Abstruse
-Adjective
-Hard to understand
-The assigned text was so abstruse that I have no idea how I'll pass the test.
Acquiesce
-Verb
-To
... [Show More] submit without protest
-Jeff rarely stands up to his demanding wife; he pathetically acquiesces to her every whim
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Adroit
-Adjective
-Expert, skilled, or nimble
-Timothy is an adroit violinist; he makes all of us sound like beginners.
Advocate
-Verb
-To speak or write in favor of
-A group of nurses joined together to advocate patient privacy rights on the local and national level
Affluence
-Noun
-Abundance of wealth
-The suspect's affluence disallowed the myriad excuses for gross negligence and passivity
Allude
-Verb
-To refer to casually or indirectly
-Let's not allude to their inappropriate choices and poor judgement of character last year
Anachronism
-Noun
-Something out of place in historical time
-If a movie character living in the 1950s were listening to an mp3 player, that would be an anachronism
Antagonistic
-Adjective
-Acting in opposition to another
-Shane has an antagonistic streak; he's always picking on someone
Apprehensive
-Adjective
-Uneasy or fearful
-Ned always feels apprehensive before a big test
Appropriated
-Verb
-To take possession of
-The detective appropriated my car to chase the criminals down the freeway
Assertion
-Noun
-A statement or declaration, often without reasoning or support
-"I knew that already," was Ted's most common assertion during trivia games
Assuage
-Verb
-To make milder or less severe
-To assuage his guilt about forgetting her birthday, Bob bought his girlfriend a lot of flowers
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Astute
-Adjective
-Having practical intelligence
-The detective's astute observations helped solve the crime
Atypical
-Adjective
-Not typical, not conforming to type
-Joe's love of reading is atypical of the children in his family
Banal
-Adjective
-Lacking originality
-Watching scary movies on Halloween is too banal; let's hang out at the graveyard
Belabor
-Verb
-To explain or work at something beyond what is necessary
-We all heard her say not to drink grape juice on the couch, but she belabored the point for an hour
Belittle
-Verb
-To speak of someone as less impressive or less important
-Ian belittles his younger brother, calling him names and teasing him constantly
Bleak
-Adjective
-Bare and desolate
-The bleak landscape was depressing, so we closed the curtains
Cacophony
-Noun
-Harsh, loud, discordant sounds
-For several months, the hospital administration fed the trusting employee a cacophony of lies.
Cantankerous
-Adjective
-disagreeable to deal with
-Grandma's cantankerous outbursts make it difficult for us to have a peaceful visit
Capricious
-Adjective
-subject to or led by whim
-Candy's capricious behavior keeps even her best friends guessing
Captivate
-Verb
-to attract or hold the interest of
-Acrobats captivate even the most reluctant crowds
Cavalier
-Adjective
-showing arrogant disregard
-Lisa's cavalier attitude about the group project frustrated her classmates
Coerce
-Verb
-use of force or intimidation to get results
-The class bully coerced Dan into writing his research paper for him again
Coherent
-Adjective
-logically connected or consistent
-Mike's speech wasn't all that coherent; we think he was too nervous to speak clearly
Cohesive
-Adjective
-united, integrated, or unified
-After we worked out our differences, we were once again a cohesive group
Complacent
-Adjective
-pleased with oneself
-After testifying against the defendants, Natasha coiffed her hair and gave herself a complacent smile
Comprehensive
-Adjective
-of large scope
-The course offers a comprehensive study of the history of rock and roll
Compromised
-verb
-to make vulnerable
-The security of private medical information was compromised when the violator inappropriately accessed the file [Show Less]