Def: umbrage n
Offense, resentment
The candidate took umbrage at the remark of his opponent.
Def: canard n
A false statement or rumor
Her reputation was damaged by the canard.
Def: dank adj
Damp, chilling
The cellar became dank in the winter.
Def: inimical adj
Hostile, unfriendly
The warming climate is inimical to migrating birds.
Def: peccadillo n
A slight fault or offense
The British public is willing to overlook Prince Harry’s peccadillo.
Def: choleric
ill tempered, easily angered
The choleric man yelled at the kids for being to loud.
Def: solemnity
1) a deep reverend feeling often associated with a religious occasion
2) religious occasion, observation, sermon
The church service was filled with solemnity.
Def: munificent
Showing great generosity
The civic group made a munificent donation to the homeless shelter.
Def: clandestine
Secret (conspiracy)
The press was not informed of the clandestine meeting.
Def: conjoin
Combine
The classes will conjoin to do the play.
Def: fetish
Anything to which one gives excessive devotion
The play figure is a fetish of the fertility goddess
Def: cohort
A group, a band
The cohort of teens gathered at the athletic field.
Def: antipathy
A strong dislike, repugnance
The colonies antipathy for the British stemmed from the burdensome taxes
Def: conclave
Any private meeting or assemble
The pope is chosen by a conclave of high Catholic Church officials.
Def: conglomeration
A collection or mixture of various things
The beach boardwalk was crowded with a conglomeration of vendors, artists, and people.
Def: abstruse
Hard to understand
The concept is too abstruse for the average first year student to grasp.
Def: cohesion
The act of holding together
The cohesion of the group increased as friendships were born.
Def: cavil
To bicker unnecessarily
The mother and daughter often cavil over trivial matters.
Def: fecund
1) productive, fruitful
2) intellectually, productive
The fecund valley supported many acres of fruit trees.
Def: contiguous
Sharing a boundary, touching
The U.S has 48 contiguous state and Alaska and Hawaii
Def: coherent
Unified, connected; logical, consistent
Coherent arguments are supported by relevant and convincing evidence.
Def: adept
Skills practiced
The carpenter was adept at constructing beautiful furniture.
Def: wheedle
To influence or persuade by flattery
The student tried to wheedle extra points from the teachers.
Def: dais
A raised platform for speakers or guests
The guest of honor was visible on the dais.
Def: irreparable
That which cannot be repaired or regained.
The flood did irreparable damage to the city.
Def: culpable
Deserving blame
The convict still denies that he is culpable for the crime.
Def: dauntless
Fearless, not discouraged
The dauntless rescue party continued searching into the night
Def: Motif
Repeated figure element or design
The short melody served as a unifying motif in the symphony.
Def: derisive
Disrespectful or scornful
A parents derisive comments can undermine a child’s self confidence
Def: paucity
Scarcity
The drought led to a paucity of food
Def: carte blanche
Unlimited authority
The students were giving carte glance in designing the float.
Def: cursory
Hasty and with out care
It was getting late so he did a cursory job on his homework.
Def: Dexterous
Physically skillful and graceful; mentally quick and able
The gymnast was dexterous on the balance beam.
Def: moot
Subject to debate; no longer important or relative
The decision has been made; further discussion is moot.
Def: egress
A way out, act of exiting
The gate provided egress from the garden.
His egress was blocked by the guard.
Def: diatribe
A bitter or abusive denunciation
His diatribe against the team was hurtful and embarrassing.
Def: dint
Force or excursion
The lawyer won the case by dint of argument.
Def: portend
To be an omen of or signify
The roll of thunder portends an oncoming storm.
Def: cataclysm
Great upheaval; violent change, such as an earthquake or war
San Francisco was largely destroyed by the cataclysm of 1906.
Def: anachronism
Something out of chronological place/order
Anachronisms, like the use of cars, ruined the credibility of the civil war movie.
Def: dichotomy
A division into two parts
The dichotomy between good and evil is embodied by angels and the devil.
Def: conciliatory
Tending to overcome distrust and animosity(hatred)
After World War 2 the allies were conciliatory towards their former enemy.
Def: wreak
To vent, to inflict
The dragon will wreak havoc upon the countryside.
Def: suave
Smoothly agreeable and curtious
His suave manner made him a very successful salesman.
Def: enigmatic
Puzzling, perplexing
The detectives were unable to crack the enigmatic crime.
Def: beholden
In debuted
Children are beholden to their many sacrifices of parenting.
Def: comeliness
Beauty, attractiveness in appearance or behavior
The actress had talent, but her comeliness made her a star.
Def: diffident
Timid, lacking self confidence
She is diffident off stage, but on stage she projects strength and charisma.
Def: disparate
Unequal but similar
Equal education overcomes disparate wealth
Def: effusive
Excessive emotional expression; abundant overflowing
She was embarrassed by his effusive praise; The effusive run off caused landslides and flooding.
Def: sordid
Filthy foul, morally degrading
The convict was denied parole because his crime was disturbingly sordid.
Def: ruminate
Carefully consider
The doctor will ruminate before giving his diagnosis
Def: endorse
To support, to recommend
The Union endorsed legislature that would increase construction jobs.
Def: impromptu
Without advance thought
The guest of honor was called on to make an impromptu speech.
Def: explicit
Fully and clearly expressed
The instructions are explicit you shouldn’t get lost.
Def: placate
To appease or pacify
The entire family tried to placate the sulking child.
Def: equivocation
Purposely misleading statement
Equivocation can be better then the truth if you need to spare a friends feeling
Def: facsimile
Copy, reproduction, replicate
The facsimile of the priceless painting was substituted for the original
Def: sojourn
To stay temporarily
The family was sojourn at their summer home
Def: mellifluous
Having a sweet sound
The flute played a mellifluous melody
Def: fissure
A cleft or crack
The earthquake caused a fissure which split the hillside
Def: dowdy
Shabby in appearance, old fashioned
She was well dressed and groomed, but her clothes were dowdy
Def: edifice
A building, especially on imposing one
The edifice rose 40 stories and covered two blocks
Def: hybrid
Anything of mix origin
The yak-cow, a hybrid of a cow and yak, are used as pack animals in Nepal.
Def: obviate
To dispose of effectively, to make unnecessary
The invention of cars obviated the use of the horse and buggy.