Paas

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contusion

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(n.) bruise, injury (The contusions on his face suggested he’d been in a fight.)

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contrite

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(adj.) penitent, eager to be forgiven (Blake’s contrite behavior made it
impossible to stay angry at him.)

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contravene

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(v.) to contradict, oppose, violate (Edwidge contravened his landlady’s rule
against overnight guests.)
contrite (adj.) penitent, eager to be forgiven

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contentious

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(adj.) having a tendency to quarrel or dispute (George’s contentious
personality made him unpopular with his classmates.)

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culmination

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(n.) the climax toward which something progresses (The culmination of
the couple’s argument was the decision to divorce.)

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cunning

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(adj.) sly, clever at being deceitful (The general devised a cunning plan to
surprise the enemy.)

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cupidity

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(n.) greed, strong desire (His cupidity made him enter the abandoned gold
mine despite the obvious dangers.)
cursory (adj.) brief to the point of being

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curt

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(adj.) abruptly and rudely short (Her curt reply to my question made me realize
that she was upset at me.)

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curtail

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(v.) to lessen, reduce (Since losing his job, he had to curtail his spending.)

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dearth

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(n.) a lack, scarcity (An eager reader, she was dismayed by the dearth of classic
books at the library.)

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debacle

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(n.) a disastrous failure, disruption (The elaborately designed fireworks show
turned into a debacle when the fireworks started firing in random directions.)

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debase

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(v.) to lower the quality or esteem of something (The large raise that he gave
himself debased his motives for running the charity.)

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debauch

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(v.) to corrupt by means of sensual pleasures (An endless amount of good wine
and cheese debauched the traveler.)

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debunk

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(v.) to expose the falseness of something (He debunked her claim to be the
world’s greatest chess player by defeating her in 18 consecutive matches.)

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decorous

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(adj.) socially proper, appropriate (The appreciative guest displayed decorous
behavior toward his host.)

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decry

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(v.) to criticize openly (The kind video rental clerk decried the policy of charging
customers late fees.)

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deface

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(v.) to ruin or injure something’s appearance (The brothers used eggs and
shaving cream to deface their neighbor’s mailbox.)

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defamatory

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(adj.) harmful toward another’s reputation (The defamatory gossip
spreading about the actor made the public less willing to see the actor’s new movie.)

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defer

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(v.) to postpone something; to yield to another’s wisdom (Ron deferred to Diane,
the expert on musical instruments, when he was asked about buying a piano.)

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deferential

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(adj.) showing respect for another’s authority (His deferential attitude
toward her made her more confident in her ability to run the company.)

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defile

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(v.) to make unclean, impure (She defiled the calm of the religious building by
playing her banjo.)

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deft

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(adj.) skillful, capable (Having worked in a bakery for many years, Marcus was a

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defunct

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(adj.) no longer used or existing (They planned to turn the defunct schoolhouse
into a community center.)

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delegate

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(v.) to hand over responsibility for something (The dean delegated the task of
finding a new professor to a special hiring committee.)

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deleterious

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(adj.) harmful (She experienced the deleterious effects of running a
marathon without stretching her muscles enough beforehand.)

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deliberate

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(adj.) intentional, reflecting careful consideration (Though Mary was quite
upset, her actions to resolve the dispute were deliberate.)

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delineate

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(v.) to describe, outline, shed light on (She neatly delineated her reasons for
canceling the project’s funding.)

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demean

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(v.) to lower the status or stature of something (She refused to demean her
secretary by making him order her lunch.)

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demarcation

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(n.) the marking of boundaries or categories (Different cultures have
different demarcations of good and evil.)

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demagogue

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(n.) a leader who appeals to a people’s prejudices (The demagogue
strengthened his hold over his people by blaming immigrants for the lack of jobs.)

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forage

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(v.) to graze, rummage for food (When we got lost on our hiking trip, we foraged
for berries and nuts in order to survive.)

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forbearance

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(n.) patience, restraint, toleration (The doctor showed great forbearance in
calming down the angry patient who shouted insults at him.)

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forestall

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(v.) to prevent, thwart, delay (I forestalled the cold I was getting by taking
plenty of vitamin C pills and wearing a scarf.)

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forlorn

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(adj.) lonely, abandoned, hopeless (Even though I had the flu, my family
decided to go skiing for the weekend and leave me home alone, feeling feverish and
forlorn.)

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forsake

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(v.) to give up, renounce (My New Year’s resolution is to forsake smoking and
drinking.)

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fortitude

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(n.) strength, guts (Achilles’ fortitude in battle is legendary.)

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fortuitous

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(adj.) happening by chance, often lucky or fortunate (After looking for
Manuel and not finding him at home, Harriet had a fortuitous encounter with him
at the post office.)

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forum

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(n.) a medium for lecture or discussion (Some radio talk-shows provide a good
forum for political debate.)

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foster

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(v.) to stimulate, promote, encourage (To foster good health in the city, the mayor
started a “Get out and exercise!” campaign.)

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fractious

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(adj.) troublesome or irritable (Although the child insisted he wasn’t tired, his
fractious behavior—especially his decision to crush his cheese and crackers all over
the floor—convinced everyone present that it was time to put him to bed.)

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fraught

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(adj.) (usually used with “with”) filled or accompanied with (Her glances in his
direction were fraught with meaning, though precisely what meaning remained
unclear.)

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frenetic

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(adj.) frenzied, hectic, frantic (In the hours between night and morning, the
frenetic pace of city life slows to a lull.)

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frivolous

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(adj.) of little importance, trifling (Someday, all that anxiety about whether
your zit will disappear before the prom will seem totally frivolous.)

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frugal

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(adj.) thrifty, economical (Richard is so frugal that his diet consists almost
exclusively of catfish and chicken liver—the two most inexpensive foods in the
store.)

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furtive

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(adj.) secretive, sly (Jane’s placement of her drugs in her sock drawer was not as
furtive as she thought, as the sock drawer is the first place most parents look.)

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garish

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(adj.) gaudy, in bad taste (Mrs. Watson has poor taste and covers every object in
her house with a garish gold lamé.)

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garrulous

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(adj.) talkative, wordy (Some talk show hosts are so garrulous that their
guests can’t get a word in edgewise.)

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genial

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(adj.) friendly, affable (Although he’s been known to behave like a real jerk, I
would say that my brother is an overall genial guy.)

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gluttony

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(n.) overindulgence in food or drink (Ada’s fried chicken tastes so divine, I
don’t know how anyone can call gluttony a sin.)

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goad

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(v.) to urge, spur, incite to action (Jim may think he’s not going to fight Billy, but
Billy will goad Jim on with insults until he throws a punch.)

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gourmand

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(n.) someone fond of eating and drinking (My parents, who used to eat little
more than crackers and salad, have become real gourmands in their old age.)

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grandiloquence

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(n.) lofty, pompous language (The student thought her grandiloquence
would make her sound smart, but neither the class nor the teacher bought it.)

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grandiose

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(adj.) on a magnificent or exaggerated scale (Margaret planned a grandiose
party, replete with elephants, trapeze artists, and clowns.)

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gratuitous

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(adj.) uncalled for, unwarranted (Every morning the guy at the donut shop
gives me a gratuitous helping of ketchup packets.)

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gregarious

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(adj.) drawn to the company of others, sociable (Well, if you’re not
gregarious, I don’t know why you would want to go to a singles party!)

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grievous

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(adj.) injurious, hurtful; serious or grave in nature (Electrocuting the inmate
without being sure of his guilt would be a truly grievous mistake.)

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guile

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(n.) deceitful, cunning, sly behavior (Because of his great guile, the politician was
able to survive scandal after scandal.)

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hackneyed

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(adj.) unoriginal, trite (A girl can only hear “I love you” so many times
before it begins to sound hackneyed and meaningless.)

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hallowed

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(adj.) revered, consecrated (In the hallowed corridors of the cathedral, the
disturbed professor felt himself to be at peace.)

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hapless

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(adj.) unlucky (My poor, hapless family never seems to pick a sunny week to go
on vacation.)

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harangue

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1. (n.) a ranting speech (Everyone had heard the teacher’s harangue about
gum chewing in class before.) 2. (v.) to give such a speech (But this time the teacher
harangued the class about the importance of brushing your teeth after chewing
gum.)