Verbal Advantage 2

Front 1

1. ADVOCATE (AD-vuh-kayt)

Back 1

To support, plead for, be in favor of, defend by argument, especially, to speak or write infavor or in defense of a person or cause.
Synonyms: champion, endorse, espouse.
Corresponding noun: advocate, a supporter or defender of a cause, a champion, or aperson who speaks for another.
Related words (from the Latin vocare, to call, summon): vocation, avocation,vocational, vocal, convoke, to call together, convocation, the act of calling together, or agroup that has been summoned, evoke, to call out, call forth, and evocative, calling forth aresponse, especially an emotional one.

Front 2

2. DELEGATE (DEL-uh-gayt)

Back 2

To entrust with authority or power, deliver to another's care or management, hand over toan agent or representative.

Front 3

3. UNPRECEDENTED (uhn-PRES-uh-den-tid)

Back 3

Unheard-of, novel, new, having no precedent or parallel, having no prior example orjustification.

Front 4

4. POIGNANT (POYN-yint)

Back 4

Piercing, sharp, penetrating, specifically, piercing or penetrating to the senses, to theemotions, or to the intellect.
Synonyms: biting, cutting, keen, acute.
Related words (from the Latin pungere, to pierce or prick): puncture, pungent, piercingto the smell or taste, expunge, to punch out, erase, delete.

Front 5

5. NEBULOUS (NEB-yuu-lus)

Back 5

Unclear, vague, obscure, hazy, indefinite, indistinct.
Related word: nebula, a cloudy mass of dust or gas visible between stars in space(plural, nebulae).

Front 6

6. CLANDESTINE (klan-DES-tin)

Back 6

Kept secret, done in secrecy, especially for an evil, immoral, or illegal purpose.
Synonyms: private, concealed, covert, underhand, sly, stealthy, furtive, surreptitious.
Pronunciation tip: Avoid the recent variants klanDES-tyn, klan-DES-teen, KLAN-destyn,and KLAN-des-teen. The traditional and preferred pronunciation is klan-DES-tin.

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7. TIRADE (TY-rayd or ty-RAYD)

Back 7

A long-drawn-out speech, especially a vehement and abusive one.
Additional useful words: protracted, drawn out to great length (see Level 3, Word 25),vituperative, full of harsh, abusive language, censorious, tending to censor, to blame orcondemn.

Front 8

8. RECUR (ri-KUR or nee-KUR)

Back 8

To happen again, occur again, especially at intervals or after some lapse of time.N.B. This discussion explains the distinction between the verbs recur and reoccur.

Front 9

9. TACIT (TAS-it)

Back 9

Unspoken, silent, implied or understood without words, done or made in silence, notexpressed or declared openly.
Related word: taciturn (Level 3, Word 2).

Front 10

10. ALLEGATION (AL-uh-GAY-shin)

Back 10

An assertion or declaration, especially one made without proof. In law, an allegation isan assertion. of what one intends to prove.

Front 11

11. GULLIBLE (GUHL-uh-buul)

Back 11

Easily deceived, fooled, or cheated.
Synonym: credulous.
Related words: gull and dupe, which both mean to fool, cheat, deceive, take advantageof.

Front 12

12. BENIGN (buh-NYN, rhymes with a sign)

Back 12

(1) Kindly, good-natured, gracious, mild, having or showing a gentle disposition.
(2) Favorable, positive, propitious.
(3) Of the weather or climate, healthful, beneficial, wholesome, salubrious.

(4) In medicine: mild, not deadly, or severe.

Front 13

13. PERIPHERAL (puh-RIF-uh-rul)

Back 13

External, outer, lying at or forming the outside or boundary of something, hence, notessential, irrelevant.

Front 14

14. REBUFF (ri-BUF or ree-BUF)

Back 14

To refuse bluntly, reject sharply, turn down abruptly, snub, spurn.
Corresponding noun: rebuff, an abrupt refusal or rejection.

Front 15

15. ANIMOSITY (AN-i-MAH-si-tee)

Back 15

Ill will, hostility, antagonism, strong dislike or hatred.
Synonyms: malice, aversion, malevolence, antipathy, rancor, enmity.

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16. TENUOUS (TEN-yoo-us)

Back 16

Thin, slender, slight, flimsy, weak, not dense or substantial, lacking a strong basis, havinglittle substance or strength.

Front 17

17. COMPLACENT (kum-PLAY-sint)

Back 17

Self-satisfied, smug, overly pleased with oneself.
Usage tip: Take care to distinguish between complacent and complaisant, which ispronounced kum-PLAY-zint and means inclined to please, gracious, obliging, courteous,affable, and urbane (Level l, Word 45).

Front 18

18. ACME (AK-mee)

Back 18

The peak, highest point, especially the point of culmination, the highest possible point inthe development or progress of something.
Synonyms: summit, zenith.
Corresponding adjective: acmatic.

Front 19

19. DEFUNCT (di-FUNGKT or dee-FUNGKT)

Back 19

Dead, extinct, obsolete, no longer in existence, effect, operation, or use.

Front 20

20. ABET (uh-BET)

Back 20

To encourage, support, help, aid, promote, assist in achieving a purpose (either good orevil).
Usage tip: Abet is often used to mean assist in wrongdoing, as in the legal cliché "to aidand abet," but abet may also be used favorably to mean assist in achieving a goodpurpose.

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21. HAGGARD (HAG-urd)

Back 21

Worn out, tired, drawn, wild-eyed and wasted, as from exhaustion, illness, or grief.
Synonyms: gaunt, emaciated.

Front 22

22. WAIVE (like wave)

Back 22

To relinquish voluntarily, give up, forgo, also, to postpone, defer, or dispense with.

Front 23

23. CARNAL (KAHR-nul)

Back 23

Bodily, pertaining to the flesh as opposed to the spirit.
Synonyms: sensual, corporeal.
Usage tip: Carnal is used of basic physical appetities.

Front 24

24. SANCTION (SANGK-shin, be sure to pronounce the C)

Back 24

To approve, allow, permit, authorize, certify, ratify.

Front 25

25. AMBIGUOUS (am-BIG-yoo-us)

Back 25

Uncertain, unclear, doubtful, dubious, questionable, puzzling, having an obscure orindefinite meaning.
Synonyms: enigmatic, cryptic, equivocal.
Antonyms: distinct, apparent, evident, conspicuous, manifest.

Front 26

26. SPENDTHRIFT (pronounced as spelled, stress on spend)

Back 26

Wasteful, spending extravagantly or foolishly, squandering one's resources.
Synonyms: improvident, prodigal, profligate

Front 27

27. MOLLIFY (MAH-li-fy)

Back 27

To calm, soothe, soften in feeling or tone, make less harsh or severe.
Synonyms: pacify, appease, assuage (Level 2, Word 37).
Related word: emollient (adjective), softening, soothing, mollifying, (noun) a softeningor soothing agent.

Front 28

28. UNEQUIVOCAL (UHN-i-KWIV-uh-kul)

Back 28

Clear and direct, definite, straightforward, certain, having a single, obvious meaning,capable of being interpreted in only one way.
Antonyms: equivocal, ambiguous (Level 2, Word 25).
Pronunciation tip: Many people mispronounce (and misspell) unequivocal asunequivocable. Unequivocal ends with -vocal, not -vocable. Take care to pronounce the
word in five syllables: un-e-qui-vo-cal.

Front 29

29. MALLEABLE (MAL-ee-uh-buul or MAL-yuhbuul)

Back 29

Capable of being shaped, able to be molded or manipulated.
Synonyms: adaptable, impressionable, tractable.
Antonyms: inflexible, unyielding, stubborn, adamant, obstinate, intransigent.

Front 30

30. VERBOSE (vur-BOHS)

Back 30

Wordy, having too many words, long-winded, full of verbiage.
Synonyms: garrulous (Level 4, Word 8), loquacious, voluble (Level 5, Word 1), prolix(Level 9, Word 1).
Corresponding noun: verbosity.
Related words (from the Latin verbum, word): verbal, verbatim, expressed in preciselythe same words, verbiage, an excess or overabundance of words.
Additional useful word: proffer, to put forward for acceptance, present as a gift.
Pronunciation tip: Carriage and marriage have two syllables, but verbiage and foliagehave three. Don't say VUR-bij and FOH-lij (or FOY-lij). Take care to pronounce these
words in three syllables: VUR-bee-ij and FOH-lee-ij.N.B. This discussion concludes with a "Word to the Wise" on the proper distinctionbetween oral and verbal.

Front 31

31. TRANSIENT (TRAN-shint)

Back 31

Temporary, passing away with time, lasting or staying only a short while, momentary,fleeting, short-lived.
Synonyms: transitory, evanescent, ephemeral (Level 4, Word 12), fugitive, fugacious.
Antonyms: permanent, timeless, eternal, everlasting.
Pronunciation tip: Pronounce transient in two syllables, with the same sh sound as inancient. Also, in the words short-lived and long-lived, the second half, -lived, does notcome from the verb to live but from the noun life plus the suffix -ed. Therefore thepreferred pronunciation for the I is long, as in the adjective alive.

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32. NETTLE (NET'l)

Back 32

To irritate, annoy, vex, harass, pester, provoke.

Front 33

33. REPUDIATE (ri-PYOO-dee-ayt)

Back 33

(1) To reject, cast off, disown, renounce, refuse to accept as one's own.
(2) To reject as false, deny the authority of, refuse to accept as true.

Front 34

34. IMPETUOUS (im-PETCH-oo-us)

Back 34

Hasty, rash, overeager, acting in a sudden, vigorous, emotional way, with little thought.
Synonyms: impulsive.
Antonyms: prudent (Level 1, Word 47), discreet, circumspect (Level 3, Word 21).

Front 35

35. FRUGAL (FROG-gul)

Back 35

Spending carefully and wisely, also, involving little expense, not wasteful or lavish.
Synonyms: thrifty, economical, provident, parsimonious.

Front 36

36. INCONGRUOUS (in-KAHNG-groo-us)

Back 36

Out of place, inappropriate, inconsistent, unsuitable, lacking harmony of parts oragreement in character.
Related words: congruous and congruent, which both mean coming togetherharmoniously, fitting in consistently.

Front 37

37. ASSUAGE (uh-SWAYJ)

Back 37

To relieve, ease, make less severe or intense, also, to satisfy, appease, make content.
Synonyms: allay, mollify (Level 2, Word 27), mitigate.
Pronunciation tip: Don't pronounce the G in assuage like the G in garage or the Z in
azure. In assuage, the A is long (as in day) and the G is pronounced like J: uh-SWAYJ.

Front 38

38. CORROBORATE (kuh-RAHB-uh-rayt)

Back 38

To confirm, support, make more certain or believable, strengthen by providing additionalevidence or proof.
Synonyms: authenticate, verify, substantiate.

Front 39

39. EMBELLISH (em-BEL-ish)

Back 39

To decorate, dress up, adorn, enhance with ornamentation, make more beautiful, elegant,or interesting.
Corresponding noun: embellishment, an ornament, decoration.

Front 40

40. AVARICIOUS (AV-uh-RISH-us)

Back 40

Greedy, money-grubbing, miserly, consumed with a selfish desire to accumulate moneyor property.
Synonyms: covetous, mercenary (Level 3, Word 14).
Corresponding noun: avarice, greed, an inordinate desire for wealth.

Front 41

41. CURSORY (KUR-suh-ree or KUR-sur-ee)

Back 41

Quick, hasty, not methodical, done rapidly with little attention to detail, passing quicklyover or through something that deserves closer examination.
Synonyms: hurried, haphazard, slapdash, superficial.
Antonyms: thorough, careful, scrupulous, exhaustive, prolonged, protracted.
Related words (from the Latin currere, to run): course, curriculum, courier.

Front 42

42. VACILLATE (VAS-i-layt)

Back 42

To waver, fluctuate, be indecisive, show uncertainty, hesitate in making up one's mind.

Front 43

43. CLEMENT (KLEM-int)

Back 43

(1) Mild, calm, tranquil, moderate, temperate, not severe or extreme.
(2) Merciful, lenient, inclined to pardon or forgive.
Corresponding noun: clemency.

Front 44

44. LUCRATIVE (LOO-kruh-tiv)

Back 44

Profitable, producing wealth, money-making, financially productive, remunerative.
Related word: lucre (LOO-kur), money, profit, especially tainted money, ill-gotten gains(as in the cliché "filthy lucre").

Front 45

45. ALLOCATE (AL-uh-kayt or AL-oh-kayt)

Back 45

To assign, designate, earmark, set aside for a specific purpose.

Front 46

46. RECONCILE (REK-un-syl or rek-un-SYL)

Back 46

(1) To make friendly again, restore friendly relations between, settle, resolve, bring intoharmony or agreement.
(2) To bring into agreement, make consistent.
(3) To resign oneself to accept something undesirable.

Front 47

47. PARAGON (PAR-uh-gahn)

Back 47

A model of excellence, perfect example.

Front 48

48. ANALOGOUS (uh-NAL-uh-gus)

Back 48

Similar, alike in certain ways, corresponding partially, sharing some aspects of form,function, or content.
Synonyms: akin, comparable.
Related word: analogy, a partial similarity, likeness, or resemblance that allows for acomparison between things.

Front 49

49. DIURNAL (dy-URN-'l)

Back 49

(1) Daily, recurring each day, performed or happening in the course of a day.
(2) Active during the day, as opposed to nocturnal, active at night.

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50. PRETEXT (PREE-tekst)

Back 50

An excuse, ostensible reason or motive, professed purpose, specifically, an excuse orfalse reason given to hide the true reason or purpose.