Barron's List 48

Front 1

Ulterior

Back 1

Situated beyond; Unstated; Secret; Intentionally Concealed

Hint 1

"You must have an ulterior motive for your behavior, since there is no obvious reason for it."

Front 2

Ultimate

Back 2

Final; Not susceptible to further analysis

Hint 2

Sci­entists are searching for ultimate truths.

Front 3

Unaccountable

Back 3

Inexplicable; mysteri­ous

Hint 3

"I have taken an unaccountable dislike to my doctor: ""I do not love thee, Doctor Fell. The reason why, I cannot tell."""

Front 4

Unanimity

Back 4

Complete agreement

Hint 4

"We were surprised by the unanimity with which members of both parties accepted our proposals. unanimous,ADJ."

Front 5

Unassailable

Back 5

Not subject to question; Not open to attack

Hint 5

"Penelope's virtue was unassailable; while she waited for her husband to come back from the war, no other man had a chance."

Front 6

Unassuming

Back 6

Modest; Unpretentious

Hint 6

He is so unassuming that some people fail to realize how great a man he really is.

Front 7

Unbridled

Back 7

Violent, Unrestrained

Hint 7

She had a sudden fit of unbridled rage.

Front 8

Uncanny

Back 8

Strange; Mysterious

Hint 8

You have the uncanny knack of reading my innermost thoughts.

Front 9

Unconscionable

Back 9

Unscrupulous; Excessive; Immoral

Hint 9

She found the loan shark's demands unconscionable and impossible to meet.

Front 10

Uncouth

Back 10

Outlandish; Clumsy; Boorish

Hint 10

Most biogra­phers portray Lincoln as an uncouth and ungainly young man.

Front 11

Unctuous

Back 11

Oily; Servile; Insincerely suave

Hint 11

"Uriah Heep disguised his nefarious actions by unctuous protestations of his ""humility."""

Front 12

Underlying

Back 12

Fundamental; Lying below; to be the basis of

Hint 12

"The underlying cause of the student riot was not the strict curfew rule but the moldy cafeteria food. Miss Marple seems a sweet little old lady at first, but there's an iron will underlying that soft and fluffy facade."

Front 13

Undermine

Back 13

Weaken; Sap

Hint 13

The recent corruption scan­dals have undermined many people's faith in the city government. The recent torrential rains have washed away much of the cliffside; the deluge threatens to under­mine the pillars supporting several houses at the edge of the cliff.

Front 14

Underscore

Back 14

Emphasize

Hint 14

"Addressing the jogging class, Kim underscored the importance to runners of good nutrition."

Front 15

Undulating

Back 15

Moving with a wavelike motion

Hint 15

The Hilo Hula Festival was an undulating sea of grass skirts.

Front 16

Unearth

Back 16

Dig up

Hint 16

"When they unearthed the city, the archeologists found many relics of an ancient civilization."

Front 17

Unequivocal

Back 17

Plain; Obvious; Unmistakable

Hint 17

"My answer to your proposal is an unequivocal and absolute ""No."""

Front 18

Unerringly

Back 18

Infallibly; Accurately

Hint 18

My teacher unerringly pounced on the one typographical error in my essay.

Front 19

Unfathomable

Back 19

Incomprehensible; Impenetrable; Bottomless

Hint 19

"Unable to get to the bottom of the mystery, Watson declared it was unfathomable."

Front 20

Unfetter

Back 20

Liberate; Free from chains

Hint 20

"Chained to the wall for months on end, the hostage despaired that he would ever be unfettered."

Front 21

Unfrock

Back 21

To strip a priest or minister of church authority

Hint 21

"To disbar a lawyer, to unfrock a priest, to suspend a doctor's license to practice-these are extreme steps that the authorities should take only after careful considera­tion."

Front 22

Ungainly

Back 22

Awkward; Clumsy; Unwieldy

Hint 22

"""If you want to know whether Nick's an ungainly dancer, check out my bruised feet,"" said Nora. Anyone who has ever tried to carry a bass fiddle knows it's an ungainly instrument."

Front 23

Uniformity

Back 23

Sameness; Monotony; Harmony

Hint 23

"At Persons magazine, we strive for uniformity of style; as a result, all our writers wind up sounding exactly alike."

Front 24

Unimpeachable

Back 24

Blameless and exemplary; Pure

Hint 24

Her con­duct in office was unimpeachable and her record is spotless.

Front 25

Uninhibited

Back 25

Unrepressed

Hint 25

The congregation was shocked by her uninhibited laughter during the sermon.

Front 26

Unintimidating

Back 26

Unfrightening

Hint 26

"Though Phil had expected to feel overawed when he met Steve Young, he found the famous quarterback friendly and unintimidating."

Front 27

Unique

Back 27

Without an equal; Single in kind

Hint 27

You have the unique distinction of being the only student whom I have had to fail in this course.

Front 28

Universal

Back 28

Characterizing or affecting all; Present every­where

Hint 28

"At first, no one shared Christopher's opinions; his the­ory that the world was round was met with universal disdain."

Front 29

Unkempt

Back 29

Disheveled; Uncared for in appearance

Hint 29

Jeremy hated his neighbor's unkempt lawn: he thought its neglected appearance had a detrimental effect on neigh­borhood property values.

Front 30

Unmitigated

Back 30

Unabated; Absolute; Pure

Hint 30

"After four days of unmitigated heat, I was ready to collapse from heat prostration. The congresswoman's husband was an unmitigated jerk: not only did he abandon her, he took her campaign funds, too!"

Front 31

Unobtrusive

Back 31

Keeping a low profile; Modest or Reserved

Hint 31

"Reluctant to attract notice, the governess took a chair in a far corner of the room and tried to be as unobtrusive as possible."

Front 32

Unpalatable

Back 32

Distasteful; Disagreeable

Hint 32

"""I refuse to swallow your conclusion,"" said she, finding his logic unpalatable."

Front 33

Unprecedented

Back 33

Original; Unparalleled

Hint 33

"For a first novel, Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind was an unprecedented success."

Front 34

Unprepossessing

Back 34

Unattractive

Hint 34

During adolescence many attractive young people somehow acquire the false notion that their appearance is unprepossessing.

Front 35

Unravel

Back 35

Disentangle; Solve

Hint 35

With equal ease Miss Marple unraveled tangled balls of yarn and baffling murder mysteries.

Front 36

Unrequited

Back 36

Not reciprocated

Hint 36

"Suffering the pangs of unrequited love, Olivia rebukes Cesario for his hardheart­edness."

Front 37

Unruly

Back 37

Disobedient; Lawless

Hint 37

The only way to curb this unruly mob is to use tear gas.

Front 38

Unscathed

Back 38

Unharmed

Hint 38

They prayed he would come back from the war unscathed.

Front 39

Unseemly

Back 39

Unbecoming; Indecent; In poor taste

Hint 39

"When he put whoopie cushions on all the seats in the funeral par­lor, his conduct was most unseemly."

Front 40

Unsightly

Back 40

Ugly

Hint 40

"Although James was an experienced emergency room nurse, he occasionally became queasy when faced with a particularly unsightly injury."

Front 41

Unstinting

Back 41

"Generous, altruistic"

Hint 41

The dean praised the donor of the new science building for her unstinting generosity.

Front 42

Untenable

Back 42

"Indefensible (an argument); Not fit to be occupied, as an apartment, house"

Hint 42

"Wayne is so contrary that, the more untenable a position is, the harder he'll try to defend it."

Front 43

Unwarranted

Back 43

Unjustified; Groundless; Undeserved

Hint 43

"Your assumption that I would accept your proposal is unwarranted, sir; I do not want to marry you at all. We could not understand Martin's unwarranted rudeness to his mother's guests."

Front 44

Unwieldy

Back 44

Awkward; Cumbersome; Unmanageable

Hint 44

The large carton was so unwieldy that the movers had trou­ble getting it up the stairs.

Front 45

Unwitting

Back 45

Unintentional; Not knowing

Hint 45

She was the unwitting tool of the swindlers.

Front 46

Upbraid

Back 46

Severely scold; Reprimand

Hint 46

"Not only did Miss Minchin upbraid Ermengarde for her disobedience, but she hung her up by her braids from a coat rack in the classroom. uproarious"

Front 47

Upshot

Back 47

Outcome

Hint 47

The upshot of the rematch was that the former champion proved that he still possessed all the skills of his youth.

Front 48

Urbane

Back 48

Suave; Refined; Elegant; Civilized

Hint 48

"The courtier was urbane and sophisticated. urbanity, N."

Front 49

Usurp

Back 49

Seize another's power or rank

Hint 49

The revolution ended when the victorious rebel general succeeded in his attempt to usurp the throne.

Front 50

Utopia

Back 50

"Ideal place, state, or society"

Hint 50

"Fed up with this imperfect universe, Don would have liked to run off to Shangri-la or some other imaginary utopia. utopian,"

Front 51

Vacuous

Back 51

Empty; Inane; Unintelligent

Hint 51

"The vacuous remarks of the politician annoyed the audience, who had hoped to hear more than empty platitudes."

Front 52

Vagabond

Back 52

Wanderer; Tramp

Hint 52

"In summer, college stu­dents wander the roads of Europe like carefree vagabonds. alsoADJ."

Front 53

Vagrant

Back 53

A homeless wanderer

Hint 53

"Because he was a stranger in town with no visible means of support, Martin feared he would be jailed as a vagrant. vagrancy, N."

Front 54

Valedictory

Back 54

Pertaining to farewell

Hint 54

I found the valedic­tory address too long; leave-taking should be brief.

Front 55

Valid

Back 55

Logically convincing; Sound; Legally acceptable

Hint 55

You're going to have to come up with a better argument if you want to convince me that your reasoning is valid.

Front 56

Validate

Back 56

Confirm; Ratify

Hint 56

I will not publish my findings until I validate my results.

Front 57

Valor

Back 57

Bravery

Hint 57

He received the Medal of Honor for his valor in battle.

Front 58

Vampire

Back 58

Ghostly being that sucks the blood of the living

Hint 58

Children were afraid to go to sleep because of the many legends of vampires roaming at night.

Front 59

Vanguard

Back 59

Forerunners; Advance forces; Leader(s)

Hint 59

We are the van­guard of a tremendous army that is following us.

Front 60

Vantage

Back 60

Position giving an advantage

Hint 60

"They fired upon the enemy from behind trees, walls and any other point of vantage they could find."

Front 61

Vapid

Back 61

Dull and unimaginative; Insipid and flavorless

Hint 61

"Bor-ing!" said Jessica, as she suffered through yet another vapid lecture about Dead White Male Poets."

Front 62

Vaporize

Back 62

Turn into vapor (steam, gas, fog, etc)

Hint 62

"Zap!" went Super Mario's atomic ray gun as he vaporized another deadly foe.

Front 63

Variegated

Back 63

Many-colored

Hint 63

"Without her glasses, Gretchen saw the fields of tulips as a variegated blur."

Front 64

Veer

Back 64

Change in direction

Hint 64

"After what seemed an eter­nity, the wind veered to the east and the storm abated."

Front 65

Vehement

Back 65

Forceful; Passionate; With marked vigor

Hint 65

"Alfred became so vehement in describing what was wrong with the Internal Revenue Service that he began jumping up and down and frothing at the mouth. vehemence, N."