List 9

Front 1

vacillation

Back 1

alternate or waver between different opinions or actions; be indecisive: I had for a time vacillated between teaching and journalism.

Front 2

lassitude

Back 2

a state of physical or mental weariness; lack of energy: she was overcome by lassitude and retired to bed | a patient complaining of lassitude and inability to concentrate.

Front 3

garrulous

Back 3

excessively talkative, esp. on trivial matters: Polonius is portrayed as a foolish, garrulous old man.

Front 4

myriad

Back 4

1 a countless or extremely great number: networks connecting a myriad of computers.

2 (chiefly in classical history) a unit of ten thousand.

adjective

countless or extremely great in number: the myriad lights of the city.

• having countless or very many elements or aspects: the myriad political scene.

Front 5

noxious

Back 5

harmful, poisonous, or very unpleasant: they were overcome by the noxious fumes.

Front 6

accost

Back 6

approach and address (someone) boldly or aggressively: reporters accosted him in the street | he was accosted by a thief, demanding his money or his life | a man tried to accost the girl on her way to school.

Front 7

beatific

Back 7

blissfully happy: a beatific smile.

• Christian Theology imparting holy bliss.

Front 8

nuance

Back 8

a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound: the nuances of facial expression and body language.

verb [ with obj. ] (usu. be nuanced)

give nuances to: the effect of the music is nuanced by the social situation of listeners.

Front 9

quagmire

Back 9

a soft boggy area of land that gives way underfoot: torrential rain turned the building site into a quagmire.

• an awkward, complex, or hazardous situation: a legal quagmire.

Front 10

somber

Back 10

dark or dull in color or tone; gloomy: the night skies were somber and starless.

• oppressively solemn or sober in mood; grave: he looked at her with a somber expression.

Front 11

unawares

Back 11

without being aware of a situation: it will be flagged so that people don't stumble on it unawares.

Front 12

suffrage

Back 12

1 the right to vote in political elections.

• archaic a vote given in assent to a proposal or in favor of the election of a particular person.

2 (usu. suffrages) a series of intercessory prayers or petitions.

Front 13

cloister

Back 13

a covered walk in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral, typically with a wall on one side and a colonnade open to a quadrangle on the other.

• (the cloister) monastic life: he was inclined more to the cloister than the sword.

• a convent or monastery.

verb [ with obj. ]

seclude or shut up in or as if in a convent or monastery: the monastery was where the Brothers would cloister themselves to meditate | she cloisters herself at home.

Front 14

docile

Back 14

ready to accept control or instruction; submissive: a cheap and docile workforce.

Front 15

surfeit

Back 15

an excessive amount of something: a surfeit of food and drink.

• archaic an illness caused or regarded as being caused by excessive eating or drinking: he died of a surfeit.

verb (surfeits, surfeiting, surfeited) [ with obj. ] (usu. be surfeited with)

cause (someone) to desire no more of something as a result of having consumed or done it to excess: I am surfeited with shopping.

• [ no obj. ] archaic consume too much of something: he never surfeited on rich wine

Front 16

incongruous

Back 16

not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something: the duffel coat looked incongruous with the black dress she wore underneath.

Front 17

aloof

Back 17

not friendly or forthcoming; cool and distant: they were courteous but faintly aloof | an aloof and somewhat austere figure.

• conspicuously uninvolved and uninterested, typically through distaste: he stayed aloof from the bickering.

Front 18

harrowing

Back 18

acutely distressing: a harrowing film about racism and violence. it was a harrowing experience.

synonyms: grief

Front 19

chronic

Back 19

(of an illness) persisting for a long time or constantly recurring: chronic bronchitis. Often contrasted with acute.

• (of a person) having an illness persisting for a long time or constantly recurring: a chronic asthmatic.

• (of a problem) long-lasting and difficult to eradicate: the school suffers from chronic overcrowding.

• (of a person) having a particular bad habit: a chronic liar.

Front 20

accentuate

Back 20

make more noticeable or prominent:

his jacket unfortunately accentuated his paunch.