Hit Parade 1 - Part 1

Front 1

Abscond (verb)

Back 1

to depart clandestinely; to steal off and hide

Hint 1

The burglar was trying to abscond with the jewels when he tumbled down the stairs.

Front 2

Aberrant (adj.)

Back 2

deviating from the norm (noun form: aberration)

Front 3

Alacrity (noun)

Back 3

eager and enthusiastic willingness

Hint 3

Having just acquired his driver's license that morning, the teen agreed with alacrity to drive his cousin to the airport.

Front 4

Anomaly (noun)

Back 4

deviation from the normal order, form, or rule; abnormality (adj. form: anomalous)

Hint 4

Her C grade is an anomaly, as she's never made anything except A's and B's before.

Front 5

Approbation (noun)

Back 5

an expression of approval or praise

Hint 5

That plan has the approbation of the school board.

Front 6

Arduous (adj.)

Back 6

strenuous, taxing; requiring significant effort

Hint 6

Climbing Mount Everest is an arduous, exhausting challenge.

Front 7

Assuage (verb)

Back 7

to ease or lessen; to appease or pacify

Hint 7

That huge meal certainly assuaged my hunger.

Front 8

Audacious (adj.)

Back 8

daring and fearless; recklessly bold (noun form: audacity)

Hint 8

Audacious adventurers risking everything they had for a shot at glory.

Front 9

Austere (adj.)

Back 9

without adornment; bare; severely simple; ascetic (noun form: austerity)

Hint 9

An austere fortress at the top of some formidable cliffs.

Front 10

Axiomatic (adj.)

Back 10

taken as a given; possessing self-evident truth (noun form: axiom)

Hint 10

It's axiomatic that the instinct for self-preservation is universal throughout the animal kingdom.

Front 11

canonical (adj.)

Back 11

following or in agreement with accepted, traditional standards (noun form: canon)

Front 12

Capricious (adj.)

Back 12

inclined to change one’s mind impulsively; erratic, unpredictable

Hint 12

A capricious woman who changed her mind dozens of times about what color to paint the bathroom.

Front 13

Censure (verb)

Back 13

to criticize severely; to officially rebuke

Hint 13

He was censured by the committee for his failure to report the problem.

Front 14

Chicanery (noun)

Back 14

trickery or subterfuge

Hint 14

That candidate only won the election through chicanery.

Front 15

Connoisseur (noun)

Back 15

an informed and astute judge in matters of taste; expert

Hint 15

A forthcoming exhibit at the art museum that is eagerly awaited by connoisseurs of ancient Greek pottery.

Front 16

Convoluted (adj.)

Back 16

complex or complicated

Hint 16

A convoluted explanation that left the listeners even more confused than they were before.

Front 17

Disabuse (verb)

Back 17

to undeceive; to set right

Hint 17

Let me disabuse you of your foolish notions about married life.

Front 18

Discordant (adj.)

Back 18

conflicting; dissonant or harsh in sound

Hint 18

Discordant tones coming from the poorly tuned instrument.

Front 19

Disparate (adj.)

Back 19

fundamentally distinct or dissimilar

Hint 19

Disparate notions among adults and adolescents about when middle age begins.

Front 20

Effrontery (noun)

Back 20

extreme boldness; presumptuousness

Hint 20

The little squirt had the effrontery to deny eating any cookies, even with the crumbs still on his lips.

Front 21

Eloquent (adj.)

Back 21

well-spoken, expressive, articulate (noun form: eloquence)

Hint 21

An eloquent writer and speaker, Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the founders of the women's rights movement.

Front 22

Enervate (verb)

Back 22

to weaken; to reduce in vitality

Front 23

Ennui (noun)

Back 23

dissatisfaction and restlessness resulting from boredom or apathy

Hint 23

The kind of ennui that comes from having too much time on one's hands and too little will to find something productive to do.

Front 24

Equivocate (verb)

Back 24

To use ambiguous language with a deceptive intent (adj. form: equivocal)

Hint 24

The candidate equivocated as long as he could on controversial issues.

Front 25

Erudite (adj.)

Back 25

very learned; scholarly (noun form: erudition)

Hint 25

The most erudite people in medical research attended the conference.

Front 26

Exculpate (verb)

Back 26

exonerate; to clear of blame

Hint 26

I will present evidence that will exculpate my client.

Front 27

Exigent (adj.)

Back 27

urgent, pressing; requiring immediate action or attention

Hint 27

Started his workday with a flood of exigent matters that required his quick decision.

Front 28

Extemporaneous (adj.)

Back 28

improvised; done without preparation

Hint 28

Caught by surprise, I had to make an extemporaneous speech at the awards banquet.

Front 29

Filibuster (noun)

Back 29

intentional obstruction, esp. using prolonged speechmaking to delay legislative action

Front 30

Fulminate (verb)

Back 30

to loudly attack or denounce

Hint 30

The student fulminated the teacher when he complained about poor grading to the whole class.

Front 31

Ingenuous (adj.)

Back 31

artless; frank and candid; lacking in sophistication

Front 32

Inured (adj.)

Back 32

accustomed to accepting something undesirable

Hint 32

The hardship of army training inured her to the rigors of desert warfare.

Front 33

Irascible (adj.)

Back 33

easily angered; prone to temperamental outbursts

Hint 33

Her irascible boss frequently yelled and censured her for minor mistakes.