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25 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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AUGMENT (awg MENT) v
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to make bigger; to add to; to increase
The army augmented its attack by sending in a few thousand more soldiers. |
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AUSPICIOUS (aw SPISH us) adj
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favorable; promising; pointing to a good result
A clear sky in the morning is an auspicious sign on the day of a picnic. |
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AUSTERE (aw STEER) adj
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unadorned; stern; forbidding; without excess
The Smiths’ house was austere; there was no furniture in it, and there was nothing hanging on the walls. |
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AUTOCRATIC (aw tuh KRAT ik) adj
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ruling with absolute authority; extremely bossy
The ruthless dictator’s autocratic reign ended when the rebels blew up his palace with plastic explosive. |
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AUTONOMOUS (aw TAHN uh mus) adj
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acting independently
The West Coast office of the law firm was quite autonomous; it never asked the East Coast office for permission before it did anything. |
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AVARICE (AV ur is) n
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greed; excessive love of riches
The rich man’s avarice was annoying to everyone who wanted to lay hands on some of his money. |
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AVOW (uh VOW) v
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to claim; to declare boldly; to admit
At the age of twenty-five, Louis finally avowed that he couldn’t stand his mother’s apple pie. |
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AVUNCULAR (uh VUNG kyuh lur) adj
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like an uncle, especially a nice uncle
Professor Zia often gave us avuncular advice; he took a real interest in our education and helped us with other problems that weren’t related to multi-dimensional calculus. |
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AWRY (uh RYE) adj
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off course; twisted to one side
The hunter’s bullet went awry. Instead of hitting the bear, it hit his truck. |
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AXIOM (AK see um) n
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a self-evident rule or truth; a widely accepted saying
“Everything that is living dies” is an axiom. |
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BANAL (buh NAL) adj
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unoriginal; ordinary
The dinner conversation was so banal that Amanda fell asleep in her dessert dish. |
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BANE (bayn) n
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poison; torment; cause of harm
To say that someone is the bane of your existence is to say that that person poisons your enjoyment of life. |
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BASTION (BAS chun) n
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stronghold; fortress; fortified place
The robbers terrorized the village for several weeks, then escaped to their bastion high in the treacherous mountains. |
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BEGET (bih GET) v
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to give birth to; to create; to lead to; to cause
Those who lie should be creative and have good memories, since one lie often begets another lie, which begets another. |
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BELABOR (bi LAY bur) v
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to go over repeatedly or to an absurd extent
Mr. Irving spent the entire period belaboring the obvious; he made the same dumb observation over and over again. |
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BELEAGUER (bih LEE gur) v
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to surround; to besiege; to harass
No one could leave the beleaguered city; the attacking army had closed off all the exits. |
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BELIE (bih LYE) v
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to give a false impression of; to contradict
Melvin’s smile belied the grief he was feeling; despite his happy expression he was terribly sad inside. |
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BELITTLE (bih LIT ul) v
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to make to seem little; to put some one down
We worked hard to put out the fire, but the fire chief belittled our efforts by saying he wished he had brought some marshmallows. |
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BELLIGERENT (buh LIJ ur unt) adj
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combative; quarrelsome; waging war
Al was so belligerent that the convention had the feel of a boxing match. |
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BEMUSED (bih MYOOZD) adj
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confused; bewildered
The two stood bemused in the middle of the parking lot at Disneyland, trying to remember where they had parked their car. |
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BENEFACTOR (BEN uh fak tur) n
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one who provides help, especially in the form of a gift or donation
To give benefits is to be a benefactor. To receive benefits is to be a beneficiary. People very, very often confuse these two words. It would be to their benefit to keep them straight. |
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BENEVOLENT (beh NEV uh lunt) adj
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generous; kind; doing good deeds
Giving money to the poor is a benevolent act. To be benevolent is to bestow benefits. The United Way, like any charity, is a benevolent organization. |
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BENIGN (bih NYNE) adj
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gentle; not harmful; kind; mild
Charlie was worried that he had cancer, but the lump on his leg turned out to be benign. |
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BEREAVED (buh REEVD) adj
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deprived or left desolate, especially through death
The new widow was still bereaved when we saw her. Every time any one mentioned her dead husband’s name, she burst into tears. |
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BESET (bih SET) v
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to harass; to surround
Problems beset the expedition almost from the beginning, and the mountain climbers soon returned to their base camp. |
