Barrons 3500 List 01-25 Flashcards

Question

absolve

Answer 1

V. pardon (an offense). The father confessor absolved him of his sins. absolution, N.

Answer 2

V. assimilate or incorporate; suck or drink up; wholly engage. During the nineteenth century, America absorbed hordes of immigrants, turning them into productive citizens. Can Huggies diapers absorb more liquid than Pampers can? This question does not absorb me; instead, it bores me. absorption, N.

Answer 3

V. refrain; hold oneself back voluntarily from an action or practice. After considering the effect of alcohol on his athletic performance, he decided to abstain from drinking while he trained for the race. abstinence, N.

Answer 4

ADJ. sparing in eating and drinking; temperate. Concerned whether her vegetarian son's abstemious diet provided him with sufficient protein, the worried mother pressed food on him.

Answer 5

N. restraint from eating or drinking. The doctor recommended total abstinence from salted foods. abstain, V.

Answer 6

ADJ. theoretical; not concrete; nonrepresentational. To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.

Answer 7

ADJ. obscure; profound; difficult to understand. She carries around abstruse works of philosophy, not because she understands them but because she wants her friends to think she does.

Answer 8

ADJ. plentiful; possessing riches or resources. At his immigration interview, Ivan listed his abundant reasons for coming to America: the hope of religious freedom, the prospect of employment, the promise of a more abundant life.

Answer 9

ADJ. coarsely insulting; physically harmful. An abusive parent damages a child both mentally and physically.

Answer 10

V. border upon; adjoin. Where our estates abut, we must build a fence.

Answer 11

ADJ. bottomless. His arrogance is exceeded only by his abysmal ignorance.

Answer 12

N. enormous chasm; vast bottomless pit. Darth Vader seized the evil emperor and hurled him down into the abyss,

Answer 13

ADJ. related to a school; not practical or directly useful. The dean's talk about reforming the college admissions system was only an academic discussion: we knew little, if anything, would change.

Answer 14

V. agree. If I accede to this demand for blackmail, I am afraid that I will be the victim of future demands.

Answer 15

V. move faster. In our science class, we learn how falling bodies accelerate.

Answer 16

V. emphasize; stress. If you accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative, you may wind up with an overoptimistic view of the world.

Answer 17

ADJ. easy to approach; obtainable. We asked our guide whether the ruins were accessible on foot.

Answer 18

N. additional object; useful but not essential thing. She bought an attractive handbag as an accessory for her dress. Also ADJ.

Answer 19

V. applaud; announce with great approval. The NBC sportscasters acclaimed every American victory in the Olympics and decried every American defeat. also N.

Answer 20

V. adjust to climate. One of the difficulties of our present air age is the need of travelers to acclimate themselves to their new and often strange environments.

Answer 21

N. sharp upslope of a hill. The car would not go up the acclivity in high gear.

Answer 22

N. award of merit. In Hollywood, an "Oscar" is the highest accolade.

Answer 23

V. oblige or help someone; adjust or bring into harmony; adapt. Mitch

Answer 24

did everything possible to accommodate his elderly relatives, from driving them to medical appointments to helping them with paperwork. (secondary meaning)

Answer 25

N. partner in crime. Because he had provided the criminal with the lethal weapon, he was arrested as an accomplice in the murder.

Answer 26

N. agreement. She was in complete accord with the verdict.

Answer 27

V. approach and speak first to a person. When the two young men accosted me, I was frightened because I thought they were going to attack me.

Answer 28

V. equip. The fisherman was accoutred with the best that the sporting goods store could supply. accoutrements, N.

Answer 29

N. growth; increase. The accretion of wealth marked the family's rise in power.

Answer 30

V. come about by addition. You must pay the interest that has accrued on your debt as well as the principal sum. accrual, N.

Answer 31

N. bitterness of speech and temper. The meeting of the United Nations General Assembly was marked with such acerbity that informed sources held out little hope of reaching any useful settlement of the problem. acerbic, ADJ.

Answer 32

ADJ. vinegary. The salad had an exceedingly acetic flavor.

Answer 33

ADJ. slightly sour; sharp, caustic. James was unpopular because of his sarcastic and acidulous remarks.

Answer 34

V. recognize; admit. Although I acknowledge that the Beatles' tunes sound pretty dated today, I still prefer them to the "gangsta rap" songs my brothers play.

Answer 35

N. top; pinnacle. His success in this role marked the acme of his career as an actor.

Answer 36

N. science of sound; quality that makes a room easy or hard to hear in. Carnegie Hall is liked by music lovers because of its fine acoustics.

Answer 37

V. assent; agree without protesting. Although she appeared to acquiesce to her employer's suggestions, I could tell she had reservations about the changes he wanted made. acquiescence, N.; acquiescent, ADJ.

Answer 38

V. obtain; get. Frederick Douglass was determined to acquire an education despite his master's efforts to prevent his doing so.

Answer 39

N. deliverance from a charge. His acquittal by the jury surprised those who had thought him guilty. acquit, V.

Answer 40

ADJ. sharp; bitterly pungent. The acrid odor of burnt gunpowder filled the room after the pistol had been fired.

Answer 41

ADJ. bitter in words or manner. The candidate attacked his opponent in highly acrimonious terms. acrimony,

Answer 42

N. fear of heights. A born salesman, he could convince someone with a bad case of acrophobia to sign up for a life membership in a sky-diving club.

Answer 43

ADJ. calculating; pertaining to insurance statistics. According to recent actuarial tables, life expectancy is greater today than it was a century ago.

Answer 44

V. motivate. I fail to understand what actuated you to reply to this letter so nastily.

Answer 45

N. sharpness. In time his youthful acuity of vision failed him, and he needed glasses.

Answer 46

N. mental keenness. His business acumen helped him to succeed where others had failed.

Answer 47

ADJ. quickly perceptive; keen; brief and severe. The acute young doctor realized immediately that the gradual deterioration of her patient's once acute hearing was due to a chronic illness, not an acute one.

Answer 48

N. wise saying; proverb. There is much truth in the old adage about fools and their money.

Answer 49

ADJ. hard; inflexible. Bronson played the part of a revenge-driven man, adamant in his determination to punish the criminals who destroyed his family. adamancy, N.

Answer 50

V. alter; modify. Some species of animals have become extinct because they could not adapt to a changing environment.

Answer 51

N. an addition or supplement. As an addendum to the minutes, let me point out that Susan moved to appoint Kathy and Arthur to the finance committee.

Answer 52

N. compulsive, habitual need. His addiction to drugs caused his friends much grief.

Answer 53

V. muddle; drive crazy; become rotten. This idiotic plan is confusing enough to addle anyone. addled, ADJ.

Answer 54

V. direct a speech to; deal with or discuss. Due to address the convention in July, Brown planned to address the issue of low-income housing in his speech.

Answer 55

ADJ. expert at. She was adept at the fine art of irritating people. also N.

Answer 56

V. stick fast. I will adhere to this opinion until proof that I am wrong is presented. adhesion, N.

Answer 57

N. supporter; follower. In the wake of the scandal, the senator's one-time adherents quickly deserted him.

Answer 58

ADJ. adjoining; neighboring; close by. Philip's best friend Jason lived only four houses down the block, close but not immediately adjacent.

Answer 59

N. something added on or attached (generally nonessential or inferior). Although I don't absolutely need a second computer, I plan to buy a laptop to serve as an adjunct to my desktop model.

Answer 60

V. warn; reprove. He admonished his listeners to change their wicked ways. admonition, N.

Answer 61

N. warning. After the student protesters repeatedly rejected Chairman Deng's admonitions, the government issued an ultimatum: either the students would end the demonstration at once or the soldiers would fire on the crowd.

Answer 62

V. decorate. Wall paintings and carved statues adorned the temple. adornment, N.

Answer 63

ADJ. skillful. His adroit handling of the delicate situation pleased his employers.

Answer 64

N. flattery; admiration. The rock star thrived on the adulation of his groupies and yes men. adulate, V.

Answer 65

V. make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances. It is a crime to adulterate foods without informing the buyer; when consumers learned that Beech-Nut had adulterated their apple juice by mixing it with water, they protested vigorously.

Answer 66

N. arrival. Most Americans were unaware of the advent of the Nuclear Age until the news of Hiroshima reached them.

Answer 67

ADJ. accidental; casual. He found this adventitious meeting with his friend extremely fortunate.

Answer 68

N. opponent. The young wrestler struggled to defeat his adversary.

Answer 69

ADJ. unfavorable; hostile. The recession had a highly adverse effect on Father's investment portfolio: he lost so much money that he could no longer afford the butler and the upstairs maid. adversity, N.

Answer 70

N. poverty; misfortune. We must learn to meet adversity gracefully.

Answer 71

N. support; active pleading on something's behalf. No threats could dissuade Bishop Desmond Tutu from his advocacy of the human rights of black South Africans.

Answer 72

V. urge; plead for. The abolitionists advocated freedom for the slaves. also N.

Answer 73

N. nest of a large bird of prey (eagle, hawk). The mother eagle swooped down on the unwitting rabbit and bore it off to her aerie high in the Rocky Mountains.

Answer 74

ADJ. artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciation of the beautiful. The beauty of Tiffany's stained glass appealed to Esther's aesthetic sense. aesthete, N.

Answer 75

ADJ. easily approachable; warmly friendly. Accustomed to cold, aloof supervisors, Nicholas was amazed at how affable his new employer was.

Answer 76

ADJ. artificial; pretended; assumed in order to impress. His affected mannerisms-his "Harvard" accent, his air of boredom, his use of obscure foreign words-bugged us: he acted as if he thought he was too good for his old high school friends. affectation, N.

Answer 77

N. written statement made under oath. The court refused to accept his statement unless he presented it in the form of an affidavit.

Answer 78

N. joining; associating with. His affiliation with the political party was of short duration for he soon disagreed with his colleagues.

Answer 79

N. kinship. She felt an affinity with all who suffered; their pains were her pains.

Answer 80

N. positive assertion; confirmation; solemn pledge by one who refuses to take an oath. Despite Tom's affirmations of innocence, Aunt Polly still suspected he had eaten the pie.

Answer 81

V. fasten; attach; add on. First the registrar had to affix her signature to the license; then she had to affix her official seal.

Answer 82

N. state of distress; cause of suffering. Even in the midst of her affliction, Elizabeth tried to keep up the spirits of those around her.

Answer 83

N. abundance; wealth. Foreigners are amazed by the affluence and luxury of the American way of life.

Answer 84

N. insult; offense; intentional act of disrespect. When Mrs. Proudie was not seated beside the Archdeacon at the head table, she took it as a personal affront and refused to speak to her hosts for a week. Also V.

Answer 85

N. consequences; outcome; upshot. People around the world wondered what the aftermath of China's violent suppression of the student protests would be.

Answer 86

N. items of business at a meeting. We had so much difficulty agreeing upon an agenda that there was very little time for the meeting.

Answer 87

N. means or instrument; personal representative; person acting in an official capacity. °I will be the agent of America's destruction," proclaimed the beady-eyed villain, whose agent had gotten him the role. With his face, he could never have played the part of the hero, a heroic F.B.I. agent.

Answer 88

N. collection; heap. It took weeks to assort the agglomeration of miscellaneous items she had collected on her trip.

Answer 89

V. increase or intensify. The history of the past quarter century illustrates how a President may aggrandize his power to act aggressively in international affairs without considering the wishes of Congress.

Answer 90

V. gather; accumulate. Before the Wall Street scandals, dealers in so-called junk bonds managed to aggregate great wealth in short periods of time. aggregation, N.

Answer 91

N. attacker. Before you punish both boys for fighting, see whether you can determine which one was the aggressor.

Answer 92

ADJ. horrified. He was aghast at the nerve of the speaker who had insulted his host.

Answer 93

N. nimbleness. The agility of the acrobat amazed and thrilled the audience.

Answer 94

V. stir up; disturb. Her fiery remarks agitated the already angry mob.

Answer 95

N. one who is skeptical of the existence or knowability of a god or any ultimate reality. Agnostics say we can neither prove nor disprove the existence of god; we simply just can't know. Also ADJ.

Answer 96

ADJ. pertaining to land or its cultivation. The country is gradually losing its agrarian occupation and turning more and more to an industrial point of view.

Answer 97

N. cheerful promptness. Phil and Dave were raring to get off to the mountains; they packed up their ski gear and climbed into the van with alacrity.

Answer 98

N. medieval chemistry. The changing of baser metals into gold was the goal of the students of alchemy. alchemist, N.

Answer 99

N. nook; small, recessed section of a room. Though their apartment lacked a full-scale dining room, an alcove adjacent to the living room made an adequate breakfast nook for the young couple.

Answer 100

N. an assumed name. John Smith's alias was Bob Jones. also ADV.

Answer 101

V. make hostile; separate. Her attempts to alienate the two friends failed because they had complete faith in each other.

Answer 102

ADJ. supplying nourishment. The alimentary canal in our bodies is so named because digestion of foods occurs there. When asked for the name of the digestive tract, Sherlock Holmes replied, "Alimentary, my dear Watson."

Answer 103

N. payment by a husband to his divorced wife (or vice versa). Mrs. Jones was awarded $200 monthly alimony by the court when she was divorced from her husband.

Answer 104

V. calm; pacify. The crew tried to allay the fears of the passengers by announcing that the fire had been controlled.

Answer 105

V. state without proof. Although it is alleged that she has worked for the enemy, she denies the allegation and, legally, we can take no action against her without proof. allegation, N.

Answer 106

N. loyalty. Not even a term in prison could shake Lech Walesa's allegiance to Solidarity, the Polish trade union he had helped to found.

Answer 107

N. story in which characters are used as symbols; fable. Pilgrim's Progress is an allegory of the temptations and victories of man's soul. allegorical, ADJ.

Answer 108

V. relieve. This should alleviate the pain; if it does not, we shall have to use stronger drugs.

Answer 109

N. repetition of beginning sound in poetry. "The furrow followed free" is an example of alliteration.

Answer 110

V. assign. Even though the Red Cross had allocated a large sum for the relief of the sufferers of the disaster, many people perished.

Answer 111

N. a mixture as of metals. Alloys of gold are used more frequently than the pure metal.

Answer 112

V. mix; make less pure; lessen or moderate. Our delight at the Yankees' victory was alloyed by our concern for Dwight Gooden, who injured his pitching arm in the game.

Answer 113

V. refer indirectly. Try not to mention divorce in Jack's presence because he will think you are alluding to his marital problems with Jill.

Answer 114

V. entice; attract. Allured by the song of the sirens, the helmsman steered the ship toward the reef. also N.

Answer 115

N. indirect reference. When Amanda said to the ticket scalper, "One hundred bucks? What do you want, a pound of flesh?," she was making an allusion to Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.

Answer 116

ADV. upward. The sailor climbed aloft into the rigging. To get into a loft bed, you have to climb aloft.

Answer 117

ADJ. apart; reserved. Shy by nature, she remained aloof while all the rest conversed.

Answer 118

N. noisy quarrel; heated dispute. In that hottempered household, no meal ever came to a peaceful conclusion; the inevitable altercation might even end in blows.

Answer 119

ADJ. unselfishly generous; concerned for others. In providing tutorial assistance and college scholarships for hundreds of economically disadvantaged youths, Eugene Lang performed a truly altruistic deed. altruism, N.

Answer 120

V. combine; unite in one body. The unions will attempt to amalgamate their groups into one national body.

Answer 121

V. collect. The miser's aim is to amass and hoard as much gold as possible.

Answer 122

ADJ. capable of using either hand with equal ease. A switch-hitter in baseball should be naturally ambidextrous.

Answer 123

N. environment; atmosphere. She went to the restaurant not for the food but for the ambience.

Answer 124

ADJ. unclear or doubtful in meaning. His ambiguous instructions misled us; we did not know which road to take. ambiguity, N.

Answer 125

N. the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes. Torn between loving her parents one minute and hating them the next, she was confused by the ambivalence of her feelings. ambivalent, ADJ.

Answer 126

N. moving at an easy pace. When she first mounted the horse, she was afraid to urge the animal to go faster than a gentle amble. Also V.

Answer 127

ADJ. able to walk; not bedridden. Juan was a highly ambulatory patient; not only did he refuse to be confined to bed, but he insisted on riding his skateboard up and down the halls.

Answer 128

V. improve. Many social workers have attempted to ameliorate the conditions of people living in the slums.

Answer 129

ADJ. readily managed; willing to be led. He was amenable to any suggestions that came from those he looked up to; he resented advice from his inferiors.

Answer 130

V. correct; change, generally for the better. Hoping to amend his condition, he left Vietnam for the United States.

Answer 131

N. convenient features; courtesies. In addition to the customary amenities for the business traveler-fax machines, modems, a health club-the hotel offers the services of a butler versed in the social amenities.

Answer 132

ADJ. agreeable; lovable; warmly friendly. In Little Women, Beth is the amiable daughter whose loving disposition endears her to all who know her.

Answer 133

ADJ. politely friendly; not quarrelsome. Beth's sister Jo is the hot-tempered tomboy who has a hard time maintaining amicable relations with those around her. Jo's quarrel with her friend Laurie finally reaches an amicable settlement, but not because Jo turns amiable overnight.

Answer 134

ADJ. wrong; faulty. Seeing her frown, he wondered if anything were amiss. also ADV.

Answer 135

N. friendship. Student exchange programs such as the Experiment in International Living were established to promote international amity.

Answer 136

N. loss of memory. Because she was suffering from amnesia, the police could not get the young girl to identify herself.

Answer 137

N. pardon. When his first child was born, the king granted amnesty to all in prison.

Answer 138

ADJ. nonmoral. The amoral individual lacks a code of ethics; he cannot tell right from wrong. The immoral person can tell right from wrong; he chooses to do something he knows is wrong.

Answer 139

ADJ. moved by sexual love; loving. "Love them and leave them" was the motto of the amorous Don Juan.

Answer 140

ADJ. formless; lacking shape or definition. As soon as we have decided on our itinerary, we shall send you a copy; right now, our plans are still amorphous.

Answer 141

ADJ. able to live both on land and in water. Frogs are classified as amphibian. also N.

Answer 142

N. oval building with tiers of seats. The spectators in the amphitheater cheered the gladiators.

Answer 143

ADJ. abundant. Bond had ample opportunity to escape. Why did he let us catch him?

Answer 144

V. broaden or clarify by expanding; intensify; make stronger. Charlie Brown tried to amplify his remarks, but he was drowned out by jeers from the audience. Lucy was smarter: she used a loudspeaker to amplify her voice.

Answer 145

V. cut off part of body; prune. When the doctors had to amputate the young man's leg to prevent the spread of cancer, he did not let the loss of a limb keep him from participating in sports.

Answer 146

N. charm; talisman. Around her neck she wore the amulet that the witch doctor had given her.

Answer 147

ADJ. having an error involving time in a story. The reference to clocks in Julius Caesar is anachronistic: clocks did not exist in Caesar's time. anachronism, N.

Answer 148

ADJ. causing insensitivity to pain. The analgesic qualities of this lotion will provide temporary relief.

Answer 149

ADJ. comparable. She called our attention to the things that had been done in an analogous situation and recommended that we do the same.

Answer 150

N. similarity; parallelism. A well-known analogy compares the body's immune system with an army whose defending troops are the lymphocytes or white blood cells.

Answer 151

N. person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority. Denying she was an anarchist, Katya maintained she wished only to make changes in our government, not to destroy it entirely. anarchy, N.

Answer 152

N. absence of governing body; state of disorder. The assassination of the leaders led to a period of anarchy.

Answer 153

N. solemn curse; someone or something regarded as a curse. The Ayatolla Khomeini heaped anathema upon "the Great Satan," that is, the United States. To the Ayatolla, America and the West were anathema; he loathed the democratic nations, cursing them in his dying words. anathematize, V.

Answer 154

N. family descent. David can trace his ancestry as far back as the seventeenth century, when one of his ancestors was a court trumpeter somewhere in Germany. ancestral, ADJ.

Answer 155

V. secure or fasten firmly; be fixed in place. We set the post in concrete to anchor it in place. anchorage, N.

Answer 156

ADJ. serving as an aid or accessory; auxiliary. In an ancillary capacity, Doctor Watson was helpful; however, Holmes could not trust the good doctor to solve a perplexing case on his own. also N.

Answer 157

N. short account of an amusing or interesting event. Rather than make concrete proposals for welfare reform, President Reagan told anecdotes about poor people who became wealthy despite their impoverished backgrounds.

Answer 158

N. condition in which blood lacks red corpuscles. The doctor ascribes her tiredness to anemia. anemic, ADJ.

Answer 159

N. substance that removes sensation with or without loss of consciousness. His monotonous voice acted like an anesthetic; his audience was soon asleep. anesthesia, N.

Answer 160

N. acute pain; extreme suffering. Visiting the site of the explosion, the governor wept to see the anguish of the victims and their families.

Answer 161

ADJ. sharp-cornered; stiff in manner. Mr. Spock's features, though angular, were curiously attractive, in a Vulcan way.

Answer 162

ADJ. lively; spirited. Jim Carrey's facial expressions are highly animated: when he played Ace Ventura, he looked practically rubber-faced.

Answer 163

N. active enmity. He incurred the animosity of the ruling class because he advocated limitations of their power.

Answer 164

N. hostile feeling or intent. The animus of the speaker became obvious to all when he began to indulge in sarcastic and insulting remarks.

Answer 165

N. records; history. In the annals of this period, we find no mention of democratic movements.

Answer 166

V. attach; take possession of. Mexico objected to the United States' attempts to annex the territory that later became the state of Texas.

Answer 167

V. destroy. The enemy in its revenge tried to annihilate the entire population.

Answer 168

V. comment; make explanatory notes. In the appendix to the novel, the editor sought to annotate many of the author's more esoteric references.

Answer 169

N. yearly allowance. The annuity he setup with the insurance company supplements his social security benefits so that he can live very comfortably without working.

Answer 170

V. make void. The parents of the eloped couple tried to annul the marriage.

Answer 171

V. consecrate. The prophet Samuel anointed David with oil, crowning him king of Israel.

Answer 172

ADJ. abnormal; irregular. He was placed in the anomalous position of seeming to approve procedures which he despised.

Answer 173

N. irregularity. A bird that cannot fly is an anomaly.

Answer 174

N. state of being nameless; anonymousness. The donor of the gift asked the college not to mention him by name; the dean readily agreed to respect his anonymity.

Answer 175

ADJ. having no name. She tried to ascertain the identity of the writer of the anonymous letter.

Answer 176

N. hostility; active resistance. Barry showed his antagonism toward his new stepmother by ignoring her whenever she tried talking to him. antagonistic, ADJ.

Answer 177

V. precede. The invention of the radiotelegraph anteceded the development of television by a quarter of a century.

Answer 178

N. preceding events or circumstances that influence what comes later; ancestors or early background. Susi Bechhofer's ignorance of her Jewish background had its antecedents in the chaos of World War II. Smuggled out of Germany and adopted by a Christian family, she knew nothing of her birth and antecedents until she was reunited with her family in 1989.

Answer 179

ADJ. antiquated; extremely ancient. Looking at his great-aunt's antique furniture, which must have been cluttering up her attic since the time of Noah's flood, the young heir exclaimed, "Heavens! How positively antediluvian!"

Answer 180

N. song of praise or patriotism. Let us now all join in singing the national anthem.

Answer 181

N. book of literary selections by various authors. This anthology of science fiction was compiled by the late Isaac Asimov. anthologize, V.

Answer 182

ADJ. regarding human beings as the center of the universe. Without considering any evidence that might challenge his anthropocentric viewpoint, Hector cate-gorically maintained that dolphins could not be as intelligent as men. anthropocentrism, N.

Answer 183

ADJ. manlike. The gorilla is the strongest of the anthropoid animals. also N.

Answer 184

N. a student of the history and science of mankind. Anthropologists have discovered several relics of prehistoric man in this area.

Answer 185

ADJ. having human form or characteristics. Primitive religions often have deities with anthropomorphic characteristics. anthropomorphism, N.

Answer 186

N. letdown in thought or emotion. After the fine performance in the first act, the rest of the play was an anticlimax. anticlimactic, ADJ.

Answer 187

N. medicine to counteract a poison or disease. When Marge's child accidentally swallowed some cleaning fluid, the local poison control hotline instructed Marge how to administer the antidote.

Answer 188

N. aversion; dislike. Tom's extreme antipathy for disputes keeps him from getting into arguments with his temperamental wife. Noise in any form is antipathetic to him. Among his other antipathies are honking cars, boom boxes, and heavy metal rock.

Answer 189

ADJ. old-fashioned; obsolete. Philip had grown so accustomed to editing his papers on word processors that he thought typewriters were too antiquated for him to use.

Answer 190

N. substance that prevents infection. It is advisable to apply an antiseptic to any wound, no matter how slight or insignificant. Also ADJ.

Answer 191

N. contrast; direct opposite of or to. This tyranny was the antithesis of all that he had hoped for, and he fought it with all his strength.

Answer 192

N. lack of caring; indifference. A firm believer in democratic government, she could not understand the apathy of people who never bothered to vote. apathetic, ADJ.

Answer 193

V. imitate or mimic. He was suspended for a week because he had aped the principal in front of the whole school.

Answer 194

N. opening; hole. She discovered a small aperture in the wall, through which the insects had entered the room.

Answer 195

N. tip; summit; climax. He was at the apex of his career: he had climbed to the top of the heap.

Answer 196

N. loss of speech due to injury or illness. After the automobile accident, the victim had periods of aphasia when he could not speak at all or could only mumble incoherently.

Answer 197

N. pithy maxim. An aphorism differs from an adage in that it is more philosophical or scientific. "The proper study of mankind is man" is an aphorism. "There's no smoke without a fire" is an adage. aphoristic, ADJ.

Answer 198

N. a place where bees are kept. Although he spent many hours daily in the apiary, he was very seldom stung by a bee.

Answer 199

N. poise; assurance. Gwen's aplomb in handling potentially embarrassing moments was legendary around the office; when one of her clients broke a piece of her best crystal, she coolly picked up her own goblet and hurled it into the fireplace.

Answer 200

ADJ. prophetic; pertaining to revelations. The crowd jeered at the street preacher's apocalyptic predictions of doom. The Apocalypse or Book of Revelations of Saint John prophesies the end of the world as we know it and foretells marvels and prodigies that signal the coming doom.

Answer 201

ADJ. untrue; made up. To impress his friends, Tom invented apocryphal tales of his adventures in the big city.

Answer 202

N. highest point. When the moon in its orbit is farthest away from the earth, it is at its apogee.

Answer 203

ADJ. having an aversion or lack of concern for political affairs. It was hard to remain apolitical during the Vietnam War; even people who generally ignored public issues felt they had to take political stands.

Answer 204

N. one who writes in defense of a cause or institution. Rather than act as an apologist for the current regime in Beijing and defend its brutal actions, the young diplomat decided to defect to the West.

Answer 205

N. one who abandons his religious faith or political beliefs. Because he switched from one party to another, his former friends shunned him as an apostate. apostasy, N.

Answer 206

N. elevation to godhood; an ideal example of something. The apotheosis of a Roman emperor was designed to insure his eternal greatness: people would worship at his altar forever. The hero of the musical How to Succeed in Business ... was the apotheosis of yuppieness: he was the perfect upwardly-bound young man on the make.

Answer 207

V. dismay; shock. We were appalled by the horrifying conditions in the city's jails.

Answer 208

N. equipment. Firefighters use specialized apparatus to fight fires.

Answer 209

N. ghost; phantom. On the castle battlements, an apparition materialized and spoke to Hamlet, warning him of his uncle's treachery. In Ghostbusters, hordes of apparitions materialized, only to be dematerialized by the specialized apparatus wielded by Bill Murray.

Answer 210

V. pacify or soothe; relieve. Tom and Jody tried to appease the crying baby by offering him one toy after another, but he would not calm down until they appeased his hunger by giving him a bottle.

Answer 211

N. name; title. Macbeth was startled when the witches greeted him with an incorrect appellation. Why did they call him Thane of Cawdor, he wondered, when the holder of that title still lived?

Answer 212

V. attach. When you append a bibliography to a text, you have just created an appendix.

Answer 213

N. diligent attention. Pleased with how well Tom had whitewashed the fence, Aunt Polly praised him for his application to the task. apply, V. (secondary meaning)

Answer 214

ADJ. appropriate; fitting. He was always able to find the apposite phrase, the correct expression for every occasion.

Answer 215

V. estimate value of. It is difficult to appraise the value of old paintings; it is easier to call them priceless. appraisal, N.

Answer 216

V. be thankful for; increase in worth; be thoroughly conscious of. Little Orphan Annie truly appreciated the stocks Daddy Warbucks gave her, which appreciated in value considerably over the years.

Answer 217

V. arrest (a criminal); dread; perceive. The police will apprehend the culprit and convict him before long.

Answer 218

N. fear. His nervous glances at the passersby on the deserted street revealed his apprehension.

Answer 219

N. time spent as a novice learning a trade from a skilled worker. As a child, Pip had thought it would be wonderful to work as Joe's apprentice; now he hated his apprenticeship and scorned the blacksmith's trade.

Answer 220

V. inform. When he was apprised of the dangerous weather conditions, he decided to postpone his trip.

Answer 221

N. approval. She looked for some sign of approbation from her parents, hoping her good grades would please them.

Answer 222

V. acquire; take possession of for one's own use. The ranch owners appropriated the lands that had originally been set aside for the Indians' use.

Answer 223

PREP. with reference to; regarding. I find your remarks apropos of the present situation timely and pertinent. Also ADJ. and ADV.

Answer 224

N. fitness; talent. The counselor gave him an aptitude test before advising him about the career he should follow.

Answer 225

ADJ. pertaining to water. Paul enjoyed aquatic sports such as scuba diving and snorkeling.

Answer 226

ADJ. curved, hooked. He can be recognized by his aquiline nose, curved like the beak of the eagle.

Answer 227

ADJ. fit for growing crops. The first settlers wrote home glowing reports of the New World, praising its vast acres of arable land ready for the plow.

Answer 228

N. a person with power to decide a dispute; judge. As an arbiter in labor disputes, she has won the confidence of the workers and the employers.

Answer 229

ADJ. capricious; randomly chosen; tyrannical. Tom's arbitrary dismissal angered him; his boss had no reason to fire him. He threw an arbitrary assortment of clothes into his suitcase and headed off, not caring where he went.

Answer 230

N. judge. Because the negotiating teams had been unable to reach a contract settlement, an outside arbitrator was called upon to mediate the dispute between union and management. arbitration, N.

Answer 231

N. place where different tree varieties are exhibited. Walking along the tree-lined paths of the arboretum, Rita noted poplars, firs, and some particularly fine sycamores.

Answer 232

N. a covered passageway, usually lined with shops. The arcade was popular with shoppers because it gave them protection from the summer sun and the winter rain.

Answer 233

ADJ. secret; mysterious; known only to the initiated. Secret brotherhoods surround themselves with arcane rituals and trappings to mystify outsiders. So do doctors. Consider the arcane terminology they use and the impression they try to give that what is arcane to us is obvious to them.

Answer 234

N. study of artifacts and relics of early mankind. The professor of archaeology headed an expedition to the Gobi Desert in search of ancient ruins.

Answer 235

ADJ. antiquated. "Methinks," "thee," and "thou" are archaic words that are no longer part of our normal vocabulary.

Answer 236

N. prototype; primitive pattern. The Brooklyn Bridge was the archetype of the many spans that now connect Manhattan with Long Island and New Jersey.

Answer 237

N. group of closely located islands. When Gauguin looked at the map and saw the archipelagoes in the South Seas, he longed to visit them.

Answer 238

N. public records; place where public records are kept. These documents should be part of the archives so that historians may be able to evaluate them in the future.

Answer 239

ADJ. intense; passionate; zealous. Katya's ardor was contagious; soon all her fellow demonstrators were busily making posters and handing out flyers, inspired by her ardent enthusiasm for the cause. ardor, N.

Answer 240

ADJ. hard; strenuous. Her arduous efforts had sapped her energy.

Answer 241

N. operatic solo. At her Metropolitan Opera audition, Marian Anderson sang an aria from Norma.

Answer 242

ADJ. dry; barren. The cactus has adapted to survive in an arid environment.

Answer 243

N. hereditary nobility; privileged class. Americans have mixed feelings about hereditary aristocracy. we say all men are created equal, but we describe particularly outstanding people as natural aristocrats.

Answer 244

N. fleet of warships. Queen Elizabeth's navy defeated the mighty armada that threatened the English coast.

Answer 245

ADJ. fragrant. Medieval sailing vessels brought aromatic herbs from China to Europe.

Answer 246

N. awakening; provocation (of a response). On arousal, Papa was always grumpy as a bear. The children tiptoed around the house, fearing they would arouse his anger by waking him up.

Answer 247

V. charge in court; indict. After his indictment by the Grand Jury, the accused man was arraigned in the County Criminal Court.

Answer 248

V. marshal; draw up in order. His actions were bound to array public sentiment against him. also N.

Answer 249

V. clothe; adorn. She liked to watch her mother array herself in her finest clothes before going out for the evening. also N.

Answer 250

N. being in debt. He was in arrears with his payments on the car.

Answer 251

V. stop or slow down; catch someone's attention. Slipping, the trapeze artist plunged from the heights until a safety net luckily arrested his fall. This near-disaster arrested the crowd's attention.

Answer 252

N. pride; haughtiness. Convinced that Emma thought she was better than anyone else in the class, Ed rebuked her for her arrogance.

Answer 253

N. gully. Until the heavy rains of the past spring, this arroyo had been a dry bed.

Answer 254

N. storage place for military equipment. People are forbidden to smoke in the arsenal for fear that a stray spark might setoff the munitions stored there.

Answer 255

ADJ. effective; distinct. Her articulate presentation of the advertising campaign impressed her employers. Also V.

Answer 256

N. object made by human beings, either handmade or mass-produced. Archaeologists debated the significance of the artifacts discovered in the ruins of Asia Minor but came to no conclusion about the culture they represented.

Answer 257

N. deception; trickery. The Trojan War proved to the Greeks that cunning and artifice were often more effective than military might.

Answer 258

N. manually skilled worker; craftsman, as opposed to artist. A noted artisan, Arturo was known for the fine craftsmanship of his inlaid cabinets.

Answer 259

ADJ. without guile; open and honest. Sophisticated and cynical, Jack could not believe Jill was as artless and naive as she appeared to be.

Answer 260

N. controlling influence; domination. Leaders of religious cults maintain ascendancy over their followers by methods that can verge on brainwashing.

Answer 261

V. find out for certain. Please ascertain her present address.

Answer 262

ADJ. practicing self-denial; austere. The wealthy, self-indulgent young man felt oddly drawn to the strict, ascetic life led by members of some monastic orders. also N.

Answer 263

V. refer; attribute; assign. I can ascribe no motive for her acts.

Answer 264

ADJ. preventing infection; having a cleansing effect. Hospitals succeeded in lowering the mortality rate as soon as they introduced aseptic conditions.

Answer 265

ADJ. ash-colored. Her face was ashen with fear.

Answer 266

ADJ. stupid. Your asinine remarks prove that you have not given this problem any serious consideration.

Answer 267

ADJ. with a sideways or indirect look. Looking askance at her questioner, she displayed her scorn.

Answer 268

ADJ. crookedly; slanted; at an angle. When he placed his hat askew upon his head, his observers laughed.

Answer 269

N. sharpness (of temper). These remarks, spoken with asperity, stung the boys to whom they had been directed.

Answer 270

N. seeker after position or status. Although I am an aspirant for public office, I am not willing to accept the dictates of the party bosses. Also ADJ.

Answer 271

V. seek to attain; long for. Because he aspired to a career in professional sports, Philip enrolled in a graduate program in sports management. aspiration, N.

Answer 272

V. assault. He was assailed with questions after his lecture.

Answer 273

V. analyze; evaluate. When they assayed the ore, they found that they had discovered a very rich vein. also N.

Answer 274

V. agree; accept. It gives me great pleasure to assent to your request.

Answer 275

V. declare or state with confidence; put oneself forward boldly. Malcolm asserted that if Reese quit acting like a wimp and asserted himself a bit more, he'd improve his chances of getting a date. assertion, N.

Answer 276

N. evaluation; judgment. Your SAT I score plays a part in the admission committee's assessment of you as an applicant.

Answer 277

ADJ. diligent. He was assiduous, working at this task for weeks before he felt satisfied with his results. assiduity, N.

Answer 278

V. absorb; cause to become homogeneous. The manner in which the United States was able to assimilate the hordes of immigrants during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries will always be a source of pride to Americans. The immigrants eagerly assimilated new ideas and customs; they soaked them up, the way plants soak up water.

Answer 279

V. ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger). Jilted by Jane, Dick tried to assuage his heartache by indulging in ice cream. One gallon later, he had assuaged his appetite but not his grief.

Answer 280

N. something taken for granted; taking over or taking possession of. The young princess made the foolish assumption that the regent would not object to her assumption of power. assume,V.

Answer 281

N. promise or pledge; certainty; self-confidence. When Guthrie gave Guinness his assurance that rehearsals were going well, he spoke with such assurance that Guinness felt relieved. assure,V.

Answer 282

N. small planet. Asteroids have become commonplace to the readers of interstellar travel stories in science fiction magazines.

Answer 283

N. eye defect that prevents proper focus. As soon as his parents discovered that the boy suffered from astigmatism, they took him to the optometrist for corrective glasses.

Answer 284

ADJ. relating to the stars. She was amazed at the number of astral bodies the new telescope revealed.

Answer 285

ADJ. binding; causing contraction. The astringent quality of the unsweetened lemon juice made swallowing difficult. also N.

Answer 286

ADJ. enormously large or extensive. The government seems willing to spend astronomical sums on weapons development.

Answer 287

ADJ. wise; shrewd; keen. The painter was an astute observer, noticing every tiny detail of her model's appearance and knowing exactly how important each one was.

Answer 288

ADV. into parts; apart. A fierce quarrel split the partnership asunder: the two partners finally sundered their connections because their points of view were poles asunder.

Answer 289

N. place of refuge or shelter; protection. The refugees sought asylum from religious persecution in a new land.

Answer 290

ADJ. not identical on both sides of a dividing central line. Because one eyebrow was set markedly higher than the other, William's face had a particularly asymmetric appearance.

Answer 291

N. resemblance to remote ancestors rather than to parents; deformity returning after passage of two or more generations. The doctors ascribed the child's deformity to an atavism.

Answer 292

ADJ. denying the existence of God. His atheistic remarks shocked the religious worshippers.

Answer 293

N. a bound volume of maps, charts, or tables. Embarrassed at being unable to distinguish Slovenia from Slovakia, George W. finally consulted an atlas.

Answer 294

V. make amends for; pay for. He knew no way in which he could atone for his brutal crime.

Answer 295

N. brutal deed. In time of war, many atrocities are committed by invading armies.

Answer 296

N. wasting away. Polio victims need physiotherapy to prevent the atrophy of affected limbs. alsoV.

Answer 297

V. achieve or accomplish; gain. The scarecrow sought to attain one goal: he wished to obtain a brain.

Answer 298

ADJ. alert and watchful; considerate; thoughtful. Spellbound, the attentive audience watched the final game of the tennis match, never taking their eyes from the ball. A cold wind sprang up; Stan's attentive daughter slipped a sweater over his shoulders without distracting his attention from the game.

Answer 299

V. make thin; weaken. By withdrawing their forces, the generals hoped to attenuate the enemy lines.

Answer 300

V. testify, bear witness. Having served as a member of the Grand Jury, I can attest that our system of indicting individuals is in need of improvement.

Answer 301

N. essential quality. His outstanding attribute was his kindness.

Answer 302

V. ascribe; explain. I attribute her success in science to the encouragement she received from her parents.

Answer 303

N. gradual decrease in numbers; reduction in the work force without firing employees; wearing away of opposition by means of harassment. In the 1960s urban churches suffered from attrition as members moved from the cities to the suburbs. Rather than fire staff members, church leaders followed a policy of attrition, allowing elderly workers to retire without replacing them.

Answer 304

ADJ. not normal. The child psychiatrist reassured Mrs. Keaton that playing doctor was not atypical behavior for a child of young Alex's age. "Yes," she replied, "but not charging for house calls!"

Answer 305

ADJ. daring; bold. Audiences cheered as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia made their audacious, deathdefying leap to freedom, escaping Darth Vader's troops. audacity, N.

Answer 306

N. examination of accounts. When the bank examiners arrived to hold their annual audit, they discovered the embezzlements of the chief cashier. Also V.

Answer 307

ADJ. pertaining to the sense of hearing. Audrey suffered from auditory hallucinations: she thought Elvis was speaking to her from the Great Beyond.

Answer 308

V. increase; add to. Armies augment their forces by calling up reinforcements; teachers augment their salaries by taking odd jobs.

Answer 309

N. omen; prophecy. He interpreted the departure of the birds as an augury of evil. augur, V.

Answer 310

ADJ. impressive; majestic. Visiting the palace at Versailles, she was impressed by the august surroundings in which she found herself.

Answer 311

N. sun's corona; halo. Many medieval paintings depict saintly characters with aureoles around their heads.

Answer 312

ADJ. pertaining to the aurora borealis. The auroral display was particularly spectacular that evening.

Answer 313

ADJ. favoring success. With favorable weather conditions, it was an auspicious moment to set sail. Thomas, however, had doubts about sailing: a paranoid, he became suspicious whenever conditions seemed auspicious.

Answer 314

ADJ. forbiddingly stern; severely simple and unornamented. The headmaster's austere demeanor tended to scare off the more timid students, who never visited his study willingly. The room reflected the man, austere and bare, like a monk's cell, with no touches of luxury to moderate its austerity.

Answer 315

V. prove genuine. An expert was needed to authenticate the original Van Gogh painting, distinguishing it from its imitation.

Answer 316

ADJ. subordinating the individual to the state; completely dominating another's will. The leaders of the authoritarian regime ordered the suppression of the democratic protest movement. After years of submitting to the will of her authoritarian father, Elizabeth Barrett ran away from home with the poet Robert Browning.

Answer 317

ADJ. having the weight of authority; peremptory and dictatorial. Impressed by the young researcher's well-documented presentation, we accepted her analysis of the experiment as authoritative.

Answer 318

ADJ. having absolute, unchecked power; dictatorial. Someone accustomed to exercising authority may become autocratic if his or her power is unchecked. Dictators by definition are autocrats. Bosses who dictate behavior as well as letters can be autocrats too.

Answer 319

N. mechanism that imitates actions of humans. Long before science fiction readers became aware of robots, writers were presenting stories of automatons who could outperform men.

Answer 320

ADJ. self-governing. Although the University of California at Berkeley is just one part of the state university system, in many ways Cal Berkeley is autonomous, for it runs several programs that are not subject to outside control. autonomy, N.

Answer 321

N. examination of a dead body; post-mortem. The medical examiner ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death. Also V.

Answer 322

ADJ. helper, additional or subsidiary. To prepare for the emergency, they built an auxiliary power station. also N.

Answer 323

N. great mass of falling snow and ice. The park ranger warned the skiers to stay on the main trails, where they would be in no danger of being buried beneath a sudden avalanche.

Answer 324

N. greediness for wealth. King Midas is a perfect example of avarice, for he was so greedy that he wished everything he touched would turn to gold.

Answer 325

V. take vengeance for something (or on behalf of someone). Hamlet vowed he would avenge his father's murder and punish Claudius for his horrible crime.

Answer 326

ADJ. reluctant; disinclined. The reporter was averse to revealing the sources of his information.

Answer 327

N. firm dislike. Bert had an aversion to yuppies; Alex had an aversion to punks. Their mutual aversion was so great that they refused to speak to one another.

Answer 328

V. prevent; turn away. She averted her eyes from the dead cat on the highway.

Answer 329

N. enclosure for birds. The aviary at the zoo held nearly 300 birds.

Answer 330

ADJ. greedy; eager for. He was avid for learning and read everything he could get. avidity, N.

Answer 331

N. secondary or minor occupation. His hobby proved to be so fascinating and profitable that gradually he abandoned his regular occupation and concentrated on his avocation.

Answer 332

V. declare openly. Lana avowed that she never meant to steal Debbie's boyfriend, but no one believed her avowal of innocence.

Answer 333

ADJ. like an uncle. Avuncular pride did not prevent him from noticing his nephew's shortcomings.

Answer 334

N. solemn wonder. The tourists gazed with awe at the tremendous expanse of the Grand Canyon.

Answer 335

ADV. distorted; crooked. He held his head awry, giving the impression that he had caught cold in his neck during the night. Also ADJ.

Answer 336

N. self-evident truth requiring no proof. Before a student can begin to think along the lines of Euclidean geometry, he must accept certain principles or axioms.

Answer 337

ADJ. sky blue. Azure skies are indicative of good weather.

Answer 338

V. chatter idly. The little girl babbled about her doll. Also N.

Answer 339

ADJ. drunken. Emperor Nero attended the bacchanalian orgy.

Answer 340

V. pester; annoy. She was forced to change her telephone number because she was badgered by obscene phone calls.

Answer 341

N. teasing conversation. Her friends at work greeted the news of her engagement with cheerful badinage.

Answer 342

V. frustrate; perplex. The new code baffled the enemy agents.

Answer 343

V. harass; tease. The school bully baited the smaller children, terrorizing them.

Answer 344

ADJ. deadly; having a malign influence; ominous. The fortune teller made baleful predictions of terrible things to come.

Answer 345

V. foil or thwart; stop short; refuse to go on. When the warden learned that several inmates were planning to escape, he took steps to balk their attempt. However, he balked at punishing them by shackling them to the walls of their cells.

Answer 346

N. heavy substance used to add stability or weight. The ship was listing badly to one side; it was necessary to shift the ballast in the hold to get her back on an even keel. Also V.

Answer 347

N. something that relieves pain. Friendship is the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.

Answer 348

ADJ. mild; fragrant. A balmy breeze refreshed us after the sultry blast.

Answer 349

ADJ. hackneyed; commonplace; trite; lacking originality. The hack writer's worn-out clich6s made his comic sketch seem banal. He even resorted to the banality of having someone slip on a banana peel!

Answer 350

V. discuss lightly or glibly; exchange (words) heatedly. While the president was happy to bandy patriotic generalizations with anyone who would listen to him, he refused to bandy words with unfriendly reporters at the press conference.

Answer 351

N. cause of ruin; curse. Lucy's little brother was the bane of her existence: his attempts to make her life miserable worked so well that she could have poisoned him with ratsbane for having such a baneful effect.

Answer 352

ADJ. good-natured ridiculing. They resented his bantering remarks because they thought he was being sarcastic.

Answer 353

N. sharp projection from fishhook, etc.; openly cutting remark. If you were a politician, which would you prefer, being caught on the barb of a fishhook or being subjected to malicious verbal barbs? Who can blame the president if he's happier fishing than back in the capitol listening to his critics' barbed remarks?

Answer 354

N. evaluation; judgment. Your SAT I score plays a part in the admission committee's assessment of you as an applicant.

Answer 355

ADJ. diligent. He was assiduous, working at this task for weeks before he felt satisfied with his results. assiduity, N.

Answer 356

V. absorb; cause to become homogeneous. The manner in which the United States was able to assimilate the hordes of immigrants during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries will always be a source of pride to Americans. The immigrants eagerly assimilated new ideas and customs; they soaked them up, the way plants soak up water.

Answer 357

V. ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger). Jilted by Jane, Dick tried to assuage his heartache by indulging in ice cream. One gallon later, he had assuaged his appetite but not his grief.

Answer 358

N. something taken for granted; taking over or taking possession of. The young princess made the foolish assumption that the regent would not object to her assumption of power. assume,V.

Answer 359

N. promise or pledge; certainty; self-confidence. When Guthrie gave Guinness his assurance that rehearsals were going well, he spoke with such assurance that Guinness felt relieved. assure,V.

Answer 360

N. small planet. Asteroids have become commonplace to the readers of interstellar travel stories in science fiction magazines.

Answer 361

N. eye defect that prevents proper focus. As soon as his parents discovered that the boy suffered from astigmatism, they took him to the optometrist for corrective glasses.

Answer 362

N. poet. The ancient bard Homer sang of the fall of Troy.

Answer 363

ADJ. highly ornate. Accustomed to the severe lines of contemporary buildings, the architecture students found the flamboyance of baroque architecture amusing. They simply didn't go for baroque.

Answer 364

N. barrier laid down by artillery fire. The company was forced to retreat through the barrage of heavy cannons.

Answer 365

ADJ. desolate; fruitless and unproductive; lacking. Looking out at the trackless, barren desert, Indiana Jones feared that his search for the missing expedition would prove barren.

Answer 366

N. hastily put together defensive barrier; obstacle. Marius and his fellow students hurriedly improvised a rough barricade to block police access to the students' quarter. Malcolm and his brothers barricaded themselves in their bedroom to keep their mother from seeing the hole in the bedroom floor. alsoV.

Answer 367

N. trader. The barterer exchanged trinkets for the natives' furs. It seemed smarter to barter than to pay cash.

Answer 368

V. luxuriate; take pleasure in warmth. Basking on the beach, she relaxed so completely that she fell asleep.

Answer 369

N. fortress; defense. The villagers fortified the town hall, hoping this improvised bastion could protect them from the guerillas' raids. .

Answer 370

V. let down; restrain. Until it was time to open the presents, the children had to bate their curiosity. bated,ADJ.

Answer 371

N. trinket; trifle. The child was delighted with the bauble she had won in the grab bag.

Answer 372

ADJ. indecent; obscene. Jack took offense at Jill's bawdy remarks. What kind of young man did she think he was?

Answer 373

N. ray of light; long piece of metal or wood; course of a radio signal. V. smile radiantly. If a beam of light falls on you, it illuminates you; if a beam of iron falls on you, it eliminates you. (No one feels like beaming when crushed by an iron beam.)

Answer 374

ADJ. giving bliss; blissful. The beatific smile on the child's face made us very happy.

Answer 375

N. blessedness; state of bliss. Growing closer to God each day, the mystic achieved a state of indescribable beatitude.

Answer 376

V. dress with vulgar finery. The witch doctors were bedizened in all their gaudiest costumes.

Answer 377

V. wet thoroughly; stain with mud. We were so bedraggled by the severe storm that we had to change into dry clothing. bedraggled,ADJ.

Answer 378

N. direct, quick route. As soon as the movie was over, Jim made a beeline for the exit.

Answer 379

V. confuse thoroughly. His attempts to clarify the situation succeeded only in befuddling her further.

Answer 380

V. father; produce; give rise to. One good turn may deserve another; it does not necessarily beget another.

Answer 381

V. resent. I begrudge every minute I have to spend attending meetings; they're a complete waste of time.

Answer 382

V. mislead or delude; pass time. With flattery and big talk of easy money, the con men beguiled Kyle into betting his allowance on the shell game. Broke, he beguiled himself during the long hours by playing solitaire.

Answer 383

N. huge creature; monstrous animal. Sportscasters nicknamed the linebacker "The Behemoth."

Answer 384

V. explain or go over excessively or to a ridiculous degree; attack verbally. The debate coach warned her student not to bore the audience by belaboring her point.

Answer 385

ADJ. delayed. He apologized for his belated note of condolence to the widow of his friend and explained that he had just learned of her husband's untimely death.

Answer 386

V. besiege or attack; harassed. The babysitter was surrounded by a crowd of unmanageable brats who relentlessly beleaguered her.

Answer 387

V. contradict; give a false impression. His coarse, hard-bitten exterior belied his inner sensitivity.

Answer 388

V. disparage or depreciate; put down. Parents should not belittle their children's early attempts at drawing, but should encourage their efforts. Barry was a put-down artist: he was a genius at belittling people and making them feel small.

Answer 389

ADJ. warlike. His bellicose disposition alienated his friends.

Answer 390

ADJ. quarrelsome. Whenever he had too much to drink, he became belligerent and tried to pick fights with strangers. belligerence, N.

Answer 391

V. lament; express disapproval of. The widow bemoaned the death of her beloved husband. Although critics bemoaned the serious flaws in the author's novels, each year his latest book topped the best-seller list.

Answer 392

ADJ. confused; lost in thought; preoccupied. Jill studied the garbled instructions with a bemused look on her face.

Answer 393

N. blessing. The appearance of the sun after the many rainy days was like a benediction.

Answer 394

N. gift giver; patron. Scrooge later became Tiny Tim's benefactor and gave him gifts.

Answer 395

ADJ. helpful; useful. Tiny Tim's cheerful good nature had a beneficial influence on Scrooge's onceuncharitable disposition.

Answer 396

N. person entitled to benefits or proceeds of an insurance policy or will. In Scrooge's will, he made Tiny Tim his beneficiary. everything he left would go to young Tim.

Answer 397

ADJ. generous; charitable. Mr. Fezziwig was a benevolent employer, who wished to make Christmas merrier for young Scrooge and his other employees.

Answer 398

ADJ. kindly; favorable; not malignant. Though her benign smile and gentle bearing made Miss Marple seem a sweet little old lady, in reality she was a tough-minded, shrewd observer of human nature. benignity, N.

Answer 399

ADJ; N. determined; natural talent or inclination. Bent on advancing in the business world, the secretary-heroine of Working Girl has a true bent for high finance.

Answer 400

V. leave to someone by a will; hand down. Though Maud had intended to bequeath the family home to her nephew, she died before changing her will. bequest, N.

Answer 401

V. scold strongly. He feared she would berate him for his forgetfulness.

Answer 402

N. state of being deprived of something valuable or beloved. His friends gathered to console him upon his sudden bereavement.

Answer 403

ADJ. deprived of; lacking; desolate because of a loss. The foolish gambler soon found himself bereft of funds.

Answer 404

ADV. frenzied. Angered, he went berserk and began to wreck the room.

Answer 405

V. beg; plead with. The workaholic executive's wife beseeched him to spend more time with their son.

Answer 406

V. harass or trouble; hem in. Many vexing problems beset the American public school system. Sleeping Beauty's castle was beset on all sides by dense thickets that hid it from view.

Answer 407

V. surround with armed forces; harass (with requests). When the bandits besieged the village, the villagers holed up in the town hall and prepared to withstand a long siege. Members of the new administration were besieged with job applications from people who had worked on the campaign.

Answer 408

V. soil, defile. The scandalous remarks in the newspaper besmirch the reputations of every member of the society.

Answer 409

ADJ. beastlike; brutal. According to legend, the werewolf was able to abandon its human shape and take on a bestial form.

Answer 410

V. give. He wished to bestow great honors upon the hero.

Answer 411

V. signify; indicate. The well-equipped docks, tall piles of cargo containers, and numerous vessels being loaded all betoken Oakland's importance as a port.

Answer 412

V. be unfaithful; reveal (unconsciously or unwillingly). The spy betrayed his country by selling military secrets to the enemy. When he was taken in for questioning, the tightness of his lips betrayed his fear of being caught.

Answer 413

V. become engaged to marry. The announcement that they had become betrothed surprised their friends who had not suspected any romance. betrothal, N.

Answer 414

N. large group. The movie actor was surrounded by a bevyof starlets.

Answer 415

ADJ. slanted; prejudiced. Because the judge played golf regularly with the district attorney's father, we feared he might be biased in the prosecution's favor. bias, N.

Answer 416

ADJ. two-chambered, as a legislative body. The United States Congress is a bicameral body.

Answer 417

V. quarrel. The children bickered morning, noon, and night, exasperating their parents.

Answer 418

ADJ. every two years. Seeing no need to meet more frequently, the group held biennial meetings instead of annual ones. Plants that bear flowers biennially are known as biennials.

Answer 419

N. stubborn intolerance. Brought up in a democratic atmosphere, the student was shocked by the bigotry and narrowness expressed by several of his classmates.

Answer 420

ADJ. suffering from indigestion; irritable. His bilious temperament was apparent to all who heard him rant about his difficulties.

Answer 421

V. swindle; cheat. The con man specialized in bilking insurance companies.

Answer 422

ADJ. swelling out in waves; surging. Standing over the air vent, Marilyn Monroe tried vainly to control her billowing skirts.

Answer 423

N. temporary encampment. While in bivouac, we spent the night in our sleeping bags under the stars. alsoV.

Answer 424

ADJ. fantastic; violently contrasting. The plot of the novel was too bizarre to be believed.

Answer 425

V. bleach; whiten. Although age had blanched his hair, he was still vigorous and energetic.

Answer 426

ADJ. soothing or mild; agreeable. Jill tried a bland ointment for her sunburn. However, when Jack absentmindedly patted her on the sunburned shoulder, she couldn't maintain a bland disposition.

Answer 427

N. flattery. Despite the salesperson's blandishments, the customer did not buy the outfit.

Answer 428

N. loud, harsh roar or screech; dazzling blaze of light. I don't know which is worse: the steady blare of a boom box deafening your ears or a sudden blare of flashbulbs dazzling your eyes.

Answer 429

ADJ. bored with pleasure or dissipation. Although Beth was as thrilled with the idea of a trip to Paris as her classmates were, she tried to act super cool and blasé, as if she'd been abroad hundreds of times.

Answer 430

N. irreverence; sacrilege; cursing. In my father's house, the Dodgers were the holiest of holies; to cheer for another team was to utter words of blasphemy. blasphemous,ADJ.

Answer 431

ADJ. flagrant; conspicuously obvious; loudly offensive. To the unemployed youth from Dublin, the "No Irish Need Apply" placard in the shop window was a blatant mark of prejudice.

Answer 432

ADJ. cold or cheerless; unlikely to be favorable. The frigid, inhospitable Aleutian Islands are bleak military outposts. It's no wonder that soldiers assigned there have a bleak attitude toward their posting.

Answer 433

ADJ. suffering from a disease; destroyed. The extent of the blighted areas could be seen only when viewed from the air.

Answer 434

ADJ. gay; joyous; heedless. Shelley called the skylark a "blithe spirit" because of its happy song.

Answer 435

ADJ. swollen or puffed as with water or air. Her bloated stomach came from drinking so much water.

Answer 436

N. club; heavy-headed weapon. Attacked by Dr. Moriarty, Holmes used his walking stick as a bludgeon to defend himself. "Watson," he said, "I fear I may have bludgeoned Moriarty to death."

Answer 437

ADJ. rough but good-natured. Jack had a bluff andhearty manner that belied his actual sensitivity; he never let people know how thin-skinned he really was.

Answer 438

N. pretense (of strength); deception; high cliff. Claire thought Lord Byron's boast that he would swim the Hellespont was just a bluff; she was astounded when he dove from the high bluff into the waters below.

Answer 439

N. error. The criminal's fatal blunder led to his capture. alsoV.

Answer 440

V. utter impulsively. Before she could stop him, he blurted out the news.

Answer 441

V. blow in heavy gusts; threaten emptily; bully. "Let the stormy winds bluster," cried Jack, "we'll set sail tonight." Jill let Jack bluster. she wasn't going anywhere, no matter what he said.

Answer 442

V. foreshadow; portend. The gloomy skies and the sulphurous odors from the mineral springs seemed to bode evil to those who settled in the area.

Answer 443

ADJ. counterfeit; not authentic. The police quickly found the distributors of the bogus twenty-dollar bills.

Answer 444

ADJ. unconventional (in an artistic way). Gertrude Stein ran off to Paris to live an eccentric, bohemian life with her writer friends. Oakland was not bohemian: it was too bourgeois, too middle-class.

Answer 445

ADJ. violent; rough; noisy. The unruly crowd became even more boisterous when he tried to quiet them.

Answer 446

V. support; reinforce. The debaters amassed file boxes full of evidence to bolstertheir arguments.

Answer 447

N. door bar; fastening pin or screw; length of fabric. The carpenter shut the workshop door, sliding the heavy metal bolt into place. He sorted through his toolbox for the nuts and bolts and nails he would need. Before he cut into the bolt of canvas, he measured how much fabric he would need.

Answer 448

V. dash or dart off; fasten (a door); gobble down. Jack was set to bolt out the front door, but Jill bolted the door. "Eat your breakfast," she said, "don't bolt your food."

Answer 449

N. attack with missiles. The enemy bombardment demolished the town. Members of the opposition party bombarded the prime minister with questions about the enemy attack.

Answer 450

ADJ. pompous; using inflated language. Puffed up with conceit, the orator spoke in such a bombastic manner that we longed to deflate him. bombast, N.

Answer 451

ADJ. deep and resonant; flourishing, thriving. "Who needs a microphone?" cried the mayor in his booming voice. Cheerfully he boomed out that, thanks to him, the city's economy was booming. boom,V.

Answer 452

N. blessing; benefit. The recent rains that filled our empty reservoirs were a boon to the whole community.

Answer 453

ADJ. rude; clumsy; ungentlemanly. Natasha was embarrassed by her fellow spy's boorish behavior. "If you cannot act like a gentleman, Boris, go back to Russia: espionage is no job for clumsy boors." boor, N.

Answer 454

ADJ. unlimited; vast. Mike's energy was boundless: the greater the challenge, the more vigorously he tackled the job.

Answer 455

ADJ. abundant; graciously generous. Thanks to the good harvest, we had a bountiful supply of food and we could be as bountiful as we liked in distributing food to the needy.

Answer 456

ADJ. middle class; selfishly materialistic; dully conventional. Technically, anyone who belongs to the middle class is bourgeois, but, given the word's connotations, most people resent it if you call them that.

Answer 457

ADJ. cowlike; placid and dull. Nothing excites Esther; even when she won the state lottery, she still preserved her air of bovine calm.

Answer 458

V. expurgate. After the film editors had bowdlerized the language in the script, the motion picture's rating was changed from "R" to "PG."

Answer 459

V. refrain from buying or using. To put pressure on grape growers to stop using pesticides that harmed the farm workers' health, Cesar Chavez called for consumers to boycott grapes.

Answer 460

N. boaster. Modest by nature, she was no braggart, preferring to let her accomplishments speak for themselves.

Answer 461

V. wave around; flourish. Alarmed, Doctor Watson wildly brandished his gun until Holmes told him to put the thing away before he shot himself.

Answer 462

N. swagger; assumed air of defiance. The bravado of the young criminal disappeared when he was confronted by the victims of his brutal attack.

Answer 463

N. muscular strength; sturdiness. It takes brawn to become a champion weightlifter. brawny,ADJ.

Answer 464

ADJ. insolent. Her brazen contempt for authority angered the officials.

Answer 465

N. breaking of contract or duty; fissure or gap. Jill sued Jack for breach of promise, claiming he had broken his promise to marry her. They found a breach in the enemy's fortifications and penetrated their lines. alsoV.

Answer 466

N. width; extent. We were impressed by the breadth of her knowledge.

Answer 467

N. conciseness. Brevity is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every word.

Answer 468

ADJ. tawny or grayish with streaks or spots. He was disappointed in the litter because the puppies were brindled, he had hoped for animals of a uniform color.

Answer 469

ADJ. rising like bristles; showing irritation. The dog stood there, bristling with anger.

Answer 470

ADJ. easily broken; difficult. My employer's self-control was as brittle as an egg-shell. Her brittle personality made it difficult for me to get along with her.

Answer 471

V. introduce; open up. Jack did not even try to broach the subject of religion with his in-laws. If you broach a touchy subject, it may cause a breach.

Answer 472

N. pamphlet. This brochure on farming was issued by the Department of Agriculture.

Answer 473

N. ornamental clasp. She treasured the brooch because it was an heirloom.

Answer 474

V. bully; intimidate. Billy resisted Ted's attempts browbeat him into handing over his lunch money.

Answer 475

V. graze; skim or glance at casually. "How now, brown cow, browsing in the green, green grass." I remember lines of verse that I came across while browsing through the poetry section of the local bookstore.

Answer 476

N. main impact or shock. Tom Sawyer claimed credit for painting the fence, but the brunt of the work fell on others. However, he bore the brunt of Aunt Polly's complaints when the paint began to peel.

Answer 477

ADJ. blunt; abrupt. Was Bruce too brusque when he brushed off Bob's request with a curt "Not now!"?

Answer 478

N. pirate. At Disneyland the Pirates of the Caribbean sing a song about their lives as bloody buccaneers.

Answer 479

ADJ. rustic; pastoral. Filled with browsing cows and bleating sheep, the meadow was a charmingly bucolic sight.

Answer 480

N. table with food set out for people to serve themselves; meal at which people help themselves to food that's been set out. Please convey the soufflé on the tray to the buffet. (Buffet rhymes with tray.)

Answer 481

V. slap; batter; knock about. To buffet something is to rough it up. (Buffet rhymes with Muffett.) Was Miss Muffett buffeted by the crowd on the way to the buffet tray?

Answer 482

N. clowning. In the Ace Ventura movies, Jim Carrey's buffoonery was hilarious: like Bozo the Clown, he's a natural buffoon.

Answer 483

N. gold and silver in the form of bars. Much bullion is stored in the vaults at Fort Knox.

Answer 484

N. earthwork or other strong defense; person who defends. The navy is our principal bulwark against invasion.

Answer 485

ADJ. self-assertive. His classmates called him a show-off because of his bumptious airs.

Answer 486

N. small cottage. Every summer we rent a bungalow on Cape Cod for our vacation home. The rent is high, the roof is low-it's a basic bungalow.

Answer 487

V. mismanage; blunder. Don't botch this assignment, Bumstead; if you bungle the job, you're fired!

Answer 488

ADJ. able to float; cheerful and optimistic. When the boat capsized, her buoyant life jacket kept Jody afloat. Scrambling back on board, she was still in a buoyant mood, certain that despite the delay she'd win the race.

Answer 489

N. over-regulated administrative system marked by red tape. The Internal Revenue Service is the ultimate bureaucracy. taxpayers wasted so much paper filling out IRS forms that the IRS bureaucrats printed up a new set of rules requiring taxpayers to comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act.

Answer 490

V. grow forth; send out buds. In the spring, the plants that burgeon are a promise of the beauty that is to come.

Answer 491

V. give an imitation that ridicules. In Spaceballs, Rick Moranis burlesques Darth Vader of Star Wars, outrageously parodying Vader's stiff walk and hollow voice.

Answer 492

ADJ. husky; muscular. The burly mover lifted the packing crate with ease.

Answer 493

V. make shiny by rubbing; polish. The maid burnished the brass fixtures until they reflected the lamplight.

Answer 494

V. move about energetically; teem. David and the children bustled about the house getting in each other's way as they tried to pack for the camping trip. The whole house bustled with activity.

Answer 495

V. support; prop up. The attorney came up with several far-fetched arguments in a vain attempt to buttress his weak case. also N.

Answer 496

ADJ. plump; vigorous; jolly. The soldiers remembered the buxom nurse who had always been so pleasant to them.

Answer 497

N. small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests. The cabal was defeated when their scheme was discovered.

Answer 498

N. hiding place. The detectives followed the suspect until he led them to the cache where he had stored his loot. He had cached the cash in a bag for trash: it was a hefty sum.

Answer 499

ADJ. discordant; inharmonious. Do the students in the orchestra enjoy the cacophonous sounds they make when they're tuning up? I don't know how they can stand the racket. cacophony, N.

Answer 500

N. corpse. In some states, it is illegal to dissect cadavers.

Answer 501

ADJ. like a corpse; pale. By his cadaverous appearance, we could see how the disease had ravaged him.

Answer 502

N. rhythmic rise and fall (of words or sounds); beat. Marching down the road, the troops sang out, following the cadence set by the sergeant.

Answer 503

V. coax; wheedle. Diane tried to cajole her father into letting her drive the family car. cajolery, N.

Answer 504

N. disaster; misery. As news of the calamity spread, offers of relief poured in to the stricken community.

Answer 505

ADJ. deliberately planned; likely. Lexy's choice of clothes to wear to the debate tournament was carefully calculated. Her conventional suit was one calculated to appeal to the conservative judges.

Answer 506

N. large kettle. "Why, Mr. Crusoe," said the savage heating the giant caldron, "we'd love to have you for dinner!"

Answer 507

N. ability; quality. Einstein's cleaning the blackboards again? Albert, quit it! A man of your caliber shouldn't have to do such menial tasks.

Answer 508

N. beautiful writing; excellent penmanship. As we examine ancient manuscripts, we become impressed with the calligraphy of the scribes.

Answer 509

ADJ. hardened; unfeeling. He had worked in the hospital for so many years that he was callous to the suffering in the wards. callus, N.

Answer 510

ADJ. youthful; immature; inexperienced. As a freshman, Jack was sure he was a man of the world; as a sophomore, he made fun of freshmen as callow youths. In both cases, his judgment showed just how callow he was.

Answer 511

ADJ. heat-producing. Coal is much more calorific than green wood.

Answer 512

N. malicious misrepresentation; slander. He could endure his financial failure, but he could not bear the calumny that his foes heaped upon him.

Answer 513

N. good-fellowship. What he loved best about his job was the sense of camaraderie he and his coworkers shared.

Answer 514

N. shell or jewel carved in relief; star's special appearance in a minor role in a film. Don't bother buying cameos from the street peddlers in Rome: the carvings they sell are clumsy jobs. Did you enjoy Bill Murray's cameo in Little Shop of Horrors? He was onscreen for only a minute, but he cracked me up.

Answer 515

V. disguise; conceal. In order to rescue Han Solo, Princess Leia camouflaged herself in the helmet and cloak of a space bandit.

Answer 516

N. frankness; open honesty. Jack can carry candor too far: when he told Jill his honest opinion of her, she nearly slapped his face. candid,ADJ.

Answer 517

ADJ. related to dogs; dog-like. Some days the canine population of Berkeley seems almost to outnumber the human population,

Answer 518

ADJ. shrewd; thrifty. The canny Scotsman was more than a match for the swindlers.

Answer 519

N. insincere expressions of piety; jargon of thieves. Shocked by news of the minister's extramarital love affairs, the worshippers dismissed his talk about the sacredness of marriage as mere cant. Cant is a form of hypocrisy: those who can, pray; those who cant, pretend.

Answer 520

ADJ. ill humored; irritable. Constantly complaining about his treatment and refusing to cooperate with the hospital staff, he was a cantankerous patient.

Answer 521

N. story set to music, to be sung by a chorus. The choral society sang the new cantata composed by its leader.

Answer 522

N. slow gallop. Because the racehorse had outdistanced its competition so easily, the reporter wrote that the race was won in a canter. also V.

Answer 523

N. division of a long poem. Dante's poetic masterpiece The Divine Comedy is divided into cantos.

Answer 524

V. determine votes, etc. After canvassing the sentiments of his constituents, the congressman was confident that he represented the majority opinion of his district. also N.

Answer 525

DJ. spacious. In the capacious rotunda of the railroad terminal, thousands of travelers lingered while waiting for their train.

Answer 526

N. mental or physical ability; role; ability to accommodate. Mike had the capacity to handle several jobs at once. In his capacity as president of SelecTronics he marketed an electronic dictionary with a capacity of 200,000 words.

Answer 527

V. surrender. The enemy was warned to capitulate or face annihilation.

Answer 528

N. sudden, unexpected fancy; whim. On a caprice, Jack tried drag-racing, but paid the price-his father took his Chevy Caprice away from him.

Answer 529

ADJ. unpredictable; fickle. The storm was capricious: it changed course constantly. Jill was capricious, too: she changed boyfriends almost as often as she changed clothes.

Answer 530

N. title; chapter heading; text under illustration. The captions that accompany The Far Side cartoons are almost as funny as the pictures. alsoV.

Answer 531

V. charm or enthrall. Bart and Lisa were captivated by their new nanny's winning manner.

Answer 532

N. unit of weight for precious stones; measure of fineness of gold. He gave her a three-carat diamond mounted in an eighteen-carat gold band.

Answer 533

ADJ. chief. If you want to increase your word power, the cardinal rule of vocabulary-building is to read.

Answer 534

N. doctor specializing in the heart. When the pediatrician noticed Philip had a slight heart murmur, she referred him to a cardiologist for further tests.

Answer 535

V. lurch; sway from side to side. The taxicab careened wildly as it rounded the corner.

Answer 536

N. distortion; burlesque. The caricatures he drew always emphasized a personal weakness of the people he burlesqued. alsoV.

Answer 537

N. destruction of life. The film The Killing Fields vividly depicts the carnage wreaked by Pol Pot's followers in Cambodia.

Answer 538

ADJ. fleshly. Is the public more interested in carnal pleasures than in spiritual matters? Compare the number of people who read Playboy daily to the number of those who read the Bible or Koran every day.

Answer 539

ADJ. meat-eating. The lion's a carnivorous beast. A hunk of meat makes up his feast. A cow is not a carnivore. She likes the taste of grain, not gore.

Answer 540

ADJ. finding fault. A carping critic is a nit-picker: he loves to point out flaws. If you don't like this definition, feel free to carp.

Answer 541

N. map-maker. Though not a professional cartographer, Tolkien was able to construct a map of his fictional world.

Answer 542

N. small waterfall. We were too tired to appreciate the beauty of the many cascades because we had to detour around them to avoid being drenched by the water cascading down.

Answer 543

V. criticize severely; punish. When the teacher threatened that she would castigate the mischievous boys if they didn't behave, they shaped up in a hurry.

Answer 544

N. serious or fatal accident. The number of automotive casualties on this holiday weekend was high.

Answer 545

N. upheaval; deluge. A cataclysm such as the French Revolution affects all countries. cataclysmic,ADJ.

Answer 546

N. agent which brings about a chemical change while it remains unaffected and unchanged. Many chemical reactions cannot take place without the presence of a catalyst.

Answer 547

N. slingshot; a hurling machine. Airplanes are sometimes launched from battleships by catapults. alsoV.

Answer 548

N. great waterfall; eye abnormality. She gazed with awe at the mighty cataract known as Niagara Falls.

Answer 549

N. calamity; disaster. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was a catastrophe that destroyed most of the city. A similar earthquake striking today could have even more catastrophic results.

Answer 550

N. shout of disapproval; boo. Every major league pitcher has off days during which he must learn to ignore the catcalls and angry hisses from the crowd.

Answer 551

N. book for religious instruction; instruction by question and answer. He taught by engaging his pupils in a catechism until they gave him the correct answer.

Answer 552

ADJ. without exceptions; unqualified; absolute. Though the captain claimed he was never, never sick at sea, he finally had to qualify his categorical denial: he was "hardly ever" sick at sea.

Answer 553

V. supply something desired (whether good or bad). The chef was happy to cater to the tastes of his highly sophisticated clientele. Critics condemned the movie industry for catering to the public's ever-increasing appetite for violence.

Answer 554

N. purging or cleansing of any passage of the body. Aristotle maintained that tragedy created a catharsis by purging the soul of base concepts.

Answer 555

ADJ. broadly sympathetic; liberal. He was extremely catholic in his taste and read everything he could find in the library.

Answer 556

N. private meeting of members of a party to select officers or determine policy. At the opening of Congress, the members of the Democratic Party held a caucus to elect the Majority Leader of the House and the Party Whip.

Answer 557

V. make watertight by filling in cracks. Jack had to caulk the tiles in the shower stall to stop the leak into the basement below.

Answer 558

ADJ. implying a cause-and-effect relationship. The psychologist maintained there was a causal relationship between the nature of one's early childhood experiences and one's adult personality. causality, N.

Answer 559

ADJ. burning; sarcastically biting. The critic's caustic remarks angered the hapless actors who were the subjects of his sarcasm.

Answer 560

N. procession; parade. As described by Chaucer, the cavalcade of Canterbury pilgrims was a motley group.

Answer 561

ADJ. offhand or casual; haughty. The disguised prince resented the cavalier way in which the palace guards treated him. How dared they handle a member of the royal family so unceremoniously!

Answer 562

V. make frivolous objections. It's fine when you make sensible criticisms, but it really bugs me when you cavil about unimportant details. also N.

Answer 563

V. yield (title, territory) to; surrender formally. Eventually the descendants of England's Henry II were forced to cede their French territories to the King of France.

Answer 564

ADJ. famous; well-known. Thanks to their race to break Roger Maris's home-run record, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire are two of America's most celebrated baseball players. celebrity, N.

Answer 565

N. speed; rapidity. Hamlet resented his mother's celerity in remarrying within a month after his father's death.

Answer 566

ADJ. heavenly. She spoke of the celestial joys that awaited virtuous souls in the hereafter.

Answer 567

ADJ. unmarried; abstaining from sexual intercourse. The perennial bachelor vowed to remain celibate. celibacy, N.

Answer 568

N. overseer of morals; person who reads to eliminate inappropriate remarks. Soldiers dislike having their mail read by a censor but understand the need for this precaution. alsoV.

Answer 569

ADJ. critical. Censorious people delight in casting blame.

Answer 570

V. blame; criticize. The senator was censured for behavior inappropriate to a member of Congress. also N.

Answer 571

ADJ. measure of temperature used widely in Europe. On the centigrade thermometer, the freezing point of water is zero degrees.

Answer 572

ADJ. radiating; departing from the center. Many automatic drying machines remove excess moisture from clothing by centrifugal force.

Answer 573

ADJ. tending toward the center. Does centripetal force or the force of gravity bring orbiting bodies to the earth's surface?

Answer 574

N. Roman army officer. Because he was in command of a company of one hundred soldiers, he was called a centurion.

Answer 575

ADJ. pertaining to the brain or intellect. The content of philosophical works is cerebral in nature and requires much thought.

Answer 576

N. thought. Mathematics problems sometimes require much cerebration.

Answer 577

ADJ. marked by formality. Ordinary dress would be inappropriate at so ceremonious an affair.

Answer 578

N. certainty. Though there was no certitude of his getting the job, Lou thought he had a good chance of doing so.

Answer 579

N. stoppage. The airline's employees threatened a cessation of all work if management failed to meet their demands. cease,V.

Answer 580

N. yielding to another; ceding. The cession of Alaska to the United States is discussed in this chapter.

Answer 581

V. warm by rubbing; make sore (by rubbing). Chilled, he chafed his hands before the fire. The collar of his school uniform chafed Tom's neck, but not as much the school's strict rules chafed his spirit. also N.

Answer 582

N. worthless products of an endeavor. When you separate the wheat from the chaff, be sure you throw out the chaff.

Answer 583

ADJ. bantering; joking. Sometimes Chad's flippant, chaffing remarks annoy us. Still, Chad's chaffing keeps us laughing. also N.

Answer 584

N. vexation (caused by humiliation or injured pride); disappointment. Embarrassed by his parents' shabby, working-class appearance, Doug felt their visit to his school would bring him nothing but chagrin. Someone filled with chagrin doesn't grin: he's too mortified.

Answer 585

N. goblet; consecrated cup. In a small room adjoining the cathedral, many ornately decorated chalices made by the most famous European goldsmiths were on display.

Answer 586

N. lizard that changes color in different situations. Like the chameleon, he assumed the political thinking of every group he met.

Answer 587

V. support militantly. Martin Luther King, Jr., won the Nobel Peace Prize because he championed the oppressed in their struggle for equality.

Answer 588

ADJ. in utter disorder. He tried to bring order into the chaotic state of affairs. chaos, N.

Answer 589

N. divine gift; great popular charm or appeal of a political leader Political commentators have deplored the importance of a candidate's charisma in these days of television campaigning.

Answer 590

N. quack; pretender to knowledge. When they realized that the Wizard didn't know how to get them back to Kansas, Dorothy and her companions were indignant that they'd been duped by a charlatan.

Answer 591

ADJ. cautious; sparing or restrained about giving. A prudent, thrifty, New Englander, DeWitt was as chary of investing money in junk bonds as he was chary of paying people unnecessary compliments.

Answer 592

N. abyss. They could not see the bottom of the chasm.

Answer 593

N. framework and working parts of an automobile. Examining the car after the accident, the owner discovered that the body had been ruined but that the chassis was unharmed.

Answer 594

ADJ. pure. Her chaste and decorous garb was appropriately selected for the solemnity of the occasion. chastity, N.

Answer 595

V. discipline; punish in order to correct. Whom God loves, God chastens.

Answer 596

V. punish. I must chastise you for this offense.

Answer 597

N. blindly devoted patriot. A chauvinist cannot recognize any faults in his country, no matter how flagrant they may be. Likewise, a male chauvinist cannot recognize his bias in favor of his own sex, no matter how flagrant that may be. chauvinistic,ADJ.

Answer 598

V. stop motion; curb or restrain. Thrusting out her arm, Grandma checked Bobby's lunge at his sister. "Young man," she said, "you'd better check your temper." (secondary meaning)

Answer 599

ADJ. marked by changes in fortune. During his checkered career he had lived in palatial mansions and in dreary boardinghouses.

Answer 600

ADJ. angelic; innocent-looking. With her cheerful smile and rosy cheeks, she was a particularly cherubic child.

Answer 601

N. trickery; deception. Those sneaky lawyers misrepresented what occurred, made up all sorts of implausible alternative scenarios to confuse the jurors, and in general depended on chicanery to win the case.

Answer 602

V. scold. Grandma began to chide Steven for his lying.

Answer 603

ADJ. fantastically improbable; highly unrealistic; imaginative. As everyone expected, Ted's chimerical scheme to make a fortune by raising ermines in his back yard proved a dismal failure.

Answer 604

N. wedgelike tool for cutting. With his hammer and chisel, the sculptor chipped away at the block of marble.

Answer 605

V. swindle or cheat; cut with a chisel. That crook chiseled me out of a hundred dollars when he sold me that "marble" statue he'd chiseled out of some cheap hunk of rock.

Answer 606

ADJ. courteous; faithful; brave. Chivalrous behavior involves noble words and good deeds.

Answer 607

ADJ. hot-tempered. His flushed, angry face indicated a choleric nature.

Answer 608

N. art of representing dances in written symbols; arrangement of dances. Merce Cunningham has begun to use a computer in designing choreography. a software program allows him to compose arrangements of possible moves and immediately view them onscreen.

Answer 609

V. chuckle with delight. When she heard that her rival had just been jailed for embezzlement, she chortled with joy. She was not a nice lady.

Answer 610

ADJ. long established as a disease. The doctors were finally able to attribute his chronic headaches and nausea to traces of formaldehyde gas in his apartment.

Answer 611

V. report; record (in chronological order). The gossip columnist was paid to chronicle the latest escapades of the socially prominent celebrities. also N.

Answer 612

ADJ. boorish; rude. Dismayed by his churlish mapners at the party, the girls vowed never to invite him again.

Answer 613

N. secret code. Lacking his code book, the spy was unable to decode the message sent to him in cipher.

Answer 614

N. nonentity; worthless person or thing. She claimed her ex-husband was a total cipher and wondered why she had ever married him.

Answer 615

ADJ. roundabout. To avoid the traffic congestion on the main highways, she took a circuitous route. circuit, N.

Answer 616

N. indirect or roundabout expression. He was afraid to call a spade a spade and resorted to circumlocutions to avoid direct reference to his subject.

Answer 617

V. limit; confine. Although I do not wish to circumscribe your activities, I must insist that you complete this assignment before you start anything else.

Answer 618

ADJ. prudent; cautious. Investigating before acting, she tried always to be circumspect.

Answer 619

V. outwit; baffle. In order to circumvent the enemy, we will make two preliminary attacks in other sections before starting our major campaign.

Answer 620

N. reservoir or water tank. The farmers were able to withstand the dry season by using rainwater they had stored in an underground cistern.

Answer 621

N. fortress. The citadel overlooked the city like a protecting angel.

Answer 622

V. quote; command. She could cite passages in the Bible from memory. citation, N.

Answer 623

ADJ. having to do with citizens or the state; courteous and polite. Although Internal Revenue Service agents are civil servants, they are not always civil to suspected tax cheats.

Answer 624

ADJ. N. having foresight; fortuneteller. Cassandra's clairvoyant warning was not heeded by the Trojans. clairvoyance, N.

Answer 625

V. climb by crawling. She clambered over the wall.

Answer 626

N. noise. The clamor of the children at play outside made it impossible for her to take a nap. alsoV.

Answer 627

ADJ. secret. After avoiding their chaperon, the lovers had a clandestine meeting.

Answer 628

N. loud, resounding noise. The blacksmith was accustomed to the clangor of hammers on steel.

Answer 629

N. striker (tongue) of a bell. Wishing to be undisturbed by the bell, Dale wound his scarf around the clapper to muffle the noise of its striking.

Answer 630

N. fastening device; firm grip. When the clasp on Judy's bracelet broke, Fred repaired it, bending the hook back into shape. He then helped her slip on the bracelet, holding it firm in the sure clasp of his hand.

Answer 631

N. fear of being locked in. His fellow classmates laughed at his claustrophobia and often threatened to lock him in his room.

Answer 632

V. split or sever; cling to; remain faithful to. With her heavy cleaver, Julia Child can cleave a whole roast duck in two. Soaked through, the soldier tugged at the uniform that cleaved annoyingly to his body. He would cleave to his post, come rain or shine.

Answer 633

N. split. Trying for a fresh handhold, the mountainclimber grasped the edge of a cleft in the sheer rockface. alsoADJ.

Answer 634

N. disposition to be lenient; mildness, as of the weather. The lawyer was pleased when the case was sent to Judge Smith's chambers because Smith was noted for her clemency toward first offenders.

Answer 635

V. close tightly; grasp. "Open wide," said the dentist, but Clint clenched his teeth even more tightly than before.

Answer 636

N. phrase dulled in meaning by repetition. High school compositions are often marred by such clichés as "strong as an ox."

Answer 637

N. body of customers. The rock club attracted a young, stylish clientele.

Answer 638

ADJ. relating to the highest point. When he reached the climactic portions of the book, he could not stop reading. climax, N.

Answer 639

N. region; climate. His doctor advised him to move to a milder clime.

Answer 640

N. section of filmed material. Phil's job at Fox Sports involved selecting clips of the day's sporting highlights for later broadcast. alsoV.

Answer 641

N. small exclusive group. Fitzgerald wished that he belonged to the clique of popular athletes and big men on campus who seemed to run Princeton's social life.

Answer 642

N. monastery or convent. The nuns lived a secluded life in the cloister.

Answer 643

N. great influence (especially political or social). Gatsby wondered whether he had enough clout to be admitted to the exclusive club.

Answer 644

ADJ. distasteful (because excessive); excessively sweet or sentimental. Disliking the cloying sweetness of standard wedding cakes, Jody and Tom chose to have homemade carrot cake at the reception. cloy,V.

Answer 645

N. cluster or close group (of bushes, trees); mass; sound of heavy treading. Hiding behind the clump of bushes, the fugitives waited for the heavy clump of the soldiers' feet to fade away.

Answer 646

V. thicken; congeal; clot. Even after you remove the pudding from the burner, it will continue to coagulate as it stands; therefore, do not overcook the pudding, lest it become too thick.

Answer 647

V. combine; fuse. The brooks coalesce into one large river. When minor political parties coalesce, their coalescence may create a major coalition.

Answer 648

N. partnership; league; union. The Rainbow Coalition united people of all races in a common cause.

Answer 649

V. to treat gently. Don't coddle the children so much; they need a taste of discipline.

Answer 650

N. supplement to the body of a will. Miss Havisham kept her lawyers busy drawing up codicils to add to her already complicated will.

Answer 651

V. arrange (laws, rules) as a code; classify. We need to take the varying rules and regulations of the different health agencies and codify them into a national health code.

Answer 652

N. use of force to get someone to obey. The inquisitors used both physical and psychological coercion to force Joan of Arc to deny that her visions were sent by God. coerce,V.

Answer 653

ADJ. convincing. It was inevitable that David chose to go to Harvard: he had several cogent reasons for doing so, including a full-tuition scholarship. Katya argued her case with such cogency that the jury had to decide in favor of her client.

Answer 654

V. think over. Cogitate on this problem; the solution will come.

Answer 655

ADJ. related linguistically: allied by blood: similar or akin in nature. The English word "mother" is cognate to the Latin word "mater," whose influence is visible in the words "maternal" and "maternity." also N.

Answer 656

ADJ. having to do with knowing or perceiving; related to the mental processes. Though Jack was emotionally immature, his cognitive development was admirable; he was very advanced intellectually.

Answer 657

N. knowledge. During the election campaign, the two candidates were kept in full cognizance of the international situation.

Answer 658

V. stick together. Solids have a greater tendency to cohere than liquids.

Answer 659

N. tendency to keep together. A firm believer in the maxim "Divide and conquer," the evil emperor, by means of lies and trickery, sought to disrupt the cohesion of the federation of free nations.

Answer 660

N. hairstyle. You can make a statement with your choice of coiffure: in the sixties many AfricanAmericans affirmed their racial heritage by wearing their hair in Afros.

Answer 661

V. make coins; invent or fabricate. Mints coin good money; counterfeiters coin fakes. Slanderers coin nasty rumors; writers coin words. A neologism is an expression that's been newly-coined.

Answer 662

N. two or more things occurring at the same time by chance. Was it just a coincidence that John and she had chanced to meet at the market for three days running, or was he deliberately trying to seek her out? coincidental,ADJ.

Answer 663

N. utensil with perforated bottom used for straining. Before serving the spaghetti, place it in a colander to drain it.

Answer 664

V. work together. Two writers collaborated in preparing this book.

Answer 665

N. work of art put together from fragments. Scraps of cloth, paper doilies, and old photographs all went into her collage.

Answer 666

V. examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order. They collated the newly found manuscripts to determine their age.

Answer 667

N. security given for loan. The sum you wish to borrow is so large that it must be secured by collateral.

Answer 668

ADJ. pertaining to conversational or common speech. Some of the new, less formal reading passages on SAT I have a colloquial tone that is intended to make them more appealing to students.

Answer 669

N. Conspiring in a fraudulent scheme. The swindlers were found guilty of collusion.

Answer 670

ADJ. huge. Radio City Music Hall has a colossal stage.

Answer 671

ADJ. a coma; extremely sleepy. The longwinded orator soon had his audience in a comatose state.

Answer 672

ADJ. easily burned. After the recent outbreak of fires in private homes, the fire commissioner ordered that all combustible materials be kept in safe containers, also N.

Answer 673

ADJ. attractive; agreeable. I would rather have a poor and comely wife than a rich and homely one.

Answer 674

N. rebuke; deserts. After his earlier rudeness, we were delighted to see him get his comeuppance.

Answer 675

V. to draft for military purposes; to take for public use. The policeman commandeered the first car that approached and ordered the driver to go to the nearest hospital.

Answer 676

V. honor the memory of. The statue of the Minute Man commemorates the valiant soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Answer 677

ADJ. equal in extent. Your reward will be commensurate with your effort.

Answer 678

V. feel or express pity or sympathy for. Her friends commiserated with the widow.

Answer 679

ADJ. spacious and comfortable. After sleeping in small roadside cabins, they found their hotel suite commodious.

Answer 680

ADJ. held in common; of a group of people. When they were divorced, they had trouble dividing their communal property.

Answer 681

N. agreement; contract. The signers of the Mayflower Compact were establishing a form of government.

Answer 682

ADJ. tightly packed; firm; brief. His short, compact body was better suited to wrestling than to basketball.

Answer 683

ADJ. similar. People whose jobs are comparable in difficulty should receive comparable pay.

Answer 684

ADJ. harmonious; in harmony with. They were compatible neighbors, never quarreling over unimportant matters. compatibility, N.

Answer 685

ADJ. overpowering; irresistible in effect. The prosecutor presented a well-reasoned case, but the defense attorney's compelling arguments for leniency won over the jury.

Answer 686

ADJ. making up for; repaying. Can a compensatory education program make up for the inadequate schooling he received in earlier years?

Answer 687

V. assemble; gather; accumulate. We planned to compile a list of the words most frequently used on SAT I examinations.

Answer 688

N. self-satisfaction; smugness. Full of complacency about his latest victories, he looked smugly at the row of trophies on his mantelpiece. complacent,ADJ.

Answer 689

ADJ. trying to please; obliging. The courtier obeyed the king's orders in a complaisant manner.

Answer 690

V. complete; consummate; make perfect. The waiter recommended a glass of port to complement the cheese. also N.

Answer 691

ADJ. serving to complete something. John and Lisa's skills are complementary. he's good at following a daily routine, while she's great at improvising and handling emergencies. Together they make a great team.

Answer 692

N. readiness to yield; conformity in fulfilling requirements. Bullheaded Bill was not noted for easy compliance with the demands of others. As an architect, however, Bill recognized that his design for the new school had to be in compliance with the local building code.

Answer 693

ADJ. yielding. Because Joel usually gave in and went along with whatever his friends desired, his mother worried that he might be too compliant.

Answer 694

N. participation; involvement. You cannot keep your complicity in this affair secret very long; you would be wise to admit your involvement immediately.

Answer 695

N. element; ingredient. I wish all the components of my stereo system were working at the same time.

Answer 696

N. mental calmness. Even the latest work crisis failed to shake her composure.

Answer 697

V. combine; constitute; pay interest; increase. The makers of the popular cold remedy compounded a nasal decongestant with an antihistamine. also N.

Answer 698

ADJ. thorough; inclusive. This book provides a comprehensive review of verbal and math skills for the SAT.

Answer 699

V. close; squeeze; contract. She compressed the package under her arm.

Answer 700

V. include; consist of. If the District of Columbia were to be granted statehood, the United States of America would comprise fifty-one states, not just fifty.

Answer 701

V. adjust or settle by making mutual concessions; endanger the interests or reputation of. Sometimes the presence of a neutral third party can help adversaries compromise their differences. Unfortunately, you're not neu-tral; therefore, your presence here compromises our chances of reaching an agreement. also N.

Answer 702

N. remorse. The judge was especially severe in his sentencing because he felt that the criminal had shown no compunction for his heinous crime.

Answer 703

V. reckon; calculate. He failed to compute the interest, so his bank balance was not accurate. computation, N.

Answer 704

ADJ. hollow. The back-packers found partial shelter from the storm by huddling against the concave wall of the cliff.

Answer 705

V. admit; yield. Despite all the evidence Monica had assembled, Mark refused to concede that she was right.

Answer 706

N. vanity or self-love; whimsical idea; extravagant metaphor. Although Jack was smug and puffed up with conceit, he was an entertaining companion, always expressing himself in amusing conceits and witty turns of phrase.

Answer 707

ADJ. having a common center. The target was made of concentric circles.

Answer 708

N. beginning; forming of an idea. At the first conception of the work, he was consulted. conceive,V.

Answer 709

ADJ. mutually agreed on; done together. All the Girl Scouts made a concerted effort to raise funds for their annual outing. When the movie star appeared, his fans let out a concerted sigh.

Answer 710

N. an act of yielding. Before they could reach an agreement, both sides had to make certain concessions.

Answer 711

ADJ. reconciling; soothing. She was still angry despite his conciliatory words. conciliate,V.

Answer 712

ADJ. brief and compact. When you define a new word, be concise: the shorter the definition, the easier it is to remember.

Answer 713

ADJ . decisive; ending all debate. When the stolen books turned up in John's locker, we finally had conclusive evidence of the identity of the mysterious thief.

Answer 714

V. prepare by combining; make up in concert. How did the inventive chef ever concoct such a strange dish? concoction, N.

Answer 715

N. that which accompanies. Culture is not always a concomitant of wealth. also ADJ.

Answer 716

N. harmony; agreement between people or things . Watching Tweedledum and Tweedledee battle, Alice wondered at their lack of concord.

Answer 717

V. agree. Did you concur with the decision of the court or did you find it unfair?

Answer 718

ADJ. happening at the same time. In America, the colonists were resisting the demands of the mother country; at the concurrent moment in France, the middle class was sowing the seeds of rebellion.

Answer 719

V. censure; sentence; force or limit to a particular state. In My Cousin Vinnie, Vinnie's fiancée condemned Vinnie for mishandling his cousin Tony's defense. If Vinnie didn't do a better job defending Tony, the judge would condemn Tony to death, and Vinnie would be condemned to cleaning toilets for a living.

Answer 720

V. make more compact or dense; shorten or abridge; reduce into a denser fo rm. If you squeeze a slice of Wonder Bread, taking out the extra air, you can condense it into a pellet the size of a sugar cube. If you cut out the unnecessary words from your essay, you can condense it to a paragraph. As the bathroom cooled down, the steam from the shower condensed into droplets of water.

Answer 721

V. act conscious of descending to a lower level; patronize. Though Jill had been a star softball player in college, when she played a pickup game at the park she never condescended to her less experienced teammates. condescension, N.

Answer 722

N. seasonings; spices. The chef seasoned the dish with so much garlic that we could hardly taste the other condiments.

Answer 723

V. express sympathetic sorrow. His friends gathered to condole with him over his loss. condolence, N.

Answer 724

V. overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse. Unlike Widow Douglass, who condoned Huck's minor offenses, Miss Watson did nothing but scold.

Answer 725

ADJ. contributive; tending to. Rest and proper diet are conducive to good health.

Answer 726

N. aqueduct; passageway for fluids. Water was brought to the army in the desert by an improvised conduit from the adjoining mountain.

Answer 727

N. trusted friend. He had no confidants with whom he could discuss his problems at home.

Answer 728

V. shut in; restrict. The terrorists had. confined their prisoner in a small room. However, they had not chained him to the wall or done anything else to confine his movements further. confinement, N.

Answer 729

V. corroborate; verify; support. I have several witnesses who will confirm my account of what happened.

Answer 730

V. seize; commandeer. The army confiscated all available supplies of uranium.

Answer 731

N. great fire. In the conflagration that followed the 1906 earthquake, much of San Francisco was destroyed.

Answer 732

N. flowing together; crowd. They built the city at the confluence of two rivers.

Answer 733

N. harmony; agreement. In conformity with our rules and regulations, I am calling a meeting of our organization.

Answer 734

V. confuse; puzzle. No mystery could confound Sherlock Holmes for long.

Answer 735

N. act of facing someone or something; encounter, often hostile. Morris hoped to avoid any ,confrontations with his ex-wife , but he kept on running into her at the health club. How would you like to confront someone who can bench press 200 pounds? confront, V., confrontational, ADJ.

Answer 736

V. freeze; coagulate. His blood congealed in his veins as he saw the dread monster rush toward him.

Answer 737

ADJ. pleasant; friendly. My father loved to go out for a meal with congenial companions.

Answer 738

ADJ. existing at birth. Were you born stupid, or did you just turn out this way? In other words, is your idiocy acquired or congenital? Doctors are able to cure some congenital deformities such as cleft palates by performing operations on infants.

Answer 739

N. mass of material sticking together. In such a conglomeration of miscellaneous statistics, it was impossible to find a single area of analysis.

Answer 740

ADJ. in agreement; corresponding. In formulating a hypothesis, we must keep it congruent with what we know of the real world; it cannot disagree with our experience.

Answer 741

N. pine tree; cone-bearing tree. According to geologists, the conifers were the first plants to bear flowers.

Answer 742

V. surmise; guess. Although there was no official count, the organizers conjectured that more than 10,000 marchers took part in the March for Peace. also N.

Answer 743

ADJ. pertaining to marriage. Their dreams of conjugal bliss were shattered as soon as their temperaments clashed.

Answer 744

V. summon a devil; practice magic; imagine or invent. Sorcerers conjure d evils to appear. Magicians conjure white rabbits out of hats. Political candidates conjure up images of reformed cities and a world at peace.

Answer 745

N. assistance; pretense of ignorance of something wrong; permission to offend . With the connivance of his friends , he plotted to embarrass the teacher. connive, v.

Answer 746

N. person competent to act as a judge of art, etc.; a lover of an art. She had developed into a connoisseur of fine china.

Answer 747

N. suggested or implied meaning of an expression. Foreigners frequently are unaware of the connotations of the words they use.

Answer 748

ADJ. pertaining to marriage or the matrimonial state. In his telegram, he wished the newlyweds a lifetime of connubial bliss.

Answer 749

ADJ. scrupulous; careful. A conscientious editor, she checked every definition for its accuracy.

Answer 750

V. dedicate; sanctify. We shall consecrate our lives to this noble purpose.

Answer 751

N. general agreement. Every time the garden club members had nearly reached a consensus about what to plant, Mistress Mary, quite contrary , disagreed

Answer 752

ADJ. pompous; important; self-important. Convinced of his own importance, the actor strutted about the dressing room with a consequential air.

Answer 753

N. school of the fine arts (especially music or drama). A gifted violinist, Marya was se lected to study at the conservatory.

Answer 754

V. deliver officially; entrust; set apart. The court consigned the child to her paternal grandmother's care. consignment, N.

Answer 755

N. absence of contradictions; dependability; uniformity; degree of thickness. Holmes judged puddings and explanations on their consistency: he liked his puddings without lumps and his explanations without improbabilities.

Answer 756

V. lessen sadness or disappointment; give comfort. When her father died, Marius did his best to console Cosette.

Answer 757

N. unification ; process of becoming firmer or stronger. The recent consolidation of several small airlines into one major company has left observers of the industry wondering whether room still exists for the "little guy" in aviation. consolidate, v.

Answer 758

N. harmony; agreement. Her agitation seemed out of consonance with her usual calm.

Answer 759

V. associate with. We frequently judge people by the company with whom they consort.

Answer 760

N. husband or wife. The search for a consort for the young Queen Victoria ended happily.

Answer 761

ADJ. easily seen; noticeable; striking. Janet was conspicuous both for her red hair and for her height.

Answer 762

N. treacherous plot. Brutus and Cassius joined in the conspiracy to kill Julius Caesar. conspire, v.

Answer 763

N. supporter. The congressman received hundreds of letters from angry constituents after the Equal Rights Amendment failed to pass.

Answer 764

N. compulsion; repression of feel ings. There was a feeling of constraint in the room because no one dared to criticize the speaker. constrain, V.

Answer 765

V. explain; interpret. If I construe your remarks correctly, you disagree with the theory already advanced.

Answer 766

ADJ. complete. I have never seen anyone who makes as many stupid errors as you do; what a consummate idiot you arel also V.

Answer 767

N. infection. Fearing contagion, they took great steps to prevent the spread of the disease.

Answer 768

V. 污染 pollute. The sewage system of the city so contaminated the water that swimming was forbidden.

Answer 769

N. person belonging to the same period . Though Charl otte Bronte and George Eliot were contemporaries, the two novelists depicted their Victorian world in markedly different ways. also ADJ.

Answer 770

N. scorn; disdain. The heavyweight boxer looked on ordinary people with contempt, scorning them as weaklings who couldn't hurt a fly. We thought it was contemptible of him to be contemptuous of people for being weak.

Answer 771

V. struggle; compete; assert earnestly. Sociologist Harry Edwards contends that young black athletes are exploited by some college recruiters.

Answer 772

N. claim; thesis. It is our contention that, if you follow our tactics, you will boost your score on the SAT. contend, v.

Answer 773

ADJ. quarrelsome. Disagreeing violently with the referees' rul ing, the coach became so contentious that tliey threw him out of the game.

Answer 774

V. dispute. The defeated cand idate attempted to contest the election results.

Answer 775

N. writings preceding and following the passage quoted. Because these lines are taken out of context, they do not convey the message the author intended.

Answer 776

ADJ. adjacent to; touching upon. The two countries are contiguous for a few miles; then they are separated by the gulf.

Answer 777

N. self-restraint; sexual chastity. At the convent, Connie vowed to lead a life of continence. The question was, could Connie be content with always being continent?

Answer 778

ADJ. dependent on; conditional. Caroline's father informed her that any raise in her allowance was contingent on the quality of her final grades. contingency, N.

Answer 779

N. group that makes up part of a gathering. The New York contingent of delegates at the Democratic National Convention was a boisterous, sometimes rowdy lot.

Answer 780

N. twistings; distortions. As the effects of the opiate wore away, the contortions of the patient became more violent and demonstrated how much pain she was enduring.

Answer 781

N.;ADJ. illegal trade; smuggling. The Coast Guard tries to prevent traffic in contraband goods.

Answer 782

V. compress or shrink; make a pledge; catch a disease. Warm metal expands; cold metal contracts.

Answer 783

V. contradict; oppose; infringe on or transgress. Mr. Barrett did not expect his frail daughter Elizabeth to contravene his will by eloping with Robert Browning.

Answer 784

ADJ. penitent. Her contrite tears did not influence the judge when he imposed sentence. contrition, N.

Answer 785

ADJ. forced; artificial; not spontaneous. Feeling ill at ease with his new in-laws, James made a few contrived attempts at conversation and then retreated into silence.

Answer 786

V. oppose with arguments; attempt to refute; contradict. The witness's testimony was so clear and her reputation for honesty so well-established that the defense attorney decided it was wiser to make no attempt to controvertwhat she said.

Answer 787

N. bruise. Black and blue after her fall, Sue was treated for contusions and abrasions.

Answer 788

N. riddle. During the long car ride, she invented conundrums to entertain the children.

Answer 789

V. assemble. Because much needed legislation had to be enacted, the governor ordered the legislature to convene in special session by January 15.

Answer 790

N. social or moral custom; established practice. Flying in the face of convention, George Sand shocked society by taking lovers and wearing men's clothes.

Answer 791

ADJ. ordinary; typical. His conventional upbringing left him wholly unprepared for his wife's eccentric family.

Answer 792

V. approach; tend to meet; come together. African-American men from all over the United States converged on Washington to take part in the historic Million Men march.

Answer 793

ADJ. familiar with. The lawyer is conversant with all the evidence.

Answer 794

N. opposite. The inevitable converse of peace is not war but annihilation.

Answer 795

V. chat; talk informally. Eva was all ears while Lulu and Lola conversed. Wasn't it rude of her to eavesdrop on their conversation? conversation, N.

Answer 796

N. one who has adopted a different religion or opinion. On his trip to Japan, though the President spoke at length about the virtues of American automobiles, he made few converts to his beliefs. alsoV.

Answer 797

ADJ. curving outward. He polished the convex lens of his telescope.

Answer 798

N. vehicle; transfer. During the transit strike, commuters used various kinds of conveyances.

Answer 799

N. judgment that someone is guilty of a crime; strongly held belief. Even her conviction for murder did not shake Peter's conviction that Harriet was innocent of the crime.

Answer 800

ADJ. festive; gay; characterized by joviality. The convivial celebrators of the victory sang their college songs.

Answer 801

V. call together. Congress was convoked at the outbreak of the emergency. convocation, N.

Answer 802

ADJ. coiled around; involved; intricate. His argument was so convoluted that few of us could follow it intelligently.

Answer 803

ADJ. plentiful. She had copious reasons for rejecting the proposal.

Answer 804

N. flirt. Because she refused to give him an answer to his proposal of marriage, he called her a coquette. alsoV.

Answer 805

ADJ. gracious; heartfelt. Our hosts greeted us at the airport with a cordial welcome and a hearty hug.

Answer 806

N. extended line of men or fortifications to prevent access or egress. The police cordon was so tight that the criminals could not leave the area. alsoV.

Answer 807

N. horn overflowing with fruit and grain; symbol of abundance. The encyclopedia salesman claimed the new edition was a veritable cornucopia of information, an inexhaustible source of knowledge for the entire family.

Answer 808

N. consequence; accompaniment. Brotherly love is a complex emotion, with sibling rivalry its natural corollary.

Answer 809

N. ceremony of crowning a queen or king. When the witches told Macbeth he would be king, they failed to warn him he would lose his crown soon after his coronation.

Answer 810

ADJ. bodily; material. The doctor had no patience with spiritual matters: his job was to attend to his patients' corporeal problems, not to minister to their souls.

Answer 811

ADJ. very fat. The corpulent man resolved to reduce. corpulence, N.

Answer 812

N. mutual relationship. He sought to determine the correlation that existed between ability in algebra and ability to interpret reading exercises. correlate, V., N.

Answer 813

V. confirm; support. Though Huck was quite willing to corroborate Tom's story, Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them.

Answer 814

V. destroy by chemical action. The girders supporting the bridge corroded so gradually that no one suspected any danger until the bridge suddenly collapsed. corrosion, N.

Answer 815

ADJ. eating away by chemicals or disease. Stainless steel is able to withstand the effects of corrosive chemicals. corrode,V.

Answer 816

ADJ. wrinkled; ridged. She wished she could smooth away the wrinkles from his corrugated brow.

Answer 817

ADJ. pertaining to the universe; vast. Cosmic rays derive their name from the fact that they bombard the earth's atmosphere from outer space. COSMOS, N.

Answer 818

ADJ. sophisticated. Her years in the capitol had transformed her into a cosmopolitan young woman highly aware of international affairs.

Answer 819

N. group that meets socially; select circle. After his book had been published, he was invited to join the literary coterie that lunched daily at the hotel.

Answer 820

V. approve; tolerate. He refused to countenance such rude behavior on their part.

Answer 821

N. face. When Jose saw his newborn daughter, a proud smile spread across his countenance.

Answer 822

V. cancel; revoke. The general countermanded the orders issued in his absence.

Answer 823

N. a thing that completes another; things very much alike. Night and day are counterparts,complementing one another.

Answer 824

N. highly successful action or sudden attack. As the news of his coup spread throughout Wall Street, his fellow brokers dropped by to congratulate him.

Answer 825

V. join; unite. The Flying Karamazovs couple expert juggling and amateur joking in their nightclub act.

Answer 826

N. messenger. The publisher sent a special courier to pick up the manuscript.

Answer 827

N. agreement. We must comply with the terms of the covenant.

Answer 828

ADJ. secret; hidden; implied. Investigations of the Central Intelligence Agency and other secret serice networks reveal that such covert operations can get out of control.

Answer 829

ADJ . avaricious; eagerly desirous of. The child was covetous by nature and wanted to take the toys belonging to his classmates. covet, V.

Answer 830

V. terrorize; intimidate. The li ttle boy was so cowed by the hulking bully that he gave up his lunch money without a word of protest.

Answer 831

V. shrink quivering, as from fear. The frightened child cowered in the corner of the room.

Answer 832

ADJ. shy; modest; coquettish. Reluctant to commit herself so early in the game, Kay was coy in her answers to Kens offer.

Answer 833

V. cheat; hoodwink; swindle. He was the kind of individual who would cozen his friends in a cheap card game but remain eminently ethical in all business dealings.

Answer 834

ADJ. sour; peevish. The crabbed old man was avoided by the children because he scolded them when they made noise.

Answer 835

N. slyness; trickiness. In many Native American legends, the coyote is the clever trickster, the embodiment of craftiness. crafty, N.

Answer 836

ADJ. very unrefined; grossly insensible. The film critic deplored the crass commercialism of movie-makers who abandon artistic standards in order to make a quick buck.

Answer 837

ADJ. cowardly. Lillian's craven refusal to join the protest was criticized by her comrades, who had expected her to be brave enough to stand up for her beliefs.

Answer 838

N. belief. Do not place any credence in his promises.

Answer 839

N. believability. Because the candidate had made some pretty unbelievable promises, we began to question the credibility of everythiNg she said.

Answer 840

N. creed. I believe we may best describe his credo by saying that it approximaies the Golden Rule.

Answer 841

N. belief on slight evidence; gullibility; naivete. Can artists take advantage of the credulity of inexperienced investors to swindle them out of their savings. credulous, ADJ.

Answer 842

N. system of religious or ethical belief. Any loyal American's creed must emphasize love of democracy.

Answer 843

N. (声音、力度等)渐强 increase in the volume or intensity, as in a musical passage; climax. The music suddenly shifted its mood, dramatically switch ing from a muted, contemplative passage to a crescendo with blaring trumpets and clashing cymbals.

Answer 844

N. highest pOint of a hill; foamy top of a wave. Fleeing the tidal wave, the islanders scrambled to reach the crest of Mount Lucinda. With relief, they watched the crest of the wave break well below their vantage point.

Answer 845

ADJ. dejected; dispirited. We were surprised at his reaction to the failure of his project; instead of being crestfallen, he was busily engaged in planning new activities.

Answer 846

N. crack; fissure. The mountain climbers found footholds in the tiny crevices in the mountainside.

Answer 847

V. shrink back, as if in fear. The dog cringed, expecting a blow.

Answer 848

N. standard used in judging. What criterion did you use when you selected this essay as the prizewinner? criteria, PL.

Answer 849

V. cut off unwanted parts of a photograph; graze. With care, David cropped the picture until its edges neatly framed the flock of sheep cropping the grass.

Answer 850

ADJ. eccentric; whimsical. Although he was reputed to be a crotchety old gentleman, I found his ideas substantially sound and sensible.

Answer 851

N. crucial point. This is the crux of the entire problem: everything centers on its being resolved.

Answer 852

N. secret recess or vault, usually used for burial. Until recently, only bodies of rulers and leading statesmen were interred in this crypt.

Answer 853

ADJ. mysterious; hidden; secret. Thoroughly baffled by Holmes's cryptic remarks, Watson wondered whether Holmes was intentionally concealing his thoughts about the crime.

Answer 854

N. /小卧室 small compartment partitioned off; small bedchamber. Hoping to personalize their workspace, the staff members decorated the ir tiny identical cubicles in markedly individual ways.

Answer 855

N. style of cooking. French cuisine is noted for its use of sauces and wines.

Answer 856

ADJ. relating to cooking. Many chefs attribute their culinary skill to the wise use of spices.

Answer 857

V. pick out; reject. Every month the farmer culls the nonlaying hens from his flock and sells them to the local butcher. also N.

Answer 858

V. attain the highest point; climax. George Bush's years of service to the Republican Party culminated in his being chosen as the Republican candidate for the presidency. His subsequent inauguration' as President of the United States marked the culmination of his political career.

Answer 859

ADJ. deserving blame. Corrupt politicians who condone the activities of the gamblers are equally culpable.

Answer 860

N. artificial channel for water. If we build a culvert under the road at this point, we will reduce the possibility of the road's being flooded during the rainy season.

Answer 861

ADJ. heavy; hard to manage. He was burdened down with cumbersome parcels.

Answer 862

ADJ. growing by addition. Vocabulary building is a cumulative process: as you go through your flash cards, you will add new words to your vocabulary, one by one.

Answer 863

N. greed. The defeated people could not satisfy the cupidity of the conquerors, who demanded excessive tribute.

Answer 864

N. superintendent; manager. The members of the board of trustees of the museum expected the new curator to plan events and exhibitions that would make the museum more popular.

Answer 865

N. churlish, miserly individual. Although he was regarded by many as a curmudgeon, a few of us were aware of the many kindnesses and acts of charity that he secretly performed.

Answer 866

ADJ. flowing, running. In normal writing we run our letters together in cursive form; in printing, we separate the letters.

Answer 867

ADJ. casual; hastily done. Because a cursory examination of the ruins indicates the possibility of arson, we believe the insurance agency should undertake a more extensive investigation of the fire's cause.

Answer 868

V. shorten; reduce. When Herb asked Diane for a date, she said she was really sorry she couldn't go out with him, but her dad had ordered her to curtail her social life.

Answer 869

ADJ. skeptical or distrustful of human motives. Cynical from birth, Sidney was suspicious whenever anyone gave him a gift "with no strings attached." cynic, N.

Answer 870

N. the object of general attention. As soon as the movie star entered the room, she became the cynosure of all eyes.

Answer 871

V. work at in a non-serious fashion; splash around. The amateur painter dabbled at art, but seldom produced a finished piece. The children dabbled their hands in the bird bath, splashing one another gleefully.

Answer 872

N. raised platform for guests of honor. When he approached the dais, he was greeted by cheers from the people who had come to honor him.

Answer 873

ADJ. damp. The walls of the dungeon were dank and slimy.

Answer 874

ADJ. neat and trim. In "The Odd Couple" TV show, Tony Randall played Felix Unger, an excessively dapper soul who could not stand to have a hair out of place.

Answer 875

ADJ. spotted. The sunlight filtering through the screens created a dappled effect on the wall.

Answer 876

V. smear (as with paint). From the way he daubed his paint on the canvas, I could tell he knew nothing of oils. also N.

Answer 877

V. intimidate; frighten. "Boast all you like of your prowess. Mere words cannot daunt me," the hero answered the villain.

Answer 878

ADJ. bold. Despite the dangerous nature of the undertaking, the dauntless soldier volunteered for the assignment.

Answer 879

V. loiter; waste time. We have to meet a deadline so don't dawdle; just get down to work.

Answer 880

N. standstill; stalemate. Because negotiations had reached a deadlock, some of the delegates had begun to mutter about breaking off the talks. alsoV.

Answer 881

ADJ. wooden; impersonal. We wanted to see how long he could maintain his deadpan expression.

Answer 882

N. scarcity. The dearth of skilled labor compelled the employers to open trade schools.

Answer 883

N. sudden downfall; complete disaster. In the Airplane movies, every flight turns into a debacle, with passengers and crew members collapsing, engines falling apart, and carry-on baggage popping out of the overhead bins.

Answer 884

V. reduce in quality or value; lower in esteem; degrade. In The King and l, Anna refuses to kneel down and prostrate herself before the king, for she feels that to do so would debase her position, and she will not submit to such debasement.

Answer 885

V. corrupt; seduce from virtue. Did Socrates' teachings lead the young men of Athens to be virtuous citizens, or did they debauch the young men, causing them to question the customs of their fathers? Clearly, Socrates' philosophical talks were nothing like the wild debauchery of the toga parties in Animal House.

Answer 886

V. weaken; enfeeble. Michael's severe bout of the flu debilitated him so much that he was too tired to go to work for a week.

Answer 887

ADJ. friendly; aiming to please. The debonair youth was liked by all who met him, because of his cheerful and obliging manner.

Answer 888

N. rubble. A full year after the earthquake in Mexico City, they were still carting away the debris.

Answer 889

V. expose as false, exaggerated, worthless, etc; ridicule. Pointing out that he consistently had voted against strengthening anti-pollution legislation, reporters debunked the candidate's claim that he was a fervent environmentalist.

Answer 890

N. young woman making formal entrance into society. As a debutante, she was often mentioned in the society columns of the newspapers.

Answer 891

N. decay. The moral decadence of the people was reflected in the lewd literature of the period.

Answer 892

V. behead. They did not hang Lady Jane Grey; they decapitated her. "Off with her head!" cried the Duchess, eager to decapitate poor Alice.

Answer 893

V. slow down. Seeing the emergency blinkers in the road ahead, he decelerated quickly.

Answer 894

ADJ. falling off as of leaves. The oak is a deciduous tree; in winter it looks quite bare.

Answer 895

V. kill, usually one out of ten. We do more to decimate our population in automobile accidents than we do in war.

Answer 896

V. interpret secret code. Lacking his code book, the spy was unable to decipher the scrambled message sent to him from the KGB.

Answer 897

N. downward slope. The children loved to ski down the declivity.

Answer 898

ADJ. having a low-necked dress. Current fashion decrees that evening gowns be decollete this season; bare shoulders are again the vogue.

Answer 899

N. decay. Despite the body's advanced state of decomposition, the police were able to identify the murdered man.

Answer 900

N. propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners. Even the best-mannered students have trouble behaving with decorum on the last day of school. decorous,ADJ.

Answer 901

N. lure or bait. The wild ducks were not fooled by the decoy. alsoV.

Answer 902

ADJ. worn out by age. The decrepit car blocked traffic on the highway.

Answer 903

N. state of collapse caused by illness or old age. I was unprepared for the state of decrepitude in which I had found my old friend; he seemed to have aged twenty years in six months.

Answer 904

V. express strong disapproval of; disparage. The founder of the Children's Defense Fund, Marian Wright Edelman, strongly decries the lack of financial and moral support for children in America today.

Answer 905

ADJ. derived by reasoning. If we accept your premise, your conclusions are easily deducible.

Answer 906

V. mar; disfigure. If you deface a library book, you will have to pay a hefty fine.

Answer 907

V. harm someone's reputation; malign; slander. If you try to defame my good name, my lawyers will see you in court. If rival candidates persist in defaming one another, the voters may conclude that all politicians are crooks. defamation, N.

Answer 908

N. failure to act. When the visiting team failed to show up for the big game, they lost the game by default. When Jack failed to make the payments on his Jaguar, the dealership took back the car because he had defaulted on his debt.

Answer 909

ADJ. attitude of one who is ready to accept defeat as a natural outcome. If you maintain your defeatist attitude, you will never succeed. also N.

Answer 910

N. desertion. The children, who had made him an idol, were hurt most by his defection from our cause.

Answer 911

V. delay till later; exempt temporarily. In wartime, some young men immediately volunteer to serve; others

Answer 912

making plans until they hear from their draft boards. During the Vietnam War, many young men, hoping to be deferred, requested student deferments.

Answer 913

V. give in respectfully; submit. When it comes to making decisions about purchasing software, we must defer to Michael, our computer guru; he gets the final word. Michael, however, can defer these questions to no one; only he can decide.

Answer 914

N. courteous regard for another's wish. In deference to the minister's request, please do not take photographs during the wedding service.

Answer 915

N. refusal to yield; resistance. When John reached the "terrible two's," he responded to every parental request with howls of defiance. defy,V.

Answer 916

V. pollute; profane. The hoodlums defiled the church with their scurrilous writing.

Answer 917

ADJ. final; complete. Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln may be regarded as the definitive work on the life of the Great Emancipator.

Answer 918

V. turn aside. His life was saved when his cigarette case deflected the bullet.

Answer 919

V. destroy leaves. In Vietnam the army made extensive use of chemical agents to defoliate the woodlands.

Answer 920

V. pay the costs of. Her employer offered to defray the costs of her postgraduate education.

Answer 921

ADJ. neat; skillful. The deft waiter uncorked the champagne without spilling a drop.

Answer 922

ADJ. dead; no longer in use or existence. The lawyers sought to examine the books of the defunct corporation.

Answer 923

V. remove the fuse of a bomb; reduce or eliminate a threat. Police negotiators are trained to defuse dangerous situations by avoiding confrontational language and behavior.

Answer 924

V. become worse; deteriorate. As the fight dragged on, the champion's style degenerated until he could barely keep on his feet.

Answer 925

N. humiliation; debasement; degeneration. Some secretaries object to fetching the boss a cup of coffee because they resent the degradation of being made to do such lowly tasks. degrade,V.

Answer 926

V. remove water from; dry out. Running under a hot sun quickly dehydrates the body; joggers soon learn to carry water bottles and to drink from them frequently.

Answer 927

V. turn into a god; idolize. Admire Elvis Presley all you want; just don't deify him.

Answer 928

V. condescend; stoop. The celebrated fashion designer would not deign to speak to a mere seamstress; his overburdened assistant had to convey the master's wishes to the lowly workers assembling his great designs.

Answer 929

ADJ. delightful; delicious. We thanked our host for a most delectable meal.

Answer 930

V. erase; strike out. Less is more: if you delete this paragraph, your whole essay will have greater appeal.

Answer 931

ADJ. harmful. If you believe that smoking is deleterious to your health (and the Surgeon General certainly does), then quit!

Answer 932

V. consider; ponder. Offered the new job, she asked for time to deliberate before she told them her decision,

Answer 933

V. portray; depict; sketch. Using only a few descriptive phrases, Austen delineates the character of Mr. Collins so well that we can predict his every move. delineation, N.

Answer 934

N. mental disorder marked by confusion. In his delirium, the drunkard saw pink panthers and talking pigs. Perhaps he wasn't delirious: he might just have wandered into a movie.

Answer 935

V. deceive. His mistress may have deluded herself into believing that he would leave his wife and marry her.

Answer 936

N. flood; rush. When we advertised the position, we received a deluge of applications.

Answer 937

N. false belief; hallucination. Don suffers from delusions of grandeur: he thinks he's a world-famous author when he's published just one paperback book.

Answer 938

V. dig; investigate. Delving into old books and manuscripts is part of a researcher's job.

Answer 939

N. person who appeals to people's prejudice; false leader of people. He was accused of being a demagogue because he made promises that aroused futile hopes in his listeners.

Answer 940

V. degrade; humiliate. Standing on his dignity, he refused to demean himself by replying to the offensive letter. If you truly believed in the dignity of labor, you would not think it would demean you to work as a janitor.

Answer 941

N. behavior; bearing. His sober demeanor quieted the noisy revelers.

Answer 942

ADJ. insane. Doctor Demento was a lunatic radio personality who liked to act as if he were truly demented. If you're demented, your mental state is out of whack; in other words, you're wacky.

Answer 943

N. death. Upon the demise of the dictator, a bitter dispute about succession to power developed.

Answer 944

N. destruction. One of the major aims of the air force was the complete demolition of all means of transportation by bombing of rail lines and terminals. demolish,V.

Answer 945

ADJ. fiendish. The Spanish Inquisition devised many demoniac means of torture. demon, N.

Answer 946

V. object (because of doubts, scruples); hesitate. When offered a post on the board of directors, David demurred: he had scruples about taking on the job because he was unsure he could handle it in addition to his other responsibilities.

Answer 947

ADJ. grave; serious; coy. She was demure and reserved, a nice modest girl whom any young man would be proud to take home to his mother.

Answer 948

V. clarify; free from mystery or obscurity. Helpful doctors demystify medical procedures by describing them in everyday language, explaining that a myringotomy, for example, is an operation involving making a small hole in one's eardrum.

Answer 949

V. blacken. All attempts to denigrate the character of our late president have failed; the people still love him and cherish his memory.

Answer 950

N. inhabitant or resident; regular visitor. In The Untouchables, Eliot Ness fights AI Capone and the other denizens of Chicago's underworld. Ness's fight against corruption was the talk of all the denizens of the local bars.

Answer 951

N. meaning; distinguishing by name. A dictionary will always give us the denotation of a word; frequently, it will also give us the connotations. denote,V.

Answer 952

N. outcome; final development of the plot of a play. The play was childishly written; the denouement was obvious to sophisticated theatergoers as early as the middle of the first act.

Answer 953

V. condemn; criticize. The reform candidate denounced the corrupt city officers for having betrayed the public's trust. denunciation, N.

Answer 954

V. portray. In this sensational exposé, the author depicts Beatle John Lennon as a drug-crazed neurotic. Do you question the accuracy of this depiction of Lennon?

Answer 955

V. reduce; exhaust. We must wait until we deplete our present inventory before we order replacements.

Answer 956

V. regret; disapprove of. Although I deplore the vulgarity of your language, I defend your right to express yourself freely.

Answer 957

V. spread out [troops] in an extended though shallow battle line. The general ordered the battalion to deploy in order to meet the enemy offensive.

Answer 958

V. dethrone; remove from office. The army attempted to depose the king and set up a military government.

Answer 959

N. testimony under oath. He made his deposition in the judge's chamber.

Answer 960

N. extreme corruption; wickedness. The depravity of Caligula's behavior came to sicken even those who had willingly participated in his earlier, comparatively innocent orgies.

Answer 961

V. express disapproval of; protest against; belittle. A firm believer in old-fashioned courtesy, Miss Post deprecated the modern tendency to address new acquaintances by their first names. deprecatory,ADJ.

Answer 962

V. lessen in value. If you neglect this property, it will depreciate.

Answer 963

N. plundering. After the depredations of the invaders, the people were penniless.

Answer 964

ADJ. insane. He had to be institutionalized because he was mentally deranged.

Answer 965

ADJ. abandoned; negligent. The derelict craft was a menace to navigation. Whoever abandoned it in the middle of the harbor was derelict in living up to his responsibilities as a boat owner. also N.

Answer 966

V. ridicule; make fun of. The critics derided his pretentious dialogue and refused to consider his play seriously. derision, N.

Answer 967

ADJ. unoriginal; derived from another source. Although her early poetry was clearly derivative in nature,the critics thought she had promise and eventually would find her own voice.

Answer 968

N. one who studies the skin and its diseases. I advise you to consult a dermatologist about your acne.

Answer 969

ADJ. expressing a low opinion. I resent your derogatory remarks.

Answer 970

V. discuss fully. He was willing to descant upon any topic of conversation, even when he knew very little about the subject under discussion. also N.

Answer 971

V. catch sight of. In the distance, we could barely descry the enemy vessels.

Answer 972

V. profane; violate the sanctity of. Shattering the altar and trampling the holy objects underfoot, the invaders desecrated the sanctuary.

Answer 973

V. dry up. A tour of this smokehouse will give you an idea of how the pioneers used to desiccate food in order to preserve it.

Answer 974

ADJ. unpopulated. After six months in the crowded, bustling metropolis, David was so sick of people that he was ready to head for the most desolate patch of wilderness he could find.

Answer 975

V. rob of joy; lay waste to; forsake. The bandits desolated the countryside, burning farms and carrying off the harvest.

Answer 976

V. look on with scorn; regard as worthless or distasteful. Mr. Bond, I despise spies; I look down on them as mean, despicable, honorless men, whom I would wipe from the face of the earth with as little concern as I would scrape dog droppings from the bottom of my shoe.

Answer 977

V. plunder. If you do not yield, I am afraid the enemy will despoil the countryside.

Answer 978

ADJ. depressed; gloomy. To the dismay of his parents, William became seriously despondent after he broke up with Jan; they despaired of finding a cure for his gloom. despondency, N.

Answer 979

N. tyrant; harsh, authoritarian ruler. How could a benevolent king turn overnight into a despot?

Answer 980

ADJ. extremely poor. Because they had no health insurance, the father's costly illness left the family destitute.

Answer 981

ADJ. aimless; haphazard; digressing at random. In prison Malcolm X set himself the task of reading straight through the dictionary; to him, reading was purposeful, not desultory.

Answer 982

ADJ. emotionally removed; calm and objective; physically unconnected. A psychoanalyst must maintain a detached point of view and stay uninvolved with his or her patients' personal lives. To a child growing up in an apartment or a row house, to live in a detached house was an unattainable dream.

Answer 983

N. cleansing agent. Many new detergents have replaced soap.

Answer 984

N. resolve; measurement or calculation; decision. Nothing could shake his determination that his children would get the best education that money could buy. Thanks to my pocket calculator, my determination of the answer to the problem took only seconds of my time.

Answer 985

N. something that discourages; hindrance. Does the threat of capital punishment serve as a deterrent to potential killers? deter,V.

Answer 986

N. explosion. The detonation of the bomb could be heard miles away.

Answer 987

N. slandering; aspersion. He is offended by your frequent detractions of his ability as a leader.

Answer 988

ADJ. harmful; damaging. The candidate's acceptance of major financial contributions from a wellknown racist ultimately proved detrimental to his campaign, for he lost the backing of many of his early grassroots sup-porters. detriment, N.

Answer 989

V. turn away from (a principle, norm); depart; diverge. Richard never deviated from his daily routine: every day he set off for work at eight o'clock, had his sack lunch (peanut butter on whole wheat) at 12:15, and headed home at the stroke of five.

Answer 990

ADJ. roundabout; erratic; not straightforward. The Joker's plan was so devious that it was only with great difficulty we could follow its shifts and dodges.

Answer 991

V. think up; invent; plan. How clever he must be to have devised such a devious plan! What ingenious inventions might he have devised if he had turned his mind to science and not to crime.

Answer 992

ADJ. lacking. You may think her mind is a total void, but she's actually not devoid of intelligence. She just sounds like an airhead.

Answer 993

N. enthusiastic follower. A devotee of the opera, he bought season tickets every year.

Answer 994

ADJ. pious. The devout man prayed daily.

Answer 995

ADJ. skillful. The magician was so dexterous that we could not follow him as he performed his tricks.

Answer 996

ADJ. devilish. "What a fiend I am, to devise such a diabolical scheme to destroy Gotham City," chortled the Joker gleefully.

Answer 997

N. art of identifying a disease; analysis of a condition. In medical school Margaret developed her skill at diagnosis, learning how to read volumes from a rapid pulse or a hacking cough. diagnose, V.; diagnostic,ADJ.

Answer 998

ADJ. relating to the art of debate; mutual or reciprocal. The debate coach's students grew to develop great forensic and dialectical skill. Teaching, however, is inherently a dialectical situation: the coach learned at least as much from her students as they learned from her. dialectics, N.

Answer 999

ADJ. sheer; transparent. Through the diaphanous curtains, the burglar could clearly see the large jewelry box on the dressing table.

Answer 1000

N. bitter scolding; invective. During the lengthy diatribe delivered by his opponent he remained calm and sel f-controlled.

Answer 1001

N. split; branching into two parts (especially contradictory ones). Wi llie didn't know how to resolve the dichotomy between his ambition to go to college and his childhood longing to run away and join the circus. Then he heard about Ringling Brothers Circus College, and he knew he'd found the perfect school.

Answer 1002

N. authoritative and weighty statement; saying; ma~im. University administrations still follow the old dictum of "Publish or perish ." They don't care how good a teacher you are; if you don't publish enough papers, you're out of a job.

Answer 1003

ADJ. teaching; instructional. Pope's lengthy poem An Essay on Man is too didactic for my taste: I dislike it when poets turn preachy and moralize.

Answer 1004

V. distinguish; perceive a difference between. Tweedledum and Tweedledee were like two peas in a pod; not even Mother Tweedle could differentiate the one from the other.

Answer 1005

N. shyness. You must overcome your diffidence if you intend to become a salesperson.

Answer 1006

ADJ. wordy; rambling; spread out (like a gas). If you pay authors by the word, you tempt them to produce diffuse manuscripts rather than brief ones. diffusion, N.

Answer 1007

N. wandering away from the subject. Nobody minded when Professor Renoir's lectures wandered away from their official theme; his digressions were always more fascinating than the topic of the day. digress, v.

Answer 1008

ADJ. ruined because of neglect. The dilapidated old building needed far more work than just a new coat of paint. dilapidation, N.

Answer 1009

V. expand. In the dark, the pupils of your eyes dilate.

Answer 1010

ADJ. delaying. If you are dilatory in paying bills, your credit rating may suffer.

Answer 1011

N. problem; choice of two unsatisfactory alternatives. In this dilemma, he knew no one to whom he could turn for advice.

Answer 1012

N. aimless follower of the arts; amateur; dabbler. He was not serious in his painting; he was rather a dilettante.

Answer 1013

N. steadiness of effort; persistent hard work. Her employers were greatly impressed by her diligence and offered her a partnership in the firm. diligent, ADJ.

Answer 1014

V. make less concentrated; reduce in strength. She preferred to dilute her coffee ,with milk.

Answer 1015

N. lessening; reduction in size. Old Jack was as sharp at eighty as he had been at fifty; increasing age led to no diminution of his mental acuity.

Answer 1016

N. continued loud noise. The din of the jackhammers outside the classroom window drowned out the lecturer's voice. also v.

Answer 1017

N. small ship's boat. In the film Lifeboat, an ill-assorted group of passengers from a sunken ocean liner are marooned at sea in a dinghy

Answer 1018

ADJ . dull; not fresh; cheerless. Refusing to be depressed by her dingy studio apartment, Bea spent the weekend pol ishing the floors and windows and hanging bright posters on the walls.

Answer 1019

N. means; effort. By dint of much hard work, the volunteers were able to place the raging forest fire under control.

Answer 1020

N. /(有人物、走兽等塑像的)微型立体景 life-size three-dimensional scene from nature or history. Because they dramatically pose actual stuffed animals against realistic painted landscapes, the dioramas at the Museum of Natural History particularly impress high school biology students.

Answer 1021

ADJ . disastrous. People ignored her dire predictions of an approaching depression.

Answer 1022

N. lament with music. The funeral dirge stirred us to tears.

Answer 1023

V. correct a false impression; undeceive. I will attempt to disabuse you of your impression of my client's guilt; I know he is innocent.

Answer 1024

ADJ. disloyal. Once the most loyal of Gorbachev's supporters, Sheverdnaze found himself becoming increasingly disaffected.

Answer 1025

N. disapproval; condemnation. The conservative father viewed his daughter's radical boyfriend with disapprobation.

Answer 1026

N. a disorderly or untidy state. After the New Year's party, the once orderly house was in total disarray.

Answer 1027

N. denial; disclaiming. His disavowal of his part in the conspiracy was not believed by the jury. disavow, V.

Answer 1028

V. dissolve; disperse. The chess club disbanded after its disastrous initial season.

Answer 1029

V. payout. When you disburse money on the company's behalf, be sure to get a receipt.

Answer 1030

ADJ. distinguishable; perceivable. The ships in the harbor were not discernible in the fog. dfscern, v.

Answer 1031

ADJ. mentally quick and observant; having insight. Though no genius, the star was sufficiently discerning to tell her true friends from the countless phonies who flattered her.

Answer 1032

V. disown; renounce claim to. If I grant you this privilege, will you disclaim all other rights?

Answer 1033

V. reveal. Although competitors offered him bribes, he refused to disclose any information about his company's forthcoming product. disclosure, N.

Answer 1034

ADJ. confused; discomposed. The novice square dancer became so discombobulated that he wandered into the wrong set.

Answer 1035

V. put to rout; defeat; disconcert. This ruse will discomfit the enemy. discomfiture, N. discomfited,ADJ.

Answer 1036

N. agitation; loss of poise. Perpetually poised, Agent 007 never exhibited a moment's discomposure.

Answer 1037

V. confuse; upset; embarrass. The lawyer was disconcerted by the evidence produced by her adversary.

Answer 1038

ADJ. sad. The death of his wife left him disconsolate.

Answer 1039

N. conflict; lack of harmony. Watching Tweedledum battle Tweedledee, Alice wondered what had caused this pointless discord.

Answer 1040

ADJ. not harmonious; conflicting. Nothing is quite so discordant as the sound of a junior high school orchestra tuning up.

Answer 1041

V. disregard; dismiss. Be prepared to discount what he has to say about his ex-wife.

Answer 1042

N. formal discussion; conversation. The young Plato was drawn to the Agora to hear the philosophical discourse of Socrates and his followers. alsoV.

Answer 1043

V. defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve. The campaign was highly negative in tone; each candidate tried to discredit the other.

Answer 1044

N. lack of consistency; difference. The police noticed some discrepancies in his description of the crime and did not believe him.

Answer 1045

ADJ. separate; unconnected. The universe is composed of discrete bodies.

Answer 1046

N. prudence; ability to adjust actions to circumstances. Use your discretion in this matter and do not discuss it with anyone. discreet,ADJ.

Answer 1047

ADJ. able to see differences; prejudiced. A superb interpreter of Picasso, she was sufficiently discriminating to judge the most complex works of modern art. (secondary meaning) discrimination, N.

Answer 1048

ADJ. digressing; rambling. As the lecturer wandered from topic to topic, we wondered what if any point there was to his discursive remarks.

Answer 1049

V. view with scorn or contempt. In the film Funny Face, the bookish heroine disdained fashion models for their lack of intellectual interests. also N.

Answer 1050

V. go ashore; unload cargo from a ship. Before the passengers could disembark, they had to pick up their passports from the ship's purser.

Answer 1051

V. deprive of a civil right. The imposition of the poll tax effectively disenfranchised poor Southern blacks, who lost their right to vote.

Answer 1052

V. uncouple; separate; disconnect. A standard movie routine involves the hero's desperate attempt to disengage a railroad car from a moving train.

Answer 1053

V. mar in beauty; spoil. An ugly frown disfigured his normally pleasant face.

Answer 1054

V. surrender something; eject; vomit. Unwilling to disgorge the cash he had stolen from the pension fund, the embezzler tried to run away.

Answer 1055

V. make discontented. The passengers were disgruntled by the numerous delays.

Answer 1056

V. discourage; cause to lose courage or hope. His failure to pass the bar exam disheartened him.

Answer 1057

ADJ. untidy. Your disheveled appearance will hurt your chances in this interview.

Answer 1058

N. unwillingness. Some mornings I feel a great disinclination to get out of bed

Answer 1059

ADJ. lacking genuine candor; insincere. Now that we know the mayor and his wife are engaged in a bitter divorce fight, we find their earlier remarks regretting their lack of time together remarkably disingenuous.

Answer 1060

V. dig up; unearth. They disinterred the body and held an autopsy.

Answer 1061

ADJ. unprejudiced. Given the judge's political ambitions and the lawyers' financial interest in the case, the only disinterested person in the courtroom may have been the court reporter.

Answer 1062

ADJ. disconnected. His remarks were so disjointed that we could not follow his reasoning.

Answer 1063

V. remove (forcibly). Thrusting her fist up under the choking man's lower ribs, Margaret used the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge the food caught in his throat.

Answer 1064

V. take apart. When the show closed, they dismantled the scenery before storing it.

Answer 1065

V. discourage; frighten. The huge amount of work she had left to do dismayed her. also N.

Answer 1066

V. cut into small parts. When the Austrian Empire was dismembered, several new countries were established.

Answer 1067

V. put away from consideration; reject. Believing in John's love for her, she dismissed the notion that he might be unfaithful. (secondary meaning)

Answer 1068

V. belittle. A doting mother, Emma was more likely to praise her son's crude attempts at art than to disparage them.

Answer 1069

ADJ. basically different; unrelated. Unfortunately, Tony and Tina have disparate notions of marriage: Tony sees it as a carefree extended love affair, while Tina sees it as a solemn commitment to build a family and a home.

Answer 1070

N. difference; condition of inequality. Their disparity in rank made no difference at all to the prince and Cinderella.

Answer 1071

ADJ. calm; impartial. Known in the company for his cool judgment, Bill could impartially examine the causes of a problem, giving a dispassionate analysis of what had gone wrong, and go on to suggest how to correct the mess.

Answer 1072

N. speediness; prompt execution; message sent with all due speed. Young Napoleon defeated the enemy with all possible dispatch; he then sent a dispatch to headquarters informing his commander of the great victory. alsoV.

Answer 1073

V. scatter; drive away; cause to vanish. The bright sunlight eventually dispelled the morning mist.

Answer 1074

V. scatter. The police fired tear gas into the crowd to disperse the protesters. dispersion, N.

Answer 1075

ADJ. lacking in spirit. The coach used all the tricks at his command to buoy up the enthusiasm of his team, which had become dispirited at the loss of the star player.

Answer 1076

ADJ. argumentative; fond of arguing. Convinced he knew more than his lawyers, Alan was a disputatious client, ready to argue about the best way to conduct the case. disputant, N.

Answer 1077

V. make uneasy or anxious. Holmes's absence for a day, slightly disquieted Watson; after a week with no word, however, Watson's uneasiness about his missing friend had grown into a deep fear for his safety. disquietude, N.

Answer 1078

N. analysis; cutting apart in order to examine. The dissection of frogs in the laboratory is particularly unpleasant to some students.

Answer 1079

V. disguise; pretend. Even though John tried to dissemble his motive for taking modern dance, we all knew he was there not to dance but to meet girls.

Answer 1080

V. distribute; spread; scatter (like seeds). By their use of the Internet, propagandists have been able to disseminate their pet doctrines to new audiences around the globe.

Answer 1081

V. disagree. In the recent Supreme Court decision, Justice O'Connor dissented from the majority opinion. also N.

Answer 1082

N. formal essay. In order to earn a graduate degree from many of our universities, a candidate is frequently required to prepare a dissertation on some scholarly subject.

Answer 1083

ADJ. dissenting; rebellious. In the purge that fol-lowed the student demonstrations at Tiananmen Square, the government hunted down the dissident students and their supporters. also N.

Answer 1084

V. pretend; conceal by feigning. She tried to dissimulate her grief by her exuberant attitude.

Answer 1085

V. squander; waste; scatter. He is a fine artist, but I fear he may dissipate his gifts if he keeps wasting his time playing games.

Answer 1086

ADJ. loose in morals. The dissolute life led by the ancient Romans is indeed shocking.

Answer 1087

N. breaking of a union; decay; termination. Which caused King Lear more suffering: the dissolution of his kingdom into warring factions, or the dissolution of his aged, failing body?

Answer 1088

N. discord. Composer Charles Ives often used dissonance-clashing or unresolved chords-for special effects in his musical works.

Answer 1089

V. persuade not to do; discourage. Since Tom could not dissuade Huck from running away from home, he decided to run away with him. dissuasion, N.

Answer 1090

ADJ. reserved or aloof; cold in manner. His distant greeting made me feel unwelcome from the start. (secondary meaning)

Answer 1091

V. expand; swell out. I can tell when he is under stress by the way the veins distend on his forehead.

Answer 1092

V. extract the essence; purify; refine. A moonshiner distills mash into whiskey; an epigrammatist distills thoughts into quips.

Answer 1093

N. honor; contrast; discrimination. A holder of the Medal of Honor, George served with great distinction in World War II. He made a distinction, however, between World War II and Vietnam, which he considered an immoral conflict.

Answer 1094

V. twist out of shape. It is difficult to believe the newspaper accounts of the riots because of the way some reporters distort and exaggerate the actual events. distortion, N.

Answer 1095

ADJ. upset; distracted by anxiety. The distraught parents frantically searched the ravine for their lost child.

Answer 1096

ADJ. daily. A farmer cannot neglect his diurnal tasks at any time; cows, for example, must be milked regularly.

Answer 1097

N. operatic singer; prima donna. Although world famous as a diva, she did not indulge in fits of temperament. ..

Answer 1098

V. vary; go in different directions from the same point. The spokes of the wheel diverge from the hub.

Answer 1099

ADJ. differing; deviating. Since graduating from medical school, the two doctors have taken divergent paths, one going on to become a nationally prominent surgeon, the other dedicating himself to a small family practice in his home town. divergence, N.

Answer 1100

ADJ. differing in some characteristics; various. The professor suggested diverse ways of approaching the assignment and recommended that we choose one of them. diversity, N.

Answer 1101

N. act of turning aside; pastime. After studying for several hours, he needed a diversion from work. divert,V.

Answer 1102

N. variety; dissimilitude. The diversity of colleges in this country indicates that many levels of ability are being cared for.

Answer 1103

V. strip; deprive. He was divested of his power to act and could no longer govern. divestiture, N.

Answer 1104

V. perceive intuitively; foresee the future. Nothing infuriated Tom more than Aunt Polly's ability to divine when he was telling the truth.

Answer 1105

V. reveal. No lover of gossip, Charlotte would never divulge anything that a friend told her in confidence.

Answer 1106

ADJ. obedient; easily managed. As docile as he seems today, that old lion was once a ferocious, snarling beast. docility, N.

Answer 1107

ADJ. unable to compromise about points of doctrine; dogmatic; unyielding. Weng had hoped that the student-led democracy movement might bring about change in China, but the repressive response of the doctrinaire hard-liners crushed his dreams of democracy.

Answer 1108

N. teachings, in general; particular principle (religious, legal, etc.) taught. He was so committed to the doctrines of his faith that he was unable to evaluate them impartially.

Answer 1109

V. provide written evidence. She kept all the receipts from her business trip in order to document her expenses for the firm. also N.

Answer 1110

V. take off. A gentleman used to doff his hat to a lady.

Answer 1111

ADJ. determined; stubborn. Les Miserables tells of Inspector Javert's long, dogged pursuit of the criminal Jean Valjean.

Answer 1112

N. poor verse. Although we find occasional snatches of genuine poetry in her work, most of her writing is mere doggerel.

Answer 1113

ADJ. opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal. We tried to discourage Doug from being so dogmatic, but never could convince him that his opinions might be wrong.

Answer 1114

N. blues; listlessness; slack period. Once the excitement of meeting her deadline was over, she found herself in the doldrums.

Answer 1115

ADJ. sorrowful. He found the doleful lamentations of the bereaved family emotionally disturbing and he left as quickly as he could.

Answer 1116

N. stupid person. I thought I was talking to a mature audience; instead, I find myself addressing a pack of dolts and idiots.

Answer 1117

N. home. Although his legal domicile was in New York City, his work kept him away from his residence for many years. alsoV.

Answer 1118

V. rule over tyrannically. Students prefer teachers who guide, not ones who domineer.

Answer 1119

V. put on. When Clark Kent has to don his Superman outfit, he changes clothes in a convenient phone booth.

Answer 1120

V. scribble or draw aimlessly; waste time. Art's teachers scolded him when he doodled all over the margins of his papers.

Answer 1121

ADJ. sleeping; lethargic; latent. At fifty her longdormant ambition to write flared up once more; within a year she had completed the first of her great historical novels.

Answer 1122

N. window projecting from roof. In remodeling the attic into a bedroom, we decided that we needed to put in dormers to provide sufficient ventilation for the new room.

Answer 1123

N. file of documents on a subject. Ordered by J. Edgar Hoover to investigate the senator, the FBI compiled a complete dossieron him.

Answer 1124

V. be excessively fond of; show signs of mental decline. Not only grandmothers bore you with stories about their brilliant grandchildren; grandfathers dote on the little rascals, too. Poor old Alf clearly doted: the senile old dotard was past it; in fact, he was in his dotage.

Answer 1125

V. plunge into water; drench; extinguish. They doused each other with hoses and water balloons.

Answer 1126

ADJ. slovenly; untidy. She tried to change her dowdy image by buying a new fashionable wardrobe.

Answer 1127

ADJ. disheartened; sad. Cheerful and optimistic by nature, Beth was never downcast despite the difficulties she faced.

Answer 1128

ADJ. dull; lacking color; cheerless. The Dutch woman's drab winter coat contrasted with the distinctive, colorful native costume she wore beneath it.

Answer 1129

ADJ. extremely severe. When the principal canceled the senior prom because some seniors had been late to school that week, we thought the draconian punishment was far too harsh for such a minor violation of the rules.

Answer 1130

N. sediment; worthless residue. David poured the wine carefully to avoid stirring up the dregs.

Answer 1131

N. nonsense; foolishness. Why do I have to spend my days listening to such idiotic drivel? Drivel is related to dribble: think of a dribbling, driveling idiot.

Answer 1132

ADJ. queer and amusing. He was a popular guest because his droll anecdotes were always entertaining.

Answer 1133

N. idle person; male bee. Content to let his wife support him, the would-be writer was in reality nothing but a drone.

Answer 1134

V. talk dully; buzz or murmur like a bee. On a gor-geous day, who wants to be stuck in a classroom listening to the teacher drone ?

Answer 1135

N. waste matter; worthless impurities. Many methods have been devised to separate the valuable metal from the dross.

Answer 1136

N. menial work. Cinderella's fairy godmother rescued her from a life of drudgery.

Answer 1137

ADJ. questionable; filled with doubt. Many critics of SAT I contend the test is of dubious worth. Jay claimed he could get a perfect 1600 on SAT I, but Ellen was dubious: she knew he hadn't cracked a book in three years.

Answer 1138

ADJ. malleable; flexible; pliable. Copper is an extremely ductile material: you can stretch it into the thinnest of wires, bend it, even wind it into loops.

Answer 1139

ADJ. sweet sounding. The dulcet sounds of the birds at dawn were soon drowned out by the roar of traffic passing our motel.

Answer 1140

V. astonish. Egbert's perfect 1600 on his SAT I exam dumbfounded his classmates, who had always found him to be perfectly dumb.

Answer 1141

N. someone easily fooled. While the gullible Watson often was made a dupe by unscrupulous parties, Sherlock Holmes was far more difficult to fool. alsoV.

Answer 1142

N. double-dealing; hypocrisy. When Tanya learned that Mark had been two-timing her, she was furious at his duplicity.

Answer 1143

N. length of time something lasts. Because she wanted the children to make a good impression on the dinner guests, Mother promised them a treat if they'd behave for the duration of the meal.

Answer 1144

N. forcible restraint, especially unlawfully. The hostages were held under duress until the prisoners' demands were met.

Answer 1145

ADJ. respectful; obedient. When Mother told Billy to kiss Great-Aunt Hattie, the boy obediently gave the old woman a dutiful peck on her cheek.

Answer 1146

V. cause to seem small. The giant redwoods and high cliffs dwarfed the elegant Ahwahnee Hotel, making it appear a modest lodge rather than an imposing hostelry.

Answer 1147

V. shrink; reduce. The food in the life boat gradually dwindled away to nothing; in the end, they ate the ship's cook.

Answer 1148

ADJ. energetic; vigorously active. The dynamic aerobics instructor kept her students on the run; she was a little dynamo.

Answer 1149

ADJ. unrefined; coarse. His earthy remarks often embarrassed the women in his audience.

Answer 1150

V. recede; lessen. Sitting on the beach, Mrs. Dalloway watched the tide ebb: the waters receded, drawing away from her as she sat there all alone. also N.

Answer 1151

ADJ. showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm. Amy's ebullient nature could not be repressed; she' was always bubbling over with excitement. ebullience, N.

Answer 1152

ADJ. irregular; odd; whimsical; bizarre. The comet veered dangerously close to the earth in its eccentric orbit. People came up with some eccentric ideas for dealing with the emergency: someone even suggested tieing a knot in the comet's tail!

Answer 1153

N. oddity; idiosyncrasy. Some of his friends tried to account for his rudeness to strangers as the eccentricity of genius.

Answer 1154

ADJ. pertaining to the church. The minister donned his ecclesiastic garb and walked to the pulpit. also N.

Answer 1155

ADJ. composed of elements drawn from disparate sources. His style of interior decoration was eclectic: bits and pieces of furnishings from widely divergent periods, strikingly juxtaposed to create a unique decor. eclecticism, N.

Answer 1156

V. darken; extinguish; surpass. The new stock market high eclipsed the previous record set in 1995.

Answer 1157

N. a person concerned with the interrelationship between living organisms and their environment. The ecologist was concerned that the new dam would upset the natural balance of the creatures living in Glen Canyon.

Answer 1158

N. efficiency or conciseness in using something. Reading the epigrams of Pope, I admire the economy of his verse: in few words he conveys worlds of meaning. (secondary meaning)

Answer 1159

N. rapture; joy; any overpowering emotion. When Allison received her long-hoped-for letter of acceptance from Harvard, she was in ecstasy. ecstatic,ADJ.

Answer 1160

N. swirling current of water, air, etc. The water in the tide pool was still, except for an occasional eddy.

Answer 1161

N. decree (especially issued by a sovereign); official command. The emperor issued an edict decreeing that everyone should come see him model his magnificent new clothes.

Answer 1162

V. instruct; correct morally. Although his purpose was to edify and not to entertain his audience, many of his listeners were amused rather than enlightened.

Answer 1163

ADJ. weird. In that eerie setting, it was easy to believe in ghosts and other supernatural beings.

Answer 1164

V. rub out. The coin had been handled so many times that its date had been effaced.

Answer 1165

ADJ. able to produce a desired effect; valid. Medical researchers are concerned because of the development of drug-resistant strains of bacteria; many once useful antibiotics are no longer effectual in curing bacterial infections.

Answer 1166

N. inner excitement or exuberance; bubbling from fermentation or carbonation. Nothing depressed Sue for long; her natural effervescence soon reasserted itself. Soda that loses its effervescence goes flat. effervescent, ADJ. effervesce,V.

Answer 1167

N. power to produce desired effect. The efficacy of this drug depends on the regularity of the dosage. efficacious,ADJ.

Answer 1168

N. dummy. The mob showed its irritation by hanging the judge in effigy.

Answer 1169

N. shameless boldness. She had the effrontery to insult the guest.

Answer 1170

ADJ. pouring forth; gushing. Her effusive manner of greeting her friends finally began to irritate them. effusion, N.

Answer 1171

N. excessive interest in one's self; belief that one should be interested in one's self rather than in others. His egoism prevented him from seeing the needs of his colleagues.

Answer 1172

ADJ. excessively self-centered; self-important; conceited. Typical egotistical remark: "But enough of this chit-chat about you and your little problems. Let's talk about what's really important: Me!"

Answer 1173

ADJ. notorious; conspicuously bad or shocking. She was an egregious liar; we all knew better than to believe a word she said. Ed's housekeeping was egregious: he let his dirty dishes pile up so long that they were stuck together with last week's food.

Answer 1174

N. exit. Barnum's sign "To the Egress" fooled many people who thought they were going to see an animal and instead found themselves in the street.

Answer 1175

N. exclamation. He could not repress an ejaculation of surprise when he heard the news.

Answer 1176

N. addition of details; intricacy. Tell what happened simply, without any elaboration. elaborate,V.

Answer 1177

ADJ. overjoyed; in high spirits. Grinning from ear to ear, Bonnie Blair was clearly elated by her fifth Olympic gold medal. elation, N.

Answer 1178

N. poem or song expressing lamentation. On the death of Edward King, Milton composed the elegy "Lycidas." elegiacal,ADJ.

Answer 1179

V. draw out by discussion. The detectives tried to elicit where he had hidden his loot.

Answer 1180

N. cure-all; something invigorating. The news of her chance to go abroad acted on her like an elixir.

Answer 1181

N. omission of words from a text. Sometimes an ellipsis can lead to a dangling modifier, as in the sentence "Once dressed, you should refrigerate the potato salad."

Answer 1182

ADJ. oval; ambiguous, either purposely or because key words have been left out. An elliptical billiard ball wobbles because it is not perfectly round; an elliptical remark baffles because it is not perfectly clear.

Answer 1183

N. expressiveness; persuasive speech. The crowds were stirred by Martin Luther King's eloquence. eloquent,ADJ.

Answer 1184

V. explain; enlighten. He was called upon to elucidate the disputed points in his article.

Answer 1185

ADJ. evasive; baffling; hard to grasp. Trying to pin down exactly when the contractors would be finished remodeling the house, Nancy was frustrated by their elusive replies. elude,V.

Answer 1186

ADJ. thin and wasted. His long period of starvation had left him emaciated.

Answer 1187

V. issue forth. A strong odor of sulphur emanated from the spring.

Answer 1188

V. set free. At first, the attempts of the Abolitionists to emancipate the slaves were unpopular in New England as well as in the South.

Answer 1189

N. ban on commerce or other activity. As a result of the embargo, trade with the colonies was at a standstill.

Answer 1190

V. commence; go on board a boat or airplane; begin a journey. In devoting herself to the study of gorillas, Dian Fossey embarked on a course of action that was to cost her her life.

Answer 1191

V. enclose; place in something. Tales of actual historical figures like King Alfred have become embedded in legends.

Answer 1192

V. adorn; ornament. The costume designer embellished the leading lady's ball gown with yards and yards of ribbon and lace.

Answer 1193

N. stealing. The bank teller confessed his embezzlement of the funds.

Answer 1194

V. personify; make concrete; incorporate. Cheering on his rival Mark McGwire's efforts to break Roger Maris's home run record, Sammy Sosa embodied the spirit of true sportsmanship.

Answer 1195

V. hug; adopt or espouse; accept readily; encircle; include. Clasping Maid Marian in his arms, Robin Hood embraced her lovingly. In joining the outlaws in Sherwood Forest, she had openly embraced their cause.

Answer 1196

V. decorate with needlework; ornament with fancy or fictitious details. For her mother's birthday, Beth embroidered a lovely design on a handkerchief. When asked what made her late getting home, Jo embroidered her account with tales of runaway horses and rescuing people from a ditch. embroidery, N.

Answer 1197

V. throw into confusion; involve in strife; entangle. He became embroiled in the heated discussion when he tried to arbitrate the dispute.

Answer 1198

ADJ. undeveloped; rudimentary. The evil of class and race hatred must be eliminated while it is still in an embryonic state; otherwise, it may grow to dangerous proportions. emend V. correct; correct by a critic. The critic emended the book by selecting the passages which he thought most appropriate to the text.

Answer 1199

N. correction of errors; improvement. Please initial all the emendations you have made in this contract.

Answer 1200

ADJ. high; lofty. After his appointment to this eminent position, he seldom had time for his former friends.

Answer 1201

N. agent; messenger. The secretary of state was sent as the president's special emissary to the conference on disarmament.

Answer 1202

N. soothing or softening remedy. The nurse applied an emollientto the inflamed area. alsoADJ.

Answer 1203

N. ability to identify with another's feelings, ideas, etc. What made Ann such a fine counselor was her empathy, her ability to put herself in her client's place and feel his emotions as if they were her own. empathize,V.

Answer 1204

ADJ. based on experience. He distrusted hunches and intuitive flashes; he placed his reliance entirely on empirical data.

Answer 1205

V. imitate; rival. In a brief essay, describe a person you admire, someone whose virtues you would like to emulate.

Answer 1206

ADJ. in love. Narcissus became enamored of his own beauty.

Answer 1207

V. encode; convert a message into code. One of Bond's first lessons was how to encipher the messages he sent to Miss Moneypenny so that none of his other lady friends could decipher them.

Answer 1208

N. territory enclosed within an alien land. The Vatican is an independent enclave in Italy.

Answer 1209

N. high praise; eulogy. Uneasy with the encomiums expressed by his supporters, Tolkien felt unworthy of such high praise.

Answer 1210

V. surround. Although we were encompassed by enemy forces, we were cheerful for we were well stocked and could withstand a siege until our allies joined us.

Answer 1211

N. gradual intrusion. The encroachment of the factories upon the neighborhood lowered the value of the real estate.

Answer 1212

V. burden. Some people encumber themselves with too much luggage when they take short trips.

Answer 1213

N. fond statement. Your gifts and endearments cannot make me forget your earlier insolence.

Answer 1214

ADJ. prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific area or country. This disease is endemic in this part of the world; more than 80 percent of the population are at one time or another affected by it.

Answer 1215

V. approve; support. Everyone waited to see which one of the rival candidates for the city council the mayor would endorse. (secondary meaning) endorsement, N.

Answer 1216

ADJ. lasting; surviving. Keats believed in the enduring power of great art, which would outlast its creators' brief lives.

Answer 1217

V. invigorate; make forceful and active. Rather than exhausting Maggie, dancing energized her.

Answer 1218

V. weaken. She was slow to recover from her illness; even a short walk to the window would enervate her.

Answer 1219

V. to admit to the rights of citizenship (especially the right to vote). Although Blacks were enfranchised shortly after the Civil War, women did not receive the right to vote until 1920.

Answer 1220

V. attract; hire; pledge oneself; confront. "Your case has engaged my interest, my lord," said Holmes. "You may engage my services."

Answer 1221

ADJ. charming; attractive. Everyone liked Nancy's pleasant manners and engaging personality.

Answer 1222

V. cause; produce. To receive praise for real accomplishments engenders self-confidence in a child.

Answer 1223

V. occupy fully. John was so engrossed in his studies that he did not hear his mother call.

Answer 1224

V. increase; improve. You can enhance your chances of being admitted to the college of your choice by learning to write well; an excellent essay can enhance any application.

Answer 1225

N. puzzle; mystery. "What do women want?" asked Dr. Sigmund Freud. Their behavior was an enigma to him.

Answer 1226

ADJ. obscure; puzzling. Many have sought to fathom the enigmatic smile of the Mona Lisa.

Answer 1227

N. ill will; hatred. At Camp David, President Carter labored to bring an end to the enmity that prevented the peaceful coexistence of Egypt and Israel.

Answer 1228

N. boredom. The monotonous routine of hospital life induced a feeling of ennui that made him moody and irritable.

Answer 1229

N. hugeness (in a bad sense). He did not realize the enormity of his crime until he saw what suffering he had caused.

Answer 1230

V. please intensely. The audience was enraptured by the freshness of the voices and the excellent orchestration.

Answer 1231

V. settle comfortably. Now that their children were ensconced safely in the private school, the jet-setting parents decided to leave for Europe.

Answer 1232

N. group of (supporting) players; organic unity; costume. As a dancer with the Oakland Ballet, Benjamin enjoyed being part of the ensemble. Having acted with one another for well over a decade, the cast members have developed a true sense of ensemble: They work together seamlessly. Mitzi wore a charming two-piece ensemble designed by Donna Karan.

Answer 1233

V. require; necessitate; involve. Building a collegelevel vocabulary will entail some work on your part.

Answer 1234

ADJ. full of initiative. By coming up with fresh ways to market the company's products, Mike proved himself to be an enterprising businessman.

Answer 1235

V. capture; enslave. From the moment he saw her picture, he was enthralled by her beauty.

Answer 1236

V. lure; attract; tempt. She always tried to entice her baby brother into mischief.

Answer 1237

N. right to claim something; right to benefits. While Bill was entitled to use a company car while he worked for the firm, the company's lawyers questioned his entitlement to the vehicle once he'd quit his job.

Answer 1238

N. real being. As soon as the Charter was adopted, the United Nations became an entity and had to be considered as a factor in world diplomacy.

Answer 1239

N. study of insects. Kent found entomology the most annoying part of his biology course; studying insects bugged him.

Answer 1240

N. group of attendants; retinue. Surrounded by the members of his entourage, the mayor hurried into city hall, shouting a brusque "No comment!" to the reporters lining the steps.

Answer 1241

V. put under a spell; carry away with emotion. Shafts of sunlight on a wall could entrance her and leave her spellbound.

Answer 1242

V. plead; ask earnestly. She entreated her father to let her stay out till midnight.

Answer 1243

N. businessman; contractor. Opponents of our present tax program argue that it discourages entrepreneurs from trying new fields of business activity.

Answer 1244

V. list; mention one by one. Huck hung his head in shame as Miss Watson enumerated his many flaws.

Answer 1245

V. speak distinctly. Stop mumbling! How will people understand you if you do not enunciate?

Answer 1246

N. long period of time; an age. It has taken eons for our civilization to develop.

Answer 1247

ADJ. short-lived; fleeting. The mayfly is an ephemeral creature: its adult life lasts little more than a day.

Answer 1248

N. long heroic poem, or similar work of art. Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai is an epic portraying the struggle of seven warriors to destroy a band of robbers. alsoADJ.

Answer 1249

N. connoisseur of food and drink. Epicures frequent this restaurant because it features exotic wines and dishes. epicurean,ADJ.

Answer 1250

N. witty thought or saying, usually short. Poor Richard's epigrams made Benjamin Franklin famous.

Answer 1251

N. short speech at conclusion of dramatic work. The audience was so disappointed in the play that many did not remain to hear the epilogue.

Answer 1252

ADJ. loosely connected; divided into incidents. Though he tried to follow the plot of Gravity's Rainbow, John found the novel too episodic; he enjoyed individual passages, but had trouble following the work as a whole.

Answer 1253

ADJ. consisting of letters. Mark Harris's Wake Up, Stupid! is a modern epistolary novel that uses letters, telegrams, and newspaper clippings to tell the hero's story. The movie You've Got Mail tells a story using e-mail; does that make it an e-pistolary movie? epistle, N.

Answer 1254

N. inscription in memory of a dead person. In his will, he dictated the epitaph he wanted placed on his tombstone.

Answer 1255

N. word or phrase characteristically used to describe a person or thing. So many kings of France were named Charles that you could tell them apart only by their epithets: Charles the Wise was someone far different from Charles the Fat.

Answer 1256

N. perfect example or embodiment. Singing "I am the very model of a modern Major-General," in The Pirates of Penzance, Major-General Stanley proclaimed himself the epitome of an officer and a gentleman.

Answer 1257

N. period of time. The glacial epoch lasted for thousands of years.

Answer 1258

ADJ. tranquil; steady; uniform. After the hot summers and cold winters of New England, he found the climate of the West Indies equable and pleasant.

Answer 1259

N. calmness of temperament; composure. Even the inevitable strains of caring for an ailing mother did not disturb Bea's equanimity.

Answer 1260

N. rider on horseback. These paths in the park are reserved for equestrians and their steeds. alsoADJ.

Answer 1261

N. balance. After the divorce, he needed some time to regain his equilibrium.

Answer 1262

ADJ. resembling a horse. His long, bony face had an equine look to it.

Answer 1263

N. period of equal days and nights; the beginning of Spring and Autumn. The vernal equinox is usually marked by heavy rainstorms.

Answer 1264

ADJ. fair; impartial. I am seeking an equitable solution to this dispute, one that will be fair and acceptable to both sides.

Answer 1265

N. fairness; justice. Our courts guarantee equity to all.

Answer 1266

ADJ. ambiguous; intentionally misleading. Rejecting the candidate's equivocal comments on tax reform, the reporters pressed him to state clearly where he stood on the issue. equivocate,V.

Answer 1267

V. lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth. The audience saw through his attempts to equivocate on the subject under discussion and ridiculed his remarks.

Answer 1268

V. eat away. The limestone was eroded by the dripping water until only a thin shell remained. erosion, N.

Answer 1269

ADJ. pertaining to passionate love. The erotic passages in this novel should be removed as they are merely pornographic.

Answer 1270

ADJ. odd; unpredictable. Investors become anxious when the stock market appears erratic.

Answer 1271

ADJ. mistaken; wrong. I thought my answer was correct, but it was erroneous.

Answer 1272

ADJ. learned; scholarly. Though his fellow students thought him erudite, Paul knew he would have to spend many years in serious study before he could consider himself a scholar.

Answer 1273

N. prank; flighty conduct. The headmaster could not regard this latest escapade as a boyish joke and expelled the young man.

Answer 1274

N. avoiding reality by diverting oneself with amusements. Before you criticize her constant reading as mere escapism, note how greatly her vocabulary has improved since she began spending her days buried in books.

Answer 1275

V. avoid. Hoping to present himself to his girlfriend as a totally reformed character, he tried to eschew all the vices, especially chewing tobacco and drinking bathtub gin.

Answer 1276

ADJ. hard to understand; known only to the chosen few. The New Yorker short stories often include esoteric allusions to obscure people and events: the implication is, if you are in the in-crowd, you'll get the reference; if you come from Cleveland, you won't.

Answer 1277

N. Spying. In order to maintain its power, the government developed a system of espionage that penetrated every household.

Answer 1278

V. adopt; support. She was always ready to espouse a worthy cause.

Answer 1279

V. respect; value. Jill esteemed Jack's taste in music, but she deplored his taste in clothes.

Answer 1280

ADJ. separated; alienated. The estranged wife sought a divorce. estrangement, N.

Answer 1281

ADJ. light; heavenly; unusually refined. In Shake-speare's The Tempest, the spirit Ariel is an ethereal creature, too airy and unearthly for our mortal world.

Answer 1282

ADJ. relating to races. Intolerance between ethnic groups is deplorable and usually is based on lack of information.

Answer 1283

N. underlying character of a culture, group, etc. Seeing how tenderly ordinary Spaniards treated her small daughter made author Barbara Kingsolver aware of how greatly children were valued in the Spanish ethos.

Answer 1284

N. study of word parts. A knowledge of etymology can help you on many English tests: if you know what the roots and prefixes mean, you can determine the meanings of unfamiliar words.

Answer 1285

N. expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death. Instead of delivering a spoken eulogy at Genny's memorial service, Jeff sang a song he had written in her honor.

Answer 1286

N. mild expression in place of an unpleasant one. The expression "he passed away" is a euphemism for "he died."

Answer 1287

ADJ. pleasing in sound. Euphonious even when spoken, the Italian language is particularly pleasing to the ear when sung. euphony. N.

Answer 1288

N. feeling of great happiness and well-being (sometimes exaggerated). Delighted with her SAT scores, sure that the university would accept her, Allison was filled with euphoria. euphoric,ADJ.

Answer 1289

ADJ. fleeting; vanishing. Brandon's satisfaction in his new job was evanescent, for he immediately began to notice its many drawbacks. evanescence, N.

Answer 1290

ADJ. not frank; eluding. Your evasive answers convinced the judge that you were withholding important evidence. evade,V.

Answer 1291

ADJ. impartial; fair. Do men and women receive evenhanded treatment from their teachers, or, as recent studies suggest, do teachers pay more attention to male students than to females?

Answer 1292

V. show clearly. When he tried to answer the questions, he evinced his ignorance of the subject matter.

Answer 1293

ADJ. tending to call up (emotions, memories). Scent can be remarkably evocative: the aroma of pipe tobacco evokes the memory of my father; a whiff of talcum powder calls up images of my daughter as a child.

Answer 1294

N. female sheep. The flock of sheep was made up of dozens of ewes, together with only a handful of rams.

Answer 1295

V. worsen; embitter. The latest bombing exacerbated England's already existing bitterness against the IRA, causing the prime minister to break off the peace talks abruptly.

Answer 1296

ADJ. extremely demanding. Cleaning the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel was an exacting task, one that demanded extremely meticulous care on the part of the restorers. exaction, N.

Answer 1297

V. raise in rank or dignity; praise. The actor Alec Guinness was exalted to the rank of knighthood by the queen.

Answer 1298

V. vex. Johnny often exasperates his mother with his pranks.

Answer 1299

ADJ. objectionable. Do you find the punk rock band Green Day a highly exceptionable, thoroughly distasteful group, or do you think they are exceptionally talented performers?

Answer 1300

N. selected passage (written or musical). The cinematic equivalent of an excerpt from a novel is a clip from a film. alsoV.

Answer 1301

V. cut away; cut out. When you excise the dead and dying limbs of a tree, you not only improve its appearance but also enhance its chances of bearing fruit. excision. N.

Answer 1302

V. cry out suddenly. "Watson! Behind you!" Holmes exclaimed, seeing the assassin hurl himself on his friend.

Answer 1303

V. scold with biting harshness; strip the skin off. Seeing the holes in Bill's new pants, his mother furiously excoriated him for ruining his good clothes. The tight, starched collar chafed and excoriated his neck, rubbing it raw.

Answer 1304

V. clear from blame. He was exculpated of the crime when the real criminal confessed.

Answer 1305

ADJ. very bad. The anecdote was in such execrable taste that it revolted the audience.

Answer 1306

V. put into effect; carry out. The choreographer wanted to see how well she could execute a pirouette. (secondary meaning) execution, N.

Answer 1307

N. explanation; interpretation, especially of a biblical text. The minister based her sermon on her exegesis of a difficult passage from the book of Job. exegetical,ADJ.

Answer 1308

ADJ. serving as a model; outstanding. At commencement the dean praised Ellen for her exemplary behavior as class president.

Answer 1309

V. serve as an example of; embody. For a generation of balletgoers, Rudolf Nureyev exemplified the ideal of masculine grace.

Answer 1310

ADJ. not subject to a duty, obligation. Because of his flat feet, Foster was exempt from serving in the armed forces. alsoV.

Answer 1311

N. effort; expenditure of much physical work. The exertion spent in unscrewing the rusty bolt left her exhausted.

Answer 1312

ADJ. thorough; comprehensive. We have made an exhaustive study of all published SAT tests and are happy to share our research with you.

Answer 1313

ADJ. invigorating and refreshing; cheering. Though some of the hikers found tramping through the snow tiring, Jeffrey found the walk on the cold, crisp day exhilarating.

Answer 1314

V. urge. The evangelist exhorted all the sinners in his audience to reform. exhortation, N.

Answer 1315

V. dig out of the ground; remove from the grave. Could evidence that might identify the serial killer have been buried with his victim? To answer this question, the police asked the authorities for permission to exhume the victim's body.

Answer 1316

N. urgent situation. In this exigency, we must look for aid from our allies.

Answer 1317

N. departure. The exodus from the hot and stuffy city was particularly noticeable on Friday evenings.

Answer 1318

V. acquit; exculpate. The defense team feverishly sought fresh evidence that might exonerate their client.

Answer 1319

ADJ. excessive. The people grumbled at his exorbitant prices but paid them because he had a monopoly.

Answer 1320

V. drive out evil spirits. By incantation and prayer, the medicine man sought to exorcise the evil spirits which had taken possession of the young warrior.

Answer 1321

ADJ. not native; strange. Because of his exotic headdress, he was followed in the streets by small children who laughed at his strange appearance.

Answer 1322

ADJ. outgoing and sociable; broad and extensive; able to increase in size. Mr. Fezziwig was in an expansive humor, cheerfully urging his guests to join in the Christmas feast. Looking down on his expansive paunch, he sighed: if his belly expanded any further, he'd need an expansive waistline for his pants.

Answer 1323

N. exile; someone who has withdrawn from his native land. Henry James was an American expatriate who settled in England.

Answer 1324

ADJ. suitable; practical; politic. A pragmatic politician, he was guided by what was expedient rather than by what was ethical. expediency, N.

Answer 1325

V. hasten. Because we are on a tight schedule, we hope you will be able to expedite the delivery of our order. The more expeditious your response is, the happier we'll be.

Answer 1326

N. payment or expense; output. When you are operating on an expense account, you must keep receipts for all your expenditures. If you don't save your receipts, you won't get repaid without the expenditure of a lot of energy arguing with the firm's accountants.

Answer 1327

N. specialized knowledge; expert skill. Although she was knowledgeable in a number of fields, she was hired for her particular expertise in computer programming.

Answer 1328

V. make amends for (a sin). He tried to expiate his crimes by a full confession to the authorities.

Answer 1329

N. interjection; profane oath. The sergeant's remarks were filled with expletives that offended the new recruits.

Answer 1330

V. explain; interpret; clarify. Harry Levin explicated James Joyce's often bewildering novels with such clarity that even Finnegan's Wake seemed comprehensible to his students.

Answer 1331

ADJ. totally clear; definite; outspoken. Don't just hint around that you're dissatisfied: be explicit about what's bugging you.

Answer 1332

N. deed or action, particularly a brave deed. Raoul Wallenberg was noted for his exploits in rescuing Jews from Hitler's forces.

Answer 1333

V. make use of, sometimes unjustly. Cesar Chavez fought attempts to exploit migrant farmworkers in California. exploitation, N. exploitative,ADJ.

Answer 1334

ADJ. explanatory; serving to explain. The manual that came with my VCR was no masterpiece of expository prose: its explanations were so garbled that I couldn't even figure out how to rewind a tape. exposition, N.

Answer 1335

N. risk, particularly of being exposed to disease or to the elements; unmasking; act of laying something open. Exposure to sun and wind had dried out her hair and weathered her face. She looked so changed that she no longer feared exposure as the notorious Irene Adler, onetime antagonist of Sherlock Holmes.

Answer 1336

V. take possession of. He questioned the government's right to expropriate his land to create a wildlife preserve.

Answer 1337

V. cancel; remove. If you behave, I will expunge this notation from your record.

Answer 1338

V. clean; remove offensive parts of a book. The editors felt that certain passages in the book had to be expurgated before it could be used in the classroom.

Answer 1339

ADJ. still in existence. Although the book is out of print, some copies are still extant. Unfortunately, all of them are in libraries or private collections; none are for sale.

Answer 1340

N. degree; magnitude; scope. What is the extentof the patient's injuries? If they are not too extensive, we can treat him on an outpatient basis.

Answer 1341

V. weaken; mitigate. It is easier for us to extenuate our own shortcomings than those of others.

Answer 1342

V. praise; glorify. The president extolled the astronauts, calling them the pioneers of the Space Age.

Answer 1343

V. wring from; get money by threats, etc. The blackmailer extorted money from his victim.

Answer 1344

N. surrender of prisoner by one state to another. The lawyers opposed the extradition of their client on the grounds that for more than five years he had been a model citizen.

Answer 1345

ADJ. not essential; superfluous. No wonder Ted can't think straight! His mind is so cluttered up with extraneous trivia, he can't concentrate on the essentials.

Answer 1346

N. projection; conjecture. Based on their extrapolation from the results of the primaries on Super Tuesday, the networks predicted that Bob Dole would be the Republican candidate for the presidency. extrapolate,V.

Answer 1347

V. free; disentangle. Icebreakers were needed to extricate the trapped whales from the icy floes that closed them in.

Answer 1348

ADJ. external; not essential; extraneous. A critically acclaimed extrinsic feature of the Chrysler Building is its ornate spire. The judge would not admit the testimony, ruling that it was extrinsic to the matter at hand.

Answer 1349

N. person interested mostly in external objects and actions. A good salesman is usually an extrovert, who likes to mingle with people.

Answer 1350

V. force or push out. Much pressure is required to extrude these plastics.

Answer 1351

N. overflowing abundance; joyful enthusiasm; flamboyance; lavishness. I was bowled over by the exuberance of Amy's welcome. What an enthusiastic greeting!

Answer 1352

V. discharge; give forth. We get maple syrup from the sap that exudes from the trees in early spring. exudation, N.

Answer 1353

V. rejoice. We exulted when our team won the victory.

Answer 1354

V. build; lie. If we fabricate the buildings in this project out of standardized sections, we can reduce construction costs considerably. Because of Jack's tendency to fabricate, Jill had trouble believing a word he said.

Answer 1355

N. front (of building); superficial or false appearance. The ornate facade of the church was often photographed by tourists, who never bothered to walk around the building to view its other sides. Susan seemed super-confident, but that was just a facade she put on to hide her insecurity.

Answer 1356

N. small plane surface (of a gem); a side. The stonecutter decided to improve the rough diamond by providing it with several facets.

Answer 1357

ADJ. joking (often inappropriately); humorous. I'm serious about this project; I don't need any facetious, smartalecky cracks about do-gooder little rich girls.

Answer 1358

ADJ. easily accomplished; ready or fluent; superficial. Words came easily to Jonathan: he was a facile speaker and prided himself on being ready to make a speech at a moment's notice.

Answer 1359

V. help bring about; make less difficult. Rest and proper nourishment should facilitate the patient's recovery.

Answer 1360

N. COPY. Many museums sell facsimiles of the works of art on display.

Answer 1361

N. party; clique; dissension. The quarrels and bickering of the two small factions within the club disturbed the majority of the members.

Answer 1362

N. mental or bodily powers; teaching staff. As he grew old, Professor Twiggly feared he might lose his faculties and become unfit to teach. However, he had tenure: whether or not he was in full possession of his faculties, the school couldn't kick him off the faculty.

Answer 1363

ADJ. false; misleading. Paradoxically, fallacious reasoning does not always yield erroneous results: even though your logic may be faulty, the answer you get may nevertheless be correct. fallacy, N.

Answer 1364

ADJ. liable to err. I know I am fallible, but I feel confident that I am right this time.

Answer 1365

ADJ. plowed but not sowed; uncultivated. Farmers have learned that it is advisable to permit land to lie fallow every few years.

Answer 1366

V. hesitate. When told to dive off the high board, she did not falter, but proceeded at once.

Answer 1367

N. excessive zeal; extreme devotion to a belief or cause. When Islamic fundamentalists demanded the death of Salman Rushdie because his novel questioned their faith, world opinion condemned them for their fanaticism.

Answer 1368

N. notion; whim; inclination. Martin took a fancy to paint his toenails purple. Assuming he would outgrow such fanciful behavior, his parents ignored his fancy feet. alsoADJ.

Answer 1369

N. call by bugles or trumpets. The exposition was opened with a fanfare of trumpets and the firing of cannon.

Answer 1370

N. broad comedy; mockery. Nothing went right; the entire interview degenerated into a farce. farcical,ADJ.

Answer 1371

ADJ. difficult to please; squeamish. Bobby was such a fastidious eater that he would eat a sandwich only if his mother first cut off every scrap of crust.

Answer 1372

N. belief that events are determined by forces beyond one's control. With fatalism, he accepted the hardships that beset him. fatalistic,ADJ.

Answer 1373

V. comprehend; investigate. I find his motives impossible to fathom; in fact, I'm totally clueless about what goes on in his mind.

Answer 1374

ADJ. foolish; inane. He is far too intelligent to utter such fatuous remarks.

Answer 1375

N. animals of a period or region. The scientist could visualize the fauna of the period by examining the skeletal remains and the fossils.

Answer 1376

ADJ. courting favor by cringing and flattering. She was constantly surrounded by a group of fawning admirers who hoped to win some favor. fawn,V.

Answer 1377

V. disconcert; dismay. No crisis could faze the resourceful hotel manager.

Answer 1378

ADJ. practical. Is it feasible to build a new stadium for the Yankees on New York's West Side? Without additional funding, the project is clearly unrealistic.

Answer 1379

N. fertility; fruitfulness. The fecundity of his mind is illustrated by the many vivid images in his poems.

Answer 1380

V. pretend. Lady Macbeth feigned illness although she was actually healthy.

Answer 1381

N. trick; shift; sham blow. The boxer was fooled by his opponent's feint and dropped his guard. alsoV.

Answer 1382

ADJ. apt; suitably expressed; well chosen. He was famous for his felicitous remarks and was called upon to serve as master-of-ceremonies at many a banquet. felicity, N.

Answer 1383

N. happiness; appropriateness (of a remark, choice, etc.). She wrote a note to the newlyweds wishing them great felicity in their wedded life.

Answer 1384

ADJ. cruel; deadly. The newspapers told of the tragic spread of the fell disease.

Answer 1385

V. cut or knock down; bring down (with a missile). Crying "Timber!" Paul Bunyan felled the mighty redwood tree. Robin Hood loosed his arrow and felled the king's deer.

Answer 1386

N. person convicted of a grave crime. A convicted felon loses the right to vote.

Answer 1387

ADJ. not domestic; wild. Abandoned by their owners, dogs may revert to their feral state, roaming the woods in packs.

Answer 1388

N. agitation; commotion. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, much of Eastern Europe was in a state of ferment.

Answer 1389

V. drive or hunt out of hiding. She ferreted out their secret.

Answer 1390

ADJ. ardent; hot. She felt that the fervent praise was excessive and somewhat undeserved.

Answer 1391

ADJ. ardent. Her fervid enthusiasm inspired all of us to undertake the dangerous mission.

Answer 1392

N. glowing ardor; intensity of feeling. At the protest rally, the students cheered the strikers and booed the dean with equal fervor.

Answer 1393

V. rankle; produce irritation or resentment. Joe's insult festered in Anne's mind for days, and made her too angry to speak to him.

Answer 1394

ADJ. joyous; celebratory. Their wedding in the park was a festive occasion.

Answer 1395

ADJ. malodorous. The neglected wound became fetid.

Answer 1396

V. shackle. The prisoner was fettered to the wall.

Answer 1397

N. total failure. Our ambitious venture ended in a fiasco and we were forced to flee.

Answer 1398

ADJ. changeable; faithless. As soon as Romeo saw Juliet, he forgot all about his old girlfriend Rosaline. Was Romeo fickle?

Answer 1399

ADJ. imaginary. Although this book purports to be a biography of George Washington, many of the incidents are fictitious.

Answer 1400

N. loyalty. A dog's fidelity to its owner is one of the reasons why that animal is a favorite household pet.

Answer 1401

N. invention; imaginary thing. That incident never took place; it is a figment of your imagination.

Answer 1402

ADJ. not literal, but metaphorical; using a figure of speech. "To lose one's marbles" is a figurative expression; if you're told that Jack has lost his marbles, no one expects you to rush out to buy him a replacement set.

Answer 1403

N. small ornamental statuette. In The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade was hired to trace the missing figurine of a black bird.

Answer 1404

N. fine thread or fiber; threadlike structure within a light bulb. A ray of sunlight illuminated the filaments of the spider web, turning the web into a net of gold.

Answer 1405

V. steal. The boys filched apples from the fruit stand.

Answer 1406

ADJ. pertaining to a son or daughter. Many children forget their filial obligations and disregard the wishes of their parents.

Answer 1407

V. to block legislation by making long speeches. Even though we disapproved of Senator Foghorn's political goals, we were impressed by his ability to filibuster endlessly to keep an issue from coming to a vote.

Answer 1408

N. conclusion. It is not until we reach the finale of this play that we can understand the author's message.

Answer 1409

N. delicate skill. The finesse and adroitness with which the surgeon wielded her scalpel impressed all the observers in the operating room.

Answer 1410

ADJ. too particular; fussy. The little girl was finicky about her food, leaving over anything that wasn't to her taste.

Answer 1411

N. hothead: troublemaker. The police tried to keep track of all the local firebrands when the President came to town.

Answer 1412

N. crevice. The mountain climbers secured footholds in tiny fissures in the rock.

Answer 1413

ADJ. spasmodic; intermittent. After several fitful attempts, he decided to postpone the start of the project until he felt more energetic.

Answer 1414

ADJ. astounded; astonished; overcome with surprise. In the film Flubber, the hero invents a remarkable substance whose amazing properties leave his coworkers flabbergasted. flabbergast,V.

Answer 1415

ADJ. flabby. His sedentary life had left him with flaccid muscles.

Answer 1416

V. droop; grow feeble. When the opposing hockey team scored its third goal only minutes into the first quarter, the home team's spirits flagged. flagging,ADJ.

Answer 1417

ADJ. conspicuously wicked; blatant; outrageous. The governor's appointment of his brother-in-law to the State Supreme Court was a flagrant violation of the state laws against nepotism (favoritism based on kinship).

Answer 1418

N. talent. She has an uncanny flair for discovering new artists before the public has become aware of their existence.

Answer 1419

ADJ. ornate. Modern architecture has discarded the flamboyant trimming on buildings and emphasizes simplicity of line.

Answer 1420

V. display ostentatiously. Mae West saw nothing wrong with showing off her considerable physical charms, saying, "Honey, if you've got it, flaunt it!"

Answer 1421

V. spot. Her cheeks, flecked with tears, were testimony to the hours of weeping.

Answer 1422

ADJ. inexperienced. While it is necessary to provide these fledgling poets with an opportunity to present their work, it is not essential that we admire everything they write. also N.

Answer 1423

N. wool coat of a sheep. They shear sheep of their fleece, which they then comb into separate strands of wool.

Answer 1424

V. rob; plunder. The tricksters fleeced him of his inheritance.

Answer 1425

N. light stroke as with a whip. The horse needed no encouragement; one flick of the whip was all the jockey had to apply to get the animal to run at top speed.

Answer 1426

V. hesitate, shrink. He did not flinch in the face of danger but fought back bravely.

Answer 1427

ADJ. lacking proper seriousness. When Mark told Mona he loved her, she dismissed his earnest declaration with a flippant "Oh, you say that to all the girls!" flippancy, N.

Answer 1428

V. fly; dart lightly; pass swiftly by. Like a bee flitting from flower to flower, Rose flitted from one boyfriend to the next.

Answer 1429

N. mass of floating ice. The ship made slow progress as it battered its way through the ice floes.

Answer 1430

N. plants of a region or era. Because she was a botanist, she spent most of her time studying the flora of the desert.

Answer 1431

ADJ. ruddy; reddish; flowery. If you go to Florida and get a sunburn, your complexion will look florid.

Answer 1432

V. struggle and thrash about; proceed clumsily or falter. Up to his knees in the bog, Floyd floundered about, trying to regain his footing. Bewildered by the new software, Flo floundered until Jan showed her how to get started.

Answer 1433

V. grow well; prosper; decorate with ornaments. The orange trees flourished in the sun.

Answer 1434

V. reject; mock. The headstrong youth flouted all authority; he refused to be curbed.

Answer 1435

V. waver; shift. The water pressure in our shower fluctuates wildly; you start rinsing yourself off with a trickle, and, two minutes later, a blast of water nearly knocks you down.

Answer 1436

N. smoothness of speech. He spoke French with fluency and ease.

Answer 1437

N. unlikely occurrence; stroke of fortune. When Dou- glas defeated Tyson for the heavyweight championship, some sportscasters dismissed his victory as a fluke.

Answer 1438

V. confuse. The teacher's sudden question flustered him and he stammered his reply.

Answer 1439

N. flowing; series of changes. While conditions are in such a state of flux, I do not wish to commit myself too deeply in this affair.

Answer 1440

N. coarse food for cattle, horses, etc. One of Nancy's chores at the ranch was to put fresh supplies of fodder in the horses' stalls.

Answer 1441

N. weakness; slight fault. We can overlook the foibles of our friends; no one is perfect.

Answer 1442

N. contrast. In Star Wars, dark, evil Darth Vader is a perfect foil for fair-haired, naive Luke Skywalker.

Answer 1443

V. defeat; frustrate. In the end, Skywalker is able to foil Vader's diabolical schemes.

Answer 1444

N. masses of leaves. Every autumn before the leaves fell he promised himself he would drive through New England to admire the colorful fall foliage.

Answer 1445

V. stir up; instigate. Cheryl's archenemy Heather spread some nasty rumors that fomented trouble in the club. Do you think Cheryl's foe meant to foment such discord?

Answer 1446

ADJ. rash. Don't be foolhardy. Get the advice of experienced people before undertaking this venture.

Answer 1447

N. dandy; man excessively concerned with his clothes. People who dismissed young Mizrahi as a fop felt chagrined when he turned into one of the top fashion designers of his day. foppish,ADJ.

Answer 1448

N. patience. We must use forbearance in dealing with him because he is still weak from his illness.

Answer 1449

N. place where a river can be crossed on foot. Rather than risk using the shaky rope bridge, David walked a halfmile downstream until he came to the nearest ford. alsoV.

Answer 1450

N. ancestors. Reverence for one's forebears (sometimes referred to as ancestor worship) plays an important part in many Oriental cultures.

Answer 1451

N. premonition of evil. Suspecting no conspiracies against him, Caesar gently ridiculed his wife's forebodings about the Ides of March.

Answer 1452

ADJ. suitable to debate or courts of law. In her best forensic manner, the lawyer addressed the jury. forenSiCS, N.

Answer 1453

V. give an indication beforehand; portend; prefigure. In retrospect, political analysts realized that Yeltsin's defiance of the attempted coup foreshadowed his emergence as the dominant figure of the new Russian republic.

Answer 1454

N. ability to foresee future happenings; prudence. A wise investor, she had the foresight to buy land just before the current real estate boom.

Answer 1455

V. prevent by taking action in advance. By setting up a prenuptial agreement, the prospective bride and groom hoped to forestall any potential arguments about money in the event of a divorce.

Answer 1456

V. give up; do without. Determined to lose weight for the summer, Ida decided to forgo dessert until she could fit into a size eight again.

Answer 1457

ADJ. sad and lonely; wretched. Deserted by her big sisters and her friends, the forlorn child sat sadly on the steps awaiting their return.

Answer 1458

N. ceremonious quality; something done just for form's sake. The president received the visiting heads of state with due formality: flags waving, honor guards standing at attention, anthems sounding at full blast. Signing this petition is a mere formality; it does not obligate you in any way.

Answer 1459

ADJ. menacing; threatening. We must not treat the battle lightly for we are facing a formidable foe.

Answer 1460

V. desert; abandon; renounce. No one expected Foster to forsake his wife and children and run off with another woman.

Answer 1461

V. renounce; abandon. The captured knight could escape death only if he agreed to forswear Christianity and embrace Islam as the one true faith.

Answer 1462

N. strong point or special talent. I am not eager to play this rather serious role, for my forte is comedy.

Answer 1463

ADJ. outspoken; straightforward; frank. Never afraid to call a spade a spade, she was perhaps too forthrightto be a successful party politician.

Answer 1464

N. bravery; courage. He was awarded the medal for his fortitude in the battle.

Answer 1465

ADJ. accidental; by chance. Though he pretended their encounter was fortuitous, he'd actually been hanging around her usual haunts for the past two weeks, hoping she'd turn up.

Answer 1466

N. place of assembly to discuss public concerns; meeting for discussion. The film opens with a shot of the ancient Forum in Rome, where several senators are discussing the strange new sect known as Christians. At the end of the movie, its director presided over a forum examining new fashions in filmmaking.

Answer 1467

V. rear; encourage. According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were fostered by a she-wolf who raised the abandoned infants with her own cubs. alsoADJ.

Answer 1468

V. fail completely; sink. After hitting the submerged iceberg, the Titanic started taking in water rapidly and soon foundered.

Answer 1469

N. person who establishes (an organization, business). Among those drowned when the Titanic sank was the founder of the Abraham & Straus department store.

Answer 1470

N. brawl, melee. The military police stopped the fracas in the bar and arrested the belligerents.

Answer 1471

ADJ. unruly; disobedient; irritable. Bucking and kicking, the fractious horse unseated its rider.

Answer 1472

ADJ. weak. The delicate child seemed too frail to lift the heavy carton. frailty, N.

Answer 1473

N. right granted by authority; right to vote; business licensed to sell a product in a particular territory. The city issued a franchise to the company to operate surface transit lines on the streets for ninety-nine years. For most of American history women lacked the right to vote: not until the early twentieth century was the franchise granted to women. Stan owns a Carvel's ice cream franchise in Chinatown.

Answer 1474

ADJ. wild. At the time of the collision, many people became frantic with fear.

Answer 1475

V. associate in a friendly way. After the game, the members of the two teams fraternized as cheerfully as if they had never been rivals.

Answer 1476

ADJ. cheating; deceitful. The government seeks to prevent fraudulent and misleading advertising.

Answer 1477

ADJ. filled. Since this enterprise is fraught with danger, I will ask for volunteers who are willing to assume the risks.

Answer 1478

N. brawl. The three musketeers were in the thick of the fray.

Answer 1479

ADJ. frenzied; frantic. His frenetic activities convinced us that he had no organized plan of operation.

Answer 1480

ADJ. madly excited. As soon as they smelled smoke, the frenzied animals milled about in their cages.

Answer 1481

N. painting on plaster (usually fresh). The cathedral is visited by many tourists who wish to admire the frescoes by Giotto.

Answer 1482

V. to be annoyed or vexed. To fret over your poor grades is foolish; instead, decide to work harder in the future.

Answer 1483

N. clash in opinion; rubbing against. At this time when harmony is essential, we cannot afford to have any friction in our group.

Answer 1484

ADJ. intensely cold. Alaska is in the frigid zone.

Answer 1485

ADJ. lacking in seriousness; self-indulgently carefree; relatively unimportant. Though Nancy enjoyed Bill's frivolous, lighthearted companionship, she sometimes wondered whether he could ever be serious. frivolity, N.

Answer 1486

ADJ. prankish; gay. The frolicsome puppy tried to lick the face of its master.

Answer 1487

N. fern leaf; palm or banana leaf. After the storm the beach was littered with the fronds of palm trees.

Answer 1488

N. thrift; economy. In economically hard times, anyone who doesn't learn to practice frugality risks bankruptcy. frugal,ADJ.

Answer 1489

N. bearing of fruit; fulfillment; realization. This building marks the fruition of all our aspirations and years of hard work.

Answer 1490

V. thwart; defeat. We must frustrate this dictator's plan to seize control of the government.

Answer 1491

ADJ. fleeting or transitory; roving. The film brought a few fugitive images to her mind, but on the whole it made no lasting impression upon her.

Answer 1492

N. support on which a lever rests. If we use this stone as a fulcrum and the crowbar as a lever, we may be able to move this boulder.

Answer 1493

ADJ. disgustingly excessive. His fulsome praise of the dictator revolted his listeners.

Answer 1494

V. basic; primary; essential. The committee discussed all sorts of side issues without ever getting down to addressing the fundamental problem.

Answer 1495

N. leave of absence; vacation granted a soldier or civil servant. Dreaming of her loved ones back in the States, the young soldier could hardly wait for her upcoming furlough.

Answer 1496

N. frenzy; great excitement. The story of her embezzlement of the funds created a furor on the Stock Exchange.

Answer 1497

ADJ. stealthy; sneaky. Noticing the furtive glance the customer gave the diamond bracelet on the counter, the jeweler wondered whether he had a potential shoplifter on his hands.

Answer 1498

N. union; coalition. The opponents of the political party in power organized a fusion of disgruntled groups and became an important element in the election.

Answer 1499

ADJ. useless; hopeless; ineffectual. It is futile for me to try to get any work done around here while the telephone is ringing every thirty seconds. futility, N.

Answer 1500

N. animal-biting fly; an irritating person. Like a gadfly, he irritated all the guests at the hotel; within forty-eight hours, everyone regarded him as an annoying busybody.

Answer 1501

N. social blunder. According to Miss Manners, to call your husband by your lover's name is worse than a mere gaffe; it is a tactical mistake.

Answer 1502

V. deny. She was too honest to gainsay the truth of the report.

Answer 1503

N. manner of walking or running; speed. The lame man walked with an uneven gait.

Answer 1504

N. large, isolated system of stars, such as the Milky Way; any collection of brilliant personalities. Science fiction stories speculate about the possible existence of life in other galaxies. The deaths of such famous actors as John Candy and George Burns tells us that the galaxy of Hollywood superstars is rapidly disappearing.

Answer 1505

N. windstorm; gust of wind; emotional outburst (laughter, tears). The Weather Channel warned viewers about a rising gale, with winds of up to sixty miles per hour.

Answer 1506

N. bitterness; nerve. The knowledge of his failure filled him with gall.

Answer 1507

V. annoy; chafe. Their taunts galled him.

Answer 1508

N. large sailing ship. The Spaniards pinned their hopes on the galleon, the large warship; the British, on the smaller and faster pinnace.

Answer 1509

V. stimulate by shock; stir up; revitalize. News that the prince was almost at their door galvanized the ugly stepsisters into a frenzy of combing and primping.

Answer 1510

N. opening in chess in which a piece is sacrificed. The player was afraid to accept his opponent's gambit because he feared a trap which as yet he could not see. gambol V. skip; leap playfully. Watching children gambol-ing in the park is a pleasant experience. also N.

Answer 1511

ADV. bravely; with spirit. Because he had fought gamely against a much superior boxer, the crowd gave him a standing ovation when he left the arena.

Answer 1512

N. entire range. In this performance, the leading lady was able to demonstrate the complete gamut of her acting ability.

Answer 1513

V. open widely; stare open-mouthed. The huge pit gaped before him; if he stumbled, he would fall in. Slackjawed in wonder, Huck gaped at the huge stalactites hanging down from the ceiling of the limestone cavern.

Answer 1514

ADJ. mixed up; jumbled; distorted. A favorite party game involves passing a whispered message from one person to another until, by the time it reaches the last player, the message is totally garbled.

Answer 1515

ADJ. huge; enormous. The gargantuan wrestler was terrified of mice.

Answer 1516

ADJ. over-bright in color; gaudy. She wore a gaudy rhinestone necklace with an excessively garish gold lame dress.

Answer 1517

V. gather; store up. She hoped to garner the world's literature in one library.

Answer 1518

V. decorate. Parsley was used to garnish the boiled potato. also N.

Answer 1519

ADJ. loquacious; wordy; talkative. My Uncle Henry can out-talk any three people I know. He is the most garrulous person in Cayuga County. garrulity, N.

Answer 1520

ADJ. clumsy; coarse and uncouth. Compared to the sophisticated young ladies in their elegant gowns, tomboyish Jo felt gauche and out of place.

Answer 1521

ADJ. flashy; showy. The newest Trump skyscraper is typically gaudy, covered in gilded panels that gleam in the sun.

Answer 1522

ADJ. lean and angular; barren. His once round face looked surprisingly gaunt after he had lost weight.

Answer 1523

N. hammerlike tool; mallet. "Sold!" cried the auctioneer, banging her gavel on the table to indicate she'd accepted the final bid.

Answer 1524

V. stare foolishly; look in open-mouthed awe. The country boy gawked at the skyscrapers and neon lights of the big city.

Answer 1525

N. record of descent; lineage. He was proud of his genealogy and constantly referred to the achievements of his ancestors.

Answer 1526

N. vague statement. This report is filled with generalities; be more specific in your statements.

Answer 1527

V. cause; produce; create. In his first days in office, President Clinton managed to generate a new mood of optimism; we just hoped he could generate some new jobs.

Answer 1528

ADJ. characteristic of an entire class or species. Sue knew so many computer programmers who spent their spare time playing fantasy games that she began to think that playing Dungeons & Dragons was a generic trait.

Answer 1529

N. beginning; origin. Tracing the genesis of a family is the theme of Roots.

Answer 1530

N. cheerfulness; kindliness; sympathy. This restaurant is famous and popular because of the geniality of the proprietor who tries to make everyone happy.

Answer 1531

N. particular variety of art or literature. Both a short story writer and a poet, Langston Hughes proved himself equally skilled in either genre.

Answer 1532

ADJ. well-bred; elegant. We are looking for a man with a genteel appearance who can inspire confidence by his cultivated manner.

Answer 1533

N. those of gentle birth; refinement. Her family was proud of its gentility and elegance.

Answer 1534

N. people of standing; class of people just below nobility. The local gentry did not welcome the visits of the summer tourists and tried to ignore their presence in the community.

Answer 1535

ADJ. pertinent; bearing upon the case at hand. The judge refused to allow the testimony to be heard by the jury because it was not germane to the case.

Answer 1536

ADJ. pertaining to a germ; creative. Such an idea is germinal, I am certain that it will influence thinkers and philosophers for many generations.

Answer 1537

V. cause to sprout; sprout. After the seeds germinate and develop their permanent leaves, the plants may be removed from the cold frames and transplanted to the garden.

Answer 1538

N. motion; gesture. Operatic performers are trained to make exaggerated gesticulations because of the large auditoriums in which they appear.

Answer 1539

ADJ. horrible. The murdered man was a ghastly sight.

Answer 1540

N. nonsense; babbling. Did you hear that fool boy spouting gibberish about monsters from outer space? gibber,V.

Answer 1541

V. mock. As you gibe at their superstitious beliefs, do you realize that you, too, are guilty of similarly foolish thoughts?

Answer 1542

ADJ. light-hearted; dizzy. He felt his giddy youth was past.

Answer 1543

ADV. very carefully. To separate egg whites, first crack the egg gingerly.

Answer 1544

N. distance around something; circumference. It took an extra-large cummerbund to fit around Andrew Carnegie's considerable girth.

Answer 1545

N. essence. She was asked to give the gist of the essay in two sentences.

Answer 1546

ADJ. like a glacier; extremely cold. Never a warm person, when offended John could seem positively glacial.

Answer 1547

ADJ. highly conspicuous; harshly bright. Glaring spelling or grammatical errors in your resume will unfavorably impress potential employers.

Answer 1548

V. cover with a thin and shiny surface. The freezing rain glazed the streets and made driving hazardous. also N.

Answer 1549

ADJ. fluent; facile; slick. Keeping up a steady patter to entertain his customers, the kitchen gadget salesman was a glib speaker, never at a loss for a word.

Answer 1550

V. shine erratically; twinkle. In the darkness of the cavern, the glowworms hanging from the cavern roof glimmered like distant stars,

Answer 1551

V. express evil satisfaction; view malevolently. As you gloat over your ill-gotten wealth, do you think of the many victims you have defrauded?

Answer 1552

N. brief explanation of words used in the text. I have found the glossary in this book very useful; it has eliminated many trips to the dictionary.

Answer 1553

V. explain away. No matter how hard he tried to talk around the issue, President Bush could not gloss over the fact that he had raised taxes after all.

Answer 1554

ADJ. smooth and shining. I want this photograph printed on glossy paper, not matte.

Answer 1555

V. scowl. The angry boy glowered at his father.

Answer 1556

V. overstock; fill to excess. The many manufacturers glutted the market and could not find purchasers for the excess articles they had produced. also N.

Answer 1557

N. someone who eats too much. When Mother saw that Bobby had eaten all the cookies, she called him a little glutton. gluttonous,ADJ.

Answer 1558

ADJ. twisted. The gnarled oak tree had been a landmark for years and was mentioned in several deeds.

Answer 1559

N. dwarf; underground spirit. In medieval mythology, gnomes were the special guardians and inhabitants of subterranean mines.

Answer 1560

V. urge on. He was goaded by his friends until he yielded to their wishes. also N.

Answer 1561

N. small, steep-walled canyon. The white-water rafting guide warned us about the rapids farther downstream, where the river cut through a narrow gorge.

Answer 1562

V. stuff oneself. The gluttonous guest gorged himself with food as though he had not eaten for days.

Answer 1563

ADJ. bloody. The audience shuddered as they listened to the details of the gory massacre.

Answer 1564

V. tear out. In that fight, all the rules were forgotten; the adversaries bit, kicked, and tried to gouge each other's eyes out.

Answer 1565

N. epicure; person who takes excessive pleasure in food and drink. Gourmands lack self-restraint; if they enjoy a particular cuisine, they eat far too much of it.

Answer 1566

N. connoisseur of food and drink. The gourmet stated that this was the best onion soup she had ever tasted.

Answer 1567

ADJ. arranged by degrees (of height, difficulty, etc.). Margaret loved her graduated set of Russian hollow wooden dolls; she spent hours happily putting the smaller dolls into their larger counterparts.

Answer 1568

N. piece of transplanted tissue; portion of plant inserted in another plant. After the fire, Greg required skin grafts to replace the badly damaged areas on his forearms. alsoV.

Answer 1569

N. impressiveness; stateliness; majesty. No matter how often he hiked through the mountains, David never failed to be struck by the grandeur of the Sierra Nevada range.

Answer 1570

ADJ. pompous; bombastic; using high-sounding language. The politician could never speak simply; she was always grandiloquent.

Answer 1571

ADJ. pretentious; high-flown; ridiculously exag-gerated; impressive. The aged matinee idol still had grandiose notions of his supposed importance in the theatrical world.

Answer 1572

V. form into grains. Sugar that has been granulated dissolves more readily than lump sugar. granule, N.

Answer 1573

ADJ. pertaining to the art of delineating; vividly described. I was particularly impressed by the graphic presentation of the storm.

Answer 1574

V. wrestle; come to grips with. He grappled with the burglar and overpowered him.

Answer 1575

V. make a harsh noise; have an unpleasant effect; shred. The screams of the quarreling children grated on her nerves.

Answer 1576

V. please. Lori's parents were gratified by her successful performance on the SAT.

Answer 1577

ADJ. free. The company offered to give one package gratis to every purchaser of one of their products. alsoADJ.

Answer 1578

ADJ. given freely; unwarranted; uncalled for. Quit making gratuitous comments about my driving; no one asked you for your opinion.

Answer 1579

N. seriousness. We could tell we were in serious trouble from the gravity of the principal's expression. (secondary meaning) grave,ADJ.

Answer 1580

ADJ. sociable. Typically, partygoers are gregarious; hermits are not.

Answer 1581

N. cause of complaint. When her supervisor ignored her complaint, she took her grievance to the union.

Answer 1582

V. question severely. In violation of the Miranda law, the police grilled the suspect for several hours before reading him his rights. (secondary meaning)

Answer 1583

N. a facial distortion to show feeling such as pain, disgust, etc. Even though he remained silent, his grimace indicated his displeasure. alsoV.

Answer 1584

ADJ. ghastly. She shuddered at the grisly sight.

Answer 1585

V. complain; fuss. Students traditionally grouse about the abysmal quality of "mystery meat" and similar dormitory food.

Answer 1586

ADJ. fantastic; comically hideous. On Halloween people enjoy wearing grotesque costumes.

Answer 1587

N. group of trees (smaller than a forest); orchard. To the child, the small grove of oaks was as vast as Sherwood Forest, in which he played that legendary hero, Robin Hood.

Answer 1588

V. crawl or creep on ground; remain prostrate. Even though we have been defeated, we do not have to grovel before our conquerors.

Answer 1589

ADJ. unwilling; reluctant; stingy. We received only grudging support from the mayor despite his earlier promises of aid.

Answer 1590

V. liquid food made by boiling oatmeal, etc., in milk or water. Our daily allotment of gruel made the meal not only monotonous but also unpalatable.

Answer 1591

ADJ. exhausting. The marathon is a grueling race.

Answer 1592

ADJ. grisly; horrible. His face was the stuff of nightmares: all the children in the audience screamed when Freddy Kruger's gruesome countenance was flashed on the screen.

Answer 1593

ADJ. rough-mannered. Although he was blunt and gruff with most people, he was always gentle with children.

Answer 1594

N. boisterous laughter. The loud guffaws that came from the closed room indicated that the members of the committee had not yet settled down to serious business. alsoV.

Answer 1595

N. deceit; duplicity; wiliness; cunning. lago uses considerable guile to trick Othello into believing that Desdemona has been unfaithful.

Answer 1596

ADJ. without deceit. He is naive, simple, and guileless; he cannot be guilty of fraud.

Answer 1597

N. appearance; costume. In the guise of a plumber, the detective investigated the murder case.

Answer 1598

ADJ. easily deceived. Overly gullible people have only themselves to blame if they fall for con artists repeatedly. As the saying goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

Answer 1599

ADJ. affecting the sense of taste. The Thai restaurant offered an unusual gustatory experience for those used to a bland cuisine.

Answer 1600

N. enjoyment; enthusiasm. He accepted the assignment with such gusto that I feel he would have been satisfied with a smaller salary.

Answer 1601

ADJ. windy. The gusty weather made sailing precarious.

Answer 1602

ADJ. commonplace; trite. When the reviewer criticized the movie for its hackneyed plot, we agreed; we had seen similar stories hundreds of times before.

Answer 1603

ADJ. wasted away; gaunt. After his long illness, he was pale and haggard.

Answer 1604

V. argue about prices. I prefer to shop in a store that has a one-price policy because, whenever I haggle with a shopkeeper, I am never certain that I paid a fair price for the articles I purchased.

Answer 1605

ADJ. blessed; consecrated. Although the dead girl's parents had never been active churchgoers, they insisted that their daughter be buried in hallowed ground.

Answer 1606

N. delusion. I think you were frightened by a hallucination you created in your own mind.

Answer 1607

ADJ. hesitant; faltering. Novice extemporaneous speakers often talk in a halting fashion as they grope for the right words.

Answer 1608

V. obstruct. The new mother didn't realize how much the effort of caring for an infant would hamper her ability to keep an immaculate house.

Answer 1609

ADJ. random; by chance. His haphazard reading left him unacquainted with the authors of the books.

Answer 1610

N. noisy speech. In her lengthy harangue, the principal berated the offenders. alsoV.

Answer 1611

V. to annoy by repeated attacks. When he could not pay his bills as quickly as he had promised, he was harassed by his creditors.

Answer 1612

N. forerunner. The crocus is an early harbinger of spring.

Answer 1613

V. provide a refuge for; hide. The church harbored illegal aliens who were political refugees.

Answer 1614

ADJ. sturdy; robust; able to stand inclement weather. We asked the gardening expert to recommend particularly hardy plants that could withstand our harsh New England winters.

Answer 1615

ADJ. agonizing; distressing; traumatic. At first the former prisoner did not wish to discuss his harrowing months of captivity as a political hostage.

Answer 1616

N. pride; arrogance. When she realized that Darcy believed himself too good to dance with his inferiors, Elizabeth took great offense at his haughtiness.

Answer 1617

ADJ. dangerous. Your occupation is too hazardous for insurance companies to consider your application.

Answer 1618

ADJ. slightly obscure. In hazy weather, you cannot see the top of this mountain.

Answer 1619

ADJ. hasty; rash. The slave seized the unexpected chance to make a headlong dash across the border to freedom.

Answer 1620

ADJ. stubborn; willful; unyielding. Because she refused to marry the man her parents had chosen for her, everyone scolded Minna and called her a foolish headstrong girl.

Answer 1621

N. person who harasses others. The heckler kept interrupting the speaker with rude remarks. heckle,V.

Answer 1622

N. one who believes that pleasure is the sole aim in life. A thoroughgoing hedonist, he considered only his own pleasure and ignored any claims others had on his money or time.

Answer 1623

V. pay attention to; consider. We hope you heed our advice and get a good night's sleep before the test. also N.

Answer 1624

ADJ. not noticing; disregarding. He drove on, heedless of the danger warnings placed at the side of the road.

Answer 1625

ADJ. atrocious; hatefully bad. Hitler's heinous crimes will never be forgotten.

Answer 1626

ADJ. grain-eating. Some herbivorous animals have two stomachs for digesting their food.

Answer 1627

N. opinion contrary to popular belief; opinion contrary to accepted religion. Galileo's assertion that the earth moved around the sun directly contradicted the religious teachings of his day; as a result, he was tried for heresy. heretic, N.

Answer 1628

ADJ. sealed by fusion so as to be airtight. After you sterilize the bandages, place them in a container and seal it with a hermetic seal to protect them from contamination by airborne bacteria.

Answer 1629

N. home of a hermit. Even in his remote hermitage he could not escape completely from the world.

Answer 1630

ADJ. unorthodox; unconventional. To those who upheld the belief that the earth did not move, Galileo's theory that the earth circled the sun was disturbingly heterodox.

Answer 1631

ADJ. dissimilar; mixed. This year's entering class is a remarkably heterogeneous body: it includes students from forty different states and twenty-six foreign countries, some the children of billionaires, others the offspring of welfare families. heterogenity, N.

Answer 1632

N. time of greatest success; prime. In their heyday, the San Francisco Forty-Niners won the Super Bowl two years running.

Answer 1633

N. gap; interruption in duration or continuity; pause. During the summer hiatus, many students try to earn enough money to pay their tuition for the next school year.

Answer 1634

ADJ. wintry. Bears prepare for their long hibernal sleep by overeating.

Answer 1635

V. sleep throughout the winter. Bears are one of the many species of animals that hibernate. hibernation, N.

Answer 1636

N. arrangement by rank or standing; authoritarian body divided into ranks. To be low man on the totem pole is to have an inferior place in the hierarchy.

Answer 1637

N. boisterous mirth. This hilarity is improper on this solemn day of mourning.

Answer 1638

N. block; obstacle. Stalled cars along the highway are a hindrance to traffic that tow trucks should remove without delay. hinder,V.

Answer 1639

ADJ. theatrical. He was proud of his histrionic ability and wanted to play the role of Hamlet, histrionics, N.

Answer 1640

V. stockpile; accumulate for future use. Whenever there are rumors of a food shortage, many people are tempted to hoard food. also N.

Answer 1641

ADJ. white with age. The man was hoary and wrinkled when he was 70.

Answer 1642

N. trick; practical joke. Embarrassed by the hoax, he reddened and left the room. alsoV.

Answer 1643

N. jumble; mixture of ill-suited elements. The reviewer roundly condemned the play as a hodgepodge of random and purposeless encounters carried out by a cast lacking any uniformity of accent or style.

Answer 1644

N. pistol case. Even when he was not in uniform, he carried a holster and pistol under his arm.

Answer 1645

N. honor; tribute. In her speech she tried to pay homage to a great man.

Answer 1646

ADJ. of the same kind. Because the student body at Elite Prep was so homogeneous, Sara and James decided to send their daughter to a school that offered greater cultural diversity. homogenize,V.

Answer 1647

V. sharpen. To make shaving easier, he honed his razor with great care.

Answer 1648

V. deceive; delude. Having been hoodwinked once by the fast-talking salesman, he was extremely cautious when he went to purchase a used car.

Answer 1649

N. crowd. Just before Christmas the stores are filled with hordes of shoppers.

Answer 1650

ADJ. pertaining to cultivation of gardens. When he bought his house, he began to look for flowers and decorative shrubs, and began to read books dealing with horticultural matters.

Answer 1651

N. great number; person entertaining guests; animal or plant from which a parasite gets its nourishment. You must attend to a host of details if you wish to succeed as host of a formal dinner party. Leeches are parasites that cling to their hosts and drink their hosts' blood.

Answer 1652

N. unfriendliness; hatred. A child who has been the sole object of his parents' affection often feels hostility toward a new baby in the family, resenting the newcomer who has taken his place.

Answer 1653

N. shack; small, wretched house. He wondered how poor people could stand living in such a hovel.

Answer 1654

V. hang about; wait nearby. The police helicopter hovered above the accident.

Answer 1655

N. color; aspect. The aviary contained birds of every possible hue.

Answer 1656

ADJ. massive; bulky; great in size. Despite his hulking build, the heavyweight boxing champion was surprisingly light on his feet. hulk, N.

Answer 1657

ADJ. marked by kindness or consideration. It is ironic that the Humane Society sometimes must show its compassion toward mistreated animals by killing them to put them out of their misery.

Answer 1658

ADJ. dull; monotonous. After his years of adventure, he could not settle down to a humdrum existence.

Answer 1659

ADJ. damp. She could not stand the humid climate and moved to a drier area.

Answer 1660

N. humbleness of spirit. He spoke with a humility and lack of pride that impressed his listeners.

Answer 1661

V. crash; rush. The runaway train hurtled toward disaster.

Answer 1662

V. use sparingly; conserve; save. Marathon runners must husband their energy so that they can keep going for the entire distance.

Answer 1663

N. mongrel; mixed breed. Mendel's formula explains the appearance of hybrids and pure species in breeding. alsoADJ.

Answer 1664

N. rabies; fear of water. A dog that bites a human being must be observed for symptoms of hydrophobia.

Answer 1665

N. exaggeration; overstatement. As far as I'm concerned, Apple's claims about the new computer are pure hyperbole: no machine is that good!

Answer 1666

ADJ. excessively exacting. You are hypercritical in your demands for perfection; we all make mistakes.

Answer 1667

N. person unduly worried about his health; worrier without cause about illness. The doctor prescribed chocolate pills for his patient who was a hypochondriac.

Answer 1668

ADJ. pretending to be virtuous; deceiving. Believing Eddie to be interested only in his own advancement, Greg resented his hypocritical posing as a friend. hypocrisy, N.

Answer 1669

ADJ. based on assumptions or hypotheses; supposed. Suppose you are accepted by Harvard, Stanford, and Brown. Which one would you choose to attend? Remember, this is only a hypothetical situation. hypotheSiS, N.

Answer 1670

N. study of fish. Jacques Cousteau's programs about sea life have advanced the cause of ichthyology

Answer 1671

N. religious image; idol. The icons on the walls of the church were painted in the 13th century.

Answer 1672

ADJ. attacking cherished traditions. Deeply iconoclastic, Jean Genet deliberately set out to shock conventional theatergoers with his radical plays.

Answer 1673

N. system of ideas of a group. For people who had grown up believing in the communist ideology, it was hard to adjust to capitalism.

Answer 1674

N. expression whose meaning as a whole differs from the meanings of its individual words; distinctive style. The phrase "to lose one's marbles" is an idiom: if I say that Joe's lost his marbles, I'm not asking you to find some for him. I'm telling you idiomatically that he's crazy.

Answer 1675

N. individual trait, usually odd in nature; eccentricity. One of Richard Nixon's little idiosyncrasies was his liking for ketchup on cottage cheese. One of Hannibal Lecter's little idiosyncrasies was his liking for human flesh. idiosyncratic,ADJ.

Answer 1676

N. worship of idols; excessive admiration. Such idolatry of singers of country music is typical of the excessive enthusiasm of youth.

Answer 1677

V. kindle; light. When Desi crooned, "Baby, light my fire," literal-minded Lucy looked around for some paper to ignite.

Answer 1678

ADJ. of lowly origin; unworthy. This plan is inspired by ignoble motives and I must, therefore, oppose it.

Answer 1679

N. deep disgrace; shame or dishonor. To lose the Ping-Pong match to a trained chimpanzee! How could Rollo stand the ignominy of his defeat? ignominious,ADJ.

Answer 1680

ADJ. illegal. The defense attorney maintained that his client had never performed any illicit action.

Answer 1681

ADJ. infinite. Man, having explored the far corners of the earth, is now reaching out into illimitable space.

Answer 1682

V. brighten; clear up or make understandable; enlighten. Just as a lamp can illuminate a dark room, a perceptive comment can illuminate a knotty problem.

Answer 1683

N. misleading vision. It is easy to create an optical illusion in which lines of equal length appear different.

Answer 1684

ADJ. deceptive; not real. Unfortunately, the costs of running the lemonade stand were so high that Tom's profits proved illusory.

Answer 1685

N. lack of balance or symmetry; disproportion. To correct racial imbalance in the schools, school boards have bussed black children into white neighborhoods and white children into black ones.

Answer 1686

V. drink in. The dry soil imbibed the rain quickly.

Answer 1687

ADJ. spotless; flawless; absolutely clean. Ken and Jessica were wonderful tenants and left the apartment in immaculate condition when they moved out.

Answer 1688

ADJ. near at hand; impending. Rosa was such a last-minute worker that she could never start writing a paper till the deadline was imminent.

Answer 1689

N. state of being immovable. Modern armies cannot afford the luxury of immobility, as they are vulnerable to attack while standing still.

Answer 1690

ADJ. resistant to; free or exempt from. Fortunately, Florence had contracted chicken pox as a child and was immune to it when her baby broke out in spots.

Answer 1691

ADJ. unchangeable. All things change over time; nothing is immutable.

Answer 1692

V. injure; hurt. Drinking alcohol can impair your ability to drive safely; if you're going to drink, don't drive.

Answer 1693

V. Pierce. He was impaled by the spear hurled by his adversary.

Answer 1694

ADJ. imperceptible; intangible. The ash is so fine that it is impalpable to the touch but it can be seen as a fine layer covering the window ledge.

Answer 1695

V. reveal or tell; grant. Polly begged Grandma to impart her recipe for rugeleh, but her grandmother wouldn't say a word.

Answer 1696

ADJ. not biased; fair. Knowing she could not be impartial about her own child, Jo refused to judge any match in which Billy was competing.

Answer 1697

ADJ. not able to be traveled or crossed. A giant redwood had fallen across the highway, blocking all four lanes: the road was impassable.

Answer 1698

N. predicament from which there is no escape; deadlock. In this impasse, all turned to prayer as their last hope.

Answer 1699

ADJ. without feeling; imperturbable; stoical. Refusing to let the enemy see how deeply shaken he was by his capture, the prisoner kept his face impassive.

Answer 1700

V. charge with crime in office; indict. The angry congressman wanted to impeach the president for his misdeeds.

Answer 1701

ADJ. faultless. The uncrowned queen of the fashion industry, Diana was acclaimed for her impeccable taste.

Answer 1702

ADJ. without money. Though Scrooge claimed he was too impecunious to give alms, he easily could have afforded to be charitable.

Answer 1703

V. hinder; block; delay. A series of accidents impeded the launching of the space shuttle.

Answer 1704

N. hindrance; stumbling-block. She had a speech impediment that prevented her speaking clearly.

Answer 1705

V. drive or force onward. A strong feeling of urgency impelled her; if she failed to finish the project right then, she knew that she would never get it done.

Answer 1706

ADJ. not able to be pierced or entered; beyond understanding. How could the murderer have gotten into the locked room? To Watson, the mystery, like the room, was impenetrable.

Answer 1707

ADJ. nearing; approaching. The entire country was saddened by the news of his impending death.

Answer 1708

ADJ. not repentant. We could see from his tough guy attitude that he was impenitent.

Answer 1709

ADJ. absolutely necessary; critically important. It is imperative that you be extremely agreeable to GreatAunt Maud when she comes to tea: otherwise she might not leave you that million dollars in her will. also N.

Answer 1710

ADJ. unnoticeable; undetectable. Fortunately, the stain on the blouse was imperceptible after the blouse had gone through the wash.

Answer 1711

ADJ. like an emperor; related to an empire. When hotel owner Leona Helmsley appeared in ads as Queen Leona standing guard over the Palace Hotel, her critics mocked her imperial fancies.

Answer 1712

ADJ. domineering; haughty. Jane rather liked a man to be masterful, but Mr. Rochester seemed so bent on getting his own way that he was actually imperious!

Answer 1713

ADJ. impervious; not permitting passage through its substance. This new material is impermeable to liquids.

Answer 1714

ADJ. insolent; rude. His neighbors' impertinent curiosity about his lack of dates angered Ted. It was downright rude of them to ask him such personal questions.

Answer 1715

ADJ. calm; placid; composed. In the midst of the battle, the Duke of Wellington remained imperturbable and in full command of the situation despite the hysteria and panic all around him. imperturbability, N.

Answer 1716

ADJ. impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed. The carpet salesman told Simone that his most expensive brand of floor covering was warranted to be impervious to ordinary wear and tear. Having read so many negative reviews of his acting, the movie star had learned to ignore them, and was now impervious to criticism.

Answer 1717

ADJ. violent; hasty; rash. "Leap before you look" was the motto suggested by one particularly impetuous young man.

Answer 1718

N. incentive; stimulus; moving force. A new federal highway program would create jobs and give added impetus to our economic recovery.

Answer 1719

N. irreverence; lack of respect for God. When members of the youth group draped the church in toilet paper one Halloween, the minister reprimanded them for their impiety.

Answer 1720

V. infringe; touch;. collide with. How could they be married without impinging on one another's freedom?

Answer 1721

ADJ. irreverent. The congregation was offended by her impious remarks.

Answer 1722

ADJ. incapable of being pacified. Madame Defarge was the implacable enemy of the Evremonde family.

Answer 1723

ADJ. unlikely; unbelievable. Though her alibi seemed implausible, it in fact turned out to be true.

Answer 1724

V. put into effect; supply with tools. The mayor was unwilling to implement the plan until she was sure it had the governor's backing. also N.

Answer 1725

V. incriminate; show to be involved. Here's the deal: if you agree to take the witness stand and implicate your partners in crime, the prosecution will recommend that the judge go easy in sentencing you.

Answer 1726

N. something hinted at or suggested. When Miss Watson said she hadn't seen her purse since the last time Jim was in the house, the implication was that she suspected Jim had taken it. imply,V.

Answer 1727

ADJ. understood but not stated. Jack never told Jill he adored her; he believed his love was implicit in his actions.

Answer 1728

V. beg. He implored her to give him a second chance.

Answer 1729

V. suggest a meaning not expressed; signify. When Aunt Millie said, "My! That's a big piece of pie, young man!" was she implying that Bobby was being a glutton in helping himself to such a huge piece?

Answer 1730

ADJ. urging; demanding. He tried to hide from his importunate creditors until his allowance arrived.

Answer 1731

V. beg persistently. Democratic and Republican phone solicitors importuned her for contributions so frequently that she decided to give nothing to either party.

Answer 1732

N. someone who assumes a false identity. Holmes exposed the doctor as an impostor.

Answer 1733

ADJ. weak; ineffective. Although he wished to break the nicotine habit, he found himself impotent in resisting the craving for a cigarette.

Answer 1734

ADJ. poor. The loss of their farm left the family impoverished and without hope.

Answer 1735

ADJ. invulnerable. Until the development of the airplane as a military weapon, the fort was considered impregnable.

Answer 1736

ADJ. without previous preparation; off the cuff; on the spur of the moment. The judges were amazed that she could make such a thorough, well-supported presentation in an impromptu speech.

Answer 1737

N. improperness; unsuitableness. Because of the impropriety of the punk rocker's slashed T-shirt and jeans, the management refused to admit him to the hotel's very formal dining room.

Answer 1738

ADJ. thriftless. He was constantly being warned to mend his improvident ways and begin to "save for a rainy day." improvidence, N.

Answer 1739

V. compose on the spur of the moment. She would sit at the piano and improvise for hours on themes from Bach and Handel.

Answer 1740

ADJ. lacking caution; injudicious. It is imprudent to exercise vigorously and become overheated when you are unwell.

Answer 1741

N. impertinence; insolence. Kissed on the cheek by a perfect stranger, Lady Catherine exclaimed, "Of all the nerve! Young man, I should have you horse-whipped for your impudence."

Answer 1742

V. dispute or contradict (often in an insulting way); challenge; gainsay. Our treasurer was furious when the finance committee's report impugned the accuracy of his financial records and recommended that he should take bonehead math.

Answer 1743

N. freedom from punishment or harm. A 98pound weakling can't attack a beachfront bully with impunity. the poor, puny guy is sure to get mashed.

Answer 1744

ADV. unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly. Judy's great fear was that she might inadvertently omit a question on the exam and mismark her whole answer sheet.

Answer 1745

ADJ. not to be taken away; nontransferable. The Declaration of Independence mentions the inalienable rights that all of us possess.

Answer 1746

ADJ. silly; senseless. There's no point to what you're saying. Why are you bothering to make such inane remarks?

Answer 1747

ADJ. lifeless. She was asked to identify the still and inanimate body.

Answer 1748

ADJ. speechless; producing indistinct speech. He became inarticulate with rage and uttered sounds without meaning.

Answer 1749

V. start; initiate; install in office. The airline decided to inaugurate its new route to the Far East with a special reduced fare offer. inaugural,ADJ.

Answer 1750

ADJ. strikingly bright; shining with intense heat. If you leave on an incandescent light bulb, it quickly grows too hot to touch.

Answer 1751

N. singing or chanting of magic spells; magical formula. Uttering incantations to make the brew more potent, the witch doctor stirred the liquid in the caldron.

Answer 1752

V. disable. During the winter, many people were incapacitated by respiratory ailments.

Answer 1753

V. imprison. The civil rights workers were willing to be arrested and even incarcerated if by their imprisonment they could serve the cause.

Answer 1754

N. act of assuming a human body and human nature. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is a basic tenet of Christian theology.

Answer 1755

N. arsonist. The fire spread in such an unusual manner that the fire department chiefs were certain that it had been set by an incendiary. alsoADJ.

Answer 1756

V. enrage; infuriate. Cruelty to defenseless animals incensed Kit: the very idea brought tears of anger to her eyes.

Answer 1757

N. spur; motive. Mike's strong desire to outshine his big sister was all the incentive he needed to do well in school.

Answer 1758

N. start; beginning. She was involved with the project from its inception.

Answer 1759

ADJ. uninterrupted; unceasing. In a famous TV commercial, the frogs' incessant croaking goes on and on until eventually it turns into a single word: "Bud-weis-er."

Answer 1760

ADJ. recently begun; rudimentary; elementary. Before the Creation, the world was an inchoate mass.

Answer 1761

N. rate of occurrence; particular occurrence. Health professionals expressed great concern over the high incidence of infant mortality in major urban areas.

Answer 1762

ADJ. not essential; minor. The scholarship covered his major expenses at college and some of his incidental expenses as well.

Answer 1763

ADJ. beginning; in an early stage. I will go to sleep early for I want to break an incipient cold.

Answer 1764

ADJ. cutting; sharp. His incisive remarks made us see the fallacy in our plans.

Answer 1765

V. arouse to action; goad; motivate; induce to exist. In a fiery speech, Mario incited his fellow students to go out on strike to protest the university's anti-affirmative action stand.

Answer 1766

ADJ. stormy; unkind. In inclement weather, I like to curl up on the sofa with a good book and listen to the storm blowing outside.

Answer 1767

N. slope; slant. The architect recommended that the nursing home's ramp be rebuilt because its incline was too steep for wheelchairs.

Answer 1768

ADJ. tending or leaning toward; bent. Though I am inclined to be skeptical, the witness's manner inclines me to believe his story. alsoV.

Answer 1769

ADJ. tending to include all. The comedian turned down the invitation to join the Players' Club, saying any club that would let him in was too inclusive for him.

Answer 1770

ADJ. unintelligible; muddled; illogical. The excited fan blushed and stammered, her words becoming almost incoherent in the thrill of meeting her favorite rock star face to face. incoherence, N.

Answer 1771

ADJ. inharmonious. The married couple argued incessantly and finally decided to separate because they were incompatible. incompatibility, N.

Answer 1772

ADJ. not fitting; absurd. Dave saw nothing incongruous about wearing sneakers with his tuxedo; he couldn't understand why his date took one look at him and started to laugh. incongruity, N.

Answer 1773

ADJ. insignificant; unimportant. Brushing off Ali's apologies for having broken the wineglass, Tamara said, "Don't worry about it; it's inconsequential."

Answer 1774

N. state of being self-contradictory; lack of uniformity or steadiness. How are lawyers different from agricultural inspectors? While lawyers check inconsistencies in witnesses' statements, agricultural inspectors check inconsistencies in Grade A eggs. inconsistent,ADJ.

Answer 1775

ADJ. lacking self-restraint; licentious. His incontinent behavior off stage so shocked many people that they refused to attend the plays and movies in which he appeared.

Answer 1776

ADJ. indisputable; not open to question. Unless you find the evidence against my client absolutely incontrovertible, you must declare her not guilty of this charge.

Answer 1777

V. introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite. Breaking with precedent, President Truman ordered the military to incorporate blacks into every branch of the armed services. alsoADJ.

Answer 1778

ADJ. lacking a material body; insubstantial. While Casper the friendly ghost is an incorporeal being, nevertheless he and his fellow ghosts make quite an impact on the physical world.

Answer 1779

ADJ. not correctable. Though Widow Douglass hoped to reform Huck, Miss Watson called him incorrigible and said he would come to no good end.

Answer 1780

ADJ. withholding belief; skeptical. When Jack claimed he hadn't eaten the jelly doughnut, Jill took an incredulous look at his smeared face and laughed. incredulity, N.

Answer 1781

N. increase. The new contract calls for a 10 percent increment in salary for each employee for the next two years.

Answer 1782

V. accuse. The evidence gathered against the racketeers incriminates some high public officials as well.

Answer 1783

N. hard coating or crust. In dry dock, we scraped off the incrustation of dirt and barnacles that covered the hull of the ship.

Answer 1784

V. hatch; scheme. Inasmuch as our supply of electricity is cut off, we shall have to rely on the hens to incubate these eggs.

Answer 1785

V. teach; instill. In an effort to inculcate religious devotion, the officials ordered that the school day begin with the singing of a hymn.

Answer 1786

ADJ. obligatory; currently holding an office. It is incumbent upon all incumbent elected officials to keep accurate records of expenses incurred in office. also N.

Answer 1787

V. bring upon oneself. His parents refused to pay any future debts he might incur.

Answer 1788

N. temporary invasion. The nightly incursions and hit-and-run raids of our neighbors across the border tried the patience of the country to the point where we decided to retaliate in force.

Answer 1789

ADJ. tireless. Although the effort of taking out the garbage tired Wayne out for the entire morning, when it came to partying, he was indefatigable.

Answer 1790

ADJ. not able to be erased. The indelible ink left a permanent mark on my shirt. Young Bill Clinton's meeting with President Kennedy made an indelible impression on the youth.

Answer 1791

N. notch; deep recess. You can tell one tree from another by examining their leaves and noting the differences in the indentations along the edges of the leaves. indent,V.

Answer 1792

V. bind as servant or apprentice to master. Many immigrants could come to America only after they had indentured themselves for several years. also N.

Answer 1793

ADJ. uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite. That interest rates shall rise appears certain; when they will do so, however, remains indeterminate.

Answer 1794

ADJ. suggestive; implying. A lack of appetite may be indicative of a major mental or physical disorder.

Answer 1795

n. PL. signs; indications. Many college admissions officers believe that SAT scores and high school grades are the best indices of a student's potential to succeed in college. N. SG. index.

Answer 1796

V. charge. The district attorney didn't want to indict the suspect until she was sure she had a strong enough case to convince a jury. indictment, N.

Answer 1797

ADJ. unmoved or unconcerned by; mediocre. Because Ann felt no desire to marry, she was indifferent to Carl's constant proposals. Not only was she indifferent to him personally, but she felt that, given his general silliness, he would make an indifferent husband.

Answer 1798

ADJ. native. Cigarettes are made of tobacco, a plant indigenous to the New World.

Answer 1799

ADJ. poor; destitute. Someone who is truly indigent can't even afford to buy a pack of cigarettes. [Don't mix up indigent and indigenous. See previous sentence.]

Answer 1800

N. anger at an injustice. He felt indignation at the ill-treatment of helpless animals.

Answer 1801

N. offensive or insulting treatment. Although he seemed to accept cheerfully the indignities heaped upon him, he was inwardly very angry.

Answer 1802

N. lack of tactfulness or sound judgment. Terrified that the least indiscretion could jeopardize his political career, the novice politician never uttered an unguarded word. indiscreet,ADJ.

Answer 1803

ADJ. choosing at random; confused. She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing and decided to restrict him to educational programs.

Answer 1804

ADJ. too certain to be disputed. In the face of these indisputable statements, I withdraw my complaint.

Answer 1805

ADJ. permanent. The indissoluble bonds of marriage are all too often being dissolved.

Answer 1806

V. instruct in a doctrine or ideology. CubanAmericans resisted sending Elian Gonzalez back to Cuba because he would be indoctrinated there with Communist principles.

Answer 1807

ADJ. lazy. Couch potatoes lead an indolent life lying back on their Lazyboy recliners watching Tv. indolence, N.

Answer 1808

ADJ. unconquerable; unyielding. Focusing on her game despite all her personal problems, tennis champion Steffi Graf proved she had an indomitable will to win.

Answer 1809

ADJ. unable to be doubted; unquestionable. Auditioning for the chorus line, Molly was an indubitable hit: the director fired the leading lady and hired Molly in her place!

Answer 1810

V. persuade; bring about. After the quarrel, Tina said nothing could induce her to talk to Tony again. inducement, N.

Answer 1811

ADJ. humoring; yielding; lenient. Jay's mom was excessively indulgent she bought him every Nintendo cartridge and video game on the market. She indulged Jay so much, she spoiled him rotten.

Answer 1812

ADJ. diligent; hard-working. Look busy when the boss walks by your desk; it never hurts to appear industrious. industry, N.

Answer 1813

ADJ. habitually intoxicated; drunk. Abe was inebriated more often than he was sober. Because of his inebriety, he was discharged from his job as a bus driver.

Answer 1814

ADJ. unutterable; cannot be expressed in speech. Such ineffable joy must be experienced; it cannot be described.

Answer 1815

ADJ. not effective; weak. Because the candidate failed to get across his message to the public, his campaign was ineffectual.

Answer 1816

ADJ. not effective; unable to produce a desired result. All Lois's coaxing and urging was inefficacious: Clark still refused to join her and Superman for dinner. inefficacy, N.

Answer 1817

ADJ. lacking skill; unsuited; incompetent. The inept glovemaker was all thumbs.

Answer 1818

N. unfairness. In demanding equal pay for equal work, women protest the basic inequity of a system that gives greater financial rewards to men.

Answer 1819

ADJ. inactive; lacking power to move. "Get up, you lazybones," she cried to her husband, who lay in bed inert. inertia, N.

Answer 1820

ADJ. unavoidable. Though death and taxes are both supposedly inevitable, some people avoid paying taxes for years.

Answer 1821

ADJ. relentless; unyielding; implacable. After listening to the pleas for clemency, the judge was inexorable and gave the convicted man the maximum punishment allowed by law.

Answer 1822

ADJ. unerring. We must remember that none of us is infallible; we all make mistakes.

Answer 1823

ADJ. notoriously bad. Charles Manson and Jef-frey Dahmer are both infamous killers.

Answer 1824

ADJ. childish. When will he outgrow such infantile behavior?

Answer 1825

V. deduce; conclude. From the students' glazed looks, it was easy for me to infer that they were bored out of their minds. inference, N.

Answer 1826

ADJ. pertaining to hell; devilish. Batman was baffled: he could think of no way to hinder the Joker's infernal scheme to destroy the city.

Answer 1827

N. unbeliever. The Saracens made war against the infidels.

Answer 1828

V. pass into or through; penetrate (an organization) sneakily. In order to be able to infiltrate enemy lines at night without being seen, the scouts darkened their faces and wore black coveralls. infiltrator, N.

Answer 1829

ADJ. very small. In the twentieth century, physicists have made their greatest discoveries about the characteristics of infinitesimal objects like the atom and its parts.

Answer 1830

N. weakness. Her greatest infirmity was lack of willpower.

Answer 1831

ADJ. exaggerated; pompous; enlarged (with air or gas). His claims about the new product were inflated, it did not work as well as he had promised.

Answer 1832

N. flowing into. The influx of refugees into the country has taxed the relief agencies severely.

Answer 1833

ADJ. absence of ceremony; casual. The English teacher preferred informal discussions to prepared lectures.

Answer 1834

N. violation (of a rule or regulation); breach. When Dennis Rodman butted heads with that referee, he committed a clear infraction of NBA rules.

Answer 1835

V. enrage; anger. Her big brother's teasing always infuriated Margaret; no matter how hard she tried to keep her temper, he always got her goat.

Answer 1836

N. act of introducing or instilling a quality; liquid solution. The rookie quarterback brought an infusion of new life and vigor to the tired team. infuse,V.

Answer 1837

ADJ. clever; resourceful. Kit admired the ingenious way that her computer keyboard opened up to reveal the built-in CD-ROM below. ingenuity, N.

Barrons 3500 List 01-25 Flashcards

(1861 cards)