Sat Words - Princeton Review

Front 1

candid

Back 1

completely honest, straightforward

Hint 1

Candace’s candidness overwhelmed her business
colleagues, who were not used to such honesty.

Front 2

conjecture

Back 2

inference; guesswork

Hint 2

At this point, Kimaya’s hypothesis about single-cell
biorhythms is still conjecture: She doesn’t have
conclusive evidence.

Front 3

didactic

die DAK tik

Back 3

instructive

Hint 3

The tapes were entertaining and didactic; they both
amused and instructed children.

Front 4

effusive

Back 4

showing excessive emotion; overflowing

Hint 4

Accepting his Oscar for Best Supporting Sound
Editor, Ben delivered the most effusive speech in
Editor, Ben delivered the most effusive speech in
Academy Awards history: he cried, he hugged
people, he blew kisses to the audience, and then he
cried some more.

Front 5

euphemism

Back 5

a mild, indirect, or vague term substituting for a harsh,
blunt, or offensive term

Hint 5

“To pass away” is a common euphemism for dying.

Front 6

extrapolate

Back 6

use specific details to make a general comment.

Hint 6

For example, if you travel to Canada and encounter only friendly, kind natives, you might extrapolate that all Canadians are friendly.

Front 7

incoherent

Back 7

lacking cohesion or connection

Hint 7

Maury’s sentences were so incoherent that nobody
understood a word.

Front 8

insinuate

Back 8

imply or suggest something that may or may not be true.

Hint 8

“I insinuated that I did not like his wife”

Front 9

loquacius

Back 9

very talkative

Hint 9

I’m not eloquent, so I’ll just come out and say it:
Bobby is loquacious and will talk, and talk, and talk.

Front 10

lucid

Back 10

easily understood; clear

Hint 10

Our teacher provides lucid explanations of even the
most difficult concepts so that we can all understand
them.

Front 11

rhetoric

Back 11

art of persuasive speaking or writing.

Hint 11

Since they are expected to make speeches, most
politicians and lawyers are well-versed in the art of
rhetoric.

Front 12

acumen

Back 12

quickness, accuracy, and keenness of judgment or
insight

Hint 12

Judge Ackerman’s legal acumen was so well
regarded that he was nicknamed the “Solomon of
the South.”

Front 13

adroit

Back 13

clever and skillful

Hint 13

For a guy whose wife does all the cooking, he is surprisingly adroit in the kitchen.

Front 14

ascertain

Back 14

to find out something
, as through investigation or
experimentation

Hint 14

The private investigator had long suspected my dog;
before long, he ascertained that Toto was indeed the
murderer.

Front 15

astute

Back 15

shrewd; clever

Hint 15

Stewart is financially astute; he invests wisely and
never falls for scams.

Front 16

circumspect

Back 16

careful, prudent, discreet

Hint 16

Ned’s circumspect manner makes him a wise
appointment to the diplomatic corps.

Front 17

disseminate

Back 17

to scatter widely, as in sowing seed

Hint 17

The news about Dave’s embarrassing moment at the
party disseminated quickly through the school; by
the end of the day, everyone knew what had
happened.

Front 18

erudition

Back 18

deep, extensive learning

Hint 18

Professor Rudy’s erudition was such that she could
answer any question her students put to her

Front 19

pedantic

Back 19

excessively concerned with book learning and formal
rules

Hint 19

Pedro’s pedantic tendencies prompted him to
remind us constantly of all the grammatical rules we
were breaking.

Front 20

perspicacious

Back 20

shrewd; clear-sighted

Hint 20

Persephone’s perspicacious mind had solved so
many cases that the popular private investagator
was able to retire.

Front 21

pragmatic

Back 21

practical

Hint 21

Never one for wild and unrealistic schemes, Matt
took a pragmatic approach to research.

Front 22

precocious

Back 22

exhibiting unusually early intellectual aptitude or
maturity

Hint 22

Bobby Fisher’s precocious intellect made him one of
the world’s best chess players before he could even
drive.

Front 23

prolific

Back 23

very productive; producing great qualities

Hint 23

Charles Harold St. John Hamilton was the world’s
most prolific author; it is estimated he wrote the
equivalent of one thousand novels.

Front 24

prospectus

Back 24

formal proposal

Hint 24

Before writing my thesis, I had to submit a detailed
prospectus to the department for approval.

Front 25

rudimentary

Back 25

basic; elementary; in the earliest stages of development

Hint 25

Josh’s rudimentary golf skills were easily
overpowered by Tiger Woods’s amazing
performance on the green.

Front 26

abstruse

Back 26

difficult to understand

Hint 26

Youngsters can tackle topics as apparently abstruse as algorithms, binary numbers, Boolean circuits, and cryptographic protocols.

Front 27

callous

Back 27

emotionally hardened; unfeeling

Hint 27

If you laugh at your little sister while she's trying to show you her poetry, you're being callous

Front 28

disaffected

Back 28

having lost faith or loyalty; discontent

Hint 28

The disaffected cat trainer had finally quit his job
when he realized you just can’t train cats, no matter
how much you yell at them.

Front 29

enigma

Back 29

a puzzle, mystery, or riddle

Hint 29

The emu was an enigma; you could never tell what
she was thinking.

Front 30

inscrutable

Back 30

difficult to fathom or understand; impenetrable

Hint 30

The ancient poet’s handwriting was so inscrutable,
that even the most prominent Latin scholars could
not read the manuscript

Front 31

reticent

Back 31

inclined to keep silent; reserved

Hint 31

Rosanna’s reticent behavior caused the interviewer
to think her incapable of conversing with other
students.

Front 32

staid

Back 32

unemotional; serious

Hint 32

Mr. Estado was well known for his staid demeanor;
he stayed calm even when everyone else celebrated
the team’s amazing victory.

Front 33

arcane

Back 33

known or understood by only a few

Hint 33

The dusty archive includes an arcane treasure trove
of nautical charts from the Age of Discovery.

Front 34

assimilate

Back 34

If you are trying to fit in, you are trying toassimilate

Hint 34

If someone moves to another country, he or she will need to assimilate by adapting to and taking in the language, culture and customs of the new place.

Front 35

autonomy

Back 35

independence; self-determination

Hint 35

Candice gained autonomy upon moving out of her
parents’ house into her own apartment.

Front 36

cosmopolitan

Back 36

worldly; widely sophisticated

Front 37

unprecedented

Back 37

not known, experienced, or done before.

Hint 37

If you've never gone on a family beach vacation but you're planning one now, you could refer to it as an unprecedented decision.

Front 38

downtrodden

Back 38

abused or oppressed by people in power

Front 39

sublime

Back 39

awe-inspiringly grand, excellent, or impressive

Hint 39

You might describe a spine-tingling piece of music as "a work of sublime beauty."

Front 40

behemoth

Back 40

something big and powerful.

Hint 40

You can call both a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a massive telecommunications company abehemoth.

Front 41

vapid

Back 41

Vapid is an adjective to describe someone or something that is dull or uninspiring.

Hint 41

But of its five works, at least three made this art form look vapid and unimportant.

Front 42

regression

Back 42

returning to a former state

Hint 42

If you've been trying to break your sugar habit but one day eat several pieces of cake, that's regression.

Front 43

feral

Back 43

wild, untamed animal

Hint 43

When animal control finds a feral dog, they have to handle it very carefully because the animal is so wild that it's probably afraid of humans and likely to bite.

Front 44

fretful

Back 44

nervous and unable to relax

; habitually complaining

Hint 44

You might be fretful — upset and fidgety — if you're waiting to hear whether or not you've been accepted into a competitive summer music program.

Front 45

expunge

Back 45

cross out / eliminate

Hint 45

After Nicholas proved he had been in school on the day in question, the absence was expunged from his record.

Front 46

prudent

Back 46

careful and sensible; marked by sound judgment

Hint 46

If you're getting in trouble, it is probably prudent to keep your mouth closed and just listen.

Front 47

sagacious

Back 47

wise and insightful

Front 48

insightful

Back 48

thinking that sees beyond the obvious and expresses an original thought.

Hint 48

the chapter is insightful and suggestive of new perspectives

Front 49

consign

Back 49

give over to another for care or safekeeping

Hint 49

You can consign ownership of your old car to your son, an act that will probably make you the "best parent ever" in his eyes

Front 50

Invigorate

Back 50

give strength or energy to something or someone

Hint 50

You might need to invigorate yourself when you first wake up in the morning, with a cup of coffee or a shower to get you going for the day.

Front 51

jaded

Back 51

exhausted

Hint 51

If you've done something so much that it doesn't excite you anymore but just leaves you tired, consider yourself jaded.

Front 52

debilitating

Back 52

impairing the strength and vitality

Hint 52

Something that's debilitating seriously affects someone or something's strength or ability to carry on with regular activities, like a debilitating illness.

Front 53

ambivalent

Back 53

having mixed feelings about something

Hint 53

If you can't decide how you feel about something, declare yourself ambivalentabout it.

Front 54

fortuitious

Back 54

by chance, like a lucky accident.

Hint 54

If you and your best friend's families happen to go on vacation to the same place at the same time, that’s afortuitous coincidence!

Front 55

convoluted

Back 55

intricate and hard to understand.

Hint 55

The more convoluted the explanation becomes, the more confused children become.

Front 56

quandary

Back 56

a tough situation that will be really hard to resolve.

Hint 56

Some voters find themselves in a quandary when they dislike all of the candidates.

Front 57

stymie

Back 57

obstruct or hinder.

Hint 57

Constantly texting with your friends willstymie your effort to finish your homework.

Front 58

benevolent

Back 58

intending or showing kindness; generous in providing aid to others

Hint 58

“a benevolent society”

Front 59

impetuous

Back 59

Someone impetuous acts too hastily or carelessly.

Hint 59

If you're a careful person who thinks everything through and doesn't act rashly, then you're not very impetuous.

Front 60

meticulous

Back 60

people having extreme attention to detail.

Hint 60

if that person is, say, your surgeon or your accountant, you'll want them to be meticulous.

Front 61

prodigal

Back 61

describe someone who spends too much money, or something very wasteful.

Hint 61

Your prodigal spending on fancy coffee drinks might leave you with no money to buy lunch.

Front 62

prodigy

Back 62

who is so naturally talented at something that they become a master of that particular skill as a child

Hint 62

you can be a musical prodigy or a math prodigy. Mozart was one, writing symphonies and playing for kings when he was only five years old.

Front 63

spiteful

Back 63

act in a mean way, with a desire to hurt someone

Hint 63

If your little brother was driving you crazy, you could calmly ignore him — or you could give him aspiteful pinch.

Front 64

iniquitous

Back 64

immoral or wicked

Hint 64

a movie that encourages people to take violent action against a minority group? That's iniquitous because the movie's message is grossly immoral.

Front 65

detrimental

Back 65

formal way of saying "harmful."

Hint 65

Smoking may be detrimental to your health

Front 66

aesthetic

Back 66

subject at hand is beauty or the arts.

Front 67

revulsion

Back 67

intense, violent, sometimes physical, dislike of something.

Hint 67

You may feel revulsion at the thought of seeing a horror movie, but other people can't wait to be scared by the latest zombie or slasher flick.

Front 68

diligent

Back 68

works hard and carefully

Hint 68

If you want to write the epic history of your family, you'll have to be very diligent in tracking down and interviewing all of your relatives.

Front 69

gregarious

Back 69

outgoing, sociable, and fond of the company of others

Hint 69

“he is a gregarious person who avoids solitude”

Front 70

dissemble

Back 70

pretend, hide under a false appearance, to deceive.

Hint 70

"My boyfriend was dissembling the whole time. He was a married father of two."

Front 71

egalitarian

Back 71

believes in the equality of all people

Hint 71

egalitarian society gives everyone equal rights.

Front 72

adulation

Back 72

exaggerated and hypocritical praise

Hint 72

If you've ever been to a pop concert filled with screaming fans you've probably been exposed to adulation

Front 73

innocuous

Back 73

isn't harmful or likely to cause injury.

Hint 73

An innocuous question is innocently curious, rather than aimed to hurt someone's feelings.

Front 74

ambiguous

Back 74

having more than one possible meaning

Hint 74

“frustrated by ambiguous instructions, the parents were unable to assemble the toy”

Front 75

ominous

Back 75

something unpleasant or threatening

Hint 75

If you see an ominous frown on your boss's face, you're in trouble!

Front 76

resentful

Back 76

if you are resentful of someone, you feel ill will toward him, mixed with envy,

Hint 76

You are resentful when a newer coworker gets the promotion you've been working toward for years.

Front 77

omniscient

Back 77

to know everything

Hint 77

This often refers to a special power of God.

Front 78

guerrilla

Back 78

small underground army, usually trying to overcome a larger and more organized force.

Front 79

hostile

Back 79

unfriendly

Front 80

elicit

Back 80

creating or provoking a response

Hint 80

A good comedianelicits a lot of laughs.

Front 81

illicit

Back 81

illegal, not allowed by law or custom

Hint 81

An illicit drug trade is one that happens under the radar of the law.

Front 82

incite

Back 82

cause to act or occur

Hint 82

Violent words can incite violent actions which, in turn, might incite public outcry against violence.

Front 83

esoteric

Back 83

intended for or understood by only a small group

Hint 83

Marks++ is an esoteric app

Front 84

gaffe

Back 84

socially awkward or tactless act

Hint 84

If you run into a friend out with her grey-haired father, and you blurt out, "Oh, hi, you must be Tara's grandfather!" then you've made a gaffe.

Front 85

idiosyncrasy

Back 85

peculiar behaviour ; characteristic peculiar to an individual or group

Hint 85

If you only say goodbye in French, never in English, that would be an idiosyncrasy.

Front 86

insular

Back 86

having a narrow view of the world

Hint 86

insular people who never leave their small town, which enables them to believe that every place in the world is the same and the people are all just like them.

Front 87

potentate (n)

Back 87

a person so powerful they don't have to follow the rules that govern everyone else

Hint 87

Potentate normally refers to a king or dictator, but you can call anyone with virtually unlimited power a potentate.

Front 88

castigate

Back 88

punish, and punish harshly

; criticize severely

Hint 88

If you take a mean teacher's books, even accidentally, you might worry that she's going to castigateyou as soon as she finds out.

Front 89

censure (n)

Back 89

referring to very strong criticism

Hint 89

If you take your dad's car without telling him, you can expect him to censureyou severely, and maybe even ground you as well.

Front 90

denounce

Back 90

speak out against

Hint 90

When you stand on your desk and tell the class that your partner is cheating, you denounce him or her.

Front 91

condemn

Back 91

openly criticize, someone who is behaving inappropriately

Hint 91

If you are an animal rights activist, you would probably condemn someone for wearing fur.

Front 92

reclusive

Back 92

desire for seclusion or privacy

Hint 92

Grocery shopping late at night is a reclusive habit, because few people are in the store then.

Front 93

relinquish

Back 93

to retire from; give up or abandon

Hint 93

You relinquish control of the army when you resign as general.

Front 94

renounce

Back 94

to give up (a title, for example), especially by formal
announcement

Hint 94

To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the rights of humanity and even its duties.

Front 95

vituperative

Back 95

criticism that's so sharp it hurts.

Hint 95

Avituperative review of a movie would make the director bitter for months.

Front 96

circumscribe

Back 96

to limit or restrict

Hint 96

If you spend too much time watching TV instead of fulfilling other obligations, you might circumscribe your TV-watching time to one hour daily (or two hours, if your favorite show is on).

Front 97

contigiuous

Back 97

Use the adjective contiguous when you want to describe one thing touching another thing, or next to it but not actually touching.

Hint 97

Utah and the contiguous state of Idaho

Front 98

conciliatory

Back 98

things that make other people less angry.

Hint 98

If you're in a fight with a friend and you want to end it, you should make a conciliatorygesture, such as inviting her to a party you're having.

Front 99

credible

Back 99

honest and believable

Hint 99

A pathological liar, for example, might not be the most credible witness for your case against the bank robber.

Front 100

exonerate

Back 100

declare him not guilty of criminal charges

Hint 100

A word with a similar meaning that might be familiar is “acquit.”

Front 101

incontrovertible

Back 101

undeniably, absolutely, 100 percent, completely true.;

there is no controversy about something, or, in other words, it is unchangeable and true.

Hint 101

Incontrovertible evidence or proof is what you are looking for if you suspect that someone is doing something wrong.

Front 102

indict

Back 102

accuse formally of a crime

Hint 102

A book that indictsthe entire education system might lay out all the reasons that schools are failing kids.

Front 103

litigious

Back 103

tend to sue people

Hint 103

If you think that there are too many lawsuits, you think that a litigious culture is not good, but if you think it's important for people to demand compensation for other's people's negligence, then maybe you appreciate litigious behavior.

Front 104

parity

Back 104

functional equality

Front 105

rectitude

Back 105

behavior that is correct, upright and honorable

Hint 105

You have moralrectitude if you refuse to be involved with a plan that some kids in your class have to cheat on a test.

Front 106

remiss

Back 106

failing in what duty requires

Hint 106

remiss of you not to pay your bills

Front 107

repudiate

Back 107

reject it, or to refuse to accept or support it.

Hint 107

If you grow up religious, but repudiate all organized religion as an adult, you might start spending holidays at the movies, or just going to work.

Front 108

sanctimonious

Back 108

excessively or hypocritically pious

Hint 108

The sanctimonious person sounds like a hypocrite when he preaches to a friend about the evils of drugs, while he drinks one beer after another.

Front 109

scrupulous

Back 109

characterized by extreme care and great effort

Hint 109

paying friends back for money borrowed right away, or not returning a pair of shoes after they've been worn outdoors IS AN ACT OF BEING SCRUPULOUS

Front 110

solicitous

Back 110

attentive, caring and concerned

Hint 110

A good student will be solicitous to appear interested in what the teacher says — even when it's not that interesting.

Front 111

substantiate

Back 111

give support to a claim

Hint 111

We’d really like to believe in the Tooth Fairy; however, more evidence is needed tosubstantiate her existence

Front 112

veracity

Back 112

unwillingness to tell lies, truthfulness

Hint 112

If you question the veracity of a statement or story, you wonder whether it is truthful or accurate.

Front 113

vindicate

Back 113

justify, prove, or reinforce an idea or to absolve from guilt.

Hint 113

If your family thinks you hogged the last piece of pie on Thanksgiving, you'll bevindicated when your younger brother fesses up.

When a lawyer clears her client's name in a trial, she vindicates him

Front 114

cajole

Back 114

persuade them by using insincere compliments or promises

Hint 114

If you say "Please, pretty-please, I'll be your best friend," when asking for a stick of gum, you are cajoling the gum holder.

Front 115

chicanery

Back 115

tricky kind of deceit and manipulation

Hint 115

if a politician's chicanery is exposed, he will lose public trust and not be returned to office in the next election cycle.

Front 116

shenanigans

Back 116

a clever form of deception,

Hint 116

Ever been ripped off at three card monte or some other con? Well, you're the victim of ashenanigan

Front 117

sycophant

Back 117

a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage

Hint 117

brown-nosers, teacher's pets or suck-ups

Front 118

altruism

Back 118

the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others

Hint 118

Bill Gates is known for his altruism. He gives on charity a lot.

Front 119

eminent

Back 119

highly regarded or prominent;

impressive, famous, or accomplished

Hint 119

It's not easy to be eminent: you have to be extremely successful.

Front 120

empathy

Back 120

the ability to identify with another's feelings.

Hint 120

When Bill Clinton famously told people "I feel your pain" during his 1992 election campaign, some praised and others ridiculed him for displaying empathy

Front 121

extol

Back 121

praise it very highly

Hint 121

If you have a crush on a guy who likes your best friend, it can be very depressing to listen to him extol your friend's virtues, while you just nod and smile

Front 122

laudatory

Back 122

full of or giving praise

Hint 122

If you do great things, then you've done praise-worthy acts and people will use laudatory words when talking about you.

Front 123

magnanimous

Back 123

enerous spirit

Hint 123

Letting your little sister have the last of the cookies, even though you hadn't eaten since breakfast, would be considered amagnanimous act.

Front 124

philanthropic

Back 124

Something given to help others

Hint 124

Money, household items, giving your time and energy to a cause — all can be philanthropic contributions.

Front 125

defunct

Back 125

inactive, something that used to exist, but is now gone

Hint 125

A magazine that no longer publishes, like Sassy, the girl-power mag from the '90s, is defunct, for example.

Front 126

eradicate

Back 126

get rid of it, to destroy it, and to kiss it goodbye.

Hint 126

You can alsoeradicate corruption, poverty, or diseases. Although there are all kinds of things to get rid of, we usually want to onlyeradicate the bad things.

Front 127

quell

Back 127

to suppress or overcome

Hint 127

quell is what you have to do with nerves before a big test like SAT and fears before going skydiving.

Front 128

raze

Back 128

to tear an object down to the ground, destroy

Hint 128

Before Donald Trump can raze that family's home to build another skyscraper, he's going to have to cut them a big check.

Front 129

squelch

Back 129

putting an end to it.

Hint 129

A mean remark could squelch your self-confidence, and a powerful military could squelch an invading country.

Front 130

supplant

Back 130

take the place of

Hint 130

Kate was out sick for a month with mono, and when she came back to school, Jessie had supplanted her as the funny girl at the lunch table

Front 131

abase

Back 131

to humiliate them, — no, more than just humiliate them

Hint 131

You have abased yourselves, and we will lift ourselves up

Front 132

deride

Back 132

show a low opinion of someone or something ;

treat or speak of with contempt

Hint 132

The jerk would deride the other kids on the bus by calling them names or pulling their hair until the driver decided to de-ride him by kicking him off the bus.

Front 133

derogatory

Back 133

insulting or disrespectful

Hint 133

Racial, sexist, and homophobic slurs are all derogatory

Front 134

disparage

Back 134

belittle or degrade a person or idea.; express a negative opinion of

Hint 134

She disparaged her student's efforts

Front 135

effrontery

Back 135

rudely behave as if you have a right to something that you have no right to, you're committing effrontery

Hint 135

When a couple stroll into a crowded restaurant, demand the best table, and threaten the staff unless they're seated right away, that's effrontery.

Front 136

ignominy(n)

Back 136

great public shame, disgrace, or embarrassment, or a situation or event that causes this

Hint 136

Walk into class in your underwear is to feel what the word ignominy means

Front 137

impugn

Back 137

call into question or attack as wrong; type of challenge

Hint 137

If your usually grumpy brother is suddenly nice and sweet, you'll impugn his motives if you're smart — he probably just wants something from you

Front 138

mar (v.)

Back 138

make imperfect

Hint 138

like a deep scratch on a wooden table.

Front 139

pejorative

Back 139

disapproving expression or a term of abuse.

Hint 139

Terms of abuse such as jerk and negative euphemisms such as bottom feeder are pejoratives, words you use when you want to call someone a bad name.

Front 140

vex

Back 140

brings you trouble or difficulty. In other words, it annoys, worries, distresses, irritates, bothers, or puzzles you.

Front 141

vindictive

Back 141

revengeful

Hint 141

It is no fun hanging out with vindictivepeople, who are forever out to get back at people they think have hurt them.

Front 142

bombastic

Back 142

rhetorical, art of persuasive speech

Hint 142

To be bombastic is to be full of hot air — like a politician who makes grand promises and doesn't deliver.

Front 143

ebullience

Back 143

Bubbly, loud, and enthusiastic; full of energy

Hint 143

Take a room full of seven-year-olds and add a bunch of adorable puppies, and you'll end up with ebullience.

Front 144

exorbitant

Back 144

describe something that is really just too much

Hint 144

You'll often hear people griping aboutexorbitant bank fees or exorbitant interest rates.

Front 145

exuberant

Back 145

ebullient, extreme unrestrained enthusiasm

Hint 145

I was exuberant when I found out that I have
gotten into the college of my choice. Like Stanford.

Front 146

embellish

Back 146

to ornament or decorate; to exaggerate

Hint 146

One can never trust that Anwar’s stories are realistic;
his details are almost always embellished so that his
experiences sound more interesting than they really
are.

Front 147

flagrant

Back 147

so bad you can't ignore it.

Hint 147

like flagrant bad taste or flagrant abuse of the rules of grammar.

Front 148

gratuitous

Back 148

"without cause" or "unnecessary."

Hint 148

given freely; unearned; unnecessary
The film was full of gratuitous sex and violence
inessential to the story.

Front 149

lavish

Back 149

extravagant

Hint 149

Didn't your parents lavish you with praise and love when you were small?

Front 150

lugubrious

Back 150

Anything that makes you sad, gloomy, or mournful can be calledlugubrious.

Hint 150

Funerals are lugubrious. So are rainy days and Mondays.

Front 151

opulent

Back 151

rich and superior in quality ; showing off your wealth

Hint 151

"Remember the opulent buffet at Carrie’s sweet sixteen? Sixteen chocolate cakes iced in gold leaf!"

Front 152

ornate

Back 152

covered in ornaments ; it's lavish, flowery, or heavily adorned.

Hint 152

The wood carvings were so ornate that you could
examine them many times and still notice things you
had not seen before

Front 153

penchant

Back 153

strong preference or tendency

Hint 153

If you have a penchant for pizza, you either eat it daily, or wish you did.

Front 154

redundant

Back 154

things that are unnecessary or could be left out

Hint 154

If a business has two stores on the same street, one is redundant.

Front 155

ubiquitous

Back 155

being present everywhere at once

Hint 155

The house is haunted with an ubiquitous ghost

Front 156

vicarious

Back 156

it delivers a feeling or experience from someone else

Hint 156

If your child becomes a big star, you might have avicarious experience of celebrity.

Front 157

vignette

Back 157

a brief but powerful scene

Hint 157

A good vignette leaves you wanting more.

Front 158

amalgam

Back 158

simply a combination of two or more unlike things into one.

Hint 158

If your band plays a combination of country music and jazz, they play an amalgam of contemporary styles.

Front 159

inundate

Back 159

quickly fill up or overwhelm, just like a flood

Hint 159

Your bathroom could be inundated with water if the pipes burst, and hopefully your inbox is inundatedwith nice emails on your birthday.

Front 160

multifarious

Back 160

A person or thing with many sides or different qualities

Hint 160

The Internet has multifarious uses, museums are known for their multifarious art collections, and Hindu gods are associated with multifarious incarnations.

Front 161

multiplicity

Back 161

a lot of something, usually countable and varied

Hint 161

If you're skilled in juggling, tightrope walking, and lion taming, you could call yourself a circus performer with a multiplicity of talents.

Front 162

alleviate

Back 162

relieve, your pain; make easier

Hint 162

You can take medicine to alleviate symptoms or do exercise to alleviate stress.

Front 163

cathartic

Back 163

Whatever causes you to release a sudden flood of feelings is cathartic

Hint 163

A movie, play, or song that makes you cry is called cathartic.

Front 164

palliative

Back 164

That which is palliative relieves and soothes, but isn’t expected to cure.

Hint 164

A heating pack is a commonly employed palliative for temporarily reducing the pain of strained muscles.

Front 165

docile

Back 165

easily handled or managed

Hint 165

I did not like to play with Third Wife’s daughters, who were as docileand dull as their mother.

Front 166

epitome

Back 166

typical example of something

Hint 166

The cartoon character Garfield is the epitome of the fat, lazy, food-obsessed cat.

Front 167

felicitous

Back 167

something that's really pleasant ;

If someone behaves in a felicitousmanner, she's being agreeable and appropriate.

Hint 167

When you plan a trip to the amusement park and it turns out that the sun is shining, that’s felicitous.

OR

You know, the way you should behave when your great aunt offers you those stale candies.

Front 168

belie

Back 168

to contradict.

Hint 168

If you are 93 but look like you are 53, then your young looks belie your age.

Front 169

debunk

Back 169

prove it wrong

Hint 169

For over a century people have tried to debunk the notion of natural selection, but no one has succeeded.

Front 170

dubious

Back 170

something you have doubts about or you suspect is not true.

Hint 170

Jerry’s dubious claim that he could fly like
Superman didn’t win him any summer job offers.

Front 171

duplicitous

Back 171

pretending to have feelings that his actions contradict;

deliberately deceptive

Hint 171

Someone who is duplicitous can also be called "two-faced," a vivid way to remember that this person shouldn't be trusted or taken at face value.

Front 172

fabricate

Back 172

to make up in order to deceive

Hint 172

Fabio fabricated the story that he used to play drums
Fabio fabricated the story that he used to play drums
for Metallica; he has never actually held a drumstick
in his life.

Front 173

fallacy

Back 173

a false notion; misleading argument or belief based on a falsehood.

Hint 173

In poetry, the "pathetic fallacy" is the false idea that things like rocks or stars have human feelings

Front 174

mendacious

Back 174

one who tells lies habitually and intentionally

Hint 174

Don't get stuck at the water cooler or bus stop next to someone you consider mendacious!

Front 175

specious

Back 175

Use specious to describe an argument that seems to be good, correct, or logical, but is not so.

Hint 175

We live on the earth, therefore the earth must be the center of the universe has been proven to be a specious theory of the solar system.

Front 176

apathetic

Back 176

showing little or no emotion or animation

Hint 176

Maybe you feel apathetic because nothing around you stirs your interest, or maybe it’s because you need some coffee.

Front 177

capricious

Back 177

describe a person or thing that's impulsive and unpredictable

Hint 177

a bride who suddenly leaves her groom standing at the wedding altar. was a capricious act

Front 178

equivocal

Back 178

open to two or more interpretations and often
intended to mislead; ambiguous (antonym:
unequivocal)

Hint 178

The politician made so many equivocal statements
during the scandal that no one could be sure what, if
anything, he had admitted to.

Front 179

erratic

Back 179

unpredictable, unusual, and that deviate from the norm.

Hint 179

Erroll’s erratic behavior made it difficult for his
friends to predict what he would do in a given
moment.

Front 180

impetus

Back 180

force behind something

Hint 180

If you push a car that's out of gas, you're the impetus that's getting it moving.
OR
. Advertisers hope their commercials will be an impetus to buy the product.

Front 181

sporadic

Back 181

something that happens or appears often, but not constantly or regularly.

Hint 181

The mailman comes every day but the plumber visits are sporadic––he comes as needed.

Front 182

vacillate

Back 182

waver back and forth, unable to decide.

Hint 182

You might vacillatebetween ordering waffles and pancakes at your favorite diner — it’s hard to pick just one when both are so tasty!

Front 183

whimsical

Back 183

characterized by whim; unpredictable

Front 184

whim

Back 184

odd or fanciful idea, something kooky you suddenly decide to do

Hint 184

like dress up like a chicken or drive to Vegas.

Front 185

flag

Back 185

getting tired or losing your focus.

Hint 185

Stopping for a snack may help when your energy or attention begin to flag

Front 186

clandestine

Back 186

describe something that is done in secret

Hint 186

like yourclandestine attempts to steal your brother's Halloween candy.

Front 187

subterfuge

Back 187

tricky actions to hide, or get something.

Hint 187

f you want to surprise your mom with a sweatshirt, but don't know her size, it might take an act of subterfuge, like going through her closet, to find it out.

Front 188

surreptitious

Back 188

being secretive ; doing something that they don't want to be seen doing.

Hint 188

The members of the secret society hold surreptitious meetings because, well, they're a secret society

or

I was very surreptitious in how I organized the surprise party: she never knew!

Front 189

modicum

Back 189

a small amount of something

Hint 189

If you have a modicum of interest in something, you are a little bit interested.

Front 190

paucity

Back 190

not enough of something ; scarcity

Front 191

squander

Back 191

to spend extravagantly, thoughtlessly, or wastefully
synonym : prodigal

Hint 191

If you need to save for college, don't squander her income on nightly sushi dinners.

Front 192

temperate

Back 192

mild, moderate

Hint 192

If you're atemperate person, you are calm, reasonable.

If you live in a temperate climate it's warm and sunny, but not too hot.

Front 193

tenuous

Back 193

If something is tenuous it's thin, either literally or metaphorically

Hint 193

Tenuous arguments won't win any debate tournaments. Synonyms fortenuous, also used physically or metaphorically, are flimsy andshaky.

Front 194

maverick

Back 194

rebel, someone who shows a lot of independence

Hint 194

A maverick on a motorcycle might blaze his own trail, or show a maverick touch in a rough sport by wearing a helmet with the word "Mom" inside a heart.

Front 195

mercenary

Back 195

marked by materialism ; motivated solely by a desire for money or material
gain

Hint 195

Mercer is a mercenary lawyer; he’ll argue for
whichever side pays him the most for his services.

Front 196

obstinate

Back 196

beyond stubborn

Hint 196

"The obstinate Man does not hold Opinions, but they hold him,"

Front 197

proliferate

Back 197

it's growing, spreading or multiplying really quickly

Hint 197

funny YouTube videos proliferate on the internet;Other similar words include expand,reproduce, snowball, and spawn.

Front 198

tenacity

Back 198

persistent determination

Hint 198

Odds are, the people you admire have shown real tenacity in achieving their goals.

Front 199

vigilant

Back 199

on the alert; watchful

Hint 199

When taking the subway, bevigilant about your wallet––always know where it is, or someone might steal it from you.

Front 200

extraneous

Back 200

coming from or belonging to the outside ;

irrelevant; inessential

Hint 200

“the ballet struck me as extraneous and somewhat out of keeping with the rest of the play”

Front 201

juxtapose

Back 201

to place side by side, especially for comparison or
contrast

Hint 201

Separately the pictures look identical, but if you
juxtapose them, you can see the differences

Front 202

novel

Back 202

something is so new and original that it's never been seen, used or even thought of before

Hint 202

ompanies are always looking for that novel idea that will earn them millions

Front 203

superfluous

Back 203

extra; unnecessary

Hint 203

When something is so unnecessary that it could easily be done away with, like a fifth wheel on a car or a fifth person on a double date

Front 204

synergy

Back 204

working together to create something greater than either of you could do alone.

Hint 204

You write the lyrics and your friend composes the music. Separately each of you is pretty good, but together you’ve got a mega-hit song. That’s synergy

Front 205

tangential

Back 205

something that's not part of the whole ; only
superficially relevant

Hint 205

If you make a comment that istangential to the story you're telling, it's a digression. The story could still be understood without it.

Front 206

digression

Back 206

strayed from the main topic.

Hint 206

When your essay about French cooking starts describing a childhood trip to Disneyland, it's taken a digression

Front 207

aural

Back 207

pertaining to hearing

Hint 207

Some people learn well using their aural skills, which means they can hear something and remember it easily later.

Front 208

cacophony

Back 208

mishmash of unpleasant sounds, often at loud volume

Hint 208

It's what you'd hear if you gave instruments to a group of four-year olds and asked them to play one of Beethoven's symphonies.

Front 209

dirge

Back 209

song of mourning, performed as a memorial to someone who’s died

Hint 209

something mournful sounds like a dirge

As you might imagine, a dirge is usually quite sad. Another word with a similar meaning that you might know is “requiem.”

Front 210

eclectic

Back 210

made up of a variety of sources or styles

Hint 210

She listens to hip-hop, Gregorian chant, and folk music from the '60s. He's been seen wearing a handmade tuxedo jacket over a thrift-store flannel shirt. They both haveeclectic tastes.

Front 211

incongruous

Back 211

inconsistent or incompatible with something else

Hint 211

My chicken and jello soup experiment failed; the
tastes were just too incongruous.

Front 212

sonorous

Back 212

describe sound or speech that is full, rich, and deep

Hint 212

My father’s sonorous snoring keeps me up all night
unless I close my door and wear earplugs.

Front 213

strident

Back 213

unpleasantly loud and harsh

Hint 213

If you're angry at your brother, you might come striding into his room and begin making a strident case for why he has done you wrong.

Front 214

striding

Back 214

walking quickly with a wide step

Hint 214

If you're angry at your brother, you might come striding into his room and begin making a strident case for why he has done you wrong.

Front 215

debacle

Back 215

violent disaster or a great failure ; fiasco

Hint 215

If the flower gardens come toppling down during prom, strangling some students and tripping others, you might call the evening a debacle.

Front 216

tumultuous

Back 216

"disruptive," "troubled," "disorderly," or "turbulent."

Hint 216

you might steer your boat into a safe harbor before a heavy storm, so the tumultuous waves won't sweep you onto the rocks.

Front 217

anachronistic

Back 217

old-fashioned and maybe a little out of place

Hint 217

clunky black rotary-dial telephone sitting on a desk beside a sleek new smart-phone (or whatever the new technology when you read this).

Front 218

archaic

Back 218

something outmoded, belonging to an earlier period

Hint 218

Rotary phones and cassette players already seem so archaic!

Front 219

ephemeral

Back 219

short-lived

Hint 219

The importance of SAT scores is truly ephemeral;
when you are applying, they are crucial, but once
you get into college, no one cares how well you did.

Front 220

dilatory

Back 220

habitually late

Hint 220

Always waiting until the last moment to leave home
in the morning, Dylan was a dilatory student.

Front 221

redolent

Back 221

fragrant; aromatic; suggestive

Hint 221

When something is redolent of something, it makes you think of that thing by making a pretty strong impression on you. He had a shifty eye redolent of years of lying and petty crime.

Front 222

temporal

Back 222

limited by time

Hint 222

Our time on earth is temporal.

Front 223

onerous

Back 223

very difficult to deal with or do.

Hint 223

If one teacher gives you three hours of homework a night, that's rough. But if all of your teachers do it, that makes the task of completing your homework an onerous one, to say the least.

Front 224

portent

Back 224

a sign of something about to happen ; omen

Hint 224

While you might love crows, your father will shudder when he sees them if he superstitiously believes they're a portent — a sign or warning — of death.

Front 225

prescience

Back 225

the power to foresee the future

Hint 225

Preetha’s prescience was such that people wondered
if she was psychic; how else could she know so
much about the future?

Front 226

austere

Back 226

describe something or someone stern or without any decoration

Hint 226

You wouldn't want someone to describe you or your home as austere.

Front 227

stern

Back 227

"strict" or "severe."

Hint 227

You know when you've done something really wrong, and the person who gets you in trouble has that unforgiving look on his face? The best word for that look is stern

Front 228

banal

Back 228

boring and unoriginal

Hint 228

Banal things are dull as dishwater.

Front 229

trite

Back 229

silly or overused

Hint 229

A love song with lyrics about holding hands in the sunshine? Totally trite.

Front 230

hackneyed

Back 230

overused and trite

Hint 230

Roses are red, violets are..." — enough already?! That's hackneyed stuff.

Front 231

insipid

Back 231

lacking in flavor or interest

Hint 231

You'll probably find the generic poems inside of greeting cards insipid.

Front 232

generic

Back 232

refers to the members of a whole class of things

Hint 232

A generic fan looks and acts just like dozens of other fans — it doesn't spin backwards or send out sparks.

Front 233

prosaic

Back 233

ordinary or dull

Hint 233

Most of us lead a prosaic everyday life, sometimes interrupted by some drama or crisis.

Front 234

soporific

Back 234

sleep-inducing

Hint 234

Certain medicines, but also extreme coziness, can have a soporific effect.

Front 235

brevity

Back 235

shortness or conciseness

Hint 235

Brevity = briefness. (You can’t get any shorter than
that!)

Front 236

expedient

Back 236

appropriate to a purpose; practical ; serving to promote your interest ; convenient, speedy

Hint 236

It was more expedient to use Federal Express than
to use the post office.

Front 237

transient

Back 237

lasting a very short time

(noun) a person who moves from place to place; a homeless person

Hint 237

Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?

Front 238

augment

Back 238

make better, enlarge or increase, grow

Hint 238

Maybe your bike isn't getting around very well on hills: the bike needs to be augmented with a better set of tires.

Front 239

bolster

Back 239

offer support or strengthen.

Hint 239

When you cheer up a friend who's feeling down, you bolster them.

Front 240

burgeon

Back 240

describe something that is growing, expanding, and flourishing

Hint 240

You may have a burgeoning career as a villain if you overthrow a planet by using your mind-controlling ray gun on the populace.

Front 241

copious

Back 241

large in number or quantity

Hint 241

If you take copiousnotes, you'll do well when it comes time for review sessions — unless you can't read your own handwriting.

Front 242

distend

Back 242

cause to expand as it by internal pressure as when
overly full; become wider

Hint 242

The balloon distended as it was filled with helium,
much like Mike’s stomach after he ate an entire
turkey on Thanksgiving.

Front 243

grandiose

Back 243

unnecessarily overblown and even highfalutin; grand

Hint 243

You've got big plans. Huge plans. Whatever it is, it's going to blow minds and absolutely rock worlds! Well, to some people those plans might sound a bit grandiose

Front 244

prodigious

Back 244

so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe

Hint 244

A little drizzle isn't a prodigious rain, but a storm that floods a whole city certainly is.

Front 245

profundity

Back 245

thoughtful, deep, and wise

Hint 245

profundity of the silence in the room following the announcement of bad news

Front 246

redouble

Back 246

to intensify it or make it bigger

Hint 246

After losing your initial run for school president, you might redoubleyour efforts the next year, with a bigger and better campaign.

Front 247

scintillating

Back 247

brilliant

Hint 247

The writer’s scintillating narrative diverted Izabel’s
attention away from her other guests.

Front 248

averse

Back 248

strongly opposed

Hint 248

my father is averse to people smoking cigarettes in the house, but he would not be averse to your smoking a cigar.

Front 249

conspicuous

Back 249

easy to notice; obvious (antonym: inconspicuous)

Hint 249

zit in the center of your friend's forehead

Front 250

demure

Back 250

modest, reserved, or shy person

Hint 250

A demure outfit is a modest one––think high neckline and low hem.

Front 251

demur

Back 251

to show reluctance or to hesitate

Hint 251

If your mother asks you to clean your room and you refuse, you demur.

Front 252

diffidence

Back 252

lack of self-confidence

Hint 252

Your diffidence might be the reason why you never say "hi" to the cute guy or gal in the elevator or why you never ask for a raise.

Front 253

placid

Back 253

not easily irritated

Hint 253

Lake Placid is characteristic of being placid, its calm and undisturbed.

Front 254

quiescent

Back 254

being quiet and still

Hint 254

Quinn’s quiescent behavior made him an ideal
roommate.

Front 255

concord

Back 255

agreement (antonym: discord)

Hint 255

If you want to watch a romantic comedy and your date wants to watch a horror film, you might compromise and come to a concord by agreeing to watch an action comedy.

Front 256

concur

Back 256

to agree or approve of something

Hint 256

The board concurred that the con artist who had
stolen their money had to be convicted.

Front 257

dogmatic

Back 257

arrogant attitudes based on unproved theories

Hint 257

If you dogmatically assert that the moon is made of green cheese, you'll just get laughed at.

Front 258

fastidious

Back 258

giving careful attention to detail; hard to please; excessively concerned with cleanliness

Hint 258

If you want to describe a person who insists on perfection or pays much attention to food, clothing and cleanliness, the right word is fastidious.

Front 259

intransigence

Back 259

stubborn refusal to change your views

Hint 259

If you refuse to compromise with your sister about whose turn it is to do the dishes, your mother might accuse you both ofintransigence.

Front 260

jocular

Back 260

characterized by jokes and good humor

Hint 260

Class clowns can't stop being jocular, though the teacher might just see them as obnoxious

Front 261

obnoxious

Back 261

annoying and unpleasant.

Hint 261

Driving like a maniac is obnoxious. If the teacher comes in and finds students jumping up and down and throwing books, she might say, "Stop being so obnoxious!"

Front 262

affable

Back 262

friendly, pleasant, and easy to talk to

Hint 262

An affable host offers you something to drink and makes you feel at home.

Front 263

alacrity

Back 263

liveliness and eagerness

Hint 263

Someone with alacrity shows cheerful willingness and eager behavior, like a kid whose mother has told him he can buy anything in a candy store.

Front 264

amiable

Back 264

friendly, pleasant person

Hint 264

Airline flight attendants tend to be amiable. The people monitoring the school's cafeteria? Maybe not.

Front 265

benign

Back 265

gentle, kind, mild, or unharmful

Hint 265

a benign soul wouldn't hurt a fly.

Front 266

sanguine

Back 266

you're optimistic that everything's going to work out fine.

Hint 266

Harold’s sanguine temperament kept him cheerful,
even through somber times.

Front 267

belligerent

Back 267

eager to fight

Hint 267

It's a good idea to avoid hardcore hockey fans after their team loses — they tend to be belligerent.

Front 268

cantankerous

Back 268

stubbornly obstructive and unwilling to cooperate

Hint 268

Take care not to throw your ball into the yard of the cantankerous old man down the street — he'll cuss you out and keep your ball.

Front 269

contentious

Back 269

quarrelsome

Hint 269

Contentious issues get people angry and in a fighting mood. On the other hand, some people always seem to be in a fighting mood, no matter what the issue is. People like that are contentious too.

Front 270

deleterious

Back 270

harmful to living things

Hint 270

Smoking has obviousdeleterious effects on your health, not to mention your social life.

Front 271

exacerbate

Back 271

formal-sounding verb that means to make worse

Hint 271

If you're in trouble, complaining about it will onlyexacerbate the problem.

Front 272

flippant

Back 272

casual to the point of sarcasm and disrespect ; inappropriate

Hint 272

When a parent scolds a teenager for missing a curfew or blowing off a test and the teen snaps back, "Whatever," you could say the teen is being flippant.

Front 273

insolent

Back 273

marked by casual disrespect ; impudent

Hint 273

That student in your class who is constantly snubbing the teacher, snorting when he gives assignments, and rolling her eyes when he reads passages aloud from your vocabulary textbook? Insolent, definitely insolent.

Front 274

nefarious

Back 274

extremely wicked

Hint 274

Batman and Superman are always fighting evildoers and stopping their nefarious plots.

Front 275

pernicious

Back 275

harmful and subtle ;noxious

Hint 275

You might have heard your parents and teachers talk about the pernicious effects of watching too much TV and playing video games all day––they'll turn your brain to mush.

Front 276

rancorous

Back 276

showing deep-seated resentment

Hint 276

attitude of your cousin who still won't speak to you after the April Fool's Day prank you played four years ago is described as rancorous

Front 277

repugnant

Back 277

offensive to the mind

Hint 277

like the idea of marrying your sister.

Front 278

supercilious

Back 278

think very highly of themselves, more highly than of others.

Hint 278

Think of them as a "super silly ass," and you'll remember the basic sense ofsupercilious.

Front 279

arboreal

Back 279

relating to or resembling a tree or trees

Hint 279

The Rocky Mountain National Forest will celebrate
its arboreal splendor with an Arbor Day concert.

Front 280

splendor

Back 280

magnificent or grand

Hint 280

If your prom was held in a luxurious ballroom, with elegant decor, you might note the splendor of the setting.

Front 281

invocation (n)

Back 281

the act of appealing for help

Hint 281

such as a prayer for serenity or a plea to the rain gods during a drought.

Front 282

stratify

Back 282

divide into layers or classes.

Hint 282

Announcing pay raises for only half of the employees in a company would be a quick way to stratify the office.

Front 283

variegated

Back 283

having a variety of colors

Hint 283

he scales of a fish can appear quite variegated from one angle and then strangely uniform from another.

Front 284

verdant

Back 284

green with vegetation

Hint 284

The garden was verdant after the rain.

Front 285

catastrophe

Back 285

a sudden violent change in the earth's surface

Hint 285

A hurricane destroying hundreds of homes is certainly a catastrophe; baking a birthday cake without following a recipe might also result in catastrophe, if you don't know anything about cooking.

Front 286

thwarted

Back 286

disappointingly unsuccessful

Hint 286

a thwarted team that isn't going to win the championship; another team has surpassed them. If you give up on your dream of becoming a veterinarian, instead of feeling thwarted, you should put your energy into finding a different career that will be better for you.

Front 287

acuity

Back 287

sharpness and smartness

Hint 287

Do you always get A's in math? Then you have an acuity for numbers.

Front 288

REVERENT

Back 288

feeling or showing profound respect or veneration , RESPECTFUL

Hint 288

People are occasionallyreverent in regard to antique cars, supermodels, spelling bee champions and giant TV screens.

Front 289

hostile

Back 289

unfriendly, belligerent

Front 290

seminal

Back 290

containing seeds of later development

Hint 290

Even though Traf-O-Data wasn’t a roaring success, it was seminal in preparing us to make Microsoft’s first product a couple of years later’

Front 291

philanthropist

Back 291

person who gives money or gifts to charities, or helps needy people in other ways.

synonym : altruist

Hint 291

Famous examples include Andrew Carnegie and Bill & Melinda Gates.

Front 292

manifest

Back 292

evident, obvious

Hint 292

You might manifest your dislike of school food by stirring it around into a big pile of slop on your tray.

Front 293

benefactor

Back 293

a person who helps people or institutions (especially with financial help)

Hint 293

Every school, museum, and struggling artist is in search for a generous benefactor, or someone to provide the financial means to keep everything running smoothly.

Front 294

emulate

Back 294

When you emulate someone, you imitate them, especially with the idea of matching their success.

Hint 294

we only call heroes those whom we admire and wish to emulate

Front 295

cynical

Back 295

believing the worst of human nature and motives ; MISANTHROPIC

Hint 295

if you think public officials are nothing but a bunch of greedy buffoons, you have acynical attitude about politics.

Front 296

deplorable

Back 296

describe something extremely bad or unfortunate, wretched

Hint 296

like the deplorable destruction and loss of life in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami.

Front 297

chronic

Back 297

being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering ; habitual

Hint 297

If you smoke a cigarette once, you've simply made a bad choice. But if you're a chronicsmoker, you've been smoking for a long time and will have a hard time stopping.

Front 298

acute

Back 298

sharp or extremely serious.

Hint 298

Lee felt an acute spasm of real anger.

Front 299

deploring

Back 299

express strong disapproval of something

Hint 299

If you really, really hate the way your mom makes meatloaf, then it's safe to say you deplore it.

Front 300

shwadenfreude

Back 300

delight in another person's misfortune

Hint 300

If you're fired from your difficult job, no one can blame you for a bit of Schadenfreude as you watch your replacement struggle with your old tasks.

Front 301

scorn

Back 301

disrespect for someone or something

Hint 301

You might scorn a politician who spends $100,000 on travel while claiming to work hard promoting middle-class values.

Front 302

maudlin

Back 302

effusively or insincerely emotional

Hint 302

Tearjerkers like "Forrest Gump" and "Titanic" can be described asmaudlin.

Front 303

grotesque

Back 303

very strange and ugly in an unnatural way

Hint 303

If something "grosses you out," you can safely refer to it as grotesque.

Front 304

decent

Back 304

sufficient or acceptable.

Hint 304

The local diner you like to frequent may not serve a four-star breakfast, but it probably has decent food.

Front 305

treacherous

Back 305

dangerously unstable and unpredictable

Hint 305

A treacherous road might be icy or otherwise likely to cause a car accident. Atreacherous friend will betray you.

Front 306

inquisitive

Back 306

love to inquire; you’re always asking questions. ; curiosity,

Hint 306

Don’t become a private detective if you don’t have an inquisitive personality.

Front 307

speculative

Back 307

describes very risky and unproven ideas or chances.

Hint 307

You might have great ideas about starting your own business but your plans are speculative until you earn money from them.

Front 308

endeavor

Back 308

attempt by employing effort

Hint 308

The ordinary objects of human endeavor — property, outward success, luxury — have always seemed to me contemptible," wrote Albert Einstein..

or

i endeavor to get 2400 on SAT

Front 309

materialistic

Back 309

obsessively focused on money, or cares deeply about owning luxury goods ; mercenary, worldly-minded

Front 310

RETICENCE

Back 310

kind of reserve, wanting to avoid communication and not wanting to offer any more information than is necessary.

Hint 310

Someone charged with a crime might be instructed by their lawyer to show reticence when being questioned by police.

Front 311

reckon

Back 311

expect, believe, or suppose

Hint 311

"Who do you reckon is going to win the Super Bowl?"