearance of being or intending
the outskirts of Beijing looking at vegetables for the dinner.New York

Of course, none of these purported medical benefits have any grounding Times (Nov 14, 2011)

in science.Scientific American (Jan 28, 2012) 337. bulwark

330. deprave a protective structure of stone or concrete

corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality

The cliffs are of imposing height, nearly three hundred feet: a

formidable bulwark.White, Walter

338. swerve
They then used models of global wind circulation to deducewhich dust
an erratic turn from an intended course
sources have become stronger and which weaker.

However, I was not going to swerve from my word.Johnstone, James 346. halting

Johnstone, chevalier de fragmentary or broken from emotional strain

339. gird
“I so much love cricket,” he said, shyly, in halting English.New York
prepare oneself for action or a confrontation
Times (Feb 22, 2012)

Protesters are girding for another police raid as several City Council 347. ignominy

members have called on protesters to leave.Washington Post (Nov 11, a state of dishonor

2011)
After all, we love nothing better than seeing the powerful and formerly
340. betrothed
smug dragged across the front pages in ignominy.
pledged to be married
348. ideology

We are not betrothed'—her eyes filled with tears,—'he can never marry an orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group

me; and he and my father have quarrelled.Fleming, George

Bill O’Reilly and others picked up on the theme, summing up left-
341. prospective
wing ideology as “San Francisco values.”Slate (Jan 19, 2012)
of or concerned with or related to the future
349. pallid

Most prospective homesteaders make the same mistake I did in buying lacking in vitality or interest or effectiveness

horses, unless they are experienced.Micheaux, Oscar

But too often the music sounded thin and pallid.New York Times (Apr 25,
342. advert
2010)
make reference to
350. chagrin

In the family circle it was rarely adverted to, and never except when some strong feelings of embarrassment

allusion to the approaching separation had to be made.Werner, E. T.

But he was feeling deeply chagrined and mortified over his last
C. (Edward Theodore Chalmers)
escapade.White, Fred M. (Fred Merrick)
343. peremptory
351. obtrude
not allowing contradiction or refusal
thrust oneself in as if by force

This time it was not a request but a peremptory order to go at once to

She had no right to obtrude herself into his life and to disturb it.Packard,
Cuba and undertake the work.Johnson, Willis Fletcher
Frank L. (Frank Lucius)
344. rudiment
352. audacious
the elementary stage of any subject
disposed to venture or take risks

He retraced his steps, and came to Cape Girardeau, in Missouri, where he

In an audacious operation that unfolded like a Hollywood thriller, the Navy
remained some time, acquiring therudiments of the English
Seals executed a daring raid deep into Pakistan to kill Osama bin
language.Anonymous
Laden.New York Times (Sep 4, 2011)
345. deduce
353. construe
reason from the general to the particular
 make sense of; assign a meaning to
How many of the world’s problems would be solved, or at least greatly

But nothing that was said Tuesday can be construed as good reduced, if women had true parity with men?New York Times (Dec

news.Washington Post (Sep 14, 2011) 15, 2011)

354. ford 361. affable

cross a river where it's shallow diffusing warmth and friendliness

Sometimes they drive their teams through unsettled country, without roads, He was well liked and respected in these islands, for hisaffable manners

swimming and fording streams, clearing away obstructions, and had obtained for him much popularity.Various

camping where night overtakes them.Folsom, William Henry Carman 362. interminable

355. repast tiresomely long; seemingly without end

the food served and eaten at one time

All was going well, but slowly, the time taken for the last few feet seeming

Fragrant coffee, light rolls, fresh butter, ham and eggs, fried crocuses and to be interminable.Cumberland, Barlow

soft crabs, formed the repast.Reid, Mayne 363. pillage

356. stint steal goods; take as spoils

an unbroken period of time during which you do something

In addition great material losses were inflicted: seven hundred houses were

He found his unionized warehouse job after a stint working for his father, destroyed, six hundred storespillaged, and thousands of families

an accountant.New York Times (Mar 21, 2012) utterly ruined.Straus, Oscar S.

357. fresco 364. foreboding

a mural done with watercolors on wet plaster a feeling of evil to come

The little church has an ancient fresco of St. Christopher, placed, as usual, Mr. Harding had strong forebodings that the trouble, so far from being

opposite the entrance.Conybeare, Edward ended, was only just beginning.Marsh, Richard

358. dutiful 365. rend

willingly obedient out of a sense of respect tear or be torn violently

Perhaps he thinks an engaged young lady should be demure and dutiful, In the distance heavy artillery was growling, and high explosive shells were

having no eyes or ears for any one except her betrothed.Harland, bursting with a violence that seemed torend the sky.Tracy, Louis

Marion 366. livelihood

359. hew the financial means whereby one lives

make or shape as with an axe

With businesses shut, fields untended and fishing abandoned many have

They bought a log chain, and lumber for a door; the window frames lost their livelihoods as well as their homes, our correspondent says.

were hewed from logs.Daughters of the American Revolution. 367. deign

Nebraska do something that one considers to be below one's dignity

360. parity
To Mr. Gompers' courteous letter Czar Gary did not deignto reply.Foster,
functional equality
William Z.
368. capricious
This already-exhaustive book is studded with diary entries, academic papers
determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
and other ostensible evidence that its fictitious stories of destruction

Her admirers were capricious, returning to her at times, and then holding are true.New York Times (Jun 6, 2010)

aloof again; and as for suitors, they entirely disappeared.Schubin, 376. craven

Ossip lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful

369. stupendous
Was it for them to follow the craven footsteps of a cowardly
so great in size, force, or extent as to elicit awe
generation?Robinson, Victor

The fact was so stupendous that Terry felt almost frightened over the 377. vestige

great good fortune.Sabin, Edwin L. (Edwin Legrand) an indication that something has been present

370. chaff
Now, there was no vestige of vegetation; no living thing.Hopkins, William
material consisting of seed coverings and pieces of stem
John

The wheat, being heavy, falls, while the chaff is blown away.Starr, 378. plumb

Frederick examine thoroughly and in great depth

371. innate
Tellingly, Ms. Liao said she had great difficulty finding three actors willing
not established by conditioning or learning
to plumb their own personalities.New York Times (Jun 1, 2011)

In other words, one of our most essential abilities as humans--reading--is 379. reticent

the product of a combination ofinnate and learned traits. temperamentally disinclined to talk

372. reverie
No questions were asked, and few indeed were the words spoken,
an abstracted state of absorption
his reticent manner preventing any undue familiarity.Maclean, John

He stood still, seemingly lost in reverie, and quite oblivious to the group 380. propensity

about him.Frey, Hildegard G. (Hildegard Gertrude) an inclination to do something

373. wrangle
A longtime colleague, Gate Theatre director Michael Colgan, noted Kelly's
quarrel noisily, angrily, or disruptively
old-school charms, punctuated by hispropensity for bow ties and

Here were many fierce and bitter wrangles over vexed questions, smart suits.Seattle Times (Feb 15, 2012)

turbulent scenes, displays of sectional feelings.Raymond, Evelyn 381. chide

374. crevice censure severely or angrily

a long narrow opening

He chided reporters as having “stalked” family members, demanding that

The disruptive power of tree roots, growing in the crevicesof rocks, is well his relatives be left alone.New York Times (Nov 8, 2011)

known.Various 382. espouse

375. ostensible choose and follow a theory, idea, policy, etc.

appearing as such but not necessarily so

He said Islam should not be equated with terrorism or the kind of

violence espoused by Bin Laden.

383. raiment
Folengo’s next production was the Orlandino, an Italian poem of
especially fine or decorative clothing
eight cantos, written in rhymed octaves.Various

Clothed in fine raiment and faring sumptuously every day, he soon 391. docile

developed into a handsome lad.Oxley, J. Macdonald (James easily handled or managed

Macdonald)
Time and again humans have domesticated wild , producing tame
384. intrepid
individuals with softer appearances and more dociletemperaments,
invulnerable to fear or intimidation
such as dogs and guinea pigs.Scientific American (Jan 25, 2012)

There are some very courageous and intrepid reporters in Afghanistan, 392. patronize

including some who work for American media outlets. treat condescendingly

385. seemly
Ms. Paul herself noted that “glib talk about appreciating dyslexia as a ‘gift’ is
according with custom or propriety
unhelpful at best and patronizing at worst.”New York Times (Feb 6,

The Baron was less conscientious, for he ate more beefsteak than 2012)

was seemly, and talked a great deal of stupid nonsense, as was his 393. teem

wont.Hoffmann, Ernst Theordor Wilhelm be abuzz

386. allay
The coast, once teeming with traffic, is now lonely and deserted.Mahaffy,
lessen the intensity of or calm
J. P.

Our boy was scared and confused; we tried to allay his fears.New York 394. estrange

Times (Mar 30, 2012) arouse hostility or indifference in

387. fitful
An atmosphere of distrust, suspicion and fear can cause workers to
occurring in spells and often abruptly
feel estranged from one another, Dr. Wright has written.New York

She had lost her composure, her breath came in fitful, uneven gasps, and Times (Jan 28, 2012)

as she sat there she pressed one hand over her heart.Davis, Owen 395. spat

388. erode a quarrel about petty points

become ground down or deteriorate

Public spats are rare in the asset-management industry, where companies

Another report today showed home prices fell more than forecast in typically resolve disputes behind closed doors.

November, eroding the wealth of families as they seek to rebuild 396. warble

savings. sing or play with trills

389. unaffected
Meadow larks, as you have undoubtedly noticed, warblemany different
free of artificiality; sincere and genuine
songs.Barrett, R. E.

His conversation was unaffectedly simple and frank; his language natural; 397. mien

always abounding in curious anecdotes.Conway, Moncure Daniel a person's appearance, manner, or demeanor

390. canto

a major division of a long poem

Nevertheless, before going to meet Samuel, she assumed a calm and Many lived in dilapidated apartments with leaky pipes, broken windows,

dignified mien.Kraszewski, Jo?zef Ignacy rooms full of mold, and walls infestedwith cockroaches and rats.New

398. sate York Times (Jul 28, 2011)

fill to contentment 405. actuate

give an incentive for doing something

His appetite was not sated by any means, but he knew the danger of

overloading his stomach, so he stopped.Dewey, Edward Hooker He knew that men were actuated by other motives, good and bad, than

399. constituency self-interest.Blease, Walter Lyon

the body of voters who elect a representative for their area 406. surly

unfriendly and inclined toward anger or irritation

Each posited that the blue-collar Democratic constituencyrooted in the

New Deal had grown increasingly conservative, alienated from “big But Blake, being surly and quarrelsome even when sober, gave the lapel a

government.”New York Times (Jan 14, 2012) savage jerk, and reached out with his other hand.Chisholm, A. M.

400. patrician (Arthur Murray)

characteristic of the nobility or aristocracy 407. convalesce

get over an illness or shock

Respectable ladies, long resident, wearing black poke bonnets and camel's-

hair shawls, lifted their patricianeyebrows with disapproval.Brooks, Patients convalescing from pneumonia were evacuated to England or

Charles Stephen given Base Duty.Jahns, Lewis E.

401. parry 408. demoralize

avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing lower someone's spirits; make downhearted

The boys asked a few guarded questions, but gained no information The storm clobbered many communities still recovering from the flooding

whatever, their questions being parried in every instance.Mears, two months ago caused by Hurricane Irene, leaving weary

James R. homeowners exhausted anddemoralized.Washington Post (Nov 1,

402. practitioner 2011)

someone who carries out a learned profession 409. devolve

grow worse
In particular, modern medical practitioners are coming around to the idea

that certain illnesses cannot be reduced to one isolatable, treatable As the rhetoric heated up inside, the violence outsidedevolved into chaos.

cause.Nature (Dec 21, 2011) 410. alacrity

403. ravel liveliness and eagerness

disentangle
Every one exerted himself not only without murmuring and discontent, but

Overcasting is done by taking loose stitches over the raw edge of the cloth, even with an alacrity which almost approached to

to keep it from ravelling or fraying.Ontario. Ministry of Education cheerfulness.Kippis, Andrew

404. infest 411. waive

occupy in large numbers or live on a host do without or cease to hold or adhere to

 a slight but appreciable amount
Low rates have also led retail brokerages to waive fees on money market

funds to avoid negative returns for their clients. I never saw anybody so pleased with monkeys as she is, and not

412. unwonted one mite afraid.Raymond, Evelyn

out of the ordinary 420. encumber

hold back
He must rush off to see his people, who no doubt were quite confounded

by his unwonted energy.Speed, Nell Two others were making slower progress for the reason that each

413. seethe was encumbered by supporting a disabled man.Westerman, Percy F.

be in an agitated emotional state (Percy Francis)

421. uncouth
Outwardly quite calm and matter-of-fact, his mind was in
lacking refinement or cultivation or taste
aseething turmoil.Douglas, Hudson

414. scrutinize He had not stopped to consider her rough speech

look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail anduncouth manners.Johnston, Annie F. (Annie Fellows)

422. petulant
Fans and commentators are scrutinizing every blemish: his turnovers, his
easily irritated or annoyed
weak left hand, his jump shot.New York Times (Mar 5, 2012)

415. diffident The black eyes emitted an angry flash, the voice that answered was sharp

lacking self-confidence and petulant.Fleming, May Agnes

423. expiate
Shyly diffident in the presence of strangers, her head was
make amends for
lowered.Packard, Frank L. (Frank Lucius)

416. execrate Wulphere was absolved on condition that he shouldexpiate his crime by

curse or declare to be evil or anathema founding churches and monasteries all over his kingdom.Clifton, A. B.

424. cavalier
When all Great Britain was execrating Napoleon, picturing him as a devil
given to haughty disregard of others
with horns and hoofs, Byron looked upon him as the world's

hero.Hubbard, Elbert Some would have given Nicklaus a cavalier response: polite nod while

417. implacable thinking, “Yeah, whatever.”New York Times (Jun 18, 2011)

incapable of being appeased or pacified 425. banter

light teasing repartee

This man was a savage in his implacable desire for revenge.Kelly,

Florence Finch Our easy banter had suddenly been replaced by strained and awkward

418. pique interaction.Slate (Feb 15, 2012)

a sudden outburst of anger 426. bluster

act in an arrogant, overly self-assured, or conceited manner

A talented youngster who smashes his guitar in a fit ofpique finds it

magically reassembled just in time for a crucial concert. Slade, despite his swaggers and blustering, was at heart a

419. mite coward.Landon, Herman

427. debase
Opened in 2008, the park serves as a true public space; elderly couples
corrupt morally or by intemperance or sensuality
stroll around the artificial lake as toddlers roll down grassy knolls.New

Long oppression had not, on the whole, either blunted their intellects York Times (May 7, 2010)

or debased their morals.Adler, Felix 435. callous

428. retainer emotionally hardened

a person working in the service of another

Outwardly merry and good-humoured, he was by nature coldly fierce,

This faithful and trusted retainer is greatly valued by his employers.Black, calculating, callous.Wingfield, Lewis

Helen C. 436. inculcate

429. subjugate teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions

make subservient; force to submit or subdue

But instruction in history has been for a long time systematically used

The Confederacy was led by thoroughgoing racists who wanted to keep to inculcate certain political sentiments in the pupils.Liebknecht, Karl

blacks subjugated for all time because of the color of their Paul August Friedrich

skin.Slate (Apr 7, 2010) 437. nettle

430. extol disturb, especially by minor irritations

praise, glorify, or honor

Lincoln began these remarks by good-humored butnettling chaffing of his

How I praised the duck at that first dinner, and extolledMadame's skill in opponent.Various

cookery!Warren, Arthur 438. blanch

431. fraught turn pale, as if in fear

filled with or attended with

He is silent, as if struck dumb, his face showing blanchedand bloodless,

But the ocean remains an unpredictable place, fraught with while she utters a shriek, half terrified, half in frenzied anger.Reid,

hazards.Scientific American (Apr 5, 2012) Mayne

432. august 439. inscrutable

profoundly honored of an obscure nature

At all times reserved in his manner and his bearing full of dignity, never The fashion industry is notoriously opaque and ofteninscrutable for

before had she realized the majesty of General outsiders, even ones as well connected as him.Seattle Times (Oct 1,

Washington’s august presence.Madison, Lucy Foster 2011)

433. fissure 440. tenacious

a long narrow depression in a surface stubbornly unyielding

The brown bark is not very rough, though its numerousfissures and cracks She was a tenacious woman, one who would even hold fast a thing which

give it a rugged appearance.Step, Edward she no longer valued, simply because it belonged to her.Morris, Clara

434. knoll 441. thrall

a small natural hill the state of being under the control of another person
 something causing misery or death
Then Kiss commenced in earnest, and quickly held his audience

in thrall.Farjeon, Benjamin Leopold Knee pain is the bane of many runners, sometimes causing them to give up

442. exigency altogether.Seattle Times (Jun 7, 2010)

a pressing or urgent situation 450. dint

force or effort
The exigency of the situation roused Mr. Popkiss' sluggish faculties into

prompt action.Magnay, William If only certain puzzles could be solved by dint of sheer hard

443. disconsolate thinking!Marsh, Richard

sad beyond comforting; incapable of being consoled 451. ignominious

deserving or bringing disgrace or shame

Was there a bereaved mother or disconsolate sister weeping over their

dead?Steward, T. G. (Theophilus Gould) The great Ottawa chief saw his partially accomplished scheme withering

444. impetus into ignominious failure.Rudd, John

a force that makes something happen 452. amicable

characterized by friendship and good will

Critics say it has known mixed success at best, although supporters hope

the U.S. drawdown could provide just theimpetus it needs to thrive. After a short colloquy the two men evidently came to

445. imposition anamicable understanding, for they shook hands.Kraszewski, Jo?zef

an uncalled-for burden Ignacy

453. onset
On that far-away day he had considered the little, lost girl a nuisance and
the beginning or early stages
an imposition.Chisholm, A. M. (Arthur Murray)

446. auspices Thousands of families are living in makeshift camps as temperatures fall to

kindly endorsement and guidance freezing with the onset of winter.New York Times (Nov 10, 2011)

454. conservatory
In March 2009, negotiations between Israel and Hamas were held in Cairo,
a schoolhouse with special facilities for fine arts
under the auspices of the Egyptian intelligence agency.New York

Times (Nov 9, 2011) The young instrumental talent that is coming out of local music schools

447. sonorous and conservatories is as amazingly good as you are going to find

full and loud and deep anywhere.

455. zenith
His voice rang out firmly now, a deep and sonorous bass.Bedford-Jones,
the point above the observer directly opposite the nadir
H.

448. exploitation In other words it never reaches the zenith, a point directly

an act that victimizes someone overhead.George H. Lowery.

456. voluble
In a scathing report released last year, Amnesty International found there
marked by a ready flow of speech
was widespread exploitation of migrants in Malaysia.

449. bane
 the group following and attending to some important person
I find him charming: shy – yet easy to talk to – voluble and funny once he

gets going. Despite his retinue of security personnel, Atambaev had been poisoned

457. yeoman during his short tenure as prime minister.

a free man who cultivates his own land 465. functionary

a worker who holds or is invested with an office

On one extreme was the well-to-do yeoman farmer farming his own

land.Reilly, S. A. He was the functionary of the assize court, impaneling its juries, bringing

458. levity accused men before it, and carrying out its penalties.Reilly, S. A.

a manner lacking seriousness 466. imbibe

take in liquids
The same balance of seriousness and levity runs through her plays, which

put an absurdist spin on everyday problems.New York Times (May 7, "We're cornered at last," he said suddenly, as the old man set the bottle

2010) down after having imbibed the best half of its contents.Douglas,

459. rapt Hudson

feeling great delight 467. diversified

having variety of character or form or components

She was watching the development of the investigation withrapt, eager

attention.Mitford, Bertram Funds in both categories tend to be highly diversified, typically with 100 or

460. sultry more stocks across at least 10 industries.Wall Street Journal (Feb 24,

characterized by oppressive heat and humidity 2012)

468. maraud
New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics arrive just as
raid and rove in search of booty
school sports ramp up in sultry August temperatures.Washington

Post (Aug 9, 2011) Its reporter says armed gangs and looters are maraudingthe streets.

461. pinion 469. grudging

bind the arms of petty or reluctant in giving or spending

The prisoners having dismounted, were placed in a line on the ground Expect delays, scattered outages and surly, grudgingcustomer service in

facing the guillotine, their arms pinioned.Various the interim.

462. axiom 470. partiality

a proposition that is not susceptible of proof or disproof a predisposition to like something

The fundamental axiom of scientific thought is that there is not, never has She still showed a partiality for bright colors, by her gown of deep

been, and never will be, any disorder in nature.Huxley, Thomas H. crimson.Sage, William

463. descry 471. philology

catch sight of the humanistic study of language and literature

Looking off seaward, I could descry no sails.Drake, Samuel Adams

464. retinue
I had determined to study philology, chiefly Greek and Latin, but the fare Wielding a razor, Jefferson excised all passages containing

spread out by the professors was much too tempting.Müller, F. Max supernaturalistic elements from the gospels, extracting what he took

(Friedrich Max) to be Jesus's pure ethical teachings.

472. wry 479. betoken

humorously sarcastic or mocking be a signal for or a symptom of

She also has a very understated but very wry sense of humour; watch out The haggard face and sombre eyes betokenedconsiderable mental

for it. anguish.Young, F.E. Mills

473. caucus 480. palatable

meet to select a candidate or promote a policy acceptable to the taste or mind

Representative Ron Paul of Texas isn’t campaigning in Florida, instead If nicely cooked in this way, cabbage is as palatable and as digestible as

focusing on Maine, which will caucus in late February. cauliflower.Ronald, Mary

474. permeate 481. upbraid

spread or diffuse through express criticism towards

Florida’s summertime heat permeates almost every scene, becoming When Kahn warned of a serious economic "depression", he

something like a character.New York Times (Mar 13, 2012) was upbraided by the White House for using such language.

475. propitious 482. renegade

presenting favorable circumstances someone who rebels and becomes an outlaw

With the Athens stock market down nearly 30 percent so far this year, it If he went off to another people he lost all standing among the Sioux and

would not seem a propitious time for initial public offerings.New York was thereafter treated as an outlaw and arenegade.Robinson, Doane

Times (Jun 2, 2010) 483. hoary

476. salient ancient

conspicuous, prominent, or important

The device of the trapped young person saved by books is ahoary one, but

Bullying has become an increasingly salient problem for school-age Ms. Winterson makes it seem new, and sulfurous.New York Times (Mar

children, and in rare cases has ended tragically with victims 8, 2012)

committing suicide. 484. pedantic

477. propitiate marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning

make peace with

The reader is treated to pedantic little footnotes, and given a good deal of

King Edward, having subdued the Welsh, “endeavoured topropitiate his information which is either gratuitous or uninteresting.Hay, Ian

newly acquired subjects by becoming a resident in the conquered 485. coy

country.Frith, William Powell showing marked and often playful evasiveness or reluctance

478. excise

remove by cutting
 uncertain how to act or proceed
It was funny watching such a solid person, based in faith and education,

grow a trifle coy about the year of his birth.New York Times (Jul 11, I stood for a moment before I entered on my arduous

2010) undertaking, irresolute and hesitating, swayed by two conflicting

486. troth impulses.Waugh, Joseph Laing

a solemn pledge of fidelity 493. knack

a special way of doing something

She had pledged to him her troth, and she would not attempt to go back

from her pledge at the first appearance of a difficulty.Trollope, He had a special knack of hunting out farm houses, engaging madame in

Anthony conversation, and coming away with bread, eggs, or cheese in his

487. encroachment knapsack.Price, Lucien

entry to another's property without right or permission 494. unseemly

not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper

The move may mark yet another attempt by France to rein in what it sees

as the encroachment of online services on the country's The square mile's upbeat mood may strike some asunseemly at a time of

culture.BusinessWeek (Jan 8, 2010) national gloom.

488. belie 495. accentuate

be in contradiction with stress or single out as important

"It is a fine morning," he said, taken aback by my sudden movement, but This sparkling marvel lies modestly nestled among the law courts, whose

affecting an indifference which the sparkle in his eye belied.Weyman, plainer modern buildings serve but toaccentuate its wonderful

Stanley John beauty.Sherrill, Charles Hitchcock

489. armada 496. divulge

a large fleet make known to the public information previously kept secret

An armada of three hundred ships manned by eighteen thousand marines She hectors her children not to divulge personal information like phone

assembled in the bay on their way to the conquest of Algiers.Douglas, numbers online.Seattle Times (Nov 15, 2011)

Frances 497. brawn

490. succor possessing muscular strength

assistance in time of difficulty

He believes Hollywood has often have had an over-reliance on

Given his health woes, succession worries and persistent isolation, Mr. Kim physical brawn as the deciding factor for portraying a strong man.

may simply be seeking succor from what may be his last friend on 498. burnish

earth.New York Times (May 5, 2010) polish and make shiny

491. imperturbable
Great cleanliness is enforced in all that belongs to a lighthouse, the
marked by extreme calm and composure
reflectors and lenses being constantlyburnished, polished, and

Ordinarily imperturbable, even in the face of unexpected situations, he cleansed.Whymper, Frederick

was now visibly agitated.Griggs, Sutton E. (Sutton Elbert) 499. palpitate

492. irresolute beat rapidly

After supper my heart started racing, palpitating like a tick.Isaacson, Why sully the reputation of an otherwise fascinating online community with

Lauren Ann really deeply questionable, troubling content?Forbes (Feb 13, 2012)

500. promiscuous 507. malevolent

not selective of a single class or person having or exerting a malignant influence

A promiscuous assembly had gathered there—men of all creeds and So you don’t believe in evil, as an actual malevolent force?New York

opinions—and an "open-air" meeting was in progress.Whitney, Orson Times (Oct 28, 2011)

F. 508. irksome

501. dissemble tedious or irritating

make believe with the intent to deceive

It was pretty irksome passing the time in his enforced prison, and finally

Pictures have always dissembled – there are millions of snaps of miserable Andy went to sleep.Webster, Frank V.

families grinning bravely – but now they directly lie. 509. prattle

502. flotilla speak about unimportant matters rapidly and incessantly

a fleet of small craft

She prattled on about the gossip of the town until Penny and her father

She was guarded by a flotilla of boats equipped with satellites, Global were thoroughly bored.Clark, Joan

Positioning System devices, advanced navigation systems and shark 510. subaltern

shields.New York Times (Aug 11, 2011) inferior in rank or status

503. invective
The careful commanding officer of a regiment discourages his
abusive language used to express blame or censure
young subalterns from taking leave to Hill Stations.Casserly, Gordon

There's much more name-calling, shouting and personalinvective in 511. welt

American life than anywhere I've ever traveled outside the United a raised mark on the skin

States.Washington Post (Jan 15, 2011)

But red, itchy welts typically appear within 24 to 48 hours of being bitten.
504. hermitage
512. wreak
the abode of a recluse
cause to happen or to occur as a consequence

All the rest of their time is passed in solitude in theirhermitages, which are
The burden of paying for college is wreaking havoc on the finances of an
built quite separate from one another.Various
unexpected demographic: senior citizens.Washington Post (Apr 1,
505. despoil
2012)
destroy and strip of its possession
513. tenable

Wherever his lordship's army went, plantations weredespoiled, and private based on sound reasoning or evidence

houses plundered.Campbell, Charles

First, it is no longer really tenable – and in fact a bit disrespectful – to call
506. sully
a country like China an emerging economy.
make dirty or spotty
514. inimitable

matchless
Leave aside Spain, where Barcelona breeds its own,inimitable style, and Offering a religious rationale for policy goals threatens what for many has

the answer might be that we are rushing toward uniformity.New York become the cherished principle of secularrationalism in public life.

Times (Sep 26, 2010) 522. endue

515. depredation give qualities or abilities to

a destructive action
To say the least of it, he was endued with sufficient intelligence to acquire

Wild elephants abound and commit many depredations, entering villages an ordinary knowledge of such matters.Various

in large herds, and consuming everything suitable to their 523. discriminating

tastes.Various showing or indicating careful judgment and discernment

516. amalgamate
Jobs’ Apple specializes in delighting the mostdiscriminating, hard-to-
bring or combine together or with something else
please customers.Forbes (Oct 12, 2011)

Where two weak tribes amalgamated into one, there it exceptionally 524. brooch

happened that two closely related dialects were simultaneously spoken a decorative pin

in the same tribe.Engels, Friedrich

Upon her breast she wore a brooch of gold set with many precious
517. immutable
stones.Butler, Pierce
not subject or susceptible to change or variation
525. pert

We are mistaken to imagine a work of literature is or should characterized by a lightly exuberant quality

be immutable, sculpted in marble and similarly impervious to change.

Her pert, lively manner said she hadn't taken any wooden nickels
518. proxy
lately.Schoenherr, John
a person authorized to act for another
526. disembark

Ideally, everybody over 18 should execute a living will and select a health exit from a ship, vehicle, or aircraft

care proxy — someone to represent you in medical matters.New York

The immigrants disembarked from their ships tired and underfed—
Times (Jan 17, 2011)
generally in poor health.Hughes, Thomas Proctor
519. dote
527. aria
shower with love; show excessive affection for
an elaborate song for solo voice

He doted on him, just dearly loved him, and thought he could do no

Ms. Netrebko sang an elegantly sad aria with lustrous warmth, aching
wrong,” Kredell said.Washington Post (Oct 17, 2011)
vulnerability and floating high notes.New York Times (Sep 27, 2011)
520. reactionary
528. trappings
extremely conservative
ornaments; embellishments to or characteristic signs of

Old people are often accused of being too conservative, and

They were caparisoned in Indian fashion with gay colors and
even reactionary.Chinard, Gilbert
fancy trappings.Roy, Lillian Elizabeth
521. rationalism
529. abet
the doctrine that reason is the basis for regulating conduct
assist or encourage, usually in some wrongdoing
 537. nicety
"Since YouTube, digital culture has aided and enhanced -- or maybe the
conformity with some aesthetic standard of correctness
better word is abetted -- the celebrity meltdown," said Wired

magazine senior editor Nancy Miller. They accepted the invitation; but Mrs. Rowlandson did not appreciate

530. clandestine the niceties of Indian etiquette.Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens

conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods Cabot)

538. aggrieve
For Jordan, this is a clandestine relationship it would much prefer to have
infringe on the rights of
kept secret.BBC (Jan 5, 2010)

531. distend Some fallout appears evident in donations from Wall Street executives, who

swell from or as if from internal pressure feel particularly aggrieved by Mr. Obama’s criticisms and policies.New

York Times (Feb 20, 2012)

Some kids said LaNiyah's distended abdomen looked like she was carrying
539. vestment
a baby.Seattle Times (Apr 7, 2011)
a gown worn by the clergy
532. glib

having only superficial plausibility And then a priest, arrayed in all his vestments, came in at the open door,

and the prince and princess exchanged rings, and were

The other sort of engineer understands that glibcomparisons between
married.Glinski, A. J.
computers and humans don't do justice to the complexities of either.
540. urbane
533. pucker
showing a high degree of refinement
gather something into small wrinkles or folds

Polished, urbane and gentlemanly—his manners were calculated to refine

Godmother,' she went on, puckering her forehead again in perplexity, 'it
all around him.Judson, L. Carroll
almost feels like feathers.Molesworth, Mrs. (Mary Louisa)
541. defray
534. rejoinder
bear the expenses of
a quick reply to a question or remark

The legislation also calls for $1.6 billion in spending cuts to help defray the
"Not at all!" was Aunt Susannah's brisk rejoinder.Various
disaster costs.Washington Post (Sep 26, 2011)
535. spangle
542. spectral
adornment consisting of a small piece of shiny material
resembling or characteristic of a phantom

Magdalen's garments are rich with spangles; her mantle is scarlet; she has
Hawthorne’s figures are somewhat spectral; they lack flesh and
flowers in her luxuriant tresses, and looks a vain creature.O'Shea, John
blood.Merwin, Henry Childs
Augustus
543. munificent
536. blighted
very generous
affected by something that prevents growth or prosperity

They have shown themselves very loving and generous lately, in making a
Hudec, whose career has been blighted by knee injuries and operations,
quite munificent provision for his traveling.Carlyle, Thomas
won for the first time in more than four years.New York Times (Feb 4,
544. dictum
2012)
an authoritative declaration
 the act of appealing for help
In other words, they seemed fully subscribed to Andy Warhol’s dictum that

business art is the best art.New York Times (Dec 10, 2011) These dances are prayers or invocations for rain, the crowning blessing in

545. fad this dry land.Roosevelt, Theodore

an interest followed with exaggerated zeal 553. cajole

influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering

According to Chinese media, the hottest new fad in China involves selling

small live-animal key chains.Time (Apr 5, 2011) Hamilton, however, was not to be cajoled into friendliness by superficial

546. scabbard compliment.Fisher, Harrison

a sheath for a sword or dagger or bayonet 554. inclusive

encompassing much or everything

Drawing his own sabre from its scabbard, he pointed to a stain on it,

saying, "This is the blood of an Englishman."Reed, Helen Leah We are going to adhere to our basic programing strategy of nonpartisan

547. adulterate information inclusive of all different points of view.

make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance 555. interdict

command against
Shady dealers along the supply chain frequently adulterateolive oil with

low-grade vegetable oils and add artificial coloring.New York Failing to satisfy his examiners, he was interdicted from practice, but

Times (Dec 7, 2011) ignored the prohibition, and suffered more than one imprisonment in

548. beleaguer consequence.Worley, George

annoy persistently 556. abase

cause to feel shame

Rock concert ticket sales dropped sharply last year, sounding another sour

note for the beleaguered music industry. Ashamed, abased, degraded in his own eyes, he turned away his

549. gripe head.Caine, Hall, Sir

complain 557. obviate

do away with
If America is going to gripe about the yuan’s rate, then China will complain

about the dollar’s role. Comfortable sleeping-cars obviate the necessity of stopping by the way for

550. remission bodily rest, provided the traveller be physically strong and in good

an abatement in intensity or degree health.Ballou, Maturin Murray

558. hurtle
After a few hours there is a remission of the pain, slight perspiration takes
move with or as if with a rushing sound
place, and the patient may fall asleep.Various

551. exorbitant The hurricane was expected to hit Washington in the early hours of Sunday

greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation before hurtling toward New York City.

559. unanimity
Soon, stories began trickling across the Atlantic of crazed fans
everyone being of one mind
paying exorbitant sums to get into London gigs.Slate (Oct 10, 2011)

552. invocation
On all other points of colonial policy, Mackenzie declared, people would be After a first instinctive cry of horrified revulsion, the men reached down

found to differ, but as regards the post office there was under water with their hands and drew out—a corpse.Livingston,

absolute unanimity.Smith, William, Sir Arthur

560. mettle 567. hale

the courage to carry on exhibiting or restored to vigorous good health

The deployment will also test the emotional mettle of soldiers and their From a hearty, hale, corn-fed boy, he has become pale, lean, and

families.New York Times (Jun 26, 2010) wan.Adams, Abigail

561. interpolate 568. palliate

insert words into texts, often falsifying it thereby lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of

Most scholars agree that these lines are interpolated, since they do not fit Divisions and inequalities persist, but government canpalliate their effects

in with the rest of the poem.Various with hard cash.

562. surreptitious 569. obtuse

marked by quiet and caution and secrecy lacking in insight or discernment

He noticed that the peddler was eying the bag Scotty had picked up, and The affair had been mentioned so plainly that it was impossible for the most

was trying to be surreptitious about it.Goodwin, Harold L. (Harold dense and obtuse person not to have understood the allusion.Brazil,

Leland) Angela

563. dissimulate 570. querulous

hide feelings from other people habitually complaining

From infancy these people have been schooled todissimulate and hide He was, at times, as querulous as a complaining old man.Williams, Ben

emotion, and ordinarily their faces are as opaque as those of veteran Ames

poker players.Kephart, Horace 571. vagary

564. ruse an unexpected and inexplicable change in something

a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture

Today such acquisitions are more likely to stay put, destined to survive both

Overseas criminals use elaborate ruses, including phony websites, to trick market fluctuations and the vagaries of style.New York Times (Sep

job-seekers into helping transfer stolen funds.BusinessWeek (Aug 4, 29, 2010)

2011) 572. incipient

565. specious only partly in existence; imperfectly formed

plausible but false

Above all, medical teams will need to establish quick surveillance to identify

You might be tempted to think of the biggest airline as the one with the health needs and pinpoint incipientoutbreaks before they

most aircraft, but capacity differences make this reasoning specious. explode.Time (Jan 13, 2010)

566. revulsion 573. obdurate

intense aversion stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing

Several appeared deeply affected, with tears of repentance standing in their We had spent countless hours together drinking wine

eyes, others sullen and obdurate.Huth, Alexander andcommiserating about child-rearing, long Wisconsin winters and

574. grovel interrupted sleep.New York Times (Mar 24, 2011)

show submission or fear 581. alcove

a small recess opening off a larger room

The two young men who drove them had fallen flat and

were grovelling and wailing for mercy.Mitford, Bertram They showed him where he would sleep, in a little closet-

575. refractory likealcove screened from the big room by a gay curtain.Wilson, Harry

stubbornly resistant to authority or control Leon

582. assay
Beyond them the gardener struggled with a refractoryhorse that refused
make an effort or attempt
to draw his load of brush and dead leaves.Bacon, Josephine Dodge

Daskam He decided to assay one last project before giving up.New York Times (Mar

576. dregs 30, 2012)

sediment that has settled at the bottom of a liquid 583. parochial

narrowly restricted in outlook or scope

"Right got to go," Ali says, draining the dregs of his beer.

577. ascendancy But Republicans in Pennsylvania also have narrower and

the state when one person or group has power over another more parochial things to worry about.New York Times (Sep 17, 2011)

584. conjugal
But in a few days he had secured an almost incredibleascendancy over the
relating to the relationship between a wife and husband
sullen, starved, half-clothed army.Various

578. supercilious They even had conjugal visits for prisoners — five hours in a private room

having or showing arrogant superiority to every three months with your wife.New York Times (Nov 23, 2010)

585. abjure
A supercilious, patronizing person—son of a wretched country parson—
formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief
used to loll against the wall of your salon—with his nose in the

air.Pinero, Arthur Wing, Sir The caste abstain from liquor, and some of them haveabjured all flesh

579. pundit food while others partake of it.Russell, R. V. (Robert Vane)

someone who has been admitted to membership in a field 586. frieze

an ornament consisting of a horizontal sculptured band

Pundits of agricultural science explore the sheds, I believe, the barns,

stables, machine-rooms, and so forth, before inspecting the All the doorways mentioned above have cornices, and in those at Palmyra

crops.Boyle, Frederick and Baalbec richly carved friezes with side corbels.Various

580. commiserate 587. ornate

feel or express sympathy or compassion marked by complexity and richness of detail

Unlike his literary icon, Herman Melville, he doesn’t adorn his writing The house was still under construction, so he climbed up a ladder being

with ornate flourishes or complicated scaffolding.Scientific used as a makeshift stairway, fell and injured his leg.New York

American (Dec 20, 2011) Times (Apr 12, 2012)

588. inflammatory 595. husbandry

arousing to action or rebellion the practice of cultivating the land or raising stock

We don't know whether inflammatory language or images can incite the The U.S. can take a lesson from Denmark, which has efficiently raised

mentally ill to commit acts of violence.Time (Jan 13, 2011) livestock without hurting farmers, by using better

589. machination animal husbandry practices.Scientific American (Mar 22, 2011)

a crafty and involved plot to achieve your ends 596. podium

a platform raised above the surrounding level

He was continued a member of Congress until 1777 when his enemies

succeeded in their long nursed machinationsagainst him.Judson, L. Leyva beamed as he stood atop the podium, nodding as the American flag

Carroll was raised and “The Star-Spangled Banner” played in his honor.New

590. mendicant York Times (Oct 22, 2011)

a pauper who lives by begging 597. dearth

an insufficient quantity or number

In others are the broken-down mendicants who live on soup-kitchens and

begging. Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing) A continuing dearth of snow in many U.S. spots usually buried by this time

591. meander of year has turned life upside down.Washington Post (Jan 5, 2012)

move or cause to move in a sinuous or circular course 598. granary

a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed

They paused beside one of the low stone walls thatmeandered in a

meaningless fashion this way and that over the uplands.Vance, Louis Here is where he does his husking, and the "clear corn" produced is stored

Joseph away in some underground granary till It is needed.Seton, Ernest

592. bullion Thompson

gold or silver in bars or ingots 599. whet

make keen or more acute

In times of economic turmoil, more people tend to invest

inbullion gold.Washington Post (Mar 30, 2012) While he described the fishing as “pretty good,” the silver salmon running in

593. diffidence the creek only whetted his appetite to return to Alaska.Washington

lack of self-assurance Post (Aug 17, 2011)

600. imposture
His grave diffidence and continued hesitation in offering an opinion
pretending to be another person
confirmed me in my own.Froude, James Anthony

594. makeshift He got somebody to prosecute him for false pretences andimposture, on

done or made using whatever is available the ground that Madame was a man. Leland, Charles Godfrey

601. diadem

an ornamental jeweled headdress signifying sovereignty

I dethrone monarchs and the people rejoicing crown me instead, He was feeling more like himself now, though the memory of the bully’s

showering diadems upon my head.Tilney, Frederick Colin sneering words rankled.Chadwick, Lester

602. fallow 609. ramify

undeveloped but potentially useful have or develop complicating consequences

Several new prostate cancer drugs have been approved in the last couple of Cometary science has ramified in unexpected ways during the last

years, after a long fallow period, and others are in advanced hundred years.Various

development.New York Times (Nov 3, 2011) 610. gainsay

603. hubbub take exception to

loud confused noise from many sources

That Whitman entertained a genuine affection for men and women is, of

There was some good-humoured pushing and thrusting, the drum beating course, too obvious to be gainsaid. Rickett, Arthur

and the church bells jangling bravely above the hubbub.Weyman, 611. polity

Stanley J. a governmentally organized unit

604. dispassionate
China needs a polity that can address its increasingly sophisticated society,
unaffected by strong emotion or prejudice
and to achieve that there must be political reform, Mr. Sun said.New

The commission sitting by, judicial, dispassionate, presided with cold York Times (Mar 21, 2012)

dignity over the sacrifice, and pronounced it good.Candee, Helen 612. credence

Churchill Hungerford, Mrs. the mental attitude that something is believable

605. harrowing
"Well-known brand names that promote new products receive
causing extreme distress
more credence than newcomers that people don't know about."

Belgium found itself in turmoil as hundreds of people came forward to 613. indemnify

offer harrowing accounts of abuse over several decades.New York make amends for; pay compensation for

Times (Jan 16, 2012)

She put her affairs in order and left instructions that those whom she had
606. askance
unwittingly wronged should be indemnifiedout of her private
with suspicion or disapproval
fortune.Butler, Pierce

A secret marriage in these days would be looked uponaskance by most 614. ingratiate

people.Wood, Mrs. Henry gain favor with somebody by deliberate efforts

607. lancet
He became kindly and coaxing, leaning across the table with
a surgical knife with a pointed double-edged blade
an ingratiating smile.King, Basil

His left arm was held by the second physician, while the chief surgeon bent 615. declivity

over it, lancet in hand.Hay, Marie, Hon. (Agnes Blanche Marie) a downward slope or bend

608. rankle

make resentful or angry

 623. grisly
In this frightful condition, the hunter grappled with the raging beast, and,
shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
struggling for life, they rolled together down a

steep declivity.Goodrich, Samuel G. (Samuel Griswold) Television video showed a heavily damaged building and agrisly scene

616. importunate inside, with clothing and prayer mats scattered across a blood-

making persistent or urgent requests splattered floor.New York Times (Aug 19, 2011)

624. untoward
The young man was then passionately importunate in the protestations of
not in keeping with accepted standards of what is proper
his love.Barr, Amelia Edith Huddleston

617. passe Responding to criticism that cash payments are a classic means of tax

out of fashion evasion, he said he had done nothinguntoward.New York Times (Aug

2, 2011)
My friend is very keen on the new crowd; everything else he declares is
625. idiosyncrasy
" passe."Holliday, Robert Cortes
a behavioral attribute peculiar to an individual
618. whittle

cut small bits or pare shavings from One of his well-known idiosyncrasies was that he would never allow

himself to be photographed.Le Queux, William

Tad followed, whittling on a stick with his knife and kicking at the
626. quip
shavings as they fell.Kjelgaard, James Arthur
make jokes or witty remarks
619. repine

express discontent "I could have joined the FBI in a shorter period of time and with less

documentation than it took to get that mortgage," she quipped.

Those poor fellows above, accustomed to the wild freshness and freedom of
627. blatant
the sea, how they must mourn and repine!O'Shea, John Augustus
without any attempt at concealment; completely obvious
620. flay

strip the skin off There was no blatant display of wealth, and every article of furniture bore

signs of long though careful use.Bull, Charles Livingston

Once at the moose and hastily flaying the hide from the steaming meat my
628. stanch
attention became centered on the task.Sinclair, Bertrand W.
stop the flow of a liquid
621. larder

a small storeroom for storing foods or wines She did not attempt to stanch her tears, but sat looking at him with a

smiling mouth, while the heavy drops fell down her cheeks.Stockley,
Mr. Goncalves’s larder holds staples like beefsteak, salt cod, sardines,
Cynthia
olives, artichokes, hot and sweet peppers and plenty of garlic.New
629. incongruity
York Times (Feb 18, 2011)
the quality of disagreeing
622. threadbare

thin and tattered with age Hanging out wet clothes and an American flag at the North Pole seemed an

amusing incongruity.Cook, Frederick A.

They were all poor folk, wrapped in threadbare cloaks or tattered
630. perfidious
leather.Brackett, Leigh Douglass
tending to betray
The perfidious Italian at length confessed that it was his intention to Each of the seven instrumentalists was a virtuoso in his own right and had

murder his master, and then rob the house.Billinghurst, Percy J. ample opportunity to prove it, often in long, soulful solos.New York

631. platitude Times (May 3, 2010)

a trite or obvious remark 638. glower

look angry or sullen as if to signal disapproval

But details are fuzzy and rebel leaders often resort toplatitudes when

dismissing suggestions of discord, saying simply that "Libya is one A moment later he would collapse, sit glowering in his chair, looking

tribe."Wall Street Journal (Jun 20, 2011) angrily at the carpet.Hecht, Ben

632. revelry 639. mundane

unrestrained merrymaking found in the ordinary course of events

But all this revelry — dancing, drinks, exuberant youth — can be hard to Now, it would seem, that the Chinese are getting back to their everyday

manage.New York Times (Jun 3, 2010) concerns, paying attention to events moremundane and less

633. delve cataclysmic.New York Times (Mar 20, 2012)

turn up, loosen, or remove earth 640. fatuous

devoid of intelligence
So she did what any reporter would do: she delved into the scientific

literature and talked to investigators.New York Times (Dec 27, 2010) They're too stupid, for one thing; they go on burning houses and breaking

634. extenuate windows in their old fatuous way.McKenna, Stephen

lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of 641. incorrigible

impervious to correction by punishment

Prosecutors often spend time weighing mitigating

andextenuating circumstances before deciding to seek the death She scolded and lectured her sister in vain; Cynthia

penalty.Washington Post (Oct 15, 2011) wasincorrigible.Various

635. polemic 642. postulate

a verbal or written attack, especially of a belief or dogma maintain or assert

Would it be a polemic that denounced Western imperialism for using In fact, when Einstein formulated his cosmological vision, based on his

cinema to undermine emerging nations like Kazakhstan?New York theory of gravitation, he postulated that the universe was

Times (Oct 4, 2010) finite.Scientific American (Jul 26, 2011)

636. enrapture 643. gist

hold spellbound the central meaning or theme of a speech or literary work

I was delighted, enraptured, beside myself--the world had disappeared in The syntax was a little off, even comical at times, but I got the gist of what

an instant.Spielhagen, Friedrich was going on.Time (May 6, 2010)

637. virtuoso 644. vociferous

someone who is dazzlingly skilled in any field conspicuously and offensively loud
The complaints grew so loud and vociferous that even President Obama He, Jean Boulot, being so amenable to sensible argument, would at once

was forced to address the backlash from Lisbon on Saturday.New York fall in with his views.Wingfield, Lewis

Times (Nov 23, 2010) 652. willful

645. purvey habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition

supply with provisions

I crossed my arms like a willful child.New York Times (Aug 18, 2011)

And we will agree also to purvey food for these horses and people during 653. overbearing

nine months.Villehardouin, Geoffroi de having or showing arrogant superiority to

646. baleful
"True; but——" "Just so," interrupted Mr. Fauntleroy, in his decisive and
deadly or sinister
rather overbearing manner.Wood, Mrs. Henry

“But he is dead,” put in Fanning, wondering at the balefulexpression of 654. dais

hatred that had come into the man’s face.Burnham, Margaret a platform raised above the surrounding level

647. gibe
The throne was elevated on a dais of silver steps.Tracy, Louis
laugh at with contempt and derision
655. automate

So much did their taunts prey upon him that he ran away from school to operate or make run by machines rather than human action

escape their gibes.Hubbard, Elbert

And because leap seconds are needed irregularly their insertion cannot
648. dyspeptic
be automated, which means that fallible humans must insert them by
irritable as if suffering from indigestion
hand.

One may begin with heroic renunciations and end in undignified envy 656. enervate

and dyspeptic comments outside the door one has slammed on one's weaken mentally or morally

self.Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

The reviewers have enervated men’s minds, and made them indolent; few
649. prude
think for themselves.Rossetti, William Michael
a person excessively concerned about propriety and decorum
657. wheedle

Criticising high-profile programmes about teenage sex education often influence or urge by gentle urging, caressing, or flattering

means risking being written off as a prude.

On one level, I expected incessant flattery in attempts
650. luminary
towheedle equipment or even money from American forces.New York
a celebrity who is an inspiration to others
Times (Aug 16, 2010)

Founded in 1947, the group's members have included suchluminaries as 658. gusto

Walt Disney, Spencer Tracy and another American president, Ronald vigorous and enthusiastic enjoyment

Reagan.Seattle Times (Apr 11, 2011)

The audience, surprisingly large given the inclement weather, responded
651. amenable
with gusto, applauding each song, including those within the
disposed or willing to comply
Shostakovich cycle.New York Times (Mar 2, 2010)

659. bouillon
 a clear seasoned broth
But there are people who really do not want to import what they regard as

The meat soups are called broths, bouillon, or consommé, according to Western decadence, especially public drunkenness.BBC (Jun 11,

their richness.Ronald, Mary 2011)

660. omniscient 667. homily

infinitely wise a sermon on a moral or religious topic

Robbe-Grillet responds that his work is in fact far less objective than the In his New Year's homily, the pope said "words were not enough" to bring

godlike, omniscient narrator who presides over so many traditional about peace, particularly in the Middle East.

novels. 668. avocation

661. apostate an auxiliary activity

not faithful to religion or party or cause

Unlike many retired doctors, whom he says often have no life outside their

They are atheist conservatives — Mr. Khan an apostate to his family’s profession, he always knew sailing would become

Islamic faith, Ms. Mac Donald to her left-wing education.New York his avocation.Newsweek (Nov 17, 2010)

Times (Feb 18, 2011) 669. circumvent

662. carrion avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing

the dead and rotting body of an animal; unfit for human food
Mr. Bloomberg said he would take several steps tocircumvent obstacles to

Habitually his diet is not carnivorous, but he will eat at times his proposals posed by city labor unions.New York Times (Jan 12,

either carrion or living flesh.Reid, Mayne 2012)

663. emolument 670. syllogism

compensation received by virtue of holding an office reasoning in which a conclusion is derived from two premises

As the TUC has pointed out, those incomes – except for senior executives, The conclusions arrived at by means of syllogisms are irresistible,

whose emoluments seem to know few bounds – are rising more provided the form be correct and the premises be true.Webster, W. F.

slowly than prices. (William Franklin)

664. ungainly 671. collation

lacking grace in movement or posture assembling in proper numerical or logical sequence

Thomas looked up furtively and saw that an ungainlyhuman figure with In the case of early printed books or manuscripts, which are often not

crooked legs was being led into the church.Gogol, Nikolai Vasilievich paged, special knowledge is needed for theircollation.Rooke, Noel

665. impiety 672. haggle

unrighteousness by virtue of lacking respect for a god wrangle, as over a price or terms of an agreement

That, however, is unbelief, extreme impiety, and a denial of the most high Obama said while officials can haggle over the makeup of spending cuts,

God.Bente, F. (Friedrich) the policy issues have no place in the measure.

666. decadence 673. waylay

the state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities wait in hiding to attack
Sir Samuel Clithering was not, of course, a member of it; but he lurked The thick turbid sea rolled in, casting up mire and dirt from its

about outside and waylaid us as we went in.Birmingham, George A. depths.Reynolds, Mrs. Baillie

674. savant 681. cupidity

a learned person extreme greed for material wealth

Frank had studied something of almost everything and imagined himself Well educated, but very corrupt at heart, he found in his

a savant.Roussel, John insatiable cupidity many ways of gaining money.Kraszewski, Jozef

675. cohort Ignacy

a group of people having approximately the same age 682. disaffected

discontented as toward authority

The current cohort of college students is, as many have pointed out, the

first truly digital generation.Washington Post (Dec 1, 2011) The financial crisis, largely caused by banker incompetence, has created

676. unction legions of disaffected customers.Forbes (Sep 15, 2011)

excessive but superficial compliments with affected charm 683. preternatural

surpassing the ordinary or normal

"You couldn't ask too much of me," he returned, with nounction of flattery,

but the cheerfully frank expression of an ingenuous heart.Ogden, In fact, they regarded the Spaniards as superior beings endowed

George W. (George Washington) with preternatural gifts.Gilson, Jewett Castello

677. adjure 684. eschew

command solemnly avoid and stay away from deliberately

“I adjure thee,” she said, “swear to me that you will never go near those Morrissey is among those seniors who are eschewingnursing homes in

Christians again or read their books.”Pennell, T. L. (Theodore favor of independent living.Washington Post (Mar 23, 2012)

Leighton) 685. expatiate

678. acrimony add details, as to an account or idea

a rough and bitter manner

He then expatiated on his own miseries, which he detailed at full

Relations with India have been slowly improving, although talks ended length.Manzoni, Alessandro

in acrimony last July with the two sides indulging in a public spat 686. didactic

over Kashmir. instructive, especially excessively

679. clarion
Let us have a book so full of good illustrations that didacticinstruction shall
loud and clear
not be needed.Various

“He has been the single, clarion voice for commuter rail in central Florida 687. sinuous

for 20 years,” said Mayor Ken Bradley of Winter Park.New York curved or curving in and out

Times (Jun 27, 2011)

In origami parlance, Mr. Joisel was a wet-folder, dampening his paper so
680. turbid
that he could coax it into sinuous curves.New York Times (Oct 20,
clouded as with sediment
2010)
688. rancor
Exercise is prescribed, but when she joins an aqua aerobics class,
a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will
she flails embarrassingly.New York Times (Apr 12, 2012)

The current session of Parliament has so far produced onlyrancor, as 696. bandy

opposition parties have shut down proceedings with angry, theatrical discuss lightly

protests against corruption.New York Times (Aug 14, 2011)

Hillary Clinton’s name has been bandied about, but she’s made it clear
689. puissant
she’s not interested.
powerful
697. gratis

The ship was not fighting now, but yielding—a complacent leviathan held costing nothing

captive by a most puissant and ruthless enemy.Tracy, Louis

"Would you admit them gratis?" asked Mr. Castlemaine with a smile, "or
690. homespun
would they have to pay, like ordinary residents in an hotel?"Hocking,
characteristic of country life
Joseph

His rural, homespun demeanor ordinarily might elicit snickers from India’s 698. upshot

urban elite.New York Times (Aug 18, 2011) a phenomenon that is caused by some previous phenomenon

691. embroil
The inevitable upshot of their growing social power was that brands
force into some kind of situation or course of action
wanted an expanded visual presence.

But Mr. Marbury, often embroiled in controversy during his N.B.A. days, 699. aphorism

seems to have found some measure of peace in China.New York a short pithy instructive saying

Times (Apr 1, 2012)

General Sherman's famous aphorism that "War is Hell," has become
692. pathological
classic.Fletcher, Samuel H.
caused by or evidencing a mentally disturbed condition
700. redoubtable

"Fixated individuals" — mentally ill people with apathological focus on worthy of respect or honor

someone, often a stranger — make up the first group.

Captain Miles Standish was a redoubtable soldier, small in person, but of
693. resonant
great activity and courage.Mann, Henry
characterized by a loud deep sound
701. corpulent

His eyes were piercing but sad, his voice grand andresonant, suiting well excessively fat

the wrathful, impassioned Calvinism of his sermons.Barr, Amelia Edith

Obesity is very common, but chiefly among the women, who while still quite
Huddleston
young often become enormously corpulent.D'Anvers, N.
694. libretto
702. benighted
the words of an opera or musical play
lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture

In many great operas, composers have had to whittle down an epic literary
I alone was magnificently and absurdly aware—everyone else
work into a suitable libretto.New York Times (Mar 6, 2010)
was benightedly out of it.James, Henry
695. flail
703. sententious
thrash about
 abounding in or given to pompous or aphoristic moralizing 711. maul

injure badly
He is the village wise man; very sententious; and full of profound remarks

on shallow subjects.Irving, Washington Hundreds of concert goers were mauled as they left by what The New

704. cabal York Times called “bands of roving youths.”New York Times (Aug 17,

a clique that seeks power usually through intrigue 2011)

712. adage
Supposedly, see, there's this global cabal of scientists conspiring to bring
a condensed but memorable saying embodying an important fact
about socialist one-world government.

705. paraphernalia So he focuses on the fans and embraces the adage, “Living well is the best

equipment consisting of miscellaneous articles revenge.”New York Times (Mar 25, 2011)

713. expostulation
It's outfitted with cricket bats and other antique
the act of expressing earnest opposition or protest
sportsparaphernalia.Seattle Times (Sep 27, 2011)

706. vitiate He even believed he saw visions with his own bodily eyes, and

make imperfect no expostulations of his friends could drive this belief out of his

head.Hoffmann, E. T. A. (Ernst Theodor Amadeus)

His talent in writing is vitiated by his affectation and other faults.Blair,
714. tawdry
Emma Helen
tastelessly showy
707. adulation

servile flattery; exaggerated and hypocritical praise It was a tawdry affair, all Cupids and cornucopias, like a third-rate

wedding cake.Wilde, Oscar

And celebrities get all this adulation for something that is not about
715. trite
character, it's about talent.
repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
708. quaff

to swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught The subject—a deathbed scene—might seem at first sight to be a trite and

common one.Lancey, Magdalene de

Meanwhile the officers under the tree had got served, and, cups in hand,
716. hireling
were quaffing joyously.Reid, Mayne
a person who works only for money
709. unassuming

not arrogant Why should I?—a mere police detective, who had been hired to do a service

and paid for it like any other hireling.Hanshew, Thomas W.

Parr's conduct after his most heroic actions was thoroughly modest
717. ensconce
and unassuming.Greely, Adolphus W.
fix firmly
710. libertine

a dissolute person Though she is firmly ensconced in a writing career, Ms. Freud, 48, said

that in the early days she missed acting terribly.New York Times (Oct
Still, Mr. Awlaki was neither among the most conservative Muslim students
30, 2011)
nor among the libertines who tossed aside religious restrictions on
718. egregious
drinking and sex.New York Times (May 8, 2010)
conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
“These offenses are very serious, even egregious,” the judge From the department of entomology you expect to learn something about

said.Washington Post (Sep 12, 2011) the troublesome insects, which are so universal an annoyance.Latham,

719. cogent A. W.

powerfully persuasive 726. execrable

unequivocally detestable
His thesis was too cogent, and appealed too powerfully to all classes of the

Upper Canada community, to be anything but irresistible.Morison, J. L. But minds were so overexcited at the time that the parties mutually accused

(John Lyle) each other, on all occasions, of the mostexecrable crimes.Imbert de

720. incisive Saint-Amand, Arthur Léon, baron

demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions 727. sluice

pour as if from a conduit that carries a rapid flow of water

A half-hour of informed and incisive questioning by Mr. Russert would

have demolished Mr. Trump.New York Times (May 1, 2011) At 4:15 p.m., as the rain was sluicing off roofs in sheets, the firemen

721. errant moved the trucks to higher ground.New York Times (Aug 31, 2011)

straying from the right course or from accepted standards 728. moot

of no legal significance, as having been previously decided

As the crowd voiced its displeasure, the referees made sure Wisconsin got

the ball, but pass was errant and rolled out of bounds at The statement from Hermitage said even in the Soviet period no defendant

midcourt.Seattle Times (Feb 28, 2012) had been tried after death, when charges were generally

722. sedulous considered moot.New York Times (Feb 7, 2012)

marked by care and persistent effort 729. evanescent

tending to vanish like vapor

Sedulous attention and painstaking industry always mark the true

worker.Calhoon, Major A.R. Time seems stopped but it is moving on, and every glimmer of light

723. incandescent is evanescent, flitting.

characterized by ardent emotion, intensity, or brilliance 730. vat

a large open vessel for holding or storing liquids

Kirkwood's anger cooled apace; at worst it had been a flare of passion—

incandescent.Vance, Louis Joseph The cream remains in the large vat about twenty-four hours before it is

724. derelict churned.Chamberlain, James Franklin

in deplorable condition 731. dapper

marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners

Others are clustered under a tin awning by a derelictrailway station or in

similarly run-down school buildings. Thoroughly dapper, he took off his black-and-white pinstriped suit jacket

725. entomology — with its pocket-square flair — and weaved in and out among them,

the branch of zoology that studies insects his voice ever rising.New York Times (Jan 22, 2011)

732. asperity

harshness of manner
All this proceeds from the old man, whose proper character it is to be angry This was no rough bully of the seas; Carew's bearing and dandified apparel

and bitter, and to exhibit rancor andasperity.Arndt, Johann bespoke gentility.Springer, Norman

733. flair 740. disapprobation

a natural talent pronouncing as wrong or morally culpable

In fact, while Lamarr qualified as an inventive genius for her artistic flair, Mr Ruthven shook his head and declared that he regarded the conduct of

she fell somewhat short on her scientific acumen.Slate (Nov 28, 2011) her persecutors with grave moraldisapprobation.Wheeler, E.J.

734. mote 741. cameo

a tiny piece of anything engraving or carving in low relief on a stone

He took his discharge out of his pocket, brushed every moteof dust from The trinket was a small round cameo cut out of mother-of-pearl and set in

the table, and spread the document before their eyes.Auerbach, gold; it represented St. George and the dragon.J?kai, M?r

Berthold 742. gouge

735. circumspect swindle; obtain by coercion

heedful of potential consequences

Shortages also have raised concerns about higher prices and gouging by

Obama administration officials argue that new regulations are forcing wholesale drug companies that obtain supplies of hard-to-get drugs

insurers to be more circumspect about raising rates.New York and jack up the costs.Seattle Times (Jan 20, 2012)

Times (Sep 27, 2011) 743. oratorio

736. inimical a musical composition for voices and orchestra

not friendly
Mendelssohn had no sooner completed his first oratorio, "St. Paul," than

The Hindu idea is that so long as justice and equity characterise a king’s he began to think about setting another Bible story to music.Edwards,

rule, even beasts naturally inimical are disposed to live in Frederick George

friendship.Kingscote, Mrs. Howard 744. inclement

737. apropos severe, of weather

of an appropriate or pertinent nature

Be prepared for inclement weather and possible ice and snow on park

I found myself thinking vaguely about things that were not at roads.Seattle Times (Oct 16, 2011)

all apropos to the situation.Stockley, Cynthia 745. scintilla

738. gruel a tiny or scarcely detectable amount

a thin porridge
Gardner "never expressed one scintilla of remorse for his attack upon the

He says, keep them on just two pints of Indian-meal gruel—by which he victim" despite overwhelming evidence, prosecutors wrote in a

appears to mean thin hasty pudding—a day, and no more.Alcott, sentencing memo.

William A. (William Andrus) 746. confluence

739. gentility a flowing together

elegance by virtue of fineness of manner and expression

And indeed, before the 13th century, there was an Boil down the syrup to half its original quantity, but take care that it does

extraordinary confluence of genius and innovation, particularly not boil long enough to congeal or become thick.Baru?, Sulpice

around Baghdad.New York Times (Dec 28, 2010) 754. pilfer

747. squalor make off with belongings of others

sordid dirtiness
Many young people scavenge for reusable garbage, living on proceeds

What can be expected of human beings, crowded in such miserable from pilfered construction material and other recyclables.Seattle

habitations, living in filth and squalor, and often pinched with Times (Feb 8, 2012)

hunger?Field, Henry M. (Henry Martyn) 755. malcontent

748. stricture a person who is unsatisfied or disgusted

severe criticism
Now, unfortunately, some malcontents among the hands here have

While gratefully accepting the generous praises of our friends, we must spread their ideas, and a strike has been called.Maitland, Robert

briefly reply to some strictures by our critics.Stanton, Elizabeth Cady 756. sublimate

749. emblazon direct energy or urges into useful activities

decorate with heraldic arms

They might instead have passionate friendships, orsublimate their urges

His coat of arms was emblazoned on the cover.Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred into other pursuits.New York Times (Jun 4, 2010)

Edward Woodley) 757. eugenic

750. augury causing improvement in the offspring produced

an event indicating important things to come

Eugenics was aimed at creating a better society by filtering out people

This is always an encouraging sign, and an augury of success.Alger, considered undesirable, ranging from criminals to those imprecisely

Horatio designated as “feeble-minded.”Washington Post (Aug 1, 2011)

751. abut 758. lineament

lie adjacent to another or share a boundary the characteristic parts of a person's face

It depicts a mountain landscape near Kingston, a historic The tears stood in Muriel's eyes, and her face was very pale, but serenity

town abutting the Hudson River.New York Times (Jan 8, 2010) marked every lineament.Davidson, John

752. banal 759. firebrand

repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse someone who deliberately foments trouble

Highly dramatic incidents are juxtaposed with comparativelybanal ones; But Hassan is not some teenage firebrand hurling rocks; he’s a slight,

particular attention is given to tales of doomed love affairs.New York graying scholar committed to peace.New York Times (Jun 9, 2011)

Times (Dec 4, 2011) 760. fiasco

753. congeal a complete failure or collapse

solidify, thicken, or come together

The Stuttgart protests became a national fiasco in late September, when In order to be well directed, sympathy must consider all men, and not the

protesters clashed with police wielding batons and water individual alone; only then is it anunmitigated good.Williams, C. M.

cannons.Newsweek (Dec 14, 2010) 768. concomitant

761. foolhardy an event or situation that happens at the same time

marked by defiant disregard for danger or consequences

The conclusion must be drawn that every epidemic of bubonic plague is

Many mistakes—extravagant purchases, foolhardyinvestments—are made caused by the concomitant rat plague.Scientific American (Jan 21,

in the first months after a windfall.Wall Street Journal (Feb 24, 2012) 2011)

762. retrench 769. cozen

tighten one's belt; use resources carefully cheat or trick

But there was only one way open to me at present—and that was Dicing-houses, where cheaters meet, and cozen young men out of their

to retrench my expenses.Caine, Hall, Sir money.Various

763. ulterior 770. phlegmatic

lying beyond what is openly revealed or avowed showing little emotion

Shop window displays may help prettify shopping thoroughfares, but any Humanity, when surfeited with emotion, becomes calm,

savvy retailer has the ulteriormotive of self promotion.BBC (Feb 3, almost phlegmatic.Tracy, Louis

2010) 771. dormer

764. equable a gabled extension built out from a sloping roof

not varying
Other features, such as the front French doors and two roofdormers with

His must have been that calm, equable temperament not easily ruffled, curved-top windows and operable shutters, give this home a pleasing,

which goes with the self-respecting nature.Hurll, Estelle M. (Estelle well-balanced presence.Southern Living (Apr 14, 2010)

May) 772. pontifical

765. inured denoting or governed by or relating to a bishop or bishops

made tough by habitual exposure

The high priest made no resistance, but went forth in hispontifical robes,

But he had become inured to the rush and whirr of missiles, and now paid followed by the people in white garments, to meet the mighty

no heed whatever to them.Mitford, Bertram warrior.Lord, John

766. invidious 773. disport

containing or implying a slight or showing prejudice occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion

"After an old-fashioned, all-round team performance … it might Straightway the glade in which they sat was filled with knights, ladies,

seem invidious to single out one player," admits the paper before maidens, and esquires, who danced anddisported themselves right

singling out one player. joyously.Spence, Lewis

767. unmitigated 774. apologist

not diminished or moderated in intensity or severity a person who argues to defend some policy or institution
Tories, and apologists for Great Britain, have written much about a Here, however, are congregated a vast number of curious and interesting

justification for this action, but there is no real justification.Barce, objects, while the place is redolent of vivid historical

Elmore associations.Ballou, Maturin Murray

775. abeyance 782. felicitous

temporary cessation or suspension exhibiting an agreeably appropriate manner or style

My feelings of home-sickness had returned with redoubled strength after The first book is the finest, sparkling with felicitousexpressions and rising

being long in abeyance.Boldrewood, Rolf frequently to true poetry.Dennis, John

776. enclave 783. gusty

an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct blowing in puffs or short intermittent blasts

And its suburban schools, rather than being exclusiveenclaves, include Winds could get gusty, occasionally blowing at more than 30 miles per

children whose parents can't afford a house in the hour.

neighborhood.Washington Post (Jan 11, 2011) 784. natty

777. improvident marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners

not supplying something useful for the future

He wore a checked suit, very natty, and was more than usually tall and

He was industrious but improvident; he made money and he lost fine-looking.Green, Anna Katharine

it.Hubbard, Elbert 785. pacifist

778. disquisition opposed to war

an elaborate analytical or explanatory essay or discussion

He was, furthermore, a real pacifist, believing that war is debasing morally

Cumulatively, what emerges from To Kill a Mockingbird is a and disastrous economically.Seymour, Charles

thoughtful disquisition that encompasses – and goes beyond – the 786. buxom

question of racial bias at its worst. healthily plump and vigorous

779. categorical
Mrs. Connelly—a round, rosy, buxom Irishwoman, with a mellow voice,
not modified or restricted by reservations
laughing eye, and artist-red hair—was very much taken with their

"European leaders were united, categorical and crystal clear: Gaddafi plan.Douglas, Amanda Minnie

must go," British Prime Minister David Cameron said. 787. heyday

780. placate the period of greatest prosperity or productivity

cause to be more favorably inclined

Playboy's most popular years are well behind it - the magazine enjoyed

The East India Company was placated by the concession of further its heyday in the 1970s.Washington Post (Jan 10, 2011)

exemptions in its favour.Smith, A. D. 788. herculean

781. redolent displaying superhuman strength or power

serving to bring to mind

He made herculean efforts to get on terms with his examination subjects, The prospect of seeing Ms. Palin tour Alaska’s wild habitats may rile some

and worked harder than he had ever done in his life before.Marshall, people who oppose her opinions about climate change.New York

Archibald Times (Mar 25, 2010)

789. burgeon 796. sentient

grow and flourish endowed with feeling and unstructured consciousness

Brooklyn's burgeoning dining scene has even developed a following The money fluttered from his hand to the floor, where it lay like

among Manhattan food lovers. a sentient thing, staring back as if mocking him.Hitchcock, Lucius W.

790. crone 797. garish

an ugly, evil-looking old woman tastelessly showy

The aged crone wrinkled her forehead and lifted her grizzled eyebrows, still With its opulently garish sets and knee-jerk realism, the production

without looking at him.Myrick, Frank dwarfed the cast, no matter what stars were singing.New York

791. prognosticate Times (Jan 2, 2011)

make a prediction about; tell in advance 798. readjustment

the act of correcting again

How strange it is that our dreams often prognosticatecoming

events!Huth, Alexander While earpieces are not uncomfortable, they do sometimes come loose,

792. lout requiring readjustment.Slate (Apr 17, 2012)

an awkward stupid person 799. erstwhile

belonging to some prior time

But this question was beyond the poor lout's intelligence; he could only

blubber and fend off possible chastisement.Williams, J. Scott (John Sony, whose erstwhile dominance in consumer electronics has been

Scott) eroded by the likes of Samsung, could beat rivals to a potentially new

793. simper generation of devices.

smile affectedly or derisively 800. aquiline

curved down like an eagle's beak

Mrs. Barnett's mouth simpered at the implied flattery; but her eyes,

always looking calculatingly for substantial results, were studying The nose slightly aquiline, curving at the nostril; while luxuriant hair, in

Reedy Jenkins.Hamby, William H. (William Henry) broad plaits, fell far below her waist.Various

794. iniquitous 801. bilious

characterized by injustice or wickedness irritable as if suffering from indigestion

This was some piece of wickedness concocted by the venomous brain of But his sleep had not refreshed him; he waked up bilious, irritable, ill-

the iniquitous Vicar, more abominable than all his other tempered, and looked with hatred at his room.Garnett, Constance

wickednesses.Trollope, Anthony 802. vilify

795. rile spread negative information about

disturb, especially by minor irritations

The trial was televised and the victim's identity became known, resulting in Requests may also be made of the stationer to use anembossed plate so

her being vilified by almost the entire town. that the letters stand out in relief.Eichler, Lillian

803. nuance 810. proletarian

a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude a member of the working class

By working so hard to simplify things, we lose any nuanceor ability to deal As yet, the true proletarian wage-earner, uprooted from his native village

with folks’ individual circumstances.Washington Post (Oct 3, 2011) and broken away from the organization of Indian society, is but

804. gawk insignificant.Stoddard, Lothrop

look with amazement 811. careen

pitching dangerously to one side

He speaks mainly of his humiliation at lying on the sidewalk as

hipsters gawked.New York Times (Apr 9, 2012) I turned the steering wheel all the way to one side, and found

805. refectory myself careening backward in a violent arc.Vogel, Nancy

a communal dining-hall, usually in a monastery 812. debacle

a sound defeat
Meanwhile, the soup was getting cold in the refectory, so that the

assembled brotherhood at last fell to, without waiting any longer for The Broncos are coming off their worst season in franchise history, a 4-

the Abbot.Scheffel, Joseph Victor von 12 debacle that included issues on and off the field.Newsweek (Jan 9,

806. palatial 2011)

suitable for or like a large and stately mansion 813. sycophant

a person who tries to please someone to gain an advantage

The house was very large; its rooms almost palatial in size, had been

finished in richly carved hardwood panels and wainscoting, mostly The people around the king are sycophants who are looking after their

polished mahogany.Hitchcock, Frederick L. (Frederick Lyman) own personal advantage.Coffin, Charles Carleton

807. mincing 814. crabbed

affectedly dainty or refined annoyed and irritable

She went, carrying her little head very high indeed, and taking He grew crabbed and soured, his temper flashing out on small

dainty, mincing steps.Banks, Nancy Huston provocation.Weyman, Stanley J.

808. trenchant 815. archetype

having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought something that serves as a model

They are written in a serio-comic tone, and for sparkling Newport, R.I., looks like a perfect archetype of a small, seaside New

wit,trenchant sarcasm, and dramatic dialectics surpass anything ever England town.

penned by Lessing.Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim 816. cryptic

809. emboss of an obscure nature

raise in a relief
The authorities, beyond some cryptic language about the death being Steeper prices for basic necessities have forced many to cut back on

sudden but not suspicious, have released no details.New York more discretionary purchases.Washington Post (Oct 19, 2011)

Times (Aug 24, 2011) 824. pithy

817. penchant concise and full of meaning

a strong liking
As Moore isolated finer points of the passing game, Keller in neat

But sometimes, old Wall Street habits — including apenchant for penmanship jotted down pithy phrases and punchy quotes, basic

expensive luxuries — are hard to break.New York Times (Mar 31, ideas and specific concepts.New York Times (Dec 10, 2011)

2012) 825. comport

818. bauble behave in a certain manner

cheap showy jewelry or ornament on clothing

Ironically, the one man on stage who did comport himself with dignity,

But men were buying Valentine's baubles for their honeys long before the John Huntsman, is now being dismissed as having not made an

first Zales ever opened its doors in a suburban shopping impact.

mall.Slate (Feb 14, 2012) 826. checkered

819. mountebank marked by changeable fortune

a flamboyant deceiver
Both restaurants have checkered histories with the health department;

They are singularly clever, these Indian mountebanks, especially in sleight they were temporarily shut down for sanitary violations that included

of hand tricks.Ballou, Maturin Murray evidence of rodents.New York Times (Aug 22, 2010)

820. fawning 827. ambrosia

attempting to win favor by flattery the food and drink of the gods

“As any cult leader, he was extremely good at milking the rich, at flattering "Frieda represents the lovely goddess, Hebe, who served nectar

and fawning,” Ms. Gordon said.New York Times (Apr 16, 2010) and ambrosia to the high gods on Mount Olympus," she

821. hummock explained.Vandercook, Margaret

a small natural hill 828. factious

dissenting with the majority opinion

Captain Bill leaned back on a hummock of earth, his arms folded behind

his head.Grayson, J. J. Will it be answered that we are factious, discontented spirits, striving to

822. apotheosis disturb the public order, and tear up the old fastnesses of

model of excellence or perfection of a kind society?Stanton, Elizabeth Cady

829. disgorge
Contrary to popular belief, however, she said Ms. Deen’s fat-laden cooking
cause or allow to flow or run out or over
does not in fact represent the apotheosis of Southern cuisine.New

York Times (Jan 17, 2012) There are telephone poles and cinder blocks and living room chairs and

823. discretionary large trash bins, overturned and disgorgingtheir soggy contents.New

not earmarked; available for use as needed York Times (Oct 28, 2011)

830. filch
 make off with belongings of others 838. venial

easily excused or forgiven

Then, in place of the real site, it displays a fake site created

to filch account numbers, login names and passwords.New York The confidence of ignorance, however venial in youth, is not altogether so

Times (Jul 13, 2010) excusable, in full grown men.School, A Sexton of the Old

831. wraith 839. peon

a mental representation of some haunting experience a laborer who is obliged to do menial work

Whichever way he turns there loom past wraiths, restless as ghosts of For the most part, the men were wiry peons, some toiling half naked, but

unburied Grecian slain.Lee, Carson Jay there were a number who looked like prosperous citizens.Bindloss,

832. demonstrable Harold

capable of being proved 840. effulgence

the quality of being bright and sending out rays of light

The linkage between deposits and trade is definite, causal, positive,

statistically demonstrable.Anderson, Benjamin M. Then, all at once, in a way that seemed to frighten her, the sunshine had

833. pertinacious burst the clouds, and dazzled her with itseffulgence.Fenn, George

stubbornly unyielding Manville

841. lode
His temper, though yielding and easy in appearance, was in reality most
a deposit of valuable ore
obstinate and pertinacious.Kavanagh, Julia

834. emend Such local perturbations are regularly used in Sweden for tracing out the

make corrections to position of underground lodes of iron ore.Gilbert, William

842. fanfare
The following were identified as spelling or typographic errors and have
a gaudy outward display
been emended as noted.Hopper, James

835. laggard It opened a month ago to considerable fanfare, with television cameras

someone who takes more time than necessary trailing government officials meandering proudly around the bright

new stores filled with imported goods.New York Times (Aug 22, 2010)
Corporate data centers are the slowpoke laggards of information
843. dilettante
technology.New York Times (Apr 10, 2012)
showing frivolous or superficial interest; amateurish
836. waffle

pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness They dabbled in politics and art in the same dilettantefashion.Cannan,

Gilbert
A few days of waffling back and forth and I ended up going out to a
844. pusillanimous
mediocre bistro with my parents.Scientific American (Feb 8, 2011)
lacking in courage, strength, and resolution
837. loquacious

full of trivial conversation He was described by his friends as pusillanimous to an incredible extent,

timid from excess of riches, afraid of his own shadow.Motley, John

Pan soon found it needful to make conversation, in order to keep
Lothrop
the loquacious old stage driver from talking too much.Grey, Zane
845. ingrained
 deeply rooted; firmly fixed or held 852. vapid

lacking significance or liveliness or spirit or zest

The narrow prejudices of his country were ingrained too deeply in his

character to be disturbed by any change of surroundings.Fuller, Robert How vapid was the talk of my remaining fellow-passengers; how slow of

H. understanding, and how preoccupied with petty things they

846. quagmire seemed!Dawson, A. J. (Alec John)

a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot 853. mercurial

liable to sudden unpredictable change

The heavy rain had reduced this low-lying ground to a veritable quagmire,

making progress very difficult even for one as unburdened as he Wind energy is notoriously mercurial, with patterns shifting drastically over

was.Putnam Weale, B. L. (Bertram Lenox) the course of years, days, even minutes.Scientific American (Jan 4,

847. reprobation 2012)

severe disapproval 854. perspicuous

transparently clear; easily understandable

Mr. Conway denounced this scheme as "utterly and flagrantly

unconstitutional, as radically revolutionary in character and deserving The statements are plain and simple, a perfect model

the reprobation of every loyal citizen."Blaine, James Gillespie ofperspicuous narrative.Smith, Uriah

848. mannered 855. nonplus

having unnatural behavioral attributes be a mystery or bewildering to

Nothing was mannered or pretentious; the texts came through with utter I shook my head and rushed from his presence, completelynonplussed,

naturalness.New York Times (May 29, 2011) bewildered, frantic.Cole, E. W. (Edward William)

849. squeamish 856. enamor

excessively fastidious and easily disgusted attract

But please note that this gunfire-fueled film is for mature audiences; given Young Indian audiences are so enamored with reality television that they

its content, young and/or squeamishviewers should avoid this will not watch the soap operas and dramas that their parents or

one.Washington Post (Aug 6, 2010) grandparents watch.New York Times (Jan 9, 2011)

850. proclivity 857. hackneyed

a natural inclination repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse

She received, under her father's supervision, a very careful education, and Many speakers become so addicted to certain hackneyedphrases that

developed her proclivities for literary composition at an early those used to hearing them speak can see them coming sentences

age.Adams, W. H. Davenport away.Lewis, Arthur M. (Arthur Morrow)

851. miserly 858. spate

characterized by or indicative of lack of generosity a large number or amount or extent

Now, my uncle seemed so miserly that I was struck dumb by this sudden French authorities are already reporting a rising spate of calls to

generosity, and could find no words in which to thank him.Stevenson, emergency services by homeowners whose once-frozen water mains

Robert Louis have now burst.

859. pedagogue
Whether we agree with the conclusions of these writers or not, the method
someone who educates young people
of critical investigation which they adopt isunimpeachable.Huxley,

His old pedagogue, Mr. Brownell, had been unable to teach him Thomas H.

mathematics.Pierce, H. Winthrop 867. genesis

860. acme a coming into being

the highest level or degree attainable

He found himself speculating on the genesis of the moral sense, how it

Scientifically speaking, it is the acme of absurdity to talk of a man defying developed in difficulties rather than in ease.Miller, Alice Duer

the law of gravitation when he lifts his arm.Huxley, Thomas H. 868. mordant

861. masticate harshly ironic or sinister

bite and grind with the teeth

Even Morgan himself, intrepid as he was, shrank from the awful menace of

Food should be masticated quietly, and with the lips closed.Cooke, Maud the mordant words.Crawford, Will

C. 869. smattering

862. sinecure a small number or amount

a job that involves minimal duties

Only a smattering of fans remained for all four ghastly

He would have repudiated the notion that he was looking for a sinecure, quarters.Washington Post (Sep 24, 2011)

but no doubt considered that the duties would be easy and 870. suavity

light.Trollope, Anthony the quality of being charming and gracious in manner

863. indite
His combativeness was harnessed to his suavity, and he could be forcible
produce a literary work
and at the same time persuasive.Windsor, William

She indited religious poems which were the admiration of the age.Brittain, 871. stentorian

Alfred very loud or booming

864. emetic
If a hundred voices shouted in opposition, his stentoriantones still made
a medicine that induces nausea and vomiting
themselves heard above the uproar.J?kai, M?r

The juice of this herb, taken in ale, is esteemed a gentle and very 872. junket

good emetic, bringing on vomiting without any great irritation or a trip taken by an official at public expense

pain.Smith, John Thomas

Mr. Abramoff arranged for junkets, including foreign golfing destinations,
865. temporize
for the members of Congress he was trying to influence.New York
draw out a discussion or process in order to gain time
Times (Feb 26, 2010)

So he temporized and beat about the bush, and did not touch first on that 873. appurtenance

which was nearest his heart.Erskine, Payne a supplementary component that improves capability

866. unimpeachable

beyond doubt or reproach

In the center of this space stood a large frame building whose courtyard, Life seemed an elysian dream, from which care and sorrow must be for

stables, and other appurtenancesproclaimed it an inn.Madison, Lucy ever banished.Hentz, Caroline Lee

Foster 881. fulminate

874. nostrum criticize severely

patent medicine whose efficacy is questionable

But with people looking for almost any excuse to fulminateagainst airlines

Just here a native "medicine man" dispenses nostrums of doubtful these days, there's a certain risk of embellishment.

efficacy, and in front a quantity of red Moorish pottery is exposed for 882. fractious

sale.Meakin, Budgett easily irritated or annoyed

875. immure
He was a fractious invalid, and spared his wife neither time nor trouble in
lock up or confine, in or as in a jail
attending to his wants.Brazil, Angela

Political prisoners, numbering as many as three or four hundred at a time, 883. pummel

have been immured within its massive walls.Boyd, Mary Stuart strike, usually with the fist

876. astringent
Another, with rubber bands wrapped tightly around his face,
sour or bitter in taste
is pummelled by a plastic boxing kangaroo.

There was something sharply astringent about her then, like biting 884. manumit

inadvertently into a green banana.McFee, William free from slavery or servitude

877. unfaltering
Moreover, manumitted slaves enjoyed the same rights, privileges and
marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable
immunities that were enjoyed by those born free.Various

Still unfaltering, the procession commenced to trudge back, the littlest boy 885. unexceptionable

and girl bearing themselves bravely, with lips tight pressed.Sabin, completely acceptable; not open to reproach

Edwin L. (Edwin Legrand)

All cowboys are from necessity good cooks, and the fluffy, golden brown
878. tutelage
biscuits and fragrant coffee of Red's making
attention and management implying responsibility for safety
were unexceptionable.Mayer, Frank

It will do so under German leadership that grows less hesitant with each 886. triumvirate

crisis, and without the Americantutelage it enjoyed for so many a group of three people responsible for civil authority

decades.Newsweek (Jan 23, 2011)

This triumvirate approach has real benefits in terms of shared wisdom,
879. testator
and we will continue to discuss the big decisions among the three of
a person who makes a will
us.

This will was drawn up by me some years since at the request of 887. sybarite

the testator, who was in good health, mentally and bodily.Henty, G. a person addicted to luxury and pleasures of the senses

A. (George Alfred)

880. elysian

of such excellence as to suggest inspiration by the gods

He was not used to travelling on omnibuses, being something of Japanese manufacturers were accused of arrogatingAmerican

a sybarite who spared nothing to ensure his own comfort.Wallace, technologies to churn out low-cost electronics.New York Times (May

Edgar 25, 2010)

888. jibe 895. rarefied

be compatible, similar, or consistent of high moral or intellectual value

Contemporary art has never quite jibed with mainstream media. The debate over climate science has involved very complex physical models

889. magisterial and rarefied areas of scientific knowledge.New York Times (Apr 9,

offensively self-assured or exercising unwarranted power 2011)

896. chary
“Now look here,” he said, making believe to take down my words and
characterized by great caution
shaking his pencil at me in a magisterial way.Fenn, George Manville

890. roseate There was no independent verification of the figure; the authorities have

of something having a dusty purplish pink color been chary of releasing death tolls for fear of inflaming further

violence.New York Times (Apr 24, 2011)

Behind the trees rough, lichened rock and stony slopes ran up to a bare
897. credo
ridge, silhouetted against the roseate glow of the morning
any system of principles or beliefs
sky.Bindloss, Harold

891. obloquy She preferred to hang out with everyone but was best friends with no one,

abusive, malicious, and condemnatory language holding to the credo: “You should be nice to people.”New York

Times (Jan 21, 2011)

This is the real history of a transaction which, by frequent
898. superannuated
misrepresentation, has brought undeserved obloquy upon a generous
too old to be useful
man.Purchas, H. T. (Henry Thomas)

892. hoodwink Civil servants are superannuated at fifty-five years of age and are sent

influence by slyness home on a pension, seldom enjoying life longer than two years

afterward.Hunt, Eleonora
The stories of the saints he regarded as preposterous fables invented
899. impolitic
to hoodwink a gullible and illiterate populace.
not marked by artful prudence
893. striate

mark with stripes of contrasting color Bill Maher has always been a vocal critic of Islam, even at times

making impolitic statements about the religion.

The body is striated with clearly defined, often depressed lines, which run
900. aspersion
longitudinally and sometimes spirally.Calkins, Gary N. (Gary Nathan)
a disparaging remark
894. arrogate

seize and take control without authority Lord Sanquhar then proceeded to deny the aspersion that he was an ill-

natured fellow, ever revengeful, and delighting in blood.Thornbury,

Walter

901. abysmal
 resembling an abyss in depth; so deep as to be immeasurable
In other words, the rejection was a

After all, many Americans regard this Congress as dysfunctional, bureaucratic/procedural decision.Scientific American (Feb 1, 2012)

with abysmal approval ratings.New York Times (Dec 28, 2011) 909. rakish

902. poignancy marked by a carefree unconventionality or disreputableness

a quality that arouses emotions, especially pity or sorrow

She wore her red cap in a rakish manner on the side of her head, its tassel

They were curious about the “near loss” experience—specifically the falling down over her forehead between her eyes.Sage, William

feelings of poignancy that occur when what we cherish 910. skittish

disappears.Scientific American (Jan 17, 2011) unpredictably excitable, especially of horses

903. stilted
That combined with his calm and reassuring tone made me think of an
artificially formal
animal trainer trying to woo skittish wild animals.

But thanks to the stilted writing and stiff acting, the characters still feel 911. peroration

very much like one-dimensional figures from a dutiful fable.New York a flowery and highly rhetorical address

Times (Jul 12, 2011)

He had little hope that Gallagher, once embarked on aperoration, would
904. effete
stop until he had used up all the words at his command.Birmingham,
excessively self-indulgent, affected, or decadent
George A.

John Bull was an effete old plutocrat whose sons and daughters were 912. nonentity

given up to sport and amusement.Moffett, Cleveland a person of no influence

905. provender
Was he such a nonentity in every way that she could remain unconcerned
food for domestic livestock
as to any fear of danger from him?Woolson, Constance Fenimore

"Fools!" she cried, looking in her magic crystal, "he was in the big sycamore 913. abstemious

under which you stopped to give your horses provender!"Housman, marked by temperance in indulgence

Laurence
Raw, boozy, untethered performances are heralded as real;
906. endemic
the abstemious professional is yawned off the stage.
of a disease constantly present in a particular locality
914. viscid

Mean-spirited chants and songs are also endemic in British soccer.New having the sticky properties of an adhesive

York Times (Jan 27, 2012)

Roads were quagmires where travellers slipped and laboured
907. jocund
through viscid mud and over icy fords.Buck, Charles Neville
full of or showing high-spirited merriment
915. doggerel

Her jocund laugh and merry voice, indeed, first attracted my a comic verse of irregular measure

attention.Lever, Charles James

He sang, with accompanying action, some dozen verses ofdoggerel,
908. procedural
remarkable for obscenity and imbecility. Ritchie, J. Ewing (James
of or relating to processes
Ewing)
916. sleight someone who attacks cherished ideas or institutions

adroitness in using the hands

Jobs is a classic iconoclast, one who aggressively seeks out, attacks, and

The trick was performed Tuesday by Russell Fitzgerald, an amateur overthrows conventional ideas.BusinessWeek (Oct 12, 2010)

magician known to open meetings with a littlesleight of 924. saturnine

hand.Washington Post (Sep 29, 2011) bitter or scornful

917. rubric
Only when Bill Lightfoot spoke did he look up, and then with a set sneer,
category name
growing daily more saturnine.Dixon, Maynard

Ms. Moss took issue, not surprisingly, with the notion that grouping the 925. madrigal

performances under the rubric of spirituality was a marketing an unaccompanied partsong for several voices

ploy.New York Times (Nov 22, 2010)

Nevertheless we learn from Malvezzi's publication that the pieces were all
918. plenitude
written in the madrigal style, frequently in numerous voice
a full supply
parts.Henderson, W. J. (William James)

Of course at that season, amid the plenitude of seeds, nuts, and berries, 926. discursive

they were as plump as partridges.Reid, Mayne tending to cover a wide range of subjects

919. rebus
“Tabloid,” like his previous films, consists largely of
a puzzle consisting of pictures representing words
long,discursive conversations — in effect monologues directed at an

They wrote at times with pictures standing for sounds, as we now write unseen, mostly unheard interlocutor.New York Times (Jul 22, 2011)

in rebus puzzles.Park, Robert Ezra 927. zealot

920. wizened a fervent and even militant proponent of something

lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness

"The public is going to just think of us as these zealots who want to ban

Kim Jong Il may be increasingly wizened and frail, with fingernails white smoking everywhere," he said.Seattle Times (Feb 20, 2011)

from kidney disease, but his propaganda apparatus is as vigorous as 928. moribund

ever.Wall Street Journal (Mar 26, 2010) not growing or changing; without force or vitality

921. whorl
The entertainment sector there is booming, while Pakistan's
a round shape formed by a series of concentric circles
is moribund.Seattle Times (Dec 3, 2011)

The flowers are waxy, tubular, fragrant, turning their yellow petals 929. modicum

backward in a whorl.Rogers, Julia Ellen a small or moderate or token amount

922. fracas
He volunteered a modicum of advice, limited in quantity, but
noisy quarrel
valuable.Bolderwood, Rolf

Other cops were battling each other, going after the kids and clutching 930. connotation

empty air, cursing and screaming unheard orders in the fracas.Freas, an idea that is implied or suggested

Kelly

923. iconoclast
 a person from whom you are descended
In Arabic, the word “bayt” translates literally as house, but

itsconnotations resonate beyond rooms and walls, summoning His forebears were Greek immigrants who opened a small sandwich shop

longings gathered about family and home.New York Times (Feb 18, in Brooklyn, then moved, one after another, to Providence, to sell

2012) distinct, delectable wieners.New York Times (Sep 24, 2010)

931. adventitious 938. cadaverous

associated by chance and not an integral part very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold

The derivation of the word thus appears to be merely accidental He looked gaunt and cadaverous, and much of his old reckless joyousness

and adventitious.Stace, W. T. (Walter Terence) had left him, though he brightened up wonderfully on seeing an old

932. recondite friend.Doyle, A. Conan

difficult to penetrate 939. foist

to force onto another

The mystery of verse is like other abstruse and reconditemysteries—it

strikes the ordinary fleshly man as absurd.Gosse, Edmund Mr. Knoll added that the 3-D “Star Wars” movies are not “going to

933. zephyr be foisted on anybody against their will.”New York Times (Sep 29,

a slight wind 2010)

940. dotage
The dwellings and public buildings throughout Cuba are planned to give
mental infirmity as a consequence of old age
free passage to every zephyr that wafts relief from the oppressive

heat.Various He is, as you say, a senile old man in his dotage.Wilcox, Ella Wheeler

934. countermand 941. nexus

cancel officially a connected series or group

In the midst of executing this order, he got another Numerous innovators are also worrying away at this nexusof problems.

ordercountermanding it, and proceeding directly from his direct 942. choleric

superior.Belloc, Hilaire characterized by anger

935. captious
Jonathan, choleric with indignation, stood by his desk, clenching his
tending to find and call attention to faults
hands.Mills, Weymer Jay

Miss Burton had been very irritable and captious in class, more so even 943. garble

than usual, and most of her anger was vented upon Gerry.Chaundler, make false by mutilation or addition

Christine
But the fact remains that the contradictory and inconsistent things said do
936. cognate
reach the public, and usually in garbled and distorted form.Unknown
having the same ancestral language
944. bucolic

The synonyms are also given in the cognate dialects of Welsh, Armoric, idyllically rustic

Irish, Gaelic, and Manx, showing at one view the connection between

them. Jenner, Henry

937. forebear
Forty-four years ago, Bill Sievers moved into his neo-Colonial house in The child was very sharp, and her memory was

Douglaston, Queens, on bucolic Poplar Street, lined with stately trees extremelyretentive.Rowlands, Effie Adelaide

and equally stately homes.New York Times (Mar 26, 2012) 952. unconscionable

945. denouement greatly exceeding bounds of reason or moderation

the outcome of a complex sequence of events

For generations in the New York City public schools, this has become the

Suppose the truly apocalyptic denouement happens -- no deal is reached, norm with devastating consequences rooted inunconscionable levels

and taxes rise for everyone. of student failure.New York Times (Nov 4, 2011)

946. animus 953. badinage

a feeling of ill will arousing active hostility frivolous banter

The youthful savages had each an armful of snowballs, and they were It was preposterous to talk to her of serious things, and nothing but an

pelting the child with more animus than seemed befitting.Murray, airy badinage seemed possible in her company.Maugham, W.

David Christie Somerset (William Somerset)

947. overweening 954. insensate

unrestrained, especially with regard to feelings devoid of feeling and consciousness and animation

He had overweening ambitions even then, along with a highly developed Men also are those brutal soldiers, alike stupidly ready, at the word of

sense of his own importance.New York Times (Apr 19, 2010) command, to drive the nail through quivering flesh

948. tyro or insensate wood.Stowe, Harriet Beecher

someone new to a field or activity 955. sherbet

a frozen dessert made primarily of fruit juice and sugar

As yet he was merely a tyro, gaining practical experience under a veteran

Zeppelin commander.Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis) "One person said it looks like a big lime sherbet ice cream cone!"Southern

949. preen Living (Apr 28, 2010)

dress or groom with elaborate care 956. beatific

resembling or befitting an angel or saint

He preened on fight nights in a tuxedo, a bow tie and no shirt, and he

favored showy rings and bracelets.New York Times (Jul 24, 2011) She dozed at last, her face serene and beatific.Beach, Rex Ellingwood

950. largesse 957. bemuse

liberality in bestowing gifts cause to be confused emotionally

After being saved by government largesse, they say, big banks then They were marching in the middle of the street, chanting and singing and

moved to thwart reforms aimed at preventing future meltdowns disrupting traffic while countless New Yorkers looked on,

caused by excessive risk-taking.New York Times (Jul 14, 2011) some bemused, others applauding.

951. retentive 958. microcosm

good at remembering a miniature model of something

 become productive or fruitful
The building, he said, is "a microcosm of what Shanghai was all

about."Wall Street Journal (Apr 30, 2010) Thence they grow, expand, fructify, and the result is Progress.Stanton,

959. factitious Elizabeth Cady

not produced by natural forces; artificial or fake 967. nihilist

someone who rejects all theories of morality

Indeed, the Chinese make a factitious cheese out of peas, which it is

difficult to discriminate from the article of animal origin.Cameron, “He’s a loner nihilist who believes in nothing,” Mr. Lu said.New York

Charles Alexander, Sir Times (Nov 6, 2011)

960. gestate 968. ellipsis

have the idea for omission or suppression of parts of words or sentences

Mr. Lucas’s most recent project, still gestating, is a collaboration with He speaks in ellipses, often leaving sentences hanging, and fiddles

Cuban musicians.New York Times (May 9, 2011) apologetically with his BlackBerry.

961. traduce 969. accolade

speak unfavorably about a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction

For Grover Cleveland there were no longer enemies totraduce and The Nobel Prize, considered one of the highest accolades in literature, is

vilify.Straus, Oscar S. given only to living writers.Seattle Times (Oct 6, 2011)

962. sextant 970. codicil

an instrument for measuring angular distance a supplement to a will

For example, a sextant could be used to sight the sun at high noon in The codicil to her will, which she had spoken of with so much composure,

order to determine one’s latitude.Scientific American (Mar 8, 2012) left three hundred pounds to Stella and me.Fothergill, Jessie

963. coiffure 971. roil

the arrangement of the hair be agitated

They sat down, and Saint-Clair noticed his friend's coiffure; a single rose Like thousands of fellow students, he was roiled with emotions, struggling

was in her hair.M?rim?e, Prosper to come to grips with an inescapable reality.New York Times (Nov 26,

964. malleable 2011)

easily influenced 972. grandiloquent

lofty in style
“The Americans are seen as naïve malleable tools in the hands of the

Brits.”New York Times (Nov 30, 2011) A large part of his duties will be to strut about on the stage, and mouth

965. rococo more or less unintelligible sentences in agrandiloquent tone.Smith,

having excessive asymmetrical ornamentation Arthur H.

973. inconsequential
The upper part of the case is decorated with elaborately carved and
lacking worth or importance
gilt rococo motifs.Bedini, Silvio A.

966. fructify
But as the months went by, Mr. Kimura had an unexpected epiphany: His For proof, we cite the following veracious narrative, which bears within it

business, which he thought wasinconsequential, mattered to a lot of every internal mark of truth, and matter for grave and serious

people. reflection.Roby, John

974. effervescence 981. pendulous

the property of giving off bubbles hanging loosely or bending downward

Both were in the very sparkle and effervescence of that fanciful glee And all around, far out of reach, the trees of the forest were swaying

which bubbles up from the golden, untried fountains of early restlessly, their long, pendulous branches, like tentacles, lashing out

childhood.Stowe, Harriet Beecher hungrily.Bates, Harry

975. stultify 982. exegesis

deprive of strength or efficiency; make useless or worthless an explanation or critical interpretation

Far from being engines of economic growth, Egypt's leading cities Its musical significance has been presented with illuminatingexegesis by

are stultified. more than one commentator.Forkel, Johann Nikolaus

976. tureen 983. effluvium

large deep serving dish with a cover a foul-smelling outflow or vapor

Soups are presented in big tureens and can be quite good.New York However, acting on my best judgment, I struck a downward course, and

Times (Apr 13, 2012) then suddenly a horrible effluvium was wafted to my nostrils.Mitford,

977. pellucid Bertram

transparently clear; easily understandable 984. apposite

being of striking appropriateness and pertinence

Caribou Island is a scant 300 pages, and written in prose aspellucid as the

rivers he used to fish as a boy. He was quite capable of meaningful, apposite phrases about the game,

978. euphony even though distant sports editors did not encourage them enough.

any pleasing and harmonious sounds 985. viscous

having the sticky properties of an adhesive

It depends somewhat on usage and on euphony or agreeableness of

sound.Hamilton, Frederick W. (Frederick William) Sluggish, blind crawling things like three-foot slugs flowed across their path

979. apocryphal and among the tree trunks, leavingviscous trails of slime behind

being of questionable authenticity them.Various

986. misanthrope
We're reminded of the story, possibly apocryphal, that they used to play
someone who dislikes people in general
the Beach Boys' Smiley Smile in psychiatric wards to calm patients.

980. veracious And shaking his head like a misanthrope, disgusted, if not with life, at

precisely accurate least with men, Patout led the horse to the stable.Dumas père,

Alexandre

987. vintner

someone who makes wine

 995. contusion
The question remains, he said, whether established vintnerswill change
an injury in which the skin is not broken
their winemaking practices or “continue to sell their schlock.”New York

Times (Oct 27, 2010) My falling companion, being a much stouter man than myself did not fare

988. halcyon so well, as his right shoulder received a severe contusion.Bevan, A.

idyllically calm and peaceful; suggesting happy tranquility Beckford

996. parsimonious
He now seemed to have entered on a halcyon period of life—congenial
excessively unwilling to spend
society, romantic and interesting surroundings.Kennard, Nina H.

989. anthropomorphic Pill-splitting is catching on among parsimoniousprescription-takers who

suggesting human features for animals or inanimate things want to lower costs.

997. dulcet
The same anthropomorphic fallacy that accords human attributes to giant
pleasing to the ear
corporations like BP distorts clear thinking about how to limit their

political influence. Ever and anon the dulcet murmur of gurgling streams broke gently on the

990. turgid ear.Madison, Lucy Foster

ostentatiously lofty in style 998. reprise

repeat an earlier theme of a composition

His waspish wit can make him entertaining company at a party, but there is

little evidence of that in his largely turgidprose. The live set reprises material from this remarkable group's earlier Aurora

991. malaise CD.

a general feeling of discomfort, uneasiness, or depression 999. anodyne

capable of relieving pain

Initially, many doctors discounted sufferers’ feelings of

generalized malaise as nothing more than stress or normal fatigue. But philosophy failed, as it will probably fail till some far-off age, to find

992. polemical an anodyne for the spiritual distresses of the mass of men.Dill,

of or involving dispute or controversy Samuel

1000. bemused
His works include several dogmatic and polemical treatises, but the most
perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements
important are the historical.Various

993. gadfly They were marching in the middle of the street, chanting and singing and

a persistently annoying person disrupting traffic while countless New Yorkers looked on,

some bemused, others applauding.

Mr. Phelps is regarded here as the ultimate example of an irritating

local gadfly.New York Times (Oct 9, 2010)

994. atavism

a reappearance of an earlier characteristic

Criminal atavism might be defined as the sporadic reversion to savagery in

certain individuals.Symonds, John Addington