Verbal Advantage Level 2

Front 1

DEFRAY (di-FRAY)

Back 1

To pay, provide money for, cover the cost or expenses of

Front 2

TACITURN (TAS-i-turn)

Back 2

Silent, not talkative, holding one's tongue, habitually silent and withdrawn.
Synonyms: reserved, uncommunicative, reticent.
Antonyms: garrulous (Level 4, Word 8), loquacious, effusive, voluble (Level 5, Word 1).
Related word: tacit (Level 2, Word 9), unspoken, done or made in silence

Front 3

TERSE (rhymes with curse)

Back 3

Brief and to the point, free of superfluous words, expressed in a pointed and polished way.
Synonyms: concise, pithy, succinct, laconic (Level 3, Word 18).
Antonyms: long-winded, redundant, verbose (Level 2, Word 30), prolix (Level 9, Word 1).

Front 4

BOON (rhymes with moon)

Back 4

A blessing, timely and welcome benefit, something beneficial bestowed upon one,
something to be thankful for.
Additional useful words: yore, time long past; supplicant, a person who begs for
something; supplication, the act of begging for something humbly and earnestly;
archaic, old-fashioned, of a former time.

Front 5

PITTANCE (PIT'ns, rhymes with admittance)

Back 5

A small amount, portion, or share, especially a small or meager amount of money.
Memory aid: Think of the pit of a fruit, which is . small and hard, and you'll easily
remember that a pittance is a small amount of money that is hard to live on.

Front 6

GLIB (rhymes with rib)

Back 6

Smooth-spoken, speaking in a ready, fluent manner, with natural or offhand ease,
talkative in a nonchalant way.
Synonyms: suave, facile, bland, voluble (Level 5, Word 1), flippant, unctuous.
Useful information: The synonym unctuous means having a slimy, slippery, or
smarmy manner; self-serving and insincere.
Additional useful word: unguent, a medicinal ointment, salve.

Front 7

PENCHANT (PEN-chint)

Back 7

A liking, leaning, strong inclination, decided taste.
Synonyms: propensity, proclivity.

Front 8

SOLICITOUS (suh-LIS-i-tus)

Back 8

Concerned, showing care and attention, especially in a worried, anxious, or fearful way.
Usage tip: In the above sense, solicitous may be followed by the prepositions of, for, or about. When used to mean eager, full of desire, willing, solicitous is followed by
the preposition to.

Front 9

CIRCUMSCRIBE (SUR-kum-SKRYB)

Back 9

To limit, restrict, confine, hem in, fix the boundaries of (literally, to draw a line around).
Related words: circum- means around. You can see this combining form in the words
circumstance; circumcision; circumvent, to go around, bypass, especially in a clever or
resourceful way; circumlocutory, expressed in a roundabout way; and circumnavigate, to
navigate or sail around.

Front 10

DEARTH (rhymes with earth)

Back 10

A lack, scarcity, insufficiency, inadequate supply of something needed.
Synonym: paucity (Level 10, Word 2).
Antonyms: abundance, surplus, excess, superfluity, plethora, surfeit

Front 11

INGRATIATING (in-GRAY-shee-ay-ting)

Back 11

Flattering, attempting to win approval or curry favor, trying to gain acceptance, done to
charm or please another.
Synonym: unctuous.
Usage tip: Dictionaries and thesauruses often give charming, pleasing, and agreeable as
synonyms of ingratiating, but today the word invariably has the negative suggestion of insincerely charming, pleasing or agreeable so as to gain approval or get into the good
graces of another.

Front 12

EXTEMPORIZE (eks-TEM-puh-ryz)

Back 12

To improvise, to speak or compose with little or no preparation or practice, perform
something in an offhand or unpremeditated way.
Corresponding adjective: extemporaneous (eks-TEM-puh-RAY-nee-us), spoken or
composed with little or no preparation or practice.

Front 13

ERUDITE (preferably, ER-uu-dyt or AIR-uu-dyt; commonly, AIR-yoo-dyt)

Back 13

Learned, scholarly, possessing extensive knowledge acquired chiefly from books.
Corresponding noun: erudition (preferably ER- or AIR-uu-DISH-un; commonly, AIRyoo-
DISH-un), extensive knowledge acquired from reading books.
Usage tip: erudite may be used either of people or things.

Front 14

AUSTERE (aw-STEER)

Back 14

Severe, serious, characterized by strict selfdiscipline or severe self-denial, stern in
appearance, manner, or practice.
Synonyms: somber, grim, grave, forbidding, dour (rhymes with poor).

Front 15

LACONIC (luh-KAHN-ik)

Back 15

Using few words, briefly and often bluntly expressed.
Synonyms: succinct, concise, pithy, succinct, terse (Level 3, Word 3).
Etymology: Laconic comes from the Greek lakonikos, a resident of the ancient city state
of Sparta, which was renowned for its austere and warlike people. By derivation laconic
refers to the Spartans' reputation for rigorous self-discipline and reticence. Like the
ancient Spartans, the laconic speakers and writers of today are determined to use no more
words than are necessary to get the point across, even at the risk of giving offense.

Front 16

AMELIORATE (uh-MEEL-yuh-rayt)

Back 16

To make or become better or more tolerable, raise the condition or state of.
Synonyms: improve, amend, correct, reform, rectify.
Usage tip: Ameliorate is used chiefly of improving something that needs help because it
is inferior, oppressive, or intolerable.